Companion (Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Fanfiction)

Chapter 1

"It was at my farm late last night." Jurgik, a Nord clad in simple peasant clothing, slightly slurred as he waved about his drink. Some of the mead spilled out his tankard and landed on the table and himself. The man didn't seem to notice and took a deep swig of whatever he had in his hand. The Retching Netch was busy tonight and the Dragonborn was irritated beyond words at having to be here. She hated dealing with drunks, especially Nord drunks.

"And what do you think it was?" The Dragonborn prodded impatiently. She wanted to deal with Jurgik and get back to the mainland as quickly as possible but it looked like that would take longer than she thought. All she wanted was a book. Why in the Nine's name did that mean she would have to go about doing favor after favor for people until they gave her what she wanted? This man could easily give her the book, he didn't seem to really care for a dusty old tome as he himself stated, but no. Jurgik would only give it to her if she killed some beast he saw the other night.

"I don't know. It looked like a person but it sure didn't act like one. It growled at me so I got the hell outta there before it came after me. It was... Unnatural."

"It was dark so maybe you saw a bear or wolf?" The woman suggested. It had probably been some animal that the man mistook it for something else. He'd probably been drunk when he saw it too. Nords did like their drink.

"I don't know and I don't care. I just want you to kill it. That Bristleback of mine it killed was from the Rieklings, you know. It was perfectly tame. Do you know how hard it is to get one of those?" Jurgik looked at her and she nodded her head, pretending she knew. "So once you kill it, I'll give you the damn book, alright? I need to make sure it's dead so it won't try to get the rest of my boars when I let them out of the barn."

"Fine."

The Dragonborn turned away from the man and left the inn swiftly. The woman wanted to get this request done with so she could head back to Skyrim. Sometimes she hated being so nice. When Urag Gro-Shub asked her for a book, the warrior could not say no. She was the Dragonborn, Archmage of the College of Winterhold, the Slayer of Alduin and the Savior of Solstheim but she was incapable of saying no to someone in need, even if it was for something as trivial as a book. The warrior knew to never say that in front of Urug though. He would have given her a long angry lecture on why the books were important.

When the Dragonborn arrived on Solstheim once more and questioned the residents about the whereabouts of the book, The Reclamations, she had ending up doing a few tasks before the residents would part with their knowledge. After delivering a few goods here and there, the warrior was told the book was part of a Dark Elf's personal collection. She had gone to the Mer but he would not part with it, no matter the reason or price. The Elf did tell her that there was one other person he knew with a copy. A man named Jurgik had come to him weeks earlier to try and sell The Reclamations. As the Mer already had one, he had declined to purchase it.

The Dragonborn had thanked the Elf and found Jurgik drinking at the local inn the next night. Solstheim's hero wasn't about to steal or threaten anyone for a book so she agreed to do a favor for the Nord in return for what she wanted. If the woman could get that blasted book without harming anyone then she was okay with a bit of inconvenience. But she had a right to be a little irritated by it, which she was.

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The chill of Solstheim's air made the Dragonborn shiver. She readjusted her armor and pulled a cloak she had bought for this journey tighter around herself. Metal armor did not ward off the cold very well. Thankfully, Solstheim was not as cold as it was the first time she came here, which was in the dead of the coldest months. The volcanic ash from Red Mountain warmed the southern part of the island but the rest was as cold as it had always been, she had been told. The ash made the land much less habitable, however, and the dust storms were not something anyone enjoyed. While traveling, the change in temperature sometimes made the warrior feel sick.