Cold steel

There could be some other time to try and use diplomacy, especially much later during the Season Unending quest, but right now it was quite obvious to you words would fall on deaf ears. The Captain was angry at losing Ulfric. The Stormcloaks were angry for being captured and lined up for execution. In-world politics aside, they were still noble warriors and you intended to give them a warrior's ****. Moreover, it would earn you brownie points in favor of the Captain for whom you had a growing desire to bed.

Motioning to her with your hand, you extend several fingers in a count down whilst your opposite hand grasps the chain pulley to release the gate. She tightly grips at her sword at the ready. Pulling tightly on the chain, the gate releases and slides into the floor with a groaning clank, alerting the two Stormcloak soldiers of your presence.

"It's her! The Imperial Captain!" the male yells in alarm. "Kill her!"

They draw their weapons, a war hammer and great ax, and break out into a sprint to attack your companion. Moving forward to prevent a deadly 2-1 fight, you engage the female with the ax and slip beneath her widely arching swing. You counter swiftly, burying your blade in between her ribs and earning a bloody, **** gasp from a punctured lung.

"Be at peace sister, and live on in Sovngarde," you say solemly, easily falling into the role of a Nord warrior.

Ripping the sword free, you angle the blade and swing, taking her head from her shoulders. It hits the ground with a wet thud and rolls into the shadows, her now lifeless body buckling under its own weight. Pausing for a moment, you contemplate the feeling of taking a life for the first time and find yourself shaken. Actually living the character was far different to playing him through a video game, and even though you had become God making a toy of your powers, you still had very mortal tendencies concerning life and ****. Hell, back home you would've just committed ****, but here in Skyrim, it was merely survival of the fittest.

Understanding this wouldn't be the last kill you make on this adventure, you wipe your blade clean on your adversary's uniform and sheathe it just as the ruckus from the second duel came to a close.

"You fight well for a mage," the Captain remarks.

"I'm a man of many talents," you say simply. "Let's not stick around for more to show up."

The pair of you continue in silence, the only sounds shared being your footfalls, breathing, and the rampage outside. You come across another pair of Stormcloaks in the keep's kitchen, and they too are easily dispatched. With memory taking over, you progress quickly down into the dungeons where you hear the distinct crackle of a lightning spell ring out through the halls.

Quickening your pace, you round the corner to find the garrison **** master being flung heavily against the stone wall as a Stormcloak hefting a massive war hammer rushes forward for the killing blow. Raising your right hand, you focus your magika once more until your fingers spark with energy. What followed was a powerful torrent of lightning that not only blasted the Stormcloak off his feet but also pinned him against one of several holding cages. He doesn't even have an opportunity to scream as the concentrated energy disintegrates him. Stepping around you, the Captain charges forward to engage two more Stormcloaks before they could kill the **** master's burly assistant. Speaking of which, you take a moment to examine the old man's wounds and frown to hear heavily labored breathing and bloodied chokes. He'd been smacked in the chest with that hammer and no doubt suffered from a punctured lung from shattered ribs. You place a fore and middle finger against his forehead and send a surge of concentrated electricity into his brain, painlessly euthanizing him and ending his suffering.

Behind you continues the scuffle ending in the assistant's leg being ham-stringed by a Stormcloak wielding a greatsword. A second swing from the intimidating Nord crashes thunderously against the Captain's upraised broadsword that sends her stumbling backwards onto her rear with a grunt, but before he could advance on either of them for a killing blow, you grab your own blade and hurl it with all of your strength. It embeds itself into the Stormcloak with a wet thump and impacts with such ****, it pins him against the stone wall behind him. Barely taking a moment to marvel at your own strength, you outstretch a hand and summon that same warrior's own greatsword into your grasp. To any other untrained individual, the weapon would've been impossible to even lift but for a God such as yourself, it was light as a feather. At the very least, you wouldn't need to bloody it at this very moment. The last Stormcloak promptly dropped her weapon and ran further into the tunnels.

You smirk as you watch her retreating form, pleased with your handiwork. Moreover, it was dawning upon you that with magic being commonplace in this world, it would be supremely easy to cover your true nature when necessary. Certainly a useful quality you wouldn't even hope to have back home.

"Man of many talents indeed," the Captain scoffs as she climbs to her feet. "Your assistance wasn't necessary. I had the situation under control."

"From on your ass on the ground? Teach me your ways, oh great one," you mock lightly.

She growls with disdain at your attitude yet stays her hand. It appears your displays of strength and skill have convinced her to think twice about striking out against you.

"With all due respect ma'am..." interjects your third companion and addressing his superior officer following a quick downing of a healing potion, "... what in Oblivion is going on out there?"

"A dragon is attacking the keep. We need to make our way through the old tunnels and escape the village," she answered.

"A dragon...? But... that's just a myth!"

As if to spite him, an angry yet distant roar echoed throughout the dungeon followed by a violent tremor that shook the very foundations of the keep, effectively cowing the man.

"If you're done with your backchat soldier, you can either lead us out of this dungeon and live or stay and be buried with what remains of this garrison."

"Understood ma'am..." he answers obediently. "This way."

Stowing your new greatsword on your back with some magical assistance, you follow your new guide deeper into the dungeons, passing several holding cells as you went. The Captain takes a moment to grab a discarded legionary shield along the way from a fallen soldier, muttering a quick prayer to the Eight and closing his eyelids. Despite her outwardly cold demeanor, she still cared for her troops in her own way. Otherwise, the journey is spent in silence aside from the steady thumps of footfalls, but even then the silence was beginning to worry you. You recall quite clearly from the game the next batch of Stormcloaks would be panicking about the tunnel depths with a growing despair that they won't find escape. So why couldn't you hear anything now...?

"Wait!" you call out to your guide before he tries to round a corner into an aqueduct chamber.

Your warning comes too late as the man is suddenly riddled with a volley of arrows. Only a surprised gasp escapes his throat before he collapses backwards in a rapidly expiring heap.

"Damn Stormcloaks, they were waiting to ambush us," the Captain growls in anger. "The one who slipped away must've given them advance warning."

"Doesn't look like there's a way around it either," you add. "I'll create a barrier to cover us from those arrows until we can get close enough to engage."

"Solid plan," she agrees. "Whenever you're ready."

Channeling your magicka into your hands, the shimmering form of a protective barrier envelops you and your partner and, with swords drawn you charge into the open to spring the trap. A second volley of arrows is upon you, but thanks to the shields you supplied, they bounce aside harmlessly. You count six Stormcloaks in the aqueduct chamber, including the female who escaped you in the jail. Three stood back wielding long bows while the remainder charged you both with ax and blade in hand. A cacophony of shouting, clanging steel, and screaming pain follows as the both of you carve through your opposition without fear. So rapid was your advance that you manage to close the distance with the archers and put them to rest. As you take a moment to catch your breath, you're surprised to find the Captain approaching you.

"What were you really doing in that ambush General Tulius sprung on Ulfric's entourage?" she asks. "You don't wear the blue of a Stormcloak, you're too physically strong to be a mage, yet too magically attuned to just be a warrior either. Not even a Companion could hold off a torrent of dragon fire like you did. Moreover, they captured you in possession of nothing but the clothes on your back."

"If I told you the truth then you wouldn't believe me," you answer with a shrug. "Just know that appearances aren't everything."

She shows clear dissatisfaction with your answer but doesn't press the issue. Ever the soldier, she drops her questioning and proceeds deeper down into the caverns. No further words are shared between you as you enter the final stretch of these seldom walked caves. After fighting against trained soldiers of Ulfric's Rebellion, dispatching a frost spider nest and a solitary grizzly bear end up as child's play for you until at last you find light at the end of the tunnel.

You welcome the cold, fresh air of Skyrim with open arms, reveling in the freedom of it all compared to the dark and musky caves below Helgen. That is until Alduin's roar sends you both scrambling for cover back inside. He may have been only a distant, dark speck in the sky from this distance but you could still feel power radiating from the harbinger of the Apocalypse. When silence finally falls once more, you hear your companion speak once more.

"You're free to go," she says simply.

"Just like that?" you ask with a raised brow.

She crosses her arms and stubbornly turns away from you.

"You've more than proven yourself a capable fighter and... loathe as I am to admit, you still saved my life on two separate occasions. As far as I'm concerned, you've earned a pardon."

"Well would you look at that, it seems you can swallow your pride after all," you say with praise, only for her to sneer back at you.

"Don't push it," she says succinctly, at which point she makes to proceed down the path. "It's best if we part ways. If I regroup with General Tulius with you in tow, there's no guarantee I can prevent your recapture when he's in the company of the Thalmor."

She doesn't wait for you to answer as she stubbornly marches down the hill taking the road towards Riverwood. Tough nut to crack indeed, but you didn't mind a challenge. Of course, the real question now was whether or not to follow her. At this point, you could even ignore the main story entirely and strike out on your own, but something told you you'd be missing out on many opportunities with more women down the line.