I wake up to the sound of steel hammering against anvil.
I turn in my bed, putting the pillow above my head to cancel out the noise. "It is no doubt Alvor, already at work at his forge..." I think to myself.
My eyes spring open.
"Alvor is already up!"
Fearing that I've slept for a long time, I jump to my feet, having no way how to check what the clock is here in Skyrim.
I put on my clothes and strap my gear on.
Whiterun!
I want to go there! I want to learn magic!
I double check that I've remembered everything and leave my room.
As soon as I enter the hall of the inn, I see Delphine, already wearing her leather armor, talking to a muscular Nord man with long dark hair..
Delphine takes on a commanding voice when speaking to him.
"Orgnar, take care of the inn until I'm back. I might begone until late tomorrow."
Orgnar responds with a grin, as if actually not intimidated by her.
"Sure Delphine, I'll tend to the inn, maybe I'll even announce to the town that tonight, loud drinking will be allowed!"
Delphine grunts, having no doubt that he actually might do just that.
"Well, just make sure that we get paid for the ale, and no happy hour prices again, got it! You're cleaning up before I return."
I can't help but chuckle when listening in on their conversation.
Delphine spots me and sees that I'm ready to go, she grabs a backpack and puts it on, before coming over to me.
"Good, you're ready. Let's move," she says briskly.
"Alright! I wouldn't have it any other way!" I say, eager to get going myself.
We go outside and head north, leaving the town.
"So Delphine, how long does it take to walk to Whiterun?" I ask, wondering what to expect.
"It takes somewhere between two and three hours if you walk leisurely. But if we pace ourselves, we could make it in about one and a half hour." She answers.
As I had thought... Riverwood is bigger than what I can remember from the game, and it seems that is also the case with the landscape.
It's only fair to assume that the cities might be bigger as well.
"Let me guess, you want to get to Whiterun by pacing ourselves then?" I ask her, almost not able to hold in a sigh.
Delphine grins, probably knowing that I'd enjoy a slower walk.
"Of course! We don't want to waste time, do we?"
And sure enough, she picks up her speed.
I have no choice but to keep up, I hope we'll atleast have a break or two on the way!
If I'm going to travel much across Skyrim, I'll want a faster way of traveling than this!
"Hey Delphine, how much does a horse cost? And where could I buy one?"
Delphine just laughs at my question.
"A horse?! That will set you back 1000 septims! But, if you can ever afford one, most of the big cities have stalls that would probably sell one to you."
"A thousand septims huh... Yeah, I guess it could take a while before I can afford that..." I answer.
We keep walking for two miles or so, Delphine appearantly isn't very talkative when marching.
"Not one for speaking much, are you?" I ask her, hoping for a short break.
"You tire quicker when speaking, would be better to save it for the break." She answers shortly.
"What, wait! So you are planning to have a break?!" I say smiling.
"The road will start to decend from the mountain soon, there is a good spot with easy access to the river there, to cool off and drink some water."
She replies with little entusiasm.
"Delphine!" I say with a grin. "Next time, let me know from the beginning, it's nice to have milestones like that to look forward to!"
She chuckles.
"Why? You talk as if you're already tired, you do know we've only walked a quarter of the way, right?"
"Yeah, yeah... Keep on bringing the good news." I sarcastically answer her.
She smiles, but she also shakes her head at me. "You really are from a soft world, aren't you?... But don't worry, it's only about five more minutes until we reach the spot I mentioned."
I rush past her with a smile, eager to cool off my feet in the river.
"Then what are we waiting for?!"
And surely enough, after about five minutes, we do reach a nice spot by the river.
The river is wider here, and there are big rocks that peak their heads above the water, both two delightful factors working together to soften the river's current.
A perfect spot to swim or put ones feet in.
I slowly take off my boots, wincing a bit as I do. They both feel hot and a bit swollen from marching at that pace for so long.
I sit down on a small rock at the riverbank and dip my feet in.
"Aaaah... That feels so good!..." I say, almost as a moan as the refreshing cold water soothes my weari feet.
Delphine joins me, but it doesn't look like she needed it as much as I did.
"That bad, huh?... I think you should consider buying new boots before getting that horse." she adviced.
I gently massage my feet under the water.
"I guess you're right, but they were free, so I can't really complain... And I'll need the septims first."
She grabs one of her boots, holding it up and study it.
"Yeah... Or you could always rob a bandit, then it'll be free."
I raise my eyebrows, looking at her, not sure if she's joking.
"And that is how you got yours?..."
She only chuckles, not bothering to answer, she gets up and puts her boots back on.
I guess she does have a playful side, as long as it's mind games...
She looks at me with a smirk, knowing that I'm confused.
"Finish up, Ragnar. I'm ready to continue."
I sigh.
"Oh, of course you are.. thank you, this was a lovely two minute break..."I blurt out, then proceed to dip my head into the river, having my fill of fresh water before I'm ready to move again.
Delphine chuckles.
"I'm so glad you agree, you're coming along just fine."
We continue on our travels, only a few minutes later we start decending from the mountains, up until now, I think we were still at the same elevation as Riverwood.
The city of Whiterun comes into view in the horizon, it's not at all close yet, but it's still very visible.
"Wow, look at that." I say.
The city is built on the top of a hill.
Dragonsreach, the home of Jarl Balgruuf the greater, towering over the rest of the city in it's majestic beauty.
Delphine follows your gaze toward Whiterun.
"Aye. She's a proud city," she says simply.
"One of the more peaceful cities of Skyrim, being neutral in these times of war..."
She sighs, clearly having had her fill of politics.
She briefly shakes her head and change the subject.
"When you get your coin together, you can buy most of what you would ever need there."
I nod my head and reply.
"Good, I can't wait to see what kind of work I-"
"Hush!" Delphine interjects, her voice low and serious.
I'm silent, I crouch my head and look at her, wondering what the problem is.
"Wolves!" she says and swiftly draw her sword.
And surely enough, two wolves come sprinting out from behind a small nearby hill, dashing towards us!