"There are no wrong turnings. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk." Guy Gavriel Kay
Chapter X
The city of Riften was quiet as Sylvana made her way to Helga's Bunkhouse. She looked both directions before opening the door. It had been more than a month since the Nord had last seen her friend Haj to ask him to track down the mysterious man known as Luke. Helga looked up from the desk and a frown graced her face. "Sylvana, what are you doing here?" she asked. "Do Keerava and Talen-Jei know that you're here?"
"Good evening Helga," Sylvana greeted. "No, they don't know that I'm here, but I was wondering if Haj is here?"
"Yes, the Argonian is here," Helga said, a hard line forming at her lips. "He's in the room upstairs that has the door closed. Let him know that he needs to pay me this time before he leaves!"
"Thank you," Sylvana said meekly, a blush coming to her face.
Helga gave Sylvana a tilt of her head to get the her moving and Sylvana complied. She hustled up the stairs and looked for the room that had the door closed. She eventually found it and paused outside with her hand raised to knock. Her blush returned with a vengeance as the rhythmic sound of flesh hitting flesh and moans hit her ears. Sylvana lowered her hand to the knob and quickly decided to open the door and slip in. She quickly averted her eyes to avoid the sight of her friend Haj laying on top of a beautiful Imperial woman.
The Argonian, with blue scales so dark that they appeared black, looked over his left shoulder and his crest rose in recognition. His hips moved a couple more times before he stilled and let out a loud groan as the Imperial whimpered beneath him. "You can look now, Sylvana," a deep voice with a slight hissing sound.
Sylvana looked up to see the dark scaled Argonian looking at her with an amused expression on his face. "I'm sorry for interrupting, Haj, but I heard that you were back in town," Sylvana said softly.
Haj linked his hands behind his head and leaned back further against the headboard. Sylvana briefly let her gaze wander over the exposed torso of the Argonian male. Haj smirked and asked, "Like what you see?"
Sylvana's blush deepened and she quickly averted her eyes once again. "Where you able to find him?" she asked, avoiding the question.
Haj's crest rose slightly and his gaze hardened. "No, I was unable to find the man that you described to me," he answered. "I went all over the Rift in order to try and find him. The last place he was seen in the Rift was Shor's Stone giving an ore sample to Filnjar, he disappeared after that. At least per my sources."
Sylvana opened her mouth to ask about something but promptly closed it as the Imperial woman got out of bed and dressed. "I have a feeling that I shouldn't be listening in on this conversation," the woman said simply. She turned her gaze to Haj and stated, "I'll see you tonight, handsome."
"Indeed you will," purred Haj with a lustful glint in his light blue eyes.
After the Imperial woman left, Sylvana gave the Argonian a soft look. "I've missed your company Haj," she said quietly.
Haj rolled his eyes and replied, "You wouldn't have had to go without my company if you hadn't sent me on a pointless chase across the Rift for the past month."
"So your, sources, haven't been able to find anything about him either?" Sylvana asked, going back to business.
"Would you stop changing subjects on me," whined Haj. "It's getting a tad confusing trying to follow your thought patterns!"
"Sorry," said Sylvana sheepishly.
"Hmm," grunted Haj. "So what will it be? Business or pleasure?"
A steely glare left Sylvana's eyes and pinned Haj to the bed. "Really?" she demanded. "Those are the words you're going to go with?"
Haj shrugged his shoulders and leaned further back against the headboard. "Words are words, without action they don't mean anything," the Argonian simply said.
"Then let's discuss business, shall we?" grumbled Sylvana.
Haj let out a laugh and shook his head. "Alright, let's get down to business then," he said mirthfully. "For starters, you owe me one hundred and twenty septims for this little job."
"One hundred and twenty!" exclaimed Sylvana. "We agreed on eighty!"
"The eighty was supposed to be for two weeks," Haj pointed out. "I was out there for a whole month."
"And who's fault is that?"
"Well, not mine," Haj said with a smile. "You explicitly told me that you didn't want to see my face until I had some answers on who this Luke guy is."
"So do you have any answers on who and where he's come from?" queried Sylvana a bit impatiently.
"All my sources came back with the same information," Haj said quietly. "This guy doesn't exist anywhere."
"What!?" cried Sylvana.
"High Rock has no information, more specifically Northpoint where he claimed to be from," Haj said, a hard look coming to his eyes. "Hammerfell didn't have anything either, same with Morrowind, the Summerset Isles, Elsweyr, and Black Marsh. This man clearly does not exist."
"Could your sources be wrong?" asked Sylvana.
"They've never been wrong in the past," answered Haj. "I had them check for any alias' that he might've had in the past, everything came up with the same answer."
"But…but this doesn't make any sense!"
"I know," Haj said softly. "What if… what if your sister was actually right for a change?"
Sylvana hugged herself and replied, "That's a possibility that I don't want to think about. Because if she's right this time around, what else has she been right about?" Sylvana let out a shuttered breath and asked, "Have your sources turned anything else up?"
"Oddly enough, there's a new Harbinger for the Companions," answered Haj. "Kodlak Whitmane has died. The bandit dens around Whiterun have also been cleansed, and this has happened in the span of a month."
"Maybe that's the reason you couldn't find anything in the Rift, any trail!" exclaimed Sylvana excitedly. "He's gone to Whiterun!"
Haj shook his head and replied, "Becoming the Harbinger in most likely less than a month seems impossible! It doesn't make any sense for that to have happened, from what little information we have about this Luke, he doesn't like to resort to violence. Why would he have gone to the Companions if that is the case?"
Sylvana slumped in defeat. "Do you think I'm insane for trying to figure out who he is?" she asked softly.
"Slightly," answered Haj truthfully. "Curiosity has always been one of your stronger traits ever since I've known you, and it is admirable," the Argonian paused briefly, "However, I have a feeling that we should let this one remain a mystery."
Footsteps approached the Harbinger's quarters in a hurry. It was still early in the morning and Vilkas hoped that the Harbinger wasn't sleeping, but that was an unlikely scenario. Vilkas has never known someone that enjoyed sleeping so much, it also might have had to do with the fact that the Harbinger also cleansed himself of the beast blood and was enjoying a good night's sleep for the first time in a month.
The Nord stopped in front of the door and raised his arm hesitantly to knock. With a sigh, Vilkas knocked on the door a couple times calling for the Harbinger.
"Give me a moment," Vilkas heard the Harbinger call.
The sound of the covers rustling, followed by feet walking haphazardly towards the door. The door swung open and Vilkas was face to face with the Harbinger, a man that stood equal to his height with tired blue eyes. The man looked to be either an Imperial or a Breton, but it was hard to determine since he was loathe to discuss it. Black hair framed a handsome face and a trimmed goatee graced the man's face. The only thing that stood out on his face was a newly acquired scar beneath his right eye. "What is Vilkas?" the Harbinger asked through a yawn.
"There have been people asking about you, Harbinger," answered Vilkas.
"What kind of people?"
"Thalmor agents for starters, they've never been interested in the Companions before. People that we think belong to the Thieves Guild, again they've never cared for us either," answered the Nord. "And lastly we've had a couple couriers arrive with letters from different Jarls."
"Okay, anything else?"
"No, Harbinger," answered Vilkas. "That's all."
The Harbinger let out a sigh and looked Vilkas in the eyes. "How many times do I have to ask that you call me by my name, not Harbinger?" he asked.
"At least once more," Vilkas said somewhat affronted. "You hold a position of honor, it would be dishonorable to not address you by your title!"
"You addressed Kodlak by his name, did you not?"
"Aye, we did only after he kept insisting that we do."
"And what am I doing?" the Harbinger deadpanned.
Vilkas wilted a bit and said, "Exactly as Kodlak did, Luke."
"Thank you, Vilkas," Luke said with a small smile. "Now only if the rest of them would follow suit. I'm not above any of you, if anything I'm still trying to process why Kodlak picked me over anyone else in the circle."
"I'm sure that he had his reasons," Vilkas said.
"Any new jobs open up?" asked Luke.
"You want to go on a job?" asked Vilkas in disbelief.
"Yeah, I'm rested up and ready to go, it's been a couple days since I've gone anywhere."
"Do you not remember what happened last time you went out?" Vilkas asked in worry.
Luke waved it off and said dismissively, "The Saints and the Seducers won't bother me anymore, I'm pretty sure that I've taken care of all of them."
"As you say, Harbinger. To answer your question, no there haven't been any job requests lately."
Luke shrugged his shoulders and said, "Then I think I'll just go on an adventure, see more of what Skyrim has to offer."
"Best of luck, and may you find an honorable battle, friend," Vilkas said as he turned and walked away.
Luke closed the door and turned to the chest at the foot of his bed. He approached the chest and opened it to reveal a set of golden armor. Luke looked at the armor as the past month flashed forward into his mind. Truth be told, he was a bit disgusted at himself for the paths he was walking here in Skyrim. He never imagined that after he had gotten out of the military back home that he would be placed in situations where it was kill or be killed again. The part that he was most disgusted by was that there was a total lack of guilt for the lives he had taken in the time he found himself in this strange land. Killing animals or draugr didn't matter to him, in his mind, but it was strange to not feel the guilt of the people, beast fold, and elves he had killed.
With a sigh, Luke removed the armor from the chest and with a now practiced hand, donned the armor. He walked over to where his sword belt was resting and quickly strapped so that Dawnfang rested over his left hip. Luke placed a quiver full of steel arrows on his back, along with a glass bow he had purchased in his brief stay in Solitude. Luke winced at the memory that came unbidden to the forefront of his mind, nothing like witnessing an execution just as one walked into a city. He shook that memory away and grabbed Ysgramor's shield. He placed that on the same holster he had fashioned for his bow and set about making his bed.
Once his bed was made, Luke ventured out into Whiterun. He made his way over to Warmaidens and sold a couple of armor pieces that he didn't need. Adrianne was amongst the more fair traders when it came to prices that Luke had met so far, and she was a good smith. She was appraising a piece that Luke himself had made, a dwarven armor set and she looked him in the eyes. "Did Eorlund help you with this?" she asked.
"A little bit," admitted Luke. "I'm still trying to learn how to temper the metal better and my hammer work could be better."
"You're still improving my leaps and bounds where you were at a month ago when you first appeared in Whiterun," mused Adrianne. "I'll give you three hundred gold for the armor and one hundred for the sword you made."
"That works for me, thank you."
After completing the transaction, Luke made his way out of Whiterun and headed over to the stables. Bjorlam was waiting in his carriage. The Nord looked down at Luke and asked, "Need a ride?"
"Yeah, I'd like to hire your carriage please," Luke answered.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked.
"I'd like to go to Markarth please."
"That'd be twenty gold," Bjorlam said pleasantly. "Climb in back and we'll be off. Nice weather for a ride, let's hope it lasts."
After a two day carriage ride, Luke felt pretty sore. He cast a quick healing spell and let out a sigh of relief as the aches and pains faded away. "Where would be a good place to stay?" Luke asked Bjorlam.
"The Silver-Blood Inn," the carriage driver answered. "In fact, it's the only place to stay. Be careful in Markarth, Harbinger. The Silver-Bloods control everything!"
"Will do," promised Luke as he climbed out of the back of the carriage. "Thanks for the ride Bjorlam, have a safe journey back to Whiterun."
"Thank you, Harbinger," Bjorlam responded. "I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for here in the city."
Luke raised a hand in farewell as Bjorlam headed back East. I just need to find this Calcelmo and show him this dwarven arrow he so desperately wants, Luke thought to himself as he entered the city.
Luke found the Silver-Blood Inn and entered. He approached a man behind the counter and asked for a room for a couple of days. The man nodded and showed Luke to his room. Luke overheard a couple of patrons discussing a recent Forsworn attack and something about a dark crypt and a heart, whatever that meant.
Luke looked at the bed in disbelief and looked over to the innkeeper, who had a smirk on his face. "A stone bed?" Luke cried. "Seriously?"
"I take it this is the first time you've been in Markarth," the innkeeper said. "All the beds are made from stone. Enjoy your stay."
"Thanks, what's your name?" Luke asked.
"The name's Kleppr," the innkeeper answered. "If you don't need anything else, I'll take my leave."
Kleppr left the room and Luke gave a distrustful glare at the stone bed. I've slept on worse, he thought. Besides, if I wake up stiff as a board in the morning, I can just heal myself. I'll look for Calcelmo in the morning.
The next morning went exactly has Luke had expected it to, minus the fact that the stiffness was worse than he had anticipated. Luke exited the Silver-Blood Inn and made his way up to Understone Keep. He eventually found Calcelmo and was surprised to see that he was an Altmer. That surprise quickly turned to disdain as Calcelmo blew up on him for no reason.
"The only reason I'm here is that you sent out two letters to me," Luke said icily after Calcelmo finished his tirade. "The first one was about a soul trap arrow and the second was you asking to look at a Dwemer arrow that I had found. So if you're gonna act like an asshole, I don't know if I want to have any dealings with you."
Calcelmo wilted a bit more and mumbled another apology and had the balls to ask to look at the arrow. Luke rolled his eyes and reached into his pack for the arrow. Calcelmo's eyes lit up at the sight of the Dwemer arrow and he cautiously reached for it. Luke handed the arrow over and tuned out Calcelmo's ramblings about it, blindly nodding his head every now and then.
"…and if you take out the one known as Nimhe I'll give you a key for my Dwemer museum and let you take a hammer for your troubles," Calcelmo finished.
"Yeah, yeah, not a problem," Luke agreed only to pause and close his eyes in regret. Fuck.
The door leading to Nchuand-Zel was impressive and Luke looked down at the key Calcelmo had given him. I guess this is what I get for zoning out, he thought ruefully. At least I'm four septims richer than I was before. Once Luke unlocked the door and entered the Dwemer ruin, he noticed how similar the architecture was to Avanchnzel. There was quite a bit that was excavated, but only one open doorway as Luke made his way through the ruin. Luke snuck his way through the excavation, killing a couple frostbite spiders as he went, until he reached a large open area with ramp that let up to another landing with a door.
Luke stopped in the entry way of the room and looked up to see a large frostbite spider slowly descending down its web. Luke quietly knocked an arrow and pulled back on the bowstring. Once Nimhe hit the ground, Luke loosed arrow after arrow trying to bring the massive spider down, while dodging the venom that the spider spat towards him. Once Nihme fell, Luke cautiously approached the fallen arachnid. "Fuck, I hated spiders before I came to this damn place," Luke muttered under his breath. "Now, I really fucking hate them."
Luke looked at the arrows he shot Nihme full of and grunted in disappointment that only one of the five arrows was reusable. A body dressed in Imperial armor caught his attention next to the spider web filled doorway up the ramp. He noticed a note next to the body and picked it up. He read the note before tucking it away in a side pocket of his pack.
Luke made his way back to Calcelmo and delivered both the note and the fact that Nimhe wouldn't bother the excavation any longer. Calcelmo held his end of the deal and gave Luke a spare key to his museum, along with the promise that he could take something called Stendar's Hammer. Before Luke could head over to the museum, Calcelmo offered another bargain. He would pay Luke a reward for finding any of Staubin's notes, with a side note that Luke might not find Staubin alive. Against his better judgment, Luke agreed to that as well. Out of curiosity, Luke asked what Calcelmo had for sale and ended up purchasing a couple new spell tomes, Bound Bow and Bound Quiver. Luke also sold a couple of necklaces and rings that he had made and ended up breaking even with the Altmer wizard.
After retrieving the hammer and realizing how damn heavy the thing was, Luke sent a courier with it back to Jorrvaskr. Luke watched as the man made off towards the city gate and turned his attention back to Understone Keep. Luke squared his shoulders and set off to find Staubin's notes for Calcelmo.
"Whoa, this is impressive," Luke breathed as he beheld Nchuand-Zel fully before cursing when he noticed a couple of Falmer standing in his way. He had only encountered Falmer once before when he ventured into Shimmermist Cave outside of Whiterun during a job when he had first joined the Companions. From that one encounter, Luke new he was dealing with difficult opponents. He quietly took out every Falmer in sight with his bow as he made his way over towards a building. Usually wherever there was one Falmer, there were two more waiting in the shadows.
Luke made it to the building unscathed, once again silently taking out Falmer as they appeared. Luke eventually found a body and a diary belonging to a man named Stromm. Apparently there were possibilities of at least three more journals belonging to Staubin, Krag, and Erj. "This is going to take longer than I thought," murmured Luke.
Luke wandered Nchuand-Zel for a couple hours, slaying Falmer and finding journals to bring back to Calcelmo. There were a couple of tight spots for Luke, and he was definitely glad that the Companions had been able to handle a sword properly, though he still was not a master at it. Luke got to the last building and took a short break to eat some of his rations. The only journal that was left to collect was Staubin's. Luke came across Staubin's journal and groaned in disbelief that Staubin was trying to activate the old defenses of the Dwarven city. Might as well finish what the man started, he thought.
Luke cursed as Dwemer machinations came out of the walls after he had defeated the last couple of Falmer in the room. After a lot of cursing and struggling, he prevailed over the machines. These are definitely the worst, so damn persistent it's annoying! Luke came to a lever and pulled it expecting a trap to spring at him and was pleasantly surprised when a trap did not go off. Now, all I have to do is report this back to Calcelmo and I can go get a decent sleep back at the inn.
After sneaking past a dueling Dwemer sphere and Falmer, Luke made it back to the excavation sight. He quickly closed the door behind him and hurried back towards Understone Keep. Calcelmo took the news well and informed Luke that he would inform the families of the deceased. He paid Luke well for the journals and Luke went back to the Silver-Blood Inn.
There were a few more patrons at the inn than when Luke had first checked into a room and there was a buzz amongst them as they discussed the cities affairs. Luke once again heard talks about a heart and crypt and listened in to the stories. "They say that the Knight's ghost haunts the hills around the Orc stronghold of Dushnikh Yal!" one man claimed.
"That's a load of shit and you know it!" cried another.
Luke rolled his eyes and removed himself from his seat. He purchased a meal from Kleppr and headed back to his room. Luke ate his meal quietly, pondering the stories of this ghost south of Markarth and decided that he'd look into it after he got some sleep. Luke finished his meal and climbed into bed, where for the first time since sleeping at High Hrothgar, he dreamt of dragons and war.
Author's Note:
Happy End of November everyone! Sorry for the late update, I had a serious case of writers block. I hope the readers from the United States had a good Thanksgiving weekend. Stendar's Hammer is a Creation Club addition, so credit where credit is due for the creator of that fun little addition to Skyrim. I'd like to thank the following for the favorites/follows, it means a lot to me: A Week of Sundays, Mordem, Fatereaper, Donbasos, priceless22, mugestuxshiro, SaithePirate, and Sgtjam20.
Regards,
PF