Author's Note- I wanted to thank you guys for keeping up with my story, and hope you like where it's going. If you have any tips that you would like to tell me, just post it in a review or PM me. Thanks!
Rayne spent her time watching the water, just looking through the mist. Nothing would happen, but something caught her eye. What the.. She thought to herself. An arrow pierced the water. Followed by another. She looked up to see the outline of a ship, with a symbol on it's sail. She knew immediately what it was. The Blood Horkers... She went ot get Thrynn, who was already telling Gjalund to go right. But the ship was closing in, and arrows began to strike the wooden flat on the ship which Rayne was on. Rayne got her bow, and began to fire at the archers, the fog clearing up. She killed three archers through the neck with her bow, then threw a dagger at a man who was trying to leap onto her ship. The dagger hit the man in mid-air, his body hitting the water. She felt the boat shift to the right, turning to see Gjalund turning the wheel.
Thrynn could see Raven Rock in the distance, a small village in Solsthiem. Thrynn told Gjalund to get out of here, and quick. He agreed, and turned left. Thrynn ran up to Rayne, telling her they needed to get into the water. She disagreed, but Thrynn picked her up and threw her in, and he jumped in after her.
Rayne swam up to the surface, turning to see the Blood Horkers following Gjalunds ship. Thrynn surfaced behind her.
"Don't worry about Gjalund, he'll ma-" Rayne cut him off, punching him in the face. "What the fuck was that for, Thrynn!?" Rayne yelled at him.
"I just saved your neck back there." Thrynn said to Rayne.
Rayen knew he was right, but she didn't want him to be. She followed Thrynn to shore, and they walked the short rest of the way to Raven Rock, where Adril Arano was waiting for Thrynn.
"Thrynn! It has been a long time! Come, come, let us get you two all dried up and clothed." Adril Arano led Rayne and Thrynn to see Fethis Alor, who gave Rayne and Thrynn some Miner's Clothes, and short, black boots. Thrynn followed Adril Arano to see Counciler Morvayn, and Rayne wandered around town, eventually asking one of the guards where to get a drink.
"If the ash has your throat parched, head to the Retching Netch Cornerclub. Look for Geldis Sadri. He'll hook you up with the best Sujamma to ever cross your lips."Rayne did as he said, heading over to the CornerClub, which looked pretty small on the outside. When she opened the door, she saw a set of stairs leading to the bar itself. She descended the stairs, and asked for Geldis Sadri.
"Someone callin' me? Ah! Welcome to the Retching Netch Cornerclub, milady. What can I get for you?" Geldis Sadri rested his hands on the counter.
"Summaja, I think it was?" Rayne looked at Geldis as he laughed.
"You mean 'Sujamma'? Yes we have some. Here, I'll give you some on the house just for that." He handed her a tankard with Sujamma in it, and she drank it. A smile spread across her lips, and Geldis laughed.
After a few glasses, she asked Geldis a question. "So, the Retching Netch? How'd you come up with that one?" Rayne said.
"Well, I was walking the bulwark one night, and saw a dunmer, naked as day, singing terribly at the top of his lungs, a bottle of Sujamma in his hands. A netch wandered over, he saw the netch, yelled 'Have a drink!', tossed the bottle at it, and it never hit the ground. The netch must've soaked up the contents, because it started to tilt, then the foulest liquid ever to assail your nose came out of the netch. And then, I knew, I had the name for the cornerclub." Rayne stared at him, then laughed.
"True story, my friend." Geldis said with a smile.
Thrynn walked into the cornerclub, and saw Rayne talking with Geldis Sadri. He sat down on the bar stool next to Rayne and asked for a drink. "Thrynn! It's been a long time, my friend. How've you been?" Geldis said this as he got a tankard of Sujamma ready.
"Been better." Thrynn said, accepting the tankard of Sujamma. He looked over to Rayne, who had four empty tankards in front of her, and the one she was downing in her hand. "One of my best customers," Geldis began, "You know her?"
"Aye, that I do." Thrynn said, watching as Rayne asked for another. "How on earth are you going to pay for all that Sujamma?" Thrynn asked. Rayne replied by putting a few flawless amethysts on the wooden counter, which Geldis gladly accepted.
"Where on earth did you get...?" Thrynn looked at Rayne in disbelief, but she just smiled at him and continued to drink from her tankard. Thrynn just began to drink his Sujamma.
Rayne had rented the biggest room there, and Thrynn had kept watch. She passed out immediately. After a while, Thrynn heard it again. Her mumbling. But, this time, it was more distinct, and sounded like... a language of some sort, unbeknownst to Thrynn. He listened more closely, to the sounds, the short words being spoken. He could make out a few, such as "Nah", "Toor", and "Ro". He didn't know what they meant, but it sure was different. He pushed it off and continued to keep watch, humming "Ragnar the Red" quietly to himself.
Rayne awoke nine hours later, tired, and had a headache. Too much of the... Sujamma, She thought to herself. She rubbed her eyes, wiping away her blurry vision. She felt groggy, still, and went to find a health potion. Her best bet was the alchemist. She got up from her bed and passed Thrynn. "Mornin'." Thrynn said. Rayne just grunted and did her best not to fall over.
When she walked out of the cornerclub, she turned to the guard by the door and asked him where the alchemist was.
"Too much Sujamma, eh? Heh. The far west end of town." The guard motioned where it was, and Rayne thanked him. She headed in that direction, and saw a woman, dressed in a dunmer outfit, mixing a potion. She approached the woman, and tapped her on the shoulder. The woman turned to look at her, and Rayne asked for a health potion. The woman went to retrieve one from a barrel, tossing empty ones out, until she rooted out a full one, and handed it to Rayne. Rayne gave her a ruby she'd stolen back in Skyrim, and put the potion in her pocket, heading back to the Retching Netch Cornerclub.
Thrynn was talking to Teldryn Sero, who was a "blade for hire", trying to negotiate a price with him. Thrynn and Teldryn eventually came down to five-hundred gold septims. Thrynn handed the bag over, and the two headed downstairs to Rayne's room she had rented. Rayne didn't mind. She just went down to the bar and sat on teh stool, uncorking the healing potion. Geldis looked up at her.
"Too much Sujamma?" Geldis was cleaning a tankard with a rag.
"Yeah, I guess..." Rayne said, then began to drink the healing potion. She downed it within three seconds, already feeling it's effects. She set the botle down, and got up, heading to her rented room.
Thrynn and Teldryn were discussing the situation Rayne and him were in, Teldryn listening to every detail. There was a table in the center of the room, a map and gold on it, with an iron dagger stuck on a point on the map. Rayne walked up to the table, resting her hands on the edge. Thrynn nodded to her and continued talking with Teldryn. Rayne was intrigued by the armor that Teldryn wore. She later learned that it was "Chitin Light Armor".
"Tel Methryn? You're sure?" Teldryn questioned to Thrynn.
"I'm positive. There is someone there who can help me and Rayne, and trust me, we need all the help we can get." Thrynn finished, and Teldryn nodded.
"Alright, then. Tel Methryn it is. But first, we need to get you two armored up. The path isn't safe anymore." Thrynn and Rayne followed Teldryn to the Glover Mallory. Glover gave Thrynn a set of fur armor, with fur boots and fur gauntlets. Thrynn left this exact set with Glover in case he returned. Thrynn took the Steel War Axe given to him. Rayne, however, got Leather armor.
"What?" She said to Thrynn, who gave her an odd look. "It seems fitting." Thrynn just shrugged and said "Lets get a move on, then." The three of them left, Teldryn taking the lead.
Rayne kept her bow in hand, just in case something popped up that she had to kill. It's been bothering her. She just felt like killing something. And now was her chance. Ash Hopppers, Teldryn called them, started to emerge from the ash below their feet. She began to release arrows at them, killing them with a single shot... before Thrynn or Teldryn could get a kill. They were all dead. Thrynn was shocked. He looked at Rayne, who was breathing heavily, a tight grip on her bow. She looked at Thrynn, who was glaring at her.
"What?" She said, loosening her grip on her bow slighly. Thrynn exhaled and they kept on.
They reached Tel Methryn within a few hours, encountering more hordes of ash hoppers, which they handled with ease. Rayne was intrigued at the sight of Tel Methryn. The structure was way more different than anything she's seen before. With her eyes locked onto teh structure, she seemd to have been walking too fast, and bumped into Thrynn. "S-sorry," She muttered, and Thrynn just nodded, and continued walking.
The trio approached Tel Methryn, and passed by a mage trying to summon an "ash guardian." They continued on and walked up teh nearly cylindrical path, and reached a door. Without knocking, Teldryn walked in, followed by Rayne and Thrynn.
100 Yards Away...
Furan watched as the trio entered Tel Methryn. "Ahhh, it looks like we have another mouse in teh chase. Looks like we'll need a better fox..." The dark elf said. He noted teh location, and retreated to his camp not too far away.
Author's Note-Thanks for keeping up, and sorry for the short chapter. I'll make up for it in teh next one, bu the ending of this one seemed just perfect. Follow and Fave! Thanks!