CHAPTER TWO- UNEXPECTED VISITORS

After we make the arrangements, we follow the path Ralof indicated. Later, I see three stones. I remember- those are the Guardian Stones. "I'll be back. Don't wait on me." I say to everyone else. I run down to the Guardian Stones, and stare at them.

One has the constellation of the Mage. However, I have never been too fond of mages. Magic just felt so… unsatisfying. This stone is not for me.

Another has the constellation of the Thief. I automatically turn away from this one. That's a constellation for milk-drinkers, not a true Nord.

The last has the constellation of the Warrior inscribed on it. That- That I could use. It would dramatically help me in battle.

I walk up to the Warrior Stone, not sure what will happen, and touch one finger to it. Immediately, I feel- reflexes. I know… I know how to fight. I'm stronger, faster. Less fearful. I feel like I could take on a hundred men.

Then I turn back, remembering the others. I sprint back to them, and we keep walking. We encounter a few wolves, but those are quickly taken care of.

The rest of the journey was mostly uneventful. On the first night we camped in a clearing. Upon waking restfully on the next day, we reach Riverwood a little after noon.

We're all pretty thirsty, and hungry- the last drink we had was some unpurified water in the White River, our last meal being unseasoned wolf meat. So we head to the Sleeping Giant straight away.

Ulfric wouldn't go inside the Sleeping Giant- because of the attention problem. However, he still had some septims with him, and he gave us the money to go buy bottles of mead.

After purchasing the beverages, we start walking towards Gerdur's house. We split into groups of two, Ralof and Ulfric in one group, me and Valund in the other.

After we reach the house, Ralof knocks on the door. The door opens, and we see Gerdur. It was easy to tell she was Ralof's sister. They had the same eyes, the same hair. She greeted him kindly, and invited us all inside.

One the door is closed, she starts by exclaiming "Ulfric Stormcloak! Ralof! I thought you were both dead. And who are your companions?" She asks.

"This is Tymvir," Ralof says, pointing to me. "And this is Valund." He finishes, pointing him out. "We escaped Helgen together."

"You escaped? I thought the Imperials would have better security, with Ulfric bound for the block." Gerdur says, picking up a cup of tea.

"Yes… they had fine security." Ulfric replies. "But they couldn't defend themselves… against a dragon."

Gerdur promptly spits out her tea, out of surprise. "A dragon? But weren't they dead, long ago? Come now, tell me the story. I'll have Hod get you some food and drink." Upon saying this, she walked over to her husband, who was taking a nap, and wakes him. She briefly tells him about us, then demands he get us some food and drinks.

"I'll begin." I say. I tell her the story of Helgen, the dragon, fighting through the keep, and how we ended up here. The whole story took around half an hour to recount. Afterwards, Gerdur allows us to stay at her house, but we go along with the previous arrangements. Hod provides me and Valund with 10 septims each, so we could both rent our own rooms at the Sleeping Giant.

We say farewell to Gerdur and Hod, then head to the inn. The barkeep, Orgnar, greets us again. I ask if I can rent a room, and he directs me to Delphine, the innkeeper. Me and Valund each rent our own rooms.

I need to make a bit of money, and I know that barkeeps generally have an affinity for rumors and going-ons. So I head back to Orgnar, and ask how I can make the money. He tells me that Hod pays for firewood. So I start to head back to his house.

I run into Ralof along the way. "Hello, Tymvir. It looks like we're going to Whiterun." He says.

"Wait, what? Whiterun? Why there?" I ask.

"Gerdur's request. She asked us to go talk to the Jarl there, in order to request help for Riverwood." He answers. "We leave tomorrow."

"It's not easy to catch a break, is it?" I ask.

"No, not at all." Ralof chuckles.

So after talking to Hod and chopping firewood, I go to Alvor the Blacksmith to try to get a new weapon. Upon noticing my Stormcloak outfit, Alvor promptly refuses to make me anything.

"I can pay you well." I say.

"No, I won't lose my dignity for a few septims." Alvor replies.

It becomes clear there won't be any reasoning with Alvor. He's sided with the Empire, and I can't change that over a few words and coin. I leave, and head to the general store, run by Lucan Valerius. Upon the way, I am interrupted by a Nord named Sven.

"Hello, visitor." He says. "Could you help out a brother Nord?" He requests.

"That depends. What exactly do you need?" I say.

"Listen. Camilla Valerius, in the general store. Faendal thinks he can steal her away from me. I need you to deliver this fake letter to her. Say it's from Faendal. I'll pay you good."

He thrusts a sealed letter into my hands, and it looks like I don't have much choice. I walk into the Riverwood Trader, and see Camilla and Lucan arguing over something. Something about a "claw."

I walk up to Camilla, and follow Sven's instructions. Unfortunately, just as I hand her the letter, Faendal walks into the store. Camilla starts getting angry at Faendal, who is confused. He asks to see the letter. "Sven!" He says to himself. "I should have known."

He turns to Camilla, and tells her that he thinks it was Sven. She says I delivered the letter to her, and now Faendal isn't too fond of me, either. He turns to me and asks angrily- "Did Sven set you up to this?"

"I won't lie." I reply. "He did."

He punches me in the face.

I retaliate by punching him right back in the face, and then kick him in the stomach. He goes flying into the wall. The Warrior Stone! This must be part of its effects. Faendal gets up and leaves the store in a hurry.

I turn to Lucan, then ask if I can buy a weapon. He isn't too happy with me, either. After all, he is Camilla's brother. He discusses this quietly with Camilla, then turns back to me.

"Neither me nor Camilla are too happy with you, liar." He says. "However, there is a way… you could make this up to us. We're missing an ornament. A particular claw… A golden claw. In Bleak Falls Barrow. If you could fetch it for us, you could buy from us again… and fetch some good coin."

"I'm sorry." I say. "I don't have the time to get the claw." Then I turn and leave the store. I guess if the Imperials can use this sword, so can I.

I head back to the Sleeping Giant and retire to my room. The sun is setting. Valund rented a room opposite mine. He managed to get a warhammer from Lucan earlier. I buy some salmon steak from Orgnar real quick. Then, a few hours later, I go to sleep, ready for tomorrow.

The next day, me, Ulfric, Ralof, and Valund meet up at Gerdur's house. "Alright, so me and Ralof go to the Jarl in Whiterun, correct?" I ask.

"Correct." Ulfric says. "Tymvir, Ralof, you deliver the message to Balgruuf. Me and Valund will head back to Windhelm."

And with that, the arrangements were made. We say goodbye to Gerdur. Valund and Ulfric will accompany us, up to Whiterun's gates, then head east, towards Windhelm. We leave Gerdur's house, then Riverwood is behind us. We have a long journey ahead.

Yes, the scene with Faendal in the Riverwood Trader was pretty crappy. I just added it in there to demonstrate how the Warrior Stone works in this fanfic. If you like this fanfic, review! If you don't, review! Or just walk away from your computer in disgust…