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> Clark in Skyrim, A continued report from across the border.
ghastley
post Sep 12 2014, 12:10 AM
Post #1


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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.

-------------

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


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Posts in this topic
ghastley   Clark in Skyrim   Sep 12 2014, 12:10 AM
mALX   I am so missing being able to read Clark's adv...   May 12 2015, 05:47 PM
ghastley   Acadian: The Champion of Cyrodiil taught Clark tha...   May 13 2015, 02:06 PM
Acadian   Nice summary of things on Solstheim, and we can se...   May 13 2015, 08:09 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Diablita had done just about all the Drag...   May 20 2015, 02:05 PM
Acadian   Nice banter between Rayya and Clark as we get brou...   May 20 2015, 06:38 PM
Grits   I applaud Rayya and Clark’s taste leaving out the ...   May 23 2015, 12:36 AM
mALX   Even though I can't read this at this time, I ...   May 23 2015, 10:01 PM
ghastley   Acadian: The correct spelling is embare-assment, I...   May 27 2015, 02:52 PM
Acadian   Nice job of tying Mjoll’s wonderful quest to Aspir...   May 27 2015, 06:43 PM
Grits   Mzulft and Mzinchaleft, I can never keep those two...   May 28 2015, 03:53 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Brelyna's going to need someone like ...   Jun 3 2015, 02:23 PM
Acadian   Oh, Mintzelchuffsalot is a great dungeon with the ...   Jun 3 2015, 06:21 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Brelyna takes Mjoll to Mzulft (but not Mz...   Jun 10 2015, 01:43 PM
Acadian   So nice to see Mjoll the Motormouth Lioness leave ...   Jun 11 2015, 08:21 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Brelyna and Mjoll will be back, but other...   Jun 17 2015, 01:41 PM
Acadian   Ghastley, I love your treatment of Dawnguard! ...   Jun 17 2015, 07:57 PM
ghastley   Acadian: The choices boiled down to Clark doing th...   Jun 24 2015, 02:13 PM
Acadian   Nice tidbit about Brelyna’s progress at the Colleg...   Jun 25 2015, 04:47 PM
ghastley   Acadian: More summaries of quests already done com...   Jul 1 2015, 01:36 PM
ghastley   Previously: Clark and Vicuña looked around Raven R...   Jul 8 2015, 02:12 PM
ghastley   Previously: Clark visited Tel Mythrin, where Vicuñ...   Jul 15 2015, 01:50 PM
Grits   "Most of him went over the other side of the ...   Jul 18 2015, 05:18 PM
ghastley   Grits: I knew I should have called it a cwm. :P ...   Jul 22 2015, 02:17 PM
ghastley   Previously: Diablita saved Solstheim while Clark s...   Jul 29 2015, 01:57 PM
ghastley   Previously: Clark returned from Solstheim to get a...   Aug 5 2015, 01:40 PM
ghastley   Previously: Clark and Serana had arrived at Castle...   Aug 12 2015, 02:48 PM
ghastley   Previously: Clark had persuaded Valerica that Hark...   Aug 19 2015, 01:14 PM
ghastley   Previously Clark, Serana and Valerica returned to ...   Aug 26 2015, 02:01 PM
ghastley   Part 51 - Daughters 2 "It wasn't until l...   Sep 2 2015, 01:51 PM
ghastley   Previously: Valerica explained to Clark how she an...   Sep 9 2015, 02:03 PM
ghastley   Previously: Clark and Serana had gone to Azura...   Sep 16 2015, 02:18 PM
ghastley   Previously: Clark and Serana had picked up Lydia t...   Sep 23 2015, 09:04 PM
ghastley   Previously: Clark, Serana and Lydia had retrieved ...   Oct 7 2015, 01:13 PM
ghastley   Previously: Clark had gone into Azura's Star t...   Oct 15 2015, 01:10 AM
ghastley   Previously: Clark and Brelyna arrived in Raven Roc...   Oct 21 2015, 02:36 PM
ghastley   Previously: Brelyna, Diablita and Clark had collec...   Oct 28 2015, 03:12 PM
ghastley   Prevuiously: Clark Brelyna and Diablita entered Gy...   Nov 4 2015, 05:37 PM
Grits   Clark’s crew on this Solstheim adventure is probab...   Nov 5 2015, 05:09 PM
ghastley   Grits: What happens in Morrowind, stays in Morrowi...   Nov 11 2015, 11:18 PM
ghastley   Previously: Clark found another Stone of Barenziah...   Nov 18 2015, 02:53 PM
Grits   Woo, I am on my feet for Mjoll! I love how you...   Nov 18 2015, 05:06 PM
ghastley   Grits: Mjoll doesn't really want to talk about...   Nov 25 2015, 09:07 PM
Grits   Part 62 - Leet Daydrik Skillz :lol: Neat explana...   Nov 27 2015, 09:33 PM
ghastley   Grits: Those swords are only of any use to a dedic...   Dec 2 2015, 03:03 PM
Grits   "But you did have contact with Nocturnal?...   Dec 9 2015, 01:52 AM
Acadian   Clark and company have been busy indeed! Adve...   Dec 7 2015, 11:39 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Clark's probably a lot busier than he...   Dec 9 2015, 08:04 PM
Acadian   Clark is such a kind-hearted healer. In this case...   Dec 10 2015, 09:22 PM
ghastley   Acadian: There are still quite a few more Stones, ...   Dec 16 2015, 03:04 PM
Acadian   Nice job capturing the nature of both the absentmi...   Dec 16 2015, 07:50 PM
Grits   Woo, the Red Witch is in port! I’m looking for...   Dec 27 2015, 12:51 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Rise in the East is in the future, but wi...   Jan 6 2016, 03:47 PM
Acadian   "Oh, it doesn't matter. I need to practi...   Jan 6 2016, 08:56 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Clark may gather information, Elenwen wil...   Jan 13 2016, 03:50 PM
Acadian   It was great fun listening to Clark’s thoughts abo...   Jan 13 2016, 10:35 PM
Grits   Goodness, what a brain-bending encounter with Elen...   Jan 18 2016, 10:41 PM
ghastley   Acadian: That Bosmer's not trying to do Elenwe...   Jan 20 2016, 03:50 PM
Acadian   I love how Clark had to, once again, display his ‘...   Jan 20 2016, 08:49 PM
Grits   How fun to meet the captivating Captain Clarisse. ...   Jan 22 2016, 04:40 PM
ghastley   Acadian: More storyline entanglement coming up. Cl...   Jan 27 2016, 06:50 PM
Acadian   Jordis and Erdi had a productive adventure after a...   Jan 27 2016, 08:28 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Many of my characters have done the quest...   Feb 3 2016, 03:54 PM
Acadian   So Kematu’s bounty is in the bag! :O “Her...   Feb 3 2016, 08:13 PM
Grits   In the bag! :lol: I love the plan to have Durn...   Feb 5 2016, 03:27 PM
ghastley   Acadian: The Jon/Olfina thing never gets developed...   Feb 10 2016, 01:57 PM
Acadian   Wild night at the Bannered Mare! From Uthgerd...   Feb 10 2016, 09:49 PM
Grits   What a party! Uthgerd’s reddened cheeks, lol. ...   Feb 13 2016, 08:33 PM
ghastley   Acadian: All I can find with Jon and Olfina is the...   Feb 17 2016, 02:53 PM
Acadian   Great to see Diablita and Durnie again! That ...   Feb 17 2016, 07:05 PM
ghastley   Acadian: I'm lashing some very unrelated quest...   Feb 24 2016, 02:40 PM
Acadian   Yay for Olfina, popping ol’ Stig right on the chin...   Feb 25 2016, 08:43 PM
ghastley   Acadian: And Diablita just happened to be there be...   Mar 2 2016, 02:53 PM
Acadian   Great idea to use the bards to publicize Iman’s dr...   Mar 2 2016, 11:45 PM
Grits   Clarisse’s bounty on Maven made me grin. It sounds...   Mar 3 2016, 01:38 AM
ghastley   Acadian: I think there's actually some dialogu...   Mar 9 2016, 03:54 PM
Acadian   Great fun hearing the intricacies of highbrow thie...   Mar 9 2016, 08:45 PM
ghastley   Acadian: If Uzgash and Taminwe can invent the tele...   Mar 16 2016, 01:49 PM
Acadian   It was nice to see Meridia’s quest, as that is one...   Mar 16 2016, 06:35 PM
ghastley   Acadian: It seems to be a difference between Obliv...   Mar 23 2016, 02:09 PM
Acadian   What a fun collection of housecarlian musings. ^_...   Mar 23 2016, 07:19 PM
ghastley   My latest meeting was with Kothet, who's a ver...   Mar 23 2016, 07:33 PM
ghastley   Previously: Lydia found another Stone of Barenziah...   Mar 30 2016, 12:54 PM
Acadian   "And then he'll give me a big hug, and I...   Mar 30 2016, 10:20 PM
Grits   Oh my gosh, the Old’s Orc’s Hulk spell is perfect ...   Mar 31 2016, 04:37 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Brelyna's rather like Ancotar. When s...   Apr 6 2016, 02:45 PM
Acadian   Things go up. Things go down. Just like magic. ...   Apr 6 2016, 07:56 PM
Grits   Woo, nice trap for Maven! Fun to see her haule...   Apr 10 2016, 06:19 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Maven poisoned herself deliberately to fe...   Apr 13 2016, 01:58 PM
Acadian   A nice romp through Riften! Lynnly the topl...   Apr 13 2016, 06:59 PM
ghastley   Acadian: I probably wouldn't have thought of t...   Apr 20 2016, 02:11 PM
Acadian   The Clark Casino, makes preparations to open on th...   Apr 20 2016, 08:19 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Did someone say strip? :D ----------- ...   Apr 27 2016, 04:37 PM
Acadian   What a delightful delve into bartending, TES style...   Apr 27 2016, 07:29 PM
Grits   I love the Skyrim-style magical cocktails! Cla...   Apr 28 2016, 06:24 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Waitress/Cocktail maker is about the only...   May 11 2016, 01:31 PM
Acadian   This was great fun to read because Buffy clears To...   May 11 2016, 08:00 PM
Grits   The gang may have seen the remains of my Riften gu...   May 12 2016, 08:38 PM
ghastley   Acadian: Clark appreciates having choices. :D G...   Jul 11 2016, 02:27 PM
Acadian   Gilda’s attitude about who gets credit for TG st...   Jul 11 2016, 07:25 PM
ghastley   Oops! I've been spelling Calcelmo's na...   Jul 11 2016, 07:57 PM
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