Chapter 6 – The Jagged Crown

The inn was quiet when Avingard awoke the next morning. There was still a few that were awake and quietly chatting below, but the large crowds that had gathered the night before had gone home for the night. Avingard quickly ate what food he had on him, equipped his armor and sword and then left the room he had rented.

As usual, Hulda was tending to the inn, making Avingard wonder if she ever slept. He smiled and nodded to her as he walked past, and then opened the door and left the inn.

The market district of Whiterun was quiet as none of the vendors had arrived this morning. Only a single Whiterun guard, standing near Belethor’s General Goods and keeping watch on the quiet market, was the only person in the market. The sky was slowly starting to lighten from the rising sun, although the sun was hidden because of the cloud cover. The air was cool causing Avingard to shiver slightly.

Avingard slowly made his way down the road to the front gates of Whiterun, where he opened the gates and left the city.

As Avingard traveled down the road that goes south before turning to the east, the clouds had just started to open up and the rain fell slowly to the ground. It was a cold rain and it began to make its way into his armor causing him to feel much colder as he walked down the road.

As he arrived at the Honningbrew Meadery, where the road turned north and ran along the eastern side of Whiterun, Avingard checked his belongings for a cloak. The warm cloak he had worn during his attack at Fort Hraggstad was torn during that battle to the point where it was unusable. He had, however, found another cloak in Fort Hraggstad that could provide some protection from the rain. His new cloak was not as warm as the one he had originally worn, he was providing enough protection from the elements.

As he put on the cloak he noticed that its white coloring almost shone in the dark and dreary morning. While the cloak provided some warmth, Avingard began to shiver because of the rain that had penetrated his armor. He tried to quicken his pace to the ruins of Korvanjund, not only to meet Legate Rikke in good time, but also to try to warm his body.

After passing Whiterun and having walked a bit north of the city, Avingard noticed a watchtower to the left of the road. A small road branched from the road he was on ahead towards the tower. As he approached the tower he noticed a few Whiterun guards engaged with a group of bandits that had approached the tower. Avingard placed his hand on his sword, which was being carried on his back, in case he would be needed to help out.

The bandits yelled at the guards, as they attacked, but were quickly killed by the more highly trained guards. Seeing that the fight was quickly over, Avingard dropped his hands from his sword and continued north towards Korvanjund.

Once the road turned slightly to the east, Avingard noticed that more of the landscape became snow covered. The air had gotten colder, and the rain slowly turned to ice and then snow.

Avingard rechecked his map to ensure he was still traveling in the correct direction. His map indicated that the ruins was almost due east of his present location, from what he could tell. Avingard was to meet Legate Rikke and the Imperial Legion just to the northwest of the ruins of Korvanjund, but he wasn’t sure if any roads would take him to her.

Looking at the landscape, Avingard saw much of where he had to go covered in snow, but how deep, he wasn’t sure. Walking in deep snow with his heavy armor and large sword wouldn’t be easy, so Avingard began trekking east very slowly. Once he was sure of his footing, he picked up his pace. Legate Rikke wasn’t far from his current location.

The snow slowly stopped falling, and then stopped entirely. The day was getting brighter, but the clouds still remained. As he continued to make his way east he noticed several individuals in the distance. As he approached Avingard could make out Legate Rikke and several Imperial Legion soldiers planning their advance on the ruins of Korvanjund.

The team was rather small, consisting of only six Legion soldiers, including both Avingard and Legate Rikke. One of the soldiers was an archer, while the others carried swords.