Everyone was cheerful when the morning came—Baran was even in a good enough mood to agree to lighting a fire, which Marian was only too happy to help with.

Well, those who were awake were cheerful. It was nearing eight o'clock and Lily, Marian and Baran had been awake since six—and Jake was still sleeping.

"Pass the bread, Sister?"

Lily absently handed the little loaf over to Baran; her eyes were still locked on Jake, who was sprawled on his bedroll and hers. "How can he sleep through this? We're not exactly being quiet," she remarked, sitting beside Marian as she shuffled closer to the little fire.

"Maybe he was tired," Baran replied, tossing a lump of mutton over the flames at Marian, who caught it deftly and plucked the cloth off it. "Have a good conversation last night?" he asked, grinning at her with a glint in his eyes that she didn't like.

Lily gingerly took the mutton he handed to her. "How much did you hear?"

"All of it. You could've said something when we were riding, you know. Since he was groping you and all. Is that why you yelped about a half hour out of Bruma?" There was laughter in his voice; apparently nothing could dampen his mood.

She stabbed the meat with a sharpened stick and stuck it into the flames for lack of a better way of cooking it. "No, that was because he was apparently uncomfortable and shifted behind me, and dug his hips into me."

"Seems innocent enough," the knight remarked through a mouthful of bread.

Lily chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Sure, if he hadn't done it suggestively. You'd think the man was sexually frustrated, or something."

"I'd call it bad flirting, if you ask me. Or really upfront flirting. Either way, he likes you."

"Don't be ridiculous. How do I know when this is done?" she asked, waving the mutton around in the fire.

Baran shrugged. "I don't know. If you get sick later, it probably wasn't done. Marian, don't touch the fire."

The blonde woman smiled like a child who was caught with her hand in the pantry, and she backed up a little, though her knees were practically in the flames. "Where are we going today?" she asked, still staring into the little crackling fire.

"I don't know," he said again. "I'll look around on that hill up by the road and see what's around here. Maybe there's something interesting."

Marian finally looked up and gave Baran a little smile. "No Ayleid ruins, please."

"I second that," Lily piped up, pulling the mutton out of the fire and gently prodding it.

"There's no interesting ruins around here anyways," a sleepy voice said from behind her. Lily glanced back and saw Jake sitting up, though he looked as though he would topple over if somebody breathed on him. "Only Sercen and Anga, and they've been picked clean."

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Lily said cheerfully, scooting over to give him room by the fire. "Have a good sleep?"

He gave her a lopsided smile as he crawled to her side. "The best in three years, since there was no Dar'vaba to try and slit my throat."

"Well, no matter where we go, I need to start heading east," Baran said, tossing Jake a little bundle of food, which the thief barely managed to catch in his semiconscious state. "Jauffre wants me to go to Lake Arrius Caverns by Cheydinhal. If you want to follow, be my guest."

"I wouldn't mind," Lily admitted, handing Jake her stick after dropping the mutton onto a square of cloth. "And I guess these two are coming with me, since they're kind of in my care."

"We don't have to go into Cheydinhal, do we?" Jake asked, glancing between Lily and Baran.

"Not unless you want to."

"I wouldn't mind," Lily mentioned, "since I haven't been there yet."

"The people are snobs, the buildings are rich and purple, if you'd believe it, there's a river running through it, the count's a Dark Elf, and it's a lot like Morrowind," Jake rattled off. "Need to go, still?"

"You don't have to come with me," Lily said. "I'll go on my own, or with Marian, since she hasn't been there yet. You can wait out of the city with Baran."

The thief gave the knight a narrow look, but Baran didn't notice. "You'd come back to find me headless, you know."

Lily grinned at him and patted his knee. "That's a risk I'm willing to take, dear Jacob."

Baran climbed to his feet. "I'm going to scout around before we head out," he announced, and wound past the little group to head for the road.

"Ouch!" Marian suddenly yelped, and she shuffled back from the fire with two fingers in her mouth.

"Did it burn you?" Lily asked.

Marian nodded pitifully and mumbled something about the fire being deceitful.

Jake got to his feet and wandered away into the woods, leaving the women by the fire, which Marian was now glaring hotly at, though she was still dangerously close.

Soon, Bercarius returned with a little smirk on his face. Lily eyed him warily as he sat down beside her. "What's with the look?" she asked.

"You should be careful what you wish for," he said cryptically.

"Why? What happened?"

Jake grinned and a little well of fear made itself comfortable in her gut. She thought she knew him well enough to know that look wasn't trustworthy. "Baran saw an Oblivion Gate, and he's bent on going inside."

—

It took all her effort to not burst into terrified tears when they trekked onwards. Low, menacing rumbles shook the earth, and blood red lightning crashed through the crimson sky as they hiked nearer and nearer to the portal to hell. The horses were whinnying nervously, struggling against their reins, but their owners determinedly pulled them onward.

The first tear slipped down her cheek when she looked up from her feet to see the jagged black gate looming before them. Fire crackled around it, and the white hot energy that would take them away from Tamriel glowed ferociously. The ground below it was cracked and dry. It was identical to the thing that helped obliterate Kvatch.

Baran was trembling with excitement, and the evil red light from the gate glinted off his silvery mithril chains. Marian had locked herself inside her grandmother's Demented armour—which was dark brown, jagged and spiky, just like her strange weapons—and was whispering soothingly to Orinthal. Jake was lacking armour and armed with nothing but the stolen Blade of Woe. Lily was the same, but with her stolen steel dagger.

Baran and Marian went to tie the horses to a tree just far enough away from the gate, leaving Lily and Jake standing in the clearing near the fiery monstrosity.

"Akatosh save us," she whispered, and closed her eyes as more tears fell free.

"What? Oh, yeah, you've seen these before… are you okay?" Jake asked, shuffling closer to her.

"No, but… I will be." She doubted her own words; her knees were knocking together, and she didn't think she'd be able to keep her breakfast down until they got far away from this tremendous evil. "How are you going to protect yourself?"

He glanced down at his dagger and shrugged. "I'm going to rely on Baran and Miss Crazy to keep me alive. I'm not going to be of any use if I try to pick a dremora's pocket. But at least I'm not going to get burns from wearing metal," he murmured, watching as Baran and Marian approached. "Poor shit's going to feel like hell in there."

Lily exhaled shakily and shut her eyes, but she only saw the corpses of those slain in Kvatch etched into her eyelids. Rubbing her eyes, she kept her gaze on the ground and sidled close to Jake. Even if he wasn't drunk like before, he was still a comforting presence. Slipping her hand into his to keep it from quivering, she watched Baran and Marian return.

"Are you two ready?" Baran asked, grinning at the two of them as he unsheathed his long, slim katana. Marian was fiddling with her hair, and seemed oblivious to her surroundings.

Lily shuddered as though somebody had blown icy wind down her back—a painful contrast to the warmth surrounding the gate. "Keep us alive, Baran."

"I will, Sister."

Marian looked up as she finished tucking back her hair, and she finally seemed to notice the gate looming up before them. Her eyes popped open and her jaw fell to the ground, and she simply stared at it for some time. "Oh, my…" she said breathlessly. "My lord, you have been good!" With that, she slipped past Baran and sprinted with incredible speed toward the gate.

"Oh—Marian, get back!" Baran scrubbed his hand through his hair and turned to chase her, but she was already near the gate. "Come on!" he shouted at Lily and Jake.

When Lily remained petrified, Jake tugged at her hand and she stumbled after him. Lily watched in horror as Marian stepped up to the gate and vanished in the hissing flames. Baran followed after her, and similarly disappeared from this world.

Lily and Jake paused just outside the gate. This near to it, the heat emanating from it was scorching, and she felt the breath yanked from her in the stifling dryness. She glanced up at Jake, who was looking at it nervously. "Are you ready?" she whispered. The heat was so much that it dried the tears in her eyes before they could fall.

Jake smiled comfortingly at her and gave her hand a little squeeze. "Are you?" he murmured, and they stepped into the portal.

Flames engulfed them. Wind shrieked around them, whipping their clothes and hair against their skin, stinging their faces and arms. The heat was unbearable—it felt as though it was melting the flesh from their bones, and dried the blood in their veins. Lily wanted to scream, but her voice was frozen and she couldn't move. Panic overwhelmed her, and just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, it was over.

They tumbled through the portal and slammed into cracked, jagged earth below them. Lily groaned when a large boulder forced them to a stop, and she struggled to push herself up. Her head was spinning, and nausea was trying to shove her breakfast from her stomach. Beside her, Jacob was visibly swaying—or was that just her dizziness?

Lily waited for the world to stop twirling before using the boulder—which was so hot it hurt to touch—to climb back to her feet and look around.

They seemed to be on a dry, shrivelled little island surrounded by a raging ocean of bubbling lava. In the centre was a pond of the liquid fire, with a tall black tower in the middle. Two smaller, similar towers stood nearer to them, with a narrow bridge connecting them. From what she could see, there was no way to get to the middle tower—but maybe they wouldn't have to go to it.

The dry, stifling heat pressed down on them from all sides; the pressure was incredible, and she thought her ribs would collapse under it. Sweat already made her shirt stick to her back and her scalp itch. Superheated winds blew against them, doing nothing to ease the intensity of the temperature.

"Ugh, shit, can we never do that again?" Jake grumbled behind her. "Are you okay?"

Lily rubbed her throbbing head and turned to see him stumbling unsteadily up to her. So she hadn't imagined it—he had been swaying. "Yeah… where're Baran and Marian?" she panted, wiping her forehead, which was already slick with sweat.

Jake looked as though he was about to vomit; he was pale and bleary-eyed. "Don't know… should we call 'em?"

She peeked around the boulder and spotted something up ahead in dark armour. She couldn't tell if it was Marian or a dremora, but it had to be one of them, right? "No… something might hear us. Let's just look." Lily was about to wind past the rock, but she stopped when she heard Jake gag and throw up behind her.

"I feel better," he announced, coming up beside her a moment later. "Who's that?"

Lily squinted through the shimmering heat waves to try and see the dark figure ahead. "I don't know. I thought it was Marian, but maybe—" She stopped abruptly and looked down, hearing a little whimper. "It's not Marian. She's right here."

The woman was curled up on the ground in front of the rock, moaning and sobbing softly. There were no tears, but that was probably the fault of the incredible heat.

Lily dropped to her knees beside Marian and gently wiped her hair from her face. Marian didn't seem to notice she was there. "Marian? Are you all right? Do you see anywhere she could be hurt?" she asked, looking up at Jake, who still looked woozy.

"Couldn't tell with all that armour on her. Where's Baran? Bastard just up and left us here…"

Marian pried one eye open, and she squeaked and squeezed it shut again. "It's angry," she whispered. "It wants to take us, to torture us—to kill us. He lied. He said he wanted us here, he said he would make us happy, give us whatever we wanted…"

Lily went to touch Marian's arm, but flinched and jerked her hand back when she felt how hot her armour was. Ignoring her smarting hand, she asked softly, "Who, Marian? Who spoke to you?"

Marian covered her face with her hand and shuddered. "I don't know."

"Oh, there you are!"

Lily looked up and saw Baran running towards them, low to the ground. "There you are!" she snapped irritably. "Why did you run off without us?"

"Keep your voice down—the dremora will hear you for miles," he said, crouching beside them. "I didn't run off, by the way. A dremora kynreeve saw Marian jump through and tried to alert some others, so I had to take care of them. None of you have ever been to Oblivion before, so do exactly as I say, or you'll probably be taken by some angry dremora and locked in a torture cage for his almighty Dagon's pleasure. Marian, you have to get up, and you have to ignore the fire. If you can't, I'm sending you back through, and you can wait with the horses—and believe me, we could use your help here. Sister, you and Bercarius cannot wander away," he ordered sharply. "I'll take the lead and Marian will bring up the rear, and you two stay between us. Hide if there are too many Daedra. Sister, I know you can help with spells if you have to, but don't waste your energy if it isn't absolutely necessary. We might…" Baran trailed off and sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind. Marian, get up."

As the knight forced the Manic to her feet, Jake mumbled, "Why am I here? I could just go back through that thing and leave you guys. I don't have any reason to hang around."

"You're supposed to keep me safe," Lily mentioned, pulling her dagger from her belt and plucking her damp shirt away from her chest. "Oh, Akatosh, my mouth is dry."

"You won't find any water here," Baran said, pushing his hair back. Shorter strands stuck up from the sweat, but otherwise he didn't seem to notice the heat. "Come on, we need to close this thing."

He turned and started towards the two frontal towers, and Lily and Jake followed, with Marian shuffling up behind them. Her desire to explore the fire and lava was almost palpable.

When they neared the pond of lava, the dark figure Lily had spotted snarled something in the raspy, gravelly voice she remembered so vividly from her encounter with the dremora churl. It unsheathed its jagged Daedric blade with a spine-tingling shriek and stalked toward them.

"Get back, Sister," Baran ordered. "Marian, get ready."

Lily hurried back a few paces, and stood beside a large black spike jutting from the ground near the edge of the island. Jake slunk up beside her, muttering about how much he hated heat, and how he was going to move to Skyrim one day.

The dremora was the first to strike. Baran stood with his knees bent and his sword held in a defensive position, and Marian was just behind him, standing similarly. When the heavy reddish blade of the dremora crashed down against the slim katana, Baran shoved it back and swung his sword around to reach the dremora's side. The Daedra noticed the attack and easily blocked it, but its other, now vulnerable side was launched upon by Marian. She smacked the flat side of her sword against its waist, and it stumbled back with an enraged cry. When it regained its balance, it leaped agilely backwards when Baran swiped at it, and again when Marian advanced upon it. Its voice travelled the distance to Lily and Jake when it shouted something about Mehrunes Dagon, and in a flurry of bluish-white Baran and Marian were knocked several metres back. As the dremora approached them, both tried to get to their feet, but their movements were slow and sluggish from the frost spell.

"Should we help?" Lily asked breathlessly, grabbing Jake's arm to keep her hands from shaking too badly.

"He'll call if he needs help."

She watched in horror as the dremora moved toward Baran's unprotected neck, but just as it lifted its blade, the knight swung his legs to the side and kicked it so it collapsed beside him. It howled as it landed on a sharp rock, and as it struggled to get back up, Marian leaped up and grabbed it by the horns protruding from its forehead. Surprise overtook the terror of the fight, and Lily watched blankly as the woman dragged it across the dry earth towards the pond of lava in the middle of the island. With a little smile, she released the horns and gave it a hearty kick. With a horrible screech, its arm fell into the lava and cloth beneath its armour immediately caught fire. The greyish skin blackened as the flames shot up through cracks in the heavy Daedric armour, and its frantic screams grew louder as it fried into a crispy husk.

Marian simply watched with a contented smile. Baran was still on his back, mumbling under his breath.

"Holy…" Jake muttered. "Come on." He locked her fingers in his and led the way to the victors.

"Baran!" Lily gasped, kneeling beside him. "Are you all right?"

"I was just savouring the cold," he said, staring up at the fire-rent sky. "Frost spells are nice here."

Jake followed his gaze. "Can it be stormy in Oblivion?" he asked.

Baran shook his head, but didn't bother to stand up. "It's always like this, but the wind seems to be picking up."

It was, too. A muggy gust blew towards them, picking up the flaky ashes of the dremora along the way. Lily shuddered when the black flecks stuck to the film of perspiration covering her body, but that, along with the dirt, could be taken care of later.

After another moment, Baran got back up and recovered his sword before continuing to lead the way to one of the front towers. Lily shut her eyes and murmured a brief prayer to the Nine, before squeezing Jake's hand tightly and following him toward one of the fortresses of Oblivion.

—

Daedroth and clannfear and scamps and atronachs and xivilai and spider daedra. Warriors and archers and mages. Churls and caitiffs and kynvals. Kynreeves and kynmarchers and markynaz and valkynaz. All were minions of Lord Dagon's army, and all tried their damndest to kill the little pilgrimage. Baran and Marian did everything they could to fight off the demonic soldiers, and even once had Lily summon a clannfear when they were fighting a xivilai who did the same; the two summoned creatures looked at each other in confusion before attacking, which made Jake snort with laughter despite the situation.

After each little battle, Marian had Baran explain what they fought and its ranking in Dagon's army; all his information was news to Lily, as well.

In the first tower, they had to ride a holed machine of sorts up to a second level, climb a long, tiring slope to the top, and pull a very heavy lever. Baran explained that it would build a bridge for them to get to the main tower. Then they went back down the slope, and opened a door to the narrow walkway between the two minor towers. Lily felt as though she dropped her heart down the huge drop from bridge to ground, but doggedly continued on, trying not to look down the whole way.

In the second tower, they were already halfway up the slope. After climbing to the top, a dremora valkynaz nearly knocked Jake over the edge—and Lily with him, since she stubbornly refused to release his hand—but Marian stopped it by pushing it when it wasn't looking. The crunch of bones was impossible to ignore. They pulled yet another lever, and Baran led the way through a nearby door to another tiny bridge, though this one led to the main tower.

Again they climbed.

In a room whose doors creaked and cracked like snapping bones, a dremora mage tossed a fireball at the group. Marian squealed like a little girl and chased it when it missed Baran, and singed some of her hair. Lily begged for a rest on some out of place benches, but Baran urged them onwards, saying that more Daedra would show up soon enough if they waited around.

It took hours to haul the little party up the steep inclines, but Baran said words of encouragement; it wasn't too far yet, and they were almost at the top.

When they reached the top, everything seemed to be made of flesh and bone, and Lily felt sick at the sight of it. The noise was unbearable—a pillar of fire shot through the centre of the tower, and it seemed to shriek whenever they came near it. A dremora mage summoned a frost atronach that blessedly threw a frost spell at Lily and Jake—they were knocked to the ground while Marian and Baran had to fight the Daedra, but Lily was grateful that she was cool for a few moments. Once they were back on their feet, they watched the two warriors fight off even more hulking daedroths and enormously tall xivilai before they climbed a ramp made of skin stretched taut up to a balcony at the very top of the tower.

The noise was incredible here. In the middle of the pillar of fire, a smallish black ball swirled wildly; it seemed to be the one making the noise, though Lily wasn't sure.

Marian couldn't hold herself back at this point. The whole time she had shown incredible self-control by not leaping into fires—which were in abundance in Mehrunes Dagon's Deadlands—but when they reached this point she practically threw herself off the balcony, at the ball in the fire. Lily watched in horror as the woman began to fall the ridiculous distance to the level below, but the world seemed to flip upside down in a windy, screeching storm, and before Marian could even make it halfway to the floor, the four of them were violently tossed from Oblivion with the same sensation that had brought them there.

Lily was very aware that her nose hurt from the landing; she was sprawled face-first on the dirt outside the gate, panting and spent from the adventure. She was hot and sticky and extremely thirsty, but she couldn't bring herself to move, even for water.

An agonized groan at her side made her open her eyes. Jake was beside her, swearing and cursing every god from every religion he could think of. He looked awful; red-faced from the heat, drenched in sweat and caked in dirt and ashes. Lily figured she had to look just as bad.

And then a shout brought her all the way back to the present. "Marian! Give that to me, hurry!"

The soft, breathy voice of the Manic asked, "Why?"

"I don't know what it'll do to you."

"It isn't talking to me."

"What?"

"Before we went into Oblivion, the gate spoke to me. This isn't, don't worry."

"Uh… right, you should give it to me anyways. It's a Daedric artefact, and it could be dangerous."

"Okay."

Lily groaned and rolled onto her back, prying her hand from Jake's for the first time in ages. Their fingers felt fused to each other, and their palms were glued together from the sticky sweat. It took some effort, but once she was free she sat up and looked around. The gate was crumbled to pieces nearby, the sky was clear, and everything seemed absurdly peaceful.

Baran was sitting nearby, taking the black ball as Marian handed it to him. They both looked awful too, but pleased as well.

"And you enjoy this?" Lily croaked. It felt as though somebody had coated her throat with sand, and she sounded like an Argonian with a particularly bad head cold.

"I'm used to it," Baran replied, turning the ball in his hands. Lily noticed he was being careful not to move too much—more burns? "Is everyone going to live?"

"If there's a stream nearby," Lily said, wiping her hair back.

"There isn't," Jacob grumbled as he got to his feet. "But it's only a few hours to Lake Rumare. Less, if you push those beasts of yours."

Baran took his time standing up, and he cringed the entire time. He mumbled something about needing to wear thicker clothes beneath his armour before asking Marian to help him pull off the mithril shirt. His tunic underneath was criss-crossed with blackened burn marks, and his arms were raw. "Oh, gods, that's better. Let's go."

They all limped to where they hobbled the horses, and all froze at what they saw.

Malatu, Victor and Orinthal were all intact, leisurely chomping at the grass by their feet. Crouched in front of them, however, was a dark, glowering figure.

Lily heard Jake mutter a particularly bad word under his breath.

"Thought you could run from me, Cub? Foolish."

"I could never run from you, Dar'vaba," Jake replied stiffly. "Was business good in Cheydinhal?"

The Khajiit growled softly and pulled his ears back as he slowly stood to full height. "My Speaker is still disappointed that you have not yet decided what to do about the family. Since you were ten and nine you have ignored their offer; he finds it very rude."

"Well, he's an eloquent guy. No wonder he thinks I'm rude. No new contracts?"

"Not now. Tell me, Cub. Why do you travel with these ones?" the assassin asked calmly, waving a clawed hand at the three other ragged travellers.

"Tell me first, Dar'vaba: how'd you know where I was?"

"You did not come with me to Cheydinhal, and you would not be alone. It was obvious you would search for this red one, and they spoke of the Septims. I found these beasts, and one smelled of you. Even you could have figured it out had you been in my place." Dar'vaba growled again, louder this time. "Tell me."

"I'm obligated to stick with them. I broke into the home of the Blades and held the heir to the throne hostage. He said he'd spare my life if I stuck around. So I am. And I guess, since you generally stay with me, you're sticking around too."

The Khajiit's unnaturally green, feline eyes roved slowly over each of them. When he stopped, his ears flattened. "Where have you been, Cub?"

"Oblivion. And I'm hot and tired and probably smell something awful. We're going to Lake Rumare. Now?" he asked hopefully, arching his brows at Baran.

"I'm not waiting any longer," the knight replied, venturing up to the assassin to get to his horse. Dar'vaba didn't stop him, or even move. He simply stood and watched.

"I remember this one," he remarked as Baran untied Malatu and murmured something to the animal. "The Blade. But who is this other one?"

Marian seemed to notice that she was being addressed. She smiled happily at the Khajiit and said, "I'm Marian Clutumnus. Who are you?"

"This one is Dar'vaba."

She gave him a thoughtful look before saying, "Ushnar gro-Shadborgob wouldn't like you," and stepping past him to climb into Orinthal.

Lily wearily trudged up to Victor and untied him from the tree. She clambered tiredly onto his back and waited for Jake. "You coming?" she asked, seeing him hesitate.

"I guess." He hopped up behind her with some difficulty, and looked back at Dar'vaba. "Uh, if you plan on following us, you can beg for a ride or walk."

The cat hissed quietly, and Lily assumed that meant he would walk, so she steered Victor away from the trees and the remains of the Oblivion Gate, and followed Malatu and Orinthal towards the Silver Road.

Baran seemed to silently decide that it was all right to push the horses harder than normal, since they had a good rest since their last ride, and they reached the Red Ring Road in little over an hour. Dar'vaba had somehow made it to the lake before them, and was standing at the shores by the time they emerged from the trees.

Lily waited for Jake to dismount before following and letting Victor wander for a bit on his own. The horses clumped together on a patch of long grass nearby after their owners plopped off and staggered towards the clear waters of Lake Rumare. The White Gold Tower stabbed the clouds in the distance, in the centre of the large lake.

Marian grimaced at the lake after removing her armour and slowly ventured in; clearly she still remembered her experience in Niben Bay and the taste of the water. Baran practically launched into the water and splashed enough to soak Marian. Lily waded cautiously in, still wary after jumping into the waters of Anvil. She learned she wasn't the best of swimmers after that incident. Dar'vaba was standing on an outcrop just above the waves, and didn't notice as Jake lurked up behind him. Lily paused, knee-deep, and giggled as Jake shoved the cat into the water before leaping in after him. The ensuing splashes drenched everyone—well, drenched the girls, as Baran was already submerged.

The water was icy and refreshing, and Lily gratefully sat down so she was still close to the shore and could easily touch the bottom. Nobody had bothered to undress before going in, and her sweaty clothes pulled away from her as the water forced the thin fabric away from her sticky back.

Dar'vaba flailed around for a bit before snarling at Jake and crawling from the water. His fur clung to his body, and he looked so pitiful with his ears drooping. He sat on the sand of the shore, safe from anymore random attacks.

"Very nice," Lily commented as Jake wandered up to her. He was grinning, though she wondered if he could see with his hair hanging wetly in his face.

"Thanks. Why are you just sitting there?" he asked, pushing the dark brown locks from his eyes. Behind him, Baran was absently swimming back and forth in deep water, and Marian was wading out towards him—she was already up to her shoulders.

"I don't really like water. Besides, I can get clean without going out too far."

With incredible speed, Jake's arm shot out. He grabbed her wrist and began towing her further out. "No, that won't do. All farm girls know how to swim, and I doubt you're an exception."

Lily raked the fingers of her free hand into the soft, pliable sand beneath her, to no use. Her heart squeezed with panic as she got deeper and deeper, until her toes couldn't even scrape the bottom.

"Oh, no, no, let me go back," she gasped, trying to tug her wrist from his grip. The water lapped her neck, and it took all her effort not to go overboard in fright.

Jake smirked and loosened his grip, but didn't let go. "Hey, I'm right here and I can swim fine. May have been born in Cheydinhal, but I've spent twenty-five years on the waterfront of the City. It's hard not to swim well after growing up on this lake."

Lily felt a little bad that he was now exiled from the city in which he had been born, but she didn't have the energy to dwell on it. "If I drown, I'll find the energy to become a lich and I will make your life utterly miserable, Jacob Bercarius!"

He merely grinned at her in response. "Your face is filthy."

Lily looked down into the water and panicked a little when she couldn't even see the bottom anymore. "I'm not going under there," she said firmly.

Jake took her other hand in his so she was only using her legs to tread water. "I won't let you drown."

"How sweet," she said dryly. "You just don't want to be haunted."

He laughed and rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah. And, like I've said before, I'd be pretty unhappy if you died."

Lily frowned at him before taking a deep breath and letting herself sink beneath the smooth waves. The chilly currents immediately lifted her hair from her neck and gently scrubbed the ash and dirt from her skin. She remained underwater for a few more moments before resurfacing with a gasp.

Her hair flattened against her face, and one of Jake's hands released hers to push it back. He wiped something off her nose—which was probably red and swollen from being catapulted from the Oblivion Gate—before smiling. "Better," he decided. "You still sound raspy, though."

Lily dipped her head back to fix her hair. "So do you," she retorted. "Like you've eaten a bowlful of sand."

"Gross. Though, that'd be better than some of the stuff I've eaten. Ever had ash yams? Not the best. Are you okay on your own for a bit?"

"I suppose."

Jake let go of her and vanished beneath the waves. Lily anxiously treaded water on the spot for a bit before he popped up near to Marian and Baran, whose voices were travelling over the water to her—they were discussing something called a sigil stone, and when Jake swam up to them it sounded like he asked when they would be heading east.

Lily gathered up courage and dunked underwater again, viciously scrubbing at her face and her hair until she decided they would be as clean as they'd get without soap. While Jake was distracted, she decided to turn and swim back to the shore so she didn't tire out and drown.

Once she was back on dry land, she hid behind the rocky outcrop and changed into clean clothes and sat down near Dar'vaba. The cat didn't even acknowledge her presence.

Lily stole a covert glance at him. He must have shaken the water from his fur; he was adorably fluffy despite the scowl on his face, and he was watching the three in the water with narrowed eyes.

"You could just go in there and drown him," Lily said, looking back at the lake.

She felt him jump with surprise. "What?"

"You know, for your contract. I'll bet your family is getting upset that it's been three years since you got it."

Dar'vaba remained silent, and didn't question how she knew about his history with Jacob.

"Or you could kill him at night, when nobody's watching. Or cast a frenzy spell on him in a city so the guards attack him."

Had she imagined his soft purr at that suggestion?

"But I'll have you know," she added softly, smiling when Jake splashed Marian and the woman squeaked in protest, "if you kill him, or if you lay a hand on him while I'll around, I'll kill you myself."

"Big words for a little mage," he growled.

Lily eyed the Khajiit, and saw that he was glaring at her with his ears back. Looking back at the lake, she smoothly replied, "I'm a priestess, housecat. Get it right."