———————————————
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.
———————————————
previous day
4-202-01-24 06:44
Proudspire Manor, Solitud, Haafingar, Skyrim
Here is the Ancient Falmer Crown I promised to show you:
Even at this early hour, the inn is full of people, among them many seamen. I get a shocking news – the ship I wanted to travel with won't sail today and probably not anytime soon. Apparently it has some unexpected technical problems.
Part of its crew is at the inn and frankly they look like one crazy bunch, so maybe traveling with them wasn't a very good idea to begin with. Nevertheless, I'm devastated. Learning that the ship travels only between the islands north of Haafingar and The Pale without going anywhere near High Rock should make it easier for me, but I'm still extremely disappointed by having my plan thwarted at the last moment. I am like this, you know.
We'll go to High Hrothgar then, and from there up northeast to Winterhold and back to Summerset.
The southwestern suburb of Solitud. This road leads to Dragonbridge.
The nearest settlement on our route is Dragonbridge where we do some shopping. The general store is open this time, but the shopkeeper is not there, only his wife Aurelia. When I enquire about the shop, she tells us angrily to get out. Something must have happened that's very painful to her, or maybe she's annoyed by one traveler after another asking the same question.
The rest of Dragonbridge is nice as always. Eydis is still away. We chill at Jordis's parents' farm for some time and then head for Dunstand Grove, Elisdriel, Roriksted, Blackmoor and Hviterun. It's simply that the most comfortable route to Hviterun goes via Dunstad Grove and Elisdriel, and then Roriksted is so conveniently close that it would be a pity to not visit it.
The green dot is our final destination – High Hrothgar. The blue dot is Hviterun where we'll probably stay overnight.
Elisdriel is the little purple dot near Dunstad Grove. The large pink dot is our current location.
Elisdriel is the little purple dot near Dunstad Grove. The large pink dot is our current location.
The weather is perfect. Nothing special happens in Dunstad Grove.
This time, we are taking Ma'isha with us to see Elisdriel. She is no less fascinated than we were when we saw it the first time.
[series of 4 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]
We stay a few hours to let Ma'isha take a good look at everything. Me and my followers also use the opportunity to try on various clothes on the elevated platform in front of the entrance. This is the only place I know that is private, safe, warm and properly lighted (by the Sun, that is).
Jenassa mentions that while she was strolling around in the Solitud harbor last night, she succeeded in sneaking up on two Argonians who mentioned Jaree-Ra. Evidently they were his accomplices. She learned he has come up with a plan of robbing a ship that is due to arrive in Solitud in two months or so, carrying some very special and very valuable cargo. He intends to put out the fire on top of the Solitude Lighthouse at the right moment, so that the ship would run aground and Jaree-Ra's gang could rob it.
There is a catch, though. Someone has to sneak in unnoticed and put out the fire so it'll look like an accident. They can't attack the lighthouse openly, because that would cause an outcry not only in the city administration, but more importantly among all the seamen, and then even "she" couldn't protect them anymore.
At that point, the criminals heard someone approach and left hurriedly. Jenassa has no idea who that "she" could be they were talking about, and neither have we.
Well, I wish Jenassa had told me sooner, but you know how those elves are. I'll see what I can do about Jaree-Ra the next time we're in Solitud. But today we're going in another direction.
Having taken Ma'isha back home, we proceed towards Roriksted. Along the way, we get attacked by three roadside bandits. They barely even slow us down.
In Roriksted, we do some shopping and watch the children play on the street. Then we head for Blackmoor that is in the east, halfway to Hviterun.
The weather is beautiful all the way and Blackmoor itself is a very nice town.
This is the innkeeper Gaimund. I'm sure you would like her:
We visit the Blackmoor iron mine for the first time. It's very large and as we exit, I have little doubt we missed significant parts of it, but I've had my fill of this mine for the time being.
By the time we leave for Hviterun, it's already evening. Hviterun shops will be closed soon, but we were going to spend the night there anyway.
The western Whiterun plain is amazing – all those elks, and the warmth and the general feel of familiarity and safety.
That's Hviterun palace on the left, Secunda in the middle and, most likely, High Hrothgar on the right.
The sky fills up with clouds as we travel. By the time we arrive on the outskirts of Hviterun, one can see no moon or stars. The marketplace in the southwestern suburb still feels very cozy even though the traders have left by now.
We step briefly into the local inn, the Ram's Head Tavern. When we come out again, it begins to rain. I'm delighted to see Ri'saad's caravan just outside the fortifications, and stay for some time to chat while my followers escape from rain and thunder into the city proper.
The trader Ri'saad is a calm and wise middle-aged man. I catch him discussing their life with one of his followers. In spite of Skyrim's unfamiliar climate, Ri'saad enjoys traveling, especially when he can make good profits along the way:
The weather is truly horrid as I trot towards my house (the door on the left in the picture below). Lucia is at Carlotta and Mila's across the street (the door on the right).
I sit with them for a while and exchange news, then Lucia and I go home. I let her look at the things in my inventory (except, of course, poisons and such; and the Elder Scroll). Most of them are weapons and armor, but she is more interested in books, as well as the clothes.
"I wanted to tell you something, Mommy," she says as we prepare to go to sleep. She knows I'm not her biological mother, but she just likes to have someone to call mommy.
"Of course, honey." I smile at her warmly.
"If you want to be together with Valdimar, then it's no problem. I can be quietly downstairs or go to Mila's. I mean, you don't need to be ashamed of anything. I know what men and women do."
Wow. She's growing up fast. "Do you have any boy you like, Lucia?"
She falls silent for a couple of seconds and then shrugs. "I don't know. The boys are kind of dull."
I nod. Yes, they are. I try to explain her with simple words that in a few years from now, major changes will occur in her body as she grows from a child into a woman, and then she'll inevitably start looking at some things very differently, and come to appreciate those dull and sometimes very annoying, but yet so fascinating beings.
I also try to explain her that she can always ask me about absolutely anything that's on her mind, and she can ask Mikki or even Carlotta when I'm not around. Women share their minds with other women and that's our strength. It's important for a girl of her age to realize that her questions may seem stupid to herself, but actually they're perfectly valid questions that need to be asked, and they're not stupid at all.
She seems to understand.
We could probably talk all night, but I tell her she needs to sleep. As always, Lucia wants me to have the bed and she sleeps on the mattress.
next awakening
return to the table of contents
