#ivarstead

Spoiler alert: I did not pack what I need and on top of that I'm weighed down by monster parts, so I will be headed back down the road towards Riften to sell my junk and gear up.

We got to Ivarstead too late to reach Orphan Rock, so we're staying at the Vilemyr Inn for the night.

Aside from a lot of wild animals on the road and some skeletons, I would count today as a quiet one, but we did see something amazing!

We left Mistwatch, and saw some ruins in the shallow spring in front of it. They looked like an old extension of the fort, so we decided to investigate to see if we could find anything.

All we found were three skeletons laying on stone slabs that got up and tried to kill us.

Still, I got some bone meal, so that's handy.

We kept going across the springs, towards Darkwater Crossing. The weather was still terrible, and I was thankful when the little mining camp came into view. A Stormcloak soldier told us that Anneke was in the mine, so we went in to look for her.

She taught me some techniques for moving about in light armor in exchange for us taking care of the bandit chief on the Winter War. She said she'd be willing to come with us, but I declined. I'm sure she's an able fighter, but taking care of all of us and a dog is hard enough already!

We left the mine and crossed the river to the road so we could make the long trek up the mountain.

Lucky for us, the weather cleared as we crossed the bridge. I wasn't looking forward to the hike in the first place, but not having to deal with a thunderstorm on top of it was a blessing.

The way up the mountain was quiet, aside from a lot of bears, wolves and frostbite spiders. I was able to fill a handful of the soul gems I've been collecting, which is good. Recharging all of our enchanted staves and weapons eats through them!

I've had Soul Trap for a while now, but I always forget to use it, and I keep running out of arrows for my enchanted bow because the others need them more than I do. I've gotten good enough with Conjuration that bound weapons I summon will do Soul Trap automatically, so I've been trying to use my bound bow more.

It's a lot stronger than my Elven bow, too, so I'm thinking I might just… Not carry one. I dunno. Might feel weird to not carry one, but at least I won't run out of arrows.

The only bad thing about the bound bow is that it takes about three times as long to summon it and get an arrow nocked as it does to get my regular bow out. I mean, all bound weapons are like that, but having the extra space for loot is nice!

Eh, I'll think about it.

Anyway, we made our way to Ivarstead, and along the way I noticed a bright glow coming from a farm that we've passed by before.

It's a bit back from the road, so I haven't paid much attention to the place in the past. It's right by where the first assassin attacked me.

The others could see it, too, and as we got closer we could hear a familiar chiming sound coming from the glowing field.

We couldn't believe it! Erandur, for once, was speechless.

The field was full of nirnroot!

I'm nowhere near the alchemist Erandur is, but even I know that nirnroot only grows wild.

At least, I thought I did!

There was an older Dunmer woman tending to a neighboring field full of normal crops, and we went to ask her about the nirnroot.

Poor Septim. He doesn't like the sound of it, and frankly, neither do I. Too shrill for me. He ran back to the path and stayed there while we spoke.

Her name is Avrusa Sarethi, and she owns the farm. She says she's the only person alive who knows how to cultivate nirnroot from seed, and I believe it! She said it was tiring work, essentially running two farms and taking care of her little sister.

She and Erandur chatted a bit, and she said she used to be alchemist. Apparently she'd had a shop in Vivec City before Red Mountain erupted. She might reopen one here in Skyrim, perhaps.

She then leaned on the fence railing and said something in Dunmeri to Erandur.

All right, I've never seen him do this, and I had to pretend to look at the nirnroot field to keep from laughing. His whole… Everything shifted, and I think I got a peek at his old self. His stance changed, his shoulders loosened, and even his expression turned to something that I can only describe as… Well, he looked rakish!

Dru and I usually avoid men like that. They know the game too well and make terrible marks.

Anyway, Avrusa was obviously flirting with him, and while I know he rebuffed her, he did it in such a way that she actually laughed. In fact, after a short conversation, she thanked him (for what, I'd learn later), and went back to work.

We left, and once we got to the main road, the rest of us burst out laughing. Erandur groaned and pulled his hood farther over his face.

Valdimar asked if he could explain, and Erandur told him to go ahead. He said that she'd made a comment about how opening a shop would be easier if she could find another alchemist to "partner up" with.

Erandur had politely refused, citing his dedication to Mara and how someone like him would only hold "a woman of her astounding talents" back. We laughed and Valdimar continued, saying that while she doubted that, Erandur was quick to point out that she was doing what everyone thought was impossible. The "impossible" isn't easy, she said, and asked him if he could help her out.

Avrusa said that jazbay grapes are essential to growing nirnroot (good to know) and asked for twenty. She simply doesn't have the time or the energy to go looking for them.

Or course he agreed, and that's what she thanked him for.

By this time Ivarstead came into view, and we headed straight for the mill to hand Temba her bear pelts. She was glad to have them, and gave me an enchanted axe for my troubles. I can't buy any lumber from her yet, but maybe once she's done grumbling about the bears I'll be able to.

I admit, as we walked here, I did my best to ignore the signposts. I know Septim sensed something was up. He fell into step beside me, and the others I know were trying to distract me from them.

Anyway, we got rooms here for the night and had dinner. I ordered some drinks from Wilhelm after we ate, and while he poured we got to talking. He was thankful we took care of their "ghost" problem, and said that since we were good at solving problems, we might be interested in a bounty letter he had from the jarl. Some bandits were causing trouble, and the Jarl of Riften was offering a reward to whoever took them out.

I made a note of the location, and thanked him for the information before I carried our drinks back to our table. Once we were settled with our drinks we couldn't help but tease Erandur about his behavior earlier, and he said he couldn't help it! When someone's clearly flirting with him, he does it back. It's practically a reflex.

Valdimar raised an eyebrow at this over his food, and did his Thinking Face. Lydia and I traded our "we'll gossip about this later" looks.

That's exactly what we did after drinks! We'd both seen Erandur pour on the charm when Avrusa started coming on to him. He's clearly very skilled at it, and we couldn't help but wonder if they taught him that in the Cult, too? It would come in handy, and no doubt those skills are well-suited to crime.

I should know!

He also didn't look flustered at all. Not even a tiny bit! So why does he get flustered when Valdimar does it? If he doesn't think Valdimar's flirting with him (he said he'd do it back otherwise) then what does he think? And what was with that face Valdimar made earlier? Is he reconsidering some tactics or something?

ARGH this is confusing!

Anyway, we agreed to keep a close watch on the both of them to see if we could figure anything out. Lydia promised to pry whatever information she could get out of Valdimar.

Part of me thinks I shouldn't care so much about this, and that it's just a distraction, but I need it. When I start thinking too hard about the road ahead, and the war, and having to go up the 7000 steps to talk to the Greybeards, I feel like crawling under the blankets and not coming out.

Or walking up to the bar and drinking Orcish Forgewater until I forget.

Those work great for breakups and jobs that go bust, but not having to deal with Destiny.

Oh, well. Right now my Destiny is bed. Tomorrow we get Nettlebane from the hagravens, then go from there.

---

Quill-Finder woke with a start. adrenaline flooded her system. she looked around. the walls, the floor, the bed. all were unfamiliar to her. and it scared her.

she reached for her axe, only finding bare scales. there was still a burning pain in her back and chest. gripping where the sword once protruded, she found... nothing. just a scar of where she had once been pierced through.

against all odds, once more, she was alive. she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or angry. She pushed from the bed, only to find a hand clasping her collarbone, guiding her back down.

Lydia, still clad in armor, for the first time since meeting her, had a look of fear and concern as she sat in the chair just next to the bed. "You're finally awake." She said, smiling weakly.

"What happened...?" Quill-finder asked. she rubbed her temples trying her best to remember. "I remember the Sabertooth, and then..."

"you were stabbed." Lydia responded. "we took down the Sabertooth, and we had forgotten all about the camp leader. he managed to sneak up behind you, and..." Lydia lowered her head.

there was a long pause between the two. Quill-Finder was angry. not so much at Lydia, but at herself. she had led with her pride, and nearly died as a result. and Lydia, the woman assigned to babysit her, had to clean up the mess Quill-Finder left behind.

"Look." Lydia spoke. "I... owe you an apology."

Quill-Finder blinked.

"It's clear now that you can handle yourself in a fight, and I judged you too harshly."

Quill-Finder opened her mouth to speak

"It's just--" Lydia continued, "Sons and daughters of skyrim are dying every day. some for their homeland, others for their loyalty. All of them for what they feel is right. and no songs will be sung for any of them."

Quill-Finder closed her mouth, sitting back and listening.

"They'll sing songs of the famous Dragonborn, and how she saved Skyrim from ruin." Lydia's face turned stern as she looked towards the door to what Quill-Finder now assumed was an inn. music could be heard faintly as if to emphasize Lydia's point. "They'll sing songs about you."

"Lydia, I--"

"we're sitting here while good men and women die, and we honor... merchants. I don't doubt that you killed that dragon, Quill-Finder." Lydia's eyes turned to the argonian. the fury that was there was now gone. replaced with a sadness and resignation. "I just doubt you did it alone. and what angers me is that those that gave their lives, the ones that fought bravely and won't come home, will be forgotten."

Quill-Finder sat with the words for a moment. it's not that they stung. it's that they were a harsh truth and one that didn't sit well with her either. "I... never asked to be dragonborn." Quill-Finder finally said. "I never asked to be fated for this."

Quill-Finder sat up. she shook her head, offering a tired smile to hide the anger she felt. "Hells," she continued. "if it was up to me, I'd be collecting my books and going home. I wouldn't be going to Ivarstead or High Hrothgar, and I certainly wouldn't be picking fights with bandits to prove some inane point..."

She was quiet for a moment.

"I'm... sorry too." Quill-Finder's gaze fell to the floor. she lowered her head partly in anger, partly in shame. "I deliberately and needlessly put myself in harms way, and you had to deal with the repercussions of that."

the two were quiet. Lydia seemed to be in thought while she considered the situation and what was said. She sighed. "If nothing else, it's good to get out of Whiterun once in the while." Lydia spoke. a hint of a smile formed at her lips. "And you're no merchant. So it's not a total waste. Imagine me assigned to Nazeem."

Quill-Finder chucked. It hurt, but she felt it worth the pain.

"Now," Lydia stood from the chair, and opened up the nearby dresser. "your last clothes were nothing but ribbons when I got to you. it's not the same, but..." she tossed a set of clothes towards the argonian. a dress of sorts.

With much grunting and pleading for help, Quill-Finder stiffly wriggled into the new set of the clothes. Once it was on, It was comfy, to say the least. she did a twirl, letting the dress catch the air slightly before finally settling back down. she smiled.

"Now, if you promise not to make my job harder than it has to be," Lydia chucked, though there was a serious underlying bite that she did not hide. "I think we have some greybeards to see."

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