Chapter 40: A letter from Delphine

[8th – 15th of Midyear 4E 202]

Once again, I had been away from my home city Whiterun for several days, and only yesterday I had come back from the excavation and exploration at Hamvir՚s Rest and the discovery at Fort Greymoor. Jarl Balgruuf and the archaeologists had made a tentative deal, allowing the three diggers to claim the underground area at Fort Greymoor as province headquarters.

Fortunately, Jordis had stayed back at my construction site and had supervised it, while the two Altmer from Markarth had been working together with a few artisans. As soon as I had a chance on the next day, I talked to Aicantar and Cinwiril and told them that the Jarl wanted to consult them, and they were soon on their way up to Dragonsreach.

Surprisingly, Fiona, the Dragonborn, had taken an interest in my house construction activities, and before I had left for the Hamvir trip, she had requested that I add a tower to serve as her quarters. As we had just recently completed the basement and workers were setting up the walls for the ground floor at this time, changing the plans had still been easily doable, with a few minor modifications to strengthen the foundations in a few places. Jarl Balgruuf the Greater had offered support as compensation for providing a place to live for the Dragonborn. Our Jarl clearly understood the importance of the Dragonborn՚s tasks more than many other people, and he realized that it would be good for her to have something like a home, although she might not be able to stay there a lot, at least for the time being and until Alduin was defeated. Of course, the fact that the Dragonborn lived in Whiterun Hold was also something the Jarl could benefit from, like attracting more paying visitors to the hold or so, but also positive reputation to potentially sway more of the other holds to our side. For the time being, while my house was not yet ready to live in, Fiona had one of the best rooms in the 'Bannered Mare', for free. Naturally, Hulda gained quite some reputation by being able to claim that the Dragonborn lived under her roof whenever she was in Whiterun, and during those times she was almost always fully booked.

At this time, Fiona had an extended break, as Esbern needed much more time than in the game to understand and interpret the depictions on Alduin՚s Wall in Skyhaven Temple; apparently the scholar needed to get his hands on a few ancient books to compare the relief to, or something like that. Sure, I could have given the Dragonborn a few hints and suggested that she either look for an Elder Scroll or insist that the Greybeards let her talk to Paarthurnax, but I did not want to push her, and I also hesitated to influence the 'normal' flow of events, in particular the 'main quest'. After all, I did not really know which steps might be crucial and where specific details might deviate from the game; Fiona and I did not have the ability to 'reload' if something went wrong, and I had decided to err on the side of caution if in doubt.

Fiona was a cute petite young Bosmer lady, and she shared her background with me, as we had both been transported to Skyrim from our previous life on Earth; me from Germany and her from Austria. Contrary to her, though, I had the advantage to know a lot about this world, as I had played the Elder Scrolls games, part IV and V, extensively in my old life. Also, my body and age had been changed considerably, with me being in a strong and tall Khajiit body now instead of a medium size and non athletic male human in his late fifties, whereas Fiona had a body and age close to her former one, except for darker skin, elf ears and such; same as before, she was still in her late teenage years, and back in Austria, she had not even completed her school education. What she may have missed in theoretical learning she now gained in practical experience, and the Fiona now, about three quarters of a year after she had arrived in Skyrim, was much more self-conscious and mature than at the time of the start of her new life, when I had first met her in Helgen. Apparently she had adapted quite well, with valuable support from her housecarls and some others, of course.

I did not know why Akatosh had not looked for a Dragonborn with a stronger and more warrior like body, maybe someone who looked like Xena or so, but maybe a person with a petite body could show strength in other areas; after all, what did I know about the requirements for a Dragonborn? Certainly Fiona could have received a largely altered body if Akatosh had deemed that necessary or useful. On the other hand, I had the feeling that Fiona liked her body as it was, and that was the most important point.

A few days after I had come back from Hamvir's Rest and Fort Greymoor, a courier arrived with a letter for Fiona, when we had just met in late morning in the marketplace. When she had read it, she looked unhappy and maybe even angry, and I asked her what it was about. She handed the letter over to me, and I read:

Dragonborn, make haste to return to Skyhaven Temple. Esbern and I have a basic understand of the relief now, and you must take actions accordingly. D.

This was obviously from Delphine, and while I could understand that she was not willing to write details in a letter delivered by a courier, her style and phrasing was not polite at all. The elderly Nord lady seemed to assume that Fiona was hers to command around as she liked, similar to how she preferred to dictate next steps to the player in the game. The young Bosmer had told me earlier that she felt like a school kid obeying her teacher when she was with Delphine, which was not really a surprise as she had actually been a school kid until she had arrived in Skyrim, and Delphine was a person who radiated authority, just like a strict teacher. I could see that she was almost about to prepare for traveling, and I asked her:

"Didn't you have a deal with Delphine and Esbern that joining them to find the temple would be the last common task for some time or so?"

"Yes, I did, but this could be important, I guess?"

Maybe the Bosmer recalled what I had told her earlier, and she asked me with a worried look on her face:

"Balu, she is not really in a position to order me around, right?"

"No, she is not, not at all. The Blades are supposed to support, assist and protect those they are sworn to, be it the Emperor, their family, or a Dragonborn."

"Do you have a suggestion how I should best react?"

"Well, you could just ignore the letter, or you could write a letter back saying that you are not available right now. You could write that Delphine needs to ask politely if she wants you to react, or you could suggest that she writes about their findings in a letter."

"She may not want to write details in a letter, I guess."

"True. Still, you could reply in a letter that you are not available on short notice and that she needs to write some justification or so. Besides, you have a good reason not to travel to The Reach again, considering that you are still wanted by the Imperial Legion and that they almost caught you last time."

"Also true, yes. Wait, I know what to do. I will ask Ragnar to visit me, and he can take a message to Delphine; if she wants, she can send a more detailed message back with him, too. Nobody in The Reach will bother him."

"Sounds like a plan!"

Fiona was happy now, and I could get back to my work. After all, I had to make money, although the previous expeditions had netted a nice sum of septims for me. The Bosmer had not had a chance to collect a lot of money yet, with the Dragonborn tasks claiming most of her time. She had received her share from Raldbthar, though, of course. During the past months I had used my strength and my skills to do some hard work, mostly mining ore from veins in the area and delivering to Adrianne and Eorlund in Whiterun and sometimes to Alvor in Riverwood. The ore was not particularly valuable, as the common types, iron and corundum, were abundant in the hold, but due to my strength, I could deliver larger quantities at once than almost anybody else, which made ore mining reasonably profitable for me.

In addition, I helped Silvia, Adrianne՚s daughter, with her enchanting activities by bringing in some occasional silver and gold ore plus, after hunting, one or two filled soul gems; the game I brought in was either used in Jorrvaskr or sold to Anoriath or to Hulda. I did not really get rich by doing all of that, but, in addition to the septims from expeditions, it was good enough to pay for everything related to house construction, specifically considering that I had free lodging and food at Jorrvaskr and thus didn't need to spend much on daily living expenses. The people who worked for me, though, needed to be fed and paid, although at least the housecarls did not expect a regular salary.

Normally, I would have also visited school again on a more or less regular basis, but school was not in session during the summer months, as most children were needed at their parents' places, specifically the farmers' kids. However, when I had done my morning run on one nice day and walked around through the city after breakfast, I came upon some children having a talk about an interesting topic – Lars Battle-Born, Braith and Lucia, the latter with Garm at her side. I listened to them talking about the Civil War and how it affected us in Whiterun; everybody had noticed that Stormcloaks were around all of the time and shared duties with the regular Whiterun city and hold guards, and some of the older children wanted to understand what was going on. Naturally, the kids had talked to their respective parents, and I had been told that there had already been some heated discussions and even fistfights between Stormcloak supporters, mainly those close to the Gray-Mane family, and those believing in the Imperial legion, like those around the Battle-Born family, although the latter faction was a clear minority nowadays. Now, as the three had noticed me, they asked me for my opinion, and while we stood close to the Gildergreen tree, I tried to answer that:

"You know, kids, I am not really a political person. I do understand, though, that both sides have good arguments. The Imperials claim that they support the legal government, which has merit, as Skyrim is a province in the Empire, and the Stormcloaks state that we need to be allowed to pray to all of our gods and can't allow the Thalmor to arrest or even kill good citizens with flimsy excuses. Personally I have been treated by the Stormcloaks much better than by the Legion, and for a reason I do not understand General Tullius still wants to arrest me, and the Lady Dragonborn too. The main point, though, is the decision our Jarl has made. Jarl Balgruuf the Greater is a wise man and I fully trust him. He decided to side with the Stormcloaks and he signed an alliance contract with Jarl Ulfric of Eastmarch. I am one of our Jarl՚s loyal citizens, and I believe that he made the right call."

"But, my father always claims that the Stormcloaks are living on borrowed time, and any Stormcloak sympathizers are not his friends!"

"Lars, we know that your family is on the Legion side, and everybody is entitled to their own opinion."

"Besides, your mother sometimes says that the war is as stupid as your feud with Clan Gray-Mane!"

"Good point, Braith. So, even inside Lars' family, there are different opinions, and this probably applies to most families, by the way."

While Braith had been known to bully Lars last year when I had first seen her in Whiterun, the two had somehow managed to get along with each other, maybe not as good friends, but at least on friendly terms. I did not know if the Redguard girl had actually managed to get a kiss from the Nord boy as she had mentioned much earlier, but they seemed to be okay with each other.

"So, why do some people not want to allow us to pray to Talos?"

That question was asked by Braith, and I asked back why she wanted to know that. She explained:

"Andurs, the priest of Arkay, is a relative of our family, and praying to the Nine Divines is important for us. Or at least I think that they are the Nine Divines; a lot of people call them the Eight Divines, and this is so confusing."

"Young lady, I am not sure that I am qualified to respond to such questions here, but we do have a priest of Talos in Whiterun, don't we?"

"Oh yes, this crazy guy Heimskr who shouts around all of the time!"

"Heimskr is not crazy!" Lucia called out. "I have listened to him many times, and I still do. I can even quote him and explain about Talos: 'In mortal life, Talos was a Nord possessed of unmatched tactical skill, limitless wisdom and the power to see into men's hearts. Talos mastered the power of the Voice, and with it he united the lands of men into a great Empire. In southern lands, he was known by the name Tiber Septim. Here in Skyrim, we honor him by his proper Nord name. So great was his reign in life, when he ascended to the heavens he was made lord of the Divines.' So, here you go!"

"What? Talos was Tiber Septim?"

"Yes, this was his name during his time in Tamriel, specifically in Cyrodiil."

I was tempted to add that I had a mission from Talos to help restoring worship to him again here in Skyrim, but I did not think that this was something the children were supposed to know about. We continued that discussion for some more time, and I was pleasantly surprised in the kids' interest. On the other hand, the Civil War was real, and it was kind of natural to ask related questions.

A few days later I was called into the Temple of Kynareth; as I was told, a larger skirmish had happened between Imperials and Stormcloaks when a group of soldiers from Solitude had intruded into our hold and almost made it to Rorikstead. There were many wounded people on both sides, and while the healers there had to deal with the critical injuries, they had send the dozens of people with lighter injuries to the major hold city; they had just arrived, and there weren't enough healers at the temple for all of them. When I had entered the temple, I already heard the acolytes speaking softly to the wounded people, like:

"Patience. The body needs time to mend."

"More rest will do you good."

"Try to relax. You'll be well soon enough."

The volunteers who had arrived were directed to those who needed help, and soon I cast my healing spell on those who needed it. I noticed Irene, the Breton, also arriving, and a few more people I knew. However, Whiterun did not have an abundance of mages, and few of the predominantly Nord population were interested to learn magic. Fiona was not among those who came in to help; maybe she was not around at this time. When the most urgent tasks were done and I waited for my pool of magicka to replenish, I asked Danica Pure-Spring:

"So, the Civil War has affected you duties here, hasn't it?"

"Yes, of course it has. At first it seemed a distant thing, heard only in the idle speech of guards and traders. When the wounded soldiers began to return from battle, I did what I could to help them. As more of the sick and injured came to the temple, my work as a healer became more important than my duty as a priestess. I wish only an end to the fighting, so that I can tend to the temple once more."

"Yes, I also wish that we can end the war quickly and stop the suffering."

"Lately it seems I am more nurse than priestess, tending to those who have suffered, both in mind and body, from this terrible war. Alas, it cannot be helped for now."

I nodded and had nothing to add to that; around noon time Irene and I were dismissed, and Danica declared:

"Thank you for your help; it seems like everybody is stable now and just needs rest and the occasional healing spell; my acolytes and I can do that."

We both took our leave, and while Irene walked towards Jorrvaskr, I saw Fiona coming up from the market area. She noticed that I had just left the temple and asked about that, and I told her about the injured people arriving and some volunteers helping. She looked down and mused:

"War is always bad, isn't it?"

"True, indeed, but sometimes it cannot be avoided."

We had some conversation on the ongoing Civil War and the background, while sitting on one of the benches below the Gildergreen tree, one of my favorite spots in the city, and after a brief period of silence the Bosmer mentioned:

"Delphine sent another message, before I even had a chance to get Ragnar here, and she does not seem to be amused at all."

"Really?"

"No, she still seems to believe that she can order me around, and she kind of commands that I show up at the temple right away."

"Are you going to do that?"

"No, I don't think so; I am fed up with her attitude. Esbern is different and more or less only focused on his research, but I am not inclined to go there any time soon. However, I am worried how else I could learn how to make some progress with my task. Esbern really seems to believe that Alduin's Wall might be the key to finding out how to defeat the World Eater."

That was a very good question, indeed. Naturally, I could not be sure what the best way forward for her was going to be. Was this a good time to introduce Fiona to Paarthurnax? Would Arngeir even allow that yet? One could not go up beyond High Hrothgar without being able to clear the sky, or whatever that spell was called, right? Was Fiona ready to proceed, or would she need more training and specifically more shouts first? Questions and more questions, and no reliable answers. In the game, everybody and everything waited patiently until the Dragonborn had time to attend and address a specific quest or issue, but did the same apply here, too? There was one more important difference here; in the game, some quests depended on each other, like you could only find Serana in her crypt after listening to Tolan talking to Isran about the destruction of the Hall of the Vigilants. I had never attempted to explore the crypt before the quest had been triggered, but I was sure that progress inside was likely blocked somehow if one did that. Here, in real Skyrim, there were likely alternate approaches available and feasible for many situations, and the Dragonborn might not have to rely on talking to Delphine and Esbern again anytime soon to learn what to do next. Thus, I decided for a compromise approach and suggested:

"Fiona, I can't tell you for sure what would be best to do, but I would love to travel up to High Hrothgar again soon. Maybe we could do this together, and you can ask the Greybeards what they suggest. Sure, they also have their own agenda, but I believe that they are at least not quite as self-centered and stubborn as Delphine is. What do you think?"

"Will the Greybeards be able and willing to guide me?"

"Oh yes, they will sure provide guidance, and from my personal point of view, I firmly believe that they will do a much better job guiding and advising you than Delphine. However, they may also tell you to take things slowly. I have mentioned this before; you may want to learn more dragon shouts."

I did actually believe that listening to the Greybeards was a much better choice than obeying Delphine's command. In the game, without mods, the Blades grandmaster always tried to get Paarthurnax killed at the end, and only mods enabled the hero to talk her out of that; this made me quite biased and kind of prejudiced against the Blades in general and Delphine in particular. Now, about acquiring more dragon shouts, Fiona asked:

"Sure, but where to find them?"

"The Greybeards should be able to occasionally give you a hint, and you could also start asking around for known dragon lairs."

"Why would that help?"

"Dragon lairs are mostly build around word walls."

"Oh."

"Yes, most world walls are either in dragon lairs under open sky or somewhere deep in ruins. For the latter ones, searching is tricky, as you'd have to fully explore those ruins first, and some are quite large and dangerous. Also, you can't know which ruins have word walls. For dragon lairs, you only need to defeat the residing dragon."

"Only?"

"Of course, that's a problem, I know, but you do have two capable housecarls, right?"

"Sure, and maybe Ferwen will also help."

Ferwen? Yeah, maybe she would; she had made herself scarce recently; maybe she would want to get some distance from me? But anyway, what else to suggest? Fiona asked now:

"So, maybe we visit the Greybeards first and find out what they are willing to tell me, and we go from there?"

"Sure, sounds like a plan. Give me a few days for resting, and maybe we can leave in a week or so?"

"Sounds good, and at least this time I have some money to spend. Still, if we find a good place to loot on the way, I would not mind. Not just for money, but also for experience."

"Yes, indeed; gaining experience is always good."

So, that was decided. It had not been very long since I had returned from the fascinating trip to Hamvir's Rest, and normally I'd want to stay in and around Whiterun for a few weeks at least, but I owed it to Fiona to offer my assistance and company, following my 'job description', and besides, another trip to High Hrothgar was overdue for me. I longed to get up there again and enjoy the tranquility of the place once more.

Later on that day I discussed this with my housecarls, too, and we decided that Jordis would come with me this time, while Antonius would, once again, supervise the house construction. So, our party was going to be Fiona with her two housecarls Lydia and Iona and her wolf Nymeria and myself with my housecarl Jordis and Hanni and Nanni. On the next day we also met Ferwen, but she declined to join us for our next adventure. She mentioned that she was going to have some business in Riften first and would travel there on her own soon. I mentioned that we'd like to go there, too, and we tentatively agreed to meet there in a few weeks.

[Author's Notes: Fiona really has to learn that Delphine can't order her around.]