"So it is decided," Arilid said "We leave at dawn." with that the group disbanded, most went to buy some food or to their rooms for the night. Ralof, Ria and J'zargo all grabbed some sort of alcohol and went to the fire, to enjoy the rest of the night.
Arilid went to his room, but he stayed up late that night, he still had the map of Cyrodill. They were to take the main road to travel through Helgen and straight to Bruma. They would restock there and recharge, after a week or so they will head toward the Imperial city. Arilid took note of what to be aware of in Cyrodill. Ralof's armor must be replaced, a Stormcloak in Cyrodill will not look good to the Emperor. The students from Winterhold will need to be under close watch, mages are considered dangerous since the Oblivion Crisis and are not usually trusted.
More importantly J'zargo, the mage, who wishes to not only wants to become a powerful wizard but wishes 'to know magic that will take small things from someone's pocket that no one will notice or miss.' or plain and simple, a thief, Arilid knows he is powerful, but fears he may cause more trouble than he is worth. He originally wanted to bring Brelyna, but the college professors are quite persuasive.
Arilid took out a small book he kept in his bag. It had no name, but it was filled of what to know of Skyrim and tactics he had learned over the years. Many pages were blank since most problems can be solved with a quick slash of a sword. The book was mostly filled with people or creatures Arilid met or seen over his travels. The bigger pages were of Alduin, Ulfric, Harkon, Mirrak, Frostbite Spiders, dragons, dragon priests and J'zargo. Notes from when he experimented with the scrolls given from J'zargo to practicing with J'zargo, most were about how he was almost killed or saved by J'zargo. The Dragonborn read everything in the book, making sure to read it again and again. Then everything went to blank.
The next morning Arild woke in that same chair, his head laid on the pages of that small book. It was morning and the journey to Bruma was to begin. Arilid put the book back in the bag and gathered his stuff for the journey.
The Inn, even in the morning was busy, mostly with his companions. Ralof was walking around in a zigzag pattern, sometimes falling over a loose board. Behind him was Lydia who picked him off the floor and scolded the drunk. Ria sat by the fire and laughed as J'zargo told stories of his antics in the college. Brelyna sat in a chair in the corner of the Inn reading a spell book. Onmund talked to Brelyna about a new spell he is working on. From the look of it Arilid was the last to wake up.
Ralof was put to a stool by Lydia. She then walked to Arilid and said, "You're up late. To busy reading." She said with a smile.
"You know." Arilid exclaimed.
"I went in to wake you, but I saw you knocked out in that book of yours. It must be a good one, to stay up so late. I tried to wake you but you just shoved my yells and jabs," Lydia explained. "We are all awake, excluding Ralof who is too drunk and keeps fading into unconsciousness. But I'm sure he can walk, even if its not straight."
"Don't worry, he will be fine. We can take turns carrying him." With that Arilid went to the door. Lydia took the liberty of carrying Ralof, recklessly. The others all notice this and all followed to the outside world.
Hours passed, Arilid knew the path was long, but Helgen was close. Everyone was doing something of their own. Brelyna and Onmund talked to Ria of their goals in life, and the difference between the college and companions. Ralof was awake with a hangover and J'zargo took it upon himself to make his life a living hell, he would cast random spells into the sky saying,'he thought he saw a dragon', breaking large branches saying ' In Elsewer good luck comes from those who suffer, in this case the tree' and howling 'to keep the wolves away'.
Lydia remained quiet, keeping a diligent watch over the company. Didn't want to get ambushed by a bandit camp, Arilid kept his eyes on the skies, a dragon can appear at a moments notice. He listened to the conversations of his friends when he grew bored, but he remained quiet.
"What was that?" Lydia heard a noise. All the company came to a halt and looked ahead. The gates of Helgen still stood, despite the rest of the town being in ruins. Arilid knew little of what the town actually looked like except when his adventure started. That is still hardly a reliable source since Alduin destroyed the town after being in the settlement for less than 5 minutes, and then he saw little of the town. Arilid remembered the wall, it was unusual since most villages had no wall, but the keep was the most memorable. It saved his life and was the reason why he returned to Helgen so many times.
"Bandits, they must use these ruins as a headquarters." Ria piped up "lucky for Falkreath, we are here to drive out the pest."
"It won't be fast, but we can get more supplies from these bandits." Arilid turned toward the group "So heres the plan. Lydia and I will take the frontlines, Ria will be behind taking out anyone who slips through the lines. Brelyna will be with Ria, Onmund you will be flanking any lone bandit. J'zargo you will heal any who need it and covering fire along with Ralof. Be sure to stay at the back unless necessary." The last sentence was aimed at J'zargo, who would want some glory.
Arilid walked towards the door, which was locked, it took two picks to get through the door. The ruins at first look may seem abandoned, but the keep is where the bandits tend to hide. All of the company knew it and was ready for a fight. It was hard to remain quiet. Lydia wore heavy armor and made it difficult to sneak. They went through the destroyed village, the other side forewarned them of enemies with the voices of multiple men and woman. Arilid took out his sword and everyone got into their positions. "Wait here until I give the word."
Arilid whispered to the small group. With that Arilid snuck closer to the bandits, he stopped by a smaller watch tower, the one Alduin landed on during the execution. The bandits were in that same courtyard Arilid was in during the execution. The bandits didn't seem to know they were in Helgen yet as they talked and joked around. They will fight and drink as the sun still hung high, they had no care. Arilid was to turn around the group when he saw something that caught his eye. Inside the Inn on the second floor, there was someone up their. It was hard to tell but they were hiding, the person turned to Arilid and nodded. Arilid was confused, but ignored it, he drew his dragon pommel sword and the shield with a reptile skull. Arilid stood up and yelled. "Now!"h