Chapter 33 Between Frostbite and Bald Statues
The Forsworn settlement lay in ruins, swallowed by a cold, unnatural silence. Frost clung to every shattered hut and splintered totem, turning the once-lively encampment into a graveyard of glittering ice. The air smelled faintly of burnt wood and frozen blood. Each breath I took emerged in pale white clouds, drifting away like fading spirits.
The four of us Esbern, Delphine, Astrid, and I moved through the devastation with hurried, uneven steps. Our boots crunched over frost-coated debris. Astrid's face tightened with each injured person she saw; her brows drawn, her lips thin with concern. Delphine exhaled sharply every time she knelt beside a wounded Forsworn, her hands trembling just enough to betray the urgency she tried so hard to suppress. Esbern muttered prayers under his breath ancient words to Stendarr or maybe to no one at all his breath shivering in the frigid air.
The injured were scattered everywhere. Some lay curled around their frostbitten limbs, their skin pale blue and trembling. Others groaned weakly beneath fallen beams and collapsed stone, reaching toward us with shaking hands. And then there were those who no longer moved… bodies iced over, their expressions frozen in fear or pain. The silence around them felt heavier than the snow.
I hurried from one survivor to the next, kneeling so quickly my knees stung through the cold ground. My palms glowed with gentle golden light as Healing Hands flowed through me. Warmth pulsed from my fingertips into their broken bodies; I watched frost melt from their skin, color slowly return to their cheeks. Every time the spell found its mark, I felt a faint tug inside my chest like a thread tightening.
A quiet chime echoed in my mind.
Restoration increased.
My breath hitched for a moment. Even in this chaos, the system still quietly tracked my progress.
Earlier, when I had fought the frost dragon, I had sensed a similar tug as arcs of fire and lightning left my hands. My Destruction skill had jumped from 54 to 56, though getting it there had taken what felt like an eternity. The higher the skill, the harder it fought against improvement as if I were climbing a mountain that grew taller with every step I took.
Except for Enchanting.
Enchanting rose like it was desperately trying to outrun the other skills. Just a few soul gems, a bit of metal, and ding another level.
Why was it so easy?
Did using up so many resources somehow please the system?
Or was it simply trolling me?
Possibly.
I shook the thought aside. There was no time to dwell on it. A Forsworn woman clutching a frostbitten arm whimpered softly, snapping me back into the moment. I moved toward her quickly, my breath unsteady, my heart pounding in my ears. The glow from my spell illuminated her face, revealing fear, hope, and exhaustion all mixed together.
I kept casting. I kept healing.
The cold bit at my fingers.
My arms ached.
The air stung my lungs.
Restoration 35 -> 40
But I didn't stop.
Because right now, in this frozen ruin, we were the only warmth these people had left.
Time passed in a blur of healing light, shivering breaths, and frantic footsteps crunching across frost-covered ground. Slowly painfully slowly the Forsworn we tended to began rising to their feet. Some leaned heavily on the shoulders of others, some held tightly to their bandaged limbs, but they stood. They survived.
When they gathered around us, their voices rose in soft, trembling tones words we couldn't understand. Yet their eyes spoke for them.
Gratitude. Relief. Awe.
Faces smeared with soot and frost softened into tired smiles. A few even pressed their palms together or bowed their heads, the motions shaky but sincere.
Then the crowd parted.
A tall man stepped forward, his fur cloak torn and rimed with ice, but his posture firm. His eyes sharp, pale blue searched each of us before he spoke.
And he spoke in perfect English.
"Thank you for helping us," he said, his voice deep and steady despite the cold. "I am one of the commanders of the Forsworn warriors. We cannot repay your kindness right now…" His gaze lowered briefly, guilt flickering in his expression. "…but we will never forget what you have done today."
His attention shifted to Astrid.
"And thank you, Dragonborn. We will remember your kindness for as long as we live."
Astrid froze for half a heartbeat, startled by the direct praise. Her fingers fidgeted at her sides before she pulled her shoulders back, straightened her posture, and forced herself to meet his eyes.
"O–oh… It's alright," she said softly, clearing her throat. "Helping people in need is simply the right thing to do."
The commander blinked, visibly taken aback as though he didn't expect compassion from someone wielding the title Dovahkiin. His expression cracked into a look of wonder.
"Most people see our kind as nothing more than savage barbarians…" he said, his voice lowering with a hint of old resentment. "But you are different. Truly."
He turned toward the rest of his people, his breaths long and heavy.
"Thank you again. From here on, we will leave this place and look for a safer refuge. Perhaps a cave… or a mine where the beasts cannot reach us. You have saved us, saviors."
He bowed deeply so deeply that his forehead nearly touched the frozen ground. His shoulders trembled, either from the cold or from emotion, and when he rose, his eyes shone with respect.
Then he switched back to the Forsworn tongue, shouting something powerful and commanding.
The response came instantly, echoing through the icy valley like a chant of war and reverence combined:
"DOVAHKIIN! DOVAHKIIN! DOVAHKIIN!"
Their voices rose and fell like crashing waves, fierce yet full of gratitude. We didn't understand any of it besides the word Dovahkiin, but we didn't need to. Their admiration for Astrid was unmistakable.
One by one, the Forsworn retreated into the cavernous mouth of Karthspire Cave, torchlight flickering as they disappeared into the shadows.
For a moment, only the wind remained.
Esbern exhaled slowly, his breath forming a thin cloud of mist in the freezing air. He tugged his hood tighter around his head and squinted at the dark maw of the cave ahead like a gaping stone throat waiting to swallow us whole.
"Alright," he murmured, voice low but steady. "Let's enter the cave. It will lead us to Sky Haven Temple."
A cold gust swept past us, rustling our cloaks and sending tiny snowflakes dancing like tiny ghosts. With a shared nod, we stepped forward into darkness, into history, and into whatever dangers Skyrim had prepared to throw at our faces.
The moment we crossed the threshold, the world dimmed. The air grew warmer than outside but still carried a damp chill. The cave smelled of wet stone and something earthy moss, old wood, and maybe… Forsworn sweat. Torches flickered weakly on the walls, their flames hissing as if annoyed by the drafts.
And, of course, as someone who had played the game, my brain immediately betrayed me.
If level scaling existed here…
There should be Forsworn Briar Hearts lurking everywhere.
Those half-alive, half-terrifying, magical heart-hoarding maniacs.
"Hm. Pretty quiet…" I muttered, glancing around suspiciously. "If this were the game, there'd be a Briar Heart here."
Astrid turned her head sharply, her braid swinging. "Did you say something?"
"Huh? Ah no, nothing. Just talking nonsense." I waved a hand dismissively like some suspicious NPC.
She squinted at me. "…Right. Sure you were."
We continued deeper. Soon, the cave widened, revealing scattered Forsworn gear war paint pots, crude weapons, hide armor, bones, and shiny loot just lying around like gifts from the Nine Divines themselves.
My eyes widened. My heartbeat quickened.
The blessed gamer instinct took over.
"Hey, look at all this loot." I knelt immediately. "Hold on I'm gonna loot everything."
Delphine dragged both hands down her face in exasperation.
"Alex… Can't you do that after we finish? Hmm? Maybe after we save the world? Just a thought?"
I shook my head without even looking at her, already rummaging like a raccoon in a treasure chest.
"Nope. I'm looting now. You guys go ahead if you want I'll catch up later."
Esbern exchanged a look with Delphine, the kind adults give each other when the child is touching everything in a store.
They turned to Astrid.
"Come on, Astrid," Esbern said, gesturing for her to follow. "Leave him. He'll only take a moment to loot."
Astrid raised her chin defiantly, crossing her arms.
"I'll stay with Alex."
I glanced back at her mid-loot, holding a piece of gold like a sacred relic.
Aww.
She stayed.
My heart melted for a second.
"It's alright, Astrid. I'll catch up quickly. Besides there's a puzzle ahead. I'm pretty sure you guys won't solve it without me."
I grinned with the smuggest smirk known to man.
Esbern let out the grumpiest old-man snort.
"If you wish to continue learning from me, you should stop acting like that."
I laughed. "Relax, Esbern. I'm kidding. Mostly. Just go on ahead I'll join you soon."
Delphine grabbed Astrid's hand, trying to gently tug her away like a mom dragging a stubborn kid from a toy aisle.
"Astrid, come on. He clearly doesn't need us, and we have important things to handle. Like finding a way to defeat Alduin before he destroys the world."
Astrid hesitated, glancing between me and the others.
"You're sure you'll be fine?"
I nodded confidently. "Yeah. I'm way stronger now than before."
Inside, a tiny evil part of me wondered,
Can they actually solve the puzzle without me? Hehe… probably not.
Astrid finally sighed and let Delphine pull her.
"Alright… just don't take too long."
"Yeah, yeah, I won't," I said already elbows-deep in a pile of loot.
For the next few minutes, I collected everything not nailed to the ground:
a handful of gold coins
several potions (health, stamina, magicka, the whole set)
a suspicious-looking skull (I put it back)
a shiny spoon (I kept it, for science)
I even eyed the iron ore vein on the wall with the greedy longing of a true miner.
But… if I mined it now, they'd definitely yell at me.
So I sighed dramatically, whispered "later…" to the ore, and finally jogged forward to catch up with the others.
When I finally caught up to them, the air was thick with dust and the metallic scent of ancient stone being disturbed. The puzzles scattered around the ruin were already solved rotated pillars lined neatly, pressure plates untouched. Astrid stood at the center of it all, framed by torches flickering against the carved walls, a dagger pressed to her palm.
A bright drop of red slid down her skin and onto the stone sigil below.
"Hey, what'd I miss?" I called out, brushing dirt off my armor.
Delphine whirled around with a long exhale, relief softening her shoulders for exactly one second. "Done looting, I see…"
Esbern, who was practically vibrating with excitement, explained with proud reverence, "Astrid is opening the entrance to Sky Haven by offering her blood the blood of the Dragonborn."
My eyes drifted toward the massive stone carving of a bald-headed man staring down at us with the authority of an ancient emperor.
And before my brain had any chance to intervene, my mouth fully betrayed me.
"Haha, no wonder the secret door stayed hidden. Look at that his shiny head glows like holy light! Hahaha… haha… ha…"
Silence hit the chamber like a warhammer.
Esbern went stock-still eyes wide, hands halfway raised like someone had suddenly pulled a sword on him.
Delphine stared at me with the blank, deadpan fury of a woman calculating how many years in prison she'd get for murder.
Esbern's voice eventually returned, brittle like he was holding cracked glass.
"…Alex. That is the statue of the founder of the Blades. An emperor. And a Dragonborn."
Astrid's shoulders shook. She wasn't trembling with awe.
She was trying not to explode laughing.
I blinked. My mind raced. My soul evacuated my body.
Right. I'd read that once on some random Skyrim forum years ago… completely forgotten.
"Oops. Sorry. I didn't know?" I offered, raising both hands.
Then unfortunately, tragically my attention was drawn back to the statue's forehead.
It was polished. Like, unnaturally polished.
Like someone had buffed it daily for 4,000 years.
In my head, I thought: That would actually make a damn good mirror.
In reality, I said:
"I could probably use it as a mirror uhp!!"
My hand slapped over my mouth too late.
Delphine turned toward me with the smooth, predatory slowness of a sabre cat preparing to pounce.
Astrid completely failed to hold it together.
"PUHAHAHAHA! Oh Divines Alex STOP Pffft !" She doubled over, clutching her stomach, her laughter echoing off the cavern walls.
Esbern sighed so hard it sounded like his spirit was leaving his body. "Astrid, please… try to maintain your dignity just once… hah." His voice cracked on the last sound the poor man was giving up.
He rubbed his temples with both hands. "Your courage against dragons is remarkable… but your courage to insult a sacred hero is far more concerning."
Meanwhile Delphine strode forward, bowed her head toward the statue, and raised both fists in a solemn prayer-like gesture her expression desperate.
"Please forgive these foolish children," she murmured. "And please don't make our journey any harder."
Even the torches flickered as if sighing along with her.
At last, enough of Astrid's blood soaked into the carved sigil. The ground trembled. Ancient gears groaned awake, and the massive stone gate rumbled open, dust raining down like gray snow.
Delphine muttered under her breath, "We're unbelievably lucky the emperor is still willing to grant us mercy…"
Astrid wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. I scratched my cheek, trying to hide a grin.
We glanced at each other.
And silently burst into tiny, suppressed laughs again like two kids caught misbehaving in a holy temple.
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