Assignment Skyrim Borders: 3rd of Heartfire, The Forgemaster's Fingers

  • Dushnikh Yal Stronghold (59o 47’N, 35o 10’W), is one of four legitimate orc strongholds in Skyrim.  (My definition of legitimate has changed since I got to Skyrim.  I now define any settlement that does not respond homicidally to all visitors as a legitimate settlement.)  I have looked forward to visiting this place since I first got the assignment.  Yet, when I arrived, I found them nearly as insular as the Reach natives.  If I was to gain their trust, they required something of me.  I extended the offer of a gift, and there was only one thing they wanted—the Forgemaster’s Fingers.

    I had to laugh at that.  Readers from the Colovian Highlands will be familiar with the Forgemaster’s Fingers from any general store in any city or village across the land.  It’s a mixture of bear fat and willow bark extract packaged in soft fur gloves to “soothe even the Forgemaster’s chapped, aching fingers.”  While it was invented for smiths and farmers, it is most popular with the ladies of the court, who value it for its effect on skin and nails.  The simple orcs of Dushnikh Yal ascribe magical properties to this incredibly greasy hand salve which is, apparently, not commonly available in Skyrim.  Arob, the gate guard, marked my map with the location of the trading station, clapped me on the back, and said, “Knock ‘em dead, Outlander.  Don’t come back without the gauntlets.”  I’d have been frustrated, but her description of the Fingers made me giggle.

    I have good reason to be frustrated, however.  First of all, the location on the map is distressingly close to Rebel’s Cairn—Red Eagle’s crypt—from which I had just come.  That journey was worth it once.  To be asked to do it again is a bit of a nightmare.  Second, my mission does have a timeline.  My superiors expect me to report back to the Imperial City by 1st of Sun’s Dusk, before the Skyrim winter sets in. The Legion delayed me at the border, the unexpected difficulty of finding an assistant delayed me further and affected my product, and now I find myself making repeated forays into the interior.  I have 58 days left to complete my circuit of Skyrim and report back with a credible product.  I am beginning to feel the pressure.

    Oh well, the official motto of the ICGS is Semper Alicubi, and I guess it fits this situation.

Comments

1 Comment
  • ricardo maia
    ricardo maia   ·  April 13, 2012
    Excellent joke about the forgemaster's finger being used by ladies in the court to soften their hands. Naturally he, being the civilized scientist he think he is, has nothing but contempt towards the "natives" cultural achievments, and expresses this opin...  more