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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
4-201-12-21 09:42
Horndew Lodge, Amber Creek, Falskaar
Oudin has already gone to work. I wonder why he didn't wake me up. Didn't he want any sex or was he reluctant to disturb my sleep? Does he even have morning erections? I mean, you never know with Nord men. Were I to marry Yrsarald, would he even be able to make love to me on a regular basis? Is there a way to find out in advance?
I see that Borgakh has discreetly laid down her bedmat on the ground floor. (The bedroom is in the basement.) Lydia and Jenassa have spent the night somewhere else. We meet at the inn. After a bath, I inform the girls at the breakfast table that I'm quite fed up with Falskaar, with the stupidity and theatrics of the local politics and warfare. We'll bring Jarl Agnar's message to Borvald and then we'll head southeast, get Freya her berries, maybe check out the haunted lighthouse, bring the necklace to Henrik and then take the boat to Dånstar. I really need a change of atmosphere and we'd be leaving in six days anyway. If there's a full-scale war coming up, we won't be able to make much difference, the four of us. Apart from which, in Skyrim a war much worse is already on and has been for some time.
There are no objections, and I wouldn't listen to any anyway.
We head for the mountain pass, taking the direct path past the mine and through the forest instead of using the road that goes east and turns north near Olgrahm's Tower. The pass, as you remember, is the only path through the mountains, that is the only connection between the western and the eastern half of Falskaar. The weather is cloudy and a little foggy, but it becomes increasingly sunnier as we get past the mountains and reach eastern Falskaar.
We stop briefly at the spot where Jarrik's bandits attacked the caravan. The murdered people have been buried in nice graves with flowers on them. I wonder if there wasn't a priest available or it's customary in Falskaar to lay the dead to rest into the earth. Not a bad idea, actually.
By the time we're south of the river and turn off the main road and walk up the path that will hopefully take us to the city gate of Borvald, the sky is blue and the sun is engulfing us in intense warmth.
The gate is closed and there's a guard named Goran who says the city is in lockdown by Jarl Valfred's orders and no one is allowed to enter.
That nonsense again! Suppose the jarl is appointed Emperor, but he never gets to know, because Goran won't let the courier in?
I'm not saying that to Goran, of course. Neither can I tell him what my business is, because there's no way of knowing who is Yngvarr's spy and who isn't. Jarl Agnar evidently trusts Jarl Valfred, but he said nothing about a gatekeeper Goran. Therefore, all I can do is to smile coyly and beg Goran to let me in because it's really important. He comes around, of course. With my followers right there, Goran has to make do with undressing me with his eyes, but there's no doubt he'll do a lot more, should he ever get me alone.
Goran shouts the order to the guards inside to open up. I thank him politely. How did the saying go? "You can get much further by asking nicely and having big tits than you can by just asking nicely." Something like that. Well, you get the idea.
This is a city all right – almost like Hviterun, I'd say, although we're seeing only a part of it. The streets are strangely empty. So many houses, market stalls everywhere, and only a handful of people on the streets. Evidently they're already expecting some trouble.
I notice a handsome guard and ask him to show us the way to the jarl's house. When we're there, I tear my eyes loose from him with a considerable effort, and step in. I inform Jarl Valfred that Jarl Agnar believes that Yngvarr seems to be preparing for war. He is raising an army and has been frantically looking for a certain magical item of extreme importance. Turns out Valfred is not exactly wet behind the ears either. He's had his suspicions for some time now and that's why he's had Borvald sealed off and all able-bodied men armed and ready to take their battle stations at short notice. Apparently that's the reason why all commercial activity has come to a temporary standstill.
Ready as Valfred may be to defend his city against any invader, he's much less eager to join any proactive endeavors to clip Yngvarr's wings. As it happens, though, the decision is taken off his hands. In storms none other than Goran, apparently one of the jarl's most trusted assistants, and says the city is under attack. Valfred decides to lead me and my followers to a secret passage so we can leave unnoticed and warn Jarl Agnar.
I can't believe my eyes when we exit the jarlery. The streets are full of fighting men.
How could such an incredible number of attackers have been able to infiltrate a walled city on top of a mountain during the mere three quarters of an hour we were inside talking to the jarl?
Well, be it that they dug a secret passage beneath the city wall or that they had traitors inside, the jarl and we have to fight our way through. Unfortunately, the girls and I can't be of much help with most enemies surrounded by the defenders, leaving us no chance to use our bows and staffs.
We finally arrive at a door to Borvald Catacombs. The jarl informs us that it leads to the edge of a cliff where we'll have to jump down into that picturesque lake south of the city. He has Goran unlock the door for us and off they run to battle.
Inside, everything smells of draugrs. Surprisingly, we find only live bandits here. Are they looking for a way to get in or are they just dwelling underground like rats in the sewers? I can't tell. What I can tell is they're very alert and even with our sneaking skills there's no hope of surprising them. Fortunately, our weapons and armor are still superior.
There's a hall with shrines to various gods, then passages with more bandits. That's good. With a full-scale war on, the more bandits we kill the better. Outlaws are always more likely to support rebels than the legitimate authority.
By the time we get to the exit, it's almost dark outside. We're standing high above the lake just as Jarl Valfred said we would. And then... You won't believe it. I know I wouldn't.
Great balls of fire. Much bigger than stars. I mean, they look much bigger in the sky than stars do. I've heard that in the distant past burning things have fallen onto Nirn from the sky. They're called comets. I can imagine this is what they may have looked like. Except that these things rise up first and then fly towards us and then fall down somewhere behind the city walls we can see above us. It's paralyzingly beautiful and scary.
[series of 3 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]
At first it seems as if those things were shot off the smaller moon Secunda that is clearly visible in the sky. But this can't be. The moons are so far from Nirn that it can never be possible for any human being to go there. Those glowing spheres must arise from the forest in the distance, launched from somewhere behind those high spruces. There can be no doubt, it's Yngvarr's attacking forces bombarding the city. But I can't imagine how it's done. As you may know, any kind of magic moves in a straight line. But those fireballs (if that's what they are) fly upwards and then fall down, as if thrown by a giant. Only in order to cover such a distance, the giant would have to be as high as a tree.
Right, girls. We're supposed to jump down. There's the lake. I'm going first and you wait until I give you the signal. Got it?
Yeah, it turns out to be a perfectly jumpable height. Only Jenassa gets hurt. While we cure her on the shore, I think the situation through. There's no point for us to change our plan and return to Amber Creek. Against such awesome power, Jarl Agnar hasn't got a chance. All I'd do would be to instigate him to rush to help with his handful of men only to get them all killed and thereby dooming Amber Creek to destruction. I know Agnar's character well enough by now to know that Amber Creek has a chance only when Jarl Agnar continues gathering his forces and preparing his defenses not thinking that anything is wrong in Borvald.
All right, Jenassa, are we good to go? Great. Sorry about the whack.
The moons give us enough light to run comfortably through the woods. Pinecastle Grove is a cave on the shore of a cute little lake which might well look fabulous in daylight. But we won't hang around so long. We enter the cave and find a dungeon with bandits inside. These are not as perceptive as the ones we've been dealing with recently. Quite unsuspectingly sauntering around here and there, they're easy to kill.
The bad news is we find none of those svengarberries Freya wanted, only some notes indicating that the bandits sold the berries to some rich alchemist and they're waiting in a storehouse on the coast to be shipped away. We must hurry. Fortunately, the place is not far, east of here. The coast is called Dread Coast, by the way. Wulf told us, that time when we talked to him at the docks.
Indeed, we find a shack right on the shore and a few bandits find us and we kill them. No big deal. The berries are still there. And there are even beds in the shack. Awesome! This is all we needed to make this day a perfect success. Well, perfect if we disregard that appalling carnage in Borvald, I guess. Er... I'd better shut up, right? See you in the morning.
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