A large dip in the road made the cart jolt, waking the Dunmar with a jump. She went to rub her tired eyes, only to realise her hands were bound. As she looked around, trying to get an idea of where she was, the elf noticed she was surrounded by blue-clad men and women. Where did she recognise these uniforms from, and more importantly- why and how did she get here? Fearful whispers were exchanged among those in the carts, much to the drivers annoyance.
"Be quiet back there! Filthy Stormcloaks..." The Imperial driver muttered the last phrase under his breath, but it was enough to pick up. And enough to remind her if the previous days events.
She'd emerged from the forest, careful to keep sight of the foot soldiers, but keeping her distance, as not to be seen. Stormcloaks soldiers to be exact, and she was perusing them for a reason. She had noted that among these ranks, on a large grey horse, was Jarl Ulfric. Jarl Ulfric, leader of the Stormclocks and, more importantly, Jarl of Windhelm. She needed to get to the Grey Quaters of Windhelm, and, to be perfectly honest- she was lost. Terribly, terribly lost. So the Dunmar continued to follow them, in the hope they'd lead her there.
She'd been initially drawn away from Morrowind by the promise of fortune, which she could gain from the infamous Thieves guild of Riften, perfectly suited to her talents. Initially going to the Rift immediately was her idea, where she could rent out a room at an inn or such, but she knew nothing of Skyrim's customs. And she'd heard of a safe haven for Dark elves, suitably named the Grey Quarters. Her brothers and sisters would welcome her with open arms, teach her of the mannerisms of this foreign land, and she'd be off, pickpocketing and lock picking until she was metaphorically bathing in golden septims.
Well, that's what she thought would happen. She patted her dark horse, smoothing her black mane as they trotted through the peaceful path, watching the birds flying in their perfect formations. Everything seemed awfully calm. Too calm...
A single arrow ripped through the air, and suddenly everything erupted into the pure embodiment of discord. Horses reared up, throwing their riders to the ground and trampling the foot soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be within their range. Imperial soldiers sporting red and leather armour rushed in, beating the fallen Ulfric unconscious, quickly rushing to bind his mouth and hands. As she watched, she felt a dagger stab into her leg, causing her to fall off her horse. The horse thief jumped onto the mare, who galloped off into the chaos. The blinding pain rushed from her leg wound, up to her shoulder where she landed. Soon, imperials had rushed to her side and, thankful that help had arrived, she let her eyelids drift shut.
That was obviously not their intentions, as she wouldn't be here right now.
"Oh, you're finally awake." The blonde Nord who sat opposite pointed out. The same thief who stabbed her leg and stole her horse shared the same cart, as did Ulfric.
The horse thief, Lokir and the blonde Nord, Ralof continued to speak for the remainder of the journey. They came to the conclusion that, considering Ulfric was captured with them; they were undoubtedly all being sent to their deaths.
They eventually reached a city by the name of Helgen. As they travelled through the large stone arch, Ralof murmured about how these walls use to make him feel safe, putting extra emphasis on the past tense.
Even as they were listed off for execution, Lokir was still trying to worm his way out of his fate. He panicked and made a split second decision to run, and he got a reasonably distance before one of the archers shot him down with ease.
"Anyone else feel like running?" The imperial captain said, her voice seething with sarcasm. "You, Dark elf. Step forward." The two women locked eyes, trying to stare the other down. "What's your name."
"Karami of Morrowind." The Dunmar said indifferently. The man in charge of the lists flicked through his papers, searching for a name.
"She's not on the list. What should we do?" He asked, still looking at the pages.
"It doesn't matter. Send her to the block." The captain replied. She turned away, her patience was wearing thin with this weary Stormcloak rebellion.
"I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Morrowind." He seemed to feel genuinely guilty, and Karami wondered whether he was pleased with the executions of all the captured. He didn't seem to be the type to count association as a crime. At least not one punishable by death.
She listened intently as the guards accused Ulfric of using the Thu'um to kill the High King. Thu'um; the word seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't quite remember what from.
Dragon shouts. It was an ancient form of words and yells that could do anything from breathing fire to controlling the speed of time itself. This was clearly the reason for his mouth being bound, as it prevented him from yelling us all to death.
The first prisoner got up and kneeled before the block, taunting the imperials. It made Ralof smile to watch his friend go down with honour- as fearless in death as in life.
"My ancestors are looking down on me and smiling, can you say the same?" The prisoner asked just as the axe took his head from his neck. The captain called the Dunmar over next.
Karami's leg gave out as she limped over to the block, causing her to fall with a crash. She looked up at the executioner as he raised the axe, lining it up for the perfect chop. A deafening roar could be heard from a distance, but the captain insisted it was nothing. Glancing off into the sky, the elf prayed to the divines that something, anything could help her now.
As if on cue, a fearsome creature swooped down onto the tower, sending rubble down and causing the executioner to tumble over, the axe ask barely missing her feet.
"Yol-!" The creature roared, sending a wave of fire towards the Imperials and Stormcloaks alike, knocking Karami to the floor, her ears ringing and her eyesight blurred.
Suddenly she was forcefully dragged to her feet by Ralof, who then immediately ran to the closest tower to take cover. She stumbled after him as fast as her leg allowed her, just reaching cover before the door came down behind her. The Stormcloaks had all cut each others hands free, but the elf was still struggling to slip out of the binds.
A red-haired Breton was struggling to remove the the rubble on the stairs. Ralof noticed the dragon returning, and yelled out for him to run.
"No! Just one more stone-" the dragon burst through the wall, and the Breton fell to the tower floor, unmoving.
"Jump through the wall!" Ralof called up to her. "I'll follow behind!"
The elf looked down, heights had never really been her favourite, and prepared to jump. She closed her eyes, and made a hopeful leap of faith. She jumped on the thatched roof of the inn below, falling through and jolting her shoulder again.
Groaning, she scrabbled to her feet, which was difficult regarding a knife wound in her leg, a jolted shoulder and bound hands. Eventually she stood up, and made a desperate attempt to run out before the next person jumped.
"Prisoner, you still alive?" The imperial who questioned her execution stood with his weapon drawn. Panicking, she froze. It seemed this was where her luck finally ran out. "You better stay with me if you want to stay that way!"
A few meters away, an injured man lay with his son besides him. The guards were calling for the boy to run, and with a final glance at his father, ran to them. Karami hurriedly grabbed a shield from a guard, and raised it above the injured man to shield him from the fire. The dragon left, and the guards rushed to get him to safety.
The elf and the guard ran through the empty houses to the keep, where they saw Ralof approach. Ralof and the Imperial ran to the different entrances to the keep, calling for her to come with them. Looking to either soldier, she never noticed the dragon behind her until it began to summon another wave of fire.
The Dunmar rushed away from the fires that raged mere inches behind. Ralof held out his hand to catch her, but her leg gave out once again, sending her crashing to the ground.
The last thing she saw before the fire wrapped around her was Ralof turning and rushing into the keep, never bothering to save her.
Yes I know the injured guy dies, but I wanted to keep him alive for use in later chapters. And this will get to the thieves guild eventually. Just want to introduce it with a few chapters first.