Chapter 63: Shor's Stone

[19th – 21st of Sun's Height 4E 202]

After spending some time in Riften and at Fort Dawnguard, my path had separated again from Fiona, the Dragonborn. While she wanted to stay in Dayspring Canyon for several more days or even weeks, to learn more about the Dawnguard, to train with them, and maybe also to practice her newly learned shouts, I had volunteered myself and my companions Jordis and Inigo to join an expedition to and into Dimhollow Crypt. Like in the game, Tolan, a Vigilant of Stendarr, had mentioned that this location likely had something important in it, as a certain Brother Adalvald had allegedly found out, and that is was crucial to get there before the vampires found it. Agmaer, a junior Dawnguard member, joined us as well, and we had spent most of the day traveling to and through Riften and further north, towards Shor's Stone, using a side path further east instead of the main road.

Helped by the long hours of daylight at that time of the year, we easily managed to arrive at Shor's Stone before dusk without having to hurry; the trail we had used met the main road just north of the small town. The settlement was quite small, just like a hamlet, and the number of houses here was not much more than about a dozen. It turned out that we were not the only travelers visiting this location today; a trading caravan had just arrived via the main road from Riften, and one of the Khajiit looked at me, started to smile, got next to me, and addressed me:

"This one is very happy to see you again, my friend!"

I needed a few seconds to make the connection, and eventually I realized that this was Kharjo. We had met in Riverwood, when the cart had been stuck close to the river, and I had promised to keep my eyes open for the amulet, the special family heirloom, which had been stolen from him. I had actually found the amulet later and had handed it over to Ri'saad, who had offered to pass it on when he met Kharjo. I managed to offer what I thought might be a decent greeting:

"May your roads lead to warm sands, Kharjo!"

The Khajiit nodded and told me with obvious joy in his voice:

"This one is so happy to have his amulet back, and as a matter of fact, Ri'saad told me that you were the one to find it!"

"I was happy to help, my friend, but to be honest, it was mere coincidence that I was able locate the piece."

"You are too modest, B'lushona – I have also heard how you helped Ri'saad to get rid of the bandits who had made it a habit to plunder his caravan."

"It wasn't just me, Kharjo; we were a group of people working together."

"Nonetheless, this one heard that you were instrumental in that task; don't be too modest. Now, this one wonders if you could help us with a similar issue."

He had obviously referred to us finding the bandits who had called themselves 'Saints', and there had been indications to some relation to the Shivering Isles, Sheogorath's realm. If there was an issue related to that, I'd be very interested to hear about it; thus, I looked at him curiously, and he elaborated:

"Ahkari varies the route we are going to maximize opportunities and profit. We always stay a few days at our bases in Riften and Dawnstar, but we sometimes take this road here north to Windhelm and then turn west via Anga's Mill and Nightgate Inn in Heljarchen; some other times we pass Whiterun, try to meet with Ri'saad and go north from there. The last few times we have taken the first route, we have been attacked by bandits close to the location where the road towards Fort Kastav and Winterhold branches off."

"Is that the case?"

"It is, my friend, and the last time Dro'marash, who defended our cart fiercely, heard that the bandits seem to call themselves Seducers."

"Wait a second – are you serious? Seducers?"

"Dro'marash insists that this is what she heard, and Ri'saad and Ahkari believe that there is a connection."

I was quite fascinated when I heard that, thinking about the earlier fights against the 'Saints', and I admitted:

"There actually might be a connection, indeed; bandits with that name were mentioned in a note we found with the Saints."

"So, as you seem to be a good fighter, and of course only if you plan to travel in that direction anyway, we wonder if you'd be willing to help."

"I need to discuss this with my companions, Kharjo."

"Of course. Why don't we sit together around the campfire for dinner and talk about this all, my friend?"

That was a good and acceptable idea, and I called my companions over to do that. Soon we all sat around a large campfire and enjoyed dinner, sharing our food. Ahkari, the caravan leader, explained some more details, and after some discussion we agreed that we were going to travel together; we'd first go to Kynesgrove and give Agmaer a chance to see his family. From there, we were going to stop in Windhelm, or rather outside, close to the stables, where Khajiit caravans usually had their place, not being allowed into the city. Afterwards, we planned to take the road west and see if we encountered the bandits calling themselves 'Seducers', and from there we'd probably travel together to maybe Fort Dunstad, where we'd have to separate eventually. Yes, this sounded like a reasonable plan, and I did not mind getting additional company, specifically fellow Khajiit. Tolan was not so happy with the agreement, as he believed that we needed to get to Dimhollow Crypt as soon as possible and thus needed to avoid anything delaying us on our way; he was overruled, though, but everyone else in our group. I could only hope that he wasn't tempted to leave us and venture into the crypt ahead of us, all alone, similar to what his game counterpart had done. But sure the real Tolan wasn't going to be that stupid? Heading into a cave which was likely inhabited by vampires all on his own?

Shor's Stone was not large enough to have a real inn, but some houses had a large porch with a roof over it, in particular the local blacksmith, and we used those porches for dropping our bedrolls. There was no need for posting a watch, as the hold guards were around, and I could also always rely on Hanni and Nanni to wake me if needed.

During breakfast on the next day Filnjar, the blacksmith, pointed towards the town's mine and told us:

"In the very early days of the year we had a problem with our ebony mine here, Redbelly Mine as it's called. For a reason nobody knows for sure it suddenly got infested by frostbite spiders. Normally, a spider or two is not a big deal, but all of a sudden there were like a dozen or so around; the miners seemed to be unable to cope with that, and the hold guards declared that this was not their business. I can't even blame them for that. Then, like out of nowhere, a group of warrior ladies showed up and took care of that issue like it was no big deal."

That matched what Fiona had told me, and I asked:

"Was one of those warrior ladies a very tall Redguard with oddly shaped eyes and Elven ears?"

"Actually yes, and her fighting style was like nothing I have seen before."

"You went into the mine with them to see them fight?"

"Oh no, nothing like that. Afterwards she offered a friendly spar with any hold guard who wanted to do that. I have no clue how she did that, but she had everybody disarmed and on the ground within seconds. Never seen somebody fight like her."

Yes, that had been Janina for sure, and nobody else. She had, as she had told me, learned fighting properly during her education; I had not known, though, that she was that good. Defeating a number of hold guards in mere seconds? Maybe she knew some martial arts, like Judo? I had another question, though:

"So, this is really an ebony mine?"

"Well, Redbelly is supposed to be nothing but an iron mine; been working it for years. Then right before the spiders had moved in, we found a strange dark chunk of ore. Never seen anything like it. I wanted to know what I'm dealing with before I start tearing it out of the ground and sent a sample to Elgrim in Riften. Got a note back that this is ebony ore right after the warrior ladies had helped us with the spiders."

"There aren't many ebony mines around in Skyrim, right?"

"No, not really. I have heard that the Orsimer at Narzulbur, southeast of Windhelm, have one close to their settlement, and I believe that there are one or two in Solstheim. Ebony is a very strong and durable material, but incredibly hard to forge; I have just started to learn the process, with limited success so far. It may take months or even years for me before I can forge proper armor and weapons from ebony ingots; even smelting the ore is already a challenge, as it needs higher temperatures than most other ores. Maybe I need to talk to Balimund in Riften; I have heard that he experiments with fire salts for his forge and smelter, although those are hard to get."

It was time for us to leave now, and a few minutes later the cart, drawn by two animals who looked like mules, slowly rumbled north on the paved road. The first section was easy, but after we had passed the watchtower, the road started to descend to the lower area of the hot springs, and progress was much slower than I was used to, as the cart needed to go slow in order to make sure that it did not get out of control. In addition to that, the occasional bear occupied the road, too, and refused to give way; for those situations, my 'KAAN DREM' shout came in handy. Using that shout caused some astonishment, of course, and the caravan leader asked:

"Was that a dragon shout, B'lushona?"

"Kind of, yes. It is called 'Kynes' Peace' and makes animals compliant for some time."

"This is amazing; this one thought that only the Dragonborn could use the Thu'um."

"Not quite; as some may know, Jarl Ulfric also learned a few shouts when he spent a few years up in High Hrothgar."

"So, you also spent years in learning?"

"Not quite, no. First of all, I can only use one shout, and second, Kynareth seems to like me, and she allowed me to learn that one word quicker than what may be normal."

"Such a shout could easily be used for hunting" Inigo mused.

"Yes, I do realize that. However, I have been warned about that, and if I actually abused it like that, I'm sure that Kynareth would disapprove and find some way to make me regret my actions very deeply."

"Hm, it may be better not to antagonize her then."

"My thoughts exactly, Inigo."

As our progress on the steep road with many curves was slow, I realized that we didn't have a chance to get to Kynesgrove today, and I asked Ahkari:

"Say, my friend, where are we going to spend the night? I guess that we won't arrive in Kynesgrove before late tomorrow, right?"

"First we need to meet the road from Darkwater Crossing, and once we are almost fully down, close to where a small side path branches off, we can rest for the night; there is a good area with bushes and grass for the animals there, and a tiny creek usually provides some water."

"Sounds good, thank you."

Tolan was less than happy with that and suggested:

"Shouldn't we better separate from the caravan? We are losing valuable time!"

"Tolan, see..." I started my reply, but I was interrupted when a Khajiit suddenly stepped out from behind a bush. He looked somehow familiar, and Inigo greeted him right away:

"M'aiq, my friend!"

"M'aiq has heard it is dangerous to be your friend." was the other Khajiit's cold reply.

Wow, this was M'aiq, obviously. I had often laughed about his odd comments in the game, and I liked seeing him here in real Skyrim, too. His greeting to Inigo was partially true, at least – it could indeed be dangerous to be his friend, as I had experienced. So, Inigo knew him?

"Yes, sure" Inigo laughed. "So, alone as usual?"

"M'aiq can travel fast across the land. Some lazy types take carriages. It is all the same to M'aiq."

"Yes, I guess so. Good travels, my friend!"

M'aiq looked at us and offered a final word:

"Some like taking friends on adventures. M'aiq thinks being alone is better. Less arguing about splitting treasure."

He had a point, but wasn't his full name 'M'aiq the Liar'? Seemingly he had vanished to nowhere, and that was kind of irritating. Everybody in our group was apparently at least partially confused, and eventually Tolan explained:

"See, even this guy suggested not taking friends along."

"Yes, but do you know what his name is?"

"Inigo called him M'aiq, right?"

"Yes, and people call him 'M'aiq the Liar', for a reason."

"He lies to everybody?"

"Some of his words are pure lies, but most of them have a hidden meaning and have at least some truth in them. He is a good friend of mine, but even I do not understand everything he says" Inigo explained. "At the very least, though, his statements should not be taken seriously. It is my believe that friends are always good to have around, and one never knows when you need them."

"I agree" I offered. "Besides, we reached an agreement last night, and I have no intention to break my promise. I am very much willing to 'split the treasure', too."

Tolan grumbled, but seemed to accept the point. I could only hope that he was more reasonable than his counterpart in the game, who had decided not to wait and thus got killed by vampires not far into the cave. We'd have to see about that. Later on, we stopped for lunch next to a small side trail which led, as Ahkari explained, to 'Northwind Mine'.

"Iron can be mined there, but one needs to be careful, as some people claim that a dragon has been sighted in the area."

"A dragon sure cannot get into the mine, right?" Agmaer asked.

"No, of course not, but miners need to get supplies delivered, and they also need to get the ore out from time to time."

Oh, yes, that made sense. A few minutes later I noticed an ore vein left of the road, partially hidden behind a rock, and as I felt like I needed some exercise, I got my pickaxe out and started to dig. While the caravan slowly proceeded down the road, Inigo and Jordis stayed with me, and my Khajiit friend exclaimed:

"Yes! Show this ore who is in charge!"

I almost hit my own foot as I had to laugh, but could just stop the swing in time. Yes, the Inigo in the game had had quite a few funny comments available for several opportunities, digging ore being one of them. Just for hearing those, I might be digging ore more often; I could always sell it in the next city.

We easily managed to catch up with the others, and for now we tried to continue on our way without talking much for some time, until we reached the spot Ahkari pointed out as suitable for spending the night. Not far from the road there was as mall spot with grass, surrounded by bushes and some small trees, and a tiny creek provided fresh water. After consulting the map, I guessed that the creek might have its origin in the small lake right at the entrance to Stony Creek Cave, but the map did not show those details. Anyway, we prepared our camp for the night, and Inigo volunteered to prepare our evening meal. We had plenty of supplies available, but the Khajiit seemed to be a little bit distracted. When I asked him what he was actually working on, he replied:

"What dish am I making here? I cannot remember. Ah well."

"Inigo, would you like to get some help?"

"Yes, please."

So we continued to work on supper together, and once we had eaten and got our stomachs filled, we soon started to get down on the bedrolls. In this location, we needed to have somebody standing guard, and as I usually did in those situations, I volunteered for the last shift, the one just before dawn. Before we retired for the night, I asked my Khajiit friend:

"Inigo, say, how do you know Mai'q?"

"Mai'q is a distant relative of mine, who has traveled these lands for longer than I have. He has an odd way of phrasing his opinion, and he usually hides his true views behind a facade of lies and half-true statements; thus his moniker 'Mai'q the Liar'. Nonetheless, he's a good person, even though I don't know him very well. He even visited me once or twice during my time in the Riften jail, and the guards tried to get more funny and odd remarks out of him."

"Some of his words have some truth in them, if you look more closely."

"Oh yes, they do, indeed, although many people do not realize that."

"And you are really related to him?"

"Yes, one of my second degree aunts married his father, who was also called Mai'q. As a matter of fact, Mai'q apparently has a long row of male ancestors all with the same name, back to maybe even the Second Era. I have heard some rumors that each Mai'q accumulates knowledge and wisdom, which is passed to the next generation, but they usually don't let it show and hide that behind the facade of lies. I assume that there is some kind of mystery there, but even family have not been allowed to get more than a glimpse. Oh well, Mai'q is just Mai'q."

Inigo shook me awake, right when I had had a quite nice dream about me finding Serana, with herself looking like a supermodel and giving me a very wide and promising smile. Oh well, at least I could dream, and honestly, even if Serana looked like that, would she want to swoon over a supersized Khajiit? Maybe she'd see me more like an appetizing meal? I rubbed my eyes, listened to my fellow Khajiit telling me that all was quiet, and walked around the camp several times to become fully awake. The mules did not have an issue with me getting close and even petting them, in contrast to many other pack animals and horses, but they were in a Khajiit caravan and thus used to having Khajiit close to them and touching them, of course.

The first traces of dawn were soon visible on the horizon, and when I looked southwest, I saw something large in the air; the silhouette looking like a dragon; maybe that was the dragon rumored to have its lair near the mine we had talked about on the day before. Hanni and Nanni were at my side, and we enjoyed the sight for a few minutes, seeing that the dragon did not show any intention to move towards us.

"This is quite a majestic sight, isn't it, Balu?"

I had barely noticed Jordis being up and getting next to me, and she even put one of her hands on my shoulder. Doing that and calling me by my short name was not something I had expected from her, and thus I looked at her and raised my brows, although she might not be able to see that clearly yet, as it was still almost dark. The Nord looked back at me, and all of a sudden she stepped back and started to stutter:

"Oh, I am so sorry, my apologies, my Thane …"

"You are sorry about what, Jordis?"

The poor Nord actually started to stutter a little bit:

"I am not...not...supposed to touch...touch… you like this, and I am not supposed to call...call… you by your name, in particular not...not… your short name."

"Says who?"

"Housecarl trai...train...training, my Thane!"

"So, doesn't this housecarl training also say that you need to obey your Thane?"

She seemed to be more composed now:

"Of course it does, my Thane! Do you have any reason for reminding me?"

"I do, Jordis. So, what if your Thane tells you that you're allowed to touch him on occasion and that you are allowed to used his name or his short name?"

"This is...is…" she stuttered again.

"I have mentioned this before, I believe, and you have seen how Antonius and I get along?"

"Well, he's Antonius and he's male, but still…"

"Jordis, I'd like to consider you more like a friend than a housecarl. Maybe, at least when it's just the two of us, you could be a little bit more casual?"

She tentatively nodded, but also pointed to where Hanni and Nanni sat, attentively watching us.

"Come on, don't tell me that you're embarrassed about being casual when my saber cats are around? They are almost always around me!"

She nodded again and stepped away, and I likely had given her something to think about. I had no intention to get too personal with her, although she was an attractive blond warrior lady, but I wouldn't mind if she'd be a little less formal with me.

[Author's Notes: Will Jordis eventually be as relaxed and casual with her Thane as Antonius is?]