Child (Book 2)

Chapter 5

Tears and sweat drip down my face, and my arms and legs are covered with wounds; I drop my sword and drop to the floor, completely exhausted. The dead draugr that lies before me has been by far the most difficult opponent I have ever faced.
Just before he emerged from his coffin I was closely examining a word on a wall nearby, glowing blue like the one in Dustman's Cairn had. However, this word meant "Force" instead of the other word I knew in this strange tongue, "Fire"; don't ask me how I knew. As I was mesmerized by this word, the draugr had awoken and attacked me. It took quite a while to bring him down, and I had hardly won the fight.
Marcurio and I had been in the Barrow all day fighting draugr and bandits alike. We'd searched every body, and found no dragonstone. However, one bandit (who we had trusted for a moment and who so cleverly betrayed us) happened to have the golden claw which I gladly took off his body. The claw, it seems, was a key to the door we encountered not far away.
I don't think the claw was what the court wizard was asking for. I hope he won't be too disappointed. After all, he did say it may not be here.
"Nova.. Nova are you.. Are you alright?" Marcurio asks as he leans over me while he's catching his breath.
"Fine. Not the worst scrape I've been in." I tell him, as he helps me up.
"Not the worst? Nova, you can't keep living like this, it's going to kill you someday!" He scolds me as I search the draugr's body, hoping to find something of value to myself or possibly Farengar. "For Mara's sake Nova, can you even pay attention to me? You will die if you keep doing this." He says indignantly while I continue to ignore him.
"Like the pot calling the kettle black." I mumble to myself as he rants on about my impending doom, healing some of my larger cuts as he does. I notice the draugr has something in its hollowed ribcage, something large and flat. I reach in and pull it out of the stinking body. It's tightly wedged within him, and unfortunately I pull a bit too hard and the flat stone comes back and hits me square in the forehead. It hurts quite a bit, but ironically Marcurio was too busy talking to notice.
The stone has five sides and appears to have a very familiar scratched language on it, as well as a carefully carved symbol. I'm not sure, but this is the only thing I've found that even closely resembles what Farengar described.
"You're not even listening to— what in Oblivion is that?" Marcurio asks when he finally notices my discovery.
"Well, hopefully this is what I was looking for." I tell him as I put it in my knapsack that he's been carrying.
"You know, I'm not exactly a pack mule." He complains.
"Oh no, of course not. A pack mule would complain less."

~

"Nova..? Are you alright?" Marcurio asks as I shuffle quietly through the gates of Whiterun. I've been planning for this. 'Keep your head down and your hood up. Don't draw attention to yourself, and no one will see you.' I tell myself.
"I'm fine." I half whisper to him. I haven't exactly told him I'm hiding from the Companions, and I don't know how I would; it would only confirm his suspicions of them being "brutish".
We stalk through the quiet streets, lit only by tall iron torches. It seems Whiterun is going to sleep after a long day. Adrianne is shuffling around her forge in the dark, putting away hammers and tools. Ulfberth, her husband, opens the door of the shop and looks out at her.
"Adrianne.. You've been working all day. You should come inside, it's late.." The big man pleads. She looks at him for a moment, then dumps the bucket of water she holds in the stream. She walks towards the door, and Ulfberth wraps a gentle arm around her waist and guides her inside the house. I feel a sudden pang of sadness in my chest. I miss Vilkas, I realize; I wonder if he misses me.
We're walking through the center of town, and everything is terribly quiet. You can usually hear the Companions laughing and drinking inside Jorrvaskr from here, but tonight they're silent. A beggar sleeps on a bench, and Danica is walking quietly towards him with a basket on her arm. She pulls out a blanket and gently lays it over the man, then begins to pick some lavender growing under the tall tree that stands over us.
"Hello Danica." I mumble quietly.
"Oh, hello. You're back, I see. I haven't seen you around lately, but your friends at Jorrvaskr have been exceptionally quiet. Would you mind stopping by the temple later? I need to discuss something with you, it's rather important.." She whispers, looking cautiously at Marcurio.
"Of course, Danica. I'll be around later, I have something to take care of." I tell her. She nods to me and disappears inside the temple again.
"Who was that?" Marcurio asks. How to explain that without telling him about my near death experience? If he knew about that he would surely scold me for it.
"A friend." I tell him, walking towards the steps to Dragonsreach.
"How did you come to be friends with the priestess of Kynareth?" He asks hesitantly.
"I had a minor injury a few weeks ago. She helped me out." I tell him quickly.
"Nova, knowing you, it wasn't a minor injury. What happened?" He demands. I sigh deeply and look away from him.
"Just an arrow. It wasn't a big deal."
Marcurio sighs and follows me, saying nothing. At first I feel relieved, but then I realize he probably knows I'm lying and is too tired to argue.
The guards at the door are kind enough to open the doors for us, and we step into the dark courtroom. Most of the candles have been put out and the fire pit has dimmed down to only small glowing embers. The Jarl's throne is empty and a few maids move quietly through the room, putting things away and sweeping the floor. They almost ignore our presence completely as we walk past them into Farengar's study. Luckily, he is awake due to the fact that we are not his only visitors.
"Look who it is! I almost asked the Jarl to find me a different helper. Have you returned from Bleak Falls Barrow? Did you find anything of use to me?" He asks as I step into the small room. His companion is a small woman, but her presence fills the room. She wears leather armor and a hood; she seems to be leaning over reading a book on his desk. She looks up at me, and I can only see part of her face.
"You sent her in there? Farengar, look at her. She's tiny." The woman scolds him.
"I'm the same height as you." I point out. She smiles slightly.
"Point taken. Are you a Breton too or just a small Nord?" She asks curiously, looking me over.
"Both." I explain, attempting to make eye contact with this strange woman. Marcurio interrupts my conversation and hands me the Dragonstone.
"Oh, thank you. Farengar, was this what you were looking for?" I say as I hand it over to him. I hear shouting, and I see a guard running through the throne room. Maybe it's a bandit raid; the guards always seem to be itching for one of those.
"Yes! Here it is! The Dragonstone. Talk to Proventus, I'm sure he will give you your reward." He says quietly as he examines every edge and surface of the stone before he sets it down gently on the table next to the book.
"Tell me, what did you encounter inside the crypt when you retrieved it?" He asks, stepping towards me. As I begin to explain, I notice that his friend is carefully slipping the Dragonstone in her own satchel, and Farengar doesn't even realize it. Once it's inside, she steps away from the table and interrupts my story.
"Farengar, I really must be going. I have an errand to run, I'll be back later." She tells him, walking quickly away. Farengar starts to respond, but this time it's Irileth that interrupts us.
"Farengar! Come immediately. A dragon is attacking." She explains quickly. Farengar's face pales a few shades.
"A dragon..?" He croaks in shock. Irileth looks at me, then Marcurio.
"The two of you had better come to." She says before stalking off to the stairs of the upper level of Dragonsreach. We all immediately follow after her, jogging to keep up with her long steps. Upstairs is a small room with a table in the center and a large map spread out over it, small red or blue flags pinned in it. The Jarl and Proventus both wait for us; though they both seem to have just been woken up, their eyes are wide and they're both shaken to their very core.
"Balgruuf! I have the guard here that has witnessed the attack." Irileth speaks loudly, her voice not even quivering in the slightest. Jarl Balgruuf and Proventus immediately snap out of their trance. A guard in the usual yellow uniform steps forward, panting as if he's ran here all the way from Cyrodiil.
"It's true, my Jarl... It just swooped down out of the sky like that, near the western watchtower... We never saw it coming! I've never ran so fast in my life, I didn't even look back.." He stutters as he catches his breath. Something flashes in the Jarl's eyes; disbelief, then terror. I can't say I blame him. The first dragon attack was so long ago, I started to believe it was a nightmare and only that, or an act of punishment from the Gods themselves.
"Well done, soldier. Go down to the barracks and get some rest, you've earned it." The Jarl tells him. He nods and removes his helmet, wiping the sweat from his brow and hair as he walks away.
"What will we do, my Jarl?" Proventus asks with his small, shaking voice. The Jarl thinks for a long time. "Irileth, gather as many troops as you can and head to the watchtower... Gods be with you. You don't know how much I want to go with you, but I can't take the chance of leaving my people without a king; not that I would give the beast the chance... " He grumbles. I almost roll my eyes.
"I must ask a favor of you. Will your companion and yourself help us defend Whiterun... against a dragon?" She whispers the last words as if they could upset someone if she was heard, and they do. Words burst out of Proventus' mouth as if he's been holding them in.
"My Jarl! Please! You know I would serve you until the very end, but.. Please, I wish to be with my daughter!" He babbles. Balgruuf sighs and shakes his head.
"Go, Proventus." He growls. Proventus takes his leave immediately.
I look to Marcurio for the first time since all of this began. He looks exactly how I feel. He knows the circumstances for Whiterun are grim, but he's not going down without a fight. He knows what I'm asking of him, and he only nods. I make a mental note to pay him more.
That is, if I ever get the chance.

"We'll fight for Whiterun, Irileth."