Turdas, 11th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 201
We're spending tonight in Breezehome, and it's too crowded in here!
We have an unexpected house guest, but I found a cot folded up in the cellar he can use.
At least tomorrow morning should be better than this one.
This morning Agnis, the lady who lives in the fort, roused us by jabbing at us with her broom handle, then gave us all an earful for making a mess!
She's the caretaker of Fort Greymoor, and doesn't give a skeever's ass who runs the place. She just cooks and makes sure it's clean, and expects whoever's in it to not make her job any harder than it already is.
This explains the neat stacks of plates and well-organized cutlery in the kitchen.
We got up and apologized profusely, then said we'd help her clean. She ordered "all you armored boneheads" to take care of the bodies - she directed them to an unused cistern to dump them in - and handed me a mop to "clean up what you spilt."
I haven't been yelled at like that since I was in the orphanage, but it was like a switch went off my head!
At least I wasn't alone. We all snapped to attention and did as we were told, with a lot of "Yes, ma'am"s and scurrying about. Septim wisely made himself scarce.
I apologized for what happened to her "companion" but she didn't really care. She said it wasn't the first time that happened, and probably wouldn't be the last!
Agnis was in a much better mood once the place was cleared up, and had made us a hearty breakfast while we worked. She asked if we intended to set up there, and we declined.
She was fine with that, and wished us good luck as we left.
With the exception of an overly-ambitious thief who thought she could rob us, the way back to Whiterun was quiet. It was about noon when we got there, and I went straight to Adrienne to do some trading. It took longer than I expected, but she was chatty and took some time to admire Lydia's new armor.
After that, we came here to get some lunch and drop off what I'm not going to sell today. We made our way through the market, then to the Temple of Kynareth to find Danica.
The Temple of Kynareth is beautiful, but mostly full of wounded soldiers. As soon as Erandur saw the state of things, he put his hand over his heart and went to speak with a tall man in monk robes who was carefully taking off a soldier's armor so he could treat him. Valdimar went to follow him, and gestured for Lydia to come, too.
I knew Erandur would rush to help the people there as soon as he could, and while Valdimar's not great at Healing magic, he can help in other ways. Looking back, I have the feeling that Lydia was overwhelmed by all the suffering in front of her. I can't blame her. How Danica and her healers manage to do it day after day is a mystery to me.
I found Danica arguing with a dark-haired man, a Breton, over at the the shrine.
The man, Maurice Jondrelle, is our house guest tonight.
He's a pilgrim, who "follows the voice of Kynareth" and came here to Whiterun to see the Gildergreen. He's upset at the state of it, and was wondering how Danica could let it stay like it is.
She explained that with the war, she and her people were flooded with soldiers and innocent people who got caught up in the battles. With her normal load of illnesses and such on top of that, she barely had time to eat or sleep, much less tend to the Gildergreen.
I interrupted their argument by saying I had Nettlebane, and Danica was shocked. She honestly didn't expect me to come back (survive, it felt like) but was glad that I'd kept my word. She asked if we would be willing to get sap from the Eldergleam for her, and I didn't even have to answer. I just gestured to my friends.
Danica's eyes got wide when she saw that she suddenly had three more people tending to the wounded. Even Septim was doing his part; he'd plopped down by a wounded man, who was now scratching his ears.
I offered to do some Healing, too, and she gratefully accepted before marking the Eldergleam Sanctuary on my map.
I took over for Erandur, who said he'd be back with some potions, and while I worked on a soldier's arrow wound, Maurice came up to talk with me.
He said he'd always wanted to worship at the Eldergleam, and asked if he could come with us. I was hesitant, but agreed to let him tag along so long as he didn't get in the way, and could make himself useful at the Temple until we left.
I have a sneaking suspicion that if I didn't take him with us he'd just hang around the Temple and drive Danica mad with his complaining.
It was a long day at the Temple, and we didn't leave until nightfall. Lydia learned how to properly remove an arrow, but I thought Maurice was going to faint when Valdimar had him help change bandages. He mostly ran supplies back and forth and made sure everyone had water, but that alone was a big help.
Erandur came back with a small box full of potions, and explained them to Danica and her healers. He told me later he'd made a nice selection for them. A handful for Health and to Cure, obviously, but half of them were to help people sleep. He'd also thrown in a few to stop the spread of poison, and some for the healers to Restore Magicka in case of an emergency.
When we were finished, Danica thanked us once again for all our help, and we left for here.
Erandur gave me A Look, so I invited Maurice to spend the night with us. He was grateful to have a free bed for the night, and promised to cook us dinner.
I'll give credit where credit is due - Maurice is an amazing cook!
As for being good company, all he did was complain about how we're wasting time, and how annoyed he is that Danica "let" the tree die. Never mind it was struck by lightning! Erandur tried to reason with him, but it was no use.
I wanted no part of it, so I left for the alchemy lab in the side room.
Erandur glowered and said, "My Lady is testing me," when he escaped his conversation with Maurice to "help me" with some alchemy. I had to needle him a bit for having me invite him to stay for the night. I was just going to give Maurice some coins so he could get a room at The Bannered Mare!
You know, I wasn't even mixing anything, just moving things around and making noise.
Valdimar saved us all from more of the pilgrim's nonsense by saying that we should turn in early. We had a long way to go, and he wasn't lying. The Sanctuary is in Eastmarch, a little bit north of Darkwater Crossing. We could probably get there by nightfall tomorrow, if we hurried.
Maurice was excited at the prospect of seeing the Eldergleam so soon, and he eagerly set up his bedroll on the cot. I'd brought it up to the main room so he'd get some warmth from the fire. Hopefully a comfortable night's sleep will make him less annoying tomorrow.
The others are upstairs in their rooms, and I grabbed myself a bottle of wine to drink while I write.
Thank Kynareth her man doesn't snore. I think I'd just give up and go to The Bannered Mare if he did.
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