Now that she finally had a moment to breathe, and her mind could process everything that had happened, Shai'ira stumbled towards a nearby table, her head spinning. Nausea overwhelmed her as images of burning corpses and the stench of seared flesh assaulted her nose, she stuck a shaky arm out, catching herself on the edge of the table and began dry heaving. Stomach acid forced up her throat, burning her insides as her stomach tried to expel its nonexistent contents.

Torval, seeing this, rushed to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. The Imperial spared a sympathetic glance before he moved to search the room. A minute passed before she managed to regain her composure. Torval helped her to her feet. "You alright? We need to keep moving." Shai'ira nodded weakly, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. Satisfied, Torval clapped her on the shoulder once, and moved to address the Imperial.

The man, having finished his search, turned to face Torval and Shai'ira. "I looked around and found a few swords and a bow and a bundle of arrows. As well as some imperial armor in that chest over there. We should get the two of you armed before we press forward."

Torval nodded, "Aye, that's a good idea. We should also introduce ourselves, I'm Torval, and the cat with a weak stomach is Shai'ira, we're both from Cyrodiil." The imperial nodded, a small smile on his face.

"I'm Hadvar of Riverwood." Torval dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"Well met Hadvar. We should probably give our lady friend here some privacy." Hadvar glanced at Shai'ira and quickly looked away, a blush forming in his cheeks before he nodded. Torval and Hadvar moved to a corner opposite Shai'ira, their backs to her, with Torval behind Hadvar, making sure he didn't try to sneak a peek. Ever thankful for her Nord companion, Shai'ira undressed, exposing her furred body to the frigid air. She opened the chest Hadvar had pointed out, shivering as she did so, and donned the Imperial uniform as quickly as she could.

The armor seemed to have been made for a male nord, the ill fitting armor made her look like a kitten trying on her fathers clothes. The armor also did a very poor job of accommodating her anatomy, her tail and chest scraping against the armor uncomfortably, and her ears being squashed by the helmet. As uncomfortable as it was, she supposed it was better than running through a battlefield naked. Slightly. Now fully dressed, she addressed the two Nords. "You can turn around now." Once the two turned, and registered the sight before them, they couldn't help but snicker. The skirt, usually stopping just above the wearers knees, hung all the way to the middle of her calves, the top of the boots were hidden within. As humorous as the sight before them was, the two nords at least had the decency not to say anything. Shai'ira joined the two near the door that led deeper into the keep. Torval had (begrudgingly) armed himself with an iron sword, stating his preference for a "real weapon".

Hadvar spared a glance at her, and noticing her lack of a weapon, said, "Aren't you going to grab a sword?" Before she had the chance to answer, Torval spoke up.

"The girls never used a sword before, much less been in a fight. But don't worry, her spells will come in handy." Hadvar paused for a moment, but seemed satisfied. Hadvar turned and pulled on a ring connected to a chain near the door, opening it. As the trio approached a corner behind the door, Shai'ira heard voices ahead of them, and alerted the other two.

"Stop, I can hear people in the room ahead of us, they sound like stormcloaks." Hadvar and Torval hesitated, considering their options.

"How many? Can you tell?" Hadvar asked.

Shai'ira paused, and removed her helmet, unmuffling her ears. She could hear three voices, two males, one female, all seemed to be nords. One of the men sounded wounded. "There are three people, two men and a woman. I think one of the men is wounded." Torval poked his head around the corner, and was able to see two of the individuals Shai'ira heard both were armed, and they seemed to be huddled around something just out of his sight. That must have been the third. All three were in the left side of the chamber ahead of him.

Hadvar spoke up once Torval leaned back behind the corner. "How should we handle this? Do you think we can sneak past them? Reason with them?"

Torval shook his head. "Doubtful. They're armed, and I don't think they'll submit to Imperial imprisonment a second time. And I think opening that door will give us away. We'll have to fight." A remorseful look appeared on Hadvar's face, but disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

"Alright then, let's you and me go. She should probably avoid any fighting" Hadvar said, gesturing to Shai'ira, who nodded in agreement. The three approached the door, and Shai'ira moved to hide behind the wall to the left of it as Torval pulled the chain. Sure enough, the sound of the gears turning alerted the stormcloaks, and they raised their weapons as they spun to face the source of the sound. Once they saw Torval and Hadvar walk through, they let out a battlecry and rushed the duo. The woman raised her mace above her head as she charged Hadvar, who raised his shield in preparation for the blow, and she brought it down with all her might. Hadvar grunted as the force splintered the wood on his shield and bruised his arm, he countered with a stab to the woman's gut, the blade pierced her crude armor, and crimson ichor coated his blade, the woman gasped breathlessly in response. With his opponent temporarily stunned, Hadvar pulled his blade from her wound, and lashed out with his shield, striking her in the face. Now unbalanced, the woman teetered backwards lazily, and Hadvar, seizing his advantage, raised his sword arm and swung, tearing open the stormcloaks throat. She gurgled once, blood squirting from her throat, and she collapsed lifelessly.

Torval's opponent was armed with a warhammer, and he'd tried to use it's superior reach to his advantage. But he made the mistake of swinging for Torval's head, who was able to easily duck under the swing and dash forward, tackling the warrior to the ground. Torval quickly used his left hand to pin down the stormcloaks right arm, and raised his sword arm, preparing for a downwards stab. The stormcloak raised his free hand in defense, but it was in vain. As Torval brought the blade down with such ferocity, it pierced straight through the man's hand, and into his throat. The man gurgled, choking on his blood, as Torval placed his right foot on the man's arm, gaining leverage, and yanked the sword from the wound, allowing blood to flow freely from the bloody hole in his neck. With the fighting done, Shai'ira left her hiding spot, and caught a brief glimpse of the bloodied corpses before her, quickly shifting her gaze to the wounded stormcloak, who'd previously been sitting in a chair by a table( presumably per the request of his comrades), but had risen when Torval and Hadvar entered. The man's right leg was mangled, all his weight placed on his left. He hefted a mace in self defense. "Get back," he yelled, "I'm warning you." Torval huffed before tossing aside his sword in favor of the warhammer laying next to his fallen enemy. He raised the weapon, and moved to approach the stormcloak, before Shai'ira planted herself between the two.

"What are you doing!?" She yelled. "You can't kill him, he's wounded! He can't even defend himself!" Torval huffed, and was about to speak up, but Shai'ira cut him off, the fiery anger in her voice suddenly replaced with a desperate sadness. "Please just… just don't." Hearing the distress in her voice, and seeing the pain in her eyes killed any resistance in Torval. And it didn't help matters when Hadvar placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke up.

"She's right. We don't have to kill him." Torval sighed and walked away, moving towards the door leading deeper into the keep. Hadvar nodded to Shai'ira and moved to join Torval. Shai'ira started to follow, but looked back to the injured stormcloak. He seemed to her eyes to be very young, caught halfway between manhood and boyhood. Too young to be a warrior in her estimation, though clearly the stormcloaks felt differently. She looked down at his mangled leg, which was now bleeding profusely. Torval and Hadvar, sensing that Shai'ira wasn't following, turned around, and watched in silence as Shai'ira approached the lad. The stormcloak raised his mace halfheartedly, fear and uncertainty in his eyes as Shai'ira gingerly moved closer.

She raised both her hands in a calming gesture. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help." The stormcloak had almost completely lowered his weapon, and Shai'ira extended her left hand, gingerly placing it atop the boys. "Trust me." She said camly. The stormcloak nodded, and dropped his weapon. Shai'ira withdrew her hand from his, and knelt as best as her armor would allow. "Sit back down please." The boy complied. Shai'ira carefully wrapped her fingers around his leg, and extended it fully, eliciting a grunt of pain from her patient. She looked up from his wound into his eyes. "This is going to hurt, but it'll help you." the boy nodded, and Shai'ira placed her hands on his thigh. Magicka flowed through her body, through her hands and into the boy's wounds. As the energy flowed into his wounds, the boy yelled in pain as mangled flesh, muscle, and sinew began to knit itself back together. Several seconds passed, before finally, the pain stopped. Shai'ira withdrew her hands, and the boy stared in disbelief. Where once was mangled, bloody wounds, now not even a scar remained.

Hadvar and Torval had been watching in silence throughout, but Hadvar spoke as Shai'ira stood. "A healing spell. Is she a priest?" Torval shook his head.

"No, but her mother was. She trained her in the restoration school. She's pretty damned good at it too." Before Hadvar could reply, Shai'ira slipped past the two men, and they turned to follow, leaving the stunned stormcloak alone behind them.

The trio moved down the flight of stairs, and passed through the door at the bottom. To their right was a large hallway, and a few imperial soldiers. But before they could join them, a sudden roar echoed above them, and the roof collapsed between them. "That dragon doesn't give up easy does it?" Hadvar said, more to himself than the other two. With no other way to go, the group turned towards a door they'd previously ignored.

Hadvar moved to open it, but Torval stretched his arm across his chest, stopping him. "Shai'ira, see if you can hear anything on the other side."

The cat nodded, before pressing one of her ears against the door. She heard what sounded like banging, and a voice spoke up. "Just forget it, you're not going to open it." Shai'ira turned towards her comrades.

"I hear people, it sounds like they're trying to open something." She said.

"Stormcloaks?" Torval asked. Shai'ira shrugged. "Open the door and see if you can spot who's inside. But be careful." Shai'ira nodded, and carefully inched the door open. As the door opened wider, she could see they were outside a store room. There was food and drink organized on shelves, and hanging from racks on the ceiling. She heard the banging continue, coming from her left. She carefully opened the door the rest of the way and saw two stormcloaks in the far left corner of the room. One was hammering away at a barrel trying to get at its contents, the other was rifling through boxes next to him.

Shai'ira turned back to her comrades. "Two stormcloaks, but they're busy trying to find supplies. We should be able to sneak past." She whispered. Torval and Hadvar nodded, and they followed the Khajiit as she slowly made her way through the room, Hadvar behind her, and Torval bringing up the rear, making sure to keep an eye on the stormcloaks. They rounded a corner and came to a door in front of them. After Shai'ira signaled it was clear after listening for anything behind it, the three opened the door, passed through and Torval shut it behind them.

They found themselves at the top of a set of stairs, leading even further underground. They had moved down the first flight, and were about to proceed down the second, when Hadvar spoke up. "The torture rooms, gods I wish we didn't need these." He turned to address Shai'ira, "Brace yourself, this could be ugly." She paused for a moment, then nodded, and rolled her shoulders, exhaling a nervous breath. The three moved down the second flight of stairs, and were greeted by the sight of two Imperials standing over the corpses of three stormcloak soldiers. One had suffered blunt trauma owing to the mace one imperial carried, and the other two had been electrocuted by the second. As the trio came into view, the Imperial mage spoke up once he saw them.

"Ah, the three of you happened along just in time to help" He said, his words dripping with sarcasm. "These three seemed to be upset at how I'd been… Entertaining their comrades." Shai'ira shot him a disgusted glare, but he either didn't notice, or didn't care.

Hadvar moved to address the two Imperials. "You two need to come with us, there's a dragon attacking Helgen, we need to get out of here." The mage waved his hand in dismissal.

"A dragon?" He scoffed, "Please, don't insult my intelligence. Although… I have heard a few strange noises." Hadvar was about to say something, but Torval raised his hand and shook his head, signaling to Hadvar it wasn't worth it. Hadvar sighed, exasperated. The other Imperial, addressed Hadvar.

"Forget the old man, I'll come with you." Hadvar nodded to the man, before turning his attention to the contents of one of the cells.

"Hang on, what's in there?" Hadvar asked. The mage followed Hadvar's gaze, before turning away, uninterested.

"Don't bother with that, lost the key ages ago. Poor fellow screamed for days." He said, a hint of amusement in his voice. Shai'ira twitched in anger, and seemed as though she were going to mutilate him with her claws, before Torval placed a hand on her shoulder.

Hadvar searched the room for a moment, before rejoining the group, holding a handful of lockpicks. "Anyone here know how to pick a lock?" Torval raised his hand.

"Hand those over to me lad." Torval commanded. Hadvar dutifully approached, making sure to hand over the picks without dropping any. Torval placed all but one in a pouch hanging from his belt, before kneeling in front of the cell doors lock. After half a minute of gently poking around the inside of the lock, a click resounded, and Torval pulled the door open. He pocketed the septims that were scattered around the bottom of the cell floor, and removed the robes from the cell's occupant. He walked towards Shai'ira presented the clothes to her.

Shai'ira's face contorted in disgust. "Seriously?" She asked.

Torval shrugged. "Would you rather wear that armor?" He asked.

Shai'ira looked down at the too large armor. She sighed in disgust. "Fine, I'll wear them." She snatched the robes from Torval, and tried as hard as she could not to think about how she was going to wear a dead man's clothes.

Torval turned to the Imperials standing behind him, their faces ranging from expressions of shy embarrassment in the case of Hadvar, to perverse anticipation on the elderly mage's face. "Alright!" He yelled. "Let's give the lass some privacy." The four men left the room, leaving the Khajiit with corpses as her only company.

After several minutes of waiting, Shai'ira rejoined the group. The robes were still too large for her at first, but she'd evidently used an iron dagger that had been in the torture chamber to cut off the excess fabric. Torval nodded to her, and the four pressed onwards, leaving the mage behind. After a short walk through a cave like opening, Shai'ira signaled for everyone to stop. "What is it? Can you hear something?" Hadvar asked.

Shai'ira nodded. "Stormcloaks I think. I heard something about waiting for Ulfric."

Torval spoke up next. "Can you tell how many there are?"

Shai'ira paused. "I heard at least three voices." The men nodded, and readied their weapons. Torval gestured for Shai'ira to remain behind. She nodded, more than happy to miss out on yet more people being killed in front of her. The three moved carefully forwards, careful not to announce their presence. Torval raised his hand to stop the others, and poked his around the corner for a moment, before gesturing to Hadvar.

"There's a stormcloak around the corner, use your bow to take her out, then stay behind and cover us." Hadvar nodded. He nocked an arrow and rounded the corner. He took a moment to aim for the back of the stormcloaks head, before letting the arrow loose. The arrow flew soundlessly before embedding itself in the stormcloaks skull with a sickening crunch. Torval and the Imperials paused for a moment, waiting to see if Hadvar's action had been noticed. When nothing happened, Torval rounded the corner and surveyed the room. There were five stormcloaks left, with three of them gathered on the far side of the room, and two that were aimlessly wandering. All in all, the stormcloaks here were totally unprepared for an attack. It was starting to make sense how easily the Imperials captured Ulfric and his troops.

Torval motioned to the two Imperials to follow him. Once they'd joined him, he explained his plan. "Hadvar, you use your bow to take out the rebels furthest from us. We'll take care of the other two. Hadvar nodded, and readied another arrow, waiting for Torval's signal. Torval readied his warhammer, and after preparing himself, rushed towards the nearest rebel, the imperial soldier next to him rushing the other. Hadvar released his first arrow, which pierced the armor and embedded itself between his target's ribs. As he was readying his second arrow, Torval reached his opponent, and used his momentum to knock them over. Before the rebel could recover, he raised his hammer above his head, and brought it down on the stormcloaks skull. He felt the bones crack and splinter as the inside of the rebels head exploded outwards, covering Torval's legs in gore. His imperial companion wasn't as fortunate. He raised his mace, preparing to strike. But before he could, the stormcloak lashed out with her shield, striking him square in the throat. His throat crushed from the brutal strike, he was knocked to the ground, gasping for air. The stormcloak ended his suffering by burying her axe in his skull. Unbeknownst to her, Torval had turned his attention to her, and he struck her square in the jaw with his massive hammer, nearly tearing her jaw off, but not killing her. Torval finished her off with a strike that connected with her throat, breaking her neck with a sickening snap.

By now, Hadvar had dispatched his second target with an arrow that pierced their heart, and was about to take aim at the third, but froze for a split second when he saw they had readied their arrow and were aiming squarely at him. He quickly dove to the side, the arrow slicing through the air where his head had been.

Before the rebel could ready another arrow, he was interrupted by the sound of rapid footsteps to his right. Before he had the chance to react, solid iron struck his shin, the bone shattering, ripping apart the flesh in his leg. He barely had the time to register the pain before his skull was crushed.

With the final stormcloak slain, Torval turned his gaze to Hadvar as he pulled the hammer out. Hadvar got back on his feet and nodded to Torval in thanks, before backtracking to retrieve Shai'ira. As the feline entered the chamber, her nostrils were assaulted with the smell of freshly spilled blood. She made a conscious effort to avoid looking at any of the mangled bodies laying around her. When the three had regrouped near a small drawbridge, Torval pulled the nearby lever, and they pressed onwards.

The trio found themselves inside a cave which must have served as an escape route for anyone trapped inside the keep. Just a little further, they saw large strands of webbing coating the walls, and Hadvar seemed visibly distressed.

"What is it Hadvar?" She asked, concerned.

"Those webs mean there could be frostbite spiders ahead, be careful, you don't want those things getting anywhere near you."

Shai'ira smirked, and opened her palms, electricity sparking around her hands. "This should help." She said confidently, as she stepped in front of the two nords. Sure enough, as they approached the opening to a small chamber, they could hear the horrors skittering around, and as they drew closer, they could see two, no, three of the creatures scuttling across the floor, moving deceptively fast for their size.

Even the smallest of the three spiders was still as large as a wolf, and twice as deadly. As one of the spiders moved in front of Shai'ira, she brought her hands together, focusing the electricity surging from her hands, condensing it. A crack filled the air as she released the charged plasma, burning a hole straight through the abdomen of the spider. The other two turned to face her, their black, vacant eyes staring at her, venom dripping from their fangs, making it seem as though they were drooling at the thought of devouring her and her comrades.

One spider charged straight at her, the other skittering towards a pillar near the center of the chamber, and crawled to the ceiling. Hadvar reacted quickly, firing an arrow at the spider charging Shai'ira, which embedded itself in the creature's carapace. A spurt of yellow-green ichor burst from the wound, but the spider had no other reaction to the attack. Another bolt of lightning lanced forth from Shai'ira's hands, striking the spider between its fangs, killing it. The second spider had now crawled directly above Hadvar, and bared its fangs, preparing to drop on top of him. "Above you Hadvar! Move!" Without thinking, Hadvar dove to the side, slamming against the wall of the cave. The spider landed where Hadvar had been only moments ago, but with Shai'ira in front of him, and Torval behind, and due to the narrowness of the entryway they were in, Hadvar couldn't move as the spider adjusted quickly, and before he could react, the spider raised itself, and pinned Hadvar against the wall. His vision entirely consumed with the sight of drooling, twitching fangs, eager to sink into his flesh. But before the spider could finish him off, it was struck in one of its horrid eyes by Torval's hammer. The creature fell back to the ground, stunned. Torval raised his hammer above his head, and with a final mighty blow, brought it crashing down, splitting the creature's shell open, covering Hadvar and Torval in it's viscera.

Hadvar breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you my friend." He said, raising a hand to Torval. "Gods, tell me that was all of them." Shai'ira turned her attention back towards the chamber, and swallowed a lump in her throat.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news Hadvar but…" She trailed off, as the shape of a much, much larger spider appeared, dangling from a strand of webbing, it's legs grasping for the ground as it slowly descended.

Torval stepped in front of the two, and yelled. "Come on, we can take it! Shai'ira blast its legs with lightning, try to cripple it, Hadvar, aim for its eyes." The two nodded in acknowledgement of their orders. Hadvar readied an arrow, and Shai'ira another lightning bolt.

The behemoth lunged at Torval, who even for a nord warrior, seemed far too small a meal for the creature. Rather than retreat, Torval rolled forward, his movement bringing him safely underneath the creature. Shai'ira let loose her lightning, and it struck one of the creature's center legs in the joint, blasting the limb clean off.

This injury didn't seem to phase the creature at all however, it only drew its attention to the Khajiit spellcaster. As the monstrosity skittered towards her with deceptive speed, Hadvar loosed an arrow, just barely missing one of the creature's eyes, thus failing to halt its advance. The creature lashed out with one of its legs, catching Shai'ira in the gut, knocking her aside. With Shai'ira temporarily dealt with, the creature focused on Hadvar, it lunged forward, attempting to impale him with its fangs. Hadvar jumped aside, but the spider countered by crashing one of its legs into Hadvar's back, pinning him to the ground. When the creature attacked Hadvar and Shai'ira, it had unwittingly placed Torval behind it. Seizing his opportunity, Torval surged forward, striking one of the spider's hind legs in the joint, breaking the leg. The creature fell for a moment, but that was all the time Torval needed. He lunged at the creature's abdomen, clambering atop it, and began to savagely bring the hammer down repeatedly upon the spiders thorax. It's shell cracked, and blood sprayed, but even this onslaught only served to stun the creature. With the creature reeling from Torval's assault, Shai'ira and Hadvar seized their opportunity to recover and counterattack. Arrow after Arrow, and bolt after bolt of lightning was unleashed upon the gargantuan spider. With one final swing, and a feral roar, Torval brought his hammer down with all his strength, and buried his hammer in the spider's brain. The creature collapsed to the ground, twitched once, then fell still. Torval hopped down from the monsters back and tried to catch his breath.
Hadvar cautiously approached the lifeless corpse, trying his best to ignore the pain in his back. Gods, it felt like he'd been struck by a hammer by an angry orc. Shai'ira circled around the body, maintaining a healthy distance in case the creature discovered a second wind. She noticed Hadvar, and called to him, offering to tend to his wounds. The warrior smiled, anything to ease this pain. Shai'ira placed her hands on his back, and he winced as she mended the bruised flesh. "That thing looks like it could eat a mammoth." Hadvar said, as Shai'ira healed him. She cast a sideways glance at the creature, and Torval who was approaching them.

"A spider that big? A mammoth would certainly be feasibly prey. Lucky for us we were small enough to be able to outmaneuver it." She said as she finished her healing.

"I don't really feel lucky." Hadvar replied, straightening his back. He turned and thanked Shai'ira, who simply smiled, and dipped her head in response.

"Are all Imperial soldiers these days whiny milk drinkers? Or is it just you?" Torval barked as he approached the two of them.

Hadvar chuckled. "Just me I think." Torval smiled in response.

"Not to add to the whining going on, but I'd really like to get out of this cave." Shai'ira said, staring at what looked suspiciously like spider eggs.

Torval and Hadvar followed her gaze. They didn't stick around for much longer after that, pausing only long enough for Shai'ira to burn anything that looked even remotely like an egg. From there, their escape from Helgen was uneventful. Compared to everything they'd been through thus far, killing a bear in a cave hardly seemed noteworthy.

They stopped briefly so Torval could skin the beast before pressing onwards. The three survivors rounded a corner, and were greeted by sunlight, beckoning them ever onwards. "Thank the gods." Shai'ira muttered. "We finally made it out of there." Torval and Hadvar silently agreed. After what felt like an eternity, the trio finally exited the cave. Leaving Helgen and its horrors behind them. Or so they thought. A large, black shadow passed over them, and the three threw themselves to the ground. Thankfully, the dragon either didn't notice them, or didn't bother taking the time to kill them. Either option was acceptable really. With the dragon gone, Hadvar suggested they visit his uncle in Riverwood, where they could stop for some much needed supplies and rest. With the dragon gone, and their ordeal seemingly over, Hadvar and Torval pressed onwards. Shai'ira remained behind, for only a moment, taking in the visage of the mountains and forests surrounding her, before rejoining her companions.