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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
4-202-05-01 05:23
Vilemyr Inn, Ivarsted, The Rift, Skyrim
Law and order are diligently protected day and night.
In the early morning light, we travel northeast, in the general direction of the Darkwater – Fort Amol road.
I am pensive. Last night I dreamed of Petrille. Now I remember her parents. They were a bad lot. Always putting her down, never satisfied with anything she did. I never realized properly how she hungered for approval, how practically her whole being irradiated that yearning for being appreciated. Maybe that's why she became so active sexually. The guys adored her body and she was happy. It may have been just physical, but it was better than nothing.
I begin to remember occasions when our families were together when we were small, and how Petrille always tried to keep close to my parents, trying to make it look like she didn't even know her own parents. It makes me feel even more guilty for not having been more supportive, but you don't think of such things when you're a kid.
A drizzle starts when we reach that tumultous river that descends from great heights.
By the time we've crossed it and reached the edge of the plateau west of the Darkwater hot springs area, it's pouring. The sky has turned dark gray and banished the nascent daylight.
In the midst of thunder and lightnings, we descend near Fort Amol which is easy thanks to our armor with the Cushioned enchantment. By the time we've reached the bridge near Mixwater Mill, this explosive celestial shower is already receding.
That citadel ruin I saw on our way west to Hviterun three months ago is not giving me peace. I have to find it. Last time, we searched the northern riverbank coming from the northwest and found nothing. This time, we shall start from this bridge and travel west towards Hviterun along the southern riverbank like we did three months ago.
We meet a mercenary, a very handsome but very tight-lipped and busy man. Then we begin moving in the westerly direction, carefully watching the opposite bank. Barely a quarter of an hour later, we see it. It's close to Fort Amol in the northwest. It's not just a ruin – there is an actual entrance door. We've found much more than I dared to hope!
The riverbanks are steep and rocky here, but there are remains of a tiny wooden shack ironically called Lucky's Shack on this side, near which we get to the other bank, approaching the door from the west along a narrow strip of land.
That's the door. We went a little way to our left along this riverbank and crossed over on top of that waterfall.
We learn the place is called Abandoned Prison.
There are ghosts inside who attack us,
We find some written materials that suggest that, at an unknown point of time in the past, the guards were preparing to abandon the prison, because a devastating flood was expected, and coincidentally some prisoners were planning an escape through a drainhole. Lucky for the papers to have survived the flood! :-)
(I mean to say, I don't think the flood was nearly as big as they had feared.)
We follow the prisoners' probable escape route and reach a ladder.
It leads to the ground under the aforementioned bridge between Fort Amol and Mixwater Mill. We cross the Windhelm road and sit on the riverbank, admiring the awesone waterfall and delightful sights. The rain has ceased completely.
That's Fort Amol. It's in the direction we came from earlier this morning.
That's Mixwater Mill, near which we had that scary encounter with a slaver a long time ago.
We have business in Winterhold further north. We are certainly going via Windhelm, because being this close to it, I can impossibly fail to drop by and ask if there's any news about Yrsarald. However, instead of the direct route along the highway, we could head northwest first, into the mountains, to try and find Irkngthand where Calcelmo thought we could find some interesting information about the Falmers.
Hiking up the hills, we soon discover a fortress called Gallows Rock.
It's inhabited by a group of bandits calling themselves Silver Hands. We are somewhat bewildered to find many werewolf corpses in- and outside of cages, as well as werewolf heads on spikes.
Some werewolves have evidently been tortured to death.
In one cell, there's a werewolf who is alive. Girls, can we risk unlocking the door?
They think we can. Even if he doesn't realize we mean him no harm and attacks us, we can easily handle him between the four of us.
So I let him out of the cage. Unfortunately, he chooses to attack us and we have to kill him.
We rub out the last few remaining Silver Sadists and exit the large dungeon. It's past 4 in the afternoon already. Would it make sense to proceed further northwest?
The girls think we shouldn't. Firstly, we may end up having to search for our destination in darkness. Secondly, as it occurs to Jordis, it's better we go there only after we have gathered all the information available in Winterhold and Solitud. Otherwise, we might even not know what to look for once we're inside.
That makes sense. However, I decide we'll still make a small detour. Instead of heading east towards the road to Windhelm, we'll go north, to that bandit camp east of Raldbthar, and check out a location called Uttering Hills Cave. After that, we'll proceed north, reaching the Windhelm–Dånstar highway near Anga's Mill. We have sufficient daylight left for that.
Uttering Hills Cave turns out just an extension of the Bandit Camp, or rather vice versa.
There are icy passages and then an underground fortress, not a very big one. The bandits are not too difficult to kill. There's a quite decent bedroom with plenty of space for all of us, but it's too early to go to sleep. So we return to the ice passages and from there to the surface.
In spite of the snowstorm, we can still effortlessly see our way outside. Anga's Mill looks pictoresque. Windhelm is really nice too, with lights and everything.
Curiously enough, the first person we meet in the city is the priestess Jora. She sees the question on my face and nods. He's back? Yes, she replies, Yrsarald is back. He should be in the palace.
We go to say hello to Sofie who is at home and then proceed together to the inn where I leave the girls behind and head alone for the palace, trying my best to walk at a normal pace.
I greet the steward Jorleif. He smiles brightly (or grins if it pleases you) and points towards Yrsarald's office. Silly as it may look, I run the last twenty paces.
I grab Yrsarald's arm and tell him: "Screw the rules. I need you to come upstairs together with me right now."
I hold his hand all the way, not caring how needy I may look. Up in his room, I hug him and cry. He has enough sense to keep quiet – without failing to take the opportunity to touch me up, though [grin]. It makes me feel better, in fact. Kind of assures me he still desires me even though I traveled past Windhelm 53 days ago because I didn't want to meet him (which, of course, he doesn't know).
When I've calmed down somewhat, Yrsarald starts to undress me and I help him and begin to eagerly touch him and then I'm naked and I get on my back and spread my legs and fortunately he doesn't get any weird ideas.
He comes relatively fast. I think that's a good sign. But I'm still not going to ask how long he's been without sex.
Afterwards I lie in his embrace and rest my head against his big strong shoulder and I lie there with my eyes closed and I hug him tightly and feel so delightfully secure.
next awakening
