Chapter XIX
Dawn was still a few hours away. Inside the Nightgate Inn, the group of five turned six, were up and eating some broth and bread for breakfast.
Rontag watched Jo'Agro the Khajiit, as he once again tried to sweet-talk Rasha. As she shooed him away for the fourth or fifth time, the Nord found that for some reason it reminded him of Kalon and Jalia, a Redguard couple that had travelled with him and his late friend Doran, from Hammerfell to Skyrim. He smiled at how the two had bickered a lot during the trip, but despite it, their love had remained strong.
Rontag turned to his wife. "When we finally arrive in Solitude, not only do we have to seek out Meratur, but I also have to see how those two Redguards are doing."
Valerie smiled at him. "The bard and his wife?" she asked him.
"They weren't married," Rontag informed her.
"Well they seemed to argue like one."
"We should know," he responded truthfully, a smile spreading across his face.
"We could argue now, if you'd like?" Valerie offered, a smirk appearing on her own face.
"No, You're quite alright."
"Tough, we're having an argument." Rontag laughed loudly, Valerie joining in.
"You two having fun?" Tam asked from one table over, as she checked her slightly bent warhammer shaft, which had been damaged when the house fell on her.
"Lots," Rontag said, as he eyed her weapon.
Seeing the Altmer with her warhammer, made him miss his battleaxe. While they had managed to retrieve some of their gold from the decimated house, he found that he had no way of acquiring a new shaft for his prized weapon. The top half was in his scabbard, which lay by the table they currently sat at, and the bottom half of the shaft was still in Winterhold. When they reached Dawnstar, he would seek out a blacksmith to replace the handle, so he could once again wield it in his hands.
"We should set off soon," Tam suggested. "Try and get to Dawnstar by late afternoon."
There was a sudden cry from the other side of the room. Rontag looked over to see Jo'Agro clutching his left eye.
"The maiden is vicious!" the Suthay-Raht cried.
Rasha held up her bandaged stump. "Appears as though I can punch people really hard, without having to worry about breaking my hand," she then began to rub it. "And now it's started throbbing again."
Valerie moved over to the two of them. "What's going on?"
Rasha looked over at her. "He snuck up behind me-"
The Suthay-Raht was taken aback. "Jo'Agro does not sneak!" he interrupted, still clutching his fast swelling eye.
"He grabbed my tail!" Rasha said furiously.
"Honest mistake, yes?" Jo'Agro replied. "The smack in the eye though, that was not."
Rontag couldn't help but smile. He shouted over. "Don't go grabbing the ladies!" he said, giving some mock advice. "You'll end up with a swollen eye."
"This one now knows that, all too well," Jo'Agro said back to him.
"Let it be a lesson," Rasha warned. "Try it again and I won't be punching, I'll be cutting with my dagger!" she said, glancing menacingly at his crotch.
The Suthay-Raht took the hint, and backed away. "Jo'Agro thinks that it may be safer to go with the two Nords, than with the crazy Ohmes-Raht."
"Excellent," Rasha said, a smile spreading across her own face. "He finally gets the message."
Tam simply shook her head. "Well if you're all done. We need to be off soon."
"Yes," Jo'Agro agreed. "Get to Dawnstar and away from the crazy one."
Within the next ten minutes, they had gathered their things and were back on the road.
Magoza awoke to the sounds of birds chirping outside. After getting dressed in her brown tunic and pants, she made her way downstairs, where two of the Dunmer brothers were sat talking. They both stopped when they saw her enter the room.
The Orsimer tried to remember there names. She believed they were Erebar and Dreneth, but Dreneth looked a lot like Niseron, so it could have been him. She hoped it wasn't Niseron, as she didn't like him much. She knew he hated Hides, and she was sure he disliked her as well.
"Look, the little Orc's got up finally."
Definitely Niseron.
Erebar greeted her far more kindly. "Your friend was grateful that I allowed him to stay over at my place."
"Yes, that was very kind of you," Magoza said to him.
Niseron sneered. "That's him, always trying to impress."
Erebar shook his head. "I'm not trying to impress."
"No, not at all. You allow animals to sleep on your floor out of the kindness of your heart," he retorted derisively
"He's not sleeping on my floor. I threw some straw bedding down for him."
"I'm surprised he-it, didn't eat the straw like a cow," Niseron said, turning his scowl to Magoza. "And don't think I haven't got my eye on you, pig-face."
"I don't have a pig-face," Magoza said, feeling a hurt by his remark.
"You're right," Niseron said to her as if he was taking back what he had said. "You have too much of a hook-nose to be a pig-face," he finished off, insulting her further.
"Enough!"
They all looked over to the source of the shout, to see Fevis standing by the doorway. He didn't look happy.
"There's no need for that!" Fevis told Niseron. "She's a guest."
"No guest of mine," Niseron rebuked.
"She's friends with Llandri, so just try and be nice to her."
Niseron simply shrugged. "You, Erebar and Dreneth were the ones that liked the Karo's, not me. I was there because they had money. When that dried up, well, we all left didn't we, so they couldn't have meant all that much to you either, could they?"
"We asked them to come with us," Fevis said to his brother. "So you can't get me on that."
"I don't really care."
"You should," Fevis said to him. "They gave us work at a time when no one else would."
"Well, it doesn't matter. I know that I want them gone, and so does my wife. And from what I hear, Lolinah isn't too keen on them being here either."
"What my wife thinks, is none of your concern," Fevis warned.
Everyone went quiet as Llandri stepped into the room. She looked around at each of them.
"Morning," Fevis greeted awkwardly.
"What were ya all talking about?" she asked them.
Niseron glanced at Fevis, who shook his head. He then mouthed 'no' at him.
He decided to ignore his older brother. "Well, I called the Orc over there a pig, then I said I didn't-"
"That's enough!" Fevis said, interrupting him before he could say any more. "There's no reason for it!"
"No reason for them to be here," Niseron retorted. "The sooner they're gone, the better."
"Don't worry," Llandri told him. "We'll be on our way by this time tomorrow."
"Good."
"It's not good," Fevis said. "They've been through a lot."
"And I care, why?"
"No, you don't care. Because you're a heartless bastard and always have been."
"I've got a family to think about," Niseron said. "Can't have the destitute eating all our gravy."
"They're only staying a few days."
"And that few days will turn into weeks, months, season's, years."
Fevis folded his arms, a foul look crossing his face. "Let us continue this elsewhere," he ordered his brother.
Niseron rose up from his chair. "No need, I'm done here," he said as he left the room.
Fevis looked over at Llandri. "I'm sorry about that," he apologised, before addressing Erebar. "Make them some Canis-Root tea or something, I'm going to try to speak to him." With that, he was gone, leaving the three alone.
Erebar, who had remained quiet till now, rose up from his chair. "Where's Brendarr?" he asked Llandri.
The Dunmer widow walked over to the table and sat down, before responding to the question. "He's out with Naren," she told him, before clarifying. "Our guar."
"I thought that's what you meant," he said. "Do you want some tea or anything?" he asked.
"No thanks," Llandri said. "I don't wish to be more of a burden than I have to be."
"Nonsense," he said. "Does your friend want any?"
"Same as Llandri," Magoza said. "But thank you for offering."
"No problems," he said.
Llandri looked at Magoza. "I'm off fer some air."
"I think I'll come with you," the Orsimer agreed.
The widow smiled, as she stood back up. "Come on then."
Brendarr spoke quietly to Naren. He was the only one that truly understood him, the only one he could really talk to now that his father was gone. Sure he still had his mother, but she had always been more of the lawgiver, than someone he could truly talk to. That wasn't to say that he didn't love her, he loved her with all his heart, it was just that she wasn't his father.
He looked around to see Niseron storm out of the largest house, followed in short order by Fevis. Brendarr assumed it had something to do with the lizard, and he agreed. The thing should go back to the swamps of Black Marsh, where it belonged.
Brendarr tapped Naren gently on the snout. "Y'know, yer the only lizard I like," he told him. "You've always been there when I needed to get away from things, to clear me head."
He heard the door go again. He glanced across to see his mother, and Magoza exit the large house. They looked over at him, before they began to head over.
"Looks like we have some company," he told the animal. "Hey!" he called over to them.
"How're ya doing?" Llandri asked him, as she and Magoza stepped up to him.
"Okay, I guess," he replied. "Just came to see how Naren is doing."
"Yeah," Llandri said wistfully. "He has it easy."
"I don't think pulling a wagon full o' crates is easy."
"I didn't mean it like that."
"I s'pose not."
The widow patted the guar on the nose. "He's a good boy though. Always has been."
"He is." Brendarr agreed.
Magoza began to move off. "I'm going to see how Hides is doing," she told them.
When she was out of earshot, Brendarr turned to his mother. "I don't see why she's so friendly with that thing."
"Because he helped her, he helped us," his mother said to him. "And I'm beginning to think that perhaps she is the answer to our prayers, that Azura sent her to us, to protect us."
"Ya can't be serious!?" Brendarr blurted out, shocked at her insinuation. "That's crazy!"
"Is it?" she asked, before relenting to the fact that it did sound far-fetched. "Yes, yer right."
"We shouldn't try to guess the actions of Azura," he pointed out. "Plus, why would she be interested in a bunch of farmers?"
"Yes, when ya put it like that," she responded sadly. "I guess I just want to find some meaning in what happened."
"There is no meaning in what happened."
"No."
"We just have to accept it," Brendarr said, fighting back the grief that threatened to strike him once again. "Father's dead."
Magoza gently tapped on the door of the house she believed to be Erebar's, where Hides had spent the night. She waited a few moments before knocking once more.
"It's Magoza," she called out, when there was yet again no response.
She heard a latch go, before the door slowly opened. Hides peaked around the door, before opening it fully, allowing her in.
"I wasn't sure who it was," he said, as he closed the door behind them.
"How did Erebar treat you?" she asked him.
"We didn't speak much," Hides revealed. "And when we did, he was never rude or anything."
"That's good," she said.
"He seems the quiet type."
"Yes, he does," she agreed. "Had anything to eat yet today?"
"Erebar told me that he would get something for me, from the main building."
"That's nice of him."
"Yes."
They both stood in silence for several minutes, both unsure what else to say to each other.
The silence ended when the door opened. They both turned around to see Erebar step inside, with some bread in his hand.
"Hello," he said to Magoza, before looking at Hides. "I got you some bread."
"That is most kind," Hides said, taking the bread as it was offered.
"I wasn't sure what Argonians ate, and I forgot to ask before I left."
"We eat what you eat, but do prefer fish to most other things, at least I do."
"Sorry, but we don't have any fish," Erebar informed him
"That is fine, bread will do," Hides assured him.
"Okay then," The Dunmer said with relief. "Well, if you need anything," he looked at Magoza, "either of you. Well, then just ask, and I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you," Magoza said to him.
"Okay, well I better be off. There's work to be done."
Erebar left, closing the door firmly behind him as he went.
"I should be off also," Magoza told him. "Must make sure that Llandri and Brendarr are holding up all right."
"Okay, thanks for checking up on me."
"You're welcome."
Magoza exited the small house, leaving Hides alone.
They were around a quarter Imperial mile away from Dawnstar, when Tam asked everyone to stop. They did as she asked, curious at what it was she wanted.
The Altmer moved over to the two Nords, and gestured for them to move in together. They did so, and she placed her a hand upon each of their shoulders, clenching her jaw tightly.
"This is where we part ways," she told them.
Valerie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're not going to Dawnstar with us?"
"I think it would be safer if I wasn't seen with you."
Rontag placed his hand on his shoulder over Tam's. "So this is goodbye?" he said wistfully.
"Yes it is."
Valerie wiped a tear from her eye. "I was so mean to you when we first met," she began. "I was so cruel to you."
"I forgive you," Tam told her.
"I know, it's just that in only two months, you've become a real friend," Valerie told her truthfully. "And if it wasn't for you, then we might not have gotten Rontag back to Winterhold before he died from the poison."
"I was saving a friend."
"I'll miss you," Valerie told her.
"I'll miss the two of you too," Tam said as she stepped away from them.
"Good luck," Rontag wished on her.
"Thanks," Tam said with gratitude, before she looked over at Jo'Agro, who still had a swollen eye from where Rasha had punched him earlier.
"This one need something?" he asked her.
"With us or with them?" Tam asked him.
The Suthay-Raht took one look at Rasha, and quickly moved over to the two Nords.
Rasha smirked. "Correct choice."
Rontag slapped Jo'Agro hard on the back. "So, you still looking for adventure?"
"This one is no longer sure," he said, casting his gaze back to Rasha. "It seems adventure is quite painful."
"You can always catch a carriage back to Winterhold when we finally make Solitude," Valerie suggested.
"Yes, perhaps."
Faldan raised his hand. "Erm, excuse me for asking, but if they're headed to Dawnstar, then where are we going?"
"Back to the Nightgate Inn," Tam told him.
"If we're off back there, then why did we leave it in the first place."
The Altmer placed her hands upon her hips, while glaring at him. "Because I wanted to see my friends off."
"Oh, okay," he said his neck shrinking into his shoulders.
"Yes, okay!" she snapped at him.
"No need for that," Rasha warned her.
Tam nodded in resignation, realising how childish she was being. "You're right," she said. "Sorry, Faldan," she apologised. "You still make me angry sometimes."
"I know," Faldan said back to her. "I'd be angry at me too."
"We'll work it out," Tam assured him, before turning back to the two Nords. "And I hope that one day, when this life is done, that I see the two of you in Aetherius."
"I hope so too," Valerie agreed. "I just hope that the Nords of Shor's Hall can go visit old friends elsewhere."
"What kind of afterlife would it be, if we spent eternity stuck in the same place?" Tam added.
"Promise me that you'll try to stay safe," Valerie told the Altmer.
"I'll try my best."
"Promise."
"I cannot."
"At least promise me that you'll never give in to the Thalmor."
"That much I can promise," Tam said with a small smile.
Valerie held out her hand. The Altmer took it firmly. "Goodbye Tam," Valerie said, almost choking with emotion.
Rontag stepped next to his wife. "Take care."
"You too," Tam said back, as she let go of Valerie's hand. "I hope you find Magoza."
"I hope so too."
With one final goodbye, the two groups separated. One heading to Dawnstar, with the eventual goal of Jehanna in High Rock, the other back to the Nightgate Inn, before they would be continuing on to Morrowind.
Magoza was on the cusp of sleep, when she was alerted by the sounds of screams and shouts.
It came from outside, and a quick peek out of the window saw Erebar, Fevis and his wife Lolinah, fending off a large group of Argonians. Their forms were barely visible in the late evening, only the remnants of the sunken sun and the lamp-light illuminated them.
Magoza was up in an instant, putting on her armour over the brown clothing she wore.
"Argonians!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, as she left her room.
In a moment, Brendarr was out of his room with his father's crossbow in hand, Llandri exiting hers with a worried expression on her face.
"We'll kill them!" Brendarr spat.
"Hold on!" Llandri yelled after her son.
But it was too late. He had descended the stairs, followed closely by Magoza.
They burst out of the house into the heat of the battle. Fevis and his wife only had small daggers on them, while Erebar only had his bare-hands. Niseron and Dreneth had managed to grab swords, but wore little protection against the enemies' steel weaponry.
Brendarr fired a shot from the crossbow, while Magoza unwittingly stood by his side, as protection, firing firebolts at the mass of scales.
She caught a glimpse of Hides rushing to the wagon to fetch his bow, before climbing on top of Erebar's house to get a better angle.
Magoza saw Lolinah go down with a sword through the gut, shortly followed by Erebar, with a deep slice across the chest.
Then an arrow struck Brendarr, knocking him down into the dirt.
Then, nothing but rage.
As Brendarr fell to the ground, the arrow embedded in his shoulder, he heard Magoza let out the most horrific shout he had ever heard. At first he thought she had been hit, but the next thing he knew she was charging the Argonian that had shot him with the arrow.
The bowsman, put his bow away on his back, drawing his dagger, ready for her attack. But before he could use it, Magoza shot a column of ice at him, then knocked the dagger out of his hand when she got within melee range. The Argonian, who was twice the Orc's size, struck her hard in the face, but she was seemingly un-fazed. She then threw her fist at him, knocking him to the ground, shooting him with a bolt of fire, finishing him off.
Brendarr, who was amazed by the display, had forgotten that he was laying in the dirt, with an arrow sticking out of him. He simply couldn't take his eyes off of Magoza as she went for the next target, the Argonian who had slaughtered Erebar. She dealt with him just as quickly as she dealt with the first.
Then his attention was drawn away, as his mother grabbed him by the shoulders and began to drag him back towards the house, tears running from her face.
She said something to him, but he couldn't make it out. Then everything went eerily silent.
Slowly, Brendarr rose to his feet with the help of his mother, who fretted over the arrow in his shoulder. But his attention was drawn to Magoza, who knelt in the dirt over the body of the last and now quite dead Argonian. Her body quivered, blood visibly dripping from her hands.
He then looked over at Fevis, who held his dead wife in his arms.
Llandri carefully pulled the arrow out of Brendarr's shoulder, and he let out a short yelp.
"It's out," she told him, grabbing his hand and placing it over the wound. "Hold it," she told him.
He did so, but without real conscious thought. His eyes were darting everywhere, almost unable to comprehend what had just occurred.
The Dunmer widow then looked over at Fevis. Their eyes locked, his face full of grief.
"Leave!" he shouted at her. "Leave and never come back!"
"I'm sorry!" she yelled back. "I had no idea that we'd been followed!"
"Just leave!" he repeated.
"You heard him!" Niseron exclaimed. "Get out of here!"
Llandri turned her attention back to her son as he let out a loud sob. She followed where he was looking to see Naren, their guar laying dead on the ground.
Without the guar, they wouldn't be able to take the wagon. Without the wagon, they would have to truly leave everything behind. There was nothing more to be done. She had no right to protest, not after what she had caused.
Llandri cautiously made her way over to Magoza. She had seen some of what had happened, and knew that it could have only been the berserker rage she had heard Orcs suffer from in intense battle.
Llandri stopped roughly ten paces from the Orsimer. "Are you okay?" she called out.
"No," Magoza responded, facing away from her. "I lost control."
"It's okay."
"No, it's not."
Llandri looked up to see Hides approaching them. She warned him away with a wave of her hand. He stayed clear, making his way over to Brendarr, who simply remained quiet. His usual taunts at Hides, were nowhere to be heard.
"We have to go., Llandri told her. "Naren is dead."
"Are we walking?" Magoza asked, turning her head slightly.
"Yes."
"Are we leaving everything behind?"
"We cannot take it with us."
The Orc rose to her feet. "We should grab what we can," she said.
A half hour later, they were heading northwards along the road in silence. All of them still on shock over what had just occurred.
They still had a long walk ahead of them, yet all they could think of was the pain they had just left behind.
Epilogue
Achilles watched Malthar get on a white horse while his friend, a young Cyrodilic woman called Cassiopia, mounted a large dark brown, Skyrim bred horse. He was amazed at how easily she had managed it, due not only the size of the horse, but because of the caped mithril armour she wore.
Malthar was quite fond of Cassi, even though she was a good decade older than him. Despite her being in her early thirties, she looked much younger, even with her disfigurement.
As Achilles understood it; she had garnered the wrong kind of attention from the Thalmor, back when she was a legionnaire. The left side of her face was a mess, with horrible scarring, and her eye had been damaged, leaving it glazed over and blind.
The young Breton waved at him, and Achilles waved back. In moments they were off, and the sense that destiny was finally being fulfilled washed over the aged man.
While they had agreed to give it a week to prepare, Malthar had decided to wait a little longer. Cassi had been out on some bounty mission, and he had wanted her to return and ask her to go with him. She had agreed rather enthusiastically, even if she was in the dark as to why exactly they were going to Jehanna in the first place.
Achilles was sure that they would meet those that were in his dreams, and that they would return here. If all went as he thought it would, then his great ship would finally have a purpose, beyond simply being his final project.
Then came the nagging voice of the woman came, like the shriek of the damned. She had been hired by Malthar to take charge of his well-being while he was away, something which had annoyed Achilles somewhat. He couldn't remember her name, and only knew that she was twenty years younger than he was, which still made her quite old. She was either a Breton, or a Nord. He hadn't quite figured out which yet.
"Come now, they've gone and it's cold. You'll catch your death," she said, her voice high-pitched and most grating to the ear.
"I'm wearing a coat," he informed her. "Unless you plan on setting me ablaze, I can't get much warmer."
"Now, now," she said in her screechy voice. "No need for that. I'm just looking out for what's best for you, now aren't I?"
"It seems that you want to nag me."
"That Malthar told me you could be a curmudgeon at times."
"I don't think 'Curmudgeon' is a word that Malthar would use."
"Well whatever words he uses, he told me that you could be quite difficult."
"I'm not difficult!" he protested angrily. "I just don't like being told what to do."
"Well, you won't defy my instructions, like you did with the other young man. I'm here to care for you."
"You're here to assist me if I need assistance, not to nanny me!"
"You're so bullheaded. Now come inside."
"Fine, but only because I want to."
Achilles stepped inside the house, and closed the door behind him. He moved past the woman, as she placed her hands on her hips in disapproval of his attitude. He didn't care. She could pout and complain all she wanted. He didn't get to the ripe age of eighty-seven, to have some shrill stranger from the city boss him about.
He sat down at the table, grabbing himself an apple from the fruit bowl.
"Would you like me to chop that up for you?"
"No, I still have enough teeth left to eat it."
"Are you sure, I-" She was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.
"Did he forget something?" Achilles asked himself, regarding Malthar.
He was about stand up, when the woman rushed over to the door. "I'll get it, you sit yourself down."
"Fine," He relented. "Just don't scare them away with your banshee voice."
She scowled at him as she unlatched the door, pulling it open.
"Oh my," she said aloud.
"Who is it?" Achilles asked as he pushed himself up out of his chair.
He looked around to see a face that he had never seen, but recognized all the same.
"Burag," he whispered.
Updated 09/04/2014
