Chapter 8: Journey to the Barrows

The morning Sun slowly crept through the crack of the curtains that adorned Karin's room. The light slid through the tiny gap and assaulted her closed eyes. She groaned in annoyance and curled up deeper in the bed, wanting to continue her peaceful sleep. The light refused to let her lie however as the sun seemingly started to shine brighter.

Annoyed, she finally admitted defeat and slowly opened her hazel eyes. For a moment longer, she remained still in the bed, wanting to savour the feeling of the soft mattress that was supporting her and the feather like quilt that wrapped her body warmly. With another annoyed groan she forced herself to sit upright, making sure that the quilt was covering her body. The previous night all she could hear were Nords and men singing merry songs while she waked in and out after the late night event she had endured. The last thing she wanted was to give them a peep show. Taking the cover with her she made sure that no-one was at the door before dropping the quilt and sorting out her robes. She dropped them over her undergarments and sorted out the bindings. Before she pulled on her leather boots, she grabbed one of the daggers she had acquired the previous night and after modifying the sheath a little, had it wrapped around her ankle. The boot covered the weapon, unless she was physically searched from head to toe, no-one but her would know about it. Her sword was clipped on her belt at her hip like usual and her bag was repacked with the books and other items.

Her hand gripped the bag of coins that Ralof and the Jarl had given her and looked at it deeply for a moment. She didn't know what she was trying to accomplish by eyeing the bag but looking at the coins felt odd. She had always been taught that money was not the way to have a happy life, but her happiness was linked to finding her family and to do that she needed gold. Her hands were tied. She would have to go through with the Jarl's request and retrieve the tablet from the barrows after which she would get a horse and make her way to Riften. She would then turn that town upside down to make sure her family was safe. She placed the coins in her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She made sure she had packed everything up before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. She could hear the sounds of a lute being played accompanying the faint flicker of the roaring fire in the centre of the inn apart from the bard, the same Nord in large, branded iron armour and a deadly looking weapon sat on a bench, drinking a beverage (which she guessed was the so familiar Nord Mead). The two of them exchanged glances but neither said any to the other. Karin made a beeline for the wooden doors and opened them, the bright sunlight hitting her face the second a crack appeared for the Sun to seep through.

She stepped out into the main plaza of Whiterun and could feel the life of the town just starting to wake up. The owners of the stools were just starting to put out their wares, ready for another day of selling and sales. She walked past them and down the stone pathway towards the main gate of Whiterun. She could gather supplies and such in Riverwood and then set off for the barrow. She stopped for a moment and saw a group of guards standing at attention near the main gate. A Dark Elf (who Karin remembered had a name, Irileth) was pacing back and forth in-front of them.

"I don't expect you to do much against a dragon, but the people of Riverwood are depending on you in-case a dragon does attack the village." Irileth stopped in-front of them, her hands behind her back. It sounded like she had just finished off her speech.

"We'll do our best, housecarl" the three guards nodded and then jogged towards the gates and then out the other side.

Irileth turned around and saw Karin about to walk past her. A dark skinned hand shot out and gripped her arm for a moment, her red eyes narrowing slightly in a disapproving glare. "I want to talk to you."

Karin growled and ripped her arm out from the iron grip. She rubbed her arm gently and gave an annoying glance to the Dunmer. "If you want to talk do it with manners, that doesn't include grabbing me for no reason." She crossed her arms. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Irileth audibly growled at Karin and took a step forward. "I don't like how you are getting so close to the Jarl. If you value your life you'd keep your distance."

Karin could feel a vein throb on her forehead in annoyance. "With all due respect, I don't plan on clinging to him or anyone in Skyrim. Hell it wasn't even my choice to come over to this province. The Brotherhood forced me to move my family over here but I can't do it without resources and gold. I'm helping the Jarl so he can help me. That's it." She walked towards the wooden gates. "I won't bring any trouble to Skyrim. I promise." She didn't bother to wait for Irileth's reply. She wasn't interested in wasting any more time arguing with some over protective elf about a province she wasn't concerned about. She had a job to do.

VVVV

"What do you mean I have to pay a toll to get past?" Karin asked the large, muscular man in-front of her that was blocking her path. She had seen this type of behaviour before in Cyrodiil. The entire thing was borderland procedure for her.

"Well. You see due to the rumours of dragon attacks we have decided to protect the roads for the traders and ladies, such as yourself, that are travelling alone and such a thing costs money." The man explained in an almost elegant manner, the only thing betraying him was the thick and violent accent he had while speaking. Not to mention the large greatsword on his back and the iron helmet that just barely covered up his balding head.

"we?" Karin asked curiously

"Me and my uh…brothers." He pointed to the side at two smaller men nearby. Both looked like they were cleaning their weapons. A leather boot stuck out from behind a thick tree trunk in a bad attempt to conceal the last unlucky gentlemen who had crossed their paths.

"I see. Well then seeing as you've decided to do Skyrim such a service, I'll pay the toll." She lied, hiding behind a sweat smile while her hand dug into her pocket. She pretended to dig around for her coin purse while dwelling on her magic. She settled on her shock spell and then formulated a plan. She'd take out the guy in-front of her first quickly and then plan on the fly. "Ah, here we are." She raised her hand and opened it; the purple lightning forked from her palm and struck the thug in-front of her in-between the eyes, instantly overloading the brain with electrical pulses.

"Drogthar!" One of the men shouted after a delayed reaction to the light show and drew his sword and charged at Karin. The other man started to string his bow, fumbling around with the string.

Karin retracted the magic and changed tactics. Flames erupted in her hands and she sent them towards the charging man,only to gasp as the man rolled to the side and continued his charge.

"You wench! We'll make you pay for that!" the man shouted and ducked past her flames again and slashed horizontally for her stomach.

Karin jumped back and felt the wind rush past her stomach as she dodged, subconsciously sucking in her chest. Her left hand darted for her sword and she pulled it out just as the sword returned for a follow up attack. Steel clashed upon Iron and Karin took her chance to experiment. Switching up again she sent a current of electricity down the handle of her blade, crossing the iron blade and into her attacker.

The attacker spasmed uncomfortably in-front of her, his eyes rolled in the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor in a heap. The electricity arced around the body in a flashy display.

Karin ran past the electrified thug and ran towards the man who was still fumbling with his bow, wanting to experiment once more, she charged her sword once more with the electricity but felt the energy spark at her fingertips, causing her to drop the weapon during her run. Without a place for the current to go, using that on its own is useless unless I can circumvent that. She was within arm's length of the unfortunate bowman who still hadn't drawn his sword. She switched to her flames and instantly ended the battle, putting her hand over his mouth and blasting his insides with the intense flames. She kicked him away and watched the poor soul squirm on the floor, the blood that flowed from his open mouth bubbling from the heat. "Maybe that wasn't the best way to do it." Karin muttered to herself, wanting to throw up at the sight. She turned away and started the lengthy process of stripping the thugs of their belongings. She couldn't take everything so she had to decide on what to bring and sell off later. She could use the gold to get some more spell books. The bodies would be discovered later by Whiterun patrols (although she doubted they came out this far). So after picking up what she could carry, she continued on her way Riverwood.

VVVV

"So Ralof has already headed to Windhelm?" Karin asked Gerdur upon her return to Riverwood. She was carrying a handful of the swords the thugs had on them, along with the bow and a few arrows that the last one had.

"He left earlier this morning. You just missed him actually." Gerdur replied as the two walked down the main street of Riverwood. "I want to thank you for talking to the Jarl to send soldiers to defend Riverwood. Everyone feels safer knowing we aren't totally defenceless against those monsters…even if it is only by a little bit." She smiled and continued to walk alongside Karin. "I thought you were heading to Riften after Whiterun?"

Karin chuckled a little. "Complications arose with that. I couldn't exactly turn down a job from the Jarl could I? He offered me gold and more spell books and in return. I help his court wizard with some sort of project to get something from within Bleak Falls Barrow."

"Bleak Falls Barrow? The only things you'll find there are Draugr and vermin." Gerdur commented, shooting a worried look at Karin. "Why would the Jarl get you to go to such a dreadful place?"

They stopped outside of the Riverwood Trader, Karin turning to look at Gerdur. "He thinks it'll lead to learning more about the dragons and why we've only just started seeing them again."

Gerdur looked at Karin for a moment and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't do anything reckless. You have a family to find within this land. I have to get back to work but if you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Thanks Gerdur. I'll see you around." Karin nodded towards the Nord as she walked back towards the mill. She smiled to herself for a moment and considered laying low in Riverwood for a couple of days but the thought was quickly dismissed. She had to find her family first before she even considered a place to settle down with her mother and brother and that meant getting some supplies before tackling the Barrows.

VVVV

The Riverwood Trader was about the same size as a normal house in Riverwood. Various items were scattered around the area. Swords, weapons, vials full of various liquids and even books completed the shop look. A man was standing behind a counter scowling at a woman nearby who was busy stirring something within a metal pot.

"Well one of us has to do something!" The woman said sternly, planting her hands on the desk in-front of the gentlemen.

"I said no! No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing!" The man yelled back at the woman.

The woman stood up straight and gave him a disapproving glare. "Well what are you going to do then? Hmm? Let's hear it."

The men ignored her question and shook his head, waving a hand at her to show he was ignoring her. "We are doing talking about this. Now if you don't mind, we have a customer." He indicated towards Karin.

Karin chuckled a little and walked up to the counter. "I'm sorry if I am interrupting anything but I'd like to get rid of all this stuff please." She hefted the few swords she had onto the counter, being careful not to knock anything over that looked fragile.

The man looked at the wares for a moment and smiled, holding out a hand to her. "Lucan Valerious, owner of the Riverwood Trader. I get the feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

Karin shook his hand, slightly cautious of Lucan. She had enough dodgy deals back in Cyrodiil to last her a life time. She usually traded with her father and mother during the weekend when the market would be full of life with interesting wares to buy. It would be her first time applying her knowledge of bartering without her parents help. "Yes. We may." She watched on for a moment while Lucan observed the swords she had picked up, running a finger along the edge to test its sharpness, checking its material for any scratches and dents.

"They look like they are in fine shape. I'll give you 100 gold for the lot of them." Lucan summarised

Karin eyed Lucan again. Why was he offering such a high number already? The weapons in-front of her was worth at least 80 at a blacksmith. Her bartering instinct told her to take the offer but her inner voice told her not to take it for the shop keeper's dignity. "Do you have any books concerning magic at all?"

Lucas seemed caught off guard by the question, but then he looked thoughtful and nodded. "Yes, I think we got a few old books lying around somewhere." He walked off towards the bookshelf and started to dust off some of the books. Some of the shelves looked like they hadn't been touched for weeks. "Yes I do! I have a large selection right here for you."

Karin smiled and nodded, following him over to the book section and looking at some of the books. She wouldn't have any time to completely learn some of the spells she looked at but if she chose her book selection carefully, she could turn the Barrows from a nightmare to a cake-walk. She knew that she'd need to find some sort of defensive spell to protect herself and maybe pick up a book about enchantment. She knew that spell books could only teach her so much and that many mages experimented with their ideas and magic. It was outlined very briefly by her mother but because Karin had never shown an interest in using magic before now. She placed an index finger along the spines of the book and looked across them, glancing at the various spells. She saw one that would allow her to throw up a protective shield that would protect her from arrows and spells and also another that would apparently let her install a berserker like rage onto her target. She took the books and brought them over to the counter.

"What was with all the shouting?" Karin asked. Curiosity got the better of her mind, not to mention her brother's goodwill to help out.

"Ah yes…that. Well, some thieves broke into the store during the night and took something from the store." Lucas explained, his cheeks burning red in embarrassment.

"Thieves broke in?" Karin took a quick double take around the store. Everything looked neat and tidy. If they broke in during the night, either they didn't take a lot, of these guys can clean up fast. "They couldn't have taken a lot."

"They uh…didn't. They only stole one thing. An ornament of a Dragon's claw made of solid gold. They probably took it to Bleak Falls Barrow."

Either this is pure coincidence, or someone is setting me up for another dangerous quest, she thought to herself. "Why take it to the Barrows? I haven't heard anything living in there that resembles butterflies and sun-shine."

"You'd be right" The woman spoke up, sitting down with a drink in her hand. "Legend says that Draugr guard a pile of treasure and that ornament was the key to getting to it."

"I see. I'm heading to the Barrows anyway. If I find it while in there, I'll pick it up for you." Karin spoke the words before they had formed in her mind. She mentally cursed herself for the offer. She was becoming more and more like her brother. Relax Karin; you need as much money as you can in order to get to Riften.

"You would? That's great! You have no idea what that ornament means to me and my sister." Lucas exclaimed happily.

Karin smiled weakly and picked up the books. "I'll be going then. I'll be back if I find the claw for you." She quickly took her leave from the shop, not wanting to waste anymore additional time standing around and not making the money she needed.

VVVV

Once again, Karin found herself completely blown away of the scenery that Skyrim offered her. It would temporarily make her forget about her aches and pains. She was on the faint pathway that led up to the barrows. A chilly breeze gently ran across her face, a hand held one of the books open as she walked, her fingers slowly going numb from the chill. She held fast against the chill though. The book was a short one with an introduction to the Illusion spells and then it went into detail about the spell called 'Fury'. If she could learn the spell quickly enough, she could force people to fight each other while she stayed hidden and watch the show or use them as temporarily allies. She shut the book and let out a sigh, a faint mist issued from her mouth with each breath. She was aware that Skyrim was probably the coldest province in Tamriel. She should have packed some more clothes to stay warmer. Her boots crunched against the hardened snow and snow started to fall, floating gently and settling in her hair. In the distance she could see a stone tower, a flag floated lazily on the side, its colours and symbol not known to her. Cautiously she approached the stone tower and saw the familiar smoke rise from a campfire and hid behind a rock. At the base of the tower were two bandits, both of them were clad in a mixture of fur and leather. One had a wicked looking greatsword on his back while the other had a bow and arrow. Both were holding out their hands to the fire in a big to stay warm. If they were conversing, it was lost to her as the wind started to pick up, making eavesdropping impossible.

A cruel smile appeared on her face as a thought came to mind. She slowed her breathing and brought up her main-hand and flexed the fingers a little. A light red-ish glow formed around her hand as she thought of the magical energies that would numb her target's mind, causing him to hallucinate and attack his nearby friends. When she felt that the spell was ready, she released it gently towards her victim, the brute with the greatsword. She waited for a few seconds and moved forward a little, hiding behind another rock and poked her head over the top.

The brute had drawn his greatsword and was swinging it at his companion. The blade cut into his friends arm, a second swung cut it clean off, the limb bouncing down the hill and leaving blood stains on the white hills. He brought his blade up and around, ignoring his companion's protest's and brought the blade to his neck, cutting in about halfway. He removed the blood and blood spurted from the wound, painting the cursed brute crimson and the stained the surrounding snow.

Karin shuddered at the display. She had no idea that the spell was so…potent. It made her sick to the stomach at to what the world of magic could do if one was versed enough in the skill…

And she loved the power it gave her.

Emerging from her hiding place, she slowly walked forward, her hands already roaring with flames as the brute caught her in his gaze and rushed towards her. Karin only smiled coldly as she side stepped the slow swung and issued forth the flames from both her hands. The flames engulfed the brute within seconds, licking at his skin that his armour hadn't covered up. His hair was set alight from the flames as slowly, the flames burnt their way through the armour and clothes and peeled away at the flesh, leaving nothing but a bloody mess of muscle and bone on the floor. She continued forward past the tower and the bodies. Nature would get rid of them for her, wild wolfs and animals would gnaw at the flesh and bones and any remains would soon be covered up by the falling snow.

The trail that led up to the barrows was equally as snowy as the area around the tower, ruined flags attached to piles of rock dotted the edge, warning adventures where the edge was to avoid more senseless deaths from an over eager step over the edge. Her hood protected her from the oncoming storm. Just beyond her vision, she could make out the scale of massive ruins. They stretched out tall, the main structure almost reaching up to the clouds. She shouldn't be this excited to explore some random ruins. She had a job to do and she had to make sure she did that. She continued her walk forward, walking up the icy steps that lead up to the barrows.

"Oi, you! You shouldn't be here!" A woman shouted from behind her.

Karin turned around to face the owner of a voice. It was another bandit in fur armour again. "Aren't you a little chilly in that armour? Shouldn't you head inside to warm up?" She asked in concern, casting her mind back to the ward spell she had picked up. She pictured a brick wall in her mind and sent the feeling into her hand that was hiding behind her back.

"You shouldn't be skulking around here!" She growled and quickly drew a bow and arrow and fired a shot at Karin.

Karin threw up her hand within seconds; a large pulsing shield suddenly appeared in front of her, the arrow bouncing off harmlessly off it. "Please, as if you could touch me." Karin snarled and ran up to the woman.

The bandit struggled to nock another arrow to the string and gasped as a sword was shoved through her stomach. She twitched violently as electricity coursed through her body via the wound.

Karin retracted the sword and looked down at the bow. She stripped the woman of her bow and quiver full of arrows and placed them around her torso. They may come in handy later and if not, she could always sell them for more money later. She continued up the steps to the barrows and found her in-front of the large stone doors to the barrows. "About time…let's get this done and over with."


And so the ever popular novel continues. I still fail to understand how it's become so popular but eh, I'm thankful to all my readers who have read this and continue to support this.
Their's a few reasons why this took awhile to come out: Namely I've been busy with work and writing behind hard on me lately, this took awhile to bring out.
Secondly, a lot has changed with the main characters in general but those changes aren't going to become apparent JUST yet. Just know that I have some exciting stuff planned out for Karin and the people she'll encounter in the later chapters.

I once again, ask for your continued support, tell your friends about this, review this, tell me what you like and dislike. It's the only way I can improve after-all!