4 Chapter IV: Whiterun hold *Edited*

They arrived at Riverwood late in the afternoon, the village looked like it held about 200 residents and was far more spread out than one would expect of the time period, there were even some farms across the river as well as a palisade surrounding the entire place.

'Guess they aren't idiots at least' Reyvin mused as they approached the gate.

The guards at the gate wore the Whiterun emblem on their scaled armor and seemed sufficiently alert for their position.

"Ho there travelers, what brings you to Riverwood" greets one of the guards.

"Just passing through and heading to Whiterun sera, we are looking to stay the night and will not cause any trouble" Reyvin answers while giving a pointed look at his companion who huffs and looks to the side. The entire walk on the way here she kept pestering him about every little thing so much so that even with his century of experience he almost threw a tantrum.

The guardsman nods along, looking him over just in case but finding no reason to be suspicious "Should be no problem, you aren't merchants so there is no toll just keep your nose clear and we'll be good"

"Of course" he nods and heads inside. The inner village looks surprisingly clean and children are running around the place causing all manner of havoc.

'Shame what the war will do to this entire place, I may be able to kill the shit out of Ulfric before he starts his whole reee quest but he would just be replaced by someone who doesn't even pretend to have principles, and I am under no illusion I can stop a bunch of belligerent Nords from smashing skulls' The urging of his new witch companion draws his attention back to the present.

They continue inside and find a general store. Reyvin manages to sell off his loot for some 50 septims and buys a well-made shirt of padded armor for his chest, being stabbed is rather cringe so he preferred avoiding such a fate.

His companion bought a simple but still quality dark grey robe so she doesn't stand out too much, the price of which irritates him to no end but at that point, he had listened to her pestering the entire way to the village and had no more patience so he relented and let her waste the money.

He also easily noticed a golden claw in the corner of the shop but decided not to open that can of worms right now, while he might be able to slowly and methodically clear the nearby barrow it is far too risky and he cannot be sure it is just as dangerous as in the game and not far more, there could be a damn dragon priest inside and he isn't Nerevar who can just CHIM his way out of death.

After they were done with their impromptu shopping trip they entered the Sleeping Giant inn, immediately being placed under the suspicious glances and outright glares of the patrons while the owner had her own calculative look on her face.

'Of course, Delphine would have at least an idea about me, my father was a fucking terminator at the battle of the red ring' Reyvin grouses internally, he did not want to get involved with her while so weak.

He ignored her gaze and sat down across from his companion.

"So how are you liking civilization so far, not missing your bone-covered cave dweller friends?"

She huffs "Why would I miss those fools, and besides these ones aren't any better"

Reyvin shrugs her response off as the childish complaining that it was "Well at least they don't sleep in caves covered with barely functioning clothing and more importantly don't serve a bunch of cannibalistic witches"

Morrigan huffs once more but then relents "Yes, the lack of caves is indeed a good change"

They are interrupted by the bartender or whatever you would call one in this time period, Ognar if he remembers correctly, they order their food, a good stew and something to drink while also reserving a two bed room. They continue discussing the difference between the Nords and Forsworn for some time until they are unceremoniously joined by a somewhat lanky orc.

"Evenin' you two, can I have a seat?" He asks with a youthful yet gruff voice.

"Sure" The elf answers before his companion can give her expectedly scathing answer.

"Thanks" He takes a seat next to him and asks "You two heading out to Whiterun I hear."

"It appears that word spreads fast, yes we are headed to Whiterun and beyond." Reyvin answers easily "What's it to you?"

"Well I am also going that way and thought you might use some company, I may not look it but I am a beast with a spear, oh and name's Durrak by the way, Durrak Gro-Barg" he offers his hand which the elf grasps firmly.

Well, as firm as he can with his stick-like hands.

"Reyvin" He introduces himself "And the annoyed one is Morrigan, I wouldn't mind the company honestly, there are far too many bandits in this land, or well in any land after the war."

"True, you can't ever be too safe, so I am guessing you two are going to Winterhold after Windhelm, you seem the type."

Reyvin's eye twitches 'Do only mages wear robes these days, we could be priests dammit!'

"That we are" Reyvin admits after a moment "We are both aspirants in the arcane arts and I would at least want to spend some time in Whiterun learning the blade from someone. Sometimes just lopping someone's head off is far easier than burning them, eh?"

"Very true my new friend!" The orc nods "No need to complicate it."

"And what about you Durrak?" Reyvin asks.

Durrak nearly jumps in excitement "I am travelling Skyrim to become a true warrior! I am but a whelp now but one day I will be the greatest of them all!"

"Would you shut the bloody hell up Orc?!" One of the patrons yells and Durrak sits back down with a dusting of red on his cheeks.

"You sure don't aim low huh" Reyvin smirks at the young man.

"Ah yes, the greatest dead warrior indeed" Morrigan snarks but surprisingly the orc is not offended and merely smiles.

"And that is the best part, no one believes me so it will be so much better when I show them my might." He flexes his hand... and doesn't react when there is barely any movement upon it.

They continue chatting into the night and later split up and go to sleep.

The morning is a bit rainy but thankfully their clothes are made for travel, with Durrak wearing a thick leather cloak over his iron chest plate, while the robes of the mages are equipped with a hood.

Their walk passes without incident and soon they are greeted by the tall walls of Whiterun, much like Riverwood the city itself is far larger than the game had shown, the districts are about ten times as large and populous, at least from what Reyvin can guess, and the walls themselves are surrounded by a great sprawl of buildings, likely making up their own district.

They quickly find some cheap lodgings on the outskirts and get ready to explore the city.

The morning is far brighter than the last one so they get up early, the gate guard lets them in with no fuss, this is the most visited city in Skyrim after Solitude after all. They quickly visit the local shops, selling some salves and ingredients they picked up on the way and buying some bracers for Reyvin and a simple staff for Morrigan that helps channel weaker spells, this sets them back some money and they find that they still need more for their trip, it would after all not be useful for anyone if they reached Winterhold lacking their limbs.

They quickly find a noticeboard near the tavern sitting in the center of the wind district, most of the things are simple menial labor and the like but there is one bandit hunting quest, the nearby mountainside cave has been taken over by some bloke calling himself Ironhand and they are terrorizing the local farms and have even robbed a trader some days back, the reward is pretty large, a bit less than 200S each, and should let them get some decent upgrades, but the number of the bandits is said to be a dozen.

"Well, we could try and sneak up on some of them, thin the herd so to say..." Reyvin thinks aloud.

"Or we can just smash them so fast their numbers just don't matter" Answered the Orc with a toothy grin.

"Or..." Morrigan interjects with a scowl "We could just take our time, do easier things, wait a couple of days, and earn our money that way, no need to risk ourselves over doing the guards' work for them."

"Nah, we still need to gain some experience while traveling and this is a good opportunity for it, you can just stay behind the two of us anyway and use that weird root magic you showed me yesterday to fuck with the bandits, me and Durrak will do most of the fighting." Reyvin assures her.

'Well while she may look like her and have the same name, I have to remember that this is still just a teenage girl who ran from a bunch of forsworn, and while she might be jaded that doesn't make her brave, besides'

[Quest initiaded: Clear out the ironhand bandits][Reward: +5mag] [Subquest initiaded: Protect your companions from permanent harm][Reward: an insight into your restoration magic]

'These are pretty good rewards on their own, my restoration has been progressing somewhat slowly, but that is mostly just the heal spell being ridiculously Magicka intensive, a simple cut takes a third of my tank, and it takes me about a good twenty minutes to recharge fully'

"Besides getting to Winterhold as soon as possible will help us in the long run. Well help the two of us, I don't know where you plan to go Durrak" Reyvin continues convincing his first companion while giving the Orc a side glance.

"Well you both seem like decent enough people, so I don't mind heading north with you, might even get into some troll fights HAH!" Is the expected enthusiastic answer.

'sigh, orcs'

Morrigan tsks audibly but eventually agrees "Fine, but if I get as much of a scratch from there you won't hear the end of it"

"I believe you" Reyvin shivers remembering their walk to Riverwood. He quickly gets back on topic "Well then lets go see the steward and head off towards the bandits, they won't off themselves"

Durrak chuckles, while Morrigan rolls her eyes as they head towards the cloud district.