Clark in Skyrim, A continued report from across the border. Options

[ghastley]

If mALX is back, then Clark should return too.

We left him in Evergloam at the beginning of the 4th Era, where Nocturnal had just inducted him and Minx as Nightingales, to join Dralsi. The two other members of the first trinity had been slain by Ogrim the Restless, who was the original occupant of the cave complex that became the Twilight Sepulchre.

He's about 225 years old now. Nocturnal and Azura made him immortal, rather than risk having to train a new one. He retired as a Nightingale some time ago, and went back into business managing brothels, and other enterprises that remain profitable in times of war. Much of the other intervening history should emerge as this unfolds.

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Part 1 - Over the border

"So Gilda, have you been into Skyrim before?" Clark asked the young woman sitting next to him. Ahead of them, the horse plodded onward, pulling Clark's carriage along the road towards Helgen. He gave the reins a jiggle, but the horse's gait didn't change. It only knew slow and steady.

Gilda wasn't really paying attention. She was busy looking at the scenery, which is why Clark had asked. "Oh, what? No, I barely got a mile from our farm before now. Mother didn't like me wandering off; she was scared I'd run into bandits."

"Is that how your nose got broken?" Clark guessed.

"Yes, the one time I did get away, she turned out to be right. When the bandits found out I didn't have anything valuable, they ... well, you can imagine what they had in mind. I gave the first one who tried anything my knee, and he did that in return. The others didn't stop me when I ran off, they were too busy laughing at our discomfort."

"How long ago was that? It looks like it's been that way for a while."

"About five months, I think. One day was much like another at our farm, and I lost track of time. I can't thank you enough for getting me away from there."

Clark wasn't sure what had made him offer to take her with him. He did need a new apprentice, that was true, but why he'd suddenly decided it could be her was beyond him. It wasn't her looks, for certain. Apart from her nose, she had crooked teeth, and looked like she never ate anything. Her mother was the exact opposite, so it was clear where all the food went in that household. She was wearing one of her mother's hand-me-down dresses, which fit her like a sack.

But he'd stopped at the farm for directions when he left Bruma, and she'd caught his eye. Before he knew it, he'd told her mother she could have a good career as a merchant's apprentice, hinting that she might be able to send some of her earnings home.

And if she'd persuaded him to do that, she probably had some speech talent, so she might work out well. He'd need to heal her nose, and fix her teeth first, and that would need more magicka than he had. Once he got to Whiterun, he'd be able to use the Alchemy lab at his house to make some fortification potions, but until then he couldn't do anything.

"We'll be in Helgen before long," he told her. "It's just over there, where you can see the smoke rising..." Clark's voice trailed off, as he realised that there shouldn't be that much smoke. Something had apparently set part of the town on fire, if not all of it.

They soon met a ragged bunch of imperial soldiers coming the other way, telling of a dragon attack on the town. Clark didn't think there were any dragons in Tamriel.

"Nor did we, until that one swooped down on us," the legionary told him. "We were preparing an execution for Ulfric Stormcloak and some of his men, when it was interrupted by a blast of magic. Threw everyone around like dolls. We'd heard that Ulfric could use the Thu'um like that, so we had him gagged, but a beast that size doing it was something else entirely."

"General Tullius and the Thalmor Ambassador were there too," one of the other men put in. "We have no idea if they got out."

Nobody knew if it was safe to try passing through. There were trails to Falkreath that might be preferable, as long as you weren't hauling anything heavy.

"But watch out for bandits if you go that way," another soldier advised. "That applies any time you leave the main roads in Skyrim."

Clark had heard much the same from legionaries in Cyrodiil. In his opinion, the roads weren't any safer than any other route, just better paved. He let his horse continue down the road.

Helgen was deserted when they got there. Most of the population seemed to be lying dead in the streets, scorched by the dragon's breath. Anyone alive had presumably fled, and the dragon itself was nowhere around. Clark decided to continue down into Riverwood and let them know what had happened. If the dragon didn't attack there next, of course.

---

Riverwood was intact, but they'd seen the dragon fly over. Gerdur, the mill-owner, told Clark that her brother Ralof had escaped from Helgen, and she thought that Hadvar, the legionary from the town, had too. Ralof had brought a stranger with him, and she'd gone on to Whiterun to warn the Jarl.

Clark knew from his earlier trips that Ralof was a Stormcloak, and he asked Gerdur if he'd been one of the men the soldiers had mentioned as due for execution. Ralof hadn't mentioned that part, just that he'd escaped from the dragon. But now it made sense why Hadvar had been there at the same time. "I'll make sure Ralof stays well hidden," she told Clark.

She turned back to what she'd been doing when they arrived. "When the dragon flew over, I was so startled, I dropped this firewood I'd just split in the river. I was trying to dry it out with a flare spell, but it looks like I'll just have to split some more."

"There's an easier way, you know," Clark told her. He took one of the pieces of firewood and stood it on a stump. "Cast a frost spell on it," he told Gerdur. She did so, until Clark told her to stop. "Now dispel the ice"

Gerdur didn't know that spell, so Clark taught it to her. "Now try the flare."

The wood caught immediately, and she quickly dispelled the flames. "I hardly used any magicka doing that. It was a lot easier than the way I was trying."

"Right, especially as the frost comes easily to you. Here, I'll help you finish these."

"You make it look so easy," Gerdur told him. "Are you sure you're an Imperial, not a Breton?"

"It's all practice, not magicka reserves," he told her. "It looks easy because I'm using less magicka than you would. Just like you know how to roll a log instead of doing it the hard way by lifting. But some spells are beyond my normal reach. That's why I have to wait until I get to Whiterun before I can heal Gilda's nose."

Gerdur noticed Gilda for the first time. "I can help her with a good meal, and you too. I owe you for that firewood trick."

"I hoped you might. Cooking is where you show your skill."

---

"Looking at her, I expected she had no appetite," Gerdur whispered to Clark. "But she's on her third helping of the stew already."

Clark told Gerdur that he suspected her mother had been starving her. Whether that was to keep her thin, or just because the mother ate all the food, he didn't know, but the mother was really fat. "She didn't think enough of Gilda to get her teeth straightened, so I doubt she had any positive feelings for her."

"If Gilda eats like that all the time, she might take after her," Gerdur warned.

"I don't expect she will. I'll get Lydia to look after her, and she'll keep her fit, not fat."

Lydia was Clark's housecarl in Whiterun. She'd been part of the deal when Jarl Balgruuf made Clark a Thane of the city, for his services to its people. He'd forgotten what he'd done for them; nothing major, just a lot of small things that added up. And the Jarl had noticed his effect on the local economy. Even the Khajiiti caravan that camped outside the gates seemed to be more prosperous after Clark had arrived.

They'd be at his house, Breezehome, by the end of the day, if there weren't any problems on the road.

---

"Oh, It's you, Thane," the guard at the gate knew Clark, even if he didn't know the girl. "Is she with you? I have orders to keep strangers out, with dragons sighted in the area."

Clark vouched for Gilda, and the guard opened the gate for them.

"That's a new development," Clark remarked. "The only ones not allowed in before were the Khajiit traders. They have an unjustified reputation as thieves. Well, maybe it's partly justified, but they're not the worst. They just have a more sharing attitude to property than the Nords are accustomed to, and it's often misinterpreted."

---

"What have you got in the sack?" Lydia asked.

"That's not a nice thing to say," Clark admonished. "Even if that is a good description of her outfit. This is Gilda, my new apprentice, and we'll be exchanging that 'sack' for something better-fitting as soon as we can. She's about your height, so is there something in the wardrobe she can try on?"

"You know I only keep a few changes of armour. If you're looking for a dress, you're probably out of luck."

"Leather armour might be more comfortable, if it fits."

Gilda took a look in the wardrobe, but there weren't any dresses, and the leather was loose, even with the straps tightened all the way. She put the "sack" back on, and tied the string back around her waist.

"We have to go to Belethor's in the morning anyway. We'll find you something then. Come out to the back room while I brew up some potions, and then I'll see what I can do about your nose," Clark told her.

Lydia was already back at the cookpot, stirring up some food. She could see that the poor girl needed feeding, even if Clark couldn't.

This post has been edited by ghastley: Oct 2 2014, 07:52 PM

[ghastley]

Grits: Although I'm writing many episodes ahead of posting, I still haven't decided what Rigel will do. She'll be aware that anyone else would have just killed her.

Acadian: More Brelyna soon, I promise. Clark now has the "complete set" of housecarls, so he may not want to get Thaned again!

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Previously: Clark bought the plot of land at Lakeview and discovered that he'd been Thaned again. Gilda knows what that means, so she's left Rayya with Clark and gone to Markarth to see Endon and give him back his silver mould.

In this one, I couldn't help commenting on a few of the oddities of Hearthfires.

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Part 33 - Lakeview

Rayya showed Clark the workbenches that had been delivered to the site. There was a chest of materials, including ingots of iron and corundum, and an anvil where he could make building materials. "You start making some locks, and nails and things. I'll go see if there's a pickaxe over there by the stone quarry."

Apparently there was, as he soon heard her picking away at the rock. She came back and dumped a load into the chest and returned to dig some more.

Clark read the plans, which didn't have many options to start with. It appeared that he'd have to put up a small house, but he'd get the chance to convert it to be the entryway to a larger one later. That needed some of the stone for a foundation, and more for the floor. He was glad Rayya had started with that. Perhaps she knew in advance?

He worked on laying the stone, as Rayya cut it. Before long, he was able to put a smooth course on top as a floor for the house.

Clark consulted the plans again. The next step was wall framing, which needed logs. Rayya pointed to a pile of them, over by the clay deposits. He noticed a chopping block there, too. He could turn any cut-off pieces into firewood.

With Rayya's help, he put up the roof framing next, before filling in the walls with wattle-and daub panels. There was enough clay in the chest to do that without digging up any more, but he wasn't sure if he needed any for the roof.

No, no clay for the roof, just timber. And nails. Clark had to make more of those first. He'd used the first batch up doing the walls. Now the only thing to add was the front door. He needed to make hinges and fittings for that, and they used up the last of the iron ingots in the chest.

Some of the left-over wood assembled a workbench inside for making furniture. Raaya had apparently put together a chest, too, but the rest of the room was bare. Clark checked the plans, to see what furniture he could make. "We'll want a bed as soon as possible," Rayya reminded him. She was much more subtle about it than Lydia, Iona or Jordis, but he knew what she meant.

"We don't have the materials for that. Did you need to use the last of the timber for the chest?"

Rayya pointed out that they didn't have any straw, and a bed needed that, too. He wouldn't have been able to make one anyway.

"Where do I get straw? And is there anything else we need to buy?"

"Read the plans. There should be a list of materials there somewhere."

There were a couple of items that he'd only be able to get at a general store. Straw was one, and glass was another. Goat horns, for making lamps, could be obtained from dead goats, but it looked like he'd need more than he'd find easily. He'd better buy some of those, too.

Clark looked outside. The sun was on its way down, but they could just get to Riverwood before the stores there closed.

---

Clark sent Rayya to buy iron and corundum ingots from the smithy, while he picked up the other materials from the Riverwood Trader. "And if you're done before I am, head for Gerdur's mill and order some more logs."

"Of course, my Thane."

---

It was getting dark when they arrived back at the Lakeview site. Clark made some more nails, and put a bed together. Then some iron fittings, so they could have lights inside and out, using some of the goat horns he'd bought.

"I won't put a fireplace in yet." he told Rayya. "If I'm reading the plans right, it looks like it would have to be removed if we make the house bigger. The bed can be moved, but a firepit can't."

"What I will do, is put up a smelter. We've got iron and corundum veins right here, and we might as well use our own materials. And we have enough of them to make an armorer's workbench and a grindstone."

Rayya looked over the plans. "If you add the Animal pen, that includes a tanning rack. You used the last of your leather strips making the bed. We'll probably need more later on."

She went inside while he did that, to put a bear pelt over the bed. It would keep the straw from poking through, and making them itch. Somewhere in the plans were instructions on upgrading the bed, but for some reason that might not be possible until they'd added on the main hall. Perhaps there was some piece of equipment he had to construct first. He needed to read it all through a few times, and figure out what he needed, and in what order.

The animal pen was simple enough to put together, and Clark made some more leather strips, and stowed them in the chest for future use. He decided to test out the smelter, too, so he mined some iron ore and made a few ingots. He stowed those away, and went inside.

Rayya had changed out of her steel armour into something more comfortable. A pair of baggy trousers, made of sheer silk that he could easily see through. She'd swapped her grey headscarf for a more colourful one, but the only other thing she was wearing was a sash around her waist.

Her breasts were small, high, and absolutely beautiful. They suited her slender, willowy figure perfectly, and they jiggled enticingly when she laughed.

She kept her headscarf on, even in bed. "An Alik'r woman doesn't show her hair to strangers. It's considered immodest."

"But you showed me everything else."

"I didn't say our traditions made sense, I just told you what they are. And now we've got to know each other, I can take it off."

Her hair was jet-black, and Clark guessed that it had never been cut. It reached down her back all the way to her buttocks, and might have gone further if it had been straight, instead of being curled into ringlets.

Although the hair on her head might never have been cut, she had none anywhere else. She explained that it was all part of not showing it to strangers. She couldn't just cover it up, or he'd never get to know her properly.

---

Clark now had three Nord housecarls that all fought the same way: with sword and shield. Rayya hadn't been carrying a shield, and her sword looked different, too.

"Yes, I use two scimitars. I prefer the faster attack to the greater defense of a shield. They taught us all the same way, so I know heavy armour, and have the smithing skill to make it. And block, even though I don't do that. Archery, of course, and enough restoration to heal both of us."

"You can make different armour on the anvil outside, if you'd prefer something lighter. Heavy and fast dont really go together."

"I might do that, once I have the skill. I quite like the look of the armour the Thalmor soldiers wear, except that I wouldn't want anyone to think I was one of them."

"You mentioned having other housecarls," she continued. "Where else are you Thane?"

"Riften, Solitude, and Whiterun. I also have property in Markarth, but it's a brothel, not a home. I'm basically a businessman, and that's just one of the businesses. I trade with the merchants and the shipping companies, and have some factories in various places."

"Making what?"

"These, for example. I can't live at all my houses all the time, so these are invaluable." This wasn't Madesi's, just a plain one, carved from a Horker tusk.

"Ivory, isn't it? I think I've seen this style before, too. They make them like this in Hammerfell."

"Yes, that's where that one was made, in one of the coastal cities. I've had to move my factories several times because of wars and pirate raids, so I can't remember where exactly that one came from."

"Does this mean you'll be leaving soon?"

"Not yet, but it does let me try a few things with you that I couldn't do without help."

---

"How many iron ingots do we have?" he asked.

Rayya looked up from the chest, where she'd been taking stock. "I think we have just enough to put up the main hall, and then we need to decide whether to mine and smelt, or buy more."

"We can add the cellar as well," Clark stated. "That just needs stone and logs. I want to install the Alchemy and Enchanting stations in the main hall, even if we build the towers later. You'll be able to use them to practise while I'm away, and if we put the target dummies in the basement, you can use those too."

"Are you going to have time to make all the furniture? I thought you needed to go to Markarth fairly soon."

"No, but if I appoint you steward, you'll have the authority to hire someone to do it for us. If you make the materials, here on the anvil, it will improve your smithing, too. When I get back, we'll decide about the wings. I'm thinking kitchen first, then bedrooms, and the tower at the back, for the view."

"Why the extra bedrooms? We'll have three beds already in the main hall, and you and I only need one of them."

"Because I may bring other people here. If it was just the housecarls, I'm sure we'd all be in the same bed, but ..."

"I get the point. I was just worried you were thinking family already."

"You may be sworn to carry my burdens, but I expect you to avoid carrying that one."

Rayya laughed. "Of course, my Thane."