WE GOT THE HOUSE!

  We're almost broke, but we did it! We own Proudspire Manor!

  Well, I own it, but I made sure that Falk put the others' names on there in case anything happened to me. Given what I've been up to lately, he thought that was a "wise decision."

  Proudspire looks great from the outside, but the inside didn't impress me much at first. It's full of cobwebs and dust, and some of the leftover furniture sitting around is broken. I feel like once it's cleaned up and we get some light in here, it'll be beautiful!

  There's a basement with plenty of space for alchemy equipment and food, and the main floor has a large living space with a kitchen, dining table, and a patio out back. The top floor has a sitting area with the main bedroom in it. There's a bed in there, but it's old and not very comfortable.

  Still, it was a warm place to sleep, and we were able to arrange the other furniture so everyone had something more comfortable to sleep on than a bedroll on the stone floor.

  Gods, I'm jumping ahead, but I'm just too excited!

  Anyway! Morning at the lighthouse!

  We got up early and had a quick breakfast before we left. I opened that door by the horse stall, but it wasn't hiding anything too special. It was just a storage closet with some tools in it, but we did find a few small potions, so that's good.

  We decided to walk along the coast rather than trudge through the snow drifts, so we headed down to the seaside. On the way down we spotted a ring of fire on the beach, and ran towards it.

  The fire was burning grass and driftwood, and in the center was a burnt corpse.

  The smell hit us before we really knew what we were coming up on, and I staggered back and tripped right into Erandur. He pulled his cloak over me, and Septim nosed under the white fur, too.

  Luckily, being shielded like that and having my face pressed into his fur scarf, along with Septim licking my hand and whining, I was able to keep myself together really well.

  I'm proud of myself for that.

  Anyway, Lydia and Valdimar went ahead to take a closer look. They found a burned cloak, a necklace, and a spellbook for Flame Cloak by the body. Valdimar shook his head and said that it was probably a student from the College of Winterhold. Far as he could tell, they just got the spell wrong while they were trying to learn it. He asked Erandur if he'd go and say a few words for them.

  Erandur let me go after I assured him I would be all right, and I distracted myself by playing fetch with Septim.

  Once Erandur was done, we kept going towards Dawnstar, and we made such good time we got there before midday!

  Erandur and I were freezing, though, so we ducked into Frida's to warm up and see if she had any ice wraith teeth or fire salts. She insisted that we all have a cup of tea while I looked through her ingredients, and lucky me, she had some fire salts.

  Just as we left, a storm roared in from the sea. Cold wind and ice tore past me, and it felt like a thousand tiny knives on my skin.

  We trudged over to Rustlief's to sell the armor we'd picked up, but he was covering his forge. He said he wasn't doing any more business today, and we couldn't blame him! So, we hustled up the hill to the Windpeak Inn.

  We had lunch there to try and wait out the storm, but it was still raging when we were done.

  We were surprised at that. We'd just seen Alesan leave with a pot of hot soup to take to the miners!

  Erandur started to fret, and Valdimar and I tried to calm him down. The boy was bundled up, and carrying a warm pot. It was a very short walk to the mines, and I promised that if he didn't get back soon we'd go and look for him. Lydia was quiet, and looking up towards the ceiling like she does when she's thinking hard about something.

  Valdimar asked her what was on her mind, and she pointed out that we had just enough to buy Proudspire Manor.

  Erandur grabbed at his heart and asked if she was sure. She nodded, and said that if we could sell what we had on us, including some of what we had at the house, we should be good to buy it and get to Markarth.

  Erandur turned to me and said that he knew it was dangerous out there, and it was a lot to ask, but I cut him off. I was already thinking it.

  I stood up and said that if he can handle the cold, so can I.

  Lydia got up and said, "This is really stupid."

  "I know!"

  Rather than follow the coast, we struck out for the Manor off the road in as straight a line as we could.

  Not far across the plain, we found a dead man dressed in fur armor in the snow, with an angry horse kicking and neighing wildly by the body.

  The dead man's foot was caught in the reins. We calmed the horse and got the body free, then the animal bolted towards the safety of Dawnstar.

  We kept going, and ran into a bunch of wolves, some bandits, and then even more wolves until we finally found our way to High Gate Ruins. We were damn near frozen by then, so we spent a few minutes chatting with Anska while we warmed up.

  She's still working on translating that scroll of hers, but she's made some progress. We told her again that if she ever needed anything, she could just go to the house, and then we left to go the rest of the way home.

  Once we were inside, we took an hour to rest and hunt for spare weapons and such to sell. It wasn't mid-afternoon yet, even though that walk felt like it took forever.

  We loaded up with what we could, and headed for Solitude.

  We went straight to Sayma's, and after a bit of trading, we walked out with more than enough for Proudspire Manor!

  I practically ran to the Blue Palace, and went to Falk. He was happy to hear that the Dark Brotherhood was taken care of, and even more happy to hear the I was ready to buy.

  He got the papers together, and explained that he could have people over to clean and put in some furniture.

  I said that sounded good to me, and paid him for the services. I didn't have enough to get everything kitted out, just the important things like a bedroom for me and a kitchen and living room. He said it would be a little while before he could get a crew over there. It was late, after all, and Elisif and her court were headed for dinner.

  I said that was fine, and he handed me a set of keys.

  And now we're here!

  I did take a few minutes to peek into Radiant Raiment after we'd had a quick look around to see if there's anything we needed to get before the shops closed. I knew they had clothes for children, and I wanted to have things at least a bit ready for them once we made enough money to build the bedrooms.

  They did have some clothes for them, so I bought a few sets and put them in a drawer when I got back. The others had been making dinner while I was gone, and they were happy to see that I'd found things for the children.

  We had dinner, and wondered if the kids would like it. Erandur slipped up again and called them "our" children, but the others either didn't notice or just decided to ignore it, like I did.

  I know he's already sort of "adopted" Alesan, and I can't help but slip Sophie some extra coins every time I see her. I feel like a horrible, selfish bitch for thinking this, because I know how hard it is, but I'm glad no one's adopted them, yet.

  I know, it's freezing out there and it's only getting colder, but at least they both have a warm place to sleep at night, and other people watching out for them.

  Anyway, I sat down to write at the dining room table after we'd cleaned up, while the others got their beds together.

  I found some Imperial clothes in a dresser while I was poking around earlier. From the looks of the other things left behind, it looks like this place used to be owned by Imperials. I also found another one of those strange floating gems.

  I'll have to see if I can find anyone who knows what those are.

  But it's getting late, and everyone else has gone to bed, including Septim.

  Tomorrow we'll go to Dragon Bridge, and hopefully Commander Maro will have a nice, fat reward for us. After that, we'll head to Markarth. If we're lucky, we'll be there by tomorrow night.

  So, tonight's sleeping arrangements aren't as glamorous as where we spent last night, but at least we don't have to worry about assassins.

  We're still keeping watch, obviously, but I'll have to be careful to keep the snow from blowing onto the page and smudging the ink.

  We got up bright and early, and left the house so we could get to Dragon Bridge.

  We ran into Vittoria Vici as we left out through the patio. Turns out, she's our other neighbor!

  Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

  She was surprised to see me, and VERY surprised to see Lydia, who hadn't put her helmet on, yet.

  They made some polite small talk as we headed for the gate, but I could tell that Lydia was struggling. We parted ways at the market, and as soon as we got through the gate Lydia snarled and said, "I can't STAND that woman!"

  We were all shocked and didn't say anything. She usually doesn't react to much, and especially not like that!

  Lydia jammed her helm on and apologized while she buckled it. As we walked, she explained that Vittoria's family and hers were close. Vittoria's her sister's friend, and she explained it as, "That's what they call it when their idea of fun is trying to backstab, blackmail and belittle each other."

  Yeah, they're those kind of "friends".

  What's worse, Lydia said that Vittoria agrees with her mother. She thinks it's "unseemly" for someone of her station to be out here, fighting and "living wild".

  We all rolled our eyes at that, and I was just about to gripe about how much I couldn't stand people like her either when (speaking of stuck-up assholes) we ran into some Thalmor officers leading a prisoner.

  I'm sure you know what I did next, but this fight was different.

  All of them could use magic.

  The Justiciar only used magic, but the two guards with her were both skilled fighters and mages!

  The prisoner ran off as soon as the fight started, and I'm glad he did! With all the magic flying everywhere he was bound to get hit.

  Once the three Thalmor had fallen, he walked up to us so we could untie him. He thanked us, then ran off towards the Stormcloak camp.

  The rest of the trip was quiet, and we soon found Commander Maro at the Penitus Oculatus outpost. He couldn't believe what I told him, but when I handed him Arnbjorn's bloody ring to match the one he had from Astrid, that was good enough for him! He gave me 3000 septims, and we got back on the road.

  I figured I'd get more for destroying the assassins guild, but right now we're so broke I'll take what I can get.

  Hopefully we'll be less broke tomorrow, what with all the Falmer gear we picked up.

  Which brings me to now. We're at a campsite not too far from Dragon Bridge. We went over the bridge, and then kept going until we crossed another, smaller one not too far past that.

  That was where Lydia and I had found a cart a while back, with a dead woman and her horse, and now there was another wrecked cart.

  It was almost exactly the same as last time. The caravan had clearly been attacked, but this time, we knew what we were looking at. The arrow was a Falmer arrow. We wondered where they could be coming from, and we saw a campsite across the river, with smoke coming from it.

  We went across - Luckily its not that deep, so we didn't have to swim - and went to see if anyone was there. It was empty, but there were two small tents, a bed roll on the ground, and some supplies around the still-smoking logs in the firepit.

  We found a journal on one of the bedrolls, so I picked it up and read aloud what the latest entry had to say.

  They were a group of adventurers, like us, investigating the caravan attacks. They said they knew it couldn't be animals or bandits, because those don't take prisoners.

  At the mention of prisoners we all looked at each other, and we didn't say a word. We just turned to follow the trail that led from the camp, and towards the mountain. There was a cave, with some obvious signs of Falmer outside of it.

  I took a moment to apologize to Erandur for the delay before we went inside, but he said it was all right. His Lady is nothing if not patient, and she would understand.

  So, we went inside. Before we ran into any Falmer, we found the dead body of an adventurer, laid out on a bedroll next to a small fire that was still burning. He hadn't been dead for long, but we couldn't find any clues on him. Erandur looked more closely, and said that he'd been poisoned by Frostbite Spiders.

  The path split right there, but to the right was what looked like a dead end, with an opening near the ceiling. Every other Falmer cave we've been in has had a back way out, and we all figured that was probably where we would end up eventually. So, we went left and kept going.

  Erandur was right about what killed that guy. We came across at least a half-dozen spiders as we walked through. At once point we found a large cave with an incredibly high ceiling. I looked up before we went in, and I could just make out a massive spider above us, waiting to drop. We unleashed our magic at it before it could, though, but it was ANGRY when it hit the floor!

  Unfortunately, I didn't see the second one that was crawling along above my head.

  It would've landed right on me, too, if Septim's barking hadn't warned Lydia. She tackled me just in time! We rolled away and the guys started in on it, along with Septim.

  There were a few more spiders after that, but it wasn't long until we found the Falmer. First we found a lady who cast some powerful magic at us. She wouldn't have been too hard on her own, but her pet chaurus was a pain! The room was full of mushrooms, and I even found baskets in there full of them.

  I've been wondering what they eat.

  We kept going, and found more Falmer as we went. The tunnels twisted and circled back on themselves at a few points, but eventually we found a largish, open area with a few huts where a handful of Falmer attacked us.

  That's also where we found the prisoners.

  We were too late to help any of them. I think some of them were the adventurers, and on one man, a Redguard, we found a note.

  I cast Candlelight, and read it aloud. The man's name was Firir, and he had been with the caravan. He wrote about the attack, and said that anyone who resisted was blinded. He wrote that the others were taken off one at a time to who knows where. He was certain some had been fed to the chaurus, but he didn't know what happened to the rest. He said he knew he didn't have much time left, then begged someone named Eydis - his lover, probably - for forgiveness.

  Now I remember where I heard that name before! Eydis is the lady who runs the Old Hroldan Inn. She said her husband was a soldier, though, so probably not the same Eydis.

  Anyway, the dead man was right about the Falmer feeding prisoners to the chaurus. There was a Chaurus pen at the other side of the cavern, and in it we found bones among the egg piles. We also found some strange spiky pods, and one of those giant winged bugs burst out of one when we got near it! After we killed it, we destroyed the other pods before anything could pop out of them.

  No wonder Septim wouldn't stop growling at them!

  We took a minute to look the pods over. Far as we can tell, they're sort of like cocoons, and they're disgusting, slimy, and smell TERRIBLE.

  The sound the flying ones make is like a wasp in your ear, I hate it!

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  We kept going, and came to… Some sort of ritual chamber.

  There were three Falmer in there, including one in the center who was powerful magic user. The room was round, with a pit in the middle spanned by a narrow arch of stone and earth. In front, where we came in, was a stone slab that looked like some sort of altar. There was a dead man on it, clearly used as a human sacrifice.

  I could hear Erandur draw in a sharp breath and grab at his heart when he saw it.

  I think the mage we killed was a priestess of some sort. She'd been sitting on a stone… Throne? I think? at the other end of the bridge, and behind it was an archway that led to another tunnel. I saw the glow of dozens of chaurus eggs down below in the pit, and the path to the left of us sloped downwards into it.

  I told the others that I was going to grab a few of them - They fetch a good price! - and I didn't feel the need to hurry, now that we knew the prisoners were all dead.

  As I went down to gather them up, my boots kept kicking what I thought were sticks in the dark, and cracking what I thought were eggshells or bits of shed chitin.

  Valdimar got his boot tangled up in what looked like a bunch of roots, but when he lit his torch to see well enough to get his foot free, he gasped. The light was behind me and I was bent over, too focused on digging out Chaurus eggs to notice. Then, Erandur called my name, so quietly that I almost didn't hear him. I looked up - he was standing on the raised circular path on the right of the pit - and I saw that he had his hand over his heart. He told me, almost in a whisper, to watch were I stepped.

  I looked down, and realized that I was standing in a pit full of bones.

  I don't mean a skeleton or two. There were at least a dozen bodies worth of bones down there, and that was what I could see with just a glance. The floor was practically carpeted in them!

  Valdimar had put his boot in a rib cage.

  Needless to say, I got out of that pit like it was on fire, and we made for the tunnel behind the "throne" as fast as we could.

  The tunnel back there was short, and midway along it was a small open area, like a room, with a table and some barrels in it. Clearly looted goods, so I took what I could from there and we kept going.

  As we suspected, the end of the tunnel was the hole in the wall we'd spotted near the entrance.

  We hopped down, and made our way out of the cave.

  It was dark by the time we left, so we decided to set up our big tent by the adventurers' two little ones, and use their campfire.

  Erandur said a short prayer after we had dinner, simply asking Mara to guide the souls we'd found, and to thank the adventurers for their sacrifice in their willingness to help.

  My watch is almost over.

  It's chilly out tonight, with the faintest bit of snow, but with this big fire and Septim's head on my knee, it's not so bad!

  I wonder if the Silver-Blood Inn's built a bath? I hope so! We all smell like low tide at the height of summer after being in that damp, muddy cave all day.

  I can't wait to get to Markarth!

  All right, I'm clean, we're in Markarth, and now I'm sitting at the bar, waiting on the others to wash up.

  I just wanted to write about the trip here real quick. It wasn't much special. It looked like there was a path up the mountainside just right of the campsite, so after we had breakfast and broke camp, we decided to see if we could save time by going up and over the hill .

  It was a bit of a steep climb up, but we got over just fine. We ran into a hunter with a cozy little mountaintop cabin that we traded with real quick before going on our way. Valdimar wasn't too thrilled about the slide down the other side, though.

  I'll admit, it was a lot steeper than it looked, but we all got down safely. Septim had to be coaxed, and I couldn't help but joke if a bottle of mead might tempt the big guy down!

  It was worth it, though. I decided to go down at that point because we could all see a Stormcloak encampment at the base of the hillside. I wanted to see if they would take what we'd gotten from the Falmer. They didn't want any of that, but we did have some regular armor and weapons to trade, which the camp quartermaster was glad for.

  Anyway, I asked them if the hill in front of us, just across the river, was climbable, and they said it was. In fact, they pointed out a goat path! I could see some ruins at the top, too. Nothing big, just some small arches, but it was a handy landmark.

  -/-/-/-/-/-

  Lydia's out. Now we're just waiting for the guys.

  Anyway, after we finished our business, I thanked them for the travel tip and we kept going. There were a few chunks of Dwemer ruins by the water, and lucky me, I found a chest with some gold in it!

  We crossed the river, but that didn't do much to help with the dirt. We went up and over the goat path, and were pleasantly surprised to find that there were steps going down the other side. They were worn and a bit crumbly, but it was better than nothing! The steps led us right into Karthwasten, and we waved to Ainethach as we walked through town.

  I don't think he even recognized us at first, but I don't blame him. We were a mess!

  The walk from Karthwasten to Markarth was mostly quiet, aside from being jumped by a trio of Forsworn by the house near the bridge to Old Hroldan. Luckily, they weren't too hard to handle, and we kept them from slaughtering a traveler who was on the path a bit ahead of us.

  And then we got here! We came straight here and paid for a bath.

  The bath here is very Dwemer in style, and it looks like they reused old bits of ruins to build it, along with newer parts filling in the gaps. Valdimar said the Dwemer chairs and such they had down there were copies, but the bath is still really nice! I can tell they took full advantage of the Dwemer technology left over to heat everything.

  And that's it! I guess I'll braid Lydia's hair while we wait.

  -/-/-/-/-/-

  Divines, can't the Daedra leave me alone?!

  I mean, I know I messed up, but why ME, of all people?

  Molag Bal's an idiot.

  We're back at the Inn. We haven't gone to see Calcelmo yet because I had to be NICE and offer to help a Vigilant check out a suspicious building.

  The others insisted that I sit down, and said we should all eat an early dinner and have a drink before we go talk with him, and honestly, that was a good idea.

  I do feel better after a bit of food, but I know I'll feel A LOT better after I write down what happened.

  So, we left the Inn and were on our way to Calcelmo's lab when a Vigilant standing by a door set into the rock addressed Erandur as "Brother" and asked him if we'd seen anyone go in or out of there. He said we hadn't. In fact, we just got here, and the Vigilant said that something strange was going on. No one else in town had seen anyone coming or going, either.

  And yet, there were reports of noises and such coming from inside. The Vigilance suspected Daedric activity, so he was sent to investigate.

  Erandur shifted uncomfortably when he went to look at the door, and said that he could feel the evil coming off of it. The Vigilant agreed, and asked if we'd be willing to help him check it out.

  I figured it wouldn't take long, so I agreed. I followed him in first, with Septim on my heels. The door closed behind me, but when I went to try and open it, it wouldn't. I went to speak with the Vigilant, who'd introduced himself as Tyranus, but he was busy making notes about the state of the place.

  He was right, though. The food was fresh, the lights lit, and it all looked like someone had simply… stepped out for a moment.

  Septim started to whine, and I tried but couldn't pick the lock on the door.

  It was like… I know I would've thought I was crazy if I didn't experience what happened later, but it was like something pushed the lockpicks out of the keyhole!

  I decided to follow Tyranus, and I just hoped the others weren't panicking too badly out there.

  We eventually found a locked door that led to the basement, when all of a sudden there was a terrible, booming voice in my head.

  It felt like the time Vaermina spoke to me, and I could tell that the voice was speaking to Tyranus, too. The man panicked, and ran towards the exit. We were sacred, too, so Septim and I followed him. As we ran, things started flying off the shelves at us! Bottles of wine, baskets, plates - Things were moving around, and when we got back to the main room, where there was a dining table with chairs, all the chairs were stacked on top of the table, perfectly balanced.

  It's something that would take even two people more than a bit of time to do, but this happened in the handful of seconds between us finding the locked door and running back here!

  The voice told me that the other was weak, but I was strong, and that I had to kill him!

  Obviously I didn't want to kill Tyranus, but I'm sure he was being told the same thing as me, because he suddenly said that it was me or him, and then he attacked me!

  Septim lunged at him, and that gave me enough time to summon my Flame Atronach while I dodged the flying junk that Molag Bal was throwing around.

  You know, for a Daedric Prince, that felt a bit like a temper tantrum a little kid would throw.

  Anyway, once Tyranus was dead, the voice said I could have a reward, and beckoned me to follow it back to that door.

  And because I'm stupid, I didn't even think to check if the front door was unlocked, so down I went.

  I know, I know! I was still jittery and confused because of what just happened, all right?

  But don't worry, I got even Stupider!

  You see, once I went down the steps, I found myself in a basement, and then I ended up in a tunnel dug out of the back and into some Dwemer ruins. Just a little section, though. It was a small room, with a black pedestal, a creepy-looking altar-type thing, and there was a rusty, very spiky mace hovering there. The voice told me to claim my reward, and I figured oh, well, why not?

  I said I was stupid.

  I should've listened to Septim.

  He was whining and growling .

  I reached for the mace, and a ring of spike-like cage bars sprung up from the floor, and trapped me!

  The voice called me a fool, and that was when it reveled itself as Molag Bal.

  He wanted to know what I saw, and I told him that I saw a rusty old mace that I'd be lucky to get 50 septims for.

  This made him less than happy, and he went on to explain that a cultist of Boethiah had desecrated it in her name.

  I know the Daedra have rivalries, but I had no idea it was this petty. That's like spilling wine on a lady's dress after she insults your friend!

  Anyway, he gave me the offer to help him get revenge, but I refused. I said I didn't want to help him in the first place! I didn't want to kill Tyranus, but he gave me no choice!

  He agreed to let me go, and said that the priest who insulted him was also a prisoner, but not one of his. He told me that the priest was in pain, suffering and left to rot. I could save him, and then bring him there.

  And then the spikes dropped, and we bolted for the door.

  The others were relieved to see me. They'd heard the fight and things breaking, but they had to act like nothing was bothering them as the guards walked by. Lydia and Valdimar both gave me one of their bear hugs, but Erandur recoiled slightly when he went to give me one.

  He excused himself, then put his hand over my heart. I could feel a flash of warmth from his hand, and my vision went all gold and fuzzy for a second.

  After the blessing, he smiled and said, "Much better!" and gave me a hug.

  Anyway, writing it did help me calm down. I'm ready to shake off the last bit of that icky feeling from having a Daedric prince in my head that Erandur's blessing didn't banish. Helping Calcelmo with his love problem should do it!

  -/-/-/-/-/-

  Now that things have quieted down, I can write.

  And I'm gonna need to! I'm sure at least Erandur and Lydia aren't going to remember much of what happened. Valdimar might, though.

  They're ALL gonna have hangovers tomorrow!

  So, we went to Calcelmo's lab in Understone Keep, and told him we were there to help him with his problem.

  He was surprised to see us again, and at first thought we were there to help clear out more ruins. Aicantar and another man were there, both working, so Erandur quietly explained that he was a priest of Mara. Calcelmo realized why we were really there, and gestured for us to go off to the side a bit, away from prying ears.

  He confessed that he had a crush on Faleen, the Jarl's housecarl. It was so bad that whenever he was around her, he would get so nervous he shook, and couldn't talk!

  I have to admit, it was adorable to hear him talk about how much just being around her flustered him. Being an Altmer, there was no way he could hide the blush that started as soon as he started talking about her.

  He said he could never hope to speak with her. He'd seen firsthand how quickly she turned on men who offended her. He compared her to a sabercat!

  We asked if there was anyone who knew what she likes. He could safely strike up a conversation that way, and see where it goes.

  He suggested that we talk to Faleen's friend, Yngvar. He said that Yngvar was popular with the ladies, but thankfully Faleen wasn't his type. Yngvar's a guard at the Treasury House, but Calcelmo said we could probably find him drinking at the Silver-Blood Inn now that his shift was done.

  So, we came back here. There was a big Nord outside, already a few meads deep and singing a loud song.

  I'd seen him at the bar before, and he asked if things were "bloody enough" for me.

  Given how my day had gone, I told him it was bloody enough, and then he told me to leave! Blood and Silver was what ran Markarth, and if I couldn't take the blood, I should go.

  Whatever. I rolled my eyes and said I already killed one man today, and I didn't want to stain my robes any more than they already were.

  I gestured to the fresh blood, and he just laughed. He said I was all right, and called me "sister." He asked what he could do for me, and I told him we were looking for Yngvar.

  Of course, he was Yngvar, and wanted to know why we were looking for him. I told him that I heard he might be able to tell me more about Faleen and what she likes. He gave me a look and asked if I was interested in her.

  I told him we weren't here for me, then leaned in and whispered that we were here for Calcelmo.

  He laughed about that, and said he should've known! He was happy for the both of them, and said that Faleen could use a man like him in her life. He swung his arm over my shoulder, then leaned in and whispered that Faleen likes to act tough, but has a secret soft spot for poetry.

  Turns out, Yngvar took some classes at the Bard's College when he was younger, and he had a knack for poetry. He said he had a poem that worked great when he was courting an older lady in Rorikstead. He could change it up a bit for Faleen and sell it to me, if I had the gold.

  I was annoyed about the money at the time, but given that he's probably spent it all on drinks for us tonight, I'll let it go.

  I did consider asking Erandur to write one, but we were short on time and I honestly wanted to see what sort of poem a woman like Faleen might enjoy. So, I handed over the 200 septims, and after a few minutes with a quill (he had it memorized!) he handed me the poem. He recommended just handing the paper to Faleen rather than giving it to Calcelmo to learn. Given how he acted around her, Yngvar was certain he'd mess it up, and we all agreed.

  I thanked him, and we headed for the Keep. He said we'd probably find her having dinner at this hour, so we went inside and asked a guard where we could find Faleen. He pointed to a Redguard woman eating at a side table, and I walked over with Septim to talk to her. The others hung back and waited.

  I apologized for interrupting her dinner, and said that I wanted to talk to her about Calcelmo. She was curious about why, and I asked if she had any thoughts about him.

  She called him an "odd little man" and while she didn't sound too impressed about his work with Dwemer artifacts, she seemed to like his intelligence.

  I almost laughed at her calling him "little". He's really tall!

  She wanted to know why I asked about him, and I said I was just curious. She called me strange for that, and then I slipped the paper to her and said it was from him.

  She was a bit confused, but read the poem and couldn't believe it when she was finished. I told her that Calcelmo cared about her, and while she admitted that she'd never thought of him like that before, the poem was giving her ideas.

  It was a really good poem. We read it on the way over, and while Erandur admitted that it wasn't what he would've written - Most women don't like being compared to stones and mountains - he had to agree that it seemed perfect for Faleen.

  She had me wait a moment while she wrote a letter for me to take back. She said she wasn't as good with words as he was, but she hoped it would be enough for him to understand.

  We went back to Calcelmo's lab, and handed him the letter from Faleen. He read it, and asked what poem she was talking about. We explained the situation, and thankfully he wasn't mad about it.

  He said he had to go see her right away, so we followed from what I think was a respectful distance.

  We watched from the lower level as he went up to her. We couldn't hear what they said, but it must've been good, because she grabbed the sides of his hood and pulled him in for a kiss!

  Some of the other guards who were eating nearby cheered, and we couldn't help but laugh before we left the Keep.

  It was dark out, and we came back here to the Inn for dinner and drinks. We ran into Yngvar when we got inside and told him what happened. He was so happy for Faleen that he declared the first round was on him!

  Other people, clearly guards, asked what happened, and when they heard that Faleen had finally found a man, it turned into a party!

  I was happy to accept the drinks pushed my way, but Lydia told me that I already used up my Stupid privileges for the day. She said I could only have two drinks, and that it was their turn to be Stupid!

  Again, in hindsight, I'm glad I agreed to that, because otherwise I wouldn't have remembered what happened later.

  As the evening went on and everyone got more and more drunk, Lydia started to look a little down. Normally she gets all giggly and happy, but not this time.

  I was about to say something when Erandur, who'd just finished singing a particularly bawdy song, sat back down and noticed her moping. He asked what was wrong, but she just sighed and said, "Erandur, you're an expert on love, right?"

  He laughed and said that he wouldn't call himself an expert, but he'd help if he could. He asked what the problem was, and by the Nine, I've never seen her look so sad! She turned to him and asked, "Erandur, am I broken?"

  He put his arm around her shoulder, assured her that she wasn't and asked why she would ever think such a thing.

  Valdimar was in the seat next to Erandur, and while he'd been keeping up with the others on their drinks, it takes a lot to get him really drunk. He was still pretty red in the face, though, and swayed a bit when he turned to watch.

  Lydia said that while she was happy for Calcelmo and Faleen and "those other people" we helped, she just didn't understand what the fuss was about. She confessed that she's never fallen in love! She doesn't even want to! She's just not interested in romance, at least, not for herself.

  I was going to say something about that, because I know for a fact that she reads romance books! Not to mention all the gossiping we do about Erandur and Valdimar!

  Anyway, Erandur nodded at this, all wise-like, and said that the real problem was one that he'd gotten in a lot of arguments about with other priests. Mara is the goddess of love, but no one ever really bothers to explain what kind of love. Some of them, like Maramal, only believe Her to be the goddess of romantic love, but Erandur and most of the others say that She oversees all the different kinds of love!

  Lydia asked what he meant by different kinds, and he took another drink from his wine bottle before explaining that yes, there were many different kinds of love. He said that you can feel love for your family and that's different than what you feel for your friends, and also for what you feel for things like nature and gods and everything else. It's all right to not feel one of those.

  "There's love everywhere," he said.

  She said that she always heard finding "The One" was the most important thing in life, and Erandur actually grumbled about that and said that was horseshit. Love is everything, so how could you say that one type of love is better than another? "Love is love is love" he said, if it's for a partner or partners or your friends or your family. None of them is more important than or better than the others, and she wasn't less of a person or broken for not wanting one of those.

  She said she only really loved her friends. Her family was all right, but she could deal with them not liking her, and she didn't care about romance, but not having friends would be awful!

  Erandur said that was just fine. He's a priest of Mara, and he would know! He said that we needed more words for the different kinds of love, because whenever people said they loved someone, everyone always thought it was in a romantic way, and that wasn't good enough. There are plenty of ways to love people!

  Valdimar piped up that they had Shield-Sisters and War-Wives and such, and Erandur agreed that yes, that was a start, but those were words for soldiers and warriors "and other fighty people". He said we needed more words, because he loved almost everyone and everything, but whenever he said that people thought he was crazy.

  Lydia asked if he really loved everyone, and he said that yes, he did, just in different ways.

  Erandur gave her a hug and said that, for example, he loved her, and she smiled and said she loved him "like a friend!" and hugged him back. He asked if now she understood why we needed more words, and she nodded with a very serious look on her face and agreed that we need "more better" words.

  Then he let her go and gestured to me with his wine bottle and said, "And I love you, Bronwen." I told him I loved him, too, but it was hard to not burst out laughing! He damn near fell off the stool!

  And then - Oh, I hope hope hope Lydia remembers!

  He leaned on Valdimar and said, "And I love you, too, Valdimar."

  Valdimar turned even redder and just laughed as he said, "I love you, Erandur."

  And then, to make his point, Erandur raised his drink and shouted, "I love you, Markarth!" while he was still leaning on Valdimar.

  Someone from the back told him to shut up, and he shot back, "I still love you, even if some of your people are rude!"

  Lydia was laughing after that, and back to her normal, happy drunk self for the rest of the night.

  That included having to walk her to her room and make sure she actually got into bed. She tends to fall asleep anywhere when she's had too many!

  Valdimar and Erandur went to their rooms shortly after I got Lydia to hers, and that just leaves me and a few others. Septim's in my room, sleeping. He spent most of the evening begging for snacks from the revelers and getting a bunch of attention, so he's all worn out with a full belly!

  Oh, I hope they remember it when they wake up. I had no idea Lydia was like that, and I can't understand it, but that's fine. I don't understand a lot of things, and that doesn't make them any less real.

  Besides, she's not alone in thinking that she's broken. I used to think I was, too.

  I never understood what Dru and the other girls were going on about when we'd be drinking together and they'd start talking about the people they wanted to sleep with, or play a game like "Bed, Wed, Behead."

  I usually got yelled at because I never voted to Bed anyone.

  It's not that I don't enjoy it or think it's terrible, it's just that I don't think I look at people the same way everyone else does. I've seen Dru (and a lot of other people) do a lot of really Stupid things simply because someone caught their fancy.

  I mean, I always thought I was laying it on real thick and being too obvious when we were working, and I'll never understand how a low-cut dress can make a man not notice his pocket being picked, but it works!

  When I see a beautiful person, I don't get all heated like that. Sometimes they're beautiful like a waterfall, or a mountain or the stars. Some people are like flowers, or jewels, or a bolt of silk. Some people are like a storm or a cold drink on a hot day.

  I'm rambling with my ink. I've never really thought about it before, at least, not in a way I can put down.

  I'm so glad I started keeping a journal!

  Anyway, I guess I just… "see" different.

  Oh, well. If there can be people out there like Lydia who don't fall in love, there can be people like me who don't fall in lust, right?

  I mean, it just makes sense.

  I'd better get to bed. We got a long walk to Riften tomorrow!

  I figured Bronwen would want to GTFO, so I bolted.

  Bronwen's thoughts are sort of like mine, except I used to think everyone else was strange for being so damn horny all the time! I never thought I was broken, but I know a lot of Ace people who used to. I was yelled at for being "bad" at playing Fuck, Marry, Kill, though. I also gave Bronwen my particular kind of Ace-ness, in which she's sex-positive - likes it a lot, actually - but doesn't seek it out. She might sleep with someone if they asked, and she totally would for her old job, but she's not looking for it.