Chapter 53: Viarmo

[10th – 11th of Evening Star 4E 201]

After successfully completing our mission in 'Dead Men's Respite', my companions – Athis, Antoninus, and my two saber cats – and myself had continued our way towards Solitude, and via Dragon Bridge, where he had stayed for a night, we had finally arrived in Solitude, capital city of Skyrim. We had not directly headed towards the Bard's College yet, but first I had purchased three filled medium sized soul gems to recharge my enchanted glass battle axe; Athis had explained and demonstrated how this worked, and for now only one of the soul gems had been needed for the enchantment recharge.

We emerged from our corner and continued to stroll through the streets. Like in Whiterun, I could not fail to notice that the city was considerably larger than in the game. It was far from a modern metropolis, of course, but it was maybe three times the size I had come to expect. I noticed at least two more inns, a public bathhouse, more shops, and of course several living quarters, some of those even looking like smaller apartment buildings. But sure, not everybody might be able to afford a house of their own, and in such a city renting rooms or small apartments to less affluent citizens should be a thriving business.

Despite the size of the city, finding the college was not very hard. While Solitude had several streets on the northwestern side of the bay, the width of the arch did not allow for more than one major street further southeast, and we only needed to follow this one. The college was located not far from the Blue Palace, and a few aspiring bards were practicing with their instruments in the big yard.

Nobody challenged us when we entered, but I did not know whom to talk to. Thus I addressed the next best person I saw, a young Nord woman:

"Excuse me, lady, whom do I talk to about a book I retrieved, as a task that involved the Companions of Whiterun?"

"You best talk to our headmaster, Viarmo. Come, I will show you the way."

She lead us upstairs to a room where some students were obviously listening to a lecture, and there was a tall male Altmer in a side room, reading a book.

"Headmaster, excuse me, there are three gentlemen here to talk to you."

"Thank you, Illdi."

With those words he dismissed the young woman and turned to us:

"So, what can I do for you?"

"My name is B'lushona, this is Athis, my Shield-Brother, and this is my housecarl, Antonius. I am with the Companions of Whiterun, and I have retrieved a book I was told might be of interest to the College. Actually, I found two books with the same title, and I hope that you can make some sense of it."

"Ah, you are the ones my friend Kodlak sent? Splendid! Two books, you say,? I had not expected that. Now, where do you have them?"

I handed over the two books I had found in the ruin, and Viarmo started to mumble:

"Let me see – indeed, both books are titled 'King Olaf's Verse', but they have a slightly different content. Where did you find them did you say?"

"Right in Dead Men's Respite, as we had been told. One of the books was in the hands of corpse at the bottom of some spiral stairs, presumably Svaknir. The other book was in a chest with valuables I assume owned by King Olaf."

"Interesting, indeed; let me have a closer look."

Athis and Antonius were not so much interested in our conversation, and they curiously looked around at all of the books in the shelves around us.

"I have to admit that I didn't think the book, or the books, would actually be there," the headmaster freely admitted, "but I knew that it would be worth to look at least. Now let's take a closer look at this book first... Oh. Oh-no. This won't do at all. The copy is incomplete, it's aged to the point that parts are unreadable. And the parts that are readable... well... bardic verse has come a long way since ancient times."

"Sorry for that, headmaster, but that's the way we found the book in the ruin."

"Well, of course, after all of that time, maybe I should have thought about that. King Olaf lived in the First Era after all."

"So, it had been all for nothing?"

"No, no at all, and it's not your fault. I should have expected the book not to be in pristine condition any longer after all those year, of course. It just means I can't read it to the court as it is. And anyway, I need to look at the second book, too."

"Why would you want to read it in the court, headmaster? Why is King Olaf so important?"

"Ah, I forgot that you are not familiar with the background. You see, King Olaf One-Eye is a legendary Jarl and High King from the First Era. We do not know very much about what he did in detail, but he supposedly was able to capture a dragon, Numinex, and there is much controversy on how he might have been able to do that. You can imagine that those things are deeds bards love to talk and sing about, and we have a long standing tradition here at the college to stage the burning of King Olaf on a regular basis. Recently, Jarl Elisif has forbidden it, and I believe that I may be able to change her mind by reading some of King Olaf's original verses. A part of Poetic Edda, the living history of Skyrim. The book you got me have some of those verses. If Jarl Elisif isn't convinced of the festival's importance then she won't reverse her decision to stop the effigy burning. It means that the Burning of King Olaf, which the Bards College has held for time immemorial, won't be happening again."

"So, what about the other book?"

"Right, let's see. The title is the same, but contrary to the other book an author is named – Gink Falo. Never heard about a person with this name before. And now, the content. Ah you see, where one of the books shows Olaf as something like a cheater, the other one highlights his smartness and courage; quite interesting!"

"So, maybe one of the books was written by somebody who liked the king, and the author of the other one did not like him?"

"Something like that, probably."

"Do you know much about King Olaf, his life, his friends and such?"

"Yes, I do, at least to a certain extent. There is a book called 'Olaf and the Dragon' which tells about the events around King Olaf One-Eyed in the First Era, but experts are not sure to what extent the events outlined there are genuine ones. Even the book admits that there are several variations and storylines known."

"Does that book also tell about the role our ghost in the ruin played in all of that? It appeared that Olaf and Svaknir knew each other."

"Svaknir? Oh yes, he was a bard and wrote verses on King Olaf and his deeds, at the time when Olaf had been High King of Skyrim, in the First Era. As his version of those deeds did not make Olaf look good, the Kind had him imprisoned and all copied of his books destroyed; well, all copies he knew about. As we can see, at least one survived, although I do not know how it ended up in 'Dead Men's Respite'. Naturally, Svaknir held a grudge against King Olaf, and with your assistance, it seems that he, or rather his ghost, finally got his revenge."

"So, could the book without an author been written by Svaknir?"

"I am almost certain that it is indeed from him; that's exactly his style, and he was known as somebody who was not happy with the king at all. The other book, though, maybe one of king's closest advisors or so, I am not sure."

I looked at the cover of the second book again and read the author's name – Gink Falo – and suddenly something clicked in my head. I almost shouted:

"Wait a second. If you rearrange the characters, Gink can be King, and Falo can be Olaf! It's an anagram!"

Viarmo also looked a the book again, raised his eyebrows, and replied:

"By the Eight, I believe that you are right! Maybe Olaf wrote this himself to discredit the work of the bard! This makes sense, if you look at the first paragraph already. Svaknir writes this: 'Your legend is lies, lurid and false', where the other book claims 'Your legend is truth and serious' and such. Maybe Olaf indeed hoped that his own book, specifically by naming an author, would be believed more than the other one. Now, the second book also has some sections which are unreadable, but maybe we could do something about it..."

"What do you plan to do, headmaster? Start with Svaknir՚s book and fill some of the blanks with content from the other book or even with your own expertise?"

"Something like this, my young friend, something like this indeed. Naturally, I really should not make up events and such, but I just might be able to copy Svaknir՚s style and fill the gaps with some content from the other books and the knowledge I have of that time."

Viarmo made a break and I nodded; that was quite interesting. Now the college headmaster suggested:

"Now, let me start and make a first attempt, jut to see if this could work; do you want to help me getting started?"

I did not know much about poetry, specifically Tamrielic poetry, but I nodded, and we got busy. When we mused about the existing verses together and thought about option to fill the blanks, I found that there was indeed a lot of room for imagination, and I was not quite sure how to proceed. Judged by options offered by Viarmo and also guided by some written variations in the other book, we could either present Olaf a dragon in human form or a kind of an impostor and cheater. We did not really know which version was closer to the truth, as historical sources were very vague on the subject, as the headmaster explained.

Eventually we settled on showing Olaf both cunning and lucky, encountering Numinex when he was sleeping and attacking Solitude with disguised troops who got the order backwards. Viarmo liked it, and he told me he hope that Elisif might like it as well. He suggested that I meet him at the Blue Palace on the morning of the next day to listen to him presenting the verses, and I readily agreed.

Athis, Antonius and I spent the rest of the day exploring the city. In the evening, we found two nice rooms at the 'Winking Skeever', the city's best and largest inn, as we were told. Fortunately, the innkeeper did not see a problem with Hanni and Nanni staying with me, provided that they were clean and 'house-trained', as he said. That was something they fortunately were, and for some reason there had not even been a need for a special potty training or so. Having the two cubs in my room when I was sleeping had, of course, the invaluable benefit that I'd never have to be afraid of a burglar or assassin getting close to me. Even an invisible visitor would never get past my girls.

Before we retired to our rooms, though, Athis, Antoninus and I found a table in the inn's main taproom and ordered dinner. I was quite happy to find out that venison was available, and I asked for a double serving for myself, as usual, plus a few meaty bones for my pups. When we had ordered, a sturdy looking male Nord asked if he could joins us, and we nodded. He sat down and introduced himself as Belrand; he said:

"You look like you may have a need for somebody to help you in fights. If you need somebody at your side, you may be pleased to learn that I fight with both blade and spell. You might say I'm equipped to handle nearly any threat. So, what do you say? Shall we talk price?"

"You are a mercenary, right?"

"Indeed I am, my good sirs. By blade or by spell, if you want it dead, I'll make it dead. All you need to do is pay my fee."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we are not here for fighting. Rather, we have some business with the Bard's College."

"Seriously now? Well then…"

The Nord had apparently joined us to advertise his services, and he was now about to rise from his seat. I had an idea, though, and I suggested:

"Belrand, wait; maybe we can talk a little? Do you know what's going on around here?"

"You want some information and rumors?"

"Yes, indeed; if we are happy with what you know, we could pay for your meal as some compensation."

"Well, that sounds good. Pay for my meal and my drinks, and I will tell you everything I know."

Athis looked at me, not fully understanding, but I nodded and said:

"Deal! Now, I am curious about one specific topic. Do you know the small farm and the sawmill southeast of Dragon Bridge?"

"I do, sure. What about it?"

"We passed the place and saw that it is run by Imperial soldiers. What happened to the people who might have been there before?"

He scratched his head and replied:

"That's an ugly story, really. I wasn't there myself, but I have heard from others. The Imperials claimed that they needed to increase the efficiency for the war effort and all, and when the owners failed to comply, they simply took over."

"And how?"

He bowed forward to get closer to me and continued in a very subdued voice:

"Have to be careful; there may be spies everywhere. A few months ago, soldiers and Thalmor agents together went there and arrested the people, claiming that they worshiped Talos. Now, the Thalmor got some more prisoners, and the legion got a farm and a sawmill."

"Just like this?"

"Who can prove that the accusations were wrong? They probably just planted some amulets of Talos in the houses, and this is good enough for the elves."

"And now, soldiers are running everything there…"

"They do, yes, but the efficiency is much worse than before. If they had simply provided some incentive and motivation for the original owners, that would have worked much better."

"And the real owners are now Thalmor prisoners?"

"Most likely, yes. I happen to know the rightful owners of 'Irontree Lumber Mill'; the two brothers, Steirod and Trilf, actually served in the legion before; I think that they left due a misunderstanding between them and some officer, which resulted in a less than honorable discharge for them. They did a pretty good job making money with the mill and reclaiming their initial investment, as far as I know. It's a pity that they are gone. If I had a few good friends who are excellent fighters, I might attempt to find them, but nobody knows where the Thalmor keep their prisoners."

That information was, in my opinion, worth the pay for the mercenary's meal and drinks, and I made sure that this was properly handled. We chatted for a few more minutes, and Belrand turned out to be a nice person. He shared his opinion on a few citizens of Solitude, including the Jarl and some of her court, and he said:

"There is one person at court who gives me the creeps. I have seen her a few times when I picked up a bounty letter from the steward; she is the Jarl՚s court wizard. Maybe it's normal for a court wizard to be scary, but she really is. Something is wrong with her, but I can't put my hand on it. Also, I have met quite a few folks here in Solitude, and even the older ones claim that the Breton mage has been court wizard since the earliest time they can remember; and yet, she looks like a lady in her thirties or so. Maybe she is powerful enough that she can rejuvenate herself with magic or so."

"And what about the Jarl herself? Is Elisif capable to be in charge of the hold?"

"That is still to be seen. Honestly, it has been only about half a year that her husband was killed, and General Tullius runs everything even remotely related to military issues, so that only some administration is left to her. Overall, people seem to accept her being Jarl. Also, she is probably not very happy about the way General Tullius runs things. Once, while I had been waiting for the steward, I head part of the conversation between her and Falk, when she had asked about her next appointment with the general. The steward had told her that it had been rescheduled by the general, and Elisif had clearly stated that she does not think it correct to cancel a meeting with her, the Jarl. Falk told her that Tullius could indeed do that, while Elisif emphasized that he served in her capital city after all. The steward made her think about the fact that the general's authority comes from the emperor, who Elisif also serves. She did not like that and complained that the legion used almost all of the hold's resources."

"So, Tullius is probably isn't extremely popular around here?"

"Even the soldiers recognize him as a harsh man, and some of of those who had been in Helgen with him did not like the fact that he had decided to execute a group of Stormcloaks, specifically Jarl Ulfric, without even a trial. No, he is not very popular, but most accept him as necessary, with the rebellion and all."

"So, what is the overall mood in the city, specifically regarding the rebellion and the civil war?"

"The mood is very mixed. There are many, of course, who understand that the Legion protects them, and they feel they are a part of the Empire and are proud about it. There are others, though, who do not easily accept the decision that Talos worship is not legal anymore, and I believe they are almost as many as the other faction. There was almost a fight breaking out a couple of months ago during Roggvir's execution. He was the one who had helped Ulfric escape after he had killed the High King, and Tullius had him executed right here in Skyrim. Some citizens were quite vocal about the event, and the guards barely managed to prevent an open fight between supporters of the legion and those sympathizing with the Stormcloaks."

"I would have expected that few people openly admit that they favor the rebellion, here in Solitude."

"Few openly admit that, true, but Ulfric has many supporters even in that part of the province."

Well, that discussion had been quite enlightening, and I had a lot to think about when I was in bed later in the evening.

As agreed, we left the inn to walk to the Blue Palace in the next morning, but we had barely stepped outside when we were stopped by a female Altmer who was dressed in very neat and noble clothes:

"If you are heading to the Blue Palace, you might want to rethink that outfit."

"What? How do you know where we are going?"

"Oh, I do not; I was just guessing. So you are actually going to see Jarl Elisif?"

"Yes, we probably are. But why is that your business, if I may ask? Is there something wrong with our outfit?"

We were all wearing our armor, and we had not bothered to find or purchase 'proper' city clothes. The lady elaborated:

"Nothing is wrong with your outfit, if you go exploring and adventuring. Lady Elisif, though, is known to appreciate people around her to show some … style. You should come to our shop, Radiant Raiment, right over there; we could fix you right up, both of you."

My hesitation must have written in my face, as she added:

"Actually, if you were willing to wear one of Radiant Raiment's outfits and speak to the Jarl I would not only pay you but let you keep the outfit."

I looked at my housecarl and he shrugged, but told me:

"Well, if you want to know my opinion, getting a set of fine city clothes may not be such a bad idea after all."

Athis nodded as well, and they had a point, indeed. We were early anyway, so I agreed, and two minutes later the three of us were in the shop. Getting decent clothes for Antonius and Athis was easy, but for my size the lady and her sister needed to dig into their supplies to find something large enough for my tall body, and of course a change needed to be done for my tail. Nonetheless, the process took less than half an hour, and we were sent on our way with the words:

"So, here you are. Try to get Elisif՚s opinion on it and if she likes it mention it's from Radiant Raiment."

"We will do that, ladies; thank you and good bye."

We met Viarmo when we passed the college. He smiled, bade us a good morning and greeted us like this:

"I do hope that the court likes the verse. I think we've done an excellent job of recreating it, considering the circumstances."

The walk from the Bards College to the Blue Palace was longer than I was used to from playing, and there were a few additional houses, or more like mansions, on both sides. Just before the gate to the palace grounds, when he had passed Thane Erikur's house on the right and Thane Bryling's house on the left, as Viarmo happily explained, there was a large area on the right, with a big building surrounded by some smaller construction sites and some open space. Several people were working there, partially doing some changes to the existing building and preparing something next to it, too. I was getting curious about that and asked Viarmo about it:

"What is that construction site going to be when it is ready?"

"Oh, they have not officially announced it, but I have heard some rumors. Some people decided that our great city lacks a museum, and they, whoever the owners actually are, somehow got funding to start building it. No clue what they are going to display there, though."

"A museum? Really?"

"Well, I am not sure, but that's what I've heard."

"And what is that big building over there which looks older?"

"That is called 'Macnarian Hall', and it has been around for centuries. Rumors say that the previous owner died and gave it to those who are working on the museum now. However, those people have not announced anything yet, so that we can't know for sure. Whatever it is going to be, though, it will be something grand."

That was quite interesting, and I made a mental note to visit the place again when I came back to Solitude at a later time. In my old life, I had liked to visit museums, though more those on technical topics than those with art objects. I had no idea what a museum in Skyrim would show, but I would certainly want to see for myself when it was ready and open for visitors. Besides, I had heard about a game mod which was about a museum here, something about a legacy or so. I had never used it, but heard that is was great and well done, and it would probably have been in my list of mods for the next re-modding action; alas, that had of course never happened. Maybe they were going to have some great and fascinating exhibits like I had seen in the headquarters of the Archaeology Guild in Cyrodiil, south of the Imperial City, provided by a mod which had been called, if I remembered properly, 'The Lost Spires'?

[Author's Notes: The Solitude I imagine here is similar to the one in the 'Enhanced Solitude SSE' mod, and thus significantly larger then the vanilla one. The museum will be mentioned again at a later time, but not very soon. Naturally, the museum is related to the great 'Legacy of the Dragonborn' mod, which I have, contrary to Balu, used a few times, and I love it. I do not intend to retell events from the mod as they are, and there will be no major spoilers; I plan to use the mod for a somewhat different story, only sharing some background and general ideas. Expect more in that direction in the second book of the storyline.

Also, I have mentioned the mod 'The Lost Spires' (about the Archaeology Guild) for the 'Oblivion' game before, at the end of chapter 13. And indeed, the main hall in the guild's building there had impressed me. If anybody still plays 'TES IV', this is a mod I greatly recommend; I think that it is still available and at least linked from Nexus.]