Chapter 3

Helgrim broke down the makeshift camp and started along his trek toward the Forsaken Cave once again. The wind was blowing and he pulled the wolf fur closer to his body to ward it off. The rabbit gloves were helping to keep his hands warm, but the rest of him was having a hard time with the weather. Growing up in the warm climate of Hammerfell made coming to Skyrim a hard task, but it was one he embraced fully. He was a Nord, born here in Skyrim. It was here that he belonged. With the sun shining on him as it started to ascend in the sky, he traveled on. He continued to sneak as well as he could since he wasn't sure what was on the road and who was friendly and who wasn't. Not for the first time since Fjolnar left he wished the man was with him still. He walked with a tune in his head that was played by Karita the last night he stayed at the inn and hummed along with it.

There once was a hero named Ragnar the Red, who came riding to Whiterun from ole Rorikstead!

And the braggart did swagger and brandish his blade, as he told of bold battles and gold he had made!

But then he went quiet, did Ragnar the Red, when he met the shieldmaiden Matilda who said...

Oh, you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead! Now I think it's high time that you lie down and bleed!

And so then came the clashing and slashing of steel, as the brave lass Matilda charged in full of zeal!

And the braggart named Ragnar was boastful no mooooore... when his ugly red head rolled around on the floor!

He smiled as he finished the song in his head and looked ahead of him. That Matilda seemed like a woman he might wish to meet one day, if she was real. As long as he didn't brag or boast about his adventures. He chuckled and then noticed a well worn path off the main road ahead of him. His face sobered and he brought up the bow quietly, readying an arrow in the case that he needed it. He wanted to be ready. He stopped at the path and gazed up the way it was headed. There was a building and he could see a few people moving around outside of it. If they had seen him they had decided he was no threat to them. Not ready to relax just yet, he started to walk up the path toward the building and the people. As he reached the first, a woman working at a tanning rack, he realized that they weren't a threat. He put the arrow back into the quiver and lowered the bow. A few questions later and he had verified his previous thought. It was the Hall of the Vigilants, a group of people dedicated to eradicating demons and Daedra alike. These people hunted vampires, werewolves and evil Daedra that he found out were quite prevalent in Skyrim. That sort of made him uneasy, but he figured that at least there was a group fighting them and keeping people safe. He bid them all a farewell and headed back down the hill toward the road once more. The sun was fully shining on him and he was glad that the day was nice instead of stormy. It made the traveling much easier.

He hadn't gotten too far from the vigilants when he was assaulted by a new creature. Actually it was a pair of creatures. Spiders. He shivered and grit his teeth, but drew his bow and began shooting. They were tougher than the wolves he'd already managed to kill along the way. These spiders weren't your ordinary fly-eating spiders that made webs in the corners of your house. They were as large, if not larger, as the wolves he had fought and their poison stung. Nearly ten minutes later and they were both dead at his feet. A cursory check over their bodies showed him that he could harvest their venom sacks, which he did very carefully. Perhaps he could coat his arrows with it and thus poison those that came after him later on. He was more stealthy as he went on in his traveling. About forty minutes later, he passed near a formation of rocks on the side of the road. He stopped for a moment and stared at them, unsure why anyone would have built anything out here in the middle of nowhere, but he felt like checking it out, so he did. He walked through the arch and looked around. He was surprised, and delighted, to find a shrine built to the god he worshiped, Talos. He walked to the shrine and knelt before the idol. He said a brief prayer, thanking Talos for getting him this far and then placed a chunk of wolf meat upon the rocks at the foot of the statue. He stood up, gave the shrine one more smile and left it behind.

Seeing the shrine out here like that gave him the energy he needed to continue on in the journey. To have the feeling, the faith, that his god was watching over him through everything made Helgrim happy. Shortly after leaving the shrine behind, he happened upon a bit of ruins along the road and he would have gone to investigate had it not been for the group of nasty looking people that already occupied the area. They warned him not to come any closer and they looked to be wearing armor and were armed, so he decided that he should leave them alone. No need to go intruding where he didn't belong. About an hour later, after he had been on the road for almost two hours total since he had started that morning, he came upon another building. Investigation of this one turned up a sign out front that read Nightgate Inn. Helgrim thought it was odd to have an inn out here, but he didn't question it too much. Instead, he went inside and warmed his body as well as had a bite to eat. Perhaps that was the reason for the inn to begin with. To give travelers that little boost they needed to continue on their journey. After this, he was in good spirits and walked on.

He checked the map again and gazed ahead. He had continued for another hour and just as he was starting to wonder if he had gotten lost, he saw a cave ahead of him so he thought to check the map. If it was correct, the cave was the one he was looking for. Walking up to it slowly, he searched for any signs of habitation of any animals or people. Not seeing any, he decided to just go on into the cave. He paused just inside the entrance to give his eyes the chance to adjust to the dimmer light. Helgrim continued into the cave slowly, sneaking in case there was something there that wouldn't appreciate his approach. It was a good idea because as he started to search through urns that were sitting to the side, he saw a flash of gray out of the corner of his eye. When he turned his head to see what it was, he saw a wolf sniffing around the snow that covered the ground of the cave. Silently, Helgrim pulled an arrow out of his quiver and nocked it in the bow. He pulled it back and aimed, directing it at the wolf's unaware head. Letting it fly, he was already getting the next one ready and just as the first one struck the wolf's head, dropping the animal to the ground, Helgrim noticed the second wolf he hadn't seen before. He quickly shot at it and struck it in the shoulder. The shot didn't kill it, but it did wound it enough to let him nock another arrow and shoot the wolf again. This time the animal dropped to the ground. Helgrim felt his heart racing as it fell and he breathed rapidly. The blood coursed through his veins with the adrenaline.

Deciding to leave the wolf fur and meat this time, figuring that he would leave the cave the same way, he walked on through the icy cave and shivered. There were a few urns here and there, but most of them were empty. Most likely already looted by those that had previously entered the cave. As he went further, he came to an iron door. It wasn't locked, so he pushed it open. He paused for a moment to listen for any signs that he was heard, but when there was nothing, he continued on. He walked carefully as the floor was icy in spots and passed a skeleton holding onto a satchel. Saying a quick prayer to whomever had perished in this cave, he looked in the satchel and found a few gold and a potion bottle. They obviously didn't need the items any longer, so he didn't feel bad in taking it. He stood up and made his way down the tunnel. He came to another door and opened it. Behind was rock that was not natural. It had been created by hand. There was also no more snow on the ground here. It was not warm, but at least there was no wind here.

It seemed as if he was walking forever and getting more and more lost, but he once more walked through a door and saw a hallway with an archway at the end of it. There must be people who came in here regularly, he surmised, as there were candles and braziers everywhere. Lit and cared for. That thought gave him a shiver as he prayed he wasn't trespassing into territory that would get him killed. After turning the corner through the archway, there was a wider hallway that led to a chest at the end. He walked along the floor and heard a distinct click and when he looked up, darts began to fly at him. He deftly slipped aside and watched them whip past. A trap. Interesting. Now that he knew it was there, he found the pressure plate and avoided it. He got to the chest and opened it, finding more gold and even some gems. He just might get enough to get that horse after all. After closing the chest again, his attention was caught by the sound of uneasy shuffling and he turned his head around, spying a figure heading toward him. It looked rotten, like it had been dead. Quickly, he drew his sword as it was too close to use his bow, and fought the thing off him. As he struck it for the fifth time, it fell to the ground, the light in its eyes going out.

"There. Now stay dead!"

Helgrim shook slightly with the thought that there might be undead things wandering the halls here. He left the dead body there and walked on, going through another archway and around a corner. Going up the man-made tunnel he wasn't sure exactly where he was going, but he hoped that it was the right way and he would find the ring for Frida and get out of here. Without the sun, he had no idea of passing time. At the top of the tunnel he spotted another pair of the undead creatures wandering around. He used his bow this time, catching the first one unaware and dropping it right off. The second, now aware of his presence, rushed toward him. He dropped his bow and drew the sword, meeting the creature eagerly. He slashed at its chest several times before his sword went through it and the light went out in its eyes. He pushed it off the sword and watched it fall to the ground. These things were going to drive him insane. How does something like this happen? He wasn't sure about that, but there was little he could do about that. Except to put down each one that he saw.

He grabbed what he could off their dead bodies, amazingly they had gold and gems on them. It might prove fruitful to dispatch them. He walked on through the tunnels and walked up a well lit tunnel to a room that had several off shoots of rooms off it. A few urns were located here also and he couldn't help going through them and taking what he could. He had a goal to reach, damn it and he would reach it. This place was like a maze, and if he wasn't careful he could get lost in it, but he had a navigator's sense that had kept him from getting lost throughout his life. He didn't feel this would be any different. As he turned a corner, he saw a figure standing in an alcove. It looked dead, of course, but he knew better. Drawing the bow, he shot at the creature. What was it? A zombie? No, it had too much thought for that. Plain and simple it was an animated corpse. It might be something to read up on once he was in Windhelm. For now, though, he focused on putting it down. Another shot dropped it to the floor and he continued through the rooms. He garnered whatever he could from the urns and dead bodies that he found. This was place was more like a crypt than a cave. Obviously people came here, they had to, otherwise how would the candles and braziers get refilled and replaced? Though maybe people hadn't been here since the dead started "waking up". That would be enough to frighten most people away.

With his new ethos in his head now, he vowed to clear the place of the animated corpses so that the loved ones of those that rested peacefully here could once more visit them. He killed several more of the creatures until he came into a room with a door that was locked. Finding in his pocket something he could use to pick the lock since he didn't have a key he started to work on it. However, after three attempts at the lock and no success, he decided to leave it alone and continue on through the maze of tunnels. The walls were cool to the touch, but one could tell they were created by man, not nature. He wondered again why someone would have put a crypt underground and hidden it in such a way to begin with. It just didn't make any sense at all. Walking carefully through the area, not wanting to awake any other dead things, he came to a stairway leading down and followed it.

Travel through the tunnels began to get increasingly more and more tiresome and tedious. If he didn't know any better, and he did, he would have thought he was getting no where. Not only were there rooms that looked like every other room in this place, with bodies that looked like all the other bodies, but it was getting rather old to walk around a corner and find another animated corpse to put down. Though he did have one good thing so far. He was collecting quite the pouch of gold from the urns and bodies. He'd even picked up a few potion bottles. A few that were reddish in color and others that were bluish in color. He had no idea what they were, but assumed that Frida could tell him what they were and what their uses were. Perhaps she might even be interested in buying them from him, thus giving him even more money. A good thing, indeed.

Helgrim came up to another well lit room and stopped. There was a pattern on the floor here and he wasn't sure about it. Slowly reaching out his leg, he touched the pattern with his foot and pulled it back. Just in time, too, as fire shot upwards out of the holes in the floor. Another trap, surely. As he investigated the trap and searched for a way out of it, he saw an undead corpse approach him from across the room. As it neared, he once more touched the trap and set it off. The corpse, not having a brain, stood inside the flames and burned to death. He chuckled a bit at the idea of how stupid these things were, but figured that since they were reanimated dead they probably wouldn't have much of a brain anyway. Finally, he saw how he could get around the trapped floor and moved to the other side. There was another corpse he had to put down before moving on through the tunnels again.

He left the well lit room behind and turned the corner that brought him down a short hallway to an archway. Looking through the archway he noticed a part of the floor that looked different and from previous experience in this place, he understood that it meant there was a trap there. Stepping upon the pressure plate and then moving back, standing around the corner, he saw a battering ram come swing down and would have hit him had he not moved out of the way. That was an interesting trap and would have gotten him if he had not thought to look at the floor. He avoided that part of the floor and continued through the archway and into another room. Here there were shelves that held a few potion bottles, some ingot bars, lots of linen wraps and embalming tools. It must have been one of the storage places. He grabbed what he needed or thought he might be able to sell, then went on. He came to another iron door. It had the inscription on the side of it that read, "Open, Forsaken Crypt".

A shiver ran up Helgrim's spine, but he opened the door anyway. He had thought that where he was previously was a crypt, but now he could see he was wrong. This place was huge and much more man made than even before, if it was possible. He looked up when he entered a room and saw that it went at least two stories high. Amazing, he thought as he continued on. He walked around the corner, bow at the ready, and saw that he was incorrect. It was not two stories high, it was actually three stories high. Whomever had thought to build this must have some intelligence. It was nothing short of genius and he felt the urge to explore it all. Or at least whatever he could get to. As he stepped into a larger room with a few sarcophagi and some shelving in it, one of the undead arose and came after him. He put it down with two arrows and checked out the shelves. He found a few more potion bottles and ingot bars. Because of all the stuff he was picking up, he hoped he was near the end, his backpack was getting heavy.

Next to the shelves was a staircase that led up and though Helgrim hesitated for a moment, he knew the room he was in was three stories high and there was really only one way of reaching the top floor. He had to go up the stairs. At the top he found a short hallway that led to more well lit rooms. At least these crypts looked better than the ones he'd seen before and they also happened to look better cared for. He hadn't seen anyone except for the undead things, but that didn't mean that people didn't come by occasionally and take care of the crypts. He'd heard stories about how the Nord people liked to keep their dead in crypts called the Hall of the Dead for family members to go to and pray over. That was one custom he would rarely, if ever, take part in. He could just imagine the smell in those places.

Helgrim walked on, through the hallways, up more stairs and reached a small room with a few urns in it. He searched through them before going on. Some might have called him a thief, but he was hardly that. These people were dead and had no use for their items. He on the other hand had a use for everything. He could either use the money or he could sell the other stuff to get money. He would do anything, short of murdering someone and perhaps even holding them up, to get the money he needed to make his way to Kynesgrove and eventually back home to Eir. She would understand, he was sure of it. Another staircase and he came out above the large room he had left. The narrow walkway made it difficult to pass, but he was successful. On the other side of the pillar that the walkway went around he noticed three sarcophagi and an undead creature. A few shots later, the creature was dead and he was able to get across to the coffins. He discovered that in front of one of the sarcophagi stood a chest.

He checked the lid and it was not locked, so he lifted it. Inside was some gold and a potion bottle as well as a gem. He shut it again and said a little prayer over the bodies in the sarcophagi before continuing his journey. It was a monotonous trek. Walk through hallway, into room, kill undead thing, check for money or items that can be sold for money, then move on down hallway, into room, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Had Helgrim not been asked to find a ring in here for Frida, he would not have continued as far as he had. The woman seemed nice and he could tell she was too frail to have handled this type of journey. No, better for him to do it. He was young and agile, and he could get out of the way of traps and undead things before they got him. Besides, Frida deserved a little peace after dealing with all that she'd had to. After checking the chest and the shelves here, he turned and found another set of stairs that led up. He followed them where they went, bow ready to shoot if needed.

This hallway took him to a large circular room. After dispatching the undead things there, he looked it over. When he looked up, he saw spikes coming out of the ceiling. This was interesting as he thought it must be a trap, but how did it work? As he was walking around the room, he stepped on a circle in the middle of the room. He heard a grinding sound that was like rock scraping rock. He jumped aside as he felt the ground shift and raise and watched as the circle became a huge pillar that went up, right where the spikes were. What a smart way of setting a trap. Anyone who walked on the circle would be lifted upwards to be impaled on the spikes. Walking carefully around the circle, he found a door on the other side and opened it. No surprise that he found another set of stairs going up. He began to hum the Ragnar the Red song again as he walked up the stairs. He found himself at the very top level of the large room he'd been in. From here he could see where he entered and where he was on the second level. It would have been a good place to snipe from, if he were a sniper and there was anything to snipe down below, which there wasn't.

The walkway was so high up that it had wire caging that encased it entirely. He was certain that someone was worried about their safety or they wouldn't have put the caging up. He walked around the pillar and to the end of the walkway where he found another long hallway. This one was dimmer, though, and he readied an arrow just in case. As he reached the end of it and turned a corner, he was met with another undead thing which he killed with the bow in just two shots. He felt he was getting really rather good at this when he turned the corner to look through an archway. Through the winding hallways he went, killing the undead creatures as he went along. They were becoming more of a nuisance than anything else. Just something to stop him from hurrying through the area. At least he felt more confident about his bow skills now. After several twists and turns, he made it to another iron door. It was also unlocked, so he pushed it open. Before him stood a hallway and beyond that he saw a couple staircases, one on either side of an opening. There must have been a sensor somewhere that triggered as he approached because as he looked into the hallway, he was met with several swinging blades. A veritable death trap if he'd ever seen one.

Helgrim paused for a while to figure this trap out and saw that the blades swung in a pattern and that if one could simply figure out the pattern, they could make it through the trap pretty easily. With a deep breath, he made the first foray into the trap, stopping after he passed the first blade, before hitting the second. He waited for the second to swing by and hurried through, stopping before the third. Once that one went by, he moved through and stopped before the last blade passed, then moved through and into the room. Almost immediately the blades stopped swinging and he narrowed his blue eyes at the trap. That must have been part of it as well. Ingenious.

While he was busy checking out the blade trap, he heard the sound of a sarcophagus being pushed open. He turned around and saw another undead thing coming out of the sarcophagus in the middle of the huge room. Quickly drawing his bow, Helgrim readied an arrow and aimed at the creature. Letting it fly, he smiled briefly as it hit its target and then drew another arrow out of his quiver and nocked it. The creature was still walking toward him and he swallowed, steadied his aim and let it go. The second arrow sunk into the creature's chest with a thud. He had enough time to drop the bow and draw his sword before it reached him and let out a loud, ground shaking yell at him. He felt the pain in his head and stepped back a little, shaking his head. Regaining his composure, he stepped back up to the undead thing and slashed with his sword. He was very good with his bow, but was nearly just as good with the sword. A growl came from his mouth as the thing yelled at him once more in a language he had no knowledge of. He shivered, but this time he stayed in place.

"You'll have to do better than that!" he yelled back at the creature.

Another slice at the abdomen and the thing went down on its knees. With a quick thought, Helgrim struck with his sword and removed the thing's head. It was perhaps a tad more excitement over that than there should have been, but he was huffing and puffing from the fight. This thing had been the hardest thing he'd had to go up against in his entire life. Without moving any further into the room, he checked around before putting his sword away. He didn't need to be surprised, after all. He picked up his bow and went into a stealthy crouch, then moved further into the room. It was a very large room which had a ceiling that was much higher than it really needed to be, in Helgrim's opinion. He saw a figure in an alcove and put it down with two arrows. Searching through the entire room he discovered three more alcoves like this and killed each undead creature that was hiding there. After he had finished and it was deemed safer, he stood back up and lowered the bow.

As he went up to the sarcophagus that the harder to kill undead thing came out of, he noticed two stairways on either side of a hallway. He walked up one of the sets of stairs and at the top was a very large chest. A quick look around made him sure that there were no other undead creatures around and he went to the chest and lifted the lid. There inside the chest was two rings, a couple weapons, some armor and lots of gold and gems. Surely this would help him reach his goal of one thousand gold pieces. With a smile upon his face he packed all of it away in his backpack or attached it to the sides of it in the case of the weapons. After everything was put away in an appropriate place, he sat down on the ground and relaxed for a moment. He was certain that one of the rings he had found in the chest was the one Frida's husband had been searching for. He would have to look at it closer when he got to Dawnstar again.

After Helgrim rested for about a half hour, he rose once more to his feet and put his backpack on his shoulders. Then, holding his bow, he walked back down the stairs. The hallway between the stairs led to another room that didn't have much of anything with value in it, so he left it alone. He left that room and went back into the big room where he noticed a door off to the side and he walked over to it. It was unlocked and he grinned, wondering if it might have led to a treasure room or something, but when he opened it he found a set of stairs that went up to another door. Figuring that he might as well check it out rather than backtracking just yet through the entire maze that he had come through to get where he was, he headed up the stairs and opened the door. Behind this one held a small room with snow on the ground and a brazier burning brightly. The walls were back to the cave type, which was a little odd after all the well worked stone that he had been in for a lot of the time. On the opposite side was a lever. It might have been a trap, but he didn't care and went to it and lifted the lever. A loud grinding was heard and beyond that a door opened up and revealed the room he had first gone into, where he killed the wolves. Talos was guiding him because he certainly wasn't looking forward to going all the way back to the beginning the way he'd come. Now he didn't have to. He made his way back down and out of the cave and into the darkness outside. It had been daylight when he had gone inside and now it was full dark. Just how long he had been in there was a mystery, but he would guess it was several hours. Deciding to be smart, he turned around and went back into the cave and made his camp there. At least it was out of the wind and cold and he wouldn't have to dig a hole in the snow. Tomorrow he would travel back to Dawnstar with his loot. In two days time he would find out just how profitable this whole adventure had turned out to be. Right now, however, he prepared his camp and his supper, then rolled out his bed and slept. He was very exhausted after an entire day killing undead things and traveling through a cave and crypt.

The next morning he woke up and prepared his breakfast, packed up his camp and made sure all of his valuables were still where they were supposed to be before leaving the cave. The trek back to Dawnstar was less stressful than it was getting to the cave because he knew where he was headed and could navigate better. It would have given him a better chance of getting back to Dawnstar in the same day if it hadn't been snowing when he left the cave. Still, by the time the sun went down he had been walking for nine hours and after the marathon adventure in the cave, he was feeling very tired and very sore. Very ready to sleep for a week. He went through the motions of making camp in the lessening light and put his supper on the fire to cook. He had to admit that wolf meat when cooked over a fire was actually pretty good. After a night of sleep and a freshening in the morning, he continued his return trip to Dawnstar. The snow stopped about two hours after he began walking and he reached town two hours after that. Breathing a sigh of relief, he sat on the steps to the inn and rested a moment before he walked on to the Mortar and Pestle to return the ring to Frida.

Helgrim decided that he would head over to see Rustleif after to see what he could sell for weapons and armor, then he would check in with Thoring and see if he had any food items he might want. He needed to sell whatever he could before moving onto the next town. Without a general shop to visit in Dawnstar, he would have to make do with what was available. He walked into Frida's shop and smiled at the woman who smiled back to him in kind. He had to admit, the people he had met thus far, excluding the three Imperials that had captured Fjolnar, had all been quite nice to him, a foreigner for all intents and purposes. He stepped up to the counter and Frida greeted him with a hug, glad to see him alive and in one piece. After a brief chat about how they were both doing as well as the town, for Helgrim had been gone for almost an entire week, he brought up the ring.

"I think I've got your ring, Frida." He reached into his pocket, pulled out the two rings that had been in the large chest at the end of the cave and held them out to her.

"Oh, thank you!" Frida checked over both rings and took the one on the right. "This means so much to an old woman like me. Here, let me pass on some of my secrets to you."

Frida spent the next hour in her shop with Helgrim, showing him the most common herbs and flowers used for potions and the like as well as how to mix them and what to mix them with. When he was done, Helgrim had the basic knowledge that could be used to make a simple healing potion or magicka potion, not that he really needed either of those. He didn't cast spells and he tried very hard not to get hurt. The next hour after was spent bartering the potions and ingredients that he had found in the cave. He didn't exactly need them, so why not sell them and get more gold for the horse he planned to purchase and the trip to Kynesgrove that he was sure was going to take more than a few days to reach. When he left the shop he patted the pouch of gold and felt much better. He was more than half the way to where he needed to get to. His next stop, the blacksmith to sell the weapons and armor he'd grabbed.

Between selling his loot and eating his supper, he used the rest of the day to sell everything he could. As he sat on his bed that night, he counted all of the gold out and smiled when he realized he had earned what he needed plus two hundred. Surely that would be enough to get the horse and make it to Kynesgrove. Even if he couldn't get to Kynesgrove, perhaps another town where he could then sell the rest of the items in his backpack. He went to bed that night with the money pouch under his pillow and his hand clutching it tightly. He wasn't about to let it out of his sight for any length of time. He had worked hard to get that money. He wasn't about to lose it when he was so close to the first goal.

In the morning, after eating his breakfast and thanking Thoring and Karita for the meal and the kindness, he went to search for Abelone. He needed to apologize to her for how things had turned out and he wanted to explain himself to her. He found her outside in the stable, feeding the horses, and he walked up to her slowly. No sense in scaring the woman out of her mind with his sudden approach.

"Abelone?"
"Oh!" She gasped with the surprise of him being suddenly there and sighed when she saw it was him. "Helgrim."

"I figured I should probably explain myself to you. I didn't refuse you because you aren't beautiful. Quite the opposite. You are the type of woman any man would give his right arm for. However, I have a girl back home that I am in love with and intend to marry."

"Oh. I guess that works. I wasn't terribly put out by you, but you are the first man aside from Thoring who has rebuffed my attention. It tends to make me wonder if there might be something wrong with me."

"No, there's nothing wrong with you, Abelone. I'm just in love with someone else and am remaining faithful to her alone. I hope you understand."

"Of course I do, Helgrim. That is a quality that a lot of men don't have these days. Your girl is very lucky indeed."

"Thank you. Now, who do I talk to about purchasing one of these wonderful beasts?"

"Well, that would be me. Thoring lets me handle this part of the business since I know more about horses than he does. Are you looking to buy one?"

"I am. I'd like to look them all over if I may. I know horses also. I worked as a blacksmith for ten years and put my share of shoes on them. I can tell which have strong legs and which of them will lose the strength in their backs."

"Sure. Go ahead. I've got to bring the wood into the inn anyway. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Abelone turned and left him to look over the four horses in the paddock and carried the armful of wood into the inn. Helgrim turned and leaned against the railing of the paddock, inspecting each of the horses. He used his critical eye first to pick out which horses wouldn't last a day and those that would go forever on build alone. Then he climbed over the fence and went to each horse in turn. The bay was slightly sore in a hind leg as he ran his hand down its leg to check the feet. He still looked it over in case it needed attention, but it was just a stone. Still, it would take another day before the horse could be ridden. He shook his head, gave the bay another pat on the shoulder and then turned to a painted mare. Her chestnut and white coat was striking against the snow, but he didn't really like the way she tossed her head when he approached. A head shy horse was one that had little respect for its owner. Helgrim didn't need a horse like that. He gave her a pat as well and then walked to a gelding grazing on the hay off to the side. He liked the color, a grullo appaloosa that had a blanket and was near leopard. However, this one was somewhat swayback and also had cracked hooves. Not exactly unheard of in snow, but with the back issue made Helgrim not want him. He turned to the last horse and stepped toward her. The mare was another chestnut and white paint, but with a face that showed intelligence, something he liked. After checking her feet and finding no issues, he ran his hand over the mare's back and hips, pressing here and there to make sure there was no pain. The mare passed each of his tests so that when Abelone returned a short time later, he leaned against the railing again and motioned to the mare.
"I'll take that one. She's got a good head on her shoulders."

"Good choice. We've had several people say they've never seen a more friendly horse. If that's the one you want, she's one thousand gold."

"Yeah, she's the one I want." Helgrim smiled and then started to count out the one thousand coins to pay for her. He put them into a smaller pouch and handed that pouch to Abelone. "Thank you, I appreciate it. Does she have a name?"

"She's been here only a week. As far as I know she doesn't have a name yet." Abelone took the coin pouch that he handed her and pocketed it, then tied a rope around the mare's neck and handed that to him. "I'm glad we spoke. I thought you hated me, Helgrim."

"Hmm, I will have to think on a name for her." He took the rope and then looked up at her when she said that she was glad they spoke. He shook his head. "I never hated you, Abelone. I was just afraid of being tempted to do something I would later regret. You understand right?"

"Yes, of course I do. Thank you, Helgrim. Enjoy your new mare and I wish you good luck on your journey." Then she turned around and went back inside the inn.

Helgrim looked at the mare and tilted his head slightly, looking her over. The mare did the same thing at him and he smiled. He had picked the right one. He led her out of the paddock, careful to close the gate behind her, and on the road to the inn. He tied the rope to the rail next to the stairs and was quiet. He looked her over to see if her name came to him. He patted her neck softly and then went back to the stable, grabbed some hay and dropped it beside her. He then went back inside as the sun was dipping under the horizon and paid for one more night at the Windpeak Inn. He intended to leave out the next day if all went well. Perhaps he could talk to Thoring one more time and get a direction to go in where he might find another town. For now, though, he wanted to rest. Between selling the rest of what he could and buying the horse, he was ready for the sleep.

The morning came and he was packing everything up once more. This time it was final and he felt the bittersweet sadness that came with it. He would eventually return to Dawnstar, he knew he would. The people he had met and gotten to know here had almost become like family. He wouldn't forget them and he wondered if they would forget him after he left. When he was finished getting everything packed up, he made sure the coin purse was tucked inside his shirt where pickpockets would have a very hard time getting to it. Then he looked around the room once more to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything and put the backpack on, attached the sword belt around his waist, tossed the quiver over his shoulder and carried the bow out of the room. He went to the counter where Thoring was wiping it down with a cloth. He looked up at Helgrim at his approach.

"Leaving out today, Helgrim?"

"Yeah. I was thinking I might head to another town. Do you have a map of the area that might show me where the next town is at?"

"Hmm, I think Karita might actually have a map you could use. Karita?" Thoring's daughter came over to the counter and looked at them, a small smile on her face. She always enjoyed talking to Helgrim.
"Yes, Papa?"

"Do you have that map you always carry about you?"

"You know I do, Papa. One day I wanna travel the countryside. Why?"

"Helgrim was asking if I had a map that would show him where the next town was at. I told him you might have one he could use." Thoring gave her a look that said he didn't want her traveling all over the countryside. Especially alone. Karita hesitated, frowning as she caught on to what her father was doing. She sighed and nodded, relenting. She pulled into her pocket and held out the worn paper to Helgrim.
"Here you go, Helgrim. I've talked to a lot of people that have come through here. I've had them point out places on the map."

"Thank you, Karita. Do not fear, I shall return the map to you when I am done with it. You will be able to travel the countryside using it," Helgrim assured her, letting his hand cover hers in a gesture of comfort. He pocketed the map and stood up. "A loaf of bread and some cheese, if you will Thoring? That should keep me going for a bit."

Thoring nodded and turned to get Helgrim what he wanted and Karita returned to play a song near the fireplace. Thoring returned and handed the satchel to Helgrim with a sigh.

"I am sad to see you go, but I know that you will find your way soon enough. Please, send us letters of your exploits. You know full well that Karita will love reading about them."

"Of course, Thoring. You and Karita and Abelone, too, are some of the first friends I ever made here and have become like family. I will send letters whenever I can. I must go and say farewell to Rustleif and Seren now. Until later, my friend." He shook hands with the man and then turned, leaving the inn. After another half hour and a tearful goodbye from the pregnant Seren he made his last step, saying goodbye to Frida. He told the old woman that he would return again soon and take her up on her offer of feeding him a home-cooked meal. By noontime, he had said his goodbyes to everyone and mounted the mare. The mare he still hadn't named yet. He was sure it would come to him on the journey, but for now she was just 'Horse' and that was fine with him. For now. He was of the mind that everyone should have a name and a lot of the time the animal would tell you their name, you just had to be in the right frame of mind to hear them. With a final look over his shoulder, he said farewell to Dawnstar and began his trek eastward, the direction of Kynesgrove. Karita told him that everything that she had gleamed through her talks with travelers told her it would take some time to reach it, but Helgrim didn't care. He was on his way once more. He had a horse beneath him and money in his pocket. He was doing well.