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SPOILER INFO
This fanfic novel is largely based on the events that occurred in an actual game of Skyrim I played. Therefore, it's inevitably a spoiler.
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previous day
4-201-09-28 05:32
Vilemyr Inn, Ivarsted, The Rift, Skyrim
We have so little loot that I see no point in waiting for the shops to open. While the sun is rising, we are already running downhill to the north, towards Lost Knife Hideout where we might find something interesting.
After crossing the river south of Nimalten, we ascend the hills and pass by Vaalmungar, apparently an ancient Nordic ruin which I won't bother to take a closer look at at this moment. We come to a very high slope with a magnificent view of a valley and roads and a fortress down below. Further to the east is that hot spring region, on the southwestern edge of which is Darkwater.
It's scary to descend, as well as thrilling to the extreme.
Nearly there.
I make it down almost uninjured and then magically summon the girls. It's not very successful this time. Lydia and Jenassa feel very bad and we need to give them some rest.
There's a fortress in a couple of hundred meters' distance. But it's not Lost Knife Hideout. That's a cave next to a little pond. There's no one outside nor anywhere else in sight. We go in.
Inside, there are caves and caverns. With some woodwork, they have been turned into impressive fortifications.
Fortunately for us, they're inadequately manned. The bandits have many good shooting positions on well-placed wooden platforms, but there are too few of the ones to do the shooting. The battles are a bit messy, but we're never really in danger, except in the very last cave where there are metal cages obstructing the view and very little room to maneuver. But even there my worry is largely unfounded, because the numbers are in our favor. I have the honor of taking down the bandit chief myself.
Loaded almost to capacity, we spend some time looking for the exit. Once when taking a wrong turn, I end up in a small cave with a live bandit inside. I use Paralyze poison, just to be on the safe side. After the first hit, the bandit can no longer move, so I go on hitting him until he's dead. You could say that I chickened out and wasted a valuable poison unnecessarily, and you're probably right. I just don't feel confident in melee combat. In spite of my very powerful enchanted dagger, those brutal and fierce men come across as frighteningly strong compared to the fragile and vulnerable me.
Sorry about the chatter. We finally find our way out. I'm curious about that fortress, but considering the load we're carrying, this is not the time to take on another (presumably) bandit gang. So we head for nearby Darkwater. (Is that fortress Fort Amol, I ask myself later. It's well possible that I simply failed to recognize it, approaching from this unusual angle.)
I'm not awfully fond of dogs, but I love foxes. They're adorable.
In Darkwater we are greeted by a dragon. He flies around, like, endlessly, while we shoot arrows in his direction, but finally he sits down and I succeed in extinguishing his flickering life. The civilians in the village had hidden in houses and in the mine, but unfortunately a little boy Torfi is lying dead on the street. He was the son of the shopkeeper Ulfvidr and his wife Gilsa. I feel so sad for them. No matter how much you warn boys, they still have the tendency to get themselves in danger and fail to get back to safety in time.
I do a lot of smithing, but by the time I'm finished, Ulfvidr has already decided to close shop and go to enjoy the warm-water outdoors pool. So my girls and I do the same. Everyone's naked there, men and women, they are very relaxed about nudity here.
In less than an hour, though, I disappoint my followers by ordering them to climb out of the water and get dressed. It's too early to call it a day. We'll travel to Vernim Wood and spend the night there. Maybe I'm being too heartless to my girls, but there are shops in Vernim Wood. Of course, they will have already closed for tonight, but we'll be able to sell most or all of our loot tomorrow morning and reach Windhelm early enough to actually do something meaningful during the day. For that matter, I've been thinking that we should go to Solstheim. I'm sure the Pigmasks won't leave us alone.
I'm not at all certain we're strong enough to take on that "Lord Miraak". I've had terrible nightmares of Solstheim in the past. However, it's something I have to take care of eventually. At least we can sail over and have a look, and return to Skyrim if things turn out overwhelming.
The sun has already gone down as we run east on the edge of the warm water ponds area. Suddenly, I stop dead in my tracks because I notice a fortress ahead of us. It must be the same one we saw a few days ago from the distance. I can sense a bandit next to the small gate, but I can't tell if he's inside or outside, and it's too far to see him with physical eyes in this darkness. I take a shot just in case. He falls down. So he was on the outside. Now two more bandits in the courtyard have become restless. To cut the long story short, we sneak in and kill half a dozen bandits outdoors. It feels like a good battle, except that when it's all over, I notice I've been hit real bad. It's not yet life-threatening, but I can't believe I got so carried away by heat of the combat (or call it bloodthirst if it pleases you) that I wasn't paying attention to my defenses. I could have gotten killed here.
Without bothering to go into the fortress interior, we proceed to the east, past that Dwemer ruin-of-a-ruin and the peaceful giant (I'm beginning to wonder if we could get friends with him), and soon we're on that road that goes from Vernim Wood northwards to Windhelm. We're turning right, to the south.
After a short leisurely trot, we arrive in Vernim Wood where we spend the night in the friendly and comfortable inn.
next awakening
