Chapter One

W…where am I? The last thing I remembered was driving home after an especially long day in the kitchen. Chef was on our asses because a high-profile client was coming to eat dinner with their entourage, so everything had to be perfect. Easily the most stressful night of my entire life, but everything after cleaning up the restaurant and turning on the I95 is a blur.

But now I'm…not exactly sure where I am. All I can see is an endless darkness expanding in every direction. It's all so disorienting, being able to see but not see anything, it's so quiet too.

Greetings mortal.

What in the…some sort of textbox appeared in front of me, casting a small ethereal blue glow in the vast empty darkness.

You have been randomly selected from the billions of souls from your planet to Beta test our new Gamer System, if you accept of course.

A…system? What in the hell is a system? And where am I?

The System is a power granted to mortals, human or otherwise, by a higher power. This system turns the recipient's life into a video game of sorts, much like your worlds game genre of an RPG, and sends them into universes and worlds your people thought of as fiction

Okay…but where am I? And what makes my system different from the others if I'm meant to beta test the new system you mentioned?

You couldn't comprehend where you are at the very moment, but an accurate description would be the realms between life and death. Your soul was pulled from the path to the afterlife and brought here to us, as have other humans like yourself before.

I died?!

Correct. It is to our understanding that on your way home your mortal body suffered what you humans refer to as a 'Heart attack.' To our knowledge, it was caused by overt amounts of stress and overworking.

Jesus Christ…Not how I thought I'd go out, honestly I'm pretty disappointed. But back to the system, you mentioned that I would be beta testing a new system if I wanted to, what'd you mean by that?

Normally, our players are granted what we refer to as the 'Numerical System'. This type of system, as the name implies, is heavily focused on numerical values. Stats are the backbone of the 'Gamers' strength, much like old-school RPG games. Your system, however, is what we're calling the 'Conqueror System.' Your power will be determined by the amount of land you control, and benefits/rewards will be given based on the amount of people that live under your rule.

Oh so it's like those management games?

If that is how you wish to interpret the system

What if I decline the offer?

Declining the offer will result in your soul placed back onto the path to the afterlife, where your soul will be judged before being sent to whichever afterlife you deserve of the religion you believed in, and if you were atheist then you would then be placed into the cycle of reincarnation, perhaps you shall be reborn again as a goat or flower.

Hmm…

You know what, fuck it. Let's do it…uh, whatever you are.

Wonderful. Now, let's get started, shall we?

The world that you are being sent to has already been selected, get ready player, for Skyrim of the Elder Scrolls universe is your starting ground, as it's the game you have played the most, so it will be an easier assimilation.

…oh fuck me sideways.

Adding starting gamer skills…

Gamers Body (passive): You are a gamer, as such whenever you rest in a bed your health, magicka, and crippling injuries will be fully healed after 8 hours of sleep

Gamers Mind (Passive): You are resistant to Psychological Attacks. You are able to think calmly and rationally in otherwise stressful situations. Beings of Higher power can bypass this skill if you aren't powerful enough.

Observe (Active): You can Observe people and objects around you to gain a brief description of the person/object in question. Does not work on beings substantially more powerful than you

Please select a race:

[Argonian] [Breton] [Dark Elf] [High Elf] [Imperial] [Nord] [Orc] [Khajiit] [Redguard] [Wood Elf] [Falmer] [LOCKED] [LOCKED] . . .

Okay, lets think about this. Argonian is already out, along with falmer. I have no idea if selecting falmer would make me a snow elf, which would be pretty cool, or one of those cave dwelling fuckers. Can't risk it, and I never really liked Argonians whenever I played Skyrim.

Being a Khajit is also out, I liked playing them as a character, but in Skyrim the Khajit, as well as the Orcs for that matter, are discriminated against heavily. It would just make things harder for me in the short and long run if I chose either of them. Though not having berserker's rage is kind of a let down…

As much as I like the elven races, they also have to go as well. Being a High Elf is just asking for stormcloaks to attack me on sight, which would be too much of an annoyance for me to actively stick to that choice. The Thalmor wouldn't even like me either, because as far as I know if a high elf isn't born into the Thalmor they're seen as lesser. Wood elves just weren't great in the game in my experience, and Dark elves also have it pretty rough.

That just leaves being a Redguard, an Imperial, or a Nord, and that's just an easy pick. While Redguards are fine, they're also not seen favorably by the locals of Skyrim. And honestly, their ability to regenerate stamina in the game wasn't my favorite. But between being an Imperial or a Nord, only one of them pairs best with my System…

[Nord] Race Selected

Perk Frost Resistance Added!

Frost Resistance (Passive): Grants 50% resistance to ice magic, Resistant to cold climates

Racial Ability added!

Battle Cry (Active): The user bellows out a fierce battle cry. Opponents equal to or lower in power to you will cower and attempt to run away. Chance of working on more powerful opponents gets exponentially more difficult.

Nord was the obvious choice to me. Skryim is mostly populated by Nords, of course, but they're also, to my knowledge, the only race in the game that isn't discriminated against by any of the holds. I could essentially go anywhere and not be pulled aside. After all, I'm just a Nord, nothing strange or unusual about that. Beyond that, being a Nord will make it easier for those under me to accept me as their leader, at least with the capitals of the holds. I bet it wouldn't go over well with the Orc Strongholds, but there are only four of those in the entirety of the game of Skryim. I bet there will be more when I'm there, but they will never outmatch the population of nords.

And if I go for High King? Well, it would be easier to accept a Nord High King, right?

Next comes Character Creation. Due to your chosen race, there are limitations on what you are allowed to add to the character. If requested, we have pre created characters made by past users who went to Skyrim.

Yeah, I'm not that creative. I'll just scroll through the pre created models.

It took some time, but eventually I found a character I was very satisfied with. A tall 6'6 Nord man with tan-ish skin and a muscular body. Combined with his long dirty blond hair that reached down to his pecs, their well-groomed beard, hard steel blue eyes and trimmed eyebrows he looked like a very attractive modern Viking. To add a bit of a custom flair, even if it was tiny, I looked through the voice options and found Tatsu from The Way of the HouseHusband, though his voice actor also voices willy tyber from ATOT and Fromaggio from JJBA Golden Wind so those would also be accurate descriptions.

What would you like your name to be?

Hmm.. I don't know, Give me a random one?

Random name selected:

Ragnar

Yeah, I can get behind that.

Now let's go over your stats.

Name: Ragnar

Race: Nord

Level: 1

EXP: 0/100

Health: 100 Magicka: 100 Stamina: 100

STR: 10

INT: 10

END: 10

DEX: 10

SP: 5

PP: 2

Land Controlled:

-N/A

People under your leadership:

Happy: N/A

Neutral: N/A

Unhappy: N/A

This sort of looks like the Skyrim system

This was intended, as it's familiar with you. As this is a Beta System, if we find it prudent, we will update and patch as we see fit. But for now, it's a simple system. STR is your Strength, INT Is your Magicka modifier, END is your Health modifier, and DEX is your Stamina modifier. All by a factor of 10, barring STR. We can go into further detail pertaining what each stat means and what they affect at a later time. SP are your Stat points. You will receive 2 every level, and they must be used within 24 hours of receiving them, otherwise they will disappear. PP are perk points. You can use them to purchase perks, or to upgrade perks you already have. Unlike SP, you can preserve PP for however long you wish.

Will the Skyrim skill trees be a thing?

Yes, however they will have no affect on your leveling. You level up by gaining EXP, how you gain EXP can vary but it's required to level up. The amount of land you own, along with the people under your rule, gives you more stat buffs and increases. We will discuss and explain further when you get property and subjects. For now, distribute your SP.

Okay…Distribute 2 points to both STR and END and the last into DEX

Name: Ragnar

Race: Nord

Level: 1

EXP: 0/100

Health: 120 Magicka: 100 Stamina: 110

STR: 12

INT: 10

END: 12

DEX: 11

SP: 0

PP: 2

Land Controlled:

-N/A

People under your leadership:

Happy: N/A

Neutral: N/A

Unhappy: N/A

Now for a starting location. You are not allowed to choose one of the 5 major holds to start out in or anywhere in their province. You may select from Morthal, Winterhold, Dawnstar, or Falkreath. From them, you may choose an abandoned fort or cave. Please select on the Map provided on where you would like to start out.

A large, highly detailed map of Skyrim appeared before me. Markarth, Windhelm, Riften, Whiterun, and Solitude were grayed out, with me unable to even zoom in on their regions. But everywhere else was fair game, even High Hrothgar for some reason, but I wouldn't choose that even if I wanted to. That would be a bitch to climb every time I wanted to get back without a reliable means of transportation.

Alright, let's eliminate places that are…undesirable. Like Dawnstar and Winterhold, those places are barren except for ice and snow. Sure, Dawnstar is sort of useful with an iron and quicksilver mine, but beyond that and the abandoned dark brotherhood location it's got nothing. And the cherry on top is that they're all plagued by nightmares! Not having that. And Winterhold? Who in their right mind would choose them. There's literally nothing there except the College of Winterhold, who practically govern themselves. Even if I did gain control over Winterhold, I would have no leverage or power over the college. Plus, I'd be super close to Ulfric, who would demand my compliance with his silly little war, and I wouldn't be in a position to argue with him. Ideally, I need to be as far from both Tullius and Ulfric as possible. So that leaves Falkreath as my only option. Honestly, it's not a bad location. It's by far the best hold climate wise, maybe competing with Riften hold on that, but Falkreath is also home to large amounts of forest and wild animals. Perfect for lumber trade and with an abundant source of meat and farmland, and if I recall correctly there aren't actually a lot of enemies in the hold, the most dangerous being that one dragon In the snowy mountains south and that vampire that's holed up in Bloodlet Throne.

I zoomed into the Falkreath Hold, and after careful consideration I ended up Selecting Cracked Tusk Keep. It's an old, abandoned Nord fort nestled in a pocket in the southwest mountains. With its optimal position for defending from enemies, the fact that we're so close to the mountain that I could start a mine, AND I'm at the border of Hammerfell, so I could start trade agreements with the nearest town once I establish myself. But that's all for later, gotta start out small and work my way up.

Starting Location Selected, Replacing Orc bandit leader Ghunzul with Ragnar…

Ragnar is now the acting leader of Bandit group Tusk Raiders!

Updating Profile…

Land Controlled:

-Cracked Tusk Keep (+2 END)

People under your leadership:

Happy: 0

Neutral: 5

Unhappy: 0

Please Select your starting gear!

Armor:

Light Armor Pack (Hide Armor)

Heavy Armor Pack (Iron Armor)

Mixed Armor Pack

Mage Pack (Novice Robes and Hood)

Weapon:

Axe (Great or War)

Sword (Great or Regular)

Mace(Warhammer or Regular)

Tomes (Sparks, Frostbite, or Flame)

I'll take a Mixed Armor pack with the War Axe

Iron Chestplate Equipped

Hide Boots Equipped

Hide Bracers Equipped

Iron Shield Equipped

Iron War Axe Equipped

Before we send you off to your next life, would you like to spin our Lottery Wheel? This is entirely optional.

What does the Lottery Wheel entail?

Spinning the Wheel gives you a 70% to land something that you benefit from. The other 30% will result in something that actively works against you, like a curse or system restriction. If you do get something beneficiary, it could be anything from mildly convenient to otherworldly. It all depends on what you land on. As a thank you from the system to you, we would like to offer you a guaranteed spin that will land you something beneficiary. Anything afterwards will be up to chance

Bet, spin that wheel!

Spinning…

Adept tier spell tome (transmute) added to inventory!

Would you like to spin again?

Nah I'm good, ready whenever you are.

Sending you to Skyrim in 3…

2…

1…

Good Luck Player!

The screen disappeared from my view, and I felt my 'body' being tugged forward, despite me not having one. It was a weird sensation, but all the same the darkness sped past me as I rocketed towards a bright white light. Getting closer and closer, until finally the light was too much for me and I shut my eyes tightly.

When I came to the first thing I could pick up was the smell of the outdoors, and how clean the air was...and the smell of iron? I can't remember the last time I smelled clean air before…well, I died. Slowly opening my eyes, what greeted me was an orcs dead eyes staring back at me, his throat viciously sliced open. I slowly looked down at my right hand, clenching a now bloody iron war axe. I close my eyes again and took a calming inhale of breath and opened my eyes again, exhaling as I do. I turned halfway around and stared at the 5 Orc Bandits.

+25XP

"He…he killed Ghunzul!"

"Does that make him the new boss?"

"Like hell I'm going to follow some Nord"

"What are you going to do Guruk, challenge him? He just killed the strongest of us!"

"Tsk, doesn't even matter if we don't like it. Strongest rules don't matter who it is. That how it works in the Strongholds anyways."

"Isn't that just between us Orcs, Ganvuk?"

"Same principle applies here, don't it?"

"I guess…"

Ignoring their hushed conversation, I let my eyes roam across the orc bandits. None of them look outstanding but I supposed I could have ended up with worse starting companions. Each were equipped with hide armor, their weapons varied between each of them, but otherwise were pretty okay equipment wise. We'd need to start digging into the mountain immediately to get a head start on better equipment, but that can wait until later. Turning around fully, startling them a bit, I rest my shield hand on my hip, my right hand absently holding my axe.

"Your former leader, Ghunzul was it, is dead. If I'm not mistaken, in Orcish culture it's the strongest that lead. So unless any of you wish to challenge me for the position, I'm now the active leader of this band of bandits."

I let the silent invitation sit for a moment. When no one stepped forward I continued,

"If you would, please step forward one at a time from left to right. State your name and what you believe to be your best skill along with your current role is for the group."

The assembled orcs looked at each other until the left most orc shrugged and stepped forwards. He was a tall dark green Orc with large tusks in his lower jaw, just under 6'3, with braided black hair that started from his hairline and twisted around his neck to rest on his right shoulder. His very muscular body was adorned with hide armor that looks like it was made from several Elk, and strapped to his back was a bow, likely a hunters bow and quiver full of arrows. His bright green eyes stared into mine as he spoke.

"I'm Morbrukk, I'd say my best skill is either tracking or crafting rings. My current role in the group is finding us food and merchants who cross the roads."

With his piece said, I nod to him as he steps back in line. The next Orc stepped forwards. Light green, less muscular than the first but strong all the same. 6 feet tall, with light black hair shaved on both sides, the remaining hair pulled into a ponytail that rested on the back of his neck. Garbed in a regular shirt and hide pants made from a deer, with 2 knives strapped to his sides, both appear to be steel from the look of the guard.

"They call me Umak. My best skill is potion crafting, specifically healing and stamina restoration potions. My role is making potions for the group."

The next Orc stepped forwards. The smallest of the 5, standing at 5'11. His Blackish green skin matched his equally blackish green hair that was spiked up in the shape of a mohawk. His Buff form Accentuated with his no armored shirt, only garbed in hide pants and boots, each made from a bear based on the fur. Strapped to his bare back was a large iron greatsword.

"My Bloodkin call me Guruk, you may call me Ruk. My best skill aside from fighting is smithing, weapons to be more precise. My role for the group is to be the muscle for when we engage our marks."

The fourth Orc stepped up as Guruk went back in line. Standing at a solid 6'2, ripped with ivy green muscles and garbed in hide armor made from what appears to be made from foxes. No arm guards but he did wear iron boots, with two iron axes strapped to his sides.

"I am called Gavnuk. My best skill would be building, I build the wooden structures you see around us. My current role for the group is to build, but when we go on raids I act as muscle with Guruk."

Finally, the last Orc stepped forward. By far the strangest Orc of the bunch. Standing at a whopping 6'5, his golden green skin was garbed in hide armor made from what I can only assume are wolves, his hood covered his hair, but I could see his emerald green eyes clearly. Strapped to his back was a staff made of oak wood, the top of it twisting like a corkscrew right up to where the orb resided, with what appeared to be 4 connecting roots holding said orb in place.

"I am referred to as Kragrau. My best skill would either be skinning the game we catch or my use of conjuration magick. My role for the group is to engage with the mark, and to summon help if needed."

Huh, they're pretty diverse in skillset. This is great, I already have a pretty good starting group. Now, how to best utilize what I have…

"Alright then, to finish this off I'm Ragnar. My best skill to contribute would be cooking at the moment, but I'd say I'm pretty good with my axe, yeah? My current role for the group is active leader and whatever else we may need."

"Whatever else we need?"

I turned to look at Gavnuk, "Yes, currently we're a pretty small team, so it's understandable that we don't have enough people doing what we need to do. So that's where I come in, as leader I can't just expect you guys to do important things for the group and not help out myself. Gavnuk if you need help with building I can help get the materials needed. Kragrau, I can't help out with what you do but all you have to do is ask and I'll try my best. Guruk, I can help get materials for smithing. Speaking of which I have an idea that we can all go over later. Morbrukk, I can help prepare the food that you catch for all of us. And Umak, I can go with you foraging for ingredients."

I watched as my crew visibly got more approving of me. Their eyes shone, backs stood at attention, and their focus sharp.

"Now, it's still daylight so we can get work done. I'm not arrogant enough to bark orders day one or to tell you what you should be doing, so just do what you normally did under Ghunzul for the next day or so, then we can see if we can improve anything you guys do or not. Gavnuk, if you aren't already stay behind could you do so? I'd like to run something by you first before I actively implement the idea."

The orcs all collectively nodded and went off to do their thing. Gavnuk motioned for me to follow him to a little hut made just to the right of the fort's front entrance. Sitting down on a handmade wooden bench, Gavnuk and I got down to business.

"What does Ragnar wish to discuss with me?"

"I wanted to know the current materials we have to work with."

"Well, most of our materials come from the forests surrounding us. We have a surplus of wood and leather, but not many minerals to work with. That little tidbit has been annoying Guruk for a while now, he hasn't been able to make anything in a while. We were thinking of raiding of an iron shipment that the blacksmiths in Falkreath order every week or so. Ghunzul was opposed to it for now because we had only been established here for 2 weeks at most but was willing to do it in a month or so."

"Hm, if things don't turn up in 2 weeks to a month, then we can attempt a raid on the iron shipment, we'd have to do it further up from where we're currently set up, however. It would be a hassle to transport everything, but we would be able to retain our anonymity and keep our base hidden for longer. But I do have an idea that could work. The Fort is built into the pocket of this mountain, we could dig into it and maybe find some minerals to use."

"And I assume you want me to build support beams and the likes?"

"Yeah, and I wanted to get your opinion on the idea, see what the consensus is. I doubt that besides you and Guruk, the others don't care as much about the iron situation. And based on what you said about Guruk I think he'd be on board with the mining idea."

"Hmm…The idea has merit. The problem would be that if the mine turns out to be a bust then we've wasted what precious nails we have left on the support beams. On the other hand, even if it is a waste, we would have a lot more stone to work with, we could fix up our walls and parts of the building that are falling apart. So, in a way, fail or succeed we would be gaining more than loosing."

"I think I can take care of the iron nail situation if it gets bad enough. As unfortunate as this is, unlike you guys I can walk into the holds without suspicion. I could buy some nails if we really needed it. Though, much like you guys, I'd rather not spend septims if we can help it. But regardless, I plan on establishing the mine's entrance next to the basement door on the left of the building, it's in the centermost position of the mountain behind us, so it would be the most secure area to mine in right?"

"I'm not sure where the best place to mine is on a mountain, boss, but it sounds logical enough to me. I can get a couple of basic supports ready in 5 hours if I work fast enough. If you help me gather the spare logs and help take measurements, we could knock this out within 3 hours."

I nodded my head and stood back up, following Gavnuk to get the tools and wood necessary to build the support beams.

(-)

Making the support beams was so much harder than I originally thought. Turns out, getting precise measurements without any proper equipment was super challenging, especially when I didn't really know what I was doing. Gavnuk, bless his soul, was patient and understanding of my lack of knowledge and guided me through the whole process. In the end we managed to create 5 support beams in total. I don't know the proper measurements to make a proper mine, but 10 feet between each beam should be fine right? But that comes later, right now these beams are useless without the space to place them. Luckily, whoever left the fort originally left some pickaxes in the basement. They're not the best quality, but they'll get the job done, and if we manage to mine up some iron then we can just make new ones!

I mined for hours, making sure the length and height of the space I was digging would be comfortable enough to fit someone of my height and another person behind me, both being able to swing their pickaxes reasonably well. I managed to get 5 feet into the mountain on my own, but by that point it had gotten dark out. Wiping my brow, I exited my newly created….hole? It's definitely not a mine yet. I even got a new skill for all of my efforts!

Mining (1/20): Increased mining efficiency by 5%. Chance of mining double the ore .05%

Regardless, I left my pickaxe leaning by the entrance and headed to the inside of the fort where the Deer caught by Morbrukk and skinned by Kragrau was. I cut and portioned the venison I needed, and started to salt preserve the rest of the unused meat. I grabbed some butter sitting on a tray and placed it into the cooking pot above the fire. When the butter had fully melted, I tossed in some Leeks and minced garlic, waited until they simmered and then added in some flour to thicken it up. I grabbed some spare Alto Wine we had lying around and added it to the pot. 10 minutes after I added the cubed Vension, cut potatoes, carrots, elves ears, some dill and thyme for flavor, salt, and then poured water until everything was barely covered and set the lid on the pot. I put out most of the fire until what I had left was just enough heat to let the stew simmer. 2 hours go by, and then it done. Taking a spoonful I tasted it, added a bit more salt and nodded in satisfaction. Honestly it would have been better if we had some stock but feasibly that wouldn't really be possible unless we made it early in the morning/overnight and used all of it at once, because as far as I'm aware of there isn't refrigeration in Skyrim.

A quick shout later and the rest of the men came trickling in. I served them all a bowl and we chowed down after a long day. The atmosphere was still a bit awkward with me, so I chose to stay silent for the most part. 2 servings of stew in, I piped up.

"If you guys wouldn't mind, would you all share what you've been doing today? I'll go first. Gavnuk and I spent most of the day building support structures for a new mine that I'm starting to dig. The hope is that we'll hit an iron deposit soon and we can start mining them up."

Guruk looks very pleased, "Malacath be praised. Good idea Leader Ragnar, we needed that iron badly."

"You mean you needed that iron badly, Guruk."

"Oh shut your trap Morbrukk, lest you forget we need iron for your arrow tips so you need the iron as much as I do, if not more than myself."

"Hmph, anyways. Besides hunting the deer we're eating I've been scouting the surrounding area for marks or other points of interest. So far I've seen some ruins in the distance, North east of our current position, though I didn't get close as I could see a Falkreath watchtower behind it on the hill's edge."

"Any idea if it would be worth checking out?"

"I never got close enough to check around the area. Though, it is said that Spriggain will make their homes in abandoned structures and trees. Based on that, I wouldn't go near it for now. We're not strong enough to take on the likes of a Spriggain and come out unscathed."

Just as I thought, but still good to know these men know their own limitations. I don't know what I'd do if I had to deal with idiots who had no sense of self preservation. I turn to the last two members of our little group and motioned for them to speak.

"Unlike the others, I don't have a clear task to do when outside of raiding so I just continued to study and practice my Magicka."

"Oh? Have you made any progress?"

Kragrau let out a proud smile stretch across his face, "As a matter of fact I have. It's taken me a week, but I've managed to make great progress in learning the spell 'Fear'. If my plan works we'll be able to just scare our marks away from their carts, leaving the loot for us. Other than that, my experience in Flames has gotten better."

"That's great to hear Kragrau. If you had to guess, how long would you say you would need until you've learned the spell?"

"Hm, if the pacing continues as is then I should have the spell down within 4 days. You might not know this, being a Nord and all, but learning spells gets progressively easier with each phase of learning it. I've already gotten through the first phase: understanding how the spell functions. I just need to learn how to manipulate my Magicka correctly and then find some targets to practice it on."

"Fantastic. Don't feel pressured if you haven't gotten it down in the estimated time. I'm not trying to undermine your skill and talent, I just wanted it to be known that there's no rush to learn the spell in 4 days. But regardless, what about you Umak?"

"I've increased our supply of three basic alchemical flowers, those being blue, red, and purple flowers. I've also found quite a bit of blisterwart and Mora Tapinella, so we'll be having more health and magicka potions sometime soon. I just need help with making more wooden bottles, will you be helping me like usual Gavnuk?"

"Of course, Umak."

"Good, then other than that I've found a small entrance to a cave not too far east from our location, close to the Hammerfell passageway. I was thinking of exploring it, but I didn't want to go in alone. We can tackle that in the coming days, if you'll allow us boss."

A cave east from here? That would mean he's found Halldir's Cairn, his ability to create ghost copy things of himself would prove to be challenging. Though, unlike In the game the draugr don't have a health bar, so maybe taking on Halldir would be much easier than in game…Still, better to exercise caution. We'll get a bit more strength first before tackling the cave.

"I believe you're talking about Halldir's Cairn, if I'm not mistaken then there's a magically powerful Draugr inside. We will eventually go there to expand our territory, but we should gather more strength first."

"How do you know there's a Draugr at the end of the cave?"

"The locals from Falkreath were talking about it when I passed through some time ago."

Not technically a lie, I was just passing through Falkreath a few days ago when I was playing Skyrim. That one priest of Arkay talked about this place.

"Anyways, there's enough stew to last for tomorrow. I'll place the lid back on and let it sit over some embers from the fire, should allow it to keep warm. We can't keep the stew past tomorrow, however, so we need to finish it all by tomorrow night. Keep doing what you guys are doing, though I'm going back to mining the new mine early tomorrow. If any of you wish to help, grab a pickaxe from the bucket I've placed outside the entrance and get to work. We have a couple of support beams that Gavnuk and I made, so we need to place them every ten feet away from each other to prevent a cave in. With that being said, I'll be retiring to my room."

My piece said, I stood up and made my way up the stone steps of the fort to my new room. In but a few moments I found myself staring at my new room. It was a small thing, barely bigger than a singles dorm room, but it was private and mine. A small wooden bedframe rested against the backwall, with a large amount of straw acting as the mattress. The skinned fur of some animal I can't recognize the blanket, with a larger version of it on the floor as some sort of carpet. A large green banner hung against the backwall, and adjacent to that was a mounted bear's head on a plaque hanging just above the bed. Besides a bookshelf and a bedside table, there was nothing else in the room barring a mannequin in the corner, likely to hang armor. Strange, because I could have sworn there was a big boss chest in here from the games. Oh well, doesn't mean much does it.

I stepped in the room and started unstrapping all my armor, undoing the clasps and leather knots from my bracers, setting aside my boots in the corner, and took off my iron chestplate, leaving me only wearing the Skyrim basic miners clothing. It was pretty hot, so I forwent the shirt and just laid down shirtless. I was pleasantly shocked, despite the fact that I was laying down on straw it was surprisingly comfortable.

Okay, now how do I do this….profile? page? Status?

Name: Ragnar

Race: Nord

Level: 1

EXP: 25/100

Health: 140 Magicka: 100 Stamina: 110

STR: 12

INT: 10

END: 12 (14)

DEX: 11

SP: 0

PP: 2

Land Controlled:

-Cracked Tusk Keep (+2 END)

People under your leadership:

Happy: 2

Neutral: 3

Unhappy: 0

I've already gotten 2 of them happy, nice! But anyways, I've got some unused Perk points I can spend, let's take a gander at what I can buy. There….wasn't much. The perks available to me were based on the skills that I had, and what level that skill was. Currently, I could only get skills for Axe Proficiency, Blocking, Light Armor Proficiency, Heavy Armor Proficiency, and Mining. I didn't even know I had any of those first 4 skills, but I guess it made sense. Let me see what they entail.

Axe Proficiency [10/100]: The user's skill with an Axe. Chance to score critical hit increases by 1%

Blocking [5/100]: The user's skill with a shield. Damage reduced by successful block 2%

Light Armor Proficiency [3/100]: How proficient the user is with Light Armor.

Heavy Armor Proficiency [2/100]: How proficient the user is with Heavy Armor

The perks for the Armors weren't great, but I'm sure they'll get better with time. But right now, I think I'll go for an Axe and mining perk. After scrolling through my limited options, I decided to get these two perks:

Sharp Edge I – Increases DMG by 5

Hard Work I – Increases the speed and efficiency of your mining by 5%

Once I chose them I could see their progression tree. I could get them to level X, or I guess it would be 10, but it would cost me a lot of Perk points to get them to that level, but that's for later. Right now though? I'm very fucking tired and I have a very serious appointment I cannot miss with my bed.

Name: Ragnar

Race: Nord

Level: 1

EXP: 25/100

Health: 140 Magicka: 100 Stamina: 110

STR: 12

INT: 10

END: 12 (14)

DEX: 11

SP: 0

PP: 0

Land Controlled:

-Cracked Tusk Keep (+2 END)

People under your leadership:

Happy: 2

Neutral: 3

Unhappy: 0