Always Lost, Always Hopeful (96) Movement Keeps You Warm in Winter

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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






4-201-11-21 06:21
Proud Nord Tavern, Amol City, Winterhold, Skyrim

We check out the local mine and then I spend the next hours crafting. This town's smithy hasn't got a grindstone, which is rather disappointing. But everything else is top-class and while the blacksmith Holdin is a bit grumpy, the thane's wizard Oyla is very friendly, as are the town guards who stop occasionally and try to chat me up.

I've been told Holdin dislikes travelers because he's fed up with being asked how he got the nickname Holdin the Hammer. Therefore I'll be most careful not to bring it up.

While working with my hands, I have plenty of time to think. I have something to do in northwestern Skyrim (namely find another rare book for the Winterhold librarian Urag) as well as (of course) in Riverwood that lies to the southwest from here. I decide, however, to go to Mzulft first, in order to get that Staff of Magnus  for the College quest. Then we can take care of several smaller matters in Bitchen further south, and proceed to Riverwood from there.

In spite of the harsh climate, Amol City is really nice.
Good hospitable people too, in their unsophisticated way.

I chat with a few more locals here and there. At about 2 in the afternoon, we head for Windhelm. I've changed my mind about taking the road southwest that leads to Windhelm by a detour around the mountains. We'll go southeast and then south between the mountains and the estuary. There was obviously a gate to Windhelm near the refugee camp, so we won't have to wade through the water again.

Thus we run along the road to the south for, like, ten minutes, and then turn off downhill into the wilderness. We soon notice three men fighting a big snowbear. They seem to be Companions from Hviterun. We cheer them from a safe distance, driving them on with excited shouts and shreaks.

The men eventually kill the bear without losses. We run to them and congratulate them on a good fight. Of course, we act as if we didn't help them because we self-evidently trusted them not to need any help. The guys react like everything's normal and in fact seem pleased to see us.

They head north while we proceed towards Windhelm. At the nearby Shrine of Arkay, we end up in real trouble, attacked by icewraiths, those almost invisible flying creatures whose bite is very, very painful.

Good luck trying to hit that! One can barely see the damn thing. (It's the bright glow in the middle, with a pale green tail.)
FYI, whenever I'm hit, the magical camera indicates it with slight blurriness of the picture and red dots here and there. Two this time.
You can also observe my red health bar emptying below. The blue bar includes my available magical energy a.k.a. magicka.

First there are like 2 or 3, but with every few minutes more appear. I don't know how many we kill by the end. Must have been at least ten. And the men are way out of sight by now. It's horrible. We all take serious damage. I don't think I could have survived this alone.

Upon reaching the refugee camp northeast of Windhelm,

we indeed find a gate (or more like a door) to the city. It leads to the end of the Gray Quarter that is closer to the palace. When you exit the palace yard (past that firebowl where the beggar Silda often stands and warms herself, and through under the arches), turn left and you'll see a street going downhill into the Gray Quarter. The northern city gate is the first door to your left.

That's the one. Those are not permanent guards, just Lydia and Jenassa. They look great here, don't you think?
Although I should have made them switch places, because Lydia is taller.

I tell my followers they can go and have fun. I don't know yet if we'll travel on later today or spend the night in the city. It depends on how much time it'll take me in the palace.

But first I go shopping. It's always a pleasure to be in Windhelm and I wish the day were longer. As it happens, I've just about enough time to comfortably visit all the shops. Here and there, I'm stopped and greeted amically and patted on the back and such. People remember well who caught that serial killer.

Yeah. Many men do.

By 7 in the evening I've sold everything the Windhelm traders can afford to buy and go to the inn to have a bath. I must be flawless for my magnificent man.

Yrsarald is somewhat preoccupied with the war – you know, the usual – but he raises no objections when I suggest it's time to call it a day. When we're lying naked in the bed, I turn my back on him, leaving it to him to choose the hole. I am a bit afraid, but I'm curious to see what he's going to do and I have to admit I also enjoy the thrill. I smile happily when I feel him where I'm used to.
[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]

It doesn't last very long, but I'm profoundly delighted to be near my dearest dear and to hug and caress his mighty body afterwards. When it has grown very dark and silent outside our room, Yrsarald decides to go to sleep and I return to my house to do the same. I'm amused to find that all my followers are spending the night somewhere else.



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