43
"It will not take long for us to prepare," Skjoldr said to me a little while later. I had requested something to eat and drink, and someone had quickly handed me a plate of bread and stew and a glass of mead, which I dug into ravenously. I had not eaten in over 24 hours and needed to eat something before we left.
"I want to thank you," I said. "For doing the right thing."
"There is no need," Skjoldr said soberly. "Perhaps I should thank you for showing us what the right thing was. I do not think I could have prevented Anjolnr from confronting the Legion soldiers if you had not arrived when you did."
"It was lucky for me, that's for sure."
"Exactly how did you get here? I know you didn't come from the fort, but you aren't carrying any supplies or even a weapon."
As quickly and succinctly as I could, I explained to Skjoldr what had happened to me the day before. I told him about Reinhardt and I locating the mercenary camp, and then my capture and escape, and my travel through the snowstorm. I left out a few details that would be too hard to explain, such as the arrival of the spriggans to lead me to safety. Instead, I simply told him that I found a cave and managed to start a fire there.
"Few people could survive a night alone out in the wasteland," Skjoldr said, almost in awe. "If you were anyone else, I might think you were lying."
"I'm not superhuman," I said. "And I'm not half the person that my father was, so don't think that I could ever do what he did. I don't think I can live up to his memory."
"But you're the Snow Wolf's daughter. Many people look up to him, and they will look up to you as well. Why did you keep it a secret from us?"
"I didn't know if you would believe me. And I can't let anyone from the Legion find out who I am, or they'll probably try to send me back to prison."
"Did you escape?"
"No, I was set free, but they gave me a task I was supposed to perform. I ran away instead, so I'm sure they're looking for me."
Skjoldr laughed shortly. "They set you free? They must not have realized how important you are to the Nord people. Your father was a brave man, a hero, even if he did not succeed. If you are here, you could be a symbol to the people like he was."
"I don't think I'm ready for that," I admitted.
"We shall see."
Not much later, Skjoldr's warriors completed their preparations, and all of us got ready to leave the village. They had sent runners to the nearby villages, and already some of them were coming back with word that more warriors would be coming. Skjoldr organized his force, which amounted to thirty-five able-bodied men wielding axes and swords and dressed in heavy furs and leather armor.
They handed me a powerful short sword and a sturdy wooden shield, and I also replaced my jacket with a heavier leather coat that would also provide more protection. I strapped on a metal helm and added metal bracers to my forearms, but I chose not to wear any other armor, since it would weigh me down too much. I also found some suitable knives and tucked them away on my person.
The fort was half a day's march away, and it was already past midday, so we would probably arrive right around nightfall. Skjoldr gathered his men and a few late arrivals from the nearest villages, and we set out immediately. At first we walked at an average speed, but then Skjoldr had us increase our pace. Soon, we were marching quickly along the river and I fell in with the pace of the others. I was still tired from walking all morning, but my short rest and hasty meal in Thirsk had reinvigorated me, and I felt comfortable enough.
I noticed Anjolnr beside me. "I don't believe that you are Sasha Snow-Crown," he said casually, keeping his gaze forward as we marched.
"I'm not asking you to," I replied.
"Skjoldr believes you, though," Anjolnr added. "And so do many of the others. They think it is a sign."
"A sign of what?"
"I don't know. Maybe a sign that we are destined to defeat the Legion eventually. That doesn't make much sense to me, though."
"I don't put much faith in signs anyway."
Anjolnr frowned a bit and then said, "It doesn't matter anyway. I don't really care who you are or why you're here. All I wanted was for our chief to take action for once. We've been content to stay safe in the village for too long. Any longer and we would have grown soft. We are finally taking the fight to our enemies."
"We aren't going to fight the Legion, like you wanted."
"Not this time," Anjolnr said. "But there will come a time, not far from now, when we will take action against them as well. We will send all the invaders away, and keep Solstheim only for the Nords. It is inevitable."
"Maybe," I agreed. "Or maybe you could convince them to leave the island on their own, without having to go to war with them."
"Not likely," Anjolnr scoffed.
I nodded. "You're probably right. Maybe it's been a stroke of luck that the Legion hasn't tried to control more of Solstheim so far. Maybe they've just been holding back."
"They will send more people here because of the ebony mine," Anjolnr predicted. "They'll try to build a larger colony, perhaps some additional villages, they'll build a larger port leading to the Legion fort, and pretty soon we'll face an entire Imperial city spreading across the entire southern half of Solstheim."
"It won't get that far," I said.
Anjolnr nodded. "You're right. It won't, because the Nords will not allow it. Have you been to the villages where the Skaal live?"
"No, I haven't. But I've heard of them."
"They are fanatics. They despise the Legion intruders far more than we do, but the only thing keeping them from trying to push the Legion fort back into the sea is the fact that they are so isolated in the north. But if the Legion attempted to expand their presence on Solstheim, the Skaal would not stand for it. There will almost certainly be open war."
"You don't have to convince me of anything," I said. "I already told you that I'm not here to defend the Legion. They've committed horrible crimes in Cyrodiil and in Skyrim, and I'm not foolish enough to think they won't commit the same crimes here on Solstheim if given the opportunity. And if that happens, you can wage war with my blessing."
"Are you really Orden Snow-Crown's daughter?" he asked suddenly.
"Yes," I said.
"What was he like? No one on Solstheim ever met him, of course. We only heard the stories about what happened."
"He was a fanatic, like the Skaal," I said matter-of-factly. "He hated the Legion and the Imperial Throne with every fiber of his being. But like I said, he had good reason for that. The Legion burned Nord villages and killed innocent people. It was a long time ago, though. When I was still just a child."
"What would he think about you now, if he was here?"
I had not really though of that. After he had died, I had made up my mind not to live the rest of my life for him. Spending four years in prison had been enough to convince me that if I ever got the chance to live free again, I would live my life for myself alone. I loved and respected him, and I had done everything in my power to make him proud of me when he was still alive. And I had fought for him whenever he had asked it of me.
But he was gone now, and those years of rebellion and war seemed to have happened a lifetime ago to a completely different person than who I was now. I had my own beliefs and my own goals now, and I realized that they conflicted rather strongly with what my father had believed.
"I think he would be disappointed in me," I said honestly. "He would have wanted me to follow in his footsteps, I think."
"Why haven't you?"
"It's not who I am. I can't do the same things he did. He was a leader, he could inspire people, he could make them believe. I'm not like that. I can give orders when I have to, and I can speak my mind, but I'm not charismatic like he was. I'm not a leader."