"You," Teldryn pointed lazily at the remaining guards. "Let's see what you've got."

He took up his stance as the three dunmer spread out in an arc around him, their body language hesitant after watching their peers get knocked into the ash. Teldryn smirked under his cowl as one of the guards on the sidelines called out, "C'mon Salyn, you're the best of us! Take him!"

Well, now he knew who to humiliate first.

Three blades flashed at him at once. He knocked one down, swinging his sword upward to parry the next, then stepping back swiftly to catch the third overhead, twisting his blade as he pushed it down in an attempt to disarm. Salyn managed to hold on, barely, but if he were smarter he'd have let it go. Teldryn swiped his blunted blade up under the man's armpit hard enough to bruise, then since he'd managed to get behind him, gave him a kick in the rear for good measure. The way the ash puffed up around these whelps as they fell made Teldryn appreciate being on the beach rather than in the training yard.

The other two stepped over their beaten ally, spreading apart as they neared, obviously meaning to close in on him from both sides. Just as Teldryn sensed they would attack, he lashed out to his left, pressing the soldier back, further from his companion. This one could parry all day it seemed so Teldryn relented, letting the man get in a quick jab, punishing him with a riposte that hit him square in the helmet. As that one reared back from the hit, Teldryn spun to knock away the blade headed for his back, his momentum knocking the man's sword arm wide. Teldryn stepped forward quickly, staggering the man with an elbow across the chin, then finishing him off by ramming his pommel into his bonemold helmet. His blade was already in position as he turned back to face the recovered final opponent, who'd thought he had an open shot judging by all the noise he was making and how high his sword was raised. Teldryn leaped at him with a reciprocal cry, driving the blade into his chest plate until he lost his footing and landed flat on his back.

As the ash settled, Teldryn wiggled the tip of the blade free from the prone man's armor, causing him to groan a bit from the jostling.

"Are you training or demoralizing?"

The guards stood to attention with their fists over their hearts, the one on the ground scrambling up to join them as Teldryn turned to see Modyn standing a few paces away. The captain beckoned with his fingers. "I need a word."

Teldryn swept his finger across the eight guards, addressing them, "You all think about everything you did to earn those bruises. When I come back we'll talk about how to avoid that in the future." He looked back to Modyn, tugging his cowl down then lifting off his helmet. "See? I'm not just beating them up."

The corner of Modyn's mouth twitched and he cocked his head to the side, indicating for Teldryn to follow as he walked further from the troops. When they were out of earshot, Modyn stopped, his dark eyes suddenly revealing his stress.

"We may have a problem."

The captain's features were drawn, making the years on them more apparent.

"An East Empire Trading Company ship was spotted to the north," he said gravely. "And I doubt they're looking to do business with the Skaal."

"Shit," Teldryn muttered. There was only one reason he could think of that they would be going up that way. "They'll be going for Broken Tusk mine," he added, looking vaguely north as if he could see it from where they stood.

The captain gave a curt nod. "That was my thought as well."

The mine had been overrun with reiklings for many years until Roggir had decided to raze the area after those little goblins had harried them one too many times while they tried to help the people of the Skaal village. Now the mine sat empty, free for the taking.

"Have you set up a garrison there?" Teldryn asked, snapping his eyes back to the captain.

"It's been on my list," he replied tiredly. "I've only just sent prospectors to Damphall and you see the state these men are in, I can hardly get them in and up to an acceptable standard fast enough to staff the town guard, let alone begin such an acquisition."

"What are you going to do?"

"I need a scout familiar with the area to find out exactly what they're up to." Modyn's pointed look communicated exceedingly clear that he wanted Teldryn for the job. "Then I'll dissuade them from whatever the fuck it is." The captain shifted uncomfortably and Teldryn knew he was trying to keep his exasperation from showing in front of his men. "I have less than a fortnight before Redoran nobility steps on these shores," he said tightly. "The last thing I need is the bloody fingers of the Empire poking around."

He stepped closer with a sharp, penetrating gaze. "If it is the mine, I want to know who gave them the idea to come looking after all this time. I know Roggir is not an Empire sympathizer by any means, but the prospect of a stake in a silver mine could certainly sway some loyalties. You know him better than I, what do you think?"

"Ah, I didn't exactly get around to discussing investments," Teldryn said lightly, sobering quickly under the Modyn's unwavering stare. "But uh..." He considered what he knew of Roggir. The man had not expressed the slightest interest in the mine at the time, but he could be hard to read. Still, The Dragonborn had not given him the impression of being driven by wealth, or in need of it. "...that doesn't seem like him."

"I thought not." Modyn's countenance did not improve with this conclusion in the least. He seemed more agitated now, still as a statue, the wheels of his mind turning furiously behind shadowed eyes.

Teldryn put a voice to his old friend's thoughts. "There's only one man on this island with connections to the East Empire Trading Company."

"If it hadn't been for Dreyla I'd have tossed that old man into the sea long ago," Modyn hissed, his composure wavering. "Now I'm to threaten my marriage because of his deluded ambitions. I will not have them gain a foothold on Solstheim."

Teldryn watched as the captain smoothed the sneer from his face and tried to calm his breathing. "Do you think she will leave you if you exile her father?"

"How am I to know?" Modyn clipped out. There was a drawn-out silence as the captain stared into the distance toward the sharp elevation of Hvitkald, the narrow mountain peak whose view touched nearly the entire southwestern shore. "She would understand," he said, his voice quiet enough the statement seemed more of a self-assurance.

Teldryn felt short of breath. Modyn adored Dreyla, had spent more than a decade courting her. Would he truly risk throwing that all away for a silver mine? "And if not..." he ventured.

"If not I'll burn that fucking house to cinders with my own two hands," Modyn seethed as he turned to Teldryn, brandishing his hands, the force of his magicka apparent. "Solstheim is Redoran territory and it will stay that way so long as I'm here."

"And at any cost," Teldryn scorned, immediately regretting letting the words fall from his brain.

"Watch your mouth, you petulant child," Modyn said dangerously, teeth bared and Teldryn would not have been surprised if he caught a fist in the face at that moment. "It's time you grew up, Teldryn Sero. You are my brother but I will only tolerate your attitude for so long." Teldryn leaned his head away from the captain's breath, accepting his tongue lashing for the moment. "We made our choices long ago, your father included." Teldryn met Modyn's eyes then, warning silently not to speak any further on the subject. The only choice they had made was to give their autonomy over to a faceless entity, willing to sacrifice the hearts of those who loved them for prestige and some vague notion of communal glory. At least he could lay full claim to the consequences of his own choices, right or wrong as they had been. Decades of discordant ideals hung between them as they stared at one another, and Teldryn knew for his part, he was not willing to give an inch.

Recognizing the impasse, Modyn stepped away. "I'd like for a few of these scribs to get some field experience." His tone of voice reverting back to business with astonishing speed. "Pick the ones you hate the least and begin your preparations. You leave tomorrow." He started to walk away but stopped just as Teldryn opened his mouth to remind the captain he was not one of his underlings, and certainly not going to take green men along. "And don't worry," Modyn said as he leaned back in, his voice dripping with disdain. "I'll see to it you're paid well."

Teldryn bit his tongue, fitting his helmet back onto his head as he watched the older man stalk away.

Fucking right you will.


Vanya jolted awake when her head hit the page of the book laid out on the bed. She rubbed her eyes, wishing she had a watch to tell how long she'd been laying here scanning the same paragraph as she waited up for Teldryn. It wasn't the first time he'd stayed out late, but he hadn't mentioned going to play dice tonight. And there was the fact that she hadn't seen him at all since this morning, not even for supper. She tried to ignore the unsettled feeling in her stomach that reminded her of the last time he'd broken his routine. The sight of his pack in the corner calmed her nerves. He wouldn't leave without that.

Her eyes crawled across the page, the final one of the book that Teldryn had gone and spoiled this morning. She hadn't been very interested in finishing it after that, but she had nothing else to read. Fethis' market stand had been closed earlier in the afternoon when she'd gone to see if he had a book on archery. He never closed that early. What was going on today?

She just needed to finish this stupid book and then try and get some sleep. She put her finger on the page, forcing herself to read the words.

Having enjoyed the sport I offered, he granted me mercy, of sorts. I was not bled dry. I was not cursed by being made one of them. I was kept with others, most of us mad with fear, to be aged and tasted at the vampires' whim. We are called cattle.

I lost all hope months ago of ever leaving the dank cellar where they keep us. Even if this note finds its way to the outside world, I cannot give enough information about my whereabouts to be rescued, even if some champion were able to defeat the bloodsuckers. I only write this to keep my own sanity, and to warn others.

There is something worse than being hungry.

Being food.

She folded the book closed, her heart beating wildly in protest for subjecting it to something like this. She had never had a problem reading stories about vampires, but that had been in a world where they were the product of imagination. She didn't have to ask someone to know that they existed here and even though that chilled her blood, it was that ending that was making her chest constrict. It was too familiar, too real...

Suddenly, she could not bear to be on this bed, closed in this room, alone.

She dressed quickly, strapped her dagger to her waist and headed out into the tavern, her shawl tightly wrapped around her shoulders. The empty tavern was still too dark and cramped so she made her way out into the market. Despite the ash that kicked up as she swung open the door, she took a deep breath as if she'd walked out into crisp mountain air.

Comforted by the sight of the well, she walked toward it to sit on the edge. The twin moons were visible and she leaned back against a wooden support as she searched for stars between breaks in the ever-present shroud that hugged this place, insulating it as if to preserve a way of life that was different to anywhere else on Nirn.

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of a door creaking, and she blinked away the veil of sleep that she'd unknowingly fallen under. A group of guards filed out of Morvayn Manor, followed by Captain Veleth, then Teldryn. Sitting up with no small amount of relief, she wondered if they really had just been gambling? If that was true, it had been a bad night for all of them with how tense they seemed. The guards and the captain headed toward the Bulwark, and Teldryn toward the Netch. He paused in the middle of the road when he saw her.


Gods, he was tired.

She looked beautiful sitting there on the well, watching him with those dark eyes that pulled him in, transporting him to some secret realm that was only for them. No listening to an old man stumbling through excuses, or watching grown men point fingers at each other, bickering about who should have done what, arguing over inane politics. At the very least he'd convinced Modyn to give up on saddling him with new recruits. As he approached Vanya, he lamented that he'd wasted so much time sitting through all of that discussion, at the same time realizing why he had done so. This was going to be far more difficult than any of that.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, running his hands over her shoulders. She reached out, fingers pressing onto a few scuffs in his armor that he'd gotten earlier in the day.

"Couldn't sleep." Her eyes raised to his again.

He brought a hand up behind her neck, pressing his forehead to hers, all the noise that had been steadily growing in his mind calming as the small points of contact resonated through him. "Khes'yi," he said softly, almost a plea though he could not say for what. He stepped back, taking one of her hands to tug her up from the well. "Let's go inside."