Chapter 2: A New Start

The very first thing I noticed after stepping out of the cave was the magnificent view. Mountains loomed in the distance, a perfect background for the wildlife surrounding me. The moment was cut short, unfortunately, by the roar of the dragon as it finished its business and flew back to whatever cave it had crawled out of.

Hadvar stepped out from the cave, taking in the scene, before turning to me.

"I thank you friend, for without you, I fear I may never had made it out alive. If you're ever looking for a bed or a friend, both can be found in Riverwood, farewell."

With that, he took off, leaving me behind at the edge of the cave.

"Well, this is just dandy… ahhhh, whatever, first things first, lets find a good tavern with some strong mead! And maybe learn to stop talking to yourself, its weird." But as the warming thought took hold in my head, a strong gust struck me in the face, blowing off my newly acquired iron helm. As I bent to pick it up, a voice whispered in my ear.

"Remember our promise"

Those few words left me bending over looking like an idiot for longer than should have been necessary. As I straightened up, I shot a quick smile at thy sky. While it may not be something as grand as slaying dragons, I finally had a purpose, something my life had been lacking recently. I took one last look around, wondering maybe some other cryptic voice was to be found. When none appeared, I set off to start my life anew, first stop, Riverwood.

As I followed the path Hadvar had written on my map, I happened upon some standing stones, each one carved with the likeness of a great fighter. One showed a thief, crouched and ready to pounce. I felt a part of me I thought I had buried stir at the sight, though I quickly suppressed it, reinforcing the cage in my mind. Another showed a mage, looking ready to rend the sky. This stone held no interest for me, as I had learned with my first attempt at magic, it was a deadly, unruly force. It took months for my eyebrows to grow back.

But last stone is what captivated me. It showed the likeness of a great warrior; standing proud, ready to defeat his enemies as they came. Valen's words echoed through my head, how honor in battle only lead to a knife in the back. But still, I felt the stone calling me, and as I put my hand on its worn surface, I heard that voice call to me again.

"Do you accept the warriors blessing?"

I immediately answered yes, all former hesitation now gone. As soon as I accepted, a beam erupted from the stone, soaring high into the sky, seeming to strike the constellation of the warrior, brightening it. Even as these thoughts went through my head, an ancient knowledge seemed to flow over me, granting me an easier understanding of combat.

I thanked the Warrior Stone for its knowledge, and continued on my journey. Not long after, I saw a worn path to the right, and my curiosity got the best of me. As I advanced up it, I saw what appeared to be a mine, though I did not see the bandit till it was to late.

With a roar, he leapt out of the shadows plunging his blade into my abdomen. With a roar of my own, I acquainted his head with my hammer as he tried to pull the sword loose of the imperial armor I wore. The blow flung him and his sword out of my reach, but before he could recover, I struck his head again, this time putting him on the ground, were he stayed.

A quick inspection told me the wound was minor, not worthy of a potion, but I could feel my stamina was already drained. The disease must have been worst than I thought. As I got ready to leave, I heard voices from inside the mine. It was not pleasing, but I got my body to get up and move, formally deciding that these bandits would be the stepping stone for my righteous crusade.

While it was not the dark hole I first imagined, it definitely wasn't inviting me in. I don't know if it was divine intervention or my natural clumsiness that saved my life, but as I started into the cave, my foot clipped a nearby wheelbarrow, sending it tumbling into the cave where it must have triggered a trap, dropping a ton of rocks on it. That stopped me cold.

"Technically it's not sneaking if it's to stop myself from ending up on the wrong end of a trap. Yah… lets go with that."

As I crouched down, I remembered a trick Valen had shown me about blending into the shadows, even with my massive body. I felt a clam settle over me as my body relaxed into the familiar position, which was about as worrying as the thought of what I was about to face.

As I crept forward, I finally found the source of voices in a room ahead of me. As I entered, I saw two bandits around a small fire, one complaining about his current living conditions, and the other assuring him it was fine.

As I crept around looking for a better look, one of them must have spotted me, as the ring of steel being drawn filled the air, and they ran at me. I gripped my war hammer, rising to meet the first one as he swung at me, a thin rat-ish man. A quick side step left his blade cutting through empty air. He had struck a bit to hard, and his momentum carried him right into the apex of my swing, which veritably flung him into a moat of water off to my left. The second one rushed me, wielding a small dagger and a pickaxe.

A twinge of remorse hit me as he came at me, looking at his poor weaponry. That was, of course, before he sunk the pickaxe into my thigh as I blocked his dagger. With a gasp of pain, I pummeled him with the edge of my war hammer, giving me just enough time to send a blow to his knee, forcing him to the ground; a quick blow to the head ended it.

I quickly downed a healing potion before my leg gave out, and after a moment hesitation, grabbed the pickaxe. You never knew when I might need a surprise in a pinch

As I looked around, I noticed a drawbridge was the only way across the moat, with the controls in a nearby room. I started towards it, but stopped short when I found the bones of a crushed miner, along with a journal. It described the cruel treatment of the bandits, erasing any remorse I had over ending them.

I found the room with the lever, and after a quick look around, pulled it. As the bridge lowered, I heard the voices of two bandits coming across the bridge. Deciding I had enough of sneaking, I instead leapt the gap, landing in front of the surprised bandits with a roar.

I noticed the foremost bandit was carrying a steel war hammer, a clear upgrade to mine. Before they could recover, I sent a blow to the bandit's head, staggering him and giving me enough time to crush his chest. As he fell gasping into the water, some quick maneuvering allowed me to grab his hammer while sending mine flying into the remaining bandit.

Unfortunately the new weight of the hammer caught me off guard, giving the bandit enough time to sink an arrow into my back, and another into my arm. Pushing through the pain, I was able to catch up to him, and with a swing of my new hammer, left him broken on the ground.

I took a moment to catch my breath and get accustomed to the new hammer. The disease I still had no name for was making these fights harder then should be, and I decided my first priority was to get rid of the accursed thing.

Continuing forward led me to what seemed be the bandits stash. A guard was hiding in the shadows, though I saw him before he could do any damage. After a brief exchange, I was able to search his body and found the key to storage room that I now saw was locked.

After plundering it, I left with a bit more coin in my pocket and even a spell that showed how to focus on an objective, and receive a premonition of where to go to achieve it. Best thing about, it was non violent, which I decided made it fine to use in emergencies.

Finally, I came upon a massive room that appeared to be their base of operations. One bandit was patrolling a bridge while another sat eating at a table. One was directly beneath, working at a forge. Before I could put much thought into, I jumped off the ledge, getting the drop on the bandit. (see what I did there, he he)

My hammer, boosted by gravity, damn near cut the poor guy in half, leaving him in a slump. The bandit on the bridge saw this and yelled to his partner as he bulled out a bow. Knowing how much arrows stung now, I rushed up to him, only to be stopped by the other bandit, which I now saw to be female.

She staggered me with a bash of her iron shield, following up with a flurry of cuts that almost made it through my armor. Sparing a glance down, I realized my armor was near tatters, and I would need something better at this point. My point was made when an arrow tore off the remainder of my shoulder strap, grazing me but not sticking.

This gave me the adrenaline I needed to break the woman's guard, quickly finishing her with a blow to the head. Before he got another chance to shoot, I ran at the bandit with the bow, sending him over the edge of the cliff with a well-placed swing.

As the fight finished, my legs gave out and with a start realized I was near death, but I hadn't noticed in the middle of the fight. I quickly chugged two healing potions to stop myself from knocking on deaths door.

After a few minutes, I started the looting process. The forge yielded some nice iron ingots and a book with an interesting way of fitting the leather to the iron. Near the bandit table, I found a small storage place that yielded some gems and coins. Personally, I didn't hold the small rocks in much esteem, though I knew others did. After I was sure I had picked the room clean, I continued to forward only to find myself at the edge of a cliff. Realizing I had exited the cave, I gave a quick shout of triumph, before realizing I had no idea where I was.

A quick peek around revealed the edge of buildings in the distance. Starting to feel the strain of my pack; I started off towards it with the thought of warm mead putting a bounce into my step.

End Chapter 2