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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
4-201-12-09 12:18
Wiljar's Farm, outside Dragonbridge, Haafingar, Skyrim
We get to make the acquaintance of Jordis's nice parents Wiljar and Ysrudde. Her brothers Gudling and Aesling live separately and should currently be on a journey with a caravan somewhere down south.
Thoroughly rested, bathed and sated, we return to Dragonbridge where I walk up to the Khajiit man who has forever been consummately deflecting my questions about that missing girl Bronwen. This time I grab the cat by the scruff, so to speak, by informing Dar'Jidarr I'm going to kill him. He suggests that maybe there are other ways of satisfying my bloodlust. I wish he hadn't used such a word. It sounds so obscene in my current state.
Dar'Jidarr senses my momentary insecurity, even though he can't know its reason. What he does know is my subject of interest – Bronwen. He tells me the girl was bought by a man named Juvenal the Innocent who is hiding in a place called Secret Enclave... yes, Dar'Jidarr, I know where it is. Thank you. Next time, don't be so damned stubborn.
Juvenal... That's the man from that nightmare I had where Rayya was killed in Secret Enclave southwest of Windhelm, a few days before she got killed for real in the other end of Skyrim. But that's neither here nor there. We would have to enter that sinister building in order to find Bronwen. Should we? Maybe the place is nothing like it was in my nightmare? I don't know. I'll give it some thought, but today we'll be going in the (almost) opposite direction, towards the Orc village Mor Khazgur.
The Dragonbridge smithy is in an unusual place – upstairs of the military outpost. It's still freely accessible, though.
I quickly sell some things. Athragar whom I visit alone, just in case, kisses me hello, but doesn't make any suggestions. I don't stick around either. It's better when it ends between us. As Eydis said: he is a little strange. Although this man is a Breton, I can't make any sense of him.
The girls and I set out for Mor Khazgur. It's in the west, but there are high mountains in our path, which is why we will have to make a little detour, heading southwest first.
Southwest means traveling along the western bank of the river a part of the way. Currently, however, we are on the eastern bank and hor some reason I'm curious to explore this side of the river. So we proceed southwest along the eastern riverbank. We're going to cross the river somewhere farther.
Not far from Dragonbridge, we discover a door leading to something called Karth River Outpost. More precisely, it leads into the mountain. There's no way of telling what might be inside. The door has the kind of lock I'm unable to pick. In front of the door lies a dead man in a stork armor. He's not carrying any written information as to his identity or a possible connection to this place. So we just have to move on none the wiser.
Nearby is a tree trunk conveniently across the river. I say "conveniently", but that's only if you disregard the fact that one wrong step would mean a drop of tens of meters. Well, maybe not quite 20 meters, but it's very scary nonetheless. Fortunately, we get across without slipping.
Now we travel between hills looking for a convenient route.
I don't know why it suddenly occurs to me to ask the girls if there aren't any Nord men at all who can do it twice in a row.
"Probably not," snorts Lydia.
"Is it because of all that alcohol?" I ask.
She shrugs.
"I mean, they even use the phrase "milk drinker" as an insult," I continue.
"Jordis, you have been really lucky to live in Solitud," says Lydia. "There are plenty of Imperial men there."
"Yes, quite many." Jordis doesn't sound too enthusiastic about this line of discussion.
I'm about to enquire about the Breton men, but Jenassa gives us a sign to shut up. Of course. We're approaching Bruca's Leap Redoubt.
We sneak past quietly. No one notices us and we don't bother to find out if there's anyone inside. Soon after that, having crossed yet another small hill, we're attacked by a group of thalmors.
This is what the use of the Healing spell looks like.
It's me healing myself next to a thalmor corpse.
It's me healing myself next to a thalmor corpse.
A document we loot from their dead bodies states that I am now officially an enemy of the thalmors and am to be killed "with extreme hatred". I hope imps haven't been given a similar order. Fortunately, my followers' names aren't listed as targets.
Mor Khazgur (see picture above) leads its peaceful life far away from all the world's troubles. Borgakh is there and I hire her in the stead of Jordis. There is no horse cart routes going through Mor Khazgur, but they are (of course) still trading with other settlements, so the Orcs will help Jordis get safely to nearby Karthwasten one of these days. In the meantime, she'll be helping to guard and defend the village.
I have no intention of keeping Borgakh permanently. She's way too ugly for that. I mean, Jordis isn't a striking beauty either and we're not going to participate in beauty contests anyway, but... yeah, I know I don't have to explain everything in such detail. I'm sorry. What I meant to say is I took pity on Borgakh the first time I was here. I want to give her a chance to make her own choices in life. So I'm going to let her build up her confidence a bit by fighting battles with us, and then I'll introduce her in the Hviterun palace and let her take it from there. Who knows, she might fit in with The Companions. Or maybe she'll find a soulmate in Lerguk, that Orc blacksmith in the eastern suburb. Or whatever. She'll have plenty of opportunities in and around Hviterun.
It remains to be seen how well she can fall in with our combat tactics. At any rate, if she gets killed, it won't be a great loss.
There are some restless storks near Volskygge, but nobody is attacking anybody while we pass by.
We reach Solitud at half past seven in the evening, kill a skeever who has been bothering the innkeeper Jana and stretch our legs a little among the bustle at the other inn, The Winking Skeever, inside the city walls. I decide to make use of the excellent crafting facilities in Solitud. So I inform the girls I'll go home now to get some sleep, but they won't have to worry about waking up early, because I'll be working in the morning.
Lydia walks with me and asks how it went with Athragar.
"He acted like we... He didn't even suggest anything. I guess he's already preparing for his next conquest."
"You sound like you were the one who fancied him."
"Yeah, I probably do." We walk for a while in silence. "But I never fancied him. Although it was an interesting experience. Or I don't know. I wish I could make him tell me how he really felt about me, but that seems impossible."
"Something like that happened to me once," Lydia says after another period of pensive silence.
"Who?"
"I'll tell you next time."
I stop and put my hand on her arm. "No, you'll tell me now!"
"You don't know him."
"Oh. Okay. You can tell me some other time." We start walking again.
An Argonian man emerges from the shadows, making me start. Then she notices Lydia, mumbles "Sorry!" and walks away quickly.
I look at her, raising an eyebrow.
"That was Jaree-Ra," she explains. "A pointless crook."
We hug in front of our house and I go to sleep.
next awakening
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