It had been a long trek through the tunnel and down the mountain. The peace between Hadvar and Ralof was shaky at best, and it was taking every bit of Loki's diplomatic skills to keep them from turning on each other. Hadvar had not taken kindly to Ralof running the Imperial interrogator through with his sword, but Loki finally convinced him that even he had to admit the old bastard had gotten what he deserved. Hadvar reluctantly agreed and they proceeded through the tunnels. When they emerged from the tunnels the two soldiers suggested going separate ways, but Loki argued against it saying they needed to walk into town together in their armor to show the people of Riverwood the two factions working together to face a common threat.
"We must do this for the people to give them hope that no matter their political affiliation, they are all citizens of Skyrim and must work together for the survival of all men and mer."
The young man who thought he had been dreaming about his favorite video game was slowly coming to terms with just how real this dreamworld was and that if he wanted to survive, if he ever wanted the possibility of seeing home again, he was going to have to play the game like he had never played before. Being as this seemed to be very much like real life, he couldn't count hit points vs. health points and just take wounds to let them heal later, he would have to actually avoid getting hit. He was going to have to accept this as real life until he could find a way home or, HOPEFULLY, wake up in his own bed the same way he woke up here. He was going to have to learn to use the magic in this world, learn archery, learn hand to hand combat (this one, he felt, would be his greatest challenge as he was much more of a geek than a jock), and he was going to have to find out if he was actually the dragonborn in this story. The last part he preferred to find out before he actually had to face a dragon. Being that the Amulet of Kings was destroyed 200 years ago, he knew of only one way to test himself for being dragonborn without fighting a dragon first, he would have to get to Skyhaven Temple and try his blood on the seal. If it worked, he would know it was him and what he must do. This was the quest he gave himself. Now he just had to find a way to get himself to the Reach, and he needed to enlist these two men to help him do it without getting their hopes up should he not be the Dragonborn. He began putting together a plan as they walked along. He also kept trying to heal his wrists from the burns. He could work the spell enough to heal the burns, but they were still going to leave scars. He had a lot to learn...
Upon arriving at the guardian stones, Loki didn't even have to think twice about which stone to choose. He walked straight over and placed his hands on the Thief and watched as the stone lit up in a magical glow. Ralof and Hadvar both gave Loki a very disapproving look as he walked back between the two and proceeded down the road.
"It's not too late to change your path, my friend," Hadvar said in an almost reprimanding voice; "You can still choose a life of honor."
"It doesn't mean I'm an actual thief, Hadvar. I am just really going to need the skill set that is supported by that stone, particularly the stealth and alchemy traits, for our upcoming quests. We have a lot of preparation to do."
"We?" Ralof asked, sounding a bit surprised. "Are we just supposed to abandon our duties to our armies and follow you without any permission or leave from our superiors? We'll both be on the block for desertion and treason."
Loki stopped in his tracks just outside the makeshift wall/guard tower at the edge of town, turned on his heels and faced both men with a look of pure frustration. "Look, I realize you two are both duty bound to your respective militaries in this petty little conflict over who gets to rule your land and tell everyone else how to live. It's a war that has been fought countless times by countless armies in countless lands on ever world and every plane of oblivion, always over who gets to be in charge. Well this time there's another player, and his goal isn't to be in charge, but to devour it all and end your world. If he does that, it won't matter if you supported Ulfric or Elisif or Tullius or anybody else because there will be nobody left to support anybody. Am I starting to get through those thick Nord skulls of yours yet? After what just happened, anyone who doesn't report in will be assumed killed in action in Helgen, so you will have plenty of time to help me with my quest without being deemed a deserter. Now, if what I've learned from the Elder Scrolls is correct, then I know what we need to do next, and I'm going to need help to do it." Townsfolk had begin to take notice of the strange sight at the edge of town of a young stranger scolding an Imperial and a Stormcloak soldier as if they were children fighting over a toy. Most had stopped what they were doing and were watching as Loki continued his rant. He turned and looked at the people standing on their porches and stopped in the street. He raised a hand and pointed through the middle of town. "Do you see these people here? Your families, your friends, your neighbors… Do you see what it is we're going to be fighting to save? Only we won't be fighting to save them from treasonous rebels who want to be the rulers themselves, it won't be from oppression and tyranny of a puppet empire being controlled by the Aldmeri Dominion, it will be from annihilation by the World Eater himself. If you two want to call yourself true Nords, then you will fight for them regardless of what the political ramifications are. These people need you, and I need you to help me help them. Can I count on you for that?"
Ralof and Hadvar looked at Loki and then looked past him at the people gathered outside. Loki could see the men's eyes as they looked from person to person seeing all the people they cared for and realizing that all of this lay in the balance. They then looked at each other, steeled their decisions, and nodded.
Hadvar broke the silence, "We are with you, Loki of Asgard. What would you have us do?"
"First, we need supplies: Food, water, neutral armor so we can travel without being a target of either side, and coin. Talk to your families, gather what you can, and meet me in the inn at first light. Get a good rest gentlemen, because tomorrow we rewrite destiny."
As they walked through town, Loki couldn't help but notice it was bigger than he expected. He reasoned to himself that it must be like turning a book into a movie, some things must be left out or it would be too big to put on disc. Riverwood was a beautiful town situated on the river that ran between the mountains. The air was crisp and the sound of the running water was so peaceful that he instantly fell in love with the place. There were more buildings and more people than he knew from playing the game. He was grateful to see ones he knew though, to reassure him that it was still the lore he was used to. The first ones he noticed were Hilde and Sven, Sven trying to calm his mother who was sounding like a crazy woman saying she had seen a dragon fly over. Loki couldn't help but intercede on Hilde's behalf and tell them she wasn't crazy, that the dragon she saw had just burned Helgen to the ground and they barely escaped with their lives. Then, while Ralof went to greet his sister over by the mill, Loki followed Hadvar to Alvor's forge to see about getting some different armor.
After getting fitted with a new set of armor and a fine steel war axe in trade for the imperial armor, two iron swords, and his word to convince the Jarl to send a garrison to defend Riverwood; Loki headed over to the Riverwood trader to see about getting a few potions and inquire about a recent break-in several townsfolk had mentioned. He decided to keep the nice steel dagger he had taken off the head torturer. He accepted the quest to find the claw mostly because he knew he was going to need it anyway and wanted to make sure Camilla didn't actually try to go after it herself. Upon meeting Camilla for the first time, Loki understood why Sven and Faendal were competing for her affections. She had a beauty that made even her simple dress look absolutely elegant. He did, however, tell Camilla and Lucan that he would not be coming straight back due to more pressing matters, and would have to return it to them on his next visit which might be a while.
As he left the Trader, he passed Faendal outside, no doubt on his way to try to woo Camilla. He had to really fight not to laugh at the image of Faendal with Camilla when he realized Oblivion had described Bosmer much better than Skyrim as Faendal was only about four and a half feet tall (137cm). He used some of the coin he had picked up from the dead soldiers in helgen, the dead mage in the cage, and the skeleton in the tunnel to buy a few supplies for the quest and get a room at the inn for the night along with a nice meal. Alvor had offered him to stay with them for the night, but he declined, not wanting to impose seeing as they only had enough beds for themselves and Hadvar. Also, he had a feeling Dorthe would talk his ears off wanting to hear about the dragon, so he left that storytelling to her cousin. He had a hard time holding his expressions as Delphine asked for more information about the dragon attack. Word had spread through town like wildfire after the display he made in front of the whole town earlier, and of course Delphine wanted to know more. It was all Loki could do not to let her know that he knew who she was and what she was, but he didn't want her knowing who he was yet, so he digressed to just play the guy in the wrong place at the right time. He went to his room and laid down reliving the events of the day in his mind. An avid gamer in his own world, he couldn't help but think of his favorite quote from another game: "The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world…" as he faded off to sleep, completely exhausted.