Chapter 5: Supplies
Emelin...
I returned to the Forgotten Vale a few days later. I had collected several books from the College of Winterhold as well as some extra food and other essentials I thought he might need. I felt drawn to the older elf, and yet I wasn't sure why. I believed that it was because I wanted to know more about his people, but wasn't too sure. He was so lonely, so isolated. I was saddened when I looked at the small amount of supplies he had. The least I could do was help, and besides I liked talking to him.
The warm smile he had given me when I walked onto the balcony was welcoming, and we spent most of the day unpacking and talking.
"I wasn't really sure what to bring, so I pretty much brought everything." I laughed, chucking them out of the bag. Gelebor's face seemed to become more and more surprised as I handed them to him. "I have quite a few health and magic potions back home, so I thought I could bring some with me. I also had some extra furs so I brought them along too." I carried on rambling.
"Words of the Wind?"
I looked back. "I wasn't sure what books you like so I just took whatever I could. That book is a poem from an Ashlander wise woman. It's quite good."
He fumbled through the pages. "I also brought Azura and the Box, Children of the Sky, Fall of the Snow Prince, Magic from the Sky, Olaf and the Dragon, Songs of Skyrim, The Guardian and the Traitor and a few more... somewhere..."
"I don't quite know how to thank you."
"It's like I said before, it's no trouble."
He took the books in hand and placed them on the wooden table.
"You brought food as well?" He asked as I took out the large satchel. I nodded.
"Is everything alright?" I asked, only just realising that I might have brought too much.
"Yes. Of course. Thank you, again." I smiled and went back to unpacking.
I watched the fire dance and the embers fly into the sky while wrapped in furs as the sun went down. Gelebor was sat reading through the books I had given him and eating the left-over venison. He looked comfortable and content. I patted Sceolong lightly on the head as he started to snore. I looked up at the sky; the auroras shone a multitude of colours.
"Wow." I mouthed. I never got used to seeing them.
"I've been here for a long time, and yet the beauty of this place never ceases to amaze me." Gelebor said, staring up at the sky. I couldn't help but agree.
"I never got to see things like this back at home."
That caught his attention. "If I may ask, how did you arrive in Skyrim?"
"It's a long story."
"I understand." He didn't force me to continue, but for some reason I found myself doing so.
I sighed. "To be honest, I didn't know I was in Skyrim when I got here." He remained silent. "I left home a couple of months after my brother had left to travel to Morrowind. I didn't have a map so I just followed the roads, going from village to village. I didn't know that I had entered Skyrim when I did."
"It was by accident?"
"Yeah. I met some soldiers on the way and followed them, but eventually ended up in an ambush. I escaped, but it wasn't easy."
"What happened?"
"They thought I was a traitor. They... they were going to execute me. But, thankfully a dragon came and destroyed the village. I followed a friend out. He was a trained soldier. He did all the fighting; I just stayed behind and healed him when I could. The rest, well, is history." I lowered my gaze. I hated reliving the memory.
Gelebor must have realised that it was a sensitive topic and changed it. "You said you had a brother?"
"Oh yeah, Aden. He's older than I am. He'd be twenty three years old now."
His eyes widened slightly. "I see. So, you would be..."
"Twenty one."
"That's young for a Dunmer."
"I'm not that young!" I laughed. "So, how old are you?"
"Old enough."
"Ah, so it's a mystery then?"
He smiled. "For now."