Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter X - Something Found

Bishop carefully balanced himself on a floating slab of thick ice.

Fuck, this was annoying. And he was cold. He was never cold. He even had to take out his cloak.

Stupid mist and ice everywhere.

But at least he was pretty sure that he was close now. The mist made it harder, but he did finally notice a large iceberg with a crevice leading into it in the distance.

He was sure that this was it.

He knew where the Chill was – everyone in the Guild knew where the prisons for all the Holds were, in case someone needed to be broken out. This was definitely not that place. And how many more secluded caverns could have been floating around that area?

At least he was almost there.

It took him hours to scour the ice field. He even left Karnwyr at the bank – he'd have much more trouble balancing himself on the ice. So Bishop was spending his time trying to make sense of his surroundings and not falling into the freezing water.

This better be fucking worth it.

He jumped over to another chunk of ice, flailing his arms to keep himself steady. He repeated the process a few more times until he finally reached his destination. He could see some light coming from inside the crevice.

Good. This looked promising.

After this, he deserved a stiff drink and a night in a warm tavern.

After he left the College, he carefully made his way across the bridge back to the town. He was still kind of blind, but he was used to it enough to be able to maneuver without much issue. He returned the book to Enthir right away, a little worried that something went wrong, since he still couldn't check the book properly.

Luckily, Enthir was happy with what he got and the mission appeared to be a complete success.

As Brelyna had promised, Bishop's vision cleared fully, but not before the morning came. He decided to head out towards the ice field right away and locate the hermit. There was no use in delaying it and he was pretty curious about what he would find.

He entered the cavern carefully, sword in hand, just in case there was something there that he didn't expect.

He weaved through the narrow passage, following the light until a larger cavern opened before him.

He was standing on a tall ledge, overlooking a small campsite, fitted with a fireplace, a bedroll and a... large cabinet. There was an old Nord there, draped in dark robes, pacing back and forth and mumbling to himself.

"Dig, Dwemer, in the beyond. I'll know your lost unknown and rise to your depths."

Fuck, the man seemed as out of it as his book had suggested.

"When the top level was built, no more could be placed. It was and is the maximal apex. How long will it be sung? My feet were set upon the rock but it turned to mud and drew me down. It licks the panes and smokes the glass."

The incoherent mumbles echoed through the cavern as Bishop made his way down towards the man. He sheathed his sword, determined not to scare him. He really didn't want to be forced to kill him after all that shit that he just went through.

"Hey," Bishop interrupted him carefully.

The old man snapped to attention and he just stood there, staring at Bishop for a long while.

"Yes, yes. You are here, good," he nodded assuredly afterwards.

What?

"You are here to help me breach it. The ice entombs the heart. The bane of Kagrenac and Dagoth Ur. To harness it is to know. The fundaments. The Dwemer lockbox hides it from me. The Elder Scroll gives insight deeper than the deep ones, though. To bring about the opening. But there is one more hurdle."