Forelhost, a determination made... pg 24

The next morning found us climbing our way up the next peak, to the barrow at the top of it. As we cleared some huge boulders and decorative stonework that had fallen, we saw not only the Word Wall but a camp. Signar took the lead here as the man at the camp was wearing an Imperial Officers uniform. I thought it odd that an Altmer would be an Imperial Officer, but had seen odder things, so didn't really think twice.

I listened to the story of a powerful weapon, a mask that had belonged to a Dragon Priest. How the Dragon cultists had been defeated by Skorm Snow-Strider and that his journal might be in the barrow and if so it would prove very useful. That I had no doubt of. I followed Signar through the door into the Barrow, it stank, as did all barrows....but there was something.. I felt ice drip down my spine.

"So Muthsera,  Did you help this Skorn Snow-Strider beat back the Dragon Cultists?" Nelthas's voice was serious, but Signar chuckled, I sighed.

"No, I do believe one of my cousins was here though. During the 1st Era, I was in Cyrodiil, there were other masters that needed to be overthrown." My voice was dry and both men looked at me with a dumbstruck look. "What, I told you... I don't live in any one time for too long, but I have lived a long time."

When the first ghost appeared, I tried a dispel an un-dead spell, but it had no effect. They were strong in the here and now, which meant they felt they had something left to do, protect this place from all comers most likely. Angry spirits, with a focus... a lot of focus to have kept themselves on this world plane for so long.

We all got a workout, I found that my magic worked quite well, but I kept my ax close to my other hand. Tex seemed to be having loads of fun, he would dart ahead and jump right through half of the ghosts until they fought back,  then they became solid. When we started running into Draugr I actually felt better, the Goddess knows why.

It didn't take long for me to see some oddities, many of the skeletons had bottles of poisons beside them.  Why... did these people take poisons? So not only did I fight the draugr with the men and Tex, I started looking around picking up any parchment that had survived, reading the contents.

Then I found it, Skorn's journal, then I understood, the ghosts were men and women that had taken their own lives after the main refractory doors had collapsed. Huh, the area they couldn't get to was the area we needed to get to.

So, we needed to keep going on, we needed the key to the well, Nelthas looked at the lock and said that to fail to pick it, would be to make it impossible to open if there was a key we would be better off looking for it. Which is what we did.

Fighting our way through, we found the refectory, it was here I found the answer to a question that had been nagging at me...what had looked different about some of the linen wraps. Children... they had killed their own children. I held the two notes in my hand, one protesting, the other saying that the person protesting would at least make sure the children didn't suffer.

I stood there with the notes in my hands, shaking. Rage...anger, these were the emotions I felt, but I stood there until I could control my thoughts... till I could direct those emotions, til they were only fractions of what they had been.

In those moments it became clear to me, Alduin would die... in this time. There was no way I could allow dragons to rule again. If Paarthurnax would aid me in my effort, if the Greybeards in their pacifistic way could help.. the Blades would help towards that goal also. Skyhaven Temple was a Blades safe haven, it would be my safe haven. It was Keyed to my blood, Delphine could help or leave. Esbern would be easier, as a historical archivist he would be more interested in information than in anything else. Telling him he didn't necessarily have to help me but to teach new Blades the history of the Blades, that...that would suit him. I could get my help elsewhere if I needed to.

So I explained to Signar and Nelthas what I wanted to do. What I thought needed to be done and I asked their opinion of it.

"Muthsera, you will need someone at Skyhaven Temple, someone that you can trust to not turn their back on you and your goals. Delphine will try to turn anyone against you, I think. I could be reading her wrong, but I don't think so. I have an idea, we will go see the Priestess of Azura on our way to Winterhold. "

"My Lady, I know the perfect person for a "Blades Recruit", Ludwig, our house guard. Even though he was stationed in Roristead, he looks at himself as more your housecarl than as a guard. He is more loyal to you than you would think." Signar nodded and I understood what he was saying.

So we had a plan, we just needed to get all the way through Forelhost and see it through. That was easier said than done. We had yet to meet the strongest of the Dragon Cult's members or the leader of this sect. We fought our way through... disarming the worst traps.

I grabbed a glass Dragon Claw that I found on a pedestal and soon we ran into the door it was the key to. Opening the door was not a problem, for some reason, they put the key on the key. That is where simplicity ended.

Draugr emerged from their crypts, heading towards us. Then the central crypt opened up and Raghot surged out. Tex ran at the furthest Draugr, who was shooting at us with a bow. Signar pulled his sword and shield and started circling one of the others. Nelthas pulled up his hood and face mask and completely disappeared.

I pulled my Staff and summoned ... getting a Golden Saint, she pulled her bow and started shooting. I then cast an Ice Atronach spell and then turned to face Raghot squarely. I dodged around pillars and caste ward spells and Stendar's Aura, to keep from being hit by his Fire spells and keep them all at a distance..

Then I saw Nelthas's daggers go through the back of Raghot and his corpse turned to ash. I walked over and picked up his mask and staff.  I looked at Nelthas and then laid my hand on his cheek, casting a healing spell. Something had ripped open his scars, my spell healed that but could not touch the scars.

When Signar wandered over, I asked him if he had been wounded, but he had not. Tex came trotting up with a leg bone in his mouth.

"Tex, that is just plain nasty, I'll find you a nice deer leg to chew on, drop it." He did but gave me a hard stare for a minute. I shook my head and cast a light spell and we looted the chest in that room. Usually, I don't loot the dead usually, but, I had no ethical problem looting them. When we had our packs as full as we wanted them, we walked out the door.

I felt the Word Wall and walked towards it, this time stopping before, the letters started glowing. I reached into myself and found one of the dragon's souls, held it, and then continued to walk forward. I absorbed the word and the meaning together and other than the blinding light nothing was different than before. Storm Call, I looked over at Signar in his Plate steel and laughed, that wasn't a Thu'um I would be using anytime soon.

I hear voices and looked to the camp of the Imperial Officer... only he was now wearing a Stormcloak Officer's uniform. I laughed, an Altmer, huh, wonder if the soldier he was talking to believed that. I pointed it out to the others and Nelthas, thinned his lips and pulled up his hood and mask, then asked us to stay where we were.

I watched his footprints in the snow walking towards a place where the walls had broken down. A few minutes later I saw him in the shadows of the Barrow and he was motioning us forward. When we got to the "Stormcloak" officer he started stuttering about our misunderstanding and then he just drew his sword and attacked. Unfortunately for the real soldier, he decided to side with the impersonator, Signar, Nelthas, and Tex made short work of the two of them.

I searched through his packs and pockets and found a note saying that he was to bring the mask to Labyrinthian. Well, that was something that we might check out later. As it was late, the guys took the dead and placed them inside the Barrow, while I cleaned up the camp. Tex even did his part by throwing snow over the blood on the ground.

We looked at the large two-person tent and decided it really was large enough for the four of us as long as we didn't mind bumping elbows and as cold as it was, none of us minded that. Nelthas and Tex went down to check on the horses, which gave Signar and I a little bit of alone time.

The next morning it was a short ride to Riften. Nelthas made arrangements for the horses and our ride to Winterhold. Signar and I went and sold all our loot. I made some purchases of items that we needed and bought backpacks for Signar and Nelthas,

Nelthas came and let us know that the carriage driver didn't want to leave until morning, as it was a long trip. We went to the Bee & Barb and rented a couple of rooms for the night. From Signar's crooked grin, I thought he might have some plans of his own.