Hey guys. I know the first chapter was slightly lackluster than my usual work (if you're familiar with my only other story) but I promise in future chapters such as this, I will attempt do better than the last. To those of you who take the time to look at the characters that will be featured in this story, you would have noticed that I had changed I believe, Hjalmar, it was, to Gaunter O'Dimm. There is a reason for that. A very good one to.
Miraak is sulking in his loss. Yes he won the bout, yet all the same he lost his prize. The endeavor was meaningless in the end to him. If he could not achieve his goal, then why continue going on. Maybe if that damn oblivion walker actually helped him instead of doing nothing he would be free by now.
"I will crush your skull when I see you next." Miraak thought aloud, expressing his pure rage
"Then I'll just stay up here." Said a man who floats in the air. The man had a shaven head with brown eyes below his black brow. The shirt he wore was bright orange and had three blue lines which are evenly paralleled with each other on the wrist on his sleeves. His pants were a sea blue color and had large black boots that cover everything from his shins to a hand below his kneecaps. "So Miraak, What part of your wish did you not get? I gave you what you wished for."
"O'Dimm!" Miraak growled "I wished to defeat Hoen in battle so I could be free! Not to just win and leave it at that!"
O'Dimm chuckles at Miraak, more so in teasing humor "Last I recall, your exact wish was: "I wish to defeat Hoen in battle.", those were your exact words."
"You knew what I meant!" Miraak yelled in fury
O'Dimm looked at Miraak with a grin of arrogance "I did know. But I don't give you what want, I give you what you wish for."
"I will tell Clavicus-Vile of your actions!" Miraak spat "You compete in his territory!"
O'Dimm laughed once more "How very grown up of you." O'Dimm said sarcastically "Telling your elders on someone. So childish."
"Damn you! Fus Ro Dah!" Miraak shouted with a thunderous force to his voice. In his blind rage, Miraak failed to notice that his adversary was missing, till he felt burning in his back.
"I'll not tell you again. I give you what you wish, not what you want." O'Dimm let go of Miraak as the burning stopped. "Do I make my self clear?"
"Yes." Miraak grunted
Kear Trolde harbor
Hjalmar and Hoen arrive at the harbor. Many warriors and drunks riddle the port side. A few groups of them are eyeing Hoen as he stands next to Hjalmar. They knew that Hoen was not meant to be distrusted, yet at the same time they did not know if he could actually be trusted.
The duo walk towards the tavern in hopes of finding good men to sail with. A few people pop up In Hjalmar's mind and he hopes to get enough of them.
"So Hoen, have you been at sea before?" Hjalmar asked
"As a passenger, I have." Hoen responded
"This is going to be difficult. Do you know how to sail a longboat?" Hjalmar asked once more
"Not too well. I have little experience in the matter." Hoen answered solemnly
"I can work with that as long as you don't crash us." Hjalmar comments nervously
"Do you not know how to sail a longboat either?" Hoen questioned
"Nope" Hjalmar plainly said
"Well then I guess we'll have to find someone to sail it then." Hoen said "Any ideas?"
"Well there is this one man named, Osek. Not that well of a fighter, but the man has a serious pair on him." Hjalmar said "He's one of the best sailors here to. Once sailed through a storm and evaded the sirens without a scratch on the boat. He took a few, but he was lucky he didn't get any fatal wounds."
Hoen paused for a moment. He heard the name before. It was the man who saved him! "I know who you're talking about." Hoen comments "Last I remember he's about half a head shorter than I am, dark brown hair, green eyes, maybe around 30."
"Yeah, that's him. I know where the bugger lives. Should we get him?" Hjalmar asked
"Anyone else?" Hoen asked
Hjalmar thougt to himself for a moment. "There is this other man. Name's Egill, not that well of a sailor, but the man can put up a good enough fight if he's not wasted."
"Let's grab Osek. I'd rather have a pilot that can't fight rather than a drunk who can't pilot any day." Hoen states
A few minutes later
"Hey! Osek!" Hjalmar called
"Hjalmar, Hoen! Nice to see you! Need anything?" Osek asked
"Need a favor" Hoen requested "We're going on a sea raid and we need someone to sail the longboat. Can you take the job?"
"Of course!" Osek said with glee "Who do you plan on targeting?"
"First thing we see." Hjalmar says
"So if we see a heavily guarded Nilfgaardian treasure fleet, we'll strike them?" Osek asked
"I don't see why not?" Hjalmar said
"Do you ever plan these things out?" Hoen also asked
Hjalmar went silent. "So, Osek, you joining us?"
"Of course!" Osek said
"Go to the docks, we'll meet you there." Hoen ordered.
Osek went back inside to get ready. Hoen and Hjalmar went to the tavern to collect at least 5 more people to join, then they'd be on their way.
The people are vast, but in the end they manage. Their crew is hardy and rough. Two guards decided to join because Hjalmar personally asked them to. The other three were just standard drunks, one of which was an amateur navigator.
With everyone assembled at the docks they board a boat and set sail. The seas are calm at first and they didn't make it past Spikeroog yet.
Osek has done a decent job so far and is sailing at full sail. "Olvir, how much further till we reach Nilfgaardian waters?" Osek asked the navigator
"An hour or two if the wind keeps picking up like it is." Olvir said
"If the wind doesn't pick up from here?" Osek asked
"5 at best then." Olvir said "But the wind keeps picking up every few minutes or so. There may be a storm coming."
"Hoen." Hjalmar said
"Hmm?" Hoen responded
"This is going to be awhile, so why don't you say a bit about yourself." Hjalmar asks "Your name isn't known here and according to the harbor you just appeared out of thin air. What's up with that?"
"Long story short, I was fighting a very dangerous man then my body began to fade." Hoen began "Next thing you know I'm quite above the water and fall in."
"Where you from anyway?" Olvir asks
"A place called Skyrim." Hoen answered "You all are similar enough to the populace there when it comes to culture. When it comes to physical appearance though, most are blonde hair and blue eyes."
"So, Skyrim? What's it like there?" Hjalmar asks
"Cold, dangerous, nationalistic and several different kinds of drunk." Hoen answered
"So are there Jarls or Kings in Skyrim?" Hjalmar asked again
"Jarls. Each Jarl runs one out of the nine holds." Hoen answered "There's Whiterun Hold, Falkreth Hold, Hjaalmarch Hold, Eastmarch Hold, Haafingar Hold, The Rift, The Reach, Winter Hold and The Pale."
Silence on the ship became more apparent. The only thing heard were the winds howling as they push the ship. Some men take time by dragging their hands in the water as the boat go on.
"So, Hoen." Hjalmar said finally breaking the silence "What do you think about Skellige so far on what you've seen?"
"Not sure." Hoen answered "You all seem like good people. If I assumed that you were all like this I'd only have good things to say. But all the same, I'm not a naive little boy."
"So about your armor and weapons." Olvir comments "You make them yourself?"
"Most of it." Hoen answered "The sword I definitely did. I'm the only person who knows how to work with dragon bone in Skyrim." The men gained the same awestruck look as Hjalmar had awhile ago. The eyes of the crew were all stuck on it, all except for Osek who had to stay focused.
The wind began to pick up more. The sail is so arched that it could be a right-side-up hammock. The longboat is going faster than normal and they approach an incoming storm.
'Do my shouts still work?' Hoen thought to himself 'Only one way to find out' Hoen approaches the front end of the boat to confront the storm head on. He readied himself as the others became curious of what he is doing "Lok Vah Koor!" Hoen shouted. The storm above began to disappear, the clouds dispersed into several different directions and the rain died out faster than they appeared.
They were starrring at the man who had just stopped a storm. It is as if he were a god, or at least god sent.
"Hoen." Hjalmar called "How did you do that?"
"I shouted." Hoen plainly responds
"What does that mean?" Hjalmar asked
"It's weird. I'll explain it to you at a later date. In the meantime, I believe I see something." Hoen says
"Nilfgaardian ship ahead!" Olvir shouted
"Alright men! Ready yourselves! We board as soon as we get the chance!" Hjalmar shouted
The boat went full speed ahead. A war horn was sounded, alerting the Nilfgaardian's of their presence. Little time passed when the entire broadside of the ship was glowing a red-orange shade. Soon the shade fired upwards towards the longboat, sending a rain of fire down upon them.
The ship went through head on, coming out moderately damaged. The sails were torn and two sailors lie dead on the deck. Wind had acted in the Skelligers' favor and crashed them into the ship.
They adjusted the positioning of their boat and tossed hooks on the railing, pulling themselves up. The boat was lifted from the water and the crew boarded the boat.
Swords clashed and swung at mad speeds. The Nilfgaardians outnumbered the invaders by a landslide. The sea raiders cared not about this. They fought with fury and pushed back wave after wave of enemy.
Hoen's axe swung as light as air, cleaving through many soldiers at once. Armor did not exist to his axe. Just metal clothes that broke easily.
Eventually the Nilfgaardians were equal to their invaders. They accepted defeat and dropped to their knees. Footsteps were heard behind the raiders. It was running. They turned to see a boy no older than 16 running towards Hjalmar with a short sword in hand. He thrusts towards the An Craite, missing terribly. He lost his balance and fell flat on his face. The boy's clothes spoke nobility to the men.
"Nice try." Hjalmar laughed "Now leave us be."
"Die filth!" The boy shouted. He picked the sword back up and made an attempt to swing at another, yet his wrist was caught by Olvir
"Your being a nuisance boy." Olvir irritably spoke "Hjalmar may be being generous today, but I'm only letting you go once."
Hoen laughed a bit "The child is amusing slightly. Yet all the same he'll get in the way."
"Hoen, why don't you take care of the lad." Hjalmar suggested
"Alright then." Hoen agreed "Draw your blade boy. I want to see if you're truly worth killing."
The child picked his blade off the floor once more. He nervously starred at Hoen, his body shivering in fear. Hoen stuck towards the boy with the back of his axe, not allowing the head to touch him. The boy was laying on the ground in defeat. Even after one hit he could no longer stand.
"You're a waste of time." Hoen pitifully says "Begone with you."
"You're not going to kill him?" Hjalmar asked
"He's weak, a waste of time. Not worth fighting." Hoen was quite disappointed and hoped for a fight. Even when he did get one, it wasn't what he expected.
"Alright then. Lads! Take anything that isn't nailed down!" Hjalmar ordered
They sweeped the upper and lower decks. The captain's cabin was filled with documents and coin. The noble's quarters filled even more with coin and valuables, with gems decorating the shelves all ready for taking. One thing Hoen came across was a simple chair in the eyes of others, to him however, it was a masterpiece.
"You want to take a chair?" Osek questioned
"I need to take that chair." Hoen corrected
Hjalmar and the others were just as confused as the others "It's a chair. They were meant to be sat on."
"Only if you all had the same artistic outlook on as I do." Hoen responded
"What's that mean?" Olvir asked
"Look at it! The wood had been finely carved. The cushion weaved more carefully than anything I've seen, in all
of it's ruby colored splendor. And the bases of the legs have been dressed in gold. Why wouldn't I want it!" Hoen excitedly explained
"Alright, now that you've explained it I can see why it would be important." Hjalmar reasoned "You plan on selling it don't you?"
"To anyone willing to buy." Hoen replied
The men loaded the chair into the longboat and prepared to set sail. Then again, they heard a loud war cry from the boy behind them. He took a swing at Osek, to which Osek side stepped out of the way and let the boy fall just like the last time. They were all tired of the boy and his antics, trying to be a hero when he could not. Yes, they admired the boy's courage and tenacity, but he was being a nuisance and was getting in their way.
"Tie the lad down to something." Hjalmar instructed. The men found a spare rope around the main deck, using it to tie the boy to a mast. They would have killed him by now if he wasn't so pathetic.
With the child tied to something they could finally set off. His crying and screaming could be heard for miles on end, even as they left the ship. Not a man had any peace and quiet until they were at least 70ft away from the ship.
When they got out of earshot of the kid they could admire their gold and treasure. Hjalmar had taken a liking to the chair and joked about Hoen selling it to him.
The journey was long, yet peaceful. Everyone enjoyed themselves with an exception for the boy, but everything was well.
A/N Finished. I hoped you enjoyed it and I would love to know what you think about it so far. I'm enjoying it so far and may try my hand at a third project, yet I'm not sure about it.
Other than that, have a great time with life and you have my thanks for reading this far.