Portal

We had flown east, ending up in the mountains somewhere. I assumed we were at least still in Skyrim, though where exactly, I didn't have a clue. Odahviing had delivered us as promised, Skuldafn an enormous complex of temples and buildings spread across a number of peaks. The scenery surrounding us was harsh but spectacular in its rugged beauty, particularly when we turned around and could see parts of Skyrim in the distance, between the numerous peaks of the mountains, eerily reminiscent of dragons' teeth.

"There's a bridge over there that looks like an access point," I stated, unsheathing my sword and pointing.

"What do you think is waiting for us?"

"Dragons. Probably draugr too. Ancient Nordic ruin? Yep, lots of draugr. We've handled them before."

Swords in hand, we approached the bridge, noticing steps leading upwards on the other side, but we hadn't even stepped onto it to cross when there was another roar in the sky. I couldn't help the sigh as we both looked up and saw a dragon approach over one of the nearby ranges. "It must have seen us come in with Odahviing," I stated.

"What do we do?"

"If it comes in to attack, I'll get it on the ground and we'll deal with it."

I'll admit, I was hoping it was simply on patrol and wouldn't want a fight. Not because of what I'd told Odahviing back in Dragonsreach. I did mean what I said. It was more the fact I didn't particularly want to start this mission by fighting a dragon, thinking if we started with a dragon fight, what else would we end up facing deeper in the ruins?

The dragon continued to circle above us, making sure we moved off the bridge and back towards where we had landed, what I hadn't noticed at first but was an empty dragon burial mound. The idea was to simply to give us more space if it chose to attack. I know I silently prayed for the dragon to simply fly away, figuring Lydia was probably doing the same. We continued to watch the dragon circle us above, continuing to roar, almost as if challenging us, or me, to Shout it down.

"It's not going to go away, is it? What should we do?"

"I don't want to cross that bridge until the dragon chooses what to do."

"What if we ran across?"

"Good idea. But what's on the other side?" I looked up and the dragon continued to circle, making no sign of descending to fight us. "Alright. We'll cross the bridge but we have to do it quickly. Come on!"

I couldn't see anything on the other side of the bridge, and with a last glace at the sky, I sprinted across the bridge, hearing the armour of Lydia rattle behind me as she kept close behind. No sooner had we crossed that two draugr woke up ahead, running towards up. Stupidly, of course, as I simply lowered my shoulder and kept charging, the draugr staggering back, leaving itself opening for a cut of my sword from hip to shoulder. I was ready to take on the second but Lydia had already dealt with it by the time I had my sword ready to swing.

There was another roar, both of us looking up again to see the dragon finally makes up its mind. Any hopes of it simply flying away were dashed as it circled one last time before it descended fast, heading straight for us. I knew it was about to bathe us in something, whether fire, frost or even ice, so I made sure I Shouted first, covering its face in ice. It worked a treat as the dragon was blinded, even if only for a couple of seconds, causing it to crash into the ground before us. We were on it before it moved, swords finding gaps in its scales and soon blood flowed freely as I attacked the usual area I found weakest in a dragon, hacking away at its neck, not in an effort to severe it, simply to kill it.

Once it was dead, and I'd absorbed another soul, we moved on, climbing another set of steps and running into more draugr. These were no run of the mill draugr either, dressed in the fine armour I'd seen previously so I knew these were certainly worthier opponents than normal. Not that it was a problem for Lydia or I. We could work together with our eyes covered and still come out on top we were that used to working alongside each other. That's not to say we were complacent or over-confident. We just knew what the other was doing without even having to check.

The one thing that had always surprised me, every time we fought draugr, were those few that had the ability to Shout. There was that first time in Bleak Falls Barrow, where a Shout had thrown me into a word wall, lucky to have walked away thanks to Aela. There was also Jurgen Windcaller's tomb, where Lydia and I ran into a couple of draugr capable of Shouting. The two draugr we'd just put down were both capable of Shouting, only the Force Shout, and it lacked the power I was capable of, but it could still send Lydia flying if she copped the full brunt of one.

Once the pair of draugr were dead, we spent a moment looking for the entrance to the temple. Skuldafn was clearly ancient and has fallen into a real state of disrepair. At least two towers I could see in the distance had virtually collapsed, while even part of the temple appeared to have crumbled. It was also cold, the wind blowing and while tempted to put on my coat, I figured the temple ahead would be at least a little bit warmer.

We continued to climb a series of steps, dealing with the draugr on patrol while keeping an ear out for more dragons. Even without the beast-blood, I could hear their roars in the distance and knew they may eventually fly in to attack. I simply hoped we'd be inside by the time they did. What didn't help is that the complex was… well, confusing. One set of steps led to a dead end. Another led to a ruined tower. Every time was climbed a set of steps that led to the next level, we had a choice of usually two or three, not knowing which to take. We were constantly having to double back or deal with draugr that, if we'd taken the correct set of steps, would never have had to fight.

"What's it going to be like inside," Lydia muttered as we climbed ever more steps.

"At least there won't be any dragons," I stated with only slight humour.

"But too many draugr, if the number out here is anything to go by."

"We've dealt with worse odds. By rights, we shouldn't really even be here."

We eventually came to a large set of steps and I was confident the doorway into the temple would be at the top of them. The only thing between us and the door were a trio of draugr, dressed in their exquisite ancient armour. And all three Shouted at once. I pushed Lydia out of the way as I took the brunt of the Shout, amazed that I kept my feet though I was left nearly deaf as the trio charged towards me. I quickly shook my head of cobwebs and simply Shouted in return, dousing all three of them in flames, blocking an incoming swing from one of the draugr, growling in my face as its axe hit my shield, smashing it into his face in reply. Lydia was by my side immediately, thrusting forward with her sword before we crossed shields and took a couple of steps back.

"Another one, my thane?"

"Time to send them flying."

I waited until the three were lined up and then I Shouted again. To say the three of them were sent flying would be an understatement. They were still in the air as Lydia and I charged forward, swords thrusting down once they had landed, beheading two of the draugr in an instant. The third was still getting to its feet as Lydia and I fell upon it, swords piercing the fine armour and effectively skewering it. The draugr was tough though, growling at us both. All we did was thrust our swords forward again, this time leaving it on the ground dead once we withdrew our swords a second time.

The massive doors into the temple, made of iron and covered in carvings, appeared closed, but on closer inspection, the one on the right was slightly ajar. With help from Lydia, and a lot of heaving with our right shoulders, we managed to get the door open and stepped into, what was surprising, an illuminated temple, fires blazing to our sides and ahead, thankfully empty of enemies for the time being. We closed the door behind us, the howling wind silenced and we could take a moment to catch our breath.

"Big place," Lydia stated quietly.

"I wouldn't attempt shouting for an echo. This place is probably crawling with draugr."

She gestured ahead and around us. "Certainly seen better days."

"Like every other ruin we've been in. But I think this one has probably been completely abandoned. Doubt even treasure hunters have been here, considering we had to get a dragon to fly us here."

"Usual plan then?"

"We'll move as quickly as possible but should remain careful."

I think we were both starting to learn that draugr at Skuldafn were no ordinary draugr, compared to those we had dealt with across Skyrim. Nearly every draugr was dressed in fine armour, carried a well-crafted sword and was aggressive. Incredibly aggressive. My shield took numerous blows and I knew my forearm was going to be left blackened and bruised, no matter what. My fine armour was cut and scraped, thankful for its strength despite its lightness. I know I was cut once or twice but, although blood was drawn, no wound received was serious enough to worry about.

As we cut down draugr, we also had to keep an eye on the floor for the numerous traps that lay in wait for the unwary, Lydia and I yelling at each other whenever we came too close to pressing down on one. But at least we could use them to our advantage, filtering draugr towards them and chuckling away as draugr found themselves impaled on spikes, punctures by numerous poisoned arrows or smashed to pieces by logs.

We crested a set of steps and found ourselves in another puzzle room, once we'd dealt with the pair of draugr standing guard.

"I hate puzzle rooms," I muttered.

"Why is that?"

"We've already dealt with a few of them together. I've had to deal with one or two myself, knowing if I get it wrong, there's a chance I'll end up poisoned, maimed or dead. But at least you're here, and two heads are sometimes better than one."

"I guess it's for the two gates?" Lydia asked, gesturing to the far side of the room.

"We need to get the left one raised. There's a cave in behind the right so no point raising that one."

As I said a long time ago, some of the puzzle rooms I've had to deal with were incredibly difficult to figure out. But this one… If the ancient Nords thought this puzzle was going to stop even the dimmest of adventurers, they were going to be very disappointed. I'd found it rather bizarre that those who built these temples had left hints or clues for some of the puzzles we had found. Some were rather obvious. Others were more obscure, though once you'd given it a moment's thought, you would figure the puzzle out in a few seconds. I can honestly say the puzzle in Skuldafn was one I could have figured out alone, not that I told Lydia that.

We followed a series of long, dark hallways, partially if not completely collapsed, causing us to crouch down nearly onto our knees at times, hoping the ceiling wouldn't cave in as we clambered past. We ended up walking out onto a small balcony, overlooking what appeared to be a draugr in the midst of prayer, or so it seemed, as it was knelt in front of an altar. Any hope of taking the draugr out silently was ended as there was the usual sound of lids slamming to the ground followed by a number of growls. Lydia and I split up, heading around the open space in front of us to take care of the waking draugr.

The remains of the draugr was sent crashing down the stairs, its head sent in another direction as we found a secret entrance through another sarcophagus near the altar. I came to an immediate stop as there were spider webs everywhere, and also numerous spider sacs. I couldn't help the slight shudder that crawled up my spine.

"Are you okay, my thane?"

"I'll admit it. I hate spiders. I didn't before as I'd dealt with the monstrosities you get in Skyrim."

"I can hear them around the corner."

"Flames. I've found it usually works."

We rounded the corner together and flames flew from our palms. I still no idea how magic actually worked. I just know I somehow had the ability, as did my Housecarl. Two of the spiders dropped immediately, engulfed in flames, forcing the rest of the creatures back. Even over the crackle of flames, we could hear the spiders crawling away or towards us. There must have been plenty of them ahead!

Caution was the name of the game as we manoeuvred through the infested burial chamber. I didn't look up, not wanting to see the innumerable webs above while spider sacs surrounded us. Hope we don't run into one of those big ones. The smaller ones I can handle.

With all the spiders dead, and as I said, a lot of spiders, enough to leave both Lydia and I exhausted from the use of magic, we staggered through a large pair of iron doors into another puzzle room. I couldn't help the groan upon seeing the three pillars, which did nothing except wake a couple of nearby draugr, unsheathing our swords and killing them before they had the opportunity to attack us in kind. Thankfully it was no harder than the puzzle we'd completed earlier and it was only a matter of minutes before we pulled the lever and a wooden bridge dropped to allow us across a large gap.

My words about this temple being full of draugr were turning out to be rather prophetic the deeper we descended or ascended, I wasn't quite sure as we were continuously moving up and down flights of stairs. After we'd passed through another pair of iron doors, I was sure we did nothing but wade through numerous draugr, slowing our forward progress to a near crawl as our swords were left dripping with blood. Not much blood, draugr bled nowhere near as much as bandits and mercenaries, but they were still left bloodied after taking down a dozen aggressive draugr, who appeared to not know the meaning of the word 'defend'. Not that I'm complaining, it made our task slightly easier.

Up, down, turned around at times, swords swinging, shields blocking, armour scraped and scratched, sweat dripping down my brow and back, deep breaths, calls of support for my Housecarl as we moved in perfect harmony, a feeling of confidence that we'd overcome all the obstacles in front of us and prevail while there was that small feeling of fear in the back of my mind of 'What happens if we fail?'

"I prefer bandits," Lydia stated as we looked over another pile of draugr bodies.

"I have no idea what Skuldafn actually was, but it must have been important. These draugr are far tougher than what we usually deal with."

"How much farther do you think we've got to go?"

"No idea. You getting tired, Lydia?"

She smirked. "Never, my thane."

"Good answer."

"I'll sleep for days once we're home though."

"You and me both. What are the chances of everyone leaving me alone once we do return?"

"I think you're going to find yourself pulled a million directions. Plus, there are a million problems in Skyrim that everyone will probably approach you to solve."

I sighed. "I know."

"And you feel like you can't say no, correct?"

I nodded. No point verbally agreeing because she was right. "Come on, let's get this over with."

I always found a simple set of wooden steps a rather bizarre features of these tombs. Despite the fact most were now little more than crumbling ruins, you could see these were once grandiose temples. The carvings and artwork on the walls, those still visible, were sometimes exemplary in their magnificence. The fact these had been built thousands of years ago and were still standing was a testament to the building that built them. Yet sometimes within these marvellous buildings, we would find a wooden staircase. It didn't fit. It didn't make sense. I thought, if anything, they would have been the first thing to rot away. But I digress…

Another lever and another gate, thankful it wasn't another puzzle, though I guessed we would probably find another later if the temple was as large as Lydia and I both assumed. We ended up following a number of large, wide but empty hallways. I thought we were heading towards a puzzle door, my stomach dropping as we didn't have a claw with us. We turned into another hallway, this one in almost perfect condition, the carvings on the wall of events I knew nothing of and couldn't interpret. Any idea of stopping and looked at them was ended by the fact there was a puzzle door at the far end, guarded by… something… It wasn't a draugr. It appeared to float above the ground, carried a staff and its face appeared to be covered by some sort of mask.

"By Ysmir, what is it?" Lydia asked quietly.

"No idea. But it definitely doesn't look friendly."

It proved the point by pointing the staff at us. I pushed Lydia out of the way before diving the other way as a ball of flame headed towards us. I got to my feet immediately and simply charged, the usual tactic of bashing it with my shield, staggering the enemy and then impaling it with my sword. The enemy, whatever it was, had a different idea. As soon as I got closed, it flew away, hurling magic attacks in return, causing me to slow and raise my shield.

"We've got to flank it," I stated once Lydia was at my side, her own enchanted shield joining mine in a sort of mini-wall, "We should retreat and then come in from its left and right. Not too far apart, otherwise it'll try and go between us."

"Sounds like a good plan, my thane."

"Let's hope it works."

We took about a dozen steps back, dodging more attacks of both magic and flame. I took a glancing blow from one fireball on my left arm, feeling my skin heat up but I ignored it for now. My eyes were only for the floating enemy in front of me. I did glance towards Lydia, who met my eye, nodded, and we moved forward together. The enemy continued to float, slowly moving from side to side. When we were no more than half a dozen steps away, we charged forward.

It worked like a charm and we hacked the enemy to death, still without a clue as to what it was, forcing it back until it was stuck between us and the puzzle door behind it. I'm not sure which of us struck the killing blow, but when it died, it simply ceased to be, turning into nothing but a pile of ash. However, its cloak was undamaged and a quick check proved worthwhile as we found a claw.

"My thane, a word wall!"

"Interesting…"

"What makes you say that?"

"I assume this was a place of tremendous power. I wonder if said word wall would contain a powerful Shout." There was the usual faint chanting, the word in the wall lighting up the room, or so it appeared to me and then I learned the word. "Strun."

"Any idea what it means?"

I shrugged. "None whatsoever. I really should learn the dragon language. At least I would be able to read all of this. I'm sure all of this writing is probably a story of some sort."

"Who can teach you? The Greybeards?"

I shrugged again. "I was thinking Paarthurnax if he was so inclined to put up with me trying to learn."

"I have a feeling both he and the Greybeards would be impressed."

We found the exit from the world wall chamber and followed another series of long hallways, these thankfully empty of any enemies. There were a number of empty rooms, most filled with altars, further evidence this was a temple. And considering the history of Skyrim and the fact dragons once ruled over man, it was more than likely this was a temple dedicated to dragons. And probably built by man under threat of death. I wonder how many died building all these monuments? There was no treasure to speak of, nothing that I ever spent much time trawling through the numerous urns as I had been paid well enough for all the missions I'd undertaken for the Companions. That's not to say I didn't take the occasional jewel just lying around, waiting for someone to take it.

A bitter wind lashed our faces as we walked through the next set of iron doors. We were finally out of the temple but there was still work to do before we would arrive at the door to Sovngarde. To our right was another draugr, again dressed in exquisite armour, carrying an enormous great-sword. I did wonder how it even managed to carry the thing. I stopped wondering as the draugr jogged towards us, sword ready to swing. Lydia and I split up, the draugr heading for me, leaving its back exposed. I simply blocked the swing before Lydia's sword appeared through the chest of the draugr. The creature looked stunned as I swung my sword in an arc, taking its head.

"My thane, look!" Lydia exclaimed, pointing ahead. I glanced up to where she was pointed and was stunned. A shaft of light descended from the heavens towards the ground.

"That must be the doorway to Sovngarde," I stated quietly, "And it's going to be guarded. We should be cautious."

We rounded the temple walls, looking for the steps that would lead us to the doorway to Sovngarde. More draugr were waiting. I wasted no time fighting them, simply Shouting them off the ledge, stepping to the edge to see them plummet to the ground below. With sword in hand, we slowly climbed the steps, just knowing there was going to be one last challenge before we progressed. It was always the case.

The first thing I noticed once we finished our ascent were the pair of dragons watching our progress, one to our left, one to our right. What surprised me is that they simply watched. They made no move to take off or to Shout at us. I lifted my hand as Lydia appeared nervous.

"Leave them be."

"Are you crazy?" she muttered.

"Maybe a little. But look! They're simply watching. Leave them be. If they don't attack, then we won't attack."

"If you're sure…"

I was because through the blinding light of the doorway to Sovngarde I could see something waiting for us. "It's another of those creatures," Lydia stated.

"I wonder what they are?"

"This was a temple. Maybe some sort of priest?"

"A dragon priest?" Lydia shrugged. "Actually, that makes a lot of sense. Dragons were revered and I guess they would have had underlings doing what they wanted."

We readied ourselves for the fight to come as the dragon priest floating down the steps from the doorway towards us. It was armed with a staff, just like the last one we had fought. It was also wearing a mask. We were still a good two dozen steps apart, so there was little we could do as the dragon priest lifted his staff towards the skies, which immediately darkened. Rain started to pour, thunder rumbled directly above us as lightning flashed from the sky. He then pointed the staff at us and I think I yelled something as I leapt out of the way. Despite that, I still felt something run through my body, rolling along the ground before I stopped and heaved myself back to my feet.

"Are you okay?" I yelled, hoping she'd hear me over all the noise.

"Fine. Kill that bloody thing!"

"With pleasure," I muttered.

I dropped my shield, not wanting to be encumbered by anything. I wanted to move quickly, dodging a series of magic attacks. A frost attack did hit me but I shook that off, simply closing in on the dragon priest. It continued to float from side to side and I knew I would have to use speed rather than power to attack and kill it. The staff was lowered towards me again and I charged forward, swinging my sword towards the staff, knocking it to the side. I then swivelled and swung almost blind with my sword, feeling my sword hit… something. It wasn't man or mer. It wasn't draugr or dragon. It was… not natural.

The dragon priest swung the staff as a club, parrying it with my sword as it fired another magic attack. Then it switched to flames and I had to dodge before rolling out of the way. I glanced to my right and saw Lydia was back on her feet, looking a little worse for wear, but she had sword and shield in hand and looked mightily pissed off. I made sure to keep the attention of the dragon priest, moving in slowly, dodging and ducking as I tried not to glance towards Lydia as she came in from behind.

She gave away what she was doing by shouting a war cry as she attacked, the dragon priest turning to meet her in an instant. But that was the fatal mistake. As soon as its back was turned, I stepped forward and swung with all my might. A head didn't go flying but my sword cut through the priest. We stepped back as the dragon priest was immediately engulfed in flames, sharing a curious glance with Lydia, who simply shrugged at what happened. Again, there was nothing but ash left on the ground, a cloak above the ash untouched by fire, as well as the staff and also the mask.

I wandered back to grab my shield, returning to find Lydia looking over the mask. "It feels magical," she stated.

"Take it as a memento of our time in Skaldafn. In all seriousness, if it's magical, it may be worth something too."

I looked back up to see the dragons were still sat unmoving though watching our actions intently. I was confident they were not going to interfere so simply turned my eyes to the portal. I walked towards it and was surprised when the light disappeared, the floor returning back to normal. I stepped onto the dragon seal, jumping up and down, but the ground below my feet was solid once again.

"There must be a key somewhere," I said to myself, Lydia on the edge of the circle, watching what I was doing. I looked around and noticed another staff at the top of a small flight of stairs, next to the dragon seal. It was locked to some sort of mechanism in the ground so instead of taking it, I simply turned it. The portal to Sovngarde slowly started to open once again.

"I think that's it, my thane."

We stood at the edge of the portal. "Are you ready for this?"

"We're really going to Sovngarde?"

"I think so. I wonder if…" I trailed off as the thought suddenly hit me for the first time since we'd travelled to Skuldafn. For the first time since I'd been told that I would have to travel to Sovngarde.

"You wonder what?"

I looked at her. "I wonder if my father is there."

"Oh… Guess there's no better time to find out. Right?"

I grabbed her hand. "Right."

We each took a deep breath, and with a last look at the sky above Skyrim, we stepped forward.

Sovngarde awaited.