Chapter 5: Strategic Meeting

Karin wasn't sure what to expect when she came to Riverwood. She knew that many towns like Helgen dotted the landscape of Skyrim. She had often heard of Solitude as the main HQ of the Imperial Legion from her father from when he received letters from a friend over there.

Riverwood looked to be a small community of villagers living near Helgen. In the distance you could see the rising tide of black smoke hover over the landscape of the trees with an ominous sign. It had only just occurred to Karin that the dragon they had encountered in Helgen had flown in this direction and she noticed two things after realising that fact. One: the dragon had left the village in one piece. Secondly: no-one was screaming in panic. The latter could simply be explained with lack of awareness (since when did anyone expect to look up and see dragons?) but the former was the more interesting point. The dragon mercilessly slaughtered an entire town along with a brigade of soldiers with no sign of stopping, so why spare the village?

"Karin, are you listening?" Ralof's voice broke through her thoughts, breaking her out of 'detective mode' and back to reality.

Karin shook her head and sheepishly grinned at the Nord. "Sorry. I got distracted." Note to self…stop thinking so much.

Ralof looked at her for a moment, his eyes narrowing for a split second before turning back to the pathway into the village. "As I was explaining; my sister Gerdur runs the woodmill here. I'm sure she'll help us and give us some shelter for a while."

Karin nodded and took in the surroundings of the village. A wall of stone and motor flanked each side of the path; on top of the wall was a wooden bridge which hung over the pathway connecting each stone wall to the other. She already knew that it was meant for archers or for people to talk to others if the gates were closed…if the village had any gates. She had also noted the lack of guards about in the village. In the distances she could hear the faint sign of metalwork and a raging furnace, hammer blows upon heated metal rung out again and again in an almost rhythmic way. She could tell that the village was a small one, evident by their wooden housing and straw roofs and lack of stone structures in general. But then again, this was from what she knew back in Cyrodil, where many of the towns and villages had stone buildings as they had proven to be sturdier during the Deadric invasion hundreds of years ago. "And what if she doesn't help us?"

Ralof smiled a little and nodded. "She will. While she doesn't actively support the war she knows why we fight for Skyrim's freedom. She fully supports Ulfric to be the high king." He turned off along a pathway over a small river, passing by an elf that was carrying a loud of firewood. A large bow hung from its bindings on the elf's back, the elf giving the pair the slightest of nods as they passed.

A loud crash won Karin's attention nearby. The sound of some sort of mechanism reached her ears followed by the sound of metal sawing through wood. The large water wheel turned continuously to power whatever machine that the large building contained. Karin assumed it was for cutting up large tree trunks to make it easier to cut into firewood. She filed away a mental note to request a temporary job with whoever owned it after talking to Ralof. She glanced at the large "How can these people live here? It's too open to the elements…and bandits and such could easily attack the village…"

"It's not protected like your Imperial City in Cyrodil that is true but you'll find many small villages like Riverwood like this. The protection of the city falls to the jarls in each of the holds that are spread around Skyrim, such as Windhelm and Solitude. We can talk more later, let's talk to Gerdur first." Ralof walked past the wood-chopping building and around the corner and started to approach a female Nord with dirty blonde hair, hammering at an axe on a table. "Gerdur!" He raised a hand in greeting.

Gerdur stopped her work for a moment and looked up at the two for a moment before putting down her tools and walking up to Ralof, concern etched across her face as she took in the two before her. "Ralof! Mara's Mercy, it's good to see you. But is it safe for you to be here? I heard Ulfric had-"

Ralof was forced to raise his hands in-front of him and let out a warm smile. "Gerdur I'm fine. At least now I am."

Gerdur's face glanced at her brother for a moment, clearly confused and worried at the same time. "Are you hurt? What happened?" She looked at Karin with an equally confused expression. "And who is this? One of your comrades?"

Ralof smiled and looked at Karin with a single eye, "Not a comrade yet, but a friend. I owe her my life in fact." He turned back to his sister, his voice dropping to a serious whisper. "Is there somewhere we can talk? There's no telling when the news from Helgen will reach the Imperials."

"Helgen? Has something happened?" Gerdur stopped her line of questioning for a moment and nodded. "You're right, follow me, " She turned and walked away, leading the two away from the timber mill and shouting at someone called Hod.

Karin wasn't sure on what to make of Gerdur. To her she was a normal citizen thrust into a conflict that she wanted no part in, but would fully support her brother no matter what. Like Ralof, she too, showed a dislike for the Imperial Legion and that much was obvious. If she was indeed willing to help them, would she really help Karin despite her being an Imperial herself? Absentmindedly she walked behind Ralof over to a tree-stump when a young child and his dog ran up to Ralof.

"Uncle Ralof! Can I see your axe? How many Imperials have you killed? Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?" The young boy asked excitedly, eyeing the steel axe that rested on Ralof's hip.

Gerdur quickly interjected into the boys questioning "Hush Frodnar, this is no time for your games. Go and watch the south road and come find us if you see any Imperial soldiers coming." Her stern voice reminded Karin of a young mother.

"Aw mama, I want to stay and talk to Uncle Ralof." Frodnar pouted.

Ralof quickly cut into the discussion between mother and child with a beaming smile on his face. He knelt down in-front of Frodnar and placed a hand on his head. "Look at you, almost a grown man! It won't be long before you'll be joining the fight yourself."

Frodnar smirked and made a fist excitedly. "That's right! Don't worry Uncle Ralof, I won't let those soldiers sneak up on you." He then ran off over the bridge and into the village, his dog running behind him.

Karin however, didn't approve and she clearly showed it. "What was that?" she shot the question at Ralof.

"What was what?"

"You know what. Telling a CHILD he would be fighting in a war himself soon?" Karin took a step towards Ralof and pointed a finger at him. "You'd be willing to let a CHILD die for Skyrim before he had a chance to live his life?" She noticed Gerdur about to stop her but held up a hand. "I respect that he is your child Miss uhh…"

"Please, call me Gerdur"

"…Gerdur. But you can't be serious about letting that happen." Karin finished the sentence; embarrassed that she had never really asked on what she should have called her.

Gerdur only smiled. "I can understand what you mean," she looked over to the side and watched as a man wearing a dirtied white top and bright blonde hair walk towards the group. "We can discuss it later if you want."

Karin nodded and let the subject slide. She wasn't going to force the issue in a continent that she knew no-one and would easily get lost in. The least she could do was to simply tell Gerdur her opinion and let her make her own decision.

"Now Ralof, what's going on? You two look pretty well done in." The man refered to her and Karin, stepping on the other side of Ralof and Karin.

Ralof let out a heavy sigh while he sat down on the tree-trunk. "I can't remember when I last slept," for a moment, he compensated on a thought before beginning his tale. "Where to start? Well, the news you heard about Ulfric was true. The Legion ambushed us outside Darkwater crossing, like they knew exactly where we'd be. That was, two days ago now. We stopped in Helgen this morning and I thought it was all over. Had us lined up for the headsman block and ready to start chopping."

Karin shivered at the thought. Her thoughts turning to the big, black dragon with red eyes that had saved her life just seconds before the executioner brought down his axe. That stare felt…unnatural and yet solely focused on her. She had been given plenty of stares before but the one from the dragon…it was almost like the entire attack on Helgen was HER fault. She didn't like where her trail of thought was going so she shoved it at the back of her mind and continued to listen to Ralof's tale.

"They wouldn't dare give Ulfric a fair trial. Treason, for fighting for your own people (against the Empire, Karin mentally said to herself) all of Skyrim would have seen the truth then." Ralof continued, "But then, out of nowhere, a dragon attacked."

Gerdur could scarcely believe what she just heard. "You can't mean a real, life…" She cut off her own sentence, not wanting to believe the truth.

Ralof nodded and sighed again. "I can hardly believe it myself, and I was there. As strange as it sounds, we'd be dead if not for that dragon. In the confusion we managed to slip away." He stared at Gerdur with heavy eyes. "Are we really the first to make it to Riverwood?"

She shook her head with a solemn look on her face. "No one has come from the south road as far as I know."

Ralof nodded to himself with a small smile. "Good. Maybe we can lay up for a while. I hate to put your family in danger but…"

Gerdur smiled and held up a hand. "Nonsense, you and your friend are welcome to stay here as long as you need to and let me worry about the Imperials."

"My name is Karin Silvers, just so everyone is clear that I have a name." Karin spoke out annoyingly at being referred to as a 'friend' and 'her'.

Gerdur smiled and pulled out a small silver key and placed it in Karin's hand. "Here's a key to the house and stay as long as you like. If there is anything you need just let me know."

Karin smiled and curled her hand around the key. "Thank you but are you really sure to just to give away a key to your home to a stranger so easily?"

Gerdur nodded. "You helped my brother escape from Helgen and saved his life. I owe you for that but there is something I would like you to do, for Riverwoods sake. The Jarl needs to know if there's a dragon on the loose. Riverwood is defenceless as you could have seen on the way in. We need to get word to Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun to send whatever troops he can. If you can do that for me. I'll be in your debt. "

Karin nodded. "Sure thing."

Ralof smiled and stood up with a loud grunt. "Thank you Sister, I knew I could count on you."

Gerdur smiled. "I'm ought to get back to work before I'm missed but, did anyone else escape? Did Ulfric…"

Ralof let out a loud 'Ha' "Don't worry. I'm sure he made it out. It'll take more than a dragon to stop Ulfric Stormcloak."

Karin smiled at Ralof for a moment and then let out a loud yawn. "I could do with some rest before I head out." Her bones felt like lead and all she wanted was to feel the soft embrace of a warm bed.

"I'll show you into the house and show you where everything is." The man offered.

Gerdur smirked. "You mean help them drink up out mead, Hod?" She then turned to Ralof and kissed him on the forehead gently. "Good luck Brother, I'll see you later." Gerdur then walked off in the direction of the Timber Mill to get back to work.

The man called Hod smiled and walked over the bridge that Frodnar ran over moments earlier. "Come on, the house is this way."

VVVV

Karin was grateful to remove the armour and weapons and put on a similar dress that Gerdur wore. She said it would be fine to take one for the time being while she rested up and figured out her next move. Chances are she would head to Whiterun to inform the Jarl about the dragon issue at Gerdur's request. After all, who was she to not pay back her hospitality? For now Karin simply sat on the bed that Hod let her use for the night. A candle burned brightly on the bedside table while she flicked through the pages of the book she picked up from the Helgen prison earlier. It had confirmed her suspicions however that it was indeed a spell book and detailed how to use the spell 'Sparks'. She would have to give it a try at some point. With a sigh she placed a small piece of paper to mark where she left off and closed the book in one hand. She should be sleeping, gathering her strength to head to Whiterun but she didn't feel tired at all. Maybe the excitement gave her so much energy that she hadn't used it all up.

She could hear footsteps nearby and saw Ralof peak his head around the corner, a torch in hand. "Can't get any sleep?"

Karin shook her head and smiled a little. "Nope. Not a single wink of sleep. I should probably try though, heading to Whiterun and all."

Ralof nodded and sat at the end of the bed. "You should. Whiterun isn't far from here but what with everything happening lately you must be exhausted."

"Only a little bit. Skyrim is certainly different from Cyrodil I give you that." She placed the spell book back in her backpack that rested on a wall near the bed and lay on the bed, staring at the wooden ceiling. "I hope my brother is alright…"

"You talk about your brother a lot…fond of him?" Ralof enquired.

Karin smiled a little and giggled. "You could say that. Flynn and I were two opposite ends of the combat spectrum. He preferred his archery while I preferred my magic. Father would often scold him if he didn't practise with his sword once in a while though." She sighed and placed a hand where her locket resided. "I just want to know they're safe…" She looked over to Ralof for a moment and sat up. "You said the place we were captured was Darkwater Crossing right? If you were a mother and son fleeing, what would be the first town you encounter?"

Ralof thought about it for a moment. "In theory they could have doubled back and found themselves in Riften or if they headed north, they would have stumbled upon Windhelm." He stood up for a moment and left, leaving Karin on her own. He returned shortly afterwards with a large map of the province and placed it out on the edge of the bed. "Riften is…here and Windhelm here," He pointed to each hold as he spoke and then pointed out Riverwood and Whiterun. "If you were planning to go to either to find your family the safest bet is to head to Whiterun-" His finger trailed along one of the thick black lines from Riverwood. "-and then head north, heading east when you come to the fork and into Whiterun."

Karin listened intently to the Nord. His experience and knowledge of the province certainly came in handy. "Alright…I'll head to Whiterun tomorrow and let the Jarl know of the dragon problem, rest up there for a while and then head to Windhelm. If they aren't there then I can head to Riften." It was a sound enough plan. "Thank you Ralof."

Ralof smiled and folded up the map and placed it in her bag. "It's no problem. Keep the map just in-case you need it. I'll be heading to Windhelm myself in a few days, so maybe I'll see you there."

Karin smiled and leaned over to Ralof, gently pecking his rough cheek and leaned back. "Again, thank you for everything."

"Have a nice night Karin." Ralof stood up and left her to her own thoughts.

She now had a plan of action to find her family and help out Gerdur for her kindness. She would head to Whiterun and inform the Jarl that Riverwood needed protecting. Rest up and see if she can't earn some coin while in Whiterun too before heading over to Windhelm and checking if her family was still there. All of the planning and excitement of finally having a direction to move in suddenly wore her out. She let the comfortable bed claim her body and soon she found herself sound asleep.

And yet even the best planned plans can go awry. For the Dragonborn Karin, for she was still yet to discover her true purpose in Skyrim, the journey was just beginning.

Note to self...NEVER transfer from one format to the other EVER again...
You wouldn't believe the hassle I had trying to get everything the same as my previous saves. And yet the mods are so awesome on the PC that I immediately downloaded Midas Magic.
So hopefully this will be fairly updated. But a big note: this is going to follow very closely to the realm of an Original Story while following the main story line as best I can.
With that...I'm going to bed...trying to self edit and read through it all is exhausting...