"You've told me about your past."
"It's not just that," I said quietly, caressing her cheek, "The first woman I lost was my wife. She was murdered, and I didn't just lose her. I lost a possible son or daughter. The second woman I lost wanted our child and I think we might have married in the end. I don't think she ever knew how much I did love her. Haelga... I just feel nothing but guilt about her. I still love her even now, but with everything in my life, we had to face facts and admit we would never be together permanently. Honestly, I've had nothing but bad luck when it comes to love, and I don't want to lose you too."
"Who says you're going to lose me?" I gave her a look, so she cuddled into me, feeling her arm wrap around me, her cool hand on my back. "Trust me, I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you."
"I'm going to hold you to that."
I was right about one thing. Lydia was already up and stood at the firepit, busy putting together breakfast for the three of us. She asked us to sit at the table as she served, handing each of us a bowl of piping hot... something. Whatever it was, it tasted damned good, and I said she would be cooking meals going forward, though I would always be on hand to assist, as I wasn't completely useless.
As we hadn't moved anything into the house yet, I wore the same clothes as the day before, the three of us heading to Jorrvaskr, where we would put together a plan. Looking over the maps available and figured our best bet would be heading to Ivarstead. There was no direct route, and the journey there would be long enough that we'd likely have to stay the night before heading up the mountain.
I had a chat with Kodlak about High Hrothgar. Though he'd never been there, he had a few ideas about who they were, but suggested I head up to Dragonsreach, as apparently Jarl Balgruuf had undertaken the journey before. Leaving Aela and Lydia to organising our departure, I wandered up to Dragonsreach, noticing how friendly the guards were now, all of them saluting and calling me 'Dragonborn' as I passed by.
I found the jarl standing over a map of his own, up at the stairs where we'd talked prior to heading to the watchtower. He grasped my hand and I was amazed at how friendly he was with me. He'd never been rude, but I knew he'd been suspicious during our first meeting, considering my involvement with Helgen. He still didn't know everything about me. I doubt I'd ever tell him, but at least I had the ear of a lord now. Asking him about the Greybeards, he immediately invited me into his private quarters, where we sat together in a comfortable chair each, a steward was summoned to deliver some ale, and he regaled me with his story.
"First thing's first, Ragnar. There's no refusing the summons of the Greybeards. It's a tremendous honour. When do you depart?"
"Tomorrow morning, lord. Lydia and Aela are putting the finishing touches to our plans. We believe it'll be a two-day journey in all. First day to Ivarstead, then a day to climb the mountain."
He nodded. "I envy you. To climb the Seven Thousand Steps again." He sighed, disappearing into memories for a moment. "I made the pilgrimage once, did you know that?" A rhetorical question, so I let him continue. "High Hrothgar is a very peaceful place. Very... disconnected from the troubles of this world."
"Sounds ideal."
He laughed lightly. "I wonder if the Greybeards even notice what's going on down here. They haven't seemed to care before. No matter. The best thing to do would be to go to High Hrothgar. Learn what the Greybeards can teach you. With any lucky, you're the man who can end this Dragon Crisis."
"And what about Whiterun?"
"Are you considering making my city your home?" he wondered, very interested by my next words.
"It already is, lord. I now have a house and a housecarl. And I have no desire to move anywhere else. I made my goodbyes to my former home."
"And it helps you also have a woman to come back to."
"Aela?" He nodded. "I think so too. I've asked her to join me at Breezehome. She will move in upon our return."
"I'm sure this is just the beginning of your adventures, Ragnar."
He wasn't exactly right, as my life had been a whirlwind since first entering Skyrim what felt like decades ago, but maybe he was suggesting a lot more was to come. Though part of me would have liked settling down, much like I had with Muiri, I did like wandering across the breadth of Skyrim, particularly now that I was working with the Companions.
After finishing my tankard, I thanked the jarl for his advice, returning to Jorrvaskr, where Aela and Lydia filled me in with the rest of the plan. They hoped we wouldn't need too much in the way of supplies, as Ivarstead was a village, so should have a tavern or inn where we could eat, drink and rest. As for climbing the mountain, the hope was that we'd only need cold weather gear and that we would hopefully make the climb in a day, but it would be best asking the locals.
Knowing we had quite the journey in front of us, we headed to bed early that night, Lydia joking about not making too much noise and keeping her up. It gave me quite the chuckle, and also a sense of relief that we could already joke about such things together. And, surprisingly, Aela and I just went to sleep that night with nothing more than a little kissing before she cuddled into me as always. It was amazing how quickly it all felt... normal.
Lydia was awake first the next morning, lightly knocking on our bedroom door to wake us. It was barely light by the time we left Breezehome for the stables, the temperature still cold enough that we all needed our thick coats over our armour to keep warm. Cold enough that, after boarding our horses, you could see each breath we and our horses took.
Skyrim on a cool, sunny morning was beautiful, particularly when the sun broke through the morning mist, highlighting the colours of Whiterun Hold. We were heading as far east as a small village named Darkwater Crossing, where we would hopefully find a turning towards Ivarstead. That's what the map showed us, at least. It was a rather dull ride apart from the fact I had the company of two beautiful women, who kept me entertained with plenty of conversation. The only concern was when we followed signs to Ivarstead that left the main road, particularly as the path started to severely incline, enough that we had to dismount and walk our horses.
Apart from having to deal with a troll, which I dealt with by using my new gift, the three of us then falling upon the body with swinging swords, our trip to Ivarstead took all day, riding into the village just as the sun was starting to set. There was a sawmill, a few dwellings, and a tavern, but the one thing that took our eyes was the bridge across raging rapids, and it was obvious that would take us up the Seven Thousand Steps.
"Ever stayed here?" I asked of Aela. She had passed through here once or twice at most. Lydia was like me, never having come near the village.
"The Vilemyr Inn? No, I would generally head to Darkwater Crossing and camp there if I couldn't make it home."
"Hope they have enough room for us," Lydia stated.
Wandering inside, it was busier than I thought it would be. In addition to locals, you could see likely pilgrims who might end up following us along the path to High Hrothgar. After ordering food and drink, we sat down and spoke with a couple of people who had returned from the monastery, giving us a few hints and tips as to what we might expect during our climb. There might be the occasional wild animal, but the main concerns were inclement weather and possibly slipping and falling to your death. But anyone we spoke to was confident we'd make it to the monastery within a day, as long as we left early.
Aela and I managed to behave ourselves... mostly. My fingers may have wandered, finding themselves in a hot, tight, wet hole, and Aela may have needed to kiss me constantly to keep her moans quiet. After her climax, she held onto me tightly for quite a while before she leaned back and look at me in such a way, I figured she was on the verge of saying something quite meaningful. Whatever it was remained unsaid, and after replying I didn't need anything from her in return, we happily fell asleep.
The innkeeper woke us up early, and after a hearty breakfast, we donned our coats, heaved on or packs, and began the long walk up the mountain. One or two pilgrims joined us to begin with, but there were shrines dotted along the path, and those with us quickly left us as they stated they would pray at each shrine along the way, and they would probably camp halfway up the mountain, completing the journey the next day.
It was an hour or two of casual walking before the path truly starting to steepen, the steps starting to fall into disrepair, and the scenery changing, with snow starting to lie on the ground. Though we were all working up a sweat as we climbed, there was no chance of removing our thick coats, as the wind was fierce, though thankfully not blowing into our face, coming more from the side and slightly from the rear, though that changed when we turned a corner, our pace dropping considering as snow and ice was blown into our face.
