Chapter Thirty-One - The Seven Thousand Steps - 1st of Hearthfire 4E 201 - Umbra
Thick fur and heavy cloaks covered both Berry and I as we attempted the seven thousand steps. Babette's form wasn't heavy, but she was neither light. Carrying her was an effort onto itself, and it meant Berry had to be the one to drag the provisions while I dealt with strapping her to my back. The new armor that embraced my body had belonged to an Imperial soldier. It was composed of studded leather and chainmail, and the helmet was tough and capable of taking quite the beating.
Our pouches were filled with something like two hundred septims, and a couple of potions clinked by Berry's side. She even had a better bow, and Klimmek had bid us farewell by the bridge with an arm around Fastred's waist, offering us wise counsel about the slippery steps, and a couple of potions to resist the cold that he normally drank to do the climb.
I had dropped Babette in the middle of the bushes beyond the bridge during that time, because it would have been awkward to explain how we'd be dragging an unconscious vampire alongside us to the townsfolk we had just liberated of the problem by burning their hill to ashes, or near-ashes. Who would have thought that stones could burn so brightly when filled with the mummified corpses of the Draugr?
As Call of Cthulhu would teach, if you hear noises from the mine-shaft don't investigate lest you get shafted, but simply throw dynamite at it until it collapses.
The first dozen or so steps were done with ease. My breathing began to grow sparse by the time we reached the thirtieth, and by the sixtieth step I was already balking for air. "Kynareth give me breath," I whispered hoarsely, "Because I can't do this on my own."
"Less talking, more climbing," Berry retorted curtly, her appearance still fresh as a rose.
In the game, there were like seven hundred steps circa. This meant that in this reality, there were ten times that. In times like these, I wondered why they didn't put a lift on the damn mountain. "If only the levitation spell worked," I grumbled to myself. "To hell with climbing, flying is what we should do in times like these."
"Less talking," Berry grunted once more. The sixty steps became one hundred, but by then I could no longer even think straight at what was in front of me. These weren't small steps like those you'd find in a modern stairway. These were long, tall steps carved out of stone and covered in slippery ice. Sure, our shoes had nails meant to enhance our grip, but it made walking awkward and ankle-breaking, and coupled with everything we had to carry, it didn't make it any easier.
"Kynareth," I whispered, taking a deep breath. "Help." The howling of wolves reached my ears and made my right eyebrow twitch. "Not like this," I pleaded, but I had little choice but to throw Babette with all the grace of a troll down by my side as I grabbed my shield and lifted my sword, the wind picking up as wolves as white as snow began to bark and rustle through the little undergrowth that remained at the bottom of the mountains.
The snow creaked under their paws as they snarled, the pack composed of a good dozen individuals.
"Nice puppies," I whined out as they began to encircle us. The beasts growled, baring their fangs. One among the other was bigger, and as it decided upon whom to pounce at first, an arrow took him out pushing through his eye and sending him to tumble down, splattering the white snow with its blood.
That was the cue the rest needed to charge, and the cue I needed to rush forth and plant myself over Babette's unconscious body, shield held up to protect my face as I thrust the blade into the flank of the first wolf in front of me. The second lunged and tried to bite at my neck, hitting the chainmail instead as I turned together with my shield, sending him to fly and land on the snow.
Berry yelled as she let go of her bow to slam a sword into the stomach of a wolf, kicking another straight below the jaw before thrusting the blade into its skull.
These weren't wolves one could reason with. These were wolves one had to kill or die at the hands of. They growled and lashed out, claws grating against my shield, teeth aiming at my legs. I crouched to protect my thighs, and as the biting hit the armor's skirt, I pummeled with the side of my shield one of the wolves, another biting down on my wrist. Or at least, it would have had a spear of ice not slammed into its chest.
"Can you stay like that a bit more?" Babette asked from beneath me. "I think I can forgive you if you do."
I quite calmly moved away, snorting and twirling my blade down straight into the jaws of a wolf before rushing towards Berry, who was being overrun. The wolves were aiming at her backpack, biting down on it in pairs to unbalance and force her down on the ground.
Yet the pack scattered once lightning arched from one to the other, tendrils of crackling energy burning their fur and eliciting yelps of pain. They rushed off as quickly as they had arrived, Babette standing up with lightning playfully dancing across her fingers. She had some splattering of blood on her face, and as she used a finger to lick it clean, she smiled. "Ah, wild game," she sighed fondly. "Not as rich as human blood, but it has a good taste."
She then crossed her arms in front of her chest, and lowered her gaze to the ropes that bound her, but didn't really restrict her. "Ohhh," she said, "Was this some sort of roleplay?"
"No," I said dryly, "I simply needed some way to drag your unconscious form out of Ivarstead."
Babette blinked, and then turned her sights to the village further down the steps. She furrowed her brows, "Is that smoke coming out of the Barrows?"
"Yes," I said. "Burned it all to the ground."
"It took me weeks to order everything," Babette said, "My stuff must have burned too," her expression changed into one of sadness. "My things..."
"Here," I said offhandedly, rummaging through Berry's backpack to pull out what could only be described as a satchel of sorts. "Perfumes and whatnot I brought out before torching the place. The autographed books too," I said dryly, offering them to her. "Couldn't find your backpack," I continued. "But I guess you just teleport back to the Dark Brotherhood's sanctuary whenever you want something, so..."
"Thank you Nibblekins," Babette said with a small smile, clutching her things to her chest. "If I lost these, I don't know what I'd do. It would probably involve popping children's heads and drinking them for a few nights straight, I guess, but afterwards..."
"Can you please not describe these things?" I retorted, wincing and bringing a hand to my mouth. "Seriously, Babette..."
"You don't remember a lot of things, do you, my Nibblekins?" Babette said with sorrow in her voice, shaking her head as she drew near. "Fear is a symbol. Gore a signature. That which you cannot catch or fight will always terrify more than that which is known," she quipped making air-quotes. "That which has no morals cannot be constrained by laws known to men, and while to the Void all are equals in death, to the living how one dies means everything." She sighed as she sat down on the cold stairs. "Tales and Tallows won't happen this year then," she glanced up at me. "Your fans will be so sad."
"They'll live through it," I replied. "Listen, Babette," I passed a hand through my hair, "I don't know how to put it, but I really don't remember anything that happened between us. I don't know what my past self did, or even what my current self did beyond the crossing of the border. I really wish I did remember, because perhaps then everything would make sense, but it doesn't and it wouldn't be fair to you if I just lied about who I was."
"I know Nibblekins, which is why I'm coming with you to help you remember. I should tell Astrid I completed Narfi's job, but it's not like she can't wait a couple of days. I did tell her I'd be celebrating Tales and Tallows," she said. "I'll just need to fetch a few things quickly on my end, but if you just wait for me here, I'll be back." She gingerly gave me a quick peck on the cheek, and then hopped away. "Don't go anywhere!" She disappeared into a dark blue portal, leaving me to stare at the spot she had been a second before, and then back at Berry.
"We're taking a vampire along now?" Berry asked, "How does that work with being a prophet of the Nine Divines?" she remarked as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, "And about you being a member of the Dark Brotherhood...me being the next Listener or whatever..."
"It's a long story," I said. "But...technically, you could become the new leader of the companions, the new Archmage of the college of Winterhold, the new Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, a Nightingale...you could become a lot of things, like Thane of all Holds, hero of the Empire or the Stormcloak Rebellion..." I furrowed my brows, "There is no limit to what you can become, Berry," I said gently.
"Nice story," Berry said after only a brief moment in which my words sunk in. "Nine Divines told you this while you were busy frolicking with the undead and the Daedric princes or what? You were chilling with a mug filled with skooma while eating lunar sugar pie and it suddenly hit you that I was going to become everything?"
I shrugged. "I think it's complicated, and not my business what the world wishes or wants. You merely have the potential to become anything and everything if you so wish, that's not hard to understand. Everyone is potential, but your potential is...higher than that of others."
"If you say so," Berry replied, sarcasm thickly filling her tone. She turned her back on me and began to climb the seven thousand stairs once more. "Catch up to me later."
"That's really not wise," I pointed out, but Berry still kept on trudging upwards.
A few minutes later, and she had covered a good amount of steps by the time Babette returned all dressed up and set for adventure. Her idea of adventuring gear seemed to involve a fancy white-as-snow looking cloak which covered most of her upper body, a white leather armor with white fur interwoven into the leather plates and long white trousers that made her seemingly disappear with the snowy background. She smiled, her golden eyes now a striking blue while her hair was blond, her complexion similar to that of a Nord.
"Illusion magic," I said.
"Yes, my Nibbling," Babette replied as she gingerly settled a white and fluffy-looking backpack on her back, "Break the stereotypes if you seek to pass unobserved, but in a field of white dress accordingly to hide," she cited next. Her lips were a beautiful red color, and as she began to walk up the stairs, I followed her.
Somehow, I had the feeling she was putting herself directly in front of me on purpose.
On the other hand, I could not admire the white moon, for I was busy staring at the stairs and trying not to die from lack of breath or tumble down to my death.
Kynareth, let's make a deal. Give me breath, and in exchange I won't burn the Whiterun tree down.
I think it's a fair deal, don't you think so too? Because I swear I'll grab the Ortican and stab your precious trees till they all die if you don't give me oxygen right now, Kynareth.
Come on, Kynareth. Show me mercy. If not you, at least Mara. Mara's the merciful one, isn't she? Come on!
The wind picked up in intensity. "Looks like a storm is coming," Babette spoke from above me.
...
Kynareth, no. Bad goddess. Bad.
I'm going to wrangle your intestines around your neck! I swear to the Nine Divines that they're going to become Eight, and not because of Talos!
"Merciful Talos Stormcrown," I groaned out. "Have mercy!"
Hailstone began to fall.
...
I hate you.
I hate you all so, so much.
