» Mon Sep 12, 2011 3:29 am
It was mid-morning when the mountain man walked into Riverwood, leading behind him a stout horse laden down with pelts and skins. A tall, thick-set Nord whose rugged face, framed by a thick tangle of brown hair and beard, was a familiar sight to the townsfolk of Riverwood. He appeared in the village at least once every few months, coming down out of the mountains and forests in which he made his living as a trapper and huntsman. His lifestyle and trade were immediately apparent in his dirty, unkempt appearance, his keen, blue hunter's eyes, and the gear he carried. He was clothed in a ragged patchwork of leather, skin and cloth, At his waist hung a sturdy iron axe, likely used as much for combat and defense as it was for chopping wood, and in a case slung across his back alongside a quiver was an unstrung yew bow.
By late noon he had sold and traded off his furs and meat, his horse now bearing gear and supplies that would be put to good use during his time in the wilderness. Before he left town, however, it was this man's custom to enjoy a drink or two at the tavern. As would suit his lonely profession, he was not the most sociable of men, often quiet and dour of temperament, but still the patrons of the tavern knew him and welcomed him with respect, greeting him by the name "Vercig."
Once Vercig had taken a seat and been served his mead and meat, the patrons crowded around him and, rather than the exchange of nature's plunder for supplies that Vercig had taken part in throughout the day, a different sort of transaction began. In exchange for Vercig's wild, mysterious tales of his adventures in the wilderness, filled with giants, trolls, barrows and caves, the townsfolk would give him news of the outside world, brought to the remote village by travelers. The news this time was certainly something more than Vercig had been given in his previous visits to civilization; the High King was dead, and revolution against the Empire was in the air. And there were other, more absurd rumors as well; drunken men's stories of dragons in the wilderness and claims of hearing the faint rumble of the Greybeards' voices throughout the land.
Nodding his head, Vercig quietly digested the information, his bright eyes giving a thousand-yard stare. Eventually, he seemed to come to some form of resolution, though he would tell no one curious enough to ask what is was he planned to do with the news. Changing the subject by sharing an embellished tall tale about how he once won a contest of strength against a giant, Vercig eventually finished his meal and drink and stood up from his table. He strode for the door, but stopped before leaving. Turning back to the roomfull of tavern-goers and townsfolk, Vercig said simply "do not expect to see me here again for some time" before stepping into the street, claiming his pack horse, and departing into the gathering evening darkness of the wild.