章 223: The Pilgrimage (1) Bitch Better Have My Shawarma
A/N: HUN KAAL ZOOR! Zachary is summoned on patreon!
(Hero Champion Legend 'Call of Valor Shout')
Will post an extra for his honor as I will do from now on for every new Patron.
Sorry about yesterday, guys. I was doing a job application in Cairo ( T ʖ̯ T)
Also, you guys ain't voting or commenting... 5000 votes for extras, remember? Chop chop!
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The old shaman Storn Crag-Strider is a major character in the Dragonborn DLC of the game, he is very knowledgeable about the All-Maker... very knowledgeable to the point that some higher beings lust for his knowledge.
What he told me about gaining a permanent blessing from the All-Maker was really interesting. I already have two Permanent Blessings, the 'Agent of Talos' and the 'Agent of Kyne' which both Fortify my Thu'um, the Agent of Kyne empowers my Thu'um and the Agent of Talos make me recover the ability to Shout another Thu'um faster, I acquired them both at some time I am not aware of but mostly due my late actions of always wearing a powerful Amulet of Talos and building a Temple for Kyne or something along those two.
The All-Maker, however, has a different set of rules to bless those who achieve the 'Oneness' with the nature. The 'Oneness' can be achieved by making a successful pilgrimage to the Six Stones of the All-Maker, this pilgrimage strengthens the presence of the All-Maker and grants one random blessing of the six blessings of the All-Maker to the pilgrim.
It wasn't as unicorns and rainbows as I imagined when Shaman Storn started telling me a story of an old Skaal Hero who managed to restore the gifts of the All-Maker to the lands of the Skaal years ago, his name is Aevar Stone-Singer.
In a time long ago there was peace in the Land. The sun was hot and the crops grew long, and the people were happy in the peace that the All-Maker provided. But the Skaal grew complacent and lazy and they took the Lands and all the gifts the All-Maker had given them for granted. They forgot that the Adversary is always watching and that he delights in tormenting the All-Maker and his people. And so it was that the Adversary came to be among the Skaal.
The Adversary has many aspects. He appears in the unholy beasts and the incurable plague. At the End of Seasons, the Skaal also know him as Thartaag the World-Devourer (Alduin). But in these ages he came to be known as the Greedy Man.
The Greedy Man lived among the Skaal for many months. Perhaps he was once just a man, but when the Adversary entered into him, he became the Greedy Man, and that is how he is remembered.
It came to be one day that the powers of the Skaal left them. The strength left the arms of the warriors, and the shaman could no longer summon the beasts to their side. The elders thought that surely the All-Maker was displeased, and some suggested that the All-Maker had left them forever. It was then that the Greedy Man appeared to them and spoke.
"You of the Skaal have grown fat and lazy. I have stolen the gifts of your All-Maker. I have stolen the Oceans, so you will forever know thirst. I have stolen the Lands and the Trees and the Sun, so your crops will wither and die. I have stolen the Beasts, so you will go hungry. And I have stolen the Winds, so you will live without the Spirit of the All-Maker. And until one of you can reclaim these gifts, the Skaal will live in misery and despair. For I am the Greedy Man, and that is my nature."
And the Greedy Man disappeared.
The members of the Skaal spoke for many days and nights. They knew that one of them must retrieve the Gifts of the All-Maker, but they could not decide who it should be.
"I cannot go," said the Elder, "for I us must stay to lead the Skaal, and tell our people what is the law."
"I cannot go," said the Warrior, "for I must protect the Skaal. My sword will be needed in case the Greedy Man reappears."
"I cannot go," said the Shaman, "for the people need my wisdom. I must read the portents and offer my knowledge."
It was then that a young man called Aevar lifted his voice. He was strong of arm, and fleet of foot, though he was not yet a warrior of the Skaal.
"I will go," said Aevar, and the Skaal laughed.
"Hear me out," the boy continued. "I am not yet a warrior, so my sword will not be needed. I cannot read the portents, so the people will not seek my counsel. And I am young, and not yet wise in the ways of the law. I will retrieve the Gifts of the All-Maker from the Greedy Man. If I cannot, I will not be missed."
The Skaal thought on this briefly, and decided to let Aevar go. He left the village the next morning to retrieve the Gifts.
Aevar Stone-Singer was set to retrieve the gifts and was aided by the All-Maker, he performed the pilgrimage to the Six Stones of the All-Maker successfully and saved his people. From that day on, the Skaal upkeep the tradition and encourage their young warriors and hunters to go through it. In another meaning, it is the clan's Coming of Age test.
"So, it can be performed in not a ceremonial way and at any time of the year." I made a speculation.
"Indeed. The young Aevar Stone-Singer was only guided by the All-Maker with no ceremony whatsoever. Whoever intends on doing the pilgrimage will be guided too." Shaman Storn replied.
"What about being an Outsider?"
"Outsiders are always welcome here as long as they don't corrupt the land of the All-Maker like how the Imperials did two hundred years ago."
"Oh! I know that story."
"You do?"
"Yes, during the Bloodmoon of the Daedric Prince Hircine, the Skaal were being attacked by the were-creatures and the Imperials from Raven Rock caused a lot of disturbance. It was the Nerevarine who saved the Skaal by doing three Rituals or something along those lines."
"So you are knowledgeable about such a thing, that is indeed a true story that not all Skaal know." Shaman Storn confirmed my words.
I was being looked at in a new light when I talked with the Shaman about the All-Maker and the history unknown to some. Of course playing some 'Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind' helped grandly.
I was also told that it is advised to take a number of six people on the pilgrimage at minimum so that all the blessings can be distributed as the Skaal descendants do it, they go in one group to lessen the danger but only six of them get the blessings and later come to be the Shamans, the Warrior Commanders, the Chiefs and all that.
In the end, a feast was thrown and a small drinking party was held as the traders are really appreciated around these parts.
Now both the Skaal and Raven Rock will see me the Dare Dragon Company as their exclusive trading partner as long as I make more bonds with them. This pilgrimage will smoothen the business in the future and may add to my power if it went the right way.
After all was said and done, we were showed to the guest rooms in the Great Hall of the Skaal. It was a quiet night in a place that felt Nordic enough rather than the Alien nature of Raven Rock.
We woke up earlier than usual the next day as it seems that the Skaal start the day by Dawn. I forced everyone up as soon as possible and even made Nefertiti go into Human Form.
"The duty of guiding you around the Stones of the All-Maker."
Frea daughter of Storn met us with two Skaal boys.
"I thank you in advance and apologize for the trouble."
We got ready and left with Frea right away.
***
The Stones of the All-Maker are six, the Water Stone, the Earth Stone, the Beast Stone, the Tree Stone, the Sun Stone and the Wind Stone.
"According to the story of Aevar Stone-Singer, the first stone he was guided to by the All-Maker was the Water Stone, Far north of Raven Rock, along the coast." Frea acted as our guide as we headed back to Raven Rock.
The road was peaceful with the help of Alina's new Spriggan friend that kept protecting us through the trees. If one concentrated the Detection Magic on the Flora around, one can sense some traces of the Spriggan.
The walk didn't take long and we arrived to Raven Rock at the Afternoon. Frea and the Skaal boys went to the market to arrange sone shipments for their clan then continued to the north with us.
To the north, the road was unmanned and narrow, it started going up to a snowy hill after some time. After two hours of walking, we finally stumbled on some trouble.
"Riekling!"
The two Skaal boys shouted and readied their weapons. To their shouts, a funny thing emerged from the snow.
What the boys called a Riekling was a small goblin-like creature with a pale blue skin wearing fur and holding a short spear. One can simply think of them as snow goblins.
"Jyyyyyyyoooooor!"
That Riekling saw us and started making strange sounds and screams. Soon after, a swarm of these creatures appeared.
"Find cover! They will throw the spears." Frea shouted and hid behind a rock.
We followed her silently and hid behind cover.
"They are too much, these pesky creatures! We need to shoot back at them." Frea said.
"Forget it. Their number is big, we need to go back." One of her followers shouted.
It seemed that they got overwhelmed easily.
"Alina, how many?"
"47."
"Good, whoever have the least kills will treat the others." I said.
"Hey, you still own me chicken shawarma with tahini and pickles." Jullanar remembered something I was trying to shake away.
"We'll go on three... three!"
I cast 'Bound Armor' and covered myself with a full body armor suit, then cast 'Bound Bow' and started shooting an arrow after the other.
"Dirty!" Jull was infuriated and jumped off her cover aiming her crossbow at anything that walks.
"Not losing!" Wulfur charged out of his cover with Bjorna both carrying big weapons and shields.
"Nefertiti, let's leave these idiots alone." Alina took Nefertiti to the side to have a fluffy time together.
I ignored all the small spears that were thrown at me by the Bound Armor and kept putting down the Rieklings with the Bound Bow. My archery skill became a bit rusty but I sure did fine.
Wulf and Bjorna charged together and fought back to back attracting a big number of the Rieklings.
Jullanar, on the other hand, was going full on Rambo Mode and started shooting every Riekling in sight. She ran forward as she was shooting and once she got cornered, she switch to the spears of the Rieklings and started sticking them in their skulls.
"Kuuuuuuuuuwaaaaa!"
A loud cry came from the beach side, ten Riekling appeared riding on boars. These are the Riekling Riders and their Bristleback Boars.
They saw us and charged towards our direction.
Bjorna and Wulfur were getting ready to block the chargers but a figure bypassed them like a bolt of lightning. This was Jull.
"Hey! Be careful."
She ran towards the riders alone and jumped at one of them sending one away with a flying kick. She used the Riekling as a foothold and jumped at the other kicking it away, she kept throwing spears and weapons around making a comical scene. The last Riekling Rider was kicked on the ground with a spear on its chest.
Jullanar snorted as she dusted her hands off and picked up her crossbow. She aimed it at me and shot a bolt.
I was standing still and the bolt bypassed me, it hit a Riekling that was feigning death behind me, it died with a high pitched shriek.
She walked towards me with a solemn face and stood a few steps away.
"Alina, the score?" She asked.
"Jon got 18, Bjorna and Wulfur got 22..."
"Wait! Why are they combined together?" I asked.
"We are a team." They said.
The nerve!
"Jullanar got 17 Riekling and 10 Bristlebacks. Total of 27."
"Come on! You counted the boars?"
They clearly planned this one.
Jullanar smiled as got closer to me and whispered.
"Bitch better have my Shawarma!"
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