The Nascent Ranger - Book 2 (Updated 7/22/13)

[Chirurgeon]

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

The Nascent Ranger

Book 2: Courage

Prologue

Lord Harkon sat in his throne room idly thinking about many things when a knock at the door removed him from his thoughts.
“Come in, “ he said with an official sounding voice.

Harkon noted that the visitor was a young vampire that would frequent the mainland gathering information about the happenings in Skyrim. He had not seen the young man in over a month so he was anxious to hear about the fate of Valus the alchemist.

The young man was nervous but hid it well. “Greetings my lord I have much news from the mainland.”

“Good I am bored and need to hear something interesting. Please tell me what you have learned since we last talked.” He waved his hand at boy and gestured as if to say continue.

The young man cleared his throat and produced a ledger where he had written his notes. The lord smiled to himself at his youth and thought to himself he would like to taste the young man’s blood again. He found it useful and invigorating to take the blood of a young vampire from time to time.
“My lord, Valus the alchemist was successfully murdered.”

“Well that is good news, and what of his papers?” questioned the vampire lord.

“They have not been found my lord. And it appears the rangers knew he was murdered. My contacts in Riften and in Falkreath both said that the rangers had investigated the incident and are convinced he was murdered.”

“Damn!” The vampire’s grip on his throne tightened temporarily the wood popping under his immense strength.

He regained his composure a bit and cursed the inept hand of the assassin. Astrid had assured his liaison on the mainland that it would be handled deftly and made to look like an accident. Apparently the Dark Brotherhood is good at murdering but not so good at concealing that fact. He could of recruited a vampire to do the work but no matter. Lord Harkon smiled internally that even if the Dark Brotherhood was discovered to have murdered Valus he was not tied to it. His hands were clean and the Dark Brotherhood prided themselves on keeping clients a secret. Besides the Dark Brotherhood had no idea of his master plan.

But the fact that the Valus’s papers had not been found meant that perhaps the alchemist had hid them somewhere. The whole reason Lord Harkon had the man murdered was because he had discovered Lord Harkon was searching for certain artifacts. To the laymen it meant nothing, however to a mage at the college or to any of the magi that served the Jarls of Skyrim it could shed light on Lord Harkon’s plan.

The tradeoff to the alchemist knowing of certain artifacts was that he worked with the imperial rangers. 15 years previous a great purge of vampires swept through Skyrim and other provinces. Whole covens were wiped out and only now are they beginning to regain their strength. The rangers were largely responsible for finding the covens and leading soldiers in to kill the vampires. Lord Harkon knew that the rangers are a real threat should they discover his plan. His aim is to keep them blind, until he could execute his plan. Valus knew too much and had to be eliminated in case he told the ranger’s what he knew.

He hoped the safeguards he put into place would not be compromised and his involvement in the murder of the alchemist would not be realized.
Lord Harkon found that he had drifted off a bit and focused his attention back on the young vampire. “Any other news of note from the mainland?”

“News from Solitude my lord, King Toryg is dead.” He said quietly

“Indeed by whose hand?” , Lord Harkon had been slouching a bit in his throne but sat upright after hearing the news.
“Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl of Windhelm murdered him with a shout.”

“Well that is interesting!” Lord Harkon got up from his throne and began to pace the room. The gears of his brain were turning and he was beginning to realize important things.




Garan Mathi, a wizard in the castle, came into the room. “I assume you heard what our contact here has said about the murder of the king?”

Lord Harkon smiled and turned to face Garan. “Yes indeed. It seems that Ulfric Stormcloak had given us two gifts: time and chaos.”

Lord Harkon continued, “Skyrim will tear itself apart trying to decide if they are going to be independent or a part of the empire. Our ranger problem may have just been solved as they will have no time to further investigate what happened to their alchemist, or for that matter deal with our allied covens on the mainland. They will be too busy trying to deal with rebels no doubt. Now is the time for us to regain our strength. “

Lord Harkon turned toward the young man and addressed him, “I want you to make contact with the master vampires we know of on the mainland. Tell them to stop hiding and recruit more for the ranks. Let them know that the dawn of the vampire has begun. And let them know that the sun’s days are limited.”
Lord Harkon waved away the two men that were in his chamber and as the door closed he smiled to himself. “Ulfric Stormcloak may think he has done a good thing for Skyrim. But he may have just given us the time to find the artifacts, regain our strength, and launch an assault upon the world that has never been seen before.”

[Slaytaninc]

Looks like the Rangers are going to have a problem on their hands that will make the Civil War seem unimportant.

[Chirurgeon]

Looks like the Rangers are going to have a problem on their hands that will make the Civil War seem unimportant.

The crazy part is that the Ranger's have no idea about Lord Harkon. The civil war will have many consequences this is just one of them....thank you for reading

[G-Ballz]

Intriguing start to the second book! And it's a nice twist to start with the point-of-view of a new character. I look forward to seeing what happens next!

[Chirurgeon]

Intriguing start to the second book! And it's a nice twist to start with the point-of-view of a new character. I look forward to seeing what happens next!

Thank you sir. I will try not to dissapoint

[Swaeft]

Aha this is an interesting start. So many possibilities and...you have the DLC!!! Damn I'm jealous

[Chirurgeon]

Aha this is an interesting start. So many possibilities and...you have the DLC!!! Damn I'm jealous

Yes I figured I would start to slowly weave other characters and plots into the series before things really get going. Kind of a chance to see what everyone is up to during the Nirn shattering moment when King Torygg was murdered

[Slaytaninc]

I'm a Stormcloak, but I'm still reading.

[Chirurgeon]

Chapter 1

Golldir, Jenesa, Halas, and Faendal sat in stark silence for several moments before Faendal broke the silence.
“So what do we do now?” Faendal asked which was probably the question on everyone’s mind.

Jenesa sighed slightly. “Talon wants us to return to the meeting ground and a council will be convened tomorrow morning to determine how the rangers are going to respond to this” Jenesa was upset at herself. She felt like she should have been there. She knew Ulfric didn’t like her but she should have been with him at all times. He knew that she would be at the ranger’s council for two days at midsummer’s eve and took that advantage and used it against her. It infuriated her so much internally it threatened to spill out.

Faendal could see the stress and anger in Jenesa’s face. He had known her long enough to know that this was tearing her apart. However there was little he could do at the moment.

Faendal drifted away from Jenesa to his own responsibilities. “I need to talk to Jarl Balgruff to make sure he doesn’t do anything rash. He voted against Ulfric at the Moot but maybe now he might reconsider Skyrim’s independence.”

Faendal knew that Balgruff was not a rash man and a very practical. But Faendal had to deal with this so that he could report to Talon and the rest of the rangers. For a moment Faendal had nearly forgotten his apprentice and his young friend. The three of them had gone into the bowels of the barrow and defeated a very powerful adversary. It seemed ashame they could not revel in what happened but circumstances beyond their control were dictating things now.



“Halas we will be leaving soon I am afraid. Spend a few moments saying your goodbyes and then we will be off.” Faendal then turned to Golldir. He reached down to his hand and took off a ring. It was old and enigmatic to Halas as he never asked Faendal what the ring meant. He walked up to Golldir and gave the young man the ring. “Rarely have I seen such courage and skill in one so untrained. You have a gift Golldir and the people of this land could really use a gift right now.” He looked down at Golldir’s hand which was still holding the ring with a deep black gem in the middle. Golldir seemed confused but waited for Faendal to continue. “A long time ago a man gave me this ring as a token of his appreciation. His name was Kodlak Whitemane and the task that I helped him with does not matter but he told me that if I ever found anyone worthy of joining the companions then I should send them with this ring.” Faendal made a downward glance at the ring he was holding. Golldir seemed a bit stunned but took it in stride. “Go see Kodlak when you are finished here and I know you will find a role to play. Kodlak is a good judge of character and will see your heart.” Golldir was on the verge of crying but managed to keep himelf from doing just that.

The death of his aunt, the fading adrenaline rush, the very real possibility that Skyrim was in a civil war, it was nearly all too much for the young man. “Thank you, “ he whispered quietly and took the ring. Faendal nodded and put his arm on Jenesa’s shoulder and walked outside to talk about the implications and their next steps and what might happen.

Halas and Golldir were alone and Golldir was still stunned he was holding Faendal’s ring. “Do you think he wants it back?” Halas laughed. “After all that you have to ask that question?” Golldir shrugged, “I think it’s a good question.”

They both sighed as if in response to all the new uncertainty that was about to grip the land. “Well this sure does make a mess of things, “ Halas said nonchalantly. “Yea.” Was all Golldir could muster kicking a small stone on the ground.

“Are you going to fight for Ulfric if he wants a war to free Skyrim?” Faendal asked his old friend. “No I don’t think so. It doesn’t sound like a very honorable thing to do to a king. I think Ulfric is just a sore loser.” Golldir crouched down and picked up a small stone slinging it against a distant wall. “I can’t fight for a man that is just as greedy as everyone else in power.”

Halas thought about what he said and it made sense. Neither had a reason to dislike the empire. “Do you think I have the kind of skill that Faendal said I had?”
Halas frowned a bit. “Well you did get beat down pretty hard in the last fight and I had to save you.” He smiled and punched his big friend in the shoulder.
Golldir punched back a bit harder but Halas avoided the impact with his reflexes, “You do know how many bloody ice bolts and arrows I took for you guys so you could stand back and look pretty with your bows?”

Halas raised his hand up in a surrender position. “Fair enough I guess we all did our part.”

“You know that was actually kind of fun. I liked fighting with you guys. Even though it meant beating up my previously dead ancestors.” Golldir chuckled and Halas laughed with him.

“It sucks that I have to go. I have a feeling it might be a while till I see you again.” There was a silence as the two knew that could be true. “You really should go see Kodlak and talk to him. If you join the companions at least I could see you or maybe you could come by the cabin from time to time.”
Golldir smiled and nodded. “Yea that would be nice. As I see it you are the only family I have left now.” Halas reached out and gave his friend a goodbye hug. He looked at his friend intently. “Well then you always have to make time to visit family right?” They both looked at each other intently and awkward moment happened where they both let their emotions get a part of them and a few tears were shed.

“I expect to see you at Jorrvaskar Golldir.”

Golldir nodded and Halas turned around to walk out to join Jenesa and Faendal.

Faendal looked at his apprentice sensing something emotional had happened. “Everything alright?”

Halas smiled and walked down the path to where the horses were. “Yep, just saying goodbye to family.” Faendal’s eyebrow went up. Well that is always good.
The trio made the journey back toward Whiterun in silence. Dark grey clouds hung over the plains and it wasn’t long until the three were being pelted with rain. Rain meant you had to dry everything when you got to your destination. Rain meant getting wet, and rain meant more work.

Halas spotted some deer ahead and Faendal nodded. “There might be a war coming but we always need food.”

Faendal knew inside that they still needed food for the winter. They also needed firewood but that could be chopped in the winter it was just more miserable to do that. The deer however would be gone by then and the salmon would have been gone as well. In fact there was only a few more weeks for the Salmon run and then it would be over.



As Halas crouched and slowly stalked the doe he placed an arrow squarely in her rump and the poison killed it nearly instantly. It collapsed on the bank of the White River and he began the task of skinning the animal. Jenesa hacked off the meat and slung it over Suri. Halas’s horse never really liked having to tote around dead animal but he did it anyway. Jenesa noticed the horses discomfort. “You don’t like that do you boy?” Suri snorted in agreement and then Jenesa produced an apple and Suri quickly devoured the apple. “The easiest way to a mans heart is through his stomach, “ she said to the horse. Suri wasn’t going to argue. He was enjoying the apple.
After thirty minutes of cleaning and taking the meat the three got back on their horses and continued their trip to Whiterun. As they approached things seemed normal except the guards could be heard chattering about the news from Solitude.



Faendal laid out what he wanted Halas to do between now and the ranger council. “Alright Halas so tomorrow morning we are going to be at the meeting ground trying to figure out what we are going to do about this fiasco we are now facing. I need you to do something unusual but important. Everyone is running around crazy right now and I need you to do something that is quite calm but important.”

Faendal urged Rugot to match Suri’s pace and the two horses were side by side. “Go to the cabin and make sure everything looks to be in order. It hasn’t been lived in for many days so check the supply of firewood and get the meats we have caught dried in the cages by the fire.” Faendal took a moment to rub Rugot’s neck and then continued. “I will buy some vegetables and then head back to the cabin by nightfall. You have the bulk of the day left and once you get the aforementioned stuff done head down and see what salmon you can catch. We have less than a month to get salmon and who knows what will happen in a month from now. We need to be prepared for every eventuality.”

Halas understood what Faendal said but he was not happy with it. He had just helped defeat a small army of draugr and now he was expected to just simply go do chores and fish? He sighed and Faendal sensed his apprentice’s discontent.

Faendal looked over at his apprentice, Suri’s and Rugot’s hooves clopping on the cobblestone road in front of the Honeybrew Meadery, “You feel like you should be doing more noble things than chores after the ordeal in the barrow right?”

Halas sat in his saddle his face stoic and nodded. Faendal continued, “Well even the best warriors have to stop and sharpen their sword or polish their armor or unsaddle their horse, or practice with wooden swords, or a whole list of other mundane things.”

Faendal stopped at the intersection of Whiterun and the road that continued to Rorikstead, “Being prepared for battle is just as important as the courage to be in a battle. If we don’t make sure we are prepared then no amount of valor will save us when we starve to death in six months because we didn’t get enough dried and salted meats to get through the winter.”

Halas did indeed realize this was true but didn’t want to realize it. He knew being a ranger had its slower times. But having a taste of what the fighting was like he now wanted it more. Jenesa nodded and headed to the stables. Faendal looked at his apprentice. “I will see you at sunset, “ and he headed to join Jenesa to stable the horses and go see the Jarl.

Halas watched the pair disappear and leaned over to Suri, “Lets go to the cabin boy”. Suri neighed a bit and began to trot along down the road to Rorikstead. It was a rainy day but the clouds were beginning to let up and if the sun came out it would make it easier to dry skins and the like. He realized he needed to condition the saddle and armor of Suri as it was soaking up some water in a few spots. The steady drizzle of the last few hours made things uncomfortable and now Halas looked forward to some warm coffee and some soup. Rain was a good time to fish but it made the fisherman miserable. Halas actually kinda looked forward to fishing as he had not done so in some time.

The cabin looked just as it had when they left and better yet the sun was peeking from behind the grey clouds. The rain had stopped and Halas stabled Suri and took the leather armor off to let him get some breathing room. Halas laid it on a rock that was now being hit with sunlight. Hopefully it would dry before dark. It wasn’t even noon yet but he felt he had much to do.

The supply of wood was low and he found a recently fallen tree on the mountain behind the cabin and began to chop up the small tree. It was green but the wood will eventually dry out to be suitable in the fire. He had put on his work gloves and smiled as he did so. He remembered when Alvor gave him the gloves and it seemed like such a long time ago. Halas rotated the wood and made sure there was a full cord ready to go and then headed inside.



He unloaded the fish and other meats out of his bag. He took some of the fish and began to work salt into the meat in a bowl. The salt would preserve the meat and the oils would be left behind. Salted salmon had a good flavor whereas venison was a bit tougher but still palatable. Too much oil or water and the meat would become rancid. Not enough and it would be like eating tree bark. It was a trick that Halas had finally figured out through Faendal’s guiding hand.




As he let the meat dry he began sweeping around the cabin getting salt particles and dirt off the floor. He opened the door sweeping the dirt outside. He looked out to see that Suri’s saddle and armor were now basking in sunlight and would likely be dry by dark. Then Halas would get some troll fat and work it into the leather. His boots also needed some conditioning and he decided that in the evening he would work on that.



In the mean time he really needed to let things run their course for the next few hours. He retrieved his fishing pole and took some alchemy satchels with him down to the stream. He let Suri rest eating hay and oats. He would refill his water trough after he got back from fishing.

There was some moderately moving water not too far from the cabin and he set up a spot along the bank. He could already see the flashes of periodic fish moving under the waves and ripples. So he picked up his pole and chose some blue butterfly wings as bait. Salmon liked them and he was right. A few minutes later he had hooked a good size Salmon and he worked it toward the shore and pulled it onto the rocky bank. He drove a dagger into the head between the eyes and the fish went limp. He then pulled out some cord and threaded the rope through the mouth and out the gills and put it back into the water. The water was cold and would keep the flavor of the fish.



He rebaited the hook and tossed it into the water near some other fish he saw. As he waited for the bite his mind returned to his adventures with Golldir earlier in the day. “I sure hope he stays around here, “ Halas told himself. A second salmon had taken the bait and he pulled it in and repeated the procedure from the first fish with the second fish.

He would catch four more fish for a total of six. He also caught a histcarp and river bettys which their oils could be used for various alchemical properties. He smiled to himself at the catch and his catch string was full of six healthy salmon. He was going to make the big one into salmon steaks that Faendal and himself could have for supper and the rest would be salted and packed away.

He figured he had been down by the water for several hours and began to pack things up. There was a tree stump far away from the cabin that at some point Faendal had made into a sort of butcher’s block. Here the salmon were filleted and the waste discarded back into the water. This would from time to time attract various scavengers including crows and mudcrabs. The mudcrabs had tasty meat and their shells could be either ground up into a powder and used for potions or they could be treated and made to create armor. Dunmer’s were particularly fond of Chitin armor it would seem.

He took the fish fillets back to the cabin and saved all but one which he would grill later. The others he had laid out had been drying and would be ready for storage in barrels by nightfall. Between the heat and the salt there was not much moisture to be had but enough to keep it palatable. He set up his new batch of fish and carefully massaged salt into the pink meat making sure it was essentially even. Now the fish would have to dry for several hours and he would have to turn them once during the process.




While he waited Halas set out some various alchemy ingredients and began to work on making potions. He had several resist frost potions going and had to wait for it to boil off some water to make it concentrated. While he waited he went outside and cleaned up the deer skin that he had caught earlier and stretched it on the rack.
He carried it down to the basement where he checked the other skins that had been drying and they were ready to be sold. Next time he went to town he had several wolf and deer skins that he could sell. He decided to have his late afternoon coffee and as he did so he inspected his gear and touched up various spots with troll fat to keep the leather supple.

Movement caught his attention in the late afternoon light. Faendal and Rugot were crossing the plain in front of the cabin. Halas looked back down at his work and decided it was good enough for now. He walked over to the large rock with Suriel’s leather armor and began to condition it. Faendal unsaddled and stabled Rugot and walked over to his apprentice.



“Well you do a fine job conditioning that armor, “ Faendal said idly. Halas smiled. “I try.”

Faendal looked up at the cabin and rubbed his chin for a minute, “Looks like you have been busy. I see new wood that has been chopped, some skins that have been tanned, conditioned armor, and what is that I smell? Smoked and salted salmon?”

Halas got up and hoisted the horse armor over his shoulder and carried it back to the stable. “I got six nice salmon today and the biggest one I thought we could make into steaks and grill them.”

“Well that sounds absolutely delicious!” Faendal smiled and accompanied his apprentice back to the cabin.

“What did the Jarl say about what Whiterun is going to do after the death of the king?” Halas asked directly.

“Balgruff can be enigmatic at times. He told me that he is on the side of Whiterun. I am not sure what that means but it sounds like he has not chosen a side yet.”
Halas turned the lamp off at the alchemy table and began to bottle up his potions that he had created. Faendal opened a bottle of wine and poured himself a goblet. “Halas I have a feeling the only way this is going to get resolved is war. Winterhold declared its support for Ulfric while I was meeting with Balgruff.”
“Damn, “ said Halas quietly. “What about Riften?”

Faendal took a nice pull of wine and swallowed, “I fear any day they will choose to fight and defend Ulfric’s claim.”

They both sat in silence. The low roar of the fire and occasional pop it would make was the only sound. Halas began to prepare the salmon, potatoes, and leeks for grilling.

Faendal watched his apprentice and smiled. He knew that Halas was tough and it was time he learned some new things that would make him a stronger apprentice. “Tomorrow I will go to the council but I want you to travel to riverwood.” Faendal took another swig from the goblet. “Go and work with Alvor, he is going to start teaching you how to make steel. I have a feeling things are going to get ugly soon and I want you to have skills and equipment that is best suited for that ugliness. There is nothing like a steel axe or arrow to send into your enemies.”

Halas nodded solemnly. A day before he would have feared a broad encounter with many enemies but after the battle with the draugr and Vals Varen he feels more confident and in control of things. Faendal noticed the calm demeanor of his apprentice and realized he had grown immensely since they plunged deep into the barrow.

[Chirurgeon]

I'm a Stormcloak, but I'm still reading.

Good! Because this series is not just about the war. Thank you for your continued support

[G-Ballz]

Nice update, Chirurgeon! Quite lengthy, and you advanced most of the storylines a little bit. I like your immersive writing style. For example, take Halas' solo portion of this post, where he's getting the cabin ready. I feel like I'm in his shoes. Your descriptive style makes the mundane become interesting. It's fun (and scary) to think about life in such a non-tech time. Keep up the good work!

[Chirurgeon]

Nice update, Chirurgeon! Quite lengthy, and you advanced most of the storylines a little bit. I like your immersive writing style. For example, take Halas' solo portion of this post, where he's getting the cabin ready. I feel like I'm in his shoes. Your descriptive style makes the mundane become interesting. It's fun (and scary) to think about life in such a non-tech time. Keep up the good work!

Thank you friend for your kind words. With such heavy action at the end of the first book I thought it might be good to do some plot work for this second book. I am glad you recognize that. Sometimes I hesitate to put a chapter in with so much "mundane" stuff but if done right I feel that it is appropriate. Every chapter advances the plot is my approach. I think that helps keep reader's engaged. I really do love writing immersively as well. I want the reader to feel what you did that life is tough. thanks again

[Chirurgeon]

Chapter 2

Faendal had a lot on his mind as he came into the camp with the other rangers. The setup was nearly identical to the setup from before. The main difference was the mood of course. Idle chatter was at a minimum and what was being talked about were all the what ifs. People were speculating if their own Jarls were talking about joining up with Winterhold and Windhelm.

He hoped that some questions would be answered but he feared that many more would be raised. He greeted his friends and soon the rangers were gathered around the central fire in a meeting that Talon had convened. Faendal looked at Talon with curiosity. He knew that Talon was driven by ambition and self promotion. Those are ill suited traits for a ranger but he was good with a bow and had a knack for gathering quite good intelligence. He had managed to secure the Head Provincial Ranger of Skyrim position and seemed to bask in it.

Talon had always looked for a way of getting into the emperor’s council. He wanted the coveted Ranger Proconsul position for years. Faendal wondered if Talon would set aside that desire in the face of this crisis.

Talon called the meeting to order and then began his speech to the rangers.

“As you all know Ulfric Stormcloak murdered the High King Toryg in what some are calling a challenge gone wrong at a minimum and a murder at the maximum. The method is not important at the moment. However what is important is that we have a dire situation in our province. Some of you may already know that I have withdrawn our ranger from Winterhold and Windhelm.” Talon paused and gauged his audience. Some of the faces seem to disagree with that decision. He continued, “having done that I feel the safety of the ranger’s is paramount as we will be vital in the future of what is to happen to Skyrim. I cannot risk having a ranger ambushed or captured in their cabin. We represent the Imperium and that badge could be a death sentence for us.”

Faendal overall agreed this was a prudent move and waited to see what else Talon proposed, “I have relocated those rangers to other locations for now and where we can still see what the rebellious provinces are up to but to keep our people safe from danger. Khal’dro from Winterhold will move to Dawnstar to join up with Eradan. Jenesa will move to Whiterun and take over there in Faendal’s absence.” Faendal who had been idly processing the other relocations suddenly sat upright. Talon continued, “Faendal will temporarily take over the hold of Haafingar and the city of Solitude while I travel to the Imperial city to gain the council of the Proconsul Ranger and the Emperor if necessary.”



Faendal looked over at Jenesa and Marcus and saw their expressions were nearly identical to his own. As the eldest ranger Faendal felt the need to say something. But he would wait for Talon to finish.

Talon continued he was pacing in front of the fire, his steward Dartiana was busy doing stuff in Talon’s tent. Faendal felt it unnerving that a provincial head ranger would have a steward. It is unprecedented. “So I know this is a lot for all of us to deal with right now. I want you to gather intelligence and forward it to Dartiana. She can then put together a summary of all our information.”

Faendal stood up to be recognized, his mind abuzz with many things, “I am surprised the proconsul of the rangers has called you to the Imperial city when clearly you could be better served here. After all we will need all the eyes and ears possible to give the legion the best intelligence possible.” Faendal heard several murmurs of agreement and Talon noted it as if his feathers had been ruffled. “Well I will have you know I have taken the bold and pre-emptive step of going to the city in this case of extreme circumstances. I think it will help the Emperor get a clear picture of what is happening.”

Faendal continued on his line of thinking in an attempt to dissuade Talon from his move. “I thought we reported our intelligence to the General in charge of that province. In this case I am sure the Military Governor, Tullius will need our intelligence more than ever. Should the emperor need your direct council I am sure he will call upon you.”

Faendal knew he had Talon and Talon had very little wiggle room. He tried a pitch to convince the Rangers that he was doing the best thing, “Faendal I know there are chains of command and procedures but if we do things that way we could waste time and resources. I am simply trying to come up with the best solution possible. I care so much for the province that I am willing to take myself out and try to represent us best directly with the council and the emperor himself! I want to be here but I am sacrificing that to work directly with the imperial city.”



Faendal and others remained unconvinced. However their dear leader had made the decision and he was not going to be talked out of it. It was a foolish move he felt but there was little he could do. The rangers began to splinter off into small groups and Talon retired to his tent. Naturally Faendal, Markus, and Jenesa found themselves away from the others talking about things.

Jenesa was the first to speak, “What a pompous ass!” she exclaimed in a loud whisper. Faendal’s eyebrow went up but it was a statement of the obvious. Marcus laughed a little bit. “Well at least we know that our leader will be representing us in person before the emperor.” Faendal didn’t find it all funny but the gravity of the situation made him also laugh. Marcus looked at Faendal again and continued, “and it looks like you will be looking at new scenery.”

Faendal frowned and looked down at the ground, “the last thing I need is to be away from my province. I just know it really well and with all this talk of possible war its only a matter of time until the really bad people start making themselves felt on the innocent.”

All the ranger’s knew that during wartime the various bandits, assassins, and thieves would come out of their hiding and become more brazen. People from all over the empire and beyond will hear of the chaos in Skyrim and work their way here to find a way to make money in a not so illustrious career.

Faendal refocused his thoughts on the current situation, “Talon is mistaken if he thinks he has fooled any of us. The last thing we need is the head provincial ranger disappearing right when we need leadership. He gains nothing tactically by being present in the imperial city. He will learn about happenings at the same time as the emperor.”

Jenasa crouched down and doodled in the earth with a tip of one her Vvardenfell daggers, its green glass blade picking up the morning light, “yes but he is trying to advance himself politically. It appears that Talon doesn’t give a skeever’s ass about Skyrim.”



It was a toxic statement but one that was interwoven with truth. The other two knew it was true. Marcus looked around at the other rangers, many of them younger and less experienced than the trio of Jenesa, Marcus, and Faendal, “I know you turned down the position of Head Provincial Ranger, but you would have done a good job and I don’t think we would have our leader running around self promoting his career at the stake of his own province.”

Faendal knew that other rangers had wanted him to be the head provincial ranger but his heart was not into the job. He would miss being away from the people and the wild. The fact of being gone for weeks at a time into the wild was something he really enjoyed. He did not want to be tethered by additional responsibilities. Besides Faendal felt he was less qualified when he lost several rangers on a botched raid many years ago. The last thing he wanted was to be promoted after something like that, despite his exoneration of guilt.

Jenesa looked around and decided she was going to head back to the cabin and lock it down and take what she could and bring it to the Whiterun cabin in the morning. A part of her was glad to be out of Eastmaarch and callus Ulfric, the man who hated dark elves. She would finally be able to help a Jarl that could see beyond her skin.
Marcus looked at Jenesa, “Looks like you and Iraleth can finally get snug together in your matching armor.” Jenesa smiled but pointed the dagger at Marcus in a teasing manner. They all laughed as a way of sort of dealing with the tension.



The three said their goodbyes and went to talk to other rangers and see what other news they had. So far the only major thing was the talk of rebellion. Faendal knew that he had a lot to do before they left for Solitude. He could get a bunch of it done but also knew that Halas would be back from Riverwood in the late afternoon

[Swaeft]

Oh no this is really bad...I hope the rangers overcome this hurdle. Talon doesn't deserve to be their leader And it's all very interesting how more of the characters come into play now, especially since there is this overarching plot of Lord Hakon and his evil minions. Wonderful chapters 1 and 2, friend, and please continue to make more!!! +rep!

[Slaytaninc]

What would be an interesting twist is if their group had some members break away and switch sides to the Stormcloaks.

[Chirurgeon]

What would be an interesting twist is if their group had some members break away and switch sides to the Stormcloaks.

Yes that is always a possibility. However most of the rangers are not Nords. And with the amount of racism from Ulfric and his gang its hard to see that happening. Besides the ranger's swore an oath. But that is always something that could play out.

Oh no this is really bad...I hope the rangers overcome this hurdle. Talon doesn't deserve to be their leader And it's all very interesting how more of the characters come into play now, especially since there is this overarching plot of Lord Hakon and his evil minions. Wonderful chapters 1 and 2, friend, and please continue to make more!!! +rep!

Thank you! yes I am trying to build some of the other characters. However I want to keep the story "Halas centric" I could go into other stories of other people like Ulfric and develop a storyline for each ranger but that would just be unwieldy at this point and I am afraid it would be a huge undertaking. Haha I am no George RR Martin. The people that Halas get to know or people that could have a big impact on Halas are covered. Thank you for continuing to follow and appreciating the challenges I have in this work!

[Chirurgeon]

Chapter 3

Halas kept finding his mind moving from one thing to another as he set about on his way to Riverwood. Suriel seemed to notice as well casting a backwards glance towards the apprentice. The bond between the two was strong and they both supported each other.

It was early when Halas arrived in Riverwood. The village wasn’t stirring. Everyone was likely inside just eating their breakfast. However this time of year the sun was up so early it would often make it seem later in the morning than compared to winter. It was dark for less than 8 hours but Halas did notice that even a few days after summer solstice that the days were getting shorter.

He dismounted and walked past Alvor’s house and opened his bag and began to get all the ore out of his bag. He hoped that Alvor would teach him how to make steel ingots but Halas wasn’t sure exactly how. He hoped to learn the basics today. So while he waited for the blacksmith he set to work melting down the iron. The smelter was cold and would take some time to heat up so he began shoveling charcoal into the smelter. He also decided to sharpen his axes while he waited. He sat down at the grinder and began to get the grinding wheel moving. It was important to get it to a certain speed and run the axe over the grinder at a consistent angle.




The sparks flew off the edge of the axe and Halas smiled to himself as the edge became honed again. The hardest part was making sure the edge was consistently sharpe across the whole breadth of the axehead.

After he sharpened his axes he took off the woodcutting axe and sharpened it as well. He remembers fondly the first time he used it, pretending to kill monsters instead of splitting logs.

Halas heard footsteps and assumed Alvor was coming down the long porch and he was right. He looked at the boy and smiled, “Morning lad how are you today?”
Halas returned the greeting and then Alvor told him that Faendal had come by the day before and told him that Halas was ready to learn steel smithing. “Looks like you finally get to use real man metal now lad!” Alvor was clearly excited as steel smithing was a source of pride with him.

“First thing we will do is learn how to make steel ingots. I’ve got some old armor I wanna melt down and we can make ingots out of it.” Alvor left and returned a short while later carrying a suit of steel armor that had seen better days. He threw it on the ground near the smelter and motioned for Halas to come down.

“Go ahead and cut the leather string and seams off the armor and I want you to feed it into the smelter.” Alvor went over to the smelter and gave it a quick check and nodded his head. “She is hot and ready for your first load of steel. Halas sat down and began to remove the steel from the leather and putting it into the smelter. “Now steel melts at a hotter temperature than that iron you been working with. And that is why it is harder to work with.” Alvor got a bellow and carried down to the smelter and told Halas to shovel some more charcoal into it. As Halas did so, Alvor worked the bellow until the smelter was turning red. Halas had changed into his blacksmith outfit and was now sweating buckets as the heat hit him.



The steel became glossy and looked like jelly as it lost its shape, the bright metallic sheen slowly turning to liquid. Halas watched in amazement as it looked different then when iron melted. He saw that he had enough for an ingot and poured it into the receptacle outside the smelter and soon it began to cool. As it cooled to a grey color from a more silver one he removed it and alvor told him to bring it over to the furnace.

Halas placed the ingot into the coals with special calipers and Halas worked the bellow. Alvor told him how to turn it till it got real red and then pulled it out with the calipers. “Now I want you to take the hammer and start flattening out till its about a centimeter thick.” The ingot was about five centimeters and as the hammer fell sparks flew off the ingot. At first the metal gave pretty quickly but after a minute it began to resist the hammer blows. “Time to put her back in the coals, “ Alvor said nodding in the direction of the furnace with his arms crossed.

Halas put the smashed ingot back into the coals and after a minute pulled it out and began hammering again. This was hard work and now he knew why blacksmiths were so strong. After several more times of hammering and reheating he had an oddly shaped steel plate about a centimeter thick.



The sheet had to be heated again and a chisel was used to make the triangles that would become arrowheads. Halas remembered the process from when he made arrowheads with Faendal but the steel would cool faster than iron and had to be heated more. “The general rule with blacksmithing is that the harder the metal is to work with the better the metal!”

Halas kind of laughed at that. They then attached the broadheads to the fletching and using some feathers they completed the arrows. In two hours Halas had made nearly fifty steel arrows sharp and ready for use.

Feeling a sense of satisfaction Alvor then decided that he could do better with the armor that Halas was wearing. He taught Halas how to use thin layers of leather instead of one big piece of leather. It made it more flexible but also more resistant to damage. Halas took the rest of the morning to sew the new leather into his armor. When he was done it was lunch time and he shared the meal with Alvor and his family.



As they ate Alvor said that he would be very busy and instead of making tools, horseshoes, and nails he would be making armor, swords, and arrows. “War is good for business but I would rather my craft be used to build a kingdom not tear it apart. I have a bad feeling things are going to get ugly around here.”

The rest of the meal was basically silence and when they were finished Halas and Alvor continued their work. Alvor placed two weapon hafts on the table and smiled at Halas. “When we are done you are going to have new axes. I want you to work on making the ingots and then wrap the handle with leather strips. While you do that I will fashion the axe head. Next time you will do that.”

Halas nodded and melted down more steel. Alvor told him that in addition to making the axe heads he would show Halas how to combine corundum with iron to make steel. It was tricky work and there wasn’t time in this day to do that.

Halas had successfully wrapped the axe handles and gave the ingots to Alvor. Alvor nodded and began to heat up the ingots. As he worked them he casually talked to Halas. “There are some nice fat salmon up river if you want to may go up there and see if they like your bait.” Halas smiled at that. “Give me an hour or so and I will have some nice axes for you to use.”

Halas went over to Suri and tightened his saddle and the two worked their way up the road that Halas had remembered so well from when he was first in Riverwood.
Halas found a small cliff covered with mountain flowers and set up a little fishing spot. He put together his fishing pole and cast it into the moving waters. He could see the salmon darting around and was anxious for one to bite. He went with his old standby of blue butterfly wings and it worked like a charm. Soon he had caught a variety of fish and headed back to Riverwood.



The axes were almost ready and they were gorgeous. Halas gutted the fish and gave a couple of the filets to Alvor’s wife and then cleaned his hands of the smell before seeing Alvors creation. “Say goodbye to Iron lad, welcome to the world of steel. Aren’t they a beauty?”

Halas was in utter disbelief and took the axes. They were perfectly balanced and the weight was good but not too much. They weighed a little more than his previous axes but these were spectacular. He assumed the ready position for the beginning of melee combat and marveled at the feel of the axes.



“Well lad I would hate to have to face you in a fight. Just make sure you get some practice so you can get used to the extra weight. Faendal thinks you can handle those axes, “ Alvor was smiling at Halas who now realized it was about three pm and needed to get back to the cabin. Faendal would be expecting him.

Halas said his goodbyes and hugged the big blacksmith who was like a big teddy bear. Alvor patted Halas on the the back and waved as Halas mounted Suriel and he began to work his way back to the cabin. Halas wondered what had happened at the meeting with all the other rangers.

Faendal was busy inside the cabin cooking and making various potions. “Well hello apprentice. I trust you furthered your knowledge of blacksmithing?”
Halas smiled and pulled out one of the steel broadheads that he had crafted. And then showed him the axes Alvor had crafted. Faendal whistled, “Wow that is some fine steel you have there.”

Faendal nodded his approval and returned to working. Halas saw how busy Faendal was and asked what was going on.



Faendal stopped what he was doing and looked at Halas. He took a deep breath and then summarized what had transpired at the Ranger’s Council. Halas was a bit stunned, “So we are going to Solitude tomorrow?”

Faendal nodded, “yes and we are locking down the cabin so that Jenesa can move in for the time we are gone.”
Halas asked the next obvious thing, “How long will we be gone?”

Faendal shrugged and returned to the alchemy table, “I couldn’t tell you Halas, at least till Talon returns, Hopefully a week or so.”

“You should go out and bag some game before it gets too late and we can take some fresh meat with us for the cabin in Haafingar.”

Halas nodded and left the cabin and left Suriel to go to a nearby knoll where he saw some deer earlier. He had dropped off the salmon and Faendal was going to start drying it. Halas had time to think as he stalked one of the does. He wondered what solitude was like and wondered about the people. He had seen a painting of the blue palace and had caught some glimpses when he was with Marcus and Faendal on the day he returned from his solo excursion. But to see it up close would be impressive.

The memory of those couple of days when he had to survive on his own with just Suriel suddenly became fresh and the flashback of killing his first person evoked strongly in his head. Halas had come a long way since then.

He finally got close enough to the doe for a shot and let one of his broadheads tear through the air. It hit the deer between the ribs and entered the heart. It was a killshot and the animal likely felt nothing. Halas spent the next hour skinning and salting the hide and getting the best cuts off the beast. He packed everything up and returned to the cabin.



Faendal was outside and met Halas with some ale. Halas worked on skinning the beast as he drank the ale. It was refreshing and was a good end to the day. Having stretched the skin he took it downstairs to dry on the wall and the meats were placed in the drying racks. Jenesa would have some fresh dried meat that she could use to make stews and what not with. Halas and Faendal took enough dried food to last three weeks and if they needed more they could get some game from the great woods around Solitude.

The pair did the final preparations and cleaning of the cabin before Jenesa would arrive the next day. Satisfied they finished off a second ale and then got some much needed sleep. The next day would be long and busy.

[Swaeft]

Well that was a relaxed chapter. It's nice to see Halas learning some more blacksmithing and getting an upgrade on his weapons! Iron to steel More of the day to day business before the 'long and busy' next day? I can't wait! Nice writing!

[Chirurgeon]

Well that was a relaxed chapter. It's nice to see Halas learning some more blacksmithing and getting an upgrade on his weapons! Iron to steel More of the day to day business before the 'long and busy' next day? I can't wait! Nice writing!

Thank you! Yes tomorrow will yield more for Halas and Faendal

[Templar Knight]

Well first off in the interest of full disclosure I must admit that I have yet to read book 1. That said, I think I am still able to follow the story pretty well and I am very much enjoying it. I found this latest update particularly fun to read, due to all the wonderful descriptions of blacksmithing. I eagerly await to see what kind of trouble Harkon is planning on letting loose on the people of Skyrim. Since Harkon has made an appearance, I wonder if Serana will make an appearance too? Personally I hope so, since she is probably my favorite npc in Skyrim. lol.

One last thing, are you using an enb mod? I ask because your screenshots look particularly stunning with very rich colors.