Day Fifteen

The next morning was just as I expected as far as my need for skooma. My stomach cramped horribly and a shard of pain kept shifting from one side of my head to the other. Lydia just looked at me and tossed me a bottle. I either needed to be rid of this or find my own skooma. Having her dispense the skooma like a butcher gives a dog a bone was already getting old. I downed the sweet liquid and headed for breakfast.

Before we left for Orphan Rock, I stopped in at the temple to tell Danica we were on the way. I was hoping for another of her blessings, since that kept me clear-headed all day last time. She said she was too fatigued, however, and just sent me off with a kiss. As least there was a bit of tongue involved, mostly on my part, but it would have to do.

I checked the map for Orphan Rock. I did not like the thought of getting so close to Helgen again. Hopefully no one there would recognize me from a distance. Now that I was Thane, however, perhaps I could get them to treat me with the respect I deserved. We would see if it came to that.

The walk there is uneventful, though it did rain until we got past Riverwood, where the dirt road turned to a snowy path. I spotted the turn off marked by a large stack of rocks as usual. I kept us at a creeping pace with the hope of catching the hagraven off guard. In the forest ahead I could see witches practicing their fire and ice magic and behind them I could make out a tall rock formation which I assumed was Orphan Rock. I guess it was foolish thinking I would only have one spell thrower to deal with. Oh, well, they would bleed like the rest.

I laced my first arrow with a concentrated poison I had picked up from some chest. I let it loose at the nearest witch. She responded by creating a magic shield and running towards us. I shot another arrow, this one dipped in frostbite venom, just for the Hells of it, then got my steel witch-sticker out. The witch bragged about her power as she unleashed flames on us. A few moments later she was cowering by a fallen log, "No more, I surrender."

I decided one more was even better. As I wrenched my sword from her chest, another witch sprayed us with a spell of ice. Lydia smashed through her invisible shield. The witch kept up the ice spell on her and drew a dagger with her other hand. I switched to my bow and sent a couple of arrows into the witch's black robes. Lydia wound up and brought her axe down on the witch, splitting her like green firewood from her neck to stomach. Messy business, those witch hunts.

Suddenly a bright ball of fire filled my vision and I was thrown backwards, away from Lydia and the witch corpses. I scrambled for cover behind a stand of trees, shoveling snow onto my burning clothes and exposed flesh. I heard another fireball crash but my hearing was muffled from the first explosion and I could not tell where it landed. My hands were shaking as they glowed with my healing magic. I could see the charred skin flake off of them as they repaired themselves. I was forced to find one of the blue potions that Lydia said restored magical power in order to fully heal from the surprise attack. My hearing returned but I did not hear or see anymore fireballs raining down on us.

I also did not see Lydia.

I ran towards where I saw her last battling with the witch. There were trees and rocks and logs everywhere and it was hard to see anything on the ground. I jumped over a log and nearly landed on top of Lydia. She was crawling on her hands and knees, spitting blood, only partially done healing. Her steel armor was singed black along the edges and it looked like the rim of her helmet had started to melt. I used my healing magic on her and she managed to stand, staggering backwards a bit before catching herself.

"I hope you get all these followers you're talking about soon," she said.

"Looking out for you by myself is really taking its toll."

"Merely a matter of time, I'm sure," I said. "Are you all right?"

"Fine. I never saw that fire coming. It seems it'll take you more than a pretty smile to get that knife from the hagraven."

"I don't know. Maybe you'll be her type after all."

"That's disgusting, Ralos, and beneath you... well, it's disgusting any way. At least we know she knows we're here."

"Even so we can still attack from two sides. One of us is bound to land a lucky shot. Ready?"

"Let's do this," she said, "But let's try a little stealth this time."

We took four steps before a third witch appeared, hitting us with more shafts of ice. We took her down quickly with our bows but the whole time we had our eyes looking up at the rock for another fireball. Nothing came at us, but we knew she was still there waiting. A wooded area to the right gave us a chance to sneak closer so we took our time. We needed to get a better look at the top of Orphan Rock to see how to gain access to it. It looked isolated except for a single tree that had been laid across the span to act as a natural bridge. I noticed the side of the rock had a lot of crags and handholds I thought I could make use of.

"You wait near that bridge," I told Lydia, "I'm going to the base of the rock and see if I can climb up to the top. When I'm ready, I'll signal you and we'll rush her. Got it?"

"Lead on, Thane."

I did my best to creep down to the rock. At the base I noticed something strange in the grass. Under the bridge was a dead elf but next to her was some sort of white, glowing symbol. It looked painted on the ground but as I got closer I could feel a coldness coming from it. Some mage work, no doubt, probably meant to trap me in ice or something. I would not fall for it that easy, Haggy. I avoided it and started climbing.

Halfway up I thought I could hear the hagraven breathing, her breaths coming in long rasps. Distracted, my foot slipped on the rock. I fell back down but not all the way. The ice trap, I noticed, was directly below me. I would have to be doubly cautious. Lydia must have been watching me and called out. As soon as she did, the hagraven launched fire towards her. Lydia responded by charging across the tree with her battleaxe swinging. So much for being cautious.

I redoubled my efforts and sprang over the rock's edge. The hagraven launched another fireball at Lydia that brought her to her knees. I ran at the ugly witch and knocked her back with a vicious swing of my sword. I hit her again and I saw a glow coming from her hand like my healing magic. We must have done a lot of damage already. With her other hand, the hagraven lashed out and dragged her claws across my face. I raised my sword to block her next attempt then I heard a satisfying crunch as I jabbed my sword's pummel into her already crooked nose.

The witch must have been low on magic because she unleashed no more fireballs and kept swiping at me with her claws. Lydia returned to the fight, hitting the witch with her axe until with one more strike, she caught the witch under the chin and she fell to the ground. The hagraven tried to crawl away but I delivered one last shot that knocked her all the way back into her filthy tent.
After taking a moment to rest and heal, I reached into the tent and pulled her back out by one bony ankle. I wiped my hand on my armor when I realized her foot was really that of a large, filthy bird. I thanked the Nines the dagger I needed was looped to her belt and not hidden on her person. I don't think Lydia would have enjoyed searching the hagraven for it.

I put the knife in my belt. Inside the tent was a chest. I was hesitant to look inside but I saw no blood or other witch ickyness on the outside so I chanced a look. Besides some coins and a potion recipe, I found a steel mace that glowed with what I could only describe as a holy aura. Just looking at it made me want to hunt down some undead creatures. I added it to my belt as well. It would at least look good on my wall at Breezehome. There was also an object sealed within a black satin sack. It was round, like a head, I thought morbidly. I undid the knot and opened the top revealing a white, many-sided sphere. As soon as I touched it a woman's voice boomed from the sky.

"A new hand touches the beacon," she said, "Journey forth to Mt. Kilkreath and ascend the steps to my temple. I will make you the instrument of my cleansing light."

I put the sphere back into the bag.

"What do you think she meant by that?" I asked Lydia.

"Who?"

"That voice. Didn't you hear it?"

"All I heard was my stomach rumbling. Lets grab what we can and get back to Whiterun. I heard the Bannered Mare was having a horker roast today." Lydia went back across the bridge.

Was I going insane? "Wait, Lydia, I want you to touch something."

"I'll bet you do. Don't you ever quit. Maybe Lynly will give it a squeeze for you. I'll be waiting by these other tents."

Lynly? Oh, yeah. That was a whole day ago and she was bringing her up?
Women. I put the bagged sphere in my pack. I did not see much else to take. A glowing spriggan cooking atop a brazier offered up some taproot that I could probably sell, but that was it. I left with the Nettlebane and caught up to Lydia.

The trip back to Whiterun was uneventful. So uneventful in fact that we arrived well before dinnertime so I convinced Lydia to eat some apples and cheese we had so we could check out the bandit cave near the city to see if anyone had taken up residence and needed evicting. She must have been just as bored because she agreed to it without protest. Now that was a housecarl. We took a shortcut through the woods and I noticed a huge bonfire burning nearby.

"Probably just giants camping out," I said.

"You know, I hear giants like to collect shiny, valuable things, even if they have no practical use for them."

I looked at her and she had a mischievous grin on her face. "You're not suggesting we raid a giant's camp, are you? I am Thane of Whiterun. I have an honored place in this Hold and it is my sworn duty to look out for all its people, giant or otherwise. I am the moral compass that shows people the way."

"Done?"

"Yeah, I just had to say that. Let's go get some giant loot."

I thought sneaking up on a giant would be difficult since they were high up and had a good vantage point but apparently they did not expect anyone to come near them so they did not pay much attention. It helped that there was only one that I saw and I kept the bonfire between him and myself. The only chest I saw was near the bonfire but it was locked. I told Lydia to keep watch while I made use of my lockpicks. I still had at least fifty or so in my pocket. The lock was tough but snapped open like the rest. The smell was horrible, but then I realized it was the vat of mammoth cheese next to me. The wind must have shifted to blow it towards me.

Lydia crouched next to me, "Anything worth stealing, honored Thane?"

"I'll remind you this was your idea," I said, "Lets see. Some armor, some coins, I'll take those, and a necklace. Nice, do you want it?"

"Nah, it's not as nice as the gold one you gave me before. You keep it. It looks better than that Amulet of Talos you found."

I shrugged. She had a point. We left the camp undetected and while walking I switched the neck hangers. Once the necklace was on, I felt my armor tighten, as if conforming to my body better. I tried a few swings of my sword and the tighter fit did not hinder my movements at all. This necklace was a nice little find.

We swung by the routed bandit cave to check it out. The bodies were gone, no doubt wolf chow by now, but the horse was still there. I tried to move him but he put up a fight, nipping my arm. We left him there. He was untethered and free to leave so he was not my concern. Lydia wanted nothing to do with him. Perhaps the Dragonreach cook might be interested in his whereabouts, however.

A thunderstorm rolled in before we reached Whiterun and apart from getting soaked, I wondered at the wisdom of wearing so much metal as lightning flashed across the sky. I stopped at Warmaidens to sell off some stuff but the door was locked. I went up the hill to the Drunken Huntsman since he was always open. We sold the little bit we had and quickly headed towards the Temple of Kynareth to see Danica.

The priestess was checking on some of her followers when we walked in. She acted surprised to see us.

"I honestly did not expect to see you again, and I see you have the Nettlebane," she said, "You must be more desperate than I thought."

"Desperation has nothing to do with it," I assured her, "I said I would do it and I did. You could have warned us about the hagraven's power, though. We nearly became toasted flesh treats for the woodland creatures."

"I do apologize for that. I have not encountered the hagraven personally. They are too vile a creature. I would offer a healing blessing, but I am worn from today's ministrations. Perhaps later I may be up for..."

"We should probably rest before leaving in the morning," Lydia interrupted, "I'm sure you want the Gildergreen restored as soon as possible, Danica."

"Yes, you right," Danica said, sighing, "You both should eat and rest, conserve your strength for the trip to Eldergleam Sanctuary. I don't know what I was thinking."

"I know what I was thinking," I mumbled, then louder I said, "You should probably take it easy, Priestess, for the next day at least. When I return, you may have your hands full. From the tree, I mean."

Danica smiled, "From the tree, yes. The task will be long and hard."

The priestess and I both smiled and nodded. Lydia rolled her eyes and turned to leave. A voice called to us from the back of the temple.

"Did I overhear you correctly?" a man said as he approached, "Are you going to the Eldergleam Sanctuary?"

"I don't think..." I started to say.

"Why yes, we are," Lydia finished.

"I have always wanted to go. My name is Maurice Jondrelle. I know the way there. It would be my honor to show you the way and it would fulfill a dream of mine."

"I don't see how another set of eyes can be bad," Lydia said, smiling from ear to ear.

"Another set of eyes?" I said, "Remember the spider in Ustengrav? It had four sets, and it was nasty."

"I will be no trouble," Maurice insisted, "Let me buy you dinner and drinks. It is the least I can do."

"You're on," Lydia said, "Can you be ready in the morning?"

"My dear, I am always ready."

They left arm in arm, chuckling softly.

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes.