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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
4-201-10-21 05:19
The Pickled Pike, Maedlesburg, Doltania
We walk around idly in Maedlesburg or the lower town.
By now it's clear that it's floating islands the towns are built on, not extremely high towers:
[series of 2 pictures you can click through; click on the first picture to make it big, then click again to see the next picture etc.; press Esc to return to the text]
I go to the guilds headquarters one more time and try to hint at the possibility of rebelling against that Grand or Gross Magister, but they pretend they don't understand what I'm talking about. Then I decide to pay another visit to Tony to find out what that mysterious orb of his actually does. Turns out it does nothing. Tony is clearly insane. The marvelous events he claims to see in the orb take place only in his imagination. Very disappointed, I walk out again.
In the meantime, the girls have found a balloon route down to the ground. We get on board eagerly and are taken to a small castle named Castlegar. Instead of going inside, we climb over a hill and end up on a road.
Once we've gotten out from between those huge rocks, the view is quite nice. While we walk, I'd like to take the opportunity to tell you more about my new follower. Jordis was born in a farm near Dragonbridge, but has lived in Solitud these last years. She is as old as I am – more precisely, 5 days younger. But she seems to have great respect for authority. She speaks demurely and does everything I tell her without hesitation. So I don't think we'll have any problems. I'll rather need to teach her to loosen up a bit. Guess I'll delegate that task to Lydia.
The road eventually leads us to a village named... what was it? Porcupine? No, Proserpine. But if I can't remember it and say "Porcupine" then you'll know I mean the same thing.
There are several villagers in Proserpine who try to sell us things like fish, eggs, firewood. The mayor Heinrichs has something more serious to offer – there is something evil in the depths of the village well. We go in and find a draugr. Although we're four against one, it's a messy battle because we completely lack coordination and get in each other's way. Afterwards, I explain Jordis the principles of our combat tactic – keep your distance and don't charge blindly at the enemy. Should have done it as soon as I hired her, I know.
We return to the mayor. He gives us 500 septims. Awesome!
We walk around a little more on the countryside.
Then we take the balloon back to the town. Now I'm completely fed up with Doltania for the time being. We go to the harbor and travel back to Solitud. I mean, of course we can return here anytime, should we begin to miss the place.
On our return trip, we notice there's an island north-northeast of Solitud:
It is unknown even to Jordis. We've got to go and explore it someday.
And now I understand why the Solitud jarl's residence is called The Blue Palace:
Note the strange distortions in the picture. They say layers of air at different temperatures often play visual tricks in such altitude.
Back in Solitud, we go to the Hall of the Dead. The priest Styrr instructs us to enter the catacombs in the basement of the temple, find Potema's skull and bring it to him so he can sanctify it, thereby permanently preventing her revival.
Has it ever occurred to you that the right to rule over people ought to be earned by doing something for the people first?
After we've entered, Potema's voice actually bids me welcome and something invisible opens the grating that was blocking our way. She tells me she is going to kill me and become alive in my body. Not gonna happen, bitch! I'll stuff your head into your cunt.
We have to kill great many draugrs and several vampires. After I-don't-know-how-many hours, we end up in a hall apparently very close to Potema herself. She sends waves and waves of draugrs against us, and an atronach or two for good measure. I use everything – the Aetherial Staff to conjure a Dwarven Sphere, as well as my Ritual Stone power to revive the first half dozen enemies we've killed. It's a long and messy battle where I have to keep using health potions and I have only the luck to thank for finding all my followers alive afterwards. But Potema and her skull are still somewhere else.
I notice a doorway at the farther end of the hall that leads to a room with a throne. On the throne, there is a skull. That must be it.
Now I make a bad mistake.
I assume I just have to walk up to the throne and pick up the skull. I fail to pay attention to the ghostly glow above the skull. That's Potema herself who rises up and attacks me when I'm close enough. She also conjures a gigantic atronach. We defeat them with much less difficulty than we had in that recent mass skirmish, but it would have been so much easier to just take a shot at that ghost from a safe distance.
There's an exit nearby. On our way out, I make another, a rather amusing blunder. In one of the rooms, I notice a draugr sitting on a throne and kill it:
What I overlook entirely is that there's another throne behind us (beyond the right edge of the above picture) with another draugr. Not really dangerous for the four of us, of course, but a reminder that I was too careless again.
Soon we're in open air. Unfortunately, it's on a high cliff north of Solitud. It's almost pitch-dark, but there's no way I'm going back into that dungeon. So we climb down onto the highway as carefully as we can. Shortly before midnight, we have reported to Skyrr and then we hurry to the palace. Falk is still up and he is all smiles. Seems he's a very clever politician who sees when he's outmatched. I'm sure that no matter who'd rule Solitud, Falk would manage to be near the very top of the power ladder – but he will always be the right hand, never the leader.
I wonder if I should do my crafting in the night when I'm undisturbed, but then I realize I'm tired. So we all go to our house to get a good night's sleep.
Lydia doesn't want to share my bed tonight. She asks me to lend her one of my strapons, and she would go down to the basement. (I mean, she's not going to strap it on, obviously, it's just that we don't have a dildo without straps.) I suggest I can fuck her with one if she wants to, but she says maybe some other time. I know. I'm knackered.
She chooses the smallest one. Before she leaves, I ask her if she misses Bjarne.
Lydia nods, but hurries to assure me we don't have to visit Dånstar just for her sake; apart from which, it's much better to have a man miss you than grow bored with you.
"Do you want to marry him?"
She shrugs. "Why, of course. Except that I'm a little afraid."
"Of the wedding night?"
She laughs and then gets serious again and says softly: "I can't do anything except soldiering. I wonder if he even wants a wife like me. Or if anyone does." Then she cheers up again. "Although I've been learning to cook by your side."
"Lydia, this reminds me – I've been wondering how come I can do everything and learn so quickly. I mean, a couple of months ago I felt like a helpless child when I was fighting alongside Jenassa, and now I'm, like, feeling I'm protecting my followers and not the other way around."
The question doesn't surprise Lydia the slightest. "That's because you're Dragonborn."
"What are you talking about?"
"The legend says the Dragonborn learns everything very fast. Jenassa told me."
"Jenassa told you?"
Lydia laughs. "Yes, Jenassa. She knows old Nord legends a lot better than I do."
I shake my head and smile. "Whatever. Enjoy yourself with the strapon. You can have the other two as well if you want to."
She shakes her head and leaves. Jordis sleeps next to me in the bed tonight.
next awakening
