CHAPTER 10: Chords, Rhythms, and Lullabies

"Without music, life would be a mistake" ― Friedrich Nietzsche

Sophie grunted in frustration. They searched the entire room but her things were nowhere in sight. Panic began to settle in.

"Do you think they could have sold it?" she asked Martin.

"There are no villages or inns nearby, I do not think so."

He crouched before Lullaby.

"Hey, girl. Our friend Red over there," he pointed to Sophie, "lost something. Can you find it?"

Lullaby barked assertively and started sniffing the floor. She eventually stopped by a closed door. The wolf turned to the humans and barked.

"Atta girl!" Martin turned to Sophie, "there may be more of Terone's gang hiding. You stay behind me and do as I say," she nodded.

He opened the door slowly to reveal a set of stairs going down. Martin signed Sophie to keep quiet. He loaded an arrow in his bow before starting his descent. The stairs lead them to a square hall with an exit on the other side. It was obstructed by bars that came out from the floor. In the middle of the room, one could see three levers in the resting position.

Martin pointed to the sidewalls. The redhead nodded once she caught sight of the many small holes from which arrows could be shot. A trap! Martin retrieved a rope from his backpack and prepared a loop. He launched the rope, successfully enlacing one of the levers. The blond activated it from afar releasing a round of arrows, the bars did not move. He repeated the process with the other two levers, but the exit remained obstructed.

They entered the hall now that all traps had been sprung.

"I do not understand," Sophie whispered and pointed at the bars.

"That is the trick. All the levers are decoys. The real one is hidden somewhere," he signaled to Lullaby, "if there is a place Terone's men always go to in this room, she will smell it."

Lullaby sniffed around until she sat by a corner and barked. Martin approached the wall and began knocking on the bricks. Sophie followed suit and they soon heard a hollow noise. They removed a section of fake bricks to reveal a hidden lever inside. The bars went down once it was activated.

The next room was a high-celling corridor that narrowed halfway through due to thick 10 feet-tall walls on each side. Both walls went on for about 16 feet after which the corridor broadened again.

Martin proceeded ahead slowly, girl and wolf behind him. When he stepped on the narrowed section, the floor suddenly collapsed beneath his feet. At the very bottom, one could see a plentitude of wooden stakes. He managed to hang from the edge with one hand, avoiding certain doom. Sophie helped to pull him back and the fake floor returned to the original position, resetting the trap.

"That was a close one!" he said once in the safety of the solid ground, "they probably use ladders to go around it."

They approached one of the walls. Martin gave Sophie a push so she could climb up. He handed Lullaby to her and then climbed up himself by getting momentum and running up the wall. They anchored Martin's rope on the top and descended through it, leaving it there to facilitate the way back.

Pressing forward, they reached a final chamber with no other way out. There were stacked crates everywhere full of small pink bottles. At the far wall, a large recess with an ornated coffin was being used to stash the gang's loot. Piles of coins, weapons, armor, and all kind of merchandise were scattered on the floor and over the coffin.

Lullaby's demeanor changed upon entering. She whined anxiously.

"What is wrong?"

"Something here has scared her. Let us hurry."

They approached the recess and started looking. Sophie found her dagger and brooch with relative ease. Her backpack was under a pile of pelts and other bags. She opened it with shaking hands and only calmed down when she confirmed the presence of a distinct ruby glow. The redhead nodded to Martin who had taken the opportunity to collect a couple of enchanted rings and all the gold his backpack could carry.

They were almost at the door when a metallic sound went off and their exit was suddenly blocked by metal bars.

"What happened?!"

"We must have triggered a trap!" he kneeled before Lullaby and pointed to the barred exit, "can you find us a release button?"

The wolf barked confidently and squeezed between two bars with some difficulty. Once on the other side, she began pawing the walls looking for a hidden compartment. Sophie watched the scene intrigued.

"You know, there are times I think she is actually smarter than you."

"Why I am helping you again?" he replied crossing his arms.

Their interaction was interrupted by the rough sound of the coffin lid opening. Martin and Sophie's eyes bulged as a huge skeleton in full plate armor raised with a broadsword in hands. He let out a deafening shriek and bolted in the direction of the pair, ready to strike.

Martin blocked the undead creature with his longsword. The colossal warrior, however, was quickly gaining the upper hand.

"Lullaby, hurry!"

The wolf enhanced her efforts in desperation. Sophie scanned the room for anything that could help. Her eyes fell over the skooma crates. Martin was forced into his knees by the skeleton who shouted again on his face with foul breath. Lullaby found a fake section of the wall with a pressure button inside. Martin lost the grip on his blade and barely managed to roll backward, avoiding the skeleton's sword. His back hit the bars. The undead raised his blade again to strike his now cornered target. His motion was stopped by an especially large pile of crates that suddenly fell out of balance. The creature was buried under broken bottles and wood. Martin stared wide-eyed at the redhead standing where the crates had been.

His musings were interrupted by bars going down alongside worried barks. Martin retrieved his sword and was about to say something when the messy pile on the floor began moving again.

"Run!" he shouted.

They fled while the undead warrior raised to pursue them. In the previous room, Sophie used the rope to climb back up with shaking hands. Lullaby ascended with Martin by clawing his backpack. They got to the top right on time to dodge the skeleton's blade. The group immediately dropped to the other side and ran.

The massive sound of a collapsing floor alongside the crashing of bones told them their enemy had fallen into the dangerous pit. They did not stop to check, however, and ran until they were outside.

The three collapsed on the wild grass, breathless.

"My father always told me that an adventurer's life was dangerous," said Sophie, "now I understand why."

"It is not usually this bad," Martin replied, "in other circumstances, I could have taken it down."

Sophie directed a disbelieving look to him.

"What?" he said offended, "I really could, I was just worried the whole building would tumble down."

"If you say so…"

"It is true!" he sighed, "you know what? It does not matter," he pointed to the setting sun on the horizon, "we will not make it to an inn before dark. Our best option is to find a place to set up camp."

"As long as there are no traps or monsters."

They got to their feet and began searching for a place to set up camp.

Dinner was being served on the 15th floor of the White-Gold Tower. High Chancellor Ocato was having his meal with the recently arrived delegation of Morrowind. Hlaalu Helseth, the province's king, was surrounded by members of his house as well as his bodyguards. Members from other noble houses sat on the tables around them.

"Thank you for coming with such short notice, Your Majesty."

"It is not as if I could refuse," he looked at the crowded place, "I guess there is nothing like a wedding or a funeral to bring people together… And your lordship has four of those."

"It is no jesting matter, Your Majesty," he continued in almost a whisper, "has the mother queen of Morrowind come as well?"

"Yes, but she prefers to eat at her chambers. Is that a problem?"

"No, I just happen to have a problem and would like to enlist her aid."

"I will be sure to tell her, now… To more pressing issues. Someone brought to my attention recently that Lady Adrana may not succeed our "beloved" Empress Caula."

"The matter of succession will be discussed in the coming week," Ocato answered diplomatically.

"I would normally have no issue with that but… word on the streets is that some candidates are already making their case for Elder Council members."

"I am sure they are."

"I am not saying that I am crazy about the idea of an Empress Adrana. However, the ones that seem to be ahead on the race are quite… worrisome to me."

"Worrisome?"

"Yes, let me fill Your Lordship in…"

And the two elves continued their conversation almost in whispers.

It was thankfully a warm night, with clear skies and moonlight. Sophie and Martin found a relatively hidden clearing to pass the night. He showed Sophie how to set up a bonfire and tent using sticks and canvas. Luckily, she was a quick learner. They prepared a meal of roasted meat and vegetables. After dinner, the wolf laid down by Martin's feet and stared at him expectantly. He retrieved a flute from his bag and played a simple but sweet melody. The wolf closed her eyes and slept to the music.

Sophie watched as Martin petted his sleeping friend.

"Is that why?"

"Hn?"

"Her name. Is that why she is called Lullaby?"

"Kind of. It is a long story."

"We have time."

Martin took a deep breath before beginning the tale.

"I found her about one year and a half ago. I was tracking down a gang that ran an animal fighting ring in Skyrim," Sophie gasped, "those bandits pitted all kinds of animals against one another, from lions to bears. After I finished them off, I just opened the cages and they all ran back to the wilds. All but her…" he clenched his fists, "she was just a pup. Maybe born in one of those cages, I do not know," he patted the wolf lovingly again, "she was so small, I only noticed because she started howling. She was huddled in the corner of one of the cells. Probably thought she was going to have to fight again," Sophie felt warm tears in her eyes, "she did not attack me when I picked her up but began shaking badly. I did not think she would survive on her own so I took care of her," he sighed, "the first few days were… difficult. But she managed to get out of her shell and trust those around her," he eyed Sophie, "I believe you saw firsthand how loyal she is," the redhead nodded, "we became best friends and family in no time. The only problem was… the nighttime."

"The night?"

"Yeah, months after I took her from that place, every time she fell asleep, she would wake up no more than half an hour later, howling and crying. We could not even stay in an inn or lodge because of it."

"Poor thing."

"Well, this went on until we went to Solitude for a contract. It was a boring bodyguard job for a local noble's daughter who was attending the bard's college," he smiled, "I think I never saw Lullaby so happy, she really loved being surrounded by music all day long… Anyway, the girl graduated soon and my services were no longer necessary. But, during that time, I noticed she managed to sleep soundly during the music classes so I started playing to her… and that is why she is called Lullaby."

Sophie smiled at the boy.

"You know, Martin. You can be annoying at times, but I think you are a really nice person."

"Thank you, Red."