The first go around with this chapter was a bust in my opinion, I am happy that I have a friend IRL that was willing to help reinvigorate this story. Don't worry everyone, just like my other Elder Scrolls story this will be a secondary story to my main projects, I hope this upgraded version will be better then the first.

Beta Reader: Annonymous

Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls series, it is property of Bethesda and the other creative minds that made it.

Slow. Slow and rickety, as any wagon ride was within the realm of Skyrim. The two childhood friends looked at each other in silent conversation, the Driver would have struck up some sort of conversation but noticed the air and decided to keep to himself. After a while, the two fell completely silent to their own thoughts and memories. One particular hard bump in the road jostled Kali hard enough that she bit her own tongue, groaning near silently, she brought out a small water skin she kept on her person. Taking a drink, she winced at the phantom pain from long ago, rubbing the jagged faded scar that was the one thing that marred her otherwise peerless golden skin. As she did, she looked out towards the horizon and remembered how she received the wound.

Years ago, when Kalissyna was only a young woman coming into adult hood, still living with her parents within Falkreath hold, when unfortunately one night her life changed. She lived in a small fishing community on the banks of Lake Ilinalta it was a small community but a happy one. Not much ever happened there and that was good. Then one day a group of bandits descended upon the community and slaughtered everyone they could find, her neighbors, friends, their families, then her father and mother for resisting. Watching the houses burn and the bandit's hungry eyes on her was enough for her to cry out in misery as something within her clicked and a torrent of raw destructive magicka erupted from the teenage High elf. When she woke up an hour or so later all she saw around her was the smoldering ashes and the blast radius with her at the center of it. She had killed every bandit around her house and within… but also vaporized her parents' bodies in the process. As the remaining fires crackled and burnt in Kali's ear she slowly trudged away with an empty look on her face as she moved slowly northward. Not sure where she was or where she was going, she stumbled upon another group of Bandits. To her misfortune they were the survivors from the village that were coming to find out what had happened. As one descended on her, she tried to summon the same magicka, but she was exhausted in every function of the word. She was only able to produce small flames that burnt the man's flesh but did not kill or stop him as she was rendered unconscious. She woke up again bound and gagged in a bed being raped and began her life in hell. She wanted to die but desire to kill these men was stronger, but they kept her sedated and unable to focus enough to draw on any of the instinctual magicka she had within her.

This continued for how long she did not know, but then there was a change as she heard shouts and screams from outside the cave the bandits called home. As the shouts and calls continued to echo in the hall Kali found herself alone in the leader's room who had gone out to see what was happening, in her drugged and weakened haze she moved sluggishly towards the small desk that the leader kept and specifically to the dagger embedded in the wood. As she was able to reach it, she cut her bounds with what little strength she had and held the dagger up as the leader came in sweating and bloody. Grabbing the weakened girl and tearing the dagger out of her weak grip was easy and holding her up the leader pressed the dagger into Kali's throat as two men entered the room, one in Nordic steel armor and two large war axes in hand, he was a giant of a man but looked about Kali's age with fierce steel grey eyes and wild black hair. The other was a lithe hooded man in leather armor with a lot of pockets and satchels with a bow already trained on the leader. The leader simply sneered saying "Now then ye brats, listen here. I've got this little bitch and I can simply slit her pretty throat, or I can let her go and I leave"

His voice was horrid and grating on the three teenagers as Kali thought for a second. Her being captive kept the two from doing anything, so she decided to act so that at least the bandits would be dead. She used what little strength she had and slammed her head into the bandit's nose causing him to groan in pain as his hand moved causing the blade to slide across Kali's throat and through the skin as he dropped her. At the same time the large man charged in to catch her body as the hooded man loosed three arrows quickly, letting the shafts slam into the leader's throat, left eye, and heart. The larger man slowly picked up Kali gently and held her as the hooded one said "Hrongar, we need to move if you want to keep her alive."

The larger man nodded as Kali's vision darkened feeling her life blood slowly oozing out from the ragged slash across her throat giving a weak smile to her "saviors" as the large man simply said, "You're not dying yet lass."

With that she fell into unconsciousness, waking up later with a burning in her throat, not painful just dryness. She found herself in fresh clothes, bandaged, healing and in a warm bed… she quickly shot up as a hand came over and held her down causing her to struggle before a kind voice said "Calm down Lass, you're safe."

As she looked around, she saw a middle-aged Nord looking down at her easily as a golden light appeared in his hands and washed over her, helping her calm down. "You're in Roriksted. You're lucky my nephew and his friend found you…"

Kali nodded and then tried to speak, feeling the air leave her mouth but barely any voice just a ragged and wispy sound that barely registered as words came out. As she began to reach up and feel her throat the Nord man gently pulled her hands away saying "I'm sorry Lass, I did what I could, but I couldn't save your voice… I have some friends thought that can help you, maybe."

Kali was in a daze; she was saved but she wouldn't be able to speak? Then a knock on the door startled her out of the daze as the large boy from before stood there saying "How is she Uncle Sond?"

"Ah Hrongar. She is alive… but well, I think a trip to Winterhold is necessary." Kali looked over as the boy walked closer saying "I can help get you and her there."

"Good lad. Now let us let her rest." Kali slowly laid back as Hrongar walked up saying "We will do what we can to help you lass."

The smile was big and dopey and reminded her of boys that were kind to a fault, and she smiled back at him before coughing as he grabbed a tankard and helped her drink. Over the next several days Kali told them her name by writing it down, she met Nodurr properly and the three of them made their way to Winterhold. Getting into the college was easy as Sond was a former student and close friend to Colette Marence and Faralda. Then during the weeks of healing under Colette, Hrongar and Nodurr stayed with her to help in any way they could.

As she continued to think back on those simpler times a bump in the road jarred her free from her reverie but not Nodurr based on the faraway look he had. She simply refocused on the road ahead worrying over one of her oldest friends as she again touched her throat. She owed Hrongar and Nodurr her life… She needed to find the big idiot.

Nodurr was in a similar state as Kalissyna, thinking back to how he met Hrongar…

Nodurr stumbled along the cobbled road leading towards Skyrim's old capitol city of Windhelm when his foot struck a loose rock causing him to slip and land hard on the ground. He coughed raggedly as he forced himself up to his feet again as he nursed the blade wound to his side, all the good that Guilds leather did against a well sharpened sword… Dragging his feet along the bridge Nodurr hugged the side walls to avoid the eyes of the guards patrolling the sides before coming up on the gate. He bit his tongue as he moved towards the gate as the two guards looked over him through their helmets as one said, "the inn is straight ahead boy."

Nodurr gave a weak nod in confirmation as he made his way through the gates. He saw the candle hearth inn in front of him and moved to go there only to run into a young man, well a giant young man, and Nodurr fell onto his side hard causing his side to spatter over the cobbles. The boy says the wound and said "Bloody Oblivion. What happened?"

"I-I'm fine." He then coughed again before the other man's hand wrapped around his and hoisted up Nodurr to hang on his shoulder saying, "Come on, the White Phial should have some healing potions."

"Why are you helping me?" Nodurr said a bit dazed as he cringed at the movements as the larger black-haired boy smiled widely "Why wouldn't I help someone in need? Especially when I barreled into you."

The hearty laugh that came from him caused Nodurr to actually smile before he finally passed out. He woke up shortly after with a potion bottle being pressed into his lips as the liquid flowed down his throat. The alchemic brew went to work stopping the blood flow as another voice said "Good, the bleeding stopped. Now rest, I'll have you stitched up soon."

And as a second bottle was fed to him Nodurr felt his head swim as his vision went dark with a silent prayer to Nocturnal for luck. His consciousness returned to him again, this time he was in a bed and a house he didn't recognize and shooting up, he instantly regretted it as his side lit up in pain causing him to hiss as he laid back down groaning. The door opened shortly later as a woman with hair black as a moonless night and eyes the color of a stormy sky, she was beautiful and she smiled saying "Oh, hello there. You better not move too violently dear."

He looked at her confused as she brought up a bowl of soup as another figure entered the room with a smile the boy that saved him came in saying "I'm glad to see you are awake friend."

Nodurr did not understand how to process all of this. They were being so nice to a complete stranger. As he said, "Why are you helping me?"

The woman looked at the young man and then Nodurr with a smile saying, "It is the right thing to do."

Nodurr was surprised as the family then took care of him until he was fully healed. At that time, he thanked them but before he could leave the boy, who he had learned was named Hrongar, pulled him into the back yard and said, "Do you fight?"

"Not particularly." Nodurr was a bit curious as to what exactly he wanted as Hrongar pulled out two war axes saying "Well then, let me teach you some basics so that whatever happened before doesn't happen again"

His genuine smile and warmness despite him being a complete stranger, but Nodurr relented and pulled out his sword as they began a small melee. This continued for several days and the two boys came to like each other as friends. Nodurr was rather tightlipped about his past beyond being an orphan. Then at the end of the second week he finally broke down his walls and admitted the truth to Hrongar saying "Ok ok, fine. I'll tell you, if only to get you to stop pestering me Hrongar."

His proud smile showed that he had no shame in doing it. Nodurr sighed and then went on to admit that he was a member of the thieves' guild in Riften. He had been on assignment when things went bad. It was a simple job, but things went south as the guards came in and tried to gut him instead of arresting him. Hrongar was furious as Nodurr had expected but his statement surprised the thief as he said, "Those guards should have their asses kicked."

"You're not mad I'm a thief?" Nodurr looked at his friend in confusion as Hrongar gave him a smile saying "You are honorable, that's what matters. You went to do a job and you did it, whether it was legal or not, we can leave that for the adults to decide. But we have been sparing for the past week. You have the heart of an honorable man. So, no I don't care if you are a thief."

With that Nodurr became all the closer to this odd giant of a boy. the end of the third week Nodurr decided it was time for him to go, despite his new friend's persistent asking for him to stay. So as he made his way out of Windhelm the father of the family, Torkild, came up to the carriage driver and paid for his passage to Riften saying "We are moving out to Roriksted Nodurr, you are always welcome within my house. Just don't pick the lock, you can simply knock."

Nodurr smiled at the joke and nodded as he headed off. Back in Riften Nodurr did not stay long, he told the guild he was leaving to live with a family, some were amazed, some dismissal, but his best friends Brynjolf and Vex told him that he would always be a thief. Nodurr nodded and headed off to live with his new Family out in Roriksted.

Another Bump in the road jolted the two out of their respective reveries again as the driver slowed down. The road was icy and covered in snow as the Driver said "Alright lad, lass, we are here. The Ivarstead pass. If you want, I can drive you two as far as Ivarstead."

Nodurr spoke up saying "No thank you, this is enough."

Kali nodded in agreeance as they both jumped off as the driver shrugged saying "Aye then. You two stay safe, the pass can be treacherous."

As he then went on for about ten minutes the carriage came back to their confusion as the driver said, "The road is blocked, large landslide looks like."

The two looked at each other before nodding to the driver as Nodurr said "Thank you for the warning, but I believe that is what we are looking for."

"Then, the nine be with you." The driver then left the two adventurers to their journey. Sure, enough after almost half an hour later they found the roadblock. A massive wall of rubble and snow had sealed off the pass and the surrounding area. The two friends could see that there hasn't been much snow so the wounds in the ground were clear evidence of spell craft as well as the blue colored limbs and faces sticking out of the rubble showed the bandits that the companions and their brother encountered. Based upon what they had heard they had reached the place of their brothers supposed death.

So yeah it has been a long time since I have touched this thing. As I said before, I hope you all like the upgraded version of this chapter and expect more from this story in the future.

Until next time, Stay healthy, stay safe. This Celt is out.