Skyrim: A New Crisis!

We reached Falkreath and passed through its stone-walled gate. The buildings were all made of cobblestone bases and wooden walls, the roofs made of thatch.

"Over here," Zack says, leading the way.

Right now, I couldn't be happier about Zack's love for video games; he seemed to be quite knowledgeable about Skyrim.

He already knew his way around town, and hopefully his knowledge will continue to pay off.

We walk over to one of the houses; it had a sign hanging over the entrance door. "Gray Pine Goods."

"Wait here, Leo, I'll only be in for a little while..." Zack says.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"My plan will only work if I go in alone..." he says, giving me a bump in my shoulder. "Trust me, just enjoy the scenery for a few minutes."

"Sure..." I answer, not liking it, but he knew much more about Skyrim than me, so I decided to trust him.

He went into the shop alone; I leaned against one of the columns outside while waiting.

I caught a few stares from several residents—my clothing really made me stand out! I bet no one here has ever seen jeans before.

Trying not to meet their gaze, I looked around at the rest of the town. Just across the road was a bigger building; it also had a sign.

"'Dead Man's Drink', sheesh... that sounds welcoming!" I mutter to myself.

After about 10 minutes, Zack comes out, wearing a backpack and a big smirk.

My eyes widen. "How in the world did you manage to get items?!" I ask him, genuinely impressed.

"Just being my genius self," he says, grinning. "But Leo, we need to get to Whiterun, so we should leave town already."

"But we only just arrived..." I answer. "Shouldn't we stay a bit longer? I'm still unarmed, you know!"

"Relax, I've got us covered. But we need to move, now!" Zack says, before already heading back to the town gates.

Well, he's the expert, so I followed.

We left town and walked for quite some time, Zack's pace was steady and quick.

His sudden determination was unusual, and that made me suspicious enough to stop him, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"Alright, that's it! Spill the beans. What did you do?!" I ask him sternly.

He smiles mischievously. "Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to."

I shake him a bit. "Bro, I'm serious! Did you steal this stuff?!"

"Of course not! I'll have you know, I traded for it!" Zack answers, before pulling away from my grip.

I sigh, knowing that even if he traded for it, he must have pulled something off.

"Alright, Zack. Then please tell me, what did you trade with?"

"My cellphone," he says nonchalantly.

"Your cellphone? But that is useless here..." I say.

"Exactly," Zack says with a proud smile. "But the camera function impressed Solaf, the trader. I told him it was the hottest item in recently rediscovered Dwemer tech. He really wanted it!"

Zack laughs heartily.

"That's not funny!" I scowl at him. "It will run out of power sooner or later—you tricked him!"

"So?..." Zack's expression turns serious. "This is exactly why I couldn't have you in there, I knew you'd protest! And that's why we had to leave town in a hurry, the battery was only at 8%."

"Alright, that's it, we're heading back. You're returning whatever it is you've got in that backpack!" I say, turning to head back.

"This is Skyrim..." he says. "For all we know, the trader would have my head for it. I'm not going back."

I turn to meet his gaze, wanting to stare him down. Zack loves to play around, but he has a tendency to agree with me when things get serious.

"It's only a video game, Leo. And I'll do whatever I can to survive!" he says, staring back at me—not backing down.

I didn't think this was a video game; it felt far too real. But what if he was right?

Besides, I couldn't risk his life to return the items. We didn't know whether or not we would be attacked for this, or thrown in prison!

"God damnit, Zack!..." I say, before sighing deeply. "Next time, discuss things with me first!"

He only nods, but that was enough for me to know I could trust him.

"Please, at least tell me that you got something good!"

He smirks, "of course!"

He takes off his backpack and pulls out a purple-covered book. "This is a conjuration spell."

Next, he pulls out a pouch—clinking with coin. "And I've got 300 septims to spare! The rest of his inventory was boring; we'll get something more when we're in Whiterun!"

I shake my head at him. "But what if we need to defend ourselves?... You don't even know how to cast that spell! Whatever it is."

Zack walks over to the side of the road and sits down on a large rock. "Then I should learn to do so before we move on."

He opens the book and reads in silence.

I give him a moment before asking, "So?... Want to tell me what spell it is?"

"Sit down, Leo, give me a moment," he says, not lifting his gaze from the book.

I sigh again before heading over to a tree, leaning against it, waiting.

Zack seems to already be changing from how he usually is. In school, he hardly seemed to be interested in any subject, but this book had his full attention.

After a little while, Zack close the book shut. "Alright! Let's try this out!"

I raise my eyebrows, watching him.

He sets the book down on the rock and walks to the middle of the road, pulling up the sleeves of his jacket.

I chuckle. "Give me a good show!"

He meets my gaze and grins before closing his eyes, focusing.

His expression suddenly turns serious, and he raises a hand.

My jaw drops; some dark purple energy starts to swirl around his hand—quickly growing in intensity.

Zack slams his palm against the ground, shouting, "ARISE!"