AN: Thank you everyone that has reviewed! I'm glad y'all are enjoying it! Also, thank you for telling me about my uploading error. I did it half-asleep, and couldn't fathom why it was showing that this story only had four chapters! I accidentally uploaded to another WIP (that I really should update!), so thanks for telling me! Sorry for the long AN; now on to the actual chapter!
PS: Apparently Cracked Tusk Keep is full of Orcs, but for my chapter it will just be normal bandits!
After my mental breakdown, I felt drained. The adrenaline that had been coursing through my body finally went away and left me with a skull-splitting headache and an overall numb feeling. Vilkas took charge of the situation, and led my family and me out of the ruins of our once beautiful farm.
It was around four hours until sunset, and Vilkas thought we would make it to Falkreath, if we hurried, by nightfall. I held back a snort as I watched Vilkas, who wasn't entirely sure which way to go. My father out him out of his misery and pointed him in the right direction. As we began our trek through the forest, my mind was elsewhere.
When I find those low-lives, they'll be sorry. I can't wait to pump their leader full of electricity; I'll give him a fraction of the pain that he put my family through today! The dark thoughts continued to swirl around my mind.
I had all but forgotten I was walking with anyone, so absorbed in my thoughts, that I jumped when my father spoke.
In that friendly voice, my father said to Vilkas, "I'm sorry for not introducing myself. My wife and I were a bit frazzled when you and my daughter came. My name is Bedoryan."
At this, my mother added, "Yes, and I am Chrystara. It's good to know that my daughter has someone watching out for her. At least now I know that my daughter is in good hands."
"I understand. My name is Vilkas. It is nice to meet you." Vilkas replied with his thickly-accented voice.
After the introductions, Vilkas and my father fell into a light conversation. My mother drifted to the back of our group and started walking next to me.
I began to study her, and took note of her slightly-graying hair. I always remembered her hair as the rich mahogany that colors my hair. There were also deeper wrinkles along her face. My mother was always a beautiful woman, but the wrinkles and graying hair didn't take away that beauty. She had aged gracefully.
"He's a nice man." Mother muttered.
"Huh? I mean, yes he is." I replied, a little off guard.
Never one to beat around the bush, she simply said, "You like him, don't you?"
I sputtered, and flushed so deeply I'm sure there were jealous tomatoes all over Skyrim. Apparently I audibly choked, causing my father and Vilkas to look back at us. I just flushed deeper and assured them that I was alright. My mother just chortled to herself.
Great, now she isn't going to let that rest I thought sullenly. Realizing that I hadn't exactly denied it, I replied.
"You can stop planning the wedding." I said sarcastically. "No, I don't like him." I finished.
Mother just hummed in return, and continued smiling that Cheshire smile of hers. I just sighed and continued walking, taking solace in the cool night air. I always loved the night air in Falkreath. Being so far south, the air was warmer and muggier than Whiterun's cold air.
While walking through the quickly darkening forest, I felt as if something was off. Trusting in my gut instincts I suddenly turned around, only to meet the empty path behind me. I could feel something watching me, waiting for me to let down my guard.
My parents and Vilkas stopped when I turned around. Vilkas came up to me, ready to ask me why I stopped, when I suddenly let a thunderbolt loose into the canopy. Instead of hitting something, the bolt flew straight out of the canopy and into the sky.
"What in the Divines' name are you doing?" Vilkas said.
"I feel like something or someone is watching us." I replied, my paranoia increasing.
"Your nerves are shot. You need to rest; we can't be much farther from Falkreath, and you can rest when we get back." he told me.
"I know something is watching us. But fine; we can go." I replied shortly.
After twenty more minutes of walking and being watched, I snapped.
Fire began pouring out of my hands and burning into the canopy. This time though, my spells found a target.
With a curse, a wood elf fell out of the tress at my feet. In the blink of an eye, I was on him. I could hear Vilkas' armor clanking as he came towards us.
With a flame spell held dangerously close to his face I yelled "Who are you?!"
With a stupid smirk he replied, "Ysgramor, Companion."
I tightened my hold on him, and made the fire just a bit larger and hotter. "Are you sure about that?"
I could see a spark of fear in his eyes. "I'm sorry! Just get that flame away from my face!"
"Answer me!" I yelled.
"A scout! I'm a scout for my clan! Please, don't kill me!" He said in a quivering voice.
"Tell. Me. Where. They. Are." I said in a deadly calm voice.
"Cracked Tusk Keep! We've been holed up their for around a month now! Please, don't kill me!" He pleaded.
"You burned down the farm that I grew up on. You destroyed my family's livelihood. You don't deserve mercy." I said, before casting a strong fireball and ending the cretin's life.
I stood up, and began to stalk away from the body and continue down the road. The wolves would deal with him, and Vilkas and I would deal with the rest of the bandits tomorrow.
The next morning, Vilkas and I got up early. Vilkas headed to the local blacksmith to have his sword sharpened, while I went to the general store in town, in hopes of finding something to help with the bandits.
As I entered the shop, I was immediately greeted by a Nord man named Solaf. I looked around the shop, and my eyes settled on a bookcase along one of the walls. There were several books on it, and some appeared to be spell tomes. As I looked them over, one caught my eye. It depicted the rune symbolizing conjuration on the front.
When I opened the book, I realized this book would teach me how to conjure an frost atronach! I wasn't really sure if I could pull it off, but I went ahead and bought the book. After exiting the shop, I headed towards a clearing and took out my purchase.
I lowered my self to the ground, and began to study the pages, being sure not to miss anything important. I had always had a knack for conjuration, and hoped that it would pay off. I readied the spell after ingraining it into my mind and then released it onto the ground in front of me.
Instead of the black and purple portal that I was accustomed to, nothing happened. Well,it would've been impressive if I had gotten it right the first time Iwith determination.
I continued practicing the spell for a good hour until Vilkas came for me.
"We should head out." Vilkas said, foregoing any greeting.
"I guess so. I wanted to get this spell to work, but no matter what I do, I can't cast it!" I said, frustrated.
"It will come to you eventually. Now let's go." he said before turning.
I gathered my book, stood up, and followed him.
We arrived at the fort just after noon, and stopped to make a battle plan.
"Should we wait until night, so they don't see us coming? Then they won't be able to alert anyone." I said. Vilkas stared at me weirdly.
"I've never been able to have an attack plan with any of the others. Usually they just want to charge in without thinking. It's just odd to have someone to make a plan with." Vilkas told me.
"We'll, I'm not all brawny like everyone else. If I just charged in, I wouldn't last two seconds. I HAVE to plan." I told him truthfully.
"I guess so. Yes, we should wait for night." he agreed.
We continued plotting and planning until sunset. Right as the sun was going over the mountains to the west, I conjured a bow and notched an arrow.
There were two men left patrolling the outer wall that night. Vilkas had his bow out and had his sights set on the bandit to our left, while I had mine on the bandit to our right.
Vilkas began counting down, "3...2...1...Fire."
Our arrows hit our targets in sync. Both bandits fell lifeless to the ground. We began to creep into the yard of the fort, and took in our surroundings.
There was a forge and a few tables scattered around. After deciding there was no one left, we headed for the door. We systematically made our way through the fort, killing bandit by bandit, all while staying unknown.
We came to the last room of the fort, and were met with 10 bandits all together.
"We won't be able to sneak our way through this." I whispered to Vilkas.
"Let's just take two out at once, then fight normally." he replied.
Thankfully, I learned how to cast spells silently, otherwise we would have died. With my bow readied, I settled on one of the closest bandits. We sent the arrows flying, and watched as two of the men fell. Then chaos erupted.
The eight remaining men began charging towards us. Vilkas and I ran inside to face the men. I immediately summoned a flame atronach and watched as it was quickly defeated. That's when I began to worry.
Vilkas had three men attacking him. He seemed to be okay, so I focused back on my own men. Stupidly taking my eyes of of them, I let one get too close. As I turned back, I was punched in the face.
The force of the punch sent me sprawling backwards and onto the floor. Before I knew what was happening, the man was on top of me.
The bandit told me in a growl, "You made a mistake coming here, girly. We're gonna have some fun once your little friend is dead!"
I began to struggle to get my arms free. I was hopeless if I couldn't cast anything! As I began to panic, I could feel that entity that filled me when we killed the dragon. Before I knew what was going on, I opened my mouth and sent the bandit flying off of me and into the roof. What the hell was that?!
Everyone froze. I scrambled up, and took advantage of everyone's shock, and sent a fireball in the direction of a bandit. Then the fight began again with renewed vigor.
This is hopeless! There's too many of them! There's got to be something... the frost atronach! I began to focus solely on the thought of summoning the daedra. As I charged the spell, I focused as hard as I could on getting the spell right. When I released, I heard the familiar metallic crunch of the summoning portal. I did it!
I opened my eyes and was met with the sight of a huge formation of ice charging towards the bandits. It began mailing bandits and throwing them against the room. The amount of magicka that the spell drained was astounding, but it seemed to be worth it. I stared as if in a trance and watched as it decimated the bandits.
When the atronach was returned to Oblivion, the numbers were much better. There were only three bandits left. My power had returned to me, so I rejoined the fight. While one of the bandits was bringing his sword down, ready to strike Vilkas, I shot him with a lightning bolt that made him stumble backwards. His eyes locked into me, and I could tell something about him was different.
The bandit charged me with a quick sprint. His speed surprised me, and I was caught off guard when his sword slammed into my arm. I screamed when The pain of the attack hit me. With my undamaged arm, I shot an ice spike at him. The icicle impaled his thigh, which caused him to fall over.
While the bandit was down, I took the opportunity to heal myself. I could feel my skin knitting back together from the healing magic. When I finished, I saw the man struggling to get up. I kicked him back down on the floor.
"We are Companions sent by the Jarl himself, to rid his hold of your clan." I told the injured man.
"You stupid bitch! You'll regret this!" he yelled.
"Maybe. If you hadn't of burned down my childhood home and almost killed my family, then MAYBE I would've regretted this." I said, before sending a fireball at his face.
I turned around to see Vilkas pulling his sword out of a bandit's stomach. I noticed he was slightly limping, and immediately walked over to him.
"What happened?" I said in a stern voice, knowing it would be like pulling teeth to get him to admit he was hurt.
"I'm fine." he said in a gruff voice.
"Then why are you limping? Tell me what you hurt, so I can heal it! I promise I won't tell anyone! Sovngarde forbid, anyone think the mighty Vilkas ever got hurt." I said sarcastically.
He just growled at me an hobbled over to a large chunk of broken pillar. He collapsed on it, and showed me a large gash on his calf.
I got down on my knees in front of him and wrapped my hands in healing magic. As I touched his leg, I felt a spark pass through me. My face burned, and I hurried as fast as I could. I was acutely aware of the position we were in, and leaped to my feet as soon as I finished healing him.
As I finished, I didn't look at Vilkas and began to walk towards the door. I know he had to have been able to feel the awkward tension in the room too. He stayed silent as we exited the fort.
This is going to be one long walk back to Falkreath was the only thought running through my mind.