It was Greta that finally broke the silence
"So...you are a man correct?" Greta asked. Yew laughed.
"I-I meant no offense." Greta said.
"No it's fine. I am indeed a man." Yew said.
"It's just...you also seem to have such feminine qualities as well. I've never really met anyone like you before." Greta said.
"Yes. I suppose I do. Still I feel like a man, I'm just a bit more feminine then most I suppose." Yew said. He hadn't really been like that in his past life on earth...well maybe a bit but nothing so drastic. It didn't feel wrong or bad, just different.?
"Do you have a problem with that?" He asked with genuine curiosity.
"No. I believe the divines make everyone the way they are for a reason. I am just...curious." Greta said.
"Ok. You can as me whatever you want then. I know that you do not mean any ill will by your questions." Yew said.
"Then I will ask you instead of making any assumptions." Greta said.
"That is what I'd prefer." Yew said.
As they continued to head to Whiterun, they ran into an unusual sight. A wolf was feeding on a stag in the middle of the road.
"Is there so little traffic on this road that this is another part of the wild to them?" Yew asked.
"I'm not sure. There very well could be. Especially with the recent dragon attack." Greta said. Yew was already walking closer to the wolf. The Wolf had stopped eating and had looked up. It was now staring right into Yew's eyes. Yew didn't feel afraid though. Not at all. In fact, he felt like he had understood the wolf.
"Your alone in an unfamiliar place aren't you?" Yew asked. He got a few steps closer.
"That means you're just like me." Yew said. A bit closer.
"Would you like to be my familiar?" Yew asked, reaching out his hand. The wolf trotted up to Yew's outstretched hand and Yew patted him on the head. A connection was formed in an instant. Suddenly Yew felt like the wolf was somewhat apart of him. Like all the struggles of the wolf was his own and vice versa. In his mind, a pop up notification appeared saying , "Yew Obtained a level 3 wolf." He could see the Wolf's stats. He would be useful enough in a fight, and could be a pretty good scout. At the very least he would be a way to avoid getting in close during combat, which he was ill-suited for.
"Did you...make friends with that wolf?" Greta said, blinking.
"Yes. It's part of a druid's skill set. He's my familiar now." Yew said.
"Druids...are kinda amazing aren't they?" Greta said. Yew laughed.
"Let's keep going. Still got a ways to go." Yew said, and both Greta and his new companion followed after him.
The journey continued much the same. With Yew occasionally making short detours to collect alchemical ingredients. They stopped for a quick dinner then continued on until it grew too dark for them to make progress. The three of them, Greta, Yew, and his wolf, took turns keeping watch.
When Yew first rested his eyes, he got a pop up telling him about his skill changes. Druidism leveled up significantly, partly from the fighting he had done that day, but mostly because of making that wolf his companion. As such he was fairly close to reaching level 5.
The night went by smoothly. In the morning, they had breakfast and made it to town at around noon.
Whiterun was big. Not huge like most cities back home in Earth, but quite substantial anyway. From what Greta had told Yew, it had three major districts and a couple of outliers. The first thing they saw was a blacksmithy, a tanned woman was there working on a blade. She was strong with a voluptuous and toned body that Yew found quite pleasing to look at.
Yew headed over to her.
"Hello miss. We are new to the city and we were wondering if you could give us any relevant information about the travelers who fought against the Dragon that attacked here." Yew asked.
"Hm. Could be." The blacksmith said.
"I don't mean the travelers any harm. I simply would like to speak with them." Yew said. As soon as the words left his mouth he realized that's exactly what someone who meant them harm would say.
"Ah huh. Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you anything." The blacksmith said.
"Listien...I'm a member of the Druid Order from High Rock. My mission here is to figure out what's behind the dragons and stop them. All I wish to do is preserve the natural order. Keep the balance." Yew said.
"I don't know anything about a Druid order." The blacksmith said.
"Huh. Well my name is Yew Fey, if you will trust that much. What is your name?" Yew asked.
"Adrienne Avenicci." The blacksmith said.
"Adrienne Avenicci. Lovely name." Yew said.
"Don't know how high of praise that is, coming from someone with the name of a tree." Adrienne said.
"I don't think I've made a very good first impression on you." Yew said.
"No. You haven't" Adrienne said.
"Well, I hope to one day, earn some measure of your trust." Yew said.
"Good luck." Adrienne said. Yew stepped away.
"Were you able to get anything out of her?" Greta asked.
"No. I don't think she likes me very much. And she certainly doesn't trust me." Yew said.
"Ah. Maybe we should try going to an inn? The Bannered Mare is a good place." Greta said.
"That sounds excellent. I could at least get some fresh food and drink." Yew said.
With that, they began their journey through the city. The streets were a lot less busy then Yew expected from a city this size.
"There's not as many people as usual." Greta said.
"Because of the war?" Yew said.
"Probably in part but...it looks like the trade has dried up a bit. The roads were really shut down. I think it's because of the dragons." Greta said.
"That makes sense. Still there could be other factors. I'm curious to see what kind of information we can find out at this Bannered Mare." Yew said.
Most of the people at the inn were Nords, as Yew would naturally expect. That was the dominant race of this land called Skyrim it appeared. The innkeeper was a woman that looked to be in her late 40's, she was fairly attractive to Yew's eyes. Though others at the Bannered Mare caught his eye more.
"Hello there. I'd like some of your mead, as well as beef, bread and some goat cheese." Yew said as he sat along the bar.
"Alright. What about you lovely girl?" The innkeeper asked Greta.
"H-Hualda don't you recognize me?" Greta said.
"Greta? I'm sorry. I didn't expect to see you here for quite some time. I'm glad you seem to be doing well." Hualda said, though from the glances Hualda was giving Greta, Yew suspected she would rather be seeing her in a more intimate setting.
"Ah ha. Yes. I've been traveling with Yew here for a bit." Greta said. Hualda looked a bit disappointed about that.
"We have been traveling together indeed. We were both quite curious about the dragon attack and we wanted to know if you had any information." Yew asked.
"Oh well, I'd be pleased to tell you. It's the story of our newest Thane after all. Just let me get you your food and drinks and I'll tell you all about it." Hualda said.
Yew and Greta looked at each other. They weren't expecting it to be quite that easy.
Their food and drinks arrived fairly quickly, along with a wink from Hualda towards Greta. Greta again blushed, but Yew noticed she didn't seem to be displeased by the attention, quite the opposite in fact. Yew was a bit envious of them, a bit more of Hualda then Greta, but he also rooted for them. Greta deserved some happiness, and Hualda seemed a good enough woman to give it to her.
"So what's this about a new Thane?" Yew asked. Greta had explained what exactly a Thane was in Skyrim politics. High Rock was organized differently, so she didn't think anything of his initial confusion. Yew would need to acquaint himself with as much as he could learn about this land as soon as possible. He wondered if there were any libraries around here.
"Oh yes. Well, it started when this Redguard woman came into town. Lovely girl. Beautiful really. She'd come from Helgen and had quite the story to tell about dragons." Hualda said.
"Yes. I observed the incident. I wasn't aware there had been any survivors." Yew said.
"Well, she was. At least she had so and I have no reason not to believe her. Especially considering what she did for all of us." Hualda said.
"She fought the dragon right?" Greta said.
"Yes. She had help, but she was the one who dealt the fatal blow. Rumor has it she was able to absorb the soul of the dragon after she killed it." Hualda said. Yew inhaled sharply.
"Really?" Yew asked.
"Yeah. Many say she is a Dragonborn of old come again. Maybe she is and maybe she isn't, but she's a hero in my book." Hualda said.
Dragonborn of old come again? Did that make her some sort of chosen hero?
Was she the hero whose fate Yew would play a part in? That old Wizard had told him something about that. And his journal seemed to imply the same.
"Do you know where she is? I would like to talk to the hero. My order is interested in recording the deeds of such heroes." Yew said. Which was plausible enough and Yew felt like it was true, though of course, that wasn't his true reason for needing to meet her.
"Your Order?" Hualda said.
"Yes. I am a part of the Druidic Order, descendants of the Druids of Galen. Our mission is to preserve the wilds, maintain the balance between civilization and nature, maintain the natural balance and destroy those who would defile it. As one of our subgoals, we also like to preserve knowledge. We believe time tends to repeat, and thus having insight into the past means we can predict the future." Yew said.
"All right. She was heading out to collect a bounty on a nearby gang of bandits. If you stick around here you should be able to meet her. If not I'll give her a heads up you were looking for her when she stops in." Hualda said.
"That sounds excellent. Thank you." Yew said, and went back to his food.