Bjorn looked down at the stream before him. He sometimes got urges to follow rivers until they connected with the sea, just to see where he would end up at his journey's end rivers are like life Bjorn thought to himself many different branches, twists and turns and bends... And they all end up in the same place... he grimaced at that thought, as it reminded him of Alalf's death, he quickly paid his respects at the river and continued onwards, he should arrive at Ragnvald by midnight.
The sky was a solid black, the stars glittering like diamonds as they shone down on Nirn's earth and water, the moon was crescent, like a fingernail. Bjorn thought deeply about the new words he had learned, they were powerful, yes, but were they safe? What if there were consequences to such an ability? Could Alduin still be defeated then? He sighed, questions for later, he needed fine mead in his belly, his mouth watered at the thought of the taste. Undaunted, Bjorn pressed on, the ground crunching under his feet.
As he suspected, by midnight he arrived at Ragnvald, thankfully none of Venstrunriik's allies had heard of his fall and no rogue wolves or brigands had attacked him on his way, the torches were lit outside, blazing in Skyrim's cold night. A guard strode forward, he was a solid seven feet tall and wielded a greatsword that was strapped to his back it was made of shining ebony, masterful, a work of art, even.
"State your business, zu'u Torsten, hi los?" he said, his voice hard and deep,
"Zu'u Bjorn, my fellow kendov must have arrived earlier" Bjorn replied, unintimidated by the man's height and blade.
"How many men?" Torsten inquired, holding up his lantern to his face, so as to reveal his cold blue eyes, they bored into Bjorn
"Must have been..." Bjorn trailed off as he thought "sixteen, at least." he finished, Torsten replied
"We have had a total of ten kendov in a group bo dar sul, nust lost nos naal brigands." Bjorn nodded
"Must be them" Torsten nodded and strode off, with a sigh of relief Bjorn trod onward, towards the gates of Ragnvald, the cold air making his resilient Nord skin tingle by now.
As Bjorn entered, he immediately felt the warmth of the torches blazing in the corners of the room restoring his energy, he grinned as he saw the tables before him, three of them about twenty meters long, all lined with food. A whole cow was present on each table, roasted and served with vegetables and yes, mead, mead in quantities that made Bjorn's grin grow from ear to ear and his mouth water.
The ruler of Ragnvald, Mernar, came forward, dressed in his cultist robes
"Ahh, a visitor, how may I be of service, stranger?" he smiled jovially, his brown, braided hair almost glowing in the torchlight. Bjorn bowed and replied
"No service, zu'u just ask fah aan kos fah fin vulon" Mernar laughed and said
"Hi aal praan het ol lingrah ol hi hind " Bjorn bowed again, gratefully
"Kogaan, dii drog" he said, to which Mernar just smiled again and then said a single word
"Kipraan" and he left for his throne. Bjorn saw one of his fellow Tongues feasting on the table to the left, he approached and sat next to him
"Drem yol lok" he said, smiling, with a friendly grin Bjorn replied
"Kul orin", he was handed a tankard of mead and he drank, it was sweet and quenched his thirst. Tonight he would eat well.
They feasted late until early morning, Torsten escorted Bjorn to his chambers, along with another guard who introduced himself as Saerek. Exhausted and slightly drunk he collapsed into his chambers and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
Bjorn awoke at about midday, his head was spinning painfully, he let out a groan
"How much did I... When did I..." he muttered to himself, pulling himself to his feet. With heavy footsteps, Bjorn hauled himself to the main hall, calling for help, Saerek approached and silently assisted Bjorn in reaching the table, he then immediately poured him a tankard of water
"Drink, it will help" he said solemnly, before turning and heading for Mernar's throne room. Bjorn did as he was told, he drank deeply, after several tankards he felt somewhat better, but certainly not perfect.
Not long after, there was a booming knock upon the doors of Ragnvald and Bjorn was immediately filled with a sense of unexplained dread. Mernar and his guardians, Saerek and Torsten, both approached the door and opened it. Outside, there was a man dressed in cultist robes, but he was not a regular cultist.
This was obvious to Bjorn, for concealing his face was a glowing wooden mask.
Comments
The Wooden Mask sends you back in time when worn in Labyrinthian, by placing all 8 Dragon Priest masks on their respective busts in Bromjunaar Sanctuary you get the Konahrik mask.
Reading with a keen interest. (No idea what the wooden mask does)
I'm getting that coup-de-etat feeling on the next chapter.