Before the storm

Hey, get up! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance! - I hear Ralof insisting, so I summon my strength and get up not believing in what my eyes now behold - looks like the end of the world. Literally, stones, wood and all sorts of things are falling from the sky while the mighty beast is flying over us shouting, breathing fire and ice. Houses falling apart, people, children screaming - living hell. Living hell that actually kept me alive - ironic.

- Jarl Ulfric! What is that thing? Could the legends be true? - I hear Ralof asking once we run into a watchtower.

- Legends don't burn down villages. - Ulfric calmly responds; however, his calm quickly disperses as the dragon is obviously still raging, therefore he commands us to run. Run where?

- Yol...Toor...Shul!

Is that... I thought I heard them before, but I wasn't sure, but... That dragon is actually speaking? What we hear... It's not just a roar, is it, it's words? Can it be? Perhaps I hit my head a little too hard... Anyway, there isn't time for reflection as the right wall of the tower falls right in and the heat suddenly turns it into a bonfire. The dragon flies away and me and Ralof fly up the opportunity.

- See the inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going! Go! We'll follow when we can! - he exclaims.

There is not a minute for debate. I follow blindly and jump, hurting my feet. Stand up quickly after hearing the huge wings approaching and feeling the heat on my face. Run as far as I can see, hiding wherever I can and trying to figure out where... Where am I to run?

- We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time. - at some point I am rejoined by my friend (friend?) next to Helgen Keep.

- Fine. I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde. - Hadvar responds.

- You! Come on, into the keep! - that's me, I guess.

Comparing to outside, this seems almost peaceful. We can still hear the dragon roaring, the keep is still falling on our heads at certain weak points, and we are greeted by the legion from time to time, yet we manage to escape to the other side. We see the dragon fly away North, and can finally breathe easy.

He offers me to go to his sister, Gerdur. Apparently, she runs a mill in Riverwood, a town nearby. Feeling a bit of embarrassment, I accept - where else would I go at this point? I don't know if they're after me for Ramethi, although I am sure they've found him by now, I am wearing a stormcloak armor, so not even sure if I can walk around this place in peace anyway... Therefore, I accept and we start walking, mostly in silence. What am I to say? Maybe tell him a little story on how he's about to harbor a criminal? Maybe I could ask him something... I choose to stay silent. Luckily, he's not much of a talker either.

- Gerdur! -Ralof exclaims as we walk behind a log mill to a blond woman.

- Brother! Mara's mercy, it's good to see you! But is it safe for you to be here? We heard that Ulfric had been captured... Are you hurt? What's happened? And who's this? One of your comrades?

- Not a comrade yet, but a friend. I owe her my life, in fact.- I am sure I owe him mine and not much the other way around, but I can't seem to get any words out of my mouth yet. Is there somewhere we can talk? There's no telling when the news from Helgen will reach the Imperials...

We ended up in their home. Gerdur prepared a meal (not having eaten anything in 3 days, I devoured my food so quickly their boy could do nothing more but stare at me the whole time) and Hod (her husband, apparently) took out a few bottles of mead. I have never been much of a drinker but it seemed like a fine occasion - keeping my head on my shoulders. We've talked deep into the night about Stormcloak rebellion, how Ralof started, they tried to convince me to join the ranks (you've witnessed the Empire's true face today), however, I was pretty unsure on what I'm gonna do next. I did't tell much about myself, neither were they very interested - the topic of war seemed way more captivating. Suddenly, Gerdur turned to me and said:

-I have a favor to ask of you. The Jarl needs to know if there's a dragon on the loose (there's the line again, persecuting me since I was a girl). Riverwood is defenseless... We need to get word to Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun to send whatever troops he can. If you'll do that for me, I'll be in your debt.

Of course, I agreed. I asked if I could spend the night and go in the morning as I was feeling pretty drunk, to which I got a positive response, therefore I went to sleep. In the morning, fighting a bit of a headache and Hod's offers to have one drink to "fix my health" I said goodbye to Ralof and Gerdur, figuring out which way I am supposed to go to reach Whiterun and got on my way. Fighting off a few wolves, I reached the city gates in just a few hours.