I wake up as Esbern storms into my room.
"Ragnar! I've found him!" He shouts, his eyes are burning with purpose.
I quickly sit up, half-panicked and disoriented. Esbern had abruptly torn me from sleep. I had been dreaming about Thal'Niriel—we were talking about magic. The conversation had turned romantic, and I was just about to kiss her. She was warm in my dream, not her usual aloof high elf self.
"You found him?!" I ask, my heart already pounding in my chest.
Esbern walks over, grabs my backpack, and shoves it into my hands. "You've had a few more hours of sleep. You're ready now, right?" he asks.
"Yes!" I say, as I jump to my feet, meaning to get dressed, but I realize that I never got undressed before I fell asleep. I had been practicing until it was impossible to stay awake anymore. It had been exhausting, but it was much needed!
I grab my shield, sling my bow over my shoulder, and tuck the dagger into its sheath. "Alright, I'm ready!"
Esbern nods. "Good! But I'm spent—I ran all the way back here from the enemy's hideout. Cast your healing on me, your magicka can fully regenerate in an hour, right?" he asks.
He's breathing hard, drenched in sweat. I don't doubt for a second that he actually ran the entire way.
I cast healing on him, the spell activates instantly—focusing comes easy now. Thal'Niriel's training method had done wonders!
"Yeah, from what I can tell, it takes about twenty minutes for a full regeneration." I answer.
The traces of fatigue on him disappear. I keep the spell active for a moment longer, just to make sure he's in top shape. When I'm done, I realize—I haven't even used half of my reserves! My efficiency with magicka, at least when it comes to restoration spells, seems to have improved after training all night.
"There, all done!" I say.
Esbern nods in appreciation. "Let's go!"
We stride quickly toward the inn's exit, but I can't help casting a glance toward the table at the back—where I'd sat last night. Thal'Niriel had helped me immensely. I feel far more prepared to face the necromancer now. I'll have to thank her properly once this is over.
Of course, no one sits there now. During the day, the inn is nearly empty, save for a few old-timers quietly eating their lunch.
We head outside.
Esbern points toward the graveyard on the hilltop. "We'll head northeast. At a solid pace, I'd say we'll reach our destination in about an hour," he notes.
I grin. "Walking, eh?" I could like this.
"Yeah, yeah... Save it. We need to conserve our strength for the battle! You did remember to bring your magicka potions, right?!" He asks.
I nod. "Yeah! Hopefully both of them will be enough!"
Esbern gaze at the graveyard hilltop. He lifts a hand behind his back, resting his fingers on the hilt of his blade.
He falls silent. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was a silent prayer.
"Let's go," he says—his voice now calmer than I've heard it so far.
We walk until we reach the hilltop. That's when I notice that all the graves are open. "Esbern!" I say, disturbed at the sight.
"I know..." He responds. "It's only 5 more skeletons than we thought. Let's go" he says before starting to walk again.
I follow, we keep going for almost an hour, before we get closer to another hill.
Esbern points toward the hilltop. "There's an old mine visible from up there. I spotted what I'm sure was a zombie, along with a few skeletons. From the hill, we can scout the area and come up with a strategy."
I nod and cast healing on us both, making sure we're in top condition.
"What was that for?!" Esbern asks, a hint of irritation in his voice.
I smirk at him. "Don't worry, the small amount that cost me will regenerate before you'll even draw your blade!"
He huffed a small laugh through his nose. "Well, look at you! I take it that last night wasn't wasted?!" He says, smirking softly.
I raise my hand, clenching it into a fist. "Not at all!..." I reply with confidence in my voice.
"Perfect!... Let's go!" Esbern says, before he start walking uphill.
We walk at a steady pace up the hill, but when getting nearer to the top, Esbern starts crouching. I do the same.
Right before we reach the top, he lowers himself even more. "Move slowly, let's not get spotted. We want to get a drop on these guys!... Oh, and there's dead wolves on the hilltop, don't be alarmed when you see them!" He warns.
Impressive, even alone he had taken down some wolves, I think to myself.
When we reach the top, I see them. Four wolves, all dead. But their wounds... they're all filled with several small wounds across their bodies.
"What the hell happened here?!" I whisper to Esbern.
Esbern shrugs. "Don't know. They were already dead when I found them," he says, then fixes me with a curious look and crosses his arms. "You keep saying 'hell.' What is that? Sounds strange."
Of course, no one in Skyrim says that. "It's… it's just another word for Oblivion," I explain, brushing it off before making my way to one of the dead wolves to take a closer look. It looks like they was stabbed again and again with something small and sharp. A knife, maybe?
"What are you doing?..." Esbern whispers.
I narrow my eyes while looking at the wounds, then a thought strikes me. "Esbern! I think these wounds were made by Ice Spikes!" I whisper sharply.
Had the necromancer been using them for target practice?
Surely the wolves were dead long before he stopped casting at them... right?
Each one had at least ten wounds in its side.
Target practice or not, all of the wolves had been killed the same way—and they'd all fallen close to one another.
That alone suggested this had been quick work.
Ice Spikes are dangerous, sure… but to cast them fast enough to take down an entire pack before they scattered?
"Esbern! This is either the work of many spellcasters, or a highly skilled one!" I whisper with alarm in my voice.
He just looks at me in silence. Knowing him, he's probably deep in thought. Then he shifts forward, creeping a little closer to the edge of the hilltop, and peers down toward our destination.
I sneak up next to him.
Esbern points toward what looks like an old mine entrance—and sure enough, there's someone standing just outside it.
I'd estimate the distance at about 40 yards, and the slope leading down is steep.
Esbern places a hand on my shoulder and jerks his head subtly, signaling that we should get out of sight.
We pull back a bit, out of the field of view from the mine.
"Ok, here's the plan." Esbern whispers. "We'll draw them out, and if several necromancers come running—We flee!"
I nod, relieved that he's not letting his desire to finish the job and get back to his wife cloud his judgment.
Esbern continues his strategy. "If only one necromancer comes running, but with 12 or more minions—Fall back. We'll try to split them up, we don't want to fight all of them at once."
Again, I nod. "Great. And if only some of his minions come running, we take them out?" I ask.
Esbern nods. "And I've been watching the man in front of the cave for a long time earlier. He doesn't move, at all! It's a zombie. I want you to shoot him with your bow." Esbern says.
"Are you absolutely sure it's a zombie?" I ask Esbern, wondering if he actually knew.
I really didn't want to prove myself useless with the bow again—I hadn't practiced at all since last time. And back then, I missed every shot. And the distance now is even greater than it was back then!
Esbern nods. "Yeah. I threw a rock earlier—two skeletons came running. So even if that one turns out to be human, he's a necromancer and needs to be taken out."
Esbern falls silent for a moment, his eyes distant as they linger on me. "Can you hit him? Ragnar of Rorikstead?..." He asks, but his voice is laced with doubt.
His eyes almost looks sad to me, and why did he use my full alias?... Does he suspect that I'm not from Rorikstead?...
"I'll try." I say, pulling my bow from my back. "Ready?" I ask.
Esbern nods, but his gaze remains distant.
I nock an arrow, and sneak up ahead, getting the mine entrance back into my view.
Esbern is my partner, I'll trust his word about my target. I take aim at the person in front of the mine, hopefully a zombie.
I take a deep breath, before I let the arrow fly.