A stolen horse and three days later found Caius in Bruma. He only stayed one night before he set off towards the mountain path that lead to the border Skyrim. The cold wind buffeted him and he grunted. The closer he got to this land the more he wanted this mission to be over with. Just go in, grab some documents, and be back in Gazra bar within the end of the week.

"I still can't believe he talked me into this," he said to the horse. The beast merely trudged further up the path, ignoring his rider. Caius took that as an invitation to continue. "I'm serious, he always does this. 'Oh Caius, go spy on this councilor, oh Caius, I think a servant went off with a spoon, oh Caius, go into a warzone and steal some documents from an evil elf inquisitor." He sighed. "I swear that man is just an overgrown man-child."

The horse snorted at that. Caius glared down at the animal with mock offense. "Of course he is. Only ever contacts me a few times a year, usually to keep tabs on me and let me know his power-hungry wife and 'mommas boy' son are okay, and alive, and-" he paused, lifting his head up. There, just over the sound of the wind, shouting? He heard the clashing of blades and frowned. Curiosity more than anything drove him forward, stopping the horse and continuing to the sounds of battle on foot. No need for a massive beast to draw attention to himself.

He stayed low, crouched in the snow. In the midday light he would be easily noticed in his armor. Gods, why didn't he have some white leather armor? "I really, really, really hate the snow," he grumbled under his breath as he moved closer to the sounds.

He saw movement ahead of him, through the trees. Interesting, he thought, slipping behind a bush. In a small clearing, a camp was under attack. Caius quickly sucked in a sharp breath as he saw the combatants.

Imperial Legionaires fighting Stormcloak soldiers. What a great first impression. He shook his head siletly. A simple skirmish meant nothing to the young imperial. His mission was more important than a few disputes. He saw enough.

Caius heard a crunch in the snow, and turned just in time to watch the pommel of a sword hit his temple. There was a brief flash of searing pain, and Caius could have sworn he heard a roar in the distance. And then the world went dark.

The jostling of the wagon jolted Caius into awakening. Being a thief, he had trained himself to minimize the time "waking up", as he so called it. There was only sleep or wakefullness. No in-between. He blinked his eyes open to a wagon full of Stormcloak soldiers. He tried to speak, but a sharp pain in his head blurred his vision. He let out a small grunt of pain. When his vision cleared he was looking at his hands, bound at the wrist with a thick rope. Captured.

"So youre finally awake," one of the Stormcloaks said. Caius looked at the blond soldier and nodded slowly. He then grimaced as his head pounded with the movement. "They hit you pretty hard on the head. How are you feling?"

"Like I got hit in the head with something metal." Caius said blandly. He wasn't in the mood to throw any snarky retorts. He was bound in a wagon with a group of rebels. He had a relatively good guess as to how this was going to turn out. "They're taking us to some prison or something?"

The stormcloak gave him an incredulous look. "I forgot; you were caught trying to cross the border. Got caught in the cross hairs of the ambush."

"Something like that," the imperial mumbled. He tugged at the bindings on his wrists. The thick rope dug tightly against his skin. He grimaced. He looked at the only Nord that didn't have the Stormcloak armor on."And you?"

The nord, thin and frail compared to the warriors sitting around him, weakly smiled, though his eyes betrayed his fear. "I ahh, same as you, got caught up in the ambush."

His fingers were twitching wildly, and Caius could see the dark rings under his eyes, and the abrasions under his nose. Skooma. The imperial had seen the results enough times to know that this poor man was starting to go through withdrawal.

The stormcloak sighed. "You and the horse thief have horrible luck." At first, Caius thought he was the one referred to as the horse thief, but then realized the blond nord was speaking to him.

Caius almost spoke, but the addict nord interrupted. "What's wrong with him?" he nodded toward the silent mountain of a man sitting beside Caius. The imperial barely even realized the man was there. He hadn't contributed to the conversation at all. And then he ralized why. The man, decorated in furs and the armor of a high-ranking Stormcloak, was muzzled with a thick gag in his mouth. He was watching the conversation with a stern gaze.

The blond stormcloak gaped at the other nord for a moment. "Don't you know who this is? It's Ulfric Stormcloak!" The leader of the rebellion.

Caius started. He had never seen the bear of a nord before. Only in writing was he ever described, and vaguely. But if the empire could end the rebellion here and now...he turned to look at the gates of the town they were entering. "If that's Ulfric," he began solemnly. "Where are they taking us?:

The blond nord glanced at Ulfric before speaking. "To Sovngarde."

A/N: Okay, I'm just gonna say, this chapter is a little slow. It's dialogue heavy with not too much actuon. What do you expect, it's the intro to the game! :Please

Next chapter will be longer, I promise!