Chapter 18: First Outing
Yuri was excited despite his destination's lack of tourist appeal. This would be the first time he would make his way out of Winterhold and into the wider world he had found himself a part of.
The moment Yuri felt Bjorn and Cynthia leaving, he 'packed' himself and took off his mage robes in exchange for the regular black robes he wore previously without armor. He won't make a costume change until he's 'on the job'. Yuri was a little too excited about it... all his favorite books had characters with infamous titles and nicknames. It was time to earn his.
With Yuri ready to go after stuffing everything he needed and practicing an instantaneous costume change with his inventory, Yuri opened his dorm door and diligently locked and warded it before heading out. There was nothing of value left in the room since he stuffed his books in his inventory, but old habits die hard and he didn't want Savos to know that he was carrying all his stuff with him.
Yuri took another 20 minutes just walking through the destruction hall, the scenic courtyard, and exiting the front entrance. The moment those brass and beautifully gilded doors swung open for him, the cold and snow-driven winds smacked him in the face. Thanks to the climate-controlled comfort of the place he now called home, he had forgotten that just north of here lied a continent that even the Nords had to flee from due to uninhabitable cold. His blood seemed to resist it well enough, however.
Yuri used his ESP to spot the two siblings and trotted after them toward the stables. They went through one side of the town's edge completely before Yuri 'caught up' and motioned to them just before they reached the stables where several horse-drawn carriages of different quality could be seen.
"Hey! Going on your vacation, already?" He waved them down.
"Indeed!" Replied a smiling Bjorn. "And where are you off to?" Cynthia joined beside Bjorn and flashed Yuri a kindly smile.
"As luck would have it, I've been given business to do in Riften as well! Care to share the road with me?" Offered Yuri. The both of them hardly took any time to consider it.
"Of course!" Cynthia said just a bit faster, but they stayed in unison. Bjorn flashed her a wry smile and a raised eyebrow while she feigned ignorance.
"Then I'll pay for the carriage! Savos was polite enough to make sure his apprentice was comfortable on the trip, haha" Yuri added. He noticed they were about to use the 'vanilla' carriage with an, uh, open-air experience. He wasn't having it, motioning toward the full body and enclosed carriage.
"Wow! We are extremely grateful, Yuri... Are you sure it'll be ok?" Cynthia looked a bit perplexed; the daughter of a farmer learned not to intrude.
"There's no need to be shy. I was paying for it anyway, might as well have friends to join me, eh?" Yuri assured her, and Bjorn at the same time.
"Then we'll have to intrude!" Picked up Bjorn.
Yuri approached the carriage and found a man nodding off behind it while the horses were resting in a stable to the side. He politely woke him before asking if he is ready to part and paying for the trip in full. 220 Septims, not a lot for a cross-country trip.
Yuri beckoned them to go in first, but Bjorn was ready to be the perfect wingman so he insisted Yuri go first as well. Yuri obliged, already seeing through the good brother.
He made his way in and sat down on one of the two available sides. It had room for 4 people with leather seats and had a warm brown and red interior. It wouldn't be great to sleep here, but it wasn't to be expected of a carriage in this era.
Bjorn took the side opposite to Yuri and "rudely" stretched his body across the whole side before closing his eyes, preventing his beloved younger sister from joining him.
Cynthia inwardly groaned at how obvious he was being but looked at Yuri with apologetic eyes and sat beside him anyway, a healthy flush growing beneath her freckles.
'Adorable' Yuri thought to himself. 'Too adorable. The barmaid knew she was a one-night stand, but this girl is letting her imagination soar. I need to be responsible with her'
Yuri used telekinesis to open the blinds in the windows on both sides and the back. They were very wide, allowing a great view into the outdoors. Well, it would be a view once they escape the snow-ridden territories. He also noticed that the Riften native siblings were still a bit cold. Even if he had a blanket in his inventory, he wouldn't reveal it to them. So he did the next best thing.
He took control of the air in the carriage with his mana and gently raised the temperature. What a good friend he was.
The driver took off shortly after, and the gang busied themselves with chatter.
Yuri asked icebreaker questions about life on a Riften farm. They hadn't had much interaction with the locals in the city. They were largely self-sufficient, only going in town for periodical supplies and medical trips. Their childhood was simple. Their father taught them the trade he thought they would inherit while bringing the occasional tutor. His farm was much bigger than Yuri assumed, as it should be. Farms in the game couldn't feed three families, let alone the city they were supposedly supplying.
It wasn't until a history tutor by the name of Farengar Secret-Fire taught them when they were 10 years old that magic was another possibility. He discovered their aptitude after a small conversation about his background. Up until 5 years ago, he was a wanderer and hadn't landed the position of Whiterun Court Mage yet. Their father was none too pleased that the tutor he hired had filled his children's heads with thoughts of magic and studying in a faraway college. But he didn't take it too badly, Riften wasn't one of the Holds known for their fear of magic. Only Windhelm and Dawnstar were among those that were extremely unfriendly to Mer and Mage alike.
At 18, they finally left the house, their loving father leaving them with a generous amount for tuition and other necessities. They visit him every year, offering all kinds of help with their newfound spells and making sure he knows his money was well spent.
'What a good father, especially for a Nord.' Yuri thought.
They, in turn, asked Yuri questions about his life before college which led to Yuri having to lie.
Everyone in town thought he was a bard previously, so he had to keep along those lines to avoid contradiction. Yuri claimed to be a man who ran away from his home in Windhelm just last year while using his skills to hop from inn to inn. He was trying to reach Solitude to join the Bard's College, but didn't have a map to depend on and was relying on word of mouth like a naïve Motown Girl. It was just last month he landed at the Frozen Hearth and flippantly decided to tour the College. He then went into his interrogation at the hands of Mirabelle and the rest was history.
By the end of his story, his friends realized how lucky he was, and they were crossing Wayward pass after an hour of travel. Two jagged cliffs that even goats wouldn't dare climb bordered their left and right. The wind howled at the end of the tunnel behind them, and they crossed a familiar shrine of Arkay to the left of Yuri's vision since he was looking backward. He also noticed the ancient traveler's skull, a relic of a mission that never made it in the game.
'Wait, it's the real version right here!'
Yuri activated his ESP and moved it to the skull to pick it up and bring it close enough to put in his inventory. As soon as it floated off the stone slab, a ghostly image of a headless man in fur clothing appeared behind the carriage 30 feet away. The driver and the laid-down Bjorn were in ignorant bliss. Yuri and Cynthia slacked open their jaws and stared wide-eyed at the apparition that had already started running towards them. Yuri dropped the skull, realizing he had awoken the ancient traveler.
He put his finger to his lips and said, "Let me take care of this," to Cynthia before vanishing from his position and entering the cold outdoors. The wind blew in his favor, whipping his black mage robe in an exaggerated fashion as he stood facing the ghost.
"Sorry for waking you. You can keep your head. Mind letting bygones be bygones?" Yuri acted smart while stretching his arms out and projecting loud enough to get past the wind.
"Thulak Neer Ordas Vi, Alayn," He said.
"Then it appears we are at an impasse!" Yuri bellowed and pointed toward him in accusation, pretending he could understand him shamelessly.
From his fingertip strode a beam of sunlight that bore a hole straight through his chest. If the ghost had a face, he would use it to look down, then up before dying with a very shocked expression.
[First Soul Exorcised: 300 RP]
"Thanks for paying for my drip, Mister!"
His translucent blue figure faded into the background like the blowing snow and was seen no more. Yuri went to the stand, took his head as a souvenir, gave a curt nod to Arkay's Shrine, then tele'd back to the carriage.
"Where did you go?" Asked Bjorn, still laying down.
"Performing charity work"
"That was incredible! Was that Sunbeam Banishment?!" Asked Cynthia, who enjoyed the show despite not having any sound.
"It sure was. Learned it yesterday." Answered Yuri.
From then on, the trip was uneventful the first day. Bjorn and Cynthia even fell asleep at the same time, 8 p.m., Cynthia successfully landed on his shoulder. Yuri certainly didn't mind. He pulled out a rune book while wondering how good the original Chillrend would feel in his hand and if he could keep the Skeleton Key without Nocturnal's Nightingales hunting him to the ends of the earth.
'Crap. "Nightingales". I'll have to hide my last name or Delvin will get funny ideas'
Before the day was over, the gang landed in Windhelm at 10 p.m. The carriage trotted through the cobbled bridge into the familiar walls he had sieged many a time. Why did he always pick Imperial? Because Ulfric is an ignorant accomplice of the Thalmor they cheer from the sidelines to weaken the Empire and help them gain momentum. Ulfric only cared for the throne, ignoring the possibility that his efforts would lead to the Aldmeri Dominion taking Skyrim later. Perhaps he would have to join the war if only to go against the Thalmor. Striking the Embassy and Northwatch are a given either way.
The inside of the city was designed the same way as usual, but was three times bigger and the Docks controlled much more space, even partially wrapping around the front. It was unlikely these ships were visiting Solsteim, perhaps they used the entire North Coast to visit the holds that bordered it like Dawnstar, Winterhold, and Solitude. Though Winterhold did not have a very large dock.
The driver made their way to the stables near the entrance and hitched his ride. It was already late, and Yuri had authorized a stop. Bjorn and Cynthia were planning on driving the whole way, but Yuri declined to sleep in a carriage. They made their way into the city and had to go to the right to find Candlehearth Hall tucked away. It wasn't in the center of the city, which also makes sense. Yuri paid for their stay in two separate bedrooms, since he was the one who asked to stop, and went to his own room to nod off.
No lucky visits happened that night.
The gang woke up the next day refreshed. They made their way downstairs and had a hearty breakfast. The only kind of people you could see here were Nords. The Dunmer from Solsteim declined to live under the racist conditions and moved further south to better climate and opportunity. It seems with the Akaviri no longer threatening them, Ulfric and Nords in general cared not for the history of unity with Dunmer and Argonians in the Ebonheart Pact.
Yuri and the siblings made their way out of the strangely quiet inn and went to the stables to resume their journey. Yuri was tempted to see if the kid is performing the Black Sacrament, but decided he had no reason to entangle himself with the Dark Brotherhood before he was preparing to disturb the Thieves Den.
The trip came to a good stride, and the driver took at least 3 hours to climb the plateau that held The Rift on its back. The snow started to disappear from his vision as they entered, autumn-colored valleys and rivers surrounded his vision! The topography was littered with evergreen and coniferous trees, ponds of varying size could be seen intermittently between these expanses. Mountains surrounded the distance in three directions, the fog concealed the peaks. Yuri would have to visit Skuldafn on the way back.
"Mages!" The driver whispered harshly with urgency towards the screen partition. "I need your help! The road is blocked by two brown bears!"
"Ooh! I'll take care of it!" Bjorn volunteered knowing Yuri would have his back.
Bjorn telekinetically opened the door and lunged out before anyone could respond. He strode in front of the carriage as the driver watched, and the bears walked slowly towards them while letting out menacing growls: "UUUURRRRURRGGGHHH".
Bjorn brought out a fireball in each hand and was prepared to barrage them when Yuri tele'd right next to him and snuffed out the two spells with a snap.
"What are you doing?" Bjorn frowned angrily. "I can handle it"
"I know you can. That isn't the point." Yuri looked toward the bears. "I kill bandits in self-defense because they know what they are doing. I wouldn't kill an animal unless I was hunting it. All they want is to protect the little one" Yuri said as he pointed to a bear cub hidden in the foliage.
Yuri wasn't one to withhold a worthy death, but if one is strong enough to forgive the desperate, why shouldn't they? How many stories started off with a well-trodden master forgiving a desperate young thief? How many of those stories would cease to exist without forgiveness?
"A strong man can do as he pleases, but a great man will be a blessing wherever he goes. Let me handle this, it will only take a moment" Said Yuri. He approached the bears that continued threatening them and stretched his hand outward before casting a spell he knew he would need eventually.
A golden glow expanded outward like a liquid wave and shimmered toward the bears. It passed over them and their roars were quickly quieted. The two bears lowered their heads and walked toward their cub at the side of the road before picking him up and continuing through the forest silently.
"Kyne's Peace?" Asked Bjorn. Maybe he did jump the gun a bit...
Yuri nodded, then said: "The next bandit is all yours"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Reddsaint
Reddsaint As you can see, I don't want my MC to be a wuxia face slapper with no situational awareness. I hope you guys like him! Every situation is different, and forgiveness won't be out of his vocabulary in the future. The worlds he visits won't be portrayed as black and white in any capacity, so neither will he.
Also, I had been holding onto that quote for awhile, tell me your thoughts about it lol
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