Authors note: I have completely rewritten this chapter to the format of my latter chapters and also combined the two Helgan chapters into one larger one. I will be doing this to the other early chapters as well.

The Adventures of Olaf Bluetooth. As of today; August 27, 2016; the story Adventures of Olaf Bluetooth are on hold until I finish this chapter.

23 First Seed 4E 201 10:59 AM

"Some say that when you die, your life's achievements and disasters flashes back to you." I thought solemnly as I approached what I believed would be my destiny; to die by the hands of the Imperials in defense of my homeland. Approaching the block, I heard the distant roar of some animal that I never heard before which not only un-nerved me, but un-nerved almost everyone around me; including the Imperials.

Four hours earlier.

The battle was long fought between my lord Ulfric Stormcloak's personal guard and an ambush by the Penitus Oculatus under the command of military governor General Tullius. It was beyond surprising to find the Penitus Oculatus were the ones who ambushed us as they fought far more efficiently than what we anticipated; granted as they are the personal guard of Emperor Mede II, I cannot say that I was surprised. As I attacked one from attempting to kill my battle buddy Ralof, I was struck upside the head by the butt of a sword and quickly lost consciousness.

"Hey, wake up" Ralof ordered his comrade who was knocked out.

"Ugh, my head hurts. Ralof, what happened? Feels like I got ran over by a horse drawn cart" I said as Ralof couldn't help but snicker at my less than ideal

"We were ambushed by the Imperials Gunjar; we were no match for them as they caught us completely unaware, so were caught with our pants down." Ralof chuckled remembering running out of his tent in nothing but underwear.

"Who is that in front of Lord Ulfric?" Gunjar asked noticing another man in the cart that he did not recognize from the rebellion.

"This man was caught trying to steal the Imperials horses, but was caught by a battlemage." Ralof explained remembering how the man crapped his pants only realizing to late that it was the Imperial Legion that he stole from.

"Damn you Stormcloaks! Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and been half way to Hammerfell." Lokir said scowling at the Stormcloaks in his company.

"We are all brothers and sisters in bondage now thief." Ralof countered eyeing the thief.

"And what is wrong with him, huh?" Lokir asked eyeing the large bound man in front of him.

"Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King." Ralof and I both shouted at the thief in their company un-nerving him greatly.

"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? If they have captured you…. Oh gods, where are they taking us?" The horse thief asked in a panic knowing that the answer would not be good.

"I don't know where we are going, but Sovngarde awaits." Ralof solemnly mentioned while looking over his comrade.

"Hey, Gunjar, what's wrong? Apart from the death portion that is." Ralof asked noting Gunjar's seemingly depressed state.

"Past memories; nothing more and nothing left." I said as I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

"Do you want to talk about it? Seeing how we are going to die, might as well talk about it so that you can at least die with a sound mind." Ralof said wondering why this was the first time Gunjar brought up his past.

"I guess I should start at the beginning of why I joined the Stormcloaks". I said as I started my story with Ralof and Ulfric intently listening.

5 Evening Star 4E 200

The political situation in the Blue Palace was dire, with Ulfric's rebellion gaining momentum and the other Jarl's confidence greatly shaken in Elisif's ability to lead the country through a very dark and troubled period. Standing before her throne, I noticed that Elisif had nothing but hatred and disgust bore upon her face as she surveyed me over before proceeding to chew me out over my decision to join Ulfric.

"How dare you side with the very man that murdered my Husband Gunjar!" Elisif fumed stairing me dead in the eyes, hatred steaming from her voice.

"And what would you have me do Elisif, sit and watch the Empire destroy what is left of Talos's Empire because of those damn elves?" I yelled back at her getting glares from many of her thanes though they remained silent.

"I expected you to stay loyal to the Empire, to me, and to Skyrim. Instead, you decide to up and join that traitorous man and his insurrection." Elisif said still seated on her throne.

"Elisif, we've been friends since childhood, and you know that ever since the Empire surrendered to the Thalmor during the Great War, the Empire has been slowly in decline. Ulfric's rebellion is an opportunity to rebuild the Empire as it once was before the Oblivion Crises and before the Great War." I explained to Elisif attempting to convince that her hatred of Ulfric was misplaced, and that it should be directed towards the Empire and the damn elves.

"I am sorry Gunjar, but even though we are the best of friends, I cannot even bear to look at you anymore, you've betrayed my trust in you to the point that I want you to leave Solitude. I'm sorry that I married Torygg and not you." She screamed with tears falling down her face.

"I understand Elisif, and am truly sorry that you are in this situation. I pray to the divines that you will never have to go through what I am going through." I said leaving the Blue Palace being escorted by two guards and hearing a door slam behind me who were also mutering some profanities under their breath.

"Thane Firebeard, can you ensure that the Guards do not interfere with Gunjar leaving?" Elisif asked looking towards her Steward.

"Yes my Jarl, I'll alert the guards to leave Gunjar alone." Falk said as he motioned for the guard captain to meet with him.

"Thank you Falk Firebeard." Gunjar said as he turned to leave the Blue Palace. As Gunjar left the Blue Palace for what he believed to be the last time, Elisif retreated to her chambers.

As I finished my story, I noticed that both Ulfric and Ralof had taken an interest in my story with a great passion as I never really spoke of my past before today that is. As we were hurried off the carts, each and every one of us knew that our time on Mundus had come to an end, or so we thought. What we were unaware of was that the gods themselves had finally decided to take an interest in the suffering and had set in forth a plan that would shake up all of Tamriel; the return of the dragons.

"That is harsh man, I remember when you first came to Windhelm, you were a broken man, but no one ever asked." Ralof said as we were hurried off the carts and placed into two lines, the regular soldiers to the left and Ulfric's personal guard to the right. I found it odd that I was placed within Ulfric's personal guard even though I never made it to that rank, but then again I guess the Imperials had no idea either.

"Well, guess in a few minutes, all my heartache and problems will cease to exist. I cannot say that I will miss my life, but I will miss those with whom I have had the pleasure of knowing." I said morbidly chuckling as I stared down the headsmen who promptly returned said glare.

"Why are we stopping?" Lokir frantically asked noticing that both carts had come to a stop in front of the Helgan Keep.

"Why do you think? End of the line. Let's go, shouldn't keep the Gods waiting for us" Ralof said as he and Gunjar proceeded to get off the cart.

"No wait! I'm not a rebel." Lokir said frantically as he reluctantly got off the cart.

"Face your death with courage, thief!" Ralof said as the lines to the executioner's block began to form.

"You've got to tell them; I am not with you. This is a mistake!" Lokir said frantically as he saw the Imperial guards and Headsman approach the cutting block.

"All prisoners will approach the block when their name is called!" The Imperial officer presiding over the execution yelled as she readied to have today's business finished.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm" Hadvar stated reading the names off the list.

"The Empire and their dammed lists" Ralf stated with disgust; I would have agreed with him on this, but lists were not a necessarily bad thing in my opinion, eventhough they did have an issue with dragging things on further than what normally would happen.

"Ralof of Riverwood" Hearing his name being called, I saw Ralof head up towards the line taking a side towards Ulfric's right and standing at attention with hands bound behind his back.

"Gunjar Shield-Crusher" I heard my name called as was guided towards the middle by a Legionary who would keep us from running.

Within a few minutes, all of the prisoners accounted for and headed to the block to face execution.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, some here in Helgan calls you a hero, but a hero doesn't use the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne. You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos. The Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace." Tullius finished as the first prisoner called up to the block.

"As fearless in death as he was in life" Ralof said solemnly as the next Prisoner being called to the execution block.

"Next prisoner" Ordered the captain

"To the block prisoner, nice and easy." Hadvar said as Gunjar proceeded to approach the block and stopped in front of it, just to be forcibly pushed down into the execution position.

"So, this is how I am going to die. I guess I always thought that I would die of old age with Elisif at my side, gods, life really is unfair". Gunjar thought as he heard a roar from over near the mountains again.

"There it is again, did you hear that?" Hadvar asked uneasy over the ominous noise.

As the headsman readied his axe to decapitate Gunjar in a quick swing, a massive black dragon appeared over the mountain heading straight for Helgan.

"Sentries, what do you see!" Ordered the captain as the massive creature landed on the keeps tower.

"What in Oblivion is that thing?" Tullius asked afraid of the answer he would get.

"DRAGON!" I shouted in complete disbelief knowing full well that this would spell the end of Skyrim, and possibly Tamriel all together. The return of the dragons, oh what a time to be alive.

The massive black dragon landed upon the roof of Helgan keep, and with a demonic voice shouted something into the air; forming miles above us was a meteor shower that while dangerous also provided us a chance of escape. Taking the initiative, I followed Ulfric and Ralof into a guard tower overlooking the keep and upon entering, a few of my comrades in arms barricaded the door shut so that the Imps would not follow. Catching our breath and thanking the gods for our salvation, we quickly regained awareness of our senses and formulated a plan to save our hides from this dragon.

"Lord Ulfric, what was that thing? Could the legends be true?" Ralof frantically asked Ulfric.

"Legends don't burn down villages". Ulfric said as he observed the situation. "We need to leave, now!" He shouted to get all his available guards up and moving. Unfortunately, a few of his guards were mortally wounded and we had to leave them for dead, which was the hardest thing I had to ever witness and or even do.

"Come Gunjar, through the tower. Go!" Ralof shouted as he and I proceeded up the tower just for the massive creature to crash through a wall in the side of the tower. Making our way up to the middle portion of the tower, I noticed Ragnar attempting to remove rubble that blocked our path of escape; however, as I was about to go assist him, the massive dragon's head came crashing through the outer wall and with a quick snap, halfway devoured Ragnar leaving nothing but his lower torso. The dragon cocked his head towards me and as he peered into my soul with his demonic red eyes, I could feel something within me stir; this thing apparently caught said dragon off guard and it took off to continue destroying the town.

"Jump through the roof, we'll meet you on the other side". Ralof shouted as he and his brother in arms pushed me through the hole in the tower. AS I feel nearly ten feet from the middle of the tower, I came crashing through the burnt remains of the taverns roof, and upon getting to my feel, I quickly made my way downstairs and into the inner courtyard that just ten minutes prior was brimming with life with the excitement of Ulfric's execution. Kinda ironic in a way, the dragon in its fury of destroying the town and killing the residence had helped spare my life as well as the lives of my friends.

"Hamming, you need to get over here now!" Hadvar shouted as the massive black dragon landed in front of Hamming's father.

"That a boy, you're doing great". Hadvar said as Hamming ran behind the destroyed Inn.

"Shit, Torolf" Hadvar shouted shielding Hammings eyes from witnessing his father being devoured by the dragon.

"Still alive prisoner? Stay with me if you want to stay that way." Hadvar said as I took shelter behind a burnt out house.

"So, where are we going to hide from that monstrosity?" I asked eyeing the sky looking for where that dragon made off to.

"We have to head to the keep. It is our only chance, General Tullius and the others should be closing in on the Keep as we speak. As for you being a Stormcloak, I don't think that matters at the moment as there are bigger problems than Ulfric's rebellion." Hadvar stated preparing his weapon if the dragon ever decided to give him its undivided attention.

I couldn't believe that the once proud city of Helgan is nothing but a smoking ruin now because of the ongoing dragon attack. The smell of blood, burnt flesh, and death perforated the senses of every surviving sole in the city, currently fighting for their lives against the massive dragon. As I ran with Hadvar in an attempt to reach the sanctuary of the keep, I was horrified by the sheer amount of carnage that was ever present around me; the war was nothing compared to this. Corpses littering the ground burnt to a crisp with not so much as even blood marking where they were at which I had to guess was because the dragons fire was enough to not only boil their blood, but dissipate it as well through steam.

"Into the keep Hadvar, we are leaving this gods' forsaken place". General Tullius ordered as the remaining defenders and his guard continued to pepper the dragon with anything they could muster; all in a futile attempt to allow the very small number of survivors to escape the city. I had to admit, this was the Imperial Legion at its best; making a distraction so that those they are sworn to defend can have a fighting chance of survival, even at the cost of their own lives.

"Yes General Tullius. We have to make it to the keep prisoner; it is our only hope of surviving." Hadvar stated as he and the prisoner ran through the barbican protecting the Keep and running into the other Stormcloak survivors.

"I am sorry Hadvar, but I have to rejoin my friends and comrades. Gods guide you out of this place, and pray that our next meeting is not during war."

"Gods guide you too." Hadvar stated as he ran towards Tullius guard and Gunjar, Ralof, and the rest of the survivors with them retreated into the keep.

The dreary and depressing feel of inside of Helgan's keep mixed with the moister that many of the massive stone buildings tend to build up in Skyrim's harsh climate had weathered the old stone facades that once adorned the walls, and the flags to prematurely start disintegrating from the bottom up was enough to un-nerve even the most battle-hardened of soldiers. Walking around, I noticed that there were two gates, one opened by a lever that we had not possible way of opening, and another that was only opened through a key; which I assumed would have to be on the keep guard captain. Looking around, I noticed that there were some supplies scattered about, and a few other Stormcloak's had managed to get here before us, but had massive bite marks on their body and must had bleed out minutes within entering the keep.

"Gunjar, come here so that I can get those bindings off of you." Ralof said as he pulled out a small iron dagger that he always carried in his boot.

"Right." I said approaching Ralof whom cut the rope off my hands freeing them.

"Thank you brother, now let's get out of here," I said walking towards the gate. "Damn, the gate is locked; we need to find the key Ralof." I continued when we both heard footsteps approaching from the garrison barracks that was behind the locked gate opened by the lever.

"You hear that; we need to hide in the shadows." Ralof said as he took one side of the door and Gunjar took the opposite side of Ralof.

As the two unknown people ran down the hall towards the main hall of the keep, both Ralof and I were wondering if they were friend, foe, or some neutral civilians that were lucky and managed to get to safety without being harassed by the dragon.

"Get that door open auxiliary, we need to evacuate the castle garrison and report back to Castle Dour is Solitude." The unknown voice ordered as their companion pulled the chain that lowered the gate.

"Yes captain." The auxiliary replied pulling the lever and starting the opening mechanism. Seeing the gate slowly begin to open, Ralof and I dodged into the corner as close as we could get to allow them to come into the center before pouncing. As they came into the room that Ralof and I were hidden in, we yelled at the top of our lungs our battle cry and charged the two Imperials who were caught off guard by our sudden attack.

"For Ulfric!" Ralof yelled as the pair stepped through the gate.

"For Skyrim!" I yelled as Ralof's unexpected attack quickly cut the auxiliary down, the captain however was ready.

"You rebels are going to wish that the dragon never showed up when I am finished you." The Imperial captain said as she not only drew her sword, but also whispered some incoherent ramblings as she begun to strike.

The melee between the Imperial Captain and I lasted a good couple of minutes until she lost her footing, and I slashed across the abdomen spelling portions of her intestines, and incoherently saying some sort of curse hoping that the dragon will eat us. As I watched the captain fall to the ground dead, I rummaged through her belonging before feeling the key that was buried down in the valley of her bust, and upon grasping the key, I snapped it loose from her. Placing the key into the key hole, I opened the gate for Ralof and I to use to get the heck out of dodge.

"Well Gunjar, that didn't last long, and here I thought I would have had to bail your lazy arse out as soon as the captain got into melee with you." Ralof laughed as he took the captains shield to use for defense as I also grabbed the auxiliaries shield.

"Very funny Ralof." I said in a mocked hurt tone getting a chuckle out of Ralof.

"Right here, let's get out of here." Ralof said as he motioned for me to unlock the gate with the blood soaked key.

"Right behind you Gunjar, and try not to trip on anything this time. I do not want to have to drag your heavy arse out of this keep like we did at Frostman Keep." Ralof said much to my detriment.

"Keep close; don't know if we are going to run into any Imperial dogs down here." I said unsheathing an axe that I had found on my dead comrade.

"Right behind you." Ralof said as we proceeded down the stairs and into a small storeroom.

"Shush, you hear that? Imperials!" I said surveying the surroundings to find that the only way through was by fighting the Imperials.

"On three, we attack." Ralof said as he counted down.

"For Skyrim!" Both yelled as their axes caught the two imperials by surprise and quickly dispatched them before they could even counter.

"Is it me, or were those Imperials really easy to dispatch?" I asked getting a silent nod from Ralof and the two the proceeded down the hall into the torturer chamber. Upon entering the torture chamber, we were disgusted by the sight before us; inside several cages were a skeleton, a wolf, and a rouge mage; why did the torturer have a wolf in a cage, we will never know. As Ralof and I fought the torturer and his assistants and upon defeating them, we inspected the chamber and were horrified by what they had done to our comrades over the weeks that they had been held captive. I found several men who had their reproductive organs removed and if I had to guess, they were awake during said removal. I also found a few female Stormcloak soldiers as well who looked like they were ravaged by a few Imps, but one in particular had caught my eye. She was still alive, and by the looks of it was held here for nearly a year; her belly was swollen in late stages of pregnancy and she was chained down to a table. Cutting the chains loose for her to move around, I found some cloths that she could dress herself in, and upon informing her of what was transpiring outside, she agreed to assist us; her name was Josephine Winter-Freeze, and she is a master at using a bow.

After reaching the end of the maze of catacombs that dot the bottom of Helgan; Ralof, Josephine, and I made our way to what appears to be an escape tunnel and upon crossing the draw bridge, a very ferocious attack by the dragon caused the cave overlooking the drawbridge to collapse preventing us from heading back the way we came.

"Only one way out now." I said as the three of us looked down the dark maze of passages that were no doubt belonging to a long forgotten cave. As we made our way through the maze of passageways, we came across an open chamber and that was when Ralof practically freaked out; a head of us was nothing but a spider nest. Drawing my sword, I intended to charge the spiders only to get stopped by Josephine who told me that she could snip every last one of them before they could even get close; deciding that it would be best to let her deal with them, Ralof and I took up defensive positions behind her. Two minutes later and all the spiders were dead and I saw Josephine walk up to them, bending down which had to be hard on account of her very large belly, and proceeded to get their venom for her arrows. After a few minutes of rummaging through the spiders, Josephine was ready to continue on our way. Making our way down a smaller passageway, we came across another large chamber, and this time there was a very large black bear that was sleeping. We had two choices, sneak by or fight; deciding not to take any chances with Josephine's delicate condition, I told her to send a few arrows at it to slow it down while Ralof and I attacked the bear from up front. Surprisingly though, one of Josephine's arrows must had been graced by Akatosh himself as the arrow pierced the skull of the bear, and with the poisoned tipped arrow, killed it before it could even react. Walking by the bear, I noticed light at the end of the tunnel and knew that our salvation was at hand; after a few more minutes of walking, we were greeted by fresh air and the dragon leaving the scene of carnage. Hiding behind a boulder and noticing Josephine's shocked expression, we decided to make our way towards Riverwood.

End.

So, how did you think I did with this updated chapter.