Madman
Brynjolf and I stilled, refusing to move an inch in the darkness. I shut my eyes and tried to focus on not panicking. As if on cue my instincts kicked in and my beating heart calmed and I opened my eyes, a sudden clarity to everything. Right. Those thief-instincts were handy and there was no need to deny them now.
"Who's there? Show yourselves!" Athis demanded loudly.
"You idiot, it's probably just a skeever," Njada complained. "It's hardly likely to show itself because you tell it to."
"A skeever would have showed itself by now."
"Then maybe it's a regular rat! The important thing is my ankle is about to be sawed off!"
Athis snorted but didn't move. After a few moments of silence, the dark elf shielded his blade and went back to Njada. I took a deep but very silent breath. Brynjolf shook his head in amusement and I didn't need a light to know he was smiling exasperatedly at me. He grabbed my wrist and we quietly snuck ahead.
Our primary goal was disarming traps. That much went unsaid. When we encountered our first skeever Brynjolf put a finger to his lips and began sneaking around it. I took his lead. While it would be easier to just dispose of the unaware beasts, it wouldn't due to have my fellow Companions wondering at the fresh kills. After all, it wasn't like anyone had been down here for some time by the looks of the cobwebs.
The first problem we encountered was the giant spiders. I swore loudly when one nearly toppled me to the ground, instantly stabbing deep into its eyes on instinct. It's dying thralls seemed to alert it's brood and I bit back a scream as we were swarmed. When we'd finished them all off, I hung my head, trying to still my heart.
"So, you're not afraid of dragons, or assassins, or giants, or -" Brynolf began, humor in his voice.
"Shut up."
"But spiders -"
"I said shut up. No one said I was afraid."
"No, but even in near darkness I can tell. Your face did a good job at not showing the fear but for your movements. A bit harsh for beasts, and probably more suited to a warhammer than a shortsword -"
"Do you have a point?"
"No, not really," he said, the humor back.
"Then you should know there's a nice hiding spot for these carcasses right over here. Have fun with that," I said, and began disarming the traps.
Brynjolf chuckled but didn't object and began to haul them out of the melee. When he'd successfully done that I helped remove the markings of battle with magic, but still, a trained eye would see it. I only hoped they weren't observing the ground too closely. I shivered, thinking of the eight-legged beasts once more and missing Farkas at my side. He'd valiantly chopped the spiders into bits on our mission to receive the shard and I was able to keep my distance and fire off well-placed arrows.
I shook my head, it was no use thinking of that now. If we didn't get keep ahead of Njada and Athis I doubt that I'd have much time in future to spend with the large Nord.
We made good time through the rest of the traps, having seen the first and last of the spiders as luck would have it.
"We must be near the exit," Brynolf observed. The tunnels had gone from something akin to a cellar to cavelike back to looking like a cellar.
"Thank Talos," I said, thinking of my bed back in Jorrvaskr. After the last two days, a nap just hadn't been enough time to sleep.
Just then I heard a sound that was all too familiar from years of being around my mother and her colleagues in the Guild. Without thinking, I threw myself at Brynjolf, knocking him to the ground as a fireball landed right where he'd been standing seconds before. I could feel the heat on my back, smell the burnt leather there. The pain came almost secondarily, an afterthought as we quickly got to our feet. It could have been much worse, would have been much worse for Brynjolf if not for my split-second action.
In the near complete darkness I'd only had a second to pinpoint the source of magic before it had been slung at us. I quickly cast a spell for light, our cover blown, as we unsheathed our weapons. I didn't have enough light to use my bow so I removed my swords as the thief did the same. Slowly we flanked the area we knew he had to come from.
Brynjolf had to dodge as another fireball came at him. It was a stupid or desperate ploy by the mage, who's spells, while powerful, would surely give away his location. He must have been used to his first spell doing the trick when it came to unwelcome guests. That didn't mean, however, that he was less of a threat now. A cornered animal will fight the hardest after all.
We dodged and dipped, slowly moving toward the mage who we soon found out was a Breton. Brynjolf was the first one to get to him, making my remaining approach easy as he was no longer able to concentrate on slinging fireballs. He'd switched tactics, his hands gripping at Brynjolf, trying to freeze him to slow down his fast-moving blades. Another risky move as at any moment those searching fingers could be chopped off. He must be mad.
As he engaged with Brynjolf I quietly approached from behind. Despite the mage's clearly paranoid-honed senses, he didn't detect me until it was too late. I thrust into his unprotected back, near his heart. He twisted enough at the last second to prevent me from piercing it by inches but the shock stopped his casting and Brynjolf thrust into his throat from the front.
The battle over, I pulled out my blade and the man dropped to the ground. I stumbled back. My previous bruises and cuts were now opened and throbbing where the fire had heated the leather and burned my skin.
Brynjolf reached out to steady me. "Are you alright lass?" he asked, concerned.
Just then we heard two loud and running footsteps approaching and he let go, calling ahead to us, knowing someone was down there with them. I quickly slinked back into the shadows, trying to remain conscious, while the Companions approached. To my surprise, Brynjolf stayed in the open and I shot him a questioning look I only belatedly realized he couldn't possibly see.
"We'll never hide the body in time," he muttered quietly, as if reading my mind. "Take the poison and put it in the mead. It's potent so this bottle will be enough. Go, quickly."
He threw a flask to me and I realized he was taking the responsibility for the mage as they would know that someone had been there and search for us. What would they make of him being there though? Would they think him a thief? Or a murderer? The Companions were just reaching the other opening of the chamber.
"Brynjolf -" I whispered.
"Just go, lass. Don't worry about me," he whispered back, urgently. "Go!"
I reluctantly but quickly made for the exit.
