Hadvar looked back over his shoulder at him with an understanding look.  Nodding to him, as he opened the door wide, telling Jack hopefully.  "Aye. You have someone here in Skyrim waiting for you, Jack"?  Jack gave him a brief nod, answering softly.  "Ya, I do. You"?  Hadvar flashed him a smile, stepping out into the hall as he answered.  "Aye. A wife and a son. This way is clear. This way".  Jack stepped out into the dark dusty hall.  The stone cave in just barely missed blocking up the door.  Quickly catching up to Hadvar, he told Jack as they rounded a corner heading deeper down.  "We have to pass through the torture room just ahead. Gods, I wish we didn't need these. The place always gives me the creeps".  The sounds of electrical sparks and clanging of metal echoed out into the hall as they drew closer.  Hadvar readied his blade, yelling back to Jack.  "More Stormcloaks"!  Jack clutched his blade hilt tighter and ran into the room with Hadvar.  An imperial mage kept his distance from the nearest Stormcloak.  Blue lightening shooting from his hand at the nord's sword.  Jack cringed as he watched the lightening race along the length of the blade to the nord's hand.  The male nord let out a piercing scream as his hand clamped tightly to his own sword as the electricity coursed through his body!  The imperial mage didn't stop electrifying him, until the nord stopped screaming.

Jack swallowed back the horror he felt at seeing the mages toothy yellow smile, beneath his brown hood.  Jack couldn't decide how he felt about this.  On one hand, the Stormcloak tried to attack the mage, but on the other... the mage appeared to take pleasure in the mans prolonged death.  Hadvar and another imperial nord overpowered the last nord, but Jack couldn't take his eyes off this mage.  The imperial mage even had a creepy voice to match as he dryly told him and Hadvar.  "You fellows happened along just in time. These boys seemed a bit upset with how I've been entertaining their comrades".  Jack couldn't stop himself from snapping back bitterly.  "Entertaining? That's some sick way of phrasing torture".  The imperial mage turned to face Jack, his voice still dry and lifeless.  "Don't have the stomach for it, boy? Then get out. I don't have time to waste on milk drinkers like you. Cowering at your mothers tit and living in a false sense of peace and comfort".  Hadvar broke up the tension growing between them, snapping back at the mage.  "Don't you even know what's going on? A dragon is attacking Helgen"!

The imperial mage turned his head lazily away from Jack to look at Hadvar, answering in lifeless disbelief.  "A dragon? Please. Don't make up nonsense".  Before anyone could add anything to the conversation, the mage sarcastically added in a dry attempt at false humor.  "Although, come to think of it. I did hear odd noises coming from up there earlier. Must be spending too much time around the nords".  Jack side stepped a bit to his right, trying to get a better look at the hooded mage in the hanging torchlight.  It wasn't a lot better, but this new angle revealed enough.  An old Elf and highborn from his attitude.  At the very least, he had friends in high places to talk to an imperial solider like that.  Hadvar's voice came out professional and a bit demanding.  Jack could almost hear the fowl words that he wanted to say... but instead he had asked the mage.  "Come with us. We need to get out of here".  Jack turned to Hadvar in surprise.  Hadvar may have been bound by honor to ask that, but he personally didn't want this asshole coming with them!  The mage answered back bitterly for him though.  Snapping back in a fowl tone of disgust, aimed at Hadvar.  "You have no authority over me, nord". 

Hadvar's voice rose in anger as he yelled back at the mage.  "Didn't you hear me?! I said the keep is under attack"!  The mage waved Hadvar off with a dismissive hand.  Clearly unfazed and not believing a word of it.  The other imperial nord turned to Hadvar then, spitting in the mage's direction, before telling Hadvar boldly.  "Forget the old man. I'll come with you".  Hadvar nodded, telling both Jack and the nord quickly.  "Take anything you need. We won't be coming back".  The imperial mage strolled passed them like a ghost, telling them all in that dry lifeless voice of his.  "Sure. Take all my things. Please".  Jack had never spit at someone in his life... but this old elf made him want too!  Jack quickly distracted himself by picking up a knapsack that was laying on a small table.  Jack guessed it used to belong to the young nord mage that was laying dead in the rusty iron cage along the wall.  Quickly pulling the potions from his pockets, Jack stashed them into the knapsack and froze.  Something was in the bag.  A black book.  Carefully lifting it a little from the bag, he stared at the bright silver metal corners and the same silver metal symbol of a dragon in the center of the books cover.  In bold white print under the silver dragon was the title; "Dragonborn".

Hadvar's voice called out to both him and the nord, telling them a bit anxiously.  "Hurry up! Let's go"!  Jack dropped the book back into the bag, slinging the bag over his shoulders and snatching up an iron dagger.  It was always safe to carry a small blade.  Jack started to follow Hadvar and the imperial nord down another tunnel, when the imperial mage told Jack bluntly soft.  "There's no way out that way you know...".  Jack stopped short, but didn't turn around to look at the old mage as he answered back proudly.  "I'd rather die trying".  Without another word, Jack rushed passed the torture cells lining the walls of the hall to quickly catch up to Hadvar.  He guessed the old mage was only being 'tolerable' with him was because he wasn't a nord, or maybe because he could tell he was another mage... but it didn't matter.  He just wanted to get home to HIS nord.  Just knowing that Mark was waiting for him, kept him fighting on.  He was going home!

Jack turned into a stone room that had cages hanging from the ceilings.  Some had fresh dead bodies, while others had nothing but skeletons.  Hadvar stood with the imperial nord at the end of the room where a large hole in the wall lead down into a dirt tunnel.  As Jack approached them, Hadvar told them softly.  "We stick together down here. I don't know what we'll find... but I've heard rumors from the miners who built it".  The imperial nord rolled his shoulders and creaked his neck, before raising his sword proudly stating.  "Better to die in battle then in a bed. Let's go".  Jack blinked, trying hard not to smirk.  He had heard Mark utter similar words... but much more personally phrased.  Following along behind the both of them, Jack let himself smile warmly at recalling Mark's version.  Mark had pressed his forehead to Jack's and whispered sweetly to him before dashing off to fight in the Pit.  "Better to die in bed fucking you, than to enter Sovngarde a bloody mess. I'm sure Talos would understand".  Jack tried to shake the blushing smile off his face.  He needed to focus.  Yet, he finally understood why Mark always told him that before a fight.  Only warriors who died on the battlefield were allowed to enter Sovngarde.  Jack wasn't a warrior and never really wanted to die in battle... That meant Jack would never see the halls of Sovngarde... and Mark didn't want to enter those gates alone.

Mark defied his own beliefs to convince himself to stay alive for him.  Jack couldn't believe in a god that would be so hungry for battle that he'd separate lovers so painfully.  Dying that way gave the nords honor in death.  They could dine with their god... but all Mark wanted was to spend eternity with him in his arms.  So, quickly Jack mumbled to himself too quiet for the others to hear him.  "Better to die in your arms, than to enter Sovngarde a bloody mess".  To Jack's own surprise the words did help him feel empowered.  He wasn't going to die here.  He was going to die in Mark's arms, come hell or high water!  They entered into what looked like an underground drainage system, and the imperial nord scoffed loudly in disappointment.  He pointed across the way to a boarded up tunnel and yelled out to Hadvar.  "That's just great! Where in oblivion are we suppose to go? Where's the way out"?  Before anyone could answer an arrow whistled into the imperial nord's heart and he fell limply to the ground!  Hadvar readied his sword, yelling back to Jack in a panic.  "Stormcloaks"!  Two male nords sprang up from their hiding spot and lunged for Hadvar with a mace and an double sided axe!  Jack quickly scanned the room, counting five stormcloaks in total. 

Hadvar kicked the mace wielder in the face as he raced up the steps and blocked the swing from the axe wielder.  Jack thought about jumping in to help, when two stormcloak archers took aim at Hadvar!  They loosed their arrows and they whistled through the air.  Quickly, Jack jumped to Hadvar's back raising his hand and throwing up a clear ward!  The arrows bounced off the ward shield and somewhere a nord woman yelled out.  "Wizard"!  The stormcloak woman dashed across the bridge toward him wielding an iron shield and a sword.  The archers even turned their bows on him!  Between him and Hadvar, they saw him as the bigger threat!  He couldn't fight and protect himself from the archers... but with his free left hand, Jack cast the spell for Ironflesh.  The nord woman brought her sword down through the air and Jack raised his arm to block it.  Her sword clanged against his metal flesh, and he quickly turned to throw up another ward with his right hand to block the incoming arrows!  He was tiring fast though...  Ironflesh took a lot of his energy to maintain... and trying to cast two different spells at one time... He was good, but he only had so much energy to spare.  The nord woman raised her sword again to try striking him down, but her blade struck another sword inches from Jack's arm!

Hadvar shoved her back with his brute strength, telling Jack loudly through clenched teeth.  "I got her! Get them"!  Jack ended the spell for his Ironflesh and quickly conjured his bound bow.  The shimmering blue bow was much lighter than any bow in the world and was effortless to pull back.  Pulling the bow string back, a shimmering blue arrow appeared and he took aim at one of the archers.  He released the string and the arrow shot through the air so fast that the archer didn't get a chance to side step it.  As the archer fell limply to the ground with an arrow in his heart, the last archer loosed his own arrow.  Jack quickly stepped off to his right, dodging the incoming arrow and drawing back the string of his bow again.  The archer tried to keep moving around, but he couldn't aim his own shot.  Jack just had to wait for him to stop.  When the archer did, Jack loosed his arrow and it sank deep into the archer's forehead!  Jack cut off the spell for the bound bow, letting his arms fall weakly to his sides.  That had gotten his heart racing.  Hadvar chuckled from a few feet beside him, standing over the body of the dead nord woman as he told Jack playfully.  "Remind me not to cross you. Come on. Let's see if we can find a way out".  Jack lowered his gaze to the ground with a small smile, before following Hadvar across the bridge to the boarded up tunnel wall.  To Be Continued...