Chapter 69: Entering Bruma

[22nd – 23rd of Sun's Dusk 4E 202]

We slept a little longer than intended on the next day, but we were not in a hurry. The soldiers invited us to breakfast with them, and we filled our stomachs, also taking some time to chat with them and exchange stories about what we had experienced.

When the sun was already some distance from the horizon, which indicated something like only a couple of hours prior to noon at this time of the year, we took our leave and marched out of the fort, downhill towards Bruma. Lucia and Yumi liked the snow all around us, and they merrily formed some snowballs and had fun, until their hands got cold.

Not far down from the fort there was a small building on the left side of the road, and judged by the sign outside it was an inn, called 'Snowstone Rest'; the officer at the border gate had pointed out that one. As we had just started our trip, we did not enter, but moved on. A few times we stopped and I pointed out some plants which were not common at all in Skyrim, but grew here in Cyrodiil, even at this altitude and with snow around. There were small bushes of wormwood, isolated stems of milk thistle, some of them even with a blossom, and clouded funnel cap mushrooms.

The road was, of course, almost all downhill, and it was a sight to behold when we first could see the White-Gold Tower of the Imperial City in the distance. With good eyes, one could see and distinguish the different districts of the city, and it looked impressive. Skyrim did not have any city which was even half of this size, but this was Cyrodiil, seat of the Emperor. We used one of the spots with a great view for our lunch, and I explained the layout of the Imperial City to the girls. They found it hard to believe that it had an entire district dedicated to shops, the market district, and that there even was more than one shop for weapons and armor, for instance. I also pointed out the southeastern district, the Arcane University, with the Arch-Mage's quarters looming above it. Since the Oblivion crisis two hundred years ago, though, it had lost most of its influence, and the White-Gold Concordat imposed limits to the research being done there. The Thalmor would have preferred to have the University abandoned altogether, but that was beyond what even they could get done. Magic was a common occurrence in Tamriel, and a place to get it properly channeled was needed.

When we moved on, a group of bandits lurked after a tight turn of the road. However, Pammy was ahead of us, and our bolts and arrows were barely needed to scare them off. They escaped downhill, but managed to run directly into the arms of a guard patrol; the Bruma prison now waited for them.

After the next turn of the road the city walls of Bruma were already visible, and we should be able to get there within little more than one hour. And indeed, soon we were outside of the eastern city gate, and guards asked about our business here. I showed the permit from the legate at Fort Pale Pass, and the guards hurried to open the gate for us.

"Bruma is understood to be a Nibenese county, but in truth it is more Nord than Nibenese, on account of its close proximity to the Skyrim border, and on account of the terrible cold and discomfort of its location high in the Jerall Mountains. Bruma is always cold and covered with snow, with braziers kept burning in every quarter to prevent the citizens from freezing to death. Everything is built in wood, since trees are so plentiful in the forests of the Jeralls, and even rich men live here in dark, dirty wooden huts."

That was a short description of Bruma, written in 'Alessia Ottus Guide to Bruma' more than 200 years ago, and most of it was still true, although the houses of the well off citizens were much better than dark and dirt huts, and they were built from a combination of stone and wood. I had not stayed here for a few years, but I could recall the basic city layout and, specifically, a good place to spend the night. Bruma had two inns; there was a lower class one, called 'The Restful Watchman', quite close to the east gate, and there was the 'Jerall View Inn', an upper class location, closer to the castle. The latter one was where I was heading for. Stepping inside, I recognized the owner and innkeeper, an Imperial, and approached him right away:

"Stantus, it is good to see you again."

"Who are you? I don't think I have seen you before."

"Oh, you have, it's just the armor I am wearing."

I removed my helmet and grinned, and now he got it:

"Timotheus, it's you! I have not seen you here for years! This is a strange armor you are wearing, indeed. This almost looks like dragon scales on it, but that's not possible, or is it?"

"It is, and you will understand why when I introduce my companions. Meet my wife, T'mara, the Dragonborn, our two adopted daughters Lucia and Yumi, and our two housecarls, Iona and Valdimar. T'mara, girls, this is Stantus Faleria, the innkeeper and an old friend of my family, and if he's got rooms, we will stay here for a few nights."

"You are married?" Stantus almost could not believe it. Fortunately, he was not biased against other races, and he added, turning towards my wife:

"My lady, welcome to Jerall View Inn, and I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I have two nice rooms available at this time, everything else is taken. Let me show you to the rooms so that you can find out if they are good enough."

There were indeed two nice rooms with two beds each. I knew that my wife and I could and would want to share one bed, and I asked the girls:

"Yumi, Lucia, do you think that you can share one bed for a few nights?"

They both nodded, as I had expected – sometimes they liked to 'play poor and have to share a bed' – and I already knew from Iona and Valdimar that they liked to share a room, so that this was settled. The two girls, my wife and I would take the larger room and our two housecarls the other one. Before Stantus left us to get settled, he turned towards my wife again and said:

"You did well to choose the Jerall View. Your rooms also includes complimentary access to the bathhouse on the lower floor. Peruse it at your leisure; our customers find it very rejuvenating."

Half an hour later, we went down to the main room to get supper, and we also met Stantus' wife, Hjotra, and their help, Lassinia Iron-Heart. The girls were tired and so were our two housecarls, but T'mara and I decided to pay a quick visit to the bathhouse. The place turned out to be almost empty, with just a single customer being in, an Argonian, who greeted us:

"Ah, someone else who desires a relaxing bath, yes? Welcome to the bathhouse, fair patron. So, to whom do I owe this pleasure?"

We introduced ourselves, and he replied: "I get the feeling that you and I are about to become good friends indeed, yes?"

We asked for his name, and his response was:

"Never answer a question with a question, friend. Bad form, or so the Imperials say."

But then he added:

"I call myself Bathes-in-Murky-Waters, though friends call me 'Bathes', for I enjoy bathing in baths very much. These are dark times for the Empire, wouldn't you say? It still has not recovered from the Great War. And now, once again, it appears it will descend into turmoil. The Dominion are increasing their presence. And I hear rumors, whispers on the wind, of insurrectionist groups, agitating against the current government. Some of the political families of Cyrodiil are even vying to place themselves upon the Ruby Throne. What say you to that, friend?"

That was a lot of information to digest, and I decided to evade that a little:

"My friend, we have just arrived from Skyrim, and we have been a little out of touch related to Imperial politics."

"Baths are relaxing, yes? Unwind the muscles, release tension. Surely the best place to have rational discussion about sensitive subject matter. But I understand; perhaps we can talk again when we meet next, yes?"

With those words he got out of the water, got dressed, and left.

T'mara and I looked at each other, not quite sure what to make of him and his talks, but for now we decided to just enjoy the bath. As there was nobody else but us in here right now, we could even take advantage of the situation, submerge ourselves in the nice hot water, and engage in a very hot and steamy make out session, similar to what we had done multiple times at the hot springs in Skyrim. Such an activity helped both of us immensely to relax, forget about potential worries, and feel fully happy and content, and we probably spent a couple of hours in there before we finally left and got back to our room. Yumi and Lucia were already asleep in one of the beds, and we happily climbed into the other one, entangled our bodies, and also went to sleep within a few minutes. Our trusty husky Bran was on the floor, guarding us and the girls.

Our first action on the next day, after breakfast of course, was to visit the local chapel. It had been called the 'Great Chapel of Talos' centuries ago, but renamed the 'Chapel of St. Martin' later on. On the outer steps, we found an Imperial priest in a discussion with a tall Thalmor justiciar. We were all dressed in city clothes today; T'mara was not easily recognizable as Dragonborn with her dress, and we listened to the conversation:

"If I've told you once, I've told you more than a thousand times, Armion. The Chapel of St. Martin does not violate the terms of the White-Gold Concordat. There is no Talos worship going on here."

"But it violates the spirit of the White-Gold Concordat. I must urge you to cease and desist at once."

"Oh, really? So, what is the spirit of the White-Gold Concordat?"

"The spirit of the White-Gold Concordat is that men are not, and can never be, gods. Just as Tiber Septim is not a god, nor is Martin Septim."

"The spirit of the contract may be debatable, but what does the Concordat actually say?"

"The Concordat strictly forbids Talos worship."

"There is no mention of Martin Septim worship, though?"

"I... no, there isn't, I think. I must consult with my superiors. Perhaps we will have to petition for a slight amendment to some... unfortunately specific wording within the Concordat. We will keep our eyes on your little cult, however."

I had to admit that this, dedicating the chapel to Martin Septim rather than Tiber Septim a.k.a. Talos, was a smart move, and according to what I knew, it did indeed not violate the White-Gold Concordat. The priest now turned towards us and bade us to enter the chapel:

"Greetings, strangers. Have you come to learn the gospel of St. Martin? Have you heard the tale of how Martin Septim ascended to sainthood? If not, perhaps that would be a good place to begin."

I told him that I knew the story well enough, but my family might want to learn more, and I encouraged him to go on, which he did:

"Saint Martin had humble beginnings as a priest of Akatosh in the city of Kvatch. When Daedra attacked and overran the city during the Oblivion Crisis, Martin led the people to refuge in the chapel. The fabled Hero of Kvatch and later Champion of Cyrodiil came to rescue Him, and told Him the shocking news that He was the son of the Emperor. This came as a surprise to Him, but gave Him new purpose after His home was destroyed. Along with the Champion and the Blades, Martin designed and executed a plan to undermine the efforts of Mankar Camoran and the Mythic Dawn cult."

Lucia and Yumi listened attentively, and the priest continued:

"There was a great battle here in Bruma as the Great Gate was opened to secure an artifact of immense power for Martin's plan. Finally, the Champion, under Martin's guidance, slew Mankar Camoran, as the Imperial City came under a great Daedric siege. It appeared all was lost, but Martin shattered the Amulet of Kings in the Temple of the One, transforming into a huge, flaming Avatar of Akatosh. In this form He defeated the manifestation of Mehrunes Dagon in an epic, glorious duel. This broke the siege of the Imperial City, restored the ward between Tamriel and Oblivion, and ended the Oblivion Crisis."

We were now invited to stroll through the chapel, and there were, of course, shrines to each of the official Eight Divines. A ninth niche was empty, and it was obvious that a shrine to Talos had been here in earlier times. Even without the shrine, though, there were signs that people still prayed to Talos here, silently at least, and I assumed that this was tolerated, at least when no Thalmor were around.

We also met Harthir, a Bosmer priest who was an assistant to the chief priest, Neremus Agrecian. He suggested:

"Look up, traveler, and thank Saint Martin for the blue sky, for without His sacrifice, you would instead look upon the skies of Oblivion."

"You seem to be quite dedicated to St. Martin. Would you mind telling us why you became an acolyte here?"

"To ask me why I became an acolyte of Saint Martin is to ask why thunder strikes, why rain falls, or why the wolf hunts. It is because this is what comes naturally to me. Let me just say that my life so far has taught me many lessons of sorrow and grief. I have constantly been set back, and my attempts to change my course have always been met with bitter resistance by the winds of life. It is through Saint Martin's example that I truly find my inspiration to become more than I am. It is in this that I am enlightened, and hope to be reborn."

Once we had completed our tour in the chapel, I suggested to go to the castle and see if the count was available. Inside, we first approached the person who was dressed like a steward, and he welcomed us:

"Welcome to Castle Bruma, seat of County Bruma, jewel of the Jeralls and all Cyrodiil. I am Rignar, the count's steward here in Bruma. I can handle most smaller matters. Try not to bother the count unless it's important. He is a busy man."

I told him that my wife was Dragonborn and suggested that the count might want to see her, and he quickly led us over to where the count was sitting.

Count Desilus Carvain, an Imperial warrior, was the count of Bruma and a descendant of Countess Narina Carvain, as I knew well. Once we had approached, he warmly greeted us:

"Welcome to our fair city. What brings you to Bruma?"

I introduced us, mentioning that my wife was Dragonborn, and asked:

"Are you familiar with the dragon crisis in Skyrim?"

He nodded and replied:

"We have so many Nords living here, that it was inevitable to hear about that, and I have learned about Alduin and his defeat. So this is the one who actually was the hero there?"

My wife smiled and responded:

"Well, actually, we did almost everything together. It would have been too much for just me, but my husband and I are quite a good team."

"Impressive – I have not seen many Khajiit married to a Nord, and specifically not many working as a good team. Welcome to Bruma, once again. By the way, are you also interested in Akaviri artifacts?"

"Well, not directly" I replied. "However, just a few days ago we helped the legate at Fort Pale Pass to clear the substructure of the fort from some spiders, and we found some untouched rooms with books and notes, most of them in Akaviri language as it seemed. If that is of interest to you, you may want to send some scholars to check them out."

"Indeed? That is quite interesting, and I may just do that. You know, like my ancestor, the Countess Narina Carvain, I collect Akaviri artifacts, and some of them are on display here in the throne room. Unfortunately, some of them were stolen just a few days ago. One should think that locked displays here in the Great Hall, with guards patrolling all of the time, should be safe, but no."

"That's not good, indeed. Has anything been done to retrieve the artifacts?"

"No, not much. Honestly, I believe that my Captain of the Guard, Adius Villius, is not a good investigator. He runs the guard perfectly well, but he may not be best suited to look into a theft of that kind. Maybe you could talk to him and give some advice?"

"We will take that into consideration, sure."

We continued with some small talk and were dismissed. Just two minutes later, though, we ran into said Captain of the Guard, and after introductions he asked:

"Say, has the count mentioned the stolen Akaviri artifacts?"

"Yes, he has, indeed."

"You would not have a little time to look into that issue?"

"Depends – what have you got so far?"

"Not much. Rignar, the steward, might have some more information, and I have heard rumors that the patron of 'The Restful Watchman', Bentior, somehow knows people."

"We are not promising anything, but we can at least talk to those people."

The steward was around, of course, but did not really know a lot:

"The theft was done in the middle of the night. The thief was probably hiding in the shadows, and he must be skilled in picking locks, as the guards did not hear anything suspicious. Other than that, I do not have a clue."

Outside, we turned towards the inn, but before we got there, two met two children, a girl and a boy, and they looked at our two girls with some interest, until the girl said:

"We haven't seen you around – want to play with us?"

"Who are you, if I may ask?"

"Oh, I am Ellina Iron-Heart, and this is my friend Banus Jucani. We live here in the city."

Yumi and Lucia very much liked the idea to play, and we sent them along, with Iona and Valdimar staying around, while T'mara and I entered 'The Restful Watchman'. Bentior, the innkeeper, was a Breton, and somehow he looked a little bit uneasy when seeing a Khajiit entering together with me. Nevertheless, he greeted us cheerfully:

"The Restful Watchman. Rooms and food, that's what we do. What do you need?"

When we had something to drink, T'mara asked straight away:

"Say, Bentior, have you heard anything related to the theft of those Akaviri artifacts?"

There was no response, but T'mara stretched her arms out and made sure that Bentior could see the claws on her paws. He clearly felt uneasy, and I also stood up, making sure that he got a good view of my size and my broad shoulders.

Eventually he admitted:

"Look, you have not heard it from me, but the rumor mill claims that Atienne Guilette, a Breton rogue, may have been involved. I do not know where he currently is, though."

We both looked at him again and stared at him, until he continued:

"Well, actually, he has been seen a few times in the house of 'Botram the Hammer', I think."

With that information we went back to the guard captain, and he went with us right away to Botram՚s house. We knocked, and when Botram opened, he said:

"Adius, I am glad to see you. There is a thief in my house! Please, come in."

We quickly went in and saw somebody on the floor, bleeding. Once T'mara had applied some healing magic, this somebody turned out to be the Atienne we had been looking for, and he said:

"The captain of the guard. Just what I needed. Go ahead. Rub salt right into the wound."

"What is the meaning of this? Why are you in here Botram՚s house, and why in Oblivion do you look like you are on death's doorstep?"

Atienne sighed: "It all went wrong. The bandits tricked me. Typical. I wanted them to put in a good word for me with the Cutters. But no, they lied. I gave their guy the artifacts. Then they started swinging. I narrowly escaped by climbing back through the trap door."

"I... see. Well, I'm placing you under arrest for stealing Count Carvain՚s Akaviri artifact collection. At least you won't bleed out in here."

Atienne was not in a mood to tell us where the other bandits might be, but we found a note in his pocket saying that they were in the 'Bruma Caverns'. When Adius had called some guards to drag Atienne to the local prison, he told us:

"I have heard some rumors about bandits holing up in the caverns, but I had not believed that they dare to assemble so close to the city. Say, are you up to exploring the caverns with me and some guards tomorrow?"

T'mara looked at me, and I could clearly see that she was tempted, so that I nodded:

"Sure, I think that our two girls can easily spend a day playing and exploring. Let's meet tomorrow morning and go bandit hunting!"

The day had only progressed to mid afternoon, and we soon found our two girls and the housecarls in the city streets again. We wanted to continue our tour through the city, and the girls waved to the other two kids while we moved on. For now, we decided to browse the market square in the southern district.

The first booth we looked at was owned by a female Bosmer, Ananril. She specialized in potions, judged by what was on display, and she was busy talking to a customer, a female Imperial, when we approached. We heard part of their conversation:

"… A love potion? As far as I'm aware, there's... no such thing. Even if I could make one, who would this be for? It couldn't possibly be your boss, now would it?"

"Ananril!"

"Oh, Eddvia, you know, your infatuation with him is clear to everyone. But is this really how you want to win his heart?"

"I...I guess not, no. Sorry to bother you."

"Don't be discouraged. You just have to try intoxicating him another way. Without potions. Try winning his heart! But please excuse me now, I see more customers coming."

With the last words he turned in our direction, while Eddvia slowly walked away, deep in her thoughts, and we were greeted:

"Potions! Elixirs! Poultices! Alchemical wonders, all here!"

We looked at the shown bottles and asked her what brought her to Bruma, and she replied:

"There wasn't already an alchemist in town when I came up here, and I figured it was a burgeoning market and a ripe opportunity. Fortune favors the bold, or so they say".

Planing ahead for the next day, I restocked my supply of healing and restore magicka potions, and when the purchase was completed, the alchemist lady asked:

"Say, do you spend much time outside collecting ingredients?"

I smiled, nodded, and replied:

"As it happens, I dabble in alchemy myself, and when I am at home, I do most of my potions on my own."

"That's great! I wonder if you'd have a few ingredients to sell? I do not have much time to go out and collect, and I urgently need to get three portions of Cairn Bolete, three portions of Clouded Funnel and five portions of Milk Thistle for a special customer order."

It just so happened that I had collected various ingredients when we had walked down from the pass to the city, and I had all of what she needed in my bag. I got it out and I got most of my spent septims back.

Our next stop was Rilja Stone-Heart, a sturdy looking female Nord, dressed in Colovian fine clothes. She greeted us:

"Here to browse my fine selection of Ancient Nordic items?"

And indeed, her stall had a collection of some quite nice Nordic artifacts, which we duly admired.

When I asked where all of those artifacts came from, she responded:

"Many of them I collected during my adventuring days. I used to wander Skyrim in search of opportunity and adventure. I went through my fair share of Nordic ruins back in those days, and I took a liking to the Ancient Nordic metalwork. So, I began to collect them as I adventured, and when I finally decided to settle down, I had quite an extensive stock."

"But, when you like them so much, why do you sell them off?"

"Why not? It's not something you see up for sale very often, and I think there are plenty of Nords here in Bruma who'd like a little memento of their history."

"I see. And what makes you live here in Cyrodiil rather than in Skyrim?"

"The same reason I sell Ancient Nordic artifacts: so that the young Nord people here in Bruma can be reminded of their roots. Bruma is quite close to Skyrim at first glance: the snow, the cold. But Skyrim really is so much more than that, something Bruma isn't and can never be. It's about the Nordic ruins dotting the landscape, about the dragon walls, and much more. It's about the diversity, too: Whiterun and the Reach, the Pale and Eastmarch. That variation of Nordic culture is something Cyrodiil doesn't really have. I'll be content if my presence here reminds just a few Nords that they're not just Imperials with more facial hair and deeper voices."

I liked that statement, and we slowly moved on to look around further. We found a stall with clothes and jewelry, and the owner was a male Breton calling himself Gryfard Peton:

"Oh, uh, greetings, customer! Would you like to buy some new apparel? You look like you could use some new clothes. I mean, not that what you're wearing looks bad!"

Wow, was that supposed to be a good sales pitch? I guess not, but he had a few pieces of jewelry T'mara liked, and my wife eventually purchased a necklace each for our girls. This encouraged him to engage in some small talk, and when we asked why he was here in Bruma, he admitted:

"You know, I always thought about doing something else. Becoming an adventurer or something like that. It's just...well, I'm just not cut out for that kind of lifestyle. As my good old ma always said, 'Gryfard, my worthless, good-for-nothing son, you got to do something with your life! And since you seem to be better at sewing than casting spells, you had best become a clothing merchant.' So here I am. Yes, she's a lovely woman, my mother. A powerful mage, too. If you see her around these parts, though, you warn me right away. She's the reason I left High Rock."

With that visit we were about done, and the girls started to yawn, so that we slowly walked back to the inn, had supper, and retired to our rooms.

[Author's Notes: Rather than inventing new names, I borrowed some names, quotes, and events from the fantastic 'Beyond Skyrim: Bruma' mod, with some alterations.

Thank you also for some recent guest reviews, in particular those from Ted Hsu, although I do not fully get all of his hints.]