Night had settled its cloak on Whiterun by the time Farryn had finished speaking to the Jarl. Flickering lights signified the torches carried by the walking guards and the city was as quiet as a slumbering cave. Farryn sat at the edge of the staircase leading to Dragonsreach and pondered on what she just learned. Dragonborn, a great hero and warrior. She couldn't believe it. She did not want to believe it and on top of that Jarl Balgruuf appointed her Thane of Whiterun. Farryn knew that things were going to change for her when she returned to Skyrim, but she didn't think that they were going to change this much. Fighting dragons, becoming a thane...it was all too much to process in one day.
To go from being an apprentice level mage with a specialization in Conjuration to a soul sucking dragonslayer was mind boggling. The Axe of Whiterun sat cold in Farry's lap. Its frost enchantment casted a blue glow to Farryn's face, illuminating her worn expression. She was glad that her new title did not require any responsibilities, however, she knew that by morning her status as Dragonborn would be known throughout the city and then news of Whiterun's new Thane will spread throughout the Hold. Farryn silently cursed the gossiping the soldiers and then sighed as she realized that there was nothing she could about it.
The mage shook her head and tried focusing on the matter at hand: finding a place for the night. Farryn stood up and began to make her way down the stairs. She had seen an inn when she returned, the Bannered Made it was called. She hoped she had enough gold to rent a room, otherwise she would have to camp outside and she did not want to do that.
As soon as she entered the Bannered Mare, Farryn was immediately embraced by the warmth that came from the fireplace. The inn was sparsely populated. People were sitting at the many tables sipping on mead while listening to the rich voice of the local bard. Farryn grabbed an empty seat at the counter and asked the innkeeper for a room. Sighing in relief at the cost, she handed ten gold coins to Hulda and was quickly led to her room.
Farryn plopped herself down on the bed and buried her face into the soft pillow. Her muffled groan of discontent did little make her feel better. Why did this happen to her? Did she upset one of the Divines and now they're out for revenge? She knew she wasn't the most kindest or benevolent person in the world and her past really did not give her any reason to think so. Farryn turned over and lied on her back. She couldn't sleep despite how tired she was. The mage looked up at the ceiling and wondered on what her future would hold now that her expectations have been drastically altered. Farryn shook her head again at the thought. She still had the same goals as when she first stepped foot in Skyrim. She was not going to change them because of some legend and new ability. Farryn was going to Winterhold as planned and maybe stop in Windhelm on the way there.
With her mind made up, Farryn closed her eyes and succeeded in falling asleep.
The next morning Farryn woke up well rested and ready to go. She gathered her meager belongings, opened the door, and strided out into the main hall of the inn. Patrons were mingling about the inn with drowsy countenances and Hulda was already behind her counter mopping away the mead stains from the night before. Farryn approached the innkeeper and wondered asked about any work.
"The Jarl's men came by late last night and left a bounty letter." Hulda said. Farryn was handed a slip of paper with the Jarl's seal on top. It dictated that the bandit leader at Halted Stream Camp is to be brought down by any means necessary.
She could do that. Bandits had a special place in Farryn's heart and she would be delighted in taking them out. Farryn asked Hulda where the camp was and the innkeeper provided her a map with the camp marked. The mage thanked Hulda and wondered if she could keep the map. She was given the map with shrugged shoulders.
"There are many travelers that come here. I keep extra maps in the back in hopes they come back looking for help and a bed." Hulda had said.
Farryn thanked her again and left the inn feeling chipper and hopeful. Whiterun was already bustling with life. The marketplace was packed and people shouted happy greetings to each other. Farryn entered Belethor's General Goods and bought some healing and restoring magicka potions. She was sorely tempted to buy the robes she saw hanging in the corner but she knew if she wanted to have gold left over, she needed to be careful. The gold that she scavenged from Bleak Falls Barrow was enough to buy some supplies but she had to be cautious until the bounty was collected so she could afford to ride a carriage to Windhelm. Leaving the shop feeling satisfied, Farryn continued on her way out of the city. She received respectful nods from guards as she went and the mage was not sure what to make of them.
Once she left the city gates, Farryn headed towards Whitewatch Tower. The map had shown the camp to be northwest of the tower and it seemed the journey would take a few hours coming and returning. It was likely that Farryn won't be able to get to Winterhold today. Slightly bummed at this revelation, Farryn quickened her steps and soon she was at the tower. The tower was loosely guarded from what the mage could see. As she stepped closer, she heard the unmistakeable sound of a sword coming out its sheath. Soon the clashes of battle were ringing and Farryn saw a group of bandits handling various weapons charge toward the waiting guards. She contemplated helping them and wondered if the bandits were part of the same group in Halted Stream Camp.
However, Farryn's mind was made for her as the guards swiftly and skillfully killed the raiders.
She continued on and later arrived at a log palisade with closed gate. Farryn conjured a Flame Atronach a fair distance away and for herself a bow of blue light. Crouching down, Farryn snuck to the gate and silently opened it. She continued in stealthily and motioned for her summon forward. Farryn moved to the side and let the atronach glide through the gate. As soon it was in the camp, it immediately started firing flaming balls at the bandits. Farryn quickly stood from her crouch and began firing arrows at every bandit she saw. She and her flaming companion made quick work of the bandits and Farryn made quick work of searching the bodies for gold.
Farryn proceeded through the camp and entered the mine. She dismissed her summon and resumed her crouch. Sneaking through the low lit mine was not as difficult as she assumed. She had not done this in quite awhile so the mage was rusty in the stealth department, but as Farryn took down a mining bandit she realized that she was still able to successfully sneak her way through a bandit filled mine.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
On second thought.
Farryn whirled around, brandished her bow, aimed and fired. The arrow flew and swiftly penetrated the bandit's fur covered chest. The bandit dropped to the ground and just when Farryn was about to relax, the sound of rapid footsteps from her left was heard. Cursing profusely, the mage dismissed her bow and summoned a Frost Atronach. The giant ice Atronach took up most of the space in the narrow hallway but Farryn managed to squeeze her way to the other side. She let her Frost Atronach deal with the bandit. Farryn could see that her summon was fighting the leader. The steel armor gave it away. Bandit leaders always got the better armor. It was part of the system, a system that Farryn knew very well. The leader was swinging his warhammer repeatedly against the Frost summon and the summon was thrusting its sharp icy spears at the leader. It wasn't doing much damage since the steel armor mitigated most of the damage. Seeing this, Farryn conjured her mystic bow again and this time poured enough magicka to the arrows to sharpen and power them enough to pierce the armor. The bow glowed even more brightly than before and Farryn felt sweat gathering at her brow. The amount of magicka she was used was taking a toll on her and and she needed to end this quickly unless she faint from magicka exhaustion. Just as her Frost Atronach was defeated and the bandit focused his attention on her, Farryn aimed and released an arrow straight at the bandit's unprotected head. The glowing arrow pierced the dark flesh and the leader instantly dropped to the floor with blood trickling down his forehead.
Farryn grimaced at the sight. This was why she did not like killing. It was horrible to look at. Farryn shook her head and turned away. She headed towards the direction the bandit came from and and was now in the main chamber of the mine. She ignored the dead mammoth that lied in the center of the room and walked toward the large chest sitting patiently next to a table. Hoping that it was not locked, Farryn cautiously pulled up the lid and sighed in relief when the chest fully opened and revealed its contents.
Farryn's face spread into a gigantic grin when she saw what was inside. Gold, Elven armor, petty soul gems, and a spell tome. Taking all of it, Farryn shoved the gold and soul gems into her pouch and equipped the Elven armor. She released a sigh as the light armor fell over her form. Much better, she thought. Farryn looked at the spellbook in her hands. It was book for the spell, Sparks, one of the lower tier spells in the Destruction school. Farryn squealed. It looked like her luck had turned around. She gleefully sat on the chair at the table and was about to open to the first page when something else caught her eye. Looking to her right she saw another book. This one was orange and had the Alteration symbol on the cover. Transmute Mineral Ore, it had read.
This was a very good day.
Farryn picked up the book and gazed at it in awe. She looked back in forth between Sparks and Transmute, caught in a struggle. She decided on Sparks and put the Transmute spell in her bag.
Farryn got up from her seat and started to make her way out of the mine. By the time she had returned to Whiterun, Farryn had her new spell learned and was ready to collect the bounty and head on to Winterhold. She had foregone the decision to go back to Windhelm. The gold she got from the mine was enough to buy a few more supplies before she would leave and the bounty would give her more than enough to travel to Winterhold. Farryn released a great big breath.
Today was a great day.
