Prologue

Water dripping, falling from some unseen crevice. The steady sound of its impact on rock face filled the silent air of the cave. Otherwise the darkness lay still and silent, a small trickle of water across the floor of the cavern was the only reflective surface.

Talendra fell to the rocks, her knee splashing into the water, soaking the fabric in her armor. She scolded herself for falling to the ground, she hated getting her armor wet. It always dried harder then it was supposed to and it took her several days to work the material in. She looked over to her right at the torch that had fallen from her hands, it lay there on the moist rocks. Glowing embers of burnt fabric covered in oil lay scattered around the torch.

The sound of movement brought her attention quickly to her wounded comrade, who had fallen from his perch on her shoulder when she had lost her footing. Antis Fidel lay on the ground, face up holding the deep wound that bled from his side. His black armor was drenched in blood, glistening from the torchlight.

"I don't know if I can carry you out of here!" She gasped in as quiet of a voice as she could muster.

"Why haven't they caught up with us yet?" He said looking back in the direction they had come from. "They weren't that far behind us, they might be there. In the darkeness.." Antis trailed off as he reached down to his belt, unsheathing the elven dagger there. "They might be in here with us, they're supposed to move more quietly then regular men."

"I don't hear anything, stop it!" She scolded him quietly. Looking into the darkness one direction then the other. "I don't hear anything at all. Now c'mon, we have to get out of here." She reached over, picking up the torch with one hand and pushing herself to her feet with the other.

She moved the torch around them, exposing more of the cave to the light. The moist rockface glistened around them as she searched the area quickly, her eyes darting from every area of darkness just outside the dancing light in her hands.

"I'm supposed to just take your word for it, Bosmer?" Snapped Antis more loudly this time, his obvious distrust of her apparent. She had known he wasn't the type of man she would have gone into this place with. But it was her job to be here, with him. He had saved them minutes ago, perhaps he would continue doing so.

"It is common knowledge my people have better hearing then yours Breton!" She snapped back at him.

He scoffed in reply. "As if I believe that."

His voice cut off quickly and the sound of rushing air came from behind her. She turned quickly to see him disappear from sight, dragged into the darkness by his foot. "Antis!" She cried after him.

The clatter of rocks from her left made her instincts rip to life, she took the shortsword from her sheath and swung in the direction. The sword connected with something, an all too familar material gave way. LIke a bag of sand being sliced with her blade, the sword dug in and was stuck in the creature. The wet sound of flesh meeting steel hung in the air for a moment.

Swinging the torch in the direction of creature brought it into the light. Its chest was the chest of a man, it had a deep gash running from shoulder to belly button. Her eyes moved up the torso to the face of a man. His eyes were blue. His face was twisted into a smile.