With this story, I must give credit were credit is due. This tale is not just mine, it was co-authored by a Mapn, I'm not sure if they still use that name though, as it is a combination of our initials. I have removed the part that was written by my previous partner, and only posted what I wrote, so as to not steal her work. I hope you enjoy reading this, many hours of work went into it, please enjoy.
The Dovahkiins
By StarGazer
Raven's Point of View
"Hey there lass." Raven heard Brynjolf's familiar voice say. She looked up from the mug of mead she had been studying, to see him leaning on the opposite side of table.
She blinked and smiled, "Well hello stranger, finally back from your secret meeting?"
He nodded and took a seat next to her, "Another round over here if you don't mind!" he said to the bartender, the bartender nodded.
"So," Raven said, "How did it go? Are they letting us off the hook, or..."
Brynjolf's smile faded and was replaced by an irritated frown. "They'll only let us off if we do one last job for them." he looked at Raven, all mirth gone from his face. "And it means getting involved with military affairs."
Raven's eyes widened, "Those damned Imperials!" she spat. Raven continued to mumble curses, and Brynjolf patiently waited for them to subside.
"There is one more thing." he said in an overly cautious voice.
Raven looked him in the eyes and narrowed her own, "Just one?" she asked sarcastically.
The bartender plopped a mug of mead in front of Brynjolf. He picked it up, and took a long draft of the cool liquid, before putting it back down on the table. "They've asked for you specifically." he said without looking at her.
Raven was silent for a minute. "Why me?" she asked.
Brynjolf shrugged, "Probably because you're one of the best shots in Skyrim." He took another draft, "And your a damn good spy to boot."
Raven rolled her eyes and said, "Flattery isn't going to make this job any easier to swallow."
"I know." he said sympathetically.
"Well? What is it they want from me?" she asked.
"They wanted you to have this." Brynjolf handed Raven an envelope sealed with red wax, imprinted with the imperial coat of arms.
Brynjolf downed the last of his mead and stood up, "You are to follow those instructions exactly, and you are not to tell anyone what it says."
Raven watched as Brynjolf walked away, before getting up herself and walking to "her room" that she shared with a few other Guild members. Raven sat on her bed and opened the letter, it read:
To the thief known as Raven Shadowdancer,
Greetings Raven, my name is Legate Rikke and I believe that you and your "friends" are in debt to us. Now is the time to repay that debt. I need you to travel to Solitude alone and meet me in the Castle Dour on the 22nd of the Sun's Height, I will give you more information when we meet in person.
When Raven finished reading the letter she huffed, and muttered under her breath, "Imperials and their damnably vague letters." Why did she have to go all the way to the dragon bitten capital! She sighed and decided to wait until morning to start.
Raven arose early the next morning, packed her things, and started out. She first went to the stables in Riften, rented a horse, and continued on to Solitude.
It was a long way to the capital, she had to travel straight through the middle of Skyrim just to get there. When she did reach the capital, Raven went straight to the Castle Dour, after boarding her horse at the stables of course.
As she walked into the large, courtyard like area, she was approached by a short Imperial man with auburn hair and muddy brown eyes. "Raven Shadowdancer?" he asked in an impatient tone.
"What? How does he know who I am?" Raven thought. She cleared her throat, "Um, yes. How do you…"
"Your redheaded friend told us how to spot you." he said with a wave of his hand. "Besides, you're not that hard to spot, what with your rather… unique apparel." he indicated her black armor. "Now, if you'll follow me." he turned on his heel and quickly led her towards the left side of Castle Dour.
She stood for just a moment, flustered by the little man, before following him. Raven had to lengthen her small stride to keep up with him, "Perhaps the reason he walks so fast is to make up for lack of height." she thought to herself.
The little man opened a large metal door, and motioned for Raven to continue on inside. Raven took a deep breath, set her "business mask" in place, and continued on inside. The door creaked shut behind her, "He's not going to show me where I need to go?" she thought.
Raven heard voices behind an arched doorway in front of her. "Maybe this way?" She walked toward the door and stepped inside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the bright room, but once they did she realized she was standing in a war room.
A bright skylight was in the middle of the ceiling, and under it was a war table with a map of Skyrim. Dotting the map were little red and blue flags, red for Imperial, blue for Stormcloak.
Around the table were two men standing at either ends, and one woman who was standing at the head. No one seemed to have noticed Ravens entrance, "what the..? It's not like I'm invisible." she thought angrily. Raven crossed her arms and cleared her throat, The woman at the table looked up, she had light brown hair and brown eyes, and a faded a scar on her right cheek, a sword wound by the looks of it. She wore Legate armor.
"Ah, you're late." she said in a flat humorless tone.
"Late?!" Raven thought, she seethed a little within herself but retained a perfectly calm exterior, "Yes well I'm here now aren't I?" she said in the same flat tone. "I ran into a blizzard on the way here and had to bunk down at an inn until it was over." Raven saw the woman's jaw twitch, she smiled.
"Now now ladies that's enough." one of the men at the table said. The man was medium in height, and had short greying hair, and cold dark grey eyes. he turned to look at Raven, "Please remove your hood." he asked after a brief examination of her.
Raven stiffened. "May I ask why taking it off is necessary?"
The man sighed, "We need to know if you are who you say you are." Raven sighed before complying. She slowly slid her hood away, and lowered her face guard, to reveal her tanned face. The man simply nodded and said, "And now if you could give me the letter you received."
"Of course he has to see the gods forsaken letter too." she thought as she handed it over, and started to pull her hood back up.
The man took the letter, briefly examined it, and handed it to the female Legate next to him. "I am General Tullius. And I have called you here to act as a scout and extra protection." Raven continued to rearrange her mask and hood, as if she hadn't heard him.
"General Tullius eh. Why would he give me my mission directly?" she wondered, "Wouldn't it have been easier for him to let the glorified Legate do the talking?" When she was done, she crossed her arms and regarded the General in a bored manner. "Sounds easy enough." she said.
The General raised an eyebrow. "Easy?" he shook his head, "I haven't told you what or who we are scouting." Raven waited for him to explain. He continued, "The company consists of foot soldiers as far as we know." he paused, Raven rolled her eyes, "And pause for dramatic effect." she thought mockingly. "And Ulfric himself."
Raven froze, "Ulfric?!" she said, momentarily losing her cool. The General nodded, and grinned, "Well that's terrifying." Raven thought with a shudder, "I didn't know his mouth could make that shape."
"Yes, Ulfric. The head of the rebellion." he confirmed. "And it will be your job to follow them." Raven nodded, she had expected as much.
"Very well." she said, "Where do I begin?"
Raven rode out of the city on the same horse she had come with. She was headed to Whiterun where it was rumored Ulfric had been invited to stay at the Companions hall. She had to travel hard with little to no sleep in order for her to catch up with them.
She came in sight of Whiterun near the end of the second day, the sun had just dipped below the trees. Raven paid the horse keeper outside the city to keep her horse for her, and walked quietly into the town, not wanting to disturb its residents. Before she had entered the town Raven had changed into typical hunting gear so she would not be suspicious with her usual attire.
Raven made her way up to Jorrvaskr. The Hall windows were aglow with light, and she could hear conversation being made as well as some singing. "They're probably all drunk." she thought, as she looked for a way to spy on the people inside. She stepped back from the window she had been looking through to examine the roof. "Ah ha!" she thought as she spotted a few opened windows at the top. "That will work nicely."
Raven climbed up one of the intricately carved pillars at the back of the Hall, quietly transferred herself onto the roof, and carefully walked up to the opened windows. She slowly peeked her head through to observe the people below, the hall was filled with men mostly with the exception of three women. "One, two….. Nine….. Fifteen…. Nineteen… Yes, nineteen in all." Raven observed them for a long while, and managed to separate the soldiers from the Companions.
She determined that 9 out of 10 of them were Companions and the rest were soldiers. Raven scanned the room trying to commit to memory the faces of everyone gathered there, until her eyes fell upon a man wearing simple traveling clothes, shoulder length dirty blond hair, and piercing grey blue eyes, "That must be Ulfric." She thought, "He fits the description Hadvar gave me." He was sitting next two four Companions, that all seemed very young (Around 20 to 30 years of age I think).
She watched him as he suddenly stood up and announced, "So the members of the Companions are all gathered here tonight for my arrival? I don't suppose you four youngsters would like to have a friendly brawl to see who is the strongest among you?" His proposition was met with spirited agreement, from both the Companions and his men.
Raven quickly hid behind a ridge on the roof before the party went outside into what she guessed was the Companions training yard. The four "youngsters" as Ulfric had called them, were preparing themselves for the fight. The four brawlers were composed of two women, and two men.
Raven watched as they fought, The two women fought first. One had carrot red hair and blue green eyes, the other had white blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. The Redhead fought like a wild animal, while the Blond was very laid back and relaxed. Raven thought that this was what ultimately secured the blonde's victory.
The two men fought next, and the winner was a tall, well built man, with shoulder length brown hair and grey eyes. The loser was a much larger man that was clearly drunk, but looked nearly identical to the victor.
After a moment's rest the man with brown hair and the woman with the Blond hair fought one another, they were both very skilled warriors. "I think that the man will clearly win this fight, he is practically towering over the Nord lady. But she isn't very small either." Raven thought as she watched them fight. In the end the woman ended up knocking out the man. "Well I'm impressed, wouldn't want to get between those two." Raven thought.
Ulfric approached the woman and talked to her for a moment, whatever he said seemed to have gotten her excited because she started grinning like a wolf who had caught a farmer's fat calf.
When they were done speaking they shook hands and headed under the patio and out of Raven's sight. She waited patiently for about five minutes before both Ulfric and the Nord woman headed into the training yard. "What are they doing? Are they going to fight? That lady just fought two other people she doesn't even stand a chance!" Raven thought in disbelief. The two brawlers took up their positions and began to brawl. The woman put up a good fight lasting far longer than Raven thought she would have, but as she had predicted, Ulfric came out on top.
The party lasted long into the night, Raven had decided to say camped out on the roof until she saw movement for departure.
At about 4:00 in the morning, Raven was awakened by the back door being opened. She stretched lazily, "What time is it?" she thought, "I didn't realize I had fallen asleep."
She looked up at the sky, "Must be around four in the morning." It was then that she remembered why she was there.
"Aww, Nocturnal strike me!" she cursed quietly. Raven quietly moved into a crouching position. When she spotted a group of men, dressed in traveling clothes, heading for the rock face that the Skyforge sat upon. The group gathered around a spot to the far left of the rock, "What in Oblivion are they doing?" Raven thought.
A single figure separated itself from the small mass and laid a single hand on the rock. At first nothing happened until a part of the rock slid away to reveal a hidden room. Raven's eyes widened, "What the…? Since when do the Companions have hidden rooms?" The group shuffled inside before the stone door closed seamlessly, leaving no trace of the former opening.
Raven growled, "How am I supposed to follow them in there." She waited a moment, considering what to do next. Raven climbed down from the roof, and walked over to the hidden door. She placed a hand on the cold surface of where she thought the door was. "Now what?" she thought when the door refused to budge.
She stepped back "Open." she demanded. "Still nothing… stupid door." Raven stood there for a minute trying to decide what to do. She sighed, "I suppose if I can't get in through the entrance I'll have to find the exit... If there is one that is." She looked around her. "It would most likely lead out of the city, which means I'll have to climb."
Raven walked over to the protective wall that spanned the whole city of Whiterun. She was on the other side in a matter of minutes. Climbing had always been easy for her, even as a small girl. She would climb the trees around Riften to collect birds eggs for the local alchemist, in order to make a little extra coin.
She wandered around outside the wall for a little over 10 minutes before she saw a line of people walking out of an old crumbling tower, and heading for the northwestern road.
"Heading to Riverwood I'll bet." Raven headed around to the stalls to retrieve her horse, but once she got there she started to have second thoughts.
"I should probably leave you here huh boy?" she said as she stroked the horse's mane, he nickered and nudged her with his muzzle.
After paying the stall manager for an extra day,(She didn't think she needed a horse for the short distance she would be traveling.)
She started after the Stormcloaks at a brisk pace. About and hour later Raven had managed to caught up to the company. She was surprised at how long it had taken her.
"They're trampling across Skyrim like the hounds of Hircine are at their heels." She thought as she bedded down for the night. As she drifted off to sleep she thought she heard the howl of a wolf, but this howl sounded strangely unnatural. Raven fell into an uneasy slumber wondering what it was.
The next morning Raven awoke at dawn and rummaged through her pack until she found a piece of bread for breakfast. After she had eaten she started to scout out the Stormcloak camp. She did a headcount of the people present and only counted the ten foot soldiers. Raven assumed Ulfric was in the large tent at the end of their camp surrounded by the five smaller tents.
Raven decided to climb a nearby tree to get a better view of the camp and their surroundings. She watched some of the soldiers pack up the small tents while others were skinning a deer, that looked as if it's throat had been torn out by a wild beast, for their breakfast. Once they had finished seasoning and roasting the venison the cook called everyone for breakfast. At this call everyone lined up, and ate their fill. She noticed Ulfric exit the large tent, and wait for the men to eat first before getting his own.
Raven was somewhat surprised that Ulfric waited for his men to eat before he did. "Maybe you are halfway decent after all." she thought briefly. "But unfortunately for you the Imperials are better for business."
Raven directed her attention away from the feast to see a blonde woman who appeared to be checking the perimeter of the camp. From where Raven was positioned, she noticed the lady had on some sort of shiny silver armor with black fur and an intricately carved steel battleaxe on her back. "Not exactly the uniform of a soldier." she looked closer. "Is that wolf armor? From the companions?" Raven thought as she studied the Nord woman, she looked like the one that had fought Ulfric, perhaps she had impressed him.
The Companions were a group of fierce warriors in Whiterun, and they held great influence and respect throughout the many holds of Skyrim. "So the Companions are even more involved in this than we thought. That will make a good bit of information for the General." She thought as she climbed down from her perch. "I'll follow them down the trail for a ways before I report in."
Raven watched as they packed up camp and moved out. She decided to follow them for a maximum of four miles to get a sense of their direction before heading back to give her report. As she was nearing the end of her third mile, Ravens curiosity got the better of her, "Only one more mile to go…. I think."
During the time Raven had been tracking the party she had grown more and more curious about the Nord woman she had seen at the camp. She had once overheard Brynjolf and Delvin talking about a crazed Nord woman from the Companions who had thwarted one of their theft attempts in Whiterun. Long story short both came back to the Guild at less than their best. "I wonder if she might be the one who beat the ever loving snot out of those two." She thought as she made her way closer to the company.
As Raven followed behind the company at about 15 yards or so she noticed the Nord woman stop and start to sniff the air. "What in Oblivion is that woman doing?" Raven thought as she stopped behind a tree and observed the peculiar woman sniff the air like a dog. Raven heard her give out a low growl before she turned in her direction, and before she knew it a dagger was sailing towards her. Raven had just enough time to side step so the dagger would not peice her stomach.
The dagger smashed into her side, sending a sharp spike of pain throughout her body. Raven let out a yelp of pain before slapping a hand over her mouth to keep her from crying out. She doubled over and grabbed the hilt of the dagger. She braced herself before yanking it out of her flesh, and dropping it to the forest floor. Thankfully the dagger seemed to have missed any vitals, but she was still bleeding like a stuck pig.
Raven pushed a hand over the wound to try and stop the bleeding, "Damn it, I'll kill her!" Raven heard someone crashing through the forest toward her. "Crap, I need to get away." Raven thought as she ran into the forest. She tried to be as quiet as possible as she hid inside a tree whose middle had long since rotted away.
Raven peaked through a knot hole, to see the Nord woman stoop down to retrieve her dagger. The woman seemed to be examining Raven's blood, "What is she doing? She's smelling and….. tasting it!" Raven shuddered, "Disgusting." she winched as a another wave of pain racked her body. The Nord stood, as if suddenly remembering something, looked around, and headed back to the road.
Raven sighed in relief, "That was close." she looked at the ground near where the Nord had been standing, it was splattered with blood. "Huh.. She could have just followed the blood and found me... why didn't she…" Raven thought as she waited for the party to move on. Raven could faintly make out a conversation on the road and decided to take advantage of the distraction. She sat and began rummaging through her pack to find a roll of bandages, once she found them she began dressing her wound. The sun was in the at its apex in the sky.
When she was done she listened carefully, "It sounds as if they've moved on." Raven thought as she slowly crawled out of her hiding place, being careful not to further agitate her wound. She got to she feet, and paused for a long moment as an intense wave of pain washed over her. When the pain subsided a bit Raven painfully made her way to Whiterun.
After what seemed like an eternity, Raven finally came within sight of Whiterun, "I'm almost there." she kept saying to herself. She remembered that there was an Imperial supporter that lived in Whiterun, he was part of the Battleborn family there. It was getting late.
As she approached the gate a guard confronted her and said, "Halt. What is your business…Your injured! I'll take you to the healer." Raven's vision was starting to blur, and the guards voice echoed uncomfortably in her ears. Her mouth was dry and her legs shook, "I've lost too much blood." she thought.
She tried to focus on the guard and asked weakly, "Take me to the Battle Borns." She felt like she was about to fall over.
"The Battle Borns? Why would you need to see them…" The guard questioned
"I'm acquainted with the family," she interrupted, "Please, just take me to them." The guard looked at her skeptically. "I'll pay you for your assistance, and no more questions."
The guard nodded and held out his hand, Raven rolled her eyes, "I will pay you when you have done what I asked, but not before."
The guard grunted "Very well, follow me." he turned and walked into the city, Raven swayed where she stood not trusting her legs at the moment. The guard turned around when he did not hear her following him, and looked at her expectantly.
"I think.." she took a deep breath, "I think I might need help getting there." she said slowly. The guard simply nodded, and helped her over to the Battleborn household. He left her on the steps and went up to knock on the door. The door opened to reveal a tall nord man with the typical nord blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Yes? What is it you what?" he said, almost as if he were suspicious.
The guard pointed at Raven and said, "That one needs your assistance, she's injured."
The man looked around the guard to get a better look at her, "And why did you bring her here? She needs to see a healer not a soldiering family."
"I'm well aware of that, but she insisted that I bring her here." he leaned in closer, "she claims to be "acquainted" with your family." he said quietly.
The man paused for a moment, "I see, thank you for your assistance, I'll take it from here." the guard nodded and headed down the stairs, Raven caught him by the sleeve and pushed a coin purse into his hand, he nodded at her and continued on to his post at the gate.
The man came to stand beside her, "Come on inside, mother will get you something to dress your wound, then you can explain yourself over supper." She nodded and the man helped her inside.
Raven was able to dress her wounds with the few medicinal supplies the family had, and then sat down with them to eat.
"Alright, now explain how you ended up on my doorstep." Raven nodded and told him all that had happened.
When she was done the man sat back in his chair and chuckled, "This is some predicate you've gotten yourself into. Then again I'm not to surprised, you always seem to get yourself into trouble."
Raven rolled her eyes, "You're one to talk Idolaf, your father told me you were a trouble maker once upon a time."
Idolaf scoffed, "Did he now? I'll have to give him a piece of my mind next time I see him." Raven snickered. Idolaf's father was an old friend of her father's, they had done mercenary work together when they were younger. After her father died it was Idolfa's father that gave her the occasional funds to keep living before she joined the Thieves Guild.
Idolaf leaned forward and rested his arms on the table, "So what is it you need?"
"I just need to rest until morning. After that I have to ride to an Imperial outpost near Helgen."
Idolaf nodded, "Are you sure you're in any condition to travel that far?" He asked worriedly.
"I don't exactly have a choice." she said, "I have to repay the Guild's debt. If I don't, they'll destroy our organization."
"Aye, that they will." he said grimly, "Although I can't say that your little gang being disbanded would be protested by most people." he said matter of factly.
Raven glared mockingly at him, "You mean most decent people. The people who aren't afraid of getting their hands dirty can turn quite a profit out of our work."
"True enough." Idolaf agreed. He stood and stretched, "You should probably be heading to bed, if you're to get up with the rooster that is."
Raven nodded, "You're probably right." she stood and held out a hand, "I am even deeper in your debt Idolaf, you have my thanks."
Idolaf shook her extended hand and replied, "there's no need for that, you're always welcome here."
Raven went to the small corner room they had prepared for her, and slept.
Raven awoke at dawn the next morning, hid a note for Idolaf (were she knew only he would find it) and left the city of Whiterun on horseback.
It was an incredibly painful journey on her part, she had to stop on more than one occasion to catch her breath.
It took about half a day of hard riding to reach the Imperial camp (which was about 10 miles away from Helgen). She rode slowly into the camp, and was approached by an Imperial soldier.
"State your business." he said curtly. Raven tightened her jaw in irritation "I'm here to report to Legate Rikka." she responded in the same short tone.
The soldier raised an eyebrow, "So you must be the scout." He looked at her with a very unimpressed expression. "You don't look like much to me."
Raven gripped the reins hard, "Just take me to her. That's your job isn't it? A faithful guard dog for the Imperial Legion."
The soldier growled and placed his hand on his sword hilt, "Better a guard dog then a sewer rat…" He was cut off when Raven's boot came in contact with his gut, depriving him of breath and knocking him to the ground.
Raven crouched over him, holding a dagger she had drawn from her sleeve on his throat. She scoffed, "Some guard dog to be taken out by a lowly sewer rat." she said sarcastically.
Raven winced, "Oh that's right I'm wounded." she let out a quiet grunt of pain, "Probably shouldn't have moved that quickly."
"That's enough!" Raven looked up to see Legate Rikka standing a few feet away with an angry expression on her face.
Raven stood stiffly and stepped off of the soldier. He stood while saying, "You little.."
"I said that's enough. Stand down!" The soldier growled angrily, "Yes Ma'am." and walked off. The Legate sighed, "You sure do know how to stir up trouble don't you?"
Raven slowly crossed her arms over her chest, "Well making trouble is part of my job." She said slyly before following the Legate into the main tent.
Raven gave her report to the Legate, in a very bored, and undetailed, manner. The way she reported seemed to grind on the Legate's nerves.
"Heh. She looks like she wants to strangle me." She thought to herself as she finished. The Legate nodded curtly, "So, they were last seen heading past Riverwood." it was then that she appeared to have reached a decision.
"This opportunity is perfect, a chance to stop the rebels once and for all." The Legate stooped over the map in front of her, "Now, do you think you could pinpoint where the party will be within the next few hours?"
Raven nodded and examined the map for a long moment. She pointed at a point halfway between Riverwood and Helgen, "Right about here." she said.
The Legate nodded, "Excellent." She looked up at Raven, "Be prepared to move out, we leave within the hour."
Raven regarded the Legate with a perplexed look, "But surely my work here is done?" she asked. The Legate scoffed, "I'm afraid not, you're seeing this through to the end."
Raven leaned against a tree near the edge of the encampment, surveying the scene of soldiers preparing to move out. She was chewing thoughtfully on a tough piece of jerky when one of the higher ranking soldiers gave the order to move out. Raven tucked the jerky in one of her pouches, before swinging onto her horse. The troops lined up on the road to receive a debriefing on the mission. "The plan is simple." The commanding Legate said as she walked among the troops, "When we spot the company of rebels, we will surround them, and confuse them by flooding their camp with nightshade smoke. Understood?"
"Understood!" the troops stated in unison.
"Well that was brief, no need to beat around the bush I suppose." Raven thought in an attempt to amuse herself.
The Legate mounted her horse and began the trek to intercept the rebels. It took a little over two hours before they even had a glimpse of the Stormcloaks. Raven was riding up in the front with the Legate when she gave the order to surround the party. Raven joined with the group of five soldiers on the north side of the camp, there were twenty Imperials in all, five to to the north, south, east, and west.
Surprisingly, there were still only 10 soldiers in Ulfric's company. "We have them outnumbered ten to one." Raven thought as she observed the Stormcloak camp. Raven grinned misciviously when see spotted the female Companion that had wounded her.
"Ah, the irony." she said out loud to herself. The soldiers turned to look at her curiously, Raven waved her hand dismissively.
The troops glanced at each other before focusing back on their quarry. One soldier muttered, "Crazy elf woman." Raven's jaw clenched, "I'll deal with that later, now's not the time." she convinced herself.
Raven felt a tap on her shoulder, it was one of the soldier behind her, "That's the signal." Raven gave a shrill whistle that sounded like a bird in distress.
She could feel the adrenaline began to pump through her veins in response to the war cry of the Imperials around her.
Raven stood, notched an arrow to her bow string, and took aim. She slowly pulled back, savoring the familiar feeling of the deadly instrument in her hands.
She loosed the arrow right into the middle of the camp, where it exploded in purple smoke that quickly filled the surrounding area. She notched another arrow, and waited until a stormcloak stumbled out of the smoke, only to have a black shaft plant itself in the middle of his chest.
He grunted, stumbled, and fell to the ground, never to move again. Raven slung her bow over her back, drew a long curved dagger from its sheath on her right hip, and dove into the smoke filled encampment.
Her face guard protected her against the smoke, that and Raven, through certain means, had acquired unique abilities that allowed her to see in the dark as well as any creature of the night. So she had very little trouble navigating her way through the dark smoke screen.
Raven avoided any combat, she had the single minded goal of finding the one who had injured her. Raven didn't really want to kill her, she simply wanted to hold her at her mercy, and watch her writhe.
Raven peered into the smoke in the direction of where she had last seen the Nord woman. She spotted her right as an Imperial soldier attempted to rush her, "Stop." Raven said, she kept her voice calm, but projected it enough so that both the soldier and the Nord could hear her.
She sheathed her dagger and began walking over to them. "I'd like to handle this one is you don't mind." She said as she closed in.
Raven studied the woman carefully, it was the first time she had seen her up close. The women had sapphire blue eyes and white blonde hair that was pulled back and swept to the side. She was extremely tall and well built. A steel battle axe was slung on her back, and set of daedric daggers were on each of her thighs. Compared to someone of Raven's size, the woman was quite a daunting figure.
Raven could tell that the lady was studying her carefully, and didn't seem all that impressed by what she saw. The woman's eyes fell on the bandage wrapped around her waist, she smirked, "Oh I see, so you're the one I nicked." She threw one of her daggers in the air and caught it by the hilt, Raven's jaw tightened, "Hm, she's not the sharpest tool in the shed is she?" Raven thought to herself.
She crossed her arms over her chest and regarded the woman in front of her, she wasn't going to let someone like her get a rise out of this elf. "My name is Raven." She said flatly.
The nord cleared her throat, looking a little flustered, "What are we saying names now?" She said. Raven had to suppress an irritated sigh, "Well it is common courtesy to give your name when someone offers theirs first." She said with a sly smile.
The nord woman's jaw clenched and her brow twitched, Raven smiled. The imperials had just finished rounding up the rebels, and she could tell the weight of the situation was beginning to settle on the warrior in front of her.
The nord took a deep breath, "I am know as Scarlett, daughter of Kodlak of the Companions." she replied.
Raven raised her eyebrows, "Scarlett?" she snickered, "That's an interesting name. I think I've heard of you before, a high ranking member of the Circle said to be the next Harbinger." Raven paused to let this sink in, "You don't look like much to me. " she finished, enjoying the look of pure rage on the woman's face.
"Raven!" Raven flinched at the sound of her name, it was Legate Rikka. "Quit fooling around and finish her already! You owe us, and making idle chit chat with her is not what you are supposed to be doing!" The Legate yelled at the back of her head.
Raven clenched her fists in irritation, before shrugging her bow off her shoulder and into her hand. She notched an arrow, pulled back, and fired, in one smooth movement, striking the nord in her shoulder.
Raven watched grimly as Scarlett toppled over to the ground, before averting her gaze from the fallen warrior.
Raven stumbled forward when Legate Rikka slapped her roughly on the back, "Well done, because of you we were able to capture the leader of the rebellion. You have my thanks and the thanks of the Imperial Legion."
Raven grunted in reply, she wasn't in the best mood at the moment, "Who does this Legate think she is. One moment she's ordering me around and the next she congratulating me." Raven thought.
She brushed the Legate off saying, "I don't need your thanks, I was just doing my job."
Legate Rikka however ignored this and moved on to address the soldiers around her, "Well boys we did it! Ulfric Stormcloak is in our custody!" the soldiers cheered around her, she held up a hand for silence, "Load Em up! We're going to Helgen for the final Judgement!"
They gave a loud, "Yes Ma'am!" before beginning to load the unconscious Stormcloaks onto wagons bound for Helgen.
Raven rode alongside one of the wagons, containing Ulfric and the Companion. She watched them attentively from around the edge of her hood, this way they would not be able to tell she was looking at them.
Ulfric awoke first, after him the soldiers, and lastly Scarlett. Raven sniffed, "Hmm, seems that she's quite the heavy sleeper." She smiled to herself at the thought, "Then again, I did give her quite a heavy dose of nightshade sleeping draft."
The prisoners talked quietly amongst themselves, something along the lines of, "Where are we going?" "We're all going to die aren't we?" "Damn Imperial's!" and prayer to the Nine divines (eight in Raven's opinion).
After a few minutes of this whispered conversation, one of the soldiers across from Scarlett discretely gestured to Raven saying, "Well why don't you tell her yourself Companion?"
Raven gave the man a sidelong glance and said, "Tell me what soldier?" The man jerked slightly at the question, there was a spark of fear in his eye.
"N-nothing, it was just something the Companion said, thought you might want to hear it."
Raven turned her gaze to the back of Scarlett's head, "Well now I'm curious. Do speak your mind Companion." she said sarcastically.
Scarlett turned slowly and met Raven's glare with her own, she smiled in a mockingly sweet way before stating, "Oh, I was just telling these lovely gentlemen how I feel about getting shot by a coward, when I thought you might actually have some guts and dignity to actually fight me instead of using a sedative." She shrugged dismissively, "I guess my expectations were just too high."
Raven's grip on her reins tightened, "Bold words considering the fact that you're the one tied up and heading to prison. Where as me, I can head home whenever I feel like it. Besides I wasn't trying to kill, or prove anything to you, I was just doing my job." She cocked her head and winked at the seething nord before spurring her horse to move to the front of the wagon.
Raven could just faintly make out the stream of curses directed at her back, "My, she's extremely easy to get worked up isn't she?" she thought as they approached the gates of Helgen.
As the party entered the town, General Tullius himself could be seen, waiting to meet them with over 30 men behind him. "Well doesn't he look like a cat that's just caught a fat mouse." Raven thought as she examined the smug look on the General's face.
The wagons were lined up at the far side, of a large road, in the middle of Helgen, and the Stormcloak soldiers slowly formed a line in front of these wagons. Raven watched as General Tullius rode over on his horse in front of the gaged Ulfric Stormcloak and said, "Well Ulfric, it's time to put you and your little rebellion to an end."
Raven could faintly hear a muffled growl coming from the large man after Tullius got off his horse and went over to the headsman. Then two Imperial soldiers appeared in front of the prisoners. They first called Ulfric, then Ralof, and the other captured Stormcloak soldiers, "I wonder if they're going to give the Companion a death sentence." Raven thought as she dismounted. "It seems unlikely considering she's the Harbinger after all."
She stood for a moment, trying to figure out where it was she needed to be. "Over here scout!" it was the little man from the Castle Dour. He was quickly walking over to her from where he had been standing next to the General.
Raven looked wearily down at the little man as he approached, "The General would like to speak with you." he said stopping a few feet short of her.
Raven raised an eyebrow, "Would he now? Enlighten me as to why, would you?" she said flatly, she was wondering why "The Great General" would want to speak with her now that her job was complete.
"He better not be trying to weasel another job out of me." she thought as the little man started to explain, "General Tullius would like you to have a front row seat for the execution, and he would also like to ask your advice on a certain matter concerning one of the prisoners."
"How generous that he would consider me for such things." Raven said, just barely covering the sarcasm in her voice.
"Indeed, the General is a generous man, however, his generosity only goes so far for lowly thieves, so I would watch yourself if I were you." He said with a fierce glare at Raven.
Raven simply smiled under her mask and replied, "Thanks for the advice, I'll be sure to keep it in mind."
The man sniffed before gesturing for her to follow him to the General. General Tullius was speaking with Legate Rikka when he turned to confront Raven.
"Ah good you're here, well done, this victory would not have been possible if it weren't for you, you have my thanks." He said, he seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood at the moment.
Raven bowed her head modestly, "I was simply doing my job General." she'd play the lowly thief if it meant keeping the General in a good mood.
He nodded, "That may be, but you exceeded my expectations, please tell your leader that he did well to recommend you."
Raven was taken aback by this request, "He recomended me? Brynjolf?! That son of a…" she thought, "I'll be sure to tell him personally." she assured the General.
"Good good, now, there's something I'd like your opinion on." Raven crossed her arms and inclined her head, "I'm honored, I'll do my best to provide you with helpful advice." she said in the most genuine tone she could manage.
The General pointed to the female Companion known as Scarlett. "It is true that you personally apprehended that woman is it not?" he asked.
Raven regarded Scarlett before answering, "Yes, your information is correct."
He nodded, "She's a member of the Companions Circle correct?" Raven nodded, "That's what she told me."
The General considered this for a moment, "What did she say her name was?"
"She said it was Scarlett Whitemane, Daughter of Kodlak Whitemane." Raven replied.
"Hmm, Scarlett you say, and she's a Whitemane? The one that's said to be the next Harbinger?" Raven simply nodded.
"As I thought." He said to himself, "I'm sure you can tell this poses a problem for me." "Yes." Raven replied, she could tell where this was headed.
"And what is your opinion on the matter? Should we kill her as a statement? Or let her live as a show of mercy."
Raven sighed lightly, "Why the Oblivion does he want my opinion? I couldn't care less what happens to her." she thought before giving her answer.
"Well, honestly I'm not sure, may I ask why you find my opinion so valuable?"
The General began to massage his temple with a hand, "Because unlike me or anyone here, you hold the most unbiased opinion." he said at length.
Raven raised an eyebrow, "Well she did almost kill me sir." she indicated the bandage wrapped around her waist, "I might not be as unbiased as you think I am."
The General conceded her point, "You make a valid point, but I trust you won't be that petty." he countered slyly.
Raven raised a hand in defeat, "Tricky bastard." she thought. "Very well, In my opinion either would be acceptable, it just depends on which statement you'd rather make. Would you rather be known as forgiving and merciful? Or ruthless and uncompromising? Are you leading through fear? Or respect?" Raven paused so the General could ponder on what she had said. "There is also the matter of where she is from that is of concern. Forgive me for pointing this out but, Imperial relations with Whiterun are… rocky, to put it lightly, at present am I correct?" The General nodded slowly, "And given that Kodlak Whitemane, who holds a considerable amount of authority in Whiterun, is this woman's father. Then killing her may not be the best course of action." she paused again, "But then, if you already suspect that Whiterun is lost to you, killing her would serve as a good sign that you mean business." She shrugged, "It's all a matter of opinion and perspective." she finished.
The General was silent for a long moment, after which he began to chuckled lightly and shake his head, "I don't know what I expected, but having my own thoughts repeated to me through you was not something I considered."
He cleared his throat, "What you said is indeed true, and helpful insight, but I believe I asked for your opinion on what should be done."
Raven could barely hold back an exasperated sigh that was forming in her throat, "What, that little speech wasn't enough?" She shrugged trying to formulate an answer, what would she do? It was a tough question.
"Well I suppose I'd let her off the hook." she said truthfully, " But not before making it perfectly clear that she's owes me. I find it's always nice to have someone of her station and skill at your disposal." she finished.
The General nodded, "Very well you've convinced me, I'll take your advice. He turned and shouted at the soldier escorting Scarlett to the line of soldiers, "You there! Take that woman to the sidelines to watch, her life will be spared this day!"
Both the soldier and the Companion looked extremely surprised by this, but never the less the soldier obeyed, dragging a resistant Scarlett behind him.
Raven could hear Scarlett yelling to be given back her weapons that were confiscated and to be untied.
She found this behavior to be mildly amusing, "She better calm down or they'll take her to the block for sure." She thought, "Dense nord, undoing the good I did for her."
Raven crossed her arms over her chest, while watching the first prisoner being led to the executioner's block, it was a tall, well built nord with blonde hair and clear blue eyes.
The announcer called out, "Ralof of Riverwood! Step forward!" The nord obeyed, "For your crimes against Skyrim, your sentence is death!"
Ralof was pushed down on the block, the executioner raised his cruel ax for the killing stroke.
Raven looked away, she didn't relish the idea of seeing a man's head being lopped off. Suddenly a booming roar sounded from the north, which caused the headsmen to hesitate.
Everyone gathered on the road looked to the sky with questioning and slightly fearful looks. "What in the name of Lady Nocturnal is that?" Raven thought as she examined the sky that was beginning to fill with dark storm clouds.
The Legate overseeing the execution motioned for the headsman to continue. The executioner again raised his deadly ax to put an end to the nords life, when out of the sky appeared a vast black shadow. It landed on a tower adjacent to the road where the execution was being held. The weight of it's landing caused the tower to groan in protest, and a shudder coursed through the ground at Raven's feet. Her eyes widened, she was paralyzed with fear, it was as if an unknown force was keeping her rooted to the earth. What was this thing? It was black like ebony, wings like that of a bat beat the air around it to steady itself on it's perch. Large taloned feet tore into the stone on which it sat, it's long tail swung back and forth for balance. Black horns curved over the top of the monster's head, it's glowing red eyes glared down at her. The beast arched its neck before roaring three indistinct words, the sky above began to swirl and turn an eerie red. Great rocks began to hurl down from the heavens, striking those who were to slow to dodge them.
Raven's hood was blown off her face by the force of the wind produced by the creature's giant wings. She covered her face with her forearm, as the beast spewed a raging fire from it's red maw.
Raven winced at the heat, she found she could finally move her feet. As she was about to take shelter in a nearby tower, a rock the size of a small wagon struck the ground a few feet away from her, sending her flying back and crashing to the ground.
The last thing she saw was someone running towards her, before her vision went dark.
"Uh, my head." Raven groans when she finally starts to stir from her unconscious slumber. Scarlett jerks awake at Raven's whine, and stretches sleepily, "So you're finally awake hmm?"
Raven rolled on her side to look at Scarlett, "You?" she glances around at her surroundings before refocusing on Scarlett, "What do you want?"
Scarlett regarded her for a moment before answering, "I don't "want" anything, I tied you up because you probably would have killed me if I hadn't."
Raven was silent for a minute, "I only kill if I have to. And why would you take me with you if you, or one of your rebel pals didn't want something? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense." She said stubbornly.
Scarlett shrugged, "You were unconscious, and defenseless, it just didn't seem right to leave you there."
Raven rolled onto her back, "How very noble of you." Scarlett turned at the sound of footsteps approaching her. It was Ulfric and he didn't look very pleased.
"You should be more courteous to the people who saved your life, spy." He said while glaring down at Raven. Raven returned his glare, "Oh forgive me your highness for my rude speech." she said sarcastically.
Ulfric was visibly angered by the little wood elf at his feet, and so Scarlett decided to intervene. "Leave her Ulfric she's a lot to handle, I'll take responsibility for her." Ulfric looked at Scarlett, and back at the venomous elf, who was still glaring obstinately at him.
"Fine, however you had better make her situation painfully known to her, otherwise we'll leave her to the wolves." He said before leaving Scarlett to "deal with" Raven.
Scarlett looked back down at Raven who was still glaring at the back of Ulfric's head, "Nice work there, insulting one of the most powerful men in Skyrim to his face."
Raven turned her glare to Scarlett, "I'm not particularly fond of Nords or their Nord leaders if you hadn't noticed."
"Oh, I've noticed." Scarlett replied, "You're not exactly subtle about how you feel." she added with an amused chuckle, this Raven character looked and acted like a cornered fox surrounded by wolves.
And yet she had to admire the little fox's gutsiness, she had just challenged one of the biggest wolves in the pack to his face without so much as flinching.
"So why am I here?" Raven asked. Scarlett considered this for a moment, "Because you know to much but I don't want to kill you." she said flatly.
Raven wiggled into a straightened position so she could sit up, "If you let me go I swear I'll never breathe a word of what I know." she said seriously.
Scarlett shook her head, "You do know that I don't exactly trust you right? If you behave yourself then we might get to a point where you don't have to be bound, but as for you being set free… That might not happen until the conclusion of the war." she said while glancing at Ulfric.
Raven chewed her lip thoughtfully, "Well then perhaps in the near future Ulfric and I can make a deal." she looked at Scarlett glumly, "That and it seems I am now indebted to you."
Scarlett raised an eyebrow, "I didn't think you would acknowledge that." she said slightly surprised by Raven's admittance of that fact. Raven scoffed, "I'm not entirely devoid of a moral code." she said almost as if Scarlett had offended her.
"And what do you mean by making a deal with Ulfric." Scarlett asked after a moment, Raven turned to look at her, "That's for me to know and you to find out." she said.
Scarlett sighed, "Fine." she leaned back up against the tree and closed her eyes, "We will probably be heading out soon so get as much rest as you can." Raven sat perfectly still for over a minute before demanding, "I'm hungry!" to Scarlett, who jumped at her sudden outburst. "Aren't we all?" she said wearily to Raven who was smiling at her innocently.
Raven perked up suddenly, "In my pocket!"
Scarlett gave her a perplexed look, "Your pocket….?"
"Jerky! Jerky in my pocket!" Raven exclaimed excitedly.
Scarlett blinked, "You have jerky in your pocket?"
Raven nodded, "Yes, if you help me get to it I will share." she said suddenly serious.
Scarlett rolled her eyes, and looked at Raven's multitude of pockets, "Um, which one?" Raven looked down and gestured to one with her chin, "That one I think." she said after a moment of contemplation.
Scarlett reached into the pocket but felt no jerky, "Oh wait its that one!" Raven gestured to another one. Scarlett began to reach for that one when Raven again changed her mind. This continued for about a minute and Scarlett had uncovered a surplus of hidden weapons (that Raven claimed to have no knowledge of) but only in the last pocket did she finally find the jerky.
Scarlett re-tied Raven's hands in front of her so that she could eat. After they had finished Ulfric gave the order to move out, with his band of six remaining soldiers, and one prisoner.
The little party of soldiers, an elf, and a Companion, managed to make it to make it back to Whiterun, in a little over a day. Scarlett, led the way to the entrance of the underforge, and led Raven, who had a bag placed over her head for secrecy, through to the training yard.
"Can I take this off now?" Raven asked impatiently. Scarlett pulled it off for her in response. Raven blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light, standing before the company of ragged soldiers and herself, was the entirety of the Companions.
Raven nearly took a step back before she stopped herself to not seem cowardly. Kodlak separated himself from the group and went to embrace his daughter.
Scarlett returned the embrace but winced as she did so, "Careful father, I've got a bit of an injury on my shoulder." Kodlak released his daughter and looked at her questioningly.
Scarlett lightly touched her wound, "Don't worry I'm fine." Kodlak turned to look at Ulfric. "What happened?" Ulfric crossed his arms, looking grim. "We were ambushed, and taken to Helgen for execution. And.." He trailed off before finishing.
"A dragon appeared from the sky." Scarlett finished for him. Kodlak stared at his daughter in disbelief, Scarlett nodded, "Although I guess we should be grateful because otherwise we would be dead." she finished with a grimly joking tone.
Kodlak took a minute to process this, "How is it you were captured? Your route was kept in the utmost secrecy." Ulfric gestured to Raven who had started to slowly inch away from Scarlett and her father.
"That was thanks to this little spy. She was following us from the very beginning I'd imagine, and she assisted the Imperials in our capture."
Raven was considerably afraid now that she had just been thrown under the wagon for everything that had befallen Ulfric's charge. She felt like bolting but she knew deep down that would get her nowhere and just make the situation far worse than it already was.
So she merely stood there, waiting for whatever judgement would be passed on her. She locked eyes with Kodlak in an attempt to convey her plight, yet not in a way that demanded pity for she knew she would receive non. It was merely a look of cold acceptance.
Kodlak nodded, "I see, but before we pass any judgement let's hear her side of the story hmm?" Raven saw in his eyes that this was his way of offering her a chance, she inclined her head in a simple show of thanks.
"But before that, let us rest and have something to eat." Everyone nodded in agreement, and began heading inside.
Raven was pushed in a corner and told to stay while the rest, sat around the table to eat. Scarlett glanced at Raven after a moment and decided to bring her something to eat, she picked up a piece bread, some meat, cheese, and some mead.
"Here." she said as she handed the offering to Raven. "Thanks." Raven said absentmindedly. Scarlett nodded and headed back to the table.
Raven was mentally rehearsing her story, she would have to be honest, because if she tried to lie she would most definitely be found out by someone.
When the eating was done Raven was seated in the middle of the hall, and surrounded by the members of the Circle and Ulfric. And so she gave her side of the story in as vivid detail as she could manage.
When she was done the hall was consumed in silence, until it was inevitably broken by Kodlak, "I see, so you're a thief, indebted to the Empire." Raven nodded.
He sighed, "I'm not fond of your kind, but then, I suppose everyone needs a trade. And if my daughter is able to show you mercy then I suppose I can as well."
He looked to Ulfric, "And you Ulfric? What say you?" Ulfric regarded Raven for a long moment before responding. "I suppose if she proves herself to me, and repays her debt, then I might show mercy as well."
Raven inwardly sighed in relief, "And although I too am not fond of lowly thieves, your organization could prove useful to me in the near future." Ulfric added, further driving in the fact that she owed him.
Raven nodded, "Of course, however, I'm afraid neither I nor my organization will be much help to you if we aren't granted some protection. The Imperials as of now have us at their beck and call."
Ulfric nodded, "I expected as much, it will be as you say, so long as you hold up your end of the bargain." Raven inclined her head, "I swear it on my life." She looked to Kodlak, "And I swear I will one day repay your mercy as well."
Scarlett looked approvingly at Raven, "I didn't know you were capable of being this polite!" she said trying to break the painfully serious mood of the hall.
Raven huffed lightly but otherwise didn't respond. "So what are we going to do with her then?" Vilkas decided to voice what everyone was thinking.
"Well I think it's about time we untie her." Scarlett said matter of looked doubtfully at Scarlett, "Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked.
Scarlett studied Raven, "I think she understands her position, and she gave her word. So yes, I think it's a good idea." Scarlett walked over to Raven with one of her daggers drawn to cut her bindings.
Raven tentatively rubbed her chafed wrists and stood. Kodlak turned and began heading out of the room, accompanied by Ulfric and the rest of the inner circle. Leaving only Scarlett and Raven behind.
"Well, It looks like you've been pardoned." Scarlett said cheerily. Raven gave a long sigh, "So it would seem." she said wearily.
Scarlett rubbed the back of her neck as she looked over at Raven. "Well I guess we should start over. Hi my name is Scarlett Whitemane."
Raven didn't respond so Scarlett taunted, "You know someone once told me it's polite to give your name once someone has given you theirs."
Raven looked Scarlett in the eyes and raised her eyebrows, " Forgive me if I'm a little dazed, I was just tossed to the wolves and barely made it out alive. I might need a little time to recover." she said in a slightly sarcastic tone.
Scarlett gave out a little laugh at Raven's choice of words and mumbled under her breath, "You have no idea."
"What was that?" Raven asked.
"Oh nothing" Scarlett replied dismissively, "Come on, you need to clean yourself up."
Raven looked down at herself and grunted in agreement, she was filthy, and her armor was in desperate need of cleaning, and Scarlett wasn't much better.
Scarlett led the ragged wood elf down to the rooms under Jorrvaskr, showed her to a washing basin and left to find her own.
When she returned, Raven was sitting on the floor in a loose fitting black under shirt, and snug leather pants. Her hair was still slightly damp, held in a messy bun, and she was meticulously polishing her armor. Her sword and bow (which had been returned to her when they had decided to charge Scarlett with keeping an eye on her) were laid next to her, clean and gleaming in the dull candle light.
"My, aren't you productive." Scarlett said to get Raven's attention. Raven glanced at Scarlett, "You learn to be quick about everything when you do my kind of work." She replied simply.
When Raven finally finished she looked up to inspect Scarlett. She obviously still hadn't let her guard down, the daggers strapped to her thighs were a testament to that. But other than the daggers she looked much more relaxed with her light brown leather pants and a sleeveless white tunic.
"I have somewhere I have to be in the morning and since I'm charged with watching you, I might have to leave you here tomorrow with someone else." Scarlett stated as she walked over to Raven's pile of weapons and picked up her sword.
Raven eyed Scarlett carefully as the other woman inspected the sword. After Scarlett had finished looking it over she gingerly put it down and looked back at Raven.
"Where did you get that sword?" she asked, an enchanted ebony sword was not an easy weapon to come by. Raven shrugged, "I… Acquired it on a job." she said dismissively, Scarlett raised an eyebrow, "Acquired? You mean stole."
Raven shrugged, "Acquired, stole, what's the difference really? I relieved the owner of the trouble of caring for it, it was just sitting in a glass case, waiting to be taken."
Scarlett sighed, "First there's a big difference, and second, you can't justify taking something that isn't yours!" she said exasperated. Raven leaned back from her work and met the Nords gaze, "Would you change how you felt if I told you I stole it from the great General himself?"
Scarlett looked at the grinning face of Raven in disbelief, "How…" she trialed off, sighed, and shook her head. Raven gave a fake laugh, "See, you're awfully quick to put me down on something without even knowing the whole. Yes I stole it from right under the General's nose, and replaced it with my plain old steel sword, and you know what? Nobody has noticed!"
She laughed again, this time it was more genuine. Scarlett was still staring at her when she said, "You're a little weird sometimes, you know that?" Raven cleared her throat and returned to polishing her armor, "I suppose I have my quirks." she said absentmindedly.
When the two women were done, Scarlett found a place for Raven to sleep in a small closet of a guest room, and headed to bed herself.
Scarlett was up bright and early the next morning, after getting herself ready she went to look in on Raven. The wood elf was sprawled out on the bed, hugging her pillow, and looked dead to the world.
Scarlett just shook her head and nudged Raven experimentally to see if she would wake up. Raven immediately shot awake and looked at Scarlett with a suspicious and perplexed look, before recognition filled her sleep clouded gaze.
"Oh, it's just you." she said in a slightly irritated tone, she stretched and asked, "What time is it?" Scarlett crossed her arms over her chest, "It's about five o'clock in the morning." she replied while giving Raven a disapproving glance, before heading out the door, "Get yourself ready, we get up early around here. Otherwise no breakfast." and with that she left leaving Raven to get ready.
The elf sat for minute, stewing over the fact that she needed to move. "Well, I'm not getting any younger." She convinced herself before painfully getting to her feet, the wound she had received from Scarlett was far from healed.
Raven got herself dressed, wearing the same clothes with the addition of a leather jerkin and weather worn boots. She briefly examined her hair in the mirror, it was tousled and messy, so on the way up stairs she arranged it in a loose brain and threw it behind her back when she emerged in the dining hall.
The entirety of the house was seated eating the first meal of the day, everyone was talking loudly and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Scarlett leaned back and motioned for Raven to come join her.
Raven hesitantly seated herself at the table , "Here." Scarlett plopped a plate of food in front of her.
Raven looked at it skeptically, "Thanks."
Scarlett rolled her eyes, "Oh, don't worry it's not poisoned." She said reassuringly.
Raven shook her head and picked up her plate, "I think I'm going to eat outside, it's to noisy in here." Scarlett looked exasperatedly at her, but otherwise didn't say anything as Raven headed out to the training yard.
Vilkas leaned closer to Scarlett, "She's quite the charmer isn't she?" he asked dryly.
"I guess you could call it that." Scarlett said flatly before returning to her food. Vikas watched Raven exit the hall, "Are you sure it's a good idea to let her out by herself?"
Scarlett chewed a mouthful of lamb thoughtfully before replying, "She's not going anywhere, she left all of her weapons and armor down stairs. I doubt she'd run off without them."
Raven stepped outside and gratefully breathed in the fresh air of the morning, "I think I'll go get a good view of the sunrise." With this thought in mind she ascended a nearby guard town,(not without a little difficulty regarding her wound) sat on its roof to enjoy her breakfast, and watch the sun float up above the mountain peaks.
"Sssppptt!" Raven jumped in surprise, "What in Nocturnal's name was that?" She scanned the ground under her, but there was no one there.
"On the wall!" someone whispered from behind me.
Raven cautiously leaned over the edge of the tower, only to see Thrynn clinging to the side of the tower a foot or so below.
"What in the gods names, are you doing here!" she whispered yelled at him.
Thrynn grinned mischievously at her, "Trying to get up this wall at the moment." he replied smartly.
Raven glared at him for a moment, before offering her hand to help him up. Thrynn seated himself across from her, panting to regain his breath.
"You must be half squirrel or something to climb as well as you do." He joked once he had regained his composure.
Raven's scowl deepened, "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?' she enunciated each word in order to inform Thrynn that she was not in a joking mood.
Thrynn rubbed the back of his neck carelessly, "I'm here to make sure your ok. I've been tracking you ever since we got word you were lost on the job."
Raven sighed, "The Imperials?" Thrynn nodded.
"Brynjolf sent you." He nodded again, "Word traveled faster than I anticipated. I'm almost offended he didn't have more faith in me." she said sourly.
Thrynn shook his head, "I don't know why you're surprised, you two are as thick as thieves!"
Raven wrinkled her nose at his attempt at a joke, "Thrynn, that was terrible, even for you."
Thrynn shrugged, "Pun intended."
Raven let out an exasperated sigh, "Well you can report back that I am alive and well. And I am currently being held at the mercy of the Companions and Ulfric Stormcloak, so it is very possible that I will not be returning home anytime soon."
Thrynn's deminer suddenly went serious. "They're holding you prisoner?" Raven shrugged, "In the nicest possible way I suppose." she replied.
Thrynn rubbed his temples, "This is quite the situation you've gotten yourself into." Raven nodded in agreement.
"Thief! Where are you?" Thrynn instinctively lowered himself belly down on the roof, and Raven leaned over to whisper as softly as she could, "Go back to the Guild, tell Brynjolf and him only what happened. Tell him to stay out of it, I'll handle it."
Thrynn nodded, and Raven began descending down the inner wall of the tower. Vilkas stood with his arms crossed in the middle of the training yard with a displeased scowl adorning his stern face.
Raven crossed the yard to stand in front of Vilkas, while deftly mimicking his body language. It was a bit of a comical sight, seeing a nearly seven foot nord and a five foot elf locked in a battle of mockery.
"Yes?" She asked after a moment of silence, Vilkas had been examining her as if he were trying to decide if he approved of the little elf or not.
"Scarlett left to see the Jarl, and she put me in charge of you." he stated in the most unenthusiastic voice Raven thought she had ever heard.
"You seem thrilled." Raven said sarcastically, before walking past him to the hall. She could hear Vilkas' heavy footsteps falling behind her, she sighed inwardly, "Well this is going to be a joy." she thought to herself.
"What's that blade you got there?"
"So, There's a dragon in Skyrim." The Jarl stated after getting over the initial shock of Scarlett's news. Under instructions from both Ulfric and her father, Scarlett had made her way to Dragonsreach, the hall in which Jarl Balgruuf the Greater dwelled.
"Yes, I assure you, I had a wonderful view when the Imperials were attempting decapitate me." Scarlett replied to the Jarl's rhetorical question.
Balgruuf gave Scarlett a disapproving glance, "And it was headed in the direction of Riverwood you say?" Scarlett nodded.
The jarl leaned back in his throne, studying the high ceiling above. "It's hard for me to believe this fantastic tale of dragons, and rebel plots."
He returned his gaze to Scarlett, "However, I trust you, and your father's judgement." He sighed, "Therefore, by the decree of the Jarl, Whiterun must be fortified against this looming threat."
The steward, with quill in hand, speedily wrote down this decree on a long piece of parchment.
"Also, any soldiers that can be spared will be sent to Riverwood, to aid in its preservation."
Scarlett gave a mock shudder, "All this talk, you could've had a force already heading to Riverwood." she jested.
The Jarl shook his head, but despite himself, he smiled at the young warrior, "formality is often an inconvenient thing, yet I'm obligated to. Being the Jarl and all." he added with a wink.
He had always been well acquainted with the Companions of Jorrvaskr, especially its unofficial leader, Kodlak. Whenever the two visited, little Scarlett was nearly always there, quickly winning his affection, with her play fighting, and make believe adventures.
Balgruuf turned to his steward, "Did you get all that Proventus?" The man nodded, "Every word." he replied while carefully rolling the scroll.
"Good, deliver the orders to Ireleth." The Jarl ordered dismissively. The steward nodded, and walked briskly out the main doors of the hall.
Scarlett watched him leave, "Speaking of Ireleth, where is she? It's unusual for her to be absent from your side."
Balgruuf scratched his yellow beard thoughtfully, "I believe she went down to the guard barracks. Something about setting the lazy milk drinkers back in line." he said with the faintest hint of a grin.
Scarlett grinned back, she knew better than most Irethel's temperament. The Jarl's bodyguard, a stern and merciless dark elf, would catch Scarlett and the twins sneaking in and around Dragonsreach, which led to a long lecture, and swat on there back side with the flat of her blade.
"I best be heading back, father will want to know these orders as well, perhaps the Companions can be of some assistance as well." Scarlett stated dismissively.
"Aye, your assistance in any way would be helpful, I'll send word to Kodlak if you're needed." Balgruuf finished.
Scarlett inclined her head respectfully, and turned to leave Dragonsreach.
She took her time on the walk down from the Jarl's hall, the day was still young, and yet the citizens of Whiterun were already up and about, seeing to their daily lives. She enjoyed watching the activity, and trading friendly greetings with her various neighbors.
Scarlett was in a surprisingly good mood when she arrived back at Jorrvaskr. She entered and scanned the hall as she always did, to make sure everything was in its proper place (things seemed to fall apart whenever she was away).
Nothing seemed unusual, until she spotted Vilkas, and Farkas, standing around one of the timbers supporting the roof. The two seemed to be staring at something in the rafters above. Kodlak and Ulfric were seated at the table, and seemed to be ignoring the situation entirely.
"Come on down! You can't stay up there forever!" Vilkas spoke loudly into the rafters.
Scarlett strode over to the group, "What in the name of the Nine Divines, are you two doing?" She asked, earning her their attention.
Vilkas huffed, "Your little "guest", decided to roost in the rafters like some kind of bird. Because she thought I was "Intolerable" and "cranky"." he grumbled to himself for a moment. "Little pipsqueak." he muttered.
"What's intolerable mean?" Farkas inquired curiously.
"It means I have an extreme dislike for something, and so find it hard to tolerate. In this case, that would be you." Raven's voice floated lazily down from the timbers on which she sat.
Scarlett rolled her eyes and sighed, "I knew I should have sent you instead." She grumbled to Vilkas, before turning her attention to the treed thief. Raven was seated on a beam with her back to another that supported the roof, with one leg swinging idly off the side.
"What are you doing Raven?" she asked simply.
"Escaping my captors for a moment." Raven replied after a long moment of silence.
"Why? What'd they do, that you should call them "intolerable"? Scarlett questioned patiently.
Raven repositioned herself with her legs folded in front of her, with her face leaned over to view her assailants. "That one." her gestured to Vilkas, "Tried to take my sword! Forcefully I might add. When I refused, that other one (Farkas) attempted to subdue me! So I outmaneuvered the brute and climbed up here." She finished with an indignant huff.
"Brute?" Farkas said in an offended tone, "That's a little harsh."
"Harsh, but entirely true." Raven replied flatly.
Vilkas looked as if he were about to climb up after the little elf and knock her senseless, but despite herself, Scarlett couldn't help but think this situation hilarious.
She started to laugh, "Do you realise how this looks? By Ysgramor it's like a comedy act!" she shook her head, "Vilkas, Farkas, promise not to pummel the little elf, or take her sword so she'll come down."
The twins looked at her with great displeasure, "Just do it Wolfy." Scarlett said in a commanding tone.
Vilkas worked his jaw in irritation, "Fine." he said.
"Alright you heard him, get down here before I decide you're more trouble than you're worth." Scarlett called up to Raven.
Raven was silent for a moment before she slowly made her way down to the floor. She lightly hopped off the timber she had used to climb up, landing in front of Scarlett. She dusted herself off, folded her arms, and looked at Scarlett expectantly.
"I would tell you to give some kind of apology but I don't think you'd comply." Scarlett said with a faint air of amusement.
Raven shrugged, "Probably true."
Vilkas shook his head in a defeated manner, and turned to leave. "I don't want anything else to do with that one. Please, keep her away from me." he said before heading out the front door of the hall.
Scarlett chuckled, "Poor wolfy, I think you hurt his feelings."
"He'll be fine, he just doesn't deal with women well." Farkas commented
Scarlett raised her eyebrows at him, "And you do ice brain?" she teased.
Farkas shrugged, "I never said that. I don't think there's a man alive that claim that."
Raven made a disgusted noise deep in her throat, "You make it sound like we're some foreign creature."
Farkas laughed, "I never said that either, just that I don't pretend to know what you're thinking." He turned to follow the path of his brother to the front yard.
Scarlett turned her attention back to Raven, "I guess leaving you here with Vilkas was a mistake, you're an awfully hard person to keep in line."
"So I've been told." Raven replied dismissively.
Scarlett scoffed, "Come on." she grabbed Raven by her jerkin and hauled her out to the training yard. Protest as she might Raven couldn't over power the nord who was twice her size. Scarlett made her sit at the table overlooking the porch, and pointed to a pile of finely whittled sticks, feathers, and arrowheads.
"Why don't you make yourself useful, Aela could use some new arrows. You're an archer right?"
Raven looked at Scarlett with a displeased scowl, "Yes."
"And you know how to fletch?"
"Unfortunately."
"Well then, get busy, I'll watch while I train."
Raven examined the fletching material skeptically, before starting to work. Scarlett, satisfied this would keep her busy, went out into the training yard, beating the training dummy with her firsts as a warm up.
"I'm done." Scarlett was thrown off mid strike, aiming for the head of a practice dummy. Her massive war ax cleaved the dummy in two, instead of simply removing its head as she had originally intended.
Raven whistled, "Wouldn't want to get between you and that ax."
Scarlett sighed and wiped her brow with her forearm. "Great, now I'll need to make a new one." She glared at Raven, "How are you already done? I don't think it's even been an hour."
Raven shrugged, "As I said, when you do the work that I do, you learn to be quick at most everything."
"Well, let's see if your work is acceptable." Scarlett went over to the neatly stacked pile of arrows. She selected one, and inspected it carefully, before returning it to the pile with a surprised look on her face. The arrows were expertly crafted, and sturdy, perfectly balanced. They were originally meant for hunting and so didn't need to be incredibly well made, Scarlett wagered these were good enough to use for mild combat in closer quarters.
"I'm impressed, these are even better than the local fletchers."
Raven crossed her arms over her chest smugly, "What exactly were you expecting?"
Scarlett shrugged, "Honestly, small game grade."
Raven scowled, but otherwise remained silent.
"Where did you learn how to make arrows?" she asked out of genuine curiosity.
Raven didn't answer for a moment, as if trying to decide if Scarlett deserved to know. "A friend of mine taught me." she replied shortly.
Scarlett studied Raven for a moment, less than satisfied with her answer. She considered pressing for answers, but decided not to, she figured Raven wouldn't be that cooperative. "I suppose you can do what you want now, I can't think of anything you could do right now, but I'll let you know when I think of something." she said cheerily, and turned to continue her training.
Raven shrugged, "Alright then, I'm going to take a nap." Scarlett glanced back at her as Raven headed inside and shook her head, wondering how in the world she got stuck with this character.
"Raven! Wake up!" Raven jerked awake to see Scarlett nudging her. She was laying out on a bench in the hall, and had been sleeping for a few hours.
Raven yawned and stretched sleepily, "What do you want? I was in the middle of a rather enjoyable dream." She glowered at the nord, "Enjoyable dreams are few and far between for me." she said sourly.
Scarlett rolled her eyes, "I don't have time to apologize, I need you to get ready for a fight. Get ready down stairs, and hurry!"
Raven didn't question her, but as she headed down stairs she mumbled, "You had enough time to tell me how you didn't have enough time."
Raven came up a few minutes later dressed in her black and silver armor, a cowl and face guard concealed her face. She was still adjusting the leather thongs on her arm guards.
"Ready to go?" Scarlett inquired, the elf simply nodded and said, "Just as soon as you tell me what it is you need me for?"
"I'll tell you on the way, we must hurry." with these last words Scarlett led Raven at a steady jog out the doors of Jorrvaskr, and down to the city gates.
She explained the sudden departure on the way, "The Jarl informed me, not an hour ago, that reinforcements are desperately needed at Whiterun tower."
"What happened?" Raven asked, she was finding it difficult to keep up with the nord's long stride.
"I'm not entirely sure, there was an attack made on the tower, only one man survived and managed to make it back here to warn us." she paused, "However, he was to shaken to make much sense about the attacker. Something about a terrible beast, and fire."
Raven glanced at Scarlett, a familiar chill creeped up her spine.
"I know what you're thinking." Scarlett said without looking at her. "Let's hope, and pray, we're wrong."
What'd you think? Please leave a comment if you liked it! Due to the recent split between me and my partner, this story might not be continued for some time. I apologize to anyone who is saddened by this news, I feel the same. Just try to understand that it's hard for me to write anything related to this story, for reasons I'm sure you can understand. Thanks you so much for reading this, it means a lot. love you guys! I hope you have a lovely rest of your day!