Chapter Two
Many days at sea pass by. Rayla sits tucked away in her cabin in an effort to stay out of the crew's way. New at sea, it took days to calm her stomach against the rises and pitfalls of the waves. Rayla's cabin is shared by a few other travelers, and each has a hammock to sleep in. Sitting up with her knees tucked to her chest, Rayla fingers three gifts her family had snuck away into her backpack. From her father: a letter of credit for withdrawals from the trade guilds he belongs to.
"You will need to prepare well to fare well," her father always said.
Rayla's mother packed her a highland wool traveling cloak and a finely-crafted ebony dagger. Rayla picks up Danny's gift and thumbs through it, A Traveling Guide to Skyrim, with its maps, lists of inns, and more. According to the map, her voyage is destined to sail northwest from Summerset Isle, around the countries of Hammerfell and High Rock, and then turn east to the northernmost coast of Skyrim, to dock in Solitude.
The boat sways as Rayla flips to the blank pages at the back of her book where she will log her journeys. Her hammock creaks and her heart hammers. It feels strange to sit still at the start of such a journey. What will befall her when she makes landfall in Skyrim? What adventures await?
***
After weeks at sea, the wintery springtime lands of Skyrim come into view. A land ravaged by dragons, traveled by many different factions, and bands had been—until recently—torn apart by war. Due to Aunt Katria's letters, Rayla was able to plan her passage but as she stands on the deck of the brig, seeing the nighttime land before her, her heart swells at the majesty of it all.
If dragons can fill the world with shock and fear, the silhouetted skyline of Solitude is a close contender in awe and dominating sights. The brig pulls into the shallows of the Sea of Ghosts, as sailors throw towlines to the docks. The city of Solitude hovers above the shoreline on a massive outcropping of stone. Towers, fortresses, and more stand tall behind the city's walls and hundreds of braziers light the stone walls like starlight. Solitude balances on a great arch shaped stone outcropping—big enough for a boat to pass through. The boat heaves and tips as it is pulled close to the dock. Rayla, her fingers tingling with excitement and a burst of energy roiling from her stomach to her heart, watches the gangplank as it slams down and the way off the ship is made.
Disembarking the sea-tested wood, Rayla takes her first step into Skyrim, snuggled deep into the wool traveling cloak from her mother as a chilly wind brushes her cheek and picks at her hair. Wearing just her backpack, the cloak, and light leather pants and a vest over a long-sleeved shirt, Rayla's ebony dagger is tucked onto the back of her belt and her boots are well worn, a pair she has worn since last Sun's Height.
A rush of people disembark the ship and Rayla finds herself moving down the docks and onto a well-tread path up to the city of Solitude. The nighttime air is brisk with a sharp smell of snow in the air. The forest and swamplands south of the city are silent in the darkness and the path up to Solitude is dark as the mottled cobblestones wander uphill away from the shore past a farm and mill, a tower, and to a stone archway where a soldier stands guard.
Stepping through the archway with only a nod from the guard, Rayla is suddenly surrounded by stone walls as the entrance gives way to grand doors into the city of Solitude. Red and black flags hang from the walls and the great oak doors open before her.
Solitude is just as Aunt Katria described in her letters. The sprawling stone walls are full of buildings such as the Bard's College, and the towering Blue Palace where the High King of Skyrim is. Making her way through the streets, Rayla asks a few passersby for directions and finds her father's trading partner, Kjelt Ahrol.
Kjelt and his family welcome Rayla as a guard might point a prisoner to their cell. Kjelt is a stern man with an eye for money. Their home is simple with a warm hearth and shelves cluttered with fancy trinkets, and plenty of books and maps. Kjelt quickly exchanges Rayla's letter of credit for some gold and a Trade Wit to use in the cities of Skyrim.
"Thank you, I appreciate it," Rayla says. Kjelt's wife looks down her nose at Rayla as her husband stows away his remaining coins.
"There are many inns in Solitude," Kjelt answers. They look ready for her to go. Rayla hurries back outside, away from their serious attitudes and returns to the chilly nighttime street. Maybe she visited too late; was she keeping them up?
Rayla walks up the main road of Solitude, reading signs that hang above each establishment. She checks into one inn, but they are full. The general store is closed for the night, and she wanders until she loops back to the main entrance—clearly taking a wrong turn somewhere. If she is supposed to go and find her aunt, she thinks she would be able to figure something out as simple as lodging, right? How can she face any of the challenges of her journey if she can't do this one thing? Before she can figure it out, a tall figure crosses her path, and she almost runs into them.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Rayla says.
The figure turns around and it is a tall and lithe feline Khajiit. Rayla flinches and takes a step back, but the Khajiit only bows his head.
His amber eyes look up as Rayla thinks of what to say. She's never seen a Khajiit before. She's only ever heard rumors...Do they really eat raw meat?
The Khajiit wears loose hand-woven robes and has a hood over his ears. He looks to the doors he was just about to exit out of, back to the paths outside of Solitude.
"This one humbly apologizes," he says, "but you look a little lost. Do you have lodgings for the night?"
"I...I just arrived in Solitude. I am hoping to travel south of here, but I—" Should she tell this stranger where she is going? Is that a good idea? Rayla stops talking and looks at her feet.
"If you haven't found somewhere to stay for the night, you are welcome to come to this one's camp. The Khajiit are not allowed to stay within the city walls. Well, the Khajiit are permitted but would rather not face any trouble if someone decides they are a bother. The caravan will be leaving for Whiterun in five days. Perhaps this matches your direction?"
"On Loredas?"
"Yes."
Rayla pauses and picks at the straps of her backpack. She is tired of walking around in the cold and it is very late. This Khajiit seems to be the first genuinely helpful person she has met in Solitude. Not that anyone was unkind—but can she trust him?
"What is your name?" Rayla asks.
"This one is called Ma'dran."
Rayla extends her hand. "Well, nice to meet you Ma'dran. I would be grateful to stay with your caravan and join your travels. I appreciate the support."
Ma'dran looks down at Rayla's hand. He extends his paw, more human-like than Rayla expected, and shakes her hand gently.
"Welcome, Rayla."
***
Rayla sleeps in her sleeping bag by a glowing fire that night in the Khajiit caravan's campsite. She returns to Solitude the next day to stock up on supplies and uses her new gold to purchase rations, salt, a leather fur-lined tunic, and fur gloves. She also purchases some ink to use for writing in her travel journal.
Rayla's time in Solitude slips away quickly as she explores the city and local areas for five days. When Loredas arrives, Rayla wakes up early and departs with the caravan for Whiterun.
Ma'dran travels with two guards and keeps all his wares and supplies in a horse-drawn cart with the guards walking alongside. Ma'dran's guards are Ma'jhad and Ra'zhinda, both are Khajiit with whiskered jowls and triangular ears.
They are kind companions full of stories as they all cross the wild roads of Skyrim. The weather on their first day is beautiful with the sun high in the sky and birds singing in the trees. Three-tusked sea lions rest on the shoreline and giant crabs bury themselves into the many rivulets and streams feeding into the swamps as they leave Solitude behind. Hours pass and the land becomes rockier and harsher as pine trees spiral upwards and thick bracken and hardy bushes fill out the undergrowth.
On occasion, a stag or deer appears for a flicker of an instant out in the woods or rocky plains, but to Rayla's disappointment, they run away far before she can see them clearly.
With 200 kilometers to go, the beauty of the first day never sways but the real challenge of walking so far each day puts a strain on Rayla. Water becomes a sacred resource—luckily plentiful with the crystalline creeks spilling down from the distant mountains. A tall white mountain range stands below Solitude's seat in the province of Haffingar. The Khajiit go around these slopes on the western side to avoid the snow and peaks without breaking stride as if they are having a peaceful stroll through flat farmland. It makes Rayla miss her afternoon walks on her father's vineyard and farm. Her head spins as she sweats and tries to keep pace. A few days into their journey, her feet feel like they are going to fall off and she wonders how much farther she can really go. How did Aunt Katria handle all this? What will it be like when she finds Aunt Katria and has to walk all the way back?
Eventually, Rayla gets used to the rhythm of their journey and the nights under the stars trading stories and tall tales. After the freezing snow passages around the mountains, a few more days pass until after their tenth day on the road, the worn cobblestone paths open to a large valley beneath the mountains and the walled city of Whiterun appears.