A stormcloak

“Hey, sister, wake up. Come on, the gods won’t give us another chance.”

Two strong hands pulled me to my feet. The formerly cold sky felt like it was on fire. All around, I heard the screams and shouts of the Imperials. I opened my eyes, and saw I was being held up by the stormcloak from the cart. None of the Imperials seemed concerned with the two of us.

“You alright?” He asked, genuinely concerned as he pulled me towards the watchtower. “You sure know how to take a hit. There’s nothing left of that Imperial dog. The name’s Ralof, yours is Ylsi?”

“That’s… that’s right,” I stammered.

“Good to meet you, you caught us at an exciting time. Even though…” he grunts as he kicks open the door of the tower. “I suspect you’re not new to conflict. You’re not a friend of the Empire, are you?”

“No,” I said, and I meant it. Even if I used to be, that was before they tried to cut my head off.

“Didn’t think you would be,” he said, and let go of me. “Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? Could the legends be true?”

The door slammed shut. A handful of stormcloaks had taken refuge inside the tower. Some of them were wounded, burned horribly. Others were taking care of them, to the best of their abilities. Among them was Jarl Ulfric. He had removed his gag, and without that, he seemed even more regal than before.

“Legends don’t burn down villages,” he spoke with a deep, rumbling voice. “Besides, we’ve got more pressing matters. We have to move, if we’re going to survive this day. Ralof, climb the tower, give me a lay of the land.”

“Let’s go,” Ralof said to me. “If you’re up for it, of course.”

I nodded. Might as well, I thought, there was nowhere else to go. I followed Ralof up the stairs, while behind me, Jarl Ulfric-with-the-deep-voice ordered his warriors to barricade the door. On the first floor a pair of stormcloaks had started moving a pile of stones that fell from the ceiling. Apparently the beast was even heavier than it looked. Right before I could give them a hand, the wall burst open.

Stone en dust flew through the small space, and for a moment I thanked the gods nobody got hurt, before I saw the monstrous head leering through the breach. Its eyes were blood red, and its teeth as long as my forearm. A light erupted from its throat, and the room was covered in fire. Reflexively I grabbed Ralof, and pulled him back down a few steps. The screams of his brothers died down in mere seconds, and before I knew it the beast was gone, leaving us with the scorched remains of its attack.

“By the gods…” Ralof whispered, still in my arms, on the stairs, staring at the massacre. “I’ve known those two for years.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Thank you,” he said, suddenly aware of our position. “And again for saving my life. I guess we’re even now.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” I said. “We’re not out of here yet.”

“No,” he agreed. “But maybe…”

Ralof ran back up the stairs and peered around the corner of the breach.

“Just as I thought,” he said. “There’s a roof close enough by. I’m pretty sure we could jump to it from here, and then drop ourselves over the wall into the bushes. We’ll get out and evade the Imperials at the same time.”

When I joined him, I noticed he was right. Next to the watchtower was a house built right up against the town wall.

“Get yourself to safety,” Ralof said, as he grabbed me by my shoulders. “I’ll report to Jarl Ulfric. We might have to toss a few of our wounded brothers over the gap, but the thatch wil break their fall. I hope.”

He looked into my eyes for a moment. “I’m not sure I’ll see you again. If I don’t, go to my sister Gerdur in Riverwood. She’ll help you out. Be safe!”

And then he ran back down the stairs.

I threw another look through the wall. Down on the ground I saw the Imperials shooting arrows up into the sky, screaming , shouting and running for their lives. So much for Imperial discipline. I knew it wouldn’t be hard to get out of there unseen. I took a deep breath and jumped the gap.

I landed safely on the roof, albeit not very gracefully, and peeked over the edge of the roof. It seemed like nobody saw me. I crawled towards the wall, hoisted myself over the old stones, and flopped down into the bushes.

Who’d believe it? I escaped. Without lingering too much on what would’ve happened if I hadn’t, I crawled out of the bushes, pulled some leaves out of my hair, and ran off into the wilderness.

Before long I found a path leading downhill. I followed it, carefully scanning my surroundings for Imperial soldiers or other dangerous creatures. The path eventually led down to a river. Downstream I could see a small hamlet, which I guessed to be Riverwood. On an overgrown stone platform however, built overlooking the river, there were three remarkably carved standing stones. Each of them referred to a star sign— the Warrior, the Mage, and the Thief. It made me smile. I was born under one of the trio, which is fitting, since I myself have often been described as that one. I walked up to it, and put my hand on the ancient carving.