18 Sun's Height, 4E 201

Windhelm, Skyrim

Skadi inhaled the salty air and it made her cough. She looked around, hoping nobody had seen it. She decided they didn't. She wanted to turn around and go into her cabin, but a blond Nord, almost as tall as herself, was standing in the way. He smiled, showing his yellowish uneven teeth.

"Hello," he croaked; she could smell the liquor on his breath. It was clear he was hungover; he was the same Nord who tried to propose to her yesterday, after a few bottles of Sujamma.

"Move," she told him, not wanting to punch him just yet.

"What d'ye say to that, eh? We could have a nice house in Solitude, and a dozen babies—I love babies!"

So apparently he hadn't forgotten about that.

"What say ye, lass?"

She wanted to say she'll kick him in the arse so hard her foot will knock his teeth out, but as she was opening her mouth, she heard the captain's voice:

"We'll be in Windhelm shortly!"

"Looks like it's time for me to pack my things," she said and slipped out of the Nord's grasp.

Back in her cabin, she located her leather knapsack, her journal and a couple of other things and sat down on her bed.

It was mid-afternoon and she was tired already. She had woken up early. She had dreams about Morrowind again…

She looked out the window and saw what appeared to be city walls. They must be in Windhelm.

She rose from the bed and opened the cabin door. The people were bustling on the deck.

"Hey, lass—" the same Nord who had talked to her tried to catch her hand, but she was quicker. She caught his wrist and squeezed it so hard she saw him wince. He clearly didn't expect her to have any strength.

"If you ever touch me again, I will cut your fucking hands off."

She let go of him, and he went away, rubbing his wrist.

Tabelle had once said to her she should learn to be nicer to people. Skadi replied people should learn not to talk to her. She also now remembered how it had made Helimar laugh.

She saw Argonians, working at the docks, and a few other ships.

It was cold, very cold. Her clothes were too thin for the snow—even if this was the middle of summer.

As long as there's something decent to drink, she thought, stepping off the ship.

Skadi rented a room at the local in, called "Candlehearth Hall". The room was nice enough, at least, compared to what she had on the ship. She also informed the innkeeper that she was a spellsword, in case anyone came looking; the old woman took a long look at her face and one eye, and nodded. Skadi doubted a lot of Nords would trust a Mer, especially one who knew magic, but she'd heard there was a lot of Dunmer in this city, too.

As soon as she stepped out into the cold she was greeted by a drunk, who kept rambling about the Dark Elves. She politely asked him to shut up.

"You're one sexy Mer maiden, aren't you?" he asked, and Skadi smelled alcohol on his breath.

Mer yes, sexy…that wasn't the word Skadi would have used to describe herself. She was tall, with a gold skin, rather common with Altmer—not that she had met many; there weren't many of them in Morrowind. Her most prominent feature, along with her long pointy nose, was her missing left eye with a scar across it as well as her left cheek—a memory from one time she had come across a Daedroth. Back then she wasn't as skilled with magic as she was now.

Also, Skadi wasn't interested in people who valued her body above her skills or intelligence—not that he had even seen her body. It was already darkening.

"Why do you hate Dunmer so much?" she asked him.

For a moment she thought he was going to answer her. Instead, he loosened his pants and took a piss right next to her shoes.

Skadi looked up at the sky, where the two moons were already visible, and thought it would be a bad luck to kill a man on her first day in Skyrim.