Winds of the Ashfall: An Elder Scrolls Tale

Greg J Miller

~O~

Chapter 19

Tirdas the 13th of Hearthfire 4E71

Alaron Suvaris was up and about quite early that morning. The Zamsar had only just made port during the previous evening with yet another bout of inclement weather chasing them all the way. Fortunately, it hadn't been another severe storm quite like those that hounded the vessel on its way into Blacklight and Windhelm. Even so, it had still turned out to be a rainstorm of some sort, bringing heavy downpours. It made the seas notably less than ideal, but not nearly as treacherous as it might have been.

Adras Rurvyn had assured him that the run of storms quite so soon after the end of summer was not so typical, but it was a likely sign of what was to come. He'd suggested that the north was probably in for a nasty winter that season. It was also clear demonstration of why there'd be no more long haul vessels passing that way until the spring.

Hoping to pursue other business as soon as possible, Suvaris tended to his icing duties in the cargo hold quite early. He'd already heard that there was going to be some delay before the exchange of cargo was attended a little later in the day. Of course, part of the hold up was due to the adverse weather conditions. Though it wasn't exactly storming, the heavy rain kept coming in from the northern seas in persistent waves.

Aside from meeting his obligations with regard to the cargo, he was not especially interested in all the details of what was going on with all that. Suvaris was more anxious to learn if one of those four vessels he'd observed in the Solitude river harbour during the previous evening was the Anticlere Flyer. However, it seemed he was going to have to wait until first light to gain some insight.

It had already been dark and raining heavily when the Zamsar manoeuvred in close to the Solitude docks the previous evening. They hadn't actually docked at the piers yet, instead anchoring nearby, awaiting the morning light.

Even in the dark, it was obvious that one of the ships in the harbour was an Imperial Naval vessel. Another looked to be a sizeable fishing vessel. The other two appeared to be large cargo vessels somewhat similar to the Zamsar. Without any certainty, Suvaris remained hopeful that one of them could be the ship with Travlon aboard.

Once the subdued dawn had passed under dismal gray skies, the Zamsar eventually docked and presumably operational details had been arranged with the harbourmaster. So far, all that Suvaris knew was that the movement of cargo was still going ahead and that the weather was not looking good for that.

After he'd finished with his icing duties in the cargo hold, Suvaris looked to eating and other concerns. Details of the day's activities remained uncertain and he still didn't know the names of those other vessels at port. Eventually, he learned that he would be waiting about for a lengthy while that morning, before there would be any chance of doing anything else.

Only because he was not permitted near the upper deck during the exchange of cargo, he returned to that tiny cabin for a bit. Waiting to learn when he would be able disembark the vessel, Suvaris cast his mind back over the occurrences of the past three days.

After passing all of last Fredas at port at Windhelm awaiting the change of weather, the Zamsar finally departed Windhelm's docks during the next day. Due to the uncertain conditions on Loredas morning, it had ended up being a bit later than initially anticipated before they were again under way.

It appeared that the windblown snowfall over Windhelm had eased to almost nothing overnight. By the dim dawn, the worst of it had mostly passed. Only the occasional smattering of flakes fell from above in sporadic bursts on relatively light winds. It presented as stark contrast to the harsh gusts of wind driven sleet and snow of the previous day. Even so, the pale cloudy skies seemed somewhat undecided. Hardly storming, but not exactly holding the promise of fair weather either.

It was near to mid-morning by the time that the Zamsar's bosun was finally ordered to direct the crew to action. From what was heard, the captain had decided that the weather was as good as it was going to get and any further delay would likely only increase the odds of encountering greater concerns as the season turned.

That stretch of the White River from the city out to the sea remained relatively uneventful upon fairly becalmed waters. With the tide turning in favour, only light sail was needed to make the mouth of the river in fair time.

Of course, navigating the obstacles of the exposed bay proved more challenging for the crew of the vessel. That had been made sufficiently difficult by the agitated waters where the bay transitioned to the northern sea. Though it was not actually storming on Loredas, the waters were far from placid. Even so, once clearing the waters near to Bleakrock Isle, the generally mild heaving swell of the deeper waters presented no great adversity.

Still, those open waters immediately north of the mouth of the White River were not without other dangerous concerns. The Zamsar firstly needed to bear eastward to avoid numerous rocky outcrops and small islands near to the northern coastline. Even further out from the coast, the vessel still needed to navigate clear of a smattering of ice drifts and a number of other smaller rocky outcrops, which didn't really qualify as islands by any proper reckoning.

Once out into open water, the Zamsar was able to proceed under full sail for much of the latter part of the afternoon. Even so, it seemed to Suvaris that they'd not really travelled a significant distance westward before the sunset. Under the persistent gray skies, the waters of the sea seemed perhaps midway between calm and troubled.

Late in the day, during a brief visit up on deck, Suvaris thought that it had started to rain again. However, he quickly learned that it was only the spray of the seawater stirred from the bow of the vessel as it negotiated the mild swell.

Suvaris understood that the name of the northern sea served as a reminder of how many sailors had perished in those waters over the centuries. Many of their restless ghosts were said to haunt the lesser islands and reefs of the region.

He also gained some better idea of the other reason why those waters were known as the Sea of Ghosts. Looking back toward the distant landmass of Skyrim, he noted that not all of the snow covered rocky outcrops in view were what they seemed. A few of them appeared to be slowly moving, independent of other nearby objects, indicating that they were actually large ice drifts gradually drawing toward the coast. Looking out across the open waters toward the west and the north, he could also make out other similar objects drifting in the distance like pale ghosts upon the sea.

From passing conversations with Adras and other members of the crew, Suvaris learned that the sea ice remained the greatest matter of concern for vessels traversing those northern waters. Only during the height of the warmest summers did the ice retreat to lowest ebb. Even then, it was said that it was not uncommon for large mountains of ice to be occasionally seen sailing across the seas from the north. Still, during the summer, it was said that only those larger ones could remain intact to make it to the subtly warmer summer waters.

By the time of the full northern winter, the ice would commonly aggregate to form vast ice sheets extending from the Skyrim shoreline right out to where they sailed during the summer months. Adras had heard that it was sometimes possible to walk for several leagues upon the ice during the coldest months of the year. He'd been told that certain Nords took hunting parties out during the winter to find large horkers on the ice sheets.

Having tasted horker meat before, Suvaris questioned the value that kind of pursuit, balanced against the obvious dangers of the task. Apparently, horker skins were cured for leather and the tusks held some notable value. Even so, he imagined that the practice of hunting horkers upon winter ice sheets was more driven by tradition than need.

By the time that darkness was fading, the Zamsar's sails were furled and the anchor was dropped. The vessel passed Loredas evening anchored by the outermost rocky outcrop of that area. That tiny rock was the last fixed object in the waters north of the Winterhold region, situated just beyond the outmost of the larger outcrops and barren islands.

The ship's lone Khajiit had been posted perched up high on the main mast keeping watch for dangers. Though other concerns might have been possible, he was mostly watching for ice drifts.

After the passing of a relatively peaceful evening, the Zamsar was again on its way with the dawn on Sundas. The weather seemingly remained uncertain that day. Though nothing seemed to actually fall from the skies, the vaguely threatening cloud cover remained overhead. The swell of the open waters remained comparatively mild, but it was far from calm. Even so, the vessel was able to proceed under full sail for most of the day. The only real concern of the day had been navigating well clear of any large ice drifts in view, as well as watching for any less obvious ice sitting lower to sea level.

The relatively cool weather above and icy seawaters below had certainly made the task of keeping chilled cargo at a proper temperature far less arduous. Though Adras had come down check on it as well, Suvaris was able handle it all easily enough on his own.

During that second day out from Windhelm, Suvaris had briefly run into that mysterious Redguard he'd previously noticed back in Mournhold and then again before he boarded the vessel at Ald Mire. It seemed that Jellan had only paused to consider Suvaris because he'd observed that he looked out of place among the other crew of the vessel.

Only a brief exchange passed. Jellan enthusiastically confirmed that he was a wine merchant, originally hailing from Rihad in eastern Hammerfell, but recently passing more of his time in Cyrodiil. He also confirmed that Captain Cirroc was a close friend, but seemed less open with regard to that matter.

The Redguard had been somewhat curious upon learning that Suvaris was Fighters Guild. A brief explanation that he was merely providing icer service in exchange for passage on the vessel seemed enough to satisfy Jellan's passing curiosity. After hearing that detail, the Redguard seemed to hold no further interest and continued on his way.

Suvaris found himself feeling slightly curious that he'd managed to pass nearly nine days on the Zamsar without previously encountering that Redguard at all. He held no idea where Jellan passed his time. He speculated that he might have been quartered with the captain, since he'd not actually seen him either.

Pausing to think about it, Suvaris noted that he didn't really have much contact with many of the Zamsar's crew. Aside from the captain, there were twelve other crew members on the vessel, thirteen including himself. Most of his direct contact generally seemed limited to Anton the Imperial bosun, Adras, that Breton lad Daric, and Gaston the cook.

Though he'd seen everyone else but the captain, he didn't know most by name. It was fair to note that few seemed at all interested in knowing his name. More than once he'd been referred to as 'hoy you' or just 'Dunmer'. It seemed that few of the Zamsar's crew were particular friendly. The three Redguard of the regular crew seemed notably unfriendly.

He'd picked up on a few names in passing, but only a few. There was a rather sullen and unkempt Imperial who seemed to go by 'Max', presumably that was shortened from something else. There were also two Nords who both seemed to go by 'Hans', if he wasn't mistaken. He didn't actually know the Khajiit's name, since everyone seemed to only refer to him as 'the Khajiit' and he seemed to very much keep to himself. Aside from that, the names of the others remained unknown to him. Suvaris chose to merely accept that as the way of things.

Sundas evening, the Zamsar passed the hours of darkness positioned somewhere well north of Dawnstar, possibly even a bit west of that location. Evidently, the waters were far too deep to drop anchor. The ship passed the evening drifting with sail hoisted and with that Khajiit again perched up high to keep watch for dangers.

Once the light of another grim gray dawn had arrived on Morndas morning, the Zamsar resumed the journey toward the next port. As Suvaris understood it, the vessel needed to travel a little further to the west and then back to the south before making its way for the ruling seat of Skyrim's Haafingar region.

Adras had explained the manoeuvres the Zamsar would be observing on its way to Solitude. With the mountains of Haafingar in view on the southern horizon, they'd be coming along toward two tiny barren islands. Those rocky outcrops marked the turn. From there, they'd be sailing due south, until the Solitude Lighthouse was clearly in view. Adras told him that they needed to follow a path directly for the lighthouse to avoid an obvious rocky reef to the east and another less visible reef further to the west. They also needed to avoid any ice drifts that might be intruding upon the area. Once near the lighthouse, which was actually located well outside the city, the Zamsar would swing out to the east into the broad bay of the Karth River. The reasonable expectation had been that they'd make port during the afternoon.

However, the weather shifted markedly just after the vessel began the turn near those rocky islands. The skies to the north and east darkened and winds turned gusty. Suvaris had heard that the crew above deck had their hands quite full trying to hold course. The rolling and bouncing movement of the vessel easily supported that claim. Of course, he'd been expected to remain below deck and out the way during all of that.

He'd later heard that the crosswinds and agitated waters north of the bay forced the Zamsar to minimal sail as they struggled to slowly navigate the most dangerous part of the passage, avoiding the rocky reefs. Even nearer to the lighthouse, further effort had been required to keep clear of the rocky coastline before making it to the deeper channels of the bay.

He'd also heard that sails were earlier spotted coming out on the bay as they were on their way inward, but those vessels had evidently turned about and returned to the safety of the harbour.

Fortunately, the gusty winds eased off as the rainstorm arrived. Even so, the heavy downpour and choppy waters still made things notably challenging all the way to port. Of course with all that adversity in play, it was dark and rainy by the time that the Zamsar finally pulled into the harbour.

Only once the ship had come to full rest, Suvaris had tried to go up to see what the situation was. Aside from managing to become as drenched as most of the rest of the crew, he'd observed that they were actually in port, but not yet docked. He also spotted those other four vessels in view and not much else.

It was late in the morning by the time that the exchange of cargo was finally done and then Suvaris needed to look to his icing duties once more before he was able to consider the possibility of disembarking the vessel.

It seemed that the rain was still showing no sign of easing. In passing, he'd heard that all the vessels at port were going nowhere until the weather showed some indication of improving. He'd already considered that circumstance might actually serve in his favour.

"Suvaris?" Adras was shuffling his way through the crates in the hold and headed toward him. "Figured I'd find ya down here."

Suvaris noted that the other Dunmer was carrying one of those heavy cloaks. They were fashioned from animal skins, oiled to keep out water. He'd observed the crew wearing them up on deck during the inclement weather. "Are you going back out in the rain?"

Adras stifled a snort. "B'vek, no. Had me fill of that for one day, or maybe the whole week. Figured ya might be wantin' to borrow it."

Suvaris raised his brow in question, anticipating that Adras had more to say.

"Just found out that ship over on the west pier is the Anticlere Flyer… an' they're stuck here just like us. For today, leastways. Can't be sayin' what tomorrow will bring."

Suvaris returned a subdued grin. "That is agreeable news... for my purposes."

"Figured ya might be thinkin' that. Ya might even get ta find out if that fella yer lookin' for is on it." Handing the cloak over to Suvaris, Adras gestured toward the chilled cargo. "I can finish up here for ya."

Suvaris responded with a mild shrug. "It's already done, for now."

Adras nodded with a grin. "Much easier for me, then."

"Yes, for now."

Adras nodded his head toward the crates. "I'll just check over what's what… in case any of it needs lookin' to before ya get back."

Suvaris returned an agreeable nod, before taking his leave.

Suvaris left the cool and damp cargo hold behind and made his way for the upper deck of the ship. He put on the heavy cloak before stepping outside. Just as he reasonably suspected, the rain was still coming down rather steadily. The cargo hold suddenly seemed just a little less cold and damp. Though it looked like a grim and gloomy day outside, he could be somewhat thankful that it wasn't windy as well.

The Zamsar was docked along the eastern side of the main pier. A two level timber structure on the docks next to the boarding planks was clearly marked with East Empire Trading Company signage. Minding his footing, he made his way across the deck, then down the boards to the main pier. After crossing the short distance along the pier, Suvaris paused beneath the cover of the broad awning in front of the East Empire building.

Turning about with a mild curiosity, Suvaris looked toward the huge doors sealing a large cavern entrance in the cliff-face below the city. It put him in mind of the large gates on the canals through Bravil. However, what he was gazing upon seemed much larger than those other canal gates and appeared to completely conceal whatever lay beyond.

A Nord accented voice called out from the open doorway of the timber structure behind him. "Only East Empire ships in there."

Suvaris raised his eyebrows. "There are ships in there?" He noted that the portly man in the doorway looked more like an Imperial than a Nord, despite his local accent.

The other man maintained a stern expression. "If you ain't East Empire, you don't have no business in there."

Suvaris nodded his understanding. "Of course. I'm… I'm actually looking for the Anticlere Flyer."

The other man narrowed his eyes. "Didn't I see you just coming off the Zamsar?"

Suvaris nodded. "That's correct. I'm with the Zamsar. I understand that a… a nephew of mine is on that other vessel."

The portly Imperial shrugged and pointed his thumb in the general direction of the outer piers. "That one over there. West pier, off the end."

Suvaris returned a thankful expression. He could tell that other man didn't really care if he was helpful or otherwise. He only seemed interested in directing him away from the East Empire warehousing. Clutching the heavy cloak and keeping his head inclined so that the hood deflected the persistent rainfall, Suvaris made his way southward along the pier.

Suvaris noticed that the ship of the Imperial Navy was still anchored out in the harbour, positioned out of reach of any piers. Though its name was not evident, the flags and other markings clearly broadcast that it was a naval vessel.

Passing by that other cargo vessel docked just behind the Zamsar, he could see nothing obvious to indicate the name of that ship either. Since only some trade vessels were signed with boldly marked names on the hull, he casually wondered how proper identification was maintained.

At the end of the main pier, a shorter pier veered of to the east. A much longer pier extended toward the west between two vessels. Of course, the mid-sized fishing vessel on one side appeared obvious enough. Even though there seemed nothing in clear view to broadcast its name, the other vessel had to be the Anticlere Flyer.

The planks were extended from ship to pier, but there seemed to be nobody about up on deck. Given the state of the weather, that came as no great surprise. Presuming he was going to have to go find someone, Suvaris made his way up onto the vessel and looked toward the entry to below deck. He then noticed a younger Redguard lad in the open doorway, standing just out of reach of the rain. The lad called out to someone inside, before returning his attention toward the approaching stranger. Just as Suvaris neared the doorway, a man of Breton appearance with dark facial hair roughly sculpted into a stylised beard pushed past the lad.

The Breton eyed Suvaris with suspicion. "Ship's bosun. What's your business?"

Suvaris maintained an even tone. "Alaron Suvaris, travelling on the Zamsar. I'd heard that there might be a Travlon Suvaris on the Anticlere Flyer."

The bosun frowned. "Ah, well yeah. We have a Travlon Suvaris. You related?"

"Though I've not met him before, I believe that to be the case."

"You don't sound nothing like him… maybe got a bit of the same look about you, near as I can tell." The Breton didn't seemed immediately swayed.

"I've been living in Cheydinhal for several decades. However, I have reason to believe that Travlon might be my brother's grandson. I'd only just learned of him very recently."

"Brother's grandson?"

"From what I've been able to learn, yes. That's what I suspect."

The bosun shook his head. "Dunno nothing about any of that. He's just one of my riggers. Only fairly new. S'pose you'll have ask him."

Suvaris returned an understanding nod. "I'm hoping to."

The Breton shook his head again. "He ain't here. He's gone off back up the city with some other lads."

Suvaris glanced off toward the stone walls up above, before returning his gaze to other man. He hadn't spoken the question that his expression was clearly broadcasting.

The Bosun answered anyway. "Since we're stuck here until tomorrow, you'll probably find them up in a local tavern or the like."

Suvaris again nodded. "I thank you for your time."

Without speaking, the Breton nodded his head once and watched the Dunmer turn away. He kept watching until he was off the vessel.

Only easing off mildly, the rain kept coming down from the dismal skies. Suvaris made his way back along the piers toward where he'd come from.

Just short of the East Empire building, wooden stairways rose up from the northern side of the main pier. Whichever way anyone followed from the docks to the city, it began with those stairs.

The previous evening, Adras had casually mentioned previous visits to Solitude and the two ways up to the city. He knew that he could either turn left from the top of the stairway and go up via the hamlet and stabling outside the east of the fortified city entrance, or else turn right to go over the stone bridge. A bit further along, there was meant to be a tunnel to a stairway that climbed up through the rock to come out inside the city.

Suvaris glanced toward the grain mill tower rising above the rooves of nearby farmhouses uphill to the east. With rain angling from a northerly direction, the cliff face near the stone bridge on his right seemed to make it appear slightly more sheltered. Since there was meant to be a covered tunnel into the city in that direction, he decided to head that way.

Along the way, Suvaris noted that the bridge was actually directly above that gated cavern in the rock face, where that man by the docks had mentioned that East Empire ships were sheltered. That was something that Adras hadn't mentioned at all.

Looking ahead, he also noted that the pathway continued off into the distance, below the tall rocky formation forming a grand arch over the river. He understood that the main city was situated on the northern side of that archway. However, some portion of the city was actually on that arch above the river. He also understood that the famed Blue Palace of Haafingar was perched atop the sheer cliff faces rising up from the southern side.

Through the rain, he could just make out that some of the sections of tiled roofing above the gray stone walls of the palace did seem to be blue, but most of what he could see appeared to be built from the same gray stone as everything else in view. He also noticed a tall windmill up above on the south side of the arch. Though there seemed no noticeable wind, the vanes were slowly rotating.

He hadn't noticed them until they took flight, but there must have been several gulls sheltering along overhangs in the cliff face. It wasn't immediately obvious why a group of about a dozen birds had suddenly scattered in different directions. One gull skimming low toward the surface of the river was suddenly struck from above by a dark coloured blur from above. The unfortunate gull was carried away in the talons of a seahawk of some kind. The hawk continued onward across the river toward the southern shores.

After crossing over that stone bridge and passing a neglected looking hardwood lamppost, Suvaris was beginning to wonder just how far off that lower city entrance was. Just when he was starting to think that he'd somehow gone the wrong way, he spotted a timber door set into the rock to the left of the path with another lamppost just nearby. Though it remained unmarked and unguarded, evidently it was what he was looking for.

The timber door opened easily enough, indicating that it was well used and that the hinges were well greased. The oil lamp burning inside also indicated that the tunnel was regularly used. Eager to get out of the rain, Suvaris closed the door behind him and entered the tunnel ahead.

~O~