-

Elle smirked, "I'm sure he is." Okay, maybe this guy wasn't such a prick as she originally thought. Anyone who replied with sarcasm was good in her book.

She pondered his reply to her gratitude a moment before she shrugged, "Well, I guess that makes us even then," she decided.

She paused when Nil gestured to the weird rocks. There was a hole in the top of each one with a stone resting inside. She had been to Skyrim before, of course, but she wasn't as familiar with their traditions as she was with their folklore and legends. She walked up to one of them and it started to glow when she came close. "Fascinating," she said quietly to herself before turning and tilting her head at Ralof.

"What are these?" she asked, picking up the mage stone and turning it over in her palm.

When she did pick up the stone, there was a flash of light and she felt… different. She wasn't sure how or why, but there was definitely something that made her feel almost better in an odd way. She was suddenly very excited to be in Skyrim and to explore what it had to offer; the crypts and barrows, the cities, the mountains, the hot springs, the history. Her whole experience back at Helgen seemed pretty insignificant now, more as a way to jump start her journey rather than end her life.

-

Elle balked slightly in surprise at the rather angry blast of red light, staring at Nil with shock before looking at Ralof, who also looked rather stunned. Judging from his expression, Elle assumed that such a reaction was a bit on the abnormal side. She pursed her lip and stowed the thief stone in her pocket. She thought it wise to bite back her quip that she had considered making at Nilovas's expense.

"Agreed," she said, starting down the road after him, Ralof taking up the lead towards their destination, "How much farther to Riverwood?"

"Not long now. Once we're there, Gerdur will set you up with some supplies and then you best be on your way to Whiterun," Ralof replied.

Elle hesitated a moment before glancing at Nilovas, "Both of us?" she asked, cocking her head slightly to the left.

Ralof shrugged, "That's up to the two of you."

Elle nodded before falling silent again. The gates of Riverwood were growing closer now. She hoped they'd have a moment to rest before she ran off to Whiterun to ask the Jarl for help. She had a feeling Nil wouldn't want to come with her, just by virtue of the fact he had been so opposed to hanging around with them before. Though, she couldn't be sure. Either way, she wanted to make sure no other towns met the same fate that Helgen did. Thinking of the ruined town, she began to wonder about that dragon. Quite a coincidence it had chosen to attack when it did. Had it been any later, she would have been dead; they all would be. Was there a reason it had razed Helgen, or was it just a random choice it had made? Her books had described the dovah as intelligent creatures with knowledge superior to humans and other such races.

-

Elle ended up falling behind a bit, studying her surrounding curiously. The place definitely wasn't much, a simple settlement along the road, but it seemed peaceful and pleasant enough. Nil gave it a rather displeased look, clearly wanting to be elsewhere, but for once she kept her sarcastic comments to herself. She stopped when she heard someone say dragon, looking for the source of the voice.

The speaker proved to be an old woman pointing at the sky and insisting stubbornly that she had seen a dragon. A man, whom Elle assumed was her grandson or something, was trying to convince her she had just been seeing things. Well, she hoped he would never find out that it was actually a blood thirsty beast that had just set an entire city ablaze. She dearly hoped the Jarl of Whiterun would be willing to send aid to Riverwood. Though, she wasn't sure what good it would do if even a band of Imperials couldn't handle the beast alone.

She realized that Nil and Ralof were beginning to leave her behind, so she quickly jogged after them, their strides much longer than her own she she had to move faster in order to keep up as they approached what she could see to be a mill. There was a man working with the wood and saw, and a woman with blonde hair was standing nearby. She turned when Ralof called her 'Gerdur', so Elle guessed that she was the sister he had spoken of.

Once they had stopped, Elle looked around for a place nearby to sit and chose a tall tree stump, sitting slightly hunched forward with her legs crossed. Now that all the adrenaline of running from a once legendary creature had worn off, she could finally feel that fatigue of the encounter weighing on her limbs. She decided not to say a word unless they addressed her directly.

Now that she really had a moment to study her companions, she started a quick breakdown of them with soft grey blue eyes.

Ralof seemed normal enough. A loyal soldier and nord who had joined his brothers under the banner of the Stormcloaks to fight for their rights, or at least, she was pretty sure that's what they were fighting for. His blue eyes were kind and he had laugh lines on his face, suggesting that he was very amicable when not in life threatening conditions.

But Nilovas, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Eilonwy had seen her fair share of Dunmer, but he was definitely out of the ordinary. The horns and other qualities (including his friend Jym) would fit him under the category of Daedra, but she wasn't sure how he fit. She had read many books about the Daedric princes and their shrines throughout Skyrim, but she had never really had any encounters with them.

-

Elle had been awake for a while now, staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully. She had expected to get a good night's rest after the day she had, but her sleep was fitful and riddled with a strange dream that repeated itself, though it was slightly different every time.

That same dragon, the large black one with the ruby red eyes, was viciously attacking someone with no face, and somehow, this person seemed to be holding their own, managing to keep the wyvern at bay. The setting in which the battle took place was unfamiliar and almost surreal looking in a sense, though it was offset by the intense storm of thunder and lightening raging in the dark sky overhead. Again and again the beast attacked and each time the shrouded individual countered until they were both too tired to continue. Then they turned to look at her and both shouted loudly and the dreamscape shifted.

She was standing on top of a mountain, so high up that the clouds partially obscured the land below. Snow blanketed everything and the sky above was swirled and very stormy. There were dragons everywhere, all wheeling and diving and calling to one another high above her head. Watching them, there was something in her heart, her soul even, that wanted nothing more than to be able to join them, that felt horribly trapped and dissatisfied on the ground. Then there came that black dragon again, scattering the smaller wyverns and speaking in what she could only guess was dragon tongue. Then they all looked at her once more and shouted, and then she woke up.

This had repeated so many times, Elle had lost count. Whether it had a meaning or not, she was much too tired to dwell on it and there were more important things that needed tending to. She gave up on thinking about it, blinking when a ray of sunshine streaked through the window and landed on her face. Morning at last, she thought, getting up and pulling on the armor she had acquired the day before. She missed her pretty set of light leather armor with the matching hood, but she could easily have something similar made later on when she put some money back in her pocket.

After grabbing the other little odds and ends she had picked up during the escape from Helgen, and putting her messy auburn hair in a braid, she exited the little room and walked into the main hall. A few other bleary eyed individuals drifting from their respective quarters. However, Nilovas was nowhere to be seen. She was going to assume he wasn't still asleep, so where had he gone?

Honestly, the dunmer puzzled her. One minute he was blabbering on about his disdain for the whole situation and acting like he owned the place, and the next he was volunteering to accompany her to Whiterun. He must have a reason other than he had nothing better to do. Did she have something he wanted? No, that couldn't be it, he knew she only had what he saw. Maybe he simply had business in Whiterun or something he needed along the way. Whatever the reason, she decided it wasn't her business, for now. No doubt her curiosity would get the better of her and she would ask later.

She walked up to the counter, the Innkeeper standing behind it polishing a mug. He looked up with a slight smile and a nod of greeting, "Can I help you?"

"I was just wondering if you saw a dunmer walk out of here earlier," she said, about to launch into an explanation when Org replied, "Ah, that horned fellow? Yes, he left a few minutes ago without so much as a word," he explained, nodding toward the door.

Elle pursed her lip but smiled and nodded, "Thank you, the stay was lovely," she turned to go with a small wave.

"You're welcome back any time," he replied, as she exited the Inn.

Elle stepped out into the morning sun, the air crisp and rich with the smell of pine and dew. The river could be heard tripping cheerfully over the rocks as it made its way into the hills beyond and the native birds twittered a herald to the arrival of the day. Overall, a perfect day for traveling.

Riverwood was slowly waking up, its inhabitants emerging from the cozy homes and daily life beginning its cycle once more. But there was still no sign of Nil. Elle furrowed her brow. Did he decide to tai off after all, or was he still somewhere in town? Honestly there wasn't really anywhere else to go here except for the general goods. She was about to decide on her next move when her unlikely companion appeared and started straight for her. Her face lit up with a smile as she met him half way.

"Good morning," she greeted, "Early start, I see. Ready to head out?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

-

Elle raised an eyebrow as he explained, slightly surprised to say the least. She wasn't really sure how she felt about it, but the extra coin did sound good. Man, this guy could get a lot done before breakfast, that's for sure. It was odd, but also pretty impressive, in all honesty.

"Well, I suppose a small detour couldn't hurt," she consented with a shrug, "Do you know where this claw is? Not too far from here, I hope." The closer they could stay to their path, the better. Whiterun needed to be warned of the impending danger that prowled the skies.

Speaking of dragons, she found it odd that it was a golden 'dragon' claw that these people had lost. Coincidence? Maybe. But she was starting to see a pattern emerge, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. Why were these dragons popping up all over the place suddenly? First the attack yesterday, then her dream, now this? Something was going on and it was starting to feel pretty fishy.

Regardless, she would have to think about all that later when she had access to records concerning the dragons. She wanted to do some research and further explore the problem and maybe find some answers. Surely the court wizard in Whiterun would have something she could look at.

-

"Well, wouldn't that be something," Elle muttered when he mentioned the dragon, but more to herself than her dunmer companion. He didn't pause to comment anyhow as he continued to explain the situation. It sounded easy enough. Besides, visiting the ancient structures within Skyrim's mountains was high on her list.

She nodded and trailed after him, having to walk a bit quicker to match his pace, his stride being much longer than hers. "And who is our guide?" She asked, looking up at him as they walked toward the opposite end of town nearer the bridge where she could see a woman, most likely the guide that Nilovas had been referring to.

-

What? He didn't even know this person's name and yet he had agreed to do a job for them? Elle didn't respond to his blunt reply, withholding an exasperated sigh and rolling her eyes. Oh well, they needed money and this seemed like a way to get quite a bit in a short amount of time. She just hoped that they could make it to Whiterun and get help for Riverwood before it was too late. If they were lucky, that dragon didn't have the intention to burn down every town in Skyrim.

As they drew closer to their guide, Elle offered her a polite nod and was going to introduce herself, but instead received a rude, albeit brief, glare, which she quickly returned, before the girl started to flash flirty smiles at Nilovas. He didn't seem to be catching on, or if he did, he didn't care. An annoyed look crossed Elle's face as the girl continued to try and get a conversation started while completely ignoring Eilonwy's existence.

She caught Nil's questioning look and made a gagging motion when the girl wasn't looking, grinning roguishly. The expression on Nil's face was pretty amusing, like he had just eaten something nasty. She quickly resumed a blank countenance and looked up at the Barrow perched on the mountainside as the woman looked back at them. It was pretty clear to Elle what kind of person she was. Divines knew she had met plenty of girls just like her in all of her travels.

"Just ignore her," Elle leaned closer to Nil and whispered as Camilla jabbered on about how her brother had obtained the dragon claw and a other things Elle payed no attention to.

They came to a bridge and Camilla halted, turning around to face them, or rather, Nilovas.

"This is the bridge out of town. The path up the mountain to the northwest leads to Bleak Falls Barrow," she explained, her attention directed at the dunmer, "I guess I should get back to my brother. He'll throw a fit if I take too long. Such a child…"

"Well that's nice," Elle interrupted with a fake smile, "We'll have the claw back to you shortly, thank you for your help."

Camilla shot a disapproving look at Elle before starting back toward town while saying, still to Nil, "Good luck. Lucan and I will be waiting for you back at the shop."

Elle sighed as soon as the girl was out of earshot and shook her head before starting to head across the bridge. The first thought that crossed her mind was that she hoped there weren't any spiders in there. She had more than enough spiders for one day, that was for sure.

"I honestly think I prefer bandits over people like that," she stated as she started towards the northwest path Camilla had spoken of.

It looked like there were in for a bit of a trek, the road winding and becoming lost ahead of them. Hopefully they didn't run into any trouble on the way so that this whole process could be faster. She still wanted some answers concerning the whole Helgen fiasco and Whiterun seemed as good a place as any. Surely the court wizard would have some books on dragons.

-

As they walked up the hill, Elionwy left off thinking about her next move and took a moment to really look around and what Skyrim had to offer. It was beautiful, really, in almost a cold and harsh way. She loved the smell of the pine trees and the pleasantly cool breeze. It was a welcome change from the beating sun of the south.

When the wolf bounded into view, she drew her sword and was about to bash its head in when Nil just kind of stretched his palm toward it and roasted it alive. She pursed lip and looked at it for a second before shrugging and sheathing her blade.

"Well, if we have to take this gold thing from bandits, I'm sure you'll get your wish," she pointed out, stepping over the sizzling corpse and continuing on the dirt path.

It wasn't long before the grass gave way to snow and the air became more chilly, snowflakes dancing through it. She started to get excited as the snow got deeper, not having seen too much of it, and soon it was ankle deep, much to her delight. She refrained from picking up handfuls of it and playing around like a child to save face in front of her more serious companion, but she made a note to find more snow when she was traveling alone again.

Soon a watch tower appeared in the distance, blurred by the flurries that fell to the ground. She hesitated a moment, looking to their right at the path that continued up before at the lonely stone structure. That didn't seem where they need to be going, so the path seemed like a better option.

She was about to hang a right when movement close to the building caught her eye. It looked like two people were walking out, and judging front he shouts, they weren't happy to have visitors. Elle glanced at Nil before pulling out her weapon and running to meet the pair of bandits that charged forward, weapons raised. Hopefully she could redeem herself for her rather miserable conduct yesterday. Now that she wasn't all flustered from the dragon attack and being kidnapped, she could put up a decent fight. Maybe.

-

After smoothly dodging the bandit's first strike, darting to the left, she kicked at the nord's knee while slicing at him with the sword. He narrowly managed to block the strike, his balance having been upset. Knowing she wouldn't win a battle of strength, Elle thrust her opponent away from her as hard as she could while stretching her palm forward and blasting his face with fire. He let out a garbled cry of agony, raising an arm to shield his face and swinging wildly with his sword at Elle.

He narrowly missed striking her in the side of the head. Had she been any taller, then she would be bleeding out in the snow. As he waved his weapon blindly, she took the opportunity to stab him in the gut, letting the corpse fall to the ice cold ground.

Satisfied, she looked up to see how Nil was faring and frowned when she saw his big old fancy sword. Where did he learn to conjure all this stuff? she wondered, slightly jealous, but she would have to mull over how much she wanted to make a weapon out of nothing later. He had already killed the orc that had been attacking him and was in the process of frying the archer perched on top of the tower. Clearly he was way better at killing stuff than she was. Oh well, at least she could get the job done.

With a shrug, she sheathed her weapon and did a quick search of the bandit, taking any food or gold he had on him. His sword was in better condition than hers, so she went ahead and snagged that too before jogging through the snow to catch up with her tall companion.

The powdery stuff seemed to get deeper as she continued forward, and she practically had to wade through it since it came up almost to her knees. It may have been fun at first, but now it was becoming a nuisance. She muttered a few curses under her breath as she hopped through the drifts like a wolf pup trying to reach the tower. Once inside, she leaned against the door frame and shook the snow out of her boots before looking around the place.

It was in very crummy condition, that much was clear. It had probably fallen to ruin when the barrow beyond had been abandoned, now only used as a bandits' hideout. However, there should be stuff hidden around here, knowing the now previous owners. To her right, there was a table with a bunch of junk on it, but what really caught her eye was a bag tied with a string. She walked over to the table and weighed the pouch in her palm, slipping into into her pocket when she heard the sound of jingling coins.

Since Nil seemed to be in charge of this little expedition, she was going to follow his lead for now, but they had to hurry if they were going to get assistance to Riverwood in time. But she wasn't going to say anything about it because he sure looked peeved. No, wrong 'p' word, more like pissed off. She had seen him take the hit from the arrow, but it hadn't caused serious injury so he was probably more mad than hurt. She thought it best not to push him, but she couldn't help but be annoyed with his attitude. He was alive and about to get paid, right? No need to be so moody.

She sighed and rolled her eyes slightly before trailing after him, keeping an eye out for anything else she could possibly snag and keep on her person. Something told her that the barrow wasn't going to be fully of puppies and kittens, and they were going to need everything of use that they could carry.

-

While Nil went to switch his armor and take care of his wound, Elle marched up to the second floor, still ready to take on trouble should trouble present itself. Thankfully, none did, so she busied herself with digging around the various barrels and drawers scattered around the room. Finding nothing of real value, she proceeded to the third floor, which was connected to the second by a ramp. It was rather steep and slick with ice, so she practically had to crawl up it to prevent herself from sliding off it and falling off the face of the mountain. The third floor turned out to be more of a little lookout post, a single chest nestled at the back.

She brightened up slightly at the sight of it, striding over and trying to undo the latch. Finding it locked, she dug around in her pouch until she found a lock pick, carefully inserting the contraptions into the keyhole and jimmying them around skillfully. It wasn't a difficult lock to pick, so getting it open was fairly simple. When she heard the flick of the lock, she flipped the latch up and lifted the lid, rummaging inside the wooden box. There wasn't much in the way of armor, aside from a pair of better bracers, but there were some hefty health, stamina, and other potions that would definitely be useful.

Satisfied with her finds, she stowed them away and shut the chest just as she heard Nil call from below. She carefully slid down the ramp and walked back into the room as she pulled on the new bracers. "A few things," she replied, "I found some potions if you want a few," she offered, stopping a few paces away from him and crossing her arms, head tilted to the side questioningly.

She figured he probably would say no, but she wanted to offer anyway. They were friendly enough, but since he was so opposed to much conversation, it was difficult to form any kind of friendship at all. She wasn't going to push it because he was so indifferent, but she figured after what they had been through in the last 24 hours or so, asking for a friend wasn't outrageous of her. He may be a little snobby, but he was also even a bit naive about some things, which quite amusing at times. Plus, he didn't seem to have the means to get back to wherever he came from as of yet, so someone had to keep him from stomping all over Skyrim and making a fool of himself.

Still, she didn't doubt that he was quite powerful, and she sure was glad he was on her side. After seeing him in action, there was no way she wanted to be on his bad side. Anyone who could conjure dremora was automatically someone Elle didn't want to tangle with.