The Tale of Athol

This morning starts like my last at the inn: taking a deep breath and stretching. There's still music coming from downstairs, drums instead of a song today. I get out of bed and start putting my armor back on. No matter where I am or what I'm doing my mornings always start the same. That kind of constant is nice, especially with everything that's going on right now.
Hopefully today I can start on my way back home, but something tells me I probably won't be able to. I'm still holding out hope though. After getting dressed I grab the Dragonstone and head back down the stairs and out of the inn. The square is busy, just like it was every other time I saw it. It's certainly different from Morthal.
Morthal. I'm ready to return to the snowy marsh banks of home. I think about this as I climb the steps up to the palace and head into Farangar's rooms.
"As you can see the terminology here is clearly First Era...maybe even earlier." The wizard is pointing in the middle of a book that's been opened on his desk. A woman covering her face with a dark, heavy cloak is looking in the book. He's probably not pointing anywhere in particular.
"Yes, probably. Now-we have a visitor." She says as she looks up, seeing me standing in the doorway.
"You're back already? Could you get it?"
I step closer and place the Stone on the table. "You asked for it, and I found it."
"This is incredible!" He chuckles as he runs his hands over the Dragonstone. "Truth be told, I didn't expect you to come back. Regardless, good job! You're of a much higher caliber than those the Jarl usually sends me."
The woman places a paper over the Dragonstone and looks back at me, "You went into Bleak Falls Barrow and got this? Impressive." She begins making a rubbing of the Stone.
"Oh, I don't know if it's really that big of a deal." It feels strange having people fawn over what I've done like this. I'm not that important. "I've brought you the Dragonstone, what next?"
"Next, my work begins. The work of the mind...sadly undervalued here in Skyrim. Go see the Jarl for your reward."
Reward? I guess it'd make sense for me to get one. This technically was a job for the Jarl.
"Farangar!" The housecarl comes running in, a worried expression on her face. "Farangar, a dragon has been spotted near the Western Watch Tower!"
"What? When? What was it doing?!" A spark of excitement lights his eyes. I see the woman leave as Irileth tries to calm Farangar. I turn to follow the woman out when the dark elf turns her attention to me.
"You should come too."
I point to myself and look around confused. She couldn't mean anyone else, but why would I need to come? I'm not a citizen of this hold, and the most I've done is lug a heavy stone around and bring it to the Court Wizard.
"You were at Helgen, you've had the most experience dealing with dragons out of all of us. Now hurry up, both of you. We haven't a moment to loose!" She turns and hurries off, I follow closely behind Farangar. We go upstairs behind the throne to find the Jarl. He's pacing, a worried look on his face.
"My Jarl!" Irileth stops in front of him, a guard coming from behind me and standing next to her. Farangar and I stand a bit behind them.
He stops and looks at the guard. "You came from the Watch Tower?"
"Yes my Jarl. The dragon was gone almost as soon as the attack started, but it could be back by now...I never ran so fast in all my life..." It isn't hard to tell that the man is shaken.
"Go to the barracks and get some rest son. Irileth, get some men together and go investigate. If the dragon comes back, we'll be ready."
She nods, "Yes Jarl Balgruuf."
"Should I go too my Jarl?"
"No Farangar, you stay here. I can't risk both of you."
I hear Faranar sigh quietly beside me. He seems disappointed, but I can't figure out why for the life of me. If he actually saw a dragon attack I don't think he'd be so eager to see a dragon again.
"There's no time to stand on ceremony my friend. I have more for you to do." Jarl Balgruuf looks at me now, "You should go too. If you survived Helgen, you'll prove invaluable to the men now."
I nod, a bit nervous at the prospect of going against another dragon. "Yes, Jarl Balgruuf."
I follow Irileth down the stairs and out of the palace. We hurry down the stairs and into the center of the town. She gets a small group of guards to come along with us and we continue out of the city gates. Our group jogs down the road, and soon I see the Watch Tower looming in the distance. As we get closer I see it still smoking. I pick up my pace, running past Irileth and the guards. A pretty decent amount of the tower has been destroyed. I hear Irileth say something about being careful and searching the area, but I barely pay attention. I can't help but wonder what must have become of Helgen. I take a few steps closer to the stairs that lead up into the Watch Tower.
A guard that had been here during the attack is crouched near the door, his helmet is on the ground next to him. "No, get back! That thing could still be out there!"
This makes me snap back into the now, instead of wondering about Helgen and what could have happened to everyone, and if Hadvar has gone back to Solitude yet.
Then the same sound from Helgen: the dragon's roar.
"Gods, its back!" All the color drains from his face as he retreats into the tower.
Irileth begins barking orders as I look to the sky and grab my bow. The great beast flies over the Watch Tower and all the guards send their arrows flying at the dragon. It's hard for me to get my arrow aimed at the dragon, it moves too much and it takes a lot to keep my hands steady. It stops flying around and breaths fire at some of the men. I take my shot with some of the other guards. This time it seems different though...from what I remember none of the attacks any members of the Legion did on the dragon at Helgen worked, but the dragon actually seems like it's taking the damage this time.
It lands hard, seemingly injured. This needs to be done before anything bad can happen or the dragon flies off again. Taking a deep breath I grab my battleaxe while the guards are steadily firing arrows and Irileth shoots magic at the beast. The dragon's full attention is on me, and for a moment all I can hear is my heart pounding. I yell, causing me to hear the chaos of everything going on again, and make a running jump. I land on the dragon's head and plunge my axe between the eyes on its scaley head as it tries to shake me off. The movement under my feet stops and the great beast falls to the ground. I jump from my spot on its head and land on the ground just in front of the dragon.
"Be careful men, we need to make sure this thing is actually dead." Irileth warns us as she takes a few careful steps closer. The other men congratulate each other and me on jobs well done when I hear a fire start behind me.
"What the-?!" I turn just in time to see Irileth standing in front of the burning dragon corpse, her mouth wide open. I feel my jaw fall as the body burns away, leaving only the bones...and then a bright, white light quickly flows from the remains and toward our group.
I panic, waiting for some kind of magical attack. But instead of us all melting or burning like the dragon had my whole body becomes warm and I see the light glowing around my hand and arm like when I had accidentally activated the Warrior Stone. What in the name of Talos is going on?
That word from the Barrow...why am I remembering it now? I hadn't thought about it again until just now. I slowly return to my normal temperature, but I can't get the word out of my mind. I mouth the word, but that's not enough...
"Fus!" I shout it and blow back some debris from the Watch Tower. I stare in disbelief. I barely hear the sounds of the men behind me, but I know they're talking.
I feel a hand clap me on the shoulder and look over, half expecting Vendthus. "I, I can't believe it...you're...you're Dragon Born!" Instead of the sarcastic Dunmer it's one of guards. Part of me wishes he was here, I miss him, but I'm happy to be brought back to the here-and-now regardless of who does it.
"What?! I-I...how could this be?"
"Well...you can Shout now. You couldn't before right?" I nod and he continues. "So you're Dragon Born...that light...you must have been absorbing it's power." He goes back to looking at the remains of the dragon instead of me.
I hear the men talking about this, but I just stare at the dragon skeleton and the debris I blew back.
I hear Irileth. "I don't care about any of this Dragon Born stuff, there’s a dead dragon and that's all that matters. You go tell the Jarl what happened; we'll stay here a bit longer."
"Yes..." I start walking back toward Whiterun in a daze. This can't be happening...how could I be Dragon Born? I'm just a man...a mercenary, I'm not a hero, I'm not the stuff of legend. Nothing makes sense. I can Shout now...but I couldn't be Dragon Born. I still can't wrap my mind around any of this, but I'm almost at the city.
"Dovahkiin!" The ground shakes and I stumble as the voices call out. Wherever that came from, I need to go there.
I continue on my way to the city, going past the stables and back through the city gates. Two Redguards are speaking with one of the city guards. I'm not sure what happened, but it sounds like they did something to get themselves kicked out. I probably shouldn't get involved, so I'll just keep going.
"You there!" Apparently I'm going to get involved. I turn around to see the younger of the men approaching me.
"Yes?"
"We're looking for a woman, Reguard like us. We have reason to believe she's hiding out in this city."
"What does this have to do with me?"
"We aren't allowed in the city walls, so we'll pay for any information you can give us."
"I don't know who you're talking about though."
"Just be on the lookout, if you see her come find us in Rorikstead."
"I'll see what I can do." This answer seems to satisfy him and he leaves with his companion. I don't have the time to get involved with this right now, so I just continue to the Jarl's palace.
As I approach the Jarl his steward addresses me. "Good, you're here! The Jarl has been waiting for you."
What did I do? Did telling the Redguards I'd help them get me in trouble? I stand before the Jarl and wait for what he has to say.
“Ah, there you are! What happened at the Watch Tower?” The Jarl looks…uneasy? No, that’s not it…not exactly.
“It was destroyed, but we managed to kill the dragon.” I need to try and keep calm. I’m not in trouble with the Jarl, he just wanted to know what happened. That’s all. It makes sense, it’s his Watch Tower.
“I knew I could count on Irileth.” He looks a bit happier now, but it looks like there’s still something on his mind. “Did anything else happen?”
I take a deep breath, I guess the issue of shouting from gods knows where has to be addressed. Surely he heard it. It must have something to do with my Shouting.
“The dragon…there was some kind of light, or power, when it died. I think I absorbed it, and…the men…the men said I was Dragon Born.” It sounds even stranger to say out loud. I wouldn’t believe any of this if I hadn’t been there.
The Jarl takes a deep breath. It’s a lot to take in. Finally he speaks, “That’s it then…it was the Greybeards.” He doesn’t really say this to anyone in particular it seems. Jarl Balgruuf looks at me and continues, “They’re summoning you to High Hrothgar.
What? This has to be some kind of mistake. I’m not Dragon Born, it doesn’t make any sense. There’s nothing special about me, but the Greybeards wouldn’t make a mistake like this. I’m only going to know what’s going on if I answer the summons. At least now I know what those voices from earlier are.
“Dragon Born! Something like this hasn’t happened in…in centuries! At least!” The man standing near the Jarl says. Now that I’m closer, he looks like him.
The steward speaks up. “All this Nord nonsense! Capable as our friend here may be I don’t see any signs of his being ‘Dragon Born’.”
“Nord nonsense?!” I look at the steward angrily, holding myself back from doing or saying anything.
“Why you puffed up, ignorant-these are our sacred traditions! They go back to the founding of the first empire!” The man takes a step closer to the steward.
“Calm yourself brother!” Jarl Balgruuf stands and puts a hand on the man’s shoulder.
“I meant no disrespect. It’s just-“
“That’s enough Proventus. You two can resolve this later.” The Jarl looks back at me. “Whatever happened at the Watch Tower revealed something in you, and now you’ve been summoned to High Hrothgar.”
I nod and the Jarl continues a distant, nostalgic look in his eyes. “I made the pilgrimage once…to climb the 7,000 steps again…High Hrothgar is a very peaceful place. It’s…disconnected from the rest of the world.”
Proventus clears his throat, “My Jarl, the house.”
His eyes light up in recognition. “Ah, yes! Athol, for your services to the city in retrieving the Dragon Stone I decided you would be allowed to purchase property within the city. Now that you’ve helped with that dragon it seems only fitting that I name you Thane of Whiterun.”
This is all too much, too soon! All I can do is nod. I’m not paying attention at this point. The steward says something about alerting the guards and leaves. I’m brought back to what’s going on by a hand clapping me on the shoulder again. It’s the Jarl’s brother.
“You alright?”
I can’t begin to imagine what I look like. “It’s just a lot to take in.”
“Sorry about that.” The Jarl says as he sits back down. “Now, you best be off. It’s probably not a good idea to keep the Greybeards waiting.”
I nod and leave the palace. Whatever’s going on I need to talk to the Greybeards, they’ll be able to tell if I’m actually Dragonborn. There’s too much to take in, I need to have a clearer mind when I go to Ivarstead. I go into the inn and sit at the bar.
“It’s a bit early for a room Athol, or are you here for some food?” Hulda chuckles as she leans against the bar. I must be the most regular customer the Bannered Mare sees.
“Food this time.”
She nods and calls for one of the women from the kitchen.
“What can I get for you?”
“Just some mead and vegetable soup…” She’s Redguard and in Whiterun. It isn’t much to go on, but maybe she knows who those men are looking for. “Did you hear about those men who got kicked out of the city?”
“Oh those warriors from Hammerfell? Yeah, I heard about them.” Hulda says. “Don’t know what they did though.”
“I don’t either, but they said they’re looking for a woman that might be in the city.”
“I wonder why they’re looking for her…” Hulda says as she goes back to her work
“I need to talk to you, please, come with me.” The woman whispers as she leans closer to me. She must know who they’re looking for, or she is who they’re looking for. I get up from the stool at the bar and follow her up the stairs and into one of the rooms.
“Close the door behind you, okay.”
I do as she says and turn around to see her holding a knife. “You’re working for them, aren’t you?! Where are they?” She’s shaking and her eyes are darting back and forth.
“Calm down! Put that away before you hurt yourself.”
She sighs and slowly put the knife away. “Y-you’re right. I shouldn’t be so hasty…you barely knew what was going on.”
“What is going on?”
She takes a deep breath and begins to explain, “I’m not who the people of Whiterun think I am. My name is Iman, and I’m a noble from House Suda in Hammerfell. Those men, the Alik’r warriors, are assassins in the employ of the Aldmeri Dominion.”
“Why are they after you?”
“I spoke out against the Dominion, I had to flee because of that. I thought I was safe here. Please, you have to help me!”
“I’ll do what I can…but I’m not sure what that would be."
“I think one of the Alik’r was arrested trying to sneak into the city. Go to the prison below Dragonsreach and ask him where to find Kematu. He’s their leader. If you kill him I’m sure the rest will leave.”
I agree to help her and leave. I guess Dragonsreach is the name of the Jarl’s palace. I didn’t think I was going to be going back here again today.
“Thane.” One of the guards nods at me in greeting as I walk toward him, having just arrived at the palace. Word about this must travel fast.
“Excuse me, there’s, um, someone I need to talk to in the prison, one of the men from Hammerfel.”
“Just go around the other side of the pool, there’s a door on the side that leads right to the dungeon. Though I don’t know why you’d need to talk to him.”
I thank him and follow his directions, heading right into the prison. There are a couple guards, but they aren’t paying much attention. I look around and find the cell. I walk over to it, and sure enough, there he is. I clear my throat and he looks up.
“What do you want?”
“I want to know where to find Kematu.”
“Are you insane? If you know that name, you know that to seek him means your death.”
What have I gotten myself into this time “Just tell me where to find him.”
“Fine, I’ll tell you, if you procure my release. One hundred gold should pay off my bounty. Get me out of here, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
I nod and step away from the cell. I look through my money, thank the gods I have enough. I’ll have to try and find work soon. I go over to the guards.
“Excuse me,” they look up as I approach, “I’d like to pay that man’s bounty.”
“Very well, one hundred Septims.”
I pay the guards and he goes over to the cell. He warns the Alik’r Warrior not to try and reenter the city and unlocks the door.
“I paid your bounty, now tell me where to find Kematu.”
He tells me that Kematu is in a cave called the “Swindler’s Den” with vague instructions on how to get there. We both leave the city and head out in different directions. It takes me a long time to reach the Swindler’s Den, but aside from a few wolves getting there is relatively uneventful. I’m roughly in the area the Alik’r said to go, I think.
“Hey! That’s close enough!”
I look up and see a bandit guarding the entrance to a cave. Is this it? There’s only one way to find out. I get out my axe, and before I can even take a step closer the bandit is running at me with his weapon drawn. I block his attack and push him back before he can try for another. I swing my axe and it lands in the bandit’s shoulder. I swing at him again, this time finishing him off. All I seem to be doing is running into bandits these past two days.
I go into the cave and hear two bandits talking. I crouch just inside the entrance and hope they don’t notice me. The Alik’r are hiding out in here! Thank the Divines I managed to find the Swindler’s Den!
I’m not going to manage hitting one of them with an arrow because of the layout of the cave, so my only option is to come out of hiding and attack them head on. I go at them, weapon drawn and manage to kill them both with a bit of work.
I begin to make my way through the whole cave like this, picking up gold and other loot from the bandits as I go. I wonder when I’m going to find the Alik’r. I can’t give up though, Saadia needs my help. I make it to an area with a pool of water just deep enough that I need to swim across. I put my battle axe on my back again and swim across, emerging on the other side of a waterfall.
“Halt!”
I look up to see a group of Alik’r surrounding me on all sides of the room. Shit. I hadn’t planned on this, or maybe I hadn’t planned this far.
One of the Alik’r steps forward and speaks, “You’ve proven your skill in battle warrior, but there’s no more need for senseless violence. If you keep your weapon lowered my men won’t attack you.”
This man must be Kematu. I feel uneasy about this whole thing, but I raise my hands and take a few steps to get fully out of the water.
“Smart man. Now, why don’t we talk a little?”
Smart?
He motions for me to come closer and I oblige, lowering my hands.
“No doubt you’ve been sent here to kill me by…what is it she’s calling herself these days? Shazra? Saadia? One of those, yes?”
I nod.
“So, what did she do to get you to agree to this? Did she pay you, appeal to you sense of honor? A more base need perhaps?”
“She needs help, so I agreed to protect her from you.” There’s a hostile edge in my voice.
“What did she tell you of us?” He asks me, suppressing a laugh.
“That your assassins.”
“Assassins?!” He can’t hold the laughter in anymore, “We’re nothing so crass. We’re mercenaries who’ve been hired to bring her back to Hammerfell.”
Mercenaries? The Dominion wouldn’t hire mercenaries…at least I don’t think they would.
“Why…why do you need to bring her back?”
“She sold out Taneth to the Aldmeri Dominion, if it hadn’t been for her betrayal the city could’ve held its ground in the attack.”
I think…I think I remember Amar saying something about that. Maybe, maybe I should trust these men.
“She wouldn’t have sent you here if she didn’t trust you, at least to an extent. Perhaps you can help us.”
“How?”
“We aren’t allowed into Whiterun, but if you ca get her to leave we’d be willing to give you a share of the reward.”
“What do I need to do?”
He scratches his chin and is silent for a moment. Eventually he smiles and begins to tell me his plan. “Go back to Whiterun and tell her that you couldn’t kill all of us. Convince her to go to the stables and flee, I’ll be waiting there for the both of you with your payment.”
I swallow hard and nod.
“Good man.” He looks around at the Alik’r, “Pack up men, we’re going back to Hammerfell soon.” The remaining Alik’r Warriors begin to pack up their things as Kematu and I both leave, heading back toward Whiterun. It’s dark when we leave the Swindler’s Den, we’re not going to make it back to the city tonight. After traveling for a few hours we set up camp, setting out bedrolls near a rock formation by the road.