A Stormcloak Affair
Part 2
Aine awakes in her room in the Bannered Mare feeling lonely. She greets Hulda as she is preparing breakfast for the guests and Aine pays Hulda the balance owed. "Where are you off to?", asked Hulda.
"I'm not sure, one of the guards said I was the Dragonborn but don't even know what that means.", replied Aine.
"Aine, take this. You'll need your strength. Remember child, you will always be welcome at the Bannered Mare. But first, you should see the Jarl. He may be able to provide you some insight.", said Hulda giving her some bread and smoked venison.
Before leaving Whiterun, Aine approaches Jarl Balgruuf. "If you are truly the Dragonborn, you need to see the Greybeards at the Throat of the World. They reside in a monastery called High Hrothgar. In order to get there you must travel to the village of Ivarstead in the Rift There you must climb 7,000 steps.", said the Jarl.
"Ulfric Stromcloak was also in Helgen. What is your opinion of him?", asked Aine.
"What about Ulfric? Surely he is behind this. He murdered our High King. He may claim it was in the Old Way. I never liked him. He was always better than me. When I was a boy, I made a pilgrimage to High Hrothgar and Ulfric was there training with the Greybeards. Now, he is busy with his civil war, which he started. He may be right and have a good claim to the throne, but the Empire has always protected Skyrim.", said Balgruuf in response. Aine made her departure and stopped for a short rest in the village of Ivarstead.
Upon her arrival in Ivarstead, Aine meets a young man called Kilmmek. He wants to know whether she plans on climbing the steps to High Hrothgar. Aine informs in that she in fact is going the then Kilmmek request that she delivers some goods to the Greybeards. Aine agrees. While resting in Ivarstead, Aine asks the townspeople their view of Ulfric and his rebellion. Most of which seem to support him. Some guards would rather be fighter for Ulfric than being forced to guard duty. Once Aine regained her strength, she proceeded to the 7,000 steps separating her from her destiny. There she encounters frostbite spiders, a few wolves and a frost troll; all preventing her from arriving safely at High Horthgar. In order to make it there alive, she needs to improve her stealth ability.
Finally, after three days of climbing the steps, she arrives that the monastery. There are a few pilgrims she notes. Near the entrance is a large chest with offerings scattered around. Aine opens the chest and leaves the package from Kilmmek there. Inside she speaks to one of the Greybeards. He says if she is truly the Dragonborn then she must retrieve Jurgen's Horn. Aine goes back down the steps, pays Kilmmek a visit, and he gives Aine her reward.
Aine finds Ustengrav and sneaks her way through, killing skeletons and draugr. Her abilities have improved considerably since she first climbed the steps. She sees that the draugr are using shouts. This is not going to be easy, Aine says to herself. She removes the horn from the altar where the great draugr was resting in his coffin at the end of the tomb. There she begins to hear a voice. Aine decides to investigate it. On the wall she sees letters glowing, in a language she had never seen before. She approaches the wall and absorbs the shout.
Aine returns to High Hrothgar and gives Arngier the Horn. The Greybeards decide to help her in her journey. They teach her a few shouts where she is able to withstand the power of their voices. The Greybeards are amazed at how quickly and easily Aine learns the power of the voice. Weeks passed and Aine has learned a few shouts which seem to have satisfied the Greybeards. They concluded that she is indeed the Dragonborn.
Arngier takes Aine aside and says, "There was a time, when we believed Ulfric was the Dragonborn. He trained here in his youth until the Great War broke out, his father died, and he needed to take his place. He was such a good boy, that Ulfric. We may not agree with his use of the voice but his destiny lies with the people of Skyrim now. Should he over through the Empire and push back the Thalmor; he will be High King."
It was Aine's last night at High Hrothgar. She was uneasy and unable to sleep. She had this nagging feeling that she knew Ulfric Stormcloak. Something about him on that carriage next to her seemed familiar. Everything before Helgen was that of a blur. She knew she had no love for the Thalmor, in fact she despised them. It wasn't just the execution. It was something more, and she needed to find out that that was. She needed to find herself. Perhaps Ulfric had some answers she desperately needed answering. More importantly, did he survive Helgen? Aine drifted off to sleep.