Lena, Geralt and Hauk set off to Ivarstead in the morning. From Riverwood, the shorter route was to circle the East side of the mountain, passing by Helgen.
“Is the place still closed?” – asked Lena pointing at some charred corpses displayed outside the main gates. “Did everyone just run away? The devastation wasn’t that bad, surely.”
“It’s not the devastation that’s keeping most people away” – Hauk replied sending a few fireballs to the top of the Helgen wall. “It’s the bandits. After the initial confusion, they quickly moved in. Hadvar told me” – he added seeing Lena’s raised eyebrows and her usual ‘How did you know?’. “The Legion should have stayed at Helgen after the dragon flew off, but most soldiers were killed trying to contain the panic and save civilians, and Talius was too slow sending a new contingent. By the time they figured out that the danger had passed, the place was overrun with Thalmor followed by bandits – they appear to be friendly to each other somehow. The remaining Stormcloacks ran off to the nearby camp – so much for the Real Sons of Skyrim. So now you can’t even pass by Helgen without getting peltered with arrows from the walls.”
“We’ll have to sort this out at some point” – said Lena, sending a few arrows of her own.
“I thought you weren’t going to meddle in Skyrim politics?” – laughed Geralt. “Way to go, sis.”
With the bandits’ shouts still following them, they continued up the hill, only to be promptly attacked by a Stormcloack “patrol”.
“What on Nirn…?” – Lena swore getting off her horse and spinning to face her attacker. “Put away that thing – you’ll hurt yourself!”
It only takes one strike with a blade to put down even the heaviest fighter – provided you get his heart. She did. Geralt went for a decapitation, which was equally effective.
“They didn’t seem to be such great warriors” – commented Lena, rather surprised at the easy victory. “Why pick a fight then?”
“They probably thought we were easy prey. Their camp is just behind those trees, and I bet they are out of mead – as well as everything else” – Hauk commented, looking over the bodies. “Look – poorly healed scars, frostbite and their stomachs stuck to their spines. Supply problems, clearly.”
Feeling a little guilty for killing people in need, our party continued on.
“Haemar’s Shame” – Lena pointed at a cave entrance. “There’s a shrine to Clavicus Vile in there. Last time I was in Skyrim, his dog had me go clear the vampires from this cave. It was another one of Clavicus’ deals, of course.”
“How so?”
“The vampires asked Clavicus for a cure and he told them to assemble at his shrine. Then he banished his dog Barbas, knowing that Barbas would pick up someone who’d help him to get back. Of course that involved going through the cave and killing all the vampires. That was the deal – they were now cured of vampirism. They had not specified that they wanted to stay alive.”
Lena shook her head.
“So what did you get as a reward?” – asked Hauk. “Was it the Umbra or the Rueful Axe or may be the Mask?”
“Nothing. I declined it all, and now Clavicus Vile is indebted to me” – Lena grinned.
“Oh – you are his worthy student!”
They laughed at the story descending the mountain pass into the frost-free landscape below.
Masser and Secunda 