Preparing for the Road

The rest of the day Gerdur, Hod and I spent at the lumbermill, cutting wood and lifting logs into the shaft leading to the saw. A rich landowner in Whiterun had recently ordered an enormous amount of wood for the expansion of his manor in what Gerdur called the “cloud district,” of which a new batch needed to be delivered soon. Of course, when the people of Riverwood got wind of my journey, the requests came pouring in. An order of iron from Alvor, an old tome from the Innskeeper to be delivered to the court wizard at dragonsreach, a request to the Companions to retrieve a golden claw from a band of thieves in the mountains. That last one was the perfect excuse to visit Jorrvaskr.

“How long will the journey to Whiterun take?” I asked Hod at dinner.

“About two days,” he said, “if you follow the river. The first day is the hardest, going through the mountains, but after that it’s all tundra and farmland.”

“What kind of trouble have you run into?”

“Oh, the occasional wolf,” he said. “And lately there’s been more Imperial patrols, with the war and all… they mostly leave me alone, once they realize I’m not carrying any weapons or stormcloaks.”

“Do you always do it alone?”

“No, actually,” he said, “used to have Ralof help me, before he went off with Ulfric.” He coughed, mostly to avoid Gerdur’s eyes I suspected.

“And then I payed Sven a couple of septims to come along. He’d be more than happy to come along, to visit the city, pretending to be a man of the world. It will be good to have someone along who knows when to shut up.”

I laughed. “Don’t count yourself lucky yet.”

As Hod put little Frodnar to bed, Gerdur came to sit with me by the fire. In her hands she had a package.

“You helped us out greatly,” she said. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re a friend.”

“I didn’t do much,” I said. “I cut some wood and that’s about it.”

“It’s not just that, Ylsi,” she said. “Things have been tense here lately, since the war. Seems like half of the town doesn’t look at the other half anymore. Damn, I’ve probably contributed to it. Today was the first day I spoke to Sigrid in months. You might not’ve realised, but she and Alvor support the Empire. No wonder, he has family in the legion. So did we, before my brother joined Ulfric. What I’m trying to say… sometimes a bit of fresh air gives a small town another perspective. I still believe they’re wrong to support that idiot Emperor and his damned elves, but maybe that doesn’t matter if you can’t even look at your neighbor. Or, a friend.”

I nodded, and took a sip of mead.

“Did you know she was a Companion?” Gerdur asked.

I shook my head, amazed.

“Well, she was a brilliant one. A true Nord, strong and free. But you know, love changes a person.” She mused, staring into the flames. “Anyway, you said you’re not a dress person, so I asked Carlotta to adjust some of Ralof’s old clothes. You can’t really go naked under your new armour, can you?”

The next day I donned my new attire, redid my braid to sit comfortably under my helmet, and hugged Gerdur and Frodnar.

“Thank you again, for everything,” I said.

“You ready?” Hod asked, already sitting on a cart laden with the finest wood, a chest for gold and parchment, and two long spears.

“Let’s go.”

Frodnar and Dorthe ran along with the cart, right up to the bridge crossing the White River, and as I looked back, I saw Gerdur standing next to Sigrid, her old friend, smiling at their children’s antics.