Three weeks later and Esil was bounding back up to Dragonsreach.
"Lydia…" Esil sang as she walked into Dragonsreach. Lydia groaned and dropped her head onto the table.
"Yes, my Thane?" She asked.
"Want to go on an adventure?" Esil put her hands on the table and leaned over towards the housecarl.
"Do I have a choice, Thane?"
"Nope! Get your sword and your wine, I found a Dwemer ruin!" Lydia looked over at Jarl Balgruuf, who just shook his head as Esil bounded out. The Nord woman followed reluctantly after the elf.
—
"Thane, are you almost done here?" Lydia asked as Esil dug through a fifth burial urn.
"No. Keep an eye out for Falmer and Dwemer shit. I'm robbing the place and I'm still almost blind."
"How could you miss the Falmer? They're white hunched monsters." Lydia watched as Esil climbed one of the huge shelves in search of 'shiny things', as the Dunmer called them.
"Because everything in here's white. Keep looking for them." Esil said from the top of the shelf. Lydia turned as something approached.
"Sphere." She breathed, drawing her sword, watching the shadow. Before she could charge, she was pulled off of the ground and onto the shelf. "What are you doing that for?" She asked quietly.
"It's not a Dwarven Sphere. It's a Centurion." Esil said fearfully.
"We can take it."
"They're twenty feet tall and shoot intensely hot steam out of their heads. They also sometimes have crossbows. Do you really want to tangle with one?" Esil asked.
"Fine. Do it your way."
"My way is hiding from everything until I can kill it without being noticed, just so you know."
"I guess I'll have to go along with that for now."
"Good. Be quiet." Esil drew her bow, handing Lydia one of the dwarven ones she had picked up. "I've got extra arrows." Esil said quietly. Lydia nodded, taking some without arguing. She watched as Esil took aim with her bow, wondering how she could even hope to hit her target with eyes like the elf did, and then gaped as she hit it in the joint between the head and the neck, staggering it. One more shot and it had fallen to the ground.
"And that is how I like to operate."
—
Esil hadn't seen the Falmer patrol. She hadn't heard them, either. If she had, maybe they'd have been able to avoid the things. Neither she nor Lydia had seen them, though.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Esil squeaked as she dodged one of their arrows, firing one back at her target. She could hear the clang of swords, no doubt from Lydia taking down her opponents. Esil turned and shot down a third Falmer, while Lydia ran towards her, leaving the bodies of two Falmer behind her.
"Great. Let's get out of here!" Esil said quickly.
"I'd agree with you there, Thane." Lydia said. Esil turned and ran for where they'd come from. She heard Lydia following, and then a gasp of pain. Esil turned and saw Lydia down on one knee, a chaurus reaper charging towards them. Esil charged the chaurus, dodging one of their spitballs. She stabbed it and turned back to Lydia, grinning. Lydia was still. Esil frowned and walked over to her.
"Lydia?" Esil asked, crouching down. "Are you all right?" No answer. Esil turned the housecarl onto her back, feeling for a pulse. Nothing. "Lydia, don't do this. No, Lydia!" Esil began screaming, shaking the body of the Nord woman frantically. Esil felt tears rolling down her face and she furiously wiped them away. She stood, standing over the woman's body.
"I'm sorry, Lydia." She whispered. With some difficulty, she picked the woman's body up and carried it out of the Dwemer ruin.