The Traveler

Chapter 28

***

Hot was an understatement.
Maxine wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She could feel how damp her hair had become as well as her armpits and lower back.
Brynjolf had long since put his hair up and was fanning himself with a random contract he had in his satchel from a recent job. It had something to do with altering the ledger numbers of a shop called Radiant Raiment.
Weylyns tongue about touched the floor and he walked slowly with his head close to the ground, ears drooping.
Even Eltrys appeared to be flush from the heat.
"So Eltrys what do you know about the Blades?"
"Not much. They tend to be a bit reclusive thus the sanctuary isolated on the mountain."
Sensing some similarity to the Greybeards, she thought as he continued.
"Long ago, the Blades were protectors of the Emperors of Tamriel but when the dragons arrived, they quickly became dragon hunters and were dubbed the Dragonguard. Seems recently they've taken to that title again... though we still refer to them as Blades."
"Do they have a leader?" She asked, thinking about the scholar who Paarthurnax had instructed her to find.
"Yes, but they live to serve the Dragonborn. Ah! Look up ahead." He pointed to the opening of a large cave lying ahead on the path. "That's the entrance to Karthspire. The temple should lie just beyond it."

The news a music to their ears as they'd been hiking for about three hours now and the Forsworn, sun and rough terrain had done little to shorten the time.
Maxine looked around the mountain they were about to enter. "Hey Eltrys? We are getting pretty close to the top. Shouldn't we have run into some of the Blades by now?"
He paused to think. "Yeah I would've thought we'd have met some a couple miles back. Strange."
Pushing out of the heat and into the shade of the cave they took a small rest in its opening.
Heading deeper inside they were met with the ruins of a Forsworn camp.
Wooden platforms had been constructed over the cave's rocky interior and connected to each other by rope bridges.
On said platforms sat beds, a cooking fire, chests, benches, and other miscellaneous furniture.
Based on the banners hung throughout the camp, which sported the silhouette of a dragon in front of two crossed swords, and the maps and orders laid out on a table Maxine deduced that the blades must've repurposed this camp into their own outpost.
"The fire's still lit," Brynjolf remarked, peering down at a burning brazier, "they were here earlier."
"Something's not right." Eltrys spoke everyone elses' thoughts. "Why would they abandon an outpost? Especially one that lies right on the entrance to the temple?"
"I'm not sure but I think it would be best if we continued with caution."

So with caution they did.
Eventually they reached the outskirts of the camp and found themselves in a long, subterranean valley with a deteriorating set of stairs off to the right and, in the distance, a loft that was inaccessible. The entire cavern was lined with Norse carvings and crumbling pillars and structures that protruded from the tall, moss coated walls. High above, light trickled in from a gap in the rocks in the ceiling.
Maxine whistled. "I have a newfound appreciation for Nord architecture."
"You think that's something? Wait 'till we reach the temple." Eltrys lead them up the steps and onto a small stone platform.
On their left, carved into one of the valleys sides, was a massive doorway flanked by blocky pillars.
She looked at the space between the doorway and the platform they were on. It was way too long to even consider jumping.
"Think there's some sort of invisible bridge?"
"Anyone here brave enough to find out?" Brynjolf teased.
They heard the sound of stone against stone and turned to see Eltrys pushing a stone pillar on a rotating stand. "I think," he grunted, "I think these pillars have symbols on them."
Brynjolf removed one of the torches from the wall and brought it over.
A stone symbol glistened in the torches' dull light.
It resembled two mirrored serpents with small wings and long horns looking toward each other and a small arrow pointing down between them.
"What is that?"
"That's Akaviri." He traced the marking with his finger. "The tongue of those native to Akavir, a continent east of Tamriel."
"How can you tell?"
"My father. When in the mines one day he found a strange artifact which he believed to be an old sword hilt from the Akaviri age. He took me with him to see Calcelmo who explained to him that it was indeed an Akaviri artifact. Calcelmo also explained the symbol on the hilt. That's the symbol."
"Wait the Dragonguard were Akaviri weren't they? I remember coming across them in one of the history books I read back at Hrothgar."
He nodded. "Yeah the Dragonguard eventually formed the Blades or perhaps vice versa."
Brynjolf tapped his foot on the floor, impatient. "As much as I've enjoyed this little history lesson, it hasn't helped us determine how we are going to get to that doorway."
As soon as he'd finished speaking, a large stone slab rose up from the platform and stopped once it was level with the doorway, creating a bridge.

Brynjolf looked back at Eltrys. "How'd ya' do that?"
He gestured towards the pillars, all three of which now bore the same symbol of the serpents. "If you would've let me finish my 'history lesson' I would've told you that this symbol is the Akaviri symbol for Dragonborn. It stands to reason that if the Akaviri wanted this to be a sanctuary for the Blades, whom are led by the Dragonborn, then the answer must be so."
He said nothing but mumbled something about "Akaviri" and "total nonsense," before crossing over to the other side.
Maxine followed but before she could even step off the bridge, was stopped by Brynjolf extending his arm in front of her and pushing her back.
She ran into Eltrys who looked past her, confused. "Brynjolf what in-"
He pointed to tiles lining the floor of the cavern ahead, but they didn't understand what he was trying to say.
Picking up a rock he tossed it onto one of the tiles and flames shot out of cracks in the floor. "Barbecue anyone?"
Eltrys crouched next to a large tile in front of him. "The symbol for Dragonborn, it's here too."
Upon further inspection they found that the floor tiles consisted of three different Akaviri symbols, just like on the pillars. Most of them appeared nonsensical and looked more like Rorschach tests than anything else.
"Well if the symbols worked on the pillars, maybe they'll work here too?" Eltrys proposed.
Maxine took a step out but before her foot could touch the tile, Brynjolf, once again, pulled her back.
"Lass, I think this requires someone light on their feet. Let me handle it." He smirked and set his foot down on the tile.
It didn't budge and that was about all Brynjolf needed to continue.
He stepped from stone to stone with the grace of a gazelle.
"You know, thieving requires a certain type of person," he remarked as he leapt across the floor. "It takes someone clever, quiet, and," he reached the other side of the floor and took a small bow, "someone light on their toes."
A small chain hung down from the ceiling next to him with a small, circular grip attached to the end of it.
"When you're done with the theatrics, could you give that chain a pull?" Eltrys had his arms crossed across his chest, staring at Brynjolf. While he had been on his speech about light feet Eltrys had been rolling his eyes and completely drowning him out.