Chapter 4

Helgrim urged the mare into a walk and just walked along the road as he studied the map that Karita had given him. He saw a few places that were marked on the map, presumably by the travelers she had talked to in order to get the information in the first place. It would be useful, he surmised, to know where there might be a fort or a ruin he could use as shelter rather than sleep outside. Even though he had warm clothes now and even a horse, he had no wish to sleep in the snow if he didn't have to. He followed the line that was the road until it reached what he guessed was a town called Winterhold. It didn't look terribly far away. Certainly not more than a few days on horseback. He put the map back in his pocket and patted the horse's neck then urged her into a smooth, ground-eating canter. Helgrim had assured himself that buying the mare would prove very thoughtful indeed.

An hour into the uneventful journey and he slowed the mare as they came upon a structure that looked almost like a fortress. Almost. A ruined one perhaps. He stopped the horse outside the entryway and looked around, searching for signs of recent activity. As he did this, however, an arrow whipped by his head and he looked up and saw the man on the wall, bow raised and ready to shoot again. Helgrim turned the horse and started to go back the way they'd come, but another arrow narrowly missed his head. He stopped the mare and dismounted, pulling out his bow in the same motion. He quickly drew an arrow and aimed at the man on the wall, but he was gone. The man reappeared in the entryway and was coming toward him and his horse with sword raised. The moment Helgrim was about to shoot the attacker, he had to stay his hand because the horse jumped in front of him.

Helgrim could only stand and stare as he watched the mare attack the man repeatedly. He snapped out of it when he heard her squeals as she was struck with the sword, but by the time he drew the bow up again, the man lay dead on the ground. He looked over at the mare and chuckled. Before he could say anything, however, a second man began shooting at him with a bow and he dodged to the side and found a tree to use as cover. Bringing his bow up to shoot the man, he watched as once more the horse stepped in to fight the man. She reared and struck out with her large, strong hooves at the man. Had Abelone known what sort of horse she had been selling him? Perhaps not or she would surely have asked for more money. He kept the bow up in case he needed to save the mare, but she seemed to know what she was doing. The other man now lay dead at her feet and he came out of hiding and approached her, making sure his own weapon was put away first. He didn't need her thinking he was an attacker as well.

"Now look at that, horse. You went and killed both and left none for me," he teased the horse as if she could answer back.

The mare whuffed and turned around, placing her slightly bloody muzzle into his arms for a hug. Helgrim could feel his heart tugging a bit. He'd only had her for half a day, but already he was growing attached. Patting her shoulder, he took the reins and walked beside her and headed to the entrance to the fort. There didn't appear to be anymore people hanging out here. Once they were in the courtyard, he dropped her reins and turned. There were a set a stairs that led up to the walls. He noticed the smelter that was undoubtedly used for smelting ore. As he turned, he spotted a double door entry and walked over to it. He tried the handles and found out it was locked. Shrugging, he figured he might as well investigate this place. It wasn't like he had a time table to reach Kynesgrove. He was a curious creature by design and he had to satisfy that curiosity with a little snooping.

He walked up the stairs to the second level of the outside and followed the trail as it led around to above the other doors. Here was another doorway and he tried this door and it was open. One more look at the horse below to make sure she was fine and then he opened the door and went inside. He paused as he went inside and pulled out the map once more. He followed the road to about where he was and used the charcoal to mark the place on the map. Perhaps someone in Winterhold would be able to tell him what it was called. He tucked it away again and put the charcoal in his backpack, then crouched into a stealth position and moved further into the place. He heard a rough voice and stopped moving, pressed up against the wall as he thought someone was coming through the archway toward him. No one did.

"Damn! It's all mead, mead, mead. Would it really kill 'em to get some beer now and then? Screw those stupid bees and their stupid honey." Helgrim swallowed to wet his suddenly dry throat and he clenched his fists once, then twice before taking his bow out and preparing to defend himself.

"I should have known she was lying. She said she'd wait for me, but they never do." As the man went on, either talking to himself or to some other person who was staying quiet, he moved further into the room.

"I need me some more skooma. The good, imported stuff. Just one last time." Helgrim shook his head at those words. Skooma was the worst kind of drug that everyone seemed to get addicted to after just a few tastes. He'd seen more than one of his friends end up in the temples for healing because of it. He turned a corner and still hadn't seen the guy. Just some beds and shelves.

"Shit, I told him just to hand over the gold, but did he listen? Oh no, they never do. They always have to fight back!" He would be doing the world a favor, apparently, if he took care of this guy. Skooma addict, drunkard, thief, murderer. He moved along the side of a bed and stopped as he saw another room off the one he stood in. Inside this room sat a man, alone, at a table.

"Ah, picking pockets, now that's the real art. No rough stuff, just take it and go. Hmph, I know, it doesn't sound like much fun though." Helgrim moved around so he could get a shot off at the guy, but there were some loose rocks in the way and he crunched as he stepped over them.

"What was that?" the guy asked, standing up and drawing his sword at the same time.

Helgrim pulled the bow back, aimed and let the arrow fly at the man. A satisfying thunk as it hit the man in the shoulder brought a grin to Helgrim's face, but it was short-lived as the man reached him. He shot once more, hitting him in the gut, then dropped the bow and drew the sword at his side. There was a brief clanging of steel as the two men fought, but with a final thrust, Helgrim pierced the man's chest with his sword. He grunted and stared into the other's surprised face. He had just appeared and ended the man's life. When the bandit's last breath left his body, he pulled his sword out of his body and wiped the blood off on the man's clothing. He felt a little guilty about killing the man that way, but it wasn't like the guy was innocent or anything. He had all but admitted killing a man for his money. Shaking his head and bringing himself back into the frame of mind he needed before he was lost to the guilt, he looked into the room the guy had been sitting in. The first place his eyes went to was the large chest sitting against a wall. He had spent most of his money on the horse and provisions for his trip. The promise of something valuable made him step into the room.

He found the chest unlocked and opened it. Inside he found thirty four gold coins, a potion bottle that he would investigate later when he stopped for the night, a rolled up paper that might have been a scroll, a book that had some strange writings in it, a gold necklace and a circlet that was copper and had rubies in it. He was sure most, if not all, of the items would sell for a decent amount, so he made sure they were all packed into his backpack before he moved to the wall. On the wall there was a plaque with two greatswords and a shield on it. The man wasn't going to need them anymore, so he took them off the wall and attached them to his backpack. He turned to leave and checked over the man's dead body one more time before he left the building. In a small pocket he discovered a key and wondered if it went to the doors that were locked. He decided to check it out.

He went outside and down the stairs, then went to the double doors. He put the key into the lock and it turned, unlocking the doors. A grin on his face, he pocketed the key and then opened the doors, walking inside the building at this level. As soon as he stepped through the doors and shut them behind him he realized this was a mine. Why the doors were locked was a mystery, but perhaps it was a prison? He readied the bow in his hand and crouched to hide, moving stealthily across the floor. He could hear the sounds of people mining and timed his steps accordingly. He found a ramp leading down into the mine and slowly descended. He stopped when he saw a woman walking through and stopped. She also spoke of skooma and he guessed all of these people must be addicted to it and banded together out of desperation. Drawing his bow back, he aimed and let it go, striking the woman. She gasped and then was silent. With a bow in his hand, Helgrim was deadly.

As he made his way slowly to the woman's body he found a few mushrooms that Frida had told him about, so he picked them up and put them into his backpack. If nothing else, he might able to make a potion himself and sell it. He got to the woman's body and checked it over for anything of value. She had some gold and a few weapons he felt would sell well, so he took them. Then he checked around quickly before mining some of the iron ore for himself. He had learned that blacksmiths paid well for ore and ingots both, so he would grab it where he could and sell it. After he had mined some of the ore, he put the pickaxe away and grabbed his bow once again, going to the next ramp that led down. He was careful where he put his feet in case there were traps in this place. His last experience of going into someplace he didn't know was that he found dead things moving around and trying to kill him. Here he was glad to see that it was actual people, but that made him feel guilt, something he didn't want to feel right now.

Helgrim reached the bottom of the ramp and it turned a corner. He followed along the wall as much as possible and stuck to the shadows to stay out of sight. He noticed a table and went to see what was on it since there were no other bandits around. Not really much there except a book and a few pieces of gold. He pocketed the gold and put the book in his pack then went on. There were two bandits down a long hallway that appeared to be mining the ore. With a well aimed shot, he put one of them down easily enough. The other, alerted to danger by the death of his friend, drew his sword and began to walk down the hall. Helgrim shot him once and watched as the man ran into a huge boulder and fell to the ground, clutching his leg. He shot the man again and silenced him. Not seeing any others, he put the bow away and walked toward them. As he passed by a barrel with a lantern on it he noticed a glint out of the corner of his eye. When he looked down to see what it was, he found a reddish gem. He quickly pocketed that in case his mind stepped in and tried to tell him he was stealing. He wasn't stealing, these people were bandits. Thieves, murderers, whatever, but they were all criminals.

He checked over their bodies as well and took what was worthwhile to him, then left the mines. When he got back outside he saw that it was getting dark and he didn't relish the idea of sleeping in the wilderness, even with the horse as a companion, so he made sure the mare was comfortable and she had some grass to graze on, then he went back inside the fort and slept in one of the bandit beds. It wasn't a very restful sleep because he was on alert in case any straggling bandits happened inside, but at least he was warm. In the morning, he rode the horse around the outer walls and up the hills behind the fort where he could see a path and followed it. He ate his breakfast as they walked along the trail, deciding that having a horse was good for that as well. They traveled for a short while before coming up to what looked like a small stone building. As he approached it, he noticed a man who looked none too happy to see him.

"Okay, horse, now let's try to do this stealthily, eh?" Helgrim whispered to the mare and then dismounted, crouching and moving behind a bush.

Unfortunately, the horse must not have understood him because as soon as he was off her back, she charged into battle with the bandit outside the building. Shaking his head, Helgrim followed and held the bow ready for when he got a clear shot. It was unnecessary, though. Within a few minutes, the man lay dead at her feet. The smile on his face was growing by the day for this horse. He worried, of course, for her health, but so far she seemed able to take care of herself. The cuts that she had gotten already weren't deep and as long as they were kept clean, they should be fine. He would have some stories to tell Abelone the next time he saw her, though. As he was patting the horse, his attention wavered and he realized it when the arrow sank into his arm.

"Argh!"
The mare, tossing her head and snorting, turned and charged after the other man, an archer. Helgrim was at a loss because of the arrow in his arm, but he did draw his sword in case he needed to help the mare. Luck was on his side, however, as the man soon faced the same fate as all the others that the horse had gone up against. He watched as the mare stomped on the ground next to the dead man and snorted. It was as if she was congratulating herself for a job well done. He laughed and walked up to her.

"You did good, horse, but now I've got to get somewhere I can pull this damn thing out. Try not to get in any trouble, alright?" He patted her again and then went to the door of the building and opened it.
When he got inside, he leaned back against the door and looked at his arm. It was bleeding, but if he could just get the arrow out, he'd be able to wrap the wound and get it to stop bleeding. Knowing that it wasn't going to feel good when he took the arrow out, he grabbed the cloth and put it between his teeth. If there was anyone else inside here, he didn't want them to come running. Then he shut his eyes and pulled the arrow out of his arm. He growled into the cloth and shut his eyes, but didn't stop. Not until the arrow was out of his arm at least. He dropped it beside him, stumbled to the shadows and collapsed on a pile of straw. The hazy darkness of pain-induced sleep came over him and he slipped into unconsciousness.

A little while later Helgrim woke up and grimaced in pain when he moved his arm. He looked down at it and saw that the wound had stopped bleeding and even started to scab over. He brushed the straw off of it lightly, then looked around, making sure he was still alone. Luckily it wasn't a well traveled area apparently. He took the cloth that he had clamped down on and placed it around his arm to cover the wound. If he hadn't passed out he would have done it sooner. Hopefully it wouldn't get infected before he could get to a temple and get some healing. Once that was done he stood up and made sure his stuff was still intact. Assured that all was well, he picked up his bow and walked forward. He saw there was a stairway that led down and crouched, walking down slowly. He kept to the wall and had the bow ready to fire. At the bottom of the stairs the landing turned to the left and had another staircase down. Helgrim followed along silently.

When he reached the bottom of these stairs, it turned to the right and he was sure he would see another stairway down, but instead he found a wooden door. Checking it he found it was unlocked and turned the handle, then pushed it open. Slowly he moved along through the halls of the building. He came to another unlocked wooden door and opened it, surprising the man behind the door. Drawing his sword, he met the man's blade with his own and they started to fight. It was brief, however, as Helgrim struck the man down. He was glad that he had learned how to sword fight with both arms since his right arm wasn't very useful right now. He wouldn't be using his bow until he was healed up. After a quick check to make sure there weren't any others, he checked the man and took what he wanted. He went to the door and looked around. Below there was another man walking around and Helgrim wished badly for the use of his bow. He growled under his breath and stepped down the stairs that led down below.

He began to make his way toward the man that was walking around down here, sword ready, and was nearly ready to lunge when he stepped on a loose rock and heard a crunch. The man turned around and drew his sword quickly. Helgrim cursed old stone and raised his sword to protect his head from the other man's strike. They went around each hitting the other a few times before Helgrim was able to get in close and stab the man. He stared into his eyes as the man died and then stepped back, pulling his sword back out. He grumbled about how much more difficult it was to fight with swords than with a bow. He could shoot from a fair distance away and still put a man down. It became more personal when one had to look the other in the face. Helgrim didn't like it, but he prayed Talos looked after them on their way to Sovngarde. He checked him over for any sort of valuable items and then went into a room off the side of the larger one.

There was a table with benches in this room and what appeared to be several bookshelves, some of them knocked down. He did take a quick look at the books to see if any were salvageable, but found none. He found a few alchemical items that he could either use in potion making or sell to an alchemist for gold. He heard footsteps and froze, then looked down the hallway into the other room. He saw a man walking across the opening and stayed hidden behind one of the bookshelves. He went through his backpack and searched, then found what he was looking for. A healing potion. Smiling, he took the stopper out of the bottle and drank it down. Immediately he felt the effects course through his body as the wound in his arm healed. Much better. He would now be able to use his bow and thus stay out of range of their sharp swords.

Helgrim drew his bow, nocked the arrow and aimed before letting it fly toward the guy. The sound reverberated through the stone rooms and he flinched a little as the man dropped to the ground. He had never really liked the idea of killing another person, but he understood enough by now to know that they would come after him if he didn't take them out first. He was done getting hurt. When he was sure no one else was coming through the area, he moved closer and searched through the man's belongings. He pocketed the fifty five gold pieces the man had been carrying and then looked around the room to see if there was anything he could pick up and sell in Winterhold. There were a few things, but he was picky about what he took. He couldn't carry everything, but he took what he could.

There was an open door on one of the walls in this room and he looked through it to see a stairway up. Not seeing any enemies, he made his way up the stairs slowly and quietly. When he made it to Winterhold he would have to take a bath and wash all of the blood off his body. He was living in the clothes, but even he could smell the stink on him. At the top of the stairs was a closed door and it wasn't locked. He carefully opened it and looked through. Apparently he wasn't quiet enough because there was an orc right behind the door who drew his sword and came at Helgrim. He sighed and quickly shot the guy in the leg, then shot another one closer to the heart this time. Unfortunately, this alerted the others in the room to his presence and two others came running. Helgrim dropped the bow and took out his sword to fight them off. He took a few hits, but they both fell to the ground. He panted from the effort of fighting off two at once, but then closed his eyes and silently mouthed the words of healing and placed his hands on his own chest. He felt the heat of healing radiating outward immediately. He wasn't normally one for magic, but being taught how to heal oneself had been one of the best things he'd ever done.

He found fifty one gold on the orc as well as a potion bottle, a silver ingot and some hawk feathers. He took all of it and moved onto the next one. This one only had twenty seven gold pieces on his body, but he also had a bottle of wine that Helgrim took and drank down about half of because he was so thirsty. He put it all in his backpack and found a set of stairs that led down and walked down softly. On this level he found a large room with some tables and benches in it. In an alcove there stood a small chest and he was drawn to it. It was locked, however, and after a quick search, he found that he had some lockpicks. He broke all of them but the last one which opened the chest revealing thirty eight gold pieces and an iron helmet in it. He put the gold into his coin pouch and put the helmet into his backpack. He could sell it later. Then he left the alcove and went to the left of it where there was an open door to a staircase down and a hallway. He went down and followed the wall. It dipped a little before inclining once more. There was a door on the side of this long hallway and it was locked. Since he still had one lockpick left, he attempted to unlock the door, but it broke and he was left wondering what was behind that door.

Helgrim continued down the hallway and peeked around a corner before going around it and continuing on. When it came to another corner, he stopped because he could see a bit of a room beyond. He slowly moved around so he could have a better look of the room. He saw a tantalizing chest across the room against the opposite wall, but held himself back from going into it. There were lots of tables and seats in here with some food. Perhaps it was a mess hall of sorts. He didn't know what type of room it was, all he knew was that there was a couple ruffians sitting at one of the tables. He drew his bow and shot the first one, but could only slow down the other one. They got to him and since he already had an arrow nocked and ready, he shot the woman from point blank range. Even as he disliked it, he did realize that it was getting easier for him to loose the arrows at his foes. He wasn't sure that was a good thing, however. He searched their bodies and found twenty seven gold, another potion, a book called 'Songs of the Return, Vol. 19' and more wine. On the woman he found forty seven gold pieces and some charred meat that after a small taste he discovered was skeever. She also had a potion and some wine. He took all of it and then went through the room.

First he went to the chest and was happy to see that it was unlocked. He opened it and found thirty eight gold and a pair of iron gauntlets. He took it all and closed the chest, then made his way to the table where he found a coin purse with fifteen gold in it. He smiled as he could see just how profitable going through these places and clearing them out of bandits and ruffians could be. After he had gotten what he could out of this room, he went to the open door and found a warm fireplace and some sort of larder. There were rabbits and pheasants hanging here that just begged him to take meat and fur from. He did so and made sure they wouldn't bleed on everything in his knapsack before leaving the room and going to an archway that was barred. A quick look around showed a lever next to it. He pulled it and the bars lowered into the floor. Interesting. Behind the bars was a staircase that led down to a door. He shrugged and figured he might as well keep going and opened the door.

He came into a hallway with barrels along the wall. He didn't stop, just kept going until it became a T intersection. He went to the left and found a small alcove that held another chest. He was able to open it since it was unlocked and discovered forty five gold pieces inside. He grinned as he put them into his pouch and shut the lid once more. As he moved through and collected things he could sell or use in potion making, he thought of Eir and how much she would love it here in Skyrim. Once he had a house and was able to settle down, he would return to Hammerfell for her. He would bring her here to live and they would raise their children here. They would have the freedom to raise them under Talos' guidance as well because he was confident that Ulfric Stormcloak would win the war and religious freedom would be won for all. He headed back down the hallway of the T and to the other side of the intersection. Here there were a lot of barrels that he suspected were casks of alcohol, wine by the sight of all the wine bottles that were sitting around everywhere. When he got to the end of the hallway, he turned right and was discovered by a ruffian who came at him with his sword ready.

Helgrim let loose one arrow before drawing his sword and clashing with the man. A few minutes later and with a few cuts of his own Helgrim stood over the man's dead body. His body was aching and his muscles were shaking, but he'd come out the victor. A search of the man's body yielded him thirty eight more gold pieces that he pocketed. He looked down at where the man had come from and saw more casks of wine. He made his way there and off to his right there was a cage. That was odd to see, but it was there. He was so engrossed with the cage and what might have been in it that he didn't notice the pressure plate on the floor until after he'd stepped on it. Luckily for him, he wasn't close enough to the spiked wall that came flying out toward him. He jumped back and watched it reset itself. He shook his head, made note of where the pressure plate was now and turned to look into the cage. If he had been less educated, he might have been shocked and scared to see the creature lying dead in the cage. Its teeth were huge and the eyes soulless black and empty. The fur almost shimmered in the light, but he knew it to be a trick of the light and not really shining. The creature was a werewolf.

That brought to mind another question. Why would these people have a werewolf in a cage? Granted, it was a dead werewolf, but that didn't mean it was dead when they brought it in here. What exactly were these people doing? He turned away from the dead werewolf and headed down the hallway toward another room. He shivered a bit when he saw a crow's cage hanging from the ceiling. Those things were used as a form of punishment for thieves and rapists. He moved slowly, crouching as he approached the archway and peeked around. There was another archway with what looked like stairs down. He would go there next, but first he went to the shelves and picked up a couple potion bottles and some pieces of armor and weapons that were sitting here. Then he went down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs was a small room. It was well lit, but he stuck to the shadows. He went around the corner and found another door. It was unlocked, so Helgrim opened it.

Inside was a good sized room with two large wine tanks and a cask tank in it. There were shelves throughout the room as well and on almost all of them were bottles of wine. The orc that was in there must have heard him when he opened the door since he came after him, sword ready. Helgrim shot him twice before he'd been able to get to him, so the man dropped. He searched his body quickly and found forty nine gold pieces. As he was busy checking the orc's body, he heard another set of footsteps and turned just in time to see the khajiit come out and attack. He drew his sword and fought back. The cat lay dead with just two hits and Helgrim sighed, shook his head and searched his body as well. Thirty seven gold richer, Helgrim took what he could from the rest of the room before looking at the opening in the wall that looked like a troll had busted through it. It was filled with snow and ice and he shivered because he could feel the cold already.

"Oh well, can't be helped. I hope the horse is doing alright." Helgrim resigned himself to the fact that he would have to get cold again.

He wrapped the wolf cloak around him and nodded to no one before entering the tunnel. It was cold and he had to be careful where to place his feet lest he slip and fall. He spotted a man in the tunnel ahead of him and put him down quickly with his bow. Unfortunately, there was a second ruffian in the room and the woman charged at him. He was able to shoot her twice before pulling out his sword and dropping the bow. He clanged steel with her until he saw the opening he needed and thrust forward, piercing her heart. She dropped and he pulled his sword back out, wiping the blood off the blade before sliding it back into the scabbard. He collected thirty five gold, more charred skeever meat and the book 'Songs of the Return, Vol. 7' from the man and charred skeever meat, silver ingot and nord mead from the woman. Beyond the bodies of those he had just killed he noticed a larger cave room that held more cages in it. He wondered again what these people were doing, but moved closer all the same.

He went up the snowy ramp to where the cages were located and looked at them. In one he saw a dead horse lying on its side. Odd, but not unheard of. He turned to look at the other cage and was surprised to see another werewolf in it. This one, however, was still alive! As he neared the bars it lunged and he was thankful for the metal between them. He swallowed and watched the creature follow him as he walked alongside the cage. Since he couldn't unlock the cage and he felt bad for leaving it to die of starvation, Helgrim drew the bow and shot the creature dead. A pity since they were normally so strong an opponent he never would have been able to put it down himself. He went back down to the lower level and found an archway out. He walked through it and down the hallway. At the other end he was met with another ruffian that tried to attack him. He growled at the man and struck him down. He felt so tired, but he wanted to go on until he got out of the cold again at least. If he ever did. On this man he found only hawk feathers that he took then he continued through and found himself in an actual torture chamber.

There was blood all over the floor and walls, there was even a dead werewolf in the middle of the room. He moved quickly through this room, not wanting to hang around. He had never endorsed torture since he wouldn't want it done to him. Going through the archway and into a short hallway, he stopped when it turned left and peeked around the corner. He saw more hallway, so he continued along until it turned again. He stopped once more and peeked ahead, it turned right and looked like it opened up to a larger room. He wet his lip slowly and then went down through, stopping at the doorway. He alerted the woman in the room when he shot her companion with the bow and dropped him to the ground. She came rushing up a set of stairs, but not before getting two arrows lodged into her body. When she came in sight again, he shot her once more with the bow and she dropped. He found thirty six gold on the man and nothing worth taking from the woman. There was a large fireplace in this room and he warmed quickly. He took the fur off his body and put it back into his knapsack, then searched the room. He discovered an area behind the fireplace. It had a shelf that held two potion bottles and a coin purse on it. He took all of it and counted the coins to forty five gold.

Helgrim yawned and shook his head. He had gone as far as he could go without sleep. He was hidden from sight behind the fireplace, so he spread out the wolf furs and lay on one and covered with the other. Then he fell into an exhausted sleep that was sure to restore his energy for the next day. His dreams were of Eir, Kenna and Koli as he hoped they were living well and thinking of him. He was not awakened during the night, thankfully. In the morning he ate a quick breakfast of bread and cheese, then drank an ale to wash it all down before setting out again. He packed up his 'blankets' and left the room via a hallway that led down a short ways before turning right, but it turned left almost immediately. Not meeting up with anyone else, he found a staircase up to a door. He opened the door and was in another stone room with a brazier burning brightly, signs that someone had been there recently.
There was a large staircase that led upstairs and he followed it, staying in the shadows and keeping his bow ready to fire. Apparently he was louder than he thought because a pair of the ruffians came rushing at him on the stairs. He shot the first one before having to draw his sword. He grunted with the effort, but since he was fighting for his life, he managed to fight through the soreness. He killed both of his attackers and took minor damage. He would heal himself later. He searched their bodies and found fifty gold, another potion bottle and the book 'Songs of the Return, Vol. 56'. He took it all and finished going up the stairs. At the top he startled another orc and since he still had his sword out, he used that to kill the man. He pushed him off the sword with his foot and sneered at the body.

"By the Divines! You just keep coming out of the stonework!"

He searched this one's body and found just a potion bottle that he put away. He saw short stairs that went up to a half level in this room. What he found was a large chest and after a quick check to make sure he was alone, he opened the lid. Inside was twenty five gold pieces and a couple weapons that he had a feeling because of the craftsmanship would sell for decent amounts, so he took them. He shut the lid again and turned around. This appeared to be another place for the ruffians to hang out together. He found a coin purse that held ten gold and took it. The only other door in the room was barred from this side and he went to it. Since he had the strength, he lifted the bar and then opened the door. He then found one of the first rooms he had come into. Interesting. He was able to leave the building that had looked so small from the outside. When he got outside he saw the mare grazing where he'd left her. Pretty good since he'd spent the night in there and it was about the same time today that he'd gone in there yesterday. Almost twenty four hours of exploring in that place and the horse hadn't run off. Perhaps she would be a great investment for more than just getting from place to place quicker. He patted her, made sure she wasn't injured and then mounted up to continue their way to Winterhold.

Helgrim looked at the sun's position in the sky and estimated the time to be a few hours before noon. Another pat to the mare's neck and he let her have her head while he dug into his backpack and pulled out a chunk of bread and cheese. He was starving and since he didn't really want to stop just to have a quick meal, he decided he would eat on horseback. The horse had a steady enough walk that he didn't drop anything. They traveled up an incline and the path here became obscured by snow and the wind picked up once more. If there was one thing he hated about Skyrim, he would have to say it was the wind. He could deal with the cold, but it was the wind that cut into the body and stole away any little heat it generated. He figured it wouldn't be such a horrible thing, Skyrim, if the wind wasn't there.

As he rode along the snowy path, huddling into his wolf fur cloak, he thought of the people he'd met so far in Skyrim. Fjolnar. The soldier was almost surely headed back to Windhelm to take command of his troop in the Stormcloak army. He missed the guy and he'd only known him for a day. At least he was a companion. That thought had Helgrim looking at the mare. A companion that could talk back at least. He smiled and then let out a soft sigh and shifted in the saddle. Rustleif and his wife Seren. He wondered when their baby would be born and whether or not they would ever get to Hammerfell to visit after the child was born. He really liked that couple. Thoring, Karita and Abelone. Helgrim had to wonder what happened to Karita's mother, but he never asked because he thought that would be rude. He hoped Thoring would meet another woman at some point. Something he didn't like thinking about is Karita finding a suitor. He felt like a protective big brother when he thought of her and wished he could be there to keep any men in line if they wanted to be with her. Then there was Abelone. She had been pretty enough and if he had not already been in love with Eir he would have taken her up on her numerous offers. He sent a prayer to Talos that she would find the man of her dreams soon enough. Finally there was Frida. She was elderly, sure, but the woman had spirit and he had a feeling she wouldn't be passing away any time soon. He looked forward to learning more alchemy tricks from her at some point.

He realized that he had actually made many friends already in this new land and he was very grateful for them all. Each one of them had something different to offer in friendship and all were welcome. Since he didn't have any family in the area it made him think of them all as a sort of makeshift family and that was something he took very much to heart. It was never a light thing when he called another a member of his family. The only other actual family he knew about lived in Kynesgrove, but he had a feeling there were other Frost-Bloods in Skyrim, he just hadn't met any yet. The mare snorted beneath him and he came out of his musings to see what it was that had gotten her attention. He looked around and held the reins as she walked tensely beneath him. There was nothing around him that he could see, but still she persisted in acting nervous. That was odd, but he shrugged and urged her onward.

Leaning forward to reassure the mare he saw something out of the corner of his eye and turned to look. The only thing he saw was the glow of a pair of eyes in the trees. The canopy of evergreens had cast a darkness over the ground below, giving everything the shadows they needed to hide. When he saw those eyes he knew that it was a predator watching them. What worried him was that the height those eyes sat at was not normal. They weren't the eyes of a wolf or a bear. They were higher than that. He would never admit to being scared, but if he ever did, this would be one of the situations he would. He swallowed to wet his suddenly dry throat and patted the mare's neck. The animal didn't lunge out and attack, but that didn't mean it wouldn't at some point.

"Come on, girl. Let's keep going. Just a little further," Helgrim whispered to the mare, then sat up slowly and urged her forward again.

He constantly reassured the mare who was very nervous because she, too, sensed the predator watching them. He didn't know why it didn't just jump out and attack them. If his calculations were correct, the animal was slightly larger than even his horse stood. It could easily take down the both of them. So why didn't it? This question had him pondering silently, but also watching the trees for another sight of the creature. He would catch a glimpse here and there of the eyes and knew it was following them. His adrenaline was pumping because he wasn't sure what to do. Should he stop and shoot it or hurry the mare along and try to outrun it. Perhaps it was an animal that didn't like daylight? A vampiric dire bear perhaps? Regardless of the reason, it didn't attack, just observed them. One of the advantages of the animal's appearance was that it kept his mind off the freezing wind and the way it sucked every bit of heat out of his body.

"What do you suppose it is, horse? I'm guessing a vampy dire bear. It doesn't like the sun so it can't come out and attack." He chuckled a little and then patted the mare's neck when she snorted and snapped her tail. She obviously didn't take his humor too well. "Alright, but it is starting to freak even me out." That earned a whicker from the horse and Helgrim smiled. He had a companion and she had her own sense of humor and seemed to understand what he said. Perhaps that was just his wishful thinking since he was so alone on this journey, but he didn't care. It was keeping him from going completely crazy and talking to himself to get through the monotonous hours of traveling through the snow. Speaking of which, if he wasn't careful he would get lost because one slightly snow covered tree looked like the next one. At least he had some training in moving through the wilderness since his father was a hunter and had taken him and his siblings out with him from time to time. It made it so that he was fairly certain he was traveling in the right direction.

When he looked for the eyes again he noticed they were gone. Strange, but not unheard of. Perhaps the creature got tired of following them or maybe it was moving around for a better position to ambush them from. Either way, he felt the instant change in the mare as she relaxed and so he relaxed too. He would have to ask in Winterhold if they knew of an animal that was that tall. He prayed he hadn't just thought it up because if that was where his mind was at then he didn't really want to think about that. Maybe he shouldn't say anything so he wouldn't appear crazy. It wasn't like he actually saw the creature's body so he had no way of knowing what it was. He couldn't describe it, only the eyes. They had been piercing, like they knew exactly who he was and what he was doing. He never felt that the thing was going to leap out and attack, at least not until it disappeared. He stayed alert, but was glad it didn't show back up.

Helgrim shifted in the saddle once again as they headed down a snowy hill and followed the road through the woods. Ahead of them was a clearing and he pulled the horse up as he spotted people walking around. They looked like mages, but apparently they didn't like his arrival since one of them tossed a fireball close to him and the horse. The mare squealed and reared, backing quickly. He narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth, then dismounted and pulled his bow at the same time. He needn't have bothered with the bow, though. By the time he had nocked the first arrow and aimed in the mage's direction, the man lay dead beside the alchemy table he'd been working at. Helgrim had enough time to laugh under his breath and turned to the other mage, just in time to see that man fall beneath the mare's hooves. As he shook his head, her name came to him. Matilda.

"As the brave lass Matilda charged in full of zeal," Helgrim sung softly and whistled to the horse who trotted back over to him like she'd been trained to do so. "Well, Matilda, thanks for helping me out. No one stands a chance against you, lass." He patted her neck lightly.

He let her graze from the bushes as he checked the bodies for anything useful. Not finding much he shrugged and mounted the mare again. Matilda. It was as if she had whispered her name to him. As he spoke to her, using the name, the mare seemed to listen more than before. It might have just been his mind playing tricks, but that was fine with him. He wanted to believe that Matilda understood him now that he knew her name. He urged her through the clearing to the other side where the path went up an incline and around a rock. Ragnar the Red was his favorite tavern song and it was ironic that the mare's name would fit so well with the shieldmaiden in the song. It was perfect, actually. It also made him look forward to what else she would do as they traveled and the years to come. No way was he giving her up. She was his horse for life.

He hummed the tune as he rode along the snowy road. He pulled out one of the bottles of mead that he had found, took the cork out and sipped from it. The alcohol would help to keep him warm as the wind stirred up again something fierce and chilled him straight to the bone. He had been told about the cold weather in Skyrim, first by his parents and then by everyone in Dawnstar, but to find oneself out in it was something else. Even the wolf cloak wasn't doing much at this point to keep him warm. His thoughts were on Winterhold and hoped they had a warm inn he could stay in. Yawning, Helgrim stuck the now empty mead bottle back into his knapsack and stretched. It was after noon now, the sun on the other side of the high point. He guessed it to be around two or three o'clock in the afternoon, but he couldn't be a hundred percent sure. There was no true way of telling time without a stationary sun dial and he wasn't about to carry one of those around everywhere.

He spotted a tower ahead of them and wondered where that was. He checked the map again, but there was no mention of any tower. Already he had filled in two places on Karita's map. She would be delighted at a third. He grinned and did so with the charcoal and tucked them both away. As he approached the tower, he heard a man shout out at them and he frowned. Yet again he wasn't to be invited in to sit at the fire. Why must they always go on the attack? Sighing, he dismounted from Matilda and readied his bow. The mare squealed as an arrow flew past her and she charged up the hill toward the man at the bottom of a set of stairs. Helgrim shook his head and followed, but by the time he got to the top of the hill, the bandit was dead. He laughed and patted her neck, then checked his body over. He found a sturdier cloak than the one he had made and switched it. He immediately felt the difference and was warmer. Before he could enjoy it, though, he heard another man inside and crouched as he made his way up the stairs to the entrance to the tower. He stepped inside out of the wind and looked around. The only thing here was a stairway up, so he followed it. As he got to the second level, he spied a chest sitting to the side along with a taxidermied wolf's head on the wall. He shook his head and then heard the man yell out at him.

"You can't hide from me!"

Helgrim remained where he was until the man came into view at the top of another staircase that led to a third floor of the tower. He hadn't been spotted yet and so he pulled the arrow back and let it fly. It struck the bandit in the shoulder and knocked him back a little. He fired another one that hit him in the chest. He heard the man gurgle and then he dropped, sliding down the stairs to lay at his feet. Dead. He had no pity for these men. They were thieves, he was sure of it. He hadn't even had a weapon drawn outside before they came at him. Whatever they got they deserved. He searched the man's body and found fifty gold pieces and some nice armor pieces that he stowed away. He also went to the chest he'd seen and found a coin purse sitting beside it with two silver ingot bars. He counted the coins in the pouch, seven gold, then put it with his own gold. He put the bars into his bag and opened the chest. Inside were four lockpicks, a battleaxe and forty six gold pieces. He took them all and shut the lid. He rose back to his feet and looked around the tower. He found a landing on the second level that led back outside and he could see the road again from here. He went back through the tower and walked to the mare.
"Alright, Matilda, time to see just how brave you are. Come on. Time to come inside." He patted her neck and led her up the stairs to the entrance and after a brief hesitation, she walked inside the tower. She snorted and stomped nervously, but she didn't stop again. He then led her up the stone stairs, careful to make sure she wasn't slipping or setting a foot down wrong. As he brought her up to the second level landing and she saw the outdoors, he smiled at the perk of her ears. She was a brave lass after all. He waited until they were on the snow once more and then he mounted up and urged her forward.
"Good girl, now let's get on the road again. I'd like to reach Winterhold tonight."

The pair moved on at a ground-eating canter and for once Helgrim wasn't worrying about how cold it was. He could snuggle into the warmer cloak and ride on. They were on the road for an hour and the sun began to dip toward the horizon. He hoped they were close, he wasn't looking forward to spending another night outside. He wanted a bed. When they crested a hill, he looked down and could see the town. It wasn't large, possibly smaller even than Dawnstar, but it was a town. He could see people walking around. They'd made it! He pressed his heels into Matilda's sides and she switched into a canter again, making the last bit of travel easily on the road. They came into town at a trot, however, and Helgrim stopped her at the stable and dismounted.

"You be a good girl, Matilda. I'll see you in the morning." He patted her once again, made sure she had hay and her tack was removed and stored away for tomorrow. Then he arranged with the stable-boy to have her looked after and groomed. After that was done, he went toward the inn to make sure HE was taken care of. The sign read Frozen Hearth Inn and he hoped they were just joking because he was looking forward to the warmth of a fireplace to sit and allow his toes to thaw. He walked inside and was enveloped with the warmth. He smiled and went to a table to sit. After a warm meal, he went to the tender behind the bar and greeted the man.

"Good evening."

"Hello traveler. Welcome to Winterhold. I'm Dagur. How may I help you?"

"I would love to rent a room if I can."

"Of course. It's ten gold a night."

"Reasonable, Dagur. Here you go. Thanks."

"Very good. Here, I'll show you to your room." The man left the counter and started to walk toward a room off to the side.

"Thank you." Helgrim followed tiredly.

"Where are you traveling from...?" Dagur asked, pausing because he didn't know the man's name.
"Helgrim. I'm coming from Hammerfell, actually, but most recently I had spent a month in Dawnstar and am coming from there."

"Ah, Hammerfell. A nice place. Warmer than here, that's for sure. Well, here we are. Enjoy your stay, Helgrim."

"Thank you. Good night."

"Good night."

They parted ways and Helgrim went into the room and shut the door. He sighed and didn't even bother getting out of his dirty, stinky clothes before falling onto the bed. He was so exhausted and ready for sleep. Not for the first time he thought that perhaps he should have just ridden past the places he had gone into on the way here, but he knew that what he had gained would give him a much better "nest egg" to put away for when he went to get Eir and bring her back here. They would have a wonderful life together. It was that thought that was last in his head as he fell asleep. He slept for two days.