Chapter 38 The Path to The Summit
The first rays of sunlight crept slowly into the ancient halls of High Hrothgar, slipping through the tall, frost-rimmed windows and scattering a warm, golden glow across the grey stone floor. A thin veil of cold mountain mist drifted lazily through the cracks in the walls, swirling whenever the wind outside sighed against the monastery's old timbers.
Alex blinked awake as the light touched his face. For a moment he simply lay still, listening to the deep silence the kind that only existed on the Throat of the World. Then he stretched his arms above his head, joints cracking lightly, and let out a long, unrestrained "yaaawn." His breath fogged briefly in the chilly air.
He glanced toward the window, watching the sun climb over the distant peaks, then turned his head toward the warm presence beside him.
Astrid was sprawled on the bedroll like a sleeping sabre cat one arm tossed above her head, hair tangled beautifully across her face, her lips slightly parted. A small trail of drool glistened on her cheek, slowly finding its way down to her chin.
Alex couldn't help but smile.
Even like this… she was perfect.
He leaned closer, brushing aside a lock of her pale hair. He let his lips find the soft skin of her neck.
"Hey, beautiful… morning time," he whispered, voice low and warm.
He kissed her again, slower this time.
Astrid twitched immediately, her shoulders jerking as a tiny shiver traveled down her spine.
"H-hey… that tickles…" she mumbled through a half-conscious groan. Her brows scrunched adorably, still refusing to wake up.
Alex smirked and continued teasing her, letting his lips wander just enough to make her squirm.
"If you don't wake up," he murmured against her skin, "I'm just going to keep doing this."
Astrid let out a tiny grunt somewhere between annoyed and flustered.
Then, without opening her eyes, she reached up and slapped her hand gently over Alex's mouth, pushing his face away.
"Okay, okay I'm up! Gods…" she muttered, her voice rough with sleep. "You seriously have no shame. What if the Greybeards saw us? Huh?"
Alex laughed softly, brushing her hand aside and tapping her nose playfully.
"I don't see a single one around, love."
Astrid rolled her eyes, cheeks growing faintly pink as she sat up. The morning chill hit her immediately, making her wrap her arms around herself. Alex stood first, pulling items from his inventory, and they both began dressing amid the cold, quiet air of the temple chamber.
Astrid tugged on her boots but stopped midway, her face twisting slightly.
"Hey… do I really have to wear that Daedric armor again?" she sighed. "I'm so tired of it. It makes my whole body feel heavy."
Alex paused, glancing at her.
For a moment he imagined it the long climb up the mountain, the narrow paths carved into icy cliffs, the ever-present wind howling like ancient spirits. But danger? Not really.
(In the game, this part's just the path to Paarthurnax… nothing too deadly. Maybe an Ice Wraith or two.)
He nodded in agreement.
"Alright. Just wear something warm."
He rummaged through his inventory and pulled out a thick leather jacket, reinforced with fur along the collar and sleeves. The pelt shimmered softly in the morning light warm, sturdy, made for mountain winds.
"Here," he said, stepping closer. "Put this on."
Astrid's expression softened. She took the jacket from his hands, her fingers brushing his for a moment warm against cold.
Then she slid her arms through the sleeves, the fur hugging her shoulders as she pulled it tight around her body. She exhaled, relief visible in every line of her face.
"Mm… that feels so much better," she murmured.
Alex smiled back at her, faint warmth blooming in his chest as the silent morning embraced them both.
The halls of High Hrothgar were quiet so quiet that even the soft crunch of their boots against the ancient stone seemed loud. A thin mist curled across the floor like drifting spirits, stirred by every faint breath of wind escaping through the old cracks in the walls.
Arngeir sat alone at the center of the vast meditation chamber, legs folded, back perfectly straight. The heavy grey robes around him barely moved, though the cold mountain breeze pressed into the room. He looked like a statue carved from stillness and discipline.
Alex and Astrid approached slowly, almost instinctively lowering their voices in the sacred silence.
Astrid cleared her throat softly.
"Arngeir… actually, we came to ask you something."
The old Greybeard did not react immediately.
He inhaled deeply quiet, controlled then opened his eyes.
A calm, heavy authority settled into the room.
"Hm," he murmured. "It seems important. Speak."
Astrid stepped forward, her hands clasped behind her back. The tension in her shoulders betrayed her seriousness.
"Do you know a Thu'um that can defeat Alduin?"
The effect was instantaneous.
Arngeir's eyes, moments ago serene, darkened sharply.
Not with rage but with a deep, old disappointment, like a teacher hearing a student repeat a forbidden truth.
His brows slowly drew together.
"…Where did you learn of that?" he asked, his calm voice edged with frost. "And who told you such a thing?"
Astrid blinked, taken aback by the change in his tone.
"The Blades helped us find that information," she answered honestly, though confusion clouded her expression.
Arngeir's jaw tightened. A low exhale escaped him not quite a sigh, more like the wind groaning through distant mountain crevices.
"Of course…" he said bitterly. "The Blades."
He rose to his feet with surprising grace for someone his age. His robes flowed as he stood, casting a long shadow across the candle-lit floor.
"They meddle in matters they understand only in fragments. Their carelessness, their arrogance… it knows no bounds."
He stepped closer, the authority in his presence weighing heavily.
"They seek to steer the Dragonborn from the true path of wisdom. Have you learned nothing from us?" His voice rose not in volume, but in intensity.
"Or have you already become a tool the Blades use for their own designs?"
Astrid flinched slightly, not from fear but from being accused. Her lips parted, unsure of what to say.
Alex tought (Yeah… in the game they even force the Dragonborn to kill Paarthurnax just to stay friendly with them. They should obey the Dragonborn, not the other way around. I'm definitely on the Greybeards' side.)
Alex with protective instinct.
"Arngeir. Calm down," he said firmly, stepping beside Astrid. "Neither Astrid nor I are anyone's tools. And if that ever happens, I'll make sure Astrid snaps out of it."
Astrid turned to him quickly, eyes widening.
"Hey Alex, do you think they're using me?"
Her voice cracked just slightly, betraying insecurity she rarely showed.
Alex's expression softened.
He touched her arm gently.
"It's… complicated," he said. "The answer is yes and no. You'll understand what I mean in the future."
Astrid frowned, clearly not satisfied, but she nodded trusting him more than the explanation.
She then turned back to Arngeir, irritation sharpening her eyes.
"So, Arngeir like Alex said, I'm not their puppet. Now answer me: do you know it or not?"
The tension in the room shifted.
Arngeir froze.
His eyes widened slightly as if realizing he had crossed a line he should never have crossed with the Dragonborn.
The fire in him dimmed instantly.
He lowered his head, placing a hand over his chest in a gesture of apology.
"No… no, of course not," he said, voice gentler, almost remorseful. "Forgive me, Dragonborn. I misunderstood you."
He stepped back, exhaling slowly, letting the earlier irritation fade into the cold air.
"But remember my warning," he continued, calm once more. "The Blades claim to serve the Dragonborn… but they do not. They never have."
His voice echoed lightly across the stone walls, fading into the distant rumble of wind outside.
Alex took a slow step forward, boots scraping lightly against the cold stone. His breath fogged in front of him as he looked Arngeir in the eyes.
"So… you do know something about this shout?" he asked carefully.
Arngeir's expression shifted stern but heavy with centuries of burden. His gaze moved from Alex to Astrid, settling on her with a weight that almost felt physical.
"I cannot teach it to you," he said quietly.
Then he added, each word slow and deliberate:
"To be clear I do not even know this shout. Its name is Dragonrend. But we do not regret our ignorance."
The air around them felt colder.
Astrid frowned, confused. Alex remained silent, listening intently.
Arngeir clasped his hands behind his back and paced a few steps, his robes trailing softly across the stone.
"Dragonrend holds no place within the Way of the Voice," he said. "It was created by mortals who lived under the unimaginable cruelty of Alduin's dragon cult. Their lives were consumed shaped entirely by hatred for dragons."
He stopped, turning toward them again, his eyes reflecting a mixture of sorrow and caution.
"And they poured all their rage, all their suffering, into this shout."
Astrid swallowed, feeling a chill not caused by the cold.
Arngeir continued, voice calm but somber:
"When you shout, you take it into your very being. In a sense… you become the Shout."
The words hit Alex harder than he expected.
He felt his breath catch mind racing.
(Become the Shout… So that's the key. Even someone who isn't Dragonborn… maybe maybe I could learn shouts if I embody their meaning. If I understand them deeply enough.)
Arngeir's final words cut through his thoughts like the wind cutting through the mountain peaks:
"By learning and using this shout, you would be taking this hatred and evil into yourself."
For a heartbeat, the room fell into absolute silence.
Astrid slowly turned toward Alex. Her voice trembled just slightly.
"So… is the world really destined to end?"
Arngeir lifted his chin, the faint echo of the mountain wind drifting through the chamber.
"Only Paarthurnax, the master of our order, can answer that if he chooses to."
Astrid nodded once, determination replacing her fear.
"Then we must speak to Paarthurnax."
Arngeir's expression softened not with kindness, but with respect.
"He lives in seclusion at the very peak of the mountain. He speaks to us rarely… and never to outsiders. To meet him is a privilege granted to almost no one."
Astrid stepped closer.
"Then tell us how do we reach the summit?"
Arngeir closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply. When he spoke, his voice carried the weight of ancient knowledge.
"Only those whose Voice is strong can find the path. We will teach you a shout to open the way."
High Hrothgar Courtyard Opening the Path
They stepped outside into the courtyard, the cold biting instantly at exposed skin. The sky was a pale blue, streaked with thin clouds drifting across the peaks. The wind roared like a living thing wild, ancient, unpredictable.
Before them stood the towering stone walls of the gate.
Between those massive walls… a violent storm churned.
Razor-sharp winds spiraled wildly, howling with enough force to rip a grown man apart. The mist inside crackled like spectral claws.
Astrid stared at it, eyes narrowing.
Alex gulped.
Arngeir spread his hands gently.
"The path to Paarthurnax lies through this gate. I will show you how to open it."
He stepped forward, breathing deeply then exhaled a controlled stream of frost-tinged air onto the stone ground.
Runes carved into the earth shimmered to life beneath his breath:
"Lok… Vah… Koor."
The air vibrated with the echo.
Arngeir placed a palm over the glowing runes.
"I will grant you my understanding of Clear Skies."
A rush of blue-white energy surged from him to Astrid, spiraling into her chest.
Her eyes widened as the power filled her the instinctive understanding of the Shout settling into her bones, her breath aligning with its rhythm.
Arngeir stepped back respectfully.
"This is our final gift to you, Dragonborn. Use it well."
Astrid approached the raging winds. Even from a distance, the force made her hair whip backward and the fur on her jacket ripple violently. The air screamed challenging her.
Arngeir lifted his voice over the storm:
"Clear Skies will blow away the mist but only for a short time. The climb to Paarthurnax is perilous. Keep moving. Stay focused. And you will reach the summit."
Astrid inhaled deeply, grounding herself.
Her voice rang out firm, sharp, powerful:
"Lok… Vah… Koor!"
A brilliant burst of blue energy shot forward.
The storm recoiled mist tearing apart, winds scattering like frightened spirits.
The path opened… but only for a moment.
Alex watched the mist beginning to reform.
"We'll have to keep using it all the way up if we want to reach the summit," he said.
Astrid nodded with determination.
The two of them turned to face Arngeir and the other Greybeards.
Together, they bowed deep and respectful.
The Greybeards returned a silent nod, their expressions serene.
Then, side by side, Alex and Astrid stepped onto the newly cleared path
and began their ascent toward Paarthurnax.
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