Inna let the northern lights and her huntress' instincts guide her through the vastness of The Pale, and so found nothing but occasional wolves and bears. She did not understand very well why those abandoned places used to scare travellers. Inna knew of the return of the dragons, of course, but she saw no reason to be alarmed. After all, who in Skyrim had not heard of the Dragonborn, the only person who could defeat them? - if Dawnstar were attacked, it was certain that the she would be there to defend the city, as had already happened in Whiterun and Falkreath. In addition, the harsh weather, the lack of hospitality of the locals, and frequent patrolling of the guards helped keep Dawnstar safe from undesirable visitors, which seemed to compensate for the lack of a wall or gate.

It was already dusk of the second day of the trip when Inna dismounted from the huge elk. She kept walking for almost an hour before seeing tents close to Dawnstar's entrance. As she approached, she lifted the hood over her head, leaving only her face exposed. She knew that the members of the trading caravans were all Khajiit and that in Skyrim most of them worked as merchants - but even so, she could not predict their reaction to her appearance. If her own kinsmen were often shocked by her pointed ears, what of strangers who did not live with humans, since they were distrusted and not allowed into any of Skyrim's cities? Inna had already seen some Khajiit caravans on the roads, but this was the first time she approached one.

The caravan itself was small and was at the entrance to the city, so close that one could see some citizens walking close to the city's outskirts and even some buildings, like the inn. Moreover, anyone who entered or left Dawnstar would have to pass in front of the merchants, for they were camped well in the way of travellers. The caravan consisted of a camp with four tents - one containing only supplies and products while the other three had sleeping rolls - with a large bonfire in the centre. There were four Khajiit in the camp: one was using a tanning rack near one of the tents, two were sitting at the entrance of the main tent speaking in a low voice, and the last one was one was sitting by the fire watching them all. He raised his head as Inna drew closer.

One of the Khajiit in the tent stood and approached Inna. She was a little shorter than Inna, had dark brown fur, bright eyes, and wore fine clothes. "Hello, would you like to buy something? I have several kinds of products that can help you in your travels." As soon as the Khajiit began to speak, Inna noticed her unmistakable accent. She put her sack of supplies on the snow-covered ground and took the crumpled note from inside it. "I do not need to buy anything. I got this note from someone who claimed they were with the caravans." She showed the note to Khajiit. "They want to meet me near Dawnstar. Do you know who that might be? "

The Khajiit's expression changed into a small smile. "Oh yes, it's you! Kharjo, come here!" The Khajiit that was sitting away from the tents quickly got up and approached the two. Inna was alert to see that he wore steel armour and had a sword sheathed. As he approached, however, Inna saw that he seemed quite calm. His appearance was very different from the first Khajiit - his coat was much lighter, between grey and white, and his eyes were brown. The first Khajiit looked from Inna to her fellow Khajiit. "Kharjo, this is the human of Nightgate Inn you wanted to hire. May your road lead you to warm sands, human." Saying this, she returned to the tent where her companion awaited her. Inna turned her gaze to Kharjo, having to look up to talk to him, as he was taller than she was. He nodded as a form of greeting. "This Khajiit guards the others. I sent you that note because I need help with something important." Inna nodded back. "I'm Inna. I am a mercenary, yes, but I do not take all kinds of jobs, Kharjo. If you want to kill someone, contact the Dark Brotherhood - I will not steal any kill from them. If you want to plunder someone, you will have to talk to the Thieves Guild depending on what you need. What service do you seek?"

Kharjo seemed amused by Inna's words, but soon resumed his more serious expression. "Bandits harass the caravans at every step, but Khajiit usually scare them off." Inna folded her arms. "So you want me to kill some lowly bandit group that is around?" He shook his head. "I will not ask you to kill anyone. A few days ago, we were ambushed. A nuisance, really, but many of the marauders had quick fingers. One of them stole my Moon Amulet, given to me by my mother when I was just a cub. It is my only memory of home in this cold land. I sent that note to ask you to bring my amulet back. I will pay you well, of course." Inna did not quite understand why Kharjo needed to call her all the way there to retrieve a family heirloom when he could have hired a local sellsword, but she thought it best not to question him. "Okay, that's acceptable." Inna gave a small smile. "We believe the bandits are a part of a group headquartered in Duskglow Crevice, right here in this Hold."

"Group of bandits in Duskglow Crevice? I'm going there, too! I just got a bounty letter from the Jarl himself to kill their leader." A lively voice made them turn to a young Breton, who seemed to be passing by. She appeared to be very young and wore black magician robes. Like most Bretons, she was dark-skinned. She had short brown hair and a war paint that covered her eyes and part of the sides of her face. At the incredulous look that Inna and Kharjo had thrown at her, the girl handed them a bounty letter with the symbol of Dawnstar -

"By order of Skald:

To all able bodied men and women of The Pale. The bandits located in Duskglow Crevice have been harassing, robbing, and attacking citizens and visitors.

A reward will be offered to anyone who kills their leader.

- Jarl Skald The Elder"

"Sorry, I could not help overhearing your conversation." She continued, "My name is Relie Fanis of Markarth. You are going to this cave, right?" She turned to Inna. "What if we travelled together? That way I'm sure we can help each other and come back faster." Inna, always accustomed to her own company, was quite shocked by that sudden approach. She had no idea how to react and it made her uncomfortable. "I work alone. If you don't slow me down, you can come with me." Relie Fanis gave her a shy smile, agreeing with Inna's terms. Kharjo stepped between them, opening a map of Skyrim. "The cave is south of Dawnstar, near this mountain range," he said as he pointed the distance between the two locations on the map. "Inna, we always stay for a few days in the cities we visit. We'll be here for a few days, waiting for you to come back with my amulet. You can have the map if you want." Relie Fanis thanked him and took the map, storing it in her own sack. Inna nodded, promising to return in a few days.

"So, how long do you think it's going to take for us to get there? I can't wait to get my reward... and it'll be great to help the people they've stolen from." Relie Fanis was trying to start a conversation for what seemed like the thousandth time, while Inna kept to herself and merely said what was necessary. To Inna, that silence was comfortable, and to Relie Fanis, it was sepulchral. "In less than a day, if the weather's still good," Inna replied quietly, increasing her pace. The beginning of the trip was quiet and uneventful. The roads were almost deserted of both people and wildlife, and the two adventurers seemed more and more isolated as the day turned into night.

"Where did you say you are from?" Relie Fanis lifted her head from her bowl of cabbage soup. This was the first time Inna had addressed her. They were camped in a clearing in the tundra of The Pale, seated in the midst of a blazing bonfire. "I'm from Markarth, the city of stone. Capital of The Reach. Also known as the most dangerous region of Skyrim." Inna arched her eyebrows. "Dangerous? But why?" Relie Fanis almost spat her food in the snow, utterly shocked. "Have you been living under a rock all this time? Are you sure you're native to Skyrim? Haven't you ever heard of the Forsworn?" Inna felt her cheeks flush as she saw the girl's reaction. "Did I said something wrong? I'm sorry".

The Breton gestured with one hand. "It's alright. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did." Relie Fanis opened the province map in the snow and pointed to the location of her Hold and Markarth. "The Forsworn are wild men and women who say The Reach belongs to them, and to prove their point they attack villages and mines, they also have their own hideouts in the mountains. They're Bretons, like me. It is mainly because of the Forsworn that our Hold is so dangerous; they are also interested in the riches of our silver mines." Inna had access to very few books since she lived in the inn, and the nature of her job made her unable to devote herself to them. "And you, Inna? You don't seem to be from any of the southern Holds." The girl's question pulled her out of her trance. What Relie Fanis had told her about her land aroused her curiosity, and now she wanted to know more about her travelling companion. "I'm from Winterhold, but I grew up alone in The Pale until an old Nord let me live with him in his inn. When I came of age, I started doing mercenary work."

Relie Fanis laughed without humour. "Winterhold, huh? It's my dream to be able to study magic there, but since I still do not have the aptitude... well, I know some basic spells, of course, but they are not enough for them to accept me as one of their students. See, Inna, I'm no sellsword..." She smiled sadly. "I left my parents' manor to venture out as I try to learn more about magic. Sometimes I take this kind of job to keep myself busy, that's all."

Since Inna had been born and practically raised in Winterhold, she knew a great deal about the College of Winterhold, Skyrim's only mages guild. Since its members were very reclusive because of the Nords' mistrust of magic users, Inna had never been able to enter the institution. Instead, she knew many stories about it. "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you get what you want. I lived in Winterhold for a long time but I've never been able to get into the guild, they're very reclusive." However, magic had never really caught Inna's attention. She was more interested in physical combat, so she insisted on using her greatsword. Relie Fanis smiled. "What about you? What do you do besides taking this kind of job?" Inna got up, embarrassed, muttering that she needed to gather more firewood. "I ... I survive."

"Tell me more," Inna asked. It was already the middle of the morning of the next day and they were walking the few remaining miles to reach the cave. The night before, the Breton had told Inna that she had grown up in a house full of books, and so Inna had been asking about the different regions of Skyrim. She was fascinated by the amount of knowledge that that girl seemed to have, despite her youth.

"Well, I did some research and found that Duskglow Crevice is also inhabited by Falmer. They are creatures resembling elves, but they live underground. They hate sunlight and are completely blind." Inna nodded - at last, the girl mentioned something she knew. "Yes, travellers passing by the inn always tell us stories about them. They live in groups and do terrible things with invaders, they are very violent and have giant, poisonous insects known as Chaurus." As they apoke, they approached the cave, which was in front of an abandoned camp covered with snow. "It seems like a big colony lives there." Relie Fanis gestured toward the dark entrance.

"Get behind me when we find the Falmer, okay? They will be able to hear you easily because of your heavy footsteps and the noise of your weapon." In response, Inna drew her Daedric Greatsword from the sheath in her back with a loud, sharp sound. Inna did not like the idea of having to follow the younger girl when it was clear she was much more experienced in combat. But she ended up agreeing. "I know, they can hear the slightest sound." She held the sword in combat position and followed Relie Fanis - who had her fingers over her closed lips - into the dark tunnel.

Duskglow Crevice was not as dark as it looked. The floor and the walls were covered with snow, and the beginning of the cave consisted of a series of tunnels and winding passages that led to a circular area with two bandits. The two women were able to dispose of them easily, with Inna defeating the first with three slashes of her sword and Relie Fanis defending herself of the second one with simple flame and sparks spells. Inna saw her companion put on a light hood that seemed to regenerate her magicka more quickly. The two women spent several hours wandering the confusing tunnels and open areas killing enemies as they attacked them - whether they were Falmer or Skeevers, for most of the bandits they met were just corpses -and collecting the few useful items they found along the way. Most consisted of potions, ingredients, and books, which Inna told the Breton to keep for herself.

Inna had just cleaned her blade of Chaurus blood while Relie Fanis fought three Falmer at once – already weakened by the explosive fire rune spells she had placed minutes before as traps – in an open area with a pond and three Falmer-styled tents. They had agreed that Relie Fanis would go ahead by defeating those repulsive creatures, for her sneaky abilities made her virtually invisible to them. Inna joined Relie Fanis near the lake and the two continued forward until the cave began to change, now resembling Nordic ruins. The two of them passed by a camp with two more dead bandits.

"If there are so many dead bandits here... why would the Jarl want their leader killed? I mean, just look at this" Relie Fanis gestured to a beheaded man; she was shocked by the disfigured state of some corpses. Inna, having lived so long near wild animals, was more accustomed to the often brutal manner by which they slaughtered their prey.

"Maybe he doesn't know about this Falmer colony or maybe he wants you to hunt down all of them," she shrugged. "The way they kill proves that they are nothing but wild animals, but animals don't as cruelly." She referred to the signs of torture they found in some bodies. Inna walked through the room and continued to follow more tunnels at a rapid pace, with Relie Fanis behind her. If she had not been walking so fast, looking back to check if the Breton was accompanying her, she might not have stepped on the wire in front of her.

The thread activated a huge claw that fell towards Inna and hit her squarely in the area below her neck. She fell back, howling in pain and banging her head on the cobblestone. All that noise was more than enough for an armoured Falmer to run towards to Inna, followed by the leader of the bandit group, who was trying to hit the creature with his axe. Relie Fanis was close enough – lost between two winding tunnels – to hear the voices and follow the sounds of the mercenary's screams, but she panicked upon hearing the thug say what he would do to Inna after the Falmer took care of her. Maybe a location spell would be enough?

Inna struggled, trying to get the Falmer off her wound. The impact had made her dizzy and affected her vision, but she could still make out a few features of the creature. She could hear a man muttering in the distance, but it was impossible to understand what he was saying. She reached out with her free hand, her despair mounting as she couldn't find her greatsword. "GET OFF ME!" She shouted louder. The Falmer lifted his head and sniffed the air as he stabbed his claws into the wound, tasting the blood. Inna felt an extra weight on her legs, immobilizing her from the waist down. She felt as if she could not breathe. In the next moment, her hood was torn so violently that it split in half, exposing the rest of her white hair and pointed ears. She heard the Falmer growl, and the meaning of it terrified her even more. She felt a blow to her abdomen.

Relie Fanis closed her eyes, channelling her Magicka and letting the Candlelight spell guide her. Forcing herself to ignore the sounds for a moment, she followed the warmth of the spell and then up a short slope, retracing Inna's footsteps until she found the bloody trap. At last, she opened her eyes, afraid of what he would see as she turned the corner from where the screams came.

Relie Fanis lost control as soon as she took in that scene. With a desperate cry, she cast a fireball spell, which exploded and instantly charred the human who immobilized her companion and the Chaurus Hunter that had just entered through a tunnel on the left. She turned to the Falmer as large ice spikes grew in her hands. One by one, she threw them at it, giving it no time to react. Surprised by the blows, the creature eventually got off Inna to charge for the Breton, swinging its bloody axe.

As soon as she felt herself free and the pain lessened, Inna stood up, a little dizzy, and grabbed her sword, which was only a few feet from the claw, and struck a heavy, violent blow at the Falmer, causing it to screech in pain before it was cut in half. The two halves of its corpse fell aside, bathed in blood and covered in ice spikes.

Inna would have fallen to her knees if Relie Fanis had not held onto her. Inna had a hand over her wound, watching her hand rapidly soak in blood as Relie Fanis dragged her with some difficulty due to her large size. The Breton was able to take her to the small camp with the two human corpses, kicking them away until she could put Inna laying on one of the filthy sleeping rolls. Inna remained silent in pain as Relie Fanis searched their supply sacks for any spell books. She would be able to better help her friend if she could learn more healing spells beyond the basic ones.

"Healing Other... No, I'm not strong enough..." she sighed, as he could not understand the instructions in the book. It was almost as if she were trying to decipher the dragon tongue or the Daedric alphabet. She did not yet have the required skills to learn the spell. She glanced at Inna, her situation worsening by the minute. "Healing Hands will have to be enough," she murmured to herself, placing both hands as gently as she could on Inna's wound, watching as a faint glow took over the blood and the wound slowly healed. Due to Relie Fanis' abilities, the girl's stamina was also being restored as she felt her own Magicka being drained.

"You'll be fine, Inna," she murmured, while her companion sighed as she felt most of her pain subside. Relie Fanis helped Inna sit down and had her take two potions that helped restore her energy and healed her remaining wounds. The Breton herself drank one of the smaller potions. "Are you half-elf?" She asked, unable to contain her curiosity. Inna was so accustomed to that sort of questioning that she no longer cared. "No, I'm a Nord. I've always had ears like this," she said, touching her pointy ears "and even my fellow Nords won't stop asking me that - you know, they aren't very fond of elves. That's why I started wearing my hood." Relie Fanis nodded and smirked. "I'm sure the Khajiit will have another one for you."

Inna had help to get up and together they walked through the remaining part of the cave, with all remaining enemies already dead. Inna found some kind of silver necklace on a shelf next to some books and as it was the only accessory they had found throughout the cave, she knew it must be Kharjo's Moon Amulet. She put it in her sack of supplies and then she and Relie Fanis exited Duskglow Crevice through yet another frozen tunnel.

A/N: Well, how did you like that? Pretty intense, huh? Thank you for your continued support ^^