A/N: I am so sorry for how long this has taken, but school came first and I had A-Level mock exams to revise for. I should hopefully update within two weeks, quicker if the inspiration hits me. Now on with the chapter.
We stood on the crest of the hill, staring at the destruction that was being unleashed upon the city by the invading army. Plumes of smoke rising from most parts of the city. The citadel of Dragonsreach stood above the flames, seemingly miraculously untouched by the bombardment that had damaged the city beneath it.
"Damn it!" Ram-Ku shouted, "Fucking Stormcloaks, why did they have to come here?"
"I'm guessing that he's not a fan of Ulfric or his 'Stormcloaks' then?" Liedan interjected.
"You could say that, I suppose. He killed the brother of one of Ulfric's top generals. Also, he's an Argonian that's friends with a Dunmer, not exactly Ulfric's ideal inhabitant of Skyrim. Add to that the fact that both of them," I indicated both Ram-Ku and Falin, "Are wanted for murder with bounties of five thousand septims apiece."
"If you hate the Stormcloaks so much," he said to Ram-Ku, "why don't you go out there and join the fight?"
"Because we're not allowed to. Part of the code of being a Companion is not to get involved in political conflicts, if that weren't the case, then Jorrvaskr would be experiencing a civil war of its own." I told him. I could already see the idea setting in behind Ram-Ku's eyes, so I decided to make the point even clearer, "The fact that Ram-Ku is one of the ranking members would make it even more inappropriate for him to get involved."
"He doesn't have to get involved, as Ram-Ku." Liedan suggested.
"What do you mean?" Ram-Ku asked.
"I mean that you could disguise yourself and enter the battle as some random warrior who doesn't like the Stormcloaks."
"Of course," I said sarcastically, "Because there is absolutely no way that Aela and Vilkas are going to realise that the large Argonian killing Stormcloaks is Ram-Ku, or that the Dunmer destruction mage with him is Falin."
"You may have a point there, Ria."
"Of course I do. I'm clearly the sensible, intelligent one in this group."
Behind us the Stormcloak siege engines had ceased firing, and the blue-coated soldiers and bear-fur clad generals charged the walls and defenders.
"I'm no Companion though, and Ria, you could easily be disguised as someone else. We could do it." Liedan said. "We could probably get away with it. As long as you stayed away from Jorrvaskr, that is."
"No!" Ram-Ku said. We turned to face him, and he continued. "I know Aela and the others too well, they will not be fighting the Stormcloaks, but they will be defending the townspeople from any violence that comes their way. As a friend, I will not risk you losing your dreams for this Ria, and as a member of the circle," I could see how much this was costing him in the clenching of his fists, "I must remind you that we are sworn, by our honour as Companions, not to interfere in political turmoil. Kodlak made the decision that we would not get involved, and I will respect that decision." He turned his back on us and together we watched as our home burned.
The sun had begun it's journey towards the horizon when the distant sounds of battle finally ceased. I could see no figures retreating from the city, meaning that it had been a total victory for one side, and a crushing defeat for the other. We slowly approached the still-smoking city, fearful of being mistaken for the enemy and attacked. As we advanced up the road past the stables, we passed the shattered remains of the Empire's barricades, the Stormcloaks had come this far at least. At the main gates themselves, the only guardsmen were the dead ones lying on the floor around us, surrounded by broken weapons and splintered shields. The four of us walked up to the gates themselves, the ancient timbers blackened by fire. I looked across at Ram-Ku and saw a steely determination in him, no matter what we found beyond the doors, he would face it. Liedan and Ram-Ku swung the doors open and we entered the city of Whiterun.
The first thing we saw was the blacksmith, Adrianne Avenicci, arguing with a huge man dressed in the blue cloth armour of the Stormcloaks. Ram-Ku swore violently, and Falin instinctively surrounded herself with the fire of ancestor's wrath, causing Liedan to jump back quickly. All of this quickly attracted the attention of the guard. The man strode towards us, his hand resting on the hilt of his war axe.
"What do we have here then?" He demanded from behind the faceplate of his helmet. He quickly answered his own question. "A scaleback, a grayskin, a milk-drinking Imperial, and some strutting Redguard sellsword from Hammerfell. All no doubt seeking to sully the land of Skyrim. Well guess what – this is our city now, and you're not allowed here." I could sense the smirk in his voice. "How about the four of you turn around and bugger off to your homes." He chuckled to himself, the sound oddly reflected by the metal helmet.
Liedan stepped forward, an easy-going smile on his face, "Ah, you see, that is the problem sir. I have no home, and the home of my friends lies behind you, they have lived in this city far longer than you."
"Oh really," the guard snorted, "And where, pray tell, do your friends live? The mead hall of Jorrvaskr." The man laughed at his own joke. Liedan's smile suddenly became more of a smirk.
"Well actually, yes. Yes they do." He gestured at us with his arm, "Ria and Falin are members of the Companions, and Ram-Ku here is part of the Circle. I am merely a hopeful traveller. Of course, if you want to be the one to explain to Kodlak Whiteman why three of his warriors are not allowed into the city, then by all means, be my guest." The smirk that I thought I heard in the guard's voice had now fully transferred itself to Liedan's face, the Stormcloak seemed to be slightly unsure of himself.
"Virur! What are you doing?" Another guard in the armour of the Stormcloaks was rushing towards us, he was slightly smaller than the first man, not that was saying much, Virur was almost the size of Ram-Ku and Farkas. "You're supposed to be securing the assistance of the blacksmith, not harassing travellers."
"But Ralof." The first guard had taken on an almost whining tone, "Look at them, they don't belong in Skyrim, nevermind Whiterun, one of them's an elf." He practically hissed the last part.
Ralof looked at Falin, then back at his comrade, "Virur, she's not even Altmer, nevermind Thalmor," he sighed, "you're clearly the wrong guard for this job, go back to Dragonsreach. Now!"
It seemed that Ralof outranked Virur, for the bigger man turned on his heel and practically flounced off in the direction of Dragonsreach. Ralof turned to us. "I'm sorry about him, he took Jarl Ulfric's speeches about elves and beast races to heart."
Liedan nodded, "But that doesn't explain what he said about us."
Ralof sighed again, "Imperial milk-drinker and strutting mercenary? He says that to every Imperial and Redguard who comes through here, what do you want anyway?"
Ram-Ku stepped forward, "I am a member of the Circle of the Companions," he said, "Ria and Falin are also members, and Liedan is hoping to join."
Ralof looked impressed, "Shor's Bones, Companions. I'm very sorry for how Virur behaved, please, go on." So saying he turned towards Adrianne and began profusely apologising for any offence that Virur had caused.
As we continued towards the market, we saw a couple of Stormcloaks standing at Carlotta Valentia's stall. From their stances, they didn't seem to be interested in buying any produce. As we drew nearer we heard them asking her to accompany one of them to the Bannered Mare that night. We heard her telling them about how she had to take care of her daughter, but they ignored that and continued to pressure her.
"Hey," Ram-Ku stepped forward, "Some friendly advice for you, Stormcloaks."
"What do you want, scaleback?" one of them shot back at him. Ram-Ku raised his hands.
"Easy there. Just a quick warning: The last man who continued to press his suit on Ms. Valentia after being told to her leave her alone, ended up with a broken nose."
"Is that a threat?"
"No. Just a warning." The slight glint in Ram-Ku's eyes was the only thing that indicated otherwise. The guards looked at each other and decided that pursuing Carlotta was not worth broken noses and they left. Ram-Ku turned to Carlotta, "Do you get much like that now?"
"No more than I was getting before. At least four of the guards have already decided that they're in love with me, it's like being a young widow paints a target on your back, 'here I am, I need a man to take care of me' all over your back. Two of them got into a fight over me at the Bannered Mare." She sighed, "At least Balgruuf's men understand cleanliness, these Stormcloaks smell of ale and sweat."
"What happened to Balgruuf?"
Carlotta looked at him, then realised that he'd only just returned to the city. "He fought against general Stone-Fist, and lost. He, Irileth and Proventus are being sent off to Solitude later."
"Wait, Galmar's here? Shit!"
I decided to interrupt, "Ram-Ku, take Falin and Liedan back to Jorrvaskr before Falin burns someone." Falin's ancestor's wrath was dying down, but she now had a pair of fire spells flickering in the palms of her hands. Once they had left, I turned back to Carlotta, "So who's replacing them then?"
"Vignar Grey-Mane is the new Jarl, Brill is his steward, and Olfina, his housecarl."
"Wait, Vignar's a Jarl now?" Although it did make sense, seeing as how the Grey-Manes were one of Ulfric's biggest supporters, I was a little surprised that Vignar had been made Jarl, seeing as how, as a Companion, he was sworn to neutrality.
"Aye, and he's been making noise about changes that he's going to make, mainly building a temple of Talos for Heimskr to preach from."
"I think Heimskr prefers to stand on the street and do it, get his message across to a bigger audience." I laughed and headed off towards Jorrvaskr. As I walked through the wind district I saw Heimskr standing at his usual place, practically screaming about how the Stormcloaks had liberated us from the Imperial oppressors. I also noticed the signs of the battle that had taken place. The recently-repaired trellis surrounding the Gildergreen had been broken again, and Heimskr's house had completely collapsed under the weight of a stone launched from the Stormcloak siege engines. As I stared at the damage, a large group of Stormcloaks came down the stairs from Dragonsreach. Admist the blue-coated soldiers stood Proventus, looking absolutely terrified, Irileth glaring hatefully at the stormcloaks surrounding her, I noticed that none of them were shoving her like they were Proventus, and finally, Balgruuf the Greater, looking like he had lost everything. I had never seen a man looking more broken in my life.
There was nothing I could do for them, they had lost, and now they were being banished. Considering what Ulfric had done to High King Torygg, they were getting off relatively easily. I turned to head up the stairs towards Jorrvaskr at the same time as an older man clad in the bear fur armour of a Stormcloak general. He followed me up the steps, catching the door as it swung shut behind me. Athis and Farkas had just turned to greet me when the man shouted.
"Where are they? Where are the people who murdered my brother?"
A/N: So the Stormcloaks have taken Whiterun, and Galmar is about to fuck things up in Jorrvaskr. On a side note, tell me what you think about Liedan, whether you like him or not.