Riverwood

Riverwood wasn't a large town.  A row of wooden houses followed the road opposite the river that the town was probably named for, and I could see more houses scattered toward the mountain, most with some small farm and a few animals.  A few of the buildings along the street had signage, a few with words.  Literacy was a thing.  I couldn't remember if I'd come to that conclusion before.  To my left, along the river edge, were a few small docks, a smithy, and a large water-powered sawmill clearly visible as the largest building in the area.  From that direction I could hear a female voice raised over the general hubbub giving orders as if they were expected to be followed.

I passed by an old woman on the right side arguing with a younger man about having seen a dragon fly overhead.  Her shrill voice carried over the nearby sounds and followed me as I wandered.  "I tell you I know what I saw!"  and "A dragon!  I saw a dragon!" carried me to the first sign that I thought might be a merchant.  The door was unlocked, so I pushed my way in, into the middle of an argument.

A mousy-sounding man was arguing with a woman and didn't break off immediately when I entered, "No, I tell you!  I forbid it!  There's no way I'm going to let my sister get herself killed hunting down some bandi..."  His eyes met mine and he broke off and walked behind the counter that became a lot more noticable when the center of attention wasn't the fighting going on.  For her part, the woman huffed and sat down at a small table a chair, obviously angry.

"Oh, a customer...I'm sorry you had to witness that little...altercation.  How can I help you today?"

I swung the heavy bag up to his counter and set it down, "I just left the old mine up the hill and I found some things that I don't need.  Some of them might belong to families, and a merchant of your obvious success might recognize any lost heirlooms.  And maybe give me good price on the rest."

For a moment, I could see shock war with greed war with fear in his eyes, "The mine?  But ... "

I nodded and dug around in my loot bag for the journal I'd found and set it on the counter to the right.  "They were going to attack the town.  I heard them talking about it and...well, that shouldn't be a problem anymore."  I was uncomfortable with the way he was staring at me, mostly.  "So...do you recognize any of this?"

I think he stared at me for a few more minutes, but I was determined to ignore it.  This was uncomfortable enough already.  I heard his sister rush up the stairs, so either she was freaked out too or he sent her away.  If this went on much longer I was going to gather all this stuff and walk out, though I was afraid from his reaction that would get me thrown in jail.

Finally he cleared his throat, "Umm.  I might be able to help you with this merchandise, but first I was wondering if I could, um, hire you to recover something.  You see, my shop here was broken into a few days ago and an heirloom of mine was stolen...a golden claw.  A man came in here a few weeks ago and offered to buy it from me.  He said it had something to do with the ruins north of here, and didn't like me telling him no.  I think he stole it and is now if those ruins hunting for a treasure.  Find my claw and bring it back and I'll pay you well for your trouble."

By the end of his little speech he had livened up.  I think he was expecting me to jump up and charge out into the world for his money.  I wasn't sure I was ready to kill anyone else yet today.  "So...do you recognize any of this?"

I wish I'd been looking up.  I think the look on his face might have been priceless.