It's Just a Game
Chapter III: Bits and Pieces
The audience for Roggvir's execution filtered out not long after the ax had fallen. I ignored them and continued to stare at his corpse, still seeing that fire his eyes held. He was a passionate one, to be sure, but something was bugging me.
Why would he stay in Solitude? Couldn't he have run off with Ulfric and joined the Stormcloaks instead of remaining, likely knowing he'd be executed for his actions? Who was aided by his death? Certainly not Ulfric himself.
Well, martyrs had their uses. That much was true. How many new recruits out of Solitude would this have garnered though? All those who would join the Stormcloaks were likely to have done so without Roggvir dying.
These Nords laid their lives down for the sake of their nation and their honor, and I could respect that. But there were cases, like this, where they did so needlessly. Someone as fearless as him would've made a good soldier in the Civil War.
Finally, I made my own way back to the city with the last of the procession. I had things to do, and I couldn't spend all day lamenting the poor decisions of a man who I'd never be able to help. All I could do was learn from his mistakes and ensure I didn't end up like that.
And so, I followed the road back towards the city's gate, noticing that the crowd thinned with every step as people headed off to their homes, to various businesses or to converse with friends they saw.
My destination - Bits and Pieces - came into view. Though it was still close to the front gate, it was still quite a distance away from it. Much farther away than I remembered, with probably half a dozen other businesses besides Radiant Raiment between it and the entrance I used to get here.
Well, the Voice did say that the whole world would feel bigger. A bigger Solitude just meant more opportunities to find something to do, so I didn't see any issues with that. It seemed like the best thing to do would be to just go along with it, so I entered Bits and Pieces without another thought on the matter.
As I did, I could hear a bell ring out from above the door, and shut it behind me. "I'll be with you in a moment, feel free to look around!" Somewhere in the shop, a woman's voice called out.
The shop itself was quite large, with the entryway opening up into a main room with all sorts of items lining the shelves, from weapons and armor, to jewelry, books, statuettes, bags, and all other manner of items, some of which I couldn't even discern the purpose of.
The main room seemed to open up in three directions - one to the back and either side - with even more inventory for sale. The shop's name was really starting to seem apt as I browsed.
In case I got any ideas about taking things, though, there were two guards whose eyes followed me around the room. A Nord and an Orc, both in some pretty expensive-looking armor, with very deadly-looking clubs hanging from their belts. It might be best to throw any such ideas out the window.
Just then, a Redguard woman with snow-white hair came into view from the backroom, smiling wide. "Hello, hello!" The smile became a frown for a moment as she looked at me. "I can't say that I recognize you, and you've got the smell of the docks on you. Are you with the East Empire Company, perchance?"
I shook my head. "I'm not. I did come from the docks, but on a merchant vessel I paid for transport on. I've left High Rock behind for a chance at a better life here in Skyrim. Though, by the sound of things, and with the public execution I just witnessed, I take it things aren't necessarily the best of times right now?"
The Redguard sighed heavily. "No, that they aren't. I wasn't actually at the execution, but I could hear the… crowd from here. That was an ugly affair. High King Torygg's death has turned Solitude on its head completely." She then crossed her arms, shaking her head. "Between you and me? He wasn't even that good of a King. All these rambling speeches about the Empire this and Empire that."
It didn't appear that either of the guards was surprised or angry at her comments. Somehow, I got the feeling that this wasn't just between her and me, and more something she'd ramble to anyone willing to listen. Still, if she was talking, best to get some information out of her. "One of the guards was telling me that High King Torygg was killed by another noble, Ulfric? How long ago was that?"
The woman leaned back against the counter and closed her eyes, looking quite deep in thought. "That wasn't too long ago. Hm, somewhere in the middle of last month. It's what… the 6th of Second Seed? So, probably about three weeks ago. He hasn't been idle, from what I hear, though. The other jarls are taking sides, either in favor of the Empire or his rebellion. They've gone and started calling themselves the Stormcloaks."
One of the guards, a Nord, spoke up just then. "The way I hear it, all of the Imperial forces in western Skyrim have been killed or captured, ones that couldn't escape in time, that is. The Stormcloaks are serious about their uprising, that's for sure."
"Beirand's been talking nonsense about joining the Legion to put a stop to them, but… I just can't stand the thought of losing him to one of the rebels. They hardly seem any better than highwaymen at this rate." I must've looked a tad confused as she continued. "Ah, Beirand is my husband. He works the forge up at Castle Dour. I'm Sayma, by the way. I can't believe I managed to talk your ear off without even introducing myself!"
"Jason Wells." I introduced myself in kind. "Think nothing of it. Actually, I came in to sell a few things and maybe get some supplies. I'll be staying here tonight, but I've decided to travel Skyrim a bit and see what sort of work I can find." Sayma nodded and walked behind the counter.
"Alright, let's see what you've got then." I approached as well, though I made sure to give myself some distance from the nearest guard. They were both rather stoic, and their twitching fingers made me think they'd be a bit too excited to bash my skull in given half the chance.
I placed my rings on the counter, separating them into three groups. "These two are unenchanted," I explain, pointing to the first group. "This one here is enchanted to make spells from the Alteration School easier to cast. In a town this big, surely there are mages that come in every so often? And this last one is enchanted to make armor feel lighter while you wear it."
Sayma's smile returned as she picked up the last ring, looking over it. "I think that I can find customers for these enchanted ones pretty easily. I've heard rumors that an entire Legion is going to arrive soon, led by General Tullius. We've got a few Legionnaires here already, but an entire Legion means both warriors and battlemages, and I'm sure they'd love an enchanted ring or two to help them in putting down the Stormcloaks."
She put it down and inspected the other three in sequence. "Okay, I'll give you 500 Septims for the lot." Sayma finally offered. It didn't seem like too much, but I also wasn't going to get any use of them for the time being, so there wasn't much use in arguing.
"Sure, 500 septims is fine." As I said that, a new screen popped up in front of me. It looked like the usual buy/sell screen from the game, and let me see what was in her inventory. What really surprised me, though, was that a lot of the lesser items were much cheaper than I remembered, while the less common items were quite a bit more expensive.
After a moment, I simply figured that the economy was more believable. In which case, 500 Septims was actually worth more than it was in the game, thankfully. "Feel free to look around and see what you'd like. You mentioned you needed supplies, right? I'll get your coins ready and be back in a moment with them."
I nodded and watched as she left with the rings towards the back again. Wandering around, I made a show of looking at the objects on the shelves, in baskets, and on the floor leaning up against walls while I really was scanning through the new screen. It scrolled up and down, switched tabs, and all at just a thought from me. All in all, it was very convenient.
Speaking of convenience, there was a piece of enchanted jewelry that I really wanted. The Necklace of Waterbreathing was listed for 300 septims. It was a lot, but far, far cheaper than it would've been in-game.
By the time Sayma had returned, I'd found its location. It looked to be a silver pendant with a sapphire in the center, hanging by a silver chain. It gave off a faint, blue glow. The temptation to simply place it in my inventory was there, but those guards were still watching me. So, I took it to the counter.
"Sayma, is this necklace enchanted for breathing underwater?" The Redguard looked at it and nodded.
"Quite the mage to tell that just from looking. That's exactly what it's for, though. Are you interested in it? I'm sure I could part with it for…" She looked at the two bags of coins on the counter. "Let's say 300 septims. This coin pouch here has that much, so I'll let you take the necklace and this one as payment for those rings."
I took the other pouch, the one with 200 coins, and placed it inside the backpack I wore. The necklace I decided to wear, making sure to tuck the pendant inside my shirt. Looking over my inventory, it looked like I had a bit of food and drink, just in case. Still, it probably wouldn't hurt to get more. I could just do that at the inn, though.
There were other things that might come in handy, though, as I looked over the screen I still had up. I didn't need something like a pickaxe yet, but an ax couldn't hurt. As well as a few other things. "I also saw an ax and bedroll while I was looking around, plus a cooking pot and some waterskins. How much to take those off your hands? Having everything I need to live on the road, if I have to, wouldn't be a bad idea."
Sayma nodded to one of her guards, who walked off, before smiling. "Of course. Yadbel will get your things, since it sounds like you don't quite remember where you saw them." From the sound of it, the orc was, indeed, gathering various things. Meanwhile, the shopkeep muttered something under her breath. "How about we call it 65 septims for all that?" I nodded again.
Honestly, I had no idea of the value of each Septim in this world. She could be swindling me something fierce, and I'd be none the wiser. There wasn't really any use in trying to bargain, though, for the exact same reason. I'd be better off just going along with what Sayma said for now.
Taking the coin pouch back out of my bag, I counted out sixty-five Septims and handed them over. Seemingly content with the transaction, the Redguard gathered them and placed them in another pouch as Yadbel placed my things on the counter. "Will that be all for you then?"
"Yeah, I think so. I was going to head next door to get something a bit better than this finery for sleeping outside. Hopefully, Radiant Raiment has something suitable in stock." Sayma nodded.
"The sisters can be a bit… abrasive, but they're good at what they do." It very much sounded like she wanted to use a different word to describe them, but perhaps she didn't want to scare me off.
"I'll keep that in mind," I replied while placing my hand on the things that I'd bought. Sayma had already noted that I was a mage, so I figured simply stuffing these things in my inventory wouldn't be too much of a surprise.
The guards shifted a bit when I did so, but no one made any comments. "Come back to Bits and Pieces any time!" I heard her cheerfully remark as I made my way back outside, already heading to my next stop.
Hopefully, the Altmer sisters weren't total bitches in this version of the world.
And that's it!
Been a long time coming, so I'm finally continuing this one alongside the Life is More Than a Game semi-rewrite/sequel.
Not much to say about this chapter, but there's gonna be some actually good stuff coming up soon, that much I can promise you. These setup chapters are still important though.
Orpheus out! See ya!