It was a chill evening in Haafingar hold. The sun had set and the sourceless grey illumination of twilight was fading swiftly into the darkness of night. Kratos and Lydia crouched in the cover of a copse of pine, keeping careful watch on the compound before them. Lydia glanced over at her thane, who was as monolithic and still as stone in his watching, seeming not even to breathe. Kratos was wearing hunters' leathers rather than his customary attire and a hood that covered his face in shadow, leaving only his beard visible.
When they had set out in the small hours of the morning to get in position under cover of darkness it had occurred to Lydia that it was strange to see Kratos without most of his torso exposed to the elements. The thought drew a smile to her face. Surely any other housecarl would find the opposite to be true and think it strange to have their lord galavanting about in so little. Kratos hadn't been pleased about the change but had recognized the necessity of maintaining some form of plausible deniability, which would be impossible with his pale skin and tattoos on display. Now he simply looked like a very large man. This was Skyrim, you could find men of his size.
They had met with the Dragonborn a few days earlier to go over their plan, which was simple. Sigrunn would mingle at the party and slip away given the opportunity. She had memorized the layout of the Thalmor embassy and would make her way to Elenwen's study where any intelligence was likely stored. Kratos and Lydia would be on standby to support in the event that stealth failed and, as Sigrunn had put it, she needed to set fire to the place on the way out. Kratos' barely audible rumble broke the stillness that reigned in the alpine air, "The last carriage departed the embassy an hour ago. It is time we move."
Lydia cocked a brow at him, though the gesture was likely lost as only the stars and a sliver of moon shone that night, "All appears still. Why risk exposure?"
"It is a reasonable chance to take. From this distance we may not see the earlier signs that our intervention is needed."
She bobbed her head, "As you say, thane."
Kratos pointed to a place where one of the buildings of the compound came nearly all the way up to the 15 ft. iron fence that surrounded the embassy, "A foolish choice to build so close to the perimeter. We go there." They had observed the watch schedule for some time, and waited for a few minutes until the various Thalmor guards patrolling the courtyard and outbuildings were furthest away from their target. "Go." He muttered softly and Lydia immediately set off through the snow. Kratos followed after her with a small bough in one hand, obscuring their tracks behind them.
They reached the fence in short order. Kratos dropped the branch and turned to Lydia, "Are you ready?"
She narrowed her eyes at him, "For?"
"To get to the roof." He gestured vaguely to the building that sat only a few feet away on the other side of the fence.
"Yes?"
He nodded, "Good." Lydia's brows knit as Kratos stepped behind her and put his hands on her waist, "Bend your knees. Jump when I tell you."
"Kratos, are you going to throw me?"
A moment of silence reigned, "Yes… Jump." With clenched teeth, Lydia jumped, only to rocket upwards propelled by Kratos' arms. She soared up and forwards, her stomach lurching with the acceleration. She reached the peak of her "jump" about a foot above the roof and landed gently, having no distance to fall and little forward momentum. The roof was gently angled and blessedly clear of snow, easy enough to traverse. Lydia turned back in time to see Kratos crouch and leap in the same arc that he had thrown her, landing beside her on the roof.
Kratos nodded to her, his voice coming out in a whisper that still somehow managed to be both low and rough, "Well landed. Come. Let us watch from the peak." Kratos wasted no time and crawled to the peak of the roof, barely peeking his eyes over the apex so as not to silhouetted against the sky. Lydia followed suit though soon enough it would be sufficiently dark that the precaution may not be needed. They lay on the roof looking down on the courtyard below and the idly circulating guardsmen as they went about lighting the torches for the night's watch.
Lydia wasn't sure how long they had been waiting on the roof, likely not more than 15 minutes, when Kratos looked over and breathed, "Be ready. She is in the courtyard." Lydia nodded back and immediately began hunting for any sign of the dragonborn, but she could see nothing. She paused and took a breath, closing her eyes. She breathed deeply and tried to do as Kratos had directed in the past and 'reach out'. So Lydia reached out to Kratos next to her and out into the courtyard below. She opened her eyes and looked again. Lydia still saw nothing but… her eyes seemed to catch near the door to what she assumed was where the Thalmor kept their dirty secrets. It was the only door with a guard permanently stationed on either side. Lydia focused there not entirely certain why, when it all abruptly became very apparent.
Sigrunn had to admit, she thought this whole thing was going rather swimmingly all things considered. Afterall, she wasn't really a burglar but so far things had been going so well! She had met her contact and arranged for her invitation and gear to be smuggled into the embassy. She had even been quite pleased with how her dye job and makeup had turned out for the party itself. She had looked pretty good if she did say so herself. The quick change in the kitchens was a little hairraising. Nothing quite like being pretty much naked in enemy territory. Her face split in a silent smile at that.
She hadn't liked the cost but finally after some haggling she had been able to acquire enough invisibility potions to cover herself for the foreseen duration of her heist. She'd even built in buffer time all along the way. All she needed was patience and she would do just fine. Sigrunn gently eased open the small leather satchel strapped tightly to her side and pulled out another potion, she carefully felt the carving on the top of the stopper that she had put there which told her the potion type and duration. She was coming up on the end of her last dose, so she carefully pulled the stopper and drank it down before replacing it in its slot in her satchel. She took one last look around, the detect life potion she had consumed earlier confirming there was no one about, and slipped out the door into the courtyard.
Sigrunn smiled again at the completely cleared courtyard walks. This small spell of warmer weather had been a godsend. If there had been snow recently, invisibility or no, she was sure that the guards, even if they were Thalmor, would be sharp enough to wonder why footsteps were appearing randomly on the walkways. She crept across the courtyard slowly, keeping a careful eye on the guards and the ground for anything that might make noise and give away her position. All the while she kept silent count in her head of the time since she had last re-upped her invisibility.
Soon enough she reached the doorway to Elenwen's solar. She recognized it from the maps her informant had provided, but the two guards on either side of the door were also a dead giveaway. She reached them in short order despite her slow pace. One of the guards at the door, who had a mark of rank on his arm, had a prominent ring of keys at his belt. Sigrunn eyed the door, the keys and mentally sighed. It was certainly too much to hope for that Elenwen would just leave the door open for her. She examined the keys for a moment before squinting and looking back to the door. Of course. Elenwen was such a pretentious prat. Of course, she had a fancy key that matched the moldings and ironwork on her door.
Sigrunn reached out slowly for the keyring, trusting her hand eye coordination. It was after all very disconcerting to reach out and not see your own hand, so you had to be extra careful with your depth perception. To her the trick seemed to be not overthinking it. The moment you did, you lost all body self-awareness. All she had to do was be the only one holding it and her invisibility would cloak it too.
Sigrunn's eyes shot wide open. She could see her hand! She looked up and locked eyes with the equally shocked justicar she was currently trying to rob, "Uh... Hi?" The elf went to take a breath that cut off abruptly into choking, as a precise strike from the dragonborn crunched into his adam's apple.
Lydia's eyes went wide with shock when the dragonborn popped into existence between one moment and the next. Kratos did not waste an instant. He was up over the peak of the roof before Sigrunn's first punch even made contact. He slid down to the edge of the roof and without hesitation or pause, dropped immediately to the ground. Lydia had been hot on his heels up to that point, but the nearly 30 foot drop made her stop and take a hesitant breath.
Lydia looked down and saw Kratos waiting below her. He raised his hand and beckoned her. Lydia paused for a bare moment, the chill wind tugging at her hair, before she shrugged and simply stepped out into nothing. She had time to swallow as the ground rushed up at her, but instead of a true impact there was only the somewhat jarring deceleration as Kratos plucked her from the air. He set her down quickly and drew a simple but large iron greatsword from his back. It was strange to see him without his axe, but they were trying to maintain plausible deniability at least.
Kratos bolted across the paths and careful landscaping of the embassy's enormous courtyard, too fast and too quiet for a man of his size. Justicars were stalking across the space, attracted by the ruckus of the dragonborn dealing with her sudden visibility despite no true alarm having yet been raised. One of these justicars was jogging forward, hands outstretched and charged with destructive magicks. Without slowing Kratos leapt from the darkness, shearing off the elf's hands with a downward blow. The justicar gaped breathlessly, winded by the shock of the sudden trauma, he had only time to note the spurting stumps of his arms and the dull, spinning gleam of a greatsword before Kratos rammed the point of it through his skull.
Kratos turned, whipping the greatsword in an arc, flicking the blood off the long blade and spattering the cobbles with crimson. Across the courtyard Kratos saw another hooded justicar stepping into the light of a hanging lantern. Lydia came hurtling out darkness in a great leap, a flying superman punch with the edge of her shield. With a horrendous wet crunch, the force of the blow spun the justicar from his feet and slammed him into the stone walk. Lydia landed and spun instantly, sword descending in a bright flash. Arterial spray marked the pristine snow and splashed the housecarl's face. Never ceasing her motion, Lydia bounded away again into the darkness. She did not see Kratos teeth shining in the dark, bared in a lupine grin.
Kratos looked around the courtyard, assessing the situation. Sigrunn had dealt with the two at the door. Lydia was hunting another confused sentry. Stealth was past. The alarm was moments from being raised and perhaps already had been. The lack of trumpets were possibly only due to the unwillingness to admit to any threats while so many important dignitaries were within the embassy walls. It would certainly be a blow to the reputation of the Thalmor if the attack were ever to become common knowledge. This would play to their favor and buy them precious time to complete their objective and escape the embassy.
Kratos ran over to the dragonborn, stooping to snatch a shortsword from the justicars corpse on his way. He arrived just as Sigrunn was pushing open the door to Elenwen's solar, "Dibella's left tit!" she hissed in frustration, "That is one finicky lock." She looked over Kratos' shoulder to see Lydia dashing up to join them. "Lovely of you both to join me. But let's take this inside." Taking her own advice Sigrunn swept into the building, axe in hand. Kratos waited at the door, waving Lydia in. His keen gaze pierced the dark of the expansive, manicured courtyard, he could see justicars starting to trickle in from various outbuildings as well as the main embassy.
Kratos stepped inside and quickly shut the door after himself. Immediately he stabbed the point of his stolen shortsword into the small gap between the door and wall on the hinged side. With a short, powerful wrench he snapped off tip, leaving it to lock up the door. He repeated the process twice more in rapid succession before shoving the last part of the blade still attached to the hilt under the door, locking it in place with a solid kick. He turned back to the two women in the entryway with him, his voice was a barely audible rumble, "Be swift. This will not delay them long." Sigrunn merely glanced back at him and gave him a short nod from the end of the entryway where she was pressed up against the wall, stealing glances around the corners.
Sigrunn beckoned them forward, "We are clear for now." She pulled her other axe from its loop on her belt, "This isn't a burglary any more." A feral grin flashed across her face, "Now it's a robbery. Let's move." No sooner had she turned back to head deeper into the building than they heard a voice accompanied by approaching footsteps.
"Sanodil, what was that commotion?" Sigrunn crept to the edge of the wall and crouched axes at the ready. "It sounded like you bumped into something. If you knocked over one of Elenwen's vases… Well. I'm not covering for -" the elf cut off as Sigrunn stepped out from the corner, slamming the blunt reverse side of one of her axes into his solar plexus. The elf doubled over as the wind was blasted from his lungs. Without missing a beat, the dragonborn caught the top of her other under his chin and straightened him out, pinning him to the wall with the flat top of her axe. The axe that had dealt the original blow was already cocked back again, and so she stood, one arm extended, pinning the spluttering elf and the other back, raised, and prepared to split the Thalmor's skull like a melon if he so much as breathed wrong.
"Shut up. Shut up!" She hissed in a low voice, "Stop coughing." Her lip curled a little, "Pull yourself together. Now. You have a choice. Tell me where Elenwen's keeps her private documents and I hit you with this end." the haft spun in her hand so that the blade of the axe head was facing back and the blunt backside faced the elf. "Don't and I will hit you with this end," she spun the blade back to face him, "repeatedly. Your own mother won't recognize you." He opened his mouth but Sigrunn interrupted, pressing the axe against his windpipe, "Not yet. We will find what we want either way. All you get to do is decide if your life is only worth slightly inconveniencing us. Talk."
The elf nodded slowly and then spoke slowly at first, but soon enough he was babbling as quickly as he could. After she'd heard what she wanted Sigrunn cut him off with a sharp rap to the temple, dropping him to the floor like a sack of wheat. "You get that?" Kratos and Lydia remained silent, short nods their only reply from the sentry positions that they had taken up on either end of the hallway while the momentary interrogation took place.
Kratos set off, following the directions that the elf had given them, heading down a hallway deeper into the building. According to their captive it opened into a large atrium. From there they could access the suite that housed Elenwen's offices. To the elf's knowledge that was where Elenwen kept her documents, not that he was in her confidence he had been quick to mention. They were creeping down the long hallway keeping as silent as possible, there was no point in inviting any further conflict.
Suddenly a dark silhouette stepped out across the entry to the atrium. "Cover!" barked Kratos. He and Lydia plastered themselves against the wall and Sigrunn dove to the floor as two bolts of lightning came roaring down the hall.
"Multiple intruders! I told you I heard something!" came the shout from the atrium. In the space of a heartbeat Kratos, Lydia and the dragonborn were charging down the hallway again, having no desire to be caught with no cover.
More Thalmor stepped out and began launching spells down the hallway. It was a mad scene, bolts of lightning acting as strobe lights and showing flashes of the frenetic action. Sigrunn hurled an axe as she juked, avoiding a spear of ice. Her target managed to jerk to the side in time, receiving only a cut on his shoulder rather than an axe to the mouth. Sigrunn herself was not as fortunate. She let out a curse as a bolt of electricity caught her low and blew her legs out from under her, knocking her back and to the ground.
Simultaneously, Lydia was also hard at work dodging blasts of magicka aimed at her, occasionally managing to angle her shield to deflect the odd spike of ice here and there. This dance took her full attention but even so she couldn't help but notice that Kratos appeared to be simply stalking down the hall, flowing effortlessly around the different spells hurled his way, every motion the absolute minimum movement necessary. But then Lydia zigged when she should have zagged. She was off balance and knew there was no way to avoid the lightning bolt that was about to come into being and roar down the hall.
Lydia's eyes widened when Kratos' hand shot out, interjecting itself between her and the mage's outstretched, magicka laden hands. The very next instant the bolt of electricity blasted towards her and Kratos didn't block it, so much as grab it. Kratos seized the lightning bolt and with a snarl clenched his hand around it, pulling more magicka from the aether causing the bolt to become a searing charge of energy that illuminated the hall. Kratos spun hurling it back towards the shocked Thalmor mage who had cast it originally. A thunderous boom resounded through the building as the spell split the air, leaving a glaring after image printed on everyone's retinas.
Despite the bright flash Lydia was able to see the effects of Kratos' work. The Thalmor mage who had been the target was blown from his feet and slammed into the far wall, nothing more now than a hunk of charred meat still jerking occasionally as the electricity continued to dissipate. One of the other justicars was unfortunate enough to be too close and he was writhing on the ground from catching one of the ancillary branches, steam rising from his convulsing form.
The three justicars who were still conscious were momentarily stunned by the display of magical force, not to mention the light and concussive force of the thunderclap that had occurred in their midst. Sigrunn and Lydia were quick to capitalize on the situation. Sigrunn had just managed to regain her feet and hurled her remaining axe as she moved forward on jittery legs. This shot was clean and the spinning axe took the elf in the side of the head and straight to the ground.
Lydia and Kratos had burst into a simultaneous charge quickly covering the ground between them and the dazed elves. Kratos was the faster of the two and he rushed in close, not bothering to draw his sword, and delivered a punishing elbow to the elf's face, shattering his jaw and dropping him to the ground in a bloody ruin. Lydia was hot on his heels and leapt in, leading with a stab, driving a foot of sharpened steel through the Thalmor's chest before knocking the elf off of her blade with a swing of her shield.
Lydia bent and wiped her blade off on the robes of the justicar she had run through, ignoring him as he gurgled, choking on his own blood as it pooled in his lungs and on the floor beneath him. Sigrunn gathered her axes and gave one of the dead a swift kick, "Divine's curse it!" she spat, shaking herself all over, "I hate that feeling! Of course the damn Thalmor just had to use lightning!" She took a deep breath before looking to Lydia and Kratos, "Are you two ready? We need to be quick now." She arched a brow at Kratos, who merely narrowed his eyes at her, "Someone made a fair amount of noise just now." Kratos merely let out an indistinct rumble and turned to face the doors on the far side of the atrium. Sigrunn ignored Lydia's glare as she approached the door to Elenwen's offices. Sigrunn let out a grumble as she bent to examine the handle and reached for the ring of keys she had taken earlier.
She was interrupted as a booted foot blew past her and smashed the door open, sending the jamb flying into so much kindling and splintering a good portion of the door itself. Sigrunn let out an indignant huff and straightened as Kratos brushed by her into the room. He ignored her expression and spoke as he walked into the office suite, "As you said. Stealth is past." Lydia followed, unable to fully restrain the smile on her face.
Elenwen's office was exactly what Lydia would have expected. Luxurious materials, dark wood, lots of papers and books, big desk. The three exchanged a glance and wordlessly split up, tossing the place as quickly as possible. Only moment's later Lydia called them back together. Behind the desk was a fairly large locked chest. Lydia shrugged, "Perhaps it is too obvious, but it is clearly the most secure location in this room."
They exchanged glances before Sigrunn and Lydia turned to look expectantly at Kratos. He let out a small snort and stepped up to the chest before, in a sudden, violent motion, driving his fist down through the lid of the chest. He reached in with his other hand next and simply pulled the lid apart. Sigrunn's eyes were wide until she noted Lydia's absolute lack of surprise, at which point she took on a more contemplative look as she glanced between them.
Lydia stepped up and pulled some papers from the broken chest skimming through them quickly. At one missive her brows shot up. "Look here. There is a dungeon beneath this building, she has a note to herself to tell the torturers to keep it down at certain hours." Kratos' face was as always impassive, but his two nord companions were grimacing with disgust. "If I were to hide anything incriminating a secret dungeon seems like the place to do it."
Sigrunn nodded, "They weren't on the plans, but there was an oddly small storage basement… it must be accessed through there." She nodded, "Follow me." They moved quickly through the building, following after Sigrunn, when Kratos suddenly held up his hand. Lydia immediately froze and after a moment Sigrunn followed suit.
Kratos turned back to the dragonborn, "They are at the door. We have no time. Quickly now." Sigrunn nodded wordlessly and took off at a run. Such speed in enemy territory was a risk, but having the entirety of the Thalmor descend on them from behind was a larger one.
"Here!" cried Sigrunn pointing to a non-descript stairway leading down, "Let's go." They descended into a small storage room with an obvious door in the far wall.
Lydia's brows drew together, "They're not exactly hiding it are they?"
Sigrunn shrugged, "It's in the center of their power in Skyrim. Who's going to say anything?" She spat to the side, "And of course they are just that bloody arrogant." She raised her brows at Kratos and gestured at the door in invitation. Kratos looked back at her for a moment before walking up to and then through the door, his kick blasting it open without even breaking his stride. The two women flowed in after him, weapons gleaming and held in ready hands.
They came out upon what was essentially a small balcony overlooking a large open room. There were cells set into the far wall and near them in an open area was an ominous looking chair equipped with iron restraints. There were dark stains and tools on a table nearby that left no doubt as to the purpose of both the dungeon and the implements.
"Halt!" Cried a voice. It was a haughty and imperious altmer who was standing next to the table of torture devices. The elf sneered, "I do not know who you are, but you will soon be overrun. I give you this chance to turn and flee now." With a smile Sigrunn sauntered up to the banister of the balcony and looked down at the elf on the level below as he continued to rant. "If you do I may be generous enough not to put you to the question once you are inevitably captured for your trespasses."
In a move no one, least of all the altmer, expected, the dragonborn dove head first off the balcony. Once her body was aimed she spoke, "Wuld." The power of her thu'um carried her forward instantaneously past and to the side of the elf. Sigrunn rolled expertly and came to her feet, shaking the blood from her axes. The altmer, who was still facing the balcony, turned slowly towards her shock writ large across his face as blood pumped from the ruinous gashes in his neck and side. With a confused gurgle he collapsed. Kratos merely let out a bark of amusement and descended the stairs. Lydia had already run down after the dragonborn and was frantically searching the papers on a desk in the corner.
Sigrunn pulled a ring of keys from the jailer's belt and headed for the doors. She paused seeing Kratos' look, "I know we have little time, but I am not going to leave anyone here to be the Thalmor's plaything." She shook her head, scowling darkly, "Not when I can do something about it." Kratos merely shrugged and went to search for information on the dragons' return.
Kratos approached another obviously locked chest and again simply destroyed its lid. He reached in and brushed aside the splintered wood, withdrawing several leather wrapped folios of documents. "Girl." Lydia looked up and seeing the documents came over immediately. Kratos passed her one when she approached. Lydia immediately began skimming the documents, these were detailed dossiers and files on numerous important parties in Skyrim… jarls, imperial generals, and many others. The information was clearly sensitive. Any of these people would raise oblivion if they knew they were under such surveillance. If the Thalmor had anything on the current dragon crisis it would certainly be in here.
One file in particular caught her eye, Kratos, No Surname. Lydia glanced towards the man himself and then over to the dragonborn. Seeing that she was still occupied freeing the prisoners Lydia slipped Kratos' dossier under her armor where it would be safe before she turned to where Sigrunn was freeing the last of the two prisoners from their cells and called out, "Hey! We found them. We have what we need."
Sigrunn nodded in reply, "This man says that this trap door here is another way out. It leads to a tunnel where they dispose of the bodies. We can use it to - " She cut off abruptly as they heard the tread of numerous feet overhead. She continued in a low hiss, "Over here!"
Kratos and Lydia hurried over to where the dragonborn and the prisoners were huddled around a trapdoor set into the floor. Kratos went down to one knee by the trap door and muttered, "We need to delay the Thalmor. I can open this easily but we need to discourage pursuit."
A broad grin spread over Sigrunn's face and a feral light came into her eye, "One thing I love about Skyrim, they use a lot of wood to build." She gestured to the wooden supports scattered around the dungeon and beams above them that supported the floor overhead. "Wood burns. Open the hatch." Sigrunn stood and walked into the center of the room and looked up to the balcony area they had entered through.
In the meantime Kratos opened the trap door, ignoring the stares of the prisoners as he tore it free from its hinges, shattering the mechanism and casting the ruins aside. He looked over at Lydia and gave her a nod, "Lead them." She nodded and sat dangling her legs down the hatch. Kratos took her free hand and lowered her down before dropping her the last few feet. She quickly drew her sword and took stock of the cavern she had entered. It was clearly a natural tunnel, no evidence of toolwork that she could see. She looked back to see several torches scavenged from the dungeon fall through the open hatch.
Back in the dungeon, Kratos examined the prisoners. They were in poor condition. One, a bosmer woman, especially was shaking badly. He let out a deep breath, "Give me your hand." He held out one of his own enormous hands to her that she slowly took. He lowered her through the trap door as if she weighed nothing, which was nearly true given her time in the Thalmor dungeon. Quickly he lowered the other prisoner down into the tunnel knowing Lydia was more than capable of handling the situation.
Kratos was still crouched by the trap door to the tunnel and turned to look at Sigrunn. The footsteps were coming down into the basement area now. "If you are going to do something, do it." The dragonborn ceased her deep slow breaths and flashed him a hungry and sharp edged grin before looking back, taking on last deep inhale and shouting, "YOL TOR SHUL!" She held the last syllable of the shout, pouring a torrent of flame from her gaping mouth, the velocity of the blaze carried it up into the basement and further from there where the roar of the fire was accompanied by the screams of those suddenly caught up in it. She cast her head about pouring flames through the dungeon. The dragonfire, for that is truly what it was, latched onto anything and everything, hungry as a living thing.
The dragonborn turned back to Kratos, an almost manic smile on her face, her eyes shining from the blaze that surrounded her. She took a few shaky steps towards him before stumbling. She would have fallen had Kratos not swept her up. Sparing not a moment's attention for the inferno around them he ran back to the tunnel and immediately dropped through into the cool darkness. The cavern felt cold as ice after being in the oven that consumed itself above them. Kratos set the dragonborn down gently, "Are you well?"
She nodded slowly, breathing heavily from the heat and the exertion, "I will be fine. I just got a little carried away in there. Give me a minute."
Kratos straightened and looked down at her, "No. We must go now. Time is not our ally." Sigrunn glared up at him, but cut off her words when she saw his extended hand. With a sigh she took it and let him pull her to her feet. He looked at the two miserable prisoners in their rags and let out a heavy breath. "We go now." He locked eyes with Lydia. She would keep the train together and moving. "Lydia, rearguard." She responded with a quick salute with her sword. He glanced at the rest of them, "Follow." Kratos set off down the tunnel immediately, trailed by the prisoners and a grumbling dragonborn.
The tunnels were not easy to traverse and were certainly not pleasant. The ground was rough and uneven with innumerable small stones and outcroppings to catch and trip the unwary. There were also all of the bones and general effluvia that came from being the chosen dumping ground of the Aldmeri Dominion's torturers. This of course had also attracted… scavengers. Kratos had ranged far ahead of the group specifically for this purpose. He did not want to be forced to deal with the complications of a close quarters fight with multiple non-combatants in the area.
Despite the fact that they were not present for the event, the prisoners were rather unsettled when they came across the corpse of a troll that looked as if it had been bludgeoned to death with one of its own forcibly removed arms. This was, in fact, exactly what had happened. The tunnel was too in many places to use the greatsword he had brought along, so Kratos had resorted primarily to his fists.
Soon enough Kratos came to the end of the tunnel and stepped out into the frigid Skyrim night. He immediately doused his torch in the snow and took cover near the entrance of the tunnel. The stars were bright enough to provide sufficient illumination. He waited in silence until the others exited the tunnel. His voice cut through the still night air, "Put out the torches. They expose us." Lydia was already in the process of putting hers out and Sigrunn swiftly followed suit.
Kratos turned to Sigrunn, "Head south immediately. Get out of the mountains. Make your way from there. Do what you will with those two." He jerked his head in the direction of the prisoners. Kratos then began shucking off the heavy leather jerkin he was wearing, Lydia ignored it and approached Sigrunn catching her arm.
"What happened in there? Things seemed to be going well until…"
Sigrunn spat viciously to the side, "My potion gave out early. I thought it was off. Bastard sold me a watered down brew. Hides-His-Eyes is going to have to have to hide himself, because I am going to find that lizard and take this out of his scaly hide!" She let out a sigh that soon morphed into a grin as she looked westward. "Ha! See that glow over the ridge? I said I'd burn the place down." Lydia merely chuckled and shook her head.
Lydia looked back to Kratos and saw him handing his jerkin to the shivering woman. He stood bare-chested now, which was frankly more the norm than not. He went and snapped off several pine boughs and brought them back to Sigrunn, dropping them in front of her, "Drag those behind you to obscure your tracks. We will go east and leave a clear trail. Perhaps they will fall for a simple deception given an easy trail to follow."
The bosmer woman, now wrapped deep in the coat Kratos had given her, approached and laid a hand on his arm, "I just wanted to say thank you. For everything." She smiled tiredly and stepped back again.
Kratos nodded gently, "You are welcome." He looked to Lydia who nodded her own readiness, "And we must go." He gave the dragonborn a severe look, "Keep me informed."
Sigrunn grinned back, "I will. Promptly. My word on it." Kratos let out a rumble at that, conveying his lack of conviction. Wasting no more time Kratos and Lydia set off to the east at a quick pace, blasting through the snow and leaving a clear and broad trail behind them.
Onmund was frustrated. He was not pleased to have been assigned this week to the Saarthal excavation. He sighed, this was not what he had come to the college at Winterhold for. He came to learn magicka, to work with the fundamental forces of creation and eventually to become their master! He did not come to scratch at old rocks. "Ah but the history, Onmund, can't you feel it! And the elves with the blah, blah" he parodied Master Tolfdir's voice.
Onmund walked back into the same boring old room he had been cataloguing yesterday, carrying a box of files and writing implements. He set them down on a small folding table in the corner with a sigh and rubbed his face. Divines, this was just so boring. He caught a glow out of the corner of his eye and spun to face it. There in the floor, off to one side of the room, something was poking up out of the floor. Burning its way through would be a better description, it was melting the stones of the floor as it pushed its way up into the room.
Onmund approached slowly, cautiously to get a better look at what this was. It was some sort of strange blade… he did not recognize the workmanship. But the heat coming off the thing! Divines it was intense! And the aura that this was giving off… clearly it was something powerful. With that much heat and magic it was almost as if it was pushing its way in through oblivion itself. Onmund blanched at that thought. He was about to turn away when he saw a second point rising next to the first. Onmund shook his head and backed away slowly keeping his eyes on the strange objects slowly searing their way through the floor and quite possibly the fabric of reality.
Onmund stopped when he bumped into the rickety table, overturning all of his files. He paid them no mind but turned and bolted from the room yelling at the top of his lungs, "Tolfdir! Master Tolfdir!"
AN: Well I hope it was worth the wait. Things, as you can imagine, have been a little crazy recently. Work has just been a mess. Hopefully things will even out as we get a better handle on the whole virus situation or at least acclimate to a new normal.
Hope everyone out there is happy, healthy and that a new chapter can alleviate the cabin fever for a few minutes. I really appreciate you all taking the time to read and appreciate even more those who take the time to let me know what they think.
Stay safe everyone.
