Middas, 2nd of Frostfall 4E 201
I hiked to what I was sure was a mirage. As I got closer, I noticed people around a campfire. I decided that sneaking was my best chance for survival, for they haven't noticed me yet. The wind brought the smell of ale and cooked venison. My stomach was far beyond empty and I hadn't had a drink since a few hours prior to the shipwreck. I noticed that they were all Imperial Soldiers and that I was outnumbered six to one. So I looked around for a vantage point so that I could keep an eye on them.
A short way from me was another, seemingly smaller, campfire. Still seeking shelter, I quietly crept away to investigate the other camp, hoping that there were fewer men there. Again, quietly approaching, I counted the number of men. FINALLY! A break! There was only two hunters! I pulled out my bow, knocked an arrow, held my breath to steady the shakes from the cold, and released the arrow. I watched the arrow as it hit my target. I repeated the same steps once more for my second target. I waited a moment to see if any others came rushing out of the darkness. Nothing. I sighed out of relief and approached the fire with caution, constantly looking around for others. I looted their pathetic corpses, but found very little of use to me. A few pieces of gold, assorted furs, and some ale.
The hunters had been cooking, so I took advantage of their demise and devoured as much of the stew as I could stomach. While I was warming myself on the stump by the fire, I started drinking on the ale that they had so kindly left for me. (LOL smiley face.) I noticed that I had a PERFECT viewpoint of the Imperial's camp. That made my next move very clear... I wanted answers. I climbed in the bedroll that was already made for me inside of one of the leather tents. As I was closing my eyes, I realized that tomorrow was sure to be a challenge. I quickly drifted off to slumber and dreamed of wiping out the rest of the despicable Thalmor.
I woke up, chilled to the bone due to my fire going out sometime in the night. I could only assume that it was early morning, so I decided to see what the Imperials were doing. I went to the viewpoint I had found the night before. The Imperials were no longer there! Damn! Had they discovered me and decided to move? Did they have something on their agenda? Knowing that I had to track them, I decided to hunt now so that I had food for later, while I still had the energy. I killed a wolf that was stalking a deer, then I killed the deer as well. I took the pelts and the meat and put them in my pack. After I pillaged the animal remains, I noticed a trail going through the trees ahead. "Could this be the way the Imperials went?" I asked myself. I reluctantly looked at the camp, took a deep breath, and began my trek down the trail.
The trail led to a road. At least I wouldn't have to fight off a lot of wild animals. I need to reserve my strength and energy for the bigger prey... Imperial prey... As I was walking down the road, I watched a wolf attacking a horse-driven cart carrying Imperial soldiers. I let the wolf kill the horse, as this would hinder their escape. After the wolf killed the horse, he turned his attention toward the soldiers. I knocked an arrow and let it fly, aiming for the Imperial Captain. I watched my arrow pierce the Captain in the back of the throat, as he had his back to me while he was fighting the wolf. I then let two more arrows fly, one for the wolf and one for the soldier that was charging at me. Both arrows hit their mark. Both marks lay dead on the cold, icy, road.
After I searched their bodies, and took what I could use, I continued my hike down the icy road. "Was that a scouting party watching me?", I thought to myself. I wanted answers. I knew that there were more than two soldiers the night before, so I needed to find the rest of their party. A few miles down the road, I ran into four more Imperials. I was going to question them, but as soon as they noticed me, they put up their shields and started to approach me with their weapons drawn. Without further ado, I quickly let four more arrows soar through the frigid air. Unfortunately, one soldier blocked my arrow while the other three killed his buddies. I pulled out my steel broadsword and deflected the soldier's first attempt at my head. I swung my sword, but he blocked it with his shield. The soldier attempted his attack again, but he swung too hard and spun all the way around from the ice under his feet. Now, me being me, I took advantage of his misfortune and slid my sword right into his back. I withdrew my now bloody blade, and he fell to his knees. I walked around to the front of him and ended him quickly with a fatal swipe of my steel. Damn! I just wanted to talk! I just wanted ANSWERS!!! Aggh!
After the battle was over and after I looted them, I decided that it would be smarter to travel OFF the main road from here on to avoid any more Imperials. I traveled for quite a long time through the woods, searching for a place to get warm and cook my meal. It's already been a long day full of exhausting combat with almost less-than-worthy opponents. I finally stumbled upon a mining camp. I looked for the miners, but didn't find anyone. I wanted to know where I was and how far away from Windhelm I was. I searched everywhere EXCEPT the mine. You couldn't pay me enough to go in one of those with my energy dwindling, my stomach empty, and my bones frozen. I stood by the fire to warm myself for a brief moment. I started cooking my food and I noticed that they had an area that I could use to craft myself more arrows. After I ate, I used the animal bones from my meal and some rocks that I found on the ground and made about ten arrows. I'm still waiting for the miners to come back. The day faded into night with no signs of the miners returning. I decided to just camp here for the night, since the accommodations were already available. As I faded to sleep, I had a question that was bothering me. What happened to the miners? .......
