I got up very early the next morning and ate breakfast, I made a small pouch with potions and other odds and ends. I secured this around my waist and said goodbye to Hadvar, the rest of the family still asleep. As a headed out towards the edge of town one of the guards caught up to me and said that the night was very still, but he had heard howling in the direction I would be traveling, so I should be very careful.
I crossed the bridge and paused to watch the sunrise. As I rounded the first bend in the road a deer almost trampled me in its effort to get away from a pack of wolves that were chasing it. I ducked behind a tree and peeked back at the wolves. They had not yet seen me, but it would only be a matter of time before one of them smelled me. I was not wrong as the largest wolf stood at the edge of the river and growled while watching the deer bound across.
I thought about sneaking back to Riverwood and telling the guards, surely a large pack like this would be taken care of? But as the wolf swung its head in my direction I realized I would not be able to outrun the entire pack or any of them really. So I backed to the edge of the river and summoned a familiar. That took most of the magic I had, so I drew the sword and set a flame spell.
Using small gout's of flame and the sword I kept the wolves away from me, my familiar did away with two of the cubs, but there were still way too many wolves. I put up the sword and dove toward the center of the river, trying to swim to the other side. I realized my mistake right away, the current was to strong, I would never make it. So I turned to face the direction of the waterfalls and just directed myself away from the worst of the rocks.
I must have gone over three sets of falls before I got to an area that was shallow enough for me to stand and make my way to the edge. As I got to the edge and tried to boost myself up on the rocks a hand inserted itself in my line of sight and I heard a gruff male voice telling me to take his hand. He hoisted me up and out of the river and I thanked him. He nodded and then turned to help his fellows with the wolves that had followed me down the falls.. but had hopped from rock to rock.
Deciding to stay and help the Imperial soldiers might not have seemed like the smartest thing to do, but as one had helped me, I would return the favor. So I summoned my familiar and then noticing that the soldier who had helped me out of the river had dropped his bow, I picked it and the quiver up and started taking pot-shots at the wolves. It wasn't long before all the wolves were dead or on the run, so I gave the bow back to the soldier and decided to skin all the wolves, hides are worth money and I could use more of that.
I had almost gotten to the turn into town when I heard a commotion on the farm off to my left. I saw three people fighting a giant, two with swords the third shooting at it with arrows. I again summoned my familiar and then drew the sword, setting a flame spell to my left hand. I stayed out of the other's way and sliced at the giant from the side, using my flame as I could when the others weren't too close.
The giant finally hit the ground with a crash that made the ground tremble. The man that was there came over to me and told me I looked strong and should join the Companions. Ah, so, mercenaries, honest ones with a good reputation, but still mercenaries. Looking into the man's eyes I saw a bit of interest that might make it worth my time, it would be something to think about. One of his female companions came up to me and said I would make a good shield-sister, I thanked her and said I would have to think about it.
It was getting on late afternoon by the time I got to the gates of Whiterun, I would not be heading back to Riverwood tonight. I did stop at the smithy long enough to ask her if I could leave my wolf pelts and come back and tan them later. The woman was kind enough to say that was alright and that she might be interested in buying them if I wanted to sell.
I hurried through town and up to the Jarl's Palace, wanting to give my message and then head to the Inn for dinner. After a quick chat with his Housecarl, I went up to talk to him and he thanked me with some gold and armor. It was nice armor but would fit me twice around, so I guess I could sell it to the smith. Before I left the Jarl asked if maybe I could help his court mage with a problem. I said I would at the very least hear the problem out and see if I could help. Plus he might have some magical supplies I could use.
So I stood there listening to what it was they wanted me to do. Was this what I had been placed here to do? It seemed like a heroic enough thing, but I would need time for my magic to recharge, I was not as yet anywhere near full strength. I told the Jarl I would take on the task, but that I needed a bit of time, as I would need some supplies and other things to help me get out alive. That big strong Companion... he might do, but would probably require me to join the Companions to do so. I knew Hadvar would, but he had been pretty burnt in trying to escape the dragon, so would need more time than I to heal.
I asked the court mage what he had for sale and he showed me his wares. He had mostly lower-level spells that I already knew and couldn't use right now due to lack of magic, but he had some scrolls that would come in very handy until I could use my magic at full strength. I looked at his soul gems and sighed, those would have to wait also, I just was not up to enchanting.
The Bard followed me to the stairs up to the room I had rented and told me that if I got the lute and got it finished I might be able to play here tomorrow night as he had a job out on one of the farms to play for a wedding reception. I thanked the man and made my way up to the room. The Inn Keeper had put some hot water in the washstand so I made washed as best as I could, it would have been nice if they had had a bathing room.
The next morning I ate and then went to talk to the smith. She did indeed have a half-finished lute and said that she would trade it and the strings for some of the pelts I had brought in. So we dickered for a while and she got all of the pelts, I got the lute and strings, plus her apprentice would be making me a water-proof backpack to store the lute in. I finished the lute, that really just needed a good coat of varnish and to be strung. I put just one coat on, left it on the table inside the smithy to dry for a bit, and walked around town.
I visited the Alchemist who asked me if I had any fresh ingredients I could sell her. I told her no, but I had a few potions I had brewed yesterday if she was interested. I sold her a couple of the duplicate potions that I really didn't need and then asked her what she was looking for. I told her I would see if I could find some of the items she was looking for near town, as I was playing at the Inn tonight.
I went to the smithy and put another light coat of varnish on the lute and told him that I would be back in the late afternoon to pick it up. I then headed to the Inn and asked the Inn Keeper if she would like me to take her hound out for a run while I picked some herbs for the Alchemist. She laughed and said that the big mutt wasn't hers, but had shown up one day and never left.
I coaxed the big dog to come with me and asked him what his name was. He didn't really answer but gave a low woof at me, so I said Tex it is then. Tex chased after rabbits and brought one or two back to me, which I put in my pouch for dinner later. When we stopped in a meadow where I found a lot of the herbs and other ingredients the Alchemist wanted, he caught another rabbit and had a brief lunch of his own. I noticed a small grove of trees a little ways past a watchtower and decided that might be a good place for the mushrooms, which was on the list that Arcadia .
So we headed in that direction, but I made sure we were closer to the watchtower before heading that way. I waved to the guards and pointed to my basket. When I noticed a commotion in the distance, slightly past the grove of trees it gave me a slight pause, I really didn't want any trouble. As the fight got closer to me, I saw that it was a giant tundra spider and a mage. He had conjured up something that I could not quite make out through the tree line. As they got closer and closer, I realized what it was that the mage had conjured and I really hoped he lived long enough for it to dis-spell, not all conjured deadra return when the mage dies. Such was the case, as the tundra spider killed the mage, the Winged Twilight did not dis-spell. I backed up as they got closer, but Tex decided to join the fray.
I tested out my magic and sighed, not enough, but more than I had had yesterday. I summoned a flame atronach and then backed further away. As the fighting got closer still, I ran towards the watchtower, the guards had all pulled out their bows by then and started shooting at the spider and deadra. I could only hope they did not hit Tex. As the spider went down, I got enough of my magic back to cast a firebolt spell and I lobbed a couple at the Winged Twilight and she soon went down under a barrage of arrows and firebolts.
I went out to the corpses and gleaned what I could from them, a deadra heart would bring some good coin. The mage himself had the best loot for me, a staff of summoning, from the runes lesser deadra, which explained the Winged Twilight. This was something I could really use right now. Tex and I headed into the trees, but there weren't to many mushrooms as the trees were not really thick enough. I heard the faint sound of water trickling in the distance and a humming sound that generally meant Nirnroot, so I headed that way. Their was only one Nirn plant and I picked that one, making sure to leave roothairs so that it would regrow.
We got to town in early evening and I headed straight to see Arcadia and sell her the items that I had picked. I walked out with a tidy sum of gold, it would help. I then headed to the local bathhouse and took myself a nice long soak. The bath attendant laughed at the look on my face when Tex joined me in the larger pool. He said that the water constantly moved, so it was clean, even if the muddiest of dogs jumped in. He then laid a large towel on a bench for me and another on the floor all spread out, for Tex.
Tex soon had enough of swimming and jumped out of the pool, shaking off, he then went to the towel and rolled on it. When he was done doing that he picked it up and carried the towel over to the large bin that other dirty towels were in... I could only guess he had been in here a few times. As I climbed out of the pool and started drying off, he went over to the fire and laid out beside it. I put on my clothes and then sat on the chair beside the fire, toweling my hair as dry as I could. I then brushed it with the warm fire was a comfortable backdrop.
I sighed and told Tex he was welcome to stay, but I had to go so that I could play at the Inn and not have to pay for my room and meal.
~~~~~
I slipped into a shadow as a guard walked by and waited, then crossed the space to the door of the house I was looking for. Picking the lock was a matter of seconds and I slipped inside before the guard made it to the end of the house. Waiting till my eyes adjusted to the gloom inside the dwelling, I then made my way to the second floor. I made my way to the master bedroom and staying well in the shadows, watched for a minute to make sure both occupants were asleep. My contract was only for the man, so I went to his side of the bed and then poured a paralytic on the edge of my dagger blade. I put my hand hovering over his mouth, I slit his throat and wiped my blade on the blanket. I walked quickly and quietly out of the house, leaving an in-expensive onyx necklace on the table by the door. I put my ear to the door and listened for the slight scuff that would tell me the guard had walked by. I then opened the door just enough to pass through and walked out into the night, getting on my horse and riding back to the Inn..
I crossed the bridge and paused to watch the sunrise. As I rounded the first bend in the road a deer almost trampled me in its effort to get away from a pack of wolves that were chasing it. I ducked behind a tree and peeked back at the wolves. They had not yet seen me, but it would only be a matter of time before one of them smelled me. I was not wrong as the largest wolf stood at the edge of the river and growled while watching the deer bound across.
I thought about sneaking back to Riverwood and telling the guards, surely a large pack like this would be taken care of? But as the wolf swung its head in my direction I realized I would not be able to outrun the entire pack or any of them really. So I backed to the edge of the river and summoned a familiar. That took most of the magic I had, so I drew the sword and set a flame spell.
Using small gout's of flame and the sword I kept the wolves away from me, my familiar did away with two of the cubs, but there were still way too many wolves. I put up the sword and dove toward the center of the river, trying to swim to the other side. I realized my mistake right away, the current was to strong, I would never make it. So I turned to face the direction of the waterfalls and just directed myself away from the worst of the rocks.
I must have gone over three sets of falls before I got to an area that was shallow enough for me to stand and make my way to the edge. As I got to the edge and tried to boost myself up on the rocks a hand inserted itself in my line of sight and I heard a gruff male voice telling me to take his hand. He hoisted me up and out of the river and I thanked him. He nodded and then turned to help his fellows with the wolves that had followed me down the falls.. but had hopped from rock to rock.
Deciding to stay and help the Imperial soldiers might not have seemed like the smartest thing to do, but as one had helped me, I would return the favor. So I summoned my familiar and then noticing that the soldier who had helped me out of the river had dropped his bow, I picked it and the quiver up and started taking pot-shots at the wolves. It wasn't long before all the wolves were dead or on the run, so I gave the bow back to the soldier and decided to skin all the wolves, hides are worth money and I could use more of that.
I had almost gotten to the turn into town when I heard a commotion on the farm off to my left. I saw three people fighting a giant, two with swords the third shooting at it with arrows. I again summoned my familiar and then drew the sword, setting a flame spell to my left hand. I stayed out of the other's way and sliced at the giant from the side, using my flame as I could when the others weren't too close.
The giant finally hit the ground with a crash that made the ground tremble. The man that was there came over to me and told me I looked strong and should join the Companions. Ah, so, mercenaries, honest ones with a good reputation, but still mercenaries. Looking into the man's eyes I saw a bit of interest that might make it worth my time, it would be something to think about. One of his female companions came up to me and said I would make a good shield-sister, I thanked her and said I would have to think about it.
It was getting on late afternoon by the time I got to the gates of Whiterun, I would not be heading back to Riverwood tonight. I did stop at the smithy long enough to ask her if I could leave my wolf pelts and come back and tan them later. The woman was kind enough to say that was alright and that she might be interested in buying them if I wanted to sell.
I hurried through town and up to the Jarl's Palace, wanting to give my message and then head to the Inn for dinner. After a quick chat with his Housecarl, I went up to talk to him and he thanked me with some gold and armor. It was nice armor but would fit me twice around, so I guess I could sell it to the smith. Before I left the Jarl asked if maybe I could help his court mage with a problem. I said I would at the very least hear the problem out and see if I could help. Plus he might have some magical supplies I could use.
So I stood there listening to what it was they wanted me to do. Was this what I had been placed here to do? It seemed like a heroic enough thing, but I would need time for my magic to recharge, I was not as yet anywhere near full strength. I told the Jarl I would take on the task, but that I needed a bit of time, as I would need some supplies and other things to help me get out alive. That big strong Companion... he might do, but would probably require me to join the Companions to do so. I knew Hadvar would, but he had been pretty burnt in trying to escape the dragon, so would need more time than I to heal.
I asked the court mage what he had for sale and he showed me his wares. He had mostly lower-level spells that I already knew and couldn't use right now due to lack of magic, but he had some scrolls that would come in very handy until I could use my magic at full strength. I looked at his soul gems and sighed, those would have to wait also, I just was not up to enchanting.
I went to the Inn and asked about a room, I grudgingly parted with the ten gold for the night. I did ask her if she knew if the general store had any musical instruments. She said she didn't know, but the Inn's bard told me that while Belathor did have an old lute, he was asking way more than it was worth. He did know that the smith had a half finished lute, had been commissioned to make the strings, but the bard had never come back, so she might be willing to sell it at a descent price.
The Bard followed me to the stairs up to the room I had rented and told me that if I got the lute and got it finished I might be able to play here tomorrow night as he had a job out on one of the farms to play for a wedding reception. I thanked the man and made my way up to the room. The Inn Keeper had put some hot water in the washstand so I made washed as best as I could, it would have been nice if they had had a bathing room.
The next morning I ate and then went to talk to the smith. She did indeed have a half-finished lute and said that she would trade it and the strings for some of the pelts I had brought in. So we dickered for a while and she got all of the pelts, I got the lute and strings, plus her apprentice would be making me a water-proof backpack to store the lute in. I finished the lute, that really just needed a good coat of varnish and to be strung. I put just one coat on, left it on the table inside the smithy to dry for a bit, and walked around town.
I visited the Alchemist who asked me if I had any fresh ingredients I could sell her. I told her no, but I had a few potions I had brewed yesterday if she was interested. I sold her a couple of the duplicate potions that I really didn't need and then asked her what she was looking for. I told her I would see if I could find some of the items she was looking for near town, as I was playing at the Inn tonight.
I went to the smithy and put another light coat of varnish on the lute and told him that I would be back in the late afternoon to pick it up. I then headed to the Inn and asked the Inn Keeper if she would like me to take her hound out for a run while I picked some herbs for the Alchemist. She laughed and said that the big mutt wasn't hers, but had shown up one day and never left.
I coaxed the big dog to come with me and asked him what his name was. He didn't really answer but gave a low woof at me, so I said Tex it is then. Tex chased after rabbits and brought one or two back to me, which I put in my pouch for dinner later. When we stopped in a meadow where I found a lot of the herbs and other ingredients the Alchemist wanted, he caught another rabbit and had a brief lunch of his own. I noticed a small grove of trees a little ways past a watchtower and decided that might be a good place for the mushrooms, which was on the list that Arcadia .
So we headed in that direction, but I made sure we were closer to the watchtower before heading that way. I waved to the guards and pointed to my basket. When I noticed a commotion in the distance, slightly past the grove of trees it gave me a slight pause, I really didn't want any trouble. As the fight got closer to me, I saw that it was a giant tundra spider and a mage. He had conjured up something that I could not quite make out through the tree line. As they got closer and closer, I realized what it was that the mage had conjured and I really hoped he lived long enough for it to dis-spell, not all conjured deadra return when the mage dies. Such was the case, as the tundra spider killed the mage, the Winged Twilight did not dis-spell. I backed up as they got closer, but Tex decided to join the fray.
I tested out my magic and sighed, not enough, but more than I had had yesterday. I summoned a flame atronach and then backed further away. As the fighting got closer still, I ran towards the watchtower, the guards had all pulled out their bows by then and started shooting at the spider and deadra. I could only hope they did not hit Tex. As the spider went down, I got enough of my magic back to cast a firebolt spell and I lobbed a couple at the Winged Twilight and she soon went down under a barrage of arrows and firebolts.
I went out to the corpses and gleaned what I could from them, a deadra heart would bring some good coin. The mage himself had the best loot for me, a staff of summoning, from the runes lesser deadra, which explained the Winged Twilight. This was something I could really use right now. Tex and I headed into the trees, but there weren't to many mushrooms as the trees were not really thick enough. I heard the faint sound of water trickling in the distance and a humming sound that generally meant Nirnroot, so I headed that way. Their was only one Nirn plant and I picked that one, making sure to leave roothairs so that it would regrow.
We got to town in early evening and I headed straight to see Arcadia and sell her the items that I had picked. I walked out with a tidy sum of gold, it would help. I then headed to the local bathhouse and took myself a nice long soak. The bath attendant laughed at the look on my face when Tex joined me in the larger pool. He said that the water constantly moved, so it was clean, even if the muddiest of dogs jumped in. He then laid a large towel on a bench for me and another on the floor all spread out, for Tex.
Tex soon had enough of swimming and jumped out of the pool, shaking off, he then went to the towel and rolled on it. When he was done doing that he picked it up and carried the towel over to the large bin that other dirty towels were in... I could only guess he had been in here a few times. As I climbed out of the pool and started drying off, he went over to the fire and laid out beside it. I put on my clothes and then sat on the chair beside the fire, toweling my hair as dry as I could. I then brushed it with the warm fire was a comfortable backdrop.
I sighed and told Tex he was welcome to stay, but I had to go so that I could play at the Inn and not have to pay for my room and meal.
~~~~~
I slipped into a shadow as a guard walked by and waited, then crossed the space to the door of the house I was looking for. Picking the lock was a matter of seconds and I slipped inside before the guard made it to the end of the house. Waiting till my eyes adjusted to the gloom inside the dwelling, I then made my way to the second floor. I made my way to the master bedroom and staying well in the shadows, watched for a minute to make sure both occupants were asleep. My contract was only for the man, so I went to his side of the bed and then poured a paralytic on the edge of my dagger blade. I put my hand hovering over his mouth, I slit his throat and wiped my blade on the blanket. I walked quickly and quietly out of the house, leaving an in-expensive onyx necklace on the table by the door. I put my ear to the door and listened for the slight scuff that would tell me the guard had walked by. I then opened the door just enough to pass through and walked out into the night, getting on my horse and riding back to the Inn..
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