A/N: Well. 348 views. I must be doing something right.
Chapter 10
Kai
"You're treating me like a pack rat."
"Good. You'll learn better this way."
Lyon pouted. "I don't wanna carry straw bundles around!"
"It's an important aspect of hunting, Lyon." Kai told his protege as the duo approached the rock outcrop. "Right. Put down your bundles here. We rest a bit."
The boy didn't need telling twice. Dropping both his sacks on the snow, he dropped down on his butt and sat cross legged, sighing deeply.
Kai smiled. Now he understood how his master must've felt when he took him and Ivan out on journeys. They had been responsible for the untimely graying of his hair, no doubt. Yet, Kern was always smiling.
"Aren't you gonna rest, mister?"
"Hmm?" Kai looked at the boy stupidly, "Oh, yeah. Right."
He then set his sacks of straw down on the ground and sat with Lyon. For a while, neither of them spoke.
"Hey, mister?"
"Yeah?"
"What're you gonna do with all the straw?"
That's a rather good question, Kai thought and looked at the four sacks of straw they had been carrying.
"See that outcrop over yonder?" he said and pointed at the rock formation. "There's a flat rock there at the top, enough space for me to lie prone upon. I just want to make a soft cushion, that's all."
"You had me haul two sacks of straw just so you could make a bed?" Lyon said and looked at him through narrowed lids. That look made him nervous somehow.
"Well, it serves a couple of important purposes, if it makes you feel any better."
"How so?"
"Well, honestly I don't know where the cat's going to come from." Kai said with a shrug. "It could be down the mountain, in front of us or it could come up from the south-east, behind us. I'll be facing northwards and so I'll be able to keep my eyes on either side… but if it comes from behind-"
"You're pretty much dead." Lyon said, nodding his head in a sagely manner.
Kai loved how he just stated that as a fact… kids these days offered people no respect at all.
Nirn's going to Oblivion.
"A-anyway," the hunter cleared his throat, "Once I am in position, it'll be hard to concentrate on everything. I mean, I am human after all; I'm bound to make mistakes. And that's where the straw comes in."
"I… I don't get it. You're overcomplicating things!" the boy complained.
Kai chuckled. His patience surprised even himself. "What happens when you step on dry straw?"
"It crunches, what else?" Lyon replied matter-of-factly. Then his eyes went wide. "OH!"
"Exactly. If it does decide to come in from behind, I'll know," Kai smirked. "Even with padded feet, its nigh impossible for it to not make a single sound."
"You're a genius!"
"It's just common sense, nothing special."
"But mister," Lyon furrowed his brow, his head tilted to one side, "What if the wind blows away your straw?"
Kai lay down, keeping himself propped up on his elbows. "That won't be a problem."
"How can you tell?"
"Do you know what month it is, Lyon?"
"'Course I do! It's Frostfall."
"Correct. The third week of Frostfall to be exact."
Hmm. Had he already been in Ivarstead for over a month?
"So?" the boy asked, clearly impatient.
"So, it's around this time that winter comes, right?"
"Right."
"And during the winter, the winds change; they start flowing from the north and north-west… that is, from the Sea of Ghosts and indirectly, Atmora."
"Really?"
"Yes, really," Kai answered. "And what do you see to our north and north-west?"
"The Throat of the World."
"Exactly. We're on the leeward side of the mountain, so we have no need to worry about the north wind," he explained.
"That is so amazing! You actually planned things out! You never plan things out, mister!"
"Oi… don't get too ahead of yourself." Kai deadpanned and got to my feet. "You've done your bit, now hurry on homewards. I'll take things up from here."
The boy pouted. "But mister…"
"Don't give me that. Run along now, 'lil 'un. I'll see ya back in town."
Besides, Kai wouldn't want the kid to see a half eaten corpse…
"Promise?"
"I promise. Tell ya what, I'll even take you out to the woods if you behave and go home now."
He brightened immediately, "All right! You promised, ok?"
"I know I did," Kai grinned tiredly. The boy had way, way too much energy…
"Kill the cat dead, mister!" he said and bolted.
Kai waited until he was out of sight before going to work with the straw. After about an hour of labor, the conditions were acceptable to him.
Lying prone on the flat boulder, he placed the katana to his left and propped the crossbow up in front of him. He had a clear view of the body, and by the looks of it, there were no chances of rainfall or snow.
Perfect.
"Now maestro," he whispered to himself, fingers hooked around the crossbow's lever, "I'm ready for you."
Casair
She didn't want to wake up. Not yet, at least. But a goat bleating a few centimeters from her ear and feeding on the haystack she used as a bed didn't exactly make for ideal sleeping conditions.
Sitting up, she stretched her arms and shook some hay from her hair. She then frowned at the goat.
"Don't mind him. I think he likes you."
She stared at the grinning man leaning against the cave wall and frowned.
"Shut up, Aigil," she told him. "Why do we have a goat in here anyway?"
Aigil shrugged. "Can't milk you now, can I?"
"Keep this up and I'll make sure you wake up one morning incapable of reproduction."
Aigil chuckled and held up his hands in mock surrender. "I heard you went and killed an old woman in Riften."
Rising to her feet, she flicked her chestnut tresses. "So what if I did?" she replied as she walked over to the cupboard and retrieved a plate and a horker loaf.
"So, I don't see the point in involving yourself with their matters. We have our problems, they have theirs. They're not helping us solve ours. Why should we help them?"
"It's because she did bad things to children. People who use children to gain profits aren't people. They're monsters. And monsters need to be eliminated."
Aigil sighed. "You're too idealistic. Righteousness will get us nowhere."
She considered this. "The Nords think of us as barbaric, Aigil. I want to prove them wrong. We need to prove them wrong. The Forsworn are not barbarians. We have our own culture… all we need is acknowledgement." She took a deep breath. "If we act like what they think of us, then we're giving them reasons to push us away; to marginalise us even more than they already do."
"And murdering a woman in her sleep helps our cause how?"
She raised an eyebrow. "What good does ridding the world of evil do? Gee Aigil, I don't know. That's a pretty tough one."
"I give up." Aigil chuckled. Then his expression hardened. "Your grandfather has sent word."
"And?"
"He disapproves of our plan."
"Didn't I tell you?" she said. "I don't approve of your plan myself."
Aigil crossed his arms over his chest. "Casair, your grandfather, our King, has been rotting in Cidhna Mine for twenty-three years. We have to take a stand against the Nords. The Civil War has just ended three months ago. They are weakened now. Do you not see? This is the perfect opportunity to show them our strength." He paused for breath, "You talk of acknowledgement. Do you think they'll just hand it to you on a silver platter? No. We have to fight for it."
"I understand what you mean, Aigil." Casair responded, chewing on her food. "I really do. But are you really willing to disobey the King's direct orders? You know how he is; he'll break out sooner or later."
Aigil paused before responding, "When?"
"What?"
"I asked when? When do you think he'll break out?"
"I-"
"Exactly. You don't know. Neither do I nor anyone else. We've been waiting for a very long time, Casair. I'm sick of waiting. I'm sick of my inability to do anything. And I'm definitely sick of all the Nord bullshit." Aigil punched the stone wall in his frustration. "In time, the King will realise that my actions were for the best. That's why, Casair, that's why we're making a move."
The girl couldn't say anything to that.
"Be mentally prepared." Aigil said and walked off towards the cave entrance. "We make our move in three months' time."
"Three months?" Casair started. "B-But it's the Old Life Festival in three months!"
Aigil stopped and glanced at her over his shoulder. She could clearly see the smirk on his face.
"Exactly."
Reina
Reina was pissed. It always happened during this time of month, but at least she had the option of staying indoors, curled up under the furs with a book. But not this time, nuh-uh. She had been running interference for the num-num head who called himself the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood. Some Listener. Pfft. He could've just shown up, killed the old witch and gone his merry way. But no – he just had to go ahead and rouse the whole freaking neighbourhood with his maniacal shrieking.
And what does Maven do? She dumps the responsibility of cleaning up the whole damn fiasco on her. She had to come up with a fib, bribe every blasted guard, persuade Constance to just accept the fib and let it be, make sure the guards knew to stop the citizens from attacking the Listener while still trying to chase the felon as he escaped… and failed miserably in the process. Oblivion, she had to withstand the rain and cramps to be present while the Listener escaped, just to make sure everything went according to plan. Not that anything could go wrong, anyhow. It was worth seeing Mjoll fall flat on her face. The guards, too, put on a believable performance. On the whole, her perfectionist self was satisfied with her handiwork.
But did she get appreciated? Nope. She was expected to do her best every time something cropped up and what did she get in return? Gold, sure; but no appreciation. Nothing. Sometimes she wondered why she even put up with all the crap.
The redhead sighed and cuddled the side pillow. She was too exhausted to even get out of bed. She missed cuddling with Mercer. She missed his touch, the sound of his voice, his presence… she missed everything about him. Although she knew full well that he had screwed them all over, something she could never forgive, she still had lingering feelings for him. This was why she was so angry at herself. She was still in love with a traitor whom she had slain with her own hands. What kind of a twisted person was she?
She buried her face in the pillow out of frustration. The always smiling and cheerful façade was getting to her. What did she have to be all happy about anyway? Bryn had told her that the boss should always be smiling. She had followed it, and it had worked. Her Guild members were working as hard as they could and were as loyal and efficient as ever. She couldn't ask anything more from them. But as of late, she hadn't been participating in Guild activities as much as she should have been. Bryn was right. She was always cooped up inside Riftweald Manor, formulating plans for Guild operations. She missed interacting with her teammates, but she just didn't have the heart to appear before them anytime soon.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden flapping sound. She looked up to find a raven seated on her bedside table, looking intently at her. She recognized the bird. Sitting up slowly, Reina extended her hand towards the bird and retrieved the small roll of parchment it carried on its right leg. She then flattened it out on her bed and squinting in order to read the small font in which the note was written.
'Sophie brought home a puppy the other day, named her Olive. Lucille was upset because she was allergic to furry animals. Ingrid sends her love. Personally, I think she misses you a lot. So does Turin, Ursula, Denise and Eirik. I do too. You never did come to visit us again. Illya is all grown up now. She's six already. Can you imagine? The children are fast becoming independent too. Only the other day, Sophie found herself a job as a blacksmith's apprentice. It's to impress Aaron, I daresay. I have nothing against that boy, but he better not be getting any ideas anytime soon. Her mother, protective as she is of her children, would wring his neck. I wouldn't have to do a thing. What more is there to say? I heard of Grelod's death. Good riddance, I say. Well, take care of yourself. Best wishes, Ogmund.'
Reina blinked. Then she re-read the message. It was only after she had read the thing three times that realisation hit and caused her to break into a grin, as she always did upon getting a letter from Footpad.
Footpad, as he liked to call himself, was somebody who's true identity nobody knew, including Reina. Of course, she had tried investigating, but he had always neatly covered his tracks. He was an elusive phantom. Very few people knew of his existence. The tasks he performed were also peculiar.
Footpad was a person with seemingly infinite knowledge. He was a consultant, if anything. People from all walks of life could engage his services, and it was rumoured that even Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak himself had counted on Footpad's information before his successful siege of Whiterun. Reina, however, being the brainy person she was, worked a tad differently. She drafted her own plans, and had Footpad improve on or approve them.
She really wanted to meet the man himself one day. How could she not? She prided herself with her brain's ability to formulate plans. To meet somebody on a higher plane of intellect would be such an enlightening experience for her.
Even this note was a stroke of genius. At first glance, it might seem like the ramblings of a deranged lunatic. But if one was somewhat acquainted to the cipher, solving the puzzle wasn't all that difficult.
Reina, still grinning, looked up at where the crow had been perched. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't there.
"You're all smiles today. Something good happen?"
She rolled her eyes. "What gives you the right to invade my privacy, you trespasser? Be gone. Shoo."
Brynjolf chuckled at the shooing gesture his sister made with her hand. "I was under the impression of having asked you a question?"
In response, Reina crumpled up the note into a ball and threw it at her brother, who deftly caught it. "Read for yourself." She said.
"What is this?"
"A code."
"Well, un-code it for me," Brynjolf replied as he went through the contents of the note, brows furrowed. "Who the Oblivion is this Ogmund character and why is he writing to you?"
"Such protectiveness. I'm so happy!" Reina dramatically clasped her hands over her mouth in mock joy.
"I'm being serious here."
"Puu. Spoilsport." Reina pouted before grinning. "What you hold in your hand is actually a reply from Footpad… which happens to be a code."
"Okay. Have you cracked it yet?"
"I have."
"So let me have it, lass."
"Alright, alright," Reina relented. "You've read the whole thing, right? Say the names in order. All of them, even the mutt's name."
Brynjolf frowned, but complied. "Sophie, Olive, Lucille, Ingrid, Turin, Ursula, Denise, Eirik, Illya, Sophie, Aaron, Grelod, Ogmund."
"S-O-L-I-T-U-D-E-I-S-A-G-O," Reina said with an ear to ear grin. "Solitude is a go."
For a moment, Brynjolf said nothing. Then he chuckled softly.
"Exactly," she said and lay back down. "Get some snowberries for me while you're at it, will you? They help me keep the cramps at bay."