31st of Last Seed, 4th Era 201
I left the inn at the break of dawn, mostly to escape the disgruntled occupants complaining about their children. From what little information I could glean, some Forsworn were in the mountain ridge to the Southwest, the very same one I had taken a shortcut over the previous day.
Considering that the Forsworn were supposed to be fearsome masters of guerrilla warfare, they made their camps surprisingly easy to find. I had headed straight to the highest point to get a good view of the surrounding area, and it was at this very point the Forsworn had made their camp. Perhaps the Jarls were so busy with their war that the Forsworn felt no need to hide their camps?
At the center of the camp was a stone walled passage leading under the earth. The Forsworn above ground had hardly been seasoned warriors, and were cut down easily; perhaps the ones below the earth would prove more of a challenge. On the plus side, I had found an elven bow and what I believed to be a quicksilver ingot in a chest, so everything wasn't a complete disappointment.
The enemies inside the ruined cellar proved only slightly more difficult to slay; even the hagraven there was no special challenge. When I had killed them all I found my way barred by a portcullis with no discernible way of raising it. For several minutes I searched the surrounding room for a button, chain, or lever. Eventually, on what I had at first assumed to be a sacrificial table and passed over, I found a small pressure plate.
When activated, I could hear the sounds of the portcullis raising. Weighting it down with the nearby severed head of a goat, I made my way into the passage beyond the portcullis. Soon I located the merchant's Dibella statue, the weight of it's solid gold threatening to tear the straps from my haversack.
Returning to Blacktail, I discovered a heavy morning fog had fallen. He nickered as I stuffed the golden statue and a few potions I had found into his already full saddlebags, and I patted his flank as an apology. It seemed like for every item I sold, I picked up two more.
"I promise, we'll deliver this statue and then go from city to city if we have to, till we've sold all these heavy goods." I told him.
Arriving in Markarth before noon, I made my way to the merchant (Lisbet, was her name) and delivered the statue. She was quite grateful and paid a fair enough price for my work. I stopped at the inn for a quick mug of ale, saw to it that Blacktail was fed, and then we were on our way North to Solitude. I would make a tour of every city: Solitude, Morthal, Dawnstar, Winterhold and so on until my bags were empty. And no side stops along the way!
I made it to Solitude around noon, good weather allowing for quick travel. Camped outside was another of those Khajiit caravans; I traded several potions and gems with them, and chatted for a time. I do not know what it is about these cat-people that draws me to them, but something about their manner makes me smile. Compared to most of the citizens of Solitude, their demeanour was downright endearing.
Between the clothing and jewelry shop, the alchemist, and a general goods store, I was almost able to offload the rest of my miscellaneous gear. I decided to adapt my plan accordingly: I would stop by Morthal, and then head directly to Whiterun. The other, smaller hold capitals didn't have as many shops as larger cities like Whiterun.
Stopping by the blacksmith, I did some minor repairs and improvements on my armor, and asked the smith if he knew of a shop where I could offload magical goods. I still had the staff that the Hagraven had given me some days previous. He suggested that I seek out the court wizard of any hold; they were usually willing to trade for magical tomes and artifacts. I offered my thanks and set out to the Blue Palace, hoping I would not be barred entry or kicked out.
To my surprise, I was allowed to enter the Palace unchallenged. The Jarl, aptly named 'Elisef the Fair' was holding court, and I quietly waited while a man told her of strange noises coming from a cave near Dragon Bridge. The Jarl, despite her beauty, looked uncomfortable in the throne and often glanced at her councilors for queues. When she was done, I approached an Imperial woman nearby dressed in blue and gold mages robes.
She was somewhat haughty, and could only afford a few of my magical goods. But it was that much less for Blacktail to carry to Whiterun, and for that I was glad. Afterwards I stopped by the inn for a quick meal of roast chicken and mead, then got Blacktail from the stables and headed Southeast once more. The bard at the inn had been singing of the Dragonborn again. It seemed like the song got more popular with every passing day, and a few of the patrons stared for a hard moment before dismissing me. I could almost hear them thinking, "Could that be...? Nah, just another Orc sellsword." Fine by me.
It wasn't until I had reached Rorikstead that I realized I had bypassed Morthal entirely, lost in the rhythmic rocking of Blacktail's stride. With a shrug, I passed the town by and continued to Whiterun. Morthal probably would've just been a waste of time in any case.
To my amazement, when I passed by the large ruined stone fort I had cleared out the last time I was along this way, I found it's ramparts strewn with Imperial banners. Cautiously guiding Blacktail inside, several Imperial soldiers milled about the courtyard. It seemed the Empire had taken advantage of the opportunity I had afforded them.
"Greetings, traveller." one of them hailed me warily.
"Good day." I called back. "May I ask when your company made camp here?"
The soldier I was speaking with looked to another, and then shrugged. Maybe he was deciding if it mattered if he gave me the information or not.
"Just last night." he answered. "There were dead bandits all throughout the halls. One survivor, an old woman. From what she said... it was a single Orc girl that cleared them all out." The soldier squinted his eyes and stared at me.
I scoffed. "Old maids and their stories, eh?" Waving, I began to turn Blacktail around. "I wish you luck with your war, Legionaire. "
"And good luck to you in your travels, Orc." the soldier grunted back.
When I reached Whiterun, the very same Khajiit caravan that had been outside Solitude was camped beside the main road! I greeted them warmly and asked the trader, Ri'saad, how they had beaten me to Whiterun. The Khajiit explained that they had just been preparing to leave Solitude as I was entering it.
"But that still doesn't account for the extra travel time of lugging around all these goods and equipment!" I gestured at the several tents and chests scattered around the small camp. Ri'saad simply grinned slyly and asked if I had more goods to sell him. With a resigned sigh, I shut my mouth and sold him several more gems and silver rings; somewhere along the road he had picked up more septims for purchases.
The sun was beginning to set as I entered Whiterun, and I hurried about the city to make some final sales before the shop keepers closed up and the court mage (Just as pompous as the one in Solitude) turned in for the night. At last, Blacktails saddlebags were empty of all but food supplies and camping gear. I bought the gelding a huge, juicy red apple and some carrots as a reward for his strength and good behaviour, then headed to the inn.
I was in a good mood, my purse overflowing with coin, and wanted to get drunk and feast. Placing six large gold coins on the counter, each worth one-hundred septims, I grinned as the innkeepers eyes grew large.
"Will that be enough to cover food and drink for all the inn's patrons tonight?" I asked. The middle aged Nord woman nodded stoutly and quickly took the coins in back, probably to put them into a strongbox for safekeeping.
"Food and drink are on me tonight!" I cried, then downed a pint of ale in several huge gulps. By the divines that was good. The inn's patrons turned to look at me in surprise; perhaps they had not heard me correctly.
"You ungrateful currs. Drink up, I said! I'll bet one-hundred septims none of you dogs can take me in a brawl!"
A Nord woman who had been oiling a steel greatsword in the corner stood, thumping her fist into the table.
"I'll knock your sorry hide into the ground!" she declared, and a roar went up among the others. With a savage grin, I stripped off my gauntlets, unbuckled my breastplate, and set my helmet on a bar stool.
"I've killed many a Nord bandit who laid claim to the same." I retorted, and fists began to fly.
The brawl lasted several minutes; the Nord woman throwing powerhouse punches, me darting to the side for a well placed jab. By the time it was done we were both bloody and would be sore and swollen in the morning, but only I remained standing.
"Best fight I've had in years." she declared, panting. "By the Nine, you've earned the coin." and with that, she placed a big gold septim in my hand. "You ever need anyone to watch your back, I'll be around. Name's Uthgerd."
I spit out a glob of mucus and blood into the fire, then clasped her arm and helped her up.
"You've got more fight in you than most Forsworn I've ever had the displeasure of killing. I may take you up on that offer some day, Nord." I replied, passing her a mug of something. Ale, mead, wine, what did it matter? Tonight was a night for celebration. I tossed the coin Uthgerd had given me to the innkeeper and ordered another round, the sounds of drinking and revelry mixing the with crackling of a pig roasting over the fire pit.
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