After a good night's sleep Hulda, the owner of the Bannered Mare woke me when she set the bread out to proof. I ate a breakfast of yesterday's bread, cheese, fruit, and some milk, the meat that Hulda put on the plate I gave to Tex, who was more than happy to eat it.
When I was finished I put the plates and cup in the kitchen where a sleepy Saadia was mixing a pot of something. She smiled at me and went back to stirring the pot. I asked Tex if he was going to come with me, with a hearty sigh he heaved to his feet and I told him he wasn't obligated to come, it was up to him. At that, he whined and I told him we would not always be getting up this early, I just wanted to get to Riverwood before Faendal left to go hunting, as I would like to tag along and maybe pick some of the mushrooms that Arcadia wanted. He walked over and licked my hand and we headed out the door and off to Riverwood.
We made it to Riverwood with no problems at all. Which was a wonder, but Faendal had already left to go hunting. So I asked Alvor if he needed more help at the forge, he replied no, but with Faendal off hunting and Sven sulking, Gerdur might need help over at the mill chopping wood. I sighed and decided that as their was no enchanter in town and I didn't have enough ingredients to make any decent potions I might as well chop wood, besides it would help build up my muscles and wind. So I spent the day chopping wood and delivering it to the various houses in town that had paid for the wood and then got paid for my labor.
That night I decided to play at the Inn, so I asked Orgnar if that would be alright. so that night I played at the Sleeping Giant Inn and caught Faendal between sets and asked him if he was going hunting again on the next day. He said that no, he had not planned on going out again tomorrow, as he had gotten a large Elk, so the whole town had meat for a couple of days at least.
He must have seen the disappointment on my face because he said he would be happy to go with me to pick whatever herbs it was that I wanted and knew some good places to get them. He said Sven could just get out of his sulk and behave like a man and do his own work at the mill.
So the next morning Faendal and I headed out of Riverwood together with both our dogs following along. He asked me what kind of herbs and mushrooms I was looking for and we headed in the direction that he thought I might find the majority of them. As we came to a fork in the road he asked if I would like to see the local Talos shrine, I replied yes, cause if the Thalmor had anything to say about it, all the Talos shrines would soon be torn down.
So we headed off in the direction he pointed out, I stopped here and there to pick herbs and mushrooms. Faendal said the shrine was close and as it was close to lunchtime, we might want to head there, because there were benches we could sit on and they had a nice view of the mountains and lake.
Right as we got to the base of the path that would lead up to the Shrine, we passed a small patrol of Imperials. The Captain asked what we were doing, I told him I was out picking herbs for the Alchemist in Whiterun and that Faendal said the view from the benches up by the shrine was very nice, so we were going to go have lunch up there.
I guess a Breton and a Bosmer eating lunch at a Talos shrine sounded more like a tourist trip than a worshiper going to ...well worship, so the Captain said just to watch out for the Thalmor as they could be nasty.
As we got to the top, we saw a slaughter, several priests and worshippers had been killed. I saw one Thalmor mage and several Thalmor soldiers. As we got closer to see if anyone was still breathing, the Thalmor soldiers, who looked more like skeletons stood up and started attacking us. Both dogs, rushed in and each grabbed a leg on the closest skeleton and started to pull in opposite directions, I would have laughed if not for the sword in it's hand.
I used the staff and summoned a lesser deadra, a Dremora Curl answered the call. I then cast a mage armor spell and started lobbing firebolts at them. From behind us, I heard a horse scream in rage and the thunder of hooves as it went past me, Faendal pulling me out of the way just in time.
The Captain jumped off the horses back and started chopping at the further skeleton, his soldiers and a heavily armored dog also joined the fray. Afraid I would hit one of my new allies, I decided that healing might be the better way to go, so I darted behind everyone casting healing spells.
When the Skeletons were down, the Captain walked over and asked if we were alright. I said yes, but it looked like the Thalmor had been here. The Captain walked from corpse to corpse shaking his head and muttering. I didn't catch what he was saying, but it didn't sound like he was happy.
About the time he got back on his horse, the Skeletons decided to resurrect again and the battle started over again. This time when it ended one of the soldiers walked over to each skeleton and poured salt on it. He winked and said it was an old wives tale, but it wouldn't hurt to try it. I laughed and said surely not.
So we spent the rest of the afternoon picking flowers and mushrooms and in a couple of small ponds, I found some Nirn root and minnows that had some medicinal properties. Faendal said he knew where a hunter's camp was and we could probably stay the night with them, which is what we did. The next day we found an Alchemist's camp and his corpse. After picking through his things and finding a journal and some useful herbs, I picked more on my own, and then Faendal said we should probably start to head back to Riverwood if we wanted to get there before nightfall.
The rest of the day was very uneventful, which I at least was more than grateful for. Tex and Faendals dog would dart off into the brush and out would pop a rabbit or fox, but they were only putting in a small effort at chasing them so they all got away.
~~~~~
When I returned to the Inn, the Keeper handed me a note. I went to my room and opened it. Reading the words, I felt a burning rage inside. So the hunt was on again, the hunters might find themselves the hunted this time... I had never run and I would not start now.
I thought back to when it all started, the first lesson I had in stealth and killing. And the last day, that caused me to be the hunted. Though most had quiet trying, I was a harsh teacher, death being a failing grade. My Master should have known that you can't teach a man to kill, to be a confident killer, and then abuse him. He counted on himself always being the better assassin, but everyone grows old and slows down. I grimaced and the scar's on my face pulled. I may have walked out bloody and hurt, but he and all the rest of his henchmen were carried out and placed on stone slabs.
When I was finished I put the plates and cup in the kitchen where a sleepy Saadia was mixing a pot of something. She smiled at me and went back to stirring the pot. I asked Tex if he was going to come with me, with a hearty sigh he heaved to his feet and I told him he wasn't obligated to come, it was up to him. At that, he whined and I told him we would not always be getting up this early, I just wanted to get to Riverwood before Faendal left to go hunting, as I would like to tag along and maybe pick some of the mushrooms that Arcadia wanted. He walked over and licked my hand and we headed out the door and off to Riverwood.
We made it to Riverwood with no problems at all. Which was a wonder, but Faendal had already left to go hunting. So I asked Alvor if he needed more help at the forge, he replied no, but with Faendal off hunting and Sven sulking, Gerdur might need help over at the mill chopping wood. I sighed and decided that as their was no enchanter in town and I didn't have enough ingredients to make any decent potions I might as well chop wood, besides it would help build up my muscles and wind. So I spent the day chopping wood and delivering it to the various houses in town that had paid for the wood and then got paid for my labor.
That night I decided to play at the Inn, so I asked Orgnar if that would be alright. so that night I played at the Sleeping Giant Inn and caught Faendal between sets and asked him if he was going hunting again on the next day. He said that no, he had not planned on going out again tomorrow, as he had gotten a large Elk, so the whole town had meat for a couple of days at least.
He must have seen the disappointment on my face because he said he would be happy to go with me to pick whatever herbs it was that I wanted and knew some good places to get them. He said Sven could just get out of his sulk and behave like a man and do his own work at the mill.
So the next morning Faendal and I headed out of Riverwood together with both our dogs following along. He asked me what kind of herbs and mushrooms I was looking for and we headed in the direction that he thought I might find the majority of them. As we came to a fork in the road he asked if I would like to see the local Talos shrine, I replied yes, cause if the Thalmor had anything to say about it, all the Talos shrines would soon be torn down.
So we headed off in the direction he pointed out, I stopped here and there to pick herbs and mushrooms. Faendal said the shrine was close and as it was close to lunchtime, we might want to head there, because there were benches we could sit on and they had a nice view of the mountains and lake.
Right as we got to the base of the path that would lead up to the Shrine, we passed a small patrol of Imperials. The Captain asked what we were doing, I told him I was out picking herbs for the Alchemist in Whiterun and that Faendal said the view from the benches up by the shrine was very nice, so we were going to go have lunch up there.
I guess a Breton and a Bosmer eating lunch at a Talos shrine sounded more like a tourist trip than a worshiper going to ...well worship, so the Captain said just to watch out for the Thalmor as they could be nasty.
As we got to the top, we saw a slaughter, several priests and worshippers had been killed. I saw one Thalmor mage and several Thalmor soldiers. As we got closer to see if anyone was still breathing, the Thalmor soldiers, who looked more like skeletons stood up and started attacking us. Both dogs, rushed in and each grabbed a leg on the closest skeleton and started to pull in opposite directions, I would have laughed if not for the sword in it's hand.
I used the staff and summoned a lesser deadra, a Dremora Curl answered the call. I then cast a mage armor spell and started lobbing firebolts at them. From behind us, I heard a horse scream in rage and the thunder of hooves as it went past me, Faendal pulling me out of the way just in time.
The Captain jumped off the horses back and started chopping at the further skeleton, his soldiers and a heavily armored dog also joined the fray. Afraid I would hit one of my new allies, I decided that healing might be the better way to go, so I darted behind everyone casting healing spells.
When the Skeletons were down, the Captain walked over and asked if we were alright. I said yes, but it looked like the Thalmor had been here. The Captain walked from corpse to corpse shaking his head and muttering. I didn't catch what he was saying, but it didn't sound like he was happy.
About the time he got back on his horse, the Skeletons decided to resurrect again and the battle started over again. This time when it ended one of the soldiers walked over to each skeleton and poured salt on it. He winked and said it was an old wives tale, but it wouldn't hurt to try it. I laughed and said surely not.
So we spent the rest of the afternoon picking flowers and mushrooms and in a couple of small ponds, I found some Nirn root and minnows that had some medicinal properties. Faendal said he knew where a hunter's camp was and we could probably stay the night with them, which is what we did. The next day we found an Alchemist's camp and his corpse. After picking through his things and finding a journal and some useful herbs, I picked more on my own, and then Faendal said we should probably start to head back to Riverwood if we wanted to get there before nightfall.
The rest of the day was very uneventful, which I at least was more than grateful for. Tex and Faendals dog would dart off into the brush and out would pop a rabbit or fox, but they were only putting in a small effort at chasing them so they all got away.
~~~~~
When I returned to the Inn, the Keeper handed me a note. I went to my room and opened it. Reading the words, I felt a burning rage inside. So the hunt was on again, the hunters might find themselves the hunted this time... I had never run and I would not start now.
I thought back to when it all started, the first lesson I had in stealth and killing. And the last day, that caused me to be the hunted. Though most had quiet trying, I was a harsh teacher, death being a failing grade. My Master should have known that you can't teach a man to kill, to be a confident killer, and then abuse him. He counted on himself always being the better assassin, but everyone grows old and slows down. I grimaced and the scar's on my face pulled. I may have walked out bloody and hurt, but he and all the rest of his henchmen were carried out and placed on stone slabs.
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