The sewer gate screeched loudly as Liam swung it shut behind him. The late afternoon sun shone hot and bright in spite of the lateness of the day and he squinted as his eyes adjusted. He found himself standing on the edge of a long blue lake, the water lapping at the sandy edge and short dock nearby where a small boat was tied. The dust of the ruins he had just crawled through to escape his prison cell had left him incredibly thirsty in spite of the ale he had downed along the way; indeed his entire being felt thirsty. Within minutes he had stripped off leaving his gear and new found armour, such as it was, on the bank and waded out into the cool clear water of the lake. Gulping water as he swam in the channel he felt some relief, but the growling emanating from his stomach reminded him that it had been a good long while since he had actually eaten anything solid and his mind turned to the rat, he wasn't sure he was quite hungry enough for that yet, and that's when he smelled it; the roasting of sweet meat over an open fire and his mouth watered. He gazed around until he spied a thin cone of smoke rising steadily from near an old ruin. Hastily donning his clothing and armour he threw his pack into the boat and paddled across the channel in the direction of the delicious smelling meat all the while considering what he might trade for some food; a few bottles of ale, an old silver goblet, the Emperor's amulet? Hmm, maybe not the amulet, he thought.
The unlikely combination of Khajiit, Dark elf and Red Guard were huddled around the campfire arguing about something, which might have been why they didn't hear the big Nord approach. Curious to know why such a crew would gather and even more, why they were arguing, Liam crouched down behind a nearby crumbling wall of the ruin and snuck quietly within listening distance.
"Orinn will kill you if he finds out," said the female Khajiit.
"And how will he find out," snarled the Red Guard accusingly. "Do you plan on telling him?" Liam noticed the man's hand drop to the handle of the mace at his side; it was obvious he was willing to use it if he had to.
"Don't be stupid," growled the dark elf, his fingers lovingly caressing a bow that seemed to give off a slight red glow at the touch of his hand.
"No one plans on telling him anything," the Khajiit snapped, "but I know I wouldn't be so fool-hardy as to think I could get away with stealing from right under Orinn's nose."
"Is it stealing if the loot was stolen in the first place?" the Red Guard asked. "Besides," he added, "we're the ones who brought it back; why should he be the one to divide it just because he set himself up as the gangs leader?"
"You're too stupid to live," said the dark elf, blandly, "I'll take the first watch." His bow glittered at his touch as he picked it up and trudged out toward a field which edged the ruin.
"What's the matter with him?" asked the Red Guard, oblivious to his own foolishness. The Khajiit rolled her eyes at him and wandered off to crawl into a nearby tent. "He's planning something isn't he?" he called after her, but she refused to answer. "I'll bet anything he's going to try to take it for himself," he muttered and eyed the dark elf suspiciously.
Liam crept silently along the wall until he reached the end nearest where the dark elf stood. Hiding himself in a cluster of bushes he raised his bow and shot an arrow towards the quick tempered Red Guard where it stuck solidly into the soft earth right between the man's feet.
"What theā¦!" the Red Guard shouted and leapt up, anger quickly replacing the look of surprise on his face. "I knew it!" he screamed and ran, mace in hand at the confused dark elf who barely had time to ready his bow before the Red Guard landed a blow to his head, cracking his skull like an egg.
"What's going on?" The confused looking Khajiit had crawled back out of the tent and, sword in hand, ran out to meet the Red Guard.
"You!" he snarled at the sight of the sword, "You planned this with him didn't you?"
"What are you talking about?" she began but then saw the lifeless form of the dark elf in the grass. "You killed him!" the Khajiit roared a cry of fury and an instant later the two were embroiled in a battle to death that pushed them further and further out into the field.
Liam slipped quietly into the camp snatching up anything that looked valuable as he went, last of all he picked up a thick fat leg of roast pork. He would come back later, after he had eaten, to see what else he might be able to carry off; a nice set of fur armour, a few small sacks of gold, but especially an enchanted bow.
The enchanted bow felt warm to the touch and Liam, anxious to see what it could do, just how powerful it was, headed out along the lake side until he came to a cave that looked like it might be home to something worthy of being used for target practice. Sneaking up to the makeshift door he slipped inside and made his way along the rocky passage. Surely his eyes were playing tricks on him; instead of a wolf or a bear or even a bandit, there before him was a woman clad in only slightly more than she had been born with. Tall and muscular, she was beautiful to behold, unfortunately, as it turned out, she had a great temper to match her great beauty and the moment she saw the big Nord, she snatched up a silvery looking mace and ran at Liam with the obvious intention of erasing him from existence. As fast as his hands could move he raised the enchanted bow and let an arrow fly; this was to be the moment of truth, just how powerful was the magic in this bow? The arrow hit the woman in the left arm, exactly where Liam had been aiming for how good is a test of a bow's enchantments if you aim for a killing shot right off? The woman glowed red for a moment, staggered and was thrown off balance; but she kept coming. Liam shot again, this time he was aiming to kill, however, he stumbled as he took a step back and the shot went awry. As the woman bore down on him, he shot once more and the arrow tore through the flesh at her waist. Again the woman glowed red for a moment but instead of slowing her down, all it did was seem to infuriate her all the more. Liam's heart was pounding as though he had a wild rabbit trying to kick its way out of his chest, so gripping the bow tightly, he did what any man would have done in that situation, turned and fled.
It was good, he thought, that he had spent his youth in the Skyrim mountains and had developed strong legs as she was remarkably fast. He wondered as he jumped over a fallen log, if she was able to maintain her speed due to an exceptionally agile body or the fact that she had almost no clothing to encumber her and for a moment he considered stripping off as he ran but the thought of being caught naked by this mad woman and her mace made him shudder.
His heart pounding more furiously than it ever had in his life, the burly man ran on until lungs were beginning to ache and still she refused to give up the chase. He turned his head to see if he could maybe get another shot in; perhaps the bow had to warm up before its real power set in he thought hopefully. Unfortunately she was closer than he had expected and landed a blow to the big man's arm, he howled in pain and raced on with the terrifying witch in hot pursuit. He was panting hard and at the moment she struck him his heart felt as though it would burst inside of him. Liam was beginning to have trouble drawing breath, this was not how he imagined dying, beaten to a pulp by an unclad woman. Just when he thought he could go no further he saw, much to his relief, an Imperial soldier up ahead and ran straight for him. Maybe, he thought, the two of us can fight the witch off, and if not, I could always borrow his horse.
The soldier leapt from the big bay he was riding and drew his sword temporarily distracting the woman from killing the Nord. Liam spun around and, in spite of the great pain in his left arm drew his bow and took aim. This time his arrow hit her in the stomach and she staggered and slowed, the next shot caught her full in the chest and she gasped, tottered and fell dead.
The guard's sword clattered as he re-sheathed it. "What was that all about?" he asked Liam who was now doubled over trying desperately to catch his breath.
He stared at the still body of the amazon who was stunningly beautiful even in death and imagined the laughter in the barracks that night when the guard told them about the Nord he had to save from a woman. "It's nothing," Liam said with a wry smile, "just an old girlfriend."
