Chapter Three: Of Mer and Men

Efendril and Baurus take a break from the sewers to relax, and learn a little bit about Cyrodiil as well as each other. Hope you like it, and don't forget to review (:

"There are big lizard people in Cyrodiil? Are you shitting me?" Baurus burst out laughing, and took a swig of mead. We had found a barrel full of the stuff, and had mutually agreed that we could do with a good drink after the day we'd had. He hadn't realised exactly how big the sewer system was, so after clearing a room of it's mud crab inhabitants, he had set down two bedrolls and made a fire. The sewers stank, and it didn't seem a pleasant place to camp, but I was exhausted. Baurus had taken it upon himself to teach me what he could about Cyrodiil, which suited me perfectly because I couldn't remember a thing about the place.

"Argonians, Efendril, careful with using the word 'lizard' around them. They make excellent swimmers, and they're pretty good thieves, too. As we're in the animal kingdom, I might as well continue with Khajiits. Imagine a lion that can walk and talk," he paused, thinking, "and you've kind of got a Khajiit."

"So, lizard people and lion people. Are there any other human races, except ours?" he laughed again.

"Efendril, I don't want to disturb you, but, technically speaking, you aren't human. You're elven. Human races are Redguards, like me, Bretons, Imperials and Nords. Then the elves are Bosmers, like you, Altmers, Dunmers and Orcs, to an extent. Khajiits and Argonians are considered beasts, though I personally think it a distasteful term."

I nodded. This was a lot to take in. I had already worked out that my race, the Bosmers, were good marksmen, lithe and athletic, but capable of being virtually undetected and friends of the animals.

"Tell me about Redguards," I said, looking at Baurus. He looked a lot more human now he'd taken off his armour. He was sat, cross legged, on his bedroll, a hunk of bread in one hand. He smiled at me, "If I say so myself, we're brilliant warriors. Particularly skilled with swords. That's pretty much all there is to it."

"Alright, then, tell me about you. Where are you from?"

"Hammerfell, originally. Most Redguards are. I came to the Imperial City when I was a lad. My parents were merchants, so we had moved around a lot, but they stayed in the City until they died. I miss them, of course, but it's natural, once you get to a certain age," he stopped for a minute, before continuing, "I trained in the arena as a teen, and was quickly recruited to work as a guard. Then I became a Blade."

"Surely there's more to it than that," I pondered for a minute, "You don't just suddenly become a member of the most honoured guards in Cyrodiil, do you?"

He sighed heavily, "No, you don't. I was doing a patrol, once, of the Elven Gardens district. We'd been having a problem there with attacks, people kept turning up far worse than dead, it was horrible. The whole City was too terrified to leave their homes, they were very dark times, Efendril. I heard a scream, and went to investigate, but she was dead before I got there. Covered in her own blood, and there were bits missing. Our killer hadn't been so clever, though. In his haste to get away from the scene, he'd left a very unique sealing ring adorned with his initials. It didn't take me long to find him, and when I did, I made sure the bastard didn't get away. We had him burned alive for his crimes. And do you know what he did?" I shook my head, enthralled, "He laughed. The whole time. Just threw back his head and laughed."

Baurus was staring into a bottle of mead, now. I rested my hand on his in a comforting gesture, he jumped at my touch and smiled at me.

"It was a long time ago, but I don't think I can forget it. I just don't understand why someone would do that to someone else.. Anyway," he snapped out of his reverie and continued in a much less disjointed and blunt tone, "You've got the Guilds in Cyrodiil, too. I don't know how you'll fare with the mages, Bosmers aren't renowned for their magicka, but if you're a decent alchemist, they'll probably take you. The fighters guild might have you, too. You're pretty decent with most weapons from what I've seen, and you survived the tunnels." I blushed, partially due to his compliments and the sparkle in his eyes, but mostly due to the mead I had been swigging.

"Do you know anything about my family, Baurus?" I asked him, keeping my voice as straight as I could. He sighed deeply, it seemed to be a common trait of these men, "I wish I could tell you, Efendril, I really do, but I tend to keep my nose out of politics. Mostly because, when in service to the emperor, one is advised to remain politically neutral," he said the last part with an enunciated accent and grinned. He continued in a more sobering tone, "All I know is that there was an uprising. Probably not too long after you were born. Some radicals got the idea that a monarchy wasn't what they wanted, and they just removed the royals. I don't believe your family were at fault, but sometimes an idea can catch people, and before they know it, they're agreeing to things that they wouldn't normally agree to. Before you know it, the whole system's fucked up." he spoke bitterly, and I got the impression that he too had suffered because of twisted politics.

He looked at me, and smiled softly, "I'm sorry," he said, "I was supposed to be teaching you about Cyrodiil, and all I've done is go on about myself. Let's see, what else is there? Oh, yes, the towns.."

We talked and laughed late into the night, nought but the last embers of the fire keeping our faces alight. The pile of empty mead bottles grew higher and larger, until I could barely stand. I gave up my feeble attempts and flopped down on the bedroll, to the sound of Baurus' laughter.

"And what, do tell, are you laughing at? Hmm? Ehh?" I slurred, which only made him laugh harder. He stood up to imitate my actions, and ended up sat in the ash pile, his arse covered in soot.

I howled with laughter, "Haaaaa! You'll have to sleep with, er, no clothes on now!"

Baurus' POV:

She was beautiful. Though I could barely make out her small frame in the dark, I could see her gorgeous green eyes sparkling with drunken tears. I joined her in laughter, my brief moment of romantic sobriety gone.

"Well. Well. I have to take your bedroll then, lady. Cause I will be extra cold." I half shouted, partially unintelligible.

"Nooooo!" she cried out, as we played tug of war over a bedroll. We ended up in a tangled heap on the floor, breathing heavily and staring into each others eyes. The rest was darkness.

Efendril's POV:

Ohhhh, shit. I thought, as I became painfully aware of my surroundings and my blinding headache. I must've drank a horrific amount of, what exactly? Reaching clumsily over to a nearby bottle, I read the label MEAD.

"Eurrrgh," I moaned, still lying on my back. My groan of displeasure caused the sleeping male beside me to stir. I felt an arm snake around my waist, and tightly curled wiry hair brush against my shoulder. I jumped out of my skin as I realised we were sharing a bedroll. By the Nines, I thought, we must've been really far gone. I stifled laughter at the thought of cuddling up to a Blade to keep warm on a chilly night in the sewers.

It took me a few minutes to realise that I was naked. I peered under the cover of the bedroll and, sure enough, Baurus was naked too. BY THE NINES, WOMAN! I spend one night in a man's company and sleep with him! Although, I thought, looking at his beautifully muscled chest and stomach and smirking slightly, I couldn't be blamed, surely, for bedding a man so physically perfect? The slight red glow from his skin I had become quite used to seemed even warmer in the small amount of light that had filtered through the high barred windows.

Oh, Gods, what was I doing? I needed to get out, and quickly. What if he expected something from me? A sickening feeling washed over me, completely engulfing my senses, WHAT IF I WAS PREGNANT? The thought made me cringe inwardly.

Slowly, I peeled back the cover of the bedroll, checking regularly that he still lay sleeping. I sat up, and felt his arm tighten around me. He pulled me backwards, so I was lying facing him.

"Where do you think you're going?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Do me a favour, Baurus, and open your eyes." I said harshly.

He opened his eyes blearily and smiled in appreciation at my naked chest, and proceeded to attempt to snuggle up to me.

"Baurus!" I snapped, trying to extricate myself from his arms. He was playfully holding me down and I got the sinking feeling he was still drunk. I grabbed his face and spoke harshly into his eyes, "Baurus, listen to me. I haven't a clue what happened last night, but we need to continue out of the sewers and to Jauffre, understand?"

"What, you don't remember?" he sniggered, and I seethed. This man was supposed to be one of the most honourable fighters in Tamriel, and here he was sniggering like a mage apprentice over a ridiculous one night stand. He opened his eyes fully and saw the fierce look on my face, "Well, you know what, we probably should get moving."

I dived under the cover, and found my underwear to be just outside the bedroll. Reaching an arm out, I managed to grab it without revealing myself, and was rewarded with a snort of laughter. Retaining as much dignity as possible, I continued the hunt for my clothes. Hunching over into a crouch, I ducked around the room and found my sack cloth top bundled up in a corner, my sack cloth pants tangled up with Baurus' leather ones and my shoes were nowhere to be seen.

"Have you seen my shoes?" I asked, straightening up, and patting down my clothes of any dust. The task was seemingly pointless, as it appeared that the prison weren't big on laundering their prisoners uniforms, but I was determined to retain as much of my dignity as possible.

He grinned again as he started to pull on his greaves, "You burned them," he said, "Something about not letting a rigid society hold you down, and not conforming to ridiculous social norms."

I groaned. The rest of the trip out of the sewers was not going to be a comfortable one.

"Here," he said, holding out a pair of rough leather boots, "take these. They're nothing spectacular, but they'll keep your feet warm and dry."

"Thanks." I said, and smiled at him. He smiled back, before he put on his helm. Dressed again like one of the most powerful fighters in Cyrodiil, I didn't feel quite as comfortable around him, a feeling which he intensified by saying "Prisoner, I suggest we get moving along now. We have been tasked with something of utmost importance and we must get started."

PRISONER? On the outside, I remained calm, but inside I was fuming. We had very likely engaged in an intimate act last night, and he had the nerve to call me prisoner? I had a sudden flash of inspiration.

"Baurus?" he responded with a grunt, so I carried on, "Don't you think it's a little warm down here? Surely you're boiling with all that armour on?"

"I am quite alright, thank you." he responded curtly, with none of the warmth from the night before, or even from this morning. I hung back slightly, so I was definitely out of his line of sight, and cast a very brief and mild Detect Enchantment spell. I knew it! His armour was enchanted, and with something very complicated from what I could detect; it seemed to be a combination between a lack of charm towards others, a sort of comfort spell, and a very strong shield enchantment. I didn't dare cast a longer spell in case he saw, but felt slightly relieved that it wasn't just him being cruel.

It seemed that the rest of our journey wouldn't have last night's laughs.