Chapter 42: Traveling with the twin cousins

[30thof Rain's Hand4thof Second Seed 4E 202]

Traveling with the two girls turned out to be a lot of fun. Glacier did not talk much, but when she opened her mouth, her words were well articulated and usually quite helpful and considerate. Marine, on the other hand, sometimes did not stop babbling, and frequently even cursed, which I did not like at all. I admonished her and clearly stated that I did not approve of cursing, and she replied: "What do you care – you are not my Dad!"

I had to tell her that while I wasn't, I still had a choice whom to select as travel companions, and if she wanted to travel with us, she'd have to show some restraint. That helped at least most of the time.

From Riften, we took the scenic road on the southern shore of Lake Honrich again, passing 'Snow-Shod Farm' and the bridge to 'Goldenglow Estate', traveling in the wonderful eternal Riften autumnal forest. When we passed the bridge, Marine asked with a smirk:

"Have you heard anything about a fire destroying three bee hives over there lately?"

I looked at her and replied: "Yes, indeed, some months ago something like that was reported, and rumors have it that the Thieves Guild may have been involved. I guess you know something about it?"

Marine nodded and grinned, which caused me to ask:

"Don't tell me that you had something to do with it?"

Marine grinned even more: "Maybe, maybe not" but refused to go into details.

When we moved on and saw a small group of deer in the distance, very close to the road, I tentatively asked:

"Glacier, I think that Marine mentioned earlier that you know how to handle a bow. Is that correct?"

Glacier replied: "I am not good with blades at all, but yes, I know how to use a bow. Would you allow me to get one of those deer?"

"Yes", I replied, "that was what I had in mind – we can take the meat with us for lunch or dinner. T'mara, would you lend your bow to Glacier, please?"

My wife handed her bow over to the young girl; she took it, prepared it, and slowly sneaked closer to the small flock of deer. At a reasonable distance she stopped and shot one arrow. The arrow hit a deer, but the animal was not dead yet and bolted. However, as it was severely wounded, it did not get far, and we soon caught up and killed it. Glacier returned the bow and said that the bow she had practiced with was lighter and that she needed more practice with this one.

"Not a problem", T'mara offered, "when we get to our home, I will pick a proper bow for you, and I know a few people who will assist in training you."

Soon we had passed the bridge where we had met the lone highwayman on the day before and proceeded in westerly direction. I had planned for us to get to Ivarstead today and stay there for the night, so that we could spend the next day crossing the hills. We took a small detour to 'Heartwood Mill' to say 'Hi' to Grosta and Gralnach, and we helped for a few minutes chopping wood. An hour or so later we ate a quick lunch opposite from 'Treva's Watch', and we all tried to find out how many bandits we could identify in the small fortress. T'mara saw more than we did, but she had her superb Khajiit eyes.

When the girls confirmed that they were ready to move on, we continued walking and enjoying the scenery and the nice weather. When the next attack happened in form of a small pack of wolves, we let the girls handle it. Marine managed quite nicely, but Glacier almost panicked when one wolf got close to her, and she received a deep bite in her right leg, making her cry with pain. She was too shocked to heal herself, so that T'mara did this for her. T'mara asked:

"How did you manage to survive Skyrim so far, if even a small pack of wolves gets you into trouble? What do you do when you encounter more dangerous animals, like a saber cat or a bear or two?"

"Well', Glacier admitted timidly, "we stayed in the cities most of the time, and when traveling, we either saved money for a carriage or joined a Khajiit caravan."

Yes, that explained the issue. While we talked a little more about the girls' earlier adventures, we soon hit the junction where we had to turn right from the main road towards Ivarstead. Once we had passed a small hill and approached the bridge leading into the town, Ivarstead was visible across the bridge, and Glacier sighed theatrically:

"Oh yes, the start of the seven thousand steps, leading up to the reclusive Greybeards in the legendary place known as High Hrothgar. I do envy you, you know, to have climbed the steps and visited the Greybeards..."

"Hey, you sound almost like Jarl Balgruuf now!" my wife laughed. "But seriously, if you want to go up at some time, we can do this together, although I doubt that you would like the snow, the cold, and the howling winds up there."

Glacier shivered and said: "Good point; if you want to go, I will wait in a cozy inn somewhere, preferably close to a fireplace!"

Wilhelm, the innkeeper, was visibly delighted to see us again, and when he noticed that we had two young girls with us, he smiled and said: "More milkdrinkers, I guess?"

Marine shouted at him: "Hey, no reason to insult us!" and then she looked at me and asked: "Aren't you offended by his statement?"

"Is that because he calls us 'milkdrinkers'?", I asked. "No, not at all. We have met Wilhelm quite a few times already, and we know each other. From him, this is not an offending remark at all, but rather some kind of joke. By the way, what are you going to drink? At your age, certainly not ale or mead, I hope!"

Turning to Wilhelm, I asked: "Which kind of drinks do you have for the girls? Juniperberry juice or snowberry juice maybe?"

Marine opted for the snowberry juice, while Glacier also got milk, like us. We were able to get two rooms, and we offered the deer meat we had with us to Wilhelm, provided he was willing to prepare part of it for us. We were still in mid afternoon, so that there as time enough to get started, and he took the deer into the kitchen right away.

For the next hour or so we walked around outside and took the tour through the town. We went to the bridge leading to the steps towards 'High Hrothgar', glimpsing up and admiring the view, with the steps disappearing into the clouds. We visited the 'Fellstar Farm' and talked with the farmer couple about the crops and their daughter's latest plans for life, and we chatted with Klimmek, who was still occasionally providing supplies to the Greybeards. While slowly walking around, Glacier asked:

"Have you ever pondered the fact that Klimmek apparently carries supplies up every month or so and is still alive?"

"What do you mean?" I asked back.

"Well, when you went up, which kind of dangerous animals did you encounter?"

"There were a few ice wolves, an occasional ice wraith, and this nasty frost troll on the overhang."

"Yes, exactly. And you went up together, didn't you?"

"Yes we did, but what's your point?"

"T'mara and you are young and strong, and you have had to fight your way up at least a few times. Klimmek is old and not very strong – how does he manage to get up there every month and not even show severe injuries?"

I thought about that and had to admit that she had a point:

"Good point, actually – I had not thought abut that. Maybe he has a charm keeping all beasts away from him, something with an effect like calm or 'Kyne's peace'?"

Glacier looked surprised and responded: "Yes, maybe it's something like that, indeed."

"Look, the Greybeards rely on somebody to bring up supplies. It would make sense for them to provide some kind of protection for their most loyal supplier, wouldn't it?"

"Got a point there, indeed!" Marine cut in. "Most be like that or one of those frigging Skyrim weird thingies."

When dusk was upon us, we went back to the inn and enjoyed our venison dinner, cooked from the deer we had taken with us. Both Marine and Glacier had to admit that it was prepared very well and complimented Wilhelm on his cooking. After dinner we sat together for an hour or so in the taproom, exchanging stories with Wilhelm, until we got tired enough to retire to our rooms.

At breakfast on the next day the two girls came out of their room later than we did, but of course they were younger and needed their sleep. We promised Wilhelm to show up again sooner or later and took the road south to soon turn right towards the taller hills. Before the road got into the snow area, though, Marine walked off road to the right, heading directly towards the lonely 'Alchemist Shack' which T'mara and I had also seen a long time ago. When I asked Marine why she took the detour, she replied:

"Just wanted to check if it looks like it does in the game. It kind of does, but it still makes me sad to find a journal indicating that somebody was probably killed."

"Yes", I agreed, "I feel the same. Let us hope that we never stop feeling something when people die!"

Soon after getting into the hills we saw a small group of Imperials fighting a troop of Stormcloaks, but they did not pay any attention to us, so that we managed to pass them without incident. Glacier asked:

"Have you decided yet if you will take the Imperial side or rather the Stormcloak side? Have you pondered the advantages and disadvantages each side will provide, or do you go by gut feeling on that?"

T'mara looked at me, unsure on how to answer, and I replied for her:

"No, we have not yet really decided that. On one hand, the Imperials almost executed my wife at Helgen, although this does not necessarily reflect overall Imperial attitude, but just the acting of a few of them, misguided by the Thalmor. But the Imperials represent the legal government, backed by the Cyrodiilic empire. On the other hand, Ulfric seems to have good and commendable intentions, such as making Talos worship legal again, but he seems to be quite a racist, discriminating against Dunmer and Argonians. For the time being at least we prefer to stay neutral."

"Good choice" Marine put in, "although I usually took one side quickly when I played. This always gave me the opportunity to kill and loot people without getting a bounty."

When she saw the worried look in T'mara's eyes she quickly added: "Do not worry, I only did this when playing. My real life attitude is different, believe me!"

A couple of hours later we approached Helgen, and when we got close, T'mara and I chose the narrow path circumventing the town on the northeastern side rather than facing the bandits who had occupied the place by now, as usual. When we walked downhill towards Riverwood later on, Glacier started to talk:

"I may be mistaken about that, but there is a good chance that the bandits in Helgen are not real bandits, but just people pretending to be bandits. Their real motivation may actually be honorable, and it might be somewhat worthwhile to talk to them."

"Well", I replied, not even bothering to ask why she might suspect that, "if they pretend to be bandits, they will not want to talk to us, right?"

"Yes, true", Glacier admitted, "but if I am right, you will find a guy called 'Marcus Jannus' in the inn in Falkreath. Just check next time you are in Falkreath, and if he is there, you got a starting point just by talking to him. If you cannot find him there, it's either the wrong time or this event does not happen here."

A couple of hours later we got close Riverwood, and Glacier started to sigh: "It's so nice to finally be here in Riverwood. This is such a quaint town, and almost nothing ever happens here, except for Delphine of course..."

She looked at us, unsure how to proceed, and I confirmed with a smile: "Yes, we know about Delphine, and I guess we don't tell you something you don't know already by saying that she is a Blade."

While passing through the village, we met the Bosmer Faendal; T'mara and I greeted him and exchanged a few words. Later on, once we had crossed the bridge north of Riverwood, Glacier asked:

"Did you have this issue about both Faendal and Sven courting Camilla and trying to write fake letters?"

T'mara shrugged her shoulders, not knowing what the girl talked about, but I laughed and replied: "I know what you mean, yes. This was years before I met my wife, and yes, both Faendal and Sven wanted me to give Camilla fake letters to win her over. I collected both letters and told Camilla the truth. Nowadays they are all good friends again, but none of them managed to win her heart, at least as far as I know."

Marine grinned and asked me: "Were you never tempted to go for her? She is quite pretty, isn't she?"

I laughed and responded: "Oh, tempted I was, true, a few times. But although she really is pretty, my heart never spoke."

Glacier sighed again: "When I played the game, I always decided in favor of Faendal. He looks so handsome, and I enjoyed getting him as follower early on. I used to have him improve my archery skill and, well, I liked to have him around."

While talking about the various residents of Riverwood, we soon reached the small bridge which lead to Riverside Lodge, and we lead the girls over. Outside we already met Jordis, who was currently here together with Iona and maintaining the place for us; she was happy to see us. The two girls seemed to recognized her, greeted her by name and then turned towards T'mara and me:

"Meeting Jordis here means that one of you managed to become Thane of Solitude – right?"

I smiled and replied: "True, and inside you will also meet Iona from Riften; they currently take care of the house for us."

As the weather was pleasant, we sat down with Iona and Jordis on the nice porch around the table, and Iona served a wonderful supper. Glacier sighed:

"You know, this is nice and relaxing here – I wish I could stay for a few days and rest!"

T'mara smiled: "Yes, this is quite a nice home, and I am glad that you like it. You know, we are not on a tight schedule, and there is no reason for us to start traveling to Winterhold tomorrow. Actually, I am a little curious about the guy who might wait in Falkreath for us, and I am tempted to check this out."

I commented: "Hm – maybe we could detour to Falkreath for a few days, with Glacier staying here. She needs warmer clothes anyway, and I am sure that Iona and Jordis can help her find something. Marine, would you also like to stay or would you rather go to Falkreath with us?"

Marine had already made her decision: "There is is no frigging way I am going to miss Marcus in Falkreath. I want to see how he looks in reality, and if you don't mind, I will be coming with you for sure. Glacier and I are almost exactly the same size – she can pick a few warm clothes for me as well."

Once I had warned Marine – again – about her choice of words when she was with us, T'mara confirmed and summarized:

"Then this is settled. Marine, Tim, and myself will leave tomorrow after breakfast, and we should be back a few days later. Iona, Jordis, please help Glacier find proper furs for herself and her twin cousin – she is welcome to help herself to our spares, and we don't want to her to freeze to death when we travel north again."

The next morning saw the three of us happily marching south again. In order to get to Falkreath, T'mara and I had decided to take a shortcut by first walking towards Lake Ilinalta, and then hike south from the shore to meet the main road again close to 'Pinewatch'; this allowed us to skip Helgen for now.

Marine was again quite talkative, and while we were walking, she told us some stories from her earlier life, away from Nirn. We did not really understand everything, specifically when she started to talk about 'phones' and 'cars' and 'computers' and other stuff like that. However, she had a funny and entertaining way of talking, and we reached Pinewatch without being bored a single time. Just after Pinewatch, though, the overpass further down the road was taken over by bandits again, as we could see when looking ahead from a distance. I sighed and told my companions:

"I simply do not understand why the Jarl of Falkreath tolerates bandits so close to this city. Let me handle that with my crossbow."

This being said, I quickly killed the two visible bandits with crossbow bolts, so that we could pass unhindered, soon walking down towards the city of Falkreath. Same as most other places in Skyrim, of course it did not really earn being called a 'city', despite being the main settlement in Falkreath Hold. We entered the local inn 'Dead Man's Drink' and asked the innkeeper if she had seen a man calling himself 'Marcus Vannus'. She nodded and told us that this man had arrived few days ago and seemed to be staying in his room most of the time. We knocked at the door and entered the room, seeing Marine smiling – obviously she recognized him.

When he looked at us with raised brows, T'mara hastened to explain:

"Let me introduce us. The girl is Marine, the big Nord is Timotheus, my husband, and I am called T'mara. It just so happened that people call me Dragonborn as well. I have obtained some information telling me that you might be looking for me."

The man was quite confused now: "How is it possible that you know I might be looking for you when I have not even finished writing the letter I was about to hand over to a courier?"

"Well", I added, "the young girl here is some kind of seer, and sometimes she dreams of events which may happen in the future."

We had decided earlier that being a seer was a more plausible explanation than being not from Nirn and knowing abut Skyrim from some kind of game, and we wanted to stick to that story when talking to other people we did not know that well. Marcus Vannus looked like he was not sure if he should believe me:

"This is a rare gift. Can she also see where I would want to send the Dragonborn to?"

Marine smiled and nodded:

"Yes, she can. You want us to go to Helgen and try to find your old friend 'Valerius Tiberius'. He and you fought against the Thalmor before in Cyrodiil, and you suspect the bandits in Helgen to be he and his team."

Now Marcus' jaw was hanging down, and he was quiet for a few minutes, before he said:

"Nobody could have known that, so I guess that you're a kind of seer indeed. Are you guys willing to help me and go there?"

"That's what we are here for" T'mara agreed. "How will Valerius recognize that you sent us?"

Marcus Vannus replied:

"You can take my ring which Val will for sure recognize, and I will write a letter for him. Give me an hour or so to write the letter and come back, will you?"

We all nodded and left him to his task of writing the letter. Outside I looked at Marine and told her: "This is really amazing; it looks like this particular event is about to happen as you anticipated. Will this go on like that?"

Marine shrugged and replied: "Maybe, maybe not. Glacier is better educated in science than I am, and she told some time ago that even while some events start as planned, small changes can trigger deviations later on. For instance, a certain character may be supposed to defeat bandits, but stumbles by accident and gets himself killed. If that person had an integral part in some later task, things will likely happen in a different way. Thus, my predictions may sometimes be correct, but not so at other times, and we better don't rely on them."

That was much more refined speaking than what we were used to hear from the girl; maybe she had just repeated what Glacier had told her.

Slightly more than one hour later we returned to Marcus' room at the inn. He handed us his ring and the letter, and we happily walked in the direction of Helgen. A couple of hours later the southwestern gate was in front of us. While we managed to silently unlock and open it, we were quickly surrounded by grim looking men once we had entered the courtyard. One of them growled and told us:

"Coming here was the last mistake you'll ever make!"

I had to admit that the were quite good in their roles, as this was one of the standard phrases I had heard before from bandits. Sometimes I wondered if there was something like a 'Bandits Guild', and you could only become a member if you learned phrases like that one? Anyway, before I could reply properly, Marine shouted in a provocative way:

"Or it could be your last mistake instead!"

Just before the men were going to attack, I shouted out:

"Hold on – we need to talk to Valerius Tiberius!"

They hesitated, and the speaker replied angrily:

"There is no such person here in Helgen."

I continued:

"Yes, there is, and I have a letter from him as well as the ring from one of his best friends. He will want to read the letter!"

The closest 'bandit' was getting interested and asked to see the ring, and T'mara handed it over.

"By god", the bandit uttered, "who does the ring belong to?"

"We got it from a man who calls himself 'Marcus Vannus'", I told him.

The man was quiet for a few seconds, and then he told us:

"Follow us into the keep, and do not make any trouble – got me?"

A few flights of stairs down in the keep – T'mara told us excitedly that she recognized the area from the earlier events in Helgen – we met another man who took the ring and asked for the letter. When he had read the first few sentences, he dismissed his warriors, saying:

"The letter seems to be genuine, and judged by the way it is written it must be from my old friend Marcus, indeed. If he trusts those three, we can trust them as well. Dismissed!"

Ten minutes later Valerius had read the entire letter, and he sighed:

"This poor fool actually thinks that he needs to find me. But he may be right; the two of us should work together again."

Turning to us again, he said:

"Can you two do me a favor and bring Marcus here? I cannot leave right now, but he is welcome to come here. Thank you, by the way, for bringing his letter and ring to me."

We replied that we would gladly to this and returned to Falkreath right away. As it was already the beginning of the night, we quickly told Marcus what we had achieved and also took rooms for the night.

One day later Marcus seemed to be eager to get on the road, as we was already done with his breakfast when we just started eating. I tried to slow him down a little:

"Come on, man, walking to Helgen only takes a couple of hours; we will be there early enough to meet your friend!"

We did not allow ourselves to be hastened and took our time to enjoy what had been served by Narri, the inn's servant. On the road leading east out of Falkreath, we met a group of hunters who told us that a lone werewolf had been recently been seen in the hold. At first I thought about the Companions, but they were, as far as I knew, smart enough to not be seen, and they almost always hunted in pairs or larger groups.

Despite hiking uphill for most of the time, we walked quickly to keep up with Marcus, who showed a lot of stamina considering his advanced age. Soon enough we reached the gate to Helgen, where a couple of guards recognized us from the day before and guided us into the keep.

The greeting between Marcus and Valerius was quite a sight, and we were happy that we had contributed to that. Expecting that they'd need a long time to talk to each other, I suggested to my companions:

"Come on, let's leave them and go home; we are certainly not needed her any longer, at least for now. We can get back at a late time and see how they are doing."

As the day was still young, we went back to Riverside Lodge, where we found out that Glacier had been able to get proper winter clothes for herself and for her twin sister, assisted by Iona and Jordis.

[Author's Note: I am starting to add some content from the great mod 'Helgen Reborn' by Mike Hancho here; IMO this is one the best quest mods available for Skyrim and superbly done. Of course it is not really logical to find Marcus in Falkreath right at that time, but quite a few issues and events defy logic when one plays Skyrim.]