Thorius felt as if a huge weight had been lifted after he left the old woman's shack. He was glad to be away from that witch. He deliberately left without checking his supplies. The less influence the witch had over him, the better. After years of mercenary work, he had learned how to survive with next to nothing anyway. He stopped and found a big flat rock nearby to sit on so he could see exactly what he had to work with. In his satchel he had that foul potion and a sizeable bladder for holding water. He raised an eyebrow and grabbed the bladder. "It shouldn't be this full," he thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a leather sheathe in his satchel. He dropped the water bladder and pulled out a sheathed dagger. Thorius looked at it in his hand for a moment. He put a hand on the side of his hip, feeling around. Thorius leaned his head back slightly and exhaled. "How could I forget my dagger," he thought. He attached the sheath to his hip and grabbed the water, opening it. He put the bladder up to his nose, sniffed it and then took a drink. He put the bladder in his satchel and got up. It was still morning, and he positioned himself so the sun was on his right. He reached a hand behind his back to feel for his axe. He smirked as he felt the steel. He then moved his hand to his dagger, and the other hand to his satchel. "Everything's here," he thought. He started walking forward to the north with a clear head.
As he walked, he knew he would need to eat at some point to keep his strength up. The immediate area was mostly hills and was home to several small critters such as rabbits. There's never a shortage of wolves in Skyrim either and they could be eaten in a pinch. However, carnivore meat always left a bad taste in Thorius' mouth. He spotted a rabbit chewing on some grass at the base of a hill. The rabbit was a considerable distance away and didn't see Thorius yet. Thorius was downwind from the rabbit, so he knew he had a good chance for some tasty meat. He bent his knees, lowering his profile so he could sneak up on the animal. Step by step, he quietly got closer to his dinner. His eyes were locked on the creature. All his attention was focused on this one target. As he slowly and quietly moved closer, he unsheathed his dagger. He turned it around and grabbed the blade between his thumb and forefinger. As he got closer to the rabbit, he brought the dagger up over his shoulder and next to his ear. The rabbit hopped forward twice and Thorius froze. The rabbit turned its head and looked around. A female voice could be heard in the distance. "Please, don't hurt her!"
The loud yell frightened the rabbit causing it to hop quickly away. Thorius grimaced at the lost opportunity. He lowered his arm, sheathed the dagger and stood up. The yell had come from over the hill. He walked up to the crest of the hill and crouched immediately. There was a small camp at the base of the hill. Three bedrolls were next to a fire pit. Three brown horses were tied up not far from the bedding. There were three males standing next to the camp site. A Dark Elf, to the left, dressed in fur armor was holding a female Nord with a knife to her throat. He had a medium build and his face showed a near toothless grin, even from this distance. His hair was short and black. The woman was dressed in a simple dress and had red hair down to her shoulder. Her hands were bound behind her back. To the right, there was a scrawny looking Nord. He held a Nord girl in place, with bound hands and a knife at her throat as well. The scrawny Nord was dressed in fur and had short blonde hair. His face was covered in dirt. The Nord girl had a simple dress on and had long red hair that went to about the middle of her back. She couldn't have been older than about twelve. The last male, presumably the leader, was a seemingly muscled Nord who wore iron armor with a sword and shield on his back. He had purple war paint on his face and shoulder-length dirty-blonde hair. He stood facing the woman with his arm outstretched and a finger pointing at her. His face held a scowl.
"You owe me coin, woman! I want what's owed to me," the leader said.
The woman's face was wracked with worry. "Please, I'll have your money soon," she said.
The leader put his hand down and walked closer to the woman. "Do you think you can steal from me and just walk away?" He stopped just in front of her and grabbed her hair; pulling it tight. He leaned in closely and she turned her head. "Since you don't have any coin for me, maybe I should take something else of value." He turned his head to the side and looked at her daughter. The woman looked at him and saw where he was looking. He turned his head back and looked her in the eye before letting go of her hair. He leaned back, slowly smiling.
Her face wore a look of dread. "No, please," she said. She turned her head to look at her daughter. Her daughters face was scrunched up with tears running down her cheeks. "Do what you will to me, but don't hurt her!" She turned her head back facing the leader. She shook her head up and down. "I'll find a way to pay you, I swear!"
The leaders' smile had turned to a smirk. He slowly turned and walked toward the little girl. "She could fetch some considerable coin on certain markets."
The scrawny Nord put his hand in front of his face and chuckled loudly. "A considerable amount indeed," he said. He stared at the woman with a grin while he lowered his hand from his mouth and grabbed the girl's chest. The girl whimpered.
Thorius had seen enough. They hadn't noticed him on top of the hill, so he stood up and made his way down. He walked with authority toward the campsite.
The Dark Elf turned his head and saw Thorius coming down the hill. He looked over at the leader. "Boss! We got a visitor," he said.
The leader turned toward Thorius. He moved so he was between his two men. His face went blank. He raised his right hand with his palm facing Thorius. "This is none of your business, brother," he said. "Move along and there won't be any trouble."
Thorius looked at him with disgust. "You threaten a woman and her child with violence and expect me to leave it be. You're no brother of mine." Thorius was at the bottom of the hill, still walking towards the leader.
The leader put his arm down. "If that's the way you want it, you can have it." He drew his sword and shield while he smirked. "I'm going to enjoy this."
Thorius continued walking toward the leader while he drew his axe. He held it across his chest with both hands. As he was walking forward, the leader bent his knees and waist while holding his shield forward. He started running at full speed towards Thorius. Thorius stepped to the side just as they were about to collide. He angled his axe downward and put the head of his axe into the ground in front of the leader, causing him to trip. The leader fell into the ground shield first and slid a few feet. Thorius faced the leader and planted the head of his axe in the ground In front of him, leaning on the handle. His back was toward the Elf and scrawny Nord. He looked at the leader calmly. "Did you enjoy that?"
The leader coughed as he got up. He shook his head slightly, trying to recover from the fall. "Ah, an aspiring jester I presume? I can work with that," the leader said. He stood up straight and brought his sword and shield to bear. Thorius lifted his axe and held it across his chest. The leader started to circle Thorius. Thorius moved with him. The leader raised his sword and grunted as he moved in, swinging at Thorius. The sword hit the axe handle, making it reverberate. The leader went in again to deliver a volley of blows. He smoothly transitioned from the end of one blow to the beginning of another. Each blow bounced off the head or handle of Thorius' axe. After blocking several blows, the sword came down again. Only this time Thorius thrust his axe away from his chest when the blade hit. The sword bounced back and the leader's defense had been left wide open.
Thorius brought his axe back slightly and swung it forward with all his might. The leader quickly moved the shield to block the blow, but couldn't set his footing. The force of the impact knocked him down on his butt. Thorius set up for another swing and brought his axe down again. This time, the leader brought his legs in and blocked the blow solidly with the shield. Thorius took this time to leave no opening for the leader. He delivered blow after blow; each one blocked by the shield.
The woman was watching the fight and starting smiling with an excited look on her face. "Kill the bastard," she shouted.
The Dark Elf pressed the dagger tighter against her throat. He clenched his teeth as he lowered his head to her ear. "Stay silent," he said.
After blocking a blow with his shield, the leader extended his leg and kicked Thorius in the shin. Thorius was in mid swing and got knocked off balance from the attack. He took a couple small steps backward. This allowed enough time for the leader to get on his feet. Thorius stepped forward, planted his feet firmly and raised his axe again. He swung it at the leader with all his might. The leader blocked the blow with his shield and thrust his sword forward. Thorius felt the shockwave of the impact bounce back through his axe. The leader grunted as he took the blow, being knocked back in the process. He took two steps backward slowly and dropped his shield. It had a large cut in it from the axe head. The leader's face tightened as he held his arm out forward and to the side, favoring it. Thorius was breathing heavily as he held his axe. He felt something running down his arm and turned his head to look. The sword had given him a cut across his elbow joint. Blood trickled down his arm and dripped from his hand.
The leader was panting as he smiled. "Looks like . . . I got you," he said.
Thorius grinned as he steadied his breathing. "Looks like I got you better." Thorius pointed at the leader's arm. "Your arm is broken," he said.
The leader laughed. "I won't . . . make the same mistake twice."
He raised his sword and ran towards Thorius. The Elf and scrawny Nord cheered. The leader started a volley of blows that were easily blocked. The leader was sweating and breathing heavily. Each impact of his sword was weaker than the last. Thorius swung his axe and hit the sword mid swing. The leader lost his grip and the sword flew off to the side. The leader watched the sword land and slide on the ground. He quickly looked back at Thorius with surprise on his face. Thorius thrust his axe into the leader's chest, causing him to fall on his back. The leader cried out in pain, face clenched, and held his broken arm.
The mother turned her head toward her daughter. "Shut your eyes, baby!" The daughter squeezed her eyes shut.
Thorius walked over to the leader and brought the axe up over his head. He brought the axe down into the leader's face. His body shook violently as blood poured out of the wound. Thorius pulled the axe out and turned around to face the Dark Elf and the scrawny Nord. He held his axe across his chest, blood dripping from the blade. The leader's body twitched behind him.
The scrawny Nord's eyes were wide and he was shaking. "D-d-don't come any closer," he said. The daughter opened her eyes and saw the blood covered axe. She screamed and started struggling with her captor. The scrawny Nord held the blade tighter to her throat, trying to control her. His head was pointed downward, looking at her. "Stop," he commanded. Thorius looked over at the Dark Elf, whose attention was on the scrawny Nord. Thorius held his axe near the head with one hand as he unsheathed his dagger. He tossed the dagger in the air, flipping it around so it landed with the blade in his hand. He brought the dagger up over his shoulder and threw it forward. The scrawny Nord looked up to see a dagger coming at him. His eyes locked on the flipping blade. The blade embedded itself in his forehead. The girl screamed as she fell to the ground with him.
The Dark Elf's mouth was wide open. He quickly turned his head toward Thorius, who was running full speed toward him, axe at the ready. The Dark Elf let go of the woman and put his hands up. The woman fell down just as Thorius took a swing. The axe penetrated the Elf's neck, decapitating him. The body fell quickly and blood poured from his neck. The Dark Elf's right leg twitched rhythmically. The woman turned around and looked at the corpse. She then looked at Thorius, who was steadying his breathing and looking at the new corpse. Her mouth was open slightly. She turned to look toward her daughter, who was still lying next to the scrawny Nord. Thorius turned his head toward the woman and looked at her for a moment. He walked over, kneeled down and used his axe to cut her hands free. He then got up, went back over to the Dark Elf and started going through his pockets. The woman struggled to get up and ran over to her daughter. Her face turned white when she got there.
She knelt down on both knees next to her daughter. The mother started tearing up and a lump began to form in her throat. "Oh, baby," she said. The daughter's throat had been cut by the dagger; almost halfway through her neck. The mother turned around to Thorius, tears running from her eyes. "HELP ME," she screamed. She turned back to her daughter. Thorius ran over to the mother and saw the daughter. He knelt down and examined her neck as the mother brushed her daughter's hair with her hand.
"The cut is too deep," he said. "There's nothing I can do."
The woman looked at him, her eyes were swelling and her face was turning red. Tears were dripping from her cheeks. "Do something! Anything!" Thorius looked at the ground with a face carved in stone. She sobbed and looked back at her daughter who was staring her in the eye. She put one arm on the ground to steady her and used the other to stroke the girl's face. The girl was choking on her own blood. The mother cried harder. "It's okay, baby. It's okay. . . ."
The daughter stopped choking and went limp. The mother stared in shock at her little girl. She used both hands to shake her slightly. "Baby?" She shook her harder. "Baby!" She sat up and put both hands over her mouth while she whined. Her hands moved from her mouth to her daughter as she picked up her daughter's lifeless corpse and held it tight. She rocked back and forth with the body. Her daughter's blood drenched her dress. Thorius stood up. He stared at the mother holding her dead child and swallowed hard. He turned and forced himself to walk toward the horses. Each horse had supplies on its back, behind the saddle. Thorius went up to a horse, looking through the supplies. There was plenty of food, water and coin. That was all he needed to know as he untied the horse.
Thorius turned around with the horse in tow. The mother had dropped her dead daughter and was knelt next to the scrawny Nord's body. She picked up the dagger that killed her daughter and brought it to eye level. She stood up, staring at the dagger. She turned towards Thorius and lowered the dagger to her side. Her eyes were still swollen from crying, but the expression on her face was filled with hate. She held the dagger in a tightly clenched fist. "You killed my baby," she said, her voice cracking.
"You don't want to . . . . "
"Don't want to what," she asked. "You took everything from me! The only thing that mattered in my . . . ." She put her free hand over her mouth and tilted her head downward. Her eyes clenched shut. Thorius took a step toward her. She snapped her head up, stared at Thorius and put her hand back to her side. Both fists were clenched hard. "I HAVE NOTHING!"
He stepped back and had a calm look on his face. "This won't bring your daughter back," he said.
She turned her head and looked at her daughter, then turned the rest of her body. Her shoulders lowered and she hung her head low. "You're right," she said. She raised her head and turned toward Thorius. She raised her free hand and pointed at him. "But all of this is on you." She lowered her free hand and brought the dagger up to her neck.
Thorius stepped forward and reached out with his hand. "No!"
The woman stabbed her throat with the blade and pulled it sideways. Blood ran down the front of her dress as she fell to the ground. Thorius dropped his hand to his side, turned around and hung is head low. He stood there, motionless. After a while, he turned around and walked to the scrawny Nord. He pulled his dagger out of the Nord's head and walked back to his horse.
He rode north for an unknown time. He reached a road and checked a sign post. Solitude wasn't far. He followed the road all night and into the morning. He didn't want to stop and have time to think about what had happened at that camp. He didn't want to think about the little girl and her mother who might still be alive if he had done things differently. He definitely didn't want to sleep and dream about his attacker or the camp. His chest tightened. He forced himself to think about Solitude. His revenge is the only thing that matters now.
He reached Dragon Bridge and crossed the Karth River. After he crossed, he looked up to the north. He could see the stronghold in the distance. Perched on the edge of a mountain, overlooking the Karth River was Solitude. Thorius wanted to smile as he made his way toward it. Now, he could finally get some answers.