Shor's Stone

Allysian Liore - Imperial

Hmm, Shor's Stone, I remember hearing this town mentioned while I was in the marketplace, Ally thought to herself, the town looks harmless enough, the people here look like miners. The local blacksmith beckoned Ally over to him. She obliged.

"Greetings traveler, you looking to make some quick coin?" the muscled blacksmith asked.

"I suppose, depends on the job," Ally replied.

"Well it's not much, but we got a spider problem in our mine. Ebony production's pretty much stopped since our workers refuse to go down there. Can't blame em, damn frostbite spiders already took care of Bijnar and Fjoma. We can't even give them a proper burial, nobody wants to go recover the bodies," the old smith sighed.

"What about the guards?"

"The Guards?! HA! That's a laugh. They said mine production isn't their problem, if the town folds they'll just get reassigned. FEH! If the spiders come outta the mine, then yeah, they're required to take care of em. But their *ahem* duty ends at the mine entrance. Filthy good-for-nothings. I even went over to Riften, only guy I could find willing to do it was some half-drunk Mage at the Inn. He wanted 500 septims for his trouble, in advance! Little town like this can't afford his rate. You able to help us out?"

"Let me think about it, I'll let you know after I walk around town a bit. Your name was?"

"Oh Filnjar, sorry. But alright, guess I won't hold my breath. Price of imported ebony ore is gonna kill me."

Regretfully, Ally took her leave of the blacksmith and wandered about town. She saw the miners seated around a fire obviously not working despite the sun telling her it's midday. As she approached, one of the miners stood up and dashed over to her.

"Hey there, sweetheart. You look lost, anything Odfel's famous pickaxe can help you with? You know my pickaxe has dug more holes than.... well I'll just let you use your own imagination," the man said, most cavalierly. The seated Orc miner groaned. Odfel approached Ally and put an arm over her shoulders.

"Sorry, no. I heard there's some problem with spiders in the mine?" asked Ally as she stepped out from under Odfel's advance.

The seated Orc remained unturned but answered, "Yeah, some spiders decided to use Redbelly Mine as a nest. Crawled in there while we was sleeping. Damn shame about Fjoma and Bijnar--"

"-- Sad case too, you coulda seen me crack rock!" Odfel interrupted. He leaned over to Ally showing her his pickaxe. "You see miss, this here is 'Rocksplinter', cuts through stone like a hot knife through butter. I'd be happy to bring my pick to your mine."

Ally glanced at the pickaxe and gave Odfel a sly smile, which he returned in kind. She leaned into him chest-to-chest, tip-toed, and whispered into his ear. "You see Odfel, this is 'Lineage-Ender'," Ally's unsheathed steel dagger pressed flatly into Odfel's crotch, "it permanently severs family trees like a hot knife through butter. I'd be happy to show you." Her lips made a slight popping sound as she smiled in his ear.

"Uh.. no.. thanks. Sorry." Odfel carefully back-stepped removing his crotch from the dagger's razor edge and returned to his seat near the fire. A female miner had joined the group during the exchange.

"Sorry about Odfel, he's just an ass, no real explanation or excuses. He is who he is. I'm Sylgja, this is Grogmar or just 'Grog' for short. Are you here to help us?" the young woman asked. Odfel got up and left the fire, catching up to the female guard that patrolled the area.

Ally stepped over to the fire and sat on the stool that Odfel had just vacated. "Possibly, it could be quite risky. My name is Ally by the way."

"Yeah tell me about it. Not only are the spiders dangerous Ally, but you need to watch out for cave-ins too. The mine is pretty old and not in the best shape. I got hurt in there a while ago trying to deliver some food to the men; injured my leg pretty badly. Thankfully, a Priest of Mara happened to travel through our village and Filnjar flagged him down. I probably would have lost the leg if not for him," Sylgja related as she stared into the fire.

"Sorry to hear about your accident, but I'm glad you're back on your feet."

"I am, sort of, but I'm still unable to travel. My parents worry about me, they live over at Darkwater Crossing, a few miles west of here. I could probably make the distance one-way, but none of these guys are willing to help me get there, I don't know what I'd do if a wolf or bear attacked. Would it be too much trouble to ask you to deliver something for me? It's just a bundle of letters telling my parents that I'm okay."

"I'd be happy to though I don't know the way to Darkwater Crossing. Perhaps I can head back to Riften and ask a friend," Ally figured she could ask Balimund for directions.

"Hmm okay, let me get the letters," Sylgja left the fire and stepped into her home for a minute and returned, handing the bundled up letters to Ally.

"I could draw you a simple map, that should help." Sylgja went back into the house to grab some parchment and a quill. When she returned she drew Ally a map, pointing out various landmarks along the way.

"This is Clearspring Tarn, it's a small pool of water that my mother and father used to take me swimming in when I was younger. Not much dangerous there, you'll be able to sit and rest I'm sure. There is a cave below the Tarn that I would avoid," Sylgja laughed, "When we were young, some of us used to dare each other to go into the cave, we'd see who could go deepest. I never won." Sylgja continued drawing on the parchment.

"Next up is Snapleg Cave," Sylgja drew the cave and placed a large X over it. "I would not go in there, last I heard there was some dark magick associated with the place. After Snapleg, it's just a short northerly run over to Darkwater Passing. When you're there, look for Anneke or Verner, those are my parents. I'm sure they'll reward you with something for your troubles. They may also ask you to make a return trip here. I know you're not a courier, but I'd definitely appreciate it."

Ally accepted the map and letters and placed them into her satchel. There was still the business about the spiders to deal with.

"I can't make any promises, but I'm going to take a peek into the mine. I'll let you know what I find. If it's too much for me to handle, I'll be back and be on my way to Darkwater Crossing."

"Okay. Please be safe in there," Sylgja offered.

Ally nodded back at Sylgja and entered the cave. The sulfuric smell quickly enveloped her, causing her to cough. She immediately muffled her cough as she heard the clicking noises of spider legs on rock. From a distance a frostbite spider spit its web at her. She nimbly dodged the projectile and charged in for attack. She sidestepped the spider's strike and buried her dagger into the head of the spider.

Another spider made its way up the ramp from the depths below. Ally dispatched this one with ease, followed by another, and another. All told there were six frostbite spiders in the mine, all of them met the same end. Realizing the value of Frostbite Venom, Ally was a bit miffed that she was without vials to extract the precious poison. As she stepped past the last large spider carcass, she noticed some dessicated corpses. Fjoma and Bijnar, she concluded.

After exiting the mine, Ally dusted herself off and made her way over to Filnjar's forge. He looked surprised to see her.

"My that was quick. How bad was the infestation?"

"I took care of six of them. Didn't see any others. Hopefully, that's the end of your problems."

"Thanks so much, we can finally put Shor's Stone back on the map! Here's some reward money for your trouble," Filnjar handed Allysian a bag of 500 septims.

"Filnjar, this is too much, I can't accept this," Ally offered the bag back to the blacksmith.

"Nah, don't you worry about it. This IS an ebony mine after all, we'll do okay. You deserve it. By the way, word is that you're taking some of Sylgja's letters over to her folks at Darkwater. That's really kind of you. Another reason why you deserve the money."

"Speaking of that delivery, I'd better get going, don't want to be caught in the wild after dark. Thanks again Filnjar, maybe we'll see each other again," Ally smiled at the blacksmith.

"Oh, almost forgot, the miners wanted you to have this," Flinjar hands Ally a sack of 8 ebony ingots.

"Wow, this really is too much."

"Nah, the boys wanted you to have it. If not for you, we may have never re-opened the mine."

"Well do you think you could hold it for me? I'll pick it up at another time, it's too much for me to haul to Darkwater and back to Riften."

"Riften? We have a supply delivery heading that way tomorrow. I can probably stick these ores on there no problem. You know anyone there that you would trust?"

Ally smiled, "Yes! Please see to it that Balimund gets those will you? He'll be so happy." Ally removed her dagger and started carving a message into the ingot.

Survived another day, will be back in town in a few days.

Love, A.

She handed the ingot back to Filnjar and set off for Darkwater Crossing.