Confusion X2
Chapter 11: Confusion X2
4 Second Seed, 4E203
The evening glow of the setting sun cast its warm and beckoning light over the forest of pines. Grinding slowly to a stop, the crunch of stones meeting her ears, Noela hopped out of the carriage. She waved a quick thanks to the driver, and he departed, the sound of horses' hooves fading into the distance.
She had instructed the carriage driver to stop on the main road; near the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary, but still a fair way from the hidden entrance.
The light from the sun made it feel like she was returning home, which was in fact, the case. Though she technically did have two homes now, one with the Thieves in Riften and one here in Falkreath, she did consider the Brotherhood her true home for now—it would probably be a while since she returned to Whiterun, in any case. Which actually makes three homes, she corrected in her mind.
Walking along the main road, she could barely remember where the turn off was that led to the Sanctuary. This was, after all, only the second time she was heading there. But then she recognised the slope that Clairvoyance had led her down last time, and within five minutes she found herself outside the Black Door.
This feels strange, she thought to herself. The echoey, ethereal pounding sounds and sub-bass frequencies emanating from the door of death set off her primal survival instincts as it did just a few weeks ago.
And the last time she had stood outside this door, she had not known Astrid yet, besides their initial meeting.
She wondered just what life was going to serve up next, what new adventures she was going to have once she opened that door.
Simultaneously excited and anxious, she stepped forward.
"Silence, my brother."
The Black Door swung open and Noela stepped forth into the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.
Closing with a heavy boom, the door cut off all sound from outside, the pervading silence pressing on Noela's eardrums—until she heard raised voices. Or at least what sounded like raised voices.
The source of noise was coming from deeper in the sanctuary, and she proceeded through the room with the map of Skyrim and down the next flight of steps.
The corridor opened up to the large, cavernous room with the waterfall, and similar to the first time she had come here, there was a group of people standing about. There was also a very tall looking crate to the right of them.
She immediately spotted Astrid, then Gabriella, Festus, Arnbjorn and Veezara. And standing in front of them, or more like, dancing about, was the source of the racket: a jester, dressed in the colours of the Dark Brotherhood.
He was a young-looking man, perhaps in his twenties, with a uniform that consisted of a red jester's hat and a spiky black adornment of leather around the chest and back areas of his outfit.
But more peculiar, was his high-pitched voice.
"But the Night Mother is mother to all!" he said, waving his arms animatedly. "It is her voice we follow! Her will! Would you dare risk disobedience? And surely… punishment?"
The group listened in silence, then Arnbjorn said in his gruff voice, "Keep talking, little man, and we'll see who gets 'punished'".
Festus turned to Arnbjorn with a sigh. "Oh, be quiet you great, lumbering lapdog. The man has had a long journey. You can at least be civil." He directed to the jester, "I for one, am delighted you and the Night Mother have arrived. Your presence here signals a welcome return to tradition."
The jester's face widened into a smile. "Oh, what a kind and wise wizard you are. Sure to earn our Lady's favour."
Then Astrid finally spoke. "You and the Night Mother are of course welcome here, Cicero. And you will be afforded the respect deserving of your position as Keeper." She turned to Arnbjorn. "Understood… husband?"
Arnbjorn responded with a grunt.
"Oh yes, yes, yes!" exclaimed Cicero excitedly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"But make no mistake," continued Astrid in an authoritative tone. "I am the leader of this Sanctuary. My word is law. Are we clear on that point?"
"Oh yes, mistress," the jester replied. "Perfectly! You're the boss."
The group was dismissed and Astrid turned, having noted that Noela had arrived.
"Ah, there you are," she said in a warmer voice. "Good. I was done speaking with that muttering fool anyway. And we've got some business to discuss. Follow me."
She indicated to Noela and the mage set off after the Nord, and they arrived back in the front room.
"Take a seat," said Astrid, gesturing to the stone throne behind the table with the map.
Noela sat, and now it was just the two of them again.
Astrid leaned over the table and studied the map in front of her, Noela swallowing a lump that had arisen suddenly in her throat.
"So how was the mission?" Astrid asked, not looking up from the map. The crease on her brow indicated she was concentrating on something and so Noela didn't give too detailed a response.
"It went well. We were successful."
The Nord then looked up from the map, and her green eyes pierced Noela's blue ones. "Congratulations."
"Uh, thank you," replied the mage, feeling just a tinge bashful.
Astrid smiled and Noela subconsciously mirrored it. "I'll ask you the details of it later, but for now, I have some news for you."
Noela nodded that she was listening.
"I've got a contract for you. Your first real mission."
"That's great! What's the mission?"
"You must go to the city of Markarth, and speak with the apothecary's assistant. You'll probably find her in The Hag's Cure, when the shop is open. The girl's been running her mouth, wants an ex-lover killed. She's apparently performed the Black Sacrament. Her name is Muiri. I need you to talk to her, set up the contract, and carry it out."
"It will be done," responded Noela.
"Good. Now, since it's your first solo mission, I'll let you keep whatever Muiri pays. Just be professional, represent us well, and get the job done. Do you think you can do that?"
"No problem," nodded the mage. "I'm excited to finally get to test my assassination skills, as it were."
"You know what's funny, sister? You start off with the Dark Brotherhood and the first real mission you complete is with the Thieves Guild." Astrid shook her head with a laugh.
"Well, if it weren't for you offering me up to them that wouldn't have been the case," Noela pointed out.
"That's true," agreed Astrid. "Nevertheless, it is time to test what you learned on your training and see what results you can produce alone."
"I won't let you down."
"That's my girl."
Astrid was still leaning over the table and Noela couldn't help her mind, tired from the last day or so of travelling, to imagine Astrid leaning over her, as silly as it sounded.
The mage blinked from her reverie. It would be a shame that Astrid wouldn't be accompanying her this time…
"Oh and, I'll be coming along with you, at least to Markarth. I have some business to attend to there."
Noela couldn't help her mouth dropping open, before it curved up into a smile, quick as lightning. And just as quickly, confusion began to wash over her.
"So meet out at the pond at dawn tomorrow, same as last time. Any questions?"
It took Noela a second too long to reply and she uttered rather ungracefully, "Nuh uh."
"Alright then. You must be tired, so go and take a good long rest for the rest of the evening and I'll see you tomorrow."
Noela trudged back through the sanctuary, and headed straight for her bed. She was dead tired, and now her mind couldn't handle any more.
She tossed her robes at the foot of her bed, before climbing under the covers and tucking them under her chin.
No one else was currently in the sleeping quarters, and so at least it was peaceful, the only sound coming from Nazir down in the kitchen muttering about contracts under his breath.
She had had a couple of days to mull over everything, about her attraction to Vex and of course her prior attraction to Astrid, which, since arriving back at the Sanctuary, had seemed to scream at her like there was no tomorrow.
And speaking of tomorrow…
Why did she find it peculiar that Astrid was accompanying her again? Did she truly have business in Markarth?
Then Noela mentally slapped herself. She was behaving stupidly. It didn't matter what she felt, or Astrid's reasons for coming along. The fact of the matter was that she had been given her first solo mission, and she would be insane to let silly things like her feelings distract her.
The only thing she should be thinking about, was the mission. She had to succeed. And she certainly couldn't screw up. She had a reputation to establish and her childish infatuations weren't going to get in the way of that.
The black pond was shrouded in a layer of fog. It was strange, but Noela thought she could feel a presence coming from the mass of moving black. She shook her head, attributing the sensation to how sleepy she still felt despite having had something like twelve hours of sleep. She'd probably just slept too much.
A feeling of déjà vu arose when she heard the creak of the Black Door open and Astrid stepping out, just like had happened some weeks ago.
"Are we walking all the way to Markarth?" asked Noela, slightly weary. To be honest she was tired from all the travel recently and without so much as a break, was already dreading the days of walking to come.
Astrid shook her head. "Not this time. We've got an available horse for you, as it were." She nodded at the black pond and to Noela's surprise, through the mysterious fog a silhouette of a horse became visible.
She squinted. "What—there's a horse there!" she exclaimed.
The Nord reached the edge of the pond and as if by command, the horse trotted over and into view.
It was a hazelnut brown mare, medium sized with black eyes.
"Her name's Trigger," said Astrid, and patted the horse's mane.
Noela failed to suppress a snigger.
"I didn't name it," responded the Nord with a frown. "A gift from a client, actually."
The mage shrugged. "So Trigger's fast?"
"Quite, but—not as fast as my horse."
Astrid looked back at the lake and to Noela's surprise, again, another horse seemed to appear out of the misty depths of the air over the pond.
This time, it was a pitch black horse, with eerie, glowing red eyes.
"Shadowmere," Astrid said under her breath. "The fastest horse you'll ever find."
Shadowmere whinnied as if in response, and met eyes with the leader, an unspoken connection seeming to radiate between horse and rider.
Examining the demon-looking horse, Noela shivered just the slightest. It felt like the animal was from some other realm, an otherworldly presence seeming to emanate from the creature. If she wasn't mistaken she could've sworn Trigger sidestepped just a little further away from the fellow horse.
"Well, let's get moving," announced Astrid, hopping onto Shadowmere's back the moment he was out of the water. "I trust you know how to ride?"
Noela gave a mock look of affront. "Of course."
With a brief nod, Astrid set off with Shadowmere, at a pretty fast pace.
The mage blinked and hurriedly scrambled onto Trigger's back.
She could've at least waited for me to get on, Noela thought to herself as she kicked the horse into motion.
They set off at a rapid speed, Noela estimating no less than two days till they reached Markarth.
The hours passed quickly, the trees flying by as the sound of horses' hooves on dirt rang in her ears and put her into a kind of relaxed trance.
Astrid was just a little further ahead, Shadowmere indeed being the superior horse in terms of speed. Still, Noela's horse was as fast as any horse she'd ever ridden, and she was pretty happy with Trigger. Well, except it's name.
It was about midday when Astrid signalled for them to stop, and they took a lunch break.
Tying their horses to a nearby tree, they sat in a clearing not far from the road.
"Could you light a fire? Just want to warm up some soup," said Astrid, throwing a bunch of sticks and branches onto the ground.
Noela aimed a Flames spell at the pile and Astrid set a pot of soup to boil.
"So tell me more about your mission with the Thieves Guild." The Nord's green eyes met hers and in the sunlight, Noela was reminded again of Astrid's natural beauty, her blonde hair shimmering in the sun.
"It was a great success, I think. Vex had gotten injured on the previous attempt so it was supposedly difficult, but no sweat, we pulled it off."
"Vex got injured?" Astrid looked kind of concerned.
"Yes but she was completely healed by the time we went."
"Oh, you did the mission with Vex, then?"
Noela nodded. "Brynjolf and Mercer sent us both to Goldenglow Estate which was heavily guarded with mercenaries, to clear a safe and burn some beehives."
"Well, I suppose with you there the mercenaries wouldn't have stood a chance," Astrid smiled. "Precisely why I knew the Thieves would find your service of great value."
The mage simply shrugged, but didn't manage to hide the expression of smugness on her face.
"And what about Vex, did you get on with her?"
At that moment the pot of soup was bubbling and Astrid removed it from the fire. She reached into her bag and grabbed a spoon, and then another. "Here," she said, holding out the spoon to Noela. "We can share."
She scooted a little closer to the mage and placed the small pot between them, and they both began to drink.
It was a hearty vegetable soup, and Noela, despite having brought her own lunch, felt somewhat honoured that the other woman was sharing her food with her. It hadn't happened before during their previous journey together.
"So?" Astrid began again. "You haven't answered my question."
"Oh," apologised Noela as she slurped her soup. "What was the question? Oh yeah, Vex," recalled the mage. "We got off to a pretty bad start but we're closer to buddies now," Noela summarised. "At least I think we are."
"A bad start?"
Noela wondered why Astrid was interested in this. "We exchanged a few fists is all. I fell into the lake, she got a cut, nothing serious."
"Why in the world were you two fighting?"
"She kept referring to me as a newbie so it got on my nerves."
"Oh, you started it?" the Nord asked in surprise.
"No way! I don't start trouble—usually. I guess I didn't exactly behave, or know my place. But she didn't have to disrespect me to begin with."
Astrid scratched her head. "Vex is sometimes an enigma, too. I do wonder what set her off, she was perfectly fine the night before."
"Oh right, I forget that you're friends," said Noela. "It was probably because I was assigned to do the mission with her, and me being new, didn't exactly sit well in a mission she failed at previously."
"I see. Well, that makes sense. But you're on good terms with her now?"
"Maybe, I don't really know," shrugged the mage. "But at least she's not glaring at me every few seconds now and we actually managed to have a chat before I left."
"She isn't the easiest to befriend, but she is damn loyal," added Astrid. "Especially when it comes to serving her Guild."
"I actually think she's soft, you know, under that spiky exterior. Like a shell of protection she puts up against the world, or something, I don't know. Just a feeling I get."
The Nord peered closely at her, not saying anything for a moment. Then she said, "You could well be right."
"But aren't you her friend?"
"Yeah—so?" asked the Nord with a frown.
"You don't know?"
"What?"
"What Vex is really like," finished Noela.
Astrid shrugged. "I don't think too much about it. Anyway, Noela, why the sudden interest in Vex? Is she not just a new acquaintance?"
"Eh, guess I'm just curious about her. She is sort of up my alley," Noela admitted.
The Nord spat the soup out of her mouth. "What? You're interested in Vex?"
Suddenly Noela felt like she shouldn't have said anything. Why did she bring these things up out of the blue anyway? She felt her cheeks redden. "Maybe…" she said quietly.
Astrid was staring at her with a look of shock and Noela could feel her expression morphing into a frown. What was the big deal, anyway?
"What?" asked Noela. "You know I like women. She's exactly my type."
The leader shook her head and rearranged her features. "No, I was just surprised. Of course—but, what is your type?" she asked with curiosity.
Noela glanced up at the clouds, thinking. "Strong, intelligent, tough…" She couldn't think of anything else really.
"Grumpy?"
The mage frowned. "No—not really. Oh and, ambitious. Got to love that."
"You're just describing yourself," pointed out Astrid.
"What—oh, wait a minute…"
The Nord burst into laughter.
It was like the sound of sunshine, and well, her golden blonde hair was like the visible aspect of it. Still, the 'angel of death' wouldn't have been more apt of a name for this woman who had taken a piece of her heart. A heart that, was pretty much torn into more than two pieces at the moment.
And confusion settled into her brain once again.