Mutants Misplaced
Chapter 7
Enter the Saurians
Entering through the large gate, the mutants saw that the building were of the same Norse style they had seen so far. People were walking around and working their respective crafts while some guards patrolled the streets.
Madesi, feeling a bit ashamed that he couldn't afford to pay his friends for their help, decided to explain where everything was in the city, it was the least he could do.
The first building to their right was the Warmaiden's, the local blacksmith and weapon and armor dealer. If they needed new equipment or repairs, that was the place to go. Standing outside, by the forge and working with a red-hot piece of metal, was a woman wearing a rough looking dark red dress and a black apron. Her skin was slightly dark and dirty from soot and sweat.
A square stone building just to the left of the gate served as the barracks, housing a large number of guards.
Having noticed the quiver that Sephie carried, Madesi recommended a place called the Drunken Huntsman, a wooden building on a small hill to the left. Specializing in bows, arrows and the like, he thought that she might appreciate it.
If they continued onward, they would reach the market, where there were a few stalls where people could buy various stuff like vegetables and baubles. There were also a few shops around the market.
The closest was a general goods store, where you could buy and sell pretty much anything. Though, Madesi said that Belethor, the owner, was a rather sleazy man.
The next shop over, was Adriana's Cauldron and dealt with herbs, medicines and tonics. If there would be any place that they should visit before leaving town, this was it. Getting sick on the road is not something to joke about.
Across the market, lay the Bannered Mare, Whiterun's inn. They offered food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty and bed for the weary.
On the left of the market was a set of stairs, leading further into the city through an inner wall. Another set of stairs, leading through the same wall, was between the barracks and the Huntsman. According to Madesi, the two paths both led to the Wind District, where the more influential families lived, while the commoners lived down in the Plains District.
The two points of interest in the Wind District was the temple of Kynareth and Jorrvaskr, the home of the Companions, a guild of mercenary-like warriors.
Past that district was another set of stairs, leading up to the Cloud District where Dragonsreach sat on the very top of the hill, from where Jarl Balgruuf the Greater ruled the entire Hold.
Unfortunately, Madesi had to make preparations for his trip to Riften, so he couldn't stay and help his new friends. But before they parted ways, he promised that he would find a way to repay their kindness one day.
After saying farewell, the mutants needed to address one important thing. Money.
Sure, they had some gold coins, but just how much could they get for it? Since it was the combined wealth of an entire gang, or at least their combined pocket money, the mutants were pretty sure that they didn't have a fortune on their hands.
But before they could even start discussing what to do, a couple of guards came up to them.
"You seven! Yes, you! Come with us!" barked one guard.
"Is something wrong?" asked Leo calmly, even though he was just as worried as the others.
"Not my place to say, lizard. All I know is that the Jarl has ordered us to bring you seven to him, so come along now."
Seeing no other option, the mutants let themselves be escorted, reluctantly but still. They didn't want to start a fight, even though Raph wouldn't mind giving the guards a fight if they wanted one.
As they were being led up the stairs to Dragonsreach, they could see for miles upon miles of the surrounding landscape. A most impressive view, to say the least.
Entering the palace, they were met by a woman with gray skin and red hair, she also had red eyes, a slightly flat nose and pointed ears. She wore a suit of leather armor and held a sword in her right hand. Looking into her eyes, one could see that she had faced much in her years.
"So you are the travelers that the Jarl wanted to see." she said.
"And you are?" asked Tyroth.
"I am Irileth, Jarl Balgruuf's housecarl."
"What's a housecarl?" asked Mona.
"A bodyguard, for important people such as jarls or kings." said Tyroth.
"Yes, and you'll do wise to remember that. If you so much as reach for a weapon, you may not live to regret it. Now, move it, the Jarl is waiting."
As they followed Irileth, still accompanied by the guards, the mutants couldn't help but to look around. They were in the lower level of a rectangular room, with a wide set of stairs to the top level right in front of them. Pillars supported the high ceiling and a fire pit sat in the middle of the top level with two long tables, one on each side of it.
The long sides of the top level each had an open door, the one on the left led to a kitchen and the one on the right led to what appeared to be a study of some kind.
Each of the two corners in the far back had narrow staircase, the right one led upward, most likely to a second floor, while the left one led downward, either to a cellar or a dungeon.
Mounted high on the back wall, above the throne, was the skull of a dragon, gray in color with two large black horns extending backwards with two smaller ones underneath. Tyroth couldn't help that he felt disgusted by it, normally he wouldn't think much of that kind of trophy, but he felt a form of kinship being part dragon himself.
Sitting on the throne was the Jarl himself. He was a rather burly man somewhere in his late thirties that still looked strong and capable. Long blonde hair reached his shoulders and a thick but short beard grew on his chin. He wore a fancy looking, sleeveless tunic of sorts, dark gray with red, gold and silver trims as well as a cold circlet with a large ruby in between two smaller emeralds.
Standing next to him was a man with a slightly darker skin tone, thin gray hair from his ears and down as well as a thin mustache and goatee. He wore a blue quilted robe with gold trim and was most likely some one of importance.
"My Jarl. The travelers, as you requested." Irileth announced.
"Thank you, Irileth." the Jarl said, turning his attention to the seven reptiles, who bowed to him in a show of respect.
"So you are the ones I've been told about. I must admit that I expected you to be Argonians, but clearly, you're not."
"You've heard of us?" asked Tyroth.
"Aye, from Torleif. His eyes may not be the best anymore, but a group of seven Argonians traveling the countryside is not something that you see every day. Either way, I'm told that you saved him from some thugs and for that, you have my gratitude."
"He needed help, we couldn't simply ignore that. But how did you learn of this? It wasn't that long ago."
"From the guards that patrol that area. They must have arrived at Torleif's just minutes after you left. You must have taken another route than they, otherwise they would have caught up with you. But enough about that, tell me, who, and what, are you?"
"I am called Tyroth, and these are my friends. Leonardo and his brothers, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael. The girls are Monalisa, Raphael's lifemate, and Sephie, my lifemate. Our kind is known as the Saurians."
"Saurians? Never heard of you. And why, if you are of the same people, do you look so different from each other?" asked the man standing next to the Jarl.
"And who are you?"
"Proventus Avenicci, the Jarl's steward and advisor. Now, if we could return to my question."
"Of course. A long time ago, we were not one but many people, and after many generations of hostilities and fighting, peace among the different races was finally achieved. As the coexistence continued, our ancestors started finding lifemates among other races than their own and successfully brought new hatchlings into the world.
This has continued to this day, while traits and features that can be traced to the various origin races vary, we are all one race. Siblings, however, tend to share traits."
"Fascinating, don't you agree, Irileth?" said Jarl Balgruuf.
"Yes, my Jarl, but where do they come from? I've been all across Tamriel and I've never even heard of such a race. I also have the feeling that they're hiding something."
"You are very sharp, but that is to be expected from a housecarl. I will show you what I've tried to kept a secret, all I ask is that you keep calm." said Tyroth as he began loosening the cape enough to slowly unfold his wings.
Upon seeing this, the guards tensed and started talking amongst each other.
"Are those... wings?" said one.
"By the Eight, he looks like a dragon!" said another one.
"After hearing about the dragons from Torleif..." Tyroth continued "we thought it best if I hid my wings, to avoid causing any trouble. As to where we come from, we live on an island, it has no name to us as it was the only land we knew of. Covered in thick jungles and with tall mountains shielding us from the cold northern winds, it is a lot warmer than Skyrim. Every day is a battle for survival, even after the unification of the races, due to the beasts that live there as well. As a result, no one make it to adulthood without becoming the equivalent of a warrior in the process.
And how we got here might be a bit more difficult to explain. We found an old temple of some sort that was older than our recorded history, and within it we found a necklace that possessed great magic. By activating it by mistake, we were sent here, no more than a few days ago. Now we are simply trying to survive and find a way back home."
"I've never heard such a tale. I know nothing of such an island, it sounds like nonsense." said Proventus.
"It is not nonsense, in fact, it is most fascinating." said a man dressed in dark blue robes with a hood that covered most of his appearance, as he walked in from the study.
"This is Farengar, the court wizard, if there is someone in Whiterun that can help you, it is him." said the Jarl.
"There is no question that there exists other realms, and while our friends here may not be from Nirn, they could very much be from another realm with a world like ours. Magic holds more mysteries than we can fathom."
"What I want to know is, if what they claim is true, how do they know of Jarls and housecarls?" Irileth cut in.
"A good question. A few generations ago, people like yourselves landed on the far north of our island, where the climate is a lot colder. I have visited their settlement regularly over the years and have learned about their people, and while there are several similarities between you and them, there are also differences. But due to the similarities, I was chosen to speak for us, as I'm more experienced with your kind."
"Interesting. Then I guess that you hoped that you would be able to find someone that had heard about your people, and maybe could take you home, correct?" said the Jarl.
"Aye, but if we're not on the same world anymore, we can not simply hire a ship." Tyroth replied.
"No, you would need to return like you came here, through magic. Hmm... I'll do some research and see what I can find. Come see me again in a few hours and we'll see if I can do anything about that." said Farengar.
"In the meantime, you're welcome to stay in the city, and here's something that will help you." said the Jarl, as he gestured to his steward. Proventus walked out of the room, taking the stairs up and returned shortly, carrying a small pouch that clinked with every other step. He walked over to the mutants and handed them the pouch before taking his place next to the throne again.
"Two hundred septims, as a reward, and a thank you, for helping Torleif. I'm sure it will come in handy." the Jarl said. "I would like to give you more for your deeds, but I have to see to my people as well, and with both the war and the dragons, every coin must count."
"You have been most generous, Jarl Balgruuf, and we understand. Thank you." Tyroth said with a bow. "We will return later, right now we have some things to see to."
"Do so, and Tyroth, was it? Don't bother hiding your wings, people will find out eventually, especially since some blabber like old fishwives!" Balgruuf said, looking at the guards, some of which squirmed slightly. One even whistled a bit, acting as if it rained.
After the team had been escorted out of the palace, Proventus turned to the Jarl.
"Do you think that this Tyroth may be another Dragonborn? He certainly look the part of a dragon." he said.
"That he does, but you can not tell who is Dragonborn just by how they look. For all we know, they could all have been Dragonborn. But the Greybeards haven't called out since the last one, so only time will tell. Either way, Tyroth may be called Dragonborn by many, so he'd better be prepared. And I have a feeling that those seven have been, and will be, part of many important events."
And there you have it, their new origin story. Next time, they start preparing for a potentially long stay in Skyrim and find out if Farengar can help them.
Note: The guards of Skyrim really must gossip a lot. Even if you're as stealthy as can be with whatever you do, they always find out and talks about it, hence the 'fishwife' part.