2019-09-14

Always Lost, Always Hopeful (62) Selling Is Silver, Killing Is Golden



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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






4-201-10-18 05:11
The Grinning Goblin Inn, Karthwasten, The Reach, Skyrim



We head for a nearby forn stronghold hoping to find a little girl kidnapped from this village.

It's still dark, but it's not really a problem, as our destination is going to be right on the roadside.

We run northeast first and then across a bridge to the east. The large fortress is visible from the distance. We sneak closer and succeed in spotting and killing a sentry on the road before she sees us. She's a forn all right. The entrance to the fortress is nearby.

The defenders are strong, yet we defeat them without too much trouble, partly because they're scattered across the huge compound and my Sense of Smell  can detect them from around corners while they are strangely unperceptive, and partly because some of them are still sleeping.

We find a locked cell with a little girl Fjotra inside. She's the one kidnapped from Karthwasten.

Evidently the forns worship Dibella too, in their own way:

We waste no time heading for the exit. There are still a few obstacles to overcome:

Fjotra is thrilled to go to Morpork and become a sybil. Nevertheless, I'm taking her home to Karthwasten first.

Turns out her parents are very happy about the great honor bestowed upon their family. So who am I to decide otherwise on their behalf? If the girl wants it and her parents want it, we shall take her to Morpork.


Our first forn-hunting trip has been very successful: we have killed 28. At this rate, my goal of 100 will not be too hard and tedious to reach.

In Morpork, I deliver the girl to the temple and am rewarded with a very special blessing that allows me to do more damage to the opposite sex in combat.

robust stone walls, very dark yellow light, brown-skinned woman weraing a hood sits on a bench
This is one of the priestesses. Her name is Anwen. I think I'll return here one day and try to get to know her better.

I am now a most honored guest in the Temple of Dibella, but the shops are still closed. It's extremely annoying, because we're loaded with loot. I'm not sure what we should do. I had plans on traveling directly to the north over the mountains to Rimerock Burrow, but with this kind of load our only option seems to be Granite Hall in the east, way off our course.

We go check out a mining suburb southeast of the city. There we meet a man named Pavo, none other than the owner of Pavo's House that was between here and Karthwasten. He says the forns chased him out of the Kolskeggr Mine, killing most of his workers. He's extremely happy to learn that we have cleared the mine and he can now return.

There's a mine here as well, but it's just iron, the cheapest and most abundant of all metals.

I go back to the city and visit the general store to see if I can work something out after all. I succeed in persuading the shopkeeper Lisbet to trade with me, but she makes me swear I won't tell anyone. After that, we head north. It's already half past 6 in the evening, but I don't want to stay in Morpork. It's not dark yet and we'll find our way somehow.

It turns out relatively easy to get across those very uninviting rocky mountains, as there are plenty of valleys between them.
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We meet several groups of friendly travelers, some of them fighting wild animals. The night has fallen by the time we encounter our first forns, two men who are easy to kill. Nearby is their tent in which we can sleep. This is a godsent opportunity. Even though Rimerock Burrow is not far, its unknown dangers are best met well-rested.



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