Chapter 10: Page 10: The New Director of the Orphanage
Lun was examining the scroll he had found.
"Electricity. It's an electricity-based magic... It resembles the master-level destruction spell Lightning Storm."
The scroll described how to activate a destruction spell that unleashed a surge of charged lightning bolts.
"Scattershock... Scattershock? Scattershock?!"
Lun recognized that spell since he had used it several times when playing as an Archmage class.
'It's from the mod Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim. I forgot I had also installed that mod... What were the basic spells from Apocalypse?'
He tried to recall the spells but found it difficult since he usually played as a Warrior-type class.
'I'll need to find many grimoires to gain access to that much magic.'
The children began waking up, asking questions about what had just happened.
'Will they celebrate like they do in the game when she's killed?'
Before they could say anything, they heard the main door open.
Everyone looked at each other and slowly approached to see who it was.
They saw the Jarl's Steward standing there with some guards, so they cautiously stepped forward.
"Children, are you all here?" Anuriel asked.
"Yes," Lun replied.
"Very well. I'm sure you're aware of what happened here with the previous Orphanage Headmistress," she began to say.
"Grelod is dead?" one of the children asked.
"That's right. It may come as—"
Before she could offer her condolences, the children erupted in cheers, leaving Anuriel and the accompanying guards utterly confused.
'They're happy? What was going on here?'
Anuriel wanted to ask them, but that would have to wait since she had something important to announce.
Ahem.
"Now that you're aware of the news, I have something to tell you that I hope will brighten your day. Honorhall Orphanage will have a new headmistress. Please welcome Helena."
A beautiful woman with light brown hair cascading down to her waist entered. She wore an outfit in shades of green and brown.
"Greetings. My name is Helena. I used to be a Priestess of Mara, but now I will be the Headmistress of the Orphanage. I hope we can get along well."
Helena offered them a kind smile, instantly earning the children's trust. Unlike Grelod, who seemed to have a dark aura around her, Helena seemed to radiate light with every move.
Lun, however, didn't trust her. He had never heard of her, and she wasn't in the game either.
'Another unfamiliar person. I wonder how many more I'll encounter.'
Months passed since Helena arrived, and she quickly won over the children.
The first thing she did was give everyone better clothes, something Grelod would never have done.
Interestingly, all the clothes were ones available in Hearthfire and were the same outfits worn by Aventus and the other children from the Orphanage. This suggested that Grelod might have provided extra clothing just to maintain the appearance of a decent environment.
Helena also began asking us about how life had been under Grelod, possibly to report back to Steward Anuriel.
Unlike before, when we spent all our time inside the orphanage, Helena allowed us to explore the city as long as we returned by lunchtime. After dark, it was too dangerous to stay out, but sometimes she allowed us to go out as long as she accompanied us.
As expected, after Grelod's death and the rumors that someone from the Thieves Guild had killed her, the guild's reputation plummeted further. Initially seen as mere thieves who avoided harming others, this incident changed everything.
To be honest, I was fine with them being blamed for Grelod's murder. It meant I didn't have to worry about anyone investigating who actually killed her. Although I was still curious about her motives for trying to kill me, that was a mystery I couldn't solve with her dead.
I continued practicing my magic in secret, but when Helena discovered it, she was impressed that someone could use magic. She encouraged me to practice openly and as much as I wanted.
During our outings, some workers came to repair the orphanage's structure, including sealing up the hole caused by the skeever.
Over these months, I discovered something intriguing: every time I went to sleep, even for a nap, I could see my abilities, reminiscent of Oblivion.
When we were allowed to explore the city, the first place I visited was the marketplace.
The same stalls from Skyrim were there, with a few additions:
The Dunmer, Brand-Shei, sold various goods except for magical items.
The Dunmer, Marise Aravel, sold food and ingredients, especially fish, supplied by Bolli.
The Argonian, Madesi, sold different types of jewelry, just like in the game.
There was also Brynjolf's stall, where he scammed people. Even though I visited the market several times, I barely saw him, likely because he spent most of his time in the Ratway.
One notable absence was Grelka, which I found odd. But it might have been because she hadn't arrived yet, as I'd read that she wasn't originally from Riften but from Shor's Stone.
While the market mostly mirrored the game, there were some unfamiliar faces:
A Nord named Bern had a stall selling weapons and armor crafted by Balimund. I overheard them talking about how Bern supplied Balimund with ingots and ores, allowing him to sell some of the weapons and armor Balimund made.
An elderly Breton woman named Maerel sold alchemy supplies.
Sometimes I would ask her where she got the potions, and she would tell me it was a trade secret.
I wondered how she could sell the regular potions that could be found anywhere, but when you made a potion yourself, it would have a different design. Also, it was impossible to create a potion that fully restored your health unless it was due to a bug.
I'd never seen or heard of these two being in Riften.
Still, none of that mattered at the moment because something else was happening in the city.
A group of guards marched out of the barracks, heading directly for the Ratway.
"At last, they're doing something about those thieves."
"Do you really think they're in Riften?"
"Where else would they be? This is where most of the thefts happen."
I overheard the citizens' complaints, which were entirely normal, given how long they had been complaining about the Thieves Guild. However, I never expected Laila to send a group of guards to deal with them.
'What's going to happen now?'
The guards entered the Ratway as the citizens watched with anticipation.
'Well, it's not my concern. I'll go train my magic.'
I returned to the orphanage to practice and wait to see what would happen with the guards and the Thieves Guild.
Weekly Power Status
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