The overwhelming sense of shock led me to a conclusion regarding what had happened at Bleak Falls Barrow. About an hour after I had left, my weariness dissipated. Clearly, I hadn't been harmed by whatever that wall did to me. It must've been some enchantment. I knew I shouldn't have been putting so much thought into something that didn't hurt me, so I didn't bother. In the wee hours of the morning, I walked past the Khajiit camp. Everyone was asleep besides Ri'saad, who saw me almost as soon I saw him. He immediately grabbed my second knapsack and handed it to me.
"How did your travels treat you, Karal'e?", he asked with an air of concern.
"Interestingly," I said with apprehension. "Some things I hadn't seen before. To put things shortly, the dead came to life and attacked me."
"Ah, that would be the Draugr. Nobody seems to know why, but disturbing the rest of the dead Nord spirits awakens their bodies," he shivered. "Ri'saad has yet to deal with them, and does not plan to."
"Well, if you ever do, bring me along! I'm well-equipped to protect you, now."
"Ah." Ri'saad grew sheepish. He quickly looked down at my bag, and handed to me. "Here you are. This one kept it safe."
"Thank you. I guess I'll stop by as soon as I can?"
"Well, you will need to leave that place eventually! Alas, we will be leaving by the day's end. Trading business, you see."
"Oh. I'll try to stop by as soon as I can."
"Please do!" he said excitedly.
I turned away, keeping our eyes connected for a few feet before heading towards Whiterun to return what I had found.
"Amazing! The Dragonstone!" Farengar was ecstatic about continuing his Dragon research. "And what is that? A claw?"
"Technically, this is a key to the door that led me to the stone." I inspected the inscriptions again, and handed Farengar the journal. "This mentions that the bandit leader stole it from someone. Recognize the name, here?"
"Hm. I do not, but I will try my best to locate him. I'll find some gold to repay you with, immediately! You've done me a great service, traveler."
"Actually, I was hoping I could give you gold. You see, I have no place to live yet, and my belongings are beginning to get..." I dropped my second knapsack by my sack of gold septims. "...heavy."
"Oh. All right. The guards haven't been busy at all lately, so I could pay them extra to help you. Just tell me where, and how."
He took out a sheet of paper for me to outline a house. I pointed on his map to a location close enough to Whiterun, but out in the plains, surrounded by wilderness. The thought of returning to the way of life that my parents arranged was appealing to me. Within my limits, I drafted a house with a large hall and a few bedrooms. I just needed a name.
After that exchange was finished, I headed back out of town and stopped by the caravan again. By this time, everybody was awake, and they were cooking something.
"What's in the pot?", I asked.
"Oh, we are just making tomato soup before we start packing up," Ri'saad replied. "This one fears we won't be done packing today, so we might not leave until tomorrow."
I tried to find some disappointment in that statement, but I couldn't find any. I realized, looking at the cooking pot, that I hadn't eaten in a while. "Is there enough to spare?"
"Well, with the extra time, there will be." he stopped, noticing I still had both my knapsacks. "Where do you live?"
The question made me uncomfortable. I didn't want him to know I was homeless, but I am not a dishonest person, so I said to him, "Nowhere right now, but I have a house being built by the river to the east."
"Oh, we're staying the night, so you can sleep with us," he spoke with light-heartedness.
"I don't think I should, there's no space."
"Nonsense, Ri'saad will find a way. As soon as you get your soup, this one can just look for another cot for you." It sounded like he wasn't taking "no" for an answer. I really enjoyed staying with him, but I didn't want to be a burden on their resources. They seemed far from wealthy and fortunate. Ri'saad, ever persistent, wouldn't let me leave without eating or sleeping. I gave in and agreed.
The soup was pretty good. I usually only ate baked goods back home, for some reason, so this was a change for me. I enjoyed hanging out with Ri'saad and his friends. They seemed very close. Ri'saad had been running the caravan for ten years after moving north from Elseweyr. He was thirty-two years old, only a few months older than me. Although I had been experiencing an unexpected level of hospitality, for the first time, I felt like I belonged in Skyrim. I felt as though I was a part of the people. My feeling of belonging gave me a new confidence to move on to bigger adventures, whatever they may be. Skyrim was ripe with its own problems and mysteries, and I settled to make myself a part of all of them.
Just as I was finishing, I caught sight of a band of guards following the Jarl's housecarl, a Dark Elf. They were heavily-armed, and given who they were following, this had to be something important.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" I inquired.
"The traveler?" she seemed surprised, but not unsettled, to find me.
"Oh." I realized approaching her was a stupid idea. "Am I interrupting something important?"
"It is potentially important." She continued walking, and I followed. "We're investigating a dragon sighting. I suppose you see that every guard here is an archer."
"Right, yes. Where was the dragon?"
"It attacked the Western Watchtower. It finished what it supposedly came to do, but we need to make sure it doesn't cause more trouble."
"May I follow?"
She looked me up-and-down. "It seems you are capable enough. Allow me introduce myself more properly. My name is Irileth. As you already know, I am the Jarl's housecarl."
"I remember you. My name is Karal'e, I'm from Cyrodiil, and my father is a Legate."
"Impressive. I've heard you have endurance suiting that of a warrior."
"If that's what others think, I must."
We took a right through a fork in the road, and soon arrived at what was left of the Western Watchtower. The plants and soil showed evidence of burning. A familiar sight for me.
Irileth stopped her soldiers and ordered, "Everyone, search for survivors."
I glanced up to the mountains before us. It was common knowledge that dragons typically roosted at mountain peaks. Just as I was wondering where the dragon had gone, the winged silhouette soared from behind the mountaintops. It angled itself down, moving faster and faster towards the tower. Guards began to scatter and draw their bows as the dragon mounted itself on the roof of the burning tower.
"Don't hold back, soldiers!"
Instead of drawing my bow, I repeatedly shot lighting attacks at the dragon, which briefly distracted it, causing it to leave the tower to circle over the area and shoot torrents of fire at the guards. The soldiers unloaded arrows, striking the dragon's underbelly and cutting holes in the wings. Flying was becoming increasingly difficult for the dragon, and I saw that as an opportunity. I used both of my hands to cast an over-charged bolt of lighting at the dragon's head, stunning and paralyzing it. The dragon took a nosedive, plowing through a farm and ruining the caravan camp, sending debris scattering everywhere.
As soon as I realized where it had landed, I ran up to the camp's remains, where an Imperial soldier executed the paralyzed dragon with a sword through its head. I checked every tent. Most of the Khajiit were killed by the dragon's landing. I saw one body pinned under a boulder, another plowed in two by the dragon's head. Ri'saad was caught in the ribs by a small stone, but was still alive, and clutching his side in agony. I bent down over him as he looked up at me and gently grasped my arm.
I saw that I had left my second knapsack there in my rush to follow Irileth. I quickly fished inside for a healing potion. I found three, and applied the treatment to his open wound. It soon began to clot up, and the pain subsided. His pained eyes looked up to me. He seemed too shocked to speak. The expression of gratefulness in his eyes slowly evolved into confusion. I responded with a questioning glance, but soon noticed that he was directing his eyes at the dragon's body behind me. It was beginning to glow, and the skin split and flaked off in all directions. The light obscured our vision, leaving us in a white void, and his grip on my arm grew tighter. I could feel a familiar sensation as ribbons of magic grasped at my beating heart, sucked a great power within me, and released its hold on my soul. I felt less weary than I was the last time this occurred, but my mind was still reeling.
As I regained my focus, I saw that nothing remained of the dragon but its skeleton. A booming voice roared through the clouds, shouting "DOVAHKIIN" as a crowd gathered, but not for the flying beast.
Everybody was staring at me.