"Why do we fall?"

Sorry for the delay, but I've had some things to do for the last month or so. Some of that work may have ended up doing some good though, so I got that for me which is nice.

Disclaimer: I don't own Skyrim or any commercial product which may or may not be mentioned in this chapter.

Ps: Someone please get the reference.

…

Downtime

There were always two sides on the coin. Lydia's companionship with the Dragonborn was no exception to that rule. There were certainly plenty of adventures and riches on the trials they traversed… but they also brought them to some of the worst places in Skyrim and beyond.

That was however not the worst part of it though. Her thane had a tendency to bring out either the best or worst in the people they met with his carefree and obnoxious nature. The former ended up worshiping the Dragonborn like some form of deity. The latter usually ended up in a shallow grave and reunited with their ancestors in the afterlife.

Then there was the time Lydia enjoyed the most: the time between their encounters with either devoted friends or dismembered corpses.

She wasn't sure where she was on that timescale as she lowered the hook and bait into the stream while she kept a watchful eye on her thane.

The imperial stood as still as a statue on the small bridge ten meters downstream from where she was fishing. They had arrived five days prior and made camp at the base of the bridge after they had killed a troll that used the bridge to attack, kill and eat unsuspecting travelers. That had seemed like a good and noble deed, but Lydia had been surprised when she woke up the following morning and found her thane standing on the bridge with a claymore, facing the road they had traveled the previous day.

He had used ashes from their campfire to dye his armor black and had remained… vigil ever since. She had inquired what he was up to, but had only gotten a short answer; "None shall pass."

Lydia had been in the Dragonborn's service for long enough to know to not test her luck and had simply decided to let him get whatever he was dealing with out of his veins. The goatslaying (near extinction of goats) was a prime example of that. She didn't think there'd be much trouble this time after all. They were literally in the middle of nowhere; few to none would risk life and limb to her thane, right…

It wasn't like she was entirely wrong though. A small pack of brigands had attempted to cross the bridge on the first day. They had laughed at the Dragonborn and attempted to attack him. They stopped laughing when their first goon got his head chopped off and sent tumbling down the nearby waterfall. Lydia rolled the rest of their bodies into the river on the third day since the smell of their bodies attracted hungry predators.

Another challenger arrived on the fourth day, claiming the Dragonborn was standing on his bridge. The challenger lasted one full second longer than any other opponent they had encountered during the last month. But the fight reached its eventual ending after he was stabbed through the face. A second duo of challengers arrived mere moments later. These consisted of a man dressed in a hold guard suit with a homemade crown on his head, and a beggar looking fellow who carried a ridiculously large backpack. The crowned man claimed to be a king looking for knights and offered the Dragonborn a place at his table.

"None shall pass", was the only words uttered by the Dragonborn. This agitated the king and ended in a bloody battle which ended with the king being hacked into pieces before dying. The beggar chose to jump down the waterfall rather than suffer the same fate.

The fifth day had so far been uneventful, and Lydia hoped it would remain that way. The deaths of the brigands were justified, and the king and the beggar would most certainly not be missed… but their deaths had been senseless none the less. With power came responsibility, and this was under no circumstances responsible use of time.

"There he is!"

Guess that means we're back in business, Lydia thought and placed her fishing rod on the ground and started walking towards the bridge when a trio of figures emerged from the forest. Their leader was a tall elven woman dressed in a black coat. The two elves flanking her wore golden armor, identical to the ones used by the Thalmor dominion. Lydia was neither surprised nor worried for her thane's safety. They were attacked by the Thalmor on a weekly basis at least. That they hadn't attacked earlier was the surprising part. Perhaps this one got more brains than attitude, Lydia mused.

The elven woman strode up to the Dragonborn and stared him in the eyes… or visor if you were to be precise. "You, Dragonborn!" Her voice held the same tone and arrogance the previous hundred or so Inquisitors had used when they confronted their prey. That tended to be the last thing they said before they were sent to whatever afterlife awaited arrogant elves.

The Dragonborn remained at his post on the bridge, completely undeterred by the fact that yet another hit squad had found them. Lydia couldn't fault him for that; they tended to be more talk than anything else. "None shall pass", he simply said.

The Inquisitor smirked. "That's a clever disguise, Dragonborn, but even that won't fool the mighty dominion."

He didn't move a muscle.

She looked taken aback by that. Probaly not used to people not being pushovers, Lydia thought.

The elf cleared her throat. "I'm Mylare Insormau, High Inquisitor of the Thalmor Dominion. You've been found guilty for committing multiple crimes against the dominion. How do you plead?"

If I had a septim for every time I've heard that, Lydia thought with a broad grin. Seeing those elves be taken down a peg always had that effect on her.

"None shall pass", the Dragonborn said.

That defiantly shocked her. "Submit now or face the consequences for instilling the wrath of the Thalmor Dominion." She stepped onto the bridge.

The Dragonborn immediately brandished the claymore and took a threatening step towards the three elves.

"You dare resist us? Then face the consequences!"

The next few seconds surprised Lydia. The elven woman produced a staff unlike most of her predecessors who usually ended up using a sword or dagger. Those who did use staffs usually had some sort of generic magic, like frost, fire or thunder. Those would barely slow someone like the Dragonborn down. Lydia stared in disbelief when her thane was hit by a bolt of green flames that knocked him over the edge of the bridge and down into the stream below.

He disappeared down the waterfall moments later. Lydia was shocked… then to her surprise… relief. The mental torture she had had to endure for the last few years was finally at an end. No more goatslaying, no more chickens thrown from mountains, and most certainly no more skimpy Forswarn armor. That sounded like paradise to her.

The elven inquisitor smirked. "Today justice has prevailed." She turned to her followers and nodded towards the edge. "Find his body and bring me his head."

…

Lydia spent the next few hours contemplating her newfound freedom while the elf gloated about her achievement for herself. Maybe narcissism is a job requirement, Lydia thought. The Dragonborn would've made a great Inquisitor if that was indeed the case. Not that it mattered anymore considering he was sleeping with the fishes.

Lydia wasn't sure what she'd do with her life from now on. A long vacation was in order after her long service to her late thane. A nice house wouldn't be bad either, maybe starting a business of her own…

"Guess who's baaaaack!"

That voice was way too familiar. Lydia prayed to all eight… nine gods that it had been her imagination, but those prayers were left unanswered when she saw the Inquisitor react in the same way.

Their eyes turned towards the road just as the Dragonborn emerged from the forest with two elven heads strapped to his belt and a two-handed battle axe in his hands. His armor lacked any trace of the ashes he had covered it in, but he locked no worse for wear otherwise. Talos, please save me!

The Dragonborn charged towards the Inquisitor and screamed from the top of his lungs. "None! Shall! Pass!"

…

That's it for now.

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend.

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Cheers!