Chapter Two
Argis and Ionuin ate breakfast in silence, her a sweet tart and he eggs and bacon. They separated briefly to struggle into their armor, and after visiting the blacksmith for his sword, were quickly on their way. They walked most of the morning in silence, with Argis having to remind himself often that his role was now to follow, and not lead.
"We're almost there," she said, stopping abruptly in the middle of the road and turning to face him.
"Aye."
"Now is probably a good time to, uh, take care of any…um…what I mean is…"
God she's young, Argis thought. Here I am, Argis the fucking Bulwark, and my new fearless leader can't even tell me to take a leak without stumbling over her words.
Without waiting for her to finish, he turned to the side of the road and moved his armor around enough to allow him access. She turned away quickly, a slight blush on her face. As she headed off in the opposite direction to find some privacy, he couldn't help but chuckle as he called over his shoulder, "Let me know if you need any help, Sunshine!"
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Ionuin couldn't decide whether she liked him or hated him, but when she'd first met Argis yesterday morning he had nearly talked her to death, constantly chattering as he examined her wound and helped her unbuckle her armor. Ever since she snapped at him about the thieves' guild, he'd barely said two words to her. Yesterday a lost puppy without a friend, today a brooding asshole. She just hoped that the rumors were true, that he really was an impenetrable wall in battle, because she was sick of near-death encounters. The hagraven with its ice spike was only the icing on the cake, but there had been many more before that, and they were increasing in frequency.
She'd thought that after defeating Alduin things would get easier, but she was dreadfully wrong. If anything, things had gotten worse since then. It seemed that every Jarl, bartender, merchant, and pauper in Skyrim had a job that only she could do, and while she was enjoying the coin, she was sick of being the one to stick her neck out. She'd purchased Vlindrel Hall hoping that it was just far enough away to give her some privacy, but when Ionuin discovered that her housecarl was none other than Argis the Bulwark, she had begun to suspect. Out for a stroll around the city, she almost wasn't surprised when a guard told her Jarl Igmund had requested her presence, and when he asked her to rid Karthspire of his "growing problem," her suspicions had been confirmed.
"Take Argis with you," he'd said, "he'll relish the chance to get back to fighting." Ionuin had left the Jarl annoyed and fuming, and knowing that she would be the enemy of Markarth if Argis died while with her on a raid, had headed straight to Ghorza the blacksmith to purchase the best armor she carried.
Now here she was, a quarter mile outside Karthspire, pissing behind a rock while Argis joked about offering her a helping hand.
"There will probably be mages," she called to him as she trudged back toward the road, "and maybe a hagraven or two…but leave them to me, I just want you to focus on the Forsworn."
"Yeah, because if your near-death experience from the other night is any indication, you really know how to handle them," he smirked.
"I've been here before," she continued, ignoring his comment, "so I know the perfect spot to hide. Give me ten minutes to get there and get set up, then follow in and do what you do. I'll meet you at the entrance of the caverns, don't go in without me."
Exactly ten minutes later she spotted him strolling towards the camp, sword still sheathed. She waited a few minutes for him to get ready to battle, but he continued to stroll along as if the forsworn who had noticed him weren't running his way with weapons drawn. She quickly nocked an arrow, prepared to take down the leader of the charge, when Argis suddenly drew his sword and dropped to a knee, catching the Forsworn off guard and killing him in seconds. Ionuin watched as he quickly rolled to the side, effectively dodging the downward stroke of the second, while slicing an exposed calf of the third. He sprung to his feet and took off the head of the Forsworn whose leg he had just injured, and dispelled his second attacker just as quickly.
Tearing her eyes away from him, she heard him let out a guttural shout as he charged forward. Scanning the campsite ahead of her, she noticed the faint glow of a mage beginning to summon an artonach of some sort. Her arrow in the side of his neck quickly put an end to that. Arrow after arrow she fired, and one by one she and Argis cut the number of Forsworn outside the caverns in half, then in half again. When only two were left, fighting with Argis beyond her arrow's reach, she emerged from her hiding place and jogged in his direction, only to see them turn and run into the caverns, Argis hot on their heels.
DAMNIT! I told him not to go in there without me! God damn it! This is why I work alone, no one to look after; instead I'm charging full force into a situation blind! Damn him! She thought sprinting up the stairs and into the caverns. She ran down a short hall and turned left, running up a ramp and past the now empty bedrolls. Down through the cave, she finally found him, back against the far wall, stairs to his left, facing off with six Forsworn.
Ionuin glanced at the stairs before deciding that she would be a better help on the floor. Pulling her hands together, she released a double blast of flames to catch Argis' attackers off guard. Two pulled their attention from the fight, and slowly started stalking towards her. "Yol Toor!" she shouted, knocking back her attackers a few paces before she charged forward, Nightingale blade fully charged and in hand. She reached them just as the first attacker gained his footing again. Ionuin went in for a quick stab at his heart, but he dodged to the left and took her blade in his arm instead. Crying out in pain, he stabbed frantically with the dagger in his left hand to keep her at bay.
Ionuin took a few steps back, taunting the advancing Forsworn. Paying careful attention to his feet, she noticed the shift in body weight as he prepared to lunge forward with a stab at her chest and was easily able to spin out of the way. Not expecting her movement, he lunged past the spot she had just vacated and received a blow to the head from her blade. Watching the fight, her second attacker hesitated just long enough for Ionuin to freeze him with ice form, allowing her to quickly dispel of him as well. As she removed the Nightingale blade from his stomach, she looked up to see a sweaty Argis approaching, helmet in hand.
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"What the fucking is wrong with you!?" she was shouting at him. "I told you not to enter the caverns without me!"
Adrenalin was still coursing through his veins, and Argis could feel his blood start to boil the more she screamed. He knew that his face must be purple with self-contained rage, and internally he was fuming. Argis, after all, was normally the one who gave orders, not took them.
"That it?" he asked through clenched teeth when she paused to take a breath. Ionuin fixed him with a look full of hatred and stalked up the stairs. Putting his helmet back on, he followed.
Calm down, he thought to himself as they worked their way up ramps and stairs, through puzzle rooms that only she knew to the answers to, she isn't used to working with someone else, and doesn't realize that I ran into the caves to give her time to come down from her hiding spot unnoticed. She doesn't know that a six on one fight is normal for me, and I could have handled those Forsworn fucks with ease.
Still, Argis was grateful she had come when she did. Back to the wall, Argis was having more trouble with this fight than he was used to. Probably from my month spent in Cidna Mines, Argis thought, I'll have to thank the Jarl when we return to Markarth. God damn my arm hurts. Argis wouldn't admit it to the Dragonborn, but he had just been cut by a Forsworn blade when she came charging in to the cavern to join him in fight, the bastard's sword having found the weak link in his armor: the area around the inner elbow that contained only chain mail. He could feel the blood dripping down his arm, but was too full of pride to reach into her pack and grab the healing potion that he knew would close the wound.
They passed through a room with a pressure plate floor, careful to step on only the tiles with the symbol of the Dragonborn, lest they receive a fire-ball to the head. Up the stairs, and through a room with a circle pattern on the floor, encountering no Forsworn along the way. Atop the next set of stairs, Ionuin turned to look at him.
"You're hurt," she said matter-of-factly. A ball of light suddenly appeared in both hands, which she then shot in his direction.
"Wha – hey!" Argis yelled and jumped backward, trying to avoid being hit. The ball struck him on the chest, and he was filled with a tingling sensation from head to toe. Oh, it's a healing spell, he thought, and out loud said, "That felt good…thanks." She nodded and pushed open the doors.
"Esbern!" she yelled in surprise, a smile breaking over her face. The old man, whom Argis assumed was Esbern, turned away from his study of the wall and warmly smiled in response.
"You seem surprised," he said, "Do you need something?" Argis smiled under his helmet, the old man had no clue that his cavern was infiltrated with Forsworn only moments before.
Ionuin hesitated before responding, taking the time to remove her mask and shake out her long, dark hair. "Forsworn, Esbern. They were all over the place. Jarl Igmund sent me here to take care of the problem."
"Oh, them? They don't bother us," he said and turned back to the wall.
Ionuin shook her head and motioned to Argis, "Follow me, we'll stay here tonight and leave first thing in the morning. Daphne won't mind."
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Back in Markarth late the following afternoon, Argis sat in the enchanting room scrubbing his armor free of dirt and blood and cleaning his sword. Ionuin sat in front of the fire, book in hand but not reading. She felt uneasy, but she wasn't sure why. Every time she opened the book to read, her mind left the pages in front of her and instead drifted to thoughts of Argis.
They had spent the night with Esbern and Daphne, leaving early the next morning before Daphne had time to grill her on why Paarthurnax was still alive. They'd walked back to Markarth, Argis always a few respectable steps behind her, only stopping one time…long enough for her to eat a sweet roll while he ate some dried meat. Once inside the city, Argis had stalked in front of her and up the steps to Vlindrel Hall. He'd opened the door and walked straight to the enchanting room, where he stripped off the heavy armor, revealing a broad chest with a spattering of hair matching that atop his head and bulging arms. He immediately sat on the ground and started cleaning the armor, where he'd been ever since.
He's built like a God. I mean what the hell, look at his freaking abs, he's like a sculpture or something. Exactly how much time and effort does someone have to put in to get that sort of body? I bet he's never eaten a sweet roll in his life. She eyed the pastry in her hand accusingly. Maybe I should lay off these things. This will be my last one. Ever. Unless I'm hungry or I've had a bad day.
Hearing a snort of laughter, Ionuin looked up quickly. "What?" she demanded. Argis just shook his head. "What? What are you laughing at?"
"You're eying that sweet roll like it's committed a criminal offense, Sunshine," he finally answered.
Ionuin blushed and put the sweet roll back on her plate, "I'm not hungry anymore."
"Whatever you say."
"I'm not. Really."
"No need to defend yourself to me. If you won't eat it I will, that's the last one," he said standing up from his place and padding over to take the plate from her. She snatched the pastry up before he could get it and shoved it in her mouth whole.
Argis barked out a laugh and called over his shoulder as he padded towards his room, "Not hungry, huh? Good night, Sunshine."
"Fuphk oo!" she shouted around a mouthful.
Really, I'm not eating these stupid things ever again.
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Argis awoke the next morning to a candle in his face and a slap to his face.
"Ugh! What the hell!?"
"Get up, it's time to go," she answered.
"Go?! It's 5am!"
"Which means that we're already twenty minutes behind schedule. Let's go, put on your armor, I'm leaving in five minutes."
Exactly five minutes later, still lying in bed, Argis heard the door slam. Fuck. Let her go by herself and get herself killed. Where is she even going? She is my thane, and I swore to protect her with my life. Fuck. Where is she even headed?
He sat up and put on his armor as quickly as possible. Grabbing his weapon and some dried meat off the shelf, he practically sprinted to the door and yanked it open.
Ionuin stood right outside the door examining her nails. She glanced at him and smiled before casually walking down the stairs and out the front gates.
I hate her. I really fucking hate her.
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Ionuin smiled to herself. She'd caught him off guard, out of his comfort zone, and it felt good. Up until now he'd seemed confident, overly sure of himself, and she planned to take full advantage of his current sleep-deprived vulnerability.
"You can walk up here with me, you know," she called back to him.
"Yes, my thane."
When it became obvious that he wasn't going to walk with her, she sped up her pace until she was around the next bend in the road, then stopped. She could hear Argis jogging behind her, muttering curses and trying to catch up. Rounding the corner, he almost slammed into her.
"There, that's better," she said, "now walk with me."
He sighed. "Yes, my thane."
"So, other than your father the apothecary, do you have any other family?" No answer. "How long have you been fighting the Forsworn?" Still no answer. "Have you masturbated recently?"
"Excuse me!?" he coughed.
"Well, you didn't want to talk about your family or your career, so I figured your dick was the most viable option to get some words out of you."
"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered.
"Look Argis, you've got to give me something to work with here. The first night we met you had a million and one things to say, and haven't said more than a paragraph," she accused.
"Yeah, and the first time I met you, you did nothing but brood and yell at me over the thieves guild, an attitude that you carried until apparently right now. Sorry Sunshine, but moody bitch just isn't my type."
They walked in silence until they heard the roar of the dragon overhead and saw its shadow on the ground.
"Here, take this," she said, handing him her bow, "and make sure to take cover under a rock or something. That thing breathes fire."
Ionuin looked at her surroundings, and determining the rock ledge above her to be the best vantage point, quickly started to scale the wall. From her ledge, she was able to see Argis shooting arrow after arrow at the circled and now pissed off dragon, getting in better shots as he became more familiar with the strength of the string and speed of the arrows. She waited until the dragon flew right in front of her, still not seeing her, and let out a shout to bring it to the ground.
"Joor zah frul!" she shouted and watched in satisfaction as it landed. From this vantage point, she was able to summon a frost artonach then shoot ice spikes at the beast's head while Argis shot arrows from a safe distance. Whenever it appeared that the dragon would take flight again, she shouted it to the ground. The battle was over in a matter of minutes, and she lithely dropped down from her ledge to collect the dragon's soul, bones, and scales.
"If you're going to come with me from now on," she said turning to Argis and handing him some bones to carry, "we are going to have to make a commitment to work with each other. We don't have to be friends, but we don't have to be enemies either. We should at least start training with each other or something."
"Fine by me, but if I'm to come with you, you're going to have to trust me to handle the situation as I see fit. No yelling or pitching a fit because things didn't go exactly as you planned."
"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked with venom.
"It means, Sunshine, that I went into that cave to save your ass. If I had waited for you, we would have walked into a cavern full of Forsworn waiting for us to come in so they could ambush, instead they were caught off guard were half dead before you made it down from your hiding spot."
"Well…FINE!" she yelled, crossing her arms and stalking away, "But no more calling me Sunshine!"
"Sure thing, Tutz," he answered.
