"Whew!" Jack laughed, bending down to catch her breath, "that was fun."

"Fun she says…" Ralof muttered, "Wait! Get down!"

Ducking behind a rock the two of them looked up just in time to see the dragon fly over head. Now that she was no longer afraid for her life, Jack tried to get a better look at him. He was an ominous figure, with massive wings stretching across the sun, light reflecting off his ebony wings, as he flew out of sight.

"There he goes," Ralof said standing up, "Looks like he's gone for good this time."

Standing with him Jack watched as the dragon became a speck on the horizon and then disappeared. Amazing how something so beautiful can be so terrifying.

Bringing her thoughts back to the present she realized Ralof had been saying something. "—swarming with imperials soon enough. We'd better clear out of here."

Assuming she'd caught the important part of what he was saying, Jack followed after Ralof as he continued.

"It's probably best if we split up, Good luck. I wouldn't have made it without your help today. My sister Gerdur runs the mill in Riverwood, just up the road. I'm sure she'd help you out."

Smiling gratefully back at him Jack nodded, "Good luck to you too; we both helped each other out of that mess."

"You know," Ralof paused, "You should go to Windhelm and join the fight to free Skyrim. You've seen the true face of the empire here today. If anyone will know what the coming of the dragons mean, it's Ulfric."

"Hnn," pausing as they came to a fork in the path, Jack faced Ralof, "I don't know if I'm really the person the stormcloaks would want to be fighting a war for Skyrim, but if you ever need to call in a favor let me know."

"Aye…" Ralof paused, adding one more thing, "but Skyrim is home to more than just Nords."

With a laugh of acknowledgement she jogged away raising her hand and waved farewell to Ralof. More than Nords indeed… sadly the nords disagreed fairly strongly. If there was a reason that would convince her to fight in this stupid war, it would be to fight alongside Ralof once again. He'd become a good friend in a very short amount of time and she would not be opposed to seeing him again. She was no friend to the empire or the Thalmor, but she didn't think this was the time to be fighting a war. Still, if Ralof called for aid, she would do her best to be there.

As she skirted around the edges of Riverwood she saw Ralof enter the village.

Continuing on she eventually came across a sign directing her towards Whiterun. Following the river away from the city she looked on at the proud walls surrounding a peaceful looking city with Dragonsreach towering above it. She liked Whiterun well enough with its homely little houses and shops but it was never particularly appealing to her. Soon enough the city was out of sight and she was well into the woods, moving around one of the many mountains of Skyrim.

Though it was chilly she had worked up a sweat from jogging and decided to slow to a walk and take in the view of the trees and mountains around her. It had been a long while since she'd be in Skyrim and she'd missed this cold barren land she called her home.
Wrapping her large scarf around her like a cloak and pulling it over her head she shivered as the night began to creep in.

"There's no way I'll make it to Riften tonight." She muttered.

After a very long day full of imperials, dragons, and running through the cold, not to mention her time before that, traveling through Cyrodill to get back to Skyrim from Elsweyr and Valenwood, she was very tired. With a sigh she decided to stop at Ivarstead for the night to rest up before continuing her trek to Riften.

Stepping into Vilemyr Inn, Jack pulled down her hood and looked around. Noting the bard was playing a pretty wordless song on her flute; she smiled and headed for the innkeeper who was wiping down the bar. Sitting on a stool in front of him she smiled as he looked up at her.

"We don't get many visitors up here, unless they're headed up to High Hrothgar of course, what can I do for you?"

"Hmm not me! I'm headed to Riften. I'd like to rent a room for the night if you've got one." Jack said.

"Sure thing, it's yours for a day." The innkeeper lead her to her room.

As he told her to let him know if there was anything else she needed she looked around the quaint little room. It had two shabby twin beds and a table and chair. Noticing a bag of coins sitting on the table she quietly swept them up as the innkeeper turned to leave the room.

"Careless." She snorted, after he had left the room. Who just left coins around on a table you rented out to people? She supposed it may belong to the person using the other bed. Either way, she smirked, it was hers now.

She woke the next morning feeling well rested. She had a habit of sleeping very little, and it was a mark of just how tired she was that she had slept so late. She'd been planning to set out just before day break in order to make it to Riften just as all the shops were opening up. She remembered it was her favorite time in the city; everything was so exciting and active while everyone was setting up their stalls and the people were coming out to do their morning shopping.

As she finally made it to Riften she saw the familiar stables she loved. It was still early, so she supposed Hofgrir was still in his house. But she walked up to the horses and rubbed their noses, saying hello. With a start, she realized that one of them was particularly happy to see her.

"Whisp!" She cheered, "Look at you, you're so big!"

Cuddling her old friend's face between her arms she sighed contentedly, "It's so good to be home."

Straightening up, she said goodbye to the horse, and turned towards the city. She walked past the carriage man waiting to give someone a ride to one of the main holds of Skyrim and looked up at the walls surrounding her home.

As she came up to the entrance one of the guards approached her, "Halt, no one enters the city without paying the visitor's tax."

She raised an eyebrow, "visitor's tax? Please, we both know this is a shake down."

She could see the alarm in the guard's eyes as he backtracked quickly, "Alright, alright, keep your voice down!" the guard exclaimed, "I'll unlock the door."
As he stepped aside he muttered something about her being free to enter whenever she was ready; she smiled at him and moved forward. Taking a deep breath she stepped through the gates to Riften.

The city was just as she had remembered, though a bit more run down seeming. As she walked further into the city her eyes left the buildings and fell on a man leaning against the post of one of the houses across from her; he was watching her.

Soon as they made eye contact he spoke, "I don't know you, you in Riften lookin' for trouble?"

At that, she smirked, "I suppose that depends what you'd consider trouble; but no, not really."

Narrowing his eyes he made his point clear, "just don't go meddlin' in Black-Briar affairs, Last thing they need is some troublemaker tryin' to steal a piece of the action. The Black-Briars have Riften in their pocket and the Thieves Guild watchin' their back, so keep your nose out of their business. Me? I'm Maul. I watch the streets for 'em. If you need dirt on anythin', I'm your guy... but it'll cost you."

At the mention of the Thieves Guild Jack's ears perked up. "Thieves Guild you say, you know anything about them?"

"You kiddin'? My brother Dirge works in their hideout. I used to run with them myself, but took a job with Maven after they started hittin' a rough patch. If you want to get in on that action, find Brynjolf in the marketplace. I'm sure he could use someone like you."

After questioning him more about the guild and Maven Black-Briar she thanked him and walked away.

"Be seein' you around." He called after her.

She chuckled, "more than likely." She said under her breath.

Crossing the bridge over the canal she smiled listening to the wind blow the leaves across the wooden docs. The fog was as thick as ever in the Rift and she could see the water and trees blowing gently with the wind. In the distance she could hear someone calling out about fresh meats and produce. And with a grin she moved forward, ready to see the market place she used to love. She walked past The Bee and Barb and decided to stop in to book a room and get some food.

The lighting was dim and the tables were filled with people. It was still early for drunken crowds but she could tell people were still enjoying themselves plenty. She moved towards the bar and took a seat in front of Keerava. Peeking up from under her hood she made eye contact and smiled as she watched realization dawn on the old lizard's face.

"Jack! Child it has been a long time, how have you been? WHERE have you been?" she exclaimed.

Leaning back a little and laughing Jack scratched her head, "Ten years actually, I've been exploring," she smiled, "it is good to see you again Keerava."

"And you child! Are you here for a room? Something to eat?"
"Actually I was hoping for both." Jack chuckled.

Before she was even done talking a hot plate of cooked beef, bread, and a slice of elder cheese was placed in front of her. Looking up she grinned at the deceptively grumpy innkeeper. "Thank you!"

Placing some gold on the bar she asked, "Got any rooms available?"

Keerava chuckled and nodded, "Of course I do, it's yours for however long you need it."

Jack grinned and hopped up, giving the woman a huge awkward hug over the counter. "You know I'm going to pay, yeah? I have the money, you can't stop me."

She pranced away from the bar as Keerava mumbled something that sounded a lot like "you don't know what I can or cannot do."

Feeling happier and more excited than she had since planning her trip to Elsweyr to visit her friend J'zargo she followed Keerava up the stairs to her room. It was a small room, but it was cozy and made her feel safe. It reminded her of the times she would come to Keerava cold and hungry and close to death. The woman always gave her some food and a bed to sleep in. She was glad Keerava hadn't forgotten her in those ten years. Straightening her cloak, she pulled her hood back up and headed downstairs and out into the misty fog. She could smell the burning wood and coal from the Scorched Hammer's forge and hear the clanging of Balimund shaping a blade ringing over the stall vendors calls. She heard calls about gleaming gem stones and armor and some fabulous potion.

Walking up to one of the stalls she heard someone say something to her.

"I presume you're bothering me for a good reason?" drawled an older woman in fine clothes.

"Ah, no, sorry…" Jack stepped back a bit and turned away, confused; pretty confident old lady to just be rood in passing.

She walked up to the stall of an Argonian who'd been advertising his legendary Argonian craftsmanship. As she was listening to the Argonian, Madesi, give his pitch on a silver amethyst necklace, she heard someone come up behind her, "Never done an honest day's work in your life for all that coin you carry. Eh, lass?"

Jack froze. Turning slowly she peered around her hood and looked the red haired man up and down.

After a pause, she smiled; "Bryn…"