A/N: technically not a year since the last update but can you blame me? 2 virus attacks and a hardrive failure.
tw: blood, gore near the end of the chapter
As the first rays of sunlight hit the trees, Lydia ran.
With head pounding still from the previous assault, legs burning from over exertion, shoulders holding up her injured cargo, she ran. Past the farms, past the lake, dodging wolves and spiders that went after her and she dared not stop until she reached the gate of the city. Lydia sprinted up the hill and felt relief come over her when she saw gates of Riften and a pair of guards wearing the colors of the Rift only a few yards away. She expected them to throw open the gates, to protect her from the creatures on her heels, to help out in someway. Instead one of the guards, the one without a mask, stepped forward with a hand held out.
"Hello traveler. Welcome to Riften. Unfortunately I can't let just anyone inside. If you want to get in you need to pay the traveler's fee."
The guard chuckled at the shock on Lydia's face while his partner rolled his eyes. Her reaction told the guards all they needed to know: She was visitor, she was in trouble and thus the perfect mark for their scheme.
But instead of receiving payment in Septims, Lydia pointed the tip of her sword at his throat. "You are going to let me into the city, you're going to tell me where can I find a healer," she stated through clenched teeth, "And you are not going to follow me or I'll make sure your family line ends with you."
The mask-less guard blanched, caught by surprise by the blade near his throat. His stunned silence caused Lydia to press the sword harder against his throat. The pained yelp spurred his partner into action. The masked man had his mace out but made no move towards them. "Go to the temple. Straight ahead and to the right. You'll see Mara's banners."
"Bikan. What are you doing? Arrest her! Call for the others!"
"Shut up Iken! I'm trying to save your thieving ass," said Bikan, "Knew your scheme would fall flat sooner or later."
He walked to the gates massive doors and pulled it open granting the Nord entrance to the city. She nodded, removed her blade from the other's throat and ran into the city. Lydia followed the instructions, ignoring the looks of the cityfolk as she continued until she saw the red banners of Mara. As she entered the temple's courtyard, a priest looked up from sweeping the steps and began to greet her.
"Welcome, traveler, to the Temple of-"
Lydia cut the man's greeting short, struggling to keep the unconscious Khajiit steady. "I need a healer now or this woman will die!"
Noticing the moaning figure on the Nord's shoulder, he snapped into action, dropping his broom when Lydia took another step. "Quickly, follow me!"
He scurried down the steps, with Lydia close behind, and pushed a side door open. She followed the priest down the dark winding halls until they reached a big room with a table littered with tools and potions. A woman was sitting down on a nearby bench, startled by the intrusion.
She rose turning her attention to the male priest, "Briehl, it is too early…"
"Get Maramal now!" Briehl yelled.
The woman immediately left the room as the priest cleared off the table. Once it was clear, he helped Lydia get M'rasha on the table. The Betmer was not in good shape. Her breathing was shallow and uneven. Her eyes, normally a bright gold, were cloudy, unfocused and strange. When Briehl approached the table, Lydia notice the small iron dagger in his hand and immediately pointed her sword at him.
"Be calm friend. I'm only going to check the wound," Briehl calmly stated. Lydia kept her sword trained on him, ready to lunge if he tried anything. He began carefully cutting away the robe until he was able to peel it back and lift her tunic.
"Poison." Lydia opened her mouth to ask what she could do when she heard another door open and even more people entered the room. Front and center was, who Lydia guessed, the head priest. He was a Redguard, slightly older than her from the grey at his temples.
"What happened Briehl," he asked.
"Woman brought her in," Briehl pointed at Lydia, "Looks like a poison blade got to her. Wound looks deep."
Maramal approached the table. As soon as he looked at the Betmer he let out a soft gasp. M'rasha turned her head to the priest and weakly raised her arm as if to reach out to him but then dropped it. The thump of her arm against the table brought the head priest out of shock and he began yelling orders to the others.
"Dinya, get me a bucket of water. Briehl, there are some wrappings in my room in the dresser on the left. Check the second drawer for a health potion and poison antidote and be quick about it. Alessandra keep watch upstairs. If anyone comes for me tell them I am busy and not be disturbed." He turned his attention to Lydia. "What's your name Nord?"
"Lydia."
"Lydia, help push your friend up so we can get this robe off." Lydia nodded, shucking off her heavy gauntlets and climbing onto the table near the Betmer's head. She gingerly pushed the woman into a sitting position while Maramal got to work taking the remains of the robe off. The tunic M'rasha wore under it was stained red at her stomach. The head priest pushed the shirt up, revealing the nasty wound just as the others came back with the requested items.
Using a clean rag Maramal dunked it into the water and cleaned the blood off of the wound. Then he grabbed the antidote and poured half of the liquid down the woman's throat rubbing on the front of her neck to make sure she swallowed.
"OK. Lay her back down. And press her shoulders down." Lydia was confused but did as she was told.
She watched Maramal take a deep breath and poured out the rest of the contents directly onto the wound. The effect was instantaneous. The poison in the wound began to bubble and burn away and Lydia found herself fighting to keep down a hissing, screaming Khajiit. Somehow M'rasha was able to wiggle herself out of Lydia's hold and smashed her head into the Nord's. As Lydia rolled off the table clutching her injured head, M'rasha sat up and scratched at Maramal, catching him across the chin. The priest backed away and the others leapt to restrain the Khajiit but M'rasha had moved onto her knees and was swiping at anyone who got close, eyes darting back and forth. She turned to Maramal and yelled in a tongue that Lydia didn't know.
The Redguard, bleeding slightly, put his hands up. "M'rasha! Look at me! I'm not your enemy."
She looked at the priest, breathing hard. There was a look of recognition in her eyes for a split second. "Are we safe," she asked.
"We are. You have nothing to fear M'rasha. These priests work for me. And Lydia works for you, remember?" He glanced at the other in the room as they stood warily. "She's delusional from the poison."
"Maramal." The Redguard turned back to the Khajiit, still kneeling on the table and wrapped around herself. She looked lost and confused, so different from the confident sarcastic Thane Lydia knew. "Where's Kjerns," the Betmer asked, "Please tell me that he's not-"
"He's alive and safe. He had to go back to Cyrodiil. You on the other hand took a poison dagger to the stomach. I need to finish cleaning the wound and you need to rest. I'll watch over you."
M'rasha looked hesitant but nodded. She moved to the edge of the table and sat down letting her legs hang.
"Good. Briehl, Dinya. Can you get two cots from the storage room and set them up in the room next door. We're almost done."
The priests left the room and Maramal approached M'rasha who lifted her shirt. He placed more of the antidote the wound and quickly dressed the wound. Lydia let out a sigh and felt her shoulders sag. With that crises averted all she wanted was a flagon of ale and to sleep for a day.
"That should do it. Just drink the potion and you should be back to normal by tomorrow morning."
M'rasha took the remnants of the antidote and drank it, cringing at the taste.
"Many thanks Maramal. Now then." M'rasha struck quick, reaching forward to grab the dagger hanging off his side. She wrapped her legs around Maramal's waist cutting off his escape. He froze feeling the blade against his neck. "Why are you lying to me?"
Lydia eyes widened and moved towards the table. But stopped when Maramal let out a gasp. M'rasha quickly glanced at Lydia, "Another step and we see how high his blood goes, Nord."
"M'rasha have you've gone completely mad?" Lydia asked as she moved back.
"She's been hit with a frenzy potion," Maramal stated, leaning his neck away from the blade but the Khajiit pressed harder.
"I hoped the Thalmor paid you well."
"They're aren't any Thalmor here. You're among friends."
"Maramal!" Briehl had returned but Lydia held him back.
"Liar! Tell me who runs this operation and I may-"
M'rasha's body jerked slightly mid-threat and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She slumped forward onto Maramal, the dagger slipping from her grasp and falling onto the ground. Behind her, on the other side of the table stood Dinya, shovel in her hands.
"I didn't see any other way."
Maramal removed himself from the Betmer. "I'm glad you came in when you did." He pushed M'rasha's limp body onto the table.
"What will we do now," Briehl asked.
"I don't know what the severity of the frenzy potion is. So it's best if we restrain her." He picked up the dagger and placed it back in its sheath. "I know we have some chains or rope in the storage. Go get that for me Dinya. Lydia, Briehl get her off the table and onto that bench. I'll be right back."
The two Nords grabbed M'rasha's limp body and placed her horizontally on the bench just as Maramal returned carrying two blue bottles.
"Sit her up for me Lydia." Lydia did what she was told and Maramal opened the Betmer's mouth and poured the contents of one bottle down M'rasha's throat.
"What did you give her," Lydia asked as she placed the Betmer back down.
"Magicka poison. If I know M'rasha, she is going to be very, very angry when she comes to. And no doubt you've seen how proficient she is with a fireball."
When Dinya returned to the room with the ropes and chains, they proceeded to tie the Betmer to the bench. They were able to secure the Khajiit's wrists to the bench's legs just as M'rasha came to. The woman was confused at first but confusion gave way to anger when she realized she couldn't move or use her magic. M'rasha's head thrashed from side to side until she noticed the people standing near the bench. She took a deep breath and Shouted at them.
"FUS RO DAH!" The invisible force knocked the four of them off their feet. Briehl and Maramal got knocked into the table, tipping it over. Dinya was sent skidding into a corner and Lydia crashed into a chair. Because she was protected by her armor Lydia was the first to get up. She looked over at the Betmer to see her getting ready to release another Shout. The Nord ran over to M'rasha and stuck her hand in the Betmer's mouth.
M'rasha glared at the younger woman before snapping her mouth shut, biting the Nord's hand. Lydia yelled and started punching the Betmer in the head.
"Lydia, move your hand!"
"I would if she would stop biting!" Lydia kept punching M'rasha in the head until she aimed a blow to the woman's ear. M'rasha groaned in pain, letting go of the Nord's hand slightly. Lydia ripped it out of the Betmer's mouth just as Maramal rushed forward and stuffed a piece of tattered cloth into M'rasha's mouth. Before the Khajiit could spit it out the Redguard tied a strap around the her head securing it. M'rasha's screams were muffled against the cloth as she struggled in her bonds. The other priests had recovered by now and began putting out all the tipped candles. Lydia helped Maramal to his feet as the others approached them. They all stared at the Betmer who had been able to topple the bench onto its side still screaming into the makeshift gag, eyes a bright purple.
Lydia was the first to speak and asked, "Now what do we do?"
Maramal placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Go upstairs. Calm yourself."
"I am calm." Lydia wasn't.
"Your hand is shaking." Lydia crossed her arms.
"She did bite me."
"Trust me on this Lydia. I'll make sure nothing happens to her." Lydia had a choice. She could stay here and watch over her mad Thane. But at the same time something told her that what Maramal was saying was true. And despite her training screaming otherwise, she knew he would keep M'rasha safe.
"Very well."
"When you're ready, we'll have a cot ready for you in the next room. You may take a rest. We will look after her and then move her to a cot once she stops being a threat to everyone and herself. Then you may ask your questions. Dinya, please show her to the main room."
Dinya nodded and guided Lydia into a dark room and up the ladder to the main part of the temple. She motioned Lydia to sit at one of the benches.
"Your friend will be okay. Maramal will see to it. Pray to Mara for comfort."
The Dunmer held Lydia's injured hand and healed it with a spell before disappearing back downstairs, leaving Lydia by herself.
The full magnitude of her situation crashed down on Lydia as she all but collapsed onto the bench: They were far away from home, the Dark Brotherhood were after M'rasha, she was sure the city's guards would be knocking down the temple doors looking for her, and they had lost a good deal of their supplies in the ensuing chaos. All in all, things looked very bleak.
Lydia ran her fingers through her tangled hair. She knew she needed to act now, to recoup their losses and watch over her injured Thane. But her body was starting to ache, adrenaline was wearing off and more and more a short rest sounded like a good idea before she worked on any plans. As for M'rasha's safety, if he was to be trusted, Maramal would keep the Betmer safe.
The Nord rose from her seat and climbed the ladder back down into the storage room. From the ladder she could see that indeed two cots as well as a few candles were set up. As her feet got to one of the lower rungs, M'rasha frenzied screams began once causing Lydia to stumble off the ladder. The screams were weaker than before. Lydia crossed the room and was about to pull the doors to the Hall of the Dead open when the other room went quiet again. Maramal will take care of her. She released the door, walked to one of the cots and sat on it. She began taking off parts of her armor and placing it against the wall. She noticed one of the shoulder guards had blood on it, M'rasha's blood.
That was twice. Twice she had failed in protecting her Thane. Anyone else would just say she was suffering a case of very bad luck, that Mephala herself might be after her or M'rasha but maybe she just wasn't cut out to being a bodyguard for the Betmer. Maybe she was better off being one of those housecarls that took care of the home affairs. Either way she would talk to M'rasha about this when she had a chance.
As soon as her head hit the straw pillow she began to drift off. She couldn't have been asleep for more than a half hour when she woke up to a door creaking open. Lydia opened one eye slightly and silently watched as the priests carefully placed an unrestrained M'rasha on the other cot. The priests left, going back to their duties except for Maramal who pulled up a chair near to M'rasha and sat down. He softly said a prayer of Mara and hummed to himself as he placed his hand on her forehead. There was a bright light and then groaning. Maramal removed his hand and M'rasha started touching her head, poking at the bandages.
"All these years later and you're still the worse patient I've ever had," he joked, slapping her hand away. M'rasha grunted and tried to sit up but the Redguard pushed her back down to the bed.
"Who hit me," she croaked out, her hand going to her head once more.
"Dinya did. Stop touching your head."
"With what, a brick? And you wrapped my ears up."
Lydia watched as Maramal rolled his eyes and leaned over with a dagger. A few moments later he sat back and M'rasha's ears were free from the bandages. "A shovel actually. Be glad she didn't stab you. After all you did threaten her husband."
"With good reason I bet." The Khajiit chuckled but that quickly turned into a small groan. Maramal grabbed her hand and hushed her. They sat in silence, the only loud noises coming from the footsteps above.
"The Dark Brotherhood exist," M'rasha said plainly. She looked at the Redguard. "You knew?"
Maramal nodded. "Unlike in Cyrodiil. Is that who injured you?"
"Yes. But we'll talk about this and other things later."
"Why not now?"
"Because my head hurts and my companion snores in her sleep." With that M'rasha turn on her uninjured side and pulled the sheet over her head.
"Very well. " The priest stand up and moved to the door to the Hall of the Dead. "A good rest to you both."
The silence in the room quickly lulled Lydia back to sleep. But unlike before this time she dreamed.
She was in a room made of stone, painted with something. It was mostly dark but there was a ring of candles in the center. Once her eyes got accustomed to the darkness did she realize what the walls were covered in.
Blood.
Splatters of blood decorated the floor and walls decorated. In the middle of the room were two figures. One was on the floor, a massive black and red sword sticking out of its chest. The other person huddled over it. Her brain told her to run, to escape but to her horror, she headed towards the two, the blood staining her feet with each step.
She breached the ring of candles and continued to walk until she was a mere few feet steps away. It was only then did she recognize feet away from recognizing both figures. The glassy lifeless of eyes M'rasha stared up at her. Blood was leaking from her mouth and one of her arms was stretched out towards Lydia as if she were begging for help. The gasp startled the other person who rose from the crouched position. It was then Lydia saw that M'rasha's throat had been torn out, that it was the Betmer's blood that decorated the walls. The snarl snapped out of her gaze and she came face to face with most horrifying creature.
It was herself. An almost mirror image. Eyes as black as the void and a mouth full of teeth sharper than a sabre cat. It looked Lydia tilted its head and gave a smile teeth covered in blood. Then her doppelganger struck, quickly ripping the sword out of M'rasha's body and driving it into Lydia's chest.
Lydia could only fall to her knees. The monster crouched down, brushed aside some hair from her face. It then open it's mouth impossibly wide and the last thing she remembered was seeing hundreds of rows of teeth ready to bite down.
"NO!"
Lydia jolted awake and flung herself onto the floor. Tears were in her eyes and she was breathing heavily, heartbeat blaring in her ears. She did not register someone picking her up and placing her back onto the cot until she felt something cool placed on her head. She looked up and was relieved to see Alessandra standing over her, a look of worry in her eyes.
"Are you okay? Must have been some dream."
Lydia nodded and took the rag from the priest. "More like a nightmare. Thank you for the rag."
Alessandra walked to a small table with a tray of food on top of it. "Your friend woke up and left this morning. Said something about restocking your supplies."
"What do you mean she left?"
Alessandra blinked and then waved her hand. "Oh! I'm sorry. I just meant she left the temple, not Riften. Said she had people to visit," she walked back with the tray and handed it to Lydia, "Here. It's not much."
It was a simple tray with cheese and fruits and roasted chicken. "Thank you." Lydia ate the food and looked up to see Alessandra staring at her curiously.
"Do I have something on my face?"
"No. It's just that…" She sat on M'rasha's cot. "I've never seen Maramal looked that scared. So who is she? A friend, respected rival? Or maybe he had an affair with the cat and she's come back for support!"
Lydia almost choked on her bread. Of all the ridiculous..."I highly doubt that. It must have been just coincidence."
"Then why are you here?"
"Summon by the Jarl."
"You must be something special if the Jarl needs to see you."
"Pssh, I wish she would have sent us a letter of what she needed instead of making us walk all the way from Whiterun."
"You walked? From Whiterun?"
"After we had to abandon the carriage because of a dragon."
Alessandra's eyes got even wider. "You fought a dragon?"
Lydia chuckled. "Take a seat then. This will take some time." Lydia recounted the events starting at Whiterun: the dragons, the bandits though she did leave some things out. It didn't matter to Alessandra who sat enraptured by the story. "And here I am," Lydia finished up, "In the basement of a temple with no clue what trouble my companion has gotten herself into."
"That's amazing. Not the trouble bit but everything else."
"I guess so." Lydia sighed. "If you excuse me, I'm going to go look around Riften. Is it okay if I leave this here?"
"Yes, yes. That's fine." Alessandra grabbed the empty plate.
"One more thing Alessandra."
"Yes?"
"Do you have a robe I may borrow?"