Whiterun at Last

I can’t afford to let my guard down now that I am so close, I keep my eyes peeled for any potential problems. 

I walk past a beautiful mountain, must be the biggest one I’ve seen in Skyrim.

 At last almost safe.

Another hour or so of walking brings me to the outskirts of the city and with relief I see a city guard and ask him where I am, he replies Whiterun, and then he adds "stay out of trouble".

I grin because that’s all I want to do.

I walk past the outlying farms and notice that there are few workers in the fields, must be the same problem Gilfre has, the war. Damn! I forgot to ask the guard about the war.

Further ahead I come to the stables and hear that they sell horses, good to know.

I also see a carriage that travels between the main cities, again good to know.

  I follow the road into the city proper and enter the gates, safe again.

Closing the city gates behind me I come across the smith and a soldier discussing the very war I want to know more about. I stop nearby and listen. 

It seems the whole country is at war and all its resources are being funnelled into the war machine. I can’t believe that bandits still have the courage to prey on innocents along the roadside with so many soldiers moving around.

I move on and see a welcome sign.

 I head inside hoping to rent a room and make some inquiries.

Turns out it’s a tavern and the keeper has an interesting tale about how he got the name for it. 

Downing a bottle of mead I listen to his tale, his drunken brother shot an arrow into his nether regions on some hunt and that’s how he got the name, The Drunken Huntsman!

If I had to choose, I would rather have my nether regions intact than have a tavern but that’s just me. The Daedra gods are cruel for sure.

I ask about a bed and he refers me to the ‘Bannered Mare’. I take my leave.

Following his directions I pass the market square, the stall owners are shutting up shop. Nearby is a  general store and a herbalist.

I will explore more on the morrow but now I need a bed.

I enter the inn and am greeted by a bard’s song and the pleasant sounds of the patrons merriment. 

I lean against the nearest pillar and just listen, feeling the tension leave my bones. The bard finishes and the patrons clap their hands wanting more.

 I move to the bar and ask about a room.

I rent one for 10 gold pieces, pretty expensive, guess that’s city prices for you. I grab a mug of ale and move back to the crowd, staying around the outskirts, listening to what is being said and making polite conversation where needed. 

A woman with ambition, Ysolda I think her name was.

A member of one of two feuding families, the Battle-Born's.

A beggar that at least is direct with me, a gold coin he wants, I oblige feeling very generous tonight.

Nobody seems to recognise me though, why did my instincts tell me to come here I wonder?

Exhaustion takes hold of me and I head for bed. Tomorrow is another day, I made it to Whiterun.

 Its Tirdas, 11:15 pm, 19^th day of Last Seed.

The South Road

I open my eyes as the first rays of light peep through the cracks in the cabin walls. 

I bathe and eat a good meal; I will probably need all the energy I can get. 

Packing up my meager belongings and arming myself I head out the door to take my leave of Gilfre and the Mill.

Gilfre bids me well and tells me I am welcome to return anytime. I accept her offer, provided of course I am still alive then. I say my goodbyes and head up the south road. 

It had to be the south road; my instinct tells me Whiterun is where I need to be.

I follow the plan and walk up the road, my friendly revelers now gone, past the bridge then along the river bank.

As I continue on I am forced into the water by the steep rocky bank, the current is strong here but I swim ahead regardless. 

Then my heart starts to sink, a waterfall and no way over or around!

I am forced back towards the bridge by the current. Things have gotten off to a bad start. 

A thought flashes through my head, something about ‘a battle plan not surviving the first contact with the enemy’. Was I a soldier? Maybe my father taught me that? That will have to wait for later, right now I need to get past that fortification without being seen.

I return to the bridge and sneak up the road hugging the growth alongside trying to stay out of sight. 

My heart is pounding in my ears but I need to stay calm and take my time, I can do this, there is enough cover to get past. It seems like ages but eventually I am past the tower.

Letting out a huge sigh of relief I take cover amongst some bushes and survey the road ahead, it looks clear but I am not taking any chances. I continue on, staying hidden as much as possible and around midday I come to a crossroads. 

My mouth goes dry, are there any bandits waiting for me here? I draw my sword and move closer. 

Nothing happens, the silence is intense! My palms sweating so much I almost drop my sword. I wait coiled like a snake ready to strike, but still nothing! 

I start to relax and read the road signs.

I am on track so to speak.

I seek out some shaded cover and sit down for a small meal and rest, it may still be a long way still to go, there is no distance markings on these signs.

Rested I head off again still keeping to the road edge as much as possible. 

I come to an area that leads down to the river again and it looks like it has seen some use. Should I follow it? It might lead to a shelter I could use if I needed to spend the night out in the wilds. I follow the track and just ahead I see a pool in the river with what seems like a shelter of some kind.

I slowly inch forward, staying to the left bank of the pool and work my way closer. I don’t see any movement or anything else. I move closer, I see a skeleton of some large animal lying next to a fallen tree, but what’s next to it? Alarm bells start ringing in my ears; I should just run from this place now! 

I don’t, instead I foolishly go closer until I can see exactly what it is.

A woman savaged by what or whom I don’t know. A troll skull lying next to her sends a cold shudder through me, I am not strong enough to deal with whatever did this. 

I need to get out of here now! 

I want to leave but I can’t just leave this poor womans body as it is. Having no other choice I quickly search her body for anything that might tell me who she is and where she came from. At least I could let her kin know what happened to her; sadly I find nothing. 

I hurriedly take my leave from this place.

I get back to the relative safety of the road and continue on, berating myself for my stupidity, I could have been that’s things next victim!

After a few hours I come across another cross roads, my stress levels rise again, maybe this is the one the bandits are waiting in ambush at for some poor sap like me to come along and blunder into. 

I draw my sword and get ready for the attack….nothing, I wait….still nothing. My nerves are shot; I can’t keep this up much longer. 

I am indeed a plaything of those cruel Daedra gods I read about last night.

I read the road signs and at least I am still heading towards Whitrun.

I take another rest and slake my thirst on some mead; I feel the alcohol course through my veins and feel much better. There is still enough daylight left to keep moving so I rise and do just that.

Not long after the cross roads I come to a bend in the road and just past the bend stands an ancient Nord Tower, not good! 

I creep closer, taking cover behind a log and survey the area.

I can’t see much so I creep closer doing my best to stay hidden, my senses on edge straining for some sound or some sight of movement. 

This could really be the end of me if I make one tiny mistake; on one side of the road is a steep slope I can’t climb and the other side a huge drop off to the river, no choice but to go forwards. I inch closer catching sight of a sentry guarding the entrance, thankfully they don’t see me. I back up a bit till I am out of sight.

Having no other choice but to pass in front of the tower I take some time to study it. I notice a bridge spanning the river connecting this tower to another one, things just got twice as bad! On the bridge I see a guard patrolling up and down. I don’t see anybody else but these towers could be crammed full of bandits!

I mull over ideas about how I am going to do this. 

Should I wait for nightfall and try and sneak past in the dark, it would be harder for them to spot me but it would also be harder for me to spot them! I might just sneak right into one of them standing in the road. I decide I can’t risk the night. 

It has to be daylight then, but I can’t sneak past the guard at the entrance as she is right on the road. I wrack my brain for ideas, coming up short I decide to literally make a run for it and hope that the gods favour me now.

Securing all my equipment I sneak up as close as possible, the guard spots me! 

I jump up and run as fast as my legs can carry me past the tower. As I pass the guard I see a look of confusion on her face, she expected me to run at her and attack! She is caught on the back foot as I rush past. Putting some distance between us I risk another glance, the guard is rooted to the spot not knowing what is going on, are there more attackers? Is this a diversion? I don’t care what she is thinking I keep on going until my lungs are bursting and I am well past the tower.

I collapse in a heap, gulping air down into my lungs, desperately watching for some pursuit but none comes, my gamble paid off. 

I made it!

Catching my breath I move on putting as much distance between me and those towers as possible. 

Not long afterwards I see in the distance my goal, well what I at least think is my goal seeing as I can’t remember any of this place.

Scouting the Surrounding Area

The next day bright and early, after a light breakfast, I resume my wood chopping and work steadily till noon. Thankfully my body does not ache all the time and I feel much better. 

I head over to Gilfre and ask about the area, she tells me that the road going north leads to Windhelm and the southern road can take me to Ivarstead or Whiterun. I still can’t remember any of these places but I need to go to one of them as it’s probably a better place to begin my search for any clues as to my identity.

I take a look at my options.

The road north.

 

 The road south.

I need more information so I decide to scout out the two roads before making a decision on which one to take.

After a snack I head off down the north road and as it runs parallel to the river I try and stick close to the river bank. Not far from the mill I see fish in the river and try to catch some to augment my dwindling food supplies. It turns out the current is too strong and the fish too fast, maybe later, time is moving.

I clamber out of the water dripping wet and right in front of me a single wolf.

Something tells me there should be more but its alone and its eating something. I sneak up as close as possible then rush forward for the kill! The lone wolf meets its end swiftly.

I walk over to see what it was feeding on. A mountain goat, I lost out to the fish earlier but into my lap falls some fresh meat and another skin to utilise.

I continue sneaking along the road with the river in view and just up ahead I see a cabin of sorts.

Could it be inhabited? Maybe they are not so friendly; wolves are one thing, fully armoured bandits could be way too much for my growing confidence. I decide stealth is the best option and move closer as quietly as possible. As I get nearer I see movement, it’s not human from the look of things.

My heart is starting to beat a bit faster now, I just need to get a bit close to make sure…

A Sabre tooth!  Better get out of here before it sees me. This beast is way too much for me.  I turn around and head back to the road when I come face to face with the rest of the lone wolf’s pack. My heart begins to race, they attack together, trying to get under my sword cuts. I slash at the first then turning I bring my sword crashing straight down onto the other wolfs skull, it splits in two, the remaining wolf howls in sympathy for its dead brothers. It rushes me again intent on revenge, I step aside and dispatch it with a thrust to the heart. 

It’s over! panting I strip the pelts and wonder how long my luck will last, how stupid to assume that the first wolf was alone, I knew better. 

I turn back to the Mill.

I come across some iron ore just off the road in between the rocks, pity I have no pick axe to mine it.

Now I need to scout out the southern road. 

I walk past the Mill and up the road trying to make as little noise as possible. 

My foray up the north road has made me even more cautious. 

I see a bridge just up ahead and slow down, I crouch down and ease toward the bridge and sure enough just a short distance ahead in a glade of trees is a man.

I take cover behind a rock and watch him for any signs of hostility, I can see he is not armed nor is he wearing any armour, it appears as though he is enjoying a drink of some kind. Very odd indeed, but a good sign none the less. After some time has passed I decide he is not dangerous and slowly walk towards him.

 

As I get closer he sees me and starts to walk toward me, I grip my sword hilt, this time ready to draw it before things go wrong. 

He gives me a grin after greeting me like some long lost friend, do I know this man? I greet him in return and notice over his shoulder two other men still in the glade. Is this the moment I get ambushed again! 

The stranger asks if I am thirsty and invites me to join his party for a drink, a special kind of mead he says. 

My mind is racing now, maybe its poisoned! 

Should I run or attack now before it’s too late? I hesitate and the moment is gone.

He offers me the mead and they all toast my health, I drink up and enjoy the honey liquor slipping down my throat, if I am going to die it will at least taste good.   

I don’t die; instead we all have another and another. Lightheaded we bid each other goodbye; turns out they are just a bunch of revellers looking for a drinking buddy. 

I am in no condition to make rational decisions now but I walk on a bit further and take a look at the river running alongside the road. I may be able to skirt alongside it and bypass that fortification not far up the road. 

I definitely don’t want to walk past that.

Enough for today, dusk is approaching so I head back to the workers cabin that has been my home for the last few days.

I enter the cabin, sitting down to have some food and ponder my choices. 

The north road seemed to have way too many dangerous creatures roaming around. 

The south road didn’t have any creatures but did have that fortification right next to the road; at least I could sneak by along the river’s edge. 

I will sleep on it and decide in the morning. Only thing is I can’t sleep now, too much nervous energy running through me, so I decide to do some reading. 

I move to the table and have a look at the three books I salvaged from the caravan. 

Did any of them belong to me I wonder? 

Two of the books are the second part of a series so I settle on the third one 'A Book of Daedra', it describes all the gods of Skyrim and their fickle natures.

Some bed time reading.

Finishing the book I climb into the bunk and fall asleep almost immediately.