"Dianne, Dianne! Wake up!" called Fastred as she shook me awake. "It's around nine. We should get going, right?"
Thank you, Akatosh. "Yes, we should get going now. Is there food in here? I'm starving."
Fastred gestured to a bowl filled with apples on the nightstand. Dibella leapt for it eagerly, crunching on the apple's juicy skin. Riften may not be the nicest place in Skyrim, but the food here was amazing. After they both ate for a bit, they gathered there things and went off.
"Is that a marketplace?" asked Fastred excitedly when she exited the inn. "Look at all they have to sell!"
"Not now, Fastred," sighed Dibella as she pulled the girl back. "There is a much grander one in Solitude."
Fastred's eyes lit up excitedly. "Really? Oh, let's go get that carriage right now!" She was practically running towards the gate.
When they approached the large wooden door, the watch guard nodded, "Citizen," and opened the gate for them.
"Good day, sir," replied Dibella inconspicuously as she hurried Fastred through.
"It's so beautiful out here! Look at the way the sunbeams illuminate on the mist!" chimed Fastred. "And oh, look at the beautiful horses! I always asked Papa for a horse, but he said they were too expensive."
Dibella eyed the horse and nodded. It was one of the more beautiful children of Kynareth. "They are magnificent creatures. There is the carriage driver, are you ready to go?"
Fastred looked around sadly. "I've never left the Rift before, and I shall be so far from home. I hope my family isn't too worried. But I must follow my heart. To Solitude!"
Dibella laughed and approached the carriage driver. He told them, "I can take you to any of the Hold capitals. Where would you like to go?"
"Solitude, please," replied Dibella.
"Very well. That will be fifty septims, please." Dibella handed the coins over to him. He smiled and said, "Climb on back and we'll be off."
The two girls smiled broadly and clambered onto the back of the carriage. Fastred watched the world excitedly as the carriage driver whipped his horse and they started to move. Dibella fell asleep almost instantly. It was going to be a long ride to Solitude, and hopefully Fastred would keep her mouth closed for a bit and enjoy the beauty of Skyrim.
Dusk had begun to fall upon them. The cold wind whipped around Dibella's face. Snowflakes stabbed her cheeks like razors.
Wait, snow? Dibella thought. Sleepily, she opened her eyes. Fastred was huddled under a blanket she had packed, but watched the snowfall intently.
"Oh, you're awake! Look at all the snow! I've never seen snow before. It's fairly warm in Ivarstead. We'd get the occasional flakes off from the Throat of the World, but never a real snowstorm like this!"
Dibella had always watched the snowstorms from her realm. The way it whirled and danced around had intrigued her very much. But now she saw that the sensation from Skyrim's defining feature was a most unpleasant one. "Is this The Pale?" she asked the carriage driver.
"Yes," he replied. "We should reach Solitude in around twelve more hours. There is bread and honey in a barrel back there."
It looked to be around eight in the evening, so they would reach Solitude at eight in the morning. First, they would rent a room at the Winking Skeever. Then they would need to focus on getting a reputation around town. They both needed to find a way to attract attention to themselves. Actually, Dibella thought, Dianne would have no problem gaining attention, but it just wouldn't be the right kind of attention.
Amidst her plans for Fastred included; praying at the Temple of the Divines, touring the East Empire Company, and partying at the Winking Skeever. Hopefully they would discover much more to do in Solitude. Dibella had not doubt that Fastred would love the city. It sat on a huge cliff overlooking the Ghost Sea. Unlike the mucky water in Riften, this water was clear, clean, and beautiful. Even Dibella was looking forward to going there.
"Moo,"
Dibella and Fastred who had both been deep in thought whirled around to see what had made the noise.
"What was that?" asked Fastred.
The carriage driver's face suddenly paled. "That was a cow. And right behind it is a giant."
They all froze in terror and slowly looked up. Right behind the cow towered a gargantuan humanoid figure with grey skin. Fastred had only heard stories of the giants, and Dibella remembered to never annoy them, or face the wrath of their clubs. If hit with one, Dibella would find herself right back up in the Pantheon.
"What do we do?" asked Fastred nervously.
"I'll tell you what you do," said a new husky voice. They all whirled around to see a burly Nord clad in iron armor. "You step off this wagon and start running, so I can stab you in the back."
Not another thief, thought Dibella. As she looked him over, she noticed the steel war hammer strapped to his back. This wasn't any ordinary thief; this was a bandit. Thieves specialized in stealth, whilst bandits overpowered with force.
"Are you all going to keep staring at me or will you give me the wagon so I don't have to kill you?" snapped the bandit as he brandished his weapon.
"You wouldn't harm us," taunted Dibella. Maybe Stendarr would hear her plea and give this man some mercy.
But he didn't. Instead the bandit just chuckled and looked around. "See that cow over there?" Suddenly he charged towards the poor creature and bashed in its skull with a sickening crack. They screamed in horror as the cow fell down dead into the snow, its blood freezing into a sickly layer of ice.
Grinning slyly, the bandit returned to the wagon. "Now the same is in store for you. Prepare to die!"
However the bandit had failed to notice the giant, as it had blended in with the snowy landscape. When the bandit murdered the cow, the giant wailed in agony. After stroking the cow's hide, it sprinted towards the bandit, who was too oblivious to notice.
Dibella, Fastred, and the carriage driver all watched wide-eyed as the giant's club struck the bandit and sent him flying towards the heavens. His body flailed like a ragdoll until it became a barely noticeable black speck in the sky. Terrified, they all slowly lowered their gazes to the giant, who hadn't lowered his club and continued to whip it around his head.
Dibella braced herself, but Fastred looked at the giant pleadingly with her sweet caramel eyes. The giant stared at her blankly for what seemed like an hour. Finally, he lowered his club and walked away slowly. He approached the cow's body and sadly stroked the pelt for a few moments. It heartbrokenly tossed a few heaps of snow onto the body, then trudged away back towards the mountains, wailing sadly.
"That was the saddest thing I've ever seen," Fastred whimpered as a tear raced down her cheek. "The poor giants are hated by the races here in Skyrim. The cow was his only friend."
"He will find other giants and plenty more cows," chimed the carriage driver. "We had a lucky break there, but not all giants are empathetic like that one. We must move quickly."
He whipped the horse and they were off again. Fastred and Dibella pulled some blankets over them and hunkered down into the straw that lined the bottom of the wagon. After a few moments, Fastred was sound asleep, dreaming of days to come in Solitude and hoping the Giant would find more cows. In a minute, Dibella had drifted off as well.