The Lightning Scroll

Ch3, Pt I: Chaos

Eventually he arrived at a village with a sign titled "Riverwood," which had villagers wandering the streets as they would on a normal day.

"Welcome to Riverwood, kid," a man in blacksmith attire called out to Jo'navir.

Jo'navir nodded his head in response. "Have you seen a khajiit walking through here recently? With white fur and black stripes?"

"Afraid not, boy. You should be careful out there though. We just got news of a dragon over Helgen," he said while smacking a heated iron sword over an anvil with a hammer.

"I appreciate the warning," Jo'navir sighed.

His stomach began to feel empty. He spotted a wooden sign hanging off the side of a building carved out to read "The Sleeping Giant Inn."

"That sounds promising," he said to himself.

Inside, there were several people relaxing about the tables and chairs. There was a bar counter at the end of the room and a campfire in the middle.

"If you need food or drinks, you've come to the right place," a man called to Jo'navir from behind the counter. "If it's a room you need, we've got that too, for a little coin of course."

"Food sounds good," Jo'navir decided, walking up to the counter.

"You got coin?" the man asked.

Jo'navir stared in confusion.

"Do you have any gold, cat?" he asked again.

"Oh," Jo'navir stuttered, reaching into the pockets of his new armor. He pulled out some coins leaving them on the counter. "Food please," Jo'navir said.

The innkeeper pointed to the meat hanging behind him. "Which'll it be?"

Jo'navir pointed out the red-striped, rectangular slab of meat nailed against the wall. "I'll take whatever that is."

"Horker meat," he replied. "Here you go, pal." The man placed the meat on a plate and slid it over the counter, grabbing the right number of coins for the exchange, leaving the leftover.

Jo'navir pocketed the rest of his gold and started chowing down on his meal. He began asking his questions again about Dexpa in between bites.

"Have you seen a khajiit boy walk through here recently? Just a bit younger than me."

"Sorry, I haven't. Is he your friend?" the man replied.

"Brother," Jo'navir shook his head.

"It's getting late you know. The sun is going down, and I have a feeling you're not from anywhere around here," the inn merchant said now feeling genuine concern for Jo'navir.

"If you need a room, you just say so. I'm sure you've heard the rumors about a dragon lurking about. Plus, you're not going to find your brother if you can't see where you're going."

Jo'navir sat silently for a few seconds considering the man's words. "You're right," he said hesitantly, placing the rest of his coins back on the counter.

The man grabbed the rest of the coins, leaving one for Jo'navir. "Take the room on your left. My name is Orgnar. If you need anything else, let me know."

Jo'navir nodded his head in thanks and went into his room for the night. He managed to get a few hours of sleep, but the thought of his brother being in danger made it difficult to get any more. The only solace he had was that he didn't find a body belonging to Dexpa amongst the chaos at Helgen. "Where do I even start looking," he said, staring at the ceiling above his bed.

He got out of his bed and approached Orgnar at the counter. "Hope you got some good rest," said Orgnar. "Need a drink?"

Jo'navir shook his head. "I wanted to ask something. Do you know of a strange scroll with the ability to transport living beings?"

"You mean an Elder Scroll?" Orgnar replied concerned for Jo'navir. "You must be out of your mind to be looking for one of those."

Jo'navir's expression remained stern. "My brother might have it. Or maybe it'll lead me to him. I'm not sure, but it's the only lead I have right now to finding him."

Orgnar sighed. "If you want information on the scrolls, the only place I can think of is the Mage's College of Winterhold."

"Where is that?" asked Jo'navir.

"You really aren't from around here, are you?" Orgnar said. "It's up in the mountains far northeast of here, buried in snow. The place doesn't have the best reputation though, so go at your own risk."

Jo'navir felt relieved, finally having a lead to take him to Dexpa. "Thank you!" he said running out the door in a hurry.

"Just follow the river!" Orgnar called to Jo'navir as he barged out the door.