Private To Winterhold

[Levi Barenjager]

Levi removed from his bag the daedric dagger that Rodmar had given him in Riften. Taking an apple in his hand he began to carve large slices from it and place them in his mouth, one at a time, as he pondered Khan's question. Clearly Ljufa wanted to stay, and it was possible the others felt the same.

"Next, I'm going to drink this mead," was all he replied, taking a large gulp from the bottle that sat next to him.

As the travelers finished the last of their meal, the Stormcloak officer marched into the fort with several men behind him. These men began to spread through the various rooms of the building, collecting foodstuffs and weapons. "You've had your hour," he said "now kindly take your leave, if you will." His cordial words belied the force that could back them up. Levi stood to meet the officer, setting down his apple but retaining the dagger. He looked at the man intently, knowing full well that the time that had passed could not have been half of what he claimed.

"Some fights are not worth fighting," he thought. Besides that, Levi knew they had time to make up on the road and there way still light left in the day. He walked past Ljufa, taking a loaf of bread and handing it to Khan. "You'll want this for strength," he said in a dry manner, "if you are to carry Tobias to Shor's Stone by nightfall."

So, the five of them took what more food they could, including a great deal of wine that Rodmar had discovered, and set foot again for Shor's Stone. "The Stormcloaks came down this same road we now travel," Levi said as they departed. "I expect we'll see no more bandits or the like... today, that is."

 

[fayne1565]

Khan took the bread staring into the distance. "I Guess" Khan said taking a bite of the bread for now leaving some for later. Tobias shifted his weight so it was balanced on Khan's shoulders.

 

[catweazle]

after a hour or two's walk along the road rodmar spotted three men in the distence walking towards them. they where armed but did not look like bandits nor gards. as he strained his eyes he spotted something he did not want to see.
Silver swords. the men where silver hand.
he turned to the others and said "im going off the road, see if i can find some goats or something" before the others could reply rodmar has disapered into the trees. three silver hands weren't much of a threat to him but he wanted to avoid a conflict especially with a child in the group. he would re-join the group once the silver hand had passed.
Rodmar knew he had raised suspicions when he had to resort to the beast form to deal with the troll in that house at shor's stone. he had passed off the noises as those of the troll. 'damm it!' he thought, he was sent there to help the village and this is what he got.

 

[Levi Barenjager]

Levi chuckled to himself upon observing Rodmar's ungraceful exit at the sight of the Silver Hand men. He had had his assumptions about Rodmar's beast blood since they first met, but this confirmed it. It didn't bother Levi (he would sooner share drinks with a wolf than an Imperial), but it did make him consider the added attention it might draw. As Rodmar rejoined the group Levi slowed his pace until the two men were walking next to one another.

"I see you had no luck with the goats," Levi said sarcastically. "Tell me, would you have any cause to be worried about a night's stay in Shor's Stone?" Rodmar's silence was as clear an answer as any. Levi pulled a robe and cowl from his bag. "Perhaps a disguise is in order? Now, if you can just convince Ljufa to wear something made of cloth instead of metal then the two of you might pass for a non-threatening couple, especially when traveling with your young boy," Levi mused, pointing to Tobias.

 

[SolitudeScribe]

For most of the walk, Ljúfa remained toward the back--carrying one of the smaller sized crates from the fort. At least, one of the Stormcloaks were nice enough to grant her permission at the last second. But, apples and bread drove her senses insane. She yearned for something warm. Freshly cooked venison. Hopefully, the people of Shor's Stone had more hospitality than the free loading, squatting rebels.

Once in a blue moon, the tip of her fingers emitted tiny flames or sparks to entertain Tobias but she was careful not to do so often. Nords were not fans of magic, after all. Not to mention, they were on the road and the less attention, the better.

Speaking of...

A beast in the group? She said nothing when the Silver Hand was spotted in the distance but heard of how they took their cause to the extreme. As far as Ljúfa was concerned, she never came across someone with beast blood and if she did, they never admitted it. But, like most children in Skyrim, the horror tales were instilled at an early age.

Blue eyes bounced from Levi to Rodmar in a daze after her name surfaced. Clearly, Ljúfa's mind was elsewhere during their little exchange. "Wait. What?"

 

[fayne1565]

As the group passed the silver hand members Khan saw Rodmar return. a short while after he saw Levi and Rodmar talking. Khan didn't guess much and didn't care as long as the kid would be safe for whatever plan they came up with.

 

[catweazle]

"i take it you've gessed?" rodmar said to levi "you don't need to worry im not going to bite anyone here. it's a tool to be used, like your magic and like your magic some of the towns folk fear it."

a disguise might be an idea if he stayed to the back of the group he should go unnoticed. still he resented how the people he helped in the village could turn on him.

 

[Levi Barenjager]

"You'll find no fear from me, though I suppose it's best the others don't know. I realize a disguise is not your first choice, but I think it's best we keep a low profile." He stopped where he stood and turned to the group. "Shor's Stone is a small town, and I'd rather not deal with questions of why we're traveling through here; five warriors walking with a Nord boy will certainly draw unwanted attention."

He looked at Ljufa. "You must have something to wear besides armor, yes?" Before she could answer, Levi turned to Rodmar and Tobias. "A family of Nords... protected by a few hired hands... porters even!" He took Rodmar and Ljufa's packs, handing them to Khan and J'marco. "As far as anyone in that town is concerned," he said to the Orc and the Kajiit, "the three of us have been hired to escort this 'family' to Dawnstar and we need a place to rest for the night." The sun began to sink lower, below the tree line, as several torchbugs lit up along the road.

 

[fayne1565]

Khan took the pack without question quickly strapping it onto his back making sure Tobias wouldn't fall. "no worries" Khan said looking at Levi before tightening the straps on the pack.

 

[SolitudeScribe]

The plan finally sinking in shown through Ljúfa's eyes, which widened like saucers. "Ah. I see."

When her pack was held by Levi, she made her way behind a tall bush with the only piece of clothing she really had--a blue robe with a cowl. After draping the thing on in the ever growing darkness, she rejoined the group. Her iron boots remained on, but it wasn't too easy to tell, thanks to the overflowing the robe's drape.

"I look more like a court wizard than a farmer! I swear on Dibella's eye if this were a play, we would have been booed off the stage."

An innocent, hovering torch bug met its swift end by the forceful swipe of her hand. Her posture stood terribly straight as if she were soldier. Completely out of sorts for a mere farmer, attire aside. Noticing this, Ljúfa relaxed her shoulders somewhat and went to fish her pack from J'marco.

"Please. Tell me Act II is about the Dunmer Jarl of Windhelm."

 

[catweazle]

Rodmar had changed his armour for for his black smiths garb and had crudely shaved off his beard with his steel dagger. the geatsword still hung from his back, nothing on Nirm could make him hand that over.
"sorry for this" rodmar said to ljúfa "it's only untill we pass shor's stone"

 

[fayne1565]

Khan laughed a little as he walked watching the two bring the plan to life. "If anyone believes this i am gonna die from laughter" Khan said his laughter slowing down.

 

[Levi Barenjager]

Levi chuckled a little as well. It wasn't the prettiest picture he'd seen, but it would suffice for the night. As the travelers were about to enter Shor's Stone Levi picked up Tobias off of Khan's shoulders and set him down next to Ljufa as she took his hand. Upon walking past the first buildings they could see several townsfolk gathered 'round a fire talking. Two or three of them looked up with curiosity as the travelers approached.

 

[sticfigur]

(OOC: sorry about the silence I have to go places every other weekend, anyway..) J'marco hadn't said much since he had found the boy. He did notice however that the breton and nord had fell behind the group after they encountered the silver hands, no doubt talking about rodmar's beast blood. J'marco had noticed the smell when he first met Rodmar nothing got past that and as they arrived at Shor's Stone he wondered how they were going to pull off the disguise of a family with guards on the road he could only hope...

 

[fayne1565]

Khan looked over at the three men by the fire that had looked at the group and gave them a snarl making them turn away. Khan laughed to himself "Stupid townsfolk" Khan thought putting his battleaxe on his back and slowly rolling his shoulders to lease some tension.

 

[SolitudeScribe]

((No worries, J''marco! And excuse the lack of colors for the dialogue. I'm on another computer ><.)

Ljufa's smiles grew more forceful by the minute, cheeks aching from putting on a show. Whilst holding Tobias' hand, her arm linked to dear life around Rodmar's and hopefully he had a strong tolerance for pain. One of the townsfolk, a short haired Nord miner approached the group, wearing a friendly but partially wary expression. Thankfully it all vanished upon seeing the child.

"Hail! Might we sleep here for the night? We've been on this journey by foot since... Ivarstead. Should the Gods permit, we'll make our way back to Dawnstar in a few days time. Please, we promise not to take up much space," the battlemage relayed with a bit too much enthusiasm.

The miner didn't answer. She only stared at the Nord warrior as if she were trying to figure something out. Oh no, Ljufa thought, she surely recognized him...

Mercifully, the light skinned woman smiled. "Yes but I'm afraid we don't have much. I must say you're all..an interesting bunch!"

"oh. Our bodyguards. Divines bless their kind souls." Ljufa nodded slowly. "It's rough traveling in a small group. You know. Bandits. Those dastardly skeevers!"

 

[sticfigur]

J'marco was laughing on the inside as they put on a charade for the townsfolk. eventually a member of the town named sylgja took the group into her house for the night. As J'marco settled into a bundle of blankets he started thinking about something he had forgot for years, his parents they had been killed when he was young. After all these years even after he had revenge he still felt empty not really getting much time to spend with them, but these thoughts were quietly quelled when he realized how sleepy he was. So he lie down and for once in three days slept soundly.

 

[catweazle]

Rodmar was the first to wake as the sun crept through the gap under the door. he had slept sat in a chair faceing the door, his sword still on his back. he had expected trouble that night but non had come. his hand moved up to scratch his beard only to find it wasnt there. 'first time in ten years without a beard' he thought. he got up and walked over to his pack to retrive his whetstone, that bandits sheild had taken the razor edge off the sword where it struck it the day before. it was still incredably sharp but not as sharp as it could be. he sat back on his chair running the whetstone along the edge waiting for the others to rise.

 

[fayne1565]

Khan slept on the floor using his pack to support his neck. As khan slept he dreamed of the days when he lived in the orc stronghold of Narzulbur. His father was chief there and still is. Khan had one specific dream of the stronghold. Khan was 13 at the time And his father made him train more than any other orc child.

And in doing so his father didn't hold back when they trained. During that day Khan was to just be sparing with his father but it turned deadly when his father got mad at him, striking a deadly blow to Khans face. Luckily for Khan he had wore a helmet that day or might not be alive right now.

Khan awoke jumping up and breathing heavily looking around. He then sighed "It was just a dream Khan" He thought to himself. But it wasn't just a dream it had happened that's how he had the scar over his right eye. He grabbed his chest trying to slow his heartbeat down.

 

[SolitudeScribe]

When darkness engulfed the room, Ljúfa remained awake, back pressed against the wall. Her sleepy eyes protested and stayed awake and whenever her head slanted to the side, she fought herself to stay awake. Sleep had not been her best friend the past few months. Her arm draped around Tobias who already fell into his own dreams.

When her eyes wove shut, her dreams took flight to Solitude's Temple of the Divines. She sat next to her late husband, a crimson haired priest of Arkay with a trimmed beard. Of course, in her dreams, his skin had a constellation of rot. Not the handsome man she knew in life. He offered her a partially eaten chunk of chicken. And a rusty amulet of Mara.

Just as his partially fleshed jaw moved to say something, Ljúfa sprung awake. The dream made little to no sense. For the past 15 years, blossoming relationships dwindled into childish bickering and she never considered marrying again, not even after Össur's death. The idea of another mate was mentally exhausting, no matter the immense pressure she received from well meaning family and friends.

As strange as the dream was, the battlemage collapsed into a dull hush and slept heavily for the first time in ages.