My name is Chamelion. I’m a fugitive.

               I let out a long breath, staring at the mountain I had seen the dragon flee from, before looking down at Hadvar. Despite his earlier statement to part ways, he was still standing there, looking at me as if wondering if I was going to follow.

               I thought about my choices. I’m in a strange land, and I have no idea where I wound up, and there are no familiar places for me to follow or go to. So, my only option was to join Hadvar to Riverwood. I walked down the path, giving a silent nod to my companion, who turned and walked down the mountain, with me following.

               The white ground and trees slowly turned into more greenery, as we climbed down the mountain. The chill of the cold was still in the air, but I could tell it was more tolerable than earlier. It made me wonder how these humans were able to withstand the cold so much. We Argonians barely can live in the winters of Black Marsh.

               “Listen,” Hadvar finally broke the silence, “you should go to Solitude and join up with the Imperial League. We could really use someone like you. And if the rebels themselves have a dragon, General Tullius is the only one who can stop them.”

               “Let’s hope General Tullius survived the dragon attack,” I responded, sliding a little on the loose dirt as the ground went into a brief steep descent. “Not to mention, I don’t know if the Imperials would welcome me, since I am considered a criminal,” I pointed out.

               Eventually the dirt path merged with a stony path, which I noted had to be a more common route that travelers had taken. We passed by a signpost, and I paused for a moment to look over at it. One of the signposts pointed South, to Helgen. We instead went North, going down the mountain. I glanced up, seeing that the mountain that the dragon flew behind was getting larger in the distance. On the side of the mountain, I could see stone archways pointing up to the sky, resembling a ribcage that was imbedded into the mountain.

               Hadvar paused and pointed up to the archways. “See that ruin up there? Bleak Falls Barrow. When I was a boy, that place always used to give me nightmares.” Barrows. I was familiar with the term, though I had never seen them before. They were considered a burial place for the Nords, and often had been well-guarded with traps, to ensure that the dead were not disturbed.

               Hadvar continued, “Draugr creeping down the mountain through my window at night, that kind of thing. I admit, I still don’t much like the look of it.” The word ‘Draugr’ sent a cold chill in my skin. Draugr were undead Nords, those who had unfinished business in the world, or those who were wrongly resurrected by the Necromancers and sought to be brought back to peace. Neither of those situations were appealing for me, and I made a mental note to have no reason to go up there.

               We continued down the mountainside, and after taking a few more sharp turns, I could see a large river gently cascading down below us, and I can see that the path ahead was going to wind its way down before going by the river. It gave me a feeling of serenity, seeing such beauty in nature, despite what I had been through already.

               I snapped out of my daydream and quickly followed Hadvar farther down the path, and we both stopped at a set of three monoliths standing just off the path, the ground around it flattened and treated to serve the monuments as a small shrine.

               Hadvar pointed to them. “These are the Guardian Stones, three of the thirteen ancient standing stones that dot Skyrim’s landscape.” I approached the stones, gazing at each one slowly.

               Each of the stones had two things in common. One, they had a large hole in the middle of them, as if they had been cleanly carved out by man. Secondly, the stones had a different image of a person below each hole. To my left, a man in a cloak, wielding two daggers in his hands, poised to look like he was leaping at someone. In the middle, an old man in a long, flowing robe, wielding a staff and posed to appear he was in the middle of an incantation. To my right, the man was wearing barely any clothing, just apair of leggings, a helmet, and a shoulder strap, leaving his torso base. He was holding a shield in one hand, and an axe in the other, the axe crossing across his middle as he was kneeling.

               I turned back to the stone with the cloaked man, and before I realized what I was doing, I rested my hand on the stone. To my shock, it  hummed to life, the hole suddenly glowing a faded blue color, and slowly I noticed that on the picture of the robed man, various dots along the image appeared, lines interconnecting each of the dots in a pattern. Wait, no. That’s a constellation map, I realized.

               “Thief, huh?” I turned my head quickly to Hadvar. “It’s never too late to take charge of your own fate, you know.”

               I hesitated, stepping back from the stone, looking back at it was the stone hummed almost quietly. I must admit, part of the reason for my journey to a new land was because I was a well-known thief in the Black Marsh. I sought to try a new life away from the lands, but it appears that my past was still following me like a collared dog. I said nothing, stepping of the Guardian Stones altar and rejoined Hadvar, as we continued down the mountain, the river soon meeting with us and joining us in the journey.

               “Listen,”  Hadvar once again broke the silence, “as far as I’m concerned you’ve already earned your pardon.” I felt a brief wash of relief inside of me, having forgotten that Hadvar himself was present for my own execution. I suspected that he knew I wasn’t supposed to be there when he first couldn’t find my name on the list. However, the nagging feeling that the other Imperials weren’t so forgiving troubled me.

               “But until we get that confirmed by General Tullius, just stay clear of other Imperial Soldiers and avoid any complications, all right?” Well, there was a problem there. He invited me to join the Imperial Army,  but now he’s asking me to try and avoid them until things were cleared up by Tullius. Not to mention, I realized, Tullius’s fate was still unknown. We weren’t sure if he had survived the dragon attack.

               A sudden howl in the air broke my thoughts, and even caused Hadvar to slow down. Without thinking, both of us drew our weapons as two wolves bounded around a large rock, aiming straight for us. One of them lunged straight at Hadvar, the other one aiming for me. I blocked the wolf’s  bites with the shield, though the impact of the large wolf made me stumble  a little, and quickly brought my dagger out to impale it into the wolf’s shoulder before it could react for a second bite. I did another stab, this time in the back of the neck, felling the wolf quickly.

               I turned to Hadvar, who was standing over the corpse of the other wolf, a deep slash across its flank telling me that he didn’t have any difficulty with the wolf, that was good.  I knelt and skinned the two wolves, figuring that their pelts would at least make some good coin, and we continued our way down the path.

               “I’m glad you decided to come with me,” Hadvar’s tone was friendlier,  making me smile a little, despite my weariness of the road. “We’re almost to Riverwood.” That was a relief, I could at least find a place to rest, and then decide what to do with my life.

               A few minutes’ more walking distance and I could see through the trees a small village, with another of the stone gates I remember seeing at Helgen, but unlike Helgen, there was no one walking along the tops of them. I also noticed that there was no actual gate, serving just as an archway for free entry into the village. As we approached the gate, I looked around, with the villagers themselves milling about, doing their normal routines. I counted about three, maybe four buildings sitting side-by-side on my right, with a small pathway splitting two of the houses apart. To my left, there was lone building with a  sign indicating this was the blacksmith’s shop. There was a small deck attached to the side of the house, and I could see the billowing smoke of a forge over the railing. Behind the blacksmith’s, the river we had been following cut straight through the middle of the village, with a watermill using its sources to power a lumber mill.

               “Things look quiet enough here,” Hadvar said, then pointed to the smoke at the blacksmith’s workshop. “Come on. There’s my uncle.” We walked up to the Blacksmith’s shop, climbing the small stairs of the porch and paused at the stairs. “Uncle Alvor! Hello!” Hadvar waved to a man hammering away on a piece of armor, who straightened up and turned around to look at us.

               “Hadvar?” Alvor looked surprised to see his nephew. “What are you doing here? Are you on leave from…?” As he approached, he noticed Hadvar’s condition. “Shor’s bones, what happened to you, boy?”

               “Shh…” Hadvar put both of his hands up, trying to keep his voice down. I looked around the bustling village and understood why. “Uncle, please. Keep your voice down. I’m fine. But we should go inside to talk.”

               “What’s going on?” Alvor  turned to look at me. “And who’s this?”

               I took a small bow. “Chamelion. I’m a friend of Hadvar’s.”

               “Saved my life, in fact,” Hadvar added. “Come on, I’ll explain everything, but we need to go inside.” I gave a silent nod.

               Alvor relented, “Okay, okay. Come inside, then. Sigrid will get you something to eat and you can tell me all about it.” Oooh, food. I didn’t consider that, myself, and I dryly swallowed just at the mention of it. Both men turned and approached the door on the porch, and I began to follow, but stopped as I heard a woman’s cry behind me.

               “A dragon! I saw a dragon!” I tensed, turning around, seeing an elderly woman waving her arms frantically. Another male, hearing her and being much closer to her, stopped and spoke with her.

               “What? What is it now, mother?”

               “It was as big as the mountain, and black as night. It flew right over the barrow.” I gritted my teeth. That was the same dragon that attacked Helgen! I craned my head around, looking up into the sky, and realize that the Barrows, the same one Hadvar pointed out to me, loomed dangerously close to the village.

               “Dragons, now, is it?” The son didn’t seem convinced, as I stepped down and walked over to them. “Please, mother. If you keep on like this everyone in town will think you’re crazy. And I’ve got better things to do than listen to more of your fantasies.” He turned and walked away from his mother, passing by me without a greeting.

               “You’ll see!” The mother was shouting at him,  “It was a dragon! It’ll kill us all and then you’ll believe me!” She turned to look at me as I approached, a look of determination on her face. “Nobody believes me, but I tell you, I saw a dragon!”

               I started to respond that I did see the same dragon, but another voice, a woman’s, spoke up behind me, distracting me.

               “New to Riverwood?” I turned to another woman, in green, standing behind me. Did she hear the conversation? “If you’re looking for work, go see Hod at the mill.”

               “Uh, thank you,” I smiled awkwardly, then looked back to the first woman, but she had disappeared, most likely gone back into her house. I let out a huff, then walked back down the road, up to the blackmith’s house, knocked lightly, then entered.

               The house itself felt comfortably lived in, I had noticed. A hearth on one side of the wall, a large bed a distance away, and over in the corner, I spotted another smaller bed. There was also a young girl, sitting by the small bed, who got up and walked over to Hadvar to give him a hug.

               “Sigrid!” I looked to my other direction, seeing Alvor sitting at a table  lined with assorted foods,  across from the hearth, “we have company!” Beyond the table I noticed a railing, and from there, a woman emerged from the floor. No, wait, there is a staircase leading below ground that I couldn’t see. Perhaps that was where they keep their supplies.

               Sigrid turned and immediately spotted Hadvar. “Hadvar! We’ve been so worried about you! Come, you two must be hungry,” she smiled and lightly nodded in my direction, and I responded in kind. “Sit down and I’ll get you something to eat.”

               I glanced back at the table. Counting the one Alvor was sitting on, there were only three chairs. It was clear that they were not expecting company, and I didn’t blame them for this, since Hadvar and I came to Riverwood without any announcement.

               Hadvar took a seat on the other end of the table, and I took the one against the wall, sitting across from Alvor, who turned to Hadvar. “Now, then, boy. What’s the big mystery? What are you doing here, looking like you lost and argument with a cave bear?”

               “More like avoided one,” I mumbled quickly, eyeing the assorted fruits and cheeses on the table. Tempting as it was, I didn’t want to eagerly start eating their food.

               “I… don’t know where to start,” Hadvar eventually said. “You know I was assigned to General Tullius’s guard. We were stopped in Helgen when we were attacked…” He took a breath, and I tensed. “by a dragon.”

               I glanced over to Alvor, who had a look of doubt, reminding me of when the son chastised her mother earlier. “A dragon? That’s… ridiculous. You aren’t drunk, are you boy?”

               “Husband,” Sigrid interrupted just as I was about to pipe in, “Let him tell his story.”

               “Not much more to tell,” Hadvar answered. “This dragon flew over and just wrecked the whole place. Mass confusion. I don’t know if anyone else got out alive. I doubt I’d have made it out myself if not for my friend here.”

               Alvor, Sigrid, and the little girl – though I didn’t see her - all looked at me. I meekly held my hands up. “I supposed I was at an unfortunate moment but at the same time it was fortunate enough for me to be there.”

               “I need to get back to Solitude and let them know what’s happened,” Hadvar added. “I thought you could help us out. Food, supplies, a place to stay.”

               I quickly interjected. “If you have an inn, I’d be more than happy to stay there.” I motioned over to the beds. “I can see that you were not prepared for additional guests and I do not-“

               “Nonsense!” Alvor interrupted me. “Any friend of Hadvar’s is a friend of mine. I’m glad to help however I can. However,”  he added, turning to me. “I need your help. We… need your help.”

               I looked at him in confusion. “Um, what can I do to help?”

               “The Jarl  needs to know if there’s a dragon on the loose. Riverwood is defenseless…” There was a terse tone in his voice, and I realized what he meant. There were no patrols around Riverwood, meaning that without extra defenses,  the dragon could easily destroy the village. However, I remember the damage at Helgen Keep, and wondered if it was any possibility to repel the dragon, if it attacked.

               “We need to get word to Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun to send whatever soldiers he can,” he continued. “If you’ll do that for me, I’ll be in your debt.”

*************************************************************************************

               I gave a slow nod, then thought about what he just told me. “Do you know how I can get to Whiterun from here, though?”

               “Cross the river and then head north,” he told me. “You’ll see it, just past the falls. When you get to Whiterun just keep going up. When you get to the top of the hill,  you’re at Dragonsreach, the Jarl’s palace.”

               So,  follow the path down, just past a set of waterfalls, and I’ll see the city on a hill, with the Jarl’s ‘palace’ sitting on the top. I made a mental picture of that, reaching down to grab a loaf of bread and slicing it carefully.

               “Since you’re a blacksmith, may I use your forge?” I figured it’d be safe to ask, since I could use some better armor and weapons than what I had scrounged up on my escape.

               “I see no harm in it, if you have the skill,” he replied. I chuckled. I’m a fast learner. “The grindstone will improve your weapons. Use the table to improve your armor. If you’ve got the raw materials, you can use the forge to make something new,” he added. I mused on that information for a bit, chewing on the bread I was eating.

               “What can you tell me about the Jarl?” I finally asked. I wanted to be prepared to know what I should encounter with the Jarl.

               “Jarl Balgruuf?” Alvor leaned back in his chair. “He rules Whiterun Hold. A good man, perhaps a  bit over-cautious, but these are dangerous times.” I nodded, remembering about Ulgruf and his unusual voice of death starting a war. “So far he’s managed to stay out of the war. I’m afraid it can’t last, though.”

               So, he was neutral in the war. This may be a good sign for me to seek refuge, then, since I wouldn’t be interested in the fact that I escaped my execution. “Which side in the war does he favor, though?”

               Alvor shrugged. “I don’t think he likes either Ulfric or Elisif much. Who can blame him? But,” he added after a passing thought, “I’ve no doubt he’ll prove loyal to the Empire in the end. He’s no traitor.”

               I gave a nod. If I get on the Jarl’s good side, before he decided to ally with the Empire, that could help me get a good foothold with the Empire themselves. “You support the Empire, then?” I cautiously asked.

               “Of course. Skyrim has always been part of the Empire.” Alvor was quick to respond. I glanced over and watched Sigrid tending to a pot hanging by the hearth. “That doesn’t mean I support everything the Empire’s been doing lately, but Nords have never been fair-weather friends.”

               Hmm… both the Empire and the Stormcloaks have some rather, negative actions on themselves, but I had yet to hear anything good about the Stormcloaks. Perhaps joining the Empire is the wiser option, after all. I didn’t want to get involved with an army that was rebelling against the king unless there was a good reason for it.

               I grabbed a wedge of cheese in front of me, cutting it carefully and taking a bite of it. The taste was surprisingly sharp for me, but I hadn’t had cheese that often. “So, what can you tell me about Riverwood?” I finally spoke, after swallowing my bite.

               Alvor seemed to stare at the wall behind me, as if looking into the past. “Gerdur’s family first settled here as woodcutters a few generations ago. She and Hod run the mill.” Hod. I remember that name being mentioned by the woman in green. Maybe that was Gerdur, then. “I make a decent living sharpening axes and fixing the sawmill.”

               Interesting. Seeing the mill earlier, I understood why they needed the blacksmith in town after all, and slowly nodded. My mind went back to the war that was mentioned at the executioner’s stage and sat up. “what can you tell me about this war?”

               Alvor’s tone change abruptly. “People are rightly stirred up about the damn Thalmor being allowed to roam around arresting people, just for worshipping Talos.”

I stiffened. Talos? If I remember correctly, Talos was considered ‘the Dragonborn’, one of the Nine Divines of Tamriel. He was originally known as Tiber Septum, and had conquered all of Tamriel for the Third Empire. It was the Nords that gave him the name Talos, and supposedly he ascended into the heavens to become the Ninth Divine. Though it puzzled me why Thalmor were banning the worship of such.

Alvor continued. “But was it worth tearing Skyrim apart, and maybe destroying the Empire? No, Ulfric will have a lot to answer for in the end.” His tone calmed down a little, but I could sense a hint of pride in his voice, possibly due to the Nordic blood in him. “Nords have always supported the Empire, and the Empire has always been good for Skyrim.”

I finally decided to ask about the banning. “Why are the Thalmor allowed to arrest people just for worshipping Talos, anyway?”

“It’s from that treaty,” Alvor began, throwing a hand into the air in a dismissive manner, “that ended the Great War, remember, when the Emperor was forced by the Thalmor to outlaw Talos worship. We didn’t pay much attention to it when I was a boy - everyone still had their little shrine to Talos. But then Ulfric and his,” He went into a mocking tone, “’Sons of Skyrim’ started agitating about it, and sure enough the Emperor had to crack down.” He leaned back, folding his arms. “Dragging people off in the middle of the night… one of the main causes of this war, if you ask me.”

*************************************************************************************

I fell silent, an apple having been held in my claws during his conversation. It was a lot to take in, now. The war starting because of an overabundance of Talos worshippers… Ulfric then deciding to kill the king with his voice, the Empire retaliating… and then this dragon. I rolled the apple around in my claws.  Did the dragon really come from the Stormcloaks?

Remembering back from when Ulfric first talked about the dragon, though, something hit me… he acted like he didn’t know where the dragon came from either. Did he really have anything to do with it, or was the dragon sent from the Divines… Or is that Dragon a reincarnation of Talos, himself, I wondered.

Alvor suddenly got up. “If you’ll excuse me, I must head back to work. You two make yourselves at home.” He left the house, and I glanced around. Sigrid stood by the stairs, and the young girl was eagerly asking Hadvar way too many questions.

“Hadvar, did you really see a dragon? What did it look like? Did it have big teeth?”

“Hush, child,” Sigrid scolded,  “Don’t pester your cousin.” She started to head downstairs, with the young girl getting up and following her down the stairs. That left me and Hadvar alone with each other. I let out a long sigh.

*************************************************************************************

               “It’s nice to be back in a friendly spot, huh?” Hadvar chuckled, a tankard of mead in his  hand. I smiled lightly, reaching over to grab my own tankard and gave a small sip. “Listen,” he added, leaning forward. “I’m going to lay up here for a while. You can make your own way to Solitude from here.”

               I frowned, not sure where this Solitude was at, but Hadvar seemed to read my thoughts. “I’d recommend heading to Whiterun, just down the road from here. From there you can take a carriage to Solitude.”

               I nodded, at least knowing that there was a way for me to get to Solitude, even with a lack of directions. My mind went back to the carriage ride I was forced in, remembering about the others that were there. I took a sip. “Who were the other prisoners?” I asked, although part of me had an idea who they were.

               “You didn’t know? That was Ulfric Stormcloak and his top lieutenants.”

               I shook my head. “No, sorry, I don’t pay much attention to current events.”

               Hadvar caught on to what I was implying. “Oh, right, you were caught trying to cross the border into Skyrim, weren’t you?”

               I gave him a look. “I got ‘caught’ in the middle of an ambush your General laid out for Ulfric and was taken along because he apparently thought I was one of them.”

               Hadvar nodded slowly. “Ulfric’s the leader of the Stormcloaks – you know, the traitors trying to break Skyrim away from the Empire.”

               I leaned back, now nursing the tankard in my claws. “How did you capture Ulfric, anyway?” I needed to know this personally since I got stuck in the middle of it.

               Hadvar placed his own tankard on the table and crossed his arms, grinning. “A masterstroke by General Tullius! He’s only been in charge here for a few months, but he’s turned things around for the Empire.” He explained, “We’ve been trying to catch Ulfric since the war started, but he always seemed to slip through our fingers… like he knew we were coming.”

               My initial thought was that there was a spy in the Empire but decided not to say anything. After all, Ulfric did get captured.

               “This time,” Hadvar continued, “the General turned the tables on him. Ulfric rode right into out ambush with only a few bodyguards.”

               ‘And me along with it,’ I thought, but didn’t say it aloud.

               “He surrendered pretty meekly, too. So much for his death-or-glory reputation.”  He shrugged. “I thought we were talking Ulfric back to Cyrodiil, but I guess the General changed his mind. You know the rest.”

               That raised two concerns for me. One, the fact that Ulfric gave up without a fight, and two, that Tullius chose to go to Helgen instead of Cyrodiil. I had to find out the answer for the latter one.

               But Hadvar wasn’t the person to ask, since he didn’t know about the change of plans. And the fact that the dragon had appeared out of nowhere… “I thought dragons were all dead long ago.”

               “So did I!” Hadvar slammed his hands on the table, making some of the plates jump. “If the damn Stormcloaks somehow found one, or woke it up… the war might be about to take an ugly turn.” He relaxed. “Hard to believe it was just a coincidence, that the first dragon’s anyone seen for centuries attacks just as Ulfric was about to be executed.”

               A nagging feeling in my head was telling me that it wasn’t the Stormcloaks responsible for the dragon. But one thing was for sure… we had to stop the dragon as well as the Stormcloaks. “Do you really think I should join the Imperial Legion?”

               “Of course!” Hadvar seemed eager. “I know, today wasn’t the best introduction to the Legion-“ No kidding, I thought, narrowing my eyes, “-but I hope you’ll give us another chance. The Legion could really use someone like you, especially now. And if the rebels have themselves a dragon, General Tullius is the only one who can stop them.”

               Now I was confused. Tullius against the Stormcloaks, I can understand, but against the dragon? “You think General Tullius knows where  that dragon came from?”

               “No,” Hadvar hesitated. “Not yet. After all, a dragon…” He paused to search for words. “…something out of old takes and legends… no one could have expected that.” He leaned forward. “But you can bet he’ll be trying to figure it out. This could shift the whole balance of the war.” He leaned back. “If you want to help stop that dragon, your best bet is to go to Solitude and join up with the Legion.”

               He made a fair point. I wanted to go to Skyrim to start a new life, and this dragon comes along, threatening all possibilities… perhaps joining the Empire would be a good thing. Despite my… thievery skills. “You make a good case. Maybe I will join up.”

               “I hope so. The Legion is Skyrim’s only hope right now. Come on, we’d better get moving.”

*************************************************************************************

Hadvar suddenly got up, and after some hesitation, I did as well, collecting a few more pieces of fruit, bread, and cheese for my journey. I thought back about what he told me. He showed interest in me joining the Imperials. I may accept his offer on that, especially if it’s true that Tullius knows a way to get rid of the dragon.

Speaking of dragons, Hadvar suspects that the Stormcloaks had something to do with it. But I had some doubts about that. Sure, it was mere coincidence that it showed up during Ulfric’s execution, and Ulfric himself seemed at peace when he was captured. But there was no way for him to plan for the dragon to ‘rescue’ Ulfric in the manner that had occurred. So, there had to be something else.

I glanced at the pot that was still cooking, remembering that I never did get a sample of the stew. I grabbed one of the wooden bowls and served myself some of the stew, eating it quietly as I looked around the house. The stairway caught my interest, and I decided to head down to see what was below.

Downstairs, it wasn’t furnished very much, which didn’t surprise me, assuming this was a storage room of sorts. Sigrid was standing by a counter, a  handful of her husband’s armor and weapons scattered along the counter. Their daughter was busy sweeping the floor, glancing up at me as I came downstairs. I looked at all the weapons and armor that Alvor made, but resisted the urge to take any, despite both his and Sigrid’s insistence that I could take their supplies. I gave a soft nod to Sigrid, then headed back upstairs, my curiosity satisfied.

“Stay sharp,” Hadvar advised me as we passed each other on the stairs, and I let out a small smile. He knew I was going out soon. I set the wooden bowl on the table, opened the door outside, and prepared for my next task.

It was dark outside. Night had fallen while I rested in the Blacksmith’s. I was surprised, not realizing I had been staying inside for so long. I took a walk around the village, my footsteps nearly  silent as I walked, the habits of my thieving past, I suppose.

I crossed a small bridge spanning the river, having a look at the large mill. Several large logs were resting, ready to be cut and transported. Behind the mill was a small dock, which I assumed was used for fishing. Circling the mill, I saw another bridge, this one leading to the other side of the blacksmith’s and to the main part of the village.

I took another loop around the blacksmith, heading instead to the house that I saw the ‘crazed’ woman standing in front of from earlier, testing the door to see if I could enter. It wasn’t locked, but I knocked a few times just to be safe, then entered the house.

Entering the small  house, it was decently furnished. Another hearth across the wall, shelves on both sides, two small beds, and in the middle was a small table, with the elder woman looking over at me. “I trust you’re not planning any trouble. What can I do for you, friend?”

“Ah, my apologies, I wished to speak to you  about something.” I gave a polite bow, advancing to the woman but stopping a few feet from her. “My name is Chamelion. I wished to inform you that I believe your story of the dragon. I myself had seen it as well.”

“See?” She pointed at me. “I knew there was a dragon! The end times are coming!”

She started going into a rant, and I quickly held up my hands. “Wait, wait, wait. I ask you to calm down, I don’t want to have the whole town going into a riot, and I’m just a traveler.” I lowered my hands. “I am on my way to Whiterun to see if we can get soldiers to come here to protect the town.”

She stiffened. “Where were the soldiers when the Riverwood Trader was robbed? I can’t trust them to defend against a dragon if they can’t defend poor Lucan from a simple thief!”

I immediately regretted coming in to speak to the woman. I just made things worse. However, the news about a trader being robbed got me curious. “Alright, I’ll go and speak to Lucan about what happened. Just… relax, is all I ask.” I turned and left the house in a hurry.

I walked down the road, looking at the buildings. The next building was a notably tall one, with a sign in front of it, reading ‘Riverwood Trader’. Below that sign was a pair of scales. I raised an eyeridge, the looked around the streets. This was the store that was robbed, apparently. I went to knock on the door, but there were some muffled voices, sounded like arguing, inside. That was concerning, so I decided to enter without knocking.

“Well, one of us has to do something!”

“I said no! No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing!”

There were two people, a male and a woman, arguing with each other. The man was standing behind the counter, the woman was pacing around it. I stood by the door, watching the two of them. They looked like each other, so I assume that they are related.

“Well, what are you going to do then, huh? Let’s hear it!”

The man seemed to hesitate.  “We are done talking about this.” He then noticed me. “Oh, a customer. Sorry you had to hear that.”

I finally approached, standing by the counter. My eyes fell on several pieces of armor and weapons, as well as several gold coins laying on the counter. I scratched my head in confusion. If he was robbed, why does he still have everything? “Did something happen?”

The shopkeeper stammered. “Uh, yeah, we did have a bit of a…” He mumbled, “a break-in. But we still have plenty to sell,” he quickly added. “Robbers were only after one thing.” Just one thing? This must have been a very specific thief. The shopkeeper noticed my expression. “An ornament, solid gold. In the shape of a dragon’s claw.”

That was very strange, for them to take just one thing. I wondered if it was a rare item. “Well, if you want, I can help you get this claw back.”

“You could?” The shopkeeper seemed to light up. “I’ve got some coin coming in from my last shipment. It’s yours if you bring my claw back.” He took out a map, rolling it out on the counter, pointing at it. “Now, if you’re going to get those thieves, you should head to Bleak Falls Barrow, northwest of town.”

I stiffened. It just had to be the Barrows, wouldn’t it?

“So this is your plan, Lucan?” I turned around, to the woman. She was staring at me, although she was speaking to the shopkeeper.

“Yes. So now you don’t have to go, do you?”

“Oh really?” She sounded smug. “Well I think your new helper here needs a guide.”

“Wh-“ Lucan stammered, “no… I…” He sighed. “Oh, by the Eight, fine. But only to the edge of town!”

The woman quietly got up, heading to the door, and left. I watched her leave, then looked over to Lucan, shrugging. “Stubborn, isn’t she?” I took time to trade some items with him, selling a few of the needless clothing (notably my prisoner’s clothes, which he took without question) before exiting the shop, myself.

She was waiting for me outside. “We have to go through town and across the bridge to get to Bleak Falls Barrow,” she explained, pointing towards the large mountain. “You can see it from here, though. That mountain just over the buildings.” I already knew what she meant, but I gave a silent nod, staring up at the mountain. In the moonlight, the ruins looked even more foreboding.

I followed her down the road as she continued talking. “Those thieves must be mad, hiding out there. Those old crypts are filled with nothing but traps, trolls, and who knows what else!”

“Perhaps that’s the point. They know that people would be too crazy to go into the crypts  themselves, so they chose them to act as their hideout,” I suggested, giving a shrug.  Being a thief, of course, it would make sense to me, but I didn’t feel like mentioning it to her. After all, a thief is sent to catch a thief.

We passed by another building, with a barely  readable sign hanging in front of it. ‘The Sleeping Giant Inn,’ I could read out. At least it was nice to have an inn. Perhaps I’ll rest there instead of Alvor’s house.

“I wonder why they only stole Lucan’s golden claw. I mean, we have plenty of things in the shop that are worth just as much coin,” the woman broke the silence. We passed underneath a gate, which I assumed meant this was the edge of the village. But we kept walking, and she continued.  “Lucan found the claw about a year after he opened the store. He never quite explained where he got it. He’s a tricky one.”

A short distance past the gate, she stopped at a stone bridge passing the river. I looked over the edge of it, watching the water flowing endlessly along.

“This is the bridge out  of town,” she explained. “The path up the mountain to the northwest leads to Bleak Falls Barrow.” She crossed her arms. “I guess I should get back to my brother. He’ll throw a fit if I take too long. Such a child…” She started walking back to the village, as I looked up the mountain. “Good luck. Lucan and I will be waiting for you back in the shop.”

And at that, I was alone. Without hesitation, I crossed the bridge, glancing up at the mountain. There was a sign on the other side of the bridge, indicating major towns of interests, but I dismissed it, finding the stone path leading up the mountain that the woman informed me of. It wound its way  up the mountain, going steep at points, which made it a tougher climb for me than I wanted it to be.

Partway up, after taking a sharp turn, I heard the faint sounds of barking, and quickly drew my weapons. A lone wolf was standing in the middle of the path, growling at me. He eventually lunged towards me, but I was able to block the wolf’s attack with my shield and quickly felled it with a stab to the throat.

I was wary, however; wolves are rarely ever by themselves, so I looked around with caution, alert for any other signs of wolves in the distance. However, there were no other sounds of wolves, so I proceeded up.

After a bit of trek with no activity, I felt the air getting significantly colder again, the sky turning into an airy sea of white as snow  began to fell.  My footsteps on the hard ground soon changed into the crunching of snow beneath my feet, but I continued, urged by the promise I made to Lucan.

I could see a tower hanging over the edge of the mountain through the white, a lone tower, so I presumed this wasn’t the Barrows I was heading for. Standing near the base of the tower I could see a man, wearing furs, suddenly draw his weapon and staring at me.

Bandits, I realized. This must be a sentry tower in case any wanderers like myself decided to come by. Out of the corner of my eye, I could barely see another bandit standing in the doorway. I don’t know if they could cause any issue, but I carefully approached the bandits. “Greetings, I-“

“You picked a bad time to get lost, ‘friend’.” The bandit cut me off and lunged at me, sword drawn. I was quick to pull out my shield and deflect the attack, taking out my dagger in a flash. An arrow zipped past my head, and I realized that they had archers in the tower. However, the bandit in front of me wasn’t going to allow me to pass, so I struggled into a fight with him, avoiding his sword and the arrows while slicing at him with my dagger.

The bandit himself wasn’t the issue for me, fortunately, as I could hold my own in close combat. It was the archer that was giving me problems. Once I felled the bandit, I quickly ducked behind a large boulder, taking out my bow and notching an arrow, and went to aim. However, I realized that the snowfall was blinding my vision, making it more difficult for me to locate my target. I felt an arrow zip past my head and bounce against the rock, and I released my own arrow. I’m pretty sure I missed.

In the process of us exchanging arrows at each other, yet another Bandit emerged, running straight towards me. In reflex I turned and let loose my next arrow, stopping the bandit with the arrow through her throat.

However, that distraction was enough for the archer to land a shot, striking me in the arm. I let out an annoyed hiss, pulling the arrow out, and hid behind the boulders again, notching yet another arrow, and did my best to focus through the pain in my arm. I finally let loose the arrow. The sound of the wind drowned out anything I could hear, but after a few seconds of waiting, I noticed that the arrows stopped flying. I must have finally struck the archer.

I paused to tend to my wound, then searched the bandits for anything useful.  Some of the fur armor was a good idea, so I stole those, looted the bodies for gold, and retrieved the arrows that I missed, and not broken. One of the bandits had an Iron Shield, which looked sturdier than the one I had been using, so I took that, then entered the tower, looting anything of use.

After checking to make sure I had enough of the bandits’ loot and changed my armor to fit the cold weather I was facing, I continued up the path from the tower, being watchful  for any more bandits on the road. The weather was getting worse, making it harder for me to see the path, but after turning a corner on the path I saw a pile of rocks with a banner fluttering in the wind. The banner had to have been there for a long time, as it was significantly torn apart and I could hardly make out any insignia. I shielded my face to look up and could faintly see the archways of the Barrows looming ahead of me. I finally had made it.

I crawled my way to the stairs, looking up at them, and could make out two faint figures above. More bandits, lovely. I drew my weapon and climbed the stairs, one of the bandits drawing her bow, the other wielding a large sword and charging at me. I quickly ducked back down the stairs, making the bandit swing wildly and missing, then grabbed him by the back of the head and, using his own momentum form the swing, drove his head straight into the rock wall, taking out my dagger and jamming it into his neck.

With that threat down, the archer was left. I poked my head above the ledge. Not one, but two arrows zipped past my head, making me duck back behind the ledge, hissing in annoyance. I darted up the stairs and ducked behind one of the large pillars of the arches, peeking around at the two archers who were trying to shoot at me. I had no idea how I missed the second archer, but I did notice that both were standing at the edge of the ledge overlooking the stairs.

Foolish Argonian as I was, I suddenly broke into a sprint, ducking low with my shield out, charging at the two archers. One moved away in time, but the second one was caught in the corner, slammed in the face by the shield, and shoved off the ledge, falling to her death. I turned towards the other archer, who still had his bow aimed at me, but I knocked it away with the shield and before he could recover, I jammed my dagger deep into his stomach, watching him struggle as he slowly bled out.

I exhaled. The cold snap finally returned to wrap around me, reminding me of where I was. I let out a chilly hiss, and looked around the place, wary of any more Bandits. I also took the time to look around the ruins, the archways leading towards a set of large doors set into a building that appeared to be built straight out of the mountain. I slowly pushed open the doors, bracing myself for whatever dangers were going to wait inside.

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Inside, it was a massive cavern of sorts, carved out only by the stone arches and pillars that dotted the chamber. It was massive, part of the ceiling having already collapsed and showing the moonlight through the holes, giving the cavern enough light for me to look around. In the distance, behind some rubble, I could see the glowing of fire.  This told me that bandits were still around, though I wasn’t sure where. I could also see scattered bodies of Skeevers – giant rats – all over the ground,  and there was an altar on one side, with what looked like a corpse already on it.

I carefully made my way forward,  slowly drawing my bow, climbing up to the altar and ducking behind the shrine, hearing a pair of voices. I was too far away to hear them, even at the altar, to my annoyance, so I crept closer, stopping behind a large pillar that was nestled in the middle of the chamber – surprisingly the only support structure in the room.

My foot landed on something that was not rocks, or a Skeever. I looked down in horror, at the dead body of another Bandit. I shuddered, glancing over at the altar, with the second Bandit’s body hanging off it. Did the Bandits have a dispute against each other? Or were they killed by traps? I wasn’t sure. I peeked around the pillar, looking over at the campfire.

Or so I thought. Instead, I discovered the chamber to be much deeper than I originally thought, and a second pillar was hiding perfectly behind the central one, and it was beyond that that I could hear voices. I was still not close enough, so I crouched down, hiding myself in the shadows, to the second pillar, and drew out my bow.

“…Arvel doesn’t come back? I want my share from that claw!” This was from a female bandit standing by the campfire, speaking to another bandit. The latter had his back to me, the woman staring straight at him, so I doubt she could see me in the shadows, thanks to the light of the fire.

“Just shut it and keep an eye out for trouble,” the male bandit quipped. Trouble indeed. I took out my bow, leaned around the pillar, notched an arrow… and fired it at the woman’s head.

I don’t know how but the woman spotted the arrow flying at her and dodged out of the way, drawing her weapon, along with the male. But instead of heading towards where the arrow came from, they turned around and looked at the arrow, giving me enough time to notch a second arrow, and fired.

This time, the male bandit was struck, and collapsed, the female turning around, spotting me immediately, and drew her bow at me. I knew better than to mess with her, and besides, I had something I had yet to work with. I put my bow away, drawing my dagger,  but my left hand started sparking with electricity, and after focusing (which was hard to do with arrows flying at me) I finally launched a stream of lightning at the woman, electrocuting her on the spot. After a few seconds, I felt my mana being drained, but it was enough to fell the woman,  body still twitching from the shock.

I took a moment, to catch my breath, my hand still tingling from the Sparks spell I had cast and walked over to the campfire to inspect it better. There were a few bedrolls laid out, and a large wooden chest sitting on the side. I wasn’t expecting this golden claw to be in the chest, but I knelt, testing the chest (locked, not surprising) and carefully picked the lock to open it. I was mildly disappointed. Only a Garnet and a few coin in such a large chest. Clearly, the Bandits weren’t doing well in their thievery. Unless they planned to loot something in the Barrows and carry it out.

Either way, I got up, looking at an entryway near the fire that led deeper into the tomb, and followed it. The tunnels were smooth and round, albeit covered in cobwebs, and wound back and forth like a snake, turning left, then right, down more stairs. Large vines, or roots, or something were also creeping out of the cave walls, reminding me that this was an old tomb, not a fresh one, but none of the vines or roots impeded my progress, almost as if someone had already been down here before.

The tunnel was long. More turns, more stairs going down, past a set of stairs that led up into a cave-in, through another hallway that had shelves and tables littered with empty urns and brittle linen cloth. I had no interest in either one, heading down a small slope into a room that was half-buried in rubble.

Rounding the corner from there, I saw another stairway, and at last, another Bandit in a room that was too far for me to see. His back was turned to me, but he was sweeping a torch around, looking for something. I snuck down the stairs, drawing my bow, and hid around the doorway, peeking in to see what would happen.

Form my perspective, I could see a large chamber, appearing to be two stories tall, with a staircase on the side winding up to a ledge on the upper floor. On the wall of the upper floor I could see what looked like a face and the image of… something on it, I couldn’t tell what.  The bandit himself, ignoring the staircase, walked over to a lever on the floor, pulling it slowly. Ahead of him I saw a closed gate. Perhaps the lever operated the gate.

However, the gate did not open. Instead, from above the gate, and from what I could hear above the doorway I was in, several darts shot out, firing right at the bandit, riddling him with their metal points as he collapsed to the ground with barely a cry.

I paused for a moment, putting away my bow and stepped into the chamber, giving it a better look around. On the upper floor, there was a second face – I did not see this one from my position in the doorway – and there was a third one that appeared to be broken off, laying on the floor between the lever and the gate. Much like the first one, the two faces had drawings on them, and I was able to see them better. Two had a snake, one had a fish of some sort. Huh.

To my left, I saw three monoliths, each depicting different animals: a bird, a fish, and another bird. I knelt down by the bandit, taking the torch he had been holding and holding it close to the monoliths. They were on what looked like rotating pedestals, and I confirmed it when I was able to spin one of the monoliths around. All tree of them had three animals on each stone: a bird, a fish, and a snake. I glanced over to the three faces, and immediately knew what I was supposed to do.

Rotating the monoliths so that the correct animals were facing the room, I turned to the lever and pulled it, looking over at the gate. Not surprisingly, the gate immediately opened. I walked into the next chamber. To my immediate left was a spiral staircase going ever further down. Ahead of me, a chest. Behind me, as I turned around,  another lever on the wall. I pulled on that lever, shutting the gate behind me.

“Eh, not like anyone would follow me,” I muttered, looting the chest, then descending the spiral stairs. However, at the bottom of the stairs, Skeevers were greeting me. Startled, I drew my dagger and quickly stabbed at the rodents, although one of them was able to bite me in the wrist, only to get thrown off and get its skull smashed against the wall.

I hissed in annoyance, rubbing my wrist, flexing my hand. I had gotten a disease, which is rare for an Argonian, but I couldn’t think of that for the time being. I made my way into the next chamber and grimaced at the large number of cobwebs littering the place. There were a few furnishings here and there, but they were either destroyed or had nothing of value, so I ignored the chamber and went further down.

I paused, hearing a voice. I couldn’t tell where or who it came from, but I could hear it down the dark hallway I was going through. I took out the torch, lighting it, and proceeded my way down the tunnel, pushing aside cobwebs with disgust.

There was a doorway in front of me, but it was covered in thick cobwebs, forcing me to take out my dagger and cut my way through, before finally stumbling into a large chamber, completely thick with cobwebs! I didn’t have time to  look round, for I spotted a huge spider descending from a hole in the ceiling and scuttled  its way towards me!

I will not lie. The fight was very difficult  for me to pull through. My dagger couldn’t pierce through the hide that easily, and my Sparks spell did little to affect it. I couldn’t back up enough to notch my bow fast enough, and I had to down several small potions to keep my life intact as the Spider charged at me.  But I assure you, as tedious as the battle was, the spider was finally slain.

I leaned against a wall, panting heavily, taking another drink of the potions I was carrying, and looked myself over. I was bitten, several times. Possibly poisoned, but not fatally enough. I looked around the chamber, though it was hard to see anything through the huge walls of webbing. The only thing that the webbing did not cover was a grating on the floor where the giant spider descended from. I walked over to the grating, but I can tell that there was no way to open the grating, and it looked like a big pit.

“Get me out of here!” I looked up immediately. Part of the web wall was wriggling a little, and I cautiously drew my dagger, walking towards it. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a Dunmer – or a Dark Elf – and he appeared to be cocooned by the giant spider I had just killed.

“You. Over here!” He called to me. I stepped closer, narrowing my eyes. “You did it. You killed it. Now cut me down before anything else shows up.”

It dawned on me right then and there, this may have been the thief I was hunting for. “Where’s the golden claw?”

“Yes,” the Dunmer answered hurriedly, “the claw. I know how it works. The claw, the markings, the door in the Hall of Stories. I know how they all fit together! Help me down, and I’ll show you. You don’t believe the power the Nords have hidden there.”

…Markings? Hall of Stories? All I was sent for was the claw. Nothing more. Not to mention, the way the Dunmer was sounding, he was a bit eager to get the power, but only for himself. I shook my head. “Hand over the claw first.”

“Does it look like I can move?” ….Fair point. “You have to cut me down first.”

I sighed. “Fine, fine…” I took out the dagger, cutting away the webbing, surprised on how thick it was… Beyond the webbing wall I could see another hallway. Maybe the spider was the guardian for-

I was suddenly pushed away as I freed the Dunmer,  tripping over one of the cocooned corpses and landing on my back. “You fool, why should I share the treasure with anyone!” He bolted down the hallway as I got up. I let out an annoyed hiss and chased after him.

Down into a hallway, winding through more webbing, into a small chamber with a statue or an altar of some type, with many burial urns on the altar, and I lost track of the Dunmer. However, on the other end of the room, I heard… something, and decided to follow it. Through more twisting turns, and I finally spilled out into a large room full of…

…Oh god. I froze. The walls had shelves dug into them, and almost every single shelf had a shriveled corps or skeleton in them. All but one. I looked down the chamber, and one of the shriveled corpses was standing over a fallen Dunmer – the thief. It slowly turned around; lifeless, glowing eyes focused on me.

Draugr.

I heard movement to my right and left. On each side, from the shelves, another Draugr stirred, climbing itself out from the shelf, turning to me, and slowly advanced on me. All three of them. I  knew this was trouble. I couldn’t get out if I wanted to, so I drew my dagger, and ducked around one of the two large columns that were in the middle of the chamber, using them as cover as I spun around to stab at the Draugr.

I had no plan. I was not prepared to encounter them. I was only trying to get the golden claw and get the hell out of here. Now, the dead have awakened, and they wanted me to join their dead. One of the Draugr, carrying a large broadsword, lunged at me.

I backed up, barely missing the sword, and brought my shield up to deflect the axe swung by another. I took the moment of its stunned condition to stab at it with my dagger, but I wasn’t sure if I could kill the undead. The third one, holding a sword and a shield, was able to cut into my side, but thanks to the armor I was wearing it wasn’t that strong. I fell back, looking at the three of them.

I finally noticed a pattern in their attacks.  They would swing at me, but then take a moment to recover their strength. I waited until each of  them swung, stepped away, then lunged forward, slashing wildly with my knife, then backed away before another Draugr would swipe at me. During the scuffle, one of the Draugr  - the one with the broadsword – suddenly fell, struck in the head by a wild axe swing from another.

So, they can die. That was good. I took that moment, lunging at the remaining two Draugr, felling the second one before swinging around, blade whirling, slicing the midsection of the third. The Draugr collapsed immediately.

“I am… seriously reconsidering doing this task!” I shouted in frustration, before taking an extra-large breath to calm myself, and walked over to the Dunmer. However,  something on the floor near the Dunmer caught my attention.

The stone looked different. A different color, and slightly raised from the rest. I was curious, taking a few steps back, notching a bow and firing an arrow at the stone. There was an audible ‘click’, and I looked up as a large gate adorned with spikes swung away from the wall and snapping forward, striking the Dunmer’s corpse and tossing it away.

A trap. As the gate slowly reset itself, I could see a hallway past the trap, but I had no interest in exploring any further into the Barrows. I knelt by the Dunmer, searching through his pockets before finding a hefty claw, made of gold. I put the claw in my own bag and found a small journal in his possessions. I put the journal in my bag as well and found nothing of interest in the Dunmer’s body. I got up, stared down the hallway. Finally, curiosity got the better of me, and I took out the golden claw, looking at it for a moment.

My name is Chamelion. I am a counterthief.