Dragon Attack!

As we arrived in Helgen, they had us lined up for the headsman's axe. I heard my mother scream "You Imperial Bastards!" as they sliced off the head of a rebel soldier before my very eyes, I was up next and as I laid my head down upon the block....A Dragon appeared.

A giant ferocious gray dragon landed on the watch tower, it's roar echoed through the town as it started laying waste to everything. Flames and Debris everywhere as I hear a call from one of the soldiers who was on the wagon with me. I learned his name was Ralof and we make an escape from Helgen through the underworks of the keep, fighting imperial troops.

As we battled our way through the keep, the next area we came into was a Torture room with more Imperial soldiers and Stormcloaks.

After killing the remaining Imperials, Ralof asked them if they had seen Ulfric pass that way shortly before noticing there were things in a cage of one of the prisoners that might be useful.

He hands me some lockpicks which I try to get it open with. I had learned how to use a lockpick in the past, but only raked ones, which these were not. They were only single hooked picks but I still tried anyway, since I somewhat understood how the inner workings of a lock worked even only knowing how to rake locks. And with some time, pushing each individual pin upward until I could no longer feel it with the pick, then applying pressure with the wrench, I opened the door.

The cage had a dead mage inside, with some gold, a potion of magicka, a spell tome, and a map of Skyrim.

As I picked it all up, I felt a strange kind of magic radiating off of something. Not the usual piece of enchanted clothing or weapon, but almost like something was..studying me. At first I thought it was his robes or maybe the tome, but upon further inspection I came to the conclusion that it was the map. As I held it up I got a splitting headache as something started to appear on it.

Two arrows appeared. One just outside Helgen, and the other inside. I think the smaller one was supposed to represent where I was. But I wasn't sure about the other.

But there were more important things to worry about, so I put it away and we pressed on.

In the next room, after fighting more imperials, the others stayed behind to wait for Ulfric while me and Ralof moved on.

Part of the doorway collapsed as we came through, so the others had to find another way out.

After getting passed various creatures lurking in the cave, we found an exit. When we got out, we saw the dragon swoop past us overhead.

Ralof then told me his sister Gerdur runs the mill in a village called "Riverwood" and that she can help us.