Skyrim: Rise of the Dragonborn

Chapter 3: One Last Glimpse

          It wasn't long before Beric heard the roaring of a waterfall echoing off the cold cave walls.

"We must be close to the falls," Drake whispered. Beric was quiet. He was so numb that the only thing that seemed to exist were the sp-split sp-splat of his and Drake's footsteps on the wet cave floor. Drake still had Beric by the arm, which was a good thing. If Drake had let go, Beric would have stopped and would probably have been overcome by the Altmer. They were no doubt inside the cave by now, "Whenever we reach the end of the cave, we can head North. We'll have to make sure we don't pass too close to Bruma. We can't be seen by anyone. It will be our undoing," Drakes voice continued as the roar of the falling water grew louder. Beric hadn't said a word. He hadn't even shed a tear since they had started moving. He just felt empty. Empty and worthless.

Before long, there was a pale, dim light touching the jagged edges of the cave wall. The water from the waterfall was splashing into the ending of the cave and was shining from the moonlight that shone through it.

"There it is, Beric. We'll lose them as soon as we get out of here and Northward into the Heartlands. Let's go," he said running all the faster and dragging Beric behind him almost in the air. Beric barely kept his footing. When they reached the end of the cave, they made their way up to the plateau where they reached the Red Ring Road, a road that ran along the moat-like Lake Rumare, "Once we reach the bend in the road, we can just cut across the Heartlands by way of the two shrines. We'll be halfway to Skyrim by sunrise," Drake said helping Beric up to the road. Drake continued to pull him along. Their path changed from stone road to grass without Beric giving much thought.

It was about an hour later that Beric began to walk on his own. Drake had slowed his pace slightly. They both looked to their right as they saw the sun being welcomed by the clouds on the horizon and the stars starting to make themselves scarce.

"It's almost sunrise. We're making good time," Drake said enthusiastically, "We're almost to the Shrine of Namira," Drake said causing Beric to think. There were to Shrines in the Heartlands, both to Daedric Princes. Beric forgot what each prince was known for.

"I thought Mephala's shrine came first," Beric mumbled trying to keep up.

"It did, but we passed that a long time ago," Drake said over his shoulder.

"I didn't see it," Beric said drooping his head.

"You weren't really paying attention," Drake said shrugging, "and I didn't think we were sightseeing. A few more steps and we'll be able to see Bruma. Too bad we can't go through the town. It would be nice to see unthreatening faces, but it's for the best. We'll have to go the long way around the Shrine of Namira and up the Jerall Mountains. Then We'll be in Skyrim," Drake said stopping and leaning against a tree.

"It won't be that easy," Beric mumbled

"Nope," Drake said shaking his head, "But unless you're alright with losing your head, we don't have an option," Drake said taking a deep breath. Beric was quiet, "We'd best keep moving," he said motioning for him to follow and standing back up. Beric nodded as he started walking toward the mountains, "Do you think we'll make it to the mountains by sunrise?".

"Probably not. We'll be in the mountains by midday, though," Beric answered trying to remember his schooling in geography, "It'll take a day or two to get out of Cirodiil. We'll be seeing the tower of the Imperial Palace for a while yet. We won't be in Skyrim for another week at least,"

"That long?" Drake questioned as he looked up to the gigantic, vast mountains that stood a few miles away from them.

"The mountain range is not thick, but from what I remember, the mountains are not easy to pass. It's slow going. You may or may not remember, but me and my father would take trips up there occasionally,"

"Do you remember the way?" Drake said looking over his shoulder.

"I think so," Beric hesitated, "I remember where our lodge was. He used to show me the path to Skyrim. 'Up that way is your mother's homeland,' my father would say," Beric said pointing toward the mountains, ",'It's a harsh and cold land, but a land worth seeing someday',"

"Harsh and cold...sounds like heaven," Drake smirked.

"I heard it's beautiful," Beric said trudging along, "My father talked a lot about it..." Beric began to choke on his words. The wound was still fresh.

"We'll see soon enough," Drake said patting him on the back. They continued in silence for the rest of the way to Bruma. It was midmorning when they saw the first of the village. They naturally took the long way around it and passed without much trouble.

It wasn't long before they were trudging up an old mountain path. Beric's head throbbed from the lack of sleep; however, sleep wasn't an option. They didn't know if the elves had followed them or not. He had read accounts of dealing with the Altmer in the Great War. Most accounts said they were crafty and cunning. The arrogance that commonly came with an Altmer's attitude was never based in fiction. They excelled at strategy and used their Highborn gift of magic to their advantage. Most Elves had an inborn affinity for magic, in fact, it was rare that an elf didn't know a collection of spells. He remembered war stories of lightning bolts, fireballs, and ice spikes being shot from the hands of every Altmer in each Aldemeri regiment. He knew growing up that war was terrible. It had to be for all the stories to be as terrible as they were.

Beric continued to think of his hunters for the rest of the way up the mountain. Several hours later, he started to feel a chill set in on him. It was getting cold fast. He glanced up to Drake who was several steps ahead of him. He had his arms folded and rubbing them.

"Look, there's a cave up ahead," Drake said pointing up ahead after they had taken several twists and turns, "It leads straight into the heart of the mountain. I hope there's no spiders in there,"

"I doubt there's any spiders, Drake. Spiders haven't been spotted in Cirodiil for years,"

"That doesn't mean anything, Beric," Drake smirked, "Things change, and even if they haven't been spotted, it doesn't mean they aren't in there. Look at this path," Drake said pointing to the path they were walking on, "The grass has started to grow back for some time now. No one's been up here for at least two months. Anything could have made its way here and made a home," he said as they approached the dark entrance of the cave.

"Well, then, I guess we should be careful," Beric said sitting down on an old log that rested ten paces away from the entrance.

"You don't mean we're actually going in, do you?" Drake said cocking his head and creasing his eyebrows.

"Do you have a better idea?" Beric shrugged.

"Yeah, how about we find another way? Caves are dangerous, Beric. There's spiders, Falmer, Draugrs..."

"Draugrs?" Beric said leaning forward, "You mean to tell me that you think Draugrs are in that cave?"

"Well, it's possible," Drake mumbled.

"It's not a burial crypt, Drake. It's a cave," Beric said initiating a long silence. He slowly looked to his right when he saw it. It was the sight of Cirodiil. Cirodiil was vast and green as always. It was like a large forest with the Capital city in the center towering above keeping watch over the mountains Beric was now going into. The clouds followed the sun that was starting to set toward the Abecean Sea and the border of Hammerfell. His heart sank as the tears started to stream again. Everything that had happened in such a short time. His father and Reshi were dead. His house was most likely swarming with Altmer soldiers. And now he'd probably never see Cirodiil again. This was his home. This was everything he knew as familiar and safe, and this was the last he'd see of it. Drake slowly walked over to him.

"I know, Beric," Drake struggled out as he put his hand on his shoulder. They both stared over green plains and woodlands of Cirodiil. This was their last glimpse of home...