Author's Note: I must apologize, but due to Real Life commitments, mostly medical involving my sisters, updates will be slowing to once a week, on Fridays. I could possibly still do two a week, but that would mean forcing things, and the quality would suffer, probably badly. Please forgive me.

Chapter 6 - Starting the Tour

Early the next morning, Yssha and her companions landed in the Arena, Odahviing and Odkiinbrii followed by Lokbiidaan. All were in their best armor, and as they walked toward the Temple of the One, were joined by citizens of all ranks. When they got to the Temple, they were met by the Emperor himself. "I had a dream, Stormcrown ... is this what it seems?"

Yssha nodded. "It seems the Daedric Princes are exploiting some weaknesses in the barriers between Oblivion and Mundus to insert themselves, or parts of themselves, onto Nirn. I do not know how or why relighting the Dragonfires will stop that, and it will not stop their influence or non-physical actions, nor will it keep them from sending lesser creatures through, but I am assured it will stop any physical manifestation of the Princes themselves, or masses of the lesser beings." She smiled. "On a lesser note, it will symbolize the return of the dragons to their originally intended purpose, and the promise that we will remain that way."

The Emperor returned her smile. "Both are very good things, but I was taught that the Amulet of Kings was necessary to rekindle the Dragonfires."

"So was I," Yssha said. "But that is apparently not the case when a dragon is doing so with a special Shout Akatosh created, and the strongest individual Thu'um short of his."

"Then if you'll light them, Stormcrown?"

Yssha nodded, then faced the central rimmed stone basin that had held the original Dragonfires. The columned canopy above it had been so badly damaged in the final battle that it had had to be removed, as had the remains of the Temple's roof, but the Temple interior was kept warded against the weather, and priests kept it pristine.

"Dov Yol Ag!" she Shouted.

This flame wasn't the tremendous gout of the combat Fire Breath. It was as hot, but far more controlled and brighter, more like a fireball than what Nevan called an 'oversized flamethrower burst', that settled delicately into the basin and burned steadily, without fuel.

The priests began conducting a service of thanksgiving. She and her people waited until it was over, then most of them left for Lakeview Manor, while Odkiinbrii and his riders continued on to Helgen.

Since they were traveling incognito, Andreius was wearing leather armor rather than the Lord's Mail, Sorcalin was in his Master robes, and Imiril and Arenim were in scaled armor. They'd debated whether to travel by carriage or buy horses, deciding on the latter because it allowed for more flexibility, so when they found the Helgen Stables, they asked the young Redguard owner what he had.

"Only two, here, I'm afraid," Shadr told him. "The black is a five-year-old stallion, the dapple grey a fifteen-year-old gelding." He grinned at Sorcalin. "You're a Master Mage, so you can check; they're both healthy. But I'm afraid the gelding is ... um ... not very spirited. He moves as well as any, but he's no fighter. On the good side, he doesn't shy at everything in sight, either. I swear if a dragon landed a length away, he'd just stare at it."

Sorcalin chuckled. "That sounds like about my speed." He checked the horses, and nodded to Andreius. "He's right, both are nice and healthy. I get the gelding. Arenim can have my mare."

"That sounds reasonable," Andreius said, chuckling. If the gelding would tolerate a dragon, it shouldn't have much of a problem with a werewolf, where the mare was still nervous about him, and would be happier with the Odmer. Andreius turned to the stable-owner. "We'll take both of them, and if you have a carriage, we'll rent it to the nearest town with another stable."

Shadr smiled. "You two adventured with Dovahkiin for a while, didn't you?" When they nodded, he smiled. "I thought so. I do, and the next-nearest stable is Whiterun. For you, the price is ten septims."

Andreius quirked an eyebrow. "Half price?"

Shadr nodded. "I have to cover the cost of my driver's wages and feed for the horse, or it'd be free. I owe Dovahkiin for my freedom, my stable, and maybe my life. Before she was even known as that, she took care of a debt I owed a Thieves Guild member for something that very thief had stolen."

Imiril looked at him in surprise. "She did? And she didn't even know you?"

"No ... she heard me begging with the thief to give me time, and offered to help. Then later, she found me, and told me the debt had been cleared. I don't know what she did, and honestly, I think I may not want to know ... but any help I can give her or her friends, I will."

"We appreciate it," Andreius assured him. "All right, it's a bargain. Two lead-lines and saddles with the horses? And no price break on those; I don't know any stable that could afford that kind of loss."

"As you say." Shadr smiled. "Two thousand for the horses and saddles. No charge for the lead lines, if you only want them till Whiterun."

"Fair enough." Andreius handed over the money, and they were on their way within ten minutes.

They dropped the horses off at the Whiterun stable, sending Shadr's driver and carriage back to Helgen, then paid the stabling fees for the horses they'd left here on the way to Skyhold, a palomino stallion Andreius had become quite fond of, and the white mare, who nuzzled Arenim at first sight, and walked up to the city. They stopped briefly for Andreius to chat with Adrianne, then a stop at the Bannered Mare to arrange a couple of rooms for the night.

Imiril was fascinated by the inn, since he had no experience with public accommodations; the few times he'd left Alinor City overnight, he'd stayed with a noble family. "Andreius, can we maybe stay for a bit? Some of that lovely Nord mead, and ... um, whatever they have for lunch?"

Andreius chuckled. "Why not?" The idea was for Imiril to learn about the Empire, after all. He turned to the proprietor. "What's for lunch, Hulda?"

"Venison stew for the hot, with bread. The usual cheeses, and I've some cold roast pheasant or beef, again with bread, if you prefer that. Mead for all of you, or just the young man?"

"Venison stew for me, please," Imiril said. Beef and pheasant were nice, but he'd never had venison stew - venison, of course, but not stew, at least that he could recall - so that would be new.

The others gave their orders, then Andreius led them to one of the larger tables. "How are you liking it so far, Imiril?" he asked.

"It's ... everything's really strange, but I think I'm enjoying myself."

Arenim smiled. "I'm glad. Is this the first time you've been out of your province?"

Imiril nodded. "I was barely allowed out of the Palace! And you?"

"The first thing I can remember is waking in Sightless Pit. Something or someone guided me out, and I was picked up by Odkiinbrii." She shrugged. "You'll find few Odmer with personal memories that go beyond our individual Restorations. We know the culture we had before the Betrayal, intellectually, but we have no feeling for any, yet. So both of us are basically in unknown territory."

Their meals were delivered then, and they ate silently for a bit, until Sorcalin said, "I hadn't realized both of you were so totally isolated. If Andreius or I can help in any way, please say so."

Both smiled at him, and Imiril nodded. "We will, and we thank you." He gestured at his almost-empty bowl of stew. "Are there other dishes like this? It's not the fancy food I'm used to, but it's as least as good, and the mead ... well, it's better than flower-wine. More ... I don't know. They seem to be about equal alcohol-wise, but the mead is ... sturdier?"

Another customer who'd overheard him laughed. "So you like Nord food and drink, do you, young elf? Ever had Eidar cheese, or apple-cabbage stew? Or our ale?"

Imiril turned to face him. "No, I'm afraid not. But I will be happy to try them, when I'm not full of this wonderful venison stew and mead."

"Idolaf Battle-born, at your service," the Nord said. "And you are?"

"Imiril of Alinor. Here on a tour of Skyrim, now that's safe."

Idolaf laughed. "Only a bit safer than during the war, young mer," he said. "I hope you and your friends are capable of defending yourselves. If not, you might want to hire a few mercenary bodyguards."

"I think we'll be all right," Andreius said with a laugh. "My friend Sorcalin and I have fought some respectable foes, so we aren't worried about bandits."

Idolaf chuckled. "Good to hear it. Have a nice tour, then."

"Thanks," Imiril replied as Idolaf left. Then he turned to Andreius. "Where next?"

"Dragonsreach, for a quick courtesy call on High King Balgruuf. Next will be Helgen, capital of Skyhold. We stopped there briefly for the first two horses, but since we had to pay this courtesy call, you didn't get to look around."

"All right. Where's Dragonsreach?"

"Up two more flights of steps." Andreius chuckled. "Skyrim has a lot of steps, so get used to them."

"I'm noticing that," Imiril said. He and Arenim both looked around the marketplace. "Up there?" He gestured toward the Gildergreen. "I've never seen a tree like that."

"Yes - that's the Gildergreen, a tree sacred to Kynareth. The original was hit by lightning, and the Daragonborn prayed to its parent the Eldergleam for a replacement. Her prayer was granted, then Kynareth brought the sapling to full maturity this spring."

As they climbed the steps, Imiril asked, "Is she involved with everything in Skyrim?"

"Not quite, but a lot," Sorcalin replied. "That does tend to happen with legendary heroes - her greats-grandmother the Hero of Kvatch - "

"And a lot of other titles; that was only the first," Andreius added.

"True." Sorcalin gave his partner a brief glare for interrupting. "But as I was saying, she and the Nerevarine were deeply involved in their lands as well. It seems to go with the territory."

"Oh!" Arenim looked toward the statue of Talos, where Heimskr was preaching as usual. "Excuse me a moment, please." Ignoring Heimskr for the moment, she approached the Dovahkiin shrine, bowed, then prayed, and was briefly washed in a golden glow.

Heimskr approached, and smiled. "Greetings, my daughter. You honor Ysmir?"

"She Who Restores, the Favored of Auri-El? Of course. All Odmer do." Arenim returned his smile. "You are Her priest?"

Heimskr sighed. "No, I am Talos'. Ysmir allows worship only reluctantly, and has only one temple and one priestess that I'm aware of, on Solstheim."

Arenim chuckled. "Then if I see her, I shouldn't tell her she's ranked just below Auri-El in the Odmer pantheon?"

Heimskr laughed aloud. "Please, don't! But personally, I'm glad to hear it. And I like the first title you give her, since restoring things does seem to be her favorite occupation."

Arenim smiled again, then excused herself and returned to the other three. "Thank you. I'm not the most devout mer, but I do like to pay my respects when I see one of Her shrines. And I would like to visit Her temple, if Solstheim is on our itinerary."

"It is," Andreius assured her. "Technically, it's part of Morrowind, since it was ceded to the Dunmer in 4E 16. But it used to be part of the mainland, and its climate is more like Skyrim's than Morrowind's."

"Good. I look forward to visiting Her temple."

"Well, for now, we have to visit Jarl Balgruuf. You've met him, Imiril, and he knows we're incognito, so it's basically just to let him know we're here."

"So let's climb more steps," the young King said with a grin. "Dragonsreach is impressive, especially this close, and I like the ponds. There's a spring under the castle?"

Andreius shrugged. "I'm no expert, but I think there must be. Come on."

They were admitted with no problems, since Irileth knew Andreius and Sorcalin. The main hall was almost empty, so she escorted them to Balgruuf, and they exchanged the usual courtesies.

Then Balgruuf grinned at Imiril. "I don't usually hold audience with simple visitors, but you're from Alinor, and I'm curious - what do you think of my home so far?"

"The scenery is spectacular, Highness." Imiril shook his head. "And what little food I've had here so far is ... um ... more substantial than I'm used to, but very tasty indeed. And the weather isn't as bad as I was led to believe it would be."

Balgruuf laughed. "Tell me more about that after you've been up north, especially if you stay through the winter. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself so far, though."

"I am that, Your Highness, but I'm also a bit puzzled."

"Oh? About what?" Balgruuf asked curiously.

"Well, I was taught that Nords were suspicious of magic, and used almost none - but this hall is full of it!" Imiril gestured. "Those lights, for instance, and the fire and frost runes on your walls ... but the runes are different from any I've seen before."

Balgruuf chuckled. "That's our researches into what the Dwemer left in Sightless Pit and Blackreach paying off. Nords may not be particularly fond of most magic, true, but when it comes to better ways of lighting, heating, and cooling our homes, you'll find us very pragmatic."

"I understand that!" Imiril said, smiling. "What of the toilets, though? I don't get any feeling of magic from those."

Balgruuf shook his head. "No, those are purely mechanical; the only magic they need is for city sewage treatment. In the countryside, that goes to something called a septic tank with leach field, for non-magical treatment."

"I can see I have a tremendous amount to learn here," Imiril said ruefully. "But I'll definitely be reporting on these conveniences!"

"Please do. Perhaps some trade arrangements can be made, after you return. Now, young man, if you'll excuse me, I have a province to run."

"Of course, Highness." Imiril and the other three bowed. "Thank you for seeing us."