Chapter 27: Raldbthar - arriving

[13th of Second Seed 4E 202]

Together with three Stormcloak soldiers, Ferwen, Fiona, and some of our house carls, I had left Whiterun to start an expedition to Raldbthar, searching for a bandit called Alain Dufont; he had apparently done quite a few bad things in and around Windhelm. We had left Whiterun in the morning and passed Loreius Farm; one of the Stormcloaks in our group told us that the farmer and his wife had been murdered, shortly after the event with the jester and his strange carriage. That was depressing and gave me something to think about, but we had to move on towards our goal; besides, those events had happened quite some time ago and did not necessarily affect me.

For the next hour or so, I kept mostly silent, but got pulled out of my dark thoughts when we got to the location where the side road to Korvanjund branched off to our right. We took the muddy side road, but instead of heading directly towards that place, we kept heading east. However, before we left the road, we noticed that there were a number of footprints on the path to the ruin. Jordis commented on that:

"Based on the footprints, it looks like some soldiers in metal boots walked here not so very long ago."

"What can be found in Korvanjund?"

Jordis shrugged, but Lydia could answer that:

"Korvanjund is rumored to have some treasure and maybe artifacts inside, and I have been told that the entrance to the main section of the ruins is blocked. Maybe some people try to gain access to find out about that."

The name of the place rang a bell, but once again I could not recall to which quest it might be related to. I did not think that it was something important, but I might be wrong. I had a question, though:

"Based on the number of footprints and the metal boots, we are not talking about a few bandits, right?"

"No, definitely not; this is almost certainly soldiers, likely Imperials."

"This far in our area?"

"We don't have enough soldiers and guards by far to really control the entire hold" Hiretta, the female Stormcloak, pointed out. "Here, far away from any settlement or fort, they might manage to move without being seen."

"But they failed to hide their footprints."

"True, but maybe they did not expect anybody to look closely."

"Hm, maybe when we are back we should check with the Guard Commander or the steward to find out if this is an official operation. By the way, is that place, Korvanjund, still in Whiterun hold or already in The Pale?"

"It's in The Pale" Lydia replied. "Though, I don't know if the hold guards patrol this area on a regular basis. In my opinion, the hold borders are not very convenient; it would be much easier for Whiterun guards to be in charge around here."

She had a point, and I had wondered about that myself a few times. Dawnstar was so far north, so why was an area which was reasonably close to the city of Whiterun still part of The Pale? Similar applied to, for instance, Anga's Mill. It was quite close to Windhelm, but was nominally part of The Pale. Why, and who had decided on those borders? Probably there were historical reasons, and it might be nice to find a scholar to learn about that. Would the Dravarols, who owned and ran the book and map store in Whiterun, know?

Further in the distance we found a group of bears close to a cave entrance – Lydia explained that this was 'Shrouded Grove' – and we kept further south to avoid the big animals. I could have used 'KAAN' on them, but I could not be sure that this would work on all of them, and we wanted to travel quickly, too. The trail through the forest was barely visible, but Lydia managed to lead us well, and we made good progress. Walking in this area, which was usually snow covered in the game, as far as I recalled, was nice. There were still a few white patches left in dark corners, but the various conifers showed light green shoots almost everywhere at the tip of branches; the soft ground allowed for easy stepping and felt good under my feet. As usual in such an environment, smells of nature were everywhere around and tickled my senses, in a very enjoyable way. Judged by the way Hanni and Nanni behaved, they felt quite the same.

Before I really noticed, we ended up on the shore of Lake Yorgrim, at the lake's southwestern corner, and this was a good place to have lunch. The day had started with an almost full overcast, but the sun was showing itself now, at least sporadically between the clouds, and we used the opportunity to set up our food and drinks. Well, for drinking we had something like water bottles, but there was the clear lake water close to us, too. While we ate, I noticed some stone buildings south of us, half way up the mostly still snow covered hills in the distance, and when I asked about them, Lydia knew:

"Oh yes, this is the Dwemer ruin Irkngthand. This is also rumored to have some bandits using it from time to time, and if we don't find anybody at Raldbthar, we could have a look over there, on the off chance that they shifted locations."

Fiona looked across the lake and had a question as well:

"And what is this over there? Is there a cave or so?"

"It is, yes, Bronze Water Cave. It is supposed to be connected to a ruin somehow, but I do not know the details."

"You know a lot about those places, Lydia!"

"This was part of my housecarl education, Thane Fiona. We did not only learn how to fight, but also had to memorize information about various places, primarily in our own hold, but also in adjacent ones."

"Lydia, all holds, or at least almost all of them, have borders with Whiterun, don't they? So that implies all of Skyrim?"

"Yes, it does, Thane B'lushona."

Lydia had an indication of a smirk on her face and seemed to be a little bit proud about her education, but tried not to show it too much; anyway, I was duly impressed. I was very happy that housecarls here were not the dumb followers they were in the game, saying 'Yes, my Thane' and 'As you command, my Thane' left and right, without any initiative of their own. That was refreshing, as I had already experienced multiple times with my own housecarls, in particular Antonius.

When we were done with eating and the sun was hiding again, we moved on and followed a narrow trail not far from the lake's southern shore, avoiding a few horkers on the shoreline. About an hour after our lunch break we came upon a military camp, and the three Stormcloaks in our group explained that this was the 'Pale Stormcloak Camp'. Naturally, we started to introduce ourselves to the local quartermaster, but the conversation was cut short by a shout from one of the soldiers in the camp:

"Watch out! Dragon!"

Naturally, all of us looked up and around, and indeed, a flying creature was seen circling above the lake. It was not immediately apparent if we were going to be attacked or ignored, but once the creature had done a few rounds, it turned towards us and started to attack, with flames bursting out from its maw. Fortunately, we were all able to seek cover in time, and I heard a few curses from Stormcloaks around us. Fiona did not know a dragon shout which was very effective against a fire dragon, although she tried 'FUS RO DAH' once. Daeril and I shot off some ice spikes, with the ones cast by the Dunmer being much larger and faster than mine. The spikes did not do much to the beast, but they managed to distract it, so that a number of arrows released by the others could find their target. Most archers realized quickly that normal arrows could not penetrate the scales on the dragon's body and tried to hit the wings instead, and when my own magicka was almost exhausted, I switched to my crossbow and managed to get a few hits of my own. The beast was getting more careful now and gained some altitude, and after circling the area for maybe five more minutes, it moved away to the southwest, in the direction of Irkngthand, instead of attacking again.

"Thank you for your help!" the local quartermaster called in our direction.

"You are welcome!" Daeril replied.

"That beast has attacked us before, always coming from the southwest. I wonder if there's a lair somewhere in the mountains. Do we have anyone injured?"

Except for a few bruises some soldiers had from quickly jumping out of the way, nobody had been harmed, and the quartermaster continued:

"Now, getting back to where we were. This is our Pale camp. It is a fallback place to retreat to if the Pale should ever be conquered by the Imperials; in that case our fellow Stormcloaks know where to retreat to and where to counter-attack from."

"The Imperial milk drinkers won't take that hold from us!"

"I sure agree, but Jarl Ulfric and General Stone-Fist prefer to have contingency plans nevertheless."

A local scout volunteered to guide us for some time, and she showed us a trail leading south; we might have missed it if we had been just on our own. The trail led uphill and even had some stairs, and when we saw some kind of large stone gazebo with closed metal gates all around, likely a Dwemer lift to an area below ground, she took her leave again, but not before pointing ahead:

"Look, just follow the trail further south, taking the stairway round this structure here, and you can't miss Raldbthar. Good luck with your plans!"

"Thank you for showing us the way!"

While the guide started to head back towards the camp, I looked around. We had hills almost all around us, and the hills were mostly showing rocks and little vegetation. There were some shrubs on the ground, but few flowers; maybe the soil was not very fertile around here. In addition to that, dark clouds covered almost all of the sky, and the atmosphere was kind of gloomy.

The round stone structure close to us with the sturdy metal gates was enclosed on all sites, and the gates could not be opened from the outside. The interior had a visible platform, several meters in diameter, and some control handles and levers on the other side, and I wondered if this was one of the Dwemer lifts, with potential access to some place deep down, maybe even Blackreach. In the game, one could only use them once access to the subterranean areas had been gained via other means, and the gates could only be opened from the inside. In theory, it might be possible to find the proper lever to open from the outside with telekinesis or even a long stick or so, but maybe there was a safeguard against that.

Blackreach! I closed my eyes for a few moments and imagined to be in the magnificent underground area, with eerie background lighting, crimson nirnroots and various buildings and places to explore. Fiona, with her love of scary places, would love it, but I did not want to spoil her by telling her in advance. I would really want to get there together with her and a good team, when the time was right. When I opened my eyes again, I noticed that my companions had moved ahead, and I hurried to follow.

We marched in the direction the guide had indicated, taking the stairs she had pointed out, and I couldn't help thinking that there were well maintained stairs in the middle of nowhere. Well, I could not be sure about 'well maintained' – was somebody actually maintaining them, or had they been built to last an eternity? How long did stone stairs last if they were done properly and not maintained? I shook my head and followed the others, and indeed, about half an hour later we had several big stone structures ahead of us, and based on the description from Jorleif, this was obviously Raldbthar. From the base of the hills, a double set of stairs led upwards and then separated sideways, one left and one right. Both stairs ended on a large platform, and a big metal door was visible in the center. There were also some people around, and around a campfire on the smaller platform where the stairs separated there were two people who looked like soldiers. Hm, had somebody already taken care of the bandits? We slowly went uphill and followed the path with more stairs around some circular ruin and further ahead, before we stepped on the main stairs, and the two soldiers greeted us:

"Welcome, travelers. I am afraid that you'll have to turn back here."

"And why is that?"

"The whole place is closed, by the order of Jarl Skald in Dawnstar."

"May we learn why that is?"

"Khajiit, we are just following orders."

I did not like his way of speaking, but what could we do? Iona raised a brow, stepped forward and asked:

"Was this order confirmed by guard commander Skulnar via the usual channels?

"Indeed it was, lady, and I just got it reiterated when I talked to him a few days ago in Dawnstar. There must be a good reason for this, and we need to ask you to leave."

Iona nodded and replied: "All right, we understand; thank you for explaining."

She turned around and winked at us, and I understood that she had a good reason for retreating; we all followed until we were behind a corner and no longer visible and in hearing distance from the people we had talked to. When we had reached a distance where the people at the ruin area could neither see nor hear us any longer, the Nord explained in subdued voice:

"I happen to know the guard commander in Dawnstar, and his name is Jod. The name I mentioned was completely fictional, and the man fell for my trap."

"So, does this imply that those guys are no soldiers?"

"No, I don't think that they are. I had a closer look at their armor, too, and they were not even wearing it quite right. I was trained in the proper way, and I can tell."

"Iona is right" Lydia nodded; "I saw the same, and I am certain that they are neither soldiers nor hold guards. They could be new recruits, but the age does not fit, and there would be at least a couple of veterans with them, wearing their armor properly."

"And how can we make sure?"

I had to admit that I did not know what to do. Could we just assume that the people there were all bad guys, like bandits, and attack? But even if we did, they had the upper ground, and there might be some archers around. Without even knowing their total number, a frontal attack seemed unwise, in my opinion. Jordis asked:

"Is there a way to get up there and not using the main stairs?"

The map I had was not detailed enough to provide that kind of information, but a look around revealed some kind of a small and narrow ravine in the hills, at the right side and far enough from the main stairs so that it could not be seen from there.

"I wonder", I started while pointing at the narrow flume, "if that ravine over there might allow one of us to get up and close to the potential bandits, maybe to hear them talk."

Ferwen looked there as well and replied:

"Yes, I think so; it does not look very difficult."

"So, what about one or two of us using that option to learn more?"

Ferwen nodded eagerly, but the others were not inclined. Thus, the Bosmer and I were going to climb up in the ravine and find out if there was a chance to eavesdrop those who pretended to be soldiers, and Fiona and the three housecarls were going to wait. I wondered about the elytra, but Ferwen ordered her insect follower to stay back with Fiona, and she obeyed that command. I am sure that the nymph would have been able to climb the ravine as well, with having six legs instead of just two, but she might have started chittering at the wrong time. In a similar way I ordered Hanni and Nanni to stay back; I could fully rely on them to be quiet.

I myself was not really a big climber, but my special paws gave me an advantage, specifically as my feet were bare, too, and in addition to that, I had a good head for heights. We started slow and tried to avoid excessive noise, and maybe twenty minutes later we found ourselves on a level sideways from the ruin and already higher. Looking down I could observe how some of the people went inside the ruin and only three stayed outside; maybe the night guard. They still wore the soldier armor, but were relaxed, and when I listened carefully, I could understand some of what they were saying:

"So, it worked again."

"It was really a good idea to kill the hold guards and take their armor and weapons."

"We are lucky that the boss is so smart; larger groups of people passing get turned back easily, and smaller groups we just either kill or capture."

"And those stupid Stormcloaks in their camp up north do not have the slightest idea!"

"They sure don't, and it's very kind of them to leave some of their food stores unguarded so that we can help ourselves to more supplies during the night."

I whispered a summary to Ferwen who was right next to me; she could also hear some talking, but her ears were not quite as big as mine. Now, what to do? It was getting dark anyway, and Ferwen and I slowly sneaked towards the platform with the big door. There was a larger tent now visible on the platform, and two of the people retreated into it after they had relieved themselves outside, not suspecting any spectators. Ferwen smirked, and we carefully moved on. The third person placed himself – no, it seemed to be a woman, herself – close to the fire and obviously had the first watch. We both managed to sneak behind her, and Ferwen finally jumped her from behind. For now, our first captive was bound and gagged, and now we walked towards the tent. Disabling the two people there was also quite easy, and the three captives were all placed in the tent for now. I grabbed along stick from the campfire and waved it, and soon the others came up the stairs; my two saber cats were the first ones to arrive, of course, and obviously happy to be at my side again.

"Are we going to go inside today?" Fiona asked after I had offered a summary of the conversation we had listened to.

"Maybe not" I replied. "I think that they locked the door from the inside, and we need some rest, too. Ideally, we are rested and ready when they come out again in the morning, for a watch change or so."

"And where do we sleep?"

"We all have our warm bedrolls with us" Ferwen suggested. "Let's find a place to the side, where we can't be seen right away if somebody comes out, and settle down there. We can use the food they still have there around the campfire."

I liked that idea, and indeed, there was plenty of food on a crudely made shelf next to the campfire. Iona got busy preparing a hot broth or maybe a stew, and the rest of us spread the bedrolls. When we had eaten, we talked about the night watch, and it was decided that our housecarls and the Stormcloaks would do this, wearing the Dawnstar hold guard armor. If anybody came out from the ruins during the night; they would assume them to be the normal guards, at least initially. We asked them to wake us all just before sunrise. It was a gamble, but we assumed that the other bandits might not want to venture outside during the night.

Ferwen had placed her bedroll right next to mine, and as soon as I was on the ground, she moved close to me, so that our bodies touched lightly. She did not say anything else but 'Good Night!', and soon she was, judged by her steady breathing, asleep. With the young Bosmer so close to me, I needed a little more time, but as we had been walking for most of the day and I was a little bit exhausted, I also fell asleep soon.

[Author's Notes: Korvanjund – our heroes don't know know/remember what's special about that place.

Based on page and chapter views, I am happy to see that this story has attracted an audience; I'd really appreciate to get a few more reviews, if possible – thank you!]