Finding Destiny While Avoiding Fate

Chapter two

Disclaimer in the prologue

Interesting fact: Hjolinn was not originally a character I played as at all. After I began to write this I created a Nord character based on him so that I could write him better.

Anyway... On to the show!

Solitude; Hjolinn observed, was much larger than many of the cities he had traveled to before. There were large buildings everywhere he looked, they were made of stone and blocked out any view of the surrounding area. They paled in comparison to the Castle Dour though, the structure almost seemed to take up most of the City itself. It rose above the streets built upon a higher rock foundation and housed the Imperial army. Their banner hung from the bridge connecting to a towering windmill over the main street. He almost had to strain his neck looking at all of the massive edifices, the whole city seemed dull to Hjolinn. The streets were bustling with people, but the stone reminded him of tombs, cold and lacking life. Give him wooden homes and the Gildegreen of Whiterun any day.

As they passed the Castle he could hear music echoing down the street from the Bard's College, it all jumbled together making a cacophony of noise that was not wholly pleasant to the ears. The Companion tried to tune it out as he continued to observe his surroundings. It was getting darker by now, the torches of the city street burned a cheerful yellow that once again had Hjolinn wishing for a warm bed and mead. He reminded himself that he would be getting the mead at least after he dealt with the Jarl.

"I am very glad that you decided to see the Jarl, Companion. She has been pacing the throne room for the last couple of days, we were beginning to worry that she would make herself ill." The guard said, trying to fill the silence between them.

Hjolinn replied absentmindedly, "It must be quite difficult for her, having a child run away and all. I'm sure any mother would be worried sick."

The guard snorted, "The princess has always been a bit of a wild one. Why, when she was 4 and 10, the young lady snuck into the barracks and put thistle in all of our helmets. We had to shave our heads so that the apothecary could deal with the needles."

The Companion stopped, "Wait, 4 and 10? How old is she now?"

"She has seen 20 winters now. There was a ceremony, but it was not as lively as it had been in previous years. What with the High King being murdered and all."

Hjolinn rubbed his eyes under his helmet, "So you're telling me that the Jarl called on the Companions for a grown women? Not a child, but a woman?"

The guard paused for a moment and tilted his head towards Hjolinn, "Of course, why would you think she was a child? Everyone knows that princess Erilana isn't a child, did you not realize it was her? King Torygg and Jarl Elisif never had any other children."

"I am not quite up to date with the current going-ons in Skyrim. I was not even aware that King Torygg had reared a child, let alone that she would be grown." The Companion replied.

"By the God's man! Surely Jorrvaskr would have better up keep on such information!"

"Aye, they do; but I have only been within its halls a little under two seasons. Before that I was a hunter in the back woods of Falkreath. Not much news travels out there." Hjolinn decided that a word with the Jarl was most definitely in order now.

He gestured to the guard to pick up the pace and began marching towards the Blue palace with a renewed fervor, "Come along now, mustn't keep her grace waiting."

Startled at the Companion's change of attitude, he muttered out an agreement and stumbled after him.

Hjolinn ran the job through his mind as they went, there was something weird about this situation now and he was unsure if he liked where this was going. What could these nobles possibly be thinking? Where was the logic in declaring a grown woman a runaway? He needed answers before he would go hunting through Skyrim for a woman who may not have been a runaway to begin with. Another thought crossed his mind; how far could an adult have gotten in a few days as apposed to a child. So much for being back in time for the breaking of fast. He would be lucky now if he made it home within a week. If this woman did leave of her own free will, how was he supposed to bring her back?

They made it to the palace quickly, he did not stop to admire its splendor as he had the rest of the city. The guard was having a hard time keeping up with his long strides, it was all he could do to try and keep pace with the tall Nord. There were other guards near the entrance to the palace who had gone to stop Hjolinn, but the now out of breath escort waved them off. Once inside, Hjolinn stopped and waited for him to catch his breath.

"Do I just go in, or am I to wait here?" The Companion asked.

The guard was still taking gulping breath's, "You know... I us-used to be an a-adventurer like you... Then I t-ook an arrow to the knee."

Hjolinn looked briefly apologetic for having rushed the poor guard, but he needed to find out what was really going on. His fatigue was long forgotten, armor still matted to his skin, but he found little care in that now. He looked around while he waited, they were in what looked to be some kind of entry way. There was a seating area that looked quite used, fruit was prepared neatly on the two tables and off to the side of the main doors was an elf. He was staring at them in a way that seemed to assess whether they were a threat or not. The Nord raised up his hand in a show of friendly acknowledgment, and the elf sniffed and returned to the text he had been reading. Very welcoming; no one was there to greet him, but he figured it was probably the guards job to announce him or something.

"Are you alright now?" Hjolinn asked.

The guard took a deep breath in and exhaled loudly, "Yeah, well enough. Let us get you to the Jarl."

With that, the guard straightened himself and walked further into the building. There was a rounded staircase as they entered the next room, a flower bed sat at the base filled with lavender. There were several pots with flowers all around, their fragrance barely masked the stale smell of the stone. Hjolinn followed his escort up the stairs, the sound of their steps echoing in the vast halls; he could hear people at the top, but they were quieting as the two men reached upper floor. Six pairs of eyes greeted stared at them, it made the Companion uncomfortable, like he was specimen at the Mage's College. There was a chill in the room that Hjolinn knew was not from the weather outside; he suppressed the urge to shiver as best he could as he scanned the nobles before him.

There was a man and a woman in fine clothes off to the side of the hall, they looked bored and aloof; probably Thanes. A Mage stood off to the side of the throne, she held a sneer on her face like everyone was unworthy of her attention; most Brenton's had that mentality, it must be some sort of complex. Leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the throne was a heavily bearded man in steal plated armor; Housecarl. Closest to the stairs and standing slightly in front of everyone else was another man, he too wore fine clothes and held himself formally. He did not hold boredom on his face, nor disdain; in fact other than the slight tension in his shoulders, Hjolinn thought he looked pleasant enough. Finally, there seated on the throne, was the Jarl. Elisif the Fair, former queen to the Skyrim people; usually she would have looked as her name described, today though, she looked pale and drawn. The Companion held sympathy for her, even though her daughter was no longer a child, it was quite obvious that she was very worried about her.

The guard cleared his throat, standing up a little straighter in front of the court, "My Jarl; the Companion you sent for." He gestured towards Hjolinn.

The said Companion bowed at the waist unsure if he should say anything or not. He had only ever been in the presence of one Jarl and that was Bulgruuf, who was very casual in everything he did. But Jarl Elisif did not slouch in her chair, she did not have a single hair out of place; formal was all he could think and formal he most certainly was not.

The man who stood before the throne smiled, "Ah, good! We have been expecting you Companion, I trust your journey here was not to much trouble."

Hjolinn shrugged, "It was about as to be expected I suppose."

"Good, good, I am Falk Firebeard; The Jarl's Steward. I trust you know why you are here."

"Aye. Though I have some questions..." The Companion began, "My escort here informed me of a few more details that I had been unaware of and wanted to make sure I have all of the information needed to find the girl."

Falk was about to reply when a sharp but soft voice snapped out, "What more information could you possibly need? You were hired to find my daughter! You've reported in as I requested now go find her!"

Had she not been a distressed woman and Jarl he would have said something sarcastic, but he ignored his irritation, "I will do the job as requested my lady, but first I need to know what I'm dealing with. Your guard tells me that your daughter is 20 years, that seems a bit old to be labeled a run away."

"That is not for you to decide Companion." Elisif hissed out, "You are to find her and return her to me as soon as you can. That is all you need to know."

There was definitely something strange going on, Hjolinn thought. She may have looked the part of a fretting mother, but her tone reflected something else that had nothing to do with maternal worry. If he did not know any better, this sounded more like a man-hunt than a retrieval. One talent that Hjolinn had always possessed was how to read people. It was their eyes that gave most away, and the Jarl's eyes held rage and fear. Fear he could understand, yet it was not the fear he expected in this case. It was more like a fear of a saber cat waiting in the shadows, almost like she was waiting for something or someone to strike her down. Rage was the biggest surprise, not angry, not upset; enraged. Whatever had happened to cause this whole situation was a lot of drama the Companion was unsure he wanted to get mixed up in.

Falk stepped in, "You'll have to pardon the Jarl, Companion... she has not been well since Erilana went missing. It is imperative that you find the young lady, she has never been outside the walls and could end up seriously hurt or worse. That is why we need you to bring her back, nothing more."

Somehow Hjolinn knew that was not the whole truth, but what else could he say? He nodded his head in acknowledgment towards the court and then bowed to the Jarl, "Worry little my Jarl, I will find your daughter and do what I can to bring her home."

Elisif sniffed and rose from the throne, "Very well then. I expect you to be quick. If you will all excuse me, I am in need of rest as I have stayed up waiting longer than was anticipated."

The Companion inwardly winced at the unsubtle jab, but smiled passively watching her walk away. That could have went better, but at least she said nothing about the way of his armor; he kept a bit of his dignity. Once she was out of the room there was a great sigh from all those remaining, chill in the room receding slightly. It would seem he was not the only one to have faced her ire today.

"I will begin searching for her tomorrow, is there anyone here in Solitude that might possibly know where she has gone?" Hjolinn asked Falk.

"The last person to see her here in the Palace was her maidservant Erdi, you'll probably find her at the inn this time of day. Other than that I am unsure. She did spend quite a bit of her time in the market place so the merchants might be worth speaking with."

Hjolinn nodded, "Thank you, I will take my leave." He turned to the guard who had lead him around, "Come, I believe you promised mead."

The guard quickly followed him down the steps and out of the palace, the Companion walked slower this time, allowing the guard to match his stride. They traveled the streets of Solitude in silence as Hjolinn mulled over his job. It felt like something was missing... But what?

He looked over at his escort and felt a bit of guilt; the poor man was limping slightly from earlier and not only that, but Hjolinn had not been very kind to him at all. What was that saying? 'Don't behead the messenger'?

"You know, I cannot keep calling you guard all night. What is your name?" He asked as they walked through the quieted streets.

"Penlen, sir Companion." the guard replied.

"Pleasure to meet you then Penlen, I am Hjolinn Saber-Eye."

Penlen smiled underneath his helmet, "Likewise Saber-Eye."

The two continued on in silence, there wasn't really much to say between them and Hjolinn was not much for small talk. As they reached the inn the Companion was once again reminded of his hunger and lack of rest. The smells coming from the inn were mouth-watering, upon entering, he was greeted to the jovial laughter of patrons and the melodious sounds of a female bard. Penlen lead him over to the bar and flagged down the server, a slightly balding man came over cleaning off the bar with a rag as he approached.

"How can I help you gentlemen?" He asked pleasantly.

"Two rounds of spiced mead Corpulus, for my friend and I." Penlen replied, gesturing his hand towards Hjolinn and himself.

"Aye, coming right up." With that he went to find two clean tankards.

"Spiced mead?" Hjolinn inquired.

"Best in all of Solitude, made here by Miss Evette. I promised you mead and you wanted really good mead so Evette's Spiced it is."

"Huh. Well alright then, lets see just how good this stuff is." Corpulus returned and had set their drinks in front of them, he turned to go assist other patrons but Hjolinn flagged him back.

"Need something?"

"I'll need a room if you have any available." The Companion said.

"Sure thing, for 10 gold it's yours for a day." The innkeeper replied.

Hjolinn pulled out his coin purse and counted out ten septims before handing them to the man, "Any chance there is a fire place in the room?"

"No, only down here in the seating area." Corpulus replied while he counted out the coin.

Hjolinn sighed, no way to dry his armor properly then. Hanging it over a chair would get it right enough he supposed. He turned to his tankard of mead, it smelled very good and Penlen was already half way through his own. The Companion took a swig; flavors exploded on his taste buds. This was the best mead he had ever had! Hjolinn groaned out his appreciation before taking another deep pull from the metal cup; the flavors of honey, snowberries and some sort of warm spice he could not place, created a melody across his tongue.

"Told you it was good." Snickered Penlen.

The companion grinned at him, "Bit better than good my friend."

They quieted and drank their respective drinks. Hjolinn savored each drop as he looked about the room; there were several stone archways so it was hard to get a good look at everything. He remembered that Falk had said the servant girl was here, so he got up from the bar taking his mead with him. Penlen looked up at him questioningly, and the companion patted his back.

"I am going to try and find the maidservant. You stay here and enjoy your drink, thanks for mine."

Penlen shrugged, "Not a problem Saber-Eye. If you are looking for Erdi then you'll be looking for an Imperial girl with short dark hair, more than likely trying to talk Belrand into taking her with him the next time he goes on on a quest."

"Right. Who is Breland?"

"He is the mercenary at the far right corner table as you pass through the middle archway. Trust me she'll be over there bothering him."

Hjolinn patted Penlen on the shoulder again and then walked away. He passed through the middle archway and looked off to the right, sure enough there was an annoyed looking man in scaled armor shaking his head at a young woman who was spouting out dreams of bandit filled adventures.

"Come on Breland, you could whisk me away, we could go off finding treasures and save small children from bandit attacks! Oh it would be so fun!" She sounded a bit delusional.

Hjolinn walked over to them and cleared his throat catching their attention. The girl looked up put out by the intrusion, but Breland looked grateful.

"Excuse me for the interruption, but might I have a word with you Miss?" The Companion requested politely.

Erdi looked at him suspiciously, "I am not a tavern wench, so if that is what you are after I suggest you look elsewhere."

Hjolinn shook his head, "No, I'm not looking for that sort of thing. I am actually here to get information on the missing princess."

"Oh!" Erdi looked surprised and embarrassed, "Of course! My apologies, please take a seat. You must be the Companion the Jarl hired."

"Aye. Now I want to make this quick, what can you tell me about the last time you saw her?"

The maidservant smiled eager to be of help to the warrior, "It was about noon on the day of the Old Life Festival, she and the queen had been arguing, you could hear it through the whole palace. I'm not sure just what the fight was about, but when it was over the queen looked very pleased as she left lady Erilana's room."

Hjolinn could tell that Erdi was an avid gossiper by the way she told the story, more than likely the whole town probably knew as much as the maid herself did. He listened quietly, as she explained how Erilana had told her to inform the Jarl that she was in need of a different dress and how the princess said she was going down to Radiant Remnants for a new one. Normally either Erdi herself or one of the the other servants would have accompanied Erilana but it was a very busy day and no one else had been informed of her departure. The maid fretted how she was sure the Jarl was going to have her executed like Roggvir but luckily Falk had stepped in for her and Erdi was able to keep her job and her head. Once her tale was done, Hjolinn thanked her for her time and asked where he could find Radiant Remnants.

"It's just across the street sir, take care though; the sisters that run the shop can be a bit offensive, just ignore their words if you can. They mean well I'm sure." She took her leave of him, wondering off to find Breland who had taken off when the conversation had started.

It was getting rather late now and most of the patrons were calling it a night, Penlen included. Hjolinn shook hands with him one last time and thanked the guard for the mead. Penlen told him that if he ever came back to Solitude to look him up and they would have another round. The companion agreed and told him to take care of his knee, then went up to his room for the night. Tomorrow would be another trying day, hopefully the gods would have a better sense of humor by then. Hjolinn sent up his prayers to Kyn and Talos before drifting off to sleep.

A/N: We will eventually get to what Eri is up to I promise, but not just yet. I know that every Skyrim player gets asked this more than once but; Legion... or Stormcloak?

I wish I could say Legion, I really do because I like Rekke. But that General Tullius is a right b*****d and has no respect for the culture of the people in Skyrim. I know there are plenty of flaws with Ulfric's ideology, but I like to think about the after story and working with him to better Skyrim for everyone, not just the Nord's. I joined the Legion just once, and the whole time I felt anxious and sick to my stomach like I was doing something morally wrong; just like with Paarthurnax... I can't kill someone trying to repent for their past sins I just can't.

So what about you? Does the game affect you deeply... or is just a game?