Faendal drew the string and exhaled slowly. He let the string slip from his fingers. The arrow flew through the snow fall and hit the center of the hay target. He grabbed another arrow from his quiver and notched it. Faendal held his bow in front of him as he stared at the target. Cold stone buildings and icy tundras was no place for a wood elf. Sometimes he wondered why he was still at the college. But then Rhew would appear and smile at him and he remembered what he was doing there. He aimed the arrow at the target and drew back the string. She smelled like flowers. It reminded him of Valenwood. The arrow flew and hit the corner of the target. "Damn it." Faendal muttered. I can't think of her when firing arrows, he thought.

Faendal took out another arrow and started notching it to the string. "Hey, brother Bosmer!" Enthir's voice called out from behind him. Faendal turned and saw Enthir walking towards him from the door. "Buddy! Friend!"

"Brother? Buddy? Friend?" Faendal asked as he returned the arrow to his quiver. "You've never called me any of those."

Enthir gave a fake look of shock. "Can't two Bosmers talk about…. ehhhhh" He paused, "archery?"

Faendal cocked an eyebrow. "You want to give it a shot?" He asked holding out the bow to Enthir.

"No. Not really." Enthir replied pushing the bow away with a finger. They stood in silence for a moment. Faendal glanced around wondering what Enthir could want. "So you know that Snow Elf girl you own?" He asked breaking the silence.

"Own? Rhew is not an item to own." Faendal said flabbergasted.

"Uh huh." Enthir didn't seem to care. "Well anyway, she borrowed a spell book from me and I need some form of compensation."

"Borrowed." Faendal said flatly.

"Yes."

"A spell book."

"Yes." Enthir repeated with a little annoyance,

"A book that disintegrates after you read it and comprehend it."

"Yes! Alright?!"

Faendal watched Enthir for a moment. "You know, if you had something you wanted to ask me to do you should have just come to me instead of tricking Rhew and using that to…. compel me to do a favor for you."

"I could have sold that spell to J'zargo for double the price!" Enthir claimed angrily. Faendal only shrugged. "A staff was supposed to be delivered to me but it obviously hasn't arrived. I think a bear got the courrier because I was able to track the staff to a bear den in the Rift."

"So, you want me to go to a bear den in the Rift and retrieve your staff?"

"Thank you! I knew I could count on you! Here's a map to the location." Enthir replied shoving a rolled up parchment in Faendal's hand.

'Wait! I haven't even agreed to do it!" Faendal called after Enthir as he went back into the college. Enthir waved a hand at Faendal and was gone. Faendal placed his bow on his back and opened the parchment. It was a crudely drawn map that showed a cave near a small town called Kynesgrove. If it's just a bear den it shouldn't be much of a problem, Faendal thought.

He went to his room and packed a few supplies for the trip. A couple of potions and food to last for two days. He didn't see how the trip would last longer than that. Faendal began to leave the college. He hesitated at the gate debating whether to tell Rhew. She would demand to come with me, he thought. And as much as he enjoyed her company she wasn't very good at stealth. Faendal decided against it and headed out the gate. He'd be back the next day. There was no need to worry her.

Faendal traveled south down the only road that led from Winterhold. When the road turned west he decided to continue south off the trail. Windhelm shouldn't be too far and the den wasn't much further from there. He passed by the ruins that dotted the snowy hills making his way to WIndhelm. Faendal walked around the towering stone walls of Windhelm and found the road that led to the Rift. Soon the snow disappeared and the cracked earth of the Rift appeared. Steam burst from the cracks as Faendal walked further into the Rift.

He stopped for a moment and checked the crude map. The den was nearby just off the road. Faendal took out his bow and readied an arrow. A traveller walked by him watching Faendal cautiously. He slowly made his way off the road through the cracks and small cliffs of the Rift. He stopped in the shadows of one cliff just out of sight of the cave's entrance. Faendal's eyes widened in surprise. This wasn't a bear den. It was a bandit camp! A bandit stood guarding the outside of the cave. Faendal silently cursed Enthir. He would not have agreed to this if he knew it was bandits and not bears!

Faendal aimed the arrow at the bandit and fired. The bandit fell to the ground dead. He waited a few minutes in the shadows for other bandits to appear. When none did Faendal slowly made his way into the cave hoping there would only be a couple of bandits. A second bandit appeared ahead in the narrow passage as Faendal silently stepped across the uneven ground. It looked like this bandit was alone as well. Another guard? He readied another arrow to shoot but lost his footing on a loose stone.

The bandit heard the sound from Faendal slipping and pulled a lever near him. He heard the sound of boulders dropping from behind. Faendal was able to fire his arrow before the boulders began rolling by but only caught the bandit in his shoulder. The bandit cried out in pain. Faendal was knocked to the floor by a boulder. It hit his back as other boulders rolled past him. Faendal gritted his teeth to stop from yelping from the blow. The bandit miscalculated how far the boulders were rolled and was caught up in them as well. When the boulders stopped the bandit had disappeared under the massive stones.

Faendal started to push himself up and fell back to the ground in pain. His ribs on the left side of his body cried out in pain. This wasn't good. Something must be broken, he thought. And he could hear the other bandits heading towards him. At least three more. What if I die here? Faendal thought. He pushed the idea out of his head. Dammit, Enthir! I wanted to get out of Winterhold but this wasn't what I had in mind!

He shuffled through the satchel pushing back the pain and pulled out a small vial. He swallowed the liquid and felt the pain numb to a dull throb. It didn't heal his injury but made it so he could ignore the pain which may not be a good idea but he had to get out of this cave. He pushed himself to his feet and grabbed the bow. Faendal took another arrow from the quiver causing a sharp pain shoot through his body but he ignored it. Readying the arrow, Faendal pulled back the bowstring as the first bandit came in sight. "Here's the intruder!" He yelled in a gruff voice. Faendal fired the arrow and dropped the bandit. He grimaced from the pain. Faendal continued further into the cave and went around a corner where he came face to chest with a giant orc. The orc swung a warhammer at Faendal. He fell back avoiding the hammer swing dropping his bow in the process. Faendal rolled by the orc avoiding the hammer slamming into the floor. He grabbed the dagger from his boot and slashed at the back of the orc's legs. The orc fell to the ground bellowing in pain. Faendal plunged the dagger into the back of the orc and pulled it out.

I really hope there's just one more, he thought. Faendal followed the twisting cavern further until it opened up to a large room. To his relief there was only one bandit in this room. The chief, Faendal assumed. "One elf!?" The chief yelled, "One elf has killed my entire group?!" Faendal spotted a staff propped against a corner of the room. That must be Enthir's staff.

"I'm just here for the staff." Faendal explained leaning against the wall. The pain in his side was increasing. "It doesn't belong to you."

The chief laughed. "What do you know what belongs to me or not? You killed all my men. I'm not giving you anything and you are not leaving here alive." He took out a two handed sword and charged at Faendal.

Faendal sighed partially from exasperation and partially from the pain. He unsheathed his sword and ran at the chief. He ducked under the swing of the chief's sword and turned to strike. They both connected at the same time. The large sword caught Faendal's thigh. Faendal sliced the long of the bandit's back. They both fell screaming in pain. His hand went to the gash. Blood drenched his hand as he pushed himself up to his feet with the help of his sword. The bandit laid on the ground howling in pain.

Faendal ignored the screams of the bandit and hobbled to the staff. He loathed this staff but everything would be for nothing if he didn't bring it back to Enthir. He tucked the staff between his back and the quiver. Faendal turned at a sound from behind him in time to thrust his sword through the chest of the bandit chief. The chief's sword plunged into Faendal's shoulder. He pulled his sword out and let the bandit fall to the ground. Sheathing his sword, Faendal began to limp slowly out of the cave. He managed to pick up his bow on the way out despite the piercing pain he felt. All the pain from the gashes and his ribs came back ten fold now that the bandits were dead. He assumed that it was the adrenaline of the fight that had allowed him to ignore the pain and not the potion.

He slowly made his way through the Rift and back onto the stone cobbled road. Every step sent jolts of pain through his body. Every breath caught in his throat. Inhaling felt like a punch in his ribs. He came to a crossroads and saw a sign for Kynesgrove. At the top of the hill was a small building that he prayed was an inn. The sun was low and the moons were bright in the sky by the time Faendal made it to the wooden building. He made his way inside and to the counter. The innkeeper looked alarmed at his state. "I need-" he started collapsing on the counter. The sharp pain was too much. "I need-" he tried again unable to speak more.

"Don't try to speak!" She exclaimed, "I'll help you to a warm bed. You look like you got caught by a band of bandits!" She said as she helped Faendal into a spare room.

"I caught them." He managed to get out. He tried to laugh but grimaced. The innkeeper helped him into the bed and he tried to rest. But all he could do was lay there breathing in sharp gasps.

The innkeeper returned and handed him a vial of liquid. "It's a sleeping potion." She told him. "We don't have much but this should help some." He thanked her and took the potion and drifted into unconsciousness soon after.

Faendal left the inn early the next morning to the protests of the innkeeper. She offered for him to stay until his injuries were healed but he knew he had to get back to Winterhold. He could only imagine how worried Rhew was. It took Faendal the entire day to walk from Kynesgrove to WIndhelm. Just the day before it had been maybe a couple hours trip. Even with the potion the pain was unbearable. He kept one hand against the gash on his thigh. The other arm wrapped around his side in any attempt to ease the pain.

He fell into the bed at the inn in Windhelm. The idea of continuing on the next day filled Faendal with dread. Without another potion his sleep was nonexistent. The night consisted of him forcing himself to breath and attempting to push the pain out of his mind. He wasn't succeeding. Faendal now wished Rhew had come along to get the staff with him. Her restoration spells could ease the pain and her destruction spells may have been able to avoid the injuries all together.

At sun up he forced himself out of the tavern and outside Windhelm. He made it as far as the stables unable to walk any further. Faendal paid the carriage driver double his usual rate to get him to Winterhold. Every slight bump the wheels went over was torture to the wood elf. When they finally arrived in WInterhold after the long hours, Faendal staggered towards the college. He was part way across the bridge when he saw Rhew run to him. He collapsed in her arms glad to have made it back alive.