Chapter 2: Whiterun
The road to Riverwood was relatively short, no more than a quick 10 minute walk. Once there, Granaen had a nice conversation with Hadvar's uncle, Alvor, and ate. He decided to spend the night after Alvor said that he should travel to Whiterun and inform Jarl Balgruff of the dragon situation. "If there is a dragon lurking in the mountain, Balgruff needs to send guards out here to protect us. We could very easily be next." He said it in a very urgent but calm voice and shook Granaen's hand.
"I sure will, sir, he will be informed tomorrow morning." Granaen then tilted his head and asked, "Are there any traders in Riverwood?"
"There is The Riverwood Trader, almost right across the street from my house, a couple buildings to the right." Alvor then got interrupted by Hadvar.
"Uncle, I am sorry to leave so soon but I need to get to Solitude and warn anybody there of the dragon." Hadvar said it in a pretty sad but firm voice.
"Of course nephew! Be careful on the way there. Stormcloaks could be all over the place because of this dragon ordeal." Alvor said it with a little smile that seemed to hide some anger behind it, to Granaen anyways.
"Goodbye uncle, I'll stop by anytime I'm in the area." Hadvar slipped out of the doorway with a final nod of his head.
"I'll be back Alvor, I want to check out this trading store and see if I can pick up souvenirs." Granaen said casually.
"You collect souvenirs?" Alvor asked with a curious face.
"Yes sir, I'll be back soon." And Granaen slid out of the door.
Now, with his souvenir and a good night's sleep, he was embarking to Whiterun, which was just to the north, over the mountain. He walked down the road around the mountain, it took about 10 minutes before he got his first glance at Whiterun. He froze up as soon as he set eyes on the city. By Auri-El this city was huge. He finally started moving again and it took another 15 minutes to get to Whiterun, and a giant, for some reason, was on a farm being killed by a group of warriors. Seems this entire country is just a little bit crazy. A dragon, giants in the cities, it's a little scary thinking about what could happen next.
He finally made it up to the giant front gates and was immediately stopped by a guard. "Cities closed with the Stormcloaks attack on Helgen." He said in a very firm voice.
"I have news of Helgen to be delivered directly to Jarl Balgruff." Granaen said in a very polite and smooth voice.
"Fine, but we'll be keeping an eye on you, high elf." He said poisonously.
Granaen bowed his head and walked into the city after the guard unlocked it and a group of guards pulled the gate open. He walked into the city as calmly as any high elf. There was a conversation between a guy in some Imperial clothing and a woman, who seemed to be a blacksmith. They were talking about weapons or something about the Imperials. Granaen ignored it and continued through the bustling city, there were so many buildings in this city, and people too. Naturally, Granaen didn't much like being surrounded by people, preferring to be a travelling kermit.
In the market area, which was about half of the bottom part of the city. Some redguard in very fine clothes bumped into Granaen. "Watch where you are going, high elf!"
"You bumped into me, mister fancy pants." Granaen responded rather indignantly.
"You filthy high elves, always think you are better than everyone else!" The redguard responded with much more indignance.
"Hate to break it to you, but I know I'm not better than anyone and I'm pretty sure you are the one who thinks he's better than everyone else." Granaen said with a sigh and started walking away.
"Don't walk away from me! Don't you know who I am!" This redguard is so annoying.
"Knew it, 'Don't you know who I am!' is an immediate giveaway that you hold yourself above others. I have nothing to say to you, leave me alone."
The redguard must have figured Granaen wasn't worth his time anymore because he huffed and turned away from him. Granaen sighed and walked up the steps on the left side of the marketplace. "Oh, you look like an adventurer, would you be willing to help me?" He looked up and realized there was a nord woman directly in front of him beside some benches. She was looking towards him and so he looked around a little bit.
"Me?" Granaen asked curiously, pointing a finger at himself.
"Yes, is there anyone else around?" The nord woman asked with a very sarcastic smile amd head tilt. "My name's Ysolda."
Granaen smiled a little and nodded his head. "Yeah, you make a fine argument, my name is Granaen."
"Granaen? High elves have such weird names." She said with a smile, she realized what she said and frantically said, "I mean no offense, of course!"
Granaen chuckled and said, "None taken." He then asked, "Did you say you needed help with something?"
"Oh yes! But, you are an adventurer, right?" She asked with another tilt to her head.
"Not particularly, I'm just a traveler, I don't really venture to places outside of cities and towns. Although, I feel like that'll change fairly soon." He wasn't lying, he really felt like something crazy was about to happen.
"Yay! Would you be willing to maybe get me a mammoth's tusk?" She asked with these really big brown eyes, almost like a little puppies eyes. Granaen couldn't say no to such a cute and hopeful look.
"Sure, but why do you need a mammoth's tusk?"
"Oh, I plan on becoming a merchant, I wanted help from one of the khajit's trading caravans, but they requested a mammoth's tusk in return for training." She said with just about the sweetest smile any man could ever witness, at least, in Granaen's opinion.
"Sounds fun, I'll get you a mammoth's tusk but, right now, I have something to do for the jarl." With his feelings going haywire, he excused himself and calmed down after jogging a little ways through the second area of Whiterun. What the heck was that? I've never felt such a weird feeling? Like I was nervous but excited, definitely a strange combination. He shrugged the feeling off and continued onto the stairs leading up to the giant castle at the top.
The castle seemed so much larger up close. He was actually amazed by the sheer size of it. There was a giant dragon skeleton put together to form a ceiling over a bridge leading over a little water area below. He walked over the bridge to two great wooden doors, seperated by a wooden plank right down the middle. As he pushed the right door open he was greeted by a more amazing sight. He kind of froze upon entering the door, the sight was so beautiful. There was such amazing lighting and there was so much space in this single giant room. Ahead of him there was three sets of steps with three pillars on each side of the steps.
Granaen moved forward and wandered up the sets of stairs. He seen a meeting of some sort going down at the Jarl's throne. There was a dark elf woman, a nord man, an imperial man, and the Jarl, arguing about something. He walked closer and the meeting halted as the dark elf pulled her sword and turned to him. "What's the meaning of this? The Jarl is not receiving any visitors."
"I was asked to bring news of Helgen to the Jarls attention."
"Just what information would that be?"
"There was a dragon that attacked Helgen. Alvor fears Riverwood is next." Everyones eyes grew a little larger at that, except the dark elfs.
"A dragon? Don't be crazy, you think we'll believe that a drag-."
"Irileth, stop it, I want to hear what he has to say." Seems the Jarl was irritated at his housecarl.
"Yes, my Jarl" Irileth stepped back and Granaen stepped up to the Jarl.
"Now, what's this talk of dragons you speak of."
"You guys believe there was a stormcloak raid on Helgen, right?" Everyone nodded at him.
"That was the information provided to us."
"Well, the stormcloaks weren't involved, it was an actual dragon, it destroyed every last thing in Helgen." Granaen said it as casually as he always would.
"And you're sure this was a... dragon?" The Jarl seemed completely disbelieving.
"Absolutely, I had a great view while the Imperials were trying to cut my head off." Once again, said with serious casualness.
"Well, you are certainly forthright about your criminal past, but it's none of my business who the Imperials want to execute, especially now. Irileth, what do we do about this, an actual dragon, how do we defend our city against such a beast?" Irileth shrugged and spoke firmly.
"My Jarl, we should send a detachment to Riverwood, it's in the most immediate danger, if that dragon is still lurking in the mountains." Irileth actually seemed to care about this, of course, why wouldn't she, just because she is protective of her Jarl doesn't mean she doesn't care.
"No! The Jarl Falkreath will view that as a provocation, he'll think we joined Ulfric and are preparing to attack him!" The Imperial with some blue clothing on said.
"Silence! I will not stand idly by while a dragon burns my home and slaughters my people! Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once." The Jarl looked like he was ready to stand and fight a dragon himself.
"Yes, my Jarl!" Irileth took off out the doors to Dragonreach.
"I shall return to my duties." The steward bowed and turned away.
"That would be best." The Jarl looked at me once again. "You have done our city a great favor, high elf, please accept this gift from my personal armory." He handed Granaen a long, thin steel sword, it was also really light. Granaen had never really used a sword before but found he enjoyed the feeling of it in his hands. "There is something else you could do for us. Suitable for some of your... particular talents. Come! Let's go find Farengar, my personal court wizard, he's been looking into a matter related to these dragons."
"Sure" Granaen shrugged and followed the Jarl into a room on the right side of the main hall.
"Farengar, I think I've found someone who can help you with your dragon research." The Jarl then walked out of the room and the two wizards stared at each other for a second.
"So, the Jarl thinks you can be use to me? He must be refering to the dragonstone. Yes, I could use someone to fetch something for me. Well, when I say fetch I really mean delve into an ancient nord ruin, in search of an ancient tablet, that may or may not actually be there."
"Okay, where am I going?" Granaen asked, he was honestly annoyed by this wizard already.
"Straight to the point, huh? I like that. Leave the other stuff for your higher ups." Granaen knew it was a stab at him, but he didn't really care. "I need you to go to bleak falls barrow, it's a ruin right on top of the mountain between Riverwood and Whiterun. Find this stone tablet, no doubt stored in the final chamber, and bring it back to me."
Granaen smiled. "That's it? That sounds simple enough."
It was not simple and Granaen was severely regretting coming. He had fought bandits to get into the ruins. Once in, he had fought more bandits, some skeevers, a giant spider, like four times the size of the ones in Helgen keep. He fought through undead monsters the rest of the way. Oh wait, he failed to mention the bandit with a golden dragon claw tied to his waist and a journal in his jacket. After a lot more undead, he reached a weird metal door with three circles that you could twist this way and that. The three circles, a small one closest to the center, a medium one around that, and a large one around the medium one. The circles had symbols on them, three on each circle, all the same. He found out he could spin the circles. That bandit's journal mentioned the dragon claw being used to open a door.
"So, this claw gets put into this door and opens the door?" He looked at the claw and noticed that it had the same symbols as the door on it. He decided that the symbols must line up like the claws symbols to open the door. He spun the circles until the symbols lined up. He put the claw in the middle of the circles and twisted it. There was a rumble and Granaen immediately took a step back. Miraculously, the door actually opened to him. He took a step forward and picked the claw off the ground. The last room was by far the most difficult. The giant undead that was in that room was unbelievable, he wielded a giant battleaxe. He also wielded it perfectly. Granaen felt like his magic wasn't doing anything. Finally, after about ten fireballs to the face, the undead kinda fell over. He grabbed some loot, found the dragonstone in the coffin that the undead came out of and bolted.
He was walking through the wind district when he seen her again. That fiery red hair on her head didn't look right. She looked so delicate but she had the firiest hair. "Have you found that mammoth's tusk yet?" She had the sweetest voice, so firm but silky.
"Not yet, no" Granaen kept his composure naturally.
"Darn. Hmm, where are you coming back from?" She asked it with curiosity, but Granaen imagined it with worry over him.
"Bleak Falls Barrow, on a job from Farengar, the court wizard." He thought it sounded cool to himself.
"Oh, so you work with the real higher ups, huh?" She said it almost calmly, but Granaen detected the venom in her words.
"You don't like the higher ups in this city?" Granaen asked her inquisitively.
"Not really, they are prejudiced and have too much money." She spoke honestly.
"They are prejudiced?" That honestly surprised Granaen, they seemed fine with him.
"Yeah, they won't let any khajit from the caravans into the city because they are suspicious." She said it without anything but minor hate. "But, they are only protecting our people, so I can't be too mad."
"It doesn't make it right to treat people wrong because of their race." Granaen was actually seething with anger, he could handle prejudice but he still hated when other people had to deal with it.
"Yeah, what's with you anyways? Most high elves hold themselves above others, they usually wouldn't even stop to make conversation with someone like me." She eyed him curiously.
"I've never felt better than anyone else, and I actually believe there's more to that ego than us high elves actually let on. I believe most of my race is actually insecure that other races are way better fighters than us. So, we use our magic to hold ourselves above everyone. Of course, that's just my opinion on the subject. I don't hold myself there because I know everyone is powerful in their own way." Why did he talk so much? He didn't know but he knew he sounded like a complete idiot. Ysolda started laughing and he felt like his clothing was way too tight on his shoulders. She had the cutest laugh he had ever heard. No high elf could ever have a laugh that sounds that sexy.
That thought right there was what immediately made his brain cease thinking. He just admitted that this girl, this nord girl, is better than any high elf. Which means he would rather marry this girl over anyone, even his own race. He felt a blush immediately rise over his cheeks. He noticed Ysolda was staring at him. He cleared his throat and asked, "Sorry, did you say something?"
"Yeah, I said you are way too perfect to be in Skyrim with a mindset like that." She had a giggle behind her sentence and Granaen was done for.
"Right, you are the first person who has said I should be anywhere at all, most people completely ignore my presence. Anyways, I should get going, I really want to get this tablet up to Farengar." He cleared his throat one last time and said, "Farewell, I'm sure we'll talk again sometime." He bowed and walked away. He also failed to notice the immense blush that rose on Ysolda's face.
He strode up the stairs to the cloud district with a purpose. Once up, he entered Dragonreach and immediately walked to Farengar. He placed the dragonstone on the table carefully and Farengar looked up at him. "Hmm, seems you are a cut above the usual brutes the Jarl sends my way." Another stab at him, he still didn't care.
"Funny, you require the Jarl to send people to you because you can't do things yourself." Granaen didn't know where that came from and he cringed inside. He was always calm, he shouldn't be making mistakes like that. Farengar silently seethed and his companion looked at Granaen.
"You went into Bleak Falls Barrow and got that? Nice work. Well, Farengar, let me know what you find, I should head back and take care of something." She immediately walked out of the room.
"So, what about my pay, I expect compensation for that dangerous mission." Granaen regained his composure and said that with his usual casuality.
"You'll have to see the Jarl for your reward, I'm sure he'll reward you handsomely." Oh boy, Farengar was definitely mad at him. That anger melted a second later when Irileth came running to his room.
"Farengar! There has been a dragon sighted nearby! The Jarl wishes to talk with us. You should come along as well." She turned and walked away after saying that.
"Oh, a dragon! How exciting!" Farengar apparently forgot about his anger and was catching up with Irileth.
"I'd take this more serious if I were you, if that dragon decides to attack Whiterun, I don't think we can stop it." A guard had joined their party and they walked up a set of stairs in the wall behind the throne, on the right side of the room. They reached the top and some small talk about the dragon between the Jarl and the guard ensued. Once the conversation was over, Irileth was ordered to take a group of men to a watchtower that the dragon was sighted at.
"Sorry friend, there is no time to stand on ceremony, I need you to go fight this dragon with Irileth. But, I haven't forgotten the service you've done in retrieving the dragonstone for Farengar, please take these boots from my personal armory." Auri-El, why did he always give him items instead of money. That thought immediately dropped from his head when he seen a pair of enchanted Elven boots that shone like a star in the sky. He took them and sat down to put them on.
"What enchantment is on these?" He felt a warmness seep through him upon sticking his foot in the boots.
"They have an enchantment that should block out a certain amount of heat." Then why did he feel warm with them on.
"Thank you, I should go now" He turned and left, the last thing he heard was Farengar asking if he could go and see this dragon. On his way down, a lot of people were standing out side staring toward the southern walls. He saw Ysolda and they made eye contact, he could see the worry in her eyes being directed at him. He gave her a reassuring smile and she seemed to relax a little bit. Since when did they have a relationship close enough that she was getting comforted by his smile, he didn't know. He continued through Whiterun to the front gates.
He exited the front gates and finally realized what he was about to do. Fighting a dragon!? How was he supposed to do that, sure he survived Helgen but that was just because he ran for his life. He walked down the path from the front gates and began wondering where he was supposed to go. He didn't need to think long, as there was a column of smoke rising just south of Whiterun. He slightly jogged down the road leading that way and about five minutes later he was coming to the western watch tower, which was nothing but a single tower and some crumbled walls with fire here and there. He walked closer and Irileth and her group were already talking to the last survivor.
When he got closer the last survivor spoke to him. "No! Get back, it's still here somewhere, Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it!" Right after he said this, a thunderous roar sounded from the mountains south of them. They all turned to the mountain, "Kynareth save us, here he comes again." That's when he spotted the second dragon of his life and he knew he was about to experience his worse fear for years to come.
Chapter 2: Whiterun[Hey guys, let me know what you think of this story, I honestly don't know how well I am at writing since I'm just beginning. I hope I am doing justice in my alternative story of Skyrim.]