Riverwood. The small village sits on the great White River, surrounded by lush green forests teeming with wildlife. They're not poor, pretty built up in fact. They have a sizable lumber mill, a trader, and a blacksmith. Hell, they even have an inn. Whoever thought of the name must have been high off skooma, Sleeping Giant Inn. I should paint a giant's dick on the door…
My point is for such a well built village, why is there no one to do any maintenance? Or light work in that matter. My morning horrifyingly consisted of Nord men complaining about small jobs that they could easily do.
Oh, damn it to hells! The thatching blew out of place during the last storm. Now when it rains, it's like a deadra is taking a piss through my roof. Well that, sir, is when you get a ladder and fix it.
Delphine wants me to take inventory of the latest shipment from Whiterun and Solitude, plus stock it. Serving and making food, I'm fine with. But all the extra shite is just a long process I don't wanna deal with. Well that, good sir, is what you're being paid for.
Honestly, I wonder how these people survive. Suddenly an idea pops in my head. I'm quick to find parchment and a piece of charcoal. There's a notice board outside the inn and I'm in need of money. Within a few hours I had a list of jobs, more like tasks. The same ones that the people who were complaining about them this morning.
The next three days consisted of me doing said small tasks. While I was going to be paid in coin, I did earn some extra things for my stay. For doing Alvor's deliveries around the village, along with a few Septims, he gave me a full quiver of steel arrows.
Ognar is letting me stay at the inn free of charge for doing his pain in the ass of a job. I should've made him throw in a little extra since I took care of the skeevers making their nest behind the mountain of barrels. Everyone else paid in the few gold coins they could spare. I had in total maybe 80 Septims. Not enough to really go anywhere, but I guess I needed to start saving.
My next couple days were spent hunting in the woods. Fendal said he could use some help with extra meat before he went off to Whiterun to sell to his cousin. He lent me his horse so I could carry more. She was a beautiful white mare with a bit of a temper, but a good soul. She seemed a bit smarter and stronger than your average horse, so we got along pretty well. A buck, countless rabbits, and three wolves later, we were following the river back downstream. Needless to say the resident wood elf was pleased with my work and paid two hundred along with offering his companionship in any future hunts.
By this time, a week had almost passed and I was ready to leave. It wasn't anything against the village, it was just something that was urging me forward and I couldn't place it. I pause my walk to sit on the edge of the walkway by the mill.
My thought was broken by Gerdur walking past me swearing up a storm over Embry and Sven getting too drunk to show up for work for the fifth time this month. Her gloved fingers run through her hair as she turns back around.
"V! Do you happen to have a few hours to spend? I'll pay handsomely for your time." I make it look like I'm thinking heavily on her offer. A beautiful blond Nord woman asking for my help? Of course. If only she wasn't married…
"Yeah, of course," I state, removing my feet from the cool rushing water as I stand up. It was midday when I started and I finished well past sunset. Little did I know that cutting firewood is not the easiest thing in the world. It took about an hour for me to actually start splitting the wood in one go and by then, my body was already getting sore. When the sun started setting, I ended up helping Hod on the sawmill. It's no wonder why Embry looks like he wrestles a bear on a daily basis. The next day I ended up working all day. All I can say is never again.
That's what I thought until after I started a routine of sorts. I start my mornings with the sun to hunt then the rest of my day is either helping out at the mill or the forge. It was only a few weeks or so till Alvor came to us at the mill with some news.
"Aye lads! I've got some bad news," he started. "The mine's been overrun with bandits. Most of my workers were killed and the guards won't get off their lazy arses to go deal with them. I'm going to have to send for some of the Companions to clear it out," he finished with a grimace. The 'mercenary' group has come up in some conversations. The word is they cost heavy on the coin purse. There was a moment of heavy silence.
Don't do it V. You don't need to play the hero. Alvor has more than enough to pay for the mine. Just because you grew attached doesn't mean you throw away your life. The words flew out before I could even stop myself.
"I'll handle it," I blurted out. What in the gods' fuck.
"Are you sure? It's not two or three high off skooma and stamina potions. This is one of the put together clans. There's at least ten of them."
"Trust me, I got this." V, shut your mouth! You know how to defend yourself, but you're not a one woman army. I better not make it a habit of putting myself in these situations.
The rest of the day was spent getting ready for my eventual death. I put an order in with Alvor for a set of leather armor a week into my stay.. He only made me pay for the resources since it was a special order and because I helped around the village.
Firstly the leather of the armour was dyed black which wasn't hard but it was a bit time consuming. With the special part, I had him make pockets to fit plates of different materials in. That way I don't have to replace the whole set if it was damaged beyond repair and it's easier to replace plates of material versus a whole armour piece. The sword I picked up on our way out of Helgen was in pretty good shape so it would be ready for the trip since it was easy to make a scabbard for a template Imperial sword. The bow was a whole different story. I ended up buying a brand new bow since the one I had before was already in horrible condition.
Deciding to wait till morning, I spent the rest of the day preparing for the trip. By the evening, I was set and ready to go. The problem is I can't sleep. Adrenaline is rushing through my body with just the thought of another fight. It's as if my body said Helgen wasn't enough to put me off of any more adventures of violence. I made my decision.
I had just enough to leave this week, but due to my life threatening decision, about half of it ended up on Fendal's doorstep along with a note. I brought my most recent partner in crime around and saddled her up for the trip. After making sure she was comfortable, I mounted her and started on my trip. It was around midnight when I came up on the path to mine.
"Stay here. If I'm not out by mid-morning go ahead and make your way back home. I'll be dead," I whispered to the horse. She responded with a light push as if she was telling me to hurry up. A light chuckle is given and I leave her side. I stay on the unlit path and stop when I see a bandit leaning by the door, my heart racing at the sight of him. The sound of light snoring reaches my ears and my heart calms. Drawing the arrow back, I release and my aim is true. He wakes in a panic, choking on his own blood along with the arrow in his neck.
I take a deep breath once his body drops and stills on the ground. I can't help but to study the dead body. I've never taken a human, including the mer and beast races, life before entering Syrim's borders. I've heard from many warriors how their first kills shook them to their very being, some taking pleasure from it. I haven't thought of it till now. It feels like a rush now that I'm thinking of it, only a quick one. It's faint like a tingling. I don't have much time to think about it too much.
I enter the double doors and spot the trap set down the dimly lit hall automatically. An inexperienced person would've missed it , for the dirty string barely sits off the ground. I walk around and stop when I hear people talking.
"What if someone walks in here? The mine isn't exactly hidden, you know?" one of them asks lightly, almost in a frightened tone.
"This again? We have someone standing guard outside. And did you forget that we have a trap set up? So, stop your bitching and go to sleep. Your watch is next and if you doze off like last time, I'll slit your throat myself," the second one spat out. Temper, temper. Plus lack of sleep? This should be easier than I thought.
I wait till I hear them both settle to peek around the corner. They both were lying next to a campfire, asleep in bedrolls. Two expertly placed arrows assured they stayed asleep. I recovered both arrows and did a patdown on both men to look for any goodies they may have. After their possessions and their bags' contents were transferred to mine, I moved forward. I found a way to lower the drawbridge and two more showed up. They ended up being light work as well and I repeated my earlier process. This went on for another hour or so with much patience as most of the bandits were asleep, but they did have a few up taking watch. After doing a thorough sweep to make sure all of the bandits were dead, I piled the bodies near the forge.
I went outside to let my four-legged companion know that I was indeed alive. I expected for the white morgan mare to be by the road just as I left her. What I saw and what I expected were completely different. Instead of the horse being by the road, she was by the door, her front legs painted red and another bandit other than the first one I shot on the ground, head caved in. I wonder where in Oblivion did Fenadal find this horse. A mental note was made to pay the Bosmer a little more than the run of the mill price for a horse.
Shaking my head I went inside to gather the rest of the loot I saw sitting on a table. Everything was neat and orderly. This tells me two things. One, this isn't your average group of bandits. Most clans are small and disorderly and change in power is constant. There's no way to actually make sure all this stayed in place. Secondly, this group has been running for a while. There was a decent pile of gemstones, a few flawless, on top of the cart of ore and ingots in the entrance of the mine. Along with the chest of weaponry and gold hidden behind the waterfall, you could tell this group was successful.
I packed everything away into my bag and moved to the entrance. I opened the door to let the horse inside since I made plans to camp next to the doors. Before falling asleep, I took to reading the bandit leader's journal, which confirmed my suspicion about this group. Sleep came to me easy enough this time around. When morning came I hooked the horse to the cart they brought along with the chest hidden behind the waterfall. With the slowed pace, I made it to Riverwood by early afternoon.
"Alvor!" I yell at the top of my lungs causing everyone outside to jump in surprise, including the said blacksmith. The look of pure happiness on his face upon my return and my haul was never seen directed towards me before. It was weird. I told him what went down and after settling on payment, I unhooked the cart to be left in front of his forge.
"Hey, Alvor, help me carry this chest to the mill?" I requested the man currently checking over the loot in the cart. A nod and we're lugging the wooden box to the woman in charge. I grab a piece of charcoal and the parchment out of my bag and write a note.
Gerdur,
Use the money and stuff inside to take care of the village. The gods know that there's a lot that can be done here.
-V
With that I make my next stop at the Trader to sell some of the gems I procured. Of course with my luck, I walked into another situation within twenty-four hours. The door revealed an argument between siblings. The theme of today's debate: To retrieve or to not retrieve the family heirloom. The subcategories you ask? One, 'Well, Why Not?' Two, 'Too Dangerous.' And you can't forget about three, 'Doesn't Matter'.
When it looked like the atmosphere started to get a little too heated, I ended up stepping in. They were surprised by my sudden input and both cast a sheepish glance of apologies.
"Is this heirloom a golden claw?" I ask, remembering the written words of the book in my knapsack. I was met with shock and awe in their eyes. They did a double take to each other before Lucas answered.
"It is. How did you know?"
"I'm psychic. Plus I can read," I state, reaching in my bag. I pass him the book and set the pouch of looted gems on the counter while I wait for him to read through the final passages. He takes a deep breath and lays his head on the counter.
"They took it to the Barrow. V, I know you just got back, but can I bother you for another job?"
Our eyes meet. There was silence. More silence.
"Fine." There was relief in the space. Camilla suddenly jumped on my back and threw my balance. I felt myself fall back and turned us, landing on my back with her on top of me. There was a tense moment of silence before we both rushed up and straightened ourselves. The rest of my visit was spent trying to avoid each other's eyes.
After receiving my payment I rushed outside and relished in the fresh air. I went about my way, going to visit Fendal before all else. The elf was slightly upset that I took his horse, but since I slipped him a few more coins, meaning a few hundred, he was happy to let me keep her. He gave me all the papers and told me her name- Zij. Upon leaving his home, he warned me to treat the horse with respect, any animal that has bonded with a Bosmer or came from their homeland is more than they seem.
The rest of my day was spent resting, somewhat. I ended up doing work at the mill since Alvor had to make a trip to Whiterun to hire more miners. I had to listen to Gerdur sing praises of me to the gods. When I decided to turn in for the night, word had spread to the whole village of my generous donation to Riverwood. Drinks were bought in my honor and while I can hold my ale, I had an early day tomorrow so I limited myself to every bottle bought.
I've heard stories of ancient nord burials. The final resting places for these hot-headed people are filled to the brim of traps, pests, sometimes bandits and always the undead draugr. There was no guarantee I would come out unscathed, better yet, alive. Does that mean I didn't regret it when the sun started its journey through the sky. Of course not!
Half an hour later, I was fed and making my way up to the barrow. I left Zij at Riverwood, there's really no point in bringing her up here. Progress was halted by a group of bandits in the watchtower. It was about five minutes of a warm-up with the three before I was able to move forward. The front of the barrow was even longer plus a near death when a drunk archer shot at my face.
I was wildly out of shape if my deep breaths indicated anything. Moving into the Barrow, I decided to at least try to keep an element of surprise. There was no way of knowing how many were inside or where they would be. So far, I only saw two inside. I waited till the guy went to the far corner to relieve himself to take him out. After I made my way to him with a dagger in hand, I also made the mental note to wait until the person was done or before they started. I could live peacefully without trying to avoid another golden shower from a dying bandit. The second one was taken in a similar fashion since she was now by herself.
Continuing down the hall, it was clear that the group was prepared for people to show up to reclaim sacred ground. Every corner I turned, there was a bandit leaning against the wall, zoned out while standing guard. Each one was shot down. Well that was before their leader popped around the corner. He was dressed in shiny, well kept steel armor and a greatsword of the same material was stored on his back. I know we saw each other at the same time.
He drew his sword, the tip just barely grazing the walls. He charged with speed that gave away his experience of fighting in heavy armor. His movements were precise and quick. My only saving grace were the objects in the closed space that kept him from making too much progress. I was way out of practice to try to fight a chief one-one-one and I realized another fact: I'm almost out of space.
Glancing over, bright orange flickerings were seen at the edge of my field of view and an idea flew into my mind. I suddenly rolled backwards and picked up a torch off the wall. He stopped out of surprise at my move and lowered his weapon slightly.
"Now what do you think a little fire is gonna do to me?" he laughed out. I scowled. Nords can be such assholes for why? He didn't notice during his movements that he hit a few lanterns meaning there's oil all over his armor and the ground around him. I didn't bother retorting back and simply tossed the torch and the idiot let it hit him out of pride. It would be the last time his arrogance would affect his life. His fire induced screaming was easy to drown out, even as they echoed through the the flames died out, I checked his body for what I originally came for and found nothing close to what I needed.
The next room was closed off by an iron gate and a body full of darts lay next to the lever. Three pillars stand on the side of the room and giant open-mouthed head statues are mounted on the wall, one somehow finding its way to the ground. Obviously they were the answer to the puzzle. Well, at least it's not dwemer science. This man probably wasn't the sharpest tool. With the gate raised, I moved forward. After removing the Barrow's pest problem, yelling could be heard in the distance.
There was also a change in the environment. There were thick webs lining the walls with random objects and dead animals in the mix. Caution was on the very top of my mind. While frostbite spiders weren't too horrifying on their own; a pack or an older and bigger spider would be an issue. I was stopped by a wall of web in the doorway. Luckily for some reason, there were lit torches and brazers everywhere that proved vital to my survival before, and are going to come handy again.
I placed the flame next to the web and in a few seconds there was a wall of fire then nothing.
"Haknir? Bjorn? Is that you? S-soling? Look, I know I ran ahead with the claw, but I-I need help!"
In the next door way was a dark elf who seemed to find his way into the spider's web. Literally. He finally spotted me but before he could say anything, a giant frostbite spider fell in front of me. All eight of it's beady eyes glare at me as it slowly walks to me. It's limp did nothing to slow it's strike as I felt hairs brush my skin as I narrowly dodged it's strike.
In a stroke of luck, I aimed my view at an oozing leg and swung. A screech came from the arachnid as one of its legs hit the floor. The process continued until the screeching turned into a low whining and the spider can no longer move on it's own. My blade slid in between it's eyes to finish off the bug. Staring at its tiny eyes creeped me out. My attention was turned back to the dunmer when he started his rant.
"Thank the gods that the horrid beast is finally dead! Now cut me down from here, sellsword."
"The claw, where is it?" I had lost my patience with this clan and the barrow.
"Yes, yes, the claw and the door. It all fits together! I can tell you if you cut me down," he exhaled as if I was enraptured in this great mystery. I can safely say that I am not.
"Fine, hold on and don't move. I pulled the dagger out of my boot and started working on cutting the bandit from the webs. It took some work, the strands were thick and were as strong as cured leather. After maybe a half hour of careful cuts the elf was freed. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he took off deeper into the barrow.
I couldn't help the loud groan that escaped my lips. I didn't bother taking off after him. I walked down the hall and in the next room, I was met with the dead bodies of a couple draugr and the elf. One other undead was standing unaware of my presence. Taking advantage, I finished him off. A search of the dark elf's contents showed that my quest is now completed. Turning to go back the way I came, the iron gate dropped. I am completely compelled to believe that this place has it out for me. For the next two hours, I was fighting and resting to keep myself going. Finally, I was met with a hallway.
Along the walls were murals of dragons and dragon priests, men and mer. Fire and death. Life and prosperity. I had no idea how I could understand the stories carved into the stone and it felt like hours till I was able to tear myself away from the art. Taking time to study the "wall" blocking my path, I noticed the rings with three ancient depictions of animals on each of the three rings. I rotated the rings a few times before I noticed the three indent marks that look similar to claw marks.
The same as the wall, I glanced over the golden ornament and when turning it, I felt something on the palm. The answer. Three ancient animals that matched the rings on the door. Bear, moth, owl. I place the claw into place and turn until I hear a loud click. It echoes in the hall and eventually dies out. I pull the claw out the door and move to try to find another way out until I feel a deep rumble.
The rings shift till all the animals line up and the wall slowly descends into the floor. The semi-narrow passageway now led to a large open cavern. Streams of sunlight cut through the damp air, providing light along with the lit brazzers scattered around. I slowly proceed further, crossing a moss covered stone bridge to a raised platform.
My attention is pulled to the curved wall that sits on the side. Soft ethereal chanting settles in the back of my mind. Like the rest of the ruin, it features a dragon looking down, the details life-like. Dots and sharp lines are cut into the stone, but I can read the tombstone clear as day.
Het nok faal vahlok
Denimaar do dovahgolz
Ahrk aan fus do unslaad
Rahgol ahrk vulom
Fus. Force. My focus was broken by a coffin being forced open and a sword being drawn. I turned and was met by glowing blue eyes. This draugr seems different from his brethren. His headpiece was adorn with spiraling horns and he also towered over me with at least three hands. As if some magic force protected him, his overly-built body only had a grey tone with no trace of decay. He swung and I dodged, but not quick enough. Ancient steel left a trail of red as I narrowly missed being decapitated but immediately I started a coughing fit. Cold penetrated my skin starting at my neck making it hard to breathe.
Another swing, but this one hit my left arm, shattering the thin steel plate. There was definitely going to be a bruise if he didn't at least fracture my arm. Another wave of cold came over me, not as strong as the last but enough for me to feel sluggish and shiver to set in. In a desperate attempt for space, I decided for a wild move. I felt him rush towards me and I blindly shot fire out of my hands in his general direction. The heat was enough for me to regain my senses and calm myself.
I push more mana into the flames, thinking about the heat I was subjected to in Helgen. The stream became stronger, brighter and kept the guardian a distance away. I was feeling my magica running low and in an act of instinct, I threw my dagger. Thankfully even under this stress, my aim held true and the draugr stopped all movement. The blue hue faded from his eyes before the body hit the ground.
My legs gave out from under me. The fact that I was so close to death set in my bones and the sudden use of magic kept me on the floor. Once the adrenaline passed, fatigue fell over me and I almost succumbed to it. Out of nowhere heat poured out of me. It grew till I felt as if it was going to melt me from inside out. As quick as it came, it passed but left a weird feeling behind.
My energy was renewed and I did a quick search, recovering a stone tablet and other loot before continuing up steps. It was a little after midday when I came out the side of the mountain. Lake Ilinalta was before me, the waves lightly gliding across the surface. I followed the riverbed till I was met with a small cabin and a familiar face. Anise sat in her chair, basking in the sun. She merely stares at me as I pass by, it's as she senses something coming off me.
By the time I reached the walls of Riverwood, the sun was starting to set and my body was screaming for me to stop moving. I dragged my way to the trader and everything went black.
