When I last wrote I had just been named Thane of Whiterun by Jarl Balgruuf the Greater. He also appointed an aid of his, Lydia, to be my housecarl. Before setting my sights on High Hrothgar, I thought it’d be wise to do some adventuring. Thinking my best bet would be to aid the Companions, I asked what work they had for me.

I spoke with Farkas, one of the more respected members in the Companions and the twin brother of Vilkas. He told me that some bandits were calling Valtheim Keep to the west of Whiterun home and forcing passerby’s to pay a toll.

As Lydia and I reached the halfway point we ran into an older orc. I talked with him for a while and he informed me of his wish for a good death. Rather than grow old and feeble, male orcs prefer to die while they’re still in fighting condition. Lydia and I gave him the good death he was looking for.

We arrived at Valtheim Keep, a large tower with bridge extending across a river, and sure enough, the bandit we first saw didn’t take well to us not paying the toll. There were about a half dozen bandits and we took care of them without problems. Good loot afterwards; I made a pretty penny on my return to Whiterun.

There was another job lined up for me when I returned to Farkas. He directed me to Skjor, another well respected member of the Companions. Skjor must have seen much action in his life; a large scar was present on the right side of his face and his right eye appeared to be fake. He wanted me to travel Dustman’s Cairn to retrieve a fragment of a weapon that the founder of the Companions fought with. Farkas was to fight alongside me and judge whether I was ready to be a full-scale member of the Companions.

Dustman’s Cairn was an hour or two to the east of Whiterun. An ancient Nordic tomb, there were many Draugr and a gang of Silver Hand. The Silver Hands are a group who fight werewolves. This fact is ironic because I soon trapped myself and Farkas had to battle a half dozen Silver Hands. He turned into a werewolf! My jaw dropped while I was locked up and saw him shift and obliterate the Silver Hands. I’ll never forget that. When he released me we had a short chat and it turns out that the inner circle of the Companions are all werewolves. My nerves soon calmed once I realized that Farkas trusted me with this secret and we continued on.

Our journey into Dustman’s Cairn continued for many hours and we fought many more Silver Hands and a lot of Draugr. Draugr are undead Nordic warriors and they’re tough! I was lucky to happen upon many weapons made of silver on the bodies of dead Silver Hands members. Draugr are weak to silver and these weapons aided greatly. We were successful in retrieving the weapon fragment and when we made it back to the headquarters, the inner circle found out what I knew. They were fine with it and gladly accepted me as a full-scale member among them.

I’ve built up a nice chunk of change and I think my next step is to buy a house in Whiterun. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

It’s only my second journal entry and I feel like I’ve accomplished so much since I last wrote. When I last wrote, I had only left Riverwood to retrieve the shopkeeper’s golden claw. Not forgetting that I promised Alvor to send message of the dragon attack on Helgen to the Jarl of Whiterun, I promptly left Riverwood.

It was not a short trip, but not terribly lengthy either; a few hours by foot. I couldn’t help admiring my surrounding on the way. I stuck mostly to a well-traveled path but I ran into much wildlife, including a deer, wolves, rabbits, and much fauna. Unfortunately I also ran into a wood elf selling questionable items; he attacked me for my inquisitive nature. I’m saddened to have taken his life but he made it clear it was my life or his.

After following the path for a few hours I spotted Whiterun. Before making it into town, I stopped by a few small farms and Honningbrew Meadery, all on the outskirts of Whiterun. Word had already reached Whiterun of the dragon attack and they were hesitant to let me in, less so when I told them I came bearing information. Since word had already reached Whiterun, I decided to explore the town and meet its residents, plus I was tired.

Whiterun is many times larger than Riverwood. Riverwood was a quaint village by the river’s edge, apparently most known for the small lumber operation there. They had a few cottages as well as the inn, shop, and Alvor the smith, but Whiterun houses at least three times Riverwood’s population. Needless to say I met many people who had many errands that I can help out with and make some coin.

After speaking with so many residents, I learned much about a feud between two clans, the Battle-Borns and the Gray-Manes. The Battle-Borns support the Imperials while the Gray-Manes support the Stormcloaks; I wonder if this civil war between the Nords is as large as these past few days have made it seem to be?

Before meeting the Jarl I also joined the Companions. This guild or mercenary band or whatever they claim to be say that they fight for those who wish not to, albeit for a price. I’ll be able to get much experience from my fellow companions and make a little money to boot!

I originally thought Jarl was a person’s name but in the land Skyrim it means the ruler of a hold, such as Whiterun. The Jarl of Whiterun was Balgruuf the Greater and he was a good guy. He was eager to hear what I had to say. After hearing of the dragon attack he introduced me to Farengar Secret-Fire, the Jarl’s court wizard and resident expert on sideburns. He was very interested in dragons and wanted me to retrieve a dragonstone from Bleak Falls Barrow. Thank goodness I kept that from a few days ago! Before we could continue chatting word reached the Jarl that a dragon had attacked a watchtower to the west of Whiterun. He sent Irileth, a dark elf, a group of soldiers, and I to investigate.

The tower was destroyed and there were smoldering fires when we arrived, definitely similar to Helgen and sure enough, a dragon appeared not soon after we arrived. It was a ridiculously tough battle but the half dozen of us managed to defeat the dragon, not without loss of life however.

A strange thing happened when the dragon died. Somehow I began sucking in the dragon’s soul or something like that and all of sudden I felt very powerful. The soldiers began speculating that I was a dragonborn. I’m not sure what this means but after they provoked me to yell, something magical happened; I let out a ferocious yell that a normal person should not be capable of.

Upon returning to the Jarl and telling him of this he assured me that I was a dragonborn and someone very special. He indicated that I should travel to High Hrothgar and speak with the Greybeards. Balgruff also gave me the title of Thane which makes a local hero and appointed Irileth to follow me; and to think I’ve only been in Skyrim for a few days. Balgruuf didn’t make much clear but the way he talked about High Hrothgar and the Greybeards leads me to believe they’re very important. I guess I’ll find out soon enough…