Act 4: A New Maid

Scene 5

Tali sat down, the smell of Roasted Horker with scattered greens radiated off the plate under her. She looked around the large table and at the head was Corto with Sadaro to his left and Seli to his right. "Good evening everyone!" He called out as the servers continued to give the food to the people sitting at the three tables in the large hall. "I know that today was tough, with the attacks on the southern area. The barn was burned to the ground and the cattle were released. But those of you who caught our cows we salute you!" He lifted his cup of wine and so did everyone else. The room roared with cheer. "Now I would also like to extend my personal welcome to our latest guests from Riften." He smiled, "We welcome you to our home." Corto raised his glass and the room roared again, Corto smiled, "I am damn glad we decided to start doing this. And now finally I would like to salute our latest group of guards who gave up the easy life to protect us from the ravages of war! You have survive the first two months, may you survive many more!" Corto slammed his right fist against his chest where his heart was and saluted the soldiers. Six young men and three young women stood up, Fadasa included and did the same. The older guards began howling like wolves and pounding on the table. Corto chuckled and began to sit. "Eat up!" He smiled and watched as the hundreds of people under his care began eating. He looked down the table at Tali and raised his glass to her and she did the same, smiling kindly.

She looked to her left, Fara was sitting there shoveling food into her mouth as her mother watched and laughed. Tali chuckled and began eating her food, cutting into the Horker slice. She stabbed it with the fork and lifted it to her mouth, biting it and chewing it before swallowing. She saw Fadasa across from her. "Enjoying dinner?" She asked.

"Hell yes. I haven't had horker in about three months." He chuckled.

"Well savor it." She chuckled and continued to eat. She looked back up the table and saw Sadaro whispering to Corto. He nodded and the Redguard stood up and left. "I think something is wrong." She turned to face Fadasa but he was gone, his chair still out. She turned to her left and saw him marching out of the room with the rest of the guards and the door shut.

"Mother? Why did the guards leave?"Fara asked, her mother looking around realizing this as well.

"I don't know." She looked at Tali, "Do you know?"

"No, I'll ask the Lord." She stood up and began walking to Corto. She crouched down and smiled kindly, "Why did the guards, leave. People are getting worried."

"A large number of bandits was seen heading our way." He said sullenly.

"Do they outnumber us?" Corto nodded. "Why would bandits work together?"

"Apparently they are being led by an ex-general."

"Do you think it's Varic?" Corto nodded. "Why would he do this."

"Revenge." Seli said coldly.

"We'll be fine. Sadaro is an ex-captain from the Royal Guard of Hammerfell."

"If you insist. However, I feel people need to know. Just incase." Corto nodded. "I'll tell them."

"Are you sure?" Corto asked his hand resting on her arm, she nodded.

Tali stood up and smiled, "Everyone!" She called out. The crowd began to quiet and turn to face her. "Hi." She said sheepishly. "Listen...The reason the guards left was because a bandit attack is on its way and we want to be safe."

"Bandits are on their way here!" Shouted a older refugee, "I knew it. It was a fucking lie! This place is no safer than the woods!" He grabbed his son and began pulling him towards the door.

"Sir! Please!" Tali shouted, her eyes kind yet angry. "Bandits attack all the time. You never hear of it because we are protected by the guards!"

"Still not safe."

"Safer than in the crossfire." Corto said with a darkness in his voice. "The archers should be firing now. Soon arrows will rain from the sky and if you go out there you will die."

The man was silent, his son ran back to the seat and sat down. Suddenly the deafening sound of an explosion echoed outside the Dining Hall. "Everyone! Run!" The Man shouted, causing a panic hundreds of refugees standing up and charging for the nearest exits. They pushed each other aside, trample each other and even try to trip each other to allow them access to the door first. Tali watched as they ran out and the sound of three more explosions rang.

The main door suddenly kicked in and Sadaro was there with three other guards, "Lord Corto, Varic leads them. He is calling for you to come out."

"He'll get killed!" Seli shouted.

"Its why we are going to charge him and kill him before he can get to you both."

"I want to help." Tali said. "Please."

"Get the refugees out of here. Get them to the Eastern gate and into the forest." He commanded as the sound of arrows thumped against the doors and wall.

"You heard him! lets move!" She shouted her voice echoing in the emptying mead hall. They ran to the rear entrance. She checked under the seats for stragglers, she found nobody. She ran to the rear and found that the refugees and few staff were cowering under desks and behind counters as the sound of violent pounding on the door rattled the wood.

"Let us in. Let us in!" The violent barbaric thug cried in hysterical rage. Tali quietly opened the peephole a few feet from the door and found that it was only him. She closed the peephole silently and signalled for them to open it on her mark. She grabbed a heavy pot and prepared, she nodded and the latch came off. The thug kicked the door in, the young girls screamed in fear drawing his attention as Tali ran at him. She swung the pot and hissed, drawing his attention so that the cast iron pot collided with his nose and shattered it.

He fell to the floor was unconscious, his nose bleeding like crazy. She heard the sound of the front doors being broken into. "Run. East ward!" She pushed them out, Fara holding onto her mother's hand with a tight grip. Tali looked on as the group of thirty survivors rushed for the woods. She began running forward when she saw the mead hall burst into flames and Sadaro running with the Lord and Lady close behind.

"Tali. Get out of here." Sadaro shouted as the army of bandits rushed through and around the Mead Hall. She quickly hid in a bush, her scales barely camouflaging her.

"You got no one left Corto! No where to run!" Shouted Varic atop a black horse. Varic looked drunk, his clothing was tatered, his eyes heavy with sleep, his beard unkept. "You get to watch as I kill everything you hold dear then I take your life."

Sadaro stood between the two and drew his sword, "I will not let you." Sadaro was prepared to die and smiled, "Give me your best." Suddenly a rush of bandits charged at Sadaro and he fought them off. His blade connecting with their, parrying it into another bandit, one after another after another. Bandits kept rushing and he kept fighting, his breath growing heavy and his head growing light.

"Hold." Varic said jumping down from his horse. Tali watched from the bush as he walked towards Sadaro. "I want to kill him." His blade unsheathed and he grinned, "Any last words?" He gloated, his pride above hisself.

"Yes." Sadaro stood up and grinned, "catch." He jumped backwards, dropping his blade and grabbing a shield from a dead bandit. Varic moved forward as a bottle of nord mead came flying from the tree above her. The mead had a flaming cloth tied to the neck. The bottle collided with Varic and exploded, the alcohol soaking his skin as the flame ignited it. And with that more came flying from behind the mead hall and on the hill and from in the trees. the bottles landed amongst the bandits and they began screaming, many of them burning from the alcoholic firebombs. Varic screamed as his flesh began to char and chip away.

"NO!" He shouted as his burning corpse charged at the lord and lady, they both ran seperate ways as Varic painfully ran at them. "I'LL KILL YOU!" He screamed in horrific agony, the flames beginning to die down as rain began to fall. Sadaro ran to stop him grabbing a knife from another corpse.

Tali also ran after them, the refugees right behind her. They ran and ran until finally they found him, He had Lady Seli, his blade against her neck, her back against his raw burnt body. "Varic!" Tali shouted at him drawing his attention.

"Stay out of this you whore." He growled, "I'm here to make Corto suffer. You die later." He said with confidence. He turned away, his skin flaking and falling to the grass as his completely bare burnt body screamed in agony as each raindrop fell on him.

"Let her go." She asked.

"What do you care." Barked Varic, his eyes red.

"She is Corto's wife. I love Corto and he loves her...So in turn I love her." She took a step towards him when suddenly Corto came running towards them, Fara right behind him. She walked behind Varic as he took a step back.

"Varic please. Your attack killed enough people. Over two hundred people are dead between the two groups." Corto said, attempting to reason with Varic's humanity.

"I don't care." He grinned, "I just want you to suffer." Fara moved closer to him and looked at Tali, she nodded slightly.

"Varic." She called to him, receiving no reply. "You are mad at me! I cheat on you. I almost destroyed their marriage. Please they are recovering."

"Recovering?" He scoffed.

"We are." Corto pleaded. "We are trying to get our lives back together. So far it is working. We have some bumps but we are making it." Varic began to lower his sword and released Seli. She fell to the floor and began coughing.

"And what of me?" He groaned, realizing he was going to die.

"We will let you go free. To live the rest of your life away from us." Corto pleaded still, as he saw Varic's eyes darting back and forth.

"Really?" He asked and saw Corto nod. He smiled, "To bad I'm gonna die soon anyway." Suddenly he swiped his sword and cut a deep wound across Seli's neck, paralyzing her instantly. Corto ran to her and caught her, her blood pooling in his lap and hands from the back of her neck. Varic raised his sword to strike Croto, beginning to cackle as the sudden pain of a knife entering him shocked him. He turned and saw a violent Fara with a knife at the ready, She jumped at him and stabbed his chest with the blade. "You little fucking shit!" He cried out as the blade pierce his throat and began drowning him in his own blood."

He pushed her off and tried to stand. He took a few steps before the violent girl sliced his achilles heel and then jumped back on to him stabbing him over and over until he stopped moving, screaming, "NO!" as she killed him. She stood up and began crying, her eyes filling with tears.

"FARA!" Her mother screamed as she ran to Tali. Tali crouched down and caught her, lifting her up in a gentle embrace.

"Shh." She hushed the sobbing elf, "Its over." She said kindly, calming the girl. "You are safe. You saved us." She praised her.

"How can you say that!" Fara's mother growled, "Sadaro could have reacted."

Sadaro was crouched next to Croto, his hand on the lord's shoulder. He stood up, "I reacted to Seli getting attacked, not thinking he'd try again. Your daughter is a hero. She is going to be scarred for life, but we will help her." He said, congratulating the crying elf on her heroism.

"Is lady Seli...dead?" Fara sniffled, wiping her eyes and nose. Sadaro dropped his head and stepped aside, revealing a crying Corto over the lifeless body of Seli, her blood pooling under her. Fara and Tali moved to him and both hugged him tightly, Fara crying with him as Tali tried to console them.