Chapter 11: Talking to Ralof

[14th - 15th of Rain's Hand 4E 202]

As asked by Jarl Balgruuf the Greater, Jordis and I had left Whiterun to travel to Windhelm; my Jarl had finally decided to ally himself and his hold with the Stormcloaks. My housecarl had been given a horse, but I preferred to walk; between Mixwater Mill and Windhelm we had been ambushed by bandits, but had managed to defeat them.

Mid afternoon, once we had rested and applied enough potions and spells to get me fully healed after the fight with the bandits, we walked further north for some time and eventually reached the river which originated from Lake Yorgrim. Winter had not left this area yet. From here on the road was still snow covered, and I was glad that my body was warm from all of the running, as I had not brought my cloak with me; an icy wind blew from the North, chilling down our bodies. Before dusk we had stabled the horse and greeted the guards at the big city gate. One of the guards eyed me suspiciously, but the other one had seen me before and recognized me:

"Hey, B'lushona, it's good to see you again. I hope that you have good news for us?"

"That will be for Jarl Ulfric to find out."

"Fair enough – come in!"

Jordis was a Nord, and having her with me was, naturally, totally acceptable. The guards at the entrance to the palace also recognized me, and they allowed me to enter right away. Jarl Ulfric was not sitting on his throne, but I heard voices from his war room; Jordis and I tried to be quiet and walked through the door; the Jarl was in a heated discussion with his second in command, Galmar Stone-First, who was stating when we approached:

"Balgruuf won't give us a straight answer."

"He's a true Nord. He'll come around."

"Don't be so sure of that. We've intercepted couriers from Solitude. The Empire's putting a great deal of pressure on Whiterun."

"And what would you have me do?"

"If he's not with us, he's against us."

"He knows that. They all know that."

"How long are you going to wait?"

"You think I need to send Balgruuf a stronger message?"

"If by message you mean shoving a sword through his gullet."

Both Jarl and Housecarl were very much focused on their conversation and had not noticed us yet, standing partially hidden in the dark passage between main hall and war room; most likely Ulfric rightly assumed that the Palace guards would not allow any dangerous people inside without announcement. I decided to chime in, stepped forward and commented:

"Now, Galmar, I don't think that there is a need for such a drastic step."

Both wheeled around quickly when they heard me speaking, and the Jarl՚s face started to show a grin:

"B'lushona, you are back! Which news do you have for us?"

"Jarl Balgruuf did indeed come around, and he is sending you this."

With those words I handed both the ceremonial weapon and the sealed letter over. When the Jarl of Eastmarch saw the special axe, his eyes became big, and I explained:

"The leader of Whiterun hold has decided to offer you an alliance with him, mostly on your terms. He may expect a few compromises, but he is willing to allow you military command in Whiterun hold and to see himself and the entire hold as part of the Stormcloak movement."

While Jarl Ulfric took the axe and the letter from me, Galmar snorted:

"I believe it when I see it."

"Jarl Balgruuf invites you to a meeting at Valtheim Towers, close to the border between the two holds, to sign the alliance, and you are welcome to bring as many soldiers with me as you seem fit. As a matter of fact, those soldiers will be allowed to enter Whiterun hold as soon as the documents are signed. You are asked to do your best to hide the troop movement from the Imperials, though; we consider it better to have some options to surprise them."

Ulfric nodded, and he stated:

"So, a new day is dawning and the sun rises over Whiterun."

"Aye," Galmar nodded as well, "and the sons of Skyrim will greet that dawn teeth and swords flashing."

"Together with our new allies."

"Aye, indeed. But, what if this is a trap?"

I turned towards the Jarl՚s housecarl and explained:

"General Stone-Fist, I assure you that it isn't as trap. However, I do understand your concern. As I said, you are allowed to bring as many troops as you want, and you can post outlooks on the tower tops. While we are there, the safety of Jarl Ulfric and his delegation is an issue of Jarl Balgruuf՚s honor, and mine, too."

"Mph. All right, I guess."

The Jarl excused himself for a few minutes to read the letter, and when he was done, he asked his housecarl and general:

"Galmar, how quickly can we muster the forces to march for Valtheim Towers?"

"My Jarl, we are always ready. We can leave tomorrow morning, if you want."

"The sooner the better. B'lushona, how much rest do you and the pretty lady need?"

"One night's sleep will be good enough for us, Jarl Ulfric."

"Then, we will leave tomorrow morning – Number One, make it so!"

What? Number One? My ears had probably not heard correctly or my brain had misunderstood the words; I had been too much of a SF fan in my first life. The sturdy Nord left to make some arrangements, and Ulfric turned back to Jordis and me. He looked at Jordis for some time and then asked:

"So, only one housecarl today, B'lushona?"

"Indeed, Jarl Ulfric; Antonius is busy those days."

"All right, what about supper now and retiring early, so that we are all well rested tomorrow?"

We accepted the invitation, and ten minutes later we sat at the long table in the main hall. Jorleif, the Jarl՚s steward, made sure that plenty of food was served, and while we indulged – I was reasonably hungry after a day of travel – we also had some light conversation. Lady Jana was not with us today, and I did not ask where she was.

I was reasonably tired when I was shown to my room and my bed, and there was no surprise visit by a female person either. Jordis had a room next to mine.

My leg muscles protested a little bit once they learned that they needed to work hard again today, after yesterday's exercise, but I still preferred walking and jogging to riding. In my old life I had tried horseback riding once, but found out that it was not for me. While we were on the road, I could see some soldiers looking at me with amazement, and Commander Ralof, who was with us, rode at my side for most of the time, while Jordis kept some distance. With my size, our faces were almost at the same level, and I only needed to look up a little bit when talking to the Stormcloak commander. We took the same roads Jordis and I had used on the day before, and our journey started turning right at the stables after the bridge. Ralof mentioned:

"It is really amazing how easily you can keep that pace with us."

"Well, my body is quite large, and I do like to exercise my muscles."

"Better than killing people, eh?"

"Yes, you are right about that, Ralof. I have had to kill a few more people since Helgen, but I still dislike the concept."

"Don't tell anybody, but same here. However, if we really make this alliance work, maybe we can end the war this year, what to do you think?"

"Indeed, my friend, maybe we can; that would be good for everybody."

"I so hope that we can convince Hadvar to surrender and join our side."

"Hadvar was a childhood friend of yours, right?"

"Aye, that he was; we grew up in Riverwood together. I happen to know that he also dislikes the laws we have to follow, but he has always insisted that we're a part of the Empire and that we have to obey the rules, even if we are personally opposed to them. I happen to know that he believes in Talos, same as I do, too, but he has suppressed his believe."

That was an understandable attitude, and I hoped that we might be able to convince more people to join our side, peacefully, if possible. I did not have a clear idea of what might happen afterwards, to avoid having Thalmor and maybe the might of the entire Aldmeri Dominion coming down on Skyrim, but I hoped that more experienced people would have plans for that. For now, we made good progress, and soon the cold and the snow were behind us. Once we had turned left towards Mixwater Mill, temperatures slowly started to climb, and the air promised spring again. I asked the Stormcloak commander:

"Say, is it always like this? Windhelm is still in winter and there is spring here?"

"Aye, this happens frequently. Cold winds from the North and from the frigid waters above the Sea of Ghosts blow down to Windhelm and keep winter in our city until early in Second Seed or so; once we pass the hills, the winds are blocked, and the milder air from the south dominates the temperatures. We are used to that, but farming is challenging up north."

"Why don't you have more farms further south, like over there where the hot springs are?"

"The hot spring area is no good for farming; the ground is good enough for some flowers and special plants, but for some reason not for wheat and vegetables; some people have tried and failed. We have a little bit of farming around Kynesgrove, but The Rift further south is much better for that purpose, and we get some food from there, too."

I nodded and had learned something again. Soon we passed the side road and the location where Jordis and I had been attacked, and I had another question:

"Ralof, where does this road lead to? There is some kind of fort up there, right?"

"Indeed, and it's called Morvunskar. I have heard that some warlocks and bandits call it home, but they haven't been troubling us much yet."

"Maybe not you, but we got attacked yesterday, by four bandits."

"You think that they came from up there?"

"Not sure about that, but likely, I believe."

"Hm, maybe we need to pay some attention to the place. Although, we need to be quite careful; there have been some rumors that Sanguine himself used this place as portal to his realm from time to time."

"Sanguine is one of the Daedric princes, right?"

I had of course heard of him, but only vaguely recalled that it was not something good. The Stormcloak nodded and explained:

"Sanguine's sphere is, as somebody described it properly, 'revelry, debauchery, and passionate indulgences of darker natures'. This is something quite a few men and also women would not mind in general, as it's usually related to lots of drinking and more, but the Daedric Lord is known to play pranks on those he meets, too."

"Like what?"

"A few months ago, just after your first visit to Windhelm, I had some days off, and I celebrated together with some of my friends. We spent the evening in the inn and drank a lot of mead, and there was this Breton conjurer who called himself Sam Guevenne. He invited us to a drinking contest, and that went quite well for some time. I thought that I should be able to drink him under the table, but I apparently overestimated my own capability to handle the drinks, and I must have passed out."

"Well, I guess that this can happen when one indulges too much."

"Sure, but I did the drinking in Windhelm, and when I woke up I found myself in an entirely different location."

"Somebody got you home or to the barracks?"

"No, I woke up in…" Ralof looked around to make sure that nobody else listened and continued in a subdued voice:

"I woke up in Markarth, in the Temple of Dibella of all places."

"What?"

"Yes, and even worse, I found myself in a bed together with one my best comrades; we were both nude under the covers."

"Oh."

"She was really confused and angry when she saw me next to her; she is a good comrade, but we don't like each other like this. Even more angry, though, were the priestesses."

"But isn't the temple supposed to encourage something like this?"

"Yeah, true, but one of the priestesses, Senna, claimed that my comrade and I had been what she called 'blathering incoherently about marriage or a goat' and 'losing our temper and throwing trash all over the temple'. Neither of us recalled any of that."

"Wow. But how could you suddenly be in Markarth?"

"I will get to that later. My comrade and I apologized and cleaned up, and we also donated some money to the temple; fortunately our clothes and belongings were nearby. When the priestesses were finally happy, Senna told us something about Rorikstead and that we had mentioned this place repeatedly during our 'ranting'."

"A wild goose chase?"

"No, not really. We went there, but it took some time, as we were in enemy territory after all; fortunately, neither of use were in uniform. In the town, we met a farmer who claimed that we had stolen his best goat and sold it to a giant."

"What?"

"We spent some hours to get the goat back, and we got told to talk to Ysolda in Whiterun. She mentioned something about a wedding ring, and I eventually learned that I had supposedly gotten engaged to a hagraven."

"This is kind of weird."

"It sure is, and finally I was told to come here, to Morvunskar. My comrade was with me again, and she also had learned some weird things about what she had supposedly done, including something together with a Briarheart warrior. We fought our way inside, passed some kind of portal, and were invited to join a big party. Turned out that this Sam Guevenne, who had challenged us to a drinking contest, was none other but Sanguine."

"Oh, this explains a lot."

Finally something triggered in my mind, and I remembered that there was a side quest in that direction in the game. I had ignored that one in most of my game runs, because I usually kept my game character true to my real one and thus kept my hands from alcoholic drinks. Anyway, better Ralof than me, I thought, and I listened to him when he replied:

"It does, and we were both relieved that we had been pranked, rather than really doing all of those weird things."

"Did you at least get a reward?"

"Actually, yes, I did – look here!"

I had not paid much attention to what Ralof carried on his horse, but indeed, there was a staff with a beautiful rose on top. I must have gaped, and the Stormcloak grinned and explained:

"Sanguine՚s Rose; it allows me to summon a Dremora to help me fighting. Was quite helpful already a few times in fights with Imperials, and believe me, they get quite scared when a Dremora suddenly shows up."

I had to admit that I liked this 'real' Skyrim. It was not just a single person who could do everything of importance, but various people could actually achieve something, and I was happy for my friend Ralof that he had at least gained a reward. During my time playing the game, I had usually collected many Daedric artifacts, but here I did not have a single one yet. Maybe it was time to think about that? I had one question for Ralof, though:

"So, you got a reward, and your comrade got nothing?"

"Oh, she got her own reward. She asked Lord Sanguine if he'd be willing to spend a night with her, can you imagine that? He agreed, and I have a feeling that they did much more than drinking; every time I talk to her about that, she's got a very wide smile on her face. I assume that she got the night of her life."

I really had to put some effort into controlling my facial expression, and I tried hard to not imagine details. I could not really understand something like this, but some people here in Skyrim had quite a different view on important topics of life than I had. We rode in silence for some time, heading towards Mixwater Mill, and for now we had talked enough. Ralof՚s story had been an interesting one, and maybe it was even a true one. Anyway, I had no intention to share what I had just been told with anyone, not even Antonius.

When we reached the mill, Jarl Ulfric had the troops stop for a break. After talking to Gilfre, the owner, the Jarl asked around among the soldiers who were with us, and when he learned that one of them was a former sawmill assistant, he told him:

"Soldier, your task is now here at the mill. Look out for travelers, and help Gilfre with the mill as much as you can. We need more lumber, that is sure."

The soldier nodded, unloaded his horse, and move his belongings to the house.

Really? Just like this? Oh, wait, maybe Ulfric had been thinking about a potential need to construct catapults or ballistas or something like this at some time, like the game had show during the attack on Whiterun. I hoped that this might not be necessary, but of course it appeared to be wise to make sure to have some more large pieces of lumber ready just in case.

When we passed Fort Amol later on, we saw some corpses lying on the ground, and only a couple of people with robes on the walls. Galmar stated:

"I wonder what happened over there…"

I explained:

"When we traveled to Windhelm yesterday, we saw a dragon attacking the fort and the people in and around it, and I guess that the dragon won."

Jarl Ulfric had heard that and asked:

"A dragon, here in my hold?"

"I am afraid so, yes."

"I don't have to ask if a dragon might get close to Windhelm, as we saw that a few months ago. However, at least most of the houses in Windhelm are built from stone rather than wood, so that they cannot easily be set on fire."

"But what about the Grey Quarter, Ulfric?"

"You are right, Galmar; there are quite a few wooden houses there. I guess that we may have to make sure that we are prepared, just in case."

"Jarl Balgruuf has decreed that some buckets with water need to be available in some places at all times; that helped during the last dragon attack in Whiterun."

Jarl Ulfric nodded, and now we turned right towards Valtheim Towers. For some time, the Jarl stayed at my side, and eventually he asked:

"I heard about some of your adventures in and around Solitude. General Tullius did not treat you well, right?"

"No, he did not. Nobody explained why I was supposed to be a prisoner, and his reaction was, in my opinion, not worthy of a high officer."

"Were there other officers present as well?"

"Yes, there was Legate Rikke. Do you know her?"

"Well, yes, I have heard of her. Did she say anything?"

"She looked like she wanted to, but apparently she did not dare to mention her opinion, whatever it might have been, in the general's presence."

A hint of a smile was visible around Ulfric՚s lips, and I wondered if there was something he knew and did not want to mention.

In the late afternoon we reached our target – Valtheim Towers; Commander Brojik, deputy to Guard Commander Caius, was fully informed about the plans and had expected us there. He and his guards had prepared some rooms in the towers for our distinguished guests, but of course most of the soldiers would have to stay outside. Galmar started to set up perimeter guards right away, and for the first time in recent history Whiterun hold guards and Stormcloaks would stand guard and patrol the area together. Both the commander and the general had reminded them to work together as a team, too.

In addition to that, Brojik sent two messengers with fast horses back to the city to report back to Jarl Balgruuf; the Jarl was likely to get here late in the next morning, so that the alliance talks and negotiations could begin. Jordis and I got a corner in one of the half open rooms in the northern tower, and after a quick supper my housecarl and I stretched our bodies on the ground, using two simple bedrolls next to each other. We talked for a few minutes, and when had decided to get to sleep, I wondered for a few minutes what my view on Jordis was. She was certainly not only a very strong and capable warrior woman, but also pretty, with blond hair and blue eyes. In my imagination, specifically earlier when I had been playing the game, I had sometimes imagined to have her in bed with me, but in this real life, I saw her as a reliable comrade and partner 'only'. We got along with each other nicely, and that was good enough. I had a pretty and strong young woman right next to me, but I did not feel any temptation to take advantage of that situation. Besides, even trying to seduce a housecarl was not what I considered to be honorable; she might feel like she had to obey my orders, and this would be tantamount to abuse.

My sleep was interrupted a few hours later, in the middle of the night, by one of my saber cats nudging me repeatedly, and she was likely having a good reason for that. If there had been some danger, she would have reacted differently, so that I was not really worried. I saw my friend looking over where Jordis was next to me, and there was some noise coming from here, almost like sobbing. Was that possible, and if it was, what might be the reason for that? While I scratched my saber cats belly, I listened, and indeed, Jordis seemed to be crying. Should I just go back to sleep and ignore that, or should I better ask what was wrong? She was my housecarl, and I decided that I needed to ask. So I slowly touched her shoulder and inquired:

"Jordis, is something wrong?"

At first, she did not want to talk at all, but I argued:

"Jordis, you are my housecarl, and your well-being is my business, too."

"My Thane, it's not related to being a housecarl. It's just that…"

She started to sob again briefly, but stopped and finally told me:

"A few days ago, just before we left Whiterun, a courier came and had a letter for me. My older brother serves in the Legion, and I was told that he was severely wounded in a skirmish, close to Solitude; they are not sure if he's going to make it."

That was, in my book, a good reason for crying, and I felt with her. Jordis was a tough warrior lady and likely did not want to admit that she badly needed somebody to comfort her. At first I was about to suggest that I could hold and comfort her for some time, like I had done with Ria last year when she had learned that her boyfriend had dumped her, but this did not feel right, and I did not want her to get the wrong idea. But I could offer an alternative:

"Jordis, do you know what usually helps when I feel down and need some comforting?"

She looked at me, and with my Khajiit eyes I could at least vaguely see her face in the darkness around us; she did not respond verbally, and I elaborated:

"What about snuggling with somebody? We've got two wonderful saber cats in here with us, and they are both quite cuddly animals. What about I ask one of them to stay close to you for the rest of the night?"

"Really? But, I have never been so close to an animal when sleeping…"

"Why not give it a shot? Can it be any worse than sleeping alone and unhappy?"

My Nord housecarl hesitated, and then she asked:

"They are housebroken, right?"

I smiled and nodded, adding a verbal confirmation, as she might not be able to see my nodding. and finally she admitted that she'd like to try. I briefly talked to my saber cats:

"Hanni and Nanni, Jordis needs somebody to comfort her tonight. Do you think that one of you could help her out and find out if she's good in giving a back rub and such?"

Of course I knew that they did not really understand my words, but they knew the term 'back rub', and my pointing towards Jordis was also a clear sign. One of my cats moved over, and when the Nord lifted her blanket on one side, she got company; soon her hands were getting busy on the saber cat's back, and I really hoped that this might work. Meanwhile, the other saber cat moved close to me and demanded her share as well, and I was happy to comply.

[Author's Notes: I could not resist to somehow fit the quest 'A night to remember' into the story. So, no, Balu will not have to go through that.]