Chapter Fourteen

When the next morning dawned, I felt refreshed. The day off from traveling helped with my sore muscles and the good cry helped my aching soul. I was the first one awake so I gathered my things and got a head start on getting into my armor. I made sure to do my clasps correct this time, too. By the time I was finished, the others were starting to stir.

We said our goodbyes to Verick and went to the South Gate to meet Lugrub. Our departure was disguised by a sandstorm, so very few noticed that we left and no one could see which way we went. I clung to my cloak and tried the best I could to use the hood to block the sand from my eyes. No one dared to speak for fear of getting sand in their mouth.

The storm finally calmed and we saw a fork in the road ahead of us. Jo'Basha indicated that we take the left path, which according to the sign went to Leyawiin. Finally, I would be returning to Cyrodiil! A mix of excitement and dread filled me. It will be so nice to be in familiar lands, but I feared hearing about more attacks.

As we traveled the wasteland that the Khajiit called a desert, we saw an imp attacking a merchant and his elephant. Frelene released a quick arrow and solved the problem in one hit. The merchant tossed down a free apple to her as a thank you.

Finally, trees begin to start appearing again, but are now tall and thin with sharp pointed leaves. We come upon a small oasis of a tiny pond surrounded by rocks and greenery, which Jo'Basha tells us is Greenvale Mere, and we stop to fill our water skins. We take pleasure in the water, but must continue on towards Cyrodiil before we lose much more light. When we come to another fork, we take the right path which leads us through Red River Gorge. After passing through the gorge, the sand begins to take on a redder hue and more trees and small bodies of water are visible in the distance. Soon, the vague outline of mountains could be seen.

When a rock-tower of a fortress comes into view, indicated by Lugrub to be Riverkeep Fort, Jurgis ordered us to put our hoods up and act as naturally as possible but still have our weapons ready to draw in case of trouble. Jo'Basha and Lugrub situated themselves in the front of the group and the two Nords went to the middle to camouflage themselves better. I could see long, gold Aldmeri Dominion banners hang down the front of the fort. I hold my breath as we walk past, but the elven soldiers ignored our passing for the most part.

I spend a good while looking over my shoulder, expecting to see Thalmor chasing us. I finally relax slightly when we reach a fork in the road and take the path towards the left, which a sign indicates goes towards Leyawiin. We start going uphill and I notice the rocks becoming more like boulders. Soon, I can see a gray, square building made in the same architecture that assured me we were still in Elsweyr. The sign outside told us it was Darkarn Place Inn.

"Go in there and find out their situation," Jurgis barked at me.

"What do you mean 'find out their situation'?" I asked.

"I need you to see what sort of person is running this Inn, if there are any soldiers in there, and who else is renting a room."

I stifled a sigh. I knew this was only because I was a High Elf. I nodded my head and swallowed my pride. I nervously entered the main room of the inn. Inside I found a fat female Breton behind the counter. I decided to order a tankard of ale to calm my nerves and give me an excuse to look around the place a little better. I took my metal cup and headed to the furthest table I could.

After sitting, I looked around the room. A tan Khajiit was clearing tables. A Dunmer and a Breton were whispering in the corner. And near the bar I had just walked away from were three Thalmor soldiers. That was enough information for me. I tried to finish my ale slowly, but ended up chugging it in order to get out of this place.

"Three Thalmor soldiers," I informed Jurgis as soon as the Inn's door closed behind me.

"We'll camp down the road a ways tonight, then. You did good, girl," the large Nord nodded at me in thanks.

We continue along the road until we're in an area that Jo'Basha calls the Topal Bay Jungle. Around me I can see bigger trees and also more flora is appearing. I can see that up ahead it will get very dense quickly. Jurgis leads us off the path some in order to keep our camp out of the eye of any passersby. We don't have any tents so we lay our bedrolls out onto the soft ground. I throw mine down and am relieved to see Lugrub place his on the opposite side of the circle. I'm not sure if I could handle sleeping near that smelly Orc all night. But my relief is quickly doused when Mal tosses his bedroll next to mine. I enjoyed his company and he was very comforting to me the night before, but I didn't like the fact I was unsure of how I felt for him. I couldn't handle this confusion on top of everything else…

Trying to ignore the Imperial and the frustration he was unintentionally causing me, I settled down onto my bedroll and began to nibble on some bread. Frelene shot down some rabbits and Ormvard cooked them over a fire. It was great to have some fresh game – all the meat I've eaten since I left home was preserved meat packed in salt.

As a chewed on a rabbit leg, I pulled out my alchemy notes and studied the pictures. As we have been traveling, I've been trying to grab plants that I recognized. However, I don't know nearly enough to get by and looking at the sketches in my book I realize how many good ingredients I've passed by.

"Jo'Basha knows this flower," I heard the Khajiit over my shoulder. I look up at him and then back down at the sketch. I look down and read the label: dragon's tongue. "It helps to not get burned."

I glance at the effects lists, but didn't see that listed there. "Are you sure?"

"You question Jo'Basha? This one is sure. One can always be sure when the ingredient is eaten."

"Eaten?" I couldn't help but cringe as I thought about some of the other ingredients listed in the book. I tried not to picture Jo'Basha's fuzzy face gnawing on a Giant's toe.

"Stop giving her such a hard time, Khajiit," Mal laughed as he gave Jo'Basha a hard pat on the back. "She'll never be converted to the way of the mages'."

Jo'Basha gave a laugh that bared his teeth – I still can't tell Khajiit facial expressions clearly. He walked over and began talking to Jurgis about something. Once he was out of hearing range, Mal turned to me and said, "You've barely said a word to me all day. I just saved you from being force fed roots, so I think you owe me an explanation."

"I have a lot going on, Mal, that's all," I said in a sharper tone than I intended.

"Emi, look around you! We've all got a lot going on," he said, trying to smile through his frustration. "By the nine, Frelene is with child, Ormvard's brothers were killed by a dragon, and I don't even want to know the Orc's story. We all have our own reasons to be here, and we all have our own burdens to carry. You need to realize that you could die tomorrow; don't let the little things weight you down because the picture is so much bigger than that now!"

"Can you stop speaking in clichés?"

"What can I say? I get tongue tied around you and that's all I can think of!"

"I don't… I…" I started, but I was so frustrated that my brain couldn't even come up with a proper sentence. "I'm going to go look for some alchemical ingredients!" I grabbed my battered book and walked into the woods around our campsite.

"Don't wander off, Elf!" Lugrub bellowed at me.

"Keep her within your site, Mal," Jurgis commanded.

I sighed in frustration as I heard Mal stepping on broken branches behind me. "I don't want you following me!"

"Can you shut your mouth for a moment? Stop talking and listen to me," Mal begged. He grabbed my wrist to force me to stop.

"I don't know how I feel about you sometimes…most of the time actually. There are times that you aggravate me so much that I curse Jurgis for bringing you along. But then there are other times, like last night, when you let down that tough side and I see that you're not only a hardheaded skeever but a soft woman."

His blatantly honest confession caught me off guard. He didn't offer honeyed words, only truths. I was still at a loss for words so I blurted out, "You think I'm a hardheaded skeever?"

"That is what you got out of all that I said?" He look went from frustrated to amused in a single moment. Then he put his hands on either side of my face and kissed me. It was a gruff, hard kiss and his beard scratched against my face, but I could feel fire behind it. When he broke off the kiss, he kept his hands on my face and looked me straight in the eyes, "Yes, you are a hardheaded skeever."