Escape From Helgen

Continuing my experience in the Elder Scrolls V:  Skyrim, I will once again warn the reader that this post includes spoilers.  If you want to experience the game for yourself, I encourage you to read no further!

::SPOILER ALERT::

Heat, noise, the rush of wind, the rough grit of dirt and humus against my exposed face, the stink of human fear and smoke.  My senses were assailed with a cacophony of input.  For a moment it blurred together.  I couldn't think.  I couldn't move.  Training and instinct worked in tandem to overcome my temporary petrification.  I rose shakily to my feet.  The voices seemed to meld together, but I was able to pick out Ralof's hoarse exclamation.  "Argonian! This way! On your feet, man!"  I stumbled in the direction of his voice as I tried to clear my head.

All around me there was chaos.  Imperial soldiers and villagers ran to and fro in a disorganized hodge-podge of actions.  Some loosed arrows from bows.  Some raced into buildings and behind wooden doors.  This was, of course, a fruitless gesture as the dragon circled the sky, bellowing and blowing fire and pure force in all dircetions, lighting the thatch and wood construction so loved by the Nords.  Flames started to climb into the sky.  The guard towers and keep were the only structures not ablaze as they were made almost entirely of dense stone.

I stumbled into a tower after Ralof.  He held the door only long enough for me to follow him into the dark of the tower.  Several of the Stormcloak prisoners were in various states of injury inside, those less afflicted attempting to succor their badly maimed and burned compatriots.  I was vaguely aware of Ralof speaking to the bear of a man from the cart.  His gag was loose around his neck and his hands free of their bonds.  Mine were still securely tied by heavy ropes in front of me.  I was about to set to them with my teeth, when Ralof urged me up the stairs of the tower.  "We have to find a way out.  Past the stairs.  We just have to clear some of that rubble."

I started up the stairs, but as I reached the second landing, an enormous impact shook the entire tower.  I stumbled back, nearly tumbling down the stair.  Managing to catch my balance, in spite of my bound wrists, I looked up toward the landing in time to see the black, ugly muzzle of the dragon burst through the stone wall of the tower, spraying mortar and block all over the unfortunate Stormcloak soldier trying to clear the landing for our progress.  The beast gulped in air and roared.  Smoke, the scent of brimstone and huge gouts of hungry flame lept from the cavernous maw.

The smoky cloying stench of cooking manflesh was nearly enough to make me retch.  I turned from the sight momentarily, waiting to see if the dragon would linger or fly to torment a new victim.  I felt the dragon remove his huge head from the opening in the wall.  There was no way to continue up the tower to the rampart.  The stairs leading up had been destroyed by the dragon's dramatic entrance.

Ralof snapped me out of my brief reverie.  "You'll have to jump. See the roof of the inn? You can make it. We'll have to find another way out of here."  It seemed so far away and much lower than I would've liked.  I stirred up some adrenaline and backed up a pace.  Dashing forward I planted and lept across the chasm.  I landed in an uncerimonious heap on the dusty and ruined second floor of the inn.  The thatching was coming down around me in smoldering little piles of ash and embers.  I raced to the lower level and looked for a way out of the conflagration that was growing around me.  I heard the guard, Hadvar, shouting to some of the defenders.  I ran to his voice.

I wasn't sure what had made me do it, but it was a recognizable voice amongst all the din.  I grabbed hold of it like a life-line.  I stumbled my way out of the inn to Hadvar.  "Still alive, prisoner? Stay close to me if you want to stay that way, yeah!?" I nodded my head in curt acknowledgement of his sage advice.  We ran through the courtyard of the bailey, running past defenders loosing shaft after shaft at the big beast.  Finally, we reached the keep.  I saw Ralof running towards the keep as well.

Hadvar and Ralof apparently had some history.  They exchanged some choice words, but in the end, both thought it wiser to let sleeping dogs lie this day.  I paused.  Who should I take up with? Ralof had been kind enough to me.  Hadvar too had shown me sympathy before I'd gone to the block... trying to reason that I really shouldn't be involved in the messy dispute of the Stormcloaks.  My final motivation, however, came from the thunderous bellows of the dragon flying down on the tiny mountain village.  I ran to the door Hadvar had just disappeared into.  It was time to find a way out of Helgen.

The Future of Skyrim

I'm currently embroiled in an involved and time consuming venture:  that's right, The Elder Scrolls V:  Skyrim ...  If you're wanting to play, then be aware, there are some spoilers from this point on.

::SPOILER ALERT::

The squeak of cart wheels and planking, coupled with a jostling sense of movement woke me up.  My bleary eyes tried to focus on my surroundings.  What had happened?  Where was I?  Then reality started to race back to the forefront of my thoughts.  I'd been arrested (and none to gently) by the Imperial Legion.

The tall, fair-haired Nord on the bench across from me spoke to me briefly.  He spoke of my ill fortune, being caught in the middle of the battle between the Empire and the Stormcloak Rebellion.  A horse thief from the small hamlet of Rorikstead sat next to him, wondering what would become of us.  And next to me, bound and gagged (the gag was something missing from the rest of our compliment), sat a bear of a man.  Obviously a Nord, his brown hair fell around his face.  He had a sort of regal bearing, and an arrogant light in his eye.

Ralof, the blonde Stormcloak who had first spoken to me posited, that we might all have a meeting with the headsman this day.  I felt oddly at peace, not at all afraid to face my destiny, when I heard him say this.  I couldn't say as much for the Horse Thief.  He started to panic almost immediately.  As a guard named Hadvar started to call out names, one by one we queued up around the Headsman's Block.  A tall proud Nord man was the first to take the walk.  Without a trace of fear, he declared that he was ready to meet his ancestors.  He willingly placed his head on the block.

The Executioner's aim was swift and true.  The head rolled into a reed basket, while the body slumped to the ground.  A captain of the Imperial Guard called out, "Send the Lizard!"  It took me  moment to realize that they were talking about me.  I snapped out of my reverie.  Determined to show these Nords and the sundry other beings present at the be-heading, how an Argonian faced death.  I flared the feathers around my neck and head, and opened my mouth in a wordless hiss.  I felt the cool mountain air blow across my scales, and with a force of will, progressed one foot at a time in a sick mockery of reverent procession.  I knelt in front of the block.  Placed my face against the sticky, blood-slicked block, my vision filled with a view of the door of the main keep of the village of Helgen.

The executioner seemed to look through me, as if he didn't wish to actually see me.  I didn't belong here.  I'd done nothing worthy of death.  Sure I may have bent the law to my own use from time to time. Who didn't?  The axe raised.  I looked past the Headsman to the top of Helgen Keep.  The executioner set his feet for his strike.

That's when all hell broke lose in Helgen.

Next time, the tale of the Dragonborn will continue in, "Escape From Helgen."

LFW: Looking for Work

Imagineer seeks dream career//must pay lots of money//good benefits//complimentary commissary//corner office or window office preferred//inquire within to secure my employ.

So, looking for a job has always been my least favorite activity.  But between debt, duty, and desire, work is needed.  I wish it was as easy in the real world as it is in World of Warcraft.

    >> "LW LFW. Your mats. pmt depends on item. Tips appreciated."<<

Yeah... I've put in application after application. I've applied for work that I don't really want to do, but because it's available, I'll go for it.  I've applied for long shots and things that I'm over-qualified for (not many of THOSE out there).  Jobs that are local, and jobs that are out of town.  Some that are way out of town (London, England--UK).

So far I've been unsuccessful.  It's been almost two months since I've quit my previous job.  I know, I know!  "Quit?" you're asking yourself.  You don't know the entire sordid affair, and when it's been an appropriate amount of time, maybe I'll post it to my blog.  Suffice to say, it was very difficult working conditions, and I had been fighting the urge to just walk out for a long time.  Past has passed, and what's done is done.  So now I've got to hit the streets once again.

I did take one giant leap out into a scary venture.  Signing on with a talent agency at the age of 33 might seem like a dumb thing to do, or maybe a perfectly reasonable thing to do... but there's an itch in me that needs scratching--I want to act.  Yup.  Act.  Stage, screen, film, television, commercials, music videos.  I just want to get out there.  I landed a role in a community theater production of the Gershwins' "Crazy for You" as Lank Hawkins (one of the main antagonists in the story).  It's been really fun so far, and I can't wait for opening day.

Anyway.  For now, I'm pounding the pavement and beating the streets to find employment.  I'm smart, capable, funny, endearing, professional, and friendly.  Could you use me in your organization.  Well, you know how to get a hold of me, now.

twitter.com/UlfriknFritz

Renovated

If you've ever looked at this blog before, you may notice it's a little different now.  Okay it's completely different.  I was inspired by my sister, the Mistress of Madness and Mayhem (that's what she has named her blog...about motherhood, wifehood, and life with boys--in case you ever want to view it).  So why is it different?

I really think part of me needs to put this stuff out there.  I don't really care if nobody ever reads this, but I feel like it needs to be written anyway.  So what am I going to write, you might ask.  Well you might not, however, I think I could write about a lot of things.  Maybe some prosaic fiction.  Maybe some true-ish stories about my life.  The quirky things that people around me do.  My experiences as a gamer.  My attempts at breaking into acting.  My failures, follies, and triumphs as a parent.

Maybe I'll learn some things about myself.  Maybe my readers (however few they may be) will learn some things about me (probably more than they'd ever need or want).  At the end of the year, where will we find ourselves?  Who's to say?  But, let's explore 2012 together.  Or rather, I'll explore it, and if you read this blog, you can share my journey.  So here's the compendium.