Raldana Star-Gazer: A Personal Journal (II. Allies)

• Posted by Chris J. February 11, 2015 - 484 views

  #long

  II. Allies

  In the midst of the chaos, an Imperial soldier yelled for me to follow him if I wanted to live.  Stumbling through the melee of confusion with hands still tied, I struggled to do as he said.  But in the rubble and smoke, I soon lost sight of him. I ran past one burning building after another, frantically looking for a way out.  Another man, the Stormcloak who'd been with me in the wagon, beckoned me into a nearby two-story stone tower.  We ran up its spiraling steps, higher and higher.  My breath came heavy and I so much wanted to stop for a moment and work my bindings loose.  "Hurry up," the man shouted. 

  About half way up the tower, the stonework next to me suddenly crumbled, and what had been an arrow slit through the outer wall of the structure opened up into the very jaws of hell. The creature, the dragon, for that is what it was as unbelievable as that sounds, forced its maw into our would-be refuge spraying fire and death in our faces. I could smell its sulphurous breath, and if I had wanted to, I could have touched the sharp and gleaming ridges of its ebony hide. 

  Then, as abruptly as it had appeared, the thing was gone, leaving behind a gaping hole that looked down upon a partially destroyed home below.  Someone shouted "jump!" and I did, but my situation seemed no better for it.  I clambered down to the ground floor of the place and out of its rapidly burning framework as quickly as I could manage.  Again, the man in the Stormcloak-blue armor called to me to follow.  We raced across the open spaces to enter another stone building, and here at last we could pause long enough for him to unbind my hands.  What a relief!  But now what?  I had to get out of here.  Was I right to follow this man instead of the other? The association of these Stormcloaks had already nearly gotten me killed.  But he was here and I needed help. 

  The next few minutes were a blur of fights between the Empire's forces and the remaining Stormcloaks struggling to escape this nightmare town.  Ralof, my ad hoc ally, and I made our way through the depths of the garrison and out its subterranean bowels.  I am not a practiced killer, but I did what I must to survive.  As we went, I grabbed what I could of weapons and armor from the fallen.  I cannot say who had slain more this afternoon, the dragon or the warring men.   

  When we emerged into daylight, the land lay uncannily peaceful before us.  A light dusting of snow covered the trail from our cave exit down the hill towards a river.  Birdsong and the fragrance of pine forest made my senses swoon after the acrid smoke in Helgen.  The fire and the hideous roaring were far behind us, or so I hoped, but Ralof urged me on. He said his sister lived in the nearby hamlet of Riverwood and that she would help us.  Again, I followed. I was a stranger in this strange land and all options seemed the same at this point. Just do something. As we ran, we spotted the dark dragon streaking northward from the ruined town, its attack over for now.  But with such a monster around at all, we could not but fear its return.  Still, the attack of this dragon was the only reason I was alive.  What had this collateral rescue saved me for, I wonder?