Rigmor of Bruma – Original

As Rigmor and the Dragonborn passed through the doorway into the open air of the mountain much higher up then before, Rigmor exclaimed, “Woah! Don’t look down.” The Dragonborn did look down though and immediately began to make his way out onto a walkway that was placed nearby so they both would not be so close to the edge. It was a long way down from here to the ground again.

Rigmor and the Dragonborn stopped at a crossroads of sorts. One path led down, the other one up towards the peak of the mountain. Rigmor asked, “Hey, this way goes to the summit. You want to take a look?” The Dragonborn replied, “Sure Rigmor, let’s go check out the view but carefully, okay?” Rigmor replied, “Pfft! Okay Dragonborn, whatever!”

Rigmor and the Dragonborn continued up a switchback stairway and series of walkways and bridges until they could see the final approach to the summit. Rigmor called out to the Dragonborn, “This is so cool!” The Dragonborn turned to her with a smirk and replied, “Yeah, so cold I would say, burr!” Rigmor chuckled, “Come on old man, let’s go see the view from the summit.”

The continued the last of the climb up until they reached the top. Here they stood and could see all the lands around them. You could even see the Imperial City all the way into Cyrodiil from up here. The areas of Hammerfell and Black Rock could also been seen far away into the distance. The Dragonborn looked at Rigmor and asked, “How are you feeling, are you okay?” Rigmor was touched by her guardian’s concern, “Yes, I am okay. Isn’t this incredible up here. I mean look at that Dragonborn, you can see across the whole of Tamriel from up here.”

The Dragonborn spoke to Rigmor, “Hey, let’s see what’s in this bag. It must have been left up here for a reason. Rigmor responded, “Dragonborn, aren’t we the curious thing. Are you sure you don’t have cat blood in you as well as dragon?”

The Dragonborn went over and open the flap on the bat left at the summit. He found a journal and opened it up to read it to Rigmor. The journal had the following written in it.

The Dragonborn fell into silence for a few moments. Then he said, “Hey Rigmor, let’s get going, it’s starting to get dark and I believe we need to be off this mountain and making our final approach to Fort Black before it turns completely into night.” They both turned and began their trek down again.

They both continued their way down until they were stopped by a shorter hooded man who said, “I don’t know where you think you’re going but this way is closed. You need to turn around and go back to where ever you came from.” The Dragonborn replied, “We need to get down on this side of the mountain to continue our journey. It’s the best way at this point.” The supervisor kept staring beyond the Dragonborn at Rigmor then said, “Hey wait a moment, haven’t seen her face before, let’s see now.” He paused in thought in a moment and the Dragonborn pulled out a bag of one hundred gold coins and said, “Here you go friend, that should be enough to forget who you think she is and allow us passage down off this mountain.” The small hooded man reached out grabbed the bag of gold coins and responded, “Today’s your luck day friend, if anyone asks on the way down, just tell them the supervisor gave you both passage.”

As Rigmor and the Dragonborn past the foreman or supervisor they eventually came to a platform where miners were working the ore on the side of the mountain. There were also guards posted everywhere on the way down so it a good decision that he had decided to pay off the hooded supervisor.

Rigmor and the Dragonborn both had observed how the minors and guards all took a hard look at them as they passed by them on the way down. The Dragonborn thought, “I am sure they are wondering who we are what business we have on this side of the mountain so close to Fort Black where the Thalmor were. ” They continued on until the Dragonborn saw a camp area with tents, cooking and a fire. He decided they should warm up a bit before continuing their journey and walked over to the fire. He noticed Rigmor walked by him silently. She looked back at him as if saying, “What are you doing? Why are we stopping here?”

The Dragonborn stayed only briefly to give Rigmor some time to warm up a bit and to see if anyone would speak to them so they might learn something before traveling forward to Fort Black. Of course no one was speaking and everyone there kept their thoughts to themselves. They continued their way down the rest of the way, across a path where there were a pack of wolves further down that were on the hunt. He ignored them and continue on with Rigmor bring up the rear. He mused, “Or as she would say, I got your back, don’t worry!” The stopped finally when Fort Black was finally in their sites and they knew there would likely be a battle just to gain entry to it.

Rigmor and the Dragonborn completed the last leg of the trip. Rigmor walked past him turned and then said, “Okay tough guy this is it. How do you want to do this?” The Dragonborn looked at her then replied, “How about I’ll lead and you cover my back?” He chuckled briefly relieving some of the stress he already felt as they neared what he knew was going to be a tough battle. Then he said to her, “Rigmor, stay behind this time in case I have to call upon the dragon blood as I did that one time in the mine.” She looked at him, then responded, “Okay, guardian, you lead and I’ll follow. Pfft!”

The Dragonborn did take the lead. In fact he purposely place some distance between himself and Rigmor to help protect her on what he knew was going to be fierce fight. It didn’t take long before the first of the Thalmor guards were coming at them with axe and swords ready. The Dragonborn never hesitated and flew into them with his dragon blood coming alive with the fire to power his strength beyond that of normal Mer or Men.

It took no time at all before the Dragonborn had taken the first two guards down and they laid in the snow bleeding out the last of the life force. Rigmor was watching him as she tried to catch up. She knew what he was doing and had it confirmed when suddenly she heard and saw “Fus” come from him and the guard in front further up the stairs was lifted off her feet and falling backward with the Dragonborn rushing forward to finish this one with a slicing swing of his blade.

Rigmor finally caught up and rushed ahead of the Dragonborn to make him stop. All the Thalmor she had gone pass on her way up were now lying dead in pools of their own blood with the cold blanket of the stars riding above. She stopped him and said with some force, “Dragonborn, stop! Look around you, they’re all dead, all of them!”

The Dragonborn stood there in defiance briefly then saw the tears in her eyes and how all of this affected her. He said to her then, “I’m sorry Rigmor, I just didn’t want anything to hurt you!” They both just looked at each other than with the cold winds swirling around them and the stars of the night blinking down upon these two as they came to grips with what he had just done.

Rigmor then stepped forward, closer to her Dragonborn. She never let her gaze look away from him. She wanted to assure him that she respected and appreciated what he did for her, to protect her from harm. There they stood lost in each other’s eyes then she turned and said, “come on, the door into the Fort is just ahead.” The reached the door of the Fort Black and Rigmor then spoke to him saying, “This time Dragonborn, please allow me to cover your back, what would I do if something happened to you?

Rigmor and The Dragonborn opened the 2^nd level of Bloodlet mine. Once they were beyond the doors its wasn’t long before another wave of skeevers attacked them with ferocity and vigor. Both Rigmor and The Dragonborn were prepared this time though and the initial attack they sent the attackers through the air to fall either stunned or dead upon the dirt and rock floor of the mine.

The battle as earlier in the lower levels of the mine continued to increase in intensity. The Dragonborn seemed to sense a darkness that was driving these skeevers to their frenzy attack on Rigmor and himself. He thought, “I hope Rigmor has the stamina to sustain this journey, maybe we should have waited another day before attempting to get to Fort Black.” Then another wave flew upon them both and there was only time left to swing their swords and deliver the outcome for these creatures of death.

Once the current threat was dealt with and no other skeevers were attacking them they both paused a moment began to slowly move forward but with weapons still unsheathed and ready if needed. You could hear the labored breathing from both Rigmor and the Dragonborn. Rigmor thought to herself, “I hope we find the way out soon, this is much worse then I ever expected.” She looked over at the Dragonborn, her guardian and thought, “Where would I be without him though? I never seen such skill and art with a sword and shield before.” As they came around a corner the ground under them began to rumble, the dust of the cave walls began to explode around them and then the roar came and they knew a cave troll was almost upon them. It came at them with the same darkness in its eyes, the Dragonborn thought to himself again, “Something is driving these creatures to this.”

Rigmor and the Dragonborn never hesitated with this creature, Trolls of any kind were dangerous creatures, one because of the size and strength, another because of some natural ability to regenerate their health which allowed them to receive a lot more injuries without the need for immediate recovery. But Rigmor and the Dragonborn both knew this and their attack and defense was relentless. With a final flurry of blows, Rigmor and the Dragonborn both came at the troll and it fell to the ground with a thud that sent the dust of the mine floor swirling all around them. At last there was stillness in the long dark of Bloodlet mine.

Rigmor and the Dragonborn stood there with death all around them but Rigmor looking at the Dragonborn had come to realize that he, the Dragonborn would stand against anything to protect her, to keep her safe. In that moment she knew he truly was her guardian angel, her Dragonborn.” They continued on until they came to a place where it looked like the miners had setup for food and rest. There were supplies here too and it was empty of any other life. No skeevers, not trolls, but also no miners.

The Dragonborn thought to himself, “I suspect that there will be no more miners until Rigmor and I reach the outside again. With all those murdered miners in the lower levels, there are likely no others to tell the story of what happened here. No witnesses!” He then noticed Rigmor looking at him with deep concern etched in her face. He turned then and said, “Come on Rigmor, up this way, I think there’s another door into another level of the mine ahead. Hopefully, the last one before we reach the outside.” Rigmor replied, “Okay ‘Guardian Dragonborn’, after you, I’ve got your back.” With that they both continued up through the rising mine.

As they came to the next door, Rigmor spoke, “You smell that, there’s trouble ahead!” The Dragonborn paused but a moment readied his sword and shield. With a determined look set on his face he stepped forward and opened the next door of the mine.

Coming into the next section, which was short and immediately rose up towards another doorway, the mate of the earlier cave troll was upon them. Both Rigmor and the Dragonborn rushed forward with swords swinging and shields bashing.

Rigmor had rushed ahead with her two-handed broadsword swinging down with a deadly arc as the Dragonborn came forward, swung his shield forward and to the left with deadly force. They were now two souls who moved together as one and that combined force could not not be stopped. The troll fell backward with the force of their attack.

The battle with the troll was intense but the Dragonborn could sense that Rigmor was exhausted and so he allowed the thuu’m within his dragon blood to boil as he rushed forward past Rigmor and shouted, “Fus”, meaning force. It’s power pushed forward and the troll flew backward with its impact. The Dragonborn then swung his deadly blade downward delivering the final blow and death to the troll. Rigmor stood there staring at him thinking, “This force within him, this blessing of Akatosh as had been written of in the books of lore she used to read when visiting the Imperial City with her mother. What forces were at play to place this person as her guardian.”

Rigmor and the Dragonborn could both see the sunlight filtering in through the windows in the next doorway. They knew they had at last come to the end of their journey through the long dark of Bloodlet mine. The Dragonborn opened the door and they both stepped outside to whatever waited for them as they continued on to Fort Black.

Rigmor and the Dragonborn entered Bloodlet mine. The entry certainly had not been a scene of welcome and we’ll see you on the other side. Instead the entryway had the remains of people’s bones and blood stained rocks to either side thrown about. The Dragonborn thought to himself, “This is not going to be a stroll through an abandoned mine. My blood is already burning before we ever stepped in through the doors.”

When the arrived at a low spot after the entrance to the mine, there was water that had collected into a pool and more evidence of some tragedy that had taken place here as there was there were human remains in the form of a skeleton floating in the water. Rigmor looked at the scene around her then turned towards him and said, “You smell that? Something’s not right here. There possible danger ahead guardian.” The Dragonborn thought to himself, “Hmm, she called me guardian again, I wonder if this place worries her and she feel like she needs a guardian again.” He then responded to her, “I think your right Rigmor, let’s be ready just in case.” With that he pulled out his sword and she followed suit by pulling the two-handed Nordic sword off her back.

As Rigmor and the Dragonborn traveled deeper into the mine they came up on an open area with stairs and platforms that had been built by past minors to allow them access to other locations for mining and likely the way out at some point. It was here that a sudden onslaught of creatures known as skeevers had attacked them.

Both of them had their swords and shield in motion and skeevers were flying away in their death songs as fast as they were swarming in to attack these two intruders. The Dragonborn felt his blood burn with a fire not sensed before. He was worried for Rigmor and a light began to sparkle all around her, something within him was reaching out to help shield and protect Rigmor from falling as a result of this brutal attack from the horde of skeevers in the mine.

The two of them had laid waste to a large part of the horde of skeevers that had attacked them but a final rush of what was left came at them. It was then that something new had occurred. The Dragonborn’s sword had come alive with sparkling flames and when he swung it flaming spark-lets flew everyone in the area. Besides confusing the horde and diverting its attack, where they struck, they burned into the bodies of the skeevers until they laid dead all around the area.

There were a few left and Rigmor and the Dragonborn finished them without much effort. When they were done, All around them laid the skeevers and the light that had surrounded Rigmor as well as the sparkling flame along his sword vanished as if it had never been. They both walked around the area trying to understand why this horde was here. They they found it, a mass of dead miners who had all been burned to a char caught in some untimely and unnecessary death trap. The question was why, what and who was it that did this to these poor people. Rigmor and the Dragonborn faced each other once again connecting deep within their hearts to each other over what they had both just witnessed.

Rigmor was first to speak, “Dragonborn, what happened to these people. who could have been so cruel?” The Dragonborn replied to Rigmor, “These people were all murdered. My assumption is they built all of this here and once it was finished, whoever had contracted them, had no further need of them, and didn’t want any stories coming out of the mine as to what had been built and why.” Rigmor’s eyes were pooling with tears and she quietly asked, “But Dragonborn, this is so wrong!” The Dragonborn replied, “I know Rigmor, I know! Maybe, we’ll find some answers at the fort were traveling to.” He thought briefly then felt something stir within and said without knowing how, “Kogaan, Kos, Voth, Hi, Nau, Hin, Wundun, Hofkiin, Wah, Fin, Kun”, “Blessings be with you on your journey home to the light!” With that he and Rigmor climbed the stairs and platform to the next doorway in the mine.

Morning came after both the Dragonborn and Rigmor rested through the evening. The Dragonborn had slept restful through the night. He got up from the bedroll and sat on the chair. Rigmor was already awake but still lying down watching him as he rose and sat down in the chair next to her bed. The Dragonborn looked at her for a moment than asked, “You ready to go?” Rigmor sat up, then rose to stand before him looking slightly down at him and replied, “Yep! ready as I’ll ever be. We can take the horses or walk. You can use Angi’s horse if you want. She won’t mind!”

The Dragonborn looked over at her from his chair and replied, “Let’s take the horses, we don’t know yet what may be along the path to the starting point down at the bottom of what looked to be a mine we have to take to get over the mountain and to this Fort Black so we can find Rose and recover your sword.” Rigmor replied, “So, you saw my map?” The Dragonborn said, “Yeah, I studied it while you were resting, spent some time with Angi too, she’s really good with that bow.”

The Dragonborn stood up and faced Rigmor and they stood there searching within each other’s eyes both trying to pierce something beyond them to the soul beneath. Both of them feeling there was something they needed to know, to understand about the two of them but neither one of them were able to identify.

The Dragonborn and Rigmor both turned away, then Rigmor stepped towards the flap of cloth that had been left there in the doorway and stepped out into the morning sunlight with the Dragonborn following closely behind. Once outside, Rigmor called out to Angi who was walking towards the practice area, “Angi, me and the Guardian are taking the horses up the old mine. We’ll be gone for a while so don’t wait up for us. We’ll return the horses when we get back.” Angi turned as the Dragonborn mounted Angi’s horse. She said, “Please be careful, you know those bandits up there that manage that mine can be a rough.”

The Dragonborn had mounted Angi’s horse and was now watching Rigmor as she prepared to mount her own horse. It turned out that Angi’s horse was a good size for the Dragonborn and also stood at lease a head taller than Rigmor’s own horse. Rigmor mounted up, then they began to head out towards the trail that would lead them to a base camp of sorts much higher up in the mountains. The Dragonborn was lost in thought as they headed out, “This was not going to be an easy trip, he could feel it in his bones as the old saying went.”

The Dragonborn took them out the way they came into Angi’s place. They made their way up to the road, past the traps Angi had setup to deter unwelcome guest away, turned the horses north then continue up the switchback trail up to a point near a place called Bloodlet Throne. He stopped the horses near the final rise towards the base camp and asked Rigmor, “Are you okay, are we going the right way?” She was surprised at his concern. She was also shocked that he would even bother to ask her if she felt they were taking the right path towards their goal.” She mused, “That was certainly not the way of most male Nords.”

Rigmor replied to the Dragonborn, “Yes, were going the right way. Now were near Bloodlet Throne, if we go up that ridge trail, it should lead us to the base of the bandit and mining camp that would lead us over the mountain through way of the mines up there.” They headed up the ridge, turned left as they arrived at the top, rode in a bit more then both dismounted. The Dragonborn looked at Rigmor and asked, “So, is this the place?” Rigmor replied, “Yes, it is.” The Dragonborn then said, “Well, what now?” Rigmor chuckled, then replied, “Well, your the tough guy guardian, you lead and I’ll follow. You know cover your back.” The Dragonborn looked at her a moment then with a wry smile said, “Okay Rigmor, follow me!”

They both turned and began walking towards the first set of switchback stairs that someone had built to help people navigate the climb to the mine entry above. It wasn’t long before a man who had been watching them before came down, the stairs, stood in their way then said to the Dragonborn ignoring Rigmor, “Alright that’s far enough! What can I do for you friend?” The Dragonborn replied, “We’re just passing through, heading on up to the mine.”

The man then said, “We’re in control of this mine, you know how this works, toll here is 100 gold coins.” The Dragonborn paused a moment then replied, “I don’t carry that much gold with me I ‘m afraid.” The man who apparently was acting as gatekeeper for gaining access to the mines above responded, “Not my problem, you want through here, you pay or else!” The Dragonborn looked deep into the man’s eyes then said, “One hundred gold coin ain’t worth dying over, is it friend?” The man acting as gatekeeper felt a sort of power radiating from within this man he faced. He then mumbled to himself, “I need to find a new line of work, dying over a little gold coin ain’t worth loosing my life.” He then replied to the Dragonborn, “Go on through, but behave yourselves on the way up to the mine.”

The Dragonborn and Rigmor went followed him up the first set of stairs behind the gatekeeper they had just spoken to. They continued on up a set of switchback stairs, landings, and bridges until they got to a small camp with a roaring fire. The Dragonborn looked up the mountain, saw how much higher they were likely going to have to go and walked over to warm up a bit. Rigmor looked over without saying anything but did not look happy about the delay.

The bandits there assumed they had paid the toll so there was a general acceptance and began to chat with them. The one lady with the strange haircut said, “Be careful as you make your way up to the mine passage, there’s a family of snowy saber tooth’s up there. They generally will keep to themselves, take the first set of stairs up and they should leave you alone. Also there might be some trolls as you make your way higher. There’s a reason there’s so many of us here you know.” The Dragonborn thanked her and actually handed her a bag of gold coins for the being helpful.

Rigmor and the Dragonborn then continued up and saw the saber tooth family, they went up the first stairs, came to a small landing when out of nowhere the saber tooth tigers attacked. It was a vicious battle between them and the tigers but in the end the Dragonborn had called upon some reserve of power within him and all laid dead before him. Rigmor, who was standing behind him, was panting heavily from the effort and thinning air as they climbed higher up the mountain . He heard her gasp, “I ‘m okay, are you?”. He replied, “Yes, thank you for your concern Rigmor” She chuckled, then said, “Hey, I’ve got your back.” They continued on from there.

Rigmor and the Dragonborn continued up towards the mine entry. There were no more guards or mine operators posted up here this high. The Dragonborn thought to himself, “No one thinks its important to guard this path which means there must be other dangers up here before the mine that keeps them from worrying about anyone slipping by.”

It was then he learned why. As both Rigmor and the Dragonborn arrived at the top, a Frost Troll came charging at them. It was not long before they were both deep in the heat of battle with this Frost Troll.

While in the battle with the Frost Troll, the rest of the Snowy Saber-tooth family attacked as well and Rigmor and the Dragonborn were struggling for their lives on two fronts now.

Rigmor had been knocked over and was on her knees struggling to rise again. The creatures all seemed to be focused on the Dragonborn for some reason. Rigmor thought to herself as she rose, “Maybe they sense the dragon within his blood, a threat that overrides every bit of sense they may normally have.”

The battle continued but the Dragonborn had seen Rigmor knocked to her knees and struggling to rise again, the dragon fire within his blood began to boil and a reserve of power rose within him. At that same time the Nords who had been watching this could not be idle, they were Nords first regardless of whoever these people were. The Dragonborn killed the troll then swung his two blade in a wide arc that knocked the saber-tooth over the edge down to the next level and the final battle took place with Rigmor, The Dragonborn and two of the Nord guards making short work of the remaining creatures.

Once it was done, the Dragonborn thanked the two guards, handed over some coin to them and said they really both appreciate the assist. They took the gold coins surprised. Neither had expected this but certain were not going to question their generosity. Rigmor and the Dragonborn walked up to the mine entry. Stood there for a moment searching each other’s quiet thoughts at the entry to Bloodlet Mine.

The Dragonborn stood up, quietly stepped outside Rigmor’s tent as to not to wake her, walked to the fire Angi had setup outside and thought to himself, “Let me see, a nice cabin, storage, a forge with all the necessary items to keep armor and weapons in top shape, a rack on the outside of the cabin for bows and arrows.” He paused in his observation and then thought, “Angi’s been alone for sometime now. Rigmor’s arrival or accidental discovery as Rigmor had described changed all of that. Maybe Angi realized that she missed having others around once in a while. He then thought, well, I better step in there, review Rigmor’s map and try and get Angi more comfortable with having yet another person around.”

He stepped into Angi’s cabin where she was sitting in front of a fire. She heard him enter and said, “Sorry, a girl can’t be too careful up here all alone.” She paused a moment while the Dragonborn walked over to look at Rigmor’s map spread out on the table nearby. Angi then said, “Like I said, the name’s Angi, and I have been living out here for a couple of years now.” The Dragonborn said, I’ll be over to talk with you in just a moment. I wanted to take a little bit to review this map of Rigmor’s.

He looked at the map spread out on the table and memorized the primary route and markers along the way to where they would be able to travel to the fort where both Rose and Rigmor’s sword were. He noticed a letter sitting on the table, opened it to review it. It had written in it the following:

The Dragonborn read the letter then thought to himself, “Wow, Daedric artifacts, the Thalmor, an attempt to replicate them and all coming from a General Tilar Aedriath. He would have to ask Rigmor about this when the time was right.” He paused a moment then went and sat next to Angi. The Dragonborn then asked Angi, “What are those targets for?” Angi replied, “I set those up years ago, so I could stay sharp with my bow. Especially, considering I am up here most of the time on my own.” She paused a moment then asked the Dragonborn, “You any good with a bow?”

The Dragonborn replied, “I am okay with one, but I am always open to learning something new.” Angi replied, “Well, if you want to practice some just let me know, there’s a bow and some practice arrows out there. I can show you a few things to see if it helps you.” The Dragonborn replied, “Sure, I would like to do that if you have the time!” Angie responded, “The bow is hanging up on the rack right outside and the practice arrows should be sitting up against the cabin. I’ll meet you down at the practice site.” They both stood up then and walked out so Angie could teach the Dragonborn about the bow.

The Dragonborn took the hunter’s bow off the rack and picked up the quiver with the practice arrows in it. He could see there were just about ten arrows in the quiver. He thought to himself, “more than enough for some quick practice on a range each day.” He then followed her down to the practice site where she began to instruct in what her mother had described as “The Way Of The Bow”.

She had told him that her father was gone a lot and it was her mother who taught her everything she knew about using the bow and arrow. She said her mother had a sort of reverence for the art of archery, and described as so, “She used to say, when the bow is in your hand, and the arrow is notched you need to allow it to become an extension of who you are. That everything else around you is a distraction and will lesson your ability to become a master at this art.” Both Angi and the Dragonborn then took the bow in hand, notched a practice arrow to it, pulled back and then she said to him, “Let everything else give in to the bow and the arrow, feel the calmness all around you, let it guide your instincts when you aim the bow and let loose the arrow.”

The Dragonborn felt something then, as he let loose of all the tied up emotions and allowed the bow and its notched arrow to become one with himself. Angi had been watching him with her peripheral vision and saw that he was in the right frame of mind now. She said to him, “Aim and hit the middle target. He did so, let the arrow fly and it hit dead center on the practice target. This continued as Angi instructed him to next hit the target to the left, and then to the right. When they were done, she said to him,”You did good today, you’re a fast learner. Just let me know if you want to practice again sometime.” With that Angi took her bow and walked back up to towards the cabin. The Dragonborn went and fetched the arrows then returned to Rigmor’s tent, check in on her then laid down on the extra bedding and let himself sleep for the evening. He thought to himself, “Angi uses the bow to calm her inner conflict I sensed somewhere buried within her when we first met.” He was starting to drift into sleep thinking, “I think Angi is a very good person who has experienced some very bad things in life.” With that he feel asleep until morning.

The journey to Falkreath was uneventful since they hired the carriage driver to take them there. Once they arrived Rigmor turned to the Dragonborn, looked into his eyes then said, “You seemed to be internalizing something. You haven’t said anything since we left Whiterun. You care to share some of those thoughts with me, you know the one you committed to guarding?”

The Dragonborn looked back at Rigmor, then said, “You say she lives north of here, let’s get going.” Rigmor looked as if she was going to say something not befitting a lady, then changed her mind, turned and said to him, “Okay, guardian let’s do this your way.” The Dragonborn walked a bit more until they came upon the first rise and vista that overlooked Falkreath. He turned to Rigmor with a slight smirk and said to her, “Guardian Dragonborn Rigmor!”

The Guardian Dragonborn then looked away towards the direction the trail was going. Rigmor was entertained and mad at the same time at him. She said, “Okay Guardian Dragonborn, pffft! Whatever, are we going to continue, I am starting to tire in this thinning cold air?”

The Guardian Dragonborn continued up the trail. It was a fairly difficult trail and it kept rising higher into the mountains. At one point they came to a sign that read, “Stay Out!” There were bear traps laid out all along the approach to the trail leading away towards something. The Guardian Dragonborn could see smoke rising from a campfire or fireplace off through the trees. He suspected it was Angie’s place.

He held his hand to Rigmor as if to say stay here. He turned then with a change in focus his blood began to burn and the word “Fus” came out pointed at all the traps along the way. This shout although the same word was different, its intent and form were focused at doing something.

Rigmor observed and as the shout rolled across the trail all the traps were sprung, eliminating the danger to the two of them. Rigmor thought to herself, “That’s impressive, he’s had no training at all and he is already learning to evolve that first dragon shout into something unique and different.”

The Dragonborn lowered his hand and began following the trail towards the smoking rising from ahead. When they were close enough to see Angie’s place, a small cabin with a fence of posts around it the Dragonborn stopped turned and spoke to Rigmor.

The Dragonborn asked Rigmor, “What can we expect from Angie, is she going to put an arrow through my head? I’ve heard the rumors while we were briefly in Falkreath about the crazy lady that lived alone up in the mountains.” Rigmor didn’t bite back at him as was her nature to do so. She instead said, “Look Dragonborn, Angie has been through a lot, take my word for it. Besides she saved my life when she could have left me on the trail where she found me. It was after the Bruma incident with the Thalmor and I was making my way into Skyrim.”

The Dragonborn replied, “Okay, I trust you Rigmor. Let’s go and meet Angie so you can get some rest. I can see this journey has worn on you a bit and we need to get you well rested.” Rigmor smiled slightly thinking to herself, “He’s concerned for me, he really sincerely cares about me.” Then she thought, “Is that want I want, there’s something about him. Not just him but him and me like, like this was our destiny to find each other or something. “

She then turned and walked on towards Angie’s camp exclaiming, “Pffft!” As they walked up the stairway leading into the camp with Rigmor taking the lead, Angie watched as Rigmor past by her to warm up near the fire set in the middle of the camp. However, Angie spoke immediately to Dragonborn, “You lost or something? I think you’re in the wrong place friend.”

The Dragonborn replied, “I am with Rigmor!” Angie said, “I don’t think so, she’s under my protection and if you try anything stupid I’ll put an arrow through your head.” Rigmor, who was standing nearby over heard this and said to Angie, “Angie, he’s with me, he’s my guardian, he saved me and helped to nurse me back to health. It’s okay, really!”

Angie replied, “Okay, but I’ll be keeping an eye on him while he’s here. I’ll be in my cabin if you need me.” She turned and walked into her cabin. The Dragonborn approached Rigmor and said, “Okay, nice lady!” Rigmor could tell he was being sarcastic so changed the subject by saying, “Hey, I have a nice tent over there with an extra bedroll in it if you want to get some rest. Let’s go there and talk if you don’t mind?”

The Dragonborn nodded then followed Rigmor into the tent. After Rigmor sat down on the bed the Dragonborn sat on the chair near it. He thought to himself, “It was spacious and had a bed, chair, and bedroll in it. The whole place was lined with furs and was pretty cozy and comfortable considering how high they were in the mountains. ”

The Dragonborn sat there thinking briefly, then said, “Well, nice place you have here. Do I need to be worried about Angie?” Rigmor responded, “No, she’s actually quite nice once you get to know her. ” The Dragonborn replied, “So I shouldn’t be worried about getting an arrow in the back of my head?”

Rigmor chuckled at that and replied, “No, you’ll be fine but if you want to make friends with her ask her about the bow she has hanging on the side of the cabin and those practice stands you probably saw setup on the way into camp. She’ll like that. ” The Dragonborn then asked, “Rigmor, what happened to you? I mean those were some pretty nasty scars I saw on your back when we first brought you back to the camp with Rose.”

Rigmor looked away briefly then back again with tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. She then replied, “I am sorry Dragonborn, I can’t talk about that right now, maybe someday. Hey, listen I really need to get some rest. Why don’t you go into Angie’s cabin and check out the map I made on the table. Maybe you could start up a conversation with Angie and the two of you become more comfortable with each other.”

Rigmor then laid down and the Dragonborn sat there thinking while silence filled the tent and Rigmor closed her eyes to give herself time to rest and recover emotionally from all that had transpired since she meet the Guardian Dragonborn. The Dragonborn lowered his gaze sitting there meditating on the same thing without knowing it. There was a lot that happened since he meet Rigmor. His last thoughts were, “I wonder what else is on this road with her. We seemed to be tied together to some destiny yet to be discovered.”

When Rigmor and the Dragonborn entered the palace, the steward who was Adrianne Avenicci’s, one of the local blacksmith’s father, came up to them and said to him, “Good your back, the Jarl has been waiting for you to hear what the update is.”

The Dragonborn walked a few more steps towards the Jarl who was sitting on his throne when his brother, Hrongar who approached him and said, “Good, my brother the Jarl and I were just speaking about you. He needs to have a word with you. “

The Dragonborn nodded to acknowledge Hrongar. He then stepped forward to see what the Jarl would ask, “Well, what happened at the watchtower? Was the dragon there? Did Irileth and the soldiers defeat it?” The Dragonborn replied, “Yes, the dragon was there and has done a great deal of damage to the watchtower. We were able to defeat the dragon but not without loss of some of your brave guards.”

The Jarl paused for a minute with his brother and the steward listened to every word being spoken between these two. The Jarl said, “Good, I was hoping that Irileth would be successful but there must be more to it than that? We all heard the booming voice come rolling in from the Throat of the World.”

Rigmor had taken a couple of steps forward and was listening with intense effort to what was being said now between these two. The Jarl and the Dragonborn.

The Dragonborn looked to the side briefly as if trying to consider the best way to respond to the Jarl’s question. He turned, then said, “Something happened when I helped to kill the dragon. I absorbed some type of power from it when it died.”

There were sudden gasps heard from several who were standing there. The Jarl paused for but a moment then replied, “Then its true, that was the Greybeards who were calling to you from High Hrothgar near the peak of the Throat of the World.” He paused, then said, “The Greybeards must have sensed something that was revealed when the dragon was killed.” The Jarl’s brother Hrongar then said, “Didn’t you hear the booming voice, that was the voice of the Greybeards calling you to come to High Hrothgar.”

The steward Proventus Avenicci then said, “What do these Greybeards want with him anyway. I mean a great warrior yes, but this stuff about the Dragonborn!” Hrongar replied crisply to Proventus, “You wouldn’t understand, you’re not a Nord. I mean this hasn’t happened since the days of Tiber Septim.”

The Jarl finally spoke up and said, “Well, who are we to decide, if the Greybeards believe he is the Dragonborn, should we be questioning that? The Greybeards never get involved with anything down here as far as I am aware. Something must be in motion in the world to have them invoke their voices to call the Dragonborn to High Hrothgar as they did.”

He paused but a moment, then said, “you know I’ve made the pilgrimage before up the seven thousand steps to that place. It is a very peaceful place on top of the mountain. Regardless, I cannot teach you what your destiny might be as they might be able to but it is within my power to name you the “Thane of Whiterun” and to assign Lydia, as your personal House Carl. Here is a weapon that will identify you as an officer of the court. There is no greater honor I can bestow upon you.

The Jarl paused in thought then continued, “We are honored Dragonborn to have you has as our Thane. You better get up to High Hrothgar and speak with the Greybeards, you cannot deny their summons. ” Rigmor had been standing in the background listening to every word.

She was now just beginning to understand the there was indeed, something big happening in the world if her guardian was indeed a Dragonborn from the legends.” The Dragonborn turned and walked over to speak with her. “She said, Dragonborn and Thane of Whiterun. What are you going to do now guardian?”

The Dragonborn said, let’s go stop at the inn and grab a bite to eat and something to drink before we leave. They both began to walk towards the doorway leading out of the palace when a pretty girl, dressed in steel armor came up to them and said, “My thane, I am Lydia your personal housecarl. I am here to protect you and all that you own.” Rigmor and Lydia’s eyes meet briefly with some silent exchange.

Then Rigmor turned to him and said, “Can we talk for a moment in private?” Lydia overhead what was asked, and said to Rigmor, “It’s okay, I’ll just wait over there near the door. ” Rigmor turned to him and asked, “Okay guardian, Thane, or Dragonborn. What are we going to do with her? “

The Dragonborn, said, “Are you jealous of her? I don’t even know her yet.” Rigmor’s face turned beat red and she responded, “I am going to hit you if you don’t get serious. I would simply prefer that its just you and me as we travel to Angie’s camp and wherever that leads us afterwards. You know, Angie is a very private person. There’s a reason she lives way up near the top of a mountain.”

The Dragonborn smiled slightly and then said, “Okay Rigmor, let’s talk to the steward about purchasing a home. We can have her guard the home while we’re gone.” Rigmor replied, “Okay, that would work and while you’re at it why don’t you adopt that poor orphan girl who begs down near that tree. She could use a good home you know and you now have the means to offer her that.”

The Dragonborn said, “Well, if you think that’s the right thing to do?” Rigmor replied, “Of course it is, let’s go talk to Lydia about this.”

They finished up a somewhat tense conversation with Lydia, went to the steward and purchased a home that was for sale next to the Blacksmith’s store and not far from the front gate. They then went and spoke to the little orphan girl and adopted her. Lydia said, “I will take good care of Lucia and the new home when you are gone with Rigmor my thane. Thank you for giving us both a nice place to stay and fix up to be home for everyone.

The Dragonborn / Thane replied, “You’re welcome, we’ll be back once were done with some other business Rigmor and I were already committed to finishing. ” Rigmor spoke up then, “Yes, we’ll be gone for sometime but please don’t hesitate to ask the Jarl or his Steward for funds for whatever yours and Lucia’s needs are. We, the Dragonborn and myself have both already spoken with the Jarl and his Steward.

Lydia replied, “Don’t you worry and thank you both. Please be careful. Lucia and I will be thinking of you both and waiting for your return.” She then took Lucia’s hand and they walked into the new home. Rigmor and the Dragonborn went to the front gate and through it. Once they were outside and out of reach of the guard’s hearing. Rigmor turned and said, “At last, now we go rescue Rose and retrieve my sword. Are you ready Dragonborn?” He nodded then said, “Let’s go catch a carriage to Falkreath. You said Angie’s place was north of that town, correct?”

Rigmor replied, “Yes, and good idea Dragonborn. It’s good to see all this new found attention and titles haven’t addled your thinking any. ” They both chuckled and headed to the carriage they knew was parked near the stables in Whiterun.

After leaving the barrow and the experiences of that journey to retrieve the stolen item for Lucan and Camillia back at the Riverwood Trader, Rigmor suggested, “Guardian, why don’t we go back to camp, get some rest, food and drink, then head into Riverwood to return this dragon claw. We should travel to Whiterun from there so we can warn the Jarl for Alvor.”

She paused then continued, “You know as Alvor said, ‘Riverwood is without protection, if you could warn the Jarl and ask him to send some troops here to help protect us I will be in your debt.” The guardian looked at Rigmor, then replied, “Okay Rigmor, I think you might be right. I feel a little bit exhausted from the experience and especially that dragon wall.”

Rigmor considered this too, then said, “Let’s go, you lead guardian!” After returning back to camp, getting something to eat and drink, then resting. They both got up and the guardian began to chop some new firewood to leave behind so the camp would be replenished from what they had used up.

Afterwards, they both left for Riverwood and returned the golden dragon claw to Lucan and his sister Camillia at the Riverwood Trader. Lucan was grateful for the returned claw and said, “I can’t thank you enough, this means so much to my sister and I. We’ll never forget what you did for us. Well, the Riverwood Trader is back to the way it used to be!”

Rigmor and the guardian left for Whiterun. They made their way up to Dragonreach, the Jarl’s palace when they got there and reported the dragon attack and request from Alvor, the blacksmith for some protection to be sent. The Jarl was very grateful, gifted the guardian with some armor from his personal stores but then a guard ran in and reported the Western Watchtower had been attacked by a dragon.

The guardian had given the Dragon stone they retrieved from the barrow to Farengar Secret-Fire, the court wizard so he could study the map of the dragon burial sites to see if he could learn anything. After the guard returned though they both had been requested to join the Jarl for the conversation. Irileth is a Dark Elf night-blade who serves as housecarl to Jarl Balgruuf the Greater of Whiterun, requested that they all attend. She looked directly at the guardian and told him, “You should come too!”

The Jarl listened to guard and requested Irileth to gather some of the best guards and investigate what had happened at the Western Watchtower. The Jarl then turned and spoke with the guardian, “There’s no time to stand on ceremony, I’d like for you to go with Irileth and do what you can to help them. You’ve seen a dragon and survived, you’re the only one here with experience of what to expect. If you do that I will be in debt.”

The guardian agreed and after calming down Rigmor who was none to happy about investigating a dragon attack they headed out towards the Western Watchtower where the guardian learned something new concerning the power hidden within his blood.

After arriving to a scene out of some nightmare where a large hole had been blasted into the top side of the tower and fire was burning everything around. They all approached and a guard came running out screaming, “Take cover, that dragon is still around somewhere, it grabbed two other guards as they ran to let the Jarl know we had been attacked. “

The guard had been right and the dragon returned. A fierce battle broke out afterwards and several more guards perished in that battle when the dragon burned one alive with its flame and the other was slapped away with the power of its spiked tail.

But the battle between the guardian and the dragon had been legendary. It would be sung about in the halls where the Bards sang their songs for a long time afterwards. Right before the guardian took his final strength, mounted the dragon’s neck and drove his sword directly into its brain. Rigmor remembered hearing the dragon scream, “Dovahkiin, no!”

What did that mean she thought briefly, “Dovahkiin, it must be some kind of dragon word for something it felt he represents.” They all gathered around the dragon to inspect what had happened, not long after something magical began and the dragon began to glow, then burn with a bright fire, a swirling power of light and fire went directly from the dragon to the guardian.

Rigmor exclaimed, “Guardian, what’s happening, what is that light and fire coming from the dragon to you?” But the guardian had been stunned, his blood boiling with the power of this new found power transferred with the absorption of the dragon’s soul and the transfer of its language of power to his being. He remember hearing, “Fus spoken within him and something felt like it came alive in his blood.”

The remaining guards and Irileth gathered around. One of the guards came up and exclaimed,”You must be Dragonborn, you absorbed that dragon’s soul didn’t you?” The guardian who had been stunned to his knees during the process of what had just happened slowly stood up and replied, “I don’t know what just happened? I am not sure.”

Rigmor had stepped closer to him, he looked as if the wind might blow him away. She was concerned but listened with careful attention now to what had been said to him by the guard. Another guard came up and said, “What do you mean Dragonborn?” The first guard replied, “It’s like something out of the old tales, when Tiber Septim wore the Amulet of Kings, and it was said the dragonblood flowed within his veins. “

The other guard replied, “I never heard of Tiber Septim absorbing dragon souls in any of the tales. ” The first guard replied, “That’s because there were no dragons then, this is the first one that’s been seen in several ages.” Another guard said, “Can you shout? It was told in the old tales that those blessed with the dragonblood that could absorb their souls could also shout, that they could speak the language of power and use it to focus the Thu’um, their inner spirit into shouts that would be powered by the dragonblood that flowed through thim, can you do that, have you tried?”

Rigmor had all her thoughts spinning around and watched the guardian closely, protectively. He turned and positioned himself to be able to speak away from the gathered guards, Irileth, and Rigmor. Then with a focus born of this new fire that burned within his blood a word was shouted, “Fus”. There was such as gale of force that came within him that the bones of the dragon were moved some distance away from him.

One of the guards said, “That’s a shout, you spoke with a word of power, you are Dragonborn.” Another guard said to Irileth, “What do you think? You’ve been very quiet so far.” Irileth replied, “I’ve been all over Tamriel and seen all types of things, I would advise you to rely on your sword arms and shield. I’m not so sure about this mystical thing you Nords call the Dragonborn.”

Irileth paused then approached the guardian and said, “You better get back to Whiterun and inform the Jarl of what has taken place here. I don’t know about this mystical magic the guards believe in but I am sure glad your on our side. Anyone that can help take down a dragon like you did is a friend indeed.”

Rigmor who had been silent grabbed the guardian and said, “Guardian, what was that you did? I’ve read about the Dragon Walls, the Shouts of the Dragon Language and the power they held over everyone during the first era. Do you think you’re this Dragonborn and was that a shout of power?”

The guardian replied, “I don’t know Rigmor but I’m okay. We better get back to Whiterun and inform the Jarl about what took place here.” Rigmor reached out to him and looked as if she was about to do something when she turned and said, “Come on Dragonborn or Guardian or whatever, let’s get this done so we can get back to the original plan of rescuing Rose and retrieving my sword and stuff.”

He turned and followed and they headed back to Whiterun. It was then they both heard with a loud rumble and torrent of voices that came down from the highest mountain in Skyrim known as “The Throat of the World”. Rigmor thought she heard it say the same word the dragon had spoken just before dying, “Dovahkiin!” and the grounds shook with its force as it echoed like rolling thunder all the way back to Whiterun.

Rigmor said, “Look guardian, I think that’s a dragon wall. I’ve read about those before, they are suppose to have powerful symbols carved into them. Scholars believe they have words of power in the language of the dragons carved onto them.”

The crossed the bridge to head towards the dragon wall. There was a pedestal to the left behind them with a stone burial coffin sitting on it, a treasure chest nearby and a table with several other items scattered around. Rigmor said, “I have a bad feeling about this guardian, whomever is laid to rest in that stone was of great importance. It stands here alone in front of the dragon wall with a chest nearby.”

The guardian began to approach the dragon wall for a closer look. As he approached it a light flared to life above him. Some of the symbols carved into the wall also flared with a bright light that flared towards him. He felt the sensation of his blood being on fire and heard Rigmor exclaim, “Guardian, what’s happening, what is that doing to you?”

He heard something speaking to him through his blood, “Fus, the first word. It is known as Force and will help you bend your inner will to a force of power.” There was a humming of sorts in his head, and he felt changed somehow when the guardian and Rigmor both heard the top of the stone coffin behind them blow open.

As the both turned a Draugr was rising out of the stone coffin and his eyes came alive with a hateful vengeance that his peace was disturbed. The guardian cried out to Rigmor, “Prepare yourself, I sense this one is more powerful than the others. There’s something about him, an inner force not present in the others we faced getting here.”

Rigmor allowed the guardian to take the lead, she saw in his face that his eyes were glowing as if alive with some new inner force. His skin had a shine to it too, that made it almost translucent. She said, “Okay guardian, let’s be careful with this one, he looks powerful.”

The battle was hard fought. At one time the Draugr tried to stagger both the guardian and Rigmor by shouting a word at them, “Fus” which blew an invisible force that pushed them back when it hit them. Rigmor called out, “Guardian, what was that? Was that a word of power in the dragon language?”

However the guardian was too busy trying to put this one back to rest again. He gained the advantage suddenly when the Draugr stepped forward as he swung his ancient two-handed axe at him and the guardian brought about his shield in a wide arc that stunned the Draugr. In his next moves he used his blade and all the power within him to swing at the exposed flesh of its neck and it fell down dead again to the floor of the chamber.

Rigmor said, “Come on, let’s get out of here before anything like that comes alive again.” The guardian said, “wait a moment”, bent over the Draugr and removed a stone tablet shaped like a stone shield or something. Rigmor saw that on it was something a kin to a map. She thought, “that looks important”

They quickly located a way out up the stairs. There was a lever in a pedestal that opened a wall that led to the outside. Once they were out, he turned to Rigmor and said, “Come on, let’s get back to Rose’s camp, I need to rest a bit then we can continue on to return this claw to Lucan and his sister. With that they both walked off worn and sore from everything that had led up to the last battle.

Rigmor was concerned and thought, “There’s something going on here, when the guardian approached that wall, it came to life and appeared to have effected him.” She thought to herself, “I’ll have to speak to him some more about that once we get done with this dragon claw thing. “

Rigmor and the guardian drove deeper into the depths of the barrow and all along their path the lost had risen to guard the way. They were both getting worn from this continuous effort of trying to put the Draugr back to their final rest. Rigmor called out while battling with the guardian one particularly nasty one, “Well guardian you certainly have found the trail of the lost. I mean how many have we put back to sleep now hopefully sending them on to their final rewards?”

The guardian replied as he slide his curved blade through the parts of the Draugr, “Thanks Rigmor, but how about less talk and more hacking right now. We can discuss my bad decisions later.” Rigmor smiled briefly at his banter, “Okay guardian, let’s get this done and on to the Hall of Stories.

They completed the work of putting the Draugr back to rest here and moved on through a large set of double doors in the next chamber. After that they made their way through an area with a small chamber, a burial crypt and a small gate on one side. Once they resolved the single Draugr left to guard the way, they made their way down to a narrow passage with a bridge over a waterfall that tumbled down to pool at the bottom. Here they did battle with a single Draugr left to guard the way across the bridge.

Rigmor had taken the lead on this one as she sensed the guardian was wearing down a bit. After she used her blade to remove the remaining life the Draugr had in it, they both stood there in silence, listening to the waterfalls tumble to splash up on the bottom floor of the chamber they were currently in.

They continued forward and fought several more battles but at last arrived at the Hall of Stories. Rigmor was amazed and comment to the guardian, “Guardian do you see these, these are motifs of the Dragon Priest and their followers from the Mythic Era. How cool is that guardian?”

The guardian had walked forward towards a door with a rounded top, three rings each with different symbols on them, and a spot in the middle of the door where it looked like the golden dragon claw would be used to open the release the mechanism on the door once the sequence was correct of the three rings preceding it.

Rigmor moved over to the door after looking at each of the motifs on the walls. She studied them briefly and then said, “Guardian, check the claw itself, didn’t I see symbols on it?” The guardian lifted the claw out of the sack they had put it in for safe keeping. Sure enough there were three symbols on it. He said to Rigmor, “Look three symbols on the claw, three rings with symbols too. I say we match the rings to what the claw has on it. What do you think Rigmor?”

Rigmor responded, “It makes sense, it would have been likely that only the dragon priest would have had the claw with the correct sequence on it. The priest would have been the most powerful of those that were there outside of an actual dragon of course.”

The guardian nodded his agreement then turned each ring until it matched those on found on the claw. He then took the claw and aligned it with its claws inserted into the holes, turned it and the releases gave way as the door began a decent into the floor.

They could both see an open stairway leading up beyond the door. Rigmor looked at the guardian and said, “Well guardian, you lead, I’ll follow!” They both moved forward until they entered a vast chamber that opened up into a natural cave. Beyond it was a stone bridge over a creek and up to the left-side was a wall with a dragon’s head carved into it.