A/N: Please visit my profile for announcements and news on updates.

"Brother! Mara's mercy, it's good to see you!" the blonde woman praised as she hugged the man in front of her.

The gang watched on unnoticed by the two as she began bombarding her relative with questions.

"But is it safe for you to be here? We heard that Ulfric had been captured..."

"Gerdur… Gerdur, I'm fine. At least now I am" he replied, the voice confirming who it was before them.

"Are you hurt? What's happened?" she asked in a worried tone.

It was then she noticed the small group standing near the pier. Most of them were clad in Imperial armour.

"Brother, run! The Legion is here!" She warned as she dragged him a few steps away.

The man looked back and stopped when he noticed who it really was.

"Ralof!" Ed cheered as he rushed over and hugged the Stormcloak soldier, much to his sister's shock.

"It's good to see that you made it" he replied as he slipped out of the Orc's grasp.

"What's going on? Who are these people?" the woman asked, confused as to why these Legionnaires have welcomed Ralof with open arms rather than swords.

"Don't worry. They aren't Imperial dogs" Ralof assured her before turning to the crowd "This is Gerdur, my sister"

"Um, hello" Edd mumbled nervously.

"Who are they then, some of your comrades?" she asked.

"Not comrades yet, but friends, I owe them my life in fact" he explained "Is there somewhere we can talk? There's no telling when the news from Helgen will reach the Imperials…"

"Helgen? Has something happened?" she repeated, before calming down slightly "You're right. Follow me"

With that, she quickly began walking ahead of them with Ralof sticking close to her and the gang following not far behind. To their right was a large pile of logs sawn in half with four longs standing as pillars to keep them stacked in place.

"Hod! Come here a minute. I need your help with something" Gerdur called out in the direction of the roofed building on her right.

"What is it, woman? Sven drunk on the job again?"

Up above they saw a man with short blonde hair standing on the upper floor of the lumber mill wearing a white shirt and black pants. He also had a moustache that ran down to his chin.

"Hod, just come here" she spoke sternly, as if she had something important to say.

The man was puzzled when he saw the small crowd of armoured folk standing near the mill, until he noticed the man wearing the dark blue sash.

"Ralof! What are you doing here? Ah... I'll be right down" he responded in a surprised tone, before walking away from them.

They continued their walk until they reached two huge tree stumps at the end of the little island and could see the stone bridge mentioned by Alvor earlier up ahead. Jonny and Plank felt a bit queasy when they first heard that a lumber mill existed in town, given how much they loved trees and forests during their childhood. Although they were grateful the whole place didn't look like a barren wasteland of sawdust and tree stumps, they were still anxious over the large number of timber surrounding them.

Just then, they heard a barking noise to their right. At the other side of the river was a huge grey furry dog running behind a young blonde-haired boy in a red tunic and black pants as they rushed across the river on a wooden pier nearby. The boy rushed up to Ralof, and like Dorthe, began playing one hundred questions without letting him answer them.

"Uncle Ralof! Can I see your axe? How many Imperials have you killed? Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?" he asked rapidly.

"Whatever sweets these kids are eating, I want some" Lee whispered to her half-siblings as they watched the hyper kid as he kept questioning his uncle.

"Same here" Marie agreed.

"Ditto" May nodded.

"Hush, Frodnar. This is no time for your games. Go and watch the south road. Come find us if you see any Imperial soldiers coming" Gerdur ordered.

"Aw, mama, I want to stay and talk to Uncle Ralof!" the boy pouted as he refused to move a muscle, yet he felt conflicted on his stance for some reason.

"There's a second road leading to this village?" Edd thought as he looked around, before noticing it to his left where the boy came running from, complete with wall and wooden rampart bridging over the arch as it allowed the road to travel in the direction of some steep mountains.

"Look at you, almost a grown man! Won't be long before you'll be joining the fight yourself" the Stormcloak soldier remarked as he crouched to his level and patted him on the head.

"That's right! Don't worry, Uncle Ralof, I won't let those soldiers sneak up on you" Frodnar cheered as he ran back across the river, with the dog close behind.

Ralof went over and sat on the tree stump to his left. The gang looked over at the remaining stump and saw an army of ants crawling all over it; so Kevin, Nazz, Jimmy and Sarah joined Ralof and took a seat. It was then that the man known as Hod arrived, stopping next to Gerdur.

"Now, Ralof, what's going on? You all look pretty well done in" he asked.

"You don't know the half of it" Kevin remarked.

"I can't remember when I last slept..." Ralof sighed, his tired expression clearly visible "Where to start? Well, the news you heard about Ulfric was true. The Imperials ambushed us outside Darkwater Crossing, like they knew exactly where we'd be. That was... two days ago, now. We stopped in Helgen this morning, and I thought it was all over. Had us lined up to the headsman's block and ready to start chopping"

"And that's just the tip of the iceberg. They framed us for being spies and had us up for beheading as well. We didn't even know there was a war when we came here" Eddy added, with Edd silently admitting he was getting into the swing of things.

"The cowards!" Gerdur snarled, while Hod shook his head in disgust.

"They wouldn't dare give Ulfric a fair trial. Treason, for fighting for your own people! All of Skyrim would have seen the truth then" Ralof continued, the gang hanging off of every word of his story

"This is more complicated that it seems" Nazz pondered mentally as she placed her hand under her chin.

"But then... out of nowhere... a dragon attacked..."

The two adult Nord's eyes almost pop out of their sockets and their pale skin looked like pure snow when they heard the last two words.

"You don't mean, a real, live..." she mumbled out loud in a shakey voice, the sign of fear present in both her and Hod.

"He ain't lying" Sarah admitted.

"I can hardly believe it myself, and I was there. As strange as it sounds, we'd be dead if not for that dragon. In the confusion, we managed to slip away" he explained, he paused when he noticed something that made him anxious "Are we really the first to make it to Riverwood?"

The gang looked around and realised that that the skies were approaching early afternoon and that their supposed pursuers were nowhere in sight. No Imperial Legions, no soldiers, no scouts. Nothing.

"Nobody else has come up the south road today, as far as I know" she answered.

"We haven't seen any soldiers on our way here either" Nazz pointed out in the direction of the road they used earlier.

"Good. Maybe we can lay up for a while. I hate to put your family in danger, Gerdur, but..."

His words came to a halt when Gerdur raised her hand.

"Nonsense. You and your friends are welcome to stay here as long as you need to. Let me worry about the Imperials" she assured him, before turning to the small group surrounding them Any friend of Ralof's is a friend of mine"

She then went over to Ed and pulled out a small brown object out of her pocket.

"Here's a key to the house. Stay as long as you like. If there's anything else you need, just let me know" she explained as she held out the item to the Orc.

Ed accepted the key and stared at it with awe, while the rest of the gang watched in surprise at how not just one, but two people were willing to help them out, and all for just saying the D word.

"These dragons really must be serious trouble for these folks to be scared just from us telling them" Jimmy thought.

"Cha-Ching!" Eddy cried mentally at the possibilities of such scaremongering, that was until Edd poked him in the ribs and gave him that stern 'Don't you even think about it' look that he knew all to well.

"Thanks, sister. I knew we could count on you" Ralof praised.

"I ought to get back to work before I'm missed, but... did anyone else escape? Did Ulfric..." Gerdur stammered, the worried look on her face making it all to clear.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he made it out. It'll take more than a dragon to stop Ulfric Stormcloak." he reassured with a proud tone.

"I'll let them into the house and, you know, show them where everything is..." Hod suggested.

"Hmph. Help them drink up our mead, you mean" Gerdur remarked with a chuckle "Good luck, brother. I'll see you later"

"Don't worry about me. I know how to lay low" he reminded as they watched her walk back to the lumber mill.

"You got that right" Ardan admitted "Where the heck did you go after Helgen?"

"I couldn't chance taking the roads, especially with Imperial scouts using them to send messages. So I made for the woods until I reached Riverwood. My sister runs the lumber mill here, and I used to live here before I left to join the Stormcloaks" he explained.

"Oh yeah" Plank commented as he thought back to the roll call in Helgen when his hometown was mentioned.

"Wait, you left a neutral region to join a rebellion?" Edd asked in disbelief.

"Of course, Skyrim deserves to be free, and Ulfric will make sure she is" he replied proudly.

"But why are you fighting the Empire?" Jonny questioned.

"Surely even down in Cyrodill people have heard news of the war in Skyrim?" Ralof asked in a bewildered tone.

"Sorry, we didn't have time to know on our way here" Jimmy replied, earning a sigh from the rebel.

"The Nords are tired of spending our blood fighting the Empire's wars, and paying for the Empire's decadence with our taxes. Ulfric is our rightful High King. He's leading the fight to drive the Empire out of Skyrim, once and for all" he explained.

"Can't argue with that, especially the taxes part" Eddy admitted as he rubbed his nails against his chest.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm getting some proper food. And a proper bed" he finished as he stood up and began walking in the direction of the south road.

"Hey, wait" Kevin called out, causing Ralof to stop "We were going to find work at the mill. Who do we go to?"

Ralof laughed while running his hand through his hair.

"Gerdur owns the place. This whole town wouldn't exist without it. I used to work here myself, until the war broke out that is" he explained, much to the gang's surprise.

"Wow" May gasped.

"Then who's the guy that was next to her?" Sarah asked.

"Hod is her husband, and my brother-in-law. He makes sure the mill keeps works and the logs are ready for carting down to the docks" he answered.

"Rolf isn't surprised considering this is a land where the women can face as big a chore as the men"

"Thank you, Ralof" Edd concluded as they watched the blonde Nord walk away, checking left and right for anything suspicious as he went past the crossroad "Now we know who to address to"

As the gang followed the robed Breton back to the mill, they saw Gerdur standing over a table with letters and notes strewn over a large book. She stopped reading them she noticed the group approaching her.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked.

"Yeah, we need some money, and we heard that you were hiring" Kevin replied.

"Of course I am. I have huge orders to fill and no one has been passing through here for weeks. You can start by helping Hod at the mill with those longs" she instructed as she led them to the ramp.

Just then, Rolf noticed Alvor returning to the workshop across the river with the leather he promised. Not wanting to keep him waiting, he made his way over to the walkway linking back to the mainland.

"Where are you going, Rolf?" Nazz questioned.

"To make some protective coverings that don't raise eyebrows, she-who-makes-soft-men-melt" he answered, which reminded him of her boyfriend's tendency to repair his bike, snapping his fingers as he pointed to him "You should come too, Kevin. Your abilities may be useful. Oh, and the buck-toothed Kanker as well"

Although unsure as to why Rolf wanted them, Kevin and May followed him leaving the rest behind. Gerdur hadn't noticed as they reached the top of the ramp and saw Hod standing to the left next to a smaller pile of logs.

"Hod, I've found someone willing to help you out" she informed.

"If they have the strength, then welcome aboard" he remarked.

"Don't worry. Old Bonehead here can get anything you need done, for the right price that is" Eddy boasted while rubbing his fingers together.

"We pay a fair wage. Just follow Hod's instructions and you'll do fine" she said before heading back down the ramp.

"So you saw the dragon too, did you?" Hod whispered.

"Um, yeah" Plank admitted sheepishly while looking at the floor, which he regretted after seeing all the sawdust that covered it.

"Tell me, what was it like? As big as a house?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Oh, much bigger than that" Edd replied while looking around for an example "As big as… that building over there"

Everyone looked in the direction of Edd's finger as he pointed at the thatched wooden structure on the corner of the crossroad touching the south road and the road to Whiterun. It was far bigger than Alvor and Sigrid's home, elevated off of the ground and had a sign hanging off of a post where the stairs lead up to the entrance.

"Well I'll be, that would be a sight to see" he marvelled, but stopped when he noticed the frowns he was getting from his workers "Not that I want to see him, understand. Ha, I hope that dragon stays far away from here"

"Funny, 'cause it was flying in this direction last time we saw him" Marie remembered.

Hod froze on the spot once he put two and two together, and figured out that the dragon had flown over Riverwood without him noticing it.

"Um… anyway, let me show you how the mill works" he stammered as he picked up a large one-handed hook in one hand while tugging his shirt collar with the other "First, we have to move these logs down onto the carriage"

The rest of the gang watched on as Hod went over, stopping between the logs on the left and the 'carriage' on the right. He swung the hook into the log next to him, and after making sure it was secure, he heaved it onto his left shoulder with his right hand holding onto the hook and his left hand keeping it from falling onto the floor. No sooner than he had it on his shoulder did he lifted it over his head to his right side and removed the hook, before dropping it into the carriage, bouncing on the frame before stopping in perfect alignment with it.

"Holy crap" Eddy piped in astonishment.

"I'm surprised he's still standing after that" Lee commented.

"It's easy, do it quickly and you'll be fine" Hod responded while walking on the right side of the carriage and approached a lever similar to the one back in Helgen Keep.

He pushed it to the other way and the clicking noises began once again. Suddenly, the log began moving slowly along the floor by two wedged prongs running on slits in the floor. Up ahead a huge metal saw moving up and down near the leaver right in the path of the carriage, and the log. After ten minutes, the blade started cutting into the log as it continued travelling down its now sealed fate. Jonny and Plank squirmed as they watched it get torn in two, firing more sawdust into the air.

Nazz on the other hand was staring at the building Edd pointed out earlier and wondered what it could be. Intrigued to explore, and reluctant to let her spine snap in half from lifting extremely heavy objects, the female Breton nudged Edd and gained his attention.

"I'm going to check that place out. Might have something useful, like a shop" she whispered while pointing at said building.

"Agreed, I was going to see Ralof and gather more information about this land anyway. Take Sarah and Lee with you, just in case" he agreed.

With a nod, she went over to the two redheads and whispered her intentions. She wasn't going to take any chances after what happened back in the jail cell.

"Sure, why not, better than watching paint dry" Lee surmised as the log only made it a quarter of the way through the cutting phase.

"Yeah. Besides, Jimmy wouldn't last long doing this kind…of…work" Sarah trailed off when she noticed the lacking presence of a certain effeminate feline "Where's Jimmy?"

000

The man in question was standing on the end of the pier jutting out over the river pulling a rope out of the water with all his might, until a wooden bucket attached to the end of the rope emerged from the river. With the container filled with fresh water, he dropped his knapsack onto the deck and pulled out a rag cloth and unfolded it to reveal a small collection of flowers that have been slightly flattened during his travels.

He picked up a red one and stared at it, hoping he knew what he was doing. Breathing deeply, he bit off the flower petals, followed by the stem and chewed on them, before drinking a mouthful of water straight from the bucket. After swirling it in his mouth for a few seconds, he noticed a bitter taste yet swallowed it rather than spit it back into the river. Despite feeling slightly strange, he reached down for a purple flower and brought it up to his mouth.

"Jimmy"

The Khajiit immediately hid the flower behind his back as he spun around to face his annoyed best friend and the two other women standing nearby.

"What the heck are you doing out here?" Sarah queried, her eyes looking down at the flora lying near his feet.

"I was, uh…" he stammered as he tried to think up a fib, but soon gave up with a defeated sigh "I was trying to fix my bad breath, after what happened in Helgen"

They were baffled until they remembered when Jimmy threw up after witnessing an execution, and a freshly skinned bear back in the cave. They all looked down at the object in his hand as he loosened his arms.

"With flowers?" Lee questioned.

"I read about it in a book I borrowed from Ardan's mother. It was meant to be a cake baking one, but I ended up with one filled with weird alternative methods, although it was far less weird than Rolf's methods. When I saw the plants blooming as we headed for Helgen, I remembered a recipe for toothpaste from the book" he explained.

"Again, with flowers?" Sarah repeated in a doubtful tone.

"Well, it was actually meant to be rosewater, but I couldn't find any and picked these ones from the roadside as we walked" he continued.

"Got to give him credit there, Sarah" Nazz admitted.

"That's an understatement" Sarah exclaimed as she remembered the rancid stench of Jimmy's breath back at the cave exit.

Jimmy sighed in relief and ate the purple flower, before washing it down with some water.

"Mmm, tastes nice" he described and reached down for to try out the blue one.

"Last one, buster. We've got work to do" Sarah ordered, causing Jimmy to stop and object to the notion of being squashed by heavy duty lumber.

"Don't worry, this doesn't require a lot of human strength" Nazz assured, the Khajiit sighed in relief.

"More like superhuman strength is needed back there if you ask me" Sarah reckoned as she thumbed over her shoulder to the lumber mill.

"Isn't that what brothers are for?" Jimmy asked sarcastically.

Sarah laughed out loud along with Jimmy, Lee and Nazz.

"Yeah, right after being stupid" Sarah concluded.

"Come on, let's check the place out" Nazz declared as they walked away.

Jimmy quickly chewed the blue flower and downed it with as much water as he could. It tasted like weak peppermint, and so he packed up the remaining plants and packed them away before running after the three girls.

000

"What do you mean you won't work? We need every penny we can get" Eddy complained.

"Sorry, Eddy, but we just can't. You know how we feel about these kind of… things" Plank hinted in the direction of the log as it was finally sawed in half, splitting apart as it left the blade and pushed out onto the huge pile they saw earlier.

"Oh, and you're just going to slack off then, eh?" Eddy asked, boasting like the know-it-all he always was, at least in his eyes.

"No, we're going along with Edd and find Ralof. Might find some stuff someone doesn't need as well" Jonny replied as he followed they followed the male Breton down the ramp.

"Tree Huggers!" Eddy yelled as he walked back furiously and noticed only Marie, Ardan and Ed were the only ones left "Well, what are you waiting for, get to work!"

After which the male Bosmer then walked over and picked up a metal hook and tried to pull a log onto his shoulders, with little success.

"Allow me, Eddy" Ed offered as he picked up a spare hook and hoisted it onto his shoulder dangling over the short statured elf for a second before dropping it into the reset carriage.

Eddy grumbled while hopping over the log and speed walking for the lever, struggling to activate it until it jolted and threw him head first into the wooden saw frame.

"Well, those two seem to have this sorted" Marie stated.

"Apparently so" Hod agreed as he leaned against the railing with his arms folded as he witnessed it all "Come with me. I have more work that needs doing"

As they followed him down the ramp, they came across the same grey-haired Wood Elf from earlier chopping wood in half. When he looked up, he gave a surprised look at one person in particular.

"Greetings, sister Elf. Good to see a familiar face so far from home" he welcomed as he reached out with his free hand "I'm Faendal, and you are…"

"Marie, and don't get any ideas" she replied while giving him a crushing handshake.

"Relax, he's already set his sights on a local lady" Hod reassured her, earning a glare from Faendal as he flexed his after Marie released it from her grip "Anyway, you can have lunch, Faendal. These two will cover for you"

"All right, nice meeting you Marie, and…" he said as he focused on the brown-haired Nord.

"Ardan" he replied.

"Right. Anyway, see you later" he finished as he handed him the axe he was holding and headed for the walkway.

"So what are we cutting up?" Marie asked impatiently.

"Firewood, and lots of it. We need enough for the whole village if we're going to stay warm tonight. If you manage to have any extra left over, I'll pay you extra" Hod explained.

"What do you do with the extra timber?" Ardan questioned.

"Sell it of course. Breweries, soldiers, anybody who needs it fast or just can't cut down a tree themselves" he responded as he picked up a spare axe lying against the logs and handed it to Marie "If you need me, I'll be up in the mill. We've got a lot of catching up to do"

After he left, the two looked down at the pile of circular wood on the right, and the angular chunks of wood lying around a log slab about half the size of the tree stumps to the left.

"Alright, what are you waiting for? Show me how it's done" the Dark Elf barked impatiently.

"Eh?" Ardan spurted.

"You're father worked in the freaking forest! You must have seen him chopping trees with on something like this!" she yelled as if she was trying to instruct Ed.

"It ain't rocket science, Marie" Ardan grumbled as he removed his gear and left them against the logs, before picking up a circular piece of wood and placing it onto the log slab "You just have to swing hard and hit it dead centre"

With that said; he raised the axe over his head with both arms and struck the sharp metal edge right down the middle, splitting it in two before they flew a few inches in either direction onto the wedged piles nearby.

Marie fumed at the Nord's remark. Not wanting to be outdone, she pushed him aside and moved a chunk of wood onto the slab. Ardan narrowly managed to duck under her axe as she swung it around and chop the object in half. She did this again, and again, until the fourth one stopped the blade halfway, leaving her with a wooden mallet. With her temper running high, she slammed it down on the slab, finally dividing and removing the object. She reached down for another chunk, when she dropped the axe as her left hand immediately grasped her bandaged arm.

"You ok?" Ardan asked, which he immediately regretted as Marie looked back at him with a mean glare.

"Of course I'm ok you moron!" she barked as she kept her hand on her arm for a moment, before grabbing her axe off the ground and returned to smashing trees into kindling.

"If you say so, just don't get worked up if that happens again" he reassured her as he shouldered his axe and walked away in search of another pile of unfinished firewood to chop up.

000

Back at the workshop, Kevin and May watched from the porch as Rolf and Alvor discussed their trade.

"A wolf pelt would normally make one sheet of leather. Do we have a deal?" the blacksmith questioned as he patted on the pile of treated animal skin he had stacked on the wooden table.

"Yes we do, especially for ones in such good condition" Rolf agreed as he handed over the three wolf pelts and picked up three sheets of brown leather big enough to make the front half of a large shirt and marvelled at them.

"Ok, so you got the leather. What are you going to make?" Kevin asked out of boredom.

"Ah, I almost forgot" Alvor spoke as he put he reached behind the pile of leather and lifted a brown book with metal corners "You might find this useful"

Rolf accepted the book, the others gathered around and watched as he opened it and read the title page.

Basic Smiting

As he turned the pages, they revealed a variety of armours and weapons in the form of pictures, as well as instructions for what is required and how to make it.

"Oh, Rolf himself almost forgot" he piped as he snapped his fingers and turned to the blonde Bosmer "Would you be as kind as to give Rolf the bearskin tucked away in your knapsack?"

May was confused by his words, until the memories of the bear back in the cave came back into mind, as well as when Rolf himself handed her the beast's skin for being the one to slay it. She was sceptical though.

"What for?" she asked curiously.

"The more, the merrier as they say. With the right amount of treated hides, Rolf can create a set of armour for you" he responded.

"Really?" she questioned in a surprised tone, to which Rolf flicked through the pages until he landed on a page showing a drawn picture with a person wearing armour made of brown material from head to toe.

Kevin focused on the list of materials required to make the armour, namely leather, leather strips and some metal parts like rivets, buckles and a rather large belt buckle that doubled for protection.

"Can you even make this whole thing in time?" Kevin asked.

"Absolutely, Rolf would also appreciate your talents with metal as well"

"Huh?" he said as he tried to figure out what Rolf was on about, until he remembered the times the blue-haired Imperial praised him on more than one occasion when fixing his bike "Oh yeah, that. Well, thing is-"

"Don't fret over it. It's not that hard to make something out of iron. I can show you if you like. Got a piece of work or two that needs finishing" Alvor stated as he went over to the table and began scrounging for materials.

"Really, thanks, I guess" he replied nervously "So what needs to be done around here?"

"How about smithing me an Iron dagger" Alvor advised as he recovered a piece of leather the size of a shoelace from the table and proceeded over to the workbench, crouching down to a small pyramid of blackish-grey bricks on the floor and picking up the one on top "Here's what you'll need"

After receiving what he supposed was a lump of iron and a thin piece of leather, Kevin looked at Alvor as he walked over to the forge and picked up a pair of tongs.

"You'll need this if you want to handle that ingot when it gets hot. We don't need any burned hands here" he instructed as he placed it down on the anvil next to the fire pit.

Taking the hint, Kevin stuffed the leather strip behind his back between his belt and armour. Taking the tongs in his left hand, he placed the ingot onto the anvil, before using them to place it into the fire.

"Make sure you have the embers covering it, or it will remain as cold as Nana's ears" Rolf advised as he stood next to the table "How much is one bear hide in leather, humble smithy?"

Alvor looked at the huge blanket of black fur in May's arms and could see it was in good condition even from him leaning against the railing near the forge.

"Three sheets worth" he replied.

"Rolf agrees" he said as he picked up the agreed amount of leather and proceeded over to the workbench, while May left the bear skin on top of the wolf pelts before going to watch him at work.

Without wasting a second, Kevin shoved the metal ingot into the burning cinders. After waiting for a few seconds, he noticed the bellows protruding out of the pit wall a few feet away. Attached to it was a rope, which ran up through two pulleys on the roof before going down and stopping an arm's reach away. Placing the tongs on the edge of the pit, he gave it a hard pull and forced air into the fire. For a brief moment, the orange hue changed into a white bloom until the bellows ran out of air and needed to be released, before repeating the process once again.

"That's good. Do that a few more times and you'll have it ready for some hammering" Alvor approved.

Speaking of which, Kevin noticed a hammer lying on the floor next to the anvil. So after a couple more pulls on the bellows, he grabbed the tongs and pulled the ingot out, placing it on the anvil before his right hand reached down and picked up the hammer. He struck the now white piece of iron with all his might, while the tongs kept it in place. A few strikes later, the metal faded to a yellow colour and bits of metal fell off with each strike, which was cause for concern for Kevin.

"Don't worry that's just clink left by the fire" Alvor reassured when he noticed the worried look on the face of his new apprentice "Now, reheat it when it gives the slightest hint of orange"

"Ok" Kevin replied as he kept belting down on the metal.

Back at the workbench, Rolf was busy cutting a leather sheet with a knife into thin strips similar to the one Kevin was given earlier. Once done, he divided them into four bundles and started making the real armour. Every few minutes he looked back at May, staring her up and down before he resumed carving the leather into a variety of shapes and looking back again. May grew suspicious as to why he kept doing that, until a thought ran into her head.

"Cut it out, pervert" she scolded as she folded her arms.

"What? Rolf was merely measuring you. If the armour is loose it won't be as protective and bulky to wear. Can't waste any materials as well, there's only enough for half the set"

"Wait, you can only make half of the armour?" she asked in a baffled tone, earning a nod from Rolf "How much more do you need"

"Hmm, normal cuts plus strips… Rolf requires about four sheets required"

May grumbled and took her knapsack off her shoulders, rummaging it until she found her coin purse.

"How much is the leather?" she called out to Alvor, gaining his attention as she held up the purse high enough for him to know what she was bartering with.

"22 gold a sheet" he responded, his view returning to Kevin as he proceeded to pull the now slightly rectangular ingot out of the fire for another hammering.

She pulled the string open and counted the coins in her purse, swearing under her breath when she found only 20 gold in her possession. Frustrated, she looked around and noticed barrels standing next to the homes across the street. Memories of scrounging for valuables in 'Oblivion' within the Imperial City flooded back to her, as well as the fact that almost everything that was outside was free to take without being labelled a thief. With Rolf busy carving up what he had into her new armour and Kevin being tutored by Alvor, May decided to do some scavenging.

000

Meanwhile; Nazz, Jimmy, Lee and Sarah were approaching the building they were to investigate. From the outside, it was a wooden thatched building like the rest of town, but by far the largest of them all. A large square barely touching the road stood to the left, while a rectangle formed the centre and right forming an L-shape. Two sets of stairs jutting off the balcony ensured anyone passing through has easy access to the front door.

"What is this place?" Lee queried, to which Jimmy went over to the sign hanging of the post near the stairs on at the road to Whiterun.

It showed the face of a man with curly hair and a woolly beard, his eyes were closed as he smiled with peaceful content.

"The Sleeping Giant Inn" the Khajiit spoke as he read the words above the image out loud.

"Well, that was easy" Sarah commented, turning around and heading the other direction when Nazz held her back "What, there's nothing here"

"It's an INN. You know, where people coming and going through town like, stay and eat and talk" Nazz argued.

"So" Sarah shot back, causing the blonde Breton to shake her head as she rubbed her temple.

"Look, if there's anywhere we can get the latest news around here, it would be this place. And we need every shred of info we can get about this land if we're going to survive" she explained, Lee and Jimmy held their chins thoughtfully as she spoke.

"She's on the money. Let's check it out" the Altmer agreed, following Nazz as she went up the stairs, along with a disgruntled Sarah and a silent Jimmy.

Nazz turned the door handle and pushed forward. A blast of warm air hit her as she was greeted to a room with a long fireplace occupying the centre of a rather long hall. Tables and benches were lined up along the walls, all of which were empty, except for a brunette Nord in a green tunic, who was drinking out of a grey mug with his back facing them. What walls that weren't taken up had barrels and firewood grouped together.

As the four visitors entered the premises, they noticed a counter at the far left side of the hall. Behind it stood a man with pale skin and dark brown shoulder-length hair wearing a white shirt that was in need of a wash, who was stared at them as if they were the focus of the whole room.

"Orgnar" a female voice called out from the open doorway to the right of the counter.

When no one answered or responded, a woman with fair skin and blonde hair tied up in a ponytail reaching her shoulders entered the hall. She wore a blue and brown dress, and did not look happy as she stared down the man behind the counter.

"Orgnar! Are you listening?" she repeated more sternly.

"Hard not to" he responded as if it were nothing, still staring down at the little group.

"The ale is going bad. We need to get a new batch" she spoke, until she noticed he wasn't looking at her and walked up to him "Did you hear me?"

"Yep. Ale's going bad" Orgnar repeated, his eyes never leaving the three girls and Khajiit.

"I guess you don't have potatoes in your ears after all. Just make sure we get a fresh batch in soon" she remarked, before heading over and grabbing a broom.

The tense silence after the scuffle was broken by the sound of a drum, causing Jimmy to jump. Standing near three wooden arm chairs and some white rugs just a few feet from them was another Nord with blondish-brown hair reaching his shoulders, wearing a blue tunic and a small brown sleeveless overcoat, banging the palm of his hand against the skin of a drum the size of a bucket.

Nazz took the lead as she headed straight for the counter. The rest followed her, passing the blonde woman with the broom as she swept the stone floor.

"You're those visitors, been pokin' around" she chatted.

"Maybe, maybe not. Why do you ask?" Lee remarked.

"I'm the innkeeper. It's my business to keep track of strangers" she replied, which made Nazz stop in her tracks.

"Do you know all about Skyrim then?" the blonde Breton queried, hoping to strike a conversation with her.

"I'll take that as a yes then" she stated as she ceased cleaning the floor "And for your answer, yes, but not for free. You want gossip, talk to Orgnar. He just can't keep his mouth shut"

Seeing as she wasn't going to give anymore advice, they went over to the counter. Cheese wheels and a deer skull decorated the left, while green glass bottles, cooked fish and miniature barrels with taps occupied the right, as did Orgnar's elbows as he leaned against it. More barrels, as well as iron circular racks displaying various leaves and small animals stood in the background.

"What have you got around here, bub?" Sarah asked in a brash manner.

"We got rooms and food. Drink, too. I cook. Ain't much else to tell" he replied in a tone of indifference.

"So what is the news around here?" Nazz questioned.

"There's nothing much really. Most people avoid travelling through here since the war broke out. Only a patrol looking for bread and board have any news, and they only spill as much as the ale they drink; very little" Orgnar answered.

"But it seems so peaceful here, and the locals told me the war hasn't touched this place yet" Nazz continued her investigation.

"It's not only the skirmishes that keep travellers away. Anything the patrols used to keep at bay in peacetime are now running amok, ambushing anyone they see on the roads as easy prey. Wild animal, necromancers, burglars, monsters; you name it. But the bandits are the worst" he described.

"Why so?" Lee asked, as she too took an interest in the conversation.

"They act like private armies, and raid anyone who passes by them. You want proof, read this" Orgnar stated as he reached under the counter and pulled out a folded piece of parchment, handing it over to Nazz.

She opened the A4 sheet and read,

Bounty

By order of Balgruuf the Greater:

To all able bodied men and women of Whiterun Hold. The bandits located in White River Watch have been harassing, robbing, and attacking citizens and visitors.

A reward will be offered to anyone who kills their leader.

-Proventus Avenicci

"Wait; is this bounty open to everyone?" Sarah questioned.

"Pretty much, but it won't be easy. The leaders of these brigands are the toughest of them all. But I guess the Emperor's troops have better things to deal with" he warned, the gang quickly pointing their eyes downwards and remembering the Imperial gear that all except for Jimmy were wearing.

Nazz folded the letter and held it out for Orgnar.

"Keep it. The guards give me extras" he spoke.

"So does anything happen around here?" Nazz asked as she stored the letter into her knapsack.

"Hmm… I did hear that Lucan at the Riverwood Trader had his store broken into the other night" he remembered, which raised a lot of eyebrows.

"There's a shop around here?" Jimmy asked eagerly.

"You must have dust in your eyes, tabby cat. It's the building opposite the blacksmith with the balcony. Lucan has the place closed, so don't bother heading there, unless you want to stare at the front door" he remarked as Jimmy looked down at his feet in embarrassment.

"You look like you would, smartass" Sarah sneered, earning a laugh from the blonde woman behind them and a frown from Orgnar.

"What's your name?" she asked while leaning against the broom.

"Sarah" the red-headed Imperial said "And you?"

"Delphine" she responded as she held out her hand, which Sarah shook before they both sniggered uncontrollably with Nazz and Jimmy joining in.

Lee, while laughing, looked around and noticed a small table near the doorway to their right. On top was a weird contraption composed of what appeared to be a wooden board game and two oddly-shaped glass bottles.

"What's that hunk of junk over there?" the Altmer asked as she pointed at it.

"It's an alchemy lab" Delphine replied, causing everyone to gather around the table.

Upon closer inspection, the circular board had six small hollows connected to each other with likes to form a hexagon, with three larger ones inside and the largest dominating the centre of the board as more lines connected them to form numerous triangles. At the edge of the board were the two glass bottles that looked a lot like the instruments they saw in the science lab at high school.

"That could be useful" Nazz pondered as she turned left "Are you ok with us using it?"

"Long as you clean up. You know how to use it right? Mix a couple of ingredients together, see what happens" Orgnar replied, Nazz nodded back "A little Wheat and Blisterwort makes a healing potion, if you didn't know. We have plenty of ingredients for sale, too"

"Like what?" she asked.

Orgnar reached under the counter and lifted out a tray containing various oddities; including mushrooms, flowers, an egg and bowls of dust to mention a few. Nazz went over and found the wheat he mentioned before.

"Which one is the Blis-ter-wort?" she asked, struggling to say out the last word.

"Here" Orgnar replied as he picked up one to the red-headed mushrooms and placed it alongside the wheat "That'll be 54 gold"

"For a toadstool and a handful of grass?!" Sarah boomed with a look of insult on her face as she marched up to the counter "How about my fistful in your face instead!"

"Calm down, Sarah. It's ok, we'll just go out and find some other ingredients…" she cautioned when she had a light bulb appear in her head "Jimmy. Do you still have those flowers?"

"Huh… Oh yeah, here" the Khajiit responded as he reached into his knapsack and pulled out the cloth of flowers and gave them to her.

"Great, thanks" she said as she headed back to the alchemy lab and went to work.

"Do you think she can even get this thing to work?" Sarah asked as she got her rage under control.

"If she doesn't burn the place down, I'll take that as a yes" Lee noted out as she pointed to Nazz picking up a handful of twigs and splinters from a nearby bucket, before stuffing them into what appeared to be a mini-furnace bellow one of the glass instruments.

She then went over and held a twig over a candle horn, using it to light a little fire. From behind it she brought out a mortar and pestle, proceeding to pick up a blue and red flower respectively and crush them together. She then reached for the bottle of water and poured some into the mortar before mixing it together into a slightly watery paste. Then she removed the stopper on the furnace's glass top and poured the mixture into it, sealing it and watching it boil slowly from the heat bellow.

Just then, the drumming ceased. The man in the blue tunic and brown overcoat went over to a corner. He returned a few seconds later, this time not with a drum, but a strange looking guitar. It was red on the outside with a yellow inner line and a wooden centre.

"This is a local favourite and one of the first songs I ever learned. Ragnar the Red" he announced to everyone as he strummed the strings.

"It's the only bloody song you've ever learned!" the man in the green tunic complained, who judging by his accent was also a Nord, as was the man with the stringed instrument.

"You wouldn't know a good tune if it bit you in the britches, Embry. I'm sure our fine guests here would be glad to hear I, the great Sven, sing a melody common in all bars and inns across the land" he bragged as his open hand pointed in the direction of the group.

"Sven? Now where have I heard that name before" Lee puzzled as she held her chin.

"Ah, a fan who has no doubt heard from afar about my work in the art of song and music" he boasted as he reached for a mug next to him and drank from it, causing Lee to snap her fingers.

"You're that drunkard Hod talked about" she stated, causing Sven to spit out his drink.

"Have you been talking to Faendal? He'd say anything to tarnish the name of such a famous bard" he retorted in a distasteful tone.

"Then why does a 'famous bard' have to work at a lumber mill and not the inn?" Sarah sneered, smiling as she saw his ego take a drop at her question.

"A bard earns their keep by traveling to where the people are, but as I'd rather not leave my lovely home town, I have to find other ways to make coin when the roads are quiet. Besides, the fresh air and hard work is good for the body and mind" he responded, an aura of security radiated from him.

"Well you won't be getting any of that anytime soon" Lee chuckled, barely able to keep herself together, which intrigued the bard.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked curiously.

"My friends just got jobs over at the lumber mill. My brute of a brother's probably finished off what you were meant to do yourself right now" Sarah replied.

No sooner than she finished her sentence did Sven run out the door, dropping his mug and guitar onto the ground. Sarah and Lee laughed out loud, as did everyone else in the building; except for Nazz, who was focused on the alchemy lab, and Jimmy, who was staring at the instrument that was dropped not seconds ago.

The Khajiit picked it up and took a closer look at it, its elegant design and eight strings intrigued him. While he inspected it, his eyes glanced on something else on the ground. It wasn't Sven's mug, but rather a book that was being used to support one of the chair's rather unstable legs, especially given that the book wasn't exactly small. He placed the guitar down onto one of the other chairs, and lifted the unstable one up before retrieving the book, its leather cover bearing the marks of wear and tear, as well as the round imprint of the chair leg after gods know how it had been there.

Taking a seat in the only remaining chair that wasn't rickety; Jimmy opened the book and looked through the pages. The horizontal lines and strange squiggles indicated to him that it was some sort of manual on playing musical instruments. The words that filled the large blank gaps also meant that it doubled as a song book as well. Flicking over to the contents page, he found that the book contained music designed for three specific instruments; the drum, the flute and the lute.

"A lute, so that's what that weird guitar is" he spoke mentally as he looked back at the latter stringed instrument.

Skipping ahead to the lute section, he found a beginner's tune that was without lyrics. With no stand to hold the book, he placed it on the ground before picking up the lute and tuning the strings with his left hand. Once done, he began to slowly play the notes, carefully remembering to keep his claws retracted in case they cut the strings.

Sarah, having finally gotten all the laughs out of her, looked in Nazz's direction. The liquid inside the heated glass instrument bubbling, followed by the steam flowing through a tube to the other glass instrument. What was once a mix of blue and red was now droplets of light green rolling down glass into a small pool at the at the glass bottom. The liquid just started to flow over and down the nozzle slowly, before dripping into to the centre hollow of the board. Nazz gave it an inquisitive glare before dipping a finger into it and tasting it. Almost immediately she spat it out, leading to the Altmer walking up to her.

"Well, what did you cook up?" Lee asked.

"Definitely not a potion, so I don't know if this foul stuff is meant to be poison or those two flowers just don't get along" she described as she wiped her lips.

"If it doesn't hurt you, it's just a bad combination. Alchemy is all trial and error" Delphine stated.

"Right" Nazz spoke as she looked for something to clean up the mess.

To the left of the table, she could see two buckets, one filled with water and the other empty with a rag lying in it, although the inside was stained with strange colours. Suspecting that this was the cleaning kit, she began to wash the centre board and the funnelled instrument, leaving the heated one off of the fire to cool. Once all was done, there was a cloth hanging off a bucket now filled slightly with diluted green water, next to the clean bucket. She then chose a blue and purple flower this time and began to repeat the process.

000

Edd, Jonny and Plank were walking towards the crossroads, where they could hear Alvor chatting in the distance and Nazz's group just closing the door as they entered the large building. Edd wasn't sure which of the remaining buildings Ralof could be in, until he saw a familiar dog sitting near the open gateway directly ahead of them on the south road. When they approached, it immediately noticed and knocked them to the ground, lapping their faces in excitement.

"Ha ha ha, cut it out!" Jonny laughed, until the mut finally relented and allowed them to stand up.

Looking around, they couldn't see Fordnar anywhere.

"Where's your friend, buddy?" Plank questioned as he patted the dog on the head.

It responded by getting up and walking towards the house stand to the right of the gate, its walls of stone, thatched roof and log supports making it the most unique building in town. A brown cow with small horns grazed in the front lawn, though it could easily be mistaken for a yak due to its long fringe. Two hens were sitting in their straw nests near the front door. Turning the handle and pushing in, they could hear the voices of a man and a boy chatting inside.

"Wow, you escaped not only from the Imperials, but a dragon?!" a familiar young voice shouted in astonishment.

A fireplace lay directly ahead of them, with a pile of firewood lying on the left and a preparation table laden with food on the right. A dining table and three chairs stood at the left side of the home, while to their right there was a child-sized bed; complete with drawers, a chest and a bedside table. They walked across the right side of the home and saw a set of shelves lined with grey mugs and utensils next to the front door. Around the corner they saw a bar counter displaying bottles, cheese and tiny kegs on one side of the extended home. Opposite it was a small round table and two chairs; occupied by Frodnar and Ralof.

"Yes, but I couldn't have done it without those people you saw standing next to me. Without them, I would've been finished by those Legion dogs" Ralof corrected.

"Neither would we ourselves without you're guidance, Ralof" Edd added, causing the young boy to snap his head in their direction.

"Frodnar, go out and play for a while" the rebel advised.

The young Nord seemed ready to shoot back in a bid to resume their conversation, but decided not to and leave it for later.

"Ok" he sighed as he got up and looked at the dog behind Plank "Come on, Stumpy, let's go play hide and seek with Dorthe"

The dog barked happily and they rushed out the door, leaving only the Nord rebel, the male Breton, the Redguard and the Argonion alone as they stared at each other.

"So, what is it that brings you here?" Ralof asked as he went over to the bar and fetched four bottles filled with a golden liquid along with four grey mugs.

"Answers" Edd replied as he sat down on the empty chair, taking notice of the double bed, wardrobe, chest and bedside tables that stood ahead of them at the end of the room.

"And plenty of them" Jonny admitted mentally.

"Everybody's got questions. So what's on your mind?" he asked as he placed the items onto the table.

"Why did the Empire ban the worship of Talos?" the male Breton questioned.

"Because the Emperor submitted to the Thalmor" Ralof answered, much to everyone's shock.

"And why did he submit?" he asked.

"It was that damn treaty that ended the Great War, where he agreed to the Thalmor's demands to ban Talos, our kin, our god!" Ralof snarled as he pulled the cork off of his bottle and poured it into the mug

"This is baffling. The Imperials worship Talos with a fever to rival the Nords. Cyrodill itself has multiple places named or related to him; a chapel, an order, even a district in the Imperial city" Edd pondered as he all the facts.

"Not anymore. They now arrest anyone who worships him. So now we fight for our homeland to be free of those Imperial swine. If they think they can make the Nords obey their laws, especially an elven one, they are badly mistaken" Ralof growled as he placed the bottle down and took a sip from his mug.

The three guests looked down at the bottles and mugs standing on the table and decided to have a drink as well. Plank looked at the label and found a word scrawled along it in full capital letters.

"Mead" the Argonian read out loud, earning the other's attention "Didn't your sister mention this stuff before?"

"Of course, a Skyrim delicacy" he replied.

"What is it?" Jonny asked curiously as he finally managed to remove the cork from his bottle, followed by Plank and Edd before pouring it into their mugs.

"It's a brew made of honey and fruit, depending on the brewery" Ralof described, causing Edd to choke slightly as he drank from his mug.

"Wait, you mean this beverage is actually a beer?!" the male Breton asked in a shocked tone.

"Of course, is it too much for you to handle?" Ralof responded, leaving Edd unsure if he should take the joke seriously or be intrigued about such a strange alcoholic beverage.

It did taste like honey, with a slightly minty taste as well. It was also slightly warm, but not in a bad way, which is a plus for anyone living or travelling in an environment as cold as Skyrim.

"No, just surprised that's all. I mean an alcoholic honey beverage? Now that's interesting" Edd explained as he took a small sip.

"A bit strong though" Jonny added as he coughed slightly after taking a gulp.

"If that's so, then you should try some of the bigger names at the inns. And if you find the breweries themselves, all the better" Ralof chuckled.

"Perhaps," Edd concluded, taking another tiny sip "But anyway, what's all this commotion about Ulfric killing the High King?"

Ralof's eyes widened, though not from anger as Edd feared, but rather surprise.

"You're the first foreigner I've met to say that. Most Imperial's would rather say he was murdered in cold blood, but no. The truth is that Ulfric challenged Torygg to a duel, and he didn't stand a chance, like any bought king would" he stated, his voice becoming more venomous at the end.

"Bought King?" Jonny questioned, hiccupping slightly as the mead went into him.

"You wouldn't be suggesting that you're king was bribed?" Edd asked, to which Ralof nodded "By whom?"

"The Emperor himself" he replied, the notion of it was suspicious.

"But I must ask; that... dragon," Edd spoke, causing everyone to stop "is there something serious about its arrival?"

Ralof placed his mug down and thought for a few seconds, the look of uncertainty clearly visible on his face.

"Well, of course there is. Dragons haven't been seen in Skyrim for an age or more. Plus every Nord remembers the tales told in their youth. A Dragon, the harbinger of the end times" the Nord explained as he rubbed his chin.

"And where did they get these tales from?" he added.

"From my father, and his father, and so on" Ralof answered.

"Thank you, Ralof" Edd said as he and his friends placed their mugs back on the table next to the empty bottles "We must be going now. Looks like you could do with some sleep"

"Ha, am I that easy to figure out?" He chortled, before a yawn engulfed his laughter "That boy just doesn't stop talking. Still, I'll need all my strength to make it back to Windhelm, especially if the Legion shows up early"

"Ok then, see you later" Plank concluded as they turned around the corner.

"Oh, wait!" Ralof called out as he stood up and went behind the bar "I almost forgot"

His hand returned from beneath the counter to reveal a roughspun sack, which he carried over and presented to them.

"I managed to scrape this together while you were at the lumber mill. Just some of my 'foraged provisions' that I gathered over the months and left here when I came by and hadn't enough room to keep dragging them along" he explained as Jonny accepted the bag and looked in to find a mix of various items.

"Wow, you're a real sport. Thanks" the Redguard responded as he shook his hand, the other two doing the same before the left the building and closed the door.