Skyrim: The Faces of Death

by Blackdrag-rose

Dragon: Journey to High Hrothgar

With Amaryllis joining Za'kera and Lydia on their adventure, even if it was going to be for a short period of time, due to the fact that she wasn't planning on spending too much time with the pair, given that she had a new contract to complete, and had to tell her Family what was going on so they could form a plan of attack for Elenwen, they headed down the road and headed in the direction of Riverwood, which involved passing by the Honningbrew Meadery for a few moments and also walking by a couple of guards who would hail them, or at least that was the warning Za'kera gave her. That was due to the fact that Za'kera was one of the Thanes who served Jarl Balgruuf, of which she had the feeling that there were two Thanes for Whiterun, meaning there had to be a second one that Za'kera hadn't met yet, but her warning about any guards they might encounter soon caused Amaryllis to pause for a moment as she shifted into one of her disguises, the female Khajiit one to be exact, even though she made sure to put the hood of her true armor back on before shifting her attire into a set of leather armor once more. Za'kera was still surprised that such a thing was even possible, that she was capable of using her magic to change the form of her attire at will and make a near perfect disguise with both portions of her power, even if it was something that Amaryllis had to discover and figure out on her own, since it wasn't a common ability among her kind, which made her wonder if being sent to another world like this had granted her more skills or had given her a better understanding of the innate powers a changeling had access to. Of course that didn't stop Za'kera from admitting that her ability was a good power to have and that Amaryllis could do so much with such a power, beyond infiltrating the camps all of the bandits had set up across Skyrim, to take out their leaders and sow discord among the groups, weakening them for when someone else, a group of guards or a hero, came to clear them out, though Amaryllis was more excited by the fact that she found someone else who accepted her for who she was and didn't lash out when they saw her true form, which also included the fact that Za'kera cared more about her than her unique powers.

Instead of thinking about that, since she would have time to do it later on, Amaryllis decided to ask Za'kera why they went into one of the ancient nordic tombs in the first place, to get a bit more information on what had happened since she had last spoken to her new friend, and discovered that the Greybeards, the ancient masters of the Voice who lived in a place called High Hrothgar, could teach Za'kera how to wield the legendary Thu'um, which awakened after she killed the dragon that attacked one of Whiterun's watchtowers shortly after Helgen was attacked. After the first two lessons the Greybeards had given her, one involving her learning a new Word to the Shout she unlocked earlier, after killing the dragon that had attacked the watchtower, while the other involved them teaching her how to use a brand new Shout, Arngeir, the leader of the order, then sent her to Ustengrav to retrieve the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, the founder of the Way of the Voice, which was what the Greybeards practiced, as a final step in her trials to prove that she was the Dragonborn, a fabled hero for the people of Skyrim, including certain locations in Cyrodiil if they knew the legend of such a figure, which reminded Amaryllis of a book she picked up at one point. Of course the downside to all of that, besides going through a draugr infested ruin, something Za'kera was fine with since one of the things she did back in Cyrodiil was clear out one or two of the ruins that were scattered around the province, or more than that since Amaryllis had the feeling that her new companion didn't like to boast about her skills and let her actions speak for themselves, was that someone had gotten to Ustengrav before her and, instead of going through the tests and enemies that protected the Horn, had found a way into the end of the ruin and stole the Horn from where it had been resting. Za'kera, of course, had been a little annoyed by that and proceeded to loot every piece of treasure that the thief had left behind in the small chamber that lead back to the entrance, as apparently all of the nordic ruins had a treasure room and some had good things inside them, like the massive ebony battleaxe that was on Lydia's back, but the note she found in the Horn's resting place indicated that whoever took it was waiting for her in the Sleeping Giant Inn.

"Someone must really want to speak with you, if they went through all the trouble to get the Horn," Amaryllis commented, though she could see why Za'kera might be annoyed about everything that had happened recently, even if Lydia wasn't even annoyed at all, given that they had gone through an ancient ruin to recover an important artifact that would help Za'kera understand the purpose of the Dragonborn, not to mention why the return of such an important hero was linked to the return of the dragons, though that was all she had managed to learn from her new mentors during her brief time in High Hrothgar, before being sent on a quest that, for the time being, had ended in total failure.

"They could have just sent one of the couriers to find me, since they seem to find anyone they have a letter or package for, instead of hindering my progress," Za'kera replied, reminding Amaryllis of the magical couriers who Festus believed had a number of spells to aid them in delivering news and fulfilling their tasks, even if most of it was to make sure the cities had an idea of what was going on, before she sighed for a moment as she focused on what they were doing and headed up the hill that was currently in front of them, even though Amaryllis spotted a river to the left of them, "however, they have the Horn and I would like to know why whoever stole it is so desperate to speak with me, especially since I'm trying to figure out why the dragons have returned and what they want... I haven't even seen that black dragon since it destroyed Helgen and flew off towards Bleak Falls Barrow."

"A dragon no one has seen since that day, based on what I've heard," Amaryllis remarked, as none of the guards had said anything about the black dragon who wrecked Helgen, not since the day it was reported to the Jarl of Whiterun, while she hadn't seen it during her flights from one part of Skyrim to another, even though she did hear a roar once, meaning that it was either hanging out somewhere, waiting for news of its arrival to die down, or it was wrecking things and no one had bothered to report it yet, but regardless of why no one had seen the dragon so far she knew that it would be best if none of them found it, since fighting it seemed like a bad idea.

"Given that it was by that dragon's actions that I was freed from an untimely execution... I still haven't recovered the blades I had on me before I ended up in Helgen... we'll likely meet again," Za'kera said, showing that she had the feeling that the black and imposing dragon was bound to appear before her again at some point in the future, something that might be a weird occurrence in Amaryllis' eyes, while at the same time revealing that whatever weapons she had been carrying before the Thalmor had captured her, and threw her in with the rest of the prisoners, were still missing, though Amaryllis did take a moment to wonder why the Thalmor had been so eager to deliver her to Helgen and the Imperials that maintained it as they waged war on the Stormcloaks, or did their training drills, but she decided to keep it to herself as Za'kera sighed for a few seconds, "either way, we can't move forward until we speak to this 'friend' of mine and get the Horn back, so we just have to suck it up and get this over with."

Amaryllis nodded her head and followed Za'kera as she headed up the hill that would allow them to return to Riverwood, where she found that nothing seemed to bother the three of them as they made their way towards the small village two of them had passed through when they were leaving Helgen, though she did notice that there were some guards, as in those who usually watched over Whiterun, patrolling the walls as they watched over the village, three of them and that meant a single one for each wall. She felt that such a thing was a little low, as in there could have been five or six present, but this appeared to be the decision the Jarl had reached and she decided not to argue with it, rather she glanced around and took a moment to notice that the residents of the village were busy working, those at the mill were cutting more logs to be sold or to fill an order, while the blacksmith continued his work by making new things to sell or repairing what might have been damaged by the rest of his fellow villagers, like the teeth of the mill's saw blade. As Za'kera headed for the inn, to get this over with so she could return to High Hrothgar at long last, Amaryllis glanced around the area and found that no one was glancing their way, meaning that whoever was waiting for Za'kera to show up had to be inside the inn and wasn't watching the door, to follow her inside once they were sure the Dragonborn had arrived, something that caused her to suggest that both her new friend and Lydia act like normal patrons of an inn and not like the hero of legend, as she wanted to take a bit of time to see if this was an ambush from someone who didn't like them, such as the Thalmor for example. Za'kera took a moment to think about it, as her plan had been to go in and get it over with in seconds, before deciding that the plan was good and that she would let Amaryllis do whatever she felt was necessary to ensure their safety, to which all three of them entered the inn and found that a few patrons were present already, as in Sven, the local bard, was playing near the chairs that patrons sat at, while the Imperial soldier she had seen Za'kera with was in one of them right now, apparently resting from a walk or something, with the local drunk sleeping at a table, and Orgnar and Delphine were discussing something at the bar, just like the last time she had seen the two of them.

Based on what she was feeling at the moment most of the people that were already inside the inn were focused on having a bit of fun, or doing whatever it was that they might be doing at the moment, while she noticed that Delphine glanced in their direction as soon as the door opened, which would have been understandable if a wave of paranoia wasn't coming from the lady in question, like she was keeping an eye out for anyone who might be a threat to her inn, though it caused Amaryllis to make sure Za'kera stood beside her, by two of the chairs, before shifting her head a little.

"I don't detect anyone hiding from our sight, but the innkeeper is acting a little paranoid, even if she's not aware that she is doing such a thing," Amaryllis whispered, keeping her voice low so only Za'kera could hear her speak, as right now her new friend was the 'leader' of their little group and she was going to act that way, at least until they went their separate ways at some point in time, though as she said that something happened, which was the fact that Delphine turned to focus on the three of them, instead of using the sideways glance she used when people entered the inn, "I think she might be the one we're here to see, playing a harmless innkeeper for everyone else in Skyrim while making sure anyone who might be looking for her won't find her until she's ready."

"I see what you mean... so I'll just play along for now," Za'kera replied, as she could tell that there was something up with the innkeeper in question, because she noticed what her friend had told her, even though she had no idea how Amaryllis had figured that out without spending too much time in the inn, which she might ask about later, before going silent for a moment as Delphine walked over to where she was sitting, as she had taken one of the chairs and had acted like she was getting tired from the journey they had been on.

"Wanderers like you three must have quite the appetite... you hungry for a meal?" Delphine inquired, speaking the instant she reached the area that the chairs that Amaryllis and Za'kera were sitting in, as Lydia seemed to be focused on keeping an eye out for trouble while making sure no harm came to her Thane, meaning she was overprotective to a degree, but it was easy for Amaryllis to tell that whatever worry had been coming from the innkeeper had either been contained as she approached the chairs or she was hiding it from her, where she believed it had to be the former, despite the fact that the latter would have been interesting to some degree.

"Not yet... though I would like to rent the 'attic' room," Za'kera answered, as she had told Amaryllis about the note she had found where the Horn had been resting, a message that told her to rent out the attic room of the Sleeping Giant Inn once she arrived in Riverwood, so she could meet her mysterious 'friend' and see what the figure in question wanted from her, where she also took a moment to reach into her coin pouch for a few seconds and pulled out the ten coins that would allow someone to rent a room at an inn, because in the chance that Amaryllis was wrong about Delphine, and her contact was hiding in the shadows, this little act would spur them into action and cause them to seek her out.

"Attic room, eh? Well... we don't have an attic room, but you can have the one on the left," Delphine stated, though as she said that she also took the coins that were being offered to her right now, showing that she was fine with them taking the room in question before she headed back to the bar that Orgnar was standing nearby, leaving them to sit near the fire for a time if they really wanted to, or get some rest if such a thing was important to them instead, to which the trio remained near the chairs as they watched Delphine return to the conversation she had been having with her partner.

Once Za'kera was sure that no one was getting up to speak with them, since she had mentioned the nonexistent room the writer of the message had told her about, she got up from where she had been sitting and walked over to the doors that lead to both rooms that could be rented out to those who stopped at the Sleeping Giant Inn, though once she entered the room in question, with Amaryllis following her as Lydia remained on guard near the chairs they had been sitting in, they found Delphine walking in after them as Orgnar remained standing at the counter.

"So you are the Dragonborn that I've been hearing so much about... I think you're looking for this." Delphine said, where she reached into the pack that she carried, an item that she had stored Za'kera's coins inside when she took them earlier, before she pulled out a curved stone horn that looked like it was incredibly important, which had to be the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, the very item that should have been resting in Ustengrav, before it had been stolen anyway, though Delphine simply dropped it in Za'kera's hands, like she didn't care for it at all, before taking a step back and beckoning for them to follow her for a moment, "Follow me, we need to talk."

As Delphine turned around, to leave the room she had walked into, Amaryllis and Za'kera glanced at each other for a few seconds, because this was confirmation that the innkeeper had been hiding something from them, before following after the lady for a few seconds, which was when Lydia followed after them, just in case this was a trap or something, but as all of them headed into the larger room, where the innkeeper slept, Amaryllis paused as she heard the door open and found that the odd Breton she had seen in Solitude had come to Riverwood. For a moment Amaryllis had to wonder if the Breton was following her or something, especially given what happened after her meeting with Sheogorath, though the lady just walked over to a chair and sat down, allowing her to focus on something else as she turned away from the other side of the inn, where she and her new companions found that Delphine waited for all of them to be inside this room before she bothered to say anything. What she did was ask them to close the door, so no one would notice what was coming next, to which Lydia did that without wasting a single moment, something that caused the lady to open the cabinet that she was standing in front of, which rested against the right wall of the room, and revealed a short set of stairs that lead down to a hidden room, a hideout filled with potions and weapons that were useful in battle, before she stopped once she was on the other side of a table, one that happened to have a number of supplies scattered on top of it.

"The Greybeards seem to think that you're the Dragonborn... personally, I don't see it, though this is the one time that I'll ever hope that they're right," Delphine remarked, revealing that she had only believed that Za'kera was the Dragonborn due to her revealing the phrase to acquire the 'attic room', while after looking at her for a moment she came to the new conclusion that either this was a trap or the Greybeards had gone crazy and named some random person with the title of Skyrim's ancient hero, though Amaryllis had the feeling that Delphine was going to be a pain to work with, given her tone and the fact that she felt that she was superior to everyone that was around her.

"Well, they're right. I am the Dragonborn, slayer of the dragon that attacked Whiterun's watchtower," Za'kera stated, even though it was clear to Amaryllis that she wanted to get this conversation going and figure out why the lady wanted to talk with her, no doubt because it had something to do with the dragons and the fact that they had returned, though as that happened she glanced around the room and found that there really wasn't anything useful in this place, not unless she counted the couple of quivers, an alchemy lab, an enchanting table, and a map on the table that looked like a rubbing of some kind.

"Like I said, it is my hope that you're Dragonborn, but you'll have to forgive me if I don't accept the fact that such a thing is true, even if the Greybeards claim it is," Delphine replied, her tone revealing that she didn't care much for the Greybeards or anything one of the monks might have to say on a particular manner, even though her words did a good job displaying her dislike for them as well, meaning she likely hated the Greybeards or something, before she considered something she could say to make the three of them accept what she was saying, or at least understand her words, "I just handed you the horn of Jurgen Windcaller, an 'important' artifact of the Greybeards, hidden deep within Ustengrav and protected by a few ancient puzzles... tell me, does clearing the tomb and acquiring the horn make me Dragonborn as well?"

"No, it makes you a thief, and probably a disrespectful one since you didn't tackle the tests involved to get to the area that the Horn was resting in," Amaryllis commented, something she knew thanks to everything Za'kera had told her about what she and Lydia had found during their time inside the tomb in question, as her friend knew that no one else, save for some necromancers they killed, had been inside Ustengrav, while no one had been inside the section of the tomb that the Horn had been placed in all those years ago, meaning that Delphine had, against all odds, found a way to open the hidden route that lead to the end of the tomb, allowing her to bypass everything to steal the stone Horn, before she shrugged for a moment, "I can understand the cloak and dagger routine, since you never know if or when certain enemies, be they of the Dragonborn or your own enemies, might show up looking for whoever they're looking for, though you would be smart to starting explaining why you did this, and quickly at that... my friend here doesn't like to have her time wasted, not like what happened back when a pair of guards tried to stop her from entering Whiterun..."

"I'll explain what I want, when I want, got it?" Delphine snapped, showing that she didn't much appreciate Amaryllis' words and was no doubt wishing she had kept her mouth shut, since she only wanted to talk with the Dragonborn, despite the fact that she didn't believe that Za'kera was the hero in question and would likely need to test her in some manner to know if they were pulling her leg or not, before she gripped the handle of the iron sword she carried, as all innkeepers had a weapon on hand in case bandits suddenly attacked their establishment, though her actions did cause Lydia to grip the handle of her battleaxe for a moment, "The three of you would already be dead if I didn't like the look of you when you walked into my inn..."

"Go ahead, attack me if you dare." Za'kera replied, showing that she was calm and collected right now, instead of having an enraged expression on her face, something that surprised Amaryllis since even she was outraged by how Delphine was acting towards them, even if she was keeping it to herself, before the Khajiit raised her left hand for a moment and caused Lydia to stop before she did anything, which made sense considering Lydia was her Housecarl, a bodyguard of sorts based on what she knew, before she focused on Delphine once, "Allow me to properly introduce myself: I am Za'kera, a resident of Cyrodiil who was forcefully brought to Skyrim by the Thalmor, who accused me of a crime I didn't commit, though now I'm one of the Thanes of Whiterun... so, if you attack me, it is well within my rights to either kill you or have the guards arrest you so you can spend some time in the prison that rests beneath Dragonsreach. Think about that before you do anything stupid."

Delphine opened her mouth to say something, like she was going to make a retort and just cut them down where each of them were standing, before she paused for a couple of seconds as she considered what Za'kera had said, likely assuming that she was lying about being the Thane of Whiterun, especially since it was easy to tell that one of them was daring her to step out of line or something while the other was observing her movements, meaning it would be three to one if she did attack them and, given that she had no real idea of their skills, what she had said was just a bluff, one that would fail in a matter of seconds if a battle broke out, to which she sighed for a moment.

"Fine, you win, I'll stand down... for now." Delphine stated, because she didn't like the way the three of them were staring at her at the moment, as she had no desire to start a fight she might not be able to win, especially since it seemed like two of them were warriors and the third was likely someone who liked to fight like a thief or assassin, due to the daggers that were on her belt, two unique ones based on what she was seeing, so she decided to fold this hand and get them back on her side, before they left the inn and returned to whoever they were allied with, "Anyway, I wanted to be sure that none of you are a Thalmor plant... but, before we talk about that, I need you to confirm that you are, indeed, the Dragonborn that everyone has been talking about since Helgen was wiped out."

"So unleash the Thu'um and blast you into a wall, or knock some enemies down? I can do that and more," Za'kera stated, as while she had only been taught two Words of Power while she was with the Greybeards, before getting the quest to go out and retrieve the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, she knew that both of her current Shouts were impressive and that there was more a Dragonborn could do, provided she took the time to learn all of the Words that were out there, waiting for her to rediscover them and add them to her collection, especially since she had gained another World inside Ustengrav, even though it would be some time before she used it, before she considered something, "no, wait, based on what you've said so far, just calling upon the ancient power of the Nords wouldn't be enough to convince you that I'm the Dragonborn, even if that lead the Greybeards to call me Dragonborn... no, you want me to kill a dragon, don't you?"

"You're smarter than I first thought... there's hope for Skyrim after all." Delphine said, something that annoyed Amaryllis as she said it, because she made it sound like all of them were morons or people who didn't pay attention to what was going on around them at any given moment, which caused Za'kera to frown for a moment and Lydia reached for her battleaxe once more, an action that caused the innkeeper to raise her hands as if she was surrendering to them, showing that she didn't want a fight to break out between them, "Look, dragons aren't coming back from the other provinces of Tamriel, as many might have assumed, rather they're being brought back to life by someone... we can discuss that as well, once we've killed the dragon that will be rising out of Kynegrove's ancient burial mound in the near future... if you do that, and prove that you're actually the Dragonborn, I'll answer any questions you might have for me."

Amaryllis said nothing as Za'kera nodded her head, as it didn't seem like they had a choice in the matter since Delphine might have an idea on what was going on with the dragons, to which the lady walked over to a chest and the trio turned around for a few seconds, where it was clear that she was switching her attire for some gear she had prepared for when she had to leave the inn at some point, though once Delphine had a new set of clothing on the trio turned back towards her and found that she was wearing leather armor, minus the helmet, before she grabbed a bow and a quiver that had a number of steel arrows, plus a katana that was resting on a nearby weapon rack, and headed for the inn's bar, where they heard her told Orgnar that she would be traveling and just left the inn.

"I don't like her," Lydia stated, where Amaryllis and Za'kera nodded their heads for a moment, as Delphine acted like she was the one in charge of everything and that she controlled all of the strings, likely assuming that she had some control over what the three of them did, but given her personality it was clear that someone might want her dead at some point in time, even though Amaryllis was sure that the lady had been hiding something from them and would only tell them what that something is once they tracked down and killed the dragon she had tracked down, to which Amaryllis took the book and map from the table, since both might be useful later on.

"Well, at least she gave us the Horn before storming out, so we don't actually have to follow her for it," Za'kera said, as that was the main reason she had come to Riverwood in the first place, to retrieve the stolen Horn so she could bring it back to High Hrothgar and the Greybeards, which would allow her to learn whatever else they might have to teach her, but, at the same time, she was sure that they would arrive in time to see whatever Delphine wanted them to see, even if they made a short stop at the massive mountain that was to the east of them, to which she shrugged for a moment, "Come on, lets get out of here and return to High Hrothgar, as I'm eager to give the Greybeards the Horn, before worrying about what else I need to do to stop the dragons."

Amaryllis remained silent as she followed Za'kera and Lydia as they left the Sleeping Giant Inn and headed outside, which was when she discovered that they weren't heading out on the northern road that lead back to the Honningbrew Meadery and the crossroads that rested near it, rather she discovered that her companions were heading down the southern road that lead in the direction of Helgen, not to mention Cyrodiil at some point, as Za'kera reminded Amaryllis of the other path she had seen some time ago, the one that joined up with the one that reached Helgen, and according to her map it should wrap around the southern part of the Throat of the World. Basically it was an easier path for them to take, given that the other path dipped downwards for a time and then had to go uphill at some point after that, so it would allow them to save their energy before reaching the Seven Thousand Steps, the path between Ivarstead and High Hrothgar, which they would have to walk up to reach High Hrothgar and give the Horn over to the Greybeards, to allow Za'kera to learn more about the Thu'um and everything that was connected to being the Dragonborn. Amaryllis considered reverting to her true form for a time, to fly them up to High Hrothgar, but given that she had no idea how heavy Lydia was, in all the metallic armor she was wearing, she figured that staying on this path was the best move for her to make, hence the reason she walked behind the pair as they left Riverwood and headed to the south, following the map and what Za'kera recalled from when she had been brought down this path, given what happened before the black dragon showed up and torched Helgen to the ground. One thing she noticed was that the odd imperial she had seen back in the inn, who she had seen in Solitude before this point in time, had focused on her and her new companions as they departed from the inn and returned to the road, where she had the feeling that the lady was following them and might show up at some point in the future, likely at Ivarstead, the inn located in Kynesgrove, or one of the other cities, though one thing she did was pull out that book she had taken from Delphine's table, the one that spoke of the Dragonborn, and took some time to flip through the pages as they walked, all while keeping an eye out for danger.

What she focused on was the 'prophecy' that was at the end of the tome, something that spoke about certain events and that something would happen it response to those events, like when she read the line about the 'Brass Tower walking and Time was reshaped' or the 'Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne and the White-Gold Tower failed', but what was interesting was the final two lines, speaking about when the 'Snow Tower' was kingless, sundered, and bleeding, which resembled the ongoing civil war and the fact that the High King had been killed recently, that the 'World-Eater' would awaken and that it would cause the 'Wheel' to turn to the 'Last Dragonborn', which made her curious about things and meant she would have to ask someone about the prophecy at some point in the future.

During their walk Amaryllis found a group of bandits hanging out in Helgen, even though she was surprised by the sheer amount of damage that had been done by the black dragon Za'kera had told her about, who stopped them in their tracks and attacked them without delay, where she pulled her daggers and stabbed the leather wearing bandit that attacked her, while Lydia raised her battleaxe for a second as she tanked the sword swing to her chest, as it bounced off her armor without leaving a gash in the steel armor, before cleaving her foe in half with a single swing of her weapon, surprising Amaryllis since she wasn't expecting such a thing to happen in the first place. Za'kera, on the other hand, pulled out her swords and moved like she was a graceful dancer or something, as she moved to the left and right a few times as a pair of imperial bandits rushed at her, the movements allowing her to avoid the incoming attacks like they were nothing, before parrying the sword of the first foe and moved to kick the second in the chest, knocking one of her enemies backwards, which allowed her to swing both of her blades and cut her first opponent down in seconds, and when the second rushed at her she just parried the next incoming attack before taking him down. Amaryllis had to admit that this let her believe what Za'kera had said, about her being a skilled hero from Cyrodiil that had been dragged into this mess by the Thalmor, and Lydia nodded her head as it happened, though once the bandits were taken care of she made sure to collect any useful items that might have been on their enemies, such as coins and arrows, before Za'kera sheathed her blades and headed for the other gate that was currently in their way, something that opened with ease and allowed them to continue towards Ivarstead. It made sense that they wouldn't be wasting time on clearing out any other enemies that were in Helgen, even though it looked like all of the bandits had rushed at them when they entered this place and such a thing meant all of the bandits were dead, so both Amaryllis and Lydia sheathed their weapons as well and followed Za'kera as she left Helgen and headed up the path that was in front of them, this time hoping for no more interruptions along the way, or at least that was Amaryllis' opinion on what they were doing.

One of the things they happened to walk by was a Stormcloak camp that was on their left, not too far from where Helgen rested, and before it rested an area that looked like a lone rock of some kind with a camp around it, not to mention what looked like an Argonian heading into the area while wearing steel armor, but the figure was so far away that it was hard to make out what her weapon might be and what the color of her scales might be, though none of them were interested in bothering her and continued down the path that was in front of them. Amaryllis had to wonder if Ulfric's followers had set up the camp after hearing that he had been captured by the Imperial soldiers, to launch an assault on Helgen to free him, something that didn't come to pass since that black dragon had smashed the place and burned it to the ground, why none of them had any idea since none of them had seen it for some time, which meant this camp must have been turned into one to use for the war that neither side seemed all that interested in bringing to an end, once more making her wonder if they were waiting for something specific to happen. After that there appeared to be nothing on the road for them to see, so all the trio did was talk about whatever was on their minds to pass the time, even though the first question Za'kera had was about the forms that Amaryllis could take, since her power was so unique in this world, to which she took a moment to glance around and make sure there weren't anyone else around them, but once she was sure they were fine Amaryllis weaved her magic around her and swiftly shifted between the forms of every race that resided in Skyrim, as in the ones she had seen during her time in this land, impressing Za'kera while she did that, even though it was followed by her being weirded out when Amaryllis shifted into the form of Farengar and spoke with his voice for a moment, before reverting to her Khajiit form once more. Of course she made a couple of comments about her disguises, at least the ones she had used so far so she could get into the cities, towns, and villages that doted Skyrim's landscape, while remarking that, for some reason, the Khajiit form she was currently wearing was her favorite, where she suspected that it was due to how close it felt to her true form, or the form she had started with before her encounter with Sheogorath in Solitude, which interested Za'kera as she learned more and more about her.

In addition to the odd camp and the Stormcloak camp they had passed by the group eventually passed by a cave, one that was in a more snowy part of Skyrim's southern reaches, that looked like some bandits might be living inside it right now, or at least Amaryllis was sure of that, but instead of stopping Za'kera headed down the curved path that looked like it might have been carved out of two pieces of rock, leaving jagged peaks on either side of the road, before eventually coming to an area that transitioned into a part of Skyrim that was more in fall, or at least it was to Amaryllis. The next thing they found was a small shack off to the left that looked like an alchemist had called it home for some time, at least until a wild animal took them down, and it was easy to tell that it had belonged to such a person was due to thanks to all the potions and the alchemical ingredients that lined the couple of shelves that were around the small building, including an outdoor alchemy bench that was surrounded by a garden, where they found that no one had been here for some time and it allowed them to pocket a few health potions for their battle with that dragon Delphine mentioned, as Za'kera was hoping the black one would be there so she could put an end to this danger. Once they were done with the shack the trio continued following the path that was in front of them before turning to the left at a split in the path, one that Amaryllis kind of recognized due to Ivarstead being some distance in front of them, though as they walked towards the small settlement Za'kera mentioned that the last time she and Lydia had been here they had faced a number of trolls and bears before reaching the inn, which happened to give them a chance to rest before making the climb to High Hrothgar, where Amaryllis found that this time around the plan was to just press on and get this over with, so once the Horn was delivered to the Greybeards and see if there was anything else they needed Za'kera to do. Truthfully, she was fine with this plan of action, as it had been a while since she had walked the roads of Skyrim, given the amount of time that she put into flying from place to place, so she said nothing to that as Za'kera and Lydia entered Ivarstead, before heading for the stone bridge that would bring them to the start of the Seven Thousand Steps and, eventually, High Hrothgar, an area Amaryllis hadn't seen yet and was interested in what they might discover when they arrived at their destination.

What she found out was that her companions had cleared out the path the last time they had been up this way, as most of the creatures had attacked them and it lead to them being slain by Za'kera and Lydia, and there were a number of rather odd stone monuments that rested along the path in question, before eventually coming to a large stone building that was unlike anything Amaryllis had seen so far, save for Windhelm anyway, but it seemed to be their destination and they took a moment to walk up some stairs to reach the doors... though once inside she found that they stepped into a decent sized square shaped chamber that had one figure who was male and happened to be dressed in interesting grey robes, which were different from the other robes she had seen so far.

"Master Arngeir, I have returned from Ustengrav and I have recovered the Horn," Za'kera said, speaking the moment she noticed who the Greybeard was, as according to her there were supposed to be five of them at the moment, four inside High Hrothgar and a fifth living up on the top of the Throat of the World, so she and Lydia didn't have a chance to meet the last one during their previous visit to this place, and while she did that she made sure to pull out the Horn in question, all while Amaryllis and Lydia stood there as they watched whatever happened next.

"Ah, so you have. Well done, Za'kera, you have now passed all of our trials." the Greybeard, Arngeir, replied, where he got up from where he had been resting and faced her for a moment, something that was followed by him collecting the Horn as he nodded for a second, showing that he approved of what he was seeing and such a thing meant his words were true, she had completed every test that the Greybeards had for her, before he tucked the Horn away in his robe and beckoned for her to follow him, "Come with me. It is time for us to recognize you formally as Dragonborn."

As Arngeir moved towards the center of the chamber that rested near the main doors of High Hrothgar, which had what appeared to be a large diamond shaped emblem or design placed directly in the middle of the stonework that went into this place, where Amaryllis noticed that part of the stone had some odd symbols that had been carved into it, symbols she didn't recognize for a second before she determined where she had seen them before, the odd stone wall that had been inside the Falkreath Sanctuary and another that had been behind a hagraven when she was gathering the three pieces of Mehrunes' Razor, but before she could do anything she noticed that three more Greybeards stepped out to join them, no doubt to fulfill Arngeir's statement.

"You are ready to learn the final word of Unrelenting Force, 'Dah', which means 'Push'," Arngeir continued, naming one of the Shouts that Za'kera had access to, as she informed Amaryllis that she had two Shouts unlocked, Unrelenting Force and Whirlwind Sprint, even though there were more that required her to find more of the 'Word Walls' and find the Words that were written on them, based on what little she had learned the last time she was here, which was followed by one of the Greybeards, the northern point one since all of them were arranged at the points of the diamond symbol, glanced down at the floor and covered his mouth, releasing a small burst of energy that carved three more symbols into the floor, a Word that Za'kera seemed to absorb into her body, "With all three Words together, this Shout is much more powerful than if you used one Word or two... I know you will use the full power of this Shout wisely. Master Wulfgar will now gift you with his knowledge of 'Dah'."

Amaryllis watched as the Greybeard in question bowed his head for a moment as a surge of light, or some sort of energy that resembled light and rushed from one place to another, left him and surged into Za'kera for a few seconds, which had to be Wulfgar granting her his knowledge of the Word that he had etched into the floor, meaning this likely happened the last time she and Lydia had been here, learning both of the Words that they had granted her, before the light died down and her friend nodded, indicating that she knew the information she had been granted, something that was impressive if she was able to gain a complete understanding of the Words they were currently teaching her.

"You have completed your training, Dragonborn. We would Speak to you." Arngeir stated, making Amaryllis take a second to wonder why none of the other Greybeards were speaking, as he seemed to be the one who did most of the speaking to those who came to High Hrothgar, while she was also curious as to what he meant by his words, something she would no doubt understand in the next couple of seconds, all while Za'kera remained at the ready, "Maintain your position between us and prepare yourself, as very few can withstand the unbridled Voice of the Greybeards... but you are ready for what we are about to do."

Za'kera nodded for a moment and braced herself, while Amaryllis and Lydia remained nearby as they watched what was about to unfold before their very eyes, even though it did look like Arngeir and the Greybeards were readying themselves for what they were about to do, no doubt because this was one of the few times that they 'Spoke' to someone who just so happened to be the Dragonborn, before they focused on Za'kera once more and started whatever rite or ritual they were planning on undertaking for the next couple of moments.

Lingrah krosis saraan Strundu'ul, voth nid balaan klov praan nau. the Greybeards chanted, where it looked like their full power was being used at the moment, as it caused the area that Za'kera was standing in to shudder for a moment and also caused her to stagger a few times, while being struck by the power of the monks who called High Hrothgar home, but at the same time Amaryllis was sure that the chant meant something or had a very specific meaning that Arngeir and the rest of the Greybeards knew, Naal Thu'umu, mu ofan nii nu, Dovahkiin, naal suleyk do Kaan, naal suleyk do Shor, ahrk naal suleyk do Atmorasewuth. Meyz nu Ysmir, Dovahsebrom. Dahmaan daar rok.

Amaryllis waited for a few moments as the Greybeards eventually stopped Speaking to Za'kera, who was standing still like nothing had happened to her, meaning her position as the Dragonborn must have granted her some resistance to what was going on right now, so she didn't get knocked around High Hrothgar by the power of the Greybeards, though once the ritual was done the four monks bowed their heads for a moment, as if recognizing her friend as the Dragonborn at long last, which caused her and Lydia to smile as that happened.

"Dovahkiin. You have tasted the Voice of the Greybeards, and passed through unscathed." Arngeir stated, showing them that he and the other Greybeards were pleased by what they had witnessed, and whatever they had felt when they Spoke to Za'kera, while at the same time Amaryllis noticed that he used an odd word to say 'Dragonborn', or at least she thought that the term 'Dovahkiin' meant 'Dragonborn', and once he said that the other three Greybeards started to leave the area they had been standing in, "High Hrothgar is open to you."

Amaryllis was happy for Za'kera, as it seemed like gaining entry to High Hrothgar, in the permanent sense, had been part of the reward for her trials and would no doubt come in handy at some point in the future, since the Greybeards were the ones who knew the most about the dragons and might know something that might help them bring down the beasts, or at least she hoped so, as she had a feeling that they would be facing off against a number of dragons in the future and knew that any information they might have would be useful to surviving what the future held for them.

Comments

[Umbra Animo]

Welp we are coming up to amaryllis’s first dragon kill. I wonder how her changeling nature will interact with a dragon soul?

[PrismStrike]

well Za'kera is sufficiently powerful for a dragonborn. Hopefully though she isn;t like most player characters though. otherwise the greybeards will probably be facepalming for having taught her the full form of Fus Ro Dah. Though something most people do not know. Those stone tablets along the path to High Hrothgar. If activated in order from first to last confers a 24 hour buff