Hey, 8 people added this story to their story alert, and three more people faved it. To hells with me if I know why anyone would do something like that, but thanks you guys! And please, if you take time to storyalert, take your time to comment, as well!
Another filler chapter! Oh, how I love writing the dialogue. But well, I don't actually write this. It writes itself, so I blame this story for it's form!
And God, how anyone could actually translate Bleak Falls into something that translates back into Blackstone? Does these people have no soul!
And Vilkas news for this chap: "Vilkas may be randomly encountered out in the wilderness." :D
I like the sound of that, and you?
PS.: I was writting this all day long and I feel completely drained and close to passing out. Also haven't played anything for three days by now, and my winter ferries are close to end. I'm doomed.
Not counting the straw- filled bed (really, there every night is a tumble in a hay) the next passing week was the one of the most idyllic in my life. Every morning I get up with the sun, helping Gedur with her work around the house, then I headed out to the Alvor's place to help him with his forge. I was aching and worn-out after that, but really happy. Creating even the simplest things from something as crude as a iron bar gave me a lot of satisfsction. After some rest near the river, I usually went to play with village children, learning their tales and games, and telling them some of these I knew from my own childhood. After a warm noon meal I w was having private training sessions with Raloff or Faendal, and after that I headed to the inn for some more fighting advice from Delphine, and working as a serving girl on the evenings. If I had a moment of the free time, I used it to practice a destruction magic. I was getting better and better in everything I tried my hand in. I've never worked so much in my entire life, but I've been never waking up so well-rested, as well.
I loved these people, and with time, they started to love me in return. Everywhere I went, I was greeted by the kind smiles and nice words, even Sigurd warming up to me, after all, not minding me pestering her husband all morning... as much as before.
It was hard to believe that only an one week passed, when Raloff decided to tell everyone that he was leaving for a Windhelm.
"You really are a quick learner, lass. I'm really proud of you." he told me with a fatherly look on his face. Well, I guess that's why he wasn't available to the marriage, then. "You really going to manage, both going adventuring and fighting in a real battle."
He looked at me thoughtfully.
"Have you thought through joining our side?"
I knew what he meant, but I shook my head negativelly.
"I think I need some more time to myself before I'm able to stand amongst your people as an equal, and I don't want to be a burden."
He nodded, his eyes soft and understanding.
"I get it, lass. You're right, being considerate. There is already enough of hot-headed youths in our ranks." his gaze turning joking, he added "And this old man is not free of this flaw as well."
We laughed together for a short moment, before there came time for a real farewell.
"Believe it or not, I'll consider it. I suppose I'll join you in your fight for free Skyrim" I winked at him "After all, the rebelious and proud blood of my fathers still flows in my veins."
With suprise, I found out that I was telling the truth, even if not the way he might understand it. I felt that need to fight for the others, to free that country from the foreign rule and to right all the wrongs. No matter what kind of man Ulfric Stormcloak really was, I identified with his goals.
He smiled at me proudly once again.
"Learn and get stronger, lass. I'm looking forward to the day I'm going to be able to call you 'sister'."
And with that, he was gone, and I was left with that feeling of anxiety starting to nag its way into my mind.
Mere days later, I coudn't stand it anymore. I had to be something someday, and decided that was the right moment to help my new friends to regain their property.
I headed in the indicated Black Fallows direction, knowing that I'm going the right way when the green started to give a way to the snow and the cold, cruel wind.
I wasn't really minding my sorrounding, so the arrow that stuck in my arm made me stop in my tracks. Oh, right. I was in front of the bandits' lair, that silly ruined tower. Only now it doesn't looked funny. It looked dangerous and threatening.
Another arrow passed by by the time I rushed forward to meet eye-to-eye with an axe-wielding brute. In my suprise I made the first thing that came to my mind: treated the thug with my beloved fire spell.
The man's hair catched on fire, and he looked in my eyes with the look of the uttermost shock before he started screaming, his face twisted in pain. His skin cracking under the magical fire's flames, he threw himself into the snow, rolling madly in his agony, untill there was no life left in his horribly massacred body.
Now I understood why Nord didn't like magic. It was horrible to see something like this, but to be guilty of such a death.. It left a foul taste in my mouth.
...until the time his fellows made a point of trying to tear me to pieces.
Again, with suprise I realised that people of Riverwood taught me well. I ducked under the bandit's arm and sticked my knife in his back. The thug fell, earning me a roar of hatred from his companions. I was smalled than them, and used a much lighter weapon, so I made my best in trying my possible speed on them. I haven't escaped it unscrathed, but I made it alive and well. Maybe Raloff was right, maybe I actually was an natural murderer... I mused, standing surronded by the dead bodies of the men bred and born to kill, me, who mere days ago wouldn't be able to lift half of the loot I was carrying away from this place now.
'Or something wants you to be' answered the tiny voice in the back of my mind. I shook my head. Both thoughts weren't too comforting, but I preffered the first answer. I've always been fast to learn what I set my mind on, after all. 'Natural, then' - I smiled to myself while continued my way to the top.
But... which top was that? I looked around, disoriented. Each direction looked fine to me.
I reached for a simple compass and a map that I get from Gedur, trying to shield them from the wet, nasty snow that could damage them, and shook my head in disbelief again, this time amazed by my own stupidity. For about ten minutes I was walking in the wrong direction.
The savages in front of the Bleak Fallows temple were even easier to remove, partly because Faendal was a good hunting teacher and partly because of the snow obscuring the view. To my amusement, I was left with more loot I could carry before even entering the ruins. Well, I should probably stop picking up everything I saw, especially these useless iron axes...
Having a choice between leaving some of the heavy and useless trash right there, and returning to Riverwood to sell it, I think that my decision was really easy to predict. I turned on my hell and headed back to the village.
"You already back?" Lucan asked me suprised when I walked right into his shop. "How it went?"
I shook my head.
"I'm not done yet. I've only came here to sell some loot I already gathered."
He looked disappointed, but as happy as always to rip me off of the gold that shoud have passes to me. Afted a long while spend on playful bickering, we came to the agreement. I got about one thousand gold pieces and a some lockpicks, and he was left with a pile of the leather armor and useless (at last to me) big, pointy objects.
"You know Ellie, if you continue to supply me with this amount of murder weapons, I'll have to make new trade contacts, and what will I do with all of that additional money?"
"You could start with paying me more, you meanie!" we laughted. "And I thought that you was a good man, then you went around selling strangers a godsdamned *lockpicks*. What if I wanted to steal from you?"
"Oh, you wouldn't! I know that deep down you're a good girl." He winked at me "But I'd better warn you, if you weren't, I'd had to have my sister take care of you!"
"Now you frightened me to death, good sir!" I pouted my lips playfully "What is a poor, little girl to do, confronted with such a treat?"
"Get her sorry ass from bothering a poor, little salesman to doing somethig actually useful, like helping mentioned salesman out!" he smiled "Good luck on your way."
"Sir, yes sir!" I saluted him, and ran out from his shop, still laughing.
I was really annoyed at the bandits stupidity. Sure, it made me have an upper hand and being able to survive at all, but... man, with their friends killed for more than about a hour, they are having a random chit-chat and aren't even preserving the basic securituy measures? It's a wonder they were still alive by the time I get to them, few arrows from the darkness solving the problem. And I wasn't even a good archer.
The same could be said about the locked chest. Apart from locking your own things inside something you don't have a key to, it broke open nerly without trying be a person who was doing it about a sixth time in her life. And yes, that would be me.
More and more pissed off for no real reason, I stopped in my tracks, feeling something light and sticky make contact with my face.
And then I had to force down the scream.
The. Godsdamned. Spider. Web.
AAaaargh! Why does They hate me so!
Luckily enough, I haven't met any spiders, being confronted with a gigantic mutant rats instead. I was never a rat hater, and even owned one on my own, but these creatures were filthy, to say at least, and it was hard to be enthusiastic about their worm-like tails. I was brooding for a long while by then, even killing a several more bandits - especially killing several more bandits, I corrected myself - couldn't improve my mood.
And then I found myself in front of a puzzle. That stupid one with moving pillars. At my state of mind, I was angry at everything and everyone around for crossing my patch, but here, I had to slow down and cool a little. I always used to check the possible combinations one-by-one when I was unsure which one was right, but now...
Enough to say I didn't felt in the mood for being pierced by multiple, possibly poisoned arrows. I analysed the pattern for a long while, and then made a hasty decision. After all, I've never actually been known for a common sense.
When the sounds of the working mechanism subsided, I was actually suprised to see myself in one piece. I gave a loud, relieved sigh as I felf tension leaving my body, deciding that it was the right place to take a short break.
I took out my lunch and started chewing at it, looking absent-mindely on the candle flames. What was that kept them from burning away, I wondered. But not like it mattered.
After my self-announced lunch break I continued my walk toward the glory... wait, that came out totally wrong, doesn't it? I was stepping down the stupid, old stairs that somehow stayed intact in a place like this, fighting the idiotic mutant rats. But the worst was just to come, like it always did.
Why? Well, mainly because after tumbling down the stairs painfully, I found myself face-to-jaws with the biggest spider I have seen so far. The beast was twice as high as me, and many times more dangerous.
All I had time to do was to roll away from it, and spring to my feet as soon as possible. The enourmous arachnid saw me moving with its giant, disgusting eyes, and followed my every move with them, getting more and more close to me. I ducked on the left, and regreted for a moment my choice of weapon. With a longsword, I could possibly hope to hack the creature's legs before it even came close to me.
Starting to run, I strained every left bit of my self-control, making a gesture summoning a small flame to my oustretched hand. I told a short prayer and focused my whole attention on the beast, raining fire at it's enormous limbs. I managed to escape it's efforst to catch me, and luckily enough, even that monster was lying at my feet, twitching in agony. I might never again use a spell against another human creature, but for a degeneration like this, I was sure it deserved every inch of pain I could cause to it, and I didn't care in the slighestif I was right or wrong.
"Hey, you there! Help me!" I heard a muffled scream from the other side of the hall, and was reminded about the golden claw's thief. I surely took my sweet time, searching the room for anything of worth.
"Free me! Now!" the man demanded, still tangled in the spider web by the time I took my interest in him.
Without a word, I burned through the sticky threads, making the man fall on his knees. In the matter of moments the dark elf started getting rid of the remnants of the disgusting substance, then took a long look at me.
"You doesn't actually think that I'm going to share the tearsure with anybody, do you?" he mocked me, and begun running.
I was prepared for this, but this sudden outburst took me offguard anyway.
I followed him as quick as I could, but the man was faster. He dissapeared behind the corned, and before I coud catch up with him, the dried out corpse came into my way.
Draugrs. Just fine.
I dodged the hit of his rusty sword and blazed him with fire. The body with no water in it that could possibly stop the magical flame burned fast, leaving only weapons lying before me on the floor.
And then I heard a loud click, followed by even louder scream.
Wonderful, my day was getting better with every passing moment. The bloody fool I tried to save just managed to get himself killed.
I just wondred that he haven't hissed "My precioussss!" while dying.
After almost stepping in the same trap that killed the poor guy, getting rid of more undead, and checking every passed corpse with fire to not get suprised with my attention turned somewhere else, I found myself in front in another thing from my worst nightmares.
The mechanical blades. Four of them, situated on the distance much longer that I could get through in the safe amount of time. I just wished that I did this mission after obtaining the Whirlwind Shout, but reprimanded myself momentarily. That one came after the one I was currently chasing. Now I really coud do nothing more but pray.
And pray I did. I took a deep breath to calm myself, and as soon as I saw blades pass each other, I launched into run.
...and it worked. Oh, gods, it worked! I was so happy that I threw my backpack on the ground and started hugging it franctically. Oh, gods, I made it alive! Oh, how I wish that there was anyone else that I could embrace, who would hug me back and laugh with me!
...but for that I'd have to wait a little, wouldn't I? I smirked to myself, satisfied with the thought, my breathing calming down slowly.
When I was able to finally walk straight once againg, I continued my eventful journey.
And of course, I get myself in trouble once again. I walked straight at a resstles draugr, who awaited me with a sword in its hands. I was lucky enough that with the state of his armament he could barely bruise me with it, but the dangerous flame in his eyeholes reminded me why I should be afraid.
He wasn't as easy to defeat as his brothers and sisters and the hint of intelligence in his blue gaze told me that he knew how to make use of his previous mage's skills. He raised his hand to smite me with the lighting, but I was faster than the dead man. I stuck my knife in the middle of his palm and jumped away, raining fire on the paper-like muscles. And again and again, untill I've been sure that I can safely take back my darkened weapon.
Of course that wasn't the last of the trials I had to take today. Oh, no. After stepping into the inner sanctuary, as I called the place myself, I was met with another challenge. Or rather, met again with the one of the worst challenges I had ecountered this far.
Hello again, axe-trap. You missed me, didn't you, dear? Bitch.
I was at my ends. The only thing that I knew anymore was that I had to get out from that hell alive. I tried my best to feel the best possible moment to start running, but when I felt an unimaginable pain in my back I knew I failed. Huh. They told you about a luck that a new gambler has their first time, didn't they?
I sat on the floor, seeing stars in the darkness. A fascinating constelations indeed, changing colors and spinning around... what! What are you thinking about, you stupid wench! Drag your bloody hands to your belt, good, exactly like this, now uncork the bottle, yes, good gir, lift it to your lips... Oh come on, try a little harder, you know you can do this...
With the each sip of the healing potion, the darknes subsided and the pain returned, to the point in which I could barely think. Luckily enough, another two potions made it into the bearable ache, distracting but dull.
When I was finally able to move, I looked around. I was sitting in the pool of my own blood. That thought made me sick, so I rushed away, to stop looking at the disturbing image.
I was really happy that the floor was pretty much even, and that I wasn't confronted with another real challenge right away. I saw the infamous Bleak Falls Barrows' door puzzle, that so many people had a problem with passing. I leaned at the door for support and started moving the metal circles to the right positions.
I breathed a sight of relief when everything went well for once. The gate opened, Showing the Hall of Heroes - the magnificent cave, half-poured in water coming from the waterfall going down next to platform that looked like altar.
Something pushed me closer, not even a flock of bats flying over my head in panic stopping me in my way towards the heart of the tomb. As I climbed the dusty, old stairs, I could hear echo of voices of many calling me, urging me closer, to reveal some dangerour and magnificent secret, both blessing and curse.
I came closer, my vision darkening again, my gaze fixed on the blue, flaming letters, burning them into my subconsciousness. Then I felf my brain snap, and reform, creating some unimaginable void in my soul - the place for the full understanding of the feeling I had just experienced, and which name was Fus - the Strenght, the Force.
I hadn't even time to get up from my knees when I heard the tomb's lid shifting, and I knew already what I was going to see turning around.
The draugr sovereign, the one dead in this tomb that could use the Voice - and was as trapped there as me, if I were to fall in that fight.
I sprang to my feet with a knife in one, and the flame in other hand. I looked so pitful, compared to the big undead, strong and faithful even in death. He took the swing with his sparkling greatsword, and the only thing I sould do to avoid being killed was to run away as a coward. Who I was, to face such a hero of old?
But I could. I knew I could. Something in me screamed that I was the importand one, him being dead and insignificant. And then I did the most crazy thing I did since coming there. I turned around and charged at the draugr, knocking him down and rolling away to get to my feet before he coud.
I was no trash, to be despised, even by myself. I could be a rug, but I was MY rug, and nobody was going to change it.
Before I knew what happened, the sovereign was lying on my feet, dead again. I only hoped he could get to the Sovngarde, after all the time that passed.
Once I recovered from the initial shock... I got even more shocked at the way I reacted just mere moments ago. That wasn't myself, not the one I knew. And then I remembered what the Whitebeard said in the game. The moment you get the word, the word begins to be a part of you.
Does that was a meaning of Strenght? To be a master of the situation, to be sure of yourself, and proud of being what you are?
I shuddered. I didn't wanted to become someone else and forget myself just because some dragon or a petty old man said so. But did I actually have a choice?
The growl coming from the depths under the cave snapped me back to the reality. I got away from the place as fast as I could, wishing I could leave behind things I experienced there as well.
When I walked out on the open air, it was already a night. I was returning to the Rivewood virtually on my knees, bend both under the burden of the valuable loot and newly gained responsibility.