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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
4-201-11-19 04:24
Severin Manor, Ravenrock, Solstheim, Morrowind
I awake flying towards the ceiling. I scream in terror as I fall back down and am caught by great many hands at the last moment. Then I realize my followers have grabbed me from my bed and are tossing me in the air. Today is my birthday. I told you I don't know my age, but strangely enough I can remember my birthday.
We have a quick bath and breakfast and head for the harbor. As was to be expected, Gjalund has nothing against another 2500 S. Dammit, five thousand septims just to get from Windhelm to Ravenrock and back... I hope I won't be doing this trip again any time soon.
I'm not trying to ask him to give me a birthday discount. In fact, I've ordered my girls not to let him know it's my birthday. Seamen are weird people and heaven knows what kind of sadistic birthday rituals they may have. Ship travel is unnerving enough as it is. I've never felt too comfortable in a big wooden bowl floating on water.
When we're at the boring open sea, I ask the girls if they did anything exciting last night. (I fell asleep before they returned.) No, they say, just sat on guys' laps and let themselves get fondled a little.
The first familiar part of Skyrim we get to see is Winterhold:
Note the rock ahead of us. The ship's pilot will have to be very careful.
Our destination Windhelm lies in this direction:
In the next picture, you can see a tent camp on the right bank. We're lucky there's nobody there. The last thing the ship's crew needs is to have to dodge arrows shot from the shore. Although this one doesn't look like a bandit camp. Rather fishers'.
The tower on the left is the Windhelm Lighthouse.
Here we have almost arrived in Windhelm's eastern harbor:
In Windhelm, we won't hang around. We don't even enter the city. I try to find a path to the north directly from the eastern harbor, along the western bank of the estuary. It turns out impossible without jumping into the water. But at least it saves us the long and tedious way through the gates and up and down the stairs.
Just outside the northeastern corner of Windhelm's city wall, we are quite surprised to find a camp with maybe a dozen tents inhabited mostly by elves.
They are kind of downcast and decidedly not in the mood for talking. Not hostile, just resigned. Some kind of refugees?
Some of them live in curious round tents called "yurt":
[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 also see a couple of Windhelm guards and there seems to be another entrance to the city proper.
We travel northwards over the hills. Having passed by a Shrine of Arkay, we run into a weird group. There are people shouting aggressively and a horse running back and forth. I can sense one man is clearly hostile towards us, so I shoot him dead. A bandit, he turns out to be. I can see another bandit at some distance shooting arrows at me. When I aim at him, the horse runs between us. It's really annoying! But for the damned beast, this would be a perfect shooting opportunity. I can't be bothered to start maneuvering just because of a silly horse. So I take the shot anyway, aiming at the bandit as well as I can. Unfortunately, it's the horse that gets hit. Then the girls and I finish off the bandit. Another man runs in my direction with obviously aggressive intentions and I kill him too.
I realize the last man was the owner of the horse and he got angry when I accidentally shot it. The two bandits had been attacking him. And now they're all dead. Well, shit happens, as ladies aren't supposed to say.
Soon we can see houses in the distance. Nearby is some kind of a ritual site with chest-high stone pillars.
The houses we saw belong to Amol City, a small town near a mine. To our surprise, they get attacked by imps whom the guards succeed in killing after a tough fight.
The Imperial Army should really do something about the discipline of their men. Why attack peaceful settlements like this? Stormcloak territory as this may be, town guards can certainly not be considered enemy combatants. But I'm not the one who's going to go and tell them that.
There are some shops and things in this town, and we ask the people a few generic questions, but I don't want to stay for long. We've got much to do in Winterhold.
The weather is still fine when we run along the road towards the College that is visible from far away.
Having arrived in Winterhold, I first give that sacred helm to the jarl who is in his own house for a change. He is so happy he appoints me a thane.
Then we go to the inn. The girls and I have in the meantime done a lot of pondering as to how Ranmir would react to his dead sweetheart's letter, and we've come to the conclusion that I'm not his nanny. Just give him the letter (it would be rather mean to withhold from him what I know, don't you agree?) and let him handle the news in his own way.
Ranmir is somewhat defensive, to not say offensive. After he has read the letter, he becomes downcast and starts thinking Isabelle's death was his fault. He thanks me and asks to be left alone. Well, be my guest. Um, I mean, I will gladly do as you ask and leave you alone.
I can't believe Bastaard's robe costs practically nothing.
To call it a unique collector's item would be a blasphemous understatement.
Considering where it's been brought from and how it's been obtained
and how utterly impossible it is to ever find anything comparable, it should cost 100 times more, if not 1000.
I mean, I have several pointless armors in my inventory that are 4000 S apiece.
To call it a unique collector's item would be a blasphemous understatement.
Considering where it's been brought from and how it's been obtained
and how utterly impossible it is to ever find anything comparable, it should cost 100 times more, if not 1000.
I mean, I have several pointless armors in my inventory that are 4000 S apiece.
Having told my followers they can go and amuse themselves, I hurry to the College. (I've noticed the mages there are not too fond of tourists even when they belong to a student's entourage.)
The first person I meet is Mirabelle. She congratulates me on my birthday. To my utter delight, she even hugs me. After a little chat, I go to the library and run into Master Sergius who is just leaving. I give him that ring the woman from Ravenrock wanted enchanted.
Halfway to Urag's desk, I'm having major difficulties tearing myself loose from Ertzebet's blue eyes.
When I look at Ertzebet's eyes more closely, I'm not really sure if they're blue, gray or green, or even brown.
For that matter, when I look into her eyes, I'm no longer sure of anything. My breathing stops and my knees go weak.
The way she looks at me, I have the feeling she likes me too. But I don't know for sure. And I'm scared to ask her.
She's so perfect.
For that matter, when I look into her eyes, I'm no longer sure of anything. My breathing stops and my knees go weak.
The way she looks at me, I have the feeling she likes me too. But I don't know for sure. And I'm scared to ask her.
She's so perfect.
A minute later, I'm looking into the librarian's face that looks almost as old as the world, and could well be. Urag is visibly happy in his somewhat insensitive way upon the sight of that small pile of precious books I've placed in front of him. He gives me a modest reward, assuming (not entirely without reason) that the pleasure from a job well done would significantly outweigh any material decoration. He confirms what I have already presumed – that one of those stolen books (which I've naturally read) could help Master Tolfdir ahead with solving the secret of that glowing blue-green thing which they have in the meantime transported into the main hall of the College and named Eye of Magnus . (Don't ask me who Magnus is.)
I rush down the stairs and briefly join a fellow girl student admiring the Eye of Magnus. I think it's rather amazing how well it matches with the color of the walls. Tolfdir is nearby. He too knows about my birthday. I feel flattered. Tolfdir starts telling me how the Eye of Magnus irradiates some kind of awesomely strong power. I must say his fascination is contagious. But we are interrupted by Ancano who demands that I accompany him. No congratulations. Tolfdir tells him we're in the midst of an important study.
Tolfdir is upset, but evidently realizes he's no match for Ancano when the latter is determined to get what he wants. So he heads for the library to have a look at that book I told him about. Ancano, in turn, takes me to the other door, the one that leads to the Arch-Mage's quarters.
What monk? Oh, never mind. I guess I'll find out soon enough.
I quietly follow Ancano up the stairs. In the Arch-Mage's quarters, there's a man named Quaranir. He performs that trick I'm already familiar with when everything turns grayishblue-and-white and people around me freeze still (which means the time has stopped and they won't be able to follow our conversation). Quaranir says he'll be able to uphold this magic field for a short time only, so no long explanations. He informs me the Eye of Magnus is extremely dangerous and the world is not ready for it, but since it's already here it needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible. I ask him why can't the Psijic Order deal with it then, and he says they have a principle of not getting directly involved in such matters.
That's just about the lamest excuse one could think of. I could see through such "principles" when I was a child. Have you ever seen a boy punched and insulted by another boy, and instead of defending himself he turns around and walks away saying he refuses to fight on principle, because violence is despicable and he's above things that lowly? The truth is, he's afraid to fight, because he senses he's weaker.
That's how this Quaranir dude is. As I've told you before, if they were as powerful as they're trying to make themselves look like, the Psijic Order could thwart any threat a hundred times better than I ever could. And if they choose to stick to their high principles, then the matter can't be all that serious. All in all, this guy's behavior is pathetic. And he's not even handsome.
Come to think of it, I feel even less respect for the Psijic Order than I feel for the Dark Brotherhood. The latter were posers, I won't deny it, but they at least tried to get their job done. As much as their fierce reputation may have outweighed their actual abilities, it's an objective fact that several Dark Brotherhood assassins had the courage to actually ambush and attack me. They got killed, but at least they were men enough to come out and fight. They didn't try to make other people do the dirty work for them like those psijics have been doing.
I got carried away, sorry. Quaranir at least gives me one piece of useful information that shall help me ahead. He tells me I must seek out someone called Augur of Dunlain. Where he is, the almighty Psijic Order, unfortunately, doesn't know. Someone at the College might. I continue nodding and keeping my opinion to myself.
Then the light turns to normal. Ancano asks impatiently what's the meaning of this, and Quaranir says he has been mistaken.
Ancano is the most pertinacious person I've ever met, but Quaranir holds his ground without any apparent difficulty. He keeps insisting he has erroneously assumed me to be someone else, and apologizes humbly for troubling us unnecessarily. In spite of Ancano's "You're not going anywhere until I find out what you're up to," Quaranir just walks away with Ancano on his heels, leaving me alone with the Arch-Mage Savos Aren.
I ask him if he knows anything about the Augur of Dunlain. He gets annoyed and says: "Tolfdir has been telling stories again, hasn't he?" He's so clearly rubbed the wrong way by this topic that I apologize and leave.
I return to the lecture hall which is completely empty now, and marvel at the Eye of Magnus's exhilarating beauty.
It occurs to me that this Augur of Dunlain affair is a welcome excuse to talk to Mirabelle. I mean, the Arch-Mage led me to Tolfdir, but Mirabelle doesn't know I've even spoken about it with the Arch-Mage, does she?
So I go and find Mirabelle. Turns out she knows at least something about the Augur of Dunlain, but says I shouldn't concern myself with such matters. I keep pleading until she gives in and tells me the Augur lives in a place called Midden. I've heard of it. It's underground and can be accessed by a trapdoor I believe I have seen somewhere, maybe on the ground floor in the teachers' dormitory. I thank Mirabelle and go to find the place right away. The evening is still young.
Yes, the trapdoor is just where I remember. Down below is a dungeon, part ice, part stone.
In the stone part, I find something that looks like a prison cell. Inside, there's a dead man named Fellaqui.
I've heard that name before. It was in a note or a diary I picked up a long time ago. There's a diary lying here too. I squat down (I can't sit, there's blood all over the floor) and read it. It's long and confused. Something about channeling someone's soul through himself in order to put it into someone else. Yuck. The only thing that seems relevant to me is that Fellaqui has magically imprisoned – securely and for all eternity, as he believes – a girl Tyllia "deep inside the caverns of Blackreach". I've never heard of the location, but it doesn't sound too hospitable.
Continuing my search for that Augur creature, I meet a few draugrs and very big white poison spiders. And a locked door.
As I fumble with the lock, an ethereal voice that sounds very dead tells me to leave. This must be the place. As I keep examining the seemingly impossible lock, the voice goes like: all right, if you're so insistent, you may come in. The lock opens.
The Augur deigns to appear as a bright greenish-blue glow. What he says to me is too depressing to repeat. He's like a dementor. Sorry... I've noticed the people in Skyrim don't understand the word. A dementor is an evil being who removes everything positive from your thoughts. All happiness, all hope – gone. I don't know where I've picked it up. Could be the idiom of my native region, or maybe a book I read in the past.
At the end of his lecture, the Augur tells me that in order to control the Eye of Magnus , I'll need the Staff of Magnus . The Arch-Mage may know where it is. And Ancano is up to no good.
Fine. May I leave now?
Yes, I may.
I explore the other passage I had given a miss when I came.
It leads me to a cave that ends up outdoors. I realize I'm northeast of the College where a small waterway separates an island from the mainland. I'll have to go counterclockwise around the mountain on which the College is and find a way uphill, like the girls and I did when we first came to Winterhold.
It's pitch dark. Now, I've been in many dark places, but right here right now I can see literally nothing. Lucky I have the Eye of the Coldharbour ring. Of course, I could simply go back into the cave and return through the Midden, but I prefer fresh air.
Bardslayer, do you know where Blackreach is? I'd really love to save that Tyllia girl. I don't know who she is, but Fellaqui didn't assuredly have anything likeable about him. He even paid another guy to whip him. What kind of a man is that?
Blackreach is where Alftand is, Bardslayer informs me. Alftand I'll have to find by myself.
Fair enough. Thank you.
After a while, I find a place where I can walk uphill to Winterhold. It's past 1 at night. I return to the dormitory where my fellow students insist I sit with them because they are celebrating my birthday. But I'm too exhausted, physically and mentally. I excuse myself as gently as I can and go to sleep.
next awakening
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