Daylight

I know I caught him by surprise.  I doubt it would have been so easy to pin him against the wall with my war pick pressed against his throat if he'd been expecting a reaction.  I seethed with anger and heard myself spit out, "Don't ever call me that again, Nord.  I am Moria Mellidae, and I will not bear slights against my family lightly.  Do you understand me?"

I had his swordarm pinned against the wall with my sheild, and I could feel him tense up in reaction, but he was wise enough not to fight me.  "Aye.  I understand ye, lass."  Something had made his accent thicker...fear, anger, or a combination perhaps.

The anger receeded, a little, and I watched his eyes.  I thought a Nord might understand family well enough to leave it at that, but I knew that I didn't trust him at my back right now.  There was anger in his eyes too, but I didn't think he would lash out right away so I stepped back quickly.  I knew I was strong, stronger than I ever remembered being before, but he had mass and reach on me and I didn't want to get into a wrestling match.  Not my style.

He came off the wall deliberately, trying not to provoke me further I guess, and we continued deeper into the cave, both too obviously intent on keeping cautious space between.  Before long we saw light ahead again and he said, "There, that's the way out.  There shouldn't be anything else here..the keep does regular sweeps of these caves to keep the larger wildlife out just in case someone needs to use them."

I nodded.  That made sense.  It was one of the first things anyone had said that made sense to angry-me and foggy-me at the same time.  Including me.

Near the end of the cave was another gate to keep things out, this one much worse for the wear.  Large gaps could let things in if they were determined enough, probably why the sweeps were needed.  The gate was out of sight of the cave entrance, which was also covered with overgrown thorny thistle plants.  "Hard to find this place if you didn't know it was here" I said.

Hadvar's response carried a bit of humor, despite the thick tension between us. "Hard to find this place if you know it is here."  We pushed forward through the thorns into daylight that somehow seemed out of place with the carnage behind us.  I looked left and right for landmarks, something to place myself in this world when I felt the dragon's earthshakingly loud roar from behind.

I took refuge in the suddenly inviting thistle bush and waited for another sign...any indication that death was still out there.  A long minute passed and I heard it again, faint, moving off, and my knees turned to jelly.

Hadvar was moving before I got control of my knees again. I guess he was more used to nearly dying than I was, or maybe he just didn't come as close to dying.  Either way he was moving.  He called back, "I think we should split up here.  There's a small town down the mountain named Riverwood.  You can start over there...maybe stay out of trouble with the army this time."

That made me angry again because it hadn't been my fault that I'd been picked up.  I was just in the wrong place when Imperial soldiers swarmed out of the brush and pummelled me into submission.  I stopped, confused, where did that come from.  It did explain the pain I felt when I woke up though.  I shook my head to clear it.  This was getting me nowhere.  I pulled myself out of the thistle bush and looked around again.

The cave emerged on a small ledge on the side of a steep stone incline.  Above and behind were the stone walls of the keep I'd just escaped.  Left and right...I looked up and checked the sun...ok..north led down the mountain in the direction Hadvar had gone.  South didn't look very passable, but if I were careful I might be able to make it to a level saddle and look around.  West also led down the mountain, and I could make out what might have been a trail or road on the lower slopes.

I had no desire to see Hadvar again after threatening to kill him so I decided west might be the most prudent path.