JoS/Halvor/1st Journal - A Letter From a Friend

Last Seed, 19th, 4E 201

As of late, I've been keeping to myself. After months of adventuring through Tamriel, it's been nice to take it easy for a while. I've spent the last few weeks furnishing Hjerim, my new home in Windhelm. Now that I've hung some of my favorite trophies from my travels, it's actually starting to feel like home. It's crazy to think I've owned the place for almost a year now. Of course, I've been gone most of that time. Save for the occasional night or two when I pass through town, I haven't been living here at all. I've had to force myself to slow down a bit, but a little R&R is just what I've needed. After my latest trip to Morrowind proved a little crazier than I expected, relaxing back home has been nice.

It seems my time to relax has come to an end, though. This morning, a courier stopped by with a letter from Jarl Balrguuf. It didn't say much, only that he needs my help with something and that it's urgent. I really could use a little more time to finish getting things settled here. With rumors of a dragon destroying Helgen and the civil war heating up, it doesn't sound like the best time to be running around Skyrim alone either. But if there's one thing I have never been good at, it's saying no to a friend. Jarl of Whiterun or not, I can't bring myself to turn him down. My steward can hold down the fort here while I'm gone and with any luck, I'll be back before too long. Whiterun isn't all that far anyways. It's not like I'm planning to leave Skyrim this time.

My day was spent making arrangements and packing my bags once again. I sent word to Ulundil, the dark elf who runs the stables to make sure my horse is ready. My steward went to the market to buy food I'll need for the road. Tomorrow morning, I'll be heading out at first light.

Last Seed, 21st, 4E 201

I made it safely to Whiterun and spoke to Jarl Balgruuf at Dragonsreach today. The threat of the dragon's return seems more real to me now. I've never seen the Jarl so concerned before. He's especially worried about the town, Riverwood. Since it was so close to Helgen and doesn't have a wall, it would certainly be an easy target. He was really happy about the bottle of Shein I brought him, though. Balgruuf was one of my best customers of the stuff when I used to run supplies from Morrowind. He was disappointed when I sold the shipping line, but I still send him a bottle from time to time when I get the chance. Of course, a good bottle of Shein has become pretty hard to find after the eruption of the Red Mountain. Conflicts with the Argonians only made matters worse. But I still know a few places where I can get my hands on some.

Now about that thing the Jarl needed. His court wizard has been looking into the return of the dragons and needs someone to take a trip to the ruin called Bleak Falls Barrow. He needs me to retrieve some stone that may not even be there. His hope is that it will give him some clue as to the meaning behind their return. It's not really the sort of thing I'd normally do, but that's what I get for offering to help the Jarl with some bandits once upon a time. Now it seems I'm his favorite person to call on when he needs someone to get their hands dirty. If it where anyone else, I'd probably turn them down.

The Jarl was nice enough to offer me a place to stay in Dragonsreach. I told him I was just fine at the Bannered Mare, but he insisted. I must admit it's a great improvement over sleeping in a noisy inn and trying to drown out drunken rabble all night, but I've had to listen to Balgruuf's kids complaining all weekend. I also may have picked up another job I didn't want--kind of. His daughter, Dagny was going on about a new dress that was supposed to come from Solitude, but got held up due to the war. I told her I would be happy to get it for her if I end up in Solitude. She was really happy about it and gave me a big hug when I told her. I reiterated that I didn't know if or when I would be in Solitude, but I get the feeling she ignored that part the second time, too. Now I know Jarl Balgruuf won't really care either way, but I'm sure he's probably beyond sick of hearing the girl complain about it.

The good news is that this business at Bleak Falls Barrow won't take long. Soon enough, I'll be back home and who knows, maybe I'll find a new ancient Nord artifact for one of my empty display cases.