Of all the Orcs to be stuck with, Shelur gra-Rabash seemed to be the one with whom Leola would be most likely to get along.
The young woman, who was perhaps a year or two older than the blonde, had light green skin and very typical Orcish features, with a pronounced underbite, fanged teeth jutting upwards, and a wide, pointy nose. Her ears were long and almost elflike, pointing downwards somewhat. She had beautiful eyes, which were a dark green in colour and framed by thick black lashes. She had long, jet black hair that was silky straight and drawn back in a high ponytail.
"I'm truly honoured that Malacath asked me to accompany you back to Windhelm," said the woman, who had been given Leola's horse to ride, with the young princess seated behind Aventus as she had been on the way there. "Do you know if there are any other Orcs in the city?" Shelur's voice was deep, with a growling quality. As far as Orcs went, it was distinctly feminine, but without prior knowledge that an Orc was the one speaking, she would sound like a man.
"I've never met any," Leola said kindly. "Narzulbur is only a short walk away, though. You can visit there any time you wish."
Leola had her arms wrapped firmly around Aventus, and she gripped the tiny black soul gem fragment firmly in one hand. Malacath's terms had been much simpler than she had expected – he wanted Leola to take a member of the group back to Windhelm with her. Shelur was meant to be a friend to Leola, privy to all the same secrets and discussions that she shared with her other friends and ready to join them on their journey across Skyrim to retrieve the fragments and return the artifacts. It was, in essence, a show of goodwill towards the Orcs made by the woman he believed would be the future High Queen. It was frightening – but also a true honour – to hear Malacath himself address her as such.
"You don't think that your father will take unkindly to me, do you?" Shelur asked, looking at Leola with a concerned expression on her face. She was a muscular young woman, bulky and armour-clad atop the golden horse. "I've heard…things."
"You're no elf, he shouldn't have a problem," Sond said cheekily, and Bottar laughed. Shelur gave them a quizzical look and Leola simply smiled.
"My father once told my friend Erith that any friend of mine is always welcome in his home," said the young blonde softly. "As long as you prove yourself to be a friend of mine and a worthy ally, he'll be welcoming to you."
Shelur smiled slightly, nodding. "Malacath did say that I could come home if I needed to," she said softly. "I only hope that won't be the case. I don't want to disappoint my people."
"If you return home, you won't have been the ones to disappoint," Aventus said, his gaze falling on Leola. The young blonde felt her cheeks go pink and she nodded.
"It's true," she said softly. "And I'm sure that one of your people will be sent to retrieve the soul gem fragment if that's the case."
"So…are you supposed to explain everything to me?" Shelur asked softly, and Leola nodded.
"We are," she said. "Basically, what it comes down to is that my mother was in possession of all the known Daedric artifacts and we want to get them back where they belong."
"That's some terrifying shit to be messing with," Sond remarked with a laugh.
"Meanwhile, my father discovered that my mother's soul is scattered all over the place in these soul gem fragments, each one possessed by one of the Daedric princes. She wants us to put it back together and take it to Sovngarde," Leola continued, and Shelur smiled slightly.
"Ah. Sovngarde is to Nords what Malacath's Ashpit is to us Orcs? An eternal life of drinking and fighting and merriment?" she asked, and Bottar nodded with a grin.
"It's where we'll all go one day. Except you, of course, which is a shame, because you seem nice," he said, grinning at her. Shelur smiled back at him, and Leola exchanged an amused smirk with Aventus.
Because it had been morning when the group reached Largashbur, they had plenty of time to ride back to Windhelm, hopefully making it back before sunset. Leola was rather uncomfortable about the prospect of encountering bandits on the way back, but having an extra fighter with them eased it somewhat.
"So, Shelur, what's your goal in life?" Aventus asked casually, and Sond snickered a bit. Aventus always tended to ask intelligent and insightful questions. Leola wasn't sure why it amused Sond and Bottar as much as it did.
"No, definitely not," Shelur said with a laugh. "You'll laugh at me."
"We won't," Leola said, smiling.
"I'd like to travel to the College of Winterhold and learn to use magic," Shelur said softly. "Magic has always fascinated me, but my people are very hands-on."
"I don't see why you couldn't do that," Aventus said.
"Windhelm is near Winterhold. You could visit and learn about magic. My girlfriend Erith is good with magic too, she might be able to teach you a thing or two," Leola suggested, grinning as she saw the way the Orc's green eyes lit up.
"Really? Would she do that for me?" Shelur asked, and Leola nodded.
"She most certainly would," she replied softly.
Before Shelur could respond, Shadowmere stopped abruptly, whinnying and jumping slightly. Leola cringed, tightening her grip on Aventus as he calmed the horse. From the woods there came a rustling, and then three men stepped out. They wore the quilted armour and blue cloth of Skyrim's guards over chain mail, all gripping swords. Two of the men were Nords, while the third was an Imperial.
"You there," barked one of the Nord men. "We're going to need the lot of you to pay a toll in order to continue."
"This wasn't a toll road last night," Aventus said calmly, pulling his coin purse out. Leola leant back slightly, allowing him to slip down off of the beautiful black horse's back and approach the guards.
"We've been told that bandit presence has increased here," said the Imperial.
"So charging people to pass will help to weed out the bandits?" Sond asked sarcastically, climbing down off his horse. Leola's gaze shifted to Bottar, who nodded in the direction they were going, as if indicating for her to keep going. He then held up a finger, his own eyes falling to the scene between Aventus and the guards.
"Look, either pay up or turn around, or else," said the first guard who had spoken, brandishing his sword threateningly. Sond lifted his arms, pulling out the massive steel sword that was resting across his back. Aventus, meanwhile, drew his dagger.
"We don't want any trouble," he said. "We're merely escorting these two lovely ladies back to Windhelm."
The Nord guard who had yet to speak suddenly lunged towards Aventus, who instinctively darted to the side. Leola's eyes went wide and, as if sensing her fear, Shadowmere began to back away from the fight. Bottar's horse reared up on its hind legs, and then he pointed it towards Leola, looking at her as the fighting men began to shout.
"Go a little ways up the road," he said, and Leola barely had to do anything to get Shadowmere moving.
She gazed over her shoulder, hearing the clashing of metal as the fighting began. Sond's massive sword swung through the air, clanging against the sword of the blue-armoured guard as he countered it. Shelur, at some point, had leapt down off her horse and attacked one of the men, and the two were swinging their weapons back and forth. Bottar drove his heels into the side of his dark brown horse and began to follow after Leola, clearly trusting the others to handle the guards.
Aventus was fighting expertly, at least in Leola's eyes. With his dagger, which was much smaller than his opponent's weapon, he blocked a swing from the guard's sword and countered, driving his elbow into the other man's armoured ribs. Sond, meanwhile, swung his sword at the guard he was fighting. The guard lifted his sword, catching the blade of Sond's between the blade and hilt of his own. He then spun around to shrug off the attack, lowering his sword and thrusting it at Sond.
Leola's eyes went wide and she immediately turned away. She heard a shout that sounded very much like Sond's voice. From behind her, she heard Bottar turn his horse around rapidly, shouting out his friend's name, and Shelur's voice cried out a shocked "No!"
Leola squeezed her eyes shut. She was sure Sond would be okay. Shadowmere carried her away from the fighting, rounding a bend so that the scene disappeared behind the trees. She then stopped, peering over her own shoulder at the Nord and snorting slightly.
"I hope Sond is okay," Leola whispered to the horse, tears filling her eyes. From her angle, it had certainly looked as though the sword had entered Sond's chest, but she couldn't possibly know for sure.
Leola didn't know how much time passed. Perhaps a few minutes, perhaps more. She could still hear the sound of metal clashing and shouting, but she couldn't make out any words. Finally, however, the distant fighting died down. She was quiet, praying that it would be her friends who came around the corner – and hoping that Sond would be with them.