Kaidan and Inigo arrived back at the ridge a couple of hours later. The girls were all huddled around the campfire trying to stay warm. They had all bathed and dressed it appeared Lunara had healed whatever wounds they had. Twenty panicked faces turned toward them as Inigo and Kaidan walked toward the gate. "Please, come with us. We're going to take you away from here, back to the city," Kaidan said.

Inigo led them out of the gate and down to the waiting carriages. The last of the girls were headed out of the gate and Kaidan still hadn't seen any sign of Lunara. He stopped them and asked, "the woman, where is she?" He tried to keep his voice level and not too harsh but he failed and the girls shrunk away from him. "Please," he said, "where is she?"

One of the girls raised a shaking hand and pointed toward the door to the cavern. "She went in there a little over an hour ago after healing all of us and she hasn't come out."

"Did anyone go see if she's alright?" Kaidan said.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head as tears welled in her eyes. "I can't go back in there, not for any reason."

"Why, you ungrateful—," Kaidan growled and stalked away before he did something none of them would approve of. He flung the door to the cavern open so hard it came off one hinge. He called for Lunara but didn't receive an answer. He walked into the back room and his breath caught in his throat. She was there, leaned up against a stack of chests, unconscious, pale and sweating. He dropped to his knees, checking her for obvious wounds and finding none. "Oh, lass, what have you done?"

He stood up, scooping her into his arms and picking his way through the cave only to almost collide with Inigo who had come back to see what was taking so long. "What happened?" Inigo said.

"I found her like this in the back room of the cave. She was leaning against a stack of chests," Kaidan said. "They said she went in an hour ago and didn't come back out and no one bothered to go see if she was okay."

Inigo looked her over. "I've seen her like this before. She did this the day after we rescued you from the prison. You'd started bleeding and she exhausted herself using a healing spell. Come on, let's get her out of here and back to Falkreath to rest."

"Why do you do this to yourself, Asynja?" Kaidan said as he walked down the path to where the horses were waiting. The sun was dipping low into the sky and Kaidan hoped they'd make it back to Falkreath before dark. He handed Lunara off to Inigo and climbed up on Allie. Inigo handed Lunara back to Kaidan and climbed on his own horse. Inigo moved to the front of the carriages, and Kaidan brought up the rear, Lunara draped across his lap.

The last of the daylight filtered through the trees as the caravan reached the carriage stop outside the city. Inigo got off his horse and helped the girls exit the carriages, directing them to the inn. He paid the drivers the other half of their payment and Kaidan lowered Lunara into Inigo's arms, sliding off the horse. He took her back and headed for the inn. Inigo led the horses around to the stable.

Valga looked up from the bar as twenty young girls came in the door, followed by the blue Khajiit and the Outlander who was carrying an unconscious Lunara. What in Oblivion happened?, she thought as the blue Khajiit approached the bar. "Good evening," he said. "I would like to rent every available room you have, as well as the bath and food for these young ladies." He laid both his and Kaidan's coin pouches on the counter. "There's 1000 septims in there, will that be enough to cover it?" he said.

Valga's eyes went wide as saucers. "Narri," she called out to the serving girl, "get these ladies some stew. You can put her in the large room she rented last night. We will figure out what to do with the rest of them," she said. Kaidan nodded and carried her into the room, setting her down on the bed.

Valga followed him into the room away from the girls. "Where did you find them?" she asked Kaidan.

"It's a long and complicated story," he said, sighing.

Valga sat down and crossed her arms, waiting. Kaidan sat down on the bed. "Okay, here goes. When we went to see Jarl Siddgeir this morning, he gave Lunara and by extension, us, the task of clearing out some bandits he was taking money from that had refused to pay him. When we got there, we found it was a human smuggling operation. All of these girls are from Cyrodiil. Lunara refused to leave and sent us back for the carriages. When we got back, we found her like this because she'd healed all of them and exhausted herself. Until she wakes up, I'm not sure what we do next. We'll have a better idea then."

Valga couldn't believe what she'd just heard. "You mean to tell me that Jarl Siddgeir knew this was happening and did nothing to stop it?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, not only did he not stop it, he profited from it, and I'm pretty sure Lunara is going to want his head on a silver platter when she wakes up," he said, turning toward Lunara's unconscious body.

"Gods, something needs to be done about him," she said.

"Got any ideas? He's the fucking Jarl," Kaidan spat. "No one, short of a King or Queen could have him removed from his station and he knows it."

"I know," she said. "It's disgusting." She got up and left the room to go check on the influx of guests.

Inigo came in to check on Lunara and found Kaidan sitting beside her on the bed. He looked up when Inigo entered. "Is there anything we can do for her?"

"Where's her satchel?" he asked.

Kaidan nodded to the floor on the other side of the bed. Inigo retrieved it and started emptying it out. "Oh good, she did keep some," he said, picking up a stamina and magicka potion.

"Here," he said, handing the bottles to Kaidan. "Give her these. She should be awake by morning." He left the room again, going to check on the other patrons.

Kaidan lifted Lunara, laying her across his lap and supporting her with one arm. He pulled the cork on one of the bottles with his teeth and poured it down her throat, followed by the other. Is that what she was trying to do before she passed out? He wondered. He laid her back down on the bed and pulled her boots off. He didn't take off her armor because her robes were stowed in her chest. Instead, he pulled the furs up around her and went to see if Inigo needed any help.

The girls took their turns in the bath as Kaidan and Inigo helped Valga find space for all the extra guests. By the time they were finished, there were people sleeping in almost every square inch of floor space in the inn. Kaidan and Inigo retreated to the large room where Lunara was and settled in for the night, Kaidan laying in bed next to Lunara and Inigo in a bedroll on the floor.

Light streamed through the window, hitting Lunara in the face. She blinked, irritated. What in Oblivion happened? She pushed the furs back, trying not to disturb Kaidan. It didn't work and he opened his eyes. "Morning," he said, "glad you're back. You gave us a scare."

"What happened?" The last thing I remember was being outside healing all the girls and then I went back inside the cavern for...something. It's blank after that," she said, shaking her head as if trying to force a memory to the surface.

"We got there and got the girls loaded onto the carriages and you were gone. One of the girls said you'd gone into the cavern an hour before after healing everyone and hadn't come back out. They also hadn't bothered to go see if you were okay. I found you propped up against a stack of chests in the back room. Why do you do that to yourself, Asynja?" he said.

She sat up now, irritated. "I do it because if I don't, who will? Will you?"

"It isn't your job to save everyone on Nirn," he said.

"What if it is?" she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I highly doubt it is, but if for some reason that's the case you can't do it without taking care of yourself. Killing yourself to save those girls would not have done any good," he said.

"Wouldn't have done any good?" Tell that to them!" she shrieked.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," he said, running his fingers through his hair and letting out a frustrated sigh.

She got up out of bed and he grabbed her wrist to keep her from going. She turned to look at him with fury in her eyes. "Take your hand off me unless you want to lose it," she growled through gritted teeth. He let her go, falling back on the bed and staring at the ceiling.

"Oh boy, you've done it now," Inigo said from the floor.

"Shit," Kaidan said. "I'd forgotten you were down there." He let out a dry laugh. "I really did do it. Question is, how do I undo it?"

"First, I think she needs a little time to cool off, but that's not going to happen if she goes to see the Jarl. I think we should make sure she doesn't do that. That temper of hers will get her executed." Inigo said.

"Agreed," Kaidan said, and they both got up and left the room to find Lunara before she got herself into trouble. They found her seated at a table with several of the rescued girls. Kaidan heard them apologizing for not coming to find her the previous day. It did very little to soothe his growing irritation with the whole situation. Lunara waved the girls off and stood up. She glared at Kaidan and said, "I'm going to go see the Jarl and get our payment for this little...adventure."

Inigo stood in front of her, blocking the door. "I don't think that's a good idea, my friend."

"Oh I do, I'm going to give that skeever-brained horker fucker a piece of my fucking mind." she spat, glaring at them both. "Move."

Inigo shook his head, "No. I'm trying to stop you from losing your head. Literally," he said. "If you go in there and tear into him, if he lets you finish your sentence you will be executed faster than you can say skeever-brained horker-fucker."

Lunara deflated like a balloon and sat down on the chair. "I know," she said at last, "but I have to do something. I can't just let him get away with it."

"We know, Asynja," Kaidan said in a tone one would use to speak to a spooked horse.

She glared at him again. "Don't you take that tone with me, asshole. And stop calling me that, I don't even know what it means," she said through gritted teeth. She got up so fast she knocked the chair over and she ran back to the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Well," Inigo said, "that could have went better," he said.

"You fucking think?" Kaidan scowled. "Gods, she's frustrating."

" It isn't just her, my friend. It isn't just her," Inigo said, chuckling as he walked away.

"Well, I'm just going to go collect our payment," Kaidan said to his back.

Inigo waved without looking back, "Don't get yourself killed. Lunara is mad at you right now, but she will probably be upset if you die."

Kaidan cursed in Atmoran and headed to the Jarl's Longhouse. He was still mentally cursing the frustrating creature currently in the inn when he entered the longhouse and saw the source of her current mood. Siddgeir was sitting on the throne, looking bored and barking orders to his steward. He looked up as Kaidan crossed the room. "Ah, it's Lunara's companion. Has she completed the errand I sent her on?" Siddgeir said, smirking.

Kaidan clenched his teeth so hard he thought he would break them. "Yes," he gritted out. "We did. I'm here for the payment. Lunara is...otherwise detained."

Siddgeir feigned surprise. "Is she now? That's too bad, I was so looking forward to speaking with her. No matter, here's your payment and if she so chooses she may purchase property in the hold. She can talk to my steward if she's interested." I think she's going to pass on that, he thought bitterly. The steward stepped forward and handed Kaidan a large coin purse and Siddgeir waved him away. "Be gone now, I have other things to attend to."

Kaidan left the longhouse, his face gone almost purple with barely suppressed rage. Gods, I need a drink, he thought as he headed back to the inn.