Updated 06.05.15
5.
Bjorlam was a nice Nord with endless stories to tell. The carriage was moving slowly and it was an ideal chance for Lio to see Skyrim. Slowly the snow-covered land littered with Nordic ruins transformed into green, fertile fields that reached far into the horizon, filled with huge trees, flowers and majestic deer and elks. Grand, old statues stood on the tops of mountains and caves led to dark passages underground. The temperature changed from unbearable cold to comfortable warmth. Bjorlam's stories made the change even better.
For some reason she had never heard of the warm parts in the Skyrim. Back in Jehenna good impressions of Skyrim had been rare or sometimes even non-existent. Now Lio could see Skyrim's beauty. In her mind the snowy and harsh province was slowly turning into a beautiful country, filled with warmth and places to see.
Lio was dumbfounded by the beauty surrounding her and she had to be pulled back from the carriage's edge many times so that she wouldn't fall off while gaping at the nature. Veralene seemed to be fairly annoyed with Bjorlam's constant yammering, but she didn't tell him to keep quiet either. Bjorlam told tales of weird acquaintances and happenings and Lio giggled uncontrollably during most of the trip. She would have gladly asked more about details and places, but his stories seemed a lot more amusing and she didn't want to interrupt him.
Brina had been quiet while they had left Dawnstar. She had only waved them goodbye with a faint smile on her face. Veralene didn't seem to have had much to say either.
Lio had met some of the people in the inn before her departure. At first they seemed reluctant to talk to the small and thin stranger, but soon enough many understood that hidden beneath all the weird and torn armor was the harmless Lio, who was mostly scared of everything around her. They saw how Lio was more afraid of them than they were of her. One of the maids, Karita, compared her with a small, proud fox and while Lio disagreed and thought it was silly, most of the others agreed on the similarity.
They explained then that strangers were all unwelcome of late in Dawnstar. Terrible dreams had been haunting the people of the village for a while now and that the villagers were distrustful towards most. Travelers didn't seem to encounter the problem and only the local residents were plagued with terrors that influenced even their lives during the day.
Lio had enjoyed talking to the bard and maid and it seemed like it was the same for the two. They were two of the first in her life who she had been at ease when talking. The chats with the sailors had been bothersome, but Karita and Abelone seemed to be interested in what she had to say.
Of course Lio knew that it all might have been caused by the fact that she was new and interesting. If the tale about nightmares had been truth, then the Dawnstar inn had to be empty most of the time. New guests surely must have been exciting. It was stupid to believe that they cared, but it felt so good to be in the center of interest for those who didn't talk to her for their own gain. Lio let herself believe. It felt sweet, heartwarming.
Lio promised Brina and the bard Karita that she would someday visit Dawnstar again. Lio only felt truly indebted to Brina in the morning when she had woken in her bed and remembered that she would have been dead instead without Brina's help. She knew she owed Brina her life.
It seemed even more special when she knew that strangers weren't welcome in Dawnstar. Lio made a promise to herself to visit Brina one day to thank her again for giving her a second chance in life. A couple of gems couldn't repay Lio's debt. That was something she had agreed on with Veralene.
"It's so beautiful here," Lio mumbled and Veralene looked at her sideways without a single emotion.
"The mountains, the trees, the rivers, everything. It all seems so magical," Lio mumbled on and stared wide-eyed at their surroundings.
"I have two job offerings for you," Veralene's said and her sharp voice snapped Lio out of her daze.
"You can be a farmer on my land. That way you won't have to pay me any extra in gold, but only do manual labor. The other job is for Vilod, who makes a special type of mead with juniper berries. You could help him for gold, but all the profits go to me."
Lio stared into the distance. Neither job seemed like something she could manage, as the only activities she had to use her hands for before were writing and playing the flute. She had never held a shovel or harrow before in her life, nor had she mixed brews.
"What about food and shelter?"
"I'll provide both either way. Although I can't grant that your bed and food will be as luxurious as you're used to," she sneered and Bjorlam turned around for a split second to look at Veralene. Lio looked at the man with eyes pleading for backup, something to make Veralene reconsider the terms, but he turned back to direct the horse, pretending not to exist.
"I'll... work with Vilod, if that's okay," she finally decided. Seeing Veralene all the time didn't seem like a fun pastime. Being under her command was even less appealing. Lio's frail hands were already hurt from all the strain in the past few days and farm work seemed like suicide.
"Making mead it is then! Just so you know, I'll add that since his business doesn't bring in half as much as I earn, working for Vilod will make paying for your debt ten years longer or so. I'm sure you're okay with that."
Lio blinked away her tears. This is what she had agreed to do and now was too late to turn back. She laid back onto the skins laid over the carriage's wooden frame.
"How much longer, Bjorlam?" Veralene asked, her tone impatient, and he looked around.
"I'd say a few hours more," he responded and hummed a tune. It was unfamiliar to Lio, but Veralene seemed to know it. A deep furrow appeared between her dark eyebrows and her lips pursed slightly, her wrinkles deepening and making her look older than she was.
"Quiet down, would you?" Veralene requested and the corner of her mouth rose, forming an annoyed grimace.
"What is that song?" Lio asked and Veralene scoffed.
"Just some Nordic gibberish," she answered before Bjorlam could say anything. Lio sighed.
A sudden smell of smoke and fumes woke Lio from her sleep. The carriage was moving slower. The air around them smelled rancid and huge, snaking clouds of smoke were ascending over a mountain not far away.
"You slept all the way through Whiterun," Veralene sneered, but Lio couldn't focus on her words. She stared ahead, over Veralene's shoulder, at the black fog in the skies.
"Bjorlam? What's going on?" Veralene turned, now smelling smoke too, and stood up on carriage to see further. Mountains were blocking the view of the source of the fumes.
"Helgen should be right around the side of this mountain. My horse is getting restless. I say you go on foot and if you see something ahead, you tell me."
"I'm not going anywhere," Veralene said and the tone of her voice, patronizing and arrogant, made Lio frown. She had heard many arrogant people before, but they had never dared to say anything mean to her before, all thanks to Moricyan.
Lio noticed Veralene before her, looking at her as if she was waiting for something.
"Well? Go on now, see what's happening," Veralene commanded. Lio looked at her in disbelief. Veralene crossed her arms.
With shaking hands Lio pulled herself up and over the edge of the carriage. Slowly she walked on, breathing through the sleeve of her armor. The fumes were nauseating and made her head spin. Her legs still couldn't quite work without pain and she gasped as a sharp throbbing hit her in the knee.
She looked around the side of the mountain.
It was a town like Dawnstar. The only difference was that this one was in flames and completely torn apart. Charred, unrecognizable and burned bodies were littered around, only walls were left standing, whole towers of stone had been torn down. Flames had engulfed the houses made of wood and hay.
She saw something move in one of the two stone towers. A large, black, winged mass climbed out of the building and let out a powerful wail, making small vibrations echo through the ground. It took flight, pushing over entire ashen, wooden walls with just the force its wings made. The red lines on its wings and body shined and disappeared as it quickly flew behind a faraway mountain.
Lio fell. In shock she tried to grab onto the rocks next to her to hail herself up, but her hands slipped and her shoulder blade hit the jagged edge of rock, releasing a strong flash of pain through her body. She stared into the distance and tried to utter something, but words were lost for her.
In utter determination she started crawling. "I must warn Bjorlam," she muttered and took a deep breath. Finally she pushed herself from the ground and started sprinting.
"Fire!" she yelled when she saw the carriage. Veralene's and Bjorlam's eyes widened. He quickly gathered himself.
"Are you staying or coming with me?" Bjorlam bellowed as he pulled the reins, directing the carriage around. Veralene's jaw had dropped and she looked around, her eyes darting everywhere in a desperate try to understand.
"No... no!" Veralene shrieked and hopped off the carriage, as if stung by something.
"Bjorlam! Don't leave yet! You have to help us! There's… There's nothing left of Helgen! But there might be survivors!" Lio yelled and Bjorlam's frantic movements halted.
"I…" he started, but then inhaled deeply, got off the carriage and tied the horse to a nearby tree.
"Let's go!" he said. The three of them then hurried around the mountainside.
"No..." Veralene mumbled and let out a wail. She dropped to her knees and her shoulders shook as she cried loudly and desperately. Bjorlam and Lio hurried past her to the burning village.
"What happened?" Bjorlam shouted and started running through the ruins of the houses.
"I… I don't know! I saw...something fly out of the village. It… had wings! It was huge! I don't know!" Lio yelled and pushed away large pieces of broken wood.
"Is anyone alive?" Bjorlam yelled, ignoring Lio's insane rambling, and threw away rubble, only to find a dead legionnaire. The stench of burned flesh was heavy in the air and both had hard time breathing.
"Hello?" Lio cried out and crouched down next to some bodies. Both were dead and she hurried on, not giving a look at the men's faces in fear of the image of swollen and molten flesh burning into her memory. The sight of Deekus' crushed body was enough already.
Veralene had crawled to a house and threw dirt around without any real direction.
"No! My house! My farm! My money! All of it... Gone! Just like that! Curse you, Eight Divines! Why did you let this happen to me?" she shrieked and muttered senseless words. She hit the ground with her fists and sobbed even louder.
"Help!" a faint voice whispered from under a toppled over carriage.
A male Nord was stuck from his waist downward under the heavy mass of the carriage and seemed to be bleeding badly. Lio crouched down to him as he coughed weakly.
"Who are you? We'll help you out right away!" Lio muttered and looked around for Bjorlam, but the man grabbed at her armor and pulled her low near his pained face that was framed by graying, long hair.
"I'm Vilod... The others went to the keep... Tell my family I fought bravely," he whispered and let go, his eyes closing and the tension in his muscles and the pained grimace on his face disappearing. Lio shook him a couple of times, but stepped away finally. She rubbed her face with the back of her gauntlet and sighed. Pressing her eyes closed, she desperately tried to forget the image of the man, but it had already embedded itself to her mind.
"Bjorlam! Have you found anyone?" Lio yelled and looked around.
"No," she heard him answer behind a corner of a burnt down house, tired and desperate.
"The rest of the survivors went to the keep," she said as she stepped to Bjorlam, who wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. His face was covered with soot and sweat.
"How do you know that?"
"A man called Vilod told me. He's..."
"I'll go check the keep then,," Bjorlam said after a moment, realizing what Lio was struggling to say and walked past her. Before he could take another step, Lio's small hand grabbed his wrist and stilled him.
"No. You keep on searching here and keep an eye on Veralene. She's lost it. I'll go to the keep. I…" she said and thought for a second before continuing. "If I don't come back, don't wait for me."
"Wait, why?" Bjorlam asked and frowned.
"Better two survivors than three more dead. You can lead the carriage, not me. Veralene won't make it alone and without support. I'll find my way out," she sighed. She wasn't sure why she had made that decision or where her sudden boldness came from. It was unlike her.
Then she saw Veralene far away, still sobbing on the ground. This was a great plan to get rid of the mad woman. Lio could probably find a better way to pay Brina back.
She felt brave, the adrenaline pumping in her veins encouraging her even further.
"Right. You're right. What was I thinking? Before ya go, here. I've remembered the roads by now," Bjorlam said and pulled out a map from his back pocket. Lio thanked him and picked up two random steel swords from the ground, both caked with mud and soot. She cleaned the swords into her armor's hem.
"Good luck," he wished and after nodding Bjorlam goodbye, Lio stepped into the keep.