I was facing my worst enemy yet. One that couldn't be fought with weapons or magic. An ancient enemy that had done battle with mankind since the days before the Greeks.
Stairs.
"Hurry up Sheo! We can't keep stopping for you!"
Damn them! Why were they not tired? Aerana only looked winded, and Lydia looked fresh as a daisy. Damn them.
Tiredly, I pressed on. "Hey, Sheo." Aerana asked. "Any idea on what's up ahead?"
I took a moment to ascertain our position. We had already fought a wolf, and passed by a few goats. That would mean, "Oh no." I said, the blood draining from my face. I looked ahead, and sure enough, I saw it.
The cove was up ahead. I recognized it from the icicles that hung over the mouth of the outcrop. My companions saw my face, and entered battle mode. Aerana drew the Axe of Whiterun, fire igniting in her hand. Lydia pulled her shield off her back and drew her elven sword.
They both scanned the area for threats. "What is it Sheo, what did you see?" Aerana asked.
"It's a tr-" a loud roar interrupted me.
"Shit, it's a frost troll!" Lydia exclaimed. It had jumped down from the top of the cove, and was rushing at us. Like it ran on its arms and legs like a gorilla. And was on us in no time.
Aerana and I unleashed a torrent of magic at the thing, while Lydia played defensive. Using her shield to block any glancing blows. She was nimble, making sure not to fight the trolls superior strength, and allowing the heavy fist and claws to bounce off her shield.
It was working, I thought. Our fire was countering its regeneration. Then Lydia missed a step. She tripped on a stone that was buried in the snow. It was only luck and experience that gave her the ability to place her shield in front of the things fist. But without proper footing, suspended in air as she was, the troll launched her. She flew until she hit the side of the mountain. Which was better than off the cliff, but not by much. She gasped sharply, but a pile of snow from the wall dropped on her.
"Lydia!" I shouted in a panic. But I had no time as the beast swiped at me. I scrambled backwards to duck, and ended up falling on my ass. I rolled before the Troll could crush me. A loud thud was heard from where I was. It looked down at me, ready to try again, but I blasted it in the face with Flames.
It roared and pulled back, but only to attempt crushing my head with an overhead double handed strike. I had just enough time to process I was about to be violently reset, before something else happened.
The beast screamed, and I felt hot blood splatter across my face. Aerana had buried the Axe of Whiterun in the Troll's head. It split it's leftmost eye and nearly severed it's jaw.
The Troll fell back with a thunderous crash. "Lydia! We have to help Lydia!" I said while rushing to the snow bank. She had been under there for what felt like several minutes. I began digging with all my might, before Aerana ordered me to move.
Fire ignited in her hands, and two streams of it came down on the bank. The ice and snow rapidly melted until me could see Lydia's outline. From there, we pulled her out manually. We didn't use fire because it would boil the water on her skin. And that was the last thing we needed right now.
Her hair was frozen to her face, and her breathing was a bit shallow. Pained even. "I think she may have broken a rib" I said while checking her over.
Suddenly, she gasped, and her eyes widened. She looked at me, then mouthed something. I couldn't understand her. "What?" I asked. I leaned closer to her, my ear near her mouth. She spoke in less than a whisper
"Potion. Oblivion." I was confused, and she began to drift off again. I thought frantically about what she could mean. She said it like a place, not a curse. Then I remembered what they called everyone's storage. Their personal Oblivion.
Problem was, I didn't know how to access it! But I knew it was possible. I called my Magicka, and focused on the idea of reaching into Lydia's pocket. I put my hand toward her, and to my shock, it reached into her. The space around my hand rippled. This was so weird. But I had to focus. I could see a mental impression of what she had on her. Armor, various weapons, food, water skins, a full wheel of elder cheese, ah ha! A potion!
I pulled it out. It was a small red bottle. Must have been a minor potion. Didn't matter, it would do.
I leaned her head back with one hand before pulling the cork off the bottle with my teeth. I put my fingers on either side of her jaw to force it open. It did, and I poured some in her mouth. She didn't swallow it, so I tried massaging her throat to try and stimulate the reflex to gulp.
It worked, and I repeated the process until the bottle was empty. I put the empty vial in my Inventory. I didn't want to liter. It took a few seconds, but she started breathing noticeably easier.
"Thank the Divines." I almost shit myself from the startle I got from that. I turned my head around to see Aerana was hovering over my shoulder. She looked as worried as I felt. My heart calmed, and I stood up from my kneeling.
"We should probably find shelter. It's getting dark." I said as I noticed how dark it was getting. We had been traveling for hours after all.
"Yeah" Aerana said. "Let me go get my axe. I kinda left it." I looked over Lydia. Her complexion was returning. I started wondering where we would find wood for a fire up on the mountain. We could use the cove the troll guarded as shelter. It was close, but we would make it.
"Wait, where did the troll go?" Aerana asked. That was the only warning I got. I turned just in time to turn to ask what she meant. Then I was struck in the back by what felt like a tree.
"ARHG!" I cried out in pain. The fucker was still alive! It had an entire axe buried in its skull, and t was still kicking! What the hell! What kind of monster was this!
I wanted to complain more, but it roared in anger and swiped at me. I jumped back, this time avoiding to trip. My hand Ignited in fire and the Troll froze in it's advance. I could see in it's two functional eyes, it feared the fire. But not enough to flee. It could kill us, and it knew it.
So I should have seen it coming when instead of attacking me and my fire, it turned to an easier prey.
Lydia was still out for the count. I no time to plan. It raised one log of a foot, intending on crushing her, before I rushed him. I didn't have a plan. I was running on instinct. I grabbed onto it's back and hung off it's neck.
It bucked immediately, forgetting about Lydia in favor of me. It grabbed me by my legs, which I had foolishly tried to wrap around it's torso to keep my grip.
It pulled me and I was dragged on the ground and my head hit the ground hard enough that I most certainly had a concussion. It's digits dug painful into my leg as I hung upside-down. Barely able to focus, I was raised to be face to face with the monster. I could hear Aerana scream my name, and I could tell she was too far away to make it. She had been looking for the trolls nonexistent corpse.
I looked at its face. The skin of it had grown around the bevels of the axe. One eye permanently split in half. It bled down the trolls face. It opened it's mouth, showing yellowed fangs and a pool of it's own blood mixed with vile smelling saliva. It roared inches from my face and all that liquid was blasted over me from the force of it.
All fear had left me, or rather, I entered at state of narrow focus.
"Fuck! You!" I screamed as I unleashed fire in it's face. It's screamed and used it's other hand to cover itself, but didn't release me. In fact, it's grip got tighter, and my leg bone began to splinter. Unwilling to lose my leg, I did the only thing I could in this scenario.
I increased the heat and force of the fire, while tightening the propulsion point. What resulted was a thin blast of concentrated fire. Like a welders cutting torch, it ripped through the Trolls arm and hand, burned into the flesh of it's head, and exploded out the back.
Reflexively, it threw me. I arked in the air, landing on the snow with a crunch. My vision was going black. I guess this was it for this cycle. I could see the Troll fall from where I was laying. The stump where its head used to be boiled, and the smell of cooked meat permeated the area.
Good. Fuck you troll. I thought Aerana said something, but my vision was getting too blurry. I hopped I didn't have to climb the mountain again when I woke up. But, I consigned myself to the fact I probably would. I hoped I kept the bit from the Burrow. It was embarrassing to break down like that, but it brought us closer.
I closer my eyes and let Oblivion take me.
Xxx
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the pain. That was new. I wasn't going to start taking injuries into my next life was I? That was going to suck. But knowing my luck, it was probably true.
The second thing I noticed, was this bed was way less comfortable then I remembered from this morning.
Opening my eyes, I was not met with the thatched roof of the Iverstead Inn. Rather, I saw stone brick. It was also quite a bit darker than I expected.
To my left was a table with a few potions. All opened. Most likely empty. To my right, was an open corridor. It continued down a bit before branching off. I started to get up, but a voice interrupted me.
"I think it'd be best if you stayed where you are." Said an aged voice. I jumped at the voice. Holy, shit. Some hooded guy was just hiding in the shadows!
Fuck! Not good. Not good at all! This was not the sort of situation I wanted to be in. Where was I? Kidnapped by a cult? Abducted by Vampires? Was I soul trapped and taken to the Soul Carin by the idle masters? My mind went wild with the possibilities.
"Please, calm yourself. You are in no danger. I was just treating to your companion's vassal. Your companion herself should be outside meditating." I heard the same aged voice ask. He stepped towards the light and I calmed visibly. It was Argneir.
I relaxed in the bed. It all made sense now. This was high Hrothgar. We made it. Then I thought of something. A part of the story that didn't make sense.
"How did we get here? Two of us were down. Wait? Is Lydia alright? It's her in that bed behind you right?" I asked worried.
Argneir stroked his factions namesake. "Hmm. She is in need of rest, but she will make it through. Worry not. As for how you got here, well…from what I hear, it's quite the tale. This, Lydia you said her name was, carried you on her back, assisted by the Dragonborn. She was in bad shape when she arrived on our door step. She had barely but let you off her back when she collapsed herself. Not to worry though. She had mostly healed from her prior injuries. She is but exhausted. In fact, your own wounds were more several then hers."
"My wounds?" I asked confused
He took a seat I a chair by the table. "Indeed. From what I understand, you fought a troll, yes?" I nodded. "Hmmm. Your very lucky. You suffered quite the head injury. The Fatal Confusion had set in. Those are hard enough to treat, but your leg was the true concern. We've nearly exhausted our meager stock of healing potion treating it. I don't wish to alarm you, but it was a crippling injury. You shall be fine however. For now, I urge you to rest. Healing with potions puts strain on the body. I will inform the Dragonborn of your awakening." He began to leave, and I thanked him. He simply nodded and went on his way.
He was a very nice man I decided. Very grandfatherly. Like a less egomaniacal Dumbledore.
I laid in bed for a time, trying to ignore the ache in my leg. As far as awakenings could go, this wasn't too bad. How could I forget the troll? Arg! Stupid! I could have gotten us killed.
In the back of my mind, I realized that I couldn't account for every random encounter in all of Skyrim. But rationality was one of those things that fled when one was in pain and doubt.
It was a little while longer before I heard footsteps coming down the hall. My face lit up when I saw it was Aerana. "Hey!" I said from the bed.
She smiled as she walked over to me. "Hey." She said back. " How you feeling?" She asked.
"Ok. My leg kinda hurts, but I'm good otherwise. Argneir seems to think I'll be ok. Just that I need rest. Lydia is still asleep." Aerana looked over to her. I could see her now. Or, rather, I could see the lump under the blanket across from me. "What happened? Last thing I knew, I killed the troll. Sorry about that by the way. I knew it was there, but I forgot about it." I should have known. I would do better in the future.
"Hey, it's ok. Really. We were lucky to have any warning at all, Sheo. The troll would have been there, even without the warning. As for what happened after you were knocked out. Well-"
"I can answer that." A new voice entered the conversation. It was Lydia! Probably. It sounded like her. I saw the lump in the other bed shuffle a bit, before I thought it may have been on its back.
"Let me explain."
Lydia's perspective:
The cold of the grave surrounded me. As a Nord, I never felt the cold was much a threat. But right now, I could understand how others felt. I opened my eyes, and wished I had kept them closed.
The Troll had lifted it's leg, and I knew this was the end. It was going to crush me. I was going to die. I…I didn't want to die. All my life, I had trained as an orphan under Hrongar. He had taken me in, and I swore to return his generously with service. I saw him and his wife as my parents.
When I had gotten my Vassal, I was so happy. It was finally time to serve. And it was good, even if it was short. Aerana may have been an elf, but she was thoughtful. Funny even. I wouldn't have minded serving her. Even with her choice of companion.
Sheo was…well…he was ok. Really. He was tolerable. Bat shit insane, and he had some several gaps in his knowledge. And possibly crippled. I thought he was a Nord. That his natural residence to cold was defective. But, he must have been a Breton or something. I don't know. But, he wasn't that bad.
They say, before you die, your life flashes. And it had. But, I wished so very much it hadn't been so short.
The troll towered before me, it blocked out the sun. It's silhouette was a tower before me. A black shadow that was going to swallow me whole. I'm ashamed to admit, I may have released a single tear. Just one. Fore one was all I had time for, before he appeared.
He gave a war cry, and mounted the beast from behind. It was drawn away from me, and I was pulled away from the jaws of death.
The beast grabbed him, and dragged Sheo to face it. I heard his head crack on the ground. Even through the snow. And when the beast roared in his face, he didn't whimper, or cry. He have a mighty roar in response.
And he responded with the Troll's weakness. Fire. But it wasn't enough. The Troll moved to protect itself, and I thought it was a futile effort.
But then, he demonstrated his aptitude for brute forcing his way through magic. I could feel the fire he produced from my position. It was as bright as the sun! It burned the things head right off.
And then it threw him. One last attempt to spite us. He landed with a crunch of the snow, and didn't get back up. Aerana rushed over to him, exclaiming his name. I struggled to get up. I tasted potion on my lips. Was Sheo able to get to it? If the lack of pain in my lungs was any indication, he had.
Slowly, painfully, I got up. Every inch of my ached. The cold permeated me like never before in my life. But I was needed. My Thane needed me.
Slowly, step by step, I made my way to them. "My thane." I greeted. And I hated how weak I sounded. Nothing like my normal commanding voice. A true Nord should speak strongly, and hit stronger.
"Lydia." My thane breathed. And I could see relief on her face. The fact my thane cared for me so brought warmness to my heart. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" she said. Truly, I was blessed.
"I will be fine. What of Sheo?" I asked. He laid there, and I could tell it wasn't good. He breathed, yes. That was good. But from the puddle of crimson growing in the snow beneath his head, it was uncertain for how long.
The less said about his mangled leg the better. The bone looked in one piece. But that was the only good bit of news. The flesh of it was, well, I lacked adjectives to describe it. It looked as though the muscle underneath had been squeezed until it had nowhere to go but to burst out the skin.
Even I, as a hardened warrior, had not seen something so visceral. But I had seen enough to avert my focus.
"We need to keep going." I said. "There is no help coming for us. The trip back is further than the trek forward. The graybeards live isolated. They may yet have supplies to treat him." It was all I could offer. It was only logical after all. We wouldn't survive the elements. My thane may, but she would be distraught at the death of her odd companion. And, dare I say it, my own death as well.
"But…how? Your hurt. And, I can't carry him" she asked me. She was on the verge of tears. That just would not do. I leaned down, and pulled Sheo's arm over my own shoulder. Carefully, I pulled him onto my back. My shield long since placed in Oblivion, I was able to support him with both hands.
"Worry not, my thane. I am sworn to carry your burdens." I assured her. And who else was more a burden than this man. "Come. Let us make haste."
I began the trek. It was hard, carrying him. Every muscle in me screamed for relief. But that was good. That meant they still functioned.
But, to my shock, I felt my burden being lifted, if only slightly. My thane, in her eternal kindness, helped support the weight of my passenger.
She shifted under my lifted shoulder, and took some of the pain away. The relief I felt was immediate. She couldn't hold much, being slight as she was, but it was all the difference.
We continued for some time in silence. The single-minded desire to move forward gave me time to think. It was only because of that I noticed. Sheo was, light. Lighter than he should be, anyway. He was of course quite heavy to my tired and abused body. But, that didn't change how odd it was.
He felt lighter than some armor I had worn in the past. Maybe twenty head sized stones at most. How odd.
I was aware that some body variation could happen in people. I had read about it in the past. It was just, Skyrim tended to encourage a burlier sort.
Still, he felt lighter than she should. Perhaps he had been sick before. Odd. It could be attributed to a lack of muscle mass, I supposed.
He was a thin man after all. Not a hint of fat on him. Not that a little fat was a bad thing. Most people of Skyrim had a 30/70 ratio of fat to muscle. It was hardly surprising when the average nords diet consisted of ale, bread, meat and cheese. It helped one bare the cold of the land.
But he felt smaller than he should be. Was he malnourished? Perhaps. It would explain how physically weak he was. He could barely open doors for Shor's sake.
They would have to focus on that if he was to remain traveling with them. He needed to eat better, and travel more. Her thane would ensure the latter, being an adventurer. They would just have to make sure of the former.
That is, if they lived through this. Her vision was blurring. She had reverted to a form of hyper focus. One step in front of the other. Don't think about the pain. Don't think about the cold. Just, left, right, left, right. Just repeat that.
The ground shifted to something a bit more solid. She tried to focus on the world in front of her. It was a set of stair, and it led to a great door.
They had made it. High Hrothgar. It's black stone looked like the gilded wood of Shor's hall. I had just enough time to sigh in relief before the world started to tilt sideways. But it didn't matter if the world had gone sideways. I was tired. So sleepy. The ground was soft. When did I get on the ground? Didn't matter. Needed to sleep.
Sheo's perspective.
"And that's what happened." She finished.
"Wow." I returned. "So are we gonna do anything about your boarder line obsession with Aerana, or are we just gonna let that fester. And what do you mean I'm physically weak!" I said in outrage. Her response was to sit up and hit me in the face with a pillow. But from the speed it was going, it might as well have been a brick.
"Oof!" I said. Rubbing my poor nose.
"You! You! I should have left you out there!" Lydia raged. Her face grew a bright red. We were stopped from bantering any further as a melodic sound entered our ears. Aerana was laughing. She had a hand over her mouth as she tried to stifle it, but it was no use. Then, I was laughing. And pretty soon we all were.
It was a nice moment.
Xxx
Barron Sullivan Micar was displeased. His ticket to gaining a higher social standing had disappeared. As a head member of a relatively new noble house, his was a low position on the social ladder of the courts.
His best chance to change that however had fled. He was unsure to where, but he vowed to find out!
His bride to be, a girl who was barely out of her child years from his perspective, was from the Deltora family. A noble house tracing it's roots back to the founding of the empire. A very influential family.
By tying his family to theirs, he would raise his families level to just a few rungs beneath them. Perhaps a count, or marquee. So just above the middle factions. It was only thanks to his vast wealth and experience that he could even afford such a venture.
So to have his new bride disappear on him would leave him, and his house, in disgrace! It would be generations before the courts forgot this foully! And his reputation would never recover!
No. This would not stand. The Deltora house may be in a position to absorb this slight, their political capital vast, but he could not.
The only reason he had attempted this was due to the current political climate! As an proper Aldmeri, he and his ventures were left relatively alone by the war between the empire and the homeland. In fact, he had made quite the penny selling information to his brothers and sisters on the isle.
His Imperial rival houses however had suffered greatly. The war saw their coffers nearly emptied, their leaders quietly removed, and their influence shrink. They needed him and his connections, and they knew it. But that was a decade ago. The Noble houses were finally stabilizing in their positions. Adapting the White-Gold Treaty. If he didn't solidify a better position now, he may never.
Worse, nobility is not without pride. His house was new, untied to any faction. If left alone, they would circle him like sharks. Old blood between factions would be looking to consolidate. He needed to attach himself to a bigger fish if wanted to remain even slightly autonomous. If he didn't, he would be a small fish in an ocean of sharks. They would take from him, bit by bit, like they filthy short lived things they were. Until he had nothing!
So imagine his delight, when he found that one of the leading faction houses had an unmarried daughter. An unmarried daughter with at least half proper blood. From his understanding, the result of a bosmer cur reaching above his station and bedding the maiden lady of a noble house. The result was a half bosmer. A half decent bloodline, if not for the fact most were savage filthy tree scum. But the children would be proper Altmer. That's all that truly mattered.
So he approached the Deltora house, and made a formal request for her hand. He also suggested a very generous bride price. One that made a dent in even his bountiful vault. She should have been grateful to bear his seed!
But that little whore disappeared into the night. And he couldn't be sure the Deltora family wasn't in on it. Which led him to this disreputable fester house.
The Morag Tong were assassin's normally, but on occasion if one had the coin, they would do investigation work. Or, if one had a problem with escaped slaves, they could be convinced to assist. Most importantly, they were discreet. He was meeting with a representative tonight. He wore a hooded cowl. The scowl on his face made him almost look a proper Thalmor Justicair. He would never claim to be such an esteemed individual. But if the unwashed masses assumed so, and the smell of them was quiet unwashed, he was not going to correct them.
His contact sat at a table alone in a corner. They were given wide birth, from either respect or fear. Sullivan walked to them confidently, and sat down.
"So, you here for business?" he asked. His voice slightly muffled distinct helm.
"Yes." Sullivan replied. "I need you to find, and capture someone."
The Morag Tong tilted his head. "Abductions cost extra, same with the information collection."
"That won't be a problem." Sullivan replied. " Half now, half upon retrieval. I understand your kind have experience with collecting man and mer without harming them? I need her alive. Unharmed. Is this agreeable?" He pulled out a pouch from Oblivion. In it contained 20,000 septims.
The Morag Tong proved his professionalism when he didn't respond to the jab at his lesser status. Good. He knew the Dunmer race had experience in slave keeping and capture. It was the main reason he had chosen this group when others were cheaper.
The Morag Tong took the pouch, inspected it, and Sullivan could hear the grin through the man's helm. "Oh, that's quite agreeable. We'll get it done. Before I go and put your order in, what the name on this contract?" he said eagerly.
"Aerana Deltora."