Day Sixteen

I awoke the next morning in more pain than mere skooma craving could justify. Then I remembered how that little monk, Maurice had kept plying us both with drinks and sweets. He has some pretty deep pockets for a simple pilgrim. I did not trust him, and that stupid mustache of his, I just wanted to rip it off shove it down his throat on the tip of my sword and not stop until it was in the ground. Lydia had not woken me but when my eyes finally cleared I saw a bottle on the stand next to the bed. I fumbled the top off and drank it down. A moment later I spit it back out. I did not know what it was, but it was not skooma. It was watery and salty. I sniffed the bottle. It smelled like... I don't want to think about what it smelled like. I found my pack and brought out a bottle of ale and drank that down without stopping then finished off a sweetroll to get the taste out of my mouth. I dressed and went to find Lydia.

I found my housecarl at the counter of the Bannered Mare.

"You're up finally," she said, her spirits higher than usual. "I was just buying some supplies for the trip."

Hulda came up to her, "That'll be eighty gold, dear."

Maurice appeared behind me and held out his hand to the innkeeper. "I'll take care of that. It's the least I can do, Lydia. You certainly know how to show a pilgrim a good time."

I tried my best to ignore her girlish blushing. "Lydia, that bottle you left for me? Was that a gag? Because that's just what I did."

"I don't know what you mean. It was just your usual stuff."

"Well, it wasn't. Do you have another on you?"

"I'm sorry, Ralos, that was the last."

My curses are so vehement I saw Hulda reach under the counter for something sounding metallic and sharp. The bard nearby was shocked but was scribbling it down for later use.

"Meet me at the gates," I said.

I left them and hurried to the Temple of Kynareth. I searched for Danica but a young female acolyte told me she was gone harvesting herbs but did not know where she went. She ran off as my curses become animated. My head was already pounding. I might as well go and get this tree tapping over with. If I waited around I would just end up in the dungeons for killing someone who looked at me wrong.

I met Lydia and her new friend at the gates.

"That was quick," Lydia said as I approached.

"That's what the lass said," Maurice quipped.

He and Lydia laughed uproariously. I could even hear the guard at the gate next to me laughing in his helmet. My eye twitched and I thought I should move my sword to where it was not within easy reach.

Maurice caught his breath, "Ahh, but seriously, it's all in the delivery."

"I'll deliver you to Sovengard if you don't get moving," I said, "You said you knew the way."

"I do. I've been meaning..."

"Then go. I am in haste today."

Maurice shrugged and Lydia stared coldly at me but I was in no mood to care. I waved them on then followed just out of earshot. The pilgrim's voice was making my hand itch for the pommel of my sword.

The weather at least matched my mood as the cloudy skies and rain continued from last night. It did little to distract me from the sideshow in front of me. The road remained empty and uninteresting so Lydia and Maurice amused themselves with jokes, bawdy tales, and the occasional horseplay. My muscles were beginning to ache and my jaw was sore from grinding my teeth. Their antics continued until Maurice actually slapped Lydia on the butt and she squealed like a girl.

"Enough!" I yelled to them. "You're making enough noise to bring every wolf and bear in the territory down on us!"

Lydia again looked at me like I was crazy but they toned it down as we passed Valtheim Keep and she related our fight with the bandits a few days ago. He hung on her every word.

The day dragged on and the sky began to clear. We passed over a bridge and a Nord woman in studded armor was reluctant to move over for us.

"Watch where you're going, milk-drinker," she said to me.

"I doubt anyone would drink your sour milk, heifer," I responded as I passed, not wasting a glance in her direction.

"You care to back up your words? You are no Nord."

"I am Thane of Whiterun, and a true Nord. I will not be bothered by some bitter mercenary."

"Then you will die by one!"

The warrior drew her sword and ran at me. The sudden attack caught me weaponless and she landed a shot to my breastplate before I could get my guard up. I used the first shout I think of, the frost shout I had been practicing. A blast of ice engulfed her and slowed her movements. I heard a wolf near me and realized Lydia's spectral wolf was attacking her as well. I hit her once and she danced nimbly around all of us. She took out the wolf with two strikes but her moves brought her within range of Maurice. He had no weapon apparently because he tried to punch her with his bare hands. His fist bounced off her helmet and she moved to cut him. I tried to intervene but she was too fast and moved away from my strike. Unfortunately, I ended up slicing the pilgrim on the leg.

"I'm on your side," he yelled then ran off.

Lydia appeared with her staff in one hand and a sword in the other. She blocked one shot from the warrior then hit her once with her sword.

"Nice going, Thane," Lydia said. "Must you start fights with everyone?"

"I barely said anything to her," I said, "I smell a trap and your friend was conveniently here to lead us to it."

The warrior charged, yelling as she swung. I backed up out of her range then ran in for a strike of my own. I hit her once and she retreated into the woods. I gave chase and caught up to her against some rocks. Again she just barely missed with the point of her sword skittering across my armor. I thrusted my sword into her midsection, picking her up off the ground, then throwing her body against the rocks. A splash of blood seemed to point down at her corpse.

"You'll pay for that," Maurice said from behind me. He had no weapon, no armor, and was limping. I tried to keep away from him, moving among the trees.

"It was a mistake," I said, growing tired of his antics. "I missed her and hit you by accident."

"Lies!"

He kept swinging at me and would not calm down. I put my sword away and wait for him to calm. He did not and finally landed a punch on my jaw. A red haze came over me and the next thing I knew he was lying with his back against a tree and a bloody gash across his chest. A heard Lydia step behind me.

"I tried not to fight him," I said quickly, "He would not stop. He kept coming after me. Did you hear me tell him so?"

"I heard something," she said, "Not everything. I saw him trying to fight you but I couldn't hear why. What did he say?"

"He said something like, 'You'll pay for that', then kept at me. I think he really meant I'd pay for killing that woman, not hitting him by accident."

Lydia thought for a moment. "I suppose. We didn't really know him, and it was sort of suspicious we ran into someone so hellbent on a fight. Let's just go. We're almost there anyway."

We left the woods and returned to the land of hot springs.

Once across a raging river, the first thing I saw was a giant camp. It was tempting to go after their treasures but when we passed by I did not see any real cover to use to get close and I had seen the damage a giant could do with one of those clubs. I gave this one a wide berth.

Comparing the landscape to the map, I did not see anything that looked like a sacred sanctuary. I did not even see a big tree.

"Hey look, a cave," Lydia said, "I wonder if it's inside."

I was skeptical but where else could it be? "Might as well look. At least it will get us away from these springs."

The entrance of the cave turned into a long, dark tunnel and my skepticism grew with every step. Suddenly I felt a warm, fragrant draft from up ahead. At least I knew it was not a dead end. All at once the tunnel ended and opened up into an enormous cavern. There was a waterfall, trees, and colorful plant life thriving in sunlight spilling in from a hole in the ceiling. In the distance I could see a large tree standing by itself. That must be the Eldergleam. I followed the path towards it, stopping to talk for a moment with a man named Sond who was simply sitting by the water enjoying the peacefulness. I was not in the mood to talk with someone so damn cheerful.

Further on I ran into a woman named Asta who told me if I was there to see the Eldergleam I would not be able to get any closer than this. The roots of the tree were too large and numerous.

"I can with this," I said and brandished the hagraven's dagger.

"Nettlebane," she whispered, "I pray you, do not use that here. It will only bring trouble upon us."

"Trouble is what I went through to get this," I said, "I'm not going to hack the tree down, I just need some of the sap." I yelled out, "Who here has a problem with that?"

Asta backed up, holding her hands out. For a moment I thought she was going to attack me, but then I realized I was still holding the dagger while I was talking to her.

"We shall she," Asta warned, "The tree has defended itself for more years than you can count. You have been warned."

She jogged down a path towards the water where she had a knapsack and a book. She sat down to read, and watch.

"Perhaps we should take some precautions," Lydia said. "If Maurice did set a trap for us, then perhaps he warned others here that we were coming."

I agreed, but there were not a lot of precautions we could take. I sifted through my pack and arranged my potions to be readily available if we needed any. I did not trust my muddled mind to find anything quickly. Lydia readied her Familiar staff and her sword. We took the path across another bridge and stopped at a thick tree root that was blocking our way. The root extended out too far to go around and it was far too slippery to climb over. I tightened my grip on Nettlebane. It was going to take a while to chop through this enough to squeeze through. As soon as I touched the blade to the wood, however, the entire root flinched then rose up into the air, clearing the path.

"Finally," I said, "Something is actually simpler than it looks."

"Unless they fall back down once we are past and refuse to move to allow us to leave."

I hated when she was right. I did not see any way to guard against that, though without spending all day chopping with a dagger. "We'll deal with that if it comes up. I don't suppose you have a staff of fire with you? That might make it quicker."

"No. The wood looks too wet and tough to burn easily anyway."

I saw no alternative but to move on. I made three more roots move and then I was standing next to the giant tree. I placed a wooden bowl against the tree and made a deep slash into the bark. The sap oozed out slowly. I covered it and quickly tied a string around it to seal it. I packed it away.

"That was easy," I said, "These pilgrim's are too superstitious. 'The tree will defend itself'. Oooo. What was it going to do, bark at me?"

Lydia crouched and looked around.

"Lydia? Get it? Bark at me? Hey, what's that sound?"

A buzzing filled the air. Suddenly something hard slammed into my back and I stumbled forward into the tree. I heard Lydia summon a wolf and a glowing spriggan stood over me, it's clawed hands drawn back for another strike. I managed to release a shout at it and the shock of the frost breath stopped it from attacking. The spectral wolf grabbed a hold of its leg and tried to tear it loose. As I drank down two healing potions, the spriggan exploded into a swarm of bees. I thought it was dead but then the swarm came at me and the creatures began stinging me wherever flesh is exposed. I could feel the bees' poison surge through my body. I pushed away from the tree and ran towards Lydia so we could make a stand together.

The spriggan reformed to renew its attack. Lydia and the wolf met it while I found the one bottle of antidote I remember getting from a chest. Once cured of the poison, I joined Lydia in chopping down the living wood. It shifted into a swarm of bees once more, which this time I was able to keep away with my shout. I thought we had it defeated at one point but it managed to heal itself before we could finish it off. Once we did finally kill it, we both healed our wounds and counted ourselves lucky to have beaten it.

"It looks like the roots are staying up," I said as we headed back to the path, "That wasn't so bad."

"Bad enough," Lydia said, "I got stung in places I did not know were exposed."

"Better to find out now against a bee than... wait, what's that? By the Nines, not again!"

Three more times, in fact, did the spriggans attack us. With no more poison antidotes, we decided to make a run for the exit. We ran past Asta. She was dead on the ground next to her book. There was no sign of Sond. I assumed he ran off or took his chances in the underground river. By the time we left the cave, I was also out of any sort of healing or magicka potion. Our bodies were so covered with bee stings and tree sap we looked like one of the afflicted. All that for a small bowl of sap. Danica had better be extra inspired when the time came.

The hot springs must have some medicinal qualities to them because I tried out a soak in waters to ease the stings and it worked wonders.

"Come on in, Lydia" I said, swimming around in the shallow, steaming water.

"I don't know," she said, scratching her arms, "I think I can wait."

"So you're going to itch all the way back to Whiterun? Why? If my stark nakedness intimidates you, then perhaps standing up like this would help."

Lydia turned her head, a little. "No, that's not necessary, Thane with no shame."

"Then use a different pool. I've seen you in your smallclothes before, you know."

"It was dark and I was a little drunk. These bumps are annoying though. Fine. Turn around."

"What?"

Lydia looked at me, scratching.

"Whatever," I turned around, for a moment, then glanced back around. "Nice bumps."

Lydia jumped down into a pool next to mine. "Pig. This is helping, though."

"See, I told you."

We let some time pass and the itching was all but gone. Now I was itching to leave since I felt my headache returning.

"Lydia, I am sorry about Maurice. He left me no choice. I wouldn't kill someone out of hand like that."

Lydia sighed, "I know. It is just disappointing. No big deal anyway, his mustache was starting to creep me out."

"That's what I was thinking. We are so of a similar mind. Ready to go? Do you want to get out first?"

"Let's just go," she said, "Like you said, you've seen me in my smallclothes before."

"Exactly."

We stepped out and it took her a moment to realize wet clothes looked different than when dry. She plopped back into the water, but not before I smiled and give her a thumbs up. She put her head in her hand. "Just go already."

The road back was pleasant as far as scenery but my cravings are getting the better of me and slowing us down. We passed some fort that had two mages standing on its walls watching us closely. Smartly, they left us alone. A little further I passed by a Khajiit standing in the middle of the road. Without preamble, he spoke to me.

"M'aiq is very practical. He has no need for mysticism." Then he walked away.

Okay. A few paces further I found the dead body of an alchemist.

"Is this your work?" I yelled to the Khajiit.

"M'aiq is bored with this conversation."

Crazy Khajiit. I left him to his ramblings.

By the time I got to Whiterun, I could barely hold my head up. Lydia helped me through the streets to the Temple. Danica was standing in the middle of the room and rushed to my side.

"You poor thing," she said, "I'm sure you did your best."

The pain in my head was excruciating. I bit back a curse and thrust the bowl of sap into her hand. "My best is always enough to get the job done."

"Kynareth be praised," she said, "Housecarl, help me get him to a bed. We can do it there."

"Now we're talki..." I fell into shadows.

Time was impossible to follow. My only clear memory was of a celestial woman floating down from the skies and laying hands on my head. She pulled her hands away and it felt as though she was ripping my brain from my skull. My screams did not deter her. Finally something snapped and I fell back to the bed. She remained floating above me holding a seething ball of blue ooze. She blew on it and it turned to dust and floated away. She glided down to me, her transparent robes fluttering in wind I did not feel. She caressed my face then put her full lips to mine.

My eyes shot open and Danica and Lydia were standing over me both looking worried.

"What happened," I said through a dry, scratchy throat.

"You screamed like the Death Lord was chasing you," said Danica.

"I believe I was healed by Kynareth. She wrenched an evilness from my mind."

"Blessed be. We feared your mind would be ripped apart by such torment. What did the Goddess look like?" Danica asked.

I smiled as I recalled the image. "She had quite a set of gourds on her."

Lydia straightened up, "He's fine."

Danica looked confused, "So, she's a farmer now?"