Skyrim: The Official RP

The rickety caravan trudges its way through the dense woods on the path to Helgen.  Aboard the cart in back are several men.  Among them are a Khajit, two Stormcloak Soldiers, a nord of unspecified allegiance, and Ulfric Stormcloak, himself.  All of them are bound and Ulfric is gagged to prevent him from using the gift of The Voice to shout his way out.

The caravan approaches Helgen and from the roof, a young Redguard is watching with a Khajit friend.  "So much for justice," the girl remarks.

"Said the pickpocket," her friend says.

"No one misses a couple septims," she retorts.

"I was only joking, Aia.  Calm yourself."

Below, an angered wood elf woman walks by the path of the caravan after speaking with an imperial soldier.  Her eyes meet those of the rag wearing Nord on the caravan but she walks away before the caravan stops and the prisoners are called off.  "Darji, of Riften," the soldier reads from the list after Ulfric is called down and an incident is dealt with, regarding a runner.  The rag wearing nord watches the Khajit's actions, quietly.

"Anyone else feel like running?" the Imperial Captain yelled to the prisoners, pointing at the runner. "That's what I thought."
Darji stared at the dead body of the runner. It happened so fast. But for some stranger reason, he was at peace with the man's death. For he knew that the last thing that went through his head... was hope. He had hope that he could finally escape. Darji could not share the same feeling. He knew that in just moments, he would be killed. The guards pushed him forward yelling, "Move, Khajiit!". He joined the rest of the group.
Lucans, a Wood Elf that was a resident of Helgen, stood from his front porch watching the events happen one by one. "What's going on?" a little boy asked from behind him. "Go inside, brother." Lucans replied, shoving the boy back into the house. He shut the door and turned his attention back to the prisoners.
A strong roar came from the distance. "What was that?" on of the imperials asked. "Nothing. Get back to work!" the captain yelled back. A stormcloak soldier stepped up to be executed. The guards forced him on his knees and placed his head on the block. Darji looked away, knowing what was about to happen. He heard the sound of the man's head rolling into a basket next to the the block.
"Next prisoner!" the captain said as the guards shoved Darji forward. They forced him on his knees, and placed his head on the block. Darji mumbled a prayer to the gods and closed his eyes, preparing for death. The executor beside him raised the axe. A louder roar echoed in the area, followed by a dragon landing on a nearby building. The collision forced the executor to fall over, dropping his axe to the side.

Aia opened her eyes, having been woken up by the sounds of screaming and the roaring of flames. She'd passed out for a moment. Her body was rattled but she'd live. Still, there was debris all around. Then it occurred to her what had happened, she frantically looks around. Her stomach sank and her teeth trembled. Where was her friend? Where was the last person in this world that she could call familiar? Suddenly she found herself paused. She'd found him. "No," she said. "No no no no no no no!" She found him dead. Her friend had fallen on a wooden beam upon the building's collapse. Runny crimson ran down his body from the wound.

Before Aia could think to cry, the ground shook and an enormous shadow fell upon her. Behind her stood the source of this chaos; the dragon. Its ominous black body and beady red eyes stared down on her. As quickly as her small frame could gather, she scrambled to her feet and rushed off, just in time to avoid its fiery breath. Now there was no doubt that he friend was dead. However, Aia didn't dare look back to see how dead he was.

The rag wearing nord, Dakim, got himself up after that earth shattering roar and made his way through the yards and toward the main keep, his hands still bound. Several times, he came face to face with the scaly black beast whose breath smelled of brimstone and whose presence brought about incredible weight to his shoulders. After he'd finally found the entrance, a nord soldier sided with the Imperial Army opens the doors for him. "Come along, kinsman. We need to get out of the open."

"Aye," Dakim noded upon following him inside.

Elsewhere, a wood elf woman sat at the inn, drinking down a cup of milk. But contrary to that behavior was the ancient nord great sword strapped to her back. No one dared antagonize her. "So, what brings a lady like you here to Helgen?" The innkeeper asked as he handed her another cup.

"On my way to Whiterun to have a look at the Companions," the woman responded.

Suddenly they all heard the roars and felt the crashing. "Well, that doesn't sound good," the woman said as she got up to go and see what was happening. The moment she opened the door, she stopped dead in her tracks before turning around. "Everyone, down to the lower level! NOW!" The front of the inn was suddenly ripped apart by the fiendish assailant and the the woman was thrown through a window in the impact.

As she got up, she saw another building collapsing as another elf woman was running for the door. After making sure that the dragon wasn't watching, she ran to the building to see what she could do about those in peril.

Darji opened his eyes to find the executor on the ground, unconscious. He could faintly hear the sound of people screaming which was covered up by the high pitched ringing going on in his ears. Darji struggled to stand up for he was too dizzy. He looked around to see sure chaos. Unfortunately, Darji's hands were still tied from being arrested, so there wasn't much he could do. Soon enough his hearing came back. He heard people screaming, buildings collapsing, and a dragon roaring through the sky. Darji didn't have time to think about how this dragon got here, or why it was attacking Helgen. All he knew was that he needed to escape. Quickly.

Lucans looked to the skies to see the dragon circling around Helgen, destroying anything it can. The brave wood elf ran inside and grabbed his elven bow and several arrows. "Mother. Grab Tanis and go to the basement. You'll be safe there." Lucans said. He hugged his mother and kissed his little brother's forehead. "Be brave, Tanis." he said. He ran out of the house with his weapons and attempted to shoot the dragon down along with several other imperial soldiers.

Meanwhile, Darji was running frantically through the destruction. One by one, each building collapsed due to the dragon's destructive behavior. Darji felt like he had nowhere to go. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt calm. It was strange. Through such chaos like this, he had peace. He opened his eyes and saw a black horse tied to a fence. Darji knew that he had to do what he did best. Steal it. He picked up a blade from a burnt dead body nearby and ran to the horse. He had to avoid several obstacles, but he eventually made it. He cut the rope tied to the horse with the blade and climbed on. "YAH!" he yelled at the horse. The horse neighed and took off away from Helgen. Darji knew not where to go. Only what he was escaping from.

Dakim escapes through the underground passages beneath the keep. Along the way, he utilizes only an iron shield as a weapon, impressing Hadvar with noteworthy feats until they reach the torture chamber, where the torturer, his assistant, and two Stormcloak Soldiers are all found dead, each with stab wounds, but none big enough to be from a sword. "Clean work, this," Hadvar says.

"Aye," Dakim says. As Hadvar disappears down the hall, Dakim looks back at all of them. "Too clean." Dakim knows of placed that can end a poor unfortunate soul's life with a stab and these men were all met with the blade in non-lethal places. Something else had killed them. If Dakim had to guess, then he would venture to say it must have been poison.


The dragon begins to let up on its attack. Aia hides in the lower level with a younger Redguard girl in rags and two steel gauntlets. "All right, it sounds like it's gotten quieter up there," Aia says.

"W-wait!" the girl responds, standing as Aia prepares to leave. "C-can I come with you?"

Aia pauses and grabs the bow to her side, along with a quiver. Then she turns. "My gang, my brother, and my best friend have all gotten themselves killed. I'm the only one left alive. I am no survivor. That only means that it must be me. It's my fault. I'm some sort of bad luck charm," Aia responds. She abruptly turns around. "And you want to come with me?"

Ashanti stands there for a moment, staring Aia down. "You also saved my life. A-and...I don't have anywhere else to go."


Up top, the woman in black darts about, gathering up as many survivors as she could find, digging people out of rubble and debris. Eventually she happens upon the woman she'd seen a building fall on earlier. "Gods, woman, you're tough as a giant to survive that," she says as she helps her out from beneath the fallen building.

Darji thought back on what events had just taken place. "A dragon? Those awful creatures haven't been heard of in centuries!" he thought. Darji couldn't think of any explanation of what just happened. But he had more important things to think of at the moment. Where was he going to go?

Lucans was awoken by the sound of terror. He looked around to see people running around frantically, looking for their families. Women screamed, men weeped, and children cried. The last thing Lucans remembered was getting knocked into a building by the dragon's tail followed by becoming unconscious. It all happened so quickly. But then Lucans had an awful thought. "Tanis". He stood up and ran through the aftermath... trying to find his way back to his home. Once he finally made it, he ran into the basement... only to find it empty. No sign of Tanis or his mother. They were... gone.

Judina, an Argonian woman watched as dozens of people cried for help. And she couldn't do anything about it... or at least she didn't want to. Judina considered herself as a god. She knew she deserved more than just pulling people out of rubble. These people should be worshipping her... or so she thought. Judina walked away from the scene in deep thought. She knew exactly what she must do.

"Whiterun? No. Of course not. They're the reason I ended up in Helgen in the first place. Riverwood? Too close to the last dragon attack. I need to remember what I'm running from." Darji was still in deep thought of where he was going. But then he remembered. "Riften. Home sweet home." The only place people somewhat accept him for who he is. A thief. "Riften it is."

Lucans sat on the floor of his basement in tears. His father told him to protect Tanis and his mother... but he had failed him. Lucans walked out of his home, still in tears. He looked around the area to find people still needing help. He looked to his left and saw a woman in black struggling to help another woman out from rubble. Lucans ran over and helped pull her out.

"Oh, many thanks, stranger," the woman says to Lucans as he offers his help. Between the two of them, they dig the other girl out. "All right, easy, girl. Gods, a whole building fell down on you." She sees the girl struggling and feeds her the red contents of a jar in her satchel. "That's it. Drink up."

The girl coughs up the elixir and looks up at the other two elves over her. "Thank you for rescuing me. But who are you two."

"My name is Tali'i. You're the last of the survivors I was able to find. I can't speak for this gent, here, who helped pull you out. Out with is, stranger. Who are you?"


Elsewhere, Dakim and Hadvar are just over halfway to Riverwood already. They don't dare stop, lest the beast come back and notice them. They came to a halt as Hadvar saw a large, imposing structure on the adjacent mountain. "Bleak Falls Barrow," he says.

"You're familiar with that ruin?"

"It's always terrified me. As a boy, I would have nightmares about it. Draugr coming down from the hills and dragging me off in the night."

"I'm more familiar with Draugr than I'd like to be. They won't leave their ruins," Dakim assures the young soldier.

Hadvar stares up at the old ruin quietly. "Come on. We need to get to Riverwood before we run out of daylight entirely. It isn't far from here." He proceeds down the path but Dakim stands and stares out at the ruin for a moment before following.


Aia and Ashanti had gotten a bit of distance away. Aia could hear Ashanti's stomach, however, and sighs. It is then that she takes up her bow and aims into the air at a flock of birds circling overhead. With one shot, she brings one of them down, not far away. "Come on," she says. "So, what's the story with the gauntlets? You really need just that one piece of armor?

"W-what? Oh. No, they...I don't like to talk about it."

Aia continues walking, all without looking back. "Suit yourself. We're going to Riften. But first I need to stop by Ivarstead. I have some...loose ends to tie."

"My name is Lucans. I live... or lived here in Helgen with my mother and little brother... before all this happened, of course." Lucans couldn't get his mind off of his loss. He could only pray that they were still alive. He couldn't help but shed a tear. No. He couldn't cry now. Not in front of these two women. He had to be brave. "I need to go looking for them. My family. They could be halfway to Whiterun by now for all I know. They could be waiting for me!" Lucans looked at the two women. "You two... if you haven't a place to go, you can go looking with me. I mean, if it's not too much trouble." Lucans knew he was asking for a lot. But he knew he couldn't do this alone.

Tali'i looks to Lucans, and then to this girl they'd just rescued. "Before we agree to anything of the sort, I'd like to know who we've saved."

"My name? It was...Robyn, I think. I can hardly remember. Everything is a haze. My name...the attack...not much else. A few places, but..."

Tali'i stands upright, helping Robyn to her feet. Then she turns and thinks, picking up her sword and strapping it to her back. "All right, Whiterun," she says. "There's an alchemist there who can probably help. I was on my way to Whiterun anyway. And Lucans needs to find his family. I can get there alone, but I'm not sure I want to leave this poor girl to make the trip alone in her condition."

"Thank you?" Robyn remarks.

So the three strangers took off together to Whiterun to begin their journey. They set out on foot side by side. The trip was quiet. Almost too quiet. Lucans spoke up to relieve the awkward silence. "So what brought your travels to Helgen in the first place, Tali'l? I don't recall seeing you around very often."

Tali'i crosses her arms and continues to march on. "As I said. I was on my way to Whiterun. I have...business there," Tali'i responds. I'd rather hear about your story. Your family clearly means a lot to you. Tell us about them."

"I am curious about that," Robyn adds.

Lucans looked down at his feet as he walked. "My father died when I 9 years old. He served as a member of the Imperial army. When he left for war, he told me to keep my mother and my little brother, Tanis, safe. Ever since then I've wanted to follow his footsteps and become a soldier. But I can't. Someone needs to be there to protect my family." Lucans shed a small tear. "But what good am I, anyways? It's all my fault. If I had stayed with them in the basement rather than go out and fight the dragon just to prove my strength, I wouldn't have lost them."

"Hm," Tali'i says. She remains rather quiet from that point on. As the sun begins to set over them, Tali'i takes her blade into her hand and covers the back. Wolves stalked this path. A blade was better suited to cover the rear. Lucans could cover the front with his bow. Robyn had no weapons to her name. "We should be arriving in Riverwood shortly," Tali'i finally says.


Elsewhere, Dakim is just leaving the residence of the town Blacksmith. He's now clad in iron armor and sporting a new banded iron shield. He shuts the door behind himself quietly as proceeds on his way to Whiterun, himself.

"We've had a long day. We should rest in Riverwood so we have enough strength to make it to Whiterun tomorrow." Lucans said as the group entered Riverwood. They all went into the inn together and rented three rooms. Tali'l of course, paid for Robyn's room. Over just a day of knowing each other, they had adapted to be almost like sisters. The way Tali'l took care of Robyn reminded Lucans of how he once took care of Tanis. "We leave at sunrise." Lucans told the group. Following those words, Lucans went into his room and shut the door. He laid the bed and took a deep breath. He still couldn't wrap his mind around what happened. He began to think, "What if I never find them? What if this is a hopeless cause and I'm just wasting my energy on nothing." He came to the realization that these strangers, Tali'i and Robyn, were all he had left.

Meanwhile, Darji had finally arrived at Riften. He jumped off his horse, put his hood up, and entered through the gates. "Nothing's changed much, huh?" Darji thought. He hadn't been to Riften in years yet everything was still the same. The first place he went was the place he liked to call home... The Bee and Barb- a well known pub in the area. Once he entered, he was immediately greeted the owners, Talen-jei and Keerava. "Darji! It's so good to see you again! Keerava shouted from across the bar. "Indeed!" Talen-jei replied, shaking Darji's hand. Talen-jei and Keerava were like a father and mother to Darji. They always let him stay in the inn free of charge when Darji was a little boy, for he had no parents. "Come on son, have a few drinks! On the house!" Keerava said, motioning Darji to take a seat.

Dawn came and Tali'i had disappeared from the inn ahead of the others. The sun had just barely begun to take its place in the sky and Robyn stood, waiting at the door. "Where is she?" Robyn asks herself, sitting on the bench at the front of the inn.

"Were the two of you waiting for me?" Tali'i says, walking up from the Riverwood Trader with a black hood over her head. She glances up at the sun and back to the others. "If we intend to reach Whiterun in time for breakfast, we ought to get moving now."

Lucans walked out of the inn to find Tali'i and Robyn talking about taking off for Whiterun. "She's right. I'd rather get all of our traveling out now. Plus if we wait too long, my family may leave Whiterun before I get to them." Lucans said, ignoring the mysterious hood over Tali's head. He had more important things to worry about than Tali'i running away at night. "So... shall we?"

Darji woke up in a familiar bed. He sat up and examined the room he was in. "My old room!" Darji thought. It was the very same bedroom he stayed in as a child when he lived with Talen-jei and Keerava. Darji got up and walked out of the room. "Darji! You're awake!" Keerava said as she cleaned a table. "We put you in your old room once you passed out drunk. I haven't seen someone drink that much since... well, I've never seen someone drink that much." she said, laughing. "It's been a rough few days." Darji replied. "Well, we're glad to have you back." Keerava said, smiling.

Along the path to Whiterun, the group passes a few Imperial Soldiers, escorting what appears to be a prisoner. Tali'i doesn't give them a second look. Robyn, however, clearly feels uneasy with them around. She couldn't remember what was happening in Skyrim at the time, but these men weren't a welcoming presence.

Suddenly, Tali'i sees something in the distance. "Interesting," she says, rather calmly, as a few warriors topple a giant on the horizon. "Quite the feat to do that at close range," she says to herself.