Part 15 Here
Chapter List Here
WARNING: ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM SPOILERS!
Females and Flesh
I left Fort Neugrad and began to walk back towards Windhelm. I spotted a saber cat chasing after what I originally thought to be a pair of hunters. The hunters slayed the creature before I was able to lend assistance and to my surprise I found that they were none other than Vilkas and Ria of the Companions.
I remembered having recieved a bounty on a bandit leader living quite nearby and decided to ask Ria to join me seeing as it was on the way back to Whiterun.
She obliged and we travelled together.
We arrived at Embershard mine and snuck inside. The guards were not immediately aware of our presence,
but when one noticed Ria it did not take long to dispatch them.
We found the leader deeper inside the cave, and while I parried her attacks, Ria made the killing shot.
Ria had been good to fight alongside and so I decided to keep her around a little longer. We went to Riften, delaying my trip to Windhelm, so that I could outfit her with some more efficient equipment.
I had not expected her to look quite so fetching in it.
I had worried that the Imperial guard at Riften might take exception to my visit, but there was no incident. With her ready and armed with stronger armour and an ebony sword we set off for Windhelm.
On the way, I once more met M’aiq the Khajit.
He told me that he had once been soul trapped. I wondered how that could be possible for someone still living.
I arrived at the Palace of the Kings at a very early hour and found Ulfric still in bed.
He did not seem upset that I had woken him, probably because of the good news I had brought.
His reward however was a simple steel sword, so perhaps this was his backhanded compliment…
Once he had got himself into a more proper position, he offered me a home in Windhelm saying that he should like to keep me nearby. I was also named Bone-Breaker. My old nickname seemed short-lived.
The gift of the house cost me 12000 Septim to buy. I was a little confused that I had to pay and then pay even more to have it furnished and the murder mess cleaned.
Ulfric then named me Thane of Windhelm and gave me the Axe of Eastmarch as a symbol.
My next task would be to assist in the liberation of Hjaalmarch, the Hold of Morthal.
I first felt I should visit my new home Hjerim.
As usual I had been provided with a housecarl in the form of Calder.
He seems to do little else but drink my mead.
Whle exploring my new home I noticed a couple of other things.
Ria seemed to like the place too…
We rested for the night before moving on.
In the morning we began our trek towards the Stormcloak camp in Hjaalmarch.
On the road I met a wandering bard named Talsgar.
He was a friendly sort and sang ‘The Dragonborn comes’ for us.
I took a wrong turn and found myself at Uttering Hills Cave where I was set upon by bandits. I seemed to remember having a reason to come here and made business clearing the place out of the scoundrels.
One in particular offended me with her oversized eyebrows.
Once the bandit leader had been killed we began walking back to Windhelm to inform Captain Kjar that his old mutinous crewmate had been dealt with.
On the way though, a Nord woman insulted me as I crossed her path.
I felt there was no need for such coarseness and Fus Ro Dah’d her into the river. I accidentally hit Ria with the same shout however, though neither woman turned on me. Instead I was left to witness a girl on girl fight.
Ria ended the woman with an arrow and we carried on. It was a shame, I hadn’t intended the altercation to end in a death, but the Nord had escalated things unnecessarily.
As we approached Windhelm we learned that the woman may have had friends in the city guard.
I paid a fine and was let free annoyed that her insult had cost me 40 coin.
After that distraction was seen to, we went to the dock to deliver our message to Kjar.
A moment later an Argonian named Scouts-Many-Marshes asked if I could speak to Torbjorn Shatter-Shield about securing better wages for the dock workers.
It sounded a reasonable request so I noted thatI would go to the Tavern in the city to find him after speaking with Kjar.
Kjar rewarded me with some gold and I left him to his work.
I found Torbjorn drinking with some friends.
He happily agreed to pay the Argonians more, but said he was doing as a favour to me, his friend, not them.
That was good enough for me, so I took my leave.
Frustratingly, upon my return to the docks, the argonians had locked themselves up in their quarters so I would have to wait for them to come out.
While I waited I visited the East Empire Trading Companys office. It seemed curious to me that they had a place in Windhelm.
I spoke with the manager, Orthus Endario,
who told me that his rivals the Shatter-Shields had been letting pirates attack his ships and ruin his business. He wanted proof so that he could put an end to it.
Despite not being a fan of the Empire, I did not like to see this foul play dealing with pirates either so I agreed to help.
I stole a logbook from the Shatter-Shield office next door that contained information about dealings with pirates known as the Blood Horkers.
Suvaris Atheron, the person in charge was none the wiser of my sleight of hand.
I showed Orthus the book and he told me that I should next speak to Stig Salt-Plank, one of the pirate captains, and get more information.
Outside, another argonian spoke to me and asked me to find her lost amulet. She believed it to be in Gallows Rock.
I agreed, having earlier wiped out the inhabitants and believing it would be a simple task to pick it up in passing.
As Gallows Rock was closer than Dawnstar, I stopped there first. To my surprise, the Silver Hand had regrouped here and were defending it once more.
Ria and I fought through them and killed many of the Companions sworn enemies.
To my surprise, I was met once more by Krev the Skinner, a warrior I had ended once before.
We fought again and was surprised when Krev threatened me in a high voice. I was further surprised by two more things..
Krev was a woman! The other Krev I fought was definitely a man. Perhaps Krev is a name used by a Silver Hand leader and passed on to the next champion.
Whatever the reason, they would need to find another Krev.
I found the amulet in a treasure chest.
I returned the jewellery immediately to the argonian woman Shahvee.
I had hoped to meet Scouts-Many-Marshes again but he was still nowhere to be seen.
Fortunately the argonian assemblage was unlocked and I was able to find him inside. He was pleased with the news.
I seemed to be getting a reputation amongst the argonians as a helpful sort. One named Stands-In-Shallows asked that I swipe a bottle of Double Distilled Skooma for him.
Usually I would say no to fuelling someones addiction in such a way, but the man seemed quite desperate. It wasn’t my place to judge and as a member of the Nightingales I thought it was about time I did some real thieving.
I nipped into the tavern where it was kept, grabbed it, and nipped out. Easy.
Having dealt with all these distractions it was high time to make that visit to the pirate captain in Dawnstar.
I arrived and found a gang of them harrassing the lovely bar girl I had met some time before.
She was able to handle herself fortunately and so I spoke business with Stig.
He wasn’t willing to talk unless I gave him a bit of sport however, and so it came to fisticuffs.
Stig was beaten and seemed happy enough to tell me where the Blood Horkers made port: Japhet’s Folly.
I returned to Orthus with the information to find him speaking with Adelaisa Vendicci, who seemed to be his superior.
She told me that she needed my help to attack the pirates and kill their mage leader Haldyn. We were to set sail immediately.
I wasn’t altogether pleased by her bossing me about, but as I had agreed to lend my assistance I went along with it for the moment.
On our arrival Adelaisa explained the plan to me.
It was the type of nonsensical plan I was getting used to hearing. I was to go in alone and they would provide support once I had done the bulk of the work – in this case killing Haldyn.
Ria and I rushed the island and were met by a number of the Blood Horkers. We cut through them and entered the fort.
We found Haldyn, who was certainly a force to be reckoned with. Ria was incapacitated, but I fought on and overcame.
There were some loud explosions during the battle which I took to being the mages magic.
Exploring the fort, I found the remains of the man who was Japhet.
It seemed he had gone mad from loneliness on the isle.
Now was not the time to dally though, so Ria and I took our leave.
It turned out that the explosions and shaking of the building had not been Haldyn, but rather the Trading Company ships opening fire on the fort.
They intended to destroy it, seemingly without concern for whether or not I was still inside. This was not the support I had expected when agreeing to this plan.
I found Adelaisa and kept my weapon drawn in case of further treachery.
She said that the ships had opened fire when Haldyns magic fog had cleared. She had reasoned that this must have meant he was dead and they were free to destroy the fort. She offered us passage back to the mainland.
I accepted, keeping in mind that this Imperial had been willing to sacrifice me needlessly.
We returned to Windhelm where Orthus and Adelaisa began work rebuilding their offices in what would hopefully be a prosperous business.
I sent Ria back to Whiterun, and asked that Adelaisa accompany me. She was happy to oblige.
I had just the job for her…
My destination was not far from Windhelm fortunately, yet still in that short journey we were set upon by an ancient dragon.
If that was not enough, a troll joined the battle too as well as a group of three hunters who had a nearby camp.
As I was becoming accustomed to, I was the only survivor, besides Adelaisa, who had lain wounded for much of the fight.
At Boethiahs shrine, I began getting second thoughts, seeing the soulless eyes of one of the cultists.
I turned away for a moment and when I turned back he had stripped to the waist and was challenging me to combat.
The place was strange to me and I was keen to be away as soon as possible. But I had come for a reason.
I asked Adelaisa to touch the altar at the shrine. The moment she did, she was pulled towards it and trapped there.
I drew my sacrificial blade,
and sacrificed her. She had trusted me, as I had trusted her… like a fool.
Boethiah used her body as a conduit to speak with me.
She led me and the rest of the cultists down to the combat arena and laid down the challenge that the last one standing would be her champion.
I was forced to slay the entire cult, and once finished Boethiah possessed one of their fallen bodies.
She told me that her old champion now displeased her, and I was to destroy him. But she did not want him to die honourably in combat. I was to kill him stealthily without his knowledge.
The same went for his entire bandit clan.
She left and I stood alone among the dead.
If stealth was to be my weapon, I decided a change of outfit would be appropriate.
My Nightingale armour seemed a fit choice.
I journeyed towards Knifepoint Ridge where I was to find the old champion.
Again I found myself taking a wrong turn and ended up in an Imperial camp led by Legate Skulnar of Falkreath.
They left me no choice but to kill them all.
I left the Legate alive. He would spread the message that I was not to be toyed with.
I approached Knifepoint Ridge in cover of darkness.
Though dawn soon broke and I had not yet killed all of the outer guard. I found a good position from which to snipe a number of the bandits without detection.
It took some time, but I managed to get inside leaving all without lying in their own blood and charred by my firey arrows.
Inside, I was to be even more silent.
Their numbers were fewer in the mine, but there was more chance of being spotted.
Fortunately, it seemed that the champion had been upset by one of the other bandits and a fight broke out between them.
Finishing the champion was an easy task.
He carried some enchanted Ebony Mail, which was to be my prize. I donned it to finish the last of the bandits.
Once finished, Boethiah expressed her satisfaction with my work and left me be. I decided to do some mining while in this ore rich mountain.
I noticed that a rock formation looked strikingly like a face in the wall.
Having wasted enough time dealing with distractions, I made my way to meet with Galmar and the Hjaalmarch camp.
We were to use a little subtelty in our next move. Galmar had learned that an Imperial Courier was on his way to deliver some important orders and information to his commander.
I was to intercept him and take the orders from him. We would then forge the orders in such a way that we could trick the enemy into doing things in ways more favourable to us.
I headed to Dragon Bridge and and asked the innkeeper Faida whether she had seen the courier pass through. I said his life depended on my knowing.
Apparently I had just missed him, but if I waited he was likely to come back.
I decided meeting him on the open road would be better than confronting him in a public place.
I was fortunate enough to find him on his way back.
I should have been happy to take the man prisoner and relieve him of his message, but the man was too proud to be taken in. He drew his weapon and we fought.
When he was felled, I took the orders from him..
..and decided to hide the evidence in the river.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find where his head went.
As I walked back to camp, a dog on the road seemed to beckon me to follow it.
It led me to its little shack where its owner lay dead.
He had died of some illness and sadly Meeko was all he had left. I had in fact been here before and read this diary, but it made little sense without the dog sat here.
I took it to mean that the dog was Meeko and seeing as he had lost his owner I asked him to accompany me. He seemed happy to be a companion to someone new.
Together we returned the orders to Galmar.
He discovered that Fort Snowhawk was under manned and was asking for reinforcements. He struck that piece of information from the message and made a few other tactical edits.
He then gave me the orders to take to the Legate in Solitude.
I did so, and though I foolishly forgot to find an Imperial disguise, the Legate accepted them without question.
I returned to Galmar who had arranged an attack on Fort Snowhawk, knowing that it stood weak.
I was to join the assault. I made my way there immediately, with Meeko in tow.
I found the Stormcloak squad hidden near to the fort ready to attack on my arrival.
The charge began as soon as I met them. We had the element of surprise and cover of darkness on our side. The Imperials didn’t know what hit them.
The battle was tense, but we killed many Imperials until those that remained surrendered.
With Hjaalmarch now under Stormcloak control, my next duty was to report back to Ulfric.
Part 17 ‘Graves and Greenwall’ Here
Chapter List Here
