Dragonborn Rising

Chapter 28 - Mountain High

*****

Though I intended to leave for High Hrothgar before doing anything else, I wasn't going to just drop everything and go. After the giant feast the jarl put on for me in celebration of my elevation to Thane, I found myself escorted to my new home by Aela and Lydia, as we'd all consumed a lot of food and drink, and by the time it was all over, the sun had well and truly set.

Lydia was another beautiful woman in a long line I'd had the pleasure of meeting. She was tall, at least for a woman, though not as unusual considering she was definitely a Nord. Raven-hared, brown eyes, a figure hidden by the armour she wore, it was her voice that was most captivating. Soft, friendly, and she made clear her position. I was quick to wave away all talk of her doing my bidding, though I was left thinking I'd still wake up to find breakfast cooked, eager to know what task I was to give her next.

Walking into Breezehome, I was pleasantly surprised. The firepit had already been lit, providing warmth, and they hadn't lied about the place already being furnished. Considering I hadn't brought much with me from Riften anyway, I wouldn't have many things to take out of Jorrvaskr.

"I assume you'll be living here then?" Aela asked.

"Of course." I looked at her. "Want to move in with me?"

I smiled at the dropped jaw. "You're serious?" I nodded. She returned the smile. "I want to say yes right now..."

"So why don't you?"

"Because you've only just been given this place!"

I looked at Lydia. "Would you mind Aela moving in?"

"No, my Thane."

"My name is Ragnar, Lydia."

A smirk as she simply replied, "Of course, my Thane. And Aela would be welcome to stay permanently or whenever you choose." I couldn't help laugh, the tone utterly suggestive, obviously having figured out the relationship between Aela and I quite quickly. "I'll just sleep with something over my ears."

"Or you could join in," Aela suggested. That caused me to look at her wide-eyed, before I glanced at Lydia, who blushed but appeared slightly interested, giving me a sideways glance though remained silent.

Clearing my throat, I wandered upstairs to the large bedroom, noticing Lydia's room was off to the other side of the stairs. It wasn't large so I asked, "Will that be large enough for you?"

"It's my own room so I'll be pleased with that."

"Where do you live at the moment?"

"I have a bed and chest at Dragonsreach. I've been training for this position for years. I can purchase one or two things, make the room prettier."

Walking back downstairs, we gathered around the fire, where I said we would sleep tonight and put together a plan to go to High Hrothgar, probably the day after tomorrow. In addition, I asked both women to join me for the journey. Lydia would have come regardless, but I figured Aela would want to join me too. She did, and after getting to know Lydia a little better, we retired to our separate bedrooms.

Though it had been a very long day, Aela was still up for some fun, and once she started to strip while kissing me, it didn't take long for me to get in the mood too. Though I spent a little time pleasing her with my mouth, she was soon begging me for one thing, and one thing only. Sliding my cock inside her, she had me stop, just enjoying the feeling of my length.

"I'll move in after High Hrothgar," she said softly.

Looking down to where we were joined, I looked back up and said, "I guess this made the best argument?"

"I hope we won't annoy Lydia... Though I was serious about the offer too."

"You were?"

"I don't think it will take much to convince her to sleep with you, Ragnar. The only issue I see is that she'd want you to herself too."

"Why don't we finish what we started and talk about it later?"

We had some fun and experimented that night. What we both learned is that she loved it on her hands and knees, and she was also open-minded regarding perhaps taking it in her arse at a later time, as she loved it when I rubbed my thumb across her arsehole. Not quite enough to push it in, but she certainly seemed interested.

After our orgasms, admittedly mine arriving first before I helped her climax a second time, we laid together, Aela spooned against me as always. "Ragnar, can I admit something?"

"I feel the same way, Aela."

She turned around to face me. "You do?" she asked, unable to stop the smile forming.

"I thought it would be obvious. But I have to warn you..."

"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.

Thankfully the weather stayed clear until we decided to stop for lunch. Our coats were still keeping us warm but, after stopping, we quickly felt the cold so Lydia proved her talents by starting a fire, after I'd managed to scrape together a few bits of wood. There was a rock to sit on, so after clearing it of snow, we sat down together, myself in the middle, and ate a bit of bread and cheese for lunch.

"Will they let us in?" Lydia wondered.

"I have no idea," I admitted, "I guess we just walk in and I introduce myself, then see what happens from there."

"What do you think they'll be like?"

"Well, I'm guessing they don't get many visitors. From what that man was saying last night, he leaves them goods but has never met them. I don't think we have anything to fear. Though I assume they're isolated for a reason."

We didn't relax too long, otherwise the chill would have seeped all the way to our bones, so somewhat reluctantly, we doused the fire and continued our hike. The wind was still fierce but the sun remained out, providing next to no warmth, the snow thick on the ground under our feet. The higher we climbed, we could no longer see the steps below us, instead our feet sinking into at least an inch or two of snow with each step.

Despite warning about the local wildlife, apart from a couple of wolves, which Lydia scared off with some flames, we didn't run into anything that caused us a concern. We did pass one or two more pilgrims, and also a hunter, who suggested more game would lie further up the mountain. How they could possibly survive this high, I had no idea.

It was a few hours before we finally reached some sort of plateau, and at times the path even went down, still passing the occasional pilgrim along the way. It was cresting another rise that we ran into our first major problem of the day. A pair of trolls waiting for the unwary. Thankfully Aela and I saw them at the same time. Lydia hadn't even noticed them due to their white skin moulding into the landscape.

The trolls saw us and charged towards us together. Lydia and I unsheathed our swords, realising we'd never fought alongside each other, as Aela moved back with her bow, looking for elevation. "I'll take left," I said, "But I'll used my gift to knock them off balance at least."

"On your go, my Thane."

I used my new gift when the pair of trolls were barely a couple of metres away. It wasn't powerful enough to send them flying but it did cause them to stumble backwards, Aela firing an arrow into each of them before Lydia and I surged forward. Trolls were ugly but aggressive creatures. Their bite was bad enough, but their razor sharp claws could bring down even the largest of beasts with one well-aimed swipe.

Keeping my eyes on the troll in front of me, I kept out of its range, striking when it left itself exposed. Trolls were difficult to take down at the best of times, but with snow under our feet, getting our boots to grip was always in the back of our minds. The one help was that Aela could still shoot the occasional arrow, so slowly but surely, the trolls wilted, as although they could heal over time, they would soon lose too much blood.

A strike from hip to shoulder put the troll I was fighting on its knees, wasting no time taking its head before turning to see Lydia had the upper hand over her troll. I stayed back, ready to assist if needed, but she proved her talents, and I think possibly showing off too, as she eventually hacked it to the ground before driving her sword through its chest.

She looked up and smiled. "Well, that's a good afternoon workout."

"You've got talent, Lydia."

The smile only broadened. "Thank you, my Thane."

After sheathing our swords, and checking that none of us carried an injury we hadn't noticed, we carried on. There was still a little climbing, but it appeared the worst was over, and the information had been right. It had been a long day, the sun was setting in the distance, the three of us taking a moment to appreciate the view, Skyrim spreading out to the horizon.

"Get some sort of artist up here," I mentioned, "And paint this. Ever seen anything so beautiful?"

"I can already say I'm glad you're my Thane."

"Why is that?"

"Because I have a feeling you're not the usual knuckle-dragging idiot that inhabits Dragonsreach."

I glanced at Aela. "I think that was a compliment."

She laughed, agreeing it probably was, before we turned and completed our walk to the monastery. There was an enormous statue of Talos nearby, amused when Lydia walked towards it and kissed the base. She glanced at me and appeared surprised I wasn't doing the same. "Do you not believe?" she wondered.

"I don't give religion a lot of thought. I did revere one above all..."

"Who?"

"Dibella." She giggled at the thought. "There are perhaps one or two things about my past you don't quite know yet, Lydia. There is a good reason."

"And will you tell me later?"

"When we're back in Whiterun. Not sure you can handle the entire truth though."

"Ooooh. Colour me intrigued."

Aela did walk up the statue, kissed her hand and placed it on the base of the statue. Being a werewolf, she at least still revered the Nine. I only continued to believe in the Eight as it was what I'd done my entire life. I was aware of the many reasons for the civil war, but to be honest, the worship of Talos didn't affect my life one way or the other, so I didn't worry about it.

High Hrothgar was enormous, and I was left amazed that such a building had been erected up the mountain, leaving me figuring 'Why?' above all else. It was eerily silent, looked rather cold, and I'll admit, quite intimidating. But the doors opened after we'd walked up the stairs, walking inside to find it surprisingly warm, needing to remove our coasts straight away.

Coming to a halt in the first room, we looked around and even I jumped a little when a hooded and robed man appeared through the dark. Aela and Lydia both gestured at others appearing from other doorways, another two at the pair of stairways ahead. All appeared to have long grey beards, go figure, but appeared docile, if not intrigued as to our appearance. Three off them remained stood apart as the fourth walked towards me.