Chapter 67: Tikrid and Jytina

[24th – 25th of Sun's Height 4E 202]

On our way to Dimhollow Crypt we – Tolan, Agmaer, Jordis, Inigo and I – had joined Ahkari's caravan in Shor's Stone, and we had decided to work together and see what we could do to eliminate the bandit threat to the caravan. Between Anga's Mill and Heljarchen we had located the Seducer's camp and engaged the bandits there, and we had made two prisoners, encountered a lady who claimed that she had been captured earlier, and found another strange animal which looked somewhat like the elytra nymph we had found earlier in the fight against the so-called Saints; this one here had turned to be a 'Demented Elytra Nymph', and I was getting increasingly interested to find out why those animals were here in Skyrim and what the connection to their likely homeland, the Shivering Isles, was. After all, Sheogorath's realm had been such a fascinating part of the 'Oblivion' game to me, for various reasons.

Once the bandit camp had been cleared and searched, Ahkari and his comrades were happy to claim most of what the bandits had collected; it wasn't very much, but, as the caravan leader claimed:

"At least it's some compensation for what they stole from us in past weeks and months. This one is sure that some collectors will pay a premium to get their hands on a dark dagger or madness gauntlets."

"How do you know that those names are the correct ones?"

"Since Ri'saad had been able to defeat those who had called themselves Saints, he insisted that every other caravan leader study related lore, so that we could identify similar items at least. This one has done so, even so the story was somewhat hard to believe."

"Ri'saad is a wise leader, indeed."

Ahkari nodded, and then he supervised the others, so that today's trip could be continued. We used the opportunity to eat our lunch here, and once we were all ready, we got back to the main road and headed west; we expected to easily get to Heljarchen before the end of the day and stay at the Nightgate Inn for the night. With the two captured bandits tied to the cart with ropes and the elytra nymph tagging along, following Tikrid, we marched on. Nathon, the soldier from Windhelm who was supposed to report back, decided to also get to Heljarchen and find some help there to bring the two prisoners to the dungeons in Windhelm; escorting the two there on her own would have been too risky, and none if us wanted to go back.

Once we had passed the nearby road branch where the main road towards Winterhold started, we saw a big stone structure to our right, further uphill, and Ahkari explained:

"This is 'Yorgrim Overlook'. This one has been up there, and there is indeed a nice overlook point, and as you can see the lake and river Yorgrim from there, this is probably where the name came from."

"Is there something special inside?"

"This one is not even sure if there is some 'inside' at all, but Khajiit wouldn't know about that, as there had not been time enough to investigate the place."

Several minutes later a narrow path led to the right and into the bushes, somewhere between the many rocks on the ground. Somehow the location looked familiar, but as usual, I failed to remember details from the game. The caravan leader has some background, again:

"Over there, behind the rocks and bushes, there is Forsaken Cave. According to adventurers it is a dangerous place, and many have lost their lives in there. Some have told that a very powerful draugr lives in there, and it is even supposed to have a name – Curalmil."

I nodded, and I did not think that I had heard that name before. Right at this time, we noticed some people coming up behind us, from the direction on Windhelm, and we stopped to see who that was. When they approached, I was very surprised to see Rolff Stone-Fist, General Galmar's brother, and three other male Nords, including Angrenor Once-Honored. When they were close to us, Rolff did not show his usual aggressive and racist behavior, but greeted us more or less politely. He was about to move on, but one of his companions, whose name I did not know, addressed me:

"Hey, you are that B'lushona, right?"

"Yes, I am. And who might you be?"

"My name is Bolrir. Rolff, Angrenor, Jarning, and I always disliked the Dunmer and other non-Nord people in Windhelm, but nowadays there are fewer and fewer citizens thinking like we do. After Rolff had been reprimanded several times and even General Galmar claimed that the Dunmer belonged to Windhelm as much as we did, it was time to do something about it. Jarning had been around a lot, and when we bought a few potions from the 'The White Phial' the other day, we learned that the owner, an elderly Altmer named Nurelion, wanted to get his hands on an artifact he called 'The White Phial', and maybe this was what his shop was named for. We decided that we'd find and retrieve this for him, and once we are done and come back in triumph, everybody will see that only good Nords can do something like this."

All of a sudden something clicked in my mind, and I remembered the outlines of the 'White Phial' quest. So, those four characters wanted to do that? I was not sure that, even if they were successful, such an accomplishment would help to swing public opinion back in their direction, but I asked:

"All right, and why are you right here?"

"It's because we'll find what we're looking for right over there, in 'Forsaken Cave'."

"Bolrir, you are not supposed to tell others!" one of the others shouted.

"It doesn't matter now" the Nord replied. "Only we can get this done now anyway."

"We sure won't stop you" I told him, "and I wish you the best of luck, although I do not condone your motivation."

"This may be our last chance, and we will succeed!"

With those words, the Nord hurried to follow his companions, and soon they were gone, on the path leading to the cave. Now, that had been kind of interesting, indeed. Once again, one of the quests has been taken over by other people. Of course, that was normal in this real Skyrim; besides, the four Nords going in there, even if they had the required mixture from Nurelion, did not guarantee that they'd be getting out alive again. For many quests in the game one had to wonder how many had tried before and failed, either coming out with empty hands or perishing inside; the numerous skeletons and dead adventurers in some locations spoke for themselves.

The rest of today's trip was uneventful, and when we arrived at our goal for the day, Heljarchen, one of the guards actually greeted the Nord who had been with the bandits:

"Tikrid! What are you doing here? I thought that you were in Dawnstar!"

"You know her?" Agmaer asked.

"Of course I know her. She's been training to be a guard or even a housecarl."

Tikrid told the guard about what happened, and we were happy to hear that her story had been the truth. She was now free to go as she wanted, but when she learned that some of us were planing to find a mysterious place and venture inside, she asked:

"Folks, can I join you? That might just be a nice adventure!"

"Not sure if it's going to be nice, but sure, why not?"

Tolan and Agmaer nodded as well, but Jordis suggested:

"No offense, lady, but can we first see if you can really fight as well as you claim?"

That was obviously a challenge, and the two Nord warrior ladies agreed to have a friendly spar right away. The guards took the prisoners from us and promised that they would help getting them into the dungeons in Windhelm; Nathon would be in charge of that activity and also provide her own report of the events. Once this was taken care of, Ahkari, Inigo and I went into the inn to get dinner prepared and find out how many rooms were available for us; I would sure learn later if and how Tikrid might have been able to prove her abilities; my housecarl Jordis was certainly a good judge of that, and I did not need to watch the fight for myself. Our eyes needed some time to adapt from the bright daylight outside to the dim light from the fire inside, but Hadring, the proprietor, recognized me right away:

"Hello there, travelers. Come to the Nightgate for food or lodging?"

He looked directly at me now and added:

"Hey, your name is B'lushona, right? Got a different party with you today?"

"That's right, and many of us are Khajiit, including Ahkari and his caravan."

"Ahkari, of course, good to see you again! You are always welcome here at Nightgate Inn! Did you come from Windhelm, and did you get robbed again on the road?"

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

"Yes, this one just arrived from Windhelm, and no, the caravan did not get robbed, but our companions helped to defeat the robbers."

"You got them? That's great news!"

From outside we heard the muted noise from swords being blocked and such, and Hadring was concerned:

"Is there some fighting outside?"

"Just a friendly spar between Nords; no reason to worry."

"Oh, good. You know, one always needs to pay attention in a small village like this one. So, how many people for dinner, and are you all staying for the night?"

"There are – wait – ten people for dinner, six of them Khajiit; better make dinner meat heavy, right, Ahkari?"

"Indeed, yes, please."

"Rooms may be an issue, but maybe some of you could use the basement again and drop your bedrolls there?"

"Sure" I replied, "most beds are too short for me anyway!"

The proprietor smiled and mused:

"You know, with all of the business I have been getting in the last few months, I really should consider adding a few more guestrooms and a maid for cleaning and such. Once I actually do that, I'll make sure that one of the rooms gets a bed which is long enough for you!"

"Much appreciated, Hadring."

Half an hour later all of us were seated on the two sides of a long table, waiting for our evening meal to be served. Jordis and Tikrid had come inside as well, apparently after their friendly match had been ended, and I noticed that my housecarl looked satisfied and happy, whereas her opponent somewhat downcast. When I looked at Jordis, she told me:

"I won the fight, of course, but she was a worthy opponent."

That was good enough for me, and there was no need to go into details. Thus, I just nodded and then looked around. There were a few other people in the taproom, too; some looked like they lived in the small village here, but three, seated at the table next to us, caught my attention. They were all clothed in wizard robes, and one of them stuck out because he (or she?) was an Argonian. I probably stared more than politeness allowed, and one of the mages, a female Breton, stared back at me and asked:

"Not seen many mages before, have you?"

"Oh, I have, but I wonder if you are from the College of Winterhold."

"As a matter of fact we are. So, you have heard of the College?"

"Of course I have heard of the College, and I do intend to visit Winterhold at some time, for sure. It would be an honor for me to see the place where magic can still be studied independently, as the Arcane University is mostly under Thalmor control."

"Well, yes, I understand. You know about the situation there? Have you been to the Imperial City?"

"No, I haven't had the chance yet, but I'm kind of a scholar and read many books and reports. B'lushona is my name, lady."

"Nice talking to you, B'lushona; I am Mirabelle Ervine, master wizard of the College. So, what are your current plans?"

Mirabelle Ervine! That was so great! My first contact with a wizard from the College! But I did owe her an answer and thus replied:

"My companions and I teamed up to clear a bandit camp east of here, and we succeeded. Ahkari and his fellow Khajiit run a caravan and should be able to pursue their route with much less trouble now, and the rest of us are heading towards some kind of cave we have been asked to investigate."

The elytra nymph had been quiet so far, but from her place next to Tikrid it now started to chirp and got Mirabelle's attention:

"What kind of animal is that, if I may ask?"

"As far as we know this is an elytra nymph and already the second of its kind we encountered. I believe that those insects are originally at home on the Shivering Isles, and I would like to learn how they got here."

"You have a point – Sheogorath's realm is indeed rumored to have animals like this; fascinating."

At this time our dinner was served and we were busy with eating for some time; I had received my double serving as usual, and Hanni and Nanni also got their bowl filled with milk, which they still liked to drink, plus a few bones with plenty of meat on them. Once we had eaten, some questions were also asked about my saber cats, and Mirabelle introduced her companions:

"The Argonian is Ilas-Tei, and the Nord is Rundi; both second year students at the College. We have been on an excursion, and we are returning to Winterhold."

The two names did not ring a bell, but I asked:

"Argonians and Nords are not what you typically get as students, right?"

"True, for different reasons. Many Nords don't like magic, and even if adolescents show some talent, most parents will try to discourage them, so that they don't apply or even train any of it. Argonians are at home far from here and rarely travel that far north. But now, please excuse us; we plan to leave early tomorrow morning and should retire now."

Not much later I also left the table and moved down to the basement, followed by some others. Ahkari and his fellow Khajiit were going to stay for one more day, hopefully to get some business, while the rest of us planned to see if we could get to Dimhollow Crypt on the next day.

Before I was able to actually sleep, I thought about the encounter with the mages from the College. Unless my memory deceived me, Mirabelle Ervine died at the end of the college quest line, during the final fight with Ancano or so. Her being alive might indicate that this quest line had either not yet started or at least not yet progressed to that stage. Also, the students she had with her were unknown to me, but of course it made sense that the college had more than the few students which were introduced by name in the game. I was so looking forward to seeing the college, eventually!

After breakfast in the morning we took our leave. Ahkari had decided that the mules needed a day of rest, as the road from Windhelm had been mostly uphill, and thus the caravan would stay for a day at least. As there was no reason for us to linger and also stay, the Khajiit wished us all the best for our endeavor, and we took our leave. Soon we were on the road again, heading west. Our group now had Tolan, the Vigilant, Agmaer from the Dawnguard, my new friend Inigo, Tikrid, the adventurer from Dawnstar, Jordis, my Solitude housecarl, and myself, plus our animal companions – Hanni and Nanni, my two saber cats, and the elytra nymph, which was following Tikrid.

The next stretch of road was slightly familiar, but once we had passed the road branch to Whiterun, I found myself in new territory, and I was eagerly looking around. Our group was large enough to not get the attention of most wild animals, and only once a group of two frostbite spiders attacked; they were quickly killed – Inigo's arrows in particular prevented them from even getting close to us. We stopped for lunch close to the road branch where a narrow trail led up into the hills to our right. Out of curiosity I asked:

"Does somebody know where this path goes to?"

Tolan did, as it turned out:

"There is a small cave further up, and I believe that Falmer have claimed the lower sections of it. Further north there is a small fort, and up on one of the hills there is Snowpoint Beacon."

"Ah, thank you."

In mid afternoon we approached a fortification on the road, and Tikrid explained that this was 'Fort Dunstad'. A mixed group of Pale hold guards and Stormcloaks were busy occupying the place, and they warily looked at our mixed group. However, one of the hold guards seemed to recognize one of us and called out:

"Tikrid, is that you?"

"Jytina! Yes, it's me, indeed – good to see you!"

The guard briefly turned towards her fellow guards, apparently telling them something, and then waved with her hand to invite us into the fort. We were guided towards the local tavern, which not only offered food but also places to sleep, and we quickly agreed to stay for the night rather than heading out for the few remaining hours of the day. The inn was called 'The Stumbling Sabercat', which I considered amusing. A little later, just before we got dinner served, the commander of the local Stormcloak force joined us for a few minutes and explained:

"I have seen you once in Windhelm, B'lushona, and I know that you're a good friend of Commander Ralof. Good to see you here, and your friends and you are welcome to stay for the night or longer, if you want."

"Thank you, Commander, but we will move on tomorrow morning. We have been told about the destruction of the Hall of the Vigilants, and we want to investigate the area and specifically a cave west from there, Dimhollow Crypt."

"Oh yes, this was a sad event. A Stormcloak detachment was there, at the hall, afterwards, and it appears that the vampires must have shown up in force. This is one of the reasons that we are now holding this fort and have also cleared another fortification not far from here, Fort Fellhammer. Of course, this place is much more important, as it controls the main road, too."

Our dinner was served now and the commander told us:

"Enjoy your meal, and please excuse me now; I have to return to my duties."

We did indeed enjoy our meal are were happy to have a little bit of spare time before another likely busy day. Jytina got off duty and joined us for some more talking, and she mentioned something interesting:

"Dawnstar has become quite a depressing city recently."

"How so?" Tikrid asked.

"Some time ago, maybe a few weeks or even a couple of months, some citizens complained about having nightmares, and it appears that more and more people are affected nowadays. Some have those bad dreams only once or twice a week, while some others suffer from them almost each night; many people in the city are really afraid of sleeping."

"That bad, really? Must have happened after I left."

"Yes; the entire town is nowadays being plagued by horrible nightmares. They're in serious danger, as the local priest claims, but it seems that nobody knows what to do about it. We're glad to be out here; nightmares seem to happen to the inhabitants of the city and the immediate area around it only."

Nightmares? Well, that was just something which could happen from time to time, and I had had my share of them, too, although they had been more frequent recently. In a corner of my brain a few isolated neurons fired and tried to remind me of something, related to Dawnstar and nightmares, but there too few of them to really get my attention. I was slowly getting tired and soon took my leave to get sleep, while Tikrid and Jytina continued to talk.

[Author's Notes: The college student names relate to the 'missing apprentices' in the game; Balu doesn't remember any details about them, of course.]