Chapter 26: Fiona's magic

[12th – 14th of Hearthfire 4E 201]

Aela, Ria, Farkas and I had cleared Valtheim Towers, and to our surprise we had also found Fiona and Lydia there. The Dragonborn had not yet explained what had happened, but Freya was missing and Lydia had a broken and not properly healed arm.

Once we had delivered Lydia to the healers in the Temple of Kynareth and the bandits we had caught to the dungeon, we had talked to the Jarl՚s steward and collected our reward.

Right when the other Companions and I left Dragonsreach again after we had reported about our success at the Valtheim Towers, Fiona stepped next to me and said:

"B'lushona, can I talk to you for a moment, please?"

I was a little bit surprised about that – she had actually recalled my name, and she wanted to talk, on her own initiative – but all right. I nodded and suggested to sit down on one of the benches under the beautiful Gildergreen tree, one of my favorite spots in the city, while my fellow Companions retreated into Jorrvaskr. Fiona sat down next to me, though with some distance, and the tiny wood elf started:

"B'lushona, I do need to apologize for my rude behavior since we first met. I have some kind of … bad memories with a predator cat on Earth, and I projected that negative impression on you, I guess. Despite my holding back, you have saved my life, or at least my dignity, twice already, and I should be grateful for that rather than keeping my distance."

"Actually, lady, it's been three times already, though I was not alone for two of them."

"Three times? How? Faendal and you saved us in the entrance area of Bleak Falls Barrow, and Farkas and you rescued us today."

"Do you recall Helgen, when you were on the block?"

"Of course I do! I will never forget that in my entire life. Although, I probably missed something, as I fainted when I saw that huge black dragon."

"Indeed you missed something, Fiona, as I carried you away from the block and into the keep to prevent you being hit by the meteor rocks the dragon was hurling down. Sorry, I don't want to brag, just to fill your gaps in memory."

"Oh my God! You rescued me three times already!"

"Well, it appears that this is becoming a habit."

"So, thank you for all of that; you seem to be a good person, indeed. When we were at Helgen and I woke up in the keep, I had not idea how I got there, and I was so scared. Than Ralof and you killed the two Imperials and I was confused, and I was so happy that we found Freya, who was so friendly."

"Talking about Freya, where is she?"

"I will be getting there in a moment. I am really feeling bad about it, but Lydia and I are kind of stuck. When we left Whiterun, we took our time, and Lydia insisted that I learn about using a sword from her. So, we stopped a lot and practiced, and I may even have learned something, also from Freya, I guess. In Ivarstead we almost ran out of money, and we did some tasks for the citizens there to keep going; well, to be honest, Lydia and Freya did most of the more strenuous ones like chopping wood and I did what I could, like helping with the harvest. A couple of times the two warrior ladies also killed a bear, I think. Once we had enough money to complete our equipment and supplies, we tried to get up to High Hrothgar, just a few days ago, and at first we only had to fight off a few wolves; no big deal for the two warriors. However, maybe two thirds up, we encountered a beast Lydia called a Frost Troll. I started hitting it with arrows, but its wounds closed by themselves within a short time. Lydia attacked next, and her sword arm got badly injured. Freya was more successful and she almost managed to kill the troll, but she stumbled on the ice, got maimed and died. Her last words were like 'It's an honor to give my life while protecting the Dragonborn!'. Can you believe that?"

I nodded, and I felt sad hearing that. Freya had been the one person who had impressed me most so far, not as much as a warrior but more like a warm and friendly person, and maybe also as woman to get acquainted with a little closer, at some time in the future. I almost could not believe that she had perished, and I was close to tears. Now I'd never get a chance to ask her if she was willing to go on a date with me. She certainly had deserved a better fate.

Meanwhile the Bosmer continued:

"I do not really recall how Lydia and managed to get down to Ivarstead again, but somehow we did. We were almost out of money, once again, and barely had enough for a room for one night and some food. There's no healer there, or at least we could not find one, and we also did not have any potions left, so we could not do much about Lydia's arm. We decided to walk back to Whiterun, hoping to find help here. Obviously we made a mistake by taking the route via Valtheim Towers, and the bandits overwhelmed us quickly."

I nodded again, and there was more coming:

"Now, I still do not have any money left, and I'd feel ashamed to go begging to the Jarl. Could you, maybe, at least pay a room for a couple of nights so that I can rest, and tomorrow find out with me how I can work off my debt and earn some money on my own? You know how things work here, don't you?"

Okay, that was an honest admission at least; obviously the girl from Austria was in a much more difficult position than I was. I had been able to find some way to make money, mostly by selling loot and collecting bounty rewards, and above and beyond that I had free lodging and food in Jorrvaskr. Providing some advice on how to earn a few septims was certainly something I could and would do, as part of my service for her. For now, I guided her down to the Bannered Mare, handed over a coin purse to Hulda and told her that the Dragonborn was supposed to get a room and food for as long as she needed it. Fiona looked quite battered and worried after the events of the past days, and thus I left it at that and hurried back to Jorrvaskr.

On the next day after my usual jogging and a light breakfast I had a training session with Njada for a change. She gave me some instructions and advice on how to use a shield and introduced me to the different shields which were common, starting from a very lightweight hide shield up to a heavy ebony shield. Shields were also available in different shapes and sizes, up to huge tower shields. I had not been using a shield so far, as I wanted my left hand free for spells, but it did not hurt to know how to use them properly.

Once I had thanked Njada for the lesson I walked down to the inn to see if Fiona was already up, and when I entered the taproom she just had breakfast; obviously she was not quite such an early bird as I was.

When she was done we found a seat again on a bench under the huge tree, one of my favorite places in the city, and we picked up our conversation about options for her to make some money. I tried to offer some potential approaches:

"Okay, let's think about some short term and quick ways to make money. One option certainly is to help people with their daily chores, such as chopping wood or harvesting something on a farm. For chopping wood, no offense meant, but I am not sure if you have the muscles for that, and you probably realized that in Ivarstead already."

"No offense taken, and I certainly do not have strong muscles; no, chopping wood does not sound practical for me."

"So, helping on a farm might work, just like you said you did in Ivarstead. There is more, of course; you could check with the local alchemists and find out if they'd pay you for collecting ingredients."

"What kind of ingredients?"

"Whatever they need for potions and poisons, like mountain flowers, lavender, butterfly wings, maybe some fish, and more."

"That's what they use to brew potions, right? Okay, what else?"

"If you can do some healing, you might be able to help Danica in tending for the wounded, but she'd probably not be able and willing to pay much for that."

"How do I do healing?"

"You don't know? Have you even tried to find out how good you are in magic?"

"No; I thought magic is for mages only, and I am not a mage. Above and beyond that, Lydia seems to believe that a true warrior should not dabble with magic."

"Lydia would think that, yes, as being a Nord. But, you are not a Nord, and I am not sure if you'd call yourself a 'true warrior', whatever that actually implies. So, how do you know it's not for you?"

"Well, I guess I don't, really."

"Okay, later on we can check that, too. A good way to learn money is to work at a forge, but that's also probably not a good choice for you."

She shook her head, and I tried to think about more options:

"You could try to find someone who might be willing to take you as an apprentice, but that would imply that your are bound to a specific location, which will not work well with your Dragonborn business."

"But what is this Dragonborn business, actually? The Jarl was very vague about it and referred to the Greybeards."

"And I think this is the right way, too. The Greybeards will, according to the lore, tell you more, and once you are ready, you will need to visit them, better sooner than later."

"But how? What if the frost troll is still there?"

"Good point, Fiona. You could try to get more followers for the fighting, maybe."

"Like Freya?"

"No, more like Lydia."

"But I did not do anything to get her; she was assigned to me."

"Exactly. Lydia got assigned as your housecarl for you being a Thane of Whiterun. Maybe there is a chance to get another Thaneship."

"Why would some other Jarl want to make me a Thane, too?"

"Well, why not? You are the Dragonborn, and that might be reason enough. But let me ask you this: Have you received a letter recently?"

"Oddly enough, yes. A courier managed to find me when I was in Ivarstead, and I got a letter, from Falkreath, I think. Now as you mention it, there actually is a Thaneship mentioned in it."

"Can I see this letter, please?"

She found it in one of her pockets and handed it over, and it was, as I had suspected and expected, indeed the initial letter from the Jarl of Falkreath, and it was an invitation to the hold, with the option to become a Thane:

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Siddgeir, and I have the honor to be the Jarl of the proud and ancient city of Falkreath.

The fame of your exploits across Skyrim has brought you to my attention. If you are interested in becoming a Thane of Falkreath hold, I invite you to speak to me the next time you are in Falkreath. Aside from the honor that accrues to the title, my thanes are entitled to a personal housecarl. I also can tell you privately that a choice parcel of land in Falkreath would be available for your purchase should your services prove useful to me.

I look forward to meeting you in person. I remain,
Jarl Siddgeir of Falkreath

"So, I could just go there, do a few favors for the Jarl, and become a Thane and get another housecarl?"

"Essentially, yes, or at least I believe so. You see, despite him using the term 'proud and ancient', Falkreath is not a very rich and prosperous hold at all, and the Jarl there may expect to benefit greatly from being able to state that the Dragonborn is a Thane there and, ideally, also has a house in the hold."

"Oh."

"Let me suggest something. If you want, I could go there with Lydia and you, we see how quickly and easily we can make you Thane in Falkreath, and then we go up to High Hrothgar with your two housecarls. Once we are done there, we can split up again."

"You would really do that, even after I had treated you so shabbily?"

I nodded and added: "But the condition is that we only start once I have cleared my absence with the Companions and Lydia has fully recovered."

Fiona nodded and said: "Okay; let's go for it. Meanwhile, what about earning some money?"

"Right; let's start with alchemy."

I guided her into Arcadia's Cauldron, one of the shops around the marketplace, and it was clear that Fiona was already known, as the proprietor greeted her right away:

"Welcome, Dragonborn! If there's anything I can help you with, Thane Fiona, you have but to ask."

I replied for her: "We wonder if you'd allow the Dragonborn to use your alchemy table for some time?"

"But of course; please go ahead!"

Fiona was obviously clueless about what to do, so that I guided her through the process of mixing a minor health potion, using some of the blue mountain flower and wheat I had in my backpack. Her small and nimble fingers were much better suited for the work here, but she needed to learn the mechanics first. Like it had happened for me in the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood, a pinging noise was heard here as well, and her first bottle showed 'Healing 15p'. Okay, so her stats were already significantly better than mine. That was all right for me; I had already suspected that alchemy might not be one of my best skills, and handling the delicate equipment with my big hands was difficult enough, too. How the alchemy table managed to recognize and reward her better alchemy 'skill', though, was a mystery to me.

"What?" she yelped when she saw the bottle engraving itself.

"Yeah, my reaction as well when I saw that for the first time. Do not ask me how that is possible on a world like this; some claim it's of Dwemer origin, and there is certainly some kind of magic involved."

"So, what happened here?"

"You managed to create a potion of minor healing, Fiona. I did something similar in Riverwood, but yours is better than mine."

"So this is like one to drink and then you feel better?"

"Yes, like we used in the Barrow, and it can heal some wounds, at least partially."

"This is just like medieval role playing here!"

"Are you familiar with that?"

"Well, back home I read a lot of fantasy books and I got involved in a group of people doing medieval role playing. You know, with costumes and staves and wooden swords and all that. Of course, I am too tiny for a warrior and I can't fight, so that I was always assigned the role of elf mage, sometimes even with wings like a pixie or so."

Fiona created a few more potions, with a higher success rate than mine, too, and while she did that; I talked to Arcadia:

"So, Arcadia, how is business going?"

"I can't complain. If I had a Septim for every case of Rockjoint or Witbane I've cured since I opened this shop, I'd be a rich woman indeed. As a matter of fact, do you think that the Dragonborn lady might want to stay, as my apprentice or so?"

"I do not believe so; she's got other things to do."

"What a pity. Brewing and selling potions here in this big city rarely leaves time for collecting ingredients, and almost nobody seems to be able and willing to identify and store the herbs and flowers properly nowadays."

"Tell you what – if I meet somebody who can do this, I will send them to you."

Fiona was done now, and the last couple of potions had already shown 'Healing 16p', indicating progress in her skills. She kept some of the health potions, while she sold the others to Arcadia. The shop owner mused:

"I wonder if I should designate one of my shelves for potions made by the Dragonborn and sell them for twice the price."

When we were outside, I told my companion:

"I have got some work to do in Jorrvaskr; if you want, we can talk about magic tomorrow."

When I was back, I thought about our conversation while I did some body exercises. Had we actually had a real conversation? Yes, it seemed so, and I started to look forward to talking more on the next day.

As I had promised, I met Fiona again mid morning of the next day, and I suggested to find a quiet corner for magic practice. There were a few places like that in the city, and we claimed one bench located in the Cloud District, close to Dragonsreach; the big building protected us from the wind. About the way magic worked here in Skyrim I would have to improvise somewhat, but I started to explain:

"Look, Fiona, I believe that most if not all people in Skyrim have potential for magic. I don't know why, but magic seems to be inherent for almost everybody on this planet. For some people, the magicka pool they have may not even be enough for even novice level spells, and some, like many Nords, have an aversion against magic. My own magicka pool, for instance, is not great, and I can cast typical novice spells like healing or flames only for a few seconds before I run out; fortunately, the pool recovers with time, albeit slowly. As a Bosmer, you are likely to have a significant magicka pool, so that should not be an issue."

"But how do I do it? I do not have a clue!"

"How did you cast magic when you did role playing as a mage back home?"

"Well, I raised my hands and pretended to focus on the spell."

"So, rather than pretending, can you really focus on it?"

"Like what?"

"Maybe you can pretend that I am dangerous predator and that you need to defend yourself against me?"

"Oh."

I was not sure if that was really a good suggestion, but maybe it was a plausible one. That was just like she had seen me earlier, right? So, all she had to do was to let her instinct take over, I hoped and expected. Fiona closed her eyes for a moment, raised her hands, and soon I could see a suspicious glow there. Nothing happened at first, and I decided to help her along by growling. She yelped, the glow intensified, and suddenly something like lightning jumped over from her hands right into my body. I started to twitch and realized that the Bosmer had just hit me with a shock spell. Fortunately the casting had been a short burst rather than a continuous one, and the intensity had also been moderate, but nevertheless I felt like I had just touched an electrical outlet. My nerves tingled and my tail twitched left and right out of control for a few seconds. Fortunately the effect abated after a few seconds and I regained control over my movements and my body. I realized that if such a spell hit me during combat, I'd be unable to defend myself or do anything really for at least five to ten seconds; maybe I should investigate into enchantments to resist magic, just in case?

Fiona opened her eyes very wide, and the surprise about her success was written on her face. But she was concerned about the effect one me, and I heard her saying:

"O nein, was hab' ich getan?"

{"Oh no, what have I done?"}

When I was able to speak again, I told her:

"Do not worry, Fiona; I provoked you, and I just did not expect you to react that violently. But look, you can actually do magic! Judged by the effect on me, you are not a novice, either!"

"I have really done it, haven't I? I can hardly believe it – this time I do not just look like a little elf pretending to do magic, but I am a little elf, and I can do magic for real! Yeah!"

It was really amazing how her face had changed from being focused and worried to showing joy all of a sudden, and while I looked at her and smiled about her outburst, she explained:

"You know, every time I did that medieval role playing I dreamed that it might be real, and now it is! I mean, my start here in this land wasn't so good, but maybe it's getting a little better now. I wonder what else I can do, though – how can I learn more?"

I handed over the tome of Oakflesh which I had already read, and she asked:

"So? What am I going to do with that pamphlet?"

"Why don't you try to read it and meditate on it?"

Her eyes showed some doubts, but she started reading. When she was done, she closed her eyes for a few minutes, read again, and then focused on her hands. She needed a few attempts and some time, but eventually the usual glow showed, and I saw the same magical glow around her body which I had seen around mine when I had cast the spell.

"That's it?"

"Yes, it is, and you seem to be a fast learner."

"Wow! What is this, exactly?"

"It is called 'Oakflesh', and it improves armor rating, so that you take less damage from attacks."

"That should be useful for me, indeed."

Like on the day before, I claimed that I had work to do, and later in the day I also visited the Temple of Kynareth, both to help with healing and train my restoration and to visit Lydia. The good housecarl was glad that somebody came to visit her other than her Thane, and Danica Pure-Spring, the priestess and healer, ensured me that she was going to be fully healed and recovered in just a few more days. I told Lydia about the idea to go to Falkreath, and she just nodded and said:

"I will of course go where my Thane commands me to go. The Jarl of Falkreath is not an honorable man, as far as I know, but at least the hold is close to here."

Danica was also happy to have me around for some time, and I spent the little magicka I had on the sick people in the temple, while she gave me a few hints on how to direct a healing spell more efficiently.

Afterwards I visited the city's general store and managed to purchase a bedroll which was large enough for me. It was quite bulky and not very lightweight either, but I could tie it on top of my backpack, and it would be good to have it for the upcoming journey with Dragonborn and Lydia.

Back at Jorrvaskr I talked to Vilkas and Farkas about the plan to visit Falkreath and High Hrothgar together with the Dragonborn, and they both understood. Vilkas added:

"Although you are still a whelp, make sure to bring honor to the Companions!"

When I was back in my bed in the evening, I replayed the magic training with Fiona, and I tried to understand my reaction to the shock spell. Back in my old life, I had sometimes used a device called TENS – trans-cutaneous electrical nerve stimulation – to stimulate muscles with electric current, and the shock spell had felt quite like that, just stimulating many of my muscles at the same time. For a short period of time it had felt almost comfortable and pleasing, but of course this would turn to pain if applied longer than a few seconds or with a higher intensity.

[Author's Notes: Finally the Dragonborn is willing to talk, but will that last?

Ted Hsu: Yes, Lydia has been delivered to the healers, and Balu will get a better armor in a later chapter.]