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Thread: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 20th May 2018]

  1. #41

    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 29th March 2015]

    Great stuff, really fun to read! Our hero's musings about the possibility of evolving lions were awesome The walk to the chopping block was terrifying -- very vivid description!
    [CW] Zero Kelvin [in progress]
    [MTW2 SS] Weder heilig noch Römisch [on a ridiculously long hiatus]
    [RTW RS] My dearest Clymene [a single-chapter commemoration]
    [RTW RS] The enemy of my enemy [suspended]
    [MTW2 SS] Snakes in the sands [suspended]
    [MTW2 SS] Omnes viae Romam ducunt [suspended]



  2. #42
    Shankbot de Bodemloze's Avatar From the Writers Study!
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 29th March 2015]

    Really enjoying this, it's a great read.

    I love the whole humour of the situation and your writing style is easy to read. As I've never played Skyrim I feel more immersed in the story because I'm as lost as the protagonist.

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  3. #43
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 29th March 2015]

    Roman Heritage, Yeepeep and Shankbot - thank you! It's great to know you're enjoying this.

    I'm very pleased you're enjoying the humour, and I'm glad the description is holding up - that's not generally my strong point.

    Thank you for all your encouragement.

    It's probably about time for another chapter, I think...






  4. #44
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 12th April 2015]

    Chapter Nine: A Real Bed

    As we stood by the cave entrance, Ralof pointed to a huge shape in the sky, dwindling into the distance as we watched. “Seems like it's gone.”

    I nodded, too relieved to have anything sensible to say. I took a breath. Then another. We'd made it out, unexecuted and uncharred. Now what was I going to do? I dragged myself back to reality and focused on what Ralof was saying.

    “My sister runs the mill in Riverwood. I'm sure she'd give you a bed for a night. Come on.”

    A bed. An actual bed. The last time I slept in a real bed was in Bruma. At least, the last time I remember sleeping in a real bed was in Bruma. Maybe things weren't so bad. I set off, following Ralof, hoping he was right about his sister, and looking around me properly for the first time.

    I was stunned. The scenery here is just as dramatic as the scenery around Bruma, but somehow even more beautiful.

    Ralof didn't seem to notice the astonishing scenery surrounding him. I suppose to him it's just normal. As I trailed him along a road leading down towards a river, I couldn't help turning to see whether the dragon was coming back. And admiring the view.



    The wolves that attacked us as we jogged along beside the river brought me firmly back down to earth. Ralof did most of the work of killing them; it was obvious he was used to coming across wolves on the road. After that I asked him about the dragons; that's when he told me about the stories from centuries ago. He also explained a bit about Ulfric. Ulfric is a Jarl, which seems to be some kind of nobleman. From what I can gather, they seem to run cities, or maybe counties. They sound a bit like barons in feudal times, I think. Anyway, there's an old tradition here that any Jarl can challenge the High King to a duel – if you win, you become High King. Ulfric challenged the High King and won. Ralof said something about Ulfric shouting the High King to death, which I didn't understand. Perhaps duels here include some kind of ritual of insulting your opponent? I think I've heard of that sort of thing in history. And then if you win, presumably it's assumed – or maybe it's just traditional to claim – that your insults must have been the reason you won. That's more or less logical. Kind of.

    Although why I'm expecting things to be logical when people are talking to me about dragons, I really don't know.

    Whatever the truth about the insults, the result of the duel is that Ulfric's followers say he's now the High King of Skyrim. The Empire says the old duelling tradition isn't valid now Skyrim's part of the Empire, and therefore Ulfric can't possibly be High King. But then, apparently Ulfric wants Skyrim to leave the Empire and become independent – Ralof said something about wars, and taxes, and religion, but I really didn't follow that – so in reality, the Empire probably objects more to Ulfric than to the tradition.

    Anyway, this argument over who should be High King has led to what is more or less a civil war going on between the people who support Ulfric and the people who support the Empire. It all sounds very messy. One thing Ma'Jhan said makes a bit more sense now, though. He talked about Stormcloaks. I had no idea who they were, but it turns out they're Ulfric's followers, named after Ulfric.


    Ralof was right about his sister: almost as soon as she saw us, tired, bruised and covered with mud, she offered to let us both stay with her family for as long as we liked, despite the risk to her if the Imperial guards find us in her home. She seems to support Ulfric just as fervently as her brother, and she was very concerned about the possibility that Ulfric might have been killed by the dragon. Ralof was sure he would have escaped. I'm not sure why Ralof was so certain – presumably either Ulfric is a phenomenally good fighter, or Ralof has a lot of faith in Ulfric's Stormcloaks.

    When Ralof started telling his sister about the dragon attack, she didn't want to believe dragons were real any more than I do. Either Ralof's generally pretty truthful, or this time he was more convincing than usual, because by the end of his story she seemed to have no doubts at all. She even asked if one or both of us would go to a place called Whiterun and tell the Jarl there what had happened, in the hope that the Jarl would send some guards to defend Riverwood from any dragon attacks.

    Having seen a dragon attack, I'm not sure any number of guards will be enough to save Riverwood, but maybe they'll be able to scare the dragon off. And how can I refuse to deliver a message, after all the help Ralof and his family have given me? So my plan at the moment is to set off for Whiterun in the morning. If my injured ribs can cope with that. And if this world still seems real to me by then.

    For now, though, I get to enjoy sleeping in an actual bed, in a warm house, where there's plenty of food and nobody seems to want to kill me. This is a good place.



    Oh, God. I'm in a world with dragons.

    I don't want to die.




    Last edited by Caillagh de Bodemloze; April 15, 2018 at 10:54 AM.






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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 12th April 2015]

    Awesome screenshots. That one at the end...

    Good work on the latest update, I like how you are weaving in bits of the background lore for those of us who know nothing of Skyrim's story. Looking forward to seeing how unsmoothly his journey to the Jarl will be.
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  6. #46

    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 12th April 2015]

    Loved the bit about Ulfric insulting the High King to death!!! Funny stuff, it reminds me a lot of someone trying to explain Skyrim to someone whose never played it before. The little realisation at the end was a good touch as well. And keep up the screenshot goodness.

  7. #47
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 12th April 2015]

    Cool way of telling the story. I still haven't gotten into Skyrim. I made an orc (original, I know) and my grandmother called while the dragon was laying waste to the Imperial keep. Haven't touched it since, though I can run it on the highest settings.
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 12th April 2015]

    Quote Originally Posted by Shankbot de Bodemloze View Post
    Awesome screenshots. That one at the end...

    Good work on the latest update, I like how you are weaving in bits of the background lore for those of us who know nothing of Skyrim's story. Looking forward to seeing how unsmoothly his journey to the Jarl will be.
    Thank you! I did wonder if that was a bit too much of an information-dump, but I decided to include it because otherwise the Empire arresting and beheading Stormcloaks doesn't make much sense. As for precisely how Yannick's journey will go, well, who knows? I predict further life-or-death situations sooner or later, though.

    I admit I do quite like that last screenshot. If only everybody in the game would just stay still nicely in a dramatic/picturesque/explanatory pose with a suitably atmospheric background, this whole screenshot thing would be much simpler...

    Quote Originally Posted by Merchant of Venice View Post
    Loved the bit about Ulfric insulting the High King to death!!! Funny stuff, it reminds me a lot of someone trying to explain Skyrim to someone whose never played it before. The little realisation at the end was a good touch as well. And keep up the screenshot goodness.
    Thank you, too! I think you're right about it being like explaining Skyrim. On the evidence of Yannick's extreme confusion, I should probably never try to explain Skyrim to anyone in real life.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lugotorix View Post
    Cool way of telling the story. I still haven't gotten into Skyrim. I made an orc (original, I know) and my grandmother called while the dragon was laying waste to the Imperial keep. Haven't touched it since, though I can run it on the highest settings.
    And thank you! I [content redacted to avoid spoilers], so I haven't really played as an orc (yet, anyway). Your grandmother's timing is impressive!






  9. #49
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 19th April 2015]

    Chapter Ten: The Stones

    I slept well, and after I woke, I lay in bed, still, calm and contented, feeling safe, for once. Then I turned over, and was reminded of my cracked ribs. Wincing, I forced myself out of bed. I had a message to take to Whiterun, and it wouldn't wait for my ribs to heal.

    Gerdur, Ralof's sister, handed me a plate of bread and cheese, and poured me a mug of ale. As I ate and drank, she moved around, cleaning and tidying, shooing her son and his dog out of her way. It seemed rude not to speak to her, so I asked her how she felt about her brother being a Stormcloak. I expected her to tell me she worried about him being in danger so much of the time, or that she was concerned about the risk that Imperial soldiers might turn up at her house looking for Ralof. She surprised me.



    “I didn't care much for either side to start with.” She sat down at the table, across from me. “But when the Empire banned the worship of Talos... well, who would support the Empire after that? Now there are Thalmor everywhere. If they think you've been worshipping Talos, they arrest you. Arrest you! For worshipping our own gods! And the stories you hear about what they do to the people they take... If I were just a little younger, I'd fight for the Stormcloaks myself.”

    Thalmor. Hadn't Ma'Jhan talked about Thalmor? From what Gerdur was saying, they sounded like the Empire's secret police. Probably best avoided, then. If possible. The “secret” part might make them hard to spot...

    She got up, and began sweeping the floor defiantly.

    “You'll need to speak to Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun,” she said, after a while. “He's been trying to stay out of the war, but he can't ignore dragons.” She sighed. “Not that I think he'll manage to stay out of the war much longer. He's a good Jarl, but he's going to have to pick a side. I just hope he picks the right one.”

    I finished my bread and cheese, washed it down with the last mouthful of ale, and stood. “I should go; the sooner I leave, the sooner the Jarl can send you some guards. Thank you for your kindness.”

    “No trouble. Any friend of Ralof's is welcome. Particularly if they'll help drive the Empire out of Skyrim.”

    I smiled, non-committally – I'm planning to go home, not to get involved here – and bent to collect my rucksack, trying not to flinch as I did so. “Which way is Whiterun?”

    “Oh, don't worry about that. Ralof said he'd show you the road – he's going in the same direction, heading back to Windhelm. I'll find him for you.” She propped her broom against the wall, and then turned back to me. “You might want to visit the temple in Whiterun before you speak to Balgruuf – the healers there should be able to sort out your injuries.”

    Apparently I'm not very good at hiding my pain. Still, if the healers can help, I'm not objecting. People used to make painkillers out of tree-bark and things, didn't they?

    ---

    Ralof and I headed back along the road we arrived on yesterday.

    “This is a bit of a detour.” He glanced at me. “If I'd been in less of a hurry, I'd have done this yesterday, but I was sure some of the Imperials from Helgen would be on the road, and I didn't think it was a good idea to meet them.”

    We walked up an incline towards a sharp bend. Ahead of us were three upright stones. Each one was carved and decorated with metal bands, and had a hole pierced through it. Standing between them, you could look out across the lake and forests beyond to jagged mountains in the distance. I thought at first that Ralof had brought me to see the view. It was worth seeing. But no.



    “These are the Guardian Stones,” he said. “They say if you touch one of them, the gods will bless you – different blessings for each stone. There are other stones around Skyrim, but only these three are the Guardians. I thought...” He paused, seeming slightly embarrassed. Perhaps my scepticism about magical blessings was showing. “Of course, you may already carry blessings you received elsewhere.” He turned away. “Whiterun is the other way. Let's go.”

    “Wait.” I was sure touching a rock would do me no good at all, but Ralof had clearly thought it was important. And touching a rock was hardly likely to do me any harm. I reached out – receiving another reminder of my damaged ribs – and placed my hand on the stone nearest to me, without really noticing the image carved into it.

    As my hand touched the stone, the carving began to shine, a whirling blue light filled the hole through the stone, and a shaft of blue light speared upwards above the stone. I stepped back, surprised – and then wondered if all “magic” in this world would turn out to be no more than pretty lights. I heard Ralof behind me.

    “Mage, eh? Well, to each his own.”

    Mage? I looked at the carving, with the light fading from it, and yes, it was pretty much Gandalf – long swishy robes, beard, wizard's staff. So now I'm the first wizard in Skyrim who doesn't believe in magic. Oh, well.
    Last edited by Caillagh de Bodemloze; April 15, 2018 at 10:53 AM.






  10. #50
    Shankbot de Bodemloze's Avatar From the Writers Study!
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 19th April 2015]

    What a coincidence. So now he has to start mastering all sorts of spells alongside as well, that should be entertaining to read, and I'm looking forward to seeing if any disastrous consequences occur as he practices.

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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 19th April 2015]

    Wow, I started reading this a while ago, then lost track of it ( unfortunately) and picked it up again today, and it's just so.... refreshing and entertaining! On a side not, have you by any chance read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain?

  12. #52
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 19th April 2015]

    Impressive screenshots As always, nice shot, Caillagh, and congratulations for the hard earned 2nd place in the MAARC!

  13. #53

    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 19th April 2015]

    I read the latest chapter as soon as you posted it but I forgot to comment and then forgot to comment again so I apologise for you delay. Wonderful writing as always and congrats on that 2nd place. Well done, it's good to see a newer writer succeeding and garnering attention.

  14. #54
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 19th April 2015]

    Quote Originally Posted by Shankbot de Bodemloze View Post
    What a coincidence. So now he has to start mastering all sorts of spells alongside as well, that should be entertaining to read, and I'm looking forward to seeing if any disastrous consequences occur as he practices.
    You know how it is with beginners - you don't really want them let loose on the general public...


    Quote Originally Posted by waveman View Post
    Wow, I started reading this a while ago, then lost track of it ( unfortunately) and picked it up again today, and it's just so.... refreshing and entertaining!
    Thank you, waveman! Sorry I haven't updated for a bit.


    Quote Originally Posted by waveman View Post
    On a side not, have you by any chance read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain?
    I have indeed, although it was a long time ago. This AAR does resemble that story in some ways, doesn't it? (Not that I can write like Mark Twain!) I can promise you Yannick won't be claiming he can blot out the sun, though.


    Quote Originally Posted by Roman Heritage View Post
    Impressive screenshots As always, nice shot, Caillagh, and congratulations for the hard earned 2nd place in the MAARC!
    Thanks, Roman Heritage!


    Quote Originally Posted by Merchant of Venice View Post
    I read the latest chapter as soon as you posted it but I forgot to comment and then forgot to comment again so I apologise for you delay. Wonderful writing as always and congrats on that 2nd place. Well done, it's good to see a newer writer succeeding and garnering attention.
    That's very kind, Merchant. (And you have no need to apologise - it's generous of you all to read at all, never mind make comments. )






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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 3rd May 2015]

    Chapter Eleven: The Gate

    By midday, we had reached a crossroads. We sat on rocks by the river's edge, listening to the sound of the waterfalls, and ate lunch. More bread and cheese. Good bread and cheese, the bread crusty and the blue cheese pungent and creamy. If I'm hallucinating, at least I'm hallucinating decent food.

    I hadn't paid much attention to it the evening before, but Riverwood sits in a valley between, on one side, a mountain with a strange-looking ruin perched on it, and, on the other, the most enormous mountain I've ever seen. A river, which powers Gerdur's lumber mill, runs through the valley. The road pretty much followed the river north, towards Whiterun. As we'd walked along, the land had sloped downwards. On the side away from Riverwood, the land opened out into a plain, while the truly enormous mountain still loomed above the eastern bank of the river. Here the road divided: one branch continued north, across a tributary that joined the main river by the crossroads, one crossed the river to the east and then turned north to go around the mountain, and the remaining one led west, by the tributary river, past a scattering of buildings. To the north-west of the crossroads stood a walled town on a steep hill.



    “That's where you're heading.” Ralof indicated a dramatic building at the top of the hill, outlined against the sky. “Dragonsreach. They say it's called that because a dragon was captured and imprisoned there, centuries ago. I'm going east and north, to Windhelm. When you've spoken to Balgruuf, come and join us. Ulfric can make use of a fighter like you.”

    A fighter like me? I have no idea what I'm doing. So far, admittedly, it seems to have been working, but I can hardly be as good as a properly-trained soldier. These Stormcloaks must be desperate.

    I nodded vaguely, still trying not to commit myself to anything. “Thank you.”

    Ralof clapped me on the shoulder. “I know you'll come,” he said. “I look forward to fighting alongside you again.”

    I watched as he crossed the bridge and headed north, and then I sat for a while, thinking. I really don't want to get involved in local politics. I need to work out how to get back to Cyrodiil and find Ma'Jhan's wizards. I don't think for a second they can do magic, but I'll happily believe that they're the most educated people around. And if so, they're probably good people to talk to about how to get home. Or cured, if none of this is real.

    I know, I said I was going to treat everything I think I see and hear as real, because what else can I do? But... dragons? Hallucination, perhaps. Some kind of terrifying mechanical flying thing masquerading as a dragon, just maybe. Real dragons? No.

    First things first, though. Time to visit the local nobility. I'm still wearing the armour I took from the dead Stormcloak – I don't really have anything else – so I hope there isn't a dress code...

    ---

    The road to Whiterun ran past a meadery, a couple of farms, and a stable where black horses snorted and stamped. Outside the stable stood another horse, this one hitched to a cart with seats in – presumably that's Skyrim's bus service.

    Beyond the stable was an archway leading through a somewhat battered-looking wall. Ralof had said the Jarl here hadn't chosen a side in the civil war, so presumably the damage was from some previous conflict. I wondered why it hadn't been repaired. Despite the damage, the walls were well-manned, and the road to the main gate wound uphill towards the town, making life harder for any attacker.

    At the main gate stood two guards. Their armour was similar to Ralof's, but where his had a blue cloth slung over it, these guards had yellow. The different colours must be like heraldic badges – blue guards serve Ulfric, yellow guards serve Balgruuf. Or maybe it's service to the place – to Whiterun, rather than Balgruuf personally. Didn't Ralof say Ulfric was Jarl of somewhere? So the blue guards might be guards of wherever that is. Ralof and the other captured Stormcloaks had seemed loyal – to the extent of being prepared to die for it – to Ulfric personally, though. So maybe my first thought was right, and the colour is the Jarl's colour, not the town's.


    The great gate between the guards was very solidly shut, and the guards made no move to open it as I approached. One of the guards called out to me, “State your business!”

    I hesitated for a moment. I was here to tell the Jarl about a dragon attack, but I had no idea whether anyone would believe me. I was pretty sure I didn't believe me. My view was that if I told the Jarl – or at least someone in some kind of authority, since why would a nobleman talk to me? – and he didn't believe me, then I'd done all I could. Giving up without even trying to get through the gate, though, that would leave me feeling bad. Firstly because I'd have broken my promise to Gerdur, and I felt I owed her for her kindness. And second because, although it clearly couldn't have been a dragon, something had attacked Helgen.

    Well, maybe that was the thing to say. Attacks are generally bad, even without mythical creatures.

    “There's been an attack on Helgen. I'm here to tell the Jarl.”

    “Helgen?” The guard seemed shocked. “I'll open the gate, then. He'll want to hear about it.”

    “So will Irileth,” muttered the other guard, almost under his breath.

    “Irileth?” I felt obliged to ask. After all, this Irileth might be someone in authority - someone I could give my message to.

    “Balgruuf's housecarl, and general of his troops. Anything military, she wants all the details.”

    “And everything else,” agreed the first guard, drily.

    “Yeah. Yeah.” The second guard sighed. “She pretty much wants to know about everything that happens. Says she needs to.”

    “Good at her job, though.” The first guard turned the key in the gate lock, and pushed the gate open.

    “Gods, yes.” The guards looked at each other. I'm almost sure one of them shuddered. “Terrifying woman.”

    That didn't sound promising.
    Last edited by Caillagh de Bodemloze; April 15, 2018 at 10:51 AM.






  16. #56
    Shankbot de Bodemloze's Avatar From the Writers Study!
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 3rd May 2015]

    Yellow the town and blue Ulfric, or the other way around?

    Now he is in with the powerful I wonder what is going to happen - as well as his meeting with this feared Irileth. Great update.
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  17. #57
    Aikanár's Avatar no vaseline
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 3rd May 2015]

    Nice update, right there always enjoy to drop by every once in a while, keep up the great work


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  18. #58

    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 3rd May 2015]

    Mmmm bread and blue cheese... Sounds delicious.

    Can't wait to see the interaction between Balgruuf and Yannick, the guard's comments on Irilieth were spot on as well, she's scary.

  19. #59
    Caillagh de Bodemloze's Avatar to rede I me delyte
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 3rd May 2015]

    Can't believe how long it's been since I was here last - how did that happen? Anyway...

    Quote Originally Posted by Shankbot de Bodemloze View Post
    Yellow the town and blue Ulfric, or the other way around?
    Heh. Well, it seems you've thoroughly absorbed Yannick's confusion about everything - while simultaneously getting the details absolutely right! (Sorry, that was supposed to be slightly confusing, but not as impenetrable as I apparently made it. Glad you survived it. Probably "blue is Ulfric" is the one to remember. If we take a side in the civil war - or if we try to avoid taking sides - then Ulfric's blue guards and the Romanesque Imperials are the people we might be joining. Or upsetting.)

    Quote Originally Posted by Shankbot de Bodemloze View Post
    Now he is in with the powerful I wonder what is going to happen - as well as his meeting with this feared Irileth. Great update.
    I'm not sure he's entirely in with the powerful. He's more 'on the way in to the building to see the powerful'. Anything could happen. (Especially if Irileth doesn't like him.)

    And thank you!

    Quote Originally Posted by Aikanár View Post
    Nice update, right there always enjoy to drop by every once in a while, keep up the great work
    Thank you, that's really generous. I'll do my best...

    Quote Originally Posted by Merchant of Venice View Post
    Mmmm bread and blue cheese... Sounds delicious.

    Can't wait to see the interaction between Balgruuf and Yannick, the guard's comments on Irilieth were spot on as well, she's scary.
    Yeah, it's possible the bread and blue cheese might have been me thinking "what bits of Skyrim food would I want to have as a picnic?"

    Hope the meeting with Balgruuf will be satisfactory...






  20. #60
    Caillagh de Bodemloze's Avatar to rede I me delyte
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    Default Re: A Long Way From Home - A Skyrim AAR [updated 17th May 2015]

    Chapter Twelve: The Jarl

    Then I was walking up some steps in an enormous hall, towards a dais with a throne. I had no idea where I was, or how I'd got there. My side still ached just as much as I remembered, so I probably hadn't lost more than a few days. Well, unless I'd recovered and then injured my ribs again, or something.

    A woman with ferocious scarlet eyes – obviously contact lenses, with hindsight – and surprisingly grey skin strode towards me, demanding to know what I wanted and how I dared disturb the Jarl. She was obviously determined to get rid of me, but a voice from the throne interrupted her.

    “Irileth. Let him speak. He may have good reason to be here.”

    I started breathing again. She was Irileth, and I owed the gate-guards who had grumbled about her my gratitude, because her name told me I was in Whiterun, in Jarl Balgruuf's hall. The guards were right; she's scary.

    I glanced towards the figure on the throne, then
    looked back to Irileth.

    “I'm here to ask for help for Riverwood. Helgen's been attacked.”

    The Jarl, who had been lounging on his throne as though he were bored by all the jarling he was obliged to do, leant forward abruptly.

    “Helgen?” he asked sharply. “Was it a Stormcloak attack?”

    “Surely they would not be so bold!” exclaimed a man standing beside the throne. “Attacking an Imperial stronghold as great as Helgen!”

    Everyone looked in my direction, and I took that as a hint that I should identify the attackers.

    “No...” I paused, still unsure whether I should mention dragons. “Not the Stormcloaks.” I hesitated again. The Jarl came to my rescue.

    “Ahh...” It was a groan, rather than a word. “More dragons?”

    “There are others?” I was bewildered. Surely Ralof had told me dragons had been, well, non-existent for centuries. That the one at Helgen was a new and unexpected thing. Or at least a very old, almost-forgotten, only found in myths these days and therefore unexpected thing. Unless this was the end of the world, which would be just my luck when I wasn't meant to be here at all.

    “Rumours of dragons, at least. So far, only rumours,” said Balgruuf. “But you are here to tell me about Helgen.”

    So I did. The Jarl, Irileth, and the man by the throne interrupted every so often to ask questions, but I eventually managed to get to the end of my account and reach what, for me, was the point of the conversation.

    “...so Gerdur's worried that Riverwood might be attacked next.”

    “We should send men at once.” Irileth sounded as if there was no possibility of disagreement.

    The Jarl took a breath, held it, let it out in a gentle sigh. “Yes. I will send men.”

    “Sir!” The man by the throne clearly thought this a bad idea. “If we send men to Riverwood, they'll be almost at our border with Falkreath. Jarl Siddgeir will think it's a threat to his territory and will likely attack us!”

    “Nonsense!” spat Irileth. “Riverwood is Whiterun territory. The Jarl of Falkreath knows that well enough. He can hardly expect us not to defend Riverwood, after a dragon in those mountains has destroyed one of his own forts.”

    “My lord...”

    “Enough! Irileth, send a detachment of men to Riverwood at once. I will not leave my people unprotected.”

    As she left, Jarl Balgruuf turned to me. “You managed to survive a dragon attack.” He looked me up and down as though he were estimating my weight, or my strength, or perhaps my gullibility. “I might have a job for you. If you take it, I'll give you some better armour.”

    Really, I didn't want to take any jobs. I wasn't planning to stay in Skyrim. I'd kept my promise to Gerdur by telling the Jarl about Helgen. Now I just wanted to find someone who could cure me. Or help me to get home. But I also didn't want to offend the Jarl by ignoring him and heading out to Whiterun to ask people where I could find wizards. More precisely, I didn't want to offend Irileth by doing that. So I followed Jarl Balgruuf, waiting for the opportunity to turn down the job offer. He led me to a side-room dominated by an enormous, L-shaped table cluttered with strange crystals, twisted things that might have been roots, piles of flowers and leaves, stands of small bottles containing brightly-coloured liquids – and some even odder things I was glad I couldn't identify. To one end of the room was a huge board with a map pinned to it.

    I knew before I looked, I think, in some deep part of me, that I would find precisely what I dreaded most on that map; but somehow I couldn't not look. And my fears were realised. No matter how hard I looked, how closely I examined it, there was no sign of anything I recognised. No familiar place-name; no lake or coast or range of mountains I could identify. I gazed at it in despair, wishing that if I looked at it in the right way I might know where I was.

    “So... The Jarl thinks I might have a use for you.”

    I turned, surprised by the voice behind me. The man speaking to me was almost hidden inside the hood of a long black and brown robe, but I could see he had the most astonishing pair of mutton-chop sideburns anyone had worn since the Victorian era. Fortunately, he didn't seem to expect me to answer him.



    “I need someone to fetch something for me.” I looked at him. He seemed perfectly capable of fetching things for himself. “More accurately, I need someone to go into a dangerous ruin to find an ancient stone tablet that may or may not be there.” Apparently the Jarl had assessed my level of gullibility as 'insanely high'. The 'insane' part might be true, of course.

    “Why would I want to do that?”

    “Why...? Divines preserve us, you think I should explain myself to you?” He peered at me. “Although... You're a Breton, aren't you? Are you a fellow scholar? Perhaps even a fellow wizard?”

    I have no idea why he thought I was a Breton. I hadn't told anyone my name. Unless, of course, I'd lost more time than I thought, and someone else from Riverwood had been in this town and mentioned me while I'd been... somewhere... without knowing it. But if that had happened, surely everyone here would have known about Helgen before I mentioned it. The dragon must have been the most exciting news in Riverwood for – well, quite possibly years, if there hadn't been too much civil warfare in the area. Anyone who left Riverwood after hearing about the dragon attack would be bound to talk about it. I didn't really think about that at the time, though. My attention had been caught by the man's last few words.

    “You're a wizard?”

    The look he gave me would have flash-frozen anyone less desperate.

    Clearly I am Jarl Balgruuf's court wizard, Farengar Secret-Fire. Who did you think I was?”

    “I didn't know.” I was trying to sound placatory. If he was a wizard, maybe he could help me... “Do you know how I can find the Synod? Or the Whispering College?” I was sure that wasn't right, but I couldn't remember what Ma'Jhan had called it.

    “Ha! Why would you want them? They do nothing but argue with each other. What's wrong with proper Skyrim wizards?” There were Skyrim wizards? “If you want to learn the art of magic, you should go to the College in Winterhold.”

    Winterhold. I'd seen that on the map, way off to the north-east.

    “They don't let just anyone in, though. You'll have to learn some of the basics before you get there. So, I have a deal for you. You go and fetch my stone tablet – or discover it isn't there – and I'll teach you a couple of spells. It won't be enough to get you into the College, but I don't have the time to train you properly. You can find someone else to teach you the rest you need. I need to find out about these dragons. Where have they been all these centuries? Where are they coming from now? Why is it happening?”

    Well. That was excellent. I'd found someone who could tell me how to get to some wizards, although it worried me a little that Ma'Jhan hadn't mentioned these particular ones. Perhaps Ma'Jhan had just thought they were too far away, or he'd thought it was a bad idea to go into Skyrim because of the civil war. But perhaps it was because Skyrim's wizards were famous for something particular – something that would be no use for helping me get home, or finding out what was wrong with me. Still, I had nothing to lose by talking to them. Presumably they should still be quite well-educated, so they might have some idea what I needed. At the very least they might be able to tell me who could help me, if they couldn't. But it sounded as if I was going to have to convince the people in Winterhold that I could do magic before they'd even think about helping me. Since I don't believe they can do magic, because I don't believe there is any such thing, that's going to be a problem.

    Still, there must be some way of convincing them, right? Otherwise, there wouldn't be anyone like this Farengar around the place. The Jarl must have believed Farengar could do magic, or he wouldn't have hired him. So maybe all I have to do is learn some flashy tricks – sleight of hand or something – and there's no reason Farengar can't teach me that. And all I have to do before he'll teach me was to rummage around in some fallen-down building looking for this rock for him. I don't even have to actually find the thing; I just have to make sure I don't get trapped under any fallen columns, and avoid bits of ruin landing on my head.

    “All right. It's a deal.”
    Last edited by Caillagh de Bodemloze; April 15, 2018 at 10:49 AM.






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