Information.

—

[8 days later. Night.]

Opening his map and seeing a large mining village in front of him that was built in the style of Argonian architecture, and he is sure this place is named Darkwater Crossing from the game map and Gilfre's knowledge of Eastmarch as a whole, William pocketed the map back into the saddlebag and nudged the horse to go forward, following the road entering the village.

Once again, very different from the lore that he knows from the game, this place is not just some abandoned mining camp on the corner of the map meant to fill up the plot of land to enhance player gameplay, but a large village with many active inhabitants working together. There are obvious miners from the Goldenrock mine, fishermen catching their game nearby, and even Argonian shamans selling herbs in the streets.

He himself is unaware that this place has a rich history with Argonian shamanic culture, specifically in the way of the dream, in which they can work openly in the streets, something he thought many Nordlings will despise off since it is related to magic in one way or another.

Like, surely, seeing a staff, animal bones, plus the visual effects of the lights being produced that later make the miners and fishermen coming home from work become much more relaxed and not tired anymore was a pretty giveaway for them to know it is magic that they have been using.

Maybe this is the sight that was known before the battle between Ulfric and General Tullius took place, where the Imperials ambushed the man himself alongside his many personal entourage with just a small army so that they can capture them quickly, which will result in the beginning plot of the Skyrim game; he doesn't know.

But one thing for sure, though, is that he must search for an inn to rest his head as soon as possible because the taut tension of adventuring is already giving him a headache that makes himself more annoyed and unable to sleep in peace on the rocky ground of the geothermal region of Eastmarch.

Finding the inn on the west side of the village called simply Darkwater Inn, since it is the only lodging settlement they have in this large village, William found a stable for his horse and paid generously to the Argonian stableboy who was still working late into the hour.

Entering the inn and paying in advance for two days straight of constant dozing to Sondas, the owner of the establishment, William decided to relax in the main lounging area while at the same time trying to extract information from the locals, as he knows the cave near their settlement is home to the race known as Falmer.

But after learning that a large group of crustacean-wearing armored individuals emerged from that nearby cave thirty years ago, heading to an unknown destination, William dropped the topic entirely, since it meant the Snow Elves were not building their base of operation here, and decided to focus on general information instead.

—

Not much he can learn from the mouth of the locals over the information about the state of the world, except that the civil war now feels like coming into a standstill and the fact that there is a new order that has been created to replace the presence of the mages of Winterhold in the Winterhold region itself, namely the Ternion Monks, who have a temple built atop the abandoned castle of the College.

And the more puzzling fact about this situation is that William is confused as to why the people of the Nords are happy hearing this, knowing the order is just a group of mages with different connotations, especially since Ulfric is the one who suggested it.

Maybe there is a rich history behind that order buried in the annals of time, William doesn't know, but one thing is for sure: the fact is that this order is currently working with the Druids of Skellige to build a ship so that they can undertake a pilgrimage to the Atmora continent, a place they have already visited, as their island is very close to that slowly normalizing climate continent, making him frown in contemplation.

Even though the words used by the locals, received from the merchant, are shallow at best – describing strange individuals wearing funny hats that can change the weather of a place as they see fit and encouraging the Nords to do pilgrimage as a way of thanking the people that made them more attuned to nature magic – William is able to guess who those individuals are, as the clue is very obvious.

But, again? His people find their normalized continent first again? His people taking advantage of Tamrielic people's history again? It's like a recurring theme this time: People Beyond the Sea Ghost accidentally find a new continent, then they learn the ancient magic from that place, after that come back to share it with the one who is originated from and making it public.

And William is unsure how to feel about this, since all of them that find the ancient magic on this forgotten place are very secretive about it, even though he lived 18 years of his life on that continent. Even though his information about the other state of the world is shallow at best and covers only his Redenia kingdom and the surrounding area, even if there is information about other factions, it is late by a decade to five years or so; it is still a bitter pill to swallow.

Like, "Couldn't you guys wait for a bit until I receive the information about your new uncovered school of magic, so that I don't need to travel far enough into the new continent?" But he knows, the timeline bending toward his will is not happening anytime soon, since he's just a regular guy with little bit information about the world franchise that he lives in, and the plot will keep going on and on without him being there in the first place.

—