And I'm back with chapter 25! This time though, I'll save the rant about how long this took and tell you all about a few things that I have plan for the week. Firstly, I plan on rewriting my first chapter in hopes of making it better. For those of you groaning at me right now, the story of the chapter will still be essentially the same, it will just give some details that should help you all picture Cheydinhal and its characters better, as I believe that that was something lacking in it. As well as a rewriting, I also might go through and fix a few mistakes on my other chapters, but mostly the other bit of news is that I've managed to come up with a few new names for my story and I will update with a new one sometime soon. All these changes should happen within the week but as this story is now 25 long, grammar and writing mistakes might continue to be fixed gradually, and I might also consider a few other changes. Well, I've kept you all long enough so I'll say one more thing before closing this author's note by saying to please review and PM me for any questions; I love hearing from you guys! And with that, I'm leaving you guys so you can do your thing. Hope you enjoy!
The pounding of feet against stone was the only thing that pervaded the still day, unnaturally loud and harsh when mingled with the soft sounds of birds chirping and the wind rushing through the branches of the massive pine trees. Despite what I've heard about Falkreath Hold, the trip had been very quiet and uneventful, with only the lone wolf, a few bold bandits, and a grumpy bear that had decided it was a good idea to sleep next to a popular road being the only obstacles. It was because of this that my memories of yesterday continued to resurface, repeatedly distracting me from my job.
The moment that the Argonian, Shade, and I had gotten back to Whiterun, we had quickly learned that Alyssa had stolen a horse and rode off towards the east like she was on the run from Oblivion itself, preventing me from trying to work out our argument from earlier. To make matters even worse, I had looked into getting a partial refund from the carriage driver since I wasn't going to be heading to Riften anymore, only to discover that the fee to Whiterun is the same as it is to there (how in the world does that work out?). Luckily, though, my new companion had enough money to allow us to stay at The Bannered Mare for the night, so the rest of the day didn't turn out too bad. But then again, if you consider my Dunmer luck, things were bound to turn bad soon. And then get worse.
The sound of hooves snapped me out of my daze and I looked up to see a deer jerk back from the road when it realized that someone was using it. I paused to consider whether I had the chance to try and kill it, but figured we were probably nearing our destination and with that thought, I decided to use my mage's curious nature to avoid distracting myself again.
"So why are you visiting your relatives?" I asked the Argonian who walked slightly in front of me. He jumped at my question, as my behavior now was obviously out of character compared to the rest of the trip.
"Oh, I, um, haven't been to see them in a while, so I figured that I should at least see how they're doing. After all, only hearing from your family in letters isn't very satisfying, is it?" He said, his voice the normal reptilian rasp that set his race apart from any man or mer. In truth, I actually found it quite interesting to listen to; it was sometimes an appreciating change from the Nords' bellowing battle shouts.
I tried to smile, but it faltered. "No, it sure wouldn't be. If you don't mind me asking, why would a group of Argonians live in Falkreath? Forgive me, but it seems out of your element." I said, hoping I wouldn't offend him. But instead, he just laughed, causing me to tilt my head questioningly.
"I'm sorry for laughing, but I just can't help it. But as for your question, my family has been living here in Falkreath Hold for quite some time, actually. I don't really remember the reason we came, though." He chuckled and glanced back over at me. "Perhaps for the beautiful Skyrim weather." He said, his voice not even trying to hold back the sarcasm.
I couldn't help but laugh along. Even as far south as this, the cold of the northern holds still pervaded the air and though it was never cold enough to snow (thank the gods), Falkreath Hold was still well known for its constant raining and fog, which after a few days in, made me absolutely miserable . "Yes, perhaps." I joked back, trying to keep a smile on my lips, and the Argonian quickly returned the smile. We soon settled back into our usual secluded behaviors as the rain started up again, covering the infamous pine forest in a thick mist. We continued on until twilight approached, which was when my traveling companion said that he wanted to set up camp.
"Why? Isn't Falkreath not too far from here?" I asked, confused.
"Yes, but my family doesn't live in the actual city, but rather a little ways from it and I would hate to arrive so late and have to wake them." He said, as usual his voice showing little emotion.
"Then why not stay at the inn in town?" I questioned. It can't be that far…
He shifted uneasily. "As you already know, Nords don't take very kindly to outsiders. And Argonians are treated even worse than elves." He said, and I flinched. I knew all too well just how cruel the native people of this land could be. With that, I quickly gave in to his request and it wasn't long before night had fully fallen and the only light was the fire that roared quietly in front of us, the stars hidden behind thick clouds that threatened another bout of rain.
Shade had managed to take down a young deer that night and the three of us silently ate the stew I created from it, not even speaking a word to one another and instead focused our thoughts on our own matters. After a while, I broke the silence. "So, what's your name?" I asked, causing the Argonian to flinch.
"Why would you want to know?" he asked, his voice slightly wary.
I shrugged, seemingly casual. "Well, I rode in a carriage with you to Whiterun and nearly walked all the way from said city to Falkreath. I would think that after so much time together, I would at least have learned your name."
The Argonian broke out into a toothy grin as he gave a short laugh. "Yes, a valid reason. But I have yet to know yours as well." He then turned his attention to Shade, and though I couldn't see them, his eyes seemed to have a strange glint to them. "Or that of your wolf's." My body tensed; something about him still threw me off, and the habit of not giving my name was so ground into me that it seemed taboo to speak it. But at the same time, the Argonian was quite right: even as I accused him of never giving his name, I was just as guilty.
We sat there in a tense silence, not sure what to say. Finally: "My name is Veezara." He said quietly, more to himself than to me. He looked up afterwards. "I have given my name, so what is yours?" was all he said.
I flinched, my mind not wanting to form the words. Eventually I opened my mouth to speak, but before I uttered a single sound, a loud rustling sounded from the bushes that were right behind me. Within an instant, I was on my feet with Flames spilling from my hands, Shade by my side, her ears and back flat and a growl in her throat. The Argonian, who I now knew as Veezara, quickly sprang to his feet as well, and drew a steel sword from a sheath hidden in his cloak.
The air was silent for a while, with the three of us standing like statures as we waited for the predicted strike. When none came, I said, "Perhaps it was just a rabbit." I lowered my hands, thinking that that was the case, but Veezara wasn't convinced; he carefully made his way over to me, coming up beside me with his sword still drawn.
"I don't think it was a rabbit. I'm going to go check." He said as he turned to me. "Stay here. This hold is one of many that are easy to get perpetually lost in." And with that, he headed through the bushes and into the still night.
I stood there waiting for what seemed like hours, but still Veezara refused to show. After a while, I went and sat down and fed the last of the firewood into the now dwindling fire, always constantly looking over my back for signs of him. "Hmph. He was so worry about me getting lost in these woods that he forgot to think about himself." I puffed out angrily. The last thing I needed was to have walked all the way here and to have my employer go and get himself killed by a bloody bear or a rotten bandit.
Suddenly the snap of a twig broke me out of my daze as I stood and turned around to face the source of the noise. But only the bushes greeted me, and no movement whatsoever passed for a good ten minutes. It was when I decided that I had imagined the noise did an arrow shoot out from the darkness to my right, missing me by inches as I dodged the attack and it buried itself deep into the nearest pine to my left. I whirled to face the archer, and barely had time to duck away from a sword that would have easily sliced through my neck. I rolled to the right to gain some distance and immediately summoned a Firebolt to my hand, only to turn to find that two more had joined the fight, and I silently cursed my luck; it was them.
One of the assassins was grappling with Shade as she lunged toward him, his throat in her sights and I quickly shot my Firebolt at the nearest assassin. As predicted, it had very little effect, but it managed to daze him long enough for me to switch to an Ice Spike, which I fired in rapid succession. It hit him squarely in the chest, but instead of falling lifelessly to the ground, he merely stumbled a little from the force of the spell. Looking at his strange leather and bone armor, I noticed that the actual element of the spell had left no mark, a sign that he had barely even felt it.
Crap, he's guarded against magic! My mind yelled at me as I scrambled to reach my dagger, but the assassin had already recovered from my two attacks and was closing the distance between us fast. Hoping he wouldn't expect it, I cast a small Sparks spell, thinking that he wouldn't have thought to guard himself against the unfamiliar element, but he didn't even tense as my electricity ran over him and I quickly ended it due to the cost on my magicka.
I backed off, running around the fire. I took a nearby stick and smack it into the nearly burned out logs that fueled the near dead flames, causing embers to fly at his face, hopefully managing to get some in his eyes. For once my plan did as it was intended; though his armor blocked most of it, some of the still hot pieces of ash managed to pass through the tiny holes in his helmet that were needed for him to see, and as it wasn't magic, the dark elf quickly cried out in pain and his hands went up to futilely scrap away the pieces that blinded him. As he did so, I quickly drew my dagger and was about to stab him in the chest when I heard a spell being charged.
I turned and saw that one of the other assassins was charging up a Lightning Bolt spell in my direction. Acting quickly and knowing that he was probably protected too, I made a last ditch effort and threw my elven dagger at him, which impaled him in the heart. After hearing the once-blinded assassin state his rage at his fellow assassin's death, I barely gave him a glance before I effectively leaped over the dying fire and landing right on top of my last kill. Ripping my beloved dagger from his chest, I jumped out of the way before the assassin managed to stab me in the side, nearly backing into the one still fighting Shade.
Just as my feet came to a halt, I heard a loud cry of alarm and half turned to see the third assassin take his elven away from his last attack, its golden edge now red with blood. My eyes went immediately to my shadow wolf, and my stomach dropped when I saw that the pitch black fur on her shoulder was now turning wet and slightly off color; the only signs it could give that Shade was bleeding.
"Shade!" I screamed as the young wolf quickly backed away, her teeth bared at the assassin that had marred her, but it quickly became apparent that the wound was worse than what I previously thought, as she whimpered when she tried to put her weight on it.
The Dunmer sneered as Shade struggled to distance herself from him, and moved to close the space between them with just a few steps, his sword raised to aim at her head. Fear surged through me as I made to go to her rescue, but a part of me still remembered the fight I was already in. As my mind tried to figure its way out of this recent dilemma, I heard the whistling of a blade passing swiftly through air, and a wicked plan clicked within me.
As my assassin's blade closed the distance to me, I stood still, as if still in shock from sight of seeing Shade hurt, but at the last second, I ducked and rolled out of the way, leaving only empty air. True to my plan, my assassin was thrown off by the sudden move and stumbled, closing the gap between him and his fellow comrade. I watched as the momentum of his blade continued to move him forward, and unable to do anything to stop it, it rammed its edge straight into the other's neck.
The first assassin quickly tore his blade out of his friend's neck, but the other simply slumped to his knees, the life in him already gone. Horror at his actions plain on his face, he glared down at me from my spot on the ground. "You cursed child! You'll pay for what you've done!" He bellowed and moved to strike me, but a blur of movement on the other side of the fire caught both of ours attention.
I watched as Veezara tore through the underbrush, his steel sword stained with blood, along with two other assassins. He held his weapon up as an enemy's slammed into it with a loud clang, the two deadlocked. But the Argonian had been fighting hard, and was soon overpowered by the female Dunmer assassin, though he managed to position his sword so that hers missed his throat and instead slid across his shoulder and down his chest. Veezara howled as she retreated in her attack, and combined with his other injuries, caused him to fall to his knees in a mix of exhaustion and pain.
With two more enemies and both of my allies wounded and one about to be killed, I knew I needed a plan to end this fight quickly. But my magic is useless and I'll be shredded to pieces by their swords if I use my dagger. Gods, I need a plan and I need it fast. And that's when a plan did come to me. It's a stretch, but it might work. My mind thought as I reviewed it. But knowing that I had no other choice, I decided to act on it.
In a flash, I stood and neared the third assassin, baiting him to attack. It worked: he immediately took the chance I offered him to try and stab me, but I quickly dodged and sunk my dagger into his wrist, causing him to yell in pain and start to release his sword. With time of the essence, I twirled in a circle away from him, throwing my dagger at the woman about to execute Veezara as I did so, and with my now free-hand, grabbed the assassin's elven sword and slashed his throat in one quick move. A glance over revealed that my dagger had penetrated the female's neck, and she now fell to the ground with a thud. And then there was one.
As Veezara stumbled away with a hand over his shoulder, I once again leaped over the campfire (which had now died out, leaving the small clearing dreadfully dark) and raised my newly gained sword to attack, but the final assassin effectively brought up his own sword to defend himself, and the two came together with a loud metal clang. Knowing that it would be useless to press an advantage, I dodged to my right; effectively forcing the assassin to turn his back on me should he try to finish off Veezara.
I only came to a halt for a moment before the assassin moved in for an attack, which was deflected with the flat of my blade. The rest of the night seemed to be filled with us slashing and blocking, stabbing and parrying. Never once did we rest, not allowing our opponent time to catch their breath. In truth, I believed that I did better than what I had expected; my father had taught me to use a sword when I was young, but I had always favored the lighter and faster dagger, despite the sword being more powerful and having a longer reach, though there still were times when I had considered keeping such a blade on me, but I had always rejected the idea due to the fact that a sword might draw attention and would be hard to hide, and my survival has always depended on remaining just a passing shadow to others, rarely noticed and easily forgotten.
As the battle wore on, I quickly realized just how out of practice I was; I started making mistakes that I shouldn't have, like not positioning my feet so my opponent couldn't throw me off balance when I blocked, and nearly falling for a trick that would've landed me firmly on my back. Right from the start I had known that the stolen sword was not made for me; it was much too heavy, focused more for a style that was used for taking large hits that were counterattacked with deadly intent. Whereas my father had learned that I favored a quick hack-and-slash technique and taught me appropriately, the owner of this sword had loved to block, and had had the strength and endurance to do so. So it was not of complete shock that when I had attempted to stab the assassin, I ended up finding myself on my back with his sword pressed hard on the soft part of my throat, my own sword several feet away, out of reach.
"You." Said the assassin in a voice filled with uncontrolled hatred. "You have no idea how many brothers and sisters I've lost to the likes of you. Many of them were good warriors and somehow you and your wolf manage to come along and strike down every one of them like they were common bandits." He pressed his weapon harder to me, and I knew that moving would have lethal consequences. "You kill them like taking their lives means nothing to you; like they were faceless enemies that are easily disposed of. You know, I'm going to enjoy it when I see you-" His words were quickly cut off by a gurgle in the back of his throat, and in the back of my mind I was aware of a small pinprick of pain as something undeniably sharp poked lightly at my abdomen. The next thing I knew, I heard the horrible slick sound of a blade being wrenched out of a body and watched as the now dead assassin slumped over to give way to the sight of Veezara standing over me, his sword by his side.
"Are you alright?" he said as he looked me over. I quickly nodded and I watched as he wiped the blood off on the assassin's armor before sheathing it back into hiding underneath his cloak. He bent down and offered me a hand, which I took graciously.
Just as I was pulled to my feet, I heard a whimper of pain and the memory of Shade's condition came flooding back to me. "Shade!" I called as ran over to her, who lay on the other side of the campsite, a whine escaping her every time she moved. As I kneeled beside her, I placed a hand on her shoulder, giving rise to a pained howl at my touch. "Shade…" I whispered, tears starting to come to my eyes and threaten to roll down my face. Oh gods, she's probably lost a ton of blood and I don't have anything on me to fix it. Dang it, of all the schools I have to be the worst at, why did it have to be Restoration?!
"Here you are," said Veezara's voice quietly beside me, and in the darkness I could see him handing her a Potion of Healing, which Shade, after sniffing it to confirm its authenticity, drank it greedily. I watched as it did its work, her fur shifting as the potion knit together her skin and restored her blood. By the time she had finished it, the wound had completely healed, and easily stood as if she hadn't just moments ago been near death.
"Don't worry, Mivryna, she's going to be fine." Veezara said when he looked over at my face. The next moment that followed was so still that it seemed even the constant breeze had stopped in its tracks. It was in that moment that both Shade and I tensed, his words having set us on full alert. He wasn't far behind, but I could see that he was trying to hide it, more than likely thinking so that he could calmly talk his way out of this, but we both doubted that.
"You called me by my name." I whispered, unable to make my voice go any higher. The Argonian to my left tried to look confused, but I knew better.
"Of course. That is your name, correct?" The fact that his voice held complete calm only set me further on edge.
"Yes, but I never told you. You told me your name, but not the other way around." Once again my voice was a whisper, and I mentally berated myself for sounding so scared.
"Of course you did! Right before those…" he searched for the right word, "people attacked. Don't you remember?"
I shook my head, knowing that such arguing was useless. I faced him then, and finally something in me gave me the courage to look him in the eye with cruel glare. "Where in Oblivion did you learn my name? Who told you?" I said, my voice much louder and now with a bite to it. But his answer never came, as just then Shade let out a low snarling growl that made every hair on my body stand on end.
Glancing over at her, Shade looked like a creature out of a nightmare, with her face set deep with anger and malice, but as I looked harder, I saw something else hidden deep within her eyes. Fear. My mind answered. But fear of what? It was then that I followed her gaze, and for the first time realized that Veezara's cloak had been ripped during the fight, opening deep holes in the fabric that showed through to his armor. And at the moment I caught sight of it, my breath hitched in my throat, the same fear that Shade so desperately hid was now written into my features, there for all to see. It was then that the Argonian dropped his ruse, and in one swift movement, knocked Shade out with a startled yelp and grabbed my neck and thrust me up against a tree to our left, his hand tightening painfully, telling me not to move.
"And here I was thinking that I this was getting too easy." Said Veezara, his voice now cold and cutting, living up to every inch of his red and black skin-tight leather armor.
"Assassin." I hissed, spitting out that single word with all my fury, every trace of it filled with one bestial instinct; to kill the person who had led me here like a pig to the slaughter. "That's where the Sanctuary's at, isn't it? Somewhere here in Falkreath. In fact, we aren't that far away from it, are we?" my voice was oddly cold to my ears but I didn't care; if he was going to kill me now, the least I could do was make him remember me.
Veezara chuckled, though it held no humor. "Well, aren't you a smart one? In truth, I can't blame you for falling for my trap; I've managed to fool my targets with even the most obvious lies, and they never realize it until there's a dagger firmly in their back." He chuckled darkly to himself, and I glared at him for taking his time. "Ah, but I knew that something like this was bound to happen. After all, being slippery like this is one of your defining characteristics. It's how you've managed to avoid those assassins from before for two years. And now I can see why."
He closed his hand tighter on my throat, and vaguely I realized that he had previously healed himself of his wounded shoulder. He lowered his head so that as he whispered his next words, they ghosted into my ear, making me shiver under his grasp. "But now it's about time that the cat finally caught the mouse. Though since you did save my life, I'll grant you a deal: submit and come quietly and I'll see about not letting my Family kill the moment they're done with you." He then paused, waiting for my answer.
There's no way in Oblivion that I'm going to go into that Sanctuary! With my determination set, I locked my jaw and clenched my fists in preparation for the crudely made plan that I had been working on should something like this happen. "You know, Veezara," I started to say, lowering my voice so that the Dark Brotherhood assassin had to come closer to hear me. "I always figured you were no good. Though planning is never my strong suite, for once it made a difference."
The moment I had finished those words, I grabbed the Argonian's sides and set my hands alight, a chilling scream of pain rising up and out of the hardened assassin. I then continued with a quick kick to his knee, sending him sprawling in front of me. Finally free, I sprinted to my knapsack, sparing a quick glance to Shade, who was now awake and tackling Veezara as he got back onto his feet. The moment the Argonian was on the ground, Shade jumped right back off and sprinted towards the road, barking just loud enough so I could keep up. I adjusted my bag as I ran, but as I passed by Veezara, he leaped to his feet and made a grab for me, desperate to grab of hold anything to stop me from getting away. And for the final time that night, I made a quick move and cast Flames for just a second at his face.
The spell was too quickly ended for it to gain any distance, but being that the night was completely black, the sudden light of the fire was more than enough to catch the assassin's sensitive eyes off guard, and I wasted no time in putting space between us he futilely tried to rub unwanted tears from his eyes and colorfully swore at me in his native tongue, his mark now having escaped.
I don't know how long I ran until I finally caught up to Shade, but I do know it was at sunrise when the road turned to run beside a large river, its current fast and furious as it dashed over the rocks and fallen trees in its way. As the pines started to diminish, I soon realized that I was out of Falkreath, and had been running for most of the night. Just as the last of the adrenaline pumping me forward faded, I caught sight of a small village in the distance, but before I could even take another step towards it, I collapsed.