4th of Hearthfire
"She inquired, several years ago, no longer satisfied with the simple explanation." Aric said, as we waited for Runa and her kinsman to return from his family home. "And so, I inquired as well. The head of the orphanage wrote in reply, sending a letter addressed to Runa, containing what was known of her parents. She nearly wore the letter out from reading and rereading."
"Such a blessing from the Divines, then, for her to meet a kinsman with whom she shares blood." I said.
It was necessary to make such a show of packing and loading that any observers that were without question monitoring activities around the Mother House would see that their prey was about to become mobile, and therefore more exposed. It was during one of my numerous visits to the wagons that Aric and I held our conversation.
"Railius will certainly laugh and make some remark comparing the small cart drawn by one poor horse that was his transport and mine to this column that is required to transport all of us." I said as I looked at the two wagons that lacked only a few supplies and ten kidnapped children.
"Does he still visit you in your dreams?" Aric asked.
"Yes, but less so now." I answered. "He is aware that there is another man who watches over me now."
"You do very well watching over yourself." Aric said. "But I admit that watching you is my most favored diversion."
"If you continue to talk in that manner, sir, it will be necessary to place our tent several hundred paces for the rest if you are not to scandalize my reputation." I said. "Or we must console ourselves with entwined embraces and quiet whispers until our numbers are somewhat reduced."
"That is no mean consolation prize." Aric said.
"I have only just realized that I have no notion of sleeping arrangements." I said.
"It will resemble our other travels somewhat." Aric said. "But we will always have someone on guard when camp is set. "Jordis, Rigel, Captain Kurst and I will insure that nothing approaches without being seen."
"Do not be surprised if Runa keeps company with her cousin during his watch." I said.
"They talked for some time yestereve at your Investiture celebration." Aric said. "It was hard now to see the resemblance between the two, or the look on his face, that certainly displayed more than simple kinsmanship. Runa may do just what you say, but she would do well to take her rest. We have all had a series of late evenings."
"It has been three late nights, one upon the other, for the Mother House as well." I said. "Not to mention an assassin attack, and a group of children who cannot be convinced that water belongs on the inside of a bathtub rather than the outside. The house will seem lifeless tonight when their routine is restored."
"There will be a fair share of grief as well." Aric said. "More than enough to go around. If it had not been clear already, this morning removed all doubt which children wished to stay."
"And which of my sister priestess wished all of them to stay." I said. "The house will see its share of tears tonight."
"The greater their joy then, if the plan you requested is executed, and some of the children are returned." Aric said.
"I apologize for my behavior." I said. "You are none of you at my command, and I should not have treated you as I did. You all seemed startled when I requested, nay demanded, a plan of attack."
"It was not your request that startled us." Aric said.
"What then?" I asked. "I did not snarl, nor bare my teeth."
"Your eyes began to burn." Aric said, "In the manner your body burns when you are wielding the power of the Earthbones. It was that which startled us."
"Gods." I said as I placed my head in my hands.
"It was quite effective." Aric said with a slight smile. "It is a rare thing, when my two daughters and two housecarls are struck speechless. I cannot deny that I took a measure of enjoyment from that."
"I do, in all meekness, ask your pardon, beloved." I said.
"There is noting that requires pardon." He replied. "You are Mother to the entire world, and I do not envy anyone that threatens your children."
The Countess approached with four guardsmen.
"Prefect, and High Priestess," the Countess said. "I have instructed my guard to prevent you from leaving Bruma until you reveal, in detail, the name and location of your dressmaker."
"Countess," I said, my hand clutched to my chest on mock distress. "you gave me a start. Your final words saved me from a fainting spell in the nick of time."
"It is kind of you to say, your Grace." The Countess said, "And I might believe you if I had not already received a full account of your defense against the assassins."
"If you wish to meet the ladies whose handiwork was on such stunning display yestereve you must travel the length of Skyrim to Solitude, Countess." Aric said. "Two sisters, Endarie and Taarie, co-own Radiant Raiment. Should you decide to travel so far, please do me the honor of being my guest at my home in Solitude."
"Forgive me, Archmage, but I understood the College of Winterhold to be in a different location." The Countess said with a wry smile.
"The Archmage is Thane of many holds, Countess." I said. "In addition to his other titles."
"Would you humor me sir and recite your full name and titles?" the Countess asked.
Aric looked at me and raised his eyebrows.
"You flatter my memory, sir, if you think I can fulfill such a request." I said.
"I am Heimdall Aric Belrud Aamutähti, Thane of Haafingar, Hjaalmarch, Whiterun, The Reach, The Pale, Eastmarch, and Winterhold, Archmage of the College of Winterhold, Companion, and Dragonborn." Aric said.
"That is certainly a mouthful." The Countess said. "And I will admit that some of your titles are foreign to me, but such is to be expected I suppose. And you, your Grace, do you live in Solitude?"
Do you cohabitate with the Thane with many names and many titles? was what she asked.
"No, Countess." I answered. "I have a cozy cottage in a cozy nook in Whiterun. It is ideally located and allows me to explore locations for a temple that will soon be built to honor the Mother Goddess, and all the Divines."
"It will eventually include an orphanage, a school and a priory." Aric said.
"And I will indulge my love of books, and history, and learning, and will assemble a research library that is the envy of Tamriel." I said.
"That is quite grand." The Countess said. "Will that not be expensive?"
"I have personal means." I said, "As does this honorable Thane. And several Jarls have pledged support. Mother Oranius has promised me a shrine to Cybele that will receive pride of place. Other shrines and faiths may also find a home there, though I must send to Hammerfell for one shrine that cannot be found elsewhere."
"And the Emperor will surely wish to support his Custos Urbi of Skyrim." Aric said. "You are, after all, obeying his direct order to take Skyrim under your wing."
"In that event, Bruma will certainly play it's part." The Countess said. "We would never allow ourselves to be outdone by a simple Emperor."
"The Reverend Mother is also appointed Advisor to the Imperial Court, Countess." Aric said.
"Bruma's Court has somewhat more ad hoc, but it would benefit from the Reverend Mother's wise council." The Countess said. "I can have such an appointment written in a trice, but perhaps I will simply leave it in the hands of the Mother Superior. You must, after all, return to Bruma to exercise the privilege."
"You are very gracious, Countess." I said. "I pray that my wisdom is up to the task."
"Here approaches three figures who bear a striking resemblance." The Countess said.
Runa, Kurst and a woman who looked much like Runa in a smaller package approached.
"Morge, this is my Father and the Reverend Mother Noxaura." Runa said.
"I am honored to meet you both." Morge said.
"You two could be sisters." The Countess said.
"They are certainly cousins of some sort." Kurst said, "As are Runa and I."
"Something is escaping my grasp, but I fear I have not the time to reach for it." The Countess said.
"My mother will happily assist you, Countess." Morge said. "And she would welcome your visit."
"With jam and fresh bread." Runa said. "Just as she welcomed mine."
"Well, I know where I am off to." The Countess said. "Please take care, all of you. You need no reminder from me that you have stirred a hornet's nest. Be on your guard."
"We have been on display long enough, surely." I said. "and we must each don heavier attire."
"Morge wished to see the children before we depart." Runa said.
"We will not leave without you, sister." I said with a smile. "You have my word."
"You are an Archpriestess now, sister." Mother Oranius said. "As such, there are expectations placed upon you."
It was the revelation that Giselle and Maliyah would accompany me on our journey that prompted her explanation.
"Do not look so put out, sister." She said. "Were you as royal as you appeared to be at your Investiture you would have considerably more expectations placed upon you."
"Two assistants is two more than I have ever had in my travels, Mother, yet I fared well." I said in my defense.
"You were a simple priestess then, and in a foreign land." She answered. "You are an Archpriestess now, in a land where Mother Cybele is well known and respected. Your flock will now expect you to uphold a standard that can be traced back to the first era. Two attendants is the correct number. In any case, you will require assistance if you are to care for eight children, plus the two you provided, for several days on the road, living mostly under canvas."
"It is a great inconvenience for them, is it not?" I asked. "We will lack basic comforts, and I imagine they have little experience with such an existence."
"Did you have such experience when you began?" she asked me.
"My experience began with me burying my father in the Rift, where I was stranded, and where I would have died of my wounds if the Archmage and his family had not saved me." I said.
"Forgive me, sister." Oranius said.
"I forgive you readily, sister." I said, as I took her hand. "I admit that this road will be somewhat easier than the road I traveled; and certainly, more crowded."
"Giselle and Maliyah will be of use, both to you and to the children." She said. "It will also be useful for them to see you as something other than a deity. Days on the road with few comforts, living closely will help them regain some perspective."
"I had not considered that." I said.
"And, speaking plainly, they will follow you in any case." She said. "They have both begun to worship you and would disobey any order I gave them to remain behind. And in your absence your image in their minds would only increase in stature. This journey will serve all of you well, and you will return to the Mother House two priestesses of the Maetreum of Cybele rather than leave two priestesses of Noxaura behind."
"You are very wise, Mother." I said.
"It is a prerequisite for being chosen Mother Superior." She said with a smile.
Our departure was delayed slightly as Giselle and Maliyah received instruction on how to help me into my armor.
"It will soon become second nature." Aric told them. "It is like any other skill. The more you practice it, the more proficient you become."
"The Thane can help me into my armor quickly." I said, as I looked at him.
And help me out of it even quicker I sent to him as a thought that, by his look, he received.
"It is so heavy." Giselle said. "Our arms will resemble workmen's arms before long."
"Your Grace looks so petite wearing your robes." Maliyah said. "Yet you have the frame of a warrior."
"You are too kind, sister." I said. "Though I will admit to spending countless hours in training and strengthening to gain a small portion of the physique that the Thane possesses."
The two priestesses glanced at the frame in question before looking away and giggling.
"These lovely ladies have you in good hands." Aric said, and the lovely ladies in question blushed and giggled more. "I will meet you outside."
The Mother House sounded like a barracks as the armored members of our party walked through the anteroom and out the large doors and into the sunlight.
Many of my sister priestesses stood next to our now pair of wagons to say their farewells but stopped at our marshal progress.
"Sisters, it filled my heart with joy to meet all of you, and to reacquaint myself with the house of our Mother Goddess." I said before donning my modified robe and adjusting it to accommodate my weapons. I tested the draw of both my short swords before repeating the process with my somewhat longer dragon steel sword. My actions did not go unnoticed.
"Sister," one priestess said. "you resemble a Warrior Priestess from the Epics."
"That is another of her titles." Runa said as she and Kurst walked by. "The Warrior Priestess of Skyrim."
"She is also known as the Healer Priestess of Skyrim." Aric said as he handed me the staff that I was presented during my Investiture. "Her titles are many."
Please do not look at me like that. I thought to all of my robed sisters that stared at me in a manner I had seen directed at Aric many times. I have far too many sins weighing upon my conscience. The last thing I deserve is adoration.
"Must I truly carry this staff wherever I go?" I asked Giselle. "I lack sufficient arms for the weapons I carry now."
"It is expected, your Grace, wherever you are likely to encounter members of your flock." She said. "In the wilderness, when it just us, you may store it away."
"It is an exquisite work." Aric said, as he engaged in a brief demonstration of expertise that left more than one mouth agape. "It is very light."
"And it is no longer simply a ceremonial staff." He whispered to me.
Gods. I thought, I am over encumbered with weapons as it is.
But he was correct. The staff was very light.
The order of the column was set. Kurst rode to the fore, followed by the two housecarls. Lucia and Runa rode next. Lucien drove the first wagon with Giselle by his side and four children behind, followed by Adrian and Maliyah and the remaining children in our newly purchased second wagon.
"We proceed west and must pass through Applewatch Wood." Kurst said at our planning meeting. "There are two roads, one to the north, another to the south. There is an Inn on the north road. May I suggest that we take the north road, and do not stop at the Inn. It will make it more difficult for anyone intending to ambush us to outpace us. It will force them to take the south road which curves southerly and is almost twice as long as the north."
It was, therefore, the north road we traveled. Our pace was slow enough that Loga took it upon herself to sample the local flora whenever the opportunity presented itself.
"No, silly girl, you have had your breakfast, and several snacks as well." I said to her when another tuft of appetizing grass drew her interest. "You will ruin your figure at this rate."
Her answer to me was to snort and shake her head.
"She is of the opinion that her figure is excellent and will remain so." Aric said.
"You know full well that I cannot tell if you jest when you tell me what she is thinking." I said. "It seems unfair that you can communicate with horses, and other animals, and I cannot."
"I cannot communicate with spiders, the small or the large." Aric said. "Perhaps that is where your talent lies."
"Gods!" I said as I shuddered. "Now you are just being cruel."
"Our progress is slow" Kurst said during a stop on our journey west. "We will lose our advantage of a shorter road to anyone who has a fast horse on the southern road."
"It is beyond our control." Aric said. "We will take all necessary precautions. Her grace and I are the primary targets of any assassins. It is one reason we keep a larger distance than is normal between us and the rest of the column. We will not endanger the children or the priestesses."
"You endanger yourselves." Kurst said.
"I have been informed on more than one occasion that I am tougher than I look." I said with a smile.
"If the column comes under attack, and the Reverend Mother is forced to defend it, she and I both will stand politely afterwards while you attempt to regain the power of speech, Captain." Aric said with a smile of his own. "And neither one of us will mention it afterwards."
"I, however" Runa said. "give no such promise."
Traveling at the back of the column has distinct disadvantages.
"She seems completely oblivious to the fact that she trods upon the droppings of her stable mates." I said. "Of whom there are no less than seven that walk before us."
"Since she is less prone to touching her face with her extremities than we are, there is little that she need be concerned over." Aric said. "And her feet are not so dainty as yours."
"I recall a morning when you behaved as though you were close to death as a result of my dainty feet" I said, "You made a reference to toenails and saber cats."
"I now find the feeling of your foot as it slowly massages my calf has the power to drive all anxiety from my mind." Aric said. "It is but one of many enchantments that you have cast over me madam."
"You have enchanted me as well, sir." I said. "I will not ask where you learned to employ something so trivial as eyelashes in a manner that has me gasping for breath. I am aware that the Champion of Dibella will not discuss such things."
"We may discuss it as I demonstrate it again once we have reached our campsite." He replied with a smile that promised much.
"Perhaps we can coax this column to display a bit more speed?" I asked.
An additional disadvantage to the rearmost position in a column is that we continued to be last to be informed of the cause when we halted.
"We are at the point where the south road and the north meet." Captain Kurst said. "It is the first possible location for any ambush. I will take your housecarls and ride ahead a short distance."
"You will not go alone, sir." I said. "I will accompany you. I am the target they can identify. If they lurk under cover my presence will flush them out."
Kurst began to argue but the look on my face gave him sufficient pause for Aric to speak.
"Save your breath as well as your words, Captain." Aric said. "She will not take no for an answer."
"This the Archmage knows from personal experience." I said.
"Ladies, please move to the rear of the wagon, and insure that the children and yourselves are lying flat." Aric said. "Lucien, Adrianne, don your helms and be on your guard. My daughters will be at your sides. With the Reverend Mother to the fore, it is highly unlikely any bandit will live long enough to reach your position, but in that extremely unlikely case, allow Lucia and Runa to deal with it."
"Yes, milord." The two young men said, as they and the two priestesses looked at me with wide eyes.
I do not know how Aric has withstood such looks without screaming DO NOT WORSHIP ME! I thought, as I looked at four faces that stared back in awe. I can barely withstand it now
"Be on your guard." Aric said to his daughters as they positioned themselves near each wagon. "I do not neglect the possibility that the wait until we are ahead and then attack the wagons to cause panic. In that event, wards of the larger variety have priority. Once the wagons and their passengers are protected you may amuse yourselves as you see fit."
"Once again, left behind with the baggage!" could be heard from behind as we rode to the front of the column.
"I have not yest asked you the nature of the enchantment you have placed upon my staff of authority." I said to Aric as we slowly rode behind the three figures encased in plate armor.
"It is a version of your bound weapons spell." Aric replied. "It was plain after the battle at Silent Moon's Camp that your affinity for the spell allows you to bend it's magical effect to your will with unusual mastery."
"It is times such as these that I am most acutely aware of my lack of proficiency fighting from the saddle." I said.
"It is training we can add to your overburdened schedule." Aric said, "If we can find the time."
"I must also find the time to continue my regular training." I said.
"You will have a camp full of training partners to choose from once we reach our goal later today." Aric said. "And you may reverse your role and be a trainer to our two young warriors."
"I have no skill or knowledge as a weapons trainer." I said. "I barely know which end of a sword to hold myself."
"Your modesty is quite endearing, beloved." Aric said. "And, I know, born in part from the guilt you feel at the lives you have taken."
"In the moment of battle my mind and hand never waver." I said. "It is afterwards that I cannot reconcile my actions with my faith, and I become a well of grief and shame."
"You are still a new addition to the ranks of the warrior class." Aric said. "Given time your mind would adapt. But your heart will never harden to the point that it is impervious. More than one monk, living in a cave somewhere in Skyrim, is a warrior who has cast off his armor and discarded his weapons in search of a measure of peace and redemption."
"I may one day seek peace and redemption." I said, "But I lack the fortitude to do it from the inside of a cave."
Rigel turned in her saddle to look at her Thane and admonish him for his laughter.