Always Lost, Always Hopeful (191) Back to Normal

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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






4-202-02-26 07:06
Canal House, Bitchen, The Rift, Skyrim


On our way to the inn to have a bath, I notice Grelka, that acrimonious armor vendor who hates Argonians. She is apparently on her way to work.

We arrest her right there in plain view of all the passersby and take her down to the Ratway dungeon. Here we'll have more privacy than in the prison.

Looking at the naked bitch, I feel that ravaging her rear side just won't do here. So I whip her front. When she's bleeding like a pig and squealing like seven pigs, I give her some time to rest. After she's had time to calm down, I inform her she'll be whipped in the middle of a sunny day on the Bitchen marketplace, should either one of the following two things occur:
1) I learn she has said anything disrespectful to Madesi;
2) she sells defective merchandise and refuses to take it back and reimburse the betrayed customer.

Should a repeat offense occur after her public whipping, she shall have all her property confiscated and she'll be chased out of the city, naked, with 24 hours to leave The Rift, after which time all guards and soldiers in The Rift will be instructed to kill her on sight.

I let her repeat it. Then I whip her some more. Then I let her repeat the rules again. Then I whip her some more. I go on until she has no voice left. Then I untie her, leaving her a ragged robe and a weak health potion so she can get home.

Me and my followers now go to the inn to have our morning bath, during which the girls inform me that now I have to tell them about the punishment I got from Onmund the day before. Yes, I know there's no escaping it, so I can just as well do it now.
"Was it very painful?" asks Lydia after I've given them the summary of the events.
"No. Nothing worth mentioning."
"But you were afraid it was going to be?" asks Jordis.
"Not really. It didn't look like that. I mean, it was just his hand. I imagine it can get seriously painful when it lasts really long, but I still don't think hand spanking can ever get really bad. The problem was not the pain. First and foremost, I felt ashamed. Deeply ashamed. I kept wondering if I had really been so bad that I deserved to be physically punished. It's hard to think clearly when you're lying exposed across someone's thighs, but eventually I realized I had been indeed. And then I became scared... That part came when the spanking was over and I was sucking him. I got worried that maybe I had been too cheeky after the spanking, and maybe Onmund felt I hadn't been punished enough, so maybe he wouldn't forgive me. I mean, I had gotten away with very little pain, but what good was it if he was still angry? That's why I asked him after I had sucked him off if he forgave me. I was afraid to ask, but I had to know. I don't know what I would have done if he had said no. Burst out in tears maybe."
"So why were you so cheeky then if you realized you had been bad?" asks Jordis.
"I hadn't realized it at the moment I was being cheeky. While he was punishing me, I was more like not really believing this was really happening, and thinking how to get off the hook, and wondering if I was really deserving it. Later, when I was sucking his dick, I realized I had deserved it indeed. But then it was too late, the punishment was over."
"Do you yourself believe you got punished enough?" asks Jenassa.
"I think so. It's not the pain, it's the embarrassment – to have my bare butt on a man's lap, to know that I have upset him so much he feels I deserve to be punished like a child. I know Lydia would probably get a kick out of it, but I'll do everything I can to avoid it happening again."
"I don't actually enjoy the pain," says Lydia. Yes, I know what she means, but she goes on explaining anyway: "I get a kick out of being aware that I'm with a man who has balls. I know, Jenassa would probably see it differently, but I'm going crazy at times being with men who can't tell me clearly what they want, and even if they do tell me, they don't seem to care if I actually do it or not."
"They do care, they just don't know how to make you," says Jordis.
"I know. That's what I said. I mean, that's what I meant to say."
I ask: "Jenassa, how can we recognize if the man is crossing the line between domination and abuse, and if it happens, how do we get out of the situation?"
"Before you make a man angry, make sure he loves you."
We laugh. I wonder what I would have to do to get a serious answer out of her.

We are now leaving Bitchen by the southern gate.

Our first mission today will be dealing with that aftershock from the Eye of Magnus  quest, the one I needed to get the Staff of Magnus back for.

The weather is very nice. It's perfect for fighting unknown evil things spilling over from another universe. I mean, we have no idea what that rupture  thing is going to cast at us and how it would be visible in heavy rain, so I'm happy we're not having any rain.

The place is not far from the city on the southern shore of the big lake. Getting close, we see that the "rupture" is a ball of energy maybe 3 meters high.

It spits out some of those icewraith-like flying energy things, as well as – strange as it may sound – big poison spiders. The Magic Anomaly  creatures are hard to hit, but once I realize they don't bite all that painfully, I relax and take my time taking good aim and making sure to not hit my girls by accident.

After a pretty long and mildly challenging battle, we kill them. I now have to return to Winterhold and tell Tolfdir this problem has been solved. It was way beyond overdue, and the delay was caused by my lack of foresight. I'm grateful Tolfdir can't punish me. I would more than deserve it.

Now we're going to help that unfortunate Orc chieftain. He is waiting at Fallowstone-something east-northeast of Bitchen. Hopefully it won't take all day. In a couple of hours from now, Jarl Laila will have arrived. I had a chance to briefly talk to Mjoll, and Lydia has filled Maul in, so there shouldn't be any difficulties. The only thing I'm unsure of is whether I should also execute the members of the Thieves' Guild. Technically, they're bandits, but another massacre might jeopardize the fragile stability in the city. Too bad I forgot to ask Yrsarald about it.

So, we've now bypassed the city from the south and traveled north across slightly foggy hills. We are looking at a really big cave opening, near which are some of those big brown stones with curious carvings on them.

I'm beginning to wonder if such unusual stone art is created by the giants. Maybe those ornaments are some kind of a script? Well, we shan't concern ourselves with that, at least not today.

Chief Yamarz is waiting for us near the entrance. We are to go in together to find that giant chief and take away his hammer which the deity Malacath is demanding from Yamarz as proof that he's worthy to continue leading the village of Largashbur.

It's a large underground space with trees and creeks and bridges over them and places to jump down from. I presume it would be very desirable if Yamarz stayed alive. So we do all we can to keep up with him (which is not easy; his character may not be too commendable, but his ability to move fast on a difficult landscape is good), all the time scanning for targets.

We kill a giant or a bear occasionally, and then we enter another cave. Yamarz says that's where the chief of the giants lives. He proposes I kill the giant and get the hammer and we'll tell everyone he did it. That's exactly the way I wanted it, only I didn't dare suggest it.

The giant is so slow that killing him is easy. When I bring the hammer to Yamarz, however, he informs me he's going to kill us so we won't be able to tell anyone about this cheating.

That man must be crazy. I killed a giant he wasn't sure he could kill, and now he thinks he can kill me? Really, someone so stupid should never have become a village chief in the first place.

Well, he's not so stupid. There is something magical about that hammer that makes the bearer invulnerable to the arrows and spells. I retreat in panic, but there isn't all that much free space and Yamarz is fast, remember?

"Shout!" I hear Jenassa's voice. Of course! I use the very first dragon shout which I learned. It makes Yamarz lose his balance and fall, just like it did with Irileth. He drops the hammer and is impaled by three arrows from my followers a second later.

The girls and I hug each other silently. I yelp when a loud resounding voice fills the air. It's Malacath. He confirms my opinion that Yamarz was a fool. Malacath instructs me to bring the hammer to Largashbur, after which the villagers will be able to go on with their lives.

I hope He won't mind if I go to Bitchen first. It's in our path anyway. Even though I spoke with Laila in Windhelm, I still need to make sure she is ready to cooperate with the citizen council. And maybe I'll do a little shopping in the city as well.

A rain starts when we're past the Echo Deep Mine. As you may remember, it was the place with the magical portal to Falskaar.

Laila has already arrived in the palace with her sons and the bodyguard.

I send everyone else out of the throne room to have a meeting with the four of them plus the five members of the citizen council, my followers and Valandrus, the head of the local Imperial garrison. For the benefit of everyone present, I repeat the terms of the agreement we made with Laila in Windhelm. I explain that there used to be severe disorder in the city. The law had been usurped by the Black-Briar mafia. Maven Black-Briar used the profits from skooma trade and her legitimate business to hire Dark Brotherhood assassins to kill people who were in her way, as well as to drive competing meaderies all over Skyrim out of business, while her henchwoman Anuriel kept Jarl Laila from finding out about the rampant corruption and lawlessness. (Naturally, there's no need to reveal that the Dark Brotherhood was really just a bunch of bungling wannabes, brilliant as their business scheme may have been.) Therefore, we need the five-member citizen council appointed by me to watch over the jarl.
The Imperial garrison will remain keeping public order. Now that the civil war is over, that shouldn't pose a problem, especially since Laila has never made a secret of not being a big fan of Ulfric to start with.
Laila's sons can live in the palace, enjoy the luxury and the prestige, as well as make themselves useful in the city administration if they wish, but they shall have no formal authority. All political decisions will be made by the citizen council and pronounced by the jarl. Oh, and all personal orders from Yrsarald shall be obeyed unconditionally, unless it's something clearly outrageous such as to kill all non-Nords or to restart the civil war.

Laila confirms, again for the benefit of all those who were not there when we talked in Windhelm, that she agrees with all the above. Between you and me, when she learned about Anuriel's betrayal and Ulfric's, er, questionable actions in the past, she understood very clearly that she isn't clever and ruthless enough to be a ruler. The age-old customs must be obeyed, so she'll continue playing the part, but she agrees to let the citizen council run the affairs. (Either that or she simply realizes she has no choice.)
Her sons seem to have somewhat different opinions, but of course they are also smart enough to see that the current arrangement beats being left with nothing. I'm sure they'll be waiting for a chance to take over The Rift, but in the near future they are not going to rock the boat.

Now, with all that clarified between us, I think it's time we give the city its historic name back. I propose we all start referring to it only as Riften, and make a public announcement asking the citizens to do the same.

There are no objections.

With this load off my chest, I wish the new government of The Rift the best of luck and go to take a stroll on the marketplace. Bolli walks with us a part of the way.

Nivenor is his wife, a beautiful elf.

I'm not sure what to do next. We ought to take ten or twenty soldiers and make a thorough search of all the Thieves' Guild premises, as well as members. On the other hand, my boyfriend Madesi wants (of course) to have sex. I don't mind making love to him per se, only I'm not the slightest in the mood today. I'd rather go to Largashbur this evening, spend the night in Ivarsted and climb up Mount Nexus to go and talk to Paarthurnax the first thing in the morning. But I can't disappoint Madesi. Not only do I need him to defend my interests in the citizen council – it would be just unacceptably inconsiderate of me to leave him unsatisfied like this.

On top of all that, there's a Shrine of Dibella in this city. Unfortunately, it's, as you may remember, inside Haelga's Bunkhouse, more precisely in her very bedroom. Could I meditate nearby on the street instead? Would I be able to find a place on the street at night where I would be undisturbed? I kind of doubt it, but I can't think clearly. My head is all over the place right now.

I end up deciding, firstly, to get a new hairstyle, and secondly, go home with Madesi. We do it downstairs where there is more room, as well as light.

I fake extreme pleasure, hoping it gets him more aroused so he'll come faster. My plan fails completely. Madesi takes his time, in fact so much time that I have two actual orgasms. (Or was it three?)

He has imagination, I got to give him that. He looks cool too. Certainly the handsomest Argonian I've ever seen. I'm happy I found him. Argonians are so different from us and I'm sure with Madesi's help I can learn to understand their way of thinking much better.

Not today, though. It's already half past seven by the time we're done getting to know each other better physically. I believe there's still enough time to take care of the Largashbur business. The girls think we shouldn't force things with the Thieves' Guild just yet and risk disrupting the delicate power balance in the city. Let the three branches of the new government (the jarl, the council, and the military) get a little practice in working together.

As for Dibella, I realize I mustn't try to force things with my memory either. I had great success recently anyway. Right now, I wouldn't be able to relax and let my thoughts flow with so many other things on my mind. So we shall head for Largashbur.

This is the farm south of Riften. It looks very cozy. Like home... Will I ever have a real home?

There are still quite a few Imperial soldiers patrolling the roads. Valandrus is clearly taking his job very seriously.

Halfway to Largashbur, I notice something like a citadel across the lake. I make a mental note of coming back and checking it out someday.

Largashbur is under attack once again when we arrive.

Observe the mage surrounded by a ward. That is probably Atub whom we've come here to talk to.
She is on the rampart. Why several male soldiers have opened the gate and gone to a melee fight
with the attacking giant – again! – is a mystery to me. They really need a more competent leader.

We help them thwart it and then find Atub, the local equivalent of the court mage. I tell her we've got the giants' chief's hammer. I don't mention Chief Yamarz, but she asks me, and I can't make myself say anything but the truth. She is visibly shocked.

Then Malacath Himself joins our conversation. He says Yamarz was a miserable wretch and a certain Gularzob is going to be the new chief of Largashbur. I'm glad I hadn't tried to justify Yamarz to Atub. With Malacath overhearing everything, I would have made myself look very bad by lying. Anyway, Malacath tells me to put the giant chief's hammer onto His shrine, after which the population of Largashbur will be given a new chance to demonstrate that they are worthy Orcs.

Before leaving, we step into the chief's longhouse briefly. We are great heroes here, short as we may be:

I'm completely unfamiliar with Orc customs, so I decide to leave, lest someone gets the idea of inviting us to stay for an all-night feast. Yeah, come to think of it, it might not have been such a bad idea, but we're already running to the north. It's half past nine, but I feel I want to check out that citadel I mentioned earlier. Without rain, the evening is light and warm enough to do a couple of hours of exploration before sleep.

The lake shore is not very far. On it is a sawmill.

It's called Heartwood Mill. We meet a woman named Grosta who tells us his husband Leifnarr disappeared while going to sell some timber in a location east of Riften. She begins by telling us with sadness how hard it is to run the mill without him, but eventually she works herself up into a real rage and suggests he probably ran away with some elven whore. When I suggest we can try to find him, Grosta asks us to tell him she never wants to see him again.

I see little point in arguing with her. If we can find Leifnarr, I'll hear his side of the story and then we'll figure out what to do. I have a hunch that Grosta will end up being very sorry. Right now, though, I want to find that citadel or fortress .

There's a bridge across the lake nearby. More precisely, the lake begins to turn into a river here.

Heartwood Mill is behind us, a little to the right.

On the eastern shore, behind some hills, we indeed discover a small fortress. We sneak closer with perfect discipline, undetected, and start bandit-shooting. Remember, I've told you in the past that I've been reluctant to kill bandits, because we're not judges. But now, on Yrsarald's orders, I am precisely that, so we're going to kill all the bandits we see without any pangs of conscience.

Faldar's Tooth, as this fortress is called, has a peculiar design.

There's a courtyard below us (we entered somewhere in the middle as the whole thing is on a mountain slope) where I can see a cage with someone in it, possibly animals, but then a few minutes later they are no longer there and we can hear wolves howling in an entirely different direction. I'm seeing some bedmats and it's getting on midnight, so I think we'll spend the night here. Now there's only one bandit left in the outdoors part of Faldar's Tooth. He's a little difficult to get to, but I finally kill him. There's a nice double bed up there. So, Jordis and Jenassa, grab yourself some bedmats and don't forget to keep nightwatch taking turns, all three of you. Good night!



next awakening






return to the table of contents

Always Lost, Always Hopeful (148) Rewarded More than Enough

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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






4-202-01-13 06:41
Grove Dwelling, Ebon, Summerset, Aldmeri Dominion


As Lydia and I bathe in the river with Jenassa and Jordis keeping watch, I mention I've been feeling guilty about wandering around here in Summerset while there are wars in both Skyrim and Falskaar where our help may be badly needed.

Lydia reminds me there are always people doing bad things to other people here and there, war or no war. I (or anyone else) can impossibly put an end to all the cruelty in the world, she points out, and even more importantly, curing the world is not my responsibility. "You have always said you don't care when someone comes and tells you he has found a use for your special Dragonborn gift," she says. "So why are you trying to invent for yourself a responsibility for the wars in the world? Your only real responsibility is to pass on life. Everything else is just, I don't know, setting."

She's right, you know, but I still feel I'd enjoy Summerset a lot more if we went and spent some time on the problems of Skyrim and Falskaar and then returned here. Lydia agrees that it's reasonable.

My general plan is to find Corgrad, then proceed to northern Summerset, and then back southeast to Shimmerene, skipping Lillandril this time.

So we follow the northward road. Soon we arrive in a village of half a dozen buildings well apart from each other among lush vegetation (and fields and an orchard and such).

It's Corgrad.

Having told the girls to go and walk around, I find Dothiel and she takes me to a pitiful-looking cute goat. Trying to look like I know what I'm doing, I raise my hands and cast the spell. The goat stands up with a slightly surprised look.

After a while, it begins to eat grass.

Dothiel is touchingly glad and indeed it's most gratifying to observe the goat feel better. I'm really very happy I was given this quest.

Moving on, I am greeted by a very tall man Aranath who enquires who I am and where I'm going. He looks cool and is very friendly for a High Elf. We chat a little and then he enters a house nearby, evidently his home. He smiles me before he closes the door and I can't help smiling back.

Next, I get acquainted with a nice married couple Erundil and Camandil, and then a Khajiit man Ra J'Dar who looks like a blacksmith.

He tells me he has lost a precious heirloom called Black Arrow  and he suspects it's been stolen by a "smelly man" in a place called Old Falls further northeast. I promise him I'll look into it.

Ra J'Dar seems wise and philosophical, but at the moment I can't stop thinking about Aranath.

I meet my followers on the street. They inform me they found a trading house. We go there together. There are as many as four traders in there, including a mage who sells empty Black Soul Gems (the biggest ones that are very rare) and (gasp) a woman called Nona who sells various garments, including one that looks like the one Sylwia was wearing. I buy it and we're all so excited and I can't wait to try it on, but not in the middle of a settlement.

Now I return to Aranath's house and knock on the door. He lives alone. He asks me if I would like something to eat. I say no and just stand there, staring at him. (I must look really silly, as it occurs to me later.)
Aranath asks me if I'd like to go to the bedroom then. I nod and remain standing.
When he puts an arm on my shoulder, I awake from my trance and walk to the stairs ahead of him. Aranath follows me to the small bedroom where we undress eagerly and make love.

He's so great. I'm most thoroughly happy. I've found the best man in Summerset by far. (I was a little afraid of his size at first, but he was very gentle and then it was all right.)

Before leaving, I put on that dress. Yes, it's exactly like Sylwia's.

I ask Aranath how it looks on me and he says it suits me perfectly but he still prefers me naked. Yeah, I guessed as much. I'd better ask Jenassa. I'll have to find a moment when Lydia is not there. I'm afraid Lydia would say something ironical – not to hurt me, but simply because she'll think it's fun.

At any rate, I'm not bold enough to walk on the street looking like this. So I change back into my armor, hug Aranath with all my strength (which isn't much) and go to round up my followers.

Oh... What's with that staircase over there?

It leads to a building up on the hill which is large but still easy to miss thanks to all those trees. It's the Court House. There are three people in the entire building and none of them has much to say. In the basement is a prison with two empty cells.

Fine. Now we'll head northeast to take care of three tasks that are geographically close to each other.

The first one is in Nirn Scar Hollow where we'll have to find a substance called Dried Spider Silk for Bolwing of Shimmerene.

The second one is a little way to the southeast from there, in Old Falls where we'll have to ask around about Ra J'Dar's Black Arrow .

The third one is in the town of Cloudrest which we already know. We'll have to show Syrius the diary we found in Dusk on a chance he has some use for it.

After that, unless something unexpected happens, we'll travel to Shimmerene and return to Skyrim.

We trot leisurely northwards along the road, with me a little ahead of the others as usual. Reaching the top of another low hill, I almost step on a sleeping pahmar. There are four or five of them, catnapping in the low grass as they seem to be in the habit of doing. But it takes them but an instant to awake from their slumber and fill the air with polyphonic roaring.

We kill them all by they end, of course. I wish we didn't have to. They're so beautiful.

Further north, we reach a place where a very long looking staircase goes up the mountains. Might well be leading to that Old Falls place. We're going the other way, though – past the mountain to Nirn Scar Hollow.

It lies on a scenic seashore and is a system of caves with moss hanging from the ceiling in many places. There's an elven man Neltharion who doesn't know anything about Dried Spider Silk.

There are ladders leading to other caves, but I soon find out the navigation is utterly hopeless. So I have to ask Bardslayer to help me. He teleports us to a large cave that has countless poison spiders.

Really, they're at least 20 and each one of them takes several arrows to kill. Fortunately, we are at a somewhat higher place, thanks to which they have to spit their poison upwards.

After we've killed the main group and begin to search the cavern, new spiders turn up. It's a long and tiring battle. And then we search everything and still find no sign of anything called Spider Silk. Only after a tedious trip transported (without my followers) magically by Bardslayer through places weird beyond description, I finally get the damned thing. And then he has to take me back as well. It's very scary thinking that something might happen and I'd be stuck forever in a place filled with nothing that resembles anything earthly. I'm quite nauseous by the time I'm back, but I guess that was the only way of doing it.

I can't get out of this dungeon fast enough. Outside, the sun is already going down.

We hurry on to find Old Falls before the dark, only to end up circling the mountains clockwise and reaching a place that is just as close to Cloudrest as to Old Falls. That's as the crow flies, and the way to Cloudrest is easy while Old Falls is gods know where in the mountains. All that would be very disappointing if we hadn't made an interesting discovery along the way:

I mean, interesting in the sense that now I know that that beautiful stone I saw on those mysterious ruins past Tusamircil's Passage is apparently called "coral". It sounds like something normally found underwater, but I'm not sure. My followers have never heard the word.

So, as I was saying, the distance from here to Cloudrest is about the same as to the presumed location of Old Falls. But I'm determined to find the damn place tonight. So I just climb up the nearest mountain as high as I can and begin circling it clockwise while the girls follow me down below as well as they can. In my reckless climb, it's a miracle I don't fall to death.

It's past 9 in the evening when we're finally on normally walkable ground and seeing houses.

The first house is called Abandoned Hostel. It's unlocked and it's exactly what the name says. There's one bed on the first (ground) floor, two on the second and one on the third. Just what we need! I'm taking the third floor which I name "the luxury suite", because its walls and floor are somewhat less dirty.  ;-)

However, I want to do a little exploring before going to bed.

The next house uphill is abandoned and in a really bad shape. The next one after that belongs to a man named Edgar. Now, Ra J'Dar mentioned a "smelly man". I badly suspect that for the Khajiits' acute olfactory sense, we all stink. But this man Edgar has indeed a strong body odor which even my nose can detect. Also, he acts suspiciously as if he were constantly expecting to, um, get caught? And on top of everything else, he proposes us to steal something together.

In short, all about this man stinks (figuratively speaking this time) to the heavens. I tell him he's going to strip naked and sit still, and we're going to thoroughly search his house and belongings. Indeed we find the Black Arrow we're looking for. I'm afraid that during the search I ended up hurting Edgar a little where it hurts. I'm really sorry, but it was his own fault. People ought to have enough sense to realize when they're hopelessly outmatched.

Now we can return to our hospitable Abandoned Hostel for our well-earned sleep.



next awakening






return to the table of contents

Always Lost, Always Hopeful (112) The Curse of Ingratitude

———————————————
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






4-201-12-06 03:07
Folkvangr–Windhelm ship, Eastmarch, Skyrim


I'm told we'll be in Windhelm soon. I can feel the wind of barely bearable temperature blow, and the ship is rocking gently, but I can't tell if it's moving anywhere, because it's pitch dark. I can only hope the navigation mage knows his job.

As there's nothing to do, I'll tell you, while we're waiting, how I learned to remember the names of Skyrim holds.

Now, it would obviously be the easiest if Windhelm were the capital of Windhelm Hold, Morthal the capital of Morthal Hold etc. Unfortunately, they haven't made it so simple. The nine holds of Skyrim are, in alphabetical order:
Eastmarch
Falkreath
Haafingar
Hjaalmarch
The Pale
The Reach
The Rift
Whiterun
Winterhold

The nine hold capitals are:
Bitchen
Dånstar
Falkert
Hviterun
Morpork
Morthal
Solitud
Windhelm
Winterhold

Now, it's not difficult to guess that Winterhold town goes together with Winterhold Hold.

Also rather obvious are Falkert–Falkreath and Hviterun–Whiterun.

If you know that Bitchen's historical name is Riften, you can easily guess that it's located in The Rift.

Windhelm–Eastmarch is not too difficult to remember, because the city is in eastern Skyrim.

What about the remaining two The-holds, The Pale and The Reach? They go with Dånstar and Morpork. I have memorized them like this:
Dånstar is in the north, which means there's little sun and therefore the people are pale. So its hold is The Pale.
Morpork, in turn, is in the western end of Skyrim and further west is High Rock, the country of the Bretons. But I haven't yet found a way to travel there, because in the west from Morpork, there are high mountains everywhere. Meaning, the historical homeland of my ancestors is beyond my reach and it's beyond The Reach (if you look at it from central Skyrim).
That's how I can remember that The Reach Hold is in the west and The Pale Hold is in the north.

The pair I've been struggling with big time is Haafingar and Hjaalmarch – the areas around Solitud and Morthal. I've never been able to remember which is which. Only this morning did I come up with a wordplay to help me sort them out, and that's why I'm telling you about it now.

The last part of "Hjaalmarch" sounds somewhat similar to "marsh", reminding of the marshlands north of Morthal. So the capital of Hjaalmarch Hold is Morthal.

The first part of "Haafingar" sounds somewhat similar to "harp", which is a musical instrument, reminding of the bards' college in Solitud. So the capital of Haafingar Hold is Solitud.

Brilliant, am I not? I'm so proud of myself right now – as if I had found a way to make dragons go away. [Laughing uncontrollably.]

And there they are – the lights of Windhelm's eastern harbor. After we've disembarked, we're not even going to enter the city. We use the pavement that leads around the city wall and past the prison. We're headed for Vernim Wood. Possibly we'll kill a dragon for the jarl of The Rift along the way. You know how I hate dragon-hunting, but I'm still hoping I can ingratiate myself with Jarl Laila eventually, so that I'd get a chance to rid the city of the Black-Briar mafia's stranglehold. Mjoll would surely help me, but she's neither patient enough nor sneaky enough to approach problems from the right angle. That's why I want to get the jarl at least sympathetic to our cause.

I seem to be in a gabbing mood this morning, don't I? What I actually started to tell you was that we're headed for Vernim Wood on our way to Bitchen, and from there we'll go to Largashbur, the unfortunate Orc village.

The dotted purple line is the path to Northwind Summit where there's a dragon to kill.
The orange dot is the approximate location of Labyrinthian.

The next brief stop after Largashbur will be Ivarsted from where we'll proceed through the mountain pass to Riverwood to meet up with Rudelphine, and then all the way north to Labyrinthian, probably with a stopover in good old Hviterun. Having found the Staff of Magnus in Labyrinthian, we'll retun to Winterhold to save the College. Then we'll have made a circle around almost all of Skyrim.

Mikki is thrilled with her adventure which far exceeds the ones her sisters had. And she dreads our eventual return to Hviterun where I might get an idea of substituting another follower in her place. Well, we'll see. I tell her she'd better enjoy what she's having now to the fullest, and let the future worry about itself.

It's almost pitch dark on the road.

That's a street lantern ahead, its light partially obscured by a hill.

We make a brief stop at Kynesgrove inn and then it begins to get light. In Vernim Wood, even the innkeeper is still asleep. The taproom is completely empty.

I haven't been quite sure if we're going to make that dragon-slaying stopover at Northwind Summit. Now I decide we'll do it after all. This dragon bursts fire and is not too difficult to kill. Of course, my team has gotten well into combat routine by now, so I hardly ever need to give my followers any instructions. They seem to read my mind. What a striking contrast to my frustratingly messy battles a few months ago!

This is the view I promised you the last time here when it was raining cats and dogs.
When I look at the objects on the ground, it's so excitingly scary to realize
how far it really is to the ground and how certainly I'd be dead if I fell down,
and how many seconds I would have for being aware that these are the last seconds of my life.

Under the partially cloudy sky, we reach Shor. The shop is already open and we also visit the mine to say hello to our friend Sylgja. Then we proceed to Bitchen, once again running through the courtyard of that bandit fortress so fast the lazy dorks can't react quickly enough to intercept us.

Upon reaching Bitchen, I suggest to Lydia she'll tell Maul to do it quickly. Lydia laughs and shakes her head: "He'll kill me if I say something like that." Yeah, I didn't mean it seriously. We're not in such a hurry. Besides, if she'll agree to take it up her butthole this time, it can't last very long. But I won't say that. I just pat Lydia's shoulder and wish her good luck.

I go and report to the steward about the killed dragon and am very disappointed by not being trusted with any new tasks. Fortunately, my good mood is completely recovered by the following couple of hours of shopping in beautiful weather.

That as well...
Except the only stones he can try to turn for some time to come are in the walls of his prison cell.

The weather has gotten nicer still when we exit through the southern gate and head for Largashbur. On our way there, we see a group of bandits fighting a bear. We kill them all which, strictly speaking, wasn't necessary. Guess there's something of a hunter in me.

Largashbur is once again being attacked by a giant whom we help the villagers to kill. Then I give Atub the requested ingredients. She asks me to follow her, because I need to be present at the ritual. I don't like the sound of that. But she isn't saying anything about having to leave my followers behind, so I guess there's a reasonable chance I won't be sacrificed.  ;-)

Atub takes me to the house of the village chief Yamarz. They do some mutual grumbling while I stand near the door and suppress a yawn. The chief joins us as we go out again and stand around some kind of an altar. Atub lays things onto it and pronounces some ritual formulas and then I jump with surprise when a thundering voice begins to speak to Yamarz. Gosh, she has actually summoned Malacath! Well, I have nothing to fear from Him... I hope.

Malacath is quite displeased with Yamarz's weakness. We're not told what precisely it is he has done wrong, but I assume Yamarz knows. The important part is, he's being given a chance to redeem himself by bringing home the club of the leader of those very giants who have been attacking the village.

Yamarz is the big man next to that column.

The ritual is over. His Invisible Bloodchillingness has taken His leave. Chief Yamarz, in turn, addresses me. He tells me it's all my fault and I'm to help him get that club from the giants.

I beg your pardon? Thanks to me, Yamarz has a chance to save his people, but instead of being grateful, that two-legged wild boar is irked because now he'll have to move his behind out of the village?

I didn't travel all the way from Winterhold to hear such insults. I'd like to think that I understand how it pains a man to acknowledge it when things are not under his control, but still one isn't supposed to spit into a helping hand. Even when cast down by frustration and embitterment, a man should act with dignity, at least in public. A man who can't doesn't deserve sympathy.

Yamarz runs away towards a place called Fallowstone Cave telling me to follow him. Me and my followers, we're going in another direction – Sunguard City in the northwest. Yamarz can wait for me in case I decide to help him after all someday.

The sun is going down and the beautiful trees on the roadsides are so heartwarming!

This region is so picturesque I sometimes find it hard to believe it's truly real.

We happen to pass by an ancient Nordic ruin Angarvunde and then we see a group of jolly drunkards. They ask us to have some mead with them and I accept. Traveling on in somewhat raised spirits, we encounter an Orc man just on the intersection where we'd have to turn right towards Sunguard City. He's going the other way. His upper body is almost bare and I think I'd really like to... you know.

Before I get a chance to bring that topic up with him, I realize where this roads leads – to The Naked Dragon Riften. Now, I don't have a problem with men visiting brothels, but to make love to someone who is just headed there – that's below my dignity. So instead I run to Sunguard City with my followers as planned.

It's past 7 and I'm sure the shops are no longer open. Indeed, the blacksmith is already at the inn and the street stalls are all empty. Just on the odd chance, I step into the general store, though, and the vendor is still at work. Awesome!

On our way to nearby Ivarsted, we discover a strange place called Chicken Necromancers Altar. It has what looks like the ribcage of a big animal (decidedly not a chicken) and various smaller objects around it.

There's nobody about. I shrug with some amusement and we move on.

It's a great feeling to be at the cozy Ivarsted inn. Even that jerk Bassianus keeps his witticisms to himself this time. We make some friendly small talk with a number of guests, but then I feel I'm really very tired. After I've asked Lydia how it was with Maul (nothing exciting; she did let him do that horrible thing, and fortunately it didn't last long), I go to sleep ahead of my followers.



next awakening






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Always Lost, Always Hopeful (77) I Saw, I Found, I Felt

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SPOILER INFO
This fanfic novel is based on the events that occurred in an actual game of Skyrim I played. Therefore, it inevitably reveals a lot about the game.
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previous day






4-201-11-02 02:07
Treva's Watch Escape Tunnel, Treva's Watch, The Rift, Skyrim


We explore the dungeon and arrive in what looks like the interior of a fortress. Here and there are bear traps, most of which I succeed in avoiding.

The bandits are generally not too dangerous. I particularly like a large room where I stand on an edge and there are three bandits below me. I manage to shoot one, but the others are outside my line of sight. Soon one of them runs out of the cover into the open and I can shoot him, and after some waiting the third one follows his example.

This is what a male Argonian looks like. I've never seen one naked before.

We are gathering very much loot here. Surely some of it will turn out valuable too.

In one of the rooms, we find three dead bodies lying on the floor in a heap. They are probably the bandits' prisoners, but I have no way of knowing if they are of any relation to that unfortunate dork Stalleo who sent us here.

Finally, we're back outside – in the small courtyard of a fortress. The enemies are everywhere around us, but I'm very efficient with my bow. Even standing on the ground, I succeed in hitting several bandits who are on the ramparts.

When there don't seem to be any alive enemies left, I notice a lever. It opens the gate. Stalleo and his bodyguards who have been impatiently waiting for some time now storm in. Have we seen his family, he asks. I reply we haven't. As concerns that heap of dead bodies – I'll let him find it when I'm not there.

Stalleo gives me a spellbook as a reward and I hurry with the girls to nearby Sunguard City.

It turns out rather poorly equipped with crafting facilities, apart from which the smithy is a complete and utter bitch to find. I can see there's a Blacksmith's House and I can hear the distinctive clanking of a blacksmith, but where the hell is he? No passersby to ask either.

In case you should find yourself faced with the same problem, this is how to get there: if you enter through the southern town gate, turn right immediately. There's a staircase between the stables and the town wall.

Once you're up, turn left. Walk on and you will soon see a very-easy-to-miss little staircase on your right. It leads up while the street itself goes straight ahead and eventually down another staircase.

Go up that small staircase instead and the street will lead you to the smithy – for what it's worth, without a grindstone. Maybe it's cleverly hidden somewhere, but I'm not going to spend another hour or two looking, and the smith and his assistant have gone home to have a lunch break or something. So I just use what's there – the tanning rack, the workbench and the anvil.

It's also strange how some traders idle around somewhere in the early afternoon instead of attending to customers. Come to think of it, I even like this relaxed attitude they have here. But the downside is, of course, that I can sell only very little of my excess loot. And maybe I shouldn't always tell you about shopping at such length?  ;-)

We now run southeast, to check out an Orc village called Largashbur that should be there. Later today we'll be in Bitchen, a large trading hub as you know, where I coincidentally have several calls to make before proceeding northwards to Shor.

On the road, we encounter two men, one of them a really good-looking Orc. Strangely enough, they're completely uncommunicative. Somewhat later, I get lucky, though. There's a male Khajiit trader. It's evident he's selling that narcotic drug known as skooma, but I don't care. He's handsome and cool.

You don't know how right you are. You've got something I just have to have. But it's not in your inventory.

After I've sold him everything he can afford to buy, we go off the road and make love among most beautiful yellow-leaved autumn trees. We have to kill a couple of wolves and a bear first, though, so they wouldn't come to disturb us. With my followers on the lookout in different directions (and well out of sight), I get one of my life's biggest dreams fulfilled. My lover refuses to tell me his name, but I don't mind. His penis looks... well, I'm not sure I could bring myself to taking it in my mouth, but when I can't see it, it feels awesome, as does the rest of that lovely furry feline body.
[series of 2 pictures you can click through; click on the first picture to make it big, then press the right arrow to see the next picture etc.; press  Esc to return to the text]

It's a wonderful experience, particularly enchanced by his ejaculation lasting incredibly long.

We exchange a strong passionate hug, wish each other well and walk away in opposite directions.

Largashbur is not too far. There's no happiness there.

As is usual for Orc villages, Largashbur is surrounded by a protective fence made of upright logs rammed into the earth. Their tops are sharpened. In that fence is a gate. Near the gate, a giant is in a fight against an Orc. This begs the question why is the gate open and the fight is taking place outside. Why didn't the Orcs just keep the gate closed and shoot arrows into the giant from the rampart?

I'm not sure what that blue glow is. Possibly some kind of battle magic.

After a moment of hesitation, I give an order and we begin to shoot arrows into the giant. I know I told you I don't want to kill giants anymore, but this is different. Generally speaking, I don't prefer Orcs over giants, and if this combat took place somewhere along the road, I wouldn't get involved. But I want to check out this village, so I have to help them thwart the attack.

Some of the villagers are very grumpy and tell us we're not welcome. A woman named Atub is more receptive. She informs us Largashbur is cursed and the chief is ill. Sensing their weakness, giants keep attacking them. Atub, being the village alchemist, needs to perform a ritual to beg Malacath (the Orcs' protector deity) for help. For that, she needs a Daedra Heart and Troll Fat. She can't get them herself, because the chief won't allow anyone to leave the village. That's why she asks me to get those things for her.

I'm loaded with Troll Fat, but unfortunately I have no Daedra Heart on me at the moment. I promise her that when I find one, I'll bring it here. (It's not really the heart of a daedra, of course, just a certain alchemy ingredient. As I've told you, daedras are not biological organisms and therefore don't have organs.)

Me and my followers take a quick walk around the village, trying not to annoy anyone. The prevailing mood is gloomy.

Soon after we've started running towards Bitchen, we notice a curious fortress up on a hill, but it's already too dark to go and explore it. Bitchen, on the other hand, is not far and we'll only have to follow the road, and the moon is giving enough light anyway. As long as it's not going to rain, I'm perfectly happy with our current traveling conditions.

Lydia catches up with me, leaving Jenassa and Jordis somewhat behind.
"Layra, do you mind if I'll sleep with someone in Bitchen?"
"Why, of course not. How could I?"
"Well, it might be someone you don't like."
I stop and look at Lydia, making my expression as horrified as I can, exclaiming: "Maven Black-Briar??"
"Get out of here!" Lydia shakes her head, laughing. "It's a man."
"There are very few men whom I don't like."
Lydia raises her eyebrows.
"Yeah, it's not really true," I say. "I just thought for a moment it sounded witty. Never mind. Who is it then?"
"Maul," Lydia says cautiously, looking at me like a dog ready to run before you can hit her.
"Maul? You mean Maul, the..."
"Yes," she interrupts me. "The man who stopped us just inside the city gate when we first arrived in Bitchen."
I find it highly amusing. "Why, go ahead. It's always good to have an agent in the enemy camp. Just don't get gang-raped. I mean, unless you want to."
Lydia grins slightly. "If I want it, then it's not rape."
"Yeah, I know. Where are..." I turn my head. "Oh." Jenassa and Jordis have stopped out of earshot. "Let's go."

Just short of the city, we discover the Snow-Shod Farm. From there's it's a stone's throw to the southern gate of Bitchen.

In the midst of the usual bickering in the palace, I learn that the jarl has complete trust in Maven Black-Briar. I manage to grab the steward Anuriel's attention for a moment and report to her on the destruction of the dragon at Autumnwatch Tower. As soon as I've received my reward, I leave this serpents' nest and go to Elgrim's alchemy shop. Elgrim and his wife Hafjorg have already gone to sleep, but Hafjorg doesn't mind my knocking them up as she's happy to get the ore sample I brought her from the blacksmith in Shor. After that it's time for me and my followers to get some sleep too.

Lydia sleeps with us, after asking if I'll let her use our house tomorrow while I'm shopping. She'd rather not go to Maul's place, wherever that may be, especially not at night. Of course I agree it's a sensible precaution.



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