4E 206: Last Seed 21st:
From where she stood on the inn's walkway, Enjisha could see the sun hanging above the Abecean Sea over the horizon. The sight of it beyond Rhovad looked stunningly gorgeous as if an artist painted a portrait that came to life before her very eyes. Resting her arms on the bannister as she took in the sight, the Knight Sister could only admire it as she pondered on the events that took place over the past two days since everyone's departure for Honavoth. It felt like a long time had passed following the beginning of their journey and she was unable to be part of the trip on account of her religious views towards the honored dead. A small part of her felt jealous that Krisra got to go even though she was a Redguard too, though a larger part dictated that envy was not becoming of a Knight of the Fifth Doctrine. She should have gone to fulfill her duty as a knight in service to her charge, not a devout Redguard with respect towards the traditions of her people and the dead.
Throughout her service in the knightly order, she'd been taught that her responsibilities to the royal family came first and foremost above her own concerns. Including being a Redguard in a kingdom of Hammerfell, homeland of the Redguards. It was not that she was being discriminated against by fellow Redguards, far from it. It was just the way knightly orders functioned as political institutions. Although Hammerfell's knightly orders were not as traditional as the knightly orders of High Rock, Redguard knights like her were a cause of some contradiction. Redguard applicants were sought out more often by the province's knightly orders like how Bretons and Imperials were in demand by the knightly orders of High Rock and Cyrodiil respectively. Forebears and Crowns alike considered them a symbol of Hammerfell's knighthood and the knightly orders serving them demanded their Redguard knights live up to the expectations placed upon them. Though as a result of acquiring Redguards, the knightly orders were unable to send them after undead that had risen.
Apparently, the Crowns believed that tradition was an exception to serving them, whereas the Forebears looked down upon Redguard knights who had to put tradition first. It was why each of the knightly orders in service to the Forebears required non-Redguard knights to cull the undead. That demand was actually an ingrained custom acquired from having pledged themselves to Tiber Septim during the Tiber Wars of the Second Era. Upon Hammerfell's inclusion in the Empire back then, the Forebears became more cosmopolitan than they had originally been prior to joining. The thought of those knightly orders made Enjisha glad she was in one from a Crown kingdom because her religious views towards the honored dead were respected by the Crowns. In spite of the fact it made her feel like she wasn't living up to the ideal of being a Redguard knight. Still, Enjisha could not let herself be bothered one way or the other because she was Krisra's double on this particular mission. That was more important with the Second Great War going on in light of an undead threat.
The situation they encountered on Herne was not entirely unexpected, but nobody believed it would have been as serious. Which was why joining a mission she was then forced to not be an active member of was upsetting to say the least as she felt her responsibilities had been postponed at the last minute without prior notification. That being said, she had no reason to complain because her training in the order taught her that she had to expect sudden prohibitions preventing her from acting at full capacity. So, it did not fully bother her in the slightest because she needed to do what she could. Like loaning Virnwulf her silver longsword and teaching him how to wield it properly. Helping Tierisa gather herbs and casting Restoration spells as the healer was not a practitioner of the School of Restoration. And patrolling Rhovad with the guards to keep it and the citizens safe. It may not have been enough, but even the smallest acts of courage and valor could go quite a long way. That was part of what it meant to be a knight, after all, whether in an order or as a free knight.
Hearing footsteps walking on the walkway from her left, Enjisha turned to find the Orcish publican coming up to join her. Ghamol did not get too close, preferring to remain a short distance apart so there would be a gap in between them. She noticed that his Orcish war axe was attached to his belt, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. Although silver weapons were more effective against undead, even she knew that anything of lesser quality or created with different ingots would be enough to knock away a skeleton's bones. Even punching or grabbing the bones. "Miss them?" he inquired gruffly, his curt tone of voice being the only way he could seem to sound a bit sincere.
Enjisha could not deny the accusation. "I do. I am a Knight Sister of the Fifth Doctrine. To not care about Lady Krisra would be an affront against the order and everything I have trained for. I should be there with them as they are investigating the undead in Honavoth." Although she was presenting her valid complaint to him and felt he would agree to some extent, she knew otherwise.
"And who'd help protect this town?" Ghamol challenged her assertion. "Besides, you're a Redguard. Redguards don't go around dishonoring their honored dead. That noblewoman of yours should know that because she's of Redguard stock like you. But it ain't my business to tell her not to when she's of royal blood and has the authority to make those kinds of decisions." He was right that he had no say in the matter as a commoner even though Krisra would likely listen to his advice. Whether she accepted it or not was, however, left to her discretion since she still had the power to overrule him regardless of whether he was one of her subjects or not. In this case he clearly wasn't because he was just some islander on Herne, an island under the Kingdom of Hegathe's jurisdiction rather than the Kingdom of Taneth's. And he was aware of that and knew not to push for anything.
"Lady Krisra is actually rather approachable," the Knight Sister tried to convince him that he could at least try based on what she had seen of her talking with peasants. Especially the friends Krisra had over in Rihad. "Unlike some nobles of Hammerfell, she does care about what the people think. The Kingdom of Taneth would get overthrown by a peasant revolt if she ruled tyrannically."
"Only she's not the ruler, isn't she?" the Orc recalled their first conversation.
"She is of the royal family all the same," Enjisha hoped to end his line of inquiry with that clarification. She suspected he was going to pry into business that wasn't his in spite of previously indicating he wouldn't. It was her fault actually for having suggested the peasant revolt since that must have gotten him thinking. There'd been no such conflict when they were still in Taneth, but one could have arisen following their departure without them realizing it until it was too late. They had not received a message from Taneth confirming it was so, though that did not mean they would not hear word anytime soon. She did not even think she or anyone from Rhovad would have been permitted to cross Herne for Honavoth so that Krisra could be properly informed in time. Anyone could have fallen to predators or undead on the way or the expedition could have been jeopardized. Either by getting canceled while in progress or making Krisra and the other knights leave the others to fend for themselves. Enjisha clenched her fists and kept Ghamol from noticing her discomfort.
"Fair enough," the Orc evidently didn't, "so long as her family's not like those nobles." It was hard to tell whether he was slightly prying or just leaving it at that with his agreement on her.
"They are not," Enjisha confirmed, not wanting to delve into the kingdom's turmoil since it was not his concern as an islander unaffiliated with the Kingdom of Taneth. "They rule justly."
"Good for you guys from Taneth," Ghamol commented. Although his voice was not tinged with a slice of envy, his remark made Enjisha wonder if he felt the Kingdom of Hegathe should've taken a more active interest in Rhovad. Not that it needed to since they did fine without Hegathe.
She decided to change the subject. "How are the other citizens doing?"
"Well enough considering the circumstances," Ghamol kept his answer simple. "We people of Rhovad can be a hardy bunch even in the face of adversity. Although I admit, the honored dead rising from their graves have given the Redguards pause for concern. A pity, but understandable."
"The town guards have not encountered more undead, have they?"
"None whatsoever. Some of them are starting to think the undead will leave this town alone if they leave them alone. Stupid perhaps, but I suppose we may just have to accept that solution."
Enjisha had to concur that it was a misconception. Herne, despite whatever its size could've been, was still a small island in the Abecean Sea. Nobody in Rhovad would've been able to prevent the undead from invading if they encroached upon the town and if there wasn't anyone to stop it.
The sound of more footsteps coming up the stairs drew her attention as she placed a hand on her blade in case it was somebody with ill intent. Unlikely given that nothing had happened yet, but it was better to be prepared for a situation. Ghamol had not even bothered to see who it was as he knew it was one of the other citizens. A town guard given that the common folk were remaining indoors, perhaps Mirre Bishe. "That's not good enough, Ghamol," her voice proved it, apparently having overheard that subdued comment of his. "We've already had the one mummy. Don't think they would leave us alone if given the chance to turn this place into a literal ghost town. We don't need you losing faith in trying to preserve what little we've got here." Her chiding seemed to make the publican feel somewhat guilty over having mentioned the resignation before defeat even came.
"Sorry," he apologized. "It's just that we don't have anywhere else to go if the undead did invade. And that noblewoman and her knights, while properly equipped, have no reinforcements."
Becoming accustomed to the lack of danger in the moment, Enjisha removed her hand from her weapon and contributed to the conversation. "The ship that brought us over the Abecean Sea," she referred to Taneth's Flower, "has a number of guards onboard trained to defend the ship from pirates. Once it returns to check on our progress, Lady Krisra may be able to convince the captain to loan a few to Rhovad. I am afraid it might not be much, however, given that it is one of Taneth's most important vessels and thus requires some greater measure of protection from naval dangers."
Mirre's concerns were slightly put at ease by that assurance since she had a feeling Krisra would do such a thing on behalf of Rhovad. The noblewoman's success in acquiring the favor was ideal, though Mirre knew well enough to not expect it to happen. "Any reinforcements the ship is able to bestow will be welcome. Though we'd like to see aid from the Kingdom of Hegathe too."
Enjisha gave a curt nod of understanding. "I am positive Lady Krisra will instruct Captain Othdis to deliver a message on that extent to the king," she assured them despite being aware that the Kingdom of Hegathe would not be able to send much assistance due to the Second Great War. If the king could, unless he and the royal court were not interested in aiding this holding of theirs, de jure, de facto, or otherwise autonomous. Of course, that seemed the more unlikely outcome as he would not have risked a political snafu with the Kingdom of Taneth while the war was on with a Crown from the Kingdom of Taneth in his domain. Or as close to it as possible if the island was autonomous. The King of Hegathe was a Crown himself, so that further supported his willingness to help. Maybe reserve troops in stock along with the Temple of Stendarr and the Order of Arkay.
"They're not going to send aid," said the Orc based on how the kingdom saw the island as a holding. "They've never done anything for us apart from sending a bit of cargo our way. Not out of goodwill, but because we'll take the scraps and whatever's left they don't want or have no need for. It's been that ways for years, even Maramka will tell ya that much. Hegathe has no reason to."
Enjisha wasn't going to accept that. "He will to avoid a political dispute with our kingdom," she countered with one of the reasons why the King of Hegathe would send assistance. Although she had not referred to him directly, Mirre and Ghamol could tell she was talking about him. "The King of Hegathe is a Crown like Lady Krisra, and our two kingdoms are fighting together against the Third Aldmeri Dominion. That is reason enough for him to take as much action as he can spare in these tempestuous times." There was also the unspoken accusation against Erasnlorn Forestwind for being a member of the Thalmor or a contracted agent in their employ, likely a necromancer. It did not have to be made known because Ghamol was not authorized to know about it. Though the Guard Captain was and would not speak of it either, aware that Enjisha couldn't refer to it openly.
"She has a point, Ghamol," Mirre concurred with the Knight Sister, her gut instinct telling her that what Enjisha spoke of would guarantee the king's support for once. "There's no way he'd overlook our plight regardless of how trivial our town is. Especially if he thinks those Thalmor of that Dominion might be involved in all this." That was a better way of putting the suspicion without directly alluding to the accusation and the specific individual named. A quick glance from Enjisha conveyed her gratitude to the Guard Captain for having skirted around the issue as distantly as she could while still remaining in range. Mirre caught the look and replied with one of her own before continuing. "So don't give up on him sending us any aid he can. And don't go telling everyone the king won't send help. We don't need the widespread tension to turn into a panic we can't handle."
Ghamol grunted. "Yeah, I know, that's the last thing we need." He may not have appeared too convinced by their argument, though he was aware of how important his role in the affair was.
Mirre gave a curt nod of approval before directing her attention back to Enjisha. "Anyway, Enjisha, I'm sending a few of my men out on patrol around the outskirts again. You should help." She did not need to say why since the Knight Sister understood the reasoning. They had not found any traces of undead since the mummy showed itself, but the guards needed to be on high alert. It was of the utmost importance to find out if any were approaching and if they left behind any tracks. While Enjisha was certain the undead would just wander into town, she needed to suspect anything.
So she stood at attention and bowed out of submission to the Guard Captain despite being a Knight Sister in a knightly order. That should have qualified her to give the orders, but she wasn't affiliated with the Kingdom of Hegathe, being a knight of the Kingdom of Taneth in the Order of the Fifth Doctrine. Although even that made her qualified, she was still considered a guest visiting Rhovad. Plus, Mirre knew the town and its surrounding outskirts better than she did since she was a resident. Common sense dictated that it was only logical to follow her orders in their predicament, meaning that her rank in the Order of the Fifth Doctrine and thereby her affiliation to the Kingdom of Taneth were not justification for her to take charge. "Understood. Where should I be patrolling?"
The Guard Captain directed her towards the northern shore. "Up north," she instructed her. "I've got three men gathering to head there right now, so meet up with them at the north gate. They will take you to where the outskirts meet with the border into the wilderness. It's mostly the coast and some desert further inland, so you'll be able to see any undead coming from miles away. Or a set of tracks if the wind hasn't blown sand to cover them. But my men can recognize if it has and know how to tell where tracks are, so you needn't worry too much. Unless undead are attacking."
Enjisha nodded. "Of course, I shall not let you and the people of Rhovad down."
Mirre smiled appreciatively. "Good, and thank you. We may not be much, but we do know how to keep order in this town. I'll also be sure to have Virnwulf on standby in case of the undead." She then turned back to Ghamol. "You too, Ghamol, even though you don't have a silver weapon."
"Don't need one if it's just skeletons," he accepted the lack of one. "Got my axe and some brute strength for that. If I face off against one of those mummies, I'll be sure to distract it so one of the guards can get the message to Virnwulf. Good thing those mummies aren't faster than me."
"Just be careful when encountering one," Enjisha advised him. "They are ridden with a lot of diseases and can infect you with one easily if you get caught. They are immune to diseases too."
The Orc nodded his thanks as he went to go down the stairs. "Good to know," he remarked.
"You'll be heading down the southern shore with the guards there," Mirre called after him.
"I'll catch up to them if they haven't already left," he called back as she turned to Enjisha.
"I'll be patrolling in the west myself," she commented on what her location would be while turning to leave too. "I'm going to make sure undead aren't coming the way the expedition went."
"Very well," Enjisha concurred with her decision as she followed the other Redguard down the stairs where they parted ways. "Good luck to you over there." While Mirre returned the remark and headed off west, the Knight Sister began making her way towards the northern gate where she was to meet with the guards. She already knew where she was going from having explored Rhovad the past two days to form a mental map of the town. Leaving the inn's courtyard, she walked over to the left wall that surrounded the palace's courtyard to go around it. Strolling around the corner, Enjisha found herself in between the wall and several residential buildings along the palace's side. She stuck to the path until another town square of sorts came into view, noting the exterior furniture set up by each of the houses. Mostly tables and chairs for sitting at, as well as blocks where wood was chopped. Some tables didn't have chairs since the citizens had to stand when flaying fish they caught as evident by the somewhat overbearing smell of dead fish that lingered and mixed into the also lingering smell of smoke. Branches and even some logs were piled up against outdoor firepits to fuel the flames, but nobody but the guards were outside which meant the flames remained unlit.
The square was practically empty apart from her and one guard in front of a building larger than the homesteads. It was roughly the same size as Tierisa's home and possibly the general store for comparison, but smaller than the inn. From what Enjisha learned since Krisra left Rhovad with the others, the building was one of Rhovad's two guard barracks. The other being on the other side of town. She had not been inside herself, though imagined there were several rooms for the guards to sleep in or one communal chamber for sleeping and two others for dining and bathing. The only town guard present sat in a chair next to the door, smoking tobacco in a pipe while seated under a white banner with what appeared to be Rhovad's insignia sewn into it. The insignia certainly didn't look like that of the Kingdom of Hegathe, lending credence to the idea of Rhovad's autonomy and its distance from the kingdom. From having seen that same banner on the other guard barracks, it was easy for Enjisha to distinguish them from the homesteads and the other three main buildings.
Although the guard hadn't taken notice of her when she first entered the square, he did as she was crossing it towards the northern gate. He said nothing to her when she passed by, however, figuring she was either patrolling around town or heading for the gate. He knew what her intentions were from what Mirre had told him and the other town guards, so he saw no reason to bother her. Enjisha didn't either, letting him sit there with his tobacco while passing through. She did throw a glance at him and received a curt nod of acknowledgement to confirm the unspoken understanding.
Once she reached the other side, Enjisha only had to walk around a couple more residential homes before coming to the fence. It was the only fence in Rhovad, made from ash wood and had consisted primarily of posts with a single board in between each. From what she had learned about it the other day, the fence used to encircle the whole town until it suffered damage over time from age and rotting wood to nature taking over and predators attacking when they got close. Although the citizens rebuilt it time and time again over the years, repairs were no longer made considering how inefficient the whole process was. The wood was used for other things instead of fencing, and they stopped taking care of the fence since it was falling into ruin. Already, Enjisha could see there was some structural damage to it as several posts and boards were rotting or had broken. Missing posts and boards were replaced by gaps in the fence that were no different from the sheer absence of fencing along the western and southern borders. Apart from the length of each gap individually and combined, of course. Taken together, the gaps were less than the absence and a preview of it.
She could not help but think the northern fencing was something of a commentary speaking about Rhovad's state as a town without an economy and minimal resources. It could feed its own people and maintain independence, though projects such as maintaining the fencing had fallen into obscurity despite the lingering imprint of what it once was when completed. It was of no use at all, a sad state of neglect that would soon see the northern fence obliterated by unconcerned locals in a town that no longer had a need for it. Similar to how the Kingdom of Hegathe loosely ruled over Rhovad and all of Herne by extension. Enjisha wondered if a time would come when even Rhovad disappeared with all of its fencing, becoming a distant relic of the past forgotten by Hammerfell's people. Maybe the town's erasure from civilization and history would be the death of its existence.
The thought was depressing enough to make Enjisha think about how it would affect Krisra and other Crowns, if any, who saw Herne as the birthplace of Hammerfell's Na-Totambu society. By way of being a continuation of Na-Totambu civilization from ancient Yokuda. If the connection to the Na-Totambu of Herne was lost, there would be nothing tying the modern Crowns to Yokuda apart from their heritage in the province. Perhaps then, voyages might be undertaken to go explore the Abecean Sea's western frontiers and beyond its borders into the Sea of Pearls. Rediscovering what little they could of Yokudan lore if there was something to be uncovered and elaborated upon. Enjisha had a suspicion that time would come at some point, perhaps sooner than later, though she could not predict the following future. Just as it was slightly possible for that future to be averted.
Enjisha sighed as she continued to observe how decrepit the fencing was becoming just as she sighted the three guards she was supposed to be meeting with. None of them appeared to have spotted her approaching just yet, so she raised an arm to wave for their attention. One guard caught sight of her and gestured for the other two to face her, their Yokudan styled leather armor seeming to absorb the sunlight. Coming to a stop in front of them, Enjisha looked each of them over to see how prepared they were for the assignment given. They were each decked in leather armor all the way from their heads to their toes, carrying leather shields with Rhovad's insignia imprinted upon each of them. Their iron longswords hung from their belts, just next to whetstones for sharpening the blades and hammers like those a blacksmith would use to repair equipment. There were some potions clipped to their belts as well that were obviously concocted by Tierisa for them to drink if they got hurt or infected by diseases. Completing her examination, Enjisha gave a nod of approval.
The trio returned the acknowledgment, grateful they had an experienced Knight Sister like her among their group. One of them stepped forward to analyze her Taneth steel armor as well as the steel longsword sheathed at her side. "So you're that one knight from Taneth who stayed here?"
"Yes," she answered curtly. "Might I presume you are in charge of this patrol?"
"That'd be me," he confirmed and began introductions, starting with himself before giving the names of his fellows from left to right. "Name's Rhanoc, and the others are Hicel and K'asan." Seeming like a friendly sort to some extent, Rhanoc pointed in the direction they would be going and began explaining how far they would go. While Mirre had already supplied Enjisha with that information, Rhanoc's reinforcement contained a bit of elaboration the Guard Captain didn't speak of. The guard elucidated that they would be heading straight for the northern shore but would stay upon a sandy hill above the coast since it afforded them greater oversight. From that vantage point, they would see Rhovad from a distance because it was the only settled place for miles. A huge part of the desert outside the town's outskirts connected to the coast, though they would need to ascend another sandy hill to really see if any undead were coming from around that area. While they were not required to investigate the entire area, they had to descend that second hill to check for tracks.
During his explanation, K'asan and Hicel checked over their gear since they had the time. However, Enjisha was getting the feeling they were becoming impatient with Rhanoc for speaking to her about the process of their patrol instead of actually doing it and letting her learn by example along the way. A lot of the guards she worked with the past couple days were like that to a degree. Although she couldn't blame them since she was an outsider from the Kingdom of Taneth, it would have been nice if they were at least a bit more considerate than seeing her as some knight. But she couldn't complain partly because her training in etiquette forbid it and as a courtesy to the citizens.
Rhanoc and the other two did not expect to find anything in that area north of town because Rhovad had not experienced any attacks from undead since the one mummy. But they had a duty to perform and would carry out their responsibility in full no matter what they believed. The loyalty he seemed to exhibit more strongly than Hicel and K'asan was admirable in Enjisha's eyes because he knew it was a serious matter. She could not tell what his fellows were thinking, however, though was glad they were present to help patrol the northern outskirts instead of waiting for some assault.
"We'll be heading out in a minute or two," Rhanoc continued explaining. "We're waiting for a couple more guys to watch the gate. They should be here any minute." As he said so, Enjisha directed her attention to the northern gate to find it was nothing more than a wider gap in the fence. The rusted hinges on the right post were evidence that an actual gate did exist at one time up until it was removed or destroyed. "With the patrols going around the outskirts, Captain was pressed to reassign six of the other guards as lookouts for our return. And whatever undead may be around."
"Do you not have anyone on lookout throughout the day?" Enjisha inquired, wondering if the town guards considered it an important duty too despite thinking it wasn't normally a concern.
"No, at least not all the time. Only times when we've had to were after beasts tried to attack. And even then, we've kept lookout only for a few days after." The Knight Sister could understand that given Rhovad's isolation, stopping anyone or anything from overseas from threatening them. Only the domestic dangers of predators did, and now the undead in this situation. "But I suppose we're now going to have start maintaining watch all the time with these honored dead around us."
"Until this incident is resolved," Enjisha had to agree. "After, however, is another story."
"Up until now, we've done the occasional patrol of the outskirts," Rhanoc clarified for her. "And while we've never really needed anyone on the gate unless for when beasts attacked, we do patrol the perimeter. So we know if we see something attack or anything out of place as we patrol."
Enjisha supposed that was good enough, all things considering. "That seems efficient."
"We do what we gotta do," said Rhanoc as the two guards they were waiting for approached from the east. Hearing one of those two call out, he turned around and waved at them before turning towards the gate. Motioning for Enjisha and his fellows to follow, the group crossed the threshold that was the northern gate and started their trek for the northern coast. They stayed inland as they walked, maintaining a firm vigil on their surroundings. The area was barren, devoid of any activity worthy of their attention. To their right was the sandy coast connecting to the waters of the Abecean Sea which lapped at it for sand in exchange for more sand and sea salt. Along with wooden boards that washed up too, perhaps from submerged shipwrecks or ships that were damaged above water by pirates. It would not have surprised her if those boards came from Alliance or Dominion vessels. Rhanoc simply told her not to bother with the boards, saying that a few other guards would retrieve them later. Whether the wooden boards were useful or not would be decided by the citizens later.
On their left were fertile fields of soil for growing crops, some of which already fulfilled that purpose judging from the cornstalks, wheat, fruit, and other vegetables taking up residence on the soil. Several of the citizens owned the fields according to Rhanoc, but unlike the farms on the other sides of town they were a community farm for the village. Which was why this farmland was slightly bigger than each of the other farmlands combined in the event some or all of those farms were unable to cultivate produce. While she was not familiar with the processes of farming herself, Enjisha could not help but think of consequences that came from having a community farm. Mainly the increasing lack of crops as more were taken during a severe shortage in produce grown on the other farms. She did not say it aloud, but Rhanoc seemed to understand what she was thinking and told her no such famine occurred as far as he knew. Minor shortages did happen a couple times, but they had enough crops to get by both times and recovered from negative effects not long after.
Miles past the community farmland was the desert they needed to patrol too. Upon stepping into the sand, Rhanoc explained they were close enough to the border that separated the coast from the desert. The four of them were closer to desert territory than they were the shore, just up on the rolling hills of sand and the occasional stone jutting through it. These hills were not too high which enabled them to keep an eye on their surroundings, though they could not see over taller dunes that stood around them in some spots. As they got closer to a particularly tall hill, Rhanoc indicated it was the one they were going to ascend for a better view of the area, saying it was one of the tallest. Looking at it herself, Enjisha had to agree even though it was not as tall as some of the hills around the Kingdom of Taneth. If anything, it was perhaps a fourth of the height compared to those hills. Upon reaching its base, the group took a short break to regain their stamina for the climb. Not that they needed to because it wasn't a hard ascension from the look of it, but it was better they had all the energy they needed to scale it. As they started climbing, that belief was swiftly proven accurate.
Their reward for reaching the top was somewhat breathtaking. Standing on the hill, Enjisha had to admire the sights of Rhovad in the distance south of their position and the surrounding area. All around them were coastal sands lapped by the Abecean Sea which also struck against the small cliffside on the hill's other side, and the opening to what was the vast northeastern desert they were going to investigate next. Nothing stood out in the horizon apart from the sea, desert, and Rhovad. It made Enjisha feel kind of small seeing how much of a speck she was while standing upon Herne. "It is pretty beautiful up here," Rhanoc commented on her unspoken approbation. "On occasion, a few of the other locals might come over to enjoy the view. Especially at night when the stars shine over the island and the sea. But beasts could be an issue if any happen to be in this area, though."
"The island's natural predators tread this close to the town?" asked the Knight Sister.
"Sometimes," the guard answered. "Occasionally, we can see bits of them from Rhovad."
"Do you cull them when they get this close?" Enjisha asked next.
"Nah, don't need to. This hill may be near Rhovad, but it's not close enough to cull beasts. If they do get closer but haven't spotted the town yet, maybe. But we don't need to provoke them."
"Just how close can they get before becoming a problem?"
"When they've just noticed the town and see somebody they consider prey," said Rhanoc. "They'll stroll about the outskirts looking for an opening to exploit. Or if they see us back away to alert the others, thinking we've backed down in fear." He looked around to determine if there were any predators nearby, but none showed. "They can be sneaky bastards sometimes, that's for sure."
The Knight Sister grunted in understanding of that situation and how they took care of it. They had good heads on their shoulders to know when to raise the alarm even though that possibly allowed predators to capitalize on the opportunity of being given the first move. Though they knew what they were doing and would not back down. The undead, though, were a different story since they were not the standard predators. Fortunately, it seemed the guards were still capable of acting even if they would not be able to counter the undead due to their religious beliefs as Redguards. It was not enough, unfortunately, even for now since the undead could have attacked at any moment. They just had to work with what they got and do what they could in spite of their restrictive limits.
Since she was not experienced with these grounds herself, Enjisha stood by and kept watch as the guards began combing the area around the hill for tracks and other signs indicating undead. She maintained a close eye on their surroundings, looking in every direction they were not looking towards so they wouldn't get caught off guard. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary so far, but she could not be certain that there wasn't anything of note when the undead or something else could've been lurking beneath the sands underneath their feet. The guards did not seem too worried that the sand could have erupted around them if something was using it as cover, but she couldn't be sure the further they got from where she stood. For all her concerns, though, they knew this place better than she did and knew how to identify signs indicating danger in this part of the island, so Enjisha believed she had no right to complain about how aware or unaware they were. They seemed a tad confident that nothing was going to happen based on having found nothing of significance so far.
She gradually came to expect they wouldn't encounter action of any kind as they eventually came to a stop. The three of them regrouped as Rhanoc called up for her to join them, waiting for her to descend the hill so they could move onto the next one. Once she rejoined them herself, they started walking towards the other hill that overlooked the desert. None of them said anything since there wasn't anything to talk about or inform her of, so their walk was mostly silent apart from the footsteps that kicked up sand and made soft noises upon it. It was like walking upon snow, though quieter since snow was more noisy in that it crunched underneath. After about fifteen minutes, the group reached the hill and started ascending it when Enjisha looked around and saw Virnwulf near their location. The Nord must have checked on the other patrols or just started with theirs, getting here quickly to be present for possible undead. She waved and he waved back, though said nothing due to the distance between them and to avoid drawing unwanted attention from the honored dead.
Rhanoc turned his head back to see Virnwulf too. "Looks like he got here just in time."
"It is good he did," Enjisha commented. "There may be undead on the other side."
"Hopefully there aren't, but you never know," Rhanoc agreed as they began ascending the hill. From the look of it, it appeared they would have little trouble reaching the top of this one too.
Within minutes they made it to the crest of the hill and looked out at the desert before them. The land ahead was nothing but sandy dunes as far as the eye could see with a small mountain far across the horizon that stood out from among the sands. If Enjisha squinted through the blur of the sun, she swore she could make out a forest of ash trees surrounding it. But she couldn't be sure if it was a real forest or some kind of mirage, and the mountain was too distant for her to think about any further than being the site of a possible entrance into Honavoth's tomb. For right now, though, she needed to focus on the desert in front of her and the guards. The three of them stood there with her, analyzing the landscape to see if there were any undead present. None appeared at the moment, but Enjisha expected that could have changed since the dunes were tall enough to mask the undead from their sight until they were at a height that revealed them. So did the guards, apparently, since they waited with her to be sure there weren't undead before the trio descended down the hill right as Virnwulf reached the top himself. The Nord came forward to join her in watching the scenery.
"You see anything like this in Hammerfell?" he asked to make small talk.
"The Kingdom of Taneth is a desert landscape with a couple grasslands and a few forests," the Knight Sister answered his inquiry. "So I am not surprised to find this kind of terrain by town."
Virnwulf pointed at the mountain. "No mountains or anything?"
"No mountains," she responded. "The majority of the mountains can be found in northern Hammerfell. Primarily in the Dragontail Mountains of the central north, the Western Reach that is mostly in High Rock but partly in our province, and the Druadach Mountains between both of the provinces and Skyrim. Though one cannot see them too well from Taneth, the outlines are easy to make out." The brief description of the province's geography made her start to feel a bit homesick.
"Ever been to those mountains?"
Enjisha shook her head as she watched the guards check the sand below the hill for tracks and other evidence of undead. "Never, though I heard they are dangerous places to travel through."
The Nord grunted, accepting that as a cue to end the topic. "What about your kingdom?"
"Also a dangerous place these days as a result of the Second Great War," she explained in brief. "But primarily since it was betrayed to the Thalmor from within and was occupied for several years until we retook it. Suspicion ran rampant after, mainly towards Altmer, Bosmer, and Khajiit."
Her tone of voice indicated it was an even touchier subject, so Virnwulf decided it was best he didn't pursue the matter any further. That last comment of hers made him glad he wasn't either of those three races, though he had a feeling even the other races in the Kingdom of Taneth weren't immunized from the height of political tension revolving around that war. Changing the topic while looking out the desert before them, the Nord gripped the silver longsword Enjisha had loaned him. "None of the honored dead showed up yet, huh?" he asked, hoping he'd have no need to use it. He did not want to ruin the weapon because it was a nice blade despite her likely being alright with it.
"None," she reiterated that first word while checking to make sure he had the longsword.
Virnwulf grunted his approval. "Better that they don't. Wouldn't want em' to."
Enjisha nodded in agreement. "Hopefully they do not. But we have not seen them yet."
"Better be a good thing."
"It is not, the undead could attack at any moment without us realizing it until it is too late."
The Nord sighed. "Figures it wouldn't. Suppose it'd not be realistic to expect otherwise."
"It is not an easy situation to deal with, I know," the Knight Sister had to agree once more. "Nothing ever is. I should know from my training in the Order of the Fifth Doctrine." Again, there was that homesickness that made her yearn for the lands of her kingdom. But she brushed it aside.
"You knightly types sure know how to expect the unexpected, huh?" Virnwulf commented.
"It helps to be aware of what could happen in the given circumstances. To know when it is safe to lower one's guard…" Enjisha caught sight of movement on one of the nearby dunes which she would have written off as being the guards. Only they were at the base of the hill, meaning it was not them, but rather a trio of skeletons from the west. The closer they got further proved it as did one of the guards alerting the other two to their approach. "And when to act should any conflict break out," she finished her thought and pointed at the three skeletons so Virnwulf could see them.
"Guess that's my cue," the Nord sighed as he began to descend the hill.
"Be careful," Enjisha warned him. "We do not know what weapons they carry." Although she couldn't determine if the skeletons were armed from this distance, she expected they had been.
"I know," Virnwulf called back as he drew the blade, walking past the withdrawing guards.