Sonata took a few minutes to collect herself, and allow her anger to fade away, before she turned to the only dragon that was still perched on the summit of the Throat of the World; Paarthurnax. She knew that there was some piece of information that she could gleam from speaking with him again, something that would allow her to figure out how she was going to get to Sovngarde.
"Any ideas on how I'm supposed to get to Sovngarde?" Sonata asked, deciding to get to the point instead of wasting time that she may or may not have.
"Krosis, I do not know," Paarthurnax replied, letting out what Sonata assumed was a sigh, though she really couldn't tell what the sound had actually been, "I was never given the mindah, the knowledge, of Alduin's hidden fortress. He only told several of his closest allies where his runir, his stronghold, was located. But who should we test to discover its nizaag, its location? There is one who is rash enough that the trap inside Ahrolsedovah, the place you call Whiterun, should be able to work on him. His name is Od-ah-viing, or Snow Hunter Wing in your tongue. When you find the trap just shout his name to the skies and he will come, to challenge the one who beat his master."
"And he would come if I were to call his name?" Sonata inquired, wondering if this information was useful or not, but the trap sounded like it could actually work in her favor.
"The dovah are prideful creatures," Paarthurnax told her, turning to look at the sky around them for a moment, "When you reach your destination, and call Odahviing's name, he'll come to do battle with the one that made Alduin flee."
Sonata nodded and began the walk down the mountainside, though this time she went slow so she could think about how she was going to ask the Jarl if they could use his castle to trap a dragon. She knew that if she had her full power she could easily sway the man to her way of thinking and get to the task without too much difficulty, but she didn't want to do that anyway. The problem with this was the fact that there was a war going on at the moment, not that she had seen much of it thanks to the fact that she was constantly being chased by Grul and his allies. She knew that Balgruuf would have a hard time listening to her with the war going on, but she didn't have to waste on picking a side and laying waste to the other side, not when there were four enemies that she needed to get rid of.
She couldn't take out Grul just yet, not when she had no idea where his base was located and was nowhere near her full power, so she had to focus on taking out Alduin, Harkon, and Miraak.
When she returned to the monastery she found her friends waiting in what appeared to be an ancient meeting room, as if they had chosen to explore the home of the Greybeards and had found something interesting to occupy their time until she returned. Kree was the first one to notice her return, though she also noticed that she was troubled on what she needed to do next with the Jarl of Whiterun.
"I chased Alduin off, but he's not dead yet," Sonata told her friends, some of them nodding as if they had been expecting it, while the others seemed a tad bit surprised, "I need to head back to Whiterun and ask Jarl Balgruuf if I can trap a dragon... inside his own castle."
"I assume that this is to learn the location of wherever Alduin flew off to?" Saerza asked, to which Sonata nodded, "I read that Dragonsreach was supposedly used to trap a dragon, so it should be interesting to see if the stories are true in that regard. Though I don't think the Jarl will approve of us using his palace in such a manner, not while the war is going on."
"We're going to have to ask him anyway, because this is our only chance to destroy one of my enemies... forever," Sonata replied, beckoning for everyone to follow her, "The quicker we deal with Alduin, and save the world from him, the quicker we can deal with Lord Harkon... who I might just kill the instant I see him. Then Miraak and Grul... which means we had best get started."
Sonata and her friends then exited the monastery of High Hrothgar, where they began the journey back down the side of the mountain so they could get to Iverstead, where they would take a small break before going back to Whiterun.
When Sonata and her friends walked into Whiterun they received some stares from the people around them, though Sonata knew it was because of the fact that they were a large group. She was used to it at this point, so she didn't let it bother her as they made their way up the Dragonsreach, where she hoped to find the Jarl sitting in his chair. As they walked up the stone stairs that led to the palace several of the guards nodded to them as they passed, as some of them had been with Sonata and Kree when they had taken down the dragon at the watchtower and knew that Sonata was the Dragonborn. Sonata remained silent as they walked into the building they had been walking towards, though her eyes looked around until she found the Jarl where she expected him to be.
"Ah, Sonata and Kree, its good to see you again," Balgruuf said as they approached, taking note of the others that were standing around them, "and I see that you've accumulated a following of sorts. What can I do for you today?"
"I need to use your castle to trap a dragon." Sonata said as calmly as possible, knowing that most of the people in the room would likely be terrified of the thought of letting such a creature into the castle.
Sonata was correct in thinking that, because everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her as if she had lost her mind, though her friends knew what was coming.
"I must have misheard you." Jarl Balgruuf said, waving his hand as if Sonata had told a joke and was trying to ignore what she had actually said, "I thought you asked me to help you trap a dragon in my palace."
"I did, and I would not be asking this if it wasn't necessary," Sonata replied, remaining calm as she looked around her, knowing that many would curse her name for even suggesting this, "I would never do anything that would intentionally bring harm to this city, or any of the other cities across this province."
"Of course. You already saved Whiterun from that dragon." Balgruuf commented, letting out a sigh as he stared at Sonata, "I owe you a great deal. But I don't understand. Why let a dragon into the heart of my city when we've been working so hard to keep them out?"
"Because the threat is greater than you know," Sonata said, letting her magic fill the air as she summoned a small image of her enemy, the dragon Alduin, "I'm afraid that Alduin has returned."
"Alduin? The World-Eater himself?" Balgruuf nearly whispered, fear filling his eyes as he realized who Sonata was actually talking about, "But... how can we fight him? Doesn't his return mean it's the end times?"
"That's what the legends say," Sonata stated, standing firm as she stared at the Jarl, "and its my destiny to rid the world of him... so I intend on bringing an end to the World-Eater."
"I don't know about such things, but I heard the Greybeards summon you." Balgruuf said, gathering himself as he pulled himself out of his throne, "That's good enough for me. Now, what's this nonsense about trapping a dragon in my palace?"
Sonata, Kree, and Saerza then spent the next half an hour talking with Balgruuf above the throne room, where they eventually managed to get him to agree to trapping a dragon despite the fact that the war was going on. Sonata's reasoning was sound, because if Alduin was busy destroying the world than the war meant nothing,a s both sides would actually be the loser. With Balgruuf on their side they got to work making sure that the trap was actually in working order, where both Gol and Mez used their skills to make sure that the chains were tampered and ready to hold a raging beast back.
Another thirty minutes passed before Sonata learned that the trap was ready for usage, where she knew it was time to see if the dragon would come if she summoned it. That was why she was the only one standing on the balcony of the Great Perch, the area that was at the back of Dragonsreach, while everyone else remained on the walls, so that they would be safe when Odahviing arrived.
"Od Ah Viing!" Sonata shouted to the sky above her, to which she listened to what was happening around her before she heard a roar tear through the air.
She spotted the red dragon as he flew towards the perch, to which she calmly backed up and lured the beast into the trap that would tell her where Alduin went. Odahviing landed on the perch and spotted her within seconds, to which flames gathered in his throat before he opened his mouth and loosed a torrent of flames at her. Sonata, for the most part, extended her hand and caught the flames as they tried to reach for her, before she used one of Starswirl's favorite spells and made the flames gather into a single point. Odahviing advanced forward, intending to distract her with his flames so that he could crush her with his claws, but once he reached a certain point Gol and Mez loosed the chains and the trap was sprung.
The massive wooden beam crashed into Odahviing and the clasps caught both of his arms and his head, cutting off the flames and allowing everyone to see that Sonata was unharmed from the ordeal.
"Nid!" Odahviin shouted, realizing that he had been trapped, though he looked around instead of thrashing against what was holding hm, "Horvutah med kodaav. Caught like a bear in a trap... Zok frini grind ko grah drun viiki, Dovahkiin."
"What?" Sonata asked, as she was not as fluent in the Dragon Language as she would have liked to be, so whatever the dragon had said had simply gone over her head.
"Ah. I forget. You do not have the dovah speech." Odahviing replied, staring at Sonata as she stared at him, as if he was curious about her, "My... eagerness to meet you in battle was my... undoing, Dovahkiin. I salute your, hmm, low cunning in devising such a grahmindol - stratagem. Zu'u bonaar. You went to a great deal of trouble to put me in this... humiliating position. Hind siiv Alduin, hmm? No doubt you want to know where to find Alduin?"
"That is correct," Sonata told the beast, wondering if he even knew where his master was hiding or if this was actually a waste of her time, "Where is he hiding?"
"Rinik vazah. An apt phrase. Alduin bovul." Odahviing answered, once again using pieces of his own language to prolong the conversation and confuse Sonata more than she already was, "One reason I came to your call was to test your Thu'um for myself. Many of us have begun to question Alduin's lordship, whether his Thu'um was truly the strongest. Among ourselves, of course. Mu ni meyye. None were yet ready to openly defy him."
"Please get to the point," Sonata said, though she felt like she was about to snap at the dragon, as he had definitely digressed from the topic she had asked him about.
"Unslaad krosis. Innumerable pardons. I digress." Odahviing replied, though Sonata wondered if he was being sincere or if he was trying to fool her, "He has travelled to Sovngarde to regain his strength, devouring the sillesejour... the souls of the mortal dead. A privilege he jealously guards... His door to Sovngarde is at Skuldafn, one of his ancient fanes high in the eastern mountains. Mindoraan, pah ok middovahhe lahvraan til. I surely do not need to warn you that all his remaining strength is marshalled there. Zu'u lost ofan hin laan... now that I have answered your question, you will allow me to go free?"
Sonata had to consider that question, because she had gotten what she had wanted from the dragon, rather easily she mentally added, so there was really no reason to keep him trapped here, where he could burn the castle down at any time he wanted. Still, she had not heard of Skuldafn, but she knew that there was something that the dragon had left out when he told her where his master had gone, something that would sway her decision in that regard. It was quite easy for her to see that she needed the dragon's help to reach her next destination, which meant that she was going to free the creature and travel through the ancient fane by herself.
"I'm going to need you to fly me there, won't I?" Sonata asked, taking note that Saerza was nodding her head for a few seconds, as if she had come to the same conclusion that Sonata had.
"Onikaan koraav gein miraad. It is wise to recognize when you only have one choice." Odahviing replied, almost sounding surprised that Sonata had managed to figure out that she needed his help, but then regained himself seconds later, "And you can trust me. Zu'u ni tahrodiis. Alduin has proven himself unworthy to rule. I go my own way now. Free me, and I will carry you to Skuldafn."
Sonata turned to where Gol and Mez were standing, waiting a second to be sure that they knew what was coming, before they pulled the levers and released the trap, pulling it into the ceiling once more and freeing the dragon. Odahviing seemed pleased to be free once more, though he immediately turned around and walked until he was at the edge of the perch, where he waited for Sonata.
"Here, I packed these in case we needed them," Saerza said to Sonata, stopping her before she walked up to the dragon that was patiently waiting for her, to which she handed her a bag filled with large blue bottles, "These are the most powerful magicka potions I could make... they'll be able to restore most of your power when you need them, but there's only three of them. You'll have to choose when to use them, unless there happen to be more of these in Skuldafn."
"I'll put them to good use," Sonata said, adding the potions to her stash, "I need everyone to stay here and keep an eye out for any of Grul's soldiers while I'm gone... though I don't need to tell you what to do if you actually find them."
Saerza nodded and rejoined their friends, where Sonata sighed and walked up to Odahviing, who allowed her to climb onto her back before taking off once more. Sonata was going to take the fight to Alduin... and this time she was going to ensure that the dragon was destroyed before she came back to Skyrim.