Chapter 25:

Irideth staggered to her feet, clambering over a pile of boulders. She fell hard on the other side, almost choking on the cloud of ash and dust that erupted from her landing. Her pack, small thought it had seemed earlier, smacked the back of her head with enough force to send her toppling face-first into the dirt.

This is off to a great start, Irideth thought sourly as she spat the grit out of her mouth. Standing, the girl steeled herself before standing up on her tiptoes so she could peer around the rocks.

She saw that Carach Angren wasn't as close as she'd initially assumed; it was unlikely any sentries would have spotted her without a good spyglass. But she'd bet she wasn't out of range of patrols the fort might send out.

The land here looked pretty flat; she'd see (and likely hear) a patrol coming long before they spotted her. There did look to be some large cracks and gorges, pieces of what may have once been a riverbed or an ancient road, further to the north. Other than the odd rock pile and some scraggly bushes here and there, there didn't appear to be much else for cover. Well, little that Irideth would consider ideal, anyway.

She did have the potions and scrolls Irianna had given her, but considering the limited supply Irideth wanted to save those for an absolute worst-case scenario.

There was a sound to the right.

Irideth immediately flung herself down again, pressing herself against the boulders as though trying to crawl beneath them like a centipede. Realizing her breathing had become loud as well as rapid, Irideth pressed her hand over her mouth in an effort to muffle the sound.

When there was movement at the corner of her right eye, Irideth jumped. Then she stared when she saw what appeared to be a man's head sticking right up out of the ground.

It took a second for Irideth to realize there was a ridge there she hadn't noticed, and the man was simply peering over the top of it like a ground squirrel. He certainly had the hunted look of one, though he was more haggard looking. His face was barely more than bone, his hair and beard were ragged and filthy, and his face was a mess of scars.

He also had what appeared to be an iron collar around his neck.

Irideth blinked in realization.

"Anything?"

The hissing voice came from somewhere below and behind the man Irideth could see.

"No," the man answered, eyes darting rapidly about as his head swung back and forth.

Huh. Irideth hadn't thought her hiding place had been that good, but the man had missed her twice now. Carefully, she pushed herself away from the shelter of the rocks.

The man's eyes immediately snapped toward her when she moved. Like Irideth earlier, it seemed to take him a moment to process what he was seeing. When he had, though, it appeared to Irideth he almost fell over backward in his surprise.

"It's a child!" he whispered fervently to whoever was in the ditch below him.

"What?!" It sounded like the speaker had barely kept themselves from shouting.

Another head joined the first; this one was completely bald and possessed no beard, but this man was just as grubby as the first and appeared twice as weathered; both men had spent a lot of time outside.

The second man spat a startled curse as Irideth rose slowly to her knees. He was Gondorian, Irideth thought, judging by the accent. They both likely were.

"Shades, child, get over here!" the first man said, gesturing frantically.

A bit puzzled at the continued whispering, Irideth ran over as best she could in a crouch, sliding down the ledge when she reached it. She discovered there was one other man and a woman hiding there. All of the little band were extremely thin; their skin was rough and scarred, and they all bore iron collars around their necks.

Escaped slaves. They were escaped slaves. Like me.

Well, sort of; these four had plainly had a much rougher time of it than Irideth had. And wasn't that odd to think about, considering who her master was?

The girl, woman and third man simply stared at each other for a few moments, while the other two kept scanning above ground. When they dropped back down, there were several more tense seconds as everyone assessed the situation.

Then the first man said, "stars, girl! What are you doing out here?"

"Same as us, by the look of it," the third man said in a gravelly voice, indicating Irideth's pack. He grinned, and Irideth noticed, behind his scraggly beard, that at least six of his teeth were missing. "Doin' a much better job o' it, too, by the look of it."

"Those foul Orcs!" the first man spat. "I didn't think they took children so young!"

Irideth swallowed past a dry throat. "I think I was an exception to the rule," she said, a bit more tensely than she'd intended/ "If any such rule exists, anyway." Plus, it wasn't Orcs who captured me.

Irideth quickly stopped that line of thought.

The third man gave a snort that may have been laughter. "Tough, this one. I like her," he said, grinning at Irideth again. "Name's Scuff."

Irideth blinked. The man… Scuff… still grinning, extended his left foot. Irideth saw it was twisted and bent at an odd angle.

"It's what they call called me at camp. Been here so long I can't right remember what my real one is. 'Sides, I think Scuff suits me just fine."

Fair enough, Irideth supposed.

"I'm Miriel," the woman said with a tired smile in Irideth's direction."

"Castor," said the bald man shortly.

"Andorthel," said the first man.

"I'm Irideth."

"We should move," Castor said without preamble. "The morning patrol will be on top of us soon if we don't hurry."

"Where? We haven't decided which way we're going yet," Miriel all but snapped. The rest of the bunch tensed while Irideth glanced between them.

"North would be the best bet," Irideth said after a few tense moments. Four heads snapped toward her.

"How'd you figure?" Scuff asked.

"It's far less guarded than the west, for one," Irideth said. "Fewer outposts. How close to Sauron's Road are we?"

"Practically right on top of it; it's just a mile or so south of us," Andorthel answered.

Irideth cursed mentally. "Then I agree with Castor, we need to move. You think anyone'll have noticed you're gone?"

"Bit of a toss-up, that," Scuff said as Miriel and Andorthel helped him to stand, Castor having climbed up the ridge for one last check. "You?"

Irideth felt a chill travel down her spine as she turned and began scrambling up the ridge herself. "I desperately hope not."


Scuff was decently mobile, it turned out. When his foot pained him too much, the others would take turns carrying or supporting him. And one person always walked behind him to obscure his rather distinctive tracks.

They were all quite practiced at it too, as far as Irideth could tell.

Castor usually walked in front, checking their direction and making sure no patrols were nearby.

Irideth had considered leaving them once or twice. She'd felt guilty about it immediately afterwards… heck, she still felt back about it, but…

She could potentially use her second dose of Dreamstride, but after the first mishap, Irideth was hesitant to use it again. If it landed her on the Black Gate, or Eru forbid in the middle of an orc camp… she'd be in a good bit more trouble than she was now.

However, Irideth did not doubt she'd soon have Sauron looking for her. The thought alone was enough to have her head nearly spinning with terror. If he found her traveling with this lot, she did not doubt it would go very badly for them.

Torn didn't' quite cut it, Irideth felt. They didn't need her, though. The band of four seemed to have done fine for themselves.

Explaining any of this to them, though, was not something she had any idea how to go about doing. Even if she did, she didn't think it would work; she'd seen Scuff and Miriel watching her, making sure she wasn't flagging off the pace. Andorthel was doing the same.

Castor did it to a much lesser extent, and something in his eyes when he looked at her made Irideth… she wasn't sure how to describe the feeling, but her gut would clench unpleasantly whenever she saw him looking at her.

"You were a domestic, weren't you?"

Irideth almost jumped when Castor spoke beside her.

"A house slave," Castor said, gesturing to her neck. "None of the camp or mine slaves have collars like that."

"Yes, I was," Irideth answered, keeping her eyes fixed on their path.

"Your master must've been pretty high ranked, to get his slave a collar like that," Castor went on. "I worked for the blacksmiths long enough to recognize real gemstones and metals. And I can tell that is not Orc craftsmanship."

Irideth, to her surprise, choked on a laugh at the thought of the look on Sauron's face if he'd heard that.

"He'd certainly be insulted by the insinuation that it was," she said by way of explanation when she noticed the look Castor was giving her.

He continued looking askance at her. "Who was your Master, girl?"

"I don't think I should tell you."

Castor's head snapped toward her. "Why not?"

"Because if we get caught and they find out you knew who I'm running from, you'd be in much deeper trouble," Irideth answered.

The look Castor gave her indicated this did the opposite if assuaging his concerns.

The headache that started a second later didn't help Irideth's all that much.

She tried to ignore it, focusing on where she was putting her feet, the weight of her pack, the feeling of dust at the back of her throat.

It didn't surprise her when the headache got worse almost immediately.

She kept ignoring it as best she could. Before long, though, the pain was worse than it had ever been. She didn't know how long she managed to keep her feet, stars dancing before her eyes, head spinning and limbs leaden, before she fell to her knees.

Someone… Castor, her searing brain managed to recall… caught her arm before she tipped over onto her face. He might have been saying something, but Irideth's ears were ringing so badly she couldn't tell.

She did, however, hear Andorthel's call of 'patrol' before going limp.

The last thing she heard before blacking out completely was a very familiar and currently very furious voice in her mind.

'Irideth, where are you?'


"Slow down; what's wrong?" Irianna said, holding up a hand.

"It didn't work," Irideth snapped, peripherally aware she was shaking. "I ended up in Udûn inside the Black Gate. Now I'm stuck with a bunch of other escaped slaves, I think there's an Orce patrol after us and to top it all off Sauron knows I'm gone!"

"How are you holding him off?" Irianna asked.

"…My barriers."

"Irideth, we talked about how that wasn't going to be enough!" Irianna exclaimed.

"Do you want to try doing this?" Irideth yelled. "Have you ever been on the run with a demigod trying to tear your brain to shreds?"

"Not both at the same time, I'll admit."

Irideth blinked. "What?"

"I've pissed off a daedra or two in my day," Irianna said, grinning wanly. "I'm a mage; it comes with the territory."

"Not if you're not an idiot," came a voice from the door of the room Irianna had set up her… ritual circle or whatever in.

"Brelyna, don't you dare mess up my circle!" Irianna yelled, sounding a bit more alarmed than Irideth believed the khajiit had wanted as she waved a warning hand at the other mage, who was leaning against the doorframe.

"At least Malacath decided he liked you," the dark elf commented. "Especially after you killed that Orc priest."

"He tried to kill me first! It was self-defense."

Nienna's mercy, what has she been doing? Irideth thought with a horrified look in her sister's direction.

"Were you able to find Colette, by the way?" Irianna asked, apparently unaware of Irideth's alarm. "She said she thought she'd be able to help with something like this."

"Yes, she did. Are you warded properly?" came Colette's dry voice as she stepped into view next to Brelyna.

"Yes, as long as nobody messes with the soul gems or void salts," Irianna answered.

"Good; you're having trouble, I gathered?" Colette said as she came and knelt beside Irianna, focus turning to Irideth. Irianna and Brelyna's eyes returned to the ghostly figure of the younger girl as well.

Irideth swallowed thickly. "I can't keep Sauron out of my mind. I know my barriers alone aren't enough, but the redirection techniques Irianna and I practiced are… I can't do them and focus on what I'm doing physically, unless I'm sitting or at least somewhere quiet where I can try to stay calm."

"Which isn't really possible in the current situation," Colette said.

Irideth gave a shaky nod, feeling her eyes stinging.

"I have something that should help with that," Colette said. "Irianna let me use her notes from the books she got from Urag. Drevis gave me some pointers for the final enchantments, and Sergius helped with the final product. Now, nobody at the College is adept in the mind arts in the way it sounds like this daedra of yours practices them, but we think this has a good chance of providing the protections you need."

As she spoke, Coletted reached into one of the pouches at her waist. When she withdrew her hand, she was holding a simple silver bracelet.

"This is enchanted to help reinforce your mental barriers, as well as provide a minor boost to your stamina and magic reserves," Colette said with a smile, holding the bracelet out to Irideth.

"Whoa. How did you get all that in one enchantment?" Brelyna said, practically leaning on Colette's shoulder to examine the piece as Irideth took it.

"Illusion and Restoration spells combined," Irianna mused, taking her own time to study the bracelet. "I can see why you went that route."

"Illusion for the mental problems, Restoration for the physical. You need to show me the notes for this project," Brelyna said as Irideth slid the bracelet onto her left wrist.

Immediately she felt a coolness wash over her, like stepping into a lake on a hot day. She sighed, feeling her muscles relax as her eyes closed.

"Thank you, all of you," Irideth whispered as she ran her fingers over the band of metal.

"Here."

Irideth opened her eyes when Irianna spoke. The khajiit was holding some things out to her; more potions, and a spell book.

"Restorative potions for stamina and magicka, plus a couple healing potions that'll take care of more minor injuries," Irianna said, pushing them into Irideth's hand. "The spell is Oakflesh; it's a basic Alteration spell that creates a sort of magical armor over your whole body; it's not as effective as a real set of armor would be at blocking a blow or an arrow, but it's a lot better than nothing."

Irideth held the items close to her chest, drawing in a trembling breath. A shaky smile crept over her face as she stared at the three older girls.

They smiled at her in turn, each reaching forward and placing a hand over hers.

"Divines watch over you," Brelyna said, the others echoing the sentiment as Irideth's view of them and the room began to waver.

"Take courage, little sister," Irianna whispered, giving a final squeeze of Irideth's hand as she began to fade. "I am with you."


When Irideth opened her eyes, the headache she expected did come, but it was far less severe than she had expected. Instead of the agony of before, it was a minor, pulsing ache she could more or less ignore.

Irideth then noticed she was lying on her side. It was dark, almost pitch black. Night, Irideth saw with a skyward glance. She appeared to be in a ravine or a pit of sorts, and there were shuffling noises behind her.

Irideth's heart skipped a beat, but a quick shuffle revealed no chains on her wrists or ankles.

The potions and spellbook fell into the dust with a quiet thud. The cool of Colette's bracelet pressed against her left wrist.

Irideth closed her eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply as a couple tears slipped free and ran down her cheek into the dirt.

Her pack had been set beside her head; it was barely visible in this darkness. As quietly as she could, Irideth pulled it toward her and fumbled with the straps that held it shut.

"…Irideth?"

Irideth jumped at the sound of the voice, then relaxed when she recognized it as Miriel.

"Yes?" she whispered, sitting up slowly as she shoved the new supplies into her pack as discreetly as she could.

Irideth turned when she heard quiet steps coming toward her; Miriel, and her traveling companions too, were barely visible in the ditch. That was what they were in, Irideth realized; a sort of shallow pit that rimmed the sky above them almost like a painting. There were dark shapes outlined against the stars, either rock formations or the ruins of old buildings, Irideth couldn't tell in the darkness.

Her focus returned to Miriel when the woman knelt before her, cupping Irideth's face in both hands as she studied the girl.

"Are you alright?" the woman asked quietly, brushing the remaining wetness from Irideth's cheek. "You gave us quite the scare when you fainted."

"I'm fine," Irideth answered with a slight smile, reminded with a jolt of Halla.

"Here, have some water," Miriel said, releasing Irideth's face and grabbing a water skin she must've carried over with her.

"Oh, no, it's alright, I have my own; I don't want you wasting what you've brought on me, you're going to need it," Irideth said, placing her hand over Miriel's.

"Probably not all of it," Castor muttered darkly from behind Miriel. Judging by the shapes Irideth could see, he, Scuff and Andorthel were sitting in a circle not far from where Irideth had been lying.

"Don't say that," Andorthel said quietly, but there was an edge to his voice that had Irideth going rigid.

"Oh, no? I'm not allowed to be worried when we've got one of the most renowned warriors in all of Mordor tracking us down?" Castor snarled, half rising as he turned to face the other man.

Irideth froze. Miriel did little better; Irideth heard the water skin creak as the woman's grip on it tightened. She grabbed the woman's wrist and squeezed; Miriel's eyes fell to her, and in the faint light Irideth could just barely perceive her smile.

It looked like she was trying not to cry.

"He ain't found us yet," Scuff muttered, but he sounded even more downbeat than Andorthel had.

Castor scoffed. "You of all people should know better to be hopeful about Khrosh missing the key details, Scuff."