Sapphire Night Eye ver2

by Risemonger

She is the shadow on the wall, but a beacon of hope. A mistress of the night and a hero of the day. Join Ty'ani as she is transformed from Riften's most feared thief to Skyrim's greatest hero. Khajiit protagonist. Rated M.

12. In My Time of Need

4E 201
29th of Evening Star

"Ar'jenn!"

Aela and Torvar both snapped their heads up upon hearing the call, seeing the form of Ty'ani emerging from the living quarters of Jorrvaskr. The poor girl seemed to be in a panic, as she snapped her gaze around the meadhall in a searching manner. Upon spotting the two of them, the white Khajiit made her way over.

"Everything alright, Ty'ani?" Aela asked her once she was before them.

"Not really." she responded with a shake of her head. "I've lost Ar'jenn. Have either of you seen her at all?"

To the girl's dismay, both Nords shook their heads in a negative. "Sorry Ty'ani, haven't seen her all day." Aela responded apologetically.

The two watched the Khajiit's shoulders drop, pivoting on the balls of one foot as she threw her hands in the air while she marched away. "Oh, Ar'jenn!" she groaned, grabbing a nearby cloak from one of the chairs- which was clearly not hers since it buried her- and stomped out the back doors.

Huffing in amusement as he returned to his drink, Torvar spoke up once the Khajiit disappeared. "Heh, sounds like that dog o' hers is in trouble."

Outside, Ty'ani stepped down from under the awning, ignoring the sparring match going on between Vilkas and Ria in the snowy courtyard, darting her sapphire eyes around the area in search of her wayward dire wolf. "Ar'jenn!" she called out again, gaining the attention of some of the nearby Companions. "AR'JENN!"

At last, her ears perked up when she heard the sound of a cute bark. She pivoted around just in time to see a small white furred mass leap at her, two paws hitting her square in the gut, making her grunt. Once the form of her dire wolf pup registered in her mind, Ty'ani smiled, kneeling down to allow the wolf to mount her knees and reach up to lick her face.

"There you are." Ty'ani said between licks, rubbing the soft fur of the wolf's sides as the puppy wagged her tail uncontrollably. "I've been looking everywhere for you Ar'jenn, where have you been?"

"That might be my fault." came the voice of Haema, followed by a couple of footfalls. Looking up, Ty'ani first noticed two little girls running up toward her and Ar'jenn, yelling out to gain the wolf's attention. Following that, once Ar'jenn got off her and back on all four paws, the Khajiit spotted Haema walking over to them, looking fairly sheepish. "Sorry Ty'ani, the girls followed me here to see Ar'jenn this morning and took her out to play. I would have warned you when you came back, but I had to keep my eye on them."

Sighing, Ty'ani soon replied. "That's all right Haema, as long as I know Ar'jenn is okay." she glanced over at the two girls, each yelling out in joy as the dire wolf played with them, barking occasionally as they darted around in the snow. Feeling bad for having to ruin the girl's fun, Ty'ani whistled for the dire wolf, clicking to her side. "Ar'jenn, come." she commanded.

At first, the pup ignored her but after two more commands, the wolf darted over to her side before ducking down on her front legs with her rear end up in the air, her bushy tail wagging as she panted happily. The girls moaned at that, but were quickly silenced by their mother. "That's enough now, you two. You both had more then enough fun with Ar'jenn, but it is time for you to go home and do your chores."

"Aww, mama!" moaned the eldest while the youngest groaned.

"None of that from you, Rey." the Nord woman demanded. "You and Hilde go on home, and I expect you both to be done by the time your father and I return."

Hilde and Rey both lowered their heads, sighing as they relented to their mother's wishes. "Yes mama." they both said before scurrying off.

Once they disappeared, Haema turned back round, shaking her head with a sigh as she did so. "Those two, honestly. You'd swear that I am mistakingly raising a Jarl's children with the way they behave sometimes."

Ty'ani shrugged. "I wouldn't really know. I don't often spend time with children."

"Well, trust me when I say never have more than one, if you can help it. One is a handful enough but three..." Haema shook her head as she said that, not needing to say anymore since the messege was quite clear.

Biting her lip, Ty'ani nodded but she silently protested to most of Haema's words. There would be no way she would get any children herself in the forseeable future. Not only due to the fact that she's naturally suspicious of people she doesn't know, which makes her somewhat of a social outcast, but the fact that she's never even kissed a man before shows that she'll never take the steps to even make children in the first place.

Clearing her throat, she glanced up to the larger woman as Ar'jenn bunted her head into her hand, forcing the Khajiit to stroke her. Ever since she found out about Haema's status as Thane and called her out on it days ago, Haema had been fairly apologetic toward the young Khajiit, and a little embarrassed. It turned out that the reason Haema had never told her about her status, was because she felt that she would intimidate people with her connections to the Jarl. Of course, Ty'ani told her that was ridiculous but Haema still insisted that she not tell any of the others, as the last thing she wanted was to be treated differently.

Snapping out of her musings, Ty'ani shook her head as she addressed the Nord woman. "Anyway, I need to do some more training with Ar'jenn. Before I go, do you know where anyone else is?"

Haema pursed her lips in thought before she responded. "Last I saw, Lydia headed up to Dragonsreach, most likely to speak with Hrongar. As for Alasse and Altwen, I've not seen them since breakfast."

Frowning, Ty'ani hummed suspiciously, wondering what those two were up to. She would have thought that Alasse would be with Farengar, but if that's not the case... "Well," she said as she moved to return inside Jorrvaskr. "If you happen to see Altwen, would you mind telling her to met me inside? I'll be needing her input on Ar'jenn's training."

"Of course." Haema nodded, watching the young Khajiit walk inside the meadhall with the wolf pup on her heels, smiling in amusement when Ar'jenn bounced up at Ty'ani with little barks every two steps or so.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Walking down from the Drunken Huntsmen, Altwen pulled her shawl tighter over her body as the cold hit her. Since it had snowed quite heavily recently, it had put a damper on her love for the outdoors. Not that she hated the snow but the blizzards have been getting worse, making it difficult for her to pass by the time with hunts. Not to mention much game nowadays have retreated into hibernation or migrated south, making finding anything near impossible.

As a result, finding something for herself to do had become her current past-time.

Having said that, there was one other thing that she enjoyed doing. Upon spotting Alasse walk down the steps near the guard house, she grinned, thinking to herself that maybe she could have a little fun today. With that in mind, she darted over to the high-elf before she reached the bottom step.

"Hey Ice Queen." she remarked cheerfully, snapping the woman's attention to her instantly and causing her to stop in her tracks. Upon seeing who it was, Alasse let out a inaudible groan, rolling her acid green eyes.

"By the Eight, what is it now?" she snapped unkindly.

Altwen shrugged in response. "I'm bored. Care to walk and talk?"

"No, I do not." she simply replied, crossing her arms.

Groaning, Altwen swiftly stepped in front of the Altmer before she had the chance to continue down the rest of the stairs. "Oh come on, I'm losin' my mind here. Help a fellow woman out, would ya?"

Alasse angled her head so her eyes were more clearly shown to the half-elf from under her blue hood, showing the discontent in the orbs. "I have as much wish to speak with you as I do with a Hagraven."

Altwen frowned at that. "Ouch. You hurt me with your cruel cruel words." she empathised this by holding her hands on the left side of her chest, where her heart is, as if she were in pain. Sighing, Alasse stepped around the huntress, continuing down the stairs. She wasn't free from the woman though, as she quickly stepped down to walk at her side. "Come on, indulge me a little, would ya?" Altwen pressed. "Tell me about what you've been up to. Any new notes? Or maybe you've made new friends around here?"

"What is currently happening in my private life is none of your concern." Alasse retorted, her frown deepening.

"By the Divines, you're impossible to talk to." Altwen muttered. As she was about to say more however, that was when she noticed some commotion going on near the city gates. From the look of it, a city guardsmen was arguing with two foreign looking warriors. From the dark tone of their skin, it was clear the two of them were Redguards and judging from the armour and curved swords under the fur cloaks, they appear to be Alik'r warriors. She nudged Alasse's arm with an elbow to get her attention, pointing toward the group. "Hey, what's goin' on over there?"

Looking over and upon seeing the Alik'r warriors, Alasse frowned. "I am uncertain. It is not often Alik'r warriors are seen in these parts."

Taking the Altmer woman's comment in stride, Altwen strained her ears to listen in.

"Look," said the guardsman, his tone full of irritation. "You've already been told you're not allowed here. Turn around and go back the way you came."

One of the Redguards frowned, crossing his arms. "We're causing no trouble. All we ask is to look for her."

However, the guard was clearly having none of it, waving a hand at the two as if he could blow them out the gates with the gesture. "I don't care what you're doing, after what happened you're lucky I don't toss you in jail. Now get lost." at that, the guardsmen turned and walked away, clearly showing that the conversation was over. Even still, the Redguard scowled at the man's back, his voice dripping with venom when he spoke again.

"We will be back. This is not over." it was then that he happened to look over to their direction, spotting herself and Alasse looking their way. Glancing one last time at the guard, he waved them over. "You there, come here!"

The two women looked at each other uncertainly, not at all liking where this could potentially go. Shugging though, Altwen walked over to stand before the Alik'r warriors. "Yes?" she acknowledged with hands on her hips.

It didn't take long for the man to get to the point. "We are looking for someone in Whiterun, and will pay good money for information."

Frowning at the vagueness, Altwen answered. "All right. Who're you lookin' for?"

"A woman-" the Redguard man answered. "A foreigner in these lands. Redguard, like us. She is likely not using her true name. We will pay for any information regarding her location. We are not welcome here in Whiterun, so we will be in Rorikstead if you learn anything."

"Riiight." Altwen said suspiciously at length, removing her hands from her hips before crossing her arms. "So, why exactly are you lookin' for this person?"

The man frowned at her in turn. "It's none of your concern. All you need to know is that we're paying for information. If that doesn't interest you, feel free to walk away."

"Maybe I will then." the huntress retorted. "I'm not a mercenary for hire, and I'm not gonna be bribed into doin' any jobs for you. So you go ahead and find someone else. I wish ya luck." after saying her piece- albeit in a sarcastic tone- the half-elf turned on her heel and marched away, hearing the Redguard huff and turn to exit through the city gates with his partner. Hearing the gates close, she stopped and turned to Alasse, a frown on her face. "Hey, I dunno if it was just me, but that sounded real suspicious."

"Indeed." Alasse agreed with a small nod before turning her gaze to Altwen. "What is it you intend to do?"

"I'm thinkin' I'm gonna find the woman they're lookin' for," Altwen responded. "And find out exactly what's goin' on." as the woman began to march further into the city, she paused in her step and glanced at Alasse. "You comin'?"

Sighing, Alasse stepped up to Altwen's side. "If I must. I will admit that this has captured my attention, so let us get to the bottom of this."

"All right." Altwen exclaimed with a wide smile. "How's about we start at the market? I see a few Redguard women around there all the time."

"It is the logical place to start." Alasse nodded. After that, the two made their way to the market quickly finding that despite the cold weather, there were still a lot of shoppers going around the stands and browsing through the produce and products.

They had found a few Redguard women among the crowd, but upon asking if they knew about the Alik'r warriors, all they received in return were ignorance toward the fact. Upon the third woman telling them that she knew nothing, Alasse frowned. "This is getting us nowhere."

"Well, we gotta keep tryin'." Altwen told her. "Who knows what those Alik'r wanna do to this woman if they find her, so we gotta make sure that she's not a guilty party."

"I understand that, but it will be futile if she is not even here." Alasse pointed out.

"True. But we still gotta try, so let's head to the Bannered Mare next."

Nodding at the suggestion, Alasse followed the half-elf toward the Inn. Inside the warm interior, they let out a sigh of relief each now they were out of the frigid air. Looking around, it became obvious that the breakroom was quite empty, since only a few people sat at the tables either nursing drinks or eating food. It wouldn't last long though, since the mid-day rush would be starting at any moment so they took advantage of the slow time by searching for the only Redguard woman that works here.

Finding her walking toward the kitchens with a broom in her hand, Altwen immediately headed over toward her, leaving Alasse to catch up. "Saadia!" the half-elf called out, bringing the barmaid's attention to her.

"Altwen." she greeted, lowering the broom to her side. "A little early for you to begin drinking, don't you think?"

Altwen smiled widely, shaking her head as she let out a laugh. "Nah, it's never too early to have a good drink."

The corner of Saadia's lips rose in response of that, shaking her own head. "Just like a true Nord." she muttered. "So, what can I do for you then?"

"Well, nothing as fun as drinkin' I'm afraid." Altwen warned. "There's some Alik'r warriors out there lookin' for a Redguard woman. Was wonderin' if you knew anythin' about that?"

Saadia's eyes widened in shock at that, her whole body tensing. "Are you sure? Oh no! They've found me?" seeing her tension, Alasse and Altwen stared at the woman in confusion and suspicion. Saadia glanced at the two of them with a pleading look. "I need your help! Please, come with me. I must to speak to both of you privately." upon finishing her sentence, the Redguard barmaid marched straight for the kitchens, not even looking to see if the high-elf and half-elf were following her. In response, the two exchanged an incredilous look each but they both still went to follow.

However, before Altwen even made it to the kitchen entrance, that was when something caught her attention. Glancing over to the table by the entrance, she spotted two men dressed in plain clothing and hoods packing their belongings and beginning to leave the Inn. Usually something such as this would never really make Altwen give a second glance, but the thing that did was the dog that was with the two men.

It was a handsome white husky with dark grey spanning it's back, and looked very familiar to the half-elf. Cocking a suspicious brow, she spotted that one of the men happened to glance up and look in her direction. From under his hood, she saw a nicely chiselled chin sporting a dark mahogany goatee and moustache. Yet again, that looked extremely familiar to her.

Upon him seeing that she was looking their way, the man lowered his head and followed after his companion and his dog hastily, which caused alarm bells to go off in Altwen's mind. But as she was about to follow after them, that was when Alasse's voice echoed out to her. "Are you not coming?" she asked testily.

Surprised, Altwen glanced over to the high-elf briefly before snapping back to the entrance, discovering that both men were gone as if neither of them had existed in the first place. She was tempted to run off after them with no explaination to Alasse, but she still had a mission to finish. Therefore, with a huff, she looked back to the Altmer and nodded her head with a grunt, following her through the kitchens quickly to catch up with Saadia.

The Redguard barmaid disposed of her broom into a random corner in the kitchen, heading up the stairs leading to the owners rooms. Upon entering her own and letting Altwen and Alasse in after her, Saadia immediately slammed the door and drew a knife from her hip, pointing it at the two with a determined look. "So, are you working with them?" she demanded venomously. "You think you can take me? Either of you so much as touch me, and you're going to lose fingers. I mean it! I'll... I'll cut you in half!" she waved the weapon higher in front of her dangerously.

"Woah woah, hold on there!" Altwen yelled, holding her hands up so Saadia could see she wasn't going for her own weapons. "We're not gonna hurt ya. Put that down before you hurt yourself."

Scowling at them, as if she didn't believe a word the half-elf said, Saadia continued her line of questioning. "So the Alik'r know where I am? What did they offer you? Gold? How many more of them are coming?"

"We do not know." Alasse interjected. "I tell the truth when I say that we know as much about this situation as you do, if even less. But I promise, upon the Divines themselves, that we are not here to harm you."

Sighing in what the two assumed was relief, but it was clear that she was still wary, Saadia lowered her knife. "Then I need your help. There isn't anyone I can trust here in the city."

"But you can trust us?" Altwen pointed out.

Saadia narrowed her eyes. "Desperate times call for desperate measures." she explained before getting to the point. "I am not the person that the people of Whiterun think I am. My real name is Iman. I am a noble of House Suda in Hammerfell. The men who are looking for me, the Alik'r, they are assassins in the employ of the Aldmeri Dominion. They wish to exchange my blood for gold. I need you to root them out and drive them away before they find me and drag me back to Hammerfell for an exectution."

Altwen rolled her eyes at the revelation, not at all surprised. Of course the Thalmor were behind this, they always tend to have their fingers in everyone elses pies.

Alasse on the other hand was livid. It was like no matter where she went, the Thalmor was always close behind. First when she was young and then in the College of Winterhold. She just cannot get away. Either way, she didn't allow her discontent to show on her face, looking Saadia- or Iman, evidently- in the eye as she spoke. "So, what is it you expect us to do? How are we to be rid of these men?"

"They're mercenaries," Iman explained as she sheathed her knife. "Only in it for the money. They're lead by a man named Kematu. Get rid of him, and the rest will scatter. I don't dare show my face, lest they recognise me, so you will have to find out where they are."

"Fair enough." Altwen nodded. "Any suggestions on where to start?"

Iman pursed her lips for a moment, until she answered. "I heard one of them was just arrested for trying to sneak into the city. If he's locked up in the jail, perhaps you can get it out of him." she gazed at them both pleadingly then. "Please, I know I'm asking you to do something difficult, maybe even dangerous. I just don't know who else I can trust."

"But why are you willing to put your trust in two complete strangers?" Alasse questioned. "Would it not have been easier and more beneficial to go to the city guard for help?"

Iman frowned at that suggestion. "You think I'd be hiding if this was something I trusted town guards to handle?" she protested. "These men are ruthless. Cunning, deceitful... they'll pay off whoever they can. I can't trust anyone here in Whiterun. Guards and Jarl's can be bought and the Alik'r are close; I'm running out of time, so I'm choosing to trust the two of you."

Alasse frowned in turn. "That seems... fair, if a little arbitrary. Would you mind telling us exactly why the Alik'r are after you before we leave?"

"I don't know for sure." Iman answered honestly with a sigh. "I spoke out against the Aldmeri Dominion publicly; I suspect that's why these men were hired to hunt me down."

Altwen let out a bitter laugh at that. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Trust me though, the Dominion find reasons of executin' people for things more stupid than just speakin' against them."

Alasse turned her gaze to Altwen when she said that, an inquiring frown on her face. "I am to assume you have had encounters with the Thalmor in the past?"

Altwen glanced back at Alasse in turn, cocking a brow before gesturing at her own head, where her ears are located under her hood. The high-elf immediately understood, knowing that the woman was referring to her half-elven status. The Thalmor make insurmountable effort to purge half-elves, in the attempt to sustain the purity of the elven bloodlines. In fact, she was certain that they would have attempted a genocide against the Bretons since they were originally inherited from elven blood. If the Bretons weren't considered a well established race to the people of Nirn, and if such a move didn't threaten their status and exsistance, than the Thalmor would have most certainly done it.

Either way, Alasse didn't linger on those thoughts for long as Altwen walked over to Iman and patted her shoulder. "We'll get them off your back for ya, I promise you that."

"Thank you." Iman said with a grateful look as she sat on a nearby chair. "Find me the moment the Alik'r are taken care of."

With nothing else to say, Altwen and Alasse left the room and made their way down the stairs, heading back to the breakroom through the kitchen. Once there, they each turned to look at the other. For a split second, Altwen had the idea of telling Alasse about the two men but decided against it. They currently had enough on their plates to deal with at the moment, so she made no mention of it.

"Well," Altwen finally said after a pause. "Looks like we're in deep now."

"So it would seem." Alasse answered lowly. "What are your thoughts on this then? Do you wish to tell the Alik'r of her or persue this Kematu?"

"Er, persue Kematu of course." Altwen answered with no hesitation. "In no way am I ever gonna help out the Thalmor, even if it is indirectly. You can go and do your own thing if you want, but if you go off and tell them..."

Alasse held up her hand to interrupt her. "Do not jump to conclusions. Like yourself I have no love for the Dominion and would wish nothing more than for their presence on Nirn to deminish. If you should recall, I once told you all that I had killed a Justicar in the past, therefore I am no sympathiser."

"Well, good." Altwen nodded, inclining her head to the exit shortly after. "Shall we go and visit the prisoner then?"

Alasse nodded as well. "Yes, I will accompany you." and so the two exited the Bannered Mare, heading up through the districts to Dragonsreach.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Upon reaching the palace, Altwen and Alasse immediately headed toward the pathway that lead to the back, where the entrance to the jail resided. In the entryway, the first thing they came across was a well lit desk with a watchmen seated at it, scribbling on parchments before him. When they stepped closer to him, he snapped up his helemted head and regarded the two women with a scrutinising look.

"Can I help either of you?" he asked politely, though it was clear that he had no patience for their presence.

Altwen stepped forward. "Yes, I was just wonderin' if we could speak with a prisoner, just for a quick chat."

"What for?" the guard asked suspiciously.

"Well, that's for us to know and for him to find out, isn't it?" the half-elf retorted. Alasse frowned, nudging the woman with an elbow as she too stepped forward.

"I apologise for my aquaitance." she said, her tone polite. "We merely wish to speak with the prisoner in regards to a matter of urgency, and his information could be crucial for us."

The guard just sighed, lowering his head to stare back at the papers on his desk as he waved a hand. "Fine fine, but know that we'll be keeping an eye on you two."

"Thank you." Alasse bowed her head before she, with Altwen behind her, entered the hallway that kept the prison cells. The half-elf huntress jogged to be at her side, glancing at her with a cocked brow.

"You really know how to handle yourself, don't ya?"

Giving the woman a sideways glance, Alasse responded tersely. "Sometimes, it pays to be polite." leaving it at that, the Altmer strode further into the hallway, scanning each of the cells on her way.

Soon enough, they came across a cell that contained a Redguard man that was garbed in the same fashion as the other Alik'r warriors. Upon him seeing them looking into his prison, the man stood from the stool he was sat on and strode up to the cell door, glaring at them. "What are you looking at?" he demanded.

Alasse narrowed her eyes at him, getting straight to the point. "We are in search of Kematu."

The Alik'r frowned at her, as if she had just grown two heads. "You have a death wish, then? If you know that name, you must know to meet him would be to meet your end."

"Clearly not." Altwen intervened. "Cus I'm pretty sure we've faced more scarier things than a man with a fancy sword."

Sending a glare at the woman to silence her, Alasse soon returned her gaze to the Redguard and continued her questioning. "Where is he hiding?"

The man in turn sighed. "If you are that adiment on finding him, then no words I will say will stop you. But, it seems we both have needs, friend. Perhaps we can help each other out."

Not at all liking where this could be going, Alasse relented reluctantly. "Very well, what is it you need?"

"I have dishonoured my brothers by being captured," the Alik'r explained. "And so they have left me here. My life with the Alik'r is over now, but I have no wish to die in this gods-forsaken land. If I can be released from prison, I may start over. See to that, and I'll tell you what you want to know."

Altwen groaned at that. "Gods sake, it's always something isn't it. Just once, I'd like to hear someone say: 'Sure, why not, here's what you need to know! No strings attatched!'"

Glaring at the half-elf once more, Alasse sighed when she turned back to the Redguard. "How much is it to pay your fine?" she asked.

"One-hundred gold will secure my release." he told her, cocking a brow as he did so. "You can afford that, can't you? I suppose you'd better hope you can, if you want the information. Get the money into the hands of one of these guards, and I'll tell you what you want to know." he turned away then, clearly not going to acknowledge them further until they do as he asks.

Feeling more than a little annoyed as his presumtion, Altwen growled as the two backed away from the cell. "Gods damn little fuckin' scoundrel!" she hissed.

Frowning at the woman's language, Alasse spoke to her in a scolding tone. "That is enough."

Altwen merely sighed before speaking again. "So, you got enough on you?"

"I have enough to pay the fine," Alasse told her without even looking in her satchel. "But not enough to pay for any more nights at the Inn. Or meals for that matter."

"Well, tits." Altwen swore, grabbing her own coin purse from her belt. Opening it and tallying the amount she has left, she bit her lip. "Well, I got about sixty gold in here, so how's about we split it half and half? You never know, we might get some more coin when we take out Kematu, who know how much he's got in his pockets."

"That's... true." Alasse said slowly, obviously unhappy with the suggestion of taking a more-than-likely-soon-to-be-dead-man's gold. Either way, she agreed to Altwen's suggestion of splitting the payment, both of them emptying fifty gold each into a spare purse before they returned to the guard at the desk. When he looked up to see them standing there, they saw him roll his eyes from through the eye slits of his helm.

"What is it now?" he inquired irritably.

Presenting the coin purse before dropping it on the desk, Alasse answered. "We wish to pay off the Redguard prisoner's fine."

Staring first at the purse and then the women, the guard nodded as he took the pouch. "Done." he replied simply before leveling them with a look. "Convince him to stay out of the city while your at it."

With that done, Altwen and Alasse returned to the Redguard's cell. Upon him seeing them return, he stood from his stool and walked to the cell door. "Is it done?" he asked.

"Yeah, your fine's been paid off." Altwen told him with irritation evident in her tone. "Now tell us about Kematu."

"Very well." he said before beginning. "Kematu is west of Whiterun, in an unassuming little cave called Swindler's Den. You realise if you set foot in there, you're never coming back out. They'll kill you both. But that's your problem, not mine."

"Oh, don't worry," Altwen 'reassured'. "We do this sort of thing all the time, so we'll be fine. Just make sure that when we come back that we don't see you again, you hear me?" without waiting for a response, the annoyed half-elf turned and stomped away. After letting out a sigh, Alasse followed after her. On their way out, she caught the man calling out to the guard to release him. She didn't hear much else as they both exited the way they came and back out into the cold.

Making their way back down from the Cloud District, Alasse turned to the other woman. "Do you know of this Swindler's Den?"

"I've heard of it," the huntress answered. "But never been there. As far as I know, the place is a few miles west of the city and is completely choker with bandits. So if the Alik'r are there, it's likely that they've either killed the bandits or paid them off. I'll assume the latter, make it harder for enemies to get to them."

"So therefore, we should expect heavy resistance." Alasse clarified. "Perhaps we should ask for the aid of the others."

"Nah, I don't think so." Altwen denied. "Muscles is busy enough as is, Kitten's caught up in her own trainin' as well as trainin' her wolf and Sunshine won't go anywhere without Kitten in her sights. Besides, the two of us are good enough to take on a few bandits, and the Alik'r won't be a problem if we work together."

"That is precisely the problem." Alasse deadpanned. "We do not work well together."

Sighing, Altwen turned to face Alasse to look her dead in the eye. "Oh come on, I'm not a difficult person to work with. It's just you, you're the one that's a complete sourpuss and makes it hard to work with ya."

Alasse scowled at that, glaring at the other woman. "I am most certainly not. It is you that fails to take things seriously and as a result are a complete waste and insult to both of your heritages."

Altwen huffed at that. "Oh really? You takin' a stab at my background now, huh? That's low Ice Queen, even for you."

"I am under no illusion that your kind are treated well." Alasse continued. "But you are most certainly the worse example of your race, an insult to yourself and those around you."

The huntress frowned, clearly getting annoyed, but she took a deep breath to calm herself, raising her hands in a gesture of peace. "Stop! Look, I get it all right, you don't like me. You know what though? I don't like you either, but that shouldn't get in the way of our goal here. If we don't buckle down than an innocent woman could die tonight."

Sighing herself to regain her resolve, Alasse nodded in agreement. "Yes, you are right, I understand that. Just note that because we are fighting alone this time, do not think for a moment that I will accept your attitude."

Altwen shrugged. "I get that. So, do we have an accord?" she outstretched her hand in an offer of a handshake. Alasse stared at it for a moment, her eyes narrowing before finally relenting. She doesn't like the woman, but she was willing to put aside her feelings for the sake of anothers life. Therefore, she reached forward and gripped the huntress's hand, shaking it once.

"Agreed." she announced.

"Agreed." Altwen nodded, releasing her hold on the woman's hand, beginning a march for the main gate. "Then let's saddle up and head out."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It took Altwen and Alasse a good few hours of traversing across the snow covered tundra until they finally found the cave they were looking for. It was mainly the half-elf that was taking the lead, totally adiment that she knew where she was going, though Alasse swore that half the time she was making it up as they went along. However, when the mound that was the entrance to Swindler's Den came into view, the two women slipped off their horses and tied them to nearby trees, deciding not to get too close with the animals incase they ran into an ambush.

Knowing that any sentry bandits would spot them approaching against the stark white snow, Altwen lead Alasse to an outcropping of rock to seperate them from the bandit's line of sight. Once there, she grabbed the Altmer's sleeve and forced her to crouch down, which earned her a glare. Signalling her to stay quiet and low, Altwen crept closer.

When she could see over the rocks, she spotted that there was only one sentry standing guard outside the entrance. He looked positively miserable, wrapping his make-shift fur cloak closer to his body in an effort to ward off the cold.

She took off her bow and an arrow, nocking it on the string and inhaled a deep breath in preperation. She leant up to lean the majority of her weight on one knee, pulling back the string as she rose. The moment the bandit looked over and saw her, it was already too late as she loosened the arrow. The missile struck the bandit in the neck, sending the man to his knees as he clawed at the protruding shaft, gurgling on his own blood. She watched as his eyes rolled into the back of his skull, his body going limp and slumping face first in the snow.

Once he was down, Altwen glanced at Alasse with a smirk. "Not bad for a complete waste of half-elf, huh?"

"Do not start." Alasse remarked lowly, raising from her crouch as Altwen did the same, heading over to the entrance. As they passed the dead bandit, Altwen knelt next to the corpse to retrieve her arrow and riffle in his pockets, pulling out some gold coins and pocketing them. Looking over at the other woman, she saw that she had a displeased look on her face, which only caused the huntress to roll her eyes.

"Oh shush, it's not like he needs it anymore." she told her.

In response, Alasse sighed in irritation, stepping through the cave entrance and disappearing. It didn't take long for Altwen to follow.

Once inside, the first thing the women noticed was that it was dark, the only light coming from the cave entrance at their backs. It just barely illuminated a narrow corridor ahead of them. As they crept through, that was when they heard a couple of voices ahead.

"I'm not sure I like these Alik'r warriors hiding out here. They seem like trouble." came a gruff male's voice.

"Keep it to yourself." replied another male voice. "They're not paying us to talk. They'll be gone as soon as they've found whoever they're looking for, and we'll have all the more coin."

After that, they heard nothing else. Altwen crept down, looking through to the next room, seeing that it was a fairly decent size. From around the natural rock pillar, she spotted two bandits. One was sat at a table at the far end, and another had just drew his bow, pulling an arrow out and nocking it. As she watched, he fired the projectile at something that she couldn't see. She cocked a brow, but paid no mind as she turned to Alasse, whom was crouched beside her.

Looking back at her, Alasse spoke. "What is your proposed course of action?"

Smirking at the woman's formal tone, Altwen answered. "There's only two of 'em, so I say we take them out."

"Rush in?" Alasse questioned sceptically. "You cannot be serious."

"Yeah, I am." Altwen confirmed. "I may be able to sneak up on them, but I doubt you know how to keep yourself hidden and quiet in plain sight, do ya?" at the high-elf's silence, she continued. "Right, so let's take 'em out."

"Very well." the mage relented, raising her right hand as she summoned a green glow. Casting it, her body became incased in an armour spell, switching the auras to flames soon after. Altwen on the other hand, put away her bow and slipped a dagger from her bandoleer. After that, she stood up and sneaked into the room, leaning against a nearby wall.

"Oh, boys." she called out in a sweet and coy voice. Immediately, the two bandits attention snapped to her but before they could react, the huntress flicked her dagger at the one with the bow, watching with rapt attention as the dagger buried into his throat. Following that, a firebolt emerged from the darkness and exploded in the other bandit's chest, making him scream as his fur armour was set alight and scalding him. He was finished off by another firebolt exploding on him again as Alasse emerged from the corridor.

Stepping away from the wall, Altwen laughed as she retrieved her dagger. "Well, so far this is easy."

"Do not become over confident." Alasse warned.

Altwen rolled her eyes in response. "Oh please, there's no way these bandits will take us down."

"No, but the Alik'r most certainly will, so keep your guard up."

"Yeah yeah." Altwen dismissed as she walked in the room to retrieve her dagger. As she did so, she glanced over to where the bandit was firing his bow at, expecting to see a target or maniquinn full of arrows. What met her eyes was indeed a maniquinn but there were no arrows in its body, but instead they were in the head or spread across the floor. Upon closer inspection, she spotted a red apple sitting atop the maniquinn's head, which made her laugh. Glancing briefly over to Alasse, she saw the high-elf walking over to the table where the other bandit was, searching it for anything useful. She smiled, swiftly taking off her bow and an arrow, nocking and firing the projectile in record time.

Hearing the twang of a bow-string, Alasse immediately tensed up and turned to the source of the noise with both hands surrounded with flame. She frowned however when she saw only Altwen with her bow in hand, her firing arm raised and a pleased look on her face. Looking over to where the half-elf was staring at, she spotted a maniquinn with an arrow pinning a red apple above its head into the wall. Knowing instantly what the woman had done, she turned her glare to her. "Do you not have other matters to focus your attention on then polishing your own ego?" she snapped.

"Sure." Altwen responded while she put away her bow as she approached the dummy and retreived her arrow, which ultimately brought the apple with it. She took a hearty bite out of the juicy fruit while it was still stuck to the arrow, chewing and swallowing before smirking. "But showin' produce whose boss is so much more fun! Want some?"

Sighing while massaging her forehead, Alasse ignored the offered fruit and began to move toward the next room without further comments. The huntress shrugged, tugging off the apple and took another bite before flinging it over her shoulder as she followed after the Altmer.

Through the next corridor, the two women heard the voices of more bandits, estimating that there were at least three in this room. Altwen unsheathed both her swords as Alasse prepared her spells, both of them entering the room shortly after. Alasse first cast her spells upon the bandits, raining the fiery balls down on them which startled the bandits. Taking advantage of the element of surprise, Altwen leapt down on one with a yell, slashing her sword across his throat as she went.

As he crumpled to the floor with sickening gurgles, the other two bandits pulled out their respective weapons to engage the two sudden intruders. A Nord man pulled out a broadsword while a Bosmer woman took her bow and aimed at Altwen as she charged the man. However, her aim was interrupted by a firebolt exploding on her chest, setting the fur of her armour alight. She yelled out in pain before another bolt exploded in her face, totally scorching her skin and burning her alive.

Meanwhile, Altwen ran at the Nord smirking as he went to strike her with his sword, his purpose to gut her as she rushed him. That wasn't to be however, as at the last possible moment she tucked down into an athletic forward roll, allowing the sword to cut the air above her. She sprang back up onto her feet instantly, pivoting around while slashing the man at the same time. He screamed in pain as her sword connected with his weapon arm, forcing him to drop the sword. The woman didn't stop there though, as she slashed her other sword diagonally across his back, making his body go rigid before impaling the bandits heart with her first sword.

Pulling the weapon out, Altwen watched the bandit's body faceplant the dusty ground, smiling in victory. Glancing up at the Altmer as she made her way down the ledge, Altwen called out to her. "That's three to two, Ice Queen!"

Altwen frowned at her again. "This is not a compatition."

"Oh lighten up, would ya."

Alasse growled at that comment, not gracing the half-elf with a look as she entered the next corridor. She heard the woman follow as they both ascended a little incline, instantly seeing an opening before them. Crouching down and peaking around the opening, the two saw that it opened up into a very large chamber. One that had a long wooden dining table in the centre with a whole assortment of food and drink. Not to mention the number of bandits sat at it. The room was also over shadowed by a high ledge, which had a solitary archer patrolling it.

Lastly, at the head of the table stuffing his face with a leg of a chicken, was a bandit in heavy Nord inspired armour. He was clearly a Nord with a shaven head, his helmet sitting on the table before him and his great sword leaning against his seat. This must be the bandit chief.

Slipping away from the opening, the women glanced at each other, Altwen being the first to speak. "I counted nine bandits." she informed the other.

"Too many to take on directly." Alasse pointed out. "We will need a plan."

"I got one." the half-elf reassured. "First, I take out the archer. Without support from above, it'll be easier for us to move around without fear of catchin' arrows. Once the archer's down, you lay down some of them fancy wall spells all around the table. I'll take out the stragglers you happen to miss and we'll both take on the rest. Them bandits won't even know what hit 'em."

Alasse cocked a brow at that. That was actually a very good plan. Not flawless, but it will give them the advantage. The only worrying thing was the bandit chief, as he seemed to be a more accomplished fighter than the rest. Therefore she'll focus most of her spells upon him to whittle him down for Altwen to get in close.

With that in mind, she summonded her firewall spells and nodded to the half-elf, signalling that she was ready. Giving a cocky half-smirk back, Altwen readied her bow and arrow and pivoted around the corner with the string pulled back. Taking only a split second to aim, the huntress released the arrow, sending it hurtling toward the enemy archer.

As hoped, the half-elf's arrow buried directly into the archer's neck, making him crumple to the ground with a sharp gurgle. The sound of that and him collapsing to the ground above them immediately alerted the other bandits in the room, causing all of them to drop what they were doing and grab at their weapons.

Those at the table however never got the chance to jump completely out of their chairs, as Alasse acted the moment Altwen's arrow was released. She darted out of cover and cast the fire wall spell directly at the table, making it and the surrounding area catch on fire. Some of the bandits were unlucky enough to catch alight as well, screaming as their skin was burned to a crisp, leaving the women only six to deal with, including the chief.

The two bandits that were not seated at the table charged toward the women, which earned one of them an arrow in the heart for his trouble. As he faceplanted on the ground, his partner continued to charge while Altwen swiftly put away her bow, running at her in turn. Once close enough, the bandit swung her broadsword with the intent of skewering the huntress. To her surprise though, her sword hit nothing but open air as Altwen used her momentum to slide on the ground, which got her behind the bandit.

As the bandit fumbled to a halt, Altwen skidded to a stop and sprung up with her hands which threw her lower body into the air, thrusting her legs up and wrapped them around the bandit's shoulders. Using her unbalanced body against her, the half-elf pulled her using her centre- while letting gravity do most of the work- as she flipped her down and straddled her back, unsheathing a short sword as she did so. In a swift movement, she slit the bandit's throat, letting her bleed out as another bandit escaped the inferno that was once the table and charged at her. She backflipped off the corpse, landing nimbly on her feet as she unsheathed her second sword.

Meanwhile, the chief and last two bandits got away from the fire and focused their attention on Alasse. One bandit charged for her with a war hammer while the other summond lightning spells. Recognising the auras, Alasse knew that if she was hit by the lightning then not only would it damage her, but it will deplete her magicka alarmingly fast. Therefore, she changed the spell in her left hand to a Greater Ward, activating it as the opposing mage cast his Lightning Bolt spell. The bolt cracked on her ward with force, making her grunt and stumble back, but thankfully it spared her from any damage which gave her the time to grab for the dagger hidden under her robes.

Just as her fingers wrapped around the hilt of her weapon, that was when the hammer wielding bandit got within range of her. He pulled back the hammer before swinging it back around with the intent of clobbering her in the chest. However, what he didn't account for was her surprising nimbleness. Alasse may be a magic wielder by default, but she had been in a fair share of fights where it was impossible for her to gain distance between herself and her foe. Therefore, she had learnt how to handle a dagger for quick and precise strikes against her opponents.

As of right now, she jumped out of the hammer's arch before darting back in, stabbing her old elven dagger into the open sleeve of his doublet, directly through his ribs. From her medical expertise, she knew that the place she stabbed would be the quickest route to the lungs so she twisted the weapon to cause more damage and tear the lungs open. As a result, the bandit gasped in pain and fell to the floor. It was a slow death, but Alasse never got the opportunity to finish him off as the enemy mage cast more spells at her, forcing her to concentrate on keeping her ward strong.

It didn't take long for Altwen to break through her opponent's defence and take him down and when she did, that's when she noticed the bandit chief, with his great sword poised, charging at Alasse who was being peppered by spells from the bandit mage. Glancing at said mage, Altwen saw that the Argonian- surprisingly- had his back to her as he focused his attention on the Altmer, giving her the perfect opening. Wasting no time, she darted forward quickly and impaled both her swords through the Argonian's back. The bandit mage gasped in pain and his body became rigid, but it didn't take long before life left his body and he fell to the floor.

With the death of the mage, that only left the chief. However, Altwen barely lifted her head to see the large Nord when she witnessed Alasse attempting to dodge out the way of his great sword. The Altmer managed to make it further into the room and pivot around to throw a fire spell toward the bandit chief, but all that awarded her was her spell exploding harmlessly on his armour. His face did get slightly scorched by the after burn, but all that accomplished was the man becoming enraged. Therefore, he went on the offensive.

For Altwen, she hardly had time to move in to assist before the bandit struck. The armour spell that had been protecting Alasse since they arrived just happened to disappear at that precise moment, leaving the mage vulnerable for attack, since her robes would do nothing against the great sword. As the chief swung the weapon, Alasse had only the barest moment to get out of range of a fatal blow, but it was not enough.

The high-elf let out a pain filled scream as the tip of the great sword slashed across her torso, splitting open the front of her robes and biting through her flesh. Blood gushed from the wound as Alasse lost her footing and collapsed onto her back.

Seeing this, Altwen did not hesitate. She immediately sprung toward the bandit chief with a war cry, successfully getting his attention off the Altmer writhing in pain before him. She struck with the sword in her left hand, which the chief managed to block as she softened her forward momentum with a forward roll. Back on her feet, Altwen continued attacking the chief which forced him further into the centre of the chamber. Every attack that she delivered he blocked, but she could see that he was struggling to keep up with her fast attacks, as his heavy armour and weapon hindered him and prevented him from breaking through her offensive flurry.

While the half-elf had the bandit distracted, Alasse gritted her teeth as she took the opportunity to summon a healing spell. Fighting through the pain, she forced herself to concentrate as she cast a surge of healing magic through her own system. The spell took immediate effect, sealing the gash across her torso but as she wasn't fully focused, all it had accomplished was the prevention of more blood loss and dulling the pain. But that would work in her favour, since now without the pain hindering her concentration, she could focus fully on healing herself.

Meanwhile, despite the fact that Altwen had thus far successfully prevented the chief from delivering an attack to her, it appeared that he had become more accustomed to blocking her strikes. Therefore, unless she pulled an ace out of her sleeve right now, they both will be locked in this impasse for a while. In which case, it seems that she will have to start fighting dirty.

With that decision made, she feinted a blow that was aimed for his shoulder with both her swords. He fell for it, so she immediately went for the opening presented to her while his great sword was out the way. She hooked her foot around his ankle and pulled, which successfully yanked his foot from under him and as he never saw that coming, he had no time to regain his balance and fell onto his back.

Wasting no time, Altwen took advantage of his vulnerability and straddled his chest while pressing her knees down on his forarms, which kept him from lifting his sword to attack her. She took only a second to take in his look of utter surprise before she crossed both her swords across his neck and in one fell swoop, slashed them both horizontally, which took his head clean off his shoulders.

Altwen watched the head roll away from the body, blood gushing out continuously as spasms wrecked through the body below her. Finally the corpse stilled, allowing Altwen to lift herself to her feet and step to the side. She noted that some blood had sprayed onto her doublet, but she didn't let it bother her for now. The huntress wiped her swords on the padded part of the dead bandit's armour, cleaning off the blood on them before swiftly sheathing them in a stylish move.

Letting out a breath, Altwen turned to Alasse, seeing the high-elf cast another healing spell on herself. She watched as the last remenants of the wound she received knitted together fully through the tear in her robes, crossing her arms as the mage pulled herself off the ground.

Allowing a smirk to emerge, the half-elf huntress let out a laugh as Alasse padded closer to her. "Well," she began with mirth in her voice. "I dunno about you, but I'd say we brought this victory... to a head." her smirk widened as she casually gestured to the headless body beside her, laughing at her own jest.

On her part, Alasse was not amused in the slightest. In fact, it seemed the joke had hit something within her as her face twisted into one of pure anger. She gritted her teeth and curled her hands into tight fists, her tense muscles shaking so much from the rage she had thus far managed to contain. However, while in most scenarios the high-elf would attempt to keep her calm, this time something prevented her from doing so. Therefore, her rage had gotten the better of her as a deep growl slipped past her clenched teeth and before she could stop herself, she reeled an arm back and immediately backhanded the half-elf across her face.

Totally unprepared for that, Altwen didn't manage to stay completely upright as her cheek exploded in pain, as the force of Alasse's punch sent her reeling. She scrambled to prevent herself from tumbling onto her rear as she covered the affected area. Finding her feet again, she doubled over as she moaned in pain, feeling a trickle of blood escape through her nose.

Striaghtening up, Altwen tentitively wiped her wrist across her nostrils, staring in shock at the smeared blood on her gauntlet. Annoyance immediately ran through her as she turned her eyes to the Altmer, meeting the woman's own acidic glare. "What in Oblivion was that for?!" she yelled.

Scowling deeply, Alasse hissed back at the woman with pure rage in her tone. "You know full well what that was for!" her glare darkened as she continued. "I have withheld my inner thoughts of your attitude, but since the day we met you have been nothing but completely insufferable! I can no longer tolerate your childish behaviour!"

Feeling anger slip into her own mind, Altwen's glare deepened as well. "Oh really?" she snapped back. "I'm the childish one, am I? Ha, hilarious! You call me childish when your the one that lashed out-"

"Do not attempt to make me the guilty party!" Alasse interrupted. "You should know full well that in the face of danger, jokes and jibes such as yours are not welcome. Your antics have gotten not only me, but everyone else in our company in danger. Truly I was wrong before. Not only are you a waste to your own race, but you are generally a true waste of existence."

Altwen cocked an unamused brow at the Altmer. "Really? Well, that's rich comin' from you. What do you even know about my race anyway? Nothin', that's what!" She paused then, placing her hands onto her hips and rolled her eyes irritably, letting out a mirthless laugh. "You know, I find it funny. I actually had hope that you were different from your race, that you would prove to me that high-elves are not all high and mighty and look down their noses at whom they deem under them. Well, thank you for proving me wrong, Ice Queen. Thank you for showing me that you are no different than the Thalmor."

Alasse's expression became dangerous then, bordering on actually snarling at the woman before her as her acid green eyes seemed to flash. "Do not compare me to those vagabonds." she growled lowly, her voice quiet and full with more anger than was deemed possible for a single person.

Altwen didn't reply though. Instead, it seemed as though her own anger had taken the better of her, as her forest eyes took on a threatening look. Next thing the Altmer knew, the woman drew the dagger sheathed on her belt, poising herself as though she was about to throw it. Seeing this, Alasse immediately dropped into a combat stance as well, certain that the crazy woman woud attack her, as she resummoned her fire spells.

When the high-elf did that, that was when Altwen drew her arm back and flicked the lightweight dagger in one smooth movement. What surprised the Altmer however, was that the weapon did not seemed to be aimed at her. She blinked as the dagger whistled past her head and within the next second, the sound of fleshy impact followed by gurgling ran through her eardrums. Whipping around, Alasse notice instantly a bandit collapsing onto her knees, clawing at her throat uselessly as her own sword clattered to the floor.

Within moments, the bandit crumpled forward, now dead which gave way to deafening silence. Alasse turned back to Altwen, her own face somewhat impassive but still had clear shock in her expression as she took in the half-elf's. The huntress's face was quite livid, her green eyes glaring at the Altmer with no hint of the mirthful creature that she is known to be. In fact, if the woman didn't possess Altwen's face, Alasse would have been certain that she was a completely differenet person, as the expression was very alien on the huntress. That made the high-elf uncomfortable.

After a few tense seconds of simply staring at one another, Altwen finally made a move. She took a few steps toward Alasse, leaning menacingly in her personal space, her green orbs glaring. Even though Alasse was taller then Altwen by a near full head, the Altmer felt so much smaller under that glare.

"Let's make one thing perfectly clear." Altwen hissed quietly. "I respect your opinions and you're entitled to have them. I don't care that you insult me, but do not deem me a waste of space in this world. Remember that if it wasn't for me, then your arse would have been impaled on that bandit's sword. So..." it was here she paused again, leaning in closer on the shell-shocked high-elf, forcing her to take a step back. "Do yourself a favour, and don't ever hit me again, or you will regret it."

At that, Altwen finally retreated away from the Altmer, stepping around her and retrieving her dagger from the bandit's corpse. Straightening up, she could feel Alasse's acid green eyes on her as she wiped the excess blood from the weapon, sheathing it smoothy back on her belt. Taking a deep calming breath, the half-elf began to make her way to the corridor where the last bandit emerged from. "Let's just deal with the Alik'r and be done with this." she told Alasse without gracing her with another look.

Alasse watched the woman walk ahead for only a moment, her mind racing to comprehend what had just transpired. This was completely unlike the half-elf huntress, and Alasse was unsure what to make of this sudden change in her. Just as she jogged to catch up with the woman, that was when Alasse realised how foolish she felt for allowing her anger to get the better of her. It wasn't fair that she insulted Altwen in such a way, and she felt like a real hypocrite as a result.

Shaking those thoughts away, she finally caught up with the half-elf in time to see that they were already on the platform overlooking where they had just fought. It seems she was so deep in her inner turmoil that she had missed the journey up here. She berated herself for that as she watched Altwen disable some bear traps that sat before the entrace to the next tunnel.

Once the traps were safe, both women stepped over them and through the hallway, quickly finding themselves in a small cave which had been flooded. They stepped into the water, seeing a waterfall blocking the cave mouth at the other end. After a perusal of the area, they deduced that was the only way through, therefore they trudged through and stepped through the wall of water, which completely soaked them.

Almost immediately after they stepped through, that was when the sounds of ringing metal reverbrated through the air. Now on alert, the two women lowered into combat stances and raising their respective weapons as they looked above them. What met their eyes were a number of Redguards garbed in the now familiar armours of the Alik'r. Altwen narrowed her eyes at this as she quickly studied each man, counting at least eight of them. Not as many as she imagined, but if Saadia were to be believed, then this was going to be a heck of a fight.

However, what neither women expected was the voice that yelled out. "Alik'r, hold!" at the command, the Redguard warriors all lowered their scimitars. Confused, both Alasse and Altwen pivoted around toward the direction of the voice, seeing one Alik'r without a headwrapping. This must clearly be Kematu.

Kematu placed his hands on his hips as he addressed the two below them. "Stay your hand, warriors! You've both proven your strength, so let us avoid any more bloodshed. My men will not attack you if you keep your weapons lowered. Let us talk a moment, and no one else needs to die."

Frowning, both Altwen and Alasse exchanged a single look at one another, clearly suspicious. Either way, they lowered their respective weapons. "Very well." Alasse replied to the man. "Then let us talk."

Having the go ahead, Kematu began. "It's no secret why you're both here and you have proven your skills in combat. I think we can all profit from the situation in which we find ourselves."

Altwen let out a mirthless laugh at that, cocking a hip out as she yelled up at him. "You do realise that we were sent here to kill you, right?"

On his part, Kematu did not look in the least bit surprised. He only nodded. "Of course, sent by..." here he paused for a moment, placing a finger on his chin in thought. "What is that she's calling herself these days? Shazra? Saadia? One of those, correct? Did she appeal to your sense of honour? Your greed? A more... base need, perhaps?" he pointedly ignored the snarl that originated from Alasse- the Altmer clearly disgusted at the mere thought of that. "It doesn't matter. No doubt she's convinced you that she's the victim. But, do you know why we pursue her?"

"Yes actually, Saadia told us." Altwen answered. "You're assassins."

"Assassins?" Kematu echoed, his tone suggesting that thought was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. "No, nothing so crass. 'Saadia', as you know her, is wanted by the noble houses of Taneth for treason. We were hired to see her return to Hammerfell for her crimes. You could help us with that, and make sure no one else gets hurt."

Hearing this, Alasse frowned. It could be possible that Kematu was lying to them, but at the same time she heard a semblence of truth in his tone. Yes, lies could be hidden behind half truths, but now this had brought her to an impasse. Now she was no longer sure on who was telling the truth. If Saadia was a traitor and they killed these men to free her, then who's to say if she will do the same thing again in Whiterun. But on the other hand, if Kematu was lying to hide the fact that they were hired by the Thalmor and if they didn't kill him, then Saadia would be taken back to Hammerfell and slaughtered unethically by the Dominion.

However, before she had the chance to think any more on this, Altwen huffed in such a way that symbolised her disbelief. It appeared the half-elf had already made up her mind and what she had to say made the Altmer cringe. "Ha, I don't think so sandman. Saadia has already told us more than enough. You guys are bought by the Thalmor, so if you think that I'm going to stoop so low as to help those bastards, then you've got another thing comin'. The way I see it, there's only one way to settle this."

At that, before Alasse could even attempt to stop her, Altwen drew a dagger from her bandoleer and in one fell swoop, she tossed the weapon toward the nearest Alik'r. The blade buried deep into the man's chest, piercing his heart as blood spurted out in all directions. As the Redguard collapsed onto his back with a cry, the others raised their weapons. Kematu among them, and he looked livid.

In the next second, there was an explosion of movement as the Alik'r warriors jumped down from their perches, landing in the pool with a variety of splashes as they pursued Altwen and Alasse when they ran back through the waterfall. However, before any one of them broke through fully, the water was suddenly turned to ice. One unfortunate Redguard was trapped within the wall of ice, holding him in place securely. He looked up in time to spot the Altmer mage casting her icy spells which covered the entirity of the entrance before he was completely incased.

Thanks to the high-elf's quick thinking they were bought more time, but Alasse knew that the wall of ice spell would not hold back the Alik'r forever. Upon finishing her spell, she turned tail and followed after Altwen, catching back up with her in the main chamber. Upon seeing the huntress resetting the bear traps, Alasse scowled at her. "You reckless fool!" she yelled, to which Altwen only held up a hand to silence her.

"Now's not the time!" she yelled back. "Yell at me when we make it outta here, all right?"

Growling through clenched teeth, Alasse let it be for now, knowing that the woman was right. Throwing up her hands in annoyance, she relented as she spoke again. "Fine. What is your plan then?"

Finishing up with the last bear trap, Altwen rose from the ground and turned to the Altmer. "Well, good thinkin' with that ice spell but it won't hold 'em for long, so here's my thought. Unless they're willin' to jump down this ledge, then we can lure them through these tunnels and lay traps for 'em at every turn. So, you got any rune spells up your sleeve?"

"Yes, I do." Alasse replied.

"Good, then follow me." at that, Altwen began to run down the corridor they had recently come from, the high-elf on her heels. Once they made it to the other side, she turned back to Alasse. "All right, you lay down those rune spells of yours at these choke points. When you've done that, head back to the main room and hide yourself. Don't come out until I give the signal."

"Where will you be?" Alasse questioned as she summoned a fire rune spell.

"Doin' my own thing." and without another word, Altwen disappeared through the next corridor. Bemused, Alasse shook her head and continued with her task. But it was only after she was about to move on that she realised that she didn't know what Altwen's signal woud be. Growling in irritaion again, she carried on through the tunnels.

By the time she was finished, the winding corridors back to the main chamber was littered with hidden runes. With her job done, she ran into the wide open chamber, the dining table in the centre still on fire as she glanced around for a place to hide herself. Seeing nothing immediate, Alasse sighed, which turned to a small gasp when she heard a multitude of footsteps stomping from above. This meant that the Alik'r had broken through the ice. Mind racing, Alasse dashed over to the foot of the ridge, flattening herself against the rocks as best as she could.

She covered her own mouth to stifle her heavy breathing, listening to the yells of the Redguards as they came ever closer. But once their voices could be clearly heard- indicating that they had entered the chamber- that was when metallic snappings sounded out followed by the screams of one or two Alik'r. Clearly, Altwen's plan with the bear traps worked.

Within moments however, that was when she also heard the twang of a bow-string followed by multiple bodies hitting the floor with sickening noises. Then silence fell.

Alasse frowned at that. Surely that could not have been all ofthe Alik'r? Suddenly suspicious, Alasse pushed off the wall, her hands raised with auras of flame. As she strained her neck to look over the lip of the ledge, that was when the sound of muliple footsteps echoed from the corridor to her right. Alarmed, the Altmer mage snapped her gaze to the entrance just in time to see Kematu- whom was weilding two scimitars- emerge through the portal, followed by three of his Alik'r. Alasse immediately cast a volley of firebolts at them, knowing that she had no hope of hiding away since they had already spotted her.

How did they get around that way? Was there a route past the waterfall that looped back round in the cave? She never had time to ponder on it as the four Redguards charged at her. She threw a couple more bolts toward them, but that was when a light pain flared in her skull, breaking her concentration. She instantly understood she was running out of mana, as her vision also began to lose colour. Knowing that she had no chance to take on them all on without her spells, Alasse pivoted around and sprinted for the tunnel back up to the ridge, hoping to lure them toward her runes.

Just as she made it to the entrance of the tunnel though, a sudden surge of powerful magical energy circled the air, reverberating through her being. The only time she ever has a feeling like this is when she either casts her own spells, or another mage casts their's. Knowing that she did nothing of the sort- and knowing for a fact that Alik'r warriors don't tend to practise magic, especially not one this powerful- she paused and turned back around. What met her eyes- to her absolute shock- was a rippling after-effect of a summoning portal and from it, came the flaming and beautiful form of a Flame Atronach. However, Alasse quickly recognised that this was no ordinary Atronach. This was a Flame Thrall, a counjuration spell of the highest level.

Immediately, the Thrall began attacking the Alik'r, sending fire balls in rapid volleys toward the warriors which effectively kept them off Alasse's trail. Alasse was rooted to the spot, dumbfounded for a moment, merely watching the carnage before her as the Alik'r attacked the daedra. Altwen then suddenly appeared on the ridge above, beginning to fire down at the Alik'r also. "What're you waitin' for, Ice Queen? Run for it!" she shouted to the shell-shocked Altmer.

Understanding dawned on the woman as she snapped out of it, seeing that- of all people- Kematu had left his brothers behind to deal with the Thrall and charged toward her. Immediately, Alasse sprang into motion and began sprinting as fast as she could down the tunnel, her robes whipping behind her as she went.

Her breaths came rapidly as she pushed herself to her limit, hearing the Redguard warrior closing in on her. She could see the exit of the corridor directly ahead, where she knew one of her rune's were hidden. Practically feeling the Alik'r on her heels, Alasse gave it her all to make it through the opening and to a safe distance before her rune would explode. The spell had an area of effect and as she was the caster, she would not set it off, but if Kematu was right behind her then he would set it off and she would be caught in the explosion.

Unfortunately for her, that was precisely what happened. She had just made it through to the next room, but Kematu was indeed right behind her, ready to cut her down before her rune exploded, sending them both caneering into the room. They both let out screams of pain and surprise, Alasse especially as she felt the flames licking at her exposed skin, scorching her badly. She landed heavily on her side, groaning as she writhed in pain.

She attempted to summon a healing spell to rid herself of the pain, but her mana had yet to regenerate enough for her to even try. She never would have gotten the chance anyway, as Kematu had recovered quicker than her and had now grabbed her hood as well a chunk of her hair underneath. She screamed in pain as her roots were yanked harshly as Kematu pulled her up onto her knees, which prompted her to grab his wrists to get him to let go.

He pulled her up even more, lowering his head so he could talk directly to her. "I'd hoped we could work something out, that you would see reason." he told her, disappointment evident in his tone. "That we could avoid having to kill you. But now you have chosen your fate, and it is time for you to face it."

He raised his scimitar up to her throat and Alasse closed her eyes, knowing that she couldn't fight against him. She felt the bite of the blade on her neck, resigning herself to her fate.

However, she instead heard Kematu let out a yell of pain and he released his grip on her hair and hood, which caused her to fall forward with a grunt. It took her a good few moments to recognise the sound of ringing metal, deducing that someone was battling with Kematu. It could only be Altwen. Glancing up, she discovered that it was indeed the half-elf, seeing her rapidly attacking the Alik'r leader with abandon.

On his part, Kematu seemed to be hindered by the arrow shaft that was sticking out of his shoulder, which ultimately ended up being his downfall. Altwen kicked him directly in his gut, and while he had made the attempt to keep from doubling over, he still didn't have the time to block her incoming slash. Her first sword knocked his away with ease while the other attacked, successfully connecting. His throat was instantly split open, spurting blood in all directions as he began slowly drowning. Soon enough, his eyes rolled into the back of their sockets as his body crumpled down.

Seeing the huntress was victorious, Alasse allowed herself to relax slightly, feeling the adrenaline that had been coursing through her slowly disappear. As a result, her pain had increased tenfold, making it much harder for her to concentrate on summoning her healing magic.

Through the pain however, she felt someone was trying to lift her up, figuring that it would be Altwen, as they were now the only two people left alive in this cave. As she slowly sat up, she hissed in pain as she covered part of her face, feeling the burning sensation of what the fire of her rune left on her. Her hands were also scarred similarly.

While Alasse was getting her barings, Altwen couldn't help but stare in shock at the woman crouched before her. Her burns were clearly very bad, but the problem was that she could see them clearly, as her hood had slipped off her head when Kematu dropped her. The blue material was now draped over her shoulders, showcasing everything that was always hidden beneath. Her dishevelled auburn hair was long and fell past her shoulders, her olive skin now scorched red from the flames, but that wasn't what really caught Altwen's attention.

She had only briefly seen Alasse's face fully when they first met, when she pulled it off to kiss her forehead, but she didn't remember much of it since she was drunk that day. The woman before her clearly had the features of a high-elf- high cheekbones and a pointed chin- but that was in stark contrast of the smooth and rounded ears under her hair. Forest eyes wide in shock, Altwen allowed her mouth to drop open. "By the Gods." she whispered. Her voice brought the woman's attention to her, raising her acid green eyes to her face.

With a voice filled with the pain she felt, Alasse spoke back. "What is it?"

Altwen glanced directly into Alasse's eyes, staying silent for only a moment. "Your hood's off." she said at last.

It took Alasse a moment to understand what the woman was telling her, but when it registered, her eyes widened as she scrambled to pull her hood back over her head. The pain coursing through her system stopped her though, causing her to double over with a small cry. When she recovered, she turned her glare to Altwen, shaking her head when she realised there was no way around this. Altwen had already seen everything. "You cannot speak of this to the others." she hissed, her tone strict but with an undertone of fear. It was subtle, but Altwen clearly heard it.

With the shock of what she was seeing still running through her, Altwen merely stated the obvious to the woman. "You're a half-elf?!"

Alasse closed her eyes, shame filling her. She attempted to avoid the conversation by forcing herself to summon her healing magic, this time being successful. She cast the golden aura, sighing in relief when the burns were soothed and healed, though her headache flared up more and her vision continued to lose colour as her mana dropped harshly. She massaged her forehead as she squeezed her eyes shut against the assault.

Meanwhile, Altwen was completely livid as she snapped to her feet. "Un-freakin'-believable! You're a Gods damned half-elf! How in Oblivion did I not see this?" she ranted, beginning to pace. "Bloody Oblivion, it was so obvious! The signs were all there but I never saw them! Another of my own kind right under my nose, and I didn't even see it! Gods fuckin' damn it!" She glanced down at Alasse then, seeing the woman struggling to get to her feet. "But- oh hoho- but that then makes you the biggest hypocrite out there! Calling me a waste of my race when you-"

"Enough!" Alasse yelled, silencing the huntress instantly. Pain still pounding through her skull, she begun to feel irritation gripping her conscience as she spoke to the woman before her. "Listen, I will admit that I am not proud of keeping this from you and the others, but it is necessary."

Altwen cocked a disbelieving brow at that. "Necessary?! How? How exactly is keepin' what you are a secret necessary?"

"Because I should not exist in the first place!" Alasse shouted back, her voice wavering at this confession though she made an effort to repress it.

Startled by the mage's outburst, Altwen stared at Alasse for an extended time as silence fell between them. She clearly heard the self-disgust in high-elf's... half-elf's... tone. She was ashamed of herself. Is that why she hid herself away? Altwen will admit, the mage is a genius at hiding what she is, since she looked more like a high-elf than whatever she was crossed with but she was genuinely confused as to why she hid that.

After she got herself back under control, Alasse inhaled deeply, letting it out in a sigh as she lowered her gaze, reaching for her hood and folded it back over her head, effectively hiding the human ears. She glanced up briefly at the huntress, acknowledging her blank expression. Before long though, Alasse broke eye contact and begun to exit the area. "Look," she began, bringing the huntress's attention on her. "Take whatever you wish from the corpses and let us leave. I have had enough of this place."

The newly revealed half-elf then turned and exited through the tunnel, leaving Altwen behind to gather herself and abid to her task.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoO

After collecting whatever they could from the den, Altwen and Alasse exited the cave and made their way back to their horses. Acorn and Aelsin were exactly where the two women left them, both mares waiting patiently for their masters to untie them and mount their backs. Once saddled up, the two half-elves set off back toward Whiterun.

Silence stretched between them during the trip back to the road, neither one inclined to break it. Soon enough though, once they finally found the road through the snow, Altwen's curiousity got the better of her, deciding it was time to speak up.

"So..." she began, stretching the word out to empathise how awkward she felt.

Alasse jerked her head in Altwen's direction slightly, clearly unhappy that she was breaking the silence between them. "What?" she snapped.

Altwen frowned at that. "Hey, don't get tetchy with me. It's just that I've not seen another half-elf in years. Outside my family that is."

Alasse cocked a brow at that, turning her head to gaze fully at the other half-elf. "You have a family?" she asked, her voice devoid of her usual snark.

"Well yeah, but don't get me off track. We're talkin' about you here." Altwen remarked.

"I would rather not." the mage dismissed, turning her eyes back to the barely visible road.

Sighing, Altwen decided to try a different approach. "Alasse." that did it. The woman's attention was immediately on her again, her eyes wide in surprise at hearing her own name being spoken by her fellow half-elf. Seeing she now had the woman's attention, Altwen continued. "I'm not stupid y'know. I heard the tone of your voice earlier. Nobody has that much disgust and shame about themselves just 'cus they exist. What made you this angry? That's all I want to know."

For the longest time, Alasse was quiet. So much so that Altwen figured that she wasn't going to be enlightened, that Alasse was going to shut her out again. Therefore, it totally surprised her when Alasse spoke up.

"That is not my true name." she whispered. So quietly in fact, that Altwen had to strain her ears just to hear her over the howling winds. "Alasse Míriel is merely a front. My real name is Raveya Silloniane. My mother was an Altmer and she was raped by an Imperial soldier. I am the result of unwanted sexual compilation."

Altwen bit her lip at that. "Well, that's not the most ideal way to be brought to the world, but that can't be the only reason you're this angry."

Alasse scowled, though it was obvious it was not directed at the huntress. The mage looked back toward the road, pulling back on her horse's reigns which caused the animal to come to a stop. Confused, Altwen did the same, looking back at the woman, seeing her inner turmoil.

Finally though, Alasse looked up to her. "You truly wish to know?" she asked, her green eyes narrowing. "You are that curious on why I hold much hatred for my own origins? It is because of the Thalmor. When they discovered my half-elven status, they were relentless in their hunt for me and for my mother. They did not care that my mother was not willing in my creation, they sought only to purge myself and her. For the longest time, my mother and I was constantly on the run. As a result, my mother had slowly begun to hate me and when the Thalmor finally caught up, she never fought against them. She merely allowed them to execute her, because she was tired of protecting an Imperial blooded elf. She left me, a defencless child, to fend for myself."

After her explanation, Alasse glanced at Altwen, her expression clearly showing that she was fighting to keep her emotions in check. "So now you see why I hate myself so much. Now you know why I hide my true identity, so tell me my fellow half-elf; is your curiousity satisfied? Do you feel better now you know my sad story?"

Altwen only stared at Alasse for a second, but a smile soon crossed her face. "Nope." she nearly laughed when Alasse gave her a look of shock. Her smile widened as she spoke up again before the mage could become angry with her. "But y'know what? It's enough. Your story is a sad one, yeah, but why should your past dictate who you are? Remember that I'm a half-elf too but you know what? I don't care. I don't give a skeever's ass about what I am, because that doesn't decide on who I am. My story ain't as bad as yours but fuck it. You are who you are, not what you are."

After Altwen finished speaking, Alasse couldn't help but stare at the woman in shock. Needless to say, the last thing she expected was Altwen to come up with logic like that and she felt rather foolish that she had never thought of it that way before. Even with all her knowledge and understanding of the physical and magical worlds, she had never figured out that logic before.

After a while, she spoke up again. "I will admit, I never expected you of all people to make me see my origins in a different light."

Altwen smiled back at her. "It helps to have a fresh perspective on things. Trust me, I've been at this far longer than you have. Now come on, let's get back to the city. Saadia's probably worried and there's a bowl of warm stew in there with my name on it."

Nodding in agreement, Alasse lightly snapped the reigns, coaxing her horse into a canter. Altwen soon followed and the two continued to pick out the road back to Whiterun. As they went, Alasse soon spoke up again. "Back there in the cave, you summoned a Fire Thrall. I was not aware that you knew magic."

Altwen shrugged, but she didn't meet the other's eyes. "Yeah, but I don't really know that much magic. All I know is some summoning spells." she then glanced over at Alasse with a smirk. "What, are you tellin' me that you couldn't sense my magic?"

Alasse scowled at that. "Silence yourself." she simply snapped, whiched caused Altwen to laugh.

"Oh, by the way?" Altwen continued. "Shall I call you Raveya now, or do ya still prefer Ice Queen?"

In response, Alasse bore her scowl at the woman before turning her eyes back to the road as she replied. "I really hate you." her words were harsh, but her tone was light. It was as close to a jesting tone as the woman would get, and Altwen couldn't help but grin at that.

oOoOoOoOoOoO

Well well, seems like I've got my muse back again. Let's see how long this one will last for.

Edit: I made a couple of spelling and grammar corrections as well as adding a bit more to Altwen's and Alasse's conversations.