ESRP Chapter One

Gnaeus' inability to speak more often than not left him at the mercy of others. Gnaeus has alway been aware of this his whole life. This limited his ability to communicate with others and without a way of communicating his thoughts verbally, he turned to writing. He is quite good at writing, one of his many duties in the Hall of the Divines included work as a scribe. Writing down sermons or old tomes that needed to be preserved. When the Temple found a priest willing to do the work they gave him other things to do. Most of his growth, to the height he is now, was while he was living at the Temple. By the time Sven Ironhand had come to the Temple Gnaeus had reached his full height.

Gnaeus brought the chest of Iron from the wagon, which was very heavy indeed, and set it next to the bed he would be sleeping in. Lifting the box and carrying it took effort, but it was a medium load. The chest he carried now was not the heaviest, nor was it the lightest. If pressed, he would say it medium. Soline gave Gnaeus a look of worry, Gnaeus smiled at her as she stood in the doorway. Gnaeus, pulled back the blanket that covered the bed, as habit, and sat on the bed. Soline walked over to Gnaeus and sat next to him. She leaned on him, putting her cheek on his shoulder. "Oh Gnaeus...."

This was not an uncommon occurrence, over the years Gnaeus worked at Embershard mine and for Sven Ironhand, Gnaeus had come to travel through Helgen often. Staying at the inn often became a necessity due to Skyrims weather patterns, especially during the winter. Traveling to and fro the Ironhands' estate is how they met. She was the barkeep at the inn, he was a revisiting patron. Their friendship kindled and sparked, and before long was ablaze.


Soline and Gnaeus sat there in silence, enjoying each others company. A knock came at the door, it was a short three raps three times in a row. Soline didn't move right away, she missed her friend and didn't want to be away from him. He was not like other Altmer, he didn't act superior to everyone around him. He wasn't some noble or some rich man, he was a simple miner. And she liked him for it. Her father opened the door.

"You're back!" He exclaimed. Soline shifted her gaze to Gnaeus' door.
"I am, for a time at least." The voice sounded familiar.
"Well, what have you found?" Her father sounded almost desperate. Gnaeus shifted and looked at the door. Soline looked up at him, and he down to her. He pointed toward the door, silently asking about the events corresponding beyond. She shrugged in response.
"Well, I already subtracted my fee from it, but here, I've listed everything I found."
"What was he talking about?" She wondered.
"I see, and? How much?" He sounded anxious.
"More than 500 gold septims, and.." He's cut short by her father.
"500 Septims!" He said it quietly, but with excitement.
"...And the gold ingots and valuable weaponry." He finished, almost chuckling at the end.
She could hear her father expressing his excitement.
Then the dog started barking.
"What is it Hanzel?"
The dog could smell something, or someone, that it didn't recognize.



Gnaeus stood up when he heard the dog barking. Soline could tell he was concerned. He knew the dog well, from his frequent stays at her home. Gnaeus left the room his room and entered the main hall of the home. The dog continued to bark. When Gnaeus approached Hanzel, the dog, he whined. This concerned Gnaeus, the dog had stopped barking, but only because Gnaeus soothed him, calmed him down. Hanzel was a good guard dog, Gnaeus knew this. Dust fell down from the beams above him, and Gnaeus looked up. He saw a woman, of indescribable race, walking on the beams above him. Soline, upon following him, followed his gaze up to the roof, where she saw the woman clad in black on the support beams of the house.

By this time, the father and the stranger, Soline, and Gnaeus were all staring at the woman on the support beam. After the initial shock wore off, Soline's father was the first to speak up.

"Ho there! Thief! You're trespassing!" he shouted. The stranger stepped back through the front door and ran to get the town guard, Soline went with him.

Circles are Guard towers
Unmarked squares are houses
The bullding north/above the Helgen sign is a trader who buys and sells just about anything (think Belethor, also remember shopkeepers lived inside their shops.
the Buiding below is a home