Day Twenty-Eight - Tying Up Loose Ends
A night's rest did nothing to diminish my new-found resolve, and I awoke next morning determined to tie up as many loose ends as possible before returning to Delphine in Riverwood. My first port of call was Jorrvaskr, to speak with the Companions and see if I might extend my sabbatical indefinitely. Farkas didn't seem to mind my asking this, but he did ask one last thing of me before agreeing to grant me the leave that I sought. A man named Vulwulf Snow-Shod, residing in Riften, was my target - as with Faendal in Riverwood, I was required only to intimidate, not to kill. I accepted the contract, and left for Riften immediately.
Asking around the city soon led me to Snow-Shod, filling himself with bread and mead at the Bee and Barb. I invited him to take the brawl outside and into the streets, but he was insistent on brawling inside the inn. The old Nord had quite the punch on him, knocking me back a few times, but I was able to beat him into submission. I left the Bee and Barb dabbing blood away from my lip, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. I thought about heading straight back to Whiterun to turn the job in to Farkas, but instead chose to peruse my journal and see if I had any outstanding business in Riften. As it happened, the Jarl of Falkreath had requested that if I ever found myself in the area, I might pick up some Black Briar Mead for him. Local connections put me in touch with a Dunmer who was able to sell me a bottle for a very modest ten gold.
I spent the rest of my evening following the southern trails through the Jerall mountains and back to Falkreath. I arrived in town very late that evening, and was concerned that perhaps I would be calling to speak with Siddgeir too late. Thankfully the Jarl was still awake, and his consorts did not seem to mind my presence in the longhouse either. I presented Siddgeir with the bottle of Black Briar Mead, and in return he offered me a small purse containing one hundred septims. Satisfied that all my important business in both Riften and Falkreath was now taken care of, I booked a room at the Dead Man's Drink and put my head down for the rest of the night.
I was somewhat slower than usual to rise in the morning, and my journey from Falkreath back to Whiterun was a slow and deliberate one. I did not arrive back in the city until after midday, but made straight for Jorrvaskr to tell Farkas I'd fulfilled what he'd asked of me. He thanked me, shook me warmly by the hand and wished me the best of luck in whatever the near future might hold for me. When all this business with the dragons is over, I hope to give more of my time to the Companions - in spite of my initial prejudices towards their darker side, they have been nothing but kind and welcoming to me, and I feel I owe them that much at least.
Consulting my journal once more, I noticed that I had a lot of unfinished business in Solitude. To tell the truth, I have been reluctant to spend any length of time in the city since siding with the Stormcloaks, but I would rather stand by my word and keep my promises to others before I become too embroiled in whatever destiny the Gods have mapped out for me. An Imperial writer named Adonato Leotelli asked me to pass on a copy of his latest work to the Bard's College, and Sorex Vinius had given me a bottle of Stros M'Kai Rum to deliver to Falk Fire-Beard, the steward at the Blue Palace. I ensured both items were in my pack and set off for Solitude to fulfil my obligations.
My trek northwest to the capital was unremarkable, and I arrived in Solitude under the beautiful orange sky of early evening. I first stopped at the Bard's College, where an instructor named Viarmo seemed very keen to enrol me. I declined politely, having never been one with a heart or head for verse. Perhaps it is for the best - I was always told by my parents that I could never sing, only shout, and so this new-found gift of the Voice might mean that becoming a bard would have dangerous consequences. I located the histories keeper, Giraud Gemane, and presented him with Adonato's newest work. He thanked me with a payment of five hundred gold coins, and we spoke for a while on the subject of musical history. As we talked, he noticed an old drum strung to my pack, and asked if he might examine it. He informed me that the drum, which I'd found locked in a chest in Halldir's Cairn weeks previously, had once belonged to a famous bard named Rjorn, and had been lost for many years. He offered to take it off my hands, and since I had no use for it, was happy to indulge his interest. He offered me some combat tips by way of reward, for which I graciously thanked him before taking my leave.
From the Bard's College I headed to the Blue Palace. Falk Fire-Beard was busy with Jarl Elisif, who was holding court when I arrived. I approached him after the Jarl's visitor had departed, and he seemed very pleased to receive the bottle of Hammerfell rum - so much so that he slipped a healthy five-hundred septims into my purse as thanks for the delivery. With all my outstanding commitments in Solitude dealt with, and the orange sky now turning a rich star-dotted black, I decided to book a room at the Winking Skeever and see the night through here in Solitude. Tomorrow I plan to return to Markarth, and settle all commitments I've made to its citizens. Hopefully by then, Delphine will have finished formulating her plan and we can take the fight to the Thalmor. Until then,
Ever Honest,
Lenah'd Retsmek
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Previous Episodes
- Day Twenty-Seven - Dragonborn, Dragon-Slayer
- Day Twenty-Six - Giant Killer, Horn Blower
- Day Twenty-Five - Putting Spirits to Rest
- Day Twenty-Four - Fragments of a Legend
- Day Twenty-Three - Secrets Beneath the Sleeping City
- Day Twenty-Two - A Gray-Mane Saved and a Mage Made
- Day Twenty-One - Whiterun Errands and a Missing Gray-Mane
- Day Twenty - Search for the White Phial
- Day Nineteen - Siding With the Stormcloaks
- Day Eighteen - Two Sides of the Same Septim
- Day Seventeen - Tracking the Telvanni Line
- Day Sixteen - Finding Lost Books and Lost Words
- Day Fifteen - The Axe and the Masque
- Day Fourteen - A Daedra and His Dog
- Day Thirteen - Treason and Betrayal
- Day Twelve - Counsel from the Greybeards
- Day Eleven - Old Towns, New Faces
- Day Ten - New Thu'um, New House
- Day Nine - Retrieving the Star
- Day Eight - Azura's Champion
- Day Seven - Wuuthrad and Werewolves
- Day Six - Kynareth's Will Be Done?
- Day Five - The Companions and the Sleeping Tree
- Day Four - Duelling With a Dragon
- Day Three - The Bandit, the Wife and Her Lover
- Day Two - The Golden Claw
- Day One - Escape from Helgen
- Day Zero - Here Begins My Journal
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