MWM Chapter 458

“Time to head to High Hrothgar and meet the Greybeards!”  

After stabilizing his new realm of cultivation, Leo left the master bedroom where he had been in seclusion.  

Although it was important to travel to Winterhold to study magic and hunt dragons across the land, neither of those tasks could be accomplished in a short time.  

So, he decided it would be better to visit High Hrothgar first and see what the Greybeards wanted with him. After all, he had been ignoring their summons for a month.  

“Lydia, have you heard any news recently?”  

Out in the front yard of the estate, his housecarl Lydia was practicing her sword skills. The steel blade, weighing dozens of pounds, moved effortlessly in her hands like a piece of straw, showcasing the strength and skill of a true elite warrior from Whiterun.  

Lydia was much younger than Leo, so after becoming familiar with her, he started calling her “Lai-mei” (a nickname for Lydia, treating her like a younger sister).  

“My lord, you’ve finished your seclusion!” Lydia’s face brightened with joy upon seeing Leo.  

To her, Leo was far too mysterious. He had stayed inside for an entire month without eating or drinking, and if it weren’t for the occasional messages he sent her, she would’ve worried that he might starve to death. She could only conclude that, as the legendary Dragonborn, he was far beyond the norms of ordinary people.  

“Nothing specific before, but recently I overheard something while drinking at the Bannered Mare. Many adventurers and merchants have reported seeing dragons in different parts of Skyrim, and their numbers seem to be increasing. These dragons sometimes attack travelers, and it’s causing panic throughout the region. Many merchants are now too scared to continue trading routes.”  

In the past, the biggest fear for merchants was being attacked by bandits. However, many bandit groups, especially the larger and more notorious ones, were usually only after money, and rarely killed unless necessary. After all, they knew that killing too many people would lead to intense retaliation or mercenaries being hired to hunt them down.  

But dragons were different. They cared neither for wealth nor for hostages—they only sought destruction.  

Moreover, dragons, unlike bandits, were ancient, powerful beings once worshiped as gods. Their strength was far beyond that of any bandit.  

The only silver lining was that the civil war between the Empire and the Stormcloaks had momentarily subsided due to the dragon threat, as neither side wanted to risk being caught off guard by a dragon attack during battle.  

So far, no dragon has dared to attack a city, likely because of Leo’s recent slaying of the ancient dragon Mirmulnir near Whiterun. The dragons of this world are intelligent creatures, smarter than most humans. Upon hearing of Mirmulnir’s death, they likely decided not to attack human settlements without orders from Alduin.  

“Got it. I’m heading to High Hrothgar to meet the Greybeards. Would you like to come with me?”  

Leo originally planned to ask Lydia to stay and manage the estate while he was gone, but seeing her eager expression, he changed his mind.  

It seemed unfair to keep a young woman full of energy and admiration for the future cooped up in the manor all day. Besides, there wasn’t much of importance at the estate that required constant vigilance.  

“Yes! Please take me with you!” Lydia nodded her head enthusiastically like a chicken pecking at grain.  

After all, this was High Hrothgar, the home of the legendary Greybeards, where the first Nord Emperor, Tiber Septim, had trained. Being able to accompany the Dragonborn on such a journey was a tremendous honor.  

The next time she met up with her old friends from the Whiterun guard, she would have quite the story to make them envious.  

“Alright then, let’s go together,” Leo said with a smile. He was about to summon his cloud and fly them directly to the monastery at High Hrothgar when he suddenly paused and turned his gaze to the road outside the manor.  

Despite the bright, sunny day that Leo’s Primordial Spirit breakthrough had cleared the clouds for, he felt an intense, dark energy emanating from the road—a deathly aura far stronger than anything he had encountered in the ancient Nordic tombs. This energy was also mixed with some other unusual forces.  

“What’s wrong, my lord?”  

Lydia noticed Leo’s sudden shift in focus and followed his gaze to the road outside the estate.  

There, a strange man dressed as a jester was riding a horse, dragging a large coffin behind him as he slowly passed by.  

“That coffin seems suspicious,” Leo said, narrowing his eyes before walking out of the estate.  

The intense dark energy he felt was coming from that coffin, and his curiosity was piqued.  

“Excuse me, friend. What are you carrying in that coffin?” Leo called out.  

“Oh, sir, are you speaking to Cicero? Cicero is carrying poor Mother, taking her to her new home. No, no, don’t misunderstand—she’s already dead! I’m just transporting her body, hahahaha,” the jester said, hopping off his horse and flailing his arms as he explained, his behavior as eccentric as his appearance.  

Normally, anyone hearing such an explanation would leave the matter alone.  

But Leo’s curiosity about the dark energy was not easily deterred, so he smiled and replied, “Are you sure it’s just your mother? I suggest you open the coffin and check; she might have turned into a draugr by now.”  

By this time, Lydia had also caught up and added, “You’re in Whiterun hold now, and this is the esteemed Thane. You must open the coffin for inspection.”  

If her Dragonborn lord said there was a draugr inside, then there certainly was. The strange jester hauling a draugr around was obviously suspicious.  

“What? Impossible! You must be mistaken,” Cicero said with an eerie grin, then suddenly leapt forward, pulling a dagger from his sleeve as he charged at Leo with a crazed smile.  

“My lord, be careful!” Lydia shouted, drawing her steel sword and raising her shield.  

However, the jester disappeared into thin air before her eyes, vanishing as if he had never been there.  

“Hmm, invisibility magic… as expected, this is no ordinary foe,” Leo muttered, raising an eyebrow.  

He knew the jester hadn’t truly vanished but had instead used an invisibility spell from the Illusion school of magic to hide his presence. What made it more impressive was that the man had not only concealed his body but also silenced his movements, making it nearly impossible to detect him.  

(End of Chapter)

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