The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller

The midday sun shone warm enough for Lydia and I to shed our cloaks and walk with them slung over our shoulders. As we rounded a bend in the lane and Pinewatch came into view a happy squeal rang out and a small figure dropped out of a nearby tree and came hurtling towards us.

"You're back! I thought you'd be gone ages!" the little girl cried breathlessly as she hugged me around the middle.

"Lucia?!" I spluttered. "Mate, what are you doing here?"

But Lucia, her face flushed pink with excitement, ran back towards the house shouting,

"Bjorn! Bjorn! Lyra's back already!"

Lydia and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows and followed at a more sensible pace. Bjorn appeared around the side of the cottage and his lined face broke into a wide smile.

"That would explain all the hubbub, welcome back you two."

"Thanks, the place looks good," I said, looking up at the cottage and it's freshly thatched roof in approval. "Siddgeir didn't give you any grief over it, did he?"

"He was a bit reluctant to give up such a nice spot but my Freya can be quite stern when she wants."

Freya herself glanced around the door at that moment to see what the commotion was and also came over to hug us in greeting.

"I hoped you would drop by the next time you came this way," she exclaimed. "How was your pilgrimage?"

But Lucia, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement, cried,

"We're going to the lake for a picnic, please come with us! Please!"

"Lucia, don't shout across people like that," Freya chided gently, but added, "But that isn't a bad idea, the weather is so fine and we're taking some food down with us. Won't you join us?"

Lydia and I had no objections to a nice meal and good company so before long we were walking along the path that ran behind the cottage towards the lake. Lucia bounded along beside me.

"Right then young miss, are you going to tell me what you're doing here?" I asked and she grinned, showing crooked teeth.

"I work for Bjorn and Freya now. Bjorn was in Whiterun, buying seeds for the vegetable garden, and he needed someone to show him around so I did. Then we got chatting and he mentioned he and Freya needed some help around the cottage and in the garden. They're going to get chickens and some goats, it'll be great!"

I agreed with her that it did sound wonderful whilst glancing over my shoulder at Bjorn who merely shrugged and smiled. We passed a house larger than Pinewatch with a sharply peaked roof and a sprawling, wild garden.

"A handsome spot," Lydia remarked.

"Lakeview Manor? It's an old hunting lodge," Bjorn explained. "Jarl Siddgeir's father was fond of the place but it's rather fallen into ruin, sadly. Siddgeir has a larger, grander lodge further around the lake."

The roof of the Manor was still visible over the tops of the pines when we came upon the picnic spot. The overhang looked out of the lake towards the cliffs that separated Falkreath and Whiterun holds. We settled down to eat cold chicken, fresh bread and salad, washed down with a light ale. I told Freya about High Hrothgar, Lucia jabbered about all the best climbing spots around the farm and Lydia and Bjorn fell into conversation about the Great War, discovering that Lydia's father had fought in Bjorn's unit and evolving into talk of how such and such was doing these days.

"So," Lucia asked through a mouthful of chicken. "What are you going to do now?"

"I've been sent to retrieve the horn of Jurgen Windcaller from a tomb near Morthal."

"Whossa?" Some crumbs sprayed from Lucia's lips and she out hand over her mouth. "'orry,"

Freya tutted and handed her a napkin.

"Master Arngeir told me a bit about him," I said, stretching back to rest on my hands and enjoy the view over the lake. "He was a Nord chief during the first era. He fought in a great battle at the Red Mountain in Morrowind and suffered a terrible defeat. After seeing so much death he concluded the gods were displeased by the way the Nords had been using the Thu'um, so he took a vow of peace, developed the Way of Voice philosophy and founded the Greybeards."

"Sounds like he really didn't like loosing," Lucia giggled and I hummed thoughtfully.

"I don't know, I quite like it. All the heroes in the songs are remembered for the battles they won and the people they killed, I can't think of any apart from Windcaller who are remembered for choosing peace instead."

At that moment we heard a hunting horn sound and we all leant forward to watch a band of a dozen horses trotting towards us. One young boy held the banner of Falkreath high so that it fluttered in the breeze. Jarl Siddgeir himself rode at the head of the group on a beautiful pure white mare. He spotted us on the side of the road and rode up.

"So, you're back," he said with a smile he probably thought was charming. Freya and Bjorn rose to their feet coaxing Lucia with them, and bowed. Lydia, well-trained, also bowed respectfully. I merely inclined my head in a rough approximation.

"Well met, my Jarl," I said politely. "Any more bandit attacks since we passed through?"

"None at all, thank the gods. But with a land at war there are other dangers to watch out for, Stormcloak sympathisers for example. I have some work in mind that would suit someone like you."

I gritted my teeth to stop myself from grimacing. His spotty, sneering visage reminded me strongly of Mikael, the resident creep of Whiterun, only less talented.

"I'm honoured you thought of me, my Jarl, but sadly we are only resting here briefly. We have been sent on a quest by the Greybeards which will take us west."

Siddgeir raised an eyebrow.

"You have lofty friends for a mercenary. Ah well, if you change your mind you know where –"

His words were suddenly cut short by a bone-rattling roar. My head snapped up to the sky as dread flooded the pit of my stomach. Not again.

"Dragon!" one of Siddgeir's thanes screamed as a winged shadow passed over us.

"Everyone get back!" Lydia cried, drawing her bow and nocking an arrow in one swift movement. A couple of the thanes also drew weapons whilst the others ran to protect their Jarl. His horse reared up, the whites of her eyes showing in fear and Siddgeir landed on his backside in the dirt.

"Get me out of here!" he screamed, scrambling to his feet and practically shoving Lucia aside as he ran for the trees. As arrows whistled into the air at the wheeling dragon I grabbed Lucia and thrust her towards Freya and Bjorn.

"Go! Run! We'll take care of this!" I shouted over the dragon's roar and shouts of the thanes. Freya had gone white as a sheet but took Lucia's hand and ran with her after their Jarl.

"Watch out for its breath!" I heard Lydia shout and when I turned back the dragon was swooping back towards us, mouth open wide ready to fire. I moved on instinct, I ran to the front of the group and took a deep breath.

"FUS RO!"

The dragon shuddered from the impact of the Thu'um and did not breath fire. Instead it drew up short and hovered in mid-air above us. Every downstroke of its wings whipped our hair back from our faces.

"Dovahkiin," the dragon sneered in a voice like rolling thunder. "I had heard you were lurking about, too cowardly to face my lord Alduin."

I wasn't in the mood to chat so I drew back my hand to form a frost spell and sent it flying at my foe. Unfortunately, it was too high and the spell barely tickled its hide. The dragon laughed and dove at our small party. Everyone threw themselves out of its path, all except one unlucky thane who was too slow and was crushed beneath the dragon's talons. His fellows gave war cries and attacked but the dragon had already launched itself into the air.

"Shit," I grunted, gazing around for higher ground. Lydia peppered the dragon's flank with arrows whilst I ran up a small incline over the lake. With a better position this time, I shot sparks into the air and managed to hit a wing. The dragon let loose a ray of frost that turned the surface of the lake to ice in moments and forced me to roll back down the hill.

"Do you think frost dragons and weaker than fire ones?" I asked Lydia as we took cover behind a boulder.

"I think it doesn't matter either way, we can't do much with it flying around!" she replied, shooting again and hissing in frustration when the arrow went wide.

"Right, time to do something about that," I grimaced. "Sorry master Arngeir, no Way of the Voice today."

I waited for the dragon to do another about turn then sprang into action.

"FUS RO!"

The dragon snarled and landed with a crash that shook the trees. It looked like it was the dozens of arrows embedded in its hide that made it come down rather than my Shout, but we pressed our advantage. The thanes charged with swords and axes held aloft and the dragon snapped at them with dagger-like teeth.

"Your Thu'um is strong, Dovahkiin, but untrained, already you are exhausting yourself," it jeered as I staggered. Damn it, it was right, my head was spinning and my breathing painful. I had to use my magical shields to fend off another blast of ice but the dragon followed it up by extending its scaly neck and trying to bite me in half.

"WULD!" I cried, flying out of its path and reappeared almost on top of its head.

"Oops," I muttered then I had all the breath knocked out of me as the dragon reared its head and lifted me clean off the ground. I grabbed its horns and clung on for dear life.

"Insect!" it snarled, shaking its head to try and fling me off.

I tightened my grip with one hand and groped for my dagger with the other.

"A little help!" I shouted.

Lydia charged and just as I managed to gouge the knife into the dragon's eye, she drove her sword through its exposed throat. The dragon slumped and I rolled off, my heart thudding.

"Thanks," I sighed as Lydia helped me to my feet. "I thought I was – uh oh."

The dragon had begun to smoulder and we all backed away hastily.

"What's it doing now?" Legate Skulnar demanded, and Lydia waved him back.

"Don't stand too close if you like your eyebrows the way they are!" she snapped.

The warm wind rose and hit me with enough force to make me stagger back. The now familiar rush of power swept through me, but this time I didn't hear a new Shout ring in my head. When the feeling faded I frowned. Odd, maybe it was because I hadn't learned a new word yet. I would have to seek out new word walls as Arngeir had suggested. I rubbed my face and sighed, then became aware that everyone was staring at me, mouths agape.

"Uh, right, nobody freak out, that was totally normal," I said with a sheepish grin.

"You – you are Dragonborn!" one of the Thanes spluttered.

"Yeah..." I said, lamely. I felt my face redden as everyone continued to stare. Lucia, Freya and Bjorn were also peeping up over a ridge by the treeline and then Siddgeir appeared.

"Dragonborn – you – here? In my hold?" he said, his eyes gleaming in a way that made me nervous. Before I could say anything he hurried towards me, grabbed my hand and hoisted it aloft, pulling all the muscles in my side as he did so.

"Hail the victorious Dragonborn!" he cried as I dangled on the tips of my toes. Before I could wrench myself free, he had dropped my wrist but then clapped both hands painfully on my shoulders. "We are honoured to have you here with us, shield-maiden. I hereby bestow the title of Thane upon you!" My feeling of embarrassment increased.

"Oh – uh – my Jarl I –" I spluttered as Lydia's eyebrows shot into her hairline. "I'm flattered but –"

"Say no more, you will be a welcome addition to my court, come! Let us ride back to Falkreath to celebrate with a cask of Blackbriar mead!"

My weak protests went ignored as Siddgeir tried to sweep me to town. He had the audacity to offer I ride behind him on his mare seeing as I had no horse but I put my foot down and insisted and seeing to the wounded men.

"Of course, you have a compassionate soul, worthy of Kynareth herself!" Siddgeir blustered and I smiled with gritted teeth whilst Lucia pretended to vomit behind the Jarl's back.

I knelt beside Lydia and raised a hand to heal a gash in her arm.

"Don't you dare leave me alone with him at this stupid party," I muttered.

The next morning, I woke to the sounds of loud talking and hammering tools. I raised my head from the pillow and peered blearily over the edge of the blanket.

"By the nine, what is that?" Lydia groaned from her bedroll.

We'd opted to sleep at Freya and Bjorn's last night rather than stay at Dead Man's Drink, seeing it as a perfect excuse to escape Siddgeir's simpering celebration early. Bjorn's head poked out over the banister up in the loft.

"It seems we have visitors," he yawned. "You might want to take a look outside."

Grumbling, Lydia and I pulled on our boots and grabbed our weapons from where they rested by the door. There was quite a lot of activity outside the cottage when we opened the front door. A dozen burly men from Falkreath carried planks of wood, buckets and tools down the lane that ran towards the lake. They hailed us cheerily.

"Quite the party last night," one of them grinned. "Jarl Siddgeir is up ahead."

"What is that boy up to now?" I groaned.

A short way down the path we came upon the old hunting lodge Bjorn had pointed out yesterday. Only now it had piles of building materials in the yard and men straddling the peaked roof repairing the missing or rotten beams.

"Dragonborn! What do you think? A worthy gift I hope?"

Siddgeir was lounging in a velvet chair under an awning, sipping on a goblet of wine whilst men worked all around him.

"Good morning, a gift?" I asked dubiously and Siddgeir swept his hand towards the lodge.

"Lakeview Manor, my late father's favourite spot right on the lake. We'll have the place looking good as new in no time. Well I can't have my new Thane sleeping on the floor of a peasant's cottage now, can I?"

"My Jarl!" I exclaimed. "A house? For me? This – this is too much; I can't accept such a grand gift."

"Nonsense, of course you can. It's the perfect location, close enough to Falkreath that you can be present in court in the blink of an eye."

Or the snap of your fingers, I thought bitterly. Still, it was a wonderful gesture, if only it wasn't made with ulterior motives. Siddgeir tried to get me to sit with him and have a drink but I put on a show of being eager to see the inside of the house and then get stuck in helping with the repairs. I plucked at Lydia's sleeve once we were a safe distance away.

"Best make yourself look busy so he doesn't trap you in conversation either."

"Good thinking, my Thane," Lydia agreed, rolling up her sleeves. Then she cocked her head. "Perhaps it would be best if we hurry on to Whiterun as soon as possible. Jarl Balgruuf would rather hear the news of your new appointment from you personally, I'm sure."

"I know," I groaned. "Can I even be sworn to two Jarls at the same time?"


A pale man cloaked all in dark blue knelt by a fire to warm his hands whilst his two companions stripped the bodies of two bandits stupid enough to try and rob them moments before. Beyond them lay a circular mound of stone and earth, the entrance of a sunken Nordic tomb.

"What do you recon?" I muttered from the corner of my mouth. Lydia's eyes narrowed as she peered over the rotting log at the three mages.

"Necromancers, for sure. There's likely more inside."

"What are they doing here? You don't think they're after the horn too, do you?" I asked and Lydia pursed her lips.

"Probably not, more likely they're raiding the tomb for materials and bodies to use."

"Ok, so how should we play this? I could try to use magic to distract them whilst you sneak around the side?" I suggested.

"That could work, though I urge you, my Thane, not to charge in like you did at the vampire lair."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Was she ever going to let that go?

It had been an interesting few weeks. After extracting ourselves from Siddgeir's clutches we had travelled north-west and stopped by Whiterun to check in with Balgruuf. As it turned out he had already heard about my appointment as Thane of Falkreath and he hadn't been pleased. I explained myself as best I could and we had spent some time complaining about his odious young counterpart.

After Whiterun we trekked across the flat, rolling planes of the hold, avoiding giant camps, clearing out bandit ones, and picking up news from other travellers on the road. By all accounts the civil war was still dragging on with many small skirmishes between patrols of Stormcloaks and Imperials but few large-scale battles. It seemed both sides were weary of launching an all-out assault, preferring to prod and poke at each other's supply chains.

"What do you think of this war of Ulfric's? Do you think he's in the right?" I'd asked Lydia one evening around the camp-fire after we'd met some Stormcloak scouts earlier in the day. Lydia stoked the fire and considered.

"I'm not sure, my Thane. On the one hand I cannot forsake Talos in my heart and so I agree with Ulfric's goal to re-establish free worship. On the other, it breaks my heart to see my country torn apart for one man's ambition."

I nodded in agreement and Lydia straightened her back.

"Whatever my feelings on the subject, I am loyal to Whiterun first and foremost. Where Jarl Balgruuf leads, I shall follow."

Though she was still a little formal, I felt Lydia and I had grown to trust and respect each other over our journey. She was an accomplished fighter and had my back in every scrape we got ourselves into. For my part, I continued to work at my magic and she appreciated my budding skill with healing. Perhaps our successes had rather gone to my head for when we arrived in the marshland of Morthal I bit off a little more than I could chew. It had started as a straightforward investigation, a burned house, a mother and daughter tragically dead, and a father suspiciously quick to move on to his next lover. But things had quickly spiralled out of control as a full-blown vampire conspiracy came to light.

The incident Lydia was referring to had taken place at the vampire's lair about a mile out of town in the marsh. I – believing myself more than capable of handling a few vampires – had rushed ahead of Lydia with my hands full of fire and my heart full of righteousness. Reality firmly slapped me back down when the vampires rallied and their leader, a formidable, centuries-old villain, caught me squarely in the chest with a spell that left me unconscious in minutes. Lydia had once again saved my sorry hide and got us out of there into the midday sun.

After recovering at the local temple we were able to launch another attack of the lair, this time with a better plan of action and back-up from the town guard, but it had been a humbling experience.

"I'll be careful," I assured my housecarl. "Shield at the ready, healing potions, the works. Now, let's take care of these blokes."

It was relatively easy to take out the three necromancers with arrows and spells before they could react. We then climbed up the burial mound and carefully picked our way down the crumbling stairs that hugged the wall. After descending about fifteen feet, we came to a stone door carved with ancient Nordic symbols. It was already ajar so we squeezed inside and followed the stone passage to a large chamber, held up with pillars. We heard voices up ahead so Lydia and I crept towards a large urn to hide behind, then surveyed the area. Two more necromancers, a man and a woman this time, leaned against the far wall whilst three people in a ragged hide armour chipped away at the floor in the corner with pickaxes.

"These thralls of yours are slower than Argonians in a blizzard," the man complained, sneering with distaste at the bandit workers. The woman rolled her eyes.

"Feel free to grab a pick and help them out. I prefer not to sully myself with manual labour."

At that moment one of the bandits dropped his pickaxe with a loud clang and collapsed like a rag doll.

"There goes another one," the man cried in exasperation. The woman raised a clenched fist which glowed with purple smoke. The bandit rose again and I saw now how his face was bloodless and dead.

"Bah! Weak-willed rabble. Even dead they're almost useless," said the woman and her companion remarked,

"They seem less intelligent each time you raise them, if that's even possible."

"As long as they can swing a pickaxe where I tell them, they're as smart as we need them to be."

Then we heard muffled shouts float up from further into the tomb and the necromancers looked at each other.

"You hear that? The others must have found something."

"We'd better go see. These can tend to themselves for a few minutes."

They hurried to a tunnel with a set of steps leading down and disappeared from view. Lydia and I gave them a head start then crept after them, eyeing the dead bandits wearily. Their movements were clumsy and even as we watched one of them collapsed to dust again.

"Poor bastards," Lydia muttered once we entered the tunnel. "I don't care what they were in life, no one deserves that fate."

I nodded in grim agreement. I had only dabbled in Conjuration and I had little interest in branching into Necromancy. The shouting grew louder as we descended deeper into the tomb, it echoed off the walls along with the clashing of steel and guttural grunts.

"Draugr," I hissed, "I think those necromancers bit off more than they could chew."

As I said this the woman in blue robes hurtled around a corner and tripped on the stairs. Her eyes were wide with panic and she tried to claw her way towards us, only for something to grab her foot and yank her around the corner again. We winced at the blood-curdling scream that followed. Then a lumbering, blue-eyed draugr appeared, its rusty sword dripping with blood. It gave its signature, gurgling grunt at the sight of us but I hit it with a couple of flames to the chest and sent it flying into the far wall.

We encountered more battling draugr and necromancers as we continued. The mages barely registered our presence they were so focused on the undead, but their lightning and cold spells weren't very effective. We hung back, letting our enemies take each other out and only raising weapons and spells when the need arose.

I had seen my fair share of Nordic tombs by now, we'd taken a few commissions to go dungeon diving on our journey to Hjaalmarch, so I knew what to expect. They all had similar features, draugr, traps, puzzles, spiders. However Ustengrav was bigger than any of the others we'd visited and after about an hour we'd left the last necromancer behind and came across something odd.

Three pillars, as tall as me, stood at regular intervals along a chamber. At the far end stood a closed portcullis blocking the way ahead. When I reached out to examine the first pillar a ringing gong echoed around the room and the portcullis scraped open.

"That was easy," I hummed.

Lydia's eyes travelled all along the walls and ceilings, looking for traps.

"A little too easy."

She turned out to be correct. No poison darts came flying our way but as we walked the length of the room, the other two pillars rang out as we passed them and by the time we'd reached the portcullis it had closed.

"Wait – what?" I muttered, frowning. I retreated to the pillars and the gate opened again, but then just a few seconds after I stepped away it closed.

"There's only a short window for us to get through. We'll have to run," Lydia concluded and my head swivelled between the gates and pillars.

"But that's got to be about twenty feet, it's impossible!"

It was impossible, even at a flat out sprint the gate closed long before we reached it. Lydia kicked the gate in frustration whilst I gasped for breath. Then the candle lit in my brain and I smacked myself in the forehead.

"Moron," I said to myself. "I need to use that Shout! This is the test, that's why Bori taught me Whirlwind Sprint."

Feeling like a complete idiot for forgetting, I backed up to give myself a running start whilst Lydia stood off to one side. I took a deep breath and ran as fast as I could. When I passed the first pillar I Shouted,

"WULD!"

I shot forward, the wind whistling past my face but just as I reached the gate it closed again and I was going too fast to stop myself colliding with it face first. I bounced off and landed spread-eagled on the floor.

"Aw," I groaned as Lydia ran to my side. She pulled her lips back from her teeth and hissed, telling me my face was a mess.

"Just a minor miscalculation," I said, gingerly healing my fat lip. "Let's try again."

It took a few more turns and a near concussion until I got the timing right and bamphed myself to the other side of the gate. Reeling, I found a leaver that opened it for Lydia too and we continued further into the tomb without comment on my sloppy Thu'um.

The next cavern we came to had familiar sticky white webbing all over the walls and ceiling and I called flames into my hand in anticipation. However, when we rounded a corner we found a horde of dead spiders, their bodies cut to pieces and their greenish blood spattered everywhere.

"What a mess," Lydia muttered. "Has someone been through here already?"

"Look like it, but how did they get past the gate back there?" I wondered.

We stepped gingerly around the spiders and left the natural cave behind, stepping once more into hand-carved and decorated tunnels. The floor in particular took on an intricate pattern but the moment I stepped onto the first tile I heard a click and a spout of fire roared up from a hole under my boot. I yelled in pain as the flames licked my face and Lydia yanked me back.

"My Thane, are you alright?"

"Shor's balls!" I hissed, clutching my cheek and feeling angry welts. Tears of pain rose in my eyes and I tried hard not to whimper as I healed the burns.

"Never seen a trap like that before, you can usually spot them a mile off."

Lydia insisted on leading the way from now on and tested each floor tile with her sword. Not all of them were traps so though it was slow going, we eventually made it through. At last, we arrived in what I hoped was the last chamber. A stone walkway led to an alter with dark water on both sides.

"I think this is it," I said excitedly, taking a step forward but Lydia threw out an arm.

"My Thane, wait!"

The water had started to bubble and we backed away, weapons raised, as two enormous stone pillars rose on either side of the walkway. They rose towards the ceiling and angled to form an archway. When nothing else happened, Lydia allowed me to get closer and examine them. The top of each pillar was carved with a gaping mouth and eyes.

"Dragons, figures," I snorted. The walkway was now wet from the dripping pillars so our footsteps slapped as we walked.

The alter held an iron stand, clearly modelled to hold a horn. I hurried forward eagerly but stopped short when I saw it was empty except for a piece of parchment.

"Wait, what?" I said with a frown. I stepped onto the alter to reach for the parchment but then the stone sunk beneath me.

"Oh no."

I heard a scaping of stone and my head snapped up. Niches along the walls above us opened to reveal shining ice-blue eyes and I threw up a shield as bow-string twanged. Arrows bounced off the shield but then Lydia gave a cry of pain. I whipped around and saw her fall to the floor, arrows embedded in her stomach and leg.

"Lydia!" I gasped, leaping to kneel by her side.

I kept my shield up as more arrows rained down and gave a cry of dismay when I saw how deep the arrow in her side had sunk. It had punched through a gap in the leather armour and Lydia's hand, pressed against it, was soaked scarlet.

"Look out!" she grunted and I glanced over my shoulder to see two of the draugr had jumped down from their ledges and were advancing with rusted blades drawn.

I kept myself between them and Lydia and met their attack with flames and sparks. All the while I kept my shield up as the two draugr behind me remained on their ledges and continued to fire arrows. Despite her injuries, Lydia took up her bow and fired back from her prone position. When the last draugr fell with a splash into the fridged water I dropped to my knees again.

"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry! I should have checked – I'm sorry!" I gabbled, my hands shaking as they hovered over the wounds.

"It's alright, my Thane, it's just a scratch," Lydia panted, her face twisted in pain and pale as snow.

"Are you kidding?! Hold still, I need to heal this."

But as I gripped the shaft of the arrow I hesitated. What if I did not more damage by yanking it out? I wasn't a trained healer, my novice level spells were for cuts of bruises, not mortal wounds.

"In battle – soldiers break off the shafts and leave the arrowheads in until a restoration mage can look at it," Lydia supplied helpfully, her voice weak with blood-loss.

I nodded and took a deep breath to steady myself before breaking the shaft in one sharp movement. Lydia gritted her teeth against the cry of pain. I did the same for the arrow in her left calf before tying my belt tight around her thigh to stem the bleeding. There wasn't much to do for the wound in her torso expect press a rag against it.

"Keep the pressure on it, I'm going to see if there's a way out," I said.

I tried to remain calm for Lydia's sake, but I was trembling like a leaf when I stood. I jogged around the alter and searched frantically until I found a leaver. When pulled, it revealed a tunnel sloping upwards with daylight at the end. As I ran back to Lydia's side, I snatched up the parchment from the alter and glanced it over. Its contents made me want to scream.

Dragonborn –

I need to speak to you urgently. Rent the attic room in the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood, and I'll meet you.

- A friend

I jumped as draugr grunt echoed around the chamber. To my dismay I saw dozens of the foul things crawling out of the water onto the walkway. I stuffed the parchment into my pocket then hoisted Lydia onto her feet with a strength only desperation could give me. She yelped in pain again as I pulled her arm over my shoulder but didn't complain as we hobbled as fast as we could around the alter towards the exit. I didn't look back to see how close the draugr were, I just kept moving, my heart pounding, and then elbowed a second lever to close the exit behind us. We were plunged into darkness as we began the long, exhausting climb up the tunnel. By the time we emerged blinking into the dying light of day, Lydia was sagging by my side and my strength was at its end.

We both collapsed against the side of the tomb and didn't speak for a long time. When my breathing returned to normal, I rummaged around in my pack for a potion.

"Here," I sighed, uncorking the vial. "For the pain."

Lydia took it wordlessly but nodded in thanks before gulping it down.

Her injuries were too severe for her to move far so we made camp in the shadow of the tomb. It began to rain as the sun went down so I built a shelter of tree-branches and huddled close to Lydia under a single cloak to share body-heat. I could feel her trembling despite my clumsy attempts at triage and by morning she was burning up with fever. I laid the back of my hand against her clammy forehead and sighed.

"Lydia, I don't know if you still understand me, but I have to go and get help. This is beyond my ability to heal."

My housecarl's eyelids fluttered but she didn't respond. I covered her over with more branches and bracken to hide her from the view of any passing bandit or necromancer then set off at a jog through the swamp. It wasn't an easy journey; in my panic I kept veering off the winding path and ended up to my waist in soupy water twice.

Two hours later I staggered through the gates of Morthal soaked, muddy and shivering.

"What happened, mage? More vampires?" asked one of the guards on the gate.

"I – I need to the see Jarl Idgrod, I'm cashing in that favour she owes me," I panted, swaying on my feet.