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Erich Vereen
United States
Leland
North Carolina
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I write these words after the events at Helgen. Needless to say, but there was little time to write until now.
The Imperium, may the Daedra take their souls, captured me along with many others. As for timing, I suppose I have always had a habit of being in the wrong place. As I woke, I found myself in a wagon with others, one calling himself Ralof. He spoke a bit, explaining why I was tied up for doing something I had thought to be innocent. Beside me was the man known as Ulfric Stormcloak, the leader of a resistance movement against the Imperium. There was one other, and while I forget his name, I will never forget his face. As fate would have it, the Imperium does not ask why you are guilty, they just assume you are.
We were hauled before the general in command of the force of Helgen. He ordered our immediate execution. The Nords, Divines bless them, are fearful of nothing. The man before me spat in the eyes of the general before the headsman plied his trade. They called for me next, and trying to show more bravery than I felt, I headed to the block.
A cry rang out across the town as I was pushed before the basin where my head would fall. I heard someone yell dragon. I turned my head in time to feel the power of the dragon's shout knock me across the yard. Ralof screamed for me to rise up and flee to the tower. It was difficult, as my hands were still tied, but I managed to make it inside. We tried to run up the tower only to be greeted with the gaping maw of the beast itself as it plunged into the building. The fire it breathed was hotter than the anything I had ever felt. We could no longer go up, so we jumped to the building next door and continued to run for cover.
At this point, I found myself separated from Ralof and was guided by the master of lists himself. The damned Imperials love their lists. He told me to stick close, and so I did. We wove our through the buildings as the beast continued to destroy all it could see. We huddled near one wall as the dragon clung to it, breathing fire and roasting several archers to ashes. Coming into a small courtyard near the barracks, I spied Ralof again. He argued with the list holder for a moment before they ran in different directions. Considering Ralof spoke to me kindly and had not attempted to kill me, I sprinted off after him.
Once inside the relative safety of the barracks, Ralof released my hands and I acquired some armor and weapons from a dead Nord woman nearby. Beggars cannot be choosers, after all. Quickly, we dispatched a pair of Imperial guards and I picked up weapons more suited to me, twin daggers. Delving deeper into the under-barracks, we found a storeroom and a torture chamber. We dispatched a few more Imperials before crossing a bridge to a large chamber. We quickly learned this was to be a one way trip as a giant claw burst through the roof behind us, collapsing the tunnel we had just traversed.
I soon found that my new found friend Ralof had an aversion to spiders. He muttered something about them being creepy as they had too many eyes. I love spiders, as long as they are dead, as their venom can turn the tide in a battle. Shortly after we dispatched the small spider swarm, we carefully made our way around a giant cave bear before finding the exit of the under-barracks.
The bright sun and cold breeze of Skyrim greeted us both as we exited the cave. Ralof pulled me down as the dragon soared overhead, bellowing out a challenge to all it could see. It flew on without noticing us, which was wonderful as we were ill prepared to fight against the creature.
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