Day Forty-two

Lydia and I both slept on the way to Whiterun. I suspected the driver might have fallen asleep as well since we did not arrive until nearly nine the next morning. It worked out fine since we needed the sleep and nothing opened until about now anyway. I paid the driver and we headed for the city.

Unfortunately, my left arm would still only go half way up, but at least the pain was not as sharp anymore. Perhaps there was still a chance it would heal fully, though I could not wait for that to happen. Destiny awaited and this realm needed me now more than ever. Even with only one good arm I was still its best chance to defeat Alduin and bring everyone under my boo...eh, rule.

Lydia would not stop yawning and it was getting a bit distracting so I sent her off to get breakfast ready while I checked out Warmaiden's for a new sword and maybe a shield. After scouring through their inventory I was not at all pleased with their selection. I told Ulfberth as much, hoping he had something better stashed away for special customers.

The burly blacksmith folded his arms across his chest. "And I suppose you could do better, Dragon one-arm?"

"What? How did you know about my arm?"

"Ha, I don't just make weapons, I have to know how to handle them, and I've trained with some of the best, though I promised to keep their secrets to myself. I can spot an enemies weakness a mile away and as soon as you walked in I could tell your left arm was too stiff."

"A lucky guess," I said, reluctant to admit to a disability, "and I probably could make my own sword. I've done it before."

"Help yourself to my forge. Perhaps Adrienne will let you handle her tongs."

I don't know what sort of relationship the two of them had, so I left that remark alone. Ulfberth looked like the type to not know his own strength. I bid him farewell and went to Breezehome to check my inventories for any swords I may have left lying around.

Lydia was waiting with breakfast ready for the two of us, though it looked like enough for five. She had already started eating.

"Mid you fi anythig?" she asked.

"Really?" I said, "That's just gross. I think you just spit out a whole horker loaf with that question."

"Go crew your elf," she responded, still chewing.

"Whatever. Your lucky I can't understand you. Now stop chewing your cud and come help me look for a decent sword in this place."

She protested amid more curses, leading to more food flying about, but gave in and looked with one hand while still eating with the other.

We searched all the chests and end tables in the house and I could not believe I did not keep any of the swords I had found. I suppose I never thought I would need them. I kept Nettlebane and the Axe of Whiterun in the weapons rack by the door but I've never used an axe before and the dagger was sharp but ridiculously small. I did, however, find several ingots of iron and steel along with gauntlets and a necklace used to enhance smithing projects. I took these and some leather and leather straps to Arienne's forge and set about making my own steel sword.

Despite Ulfberth's attitude, Arienne was willing to offer bits of advice as I worked but mostly she just watched once she saw I knew what I was doing. I finished it off with etching 'RR' on the base of the pommel. When historians from future Ages found this sword they would no doubt realize it was a true Ralos Ravenclaw treasure from these initials. Wars might break out over it, women would plot to own it, men would die to possess it for themselves. It could not be helped. I showed it to Arienne. She shrugged. "I've seen better, some bigger, but as long as you know what to do with it, you'll be fine."

"Don't worry," Lydia said, "He gets that a lot."

They both giggled like the immature girls that they were. I shooed them aside, "Pardon me, you cackling crones, I've got a sheath to make. I can't walk around with a bare blade swinging around."

I ignored them as they started giggling all over again.

As for a shield, I remembered I kept the spiked shield I had claimed off of Umana's person down in Alftand. I used Arienne's work table to improve the fittings and she called it a Targe of the Blooded. She told me to make sure I tried to bash an opponent with it several times at once to increase their blood-letting. Sounded good. After I finished improving it, I asked her if she knew anyone who could train me in using a one-handed sword more effectively. She thought for a moment then said to find Amren, the Redguard in town. He was always boasting of his family's inherent skill with a sword and shield. I thanked her, flipped her a coin for the use of her forge, then went to look for the Redguard.

It did not take long to find him. He was standing by the well in the middle of the market area. I asked him if he had time to show the Dragonborn a few sword techniques.

"I can teach you a few things," he said, "For a price."

"You would charge the Dragonborn?"

"My family's been having some bad luck lately, ever since my father's sword was stolen."

"What if I agree to find the sword for you?"

"I've tracked it down to a group of bandits but I can't defeat them myself. If you get it back for me, I'll show you a few techniques for free. Today, however, the lessons will cost you."

I grumbled but paid him an exorbitant amount of gold for a few quick lessons. They were useful, but I still thought I should have gotten at least a discount for not only being Dragonborn but also for being Thane. I went to find Lydia and told her I had a mission to test out my new sword on. We were headed for a cave called Redoran's Retreat not far from there.

The hideout was well hidden behind an overhang of rocks. I might have passed by it but there was a red rag tied to a rock that caught my attention. I found the old wooden door for the entrance and pushed my way in.

The first thing I spotted was a dog. Great. It did not look like an attack dog but it already had its nose in the air sniffing out something. I did not want it to set off an alarm so I reluctantly nocked an arrow and let it fly. The dog yelped and went down. Damn bandits, they'll pay extra for that one.

"What was that? Is someone there?"

A man came around the corner and barely glanced down at the dog on the ground. There's caring for you. I laced the next arrow with the most toxic, pain-inducingest poison I had in my pack. I shot the arrow unerringly into his neck, enjoying the sight of it punching through and embedding into the cave wall behind him. He gurgled as his body collapsed in a shaking heap. He was so racked with pain he could not even cry out in his agony. I felt better about having to kill the dog, though it still left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I crept along the only tunnel until I got to just outside of a larger chamber. I could see fires inside but only one man pacing back and forth. I dropped some frostbite poison on the next arrow and struck him in the chest with it. It must have caught him off guard because he fell dead instantly. His falling body, however, alerted another bandit who was crouched behind a supporting rock in the middle of the room. This one was well armored in steel plate and carried a battleaxe like it was a willow branch.

"Well, well," he said in a deep, gravelly voice, "another fly in my trap. Come here!"

I ditched my bow and took my sword and shield from my hip. My shorter sword was quicker so I get the first hit in but my weapon bounced off his armor, barely slowing him. His axe, however, caught a bit of my arm as I dodged to the side. He wound up for another swing surprisingly fast and I was forced to dive further into the room to avoid it. I rolled and came up ready to block but suddenly Kynval appeared between us and the bandit chief was forced to focus on him.

"A challenger!" the dremora lord said, "Have at me, thief!"

They began a dance of steel that was entrancing to watch but I was not about to let the laughing dremora have all the glory. I ran to the chief's side and bashed my shield into him twice. He staggered and came away bleeding from several punctures in the plating on his arms. All three of us converged him simultaneously and he went down to one knee. With my quicker blade I deliverd the death blow before the others could even draw back to strike. It was a tough fight, but I did learn a few things with the sword.

"All too easy," the summons rasped then vanished.

A quick search of the cave revealed a large chest containing a sword that must be Amren's. I also found a pair of iron gauntlets that glowed with a green aura. I tried them on and my sword seemed lighter, easier to maneuver with. I kept those on. I also found a book titled 'Last Seed V.8 of 2920'. It revealed how to move without leaving a trace of a footprint. Interesting. I took it and we returned victorious to Whiterun.

As we stepped through the gates of Whiterun, the first person I saw, besides the obligatory guard with the knee problem, was Amren about to go up the steps, probably to his house. I waved him down.

"One family treasure returned," I said, "Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Thane of Whiterun... and associates."

My associate jabbed me in the kidney and I handed over the sword.

"You... you did it. My father's sword! You took on all those bandits yourself? Well, it looks like you did, anyway," he sheathed the sword in an empty scabbard I had not noticed on him before. "Here, let me show you my father's favorite sword and shield technique, in honor of his memory."

I followed the patterns he showed as closely as possible until he was satisfied I had it down pat. I was happy with the moves as well and could not wait to try them out.

"If you have the time, and the coin, I know a few more tricks that might help you," Amren offered.

"Retrieving a family heirloom doesn't buy much these days, does it?"

"Having the sword back is one thing. The money it will help me bring in is not going to happen immediately and my family needs to eat tonight."

I glanced at Lydia and she merely raised her eyebrows. I had known her long enough to know that meant, 'What are you waiting for, you perfect specimen of manhood. Help the man, and let me see those muscles ripple.', or at least something very similar. I paid out the gold for more lessons. I got the feeling he was reaching his limit to what he could teach me, however, so that would probably be the last bit of charity I threw his way. His wife, however, could hold my interest a bit longer.

We headed to Breezehome to rest and put away the few items we found. When I went to place my new book on the bookshelf by the door, a piece of paper fell out that I missed last time. I opened it and Lydia stood on her toes to peek over my shoulder.

"Some tawdry note from a secret lover of ages past?" she asked.

"I had no idea you were such a romantic," I said, "Ever read the tales of the lusty Argonian maid?"

"Please, I think I told you before I would never read such trash."

"Then why are you blushing?"

Lydia felt her face. "I am not."

"Ah, but you thought you were, you little hussy. You've read all of them, haven't you? You can tell me, I'm the epitome of discretion."

"You're a pit of something, all right. That looks like a treasure map you've got there."

I let her change the subject and took a look at the paper. It did indeed look like a map. It showed a windmill in the foreground with a dotted line leading to an X up in the mountains. At the top were the initials, 'W.R.'. "Who do you think W.R. is?" I asked.

"That looks familiar. I know I've seen that windmill before." She pondered for a moment. "What if the W.R. isn't a person? What if it means the area below it is Whiterun? That could be where I've seen that windmill."

"Could be. Where's the closest one? We'll go take a look."

"Right outside the gates, actually, in the Pelagia farm."

We got out there and compared the drawing with the actual windmill and the resemblance is undeniable. I could not believe we actually had a treasure map just like from the children's tales my mother used to read to us before bedtime. I could tell Lydia was having fun, too. She had not even mentioned it was about time to eat lunch.

We saw a spot up in the mountains nearby that looked like a likely spot for the X to be and climbed up towards it. It did not take long before we saw the wooden chest only partially buried next to some rocks. How had nobody seen this until now? The map did not look new. I tried the lid and found it unlocked.

Lydia oohed over some nice jewelry lying inside and I told her to help herself. My eyes locked on something wrapped in an oilcloth. I was a little hesitant to unwrap it since the last time I did I ended up touching that mysterious sphere and the woman's voice spoke to me. Did I still have that? I should probably ask around about that. This thing was obviously not another sphere though. It was long and my guess it was a sword or mace. I removed the cloth and revealed a polished elven sword. Wisps of frost rose from the greenish metal as soon as I touched the pommel. I stood and swung the blade in a few practiced cuts and ripostes.

"Now you can not deny the Divines are trying to guide my hand, eh, Lydia. I need a blade and I fortuitously happen upon one this fine. It is definitely lighter than my steel one and the edge is unmarred by even a single nick. I might be the first to ever use it in a fight. Nothing quite like wetting a virgin blade, eh?"

Lydia rolled her eyes but kept any comments to herself. She went back to trying on her new jewelry.

With the chest empty I suggested we return to Whiterun for lunch and she heartily agreed. No sooner do we take two steps than a blizzard roared out of nowhere, obscuring our view of the rocks and making any descent perilous. We were forced to go towards the road where the rocky crags leveled out. As soon as we reached the road, the snow stopped, though the dark clouds remained. Perhaps the Divines were warring over the help I was receiving. I was sure there were some who were threatened by my growing influence over their interests. It could not be helped. We continued to Whiterun and even one of the guards commented on my new blade. I was sure the next bandit I met would not be so appreciative of its sharpness.

Following lunch, it was too late to go to Iverstead and climb the million steps then the mountain pass to see Paarthurnax. I decided to try out my new blade on whatever creature I come across first outside of town. I took Lydia with me and we jumped the wall outside the gate and I headed for the nearby stream. There were always mudcrabs scuttling around down there and the occasional wolf. Sure enough I found the grey, pointy-headed nuisances trying to lay in wait for us in the mud. I attacked one, trying to use my shield as well to get the feel of its weight and to try out the new maneuvers I learned today. I managed to kill one then I noticed Kynval charging in with a roar to kill the other in one shot.

"What in blazes are you doing, Lydia?" I asked my housecarl, "You're using up a staff's power on lousy mudcrabs?"

"Sorry, I forgot I had it in my hands. Honestly I don't even remember using it."

I heard Kynval trying not to laugh and when I looked at him, he was trying to avoid me seeing his face. "Hey, demon-boy, did you have something to do with this? Answer me."

The summons could not contain himself, "Bwahahaha. You weak humans have no self control. I used my influence to control her mind and cause her to summon me. My kind should not be trapped in another realm and only called upon for a few minutes of battle. I live to kill!"

"Right now you live to obey," I told him. "Do it again and I'll stash the staff away in a chest at the bottom of a lake where no one will ever call upon you. Got it?"

I saw Lydia hold the staff closer to her chest. Crap. I did not want her to think I was going to take it from her, only bluffing the demon. I would have to wait until it vanished.

"Very well, Dragonwhelp. But the Others will hear of this." He vanished with a growl and a clatter of metal.

The Others? Whatever. I told Lydia I was only threatening her summons. I had no intention of taking the staff from her. It was hers for good, to do with as she pleased. She smiled and nodded, but I did not think she entirely believed me. You would think she would trust me by now. I went back to hunting down more mudcrabs along the stream until I noticed bandits walking along the walls at Halted Stream Camp. It would seem I cleared that out for nothing. It also seemed I had a better opportunity to wet my blade and shield with some real blood. I told Lydia if she wanted to release Kynval, that she should feel free to. My mudcrab hunt was over and now the prey was more worthy, by a little. She acknowledged me and we snuck towards the camp.

As usual, I did not get very close to the camp before the archers on the wall started raining arrows down at us. At this distance, though, they are easy to dodge. I had to go up to the gate to get other bandits to come out to play. The first one to come through was a shaggy looking Nord. He started to talk bravely but stopped as soon as I bashed him in the face with my shield. He fell backwards, stopping the advance of his cohorts. I could not help but laugh as I retreated to a safer distance. I heard Lydia summon Kynval. He was unusually taciturn, instead just growling as he ran at the bandits. Distracted, I got hit by an arrow from an archer still on the wall.

"You'll pay for that, weakling!" I yelled at him and ran for the camp.

I was intercepted on the way by a female Nord with an axe. I bounced back from her first swipe but I misjudged her skill and I caught an edge of the blade on her backhand return. I was able to stop her next swing with a quick bash from my spiked shield then for good measure I bashed her again. Her resolve faltered a bit as she started bleeding from several gashes at once. Fighting against a shield that doubled as an edged weapon must be a rare thing around here. I got in one more swing from my elven blade then danced back out of her range. Her axe missed by a large margin. I was about to clash my sword against my shield to pump up my bravado but another arrow from the wall hit me in the leg. I grunted in pain and waved my sword at the archer. He gestured back.

I treated the axe-woman to a whisper of my Unrelenting Force to unbalance her, then ran in with another bash then two slashes across her chest. She went down to one knee and pleaded for mercy. I hated hearing that from bandits more and more. It was a shame so many women chose this path these days. I loomed over her and stabbed straight down into her neck. I yanked the sword out and shook off the gore. Another arrow hit me and I could feel it starting to affect me. I used my healing magic as I ran towards the camp. I noticed Lydia and Kynval wrapping up their fights. Kynval disappeared just as Lydia saw me and she ran towards the camp.

It took me a moment to find the ramp leading up to the archer. In the meantime he fired off two more arrows. I tried to block them with my shield but he was good at getting around it. I finally reached him and as he pulled out a sword for closer combat. I demonstrated for him what I could do with the shield. The spikes on the front dug deep when I threw my weight behind it as I bashed him against the rocks. He stumbled away and I struck him twice more before he could stand. Once he did, an arrow appeared in his throat and he went back down to one knee, gurgling. Before he can drown in his own blood, I kicked his sword away and grabbed his hand that had his favorite gesturing finger. It flew away over the wall and he fell backwards between the ramp and the rocks to die.

"That was gruesome," Lydia commented as I came back down the ramp.

"Gruesome and appropriate," I said, "I couldn't let him get away with such blatant disrespect to the Thane of Whiterun."

"So he knew you were the Thane?"

"It should be obvious with my regal bearing and fighting stance against banditry."

"If you say so. Are we going to into the mine as well again?"

"Of course. Bandits are like skeevers, where there's one, there's bound to more hiding."

We went into the mine and sure enough there were more bandits, though they did not prove any harder than last time, especially once Lydia summoned Kynval. He was proving to be a useful, though irritating addition. I was hoping to get more practice swings in, but I was sure I would have more chances soon.

While I scoured the mine for booty, I notice Lydia kneeling by the dead bandits with the object Septimus had given me.

"You're actually going to collect the blood for that rattle-brain?" I asked. "I would just as soon forget where he even lived."

"It is a simple enough task," Lydia said. "The blood is right here and with this wide array of bandits, all I need now is the blood of a falmer. Then he will have all he needs and can move on with his life."

"Until that demon we saw as we left kills him. Then what?"

"That's up to Septimus. When we return, we can warn him. Maybe he can do something about it."

"If we return. If."

I did not find much in the way of loot, namely two dwarven greatswords. I would not have used them anyways, too gaudy for my taste and heavy as well, but finding them made me a little bitter. I took them to sell. I could use the coins to restock my potions of healing. We left and went back to Whiterun. It was getting late so we just had a big dinner at the Bannered Mare then went to bed at Breezehome.