Chapter 70: Interlude Six

[4E 525]

Jomund, the Nord, Alander, the Bosmer, and Bha'jhan, the Khajiit, had sneaked up to the attic again to continue reading the old diary, which had been presumably written by one of their ancestors. Although the main protagonist in the story was a Khajiit and likely not the direct ancestor for all of them, several remotely related families of mixed heritage and ethnicity lived together in the huge house, and the family elders were quite vague on how that had all started. Anyway, everybody felt and behaved like they were one big family, and according to what they knew, it had been like this for an extended period of time already.

"So," Jomund stated after they had closed the wooden door behind them, "this Balu made it to Solitude and became a Bard."

"An honorary bard" Alander corrected.

"So, what's the difference?" Bha'jhan asked.

"He doesn't explain, does he?"

"No, he does not, but there is 'honor' in the word, so it must be a good thing, right?"

"Like when a Harbinger says 'bring honor to the Companions', I guess."

"Or when a Jarl says something like 'it is my honor to name you Thane'."

"And he has never even tried to sing or play a lute or so, hasn't he?"

"At least there's nothing inhere yet, but maybe something will be written later on. Maybe he's not good at singing?"

"Maybe that, and in addition to that, you know, Khajiit paws are not exactly great for handling a lute" Bha'jhan explained. "One wrong move, and all chords are ripped."

"But what is he going to do now? He did what Kodlak asked him to do, so he can go home again, right?"

"Kodlak had mentioned that he may find something else to do in and around Solitude. Hey, why don't we continue reading instead of speculating?"

All three teenagers quickly agreed on that. They got the old diary out from hiding once more and started to read from where they had stopped a couple of weeks ago. For several minutes there was silence in the attic, and one could clearly hear the raindrops spluttering on the roof and windows. The little light which came in from outside was barely enough to read, but Alander had already learned the 'Candlelight' spell and continued using it; this was at least much safer than bringing real candles. They were probably already in trouble for not telling anybody about the old diary they had found, but if one of the adults learned about candles or torches used in the attic, they'd be grounded forever.

"So, Potema?" Jomund asked some time later. "She was a real person, right?"

"I have heard the name" Bha'jhan replied, "but not any details."

"She was real, and she was related to the Septim dynasty" Alander knew. "I think that she lived in the early Third Era, but I'm not sure."

"Why is she also called 'Wolf Queen'?"

"No idea – that's not explained in here, right?"

"I may have missed it, but I guess not; should we ask one of our elders about that?"

"Better not; if we do, they may become curious why we ask."

"Oh yes, true."

The three brothers read on in silence for a few minutes, before there was some chuckling heard from the Nord:

"And look here – is this Balu guy serious? Trying to cast magic with his tail? Bha'jhan, can you do this, too?"

"No, I cannot, but I would like to learn how to do this" the Khajiit teenager replied. "I never thought about it, but it's neat. Maybe I should make an effort and try to learn it, too. Guys, you need to admit that this would be really useful – wield a sword and a shield in your hands and cast a spell with your tail, even a weak one, just for distraction."

"Agreed, and you've got an advantage there, because we don't have tails. Look, there is a scribbled comment here: 'With the dry winter air, all my kitties are talented shock beasties right now. Let's see if B'lushona can do a Pikachu grand thundershock or a tazer.' What's that about?"

"I don't have a clue. What is a 'Pikachu'?"

"And what is this about 'kitties' and 'shock beasties'?

"Maybe Khajiit learning shock spells?"

"And what is a 'tazer'?"

"No clue; some of those strange words again. Look, here is another note: 'Got to wonder if Balu would be able to self-ignite and hurt foes that grab him or become a walking firebomb?' What? Firebomb?"

"Maybe so, if he'd be using one of J'zargo's fire scrolls."

"Who is J'zargo?"

"I learned about him in history lessons recently. He was a Khajiit student at the College of Winterhold at the time when the Dragonborn showed up, and while he came over as arrogant, he turned out to be quite a decent wizard after some time. He was known to experiment with scrolls and sometimes talked his fellow students into testing them, but many of the earlier versions backfired and hurt the casters, too."

"How do you know all that, Bha'jhan?"

"J'zargo became, well, maybe not quite famous, but at least well-known, and we Khajiit do get told about him."

"Nice, but much nicer is this lady Balu finds."

"What? Where?"

"You might learn if you continue reading instead of discussing."

The three siblings continued to read the second part of chapter 56 and onward, and while taking in the information, they occasionally looked at each other. Some ten minutes or so later, Alander laughed:

"Yeah, she tries to lead the way, but does not know her way around."

"Sure, but it's her first time in Solitude, right? And look, here's another note: 'First rule, Janina, make sure you know which way to walk if you just got to an area'. Yes, right! What's the thing with women not being able to find their way?"

The others chuckled, and Jomund nodded:

"Don't let our sisters hear that, but you've got a point. However, overall, she seems nice."

"And Balu is also very polite and nice, doing so much for the people around."

"But he's got a goal in mind, right? He wants to become Thane and meet this Jordis."

"How can he know which housecarl will be assigned to him?"

"He can't, really, but if it's really true that the came from another world, he may have been granted some knowledge about our world."

"Based on some of his actions and thoughts, this seems to make sense, indeed."

There was another period of silence, and for a few times the only noise around was the wind blowing around the house and the occasional turning of the pages in the diary. Eventually Alander shouted:

"I can't believe it – they meet the Dragonborn again!"

"Yes, and what is she running from? Oh, the Thalmor, I see."

"What? Oh, yes, and it appears that she needs help again."

"Well, that Balu guy mentioned early in the diary that he likes to be, what did he call it, being a shiny knight and save damsels in distress?"

"Something like that. Not sure what exactly a 'damsel' is, but likely some young, pretty and helpless woman."

"Probably. Now, let's check, is Fiona young? Check! Is she pretty? Likely a matter of taste. Is she helpless? Not totally so, but being pursued by bad guys frequently she does need help. So, he's kind of close to actually doing that."

"And don't forget – Balu calls it his 'job description' to help her."

"Sure, so here they are again. And look, not only once, but twice."

"I believe that I agree with that comment here: 'The Thalmor were never a nice group, and a second bad experience, especially a nasty unprovoked attack, will and should not go unpunished.' True words, indeed."

Once again there was silence in the attic, but soon they started to talk again:

"So, Balu accepts another task so soon again?"

"Looks like that, but at least he's got help."

"Yeah, four housecarls all together should help."

"Minus Lydia; she's still healing."

"True.

"Look, another comment here: 'Potema is one of the most interesting characters in all of TES. If history had been just a bit different, she could have been a Boadicea or Mulan instead of the Cruella de Vil she ended up as.'"

"Who or what are Boadicea, Mulan, and Cruella de Vil?"

"I really wish that somebody explain all those strange words and names."

There as nodding from the others, and another comment:

"I have to admit that this is a nice battle description in the catacombs."

"Balu is fair and also highlights the strengths of his companions."

"Like Janina – what she apparently can do, sounds cool."

"This scribbled note here matches that: 'Nicely done! This was much more interesting than what you get in the games. Having a half dozen people and the cubs involved made it feel more like a legitimate battle than just a fairly interesting end-of-dungeon skirmish.' Yep, agreed."

For some time the three brothers read on in silence, until suddenly Alander shouted:

"That's not fair! Balu just got his Thaneship in Solitude, and this evil general wants to put him and the Dragonborn to jail? Who does he think he is?"

"Well, he probably thinks that he has a right to do so; what's the point of becoming a general if he can't make decisions?"

"Come on, how does this make sense?"

"There is one scribbled note also mentioning this: 'Feels out of character for Tullius to do'; yes, good point."

"But, think about it: Balu never wrote what he did before he got in the cart to Helgen at the very beginning."

"Because he does not know!"

"Yes, but maybe whoever had his body before did something real evil and the general knows about it?"

"If he knew, he could have put the accusations forward right away instead of caving in."

"Look, here is another comment: 'Though you wonder how many eyes were on Tullius as well, and that pressure forced him to play the enemy to Balu.' Think about it: Maybe it's not Tullius himself, but the Thalmor who want those two, and Tullius has to play along?"

"Speculations, brothers, speculations. Come on, let's read on – maybe we learn about that later!"

They shared a few concerned looks when they read about the escape route via Dragon Bridge, the various encounters and then the events in the fort with the spiders.

"At least" Jomund suggested "this is not a story with an almost almighty and invincible hero who does everything right and overpowers his enemies without batting an eye; that would be boring."

"Agreed" Bha'jhan nodded. "Although, it feels good to read about a strong Khajiit, of course; maybe I can become a little bit like him."

"You? Really?"

"Well, I can try at least, can't I?"

"Hey, let's read more; it won't be long before we need to get down to dinner!"

Again there was silence in the attic for some time, and a few times the wind could be heard blowing outside. A bird chirped, and the brothers smiled at each other, knowing that at least two different groups of birds nested outside under the overhanging roof. This was welcomed by the family, as the birds helped to keep various pest in the fields under control. Lots of bushes and such around the fields provide habitat for more birds and other animals, too.

"Finally they are getting close to Whiterun again" Alander sighed.

"Yes, but this was certainly a demanding trip. Getting attacked by Thalmor like three times within a few days?"

"Yeah, this is crazy, for sure. Like what another one of those notes says: 'And with their arrogance, attacks on the Jarl՚s Thanes without justification to the jarl himself would make them the least popular folks around.'."

"They think that they can do anything they want, I guess.

"I guess so. It would be enough of a challenge already just fighting dragons, but no, Imperials want to imprison them and the Thalmor want them dead. What and who else is going to show up?"

"Vampires maybe?"

"Really? Vampires?"

"Well, they used to be a big problem at some time."

"Yes, but was it also this time?"

"Brother, I don't know. But, at least they eventually manage to get back to Whiterun."

"That they do, and look at that, they get a tree to celebrate Saturalia and Christmas!"

"Is that where is our family tradition is from?"

"Maybe, yes. Our parents have told us that celebrating Christmas on 24th to 26th of Evening Star has been a tradition for centuries; maybe Balu introduced this?"

"And where did he get the idea from?"

"His old life in another world. We may not understand what this is all about, but I like the decorated tree and the presents."

"It appears that some other people agree with that, too; look, here is another note: 'Christmas is the best time of the year, and even in Skyrim' – yes, I think that it is, indeed!"

"But anyway, we need to get down now! I just heard the dinner bell, and I don't want to explain why we were late!"

A few minutes later there was silence again in the attic, and the old diary was safely stored in its hiding place.

[Author's Notes: I managed to honor some reviews once again, and I will likely continue to do this in further interludes.]