Chapter Four: Hostage
Hiking up the Valus Mountains was steep and cold. Several times the oldest of the horses fell, forcing Martin, Ilav, and Decima to help it get up and walk again. Decima's toes and nose were numb nearly the entire journey over the mountains and her legs felt as if they would fail her at any moment.
After hours of struggling up the trail the clouds grew thin, allowing the travelers to see the landscape down the mountain. At long last, Decima was entering Cyrodiil.
Soon enough, the temperature began to rise and the winds faded away as they began their decent down the other side of the mountain range. Decima felt as if life was flowing through her once more when the mountain's chill left her body. Bare trees and snow were soon exchanged for green grass, lively plants, and trees heavy with fruit. Decima was amazed at where she finally was. Cyrodiil was much more beautiful than she expected. Her eyes were darting from side to side, desperately trying to gather up all of the sights to see.
"Quit gawking and hurry up!" Lenka would say. But her attempts at setting Decima's mind back onto the road and her duties were useless, for the girl was now used to shaking off Lenka's bitter remarks.
The stone walls surrounding Cheydinhal soon became visible. Decima could see the guards in uniform standing at attention near the gate. Excitement began to take over Decima as the group approached the city's gate. She eagerly walked towards the gate, but before she reached it Decima heard Martin shouting her name.
"Decima! Decima! Where are you going?" He yelled. She quickly turned around towards him in a baffled response.
Baffled, Decima replied, "We're going to Cheydinhal. Are we not?"
Martin ran towards her then breathlessly said, "Yes, but we need to put the horses in the stable first. Follow me." Decima followed Martin towards the stables, slightly embarrassed with herself.
Black Water Stables was sheltered by a large willow tree and a hill behind the main building. Lenka was chatting with the keeper of the stable while Ilav and Martin tended to the horses. This left Decima to watch over the equipment. A cool breeze swept across Decima's face as she sat down next to the baggage. It was nice to finally relax, even if she was on a foreign road, worlds away from what she knew. At least the breeze felt familiar. While scanning the road, Decima spotted a hooded figured walking towards the stables. As the figure got closer she realized that it was a tall, male Khajiit. His beady eyes sparkled as they looked out from under his green hood. But instead of going straight for the building, the Khajiit walked towards her, then suddenly turned back towards the stable's building. Decima gazed back down the shaded road, erasing the thoughts of the Khajiit from her head.
Suddenly, Decima felt the sensation of cold metal against her neck.
"Now my dear," Said a low, growling voice. "Stand up before I let the cruel grip of death catch your precious body." Decima obeyed. He led her around the pile of equipment towards Decima's leather bag. "Now, Missy, answer this for me. From what I have observed of you and your companions, this is your bag. Am I correct?" The Khajiit asked in a sinister tone, pointing towards her pack. Decima whimpered in response. "Answer me!" He yelled.
"Yes... Yes it is." Decima replied as tears started to roll down her cheeks. The knife left her neck but the threat was far from gone.
"Leave her alone!" A fearsome voice roared. The voice was from Martin. Immediately, the guards ran over to the scene, swords drawn, ready for action.
"Hold it! Now, now, do you really want to see this young lady perish?" Martin and the guards halted in an instant, now only able to stand and watch. "Just as I thought. Now, open up the bag, my dear. And let me see what kind of goodies you have in there." The man said as he stepped back with the knife pointed towards her. "Is he mad? To rob someone, at knife point... in front the guards?" Decima thought to herself.
Decima dug though the bag and uncovered her amulet. Then she remembered something; her dagger. She searched through the bag until she could feel the handle of her weapon. She had an idea.
Cautiously, Decima leaned over the bag and tucked the dagger under her skirts. Looking up, Decima faced Ilav and Martin and winked. Their mouths gaped open at the scene. As terrified as she was, Decima refused to look the part. She grabbed her mother's amulet and turned to face the Khajiit.
"This is all I have." Decima said as she held up amulet in front of her captor. He yanked the amulet from her hand and examined it. She turned to face the others, now with a worried expression on her face. What if she couldn't carry out her plan? She must carry out her plan, or she'll likely be dead; and ultimatum brought about by a nightmare of a situation.
"Ah, this jewel is beautiful. It shall pay well." He purred, captivated by his greed for the glistening blue amulet. In an instant, Decima turned to face him, swiftly reached for her dagger and thrust the weapon into the back of his hand. The Khajiit howled in pain and dropped the amulet. She withdrew the weapon from his hand and proceeded to step back. He jumped towards her and swung his blade in an effort to stab her, but only cut her cheek as she dodged him. Clutching her wound, Decima jumped towards the man to then dig the dagger into his chest. As he was howling once more over his wound, Decima managed to grab the amulet off the ground. Just before the guards could grab him, the Khajiit caught her by the arm and slammed her onto the ground against the cold hard stone of the road.
Decima's head hit the ground, the amulet flew from her hands. Everything around her began to feel gray and vague. She felt hands clutching her arms and legs. A storm of frantic voices surrounded her. Decima felt around for her mother's amulet in disparity until she felt the familiar chain that held it together. Clutching the amulet, Decima felt everything fade.
Darkness had taken over her world.
Chapter Five: City of Bittersweet
No author could ever record my life from this point on like I can.
So now, gentle reader, I tell you my view of this story; not one of an ignorant author, scribbling down my biography based on mere fables.
The day I was slammed to the ground represented something very meaningful to me. It was my life in Morrowind, and it wanted to win this battle. It was going to throw everything it had at me to assure that I wouldn't make it far past the border, and into a new life. And it thought it did win as I went unconscious outside of Cheydinhal. But what it didn't know is that I prevailed in the end. For I was not dead! I was merely in transit from one life, to another.
In the case of the Khajiit's insanity, no one really knows why he went after me in particular. Perhaps he was high off skooma, or just having a bad day… A very bad day. I just know that no matter how random the event seemed, it was the last trial spat out by my life in Ebonheart. I simply figured that I'd never understand why. For I couldn't imagine myself in his place.
Light: it was the first thing I saw upon regaining consciousness. I was awakened in the chapel of Arkay by an old plump woman. She began to jump around the room while I sat up in my bed, mystified by her zealousness.
"Praise Arkay! Praise Mara! Praise Stendarr! Oh, Talos! Bless this child!" She cheered. "Ah, my child! Come with me up to the altar!" Apparently, I didn't have much of a choice. The woman took me by the arm and ran me though two large doors and up the stairs down the aisle towards a large round altar.
I tried to talk some sense into the woman, "Is this necessary? I'm fine! I probably just need rest." But my efforts were useless.
"The girl is alive and well! Oh praise Akatosh! Praise Arkay!" On and on the mad woman went! It was becoming hard to decide whether or not it was the blow to my head or this crazy woman that was causing my dizziness. As I looked around it became apparent that this was going to be something that was going to be hard to live down. It seemed as if everyone in Cheydinal was in the chapel; and I was being dragged though it by an over enthusiastic woman praising her gods.
"Decima lives!" She announced, as loudly as anyone possibly could. Only now, as the woman was jabbering to everyone, did I realize how ridiculous I looked; linens wrapped around my head, rags for clothes, dry blood on my head, and the stinging sensation on my face from the Khajiit's dagger still lingered.
The chapel door opened and the woman stopped in the middle of yelling "Arkay" at the sight of the chapel's new occupants. It was Lenka, Ilav, and Martin.
"She's alive! Look at her!" The woman started up again, yanking me in front of her.
"Decima!" Martin yelled running towards me, with something clutched in his hand. I never would have figured that he'd have missed me enough to almost knock me over while embracing me. But... he did. "You're okay! I thought that... you..." He began as he searched for sugarcoated words to say, almost in tears.
"Died?" I replied, smiling at him. "Ah, Martin. I'm not that frail." A warm smile spread across my face. He then took my hand and placed something cold in the center of my palm. I tried to see what was in my hand, but he kept it covered.
"You forgot something back at the stables." He said, replying to the confused expression on my face by revealing what was in my palm. It was the amulet! It had completely slipped my mind!
"Martin! Oh thank you!" My eyes filled up with tears as he led me out of the chapel, away from the crazy woman next to the altar.
The outside air was cool, but the mood was hectic. People hurried about the streets, running between buildings. There were mothers dragging their small children along to their errands, merchants outside their shops advertising their various wares, and guards eyeing anyone acting suspiciously. Dazed by the city's movement, Lenka suddenly caught me off guard.
"My dear, how are you feeling?" She asked. Why was she no nice to me now? I figured that she'd still be annoyed with me for taking up time with becoming a crazed Khajiit's hostage.
"Considering recent events, I'm fine. Just... dizzy." I replied in a shaky tone.
"Well, we will take you to our home where you will gather your things. Once you are fully recovered you're free to go. That is, if you have anywhere to go." Lenka said, now with her signature scowl. Well then, she just wanted me to leave, and I don't blame her. She continued, "Well, do you have a place to go?"
"I'll try my luck in the Imperial City." I said, concealing the entirety of my plans. Lenka nodded her head in acknowledgement. The four of us headed west over to the side of the river, that went through the center of the city. Everyone I passed by looked at me like I was just resurrected from a tomb, thanks to the blood stains on my face and haggard apparel.
My company could sense my embarrassment and lead me to the house as fast as possible. It was not a significant house; it had a tall pointed roof and stained glass windows, just like the rest of the buildings in Cheydinhal. I ran inside right behind Martin, Ilav, and Lenka towards the yard gate. Once inside, I immediately spotted my bag on a table parallel to the door. Ilav and Lenka proceeded upstairs, Martin went back outside, and I rummaged through my bag. Everything was still there, excluding the dagger and amulet.
Once I was all cleaned up, I started to search for Martin. I needed answers; hopefully, Martin wouldn't sugar coat his answers about what happened after I was knocked out. Ilav directed me to the Mage's Guild hall. I went outside to begin looking for a large building down the road with blue and green banners hanging from the stone walls, just as Ilav instructed.
The guild hall loomed over me as I opened a large iron gate into the front yard and walked up towards the door. I didn't bother to knock, but no one seemed to mind. A young Altmer woman greeted me upon entering the building; apparently, she knew why I was here before I even opened my mouth.
"You must be looking for the boy!" She said. "He's upstairs, in the living quarters."
"Um, thank you..." I replied. The men and women looked up from their books and alchemy sets as I walked towards the stairs. Upon entering the upper floor, I found beds scattered around the room; one with Martin fast asleep at the far end of the room. I lazily walked towards him and sat down by his bed, disturbing his sleep. "Martin…" I whispered in his ear. He let out an annoyed groan in response and turned over to face away from me. His head bobbed about as I shook him out of his sleep.
"What? By the Nine! What?" He mumbled with his eyes sealed shut. My hand rested upon his shoulder as I leaned in closer to him.
"Remember me?" I quietly said to him. "Open your eyes, Martin. The light won't bite." I hovered over him as his blue eyes revealed themselves. His mouth turned up at the corners as he stared up at me. "Martin, I need your help."
"Might this have something to do with helping you avoid the rotten luck that follows you when it comes to shady characters?" His voice gave way to laughter, as did mine.
"You read me like a book." I said. "But right now I'd like to know what happened after my… incident."
"I would much rather not go into the details, but he won't be terrorizing anyone again, thanks to your quick thinking!"
"And not my unexpected nap? Drat!" I joked to lighten the conversation. His face remained grim; such an incident would be hard to add humor into, even if you are the mentally unaffected victim. I could tell that his heart was still heavy with worry and grief.
"You were taken to the chapel by the guards so you could be taken care of there. None of us were allowed to follow your progress in person, except for the priests and doctors." I could see his knuckles turn white as he clenched his fists, his narrowed eyes glaring at the floor. My and rested on his shoulder in an attempt to soothe him.
"Perhaps it was for the better? I'm alive, they did something right!" I explained. Martin's shoulders dropped from their angry hunch.
"It must be so. But you're not here for just the story."
"I need to get to the Imperial City," I put on an innocent face and tried to look like a damsel in distress. "Oh, good sir I don't know the way, and surely the journey is troublesome and dangerous!" I said, with my hand on my forehead and my head facing the ceiling.
"You'd make a horrible lady, Decima. But I'll consider your offer regardless of your acting skills." He said between bursts of laughter.
"Consider?" I must have had such a distressed look upon my face, for Martin had guilt spattered across his face.
"Hmm, did I say 'consider'? Decie, of course I'll go with you!" We both grinned at each other in rejoice.
"A nickname? I could get used to your company." I giggled in response. We then left the guild hall towards our next destination.
It was expected to be a day's trip if we hurried, and I didn't plan to let it span out longer than it could have been. Martin assured me that he'd do whatever possible to make sure everything went quickly, but I was still weary of traveling after going coming from Morrowind. We set out on foot towards the Imperial City, going south. Along the way chatter erupted between us two. Most of the conversation was about what I was to do when I got to the city.
"What will you do for a living? Will you be able to find your way around? What will you do for a home?" His questions lead to no answers, except the last one. I handed him the will so I didn't have to explain everything myself. As the road lead on around Lake Rumare I couldn't help but start complaining about being tired. "Decie! You're the one who wanted to get there with lightning speed!"
I sighed. "I know, I know. Martin... my legs hurt so much right now!" I whined. Surely, this trip wasn't as long as the one from River Bridge. Why was the one to the city so unbearable? He looked over at me and took sympathy. We stopped alongside the road and sat down in the tall green grass, gazing at the scene across the lake. The large snow-white walls of the city glistened in the sun as the colossal tower rose up from the center.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Martin started. I looked up at his entranced expression. "It takes my breath away each time I see it. And to think you'll see it every day."
"And who says you can't?" I asked.
"And when did I say I couldn't?"
"The only question left is, will you?" I asked. He sighed and looked off into the distance. "Well?"
"I cannot say. If I manage to get into the Arcane University, then I certainly will. But like I said, 'If I get in.'" He said, with his underlying thoughts puncturing his voice. "It's nearing sunset. I'd hate to be out here in the dark. Besides, you've now been able to rest and we're not far."
"A large city at night seems more intimidating at night compared to a trail patrolled by guards, Martin." I pointed out.
"True, but you seldom see them. Don't take that for granted, miss." I stuck my tongue out at him in response, holding onto my established sense of security.
As we continued to follow the trail around the lake the air grew to a refreshingly chilly temperature that, instead of making one miserable, energized the weary traveler, making the journey seem much faster and less unbearable. Soon enough, a tiny village at the shore of the lake appeared, right next to the beginning of a colossal bridge. It glistened in the sunset's light, just like the white walls I saw earlier. We crossed the bridge and headed up towards the large entrance into the city. We walked past two huge doors propped open to allow the flow of people in and out of the city walls. A decadent plaza welcomed us, with a beautiful statue of a dragon; similar to the one in Ebonheart.
"I'm afraid we won't get to the office of Imperial commerce in time." Martin said. "It's all the way on the other side of the city, and even if we got there today, it would be closed by now."
"We'll go there tomorrow, if you're willing to deal with me for another day, that is." I suggested. He laughed and nodded in agreement.
"Of course."
We sprinted towards the office in hopes of getting there in time. A sign that stated "Office of Imperial Commerce" hung above a door that was being locked by a weary woman dressed in red. "No! Stop! Ma'am! Wait!" Martin and I breathlessly shouted. She looked up from her key ring, her eyes the size of saucers. My lips running at a mile a minute, I explained to her that I needed the deed to the home… my home… and that it would be a waste to wait until tomorrow. She took pity upon us and led into the cramped building. I set the will atop her messy desk for her to look over. The woman glanced at the paper and began to dig through one of the drawers in a cabinet behind her desk.
I gave Martin a worried glance, but he wasn't paying attention. After several minutes, she turned around with a key and envelope in her hands. "The directions, along with the deed, are in the envelope, dear." She ushered us out so she could lock up, and we ran down the darkened street in glee.
It was a charming house, covered in vines and morning glory flowers. It wasn't unique in the least, but it felt like home. Inside, everything was covered in sheets or folded up in cupboards. A stained glass window let in the moon's light, illuminating the modest furniture I found under the draped sheets.
"With a little dusting this place will be brought back to life!" I cheered! I found a closet filled with rags and buckets for cleaning and went to town with tidying up the place. I didn't know what Martin was doing during this time, for I didn't give him much attention, I was so excited!
"Decie!" He grabbed me by the shoulder and turned me around to face him. "Do you realize what time it is? You have the rest of your life to clean this place up." I sighed as I looked around the near spotless living room.
"I... I… guess so…" I turned towards the stairs that led up to the bedroom as he turned towards the door. "Where are you going?"
"My calling; it's not here." An uncomfortable silence followed. "We will see each other again. I promise. Don't lose faith." And he left. I was stunned… I was so stunned, in fact, I didn't ask him why. I didn't go after him. I didn't even reach out for the door when he closed it behind him. My freedom came with an emotional price that may well haunt her forever. His departure was so sudden and out of the blue. It left so many questions that lingered in my mind. But it didn't matter, I told myself. He helped me get here, but he won't be a part of this life. He was simply a medium between lives.
Events that happened despite all probability plagued me for some reason. What were the chances of me slipping in Ebonheart? The Khajiit going after me? Would Martin have stayed longer had we not gotten the will when we did? Would he have explained to me why he was leaving