Into Skyrim

Chapter 7: An Unexpected Encounter

I walked past the maids sweeping the wooden floors of Jarl Balgruuf the Greater's palace, Dragonsreach. Tracking dirt and mud in earned me some dirty looks from the younger of the two women, but neither say anything.

When I reach the long fire pit in the center of the throne room a Dark Elf woman with red hair, whom I know as Irileth, approached me with her elven sword drawn.
"Who dares approach the Jarl without a meeting?" She questioned me, suspicion evident in her voice.

"I am Kayleighn," I introduced myself. "I wish to speak to the Jarl about the dragon threat. I was at Helgen."

"You were at Helgen?" She asked in disbelief. "You better speak to Jarl Balgruuf right away. But I have my eyes on you..." She says as she leads me by hand up to the throne.

She let go of my hand when the Jarl and his Steward, Proventus Avenicci, stopped talking to one another.

"Irileth, who is this you've brought before me?" Balgruuf asked his Housecarl.

"She claims her name is Kayleighn, my Lord," Irileth responds. "She says she was at Helgen when the dragon attacked." The Jarl then looked to me.

"You were at Helgen? And you saw this dragon? Are you sure that wasn't some Stormcloak raid gone wrong?" He asked me skeptically.

"Yes, my Jarl. And the last I saw it was headed this way," I answer truthfully. Balgruuf thought before speaking.

"Come," he said, standing up from his throne. "Let us talk to my court wizard, Farengar. I think he has a project where someone with your skill could be of help to him." We strode into a medium sized room on the Eastern side of the palace that contained an alchemy lab and an arcane enchanter, as well as several ingredients and soul gems. Bookcases and shelves lined the walls, a map of the province was nailed to a room divider, and a large desk sat in the center of the room.

"Farengar," the Jarl called out to a man clad in blue mage robes. "I have someone here who I think can help with your little project." He tell him.

The wizard, Farengar Secret-Fire, turned to his Jarl and bowed respectfully. "Ah, my Jarl, it's an honor to see you. Now, who is this?" He asked looking directly at me.

"This is Kayleigh. She is going to help you with your... dragon project. I have duties to attend to, I'll leave you to fill her in," Balgruuf says before taking his leave.

"So," Farengar begins. "The Jarl seems to think you'll be useful to my research. I hope he is right."

"No one is better for the job than me," I say, fully confident. "Just tell me what needs to be done!"

Farengar sat down at his desk and steepled his fingers. "I need you to fetch something for me. Well, when I say fetch, I really mean delve into a dangerous ruin in search of an ancient stone tablet that may or may not even be there," he says.

My confident smirk turns into a bright smile. "You mean," I say pulling out the Dragonstone from my knapsack, "This stone tablet?" Farengar's eyes widen upon seeing the slab of rock.

"Y-yes! That's it!" He yelled astonished. "It seems you are cut from a different cloth than the usual brutes the Jarl foists on me."

"... Did you just say you thought I was a brute...?" I ask him.

Before the court wizard could answer my question, Irileth burst into Farengar's study. "Farengar, come quick! A dragon has been sighted!" She states.