Chapter 40: Interlude Four
[4E 525]
Once again the three teenage siblings had managed to sneak up to the attic of the big house they all lived in. A couple of weeks ago, when they had been able to proceed to chapter 28, they had already speculated about further events in Falkreath and later on, maybe in High Hrothgar.
"See," the teenage Khajiit almost shouted, "it was actually that easy to become Thane in Falkreath."
"Yeah, but only because Balu guided the Bosmer along!"
"True, but that Jarl there seems not a nice guy."
"No, not one to trust for sure. I wonder what qualifications were expected from a Jarl at that time…"
"For this Jarl Siddgeir, I assume just being a pompous guy, one who just convincingly pretended about proper leadership and such?"
All three of them chuckled, and Alander mentioned:
"I think that this is different nowadays, and as far as I know, the Jarls today are all quite reasonable people."
"Yes, but when Balu was there, this was the time of the Civil War, and maybe some of the leaders were there just because they were on the right side?"
"Good point; we have learned that some of the holds changed between being Imperial controlled and Stormcloak controlled a few times, in the early stages of the Civil War at least."
"And, after all, Balu and Fiona really were busy helping many people in and around Falkreath with their problems, even if it was just chopping some firewood or helping with the harvest for a few minutes."
"Yes, they sure did, and see, there is one of those scribbled comments on that, too: 'You help those who need it, you do right for those who'd been wronged, and sooner or later, you hopefully get rewarded.' Yep, maybe that's it. Although, I am not sure if good deeds are always properly rewarded."
"No, I guess not always, but at least you have a good feeling afterwards."
"If you survive, that is – after all, they did more than just helping; they had a few scary situations as well!"
"True, like the one at Bannermist Tower. But at least the Dragonborn reacted properly."
"That's what she has her shouts for, after all."
"Yeah, but she does not have many yet, right? Just 'FUS'?"
"I think so yes, but she applied it when needed."
"Yes, those bandits chiefs can be a problem. I heard some stories about dangerous encounters with them from some Companions."
"And there is a scribbled comment here again, look: 'Big bandits with a head of steam, a drawn sword, and no good intention could be the death of you'".
"So right, indeed!"
There was some chuckling and nodding all around, and the three of them read on until the teenage Khajiit mused:
"It really looks like this B'lushona was having a great time up there in High Hrothgar."
"If one disregards the cold" Alander, the Bosmer, replied.
"Pah, the cold can't be that bad, really" Jomund, the Nord, objected.
"Easy for you to say, but I bet that even you would be getting cold outside up there. This is the Throat of the World, after all. It's not just cold up there, it's freezing cold! Even you Nords cannot be totally immune to that!"
"Hey, calm down – none of us is likely getting a chance to climb the steps anyway. But I agree that it would be totally cool. I thought only the Dragonborn gets taught up there, and this Khajiit dares to also learn a shout?"
"He started at least, true. But think about it – from time to time the Greybeards are known to take in an apprentice. Didn't somebody say that Ulfric Stormcloak was up there in his young years and learned a few shouts, too?"
"That's in some history books; he used a force shout to kill the High King in Solitude."
"Well, yes, but there are different opinions on that. Some say that he only used the shout to stagger the High King and then killed him in a fair duel."
"Whatever it was, I doubt that the Greybeards approved."
"Do they really believe that Dragon Shouts should only be used for peaceful purposes?"
"Not sure about that, my friends."
"But the Khajiit – this B'lushona – wants to learn a peaceful shout. Hey, shouldn't it even be in Kynareth՚s interest? I mean, once you can use 'KAAN', you can pacify animals, so that you don't have to kill them? Isn't that something Kyne should like people to do?"
"Yes, I should think so, and look, here is another comment: 'Nothing wrong on meditating on the name of the goddess. She might be listening. And even if her avatar is the hawk, she might also like over-sized kitty cats'."
"Kitty cat?"
"I guess that this might be a nickname for Khajiit – funny! Hey, Bha'jhan, shall we call you kitty cat from now on?"
"Not funny, my brother, not funny at all!"
"Now, back to this 'KAAN' shout – what about this being abused by hunters?"
"Well, let's wait and see; surely Kynareth will observe how Balu uses it, once he actually learns it?"
"Oh, yes, good point. But anyway, this is so cool – just imagine you go up there and can actually learn a dragon shout!"
"I don't think that this would work for just anybody."
"True, but still…"
"And I also like the idea that the Greybeards helped him with combat training."
"Is there a spell for creating those spectral images?"
"Those B'lushona could try to hit? I don't think so, but it would be great. Rather than hitting dummies, one could practice with moving targets. I wonder if a mage could come up with a spell to do something similar."
"That would be more fun that targeting the straw and wood dummies, for sure."
There was silence in the attic room for a few more minutes, and then Jomund mused:
"You know, I have to admit that I feel a little bit sorry about Freya. The way this B'lushona wrote about her, she seemed to be quite a decent and nice person, and he apparently had some feelings for her. What a pity that she had to die!"
"Yes, indeed" Alander agreed. "If she had survived, maybe the Khajiit might have managed to get her into his bed?"
"Is that all you're thinking about?" Bha'jhan criticized his brother.
"You know, it might have been interesting to read about this" Jomund stated.
"I don't think so. They way he writes, he is not likely to mention details about his love life, at least not the intimate details."
"I guess that we'll have to wait and see. I am almost certain that he was one of the founders of our family, so sooner or later he has got to find a wife, right?"
"True, but maybe the diary ends before he gets there? Maybe this is only about his adventures with dragons and Greybeards and such, and at some time he settles down and does not write anything about that any longer?"
"Oh, possible, yes, but I sure hope not! Look, this diary is quite thick, and maybe there even is a second volume?"
"We don't have a choice; we will have to read on to find out. Even without him having a female partner, this is fascinating enough, I think."
"But look, he got two baby saber cats instead! Strange names, aren't they?"
"And there is a scribbled comment again: 'You looked to make sure the cubs were female, right? I would hate to find Hanni and Nanni were male...'."
"Well, he did write that he found out when he was working on them to free them from the thorn bush."
"How could he be sure? They weren't old enough to have boobs yet, I assume."
"Silly; he probably just checked between the legs and found the male part missing; that would be clear enough."
They were silent for some more time, and then Alander said:
"I wonder what Fiona is going to do now. She needs to go to Ustengrav to get that horn, right? Where is Ustengrav?"
"No clue. I guess that we can look it up later on, using the large wall map in the family room downstairs."
"Are they all going there together?"
"We may have to read on to find out. I am not so sure about this Fiona, though. Is she now all right with having B'lushona around or not?"
"Good question; maybe we will read more about her at some later time. It would be a pity to learn that she got lost in some dungeon and was never heard from again."
"Not possible; history books claim that she did a few amazing things!"
"Right, but for now was have to follow what B'lushona is doing after High Hrothgar."
"Indeed, and see, he met another young female Bosmer, Mia. Maybe that's the right one for him?"
"She seems to like his saber cats at least."
"Hm, but that's not sufficient. Ria seems to like them, too."
"Yes, she does, and look here, after he gets back from his honor quest, Ria asks him to get into bed with her!"
"Well, what's wrong with that?"
"Look, she just needed somebody to comfort her, and there is one of those comments again: 'Offering big fluffy cat to spoon or be spooned to sleep. Great in winter for a warm night. Only for females.'"
"Well, not totally wrong. We Khajiit are kind of fluffy, and Ria would have been neither the first nor the last female to appreciate such a service."
"Have you done that, too?"
Bha'jhan cleared his throat and replied: "Well, no, I did not have such a chance yet, but I would not mind this at all. Look, there is another comment here: 'Don't let anyone fool you – a heartbroken woman would rather have the comfort of one she can trust with her honor than one who'd let her throw herself at them.'"
"That's nicely phrased; so that's what honor is about, too?"
"I guess so, yes – not taking advantage of other people when they need you. But listen, the dinner bell! We better hurry down and read on in a week or two."
The adolescent Khajiit closed the diary and placed it in the hiding place again, and the three teenagers left the attic, to join the family for dinner.
Later on, after dinner, they managed to find a time when the large family room was not occupied, and they gathered around the large map on the wall.
"Now, how do we find Ustengrav here on the map?"
"Let's all search in an area. Jomund, you look in the Reach and Haafingar, Alander, you check out the center area, that is Hjaalmarch, Whiterun and Falkreath, and I look east in Winterhold, Eastmarch and the Rift."
About ten minutes passed before the Bosmer called out:
"I got it!"
He pointed to the spot, where the very detailed map indeed show the name 'Ustengrav', and the others looked there, too. Jomund commented:
"Wow, that's even north of Morthal! Isn't that area known for vampires, too?"
"Wait, yes, there are some stories about a vampire cave north of the city. However, as far as I know, the hold guards have that under control nowadays; above and beyond that, Fiona will not have to pass through the city to get to Ustengrav, but she could as well approach from the west or from the east. No, I am more concerned about what might be inside the ruin."
"Yeah, but so what? The Dragonborn has her two housecarls with her, so it should be all right."
"Yes, but what's going to be in there? It's like a test, so maybe more dangers, bandits, draugr, and whatever?"
"I guess that we may read about that in one of the next chapters, right?"
"Depends on how soon Balu meets Fiona again, I should think, unless we also find a diary from the Dragonborn."
"Right; let's meet in the attic again when we all have some more time. There are many more chapters waiting for us there!"
[Author's Notes: Once again I have integrated some reviews into an interlude. Thank you to all who have provided feedback; I appreciate that a lot!
Note: The next few chapters – 41/42/43 – have spoilers for the initial quests in the 'Vilja in Skyrim' mod!]
