I'm a killer...
I know I didn't have a choice, but still... I feel dirty...
I sit on my knees in front of the dead young man in front of me.
I don't want to move... I don't know what to do.
Delphine comes over to me and put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright, Ragnar?..."
I shrug, taking a moment before speaking. "I don't know... I'm a killer..."
Delphine sighs, not to say "man up", but it sounded more like understanding.
"Ragnar... There's a difference between murder, and having to kill someone. If you hadn't done what you did... I would be dead..."
I wipe my tears. "Thank you... Delphine..."
She looks over at the necromancer's body, her expression stern, but not cold.
She tries to cheer me up.
"He was young... But still, he was corrupted by his lust for power, it's rather common among necromancers..."
She sighs again. "Practically every race in Tamriel consider necromancy evil you know... No one would blame you...
It's best this way, he had already passed the point of no return."
I nod. "I know, Delphine... It just doesn't make it any easier."
Delphine walks over to the necromancer, she puts her boot on his back and pulls the sword out from his torso.
She holds up the blade and study it.
"Iron... It's about the cheapest blade you can get, but atleast the blade isn't dull."
She wipes the blood from the blade off on some moss, then she hold it out to me, hilt first.
"Take it, Ragnar... Leave the mourning for later, if you must."
I take the sword, I get back up and put the sword back in it's sheath.
"Your arm, you're bleeding" I say.
Delphine chuckle.
"It's just a small flesh wound, the skeleton managed to lightly hit me when I had to dodge one of those damn ice spikes."
She ripes a bit of cloth from her shirt, and hands it to me.
"Want to do the honors?"
I'm pretty sure that she could have tied it herself, and is just trying to fix my mind on something else, but I appreciate the effort.
I take the cloth and start binding it around the wound on her arm.
Delphine gives me a smile.
"So, how's your neck? That female zombie, she bit you, didn't she?"
I finish tying the piece of cloth with a tight pull, making Delphine wince.
I put my hand on my neck, it stings, but it isn't that deep, it didn't bite through any major blood vessels.
"It hurts, but I won't bleed out..."
My eyes go big, remembering all the zombie horror movies I've watched.
"Shit, I won't turn, will I?!"
Delphine chuckles.
"Turn, what do you mean?"
"Turn! You know, into a zombie!" I ask, with a hint of fear in my voice.
Delphine tilts her head slightly.
"Turning into a zombie from a bite?... Where did you get that idea from? But no, that shouldn't be a problem."
She removes my hand from my neck and look at my wound.
"It's shallow, but you should probably wash the wound in the river on our way back, maybe undead spit could give the wound an infection, better to be safe than sorry."
Delphine looks at the dead necromancer, then she looks at me.
"You know, he won't be needing his gear anymore, and I'm guessing you don't have much, if you truly came to Skyrim last night."
"Then... You believe me?" I ask.
She scratches the back of her head.
"Well, to be honest I don't know what to believe.
We killed the necromancer before I could interrogate him... But he DID recognize you."
She glances over at the him, before letting out a sigh.
"However you did save my life, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubth..."
I smile. "That's good enough for me, thanks Delphine."
She nods.
I stare at the dead necromancer, conflicting emotions arise within me.
"Taking a dead man's gear... It feels weird."
Delphine sheathes her sword and crosses her arms.
"You're broke, right?... I suppose you don't expect me or Alvor to provide for you?"
I shake my head. *No, of course not..."
"Good, you're a grown man, and you'll have to learn to make a living for yourself in this world."
She gives me a firm tap on my shoulder.
"So, grab his gear, and use it well. It will serve a better purpose in your hands than his."
She's right, so I walk over to his corpse and flip him over onto his back.
There isn't much of value on him, except his steel dagger. His robe might have some sort of enchantment, but I can't run around in black clothing and a huge skull on my chest, I'd make just about anyone my enemy.
"Sorry buddy, but I need this more than you." I say as I untie the sheathe of his dagger from him, and wrap it around my own hip.
Delphine nods.
"Good, that dagger should be a better weapon than the iron blade, get it sharpened and it will stay sharp longer!
Go check his tent as well, might be something of use there."
His tent is primitive, furs stretched over a simple support of sticks, so small I had to crawl to go inside it.
It wasn't much inside either- just a weathered bedroll laid directly on the ground, a lantern, a book and a backpack.
I grab the book and the backpack and crawl back outside.
"What have you got there?" Delphine asks.
"Just a book and a backpack, I don't think it's empty." I reply.
I walk over to Delphine and hand her the book.
"Let's see, hmmm.." She briefly studies the book.
"Dark purple, the mark of oblivion on the cover. No doubt about it, it's a conjuration spell book."
She opens the book and skim through the first page.
"Conjure Ash Spawn... Hmm... This one isn't common here in Skyrim. If I'm not mistaken, it's a spell from Morrowind, the land of the dark elves. And I don't think it's a spell for beginners."
She hands me the book back with a comment.
"Unless you are magically gifted, it's of no value to you, however it should probably be worth some gold. Now, what do you have in the backpack?"
I open up the backpack and empty it's content onto the ground.
"Hmmm... Looks like, a small soul gem, and pouch, a silver amulet and a letter."
Delphine picks up the soul gem and the silver amulet, she studies them both shortly, then tap the amulet a few of times.
"The amulet doesn't seem to be enchanted, there is no glow in it. And this is just a petty soul gem, not worth much when enchanting, unless it's for practice or to recharge another item."
I reply. "So it's of little value to me, but maybe worth some gold?"
Delphine chuckle at me imitating her. "Exactly. What's in the pouch? Gold?"
I open up the pouch and count,.
"Yes! It's twenty gold inside of it!" I say gleefully.
She chuckles again, everything seems to be new to me, strengthening her faith in my story.
She takes a coin from me and study it.
"It's not a fortune, these are only gold plated with a thin layer, worth only one septim each.
I usually charge ten of these for a night at the inn. There are coins worth more, some are worth ten, and pure gold coins are worth a hundred septims."
Even though I'm a bit disappointed, I'm still happy about having some money now.
"Oh well, atleast I'm not completely broke anymore!"
Delphine toss the coin back to me.
"Don't worry, there's always work to be found; hunting, helping a farmer or a smith, it will earn you enough to get a room at the inn and a meal. Now, about that letter, does it say anything interesting?"
The letter already has it's seal broken, I open it and read.
"Dear Haldric.
I'm sorry I couldn't bid you farewell in person, but I had to leave early!
Atleast I was able to write this letter to you before I left."
"You are still young, but your Magicka is special, I sensed it!
You can become a great necromancer!
Having two summons at once at your early stage and age is a feat indeed."
"But I need you to grow in power before I can introduce you to the "Pale skull".
Do what I've instructed you to do, go to Riverwood, practice what I teached you and raise up minions."
"Refine your Magicka, become talented with the "ice spike" spell and "raise skeleton" spell that I thought you!
Avenge your father by killing the people of Riverwood, honor your father Halskar!
Raise Riverwood as your undead army.
This will be enough for me to welcome you into the order."
"And remember to perform the ritual detailed in the "Summon ash spawn" tome.
Perforn the ritual at midnight."
"There is a plan brewing Haldric, and I want you with me on this!
We will send our apprentices to different small towns across Skyrim, to slowly and discretely build and army while practicing. Come back to us when you have succeeded, I believe in you!
You're like the son I never had!"
"Sincerely your master, Mordyn.
And Haldric, burn this letter when you have read it."
As I finish reading the letter, I slowly lower it and look over at Delphine, I meet her gaze, her expression dead serious.
Shit, this isn't over...