The Legend of Zelda: Skyrim - Chapter 29 - Cats and Dogs and Some Hysteria
Hello. I am still alive.
This took over a year and half to write because I finally got the dreaded "insanely long writer's block". At least it wasn't 5-10 years.
I very recently beat the writer's block curse, so hopefully chapter 30 does not take this long.
I started to play Skyrim again so stuff will be more descriptive and "interesting."
Rain pounded against the glass windows of Breezehome, but the occupants of the modest two-story wooden and stone house didn't really mind it.
Link was sitting at a small wooden table by the fire pit, taking some time to count out the amount of golden coins he had collected.
To save some amount of sanity, he had decided to arrange the coins in stacks of twenty.
After at least an hour of counting, the total number of Septims came to 26,689. Which meant the entire table was covered in small golden coins.
"Do I even need all of these?" Link questioned aloud as he leaned back in his wooden chair.
"Need all of what?" Lydia had walked downstairs after leaving her room.
Link vaguely gestured at the ridiculous amount of Septims on the table. "The coins."
Lydia approached the table and lightly touched a few of the Septims. "Perhaps. You could come across a rare spell that requires a lot, or some one of a kind weapon or artifact." She smiled slightly at Link's shocked expression. "I know that you practice magicka, and I have no problems with it."
"There's people that are against spell use?" Link naturally deciphered Lydia's statement.
The Nord woman gave a slight nod. "Most Nords look down on magic, but no outright hostility. As for those that are against magic, they're somewhat of a minority scattered about Tamriel, but I wouldn't doubt that some are here in Skyrim."
"Should I be concerned about them?"
"No." Lydia assured. "Like I said, they are small in number and most likely wouldn't dare to attack you."
Link was silent as he continued to silently sort through the pile of golden coins on the wooden table. After a short while, he looked over at Lydia. "What you said earlier, about spells costing a lot of gold, is that true?"
Lydia nodded. "Yes, I haven't seen them in person myself, but I have heard that certain spell tomes cost thousands due to how rare and powerful they are."
"…Could be a way to get rid of some of this," Link commented as he picked up a few Septims and let them fall to the gold pile.
"Or you could save it all like I suggested," Lydia stated.
A knock on the door got their attention, a clap of thunder almost drowned out the voice. "Link! Are you home? It's Samson, I want to speak to you!"
Link left the Septims on the table as he got up to answer the door while Lydia walked upstairs to her room. Upon the door opening, a drenched Khajiit ran inside towards the lit fireplace.
"Are you alright?"
"You don't have to worry about me, I've been out in worse weather than this," Sam stated as he got closer to the fire.
Link was about to ask what Sam meant, then noticed that his friend had tracked water into the house.
He proceeded to summon Fireball and channel it, before Link knelt to the wooden floor and began to evaporate the water by holding the flames close to the standing water. "It's not like I'm going to burn the floorboards." He told Sam when he noticed the concerned look on the Khajiit's face.
Sam shook his head as he rubbed his clawed hands together in an attempt to warm them. "You worry me sometimes with your magicka usage."
"I can wield real magic now, so I should use it to its full potential." Link looked over at the scattered coins on the table as he dismissed Fireball and stood, then reached out and focused on them with his mind. He then tried to make a coin fly across the room into his hand.
Nothing happened, which was to be expected. Telekinesis was an adept spell, after all.
Link tried again. This time, a lone coin moved slightly across the pile of shimmering metal, with no other result.
"…Is something supposed to be happening?" Sam questioned.
"This may take a few tries." Link admitted as he refocused on the coins.
Same watched curiously as his friend seemed to be doing something involving the coins on the table. "What are you doing?"
"Just wait, I haven't practiced this before." Link momentarily lost focus, then tried several more times to levitate the coin before he finally had success.
A single coin was floating in the air above the table. Link pushed back his excitement at this and mentally thought of the coin flying across the room towards him.
Nothing happened. Link tried again, and was nearly struck in the face by the coin as it obeyed the mental command. He caught the coin at the last moment and looked at it, then held up the coin and showed it to Sam.
"What spell was that?" The Khajiit asked.
"Telekinesis." Link couldn't help but grin as he flipped the coin in the air and caught it.
Sam crossed his arms and leaned back slightly. "…You know Telekinesis?"
"Yeah. Found the tome in Dustman's Cairn yesterday. I'm part of the Companions now." Link walked over and handed the Septim to Sam as the rain continued outside.
"Fascinating. You don't seem to be well practiced with it." Sam pointed out as he took the coin and inspected it. "You're with the Companions? Whatever happened yesterday?"
"Farkas and the others got a lead on some war-axe fragment. Skjor decided to test me, so he sent Farkas and I to Dustman's Cairn to get the fragment, and we found it. When we got back, I was inducted as a member."
Sam tapped his chin with a claw in thought. "I remember there being some sort of commotion up the stairs last night."
"That was the feast." Link commented as he took the coin back from Sam and returned it to the pile on the table. He then looked at said pile of coins.
"Did you use some of those coins to pay for the feast?" Sam joked.
"No, the Companions made everything." Link reached down and picked a few coins up, then let them fall to the table. "Not sure what I'm going to do with all of these."
"That reminds me." The Khajiit walked over, grabbed a chair, turned it to face Link, then sat down. "I've been planning to go to Falkreath."
"What for?"
"Have you heard of the Khajiit caravans, Link?" Sam watched as the human shook his head. "My kind likes to travel all over, selling goods and various services to others. They move around in caravans, never staying in one place for long. Skyrim has a lot of them due to…" Sam's ears flattened a bit. "Various hostilities and not being allowed in cities." There was obviously more to that, but Sam quickly moved to a different subject. "Anyway, I want you to travel with me to Falkreath. I know you want to know more about my culture, so why not see for yourself?"
"That sounds like a great idea. Sam." Link stated as he started to separate the coins into hundred piece piles. "There has to be a way to better organize this. Maybe there's different valued coins like there are for Rupees."
Sam seemed to ignore Link as he continued speaking. "Then it's settled." He grinned and got up from the chair. "It shouldn't take us long to get there." -
The Khajiit went silent as lightning lit up the room and thunder boomed close by.
- "…After this storm stops, of course."
"Does it usually take this long to get to Falkreath?" Sam asked from atop his loaned horse.
"I call this the scenic route." Link called back over a shoulder as he lightly dug his heels into Epona's sides, which caused the mare to speed up.
The two horses cantered down the cobblestone road, taking care not to slip from the still-slick stone from the earlier storm, until the Falkreath gate loomed into view from around a corner.
Just before the gate were a few various patterns and colored tents, as well as a few carts. They were almost hidden by all of the foliage and trees.
There was a fence post nearby to tie horses to, so Link stopped Epona and got down from the saddle, then tied her harness to the post. Sam did the same with the loaned horse, then the two started to walk towards the tents.
A massive black furred Khajiit with green eyes - he towered over Sam - bared his fangs in a smile as the two approached, and walked across the cobblestone with his arms held away from his sides slightly. "Zoardargo Ravihir!" The yet unnamed Kahjiit boomed as the red robes he was wearing swished from side to side.
'Who is that?' Link thought to himself, resisting the urge to back away from the massive bipedal cat as they continued to walk towards him and Sam.
Sam's ears flickered as he crossed his arms against his chest. "I thought I told you to not call me that, Ji'asha."
"What? But that is your name." The large Khajiit blinked as he stopped in place.
"Yes, but it is hard to pronounce for the non-Khajiit." Sam's tail lashed back and forth as he looked over at Link. "Samson is my middle name, you see. My father suggested it to my mother long ago."
"…What do I call you then?" Link finally voiced with a bit of confusion.
"Either or, it does not matter to me. You will have a much easier time still calling me by my middle name, though." Sam pointed out with a grin as he let his arms fall to his sides.
Link noticed that the large Khajiit was close by. "Pardon me for asking, but what species of Khajiit are you?"
The traveling merchant laughed a bit. "A Pahmar-raht, this one's sub-species is the strongest out of all of the fur-stocks!" He boasted. "But don't let the others tell you that."
Link had to lean his head back to look up at the merchant. "What's your name?"
"Pardon this one's manners, as your friend said earlier, this one is named Ji'asha Rohir." He paused. "Ji'asha has been trying to attract customers all day, however you two are the first to stop and look."
"It's no wonder, brother, with all of the racket that you make!" Yowled a voice in one of the tents. A house cat poked her head through the fabric and narrowed her eyes at Ji'asha.
"Sasha, we have customers!" Ji'asha looked back briefly and tried to save face. "Ji'asha is sure they will buy some of our wares, yes?" The large Khajiit gave a pleading look at Link and Sam as he clasped his massive clawed hands together.
"Depends on what you have and their prices." Link responded. He wanted to say something about the talking house cat, but decided not to.
"It seems that my insufferable brother wants you to buy some of our goods." Spoke an accented, feminine voice.
Link looked down and saw a small black cat with gray eyes staring up at him. "Were you the one speaking earlier?"
The cat rolled her eyes. "Oh look, someone else who assumes I'm just a normal cat." She shook herself, then sat down. "Yes. Believe it or not, I can speak. I am Sasha, an Alfiq." She tilted her head over to Ji'asha, who was engaged in some conversation with Sam. "You have already met my brother, though I have to admit that I am rather curious about you, what is your name?"
Link briefly looked over at the two Khajiit before he focused his attention on Sasha. "I apologize for assuming you were a normal cat. It's just not…" He paused, thinking of how to phrase the thought in his head. "Normal where I'm from. My name's Link Farmanne, it's nice to meet you, Sasha."
Sasha blinked. "Likewise. You said that the beastfolk are not normal where you're from? What do you mean by that?"
"I'm from somewhere very far away. Khajiit and Argonians don't exist in my homeland." Link explained to the Alfiq. "In fact, the other human races don't exist there either. The humans that do live back home don't really have any magic to speak of; but my race, Hylians, we do possess some natural magic."
Sasha narrowed her eyes a bit as her tail swished back and forth. "Very interesting." She got up and started to walk towards the nearby tent. "They're most likely going to be talking for a long time, I suggest that you step into the tent to have our own conversation, one that I'm eager to continue."
Link walked away from Sam and Ji'asha and entered the tent. He stopped at the entrance while he got used to the change in lighting. "How are you speaking…." The Hylian paused briefly as he thought of how to finish his question. "…Not like a Khajiit?"
"You see, I am in fact a mage." Sasha raised a paw after she sat down on the colorful rug that was in the middle of the tent, and summoned a blue floating light, before it quickly vanished. "I used to speak like my brother, but I was away from home for several years, and retrained myself to speak normally. Well, not normally, not Khajiit-speak - I suppose like… everyone else." She explained as her tail slowly waved back and forth. "And don't worry about upsetting me, Link. I can tell you have questions."
"It sort of depends on what questions I have."
"You can sit there, on the little wooden stool." Sasha swished her tail towards a small four legged oak stool near the tent wall, next to a wooden dresser. "I have a feeling my brother and your friend will be speaking for a while, at least. Ji'asha always finds ways to entertain potential customers."
Link glanced at the stool and decided it was too small for someone like him to sit on. "I think I'll stand, but thanks for the offer." He thought for a while as to what his first question would be. "How long have you and your brother been in Skyrim?"
Sasha made a sort of short purring noise. "Not very long, a few months. We were headed for Whiterun when we received news of that dragon attack at the watchtower, so the two of us have decided to stay around Falkreath and the eastern holds for the time being, at least until the dragon attacks stop."
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait a long time then. I'm the one who has to go out and deal with them all, and even I can only do so much." Link explained to the Khajiit. "In addition, for the dragons to truly go away, I have to take care of Alduin, their leader."
"You?" Sasha meowed with laughter. "Go out and slay dragons? How amusing." She narrowed her eyes and kneaded the ground for a few seconds. "Yet something tells me that you're not lying."
The small cat continued. "I did hear something about someone killing a dragon near Whiterun a few months back. Forgive me for being slightly skeptical that it was you. The thought is just so unfathomable…"
"I can hardly believe it myself, and yet I'm the one who's been slaying them and absorbing their souls."
Sasha blinked slowly. "Hmm… In any case… I sense a magical source around you, are you also a mage?"
"Me? I suppose so, I spent two weeks with someone learning spells and training…"
"Have you heard of the College of Winterhold?" The Alfiq questioned.
"Maybe. I've heard the name once or twice, but I don't know much about it."
"It's a school for mages to the far north, past Windhelm. Most of the hold collapsed into the cold waters up there some years back, and only the College remained mostly unharmed. I've been wanting to go there to learn higher tiered spells, but the journey is treacherous, especially for someone like me."
'Maybe I should travel there soon. If it only took me two weeks to learn all of those spells, perhaps it wouldn't be that difficult for me to learn more difficult ones…' "If you'd like, we could travel there together."
Sasha's eyes widened in disbelief. "You would do this for me? Someone you have only known for not even an hour?"
"Why not? You seem to know your way around magic, and I could use a traveling companion for the journey—"
The two were interrupted by Samson calling out Link's name from outside the tent.
The Khajiit abruptly entered the tent, his fangs glinting as he grinned. "I managed to make a deal."
Sasha blinked and then rolled her eyes. "Do you ever knock?"
Sam opened his mouth slightly and then closed it. "…I don't think you can knock on fabric, Sasha."
Link looked between both Khajiit. "Do you know each other?"
Sam nodded. "They're from Riverhold. My parents live there. You could say we grew up together." He said shortly, eying both Shasta and Ji'asha as the much larger Khajiit stuck his head through the tent flap.
"Sasha! They wish to buy our magicka items!" Ji'asha exclaimed with bright eyes.
The Alfiq blinked slowly. "They did? How many of each?"
Samson and Ji'asha merely looked at each other as if to agree on something, before Sam spoke up. "I believe we agreed on ten of the Welkynd Stones, and two of the Varla ones."
Link half turned to stare at Sam. "How much is that?" He asked with a touch of concern. 'Does Sam intend for me to spend all of those coins I showed him?'
Sasha seemed to be figuring out the total by checking a ledger book. "That will be two thousand and five hundred Septims." She pointed with her tail to a clear rug nearby. "You can place the coins there, I will count them soon."
Link spent some time doing so, double checking every hundred coins to make sure he had given the right amount. 'This bottomless coin purse that I have is a great invention.' "Do you know if there's any increase in coins besides the individual ones?" 'I thought they would be worth a lot more, yet I can't help but wonder what these stones are.'
"What do you mean by that?" Ji'asha asked from where he was standing by Sasha. "Ji'asha does not fully understand your question."
"Back home, the currency there has different values." Link didn't feel like explaining the various Rupee types that were used to barter with back in Hyrule - it had been enough of a headache exchanging the ones in Riverwood several months ago.
Sasha nodded in understanding. "Yes, there are five, ten, twenty, fifty, and hundred coins, as well as the individual ones. I believe there is a sort of bank up in Solitude you can use to solve your money issues. I also heard there is a rare thousand valued coin for very large transactions, but I do not know if that rumor is true."
Link continued to slowly count out the individual coins while Sam and Ji'asha briefly left the tent again to presumably retrieve the magical items. "Sounds pretty convenient to me." He looked across the growing coin pile at Sasha. "About what I said earlier, I'm not sure when I'm going to journey up north."
"I have to make various arrangements regardless, I'm sure you're a very busy individual yourself. Simply send a letter to Falkreath when you're able, and we can schedule a meeting." The small cat smiled.
Link nodded in agreement as he picked up a single Septim. "Do you know if there happens to be some sort of coin exchange here in Falkreath?"
Sasha licked the back of her right paw and ran it over her head, her eyes slightly narrowed as she watched the human's attention return to the coins. "Perhaps." Her tail flicked back and forth as she lowered her paw to the ground while watching Link continue with the Septim dilemma. "I remember overhearing something like that. Maybe you can ask the Jarl?"
"Maybe…" 'Might as well, Siddgeir may want to talk to me anyway.' The idea of talking to the Jarl brought up something that had been in the back of Link's mind. He finished counting the coins, then gently pushed them a bit across the rug and looked over at Sasha. "Would Samson be allowed in Falkreath if I was with him?"
"…You're proposing to attempt to rebuild Helgen?" Jarl Siddgeir stared at Link with wide eyes.
"Not necessarily." Link quickly corrected. "More like setting things up in the chance that Helgen could be restored sometime in the future."
The two humans were seated at the long table in the Jarl's Longhouse, deep in a conversation of the overall fate of Helgen.
The Jarl of Falkreath eyed the Hylian sitting across from him and steepled his hands together in thought. "Link, I appreciate that you already care so much about Skyrim and that you want Helgen to be rebuilt, but I don't believe it to be at all possible. Who's to say that the dragon who attacked the town all those months ago won't come back and lay siege again? Even if you happened to be there during the rebuilding?" Siddgeir shook his head. "I'm sorry, but what you're suggesting cannot happen."
Link started to respond but a raised hand from the Jarl quietened him. "As such, I'm afraid you are forgetting your place. While it is true that I consider you an ally, you are Thane, and I am Jarl. Despite that you are also Dragonborn, we are not equals, and my word is law."
All Link could do was nod, knowing that this topic of discussion was over. "…I understand, Siddgeir."
"Good, now that that's out of the way, are you and your… friend… intending to stay the night?" The Jarl questioned.
Link caught the underlying tone in Siddgeir's voice. "We're staying at the inn." He confirmed. "I expect to be treated differently due to my friend being a Khajiit, but I'll deal with it."
Siddgeir fidgeted in his chair, but Link continued.
"We were accosted by guards when we entered Falkreath, did you know that?" He pressed.
"No, I did not." The Jarl shook his head. "Though now that you've informed me, I'll speak to them about what happened." Siddgeir seemed slightly irritated. "Do you want any sort of compensation for what happened?"
"Not really, but you may want to inform your guards and everyone else here in Falkreath of where I stand with their standings on Khajiit." Link informed the Jarl.
Siddgeir leaned back in his chair and eyed Link. "What would those standings be? Do you mean the caravans outside Falkreath, or the Khajiit themselves?"
"I expect them to be treated as equally as I have. Their customs and a lot of other things are different, sure, but that doesn't mean they should be cast out of the settlement or degraded. As for the caravans… why do you not let them enter Falkreath?"
"You don't know? Most of the caravans specialize in selling Skooma." Siddgeir clarified to the Hylian. "I won't allow that in my city. However, if you can prove to me that the current small caravan just outside the town walls does not sell Skooma, then maybe I will allow them to enter for a few days."
"There's an Alfiq and a Pahmar-raht, they're siblings, they know my friend, Samson, and from what I can tell, they're honest and just trying to make a living so they can provide for their parents back in Elsweyr." Link went over the items he had seen on display and showed Siddgeir the Varla and Welkynd Stones.
"Interesting." Siddgeir commented. "I will have some guards speak to these two Khajiit within the week." He stood up from his chair and stepped away from the table. "Is there anything else you wish to ask or inform me of?"
Link then recalled the reason he had entered Falkreath in the first place. "Is there a Septim exchange service here?"
Thankfully, the Orc lady at the bank was helpful. It took some time figuring out the exchanges, but Link ended up leaving the building with the same amount of Septims that he entered with, but with much fewer coins.
He found himself examining a 100 Septim coin as he walked along a dirt side path behind some buildings. 'I should have done this earlier, it'll be a lot easier paying for things now.' Instead of having over 24 thousand individual coins, he now had forty-eight 500 coins, one 100 coin, eight 10 coins, and nine individual ones, which was far more manageable.
Link continued to wander around Falkreath until he ended up at the Dead Man's Drink. He was somewhat familiar with the place, having helped Dengeir earlier. Upon entering, he noticed Sam sitting at a table and headed on over.
The Khajiit looked up at Link as he approached and bared his fangs in a grin. "Where have you been?" Samson asked his friend as the Hylian sat down beside him.
Link adjusted himself and responded. "Speaking with Siddgeir. What are you doing here?"
Sam looked like he was going to ask what the conversation had been about, but then chose not to. "I intend to get a room for the night, but I am unsure of the reception I'd get if I asked."
"I'll do it." Link stated firmly as he caught a passing glance of a nearby armored Nord who was looking at Sam with narrowed eyes. 'Hopefully no one starts anything due to Sam being here.' Although he had just sat down at the table, the Hylian stood and walked over to the counter.
"You must be the new Thane. Name's Valga Vinicia, I'm the innkeeper here, is there anything I can do for you?" A woman greeted Link as he approached.
"I'd like to get a room for the evening."
"Of course. The current rate for a room is fifteen Septims, here in Falkreath we do have an up charge that increases by the amount of people that will be in the room. Will you be staying by yourself?"
"No, I have a friend with me."
"That will be thirty Septims." The woman stated, before pausing. "I will inform you that the rate increases significantly if you choose to share a room with… unsavory types."
Link looked up from where he had been counting the few coins in his hand, having been about to pay the woman in exchange for the room key. "Is that so? Do you mind telling me what you mean by that?"
"Khajiit. Orcs. Argonians. Some Elf types." Valga narrowed her eyes and briefly looked past Link. "Is that a cat I see over at that table? You won't be in alliance with them, would you?" Her voice was dripping with revulsion.
"Perhaps." Link remarked with a hint of displeasure, but his expression didn't change. "You said the room rate would increase significantly?"
The woman began to visibly panic at Link's reaction. "I changed my mind, you can have the room for fifteen Septims, the original price - I won't include the extra person up charge." With shaky hands, Valga turned away from Link and pulled open a drawer in the counter, then faced him to hand the Dragonborn a key. "Here's the room key, the first one upstairs on the left, just leave the coins on the counter." She practically shoved the metal object into one of his hands, then left to go see to the customers.
Link watched her leave, then briefly examined the key before placing the fifteen Septims on the wooden counter. He then walked back to where Sam was and motioned for the Khajiit to get up from the table. "I got us a room. Upstairs, first one on the left."
The room Valga had given them was nice, all things considered. Two beds, a few pieces of furniture including two couches, a small table and set of chairs, a fireplace on a far wall, windows (including a balcony), and several privacy screens.
Sam had chosen to sit in a chair and lit the fire, while Link had chosen one of the beds to spend some time resting.
The Khajiit glanced at the roaring fire nearby, the reflection of the flames dancing in his eyes. "The thirteenth of the Evening Star…" he muttered, slowly reclining in the chair and moving his gaze over to his friend.
"Yeah, today's the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, what's so special about that?" Link asked Sam from where he was lounging on the bed on the other side of the room.
"It's almost Saturalia!" Samson crowed with excitement, his tail lashing back and forth beside him, "when gifts are given to ones you feel close to and a lot of food is eaten!"
"…You mean Gift Giving Day?" It took Link a second to realize what Sam had said, and he felt a sudden surge of sadness - he would be spending the winter holiday mostly alone and very far from home.
"Is that what they call Saturalia in Hyrule?" Sam questioned, at a nod from Link, he continued, "I am wondering, do you have any sort of traditions?"
Link became silent as he thought for a while. "…Yeah, each race that lives in Hyrule has a lot of traditions for various holidays. For Gift Giving Day… I remember there's a large market set up in Castle Town, with baked goods and handmade crafts and such. For the Zora, they have a sort of ice sculpture competition since they live around a lake that usually freezes over. The Gorons like to have a… I think they call it a 'lava race'. Not sure exactly what it entails but I believe they do something like ride the lava flows down Death Mountain somehow…"
Sam was staring at Link with wide round eyes. "…Do tell me more," the Khajiit uttered in a low meow of amazement.
"The Gerudo have their own form of a market out in Gerudo Town, that's the only time of year that they more or less allow the men of various races to walk around the settlement. Before you ask, no, I'm not sure of the history for that rule, it just exists."
"Are you subject to it?" Sam questioned, then felt his ears flatten against the top of his head as he saw Link give a nod. "Why? If you are the savior of your homeland like you have stated several times, why do they treat you differently?" he growled, the Khajiit's excitement momentarily forgotten.
Link attempted a shrug as he pushed himself up to a sitting position, the bed shifting slightly. "I'm not sure myself. Even when the Gerudo did allow me into their settlement when I was saving the world, they certainly didn't like me being there. I don't want to be treated any different anyway, I'm ostracized enough as is. As to here? Yeah, it's happening everywhere I go, and I don't like the attention."
Silence filled the inn room, marred by the sound of the fire. Finally, Sam spoke. "Have you thought of voicing your concerns to those that give you strife?"
"Not really. I mean, I have a feeling I'm only treated nicely by others is because of what I'm supposed to do, what's expected of me due to my new title." Link voiced his inner thoughts in a hesitant tone, as if he hadn't dared to think of such things before.
"I don't believe that," his friend bared his fangs in slight anger, "they should get to know you as a person, not just because you run around and kill dragons."
More silence followed, before Link attempted to restart the conversation. "…Do you mind telling me more about Saturalia?"
Samson gave a short nod, visibly reigning in his anger and he swallowed, sighed, and then spoke. "I can do that. Let me tell you what Swift and I are planning…"
The next morning arrived quickly. The two friends had spent a few hours discussing plans before going to sleep, and Link had been invited to a Saturalia celebration. Link had spent a while thinking this over.
After the two left the inn, Sam told Link that he was going to stay in Falkreath for a few more hours, and Link was free to leave and continue with his day after fetching Epona from the stables.
Link didn't get far from Falkreath before a dog appeared, momentarily stopping him in his tracks.
"There you are! I know you've only been gone for a short while, but I've gotten bored of having to fend for mere scraps all day." The cursed Deamora commented.
"It's nice to see you too, Barbas." Link spared the talking dog a glance as he and Epona walked past the canine, who quickly fell into step next to the Hylian and horse.
"There's been rumors of… the unsavory type. You know, undead, suck blood, have thralls? …Vampires?"
"I know what vampires are." Link deadpanned as he continued to walk along the cobblestone road towards what remained of Helgen.
Barbas easily caught up, and ran ahead of Link before settling into a trot. "Sure you might, but have you dealt with true vampires, or just people pretending to be ones?"
When Link didn't respond, the dog continued. "Just as I thought. They're holed up in Haemar's Shame, near what's left of Helgen." Barbas paused. "I think there's bandits…"
"I dealt with them a long time ago." Link's tone of voice told Barbas to not press further, and instead the dog trotted faster to get ahead of the Hylian.
"Follow me, if we move fast, we should be there before sunset." Barbas informed Link, and so the two set off in the direction of what remained of Helgen.
After a while, they happened across a stone bridge in the near distance that was occupied by some bandits.
Epona stopped short of a line of pines while Link surveyed the situation. 'I don't want to fight them, so how do we get past…' It didn't take long to come up with a solution.
"I think if we run fast enough, we can get past them without any bloodshed." Link informed Barbas as Epona nodded in agreement.
Barbas seemed to look over the bandits before replying. "I'm not sure if I trust you, but I must admit that I'm somewhat interested to see how this plays out." The dog set off towards the bandits at a fast trot, before breaking into a full out run.
Link and Epona were right behind him, the horse's hooves pounding against the cobblestone road as she effortlessly reached the bridge and charged through the unsuspecting bandits - some jumped off the side of the bridge into the water below to avoid being trampled.
The three left the angry and bewildered bandits behind them and didn't have any issues getting Helgen.
It didn't take them long to walk through the ruined town. Not much was left after the looters had gotten to it in the months since Alduin's return, and there were no bandits or the like to get in their way. Barbas led Link through the east gate and up a snow covered path into a mountain pass.
They soon reached a clearly occupied cave, judging by all of the items scattered before the entrance. Barbas ran ahead while Link briefly paused at the few broken barrels, the lone empty cart, and the presumably fresh bloodstains on the trampled snow before the cave entrance. As Link got down from Epona's back and turned to briefly adjust her saddle, he recalled how he had almost turned into a vampire himself - the various side effects he had experienced, he never wanted to bare witness to those horrors again.
Mentally forcing away those memories so they wouldn't cause him to spiral, Link tied Epona's reins to the empty cart, drew Dawnbreaker and stepped forth into Haemar's Shame.
Once Link's vision adjusted, he was standing in a dirt tunnel. He cautiously traversed the passage, turned south shortly after, and then stepped into an open chamber.
A large wooden scaffold perched haphazardly against the wall several feet off the ground - it seemed to be supported by several wooden wall beams - and there appeared to be two barrels sitting against the dirt wall beneath the wooden structure. There was a lone figure occasionally walking back and forth on the scaffolding.
From where he was, Link was mostly hidden by shadows, and therefore whoever was wandering the scaffold didn't notice him. This gave him time to think of a plan.
'I could try the peaceful approach, maybe if I pretend to be going to the shrine, they won't attack me…' Even if it wasn't that thought out, it was better than nothing.
Barbas had other plans; the Daedra turned dog launched himself forward and ran up the wooden ramp. There was the sound of angry barking, brief fighting, then a cut off scream. Barbas' head appeared through the holes in between the scaffolding. "They're dead, let's go."
Link made his way up the wooden ramp and stepped past the dead body - a male Redguard - over to a table next to a wooden chair. He picked up three iron arrows, then checked the nearby chest. It was unlocked, and contained twenty Septims.
The two walked into a nearby passage, which took several turns before it opened up into another chamber.
Barbas used his tail to point out a pressure plate, which on closer inspection would trigger a spiked wall trap when activated. Link was able to step around this pressure plate, but then stopped when he noticed a pale figure patrolling the area.
This Khajiit vampire was downed with a single arrow to the neck, he clutched at his neck before collapsing to the ground. Link walked down the wooden ramp and froze, then quickly retreated into the shadows while reading another arrow and his bow.
There was another vampire who had been sitting in a chair by a lit campfire, and was now on alert and walking around the small room. "Come out wherever you are," the male Nord taunted. "I can scent your blood."
Across the room, there was a third vampire standing on a raised wooden platform in the southern corner, near two barrels.
Link silently motioned to Barbas, who was nearby, and the Daedra crept forward towards the suspicious vampire.
While Barbas engaged the creature, Link stuck to the shadows and moved towards the other vampire.
There was a loud crashing noise, the sound of objects hitting the floor and walls, and a ferocious barking from Barbas. This distraction was all that Link needed to run up to the side of the vampire on the wooden platform and swing Dawnbreaker towards the unsuspecting creature.
The holy weapon cut into the Argonian vampire's neck and she was beheaded seconds after. The head flew off into the shadows while the body toppled over and landed on the dirt beside the wooden platform.
Once the commotion died down, Link checked the room's contents. He ignored the blood covered bowls and helmet on the two tables, and focused on a cupboard that held a petty soul gem and some books. These books were The "Madmen" of the Reach, Ruins of Kemel-Ze, Biography of Barenziah, v1, Biography of Barenziah, v2, and The Song of Pelinal, v1. To the right of the cupboard was an unlocked chest, which held twenty Septims.
Link took the books and Septims, and moved on. There was an alchemy lab up against a wall, and under the wooden ramp was a set of shelves that held a bowl of frost salts, a bowl of void salts, a giant healing potion, a magicka potion, and two stamina potions.
Link collected these items, called out for Barbas, and the two exited the cave.
They passed a table that had a dead body lying on top of it. Link didn't stop to investigate, and instead followed the passageway downward until he entered a chamber with two levels. A wattle fence surrounded the upper level with a wooden ramp at the far side of the room allowing access to the ground floor.
There were two vampires on the top level, one on either side, and one on the lower. None of them had spotted Link and Barbas, which allowed the Hylian to think of a plan.
"Got any ideas on how to handle these three?" Barbas looked up at Link, who nodded.
"I do, stay here or follow me, up to you." Link decided to summon the Frost Atronach and Clannfear. After greeting both of the summoned Daedra, he directed them towards the vampires.
All he had to do was stand there and watch as the Clannfear leapt down from the landing and landed on the Orc vampire on the ground floor. Meanwhile, the Frost Atronach had reached the High Elf vampire to the left. The ice Daedra pulled back one of its spiked arm appendages, then impaled the undead creature with ease.
Unfortunately, the final Vampire had noticed Link and was quickly running towards him with drawn twin daggers.
Link turned to intercept the undead Imperial and ducked to dodge a spinning slash, then summoned Sparks and shot a lightning bolt towards the Vampire.
The undead creature took the hit and froze in place, which allowed Link to leap forward and slash the Vampire in the chest with Dawnbreaker.
The creature turned to dark ash, at the same time, the two summoned Daedra reappeared before Link, bowed, and vanished behind Oblivion Portals. The two portals disappeared and Link was free to explore the room.
Link swung Dawnbreaker to dispel it of blood, then investigated the tunnel on the upper level. It contained a set of shelves holding various items such as a potion of ultimate healing, a potion of minor healing, and copies of The Real Barenziah, v3 and v4. Link took these four items, ignored the rest, and checked the chest up against the wall. It was locked, and after a quick lockpicking session, was opened to reveal only 20 Septims. Link took the coins anyway and left the tunnel to walk down the wooden ramp in the northwest corner of the main chamber.
The ramp left to a hallway that led left and right. To the right was a wooden table and chair at the end of the tunnel; a Breton vampire was sitting at the table and hadn't noticed Link yet, which allowed him to silently draw Dawn and throw the fire dagger towards the undead.
The elemental dagger sank into the vampire's throat, instantly turning her to ash.
Link passed three dead bandits lying on the ground and continued past the pile of ash to approach the table. There were some items on the wooden flat surface: two ruined books, two minor potions of healing, a deadly aversion to magic poison, and copies of Antecedants of Dwemer Law and Response to Bero's Speech.
After retrieving his dagger, Link picked up the copy of Response to Bero's Speech and opened it. After skimming its contents he learned of some ways to strengthen Flames, Sparks, and other elemental spells.
He took the other items and continued down the hallway.
There were two sets of shelves behind the table holding copies of Aedra and Daedra, Dwemer Inquiries Vol III, Song of the Askelde Men, and Mixed Unit Tactics.
There was another set of shelves to the right of the table holding copies of The Book of Daedra, Ancestors and the Dunmer, two copies of Chance's Folly, The Song of Pelinal, v5, Mystery of Talara, v 1, The Wolf Queen, v7, Brief History of the Empire, v3, and Brief History of the Empire, v4.
Link took all of these books, then backtracked to where he had left Barbas, who was standing at the left tunnel.
"This leads to Haemar's Shame. Let's go." Barbas barked, before turning and running down the tunnel. Link took his time following the Daedra-turned dog further into the cave.
Link and Barbas followed the tunnel until it opened into an open chamber. A Frostbitten Spider dropped from the carven roof and lunged at Barbas, but the dog leaped towards the creature and bit it in the face.
Link then summoned and used Flames against the spider, causing it to turn on him.
Barbas let go, allowing Link to kill the arachnid with another usage of Flames.
Another tunnel led them to a room with a few hanging cages. There was a table up against the dirt wall that had a lone iron dagger on it, along with a salt pile in a bowl.
Another table, this one with a built in arcane enchanter, was further down. This one had a Common Soul Gem resting on its surface.
Up against another wall was a lone chest, and a set of shelves. On the shelves were a few books: Antecedants of Dwemer Law, Brief History of the Empire, v1, Brief History of the Empire, v4, The City of Stone, and Spirit of Nirn, as well as another iron dagger. Despite the extra copies, Link took the books anyway, figuring he could give them out to others.
Link then checked the chest, which contained a Sapphire gemstone and thirty iron arrows. He took the items and then entered the next tunnel.
It turned a few times, a stream ran alongside it to the left. Link was able to sneak past a Dark Elf vampire thrall, and finally the small space opened into a cave that had two levels.
There were four people in this room, at a first glance they appeared to be praying before a large moss-covered statue. The statue seemed to be missing something - its arm was outstretched to empty air.
Link watched them for a while. 'What are they doing?' He could only make out some words, but they seemed to be… asking for a cure? To what?
Barbas ran ahead and launched himself at the group without warning, causing the group to rise from their praying positions and draw their weapons.
Link caught the glint of sharp fangs in the nearby torch light. 'Of course they're Vampires.'
He begrudgingly followed Barbas over to the four undead and drew Dawnbreaker, then started swinging the sword.
The first Vampire approached Link from the left with some readied spell. The male Argonian fired it without hesitation, the red magic striking Link a second later.
Link felt weak, as if his strength was being drained from his body. 'What sort of magic is this?' He quickly ran towards the undead creature and swung Dawnbreaker, causing the holy weapon to slice into the Vampire's face.
The creature fell to the ground, where Link then finished them off with a blow to the head. His strength returned slightly, and he assumed it would take time to recover fully. 'Strength draining magic. That's something I need to be aware of and find a way to counter it.'
Meanwhile, Barbas had cornered one of the other Vampires up on a ledge, nearby the statue.
Link summoned and fired off an Ice Spike towards the male Wood Elf that was attacking Barbas, then intercepted the third Vampire with a swing of Dawnbreaker.
The female Nord was too distracted by the near-blinding light of the circular crossguard to notice the attack, which allowed Link to quickly disarm and knock the Vampire to the ground, to which he then directed Barbas - who had managed to kill the Wood Elf with the assistance of the lone Ice Spike - to end the undead's life by any means he saw fit.
While the Deadra did that, Link looked around for the final opponent and soon spotted them nearby the large statue.
The largest of the Vampires - and the one with seemingly the most seniority - raised his arms. A strange mist flowed from the Orc's hands over to the dead body, and the corpse rose to their feet, drew their weapon, and charged towards Link.
'The one spell?' The dead Imperial wasn't moving very fast - at a mere shuffle - so Link had time to study his foe and think of a plan.
There was a body of a bandit nearby at the bottom of an earthen ramp, which gave Link an idea. 'I haven't used it since training with Galasdar Darevelo almost three months ago, will it work?' He wasn't as practiced with it as the various summoning spells, but Link attempted it anyway.
He focused on the bandit's body - a female Redguard - and uttered: "Reanimate Corpse." The body glowed and twitched, but didn't react otherwise.
So Link tried again, his concentration breaking mid spell, for the Orc Vampire had been steadily approaching the entire time and was now close enough to swing the warhammer towards Link's chest.
There was a hollow metallic thud as the weapon struck the chestplate, causing Link to stagger back, although he wasn't harmed at all.
'Time to change tactics.' Forgoing the spell attempt for now, Link got Barbas' attention again and ordered his current companion to bite at the Orc's legs.
Barbas seemed to happily agree at causing more violence, and launched himself towards his intended target. This distracted the Orc enough that Link could return to attempting the spell.
Two more tries, and the nearby Redguard's body began to glow, then she got up as if the corpse was still alive. Link wasn't sure if the woman's soul was still in her body, or if there was any sort of sentience left. 'Might as well be courteous regardless.' "So sorry to disturb your rest, but I need help dealing with these Vampires. Do you mind dealing with the Imperial over there?" He directed the undead's attention to the nearby figure shuffling around, the Redguard drew her weapon and walked off towards the unsuspecting creature.
With that very minor threat temporarily dealt with, Link was free to focus on the Orc. Barbas was nowhere to be seen, but a quick survey of the room revealed that the Daedra turned dog was lying on his side several feet away.
'I'm sure he's fine…' Link felt a tad bit guilty of letting Barbas get hurt. 'I didn't hear anything, maybe he's okay and it's just a distraction?' There was no time to ponder that, as the Orc had noticed Link and was now sending a lightning spell in his direction.
Link brought up his shield and mostly blocked the effects of the spell, yet he was left stunned enough that the remaining Vampire clearly saw an easy victory, as the Orc strode towards Link with a smirk on his face and his weapon loose in his hands.
This happened to be the Vampire's downfall, as the Orc was unprepared for an enraged young dragon trapped in the body of a mere mortal.
The numbness was fading, only to be quickly replaced with a sudden want to teach this creature a lesson. Link's thoughts temporarily went to the wayside as something else took control.
By now, the Orc was close enough that Link could easily reach out with a hand and touch the Vampire's armor.
A warmth began to fill his chest, a burning sensation that formed deep inside his body and traveled upward to visibly form into black smoke that poured from beneath his helmet.
A low growl rumbled in his throat, which surged into an animalistic roar as he tried to draw himself up to intimidate the Orc. Try as he might, there was still a noticeable height difference.
The Vampire hesitated, perhaps wondering if the human before him had gone mad due to being attacked.
Taking full advantage of this, Link made a wild charge at the Vampire and literally spat fire as he used the full power of Unrelenting Force against the creature.
The Orc only had time to drop his weapon and raise his hands as the powerful shockwave from the Dragon Shout struck his chest.
His body was nearly torn apart as the Orc flew across the cavern and vanished from view behind a rock outcropping.
Loose rocks from the cavern roof rained down and fell where the Vampire had landed, burying the creature under a pile of boulders. Dust filled the cavern due to this and slowly dissipated as the warmth in Link's chest slowly faded.
"I've never seen anything like that before. If you ask me, I'd say that your dragon soul didn't like the Vampire very much." Barbas' voice brought Link back to reality, and he turned to spot the Daedra-turned-dog sitting up and staring at him from where he had been lying prone earlier. There were two bodies lying nearby - the two resurrected undead had seemed to have fought each other until the spells had worn off.
Link didn't respond to the dog's inquiry, and instead began to walk over to the large statue up on the platform. 'What even was all of that? I suppose I need to go see the Greybeards again…'
Barbas got up and followed Link, bounding past him to leap up the stone stairs, where he immediately targeted the various food that had been laid out before the statue as apparent offerings.
Link walked up the stone stairs towards the large statue, still lost in thought, while Barbas began to noisily munch on the food before the shrine.
"So you're the mortal who's been causing the other Princes to be in a frenzy. I must say, you've somewhat impressed me." A male voice echoed from the large stone statue, directing Link's attention.
For a first impression, the Daedric Prince wasn't making a good one. Vile sounded pompous and arrogant, as if the deity would rather be somewhere else than speaking to him.
'I traversed this cave and risked my life to be treated like this?' Link became annoyed enough to break his silence. "Clavicus."
"I sense an animosity towards me in you," Vile grumbled. "Still, you did grant the last wish of my last worshippers."
Link ignored the first statement. "What do you mean?"
"They essentially realized that being vampires didn't suit their lifestyle, and traveled here to beg me to save them from their fate. Then you showed up and ended their curse when you cut them down mercilessly. I do love a good bloodbath. Now, you've got that look about you that says that you want something in return. So, what is it, what is your heart's desire?" The voice of the statue echoed in the near empty cave.
'My heart's desire?' Link hadn't expected Clavicus to offer him anything, let alone something he desired.
He spent some time thinking about his choice. While it was true he had come to think of Skyrim as a second home, there was something about Hyrule that he dearly missed. What that was, he couldn't quite place it.
'Am I making the right choice?' "I've made my decision."
"Wonderful, I was so bored of waiting for you to make up your mind. So, what is it? What can Akatosh's Chosen possibly want from me?" The voice from the statue questioned.
"I want to return home. Not permanently, mind you, just for a few days or weeks…"
"Hmmm… A way for you to return home…" Clavicus mused. "Let me think…"
An uncomfortable silence grew as Link waited for the response. Would Clavicus Vile be able to grant his wish?
"Nope, sorry, I can't fulfill that wish. I don't do the whole sending people to other dimensions thing, that's more of something that Sheogorath has experience with. Now tell me, what are you really here for? I see you managed to find that miserable mutt Barbas and drag him here with you. What sort of bribe did he make to get you to go along with his plans, I wonder…"
Link quickly grew agitated. Clavicus didn't seem too happy to acknowledge Barbas, and the fact that he had told the Daedric Prince his most wanted desire, what would Clavicus do with this information?
He briefly looked down at the lone dog still eating the food offerings, then returned his attention to Vile's shrine. "Barbas wants you to forgive him." 'I may as well try to resolve this the best I can.'
"Nope. Not happening." Clavicus stated. "That miserable pup has annoyed me and meddled in my plans for the last time. We're through, and I won't let him sit at my side ever again." The voice then paused. "Unless…"
Clavicus chuckled, "Unless, oh yes this will be excellent - You go get an item for me, and bring it back."
Link had to bite back an exasperated response as he almost immediately became irritated. "What item do you want me to find?" 'I may have made a mistake offering to help Barbas…'
"The item I'm looking for is called the Rueful Axe. The last time I heard of its whereabouts, it was in some place called Rimerock Barrow up north. As for its exact location, all I can tell you is that it's east of Solitude."
'It's not a lot of information but it's a start.' "Is there anything I should know specifically about Rimerock Barrow?"
"As in, any monsters? …A heroic type such as yourself lives for surprises, yes? I'm not going to give away all the fun of discovering a new location."
His disdain of the 'man' only grew. "If that's all you're going to tell me, I suppose I'll be off."
"Going so soon? The conversation just got started!" Clavicus sighed. "Fine. Go on, leave and bring back the Rueful Axe whenever you manage to find it." The glow from the statue faded and Barbas trotted up, having finally consumed all of the offered food.
"Clavicus is… a certain sort of person." The dog offered sympathetically.
"That doesn't mean I have to deal with him for very long." Link turned and walked away from the statue, with Barbas following close behind. A set of stairs nearby led to an unlocked large chest, which contained 2 Amethysts, 2 Ultimate Healing Potions, 20 Fire Arrows, and 200 Septims.
Link took the items from the chest, then began to look for the cavern's exit.
Barbas noted how silent Link was and chose not to engage in conversation until they had left Haemar's Shame - having witnessed Link's anger personally, Barbas didn't want to enrage him further.
It didn't take long to leave Haemar's Shame via a conveniently placed tunnel at the back of the cavern, though it was slightly hidden behind a large rock formation.
Once he was outside, Link immediately rounded on Barbas. "Before you say anything, I did agree to help you. However, I am not under any circumstances returning to that statue. I will go up north and get this Rueful Axe, but you have to deliver it to Vile, not me."
Barbas blinked slowly. "Clavicus got on your nerves that much, huh? I'd like to remind you that I don't have hands at the moment, you're underestimating the size of the Rueful Axe - you're going to have to carry it back here whether you want to or not."
"You don't have —" Link inhaled sharply and buried his face in his hands as he tried to calm his sudden anger. "Okay," he muttered after quite a few seconds of standing there. He let his hands fall to his side as he glanced at Barbas. "I will figure this out later. We're leaving." With that, Link walked away from the yawning hole in the rock wall and towards the nearby cobblestone road.
Barbas chose not to argue with the change in plans and instead continued to follow Link down the dirt path. "Where are we going next? I suppose I'm journeying with you for the time being."
"Whiterun. If we're going to be gone for a few days, I need to tell people where I'm going."
"Fair enough," Barbas uttered as he waited for Link to retrieve Epona when they reached the road, knowing it wouldn't be wise to argue. "Lead the way."
Link wasn't back in Whiterun for too long before there was an incident.
A man, and two women, one elderly, were having a confrontation at the market up the hill.
Link made his way up the street and almost literally barged into their argument. "May I help you?" He inquired loudly as he approached.
The younger two in the argument turned to face Link, one of them looked vaguely familiar. "Ah, Thane, you're just in time." The man boasted, "this member of the Grey-Manes has been harassing us endlessly, saying that we somehow had a hand in her son's disappearance. Why she continues to hound and bother us, I haven't a clue. Maybe you can get some answers out of her."
"Is that so?" Link walked past the man and woman and up to the elderly woman. "What's your side in this matter?"
"My son, Thorald, is being held somewhere by the Imperial Legion... if only I knew where…" She jabbed a bony finger towards the other two people involved in the argument. "The Battle-Borns know something, they've been trying to get rid of my family for months!"
"Do you have any proof that this accusation is truthful?"
"Olfrid and Idolaf can tell you! They can tell you everything!" The old woman pointed towards each person as she said their name.
"Her son was killed in a fight with Imperials. Don't believe a word she tries to tell you. Now, if you excuse me, I have much more important business to attend to." Olfrid sneered as she turned to walk away, Idolaf following close behind.
Link watched them walk down the hall, then turned back to glance at the old woman. "Are you alright?"
The woman paused. "That is a difficult answer nowadays. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Fralia Gray-Mane."
Link started to introduce himself to the old woman, but she temporarily held up a hand to silence him. "I know who you are, young man. The current Thane, on top of having to go out and kill all of those dragons…" Fralia slowly shook her head. "In all honesty it's a wonder you're still alive…" She then grew serious. "I know you wish to help me find my son, you've got that look in your eye."
'A missing soldier? If he's so important, then why didn't I hear anything when I was at Windhelm?' "I can't just stand by while a fellow Stormcloak is in mortal danger. So how may I be of service?"
"If you wish to inquire further, it would be safer to speak in my home. You can't miss it - it's left of the Hall of the Dead, up the hill. Knock two times, then four, then once." With this cryptic message, Fralia walked away from Link.
Several minutes later - after stopping at Breezehome to explain to Lydia that he would be gone for a few days - Link walked up to the house that was next to the Hall of the Dead up on the small hill. 'I hope I'm at the right location.'
He reached up to the door and knocked two times, then four, then once. The door slowly opened on its own and Link stepped inside…
Only to nearly be slashed by a large axe. "Trespasser! How do you know the knock combination to enter my house!?" A muscular bearded man towered over Link.
"Avulstein, no! He's the current Thane! Put down that axe!" Fralia rushed into the room and over to them, then lifted the battle axe away from Link and back into the man's hands.
The man took one glance at Link and gave a short laugh. "Him? Are you sure, mother? Look at how young he is, and so thin! Can he even swing a battle axe like mine?"
"I can, and if you want me to prove my strength to you, I will."
"That's enough, Avulstein." Fralia scolded the man as she turned to Link. "I apologize, my other son isn't that trusting of strangers. When I told him that the Thane was interested in helping us find Thorald, I suppose he didn't expect you to walk in the door."
"It's fine, really, just tell me what you need help with."
"We believe my younger brother, Thorald, is still alive, despite what everyone says. We think he's being held somewhere by the Legion, and that the Battle-Borns know where he is." Avulstein told Link, clearly seeing his impatience.
"How long has he been missing?"
"A few weeks. We got separated, he told me to meet at our usual spot that we found one day, but he never showed up." The Nord stated.
"Tell me about these Battle-Borns."
"Oh, I could spend hours telling you about those infuriating no good horkers!" Raged Avulstein as he visibly gripped his battle-axe. "To make things brief however - before the Civil War, my family and theirs used to be on good terms, then the war started and everything changed. We picked sides, and we've been hostile towards each other ever since. They support the Imperial Legion with their lives, and we the Stormcloaks."
"Let's move out of the entranceway, yes? Find some chairs to sit down in, perhaps?" Fralia suggested to the two warriors, who wholeheartedly agreed - more so when she offered warm tea.
A few minutes later, Link knew pretty much everything about both the Gray-Manes and Battle-Borns. The tea had been finished and now the three were sitting by the lit fire.
"You say they support the Imperial Legion?"
"They full-heartedly do." Fralia growled.
A half-formed idea began to emerge in Link's head. He got up from his chair and turned to Fralia. "I'm going to need a piece of parchment and a writing utensil." 'It seems like these Battle-Borns are fiercely loyal to the Legion, but if their loyalty was questioned…'
Link spent some time looking for a piece of parchment and a writing utensil, then laid out the parchment on a small table next to the chairs and fire, and began to write. He sensed the two Gray-Manes were hovering behind him. "I can forge a document that will hopefully convince the Battle-Borns to let me search their house. If this happens, I can rummage around until I find this probable document, then return to you."
"You think this idea of yours will work?" Avulstein stroked his beard in thought.
"If it doesn't, I have something that can strengthen said idea." 'I can trust these people.' Link stated as he straightened from his writing and showed the other two his forged document.
While Fralia took the parchment to look it over, Link placed his bag on the table, then took out his Imperial Legion helmet and showed it to Avulstein, who marveled at it. "Is it a war trophy?"
"No." Link braced himself for a potential confrontation. "This is mine." He watched as shock appeared on both Gray-Manes faces. "I joined both sides of the Civil War to attempt to prevent more deaths. Having both outfits has proven useful so far…"
"… A traitor to both sides?" Avulstein questioned aloud with wide eyes. "Preposterous! Unlawful! Absolutely unheard of!" He stopped, a thoughtful look on his face. "…Perhaps we can use this to our advantage…"
Both Fralia and Link waited for the man to continue.
Avulstein began to briefly pace back and forth in thought. "Yes, since you're wearing Stormcloak armor now, and you just told me you have a Legion outfit on you, if you act like you're part of the Imperial Legion with that document, they'll most likely let you into their house!" He concluded brightly.
Fralia frowned slightly. "It sounds rather dangerous, what if he's found out?"
Avulstein waved a hand dismissively. "He's the Thane, mother, they won't be able to do a thing to him! Doing so would be questioning the authority of Jarl Balgruuf himself." He turned to Link, picking up the forged document and practically shoving it into the younger warrior's hands. "Here, take this and go to the Battle-Born house. Play the part of a Legion soldier who was ordered to inspect the house based on accusations, get in and find what we need, then leave without incident."
"I can do that." Link stated confidently as he left the two Gray-Manes to discuss the plan amongst themselves.
As Link stepped out of the Grey-Mane house and closed the door behind him, he stood on the doorstep and pondered his options for a while.
'I'm sort of already on bad terms with the Battle-Borns, I am Thane, but will my status make this any easier… I did forge the document, but will it be convincing enough…'
Link continued to dwell on this as he stepped away from the house and saw a flash of brown fur. He then got an idea. A wonderful, perfect idea.
"I know a mortal's scheming's when I see them, what's on your mind, kid?" Barbas asked from where he had been patiently waiting in the small garden nearby.
"Barbas," Link began as he motioned for the Daedra turned dog to get close. Once Barbas got up and walked over to him, the Dragonborn continued with a wide grin. "How would you like to be a distraction?"
Bergritte Battle-Born was sitting by the fire, sipping a cup of lavender tea and reading one of the books placed on a table, when she was rudely interrupted by a sudden knock on the front door behind her.
The elderly woman grumbled to herself as she daintily set the cup on the saucer, marked her place in the book and placed it on the shelf just within reach, then gripped the sides of the large cushioned chair to pull herself upright. "Whoever's choosing to interrupt my peace and quiet, they have a lot to answer for." Bergritte muttered darkly as she briskly strode over to the front door after crossing the wooden planked floor and stopped just before it. "Who's out there!?" She demanded.
"I'm with the Legion, may I speak with you?" A bright male voice, muffled by the door, reached her ears.
"A Legion soldier?" The elderly Battle-Born questioned, choosing to slightly open the door and look out. "What can I do for you?" Her glazed over eyes filled with suspicion while she rested her hands on the door frame. 'That armor looks far too large on him…'
"Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you at a moment's notice, but my superiors have received reports that may or may not suggest your loyalty to the Legion," the soldier began, nothing visible of his face behind the helmet save for two brilliant sapphire tinted eyes. "If you don't mind, I'd like to enter your residence and give it a glance-over."
Bregritte visibly recoiled as she clutched at the door with such force her hands turned white. "I beg your pardon?"
"I'm only following orders." The soldier briefly looked down to reach into a side bag, then took out some papers. "I have them here if you want to read the documents yourself."
"My family's loyalty is being questioned?" She hissed, her eyes flashing with anger, as she took silent satisfaction at the soldier taking a step back. "How dare you even suggest such a thing!?"
"Now, now, I didn't say this, my superiors did." He raised his hands slightly in appeasement. "I did offer to show you the documents."
Bregritte slowly loosened her hold on the door frame as she thought to herself. 'He could be telling me the truth. I suppose looking at these papers wouldn't hurt.' "Fine, hand them over." She opened the door and held out a hand to receive the documents. Once they were given to her, the old woman scrutinized their contents.
"Let me see…" The script was slightly hard to read at first glance, but the elderly Battle-Born could make out a "Legate Rikke" at the bottom of the first page, and "has given Link Farmanne explicit permission to search your home on account of several reports of your family members aiding the Stormcloaks" at the top of the second page.
Where had she heard that name before? Bregritte squinted her eyes at the documents as she sought to recall the vague memory. "You're the Thane Jarl Balgruuf appointed a few months ago." She announced, lowering the papers to gaze at the lone Legion soldier standing before her.
"I am indeed. I don't have any official documents for that, unfortunately."
The old woman frowned. As far as she could tell, these orders were real, and on account of the Thane standing on her doorstep… She sighed and waved a hand while opening the door fully. "You might as well step inside, although I haven't the faintest idea why the Legate suspects my family dares to aid the enemy…"
The soldier thanked Bregritte and waited until she had moved out of the way before entering the house. Not a few moments after, a streak of brown fur rushed past the two and vanished into the depths of the Battle-Born residence.
"What was that?" Bregritte snapped as she turned away from the door.
"I'm sure it was nothing."
A dog's head appeared from around a corner. The creature barked a few times before its head retreated from view.
"A dog? In my house!?" Bregritte nearly screamed at the thought. The unfathomable amount of destruction one creature could cause in such a short amount of time…
Link seemed to pay the dog little notice as he turned from Bregritte and began to walk to the room on the right. "Not my problem, I was only asked to look for evidence, not deal with a lone stray dog."
"Regardless of your standing with the Legion, you are also Thane." Bregritte hissed. "You must deal with this wretched creature."
Her guest turned on a Septim to stare at her. "I must? On whose authority?"
Bregritte quickly inhaled. She was outranked here, no matter the age difference. She swallowed her pride. "If I allow you to search my home, may you please take care of the infernal creature?"
"Of course." Link stated brightly, "this shouldn't take long at all." He turned around and stepped into Bregritte's bedroom.
"Don't you dare sift through anything!" The elderly woman yelled after him, choosing to return to her chair by the fire in an attempt to calm herself.
After a while, Link reappeared from the bedroom and then continued to search the rest of the house.
Bregritte watched him like a hawk the entire time. Even if he was the current Thane and also a Legion soldier, she still didn't trust him. Fortunately he didn't seem to be searching for anything in specific, just for general evidence.
"I haven't found anything so far, and I've searched most of the house…"
"Of course you have not found anything! Whatever is on that parchment is false accusations. Now, if you are done with your search, please go take care of that… creature." Bregritte shuddered at the thought of the dog destroying her house.
"Of course." Link strode off in the direction of where the dog had vanished. The elderly Battle-Born went to sip her tea after walking to the small table, but then scowled - it had gone cold due to the unexpected events. 'I should have him make me a fresh batch, that would certainly make him useful…'
It didn't take long for Link to appear. He was holding the stray dog in his arms, and the creature seemed to be content with how it was being handled.
Bregritte slacked her jaw slightly in shock. "How in the world did you tame such a beast?"
"He's actually been following me around for the entire day, I suppose he feels comfortable enough to obey orders." Link told her as he walked past to head for the front door.
The old woman followed him closely. "Leaving so soon? You can't have possibly searched my entire house in such little time!"
She watched on as Link opened the front door, set the dog on the soil outside, then stepped out onto the front steps. The current Thane then half turned to look back at her. "Honestly there wasn't much to search for. A few dresser drawers and cabinets here, a bookshelf and table there. I completed my task as I didn't find any evidence, so I'll be taking my leave now. Good day."
Bregritte Battle-Born stayed near the front door as Link and the stray dog left her premises.
She couldn't help but wonder how the boy had even managed to get into the Imperial Legion in the first place.
Link managed to walk from the Battle-Born residence up the small hill to the Gray-Mane's garden before he utterly lost his composure.
After a near breathless laughing fit, he calmed himself and then rested on the steps leading up to the front door.
Barbas was sitting on the stones before the steps, looking confused yet wagging his tail. "I always liked pulling tricks on mortals, but this occasion felt refreshing."
"I feel sort of bad for doing that to the old lady, and yet I don't. I just don't get how easy that was to pull off." Link was almost disappointed with how "uneventful" it had been, and that the plan had been completely successful.
"Some mortals are pretty easy to deceive, besides, you were pretty convincing."
"Yeah, I think I was." Link couldn't help but smile to himself, then looked down at Barbas. "You'd better stay out here for now." As he stood up from his rest, Link briefly opened his bag to look at the folded piece of parchment inside, and then turned around to face the wooden door.
After knocking on the door with the cryptic message a second time, Link was let into the Gray-Mane house.
"Were you successful? You've been gone for a while." Avulstein greeted Link by the entrance-way.
In response, Link reached into his bag and took out the folded piece of parchment, which he then handed over to the man. "It's an Imperial Missive, and it has all the information you could ever want."
After looking over the paper, the warrior swore loudly, a sullen look on his face. "…I knew it. The kid's too valuable to be killed - they've moved him to a Thalmor stronghold near Solitude called Northwatch Keep."
He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked down at Link. "I can't thank you enough for helping my mother and I, but there's one last thing you need to do - you're coming with me." Avulstein said in a tone that meant no disagreeing.
Link wasn't too keen on going so far away from his intended destination of Rimerock Barrow, but he stayed quiet and watched on as Fralia spoke up.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Avulstein? Link can clearly handle himself, but if something happens…"
"We'll be fine." Avulstein brushed off his mother's words and seemed to study Link. "What you're wearing now won't work. You'll need a different helmet at least, to cover your face more."
"A face cover? I already have a helmet, won't that be enough?"
"No, the armor you have now is too revealing. I believe we have a set of steel soldier armor lying around. Wait here." Avulstein got up from his chair and walked up the stairs to the right. He soon returned carrying a few articles of metal and clothing, which he set on a table up against the wall. "Take a look."
Link walked over to the table and inspected what had been placed there: The armor featured a completely enclosed helmet save for a horizontal slit for the eyes, chainmail to protect the neck, a chestplate with padding underneath, a set of bracers for the arms and hands, shoulder pauldrons, two black cloth pieces that went over a shoulder and around the waist, leggings, and a pair of boots.
He picked up the helmet and studied it, then took off the Imperial Legion helmet and set it on the table, then put on the new one. His vision was somewhat limited - he couldn't look up or down as much - but at least his head was fully protected.
There was a room off to the right, past the stairs. After getting permission from Fralia to use said room to change armor sets, Link took the items on the table and
He returned a short while later wearing the new armor. It fit surprisingly well and it was easy to move around in.
"Perfect." Avulstein announced as he looked Link over. "The armor seems to suit you well." He turned towards the old woman sitting in the nearby chair. "How soon do you think we should leave, mother?"
Fralia set down the book she had been reading. "You seem quite eager to go now, so I say go on. The longer we delay, the more danger Thorald will be in."
Avulstein agreed to this, and so the Nord walked over, hugged his mother, then strode over to the door, opened it, and stepped outside, clearly expecting Link to follow.
Link adjusted his new armor, then turned to Fralia. "I'll make sure they return here alive. I can only heal so much."
The old woman smiled. "You have no idea how much you've already done for me Link, now go on, you'd better hurry after Avulstein before he gets too far ahead."
On that note, Link quickly left the house and went off to find the older warrior.
The journey to Northwatch Keep took a few hours. The sun was setting by the time they reached the area, and Avulstein had decided to wait until nightfall to ambush the Thalmor residing in the fort.
In the meantime, the rescue group was resting around a large fire that had been set in an empty forest clearing close to the fort.
"When do you plan on going to get the Rueful Axe?" Barbas piped up from where he was lying down while gnawing on a charred bone.
Link looked down at the Daedra-turned dog who was resting beside him. "Soon." Thankfully Barbas had been silent the entire journey to the fort and he hadn't caused any issues.
Barbas merely looked up at Link and returned to his bone without another word.
Link had kept his distance from the other members of the group for the entire journey from Whiterun - he wasn't that comfortable around bulky, scarred, aged warriors who spoke loudly and constantly spouted crude phrases.
They had seemed to get the message, for they were all by the fire and they hadn't asked Link to outright join them. Which was perfectly fine.
At least until Avulstein called out to him. "The flames are getting low, do you mind going out and getting us more firewood? You can use the axe over there, or use your own, if you've got one."
Link almost declined the man's request, but then thought about it. It wasn't something he necessarily would have wanted to do, but it would help pass the time, and he needed the practice after having not done it for so long.
"Sure." He soon agreed to performing the meager task, and went off to go find a suitable tree to cut down, or fallen log to chop into pieces.
As Link passed Barbas, he motioned for the Daedra to follow, and the two headed into the nearby patch of trees.
"What are you doing?" Barbas implored.
"They asked me to get more wood for the fire, and I agreed."
Barbas gave the equivalent of a canine shrug and ran ahead out of sight past a few bushes. This left Link alone to find a sturdy tree that could be used as firewood.
It didn't take long to find a solid and dry large fallen tree that could be chopped into pieces and carried back. Due to Link's strength, he was quickly able to start creating a pile of wood.
Barbas was still missing, but that didn't concern Link at all. The Daedra would wander back and find him at some point.
The repetition grew somewhat tiring - make a small notch in the fallen tree, swing the axe a few times, create a section that could be divided into smaller pieces, and repeat until the pile was of decent size.
After a while, Link was about to pick up another small log and add it to the now large wood pile when he caught sight of something across the vast waters in front of him. "What is that?" 'I've been here for a while, how have I not noticed it until now?'
Barbas perked up his floppy ears and trotted over, having heard Link's exclamation from where he had been tormenting Mud Crabs on the beach. "Did you find something?"
"That structure on the water over there." Link directed the newly-returned dog's attention to the distant building on the fog-shrouded island by pointing the axe at it.
"Huh. If you think I know what that is, you'd be mistaken. I may be a Daedra and the Hound of Clavicus Vile, but even I don't have infinite knowledge."
The structure looked like a castle, or fortress, yet something about it felt… wrong.
Almost as if Link wasn't supposed to know it was there. He quickly returned his attention to the half cut fallen log. The others were expecting the firewood, and if he really wanted to know what the thing was out on the water, he could later find a scholar to talk to.