Author's note:
Surprise surprise, here's another chapter. But first of all, let me send a huge thank you to reddevil 47 and all my readers for their support! :)
Unfortunately, Agda is in for another troubled day.
Warning: violence, torture, language.
15th of Evening Star, 4E 201
"You have to tell me what's going on".
Delphine raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected such a blunt request from a shy girl like Agda.
"I have nothing to tell you, Agda. Now you'd better go back to the hall and wait for Embry to get drunk. He'll be happy to know that your isolation is finally over".
"It isn't over", the girl blushed.
"Really? The way you hurried over Steinarius was quite moving. I thought you two had made peace".
"He had just passed out in front of me, Delphine. Nevertheless, you sent him to Riften on some mysterious task involving the Thalmor, the Ratway and those stupid dragons. Apropos, who is Esbern?".
Delphine sighed. She was preparing a knapsack full of potions, weapons and books and clearly didn't feel like talking.
"Agda, you can torment me with your endless questions, but I won't tell you anything. And by the way, it took you long enough to find the guts to ask me for an explanation".
Agda blushed.
It had been five days since Steinarius left for Riften. The young innkeeper hadn't forgotten that the Imperial had tried to strangle her, but during their last meeting she had been moved by his puppy eyes and his loud yawns. Given that he had been missing for almost a week, she was afraid something bad had happened. Delphine, on the other hand, looked perfectly calm.
Agda couldn't understand the power her employer held over Steinarius. The man was a Captain of the Legion, yet he seemed to enjoy being ordered around like a puppet. When Delphine had woken him during his last visit at the inn, he hadn't even flinched: to everyone's surprise, he had immediately slipped into his armor and left for Riften.
Agda had no idea what was going on, but one thing she knew – to Delphine there was much more than met the eye.
Since New Life Festival was approaching, that morning Orgnar and Delphine decided to head for Whiterun, thus leaving Agda completely alone. The girl wasn't happy to be the only person at the inn: ever since Steinarius had tried to kill her, she trembled with fear every time a patron entered the tavern. Moreover, she didn't believe what Delphine had told her about visiting the biggest market of the Hold to buy food for the upcoming celebrations.
When the door to the the Sleeping Giant creaked opened, Agda let out a loud snort and hastily abandoned her room. It was shortly past dawn, she was alone, it was snowing, someone was already bothering her and she was going to work on New Life Festival.
Being an innkeeper sucked.
As soon as she saw three tall Thalmor in front of her, Agda realized that her day had got even worse than she thought possible. Luckily enough, at that moment her Amulet of Talos was safely hidden under the mattress of her bed.
Despite her nervousness, Agda managed to keep her cool. Perhaps not all Thalmor are snobbish elves who hate Nords and unicorns and rainbows and all the other good things in life, she thought to herself.
Reassured by the image of a Thalmor riding a unicorn somewhere over the rainbow, the girl managed to produce a tiny smile.
"Welcome to the Sleeping Giant!", she said with what she believed to be a joyful and relaxed tone. She knew that line by heart, therefore she didn't stumble upon the words. "Please do come in, it is quite cold outside. Can I cook you something or…"
One of the High Elves stopped her with a gesture.
"We were simply wondering whether you could help us with a problem, dear girl", he said with a mellifluous smile.
"Of course I can", Agda lied. "You just need to ask".
The tallest of the three Altmers smiled. He was wearing thick black robes, whereas his comrades were dressed in anonymous elven armors. All of them were very handsome and had lethal-looking daggers strapped to their waists.
"Last week the First Emissary of the Thalmor here in Skyrim, the beautiful Elenwen, threw a New Life Party", the black-robed Altmer started to explain. "Unfortunately, something went terribly wrong".
"She didn't receive the present she wanted?"
The Thalmor wasn't amused by Agda's comment.
"No, human, the presents had nothing to do with it. Regrettably, one of herguests decided to take a stroll across our embassy. Unfortunately for us, that criminal stole a few important documents and freed one of our prisoners".
Upon hearing those words, Agda suddenly remembered the way Steinarius had collapsed on the floor of the inn. On that occasion the Imperial had been dressed as if he had just attended an important party; moreover, he had mentioned the Thalmor, a prisoner and a few dossiers.
As she understood that the elves' visit was connected to that fact, Agda felt a shiver run down her spine. She hadn't forgotten the way those arrogant elves had destroyed her parents' shop in Anvil, therefore she never felt at ease when she was around them.
"I'm very sorry for your friend Elenwen", she said with what she believed to be a noncurant tone. "Unfortunately, I'm quite sure that there are no Thalmor prisoners here in Riverwood. You may want to check in Whiterun".
"We actually managed to trace the man who had taken that noisy guest to our party", the Thalmor revealed with an unnerving grin. "After some persuasion on our part, he suggested we visited Riverwood. Not Whiterun, not Solitude, not Riften. Riverwood. By the way, girl, there's no need to worry - we're here for Delphine, Esbern and Steinar Blackdusk, not for you".
As Agda registered those words, she couldn't help but widen her eyes.Steinar Blackdusk was the nickname Steinarius had chosen during his time with the Companions, whereas Esbern was the mysterious man Delphine was desperately looking for.
If the Thalmor wanted information about them, they were probably in danger.
"Your spy pointed you in the wrong direction", the girl said in a weak attempt to sway the Thalmor's investigations. "There are no people with such names here in Riverwood".
"The guards at the entrance told us otherwise. They said that the owner of this place is called Delphine and that she has a blond friend who resembles the man we're looking for".
Agda stifled a curse. Damned guards who can't do anything but eat and drink and give precious information away, she thought.
"The soldiers were probably drunk", the girl insisted while pulling her I'm a dumb, sweet and innocent innkeeper face. "As far as I'm concerned, I have no idea what you're talking about".
The black-robed Thalmor didn't betray any emotion – he simply snapped his fingers, causing magic vines to tie that uncooperative girl to the wall behind her.
Here we go again, Agda thought as she found herself pinned to the wall for the second time in the last few weeks.
The black-robed Thalmor immediately approached the girl, just like one of the other elves. The last of them, probably the sentinel, remained by the door.
"This doesn't have to be painful, Nord", the tallest of the three Altmers slowly said. "If you tell us what we need to know, we'll let you go. Where are your friends?"
"How can I tell you something I don't know myself?", Agda asked while raising one of her eyebrows.
Unfortunately, the Thalmor didn't believe her. He grinned, then a jolt of electricity hit the girl at full force.
Agda screamed both for the pain and the surprise. She tried to fight her restraints, but the magic vines didn't give in. When the black-robed Thalmor stopped electrocuting her, she found herself panting in the aftershocks of his spell.
"That was only the beginning, Nord. Tell us what we need to know and we'll let you go. Where are Delphine, Esbern and Steinar? Where have they hidden the dossiers they stole us? And where is Malborn?"
Agda shook her head. She knew that Delphine was in Whiterun and was sure that the books Steinarius had retrieved were hidden somewhere in the inn. Yet, she wasn't going to share the news with anyone, let alone with those damned Altmers.
"I have no idea what you're talking about", she growled as soon as she overcame the pain. "Now you'd better free me, otherwise I'll inform Jarl Balgruuf of your…"
Another jolt of lightning wracked Agda's body. The girl felt her teeth clatter against each other, then she felt her muscles scream in agony. It was the worst feeling she had ever experienced – in her opinion, it was even worse than being almost strangled by Steinarius.
"Silly girl", one of the armored elves laughed as his fellow finally broke the spell. "Balgruuf can't do anything about us. You think that he'll start a war just because we've tortured an innkeeper?"
Agda ignored the man's laughters.
"If you kill me, the people of Riverwood will wonder what has happened and they'll remember seeing you in the village".
The black-robed Thalmor chuckled.
"It is six o'clock in the morning, it is snowing and the sky is still dark; aka, the people of Riverwood are still in their beds. Moreover, we used an invisibility spell to enter the village. We certainly didn't want Delphine and her friends to see us and run away, did we? Apropos, where are they now?"
When she refused to answer, Agda was hit by another jolt of lightning, the strongest one that her torturer had used until that moment. A moment before she passed out, she finally understood why Ulfric Stormcloak hated the Thalmor so fiercely.
Agda came to when one of the elves forced a potion down her throat. Before she could put up a fight, the magic vibes were back in place and the girl found herself pinned to the wall once again.
"Where. Are. Your. Friends", the black-robed Thalmor asked her for what felt like the hundredth time.
He was so close that Agda could see her reflection in his almond-shaped eyes. She felt awfully bad – her body was spasming because of the spells, her mind was floating in a sea of pain, her eyes saw no way out of that situation. Yet, if she was going to be killed, Agda wanted to go out with a bang – and making fun of the Thalmor would definitely grant me a first-class ticket to Sovngarde, she suddenly thought.
Spurred by that idea, the young Nord sighed dramatically.
"Adaeze is in Riften. Hadvar, instead, is probably…"
Before Agda could end the sentence, the armored elf who was standing beside her freed her right hand from the vibes. As he maneuvered her thumb backwards, the black-robed Thalmor hissed.
"You'd rather be serious about this, otherwise…"
As that pompous Altmer got nearer, Agda couldn't help it: she spit in his face, then burst in a crazy, hysterical laughter.
The elves were quick to react – as his leader started insulting the girl, the armored mer pulled her thumb backwards, breaking it with a loud snap. Agda screamed at the sudden pain that shot up her arm, and she screamed even louder when the cruel Altmer grabbed her broken finger and started moving it backwards, forwards, to the left, to the right.
As the first tears stained her cheeks, Agda couldn't help but curse her own stupidity. Seeing the outraged look on the Thalmors' face had been fun, but she wasn't sure she had made a wise move.
"Wouldn't it be easier to tell me what you know rather than being tortured by my men?", the black-robed Thalmor hissed as if he had read her mind.
When Agda didn't reply, her armored captor proceeded to break her pointing finger. As he roughly moved it, the girl let out the loudest scream she had ever produced. Yet, despite the pain and the tears and the humiliation, the little innkeeper didn't give in.
As Agda' screams became louder and louder, one of the Altmers cast a spell on the door. Thanks to that little trick, no one could enter the Sleeping Giant without using magic. Moreover, no one could hear the desperate cries of the girl that was repeatedly being tortured inside the inn.
The elves seemed crossed by the fierce resistance that Agda was putting up - she was a simple innkeeper, yet she was as stubborn as one of those bulky Nord warriors. In the attempt to make her talk, they broke every finger of her right hand, then they moved to the left one.
At that point, the sentinel spoke.
"This is getting rather boring", he said after a long yawn. "Perhaps we could undress this filth and have some fun. I guess that would definitely break her".
Agda looked at the elves with terrified eyes. The moment she saw the grin on the black-robed one's face, she realized that she was lost.
Her first-class ticket to Sovngarde was going to reach her sooner than she thought.
By the time the Thalmor cut the front line of her dress, Agda had started to cry in earnest. She was in pain, she was being humiliated, she was going to die in a stupid tavern in the middle of nowhere - and all because of her stubborness. At least, she wasn't one to walk around without undergarments.
"If she weren't a filthy Nord, I'd probably have a go at her myself", the mer who had broken her fingers smiled. "She seems to hate all this".
Agda would have liked to congratulate the Altmer on his intelligent remark, but she couldn't utter a sound. She knew she was in great danger, and she knew that she could save herself by revealing the few information she had. Yet, if the Thalmor were looking for Steinarius and Delphine, it meant that those two people were a thorn in their flesh - and whoever was a thorn in the flesh of the Dominion deserved to be hidden and protected, no matter if that involved the death of a simple innkeeper.
At least, that's what Agda believed.
The girl hadn't forgotten the way the Thalmor had forced her to flee from Anvil, just like she hadn't forgotten that they had set the Great Chapel of Bruma on fire. Although Agda wasn't usually very brave, at that moment she was ready to die to protect her friends.
"If you want usto stop, you simply have to tell us what you know", the black-robed Altmer told her when her sobs became more frequent than ever.
As Agda girl shook her head, the mer got closer and cast a mysterious spell.
"There's no need for us to be enemies", he said as he softly caressed Agda's face with his long fingers. He was warm and smooth and the girl soon found herself leaning into his touch. All of a sudden, she noticed that her torturer had a deep, soothing voice. "There's no need to cause sufferance. We like restoring, not destroying".
As he spoke, the mer cast a weak healing spell that caused Agda to let out a pleased moan. The Thalmor chuckled, then left featherlight touches on her bare collarbones. As the mer's talented fingers skimmed over her cold skin, the girl closed her eyes and almost forgot the situation she was in.
"It feels good, doesn't it?", the Thalmor whispered in her ear. "You just need to tell me what you know, little one. It's easy, believe me".
Something in that sentence took Agda back to reality. Enraged by the way her tortured had tried to charm her with a spell, she turned towards him and unexpectedly bit him.
As her sharp teeth collided with his hand, the black-robed Altmer let out a scream. A second later, he unsheathed his dagger and pointed it towards Agda.
"I'm tired of you, you dirty scum!"
Yet, before the Thalmor could finally cut Agda's throat and be done with her, the door to the inn was opened by a forceful spell, whereas the sentinel was submerged by a halo of fire.
Despite her fear, Agda managed to raise her head and see Delphine, Steinarius and an old man enter the inn.
The reinforcements had arrived just on time.