Chapter 3 - A task to complete.
"My love, have you lost all common sense or something, that will never work on the girl." Sigrid's voice was a bit irritated. "But my wife, I just wanted to get the measurements and then adjust it to her fit. It's not like I ever had to forge armor for a girl so tiny before." Sigrid just shakes her head at her husband and lifts her hand in the air, commanding him promptly to halt what he's doing. She walks down the ladder to the basement of the weathered wooden house. It was warm inside from the fire pit, and the smell of vegetable stew filled the air. Alvor sees me admiring the broth, and places a heavy hand on my shoulder. "How in all the devines names did you stay warm dressed like that anyway?, he was making more an observation that asking. He pushes me down onto the chair and grabs a bowl that was infront of me. "We might as well feed you. Don't want that dragon to starve on you no...", Alvor stops half sentense realizing what he was about to say. It probably was nerves but I started to giggle a bit. Alvor frowned at this but eventually a big old smile formed on his dry cracked lips. Lips I'm sure have been battered like that from working infront of the forge all day. He places a healthy bowl of soup infront of me, and a piece of baked bread. I nod in appreciation and start eating the meal. It was very well cooked, and I'm sure it was not cooked by Alvor.
We could hear Sigrid walk up the stairs and towards the table where I was still eating. She was holding something wrapped in her hands bound by what appears to be leather straps. She sat down on the chair next to me and started undoing the binds. She rolled open the cloth and revealed what at first looked like a mix match of different cloth, leather and ringmail. She proceeded to tell me to stand up and turn around with the motions of her free hand. Not wanting to be at the short end of how she greeted me earlier, I got up quickly and turned around. I could feel how she placed a strap of leather across my back and then to the front to meet up over my chest. "O...kay.", she noted to herself. She proceeded to take all the measurements she needed and then finally said: "Well Elizabeth, you will have to find something to do untill I'm done with this. And Alvor, I will need your help too. Maybe she can help Faendal clear out the mine again up the road to Helgen, I heard some Bandits have made themselves at home there again." She noticed the shocked expression in my eyes at the mention of Bandits. "No worry dear, we scare them off every now and then when we hear they have settled in the mine. We need to keep the area safe off course.", she tried to reasure me, but the mere thought of having to deal with villianious highway men sent shivers up my spine. Alvor looked over at me and gave me the biggest smile ever, I think he might have raised his brows twice while doing so too.
It wasn't long and I found myself outside with Faendal. I've been given a new bow from the Bosmer and was frankly glad he did. Compared to my simple shortbow, the bow I now held in my hand was curved in the standard huntsman fashion. Steel clips were on the ends of the bow to hold the string, and it was twice the length of my old bow at home. "Think you'll manage the pull?, Faendal asked, pulling on the string off his own bow to test if it was still good. I clasp the bow in the middle over the wound leather, feeling it's weight first and then the balance. The bow was surprisingly light for it's length. The wood elf nods at me in agreement to my findings and motions for me to pull the string. At first the string is quite tight and I have to pull really hard. But eventually the string slide back and up to my face. Faendal readjust my left hand a bit and tell me to try again. This time I pull the string back without much effort. He smiles at my sudden astonishment and hands me a quiver of Iron arrows. "Let's go scare off some bandits then, hmmmm?", he smiled and started walking to the town entrance.
