Chapter 33: Interlude Eleven

[4E 526]

Once more the three brothers had found their way up to the attic of the big mansion they lived in.

"We need to be more careful in future!" Jomund, the Nord, warned the others once they had closed the door behind them.

"Why is that?" Bha'jhan, the Khajiit asked.

"I have seen a few of the girls snooping around."

"Do you think they've noticed what we're doing?" Alander, the Bosmer, asked.

"Not sure, but you know, they're not stupid."

"All right, let's be more careful, but for now, the next chapters beckon!"

Alander got the diary out from its hiding places behind a lose board, and the three started reading from where they had stopped during their last visit to the attic. A few minutes of silence passed, before Bha'jhan asked around:

"The Dawnguard? Wait, didn't we get told about that during history lessons?"

"I believe that we did, yes. Vampires have been around for centuries, but at that time there was this cray Vampire Lord who had some weird scheme, but I forgot what that was."

"And the Dawnguard was an organization of people fighting vampires, right?"

"Guess so, yes."

"Where were they located?"

"No idea, but maybe Balu knows. Look, here is one of those scribbled notes again: 'It is interesting about Durak not giving the precise location of the Fort – like he expects it to be common knowledge'."

"So, the location was not common knowledge at that time?"

"Likely not, and it makes some kind of sense to have applicants find out on their own, so that only dedicated people would get there."

"Hmph, maybe. But look, what about that comment here: 'The vampires don't patiently wait around for Balu and the others to get to their quest'. What's that supposed to mean? Why should the vampires wait for Balu?"

"And further down: 'Really hope Balu doesn't end up with Serana, though.' Who is Serana?

"Wait, this name was mentioned in our history lessons."

"I don't recall that."

"Yeah, but that's why you rarely pay attention in those."

"History is so boring!"

"Maybe, but it helps to understand certain things better, potentially including this diary."

"So, who was Serana?"

"I don't recall many details, but supposedly she sided with humans against her own father, who had some really crazy scheme planned."

"Hm, not much to go on."

"And maybe not so important either. Also, I don't know if that Dawnguard is still around nowadays. So, what's next?"

"Balu mentions from time to time how he earns money, like by getting ore to the smithies."

"And some silver to the daughter who can do enchanting."

"Right. Look, there is a comment about that: 'As far as finding silver and gold, have you considered the transmute spell for turning iron ore into silver and gold? You can find it at the bandit camp with the walls around it NW of Whiterun.' Seriously?"

"What – a spell to change iron into silver and gold? Such a thing exists?"

"Never heard of it."

"Maybe, if it actually exists, it's a secret?"

"Possible, but how would the person who wrote the note know where to find it? Wouldn't they just take it and hide it for their own use?"

"But maybe it's not such a great thing after all, considering that there are some gold and silver ore veins easily available."

"Good point, brother."

The three brothers continued to read and advanced page by page, and an observer might have noticed that they were fascinated by the flow of events. Alas, there was no observer, as the three had made sure that nobody knew what they were doing up here in the attic; they suspected that any adults who might have learned about that would have confiscated the diaries.

"Wow – there's a Daedric prince behind the door?"

"Maybe it's not the prince herself, but something which looks like Meridia?"

"Mephala, bro, not Meridia!"

"Hm, and can see and speak and change her form? Maybe…"

"Anyway, I would not have expected that one can actually negotiate with them and make deals."

"I don't think that is usually possible, but she's the Dragonborn with a special mission after all."

"Right, and there's an odd comment again: 'Wow, Fiona must have Speech 100 to convince Mephala to switch Artifacts on a whim like that. I'm surprised that the Daedric Prince would just be okay with someone refusing her when her artifact has been sitting there for so long'."

"Speech 100?"

"No idea what that is."

"Also, look at this: 'She's lucky it didn't end as badly for her as it did for others who have tried the same'."

"Do we know about any others who tried?"

"Tried to negotiate with Daedric princes?"

"Yes!"

"No idea."

"We should ask our history teacher about it!"

"No, we shouldn't – what if he wants to know why we ask?"

"Oh, yes."

The three read on for a few minutes, before Alander chuckled:

"No way Ferwen reacts like that! That must be just Balu's imagination."

"But what if she really likes him?" Bha'jhan asked.

"In such a way? This is so unreal!"

"You sure about that?"

"No, but, same as before, we can't really ask people about it, right?"

"See, and one of the comments seems to plan ahead for them: 'Aw, I think Balu found his soulmate. I have to admit, Balu and Ferwen of Kynesgrove are beginning to seem really sweet together; given time, I'd love to see their relationship blossom! Maybe he and Ferwen should go to Riften and visit the Temple of Mara'."

"What? That's a little too quick, even for Skyrim, right?"

"If you know you found the right person…"

"But they don't, they just found out that…"

"...that their bodies like each other?"

"Yeah, kind of, I guess."

"Isn't that good enough to get started?"

"Started with what? Getting to Riften and getting married is not a start, but an important decision!"

"Right, and one of the other comments seems to agree: 'She's a sweet girl, though I do wish he was less focused on her body. I'd be interested to see what he likes about her other than her physical attributes. '."

"Focusing on the 'physical attributes', what's that supposed to be?"

"Dude, just finding her attractive, but not knowing if they also can talk nicely."

"Oh, okay. But still, they could have some fun and do the talking later, right?"

"Some people may see it like this, I guess."

"Antonius, Balu's housecarl?"

"No, not him; he seems to be able to talk very nicely; but I'm sure that there are others."

"Oh boy, this may be quite a difficult topic."

"It probably is, but let's read on."

Once more there was mostly silence in the attic, and only from time to time there was some noise from small rodents or other animals between the beams or a gust of wind blowing around the house.

"So, they're going to Raldbthar now."

"Where and what is this?"

"Hey, didn't you read the part where the steward explains?"

"Oops!"

"So, can we find it on the large map downstairs?"

"Probably yes, but let's look when nobody else is around."

"So, what is this note about: 'Off to Raldbthar, but thankfully it's not a huge ruin like Mzinchaleft'?"

"Mzinchaleft? Never heard about that one."

"And we better not ask anybody about it either. Maybe we should browse the Dravarol bookstore and see if we can get a book on Skyrim's history and some prominent locations?"

"I guess that we can claim that we are interested in all of that due to our learning, true, but we need to be careful what we ask for nonetheless."

"True. For now, let's focus on the diary, right? Look here: 'It is interesting, when you look at the map of Skyrim. One thing I found interesting too was where the Pale meets Whiterun at Loreius farm (which I'm not sure if it's Whiterun or the Pale who owns it. I guess the Pale, since the guard you can report Cicero to is a Guard of the Pale); it literally goes from autumn grassland to winter in a few footsteps there'. Is that correct?"

"I think that it is. The hold borders seem to be a little bit odd in some places, and the area around what used to be Loreius Farm does indeed belong to The Pale, as far as I know."

"Maybe so, but what is this about the area going from autumn grassland to winter in a few footsteps?"

"This does not make sense, doesn't it?"

"Wait, maybe it actually does" Bha'jhan replied. "Recently, at Jorrvaskr, we had a traveler coming in, and he turned out to be a friend of Kodlak; as such he was invited to join us for dinner, and he is obviously getting around. He mentioned that the area there, a little bit northeast of the former farm area, is frequently a, what did he call it, border between weather fronts or something like that."

"What is this supposed to be?" Alander asked.

"I don't understand it myself, but he explained it as cold winds from the north, as far as from the Sea of Ghosts, meeting warm winds from the south, making the road go from warm and dry to cold and wet within a few minutes of walking sometimes, specifically in spring and autumn."

"Well, all right, in winter we have snow all around, and in summer even further north there is no snow, except Winterhold of course."

"Yep, and in the diary they seem to get into colder area now. And look, the Lydia woman seems to know a lot about all of the places around."

"She does, indeed; where did she learn all of that?"

"There is a comment on that: 'Wait – Lydia went to a school for Housecarls? XD I love the idea – but I thought it was just a hired by the Jarl to be your bodyguard service. Would be cool if there was a Housecarl Guild or something in Skyrim, to be honest!'."

"School for housecarls? You know, this actually makes sense. If a newly appointed Thane gets a housecarl assigned, this housecarl should be good enough for more than just fighting."

"You mean also a pretty bed warmer?"

"Yeah, you wish. No, knowing their way around, being able to identify some places, and such."

"Yes, good point. This is more likely than, what was that, 'hired by the Jarl to be your bodyguard service '."

"Is there actually a 'Housecarl Guild'?"

"If there is, I have ever heard of it."

"Hm."

"So, come one, let's read ahead, I really want to know what's happening at Raltar."

"Raldbthar, brother!"

"Whatever."

There was silence again in the attic while the brothers were all reading; occasionally there a sound of astonishment or a sigh, but they managed to keep mostly quiet for about ten minutes, before Alander could not stop himself and commented:

"That's cool – bandits dressing up as hold guards!"

"Sure is, bro; bandits aren't always as stupid as some may expect them to be."

"Maybe this is because this Alain Defon…"

"Dufont!"

"Whatever! So, maybe he is the real smart one?"

"Possible. However, Balu and his group are smarter, and they prepared this well."

"Looks like one of the comments agrees with that: 'It was nice to see everyone showcasing their talents and contributing to getting them through the ruin. Also clever of them to set an ambush and take the bandits by surprise'."

"Wait, not so fast; he seems to have a few options, and another comment credits him: 'That Alain is a slippery one! They'll have to corner all possible exits and smoke the place out to get him to come out I think'.

"Wow, indeed. Maybe that expedition is going to be a lengthy one?"

"Looks like that, and look, one of the note writers seems to enjoy the dangers: 'Extra points for making sure that your characters can get seriously wounded. It's rarely fun in a story if the characters are untouchable and never suffer injuries or setbacks.'"

"So, somebody likes it that some of Balu's friends get wounded?"

"Looks like that, yes."

"Maybe they consider that a purely fictional story rather than a diary of real events?"

"Possible, but to be honest, we don't really know what it is. Some of the events in the diaries match what we have learned about that time, but some of the characters and what happened could still be just imagination."

"True, but it feels real."

"Even though some weird words and terms are used from time to time."

A few pages and minutes later Jomund asked his brothers:

"So, the Archaeology Guild – is that a real thing?"

"No idea; never heard of it."

"Some readers seemed to like it showing up: 'Archaeology Guild! Nice to see them alluded to here!'. Right, but what does 'allude' mean?"

"No clue; there really should be a list of word explanations included."

"And this one: 'Detect Dead being useful for Archaeologists makes so much sense! seems like an excellent way to locate fossils'. Is there actually such a spell?"

"Not sure" Alander replied. "I am far from an expert in magic, but I thought that there is 'Detect Life' and 'Detect Undead'; not sure how 'Detect Dead' fits in."

"So, 'Detect Life' reveals real living being, like men and mer, 'Detect Undead' shows draugr and vampires and such, and 'Detect Dead' shows fossils and bones, maybe?"

"Possible; no idea. We really should ask a teacher or wizard, but…"

"I know, they'd want to know why we ask and where we got the idea from."

All three of them nodded, and they were silent once more while they read through the next few chapters. That was, until one of them whistled:

"What? Ferwen wants to sleep with him? And without wearing a top?"

"I would not have expected that- that seems to be quite forward!"

"Yeah, but you know, the way that Bosmer is shown in the diary, I don't think that I would mind such a visit from her at all."

"But Balu seems to be unsure about what to do."

"Yes, but look, he has a vision…"

"Or maybe he's just imagining faces and things."

"Anyway, he kind of runs."

"Can't imagine why."

"Yeah, a comment also considers this odd: 'Ooh, Ferwen, naughty girl! Poor Balu – that was an awkward situation indeed – good thing Mara intervened (or the image of her at least)'."

"So, somebody think that it was good for Balu to run?"

"I guess so, and honestly, I don't know what I would have done."

"Sure?"

"Yes, quite so. Hey, we're not adults yet!"

"That doesn't mean that we couldn't…"

"Oh well, it's a story."

"Yes, it is, and the last chapter end with something to look forward to, at least: 'Good on Irene for getting initiated into the Companions. You'd think they'd recognize that at least having a healer on hand would be useful, despite their distaste for magic.'"

"All right yes, magic and Companions – that used to be a problem and did not match."

"But that has changed, Bja'jhan, right?"

"I believe that the events three hundred years ago were significant, yes, and while not all Harbingers since Kodlak shared the same view, magic has been tolerated and even, to some extent, encouraged since then, as far as I know."

"Which makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. But I believe that we need to stop reading now; unless I'm mistaken, we'll have dinner soon, and we don't want to be late for that."

"Right; we sure don't want to have anybody asking where we spent the last hour."

Quickly the diary was hidden once again, and a few minutes later the attic was as quiet again as it usually was; the three brothers were, of course, looking forward to reading more.

[Author's Note: I really appreciate getting all of those wonderful reviews.]