Skyrim: Blood of Dragons Ch 8

Thales

       She followed the path along the left of the river. The mountain towered to the left of her as well as huge boulders bigger than her. When the river turned into a waterfall, the path zigzagged as it slowly declined the slope till it was level with the river once again. A wall of huge boulders were always at one side of Thales when she walked down the zigzag path. When she turned one of the corners down this zigzag, she saw two Imperial troops wearing Imperial leather armor. The marched a prisoner between the two of them. They all appeared to be Nords, but the prisoner was a Stormcloak. Thales simply ignored them and continued.
       At the bottom of the rocky slope,  the land opened up to a wide meadow that stretched on and on. She could see the ends of the meadow only because huge mountains bordered them in most directions. The river still to her right continued under a bridge and around a mountain on the right side of the river. Her path led to an intersection where she could turn right and go over the stone bridge the river flowed under, go straight down a path that led to many farms surrounding Whiterun, or she could go left. As far as she could see, the path to the left and straight just wrapped around the large city of Whiterun situated on a large hill in the center of the meadow. Left looked like the safest bet.
       The path led past a meadery as well as more farms. In the vast distance further away from the farms, Thales saw a fire. Judging from the large pillar of smoke blotting out the red and orange hues of the setting sun, Thales believed this could be a house burning. Had the dragon already been through this way? she wondered, but then why wasn't Whiterun under attack but a single house far away from the city was?
       As she walked down the road a large farm with a huge windmill was to her left and the path to Whiterun's only entrance split to the right from the road she walked on. Thales turned and took one step on the path to Whiterun, but an explosion stopped her. She twisted around to the sound that came from the farm. She saw a wall of dirt rising from the ground over 20 feet in the air before gravity took over and forced it back down to the soil. With the wall of dirt no longer in her way, she saw a 15 foot tall giant with gray skin, wielding a massive club and wearing nothing be a loincloth. His hair and beard were long and black. Several Nords surrounded the giant, slashing at its legs wildly. Another Nord stayed out of range and shot multiple arrows into it.
       Thales drew her steel greatsword and charged. She leaped over the wooden fence that surrounded the farm and trudged through the farm's livelihood. She screamed out her war cry, gaining the beast's attention. He swung his long club horizontally. Thales dove into a roll and stopped on her knees right in front of the giant. She sliced at the giant's leg and leapt up, impaling his stomach. The giant let out one last roaring yell as it fell on its back; the world shook from his collapse.
       She stood on the giant and pulled out her sword. This was the first time she killed a giant and she felt mighty. Some of the Nords around Thales whom had been fighting this giant for Gods only knew how long congratulated her for her kill, while a few others were jealous and felt she stole their kill by charging in at the last minute. The Nord archer approached Thales. The archer was a woman and the first detail Thales noticed of the woman was her yellow eyes among blue warpaint designed to look like three diagonal claw marks scratched across her face. Thales had never seen yellow eyes before.  The archer had long brown hair parted in the middle and flat against her skull. Her hair covered her ears but no hair touched her forehead. She had fair skin, but not pale. She was lean and nicely figured like Thales, but this archer was shorter around the same height as Thales's neck. "You handled yourselves nicely," the archer said. "We could use a Shield Sister like you."
       Shield Sister? Thales knew what the word meant and wasn't confused by it. She just didn't expect the archer to be a Companion. Judging from what the archer wore, Thales thought she was a hunter. The archer wore a leather tunic held together by string in the front. If it weren't for the strings, it appeared the huntress's bountiful breasts would split the tunic in half. She wore a leather skirt that only reached midway down her thighs and leather braces around her forearms. Green gloves that did not cover her fingers were underneath the bracers and almost covered her entire arms. Iron shoulder armor covered her shoulders. Fur lined the metal shoulder guards underneath. She also wore long leather boots.
       Being a Nord, Thales knew all too well about The Companions. They were an honorable band of warriors that took up jobs like slaying monsters and bandits for those willing to pay and who couldn't do it themselves. The Companions' main headquarters was situated in Whiterun. The Companions would have been a perfect company for Dragljo and Thales to join instead of fleeing the country. They had even weighed in that option before, but they opted to make a new life in Hammerfell instead of starting over in their own country. They just wanted to be as far away from the civil war as possible.
       "I am honored that the Companions would consider me, but unfortunately I have to find my brother after a brief visit to Whiterun." He might already be in Hammerfell  by now, if his fever is gone. "Maybe when the civil war is over and my brother and I come back to Skyrim, we'll visit your headquarters in Whiterun."
       "If you change your mind, you know where to go, it seems."
       Thales nodded and walked to Whiterun. She walked past the stables and a tavern/inn just outside of the city. She even saw a caravan of
Khajiit outside the city wall. At this time of night, the cat people were already getting in their tents, readying for the night. As Thales approached the gate on the inner most wall around the city, a city guard stationed at the gate stood in her path. "Halt! City's closed with the dragons about. Official business only."
       "I have news from Helgen about the dragon attack and I also need to talk to the Jarl about Riverwood. They need aid," Thales explained. "The dragon is why I'm here!"
       "Fine, but we'll be keeping an eye on you." The guard wearing chain mail with a yellow tunic over armor stepped aside. Both guards pushed open the heavy doors a giant wouldn't even have to stoop down to pass through.
       Immediately on the other side of the huge double doors, was a small bridge. Cottage homes and shops stood on each side of the cobblestone street. The far end led to a small marketplace and the large tavern/inn. When she crossed the bridge, the blacksmith was directly to her right, but she ignored it. She had to give her message to the Jarl of Whirerun. The sooner it was done, the sooner she could seek out her twin brother.
       She walked fast all the way to the marketplace and saw large stairs to the left leading up to the second level of city. Whiterun was on a hill and there were three levels. The lowest level had all the shops, the commoner homes, the market place, and the tavern. The middle level was where two rich family homes, the Hall of the Dead, the Temple of Kynareth, and Jorrvakr (the mead hall and headquarters of The Companions). Ando on the highest level of the city towered Dragonsreach, the castle of Whiterun and where she would find the Jarl.
       Thales climbed the stairs. A courtyard was at the top of the stairs with a large, white, leafless tree dead in the center. Past the tree and to the right of another set of stairs leading to the castle, a man in brown robes and a yellow cloak and good proclaimed the right to worship Talos. A Talos shrine stood behind him. The statue depicted a stoic Nord with a huge battleaxe. The axe faced down and the statue's hands rested on the bottom of the staff. Nord helmet with horns covered his face save for his thick beard. He wore a cape and heavy armor.
       Thales walked past and walked up three flights of stairs that went up and then turned up to the right.  Two pools of water were on the other side of the first flight of stairs and water poured off the walls around the stairs from the moat around the castle above. She entered Dragonsreach.
       Dragonsreach's great hall was larger than even the one at Windhelm! Dragonsreach was more inviting and made of wood with massive pillars and arches. She had to walk up a few more steps and found a firepit in the center of the room with two long tables on either side of the fire. Across the way sat the Jarl of Whiterun in his wooden throne. A dark elf woman wearing leather armor immediately stormed over to Thales with sword in hand. "What's the meaning of this interruption? Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving visitors," the dark elf questioned.
       "I have news from Helgen about the dragon attack, and Alvor sent me from Riverwood."
       "Well, that explains why the guards let you in. Come on then, the Jarl will want to speak to you personally." She sheathed her sword and led Thales over to the throne.
       A dragon head was mounted above the Jarl as he sat back in the throne with one hand on his blonde bearded chin.  An Imperial stood at Jarl Balgruuf's right. Thales guessed the balding Imperial was the Jarl's advisor. "So, you were at Helgen? You saw this dragon with your own eyes?"
       "Yes, Jarl Balgruuf. The Imperials were about to execute Ulfric Stormcloak when the dragon attacked." Thales decided it was best not to tell the Jarl it was actually her head that was about to be cut off before the dragon showed up. She wanted nothing to do with the Stormcloaks and did not deserve to have been with them when they were being executed. I'm innocent. I was wrongly accused of being apart of this misguided rebellion.
       "I should have guessed Ulfric would be mixed up in this." Jarl Balgruuf tilted his head back further in his throne and looked over at the Imperial. "What do you say now, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls? Against a dragon?"
       The dark elf beside Thales spoke up, "My lord, we should send troops to Riverwood at once. It's in the most immediate danger, if that dragon is lurking in the mountains-"
       Thales was about to speak out that the dragon did fly into the mountains, but the Imperial, Proventus, spoke first, "The Jarl of Falkreath will view that as a provocation! He'll assume we're preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack! We should not-"
       "Enough!" Jarl Balgruuf commanded while raising his right hand with the back of it facing Proventus. "I'll not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people!" The Jarl looked over to the dark elf and commanded, "Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once."
       The red haired dark elf lifted her her forearm across her chest and bowed her head. "Yes, my Jarl."
       "If you excuse me, I'll return to my duties," the advisor said before leaving the Jarl's side.
       Jarl Balgruuf's attention turned back to Thales. "Well done. You sought me out. You've done Whiterun a service, and I won't forget it. Here, take this as a small token of my esteem." He handed Thales a studded Imperial armor. "There is another thing you could do for me. suitable for someone of your particular talents, perhaps."
       Thales wanted to refuse. She thought she was done with her quest and could finally go find her brother. But you can't refuse a Jarl. They were the lords of the land. They were the law of the cities. Thales sighed.
       Jarl Balgruuf continued, "Come, let's go find Farengar, my court wizard. He's been looking into a matter related to these dragons and...  rumors of dragons." The Jarl stood up and walked to the right side of the great hall. A huge open entrance led to the court wizard's study. A desk in the center of the room had papers, scrolls, candle sticks, and soul stones on the top. A huge map of Skyrim was pinned to a board to the right and an arcane enchanter and an alchemy lab was along the wall behind the desk.
       Farengar wore a blue robe with a dagger at his side. His hood covered his face in shadow, but he was a Nord.
       "Farengar, I think I've found someone who can help you with your dragon project," Jarl told the wizard with crossed arms.
       "Oh yes, I could use someone to fetch something for me. Well, when I say fetch, I really mean delve into a dangerous ruin in search of an ancient stone tablet that may or may not actually be there."
       Thales grumbled, "Alright. Where am I going and what am I fetching?"
       "Straight to the point, eh? No need for tedious how's and whys. I like that. Leave those details to your betters, am I right?"
       She rolled her eyes. "I just want to get to it quickly so I can get back to my sick brother."
       "Okay, I, uh, learned of a certain stone tablet said to be housed in Bleak Falls Barrow: a 'Dragonstone' said to contain a map of dragon burial sites. Go to Bleak Falls Barrow, find this tablet -- no doubt interred in the main chamber -- and bring it to me. Simplicity itself."
       "Anything you can tell me about Bleak Falls Barrow?"
       "An old tomb, built by the ancient Nords, perhaps dating back to the Dragon War itself. Or maybe you just want to know how to get there?"
       Thales stopped him there. "I know how to get there from Riverwood. How do you know this stone tablet is in Bleak Falls Barrow?"
       "Well, we must preserve some professional secrets, mustn't we? I have my sources... reliable sources. Off to Bleak Falls Barrow with you. The Jarl is not a patient man. Neither am I, come to think of it."
       Thales turned away and walked out of Dragonsreach. Yet another quest in my way from getting to Dragljo.