Chapter 2: Unbound and out of nowhere, part 2
Update A/N: just made an update to this chapter where I realized I missed one detail in Riverwood. For those who have already read this chapter, I hope it is to your liking. Plus, I forgot to put this in.
Skyrim belongs to Bethesda Softworks, and RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and the late great Monty Oum.
They were safe inside in light states of exhaustion, still striking her as unusual. The room they had come into was a barracks, complete with rows of beds on either side with chests in front of each one, and with cabinets and drawers, along parts of the torchlit walls and candles which kept the darkness at bay.
"That was close," Adrien stated as he laid against the stone wall.
Hadvar looked around, then said quietly: "Looks like we're the only ones who made it." Then he added, unsettled: "Was that really a dragon? The bringers of the End Times?"
"It did look like a dragon all right," Adrien breathed as he straightened out, "but to me it looked like a demon."
"I was thinking the same thing at first," she joined in.
"Well, in any case, we should keep moving." The other two could only agree to the soldier's suggestion. Then Hadvar turned to the bound knight, only to realize that his bindings were cut off, probably with help no doubt.
"Take a look around, there should be plenty of gear to choose from," he suggested, then eyed disagreeably the burns on his arms and legs. Cuts and bruises were one thing, something life on the Legion had taught him to deal with, but burns were something altogether. "I'm going to see if I can find something for these burns."
Adrien was about to start ruffling on the chests. "Alright… there ought to be something for you too, miss… miss…" He turned towards the woman. "I don't think we've asked your name."
"My name is Summer Rose," she introduced herself. "And you guys?"
"My name is Adrien Artorius."
"Hadvar Indridasson."
"Well, it's nice to meet all of you. Although I was hoping under better circumstances." She directed her last sentence at Hadvar.
"I'm sorry," he replied. "Tensions had been rather high and having a portal come out of nowhere had us guessing. I was just following orders."
"I guess I understand, and I'd rather have it behind us now."
"That's good. By the way, if I may ask… Are you really a Daedra worshipper?"
She looked at him oddly. "What's a Daedra?"
Although it did not sort of answer the question, the whole room suddenly went silent. The two males looked at her rather strangely.
"You just came out of a Daedric portal," Adrien spoke up. "And you're telling us you don't know what a Daedra is?"
"First time I heard the word was right now, just out of your mouths," she answered dryly.
Coming from someone who had freshly walked out of a Daedric gate, Hadvar could believe those words just as readily as those from someone claiming to have a bridge to sell, but then the dragon/demon outside let out a powerful roar and the floor quivered. Dust spattered down from cracks on the ceiling. He gave the stranger one last distrustful look: "Much as I want to know more, I want to keep on living more still. Let us hurry and leave this place."
Adrien grunted his approval. "Good point." He walked up to a chest on the far end of the barracks and opened it. He managed not to grimace in disgust. The best that could be said about the armor was that it had been kept in decent condition by its previous owner, which was only logical considering how maniacal the Legion was on teaching legionnaires to care for their gear. But that was pretty much it. Worse still, he could see it would not fit him terribly well. The boots were as basic and uncomfortable looking. 'Oh well, better than nothing, I guess. Beats looking like a prisoner anytime.'
Summer was tending to the twin axes her bow had reverted back to when she heard the noise. She turned around to see Adrien taking off the ragged clothes he had worn as a prisoner, and quickly turned around again, assuming he wanted the decency of not being watched. She did, however, get a glimpse in of what he was made of. Scars criss crossed him, so many of them he looked like he had been sewn together by mad demons with diamond-hard claws, but that only added to the savage, animal charm of his muscular body, otherwise in perfect shape. It was a visage to make the shyest maiden wanton, and her own cheeks blushed brightly red upon seeing it, but she shook the image out of her head, reminding herself that she was married and had made a promise to keep her vows no matter the situation.
Adrien did not notice Summer's peeking or blushing. Besides the armor and boots, the sole items on the chest were a key, presumably for the keep gate given its coarse and simple shape, and a brown, empty leather satchel. Said satchel he slung over his back, and the key he put inside it; that done, he went to the weapon rack and took the only blade available, an iron sword. He hefted it with distaste etched on his face. 'How can they even call this a sword?'
Summer saw this and looked on attentively. The sword was crude — no, that would be unfair. 'Simple' was the proper word, as it was made entirely out of iron, from the pommel to the tip of the blade. It looked decent enough in both craftsmanship and flexibility, but raw iron was not going to make for a very durable weapon; for starters, it could not hold a candle to steel weapons, like Hadvar's sword for instance. What made her frown more was its lack of a scabbard, if she could even call it that. It was simply pieces of leather straps acting as a sheath, completely exposing the iron sword to the elements.
'Come to think of it,' she thought, 'Hadvar's sword looks rather—'
"Shouldn't you be wearing armor, Summer?" The soldier asked as he walked up to her, being done with putting the salve on his burns, a round shield strapped to his left arm. She was broken out of her observation when she heard him.
"I'm fine without them," she dismissed as she smirked and strutted her stuff, "and besides, I've always worn this for battle against monsters."
"Don't say I didn't warn you," he sighed, not having the time to argue with her when the danger was still looming above them. "So, if we're done then, let's get moving." The wooden portcullis out of the barracks had no lock; instead, a lever was set into the wall next to it. This lever Hadvar pulled, and the portcullis slid upwards to the sounds of strained wood and ropes. A hallway lay beyond it, and they walked through it without a word.
The hallway led to another room, this time a large hall with another portcullis blocking the way, and another wooden lever set on the left wall. As they came closer, the three heard a voice of someone from around the archway. He suddenly went silent as they grew closer, indicating that whoever he was had already heard them coming.
"Be careful, it could be anyone," he cautioned almost to a whisper as he walked up to pull down the lever, his sword at the ready in his hand. Again the portcullis slid upwards, and Hadvar took the lead with caution.
Caution that served him in good stead: someone bellowed a warcry, giving him just enough of a warning to raise his shield before the blade of the war axe found his head. Hadvar absorbed the blow, then put his shoulder behind the shield and thrusted forward, shoving the attacker backwards and allowing him a look at who he was:
"Ralof, you damn traitor!" He accused. "What are you doing here?!"
"I went in here, believing the Imperial and the stranger would come here," he spat. "We're going to be escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time." He quickly glanced at the two, mainly the recognizable imperial standing next to her. "I see you made it—Wait…" he stopped in his tracks. "Why are you wearing a legion uniform?"
"When it's the only thing you got…," he made to explain, but was then cut off.
"You...," He seethed at this betrayal as his anger grew, "You joined them even though they tried to kill you?! Damn imperials; always so blindly loyal to their slave masters in the end! I'LL KILL YOU!" He charged at the Imperial with rage, only to have Hadvar parry his attack.
"We. are not. SLAVES!" He shoved the rebel back, and the two soon clashed in what Summer and Adrien knew would be a fight to a bitter death.
"You sent that damn dragon to free Ulfric and kill everyone else, didn't you!?" Hadvar accused as he swung his sword at him, but Ralof ducked under the blade and seized the opening in the legionnaire's defenses to punch him in the face.
"That monster killed more of my comrades than it did you, you bastard!" he shot back. The Stormcloak hacked at him with his axe, but Hadvar dropped the shield, grabbed his wrist and shoved him back with a kick.
Summer and Adrien exchanged a glance. The woman was thoroughly lost, but just letting them go at it would not fix anything and they both knew it. The man gave her a brief nod, and they reached for the combatants, which were now struggling in a deadlock against each other. Adrien shoved and pulled Hadvar away, and when the berserk Ralof made to swing his axe at them both he got elbowed in the gut hard by the short woman first, then forced away by a deceptively powerful kick. Neither took to the interruption kindly:
"What are you doing?! Get out of my way!" Hadvar argued as he struggled to push Adrien out of the way, but it turned out he was stronger than he once thought.
"Step aside you little brat!" Ralof shouted angrily, struggling with the woman. Summer could not keep him at bay for long, the man larger and stronger than her…
"ENOUGH!" Adrien boomed, powerfully enough to startle everyone. That had the desired effect. Harshly he berated them: "We all just survived a dragon attack and now you two are back to killing each other?!"
"This was all their fault from the start!" Ralof argued.
"I don't care whose fault it is, and neither does that dragon! We saw that monster burning up the whole town. I saw soldiers on both sides, even innocent people being burned alive by that thing! So do you really think it gave a damn about whose side you're on?!"
"He's right," said Summer as she looked up at the Nord. "If you two start trying to kill each other now, you'll just be doing the dragon's job! So would you drop the fighting…? Please?" She pleaded as she gave him the infamous puppy dog eyes, and yet again this trick worked.
"Alright… you two made your point," he said after he sighed.
"...Well, I'm willing to agree to a truce," Hadvar offered rather hesitantly after reluctantly calming down and putting his sword away. "Agreed, Ralof?"
After looking at his enemy for a moment, he relented. "Fine then. Until we reach Riverwood."
"Sounds good to me." He said evenly.
Adrien let out a breath he was holding in, relieved that they had come to a peaceful agreement. The sound of the dragon above them brought them back to the task of escaping.
"Right, we should get moving." Hadvar stated after recovering his shield as he soon went for the iron door as they followed behind. "Let's see if I can open this." He checked to see if it was locked, and to his small surprise it was not. They all followed in behind him and formed a loose knit group as they traversed through the short hall and down the winding steps. Once they reached the next floor and turned around a corridor, there was a long, dimly lit hallway with a nearby door to their left. They only took a few steps, however, when they heard the roar of the dragon again and the ceiling violently collapsed in front of them, causing an earthquake and blowing dust.
"Look out!" Yelled Ralof as everyone shook and stumbled back from the rough vibration, and Summer was the only one who fell to the floor on her behind. She got back up coughing as the rest recovered from the after shock.
"That dragon doesn't give up easy, does it," Hadvar commented.
"Let's go through there," Ralof pointed towards the door which luckily had not been blocked by the rubble. "I saw a door on the other side. Let's hope it's clear."
They followed Ralof to the door, and opening it revealed to them an old storeroom. The room was lit well enough, torches still burning, tables, chairs and storage cabinets lining one side.. On the other, the room had rows of barrels along the wall, and wooden boxes were stacked on top of each other, as well as being stacked on top of wooden racks.
"An old storeroom," stated Hadvar. "There may be potions in here we can use. Let's see if we can find any."
"While you all do that, I'll be checking the pantry," Ralof said as he went. They all broke off into different parts of the room. Hadvar, Summer and Adrien went to check on the barrels, boxes, and even the cabinets for any potions while Ralof went about checking for food supplies for the journey. Summer was the first to spot two potions of different colors on the cabinet shelves and showed them to Hadvar.
"Are these it," she asked curiously.
"Yes," he answered. "The blue vial is a magicka potion, and the red vial is a healing potion. Looking at the size of them, they're minor."
Summer looked at the bottles in her hands and wondered. These names sounded oddly familiar, like from an old role playing game she once played with a couple of her childhood friends a long time ago. But this could not be anything like a game… could it? Putting the thought aside, she stored the minor magicka and healing potion inside her travel pack hidden under her cloak.
After scrounging up what they could, they gathered around a candle lit table to show their findings. Laid out on the table were five minor healing potions, two minor stamina potions, one minor magicka potion, and the rest were ingredients and food.
"Hmm," Hadvar hummed in thought before coming to an idea in dividing the spoils. "Okay. Nearly each of us should have one healing potion. Ralof and I will have the stamina potion, and Summer should carry the magicka potion, and an extra healing potion just in case."
"Why should I carry the magicka potion?" she asked, "I'm no magician."
"We know that, and neither are we," Ralof pointed out, "but it wouldn't hurt to sell it for a bit of coin, you know."
"If I recall, you did send an arrow exploding in that dragon's face," Hadvar commented.
"That wasn't magic, that was Fire Dust," she corrected.
"Fire Dust?" The men all furrowed their brows in confusion, but Hadvar shook his head of the thought for now knowing their current situation. "Perhaps another time."
"Anyways," Ralof spoke, "I'll just carry the rest of the food supply."
"Fine by me." He shrugged. After that they all gathered their divided spoils, and stood prepared for what would come after.
"Looks like that's it here. Let's get moving then." Hadvar and the group went to the door on the other side of the storeroom. Upon opening it, they were luckily spared the grief of having to dig their way through, seeing the entrance to the Hall was not blocked off by the rubble. The end of the hall led them to another set of stairs leading down. When they eventually took a turn around the corridor to the next set of stairs, they all could see at the end of the stairs a cage meant for people, and a wall shackle holding a human skeleton.
"God's Blood, a torture room," Ralof breathed.
"Gods, I wish we didn't need these," Hadvar grimaced.
Hearing the word torture room made Adrien and Summer feel uneasy, but they did not have much choice as they all proceeded to head down the rest of the way. It was just as Ralof said, and to what Adrien imagined, the room had man sized cages and ramshackles along the walls, and all that was clearly shown under the torchlight. To his hidden surprise, and also to their horror, they were not the only ones here.
"Well now, it looks like the General has brought me more guests for me to entertain. How thoughtful." An old man at the other side of the room vocally revealed himself in a sinister tone. The group had somewhat of a mixed expression to him, but all in all, they all disliked the man the moment he spoke.
"I did not bring these three here for your amusement," Hadvar defended. "We're getting out of here, a dragon is attacking Helgen."
"A dragon," he scoffed, "don't make such nonsense. Although come to think of it, I did hear some odd noises coming from over there."
"It's true," Adrien spoke. "A dragon is attacking the keep as we speak. Why not come with us, we can keep you both safe."
"You have no authority over me, boy." He rejected.
"Didn't you hear us? We said the keep is under attack!" Hadvar argued.
"Come on, Hadvar," said Ralof, "let's just leave the old man alone."
"What makes you think you're going anywhere, Stormcloak?" The torturer questioned as he made ready a shock spell in his hand. The action made all present company tense up and grab their weapons.
"I think you're forgetting you're outnumbered here," Summer said evenly as she lowered her posture and her hands were wrapped around the hafts of her axes, ready to pounce at him if it came to that.
Tense stares were exchanged as everyone evaluated the opposition and the likely outcomes. "Come on, old man, just forget it and let them go," the burly assistant reasoned with him. The torturer ignored him at first, but knowing that he and his assistant was not trained in dealing with armed intruders, he reluctantly canceled his spell. Then the assistant looked at the company. "Even if the keep is under attack, we'll be fine where we are."
Hadvar sighed not in relief but in pity for the poor sods. Summer, in turn, was grateful that no blood had been spilled. Ralof on the other hand felt a little disappointed. She straightened herself back up and looked about when she spotted something in the darkened cage.
"Hold on, there's something in this cage?" She asked as she walked up to the cage, only to reveal to her horror that it was a corpse.
"Don't bother with that," the torturer dismissed. "Lost the key ages ago. Poor fellow screamed for weeks."
Summer turned on him with a disgusted glare, but the old man was unperturbed.
"Summer, do you know how to use lockpicks?" Hadvar asked and got her attention as he went to the cage.
She shook her head. "No, I don't."
"I do," Adrien offered.
"Here, I've carried my own." Ralof scrimmaged through his pack and handed his twelve lockpicks to him, merely just to quietly spite Hadvar. "See if you can get it open. You're going to need that gold when we get out."
"Sure, take all my things, please," the torturer said sarcastically. Adrien ignored him and accepted them, and kneeled down in front of the cage lock as he got to work. After fiddling with the lock for a short bit, he turned the key hole and heard the successful click of the lock being undone. He took the picks out and slid them in his pocket, then he got up and opened the cage as he went inside. Before he started looting, however, he knelt down in front of the dead mage, clasped his hands and bowed his head, muttering in prayer.
The two Nords did not make to argue with him, and they understood the reason, even with the threat of danger looming above them. Though Summer could barely hear him, his prayers sounded almost foreign to her, but the chant had its similarity to the prayers of passing she heard back home. She had never heard of this god called "Arkay", but she did not have to guess that he may be the god of the afterlife. It bothered her that he was going to be looting a corpse, but she stayed silent about it.
His prayers done, he went in and looted all the items lying next to him. All that he acquired were twenty eight Septims, two minor magicka potions, and a Sparks spell tome. He did not bother with whatever the mage had in his pockets.
"Is that everything?" Hadvar asked when Adrien walked out of the cage. The knight nodded to him that it was. "Okay, let's get moving."
They followed the soldier to what once could be called a door was now a crumbling hole in the wall. Before they passed through, however, there was something off the corner of her eyes to see a black book laying on a short stool, along with a satchel and a dagger. She picked it up and read the title called "The Book of the Dragonborn". She thought of asking the torturer if she could borrow it, but she realized she may not have enough room in her pack to store the book. So she placed the book back onto the short stool and ran into the hole to catch up to her comrades. Through the hole revealed a brazier lit hall lined with rusty dungeon cells.
"There's no going that way." The torturer told them, but they all ignored him.
They went down the darkened path and around the corridor, they soon all were then in a large hall lined with rusty cages. Some were still hanging from the ceiling, the rest were on the cold damp floor. Within most of them, prisoners lay trapped inside, but what was ghastly was that all were dead. There were a few skeletons still trapped inside the cages long after death took them, giving this place a musty, rotten odor which gave Summer a disgusted expression, and at the same time a foreboding feeling. The others were not bothered by this, or were not showing it as they walked on through, even as they walked past a dead Stormcloak in rags, much to Ralof's quiet resentment.
Eventually, after going through another corridor path, they had this time come into a natural cave, dimly lit with a few wall torches and with a natural light shining down through a hole in the cave ceiling to illuminate the room. There were two options to take: either they follow the bridge path along the wall or take the shortcut through the natural cave creek. They simply decided to take the path along the wall, and eventually they made to a short path to a draw bridge.
Meanwhile, ever since the group had been traversing through the keep without much incident, Summer's mind wandered, though it felt like it was going a million miles. Ever since she fell to this strange location, her eyes had been subjected to things both terrible and mostly bizarre. These people looked out of date and dirtied, their weapons, armor, and architecture were primitive compared to her tech. Then there were the strange concoctions these people drink. Magicka potions? Stamina potions? Healing potions? Then there was that honest to Gods dragon (if she were to even call him that) currently attacking the town above them. And last but not least, there were people using magic. Magic! That was something she would never believe but it happened right in front of her face. With everything she had seen so far, she felt as if she were in some sort of fantasy game, but this all looked and felt too real to be fake. Which brings her to the one thing which had been bothering her the most; it was the pain.
Sure, she could feel pain like everyone else could, but the damage she physically felt would have been gone the moment she felt it thanks to her Aura. The pain she felt when she defended herself from Hadvar and the Captain strangely lingered longer than it should have, and when she was running alongside the survivors, she almost felt tired. Something was wrong, very wrong. Either her Aura was not functioning properly or…
"Let's see where this leads to." Her thoughts were interrupted again when Hadvar walked up to a lever on the old stone floor. He leaned down, and with both hands he cranked it forward. There was the sound of a click and the wooden drawbridge fell forward, connecting to the other side and allowing them passage. The bridge was shown by a light shining down from a large hole from above. There would have to be another time for her to think on this as the need to keep the group alive took priority over her own concerns.
They all power-walked across the bridge, and once they were all on the other side and into a more natural and dark cave than previously, they heard the roar of the dragon, and a large piece of rubble fell from above an opening and smashed the flimsy bridge to pieces. They all looked back at the destroyed bridge, and were all having the feeling that the rubble was meant for them.
"Well, there's no going back that way," Ralof commented.
"We should consider ourselves lucky that it didn't come down on top of us," said Hadvar to some relief.
"I agree," said Summer.
Meanwhile, Adrien looked about the cavern around him until his eyes followed the cave creek down a dark passage, all while listening to the two veterans. "Let's see where this leads to." They all looked to where he pointed, seeing the stream run down through an entrance, and they all followed the small stream, being able to see it yet barely, thinking it would lead them to the exit. What Summer noticed was a skeleton lying near the passage, and it gave her a feeling that he died of starvation, or something dangerous lurked in these caves. The skeleton had an iron dagger, a coin purse, and a minor healing potion. Adrien noticed them as well, and kneeled down and prayed as he picked the potion and coin purse into his pack. The act still unnerved her, though she understood the politeness.
The two caught up to the others, and the little bit of hope faltered when they were halted by tangled rocks blocking their path as the creek made a small waterfall from it.
"Hmm. That doesn't go anywhere." The Nord rebel hummed in disappointment.
"Let's see where this leads to." They all saw the other cavern which Summer pointed. They walked down the cavern, hoping that this would be a detour to the exit, but as they went further down, there were spiderwebs stuck to the edges of the passageway, and they looked thick to Summer's observation. Again, something did not feel right with her. Spiders do not produce this much webbing, and the foreboding feeling grew as they went further.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Said Summer with concern.
"Please don't jinx it." Ralof advised, sounding a little tensed up at the sight of webbing all around him.
Eventually through the dark cavern, they came upon a large, naturally columned, open room with so much webbing and large egg sacks visibly everywhere. The lighting from the end of the cave gave merely enough illumination for them to see there were bodies wrapped up in webbing, from a large rat to a full grown human (to her growing dread), but everything felt uneasily quiet. And since the spiders made these webs, where did they go?
"Tread with caution now," Ralof muttered slowly to the group as he slowly brought out his twin axes, prompting the others to pull out their weapons as they treaded lightly into the large room. Summer had her axes close to each other, ready to transform them into a bow in case whatever made these webs came out of the shadows. Hadvar and Adrien kept their swords and shield close to their bodies, and Ralof had his hands holding onto the halfway point of the shafts.
They soon halted when they heard movement, but it was faint and jittery, along with scratches and clicking sounds. The ruckus was coming from all around, the echoes bouncing off of every surface. The whole group stood close, their hands gripping their weapons more tightly. Summer focused on listening in, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. When she looked up, her eyes went wide with horror by the size of a large arachnid, slowly coming down from the blackness of the cave ceiling. It was the size of a dog, with its body and eight legged endoskeleton having spikes. It was right above the unassuming Ralof, and she reacted quickly.
"Above us!" She shouted as she clanged the axes together, getting her bow ready and pulling out her Dust arrow in one fluid motion as she knocked the arrow, pulled it back and released it. Ralof instinctively ducked and the fire Dust arrow explosively pierced through its shell, killing it and sending the large, burning bug to the other side of the room. The brief flash illuminated the ceiling, revealing two arachnids, larger than the other one, hiding from above as they then started dangling down to attack.
"Frostbite spiders!" Ralof called them. "Stay away from the webbing, and don't get bitten!" They all got ready to fight them. It was four against two large spiders, but all that suddenly changed when the dog sized ones started crawling from the shadows and down the walls. Suddenly one of the small ones shot out a glob of venom at Adrien, and the knight dodged the projectile. The two large spiders were now on the ground, grabbing the knight's and Hadvar's attention as they battled out, leaving Ralof and Summer to deal with the smaller ones.
Summer started shooting at the small ones, explosively killing and burning them one by one as she dodged a few venomous projectiles of their own. But then, one of them got close and leaped out at her right flank. She anticipated the attack, moved to the side and pierced its underside mid-air with the tip of her bladed bow, then tossed it aside and turned her bow back into axes to join the melee, seeing that shooting at close quarters was no longer an option.
Ralof struck one down with his iron war axe, and then proceeded to split the next one's head open. The small arachnid tried to get him from behind and pounced upon him, but he spun around and swiped it aside, then he growled and stomped on it repeatedly with such fury and hate for them that its outer layer caved-in in a bloody mess.
Meanwhile, Hadvar and Adrien were struggling to take down the large ones. Right as the two large spiders landed, the creatures immediately went on the offensive.
Hadvar was blocking and parrying away the spider's serrated front legs, and even blocking a strike and shoving it away while being pushed back. But then, instead of trying to attack him with its front legs again, it went in to stab him with its venomous fangs. Hadvar took the slim opportunity and sliced at one of its fangs, making it screech and back away. It was distracted by its pain, and the soldier took another chance to charge at the spider with his imperial sword levelled, aiming for its softer weak point. The spider saw this coming and attempted to retaliate, but was too late and instead got stuck through its mouth and stabbed in the brain. The spider spasmed and struggled, but then it went limp and was no more as he pulled out his sword.
Adrien had killed spiders before when they were smaller than his boot, but this was something he had no experience in dealing with after all his time as a former member of the Fighter's Guild, and as a knight. Yet his combat experience had given him an edge as he shifted left from an incoming pedipalp and made a cut at its leg. Its endoskeleton was not as tough as he thought seeing the bloodied severed limb. It made a short, clicking yelp of pain as it backed up and retaliated with another strike with its pedipalp, but he parried that and made a heavy downward slice at its fang. Its surface was softer than he thought when his blade cut deep, and the spider screeched in pain as it backed away again.
He was getting the hang of this, but that confidence faltered when the spider went at him in desperation to kill him. He did not have time to attack, and instead he dropped his sword, grabbed at the fangs (despite the spikes) which attempted to stab him and held them back as hard as he could. The arachnid was unexpectedly strong, and the spider pummeled him bloody with its front legs to weaken him. He still held firm and ignored the pain, but the arachnid still tried to bring him down. Then a moment of brilliance had come to him, so he used his strength to push it back but tried to make it stand up. Once its underside was shown to him, he kicked it in the center hard while letting go of the fangs, and the spider was then laying on its back and struggling to get up.
Adrien did not let it have a chance as he grabbed his iron sword and went to work cutting away at one side of its legs. It clicked and screeched in pain, and its endoskeletal legs were being chopped away into a bloody mess as the ichorous blood was spattering on him. It finally used the momentum of its intact legs to realign itself, but it was stopped by one hand holding back one of its legs. With the legs no longer there to block him, and the front legs trying but failing to reach out and hit him, he then proceeded to stab it in the center a few times before the creature finally stopped struggling.
It was after Summer took down one last small spider did the skirmish finally end, and everyone took a moment to breathe and collect themselves. Adrien wasted no time as he took out his minor healing potion and drank it down. His body glowed with light dancing around him as his wounds were being magically sewed and bruises becoming nonexistent. Summer watched this happen in front of her eyes, leaving her amazed by what a small bottle could do, and it almost made her forget about the horrifying situation she and the group just went through. Plus she did not realize she had splotches of spider blood on her black attire and on her white cloak, and also dripping from her axes.
"I'd prefer them to be smaller," the knight commented as he put the empty bottle back in his pack. "How in the world did they get this big?"
"They always were...," said Hadvar. "They're a loathsome nuisance native to Skyrim."
"Yeah, well tiny spiders were creepy enough as it is." Summer complained as she shivered and crossed her arms, rubbing against one arm to try and comfort herself. "Now they're even more terrifying! I can't stand creepy crawlies!"
"I'm with you," said Ralof, "even I can't stand the sight of those things. Too many eyes, you see."
"Then let's not linger here anymore," Hadvar suggested as he sheathed his bloody sword, "I'd rather not wait to see if there are more coming."
"I totally agree." Said Summer, and the group followed down the next passage. Next to the cavern was a single lit torch, and next to it was another minor healing potion and a rusted iron dagger. Hadvar grabbed the potion and dagger and stuffed it into his pack while putting the latter away at his belt. They eventually went into another area of the cave, complete with a creek running under the ridge to their right. There was an abandoned hand-cart up ahead to the groups confusion. There was a wooden bow and a quiver of arrows laying against it. Ralof inspected the cargo further when they reached it, containing bottles of aged wine, as well as a large coin purse. No one would know why it was here in this cave, but the rebel had no problem about it whatsoever. What he did not realize was that they were not alone.
"Don't mind if I take–"
"Hold up!" Hadvar whispered loudly to the group while pulling Ralof down to a crouch. The other two did the same, wondering what was going on.
"What is it now, Hadvar?" Ralof asked in a whisper with annoyance.
"Look," he pointed to the other side of the cave. "There's a bear just up ahead." Indeed there was a bear, but this was a cave bear. Cave bears are larger and meaner than their cousins living outside, and their savage strength can tear a man limb from limb more easily.
"Seriously? There are four of us here. I'm sure we can all take on a bear." He remarked with a narrow look.
"Well I'd rather not tangle with her right now."
"Oh come on, have a spine will you?!" He insulted. He looked to the bow, and an idea popped up in his head then turned to the imperial. "Hey Imperial, why don't you use this bow. Might surprise her, though."
Adrien looked at the bow for a bit, but decided to shake his head no. He did not want to offend Kynareth at this hour. "I don't feel like killing an animal this time. And besides, I'm no good with a bow."
Ralof turned to Summer with the same offer wordlessly, but she shook her head as well. "I hunt monsters, not animals."
The rebel sighed in resignation, and turned back to the soldier. "You want this bow? I don't like using them."
"Sure, I'll take it," he took the bow and slung it over his back, and strapped the quiver to his back as well.
Ralof whispered to the group: "Well, what do you all suggest we do?"
"I say we sneak by," Adrien suggested, "But we'll have to stay close to the wall, take it nice and slow and watch our step."
"I agree with him," Summer acknowledged.
Hadvar nodded. "Go on. We'll follow your lead and watch your back."
Adrien, while still crouched down, got to the front and led the way. He stayed close to cave wall, going slowly and carefully not to cause any noise. They went in a line, with Hadvar and Ralof following behind him, while Summer came in from the back. They all had to hold their weapons above the ground so as to not drag them against the cave floor, putting a small bit of strain on their muscles. Things were going somewhat smoothly, but then Ralof stepped on something which caused a crunching sound. The group stopped in their tracks, and turned to see– to their small dread– that the bear was shifting. They stayed so still, holding their breath when they saw the bear simply laying to the side, showing her back to them. They quietly breathed out a sigh of relief and continued forward. It was only until after they got passed a pile of bones did they start getting up one by one.
"That was close," said Hadvar.
They all agreed and walked on through the wide, dark cavern. Down and up, and eventually around the corner, they all finally saw the light at the end of the cave that they had hoped to run into.
"That looks like the way out! I knew we'd make it!" Ralof said with relief.
They then decided to just jog the rest of the way into the light, not wanting to wait any longer. Summer was the last one out of the tunnel, and was blinded by the sunlight at first, but her vision had quickly cleared to see… the most breathtaking sight she and Adrien had ever seen. There were snow capped mountains as majestic as the other dotting the view, with the coniferous trees, shrubbery and rocks being everywhere, even below the mountains. The ground before them was covered in snow, making Summer feel a little chilled the instant the feeling hit her. she could practically see her breath as she rubbed her arms for warmth. Other than that, the view made it look worthy of a painting.
"Wait!" Hadvar said out loud when they started hearing the telltale flapping sound of wings coming over them. Hadvar and Ralof ran and crouched behind a boulder while Adrien and Summer hid behind a tree. The black dragon flew over them, seemingly disinterested in finding survivors after being done with the town, to flying off to who knows where. "Looks like he's gone for good this time." He said as he got up. "But I don't think we should stick around to see if he comes back."
"You and me both, Hadvar." Ralof mused after they all got up out of hiding.
"So where is this Riverwood you mentioned?" Adrien asked them as they gathered around.
"It's the closest town from here. Just down this hill and to the right along the river. My uncle's the blacksmith there. I'm sure he'll help us out."
"I'll be going to see Gerdur and tell her what's happened. She owns and works the sawmill."
"Well, you both know this province better than I do, so I think it would be best if we did not split up for now."
"You make a good point. Follow us then." And so, the group of survivors plus the Huntress walked down the natural dirt path down the snowy, forest covered hill and away from the cave. Hadvar and Ralof walked at the front while the two others followed behind. The group stayed quiet for a short while, and the knight could not help but feel there was still tension in the air between the two soldiers, but he still felt relief that they were honor-bound to keep their promise to reach the town instead of backstabbing each other at the opportune moment. They were just halfway down the hill when the rebel began to slow down to be beside them.
"Say, I don't think I've gotten your names." Ralof said as he kept pace with them.
"I'm Ser Adrien Artorius."
"And I'm Summer Rose."
"Oh, quite an exotically beautiful name for a cute lass such as yourself." He flirted.
"Hey now, I'm already taken so don't get any ideas." She musedly warned.
"I see. I-I apologize, I didn't know you were married."
"That's why you need to ask first before flirting, Ralof!" Hadvar suggested mockingly yet sternly.
"What, I can't help but know a pretty face when I see one!" He defended. "And haven't you made your move on that girl in Whiterun yet?"
"That's my business, not yours!" She chuckled softly at their banter. "Speaking of which, I think it's time I started asking you some questions Summer."
"Alright, go ahead."
"It's about your weapons. I saw you change them into a bow once or twice. Did you find them somewhere in a Dwemer ruin or as a Daedric artifact?"
"No," she shook her head at the strange question, "I made them myself."
"For real?!" Ralof asked with surprise of her enginuity. "Then you must be a master craftsman!"
"Oh come on, it's nothing." She replied sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her cloaked head, but again she caught word of the same name, but she also heard Dwemer, which confused her. "But really, you just said Daedra again. I'm starting to think that maybe they're your version of demons or something. And also, what's a Dwemer? Are they some kind of… advanced civilization?"
Ralof and the others stopped in their tracks and turned to look at her, as if she had been living under a rock, until Hadvar answered for her. "They were, but they vanished a very long time ago. The only things they left behind are ruins."
Ralof spoke again with the same thought as the others before. "Hold on, we all just saw you falling from a Daedric portal, right? I'm rather shocked you never saw one."
"Like I said, I never heard of them up until today." She answered with little annoyance.
"How can you not? They're all common knowledge in most of Tamriel. Are you even from High Rock?"
"No, I'm not from this so called 'High Rock'. Is that a name of some mountain range or something? And besides, isn't this Sanus?" She asked as she looked at all three of them for confirmation. But instead...
"No… no it's not." Adrien answered for her while trying to find a rational understanding, while also Summer looked back at him with disbelief in her eyes. "Summer, if you were to guess; where do you think you are right now?"
"I-I don't know, uh…" Summer tried to wrap her mind around her situation, trying to come up with a reasonable answer to her conundrum. "Maybe I'm in the mountains of Sanus? O-Or maybe I'm in the northern part of Anima or some… unexplored continent?"
"Those are names I've never heard of." Hadvar responded which the other males agreed, and Summer was looking shocked to hear his answer, but he continued. "Though of course, Tamriel is the only continent we've ever known besides the Summerset Isles. Maybe you came from some land we haven't explored yet."
That got her out of her shocked spunk as she thought about it for a moment. There were a few places that had not been explored, and the continent above the Kingdom of Vacuo had not been recolonized in centuries. She began to believe that perhaps she may have been transported to the dragon like continent, and the inhabitants here might be natives. This put some hope into her heart. "I think you might be right. I'll just have to look for a map to understand where I am."
"I'm sure Riverwood would have a map for you to use."
"Thank you." She nodded with a smile.
"Hm, if that's the case...," Ralof started. "Since you're new here, then allow me to welcome you to Skyrim! The wondrous and hardy home of the Nords!" He introduced his home province proudly.
"Um, thank you Ralof." She accepted a little sheepishly, hearing the name "Skyrim" sounding most foreign to her.
"Well, we got plenty of daylight for now." Ralof said. "Interested in telling us about your homeland as we walk?"
"Actually, I'd suggest we let her talk about it after we reach the town." Hadvar advised. "Skyrim's as dangerous as it is this time of day, and I would like to keep my wits about me in case of an ambush."
They all had to agree, and the group moved on down the trail. By now the snow had already given way to the dull grass and uncovered boulders. They had already come across a cobbled road, and following Hadvar, they took left and kept going downhill. Before they went any further, there was something odd jutting out from the mountain side that she spotted.
"Hey guys? What's that over there?" She asked as she pointed out at the structure.
"That ruin up there? That's Bleak Falls Barrow." Ralof answered. "I'd suggest leaving that place alone if I were you. Draugr live in those ruins, and who knows what else is in there."
"What's a draugr?" She asked.
"They're the undead warriors who guard the ancient ruins even after death. They are somewhat formidable as far as I've heard."
"We tend to have undead living in ruins as well, but it's more of a variety." Adrien added. "Although, come to think of it, they're a bit rare to see nowadays thanks to the Vigilants of Stendarr."
She was chuckling at their explanation of the supernatural, but the more she heard of these weird explanations, the more she grew to be confused of her location. They moved on again, and this time, after going down a sharp curving road, they spotted another landmark up close.
"What are those?" Adrien asked this time as they soon stopped in front of them. There were three menhir-shaped obelisks, with a hole carved out near the top of each of them, standing on a stone platform. They had neatly carved depictions of star constellations and images of people. They all looked well made, even if they looked weathered and old.
"These are the guardians stones," Hadvar introduced as he pointed at them. "Three of the thirteen ancient standing stones that dot Skyrim's landscape."
"What do they do?" She asked.
"We're not certain what they do." Hadvar explained. "Legends say that they have the power to rewrite your fate, but I think those are just old tales. Go ahead, see for yourself."
Adrien made himself the volunteer and walked up to the stones. Summer stayed where she was, not wanting to get involved in some superstition. He stood there examining the stones. Each stone had a birthsign. The one to his left had the sign of the Thief, the next in front of him had the sign of the Mage, and the one on his right had the sign of the Warrior. It only took a second to decide, for the Warrior was obvious for him. He walked up to the Warrior stone and placed his hand on the stone's surface, and then suddenly, a light flickered to life inside the hole.
"Warrior eh?" Said Hadvar. "I knew you shouldn't have been on that cart the moment I laid eyes on you."
"Come on, Hadvar, wasn't it obvious from the start?" Ralof remarked in which the soldier ignored. Summer studied the light in the stone from where she stood, wondering how it was being powered until it faded. Ralof noticed her standing there, staring at the stones intently and asked: "Won't you try it out, Summer?"
"Hm? Oh, no, I'm good with my fate as it is." She politely turned down the offer. 'Although, in all honesty, my fate could've been better.' Indeed it could have. She had the ill luck of being surrounded by Grimm when she got nearly vulnerable, but fate had mysteriously been kind to her by opening a dark portal beneath her feet, only to end up in more danger once she reached other side. She felt as if fate had decided to have a twisted sense of humor.
"Oh, come now," he chuckled as he insisted, "it never hurts to know your path, would it? Maybe you'll turn out to be a warrior like us."
She was still unsure about the whole superstition of it, even when she saw the warrior stone glow. For all she knew, there could have been some hidden mechanism to cause that phosphorus glow, but she had to toss that thought away after witnessing the state of their technology, or somewhat lack thereof. So she sighed, shrugged and went up to the platform as she stood among the stones. She looked at the Warrior stone, but knew she was capable enough as a warrior, so she did not pick that one. She then looked to the Thief stone, but decided not to on account of never wanting to be a thief. So lastly she looked towards the Mage stone. She once played a game as a wizard when she was younger, but thought nothing of it contrary to her current skill set. her eyes still lingered intently at it, but the Mage stone suddenly lit up without being touched which surprised her as she took a step back. She turned to the others with confusion written on her face. "Um, was that supposed to happen?"
"Usually the stones would light up without being touched." Ralof explained, a bit surprised she chose the mage stone. "Still, a mage?"
"Does this mean I'm going to be a mage in the future?"
"Or something affiliated with it, who knows." Hadvar answered as he shrugged. "Still, to each their own I guess."
"But why a mage?" Ralof asked, feeling a bit offended that the warrior stone never lit up for her.
"I-I don't know… Maybe I used to play as a wizard when I was young?" She answered sheepishly, unsure of herself.
The men were unsure of the answer given.
"That.. may not make sense why… but perhaps it'll reveal itself to you in time, maybe," Adrien suggested, to which everyone agreed.
The group continued on, and by now they walked on straight next to a riverbed to their left. They all remained silent for a while, which had given Summer a moment to ponder in thought. Since she believed and hoped that the map she would be seeing would be that of the dragon, she had started planning ahead with preparations for a long travel, either down all the way south to the deserts of Eastern Sanus, or to be heading east to Sanctus. But she happened to be debating on a subject that somewhat alluded her attention up until now: herself. She thought back to where she had left off, thinking in both wonder and worry of why she was feeling some lingering aches and pains from her physical actions. Sadly she did not know what to think of this, but she planned to look within herself using meditation once they reach the settlement.
Meanwhile, Adrien was secretly distraught over today's events. The betrayal he experienced back in Helgen was still fresh on his mind, and the only reason he followed Hadvar for this long was because he wanted to find a reason to stay loyal to the Empire. This was not the legion he had remembered and admired as he grew up. No, this was an army in desperation of winning no matter the cost, and he almost got killed by the very empire he served. Other than the shock of seeing an actual dragon, he did not know what to think at this point. Another problem that had come up was his quest. He could not continue his mission, not without his gear and items that had been confiscated from him and quite possibly left behind or taken away. He had been carrying a certain item with the scent of the man's son, in hopes of finding his body more easily once he bought himself a dog, but now he was back to square one. He could only pray that the equipment had not been taken away.
"Listen," said Hadvar breaking the silence, "as far as I'm concerned you've already earned your pardon. But until I can get that confirmed by General Tullius, you should stay clear of other Imperial soldiers and avoid any complications, All right? That also includes you, Summer."
"Right," they said.
"Hold up!" Ralof halted them in their tracks. "Up ahead atop that dirt wall." He pointed.
They followed where he pointed and saw a group of three shaggy wolves prowling atop the eroded dirt wall. The wolves looked back at them, but then the black one, quite possibly the alpha, lifted its head up and howled at the sky.
"Get ready!" They all pulled out their weapons. Hadvar readied his sword and round shield while Summer pulled out her axes. The other two did the same, although they all thought that four against three would be considered easy. They thought wrong. They heard the sounds of growling coming from both sides, and soon the wolves came out of hiding and surrounded them on both ends of the road. Their headcount turned up twelve, easily outnumbering them, but numbers did not matter when honed with training and experience.
"That dragon must've stirred them up. Stay on your guard." Hadvar and Summer stood ready facing their side of the pack while Ralof and Adrien faced theirs. Soon waiting after the snarls and growling, the pack leader barked its command to attack.
Four wolves charged up at Ralof and Adrien. Ralof held one back with his iron war axe right after chopping one down beside it. Adrien bashed one back to be stunned and the other wolf pinned him by climbing up on him to try biting his face, but he held it back, and with one swift move he used his pommel to break the wolf's neck and killed it. Then he tossed the dead dog aside and ran the other one through just after it recovered. The rebel cut the wolf's throat open and shoved the dying wolf aside as they made ready for another attack.
Summer and Hadvar squared off against four wolves as well… but reduced to three when Summer threw her axe, connecting to the wolf's head at close range. Then she finished off her other foe by side-stepping out of its lunge and accurately swung her axe through its mouth, removing the upper skull from the rest of the body. Hadvar shield bashed one back and was about to slice away at the other, but this one ducked under the swing, jumped up and sunk its teeth into his sword arm. He grunted at the pain, but then the wolf he bashed recovered quickly and went at his leg, but he saw it coming and kicked the furry beast in the jaw and bashed its brain with his shield. Then he went on to hit the wolf repeatedly with his shield to make it let go, making the dog tear further at his flesh, and when it finally let go, he swung his shield so hard at it that the sheer force of the impact snapped its neck. Summer quickly stepped up to the embedded axe, pulled it out and got back into formation.
Their numbers were quickly reduced to four, and the alpha snarled before barking its next orders. The remaining two wolves in front of the Huntress and the soldier ran around them along the river coastline and joined with the other retreating wolves. With the pack now gone, they soon relaxed.
"That'll teach them," Hadvar commented as he sheathed his bloodied sword back in its scabbard. He then took out his minor healing potion and drank it all down, completely healing his wound in the process. He tossed it to the ground which broke into many pieces.
"Well, that was easy." Summer said as she flicked the blood off her axe blades before putting the axes back to their places. She really had a feeling of cleaning her entire outfit after this.
"Sometimes they're skittish, often times they're vicious. You'll spot them somewhere in the open, but sometimes you never know when they'll come out of nowhere to ambush you." Ralof explained after flicking blood off his axes. "Gonna need to come back for their furs after this."
"How close are we to Riverwood?" Adrien asked them as he sheathed back his more bloodied sword.
"Very, it's just further up." Summer and the others all got back in the direction they were going, and sure enough she saw trails of smoke in the distance. They were thin, giving her the answer that they were coming from chimneys. She looked down at herself, moreso at her cloak, seeing many splotches of blood clinging to it.
"I should get this cleaned when I get there," she muttered and sighed. Then a thought occurred to her. "Hey guys, why is your hometown named that way if you don't mind me asking?"
"Calling it a town would be stretching it," said Hadvar as he turned to face her. "Riverwood was named after the sawmill built on an islet a long time ago. The main reason the village was named that way is when they send the sawn logs down the river to other settlements."
They continued on. After going around a short corner–and true to his word–just further up ahead was a wooden palisaded wall with a gateless entrance. Eventually they went through the entrance to reveal a small town, as small to a point where she and Adrien believed it would be fitting to call it a village than a town. The place was rather peaceful by the look of it, and the folk here seem to be rather ignorant than panicked of the situation in the sky. The sounds of hammers pounding on metal, to the noise of wood being sawn coming from their right to reveal a sawmill built on a small islet in the river; true to being given the name Riverwood after all.
"Things look quiet enough here." Said Hadvar. "Come on. There's my uncle."
His head pointed towards a building on the left side of the main road, with the deck lighting up rhythmically from time to time. They could see a man pulling up and down a wooden handle attached to a rope going up to a wheel, then to another wheel which the rope wrapped halfway around and then going vertically around and down from a third wheel to somewhere they could not see. But by the look of the light brightening the front of his figure each time he pulled down the handle, she instantly deduced that he was using the bellows to heat up the coals of the forge, heating up a piece of metal to be pounded and molded more easily again. Hadvar's uncle stopped using the crank and pulled the large piece of metal, with the end of its tip being superheated as he laid it on the anvil. He raised his hammer up, ready to pound on it when…
"Uncle Alvor! Hello!" Hadvar called out to his uncle when they got close enough. Alvor stopped immediately after hearing his nephew's voice and looked to him in surprise.
"Hadvar? What are you doing here?" He asked as he left the hot metal on the anvil, set the hammer aside and walked up him. "Are you on leave from… Shor's bones, what happened to you boy?" He asked more, this time with a grimace now that he had a good look at his nephew, being somewhat covered in dried blood and a couple burns. But then he became a little more surprised to see Ralof with him. "And Ralof? What are you doing here? Is the war finally over?"
"I'm sorry but it's not," Ralof answered, "but I think we need to—"
"Ralof?"
They all (including Ralof) turned around to see a blonde haired Nord woman with somewhat of a dirtied face, wearing a dirtied green dress with white underneath, walking off from the wooden bridge and into their view.
"Gerdur!" Ralof said with a happy smile as he walked past the group.
"Mara's Mercy, it's good to see you! But is it safe for you to be here?" She asked in worry after walking up to him.
"Gerdur…"
"We had heard that Ulfric had been captured…"
"Gerdur... I'm fine. At least now I am."
"Are you hurt? What's happened?" But catching from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Hadvar and two strangers standing beside him. She looked back at her brother in confusion. "What's going on? Are we in trouble?"
"No," he shook his head, "but it's a long story," he explained shortly, "and I think it would be best if we talked somewhere else. Don't want to catch anymore attention than we should."
"I see, and... who are these two?" She pointed to Adrien and Summer.
"They're friends. I owe them my life in fact. But please, let's talk somewhere else."
"...Right, follow me." She waved her hand to follow her as she turned around back to the bridge. Alvor sped up to be with the group as they followed her across the bridge and to the Sawmill.
Meanwhile: "A dragon! I saw a dragon!" An old woman ranted out on the porch.
"What? What is it now, mother?" Said a young, blonde haired, shavened Nord with annoyance, facing her with his fists put to his sides.
"It was as big as the mountain and as black as night. It flew right over the Barrow!"
"Dragons, now, is it?" He scoffed, disbelieving her as he then crossed his arms. "You keep on like this and everyone in town will think you're crazy. And I've got better things to do than listen to your fantasies." With finality, he turned around and left for the tavern.
"You'll see! It was a dragon! It'll kill us all and then you'll believe me!"
The ignorant Nord never realized she was more right than wrong.
Back to the islet: "Hod! Come here a minute. I need your help with something." She called out to her husband.
"What is it, woman? Sven drunk on the job again?" He asked back from up on the Sawmill.
"Hod. Just come here." She demanded with impatience.
He walked up to the edge of the sawmill, revealing himself to be a blonde man with a large mutton chopped mustache, wearing a white belted shirt, dark trousers and brown strapped boots. He looked down to see Ralof among them. "Ralof! What are you doing here?" Then he looked at Hadvar and the others standing with him. "Ah… I'll be right down."
He soon disappeared from sight, but before he came out from behind the mill, Summer's attention went elsewhere when she caught sight of someone walking by, carrying a stacked pile of logs in his arms. He looked lean, wearing a dark brown vest tied closed by a belt wrapped around, and with a green shirt underneath the vest. He wore dirty light green trousers with leather bindings wrapped around his ankles, and brown leather shoes. His facial features looked smooth and very sharp, his eyes were narrow, and his white hair was all tied back into a ponytail. The only feature which caught her attention were those long sharp ears.
'Long ears? I've never seen those before,' Summer thought as her eyes lingered on the ears, but then the strange human stopped and turned his head in her direction.
"Can I help you?" He asked a bit suspiciously with a raised eyebrow.
She looked away almost bashfully, trying to pretend nothing happened after being caught by surprise. "Oh uh, it's nothing! I just I've seen you somewhere."
"Okay?" He said in confusion.
At this point Hod had already come out from behind the mill and everyone began to move, including Summer who wanted this awkwardness to be behind her. The strange man looked on for a bit, although a bit surprised to see Hadvar and Ralof being here, but they all looked to be rather busy with something. So he shrugged it off as weird and went on his way. Everyone had soon gathered around, sitting on logs and a stump before the meeting commenced.
"Now, Ralof, what's going on?" Hod started asking. "You all look pretty well done in."
"I can't remember the last time I slept. Where to start?" He pondered for a bit before starting. "Well, the news you heard about Ulfric was true. The Imperials ambushed us outside of Darkwater Crossing. Like they knew exactly where we'd be. We visited Helgen... when a dragon attacked."
"A… dragon?" Gerdur muttered disbelievingly.
"A dragon?" Alvor questioned in disbelief as well. "You weren't seeing things, were you boy?"
"He speaks the truth, uncle." Hadvar defended. "In fact, we all saw it up close. The dragon just flew in and wrecked the whole place. Mass confusion. I don't know if anyone got out alive. I doubt we'd be alive today if it weren't for these two."
"I let loose a fire Dust arrow that I thought could harm it, yet all I did was make it flinch. It's as if the thing's scales were made of titanium alloy." Summer told.
"Ti—tanium?" Alvor questioned with confusion, but his nephew just shrugged.
"So a real, live dragon is on the loose. This can't be good." Hod began to dread.
"A question if I may," Adrian asked, "But are we the first to arrive here?"
"No one has come up the south road today, as far as I know." She answered.
"So you're saying… we're the only ones who made it?" The survivors let the words sink into them with hints of sorrow and dread, and they all were quiet for a moment. But in the hearts and minds of both Hadvar and Ralof, they believed otherwise.
"I highly doubt that would be the case," said Ralof. "Jarl Ulfric is not the kind of Nord to be killed by a dragon so easily. Though I can't say the same for General Tullius." He mocked.
"My General is far too clever than that." Hadvar fired back. "I wouldn't keep your hopes up."
"That's enough. This is no time for you two to be throwing insults." Alvor stopped them. "Right now we have a more dire situation at hand, don't you think?"
"Alvor's right." Gerdur pitched in. "Riverwood is defenseless. One of you will have to send word to Jarl Balgruuf up in Whiterun to send whatever soldiers he can. This town wasn't built to be well defended against bandits, much less a dragon."
"Perhaps we can lay up here for a time?" Hadvar suggested. "We've gone through a lot, so I was hoping you could let us stay for a night or two." He directed at his uncle.
"Of course! Any friend of Hadvar's is a friend of mine. Though I'm sure you'll be needing to head back to Solitude."
"Of course, and I'm certain Ralof will have to get back to Windhelm as well?"
"You know it."
"Guess that falls down to us to send word." Summer said as she turned her head to look up at the knight.
"Come now, you all should make yourselves at home." Alvor insisted. "I'll let Sigrid know to make some extra meals for the night or two."
"We can help with that," said Gerdur. "My house is open to you as well and, after what you all have been through and what you've done for us, at least allow us to make things a little easier for you."
And so it was that the survivors of that horrible event had made it out with their lives. But… the tales of the knight and the lost rose, had only just begun.
A/N: Okay, finally done with this chapter, and quite the longest one to boot. Summer, the Imperial knight and the two warriors have survived Helgen, but are now faced with a new situation. Summer has grown more suspicious of herself and being confused with where she is. All will be revealed to her in the next chapter, and hopefully (although quite assuredly) he'll believe everything she tells him of where she truly comes from.
This took me a while to write much in detail as best I could, and I hope we got it all right, and if not, then I apologize. A certain someone suggested I write a little more detail on the knight, so I hope that helps. Also, I would like to give an answer to the anonymous reader who left me a question in the reviews. My answer is no, I will not be pairing Summer with the Dragonborn. Summer is simply too loyal to break her vows to her husband back home, but I will pair the Dragonborn with someone else in Skyrim. I just need some time to think about it.
As always, shoutout goes to CruxMDQ for his amazing proofreading and suggestions.
This is Kyro2009, signing off.