ha-HA!!! Cameron!!!

Well, crap...... I still want my money from your first try!

Here you go! :Hands money: Hmm should we stop thread Hi-jacking?

*looks around at everyone* Yeah, maybe we should..... *Disappears into Black Hand's shadow*

This post has been edited by Lord Revan: Jul 27 2007, 08:57 PM

Chapter 15. Attack



Svenja was up and giving orders, and the people of Thirsk obeyed joyfully. I had feared that they would view what had happened to Svenja as a sign of weakness and would no longer follow her lead, but this was not the case. All were glad that she was back to her old self.

"Come with me, Rashelle."

I followed her into the mead hall. As the man yesterday had told me, the interior was a mess. All of the furniture had been smashed into kindling. There were dead bodies and severed limbs strewn about. The stairs to the upper level had been ripped out. Some of the support pillars had even been destroyed.

"Rashelle, I just had a thought. Could you levitate upstairs and see if anyone has been trapped up there?"

I nodded. I cast the spell and floated up. Quickly I checked the upper level. I entered each room, picking locked doors where necessary. No one had been left behind. I returned to Svenja with the good news.

She led me towards the back.

"we'll drag those bodies out later: they are not in a hurry any more. Help me clear some of the debris. I need to reach the bar."

When we had cleared a way to the back, she went behind the bar and bent down. She reappeared, holding a chest.

"We'll use the gold in here to hire workers. We will begin repairs today."

I nodded.

"Help me find my axe."

We searched the wreckage and eventually found it.

"Svenja?"

She looked questioningly at me.

"What happened? To you, I mean."

She sighed.

"I'm tough, as we all have to be in this land. I can go out and hunt without fear. I can fight bears, spriggans, draugr, those rieklings. I've even fought the odd grahl, but I've never fought something like that thing before. It flicked me away like a dried snot."

She shuddered.

"Rashelle, I've worked here since I was a child. I grew up here. I've always lived here. I was raised here. My mother gave birth to me in this room. This is my home, my life, my safe place. Then that thing burst down the doors and destroyed it all. In a few short minutes, that monster destroyed my entire life."

She looked like she was going to cry again.

I hugged her and said, "Svenja. I'm sorry. Thirsk will be repaired. It will be OK."

She nodded.

I took a step back, placed my hands on her shoulders, looked her in the eyes and said: "I would like to go and kill that creature now. Can I leave you, so that I may do this?"

"Rashelle, it may kill you. I'm not sure I could take that. You've become a good friend in such a short time."

"I can handle it."

"Are you sure?"

I lifted my hands away, grinned and made sparks fly from my fingers. She smiled and nodded. I departed.

Though an afternoon and a night had passed, the creature was still easy to track; I simply followed the trail of blood down towards the lake.

The blood led to rock outcrop by the edge of the ice and then disappeared. I looked out over the lake. A horker seemed to be waving to me: they are such adorable creatures. I smiled.

I walked between the lake and the outcrop. There was a new hole in the ground. it looked as if something had torn its way up through the snowy ground from some unknown depth. I looked down the hole and saw that, a few feet down, it bent from the vertical, towards the east. Since this was where trail of blood ended, this had to be where Udyrfrykte had gone.

I hopped down into the hole and found myself in an ice passage. I followed this down and east. As I descended, the light filtering though the ice grew darker, but never became totally dark: this low level of lighting, combined with the Ring of Azura's enchantment, enabled me to see clearly.

The passage widened. In front of me was a thick pillar of ice. I walked to the left and passed the pillar. The Udyrfrykte was there, looking just as it had been described to me previously. Its eyes did indeed glow. I could see the partially dismembered remains of a corpse, which it had been feeding on. From the clothing, I identified the body as that of Skjoldr Wolf-runner, the chieftain of Thirsk.

The creature roared, ripped an arm from the corpse and threw it at me. I dodged and cast a large fireball. The Udyrfrykte growled, picked up a severed leg ... and ran for me.

I cast another fireball and then Chrysamere was in my hands.

With its sickening weapon, the foul creature swung. There was a meaty impact and I was sent spinning through the air.

I smashed into an icy wall. As I rose to my feet, I cast a poison spell and a large fireball. The creature screamed, waved the now-burning leg, and threw it at me. I ducked the grisly missile and ran forward. The beast raised its arm to strike. I dodged and then slashed with my claymore. The fetcher surprised me by kicking. Its feet impacted squarely on my cuirass and I was sailing through the air ... again. I slammed into the wall. I saw stars and I felt a sharp pain my leg. I quickly quaffed a Restore Health potion.

I wished I still had some of those dark brotherhood darts from Mournhold. They would have been handy right then. Unfortunately, I had used them up some time ago. I had only my sword and my spells. I picked myself up and moved forward.

The creature growled and charged. I chopped and its arm went flying. I dodged the swing of its other arm and slashed with my blade. The beast kicked, missing me this time. I ran.

Roaring with pain and anger, the Udyrfrykte pursued. I ran past the pillar and turned to keep it between the beast and myself. The creature was fast but so was I.

We were now at a stalemate of sorts, as the pillar prevented it from directly charging at me: whichever way it ran around, I could scurry away in the other direction.

Louder than before, so that my ears hurt, the creature roared its frustration. It darted around the pillar and appeared on my left. I hit it with a shock spell and ran to to the right. The Udyrfrykte tried to repeat this maneuver from the opposite direction and was rewarded with a fireball.

The whole ice cave seemed to shudder as the creature dashed itself against the pillar.

I darted around the right and slashed with Chrysamere. The beast howled and I leaped back. Again it smashed into the pillar. I ran around to the right again and stabbed: My aim was lucky and one of its glowing green eyes was punctured. The creature twitched, as if trying to swing its missing arm at me. I could see that blood was still gushing from the stump.

The beast charged but I again used the pillar as cover.

I cast a shock bolt spell. The creature shuddered and then shrieked once. The green glow in its remaining eye faded and and it fell forward onto the floor of the cave. I waited. Silence descended. The beast was still.

The Udyrfrykte could have been playing dead to draw me within its reach, but I ran towards it anyway. I chopped and its head was half severed from its body. I then knew that it was really dead.

"Nobody ... nothing ... hurts my friend," I hissed.

I wiped Chrysamere clean on the creature's fur.

After pausing to take a potion, I explored the cavern. It was small, really just the one chamber. There were pieces of armor and shreds of clothing and many skulls ... all from previous victims.

There was chest in the back of the cave. I opened it but there was nothing of interest inside.

Since the chieftain had been torn to pieces, I was not going to bring him back to Thirsk: I have my limits.

I looked at the Udyrfrykte. It looked a heavy beast but I wanted to reassure my friend that Thirsk was safe again: I would bring the body to her. I cast a Feather spell: it would allow me to carry heavy objects more easily. I then took hold of the creature by its feet and pulled.

Dragging the Udyrfrykte behind me, I walked up the ice passage. When I reached the hole, I had a terrible time pulling that creature up to the surface. When that feat had been accomplished, I took a few moments to rest and look out on the frozen lake. The sight of the horkers disporting on the ice soothed me. They were so cute.

I cast the feather spell again.

Up the snowy slope I trudged, still with the Udyrfrykte in tow. I was tired. My arms, though strong, were beginning to ache. The feather spell cut out: I paused to cast it again and then pressed on.

I heard shouting. I looked up to see some of the people from Thirsk running down the slope, towards me.

"She killed it!"

"You did it!"

I smiled. The group reached me. They helped me drag the Udyrfrykte the rest of the way up. We stopped when we reached Svenja. She was speechless.

"I killed it for you."

She lifted me up in a bear hug and shouted "thank you" over and over again. Again, I was glad that I was wearing a cuirass.

Looking past her shoulder, It was apparent that Svenja had already gotten the work started. I could see that many of the bodies and much of the debris had already been removed from the interior of the hall.

"Svenja?" I said.

"Yes?"

"I can't breath."

She released me and laughed.

"I am sorry Rashelle. Thank you so much."

I smiled.

"What of our chieftain?"

"What is left of his body, is in pieces. You don't want to see it."

She nodded. That was the end of the matter.

"Rashelle. You have done a very good thing for Thirsk, and for me. The hall will be rebuilt and sagas will be written about what you have done today."

I looked down. Such praise was unnecessary. The people around us cheered.

She placed a hand under my chin and gently raised it so that I was looking up at her again. "And you will be the chieftain."

"What?!"

"Each chieftain of Thirsk attains their status by a great victory in battle. Any warrior, regardless of race or sex, can claim leadership of the mead hall by displaying the most impressive battle trophy on the pedestal in the mead hall."

I blinked.

"You have saved Thirsk by killing this mighty beast. Its heart will be the trophy: it will be cut out and preserved. By slaying this beast and by bringing it here, you have just passed two of the requirements to become the next chieftain. There is only one remaining task to be performed."

I waited.

"But first, I think you should continue your werewolf investigation for the Imperials and the Skaal. I shudder to think what would happen if werewolves were to attack us, especially now. Also, I wonder why the Udyrfrykte stirred from its lair now. Could this attack somehow have been connected to your werewolf attack?"

"Svenja ... will you be OK?"

"Yes Rashelle. I am still a warrior. By having met a creature that I could not best, I have merely learned my limits."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Rashelle; I am sure. You have done much for me and I appreciate it but but for now, go and see to this matter. And in a few days we'll talk about making you the chieftain."

"OK."

There was more cheering.

I departed. I could have walked to the Skaal village, but I was not yet ready to return there. I could have cast Divine Intervention to go directly to the fort, but I had no business there. I decided that I would go to Raven Rock, but I would walk instead of using Recall: I needed some time to myself.

After fighting some spriggans and a pack of wolves, it began to snow. A wind began to blow. Visibility was not so good but I was happy to be striding through the swirling snow.

A berserker, some rieklings and a few bear attacks later, I noticed a mound of snow with a door in it: another dwelling or cave. Curious as ever, I decided to investigate.

"Hello, is anyone home?" I called.

I heard no answer so I entered. I found myself in another ice cave.

"Hello?" I called as I walked along the downward-sloping passage.

I arrived at a beautiful chamber of ice crystals. There were platforms of wood and on them were various crates and pieces of furniture. A few torches here and there and a fire provided light.

A Nord woman stood on one platform, not far from the fire. She was dressed in the usual furs and she wore an odd-looking fur hat that hid most of her blond hair. Her face had a mean, pinched, expression on it. For some reason I remembered something that I had often overheard parents saying to their children: "if you keep making that nasty face, some day it will freeze like that."

For this woman, it had.

"Brandr is my husband," she shouted, "do you hear me, Mine! That harlot, Erna, will pay!"

I had the feeling that I had walked into a conversation that was already in progress, but no one else was in the cave.

"Pardon?"

"Hello, stranger. I am Kjolver. My, you look quite the warrior. I'll bet you've done a lot of killing in your time."

I frowned. Had Sheogorath touched this woman?

She approached me. I had an impulse to back away but I resisted it.

"You walk around outside in the snow wearing only that?"

I nodded.

"don't you get cold?"

I shook my head.

"From the storm you come, unaffected by the cold and the snow. Truly, you are a Nord on the inside."

I said nothing.

"you carry such a big weapon, your arms have hard muscles. You are obviously a warrior."

I was mute.

"You have the aspect of death upon you. Your hair, it is black like the feathers of the raven. Wherever there is death on the battlefield, there are the ravens."

I remained silent. She was close to me now.

"Even your eyes are black. They are ink-black pools. I need a death, yes I do. You will be the agent of death for me, an avenging black-haired killer."

"What in Nirn are you talking about?"

"My husband, Brandr, is cheating on me. He is up at the Skaal village, having an affair with Erna the Quiet. I should be enough for him. I want you to kill Erna. I will reward you well."

"No."

"What?"

"No. I am not a killer for hire."

"But your bearing, your hair, your weapon ... you are every inch a killer. Striding in from that storm outside, all in black, you could be an avatar of death, sent by the gods to aid me."

My adamantium boots were silver in color, not black, but she must have decided to ignore that little detail.

"I kill to defend, to protect and only when necessary," I said. "I am not some Nord death god. I will not kill this Erna."

"You have to!"

"Good day sera."

"I trust you'll keep this matter in confidence?"

I left.

I resumed my journey. That conversation had disturbed me: my happy mood had evaporated and the snow no longer cheered me. Soon, I reached water and realized that I had drifted north of my intended path. I knew that northwest and west would lead me to Geilir the Mumbling's place and that Raven Rock would be due south ... to my left. I turned and started off. The remainder of my trip went without further incident. The snow had tapered off by the time I arrived at the colony. It was now late in the afternoon.

The place was almost unrecognizable. It had certainly expanded. To the north, work had started on a stone wall. There were more buildings. I saw many people walking about who I did not recognize.

I found Falco. He appeared to be relieved to see me.

"Rashelle, good to see you. How go things?"

"Interesting."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Long story."

"Fair enough," he said.

"You have a problem don't you?"

"Yes, Rashelle. I am sorry to burden you right as you arrive, but there was an attack last night."

"Werewolves?"

"Possibly. This morning we found a man dead. The body was outside and his throat had been ripped out. No one saw the attack. It could have been one of several animals but I think it was a werewolf."

"Strange that there was only one. The attack on the fort involved an entire pack."

He shrugged and said. "I don't know. I guess there is nothing to do, save to hire guards."

I nodded. "Good idea."

"Rashelle, could you go around and ask around and see if anyone here would like to become a guard?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Normally I would ask headquarters to hire guards and send them, but it is quicker if we can find people here. I can avoid much paper work and I want to have guards sooner rather than later. I don't know when another beast or werewolf will attack."

"That makes sense. I will find some people."

"Thank you Rashelle, and welcome back."

I smiled.

I walked around the town, talking to familiar faces and being introduced to the new ones. I found some people who were willing and, of them, I selected two who I thought had the proper physique and attitude. I wanted someone who could actually perform guard duty, yet someone who was not going to be a bully. Many guards ended up being more of a problem then what they were supposed to defend against: I did not want that to happen at Raven Rock.

I was sure that Reinhardt would have made an excellent guard, but I had an intuition that I would need him later for something else. I did not have a fully-formed plan, just the vague feeling ... so I did not ask him.

To be thorough, I also checked within the mine. I found a third person down there who was both willing and suitable for the job.

Falco was pleased when I presented him with a list of the three names.

"I'll draft a note and send them to the fort for some training and for some armor."

"Do you want me to fetch them now and escort them?"

"No, I'll give them Divine Intervention scrolls to get to the fort. For the return trip, they can take the boat."

I nodded.

It was now sunset so I decided that, after dinner, I would need a place to rest for the night. My usual spot had been replaced by a building, so I could no longer sleep there. I asked Falco about this.

"Rashelle, I can assign you a house of your own. We have managed to build two or three extra ones. With that werewolf around, I would feel more at ease if you did not sleep outside."

"Thank you."

I was not so concerned about being attacked, but with the colony now looking more like a real town, I was going to feel embarrassed if I continued to sleep outside.

In the bar, I found myself eating my supper while seated next to an Altmer named Athellor. He was dressed in clothing made of furs as if he were a native of Solstheim. He was friendly and we talked. It turned out that he was on a personal quest of sorts.

"You see, Rashelle, I believe that some of my ancestors were Falmer."

"Rieklings?"

He laughed.

"No, I am convinced that the Falmer, or snow elves, were Elven. They were not these degenerate little rieklings. Some scholars believe that the Falmer did not disappear, but rather that they intermingled with the other Elven races over time and lost their identity. I am sure that I have some Falmer blood in my veins. I would like to prove that they existed here in Solstheim. The thing is, I haven't got the, err, skills needed to travel around in this very dangerous land."

I began to see where this conversation was heading.

"An adventurer, such as yourself, could travel this land freely and perhaps find evidence of my theories."

I smiled.

"I would pay handsomely."

I shrugged. Money was no longer a concern for me.

"All I would ask is that you investigate the ancient Nord barrows around here for any evidence you can find."

"That sounds easy enough, though I cannot guarantee success. What sort of evidence do you seek?"

"I do not know: just something that makes it clear that the Falmer were not Rieklings and that they were here in Solstheim at some point in the past."

"Fair enough. I can do that."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me until I've actually done it."

He laughed.

"Here is 200 gold for equipment and traveling expenses."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry: if you don't find anything, you won't need to pay it back."

"Very well then, sera."

I accepted the money. It was probably easier to do that than to refuse. People get weird when I don't take their money.

Though it was still early, I decided that it was time for me to go to bed. I had gotten no sleep the previous night and this was beginning to catch up to me. Falco had already given me a key to my new house and he had described its location, so I was all set.

I rose and walked through the room, towards the door. I could see that Apronia was talking to a man. She noticed me and gave me a look that indicated that all was fine. I smiled.

I went outside and, in a short time, located my new house. I was pleased to see that it was one of the smaller buildings. The key turned and I found myself inside. The house had already been furnished with a bed. I barred the door but I still left my armor on when I went to bed.

A scream woke me up. It was the sound of a man in terrible pain and in terror. I was not sure what time it was but it felt as if I had been asleep for only two or three hours. I leaped from the bed, threw the bar from my door, and ran outside.

It was snowing, heavily.

I heard a growling that sounded very much like a large wolf. The sound of the man screaming stopped ... in mid-scream.

I ran between the buildings, trying to find out what was going on. The sound did not repeat. I turned a corner and saw a man whose throat had been ripped out. I ran to him. He was dead, and had obviously just been killed. It had been his scream I heard. I recognized him as the man I had seen with Apronia before. Where was she?

I then noticed that there were pieces of bloody cloth near the body. With an unpleasant chill I recognized the fabric: those were pieces of Apronia's dress.

I spun and looked around me, as quickly as I could in the thick falling snow. To the west I saw a smaller scrap of cloth and some blood. I ran toward it. I thought I saw more blood but the snow was covering it already. My foot struck a hard object. I kicked and saw Elberoth's sword, still in its sheath, emerge from the snow. Apronia had been wearing that sword. I could see faint depressions in the snow. They led west and they could have been footprints but it was hard to tell: they were rapidly filling in as the snow continued to fall.

Westward, between buildings, I raced.

I reached the western edge of the town to see ... nothing: no blood, no more clothing, no footprints, no trail of any kind. The snow had erased all trace of the werewolf's passage. A werewolf had Apronia ... and I had no idea where she had been taken. For once, I cursed the snow.

Perhaps due to an over-developed sense of ironic stories, I don't think Rashelle is correct on her theory. But only time will tell, excellent work Blockhead!

Great and entertaining chapter! Especially enjoyed the part where Rashelle stumbled into the place where she found Kjolver. 'Had Sheogorath touched this woman?' Good one there!

Hm, strange creatures (Werewolves? Something else? Oh, the suspense!) in Raven Rock? Interesting twist! Awaiting to see what turns out, although I have a litle different feeling about this than Rashelle...

Rashelle could do to be a bit more paranoid. I suppose she was a bit too desperate at the time to think about the fact the werewolves don't usually kidnap and strip their victims. Arg, the suspence is killing me!

Was that crazy cave woman actually from the game?

I think so. There's a quest which involves killing a lover (And a husband, I think), so this might be it.

Remember that Captain Carius was kidnapped by werewolves.


Yes, but I wrote new dialog: her in-game lines were not crazy enough. Dialog is fun.

That could mean that (If she was really kidnaped) Apronia is important... That, or the werewolf wasn't hungry right now and kept her for a snack.

This post has been edited by Gaius Maximus: Aug 3 2007, 12:18 AM

Just read the first chapter, and I like it quite a bit. The story moves along at a good pace, not getting bogged down with needless detail, but still getting across what is necessary to get across. There was a minimum of technical error as well, which is always a big plus. So... good job!

Yes, I remember, teleporting werewolves. Confusion abounds.

I like the ending to this post; it leaves some mystery for the readers to think on. There appears to be a few theories brewing into people's heads... Very enjoyable update, blockhead!

Yaknow, I've been wondering. What did they do with all those dead naked nords that were left over after the attack? Heh.

Oh jeez....You know the name "Udyrfrykte" is originally Norwegian-inspired (I think) I also am convinced it means: Udyr= Odjur(swe)=Beast. And frykte= frukta(swe)=fear of....So it should really mean "Fear of the beast" Suitable huh?

Anyway I never got that far when I played Bloodmoon, so it´s yet to come for Serene-in-game

Now it´s very entertaining to follow Rashie.....yeah yeah, I´ve said that before, but still!

The dead naked Nords? Well in my opinion they will just freeze and ...be left as they were. On the other hand they might want to bury them....or something

In UESP, it said that a better translation was 'A beast to fear', which is, I assume, the correct one. 'Fear of the Beast'... That sounds weird.

As for the Nords, knowing the Legion, I'd guess they'll throw them in a pile behind the fort. Then throw some snow on it and pretend it's just a normal pile of snow - 'Whadda you mean - 'Reeks like dead bodies'? It's just a normal pile of snow... Oh, ignore that sticking out head...' But that's just my oppinion, anyway.

I think I like Gaius' theory better, minque. No offense, but somehow I think people would have a problem with having a large number of frozen naked nords lying around the courtyard. Aside from being extremely unsettling... Well no, that's pretty much it. Having lots of dead naked people on your lawn is just very unsettling, even if they don't smell thanks to being frozen.

As to the "dead naked Nords", I assume we refer to the werewolf attack on Fort Frostmoth, from a few chapters ago? I imagined that a work detail would be dispatched to dig a hole far enough away from the fort, dump the unidentified bodies in, and bury them. Had this occurred in Vvardenfell, I suppose they would have been cremated: that seems to be the preferred Dunmer method of "burial".

Right. Next chapter:

--

Chapter 16. Spriggans



I ran around through the snow in the vicinity of the colony, keeping mostly to the western area, but did not find Apronia or a werewolf. I found a snow bear. Of course, it attacked me. After dispatching the beast, I searched some more. Eventually, I realized that I would never find her. She was gone.

Defeated, and feeling bad because I had failed in my promise to protect her, I returned to Raven Rock. Falco and several other people were standing by the man's corpse. I explained to them what I had seen and we then pieced together the story.

Apronia had chatted with the man, whose name was Stenar Valeius, for some hours in the bar. They had gone outside for a walk, staying within the colony. This they had done despite the heavy snowfall. A werewolf had run into town, possibly from the west, but there was no way to know that for sure. Said werewolf had killed Stenar, wounded Apronia, ripped some or all of her clothing off, disarmed her and carried her away. None of us had seen the actual attack but we had all heard it.

There was nothing to be done, so I returned to my house for a few more hours of sleep.

When I awoke the next morning, I immediately left the colony: I wanted to search for Apronia again. I knew it was fruitless, as I had no trail to follow, but I stubbornly pressed on.

Southwest of Raven Rock, I found a Dwemer ruin. How much Dwemer activity had there been in Solstheim?

Curious as ever, I drew Chrysamere and entered.

Apronia was sitting in the Dwemer ruin, by the door. Her back was against the wall of the corridor. Her knees were drawn up against her chin and her arms were hugging her legs. She was naked.

"Apronia?" I whispered.

"R-Rashelle," she whispered. I was so glad that she was whispering. She had obviously entered the ruin and had wisely remained by the door. By keeping quiet, none of the Dwemer robots deeper in had noticed her. I hoped she would continue to remain quiet.

"Thank the gods you've found me," she continued to whisper, "I don't think I would have been able to make it to the colony on my own."

I agreed. She would have run into that snow bear that I had slain last night. I knelt beside her and could see that she had been wounded. Claws of some kind has slashed into her side. The wound did not look fatal and it had stopped bleeding, but was certainly nasty. I applied a healing spell and it disappeared.

"Thank you, Rashelle."

I cast a Cure Disease spell, just in case. What little I knew of Lycanthropy indicated that it could be contagious, like a disease.

"How did you get here?" I asked.

She started to weep, though quietly. For this much I was thankful.

"It w-was a werewolf. It attacked Stenar. It killed him and it then carried me off. I tried to resist. My struggles served only to rip my dress and anger it. It ripped away the remainder of my clothing. As soon as we were away from the colony. a spriggan attacked. The werewolf dropped me and fought the spriggan. I ran. I found this old Dwarven ruin and hid here. I figured that if I did not go in any further, I might go undetected. I'd hoped that the metal doors to this place would block my scent and that the snow would cover my trail."

This last took a presence of mind that I would not have expected from Apronia. It was logical and had probably saved her life.

"Was it the werewolf that gave you that injury?"

"Yes, when I resisted."

"Let's get you to the colony."

She wiped her eyes and nodded.

"As before, I'm going to carry you, OK?"

She nodded. I picked her up, holding her so that I had one arm under her legs and one under her shoulders.

I left the ruin and ran. Since I was largely retracing my steps, we did not encounter any creatures on the way back to Raven Rock.

I had expected her to kick up a fuss about being seen naked but she did not. Most likely she was too glad to be returning to the colony, and too glad to be alive, to be concerned about nudity. I spelled open the lock to her house: she did not have her key and I had not thought to search for it earlier.

She climbed into her bed. I drew the blanket over her. The poor girl had had a rough night. Sleep in safe place would do her good.

There was a knock on the door.

"Rashelle! It's me, Falco."

I went to the door and opened it.

"We found her house key in the snow."

He offered me a key and also Apronia's sword.

"Is she OK?"

"Now she is. She was wounded but I healed her. The werewolf met with a spriggan. They fought and Apronia used that opportunity to run away. She spent the night holed up in a Dwemer ruin southwest of here."

"Thank you, Rashelle."

I narrowed my gaze. He was about to tell me that we had another problem.

"After breakfast," I said before he could say another word, "in the bar, OK?"

"OK, Rashelle."

I closed the door and then locked it. I returned to Apronia. She had already fallen asleep. I placed the sheathed sword and her house key on the bedside table. To leave the now-locked house, I cast Recall. I then walked into the Raven Rock bar and ordered breakfast. Falco was already there, so I sat down next to him.

I noticed that he had a mug in his hand. It smelled strange, yet familiar: it made me think of Thirsk.

"What are you drinking?"

"Mead. We got a shipment of it. I've never tried it before and I was curious, so I'm having some. It's not great but it is not bad. Want a sip?"

"No thanks. I don't drink this early in the morning."

He took a sip and then spoke: "Rashelle, the next phase of expansion involves expanding Raven Rock to the east: we're going to build ten or so new houses."

I nodded.

"For some reason, there seem to be a lot of spriggans just east of the colony. Unel Lloran, who is in charge of the construction, refuses to go out there until they've been dealt with. The men and I have slain them but somehow, the next day, more show up. It's rather strange."

It was.

"I'd like you to ascertain what is drawing them and to deal with it."

I nodded. I was all for preserving nature, but that did not extend to the spriggans. Anything I did to get rid of them was a good thing.

"I'm on it."

"Thank you, Rashelle."

The man behind the bar signaled to me: my breakfast was ready. I saw that Unel was in the bar, so I carried my food over to his table.

"Unel, I am going to deal with your spriggan problem. Can you tell me about it?"

"Oh, good! Please sit."

I sat and tore into my breakfast as he related what had occurred.

"Those damn spriggans keep coming back. We kill them three times: the next day they are back. I'm not going out there, nor am I sending my men out there, until I know that they are gone for good."

"Fair enough. Do you have any ideas why spriggans are so attached to that area?"

"I'm not sure, but I have noticed a cluster of trees in that area. Since spriggans look like trees, I thought that maybe cutting those trees down would get rid of the fetchers."

I nodded. That made sense.

"The problem is, we can't cut those trees. They're unusually tough."

Strange. I munched and pondered. I would have to get rid of those trees in order to remove the spriggan menace. Since those trees could not be chopped down, they would have to be removed by some other means. Maybe I could attack them through their roots, but the thought of that much digging made me cringe.

Then I remembered the mine. Perhaps, by chance, the miners had already dug through to the roots from below. It was worth investigating.

"Unel. I've had an idea. I will investigate and get back to you, OK?"

"I'll be here."

In the mine tunnels, I wandered. There had been considerable expansion below the ground. For a time, I simply explored and updated my mental map.

I found and entered the buried barrow that had been mentioned by Falco days ago. I approached the stalhrim coffin. I ran a hand along its icy coolness and smiled.

From my pack I drew the strange axe given to me by Graring. The axe looked so fragile. I gently tapped the coffin. There was the faintest of ringing tones and many small hairline cracks appeared in stalhrim. Fascinating.

I tapped again, a little harder, and the ringing tone sounded again.

I paused and changed my grip on the axe. I wanted to break this stalhrim but I did not want to break the delicate-looking axe. Gingerly, yet with greater force, I again struck.

An icy ringing tone rang though the air, loudly. The stalhrim coffin shattered, scattering pieces of stalhrim on the floor around me.

I sank down to the floor and picked up one of the fragments. At last, I was holding a piece of stalhrim in my hands. The piece I held was the size of my fist. It was surprisingly heavy, much heavier than regular ice. It felt cool to the touch, like real ice. I pressed both hands against it yet it somehow remained cold. I pressed it against my cheek and enjoyed the coolness.

"Rashelle?"

Startled, I whirled around. Some of the miners were standing in the opening to the tomb. They looked at me strangely. I lowered the stalhrim from my face.

"We heard a strange ringing sound and came to investigate. Are you OK?"

"I, I ... broke the stalhrim."

I held the piece, which was still in my hand, up.

"Most impressive. That nasty stuff wouldn't break for anything."

It wasn't nasty, but I did not voice this thought. I placed the piece in my pack: it was getting crowded in there so I did not pick up a second piece.

"I'll be back later to gather the rest of the pieces," I said as I rose to a standing position.

"Understood, Rashelle. We're busy tunneling in another direction so there is no rush."

Good to know.

"By the way," I said, "have any of you encountered any tree roots during your digging?"

"We have ... and we could not dig through them nor cut them."

That sounded about right: it matched Unel's description of uncuttable trees.

"Could you point me that way?"

"Certainly, Rashelle."

I moment or two later and I was in a dead end tunnel, standing by a pool of water. From the ceiling descended roots. They were large and they reached down into the water. There was something about them I did not like, but I could not put a finger on it. I half expected them to writhe into motion and attack me, but they remained still.

I pondered my mental map, matching up surface features with my current underground location. After some thought, I realized that I was outside of the town, to the east. This corresponded to the described surface location of that particular cluster of trees.

A cast of a Recall spell returned me to the surface. I then walked to the east and was almost immediately set upon by two spriggans. I fought them, as usual, and pressed on. A third and fourth spriggan attacked me. it was as if they were guarding something. These I dispatched as I had the first two.

I reached a group of trees. They looked the same as any other trees ... yet I discerned a sense of ... evil. I hissed. I wanted very much to destroy these trees. Without thought, Chrysamere was out and I chopped. My sword rebounded from the trunk. My claymore lashed out again with equal lack of results. I stepped forward, leaned close and examined the trunk. I could see only the faintest of scratches on the bark. A sensation of menace radiated from the tree and I backed away.

I cast a fireball. It Reflected and I burned: somehow the tree had bounced my spell back at me. I quickly sucked down a healing potion.

While I could sense no obvious magic, it was clear that there was something unnatural about these trees.

Still, I mused as I backed away, a tree was a tree: I could not burn them nor chop them ... but I could poison them. The trees did not actually need to be removed: they only needed to be dead. From my alchemical knowledge, I knew that a paste formed from bittergreen petals would kill almost any tree. I would rub it on the roots and, within days, this evil grove would become a harmless mass of kindling.

Two more spriggans attacked me. I dispatched them and cast Almsivi Intervention. This spell teleported me to the nearest Dunmer temple ... which happened to be the one in Gnisis.

After taking a moment to adjust to the warmer temperature, I entered the temple. I found a priest who sold bittergreen petals, so I was soon able to cast Recall and return to Raven Rock.

I went down into the mine, then to the roots. I took my mortar and pestle from my pack and mashed some of the petals into a paste.

"Die, fetchers," I hissed as I applied it to one of the roots. I moved to another root and repeated the procedure.

I ran out of paste and made some more. I applied it to every root. I suppose it would have been easier to simply dump it in the water, but I did not want to kill all of the foliage in the area, just this particular cluster of trees.

Fortunately, bittergreen petals are not harmful to people. Several beneficial potions had petals amongst their ingredients.

I recalled to the surface. I entered the bar and, true to his word, Unel was still there.

"Unel, I found the roots for the trees that those spriggans seem to like. I've poisoned them. In a short time the trees will die. You will only have to kill the spriggans once more after that. You will then be able to resume construction."

"That is a great relief. Thank you, Rashelle."

I went outside and found Falco. When I reported the news to him, he handed me 20 coins. Each was a 100-septim piece. I raised an eyebrow.

"That was a major problem. You've solved it. Also, I have promoted you again. This also covers the difference in pay scale."

"Oh. Thank you."

"You deserve it."

From my pack I drew forth the chunk of stalhrim.

Falco's eyes widened.

"I met with Graring. I can extract stalhrim now. This is from the mine."

"Rashelle, that is terrific. What did Graring tell you?"

"He said something about forging it as if it were a metal. He did not go into further detail but I get the feeling that the three of them can make armor and weapons from it."

"Fascinating. This must be what Carnius is looking for."

"An Imperial woman came to Graring, looking for stalhrim. She referred to it as 'ice-nine'. She was going to torture them for the information, but I killed her. I suspect that she was working for Carnius."

"Good job, Rashelle. Take any stalhrim you find to them."

I nodded.

"By your leave, I will teleport out."

He nodded. I slipped on the Mazed Band and invoked its enchantment: I had it teleport me to Vivec.

In the temple library, I researched stalhrim. I was surprised to find mention of it in more than one book. This was a pleasant surprise, as I had expected it to be as obscure a subject as the Fryse Hags had been. Stalhrim was described as another form of ice. Water, ice and steam were considered different forms or 'phases' of the same substance. There was a theory that water had more than just those normal three phases. By application of heat or cold, pressure and magic, additional phases could be achieved. These phases had been assigned arbitrary numbers. Some had been achieved by Telvanni researchers but were unstable; exploding or melting or transforming to ordinary ice after a mere fraction of a second. Theory indicated that the ninth phase was the magical stable phase where water would be solid, as ice, but would not melt at high temperatures. This explained the Imperial woman's use of the term "ice-nine" when referring to stalhrim. "Ice-nine" and stalhrim were different terms for the same thing.

I bid leave of my ordinator friend and Recalled.

Now back at Raven Rock, I approached Falco.

"I have two requests to ask of you."

"Go ahead."

"Could you have the remaining stalhrim from the mine taken to my house, please?"

"Certainly."

I gave him my house key.

"How are you going to get back into your house if I have your key?"

I smiled. There was no need to discuss my lock picking skills so I said nothing.

He raised an eyebrow.

"I'll be able to get in."

"Err, OK," he said, "What was the other thing?"

"I have to leave for a time. I cannot stay in Raven Rock tonight. I know that we've got a werewolf problem here, but I need to find the source, the cause, of this problem. I must return to the Skaal."

"I agree," he replied, "It is the only real solution."

I was surprised. I had been concerned that the two attacks would cause Falco to want me to stay and guard Raven Rock that night.

"By your leave?"

He nodded.

I cast Divine Intervention and was teleported to the fort. I stopped in at the General Quarters and briefly spoke with Gaea and Severia. There had been no further werewolf attacks and Carius was still missing.

Through the north archway I departed from the fort. Remembering that the Fryse Hags tended to hunt people emerging from the fort, I was wary. A few bears, a berserker and a snow wolf later, a realization occurred to me: I had not seen any Fryse Hags in over a day.

I stopped and sat down on a log. Why had I not run into any of them? What had changed? A feeling of disquiet came over me. No ... maybe it was coincidence. I would run into a Hag in the next five minutes and all would be normal again. I shook my head, as if to shake the worry away, and resumed my northward travel.

Soon, I reached a familiar place: the Valbrandr barrow. I remembered the skull in my pack. This tomb seemed like a good place for it, so I entered. A draugr attacked me: this reminded me of the last time I had been here, with Ingmar. New undead had made their way into the tomb since then. After slaying the draugr, I went deeper into the tomb, fighting some bone wolves, skeletons and another draugr.

From my pack I took the skull. I found a spot in a corner that somehow seemed ... right. I placed the skull there.

"I hope this is a good place for you, skull. I'm sorry that your original burial place was disturbed."

It was silly and pointless to concern myself with an ordinary skull, but I felt better for having done so.

My northward trek resumed. I fought many attackers, including rieklings, spriggans and berserkers. When I arrived at Thirsk, I still had not encountered a single Hag.

The people there were glad to see me. Svenja took me inside to show me the progress that had been made. Work had gone well on the repair of the support pillars and I could see that the stairs to the upper level had already been replaced. I stayed only long enough to have a quick lunch.

I felt sad as I bid my leave: Thirsk had become a happier place for me and I wanted to linger there longer, but I had to continue on my way to the Skaal.

Northwards I trekked. There had been no snow so far that day: this disappointed me. A patrol of mounted rieklings saw me and attacked. I fought through them. I did not usually search the corpses of rieklings, but this time I had the urge to do so. I was surprised to find that two of the bodies had been carrying coins. Where would they go to spend them? I picked up one of the riekling blades and took a few test swings in the air with it. For them it was a long blade. For a person, it might make a decent short bladed weapon.

I left the riekling blade there. I had Chrysamere, my silver dagger, and also a Fryse Hag dagger in my pack: there was no need to carry additional clutter.

It was late in the afternoon when I reached the Skaal village. I was greeted warmly by several people: what a change since my first visit.

I stopped in to see Korst, the shaman.

"Ah, Rashelle: good to see you again. How have you been?"

"I am fine. Has anything unusual happened here?"

"Like what?"

"Like a werewolf attack."

"No, thank the All-Maker."

"I still hope that somehow the Skaal can help me ascertain the cause of that attack on the fort. Since then, there have been two werewolf attacks at Raven Rock."

He frowned. "This is bad. One wonders if they will attack here next."

"There was also an attack at Thirsk, but not by werewolves. Still, I wonder if it was somehow connected."

"What manner of creatures attacked them?"

"Just one creature: a big ugly man-eater called an 'Udyrfrykte'. That was a nasty business."

"You slew it?"

I nodded.

"Impressive. They are tough; and they are rare, they are."

"They?"

"You didn't think there was only one did you? If you fought a bear, would you think it was the only one? What of a wolf?"

I frowned.

"Rashelle, have you spoken to the chieftain since you've arrived?"

"No."

"Well," he said as he smiled, "I'm flattered that you came to see me first, but you should go speak to him. Until you have completed all of the Tests, you should always see him directly upon arrival at the village."

"Oh. I am sorry."

"No worries. He probably won't mind. He is a fair chieftain, a good man ... and has been for quite a while."

I sensed a loaded topic. I was silent and expressionless.

"He is older than he looks. Sometimes I ... no ... it is not proper that we speak of this."

I remained silent. I hoped that he would continue.

"Go. Go see him."

I left.

Another solid update. Keep em coming, blockhead!