Wow. . . what a terrible point in the story to leave y'all hangin'! I know, I kinda disappeared off the face of the internet for a while there. I will refrain from throwing any lame excuses at you and will instead get right back to the writing!
"Why not?" she asked dumbly.
He smirked as he detangled his hand out of her hair, but not without allowing his fingertips to trail down the length of her arm. Terah could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he thought about how he would answer. It wasn't until after he turned away and sat back down on his bed roll when he replied blandly, "You're my employer. I need to keep it professional."
Fighting back the urge to roll her eyes, she retorted, "Are you kidding me?" She folded her arms across her chest. "You don't seem like the type that would care."
"Then you must not know me very well."
"I suppose I don't." She sat down on her bed roll beside his, staring at him accusingly. "I think there's more to it than that."
He remained silent for a moment, then a slow smirk formed on his face. "You're far too young."
She scoffed, "Please, I already know you're an old man. It doesn't bother me."
"I am not old," he affirmed with a seething glare.
"Whatever, old man." The dragonborn ignored Teldryn's gaze as she lied down and made herself comfortable, turning away from him. With another smirk, he followed her actions.
Before she could get too comfortable, however, she suddenly felt herself being dragged backwards by the furs beneath her.
"I thought you wanted to keep it professional," she said mockingly.
He calmly sighed, his warm breath tickling the back of her neck as he wrapped a strong arm around her body. "Just go with it. You know you liked it last time."
Coughing. Gasping. Why couldn't she breathe?
The last dragonborn struggled to see what was before her, but her vision was blurred, her mind cloudy. A glimpse of a dragon, black as night, flashed before her eyes. Black ink dripped down her face. Everywhere. She gasped for air, but there was none.
". . .And when the world shall listen. And when the world shall see. . ."
Air! She needed air! She could feel strange hands grasp her shoulders, holding her down.
"Awake, little one."
The voice nearly made Terah jump out of her bedroll. Still coughing, she could barely hear what the voice was saying to her.
"You'll be alright," it said as a rusty cup was handed to her. "The ash is just getting to you. Happens to all of the outlanders who come here. Drink up, it helps clear the throat."
She did so with vigor, and looked up to see the cook. Clearing her throat, she gasped, "Thank you, uh-"
"Ulves."
"Ulves," she repeated with an attempted smile. What a strange dream. . .
Noticing they were the only two there, Terah asked, "Where's Teldryn?"
"The sell-sword? He's outside. There was another ash spawn attack. And before I forget," he added, pulling a letter out of his pocket, "this came for you this morning. Seemed important."
Terah quickly thanked him once again and anxiously opened the letter. It was a wonder that anyone knew where to find her; she told no one of her whereabouts when she left for Solstheim.
Dragonborn,
I don't know where you are, but I hope this finds you soon. Lydia is missing. She was last seen here in Whiterun buying food and supplies in the market. She returned to Breezehome that night, but disappeared before dawn. Her sword was found on the floor upstairs, followed by some droplets of blood. The Companions suspect that vampires are involved. I wouldn't doubt it. The roguish ones still attack on occasion, and you and I both know Lydia would not abandon her post.
Please hurry. A search party has been sent out for her, but none of my soldiers have the skills that you do.
Balgruuf
Her heart sank as she folded up the letter. Who knows how long it took for the couriers to find her. The dragonborn quickly got dressed and packed up her things.
Outside, she found Teldryn arguing with Neloth's apprentice about something. "Next time, don't be such an idiot," he scolded.
"Pack up, Teldryn," she interrupted.
He glanced over his shoulder, raising a brow, "Good morning to you too."
"We're going to Skyrim."
"What?" he questioned, turning to face her. "We're going to leave?"
"Yes, we are," Terah confirmed, bolting past him. "My dearest friend has been kidnapped by vampires."
"Vampires?" he questioned further, baffled by the situation. "So you're just going to leave this Miraak nonsense behind?"
She spun on her heels, trying to keep calm. "For now."
Teldryn could see the worry on her soft face as she handed the letter to him. He briskly followed her lead and skimmed over the worn paper, trying not to trip on any rocks as he did so.
"Whiterun," he contemplated. "It might be too late, sera."
"I know," she said sullenly, "But I can't do nothing. Besides, we've slowed things down here on the island, for the most part."
They were almost at a run now, pushing their way through the ash. Taking no effort to travel on safer terrain, they climbed and clambered over rocky hills to take a more direct route.
"Let's hope the Northern Maiden is docked."
"I was worried about that," she agreed. "Don't worry, I have a backup plan if som- AH!"
Terah was struck in the chest. Hard. A reaver had been hiding in the rocks and ambushed her, knocking her a few feet back. Before the N'wah could even think about striking her again, Teldryn unsheathed his sword and swiftly drove it through his gut.
He turned to see if the little Nord was alright. His eyes widened in shock as he reached out to her, "TERAH, NO!"
But it was far too late. Another reaver, female, already had the Nord by the hair. Teldryn watched her dagger form a thin, red slit across the little Nord's neck. Terah's hand clasped her neck, her eyes wide with horror. Teldryn saw a flash of death in her eyes. It was the look he knew all too well.
She was done. He knew it.
"AHHH!" he charged. His blade quickly found the gut of another. After glancing around to make sure the two attackers didn't have more friends coming, he rushed to Terah's side. She was on her knees, dead silent, with her hand still pressed tightly to her throat. "Sera. . ."
He knew he shouldn't have ever let himself get close to her. To any employer, for that matter. It always ends the same way.
Her head raised to look at him. She let the bloody hand on her neck drop in her lap as she sighed with exhaustion. Teldryn gawked at her neck, shocked and bewildered. Nothing. It was gone. There was nothing there but smeared blood.
The little Nord croaked, "Cut it close, didn't I?"
Teldryn snatched her up into his arms, heaving a big sigh of relief. "Your restoration skills never fail to amaze me."
A weak laugh escaped her, "Sometimes I even amaze myself. Took every bit of magicka I had, though." She pried herself out of his embrace. "I'm so sorry, Teldryn. I wasn't paying attention. So foolish of me. . ."
"Let's just not let it happen again," he ordered, pulling her up. "Let's take it easy, and I want you to stay right next to me."
He firmly gripped her hand and led her away from the rocky death trap they had walked into.
"No. I'm tired of this crap, and I'm tired of being in all this damn ash," she protested. "Trust me, this will be quicker."
The dragonborn broke from his grip and turned away from him. "Dur Neh Viir!"
The familiar purple-black crack of the void appeared before them, but it was huge. A slimy, bone-colored dragon formed from it, causing Teldryn's eyes to nearly pop out of his head.
"Are you nuts?!" He yelled, readying his sword.
"Stand down," she ordered.
"Ahhhhh," the dragon sighed, stirring up ash as he stretched his wings. "I was wondering when you would bring me back again, Dovahkiin."
"Good to see you," she greeted as she approached his face. "I am weak, and I need your help. Do you think you could get us across the Sea of Ghosts back to Skyrim before the Cairn takes you?"
"Hmmm," he thundered. "We won't know until we try, won't we?"
Teldryn was still on guard. "You want to ride that thing?!"
"Hahaha. . ." the dragon thundered, it's hot breath filling the air around them. "Your companions always amuse me, Dovahkiin. You seem to enjoy the company of cowards."
"He's no coward, Durnehviir," she clarified as she strode towards the dragon's neck. With a smirk on her face, she reached out her hand, "Trust me, Teldryn. It's not like I haven't done this before."
The dragonborn's companion hesitantly sheathed his blade, but obliged, nonetheless. They clambered their way onto the slimy dragon's neck, Teldryn needing Terah to help him up. Oh, how she could kill to see the look on his face at that moment.
"Hang on tight," Terah warned. "You're in for the ride of your life."
The dragon pushed off of the ground. Teldryn yelped and yelled numerous profanities, but Terah was too busy laughing with Durnehviir to make out what he was saying. Wings flapping in the ashy wind, the dragon soared with happiness. The pure joy he felt every time he was brought back to Tamriel would never get old.
None of them were paying attention to how long the ride was, but it felt quick. The stony castles of Windhelm could be seen ahead of them through the falling snow, but Durnehviir wasn't going to make it much longer.
"Your question has been answered, Dovahkiin. It seems that I will not be able to land for you," he said as he swooped down closer to the ice-cold water. "I am fading, as it is time for my return. Thank you, once again."
His wings, his tail, his face. . . the dragon's body began to slowly fade away beneath them. Soon enough, there was nothing to hold them up anymore. The pair yelped in unison as they dropped from the snowy sky and crashed into the blood-freezing water.
They surfaced at the same time, their bodies shocked from the cold. Terah's Nord blood could handle it. Teldryn, not so much.
"Boethia's tits, that is cold!"
"Come on, the shore isn't far," she called out to him. "Then we'll go straight to the stables to get some horses."
They were ridiculously sore from all of the riding they did all day. Indescribably sore. Teldryn swore half of his body was still frozen. But finally, they arrived to Whiterun just before dusk. They could rest.
The first thing Terah did was send a guard to tell Balgruuf of her arrival. She wanted to go strait to Jorvaskir to see what information the companions had on Lydia. Plus, it wouldn't hurt for them to sit by the fire with some mead while they rested their bodies.
Teldryn had seen Jorvaskir before, but had never actually stepped inside. The moment they entered the main hall, the only thing he bothered to notice was the long fire pit in the center of the room. "Fire," he sighed. The Dunmer dragged his feet straight toward the pit and plopped down on the hard stone. He removed his helmet and ran his ashy fingers through the strip of hair on his head, ignoring anyone else in the room. His bones felt like ice.
Aela had been standing by the front door. "Ah, it's so good to see you, sister!"
"Aela!" Terah beamed as she embraced the huntress. Aela wasn't much for hugs, so Terah always treasured the rare hug she could get out of her.
"About time you showed up. We finally tracked down Lydia's location."
"So she's still alive?" Terah inquired. "Where? We have to go get her at once."
"Not so fast, Harbinger," said the huntress. "We make our move at dawn."
"It's been long enough, Aela. Who knows what they've done to her."
"I know, but we don't have a choice. They're holding her in a nest. It's not far from here. We've scouted the area and have planned to attack as the sun rises. You know it's unwise to attack vampires at night. Besides, we need our strength, and so do you," she assured.
Terah sighed. "Fine. Are you sure she's alive?"
"I have no proof of it, but her scent is still present."
"Alright. I trust your instinct more than anyone's."
The front door opened behind them, "Too busy to come say hello to me yourself, Dragonborn?"
The dragonborn turned to see Jarl Balgruuf striding toward her, a large smile on his face.
"Good to see you, my jarl," she greeted as he pulled her into a bear hug.
"How many times to I have to tell you? Just call me Balgruuf, dear friend," he smiled down to her. "It's been a while since I've seen you here in Whiterun."
"Yeah, I got pretty comfortable up in High Hrothgar," she shrugged. "And I just got back from Solstheim."
"I see you've brought a souvenir," Aela added, gesturing toward chitin-clad Teldryn sitting by the fire. He only scowled at them.
"Solstheim?" Balgruuf asked. "Last time I checked, there was nothing there."
Sighing, Terah replied, "I was attacked by a some creepy priests in Windhelm, so I investigated. It's a long story. I'll fill everyone in here pretty soon."
A hand gingerly grabbed her wrist. She knew who it was before she even heard him speak. "It's been a while, Harbinger."
"Vilkas," she nodded, taking note of the longing in his eyes. She pulled him into a warm hug, and could feel him sigh against her neck. Each and every one of the Companions came out of the living quarters to greet her now. They flooded her with zealous welcomes and smiles, and she received yet another bone-crushing hug from Farkas.
Everyone made themselves comfortable as they gathered round the fire, laughing and boasting of their victories. Terah sat beside Teldryn. "Here, lemme help you thaw out," she giggled. Golden light illuminated from her hands as she rubbed them down his spine.
"I'm very much alright, sera. But thank you," he smirked at her.
Terah wondered when Athis would finally approach the two of them. He spoke of Morrowind rather often, so he was obviously interested in Teldryn. She spent most of her time training with him when she first joined the Companions. The dark elf taught her half of what she knows of the sword today. "Good to see another Dunmer around!" said Athis enthusiastically, stretching his hand out to Teldryn. The mercenary stood and vigorously shook his kin's hand. The two Dunmer hit it off quite well after introduction, and were caught up in conversation in no time.
Athis filled Teldryn in on what he knew of the vampire menace and the Dawnguard, while the dragonborn explained to Jarl Balgruuf and the Circle the details of what was going on in Solstheim. She made them swear not to make the information public, for there was no need to raise the alarm just yet while everything was dormant. Aela was unimpressed with this "Miraak" figure, but the twins were concerned about Terah's safety, as always. Balgruuf trusted the dragonborn to handle it, and offered any support she might need.
It was a good thing that Terah had friends like these. Without them, she would never feel safe, and never be at peace with the harsh lands she calls home.
Hopefully this chapter was meaty enough for you all, for now. Lemme know if you're even into the story still!