"You know, Partner, if anyone sees you like this they might get the wrong idea." Derflinger remarks as the group continue walking through the forest.
"Shut up, sword." Michael sighs, Derflinger wasn't wrong though. He had Charlotte and Tiffania thrown over each shoulder, so anyone who spots them might think he was kidnapping them or something. Fortunately, they weren't all that heavy, so he wasn't struggling too much, even if they had to take occasional breaks for him to catch his breath.
Illococoo was the one escorting Charlotte's mother, her leg might've been healed but it was still sore apparently, so the duty of carrying their unconscious friends fell on him. It was man's duty, or so he remembered hearing.
"Big bro, how long until we get somewhere?" Illococoo asks in a slightly bored manner.
Michael shrugs, "No idea. Just gotta keep walking until we find something to show us the way... A road, a landmark..."
The dragon girl huffs in understanding but is not all that happy about it.
Another hour and a half pass when Illococoo suddenly stops, her head darting to the side with her lips pulling into a frown that reveals her teeth... It would have been more intimidating had she been in dragon form, but the action has the same meaning regardless.
Michael steps forwards and focuses on where she was looking, his pupils shrinking in focus as he spots the slight shimmer of metal of the arrowhead pointing at them... A lone man wearing thick furs with green tattoo's covering his bearded face, his messy hair looking as if it hadn't been cleaned for weeks.
"Stay calm, Illu." he commands, standing still and waiting for the man to make his move. Michael hoped he was a hunter, as opposed to a raider or thief... The man only had a bow and a large knife at his waist, so hunter was the most likely.
"KHO NAR OUGH, KHUT KO DEL GOLCE!?" the man shouts, thoroughly confusing both him and Illococoo.
...
"What!?" Michael shouts back, having thought that people in Skyrim spoke English... Again, just his wishful thinking.
"Ki said, who are you!? And what're you doin' with those girls!?" the man presses, his words slowly becoming understandable for Michael, probably due to his Language Comprehension skill.
"We were attacked by a huge bear! We've been walking for days and have NO idea where the hell we are!" Michael says, causing the man to silently begin examining them. He doesn't lower his bow, but his posture relaxes slightly.
"A bear you say? Which way did it go? How long ago was it?" he quickly asks, his interest in them fading almost entirely.
"A day ago, I'm not sure where it went. But wait, can you tell us where we are before you go? We're really desperate here." Michael says, shifting the girls on his shoulders to emphasize his point.
The man nods, "You're not too far from Falkreath, don't know where you were goin' but if you want safety then that's where you should go. Go down here and head East along the road, you'll reach the place after a while... Those girls alright? I've got a couple potions on me if you need them, for a price of course."
Michael shakes his head, "They're fine for now. Thanks... Ah, my name's Michael."
The man nods, walking over to them while slinging his bow over his shoulder, "Lohir, no poncy last name, but folk call me Bearshot." he shrugs amusedly, "For obvious reasons."
Michael quietly chuckles, "I'd shake your hand but... Anyway, we'll leave you to your work, be careful though, that bear was bigger than any I've ever seen before."
Lohir grins, "Hah, maybe I'll be able to top my record. Good luck to you, foreigner, Talos praise." he says before leaving in the direction the group had come.
Illococoo glances at Michael as they begin walking towards the road, "Big bro, how did you understand him?"
Michael shrugs, "I just do... We'll need to get you guys up to date if we're going to stay here for any amount of time." he says with a slight sigh, knowing his companion's inability to speak the local language would present many challenges.
As for their current location? In one word, boring. He couldn't remember anything all that interesting happening in Falkreath. Aside from that Werewolf quest and the Dark Brotherhood base being located somewhere around it.
He'd have liked to be closer to Winterhold, but then again, they might've frozen to death if they had. Winterhold and the other northern Holds were way, way colder than Falkeath from what he knew.
Not long after meeting Lohir, the group stumble across a well-worn dirt road and after following it for a couple hours more, they finally spot human civilisation... Log walls surround the town, and the guards all wear the familiar armour that almost every city in Skyrim uses.
Leather armour decorated by blue cloth to signify their allegiance to Falkreath as opposed to any other Hold. Most with shields with Falkreath's symbol painted onto it, with axes, swords, or maces also strapped to their hips.
Through the open gate of the town, the group could see wooden houses with thatch roofs. Kinda disappointing since Michael was hoping for something more modern and effective, but it'd certainly be better than sleeping outside in a tent.
"Halt foreigner! You better have a good explanation for this, or we'll be having this talk in a cage." one of the guards state, eyeing Michael suspiciously due to the two girls hanging from his shoulders.
Michael lets out a sigh, quickly giving the same explanation he'd given Lohir. The guards weren't all that friendly, but they weren't hostile after he'd explained the situation. A female guard seems to perk up at the mention of Lohir however, "So old Bearshot's gone to deal with that annoying beast then? Good. Thing's almost destroyed two villages now." she grouses.
Michael shrugs, "Well, Lohor looked like he had it handled. Are we allowed inside? I'd like to get these two laid down on a bed, they'll be sore from riding on my shoulders all day."
The female girl chuckles, "Go on you three, but don't be causing any trouble, or we'll come down on you like Ysgramor himself." she says, clapping him playfully on the back. Giving similar slaps to Illococoo and Charlotte's mother, who almost throws a fit in response, but is barely held back by the dragon girl.
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The group wanders around the town for a good while, searching for an inn that they could possibly rest at. It wasn't uncommon for the locals to stop and stare at them however, their appearances and clothing looked drastically different from what they were used to.
It'd been around half a year since Michael had been sent to Halkeginia, and there had been many changes to him. Firstly, his height had increased from its short 5.2ft to 5.5ft. It might not seem much to most people, but for Michael it was a huge difference. In actuality... Had his birthday passed? The seasons and dates of Halkeginia made it difficult to tell, but he was sure he'd turned sixteen years old not long ago...? Hmph, who knows.
His dirty blonde hair had grown out a bit, Tiffania had taken to trimming it for him but she'd said that she thought it looked better not so short. So, that's how he'd kept it, allowing it to drop just below his ears.
His clothes were peculiar for Skyrim, with almost skintight leather trousers that'd been designed to allow for ease of movement, and a grey gambeson over worn chainmail with his cloak sitting over all of that. All in all though, it wasn't him who was drawing the most attention.
Charlotte was far, far shorter than Michael, her head reaching the middle of his stomach. Her blue hair and red-rimmed glasses stood out from the crowd, not that most could see them with her unconscious on his shoulder. Her clothes were dark blue robes that split at the legs to allow further ease of movement as well as riding Sylphid.
Tiffania was also drawing attention, though, that was more due to her ears than anything else. Elves in the Elderscrolls were different to most other worlds. Unlike Tiffania, their ears with short and pointed, with larger foreheads and generally longer faces. Not the pinnacle of beauty most fiction depicts. Her clothes were brown and boring, her height hadn't changed either, staying at the 5.2ft that Michael used to curse.
Illococoo was another point of interest, the cute and curious girl with long dark blue hair and prominently curves under her clothing. Her expressiveness causes the local women to coo at the sight of her, despite the girl looking as if she were seventeen to eighteen years old.
Additionally, Charlotte's mother's rather erratic twitching and paranoid glances made a few people nervous to be around her. Luckily, Illococoo was enough to stop her from causing any trouble.
Thankfully, Michale was able to locate the local inn before they were surrounded by curious people. The place was called the Dead Man's Drink, and immediately after stepping into it, the group was greeted by the sound of singing, people laughing and talking. Your typical busy tavern.
The place was warm, with how cold it'd been outside it was almost like stepping into an oven. But Michael adapted quickly, his gaze glancing from the firepit in the middle of the room that was slowly cooking meat, to where the inn owner seemed to be.
He carries his unconscious companions through the inn while Illococoo escorts Charlotte's mother, stopping in front of the bar. "Excuse me, could we get three rooms please?" he asks, shifting the girls on his shoulder to emphasize his request.
The woman nods, "Thirty gold, and they're yours."
...
Michael wets his lips as he retrieves his pouch, realising he only had around twenty Halkeginia gold coins in it... Not to mention, he doubted the Skyrim gold coins would be worth as much as his, the gold content was probably drastically different. "Erm... My coins are different from what you're probably used to..." he wiggles a gold coin onto the bar, making sure to keep the girls secured on his shoulders. "It's pure gold, if that matters at all." he adds, looking slightly nervous as he wasn't actually sure if it was pure.
The woman frowns slightly, picking up the coin and looking it over, her brows raising at Brimir's face printed on both sides. "You loot this from a tomb or something?" she asks while tapping it on the table to get a feel for it.
Michael nods, "-Yeah..."
...
She eyes him suspiciously but eventually relents, her shoulders sagging as if she'd lost a bet or some sort. "Fine, take the rooms." she says while pocketing the gold, waving him off towards some open doors on the left side of the inn after handing him some keys.
He lays Tiffania and Charlotte down in one room and has Illococoo set Charlotte's mother down in another. He'd have the dragon girl sleep next to the mentally unsound woman to make sure she doesn't wander off or hurt herself. The last room was for him.
With that done, he and Illococoo go back and sit at the bar with the inn owner, a lull in the inn's activity allowing them to sit directly in front of the woman. Michael was thinking of a way to approach gathering information, or to break the ice, but fortunately, the inn owner decided to open up dialogue first.
"My name's Valga Vinicia and since you've managed to con me out of some gold, I'll have your story stranger. Most folk around here, me included, are wondering how you came about carrying two pretty girls like a warlord stealing his treasure." she says with a smirk. The woman looked American, with tanned skin that looked strange in Skyrim, and brown hair that hung to her shoulders.
Michael sniffs at her insinuation, "Very funny. But you won't be hearing any story of me stealing fair maidens like a dragon or something. They're friends, we were attacked by a bear on the way to Skyrim, enough said."
Valga leans forward on her desk with a look of interest, "From Cyrodil then, eh? Me too, but I don't remember ever hearing of dying your hair blue. A new fashion trend among highborn maybe? Not to mention that strange elf of yours, never seen one with ears quite like that." she casually remarks.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
JayJonnaJamison
Jack Allen
Faruk Ereng
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