The Thu'um Chapter 3

Danny began a mad dash for the outside world, only to have Hadvar grab him by the back of his neck and pull him to the ground with him. He looked up to see the dragon flying away, giving a loud shriek as it flew for the mountains.

"Looks like it's gone...for now," Hadvar reported.

"Where should we go now?" Danny asked. Hadvar thought for a moment.

"I have an uncle in Riverwood, it's not that far from here," Hadvar said thoughtfully as he stood. Danny followed suit and they walked down the hills to a worn path that was placed next to a rushing river. Danny looked around as they walked down. This place, Skyrim, was absolutely beautiful. He could now kind of see why Sam was so obsessed with protecting the environment if it was really this beautiful. "I know that we just tried to kind of execute you, but I believe you really proved yourself back there. When you get the chance, you should head to Solitude and join the Imperial Legion. We could use soldiers like you."

"What exactly happened here?" Danny wanted to know.

"It's a long story, but I believe I can tell you before we get to Riverwood. Basically, the High King was challenged to a duel by the Whitecloak leader, Vlad. He...he literally shouted him to death. It was quite a sight apparently. Now I did not see it, but I heard that it was truly horrifying. Months before this, Vlad has been stirring up a rebellion. I must admit that he fights for good reasons, but his reasons are lies. He just really wants power, but he gets the people of Skyrim excited with promises and things they wish for in order for their support. After killing the High King, I'm afraid a true civil war has started. Worst of all, the poor High Queen has to deal with all this new stress while mourning her husband." Hadvar sighed heavily. "Legends tell that when this conflict shall arise, the dragons will return...I always assumed that the dragons were legends my father told us when we were children. But I guess it wasn't just child's tales. I mean, how in the name of Talos are we supposed to fight dragons!"

"It's not hard," Danny told him. "I've fought dragons before, back home."

"You have? Where were you from again, Amity Park?" Hadvar paused walking in complete amazement.

"Uh, yeah. They've showed up...several time. We were able to send them back to where they came from," Danny explained.

"Who is we?"

"My girlfriend, best friend and I."

"Girlfriend?"

"Yeah, her name is Sam."

"Sam?"

"Uh, it's short for Samantha."

Hadvar shook his head, completely taken aback.

"Girls possessing a man's name, regular dragon appearances, and young men with hair as white as Winterhold. Amity Park sounds like no other place I've ever been to. And I've traveled to all of Skyrim. One day I must visit this...Amity Park. Where did you say it was?"

"Um...I honestly don't know how to get to Amity Park from here," Danny confessed.

"No problem. Riverwood is right here, I'm sure Uncle has a map we could look at."

By this time, Skyrim's skies had become dark with the night as millions of stars and a full moon shined. Danny was sure that he heard a few wolves howling as they entered the town.

"Uncle," Hadvar called out to a man working at a blacksmith forge.

"Hadvar! By the Gods, you look awful. What happened? And who is he?" the man asked curiously.

"Not here," Hadvar replied. "And a friend. Let's go inside."

The man nodded in agreement and led them both inside of the small, modest home. Danny suddenly felt very tired from the excitement of the day. As soon as he stepped inside, he was greeted by the warmth of the home's fire. A woman and child looked curiously at him as they greeted Hadvar.

Hadvar, Danny and the uncle sat down at the table. Hadvar told his uncle the story, but Danny was feeling too drowsy to pay much attention. The woman seemed to notice and told him and Hadvar that they could sleep using some bedrolls they stored in the basement. He had simply nodded and went downstairs.

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Danny had expected it to be a bizarre dream, but waking up in a fur bedroll in the basement of a Riverwood family told him that it wasn't. He sat up and went up the stairs to see Hadvar and his uncle talking. He briefly wondered how long he had been sleeping.

"Ah, Danny," the uncle spoke, smiling at him. "You've done a good favor for my nephew. But I must ask something of you."

"Sure?" he said hesitantly.

"With this talk of dragons, we're in serious danger," Hadvar explained. "Would you mind going to Whiterun and asking the Jarl to send in more troops? I would, but I really must get back to Helgan to see if there are any survivors and what my unit can do at this point."

"Where's Whiterun?" Danny asked.

"Just exit north of Riverwood and follow the path until you see the stables, and just up more is Whiterun," the uncle informed him. Danny nodded.

"Stay safe," Hadvar added. "Life in Skyrim is hard."

Danny nodded and exited the house, his mind spinning. Everything was really happening. Vlad started a rebellion in some medieval town. Was it another frozen-in-time location of the Ghost Zone? It didn't look like it. No, the skies were a healthy blue instead of a dark green swirl. Everybody here was obviously alive. Did he travel back in time again?

He had no clue.

Sighing, he jumped off the ground, only to annoyingly land. He couldn't fly? Ugh, he didn't want to walk everywhere in this place.

He began his walk up north towards Whiterun. If he was stuck here, he might as well do some hero-work while he figured out how to stop Vlad, right?