Disclaimer: I don't own the Elder Scrolls series or any of the related properties. I'm just a fan.


Not many things distress me. At least, not much that I can remember, though that could just be from the fact that I've been leeching off of Gilfre for the past couple of weeks more than me being naturally laid back and unworried about even the most distressing of things.

I'd like to think that I'm just that care-free naturally though.

However, this news is a little bit different. After all, it isn't exactly an everyday occurrence that you learn about the return of a very dangerous myth, one that could turn the entirety of Skyrim, or even Tamriel as a whole upside-down.

Well, not really a myth. There do exist records of the old state of Skyrim where dragons ruled both the skies above and the ground below. People that worshipped them as godly beings, blessed with incredible responsibility and power, the eventual fall of the dragon cult and empire. All recorded history, mostly regarded now as a cautionary tale or spoken in reference to the power once held by mere mortals.

But back to the return of dragons.

This really wasn't what I was expecting to hear on the ride over to Windhelm for a shipment of logs. I was expecting gossip, sure. Carriage drivers get a lot of information from those that they take between holds, but this isn't any normal gossip about a scandal about a noble or the suspected dirty dealings that they'd be involved in. This was a serious problem. Not that the other topics aren't serious, but they aren't necessarily the world-destroying kind of news.

This was a problem that somebody like Ulfric could handle alone with his fervent Stormcloaks alongside him. Or maybe the Empire could also take care of it, and the Stormcloak problem too. Two birds, one stone. Maybe. I'm not really sure about the security of militia when it comes to beings that can trump most close-range and long-range weaponry.

But it's not my problem, not at all.

Alfarinn notices me spacing out, "You alright there? You look a bit spooked."

I nod at him, "It isn't really good news to hear that Dragons of all things have come back to the land of the living. I'd think it a natural thing to be a bit worried about my own safety. If anything, I'd be more worried about people that expected this to happen, or were ready for such news. Are you sure that Ulfric didn't just make up that story, or that the men that were with him didn't see something that just looked like a dragon? ", I spewed words out at such speed that he likely could barely understand what I was saying. To be fair, after we had started our second trip to Windhelm from the mill, I hadn't said all that much so it must have been a lot to take in.

To his credit, he took it quite well. "Well, I can't say that I'm sure of anything. What I can say is what other people have been saying, and that's the word going around the nine holds. Anyway, we've made it here. Just unload the lumber by the stables and they'll take it in."

I looked up and saw the large stone bridge going into Windhelm, and saw that it was also nearing nighttime. We had certainly taken our time getting here. I look by the stables and see a couple of guards there to receive us we rode up to them.

One of them said, "Just put the logs here by the bridge! We can take it from there. It's nighttime, and I know you are the new worker at Mixwater Mill. It may be only a short ride back but the animals get quite bold during the night. Might want to stay here. If it's bed and board you're after, Candlehearth Hall's got them both.", I gave him a once over and nodded.

"Thanks, I'll be sure to go over there after dropping this shipment off.", I reply. I begin to unload the first couple of logs from the carriage onto the side of the bridge, looking over, I see Alfarinn doing the same. Within minutes, we finish the job and he takes the horses over to the stables for rest. The stablemaster is a high elf, as is his wife. I see them talking to Alfarinn, while he gestures at me, they look over. I wave. The husband seems nice enough and smiles, but the wife just looks at me with a look of..contempt? It may just be the lighting though. The guards come over and hand me a couple pouches of gold for the shipment.

I walk across the bridge to the big gates into Windhelm, and as I enter, I hear a guard mutter, "Gotta keep my eyes open. Damn dragons could swoop down at any time.". I suppose that they've taken to the narrative that dragons have come back as well. It makes me wonder though that maybe they're part of the party that came back with Ulfric, but I don't linger much longer on that.

I walk through the gates and see the large stone structure with smoke coming out of the chimney. That must be the local inn. I waste no time in going inside, eager for a bed and a bellyful of mead.

As I walk in, the owner notices me, "This here's Candlehearth Hall. Great room's upstairs an' there's a bed for rent on the ground floor.", I look towards her and notice she's a little on the older side.

"I'd like to rent a room and a meal", I walk up with a pouch of gold, "I'll pay for it now of course.". She looks at the bag, then back at me, "The room is the first one on the left, I'll tell Nils to bring you some food".

"Thanks", I say as I take my leave. I walk over to the doorway as per her instructions, and see everything I'd like in a one night stay. Bed, wardrobe, table, not much else that I could ask for, really.

A man who assume to be Nils comes over a little later with some vegetable soup and warmed bread, with a couple of bottles of mead he picked up on the way to my room. Just the things I was looking forward to. I thanked him and shut the doors. I thought back to my conversation with Alfarinn on the way here, the dragons especially. I can't defend myself against those kinds of things, but I think it would be best if I got some armor and weapons so that I'd be better prepared. Can't hurt even if I've only recently just swung around a woodcutting axe. I'll do all of that tomorrow, and get back to Gilfre with the news.