Chapter XXV – Siege of Whiterun

Dawn broke silently and peacefully. Fehn watched as the first pink and yellow lights flickered over the horizon and felt a huge pang of homesickness envelope her. It was to be a sunny day in Skyrim today. Fehn almost wished it would snow so that she would not be reminded of her beloved homeland, Cyrodiil. The morning was disturbed as an arrow was released into the sky from the Stormcloak camp; a red rag was tied around the shaft. Fehn watched keenly. That was the signal.

There was a commotion in the city as the guards of Whiterun readied themselves for an attack. Getting to her feet, Fehn peeped out through the sentinel slots at the guards who were huffing and puffing as they lifted large spiky barriers. They placed the barriers up before the various houses and shops which littered the city, Fehn watched as screaming women and children were herded inside their homes and promises of safe return were made by their husbands, fathers and brothers. Fehn's heart wrenched at the sight but pushed it to the back of her mind. This is something that we have to do. She reasoned to herself and began her preparations.

"Alright, men, today we take the heart of Skyrim! Today, we begin her liberation, Skyrim will be FREE! Your courage and endurance shall see us through this battle! Your blood and the blood of our enemies will run today, but let's make sure that these Imperial sympathisers do not get the better of us, the truest of Nords! The very best that Skyrim has to offer! Now, we march, now we will fight. For Skyrim, men! For Skyrim, CHARGE!"

There was a roar as the Stormcloaks banged their axes on their shields and lunged forward. With Galmar at the forefront, they barrelled up the walkway past the stables unchecked and unopposed thanks to Fehn's eliminations a few hours earlier. While Fehn was sorting her arrows she heard the guards cry,

"They approach! The Stormcloaks, they approach now! Arm yourselves and protect the bridge, archers!"

Brandishing her bow, Fehn took aim at the Stormcloak forces before firing her arrow at the Whiterun guard who was shouting commands. He went down quickly and Fehn nocked another arrow. Aiming at the Whiterun force which was running out headlong towards the Stormcloaks, Fehn fired an arrow at the guard who was about to engage in combat with Galmar. The general grinned when the guard fell with a glass arrow protruding from his back, raising a fist, the general bellowed,

"Cover the forces, Stormblade!"

She barely managed to hear him, but she understood. Fitting a third arrow into Riktigt, Fehn aimed at the flood of guards who were pouring down the walkway, the bridge was being closed periodically to allow only a short burst of guards out at a time. Abandoning the Stormcloaks for a moment, Fehn turned and aimed at the other side of the wall. She could see the huge wooden doors which led into Whiterun and the large force which was there in standby. Lining up her arrow, she fired it at the rope pulley which held the scaffold aloft. There was a cry as the wooden structure tumbled down on the fall-back force. As the structure fell, Fehn ducked behind the walls as a shout rang up from the courtyard,

"Archers! Watch were you fire your damn arrows!"

Sweat trickled down her face and without thinking she slipped on the helmet that one of the archers had been wearing. With the helmet on, Fehn popped up and saluted the guard who gave the command and turned her back to fire on the other side. She was happy to have caused considerable damage to the reserve force behind the bridge and felt that now would be a perfect time to lower it. Nocking an arrow, Fehn fired on the guards who were in a flurry with the Stormcloaks a little down the way, catching a glimpse of Galmar, Fehn fired an arrow and it landed between his feet.

The general's head snapped up and he watched the sentinel slots raptly. Fehn sheathed her bow, pulling off the guard's helmet and took a long and deep breath. Summoning her Thu'um, she bellowed down to the forces,

"FUSRODAH!"

Galmar and the rest of the combatants all fell back a little at the sheer power of the shout. Raising his battle axe, he screamed in the heat of the fray,

"That's the signal! That's the signal, men! Drive on to the bridge!"

Fehn nodded as the Stormcloaks pushed the Whiterun guards back to the unopened bridge. Running down the length of the slim walkway, Fehn gripped the lever which the archers used to drop the bridge. There was a massive crack of wood as the bridge almost protested at being lowered, the chains rattled as the massive plank fell and the small chasm which stopped the Stormcloaks getting through was bridged. There were shouts of confusion from the courtyard below and Fehn could hear the guards panicking. Gripping her bow, Fehn nocked another arrow and aimed at the thick of the guards, taking out a few here and there. The Whiterun guards pointed and screamed their hatred at her, brandishing their own bows; they shot a volley up at her. Ducking behind the wall, Fehn panted and tried to catch a glimpse at the battle on the other side. She could hear the sounds of footsteps on wood and assumed that the Stormcloaks must have at least managed to push the guards back to the bridge. Peeking out over the wall, Fehn grinned when she saw the blue livery of the Stormcloaks mingling with the yellow of the reserve force in the courtyard.

The sound of sword of sword, metal reverberating off metal was deafening. From her elevated spot, Fehn could see everything; she could see that the Stormcloaks were falling a little short at the tail-end of their force, so, upon noticing that, Fehn made sure to cover them. When she saw that Galmar was in a scuffle with a lot of guards as he edged his way closer to Whiterun's main gate, she covered him with her arrows. Casting a glance up to her, the general nodded which she returned. Raising her arm to him, he repaid the gesture in kind. Fehn watched as the general commanded his forces to the gate, there was a great throng of Stormcloaks outside the gate – most of the Whiterun guards lay dead in the dirt. In the confusion Fehn found it difficult to see anything other than Stormcloaks, frowning, she moved a little further down the walkway to get a better view.

Suddenly the gates opened and the Stormcloaks were pushed back, Fehn watched awestruck as a huge battalion of Whiterun guards were at the other side of the gates, and they had catapults.

"Fall back!"

Yelled Galmar and the forces fell back, some slipped in the blood-stained dirt, while others were dragged down by wounded guards. Fehn's heart skipped as she saw the catapults being primed for firing. Taking aim at the guards manning the leviathan weapons, she let loose a small volley at them. She hissed in annoyance as she only managed to take down two of the three guards and watched horrified as the catapult was launched. The fiery globe flew through the air and smashed down on the Stormcloak and Whiterun forces alike, Fehn's eyes widened as she watched the Stormcloaks get pummelled by the projectiles. Grabbing the fur boots from the feet of a dead archer beside her, Fehn quickly and furiously stuffed her feet into them. Gripping her Orcish sword, Fehn deftly managed to scale her way down from the sentinel slots.

Coming face to face with a Whiterun guard, Fehn parried the blow from his axe and twirled around, slipping her sword through his defence, she slit his belly open and kicked him back into the mud. Dashing through the battle, she made her way over to the gate and laid to waste any guard who got in her way. Snarling in the foray of the action, Fehn skipped over the dead body of a Stormcloak soldier and caught a glance of Galmar who was locked in a furious battle with three guards. Gripping the pommel of her curved sword, Fehn smashed her shoulder into one of the guards and punched the other one hard in the belly. Seeing her, Galmar's eyes narrowed,

"What do you think you're doing?"

Fehn turned and retorted,

"We need all the help we can get! We have to disable those catapults!"

Galmar smashed the flat of his axe into the nose of a guard and snarled,

"No! You get back to your post! You NEVER abandon your post!"

Fehn shook her head and tossed her dagger at a guard who was about to land his axe in Galmar's neck, the general's eyes widened as he glared around and saw the guard. Turning to her, he hissed,

"Get in there, Stormblade, get those catapults out of the game and I'll forget your transgression!"

Fehn nodded and the general slapped a large hand on her shoulder. Nipping forward, Fehn ran for the catapults and pulled a dagger from her belt. The guards who were manning the devices saw her coming and braced themselves for her attack;

"Die!"

One of them screamed as he lunged for her. Ducking low, Fehn dodged his sword and sliced his leg off and used her back to flip him out of her road. The second was a larger man brandishing a claymore, he grunted as he swung his huge weapon at her. Fehn just missed a particularly heavy blow and managed to keep her feet on the ground, gripping her dagger in one hand and her sword in the other, she psyched him with her dagger while he stepped back she plunged her sword into his gut. Kicking him back, she turned and bent back as a long sword was slashed at her. As she stood upright, the flat of the long sword's blade hit her on the forehead and caused her to fall on her back. The guard took no time in attempting to murder her, hoisting his blade over his head, he prepared to land the killing blow. Fehn closed her eyes and was surprised when no pain came,

Opening her eyes, she saw the guard had fallen with an iron arrow sticking out of his back, Fehn eyes flicked up to her saviour and she smiled when her eyes fell on Hulda. Gripping the older woman's hand, Hulda dragged Fehn to her feet and asked in playful banter,

"And where in Oblivion is my horse, child?"

Fehn let out a sigh and replied,

"Hulda, after that, I'll buy you a thousand horses!"

Hulda chuckled and nocked an arrow,

"No need for a thousand horses, child. Just win this battle and don't damage my inn and we'll be fine!"

Fehn watched as the Nord woman took aim and her arrow sliced the rope which held the catapult back. The huge device hung limp with no thrust to push the projectile in the air, Fehn gaped and stared at Hulda – who in return, winked at the young Imperial. After a moment to recover, Fehn felt a hand rest on her shoulder, turning to see Galmar, Fehn watched as the general's eyes darted from her to Hulda,

"Ah, Hulda, glad to see you in the fray, when could you miss a fight?"

Hulda's chuckle was warm as she looked at them both fondly,

"You know me, Gal. I enjoy the work at the inn well enough, but I'm ready to retire."

Fehn had to supress a giggle at Hulda's familiar statement. Galmar was not so impressed,

"Humph. You're never too old to fight for your country, Hulda. What d'you know about the situation up ahead? Heavy?"

Hulda's face hardened and she gripped the general's arm,

"Be cautious, the Jarl accepted some Legionares and they lie in wait for you up ahead."

Fehn watched as Galmar turned to his force and commanded,

"All of you, to me! To me!"

The Stormcloaks heeded their general and flocked to him, killing the remaining Whiterun guards in their wake. Fehn's face brightened when she spotted Ralof. He looked tired and banged up, but alive at least. Catching his eye, Fehn gave him a small smile and a nod. The Nord man's face considerably relaxed and he smiled back and gave her his usual wink. When Fehn returned her attention to Galmar, he was stroking his beard in thought, turning to her, he said,

"Alright, now we're in the thick of it, Stormblade. We have to get up to Dragonsreach; once we're there we can take Balgruuf. Once we have him, his forces will have to yield to us. Once again, I'll have to ask you to do something sneaky – and dangerous. Are you up for it?"

Fehn gulped down and averted her eyes for a moment. Staring at Ralof, he was glaring at Galmar carefully. Stepping forward, he said,

"What can you want her to do? General, we have enough to storm the keep, why send Fehn on something solo again?"

Galmar eyed him darkly and said in a dangerous voice,

"Because she was exemplary earlier, and you would mind to watch your tone, captain."

Fehn stepped between them and held Ralof's forearm, placing a hand on the general's shoulder, Fehn said softly,

"Now's not the time, chaps. Galmar, what is it that you need me to do?"

Tearing his gaze from Ralof, the general looked down at her. To her surprise, he didn't shrug off her hand. Nodding to her, he said very seriously,

"I need you to take Balgruuf."