Day Thirteen

My dreams of being Emperor vanished with the coming of morning, as did the blessing bestowed upon me by Danica. I could already feel a desperate hunger growing in my mind. It was Lydia who had woken me and she looked disappointed at my condition as I swung my legs out of the bed and held my head in my hands.

"Do you swear you will return here and help Danica restore the Gildergreen so she may cure you?" Lydia asked.

"This already? I just opened my eyes. Of course," I said, my mouth feeling full of cotton, "I told her as much. Other events can not wait, however. I will just have to push through them."

"But do you swear?"

"Yes, I swear," I said, a little too loud.

I heard a clink next to me. I looked down at the bed and saw two bottles of skooma by my hand. I wanted to grab them and empty them immediately but I restrained myself and looked at my housecarl.

"I need you to be strong," she said, "until we return. I have more, but I will keep them until they are needed. You swore to return. If break that vow, you won't have to worry about having a nursemaid. That is my vow."

I grabbed the bottles but I did not drink them in front of her.

"We should be going soon," she said, "We have a long way to go before Sundas."

I let her leave then waited until the pain was too much to bear.

To cut down on our travel time, we journeyed to Iverstead the same way we did before by cutting through the mountains using the long winding path. This time, the troll by the river was gone and nothing had moved in to take its place. The walked back up the seven thousand steps was even more boring since everything was dead, until we met the frost troll again. I hated to admit it but once again we were forced to run past him. Perhaps I needed to get some better armor to withstand the powerful swipes of this monster's arms. At least I would know where to find him when I was ready.

Inside High Rothgar, I tracked down Arngeir and handed him the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. He said I had proven myself worthy of the title of Dragonborn and would bestow upon me the final word of power for Unrelenting Force. He instructed the other Greybeards to meet in the chamber by the entrance and Master Wulfgar taught me the word, 'Dah'. I could already feel the power of the Shout waiting to emerge. First, however, Arngeir insisted on a final initiation. They would use their Voice to speak to me in the dragontongue. He said few could withstand the unbridled power of the Voice. I told Lydia to wait outside then stood in the middle of the chamber. They began their chant and the ground trembled as they welcomed the new Dragonborn.

Arngeir was more civil now and told me High Rothgar was open to me. I took that to mean that what was their's was also now mine so I helped myself to whatever potions and food I found lying around. The bottles I found looked sort of like health potions but when I asked, Arngeir said they replenished your health slowly for a period of time. I took them anyway then bade the Greybeards farewell. Before I left, Arngeir told me if I was interested in learning more words of power, to ask and they may know of some locations for the dragonwalls.

Outside, I found Lydia sharpening the blade of her axe with a whetstone.

"Are we done here?" she asked, "I nearly fell over the side of the mountain when they started their chanting. They could have warned me the ground would shake so."

"Sorry. I don't think they remember their own power. We'll leave in just a minute. There's still one thing I must do before I go."

With Lydia behind me I stood looking out over the mountainside and summoned the power of my newly revealed Shout. "Fus Ro Dah!"

I could see the wave of energy spread out through the air and the echo could probably be heard back down in Iverstead. I turned to Lydia. "Let's go say hello to our friend the frost troll."

We headed back to the troll's lair and I spotted him on his usual hang out on top of the cave. I got my burning bow out and sent a steel shaft into him to get his attention. The shot enraged him, causing him to jump up and down and pound on the ground with his claws. I hit him with two more arrows as he lurched towards us on all fours. I lured him in close then let loose with my new Shout. The force of it surprised even me. The troll was propelled back like a child's doll.

Lydia and I rushed in to hack and slash at it with our weapons. After a few moments, it got back up and staggered me with two blows to the head. The troll roared and I took the opportunity to retreat since his attack had left me bloody and disoriented. As I ran, I gulped down three healing potions and one of the regeneration potions from the Greybeards. The troll ran after me.

I was pretty sure I would run out of potions before he died from our blades so I thought of a better idea. I tried some evasive moves, ducking and rolling from his long arms, until I got the troll at the edge of the mountain. I began my shout and at the last moment I saw Lydia charge in for a strike. It is too late to stop.

The force of the shout collided into the troll and also caught Lydia on its fringe. They both went sliding down the side of the mountain. Immediately I ran through the snow to reach Lydia. Even at this distance I could see she was severely hurt as she struggled to stop herself from sliding. The troll was a little ways in front and to the left of her and I saw him disappear as he pitched over the side. I thought I was about to see the same happen to Lydia but a small outcropping of rock jutted through the snow. She was able to snag the rock with one hand. As soon as I reached her I grabbed her arms and pulled her further from the edge. I pushed my healing powers into her damaged body before she could get any worse. We locked eyes and I saw terror in them briefly, slowly replaced with relief. My magic reserves ran out and though she was still hurt, she was out of danger.

"Thank you, Ralos," she said, "Give me a moment while I finish healing."

"I'm sorry for knocking you down the side of the mountain, Lydia," I said, "I didn't know you were about to run up and hit him."

"We'll discuss your lack of planning later. Is the troll dead?"

I got as close to the edge as I could and I finally spotted the large white body lying motionless beside two grey boulders. I carefully scooted back to where Lydia was resting, her wounds mostly healed.

"He's dead. It wasn't quite as satisfying as I was hoping and I don't have a troll head for a trophy to put in Breezehome, but I'd say I got the last word in. Get it? Word?"

"You're as funny as you clever. Now help me back up to the road. I've had enough of this mountain."

"Sure, take my hand.. hey, what did you mean by that?"

The walk down to Iverstead was boring but beautiful as night was beginning to fall. The northern lights played ribbons of color across the starry, moonless night. The map did not show anything between here and Kynesgrove so we just decided to call it a night and get an early start. The regulars at the inn, however, had other ideas. They noticed how beat up we looked and when I recounted the tale of our trials on the mountain, they all listened with rapt attention then cheered at the end. Even Narfi was there, though he cheered at the wrong times.

They bought us a round of drinks for ridding them of the troll and a little later the guards showed up and wanted to hear the story. I told it again, maybe with an occasional embellishment, and they bought us drinks as well. This went on for most of the night. Eventually I was so drunk that Narfi was making more sense than I was. The barmaid, Lynly Star-sung, offered to sing me a ballad of our adventure for just five gold.

"I'll pay twice has mush to hear yur lovey voice," I slurred.

She was so flattered, she blushed from her cheeks to her amply exposed cleavage. She said she had another ballad she would like to sing, but for my ears only. She hinted that I follow her as she walked away. I found Lydia dozing at a nearby table, the remains of an apple pie and several bottles of mead all around her.

"The bed's all yurs, Lyda," I told her, whispering loudly. "Don't wake me too early."

As I walked away to follow the singer, I heard from behind me, "Pig."

I smiled and made pig noises all the way to the room.