It was going to take while. A long while. Frankly, Jarro couldn't begin to comprehend how long it was going to take. He knew when he got into this business that he would have to travel a lot. But walking from Solitude to Riften was simply stupid. But alas, he had to do it if he wanted his coin.
See, Jarro was a bounty hunter, and at that precise moment he had been given a mission by a unknown client to find six dead drops, take the money inside and deliver it to one of his men in Windhelm. Jarro had no idea what this client was like, but judging by the importance and formality of it all, he assumed it was a high-ranking nobleman. But it wasn't his place to ask. He just did what he was asked.
He wasn't the brightest man in Skyrim, but he was more intelligent than most. He had long, black hair, and often walked around in Steel Plate Armour with a black, fur cloak around it. His choice of weaponry was two scimitars, as well as a rare crossbow he looted from a dead troll. He had no idea how the crossbow even got in the troll to begin with. So Jarro just assumed he swallowed it by accident, and so when he punched the beast in the stomach, it triggered the bolt inside and ruptured the poor creature's organs. It would have been a funny sight if it's blood and guts hadn't flew onto Jarros' armour.
But anyway, Jarro had already taken five dead drops, but he was unsure where the last one was. The other five had a map that directed him, but the last had none at all, it just said 'Delvin'. Jarro instantly remembered a tale he once heard of a thief in the tunnels below Riften, named Delvin Mallory. So, off he went from his last pick-up in Solitude. All the way to Riften. He had, however, made good time. In just one day alone he reached Ivarstead, and now he was in the birch tree forest that surrounded the Rift like moths surrounded a torch.
Then, in the midst of it all, a giant frostbite spider appeared out of the blue, and started towards the Bounty hunter. Jarro calmly pulled out his scimitars, without any fear in his eyes, and walked towards the disgusting creature. They stared at eachother for half a minute or so, before they charged. The spider tried hitting him with one of his claw-like legs, but Jarro quickly dodged it, going in for an attack. The spider ducked it, grabbing on the scimitars, then tossing it aside. Jarro only sighed as he swiped at the creature again. The spider again dodged out the way, but made a mistake. Jarro was only working out a complex feint, and before the spider knew one of his legs was in a tree. It spat out in disgust, and one of the huge globs of poison hit Jarro in the face. Luckily he was wearing a helmet, but he was blinded nonetheless. He was dancing about, swiping aimlessly, like a Khajiit on skooma. The spider, without hesitation, jumped upon the man and started trying to hack away his armour plates. Jarro brought up his scimitar in defence, but it was knocked aside like the last by the spider. He was now defenceless, the spider had already broke off one plate of steel and was making short work of another. It all looked like the end for our bounty hunter, until he remembered his crossbow. He grabbed it from under his back and quickly reloaded it. The spider had taken off most of the front plates, so Jarro only had one chance to prolong his life. He let out a long breath, and just before the spider stabbed him and ripped out his organs, Jarro pulled the trigger. Blue blood erupted from the spider's head, as the steel bolt shot clean through its brain. It's body slumped back, then fell onto Jarro. The hunter quickly rolled it away, before standing up and looking down at his armor.
"This was new." he scowled at the dead creature.
Almost to punish the dead creature for breaking his armour, Jarro took the cut-off leg of the creature down from the tree, glued it onto a branch, creating a spear. He looked down the weapon, as to spot any flaws. Once he made sure there were none, he plunged it several times into the spider's neck, slowly decapitating it. He then picked up the head, stabbed it through the spear and stuck the weapon in the ground, as a warning to any other monsters wanting to hurt the man.
After Jarro had carefully stuck the plates on as best he could, he carried on, down a barely-noticeable path through the long, orange grass. He had picked up his scimitars, and now his fingers barely moved from their handle, ready to bring them out at the first sign of danger. It wasn't long before he reached a tiny village made up of wooden huts and small farms. Jarro noticed the entrance to a mine at the southern end. He decided this was a good place to rest, as it was nearly night, and see about getting his armour fixed. So he entered the small town.
It wasn't any surprise to Jarro that the townspeople eyed him with suspicion, and nearly outright disgust. For a start, he was an Imperial, and the Rift was Stromcloak Controlled. Jarro didn't really care much for politics or the Civil War, but he much preferred his own people to that of the barbaric Nords. And also, it wasn't hard to work out he was a bounty hunter or mercenary of some kind. As such, wherever he went, whatever he did, he always had a heavy set of eyes upon his back.
He decided to get a drink at the Inn, and rest for the night. He walked into the small, fairly-shabby building, and sat at the uneven bar. Two Nords sat either side, eyeing him like he'd killed their sons.
"What's your business here, filthy Imperial?" one of them asked, spitting at the hunter.
Jarro simply stared at him, "that's my private information."
"Maybe. But right now you're in Redriver's Run, and so now, you're business is our business. I just don't want to have you drag some Imperial raiding party down here. I mean, after all, what would an Imperial be doing this far south of Solitude?" the man explained, openly scowling.
Jarro ignored the question, "Redriver's Run, you say? I think 'The Skeeverhole' is a much more... suiting name. Don't you think?"
The Nords stared at him angrily, then lashed out with daggers. All Jarro did was duck, and so the two Nords impaled eachother with the blades, blood already catching in their throats.
"Name's Jarro, by the way."
That midnight, Jarro paid for a room and went to sleep straight away, still in his armour. Tomorrow he would fix his armour, and try to buy a horse. But even with one, it was still a long ride to Riften, so the bounty hunter made sure to get a good night's sleep.
When Jarro awoke he had the feeling he had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer. He also noticed he could see nothing but blackness. He moaned, and noted the floor he was on was stone, not wood.
"I think the filthy pig has woken up!" a harsh, Nord voice shouted, chuckling. Jarro deduced he wasn't the only one.
"Finally. I was beginning to think he was dead!" another laughed.
"Yeah! What a shame that would be, eh?" yet another voice mocked.
Suddenly the room was full of laughter.
Then, after a minute or so, silence followed and the bag was lifted from Jarro's head. The light blinded him, and it took a few minutes before he could see where he was. Jarro was in a natural cavern of some kind. No artificial light was here, Jarro noted. The only light was from several small holes in the rock above, where the harshness of the sun only barely reached. Various wooden ramparts were built against the cave walls, and Nords were busy at work hitting the walls with pickaxes. Jarro assumed this must have been the town mine.
"You know why you're here, wretched Imperial?!", a Nord grabbed him from behind.
"I'm guessing I annoyed you." Jarro said.
"Annoyed me?!" the Nord walked around, now in frotn of the bounty hunter. The Nord was dressed in fur armour, made of hides and pelts that had clearly not been washed fully, and neither had he. The Nord had several tattoos in his face. He was a traditional Nord. The worst. "You killed both my sons yesterday!"
"Your sons?" it took Jarro a minute to work out what the Nord was talking about. "Oh. Oooooooh. The ones in the inn yesterday? No, I think you're mistaken. I merely made a suggestion for a better city name and they both tried to kill me. I ducked and they both stabbed eachother."
"You expect me to believe that?!" The Nord shouted.
"Well I don't expect you to, you're a Nord after all. But if you had even a scrap of intelligence, you'd know I was right." Jarro said.
The Nord then ran forward and grabbed the bounty hunter's head, yanking it from side-to-side. "You know who I am, hmm? I am Holfgir Iron-Fist. I have killed over a dozen of your vile kind! And I'm always trying to add more!" The Nord then brought out a dagger, and tried to stab Jarro with it.
Unfortunately for the Nord, however, Jarro swiped out of the way in time. Then, when Holfgir tried again, Jarro avoided it, and ten bit the man's hand. The Nord dropped the dagger, and before he knew it, Jarro had already cut his bonds.
He stood up and backed away, to the far wall. "Tell me," he began, "why do you have no torches? No lamps in here? I mean, it's not very bright down here."
When no one answered, he asked again.
Finally, a young voice from the back of the group of barbaric Nords piped up, "it's an old mine. We once cut directly into a cavern full of flammable gas. We destroyed the tunnels leading down to it, but some of the townsfolk believe some might have come up through little cracks."
"Hmm, good to know." Jarro mused. Then, he threw the dagger at Holfgir, and ran towards him. He grabbed the dagger out of his body and jumped off it it, propelling himself several feet behind the group. Two Nords came at him with swords, but he ducked out of the way in time and stabbed them both in the neck. Another tried with a warhammer, but Jarro made short work. He'd barely even been dismembered before Jarro was onto the next. Another three circled him, waiting for the bounty hunter to strike first. Finally, Jarro tried at one of them, but he dodged, and before he knew it, a small piece of string was around Jarro's throat.
"Finish him!" one of the Nords shouted.
The one who dodged Jarro's attack earlier started at him, but the bounty hunter ran backwards, hitting the man behind him against a wall. The Nordd slumped to the ground, and jarro stabbed the other two.
Only one Nord stood in his way now, a hulking one with an Orcish Warhammer. He brought up his hammer, but Jarro ran up one of the wooden ramparts. The Nord scowled and walked after him. Jarro was now cornered once again, and the Nord brought his weapon up for a second time. Then, in the nick of time, Jarro notcied a chain danglnig from the cavern ceiling. He jumped towards it, grabbing it with his free hand. He swung himself around and jumped back onto the rampart. But now he was behind the Nord.
"After you." Jarro said, but instead stabbed the burly man clean through the neck.
The Nord's body fell of the rampart and was impaled through an old wooden cart.
Jarro walked towards the mine entrance, until he was out in the open again. He sighed heavily, before breathing in a big gulp of fresh, Skyrim air. He found his weapons stacked against a boulder and took them, fastening the scabbards to his belt. He was about to leave when he had an idea. He grabbed a barely lit lantern from the ground, and without turning around, he chucked the lantern into the mine shaft. Then, he slowly walked back through the village, until he heard a low moan.
"I'll... kill you!" Holfgir shouted at the mine entrance, ba pool of his own blood surrounding him. He was crawling effortlessly towards Jarro.
But instead of trying to kill him again, Jarro turned back round and walked once again through the quiet village. Then, quite suddenly, an explosion of fire erupted through the entrance and out of the top of the mine. Smoke and flames roared through the air at once, reaching the huts. Slowly, one by one, the town burnt to the ground. Flames licked about the dead settlement and screams of pain and despair rung through the wind like a dark song. In one second, an entire village blew up, killing hundreds. Children were slowly roasted alive, livestock were killed and plumes of smoke came like a cloak, surrounding the dead village.
And Jarro smiled.
To Be Continued in Chapter Two