A Young Griff's Guide to Skyrim
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Chapter 5
With Frea leading from the front, she and Aegon traversed the snowy tundra. The wind was brisk and cold, snowflakes flying in from the snowy drifts or from the sea, bringing with it a salty taste of the nearby sea. Drawing his coat around his body more tightly, Aegon followed Frea, loosening his iron sword in its scabbard for an easy draw.
"Up ahead," Frea suddenly went into a low crouch with Aegon hurrying to do the same.
"What is it? What do you see?" Aegon whispered out his query.
Frea peeked her head over a snow drift before lowering back down and replied, "Signs of the encampment that Merchant told us about. There's a few rieklings there as well, perhaps six or so."
"Six? Hardly any trouble," Aegon said with a confident smile.
"Six that I saw, but there could be more," Frea cautioned. Poking his head over, Aegon raised his eyebrows as he glimpsed what he could only surmise were rieklings. They were short and stout looking things with dark green-grey skin, wearing mismatched pieces of clothing and furs crudely stitched together. For armaments, most of them were armed with stone tipped spears and one or two were armed with clubs made from femur bones. They were sitting around a campfire chattering and grumbling in a strange dialect.
"So, those are rieklings," Aegon muttered to himself as he moved back and looked at Frea. "You know those creatures better than I do. How strong are they individually?" he asked the Skaal woman.
"Individually, they're no stronger than a child, but they can prove accurate when throwing their spears. You get some that are stronger, but their true strength lies in their numbers," said Frea.
"So, six of them there are at the moment, so that's three apiece," Aegon muttered. "Think we can take them?" he wondered.
"Let's hope we can," Frea said as she pulled out from her sash an axe with a pale icy blue blade of carved rock. Aegon stared at the weapon in wonder.
"What kind of axe is that?"
"Stalhrim."
"Eh?" Aegon looked confused upon hearing the word.
"Stalhrim. Sort of special magical ice that can be made into armour and weapons," Frea informed him. "Now, are we going to kill those rieklings, or do you want to sit here talking all day?" she asked him pointedly.
"Yes, of course. Forgive me." Aegon drew his sword and brushed his thumb across the edge of the blade. "Let's go!"
Moving over the hillock, Frea and Aegon charged into the camp before the rieklings realise they were there. With a forceful swing, Aegon's sword cut deep into the first rieklings, making it give a jabbering wail as the sharp iron blade split its sternum and ribcage in twain. Frea killed two of the creatures with her stalhrim axe. Upon seeing three of their brethren be cut down, the other rieklings scampered away, jabbering fearfully.
"Is that it?" Aegon said in disbelief and disappointment. "I was expecting more…"
"Don't get complacent!" Frea admonished him. "They may be heading for their main nest to bring back reinforcements," she told him.
"Well, let's see if Mr Merchant's glasses are among the ones we've killed," Aegon as he began to search the bodies of the dead rieklings. "Huh, bits of bone and fur scraps, one or two pieces of junk, but no reading spectacles," he remarked with an air of annoyance.
"Might the reading glasses are in the main nest with the other rieklings," Frea said thoughtfully. "Rieklings are notorious for hoarding piles of whatever they've scavenged and stolen in their nests," she explained.
"Would I be correct in guessing you know such a nest lies?" Aegon asked looking at Frea.
"I do as a matter of fact. Just off the coast, in a cave. It's a big nest, but hopefully between the two of us we should be able to handle it," Frea replied.
"Lead on then."
Leaving the ruined camp and the dead rieklings, the two warriors headed for the coastline and soon enough they reached the beach of the island where the rocky soil met the ocean. Across a sandbar where the water was shallow a large rocky outcrop stood like a sentinel. "There. See the cave opening?" Frea said pointing her gloved finger. Following to where the Skaal woman was pointing, Aegon saw the mouth of a cave and what appeared to be signs of occupation of wood and stitched leathers and bone charms.
"That must be it then," he commented.
"It is. Let's go inside, they'll probably be expecting us," Frea stated.
"Well, it would be rude not to say hello," Aegon jested as he readied his sword as they marched towards the cave opening.
The passage was dimly lit by candles the rieklings had scavenged or stolen. There were some lanterns, but many were unlit. There was a pervading chill in the cavern as the walls of the passage were frosted over with a thick, broad layer of ice. Wooden barrels, tables, shelves and other pieces of furniture were scattered about.
"Be on your guard," Frea advised Aegon. "Rieklings sometimes hide in old mead barrels to ambush their prey," she said grimly.
"I see." Glaring at a nearby mead barrel, Aegon kicked it over to reveal it was empty. Going to another mead, he rapped the blade of his sword against its hull and the sound of something solid inside it told Aegon what he wanted to know. With a hefty chop of his sword, Aegon split the barrel and was rewarded with a sharp yowling sound of pain and the barrel burst open to reveal a riekling, armed with spear, clutching a bleeding shoulder. With a thrust of his sword, Aegon stabbed the creature in the throat, making it gurgle a death cry.
The death cry then made some other barrels burst open to reveal more rieklings, all scowling and gnashing their pointed teeth in anger. Frea swiftly cut down three at once and Aegon narrowly avoided a spear thrown at him by a riekling warrior before he dispatched it with a swing of his sword. A riekling warrior then tried to rush Aegon, thrusting its spear into his shoulder; giving a grunt, more of annoyance than pain, Aegon grabbed the creature by the neck and with a sharp twist, he snapped the bones of its neck.
Tossing the dead creature aside, Aegon spoke, "Is that all of them?"
"These ones at least. Guard dogs to watch the entrance," Frea replied. "These are just the first wave. There will be more," she said grimly.
"Then let's not keep them waiting."
Going further down the passage which began a slow decline, the two companions soon came to a large open area where some rieklings were waiting for them. The creatures jabbered and screeched in their strange tongue angrily, baring their teeth and spears threateningly.
Aegon stared them down, unimpressed. "Well? Are you going to stand there jabbering all day? Or are we going to fight?" he goaded.
With a screaming howl, the child-sized creatures charged forth. Then a wave of ice swept over the charging creatures, halting them and even knocking a few over. Aegon looked to see Frea's hands wreathed in a chilly white fog.
"You didn't tell me you could do magic!"
Frea looked at Aegon and replied, "You never asked." Drawing out her axe, the Skaal warrior then said, "C'mon. Kill them now while we have the advantage!"
With a nod, Aegon charged in and cut down three rieklings with swift slashes of his sword, blood and fat staining the iron blade. Frea drew her bow and nocked an arrow to it, drawing and loosing the arrow in a swift practiced move; the iron tipped arrow soared through the air and pierced the throat of a riekling warrior that had prepared to throw a spear at Aegon. Nocking another arrow to her bow, Frea killed a riekling charging towards her with a well-placed arrow to the heart.
Then loud snorting and squealing was heard and charging out from the passage was a large boar. Not as large as the one Aegon and Frea had killed, but it was big enough as it carried a riekling warrior on its back. A crudely made but effective reins were wrapped around the thick tusks of the boar allowing its rider to control it. The riekling gave a triumphant cry as it kicked its pointed heels into the boar's sides making the beast gave a loud squeal as it charged towards Aegon who leapt out of the way to avoid being gored on the feral pig's tusks.
Frea drew another arrow from her quiver and nocked it to the string of her bow. Drawing until the bowstring itself strained tightly, Frea aimed carefully as the boar chased after Aegon who was doing his best to avoid being trampled. Breathing in slowly, Frea breathed releasing her fingers from the bowstring. The arrow hit its mark, going through the left knee of the boar's foreleg. The pig gave a loud scream of pain as it lost its footing and crashed to the ground, skidding a little. The resulting crash threw its rider from the saddle and the riekling tumbled end over end in the air before crashing into the rocky wall of the cavern.
Giving a shout, Aegon rushed over to the down boar and thrust the blade of his sword into its thick blubbery neck. The animal gave a scream of pain and defiance, its body thrashing about before gradually going still breathing its last breath. Pulling his sword free from the dead pig's neck, Aegon breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the blade clean of blood and fat. "Is that all of them?" he asked as he took a moment to catch his breath.
"Just about," replied Frea as she finished off the riekling that had been riding the boar with a swift strike from her axe. "Let's keep moving," she said stoically.
"Give me a minute… to catch my breath," Aegon protested, his posture bent over, his hands on his knees.
"Never been in an actual fight before, have you?" Frea remarked knowingly.
"No. Never," Aegon confirmed. "I was trained how to fight, but I can't say I've actually seen battle until now," he said as he stood up straight and added, "Let's go."
The pair then headed deeper into the icy caverns, the air began to get slightly warmer a d the passage grew wider until it opened out into a large spacious cavern. Little huts made of stitched leather and cloth were scattered about and heaping piles of junk and miscellaneous items were scattered about. Some rieklings were gathered around a fire roasting something on the flames with what appeared to be their leader wearing a kind of headdress fashioned from the skull of some animal holding a staff with a bird's skull set on it. Aegon then spied a cage which had an occupant inside it; A beautiful young woman, a few years older than him perhaps, wearing white furs and bleached seal skin boots with hair like golden honey was sitting sullenly in the cage obviously a prisoner of the rieklings.
Frea moved out with her bow and fired an arrow at the riekling leader who screeched in warning, rattling its staff and a pale translucent green barrier was erected in front of it, stopping Frea's arrow from hitting. The other rieklings leapt to their feet, grabbing their spears and clubs, jabbering angrily.
Aegon rushed past Frea, his sword raised at the encroaching creatures. His sword bit deeply into the crook of a riekling's neck and shoulder, cleaving downwards into its chest. Swinging his free hand out into a fist, Aegon knocked aside another riekling that tried to leap onto him. Trying to wrench his sword free, Aegon was forced to release his grip on it as a pair of rieklings jabbed at him with their spears. Moving back, Aegon felt his back hit the nearest pile of junk. Acting on reflex, he grabbed the nearest object; a fire poker made of cast iron. Not the most conventional weapon he thought to himself, but it would serve its purpose. Parrying a riekling's bone club, Aegon used the small hook on the poker's tip to latch onto the bone wielding riekling and send it flying at the nearest of its brethren.
Frea was trading spells with the riekling shaman who appeared to know one or two spells which was a surprise to Frea as the average riekling didn't know magic. She was curious to know how this riekling was able to use magic. Not that it mattered right now as she flung some ice spikes at the shaman who held up a magical ward to block the frosty projectiles.
Using the fire poker like an improvised bludgeon/sword, Aegon smashed the cast iron head into a riekling's skull, breaking and killing it. Then a blow from a riekling's club hit Aegon's lower back. Giving a yelp of pain, Aegon stumbled back into the cage where the captive woman sat. Aegon looked into the slightly older woman's blue-grey eyes. "You alright?" Aegon asked almost conversationally.
The prisoner looked past him and shouted, "Watch out!" Aegon looked behind to see the riekling who struck him leaping towards, its weapon clasped in both hands a war cry on its lips. Ducking to the side, Aegon avoided the thick bone head of the bludgeon as it collided with the prisoner's cage. The riekling screamed in frustration as it glared at its foe with beady eyes. Aegon held his improvised weapon in a swordsman's stance as the riekling glared at him angrily. Then the imprisoned young woman's hand reached through the bars of her confines and grabbed the riekling by the throat, throttling the life from it. Siezing the opportunity, Aegon swung his weapon into the choking riekling's head, the heavy cast iron tip smashing into its skull.
Frea cast a flurry of bone chilling frost at the riekling shaman who was struggling to maintain its warding spell. Pulling out her axe with a free hand, Frea then hurled the Stalhrim weapon at the shaman's ward. The axe shattered the magical ward and the riekling magic user gave a cry of dismay as its protective spell was broken like fragile glass. It did not have time to conjured another spell as a frost spike pierced its heart.
"Clear!" Frea called out.
"They're all dead?" Aegon asked as he finished off the last riekling warrior.
"Aye, they're all dead," Frea confirmed as she looked around the nest and found no sign of any other rieklings. Aegon nodded and looked at the imprisoned young woman.
"And who might you be, my lady?" the blue-haired lad asked the captive who stared back at him with defiance in her eyes.
"Val. Sister of Dalla," she said proudly.
Aegon looked at Frea and asked, "You know her? Is she from the village?"
Frea shook her head in response. "I know all the resident of the village and have not seen her among our tribe," she stated.
Aegon looked back at Val and asked her, "Where are you from? How did you get here?"
"I'm a Free Folk woman of the True North," Val said bluntly. "I met this strange man called Sheogorath and the next thing I know I wake up here, a prisoner of these… things," she explained.
"You're a wildling," Aegon said in realisation.
"Southerners would call my people such, but I prefer free folk," Val replied. "You must be a southerner," she said with some scorn in her eyes.
"Perhaps," Aegon admitted blandly. "Let's see if we can get you of there, shall we?" he offered.
"Here, the shaman had this on him," Frea stated tossing Aegon a small iron key. Aegon tried the lock of the cage. It fit the lock and with a firm turn, Aegon unlocked the cage and offered a hand to Val who reluctantly accepted it.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt? Have you eaten at all?" Aegon asked the wildling woman who looked at him with a stern expression.
"I'm fine. I'm a little hungry, but I'm fine," she said stoically. "Where am I?" she then asked.
"You're on the island of Solstheim, lass," Frea informed her.
"Solstheim? Is that somewhere off the coast of the North?" Val asked quizzically.
"What Lady Frea means to tell you is that you and I are no longer in our own world anymore," Aegon explained patiently to Val. "I met Sheogorath too, same as you did. I was sailing along the Rhoyne when he approached my boat and offered to teach me magic. I accepted thinking it an amusing jest, then after eating a bit of his cheese, I woke up here not too long ago."
"So, you both met Sheogh," Frea remarked.
"Sheogh?" Val repeated the name.
"The Skaal's name for Sheogorath," Aegon told her. "He's a demon of madness and insanity, therefore making him unpredictable," he said.
"A… demon?" Val looked slightly alarmed at the mention of it. "How do we get back?" she then asked in worry.
"I don't know if I'm being perfectly honest," Aegon said sheepishly. Looking at Val, he told her, "It seems like you and I are both in the same boat and you're on your own out here. You could do a lot worse than to come with us."
"And what if I don't want to?" Val said defiantly.
Aegon shrugged in response. "Fine, but you'll be on your own. The Skaal's village is nearby and they have food and warmth available if you want to come. The choice is yours," he said to her.
Val had a reluctant expression on her face as she appeared to contemplate her choices before looking at Aegon nodding at him.
"Alright. I'll go with you," she said.
"Good then," Aegon said with a friendly smile before looking at Frea and asked her, "Is this arrangement fine with you, Lady Frea?"
"I have no issue with it," Frea said in answer to the question. "Now, didn't we come here looking for those spectacles?" she asked.
"Ah, yes. I'd nearly forgotten," Aegon said with a nod of his head. "Let's search through these piles of junks. They've got to be here somewhere in all this," he mused.
"You could try that big chest over there?" Val suggested helpfully pointing in the direction of a large wooden chest. "I saw these things putting all sorts of items in there. Perhaps what you're looking for is in there," she said.
"Makes sense," Frea said with a nod of her head as she and Aegon walked over to the chest and opened it up.
The chest was filled with various items and junk. It took a moment to sort through the mess, but Aegon gave an "Aha!" of victory as he found a pair of round wire rimmed spectacles, seemingly no worse for wear. "Found 'em!" he crowed.
"The Merchant will be pleased have these returned to him," Frea said with a smile.
"A merchant? What merchant?" Val asked curiously.
"The Merchant, but we don't know his actual name," Aegon replied. "We met him a short while ago. He hired us to find and retrieve his favourite spectacles for him and offered us a reward," he detailed.
"I see," Val nodded in understanding. "So, the way out?" she prompted.
"This way," Frea then led the group out of the caves and into the snowy frigid air which was a contrast with the relative warmth of the riekling caves.
"Gods! Still not used to that!" Aegon cursed as he rubbed his arms with both hands to try and warm himself.
"Reminds me of home. If you hadn't told me before, I'd think I was back in the North," Val said with a slight smile.
"Yes, well, years of growing up in the summers of Essos have me not used to the cold," Aegon grumbled.
"You'll get used to it, Griff," Frea assured him. "C'mon, let's go find the Merchant and claim our reward," she said to everyone as they began the march back to the Merchant's stall.
They soon found the Merchant humming a merry tune to himself as he puttered about his stall. The hooded man looked up and smiled under his mask, "Ah, our intrepid heroes return and with someone else as well!" he noted as he looked at Val who looked at him cautiously.
"We have your spectacles, Ser Merchant," Aegon informed the trader offering the item in question.
"A job well done deserves payment in kind," the Merchant said magnanimously as he took the spectacles with a nod of thanks. The trader then pulled out a small drawstring bag which clinked with the promise of coin. "Here you are, some coin for your trouble," he told them before pulling out some small pinkish-red gemstones. "And a little something for your efforts," he added.
"What are these?" Frea asked as she looked at the offered gemstones.
"These are spinels. A rare kind of gemstone, oft used as stand-ins for rubies in jewellery and such," the Merchant informed everyone. "I trade in these precious stones for rare and exotic goods that money can't buy," he then said. "Speaking of which, care to make a purchase?" he offered as he opened his stall of what he had on offer.
Aegon and his companions then browsed the goods the Merchant had on offer. There were some weapons that looked to be of better quality then what Aegon had currently and even weapons that neither he nor his companions recognised. The items the Merchant had for trade were even more exotic; there were some spell tomes and what appeared to be treasure maps. The trader also had a section of his stall where he explained that he could "tune up" their weapons and armour and even repair them if needed.
Aegon settled on buying some iron arrows for Frea and having his sword be cleaned and sharpened. His reward for finding the Merchant's spectacles had been over a hundred gold coins called Septims, the currency of the land, which wasn't too much but it was enough to purchase arrows for Frea and have Aegon's sword sharpened and cleaned.
"A deal well struck," the Merchant said with a raspy chuckle. "Anything else I can get for you?" he asked politely.
"Not unless you have some more work on offer," Aegon said to the man who shook his head in response.
"Not right now, but come see me tomorrow and I may have some more work for you." Bidding farewell to the trader, the three companions then headed for the village.
"He's a shifty looking man, but he has good stock," Frea commented as she examined the arrows Aegon had purchased for her, noting their excellent craftsmanship and fletching.
"Well, so long as he delivers on his wares and has some work for us, then I won't complain too much," Aegon said in agreement as they neared the village where they were met by Storn.
"Ah, you two were gone a while," the Skaal shaman remarked before he looked at Val who was staring around the Skaal village in wonder. "And who might this be?" he asked.
"This is Val, sister of Dalla," Frea told her father. "We found her a captive of rieklings in their nest," she explained.
"And how did that happen, I wonder?"
"She's from my world too well. She also met Sheogorath," Aegon said honestly.
"I see," Storn nodded in understanding before looking at Val and said to her, "I bid you welcome to our village, Val sister of Dalla. I am Storn Crag-Rider, Frea's father and Shaman of the Skaal," he introduced himself with a bow of his head.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Storn Crag-Rider," Val said with a polite smile. "I am grateful to be offered shelter in your village," she then added with a nod of her head.
"All are welcome in our village, provided they do not seek to harm anyone here," Storn said calmly. "Come, we have some fresh horker stew cooking. I daresay you three could do with a hot meal after being out in the cold all day," he offered.
"I'm starving actually!" Val said with a relieved smile which was followed by some assent from Aegon and Frea.
"Come then. Food goes well with conversation and I'm curious to learn about you, young Val," Storn said as he led them over to the campfire where everyone waited to be served a bowl of hot stew.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: Chapter 5 is done and dusted and I hope I delivered on a bit of action and saw the introduction of Val. Next chapter will be a slight exposition as Val explains the finer details of wildling/free folk culture and customs and finds some common ground with the Skaal and maybe we'll see the Merchant show up in the Skaal Village offering his goods and services to everyone within.
In other news, I've got some ideas for my Witcher/Game of Thrones crossover The Witcher's Apprentice of some crossover arcs in which Aegon and maybe another companion end up on another world via a random portal. To that end, I've set up a voting poll on my profile and if you haven't already, feel free to cast your vote if you wish.
And that's all I have right now, so see you all next time.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.