Chapter Two:
Before The Storm
Jhol-Nik's POV
"Now what?" The question hung in the air unanswered. I turned to Hadvar. He looked at Storm Wolf and replied "My Uncle Alvor lives in Riverwood, we can go to his house there." Storm Wolf nodded and Hadvar started walking down the path. We fell in line and I began to think of all the things that had happened in the last hour or two. We eventually came to halt and I looked ahead wondering why we had stopped. We had arrived at a large stone slab with three stones on top of it. They all had strange engravings on them but I couldn't make them out.
Hadvar looked at us and said "These are the Guardian Stones, three of the thirteen Standing Stones." Azwelxyn nodded a little bit but otherwise remained silent. "They are the Warrior, Wizard, and Thief Stones." Hadvar continued, "Touching one grants you its power."
I was immensely curious and walked over towards the Warrior Stone. However, on my way I noticed that Azwelxyn and Majhl-Bol both hung back clearly not wanting to touch the stones. I walked towards them and asked, "Are you not going to touch one of the stones?" Majhl-Bol shook his head and smiled, "I have already found a Standing Stone and I am perfectly happy with what it gave me. I looked at Azwelxyn and he just said, "I have also already found a Standing Stone." I nodded and went back to the Warrior Stone.
Storm Wolf was there as well. He nodded at me and touched the stone. The stone lit up and a beam of light shot from the tip into the sky. I looked over towards the Thief Stone were Erona was standing. She had already touched the stone and the light was starting to fade. I looked back at Storm Wolf and the light slowly disappeared. He stepped back from the stone and nodded in my direction. I gave a nervous smiled and touched the stone. Warmth spread through my body and my fur stood on end. The light disappeared and the warmth faded. I joined the others and we continued down the path.
Majhl-Bol's POV
As we walked along the path towards Riverwood, we came across a side pass to the right. Hadvar turned towards it and scowled. "Bandits live up there," he said, "holed up in Embershard Mine." He looked towards us, "Haven't had any time to go set them right with the war and all."
I looked towards the mine, bandits often had a decent amount of loot in their hideouts. I also needed a new bow, I had left mine in my room before the imperials arrested me. I looked back towards Hadvar and the rest of the group. "I'm going in there to get rid of the bandits."
Hadvar looked please at this but most of the others seemed indifferent. Jhol-Nik stepped forward, "I will accompany you through the mine." Storm Wolf looked at us and said, "How will you meet up with us?" Neither of us had an answer. Hadvar stepped forward and said, "There is an exit to the mine near Riverwood." Storm Wolf nodded and told us, "Be careful, hate to see you die so soon after escaping execution." I nodded and smiled and Jhol-Nik smiled and said, "Pfft, see you in Riverwood."
Jhol-Nik's POV
Hearing about the bandits made me a little angry. I hated bandits. They were horrible people with no honor. When Majhl-Bol volunteered to clear out the bandits I immediately decided to go with him. After exchanging words with Storm Wolf (who seemed to have been established as the leader) we set off along the side path. Majhl-Bol turned towards me after a minute of walking. "So, harbinger of the Companions?" I nodded, "Yeah, wasn't easy." He was silent for a moment then I said, "So guild master of the Thieves Guild?" He laughed and said, "Yeah, and I'll bet you a thousand septims that becoming harbinger of the Companions is easier than being Guildmaster." I laughed back and replied, "I'll take that bet."
Majhl-Bol was about to reply before he stopped me and crouched behind a bush motioning for me to do the same. I squatted down next to him and he leaned towards me. "Bandit up ahead," I looked past the bush and saw a bandit standing guard in front of what must have been the mine entrance. Majhl-Bol continued, "We can take care of him two ways," he drew one of his knives and hefted it, "I'm not one for frontal assault, so I can take him out from here with my knife, or you can try a frontal assault." I thought for a moment and said, "You take him out with your knife, there will be plenty of time for head bashing and there's no need to alert the bandits to our presence yet." He nodded and took aim. He took a deep breath, held it, and flung the knife.
It struck the bandit directly between the eyes. We stood up and Majhl-Bol walked over to the bandit. I whistled low and said, "Nice shot." He nodded and yanked his knife out wiping it on the bandit's leggings. He motioned towards the mine entrance and grinned, "Let's see how well deserved your title is, harbinger."
Storm Wolf's POV
It's not that I didn't want to get rid of the bandits but with the dragon attack we had more pressing matters to attend to. However, I was greatly pleased that Majhl-Bol and Jhol-Nik volunteered to clear them out but I was also concerned about them reconnoitering with us. My fears proved groundless though, and we continued on our way towards Riverwood. Just before we arrived at the village wall, Majhl-Bol and Jhol-Nik appeared out of the woods and began walking towards us. They seemed fine and weren't in any kind of hurry so I assumed all was well.
Mahjl-Bol had acquired a bow however. And Jhol-Nik was carrying a few pieces of armor. They walked over to where we were and were greeted with questions and a few grins namely from Hadvar. I looked them over and asked, "So how'd it go?" Mahjl-Bol grinned and began to talk.
Majhl-Bol's POV
Letting Jhol-Nik lead the way, we proceed into the mine. The entry way had a low ceiling with supports at regular intervals. As we continued into the mine, it began to gradually slope downwards before leveling out. We walked cautiously forward so as not to immediately alert any bandits. We continued walking for a few minutes before the mine expanded into a small cavern. A bandit was working at a forge talking to his friend, who was sitting by a small fire. There was a wooden ramp down to where the bandits were and a small side passage to the right. I crept towards the side passage but, Jhol-Nik shook his head and motioned towards the bandits.
With a grin he lept over the side of the ramp, landing next to the bandit at the campfire. The bandit, surprised, tried to get up but was stopped as Jhol-Nik slammed his fist into the bandit's face. The bandit fell back, dead or unconscious, and Jhol-Nik turned towards the other bandit. The bandit looked terrified but still charged brandishing his sword, seeking vengeance for his fallen friend. Jhol-Nik simply let him approach and when the bandit was close he punched him in the gut before uppercutting him. The bandit's sword fell to the ground and the bandit swiftly followed. I whistled in appreciation of his skill and said, "It would seem that you are worthy of your title, harbinger." He grinned and replied, "We should continue on lest the others arrive at the town before we do."
We walked along the side passage before coming to another pair of bandits. I hefted my knife and let fly as Jhol-Nik ran forward and introduced the other bandit's face to his fist. As we passed them I noticed the bandit carrying a imperial bow. I picked it up and checked the string, it was in good condition but I would need a better bow soon. I took his arrows and gold pouch before motioning for Jhol-Nik to lead on.
We came to a smaller cavern after a few minutes of walking and a drawbridge was in the middle but it was raised. I didn't see a lever so I told Jhol-Nik to stay there and went to search for a one. I found a side passage that lead to a room with a view of the drawbridge. There was a lever there so I pulled it and watched as the drawbridge fell. Jhol-Nik flinched at the unexpected sound but otherwise didn't react. As I walked back down the passage I heard fighting. I hurried back towards Jhol-Nik to see him fighting a trio of bandits. I drew my bow and fired it twice hitting one bandit in the face and the other in the neck. Jhol-Nik quickly finished off the last bandit and grinned at me, "I bet Storm Wolf is jealous right now," he said. I looked at him confused, "Storm Wolf is a warrior like me, he loves the rush of battle," he explained. I grinned and started to reply but remembered something. "Storm Wolf doesn't have any armor maybe we should pick some up for him." Jhol-Nik nodded and began to strip the armor from some of the bandits, it was only iron but it was better than nothing.
I lead the way because Jhol-Nik was carrying all the armor and we came to the largest cavern of all. There were at least seven or eight of the bandits. Jhol-Nik set the armor down gently and I grinned at him, "You ready for some fun?" I asked playfully. He grinned back, "Always." he replied. I pointed to five of the bandits, two on a bridge, one on a walkway next to the bridge, and two on the ground floor, "I got those" I said. Jhol- Nik nodded and looked at his three targets, the other three on the ground. He nodded and I drew an arrow and looked at Jhol-Nik, "When I release my arrow take out your targets." He nodded and signaled to go ahead. I took aim at the bandit on the walkway. I held my breath and released the shot. An arrow sprouted from the bandit's chest as he fell to the ground. None of the other bandits seemed to notice. However, they did notice Jhol-Nik jumping towards the bandits as he landed in their midst. I threw my knife at one of the bandits on the floor that I was supposed to take out. He fell to the ground and I hit the bandit next to him with an arrow. I nocked another arrow and released at one of the bandits on the bridge. The arrow hadn't even struck before I had another arrow streaking towards the other bandit. They both fell as Jhol-Nik finished off the bandits on the ground floor.
Jhol-Nik's POV
After I finished bashing the bandits' faces in, I looked around and realized that all of the bandits were dead and we had taken them out in less than twenty seconds. Majhl-Bol had a grin on his face as he surveyed the carnage. "Well fought harbinger!" he called down to me. "And you as well guildmaster," I replied as he made his way down. When he finally arrived he cast his eyes about the clearing as if looking for something. "Looking for something?" I asked. "Why yes," he replied, "large groups of bandits like this tend to have a loot chest." I shrugged and he began to look around the clearing. I went and picked Storm Wolf's armor up from where I had left it. I heard a shout of glee and went back down to where I had left Majhl-Bol. He had found a chest and was in the process of lockpicking it. "Just a second," he muttered when I came by. I had seen lockpickers before and was expecting this to take a while. However, much to my surprise, Majhl-Bol had the lock off within seconds.
He looked up at my incredulous face and grinned, "What," he asked, "never seen someone pick a lock before?" "No it's not that," I replied, " it's just that I've never seen someone pick a lock so quickly. It usually takes them a few minutes." Majhl-Bol laughed, "Well being the Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild helps." I nodded in agreement and Majhl-Bol opened the chest revealing its contents. I whistled in appreciation at the amount of gold and gems in the chest. Majhl-Bol raised an eyebrow and said, "This is a paltry amount compared to the wealth I have amassed." My reply was swift, "Well you're a thief so that's just a given." He grinned and nodded. He quickly counted out the coins and gems and came up with two hundred and fifty eight gold and twelve gems including, rubies, emeralds, and a diamond. Majhl-Bol scooped up all the loot and said, "We'll split this when we get back to the others." I nodded and we began to walk towards a passage at the far end of the cavern. As we reached it we could see the exit and we hastened to leave.
As we stepped outside we realized we were close to Riverwood and we could see the others just outside of the town. We began to walk towards them and as Storm Wolf noticed us he motioned for the others to stop. When we arrived he asked, "So how'd it go?" Majhl-Bol grinned and began to talk.
Storm Wolf's Pov
When Majhl-Bol had finished talking and I had donned the armor they had brought me, he pulled out the loot they had collected. It wasn't very much, just a few hundred gold, but that's a bit more than usual for bandits. Majhl-Bol looked at me and asked, "So Storm Wolf…" I cut him off and said, "Please just call me Storm." He nodded and continued, "So Storm, do you want to split this up or shall I?" I was a little surprised as I had expected him to just split it between him and Jhol-Nik. He read the look on my face correctly and said, "For the time being at least, we're a group and we should act like one." That got several nods and so I looked at Majhl-Bol, "I'll let you divvy it up." He nodded and we walked into Riverwood. Hadvar's uncle was a blacksmith there, his name was Alvor. He offered to let us rest at his house for a few days, but Hadvar told us we needed to get to Whiterun as soon as possible so we set out within the hour. While at Alvor's Mahjl-Bol split the gold into four shares (Hadvar refused to take one) of fifty one and one of fifty four which went to Jhol-Nik because Majhl-Bol didn't want the extra gold. We all also got two gems each and we insisted that Hadvar take two as well. Hadvar escorted us to the edge of town and showed us the road to Whiterun.
"I'm going to stay here with my uncle in case any Stormcloaks come this way." Hadvar told us. We all said goodbye and continued down the road. It was late sunset and the Skyrim sky looked beautiful with the pink, yellow, and blue colors splashed across the sky, it was much better than Cyrodiil's sunset. We made it to the city with little accident other than a few wolves. The guards at the gate stopped us and said, "No one is allowed in or out of the city while the dragons are about." Majhl-Bol stepped forward, "We have news from Helgen, about the dragon attack." The guard sighed and said, "You'd better go on in, the Jarl will want to speak with you."
He opened the gate and we walked in. By now it was late and the sky was a dark black. We all agreed to get rooms at the local tavern and talk to the Jarl in the morning. After we paid for our rooms we ordered some mead (well most of us did, Majhl-Bol and Azwelxyn abstained) and sat around a table. I remembered something Azwelxyn had told us and decided to ask him about it, "You mentioned that you're Thalmor public enemy number one, Azwelxyn. Care to explain?" He grimaced and the ordered some wine, taking a sip he began to talk.
"It started back in the Summerset Isles, word had just arrived to us that the Empire in Cyrodiil had struck a peace treaty with us. This upset many of us but a few, myself included, were glad the war was over. However, this meant that for the Nords, Talos was no longer allowed to be worshipped. As is obvious by the war going on, this really upset the Nords." Majhl-Bol interrupted, "I don't see what any of this has to do with the Thalmor hating you," he said. Azwelxyn took another sip of his wine and replied, "I'm getting there be patient." "Anyway," he said continuing, "I believed the Nords had the right idea with rebelling even if they were going about it the wrong way. So, I took the liberty of trying to solve their problem…. by blowing up the Thalmor headquarters."He grinned at the incredulous looks on all of our faces, Jhol-Nik ,who was taking a draught of mead at the moment, spilled most of it down his front.
"I know, I know," Azwelxyn continued, "I might have over reacted a bit but I was tired of war and had never really liked the Thalmor anyway. Unfortunately for me, one of the surviving Thalmor recognized me and set out an alert for capture and kill." He drained the rest of his wine, "The Thalmor eventually recovered and I was forced to come to Skyrim. Once here I went to the College of Winterhold and became the Arch-Mage. However, the Thalmor tracked me down again and this time I let them take me so I could get rid of as many as possible at the same time. That's how I ended up in Helgen."
I whistled in appreciation and said, "Has to suck to be you." He nodded and replied, "Yeah when ninety nine percent of your race is out to get you it really sucks." Erona spoke up now, "We should probably head up to bed now it's getting very late." We all agreed and went to bed.
Time Skip Still Storm Wolf's POV
I woke up early Turdas morning with light streaming on my face I got out of bed, stretched, and donned my armor. I went downstairs to the main hub and saw Azwelxyn and Majhl-Bol sitting at a table with food on its way to them. When I arrived they had already started eating Majhl-Bol said hello and continued to eat, Azwelxyn just gave a short nod in my direction. I ordered food as well. Jhol-Nik and Erona joined us at the table just before my food arrived. After we all ate, it was time to address the matter at hand.
" I don't think we should all go to speak with the Jarl," I said. Azwelxyn nodded in agreement, I turned towards the other three. "I don't mind staying here," Jhol-Nik said in between bites of food. Erona likewise declined saying, "I don't have great experiences with government officials." I made a mental note to ask her about that next time I had the chance. Majhl-Bol looked at me and grinned before saying, "I, on the other hand, am a great diplomat."
I heard Jhol-Nik mutter under his breath, "Of course, because why not?" However, Majhl-Bol, being a kahjiit, heard this and laughed loudly, "Of course, my good friend, one needs diplomatic skills if they plan to steal. I find that witty banter and a superior argument can get one out of jail faster than any amount of gold." Jhol-Nik just shook his head and ordered another pint of ale. Majhl-Bol grinned too before he looked at me and asked, "So it's just you and me then, Storm?" I nodded and we left. The walk through the city was very peaceful, it was full of men and women just talking and going about their daily errands.
We would have asked for directions to the Jarl's palace but, it was pretty clear that the massive building on a hill overlooking the city was it. On our way their we passed by a man screaming at the top of his lungs in front of a statue of one of the Nord gods. Majhl-Bol pointed at it and said, "That's Talos, previously Tiber Septim before he ascended to godhood. The Thalmor outlawed his worship because they find they notion of a mortal becoming a god to be insulting."
I nodded and we continued on to the palace. Strangely, there were no guards at the palace doors so we walked in unopposed. There was a short entry hallway with pillars in a row on either side, after this were some stairs and then the great hall. As we walked across the hall, a female dark elf approached us and said, "What is the meaning of this? The Jarl's not recieving any visitors right now." Majhl-Bol stepped forward and said, "We have news from Helgen, about the dragon attack." The dark elf seemed surprised, "You were at Helgen? The Jarl will want to speak with you."
We approached the Jarl and he stopped his conversation with his steward, "So you where at Helgen?" I nodded and said, "Yes, a dragon destroyed the city, and last I saw it was heading this way." The Jarl turned back to his steward and said, "Now will you continue to trust in the strength of our walls, Proventus, against a dragon?" The dark elf stepped forward and said, "My lord we should send reneforcements to Riverwood at once, the people there are in the most danger. Proventus swiftly protested, "Milord, if we send soldiers to Riverwood, the Jarl of Falkreath will assume we are siding with Ulfric to attack him." he said. "ENOUGH," the Jarl roared, "I will not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people."
The Jarl looked back towards Majhl-Bol and I, "You did a good job informing me of this, where there others with you?" he asked. "Yes," I replied, "three others, they are staying at an inn, the Bannered Mare I think." The Jarl nodded, "I have a task for you and your friends, bring them here and then we will talk with my court wizard." I nodded and Majhl-Bol and I left.
AN. Sorry it's been awhile since I updated. Please review and let me know if you like the story. Or you could just let me know that someone is actually reading this.