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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
4-202-01-16 11:35
Windpeak Inn, Dånstar, The Pale, Skyrim
It's a fine day with a little snowfall and nice people in a nice town.
I spend a few hours on shopping and things while Lydia is, as I presume, taking the most out of her last hours with Bjarne. In the afternoon, me and my followers embark the ship to Falskaar. Jordis is very excited, because she has never been there before. (As you may remember, we had Borgakh in her stead the last time.)
There's absolutely nothing to see during the trip, just water, snow and ice. That's why I'm now going to use the opportunity to talk to Jenassa in private which I've been wanting to do for some time now. This is not about that red dress from Summerset. We've discussed that already. There's something else that's been weighing on my mind.
Unfortunately, the ship is very small and I don't have the heart to chase Lydia and Jordis out into the freezing wind, and I'm too impatient to wait until tomorrow. Therefore I have no other option but to wait until all the seamen are outside and put the question that has been bothering me to public discussion.
The question is: have I been acting like a slut recently?
Jordis doesn't have anything to say and Lydia knows I'd rather she keep her mouth shut. Jenassa tells me upon a little reflection that the way she sees it, I'm having an opportunity to learn. This Dragonborn mission of mine gives me a legitimate excuse to travel all over Skyrim and beyond, and get to know many men and practise handling them, so that when I eventually meet the one man I'll want to spend the rest of my life with, I'll be prepared. I'll know how to make him so happy he'll never be able to leave me, as Jenassa puts it.
Right. That's precisely what I needed to know.
"By the way, Laura," Jenassa says casually with a hint of a smug grin on her face.
"Yeah?"
"I've been thinking about what you told me about your father, and there's something that might help you on a little."
I'm all ears.
"It's a story I've been hearing from people who came from Morrowind. I can't guarantee it has anything to do with your family, though."
"Never mind, let's hear it."
"Under one condition, Laura."
"Condition? What condition?"
"That you stop feeling guilty about enjoying yourself with men."
"Sure."
"No, Laura. I really mean it. Now, sit back and relax and think along with me. When you succeed in having a deep connection with a good man, you're doing nobody any service by worrying afterwards that it's not right because you have felt awesome closeness with another good man a day or a week before – or even earlier the same day. You must learn to let yourself go."
"Yeah." I'd like to think I'm thinking with her.
"I have a proposal – Lydia and Jordis and I will keep an eye on you and tell you when you're acting like a slut. As long as we don't say anything, you don't worry about it. Can you trust us to be honest with you, Laura?"
I look the girls in the eye, one by one. Yes, I can. Totally.
I look at Jenassa and nod.
"This is the deal," she says. "We'll be your propriety police. You'll leave worrying about your decency to us. Close your eyes for ten seconds and figure out if you're capable of doing it or not."
I close my eyes and think. Yes, absolutely, I can do it. I open my eyes and tell Jenassa: "You've got a deal."
"I'm glad to hear it. And I promise we won't abuse our authority for telling you when to go or not to go to Summerset – or anywhere else."
I laugh. "Okay."
"I'm sorry I got out of line that time."
"That's all right, Jenassa. But now tell me that story you were going to tell, or I'll kill you."
The story is this: 36 years ago, the troops of the government of Morrowind (more precisely, a force of mercenaries hired by the government for that purpose) destroyed a famous organization of robbers who had been active for centuries. Whatever those bandits robbed, they shared the larger part up among themselves like robbers do, but one part was always kept in reserve. That's how they could keep their men fed and happy during tough times, as well as invest in increasingly larger-scale operations. That's why they had been so hard to defeat and that's why their destruction was really a historical achievement. That reserve stash of theirs was never found, though. The organization was mercilessly slaughtered with few members captured alive and none high-ranking enough to know the whereabouts of the money.
Now, the rumor people tell in some parts of Morrowind is that one group of soldiers found that storage of treasures or more likely one of several storages, and instead of turning it over to the government like they were supposed to do, they divided it up among themselves.
Over all these years, that rumor has been discussed in countless companies just like we are doing it now, and the following arguments have certainly been brought forward many thousands of times.
On the one hand, it's hard to believe that not one of the conspirators was ever caught. On the other hand, it's not unthinkable if the number of conspirators was small enough to start with. And on the third hand, maybe someone was caught all right, simply the public was not informed.
Next: on the one hand, it's very suspicious that most members of that mercenary force signed off very soon after the victory over the robbers and left Morrowind. That's a reason to suspect they had found the treasure and were eager to get as far away as possible. On the other hand, it's characteristical to a mercenary's life to be in one place today, in another place tomorrow. Therefore, it's possible their leaving had nothing to do with that treasure.
All in all, the jury is still out on that rumor, says Jenassa, but it's at least theoretically possible my father was among those lucky ones. The timeframe fits.
What does it mean, "the jury is out", asks Jordis. Jenassa says it's a popular saying in Morrowind that is used when a group of people hasn't yet reached a clear decision about something. She doesn't know what a jury is either.
Our candle burns to the end and we're left in complete darkness. We could call for the seamen to bring us another one, but we figure we can just as well find our bedmats and go on talking lying down.
The rocking of the ship, really gentle this time, thank the gods, soon lulls us into sleep in spite of the early hour.
next awakening
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