Bishop and Aeyrin left the inn right after breakfast and they headed straight for Fort Fellhammer.
Fortunately, the two soldiers were nowhere to be found by the morning. They likely needed to get back to their encampment at some point, but Aeyrin didn't even want to think about how long they could have been lurking there, waiting for her to come out or for someone else to visit the inn and lure her to them. If there was one thing that Stormcloaks knew all too well, it was how to obsess over something, or someone, incessantly.
Aeyrin had told Bishop what happened, in the end, and how instead of standing up for herself, she was more or less unable to even speak or move. He tried to reassure her, to tell her she just needed time to get past this. It didn't help much, maybe because he looked just as dejected as she felt when she told him about last night.
She just needed to concentrate on the upcoming mission.
Getting rid of some of the scum that infested the fort might make her feel better.
Although, judging from Bishop's scouting mission, it didn't sound like they had an easy task ahead of them. He told her what he had leant about the layout of the place and about the presumed numbers inside and outside. They've devised a somewhat promising, if a little boring, tactic for dealing with the patrols, but the inside of the fort was still a mystery.
The good news was that all the groups of people that had been standing about the courtyard at night were gone now, leaving them only with the patrols outside. That thinned the numbers considerably, but, unfortunately, it only meant that more people were scattered around the interior spaces.
They found a vantage point nearby and settled in, lying in wait and watching the men walk around the area in a surprisingly regular pattern. There was a spot hidden from view in their patrol route where Bishop could stealthily shoot the approaching person without raising any suspicion. Any time one of them approached the spot, seeing the corpses splattered on the ground, they had an arrow shot straight through their head before they could let out as much as a peep.
It was a good tactic, but it took a lot of patience.
Aeyrin was already fidgeting nervously next to him, eager to let loose the rage that was still stifled deep inside her from the previous night.
"Princess…" Bishop whispered in a slightly warning tone when he noticed her fidgeting.
"I'm fine… I'll stay calm, I promise," she smiled at him reassuringly, but neither of them were actually convinced of that. She swore to keep her temper in check while they were there, but she knew all too well that once she saw the scope of the operation, she might not be able to help herself.
But she had to control herself. They could not raise any chaos. They couldn't afford anyone getting out and informing Mercer that it was them who dismantled his operation. They needed to be organized and meticulous and they always had to be aware of any points of escape from the fort.
Bishop concentrated on his timing with unwavering vigilance. He wasn't ever exactly careless in the face of danger, but Aeyrin was pretty sure that she had never seen him in such tense concentration before. He was obviously very worried that if something went wrong, Mercer would find out about their involvement. She wasn't sure why – Mercer might have been a vengeful prick, but surely he already held no love for the two of them. They've already seen before that he couldn't do much to them, the Guild members wouldn't allow it, would they?
The patrols outside were falling steadily. It would not take long now before some of the men noticed that their numbers had dwindled significantly. There were only about a dozen of them left outside.
After one more target fell down limply on the ground that was already littered with corpses, Aeyrin and Bishop noticed that some of the men were beginning to cluster together, talking about something.
It was time – they've surely noticed their missing comrades. Bishop threw Aeyrin a determined look before he set his sights on the large double door leading into the fort. Aeyrin would take care of the remaining patrols, but he could absolutely not let anyone run inside and alert everyone. Thank the Gods that it was the only entrance into that place.
Aeyrin rushed from their vantage point with Karnwyr on her heel, charging towards the armed men that had been clustering around the large doors with worry in their eyes.
She passed through a single entryway arch into the courtyard and all their eyes fell on her instantly. One of them got her bow ready while the others charged at Aeyrin as with their weapons drawn menacingly. Good. Bishop would kill the archer while she proceeded with their plan.
She bent down quickly and placed her hand on the ground right under the arch. The warm light that emanated from her hand only a second later started to weave an intricate pattern on the light layer of snow. The rune was only effective against the undead and the Daedra, but these men likely didn't know that.
It didn't matter if the rune wasn't perfect – it wouldn't have any effect anyway. She finished as fast as she could and readied her shield just as the charging men reached her. She bashed forward, toppling two of them in one move, before she twirled around and smashed her mace into another one.
Karnwyr lunged at another assailant, ripping into the flesh of his leg, before he yanked his head back hard to tear the flesh off. The man toppled onto the ground instantly while the screams of agony echoed through the air. The occasional arrow helped them out in the fray before the large door across the yard swung open and five more men rushed outside in panic. The scream must have attracted them. Bishop focused his attention on the new arrivals while Aeyrin and Karnwyr worked meticulously on the remaining men that were still surrounding them.
Finally it became clear to the attackers that they stood no chance and one of them prompted for a retreat. He decided to run towards the arch, but he stopped in front of the rune with trepidation. All according to the plan.
He fidgeted nervously while he kept looking over his shoulder towards the heated combat, then back towards the rune. After a while, his fear got the better of him and he decided to attempt to scale the wall instead… what a way to make himself an easy target. Bishop shot at him from his vantage point instantly, sending him falling back on the ground, bleeding out with the arrow in his back.
The battle raged on for quite a while yet, but none of the men dared to pass through the arch and over the rune. It worked just as they had anticipated. The fight was rough, but, in the end, both Karnwyr and Aeyrin managed to get away with only a couple of scratches and bruises.
Bishop hurried towards the courtyard when all the attackers were finally dead, but he stopped for a while in front of the rune on the ground, throwing it a suspicious look. Aeyrin assured him that it was harmless, but still… magic was too unpredictable.
He stepped onto it cautiously.
He felt like it tickled his feet a bit, but that might have been just his imagination. It certainly didn't make him burst into flames – that was the important thing, right?
He finally passed through the arch and approached Aeyrin and Karnwyr.
"You two alright?"
Aeyrin nodded at him with a smile, still a little winded from combat. It felt good to get some of the aggression out. The battle was rather invigorating.
"Good. Hopefully there's not as many of them left inside… Ready?" Bishop inclined his head towards the large door.
They had no idea about the layout of the interior, they only had guesses. But if they covered all their bases and proceeded with caution, no one would escape their assault.
Everything was going smoothly so far.
…
They proceeded carefully through the first chamber which was blessedly empty. It was likely that everyone that had been occupying it previously ran out at the noise and, hopefully, they did not alert the rest of the fort.
Bishop took care of a trap connected to the door leading further in and they continued forward as stealthily as possible.
The progress was steadfast and easier than they thought. There were no intricate hallways with numerous exits and no need to split up and guard any pathways leading outside. Everything was going perfectly. They even managed to stay somewhat quiet without alerting the entire fort.
It was rather slow going with how meticulous they had to be, but it was definitely worth the effort.
They haven't seen many signs of the operation yet though, not even some crates of skooma or sugar. It was likely that the dealers hid those things deeper inside the fort, ensuring that if anyone ever managed to infiltrate them, they'd have scores of enemies to get through. It also explained the lack of side chambers and other exits – it was rather convenient for the criminals since no one could catch them off guard, but right now, it was perfect for Aeyrin and Bishop too.
When they'd reached a hallway littered with traps, Bishop started to scout ahead while he disposed of the obstacles until he reached a small staircase. Down right below the spot where he perched was a secure iron door with two men guarding it.
That wasn't conspicuous at all…
His position gave him great advantage. He was only a short distance above their heads – he could ignore the spiral staircase entirely and just attack from above. He notched an arrow quickly and shot one of the guards right through the head. Before the other one managed to react, Bishop jumped down on his head, toppling him to the ground with a loud clank of the man's armor. That was alright, the walls were thick and the sound wouldn't travel that well through that secure door. Besides, it was just a clank of metal – that wouldn't raise outright panic. The man didn't even manage to scream before Bishop unsheathed his knife and slit his throat.
That went well too. They've been making good progress.
Bishop studied the door for a long while – it had strong metal latches all over its side, each with an individual lock. The dealers obviously really wanted to keep whatever was behind it a secret.
Before Aeyrin and Karnwyr caught up with him, he had already gotten to work, opening every lock with care and making sure that he didn't break the mechanisms. Latches were tricky if he messed up, and they could hardly break the door down – it was way too sturdy.
It took a frustratingly long time.
They've already spent hours in the fort. Aeyrin fidgeted by Bishop's side impatiently while he continued to work on the door's locks. She was getting a little uncertain about their assault – it was still a bit odd that they had seen no signs of the actual operation. Did they have the right place? It would have been clear if Karliah had sent them the actual location instead of the coordinates. There could have been a cavern complex nearby or something. If that was true, maybe the dealers there would hear about the assault on the nearby fort and move their operation then. It could take ages before Karliah found them again after that.
Finally Bishop was done and he opened the door slowly to peek in.
There was a long empty corridor and they followed it silently, trying their hardest not to be noticed so that they could scan the upcoming challenges.
But nothing could have prepared them for what they saw next.
When they turned the corner of the corridor, a room spanned in front of them – an enormous one. It was clearly built into the adjacent mountain since a large cavernous area spread before their eyes. There were people everywhere. Some were armed and armored and walking around diligently, some were obviously workers that were either scurrying around the huge numbers of large boxes and putting things inside or taking things out, while others were standing by an extremely long table and working on something that the two of them couldn't discern from the distance. Behind the people, in the very back of the cavern, three large vats were clanking and making noise while big clouds of steam continuously escaped from them.
This wasn't just a smuggling operation – this was an actual refinery. And it was probably the largest one that they've ever seen.
Bishop's breath caught in his throat as he scanned the numbers in front of them. This was… too much. Nobody had noticed them yet – if they got out of that place now, Mercer would be none the wiser about the culprits. Nobody who saw them there was alive.
He turned to Aeyrin with creased brows, determined to convince her to leave before it was too late. They wouldn't be able to defeat these odds and even if they somehow managed, they wouldn't be able to do it in a way that would ensure that nobody had escaped their notice.
Aeyrin's eyes were fastened on the sight in front of her with a piercing hateful glare in them and before Bishop managed to communicate anything, she hissed through her gritted teeth: "Cover me."
WHAT?!
She wasn't actually going to…
Before he could even rile himself from the shock, she was charging with her shield raised, straight towards one of the armored men closest to them.
Was she fucking insane?! How the fuck were they supposed to survive this?! Especially while allowing no one to escape the place!
She bashed the man instantly, sending him staggering back, before she spun around and slammed her mace into his face. The entire giant room noticed her presence only a few seconds later. All the guards sprung to action immediately, rushing towards her or pointing her bows at her, while the workers started to fidget and run around nervously.
The chaos was instant.
Bishop didn't know where to look first. He needed to cover her, but he also needed to keep an eye on the workers – it was clear that they would attempt to escape. Karnwyr joined the fray quickly while Bishop stood firmly in the hallway, determined to not let anyone through while he would try to ease Aeyrin's predicament.
"FUS RO DAH!"
Fuck! They had a fucking agreement! No Shouting! What if there were more chambers?! There was a fucking door at the side of the room! She was completely ignoring all their plans and tactics! This was exactly why they've been so careful until now and she threw it all away in a split second decision..
He couldn't help the anger bubbling up in him. Even if she had been unwilling to leave the place, they could have at least thought of some clever tactic, of some way to lure some of the guards into the hallway or something. But no… she threw all their careful work, all their caution to the wind in a single second.
He tried so hard to keep up with what was happening, to keep watch over the whole situation, but there was so much chaos, so much scurrying. The occasional Shouts let him know that she was alright while he was forced to fasten his bow on his back again and pull out his sword as he noticed three armed men rushing towards him. He didn't register them fast enough to shoot them in all that chaos.
Bishop parried before he thrust up his sword into the first attacker's stomach, making the man spasm in wild shock from the lightning enchantment. He only slumped limply against the weapon a few seconds later. The other two attacked quickly. Bishop managed to dodge the greataxe heading straight for his head, but a blade cut through his bicep during the movement.
He barely registered the pain anymore as his eyes scanned quickly from his assailants towards the huge crowd battling in another part of the chamber, then to the workers running all around and finally towards the lone door atop a wooden staircase. Nobody seemed to be making their way towards it! Hopefully that only meant that it was not another exit.
Bishop managed to get his attention back to his attackers just in time to parry another blow and to swing his blade in retaliation. The man obviously didn't expect him to react to his attack – Bishop must have looked not all there for him to assume that. He caught the attacker off guard with his riposte and he managed to slash his sword across the man's throat.
He used the momentum to stab the last assailant in the first place he managed, driving his sword into his arm. Thank the fucking Gods for those enchantments. The man shook with the shock he had received and Bishop got a moment of brief respite to chop the edge of his sword into his neck at last.
He felt strangely numb as he tried to make sense of the battlefield. He felt his arm pulsate in pain constantly, but it was like he couldn't really register it. He tried to look around to see what was going on but he wasn't able to concentrate on anything his eyes perceived. He took out his bow again in an automated motion, ignoring the pain steadily and simply shooting wherever his eyes fell. Everything was so chaotic. He couldn't even see Aeyrin or Karnwyr in the huddle of people. It was a strangely lethargic battle-haze. The only reason that he made any progress was the fact that he forced himself to go through the familiar motions.
"YOL!"
An arrow pierced Bishop's shoulder and he grunted loudly. He wasn't even sure if it hurt, maybe it was just a reflex to let out a noise of pain. He still tried to locate Aeyrin in the crowd as he noticed several of the men run around in panic with their hair or leather armors burning.
"FUS RO DAH!"
Some of the workers rushed towards Bishop and towards the exit with panic in their eyes. He didn't hesitate, shooting them one by one before he finally sent the message across. No more of them dared to approach after half a dozen got downed by his arrows. Maybe they were innocent. Maybe they were kidnapped and forced to work here, but it hardly mattered now. He couldn't risk it. He couldn't let anyone through.
Aeyrin would have cared about that sort of thing… but she didn't seem to now. Not that Bishop would ever allow the workers to escape under any circumstances, innocent or not, but… for some reason, the fact that Aeyrin didn't even stop to think about that made his heart sink.
He finally saw her hair glint in the chaos while people were either running around in panic, clustering by the vats in fear, or trying to locate Aeyrin to attack her. She chased after one of the armed men with a palpable limp in her steps. The guard ran towards the terrified workers that were huddled by one of the vats. As if that would stop her…
"YOL!"
A whirlwind of events ensued as the large group of people got assaulted by the flames of her Shout. The people started to scream their lungs out and several of them started to run around the chamber with their clothes or hair on fire. That was already a familiar scene. The vat nearby, however, started to shake violently as the flames of her Shout enveloped it. It looked… dangerous…
Aeyrin's head seemed to dart towards the shaking vat too as the steam began rapidly escaping it in thicker and darker clouds, shrouding the room in an almost impenetrable haze.
Bishop had no idea what was happening anymore. The haze obscured everything and the screams, the escaping steam and some unintelligible yelling deafened him effectively. He could only barely see another guard trying to aim her arrow at Aeyrin through the smoke. Bishop disposed of the woman quickly, but he could see nothing else anymore. The smoke has gotten all the way towards the hallway where he still stood.
"WULD!"
"WULD!"
Bishop found himself toppled to the ground suddenly with a hard and painful impact. He felt familiar armored hands grab the collars of his leathers and he was quickly and violently dragged behind the corner, a little deeper into the hallway, as it began to fill with hot steam and smoke too. He could feel something furry envelop his flank while Aeyrin pushed him down to the ground rather haphazardly as her heavy armor sank the arrow, which was still lodged in his shoulder, further in.
Now he could definitely feel all the pain. He was sure that he screamed out, but nobody could hear anything anymore.
An excruciatingly loud noise echoed through the corridor. An explosion. The ground shook violently and his ears rang so loudly that he could barely hear the second explosion following and then the third promptly after that. He could feel several small rocks hit him on his head and the parts of his body that weren't covered with Aeyrin's form.
It wasn't hard to figure out what had caused all of that.
Thicker black smoke filled the corridor and he felt Aeyrin's weight finally lift from him. He expected her to help him up to check on his wounds, despite the low visibility, but the sound of her plate boots clanking further and further away from him with a palpable uneven sound of a limp, made the delusion very clear.
What the fuck has happened to his girl?
He heard a low whine by his head when the ringing in his ears finally slowly subsided. Karnwyr licked at his face with trepidation in an obvious attempt to rile Bishop up from the ground. It was strangely comfortable to just lie there limply for a while, but Karnwyr's continuous whine made him feel somewhat guilty about it. He sounded so worried. Bishop tried to open his eyes and look through the smoke while he gripped the arrow lodged in his shoulder. He pulled it with a steady unceasing groan as searing heat spread through his entire arm and flank. It was so deep in, especially after Aeyrin had squished him with her armor.
He continued determinedly until he finally dislodged the arrow from himself. He was pretty sure it took a chunk of his meat along – he was certainly bleeding a lot. His arm was getting numb again as the pain pulsated both from the shoulder wound as well as the slash across his bicep. It hung limply at his side while he used his healthy one to hoist himself up on his feet. He walked back towards the large chamber through the smoke, trying to focus his eyes at least a little.
It was a massacre. The smoke luckily rose towards the high cavernous ceiling steadily, making the chamber more visible, but he may have preferred to leave the sights obscured. There were charred bodies everywhere, some singed from Aeyrin's attacks, some burned in the explosions and some not even recognizable as bodies anymore. The boxes, the table and anything made of wood was still burning in some places while it was already white and black and burned to a crisp in others. The wooden stairs towards the last door were luckily spared the explosions since they were far enough from the vats, but the rest of the chamber looked worse than after a dragon's attack. In fact, the only place he's seen this decimated was… Helgen.
Aeyrin was looking around the chamber, limping slowly to move from one spot to another with her eyes fastened on the corpses on the ground. He wasn't sure if she was as stunned at the remnants of the refinery as he was, or if she was just… checking if they were really dead.
Finally her eyes fell on him and she moved to him slowly.
She was still breathing heavily when she reached him and her eyes were glazed strangely. With a somewhat blank stare, she looked on the bloodstains that were covering as much as half of his armor.
Her hand lit up with magic automatically but, instead of letting her heal him, Bishop grabbed her wrist with his healthy hand and sneered at her angrily.
"What. The. Fuck. Aeyrin?!"
She avoided eye contact, still stubbornly looking at the blood which was barely visible on his black leather.
"I-it's fine… it's gonna be fine. J-just let me…" she stammered. Her eyes were still downcast as she tried to free her hand from his strong grip.
"'FINE'?! What the fuck were you thinking?! We had a plan! How about fucking clueing me in before you decide to go on a suicidal rampage?! We discussed this! We were supposed to be careful! Do you have any idea what could have happened if I wasn't by the exit doing fucking damage control?! Do you even realize that if you didn't notice that the fucking vat would blow, you'd be right there with them?!" he let go of her hand, pointing angrily at the charred corpses around the smoking vats.
She shuffled her feet and stared into the ground without meeting his eyes for a second.
"I… didn't…" she whispered quietly and her face twisted in a disturbed cringe.
"What?" he snapped at her – the angry tone still didn't leave his voice.
"I didn't… know that they would explode… Karnwyr dragged me away from the combat before they did. I figured it out after that…"
Why did she just tell him that?! It only made him angrier! Why would she even admit it?
Fuck… he didn't want to think about what could have happened anymore… it was too infuriating and terrifying at the same time.
He only growled in response and shook his head incredulously. She still didn't look at him, but she did raise her hand again. She lit it up with magic promptly and hovered uncertainly above his chest, unsure where the wound was under the dark armor. He guided her hand to his shoulder somewhat more roughly than he probably should have while he kept glaring at her face constantly. She looked back to her regular self, much to his relief, but still… her callous disregard for anything, especially her own life as well as his injuries back then still rattled him.
When she at last looked up at him, while her hand still enveloped his shoulder in the soothing warm magic, her eyes glinted pleadingly with obvious regret.
"Don't give me that look! I'm so fucking pissed at you!"
She averted her gaze from him instantly at that and she only nodded curtly. He couldn't help but notice the occasional rapid blinking to hide the tell-tale glittering in those black eyes.
Ugh… she was making him want to give her a comforting hug. Dammit! He was angry! Couldn't she just let him be angry with her for a little while?! She didn't even fucking apologize! Just played this card, knowing that he would melt the second he saw that tortured look.
"Stop that! You're not playing fair!" he yelled again. He would have almost preferred it if she got defensive and made some excuses about her recklessness.
She nodded briskly again and tried to avert her head from him a little more while she continued the healing.
He removed her hand from him roughly when he was unable to watch her any longer. A second more and he would definitely crack and envelop her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her blood-stained hair soothingly. That was not gonna happen. Not this time.
"Heal yourself. I'll check the chamber," he turned away from her hurriedly to look over the scores of decimated remains on the ground instead.
That was a sobering sight at least.
…
They finally made it up the spiral staircase which was hiding behind the miraculously preserved door leading into the last unknown part of the complex. There was only a small chamber up the stairs, but it managed to fit rather lavish furnishings inside – a large bed, several ornate chests, as well as a closet full of colorful opulent robes.
It wasn't hard to figure out who the likely owner of the room was.
Bishop's eyes fell on the rickety ladder by the circular wall, leading up into a trapdoor.
"It… if… if he was here… he would have fought us…" Aeyrin cringed at his deep scowl with trepidation. "And… we're pretty high up… how would he get down from the tower anyways?" she continued reassuring Bishop while he tried to recall the layout of the fort exterior precisely in his head.
"Yeah…" he didn't even spare her a glance as he continued staring at the trapdoor with his brows creased. She was right… it was extremely unlikely that the Altmer wouldn't try to save his entire operation and him getting down from the tower to escape was a far-fetched idea too.
But just the thought of the possibility sent shivers down his spine.