Chapter 697: The Skaal Siblings
Chapter 697: The Skaal Siblings
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In the eyes of an outsider, the abundance of goods, foods, and welfare in both Saarthal and Winterhold was massively unfair if not outright unrealistic. Those who live in tribes away from the densely populated cities have to survive year in year out through the harsh winters and unstable living conditions.
Winterhold was basically just like them 6 years ago but now, people are too busy to greet one another in the streets. Some are even walking around with their minds occupied with their business and living expenses, and some are haggling upon things that outsiders would find bizarre.
Alfhild and Fengrim of the Skaal were repulsed at times by the situation of the city when the people seem unfriendly and impatient, and amazed at other times when they see the riches and goods displayed in the market which can feed their clan for 10 years to come.
Despite being young, the two had a feeling of being content in their hearts. Being a Skaal is akin to being one with the world and it is both healthy and mind-opening. They don’t want to get as ill-mannered as those city folk even if it meant they would have everything in the world. Tranquility was much more important to them.
But that was the case for the city of Winterhold. When they arrived in Saarthal, however, they were introduced to a very organized city built on an open space with wide roads and less density in structures. Moreover, the tower standing in the middle of Saarthal gave them the shock of their lives as they had never seen such a towering man-made thing before.
According to the information they’ve obtained, the man they came to meet is a strong warrior wizard who lives in that Tower. Not only that, but he is some sort of a folk hero to the people of the mainland. This would definitely make him a difficult man to approach but that just got more difficult the moment they got near the tower.
Before they got close enough to see the tower’s entrance, they expected some large shut gate where no one goes near out of respect for the authority and they would have to knock on the gate or something but that wasn’t the case at all. The gate of the tower was open wide and hundreds of people were coming and going. Moreover, there are guards and warriors gathered around the gates and even inside the tower.
This was bound to be a different kind of difficulty, maybe as difficult as seeking an audience with a king.
But they can’t back down, while the image of their heads about Jon Dare was that of a strong warrior who had relations with their people, they never imagined that he would be something of such high peerage but that can’t stop them now. Their people depend on the help they can get from this man, and he made a promise to the elders to be there whenever they call for his help.
And so they decided to enter the tower.
Yet contrary to everything they expected, no one stopped them from entering. Not the guards, not the warriors, not the busy people rushing in and out while hauling packs of rolled documents.
This gave the two a sense of existential dread. They relied on the fact that if anyone sees strangers from strange lands entering an important building, they would be stopped and questioned, and from that point, they would talk to someone that may lead them to Jon Dare.
But that’s just absolutely bizarre!
Fengrim then decided to take the lead and walk in confidently until he finds someone not busy enough to talk to.
Just as their eyes got adapted to the lighting of the interior, they found it to be built in the same cold Nordic stone architecture with a flavor of classiness. The place was lit by hanging chandeliers that didn’t carry candles but rather something magical that casts light in a very calming way.
As they got through the entrance hallway, they found two circular hallways going left and right with many side doors opening to more interiors within. There was also a straight way that led to a very large circular hall where some sort of a meeting was happening.
Well, that was it for Fengrim’s courage, he felt awkward and didn’t know where to go. He wouldn’t certainly be able to walk into that large hall without causing a scene.
On the other hand, Alfhild seemed to have found an important-looking man standing behind a pedestal and seemed like he was waiting. She tapped the shoulder of her brother in a way that indicated that he should follow.
As they stopped in front of the man, she took the lead to speak.
“Greetin…”
“If you are here for the employment office, Please follow the blue paint on the floor. Just remember that you need your evaluation certificate from the company branch you want to be employed in.” The man, who seemed to be a Breton, started talking with a tired tone as if he said this line to anyone who came in before.
“Wha…”
“We’re looking for Jon Dare.”
While Alfhild was confused, Fengrim managed to push the awkwardness aside and asked about Jon Dare right away.
The Breton, whose eyes were glued to a ledger on the pedestal, stopped looking at his work and raised a single brow as his eyes moved slowly between Alfhild and Fengrim in a sense of superiority.
“Thane… Thane Jon Dare.” The Breton spoke while pressing on the word Thane.
“Yes?” Fengrim frowned.
“His name is Thane Jon Dare. I have no qualms with how brash you Nords can be but even the Nords don’t drop the titles of their Jarls and Thanes. Thane Jon Dare is how you address him.” The Breton said, educating these two complete outlanders.
“Yes, right. Thane Jon Dare.” Alfhild didn’t even try to argue with the haughty Breton and cut right to the chase, “We’re here to deliver him a message from the Skaal.”
“I have no clue what that is.” The Breton dismissed them.
“We’re a clan from Solstheim.” Alfhild stated.
“Then you should have sent your message through the Solstheim outpost.” He replied while closing his ledger.
“It was attacked.” Fengrim said.
“Excuse me?!” The Breton man was surprised by what he heard, “Solstheim is the realm of House Redoran, a very close ally to the Company. We would have been informed…”
“Raven Rock is under attack as well. The Redoran guards won’t help us, the Dare Company people seem to have gone missing too.” Alfhild spilled everything.
The man was somewhat baffled but he didn’t dismiss the two teenagers. As a professional employee, he had to go through the procedures of such an event.
This was a very important clause in the employment contract: “If any employee was to receive any critical piece of information that would affect the flow of the company affairs and report it, they would be rewarded by the significance of the gains their information achieves or the risk it prevents. Withholding such critical information, however, will result in punishment.”
It is safe to say that this previous clause was a game changer in the career of many employees who used it to gain many benefits in their fields such as promotions, raises, rewards, and many other things.
Without any hesitation, the Breton employee said “Follow Me!” and darted off to a hallway.
The siblings followed him and found themselves in a very large office where the Breton employee was talking to other employees. In mere seconds, he took them outside the tower and ran northward to a large building with many carvings and artistic beauty.
“We are lucky.” The employee said, “Lady Alina is in the Temple today.”
“Lady Alina?” Alfhild asked.
“Lady Alina Dare!” The employee said, “The wife of Thane Jon Dare… what kind of place is Solstheim to not know such a thing?”
While the Breton employee was clearly not aware of how far an island like Solstheim is, the two teenagers didn’t get worked up with his attitude and simply followed him to the temple.
Unlike the Dare Tower whose people were running around instead of walking normally, the Temple was way calmer and had a very friendly vibe to it. With the symbols of the Hawk carved on the marble walls of the temple and many flowers and magics surrounding it with a calming mood, the first thing they could see inside was not quite calming at all.
In the garden of the temple sat a beast with long wings, piercing eyes, sharp talons. One look from those piercing eyes would inspire terror and leave many frozen in dread, however, that beast just sat over there in complete harmony with the atmosphere of people and visitors around it.
Not just that, but some children would actually pick flowers and go to the beast directly and put them around it before coming in contact with it at the sight of their cheering parents
These people are total nuts, that was the first thought that came across the minds of the paled Fengrim and Alfhild.
“Oh! You’re in luck.” Even The hurried Breton employee stopped his tracks and turned towards the Beast sitting in the garden, “The Snow-Capped Gryphon of lady Alina is here.”
“That beast?” Fengrim asked while pointing at Lokthur.
“It is a Holy Beast to the Cult of the Hawk, a manifestation of the spirit of the Nordic Deity Kyne. You haven’t heard about it?” The Breton asked.
“No…” Alfhild replied, “But to let children this close to it?!”
“Well… the Nords are too fond of this majestic beast and so are the High Elves. Some people would come from far places with their children to let them meet the Beast of Kyne who may bless their children with a strong vitality and healthy physique.” The Breton explained.
“Such a thing is truly wild.” Alfhild commented in complete amazement.
“The fact that you are a Nord and you are unaware of this is quite odd. What do you people worship on Solstheim?” The Breton asked.
“The All-Maker.” Fengrim replied.
“Is it like Anu the Everything?” The Breton narrowed his eyes while asking.
“The Head Shaman mentioned that name once.” Alfhild replied as she struggled to remember.
“How refined! There are Nords who worship Anu?!” The Breton was somewhat impressed to hear about Elf-like Nordic worship that happens in such a rural place, “Well, let’s not waste any more time and go to the second Beast of Kyne.”
“There is a second one?” Alfhild asked.
“Oh yes, the Mad Bull.” The Breton replied.
“That sounds way nicer than an actual Gryphon.” Fengrim said since the sight of mad bulls was something quite frequent in rural villages such as the land of the Skaal.
But a few seconds later…
“I’ll take back what I said.” Fengrim said as he stood in awe in front of the so-called Mad Bull.
Deep into the temple stood an 8 feet tall gigantic creature with the head of a bull and the body of a humanoid. Despite the savage vibe emitted by that creature, it was dressed in a golden silk robe that was imported from Cyrodiil and was fashioned into a habit of a priest.
“Greetings Brother Jax, I present two members of the Skaal Clan of Solstheim who have relations to the House of Dare. They came with a plea for help from Thane Jon.” The Breton said.
Addressing the Minotaur as Brother Jax was quite the shock to the siblings but Jax was working as an official Priest of Kyne during his stay in Winterhold.
Officially called Javeliaronfiuxos Drum-Hoof (shortened by Jon to Jax at ch.429), Jax was a Minotaur fighter slave from the Grand Arena at the Imperial City. In his early fights, Jon faced Jax and instead of killing him, Jax was spared and freed by Jon who became the Grand Champion. Since then, Jax has served Jon as his carriage driver and other jobs but lately, he has joined the Cult of Kyne, the Mother of Man and Beast. And since the Minotaurs are the descendants of the Demigod Morihaus Breath-of-Kyne who was a winged Man-Bull, it helped Jax to become a Priest at the Temple after proving his gentle nature and high intellect.
“The High Priestess is inside!” Jax spoke to the Breton and with one hand, he pushed a large gate open as effortlessly as one would open a simple door. That gate led to the inner sanctum of the Temple.
Before they could freely walk in, Jax assigned someone to guide them inside since they were in the “staff only” section of the building.
Just as they passed the first corridor, they found themselves in a grove with a ceiling made of glass and metal. The light of the sun was shed in and it made an atmosphere of magical scenery, where one can’t even begin to imagine how such kinds of plants were brought to grow into the barren and cold Winterhold. The garden at the Temple’s yard was one thing but this thing right here is both out of place and out of season.
“Ah! I’ve heard about this, a chamber whose temperature was altered by magic to allow all kinds of plants to grow. Brilliant, isn’t it?” The Breton said with all the excitement in the world.
Magic? Temperature? Exotic Plants? Towers? Cities? Trade Companies? The siblings were absorbing all of these new things they were witnessing for the first time in their lives and from their point of view, this was all too much for just normal people to have. The identity of the people they were sent to meet must be way beyond what they can even fathom.
But these thoughts didn’t last long for there was something which their senses started to pick on, something that crawled under their skin and made the very air they breathe much heavier.
Simultaneously, the siblings turned around in the direction where they picked on that feeling. Fengrim started sweating while Alfhild was holding her chest.
In front of them stood a tall beautiful lady who was confused by their reaction and seemed not to know what to do.
“Are you two alright?” Alina asked as she came to meet the visitors but their appearance made her worried over them.
“Watch out!” Alfhild spoke, “Something very bad is here.”
This state of alertness made Alina focus all her ocular powers and scan the surroundings for anything that may have threatened the two teenagers but there was no such thing.
“What is going on?”
At that time, someone came from behind Alina, and just as they got closer, the teenagers stepped back as if they were ready to run.
“Master? It’s nothing, I am just having visitors.” Alina said as she turned towards Nurina.
But just as Nurina saw the two teenagers, the look in her eyes sharpened and she stared at them for a second or two before looking away.
“You’d hardly call those things visitors. I’ll leave you to your affairs. Let’s meet tomorrow.” Nurina said and immediately walked out of the inner sanctum for the teenagers to slowly calm down and for Alina to be completely bewildered and befuddled.
Just now, Nurina, who is nice to all children 200% of the time and oversaw an orphanage for more than 20 years, acted that harshly towards children?
And did those children just have that kind of reaction to her?
Even with Alina’s foresight, she didn’t see that one coming.
Just what is going on?
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