As commanded, the hourglass emptied the last of its sand nine hours after Kalila had set it. Bursts of blue light jumped from its top, bouncing on her face until her eyes opened. She sat up and twisted around until she was satisfied with the sound and feel of her spine popping. She grabbed her satchel and headed outside.

The air felt damp. Beads of dew sat on every surface, just starting to sparkle with the sun's rays. Birds had begun chirping. A few butterflies danced from flower to flower. For a moment, Kalila was taken by the beauty of the area.

She had been expecting someone to start following her, so when she saw someone lunge from the bushes, she jumped in surprise.

Immediately, she recognized the high elf from the inn. She was still in her blue dress. The twigs and leaves in her hair made Kalila wonder if she had been waiting all night. "I'm afraid your journey ends here, traveler," she said. "I'll be taking whatever you're carrying. After you're dead, of course. I do hope it's more than the last few had. They were most disappointing."

Her arm was instantly clouded in frost. Kalila had only enough time to pull one of the scrolls out before she was hit with the burning freeze of her spell. Her arm and shoulder was coated in it. She did her best to ignore it as she read the incantation on the scroll. The parchment began to glow light blue. It suddenly grew rigid and shattered in her hands. The pieces surrounded her in a shield. Of course, it didn't help the attack that had already hit her, but she was thankful to have some protection from any more.

Right after the shield formed, Kalila's hands blossomed into flames and she began pelting the Altmer with her own attacks. The woman was quick, dodging most of the attacks before ducking behind some rocks.

Kalila held off on anything else until she was startled by the appearance of Arielle and an Imperial man. The both of them were fully suited in armor. The symbol of the Mages Guild was etched into the armor. Both of their heads were covered in the usual teal hood of battlemages.

"Is she back there?" Arielle asked, her eyes following where Kalila had been staring.

She nodded.

"Good. I don't think she's seen us. Go out to the rocks and try to lead her back here."

Kalila dropped her bag and with both hands blazing, she began to fire shots toward the rocks, in hopes of luring her out. Instead of the Altmer, she came face to face with a frost atronach. The moment it emerged from behind the rocks, Kalila was surrounded by a sudden chill. With each step, the surrounding grass became coated with frost, the leaves on shrubs darkening instantly. The drops of dew became little pellets of ice. The creature itself stood at eight or nine feet, towering over Kalila and everything else in the area.

The flames engulfing her hands began to die down as she stared up at it. It wasn't the first one she had seen, but it was the first one ever outwardly hostile to her. She could barely hear Arielle yelling over the pounding in her heart. Her body became overwhelmed with shivers and not all of it was from the cold.

The atronach slowly stomped toward her as its master took off the other way. It's diamond-like body glittered in the sunlight, creating little flecks of rainbow on the ground. Against her will, she began to tremble harder. She cursed herself for it as the flames on her hands died down. Arielle seemed to be preoccupied with the rogue mage. She prayed that Arielle would finish her off quickly.

It took her a moment to register the other battlemage calling out to her. He was waving his arms toward them. Gaping craters filled the atronach's back. Water gushed to the ground, freezing in place. With a crackling hiss, it turned to the man, stomping slowly toward him.

Kalila was unsure where to go. Each of the battlemages seemed to be holding their own just fine. Should she leave them to it? No, of course not. If she ran, she would never forgive herself whether or not the job got done.

She turned her attention to the mage herself. If she killed her, the atronach would vanish.

Dear gods, if she killed her? She had never killed a human being before! The very idea was nauseating. It wasn't as if murder had never passed her mind. When Clarissa was killed, for months all she could think of was dishing out some well-deserved justice. And she had realized long ago that once she became a battlemage, she would have to deal with those who refused to come quietly. However, the difference between fantasizing and doing was vast. The fact that it was either their lives or the rogue mage's only made it slightly easier. What would Tara do? Her older sister wasn't a fighter, but she was always a good moral compass.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before running back in to the fight. Arielle's shock spells were starting to take effect. The mage's spells were starting to waver. It was only when she saw Kalila that she seemed to strengthen. She turned from Arielle and raising both hands, hit Kalila with a shock spell of her own.

Kalila had never been hit with anything like it. Her entire body contracted, yet spasmed involuntarily. The burning that coursed through her blinded her. She felt herself hit the ground. Everything was silent. She feared that she had gone deaf until she saw the Altmer on the ground, in a crumpled heap.

"Kalila?" She felt Arielle's cool hand on her cheek. "Are you alright?"

Kalila wished there was a spell to eliminate tears, as they streaked down her face. She couldn't find her voice, but she nodded.

"That was a nasty shock spell she got you with, but it looks like the magicka she needed made her drop her shield." She held out her hand to Kalila. More than anything, she just wanted to remain on the ground, huddled in a ball.

The other battlemage made his way over. "Everything alright over here? The kid's not hurt too badly is she?"

Kalila glared into the ground. Kid. And there she was proving it by crying into the dirt. She wiped her eyes with the back of her arm and allowed Arielle to help her up. "I'm fine," she said. She didn't try to take a step for fear that her knees would buckle under her.

"Well, you did it," Arielle smiled. "Now that we have her, we can get to work on finding out who she is and sending a report to the Countess. And Carahil of course…." Her brows furrowed. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Fine," Kalila managed a smile. "Really, it's no…" Her voice gave out for a moment. "Nothing I can't handle."

"Alright… well, thank you."

They shook hands and parted ways. Though Kalila had every intention of going back to Anvil, she bought a room at the Brina Cross in once more. Her body was in so much pain that she blocked out the disgust at the seedy bed and collapsed into it. Even in deep sleep, she felt her muscles ache.

She knew that as long as she chased the life of a battlemage, this pain would be only the beginning.