Chapter Three

Kliftar regained consciousness slowly, like waking up from taking a longer nap than expected. After about a minute he began to notice his surroundings and himself. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a sitting position, with his hands bound by rope behind his back. He opened his eyes and saw nothing, so he knew that he was blindfolded. He almost gasped as he felt a sudden headache hit him like a hammer; whoever hit him over the head must have hit him hard.

Being an Argonian, lack of sight didn't cripple him as much as it would a Nord or Imperial. He took a deep breath through his nose, inhaling all of the scents of his surroundings. He smelled dampness and moss, so he gathered from this that they were in a cave. The smell of a fire as well as cooking meat hit him, as well as the smell of leather. The next smell he noticed was Marandurs scent, and it seemed to come from right next to him. He did his best not to smile; in a few seconds he determined their location and the location of Marandur.

Now he took another breath and did something that took a lot of training with Mahargo to master; he was going to pick out all of the enemies different scents to determine how many enemies there were. It could be as little as a different scent of armor, a certain item that gave a smell, even as little as the difference between who bathes more. It took him a few minutes, but he distinguished fourteen different scents; not good. That means that they were badly outnumbered.

He took in a deeper breath, but he couldn't smell outside or the breeze, so they must be a good distance away from the entrance of the cave. The more he figured out, the more he realized how bad their situation was. Who were these people? Why did they ambush them?

His thoughts were interrupted by someone grabbing his blindfold very roughly and tearing it off, making Kliftars head throb like a drum and pissing him off. His eyes quickly adjusted to the light, he saw the group that ambushed him. To his surprise, they were Stormcloaks; this only confused him more. What did the Stormcloaks want with him? He didn't even take part in the war.

One stepped forward and kneeled in front of Kliftar, taking their helmet off and revealing a human Nord, a woman at that. She had bright blue eyes and blonde hair. She would have had a pretty face, except for the evil looking scar running from the top of her right temple, all the way to the end of her jaw on the left side, taking a good chunk of her nose off. The war wasn't kind to her. She's the one here I have to watch out for.

She said nothing for awhile, just analyzing his face. He said nothing, analyzing her right back; She was very tall, easily six feet or taller. She had a huge battleaxe strapped to her back, and her arms looked muscular enough to swing it easily. Out of all races, Nord woman were the scariest when it came to one-on-one combat; you rarely hear about a Nord woman being raped or taken advantage of.

"Green scales and horns down the middle of your head. Are you Kliftar?"

He said nothing, keeping his expression as blank as he could. He wouldn't give her anything to use. But he didn't know that by not saying anything, he confirmed her question.

"And doesn't talk much. Yes, this is the Argonian I am looking for." The Nord said, and Kliftar felt a small pang of fear. Only someone who knew him could give her that information. Was he betrayed?

"Listen well lizard; I am Felina Broadhand. I am looking for the Dragonborn, and I have very accurate information that you are looking for him as well. Tell me all the information I desire, and you will get out of this alive."

Just then Kliftar heard Marandur stir, waking up. Kliftar did what he did best; He stayed silent, not saying a single word. Felina stared at him for a few seconds, and then smiled. "The Imperial was right; he isn't much for talking. That's ok; we have ways of making you talk lizard."

Felina stood up, walking over to the fire as Marandur started noticing her situation. "Kliftar? Are you there?"

Kliftar growled to confirm, and he heard Marandur sigh in relief. "That's good. After you fell off of the carriage, I worried for your life." She took a deep breath and hummed. Kliftar watched a blue aura shoot out from her, washing over the cave like a wave. Some of the Stormcloaks jumped at this, one even cursed, but judging by their lack of reaction to magic, they had seen plenty of it before.

"Fourteen enemies. Shit, we seem to be in a bad position Kliftar. Have they told you anything while I was out?"

She grasped the situation fast; she knew they were in trouble. He saw Felina looking at him, and he sighed, not wanting to answer. "They captured Thorin by the sounds of it. They want all we know about the Dragonborns location."

She laughed, crazy as always. "If they captured him, then they should know that we are just as clueless as they are." Kliftar admired her attempt, but Thorin would have told them anything if he was tortured, like how much information they had. And Stormcloaks were a very determined lot; they would torture Kliftar and Marandur until they died and not lose any sleep.

Felina grabbed a pot out of the fire and brought it over to them. He saw steam rising from it, and realized it was boiling water. This is going to be bad.

"I will ask you one more time lizard. What information do you know about the Dragonborn?"

Kliftar eyed the pot of water, debating whether to tell her or not; if they killed the Dragonborn, then it wouldn't be a loss for him. But he would have to betray the Thieves guild for it, and who knows what these freaks would do if they got their hands on them. So Kliftar hacked and spit a blob of snot, watching it hit her boots. All of the Stormcloaks went silent, but Felina smiled. She walked behind him, and he felt pain as she stomped on his tail, holding it in place.

"You were warned." She said, and began slowly pouring the boiling water out. It hit his tail, making a loud hissing noise and sending pain shooting throughout his tail as his tail cooked and sizzled. He did his best to be silent, but the pain finally got the better of him and he roared, growling and cursing while she poured the entire pot onto his tail. Even after the water was gone, his tail wouldn't stop screaming in pain, but he finally regained control of himself, enduring the pain silently besides his panting. Felina whistled, smiling, while Marandur tried to get out of her ropes, asking what was happening.

"You are a tough one lizard. Most men would be telling me everything by now." She took a deep breath and exhaled, laughing. "But your tail does smell delicious. Maybe I'll cut it off and cook it for my troops."

The rest of them laughed, but it died off quickly when Kliftar joined in. They went silent, but Kliftar kept laughing, tears streaming down his face. Even Marandur looked shocked at this.

"Cut off my tail?" He said after he stopped, smiling at her, showing his sharp teeth. "Go ahead; I hate the damn thing anyway. Eat it and choke on it bitch." He laughed again, completing the crazy look. Mahargo calls these moment 'when his crazy shows'. Of course, all of the members of the Dark Brotherhood were a little unstable; you have to be to kill anyone you're asked to, whether it is a woman or old man. But Kliftar could be considered the craziest one of them all, besides Jax; he just never really showed it. Kliftar didn't fear death at all; he saw it as an opportunity to meet Lord Sithis.

Felina looked at him differently, her smile gone. "This one is useless; he does not seem to fear death. We could do this all day and he would tell us nothing."

Kliftar smiled, glad she finally caught on. But while they were distracted by this, he was using his claws to slowly cut through the rope. He meant what he said, but he was smart as well as crazy. If he could somehow get his rope cut without being noticed, he could at least die fighting, not on his knees helpless. But to his horror he saw Felina turn her gaze to Marandur, smiling.

"If you will not talk, what about her?" Felina said, and he felt Marandur stiffen next to him. His eyes grew wide; he didn't know if Marandur could take it or not, and he didn't want her to get tortured in the first place. Felina smiled and went back to the fire. Marandur shook her head until the blindfold came off and she could see, and she looked pissed.

"Do what you want; I will not talk." She said, and Kliftar hoped this was more than a front. Felina didn't respond, but she grabbed something in the fire and pulled it out. Kliftar saw Marandur wince when she saw what it was; a sword that was put into the fire, apparently for a long time. The top half of the sword glowed orange, and Kliftar couldn't even guess how hot it was. He saw Marandur start sweating as Felina approached, her smile looking more like Kliftars now, a sneer. I can't let this happen. He kept clawing at his ropes, guessing he was about halfway through; not fast enough.

"Like the lizard, I will ask you once more." Felina said, kneeling down in front of Marandur, she lifted the sword next to Marandurs face, causing Marandur to flinch away from the heat. "What do you know about where the Dragonborn is hiding? Save yourself much pain; just answer me."

Marandur gulped, took a deep breath, and put on what Kliftar could describe as the most stubborn look she could muster. "Die and go to Oblivion, Stormcloak traitor."

Kliftar admired her courage, but Felina shook her head. "Fool, you are not prepared for this." And with no hesitation she pressed the full side of the blade against Marandurs face.

The smell of burning flesh hit his nose at the same time her scream hit his ears. She screamed as loud as she could, trying to mover her head away but Felina grabbed her hair with an iron grip, not letting her escape. Kliftar could only watch in horror until Felina ripped the blade away, burnt flesh clinging to the sword. Marandur slumped her head, her hair covering her face as she panted heavily.

"I'm so sorry Marandur." Kliftar said, feeling completely useless. He turned and glared at Felina, who still had that sneer across her face. "Enjoying this aren't you? Jealous because her face wasn't as monstrous as yours so you just had to try and change that? You ugly bitch" His anger was exploding, and he had then thought of standing up and rushing her. But with all of her comrades, he wouldn't even get to reach her, let alone do anything.

At hearing his words, Felinas sneer only grew wider, and she laughed, twirling the sword around. "Yes, you are right; I was jealous of her face. Well I'm not anymore." She kneeled in front of Marandur again, who had lifted her head up to glare at Felina. Kliftar winced at the horrible chunk of dead, burnt flesh on Marandurs face, and his anger only grew. He saw Felina slowly reach out with the sword, all of her attention on Marandur, and Kliftar couldn't contain his anger anymore; He lunged forward, hands still tied, and bit down on Felinas hand as hard as he could.

If you have never been bitten by an Argonian, then you don't know how bad it is; their teeth are as long as an alligators and they have a very strong bite force. Kliftar felt and tasted the blood that gushed into his mouth as his teeth went down until they hit bone. He expected Felina to scream in pain; she only hissed, pulling back and pointing the sword at his chest. At least I went down fighting.

But Marandur was waiting for this opening; her body glowed, and another wave of magic burst from her, but this time it hit the Stormcloaks like a wall, knocking all of them to the ground, including Felina. Kliftar let go and fell on his tail, which cause him to fall to the ground as well. Marandur jumped up, taking advantage if the moment. Her hands glowed brightly for a second, and then her ropes burnt up, releasing her hands. As quick as she could, she reached into her clothes a pulled out a small dagger. She cut Kliftars ropes just as the Stormcloaks were recovering, putting the knife in his hand and standing up. She raised her hands, electricity jumping from her body as she shot a lightning bolt from each hand, hitting two of them and most certainly killing one.

Kliftar also wasted no time; he jumped up to his feet and rushed the nearest guy. He raised his sword to block, but Kliftar spun around, hitting the weapon out of his hands with Kliftars tail. It hurt, but it left the Stormcloak open, letting Kliftar plunge his dagger into the mans throat, pulling it out and watching the blood spray as he dropped the dagger and picked up the now dead mans sword.

He looked up and saw as frightening Marandur surrounded by the three elements of destruction magic. With her hands free, Marandur is a powerful opponent, who was greatly gifted in magic. He saw Marandur sending spell after spell at the Stormcloaks, causing confusion and chaos, giving Kliftar and her the advantage for now. Kliftar roared, running at another stunned Stormcloak and stabbing at him. He parried it, but lost his footing and fell back. With a roar of victory, Kliftar stabbed down, sinking the blade as far as it would go into the mans chest and ripping it out, blood flying off of the sword.

He looked up just in time to see Felinas battleaxe coming down. He moved just in time, feeling the force from the axe as it swung down. He thought that would give him the advantage, but Felina quickly charged with her shoulder, catching him off guard and making him stumble backwards, giving her time to lift her axe back up. They circled each other, glaring; without a dagger he was at a slight disadvantage, but she had a much bigger weapon, so he should have the speed advantage.

Thinking this, he waited for her to attack. She circled a bit more, and then lunged forward, seeming to swing from the left. Just as he tensed up to counter, she spun, so fast he almost didn't see it, and swung from the opposite direction. The speed which she swung caught him by surprise, and all he could do was evade the blade and jump back, feeling his heart jump into his throat. If we continue, she will most likely win.

"You are not bad lizard; I've killed many men and women with that attack. But it's clear that you are unmatched. Just surrender and I wityll make your death quick."

He said nothing, lifting his sword and waiting. She was fast, but she was fast for the weapon she was using; with his smaller weapon, he should still be faster. He decided that the next move would be the last, and pointed his sword at her, ready.

She shook her head and lifted her axe, also getting ready. They stared each other down, both oblivious to what was happening around them, all focus on this final move. He waited for the slightest movement, even a twitch. She took a deep breath and moved. He moved the instant she did, lunging and thrusting his sword forward in perfect posture. If she had kept trying to attack, she would have taken the sword in the chest and died right there. But she was too experienced, and saw what he was doing.

She drew her arms in, swinging her axe up to block the blow. His sword hit her axe, and he almost cheered when he saw it fly from her hands. He drew back, ready to finish it, when he felt a blow land in his side, followed by sharp pain. He looked down and saw a dagger sticking out of his side, held by Felina. He thought he had disarmed her, but that wasn't the case; she willingly let go of the axe, moving to the side and pulling out a dagger while he was distracted. It was something only a veteran would be able to pull off, and she did it almost flawlessly.

But her blow was low and didn't finish him. With a roar, he brought the sword down, feeling it hit her other arm and sink in, cutting through skin and bone. Blood sprayed from her stump, but she made no sound; she simply jumped back, turning and fleeing while she could. She pulled the dagger out when she did, and he saw his blood spill out of the wound onto the floor. He went to follow her, but he lost the feeling in his legs and fell to one knee, surprised by how much the stab wound was affecting him. He growled and placed his hand over the wound. He started to concentrate, but was interrupted when he felt something hit him upside the head. He fell to the ground, nearly blacking out but holding on, his headache doubling in pain. He saw the Stormcloak get on top of him and raise an axe, ready to deliver the final blow.

He would have died then, but when the Stormcloak brought his hand down, his hand didn't come with; it was flying off in a different direction, and all he hit Kliftar with was blood. The Stormcloak looked at the stump dumbly, and then gurgled as a sword popped out of his chest, splattering Kliftar with even more blood. I'll definitely need to buy new armor and clothes.

The sword pulled out, and Kliftar watched as the Stormcloak fell sideways, revealing Marandur behind him, covered in blood and looking liked a god of war. Panting, she dropped the sword and slumped down, looking exhausted. He slowly got up and saw that she had killed everyone else and shuddered. Women are scary.

"Are you alright? Any other injuries?" He said, though his voice sounded weak. She shook her head, and he sighed in relief. He slowly crawled over to her and reached for her face. She turned away, but he grabbed her chin and turned her head back to him.

"What are you-"She began, but he growled, cutting her off, and closed his eyes, concentrating. It took a few seconds, but his hand began to glow a light blue, and her eyes widen as her face began to heal.

"I didn't know you knew magic." She said, amazed. He grunted. "I don't. I only learned this simple healing spell because I was injured once, and there was only one person with me. He wouldn't help; he only offered to teach me the spell, and I learned it to safe my life."

He finished up and looked at it. He was no mage, so it didn't heal completely and left a large nasty scar, but the wound itself was healed, so she was safe from infection and pain. "I did the best I could." He said, realizing his side was going numb. He placed his hand back over the wound, and healed himself as best he could. After he was done he sat there, panting, and felt Marandur lean her back against his.

"I'm amazed we are alive." She said, sounding as tired as he felt. He nodded and looked at his tail for the first time since the boiling water and flinched. His scaly skin looked almost cooked, and he knew if he didn't do anything it would get infected and have to be removed. He debated whether to let it happen then decided against it; if the infection spread to his body, it could kill him.

"I'm sorry about your tail." Marandur said, looking at it. "You already hated it before, and now it looks like I could take a bite out of it."

He chuckled softly. "It's fine. I can't hate it less. I'm sorry about your face."

She shook her head. "That wasn't your fault. Hell, even I didn't know you were that crazy." She went silent for a moment, and then said, "Does it look ugly?"

"No. You're still as pretty as always." He said, not good at compliments, but he relaxed when he heard her laugh. "Thanks for lying to me." They didn't say anything for a few minutes, then he felt her move and get more comfortable. "I'm tired. Is it ok if we stay like this for a bit?"

He chuckled. "We can stay here as long as you want. But Felina got away; if she brings back reinforcements, we would be in trouble."

She groaned, and slowly got up, holding out a hand to help him up as well. "If I see that bitch again I'll make her intestines explode while still inside of her." She said as he stood up, feeling like crap.

"I'll hold her down." He said, looking around. He found his weapons on a table and went to get them, feeling better with his sword belt back around his hips. He heard Marandur search the corpses for anything useful. As he stood there, he felt like he was forgetting something. He began to ponder about it, and then he saw a familiar sword and shield on the table, and his eyes grew wide as he remembered.

"Marandur, can you cast a spell to detect all life forms in this cave?"

She looked confused but nodded. "Then do it."

She didn't argue, and closed her eyes. This time a small red wave of magic pulsed from her, traveling all through the cave, then it came back to her. She opened her eyes. "There is one more person here, farther in then cave."

That was all he needed to hear. He walked into the cave, a confused Marandur at his heels. He smelled Thorin before he saw him, and knew it wasn't going to be pretty. When they came around a corner they saw him, locked up in a small cage. Kliftar walked over to the cage and almost flinched at what he saw.

Thorin, unlike them, was all alone, and got the brunt of the torture. His entire face was swollen and bloody, as well as their being burn marks and deep cuts all over his body. He raised his head when he heard them, and chuckled when he saw who it was.

"They managed to catch you, and you killed them. What are you Kliftar?" For someone who was tortured and beat, he sure seemed able to talk just fine. Kliftar drew his sword, breaking the lock to the cage and helping Thorin out. "It was actually Marandur that killed most of them. All I managed to do is get stabbed."

Thorin laughed as he tried to stand up, failing and having to be held up by Kliftar. "Well, did you two manage to kill that Felina bitch at least?"

They both just shook his head, and Thorin sighed. "Well, it could be worse. We could all be dead and this little group could have information they don't need. I have a feeling this won't be the last time she is a problem."

For once, Kliftar agreed.