Chapter 84: Interlude Seven

[4E 525]

Once more Jomund, the Nord, Alander, the Bosmer, and Bha'jhan, the Khajiit, had sneaked up into the attic of the big mansion their combined families lived in. They had barely evaded attention from some of their female siblings, and Alander speculated:

"Soon or later our sisters will find out what we're up to; what are we going to do about it?"

"They haven't found out yet, but I agree, they eventually will. Come on, when this happens, we'll just tell them all and share our secret."

"You sure about that? This is boy stuff, not girl stuff!"

"No, it's not. See, the Dragonborn was female!"

"You've got a point; we'll need to let them know and allow them to read the diary as well."

"Hey, we're soon done with it anyway; look, there's only maybe fifty pages left for us to read."

"But I don't think that this is all! The story must go on! Most dragons are still alive, and neither the Dragonborn nor Balu have found a mate yet! Sure there's going to be some romance later?"

"Who cares about romance – I want to see more dragon fights!"

"You think that there could be a second volume somewhere?"

"Look at the very end – the guy who wrote this didn't stop writing because he was running out of ideas or so, but because the book was full!"

"You've got a point; but there was only this one volume hidden behind the spars!"

"So, maybe he picked a different hiding place for the second volume?"

"Which means that we've got to go searching sooner or later, right?"

"Yes, but where?"

"Maybe time will tell, but for now, let's read a few more chapters and find out what happened since we got up here last week."

There was general agreement on that, and the three teenagers read in silence for some time.

"So, they just came back from Solitude, and there's something else to do so soon?"

"Well, when you have a nice and pretty lady asking you to help, what do you do?"

"Depends on what that help implies, I guess. If this is something illegal, I won't do it."

"Yeah, but they get the Jarl՚s blessing, don't they?"

"Looks like they do. But hey, Balu and Janina are together in the wilderness; why didn't he even try to kiss her?"

"Maybe she doesn't want to be kissed?"

"Maybe she's got other stuff on her mind?"

"But maybe that doesn't have to exclude each other?"

"Or maybe Balu is just too shy?"

"Maybe that's it; he's been around in an amazing Khajiit body and hasn't even tried to get close to a girl even once; maybe he's gay?"

"No, I don't think so; look what he wrote here: 'I could not help myself imagining how it might feel if she kissed me on other parts of my body' – he's clearly straight. Besides, have you read what he wrote about being kind of soul-mates?"

"Okay, but still…"

"Hey, Bha'jhan, not everybody thinks that a strong and tall Khajiit body is the best they can get!"

"No, really?"

The three laughed together and read on, and a few pages later Alander said:

"I didn't know that one can do that!"

"Do what?"

"Place a rune close to a draugr hiding spot to hurt them and force them out!"

"That's cool! Let's try that soon!"

"Dude! We don't have permission yet to go to such a place."

"True, but I will soon!" Bha'jhan proudly stated. "As part of a Companion team, I will soon be allowed to go to such places. Not alone, of course, but we juniors need to learn, after all."

"Right, you got accepted recently; well, good for you."

"Getting back to the story, the two Redguard ladies, they seem to make a great team, indeed."

"Yeah, even just reading about that is kind of hot."

"I bet that even the Companions can't fight like this."

"Maybe not, but against somebody like Vilkas, it wouldn't work."

"True, but most people aren't trained like Vilkas is."

"And look here, they see Alduin again!"

"Yep, and there one of those scribbled notes again: 'Ooh, Alduin – He's always an intimidating presence, but Fiona will eventually stand toe-to-toe against him! Also, the little nursery rhyme was cute and really suits the atmosphere in Skyrim :)'"

"What's that supposed to imply? 'toe-to-toe'? I don't think that Alduin will allow her to get that close!"

"That's probably just a phrase. But, 'nursery rhyme'?"

"Well, hey, let's write down those lines and say them when our little siblings are getting into bed in the evenings; let's see if this works."

"Dude, they are likely to be sung, not just spoken, and we don't know how."

"Bummer. By the way, what's that sign at the end supposed to mean - ':)'?"

"No clue; another mystery."

"At least he's not using that many strange words any longer."

"Right. Now, here, they are getting to that place Swindler's Den. Where is that actually?"

"Didn't you read? From Hamvir՚s Rest, they walked east, so somewhere on the tundra, likely not close to a major road or so."

"And seriously, Alik'r, Silver Hand, and other bandits all together?"

"Yeah, as another comment states: 'Well, having them ally or associate with the Silver Hand certainly makes the Alik'r seem more likely to be the ones in the wrong. A group sent to do the dirty work for the Hammerfell nobles, a la the Wagner group IRL. Janina's story gets curiouser as we go on.'"

"What is IRL?"

"And what is a Wagner group?"

"We should not have mentioned something about fewer strange words – here we go again!"

"But at least they prevailed and defeated all bandits!"

"Yeah, and look, there's another note: 'Smart move, taking the Companions. It's a shame you don't have that option more often in the game for certain quests. What, you're telling me to go into a dark, dangerous ruin, and I have to do it alone? I'm... literally the head of four major factions, a legate in the Imperial Army, and a national hero. I should be able to summon a literal army to help me – no? Alright, whatever. Off to do things the stupid way!'"

"Funny!"

"Yeah, but, 'head of four factions'? What's that supposed to be?"

"And a legate in the Imperial Army? Not likely, considering the way he's been treated by this general."

"But summoning a literal army would be cool!"

"An army of revived corpses?"

"No, not really."

"Look, there's more: 'Don't forget to check the bodies for coin purses and other lootable/sellable goodies. I'm sure the Jarl finding out you'd taken out a band of bandits on his turf should be worth SOME due compensation, and maybe a "finder's fee" on top for the recovered coin/loot.'"

"Hey, that makes sense. Heroes need to have some income; they need weapons, armor, food, and more."

"Good point; how does this work with the Companions, Bha'jhan?"

"Well, I have not been fully introduced to that, but I think that it's still like Balu wrote in an earlier chapter. We have a community chest, which the Harbinger controls, and half of our income goes there. The other half is distributed among those who did the job."

"And where does the income derive from?"

"Many of our quests are bounty jobs, and besides, we are allowed to keep random loot. Naturally, when we find merchandise which was likely stolen, we hand that over to the steward."

"Seems fair."

"Now, look here, what is this: 'skiing in Skyrim would be a good activity when the dragon on need to de-stress would need to look for a way to get to the top of a mountain easily over and over.'?"

"What is 'skiing'?""

"No clue, brother."

"And the next comment: 'Not a fan of interracial/interspecies relationships nor strong females'."

"Somebody does not like strong females?"

"Hey, I believe that there are some guys who insist that women should stay at home and cook and wash and such rather than fight."

"Well, what's wrong with that?"

"If this was true for all, there wouldn't be a female Dragonborn!"

"But she isn't real strong; she's a petite tiny Bosmer!"

"And yet, she could push you against the next wall or rock with her shout."

"Shouting doesn't count!"

"Jarl Ulfric apparently disagreed when he fought against the previous High King."

"Yeah, but that wasn't right."

"Hey, thus is not for us to judge; anyway, I wouldn't mind a strong woman!"

"Jomund, you are a Nord – this is different."

"Why?"

"Because... – let's just read on."

After a few more minutes Alander exclaimed:

"Who or what is 'Indiana Jones'?"

"Must be related to this comment here: 'Oh, gosh, that reminded me of the scene where the woman had to stick her hand in the insect hole x.x'"

"What? Why?"

"Well, wasn't this like an insect hole where Balu stuck his paw in?"

"Yeah, maybe, but how can this remind somebody of something?"

"Forget about this; this is really getting interesting here!"

The three siblings read on for some time, and there was not much noise except the occasional turning of pages and the wind blowing around the roof. Eventually Bha'jhan called out:

"Now they got a new job again!"

"And they are going to split up!"

"And they got more enemies; those guys in cultist robes."

"What's this about Miraak and Solstheim in the note?"

"Well, see this comment: 'Better to leave these corpses as they are, or burn them. You found an important clue: Fiona is now seen as a threat, and a blasphemous one as False Dragonborn.'"

"False Dragonborn? Why?"

"Wait; I recall something from my history lessons."

"You actually paid attention, Alander?"

"Yes, I did, Jomund. The Dragonborn was a Bosmer lady, and we Bosmer try to remember details about her. We got told that there were indeed other Dragonborn before her, including famous ones like Tiber Septim a.k.a. Talos."

"Dude, we know that, too."

"Yeah, but one of the first Dragonborn in known history was called Miraak. Something strange happened to him, and maybe he's got a problem with later Dragonborns."

"But if he is on Solstheim, why does he bother?"

"I don't know, but maybe we learn about that later on? By the way, where is Solstheim? Is that a city?"

"No, it's a large island in the norther part of Morrowind."

"How do you know that, Alander?"

"It was mentioned several times during history lessons, and a map was shown."

"Dude, you really paid attention. But now, let's see what they find in Windhelm and how they are treated there."

"Somebody else wondered about that too: 'Oh, no, Balu x.x now you're in the Lion's Den! DX – Inigo could tell some interesting stories about this city regarding being a Khajiit there.'"

"Who is Inigo?"

"Wait, wasn't this name mentioned earlier, when Balu found Mia?"

"I guess that you're right; but he hadn't shown up yet, right?"

"No, because he's in the Riften jail, and Balu hasn't been to Riften yet."

"Maybe he should go there."

"Maybe he should, but he's got something else to do now."

"Windhelm – is this really like this comment here: 'Ralof is good at politicking for Balu, but he might be needed for more when the more nasty-minded Windhelm folk who hate those of fur and scale alike try to say bare skin or no service (No khajiit/argonians welcome)'?"

"Let's read on – we will find out soon!"

Again there was silence for some time, until Alander chuckled:

"I like Balu՚s questions when he's visiting the farms."

"Yeah, like this comment, too: 'Interesting idea, at least, using magical salts on the earth. And a good rebuttal about why they wouldn't work.'"

"But sure he's got more to do in this city, right?"

"Absolutely. Look, he talks to various people, has a conference with Jarl Ulfric, and much more."

"Yeah, and at the end, he messes up his big chance to get a girl into his bed!"

There was chuckling all around, and Jomund commented:

"Yeah, true, but look, there's another one of those notes: 'Smart of Balu not to get potentially compromised. No telling what Lana could have screamed if things went bad, and the fate of Skyrim would have been more the worse for it. You'd made suggestions, then made a play for his adopted daughter? You would a huge pelt on the floor and your cubs smaller ones.'"

"Sure, that's a valid point. Although, maybe Lana would have screamed even if things went well, I guess."

There was more chuckling all around. The three siblings were teenage boy, after all, and although none of them had actually had any intimate experiences with the other sex yet, they had listened to lots of talking from older people. Some men, especially when drunk, used to tell some of their stories, not necessarily entirely true ones, in inns and other places, and many of those stories were much more graphical and explicit than, let's say, Mikael՚s book 'A Gentleman's Guide to Whiterun'.

Eventually Alander called out:

"Hey, I believe it's going to be time for dinner any moment now. Let's hurry down stairs and read the final pages next time, shall we?"

[Author's Notes: Thank you for all of the reviews which allowed me to integrate some of them into this interlude – hope you enjoy! Now, if anybody has a great idea where the second diary volume could be hidden, please don't hesitate to suggest that in a review or PM, that would be great!]