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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
4-202-03-16 07:39
Jerall View Inn, Bruma, Bruma County, Cyrodiil
I find myself alone in the bed. Oh, I remember now. When I was going to our room last night, I noticed that Lydia had suddenly disappeared.
Jordis and Jenassa come to the bathroom briefly after me. Or maybe not so briefly; I might have lost my sense of time lazing around in the pool.
I look at them questioningly. Jordis says: "Guess she'll turn up eventually." I ask if they know whom she's with. Jenassa says they have no idea, but it doesn't sound believable at all. Never mind, I'm a little downcast and not in the mood for pumping them for information. It'll be better to hear it all from Lydia herself anyway.
I want to leave this city. Just explore some wilderness and such. By a strange coincidence, our host Stantus wonders if we have plans on traveling southeast, by any chance. I reply we might. Stantus says there's a village of Greenwood where he'd like to order some mead from, just to diversify his assortment and not to have to rely on the suppliers near the city only. He gives me a letter for a certain Afer Famalius and I promise to deliver it one of these days.
Today, though, we'll go and check out that country house of Simund's. We might well find out something that'll require us to return to the city. If not, we'll head north and try to find the Skyrim border post and investigate the disappearance of Lassinia's husband.
We go out for a walk without waiting for Lydia. The guards we encounter here and there are looking at us grimly. They don't appreciate our lack of enthusiasm for helping to track down their captain's murderer. I've tried to tell them we can't walk around and interrogate potential witnesses any better than they can, but it's not helping. After we recovered the stolen palace treasures so quickly, people seem to be ascribing some supernatural powers to us, and I feel there's little point trying to tell them it was pure chance Atienne ended up injured in one of the town houses and our part in his capture was insignificant.
There's a boy running around selling some leaflets with news for 21 septims apiece. One of those tells about the Fighters' Guild in the town of Chorrol expanding its activities, another one about the sensational found of an unfinished novel by a famous writer – no one any of us has ever heard about, but we're from Skyrim.
I ask my followers if they know where the general store is. Oh yes, they do. Lydia joins us on our way there.
I'm somewhat disappointed that the selection of wares is rather miserable, whereas the proprietor Cedus is a haughty jerk who believes to be the greatest trader in the Empire and seems to be taking it as a personal insult when I don't buy almost anything. I used to presume that he owes his success more to his connections in the palace than to actual business acumen (I mean, how else could he make that scumbag Adius so eager to prosecute Dar'taqto without any proof of his guilt?), and now I'm certain. He is clearly not in the mood for discussing his false charges against Dar'taqto, so we leave again with my opinion of this city not exactly improved.
However, after we've been out of the northern city gate for a few minutes and see a lovely fox putting on some speed upon the sight of us, I feel almost as exhilarated as on our first day in this region.
Even in spite of the snowfall, the spruce forest is utterly heartwarming.
"Lydia, you've been very quiet today," I say as the two of us jog a little ahead of the others.
She is quiet for a few more seconds and then asks hesitantly: "You're still with Dar'taqto, aren't you, Laura?"
"Why, sure. Not last night, obviously, but yes, everything's fine between us. Why do you ask?" She can't have slept with him. That would be... Well, I know she wouldn't do something like that to me.
"I was with Ambric last night," Lydia tells me timidly. "It kind of happened. I hope you don't mind."
I smile. "No, I don't. What was it like?"
"Yeah, great. He's incredibly cool."
"I know. Don't worry, Lydia. I'm happy for you."
"Thanks, Laura. I'll tell you everything later."
"Sure. We'll have plenty of time."
We run past a few adorable elks and notice some kind of wooden structures on top of a nearby mountain. Could well be a fortress or a bandit stronghold.
We wait for Jordis and Jenassa to catch up and have a little rest.
"Jordis, did you tell her yet?" asks Lydia.
"Tell what?" Jordis and I ask in unison.
"She slept with Gryfard," Lydia explains.
"How are you supposed to know?" snaps Jordis. "You and Ambric were running down the stairs before we had finished our first drink."
"Second," says Jenassa. They both laugh.
"Well, I wasn't there to hold her legs," admits Lydia, "but I don't think she was so mean as to turn him down."
"No, I wasn't," says Jordis quietly.
"Well, Jenassa?" I ask. "What about you?"
She grins impishly. "Can't you guess?"
"Um... Am I supposed to?"
"Who is the most handsome man in Bruma."
I look deep into her eyes for a couple of seconds. "Roland?" That's the destruction mage at the Synod. He's a head taller than Cadius and Elintius. Just a tiny bit insecure and immature if you ask me, but he is very handsome.
Jenassa nods and grins ever so slightly.
What can I say? Wow. How did they even meet? She'll have to tell me every detail, but not now. We're going to try and reach that fortress. I'm happy for all of them. But let's go now.
It's not easy to find a way up there, but eventually we see... no, this is something entirely different. Elegant stone constructions that feel kind of light and airy, as if aspirining for the skies. They seem to be ancient, but don't resemble anything Nordic or Dwemer.
We sneak closer carefully, but there's only one wolf who attacks us and has to be killed. (I somehow didn't think of Spriggan Soap this morning.) The place is called Rielle and has a round symbol on a massive stone entrance door that reminds me of something I've seen in the past. (Can't be that horrible temple where I was with Rudelphine and Esbern, can it?)
Well, inside are passages and halls with massive stone things and almost no light.
We find the corpse of a Synod Researcher who looks like her wrists were bound some time before she was killed. She has some papers on her, from which it emerges that this is an Ayleid ruin. Now, I've somehow gotten increasingly more fascinated with the Ayleids over time, and I definitely want to explore this place, but not today. My thoughts are on that kidnapped Orc woman. Not that I necessarily feel very sorry for her, but I have to find out what happened.
We exit again. These ruins look so awesome.
So do the unusually high spruces all around us. We have now come pretty far to the north from Bruma. We'll proceed eastwards, to try and find those bandits Ereia asked us to kill, and then further east-southeast to where Simund's country house is supposed to be. I don't think we have much hope of finding that runaway horse of Ila's.
Across a hill or two, we notice a battle ahead. People who look like guards are fighting a mage. I shoot the mage dead. His adversaries were Imperial Soldiers and he had succeeded in killing four or five of them all alone. One of the survivors is a woman. I step up to her. Her name is Janieta. She thanks me cordially and tells me she'll be happy to return the favor, should I ever need anything.
A little later, we find a tent camp. We climb down a hill and talk to a mysterious Bosmer. He blabs something about liking a certain local alcoholic beverage and then, apparently believing he has successfully lulled us into feeling relaxed, calls out for his companions to attack us. We cut them down easily and find five horses who seem to be eager to go southwest, towards the city. We set them free.
Nearby, down another steep drop, is the highway, along which we traveled from Serpent's Trail to Bruma on the first day.
Having run a little way to the north, we find out that Ereia hasn't been sitting idly either. She's not here personally, but a group of guards from the Eastern Watchtower is fighting a group of bandits right now. We give them a hand and then loot the corpses.
Nearby is a crossing where it would seem we have to take the road to the east to get closer to Simund's mansion. Indeed the road leads straight (well, windingly) to a charming house.
This place looks like a picture in a beautiful children's book. Unfortunately, the man guarding the front door isn't friendly at all and we have to kill him. Another guard inside rushes to his help and ends up joining him. There doesn't seem to be anyone else in the house. We search the two storeys carefully and find a letter that indeed mentions a business transaction involving the delivery of one female Orc. It would seem that Simund had failed to send the agreed payment in time.
The place is very elegant, in a cozy, tasteful way, and it has many interesting books. One is about High Rock, witten... sorry, written by a really witty Khajiit traveler. The book is so amusing, as well as about High Rock, that I can't help sitting down in one of those nice armchairs and reading it all.
Indeed, I remember now how one could always hear good music in High Rock. Back home in Camlorn, I used to go out with my brother or sister or friends, and oftentimes, especially when the weather was warm, we would just go out onto the street and listen, and walk in whichever direction where we could hear music from. I'm beginning to remember the amazing variety of music styles I grew up with. That is probably the reason why I have never had a high opinion of the Skyrim bards.
Yeah, well, another really interesting book I've found in Simund's house is about the Ayleids who, as it would appear, are also called Wild Elves, but I'll leave that for later.
As Simund's guilt has now been proven, I steal everything valuable in this house as my reward, coincidentally looking for a basement. I mean, there has to be a basement. Who would build a mansion without it? Or is the ground so frozen here... No. There is a basement. A trapdoor is blocked by a big barrel. It's a really tough job for the four of us to move it aside, but finally we can get the trapdoor open and climb down the steep staircase.
There's a corridor four or five meters long. At its end, on the right side, is a door to a beautiful large bedroom that has two people in it. One of them is an Orc woman in fine clothes fashionable in Skyrim. (To tell you the truth, she doesn't need that nice attire to look gorgeous. She's easily the prettiest Orc I've ever seen.) Guess who the other one is? Simund Gautierre.
Sorry about the poor light.
It doesn't occur to me to wonder how they would have been able to exit the basement with that heavy barrel on top of the trapdoor. At this moment I'm only prepared for a fight. But they just stand there and look at me. Simund has clearly realized his game is over. He's a smart man. A Breton through and through.
I tell the girls to take Simund to the ground floor. I want to talk to the woman. I introduce myself and she says her name is Atul. She refuses, however, to tell me what's happened to her.
Now... how should I put it?... she doesn't look in any way eager to get out of here. In fact, she looks like she'd like me to leave.
I take a deep breath, step closer and order her to look me in the eye. She obeys. I tell her: "I can take you out of here and bring you safely back to your husband, or I can go away and leave you here. It makes no difference to me one way or another. But I need a decision from you. And I don't want to spend the whole evening standing here. So tell me right now: do you want to go back to Dumrag or do you want to stay here?"
"Stay here," she says very softly and casts her eyes down again.
I nod. About to turn to leave, I suddenly get an intuition. "You never wanted to be a warrior, did you?"
She shakes her head barely noticeably, still looking to the floor and probably feeling like the unworthiest Orc who has ever lived.
"You have chosen to be a real woman, Atul," I say, trying to sound gentle and encouraging. "Good luck." I turn around and walk away.
I have a serious private word with Simund. I tell him I'm sorry I killed his guards. I tell him I'm keeping that letter with which I can ruin him in Bruma any time, but I won't do it as long as he remembers not to undertake anything hostile against me or Afanna. (He's not required to become her lover, though.) I also make a point telling him that I'll be returning here occasionally to make sure Atul is alive and well.
We seem to have a perfect understanding. A Breton-kind of understanding I've never experienced with anyone so far. Only now it becomes clear to me how Breton I really am. I can't really put it in words so that you'd understand. I'm not even sure I could make Lydia understand it. Simund and I know we're no friends and never will be, yet we have an agreement and we won't double-cross each other, because it's not in either of us's interest. One can never have certainty like that with a Nord or an Imperial.
"When you no longer want her, make sure you settle her down in a safe place and see to it that she doesn't run out of money," I say to Simund as I stand up to leave. "I'll tell her husband a story."
It seems to have gotten darker outside. We run back west along the same road. I notice a cave and we go to check it out. There are a couple of those a-little-smaller-than-giant creatures. (The girls have learned in the meantime they're called ogres.) One of them turns towards us and waves his club.
Sorry! We're leaving!
We reach the main road and turn north. Hopefully this is the road to the Skyrim border crossing and hopefully that's where the Pale Pass is. We run past the big statue of Sentinel, those gigantic icicles under which we took pictures the first day, and the remains of the robbed caravan. A little before 6 o'clock in the evening, we reach a nice-looking roadside inn called Snowstone Rest.
That shack is not the inn. The inn is on the right, outside the picture. I just wanted to show you this beautiful sign.
We meet a man named Avar who is a brother of the blacksmith Hulgard of Bruma. He got in trouble with some criminals and is now escaping to Skyrim. He asks me to bring a letter to Hulgard. I tell him there's something magical and weird going on on the other side of the border, but he doesn't seem to be taking me seriously or is simply too panicked to care.
Then we talk to the innkeeper Erlus and a Bosmer bard who works there. I also discuss with my followers my hunch that maybe Dumrag had noticed that Simund fancied his wife and maybe that's why he began to hate Bretons? Maybe Simund even staged the kidnapping in agreement with Atul?
The girls think Atul might have fancied Simund and the kidnapping may have been staged, but surely Dumrag didn't know anything, or he would have known to suspect Simund right away.
It's past 8 o'clock already. However, since we're being told the border post is not far, I decide we'll try to find it anyway and probably return here for the night. We run together with Avar who has been impatiently waiting for us in another room. It's good he did, because we have to thwart an attack by wolves along the way. Then we reach an impressive fortress called Fort Pale Pass.
Avar thanks us and runs on. I tell the girls to stand back while I enter the nearest courtyard to our left. I step closer to a soldier and an officer who seem to be discussing a prisoner. The soldier reports that the prisoner won't talk regardless of their best efforts at persuasive violence. The officer is disappointed, but says it's not the soldier's fault. When he has allowed the soldier to leave, I step up to him, greet politely and introduce myself (just the first name). He is Legate Precilius Varro. I ask him what's with that stubborn prisoner, hoping silently that it wouldn't be Lassinia's husband. Precilius says he was caught crossing the border, and they've been trying to make him talk before the agents of Penitus Oculatus arrive. If those should get the man into their hands, he's going to be praying he'd die as quickly as possible.
Wait, is crossing the Skyrim border a crime? (I wonder if it's still possible for me to catch up with Avar and warn him.)
No, it's not illegal per se, explains Precilius. It's just that the Synod mages have created something magical just on the other side of the gate. The details are way beyond his knowledge, but its purpose is to reveal if people who cross over have hostile intentions towards the Empire. And that prisoner turned out a Stormcloak.
I refrain from informing him their "something magical" hurled me and my followers into the Serpent's Trail caves. Instead, I offer to help with the interrogation. Firstly, it's interesting, and secondly, I feel they would give me information about Harran more readily if I did them a favor first. And maybe spare the unlucky prisoner a thalmor-grade torture.
Precilius says it's not actually regular procedure, but since this is a very unusual situation and I have an unblemished reputation (oops, he has recognized me!), he'll make an exception.
We enter the prison. (My followers are allowed to come along, but we're told I'd better see the prisoner alone.) After some paperwork, I'm led to a cage-type prison cell. Behind the bars kneels a strong man with a big brown beard whose name is Bjarni Shatter-Stone. When I'm left alone with him, he tells me he can recognize I'm not one of "those damned Imperial soldiers". I tell him I'm a Stormcloak too and ask him what's going on.
The next moment, he says I wouldn't understand because I'm an Imperial dog. Evidently his mind is not too clear after the treatment he's received. Indeed he seems to have difficulties breathing. While a healer rushes in, an Imperial interrogator who had apparently been listening in secretly approaches me. He introduces himself as Pilus, praises me for my good work and says we need to go where the prisoners won't be able to hear us. He takes me to a torture chamber with utterly horrible devices and much blood. He says we know now that the man was headed for Imperial City, but it's obviously important to find out what exactly he was planning on doing there. Legate Varro wants to get as much out of the man as possible, before the special agents arrive and take him away. It's important for the Legate, because there may be more Stormcloak terrorists attempting to infiltrate Cyrodiil, so they need to know what to look out for. He implores me to do my best to coax the prisoner into giving me more details, after the garrison doctor has revived him a little bit. He says he gives me his word no one will be watching us – obviously hinting at the possibility of using my body as a means of persuasion. Of course he can't know that it'll be out of the question until tomorrow. Although, yes, I could let Bjarni just fondle my breasts or something. He will unlikely be up to anything more anyway.
I promise Pilus I'll do what I can. The doctor arrives and says I can now resume the interrogation. Pilus orders him and all the guards to stay away from the cells because this is top secret.
Walking out of the torture room, I realize I'm at loss what I should do. It's almost midnight by now and I'm tired from everything that's happened. I tell my girls to follow me to the cells area. I need to consult them. I mean, we came to Fort Pale Pass merely to find out about the whereabouts of Harran Iron-Heart, but now we are being dragged into some state security affair, assisting the Imperial Army to break the will of a prisoner from Skyrim.
My girls remind me that the Skyrim civil war is over and therefore all hostile acts against the Empire are forbidden. This makes Bjarni our enemy too. By contemplating some kind of a terrorist act in Imperial City, he is irresponsibly threatening the peace between the Stormcloaks and the Empire. It is our duty to Skyrim to help reveal and thwart his plot.
Yes, they're right. So I return to Bjarni's cell. I tell him I want to get him out of here, but it'll be dangerous. In case he gets killed during our escape attempt, whom should I send word to? Are there people who are going to be expecting him to turn up at a specific place? Will they cluelessly run into danger unless I go and tell them what the situation is here?
Bjarni lets himself be persuaded to reveal he belongs to an organization called Stormcloak Breakaways. They reject the peace treaty and won't be satisfied until Skyrim is independent. They're a small group, but they have a plan of disrupting the Empire.
Before he gets a chance to tell me what exactly their plan is, I hear commotion. A man who is not an Imperial soldier attacks me. Taken completely by surprise, I'm having some difficulties killing him. I hurry to see what's happened to my girls who are supposed to be guarding the passage to the cells. I mean, how did he even get past them? I'm greatly relieved to see the girls are all right. The prison guards are shouting that Stormcloaks have infiltrated the fortress, apparently using Invisibility spells. There are people running around in utter confusion. Me and my followers exit by the door that connects the prison to the barracks. In the passages, we encounter two or three enemies and kill them. Then we run through a large dormitory where a great number of sleepy men are getting into their armors. Finally we reach the courtyard where Legate Varro himself is fighting for his life. Overall, though, the attackers are hopelessly outnumbered and are soon killed.
The Legate presumes Bjarni must have been someone very important if the rebels undertook such a desperate assault. I'm not really interested in discussing it. Having told Varro everything Bjarni told me, I inform him I'm going to the Snowstorm Rest to get some sleep. All right, Snowstone. I don't care. Good night.
next awakening
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