Ahalivia Thief Fic

Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Bethesda Studios. I own Ahalivia.

Chapter 3: Fort Night

I left the Wawnet Inn at about night time and moved through the cover of darkness. The night is excellent for a thief to strike. The innkeeper told me of some rare wine she was collecting and offered me a handsome bounty if I found six bottles. I figured if I were to go looking for the wine, I could also loot the abandoned fortress ruins for anything of value and sharpen my skills as a thief.

It was not that far off when I saw a fort in the distance. Fort Nikel. I figured, why not check it out? Even if it does not contain the wine, I could at least pilfer what sort of valuable treasures it had to offer.

I unsheathed my bow and skulked through the tall grass, the massive stone structure lying in ruins. The stone was eroded, but somehow was still sturdy enough to stand. I noticed some deer scamper around in the darkness, and there were some torches lying about. Someone must be using the fortress as a camp site. I opened the wooden door slowly, and went inside.

It was dark, but I did not want to light a torch because it could give me away for an ambush. For now, I had to make do in the dark. I stayed as quiet as I could, especially in shoes that I felt a bit uncomfortable in. I did not go far when I saw some torches and a figure outlying in the middle of them. It appeared to be someone with their back turned to me. I took an arrow from my bow and notched it carefully. I pulled the arrow back on the string, the fresh crisp sound of the string pulling back to its end. I then let the arrow fly.

The arrow hit him and he was mortally wounded. I could hear a weapon unsheathe and I pulled back my bow and arrow quickly for another shot. The next shot fell him fast. I waited for a few moments, until I was sure I was alone. I skulked into the light quickly and searched his body. He had some gold and some lockpicks on him, but not much else. I opened the gate he was guarding and quietly looked out.

Suddenly, I heard an argument escalate and soon, two rival groups were fighting each other. I stayed where I was until the battle was over. Maybe one of the groups found a treasure and the other group wanted it. I waited and tried to hear who or what was there. I knew there were at least one magic user, an archer, and a warrior on each group. I waited until the battle stopped and pulled back an arrow on my bow. I fired, hitting the archer, though it was hard to tell. I skulked back, knowing that the others would come for me. Hopefully, they would be weakened after the fight.

I opened a creaky gate, which alerted them to my position and were coming up from the bottom of the stairs. I fired my bow and the mage died quickly. The warrior was next, so I skillfully dodged out of the way and fired several times, killing him. As I searched through the ruins and remains, there were some gems and potions, and some arrows and gold, but there were of little value to me except for the idea that I would no longer have to buy any of these for a while.

Scrolls were helpful, but I had found neither the wine, nor anything else that I could use, so I left. It was still nightfall and I decided to head up the road to Chorrol. Maybe there was another fort ruins or something I could check out.

The darkness lent its own mystique to me as I walked up the road to Chorrol. There was a bandit I dispatched rather easily. I jumped over her and fired my bow twice, killing her. As I walked, I felt the fresh night air and looked at the surrounding forest. I felt at home here, in the woods. Despite it being a well traveled road, not many took the time to truly appreciate the nature of it all. Day or night, nature is beautiful when it wants to be. I smile, remembering when I was younger, running through the fields and climbing trees. It was so much fun then.

My mind then focuses back onto another fort ruins. Fort Ash. I figured this was worth looking into. As I walked into it, a Khajiit Highwayman came at me and told me to hand over some gold. I politely decline and acrobatically flip away. He is surprisingly fast with that hammer, and I run up the stairs of the fortress. I fire my bow every flight up, but he is still coming. He is relentless, and I roll out of the way. I let more arrows fly, but he is still taking them in stride. We kept going, until I managed to get to the top and slipped out of the way. He fell off the side and died. I breathed hard for a moment; I am not a bandit or highwayman. I am a thief; a cat burglar, a pick pocket. I can do all of those things. But, not rob and kill someone like this.

I looked around the ruins and found some dead goblins on one of the levels. One of them was guarding some flawed gems that were sitting on a step. I smirk and scoop them up, and found some silver items in the treasure chest.

When I jumped down to each level of the outside of Fort Ash, I noticed a door to the entrance, and a string with some skulls on it. The last time I saw that, the place was inhabited by goblins. I pulled my bow out and entered the fort.

I stayed close to the wall, hoping to avoid any traps along the way. If I know anything about the goblins that I had encountered during my escape, I know that they can be clever, if a bit crude, in their trap making. I did my best to navigate the darkness and stayed in the shadows as I took out the goblins that I had encountered. The bad smell from their rotting flesh, combined with the way this place was so musty, it was difficult for me to concentrate, but, if I managed to kill one goblin with one arrow, it was for the better.

Along the way through the fortress, they did build fires and light torches. And the traps were hideous too. One was a trip wire that would let a few spiked ball-and-chains drop in on me, which I flipped and weaved between. Another was a floor trap that shot out these darts. It may have been part of the original fortress construction, and the goblins never bothered to shut it off.

Overall, the place was dark, but there were some gems and potions I did manage to find. No Shadowbanish Wine, however. I exited the fortress, seeing as it was already daylight. I continued on the road to Chorrol, passing by a farm on the way in. I got into town and Chorrol, to be honest, was not as grand as the Imperial City. It was a nice town, a quiet town that seemed to be fairly isolated from the others. In a way, I found it to be peaceful and a bit more tranquil, considering it was so deep into the forest.

I checked into the Grey Mare Inn and rested from my ordeals. I always did like exploring a new town, especially at night, when I can practice my sneaking skills…

Next Chapter:

Chorrol, and an opportunity.