Chapter 67: Back in Whiterun

[22st – 23rd of Evening Star 4E 201]

After I had been declared Thane of Haafingar, my companions and me had been forced to leave the hold quickly as General Tullius still considered the Dragonborn and me prisoners. We had managed to safely leave, but had opted for a detour to avoid being captured by Imperials on the road; in the eastern part of The Reach we had met a group of Stormcloaks and Ralof. On the previous day we had encountered Thalmor again, just before getting into Rorikstead, and today we had already had to fight against a dragon, close to 'Gjukar՚s Monument'. Not only that, but right after the dragon had been killed by our joint efforts, a detachment of Imperial soldiers had found us, apparently guided by the noise and sights of the dragon fight. They were about ten soldiers, and the leader shouted:

"That's the Dragonborn and the big Khajiit! Surrender!"

What were so many Imperials doing in Whiterun hold, and where had they come from? Of course we had no intention to surrender, and the first group was met by Fiona's 'FUS RO', driving them back and injuring the closest two. I worked my crossbow once more and my companions released arrows, and the Imperials were forced to seek cover. We managed to climb on a larger rock, and from there we controlled the plains around us. The Imperials did not dare to get close, but we knew that they'd follow us as soon as we moved on. If we stayed here for a longer time, they might either encircle us or send for reinforcements, or maybe both.

"What do we do now?" Fiona asked.

"We need to lure them out" Ralof suggested.

"But how?"

"I don't know."

"What about something else?" I chimed in. "We move on, swiftly, and find a suitable place for a camp. We pretend to prepare for the night, but rather than sleeping in the camp, we just make it look like we're all there, but instead hide on rocks around the camp. When they come, we get them in our cross fire."

"Do you know such a place?"

"No, but we should be able to find one east of here, close to the mountain there."

Antonius agreed and said that we was sure we'd easily find a proper location, and as nobody had a better idea, we quickly walked east. From time to time I conjured Spirit and had her track back to distract and slow down the Imperials, and indeed they did not dare to come close to us during the entire afternoon. They had numerical superiority, but they knew about the Dragon shouts Fiona could use, and they did not dare to openly attack us; maybe they hoped to be able to overwhelm us during the night. We passed a Shrine of Zenithar without stopping, hurried on east and eventually got close the one mountain on the plains; I did not know if it had a name, and Antonius did not know either. While we walked, I mused:

"Does anybody understand why both Imperials and Thalmor are so keen in capturing us rather than cooperating?"

Fiona offered a reply:

"Based on what I had heard and one document I found, I don't believe that the Thalmor have understood the issue of Alduin and the threat he poses yet. I have seen the term 'dragon resurrection phenomenon' being used by them, and I assume that they neither understand how Alduin is the key part in that nor that I am supposed to stop him."

"You may have a point" Antoninus nodded. "Although they do not advertise that, the Imperial Legion in Skyrim is very much dominated and controlled by the Aldmeri Dominion and the Thalmor, and I would guess that, besides getting more suspected Talos worshipers, they simply want to imprison and interrogate the Dragonborn."

"Wouldn't cooperation be more effective?" I asked.

"But we are talking about the Thalmor!" Lydia objected. "They don't know cooperation in any way. I have listened to Justiciars frequently enough and heard them saying 'We are special envoys of the Aldmeri Dominion, the rightful rulers of Tamriel', 'That we are superior to men is an established fact' and such garbage."

"Exactly my view as well" Ralof added. "Not only Talos worship, but the general oppression of Skyrim citizens by the Thalmor is the reason we fight!"

"But don't they at least understand that the Dragonborn is needed to kill dragons?"

"Not necessarily, no. First, a group of Altmer can probably easily kill some dragons, too, with proper spells, and second they likely have not yet realized that only the Dragonborn can permanently kill a dragon."

"And third" Antonius added "they are way too arrogant to try to understand the situation as it is."

There was nothing to add to that, and the housecarls certainly had a point. I also had a somewhat better understanding now why the Stormcloaks were fighting. We moved on, and when dusk was close, we looked for a proper place and soon found one. There was a small depression surrounded by rocks and cliffs, and we dropped our packs right there. Now, for a proper trap, at least one of us should stay down here, while the others needed to get on the rocks around the camp. When we briefly discussed that, Fiona started to smile and suggested:

"I will stay down here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. I am actually looking forward to that. See, I learned that Whirlwind Sprint shout at High Hrothgar, and this might be a good opportunity to use it."

Of course, she had a point. With that shout she'd have a much better opportunity to evade the Imperials than any of us had. All of us except Fiona thus quickly climbed the rocks, and in the last light of the day we already saw the group of Imperials approaching. There were still all ten of them, and I assumed that they had had healing potions for those who had been injured by Fiona's earlier shouting.

Down in the depression, Fiona had started a small campfire, and she placed our packs at some distance around it, so that a casual observer might mistake the packs for more people. Of course, we'd have to be very stupid to light a fire and sit all around it without any guards while knowing that enemies might still pursuing us, but maybe they did not think about that. But anyway, when it was almost fully dark, they did approach, and all ten of them rushed to the campfire. Fiona pretended to be surprised, and only now the Imperials realized that she was all alone there. The leader turned towards her and asked in a threatening voice:

"Elf, where are your companions?"

The Bosmer chuckled, and instead of responding she shouted 'WULD'. The shout propelled her right between the soldiers and beyond, and before they realized what was happening she was gone in the darkness around us. I stood up with my crossbow ready and called down:

"Imperials, we are all up here on the rocks, and we have our bows and crossbows pointed right at you. The first one of you who raises a weapon or attempts to leave will have my bolt in his body!"

We had them there; they were all close to the fire without cover, whereas we had both cover and darkness around us. One of the soldiers was standing partially behind another one, and this one tried to slowly get his bow ready. Illumination was not perfect, but my Khajiit eyes saw that, and seconds later the offender had a bolt in his right arm, so that he cried out.

"Drop your weapons now, all of them!" I shouted down. "I am a Khajiit, and I can see exactly what you are doing, even in the dim light!"

The Imperials looked at each other, and it did not take them long to realize that they did not have a lot of options. The first one dropped his sword, and soon the others followed. Ralof, Lydia, Rayya and Antonius got down, collected the weapons and shoved them to the side, and that was that. Now, what to do with ten Imperials? Fortunately they did have enough ropes with them, so that we were able to bind all of them. For the night, they would have to suffer, and for the morning I had an idea already. We organized watches, and because we had prisoners, we always had two people on guard at all times; I got the last watch together with Janina.

Lydia and Antonius woke me up when their time was over, and they estimated that we'd have about three hours left before it was time to wake up the group, have breakfast and move on. Before we relieved the two housecarls, we checked together that all prisoners were there and nobody had managed to get rid of their binds. Once this was verified, Lydia and Antonius retired to their respective bedrolls and Janina and I started our watch. Hanni and Nanni were dozing, but I knew that the slightest disturbance would wake them up quickly.

While the Redguard and I made our rounds from time to time to check if everything was alright and our prisoners were not doing anything unexpected, we did not talk, but in between, when we met close to the fire for a few moments, she sometimes spoke a few sentences. She asked about Hanni and Nanni and where I got them from, she asked about the people in Whiterun, and she told me a little more about her time in Hammerfell, but she refused to talk about her feelings and her plans.

"Look, my priority now is to find my friend, and when we have talked, I may have a better idea about what I am going to do next. That is what I have in mind, and I do not plan to allow myself to be distracted from that."

That was kind of vague, but I had to take what I got. Maybe there was a way how I could help her with whatever she might need and want to do, assuming that she'd even be willing to talk about that later on.

Just before dawn Janina and I woke up our companions, and while we ate breakfast I told them:

"Look, we can't really keep the prisoners around. What about that: We set them free, without their weapons, and tell them that we will watch them leave towards the west. I will watch from a high rock, and with my eyes I will be able to see and observe for quite some time. Meanwhile, the rest of you move on towards Whiterun, and later on I will catch up with you; I can run very fast, so that will be not a problem for me."

Ralof nodded and seemed to like the idea, but Janina objected:

"Oh no, I will stay back here together with you."

"But you will not be fast enough later on when I will run to catch up!"

"Try me!"

Antonius chuckled:

"Come on, let her prove it!"

Reluctantly I nodded, and then I stepped over to our prisoners and told them sternly:

"Imperials, we will set you free now, but without your weapons. You will leave in westerly direction, to leave the hold as quickly as you can; we will be on that high rock up there and watch. If one of you comes back, a bolt will be waiting, and I will not miss. Got me?"

They nodded, and I added:

"Both Fiona, the Dragonborn, and I are Thanes of Whiterun. We will report to Jarl Balgruuf and tell him that Imperials tried to harm us in his hold. You better believe that he is not going to be happy about that. Tell this to your general!"

One by one we released our prisoners' binds and had them move off, and as I had said, I posted myself on the high rock and made sure that they were all leaving. A couple of times some of them looked back, and I made sure that they could see me. None of them even tried to return, and my friends were now already walking east, towards Fort Greymoor. I had suggested that I'd try to catch up with them on the road between the Western Watchtower and Whiterun.

It took at least two hours, maybe more, until the Imperials had gone far enough for my eyes to not be able to see them clearly any longer. Janina had indeed stayed next to me, and while we waited, she asked me:

"B'lushona, may I ask how you feel about the dragons?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I realize that we need to kill them if they attack us and others, but aren't they glorious and amazing creatures? I keep thinking that it would be so great if we could have some as friends rather than enemies."

"Oh yes, I fully agree to that. For the time being, there's probably no chance, but maybe Fiona can make some dragons her friends at some time. I guess it's for her to find out. When she eventually manages to defeat Alduin, the dragons will not have a 'Thuri', a master, any longer, and I should hope that some of them might follow her instead then. Time will tell."

Janina sighed, but that was all I could offer without spoiling something which might or might not happen. Now, as the Imperials were all far away and no longer visible even for my Khajiit eyes, I sent Spirit after them one last time to double check and then suggested:

"What do you think – time to leave?"

She grinned and replied:

"Okay, let's go?"

I nodded, and once we were down from the rock, I started to jog east, towards Fort Greymoor which was visible in the distance. Of course I did not go full speed, as I wanted to be able to maintain a constant speed for a few hours, but I estimated my speed to be comparable to a trained long distance runner on Earth, at least three times as fast as normal walking speed. The pretty Redguard did not complain and kept next to me, and when I looked at her, she seemed to enjoy the run. Hanni and Nanni were of course very happy about the speed, and they seemed to appreciate the challenge as well. Once a few wolves got close to us, but my two saber cats, assisted by their spectral cousin, which I easily conjured while running, managed to chase them off, so that Janina and I did not even have to interrupt our run.

Naturally, as we were not on a road, we needed to make a few detours to avoid uneven terrain and some small ponds and ravines, but it wasn't long until we met the road again just south of the fort, and from there we followed it east. So far, we had not stopped a single time, and animals had not forced us to do so either, thanks to my two saber cats. While my own breathing was only a little bit accelerated and I kept well below the speed I knew I could keep, Janina was breathing hard now, but she had been able to keep up with me, and I had to admit that I quite enjoyed seeing her long legs moving next to me. For a few moments I imagined how she might look in a bikini or in tight and short sports clothes or so, but quickly forced my mind to focus on the road again before it delved into areas I did not want it to go.

Only about quarter of an hour after the watchtower we met the others and slowed down, and it turned out to be about lunch time anyway, so that we all sat down on some rocks and ate. Ralof asked me why I had emphasized that I was going to report the incident to Jarl Balgruuf, and I explained:

"Fiona may have to visit Imperial controlled holds soon again, depending on where the Dragonborn business leads her. If there is a bounty on her head, that's going to a problem. With Elisif being on our side and maybe Jarl Balgruuf sending a complaint to General Tullius, maybe he is going to change his view. I would also like to visit Solitude again at some time for various reasons; I would love to find out when the museum opens. However, I'd rather not have to expect to be thrown into prison at any moment."

I also took the opportunity to ask Janina how she had been able run that fast for hours, and she smiled and replied:

"I have liked running since I was a kid, and I have been exercising many times. Fast paced long distance running is something I really enjoy, specifically when there is somebody running with me. At home in Hammerfell, nobody wanted to run with me any longer for years since I was always faster. With you, B'lushona, I have finally found somebody who can keep up with me, and more than that, too."

She was very unspecific about the 'more than that', but I assumed that this was related to running speed only. While we took our packs again and moved on, I looked to my right, towards the mountain range south of Whiterun, and saw some snow already on the lower slopes, those to the north with little sunlight getting there. From what I had seen and noticed so far, Skyrim did have seasons, but they were probably less pronounced than those on Earth, and the difference between summer and winter was not quite as significant as it had been in central Europe where I had lived before. Most likely the planet's axis tilt was less pronounced? However, winter had barely started, and maybe my assessment was not quite true after all.

When we reached the Whiterun stables, Ralof stopped, and he told us that he was in a hurry to get to Windhelm:

"Jarl Ulfric needs to learn about recent developments, and I better move on and use the remaining hours of daylight. I may even rush to Riverwood today and find the Stormcloak camp close to Helgen tomorrow. I do hope that we meet again!"

I hugged my good comrade briefly, and we watched him as he made his way to the road crossing. Yes, it would be good to get a chance to visit Windhelm, not necessarily to join the Stormcloaks, but just to see how things were there. Was Eastmarch hold a center of racism, with Dunmer living in substandard conditions and Argonians being exploited at the docks? Was Jarl Ulfric a more reasonable person than General Tullius? With thoughts like those on my mind I turned left with the others, and we walked up to the gate. The two guards there seemed to be in a heated discussion with two male Redguards, and we heard the end of it:

"Look, you've already been told you're not allowed here. Turn around and go back the way you came."

"We're causing no trouble. All we ask is to look for her."

"I don't care what exactly you're doing, but after what happened you're lucky we don't toss you all in jail. Now get lost!"

"We will be back. This is not over."

Somehow the two warriors looked familiar, and I looked at Antonius, who was next to me. He nodded and whispered:

"Same ones as in Rorikstead, yes."

I was glad that he confirmed that; with my own bad memory for faces and names, I had not been sure. But yes, we had encountered those two before, when they had molested a woman in Rorikstead. The two turned away from the city gate and saw us and Janina with us, and one of them shouted:

"A Redguard woman! Is it her?"

"No, brother, she's too tall, and she's got the wrong ears, too. She's not the one we're looking for."

One of them addressed our whole group:

"We are looking for a woman – a foreigner in these lands. A Redguard, like us. She is likely not using her true name. We will pay for any information regarding her location."

"Why are you searching that woman?"

"It's none of your concern. All you need to know is that we're paying for information. If that doesn't interest you, feel free to walk away."

Well, that was exactly what we did; we walked away and entered the city. The two Redguard warriors clearly wanted to say more, but the angry looks from the city guards apparently made them reconsider.

Once were were inside, Janina looked at me and said:

"This is not good; they are already looking for her."

"What are you talking about?"

"At home, I had a friend a few years older than me. She is a noble, and my foster parents were good friends with her family. She uncovered some plots planned by the Aldmeri Dominion in Hammerfell and was pursued by Thalmor, so that she eventually had to flee. I know that she wanted to get to Skyrim, and I was hoping to find and meet her. She is not using her real name, though, most likely."

Indeed she had mentioned before that she was looking for a friend in or around Whiterun, but she had not been specific before. I had an idea who her friend might be, and I also vaguely recalled a side quest in the game I had completed once or twice before which could be related, so that I suggested:

"There aren't that many Redguards in Whiterun, as far as I know. One of them works as a barmaid in the 'Bannered Mare'; why don't we look there first?"

The others agreed, and thus we headed right for the inn. It probably would not do if all of us crowded around Saadia, so that Janina entered the inn alone for now. She came back ten minutes later and happily reported that she had found her friend indeed. As she wanted some time to talk to her, we others decided to go up to Dragonsreach and see if the Jarl was available.

We had to wait for some time as the court was in full progress, but Proventus, the steward, suggested that we stay around:

"I am quite sure that Jarl Balgruuf will want to talk with you as soon as he can. As a matter of fact, why don't you come back for dinner? That way the Jarl can still handle his last visitors of the day, and later there will be enough time to talk. Will that be all right?"

"Will it be acceptable for our housecarls to join? We all have a long journey behind us, and they need some food and rest, too."

"But of course, yes."

"All right; see you in a couple of hours then."

I used the time to get a room for Fiona again in the 'Bannered Mare' and learned that Saadia had already organized a room for Janina there; Antonius and Lydia made sure that there were beds available in the guard barracks for all four housecarls.

We showed up at Dragonsreach again in time for dinner, and the roaring fire in the center of the hall welcomed us. Maids and servants had obviously prepared some food, and some big animal, maybe an elk, was fixed on a long skewer and slowly rotated by a servant. The smell was almost overwhelming, and reminded me that I had not eaten much for lunch on that day. We passed the huge fireplace and proceeded towards the throne, where Jarl Balgruuf the Greater was still seated, discussing something with his housecarl Irileth. His eyes lighted up when he recognized Fiona and me and he beamed:

"My Thanes, it is good to see you. Were you able to conclude your respective business in Solitude to your satisfaction?"

"Yes and no, I guess" I replied.

"You will have to tell me more than that!"

"That's why we are here, my Jarl."

"Good. But first, I hope that you are hungry. My well meaning steward always makes sure that there is plenty of food, and I hate seeing things going to waste. Proventus, can we start eating now? My stomach reacts to the delicious smell, you know."

"Of course, my Jarl. Please take your seats, everybody, and I will have the servants getting everything started in a moment."

The Jarl insisted to be flanked by this Thanes, with Fiona sitting at his right side and me on his left, with our housecarls further down, so that we would easily be able to talk while sitting and eating, preferably – from my point of view, at least – talk only once most of the eating was done.

[Author's Notes: There have been some reviews on the issue of our party being constantly attacked despite them killing dragons and such, specifically the recent notes from Petrox, Ted Hsu and Blackvvater and the earlier comments by Pietersielie and Midnight Coffee 64; consequently I tried to make that a little clearer in this chapter.]