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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
4-201-12-30 09:51
Elisdriel, Hjaalmarch, Skyrim
Erik is still asleep, but when I try to sneak out of bed unnoticed, he wakes up and grabs me. Get real, you did it four times last night! Oh well, stick it in if you have to. As long as I won't have to do any acrobatics. And don't expect you can have me three times every night.
We join the girls downstairs. Erik seems to be exhausted for the time being. When he goes out to take a leak, we discuss last night. There's no denying it – I'm stunned. Even Lydia confesses to me the next day she has never heard of a Nord man so capable. Borgakh in turn is very grateful for this opportunity to learn in a safe environment.
We eat our breakfast naked, just for fun.
Under warm sunny weather (and in our strong protective armors), we set out for Dunstad Grove. Passing by Crabber's Shanty, we say hello to our friend the fisherman and the adorable orphan Khajiit child Ma'isha.
The town looks peaceful, but only for one moment. All of a sudden, we see guards running on the streets empty of civilians, and hear a dragon. After we've killed it, I happen to find out that the alchemist Lidia has very much money. Got to remember to come here when I have something expensive to sell.
Cozy as the place may be, I want to waste as little time here as possible, because our unexpected delay in Elisdriel has put us behind schedule big time. Still, I can't avoid people stopping us on the streets and thanking us for having helped with the dragon.
As we run to the north, a bear gnawing at a mammoth carcass takes issue with us getting too near to its lunch.
Sorry! We're just passing through. Please return to your meal.
Running quickly, we leave the bear behind. A brief hike over low hills, and soon we're on the Dånstar–Dragonbridge highway. There's that fortress on the right (northern) side of the road which we've been running past, but this time there's a sinister-looking mage in a black hooded robe right on the roadside who attacks us. Fine. Just remember, you asked for it.
After killing the mage on the roadside, I got hit by one on the rampart a moment after I shot an arrow at him.
We clear the extensive courtyard of mages and skeletons, whereby I'm a little worried about Borgakh who wouldn't even think of hiding behind more experienced warriors. Wait, Erik is actually even less experienced, albeit stronger – although not necessarily after last night. Whatever. The point is, by the time I believe we've killed all the enemies, all my followers are still alive.
It's getting on two o'clock in the afternoon. Should we take care of the interiors as well? We'll still have to go to Dragonbridge which means we may not have time to visit Dånstar today. Lydia is cool about it, saying it's not such a big tragedy if she can't celebrate the New Year with her boyfriend. So I decide we'll go in, since we're here already. Those mages look disgusting enough to merit getting eradicated without delay. I mean, who knows, maybe they were out there hunting for passersby to capture and use for some horrid experiments. Apart from which, we're not really that busy. Nothing bad will happen even if we end up spending the night in Dånstar and arriving in the city only by tomorrow noon or so.
So we go in.
Aside from the mages, there are numerous torture devices, as well as dead people in prison cells and little cages, with much blood all over. We find a letter suggesting that the mages had conquered the fortress from bandits and were indeed prowling on passersby in order to find test subjects for their experiments, the nature of which remains unclear to us, as does the identity of their faraway mastermind.
Rubbing out this serpent nest was ideed time very well spent.
One man after another has an erection after getting killed. I wonder what kind of magic they were doing here.
After we've explored all the rooms (hopefully), a passage takes us to the surface at a place outside the walls. We are attacked by one last mage whom I kill easily, and ascend to the highway.
While we're running towards nearby Dragonbridge, it starts to rain cats and dogs.
Drenched through and through, as well as exhausted, we decide to stay the night. Because of the horrible weather, and because Jordis is not with us, we won't bother to go to her parents' farm. We take a big room at the inn instead. Fortunately, I'm not seeing Athragar anywhere.
Before going to sleep, I get the mysterious Mr. M's letter from the innkeeper Faida. He has another super special item hidden for us on a nearby island. And he's gotten in trouble with his employer who finally has discovered the disappearance of various articles and suspects none other than M, or Montaigu, as he now reveals his full name to be. He urges me (or actually Reginald) to meet up with him quickly at The Winking Skeever inn whose owner Corpulus is a friend of his.
This letter is less laconic than the previous ones, Montaigu doing his best to convince Reginald that the situation is really very serious. And it leaves no doubt Montaigu is a disgusting jerk. I don't care if he gets caught. And I no longer have too high an opinion of Corpulus after this.
next awakening
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