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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
4-201-11-20 08:45
Hall of Attainment, Winterhold, Winterhold, Skyrim
I browse through some books I've picked up recently. At the same time, I listen to a conversation between two fellow students from my Saarthal adventure, Brelyna and Onmund, in the hall outside my room. I watch out for hints at any unusual closeness between them. (No special reason, just curious. I've lost interest for Onmund.) There doesn't seem to be any.
But enough of that. I've got much leg-and-mouthwork to do today.
I find the Arch-Mage Savos Aren in the study hall admiring that glowing sphere. When I try to explain him that we have to find the Staff of Magnus, he needs considerable time to realize I'm not trying to pull some sort of a childish prank on him. Men have such thick heads sometimes. Finally he comes around and even praises my good work and gives me a magical circlet as a reward.
Thank you. It'll be my pleasure.
Mirabelle isn't taking me much more seriously.
Give me a break, the lot of you! What do I have to do to make you realize this is serious? I wouldn't bring up such a topic just for fun.
Fortunately, Mirabelle is more sensible – or less self-important – than Savos. She tells me that the location of the Staff of Magnus is utterly unknown. However, a group of mages – or more politicians than mages – from Cyrodiil turned up in the College recently, apparently under the impression that the Staff was here. When told it wasn't, they went to look for it in the old Dwemer ruin of Mzulft near Vernim Wood. For all she knows, they can still be there. As to the whereabouts of the Staff itself, she knows no more than I do.
I smile and thank her cordially. It's hard not to smile and get cordial when talking to Mirabelle. You know why, I've told you.
Before leaving, I make some small talk with J'zargo who is practising spells nearby. He asks me to help him with spell testing, but I reply he'd better do his own work. I mean, with his attitude the last time, why should I want to help him? Besides, it's not like I'm not busy enough already.
I go to the town. I like the bath at the inn much better than the rather modest washing facilities provided to the students in the College.
That's too bad, sweetie, but I'd really like some privacy right now if you don't mind.
I sit in the bathtub and think things through. (Should have called my followers to help me think.) Mzulft is far in the south, past Windhelm. Instead of wading over those snowy hills again, we'd better take the road that goes southwest and bypasses the high mountains counterclockwise. Just about on our route is Sightless Pit which should contain the last one of the four Welkynd Stones I've been gathering for Nuri in Falkert. This is a very suitable opportunity to go there.
I've heard that Sightless Pit is a real bitch to find. In fact I can remember a dream of going to the area and trying to find it and returning after a futile search hating the whole world. I was coming from the west that time rather than northeast, and it was a dream anyway, so it shouldn't matter very much.
And I had almost forgotten – I'm a thane of Winterhold now, so I'm to be assigned a house and a housecarl. I'll have to pay for it to the steward and then I can take it into possession.
The house is outside the town wall. That's really weird. I mean, it's not like they lack space in the town proper. Those ugly ruins opposite Birna's shop should have been cleared away a long time ago. Instead, the local government has had a house built for their future thane in the midst of some snowy rocks east of the southern gate.
There's a man with red hair and blue eyes waiting for me. He introduces himself as Brynjarr. All right, Brynjarr, let's see what you're made of.
Since I'm the boss, I don't need to play shy. I tell Brynjarr I feel like trying this position:
I'm not dirty. It's the light.
I must say I enjoy this thoroughly. What I like less is Brynjarr's patronizing attitude afterwards. Sure, a man has to be dominant, but not when he's really a servant. I'll have to teach him manners someday.
Currently, though, I need to hurry if I want to get that Sightless Pit job done and find a proper lodging tonight.
I don't know the terrain, but I know it's generally very difficult in this region. The map suggests that we can follow the road south, and halfway to Amol City we ought to be able to get through the mountains.
Yeah, looks like we will be.
We have to kill a couple of trolls and a snow-sabercat along the way, but they're no longer a challenge on our current skill level. However, our destination is just completely impossible to find. It's exactly like it was in that dream, and so seems to be my fury.
All we can find is the mouth of a cave called creatively Abandoned Cave. It's connected to the Sightless Pit, but you can't go there from here, it's only possible to enter through the Sightless Pit and exit through the Abandoned Cave. Clearly Sightless Pit has to be somewhere in the mountains above us, but there's no way to climb up. Looks like we should have approached from a completely different direction, but I've no idea which, and we could easily spend days wandering around in these mountains. After I've tried everything humanly possible to figure out where we should go, I beg Bardslayer to let me float in the air.
He does and drops me next to an altar. I land almost on top of a skeleton who hurries to get up and attack me. There's three of them, in fact, but they're courteous enough to awake one after another, so I can finish them off without breaking a sweat.
This is called Ritual Site. Well, what about that Siteless... Sightless Pit?
Up into the air I go again. This time I find the damned place. It's a hole in the ground next to a Falmer tent that looks rather out of place on this snowy hillside in the middle of nowhere. Whatever. I drop a stone into the hole. There's water down there. It seems safe to jump down, but I tell the girls to wait for my signal just in case. I go in first.
I make an enormous splash falling into the pond below. Still, there's enough water left for my followers to be able to land safely. I climb out, shout for them to follow and watch amusedly.
We walk through a system of icy caves inhabited by a few Falmers and their inseparable companions the chauruses. (Do the Falmers breed them or something?)
The passage ends at the edge of a very very deep round hole. Looks like we have to get down there somehow. It would be certain death if it wasn't for several ledges and thick metal pipes onto which you can jump on your way down. After having descended all the way to the bottom and still in one piece, we have to go up and down inside Dwemer-style structures in a very bad state of repair, killing Falmers and chauruses and even human bandits.
There are also quite a few dead decent-looking humans lying about. Are they treasure-hunters or just bored with living, I wonder. The unspeakable effort and frustration I had to go through to even find this shithole, and all those people have come here just because they couldn't think of anything better to do with their time? What stellar treasures were they hoping to find?
Sorry. I shouldn't be so negative. The enormous hall where we finally find the Welkynd Stone we came for is in fact a spectacular sight, even though it could use a little more light.
Wouldn't look so fabulous with more light, says Jordis. Maybe she's right.
I catch myself thinking that this would be a lovely place to return to have sex someday.
I tear myself loose from the awe-inspiring Dwemer structures and we head for the elevator. (Isn't it amazing how all those things still work?) The elevator takes us into another system of icy passages, smaller this time. We come out, as was to be expected, through that Abandoned Cave I told you about before.
On our way out, we passed by a door that was barred from the inside. We unbarred it, so now we'll be able, if we so wish, enter from this end, too. But I'm not sure about actually wanting to return to this dismal region just to make love in that fascinating hall. Surely not before I've done it on Dreamborne Isle. I wonder where Lorm is. I really miss him, you know. Maybe he found a job as a sellsword and is now traveling around Skyrim with someone just like I am?
I know I'm Yrsarald's and I've no problem with that, because he's awesome, but there's still something special about Lorm, and I'd be very sad if I were to never meet him again.
Whatever. It's too confusing and this is not the time to rack my brain with such things. It's half past nine, pitch-dark and the weather could hardly be worse. If we won't get moving soon, we'll have not only our eyes and mouths but also our noses and ears full of snow.
The large pink dot is where we are now.
The green marker is Mzulft where we need to get to eventually.
The green marker is Mzulft where we need to get to eventually.
I have my magic ring to give us some light, but where should we go? We're near our carrying capacity, so it's time for another crafting and selling session. I decide to go east, to Amol City, because it's a little closer than Winterhold in the northeast and the latter's smithing facilites leave much to be desired.
We reach Amol City without meeting a living soul. The taproom of the Proud Nord Tavern is, however, full of people socializing. We mingle with the crowd and have a dinner. Then we turn in. They have several rooms for hire downstairs. I mean, in the basement.
next awakening
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