Elder Scrolls: An Unwordly Visitor

And so, the battle behind, but still in both of their minds, the two, woman and girl, headed further down the mountain. It was within two hours that Lysona and Larissa reached the bottom of the mountain, entering the village the neighbored the Throat of the World. Ivarstead was a small milling town, located near a famous lake-Lake Geir- which merged with the White river a few hundred miles down. The town was small, with only five buildings making it up. Tere was the Vilemyr Inn, Fellstar Farm, Temba Wide-Arm's sawmill, and then two residential houses. The town, Lysona knew, had been seeing a huge decline and risked extinction as many villagers had moved away and some of the few remaining had plans to leave as well.

"Ah, you've returned." A man in his late forties said, greeting them as they walked across the small stone bridge that connected the beginning of the mountain path to Ivarstead. "Thank you. That's the second time you've brought up supplies to the Greybeards." He noticed Larissa. "It's the first time you brought someone back with you though, someone I don't recall going up the mountain actually."

Lysona waved away his curiosity. "Just a lost girl." She explained briefly. "It wasn't a problem Klimmek." She said, humbly. "I was on my way up there anyway. By the way, I encountered some masked people on the way down the mountain, would you know anything about that?" She asked.

Klimmek looked surprised at the question. "Ah, I did see some strangely dressed Dunmer, but none wearing masks." Which meant they put them on shortly before confronting her, Lysona connected.

"Thanks." Lysona said, Klimmek waving it away in a similar manner that she had. Looking at the sky, she observed. "It's getting dark. I'm going to head off to Vilemyr Inn for the night before heading back to Whiterun in the morning." Lysona went to move, but then remembered her companion. "Oh, Klimmek, do you have any clothes that would fit the girl with me? I remember you mentioning that your niece visited recently from Solitude."

Klimmek hummed, eying Larissa. "My niece is a bit taller, but she did leave behind a dress or two that should fit. "I'll be right back." Klimmek said, walking down the dirt path to his home.

Lysona fingered her satchel, wondering how much gold it would take to pay for it.

Lysona turned to the child. "I'll help you get settled tonight before I leave tomorrow morning. You can keep the dagger and the dress, and I'll give you some gold to last you a few days. You should focus on finding a village with more opportunities."

Klimmek returned and Lysona stopped talking. He tossed the dress at Larissa. "Here ya' go." He said, heartily. "And don't worry about paying." He told Lysona. "We've had quite a few visitors the last few days so I can easily replace the dress."

[Sardonyx]

When the two finally reached the bottom of the mountain, Larissa was still fine, able to go another two hours if she had too without taking a short break, but she still stretched and yawned as they around at the village the lied at the base, Ivarstead. She couldn't help but notice how empty it was considering the amount of buildings, apparently it was being deserted, and that came as no surprise to her considering the danger that both she and Lysona came across just miles up the mountain. It made her think what else could lie around these parts, and it slightly frightened, yet intrigued her at the same time.

The girl stayed quiet as usual as the duo came across a middle aged man, waving briefly as she was named 'a lost girl', deciding not to argue with the title, and considering how dangerous it was to give one's name, she didn't introduce herself this time as she would have.

Then came the comment, if the man had other clothes for her, she gave a look as though she wanted to protest, but quickly hid it away as she looked down at her current attire. She liked her clothes, and the ones here were no where near her 'green light'. Although she couldn't help but admit that she would stick out like a sore thumb even more than she already did unless she got a change in wardrobe. She couldn't help but wonder what she would have to wear, how it would feel and how it would look.

But he thoughts immediately went away as Lysona spoke to her briefly about leaving tomorrow morning, leaving 'her' alone, in a place that she scarcely...no, didn't know at all. She had a look of shock and terror on her face that remained as Klimmek returned with her 'new' dress. She didn't know what her horror should be directed at. She wouldn't be caught dead with something like THAT in her community, but that was all in the past. She wasn't going to return now, if ever, wanting to be optimistic but for now she was just completely fearful. So as she took the dress, she looked back to Lysona again. "A...are you serious...?"

Lysona frowned. This girl was spoiled, it seemed. It shouldn't have been a surprise, but Lysona had been hoping that the girl wouldn't cause any more trouble over something as simple as a dress. "I don't understand the problem. This is what young girls wear." She pointed out, and then sighed. "In the end, though, it's your decision. After tonight we'll be parting ways, so it won't matter to me what you wear." She said.

Turning to Klimmek, she said. "Thank you for your generosity." The man nodded, although looked slightly unsure now after the strange girl's reaction to the dress. He bid them a good night and retired to his home, sparing one last strange glance. When he was gone, the mage turned to Larissa. "Let's get to the inn." She said, starting a brisk walk to the inn. Opening the wooden door, the two were greeted with the warmth that the building provided. Like in every inn, there was a fire-pit in the middle of the common room. A few travelers laughed, caught in a drunken stupor as they shared stories about their travels. There was a bard playing some music, and ironically, he was singing a song made in honor of the Dragonborn.

Lysona stopped for a moment to hear the song as it was often a confidence boost that helped her steady herself.

"Our hero, our hero
Claims a warrior's heart
I tell you, I tell you
The Dragonborn comes

With a Voice wielding power of the ancient Nord art
Believe, believe, the Dragonborn comes
It's an end to the evil of all Skyrim's foes
Beware, beware the Dragonborn comes

For the darkness has passed
And the legend yet grows
You'll know, you'll know the Dragonborn's comes."

Finished listening, Lysona made her way to the L-shaped counter, pulling out ten gold coins from her satchel and murmuring. "One room...two beds." Usually, in a inn, there was only a room or two that had more than one bed. Judging by the town's unpopular nature, she assumed none of them would be occupied. She was correct.

The Nord woman gave an easy smile. "Of course, it's that one." She said, pointing to a door on the left end of the inn, the one at the end. "Is it a man, or..." She trailed off suggestively. The woman hadn't seen Larissa as Lysona was standing in front of her, blocking the sight of her off.

Lysona coughed, a hint of red in her cheeks. "No man, just a kid, for now." She said, stepping to the right as to allow the inn keeper sight of Larissa. The blonde nord, like Klimmek, shot Larissa a strange look, thinking the girl's clothing as strange.

"She's dressed strangely..." The woman noticed the dress. "You might want to get her in that, she'll catch a cold in those things."

Lysona nodded, giving a farewell to the woman before herding Larissa over to their room. The room was rather large, with a single hide bed in the southern corner and another in the western. There was a small wooden table with some cheese and wine bottles. "Sit." Lysona commanded, closing the door behind her.

Privacy somewhat ensured, Lysona spoke. "First, the gold." Reaching into her satchel, Lysona pulled out a heavy looking bag filled to the brim with gold pieces. "In this bag there is five-thousand gold pieces. Considering your sheltered like, I'll give you some tips. Inn rooms cost ten pieces, if someone tries to charge you more, they're cheating you. Bread, most vegetables, and anything from a cow-except the meat- cost anywhere from three to seven gold. A hot meals can cost double that of an inn." This seemed to be a lot of gold, way more than a day or two, but Lysona explained. "Use the gold to hire an adventurer or traveling merchant to take you to a different, better village. They come through here from time to time. Any questions?" She asked.

[Sardonyx]

Larissa followed closely, reluctantly carrying the dress in her arms as she had to resist all temptation to pass out. She had been dropped into this new world without any notice, she didn't know a single thing, completely vulnerable, and now she was about to be all alone in it. She couldn't bare to live here, not when everything was so outdated and everything that she was used to in life and 99% of the things she knew wouldn't help her in any scenario. She wouldn't last a week, all she had were images of herself getting mugged or beaten up or eaten...or even worse than death.

She gulped, most of her original skin tone had paled as though she had just gone ill, as she entered the inn, the shady figures around only made her feel more uncomfortable, though the best thing to do in this situation would be to not show fear, she couldn't help herself, for now, she wanted to plead to whatever God that existed out there to whisk her away home, that this was all some strange dream again, even though she knew it was all too real, she felt too much for it to be fake.

All of the conversations around her were irrelevant, as she was consumed by her own thoughts to hear, even when Lysona told her to sit as they finally arrived her room, her body followed commands as if she was still in reality, but her mind had drifted away, still lost in her daydreams which were more or less similar to night terrors. It was only until she was asked that she had any questions that she looked up. "A-Are you really leaving...I-I don't know...I know I can't do this...I've never had to do this, my mom said that I would have to go out on my own for years...! I can't go out in a place I don't know, I haven't even finished high school!" and then she just kept rambling on. "Ngh...but it doesn't mater, whatever my teachers could tell me wouldn't help me here...! I don't even have the right clothes, nor have I even had to use a weapon like a dagger! I can't do it! You can't just leave-!" but then she stopped herself, this woman could do whatever she wanted, in fact she could probably leave right now if she herself wasn't fatigued. So she looked down at her knees again from where she sat. "P-please don't go...I-I'm not ready to be alone...I-I'm not ready...I'm not..." she mumbled, growing very emotional. "I-I just wanna go back...w-why does this have to happen to me..." she groaned, falling back on her bed, already depressed, she just laid sprawled out looking at the ceiling. "I miss home...even if I was lost in the city...I could just call someone...a cab...take a bus...something...this world makes no sense to me...!"

Lysona was completely unprepared for Larissa's emotional tirade. Since she wasn't a mother and never had any siblings, the limits of Larissa's interactions with people was them requesting her help and then thanking her when the job was done. Even before she became Dragonborn, she seemed to have this aura around her that made people ask for help, whether it was dealing with a cursed artifact, clearing out a bandit camp, delving into ancient ruins, and much, much more. The Breton was a very experienced adventurer with a lot of fame to her name (at least in High Rock, here, in Skyrim, there was a lot of fame to her Dragonborn title). Unfortunately, none of her adventures had prepared her to deal with a lost kid, as sad as that sounded. It made Lysona feel kind of pathetic.

But, going away from all of that, Lysona was also being confused by the strange terms that Larissa was spouting. There was cab, bus, high school...Lysona had never used these terms before. It made Lysona wonder if Larissa's ignorance wasn't anyone's fault at all...

Shaking her head, Lysona thought hard about the situation. There was no way she could bring Larissa on most of her adventures, as they held a high death ratio even for her and would surely get Larissa killed before even getting halfway through. However, Lysona did recall that the Jarl had given her a home after saving his hold from the dragon. Which meant...

Sighing, Lysona spoke. "Fine, you can come with me. I have a home in Whiterun which you can stay in. However, since I'm out most of the time, you're likely to come with me. This means I have a few conditions. The first, you need to fit in, which means you have to wear the dress." Lysona couldn't afford to draw too many eyes while traveling, and Larissa's clothing would do just that. "The second. You do what I say and when I say. The world is a dangerous place and I can't afford having a rebellious girl along. If any of these conditions are broken, you're on your own." Lysona finished, her green eyes weighing heavily on Larissa.

[Sardonyx]

Larissa was just a mess, though all this time she had resisted the urge to cry. Or at least try to resist as she failing miserably at this point, though she wasn't bawling as she laid nearly catatonic on the bed as she wondered what she would have to do with herself, and whether it would be easier to just...

'Fine, you can come with me....'

Lara slowly sat up, using his arm to wipe away the tears that made their way on her cheeks and nearly dried enough to leave streak, but since they were recent, she merely cleaned her face fully. "R-Really...?" she asked, then listened her conditions one by one. First the dress, she stared down at again, she was in a mixed emotional state so she didn't have the audacity to try and comment on how....'blech' it was. But she would wear it willingly if it meant that she could stay with Lysona. The next was obeying instructions, that of which she could do with ease, of course the task may prove difficult she would attempt, especially if it meant that if she refused, she would be out again. "Y-yes...I u-understand..." she spoke with a hiccup.

Larissa was a blubbering mess, hiccuping as she responded. Lysona wasn't really sure how to deal with that and just stared at her for a few minutes awkwardly. In the end, the white-haired woman couldn't get herself to be comforting, even though she wanted to be. It just wasn't her. "Get changed." She said, as she sat down on one of the little wooden chairs and poured herself a glass of wine. Taking a sip, she felt her body relax slightly. This was surprisingly tasty wine, considering where they were. Settled, she then pulled out her spell tome from her satchel. Opening the gigantic tome, she also pulled out a pen before continuing her studies, her neat handwriting littering every centimeter of spare space.

Unfortunately, Lysona couldn't get herself to focus on the spell, no matter how hard she tried. Which wasn't good...which wasn't good...which wasn't...which

Lysona felt her concentration dipping, her vision becoming blurry and disorienting. Standing up, alarmed (but she wasn't sure why), Lysona almost toppled over. Still slightly aware, she managed to use the bed to break her fall. Eyes darting around the room, it landed on the wine. Poison. She worked out and fumbled with her satchel. She pushed as much magicka as she could through her body, trying to keep it away as she looked for her emergency potion (which she affectionately knew as Cure-all Poison). Taking out the vial, her hand shook as it came to her lips, barely able to tilt itself.

As the liquid went down her throat, Lysona felt the symptoms get washed away. Panting, Lysona looked at Larissa. "S-Stay in the room. If a-anyone comes in, wake m-me up." And she fell asleep, unable to keep herself awake to look into the matter.

[Sardonyx]

Larissa couldn't help but blush deeply when told to get changed. "Y-Yeah...umm...right..." she said, hoping that Lysona would say something about there being a bathroom or somewhere where she could change privately, being very modest, but she had a feeling that in this world, modesty was just a luxary, so she would have to change in the room. She reluctantly started to strip.

Although she barely got her top off when she noticed Lysona reacting badly to what she just drank and judging by the shape of the bottle she knew that it was wine of some sort. Now she was panicking, she wanted to get up and do something to help, but she didn't know how, nor did her legs ever move as her body stiffened as she saw this horror show take place, terrified. But as Lysona began to look better and she passed out, she calmed a bit.

"(Is that what happens to those who drink...?)" Larissa asked, unaware of the fact that it was poison that made Lysona so unwell, she assumed that it was just effects of alcohol, that had to have been pretty strong in this place. It was too bad, she was contemplating finding out what it tasted like now that she had calmed from her emotional turmoil. But she was sure that the wine would probably tear her body apart, so she decided against it. She was unsure what the cheese was like either, it was probably old, so she stayed away from it too, it was too bad, she was kind of hungry.

Nonetheless, now with the privacy, she continued to change out of her current attire into the dress, which...just didn't feel right to her, maybe because she was used to something more...modern. She had to resist the urge to grow nauseous at the sight, but if there was one part of her apparel that she assumed she could keep, it was her shoes, those and her socks were hidden by the dress considering how long it was. Though she thought carefully about it, if she kept her shoes, she would be violating one of Lysona's conditions.

Gasping as she thought of what that would meant, she threw her shoes off, where they landed in the corner and she sat huddled up in fetal position again on the bed. She couldn't sleep this time, which helped her keep an eye out for those who might want to come in.

The night passed slowly for Lysona, who was once again haunted by visions of Alduin. His fiery breath burned down Helgen, the village that had been his first attack. The screams of the children, the parents, haunted her. Before it was fear that she would be next, but once she found out she was Dragonborn, she felt responsible. If she had come to Skyrim sooner, figured out her destiny-somehow- sooner, then Alduin could be dead by now and wouldn't be reviving dragons from their burial mounds all over the place.

Finally, though, Lysona was relieved of this nightmare when the morning's light shined through the window, slipping underneath her eye-lids. Rubbing at her eyes, tiredly, Lysona got up. Remebering the events of last night, Lysona grabbed the wine bottle, smelling its scent and detecting the poison. "This will be useful for later." She murmured to herself. Putting the wine bottle, and her spell tome into her satchel, she looked at Larissa, who had changed into the dress. Lysona noticed the girl looked exhausted and was in a position that resembled fear. It was probably her passing out that did this. "New rule. No accepting any drinks or food from anyone except me." She almost died last night, Lysona realized. It was time to do some investigating. Those cultists she could deal with later, but this poison...There must be someone following her, how else could she explain the attack?

"Get up, we have some things to do before we leave." She told Larissa. Moving to leave the room, Lysona spotted something in the corner. Leaning down, she wondered at it. They resembled boots, but had a smoother feel to them. "What are these?" She asked, Larissa. Undoubtedly they were the girl's, considering their foreignness. "Actually, never mind." She said, not wanting to waste time and so ushered Larissa out.

Scanning the inn, she spotted the owner, Wilhelm. Walking up to him, she subtly casted a spell to prevent anyone from hearing the conversation. "Wilhlem, I need to talk to you." She said, pulling out a bottle of wine.

Wilhelm paled, a bit. "Erm, what do you need?" He inquired, trying to sound calm. He failed.

"This wine was poisoned, why?"

Wilhelm sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I told Hilda to send any mage to the room..." He trailed off, distaste clear on his face. The Breton was angry. One thing she hated about Skyrim was the hatred of magic. There were very few places where you could practice it or use it without being shunned.

The poison shouldn't be as simple as that, though. There was usually something more...

Suddenly, one of the bards ran up to them, entering the spell and now able to listen.

"I think I saw it again. That...ghost. It was over by the barrows." She said in a panic.

Wilhelm gave Lysona a nervous look before scolding the woman. "That thing's evil, Lynly! I told you to stay away from it!" Hearing enough, Lysona broke off of the group, sparing a glance to make sure that Larissa was keeping up with her. She was walking a bit strange though...

The barrow, along with Wilhelm's behavior, sounded suspicious. Thus, it made the perfect place to dig further into the crisis. About to exit, Lysona realized. "I don't believe either of us ate." Pulling out two vials, she handed one too Larissa. "Here, this will provide your body nutrients and fool it into thinking your fed." Sipping down her own vial, Lysona grimaced. It tasted, like always, disgusting and gunky. But since the inn-owner here was under her suspicion right now, she wouldn't risk eating here.

[Sardonyx]

Larissa had small bags under her eyes, she had remained in her position for as long as Lysona had been sleeping, not only from the fact that she couldn't sleep but due to the fact that she wanted to remain alert just in case anybody came it. Thankfully nobody did, but that also meant that she was not only extremely tired, but hungry as well, although they had to move forward. Her fatigue wouldn't do much to put them too much trouble hopefully, she would be able to move further on THEIR journey up until they reached their next destination, by then she would most likely pass out against her will, but by then hopefully her being conscious won't be needed.

She sat up, listening as Lysona warned her not to accept food from anyone but her from now on, which was completely reasonable. Though she couldn't help but notice the wine bottle being taken and stored for later. Apparently it could be used for something, the girl doubted that Lysona was taking just to 'enjoy' herself later, especially after the scenario that happened hours ago. So it was possible that bottle was probably tainted, which explains why the older woman gave her warning to her.

She stood up completely when commanded, noting how different it was to walk on these floors without her sneakers. It was rough, she was well aware that walking without her shoes would be no easy feat, she would most definitely have to acquire new boots to further complete the outfit. Of course, it probably would be better to leave her sneakers, she assumed a girl with no shoes at all, would be less conspicuous, than a girl with such strange looking ones. Yet when asked about it, she was about to point them out as her shoes, but she was interrupted and ushered out before she could do so.

Again, she stayed silent as Lysona discussed with the inn keeper, still trying adjust to walking without shoes, which she would probably have to do regularly for a good while. The wine was poisoned, that thought was confirmed, of course now she wondered what Lysona would use it for. Was it to kill someone? Was it for a potion or something? Larissa had no clue. She jumped a bit as the bard ran up to them and said something about a ghost.

Usually she would be curious and slightly petrified, but now, she would believe any other mythical thing that her world had once proven false or a fairy tale. Then she blinked and followed after Lysona after she left the group, still adapting to walking with just socks. She would hate to discover how it would feel to walk in the snow now.

Now pointing out food again, Larissa was reminded how hungry she was and gave a soft moan and held at her stomach, but then the vial was given to her. "...Fool my body into...sounds like some type of drug..." she noted. Usually she would ask if there was any side effects, but she no room to be picky right now and reluctant drank it down. Eyes widened and she swallowed it and her face turned pale and she gave a sickly complexion. "Ugh...ack!" she coughed a bit and caught her breath. "W-What was in that...?!" she couldn't help but ask, she never before tasted something as horrid!