Chapter Twenty Three: Reassessing the Situation
Cold pond water lapped around his battered body, a few salmon nipping at the golden toes. Lead Justiciar Aldaril groaned quietly in pain as he slowly pushed his body up from the pebble laden beach. A few of the tiny stones fell from his face, his vision blurred and darkened. The Thalmor blinked his eyes several times, dazedly looking about him. Nothing seemed to focus before his eyes but he knew to stay calm until his eyes focused.
There was a gentle bite on his bare toe, making him gasp in surprise. He kicked his foot, feeling something solid as he kicked it away. With slow shuffling movement, Aldaril crawled out of the water and sat down in the tall grass. Even though it was dark out, his eyes were slowly to come back into focus. The Thalmor rubbed at his eyes for a few seconds before looking around again. There was a slight haze to his vision but it was good enough to where he could at least get his bearings.
The Thalmor sat on the edge of a pond surrounded by a few trees. A stone table stood just below the surface of the water, a skeleton of man or mer laying on its surface. A waterfall fed the pond, the water flowing from the direction of where Lake Ilinata sat. This must be where the river took me, Aldaril thought as he shakily got to his feet. He couldn't quite place the name of where he was but he knew that he wasn't far from where the Talos-worshipper was.
The Thalmor winced as he slowly stood, the wounds in his neck crusted over with dried blood. He gently probed the wounds with his fingers, wincing as pain shot through him with each soft touch. With a soft prayer, he brought a healing magic to his hand and slowly closed up the wounds. The sharp pain softened to a dull throb, leaving behind jagged scars where the gaping wounds once were. A sigh of relief hissed through his lips as he dropped the magic.
Now, to assess the situation, Aldaril thought to himself. He slowly patted himself down, feeling for any other puncture wounds or breaks. There were a few scrapes on his chest and he was missing one of his boots but he was fine nonetheless. With a nod of his head, he checked his pockets and pulled out whatever he had on his person; he carried only a few septims, an elven dagger, a soaked map of the province and the pendant that allowed him to communicate with Elenwen. He sighed and shook his head.
Might as well let her know what all happened, he thought sadly to himself. Aldaril looked around and saw a mossy boulder sitting beside the pond. He awkwardly walked over to it and plopped down on its mossy top. Kicking off his boot, he held the pendant up to his face and cast the spell to contact the Emissary. It took a few repeating and a few patient minutes but the Emissary finally answered the call.
"This is First Emissary, what is it Lead Justiciar Aldaril?" The annoyed voice of Elenwen asked. Her face slowly came into focus, her hair looking as if it had been hastily combed back. Her eyes were heavy and Aldaril knew that she had probably been asleep.
"First Emissary, I am reporting in to tell you that I have located the Talos-worshipper and…" The Thalmor started but Elenwen cut in.
"Congratulations. You'll get your reward when you return." She said, her hands coming into the view as if she was about to disconnect the link.
"Wait, First Emissary!" Aldaril hastily said, seeing her hands pause. "That wasn't what I was going to say." Her hands dropped out of view and the Emissary gave him a look to quickly explain himself before she did disconnect the link. Aldaril cleared his voice and steadied his hand before speaking again. "I have located the Talos-worshipper but… He had proven too difficult to handle on my own and…" His eyes flicked down to look at the ground before he continued. "He and his companion murdered the rest of my mine. I barely survived the battle myself." He made a show of revealing the scars on his neck.
The First Emissary looked at the Lead Justiciar, her face contorted and hard to register. Aldaril watched as she opened her mouth to speak but closed it after a few seconds only to reopen it again. This went on a few moments before Elenwen kept her lips tightly shut for what seemed like an eternity. When she finally did speak, her voice sounded soft and far away, almost inaudible over the sounds of the night.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Lead Justiciar. Apparently the situation is direr than we first believed." Elenwen sighed, showing her exhaustion. She rubbed her fingers over her temples as she continued. "I guess we should have prepared better since this is the man that killed that pawn of a Dragonborn." She released another sigh, dropping her hand out of sight and staring back Aldaril. "Do you have any idea or clue of where they may be heading?" Aldaril shook his head, the crystal swaying slightly.
"No, First Emissary. But I am not far from where they are camping so I can follow them to where ever they may be going." Aldaril told the First Emissary. She thought over what he said before nodding slowly.
"Okay, proceed with that plan." The First Emissary said, stifling a yawn. "I have been speaking with General Eraamon and we have come to believe that the Talos-worshipper may be heading towards the Orc stronghold of Dushnikh Yal. They have been known to harbor other traitors and gain them passage to Cyrodiil and other parts of Tamriel. So, we have sent out a few machinations accompanied by a squad of various Thalmor soldiers." The First Emissary explained. Aldaril perked up slightly at the mention of all this, a slight smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"I want you to follow the Talos-worshipper and his companion to Dushnikh Yal or to where ever they lead you. Contact me every night until you reach the stronghold. At that time, the machines and the other Justiciars should be somewhere in the vicinity. They will wait for you at Reachwind Eyrie and they will be under your command." The First Emissary went on to explain, staring at Aldaril with a stern look. The Lead Justiciar bowed his head at the Emissary.
"Thank you for this opportunity to redeem myself, First Emissary. I promise I will not disappoint you." Aldaril told her. Elenwen stared at him.
"Let's hope not for your sake." She told him. With a quick motion of her hand, the First Emissary disconnected the link, leaving Aldaril staring at a blank crystal surface. He lowered his hand, gazing off into the dark brush surrounding him.
Dushnikh Yal? He thought to himself, leaning forward. He knew from experience that one fighting one Orc was difficult enough, but fighting an entire stronghold. The Lead Justiciar shook his head at the thought of leading such a suicide mission. A sigh left his lips as he slipped the pendant back into his pocket. He had no idea what he was going to do and he had a feeling that no matter what he chose, it wouldn't end well for him or the Thalmor.
Aldaril pushed his hands through his mangled hair, wincing as he fingers pulled apart knots of his golden mane. He dropped his hands into his lap and looked down at the ground with a look of defeat. He knew that he was dropping his guard and the wall that every Thalmor was made to built up, but he couldn't afford to keep his up anymore. And with it gone, the Lead Justiciar looked like a ragged, disheveled soldier who lost everything in one foul swoop.
"And I guess I have," Aldaril muttered under his breath. He closed his golden eyes and sucked in a deep breath, holding it in his lungs for a few seconds. He recollected his thoughts, thinking of how he has to continue on his quest not just for himself, but for the future of the Dominion. He had to destroy this Talos-worshipper to set an example that even the mightiest of traitors can fall to the hands of the Thalmor. He slowly let the breath out through his nose and slowly let his eyelids open. There was a new spark in his eye and a slight smirk tweaked at the corner of his lips.
Within seconds, he had rebuilt his wall and it stood strong, ready to take on whatever Skyrim and its traitorous people had to throw at him. He tried to ignore the cracks and the tiny missing pieces in his wall but Aldaril knew that it would be able to stand long enough for him to destroy the Talos-worshipper and his companion when they met up at Dushnikh Yal.
"They will fall to my hand," Aldaril said to himself, his voice now strong and clear. He held his head high as he imagined the Nord and his Khajiit companion dying at his blade, a wide smirk spreading across his lips. "They will!"