Chapter 39

Bo Gro Graul stared at a man dressed from head to toe in Elven armor, his mouth nearly hanging open. The Breton man had a smug look on his face, as though he knew that he had completed what the group was going to set out to do. Jane looked up at Bo, and subtly nudged him out of his stupor.

"W-who…" Bo took replied, regaining his composure. He took a deep breath, "are you?"

The Breton stepped forward, offering his gauntlet-covered hand.

"My name is Andistair, and you must be the Dragonborn."

Bo shook the young man's hand, his eyebrow raised.

"How did you know? Call me Bo."

"It's not that hard to guess," Andistair replied with a broad smile, "Your name is getting around the country and a party like yours is bound to be important." He gestured to the rest of the group, bowing his head in acknowledgement.

"So you cleared the barrow?" Naz grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. Andistair turned around and closed the double doors leading to the barrow before he replied.

"Yes, I overheard Wilhelm complaining about it the other night, and so I took it into my own hands and dealt with it."

"Are you a mage?" Jane inquired curiously, for she could not see any visible weapon on his armored body. The Breton smiled at her, they were nearly the same height, and he nodded.

"Aye, yes ma'am. I am a battle mage to be exact."

Jane's eyes lit up, and she exchanged a wordless look with Lynne. They had been talking about battlemages only a few nights ago. Andistair was appearing to be a very pleasant man. It seemed too good to be a coincidence.

"Well," Bo replied, looking at his friends. "I guess we're not needed here, we will reach High Hrothgar sooner than expected."

Naz and Lynne started moving away from the Barrow, and Andistair looked like he wanted to say something.

"Take care," Jane called out softly, slightly crestfallen, and she smiled at the Breton.

"Wait a moment, if you would." Andistair replied, and Bo turned to him.

"You're going to High Hrothgar?"

"Yes." Bo looked at Andistair, wary of the stranger.

"I am heading there also, if you would allow me to travel with you."

"Why are you going there?"

"A man asked me to take some supplies up to the Greybeards and I agreed to do it."

Bo glanced over at Naz, who shrugged. Lynne looked indifferent and Jane was smiling.

"If it is alright with my team, then it is fine by me."

Jane was silently elated, perhaps they could recruit this man if he proved to be of good character. He could be really beneficial to us, she thought gleefully.

Andistair's armor glittered in the morning sunlight, and it was quite distracting. The Breton apologized several times, explaining that his regular armor was less glamorous but was being repaired.

"What do you usually wear?" Jane asked him breathlessly, as they climbed the steep mountainside up to High Hrothgar.

"It's actually Daedric that I wear, and it doesn't blind anyone when I walk in the sunlight."

Andistair was proving to be an easy going man, and his humorous responses reminded Jane of Ahmon. Jane's heart ached when she thought about her Nord friend, she missed him dearly and wondered how he was faring with the Stormcloaks.

The group climbed for quite some time without rest, and Jane remembered to stick close to Bo and kept her eyes glued on her feet while she walked so she could avoid another fall like the last time. To her right, Andistair was walking a few paces beside her, and when she glanced over at him she could see he was struggling with the climb in his armor. Beads of sweat had formed along his temples, and Jane had to admit he was a handsome man. From her experiences playing the video game back on Earth Jane couldn't say she really liked Breton, she found them to be very unattractive compared to the other races. Andistair's hair was a rusty brown, and fell just to his shoulders. His face was smooth and free of any facial hair, he looked to be no older than nineteen or twenty. He caught Jane's glance and flashed a toothy smile at her, his teeth were straight and strikingly white against his tan skin.

"Can we rest for a moment?"

Lynne's straggled breath called out from behind her, and Jane turned around to find the woman leaning with one hand against her knee and the other clutching her stomach.
Before Jane could ask if she was okay, Lynne suddenly bolted towards the trees and knelt down into the snow. The sounds of her emptying her stomach rang in all their ears, and Naz visibly flinched. Jane jogged over to her and knelt down beside Lynne. She brushed her hair back and gently rubbed Lynne's back.

After a few moments Lynne sat back and wiped her mouth, looking a little worse for wear. Jane offered her water, but the Nord shook her head.

"No, Let's just keep moving, the sooner we get to High Hrothgar the better."

Concerned for her friend, Jane nodded, and when everyone began to walk again Jane made sure she kept one eye on her feet and the other on Lynne. She was impossible pale, and she struggled with the climb, but not one complaint left her lips. Naz walked at a slower pace with her, his face contorted with concern, and his arm was placed securely around her waist to help her walk.

"Is Lynne gonna be okay?" Bo whispered to Jane some time later, and the girl looked up at him.

"I hope so," Jane replied quietly, slipping a gloved hand into Bo's. Andistair was further ahead, keeping a look out for any threats that may cross their path. He dispatched a few ice wolves with impressively strong firebolts, and did not need any help from the group.

Lynne was sick once more before they reached the area that once held a Frost Troll. Jane had been nervous about reaching this point on the mountain, where a path had been cut directly into the rock. Their feet crunched noisily over the snow and Bo became quiet as the shadow on the cliffs rose on either side of them. Bo expected to hear a roar echo out at them, to see the creature blundering towards them, but there was only silence. Bo's breathing nearly stopped, and his heart raced. Despite the reassuring grasp of Jane's hand, he still felt the anxiety take a hold of him, and it did not let go of him until he saw the outline of High Hrothgar's building come into view. Clouds swirled around them, blurring their view, but Lynne was the most relieved. She felt sick to her stomach, and wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep her stomach ache away. She couldn't imagine what was wrong with her, and Naz's worrying made her wish it would go away even faster.

Andistair glanced back at the group and then continued forward until he reached the large chest located at the bottom of the stairs. While everyone clambered up the slippery steps the Breton placed the cargo into the chest and shut it, before following everyone inside the warm hall of High Hrothgar. There was a shout, and Andistair rushed forward into the room, finding an unconscious Lynne laying limply in Naz's arms.

"She's fainted!"

A/N: Hello there! Thank you for reading this story. I appreciate every review, and I take them all to heart. I am so grateful for all of the people who have followed this story every step of the way, through all it's hiatus's, and still supports me. I am back, and I'm here for good! This chapter is a bit of a filler, but we'll get to the good stuff soon enough.