There was no need to get up particularly early, and so they didn’t. But eventually Lena was up – the smell of fresh sweetrolls tempting her out of bed. Hauk followed.

“Now that I promised we’d take this note to Windhelm, we actually have to go there” – she said, checking the saddle on Roach. “Straight through the geisers?”

“Let’s go!” – Hauk was in the saddle going North.

…

“Straight through the geisers, she says!” – Roach was complaining loudly, even though Lena couldn’t make out a word of it. “More like straight down the waterfall and off a cliff! For your information, there is no straight road between Ivarstead and Fort Amol!”

Lena was gingerly nudging Roach to descent down a nearly vertical cliff. In her defence, there were plenty of stepping stones and Roach didn’t fall once.

“Do I look like a mountain goat?” – Roach wasn’t going to let her indignation go unnoticed. “Or the Shadowmere? You’ve been around Lucien too much, that’s what! It got into your head! Oh” – they stood on a road by Fort Amol – “and now someone zapped me!”

“I’ll see you burn!” – a mage charged at them casting shock spells.

“Umm…” – started Lena unsheathing her sword, a fire playing in the other hand. “That’s the wrong spell for burning.”

But before she could do anything, the mage dropped dead at her feet.

“There’s a perfectly good road down the mountain, you know” – Hauk said, putting out his own shock spell. “Do you want to clear out the fort?”

“Nah, leave them be” – Lena got into the saddle. “We are on holiday, remember?”

…

“If there ever was trouble, this is it” – Lena said nudging Roach away from the cabin. “The sort of trouble we should walk away from.”

They found a riverside shack with a large bear sleeping peacefully inside, having dismembered and eaten the previous inhabitant.

“Shouldn’t we avenge the unfortunate person inside though?” – asked Hauk moving away too.

“And what would that accomplish? It won’t bring him back. Let’s go.”

The bear continued snoring.

…

In Windhelm they finally sold the loot that they didn’t want to keep. War time prices meant that they didn’t get much money for it. Still, it was enough for a meal and a room, and a few bits and bobs, too. They dropped off the note at the White Phial, sold their surplus ingredients and… got saddled with another fetch quest.

“If you don’t want to help people, you shouldn’t be asking them about their problems” – remarked Hauk when they were outside. “Wasn’t there something else we needed to fetch from that very same cave? For another old alchemist?”

“A ring of perfect mixtures” – Lena recalled. “If this was a hidden laboratory of some alchemical genuis, then it is not surprising that it would contain several interesting items.”

Back at the market a local farmer selling fresh produce asked Lena to deliver some nightshade extract to the court wizard.

“I’m stuck here manning the stall all day” – she said. “Would you be so kind? Gets you to see the Palace from the inside, too.”

The woman was nice, so Lena agreed.

“How do you feel about going into the Palace?” – she asked Hauk as they approached the entrance. “Do you want to skip this one?”

“Whatever for?” – Hauk raised an eyebrow. “It’s not like I’m wearing Imperial armour. And even then… Windhelm doesn’t consist exclusively of Stormcloaks, you know.”

“Not exclusively…” – Lena thought – “But close! Certainly among the Nords…”

But – what was it? “A true Nord never backs down!” Oh.

She needn’t have worried though. Ulfric was too busy discussing the war with whoever he was discussing the war with, and the door to the upper level of the Palace was right by the entrance. The court wizard by the name of Wuunferth the Unliving (!!) turned out to be an elderly mage interested in any and all aspects of magic and no aspects of politics. Ulfric didn’t need him, and he needed Ulfric even less.

“We are doing well leaving each other well alone” – he said. “Oh – the nightshade extract… thank you. Poisonous of course, but it also has other uses…” He didn’t elaborate, and Lena didn’t think it was her place to ask.

After the Palace of the Kings they needed a breath of fresh air and went to the Grey Quarter – the New Gnisis Cornerclub, to be precise. A lot less stuffy than the Palace, but instead filled with the air of discontent. The Dunmer were not treated fairly! No? No less fairly than the Nords in Morrowind. It goes both ways.

After lunch it was time to go find this treasure trove of alchemy – the Forsaken Cave.

The weather turned for the worse with the blizzard getting heavy, the icy wind howling. Lena’s padded armour did a decent job of keeping the cold out, but her Breton blood wasn’t sufficiently frost-resistant.

“You are turning blue again” – said Hauk. “You need a drink.” He handed her a bottle of Nord mead. “It may not taste as sweet as Honningbrew or Black-Briers, but it keeps the cold out better.”

Indeed, it worked. Lena felt warmer and the cold didn’t seem to get at her so much. She made a mental note to buy Nord mead wherever she saw it, whatever the cost.

Forsaken Cave led to Forsaken Crypt, the burial place of that famous alchemist Curalmil. Of course, his draugr was guarding the phial.

“Umm… Curalmil does not sound like a Nord name” – said Lena looking at the pacified draugr. “What is he doing in a Nord crypt as a draugr?”

“Ancient Nords were more accepting of foreigners than modern ones” – said Hauk grimly. “If he made his life in Skyrim and was considered one of the people, they’d bury him in the Nord tradition. And it seems he was respected in life – he practically presides over this crypt.”

They found the phial, but it was broken.

“Something tells me Nurelion is not going to be happy” – said Lena with regret. “Can’t say I blame him. Well, let’s take it back as it is.”

They returned to Windhelm in the dead of night. The Candlehearth Hall was welcoming, as usual.