Chapter Thirty-Three - The Seven Thousand Steps - 3rd of Hearthfire 4E 201 - Umbra
Two days. Two days of cold. Two days of slippery stairs. Two days of hailstone. Two days of cold hands finding ways to get against my warm flesh while I tried to sleep. Two days of incessant blizzard. What was supposed to be a simple walk up the seven thousand steps turned into a treacherous walk of what I could only describe as the climbing of Mount Everest. With each step we took up the stairs, I knew the hatred of the wind, and heard the howling of the twisting air. I felt the wrath, and accepted the scorn. Perhaps this was punishment for frolicking with vampires and the undead. Perhaps this was merely a random event of the weather.
Whatever the reason, my shield arm stayed up and strong even as hail kept falling down. We hadn't met any more wolves, or trolls, but it meant nothing because Ice Wraiths could easily slither unseen towards us, and I didn't doubt for a second that we wouldn't face a troll sometime later during our descent.
It was as I hit a wall that I realized we had arrived.
Before it, only stairs of black stone and thick snow, and the next instant a gate struck my shield making it ring. An altar of stone upon which offerings frozen by the howling winds stood beyond the gate, and while it seemed impossible, braziers were lit upon the walls and the front courtyard of the massive complex that was HIgh Hrtoghar, crafted from the very stone of the mountain.
"We made it," I whispered in awe, hugging the gate's cold metal bars. I had no idea why there was a gate here, perhaps to keep out the trolls, but it was a beautiful gate, and I loved it just for what it represented. It was the finishing line. We had climbed the seven thousand steps. We were at the summit.
The moment I spoke those words the blizzard began to die down, and I gritted my teeth. Of course, only now that we had reached the summit were the Gods seeing it fit to renounce the blizzard. Why, who would have thought? The gates didn't budge even as I pushed against them. "Is there a bell we can ring?" I asked as I turned to stare at Berry, who in turn shrugged.
"What are you looking at me for? You're the one who knows more than me about this sort of stuff," she huffed. "Perhaps if we wait someone might come out and see us?"
"I'd rather not let my Nibblekins stay out in the cold," Babette said as she knelt in front of the gate's lock, quietly getting to work with a lockpick. It took her less than a minute to hear a satisfying click, and as she stood back up and gingerly pushed the gate open she smiled in my direction. "Here we go."
The front courtyard was new, but what bothered me the most was the utter lack of people welcoming us. I had a bad feeling, but then again I was composed of bad feelings, so what was one more or one less? The snow crunched under our feet as we stepped past the gate, up a last flight of stairs that were nothing when compared to their older sister Seven Thousand Stairway-Chan, and to one of the massive doors made of iron that not only were imposing to behold, but also looked quite firmly closed.
I grasped hold of one of the two large metal knockers and knocked at the door, the resounding noise echoing loudly throughout the air. The howling winds had died now, replaced by a quiet breeze. I knocked further, and no reply seemed forthcoming. I scrunched my eyebrows up, small flakes of snow and ice cracking as I did that, before pushing my shoulder against the door to try to open it. When it didn't as much as budge, I exhaled loudly and passed a hand through my snow-covered hair.
"Berry, if you'd kindly force the issue at hand," I gestured at the door, and Berry caught on quickly.
She planted her feet on the ground and took a deep breath, her cheeks rosy from the bitter cold that although she was a Nord, still hit her harshly. The air rolled into power, and with a mighty roar a Fus escaped Berry's lips, breaking wide open the main entrance of High Hrothgar and allowing us, together with the bitter cold, to enter the ample entrance of the place. The braziers were unlit. The cold crept upon the stone floors which had seen signs of polish, and that were now covered in dust and the first snowflakes that came through the opened doors.
The place looked abandoned.
"Where is everyone?" I whispered as I stepped inside, glancing at the shadows. Babette walked inside behind me, and in a smooth motion disappeared from sight, invisibility cloaking her as the twitches in the air that would have betrayed her presence soon became too difficult to follow as she neared the darkest corners of the place.
"Hey there!" Berry yelled from my side, stepping towards the center of the large entrance, "Is anyone home?" she asked next.
Silence was the only reply she received.
I swallowed, and unsheathed my blade.
Berry tensed at the sound that I made, but as I took a deep breath, I closed my eyes and strained my ears. Nothing. There was nothing, no sound and no presence. The air was cold, and dead. The chill on my skin remained a firm constant, even as I felt a sudden lurch overtake my senses. It was as if someone was playing with my field of vision, enlarging and restricting it as it bent ninety degrees to the right and to the left, forcing me to close my eyes and take a deep breath, the sense of vertigo and the nausea overpowering as bile rose to the top of my throat.
Enraptured, he who finally goes unrecorded. Recorded, the slaves that without knowing turn the wheel. Enslaved, all the children of the Aurbis As It Is.
I took another deep breath, the sensation passing just as quickly as it had arrived, yet the reality of the situation was unchanged.
The Greybeards weren't inside High Hrothgar.
Hopefully Paarthurnax could be summoned by yelling really loudly at him from the courtyard.