Chapter 4

The sign over the door read ‘Riverwood Traders’. Simple and unimaginative, like the rest of the town seemed to be. Time to see what the locals know about Bleak Falls Barrow. I opened the door and walked in, right into the middle of an argument.

A blonde Imperial woman wearing simple robes was standing in front of the counter, talking loudly to the man behind it. “Well, one of us HAS to do something!” she said.

The man behind the counter shouted, “I said NO! No theatrics, no adventures, no thief chasing!”

“Well, what are you going to then, huh? Let’s hear it!” She crossed her arms in disgust.

“We are done talking about this!” He shouted back, also crossing his arms. He looked my way. “Oh, uh, a customer.” He lowered the tone of his voice. “Sorry you had to hear that.”

The woman walked passed me, towards the stairs in the corner. “Maybe you can talk some sense into my pig-headed brother.”

I approached the counter and the shopkeeper said, “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but the Riverwood Trader is open for business. Lucan Valerius at your service.”

“I need a few supplies, and some information. But from the discussion I heard when I walked in, I’m guessing something happened here.”

Lucan looked embarrassed. “Erm, yes, well, we did have a bit of a break-in. But we still have plenty to sell. Robbers were only after one thing. An ornament, solid gold. In the shape of a dragon’s claw.”

“A dragon’s claw, eh? And now there are dragons attacking towns nearby. Your theft may be connected to that. I could help retrieve that for you.”

“You could? I’ve some coin coming in from my last shipment. Get me the claw back, and it’s yours.” He sounded almost pathetically grateful. “Now, if you’re going to get those thieves, you should head to Bleak Falls Barrow, northwest of town. So now, Camilla, you don’t have to go, do you?”

“Oh, really? Well, I think your new helper here needs a guide.”

“By the Eight, fine. But only to the edge of town!”

I followed Camilla out the door. “We have to go through town, and cross the bridge to get to Bleak Falls Barrow. You can see it from here, though, the mountain just over the buildings.” I enjoyed the view as she led me towards the bridge.

I looked west, actually looking up and over the roof of Alvor’s smithy, to see the barrow, gleaming with snow and ice. Camilla said, “Those thieves must be mad hiding out there, those crypts are filled with traps, trolls, and who knows what else! I wonder why they only stole the golden claw, I mean, we have plenty of other things worth just as much coin. Lucan found the claw about a year after we opened the store.”

“I truly appreciate your assistance in this, Camilla. Finding such a lovely woman in a town like this is a treasure itself.”

She blushed. “Thank you. But don’t get any ideas, the men here like my attention, and I like theirs as well. Could you talk to Sven, and maybe Faendal as well?” She giggled after saying their names, and gave me a coy look. She continued leading me through town. We approached the bridge. “The road off to the northwest leads to the Barrow. It’s a winding road, so be careful and watch for traps. I ... better be getting back to the store, Lucan will throw a fit otherwise.”

It had been too long for me to do otherwise. “Pretty Camilla, I would prefer not to die on this dangerous mission for your brother without feeling your touch.”

“Oh, really?” She giggled. “What kind of woman would do such a thing?” She glanced around and saw that we were alone. “All right, fine.”

The lovely young woman shrugged out of her robes. I felt my inner self moisten at the sight of her nubile body, so unlike the warrior Mazken and Aureals I had taken for lovers in the Isles. Hers was soft, without the wiry muscles from constant combat. And of course, Camilla was human, which the others were not.

My armor slipped off easily, and we came together, lips pressing in a passionate kiss. I could feel her hand slipping between my legs, feeling my moisture. She lowered herself, kissing my breasts and continued down, sliding her tongue between my slit. I could feel my legs weaken, and I quickly lay down. Camilla followed me down, continuing to lick and suck on me, pleasuring me as only another woman can. I could feel her fingers slipping inside me, curling up to touch my special spot, and I knew I wasn’t going to last long.

I could feel my orgasm building in me, and then it crested. Camilla looked up at me from between my legs, her chin wet with my juices. “That was fun. Not quite like with Sven or Faendal, but neither of them have the courage to do what you’re doing, either. And you taste better than either of them.” She pulled her robe back on. “Good luck. Lucan and I will be waiting for you at the shop.”

As I quickly redressed, I watched her walk back to town. She had a sway in her hips that had been missing before. I suspected that Lucan may have to wait a little longer for his sister to return.

In any event, whatever it was that I needed to get for Jarl Balgruuf was in the same ruins as the golden claw. Which meant that I needed to get going. I crossed the bridge, and instead of turning right like I was heading back to Whiterun, I turned left. This must be the path Camilla referred to earlier.

The path up the hill was steep, with several twists and turns to it, but the actual pathway itself was easy to see. And more importantly, I could see many recent boot marks leading up it. I heard a noise from above, and readied my bow. A wolf suddenly sprang at me, knocking me backwards. My hand slipped off the bowstring, and it was only through sheer luck that my arrow hit him.

I continued on, climbing higher and higher. I passed a couple of stone cairns, obviously meant as guides during inclement weather. The true nature of Skyrim became more apparent to me the further I climbed, as the greenery gave way to ground covered in a light layer of snow. I knew I should feel the cold, but there was some enchantment on my armor that kept me warm. Bless you, Haskill!

It began to grow dark again and a light snow started falling. In the distance I could see a tower rising from the side of the mountain. This wasn’t the actual barrow itself, but must have been put there as a guard post of some kind. It would be a stupid group of thieves if they didn’t have guards posted here, so I knew I was going to have to be careful.

Several trees and boulders provided me with concealment as I approached. I could see a light from inside the tower, outlining the doorway. There was a guard standing there, peering into the snowstorm. I took aim, and let fly. The distance was right, but he moved at the last second, and my arrow went past his ear. I heard a shout, and three of them came charging out into the storm. Fortunately, the light inside had ruined their night vision, and I was able to quickly slay two of them with well placed arrows. The third was an archer who had hung back a bit, and he saw me.

I felt the blow as one of his arrows hit me, but fortunately for me the point failed to penetrate. He stood in disbelief because he knew he’d fired well, and that standing proved fatal for him as my return present to him took him in the throat. The snow around his body turned red as he bled out. I didn’t let that stop me from taking the few coins he and his friends were carrying. They didn’t have much other useful loot other than increasing my stock of lockpicks.

I did a quick search of the tower and found only a few coins in a chest. They didn’t actually have this set up for anything long term, there were no sleeping furs or food supplies. I suspect these three were part of a rotating guard watch, which meant they may have reinforcements or replacements coming soon. I knew I had to hurry up the mountain, before they were missed.

The snow started coming down harder now. Regardless of whatever enchantment Haskill provided for me, I could still feel the cold winds biting into the exposed skin on my face. The flakes of snow and ice pellets stung as they hit me. The footing was becoming slick, and I nearly lost my balance twice on hidden patches of ice. But I could still make out, barely, the pathway, still leading further upwards.

I stumbled into a stone rising from the ground, and leaned against it a moment. This is harsher weather than I’ve ever experienced, and certainly far away from the sunny beaches in the Isles. I realize that a plane belonging to a Daedric Lady is far different from Mundus, but still, this was ridiculous. And this is the land my ancestors supposedly came from? I could see why they’d leave it.

I realized that the cold was starting to seep in and rob me of coherent thought. I shook my head to clear it and pressed on. As I passed the stone, I saw steps rising from the pathway ahead of me. I’d found Bleak Falls Barrow!

As I started up the steps, my first inkling that there are more guards was when I felt an arrow hit my arm. Damn! I saw the archer, an elven woman, and she was drawing back again. Her iron arrow sped towards me, and I felt the hit on my head as it bounced off my helm. My arrow back didn’t just bruise her as hers did to me, and she fell. Two more guards came towards me, one swinging a large axe and the other with a bow. The axe man got a good bash on me, and I felt a rib crack. I was able to hit him with another arrow, and I knew from that I wasn’t going to be much good with the bow until I could heal myself. I grabbed my sword and ran towards the remaining archer. He shot, but missed. I closed too quickly for him to get another shot, and he started to draw his own sword. I uttered a grunt of pain as I felt my rib strain when I cut him down.

I sheathed my sword, drew upon my arcane training, and cast a healing spell. I could feel the pain leaving my body as my ribs healed and the bruise on my head began to go away. But I also could feel my magic reserves draining quickly, way too quickly. So one MORE thing I’m going to have to build back up. This is getting annoying quickly.

Fortunately, there were no more guards outside. The weather may have be too cold even for these tough Nords! Another flight of stone stairs, and now I was at the door of this Barrow. I opened the door and move in as quietly as possible.

In front of me were several corpses of skeevers. These must have been living here, because these large dog sized rats tend to inhabit ancient ruins like this one. And it looked like they gave as good as they got, because there a dead bandit was laying in the midst of them. So much for burial traditions in this tomb. This entry room was huge, with a fire visible in the distance.

As stealthily as possible, I moved across the room. The bandits were arguing about something, and I heard the word ‘claw’ mentioned. It seemed I’m in the right spot. I saw more dead skeevers, and another bandit, sprawled across an altar, almost like a sacrifice. I decided I probably shouldn’t get much closer, and from the shadows I sent arrows winging towards the arguing bandits. That put an end to THAT argument.

This must be their inside camp, they have a cooking fire, bedrolls, and a chest for loot here. I warmed myself by the fire for a bit. I’m tired, but not so tired that I dare sleep in a cavern potentially full of enemies. I used their fire to warm a bottle of wine, that one a trick I learned ages ago, to help me regain my energy.

Passed the camp, I saw a tunnel leading down into the mountain. That must be the way to go. I started descending and saw some burial urns on altars. The whole place smelled musty, and if it was possible to smell age, then it smelled old as well. The tunnels hadn’t remained sealed, and there were tree roots and brush down here. I could see some gravel falling from the ceiling in a spot, and I avoided walking that way in case the whole roof was ready to come down.

I continued on, and found the corpse of another skeever. The bandits had come this way, it seemed. They’d also taken the time to put oil in the fire sands and those were lit, giving off faint but in the darkness of this tomb, adequate light for me to see. I followed the path and as it dipped down, I saw a bandit off in the distance. The angle of the roof made it too difficult to shoot him, so I was going to have to get closer. As I did so, I saw him walk forward and pull a lever. I heard something, and then suddenly he fell over. What was it Camilla had said, something about traps?

This was a larger room now, with a ceiling supported by wooden beams. In the glow of the light, I saw the dead bandit, a lever rising from the floor that he must’ve thrown. and beyond, a gate barring the passage. But I also saw something further up on the walls. Engravings on stone, a snake and a whale. And what’s this, on the ground by the bandit? Another engraving of a snake. That’s ... odd. But if this is a trap, I wondered if those symbols were the key?

As I entered the room further, off to my left, reflected in the torchlight, were three more symbols, a bird, a whale, and another bird. I went to look at these closer. They were on movable pillars, with each pillar having three sides. One side was a bird, one a whale, the third a snake. All three pillars had the same markings. I mulled it over, then decided to see what happens when I turned them to match the symbols up on the wall. Grasping the first pillar, I quickly spun it to a snake. I turned the second also to a snake, then the last I turned to a whale. After that it was time to pull that lever. I crouched behind my shield to guard against whatever killed the bandit, and moved the lever.

Congratulations, Martina, you remembered some of the training your mother gave you. The gate rose into the ceiling, and the way to proceed was ahead of me.

Beyond the gate was a small chamber, with another altar in it. These Nords must have had some interesting burial rituals, if they needed all these altars. It made me wonder what else they did with bodies. Off to my left I saw a set of stairs going down, in a spiral staircase. Why would they put the entrance on the top of the mountain, and then have you descend into the depths? Another mystery to figure out later. There was not enough room on the stairs in case I ran into trouble for big weapons, so I readied my dagger.

The old steps creaked under my weight, so there wasn’t much chance of surprising anything at the bottom. Three skeevers were already charging up the stairs towards me. My dagger worked well on them, and I only had minor bruises as a result of encountering them. Thank the Divines they’re dumb animals, with some intelligence they’d be deadly in a pack like that.

At the bottom of the stairs, the doorway opened into what must have been a body preparation room. Old linens and embalming tools were on shelves around the sides of the room, and the smell of old blood was strong here. As I proceeded through the room, I heard someone calling from ahead, asking for help. The hall I was creeping down had more than the usual amount of cobwebs in it, which was usually an indication that giant spiders live here. My guess was that the fool calling for help was a bandit, stuck in a web and soon to be a meal. A filthy way to die, but probably appropriate for such a leech on civilization.

As I got closer, I could see giant spider eggs lining the walls of the room he was calling from, so I readied myself for battle with more than just my dagger. I entered the room and saw a giant spider coming down from the ceiling. The man trapped in the webs started screaming and struggling, and I think his actions confused the spider, because it couldn’t tell where I was in the room. That worked for me, allowing me to quickly kill the spider with arrows.

“Over here! Cut me out of here, don’t leave me here, for Arkay’s sake!”