A sullen Nord wearing a stained apron greeted Q'discraan as he entered the Sleeping Giant Inn. "Afternoon. We got rooms and food. Drink too. I cook and run the bar. You need a room, talk to Delphine." The innkeeper, Delphine, said nothing and continued sweeping, but kept on eye on the Khajiit. Her distrust of armed strangers was well-known in Riverwood. Fox took a seat near Niza, wordlessly watching the river. After a few minutes, she took out her lute and began strumming a tune that an old drunken beggar had taught her back home.
Q'discraan fixed the Nord with his warmest smile and most businesslike tone: "Hello, this one and his companions have been sent to deal with the recently disinterred inhabitants of a nearby barrow; the... Draugr, you call them, yes? We were wondering if you know where they have gathered, or their movement patterns?" He knew that their group could track the shambling corpses down one by one if needed, but that could take days; with some luck they had congregated around some other site in lieu of their barrow.
The bartender shrugged "No idea. Have you heard anything, Delphine?" Delphine nodded. "We had a miner come in a few weeks back. He was pretty shaken up. Said that a bunch of horrible creatures had attacked Embershard Mine and killed just about everyone inside. I told him to report it to the Jarl, but I don't know if he ever did."
Q'discraan turned to the Breton woman; "It could be that his report is the one that led us here; we're working for your Jarl." He pulled pulled his map out from one of the pockets in his armour. "Embershard Mine you say? I am unfamiliar with this place; perhaps you can show me where it is?"
"It's southwest of town. I'll mark it on your map." Delphine produced a small piece of charcoal, and drew an 'X' on the map. "If you're going to be fighting draugr, you might want to go talk to Lucen Valerius at the Riverwood Trader. He just got a shipment of fire magic scrolls last week."
"Much appreciated," Q'discraan said, as he folded his map back up. "Fire magic is not this one's friend, but I'm sure one of our group will be able to make use of it. With luck, we will be seeing you again soon." Leaving the inn once more, Q'discraan looked around for his companions.
Mir had already finished his buisness with the blacksmith. "Found anything?" He asked Q'discraan after he saw him exit the inn.
"Yes," Q'discraan said, walking over to Mir, "It would seem the undead we seek have made a new home in a mine to the South-West, and the general trader in town is selling fire scrolls, should you be interested." He looked around, "Do you know if the others are ready?"
Niza simply watched the river as Fox played her lute. She closed her eyes and relaxed for a few minutes before speaking up. "This place sorta makes me miss home..." she mumbled.
Q'discraan spotted Fox and Niza by the river, and so made his way over. "You're not kidding," he said in a low voice, overhearing Niza's comment. He had come to the conclusion that Khajiit were not built for such climates, and part of him longed for the warm sands of Elsweyr.
While the other members of the party were off in various parts of Riverwood, Jovur decided to meet his contact. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, and made a sprint for the river. He checked his map of Thalmor Hideouts, and kicked aside some fake moss on the ground, revealing a secret trap door. He knocked in the rhythm to The Aldmeri Dominion anthem, and the trap door opened up. He walked down the stair into a small room occupying 2 Thalmor Justiciars. He exchanged information with them, and they marked his maps with the last known locations of refugees and Talos Worshippers. He walked out of the hideout, and covered the door back up, before walking back to Riverwood.
"That's one thing I could without back at Hammerfell. Sand. Literal miles and miles of boring, depressing sand." She sighed as picked up a pebble and tired to skip it across the river. "Hell, it's one of the only reasons I left the damned place."
"I'd prefer sand to ash. I once helped dig out a hut that had been covered by an ash storm. We found the whole family dead inside." Fox shuddered slightly at the memory. It wasn't the worst thing she'd ever seen, but it was close. "Embershard Mine? I've heard of it, but I've never been there. Did you get directions?"
"It doesn't seem to be to far," Q'discraan said, turning to Fox, "The owner of the tavern marked it on my map." He unrolled his map on a nearby tree stump to show them.
Fox looked at the map, and nodded. "That's near the Guardian Stones. I've been through the area a few times. Didn't realize there was a mine there." She slung her lute over her shoulder and adjusted her sword on her hip. "I'm ready when you are. Has anyone seen the elf?"
Q'discraan shrugged; "The other Nord is waiting by the south gate. I'm not sure where the others are."
Niza nodded before making her way over to the south gate. "Let's round up who we can before setting out. I'd like to get this before it gets dark."
"That's probably a good idea. We still have to clear the bandits out of the Barrow once we've dealt with the draugr in the mine." Fox followed Niza, and nodded to the waiting Mir. "Embershard mine. It's near the Guardian Stones." She didn't bother asking if he knew where those were. Any Nord that spent more than a week in Skyrim would eventually hear about the Guardian Stones. "The elf will just have to catch up with us, I guess."
As Q'discraan headed through the south gate with Niza and Fox, he wondered what it must be like to have such poor vision in the dark. The night was of no real consequence to his people.
