It was a long and varied road to Dushnikh Yal. First up through the steep and narrow pass south of the Throat of the World, its great bulk made blurry through the falling snow. Then down, passing through Helgen, that ruined town where so much of Skyrim's recent history found its birthplace. The three orcs were quiet as they trod through that place. Vash felt the past too fresh, bearing down on him too much to be able to speak. Muzgu and Yanakh sensed his mood, and did not break the silence.

They passed in and out of Falkreath, which the two foreigners had seen on their way into Skyrim. Vash warned them about the harsh terrain of the Reach which was to come, but in truth it always took him by surprise as well. The rich greenery faded, gave way to crags of rock and scraggly bushes. The rays of the sun itself seemed to weaken. The evening was drawing close, but Vash insisted he could get them to Dushnikh Yal before nightfall.

He led them on, frowning, examining the rocky slope by the side of the road for the particular gap in it he was looking for. Much of it seemed identical, and he hoped his memory still held.

'You sure you know where you're going?' asked Muzgu, after a few minutes of this rather slow and halting method of travel.

'I've been here before,' said Vash, still peering at their surroundings. 'Before Gylhain left, she gave me a map, marked with some ruins she'd found on her travels, places she thought I'd find interesting. I needed some time away after Helgen, so I picked one at random. It was up here.'

He stopped, pointing at a barely-there path that coiled up the mountain side. The others looked at him sceptically, but he forged ahead and they followed.

'Arkngthamz,' he said. 'Amazing place. I didn't even know the stronghold was up here until I pretty much walked right into it.' He paused. 'I didn't tell them that, though.'

'I was hoping being Archmage required you to have some brains,' said Muzgu.

Vash smiled. Further up, another path branched off to the right. Looking down it, they could see great stone arches, carved in a style that usually signified a Nordic ruin somewhere nearby. Vash led them straight on, however, up the path to where a tower of an altogether different style loomed above them and to the right.

'Is that it?' asked Yanakh. 'Looks likes Dwemer work.'

'No, that's—I don't know what that is,' said Vash. 'I had a look inside, but it doesn't connect to anything underground. Not that I could tell, anyway. Good view from the top, is about all.' He remembered that huge vista of the Reach and beyond, back onto the plains of Whiterun.

They came abreast of the Dwemer tower and the path flattened out. Vash continued his story.

'I ended up staying there,' he said. 'In Dushnikh Yal, I mean. It turns out Gylhain used it as a base when she was clearing out the Forsworn in the Reach. The chief and his brother and I swapped stories about her late into the night.' He had been almost sorry to leave the stronghold the following morning, and had wished for the companionship of Chief Burguk during the exploration of Arkngthamz. It was unlikely, he thought, that the orc chief would have appreciated Vash's ramblings on the wonders of Dwemer architecture, but talking to the walls never brought any joy.

'What kind of place is it?' asked Yanakh.

'On a scale of prosperity,' said Muzgu, 'Narzulbur being, let's say, a nine, and Largashbur being a zero, where does Dushnikh Yal fit?'

Vash's stomach twisted at the mention of the failures he'd left behind him. He had been trying to keep them from his mind. Still, he had learned enough by now to know it was easier to play along with Muzgu than to try and stand firm and serious. Her and Dar'epha would get along, he thought.

'Eight,' was what he came up with. 'They have a deep orichalcum mine. I think they sell it in Markarth, mostly.'

'Largashbur's downfall,' said Yanakh thoughtfully. 'They did not build upon a mine.'

'No scheming poisonous crones to watch out for?' asked Muzgu.

'Muzgu,' said Yanakh.

'Were they not. Were they not exactly that though.'

'You'll be a crone someday.'

'Please,' said Muzgu. 'That'll never happen.'

Vash watched this, trying not to smile, as the stronghold came into sight ahead of them.

'No,' he said, remembering Muzgu's question. 'No aunt problems.' He struggled to remember. He'd been so surprised to discover a fellow mutual friend of the Dragonborn that he hadn't paid as much attention as he perhaps ought to have. 'I think there might be something with the wives. We'll see.'

Muzgu grunted. 'At least he's got some.'

They hailed the orc in the watchtower, who called for the gate to be opened. Once inside, Vash was greeted with familiarity by Chief Burguk, and all the guests were invited to dinner. It was held outside, around the firepit before the longhouse, under the stars. The orcs stood and sat in a loose group, some on chairs and some sprawling on the dirt, biting into the meat that made up the bulk of their meal, always talking and shoving and yelling at each other, a constant jostle, any contest that could add to their strength.

Burguk insisted upon hearing the story of Vash's travels to the Ashpit. But remembering the strange tensions he had noted between the chief's wives on his last visit, he kept moving his gaze around all the other orcs as he told his tale, noticing those who sat comfortably with others, and those who didn't.

Muzgu and Yanakh were moving amongst the stronghold occupants, no doubt making their own enquiries. But even to Vash's unexperienced eye, it became increasingly clear that while the chief's first two wives, Arob and Gharol, contributed greatly to the stronghold, it was the third, youngest, and prettiest wife, Shel, who received all the chief's favour. She had a place beside the chief, the choicest cuts of meat, and looked as if she had never done a day's work in her life.

When the feast wound down, Gharol, the forge-wife, made up bedrolls for the guests by the forge. It wasn't as cruelly cold as some nights could get in the Reach, but the residual warmth of the forge kept would buffer them from the worst of it. As she was about to leave them, Yanakh held out a hand to delay her and asked a question which confirmed to Vash that she had noticed the same dynamic he had.

'Gharol, does Shel contribute to the stronghold at all?'

Gharol scoffed. 'She does nothing. I slave all day over the forge, and Arob brings in most of our meat. We sell the excess in Markarth. She brought down the deer we ate tonight.'

Yanakh nodded with respect. 'A fine kill.'

'But Shel.' Gharol paused to spit in the dirt. 'She does nothing but cling to Burguk's side and preen herself. I have tried to get her to do something, but he always steps in to protect her. She is a disgrace to the stronghold.' She looked between the three of them. 'Will you speak of this to Burguk?'

'Course not,' said Muzgu. Vash and Yanakh murmured assent.

Gharol looked back down towards the longhouse, where the last of the orcs were retiring for the night. Satisfied they were out of hearing, she continued.

'Shel leaves the stronghold most nights. We do not know where she goes.'

'How long has this been happening?' asked Yanakh.

'A few weeks,' said Gharol. 'Arob and I have been unable to agree what action to take.'

'Leave it with us,' said Vash. 'This sort of problem is why we're here.'

Gharol looked over the trio again. 'Very well,' she said.

After she had left them, Vash stood with his hands folded behind his back and considered their options. Yanakh was leaning against the edge of the still-warm forge, while Muzgu sat crosslegged on her bedroll.

'I guess I can't argue for killing her,' said Muzgu, 'after everything I said about the aunts.'

'Indeed,' said Vash.

'You'd be even more of a hypocrite than usual,' said Yanakh.

'How warm are those coals?' asked Muzgu. 'Reckon you want to have a lie down in there, see how you feel? Maybe we could hammer you into something useful, like an axe.'

Before they could get any further, Vash interrupted. 'Muzgu, you said you were in the Thieves Guild.'

'Yeah, what of it?'

'Then you can be silent.'

'If I've a mind to.'

'You should follow Shel tonight,' said Vash. 'See where she goes. Don't get seen.'

'Do some nosing. Yeah, alright.' She stood up and pulled her cloak tight around her. 'I'll wait outside for her to come out. Don't get too cosy while I'm gone.'

Then she was away, down in front of the longhouse and out through the gate into the dark. Vash watched her go, then turned back to where Yanakh hadn't moved from her spot by the forge. He tried to think of something to say, realising he hadn't been alone with her before.

'Have you and Muzgu known each other long?' he asked.

'A couple of months,' said Yanakh, folding her arms.

Vash thought at first he'd made some error, and was fishing around for another topic, before Yanakh spoke again.

'Malacath told me to meet her in Anvil, down in Cyrodiil.' She gave a rueful smile. 'He neglected to mention that she would be late. And that she'd have a good deal of Imperial Guard on her tail. "A little murder" was what she said. I never got a straight answer out of her about that.'

'I doubt she'll ever give one,' said Vash.

'Perhaps. It took us a long time to get north and over the border. Two orcs travelling together is a distinctive description. We spent a lot of time together.' Yanakh scratched at her scalp. 'I suppose we could have split up. The idea never occurred to us. I guess we know each other pretty well, because of all that time.'

'I didn't know what to expect, when Malacath said he would send assistance,' said Vash.

'Neither did we,' said Yanakh. 'An orc mage? It didn't make a lot of sense. Then when we were in Bruma, about to cross the border, we saw a book with your name on the cover. I read it in the back of the carriage over the mountains.' She looked away. 'You have interesting friends.'

This time Vash knew exactly what to say. He'd always wanted people to feel welcome at the College, in Winterhold itself, so he was practiced at opening the doors wide, so to speak. He was thankful for those years of practice now.

'Always room for a couple more,' he said.

Yanakh smiled at him. Then she coughed, and looked away again.

'We should get some rest,' she said. 'Muzgu could be gone for hours.'

As it happened, Muzgu did not return until dawn, shaking Vash and Yanakh awake. She grinned at them as they groaned and made it upright, seeming no worse herself for her lack of sleep.

'Who wants to hear what I found out?' she said. She rubbed her hands together. 'It's nice and juicy.'

'Just tell us, please,' said Yanakh.

'So everything's nice and quiet in the stronghold,' began Muzgu. 'Then out comes Shel, being very sneaky. Not as sneaky as me, of course, but not bad for an amateur. She goes west, and I follow. There's a big ruin out that way. Skyrim seems to be real big on ruins. Anyway, there's a bandit camp there, lots of campfires about, general sense of drunkenness. Shel wanders right in, starts exchanging spit with a man who looks like the top bandit around. They retired to a tent very quickly. They were in there for a long time.' She looked at Vash and Yanakh. 'I got closer. Would you like to know what they were doing in there?'

'I think we get the idea,' said Vash, sighing. For all Burguk's faults, Vash liked him. He didn't want to have to be the one to bring this sort of news home.

'You're no fun,' said Muzgu. 'Then before first light, she heads on back, sneaks into the longhouse as the sun's tickling the horizon. Masterful little operation she's got.'

'We have to tell Burguk,' said Vash.

'We told Gharol that we wouldn't,' said Yanakh.

'We can keep her out of it. Say we came by the knowledge ourselves.'

'Or we could just let it happen,' said Muzgu. 'Burguk will work it out eventually. Shel's not smart enough to keep this all up for long.'

'What is she thinking?' asked Yanakh, looking out over the Reach. 'She has everything she wants here. Burguk dotes on her.'

'Enough is never enough,' said Muzgu, shrugging.

'I'll tell Burguk,' said Vash. He just hoped it could be handled discreetly.

It could not. Although Vash took Burguk aside and explained the situation as delicately as he was able, as soon as the details were clear, Burguk summoned the entire stronghold to witness as he dragged Shel by her hair from the longhouse and threw her out of the gate.

'You care for this bandit so much,' he roared, 'then go to him! There will be no place in my bed, or in my stronghold, or in any stronghold, for you. From this moment, you are exiled.'

He slammed the gate closed. As Burguk walked back towards the longhouse, all those present could hear Shel's sobs and pleas, her fist hammering on the gate. It was just a few seconds before the pleas turned to curses, then faded altogether. But there was a smile on Burguk's face as he approached his three guests. He grasped all their wrists in turn.

'I must thank you for this,' he said. 'I was blinded.' He glanced back towards the closed gate. 'Now I see her for what she really is. The three of you are welcome at my feast whenever you wish.'

They lingered for a bit, but although the mood in the stronghold was approaching jubilant—Burguk's other wives were doing very poorly at hiding grins—there was a bad taste in Vash's mouth. The trio didn't speak until they'd returned to the main road.

'We gonna argue about whether that was the right thing to do?' asked Muzgu.

'No,' said Vash. 'Let's just keep moving.'