Gildee.

"Are you sure we should be listening to that guy," I once again asked Cindana? "He seemed a bit on the crazy side to me."

Cindana gave a long suffering sigh. Some random Redguard running up to her in the late evening claiming to have knowledge of the people she was looking for. It seemed too convenient. "What should we have done Gildee? It's the only lead we've found."

I wrapped my short hunters cloak tighter around my shoulders. "We could have waited until morning. Nights are for curling up somewhere with a warm fire, not for traveling the countryside. Winter's coming on you know?" I looked ahead at the Altmer. "You do know that, right? I mean, seeing as we're working together, it feels like a pertinent detail. We won't be traveling every night, will we?"

Cindana seemed to ignore me, craning her neck for a better look up the path. This frustrated me. "Hey, are you hearing me?"

"Shh." Cindana ordered, making me pout. However, I soon forgot the conversation as I picked up on excited shouting ahead and a bright light from between the trees. "Seyda Neen is on fire."

We rushed towards the town until, from the outskirts, we had a good view of the excitement.

"That's the Census and Excise warehouse," I told Cindana, being more familiar with the different towns of Vvardenfell than the Altmer.

"They need help," Cindana insisted, seeing that the fire brigade had given up the warehouse as a loss and were rushing to wet the other thatch roof buildings with water from the sea. She started to run, but I caught her arm and pulled her back.

"Wait, look." Two figures caught my eye as they rose from a copse of trees and bushes to sprint away from the town on the eastern path towards Pelagiad and Suran. "They look suspicious, don't they?"

After sharing a glance, we gave chase to the runners and gained ground fast. What little moonlight shone was still enough to see that the runners were traveling much heavier than we were.

"Stop where you are!" Cindana ordered in a voice of authority. When the runners refused to comply, she sent a paralyze spell at one of them. It was blocked by a hastily summoned ward, but it was enough to get the runners attention. The cloaked figures turned, both lowering spears to keep Cindana and I at a distance. We prepared for a confrontation, Cindana shrugging her shield around and onto her arm and drawing her bright broadsword. I fell back, knocking an arrow to my bow.

"Leave us be," a Dunmer voice commanded, unfazed by Cindana's tone. "We'll fight if provoked!"

"Han lu?" I chirped, unaware of the variety of emotions I would cause among the group. As for myself, I was excited, now hopeful of finding my feline friend. Han lu stiffened with nervous confusion until he recognized me, making him more nervous and then recognizing Cindana, his face becoming a mask of dread. The Argonian glanced quickly between all of us. He hefted his right axe, ready to throw and watched me warily.

As for Cindana, her calm exterior never faltered, it only focused. Her sword hand fell to the helmet fastened to her belt with a slip knot and she placed her helmet on her head, never breaking the warrior stare between her and Han lu. Her shield remained between them, ready to catch an attack or dampen a spell.

"I need to talk with you Han lu," she said, her voice like the smooth growl of a predator.

The Dark elf's eyes flicked to the burning building just beyond the marsh trees. "This isn't the best time for me," he deflected, needing to put some distance between him and Seyda Neen before the fire burned out.

"Too bad," Cindana coldly stated. "I've been searching for you for weeks. I demand you tell me what happened to Itermerel."

Running out of options, he tried to lie. "The mages guild researcher? I took him to a tavern in Pelagiad."

"I was waiting at the tavern that day. I never saw him or you. I'm sick of being lied to," Cindana said, voice rising in intensity. "Where is my father?"

"I don't have time to argue with you right now," Han lu backpedaled, backing away, voice starting to tremble with fear and guilt.

Cindana strode forward, shield like a wall and her sword steady alongside it, ready to strike. "You're going nowhere!"

Han lu struck with the spear, jabbing past the shield, at Cindana's face, through the gap in her helmet. She easily knocked it away and swiped at the spear shaft with her sword. Han lu angled the spear to knock the sword upwards. He spun, using the distance the spear had granted him to swipe the shaft at Cindana's legs. The spear clanged against Cindana's armored boot, her solid stance proving more than a match for the cheap tactic.

I loosed the tension on my bowstring, lowering the arrow. "No, stop! We need to talk!" The Argonian was hesitant to interfere.

Han lu was unbalanced when his spear failed to trip Cindana and she used the distraction to charge in close and bash him in the chest with the flat of her shield. The Argonian finally came to his companions aid, swiping at Cindana's neck with his right. Cindana caught the blow on her shields face and struck him in the side with the flat of her blade, unaware of the armor underneath. She had no desire to kill the Argonian. She followed up with a shield bash in his face only to catch Han Lu's spear in her chest. Her armor stopped the spearhead and she fell back a pace into a sturdy stance, never letting Han lu put her off balance.

Han lu stabbed twice more, each time, Cindana easily caught the blows on her shield. Han lu strafed to her left, hoping to give Blue an opening, but I raised my bow at the Argonian. "Stop. All of you stop!" Blue dropped his axes and raised his open hands, but Cindana and Han lu kept circling, searching for weaknesses in each others stances. I was angry at how things were going and it was beyond my power to charm them into discussing this civilly. The cloudy sky seemed to sense my distress and began drizzling rain.

Han lu jabbed to the left, drawing Cindana into blocking with her sword. Han lu used his superior leverage to slap the sword aside, then reversed, knocking into Cindana's shield. He extended his spear past her defenses, not striking at her well armored body, but instead, slapped her metal clad sword hand painfully with the spear. She held her grip on it stubbornly, but Han lu didn't let up. He swiped the spear up to clang against her helmet loudly and right back down to her sword hand. This time, she dropped it. Her now free, but throbbing armored hand caught the spear before he could withdraw it and pulled him forward, off balance. She again slammed the flat of her shield into his torso and arm as one of his hands still fought for control of the spear.

Han lu took a number of painful blows until he let Cindana cast the spear aside so he could use both hands to wrestle with her shield. She was tall, but he had just a little strength on her still. Using his two handed grip on her shield, he straightened her arm painfully and forced her down to a knee, then threw one arm around her neck, securing his grip before adding his second arm to the hold. Cindana gagged at the overwhelming pressure and knew she only had seconds to break the choke hold.

Using her long legs, she pushed to her full height and forced Han lu to stumble backwards into a shallow marsh. She continued pushing them both backwards as her consciousness faded and by sheer luck, backed him into a tree, pinning him painfully against it with the weight of her armored body. The pressure of her back to Han lu's sternum drove the air violently out of his lungs and his vision filled with stars.

With a sudden flow of fresh blood to her brain, Cindana filled her lungs before following up, throwing Han lu over her hip with a two handed grip on his right arm and into the ankle deep muck. He came up covered in the smelly mud, gasping for breath after the blow to his ribs. Cindana plunged her shield downward bringing the edge down brutally upon his spine, making him drop back into the muck from the flash of pain. She struck him twice more in the same manner, thoroughly knocking the fight out of him before grabbing him by the shoulders, throwing him backwards against the trunk and drawing a dagger from her boot to press sharply against his neck.

I gasped, fearful that Cindana was about to kill Han lu. Instinctively I screamed, "Cindy no!"

Blue saw his chance and burst forward while I was turned away, tackling me at the waist and driving me to the ground, sending my drawn arrow off into the sky. I struggled with him on top of me, pushing at his arms and face until he wrestled me into submission, finally pulling his dagger and pressing the length of the blade against my throat. "If you kill him, I'll kill her," Blue warned Cindana. We all sat willfully still except for everyone's heavy breathing, looking back and forth at one another. Han lu's breaths became shorter and more ragged until they became blubbering sobs.

Cindana held his shaved head against the tree, her emotion finally breaking into her voice. "What happened to my father?"

Han lu refused to meet her gaze and unable to get a full breath, he blubbered the words, "I killed him." He paused, keeping his gaze down on Cindana's cuirass, unable to meet her eyes. "Ranis hired me to get Itermerel's research for her and I couldn't talk him into giving it up, so I killed him… and I pushed his body out into lake Amaya." He fell silent and Cindana started to cry, tears spilling down her fair face. After a moment of this, Han lu tried to choke out another sentence. "You should just kill me. I… I've done so many awful things. I deserve to die."

Cindana spluttered, ineffectually ramming Han lu's limp form back into the tree trunk. Han lu fought to control his breathing and leaned around to look at the other two. "Blue," he gasped. "Let… let her go." Blue looked back and forth from Han lu to my face and hesitantly withdrew his dagger, letting me breath and sit up. "Go to the South Wall Cornerclub. Ask for Safia Dren. Tell them I sent you. She can help you." Blue swallowed, realizing Han lu was putting his affairs in order.

Han lu turned to me with little resemblance to the calm confident Dunmer I'd met in Suran. His handsome face was covered in moss, bog water, and tears, making me want to cry. "Ajira and I tried to escape Vvardenfell by ship. We got sunk, but Ajira got away. I think she teleported back to the island, but I don't know where. You have to find her. She's no good on her own."

Finally, with a colossal effort, Han lu met Cindana's grief stricken eyes. "I'm ready. Just do it."

Cindana took a few deep breaths, resting her helmet against Han lu's forehead, oblivious to the mud and willed herself to stab. Just two or three inches and she would have revenge. Her hand shook, then fell, the dagger plopping into the mud. Instead, she curled her metal clad fingers into an armored fist and punched him. She bludgeoned him again and again. Han lu slipped from her fingers and fell stunned into the marsh water. She took hold of his collar and continued pummeling him while being racked with powerful sobs of sorrow and rage. Han lu didn't fight back. In his mind, he told himself this was justice. Even when he felt bones and cartilage crack and he gasped, taking some of the reeking water into his lungs, he resisted his uncanny instinct to survive.

Blue and I both crashed into the waist deep bog and each laid hands on Cindana, pulling the screaming woman off of Han lu. Cindana struggled to free herself, blind with rage until I trapped her arms in a tight hug from behind. "Please don't do it Cindy. Please. I need his help." I whispered soothing words and rocked back and forth until Cindana ceased her struggle, breaking down in tears instead. Her pretty gold tinged face was pocked with the filthy water and streaks with tears.

Blue pulled Han lu from the water, barely conscious. His face was nearly unrecognizable. The nose was badly deformed and the edges of Cindana's finger armor had made several U-shaped cuts. Blood mixed with the pond scum in the light of the buildings on fire, but Han lu coughed, sputtered, and started breathing again.

"Hang on," Blue whispered. "We need to leave."

Han lu's chest heaved with each breath. One eye was half clenched shut against the blood and half swollen shut, but he nodded in defeated acceptance. Blue hauled him out of the marsh and found that Han lu had to be propped up to keep his balance.

The fight had caught the attention of a couple villagers who were curiously trying to get a closer look at the group. Blue called to me, "Hey Wood Elf, we need to leave. We can sort out our differences later."

I nodded and spoke to Cindana in a calming voice until the High Elf got a hold of herself and let me guide her out of the bog and back to the path leading outside of town. I took Han lu's supply sack and Blue gave Han lu his spear to lean on as we made our way towards Pelagiad before anyone could be sent after us.