The Road to Hell
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Chapter 10: Bubbles In My Beer
I barely registered the moment when we entered Dragon's Bridge. I was still thinking about the fact I had killed someone for the very first time. I had always thought that after so many years of watching violent movies and playing violent video games had desensitised to the idea of killing someone or anyone. But the fact that I was nearly catatonic after killing two people showed that I really was just a soft couch potato. A worrying thought had strayed into my mind; how long would it be for me to get so used to killing people that I would end becoming a cold emotionless machine.
"My prince?" I gave a start and looked up to see Rolly looking at me in concern. I then realised we were in a tavern setting. "Are you alright?" the shaggy haired man asked me.
"I… don't know," I said in a small voice. "I thought that… I would be ready for the moment I killed someone for the first time," I admitted reluctantly.
"Aye, you're never really prepared for the moment you kill a man for the first time," Rolly said sagely. "I've done my best to train and prepare you to kill others, but I suppose it's different for everyone," he added softly.
"Have you ever killed before?" I then asked him.
"Aye. When I was in the Golden Company, I took part in skirmishes and battles where I had killed men," Rolly confirmed. "I never really thought about it, I just did what I was ordered to. It didn't matter to me who I killed on the field, only that I lived to tell of it," he said.
Not exactly the most comforting words, I thought to myself, but I supposed there was something truthful in them, I reasoned. Suddenly a tankard of ale was put in front of me and I looked up to see Asher and Beskha looking at me.
"Drink. You look like you could use it," Asher advised me.
"I'm not…" I tried to protest.
"Trust me. You might feel better afterwards," Asher insisted.
Reluctantly, I took the tankard of ale and took a small sip from it. My throat burned as the thick booze went down my gullet and I tried not to cough as it entered my belly. A warmth came over me as I took that first sip.
"Feeling any better?" Beskha asked as she sat opposite me.
"A little," I mumbled as I looked around the tavern and saw a mixture of Legionnaires, ordinary townsfolk and travellers enjoying a drink, talking with one another, or warming themselves by the hearth. My eyes were then drawn to a serving girl with long curly black hair and wearing a barmaid's outfit with a long skirt that reached her sandalled feet. I must've been staring at her as I heard my companions sniggering and I looked them and asked, "What?"
"Got your eye on a girl, have we, lad?" Rolly grinned at me as he indicated the barmaid I had been staring at.
"No!" I said defensively as I forced myself not to look in the barmaid's direction. She was pretty enough and a couple of years older than I currently was, but that was no excuse to stare at her. My cheeks growing warm, I took another sip of my ale as Rolly and the others gave a laugh at my expense.
"Go to talk to her," Asher encouraged me. "Might be you need a woman rather than ale," he said helpfully.
"I don't think I should," I snapped out gruffly, not wanting to play whatever game the others were cooking up for me.
"Why not?" Rolly laughed. "She's pretty. And she's got a nice pair on her," he said as he indicated said pair on the barmaid which sat up perkily on her bosom.
"I shouldn't," I said forcefully. "Lord Jon wouldn't approve of it," I added.
"Oh, c'mon," Beksha said to me. "Are you gonna do everything his lordship tells you for the rest of your life?" she taunted me. "And besides, we won't tell if you won't," she offered enticingly.
"No thank you," I said primly as I focussed on drinking my ale. I heard Rolly make an excuse to get some air while Asher and Beskha left the table after him to talk with the Legate. I sat there alone, swishing my cup of ale around in one hand, lost in my thoughts. I was then roused from my thoughts by a soft voice.
"Do you need another drink?" I looked up to see the barmaid I had been staring at earlier standing in front of me with an earthenware jug that was undoubtedly filled with ale for refills for those who asked. A sweet smile was on her pretty face as her dark brown eyes looked at me warmly.
I looked over to see Rolly, Asher and Beskha all grinning at me from the bar. I had to suppress a groan of exasperation before replying to the barmaid's question. "I'm fine, thank you for asking," I said to her as politely as I could.
"You sure? You look like you could use it," she prodded me.
"I'm fine," I insisted as I put a hand over my tankard to prevent her from pouring more ale into my cup.
"Well, you seem pretty lost in thought," the barmaid said to me as she took a seat opposite me. "Something on your mind?" she asked me kindly and sweetly.
I hesitated to answer her question. "I… killed someone," I replied uncertainly.
"You did?" the barmaid asked with a raise of her eyebrows. "You're a soldier?" she questioned.
"Auxiliary in service to the Imperial Legion," I replied. "We were on our way her to escort a merchant caravan when we were attacked by Forsworn," I explained. "I killed two of them," I said slowly as I stared at the spot on the table in front of me.
"Are you alright? Were you hurt at all?"
I shook my head. "No. I got out okay, but it was the first time I had killed anyone," I confessed. "I was trained to fight and kill, but before today, I had never killed anyone," I said.
"Yeah, must be pretty harrowing to have killed someone for the first time," the barmaid said sympaethically.
"Yes, it was," I mumbled before I looked up at the young woman and said, "I don't believe you told me your name?"
"I'm Lindsy. It's nice to meet you," the barmaid said with a smile as she offered a hand to shake.
"Aegon," I replied as I shook her hand firmly. "How long have you been working here?" I then asked steering the conversation to safer waters.
"A couple of years, now," Lindsy said. "Moved here from Markarth, but I'm originally from Cyrodiil," she added.
"What made you move to Skyrim?" I asked a little relieved that my mind was being taken off from my first battle.
"My mother, in fact," Lindsay stated. "She was a Breton who lived in Markarth before marrying my father and having me. I came here to learn of what her life in Skyrim was like before moving to Cyrodiil," she told me.
"But you weren't there long," I remarked.
Lindsy glanced down at the table before answering my question. "I found that a lot of Nords didn't like Bretons, and the Bretons who already lived there didn't like me either," she admitted reluctantly.
"But your mother was a Breton," I pointed out.
"Yes. But my father wasn't," the barmaid replied.
"Oh." Not the most intelligent response I could've given, but what could I have said that would make her feel better. I then said, "How do you find life here in Dragon's Bridge?"
"It's nice being here," Lindsy said with a pretty smile that made butterflies somersault in my stomach and my cheeks grew warm. "The tavern owner doesn't mind I'm half and half. Just asked that I pulled my weight and didn't cause trouble," she added.
"That's nice of her," I said with a smile. "You must get a lot of business lately," I remarked.
"We have," Lindsy confirmed. "Ever since the Penitus Oculatus has settled in here, we've seen a lot of soldiers come and go through town. Brings a lot of business, but I have to wonder if it will bring trouble as well," she said.
"You must get your share of drunk soldiers causing trouble from time to time," I said sympathetically.
"From time to time, we do get some rowdy Legionnaires who get drunk and cause trouble with the locals," Lindsy replied. "But usually their commanders bring them back in line and make sure they pay for any damages," she said.
"I guess that's a good thing," I mused.
Lindsy smiled at me warmly before rising from her seat. "It was nice talking with you, Aegon," she said to me with another sweet smile. "I'll see you around," she added before she walked off to serve other customers.
Then Rolly, Asher and Beskha came rushing over. "How did it go?" Rolly asked me eagerly.
"Fine," was I said in response. "We just talked. Nothing more," I added as I took a sip of my ale.
"Really? That all?" Asher asked looking disappointed. "She looked like she enjoyed talking with you," he said.
"Let it alone, Asher," Rolly said to him. "Our lad's spirit has been lifted after that chat with her. Might be that she'll want to talk with him again," he stated.
"She was just being nice," I said simply.
"Really?" Beskha drawled out. "She liked you. I could tell," she said with a grin.
"How could you?" I asked stupidly.
Beskha gave me a flat stare and replied, "I too am a woman in case you haven't noticed." There was venom in her accented voice as I realised that I had dug myself a hole with my words and I shrunk back in my seat so as not to risk digging myself in any deeper.
"We know, Beskha," Asher said with a laugh. "I for one know that for a fact," he added.
"So, are you gonna talk with her later?" Rolly asked me.
"Talk with who later?" I asked dumbly.
"The barmaid!" Rolly said looking at me like I was just that dense and perhaps I was.
"Lindsy. Her name is Lindsy," I said to the shaggy haired ginger.
"Aye, her!" Rolly nodded his head. "You gonna talk with her later? She likes you," he said with a wink.
"Maybe when I have time later," I mumbled as I rose from my seat feeling a tightness in my nether regions. "Is there anywhere I can take a piss?" I asked.
"Aye. Outside, around the corner to the left," Rolly told me. With a nod of thanks, I left the tavern and was met with the chilly wind of Skyrim's environment. I drew my cloak in around me tightly as I headed around the corner to find a latrine pit. I had to stifle a groan of discomfort as the rancid smell of piss, shit and god knows what else wafted up from the hole in the ground.
I then unlaced the front of my trousers, grasped my cock in my fingers and gave a sigh of relief as I emptied my rather full bladder. I glanced at the sky to see it was slowly turning into a mixture of purple and orange as the sun slowly began to set on the horizon. Once I felt my bladder run dry of piss, I laced my trousers back up and prepared to head inside back into the warmth when a voice called out to me.
"Oi! Stranger! Over here!"
The voice sounded familiar and I looked around and saw a hooded man with a half mask over his mouth. I had to stop my jaw from falling to the floor; it was the Merchant. Given that I now knew that the Duke, the Merchant and the Spiv were in Skyrim, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised to see the Merchant awaiting me. Cautiously I approached the shifty looking trader who led me over to a nearby stall he must have set up earlier. Standing behind the counter, the Merchant opened the front of his robes to reveal a crazy mish-mash of weapons and items stuffed in various pockets or held together by straps and buckles.
"Got a selection of good things for sale, Stranger," the Merchant said his opening line to me.
"What do you have?" I asked hesitantly.
"All sorts, Stranger. Only the finest goods I have for sale," the Merchant told me. "My associate, Duke, informed me about you. Said you did good work and I'm always on the lookout for those who can do a good job," he said slyly.
"And I take it you have some work for me?" I asked dryly.
"Indeed, Stranger," the Merchant grinned behind his mask. "You were attacked by Forsworn on your way here, right?" he asked and I nodded in confirmation. "Well, they're bad for business, scaring off customers. I could pay you a pretty sum of money if you got rid of them for me," he offered.
"I suppose you know where they are then?" I said in response.
"Indeed, I do, Stranger," the Merchant said with a cackle. He then took out a map of the nearby area and pointed to a spot with a circle of red ink scrawled on it. "This is where those Forsworn buggers are holed up," he informed me. "They have a Briarheart leading them. You kill him and bring me back his briarheart, I'll pay you well," he told me.
"I'll see what I can do," I replied as I then headed back to the tavern. A plan was forming in my head as I thought that I would need a couple of extra swords with me. Undoubtedly, the Legate would like to be informed of this Forsworn camp near a critical Legion controlled area, plus I imagined that the locals would sleep easier knowing that a Forsworn camp was taken care of.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: there! Tenth chapter of this is done and dusted! I hope you all enjoyed it, although I am sorry it's not super long, but hopefully the next chapter will be longer than this one. Regardless, I hope most of you enjoyed this chapter ^_^. And I hope some of you enjoyed the OC I made in the form of Lindsy the Barmaid. I have other OCs planned, but if anyone here has an OC they want to see included in this story, feel free to share with me :-D.
And apart from that, I haven't got too much more to say about this, so I'll leave this here and see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.
