Terror In The Ice
After locating the key to the cellar, we made our way below the lighthouse- finding not one but two Chaurus roaming below… as well as a hole in the wall that no doubt lead to their nest deep within the ice.
"A whole nest? Oh dear… where there are that many Chaurus- there is likely to be Falmer; stay on your guard." warned Hadranius as we swiftly dealt with the two lone Chaurus. I nodded to him and stepped up to the entrance of the ice tunnel, peering inside the best I could without actually entering. I could hear the echo of more Chaurus within, though I could also hear was sounded like shouting… as well as laughter. I raised an eyebrow at the thought of Falmer laughing and shook it off as a trick of the mind before motioning for Zany, Johnny, and Hadranius to follow me inside. "Watch your step, these icy caverns can be tricky." Hadranius advised us, though it was something obvious- I accepted the advisement in kind. The short tunnel emptied out into a moderately sized cavern… with no surprise we could easily see two Falmer huts across from the tunnel. Johnny stepped ahead of the rest of us, apparently not as cautious as I- though the chitter of a Chaurus on our right caused me to pull him back by his scruff. I motioned for him to be silent and crept around an outcropping of ice, pointing at the Chaurus I had heard- thankfully it had not noticed us yet- Johnny nocked an arrow, waiting barely a moment before releasing the arrow; which sank deep into a gap in Chaurus' thick chitin, killing it instantly. Johnny smirked before beginning to walk off to retrieve his arrow, seeing him so smug reminded me of a promise I had made not too long ago. I silently walked behind Johnny and waited for him to bend over to retrieve his arrow… before kicking my boot to his posterior.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" he swore as he nearly teetered over into the Chaurus' acidic blood. I simply smirked as I folded my arms,
"When you left us in Markarth- I swore by Sithis that I would kick your ass. As Listener I cannot leave a vow to our Dread Father unfulfilled." I said simply, though my smirk soon grew into a smile. Johnny simply grumbled while Hadranius sighed and Zany… burst out laughing again- honestly I think that Argonian is too easily amused by my treatment of Johnny.
With my vow fulfilled, I once again donned a serious demeanor as we delved deeper into the ice caves, though I was forced to halt our progress soon after we entered another tunnel- taking the time to safely spring a claw trap.
"Very perceptive lady Listener, that trip wire was hidden quite well. If you had not seen it- you surely would have been gruesomely impaled on that claw." Hadranius complimented, though I could tell he was trying to make light of what could have happened… albeit disturbingly darkly. I simply nodded before continuing our descent into the caverns. We continued along the icy tunnel and just as we turned a corner, a small brown blur slammed into me- knocking me back slightly and causing me to wince from the sudden jolt to my wound. I looked down at what had slammed into me to see a child clinging to my Shrouded Robes.
"A child? Here?" I said with disbelief and a slight glance over my shoulder at my companions. The boy looked up to me with curious gold eyes, the goggles on his head slightly askew.
"I was looking for Chaurus acid…" he mumbled as he pulled away from me and began toeing the ice with his boot. He stood about 4'3" with short and spiky sooty grey hair and looked like he rarely ever saw the sun by how pale he was. He wore a brown trench coat- the obvious source of the blur I had seen as he ran into me- as well as various odd contraptions and potions hanging from his person by sets of rings. A very odd-looking child indeed.
"A child should not be in a dangerous place as this, we should take him back to the entrance and leave him there while we deal with the Chaurus." advised Hadranius, I thoroughly agreed with him and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder to get him to follow us out.
"NO! I wanna get some Chaurus acid! I need it for a poison!" he said, his voice barely above a whine as he shrugged his shoulder away and folded his arms stubbornly. I was about to explain to him why it was too dangerous… but the clanking of something I was not expecting to hear caught my attention. Around the corner the boy had come from came a Dwarven Spider… and the boy rushed up to it without a care.
"Get back here! That thing will kill you!" I shouted as I rushed to save the child with my daggers in hand. The boy stood defensively in front of the automation… while it seemed to cower behind him. Perplexed I lowered my daggers and gave the boy a look- wordlessly asking him to explain.
"This is Gimli, he's my pet! I reprogrammed him… but… it kinda made him a bit of a coward. A glitch I've been working on fixing." he said simply as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. I sighed and crouched down to be at eye level with the boy.
"If you really want to come with us, then you must promise to stay back and let us handle the fighting." I said motherly, trying to make a deal with the boy- one that would be in our favor while still making him happy. He thought about it for a moment before smiling brightly,
"OKAY!" he agreed cheerfully. I chuckled and stood to move aside so the boy could head near the back of our group where he would be safe. "By the way, my name is Phoenix. Phoenix the Alchemist!" he said proudly, striking a pose and pointing at his chest with his thumb. I smiled with a slight chuckle,
"I am Alyce. This is Hadranius, Johnny, and Zany." I said as I pointed from myself to each of my companions. Phoenix grinned as he led his automation to the back of the group beside Zany before I smiled and motioned for us to continue.
As we neared the exit of the tunnel I began to hear the chitter of Chaurus once again,
"Zany, stay with Phoenix- if anything gets past me, kill it." I ordered, not wishing harm to come to the boy and leaving him in Zany's capable hands.
"Miserable Hagraven…" he grumbled as he brought his scimitars to the ready, and I could see Phoenix tug on Zany's sleeve slightly to get his attention.
"Alyce isn't a Hagraven silly, she's too pretty. Those things are REALLY ugly." he said with a laugh, causing me to shake my head at his comment before rushing into the cavern. A single Chaurus wandered the icy floor, while two Falmer could be seen on a ledge above the tunnel we would need to enter to progress further. As I rushed into the cavern one of the two Falmer jumped down to swing a war axe at my face- though it stumbled when Hadranius fired an arrow into its arm, his aim obviously altered to avoid hitting me by accident; otherwise I was certain he would have aimed for its head if not it's heart. As I slashed at the first Falmer- two more came charging into the room… and one appeared to be a formidable Nightprowler. With one Falmer each, it was fairly difficult to keep track of the battle- these Falmer being stronger than most I had ever encountered, as the one I fought always seemed to manage to parry or dodge my attacks just in time to avoid injury… more than likely I was fighting a quick and spry Skulker. I risked a glance at my companions- finding that I was not the only one having difficulty with my opponent, and I was about to end my fight quickly to assist them… until my heart stopped to see the forgotten Chaurus making a bee line for Phoenix. The Chaurus charged at the boy, Zany being busy too keeping the Falmer Nightprowler at bay to notice- though at such a short range, the crossbow Phoenix drew out of his trench coat would be of little use to defend himself. My attention was split between the Falmer I was fighting and the situation with Phoenix- and the Falmer took the opportunity to take a stab at me, which I narrowly evaded with a minor slash to my arm before angrily stabbing the Falmer under his chin. I was enraged as I moved swiftly from the now dead Falmer and ran to Phoenix's aid.
"Leave. Him. Alone." I practically growled as I jumped on the back of the Chaurus and began stabbing it between its armored plates, the acid burning my skin slightly- but something about my current state made me ignore it as if it wasn't even painful. It was like another person was in control of my actions… a far more deadly and ruthless person. The Chaurus shuddered underneath my furious stabbing, dying painfully slow- but I didn't care… I kept stabbing it.
"Alyce… it's dead." Hadranius said simply, as if I didn't know the Chaurus was no longer living- but I did not care to listen to him. Though after a moment a hand grabbed my wrist and I turned my head angrily to who was interfering.
"That's enough, what has gotten into you?" Asked Zany as he held my wrist, an odd look of worry hidden in his cold blue eyes. I looked from him to the slaughtered Chaurus and said nothing as I got off the back of the corpse and looked at myself, I was covered in acid- and only now was it beginning to sting.
"Give me a moment to wash this off." I said blankly, walking back to the tunnel to wash the acid off in a small pool of water we had seen earlier. I was now fairly cold as I returned- though it did calm me further. I at first was just going to deal with it and let the fighting warm me… but I could see the suggestive look in Johnny's eyes as I returned with my Shrouded Robes clinging to my body- and cast a very small fire spell around myself to dry my clothing, much to his apparent disappointment.
With my clothing now clean of acid and dried of the ice water, I lead my companions into the tunnel below the ledge- which brought us up to the very same ledge overlooking our battlefield from moments ago. My eyes scanned the area for another tunnel, though I didn't see one… I did see what appeared to be a drop off on the left side of the ledge. As we drew closer to the location, I could easily hear the chitter of another Chaurus. I motioned for Johnny to come closer to the edge beside me, together we peered over to find the sound to be correct- Johnny ceasing the chittering with a well-aimed arrow between the Chaurus' armored plates. I knelt beside the drop off and weighed our options, there did not appear to be a way back up- then again there had been a live Chaurus at the bottom. Meaning that there had to be a way out of the lower area we were not yet aware of… since as far as I knew Chaurus could not jump, much less jump the height required to reach the ledge we stood on.
"SO… we gonna jump or what?" Asked Phoenix with a grin, his hands behind his head childishly as he toed the edge with his boot. I chuckled lightly before looking to the others as I nodded,
"It appears that is our only option." I said simply, though before any of us could make a move- Phoenix had hopped off the edge with his Dwarven Spider in tow. I chuckled at his foolish eagerness before ensuring the others had made it down the ledge safely- then lowering myself down as well.
"Now that is a view I could get used to." Johnny chuckled, obviously referring to my posterior as I made my way down the ledge. I sighed and once I was down and close enough to him, I sent my fist into his diaphragm.
"Johnny… silence." I said simply before walking into the tunnel that was now before us with Phoenix following close behind, hearing Zany snickering and Hadranius sighing as I left Johnny in pain from my punch. I may be a woman- and I may be a Breton- but I am far from weak; having wrestled my childhood training partners to the ground during sparing matches. Though… I had pulled that punch, so Johnny should consider himself lucky.
We delved deeper into the ice cavern, stopping at another drop off- this one far steeper than the last. Below we could see at least three Chaurus walking in the frigid shallow water.
"Hadranius, Johnny- take them out." I ordered as I moved back to allow them both on the small ledge to take aim- and I was surprised by Hadranius' skills as I witnessed it with my own eyes unclouded by the heat of battle, taking down the third Chaurus swiftly after his first before Johnny could even nock a second arrow.
"Impressive Hadranius, Johnny is one of the best archer's I've seen- but you bested him in terms of speed before my very eyes." I complimented him; he simply bowed his head slightly as he remained crouched on the ledge. Johnny pulled a disappointed face- obviously displeased with my comment- and began making his way down the small ledges along the side of the drop off to the watery floor below. The rest of us followed swiftly after him, Phoenix making quite the splash as he dropped down beside Zany- making the grumpy Argonian glower at him, earning a laugh from the boy in return. I chuckled at their antics and made my way to the only tunnel, finding it to be quite short- leading to a very short drop into what appeared to be a fairly large and slightly flooded cavern. Johnny brushed past me and began taking down the Chaurus we could see in the room- most likely wanting to prove he was just as good as the experienced Hadranius. I allowed him to deal with the five Chaurus in the room alone, knowing it was better to let him tend to his wounded pride than to assist him even if he could handle it himself. As the last Chaurus we could see fell, Johnny fired an arrow through a gap between a pillar of ice and the wall- the arrow hitting the ice wall on the other side and gaining the attention of one more Chaurus… which fell in a heart's beat exactly like the others. I smiled my approval as I hopped off the ledge and into the cold water.
"Not many archers would think to sacrifice an arrow to gain a target's attention. Well done." I heard Hadranius compliment before joining me in the shallow water. Johnny said nothing as he and the others followed our example and hopped off the ledge.
We walked cautiously through the freezing water, fighting back shivers from the cold- and from the sight that now met our eyes as we turned the corner… a Chaurus Reaper. Essentially the queens of the nests, these beasts were commonly three times the size of the normally small Chaurus- though their immense size made them immeasurably more deadly. The Reaper spat acid in our direction- none of us staying still to see if it would strike its target as we dispersed around the large cavern. Johnny and Hadranius moved towards a path leading to a high ledge while Zany charged forward towards the Reaper with his scimitars at the ready.
"Phoenix, go with Johnny and Hadranius- assist them with your crossbow." I ordered the young boy, mostly wanting him out of the Reapers range than to help with the fighting. He grinned and mock saluted me,
"Gotcha boss!" he said with a grin before bolting up the path to where the two archers were now hailing a barrage of arrows on the Reaper. With Phoenix safely on the ledge I moved to assist Zany with the ground assault, drawing my daggers from their sheaths as I dashed up to the Reaper- driving my blades up and under one of its chest plates as Zany did the same on its back, making it rear back in pain. I twisted the blades and drew them to the sides- slicing open the Reaper's neck, jumping back to avoid the gush of acidic blood that resulted. The Reaper soon fell dead in a heap, blood pouring from its gashes as well as trickling from the various arrows and several bolts that protruded from it. Zany sat on the icy floor, on a small section that was just out of the water to catch his breath; while I had not done nearly as much as he did, I was still fairly exhausted as well- sitting down on the icy path where Johnny and Hadranius sat waiting further up. "WHOOHOO!" shouted Phoenix as he hopped off the path and dashed up to the Reaper carcass with a vial in hand; placing the lip of the small glass container to one of the wounds, letting the acidic blood fill it before closing it with a simple cork stopper.
I chuckled at the boy's antics, his enthusiasm was a heartwarming sight to be sure. Phoenix placed the vial in one of his pockets and walked up to me with a disconcertingly serious expression on his face.
"You guys are assassins right? Dark Brotherhood I'm guessing? You guys are WAY too skilled to just be adventurers." he stated simply, I blinked stupidly for a moment before chuckling goodheartedly.
"That we are. Though don't tell anyone… or we may pay you a visit someday." I said sadly, hoping the boy could keep our secret. Phoenix grinned as seemed common for him,
"Only if you let me join!" he said cheerfully, though with an obvious hint of deviousness to his statement. I laughed loudly, drawing attention from my companions as it echoed through the cavern. "I'm serious! I've killed someone before- it was more fun that I thought it would be." he continued with a slightly deranged light in his eyes- this light unnerved me but I could see the boy was still sane, though delighted with killing. It saddened me to see someone so young confess to being a murderer… but that also meant the boy held promise as an assassin to have had the nerve at such a young age in addition to the strength of will to keep his sanity.
"You said you are an alchemist, yes?" I asked him, he nodded vigorously in response. I thought about it further for a moment before coming to a decision. "Very well… though until you are 18- you are not allowed to go on contracts of your own. You will be chaperoned until then, for your own safety and the secrecy of the Brotherhood." I said motherly, laying ground rules for our youngest member until he would reach adulthood. Phoenix's eyes widened,
"WHOOPIE! I won't let you down Alyce!" he shouted as he ran happily up the path and past Hadranius and Johnny with Gimli clanking along close behind him. I chuckled at his joy and stood to follow him, Zany joining me as he realized we were leaving. I walked up the icy slope, though I was stopped by an obviously worried Hadranius.
"May I have a word with you lady Listener?" he asked with a slight glance at where Phoenix stood waiting at the top of the icy chamber, no doubt what- or rather who- he wished to discuss "The Brotherhood is no place for a child, we should send Johnny or Zany to bring him to the orphanage in Riften- or at the very least leave him in Winterhold." Hadranius advised, though I was less than pleased with this suggestion.
"No. He wishes to be an assassin and as such I will allow him so long as he obeys my rules, the decision is final Hadranius." I said sternly, folding my arms across my chest stubbornly. He sighed heavily,
"It appears our fair lady Listener is as stubborn as a grizzled old Orc. Very well, if that is what you wish." he conceded with a reluctant sigh.
"The boy is an alchemist; despite his age- he has skills that would benefit the Brotherhood. Even you know that we are in need of members, especially with the Imperium Ultis after us now." I explained, Hadranius nodded as he realized my reasons were more than valid enough to warrant Phoenix being allowed to join. With this issue settled Hadranius and I resumed our walk up the icy slope to the top of the cavern, finding a high drop into the first cavern the only course of action left to take. I dropped down first and waited for the others to make it safely down before leading the way out of the ice cavern and back to the lighthouse proper.
We left the lighthouse once we were certain that we were ready to return to the island- where the Imperium Ultis troops no doubt still guarded the entrance to our Sanctuary. If memory served me correctly, we managed to kill five out of the twenty soldiers before being overwhelmed- and with our recent addition to our ranks that meant that there would be three soldiers to each of us. I had no idea how far the lighthouse was from the island until we finally arrived at the base of the cliff leading to the ruin, each of us a little out of breath from the journey. We did not stop to rest, fearing that the soldiers we knew were likely above us on the cliff might look down or march down the nearby slope and find us off guard- so we continued on to the cliff top, finding that the soldiers had not left as we had hoped in vain.
"So… what's the plan boss?" asked Phoenix excitedly as he clutched his crossbow tightly, his eyes once again holding that deviously deadly light in anticipation of killing the solders. I pondered our options and potential approaches for a moment. Following the same stealthy tactics we used previously would likely be expected and they would be vigilantly guarding against an archers assault from a distance- quite possibly having a constant watch on the roof of the ruin, which was the best vantage point on the cliff. A frontal assault would be less expected- but foolish as only two of us could rush into the fray to defend the three archers from the charging soldiers. We were faced with quite the predicament to be sure; as I took a moment to look around the area, finding little in means of options… until my eyes fell on Gimli the Dwarven Spider.
"Phoenix, can you use Gimli as a distraction?" I asked hurriedly, my mind whirling with a plan. He nodded slowly, hoping I wasn't planning on letting his automaton get destroyed. "Don't worry I won't let harm come to your pet. Simply have him run out and draw a few of the soldiers away- or at least draw their attention." I said with a reassuring smile, receiving a thankful nod in return before the boy instructed his pet to do as I required.
As Gimli clanked out into the open area, the rest of us crept along the icy ledge just out of the troop's line of sight to sneak up behind them. The spider reached his designated position and hopped up to gain the troop's full attention, once he had them watching him warily he… began to dance? Hopping from one set of metal legs to the other and swaying around to an unknown music- if it hadn't been crucial for us to remain silent, I am certain this sight would have brought some of us to tears from sheer laughter. The ruse went better than I expected, every soldier was either too curious or fascinated by the dancing automaton to notice us as we drew closer to our distracted targets. Hadranius and Johnny pulled their bows taut- Phoenix already having a bolt ready in his crossbow, each ready to fire if the soldiers turned around sooner than expected as Zany and I crept ever closer. When we reached a great swords length from the nearest soldier, I gave a subtle signal for our archers to take different targets further ahead; as Zany and I had successfully come within range of our targets. One of my daggers dug deep into a soldier's back as the attack began, Zany cutting down one as well- our archers taking out one each as the soldiers flew into a surprised panic, having been trained to combat such situations their last thoughts would be of their own foolishness in falling for such a simple ruse. Another soldier charged at me in rage for his fallen comrades, vengeance burning in his eyes- only to be extinguished by an arrow to the throat. The man fell and I moved on to the next soldier waiting to die, stabbing him with Steelheart in the side of the chest through a joint of his armor- the man's blood pouring freely due to the enchantment on my ancestor's dagger. I had yet to truly use the blade in such a manner, so I marveled at the results for barely a moment- but that was apparently enough for another soldier to try and take a swing at me.
"Why don't you just stay dead? ASSASSIN BITCH!" he swore as he lunged to stab me with his sword- obviously the same soldier who had nearly killed me before. I jumped back, knowing his speed from memory and barely made it out of the way to avoid harm as the man stumbled slightly from the momentum of his own attack. I was barely fast enough to evade, let alone counter his attacks- though I only needed to keep him away long enough for one of our archers to take him out or for Zany to assist me. My eyes darted about as I counted the remaining soldiers: besides the one I was currently evading, Zany was locked in combat with a large brute of a man wielding a large war axe; while three more soldiers hid behind the rubble as they casted spell after spell at Hadranius, Johnny, and Phoenix- Gimli having returned to his master's side after the fighting began. Apparently assistance would likely come too late… I would need to deal with my opponent alone.
As I continued to dodge the soldier's attacks, I began to study his movements. After each forward strike- he would take a small step back, whenever he slashed his blade in any direction- his feet would act as a tell for which way he would swing. He had likely been a mage before joining this group of soldiers- possibly drafted to fill a necessary spot, given a sword and minimal combat training to kill assassins who had spent most of their lives with a blade in their hands… a foolish mistake on part of the Elder Council, one which I was keen to take advantage of. I feinted far to the right, making like I was about to roll to the side and behind him- he fell for it easily and I change direction quickly, diving straight at the man and driving Steelheart into his stomach easily through his Cyrodilic chain mail. As the man fell to the ground bleeding out, I gazed around expecting to be attacked by one of the mages hiding behind the rubble- only to find they had been dealt with by a sneak attack from Phoenix and Gimli. With the battle concluded I sat down in the nearest patch of snow that wasn't soaked with blood to rest. The others doing the same across the now battle torn clearing,
"I've been meaning to ask Phoenix, just how old are you?" I asked the young alchemist, and was shocked by his immediate response.
"Sixteen." he said blankly, sitting on a rock not far from me with his spider automaton Gimli beside him. I blinked in surprise, he was FAR shorter than a boy his age. "Yeah I'm too short it be sixteen- I know, I hear that a lot so you don't even need to say it. I think I get it from my mom… she's a Dunmer." he explained hesitantly, looking down at the ground as if he expected us to hate him for his obviously split heritage. I smiled softly at the worried young man- no longer a simple child as he had first appeared,
"You need not worry about any of us hating you for who you are. At our other Sanctuary, our blacksmith is half Orc and half Breton- so I would not allow anyone to speak ill of either of you." I assured him. His head bolted up at this, and before I could blink he was beside me- giving me the tightest hug I had received in quite some time.
"Thank you Alyce." he mumbled, obviously happy he had found people who would accept him. I returned the hug with a small smile, and as I pulled away I looked around at my companions. Hadranius was leaning against the exterior of the ruin as he waited for us to enter the Sanctuary together; Johnny was relaxing on a fallen stone pillar, while Zany simply looked at something behind me with a small tug of a smile on his face.