Into the keep

“Your soul will feed my hunger.”

The dragon’s voice followed us as we went inside, stumbling into a large room with beds and tables. Barracks. After the last refugee had entered, Hadvar smashed the door closed.

“There. I’d like to see that beast get inside here.”

As if in response, the building shook, causing dust to fall from the ceiling.

“This is a **** trap!” A woman called out.

Hadvar thought for a moment. “The postern,” he said eventually, “it leads to the road down to Riverwood. Alright everyone,” he said, “grab whatever seems useful. We’re about a day’s walk away, so we’ll need to prepare for a tough journey. Don’t take too long, we want to get out of here before that dragon brings the place down on our heads.”

The crowd dispersed, opening chests and dressers. Warm clothing and weapons were distributed, along with any other odds and ends. I found some dusty clothes that were about my size, and threw the rags into a corner. Some of the refugees had already moved into other rooms.

“Let’s go,” Hadvar said after a while, “further into the keep.”

The remaining townspeople — mostly the very young and old — followed, and since I hadn’t a better place to go, I did too. As we shuffled through the hallways, an old man started talking to me.

“It’s like the days of old,” the man said. “Like in the days of the dragon priests.”

I nodded, as if I had any clue what he was talking about. “Do you know what it meant with the soul-feeding stuff?”

“The what?” He gawked at me.

“It said it was going to eat our souls or something.”

The oldtimer just stared at me, and whispered something about a devourer.

The earth trembled again, and a deafening sound erupted from the hallway before us. People screamed, and I saw that the roof before us had collapsed. Luckily, no one was hurt, and we could keep moving through the kitchens instead. Food was packed in bags and makeshift knapsacks, and before long we were passing empty cells and what seemed to be a **** room.

“Just close your eyes, little cub,” a mother said to a crying child, hoping to avoid the sight of the **** devices and deceased prisoners.

Afterwards, we moved into a series of caves, which connected to the catacombs of the keep. I joined a group of able-bodied youngsters that followed Hadvar in the vanguard of the procession, clearing the way of falling rocks, and later, wild animals that made the caverns their home.

We ran into a nest of frostbite spiders, which tried to defend their home, but quickly retreated before our torches and battlecries.

Just when I thought we’d never see the light of day again, the cave opened up to the harsh rays of Skyrim’s sun.

We descended the mountain, ending up on the banks of the White River, where we made up camp. Hadva sorted those capable enough into pairs and instructed them on how to keep watch. After my watch ended, I was welcomed to the fire of a kind family of four, and given a hay pile to sleep on. I fell asleep watching the moons crawl across the sky.

-

The men cheered as I threw my bloodied axe into the snow. A woman beautiful as the sky stood beside me. I grabbed her by the neck and pulled her into a kiss. Again, my warriors cheered. The sun rose.

-

I woke up, still tasting her on my lips. The moons were gone, and instead the sun was crawling over the highest mountain peak. After breakfast - the last of the supplies - was distributed, we set off along the river, to the east, to Riverwood.