The Journey of Jeanna Mannav, Knight Cleric of the Nine.
Part Two – Uthgerd the Unbroken
Jeanna awoke with a groan. She sat up slowly, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Her stomach growled and her throat was parched. Dammnit. There’s probably not much fresh water or edible food left around here, she thought with a frown. She slid to the side of the bed and looked down at the gear she had dropped there. She dug the small satchel Alvor had given her out from under the armor. Jeanna was relieved when she pulled out a pair of apples and a half full waterskin. She drank what was left and stood up, crossing the room and chomping into one of the green apples as she approached the wardrobe. Setting the apple on the desk for a moment she quickly undressed out of the nasty ragged robe, tossing it onto the back of a chair. I’ll burn it later. She regarded the Order robe hanging in the wardrobe. Do I really want to get that filthy? She smirked to herself. No, I don’t .
She turned and grabbed up the apple again, munching away as she went downstairs to the basement for another look around. She passed by the wall of shrines and the statue of Mara to the armory. In an alcove at the back was a giant cask. She approached, it and took another bite of her apple as she knelt before the spigot. Hope this isn’t wine or ale. She turned it on and sighed with relief when some water poured out. Thank the Divines. Too old to drink, but good enough for a wash. She finished off her apple as she walked around searching for a bucket and a rag.
One hour and another apple later, Jeanna was feeling refreshed and a bit cleaner as she worked on seeing if the armor she found would fit her at all. Much to her dismay, she found it much too large for her small stature. She grabbed the robe and slipped it on. She pulled on the boots given to her by Alvor’s wife, Sigrid. They were a bit large, intended for a Nord woman’s feet and not her tiny ones. She started checking off a list of things to do in Whiterun as she gathered up her stuff into a pack she had found.
Food. Water. Armor refitting. New shoes. A horse. She sighed. Might not have enough for that horse yet.
* * *
The walk to Whiterun was blissfully uneventful. She was impressed by what she assumed was the jarl’s keep on top of the hill. She looked over the horses in the stables as she approached and saw a black one, saddled and ready to go it seemed. That’s a fine animal. Wonder if that one is for sale.
Lost in her thoughts, Jeanna failed to notice a large Nord woman walking away from the stables. Jeanna bumped her arm against the woman’s heavily armored side.
“Oh! Sorry, I wasn’t –“ Jeanna stopped talking and ducked as the large woman swung a gauntleted fist at her head. Her warrior instinct took over and Jeanna began dodging and weaving backwards away from the furious woman, searching for an opening. The big woman pulled back, winding up for a powerful strike. Jeanna took the opportunity to punch the woman in the nose and was rewarded with a searing pain in her knuckles. It’s like hitting a wall! Have to try something else.
Jeanna ducked another punch then stood quickly, putting all the power she could muster into a brutal uppercut. It felt like it might have broken her hand, but the Nord woman grunted and staggered, falling to her rear onto the hard ground. Jeanna took the chance to begin a healing spell on her, knitting the bones back together. She looked up in shock when the woman started laughing.
“By Ysmir that was a good fight! My name is Uthgerd and you know how to throw a punch! You really rattled my teeth. Maybe even broke a few.” Uthgerd spat blood onto the dirt and rubbed her jaw.
Jeanna wanted to scream at the Nord. “Are you insane?”
Uthgerd grinned and began getting herself up off the ground. “A true Nord is always willing to prove her worth.”
“I’m not a Nord,” Jeanna said in exasperation.
As Uthgerd stood to her full height before Jeanna, the young knight was struck silent. Uthgerd was an imposing figure, clad in full plate mail with a greatsword strapped to her back. She had crimson red hair crowning a scarred, haggard face, and a pair of light blue eyes. Jeanna knew that this woman had been strikingly beautiful once, but still had an inviting smile and an attractiveness despite her battle scars.
“No, obviously not,” said Uthgerd, “I owe you for the fun, though! “ She clapped a hand on Jeanna’s shoulder. “Come and share a mead with me!”
Jeanna smiled up at her. “I’m not much of a drinker.” Her stomach chose that particular moment to rumble loudly. Uthgerd laughed. “Then I shall buy you a warm meal, my friend. Come, walk wth me. Did you have other business in Whiterun? “
Jeanna tried to keep pace with the long legged Uthgerd. She rattled off her list of things to do then started in on the reasons why she needed all these things done. It was an odd way to start a friendship, Jeanna knew, but she was glad to have someone to talk with.
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Have some pictures for this but can't upload them from Xbox Live for some reason. Will keep trying. I just didn't want to lose the work I had already did.