Chapter 2: Escape from Helgen
With a heave Hadvar managed to force his opponents shield arm to overlap over the latter's sword arm and sidestepped just in time to take a well-placed slice at his jugular vein.
The imperial soldier's eyes widened with shock as he dropped his sword and shield to cover his neck which was squirting blood like a fountain and sank onto his knees as he realized with horror that soon his life would drain away with his blood.
The Imperial glared at Hadvar with a combination of panic and rage, and accusingly pointed his index finger at him. "You gods, damned traitor, may your soul . . . (gasp) be damned to Oblivion for this!"
Hadvar could only look solemnly as the Imperial Soldier sank to the floor, twitching erratically in his death throes until the final pint of blood left his severed artery.
The rhythmic, banging of steel against wood suddenly caught Hadvar's attention and the latter looked up just in time to see Ralof sidestep the thrust of his opponent and hook the Soldier's sword with one of his iron axe's and sidestepped again till the his opponent's arm was outstretched. And with a well-placed horizontal swing, slammed his left iron axe into the back of the unlucky soldier's neck, severing the connection between disk C two and three. Death was swift and relatively painless.
Both unlikely allies made eye contact and took a few breaths, but soon realized something was amiss. "The boy," Ralof exclaimed, "The boy where is he!" "The boy," realized Hadvar. "I remember the Captain . . . oh gods!"
Both realized with horror that in the heat of the battle their young charge had been the target of the Captain Pundus.
Before they could even begin to look around, "DRAGON CLAW," yelled the familiar voice.
Instinctively the pair turned toward the entrance hallway just in time to see an orange flash and the body of the arrant Captain Janonia Pundus blown backwards by an immense force.
She smashed against the edge of the sturdy table with a sickening wet crack and fell face down on the floor limply with a puddle of blood forming from her chest.
Hadvar and Ralof gingerly rolled the corpse over and looked in a mixture of horror and wonder at the grisly remains of the Captain whom the latter's face was frozen in an expression of utter shock. She had hit the edge of the table at a perfect horizontal angle, breaking her back. Her armor had also been sliced open, clean through her skin and almost through her ribs with blood gushing out like a beer keg stuffed in an iron maiden. The injuries were enough to kill her twice.
The two rival soldiers turned temporary allies in their amazement, looked back straight towards a panting Ryuhei who was leaning on his sword like a cane.
Hadvar immediately rushed to his aid and slung Ryuhei's arm over his shoulder. "You are crazy, In all my years of service in the Legion I've never seen even the best battle mages unleash a magic spell from a sword. How did you do that," gasped Hadvar.
"I would've known if your friends hadn't given me a that nasty bump on my head. As far as I know things just keep coming to me when I need them. I guess the gods love me," answered an equally flabbergasted Ryuhei between breaths.
Indeed Ryuhei was amazed at how he was still alive against a more experienced enemy that a few minutes ago would've been watching him bleed to death on the floor. Not only was he apparently trained in grappling and restoration magic, but he was also a pretty good swordsman with a unique spell he "remembered" just when he needed it.
The spell didn't just enhance his sword strike it unleashed a blade of energy, taking the title of spell sword to its most literal definition.
"How many more surprises will you share with us," asked Ralof as he disrobed the corpse of the fallen Stormcloak whom he had given a eulogy earlier.
"Plenty when I'm finally home free enough to hit my head with a simple house hammer." remarked Ryuhei. Hadvar meanwhile had fully caught his breath.
"Ralof, as much as I should kill you now, I do not wish to dishonor the life debt the boy owes us both. It might be too much to ask, but by Nord's honor sake and as friends from the same home, please take the boy safely to Riverwood."
Ryuhei however had better ideas. "One problem Hadvar, we can't go outside this building without that dragon spotting us, and I don't think that "ghost dragon" won't be saving our hides a second time. Besides Ralof and I don't know this town well enough to make an escape that guarantees we won't get roasted alive. In other words I . . . we still need your help."
Hadvar though was hesitant with reluctance. "As a soldier of the Empire I'm obligated to my duties."
But Ryuhei struck back with a hard counter. "And among those duties is the protection of the people. You were brave enough to stand up to your captain to try to spare my life when she ordered my head for delivery, because you knew in your gut that I was not meant for the chopping block. You're a man who believes in honor and as a Nord of honor you will risk face and flesh to live it up it to save someone you know to be truly innocent as I "saved" you and Ralof from the dragon."
Ryuhei's assertive stance hit dead center in Hadvar's conscience as the barriers of reluctance were penetrated and crumbled. "I don't know what has come over me weather it'd be your regal imperial speeches or resolute manner, but magic or not you have your escort young man."
"Now that we've removed these "roadblocks," gestured Ralof to their fallen opponent's corpses. "We should make for a hasty exit. In the meantime boy, you need to get out of those dowdy clothes."
"Finally," Ryuhei gasped sarcastically. "But, first let's get to someplace say, a bit more private."
"Follow me, to the lower levels, you'll find more than privacy there," said Hadvar.
The trio walked through the hallway to their right from where they entered the garrison with Ralof carrying Ryuhei's new wardrobe "donated" from the former's deceased comrade.
Along the way they found that the main hallway had been caved in from the hammer blows of the Dragon's attack.
Thankfully Hadvar showed them a detour to a storage room with a few beds in it as if to flout the owner's monopoly on the spoils.
Ryuhei spotted several stamina potions filled with a rejuvenating green liquid.
"Just what we need, a refreshment" Ralof said as he picked up the stamina potion. "Drink up boy, your fight with the Captain has taken a toll on you."
Ralof handed it to Ryuhei. "It doesn't taste good, but a single dose will make you feel like you could lift a boulder."
Ryuhei popped the cork off and put the bottle to his lips, and carefully he took a sip. The taste was really sour and bitter, but after a gulp he could a feel an invigorating rush coursing through his veins as the potion did its work.
He gave a satisfied gasp. "You're right, this thing's got a real kick like a mule, shame I wouldn't be able to actually lift a boulder."
Hadvar then came up with three fanny packs in his hands. "Here Ralof and you boy, take these pouches and grab everything you need. It's going to be a long walk towards Riverwood. By the way "Ryuhei," did I spell that right?"
Ryuhei nodded yes.
"Since you're not into men, I'd recommend you go behind that column in the middle of the room and start changing now, wouldn't want you to carry the stink of those rags back to Riverwood," said Hadvar.
"Thanks for the suggestion Hadvar, can you fill my bag while I'm at it?"
"Of course," agreed Hadvar. As Ralof and Hadvar gathered supplies for the journey ahead Ryuhei got behind the room's central column.
While the grown men were strapping on their fanny packs and stuffing them and Ryuhei's bag with potions, food and whatever coins they could find lying around, Ryuhei quickly stripped off his rags and eagerly proceeded to change into his new wardrobe. The pants and the cuirass itself slipped on relatively easy, though the chain-mail underneath the quilt layer didn't feel like it offered much freedom of mobility and he had to briefly struggle with fastening one of the belts around his waist. After he was dressed he ran over to his benefactors.
Hearing his footsteps, Hadvar and Ralof saw him fully dressed in the appropriated Stormcloak getup.
"A little big for you," commented Ralof. Ryuhei sneered with contradiction.
"Don't worry, I'll get used to it.
Got my pack stuffed Hadvar?"
"As much as this room could spare; a couple apples, a few potions, a loaf of bread, two wedges of cheese," Hadvar held another object in his hand for Ryuhei to see. "And a steel dagger with a matching sheath," he added.
"You'll also need these," said Ralof holding up two bows and quivers. "No one goes on an adventure without them," he commented and tossed them to both of Ryuhei and Hadvar.
After taking final note of inventory and strapping on their arrow quivers and sword belts the trio continued on their way.
Through the storage room's exit they came to a corner that turned right down a staircase, but stopped instantly when they heard a low feminine curse. Ralof's eyes widened at the sound, he seemed to recognize the voice. At that moment Ryuhei could have sworn he heard him mutter the name "Ingrid."
"Oh gods, the torture chamber," said Hadvar with dismay "Why does the Empire use these?" He turned to Ryuhei and Ralof, "The torturer, why of all times is he still here taking his sweet time with prisoners," asked a dismayed Hadvar.
"Probably loves his job too much or lacking in the common sense department," Ryuhei commented with a bit of disgust.
Ralof was beginning to doubt Hadvar.
"Got a plan for this Hadvar," Ralof asked with a trace of distrust.
"I'll get him out of way . . . whatever it takes."
Hadvar ran over to the torture chamber intent to pay the pass toll for his charges one way or another, while the latter two peeked from the adjacent corner and listened with anticipation.
Hadvar came to the torture chamber which had two support columns in the middle and three portable cells behind them. The third cell on the very right was empty, but the middle had to his horror and disgust, a very recently deceased occupant that was bleeding through every orifice on his face.
The cell to the left held a female stormcloak prisoner in it; the same owner of the voice that he heard making the impotent profanities from the hallway.
And too add to Hadvar's growing revulsion, standing in front of her cell clad in standard light leather imperial armor with a sinister-looking hood obscuring his pruned elderly face was Levus Vinipter: the torturer.
In the first five weeks he was stationed at Helgen, Hadvar had heard chilling rumors from his barrack mates about Vinipter and his brutal methods of "intel gathering" that were more creative when the conventional racking, spiked chair or "exsqueezing" was unavailable. Not only was he good at interrogating prisoners of war, he was most enthusiastic about breaking their minds and spirits to perverse levels that evoked extreme disgust from the Hadvar and his fellow nords in the imperial military, who by tradition and principal despised torture as the weapon of a coward.
He heard from soldiers that they saw the remains of tortured captives being carted out. Some had been horribly mutilated or dismembered; others stabbed in non-vital spots to cause a slow death from suffocation or blood loss, or administered a kind of "medicine" that turned their intestines to mush.
Those that survived, well . . . there wasn't much left, because the worst part about the torturer is that what made him effective at interrogations was that he never carried out his sadistic work on a victim unless there was a "captive audience" watching him perform his horrific acts of cruelty.
Doing so, badly traumatized prisoner's minds, stripped away their human dignity and pained them on an emotional level. And even when he got what he wanted out of the prisoners, he would only resume his sick hobby regardless until the captives were broken in any state of health, or mercifully dead.
Needless to say, Ryuhei's assumption was right; he loved his job too much to abandon it even when faced with more pressing matters such as siege.
"Vinipter," Hadvar shouted angrily. "Why are you fooling around with these prisoners, didn't you hear that Helgen is under attack!"
"Oh that explains those noises outside," Vinipter responded nonchalantly, infuriating Hadvar even more. "Forgive me for not noticing, I was really busy down here."
"You sick bastard son of a Thalmor bitch," cursed the female stormcloak. "Even General Tulius would not condone your conduct!"
Hadvar couldn't help shooting a glance of sympathy at the stormcloak woman. Tears of impotent rage were running down her cheeks, infuriated and anxious to ring her hands around the torturer's neck.
"Nevermind this stormcloak wench," Vinipter gestured to the female stormcloak prisoner. "She's just upset about how I was "entertaining" her friend."
"Forgot the prisoners, those noises you hear above mean you have to evacuate with everyone else before this place collapses on your head!"
"I appreciate your concern, but you sound a bit too hysterical, I don't believe those stormcloaks could've hauled catapults all the way up here just to lay siege to this tiny town. What calamity could be so cacophonous enough for you of all personnel in this town to suggest I must leave my work? I highly doubt the stormcloaks are behind it, so tell me honestly."
If Vinipter wasn't so drunk on his sadism and had any common sense, he would've taken Hadvar's advice and made himself scarce, but he was painfully short in that category and Hadvar's patience was also coming up dangerously short.
"Fine, here's the truth; it's a dragon that's tearing this place apart, you hear me a real dragon!"
"A dragon," scoffed Vinipter. "What kind of fool do you take me for to believe such nonsense?"
"A fool who lets his job obsession get himself killed, now GOOO before it's too late!"
Unfortunately the torturer wasn't having it. "Have you forgotten you're place boy, you're not the captain or of any superior rank to order me around, now be good soldier and do your duties while I do mine," Vinipter retorted to which Hadvar calmed down and slackened his face.
"As you wish, sir," relented Hadvar grudgingly.
"Glad to see you know your rank," Vinipter turned back to female stormcloak who was seething in indignant rage at him for poisoning her late comrade. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes, I believe I was at the part where . . . What are you smiling about?"
Much to Vinipter's surprise, the stormcloak woman's expression had gone from raging grief to a smug grin. What could she possibly be up to? "The part where get to know us nords deeper than your skin has informed, you senile old bastard."
Suddenly Vinipter felt an icy sensation injected right into his back. As soon as it had come he lost all sensation in his legs and arms and he crumpled forward to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
When they heard the sound of steel plunging into flesh Ralof and Ryuhei took it as their cue to see if Hadvar had secured their escape route. Rushing down the steps into torture room they relaxed with relief, none more so than Ralof.
Hadvar had stabbed the torturer right through the back just beneath his ribcage. It was shallow enough to let him live to feel it, but deep enough to guarantee he would never walk again.
"Perhaps you should've read your job description more thoroughly," Hadvar belittled Vinipter.
Vinipter the despised torturer left lying on his belly could only look back at Hadvar from his quadriplegic body with his head rotated left with shock and disbelief to see Hadvar holding a steel dagger coated and dripping with what was undoubtedly his blood.
"The point of being a torturer is to study the enemy up close and personal. If you had studied your allies first you'd have figured you'd face enemies on your own side, because for us nords torture is an excuse for a coward to spit on a warrior's courage!"
"That, I wholeheartedly agree to," commented Ralof as he and casually walked down the stairs as if he didn't acknowledge the crippled man at Hadvars feet, while Ryuhei followed close behind only slightly disturbed by the sight of the stabbed and paralyzed torturer who stared back with panicked contempt. "So, you've gone traitor, because you don't appreciate how I "gather" intelligence for the imperial legion!" "My fellow nords here in legion didn't like you any more than your prisoners. We'd been hoping for an opportunity like this, I'm just fortunate enough to claim it for myself." Hadvar kneeled forward and took the keys from Vinipter's belt. "Now then, if you'd be so kind for just this once, let me borrow this."
As Hadvar walked up to the left cell to free Ingrid the captive stormcloak, Ryuhei walked over to Vinipter's immobile form looking smugly amused at his predicament. "I'd like to borrow a few things too if you don't mind good sir, like those," he quipped as he gleefully relieved Vinipter of his leather gauntlets, much to the latter's tooth-grinding chagrin, "Oooh," and those," as he took his leather boots.
The imperial boots and gauntlets were of professional quality and were each adorned with a thick layer of leather plating to protect the wearer where he was statistically most likely to be struck.
"Give those back you stormcloak, brat! That is Imperial property! They'll have your head for that, if they don't hand you to me first!"
All the torturer earned for his impotent threats was a kick to the nose from Ryuhei. "Oh shut up," he gloated sarcastically "In that low position you won't be needing them. Shame we forgot to bring a wheelchair old timer," Ryuhei snickered mockingly. "Besides your "friends" are too busy playing "fire dodgeball" with the dragon upstairs to notice you need one, much less a new headsman since he wound up neck-first on the receiving end of his own axe."
He smiled at Vinipter rubbing in the folly of his poor choice to ignore the crisis above. He turned just in time to see Hadvar had unlocked and opened the cage with Ingrid who hugged Ralof with joy and relief. "Ingrid," Ralof sighed as he embraced his lover. I never doubted you were unbreakable as steel!"
"That's why you think I'm perfect for you." Once they released, Ingrid turned to the torturer responsible for breaking many a stormcloak's spirit, her eyes gleaming with vengeful sadism. She took a an iron dagger, lifted Vinipter's skirt, fauld and to her three present males' satisfaction and mild disgust plunged the dagger . . . right up "his!"
"AAAARRRRGGGH," Vinipter screamed with agony and embarrassment as tears cascaded down his cheeks as many an unfortunate prisoner had been forced to do on his insistence.
"I wish I could take my time for what you did to our comrades," she rasped with grim malice then reached for a potion vial with a colorless liquid.
"But a little medicine you gave my cellmate earlier should make me "feel" better." Ingrid flipped the torturer onto his back and the latter's eyes widened with horror at the vial in her hand as he realized what was coming to him.
Soon after the recently-formed, quartet left the torture chamber behind, the only sound more pleasant than the footsteps of Ryuhei's "new" boots was the satisfying echo of Vinipter the poor old sod of a torturer, coughing up his liquefying guts from a dose of his own "medicine."
After passing a narrow hallway and several corners they came to a room and cringed with disgust at the sight of what could only be called the torturer's personal lounge. They were filled with "crow-feeder" cages that held skeletons and only one recent corpse. Shrugging off the repugnant sight, Hadvar led them to an ambiguously chiseled open doorway in the wall that led to a cave underneath the barrack.
"You have a cave underneath here," asked Ryuhei.
"I told you you'd find more than a changing room down here," confirmed Hadvar. "This cave was discovered by accident when construction efforts were expanding the barracks for holding cells and accommodating the torturer's . . . "hobbies." Now it's used as an emergency escape tunnel."
"What a blessing, I'd be a fool not to accept it," said a grateful Ralof.
"But be careful," warned Hadvar. It may have more than a few unwanted "residents."
Walking through the tunnels they came to a cavern with an underground river studded with rocks and surrounded by walkways and connecting arch bridges with stairs ahead leading to the next tunnel and light pouring in from a hole in the ceiling that had tree roots hanging overhead, making the cavern look nice enough to install a spa.
They went through the tunnel and found themselves blocked by a drawbridge.
"How do propose we cross this path," asked still bad-tempered, Ingrid.
"Nothing to it, just a flip of a switch," said Hadvar as he lowered the drawbridge with said switch then they proceeded through the tunnel deeper into the cave.
They came to a cavern that overlooked the flow of the river, it was there that Hadvar stopped, "This it, as far as I can escort you, from here it should be smooth sailing. I must get back to the surface."
"What, why," asked Ryuhei. You saw what that dragon did to the city; you don't stand a chance in Oblivion against that thing.
"True," acknowledged Hadvar. "But the citizens need an escort out of the city more than you now. I'm afraid this is where we must part. I may have been allies with you and Ralof this day, but keep in mind him and I are on the opposing banners of this war."
Suddenly another rumbling occurred and the portal where the drawbridge had been was buried in tons of rock. "Heh, looks like the Nines beg to differ," Ralof quipped. Hadvar could only sigh with defeat.
After passing through the cavern to another natural hallway they came to a larger cavern with the same river flowing in from the first cavern and another cave hole lighting up a corner ahead.
As they drew closer they were stopped by an outstretched arm sign by Ingrid who had noticed that a "rock" in the lit area wasn't as inanimate they had assumed.
"It's a bear," whispered Ingrid. "We don't have time for another scuffle. Let's try sneaking by her, one at a time."
"Good idea," agreed Ryuhei. "My priority is to get in a nice comfy bed without stinking it with another stinking drop of sweat or blood."
In the typical rule of "ladies first," the men waited as Ingrid snuck past the sleeping bear first, followed by Ralof and then Hadvar, leaving Ryuhei as the last one eagerly waiting for their signal for his turn.
As he waited for the "go" signal for his turn something warm and wet dripped on Ryuhei's head. He wiped it out of his hair annoyed, but the liquid felt too sticky and oozy to be cave condensation. Instinctively, he looked up and gave a gasp of terror at what he saw above. An eight-legged silhouette nearly the size of a cow was hovering above him, a silhouette that was synonymous with a most primal fear. Ryuhei did the only logical thing possible he could on a moment's notice with his pent up breath.
Hadvar had just joined Ralof and Ingrid, all three relieved to be on the other side, but not enough as there was one member of their group left to wait on.
"Only Ryuhei is left," reminded Ralof. "If he can talk you two out of killing each other let's hope he's quiet enough to-."
"AAAARRRRGGHH!"
Ingrid was interrupted by a scream and all eyes turned to see the terrifying sight of the boy frantically struggling with a nightmare. It was a frostbite spider; one of the most intimidating creatures in Skyrim, creepy enough to leave many a seasoned adventurer unsettled, especially the arachnophobic.
It had tackled Ryuhei who had drawn his sword just in time to stab right at the creature's ridiculously oversized "bucktooth" mandibles giving him over a foot-length away from their sharp grooved points which were dripping their trademark venom. But the spider his sword arm with one of its front legs and with the boy's grip lost, his sword clattered uselessly to ground.
Quickly Hadvar drew and nocked an arrow from his quiver and pulled taut on the string, looking to inflict a brutal injury on the repulsive creature. Before Hadvar could shoot an arrow at the spider, they saw Ryuhei pull out another miracle in the palm of his hands, literally.
Just when the spider's fangs were about to sink into the flesh of the trapped human boy, a jet of flame spewed out of both his hands, the giant arachnid let a haunting screech of agony at the sudden burning pain and recoiled off its prey.
Hadvar, Ralof and (mostly) Ingrid watched amazed again, the latter who turned to Ralof quizzically. "You told me he was a fighter, not a mage."
"I did say he was full of surprises, and he might share some more," Ralof quipped back.
Hadvar was ready to shoot an arrow into the spider when suddenly they heard a roar and their eyes instinctively turned to the cave bear, now fully awake and very angry at its disturbed sleep. Hadvar switched targets and aimed his arrow towards the bear, but Ralof put a hand on his shoulder. "No need to waste an arrow," he said smugly. "Kynareth will happily solve this.
Ryuhei would probably never know beyond this most recent memory, but molestation and invitation to breakfast by a giant spider was likely the scariest moment in his life.
He was lucky he had "remembered" that fire spell just in the nick of time. With just a spray from his hands the spider found its prospective meal too "spicy."
The spider was screaming in searing agony and three of its eyes in the center of its head and the fourth on its left were roasted to permanent blindness. It rubbed its burnt eyes with its two front legs, but it only succeeded in aggravating their condition.
Ryuhei grinned with fear-turned excitement and was about to sink his recovered blade into the spider when he heard a low scratchy roar and turned to see a mass of fur with fangs and a bad temper charging right towards them. The spider turned and looked through its only remaining good eye just in time to see its angry neighbor pounce savagely upon it, biting and clawing at its underbelly.
Seeing the other cave predator he had been trying to avoid also had a grudge to settle against the horrid creature, he wisely decided to let bygones be bygones and ran towards his guardians who were eagerly waiting.
"What did I tell you, this cave had unwanted residents," said Hadvar
"A theory (pant) very well proven," panted an equally relieved Ryuhei.
"That last-minute spell of yours also helped," added Ralof. "Bears like to the scent of a well-served meal."
They instinctively turned back to their earlier spot on cue from cacophony of a familiar screech and roar just in time to see the cave bear overpower and flip the spider on its back where it mauled into its exposed underbelly.
The frostbite spider let out grotesque squeals of pain and desperation, vainly trying to kick the cave bear off with its eight legs as the latter savagely tore into its flesh, a blessing from Kynareth indeed.
Pleased to know who the victor was in this nature rumble and not wanting to overstay their welcome as an audience, the quadrio dashed away from the scene.
Following Hadvar they finally saw freedom shining upon them. It was the cave exit, shining like sapphire, almost like the Nine Divines were presenting a trophy to commemorate their escape. "This is it, the cave exit," said Hadvar.
"And the end of this crazy ride," added Ralof.
Ingrid was no less thrilled at the thought of seeing Riverwood. "I've been locked up like an animal for two days and I long for a warm fire with the scent of a well done side of beef wafting into my nose."
All four were relieved to be alive despite their animosity towards each other as they made for the cave exit, but the youngest member of the group was not as content.
The boy dubbed Ryuhei still did not remember who he was or his real name. He had no clue what force or reason had beckoned him to Skyrim or what he had to do with the most recent disaster to befall the town that would've been his final destination. But he promised himself and whatever friends and family he had yet to remember, he would reclaim his memories, even if it meant hacking and gutting open the entire province of Skyrim!
Next chapter will be a story arc revolving around Riverwood and Bleak Falls Barrow. There ye be introduced to several OCs that will make up the main cast. And believe we it will be interesting. R&R my fellow adventurers.
