Sun's Height 9, 4E1
(Fights-up-close): Cheydinhal
The closer I got to the Cheydinhal sanctuary, the more the situation took hold of me. I was holding back tears, my throat aching. I had indeed been right. I couldn't even trust my family in the sanctuary.
I tried to dissect and question everything I knew about them to see if I could figure out who the traitor was. I knew it was probably futile because the Black Hand didn't figure it out, but I had to try. My mind raced as I walked.
I tried to sift through all the memories I could, but no sign of hope of finding the traitor came; I'd never seen any family member do anything suspicious. The traitor was a master of deception. I felt so small and helpless in the world as I walked through the dark and cold night.
The abandon house was within view now. I knew it was my duty to kill everyone if I couldn't find some way to conclude who the real traitor was. I tried to think methodically. What if it was Ocheeva? To imagine her enthusiasm, her happiness at my success all being false. The idea of her being the traitor seemed otherworldly. What if Gogron was the traitor? He seemed cheery and simple enough, but what if there was something beneath that? If he was the traitor, I wasn't sure I'd feel like I could know anything in life. What if M'raaj-Dar was the traitor?
M'raaj-Dar. It clicked. It all seemed to come together with beautiful self-evident fluency. M'raaj-Dar was the traitor. I was baffled that I hadn't seen it sooner.
M'raaj-Dar had been the only one to be so rude to me, and he seemed to be trying to turn the other family members against Shadowscales.
I realized ecstatically that I had succeeded where Mr. Lachance had not. I could see who the traitor was. There came a happiness so pure it made me want to sing and dance. Of course, I contained myself, not wanting to make a show before I entered through the well, but the cold night no longer seemed so cold, and I felt more confident than ever before.
I approached the secret entrance. My mind was rushing with all sorts of ways the scenario could play out. I had to make it evident to the other family members that he was the traitor, somehow, but I knew that wouldn't be too difficult.
I checked over my shoulder, more out of ritual than concern, and then unlocked the well. I started to imagine our glorious last meeting in my head. I knew I could think of something. I fantasized about it as I climbed down the ladder. "So, M'raaj-Dar. You've got something to trade? Weapons? Equipment? Allegiances, maybe?" was probably how I'd start out, and I knew, whatever I said, it would be a truly precious moment. My mouth coiled into a full-hearted smile as I began playing out his possible responses in my head.
I began walking towards the Living Quarters, where he was usually drinking beer at this hour. I savored every foot-step I took as the adrenaline flowed through my veins. I saw no other family members. Good. No one to delay me. I turned the corner, getting closer to the Living Quarters.
As I advanced, my stride confident, I made an attempt to push down my smile, so I could mess with his head first. It would be ideal if I could get a confession, and get him to attack first so my family would see how clear it was that he was the traitor.
Excitement was bubbling inside me as I headed down the hall, livening up the night.
When I made it to the Living Quarters, M'raaj-Dar was in plain sight. However, he was doing something I'd never seen him do before. His bag of merchandise was empty, with its previous contents scattered on the floor, and he seemed to be searching frantically through the chest at the foot of his bed. With one more step, he realized my presence, and jerked violently, instantly getting to his feet and turning to face me. I could detect a hint of fear in his expression. I was about to nail the traitor. I felt truly great. He instantly began to speak.
"Ah, there you are, it's-" He stammered, his eyes darting around nervously "it's good to see you again!" The words surprised me, causing me to relax my right hand slightly "No!" M'raaj-Dar said as I noticed it must have looked like I was reaching for my dagger "Really, I mean it!" The sentence was rather intriguing. The khajiit smiled feebly. I'd caught the traitor doing something suspicious, and now he was calling me his friend.
"What?" I asked, genuinely curious. I took a step closer, testing him, and he took a step back as if to compensate.
"Listen..." he began, his eyes still darting every which way "...I guess...I guess I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I've treated you in the past." Suddenly, I felt my confidence, my hate, and my energy soften slightly. Still, I took another step forward, testing his reaction once again to find a pattern. He took another step back.
"I mean, look at you, the things you have a accomplished!" He exclaimed "You've obviously proven yourself a valuable member of this sanctuary! So...eh..." He glanced at the opened chest quickly before looking at me again. "...let's start over. I'm sure from this point forward you and I are going to be great friends!" He extended his hand. No, it sounded corny, and I already had reason to suspect him. I was one step away from cleansing the Dark Brotherhood from treachery and he was trying to set me back. I decided to ruthlessly dig into his words instead of shaking his hand to see if I could get deep enough to find the truth.
"So you want to be friends with me because...what? I got a secret contract?" I inquired, I took a step closer. Again, he took a step back, this time briefly glancing at what was behind himself afterwards.
"Oh, a secret contract, you say?"
I nodded. I didn't intend to show mercy, but I didn't intend to be aggressive either. I just wanted him to know that if this was a ploy, it wouldn't work. "C'mon, can't you give your old pal M'raaj-Dar a hint? Who do you have to kill? Anyone I know?" then he began laughing, but it sounded faked, almost like a cough, which it quickly devolved into. At this point, his horrible acting made it crystal clear to me. He knew exactly what the assignment was, and that put him in danger. I felt deeply satisfied. I was looking at the traitor, and he was afraid of me. I knew he would be defeated here and now.
"Most likely," I responded. I hoped I could scare him into attacking first, but I wasn't yet successful. If he attacked first, I'd need only call for help, so I'd have a witness. "You going to defend yourself?" I asked.
He answered my question without speaking as he threw his hands in the air is if preparing to launch some kind of magical attack. This was it, the moment I'd been waiting for. I immediately lunged behind the nearest pillar. I could feel a chilling breeze on my legs, emanating from the area his spell had been cast. Of course, it was far from a direct hit, so it was a frightening reminder of how devastating a direct hit from one of his spells could be. I needed to cry for help, not because I thought I couldn't win, but because I needed to look like the victim as much as possible. Though I hated to acknowledge my fear, I did it. I screamed with all the force I could "HELP!".
I could instantly hear some distant shuffling from other parts of the sanctuary. Even so, the next several seconds were bound to be horrible, as I knew that my survival depended on my family members now.
I turned back to the treacherous mage to see another ball of severely chilled air coming my way. I swiftly ducked, cold wind stinging my face. Again, I knew it wasn't a direct hit. I took in all the information about my surroundings I could to search for my next destination. I observed every force working for and against me. I knew this was a matter of life or death.
M'raaj-Dar was now advancing with speed I knew I was helpless to outdue. I could only imagine the brutality that was about to ensue. His face was marked with fury, and I knew I could safely assume I was physically inferior to him.
As inescapable the predicament seemed, a solution came to me smoothly and intuitively. I jumped, grabbing onto the top of a hanging lantern and pulled by self up. Swinging from my odd new spot, I knew I had only bought myself an extra second of safety, but that was good enough. I'd only begun to process how hot the lantern was before I pushed my legs against the stone wall and let go of the lantern, throwing my body back behind M'raaj-Dar.
After flipping in mid-air, my feet hit the ground, but my body was met with an intense backwards force that caused me to stumble backwards. I was no longer in such graceful harmony with physics. I soon found myself against the wall. I knew that wouldn't work again. These were going to be the most meaningful seconds of myself. M'raaj-Dar was advancing for me once again. I jumped over a bed to my left but, frustratingly enough, that made little difference. Even so, I did the same for the next bed, and the next one, and the next one, yet he was still getting closer. I decided I'd have to fight defensively at the very least.
I tried to kick him as he came close, but, with infuriatingly good reflexes, he managed to grab my leg and cause me to fall backwards. There was a moment where I felt nothing but fear, not even the ground beneath me. Then I found myself looking at the ceiling as I brutally hit the floor. Each time I escaped, it seemed I got one step closer to inevitable death at his hands. He was now hovering over me. Countless questions began flashing before me. Had he been converted the same way Goes-in-heavy had? What had the Black Hand found out to indicate the traitor was in this sanctuary? What would happen to him when...if I died? Would he try to profess his innocence?
Then I heard the familiar whoosh and impact of an arrow. Though I didn't see the projectile itself, M'raaj-Dar's expression was soon horribly contorted as he cried out in pain. A miracle. Sithis had granted me the freedom to continue to live and interact with the world so I could experience the outcome of the traitor's defeat first hand. As M'raaj-Dar fell, I could see Telandril, with Ocheeva following close behind, staring at me with wide-eyed concern.
Though pain still washed over my head in waves from the fall, my hands were still hot, and my tail was in an uncomfortable position, I was glad to have a tangible world still around me. Telandril offered me her hand, which I gladly accepted. The occurrence seemed so divine. A disaster had been averted and I'd been saved only a second away from death. The sight of my scales, unscathed, shimmering glinting in what little light was in the Living Quarters, was satisfying enough.
Even so, there were some other thoughts that danced around in the back of my mind. I knew they were going to ask a lot of questions, but I had to wonder how the family would react; both the Shadowscales and non-Shadowscales. I could expect some difference there. I wasn't even sure how I was supposed to react.
"Sweet Sister," Telandril said as I tried to ignore the pain on the back of my head, hoping it would go away soon "Are you alright? We had no idea he was so serious." Before I even spoke I could see more concerned faces arrive. Antoniette Marie, Vincenti Valteria and Tienaava were now in the room as well, with the same stunned expressions.
"Better than I would have been without you. I think he was the traitor we've been hearing rumors about." I said. I wasn't sure exactly how much I should tell them. Lucien did say not to mention the nature of my assignment to anyone, but it seemed odd I should keep it a secret now that it was finished. I noticed there still was a lot of uncertainty to deal with, even though I was grateful to be saved and to have my family still alive.
I decided not to take the chance and waited for one of them to have the next word. Gogron was the last to enter, probably weighted down by his heavy armor, but he had a reaction just like everyone else.
Ocheeva spoke, taking control of the situation with confidence "I'll see to it that this all gets sorted out. Now tend to your wounds if need be. I'm sure we can handle the rest." I had to wonder exactly what she meant by "handle". I could tell M'raaj-Dar's death was going to cause some awkward moments.
"Thank you," I said, grabbing the back of my head gently with my warm hands. I weaved my way around the crowd, wondering what they might be thinking as I avoided eye contact. Either way, those were unimportant things. I was alive and the traitor wasn't. That was what mattered more than anything else. I wasn't sure I had any wounds that I could actually tend to, but I wanted to inform Mr. Lachance about my success.