I would like to thank LaniusLegioXIII for helping me out with this and the previous chapter. Without him, there'd be quite a few mistakes.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Elder Scrolls series.
I woke up fairly early in the morning. I saw Faendal inspecting what he had in his knapsack. He saw me wide awake and said good morning to me. Likewise, I said morning as well. Faendal wrote some things on a piece of parchment with an ink pot and quill. It seemed like he was writing down supplies of what we would need.
After finishing, he gave me the list to look over. Since there's a lot of potential loot in Nordic ruins, a larger rucksack or a quality linen sack would be pretty valuable and a good long-term investment. We didn't need any bed rolls, but a couple of pillows would make sleeping on the ground more bearable. Other than some food that'll keep fresh for a long trip, we would be ready to leave for Bleak Falls Barrow.
Oh yeah, I forgot about Arcadia's frost salts. I suppose I should take care of that first.
Me and Faendal went downstairs with our stuff to get some breakfast before getting the supplies we needed. I had porridge with some honey and some milk. Faendal had a venison soup with some water. We had about an hour before all of the shops would be open to customers. Faendal showed me some possible routes we could take. We could backtrack to Riverwood and take the road we first passed by, which is a bit safer, but it would take longer to get to Bleak Falls Barrow. The second path is southwest from Whiterun. It would get us closer to the barrow, but the path is a lot steeper and there was a giant camp along the way. Either way, we were looking at a long trek.
We decided to go with our first option when we left Whiterun. We finished our breakfast and left the inn to shop at the stores. We only had eleven hundred gold so we needed to prioritize. The marketplace was crowded with people looking to buy food or just looking at what the merchants had for sale. I figured Whiterun was a big place, but seeing all these people here was a bit of a shock to say the least.
I decided we needed to pay Arcadia a visit. The name Arcadia's Cauldron was an interesting name. Me and Faendal walked in and it was an alchemist's dream come true. There were various potions and ingredients by the counter and along selves. There were a couple of people brewing some potions, likely assistants of the owner.
The woman behind the counter was very courteous when we entered and said to let her know if there was anything we needed. She looked to be in her forties with a few wrinkles on her face, but still fairly youthful. I asked if she knew a woman named Arcadia. "That would be me," she declared. I handed her the vial of frost salts and was very thankful for it. She gave me a few potions, a couple that a typical mage wouldn't use, but I thanked her for them. You never know when they will come in handy. She tried to "persuade" me into thinking I had ataxia, but I politely said I was fine.
We decided to hit the tailoring shop next, which was right next to Arcadia's Cauldron. It was a nice little business with a mother and daughter running it. They welcomed me and Faendal and we looked over at the leather rucksacks. All of them were incredibly well-made and looked like they could carry a lot of things in them with slots to place weapons and sleeping equipment; even the smallest one was larger than the average traveling knapsack. The price of them, however, made me groan internally. The small rucksack was about three hundred gold. It wasn't a bad price, considering the size, but we were on a short budget. I looked over at Faendal and he sort of hinted at me getting it. Oh well, I gave in and purchased it. Since he suggested it, Faendal was going to do the heavy lifting. The pillows will have to wait for another time.
After that, we quickly got whatever food we needed and left. The prices were a bit steeper than I would've anticipated. Almost half the gold we started with was gone within an hour. No matter, we should find some gold within the ruins with some valuable loot. I wasn't thrilled about another five hour trek towards Riverwood, but it was necessary.
Since it was going to take a while to get to the outskirts of Riverwood, I decided to read my Firebolt spell book. Predictably, the first few pages were warnings about the dangers of miscasting a spell and to practice outside with an experienced instructor. As I continued reading, the main difference between casting a Flames spell and a Firebolt spell is the compression of the fire and launching it at the target. I was pretty confident I can cast it. The only downside was I had to aim it correctly, otherwise I would miss my target. After I finished the book, it disintegrated from my hands.
Feeling a little hungry, me and Faendal decided to take a small lunch break off the side of the road. It was nothing special, just some salted venison meat with a little bit of bread and water from our canteens. We relaxed for a good half hour before we got back on the road.
We managed to reach the path we were going to take up the mountain. A lone wolf attacked us early on the path. I decided to test out my new Firebolt spell. I managed to launch it, but I used up almost all of my magicka. It wasn't supposed to use up so much magicka, from what I read in the book. Until I'm able to cast it with less magicka, I'll be sticking to Flames and Sparks for an extensive battle. Luckily, the wolf's pelt wasn't burnt too badly, so Faendal skinned the wolf and took some meat to cook for later.
As Faendal and I trudged on our way to Bleak Falls Barrow, the cold wind was picking up, lowering our visibility. I wonder if Kynareth was testing us. Well, she was testing my patience for sure. There was a tower in the distance. We could take temporary shelter there until we were feeling a bit warmer. I should probably get us coats to better brave the cold.
When we neared the tower, there were bandits taking shelter. I saw an Orc standing outside keeping guard. We took cover behind some large rocks and peeked to see if he spotted us. Thankfully, he didn't. Faendal grabbed his hunting bow and knocked a steel-tipped arrow. He aimed it at the Orc's head and shot. Faendal managed to lodge the arrow in the head of the bandit and he fell shortly after impact.
Although it was faint, I managed to hear someone from inside the tower call out to his friend. When his friend didn't respond, the man went to investigate. It was a Nord bandit this time. He saw the dead Orc and drew his iron sword, anticipating hostility. He was heading our way slowly, trying to get the element of surprise. I quickly conjured a familiar and it went after the bandit. My spectral familiar managed to keep him busy by biting his leg. Faendal quickly knocked an arrow and it struck the Nord's throat. The man gurgled on his own blood before he fell. My familiar disappeared shortly after the Nord died.
I ordered Faendal to see if there was anything inside the tower. I looted the two dead bandits. The Orc had some gold and nice fur armor and bracers, along with some boots Faendal could use. The Nord had similar fur armor, but it covered less and was a bit impractical for keeping warm. Still, the man had better items I could take, along with some iron arrows.
"Damn it!" I heard Faendal shout. It seems like he's having trouble with whoever's inside. I quickly rushed inside to see my companion barely evade a steel greatsword. This Orc was outfitted with a full set of iron armor. He had his greatsword at the ready and he looked really mad. Well, this was going to make things complicated.
I shouted at Faendal to head outside. If we were going to face him, we needed more space. I conjured my familiar to buy us some time. Sadly, it wasn't much since the Orc grabbed it by the throat and slammed it to a nearby wall, forcing it to dissipate. I quickly gave Faendal the iron arrows I looted. I told him to not use the steel arrows unless we had no choice.
I had my Flames spell in both my hands, ready to burn this Orc with his own armor. Side stepping away from Faendal, I launched two streams of fire at the bandit. I thought I had him on the ropes, but I ran out of magicka at a crucial moment. So we had a burnt Orc that was ready to slice us into pieces. The Orc was fighting against the cold wind to get to me.
Faendal shot an arrow and managed to hit the Orc in the elbow, causing the bandit to roar in pain. It slowed the Orc's advance, but he was still heading my way, albeit fighting through the pain to do so. Faendal kept shooting arrows, but the arrows bounced off the armor and landed on the ground. Some of my magicka recovered and I decided to try my Firebolt spell again. I managed to form it properly with less magicka than before. I launched the bolt of fire and the Orc screamed in pain, slowly dying until he could scream no longer. I really need to reread the spell books more carefully before using them. It's very doubtful I'll be this lucky with future spells. The bandit only had very little gold, but I took it.
With the bandits dead, we moved into the tower to assess our current inventory and to check for potential loot. Faendal took the fur armor that had sleeves and put it on along with the bracers and boots. I handed him the lockpick since he knew how to pick locks. Checking the rest of the tower, there were a few apples that were still good, a nice coin purse full of gold, some carrots, and a chest with gold. The spoils weren't too bad, all things considering. We rested there for a few minutes to warm ourselves up. Faendal said we were getting close to the barrow. Since there were bandits here at this tower, I expect more of their friends will be at the ruins, possibly the restless undead as well. The winds had died down and we took it as a sign to move forward.
It was roughly mid to late afternoon when we arrived at the steps of Bleak Falls Barrow. I conjured my familiar, anticipating our foes. They must have heard my summoning and I saw three male bandits, two Nords and one Redguard at the top of the steps. Faendal readied his bow and shot an iron arrow at one of the Nords, hitting him in the knee. I had to chuckle at that, Talk about taking an arrow in the knee. The stricken Nord fell and hobbled over to seek shelter from our assault. My familiar found him and started biting him. Unfortunately, his two friends defeated my spectral wolf with little effort.
The other two bandits decided to use their bows as well. They shot their arrows, the wind interfered and they barely missed me. I silently thanked Kynareth, asking her to forgive my little annoyance earlier. In my left hand I had my Flames spell, the right had my Firebolt spell. I managed to use my Firebolt with the same success as I had before and hit the Redguard on the chest. His fur armor offered no protection and was on fire. Instead of suffering slowly, Faendal managed to land an iron arrow at his chest, killing him quickly.
I didn't realize it, but the still standing Nord managed to launch an iron arrow from his bow and it struck my left hand. I screamed in pain and quickly took cover from getting hit again. Faendal rushed to my aid, but I told him to finish off the other Nord. He quickly knocked another arrow and it landed in the Nord's eye, killing him instantly.
Faendal knew how to remove an arrow without causing too much damage. He broke part of the shaft of the arrow and threw away the part with the fletching. He quickly removed the arrow from my hand and I shrieked in pain. The arrow left a small hole in my hand with blood oozing from it. I quickly used my Healing spell and the hole started closing up. After a good minute, it was completely gone along with the pain in my hand.
There was still that other Nord that was alive. I told Faendal to finish him off while I looted the dead bodies. He told me not to take their armor and that it would save us some space for truly valuable items. Among the two, one of them had a silver necklace. It would fetch us a decent amount of coin. Other than that, they didn't have any gold on them.
As I got up the steps, Faendal was looting the dead Nord. He managed to find a couple of picks and a few gold coins. The barrow was much larger up close. We could end up being in there for a good few hours exploring it. I asked Faendal if he was ready and he said he was up for whatever was inside. We walked up to the black carved doors, waiting to explore what the ruins had in store for us.
Another chapter done, my friends. Let me know what you think. I don't have a set schedule of when chapters will be released, but I am focusing on the quality of my chapters.
Reviews are greatly appreciated as are Faves and Follows. Tune in next time as Carollin and Faendal explore Bleak Falls Barrow.