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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
4-201-12-06 03:07
Folkvangr–Windhelm ship, Eastmarch, Skyrim
I'm told we'll be in Windhelm soon. I can feel the wind of barely bearable temperature blow, and the ship is rocking gently, but I can't tell if it's moving anywhere, because it's pitch dark. I can only hope the navigation mage knows his job.
As there's nothing to do, I'll tell you, while we're waiting, how I learned to remember the names of Skyrim holds.
Now, it would obviously be the easiest if Windhelm were the capital of Windhelm Hold, Morthal the capital of Morthal Hold etc. Unfortunately, they haven't made it so simple. The nine holds of Skyrim are, in alphabetical order:
Eastmarch
Falkreath
Haafingar
Hjaalmarch
The Pale
The Reach
The Rift
Whiterun
Winterhold
The nine hold capitals are:
Bitchen
Dånstar
Falkert
Hviterun
Morpork
Morthal
Solitud
Windhelm
Winterhold
Now, it's not difficult to guess that Winterhold town goes together with Winterhold Hold.
Also rather obvious are Falkert–Falkreath and Hviterun–Whiterun.
If you know that Bitchen's historical name is Riften, you can easily guess that it's located in The Rift.
Windhelm–Eastmarch is not too difficult to remember, because the city is in eastern Skyrim.
What about the remaining two The-holds, The Pale and The Reach? They go with Dånstar and Morpork. I have memorized them like this:
Dånstar is in the north, which means there's little sun and therefore the people are pale. So its hold is The Pale.
Morpork, in turn, is in the western end of Skyrim and further west is High Rock, the country of the Bretons. But I haven't yet found a way to travel there, because in the west from Morpork, there are high mountains everywhere. Meaning, the historical homeland of my ancestors is beyond my reach and it's beyond The Reach (if you look at it from central Skyrim).
That's how I can remember that The Reach Hold is in the west and The Pale Hold is in the north.
The pair I've been struggling with big time is Haafingar and Hjaalmarch – the areas around Solitud and Morthal. I've never been able to remember which is which. Only this morning did I come up with a wordplay to help me sort them out, and that's why I'm telling you about it now.
The last part of "Hjaalmarch" sounds somewhat similar to "marsh", reminding of the marshlands north of Morthal. So the capital of Hjaalmarch Hold is Morthal.
The first part of "Haafingar" sounds somewhat similar to "harp", which is a musical instrument, reminding of the bards' college in Solitud. So the capital of Haafingar Hold is Solitud.
Brilliant, am I not? I'm so proud of myself right now – as if I had found a way to make dragons go away. [Laughing uncontrollably.]
And there they are – the lights of Windhelm's eastern harbor. After we've disembarked, we're not even going to enter the city. We use the pavement that leads around the city wall and past the prison. We're headed for Vernim Wood. Possibly we'll kill a dragon for the jarl of The Rift along the way. You know how I hate dragon-hunting, but I'm still hoping I can ingratiate myself with Jarl Laila eventually, so that I'd get a chance to rid the city of the Black-Briar mafia's stranglehold. Mjoll would surely help me, but she's neither patient enough nor sneaky enough to approach problems from the right angle. That's why I want to get the jarl at least sympathetic to our cause.
I seem to be in a gabbing mood this morning, don't I? What I actually started to tell you was that we're headed for Vernim Wood on our way to Bitchen, and from there we'll go to Largashbur, the unfortunate Orc village.
The dotted purple line is the path to Northwind Summit where there's a dragon to kill.
The orange dot is the approximate location of Labyrinthian.
The orange dot is the approximate location of Labyrinthian.
The next brief stop after Largashbur will be Ivarsted from where we'll proceed through the mountain pass to Riverwood to meet up with Rudelphine, and then all the way north to Labyrinthian, probably with a stopover in good old Hviterun. Having found the Staff of Magnus in Labyrinthian, we'll retun to Winterhold to save the College. Then we'll have made a circle around almost all of Skyrim.
Mikki is thrilled with her adventure which far exceeds the ones her sisters had. And she dreads our eventual return to Hviterun where I might get an idea of substituting another follower in her place. Well, we'll see. I tell her she'd better enjoy what she's having now to the fullest, and let the future worry about itself.
It's almost pitch dark on the road.
That's a street lantern ahead, its light partially obscured by a hill.
We make a brief stop at Kynesgrove inn and then it begins to get light. In Vernim Wood, even the innkeeper is still asleep. The taproom is completely empty.
I haven't been quite sure if we're going to make that dragon-slaying stopover at Northwind Summit. Now I decide we'll do it after all. This dragon bursts fire and is not too difficult to kill. Of course, my team has gotten well into combat routine by now, so I hardly ever need to give my followers any instructions. They seem to read my mind. What a striking contrast to my frustratingly messy battles a few months ago!
This is the view I promised you the last time here when it was raining cats and dogs.
When I look at the objects on the ground, it's so excitingly scary to realize
how far it really is to the ground and how certainly I'd be dead if I fell down,
and how many seconds I would have for being aware that these are the last seconds of my life.
When I look at the objects on the ground, it's so excitingly scary to realize
how far it really is to the ground and how certainly I'd be dead if I fell down,
and how many seconds I would have for being aware that these are the last seconds of my life.
Under the partially cloudy sky, we reach Shor. The shop is already open and we also visit the mine to say hello to our friend Sylgja. Then we proceed to Bitchen, once again running through the courtyard of that bandit fortress so fast the lazy dorks can't react quickly enough to intercept us.
Upon reaching Bitchen, I suggest to Lydia she'll tell Maul to do it quickly. Lydia laughs and shakes her head: "He'll kill me if I say something like that." Yeah, I didn't mean it seriously. We're not in such a hurry. Besides, if she'll agree to take it up her butthole this time, it can't last very long. But I won't say that. I just pat Lydia's shoulder and wish her good luck.
I go and report to the steward about the killed dragon and am very disappointed by not being trusted with any new tasks. Fortunately, my good mood is completely recovered by the following couple of hours of shopping in beautiful weather.
That as well...
Except the only stones he can try to turn for some time to come are in the walls of his prison cell.
Except the only stones he can try to turn for some time to come are in the walls of his prison cell.
The weather has gotten nicer still when we exit through the southern gate and head for Largashbur. On our way there, we see a group of bandits fighting a bear. We kill them all which, strictly speaking, wasn't necessary. Guess there's something of a hunter in me.
Largashbur is once again being attacked by a giant whom we help the villagers to kill. Then I give Atub the requested ingredients. She asks me to follow her, because I need to be present at the ritual. I don't like the sound of that. But she isn't saying anything about having to leave my followers behind, so I guess there's a reasonable chance I won't be sacrificed. ;-)
Atub takes me to the house of the village chief Yamarz. They do some mutual grumbling while I stand near the door and suppress a yawn. The chief joins us as we go out again and stand around some kind of an altar. Atub lays things onto it and pronounces some ritual formulas and then I jump with surprise when a thundering voice begins to speak to Yamarz. Gosh, she has actually summoned Malacath! Well, I have nothing to fear from Him... I hope.
Malacath is quite displeased with Yamarz's weakness. We're not told what precisely it is he has done wrong, but I assume Yamarz knows. The important part is, he's being given a chance to redeem himself by bringing home the club of the leader of those very giants who have been attacking the village.
Yamarz is the big man next to that column.
The ritual is over. His Invisible Bloodchillingness has taken His leave. Chief Yamarz, in turn, addresses me. He tells me it's all my fault and I'm to help him get that club from the giants.
I beg your pardon? Thanks to me, Yamarz has a chance to save his people, but instead of being grateful, that two-legged wild boar is irked because now he'll have to move his behind out of the village?
I didn't travel all the way from Winterhold to hear such insults. I'd like to think that I understand how it pains a man to acknowledge it when things are not under his control, but still one isn't supposed to spit into a helping hand. Even when cast down by frustration and embitterment, a man should act with dignity, at least in public. A man who can't doesn't deserve sympathy.
Yamarz runs away towards a place called Fallowstone Cave telling me to follow him. Me and my followers, we're going in another direction – Sunguard City in the northwest. Yamarz can wait for me in case I decide to help him after all someday.
The sun is going down and the beautiful trees on the roadsides are so heartwarming!
This region is so picturesque I sometimes find it hard to believe it's truly real.
We happen to pass by an ancient Nordic ruin Angarvunde and then we see a group of jolly drunkards. They ask us to have some mead with them and I accept. Traveling on in somewhat raised spirits, we encounter an Orc man just on the intersection where we'd have to turn right towards Sunguard City. He's going the other way. His upper body is almost bare and I think I'd really like to... you know.
Before I get a chance to bring that topic up with him, I realize where this roads leads – to The Naked Dragon Riften. Now, I don't have a problem with men visiting brothels, but to make love to someone who is just headed there – that's below my dignity. So instead I run to Sunguard City with my followers as planned.
It's past 7 and I'm sure the shops are no longer open. Indeed, the blacksmith is already at the inn and the street stalls are all empty. Just on the odd chance, I step into the general store, though, and the vendor is still at work. Awesome!
On our way to nearby Ivarsted, we discover a strange place called Chicken Necromancers Altar. It has what looks like the ribcage of a big animal (decidedly not a chicken) and various smaller objects around it.
There's nobody about. I shrug with some amusement and we move on.
It's a great feeling to be at the cozy Ivarsted inn. Even that jerk Bassianus keeps his witticisms to himself this time. We make some friendly small talk with a number of guests, but then I feel I'm really very tired. After I've asked Lydia how it was with Maul (nothing exciting; she did let him do that horrible thing, and fortunately it didn't last long), I go to sleep ahead of my followers.
next awakening
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