Karnwyr was moving more and more slowly before they reached Darkwater Crossing, the strain on his bruised bones was becoming apparent.
Bishop knew of a capable healer in the mining village who would be able to help the wolf, the man looked after the miners and took care of all their injuries – he had a lot of experience with crushed bones.
He brought the miners meat and pelts often in the past and had a good working relationship with them – he was pretty confident the healer would help his wolf without question.
They reached the village and Bishop took Karnwyr straight to the Dunmer healer while Aeyrin headed towards the lake to wash herself of the remaining blood and grime.
The place was beautiful – a large waterfall system reflected the setting sun at the other side of the lake, the water falling from top of a large cliff, its peak was barely visible in all the mist. A small rainbow formed above the falling water, creating a magical view.
Aeyrin looked around.
The miners were still probably working and Bishop was standing some distance away, talking to an older Dunmer man who nodded at him from time to time, looking Karnwyr over.
She walked a bit further, hiding behind some trees and started to take off her armor. The lake looked so pristine and she felt so filthy after all that fighting and walking around in that horrible dealers' den. She prepared to take off her tunic when a rustle of leaves startled her.
She looked over towards the source of the disturbance to see Bishop leaning against a tree, watching her with a smirk.
"Don't stop on my account, sweetness," he grinned.
She rolled her eyes with a smirk but stopped undressing, instead looking over the serene scene again.
"How's Karnwyr?"
"He'll be fine. Sondas says he has several cracked ribs and it will take a while for them to settle properly. He can't really move while that happens so we'll be spending some time here."
Aeyrin nodded with a smile, relieved that the wolf was going to be back to his full strength soon.
"It's beautiful here," she closed her eyes for a bit breathing in the fresh air. It felt like up until now she still had that musty smell of sugar and smoke stuck in her nose.
She felt him approach behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders running them down her arms lightly "You certainly enhance the view," his voice was low in her ear. She rested herself against his chest for a while – it felt so relaxing and safe.
After a while though, she found herself too aware of his body against her, pulling back and blushing fiercely. It was strange, every time she felt herself being pulled towards him, her inhibitions kicked in. It was odd letting herself be so familiar with someone, she never before actually met anyone that would even make her want to get closer to them. She knew she was probably too reserved for her own good, but there was always this sense of embarrassment and discomfort when she got too aware of how intimate they were becoming.
Maybe she really was too sheltered in the temple. Master Therien thought that she needed to experience more of the real world too. But it was so comforting to have a home where she felt safe, where she didn't need to worry about starving or getting hurt. She hoped she could find that in Skyrim too, but was wary of clinging to her safe place too much again, like she did before, and right now Bishop was the only 'safe place' she had.
She turned to him, seeing what could almost pass as disappointment on his face as she pulled back from his embrace.
"How about you go find us something to eat, so I can finally wash up," she smiled bashfully.
He gave her a once-over. She expected another comment about helping her wash or watching her back but he stayed surprisingly quiet. He nodded after a little while, leaving her to enjoy the lake alone.
…
When she returned, she found Bishop by a large campfire, preparing food for quite a lot of people from the looks of it.
There was a little Nord girl with long blonde hair running around him, skipping on the small stones along the path to the mine.
"How did he get hurt?" the girl called out to Bishop, running towards the campfire and sitting herself next to him.
"A dragon accidentally sat on him," Bishop smirked.
The girl stared at him for a while then frowned: "Na-ah! You're lying! Verner says there's no such thing as dragons!"
"How does Verner know?" Bishop gave her an amused challenging smile.
"He's old so he's smart!" she beamed back, raising her index finger at him.
"Right," Bishop snorted in response, turning his attention back to the meat.
Aeyrin approached them, sitting by the fire to dry of, smiling at the girl in greetings.
"I'm Hrefna. You're mister hunter's friend?"
Aeyrin giggled while Bishop rolled his eyes.
"Yes, I'm Aeyrin. Nice to meet you, Hrefna," she gave her a warm smile.
"Did you see how Karnwyr got hurt? It wasn't a dragon, was it?" she asked a little warily.
"No, it wasn't a dragon, don't worry," Aeyrin smiled at her reassuringly, there was no reason to panic her.
"I knew you were lying!" the girl stuck out her tongue at Bishop and skipped over to a nearby building, peering into the window to catch a glimpse of the old elf working his magic.
"Did you come here often?" Aeyrin turned to Bishop, quite surprised to see him so… sociable.
"Yeah, I spent a lot of time in the southeast. These people don't have a hunter in the village so they rely on travelling ones. It's good business," he shrugged. "Sondas didn't even want money, just meat. I'll go hunting again before we leave so that they have some supplies."
Hrefna skipped back to them in the meantime, sitting herself back by the fire.
"What kind of elf are you? You're not like Sondas," she looked at Aeyrin curiously after a while of silence.
"I'm a Wood Elf," Aeyrin answered politely.
Hrefna gasped at the answer, looking at her warily, then looking at the meat on the roast in suspicion. "Do you really… eat people?" she asked when she gathered the courage, earning a roaring laugh from Bishop.
"No, I'm from Cyrodiil. From a city," Aeyrin shook her head with a slight smile. She never got so many remarks and questions about her race back in the Imperial Province. She knew that coming from the girl, it wasn't a hateful snide comment, but it was getting tiresome.
"Oh… whew," Hrefna sighed with relief.
There was silence for a little while again, Hrefna was humming idly, obviously trying to think on how to amuse herself further.
"Did you swim to the waterfall?" she asked after a while.
Aeyrin only nodded, smiling at the girl.
"Did you see Derkeethus? He swims there often, under the water so no one can see. He's watching the fishies," Hrefna look at Aeyrin hopefully with a sad expression, but Aeyrin didn't notice the girl's distress, too preoccupied by the revelation.
She blushed fiercely at the thought that someone might have been in the water there, instinctively crossing her arms over her torso. She noticed Bishop's attention snap from the fire, raising an eyebrow at her, than narrowing them, staring at the water.
"What?! There's someone in there?!" Aeyrin yelped.
"I don't know… He's there often, but he comes back here to sleep. He hasn't been here in three days now," the girl stared into the fire, worry etched on her face.
"The Argonian?" Bishop turned his attention back to the girl who nodded at him, her expression still sad and worried.
"Do you think he fell asleep in the water? He can breathe in it, you know!" the girl's eyes lit up with hope.
"I don't think he's in there that long…" Bishop gave her a doubtful look.
Hrefna looked into the fire sadly while the miners started to leave the mine, darkness slowly falling upon the village.
The miners greeted Aeyrin and Bishop and asked them about their travels long into the night. They told them about some encounters of theirs back in the Rift but left out both the dragon and the skooma den.
Aeyrin eventually asked about the Argonian that Hrefna mentioned and the villagers confirmed that he was likely missing. They gave her some of the locations he likes to spend time and swim and Aeyrin promised them they would look for him the next day. Karnwyr needed to rest anyways and this way they could fill their day with something productive.
Aeyrin entertained them with a jolly song about mining, which she learned from miners from Belletor's Folly near Kvatch. Eventually they spent the night sharing the miners' camp, sleeping in one of the large tents scattered around the village.
…
They set out early in the morning, leaving some of their loot with the villagers for safekeeping – the less they carried while exploring the mountainous lakesides the better.
They scoured Derkeethus's haunts carefully, but saw no sign of the man himself until they reached a lake situated all the way above the large waterfall near Darkwater Crossing.
The sight was even more beautiful than the one from below, three other waterfalls were visible, leading further up the mountain, reflecting the midday sun and creating an enigmatic cloud of thick mist all around them.
The Argonian wasn't there either, but they did find a cave entrance filled with low water. Having nowhere else to look, they decided to explore the cavern, wading through the water, careful not to get swept up by the tide – it would be quite the fall all the way down to the lake by the village.
Aeyrin struggled a bit to keep her balance in her heavy armor, but Bishop was right behind her, ready to steady her anytime she wavered.
They waded through the cavern entrance, finally finding a piece of solid ground where the water couldn't reach them.
They pulled themselves up from the knee-deep water, looking around curiously.
The cavern was dark, very dark. The only things illuminating the way were strange turquoise-colored mushrooms that emitted an ethereal glow. Aeyrin has never seen anything like that – the cave looked almost magical, only lightly illuminated by the odd fungi.
"There's no way we can get a torch going in this place," Bishop grumbled, looking up on the dripping ceiling.
Their eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness as they continued on, guided by the light of the mushrooms.
"What are these?" Aeyrin asked curiously.
"Glowing mushrooms. Damp caves are full of them around here."
"They're beauti-" before Aeyrin managed to finish, Bishop's large hand quickly covered her mouth, silencing her.
Neither of them made any move or sound for quite a while as they listened tensely.
There it was again, a strange gurgling sound, followed by a clink of metal.
Bishop let go of her slowly, creeping silently forward, looking around warily. He looked around the chamber they were in but it was hard to see anything in the dark, their hearing impaired by the constant dripping and trickling of water.
Aeyrin stood still careful not to make a sound. She only turned her head around to see better as there was a patch of glowing mushrooms right by her, helping her monitor the area.
Bishop headed silently further into the chamber, tensely weighing every step so that he wouldn't accidentally make a noise.
Aeyrin suddenly felt like she heard that gurgle again, but it was drowned out by the water. It did seem like it came out from somewhere near her though.
She looked around carefully, her eyes finally landing on the patch of mushrooms by her side.
There was a… creature, just standing there, staring right at her with horrible narrow wrinkled slits instead of eyes. It was all skin-toned, with hands and legs and… pointed ears… it was almost like a mer.
She couldn't control her shock and fear at the sight of the creature and gasped. It was so hideous and terrifying and so close to her.
The idle creature immediately became alert at the sound she made, lunging forward and throwing her to the ground with a loud clank of armor and splash from a nearby puddle.
Aeyrin cried out in surprise, struggling against the beast, trying to get a grip on her mace as it screeched at her, its disfigured maw right above her face, drool dropping down on her.
Bishop looked back hastily, barely seeing her on the ground in the darkness, struggling.
He aimed his bow, but the glint of her armor reflected off the slick walls, making it difficult to see her exact position. He might hit her by accident.
Finally she managed to get a grip on her weapon, swinging it with force at the creature that was attempting to claw through her chest piece.
The thing slumped to the ground, dead in one swing, making a crackling sound as it bounced off the wall.
Bishop tried to be both quick and quiet as he made his way back to her while she was crawling back on her feet again.
"Ladyship," he whispered as he was near her, "we need to be really fucking quiet right now."
Aeyrin swallowed the knot in her throat, standing very still and not saying a word in fear of another of those creatures attacking.
Surely enough outlines of three more of those things became vaguely visible as they made their way into the chamber.
Aeyrin and Bishop stood very still, not moving a muscle and not making a sound.
Aeyrin got really nervous as she was sure her glinting armor was visible by the mushrooms on the wall but she refrained from moving, trusting Bishop's judgment.
The creatures scurried around the room quietly, looking for the source of the disturbance. Bishop listened to the pattern of the dripping water, finally settling on the exact moment when to draw his bowstring so that the sound would get drowned out. He managed not to alert the creatures as they walked around them warily, settling on a silhouette of one which was lit lightly by some mushrooms.
With one shot the beast was down, attracting the attention of its compatriots. Bishop again waited for the dripping sound as he drew again, hitting another one of those things right to the throat – it was much easier when they clustered around the dead one.
After that, he didn't wait for the sound any longer as the last creature figured out the source of the arrow's swish.
The last arrow hit just as the creature started to charge in Bishop's general direction, piercing its nostrils and sending it toppling down on the ground.
With a sigh of relief he turned back to Aeyrin: "We need light. Without it those fuckers have us beat."
"What are they?" Aeyrin whispered back, her voice trembling slightly. She faced undead, large insects, goblins who decorated themselves in human skulls, but she was never before so freaked out by seeing a monster. She didn't know why.
"Falmer," Bishop said, seemingly surprised that she didn't know.
"Those were elves?!" Aeyrin gasped, a little too loudly for Bishop's comfort.
He cringed, looking over his shoulder for a while, then turned back to her: "Not anymore."
…
They decided against even trying to use torches – if they even managed to get a spark among the constant dripping water, the smoke and crackling of burning wood might attract the Falmer. Luckily, Aeyrin remembered a magic trick she once saw – the mage conjured a little ball of light, trapping it in the neck of a bottle of water, when he turned the bottle neck-down, it lit up the entire room. They repeated the same thing with some empty potion bottles and a few of the glowing mushrooms. The effect wasn't nearly as mesmerizing but it was better than nothing. They corked the bottles, fastening them around their upper arms, lighting the areas around them.
"Won't they see us?" Aeyrin asked after a while, realizing the possible futility of their caution.
"They're blind. Their hearing's real good though, so be careful. This way at least they won't sneak up on us."
They continued through the cavern slowly, staying as quiet as possible.
They were able to see the Falmer a bit now, catching few of them off guard, but the cave was crawling with them. At least they could fight them properly now, seeing from where they came at them.
Aeyrin noticed that some of the Falmer even used weapons and armor, making them even more… elven. She didn't remember anything ever creeping her out this much, hoping they were a rarity even in Skyrim. The thought of these creatures once being the majestic Snow Elves was horrifying.
The fight even got to close quarters a couple of times, as the monsters were lurking in some strange dwellings hanging on the walls. Bishop had to dispose of his bow those times, getting too close to the Falmer for comfort, plunging his trusted hunting knife deep in their insides.
…
They have just managed to clear out a large chamber of the creatures, both covered in blood and grime, both of them wearing some nasty scratches and slashes, when a weary voice came from behind one of the cavernous walls.
"Is anyone there? Please… I heard fighting…" there was a hopeful intonation in the voice and its raspiness suggested that the owner was Argonian.
They both ran towards the wall, seeing a couple of cracks between the boulders.
"How the fuck did you get there?" Bishop raised his eyebrows.
"It was… already collapsed. I added the boulder… at the top… please… I'm too weak to… remove it," the man gasped, his voice strained, perhaps even from a lack of air.
Bishop and Aeyrin tried to grip the slippery stone, slowly moving it out of the way. As they laid the boulder slowly on the ground, trying not to make too much noise by dropping it, the Argonian started to try to get grip on the other boulders to get through the crack, he was breathing heavily and his face was cringing with pain.
They both grabbed him, one under each arm and pulled him out of his hiding place.
Their makeshift lanterns soon revealed a badly bruised and buck naked Argonian.
Aeyrin averted her gaze quickly, blushing fiercely, while Bishop fished around his pack with a smirk, handing the man his worn cloak.
"Apologies… I was swimming… up by the river. The stream… it was so strong. I only managed to… direct myself to a cave," the Argonian let out a loud wheeze, hiding himself into Bishop's cloak as best as he could.
"You hear… the water?" the Argonian pointed towards another cavernous hallway. Indeed the sound of running water was getting louder, coming from that direction. "That's where I… ended up. There's a waterfall… and Falmer," he cringed.
"You stay behind us, don't move and stay quiet. We'll deal with the creatures," Aeyrin put her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. The Argonian nodded gratefully, taking another deep breath, trying to calm his wheezing.
…
They managed to get to the large chamber with a waterfall without much trouble but the place itself was crawling with the monsters.
Bishop took out some of them with a bow before they got noticed but soon their attention was on them. The battle was brutal and chaotic with Falmer coming in from all directions. One of the Falmer even jumped right at the Argonian, attacking him promptly. Luckily Aeyrin noticed soon enough, throwing the creature off of him before it did any real damage.
When all appeared quiet, they climbed past the waterfall and waded through the small distance of the strong current of the river with their last strength. They all managed to get to the shore, falling on the ground in exhaustion, breathing heavily.
When they calmed down a bit, Aeyrin started to heal any wounds she could, beginning with the Argonian, who did his best to cover himself with the flimsy cloak when he noticed Aeyrin's blush as she approached him. He only had few scratches and bruises. The worst thing was his breathing after spending so long in that small alcove, but it was slowly getting better on its own.
"I cannot thank you two enough," he breathed out heavily. "I managed to get out of the water… but the Falmer… I am lucky I am fast," he smiled a little proudly. "I noticed the crevice when I ran… and jumped in without thinking. There were some glowing mushrooms in it... and the boulder. I managed to seal it, to keep them out. I ate the mushrooms after a while. It was so dark… and the air was thinning," he shook his head with a distressed expression on his face. "If you hadn't come…" his whole body gave out a shiver and he closed the cloak around himself more firmly.
"It's alright," Aeyrin smiled at him kindly, "You are Derkeethus, right?"
His eyes widened a bit, then he looked over at Bishop more properly: "Ah… you remembered me? You are the hunter who used to sell in the village, right?"
Bishop nodded: "Yeah, they sent us to look for you."
Derkeethus inclined his head gratefully. "Thank you… little Hrefna must be worried sick," he smiled to himself, obviously fond of the child.
Aeyrin asked Bishop if he had any urgent injuries but when he shook his head, they decided to take care of any scratches back in the village.
The three of them started to descend on the paths heading towards Darkwater Crossing.
Aeyrin noticed that Bishop winced from time to time, no doubt wounded more than he let on. She considered scolding him like the stubborn child that he was right in front of Derkeethus but in the end decided to spare him. It was barely an hour's walk towards the village anyways.