Chapter CVII – A Way Out

The journey down the mountain was always much more pleasant than up. And it was especially true when Bishop and Aeyrin weren't actually planning on staying at the monastery.

It was still reasonably early when Paarthurnax flew off to stretch his wings and since they got what they needed, they headed back down, first to pick up Karnwyr back at the monastery courtyard, and then back to Ivarstead for the night. It was the only night they should stay. Any longer might have been too dangerous again. Two nights. That was their limit for staying in a settlement. And one night only in one campsite in the wilderness. It was exhausting. It wasn't that much different from their usual pace, but it was exhausting just because they knew they had to take these precautions.

But there was nothing they could do about it. Every time, the Brotherhood had Bishop either hopelessly unarmed or outmatched. They knew what they were doing. And he clearly still wasn't on their kill list. Did they seriously still want to recruit him? After all this?

It was a mystery, but one that neither of them actually wanted to know the answer to.

Before they returned to the inn, they left the sack full of the magic snow by the local mailbox, along with a letter for Quintus. The sack couldn't actually fit in the box and Bishop was always nervous about sending out packages through these boxes, or even worse, leaving them right outside of them. Anyone could steal that shit. It was safer to catch a courier somewhere and send the package with them. But then it occurred to him that all that was in the sack was actually snow. Who the fuck would steal snow in the middle of winter? Who would steal snow any season? Nobody would ever recognize that something was strange about it, not when it wasn't all glistening at the top of that peak. It was probably safe there.

Besides, a courier was gonna pick everything up early in the morning. He wasn't sure how the entire service worked, but everyone knew that the boxes get emptied out each morning.

They headed straight to the inn right after. It was always fairly busy there in the evening. Apparently there were a lot of pilgrims again, as usual. Some of them actually gawked at Aeyrin with their mouths ajar, as if she was some kind of Divine revelation around that mountain. It used to be much more comfortable in this place when nobody knew who the Dragonborn was and what they looked like.

But fortunately, nobody bothered them and the pilgrims went back to their business soon enough. The two of them were free to grab a table in a secluded corner and wait for Lynly to make her way to them.

"Hi! You're back early," the barmaid chirped as she finally got a chance to stop by their table, after serving several other patrons.

"Better down here than with the fossils up there," Bishop smirked, eliciting a brief chuckle from Lynly.

"Lynly, do you still have that horker steak I had last night? That was so good," Aeyrin gave her an eager look. The idea of a delicious dinner kept her spirits up all the way down the mountain.

"Hold on," Lynly chuckled again. "Before you two swarm me with your food orders, I have something for you. A courier came by while you were in the monastery. It was addressed to the both of you." She reached to her apron string and pulled out a folded paper hidden between the pages of her small notepad.

Another letter? They were getting popular. It was unusual that it was addressed to the both of them though.

"Go on already, read it," Lynly smiled when she noticed their instant curiosity. "I'll get you some drinks in the meantime and we'll talk food later."

The letter was sealed, but the symbol on it was not one that either of them recognized. It was a diamond with an eye inside it and three long spikes.

But without any further clues, there was nothing left to do but tear open the envelope and see what the letter was about:

.

Greetings,

I hope this letter finds you well and most of all, that it finds you safe. I am writing to you as a representative of Penitus Oculatus and the unit stationed in Skyrim. We have been called recently into the Pale for an investigation of an incident. The incident involved a disturbance of an unspecified nature and a theft of private property, namely a carriage and a horse. These items have since been reclaimed by the owner, nevertheless, the criminal deed has been done. My unit has, however, uncovered some other evidence which was of great interest to us and much more important than the theft. In other words, we may be able to assist each other. The charges by the Pale Hold have been cleared as a courtesy and a sign of goodwill. Please, come to Dragon Bridge at your earliest convenience, to the Penitus Oculatus outpost. We have much to discuss.

Commander Acilus Maro

.

Bishop and Aeyrin shared a disturbed look when they were both done reading. Neither of them even thought about the fact that they have stolen something in quite a plain sight. While they were running from invisible assassins. That would be hard to explain.

But it looked like they didn't need to. Someone took care of the charges.

"Penitus Oculatus? Ever heard of them?" Bishop scowled. He had no idea what to think of this. Why would these people be called to investigate the disturbance? And why would they help the 'criminals' like this? It sounded so fucking fishy.

"Well… I think so… it rings a bell," Aeyrin pondered. It did sound a bit familiar. She had no idea who they were though.

"Sounds Imperial as fuck," Bishop scoffed. The name just screamed 'proud Imperial tin-cans'.

"Yeah," Aeyrin chuckled a bit. "I definitely heard it back in Cyrodiil. I don't really remember anything about them though," she scowled a second later.

"Well, my point is: why the fuck would some Imperial contingent or something be called into the Pale for an investigation? The Pale is under Stormcloak control. Imperials don't just walk into Dawnstar, do they? Especially not there. Apparently the Jarl really hates their guts. I heard as much at least," Bishop shrugged.

"It is odd…" Aeyrin kept scowling as she pondered on the words in the letter. "He does say that we can assist each other though."

"Yeah. The Empire fucking loves to spin shit like that," Bishop scoffed. "Tullius wants to just 'help' you too, right? They help us with some fucking tiny crime that would barely cost us a fraction of what we just got from Quintus and they will demand something a thousand times worse." It was typical. That's how the Empire always leveraged shit. This was probably just one of Tullius's games.

"They already took care of the crime though," Aeyrin shook her head. "I think this Maro was talking about something else."

"Like what?" Bishop scoffed.

"I don't know. They investigated what happened. Maybe they know what happened," she couldn't help but feel strangely hopeful at that thought. That Maro guy said that they could 'help each other'. Who wouldn't get hopeful at that?

"You think they found out that invisible assassins were chasing us?" Bishop scoffed a bit, but just as he said it, it suddenly didn't sound so impossible.

"It was pretty public, even if they were invisible," Aeyrin murmured.

"There must have been footprints. And the darts would turn visible eventually too. There must have been more than what hit me. People at the inn saw me leave with that man too…" he was thinking aloud as he tried to recall everything that happened then. The Brotherhood got fairly sloppy in their desperate chase. But did they? They probably didn't really care about shit like this. As long as nobody caught them in the act, nobody could link their faces to the deeds. Gabriella was the same way. She knew Bishop wouldn't rat out her name or likeness for his own sake and protection and she never needed to worry about him saying that someone held him at knifepoint. Not when nobody knew it was her.

Could these Imperials really have found out what happened? And more importantly, did they really want to help?

"Here," a cheery voice interrupted their pondering as Lynly came back and placed two tankards of mead on their table. "Good news, I hope," she smirked at them when she saw them still holding the letter.

"Maybe," Aeyrin murmured before she thought to actually ask. There was really no reason not to, was there? "Lynly, have you ever heard of the Penitus Oculatus?"

"What?" Lynly chuckled. "Is that some kind of Imperial insult or something? It sounds like it."

"Heh… I guess it does a little," Aeyrin gave her a wry smile. She wasn't sure what she was expecting. But Lynly met so many different people every day, travelers from all over, coming for the pilgrimage up the seven thousand steps. She could have known more.

"I've never been further than Whiterun. I really don't know much about Imperial stuff," Lynly shrugged. "And people here are mostly from religious orders. Though maybe that thing you said is one too?"

"I don't know, actually," Aeyrin shrugged as well. She just couldn't place that name.

"Sounds more military," Bishop interjected.

"Why?" Aeyrin raised her brow at him. How did a name sound military?

"I don't know. Everything named like this is some fucking special military unit in the Empire. They just want it to sound impressive, even though it's just full of the same tin-walkers that don't know which way to put on a helmet."

Lynly let out a hearty laugh at Bishop's assessment and Aeyrin cracked a smile too. Still, she couldn't help but be hopeful and intrigued. What if they could help with this Brotherhood mess? They needed help. She didn't want to keep living like this.

"I'll be sure to let you know if one of these Penisus people comes by the inn," Lynly smirked. "But I'm not nearly as worldly as a real bard should be, sorry." Her smile turned more wry and a bit bashful in a moment.

"That could change," Bishop looked at her thoughtfully. "Why are you still here? Sibbi's gone. You can go back to Riften. Or you can go anywhere."

"I… I know," Lynly started to play with her apron nervously. "I thought about it. It's… tempting, sometimes. Terrifying other times. I know it's a small place and not much happens here, but… I just… I haven't felt safe anywhere for a long time. But here, it was a little better. I could at least sleep at night. I guess… it grew on me. Even more now that I can leave. I don't need to stay. I choose to stay. There really isn't anything out there for Svidi to return to. But Lynly has a nice life here." Her face brightened a little, but she looked down on her apron promptly again. "I don't know, it's probably stupid of me."

"It's not," Aeyrin shook her head at Lynly right away. "A place to feel safe… it's important. You need to hold onto it when you find it." She wished that there was such a place for her and Bishop. She always felt a little safer in his arms, but still, it wasn't the same. It wasn't like it used to be. Not lately. Not with so many threats around.

"Yeah, do whatever the fuck you want now. That's the point of freedom, right?" Bishop smirked at her.

"Right," Lynly smiled brightly. "I still can't believe it. I knew that Sibbi had a lot of enemies and I can't pretend I haven't been fantasizing about his death like every second of every day. I just… it still feels like a dream."

It did feel a little like a dream. It caused all this. That damn Sibbi was the reason for why the Brotherhood was hunting Bishop. Lynly got her freedom that day. They got to live this nightmare in turn.

"When I got the letter from my friend, saying that Sibbi went missing," Lynly started to whisper, letting the sounds of the tavern almost drown her words out. "I thought you killed him for me," she looked at Aeyrin intently. "Like the Gods have sent you here to save me."

"What?! Lynly, I didn't…" Aeyrin gasped as she tried to quickly dispute that. This was kind of what she was worried about.

"I know!" Lynly chuckled. "I know you didn't kill him. I knew right away when you wrote me that letter. You sounded as shocked as I was in it."

Good. The letter was convincing. They did try really hard to make it convincing.

"Still… I actually thought that for a while," Lynly smiled a bit. "And don't give me that horrified look. It made me happy. Scum like Sibbi should end up dead."

"Hear, hear," Bishop smirked. At least some good came from that. Well… it wasn't the only good thing that came from that. Maven's support, the cottage, and ultimately even Mercer's death. All of this happened like it did because Bishop killed Sibbi. He just wished that this didn't include the fucking Brotherhood.

"Right," Lynly chirped again before she reached for her notepad once more, this time along with a small piece of charcoal. "So… horker loaf?" She looked at Aeyrin briefly, earning an eager nod from her, before she turned towards Bishop.

"Same," he nodded. Aeyrin seemed to enjoy it almost as much as his own food last night. He needed to see what the fuss was about and possibly identify the tricks so that he could make it like that for her in the future.

Lynly smiled and turned on her heel again. She still looked so happy, so relieved all the time. It was heartwarming to see.

"So…" Bishop leaned on his elbows on the table when Lynly was out of earshot and nobody was paying attention to them. "Penitus Oculatus. What do we do?"

"We talk to them?" Aeyrin looked at him almost in surprise at that question. "Don't you want to? Don't you want to know if they actually know?"

"I do," Bishop let out a resigned sigh. "And I especially want to know if they can actually 'help'. I'm just not really used to getting help from Imperial… whatevers. You know what I mean. These orders, military groups, they all feel the same. Just manipulative to get to their own agendas."

"Maybe we have the same agenda," Aeyrin gave him an encouraging smile. If these people wanted to stop the Dark Brotherhood, they definitely had the same goals.

"Maybe," Bishop nodded. He wasn't convinced, but they couldn't just ignore this. It was too tempting to think that this may actually help. That this may eventually be a way out.

But he shouldn't start fantasizing about outlandish concepts like freedom and safety too soon.

"Dragon Bridge, huh?" he scoffed. "We were just there."

"I know," Aeyrin groaned. "And the same route again." Once more through the Pale and Hjaalmarch. She felt like she knew the northern road by heart by now. Especially in the last few weeks. It felt like they'd been going back and forth on that very road all the time.

"Yeah… let's not," Bishop gave her a determined nod. "Let's go through Whiterun."

"What? Bishop!" she hissed at him quietly.

"Sweetheart, I've been there before, you know?" he scoffed. "Look, we wanted to get supplies in Riften, but that's out of the way now. We barely have enough to last until Dawnstar. Barely. And that's if we don't stop anywhere. And I don't know about you, but I don't feel like traipsing across that town again right now."

"Fine," Aeyrin sighed after what felt like a long moment of silence. "But you're gonna wait somewhere safe while I get our supplies. And…"

"No," Bishop scowled. "I don't wanna wait outside anymore. I can get in. I'm careful, sweetness. You think I want to get my head chopped off? But I'm… I'm fucking tired of this shit." And besides, he would feel much safer at night in a house with three other people and a wolf than alone in the wilderness. He knew how to get inside the city, he had done that twice already. It worked flawlessly and it would work even smoother now when Aeyrin would be there ahead of time and could leave a window open for him.

"Are you sure? We can get supplies elsewhere. We can go through Falkreath even," Aeyrin gave him a concerned look. She didn't really want to go through Falkreath, but it was better than having Bishop in such danger.

"I am sure. And we haven't seen Lydia and Saadia in a while." That wasn't exactly true for him, but that was a secret. And he did promise them that he and Aeyrin would stop by sometimes. He wanted to stop by. He fucking hated that bounty. "We'll stay a night, two at the most. I promise, I won't step outside the entire time, alright?"

"Alright," Aeyrin grumbled a little. "Anyone tries to arrest you though, I'm Shouting them to pieces. We'll both be fugitives then."

"Deal," Bishop grinned. Her concern was touching but hardly necessary. He knew how to avoid guards. He knew how to avoid notice.

And he had far scarier things after him anyway.

…

"So… you really think this is safe to do here?"

Aeyrin chuckled as she squirmed on the bedroll a little. She was completely enveloped by darkness. It was not only that the secluded clearing of Guldun Rock – a large giant camp – was very dark. They have chosen this place specifically for that purpose. The proximity of the giants' fires ensured their safety and drew eyes away from their tiny campfire in the distance. And the creatures themselves provided quite good protection, should anyone try to approach. At least in theory.

But she was also deprived of the faint lights of the distant fires, their own dwindling flame, and the moons and stars because of the cloth draped snugly over her eyes.

"No less safe than we already are, love," Bishop chuckled, letting his hot breath tickle her neck temptingly.

"You're leaving me all helpless here," she couldn't help but snicker again as a shiver ran down her spine. She wasn't sure if Bishop had suggested the blindfold because of what she said back in their camp by River Hjaal. Maybe it got into his head a little too – the whole 'adventurous' thing. She never meant for him to dwell on it, it was never meant as her complaining. Gods knew that he was plenty 'adventurous' for her. She only worried that she wasn't for him.

But whatever the case was, she was certainly not complaining about the results.

The cold night air was prickling her bare skin and the only source of warmth for her was the heat of Bishop's body so temptingly near her own. She was lying on the bedroll practically motionless, only trying to concentrate on anything giving her hints of where he was and what he was doing. She knew that he was right next to her, but he wasn't touching her at all. The goose bumps all over her flesh practically begged to be warmed by him, but he still kept her in constant anticipation.

"First of all," Bishop's breath tickled the side of her neck again. It only made her shiver even more. "I am not 'leaving' you. Not for a single second." She only briefly felt him move, the heat of his skin shifting by her side, before she felt a soft touch of his fingers on her lower lip.

"And second," his breath warmed her again and his digits began slowly running over her lip. "When have you ever been 'helpless'?"

That was a tough question. She had felt helpless a lot of times before, even if she wasn't entirely. But definitely not now. Never with Bishop around.

She flicked her tongue teasingly over the tips of his fingers. Once, twice, before he pressed on her lip, urging her to open her mouth. She enveloped his fingers within a second, suckling gently on them before he pressed them a little further into her mouth, sliding them along her tongue.

She could feel his breath on her neck and jaw gradually quicken as he began to move his digits along her tongue. It was so thrilling. She couldn't see a thing, but feeling the effect every motion of her tongue had on him sent jolts of warmth through her core.

He continued that for a while, playing with her tongue, before he pressed his body to hers at last. She felt his heated skin touch the side of her arm, her flank, her thigh. And she felt his already hard cock poking into her hip, rubbing against her and pressing against her flesh.

She moved her hand to him almost instinctively. She began slowly rubbing over his bicep, squeezing him, but she didn't wait long before she moved her hand down along his arm, over his side and hip and towards his groin. All through that she never stopped teasing his fingers with her tongue eagerly.

But just before she could finally touch his hardness, Bishop's hand suddenly withdrew from her face and grabbed her by the wrist instead, stilling her motion. He let her go a second later, but his entire body moved away from her quickly. No more heat next to her, no touch of his rough fingers on her lips, no breath on her neck.

She let out a disappointed whine at the lack of his presence, but she earned only a chuckle in return.

"Patience, love." His voice rang from somewhere by her feet now.

Her body tensed in excited anticipation. She could barely tell where he was by his voice. He was still wearing his muffling ring so she couldn't even hear him shifting around. He could be practically anywhere by now. It was so thrilling, just waiting, uncertain where he was, where he would touch her, what he would do. And she knew that, because of that, every touch would feel all the more intense when it finally happened.

But nothing did.

Bishop didn't touch her. There was no sound anywhere around her. She couldn't help but feel her stomach clench at that. He said he wouldn't leave her even for a second, didn't he?

"What are you doing?" She couldn't hide the uncertain tone from her voice.

"Looking."

She squirmed at his words, suddenly feeling very scrutinized, exposed like that, completely naked and blindfolded. It didn't feel like unpleasant scrutiny, however. Not like it ordinarily would. Whenever she knew it was just him looking at her, she only felt more excited and thrilled.

"You look so fucking perfect like this," Bishop's voice was hushed, almost a whisper.

"All yours?" Aeyrin smirked at him.

"All mine." The pleased tone was hard not to recognize.

There was silence again after that, but a second later, she suddenly felt his warm hand on her breast, gently caressing her. The feel of his calloused palm against her hardened nipple sent a jolt through her body and she instinctively arched her back, leaning into his touch.

His caresses turned into more eager gropes and squeezes soon enough and only a few seconds later, she felt the heat of his body above her and his breath on her other breast. His tongue licked languidly from the bottom of her breast, up towards her nipple. He took it into his mouth eagerly, sliding his tongue around it and sucking gently, much like she had with his fingers before.

Aeyrin let out a low moan at the sensations. Suddenly she could feel no more cold anywhere on her body, despite the constant freezing air. It was like he had enveloped her entirely.

Her hands moved to his back and began raking her fingernails through his skin. Everything felt much more vivid in the darkness. The only sounds around were the sighs she continued to let out and the occasional sound of his lips on her skin.

One of her hands tangled in his hair, gripping firmly, but the other kept raking across his back. She loved that feeling. Whenever she dug her nails into him, he always reacted. His body pressed to hers more firmly, he nipped at her breast or squeezed a bit more roughly. It was like a magic trigger to spur him on. And it seemed to be really effective especially when she raked her nails really hard. Bishop's back arched and she could practically feel the jolt that shot through his spine.

But much to her disappointment, right after that, he withdrew from her completely again. The cold air assaulted her once more and she was left completely exposed to it, shivering from multiple reasons. So tantalizingly frustrating. She felt around with her hands for a bit, but she didn't find him by touch anywhere. She still couldn't hear a thing from him.

She expected to hear at least a chuckle at her fruitless search, but it was like he disappeared altogether. Once more, she couldn't help but get a little anxious. It was an odd feeling just then – not exactly unpleasant. It was the anticipation. She almost felt like she should hold her breath.

Maybe she should have. She spent only a minute in that state of constant suspense before she felt his breath on her again. This time much lower.

She barely had the time to let out a gasp of surprise before she felt him slide his hands under her buttocks and yank her towards his mouth. His tongue teased around her folds only briefly. Fortunately he didn't seem to be so intent on frustrating her right now. He pressed his tongue against her clit only a few seconds later, teasing her relentlessly.

The moan she let out when his tongue moved lower and entered inside her echoed through the area, bouncing off the mountains behind their camp. That got her a little freaked out. She didn't mean to be so loud. They still always needed to be careful. It wasn't just because of the giants nearby and the possibility of a Brotherhood ambush. They were technically in Whiterun Hold already. But… no guard patrol would probably go investigate some distant moans behind a giant camp. It was still too loud though.

She pursed her lips inwards, biting a little onto them as she only let muffled moans and whimpers escape her now. Bishop was usually all too eager to stop her from silencing herself, but this time he didn't. Maybe he was wary too. And he did still seem to enjoy even the less audible sounds from her. Every time a moan got a little lower, a little longer, he seemed to practically redouble his efforts, licking her and gripping her buttocks with even more vigor.

She was getting close and she knew that he could tell. Her body felt so tense, clenched in anticipation constantly as he continued to tease her, to probe her with his tongue and dig into her flesh with his fingers. Her hands darted towards him, intent on gripping his hair as if for stability when she felt like her whole body shook with the tension, but before she could reach out, suddenly, everything stopped again.

Aeyrin let out a loud gasp when both his tongue and his touch left her entirely. She flailed her arms, but he was gone again. Without his breath on her, his hands on her. It always caught her off-guard. And especially now. She couldn't see what he was doing and she needed him to be doing anything but staying away from her.

She was sure that he was enjoying himself immensely, watching her so flustered. It was part of the fun though.

Luckily she didn't have to wait for long before she could feel him again, hovering around her, over her. The warmth of the air around was the only thing alerting her to his presence. Then, she felt one of his fingers on her lower lip again.

"Open up, princess." She could practically hear that lascivious smirk in his voice.

"What?" she scoffed, still panting a little from her denied climax. "You don't even… finish what you started and now I'm supposed to…" she snickered through her heavy breaths. Not that she really minded – she just really wanted him to touch her again too. She suddenly felt so cold, especially below her waist. Although there was something kind of pleasant about the freezing air caressing her exposed and heated skin.

"Yeah, aren't I just the worst?" Bishop let out a hearty chuckle in response. "You're gonna have to convince me to be nicer somehow."

She scoffed again, but she did open her lips for him rather eagerly. Oh she would convince him. The minute she felt the tip of his cock prod against her lips, she enveloped it and began to swirl her tongue around the head, licking in languid circles and strokes. Her hands didn't stay idle either as she reached out with one to stroke his shaft and the other to press onto his back. Soon enough, her fingernails dug into his skin again. She almost felt like the groan of pleasure he let out at the scratching was louder than the one that escaped his lips when she took him in her mouth.

Either way though, he was definitely enjoying the treatment. She only stroked his cock for a little while before she moved that hand to his balls to gently fondle them. And instead, she took him a little deeper into her mouth, still swirling and moving her tongue over him however she could. He didn't even move to thrust into her and neither did she start bobbing her head on his cock. She just continued playing with him with her mouth and fingers. She loved how his groans continued to turn more and more strained.

"Hnng, fuck, harder," Bishop growled through gritted teeth. "The nails. Harder."

She didn't need to be told twice. She always felt so giddy whenever he made it that obvious that he was enjoying whatever it was she was doing to him. No wonder he always wanted her to be loud – it was exhilarating. She dug her nails into his skin and made a long scratch all over his spine. Bishop's groan of pleasure was the only response she got. She expected him to lose control just then – he sounded like he would, at least – and she expected him to start thrusting against her, chasing his release.

But instead, he withdrew once more. She let out another gasp of surprise as she felt him grab her wrist to pull her hand away from his crotch and move away until his cock slipped out of her mouth. Her nails dug into his skin didn't stop him either.

"Fuck," Bishop let out a strained sigh. "No more teasing." He sounded even more frustrated now then she felt.

She still couldn't see, but she expected his next move. It was odd that it still caught her off guard when she felt herself be yanked by her hip and practically impaled on his cock. But the surprise made it better. Her gasp rang through the clearing again, only accompanied by Bishop's groan of pleasure.

The pace was fast and the movements were rough right from the start. Both of them were overdue for some release. Aeyrin promptly returned her hands to his back while her legs wrapped around his waist. She tried to meet his movements, but sometimes she couldn't even keep up with him. As the pace got more and more frantic, so did the knot in her core, begging to be unfurled.

They finally fell over the edge together. Or at least it felt like it. Timing got confusing with those overwhelming feelings enveloping both their bodies. It was like a moment outside of reality and they awoke from it only after it was over, lying against each other, still panting.

Aeyrin did move her hand to her blindfold as soon as she could rouse herself from the climax though. She wanted to see now. She needed to see. There was nothing she loved more in these moments than the satisfied smile on Bishop's face.

It was such a heartwarming contrast to the usual creases of worries.

She just wanted to enjoy it as long as she could.

Before the real world caught up with them again.