Twilight Sparkle the Adventurer

Chapter 4 – The Riverwood Adventure

Twilight returned to consciousness and silently took stock of her surroundings and situation, taking Akatosh’s warning of pressing matters seriously. She was a little confused… given that she should be safe here on the floor of Alvor’s house, protected by the big, strong Legionnaire that had his arms wrapped around her and his hands resting gently on her breasts…

Oh. OH!

Twilight’s rapid intake of breath didn’t seem to wake Hadvar, but she kinda wished that it did. If anything… it made him hold her tighter, adding a gentle squeeze to her naked and now sensitive chest.Twilight was left pondering her situation, unwilling to move.

I’m not in estrus, and even if I was, I’m not sure I would let a stallion I barely know do this to me. I just don’t know why it feels so good… I’m still a pony, but with a lot of human features. Maybe humans mate differently? Or more often… I’ll have to find a book about their dating and mating rituals… if one exists…

She didn’t really want him to continue, mostly. Well kinda. No. She had to do something.

She focused her sparks spell into a single finger and touched his hand. Just enough to startle him but not actually hurt his health points. Hadvar woke up with a start and realized where his hands were. He pulled his hands back carefully but winced when Twilight giggled.

“Gentleman, eh?”

Hadvar sighed. “You’re warm and my hands were cold, and I haven’t been in bed with a beautiful woman in ages, and I’m just… sorry.”

Twilight turned to face him. “I knew something like this would happen. I’m touched that you think I’m beautiful and I don’t hold our situation against you. Courtship among my people is a long process. I take it that the same is not true here?”

Hadvar shook his head but wrapped his arms around Twilight, pulling her closer to him. Her breasts pressed against his bare chest, and he tried to not let that distract him from whispering the information she had asked for without waking up everyone else in the house.

“Skyrim is a harsh place, and the people are toughened by it. There’s no room for a long courtship in a land where you could die tomorrow. People often take love when they can find it. Most people respond to deeds. Simply doing something nice for someone is usually enough for them to be willing to marry you, given that very few people have the time or the ability to complete a favor. Wearing an Amulet of Mara signals that you are seeking a spouse. And anyone who sees you wearing it that responds favorably could propose to you. Divorce is unheard of here, but widows and widowers do remarry at times.”

Twilight nodded. “I’m not wearing an Amulet of Mara declaring my intent to find a spouse. Is the act of taking a lover common here?”

Hadvar nodded. “Lovers are somewhat common as well. Adventurers in particular take as many lovers as they can manage for the ‘Lover’s comfort’ magical effect gained the next morning after coitus. It gives a 10% experience boost to all skills for 8 hours. Very useful if you’re going into a dangerous place and want more experience from it.”

Twilight frowned. “Is such an intimate act so causal here, and for such a base reason?”

Hadvar sensed that he had to be careful with this one. He sighed and spoke with a level of honestly that reminded Twilight of Apple Jack.

“You have to understand… strength is everything here. Physical strength or magical strength. The strong control the weak. The most unfortunate of people will cap at level 25. The average person will cap at level 35. Exceptional warriors may be able to reach level 50, including villains. A lot of Bandit Chief’s have the potential to reach level 50, which is why they can be so unexpectedly dangerous. Only a handful of legendary people can go past level 50 and most of them cap at level 81. The leader of the Graybeards on High Hrothgar is rumored to be level 150, but no one can verify that. The higher your level, the more likely you are to survive. A lot of people recognize that fact and are willing to help. Making love at the right time can boost your experience and increase your odds of survival. While most people would prefer a spouse, most of those same people are willing to do a favor to see their favorite adventurer return alive.”

Twilight smiled up at him. “Am I your favorite adventurer?”

Hadvar gulped. “Yes… I believe you are.”

Twilight snuggled into him. “Well… I’m staying in Riverwood tomorrow, so I don’t need a lover’s comfort. Go back to sleep.”

Hadvar smiled as Twilight returned to sleep beside him and quickly joined her in slumber.

The next morning was bright. Alvor got an early start and dragged Twilight out of bed to join him. He was only slightly embarrassed at her being nearly naked in bed with his nephew but didn’t raise a fuss about it while Twilight put on her armor. She followed him outside and stretched. After a moment, she was ready to start learning.

Alvor taught her everything about smelting old weapons and armor down into ingots to be repurposed, plus his special technique of combining iron and corundum ingots to make more steel ingots. He seemed impressed with her ability to make nails, hinges, locks and other tools, like lockpicks, with nearly no training and was even more shocked at her ability to work with steel, having the perk point obtained with under 20 smithing skill experience.

With all the gear she had to smelt, and with steel ingots to make from combining iron ingots with corundum ingots, her smithing skill rose from 15 to 20 within just the morning hours. Her smithing skill probably could have gone a little higher, but Twilight decided to keep some corundum ingots just in case she needed some for something else. She didn’t figure she needed anymore steel ingots anyways. Between the melting of actual steel items and the combining of some corundum and iron ingots, she had 60 steel ingots and no idea what to use them for.

She received a notice that she was ready to level up to level 2.

Twilight looked at Alvor. “It appears I have gained a level. Should I accept it now?”

Alvor hummed. “That is a personal choice. Accepting the level will give you the chance to increase your health, stamina or magicka and gain a perk point to apply to your skills. However… gaining a level also heals you. If you were to wait until you were in combat, and leveled up while near death, it would restore you to full health.”

Twilight frowned but nodded. “That sounds dangerous. Surely you wouldn’t want to do so during combat?”

Alvor shrugged. “When you are in that menu, it’s like time stops. You have all the time you need to make your choices. But in the real world, only a second passes. You could be a moment from death and then, wham! Full health and a perk point applied to help you survive combat. As a mage… you’ll want to focus on magicka, but don’t neglect health.”

Twilight mused about it some. “Are there any other benefits to waiting?”

Alvor smiled. “Yes. Every level, you can gain up to 5 points worth of skill training, if you are willing to pay for it or have a friend that can teach you. Faendal the Wood Elf is an Adept Archer and can help train your archery up to a max of 50. If nothing else… you could try to see if he would be willing to give you a few pointers.”

Twilight smiled. “And where might I find him?”

Alvor rubbed his chin as he considered. “Well… it’s nearing mid-day. He’s either working at the mill, having lunch in the Inn, or spending time with Camilla in the Riverwood Trader General Store. It’s a small town… unless he’s hunting, you should be able to find him fairly easy.”

Twilight agreed with that notion and left the forge to go find Faendal. She decided to check the Riverwood Trader first, given that she wanted to go there anyways to see if they had some clothes she could buy. Luck was on her side as Faendal was inside the store, although hanging off to the side waiting for Camilla to finish her argument and a man that she had to assume was either her brother or maybe her father.

The older man was yelling at her. “I said no! No theatrics! No thief chasing!”

Camilla shot back. “Well, one of us has to do something! What’s the plan, anyway?”

The man was shaking his head, a little angry that she wouldn’t drop it. “We are done talking about this… oh… a customer. I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Did something happen?”

The man sighed. “Yeah, um. We… did… sort of… have a… break in. Don’t worry! We still have lots to sale. The thieves were only after one thing. A golden ornament in the shape of a dragon’s claw.”

Twilight’s brows furrowed. This seems like a good chance to get my feet wet. Defeat the thieves… retrieve the stolen item. Save the day for the merchant.

She locked eyes with him. “I might could get that claw back for you… if you know where they went… or have a spell that might could tell me where to find them.”

He perked up. “Really? I got some gold coming from my next shipment. It’s yours if you get my claw back. Also… the spell ‘Clairvoyance’ can lead you to your destination if you have the magicka to cast it. I’ll give you the spell tome for free to help you find the thieves.”

He handed her the tome and Twilight opened it, learning the Illusion spell.

Camilla raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? This is your plan? Send some poor young women up to Bleak Falls Burrow to die!”

Faendal picked that moment to interject. “She’s at least wearing armor. She’ll fare better up there than I would… however… if you’re worried about her safety… I could give her a few archery lessons for free… but not more than the Gods allow in a single day.”

Camilla smiled widely at him. “Yes please. That would make me feel much better.”

Faendal bowed to Twilight. “If you’ll follow me to the archery practice area… I will give you 5 free lessons.”

Twilight smiled coyly. “What if I level up from your training? Would you consent to 10 free lessons?”

Normally he wouldn’t… but Camilla was still watching him. “Of course. And if that levels you up again, I’ll do another 5. I doubt we’d have time for more than 15 lessons in a day… even if the Gods allowed it. I hope that’s enough?”

Twilight nodded. “I do hope it’s enough. This is… my first real adventure alone. Maybe you could give me some tips on killing draugr while we’re at it?”

Faendal nodded, now serious. “I’ll teach you everything that I can.”

Twilight lined up the Imperial Bow that she had from the Keep and fired another iron arrow at the target. She was listening to Faendal speak.

“Now… some of the bodies resting in the ruins are simply dead. And you can tell which ones those are… usually by how they are completely wrapped in linen. However… you will see some draugr resting in the alcoves… wearing armor… and looking like they are simply waiting for a reason to wake up. When you see that… you have two choices. You can either sneak past them or fight them. You are wearing robes and light armor so sneaking past them should be easy enough… but… if you choose to fight them, a sneak attack is best. I would advise that you shoot any target that you think is alive with the bow and then follow up with flames magic. You should be able to take down most of them very easy with that combination.”

He continued to instruct her. With Twilight’s archery starting at 15, she didn’t seem to gain much experience from the first 5 levels of training, not that could see the bar rise with it maxed out waiting for her to accept her previously earned but not yet redeemed level up, but they were also quick lessons since her skill was so low.

Twilight chose to level up to level 2 from the previous experience gained from the smithing and earlier combat skills gained in the Keep, and was shocked to see that her health, stamina and magicka all rose by 10 points without giving her the option to choose. She had to assume that she bypassed the normal rules for leveling up because Akatosh had described her as a Goddess.

Adding to health, stamina and magicka evenly would let me walk the warrior, thief or mage path with no problem. It’s borderline an unfair advantage… but perhaps that’s what Akatosh meant. What was his exact words? ‘You may be weak within the realm now, but I believe that once you start to travel in earnest… you will see your own strength.’ I suppose we shall see.

She applied her perk point to Destruction magic, choosing to unlock Novice Destruction, allowing her to cast the novice spells for half the regular cost. Faendal nodded serenely, as if expecting her to level up, and continued to instruct her through the next 5 points of skill. The experience from the archery training did carry over and going from 20 to 25 did level her up again, much to Faendal’s annoyance.

She had to choose the next skill with great care. Being pragmatic, knowing she was about to enter an ancient ruin, she chose the first perk of the Sneak skill tree, Stealth. Making her 20% harder to detect while sneaking sounded important.

The lessons got a little longer, with the higher associated skill and she reached level 30 on Archery with little effort, although it was close to 5 pm by the time they finished. The last five points of Archery, being worth more experience than the previous levels did level her up again to level 4, with a fair amount of experience left over. At this rate, with the increase of experience per point gained… she might hit a point where 5 points of training might level her up twice.

She applied the perk point to Apprentice Destruction, which would allow her to cast Apprentice level Destruction spells for half magicka… if only she knew any of the spells.

Twilight looked at him. “Are you ready for another 5 points?”

Faendal sighed. “I can’t. The Gods limit skill trainers to no more than 15 points per day, even if it’s with different clients. And even if I could… I can’t really afford to. I normally charge 200 gold per point of skill… so you’ve already gotten 3,000 gold worth of training for free. I’m going to need more gold if I’m ever going to propose to Camilla.”

Twilight sighed. I suppose 15 points is more than I should have counted on in the first place. Skyrim isn’t the type of place that gives much charity, even in life or death situations.

She turned to him fully. “You really like her, huh.”

Faendal nodded stiffly, as if expecting to have to defend his feelings. Twilight noticed this and asked gently. “Tell me. What draws you to her?”

Faendal relaxed slightly but was still uncertain about her intentions. “Camilla has good business sense, like most Imperials. However, unlike most Imperials., she wants to try new things, not just stick with what works. She is braver than her brother, Lucan, despite the fact that he’s a Nord. She’s also the youngest woman in Riverwood that is of age to marry. I’m old enough to be her grandfather but I’ll still outlive her, given my Elven heritage. I just want to be happy for as long as I can before I have to look for love again.”

Twilight frowned at that answer. It sounded true but also wrong. “How can Camilla be an Imperial and her brother be a Nord?”

Faendal snorted. “The magic that controls our racial traits are very specific. You can’t really be half of one race and half of another, magically. As a Bosmer, I am 50% resistant to both poison and disease plus I can tame and command a wild animal to fight for me, for a short period of time. The same is true with every race. Camilla’s mother was Nord, and her father was Imperial. So… she was born an Imperial and her brother was born a Nord. That is why a lot of people prefer to marry their own kind. At least you know your children will be the same race as you if your spouse is the same race as you.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “If that’s true… then why don’t you marry a Bosmer?”

It was Faendal’s turn to sigh. “There aren’t many Bosmer in Skyrim and most of the ones that are here are either fleeing the Aldmeri Dominion or are bandits. Finding a female Bosmer that is looking for a husband and is not a criminal sounds impossible. I can’t go home for the same reason. I don’t want to support the Aldmeri Dominion but any speaking out against them carries severe punishment. I prefer the simple lifestyle of Skyrim, but I don’t want to live it alone.”

With that… he walked away, and Twilight was left knowing that loneliness was something she didn’t have the power to fix. Twilight returned to Alvor’s house and made another batch of Venison Stew, content to feed the whole household again. The meal passed quickly and Hadvar turned to Twilight.

“Hey. Let’s go get a mug of ale at the Inn.”

Twilight normally wouldn’t have agreed but she knew that she’d have to stay at am Inn at some point and it would be better to have the first experience with a friend she trusted. Also… while she had consumed some wine with her meals… she had yet to try the mead or ale. The two of them left the house and headed for the Inn.

Along the way, they met a beggar. “Hey… can you spare some ale or mead?”

Twilight frowned at him. “I have a few bottles of wine… is that okay?”

The beggar nodded. “As long as it gets me drunk… I don’t care what it is.”

Twilight gave him a couple of the cheaper valued unnamed bottles of wine she had taken from the Keep and was shocked at the speed in which he drank it. He seemed pleased with the near instant effect.

“My name is Embry, by the way. Thanks friend. This should do me for a few hours…”

They got to the Inn quickly enough and went inside. Sven was playing a flute while Camilla was watching him. Hadvar walked with Twilight and led her to the bar. He spoke to the barkeep.

“Hey Delphine, it’s been a while. Two mugs of ale, please.”

The older Breton lady smiled at him. “Ah, Hadvar. Looks like you’ve grown into a strapping young man, Who’s your lady friend?”

He smiled at Twilight. “This is Twilight Sparkle… she’s a pony. We helped each other survive the destruction of Helgen in the recent dragon attack.”

Delphine tried to look unconcerned, but her eyes tightened. Twilight noticed but decided not to call her out on it. Delphine poured two mugs of ale and put on a fresh smile.

“First round is on the house in honor of your service in the Legion. Any other rounds you pay for will be 5 gold for two mugs.”

Twilight accepted the drink and took a sip. The ale reminded her a little of Apple Jack’s hard apple cider and found that it reminded her a little of home. The barkeep, having no other customers to deal with was just waiting for someone else to order something.

Twilight looked the bar menu and cleared her throat. “So… how is two glasses of ale 5 gold but one bottle of ale to take with me is 12 gold?”

Delphine smiled at her. “The glass used to make the bottle is expensive. When you’re buying a bottle of ale, mead or wine; you’re paying more for the bottle than you are the liquor inside it. With a high enough speech skill, I might be persuaded to sale it cheaper.”

Twilight took another sip. She was starting to gain a sense of the level of technology versus magic in Skyrim compared to Equestria and it was nice to have more context on why certain things cost so much compared to other common items. She continued talking as if she had a lot of experience with being at a bar or Inn.

“That makes sense, I guess. Any news or gossip worth sharing?”

Delphine shrugged. “I’m not sure what you would consider to be ‘worth sharing.’ Riverwood has something of a love triangle going on. Sven and Faendal are both trying to court Camilla. She seems to like them both but hasn’t chosen who she’d rather be with. Also, there’s a kid named Aventus Aretino who is trying to contact the Dark Brotherhood in Windhelm. If you’re a traveler and you’d like to see the sights of Skyrim… what few there are, there is a shrine to the Daedric Prince Azura near Winterhold. It’s supposed to be a sight to see.”

Hadvar and Twilight finished their drinks. Twilight turned to him. “I’m going to go talk to Camilla. You can enjoy another ale while you wait for me to come back if you like.”

He nodded and Twilight went to where the others were and sat down beside Camilla, listening to Sven play. Twilight cleared her throat.

“He’s pretty good with that flute, huh?”

Camilla smiled. “Sven’s father was a bard. One of the best in Skyrim, at one point. He taught Sven everything that he knows. Sven already is a better bard than most I’ve seen, and he hasn’t even officially attended the Bard’s College in Solitude. Though… the reason he stays in Riverwood is because nowhere else would accept him as a bard without being a member of the Bard’s college. It’s almost not fair… but I’m just as glad that he’s not planning to go to Solitude for the official training. I would… miss him.”

Twilight nudged her. “I hear that you like both Sven and Faendal but haven’t made a choice on which to pick. I’ve been told at courtship is normally short in Skyrim. Is there a reason that you’re holding back?”

Camilla blushed but also sighed. “Courtship is short here… too short if you ask me, but I was raised as an Imperial in Cyrodiil. I’m used to having partners wanting to date you. Not just do one favor and expect a proposal. An Amulet of Mara is cheap. You can get one for 200 gold from the Temple of Mara in Riften or from the Temple of the Eight Divines in Solitude. Any idiot can afford one to show off that they are available to take a spouse.”

Twilight seemed to understand even though love wasn’t her special talent. “Is there anything I can do?”

Camilla frowned. “Maybe… perhaps you can tilt the scales and give me a clearer picture of who to pick. If you’re willing. I, um, I’m not sure what reward I could offer you.”

Twilight thought about it. “Your brother has more spell tomes in your shop that I don’t already know. Most of them are valued less than 250 gold so I suppose that any spell that I don’t already know would be an acceptable reward. I wouldn’t want to be unreasonable about it, but it would probably help me survive Bleak Falls Burrow, which helps all of us.”

Camilla couldn’t argue with the otherwise reasonable request. “You have a deal. Help me pick a partner and I’ll let you pick one of the remaining spell tomes that we have for free as a reward.”

Twilight set out to work on her new quest. Sven had taken a break from playing and was about to order a drink at the bar when Twilight went to stand beside him,

“Delphine… a cup of ale for me and Sven here.”

Twilight placed 5 gold on the countertop and Delphine poured the drinks.

Sven seemed both surprised and puzzled as to why she had brought him a drink. He looked at her with a slight smile. “Thanks.”

Twilight nodded. “That’s just your payment for the music. Word around town is that both you and Faendal are courting Camilla. I spent a fair amount of time with Faendal today… and he seems to have a plan. Do you have a plan?”

Sven’s eyes narrowed. “I earn decent money at the sawmill, and I’m well liked here for my bard skills but for all that I do for Camilla… I can’t seem to out-do Faendal. Say… can you give her this letter and say it’s from Faendal? It should sour her feelings for him.”

Twilight was appalled at the idea but smiled. “I’d be happy to help.”

Sven gave her the letter and she was half-way across the room when Faendal walked into the Inn. Faendal waved to Twilight, and she veered over to him. She smiled at him warmly.

Faendal smiled at her. “I was thinking about everything from earlier and I realized that I already have everything I need to propose to Camilla. I have a letter that I need you to deliver to Camilla. Just tell her that it’s from Sven and I believe that once reads it that she’ll no longer listen to him.”

Twilight accepted the letter and nodded. Faendal went to sit down, and Twilight continued to Camilla. Twilight sat back down and sighed.

Camilla smiled at her apparent indecision. “It’s not as easy a choice as you thought, is it?”

Twilight shook her head. “Actually… It is. Neither of them deserves you.”

Camilla’s smile faded as she processed what Twilight said. “What do you mean?”

Twilight leaned in close. “They both are trying to win your heart with underhanded means. Sven gave me a letter that he wanted me to deliver to you and say it was from Faendal. And then Faendal did the exact same thing. I didn’t read them… I don’t know what they say…”

Twilight handed both letters to Camilla and she reads them. After a few moments, she sighs. “This is horrible… I wanted to narrow down who to pick… not have neither of them as an option. What should I do now?”

Twilight shrugged. “You can decide who you like more, despite the trick, and choose. Or pick a third option.”

Camilla cast a sidelong glance. “I can’t marry my brother. The Barkeep’s assistant is unmarried but he’s a bit on the dumb side, even for a Nord. Unless you’re suggesting yourself, I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

Twilight blushed at the suggestion. “No. No. Not me… What about Embry?”

Camilla paused to consider. “The town drunk. Really?”

Twilight could feel her chances at that free spell slipping through her fingers. “Maybe he has a good reason for why he’s always drinking? Maybe he would be willing to change his ways?”

The door opened to the Inn, and Embry walked in.

Camilla sighed deeply. “Speak of the Daedra and they shall appear… Embry! Come over here!”

Embry was stunned but did as requested. “Yes?”

Camilla looked him straight in the eye and boldly asked… “Why do you drink so much?”

Embry smiled a little sheepishly. “I like you. You’re pretty. So… why see one of you when I can see three of you?”

Camilla’s breath hitched and Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “That… was unexpectedly sweet. I hear that you work at the Sawmill occasionally.”

Embry nodded. “Hod lets me work when I feel like it. If I had a woman like Camilla in my life… I’d work more. I couldn’t promise never to drink again but I wouldn’t get drunk.”

Camilla smiled and decided to take him up on that. “Fine. Prove it. You may drink, so long as you don’t get drunk, and work more hours at the sawmill. If you are sincere in being willing to provide for me… I’ll marry you.”

Embry seemed to instantly sobber. “I will work hard… I promise. Can I buy you a mug of ale?”

Camilla smiled back. “Sure.”

Embry left to go the bar and get the drinks and Twilight whispered to Camilla. “So… what do I tell Sven and Faendal?”

Camilla pursed her lips and then replied. “Tell them both that it worked. The letter soured my feelings for the other man; however, I wish to remain friends with them, but I’ve chosen Embry. If Embry messes up… I may give one of them a second chance. Come by the store tomorrow morning before you leave town and I’ll give you that spell.”

Camilla smiled up at Embry as he returned to her with their drinks.

Twilight nodded and left her to her evening.
Sven was still at the bar, so Twilight told him first that Camilla no longer wished to consider Faendal but only wanted to be Sven’s friend while she worked out for feelings for giving Embry a chance. Although it wasn’t part of the instructions, Twilight also advised Sven to not try a similar trick in the future.

Faendal was just as easy to find, being outside the Inn, waiting for good news. He seemed stoic when Twilight told him the same thing that she had told Sven.

Hadvar seemed to appear out of nowhere once Faendal left the Inn to return home. “Are you done for the night?”

Twilight smiled up at him. “Yes. It was satisfying to solve a simple friendship problem and I think I managed to help all four them, after a fashion. At least none of them are angry with me.”

Hadvar nodded. “So… what now?”

Twilight yawned. “How about some cuddling? I’m going to need a good night sleep before I tackle those ruins tomorrow.”

Hadvar smiled. “I think I can manage that.”