While they checked on Sharva, whose wounds they were able to mend thanks to the few minor healing potions that the bandits had been in possession of, Hadvar confirmed some of the information they had gleamed from the group of troops that had walked with them on their way to Helgen. Ulfric Stormcloak had been captured and brought to Helgen to have his head removed, to bring an end to the war, but that was where things got interesting right away, because while General Tullius wanted to do his job there was someone there who wanted to make his life miserable. Elenwen, as they discovered, hadn't traveled to Helgen to congratulate the General on a job well done, like everyone assumed after hearing that she was going to be meeting Tullius, rather she came to demand that Ulfric be released into her custody, as was her 'right' as the Emissary. Hadvar was sure that Elenwen was trying to stir up trouble, causing Capper to glance at the others and found that all of them agreed with his silent thought, the Emissary seemed more interested in prolonging the war than bringing it to an end, which explained why Tullius was so interested in offing Ulfric as soon as possible.
Hadvar also admitted that Captain Alena had broken some of the rules when they dotted down the names of each prisoner, ordering an archer to fire on the fleeing horse thief, Lokir he had been called, and even putting Sharva before Ulfric, but none of that mattered since Helgen was attacked by a dragon and Ulfric's group had escaped, meaning the war was back on and their one chance to end it was gone.
"I still can't believe what we saw... a dragon, one of the harbingers of the End Times." Hadvar finished, meaning the nords of Skyrim likely had all sorts of tales about the creatures and that one of those tales foretold the end of the world, in some way, which would be delivered by such a beast, "To be honest, I don't think we should be sticking around here, just in case that beast comes back to finish off any potential survivors."
"We'll be leaving soon, I just want to make sure Sharva's okay." Capper replied, as there wasn't enough room in the wagon for someone to be laying on the ground, not unless they wanted to be trampled by everyone else or get crushed by some of the mead containers, though before anyone else could say anything they heard a groan coming from the figure, causing him to support her as he noticed the khajiit starting to sit up, "Easy there, your companion told us what happened... you took quite a nasty blow to the head."
"Ugh... after finishing off a bear, no less." the khajiit commented, where it was easy for them to assume that she had barely won her battle before that imperial had struck her in the back of the head, especially when thinking about Hadvar's tale, plus they could tell that she wasn't like most of her kind, she spoke like a nord or imperial, which surprised La'nari despite having a similar upbringing, before she realized something important, "Xylia... where did that imperial vampire servant of Molag Bal run off to?"
"Easy, you are in no condition to be running off into the wilds." La'nari said, as she and Rarity stopped the khajjit from doing any additional damage to her body, though since she seemed to be fine, to a degree, they started to help her up and into the wagon, since it would allow her to rest some more before they reached Riverwood, "The imperial is gone. She fled as soon as she emerged from the cave, no doubt running from Hadvar... hold on, did you say she was a vampire and a worshiper of the Daedric Prince Molag Bal?!"
Sharva nodded, trying not to bring her more pain after everything she had been through, as she explained that she had been hunting Xylia for quite a while, partly due to the fact that she had witnessed her biting into someone's neck back in Cyrodiil, which she had informed the guards about before chasing her. The only reason was because after crossing into Skyrim she had witnessed the imperial reciting an offering incantation to her patron, sacrificing several souls of some slain soldiers to the realm of Coldharbour, no doubt in an attempt to gain more power for herself. Of course Xylia had caught her before she had a chance to kill her, and they had been caught by the Legion soldiers, something that caused her to groan as she came to realize that the hunt was going to have to start again, once she recovered again. While they were talking Hadvar quietly told Capper that it was time to move on, causing him to nod in agreement as they agreed to a brief journey to Riverwood, as it was on the way to Whiterun, though Hadvar was willing to hand over fifty gold coins for them to wait in the village for just a couple of minutes.
His reason was because they might need to send a message to Whiterun about the dragon and if the group was heading in that direction it was best to send it along with them, where Capper was willing to do so, especially since Hadvar was willing to pay for their aid, to which the soldier and Rarity helped Sharva into the back of the wagon before they resumed moving down the road. The khajiit, however, didn't seem in the mood to talk right now, as Midnight wanted to know if she served one of the other Princes, because she and the others had learned that the Princes of Oblivion really didn't like each other and a few did seem like they took great pleasure in killing the followers of another. Her reason for asking about that was due to the fact that people seemed to think that Sharva was a worshiper of a Prince, since it would add another reason to why she was 'hunting' Xylia, but the ashen khajiit really wasn't interested in talking. Hadvar even tried to ask about the markings, since he had never seen anything like them before, causing her to hiss at him when he tried to touch one on her arm, which caused Capper to briefly nod to the others, her past was definitely horrible and she really didn't want to open those wounds for total strangers.
Sharva did ask if they could stop by the Guardian Stones, as Hadvar had mentioned them and Bleak Falls Barrow while they moved down the path, and she touched the Warrior pillar that produced a fiery red, almost daedric, color that caused her to hiss at the stone before returning to the wagon, slightly confirming that there was something in her past that she despised with every fiber of her being, enough to bring about this sort of reaction.
Interestingly enough the group found a few wolves on the road, though none of them seemed interested in fighting them after seeing how many people were on the wagon, which allowed them to reach a small village, Riverwood, where Hadvar told Capper that his stop was at the blacksmith. Of course his uncle was surprised to see him and the group, though before they drew the attention of the rest of the villagers Capper told him that they would be waiting outside the village, as in on the other side of the wall that was opposite of the one they had entered through. Hadvar nodded and made sure Sharva was well enough to come with him before entering his uncle's house, though as they did that Capper told the others to check out the inn and the nearby trader, since they might be able to sell a few of the items none of them needed while they waited for the pair to return. He made sure to hand over a good amount of gold to La'nari and the others, as none of them had eaten since breakfast and getting some food while they had a chance was a good thing, especially since they might have to take the longer route back to their base now that Helgen was gone.
While he waited for the others to return he did notice that the local blacksmith came outside for a few minutes and quickly worked on something, where it looked like he was using some of the items he had been working on to arm Sharva, only it seemed like he was redesigning the material to fit her better. When Sharva finally emerged from the house Capper found that she was wearing leather armor, designed to comfortably fit her body while covering most of her markings, though there was no covering her tail, so people might notice that during her travels. In addition to that her hood was different than what a normal leather helmet was, as it looked like the blacksmith had added a bit of a mask on the inside to help hide the marks on her face, and her missing swords had been replaced by a pair of steel swords. He knew that those weapons wouldn't be able to replace the missing daedric swords that the khajiit had, possibly treasures that had saved her life on more than one occasion, but he suspected that she would be able to fight and protect herself in the future.
Hadvar, true to what he said earlier, told Capper that he and his uncle agreed that if the dragons had returned it was very important that the Jarl be told immediately, which was why they were asking Sharva to deliver it for them, causing him to hand over a small bag of gold, payment for making sure the ashen khajiit reached her destination.
With the gold in hand, and the others helped Sharva onto the back of the wagon, Capper set off and continued down the path that was in front of them, departing from Riverwood without delay as he crossed the short stone bridge and headed down the road that was to their right. The reason for that was because the path on the left seemed to be heading to where Bleak Falls Barrow rested, though the briefly winding path they had to travel down was nothing when they laid eyes on their destination, which they could see through the trees. Whiterun was an imposing city, built on a massive hill with several layers of walls surrounding it, dividing the city into districts to make things easier for the people that called it home, and there were a number of houses outside Whiterun, no doubt farms to grow food for the people. In addition to that there appeared to be a meadery outside the city, which they would pass by, and a massive castle that looked like it was purely made out of wood, at least from afar, which Sharva mentioned was Dragonsreach, her destination since that was the home of the Jarl.
While they traveled, eventually turning left at another fork in the path while Capper made a note of the two stone bridges that were in this part of the hold, they might be important later, before they found what appeared to be a tall figure, wearing a loincloth of sorts, that was swinging a club around while fighting three figures. One was a male nord warrior that seemed to favor heavy armor and a greatsword, the second was a female imperial who had chosen lighter armor, scaled as Capper recalled, while favoring the sword and shield, and the third individual was a female nord who carried a bow into battle and wore what he assumed was ancient nordic armor, like she was honoring the past by wearing it. Either the giant was a little more than the warriors could handle or they were going easy on it, since it was clear that the imperial warrior seemed to be lacking in comparison to the other two, though such a foe seemed to stir Azure, Midnight, and even Sharva. The trio rushed at the figure as Capper brought the wagon close to the farm area that they were fighting in, allowing him, Rarity, and La'nari to watch as they joined the fight, Midnight using her leaner body and agility to move around and avoid the club as cutting into the giant's legs, while Azure blocked the second swing and cut it's chest a little.
The main show, as it turned out, was from Sharva herself as she jumped onto Azure's back and launched herself into the air, drawing both of her blades as she lashed out with them, taking the giant's head clean off like it was nothing to her, which only made Capper wonder about her past since this seemed more than what a common adventurer was capable of.
"The three of you handle yourselves well, no thanks to your friends... you could make for decent Shield-Sisters and a Shield-Brother." the archer said, though at the same time the giant collapsed with it's back on the ground, which everyone had been able to avoid without being crushed, and Sharva landed, swung her blades like she was getting the blood off of them, and then sheathed them behind her back quickly.
Capper wasn't too annoyed by her comment, as she likely thought that everyone who was armed like they were happened to be warriors, and Azure was curious about the titles the archer seemed to give them, where she told them that the three of them were Companions, members of an order of warriors that focused on honor and seemed to be mercenaries, since she said they 'only showed up if the coin was good enough'. He found that to be amusing, that the archer could speak of honor while having a focus on the potential coin that could be gained from doing jobs, but decided to say nothing as the group took a few minutes to haul the slain giant off the farmland. Once that was done the others returned to the wagon and they found that the three Companions were heading back into Whiterun, where their greatsword wielder claimed that they should come with and join the group of warriors, even if the archer was more interested in adding Sharva to the order, but Azure said he, at least, would think about it. In addition to meeting the Companions Capper discovered that there was a tent outside the stone gate that they were heading towards, khajiit merchants according to La'nari, who had to stay outside the cities since a lot of people didn't trust them, for a number of reasons.
While they approached the area the caravan had set up shop in, however, Capper overheard them mentioning that they had found trouble on the road and that they would have to make plans to avoid them, causing him to ask about the dangers he had discovered, ending in him receiving a note from the merchant.
"Hm... the Saints and Seducers... two bandit groups that have made a name for themselves, the former having golden gear and the latter having dark gear." Capper commented, speaking as he looked at the note, which told him that the camps that Ri'saad, the leader of the caravan, knew of were further along the road leading to Markarth, from Whiterun, which was for the Saints, while the Seducers were on the path leading to Windhelm, near Fort Kastav, "He'll pay us, or anyone for that matter, who can bring them down and make the roads safer for everyone.... sounds like their gear might be good as well, which we might be able to use."
"It will be dangerous. If they're robbing the caravans, and the armies aren't dealing with them, then that means they're likely worse than normal bandits." La'nari replied, to which she focused on the path that was in front of them as they made their way to the main gate of the city, because that was more important to her right now, especially since she wasn't sure that the two bandit clans were worth hunting down since they were so far from their clan.
As Capper nodded they found that the guards outside the main wooden gate were hesitant to admit anyone new into their city, since the pair were willing to allow the Companions inside, though when they were approached Capper informed them that they had a delivery for the inns of Whiterun, and Sharva had information about the recent dragon attack. Such a thing was more than enough to allow them access to the city, with instructions to take their information straight to the Jarl, where they found that there were more people walking about and that the first building on the right happened to be a smithy and a shop all in one. Fortunately one of the inns was right in front of them, off to the left in between a path that headed into the residential area of the city and the main path that seemed to head to the market, all while Rarity noticed there was a small house to their right, one that seemed pretty nice despite having a notice on the front that said it was vacant and for sale, for five thousand gold coins no less. Capper decided not to worry about that for the time being as La'nari got off and headed into the first inn, The Drunken Huntsman it was called, though it wasn't long before she returned with a wood elf who had to be the owner, causing Azure to carry some of the mead inside as the owner handed Capper a bag of gold.
When they reached their second destination, which was The Bannered Mare, Capper made sure that the rest of the group stayed with the wagon, while he and Azure headed inside with the rest of the mead, allowing him to find that the owner of this inn, a female nord in casual attire, was happy for the delivery and handed over the payment as she directed Azure to where the containers should be placed.
"Before we leave, do you know where I might find Mallus Maccius? I have a message for him." Capper said, as while there were a few other individuals inside the building, two warriors that were in different sections, he figured that he could ask the owner about the person who was known to come here from time to time before he and the others departed, since that was part of Maven's conditions.
"Mallus? He's usually over by the cooking pot, whenever he has time to relax from his job." the lady replied, gesturing to the part of the building that she was referring to and allowed Capper to see that there was an imperial down there, who had to be who he was looking for, though that was the only thing the owner said about him as she turned to making sure one of the workers was doing her job.
As it turned out the figure in question had heard his name being mentioned and was prepared for Capper when he walked over to the small table he was sitting at, where he learned that Maven was expecting a report, causing him to hand over a piece of parchment that Capper carefully stored away for later, before wishing him well as he rejoined Azure in heading out to the wagon.
"Our job is done, we are free to leave... but we should make sure the Jarl is warned about that dragon." Capper said, where he raised his hands for a moment and pulled back his hood, as he suspected that the Jarl might not welcome Sharva if she came in with someone who was also hiding their identity, despite Sharva having a good reason for such a thing, "Rarity, why don't you, La'nari, and the others get the wagon back to the front of the city? I'll be along shortly, after making the Jarl aware of what's going on... I imagine Sharva will be heralded as a hero and be asked to go on a quest to help secure Whiterun from that beast."
"Helping people... it's been a long time since I've had a chance to do such a thing." Sharva commented, where she took a few seconds to rub her right arm, silently telling Capper that she must have had a troubled life up until being captured along with Xylia, something he wondered if she would tell them about at some point in the future, if they encountered each other after today, since he wasn't planning on joining her for whatever assignment the Jarl might have for her.
Rarity looked like she wanted to say something, but then decided that it was best to let Capper do as he wished, to which she nodded and the others joined her in getting ready to depart, to which he turned to Sharva and the pair started to make their way towards Dragonsreach. While they walked up the stairs he noticed a few things, namely the large overturned ship that was where the group of Companions called home, Jorrvaskr if what the archer said was to be believed, plus there seemed to be a large beautiful tree that had been struck by lightning fairly recently, a temple off to the left, and a statue of a warrior that had a priest preaching about the figure. What struck him was that the figure in question was Talos, the God of Man that nords worshiped, and he found that the statue was imposing, making him wonder if it was accurate or not, along with the tale of a mortal actually becoming a Divine, making the Eight become the Nine. Following that they started up the next set of stairs, passing by a small waterfall in the process, as he and Sharva made their way up to where Dragonsreach was located, which was more grand and imposing than he thought it would be from afar.
Some of the guards they walked by asked them to stop, where Capper told them that they had vital information about what they had seen previously, causing the guards in question to get out of their way and asked them to see the Jarl, and once the pair were inside the palace they could see that it was just as grand as it was on the inside as it was on the outside, though before they could take in the sights an annoyed female dark elf approached them.
"What is the meaning of this interruption? The Jarl is currently not receiving visitors." the dark elf asked, her tone informing them that she was serious, that they were in the middle of an important discussion and that she wanted to make sure her boss wasn't interrupted, to the point that she was paying attention to the main door and was approaching people before they had a chance to approach the throne.
"We understand... however, we have information regarding the destruction of Helgen and the black dragon that wiped out the town." Capper replied, showing the dark elf that he was willing to follow her decree, as he assumed she was a fairly high ranking member of the Jarl's court, especially since none of the guards had tried to stop the dark elf, though he refrained from smiling as he noticed how the lady looked after realizing that they were definitely important visitors.
The dark elf nodded and beckoned for them to follow her for a time, where they walked up the stairs and found that there was a fairly large fire pit in the center of the chamber, with two long tables on either side of it, while to their right rested the domain of a mage and the left was where the kitchen resided, and in front of them, sitting on an elegant wooden throne and with an important circlet on his head, was the Jarl of Whiterun, Balgruuf the Greater.
"Did I hear what you said correctly? You two were at Helgen?" Balgruuf, a nord warrior who was dressed like a lord, asked, as he knew that his Housecarl would only allow these two to approach his throne if they had information, and based on the look on her face it was clear that they had something he could work with.
"Th... That is correct. My friend, Capper, happened to witness the destruction from afar, while I tried to survive the flames and death that was going on." Sharva replied, where it was easy for Capper and the others to see that she wasn't used to speaking to others, rather it felt like she was used to listening to someone talk while not talking back, another thing that just made Capper interested in her past, "Capper then brought me and one of the survivors to Riverwood, where we were told to deliver a message of Helgen's destruction, and the town's need for aid, to you, Jarl Balgruuf... all we know is that the black dragon wiped out the town and was last seen flying in this direction."
Jarl Balgruuf paused for a few moments, taking in the fact that they had confirmation of a dragon being sighted and that it had wiped out Helgen, something they had a vague rumor on after seeing the smoke in the distance, before sighing as he said that Irileth's report was right.
"My lord, in the off chance that the dragon returns, we ought to send some troops to Riverwood." Irileth remarked, which was a good idea in Capper's eyes, since a beast like that could fly wherever it wanted and could do whatever it pleased, so it stood to reason that they would want to reinforce a nearly defenseless village.
"No, we shouldn't do that, not in the middle of a war! The Jarl of Falkreath, young as he may be, may view that as a sign of provocation!" the nearby imperial, who seemed to be the Steward since he seemed to be one of the advisors, given that he hadn't been escorted out once they started talking about the dragon, though it also seemed like he was one who worried about possibly offending the neighboring Jarls, or at least one in this case, "He might assume that we're preparing to join Ulfric's side and that we'll attack him to show our loyalty to the rebellion. We should..."
"ENOUGH!" Jarl Balgruuf said, raising his voice to the point where it almost sounded like he wanted to snap at them, which was understandable since this must have been going on for a long time, causing him to sigh for a moment as he regained control of himself without wasting time, "Enough, Proventus. I will not stand idly by as a dragon burns my hold, slaughters my people, and does whatever it pleases. Irileth, I want you to send a detachment to Riverwood at once, to help the people in case the dragon returns or the town comes under attack from bandits... Proventus, to ensure that we don't upset Siddgeir, I want you to draft a letter and ask a courier to deliver it to him, to make sure he knows why we're reinforcing Riverwood. As for you two khajiits, you have done Whiterun a service and I will ensure that both of you are rewarded: you, Capper, shall be given a pouch of gold for aiding in delivering this message, while I shall outfit our young hero appropriately... though it does pain me to ask for more assistance from you, as your talents seem perfect for a task my court wizard has been working on since we saw the dragon."
As the others spread out, the two members of the Jarl's counsel moving to complete their tasks, Capper made sure to lay a hand on Sharva's shoulder and let her know that her past didn't define her, she could do some serious good by helping the Jarl with his work, causing her to nod her head in agreement. With that in mind she followed Jarl Balgruuf into the room that the wizard was working in, while at the same time one of the guards approached Capper with a bag of gold, four hundred pieces based on the note that was on it, which he pocketed without delay. He was happy to see that Sharva, despite her past actions, really did want to help the people of Whiterun out, maybe even the people of Skyrim as a whole, though he turned and headed outside, as her focus should be on learning what she needed to do and not worrying about him. Of course he wasn't going to leave outright, without saying goodbye or anything, rather he was going to stand outside Dragonsreach and just take in the sights, as he knew she would come out the main door when she was good and ready to do so, so he was perfectly fine with waiting for her before he and his friends departed for Riften.
Such a thing made him look forward to what the future held in store for him, his friends, and the rest of Skyrim, because it seemed like things were only going to get more interesting as time went on and he was curious to see what sort of twists and turns would be thrown at them in the days to come.