The Legend of Zelda: Skyrim - Chapter 23: Shrouded Hearth
This is Shade's adventure during the two months Link trained at High Hrothgar
This chapter was completed in less than three weeks since chapter 22 was uploaded. I think that's a new record.
An undead warrior stepped out of the warm interior of High Hrothgar and looked around, then began to head for the worn stone steps that led down the mountain.
He briefly paused to read a carved inscription on a stone tablet, one that was set upright in the snow against the mountainside.
"…So this 'Voice' whatever it is, is worshipped… expected to follow the inner path… wonder what that is… Speak only in True Need… Interesting."
Shade then turned from the stone, and started the long walk down the steps. On his way down, he passed some sort of white furred creature that looked like it had been set ablaze. The corpse was up against the mountainside, away from the stairs. The undead merely acknowledged the dead beast's presence before he continued onward.
He passed several more of these stone carved tablets, as well as encountered two pilgrims further down, named Barknar and Karita. When asked, both were praying and meditating on the emblems, and hunting.
Shade soon reached the town below, where he was greeted by a regiment of wide eyed soldiers and a hardened higher ranking man. "Greetings." He said to them as he neared the group.
The younger soldiers didn't respond, however, the higher ranking man stepped forward, then looked Shade up and down. "What's an old man like you doing wandering about? Shouldn't you be cooped up in some house by a fire?"
Shade scowled beneath his cloak, feeling thankful that no one had bothered to actually look under said material at his appearance. "You should know better than to question your elders."
The younger soldiers all gasped and then began to talk over each other to "Legate Adventus", as they called him.
Adventus glared back at Shade. "Do you know who I am?" He demanded. "Do you know what I could have happen to you?"
"I don't. And I don't care to know. I've already learned enough about you to know that even thinking of speaking to you is a waste of my time." With that, Shade walked past the group of soldiers, leaving a flustered Imperial in his wake.
Shade then wandered through the small and quaint village until he happened upon a sign hanging from a lamppost that read: Vilemyr Inn. He stood there for a moment, pondering under the sign, then he made up his mind and entered the inn.
The old undead warrior was used to being in taverns and inns, so the noise and happenings didn't bother him at all. Yet, as Shade slowly walked up to the bar, he couldn't help but overhear something interesting.
"Have you heard about the ghost in the nearby barrow, Lynly?" The man behind the bar counter asked the nearby woman.
"Wilhelm, everyone knows that story. Mothers tell the tale to their children to keep them away from Shrouded Hearth." Lynly looked like she was about to respond again, but then her eyes widened slightly. "We have another customer."
Wilhelm turned to face Shade, and watched as the cloak covered figure slowly pulled out a chair from underneath the counter, then made himself comfortable. "Isn't very often we get ones of your age in here. Can I get you anything?"
"One of my age." The cloak covered figure mused, then he raised his head. Wilhelm stepped back as he caught a glimpse of a single red glowing eye. "I find myself becoming colder and colder as the years pass. I don't suppose you have something that will warm me up?"
The Nord blinked, then quickly nodded. "Yes, I serve quite a number of meads and ales and such here."
"Do you perhaps have a list?"
Wilhelm nodded, then ducked under the counter for a second and then came back up holding a paper with written names on it. "Take a look." He slid the paper across the counter over to Shade.
Shade reached out with a darkened-with-age skeletal hand and pulled the list closer so it was easier to read. He glanced up when he felt multiple eyes on him. "Yes?"
"Your hand." Muttered the woman. "May I ask what happened to it?" She had stepped behind the counter during the small drink conversation.
Shade mulled over his answer as he returned his attention to the drink list. There were quite a lot of options… "If you truly want to know…" The undead warrior sat up straight, raised his head, then reached up with both skeletal hands and threw the cloak hood back, revealing his skeleton self.
The two Nords retreated a bit, then slowly drew close once they both realized that the undead sitting at their counter wasn't going to attack them.
"I was involved in a terrible magical incident." Shade said simply.
"…Are you… Alive?" Wilhelm asked.
Shade shook his head. "Only in spirit, I'm afriad. I did have a full life, fell in love, got married, had children, spent most of my life on a massive ranch… lived until..," He frowned. "Eighty something." He then smiled fondly, as if he was remembering things.
"You weren't lying when you said you were old then." Piped up Lylyn.
The undead chuckled. "No, I was not." He then grew somber. "Once I died, I was brought back to life a year later, as the being you see before you. I was tasked to look after the homeland I saved in life. And so I did… for five centuries."
"Five centuries? Wow." Exclaimed Wilhelm.
Shade nodded. "Then my direct descendant was born, and I received a new purpose - to look after him. And I've done so. …and still can, thankfully."
"What do you mean?" The Nord woman asked.
"The one that's up at the monastery… he's my descendant…"
"That kid that's saved Whiterun from two dragons?" Lynly asked.
"… Dragons?" Shade widened his remaining eye.
"He never told you?" Wilhelm questioned.
"No!" Shade scoffed. "He's been running around killing dragons?" But yet the undead was smiling.
Both of the Nords nodded.
"I see… I'll have to talk to him next time I see him." Shade returned to look at the drink menu. "Is the Spiced Wine available?"
"It is." The Nord barkeep turned around and began to mess with the bottles on a wine rack. He then turned around and handed Shade a bottle filled with some sort of liquid. "Here you go."
Shade took the bottle and eyed it, then expertly uncorked the bottle, and neatly poured some of its contents into a conveniently placed wine glass before him. "What are your names?"
"Wilhelm. Don't have a last name."
"Lynly Star-Sung. …What's your name?"
Shade looked down at the wine in the glass. "My real name has been lost to time… You may refer to me as Shade."
Windhelm nodded. "Shade… Alright. If you really are some old dead man who somehow was… halfway resurrected… Do you mind telling us how you lost an eye?"
Shade continued to eye the filled wine glass, then he picked it up, and raised it to his jawbone. "Even though I'm undead… still have my senses…" The skeleton muttered as he drained the glass of its contents, then gently set the glass on the wooden counter. He then nodded approvingly. "Very fine wine, aged quite well."
The undead warrior then raised his gaze to Wilhelm. "My eye… It was quite stupid, actually. I didn't get a wound treated when I was much, much younger. I became terribly ill, and the sickness took my eye."
Wilhelm frowned. "Sorry to hear that."
Shade waved a hand. "Don't apologize for my younger self's foolishness." He then seemed to think of something. "I overheard you two speaking of 'a haunted barrow'. Do you mind telling me more?"
"It's just a mere ghost story, nothing to it, really." Lynly said hurriedly.
"A ghost story?" Shade echoed. "Consider me interested."
"An old man, sipping away at his mead at my counter, asks about a ghost story? Must be pretty boring then, if you're asking me." Wilhelm then continued. "Shrouded Hearth Barrow, a place that's outside the town. Ancient Nord crypt. It's haunted, and I suggest you stay away."
"Haunted?" Shade smiled and shook his head. "I've dealt with more hauntings than perhaps the years you've been alive. Please, do continue, and humor this old man."
The Nord looked around, then leaned in close. "I… Did actually see the spirit. And… I must confess that the haunting is affecting my business."
"Of course, I understand. Is there anything that can be done?"
"…I think you're daft for even wanting to check out the place, but if you really insist - An adventurer by the name of Wyndelius Gatharian who went to explore the barrow a year ago. He never returned, and screams were heard that night. His spirit is rumored to haunt the burrow."
"A spirit…" Shade's remaining eye shone with curiosity. "I haven't had an adventure for quite some time… perhaps this will do me some good."
Lynly blinked. "You're considering it?"
"Of course? Why wouldn't I? We all benefit - you and Wilhelm can keep running this inn, the townsfolk don't have to live in fear, and I get to go on another adventure." Shad said as he set down the now empty wine bottle and slowly got up from the chair.
"Here. I want you to have this." Wilhelm held out a filled bottle. "It's Ashfire Mead."
Shade looked at the offered mead bottle, then he slowly smiled as he reached out with his skeletal hand and took it. "I do thank you, young mister Wilhelm. May we meet again." He slowly got up from the table, and then frowned. "I am afraid I have no way of paying for this."
Wilhelm smiled and then shook his head. "No, you can keep it."
"Are you certain? It doesn't feel exactly right to not pay."
"No. You're doing me - no, everyone - a favor. Consider the mead your payment for helping. I'm sure we can scrounge up some other reward when you get back." Wilhelm replied.
Shade nodded in return and departed from the inn, heading to the barrow nearby the town.
The door to the barrow slowly swung open as Shade stepped inside. He then closed the metal door and walked away from the entrance.
Even though he was undead, the ancient warrior was still on guard, for anything could happen there.
Shade found himself facing a wooden staircase, which he slowly descended. There was a landing, which held some sort of potion, a small purple gem, and a small burial urn. When checked, the urn held twenty gold coins, which Shade took, along with the potion and gem.
The undead warrior moved past the landing and continued to walk down the wooden stairs. He found corpses in wall alcoves, but let them rest where they had been placed. Shade did however, find a coin purse that was tucked into the bottom crypt on the left - that contained ten golden coins - which he took and moved onwards.
The passage ended in an intersection. There was a locked gate to the right, and when Shade approached, a ghost appeared. "You are not welcome here. Leave this place."
Before Shade could respond, the ghost vanished. There was a room to the left, and Shade entered it.
There were four levers in this room, with two on either side of the door. Shade looked at the four levers, then chose to pull the one to the far left. It didn't do anything. Shade then pulled the one on the right that was closest to the door, which opened an iron gate that was on the other side of the passage.
Shade investigated the room before he left it, and found a burial urn stuck in rubble in the right corner of the room, as well as some table that had a book on it. Shade took the book, which was called Before the Ages of Man, and inspected the urn, which had ten coins.
In the next room, there were doors on either end. One was locked, and the other had a portcullis with a pull-chain. Shade brute forced the locked door and entered, but then leapt back as spears rose up from the floor. The undead looked at the floor and saw a pressure plate.
"…Slow and steady always wins…" Shade muttered as he slowly entered the room. Thankfully, the pressure plate didn't activate, and he was able to make his way over to a chest. There was a tensioned cable, which Shade carefully disarmed, and then he opened the chest, which contained a ruby and sapphire. He took the gems, then carefully returned to the main room.
He then walked over to the pull chain and activated it, which lifted the gate. A spear trap was activated, but it was timed, so all Shade had to do was wait for the spears to retract into the wall, then quickly made his way across the room.
There were stairs, which Shade took downwards. At the foot of the stairs were two iron doors, one that was tension cable rigged, and the other was opened with no incident. Inside the non trapped door was an iron sword on a table, which Shade took. He then carefully deactivated whatever trap the cables caused, and continued onwards.
There was some strange carved door at the other end of the next room, but Shade didn't want to approach the door to look at it, as he felt as if it would be opened at a later time.
However, there was a locked door, which Shade opened by brute force. Directly behind it was a pressure plate, which proved to be faulty, as it activated a spike trap that was nowhere near the pressure plate.
Beyond the spike trap was an obviously trapped chest, which Shade ignored as he walked over to a chain on the wall and pulled it, which opened a gate.
He walked through the gate and nearly avoided another spike trap. The undead retreated a few steps, then slowly moved over the pressure plate. Shade then entered the next room…
And found a corpse resting on a table in the middle of the room.
Shade cautiously approached the corpse, and walked past it, then turned when he sensed movement. The corpse was in fact alive, and it was beginning to stir.
Not wanting to take any chances, Shade took his greatsword and swung downward, which knocked the body from the table.
The body then sprung upwards, covered in open wounds from the greatsword. Shade knew this was Wyndelius.
"You come here and try to kill me, fool!?" The wounded man yelled. "I'll kill you first!" With that, Wyndelius wielded his own sword and stepped forwards, only to drop it.
Shade waited for Wyndelius to pick up his sword, but then as the man did so, he tripped and landed on his own weapon.
The undead warrior quickly stepped up, raised his greatsword, and brought it down, mercy killing the unfortunate mage. Afterward, he noticed that some sort of potion bottle had rolled away from Wyndelius, and inspected it.
"Philter of the Phantom… So this was just a ruse then, but why…" Shade picked up the potion bottle, then saw a book on a nearby table. When inspected, the book turned out to be Wyndelius' journal.
Shade skimmed the journal's contents. They consisted of Wyndelius looking for some treasure, but he couldn't solve 'the puzzle', whatever that was. The man made up the ghost ruse to keep others away so that he could work in complete solitude. From what Shade could make out from the writing, Wyndelius had gone insane from the isolation and genuinely believed himself to be the guardian of the barrow.
Shade took the journal, then checked the rest of the room, finding a small satchel, two books, a fire pit, some sort of potion, a pair of gauntlets and a pair of boots.
The undead warrior took all of the items, and backtracked out of Shrouded Hearth. However, before he could return to Ivarstead, the world around the undead vanished, and then he was standing in a familiar forest, looking at crumbling ruins.
"…We're going to have to work on the summoning times and how long the spell lasts for, aren't we…"
Sometime later, after wandering the forests of back home, Shade felt a familiar presence in his head. "Took you long enough." the elderly undead muttered as he accepted the connection…
… and appeared in a flash of light, ending up in the monastery he had briefly been inside previously.
The undead warrior looked around. "This is a nice, quiet, quaint place. My type of dwelling, actually." He commented.
"You look like you've been somewhere."
A familiar voice got Shade's attention and he looked down, then smiled. "Yes, I wandered down to Ivarstead after I left here. I found something out, care to guess what?"
"…What?"
The undead warrior grinned, then learned in a bit. "I can still drink spirits!" He exclaimed.
"I suppose you'd be happy about that."
"I am." Shade smiled. "And what have you been doing in my absence?"
"Training."
The undead Hylian looked interested as he found a nearby empty chair, then sat down in it. "Really? Training of what sort?"
"The Voice."
"Which is…?" The undead questioned.
"It's…" Shade waited as Link paused and tried to explain it. "It's some sort of ability that I have."
"Really?" Shade's single eye glowed and he leaned forward. "Do tell me more."
Link found a nearby chair and moved it over to where Shade was, then took a seat. "I can't really explain it, it's just something that happens." He paused. "… The Voice is… I suppose it's something like incantations that have various effects."
"Are you able to demonstrate?" Shade asked.
"Sure." The undead warrior watched as Link got up from the chair and faced the open room. He then shouted two words that Shade couldn't quite make out, but then…
With a crack, Link rushed forward in a blur, and ended up in the middle of the room not even two seconds later. Link then turned to face Shade. "How was that?"
"Remarkable." The undead warrior complimented with a wide smile. "The mere fact that you've been able to learn this, as well as different magic entirely… Makes me wonder if it's possible for me…"
"…I think I've regained some of my Magicka if you want to see some of the spells I've learned." Link suggested.
Shade nodded and slowly got up from the chair. "Of course."
So the two went outside, where Link showed Shade various spells such as Frostbite and Sparks. He also summoned his Familiar, who took great interest in Shade.
They then returned to the warmth and comfort of being inside, where Shade finally noticed the small blue dragon that was resting on Link's shoulder. "When were you going to tell me you acquired a dragon?"
"…At some point." Link said after a few seconds of silence.
"… I had a dragon hatchling once." Shade commented softly as the dragon suddenly glided from Link's shoulder to his. The undead warrior gazed at the small creature, then smiled sadly. "Her name was Volvagia."
"…The one that was corrupted?" Link asked tentatively.
"…The very one. Her body was different, though, with proper four limbs and wings." Shade then decided to change the topic. "Let us discuss something else. I discovered something in Ivarstead over the… has it been a week?"
Link shook his head. "It's actually been a month."
"A month? Very well then." Shade corrected. "It's quite exciting."
"What is it? What did you discover?"
Shade smiled, then leaned in close. "It's a secret. A surprise, if you will." The undead warrior stepped back. "I will tell you that I am investigating something for the people of Ivarstead."
"I shouldn't keep you then." Link said. "I still need to finish my training."
"Very well." Shade nodded to Link as the dragon hatchling glided back to Link's shoulder, then the undead warrior walked across the open room to the doors, opened then, and left High Hrothgar for Ivarstead…
Once Shade entered the inn, Wilhelm spotted him and called the elderly undead over. Shade approached the bar counter and wordlessly handed Wilhelm the journal, which the human took and examined.
"You managed to get it? Let me see… Ah, this explains a lot. Thank you for recovering this. I hope Wyndelius didn't give you too much trouble."
Shade shook his head. "No. He tripped and fell on his own sword, I finished him off out of mercy."
"…I see." Wilhelm paused. "Well, it seems you need a reward, so…" He turned around and rummaged around the shelf's at the back, then faced Shade. "Here." The man was holding some sort of clawed claw.
Shade noted the claw was made of sapphire and he could feel raised ridges, but couldn't tell what they were. "Are you sure you want me to take this? It seems quite valuable."
"Yes, I have no need for it. Perhaps you can find its true purpose." Wilhelm told Shade.
"Perhaps I will." Shade responded before he left the inn.
Shade walked into the barrow sometime later, then walked through the barrow until he reached the round locked door with carvings and symbols. He looked down at the crystallized carved claw in his skeletal hand. As he looked at the claw, he saw three carved symbols that appeared to look like a moth, an owl, and a wolf.
He then looked at the carved door. The top ring had a carved symbol of a wolf. "…Could these rings be turned?" The undead walked up to the door, then twisted the wolf carving to the right. He stepped back as the ring slowly moved to the right, revealing a moth carving. "…Yes."
It took two tries to move the second ring to the correct symbol, as before that, it was a bird and whale. The third ring took only one movement, being a moth.
The door slowly rose into the ceiling, and once it receded, Shade continued onward.
He found a broken table beneath a stone etching that had some sort of clear broken gem, and some sort of helmet. Shade took both and kept walking.
The narrow passage took a left turn, then descended. It passed a sideboard with some sort of mace weapon, which Shade took.
He wandered into a large hall that contained five five sarcophagi: two around the perimeter and three up on a raised dais. There was a stone pedestal with some sort of book on it in the middle of the hall. As Shade moved to check the book, portcullises on both ends closed, trapping him inside.
"That's somewhat troublesome." Shade muttered as he looked around for a way out. He spotted a small illuminated alcove in the eastern corner of the chamber, which was located to the right of the dais. This alcove, when Shade got closer, had a lever. Shade pulled it, and then stepped back as the five coffins opened.
The five undead didn't attack Shade, but merely stared at him, then slowly approached, as if they were studying him.
"You… Alive?" Asked one of the undead.
"My spirit is trapped in what remains of my body." Shade anwsered.
"You… carry… weapons." Spoke another undead.
"Yes, I still need to defend myself, even as I am now."
The five undead near Shade nodded all at once, then one ran over to the raised pedestal and removed the book, then ran back over. "Here… take…" Shade was offered the book.
Shade reached out and took the book from the undead. When the spine was looked at, it was marked Oakflesh, whatever that was.
The five undead then slowly returned to their coffins and Shade was left alone.
As Shade left the undead behind and moved on, he saw a large urn that sat before a winding staircase. He noted the trap door grate on the floor with water below, which was located at the base of the staircase.
Shade moved around the grate, but checked its contents from above. It housed a skeleton with a greatsword and a few golden coins. They weren't worth jumping down to retrieve, so he moved on.
Shade climbed the stairs and found a door, but decided to pass it for now and continued to climb the stairs.
He found a door on the third floor that was locked, and proceeded to use brute strength to force the lock. Upon opening the door, he found a purple gem lying beside a chest. Shade picked up the gem, and then checked the chest, which was locked.
The undead again used his strength to force the lock, then found two hundred golden coins, as well as what appeared to be a child's toy - a slingshot. "…That's a good haul…" He gladly took the coins and the slingshot and gem, then returned to the first floor.
Just inside the door was a pressure plate that activated a dart trap. Shade avoided the dart, then stepped off the pressure plate and slowly walked over it.
At the bottom of the stone stairs was a second pressure plate. Shade activated it, but was surprised when the battering ram that appeared didn't hit him. Instead, as he found out, it struck a skeleton around the corner. On the left was a sideboard with some potion, which Shade took.
The next door opened onto a balcony of a large room. To the direct left of Shade was an urn, which when checked, had ten gold coins. Next to the urn were two sarcophagi, each with a handle that no doubt activated them. Shade ignored these and moved on.
Shade saw a chest through a hole in the wall. He saw a handle up against the wall, so he got curious and pulled it. A nearby sarcophagus opened, allowing Shade to check the chest, which was unfortunately empty. However, the small room had some items in it, which were a small clear gem, a sword, and a small urn, which was empty.
Shade then looked through a nearby wooden bulwark upon returning to the other room after taking the gem and sword. He saw five skeletons standing in some oil slick. He left them alone as he figured they wouldn't bother him.
He then went down the platform stairs nearby, then crossed the pit and walked up the other side of stairs to another balcony. More undead were lying in wait, but they merely let Shade pass. A small empty burial urn was in the rubble at the top of the stairs, and a mace was on a broken table tucked in the northwest corner of the balcony, which Shade took.
The next door opened to a stairway with a tripwire. Shade deactivated the tripwire and climbed the stairs. He avoided the undead that was at the top of the stairs and eterded the next room.
More undead roamed this room, but again, Shade ignored them all, as they were ignoring him. A pressure plate activated a spike trap, which seemed to kill a few of the undead that were unlucky enough to be standing where the trap was on the floor.
There was a passage heading east, which was guarded by even more undead. Shade moved past them, then found an unarmed undead guarding a door. Shade checked a nearby small urn - which was empty - before he approached the armored undead.
The undead eyed Shade as he approached, then hissed and swung the rusted sword it was holding in his direction. Shade easily dodged the sword swing, then rushed forward, picked up the undead by the neck, and swung the corpse into the wall next to him.
The undead hissed again as it dropped the sword. It then resorted to weak punches and scratches, none of which affected Shade. Shade soon grew bored and killed the undead by crushing the neck bones. He let the silent corpse fall to the floor, and found a lone key on the ground.
Once Shade collected the dropped key, he used it to unlock the door, then proceeded onwards. The room led to an underground stream and a stone bridge. There was a nearby chain that seemed promising, so Shade made his way to the wall chain, then activated it. It raised a nearby gate, which when walked through, revealed a coin purse and skeleton underwater. Shade took the coin purse - which held thirty coins - then after a moment of deliberation, moved the skeleton to higher ground - to give some respect to the corpse - and then closed the gate with the pull chain.
He then decided to check out the bridge. When it was walked across, there was an alcove that held one of those small purple gems and some gauntlets. Closer inspection deemed them to be made of iron. Shade took both items, then inspected the nearby waterfall. Some sort of sword was behind it. It seemed valuable, so Shade took the sword, and returned to the stairs by walking across the stone bridge.
He found a pressure plate in the middle of the room that did nothing when stepped on, and four rotating pillars. Shade decided to ignore these pillars for now and entered the next room through the doors. Another undead was in his way, but the creature let him pass unharmed.
There was a coin purse on a table, as well as a burial urn and a pair of steel boots. A small urn sat on a shelf to the right.
Shade took the items - the two burial urns contained ten coins each, and the coin purse contained thirty - and continued on his way.
There was a pressure plate that didn't seem connected to anything, yet the undead warrior decided to step on it anyway. Once he did so, he saw four doors open to reveal carvings. These doors were set in acolves, and the more Shade looked at the four carvings on the doors, he realized that they held a pattern. A whale drawing, followed by an eagle, then a snake, then another whale. The order had to have some sort of significance.
Shade returned to the outer room and walked up to the four carvings. One by one, at a simple touch, the four stones slowly revolved to the pattern in the other room. Shade then stepped on the pressure plate, which lowered a wooden bridge. A nearby portcullis was also opened.
The undead warrior crossed the bridge and looked around. Something like a throne was to his left, and there was a table with a potion and a war axe to his right. Shade grabbed the two items and walked forward.
There was an undead waiting in the passage just ahead. The thing raised its weapon and hissed, then lowered it once the creature saw Shade. It stayed silent as Shade walked past it, choosing to get out of the way by moving to the side of the passage. Shade chose to thank the unfortunate soul as he passed.
Inside the doorway was some sort of pressure plate. Further inspection revealed it to be connected to a spiked-wall. Shade avoided the pressure plate and moved on. Further past the gate was an urn in an alcove to the left, and a dagger and purple crystal in another alcove to the right.
Shade searched the urn, which contained ten coins, and then took the crystal and dagger.
There was a locked door on up again, which was easily broken by brute force. Inside, was a gold ingot atop a pedestal. It seemed like a trap, so Shade approached the pedestal from the side, quickly grabbed the ingot, then moved back.
Flames shot out from all around the pedestal, but they didn't affect Shade since he was in the doorway of the room. He decided to go back to the main passage, where he found a tripwire further on.
Shade stepped over the tripwire, then found another undead wandering around up ahead. He ignore the undead as he climbed the slight incline, and found a small burial urn on a table, as well as some sort of potion and a bow. Shade checked the urn, which was empty, then grabbed the bow and potion, then walked up to the set of double doors and threw them open…
…To reveal a great hall with descending stairs. Shade looked around and found a red potion on a nearby table, which he took as he walked down the stairs.
Once he entered the hall, he noticed a great stone temple in the center, as well as thirteen sarcophagi surrounding it. Shade waited in the doorway for a few moments, knowing a fight when he saw one, then stepped into the room.
The large gate slammed down behind him, locking him into the room. As the gate closed, the coffins opened, revealing six skeletons and seven undead. Shade grinned as he reached behind him and drew his greatsword, then took a battle stance. "Come and humor this old warrior." He taunted at the undead, who raided their weapons in anger and charged.
Shade skewered the first undead that reached him, then swung the greatsword in an arc, slamming it into two more undead. The undead that was on the sword flew off, and the three undead fell to the ground.
He then grabbed a fourth undead by the throat and threw it to the ground, then crushed the creature's neck by stomping down on it.
For the fifth and sixth, he waited until the two undead had reached him, then grabbed their heads and smashed them together with great force.
The seventh undead silently moved behind Shade and leapt at him, ending up on the elderly warrior's back as it tried to run him through with its rusted sword. Shade merely reached behind him and plucked the undead from his cloak, then threw the creature against a wall.
The eight and ninth undead approached from the left and right, respectively. Shade ducked under a sword swung from the left, then ran the undead through. He then quickly drew his ancient bow and shot the ninth undead with an arrow.
He did the same to the tenth, but then had to put the bow away and return to sword fighting for the eleventh and twelfth undead. These two were dispatched by a quick sword spin.
Finally, all that was left was the armored undead with the horned helmet. This undead held a waraxe, and it grinned, then rushed Shade, who swung the greatsword just in time to strike the waraxe.
The two undead strained and slid across the damp cold stone floor due to the interlocked weapons, before Shade was able to break the hold. He then took the greatsword in both skeletal hands, and swung the blade upwards.
The armored undead was beheaded, and its body hit the ground not even a second later.
The battle was over. Shade was unharmed, and as he took the time to look the corpses over, he heard both gates open, one in front, one behind. He found nothing of value on the thirteen undead, so he moved on, walking up a narrow wooden plank to a stone tunnel.
The tunnel ended up in a large room with a very large and decorated chest, which was located front and center. Shade checked the chest, but he tricked that he was armed with some sort of trap. He disabled it, then opened the chest, which only contained a strange wooden shield with sharp spikes embedded in its surface. Shade had never seen this type of shield before, he figured it was valuable, and so he decided to take it with him.
A large coin purse, an axe, and a healing potion rested by the chest, which Shade took. He then found another healing potion, as well as various armor and weapons against the left-hand wall. Furthermore, there was a small burial urn and a coin purse on a nearby table.
Shade took all of the items - all of the coins in total added up to three hundred - then made his way past the chest, where he found himself looking at some sort of carved wall. The wall itself was curved, with a stone dragon perched atop the wall. Strange carved symbols were etched into the wall. "How interesting."
There was a chest in the nearby pool of water. Shade looked around as to how to access it, and eventually figured out he had to stand on the edge of the wooden platform leading to the strange carved wall, and face northwest. He then jumped down into the water, and turned to face southeast. In a small alcove, just under a large support beam for the platform, was the submerged chest. Said chest contained one hundred gold coins, a few various potions - which Shade figured he'd sort later - and thirty iron-tipped arrows. Shade took the items and returned to solid ground.
To the left of the carved wall was a broken bridge. Shade inspected the bridge to see if he could reach it, but eventually decided that whatever was at the other side of the bridge wasn't worth it.
The exit was across the intact stone bridge to the right. This led back to the barrow and into a small, circular room with a pull chain. The chain opened a hidden door leading into a partially collapsed tunnel. The tunnel ended in another pull chain and secret door. There was also a warhammer in Shade's path as he approached the end of the tunnel as well as a small urn by the secret door. Shade took the warhammer, and checked the urn - it was empty - before pulling the chain. The chain caused a secret door to open into Wyndelius Gatharian's chambers. Shade looked around, then left Shrouded Hearth.
Once he was outside, Shade felt (and saw) the world around him vanish, and he was once again back home. "…Wonderful…"
Shade eventually felt Link's presence in his head. He immediately accepted it, then appeared in a flash of light and looked at Link, who was holding a letter in his hand. "A letter? How did you get to be so well known that people are sending you letters?"
Link turned around, as he had been facing away from Shade. "Where have you been?"
"Exploring a barrow." Shade smiled. "And you?"
"I've been here the entire time." Link said as he looked back at a man that Shade didn't know the identity of.
Shade watched as the man slowly approached him. "… A non-hostile Draugr? No… You're not a Draugr, are you?"
Shade shook his head. "No. You may call me Shade. After my death, I was given a task by my own gods to watch over the land for as long as I could. For five centuries, I watched over my home land…" The warrior gestured towards Link. "And then he was born. My purpose changed then - I was to look over him until he came of age, and then help him." Shade paused, as he thought it was rude to continue without knowing the robed man's name. "What is your name?"
"Arngeir. I am curious, how did you help Link?" The robed man inquired.
"A tyrant took over, and covered the land in a mist known as Twilight. The lucky were transformed into animals and spirits, the rest… were turned into corrupted creatures known as Twilight Beasts. The ruling regent was locked away in a castle tower…" Shade reached out and placed a skeletal hand on Link's right shoulder. "And so, he found me, and I taught him all that I knew."
"I assume you ended up dealing with this tyrant, then?" The robed man looked at Link as he asked this.
"I killed him." Link responded with no hesitation.
Arngeir widened his eyes a bit, but nodded. "Continue."
"I ended up nearly dying, and ended up unconscious for several weeks… earned a lot of scars… but I stabbed him in the chest, and I assume he was turned to stone…"
"If you do not remember all of the details, that is fine. I don't expect you to want to tell me all of that, considering what happened to you. I believe you have advanced far enough in your training for now. If young Siddgeir wants you to visit his hold, you shouldn't keep him waiting." Stated the robed man.
Shade watched as Link nodded, then turned to face him as Arngeir walked away and vanished from view down one of the corridors.
His descendant then asked what they should do next.
"I do have something for you." Shade reached into the leather side bag that he carried, and took out some sort of crystal object. He then held it towards Link. "Take it."
Link reached out and took the crystal thing from Shade, then examined it. At closer inspection, the thing was a sapphire dragon claw. "Where did you get this?"
"A place named Shrouded Hearth Barrow. I've been investigating it for the past month."
"Actually it's been two months." Link corrected. "What did you find there?" He asked.
"Some mage who pretended to be a spirit. Said to have vanished a year ago, I suppose he went mad being in there by himself the entire time. I ended up dealing with him, he won't be bothering Ivarstead ever again."
"…You killed him?"
Shade nodded. "I did. It wasn't even a fair fight - he tripped over his own weapon and landed on it. I merely finished the job so he wouldn't suffer."
"Okay." Link clearly didn't know what else to say. "Did you find anything?"
"Undead that were friendly towards me. They led me through the barrow and gave me coins and goods. I also found some sort of carved stone wall."
"…The Draugr didn't fight you?"
"Draugr… Is this what they call undead here?" When Link nodded, Shade continued. "No, they did not." He paused. "Most of them didn't. There was a gate guard that held a key, then thirteen at the end that were hostile."
"Interesting, and you said you found a carved wall, can you describe it more?"
The undead warrior nodded. "Certainly. When I approached the wall, it had carvings in another language, one that I had never seen before. There was a dragon head made of stone perched atop the wall."
Link looked at his undead ancestor for a second in silence, then he slowly smiled. "Shade, you found a Word Wall."
"A word wall? What is that?" Shade asked in curiosity. "Did I find something valuable?"
"You did." Link responded eagerly. "Word Walls contain Words of Power. Dragon Shouts."
"Let me think… Were the two words you used to fly across the room a month ago - one of these Shouts?"
Link nodded. "Yeah. First two words of Whirlwind Sprint. Each Shout has three words in total… but the fact that you found one so close to here… Are you able to get me into Shrouded Hearth?"
"I can most certainly try, though I don't know what the undead there will do." Shade pondered aloud.
Shade watched on as Link looked down at the sapphire dragon claw he was holding. "…Guess we'll find out."