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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
4-202-04-19 08:12
Horndew Lodge, Amber Creek, Falskaar
I do what I promised Oudin last night. Then I ask him if I ought to kill the bandits in Pinevale.
Oudin replies that generally all bandits are to be exterminated. However, I, as well as my girls, should avoid being seen in Falskaar in the first place.
Why in heaven's name is that?
"Jarl Agnar is really angry with you for what you did in the battle of Fort Urokk. That seriously endangered his fight against Yngvarr's rebellion, you know."
"What do you mean what we did?"
"Why, betrayed them in a critical moment and attacked Svegard."
Choking with indignation, I pull away from Oudin. "How dare you? That scumbag Svegard attacked Jordis! He is lucky I decided to leave rather than kill him on the spot – precisely because I realized we mustn't jeopardize Agnar's fight against Yngvarr."
"Did you see that Svegard attacked first?"
No I didn't. But I know it couldn't have Jordis's fault. Otherwise she would have been plagued by remorse and had told me or Lydia about it. But there is obviously no way I can convince Oudin. I know Jordis, he doesn't.
But he knows Svegard and I don't, occurs to me next. No, that's not an argument, I realize a moment later. Because apart from attacking Jordis, there was the murder of that bandit who helped Agnar find his wife and son.
I tell that to Oudin. He replier: "It doesn't matter, because all bandits are to be killed anyway."
"Yes it does. A bandit who helps the law against the other bandits is not to be treated like any other bandit. That is firstly dishonest and secondly stupid, because then no bandits would help you."
Oudin is not impressed. "Anyway, imagine what will happen if Svegard sees the four of you."
"If we see Svegard, we will kill him," I say slowly and clearly.
"That's what I'm talking about," replies Oudin. "I can even believe that you can defeat Svegard, but do you have any idea of the shitstorm you would unleash then?"
I don't know what to answer.
"You are heroes for the people of Amber Creek," Oudin continues, and I can see he immediately regrets what he said, but he can't take it back. "I mean to say, we need all the unity we can have, in order to fight against Yngvarr. I can't understand why you insist on making things difficult for us."
"How can you say this after all we've done? For one thing, you people could have never gotten that book from Vizemundsted without us! I remember those faces. You didn't think we'd come back alive, did you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," says Oudin.
Of course! He wasn't at the meeting in the jarl's house. I apologize to Oudin. And I begin to see his point. Dishonorable as Jarl Agnar and his men may be, he is the unquestioned leader of most of Falskaar and thereby the only force that can keep Yngvarr from turning the whole island into one big ruin of Borvald. Me and my girls' presence in Falskaar confuses the situation unnecessarily.
"To you, Falskaar is just a nice place to bask in the sun occasionally," Oudin says as if reading my thoughts. "But to us, this here is our life. It's all we have."
I have finished getting dressed. "You are right, Oudin. I cherish all the kindness you have given me, and I apologize for everyting I may have done wrong." I bend down to kiss his penis. Then I open my mouth to ask him about Svea's ring, but I check myself. I don't want to ask this man's advice again. I hug him instead, probably the last time. "Farewell."
The girls and I run to Pinevale.
Maybe you remember – Pinevale is surrounded by high mountains from three sides. The only approach is from the south. (That's where the above picture is taken.) I leave the girls waiting there, well out of sight. I sneak closer between the road and the eastern mountains. Just like the last time, there is no one on this side. I enter the mine. There are people all over the place. With the help of Sneaking and Invisibility potions, I succeed in searching the place all the same.
I find an old journal. A quick peek inside to make sure it mentions Kalevi, and out I sneak again.
This was a sweeping success. I found the information I needed and no one got hurt.
The girls almost tear the journal out of my hands. We read it together.
It's clear now that Kalevi is not Rangarr's son. Rangarr's wife just happened to be in Pinevale at the same time and doesn't seem to have anything to do with Kalevi.
I doubt there's any point giving this information to Kalevi. Sure enough, he is thinking himself sick, but if he saw this journal, he would know he's been lied to. It could make things between him and Kunnari a lot worse.
Well, I know what we're going to do. We'll go south and try to find that shipwreck with Svea's ring. In the meantime, we can think about what to do about Kalevi.
My girls think it's an excellent idea. I'm not surprised. Earlier when I told them what Oudin had told me, it was quite evident they agreed with Oudin in that we should leave Falskaar as soon as possible, even though they were highly indignant that someone has put into the people's heads the idea that we were to blame for what happened at Fort Urokk. Nevertheless, they think we shouldn't hang around and risk making things even more complicated. That's why they wouldn't argue against traveling towards the Docks, whatever my reason may be. Once there, they probably hope they can persuade me to get on a ship to Skyrim rather than return to Amber Creek with the ring.
We shall see.
We pass by the Reinaldur Farmstead where everything is peaceful. Having crossed the river, I'm playing with the thought of checking out Borvald, but my girls practically carry me past the intersection onto the road south.
After a while, we turn off the road and run southwest.
This is one of those big rocks that look frighteningly similar to snowtrolls from a distance in poor light.
We admire some nice elks along the way. Having found a route across the mountains, we reach the ocean shore at the Ruins of Holmr. We're not going in, but out of idle curiosity we explore the few small structures outside the main entrance. Then I strip naked and jump into the water.
The nearest island (still quite far, though) is mostly covered with snow and two sleeping snowbears. There's a small icy cave called Bjarrik's Demise. I find a diary of a man named Bjarrik. It says he has found a shipwreck nearby and has been salvaging all kind of useful items from there, but he's running out of Waterbreathing potions.
I don't need any, because I've got the Waterbreathing spell. I wish I had a warming spell. The water is terribly cold and I'm shivering all over, but there is no place here to warm myself up. So I dive in and swim around in a badly damaged shipwreck. It's quite horrible and claustrophobic, or maybe I'm in a bad mood because of all that's happened.
I find the legendary amber ring, though. I sense it would do something to improve your armor in some really awesome way, but I can't understand how exactly.
I can't be bothered to explore the little islets nearby. So I return to the shore by the shortest route and we run to the Docks.
I feel I'd rather warm up inside the shop. So we chat with the locals until I begin to feel like having a beaker or two of wine and staying the night. Guess it's time to move on.
Cutting short the girls' protests, I inform them I want to take a look at Fort Urokk. I don't care what'll happen. I'm not afraid to look Jarl Agnar in the eye and give him a piece of my mind. I can't allow the people of Falskaar being fed the monstrous lie about my follower having attacked one of Agnar's men. Oudin has made me angry and I'm going to straighten this out, and if it should get violent, then so be it.
I am not completely certain that Jordis is opposed to the idea.
We run north-northeast through the forest. Just short of the river, we notice a citadel on its nearest bank. It's called Roltheim Tower. Funny we've never noticed this place all this time. It shelters three bandits and the view from the top is very beautiful.
While we run northwards, the sun begins to set, enfolding the trees in most wonderful golden brown.
We cross the river and arrive at an intersection with half a dozen roadsigns pointing at locations including Staalgarde. That's Yngvarr's capital somewhere in the mountains in the east. Maybe we ought to pay it a visit someday? Not today, of course. We go in another direction where Fort Urokk is. A majestic male elk watches us, giving me courage.
The first person we run into is Wilhard. I stop short of telling him he shouldn't venture outside the fortress alone like this. Realizing how futile that would probably be, I ask him instead if he could lead us to her mother.
The guards at the gate look us over most thoroughly when we walk past, but make no sign of stopping us. I rather have the feeling they need to exercise all their willpower to refrain from following our legs and backsides to wherever we may be going. For that matter, if Jalma weren't right there in the first courtyard, they possibly even would.
We end up sitting and talking with Jalma for a considerable time. Basically she tells us the same thing Oudin told me, but she has full understanding for the rather obvious fact that any impartial arbiter is bound to come to the conclusion that, given the lack of neutral witnesses, the truth is objectively impossible to find out.
I won't bother you with the details of our discussion, but we come to the following proposal which she promises to transmit to Jarl Agnar, present at this time somewhere within the premises of Fort Urokk:
1. My followers are never to speak another word to Agnar, Ulgar, Svegard and Thorlogh, and the latter three are never to speak another word to any of us, not even if the fate of the world should be at stake. Any exchange of information will take place between Agnar and me only;
2. We shall call it quits and let bygones be bygones. The incident between Svegard and Jordis is never to be mentioned. We all accept that someone made a mistake and it's objectively impossible to find out who. No one has to apologize, no one shall shake hands. However, should I or any of my followers hear the slightest insinuation from any of the four that it was Jordis's fault, then the deal is off and we will kill Svegard and/or the insinuator, no matter what the consequences may be. (This doesn't of course apply to outsiders who merely relay what they have heard from someone else.) Jalma shall be the only person always permitted to express any opinions whatsoever, as long as it's in private with me.
I make sure Jordis is all right with this. In fact, I make it very clear it's her call. Jordis says she's happy with such an arrangement and I believe her.
Jalma promises she'll make sure Agnar will agree. More than that, she is well aware how we feel being looked down upon by the male warriors of Falskaar, and she assures us Agnar understands it as well, he just can't let it show. Therefore, she is optimistic that we will be able to make a truce and continue to cooperate. As a matter of fact, Jalma tells us in strictest confidence that after it became apparent that neither Agnar nor Yngvarr will be able to deal a decisive blow to the other, Agnar has had a lot of time to reflect upon what's happened and come to greatly regret it that the unfortunate battle at Fort Urokk caused our falling out.
We wait while Jalma goes to negotiate with the jarl. After a while she returns and says he agreed and will come soon to talk to me in person after he has dealt with the courier who just arrived with some important message. I walk to the courtyard with Jalma to wait for Agnar. Then Wilhard comes running to tell us we all have to go the jarl at once. There is some big trouble.
Well, it turns out the courier is Yngvarr himself. He requires that Agnar hand over his three Keys to the Heart of the Gods and vacate Fort Urokk. All his people may leave the fortress unharmed within one hour and take their weapons and provisions and whatnot, but Yngvarr must have the five Keys. The alternative is an attack with the fire bombs of the kind he destroyed Borvald with. Then we shall all die. Escape is impossible, because his troops are guarding all the routes of escape (which aren't many to start with).
No one doubts that Yngvarr knows this area, recently his possession, much better than Agnar does. Also, they have all seen the carnage at Borvald. Nevertheless, Ungvar, Svegard and Thorlogh urge Agnar not to trust Yngvarr. He'll attack us even if we agree to his terms, they insist, so we'd better fight than give in.
Seeing I keep silent, Agnar asks my opinion too. I say I would rather fight, but I won't be able to tell how much of Yngvarr's threats are real and how much are bluff. He has obviously been bold enough to endanger himself by coming into Agnar's fortress, which might suggest he's not bluffing and his troops are really capable of destroying us. Whether or not he's to be trusted to keep his promise, I don't know. Agnar knows him much better than I do.
Agnar tells Yngvarr in great many words what a fool he is and how his people will continue to fight and Yngvarr has no chance of winning. This is nowhere near the only thing he says, and eventually even Yngvarr gets impatient and insists he come to a decision.
Agnar's final decision is that he has no choice. He must give in to spare the lives of his family and soldiers. Ignoring Jalma's desperate entreaties, he gives the three Keys to Yngvarr who thanks him mockingly, mounts his horse and rides off.
We leave by the same road by which the girls and I arrived a few hours before. Half a dozen Yngvarr's men are waiting outside the main gate. When we're all outside, they enter, close the gate behind us and take their positions on the ramparts. We don't ask them when and by which route Yngvarr's main forces will come to occupy the fortress. Downcast, we walk downhill. It's gotten dark. We can just about see the road in the faint moonlight, but the forest is basically one black mass.
All of a sudden, we're showered with arrows. In my superficial estimate, half of the men fall in the first seconds. The rest scatter in different directions with astonishing agility. For a heartbeat or two, me and my followers find ourselves alone in the middle of the road. The next moment, we disperse in four different directions as usual, looking for targets.
New volleys of arrows which fly all over the place hit maybe two or three men. The archers are at elevation between us and the fortress gate, but there is not enough light for them to see where to shoot from that distance. Had we left an hour earlier, they might have massacred the lot of us. Now I understand why Yngvarr was so impatient. Falskaarian tradition of theatrical rhetorics has saved us!
However, Yngvarr proves to have been no fool. Agnar's soldiers who are lying flat on the roadsides or behind rocks have to rise back onto their feet lightning-fast when screaming enemies with melee weapons run out from behind the trees on both sides. They outnumber us about three to one... or certainly at least two to one.
At the present moment, something like 10–20 seconds have passed since the first arrows. I am crouching between two big rocks with my bow aimed at a boiling mass of men in armors swirling various metal implements around. With utter dismay I notice my Sense of Smell not marking any of them as hostile. I take a good look at their armors, aim at one that seems hostile... and hit Ulgar in the back, or maybe shoulderblade. Dammit! There is clearly nothing I can accomplish down here. So I turn away from the melee and head uphill for the archers. About a half of them have grabbed swords and such and are running downhill to join the fight. I sneak effortlessly past them, towards the remaining archers who are also descending, but much more slowly, looking for targets. I pop them off one after another while in the deafening tumult behind me I can occasionally recognize the swishing of my followers' deadly staffs of ice magic.
The battle doesn't in fact last very long, but it seems like hours. Whenever a fighting pair gets separated from the main skirmish, the enemy is easy prey for me. In the main group, I see men falling, pierced by ice spikes. And then it's over. In my estimate, a whole quarter of our original force is still on their feet and that includes the jarl, his wife and son. After the mages have healed the injuries of the wounded, including Ulgar, someone asks if we should try and conquer the fortress back while Yngvarr's main force hasn't arrived. Jarl Agnar says that's too dangerous, and orders the men to march to Borvald as quickly as possible. He himself stays behind for a moment and motions me to approach.
He tells me my group saved the day for them. Yngvarr had prepared the ambush well, but he hadn't counted with me and my followers' return just at the right moment.
I say: no, what saved us was Agnar's men's superb training and courage. When the attack started, they knew instantly what to do, and none of them lost their cool and they kept fighting until the end.
We nod to each other in the understanding that now the hatchet has really been buried. I ask if there's a place for us to sleep in Borvald. (It's almost 11 in the evening.) He says there is and in fact he'd appreciate if I'd take part in the war council the first thing in the morning.
Does immortal mean invulnerable?
Agnar replies he doesn't know and this is neither the time nor the place to discuss it. He runs to Jalma and Wilhard who are waiting for him out of earshot and they hurry after the soldiers while I follow with my girls at maybe ten meter's distance.
We don't have very far to go, but the soldiers move slowly (compared to what I'm used to), so it's almost half past 1 in the night when we can go to sleep. There's indeed plenty of room. Me and my followers get an entire house ruin with three walls and almost half of the roof intact all to ourselves.
next awakening
