Skyrim: The Adventures of Strongfury – Part One

[Note: The following entry and the Strongfury series as a whole will contain Skyrim spoilers. Also, it’s a bit of a lighthearted fun.]

Morndas 17th of Last Seed 4E 201

I live! What an eventful day it has been! Accused of being a rebel, nearly losing my head and now dragons! Anyone would think I’d taken too much skooma blathering on like this. Right now I’m at an inn in Whiterun, having made my escape from Helgan, which has been consumed by dragon fire. Can’t say I’ll miss the place.

The attack left me very restless so I took on a bounty, some bandits in Silent Moon camp who have been harrassing the little settlement of Riverwood. Let’s just say the village  is safe and the camp shall remain silent for a long time to come. Received some help from an elf named Faendal. Good archer and served me well in the battle. Helped him in return with a girl he loves.

Spoke to Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun about the attack. He introduced me to his mage who needs me to collect some stone tablet for him. If I come across the stone I’ll give it to him. Right now I’m enjoying my freedom.

Tirdas 18th Last Seed 4E 201

A much less eventful day today. I took to exploring Whiterun and asking of any news of the war and the surrounding lands. It seems Whiterun itself has not declared for either side. That doesn’t mean the townsfolk haven’t. There are two big clans in Whiterun, the Battle Born and the Grey Manes. The Battleborns have sided with the Empire, the Grey Manes with the Stormcloaks. The streets could erupt into violence at any point and already I have seen arguments break out between the two sides. I have done my best to stay away from either group for now. I am, like Whiterun, undeclared.

To take my mind off the war I wandered the market and spoke to a woman named Carlotta.  It seems she’s having man troubles too, this time the unwanted attentions of the inn’s bard, Mikael.  I seem to have grown soft, as I now protect women’s honour while in my youth I would have done the same as Mikael. I told him to leave Carlotta alone, he refused so we brawled. I give the boy credit, he is not a coward when it comes to fighting and even got some lucky shots in. But I’m bigger and stronger so in the end I knocked him to the ground. The boy has learnt his lesson and will leave Carlotta alone.

That was not my only brawl of the day. I decided to apply for membership with the Companions, a group who offer protection and act as mercenaries if need be. I was given a test, first to pit my strength against a Companion who accepted I was stronger after I gave him a beating, and then to intimidate a local shop keep. As for the reason, I wasn’t given one. This man, Belethor, proved to be no match for Strongfury and I took care of him quickly enough.

It’s good to be back in Skyrim.

Middas 19th of Last Seed 4E 201

Today has been strange.

It started innocently enough. Well innocently enough if you believe Brawlers to be innocent people. They might as well rename Whiterun to Brawler’s Run. You can’t go a day without fighting. I think I shall adopt this place as my home. A proper Nord town. This time I fought a woman named Uthgerd the Unbroken. She wagered 100 Gold pieces that she could beat me. She lost the wager but a woman hasn’t made me sweat like that in a long time. Ha!

I decided to explore the region around Whiterun. The first thing I caught sight of was an old fort, Greymoor they call it. I remember playing in fort ruins when I was a child, pretending to be some great soldier. This time there was no play involved. Bandits attacked me but my trusty Warhammer did away with them, even those who tried to yield. No mercy for those who would kill me. I did come up on the strangest sight though. An old cleaning woman who tried to sweep the grounds even after battle. Agnis was her name and I believe she has been there since she was young. Poor woman must be mad, cleaning the halls of dead men. I left her to it.

I also ran into Giants and they are not a friendly bunch. Even I, Strongfury, stay well clear of them for now lest I be killed. I returned to Whiterun and spoke to the Companions. They gave me quest to retrieve a shard of the legendary sword Wuuthrad, located in a Cairn not far from the town. Farkas, one of the Companions, accompanied me on this mission to witness my courage and to deem if I would be worthy of the Companions. We set off for the Cairn at night.

Whilst going along I came across a small pond with a skeleton hand sticking out of it. The hand clutched a steel sword. I took the sword and the hand collapsed. This reminds me of the tale of Artur the Formidable, who, legends say, was given a sword by a hand in a lake. Exodus he called it. It turns out this would not be the only dead thing with a weapon I would encounter this night.

Upon entering the Cairn, Farkas and I were set upon by dead men. They rose from their graves to to defend their final homes. Farkas and I slew them. Dead men died again, a fate none should have to suffer. But the dead were not our only concern. Another group was here for Wuuthrad and they did not like competition. We killed as many as we found but at one point I thought all hope was lost. I had become trapped in a cage, Farkas alone on the other side. The enemy went to take advantage of this and surrounded Farkas.

I thought Farkas would die in battle and I a prisoner, as I was supposed to in Helgan. Instead I discovered a Companion secret. Farkas transformed into a Werewolf and slew his attackers then freed me. He told me a select group of Companions were such creatures. I have been in hundreds of battles but that was one of the most shocking things I had seen.

We spoke little as we descended deeper, looking for the shard. The other group were also in battle with the dead and we had to fight through them all. Farkas did not become a werewolf again. Eventually we found the shard and also some strange markings on the wall. I was drawn to them and within seconds I knew what the words said. I have never seen this language before so how can I know what it said?!

Farkas dragged me away and we returned to the Companion’s hall. They welcomed me with open arms. Tonight I became a Companion but I feel like I also became something else. The words circle my mind over and over but I cannot make sense of them.

Fire, Fire Breath.