I should probably explain where I've been the past few weeks and I'm starting a new story. Well I should probably start off by saying what's been going on in my family recently. At the beginning of the August my dad had surgery because he was having some issues. So after the surgery, he went back for a checkup to see how he was doing. The doctors found out that there were cancer cells in his body. Meaning that he has cancer. He told me and my brother at the beginning of September and it just really upset me. It's not easy finding out that a family member has cancer and that's why I put my stories on hold. So that I could spend some more time with my dad and sort through my emotions. I recently felt good enough to start writing again. As to why I'm writing a new story, well… I thought fuck it why not. I've love Skyrim more than I do Fallout because it just feels a lot more my style. There will be a bunch of differences in this story and some of the events will be out of order but I hope you enjoy nonetheless. So let's get this story started.
She awoke to her head throbbing like she had too much mead. Her eyes shot open and she instantly regretted it. A few rays of light pierced through the fog and right into her eyes making her wish she was still unconscious . Her vision was blurry and she could only make out fuzzy shapes in front of her. The damn ringing in her ears wouldn't go away as well but she could tell that somebody was trying to talk to her.
Her vision cleared and she could see a man with long blonde hair wearing a Stormcloak tunic. She blinked a few times trying to get the remaining blurriness out of her eyes. "What?" She asked not having heard what he said before.
"I was asking if you were ok there. You took quite the blow to the head back when we were all captured by that Imperial ambush. You should have been dead after taking a hit like that but I guess Nord women are as strong and tough as the men are." He said with a chuckle causing her to look at him confused before she realised what he meant. She WAS a Nord which she sometimes forgot but her family lived as nomads before deciding to live up the mountains of Skyrim, away from all conflict and big cities.
She shook her head, her long blonde hair swaying from side to side as she did. "I've been better. My head hurts like hell but I'll live. I'm Layla. Who are you?" Layla asked.
"Ralof of Riverwood. You can probably tell I'm a Stormcloak based on my clothing." He said with a chuckle. "Though, it looks like they took all of your stuff from you." Ralof gestured to her state of clothing with is bound hands. She looked down and noticed that she was wearing nothing but roughspun tunic and pants with nothing on her feet to protect her from the cold. She let out a growl as the pendent her mother had given her was not on her neck.
"GIVE ME BACK MY NECKLACE YOU BASTARDS! MY MOTHER GAVE ME THAT!" She screamed at the top of her lungs causing Ralof, the man next to him, and the man next to Layla to jump. Even the guard driving the carriage as well as the Imperial wearing decorated armor jumped at her scream. When the soldier driving the carriage to say something, he saw the pure rage in her bright green eyes and gulped before turning around.
Not a minute later she felt someone put the necklace around her neck, surprising her and the other three captives in the carriage. Layla spun around after the necklace was secured around her neck to see a man wearing Imperial armor riding alongside them on horseback. He had brown hair and heterochromatic eyes. "I'm sorry we took away something so important to you. We had no idea it meant so much to you." He said and with that he slowed his horse until it was trotting alongside a carriage that held a single person who looked to be sitting in a meditative state.
"Who's that?" The man sitting next to Layla asked with curiosity. He eyed the person in the cage who had his back to them.
"That would be the Nord known as the 'Darkblade'." Ralof said as he eyed the man carefully. "I saw him take down twenty-five soldiers during the ambush with some kind of magic. He claimed that we were all in 'His territory'." Ralof said. "I'm sorry we dragged him into this mess. He was probably trying to defend the land that the Empire hasn't taken yet."
Layla stared curiously at the man in the cage. She could see the long mane of black hair that reached his upper back. He wore what looked like some kind of light armor. It looked like some of the armor a member of the Thieves guild would wear but the sleeves had been ripped off at the shoulders, revealing his insanely refined muscles. On his hands were a pair of black vambraces that had fingerless gloves attached to them. His lower half was covered by some black leather pants and black leather boots. Chains were attached to all four of his limbs from the corners of the cage along with a collar attached to his neck.
Layla felt something inside her stir as she watched him just sit there. She couldn't place what she was feeling inside of her but she decided to ignore it. She looked across from her and cocked her head to the side. There sat a man dressed in Jarl's clothing with a piece of cloth tied over his mouth. He had honey colored hair which was drawn back. "Is that Jarl Ulfric?" She asks as she leans forward to inspect him.
"You'd be right then. That's Jarl Ulfric. True High King." Ralof said as they passed through the gates of Helgen before coming to a stop in front of a group of High Elves dressed in black cloaks. "The Thalmor…" Ralof growled low as he watched a female Thalmor who obviously looked like she was in charge, pass by the carts, examining the prisoners. She stopped when she came to the nord known as 'Darkblade'.
"Well now isn't this a surprise. You have cost me quite a number of soldiers. You couldn't give up those mountains that you are so keen on protecting." She glared at the man sitting in the cage. "Your head will be cut clean off by the headsman today and we'll take that land of yours." She said with a sneer.
"What a surprise… Another Thalmor bitch throwing around empty threats." The comeback came from the man in the cage. He was now standing and everybody could see his face. A scar ran down his left eye as well as three parallel scars running across his left cheek. His eyes were blood red and held an intensity that startled a good amount of the soldiers behind the Thalmor Commander. "If I hadn't been so preoccupied on trying to keep the damage to the land to a minimum I would have killed all of these soldiers with ease." He said as his glare matched the Thalmor's glare but with more hate filled.
She visibly flinched at the glare and walked back to where General Tullius, leader of the Imperial Army, was sitting on his horse. "Where is his weapon?" She looked at the General who simply sighed at having to deal with this woman.
"We couldn't find it. My men spent several hours scouring the area for it but they could never find it." He stated and with that he urged his horse down the road leaving an infuriated Thalmor leader behind. The carts continued following his lead and soon enough they stopped next to a massive tower.
"Why are we stopping?" The man next to Layla cried in fear. She had learned that his name was Lokir who came from Rorikstead. "What are they doing?!" He cried as they started unloading various prisoners, mostly stormcloaks, from the carriages.
"What does it look like? This is the end of the line." Ralof said as he, Layla, and Ulfric Stormcloak stood up and left the carriage. As Layla hopped off, she saw that five soldiers held the ends of the chains that were attached to the other, more dangerous, prisoner. Crimson red eyes met bright green eyes and Layla felt that same feeling from before swell up inside her. She couldn't figure it out but it felt like a part of her she never knew was missing was back in place. Lokir ran past her screaming about not wanting to die before the archers positioned around town shot him with arrows, leaving him to bleed to death in the streets.
She was shoved forward by an Imperial captain who looked extremely annoyed with her. "Move it prisoner." She was shoved forward towards the group of prisoners who were all standing before a headsman who wielded a massive axe. A priestess stood next to him and was giving off rights to those destined for the chopping block.
She watched as a Stormcloak soldier interrupted the priest and knelt before the headsman. He looked at the Imperial soldiers and mocked them as his neck was placed on the chopping block. The headsman quickly chopped the man's head off. 'How sad that this is what Skyrim has come to… brothers killing brothers.' She thought as she was pushed forward by the captain again.
"Move it wench… It's your turn to die." The captain said with no patience at all. Layla looked over at Hadvar who was watching with sadness. Before she could take a step forward a loud roar echoed in the distance making everybody jump at the sound. The man in chains stiffened at the sound, almost like he knew what it was.
"Anybody else here that?" One of the guards asked as he gripped his bow tightly.
"It was probably just the local wildlife. Now I said move it wench!" The captain pushed Layla forward causing her to stumble. The clinking of chains and groaning of metal being bent could be heard coming from the chained Nord as he watched with pure anger. "Silence him!" She ordered pointing her sword at the captive.
Layla watched the captive as he seemed angered by the fact that she was being executed. She wondered why someone like him, a killer, would be angered by such things. She was a nobody. A nomadic Nord traveling around with her family.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a giant black dragon landed on the watchtower overlooking the execution area. "Zu'u lost daal wah du hin sil!" The dragon said as it let out a roar that had everybody knocked off their feet and meteors began falling from the sky.
A disorientated Layla was laying on the ground with a ringing in her ears that she could not quiet down. She could hear voices around her but couldn't make out what they were saying. She then felt a pair of strong arms pick her up bridal style. She could make out that it was Nord that had been chained up who was currently carrying her safely out of harm's way. He carried her into a nearby tower where the Stormcloaks seemed to be hiding from the dragon. The Nord gently sat her down against the wall and carefully undid her bindings. He was saying something to her but was still slightly muffled by the ringing in her ears.
She shook her head to clear the ringing and looked at his crimson red eyes that were filled with worry. "What did you say?" She asked as she rubbed her wrists.
"I said we need to get out of here. That dragon is killing everyone here." He said as he checked her for any injuries.
Ralof seemed be watching the man closely. "How can we trust you? We don't know your name and we don't even know who your allegiance belongs to." The other Stormcloaks seemed to agree with Ralof.
"Enough. This is no time to be questioning each other. Right now we have other things to worry about. Like that dragon." Ulfric said as he defused the situation. "But I would like to know the name of the man who took down some of those Thalmor soldiers before they could take any more lives." Ulfric said as the gestured towards his men.
"Blake Darkstride." Blake said as he stood up facing the other soldiers.
"An uncommon name. You're not from Skyrim are you?" Ulfric asked.
"I am from Skyrim. My mother found the name in an old book that was in another language and thought the name fit perfectly with our family name." Blake said with a shrug as the tower shook as the dragon's head smashed through the upper level and turned the soldier unlucky enough to be up there, into a burnt corpse. "We can talk later. We need to move! One of you needs to take this girl and get her to the keep on the other side. I'll distract the giant lizard in the sky." He said as he walked quickly towards the door.
"W-Wait…" Layla said in a hoarse voice. Blake turned and looked at her with a curious expression. "I-I wanted to say thank you for saving my life." She said as she looked at him.
Blake merely nodded and walked towards the door again. "How do you plan on distracting that dragon without a weapon?" Ralof said, stopping Blake at the door.
"I always have my weapon on hand." Blake said as dark and white mist swirled around his hip and formed into a long sheathe with etchings of dragon's on it the hilt of the sword was black as night itself. Everybody took a step back away from him. "I will explain my lineage later on. For now get going. I doubt I can keep it distracted for long." He dashed outside without another word. Ralof and Ulfric looked at each other with concerned expressions. Ralof picked up Layla carefully and went upstairs to make his way through town while trying to avoid the dragon.
As he descended into what was likely once a tavern, Layla pulled herself out of his arms and stood on her own. Though she had some trouble at first, Ralof supported her. "Let's go." Layla said as she stumbled out of the destroyed tavern. She and Ralof ran down the street towards a few people that were hidden behind a wall. Among them was Hadvar, who glared at Ralof who also glared back. The black dragon landed on the street a little bit away. It was about to breathe fire at them when an arrow came flying from the watchtower in the middle and harmlessly bounced off the scales below the dragon's right eye. The arrow however, managed to get the dragon's attention away from the small group as it turned to the direction from where the arrow came. It spotted Blake standing on top of the tower with an imperial bow in his hands and a quiver full of arrows on his back.
The dragon let out a roar as it flew into the air. "Duziir mun! Zu'u fen du hin sil!" It circled around Blake's tower as it tried to burn him alive with fire.
This gave the small group the chance to escape. Layla noticed a boy who looked like was only six years old, crying over the remains of what she assumed was his father. She quickly picked him up and carried her with them. They ran towards the gate they had come through earlier. The two civilians, Ralof, and Hadvar made it through but Layla and the boy were stopped when a meteor crashed into the gate. The gate crumbled and cut off their exit. "Shit!" Layla screamed as she ran in the direction of the massive keep which she could only assume was the barracks or some sort of keep.
The boy was crying in her arms as she ran towards the keep. A meteor slammed into the gate next to the keep and sent giant splinters of wood flying in all directions. Layla use her body to shield the small child. She succeeded in doing so but a large shard of wood pierced her leg causing her to fall forward. She still held onto the small boy as she tried to keep him safe but when she saw the massive dragon land between her and the keep… she hoped that her body would be enough to protect the boy from harm. 'Mother...Father...Little Brother...I'll be joining you soon…'
"Yol... Toor... Shul!" The dragon shouted as massive flames came at her. She squeezed her eyes shut waiting for the pain. Instead of pain, she felt herself thrown to the side. She opened her eyes to see Blake standing where she was laying with slight burns covering his body. She didn't understand how he wasn't burned to charcoal. The dragon seemed to take off into the sky after it stared at Blake for a second.
Blake quickly ran over to Layla who was sitting up with the sobbing boy still scared out of his mind. "Where's the stormcloak soldier that was with you?" Blake asked as he picked up Layla with ease and full on sprinted towards the keep.
"They went through the main gate but… It was destroyed before me or this boy could get through it." She said quietly as her mind flashed to the slightly burned corpse of the man who had been this boy's father. "This boy's father… didn't make it…"
"Damnit!" Blake cursed as he kicked open the door to the keep. He laid Layla down on the closest bed. He quickly inspected her leg which was covered in blood. "I have to pull this out. Try and endure ok?" He said as he gripped the large shard of wood.
Layla took a deep breath and nodded. Blake ripped out the shard causing her to cry out in pain. She held onto the boy tightly to try and ignore the pain but it only worked slightly. Blake's hand became engulfed in a yellowish light as he hovered his hand over her injury. Her body felt so warm as he applied the spell to her. She watched as the wound on her leg closed quickly leaving a small faint scar. She breathed deeply as the pain was gone. "Thank you but why did you save me in the first place? You could have easily escaped this place. Instead you went out there and distracted the dragon while saving me three times."
"It was the right thing to do. My mother has always taught me to protect those who can't protect themselves." Blake said as he rummaged through the chests in the barracks. Layla watched him with curiosity. He threw a set of leather armor at her. "Here put this on. It's better than wearing those rags you have on now." He said.
She looked down at her body and realized that the more intimate parts of her body were barely covered by the rags. She blushed slightly and nodded. "Thank you." She said as she let go of the boy and grabbed the armor.
"Cmon kid. Let's go look for gold coins while she changes." Blake said as he looked at the kid with kind sympathetic eyes. The boy stared at him for a few seconds before jumping off the bed Layla was on and following Blake out of the small room.
Layla watched them leave the room, the young boy asking Blake question after question. Blake reached down and tousled the boy's hair. Layla saw that his skin was no longer slightly burned as it had been after the fire had hit him. 'Did he drink a potion? I don't remember him drinking one and I don't remember him healing himself either. But why wasn't he severely burned when that fire attack hit him. Even with fire enchanted armor he still would have had major burns.' She thought as she changed into the form fitting leather gear.
After she finished changing, Blake and the boy came back to the room. A backpack was given to her as well as a steel dagger. "Did you find anything else we could use?" Layla asked.
"Me and Haming only found some weapons, about a hundred gold coins, some documents, and a spell book." Blake said as he handed the spell book to Layla. "It's a spell that lets someone conjure fire. Wouldn't be of much use to me but I figured that you may want to have the spell." Blake said with a shrug and spun a key on his pointer finger.
Layla opened the book and memorized the spell inside before closing it and putting it in her bag for later use. She kneeled down in front of Haming and looked into the boy's eyes. "How are you doing?" She rubbed the side of his head.
"I-I-I miss papa and mama…" He said as tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Layla quickly hugged him and rubbed his back.
"Shhh Shhh it's ok." Layla said as she took the boy's small hand into her own. "We'll be with you the entire time." Layla sent a quick glance at blake who nodded at Layla's statement.
"C'mon let's go before the dragon brings this place down on us. I'll lead. You keep the kid safe." Blake said as he opened up a gate that led deeper into the keep.
Blake peeked out into the long stretching hallway that led down deeper into the cave system. "Ok it's clear." He walked down the corner, keeping his hand on the hilt of his blade he walked further down with Layla and Haming close behind. A rumble shook the entire place which caused the ceiling to collapse halfway down the corridor.
"Well there goes that route…" Layla muttered as they approached the rubble. She looked to the side to see a door with muffled voices coming from inside. "Hey look…" She whispered and pointed towards the door. Blake nodded and crouched down as he approached the door.
Blake opened the door slightly and saw two Imperial soldiers arguing. One of them was digging through the barrel and pulling out various potions while the other looked to be a captain. Blake turned to Layla and held up two fingers and motioned for her to stay put. Layla nodded and pulled Hamming away from the door.
Blake slowly opened the door and silently approached the soldiers. The one who was digging in the barrel had his back to the door while the captain was pulling barrels out of the way to reveal a large chest. Blake slowly approached the subordinate while slowly drawing his sword.
Layla who was watching from the corner looked at the beauty of the sword. The blade of the sword was a pure white color that seemed to have its own aura of energy around it. Blake thrust his sword through the soldier's back. The soldier's blood splattered over the barrel. The Captain, having turned around the moment his subordinate was stabbed, rushed at Blake with his sword drawn and a warcry emerging from him. Blake parried the strike from the captain and took the opening that his parry had caused to run his sword through the soldier's armor and chest like both were butter.
He dragged both bodies into the corner and covered them with barrels so that Haming wouldn't have to see the bodies. "You can come in now. It's all clear." Blake said as he sheathed his sword. He walked over the barrel that the one imperial had been rummaging through and cut the top of the barrel open. Blake peered inside to see a bunch of magicka and health potions. A small smile appeared on his face as he pulled out the contents.
"You know… You look a lot more handsome with a smile on your face." Layla said as she stepped into the room with Haming clinging to her leg. "You should smile more."
Blake handed her the potions thinking she would probably need them more than he would. "Most people wouldn't describe me as 'handsome'. Ever since I was eleven, people have been afraid of me. They feared me because of my eyes and my name." He said with no emotion in his voice but Layla could clearly see the pain and sadness in his eyes.
"Well we're going to have to prove them wrong now aren't we?" She said with a smile causing Blake to give her a confused look as he pushed the door leading to the closed off section of the hallway open.
"We?"
"You don't expect a beautiful girl like me to protect herself and a small child all by herself?" She said as she smiled as Blake gave her a deadpan expression. She giggled when Blake turned around and muttered something about women getting what they want.
They walked down the staircase and came to the dead bodies of both stormcloak soldiers and two Imperial Interrogators. Layla had Blake take Haming out of the room as she started grabbing some things she might need. She was good at lockpicking so she was able to open up a cage that had what looked like a mage inside of it. She said some prayers for his soul before taking the gold laying next to him as well as the enchanted hood. She then looted the other dead bodies for any gold or valuables that they may need. She found another steel dagger on one of the Imperial soldiers and strapped it to her thigh along with the other dagger. She found some steel and iron arrows in the armory in the back corner of the room but found no bow for the arrows.
She sighed and said some prayers for each of the dead before exiting the room to see Blake showing Haming his sword. The young boy's eyes were wide and amazed at the blade. Blake had a smile on his face further proving Layla's point about him looking more attractive with a smile.
Blake noticed her and sheathed his blade, much to Haming's disappointment. He nodded to her and started walking down the hall. "Stay here. I'm going to scout ahead."
Blake eventually came to a large cavern with a small river flowing beneath the bridge. There were dead bodies scattered all across layout, Stormcloak and Imperial alike. As Blake stepped into the cavern, he was instantly taken off guard when a Stormcloak soldier slammed into him. He was bigger than most of the other soldiers and was covered in blood. He had a wicked grin on his face. "I wonder how your blood tastes? After I'm done killing you and tasting your blood… that bitch that was with you has a mighty fine body… I hope you don't plan on-" He was cut off when two steel daggers were plunged into his back. The Stormcloak let out a warcry and pulled Layla off of him and threw her against one of the far walls. "STUPID BITCH!"
He approached Layla making her scramble backwards until her back was against the wall. "STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Blake let out a roar and charged at him with his right hand on the hilt of his sword. The soldier turned around and was met with Blake drawing his sword and landing a massive cut across the Stormcloak soldier's chest. The man stumbled back but instead of falling to the ground dead, he grabbed Blake's head and headbutted him hard.
Layla quickly pried an imperial sword out of a soldier's hand and stabbed the Stormcloak in the chest, right through his heart, as he turned to advance on her again. He started spitting up blood and Layla realizing what she had done, watched as the life faded from his eyes. Layla let go of the sword and fell to her knees as she watched the now lifeless man fall onto his back, sword still in his heart. This had been the first time she had killed another human being. She had hunted animals before but never a human. Layla looked down at her now blood covered hands. Only then did she burst into tears.
She was kneeling there holding herself and crying before she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and hug her close. She felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and she instantly jerked her head up to see a pair of crimson red eyes filled with sympathy. She let out a sob and cried into Blake's chest as he rubbed the back of her head. Haming had come over at one point and had wrapped his short arms around Layla's arm in an attempt to comfort her.
A few minutes went by and Layla had cried herself to sleep. Blake had picked her up bridal style, with Haming clinging to his back, and wrapped a cloak from one of the soldiers, around her. He grabbed as many arrows from the dead as well as a bow that Layla could use. He figured she was better at archery than anything else. He would have to help her get over the fact that she killed someone later on. For now, his main priority was getting them out of these caves and away from Helgen.
Scene Break
When Layla woke up she found herself staring at the stars and the two moons of Nirn, Secunda and Masser. She blinked as she tried to recall what happened to her. Then all of it came back to her. Helgen, the dragon attacking, the young boy she had saved, Blake, and then… The killing of the Stormcloak soldier. Layla bolted upright and immediately looked at her hands but found them clean of blood. She looked around trying to figure out where she was. She noticed Haming sleeping in a bedroll laid out on the grass. He looked at peace despite what had just occurred.
"You're awake." She whipped her head in the direction of the voice and saw Blake sitting against a nearby tree with his sword leaning up against his shoulder. He was staring at the sky, looking at the stars and the moons. "You've been asleep for the whole day. I had to carry you and Haming out of the caves. I take it that was your first time killing another human being?" He stated rather than asked.
"How did you…" Layla was about to ask but was interrupted when Blake started chuckling. "What?"
"I know because I was the exact same way after my first kill. You just need to remind yourself that it was self defense." He said as he finally stopped looking at the sky to look at her. "Try and get more rest. It's still too early for you to be awake. We're going to be traveling to Riverwood once we've eaten." He said as he motioned for her to lay back down.
Layla pulled the cover of the bedroll over top of her as she laid back down. "Blake… Thank you." She said before drifting off to sleep, leaving a very surprised Blake.
"Thank you, eh?" He mumbled to himself. "Don't be so nice to me… I might end up getting attached to you." He resumed his watch as the other two members of the small party slept. He kept thinking about the dragon that attacked Helgen. 'Dragon's haven't been around since Tiber Septim. Where are they coming from and why now of all times?' He thought as he watched the two moons disappear from the sky as the sun began to rise on the horizon. He watched as Haming began to stir from his slumber and sat up looking around. "Morning kid." Blake said as he reached over and ruffled the boy's hair.
"What are we having for breakfast?" Haming asked as his stomach rumbled making Blake chuckle.
"I'll go search for something to eat. Think you can do me a favor and keep an eye out for trouble while I find something?" Blake asked making Haming nod. "Good." Blake stood up and disappeared into the forest.
It was at this time that Layla woke up and let out a loud yawn. "Good morning Haming. Where's Blake at?"
"He went to go find food for breakfast. He left me in charge so you have to do as I say." Haming said as he crossed his arms over his chest with a prideful nod.
Layla giggled at the young boy and started making a fire using some of the cut up logs nearby. She lit the fire using the flame spell she had learned earlier. Blake came back not long after with a few rabbits slung over his shoulder. He quickly skinned and cleaned the rabbits with Layla helping. They taught Haming about skinning and catching animals in the forest. Once that was done, they cooked the rabbit meat over the fire. They passed around a canteen of water that Blake had obtained from a hunter he had encountered while hunting.
They then traveled down the path towards the small town of Riverwood. Once they entered town they were immediately greeted by Ralof and Hadvar arguing about going back to Helgen to search for survivors. They only stopped arguing when Blake punched them both in the face telling them to stop acting like children since they had bigger problems to worry about.
Ralof rubbed his nose as he stared up at Blake who had an annoyed look on his face. "How did you three get out of Helgen alive? Last we saw the woman she was carrying Haming towards the gate before it collapsed. You were trying to distract that dragon so that everybody could get away."
Layla slid Haming off her back and stepped up next to Blake. "We went through Helgen keep. Blake carried me out after I became unconscious when we were trying to get out." Layla said as she sat on the steps to the smith's house. "What happened to the dragon that attacked?" She looked at Ralof and Hadvar as they exchanged a worried glance.
"We saw it fly towards Whiterun after turning Helgen to ash but we lost sight of it over the mountains. It could come back around and finish of this place as well." Hadvar explained as he gestured to the small village. "Somebody needs to go to Whiterun and request aid."
"We'll do it." Blake said as he folded his arms over his chest. Layla looked at him with her mouth wide open. "But we need somebody to look after Haming while we go. If we run into bandits along the way, they'll probably use him as a human shield." Blake explained.
Ralof nodded at his explanation. "I see. Well he can stay with my sister Gerdur. She'll gladly look after him. If you need supplies, go to the Riverwood Trader. They'll get you some stuff that you may need for your journey." Ralof said as he motioned for Haming to follow him. Haming followed Ralof as he led the young boy up the road.
Hadvar watched them go and sighed before turning to the two survivors of Helgen. "I'm sorry you both were captured. Both of you were grouped up with the Stormcloaks for no reason. Well… Layla wasn't but Blake… You killed a bunch of Thalmor soldiers. I can understand if they did something to upset you…" He was cut off by Blake.
"Those assholes have repeatedly tried to kick me off the mountains where I live. They claim that the land belongs to the Thalmor. Those idiots don't realize who those mountain's really belong to." Blake said with a growl.
"If that's the case, you have done nothing wrong. You were defending your home and Layla was just a traveler." He sighed and threw a coin purse at Layla. "Here. You both deserve some kind of compensation for your troubles. If you ever need anything. Look me up in Solitude. First round of drinks are on me." He said before walking down the road to the tavern.
They both watched him walked down the road. Layla turned to Blake and saw his eyes looking straight ahead. "Why did you accept? I thought you would have left once we got somewhere safe." She asked with confusion at his change in attitude.
"Things change. Besides, wasn't it you who told me that I shouldn't leave a beautiful girl like you on her own?" He asked with a smirk as he walked down the road towards the Riverwood Trader. He left Layla sitting there with a massive blush on her face, trying to process what he just said.
She jumped up and ran after him still with a blush on her face, "Get back here you jerk!" She cried as she ran after him.
They entered the Riverwood Trader together. Layla was still muttering about how Blake was a massive jerk while said man had a small smirk on his face. As they walked in, they saw a female imperial wearing a yellow dress arguing with an imperial male who seemed to be very upset at the woman.
"Well one of us has to do something!" The woman yelled at the man as she placed her hands on her hips
"I said no! No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing!" The man replied with an annoyed tone
"Well what are you going to do then, huh? Let's hear it!" She said as she folds her arms over her chest and raises an eyebrow.
"We are done talking about this!" He looks over at Layla and Blake who were still standing in the doorway watching. "Oh… uhm... a customer." He says as the woman huffs and sits down at the table across from the counter the man was leaning on. "Sorry you had to hear that. What can I do for you?"
Layla walked up to the counter with Blake going to the side to look at the equipment. "I was wondering if you could provide us with some supplies? We're journeying to Whiterun in a bit and could use a few things." She said as she looked around the store. She readjusted the Imperial bow strung across her back. The same one that Blake had given to her the same morning. She said she was pretty good with a bow since she used to hunt all the time with her family.
Her eyes fell on an elven bow that Blake had just picked up. The woman from earlier seemed to be trying to persuade Blake into buying the bow by pushing her bust into his arm. For some reason, Layla had the urge to go over there and push the woman away. To her surprise, Blake didn't even seem to react to this. Instead he threw the bow to Layla who fumbled with it for a few seconds. The shopkeeper seemed surprised that Blake's face had remained impassive throughout the whole thing. "The name's Lucan Valerius. The woman over there is my sister, Camilla Valerius. I'd be happy to help you out." He said as his sister sat back down in her chair and watched Blake as he walked over to the counter. "So what kind of supplies are you looking for?"
"Food, arrows, lockpicks, the bow my friend is holding, and two bags to carry it all in.." Blake said as Lucan got what they needed. Layla traded in her Imperial bow and slung the Elven bow over her back.
"There you are. Anything else you may need?" Lucan asked.
"Uhm… Can you tell us about that argument you had earlier?" Layla asked as she filled her new quiver with iron and steel arrows.
Lucan sighed. "You heard that didn't you? Well recently we had a break in and the thieves stole a gold ornamental claw from the shop. Strange enough they only took the claw and nothing else." Lucan explained. "You two don't have to get wrapped up in this. We'll find a way to get the claw back."
"Where did they take the claw?" Blake asked.
"Bleak Falls Barrow. The old nordic ruins up the mountain. I chased the bandits up there but then they started firing arrows at me." Lucan said as came out from behind the counter to show them the blood stained bandage wrapped around his right leg. "I don't want to send anybody to their deaths. Those bandits are dangerous."
"I can show them where it is!" Camilla exclaimed as she jumped from her seat.
"Absolutely not! I will not have my sister come back on her own!" Lucan argued.
"She could accompany us to the bridge." Layla suggested making Camilla smirk as her brother sighed in defeat.
"Fine but only to the bridge and no farther!" He said with frustration.
Layla and Blake payed for their things and left with Camilla. As they walked down the street, Camilla was talking Blake's ear off. Layla could see that he was beginning to get annoyed by the twitching in his eye as they walked. "So where are these ruins?" Layla asked to save Blake's ear from further torture.
Camilla pouted as they reached the bridge. She pointed up the mountain where some Ancient ruins could be seen among the snow. "Its up there. Just follow the path up the mountain and you'll eventually come to the entrance." She said as she began walking back to the shop. "When you get back I'll be glad to show you a thing or two." She said suggestively as she winked at Blake.
"Oh? Looks like someone has an admirer." She teased Blake who grumbled something about how he wished murder wasn't illegal. She giggled as she tried to fight down the same feeling that she felt earlier in the shop. 'Why am I getting so angry over something so trivial? I don't like him in that way but seeing how the woman just flirted with him like just makes me… UGH!' She thought as the two made their way up the mountain.
They encountered a pack of wolves on their way up. Layla fired arrows into a few of them while Blake stabbed each wolf with his sword. When the pack was dead, they skinned the wolves and stored them away to sell later on. They continued up the path that led to the Nordic ruins only to find the entrance swarming with bandits.
Translations
"Zu'u lost daal wah du hin sil!": "I have returned to devour your souls!"
"Duziir mun! Zu'u fen du hin sil!": "Insolent man! I will devour your soul!"
"Yol... Toor... Shul!": "Fire... Inferno... Sun!"