........and got the crap kicked out of me.

But why?

You probably looked at their chickens funny.

You might have had a bounty in Whiterun.

That is one very vague OP.

...OP

How about a little more detail?

Yeah Riverwood is part of Whiterun hold, so you probably had a bounty and didn't notice you were going into Whiterun. Sometimes they don't try to arrest you, but they mostly do right as you enter the city, sometimes even right where you fast-traveled to.

Nobody just saunters in to Riverwood...




You probably hit or killed a guard or townsperson while fighting dragon and didn't realize, or did something criminal unwittingly and forgot about it or left the area before you realized.

Or maybe they are just not that into you.

Well, I killed Anise for her cabin.....

Would that do it? If so, how do I rectify the situation?