The Road to Hell
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Chapter 6: Solitary Alignment
The very first thing that I noticed as we were marched up the road towards the city of Solitude was that everything seemed much more spaced out. When we approached the city gates to Solitude, I gaped at how fucking massive they were; made of undoubtedly thick granite and the large double doors were enormous slabs of wood banded with thick strips of iron or steel.
It took almost two people on either side of the doors to open them. We were soon in the main square of Solitude and I gawped like a moron again as I saw just how many people there were in the city. In the game version of Solitude, there were at best a dozen NPCs, but here, there were maybe ten times that which also meant that the market square was much bigger and there were even more stalls and even some more buildings.
The white noise of people going about their business mingled with the sound of cawing seagulls from the nearby oceans, the sound of the blacksmith which was sequestered near Castle Dour that loomed over the market square. And there weren't just humans in the market square; I spotted a smattering of elves, even the odd Argonian, although the Argonian that offered the lighthouse quest wasn't anywhere to be seen.
I could hear the whispers of my companions as they undoubtedly had seen the non-humans that mingled with the commonfolk. "Gods! Where have we landed?" Rolly whispered as he tensed up at seeing an Orc walk past.
"Best not to stare," Haldon whispered to him although the Halfmaester himself looked wary as well. "How is this even possible?" I heard him mutter to himself.
I looked at Jon who had set his face in a hard expression, but I could see the fearful wonderous look in his pale blue eyes. It was clear he was shocked at what he was seeing and was trying to put on a brave front so he could get answers of where he was and how to get back home.
We made our way through the market square and through the domestic district where people made their homes. Much like the market, the suburban neighbourhood of Solitude was much more expansive and there were more houses and even some mansions arranged neatly throughout the district. I spied the Blue Palace in the distance, and it was massive; granted this would be the first real castle I'd ever seen in my life, so I didn't have anything to compare it to.
We soon reached the front gates of the Blue Palace where we stopped and General Tullius turned around to speak to us. "I cannot let any of you go before Jarl Elisif so armed. If you would turn over your weapons, then we may adjourn to speak with the Jarl," he said to us.
Jon had a pinched look on his face as he didn't like the thought of being unarmed in potentially hostile territory. Taking initiative, I unbuckled the knife that was attached to my belt and handed it over to General Tullius. The older man smiled faintly and nodded and seeing me handed over my weapon encouraged everyone else to do the same.
After everyone had disarmed themselves of whatever weapons they had, we were then allowed inside the palace. With the size of palace on the outside, the interior was bigger as well and already I could hear conversations that came from above as it seemed clear that Jarl Elisif was holding court.
We made our way up the stairs and found Jarl Elisif sitting on her throne. Much like her videogame version, she sat straight in her chair, her hands folded resting on her lap. An almost uncertain look was in her eyes as she and the rest of the courtiers were discussing important matters. I spotted some of the familiar faces such as Elisif's steward Falk Fire-Beard and even that ponce who bought his status as Thane, Erikur.
I glanced out the corner of my eye and saw that Jon, Rolly and Haldon looked a little surprised at seeing a woman being in a position of authority. Almost immediately, the court became near silent as General Tullius stood to attention before Elisif and spoke in a clear firm voice.
"Jarl Elisif, I apologise for interrupting matters of state, but I felt this warrant your urgent attention," the Military Governor said.
"It is no trouble, General Tullius. We were just about finished," Elisif said with a polite if strained smile. If I had to guess, she had just been named Jarl after the murder of her husband High King Torygg at the hands of Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, although some would debate that Ulfric had challenged Torygg to an honourable duel and did not commit murder. "Who are these curious strangers you have brought before me?" Elisif then asked as she gazed at me and my companions.
Jon stepped up beside Tullius and spoke in a polite voice, "Greetings to you, your grace. My name is Griff, I am a sellsword," he started. "These are my son, Young Griff. Rolly a blacksmith, Haldon the Halfmaester, Septa Lemore, Asher Forrester and Beskha of Essos," he then said.
"A pleasure to receive you, Griff the Sellsword," Elisif said regally. "How is it you came to Solitude?" she asked.
"That is the trouble, your grace. We don't know how," Jon said to her. "We were on a ship bound for Pentos when we were set upon by an unnatural fog and we found ourselves in your city docks not long afterwards," he explained.
"Pentos…? Where is this Pentos located?" Falk Fire-beard asked.
"On the continent of Essos," Jon said nonplussed.
Everyone of Elisif's court glanced at each other uncertainly, then Sybille Stentor, the court mage and vampire spoke up, her voice harsh yet hypnotic in sound and cadence. "I have not heard of this Pentos or Essos. If you are trying to play some practical joke, then you have come at an inopportune time," she stated.
"I swear to you by the Old, New and Drowned, we are telling the truth," Jon almost shouted.
"Really?" Sybille quipped dryly and her glowing red eyes almost flared brightly beneath her hood. "You carry yourself much differently than a common sellsword, the way you speak indicates you are an educated man and you seem more at ease in a court than most," she said slyly.
Jon gritted his teeth at seemingly being caught out. I gave a tired sigh and stepped forth and spoke, "Forgive us, my lady. On behalf of my companions, I apologise if we are attempting to deceive you, so I will be blunt," I said. "My name isn't really Young Griff, it is Aegon," I stated in a clear brusque manner.
"What are you doing?! Are you mad?!" Jon grabbed my shoulder to pull me back.
"Why should we lie to these people?" I rebuked him. "It's clear we're not anywhere in Essos or even Westeros. We shouldn't have to hide from these people unless necessary," I said.
"So, Aegon, that is your real name?" Falk asked.
"It is, my lord," I replied. "Griff the Sellsword is Lord Jon Connington, formerly of Griffin's Roost, and the rest are who Jon has said them to be," I then said. "I apologise for deceiving you, and I also apologise to you, Asher and Beskha," I added looking at the two sellswords.
To his credit, Asher grinned at me and said, "I had a feeling you weren't who you said you were. And you said your name is Aegon?" I nodded at this. "There's only one Aegon in recent memory that I know of and he was murdered as a babe in arms by the Mountain That Rides," the Northerner mused.
"There's actually some debate whether I am who I am or not," I replied giving a glance to Jon who had a pinched look on his face. Undoubtedly, he was thinking of some way to admonish my impertinence in the situation, but the way I saw it, this was better for all of us in the end.
Sybille looked at coldly and asked, "Debate about who you are? You are lying to us again?"
"Not intentionally or knowingly, I assure you," I replied calmly. "For a long time, I was led to believe I was Prince Aegon Targaryen, smuggled out of the capitol of Westeros as a babe and raised in secret, but some… unfortunate circumstances have led me to question my origins about who I truly am," I explained.
"And who do you truly think you are?" Erikur asked in his smarmy voice.
"I have one or two theories that I need to confirm, hence why we were on our to Pentos to speak with someone who would have the answer to the question," I replied as already Erikur was getting on my nerves with his smarmy attitude.
Elisif looked at Sybille who nodded and raised a hand which glowed a bright blue, something that shocked my companions at seeing magic and the court mage placed her hand on my chest. Lord Jon looked panicked and made to pulled me away, but I raised my hand to stop and assure him it was fine.
A cool almost liquid feeling of vertigo came over me as Sybille placed her glowing hand on my chest and after a moment, the feeling faded and she stepped away with a surprised look on her face that was concealed by her hood.
"He is telling the truth. These people are from another world," she said in barely concealed shock.
"Is this an invasion?" General Tullius asked as his left hand gripped the hilt of his sword.
"We have no intention of invading your land, General Tullius, sir," I said to him. "In truth, we seek to return to our own world," I added.
Elisif then stood from her throne and spoke for all to hear. "Perhaps, this calls for some food and refreshments, more conducive to conversation," she said knowingly.
"Yes, some food and wine might be appreciated by all here, my jarl," Falk said in agreement.
Elisif then gave her steward orders for us to be shown to some private rooms. Upon his insistence, Jon shared a room with me. Doubtless, he was going to use this room to reprimand me for doing what I did and I braced myself for dressing down I was going to receive.
"What got into your head doing that?" the exiled lord hissed at me angrily. "We should count ourselves fortunate that they didn't decide to throw us into whatever dungeon they had to await trial and execution!" he ranted at me.
I frowned at the man and replied, "And if we had kept doing what you were doing before, we might've ended up in the dungeon all the same."
"I needed to be sure we would be safe from detection!" Jon told coldly.
I gave a tired sigh and said, "For someone who goes on about being discreet, subtle, and hidden, you aren't so much those things yourself. You act more like the lord you were once instead of a sellsword."
Jon looked at me insulted by the fact I called him out on such a thing. "I've been nothing but discreet the entire time in Essos raising you!" he protested.
"And you've done well to some degree, but that's only because you barely interact with most commonfolk in Essos and looking back now, I can see the little signs of your lordliness peaking through your sellsword disguise," I told him.
Jon frowned at me, his pale eyes narrowing at me. For half a moment, I thought he meant to raise his hand to strike me, but he then sighed, running a hand over his lined face. "Eurgh, perhaps you are right. I need to act more a sellsword than a lord," he muttered to himself.
"Plenty of time to learn, Lord Jon," I said to him lightly as the door to the room opened and Falk entered the room with a pair of Legionnaires.
"Is the room to your liking?" Falk asked.
"It's very comfortable, my lord. We thank you for the accommodations," I said for Lord Jon and myself.
"I am no lord, young sir, merely a steward and advisor to the Jarl," Falk said politely. "If you would follow me, refreshments are being served," he added as he turned around and left the room.
"Come. The sooner we get our answers, the sooner we can find a way back home," Lord Jon said to me as he walked past me and I followed after him. Yet another I noted about this version of Skyrim I found myself was that the Blue Palace was much larger in size, it was almost labyrinthian in design with various passages and rooms, undoubtedly to accommodate any lords, courtiers, staff and VIPs who called the place home.
Following the steward, we found ourselves in a banquet hall where food and wine was laid out for everyone to consume. The food wasn't anything extravagant, mostly cured, salted or smoked meats, hard cheeses and baked bread to eat. There were some pitchers filled with either wine, ale or, given that this was Skyrim, mead, along with cups and goblets to pour into.
Jarl Elisif was already seated at the head of the table and she smiled politely at me and Lord Jon and waved us over to sit beside her. Jon took the closest seat next to Elisif while I sat beside him.
"You'll forgive me for not putting on a proper spread," Elisif said to us apologetically. "It was rather short notice and early in the day for my kitchen to prepare a proper welcome," she explained.
"It's no trouble, your grace. We understand completely," Jon said to the Jarl politely as he took an offered goblet of wine from a serving girl giving her a nod of thanks.
I too was offered a cup of wine and although I wasn't intending on getting drunk or drinking alcohol at this time, I took a cup to be polite and gave a thankful smile to the young girl serving who smiled back shyly.
"This is quite an interesting affair," Elisif spoke as she sipped slowly from her wine goblet. "To host visitors from another world entirely. If you had told me that I would be doing such beforehand, I'd have laughed at the notion," she said with a smile.
"And if you had told me that I would end up in another world, I too might've laughed and had you sent away to be taken care of," Jon said lightly.
"Well, perhaps you can share some stories of your world with us, Lord Jon," Elisif said. "Come, regale us with tales of your world," she added.
As Jon engaged Elisif in conversation with tales about Westeros, I sat quietly at the table, feeling very awkward; I'd never been good at social gatherings and parties. Whenever my family had a gathering at home, I mostly hid in my room and pretended I didn't exist, something that irked my father who wanted me to be more social. But what did I have to talk about? Most people didn't share my hobbies and interests and I didn't share theirs. Of course that didn't stop some people from trying to engage me in conversation which I was usually very resistant to and I usually made my escape and hid until everyone was gone.
I nibbled on some hard orange cheese and watched as everyone spoke and conversed with one another. I spotted Asher, Beskha and Rolly speaking with General Tullius, and Septa Lemore and Haldon were speaking with Thane Bryling and Erikur.
Then a familiar voice spoke to me, "Bored?" I gave a start and looked to see Sybille Stentor sitting beside me, an amused smile on her lips as she gazed at me with those red eyes that were barely concealed by her hood.
"Um, no?" I offered tentatively.
Sybille chuckled at my response and said, "Come now, child, you needn't lie to me. I can tell you're bored sitting here with barely anyone to talk to. Perhaps you may wish to converse with me?"
I knew Sybille was a vampire and I had some inkling to her feeding habits which involved prisoners in the Castle Dour dungeons, if the other mage Melaran's comments were anything to go by. Her offer of conversation set off some doom receptors in my head as her offer may be some ploy to get me alone to drink my blood.
"I'm afraid I wouldn't share much of your interests to engage in conversation with," I replied politely.
"Oh, you wouldn't let a lady sit here alone with no-one to talk to, would you?" Sybille lamented jokingly.
I sighed and I knew this may lead to something dangerous as I regarded the Breton vampire assessingly and asked, "Very well, is there a particular topic on which you'd like to converse?"
Sybille smiled at me more warmly and replied, "Well, I'm interested to know how you seemingly already know of this land."
"You read my mind earlier, didn't you?" I deadpanned.
"A little, not too much, but enough to determine you aren't from the world you were on before finding yourself in this world," Sybille admitted.
"Well, I don't suppose you have any answers to that question, do you?" I asked almost flippantly.
"Nothing concrete, but if I were to ask some colleagues at the College of Winterhold, they may have some answers," Sybille said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Yes, and if I were to guess, it would take a long time to get to Winterhold. Much different to what I knew of before I found myself here," I said.
"Indeed, it would take almost a month to get to Winterhold if you went by horse and the weather proved kind to you and you weren't waylaid by bandits or wild beasts," the vampire mage told me. "You could always hitch a ride with a merchant caravan, but it would take you longer and very few merchant caravans go to Winterhold due to the lack of business opportunity there," she said.
"Plus I would need money in order to hire a caravan to take me there," I said cynically.
"Of course. Money makes the world go round, as they say," Sybille said in amusement. "But thankfully, there is no shortage of work available for those who need the money and don't ask too many questions," she added.
"Mercenary work?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
"Of course. Plenty of people need something or someone killed, or may simply need someone to watch their back," Sybille pontificated.
"Permit me to ask; what year is it?" I then asked.
"It is the year 200 in the fourth era, just about the start of the winter season," Sybille told me.
"Year 200," I mumbled to myself. I knew that the events of Skyrim took place in the year 201, so while I doubted I was the Dragonborn character, I perhaps had time before the return of Alduin and his dragons and the other assorted bad guys such as Harkon and Miraak. If I were the Dragonborn, I at least had intimate knowledge of Skyrim and its denizens, but that was very subject to change given how I'd seen Solitude in real life as it was much bigger in size and more dense in population which could lead to things being very different with differing agendas and ideals. But if I weren't the Dragonborn and I encountered him or her, I could offer some insight to them.
I knew it sounded sketchy to do that to whomever the Dragonborn may be, but what else could I do? For the time being, I had no real way of getting back to Planetos, and from what Death had told me, my life on Earth was very much over. So I would need to make the best of this new life whilst I could.
I sighed to myself and drank from my cup of wine. The liquid sloshed about in my stomach and the alcohol already made me feel lightheaded. I rose unsteadily to my feet.
"Aegon?" I looked to see Lord Jon looking at in concern.
"I'm fine," I said to him. "Just need some air. That's all," I added before slowly making my way towards the open balcony. I did my best to not stumble or trip though the alcohol in my system made that a little challenging. Thankfully, Septa Lemore was instantly by my side and she gently guided me towards the balcony.
I gave a sigh of relief as the cool autumn breeze swept across my face, sobering me up a little. "Are you alright, my prince?" Lemore had asked as she looked at me with almost motherly concern.
"Yes, I just don't have a very high tolerance for alcohol," I replied with a shaky smile. "Who drinks this early in the day, really," I joked trying to not slur my words.
"Indeed, my prince," Lemore said with a light laugh. "Perhaps you'll ask for water or pomegranate juice next time?" she added as her own jest.
"Perhaps," I said in agreement. I looked out across the city of Solitude before saying, "You know, this place feels… familiar to me…"
"How so?" Lemore enquired.
I knew that if I told Lemore that this world we found ourselves was actually a video game, not that she knew what a video game would be, she mightn't have believed me. Instead, I opted to tell a half-truth. "I dreamt of this place, when the fever was upon me and I lost my memory," I said choosing my words carefully.
"Ah, dragon dreams," Lemore said with a nod of her head. "Those born of Valyrian blood are said to have dreams and visions, though what those visions pertain is up for debate," she stated.
"You don't believe me?" I asked.
"I'm not sure what to believe, my prince," Lemore said cautiously. "Long have I believed in the Seven in One, and I like to say that I believe in you," she added earnestly. "But given that we somehow found ourselves in another world through a foggy night, I wonder what our purpose in this strange land is," she then said.
"Doubtless Lord Jon will try to find us some way back home," I said blithely.
"Do you not wish to?" Lemore looked at me quizzically.
"I do," I said after a second of thought. "We did intend in questioning the Cheesemonger about who I am," I added.
"Indeed, we did, my prince," Lemore said sadly. "Although, if the truth isn't what Lord Jon thinks or dreads, I don't know how he'll react," she muttered softly.
"And how would you react, Septa?" I asked looking at her.
Lemore looked caught off guard but she schooled her features quickly and said, "whether or not you're Rhaegar and Elia's son or even of royal blood is of little import to me. You're still the little boy I helped raise and teach, even if you have changed some in recent days."
"Well, thank you, Septa. I'm… glad of that," I said with an awkward smile.
"If you'll forgive me for asking, my prince, but you said earlier you had a theory as to who you are," Lemore mentioned. "Would you care to share with me?" she asked kindly.
"Well, the first you may not like given your Dornish heritage," I said slowly.
"And that is?"
"It may be possible that I am a Blackfyre, the last one in existence maybe."
Lemore's eyes were wide with surprise. She hadn't expected that notion. "A… Blackfyre? They all died," she said, more to herself than me.
"Yes, it's well known that Maelys the Monstrous, a Blackfyre himself and one of the Ninepenny Kings, was cut down in battle by Ser Barristan Selmy, but what if he wasn't the only Blackfyre left?" I offered.
Lemore narrowed her eyes at me as something clicked in her head. "Are you saying that perhaps Maelys had issue before he died?" she asked.
"Possibly, but Maelys had a cousin didn't he? Daemon IV?" I replied. "Maelys killed his cousin to take control of the Golden Company, what if Daemon himself had a child sent away to avoid Maelys' wrath?" I said.
I could see the wheels turning in Lemore's head before she shook it and said, "That's impossible. When Maelys died, it was the end of the Blackfyre Pretenders."
"Was it though?" I challenged. "Was it really the end of a house that tried on more than one occasion to take the Iron Throne?" I said.
"This is a dangerous conversation. One that we shouldn't have," Lemore stated although I could see I had introduced doubt in her mind.
"I'm sorry. But it's this question that's been bothering me since I lost my memory," I said apologetically. "I will allow the possibility of actually being a trueborn Targaryen, the son of the Last Dragon and all that, but I can't help but have my doubts about it too," I added.
"I suppose you would have questions about who you really are, my prince," Lemore admitted sadly and she gave a sigh and asked, "I don't suppose you have some idea of how to get us back to our own world, do you?" Her tone was light as if she were trying to lighten the mood a little after the dour conversation we just had.
"Well, that depends on your faith, Septa," I replied. "It seems pretty obvious that magic exists and is abundant in this world. We could find a skilled practitioner in the magical arts and higher mysteries to help us a find way back home," I said.
"Magic…" Septa echoed and I could hear the reluctance in her voice.
"Not a fan, I take it?" I asked dryly.
"The Faith of the Seven doesn't look too kindly on magic or those who would practice it," Lemore told me. "Magic has been used for nefarious purposes; the Valyrian Dragonlords were said to practice blood magic," she said with some distaste.
"True enough, but forgive me for saying this, but religion too is often used for nefarious purposes, is it not?" I replied. Lemore looked at me sharply when I said this, I looked at her steadily waiting for her to reply or reprimand me.
Lemore gave a reluctant smile and said, "I suppose you have a point there. What little I studied of the Faith's impact on history implies that the Faith and religion in general has been used to justify atrocities, much as I wish it hadn't been."
"I suppose it has," I said lightly as I leaned on the stone railing of the balcony. "The Faith Militant have often done bloody things when commanded to by the High Septons," I added.
"Yes. They have, which led to them being disbanded and outlawed," Lemore admitted a little ashamedly. "I hope that does not change things between us," she said hesitantly.
"Of course not," I replied quickly. "You haven't mistreated me thus far, or thrown me on a burning pyre after my memory loss. Why would it change things now?" I said.
"I'm glad of that," Lemore said with a warm smile. The wind picked up and the septa shivered a little and she declared, "Gods, it's cold here. Do you wish to go back inside, now?" she asked.
"In a minute," I replied to her. "Just like to take in the view for a moment longer.
"Of course. I'll meet you back inside," Lemore said as she gave me a one armed hug before heading back into the banquet hall and into the comforting warmth.
I stared out across the expanse of Solitude as the wind blew and I spied a few snowflakes dancing in the breeze. A snowflake drifted down to land on my hand where it melted almost immediately turning into water on my skin.
Looking at the droplets of water, I wiped the residue away before sighing and heading back inside.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! Sixth chapter of this story is done and dusted. I hope you all enjoyed it and I will say that I have plenty of ideas of how to expand Skyrim to make it seem different from the video game we all know and love. I've been discussing such things with some friends such as LuciusOctivus and Mandalore the Survivor, both of whom have given me ideas of how to expand the setting of Skyrim.
One such idea that I've already begun to implement is making the environment much grander in scale where it would take days, weeks, maybe even months to get from one end of the map to other, whereas the game it basically only takes a couple of in-game days to reach to somewhere like Riften from Solitude, so making the map bigger and more expansive is a believable change.
Adding onto that, making the population density of cities like Solitude larger also makes it more believable and gives me some creative freedom to create some original characters and if anyone has an OC they want me to add to the story, feel free to leave details in a review or a PM. I won't however accept any OCs that are the Dragonborn/Dovahkiin, I've already got the Dragonborn's character, race, personality, etc. figured out, so if you were thinking of having your OC be the Dragonborn, you're gonna be bitterly disappointed.
There'll also be some mods from the game added to this story and even some things from other game franchises/Ips such as merchant vendor characters like the Duke and the Merchant from the Resident Evil series, and even some monsters from franchises like the Witcher with an Elder Scrolls twist to them. And if anyone knows of some interesting mods for Skyrim, let me know what they are and where to find them, I'll check them out and if I like the, I'll add them to the story.
And I've rambled on long enough, so I'll leave this here and catch you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.