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Chapter 26 - Yssha's Day Off

The armor they'd left in the hallway had been cleaned and returned, so they were much more presentable when they went down to join the rest at breakfast. While they ate, they told the Jarl and others the full story of the previous day's battle. "And then we found a place where I was comfortable using a fast-travel spell my greats-grandmother taught me to return here. I could have used a Shout called Whirlwind Sprint, but I would have had to leave Marcurio behind."

"That explains a lot," Farengar said. "But why have you kept it a secret? I would love to know a Teleport spell."

"I am embarrassed to admit it, but I am not a good enough mage to be a teacher," Yssha said. "I have also not wanted to startle or frighten people by appearing or disappearing with no notice." She twitched her ears. "If I ever get time to visit the College of Winterhold, I am planning to get them to analyze how the spell works, so it can be taught."

Balgruuf frowned. "That might not be wise," he said. "Tell me, Dragonborn - what are the limitations on that spell?"

"Mostly that I must have been to anyplace I want to teleport to, and that I must have contact with anything or anyone I wish to take with me. Holding Marcurio's hand, for instance."

"Indoors and out?"

"Yes, my Jarl. It does not matter, as long as I have been there to get a mental picture of it."

Balgruuf scowled. "Then I must ask you not to have the spell analyzed. I know I cannot give the Dragonborn orders, and I trust you with that power, but I ask you to think about the tremendous security problems it would cause if it got out to those less honest and honorable."

Yssha thought about what could happen if, say, a necromancer got hold of that spell, or the Dark Brotherhood mage she'd killed, and shuddered. "You have made your point, my Jarl; I will not mention it to them. And I will remain as discreet as I may in how I use it myself. I was thinking about the convenience of it, not the risks."

"You are young, and you mentioned it to me before any harm was done," Balgruuf said, his scowl easing to a small smile. "Youth can forgive much enthusiasm, and none will find out about your spell from those of us here." He looked around the table. "You all understand that, of course." When he got nods and murmurs of assent, his smile grew. "Good. Now, Dragonborn, what do you have planned with the war over?"

"My next task is to visit High Hrothgar again, to see if the Greybeards know anything about the Shout the original Tongues used to defeat Alduin. I will leave soon, after I retrieve my coat. Even the inside of High Hrothgar is colder than comfortable for a Khajiit, and if I have to go outside, it is far worse."

"I think you need a day off, love," Marcurio said. "You've been fighting one thing or another practically every day since I've met you. And yesterday's battle was the worst yet."

"I agree," Balgruuf said.

"But Alduin - " Yssha protested.

"Can wait," the Jarl interrupted. "I know the young believe they are immortal and unstoppable, but you will do no one any good if you let yourself get worn to a nub. Healing and potions can do wonders for the body, but very little for the mind. Visit friends, have a few drinks, go see how your Lakeview Manor construction is coming, whatever will let you truly relax in mind and body."

Yssha looked thoughtful. Except for the constant jolting of the carriage, the story-telling on the trip to Markarth had been a pleasant change. And she knew the Jarl and Marcurio were right, despite what her sense of duty was telling her. "All right," she said. "Lakeview it is, then. But I get to keep the armor on, in case of bandits, wildlife, or Thalmor. Or a dragon."

Balgruuf laughed heartily. "Of course! If you're attacked, there's no choice about fighting."

Mentioning a dragon had reminded Yssha. "I found something day before yesterday I think you would like to see, my Jarl. If I may draw my sword?"

"You? Go right ahead." When she did, he looked intrigued. "An Akaviri katana, and enchanted, from the glow. Is it a named blade?"

"Yes, my Jarl. It is Dragonbane, and I am informed it does appreciably more damage to a dragon than most other weapons. It was lost from ancient times until the last two Blades and I rediscovered and opened Sky Haven Temple."

"So you aren't the only one from legend showing up these days," the Jarl said with a grin. "Dragonbane and Sky Haven Temple, along with two Blades who've survived the Thalmor ever since the Great War. You've ended our civil war; what will you do next, turn the dragons friendly?"

Yssha's ears twitched. "I fear that is not possible, my Jarl, judging from the ones I have fought. I respect them very much as opponents, but they have shown very little potential for anything but hostility."

"You're probably right. But it still wouldn't surprise me too much if you managed it."

"We shall see, if I ever find one who will talk instead of attacking immediately."

"I see what you mean." Balgruuf stood, and everyone else followed suit. He headed for his throne, and Yssha followed Farengar to his workshop. "I am weak in enchanting, as yet, which you know. But I will learn, and I would like any advice you are willing to offer on how to do so."

Farengar smiled. "Firstly, collect any soul gems you can find or afford. The mace I enchanted for you will take care of filling them appropriately." He hesitated before going on. "That includes black ones, since you'll be going against bandits and other intelligent creatures on a regular basis. Yes, I know some say all trapped souls are sent to the Soul Cairn when the gem they're in is dissipated by being used. Others say the Soul Cairn is only for necromancers and maybe the ones who are neither good enough for Aetherius, nor evil enough for Oblivion, with other trapped intelligences ending up where they were originally bound. No one has returned from any of those places, so it's impossible to know. But I think the second makes more sense."

"Since the Divines are just, and the Daedric Princes notoriously jealous of what they claim, I must agree. Is there more?"

"Get as much training as you can afford, but the most important thing is practice. Enchant everything you can find and have the soul gems for. I'll give you a list of what enchantments on which items merchants are willing to pay the most for. Then use the money to buy more soul gems." Farengar smiled. "Or if you want a custom enchantment, or one you don't know yet, I'll be happy to trade for something that advances my dragon research."

"I will keep that in mind."

At that, he seemed to dismiss her from his mind, turning to his alchemy lab, so she left, amused. Farengar seemed to be as obsessive about his magic and dragon research as she was about eliminating Alduin.

They left Dragonsreach, going down to the plaza surrounding the dead tree, where she found the Temple of Kynareth's priestess sitting on a bench. Yssha bowed politely, but didn't say anything, since it looked like the priestess had something to ask, and she was already having problems keeping track of what she'd promised to do.

She bought some potions from Arcadia, getting a few pointers on alchemy, then went further down the road, past Breezehome, to Warmaiden's, where Adrianne hailed her. "Yssha! We have a breakthrough - come look!"

On her workbench was a grayish-white cuirass, and Yssha let out a brief yowl of glee. "You did it! You managed to work dragonbone!"

Adrianne grinned. "With Arcadia's help, I certainly did. You would not believe the weird concoction it took! But it worked, and with Arcadia's brew, it's not much harder than Daedric to forge. Stronger than the scale armor I'm still working on for you, but enough heavier I wouldn't recommend it for a Khajiit."

"Do you need more scales for mine?" Yssha asked.

"No, just maybe another day," Adrianne replied. "And some more Daedric arrows, if you come across them. That dragonscale is bloody hard to put holes in!"

"I shall certainly keep you in mind, if I find any. Now, what do I owe you for the cuirass? And do you need more bone?"

"Call it a thousand. That's less than half what I'll be charging anyone else, but I used up three bones experimenting and learned some new techniques, which are easily worth the rest of the money. No, I don't need any more bones for the rest of Marcurio's set, just a couple of days now that I know how to work it. But I'll buy any bones and scales you don't need." Adrianne grinned happily. "At least for now, I'm the only source for dragon armor, and I'd like to keep it that way as long as I can."

Yssha purred. "I can understand that. I will not sell them to any other smith, but I would like to learn how to work the bone myself, when I have improved my smithing enough."

"Sounds good to me. Once you learn to work Daedric, I'll teach you how to work the bone. Once you can make regular scale, you'll know all you need to make the dragonscale."

"Excellent. We will take the cuirass now, and pick up mine tomorrow."

"It'll be waiting."

So they left the city carrying Marcurio's new cuirass, teleporting to near Lakeview Manor as soon as they were out of sight. Yssha was glad she'd taken that precaution when they approached the building itself, because it was swarming with workers erecting wall framing. She was greeted with some cheer by several of them before they went back to work. It didn't take her long to find Rayya, who was directing the work, at a carpenter's workbench.

"Welcome, Dragonborn!" Rayya said. I'm glad you were able to stop by. We're making good progress, better than it looks. The foundation, cellar, and floor are done, so things will speed up. But it would help if you can give me some idea of any additions you might want to make later, so we can plan for doors before the walls go up."

Yssha joined her, looking at plans for some suggested additions. "Since this is to be my primary home, the bedroom and kitchen most definitely. I would also like a smithy." She studied the suggested plans a bit more, then took a piece of charcoal. "The main hall is to have two stories, if I remember correctly?"

"You do," Rayya said. "Why?"

"Because I would like to combine some of these plans. The bedroom, kitchen, armory, and trophy rooms are all single story designs, so I think they can be combined with other plans, adding a second story. Like this, perhaps."

She began sketching. "Here, above the kitchen, the top floor of the alchemy laboratory. On the other side, above the bedroom, the top part of the enchantry. And stack the armory above the trophy room. Can that be done?"

Rayya nodded. "As long as we plan it that way now, it shouldn't be a problem. And expand the balconies on the two towers to cover the entire ceiling area, so you have a roofed upper deck, and don't lose the view the towers give."

"Yes, that would work. What do you think, love?"

Marcurio had been watching as the women sketched, and he laughed. "I like it. It's a lot more than we need now, but I'm sure we'll grow into it later. You could probably put a smithy in part of the cellar, and use the rest for storage or whatever."

Most smithies were outdoors, but that would mar the beautiful view, so Yssha nodded. "That would work, I think. A smelter as well, but that should remain outside, perhaps behind a screen of trees."

She turned to Rayya. "I would like to see the cellar, please."

"Follow me." The steward led the way to a trap door, and they went down the ladder to the cellar. It had sconces, which Rayya lit, showing them around. The cellar was two rooms, empty except for the sconces. Yssha studied them, then made her decision. "Yes, the smithy can go in back. The trap door should probably be enlarged, or an external entry added, to make it easier to get materials in and forged items out."

"The latter would be best," Marcurio said. "There looks like room on either side of the original house for one of those angled cellar doors a lot of people in Cyrodiil have. I haven't seen any here, but they're simple enough to make, and if it's metal, the heat from the forge when it's in use should keep it clear of snow."

"I've seen those," Reyya said. "It would've been simpler to put in when the cellar itself was built, but it shouldn't be a real problem to add it now."

Back upstairs, Yssha and Marcurio went into the little house, and she cat-grinned at him. "Why not get into your new armor, love? We need to know if it fits, so if it does not, we can get Adrianne to make modifications."

"I was just waiting for some privacy," Marcurio said, shedding his orcish cuirass and putting on the dragonplate. He shrugged it into place, tightened a couple of straps, and smiled at her. "It's fine, love. She must've taken measurements from my old armor or something."

"I am glad." Then Yssha changed the subject. "How is our financial situation, beloved? Do we need to do some dungeon runs, or are we in good enough shape that I can continue the quest to defeat Alduin?"

"Between what Lydia's sold for us, what the porter service brings in, and your Legion pay, we have about twenty thousand. We need to leave some of that with Rayya for construction expenses, but I'd say we can afford to continue the fight, even after paying for two sets of armor."

"Good," Yssha said. "If we give her ten, we will be left with as much as I had with my stipend."

"The porter service is a pretty reliable average of two hundred a day, and your Legion pay just got doubled, so we could probably give her fifteen without shorting ourselves. That part's up to you."

Yssha looked at him dubiously. "You think my pay will continue, with the war over?"

"I don't see why it wouldn't," Marcurio replied. "When he swore you in, Tullius said it was for life, remember? And the war here may be over, but it's only a matter of time till the Aldmeri Dominion starts another one."

"Both good points," Yssha conceded. "So we need not worry about day-to-day expenses, and I do want this house completed as quickly as may be. On the other hand, if Adrianne has enough bone to make weapons after finishing your armor, we should get those. So we give Rayya ten, and hope possible weapons do not take all of the rest."

"And this orcish cuirass," Marcurio added. "I don't need it any longer, and she's only in steel. She's protecting our home-to-be, so I want her as well protected as we can manage."

Yssha nodded agreement, then opened the door to call Rayya. When the Redguard joined them, Marcurio gave her the gold and the orcish cuirass. She thanked him, admiring the armor, then promised Yssha to send a courier to Dragonsreach when the main hall was finished and the small house converted to its entryway.

Satisfied with both the progress and the promise, the two wandered down to Lake Ilinalta to look around for a while before 'porting back to Whiterun.