Tirdas, 17th of Last Seed, 4E 201

My name is Bronwen Legiano. I’ve never kept a journal before, but after what happened to me today I feel like I need to. I swear I’m not mad. This is exactly what happened and I know it sounds like a fairy tale but it’s all true.

I’ll be honest; I’m from the Imperial City. I admit I was running from the law, but I swear I acted in defense of my friend, Drusilla. The man I was sweet-talking caught her trying to pick his pocket, and immediately put a knife to her throat. He wasn’t the only one with a dagger up his sleeve, but I didn’t kill him. I hurt him, but there was only a little bit of blood on my blade and he was feeling plenty fine enough to follow us for a bit until he was able to get the attention of the Watch.

We laid low at the docks until we could bribe our way onto some boats. Then we split our stash and parted ways. She went south, I went north, and I thought Skyrim would be far enough away that I wouldn’t have to worry about any more Imperial guards, but I was so wrong. Late last night I was captured by the Imperial Army while I tried to cross the border.

There were soldiers everywhere! I’d heard there was some “civil unrest” in Skyrim, but that it wasn’t that serious. “Nothing to worry about,” the heralds said, “Just some upstart peasants.”

Bullshit. There’s a whole damn WAR going on up here and hardly anyone knows about it. They accused me of being a spy for the Stormcloaks and when I couldn’t give them any information – Kind of hard to do that when I literally had no idea what a Stormcloak was at the time – They tossed me on a wagon with a bunch of other prisoners. I was so exhausted from running and being interrogated all night that I fell asleep as soon as the wagon started moving.

When I woke up, another prisoner, Ralof, filled me in. We weren’t far from a place called Helgen. He’s a Stormcloak, a rebel fighting to free Skyrim from the Empire. I don’t know if that’s a smart idea – I don’t like the Emperor any more than the next cutpurse – but I do know that he’s pretty good at keeping the coins flowing.

Bah - That’s a Skyrim problem. I’m just a girl looking to fill my bag with enough Septims to do as I like. It’s got nothing to do with me!

Anyway, Ulfric Stormcloak, apparently the true king of Skyrim (?) was also there, bound as we were, but he was wearing a gag, which was strange. He must be one hell of an orator, if they had to keep him gagged like that! Or maybe he’s got an Imperial back in his bloodline? I know I can calm angry people and animals when need be. Maybe that talent sticks for a few generations?

Who knows? There was another man in the cart, too, named Lokir. He was a horse thief from some place called Rorikstead.

We didn’t have time to talk more; we got to the gates of Helgen, It looked more like a fort than a town to me. There were a few children running around, but not much in the way of houses. Mostly there were some tall towers and a keep.

The place was swarming with soldiers, and lots of prisoners. There was also a chopping block and a hooded man with a huge axe standing next to it. Lokir started to panic and was babbling prayers. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, but I figured my fake sob story of escaping a terrible husband would work on General Tullius, the man running the fort. (Ralof named him earlier)

We got off the wagon, and Lokir’s nerves got the best of him. He tried to bolt, but the soldiers filled him full of arrows before he got very far. Ralof, on the other hand, was as cool as the wind. He hardly seemed bothered!

I thought I was free when the soldier keeping track of us mentioned to his superior that my name wasn’t on the list. I was even starting to feel a bit smug about it until that skeever-faced hag of a captain or lieutenant or whatever she was said to line me up anyway! (I took care of her later.)

They had a priest say prayers for us, but one of the rebels was defiant to the last and stepped forward, saying he hadn’t got all day and to get on with it. He put his head on the block and was mocking the headsman even as the axe came down. I didn’t catch what he said, because I heard a strange roaring sound in the distance. Ralof seemed proud of his comrade, though.

They called me up next, and Ralof apologized that I’d gotten mixed up in this. I set my head on the block and heard the roaring again, along with a rushing sound like wind, but it was closer, and I looked up…

I swear by all the Divines that I’m telling the truth. Everyone else saw it, too.

A DRAGON!

I saw it fly, then circle back to land on the tower, right above where we were all gathered. It roared again, but it didn’t sound like an animal’s roar.

Again, I swear I am not mad. I’m tired from… EVERYTHING but I have all my wits.

The dragon spoke. I couldn’t understand it, but it sure as hell sounded like words to me. And once it was done, the sky went dark and the clouds swirled over it and Ralof was shouting for me to get up and run.

I followed him into a tower. There were some other Stormcloaks hiding in there, too. We ran up the steps, and had to jump onto the roof of the burning house next door. It took me a few tries – I was still tied up and thatch is slippery – but I eventually got it and managed to find my way to Ralof again.

We got into the keep and got me untied. One of his men was there, dead. He told me to take what I could and handed me an axe. I’d never worn armor before or swung an axe, but I’m glad he took a second to show me because then a bunch of soldiers burst in, including that wench from earlier! I’d never killed anyone before – Hell, I’m a city girl, I’ve only had to kill my own food a handful of times – but sinking that axe into her face was more than a little satisfying.

I took all her stuff, including the key we needed, and we set off through the lower levels. We found more soldiers along the way, but also more Stormcloaks! We even raided the stores, and found a torture chamber.

Those bastards. You didn’t have to be a scholar to figure out how those tools were used. Disgusting.

We fought our way out, and even though we got separated from the others by a cave-in, I’m pretty sure they got out just fine. It was mayhem up top, and we took care of all the soldiers inside. I’m no tactical genius, but there were plenty of places for the others to hide out and shoot anyone who came after them. That’s if anyone was fool enough to hang around!

Anyway, I followed Ralof out of the keep, but right before we left we fought a whole nest of these horrible giant spiders called Frostbite Spiders! UGH. I set them on fire, which surprised Ralof. I heard before that Nords don’t trust magic, and that seems to hold true. He nearly walked into the fire several times! At least he’s just as creeped out by them as I am. Didn’t stop me from gathering some venom and spider eggs, though. I’ve always been a bit of an alchemy nut. The others used to tease me for it. Comes in handy, though!

When we got out, he suggested that I join the Stormcloaks.

I told him I’d think about it.

So we made our way here, to Riverwood. We passed three strange standing stones on the way. I could sense magic, OLD magic, and Ralof said that they could change my star sign!

Well, not my actual birthday obviously, but the special skills I get from it. I tried the one with the carving of the Thief – couldn’t hurt – and there were some sparkly lights, but that’s it. I don’t feel any different, but who knows? Maybe it’ll work, or maybe it’s just a pretty light show. Either way, it was interesting. He said the others were around, so I can always change it back to the Lovers if I want.

We also ran into some wolves – It gets dark quick here in Skyrim; early, too – after sunset, but those were easy enough to take care of. I made sure to take as much stuff as I could, too. I’ll need to find a place to sell it all tomorrow.

Ralof pointed out some creepy-looking ruins on the mountain overlooking the town. Bleak Falls Barrow, he said, and it’s where we both saw the dragon flying off towards. We didn’t see it land, but still – Knowing that it’s Out There and that it went That Way is bad enough.

When we got here, we found Ralof’s sister, Gerdur. She called her husband, Hod, over so Ralof could tell them what happened but their son, Frodnar, ran up. He was eager to hear war stories and it’s clear he looks up to his uncle. Gerdur got him to give us some privacy by sending him on a little mission – Watch the road to Helgen to make sure no one comes looking for us.

She’s a shrewd one, I can tell.

Ralof told them how he and his detail were with Ulfric on their way to Darkwater Crossing (no idea where that is) when they were ambushed. He’s convinced the army knew they were coming. It was too perfect. I’m inclined to agree. Everyone knows that the Emperor has spies all over Cyrodiil – Why not here? He then told them about Helgen, and how I came to tag along.

Gerdur’s glad we’re safe, but she’s rightly concerned about the dragon. She gave me a key to her house, and said that I was welcome to stay here as long as I like, and to take what supplies I need. She even gave me this journal and a little writing kit. Ralof scoffed at the idea of a journal, but the boy was excited and made me promise to let him read it sometime in the future.

All Gerdur asked in return was for me to go to Whiterun and ask the Jarl for help protecting the town from the dragon. Riverwood is named for her mill, and while she doesn’t say so, I have the feeling that she’s in change around here.

And there we have it. I woke up late, almost got my head chopped off, almost got set on fire by a dragon, almost got eaten by a dragon, killed a bunch of soldiers, committed treason (probably?), stole a lot of stuff, fought giant spiders, escaped prison, got magicked by rocks, fought wolves, and drank two bottles of wine in a stranger’s house as I write this.

I know - I just admitted to MANY crimes that I ABSOLUTELY committed, but if you’re reading this, I’m probably dead, in prison (again – HA!) or I trust you enough to know that you won’t rat me out.

I’ll write more tomorrow, assuming I don’t get arrested for just existing.