Chapter 36: Witch Hunt
"Reckless idiot." Ruby commented.
"Who are you talking about, me or Bryenn?" I asked.
"I meant you, but it fits Bryenn as well. He should know better than to run off on his own and you should know better than to jump around like that! You're the farthest thing from an acrobat!"
"Don't be too hard on him, he just acted without thinking." Aya said, watching Trelana attempt to heal my ankle. "I bet he does that a lot, right Trelana?"
She didn't respond, her mind seemed to be elsewhere.
"Trelana? You okay?" Barbarius wondered.
"Quit spacing out!" Ruby yelled.
Trelana jumped at Ruby's voice. "R-right..." she stuttered. "Is that any better?"
"Yeah, thanks." I said, getting up and trying to walk. My ankle was still sore, and I couldn't put much weight on it without it getting worse, but catching up with Bryenn was more important than personal comfort.
"You had better go to a real healer when we get back to Suran. My healing magicka is more suited to cuts and bruises than broken bones."
"At least I can walk. Now we can go after Bryenn."
"You said he was going east, but the road forks shortly after crossing the bridge. There's no way to tell if he went north or south after that." Barbarius said.
"If they were running, there's bound to be footprints or something. It shouldn't be that difficult." Ruby said, starting down the road. "Come on."
--
We left Gnaar Mok, carefully traversing the "bridge" out of town. How a few planks laid across rocks is considered a bridge is beyond me. When we got to the fork, Ruby began examining the ground for a trail. It wasn't long before she told us to head south, and hurried off ahead of us. Aya dashed after her, pulling Barbarius along. I limped along rather slowly behind Trelana, still wondering what seemed out of place in that house.
"Nem... you're thinking too hard again aren't you?" Trelana asked suddenly.
"There was something odd about that house Bryenn and I searched. Nothing was out of place, but..." I trailed off, lost in thought again.
"There was no sign of a fight in any of the places I searched either. They must have packed up and left on their own."
"Packed... wait a second. That's what was wrong! I looked through the crates in the basement, and everything was still there. The shelves were still holding plates and such... if they had left of their own accord, wouldn't they have taken at least some of it with them?"
"Now that I think about it, nothing seemed to be missing in any house I checked... but if they were taken by force there should have been something to show that. I didn't see so much as a broken glass. It doesn't make any sense."
"At least we know they were taken now, at least it seems that way. How could someone do something like that though, and why?"
"Maybe..." Trelana glanced ahead at Ruby, who had slowed down so she wouldn't leave us behind. She continued to stare at Ruby in silence, a slightly puzzled look on her face.
"Now you're the one thinking too hard. What's wrong?"
"I... saw Ruby talking to someone in Gnaar Mok."
"Could it have been the person Bryenn chased after?"
"No. He was talking to her when we heard you scream. He looked like an agent, or assassin. He said she's supposed to kill someone... but I didn't hear who."
"Could he have been another Forlorn member? There was a group that came here before us."
"I guess so... and she could be a member of the Camonna Tong, or some other organization. Still, there's always the possibility..."
"Hm?"
"That the person she is supposed to kill... is one of us."
I couldn't help but laugh at hearing this. "I doubt it. Ruby may be short-tempered, a bit crass and slightly sadistic, but she's our friend. I may not get along with her at times, but I know she'd never put a knife in my back."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. Real friends stab you in the front." I chuckled.
"It's nothing to joke about!"
"Sorry, I just can't take something like that seriously. I trust Ruby. Just like I trust you, Schimmel, Bryenn, Barbarius and Razelus."
"What about Valen and Aya?"
"Them too."
"That's a big change from when you were at the Mages' Guild. You didn't seem to trust anyone then."
"That's only because I didn't like any of them. They seemed to believe whatever crap Edwinna made up about me, but that's getting off the topic. There's no reason to think Ruby's our enemy."
"She does seem to hate Parven..."
"So? I hate him too. More than once I've wanted to shove him off a bridge, or worse."
"Forget it. Just... don't let your guard down if you're alone with her, okay?"
"All right..."
--
We continued south down the road, but there was no sign of Bryenn and the mystery person he was chasing, other than the footprints they had left behind. Trelana kept glancing at Ruby nervously, who was too focused on the road to notice. Aya had run off ahead and was nowhere to be seen. Barbarius seemed a bit distracted by something, staring vacantly off into the distance.
"Hey everyone! I found out where Bryenn is!" Aya shouted as she ran into view. "It's not far! Hurry up!" She shouted, before turning and running off again.
We all chased after her, until we once again lost sight of her. By the time we caught up to her she was standing at the bottom of a path leading up a hill.
Ruby stopped by her and looked up the hill, obviously a bit shocked at what she saw. "You can't be serious."
Barbarius and Trelana caught up with them as well, I was trailing behind because of my ankle. Trelana was, finally, focusing her attention on something other than Ruby. "It's a Dunmer stronghold..." she muttered.
I slowed to a stop beside her, glancing up at the massive stone structure. Aya hurried up the hill and staircase of the stronghold, not even hearing Barbarius when he told her to be careful. The rest of us followed her up, and stopped in the middle of the courtyard. The Keep's entrance was straight ahead, but there was another, smaller structure to the left.
"This must be Hlormaren." Trelana mumbled.
"It's so big!" Aya exclaimed, walking over to the smaller building. "What do you think is in here?"
"That's probably the Propylon Chamber. You can transport between strongholds in there, if you have the ri-" Trelana began.
"Ooh... it's pretty." Aya interrupted, opening the door and peering inside.
"We didn't come here for sightseeing!" Ruby snapped. "We have to find Bryenn, now hurry up!" she headed toward the door of the keep and kicked it open. The rest of us followed at a safe distance.
--
A long hallway stretched to the left and right, dimly lit by a handful of torches along the walls. Ruby glanced in each direction, then suggested we separate to search the first floor.
"We don't have the right amount of people for that." Trelana quickly pointed out.
"You're right... not to mention Aya's the only frontline fighter we have..." I said.
"I can fight up close if I have to. So... Aya can lead a team down the left path, I'll take the right." Ruby said, glancing down the hall again.
"All right! Barbarius, you come with me!" Aya said brightly, grabbing his arm.
"In that case, Nem can back me up. Trelana, since only you and Nem know good healing spells, you should go with them."
"Oh... okay..." Trelana muttered, giving me a worried look before following Aya, who had already hurried down the hallway, dragging Barbarius with her.
--
I followed Ruby down the tunnel, wondering where Bryenn could have disappeared to. We turned a corner and Ruby came to a sudden stop. Before I could ask what was wrong she pointed to a door up ahead, and began creeping over to it. I followed slowly behind her, watching as she opened the door and inch or so and peeking inside. She gasped and shut the door again quickly, looking slightly ill.
"What is it?" I asked in a whisper.
"It's... horrible. We have to find Bryenn quickly, if he has been captured... that could happen to him." Ruby said in a slight panic, dashing over to the next corner. "That fetcher... I'll kill him for this all right, regardless of orders." I heard her mutter.
I began to reach for the door to see what had upset her, when a scream echoed though the hallway. "Wasn't that..."
"AYA!" Ruby exclaimed, bolting down the hall.
I followed after her as quickly as I could. When we found Aya, she was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. She looked a bit like Ruby did after peering into the other room. Barbarius was standing by a door, also slightly green.
"Are you okay? Was it..." Ruby began.
"What in the world happened to them?" Aya asked, her normal upbeat tone replaced by a shaky one.
"You see... it's..." Ruby trailed off, clearly wondering how to explain whatever had happened.
I nudged Barbarius out of the way and pulled open the door to see what exactly had put them all in such a state. A foul smell seeped out of the room. Bodies were on the floor inside, they looked deformed. One's skin had turned greenish-gray and turned an unusual texture. One of them didn't have ANY skin, and was drenching the floor around it in blood. A third's head and left arm had morphed into that of some unidentifiable creature.
I slammed the door shut, starting to feel sick as well, but it was probably more from the smell than the sight. "Those people... are they from Gnaar Mok?"
"Most likely. There could be a few from Hla Oad and other travelers among them as well." Ruby said, glancing down the hallway.
"What happened to them? I still don't know everything about Vvardenfell, but from what I've heard about corpus, that's clearly not what's wrong with them." Barbarius said, looking at Ruby and waiting for an explanation.
"It's... hard to explain. Just know that we have to kill the fetcher responsible for it."
"That's obvious."
"I don't know why... but this seems familiar." I mumbled.
"You didn't..." Aya began.
"No, I didn't cause it, I've just seen it. I think it was when... wait a second..." I looked up and down the hall, just now realizing something. "Where's Trelana?!"
"Huh? I thought she was standing at the corner..."
"Damn it! First Bryenn, now Trelana! We have to hurry and find them!" I shouted, running off without thinking.