Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Part 1, the Outsider

by Mathew Allbright

James Brightheart, a 23 year old autistic young adult lives on Earth before he is taken to a land he remembers playing in a game a few years back. Forced to learn how to kill in order to protect himself, James finds a young girl relentlessly hunted by the Thalmor and becomes a Guardian to protect her with his life. Rated T for safety, but rating may change.

13. Chapter 11: Baa'Ren-Dar

Chapter 11: Baa'Ren-Dar

As we traveled further into the tomb, we encountered some skeletons and Draugr that were in different areas of the tomb, but at the same time, I could feel some kind of sacred energy inside the area. I didn't know what it was, yet at the same time it seemed familiar as we continued on and fought our way past the monsters. I used two of my Shouts that I knew for combat, Unrelenting Force to knock the creatures away from us or Fire Breath to try to incinerate the Draugr, though it partially worked to make them weaker. I didn't use my third Shout and fourth Shout, Whirlwind Sprint and Become Ethereal, since all it does is make me dash across the area, faster than anyone… I think... and the fourth Shout makes me become like a ghost.

During our exploration, Rigmor stayed near me after my discussion with Weiss of racial issues, and she knew that I was telling the truth, and what I believed in my heart to be right. She seemed rather touched by my honesty, and when we came across some tunnels that split into different hallways, she looked like she wanted to speak to me, alone. I turned to Rigmor as we walked into a hallway while Team RWBY was looking around to find anything useful, iron ingots, gold or gems that we can use, or keep for later.

I said, "I can tell something is on your mind, Rigmor. Do you want to talk?"

She asked, not wasting any time, "Did you really mean all that, back there?"

I asked, pointing to Weiss with my thumb, "What I was talking to Weiss about?" She nodded and I said, "Yes. You need to understand, Rigmor, that there are things in the world that are best to be avoided and do what you know in your heart is right. I myself do not like it when people hate each other for little to no reason, whether it involves race, politics or religion; even if that reason is completely wrong."

She asked, "So, do you know what it is like? To be ridiculed and scorned at?"

I sighed sadly and said, "I… I'm not a normal person, Rigmor. I know what it's like to be bullied, be mocked at, and I take things more seriously than others. Maybe a little too much."

She nodded as we walked further into the hallway, "I do remember you kind of act a little… weird."

I said, "There will be or are a lot of people that may be like me, sometimes much worse, or exactly like me. In my world, we call it… autism. Someone who is born with things mentally or physically limited to, and it stays with them throughout the rest of their lives. Sometimes it can be a huge blessing to the person, or it can be a curse."

She asked me, "So… what do you view yourself with your… autism?" I looked away, feeling uncomfortable with her question, and I was worried what her reaction would be. I always hated myself for what I was, since I was slower than most people with studies, or I received lower grades no matter how much I studied. I was always the quiet person when I was surrounded by my friends and they talked to each other about different video games, or sometimes I was viewed to be too much of a burden to different people. I also have a pretty bad temper if people try to agitate me just because they enjoy it, and it usually gets me in trouble.

Sometimes, I personally view it as a curse, which is why I hate myself.

I shook my head at the thought and said, "I… don't think you would want to know." I looked up and said, "Come on, we should continue on in the tomb." I walked further into the hallway, but what I didn't know was that Rigmor was just staring at me as her face was slowly turning from concern to sadness, as if she knew the answer. Sure I am happy most days, and I do my best to treat people with honor and kindness, more than what they deserve. I want people to be happy because the Gospel that I believe in helps me to be happy, even when life is so overwhelming and very demanding.

Rigmor said as I stopped walking, "James… sometimes you are weird, but most of the time I see you smiling when we face the conclusion of the worst situations. Every time I see you smile, there is like some kind of… radiation of light emerging from you, as if people can see your light, making it welcoming and enjoyable to be in your presence."

I said, not looking at her, "You don't know that."

Rigmor said, "I think I do, James. Ever since I met you, you are willing to throw yourself into any type of situation to help people. You fight to protect the innocent and the weak from the dangers of those that seek to destroy them. You make the proud be humble, to see why what they are doing is wrong and help them turn in the right direction." She smiled and said, "You give people hope."

I looked at Rigmor as she continued, "You are the Dragonborn of legend, one of the Heroes of Whiterun. You provide counsel to those that are seeking help, and after that discussion you shared with Weiss, I couldn't help but feel… enlightened by your words. Yes, you may be odd, but I think you are worthy in my eyes to be my Guardian, at least someone to talk to."

I felt my heart burning with hope and I said as a smile formed on my face, "Thanks, Rigmor. I… I guess I needed to hear that."

She nodded and said, "Now come on. Lift that chin up and let's continue on." I didn't object to her words and was about to continue on until I noticed Yang's hair behind Rigmor, and I looked over and saw the four young adult girls standing behind Rigmor.

I pointed to them and asked as Rigmor turned around to see them, "Uh… how long were you guys standing there?"

Blake said, "We were just coming here James."

Ruby rubbed the back of her head and admitted sheepishly, "We uh… heard part of the conversation. Sorry." I groaned quietly in irritation and shook my head, annoyed that they did it, and I walked into the room to check if there was anything else that we could take with us. Sadly, there wasn't any, but a door leading to the next chamber of the tomb, and I pushed it open to see a large chamber that was filled with vines, stone coffins and another hallway that was filled with traps.

When there were Undead creatures inside, no Stalfos and vampires thankfully, we made short work of them as I used some of my fire spells to help burn the Draugr and skeletons, since I remember any Undead creature has weaknesses to light or fire. I'm sure there were other different creatures along the way, but for the moment, using fire and my sword are my best friends for now. More powerful Draugr known as Scourges had some connection to summoning magic, and Yang pummeled those things to the ground before one of them could summon an Ice Atronach. Some skeletons had some armor, but they weren't Stalfos because they were bigger than the original skeletons, and they were holding iron weapons rather than unusual equipment.

One room was completely filled with skeletons, but the entire floor was covered in oil, and Weiss pointed her rapier to the oil covered ground, and I saw her hilt spin to a red colored arrow that was beautifully engraved on the hilt. The blade started to glow red and I raised my eyebrows as she twirled her sword, and thrusted her weapon forward, unleashing a powerful ray of fire from her weapon. Within seconds the flames touched the oil below the skeletons and the floor burst into flames, and I could feel the intensity of the heat as the skeletons burned within the flames before falling down to the ground into pieces.

I said, "Holy crap!"

Yang looked at her and asked, "Did you just use your Fire Dust?"

Weiss responded, "So?"

Rigmor looked at Yang and asked, "Wait, that wasn't magic?!"

The three teammates and I groaned and I said, "Weiss, you've got to be careful on how you use your equipment! Sure that was awesome, but if you use that kind of stuff, you won't be able to get it back! Once you use it, it's gone for good!" I sighed and said, "Just… save that stuff in case we encounter more powerful foes than a bunch of skeletons we can take out easily, okay? Let alone use magic that can be mastered."

She stared at me and I said, catching what I just did, "Sorry if I… overreacted, but please try not to be reckless. It's all I ask." She didn't move for a few seconds but then she nodded, understanding what I told her and she walked toward the door without saying another word. I groaned and placed my hand on my head, feeling like an idiot since I had no right to chastise her for using her equipment how she wanted. I heard Ruby turning to me and I said, "Sorry… Ruby. You're the team leader, and you're the one to talk to your friends."

She smiled and said, "It's okay, James. Technically you are right, and we should be careful on how we use our equipment." She placed her hand on her chin in a thoughtful manner and said, "I think I'll discuss with everyone that if we encounter an enemy that is proving to be hard, we can use our Dust to protect ourselves."

I nodded and we all continued on inside the hallway, making a couple turns and avoiding some booby traps that were camouflaged in the walls. Spikes emerging from walls, poisonous darts firing different holes on the walls, and I used my shield to block the darts and have the girls pass through safely before moving on. When we encountered more skeletons and Draugr, Ruby unfolded her scythe and started swinging it to take care of them while we were in a hallway. I watched her improvise swinging her weapon in vertical swings, though I heard a few scraps of metal strike against the stone walls, making me flinch a bit as her weapon hooked one of the Draugr by the neck and struck the undead creature by the ceiling.

I said as we heard a sickening crunch, making me turn away, "Jeez! And I thought the God of War series was brutal!"

Ruby twirled her scythe and called, "Sorry! Didn't mean to do that!" She swung her weapon a few more times and the Draugr were destroyed in a few moments, and Ruby twirled her weapon before lowering it to see the path ahead was clear. I looked up to the ceiling and saw a long stream of black Draugr blood that was sprayed all over the ceiling, making me cringe at the sight.

Rigmor said, wide-eyed at the ceiling dripping with black blood, "Yikes…"

I asked Ruby, "Are you having a hard time trying to fight with your… scythe?"

Ruby admitted, having the weapon folded back into a rectangular box and sheathing it on her back, "It's a little hard trying to fight in small hallways and narrow corners. I guess my baby here is great when it comes to open areas, but here?" She shook her head in a little disappointment and sighed in sadness.

I gave her a quizzical look and asked with a raised eyebrow, "Uh… what?"

She said, gently patting her weapon, "I call her Crescent Rose. She is a high functioning weapon I made back home that can turn into a rifle or a scythe as you see."

I raised my eyebrows when she mentioned a rifle and I quickly said, "Uh, I don't think turning your weapon into a rifle is a good idea! I mean, our voices echo inside the hallways of the tomb, and I think it might… hurt my ears. I know how loud those weapons can be when they fire a bullet." She nodded and I said, looking around, "I guess if we get into any tighter locations, I'll have to find a good weapon for you that is easy to move."

She looked up and asked, "Something for smaller locations?"

I smiled and said, "I'll find something for you. I promise." I walked away and thought, "Hopefully a special weapon… if I am suspecting that they are here." I think how I found the Ordon Sword may lead to other special weapons that may be from different Zelda games I played, but I wasn't sure yet. We followed the hallways, fighting some more Draugr until we got to a big room that had over ten waterfalls, as if there were multiple water canals hidden within the walls.

The room looked a little gorgeous, despite the multiple stone coffins that laid within the room in multiple rows, and there were two coffins on far platforms, making me pull out my bow as I started to remember this room from the game. Suddenly the door behind us slammed shut, trapping all of us inside the room, and lids of the room started to move, making me draw an arrow from my quiver that hung from my hip belt. I placed the arrow on the string and prepared to pull until I saw six skeletons holding axes, swords and shields crawling out of the caskets, while two more emerged from the platforms, holding bows in their hands.

Blake said as I narrowed my eyebrows, "Uh, James?!"

I said, "I'll take care of the archers! You girls focus on the ones that are on our floor!"

Yang grinned and said, popping her knuckles, "Copy that!" The girls charged toward the skeletons with their weapons drawn, I quickly pulled the string back and aimed my Fairy Bow toward one of the skeletons on the platforms and fired at it, seeing the arrow strike the rib cage. The skeleton staggered backwards and I felt something was wrong, making me widen my eyes and jump out of the way, and I saw an old arrow zooming past my face, barely missing me.

I cursed as I rolled on the ground, "Damn, that was close!" I quickly pulled another arrow and pulled the string back after loading the arrow and fired at the same skeleton I struck at, as it was barely loading it's arrow on a simple wooden bow. The arrow zoomed in the air and struck through the skull of the skeleton, causing it to freeze for a few seconds before it collapsed to the ground. I nodded in approval and said with a smile on my face, "I love archery." I spun around as another arrow missed me by a foot, drawing another arrow and loading it to my bow to fire it again, only to miss by a few inches.

I heard the clashing of steel and bones breaking, making me figure that the girls were taking out more skeletons that were bursting out of the stone coffins, and I loaded another arrow and fired at the skeleton blindly. I heard the arrow strike it's target and I saw out of the corner of my eye that the bones were dropping from the platform, but some of the skeletons broke through the line that the girls had.

Ruby called, "Nice shot!"

I narrowed my eyebrows at the skeletons that were charging toward me and I dropped my bow and drew my sword and shield from my back, ready to fight. My mind was burning with Shouts, waiting to be unleashed, but I knew I have to be careful on how to use my Thu'um or I might damage my voice. I held my shield close to my heart and waited for the skeletons to get closer to me, and once they did, I swung left and right, striking the rib cages, spine and right femurs of the skeletons, shattering them easily.

I felt my ears moving back as Rigmor screamed, "Guardian, look out!" I immediately rolled backwards to get away from an incoming swing, and I saw a Draugr Overlord was hissing and snarling at me. This Draugr was wearing ancient armor that looked a little rusted, but it looked like it belonged to the Nords rather than Hyrule.

I angrily shouted, "How the heck did he slip past you guys?!"

Blake asked, "What?!" I raised my shield and felt a strong strike appear on my arm, causing me to grunt as I held my Hylian Shield in place, not moving from my spot and I pushed the sword away from me. I swung the Ordon Sword left and right, forming a few cuts on the arms of the Draugr Overlord, and the creature snarled at me and began swinging his rusted sword back at me. I swung my shield arm away, bashing his sword and causing a loud ringing sound from the shield while at the same time, it staggered the creature away from me, and I roared a battle cry and swung the shield, striking it directly to the face.

The Draugr fell back to the ground as black blood emerged from the wound on his face, and I twirled my sword, ready to continue the battle as the girls continued fighting against the Restless Draugr that appeared from the second top of the pyramid. It Shouted, "Fus… Ro… Dah!" (Force.. Balance… Push!) A powerful shockwave emerged from its mouth and I jumped out of the way as the thunderous sound barely missed my foot, but it was loud. I covered my ears in pain as I felt a ringing tone in my ears for a couple seconds and I saw the magical shockwave struck the stone wall, causing large cracks to form on the wall from the power of the magic.

I stood on the ground as I uncovered my ears and spat, "My turn!" I Shouted, "Yol!" (Fire!) A blast of fire emerged from my mouth and struck the creature directly in the chest, and the body completely caught on fire as it staggered away from me, and I took my chance to run toward the undead creature and attack with all my strength. My sword then started damaging the metal and cutting through the leather armor as it was weakening from the flames I gave it, and I roared a battle cry and swung horizontally with all my strength, cutting the Draugr's head clean off. The body froze for a second as the head of the creature fell down to the water, and soon the body stopped moving and collapsed to the ground.

I panted as I felt my adrenaline pumping in my body, and I looked around to see if there were any more skeletons or Draugr, but I only saw Ruby staring at me with widened eyes when she saw that event. I asked, "Is that the last of them?"

Rigmor said, giving me a thumbs up, "Yep!" I sighed in relief and I sheathed my sword and shield on my back, feeling glad that it was safe.

Ruby said, shaking as I walked toward the group, "Y-you're kinda scary sometimes."

I cringed and said, "Sorry about that. I had to come up with something to take it out, otherwise it would have killed me!"

Weiss said as she sheathed her musketeer sword on her hip belt, "Good thing it's not like last time!"

I shuddered when she mentioned the incident with the vampire and said, "Don't remind me…" Rigmor sheathed her weapon and I started to walk around the flooded chamber, seeing the water was somehow blue as the sea, but I wasn't sure if it was safe to drink.

Ruby called, "Hey guys, I think I found another one of those fairy things James mentioned!" I cocked my head and ran toward her, and she pointed to the other side of the cliff to see a small metal chest that was on the corner of the wall. A blue fairy was floating high above the chest, twinkling as it watched us stand close to the cliff as it was directly 30 feet away from our location. Problem is, nobody could try to make the jump that big.

I asked, "Okay… what are we going to do?"

Ruby looked at her Faunus teammate and asked, "Blake? Do you think you can use your weapon to knock it down from up there?"

Blake drew her sword and I saw she pressed a button on her weapon, causing the blade to fold on itself and to transform into a curved sword, as if it was like some kind of graphing hook of some kind. I raised my eyebrows in surprise to see it also looked like it had a trigger as well, as if it was both a sword and a gun at the same time. She tossed it to the box, and I watched the sword fly in the air, spinning around as it tried wrapping around the small chest, but it bounced off the wall instead.

Blake cursed as she saw her weapon fall into the water, "Grimm and Dust!" She pulled her long rope to have her weapon emerge out of the water, and as she held it in her hand, it was dripping wet as she turned it to get the water out of her weapon.

I smiled and said, "Hang on." I turned around and walked up the stairs to get to the top floor and pointed my arm to the location of the chest, where the blue fairy was floating above, and faced my body toward the direction of the fairy, and I bent my knees and prepared myself to run. I then took off in a bolt and I Shouted, focusing my power, "Wuld!" (Whirlwind!) I zoomed in the air faster than a bullet fired from a gun and landed right above the chest itself, making me slowly and carefully turn to the chest and easily pick it up since I was standing close to the edge of a cliff.

Rigmor called, "Showoff!"

I teased, acting like I was hurt as I placed my left hand on my heart as I held the chest in my right hand, "Oh Rigmor, you wound me with your cruel, cruel words!" Everyone laughed at my comment as I jumped off and landed in the shallow water, holding the chest with both my hands. I walked toward the top level again as the girls saw me holding the small chest and I placed it on the edge of the stone sarcophagus.

Yang looked at me and asked, "You just watched us work together, when all you had to do was just… do that?"

I smiled and said, "I didn't want to steal your thunder." Ruby covered her mouth and began snickering at my comment, Blake and Weiss rolled their eyes as Yang just stared at me.

She then said pointing at me with a devious smile on her face, "Don't expect me to go easy on you next time we start training, or if we spar."

I nodded and said as I looked at her, "Yeah, well… at least I know I still won't be able to outmatch you, even if you push me to my limits."

She smiled and said as she folded her arms, "I'll take that as a compliment, city boy." I chuckled at her comment and looked at the chest that was sitting on the sarcophagus.

Rigmor stood next to me as I reached for the lid and said, "Let's see what's inside this thing." I pushed the lid open and suddenly a bright blue light emerged from the chest, causing all of us to jump back in fright and I covered my eyes for a second to protect my sight, and I squinted to see the girls holding their arms up.

I said, "Jeez! What is up with these flashing bright lights in dark places?!" The light faded and I heard a soft but familiar humming sound that made me uncover my eyes and I gasped softly as I saw a small object floating in the air. The object was filled with a golden layer that was spread across the gem representing water and corals on the sides, and medium sized blue sapphires were at the top, bottom left and right of the object itself, humming with power. I lifted my hands high above my head as I stared at the object with widened eyes, and the sapphire floated down to my hands.

*Spiritual Stone Get, Ocarina of Time*

The sapphire floated between my hands and I said in awe, "The Zora's Sapphire… or Nayru's Sapphire…"

Weiss came up next to me and said, staring at the gem in my hands, "Whoa…"

I grinned and said as I turned to the group, "Yeah, it's beautiful alright, and I know the story of this thing." I held the Zora's Sapphire in my hand and said, "This thing used to be an engagement gift for a specific race, but it is also one of the three Spiritual Stones to represent Wisdom, as Farore's Emerald represents Courage."

Rigmor looked at me and asked, "So if green is Courage, and blue is Wisdom, then what is missing?"

I said, "Power. Din's Ruby, or it was known as Goron's Ruby, having the color of red." I rubbed my head with my left hand as the Sapphire glowed and hummed softly in my right hand, "I think… if I remember correctly from playing Skyrim, it might be located in… a lair? Some kind of Nordic tomb called… Sil… Lair…" My mind suddenly opened as I remembered the location of the area, making me widen my eyes at once and I quickly put down the Sapphire next to me as I knelt to the ground, pulled out my map and muttered the two words as I traced my finger on the paper. I scanned my map as I studied the roads leading from our location, until I found the symbol of a Nordic tomb that was located between Dawnstar and Whiterun.

I said, pointing to the location on the map, "Silverdrift Lair! That's where it might be located! The Spiritual Stone of Fire!"

Yang placed her hand on her chin as she folded her arms, "Sounds like these stones are pretty important. Do you think we should find this location during our way to Ustengrav?"

I nodded and said, "We can also hit a few more locations along the way. Maybe we can find more of these Tarnished Shards or Charred Fragments in those locations, since they keep appearing on my map." I grabbed my map and folded it back to put in my bag, and I also grabbed the Zora's Sapphire and placed the glowing gem in my bag, feeling it starting to connect with the Kokiri Emerald. I closed my bag and stood back on the ground, and I looked to the right as I heard a faint chanting coming from the next area of the chamber.

I asked, "Hear that?"

Yang looked around and she nodded, "Yep. Sounds like another Word Wall." We quickly decided to move at once, and we passed through the open gate to see a large treasure chest that was rigged with a booby trap, and on the other side of the chamber was a Word Wall, and some carvings were glowing on the stone. Ruby walked toward the rigged chest as the girls walked around the chamber to see a couple of pouches filled with gold, some gems lying on the table as well as a couple of enchanted weapons. I walked toward the Word Wall that was having some carving glowing on the stone, and as soon as I approached it, I closed my eyes and meditated as I listened to the sound before I focused everything into the glowing Word of Power.

I opened my eyes and read out loud, "Kaan..." (Kyne...) I felt a sudden peace all over my body as I felt I was surrounded by animals, seeing some rats stop and look at me for a second, but they didn't attack and turned around to leave.

I said, cocking my head at the rats that were leaving us with a confused look on my face, "Odd Shout…"

Yang asked as the girls walked toward me, closing their bags, "Maybe it can help tame some wild animals in case we are having some trouble?"

I nodded and said, "That could be true… but the problem is, I don't know how long it lasts, though." I looked up and thought of what we needed to do next, now that I have learned another Word of Power, and I remembered what I said to Lydia when we left Whiterun about two days ago. I nodded at my decision and said, "Alright, screw Ustengrav for right now. We need to get to Riften." Rigmor nodded and I said, "We need to get to Rifen now. This Baa'Ren-Dar Khajiit guy has waited long enough, and Lydia might be waiting for us with M'rissi."

Blake said, frowning, "I thought you wanted to head to Ustengrav."

I looked at her and said, "I did, but I just feel like we need to head to Riften for the moment." I opened my map and said, pointing to the road that leads down southeast to the city, "We can follow the road as we travel southeast, and we might be able to arrive in Riften within a few hours if we keep at a steady pace."

Rigmor added, "And hopefully no assassins can come jumping out at us while we are traveling."

I shuddered at the thought and said, "We'll be careful, but we have got to move."

Ruby came back into the room and reported, "Everyone in Ivarstead is spooked, but it's clear. I guess you made the right decision to come here after all."

I nodded as I closed my map and said, "Well, we did find the Spiritual Stone of Water in here, so we should be able to lose the enemy's tracks for a while."

She said, "Speaking of, do you know what else is hunting you, other than the Thalmor or these black assassins?"

I shook my head as I gave her a shrug, "I have no idea. I just do my best to follow the promptings of the Spirit and stay out of trouble, or that I am not ready to defend myself from bigger threats and He is trying to find other ways to protect me until I am ready."

Weiss said as I placed my map inside my bag, "Well, if I trust you, then I trust this Spirit as well." She gestured, "We better get moving if you want to get to Riften as soon as possible." I narrowed my eyebrows and nodded, aware of what we needed to do, just stay vigilant and move quickly… and hopefully lose the enemy's trail along the way. We emerged from the tomb a few minutes later as I looked both ways from the entrance of the tomb, and we began moving at a steady pace as Rigmor stayed next to my side. During our travels, I felt Farore's Emerald and Nayru's Sapphire reacting to each other, supplying each other with power.

I kept my eyes open as we traveled out of Ivarstead, watching for any danger and I kept my right hand open and ready in case I needed to draw my sword and protect my group. The sun was barely moving to the west, beginning to set as we crossed into the Rift, and thankfully we didn't have any danger come to us as we traveled across the road, and Rigmor told us that we should take the back of Riften to see if we could avoid any unwanted attention. I didn't feel hungry as we continued moving and following the road, and we stayed out of sight from the guards that were traveling on the road, and so far as we knew, we couldn't trust anyone for the time being. It was nice though to see the different color of leaves on the trees, making me wonder when I got onto different hikes with my parents, that it was similar to home. When we got to Riften, or the outside of the city, we took a big circle as we took the road that led to the South Gate, and the view kind of reminded me of Hawaii a little bit, or Laketown from the Hobbit series.

Riften was a large city sitting on the bank of a lake, made from wood and stone, and I saw to the middle of the lake itself was an island that had a stone bridge leading to someplace on the road. I looked at the map I had in my hands and saw a couple of areas appear on my map, showing me Crystaldrift Cave, Darklight Tower and Lost Prospect Mine. I frowned as I shook my head and put it away in my bag, knowing we'll have to examine those places later, and eventually we got to the entrance of the South Gate. At the gate however, two guards wearing a purple color were standing at the entrance, and I walked toward him to gain his attention.

A guard looked up when he saw us and said, "Hold there." I stopped ten feet in front of him and he said, "This gate is closed, and if you want to enter Riften, you'll need to try the North Gate. Otherwise, move on."

I said, "We were requested to come here by Baa'Ren-Dar. I believe he can vouch for us."

He looked at us for a moment and he nodded, "Okay, I'll let you in. Just let me unlock the gate for you."

I nodded to him and said, "Thank you, sir." The guard walked toward the large gate with wood and metal as he pulled out a key and inserted it inside, and he twisted his hand and pulled the key out and placed it inside his pouch. He gestured to us to enter, and I walked forward and pushed both doors open to reveal the city of Riften. Inside the city was a stone castle on the far side of the city itself, while the heart of the city was a marketplace with multiple stands. Different buildings belonging to blacksmiths, trading goods and wares, or inns were all over the city, even though it was lively as I would expect from any type of hold.

Rigmor said with a smile as we entered the city, "Hey! I heard of this place as I was growing up. Riften is so cool." I turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow as I remembered we were talking to each other about Riften about 5 days ago and she said, "Hey, check this out!" She pointed to the fence that looked like it was leading to the lower area of the city and she said, chuckling with amazement, "You don't see that everyday, a canal! How cool is that, Guardian?"

I asked, "No offense, Rigmor, but weren't we talking about this place being an entire shithole through the past few days? And not to mention the Thieves Guild is here?!"

Rigmor scoffed and said, "Psch, it's all lies. They're just thugs… vermin, creeping around the Ratway." We walked further to see the entirety of the city itself, and I saw some parts of the city had a second level that descended down to the canal.

I shook my head and thought, "She is absolutely crazy if she thinks the Thieves Guild doesn't exist here..." I looked at the girls behind me and I said in a serious tone as I reached for my pouch that held only 500 gold coins, "Watch your wallets." Blake nodded at once and the girls looked like they were anxious for anything that would happen, and hopefully there won't be any pickpockets that would encounter us.

She said, "Damn…" I looked at her and she pointed, "See that? An orphanage…" I looked to the building as it was labeled 'Honorhall Orphanage', and my eyes widened and my heart began racing with fear, of me having flashbacks of a certain kid stabbing the ground with a dagger, surrounded by lit candlesticks and a human heart, a nightshade flower and a skeleton. I shook my head to snap out of it and I found myself breathing rapidly, and I placed my hand over my heart as I tried calming myself down.

She asked as I tried to pretend nothing happened as she turned to me, "Can we check out the market? I heard they have all sorts of stuff!" I tried my hardest not to reveal my disturbance and nodded, though I had a feeling that the team noticed my reaction to the orphanage. My thoughts took me to that strange assassin that tried to kill me in Riverwood, but failed to do so, and the mention of the Black Sacrament was starting to sound familiar, but whatever this was, it wasn't good news at all.

We walked across the bridge as we entered the marketplace and she said, "Yanno, I met a woman once, she was wearing the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. They were imported from Morrowind, all different colors... and sold at the Riften market." She said thoughtfully, "She must have bought it from one of these stalls… I wonder if they've got one in red?" Truthfully, I was very thankful that she was talking about a dress as the girls looked at Rigmor, probably wondering about the same idea of going shopping, since that… was what girls usually do most of the time. I could literally do anything else but stand near that orphanage in Riften, and felt talking to Rigmor would help me calm down further, and I stopped at the entrance of the marketplace.

I turned to her and asked, "Uh… Rigmor?"

She looked at me and asked, "What? What is it?"

I asked, "A dress, really? Right now?"

She said, "I…" Her eyes widened as she remembered, "Oh… damn, I'm sorry Guardian, you're right. I'm so stupid, I forgot myself… I…"

I shook my head and said, "Rigmor, no, no, no, it's okay!"

She shook her head and said, "No! It's not okay!"

I said, trying to reassure her, "Hey, it's no harm done! We can check out the stall, I don't see a problem with that, no problem!"

Rigmor said, "Guardian, look at me." She gestured to herself and said, "Look at me! The last thing I want to do is make that dress look ugly!" I opened my mouth to try and say anything, but no words came out of my mouth, just leaving me speechless. She sighed and said, gesturing to the Bee and Barb, "Come on, let's go see Baa'Ren-Dar." She walked toward the inn and I looked at her with sadness and I looked at a Dark Elf that was in the stand, and I had a feeling that I should talk to him about what I needed.

I sighed angrily and said to myself, "Damn it!" I walked toward the Dark Elf's stand and he saw me approach him, and I nodded to him in greetings with a smile on my face.

He said with a smile, "Ah, well met, stranger! Can I interest you with some fine goods from Morrowind?"

I nodded and said, "Uh, yeah. I was wondering if I can have your help with something."

He nodded and said, "That would depend on what you wish."

I said, "Well, you see kind sir, I was wondering if you have a specific type of dress that is imported from Morrowind."

He asked, "What kind of dress did you want?"

I thought for a second and said, "I would like to have one in red. Do you have one by any chance?"

He looked in his stall for a moment but looked back up to me and said, shaking his head, "I'm afraid not. Hopefully on the next Khajiit caravan, you can come back tomorrow."

I said, pulling out twenty coins from my pouch, "Well, I might not be back for a while, but here is the gold that you will need. If you can, leave it under the stall for me to collect if you're not about."

He nodded and said as I gave him the gold coins, "I'll see what I can do."

I nodded to him and said, "Thank you so much. You have a wonderful day." He nodded back to me in appreciation and I left the stall and walked toward the door that led to the inn of the Bee and Barb, and as soon I opened the door and stepped inside to see a man dressed in yellow robes, standing in the middle of the tavern. All of a sudden it made me think that this guy was a priest, and I stood at the entrance as I looked around to see multiple people sitting at different desks.

The priest said, "People of Riften, heed my words! The return of the dragons is not mere coincidence. This is one of the signs, the signs that Lady Mara is displeased with your constant inebriation. Put down your flagons filled with your vile liquids, and embrace the teachings of the handmaiden of Kyne." I looked to my left and saw the bartender was like a lizard, and I remembered the race of these people were called the Argonians, man-like creatures that had the face of a lizard, and if I remember correctly, they can breathe underwater.

The bartender said, "No, no, Maramal… We talked about this…" She looked at another Argonian that had green scales and said to him, "Talen…"

Maramal, the yellow-robed priest said, "Keerava, certainly we can come to some sort of understanding? These people must be made aware of the chaos they've sown."

The Argonian, who I was guessing was Talen, approached the yellow robed priest and said, "Enough, Maramal. We've all heard of the dragons and their return. There's no need to use them as an excuse to harass our customers."

Marmal nodded and said, "Very well, Talen. I'll remove myself from this den of iniquity."

Talen said, "We're not kicking you out, just keep the sermons at the temple and let us all sin in peace."

I frowned as I looked at a stranger and asked, "Who was that?"

He looked at me and said, "A Priest of Mara, no doubt spouting his nonsense here in the inn."

I nodded and said, "Right…" I looked up to see Rigmor approaching someone else dressed in yellow robes, and I raised my eyebrows as I saw what she was approaching.

Rigmor said when she walked toward a Kahjit dressed in yellow robes, "Baa'Ren-Dar! It's so good to see you!" I saw the Kahjit was a giant cat that can walk on two legs like a man, and they had claws for their hands and paws for feet. He had gray hair for fur and black lines on his forehead, but he looked like he was a friendly person.

I walked toward them as Team RWBY found a different table to sit close to us, and the Kahjit said with a smile on his face, "Well met, Rigmor! This one sees you have brought along friends?"

She raised her hand to me and I approached him humbly and said, "This is my… my Guardian Angel, the Dragonborn. And this is Team RWBY: Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang."

I nodded and said, "Hello sir. My name is James. James Brightheart." I raised my hand to him and he shook it, nodding to me in greetings, though he was surprised to hear that I was the Dragonborn of legend. He shook the hands of the girls as they introduced themselves to him, giving them a warm smile and kindness that made Weiss feel comfortable.

Baa'Ren-Dar asked Rigmor, "Kahjiit hopes the Dragonborn and his friends are taking good care of you?"

She looked at me and said as we sat down on a few chairs surrounding a round wooden table filled with plates and empty mugs, "Oh, he has his moments."

I looked at her at once with a bewildered look as the girls began giggling at that and I protested, "Tha- wha?! I do not!"

She chuckled and she looked at the cat and asked, "Any news on my mother's ring?"

He said, "Actually, yes! A member of the Thieves' Guild, here in Riften, acquired it in the Grey Quarter Ghetto inside Windhelm. It was sold to him by a Dumner who had been a kitchen servant at the Thalmor Embassy in Haafingar." He looked at both of us and said, "Khajiit suggests you both lay low here, while this one arranges for a meeting to loosen his tongue with coin."

Rigmor said, "Baa'Ren-Dar, there is something you need to see." She looked at me and nodded, "Show him, James."

I opened my bag as the cat in yellow robes said to me, "Yes, Khajiit wishes to see what you have to show." I pulled out the letters, journal, and the map that Rigmor and I found back at Fort Black and handed them to the Khajiit, and he took them with curiosity. He examined them while I ordered a few drinks of milk and water from the bartender, and the bartender came by with the mugs full of milk and water in less than a minute. He came by to me and passed a mug full of milk to me while I nodded to him in thanks and paid 10 coins for his service.

Baa'Ren-Dar's eyes narrowed and he said as I took a drink from the mug, "So, it has all come to pass! Khajit had suspicions all along. The New Order of Alinor are well known in Aldmeri circles. They are a shadowy clandestine organization of Altmer extremists of course."

I groaned and said, rubbing my forehead, "Great. Sounds like a bunch of terrorists is what we are up against."

He continued as the girls leaned in as we listened to the cat, "Rumors are just seeds in the wind, but here now is the hard evidence, thanks to you, young Dragonborn." He nodded to me and asked, "Did anyone see you take the documents?"

I said, "We found these at Fort Black, and we managed to destroy everyone inside the area before they could sound the alarm."

Rigmor nodded in agreement and said, "Don't worry, there's no witnesses… we slew them all!"

He looked at her and said, "Even so, we must be very careful and keep this to ourselves, until I investigate the revelations in these documents." He looked at us andsaid, "Now, Khajit must cut short his stay in Skyrim and travel to Cyrodiil and Elsweyr immediately." I opened my mouth and he said, shaking his head at me, "There's nothing you can do about this conspiracy until Khajit has spoken to his contacts. This will take all my skills and friends in high circles as emissaries to get to the bottom of it to know what to do next. Khajit will then contact you." I nodded in understanding and closed my mouth.

He cautioned, "In the meantime, you could travel to Windhelm and find this Dunmer, but be very careful. Rigmor is now officially a wanted criminal by the Thalmor in all Empire-controlled areas."

I groaned as I placed my hands on my face, knowing we were so screwed, and Rigmor asked, "Me, a criminal?" She scoffed, folding her arms, "That's cute."

He nodded and said to her, "Yes, my child! They have sent none other than their best Thalmor General to Skyrim to track you down. This is why I came here in person, to warn you. He has at his disposal an elite force of a hundred troops, which are setting up camps and checkpoints as we speak. So, you and your friends will need to avoid them and travel diligently. He will pursue you with extreme prejudice and when they find out what has happened at Fort Black, he will stop at nothing to find you."

I said, "I'm pretty sure they already have. A few days ago, a squadron of Thalmor soldiers attacked us when we were heading back to Whiterun from Markarth."

Rigmor asked, ignoring what I said, "But why?" She sighed and said, "Okay, I took revenge on those that harmed my family, but why send these men, why give me the special attention?"

Baa'Ren-Dar said, "They fear you, Rigmor. They fear you because of who your father was."

She pointed angrily, "My father is dead! They got their revenge. They would do well to leave me alone if they know what's good for them!"

The Khajit said in a disappointed and angry tone, "My dear, sweet child! Have you not seen past the venire of subterfuge, is that what you think? That the Thalmor would extradite your father and execute him for revenge? To know your enemy, you must first walk in their shoes. Has your hatred of the Thalmor blinded you from the truth?!"

She said, stunned by his outburst, "I… I don't understand! What…?"

He said, "Your father's Crest on the battlefield was worth five thousand men!"

Weiss asked, shocked, "What?!" Ruby, Blake and Yang coughed and almost spewed their drinks, looking at Rigmor in shock with widened eyes.

I raised my eyebrows and said with widened eyes, "Holy shit!"

He added, "Even the mention of the 'Sons of Talos' on the field would ensure disarray and even cause whole battalions to rout." He shook his head and said, "No Rigmor, not revenge, they needed your father out of the picture for good, or this whole plot would be for naught. After Bruma, they now fear you and what you might become."

She asked, now completely confused, "Fear me? Why would they do that? I'm just a young girl!"

He asked, "A young girl who single-handedly slays a full company of Thalmor soldiers, Rigmor?" I looked at her in shock as Baa'Ren-Dar continued, "Such a feat is not to be ignored. Especially when that young girl was taught, raised and trained by the 'Beast of Hammerfell' himself… It is you, Rigmor, you, that is also on that list of 'top level' targets." Rigmor looked stunned as much as I was, and this much information was shocking to me that she managed to do all that by herself.

Baa'Ren-Dar looked at me and said, "But, Khajiit is happy you have the Dragonborn to help keep you from harm."

She smiled and said, "Yeah, I know right?"

The Khajit looked back at Rigmor and warned further, "And I would surmise with the arrival of Tilar Aedriath to Skyrim, that you are first on that list to be pursued and eliminated."

Rigmor bowed her head and said, "I… I'm sorry. I need to be by myself for a while. I need some time to take all this in." She stood from her seat and moved to a different location within the inn, sitting on a chair that was close to our table, but sitting by herself.

I was about to tell Rigmor to stay, but the cat stopped me and said to me, "Let her go, she will be fine." He looked at her and said, "It gladdens my heart to know the premonition was right."

I looked at Baa'Ren-Dar and asked with a frown, "Premonition? What do you mean by that?"

He explained, "Khajit has traveled these provinces for many years, as a provincial emissary, it is my duty to make sure every angle is covered. It was during the annual ball that this one was approached by Kaza'Zhid, a prominent soothsayer from Corinthe. That one told Khajiit his Nordling child was destined for greatness and that she would meet a 'Guardian Angel' sent by a single God, but also cared for with the other Gods of Nirn." He recited what I thought was a prophecy, "A Dragonborn who is a stranger to the world shall hail from Helgen on the day of the dragons."

I cocked my head at him in confusion and he said in a pleading tone, "Please, take care of her, Dragonborn. These are dark days, and you will need to keep one step ahead, and I would advise you to search for stronger weapons to help you on your journey. Aedriath is a very dangerous foe, a master of subterfuge, do not underestimate him. Khajiit wants to keep the child from harm, and will pay good coin as well to keep her well met."

I shook my head and said, refusing his offer for money, "Baa'Ren-Dar, I'm not doing this for money. Ever since I… came here from the border, I don't know what else to do other than follow the feelings in my heart. I am doing this from the good of my heart, the way my parents have raised me. I promise you, I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe, and I do my best to be vigilant at all times."

His face brightened with hope in his eyes and he said, "Then Khajiit suggests you get well rested before traveling to Windhelm."

I asked, "So, this… Dumner thief, what do I need to call him?"

He said, "His name is Tendril Sethri."

I nodded and said, "Tendril Sethri. Got it. Thank you for providing me with this information, and I will keep her safe." I thought for a second and said as an idea just came to my mind, "Before you go, have you seen any glowing balls of light in certain areas of Skyrim?" I said 'balls of light' to make sure their true identities were protected, since I don't think the fairies would appreciate being hunted.

He nodded and asked, "Why do you ask, Dragonborn?"

I said, gesturing to my sword that was hanging on my back, "Well, I found this sword underneath a pink ball of light close to Riverwood, and I was wondering if you found anything else?"

He placed his hand on his chin and said as I pulled out my map I bought in Whiterun, "Well, if you travel further down south of Riften, you can find some doors made of metal on a mountainside close to Nyhus. The path of the city leads directly to Morrowind." He pointed to the bottom right corner of the map of Skyrim, and I quickly pulled out a pen and wrote down on the side of the country, Morrowind, and I drew a small symbol of doors on where he pointed, on the bottom right side of the country. He then pointed to a Nordic Tomb symbol that was next to a small tower and said, "And close to the Vigilant of Stendar tower is a Nordic tomb that holds a wall of carvings that can be of use to you, Dragonborn."

He added, pointing to the middle of the right of the country, leading halfway from the county to Eastmarch, "Also, this one noticed a ball of light matching your description, close to a fortress that is occupied by bandits. The location is directly on the rocks, just not too high."

I smiled and felt a good feeling in my heart, knowing it would give me a head start of collecting some gear that would help lead me and my group to the locations that could hold some powerful gear. I looked at him and said, "Wow, this is a lot of great info, thank you so much!" He nodded and rose from the chair, and I folded the map and placed it back inside my bag as the Khajiit left the building, and I looked at Rigmor as she drank from a mug that I hoped was full of water. I finished my drink and felt we needed to move now rather than leave later, and I asked her as I approached her, "Hey, you alright?"

She nodded and said, "Yeah… I think I'm good."

I pointed, "Baa'Ren-Dar seems to be in the know."

She nodded and said, "Yeah, he knows a lot of important people, high up. He has a huge estate in Torval, yanno… Elsweyr. Dignitaries like him because of his mystic friend, who reckoned I was gonna climb mountains." She scoffed with a small chuckle, "I guess I can cross that one off the list."

I said, "If you're ready to go, there are a few places I want to hit before we get to Windhelm and see what this 'Sethri' guy knows about your mom's ring. He suggested that there might be some places that might hold pretty good gear for us if we decide to visit them."

She nodded and I looked at Team RWBY as they stared at me, and I heard a voice hiss at me, "Step away from the girl, friend!"

I cursed quietly as I closed my eyes in disappointment that we had been caught, "Shit!" I suddenly reached to my back and unsheathed my sword and shield, turning around to see three Argonians dressed in leather armor, while the one that was talking to me was dressed in metal armor, and they stood there calmly. The first Argonian had two daggers attached on his hips as the second looked like he was unarmed, but I had a feeling that he knew the ways of magic. The third had an axe and an iron dagger strapped to his belt, and I had a feeling that we weren't going to be able to leave here without a fight.

I shook my head and said, "I'm afraid I can't do that pal."

He sneered at me, "We only want the head, you can keep the rest."

I narrowed my eyebrows and warned, "You don't want to do that, pal. If I were you, I would highly suggest that you take your friends and go back the way you came, because you seriously don't want to mess with us!"

He drew his axe and snarled, "Then die, fool!" I quickly jumped back as he swung his weapon at me, and I knew I needed to be careful with the Argonians, and everyone in the tavern stopped what they were doing to see a fight break out.

*Tavern Fight, Assassin's Creed 3*

The First Argonian ran toward me with a dagger unsheathed, but I quickly raised my shield and slammed it in his face, causing him to groan in pain as he staggered away from me. Yang jumped from her chair and tackled the third Argonian that lunged toward me, grabbing him by the waist and lifting him high in the air before she slammed him to the ground. The brawler Argonian groaned in pain as Weiss drew her musketeer sword and pointed her weapon at a second Argonian that had frost or electricity emerging from his hand. Blake immediately ran to Yang's side as the brawler was turned over by the Argonian, and she grabbed her weapon and wrapped her rope around the creature's neck.

The Argonian widened his eyes and began choking as he tried to grab the rope to loosen it to breathe for air at once. Blake struggled to pull with all her strength, and the Argonian started moving all over the inn, smacking into a few tables and then the pillar, causing her to cry out in pain but she continued to hold on. Ruby immediately ran to her teammate's aid and punched the creature in the face, causing him to cry out in pain as Blake tightened her grip as the Argonian fell to the floor, gasping and struggling for air. Yang darted to the second Argonian that Weiss was fighting as Weiss was holding her free hand to summon a magical ward that was blocking electricity. She raised her fist and swung at the creature, striking him hard in the forehead as he fell back but quickly stood on the ground and thrusted his hands forward, causing a large fireball to form in the air and blast Yang from off her feet.

I saw she flew in the air for a few feet before she smacked into the wall, and I felt anger rising in my heart as I grabbed the Argonian I fought and slammed him against the wooden pillar, striking his head against the pole. He shook his head and turned to me as he swung his axe, causing me to raise my shield and block his strike, hearing the metal ring as soon it came into contact. I grunted as I struggled to fight against his strength and stay in position, and my arms began shaking from the contest of power.

Ruby called as I pushed my shield to hold the Argonian I was fighting, "James, pass him to me!" I quickly stabbed my weapon on the wooden floor and grabbed the Argonian by the arm and grunted in effort as I used my weight and strength to pull the creature toward Ruby, and he staggered forward toward Ruby. I turned to the mage Argonian as I pulled out my Ordon Sword from the ground and ran toward him to throw his focus off of Weiss and turn to me. I leaped high in the air and raised my sword above my head before I swung downward to cut the Argonian's arm off, but he noticed it at the last second and spun out of the way to have me miss my strike. My sword slammed against the ground and I saw electricity beginning to spark from the Argonian Mage.

I raised my eyebrows as I realized I placed myself in a bad position and said, "Crap!" The electricity began to grow stronger between the palms of the creature's hands as he was charging a powerful spell, and I raised my shield as soon he thrusted his hands toward me, unleashing a powerful bolt of lightning. I immediately regretted making that decision within the next three seconds as the lightning struck my shield. I then found my hair standing on end as I felt I was being electrocuted, making me scream and howl in pain as my heart rate accelerated and my body shook at once. The shocking lasted for over five seconds until I collapsed on my knees, gasping for air and shaking violently from the electricity.

I looked up at the Argonian mage and snarled as my body shook from the effects of the spell, "That frickin hurts, you asshole!" The Argonian pulled his arms back as his hands immediately caught on fire to summon either a fireball or a stream of fire, but Weiss immediately swung her sword, cutting the creature's hands off. Before it could do anything to react from the blow, Rigmor drew her greatsword and swung her weapon with both her hands, cutting the Argonian's head clean off and the body fell to the floor.

I groaned as I slowly stood back on the ground, and the third Argonian was fighting Ruby as she ducked and dodged from the axe swings, until I saw Yang walking toward the Argonian and her fists clenched. She then tapped her finger on his shoulder, making the Argonian turn to her, and the next thing that happened was she pulled her fist back and swung as hard as she could, striking him in the face and blasting him toward me. I raised my sword and the Argonian slammed himself into me, knocking me over and I felt my back hit the ground, and I felt his body crushing against me as he immediately went limp as I gasped for air.

Yang widened her eyes and said, "James!" She ran toward me and moved the body off me as I struggled to breathe for air, and I looked down to the Argonian's body and saw my sword stabbed him through the heart. I then looked down at myself and saw some blood was on my stomach, but I didn't feel any wounds other than an aching chest.

Yang asked as I coughed, "Are you okay?! You're bleeding!"

I wheezed, "Not… my blood…" I groaned as I slowly moved my body and grabbed a nearby cup of water and poured it on my tunic, causing the blood to wash off and the water cleaned my tunic easily. I sat up and knelt over the body, grabbing the hilt of my weapon and grunted as I pulled the bloodied weapon out of the corpse, cleaning it against his fur clothes.

Weiss came to me and asked, "You sure you're not hurt?"

I said as my voice slowly returned to normal, "The only thing he did was he knocked the air out of my lungs. I'll be fine."

Yang said with a saddened look on her face, "Sorry about that. I guess I wasn't thinking straight…"

I shook my head and said, "Don't worry about it. We had to come up with something sooner or later." I looked around and saw the patrons were staring at all of us with widened eyes, and I said to the group, "I'm going to check the bodies. Make sure everyone is okay." She nodded and I grumbled as I knelt down to the corpse of the Argonian bounty hunter, "I forgot how much I hate it when people use electricity spells…" I reached to his bag and felt he had a pouch full of coins, and a few pages that were folded neatly inside his bag. I found an amethyst in his bag and placed some of the money and gems in my bag, but kept the rest out to see if I can tip the bartender to help lead anyone looking for us to a different direction.

I checked the other two bodies and found they had more pouches of gold, feeling a little heavier than the first bounty hunter, and I placed the rest of the money inside my bag until I decided to check on the folded papers which I was guessing they were Rigmor and I's wanted posters. I unfolded one and saw it was what I expected, Rigmor's wanted poster as the price remained the same as the last wanted poster I found, making me scoff and shake my head in a 'not impressed' look. I opened the second piece of paper and saw my picture, except this time I was dressed in the black and red Assassin tunic I created back in Whiterun before I went out with Rigmor to Angi's camp and then Fort Black. I looked down at the bottom of the 'Wanted' sign and saw a black circle was within some writing that said 'Considered dangerous. Apprehend but do not kill. Needed for questioning.' I rolled my eyes and shook my head, thinking that there was no way that the Thalmor would work like that, and I stood from the ground and walked toward Rigmor when she sheathed her weapon.

I asked, "Hey, you okay?"

She nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm good."

I pointed and said, "I told you back at that bounty hunter near Fort Black that there would be others."

She nodded and said, "Yeah… you're right." She looked around and asked, "What do we do now?"

I said at once, "We need to leave Riften right away, get off the grid while we still have a chance. There is some kind of shrine and a Nordic Ruin that I want to go to before heading to Windhelm." I pointed with my thumb, "Let's go to the south gate to avoid any more unwanted attention."

She nodded in agreement and said, "Okay, let's go."

Ruby and the other girls stood up and I tossed the barkeeper the sack filled with gold coins I separated and said, "You didn't see us, and we were never here." She caught the pouch of coins easily as I stopped for a second and added, "Those Bounty Hunters started fighting amongst themselves over the talk of their wives being insulted."

The bartender said, "I will make note of that." She asked, "Who were those hunters?"

I responded as we walked to the door, "Spies for the Aldmeri Dominion."

Blake said, "I'm going to check out the different buildings to see if Lydia and M'rissi arrived. You guys can wait for us at the gate or outside the city."

Yang said, "Ruby, Weiss and I can head to the different places that appeared on your map. I'd say we just find the locations where we need to go."

I nodded to her and said, "Just no dungeons for the moment, alright? Just get in, grab the Fragments or Shards and get out. Please be careful."

She nodded and said, "I'll just be only about 20-30 minutes. I won't take too long." I nodded and Blake walked out of the inn as quickly as possible, and I nodded to Rigmor that it was time to leave, and she didn't object to my decision at all. We walked out of the Bee and Barb as quickly as possible, leaving the mess behind for different people to clean up the mess that was made. We didn't talk to anyone as the five of us left the city in haste while Blake went down the pathway to the canal, where the Ratway was located.

I kept looking around for anything or anyone else that may be bounty hunters, and I pushed the gate open to have the five of us leave the city, and I was glad that we managed to make it out of there alive. Ruby, Weiss and Tang then split up, running down the road as they followed the path to the location where my map showed us the Shards or Fragments were located. But before I could plan on what we needed to do next, Rigmor ran to the side of the harbor and she sat down on a log that was next to the lake.

I protested as I walked after her, "Rigmor! We don't have time for this!"

She looked over to the lake and said, "You know, it's really weird coming here, to Skyrim I mean. I never got to see my homeland."

I said, looking around nervously after the ambush in the tavern, "Hey, I understand that you want to appreciate the scenery, but seriously, we really should be moving on!"

She ignored my comment and said, "Skyrim is such a beautiful place. I'm glad I came here, to see it for myself."

I looked at her and knew that something wasn't right, and I asked, sitting down on the bench next to her, "Are you okay?"

She looked back at me and said, "Yeah… I guess. I try to put on a brave face, but really… deep down… I'm feeling a little scared right now. It's all a bit too much sometimes."

I looked down and asked, understanding her feelings, "It can't be easy… taking it all in, I mean?"

She said, shaking her head, "I never... asked for this…" She sighed and said, shaking her head, "Sometimes I find it hard to imagine I was once a little girl, you know… I was just a normal, happy little girl playing with all the other kids…" She looked down and said, "Then… they took it all away, I… I didn't know what was going on, I didn't know what to do…"

I looked at her and said, "Rigmor, you were a little girl back then! There was nothing you could have done."

She sighed sadly and said, her voice becoming quieter, "My mom told me it would be okay… but it wasn't okay, they took her and… I was…"

I asked, "What… what is her name?"

She looked at me and said, "Sigunn. Her name is Sigunn."

I gently patted her on her armored back and said, "Don't worry, we'll find her." I looked up at the sky and said, knowing it was going to be dusk soon, and I wanted to hit those doors that were close to the tower, "Come on, we better be going." I stood up and offered my hand to her and asked, "Are you ready?"

She said, not feeling confident, "Yeah… I… think I'm ready." She grabbed my hand and I pulled her to her feet, and I released her hand and was about to turn until I heard Rigmor say, "Hey Guardian, we have to head North to Windhelm, right?" She said, "After we hit this grotto, we can hole up in the wilderness of Eastmarch. I heard it's pretty lawless, yanno… Giant's mammoths and… stuff."

I raised my eyebrow as we walked down south and asked, "Stuff?"

She nodded and said, "Perfect for some rest so we can catch our breath." She widened her eyes and said with excitement, "There's even hot springs, Dragonborn!"

I frowned and asked, "Guardian, Dragonborn? Can't you just call me by my name instead?"

Rigmor said, "Guardian, Dragonborn, James…" She blew a raspberry and said with a small smile, "Whatever."

I thought about what she mentioned and asked, "Hot springs? I don't know about this… maybe we should just go straight to Windhelm after we hit the grotto?"

She smiled and said, folding her arms, "I'll leave the decision making up to you."

I placed my hand on my chin as I thought about it for a second and said, nodding at my decision, "Alright, hot springs it is then."

She smiled and said, "Okay, let's check out that shrine and the few places you mentioned."

I grumbled, "I really hope I don't regret this…"

Even though that Baa'Ren-Dar character seemed nice enough, I really hope that Khajiit was telling the truth, because if he isn't, he's going to regret lying to me. There really aren't a lot of people for me to trust and rely on except my friends and my Housecarl.

Oh dear Heavenly Father… please help us in this time of need...

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I am so sorry I haven't published the story in a while through these last few months! I got so focused on work and hanging out with my friends that I lost track of time, and it has been my birthday a few days ago, but I have been working on the story here and there! Sometimes my mind likes to jump around to different chapters for me to work at, which actually makes me think I can get the other chapters ready a little faster...

But, anyhoo, I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! See you guys in the next chapter, and hopefully I'll get it ready soon!