Beyond the Border

Two: The Border

Skyrim's borders were not guarded in the slightest which made crossing over perhaps the easiest land transaction Nolwenn had ever encountered. She knew that a civil war was going on in this chilly land, so perhaps the capital was low on guards for now.

In this area, she noticed that there was not a lot of snow, the land nearest to her mostly covered in beautiful pine trees. A stone pathway proved to be her only option in finding a village or hold, if they would accept her beyond the gates.

The woman's feet ached from her already long journey, but as she caught sight of a wooden sign, her hopes grew. The sign displayed a few towns by the look of it. Faulkreath, Helgen, Ivarstead, and Riverwood.

Nolwenn decided that Helgen would be a good option. Marcella had told her stories of Helgen from the visits her son would make, and the girl was eager to try juniper berry mead.

She headed north bound for the town, ready to sleep in a warm, cozy inn. But as she continued on the pathway, the sound of rustling bushes caught her sharp hearing. Glancing around, her gray eyes spotted a small group of tall, pale men and women stalking about in blue armor. One obviously held a power over them, wearing clothes of fine material and such.

"Alright men, our spy claimed that the Imperials would be walking past here with their weapons cargo. If we play this right, we will have new weapons and many Imperial scum dead at our hands," the leader spoke, his dirty blonde beard bristling from the shivering winds.

His soldiers cheered on as they stalked through the bushes, causing a nervous feeling to form in the pit of Nolwenn's stomach.

She needed to leave this area as soon as she could, or else her fate would be determined as soon as the Imperials arrived.

Though, her sensitive, pointed mer ears picked up another sound other than the blue armored soldiers. Nolwenn; however, couldn't quite figure out what sound this was.

The young halfling began to creep around the commotion, knowing that she needed to leave now. But as she neared a zone of peace, the sounds of gasps stopped her dead in her tracks.

One of the men in blue armor... shot dead by an arrow.

Blood gushed out from his chest wound as he lay dead on the stone path. And Nolwenn knew that sneaking remained not an option, but a suicide mission.

She ran as fast as her short, Breton legs could take her. However, the poor girl didn't get very far.

An Imperial soldier stopped in front of her, glaring down into her eyes. "And where do you think you're going?"

Before Nolwenn could answer him, a swift blow to the back of the head cascaded the halfling into darkness.