Different and Similar

To Lydia's surprise, Ulundil was performing his job with a dedicated seriousness. Her group had barely crossed Greenspring camp in nearly a week, and Ulundil had forcefully navigated himself to the front of the group. The Altmer issued orders and recommedations without requests, stating directions that seemed to be unnecessary. To her knowledge, only the roads surrounding Solitude were stuck with poor traveling conditions – but there was no need for navigation until they reached there. Ulundil seemed to ignore this and believe himself to be neccessary at every step of the way.

More pressingly, Lydia was disappointed with the group's progress – crossing Greenspring camp was to be done on the fourth day, (according to Egvir's calculations) yet they were seven days into the journey. The climate had remained relatively temperate as well, so there was no discernible excuse as to why the journey was prolonging itself.

"Keep moving left, avoid the hill!" Ulundil cried out in front of her.

Lydia scoffed. She wondered if the Altmer was purposely misleading them and taking them through a longer path – after all, the reward grew in proportion to the amount of days spent on the road.

She turned back, checking for what seemed like the thousandth time to make sure all members of the group were present. Traveling on horsenack meant that they stuck to the road as much as possible, but occasionally a straggler would fall behind if the terrain proved to be a bit too steep or confusing. Ulundil of course, never helped with this.

"We're all still here," came a soft voice from behind her, figure swathed in heavy steel armor. It was riding atop a quite large horse, significantly bigger than the rest the travelers were using. Lydia could make out two dashing eyes peeking from underneath a helmet. "Do not worry!"

Lydia smiled at Bok, who was checking behind himself to make sure his companions were there as well. Lydia observed five figures following closely behind on horseback, and identified them by shape of armor. Three heavy and broad figures rode behind Bok, while two lean but tall forms rode behind the four. In this way, she was fairly certain that her male companions were in the front (unlikely to be other warriors their sizes), and the slim forms of the back flank confirmed it as Egvir and Brit. Lydia chuckled as she noted the natural gender separation – the two women chatting away in the back, while the males joked in the front.

Just out of the corner of her vision, riding so far away from Lydia's group that they could be easily mistaken for strangers – were two hazy shapes, both riding two black horses. She frowned before turning ahead.

Unknown to Lydia, Brom had noticed that glare – even from far away.

"Boy! What is it?"

Brom turned to Skulvar riding beside him, curiosity shining from his face.

"Nothing," he lied. "Just thought I saw something, then realized it was nothing."

Skulvar huffed and sped up slightly, his horse galloping away as he rode slightly in front of Brom.

Brom shuddered, recalling their previous encounter nearly a week ago in the stables at night. He had waited for Lydia's group to move quite far away before he walked into Skulvar's house, brandishing the leather bracers at him before Skulvar tried to throw him out. Once Brom had explained the situation, he was – at the very least – expecting an apology. Instead, Skulvar had chose to nod silently at the end of it, convinced of Brom's lie and shook his hand. It was a mark of respect, and maybe even hope for forgiveness later – but Brom could care less about that part. In his mind, this lie also bound him to traveling with Skulvar and Lydia's group, or else Skulvar would realize the truth and Brom's guilt over his lack of gratitude would be stuck with him forever. Brom also knew that part of his lie entailed somehow explaining to Skulvar why they were following so far behind Lydia's group – although this even more poorly constructed. Brom had told the Nord that Ulundil was violent and might react badly to the presence of a second navigator, which Skulvar immediately swallowed up – probably due to his own perpetuating hatred against the Altmer.

This, however, did not save Brom if Skulvar had decided to speed up and join Lydia, who had promised before to immediately out him. Brom had informed Skulvar repeatedly that everyone in the group knew that they were joining – only Ulundil was left ignored.

The only part of the lie left unattended however, would be how Skulvar would receive the reward promised at the end of their journey – Brom had not found a satisfactory story to cover that up. He mused over begging Lydia to spare a few septims and maybe a useless artifact to please Skulvar. After all, Brom was sure that the man was far more interested in mere traveling "with" the Dragonborn than actually receiving a reward. Indeed, all of these lies had worked precisely because of Skulvar's sycophantic nature – his quest to serve under the Dragonborn had presumably clouded the rational parts of his brain.

"Hurry up boy!"

Brom sped up his pace slightly, annoyed that Lydia's group was choosing to venture through the inclined grasslands than stick to the road. He could have sworn that he saw Ulundil at the forefront of the group – and considering his shifty nature – it would make sense that the Altmer was merely trying to pocket as many septims as possible. This was corroborated by the fact that Brom and Skulvar had camped at least six or seven times at night behind Lydia's group, which seemed long even to Brom – and he had minimal experience traveling outside Riften and Whiterun. From what he knew, Riften to Whiterun was roughly the same distance as Whiterun to Solitude was – and it had taken him a month to escape from the orphanage and end up working in the Whiterun stables.

Again another glance from her.

Brom could not see Lydia's head over such an extended distance, but knew it was turning towards him since it remained rotated for a while before shaking and returning to her initial position. Even from such a long distance, he could read her disapproval like a map. Every day for seven days she would occasionally turn back and appear disappointed to see he was still following.

Speaking of maps, Brom turned backwards while keeping a free hand on the horse reigns. He reached into the strung knapsack, happy that he had packed the bare minimum of supplies – a large foldable bedroll, a simple fire-starter kit featuring flint and steel, and a rusty sword just in case he would run into an unfortunate event. Skulvar had smartly decided to carry the food, his horse nearly overburdened from the weight of the Nord and the large bags of food strapped on.

Brom dug around a bit in the knapsack, twitching every now and then as the wounded arm from before had still not completely healed – although Lydia's bandage had greatly accelerated the recovery. He was able to still use it, and perhaps even perform motions with it – an invaluable skill when cooking at nights around Skulvar, who seemed to take Brom was a professional cook and bossed his skills around for his own use.

Brom extracted a rolled up map and unscrolled it to peer around the center. He knew they had crossed the Greensprings several hours ago, and according to Ulundil's "directions" they ought to be reaching the notorious Talking Stone Camp within a day or two. To the best of his knowledge, Giants occupied that particular camp – Brom knew that Lydia's priority would be to avoid conflict before fighting, as a peace treaty between the Giants and other creatures was still in full effect. Still, he regretted bringing the old sword without at least taking it to the Warmaiden for sharpening – he had only minutes to pack back at the stables before leaving.

Screams of fear and anger simultaneously broke out.

Brom sped up his horse. From what he could tell, Lydia's group had come to a dead halt – five of six warriors remained rooted to their spots a few thousand feet away, and the foremost one and Lydia were inching forward. And to Brom's great enjoyment, Ulundil was cowering behind the two slim warriors at the back of the ground.

Brom understood why immediately. A massive man – at least twice to thrice the size of Lydia – was brandishing his club haphazardly and into the air. The Giant, like most other of his kinsmen, was lean and tall, pale skin stretched across sinewy muscle tissue. To Brom's surprise, he saw the warrior next to Lydia at the front of the group slowly retreat – despite Lydia holding her ground. He could hear her commands even from his distance.

"Stay back, all of you!"

Brom was momentarily confused, as the Talking Stone Camp was still an hour or two away; yet despite this, a lone straggler Giant was lumbering all the way out here. He had no mammoth – which Brom took positively, but also meant that he had been cast out by the rest of his kinsmen. True to form, the still enraged Giant had suffered a number of gashes across his exposed torso and across his club arm.

He noticed that Lydia was speaking an odd, guttteral language with striking resonance. The Giant seemed to press forward and push her space back at least fifteen paces before she would scream and make him stop. He did this repeatedly however, and Brom soon found himself within throwing distance of the six warriors (retreating with Lydia) and Ulundil.

"Skulvar!" he cried out, shock taking over as he could see the Nord's overencumbered horse – but the rider had left. Brom spun around for a while on his horse before fright took hold of him.

Skulvar – running on foot and waving a warhammer around madly – had decided to sprint right into the middle of the chaos, thankfully sidestepping the warriors and Ulundil.

Brom gave his horse a light kick, accelerating forward as fast as he could go. Circumventing the crew, he caught a glimpse of the Giant now threatening Lydia actively, swinging his club just meters from the top of her head. Skulavr was only forty paces away.

"The idiot," Brom muttered. "Skulvar!"

And he extended his reach so that he could grasp the back of Skulvar's leather armor, pulling it back as much as he could before the latter whipped around and stared angrily at him.

"The Dragonborn can handle this," Brom warned, trying to calm his obviously frightened horse as the Giant made more loud noises. "Leave it alone!"

Dismayed, Skulvar slapped Brom's hand off and again raised the warhammer like a child, jaunting over to Lydia and the Giant, forcing Brom to follow.

He was getting uncomfortably close now. The Giant – if he had wanted to – could take three steps forward and squish Brom like a cheese wheel. Lydia, ears turning back into curiosity then anger, was the first to speak.

"Get back you fools!" she exclaimed, although Brom was not entirely sure if she knew it was Skulvar and himself, instead of her band of companions.

The Giant was quite agitated, taking the first strike against Lydia as he swung his club wildly, missing all three heads as it flew up into the air once more.

"I said get bac - "

Lydia's mouth remained agape as she saw Brom's face first, then Skulvar as he broke free from Brom's grasp and began running towards the Giant, foolishly swinging his warhammer. Lydia had turned half-way to try and prevent him from moving, but it was in vain.

The Giant, seeing this distraction as the perfect opportunity, brought his club down once more in a sweeping motion towards Skulvar and Lydia. Skulvar – who was on foot and thus shorter than Lydi a – easily ducked underneath the club while Lydia's body went careening into the air. Brom saw her dazed face pass him as her back landed squarely on the precipice of a massive boulder sitting nearby. She laid motionless on top of it, the six warriors behind Brom gasping and beginning to withdraw their swords and move towards Lydia – presumably to start a defensive circle.

"No! Get back Skulvar, plea - " Brom began, but again stopped speaking as Skulvar's warhammer had met its mark on the Giant's knee, causing him to roar in pain. Brom knew that the pain was only mild and probably only served to aggravate the beast.

In fact, the goliath performed the same sweeping motion with an open palm directly at Skulvar's legs. Brom winced as he could audibly hear the cracking of bone as Skulvar's ankles gave way and the Nord was literally swept off his feet. Skulvar almost seemed to fold in on himself once he hit the ground, warhammer falling a few feet away from him.

"AUGH!"

Thinking quickly, Brom picked up a large handful of pebbles nearby and threw them directly into the Giant's eyes. Disoriented, the behemoth roared once more as Brom withdrew his sword and prepared it shakingly as the Giant recovered his balance and raised his arm once more towards Brom. He wrapped his arms around his torso, preparing for the worst.

"FUS - "

Brom struggled to understand the word, then realized what was to come and wrapped his arms around his head and kept his body close to the back of his horse.

"RO DAH!"

An enormously powerful burst of air, or rather energy, passed Brom as the Giant immediately was knocked off his feet and landed several hundreds of paces away. Brom kept his head down, feeling two more bursts of air accompanied by loud shoting pass him as the Giant repeatedly kept flying away, eventually standing up and running off into the depths of the nearby forestry.

Still shaking slightly, Brom dismounted his horse and began to make his way to the downed Skulvar, both feet twisted oddly sideways in a manner normal feet should not be in.

A sharp, biting pain.

Brom felt his head almost explode from pressure as a rigid elbow made contact with his ears forcing him to the grass alongside Skulvar. He blinked once or twice as the sun now shone directly into his eyes, before the light was masked by a tall, ominous frame – jagged in shape and imposing from his angle.

"Get up," Lydia's voice immediately rang out, seizing Brom by the hair and dragging him painfully upwards. "You should be grateful that I used my elbow instead of my sword."

Brom's head was throbbing, and he had landed on his injured arm when Lydia had floored him as well. Fortunately, the bandage was thick and heavy enough to absorb the blow, but his arm had once again begun pulsating.

Just a bit away, the six warriors and Ulundil, swords drawn out and helmets off, approached Brom and Skulvar with highly menacing stares. Brom deduced that at some point Lydia had told them about his lie to Skulvar, but now they seemed to like nothing better than to kill them both.

The seven had surrounded Brom and Skulvar, waiting anxiously as they all held their helmets to their sides – the typical stance associated with executioners. To Brom's surprise, he noticed a variety of different faces: two freakishly tall Nord women, a couple Bretons, a stunningly handsome Orc and an older Redguard. All faces looked irate and ready to attack, still holding their swords up at Brom and the moaning Skulvar. Lydia seemed to be encouraging this.

"Dragonborn... it was an honor to be hurt for your cause - " Skulvar attempted, clutching his ankles on the ground.

"Be quiet you moron," Lydia reprimanded, still holding Brom by the hair and turning his head towards him, deliberately forcing it even further down so her face engulfed his vision. "And you are hereby under arrest."

Brom opened his eyes in surprise. "For what?"

"Endangering the lives of my companions," Lydia began, holding a hand to Brom's mouth to keep him from arguing. "Instigating a fight with a Giant. Bringing your stupid excuse of a Master to - "

"Dohvakiin," Skulvar announced, still rubbing his ankles. "My apologies if I interrupted – Aaahh!"

Brom was unable to do anything but simply witness as Lydia lightly pressed her heel onto Skulvar's right ankle, pain shooting through him like a firebolt as the writhed within the grass.

"You are tremendously foolish," Lydia continued, removing her foot from the bruised foot. "And you are also under arrest – possibly for exhibiting even greater stupidity - "

And she shook Brom by the hair, hard: " - than this one."

Brom's hair was being gripped with such force that he found it difficult to maintain eye contact with Lydia, who was now staring at the Redguard warrior.

"Sot," she proclaimed, eyes lightly twinkling as she mentioned his name, "fetch me some rope from your horse. Make sure it's sturdy."

Sot nodded quickly, returning the eye twinkle with a slight smile before calming his own horse and searching within his knapsack. Lydia turned to the two Bretons.

"Hahkun and Wuth," she pointed with her free hand, "ride to Whiterun and inform them that we are taking two of their own as prisoners to be tried in front of the largest Imperial court possible in Solitude. Whiterun won't suffice for these traitors. The two of you ought to keep each other safe."

The apparently twin Bretons seemed grateful to be together for a task. They nodded, putting their helmets on and riding away from the entire group – back the way they had been traveling.

"The rest of you all, stay with us," Lydia addressed the four remaining warriors and Ulundil, tone harsh but firm. "Find it Sot?"

Sot came to her with a thick coil of rope, occasionally tugging it from either end to test for its strength before handing it to her.

"Now as for you, Master Skulvar - " Lydia began with derision, motioning for the two Nord women to hold Skulvar up by the underarms. "Your boy has told you a fantastic, very well-crafted lie."

Skulvar seemed dumbstruck, but Ulundil reappeared behind Lydia with a look of smug concern.

"I told you we should have made sure Skulvar knew properly," the Altmer mentioned, elegance and disgusting smugness palatable off his tongue. "We should have checked behind ourselves to make sure we were not followed."

"Enough," Lydia cut him short. "Bok, walk around the area to make sure any other stragglers know not to follow us. Take Ulundil with you."

The large Orc complied, beckoning for Ulundil to follow him away from Lydia – who made one last smug face at Skulvar before leaving. Lydia turned to the Nord women holding the limp form of Skulvar.

"Tell him about the boy's lie," Lydia requested. "Spare no details, so he fully understands."

Brom felt his hair pulled away from Skulvar as Lydia shoved him forward for a few paces so that they were both out of audible range from the Nord women, who as they spoke Skulvar's face seemed to die slowly.

"You did not heed my advice boy," Lydia spat at Brom, finally letting go of his hair. "And worse, you did not even follow your own advice properly."

Brom remained silent, bowing his head and shrugging his shoulders. "I did not expect Skulvar to be so – defensive of you."

"You clearly misjudged it then," Lydia firmly spoke. "The man's as much of a sycophant as he is stupid."

Brom – captivated by some stupid portion of his brain – chose that moment to smile slightly. He watched as Lydia's nostrils flared and she extended the rope in her hand.

"Turn around and keep your arms close to your body," she commanded.

Brom jumped a few paces back. "No! Wait, please, let us go back at least. There's no reason to try us in front of court!"

Lydia raised and eyebrow and laughed scornfully. "There is many reasons to try you and your idiotic Master in front of court. You must pay for nearly wounding me, putting my companions lives' at risk – and an Altmer horseman to boot."

"I didn't do any of that!" Brom screamed. "The Giant did! I was just trying to keep Skulvar from dying!"

"I am the Dragonborn!" Lydia yelled, although Brom could detect slight remorse at being forced to default to that. "I was talking to the Giant! I had the situation under control! Even after your mistake of letting Skulvar go, you still chose to follow him and put both of your lives – and mines – in peril."

"Peril," Brom repeated with animalistic hatred. "You, the Dragonborn in peril. You shrugged off that club blow like it was an annoying honey fly. You were definitely in peril, I assume."

Lydia clenched her teeth and repeated her command earlier to Brom. "Turn around."

Brom hardened his face and jaw. "No."

Lydia scoffed, rolling her tongue around in her cheek before mockingly appearing concerned. "Aww, is that so boy? Do you feel rebellious, saying such a thing to my face?"

Brom's fist was quivering, and Lydia had evidently noticed this. "Turn around. Now."

He stood his ground. "I. Said. No!"

Lydia held his words for a while before making the first move at grabbing him. Brom, expecting this, spun about and attempted to sprint away. He could see his horse, still standing next to Skulvar and the two Nord women – although Skulvar's face was no longer appeasing at all. He wondered how much truth they had told him.

Again, the merciless pulling returned. His hair had been yanked back once more, and this time Lydia had effectively forced his head down enough so that he now looked at her face upside down, balance unsteady and threatening to fall down. She placed her free hand on his back, and almost instantenously Brom felt deep waves of tiredness make their way through him.

Magic, he pondered. Of course.

"Relax," Lydia breathed, mouth naturally close to his ear. "I'm trying to do this in the most humane way possible."

Brom was fighting it, but sleep was welling and conquering most of his mind's functioning, his body slowly giving in to the powerful spell. One side of him felt grateful she was not forcing him to the ground with a knee to his back then tying him up, but the other side felt uncomfortable being this vulnerable and helpless in front of her – an emotion he had experienced several times over.

Lydia's face seem to return to a place of immense regret and apprehension, for a while almost twirling Brom's hair in her fingers. "Tell me... why did you do it? Why save him?"

Brom found it increasingly difficult to speak, body forcefully relaxing itself as the small pressure on his back strengthened.

"Because... of... guilt," Brom barely muttered out, legs slowly buckling outward. "You... wouldn't understand... how... horribly merciless... guilt is..."

To his surprise, Lydia blinked twice and briefly looked to the Redguard, frowning a bit before her eyes seemed to travel to some place very far away – remote and isolated, and Brom could not read her expression anymore. Her tight hold over his hair loosened, and her hand accomodated t to fit his back as he naturally started to fall inward. His eyes gradually closed as the pressure on his back started emitting a cooling sensation. He could feel himself giving in, and he hated it, and yet as he was being lowered the grass felt increasingly more comfortable. He wasn't sure whether he heard a voice or not at the end, just before letting go completely.

"I do. More than you know."

To Brom, it sounded kind – even regretful – and it felt right.

A/N

Another chapter I thoroughly enjoyed writing! Yes, the updated chapters are coming with grammatical fixes, I'd just prefer to release them all at once instead of one at a time.

I realized now that the story might be written a bit confusingly, but I'm working on improving it! I feel all the events are well-connected, and I'm trying to cram in as many visual details and narrative specifics as possible without making it overly wordy. Suffice to say, I think if anyone starts at Chapter 1 and works their way through – it should all make sense.

Thanks to all!

~TWa