Aera adjusted herself before leaning back against the damp, cold stone of the Cistern. Beside her, Brynjolf lay clutching an ancient tome above his head as he scanned the page; a grimace on his face. "Hey lass," He began, "Did you know that over two thousand corpses were found at the battle of Kavatch? All bloodied up," He paused, squinting at the pages. "And that some were so torn apart they didn't even look like bodies?" He tore his eyes away from the book at sat up. "That's rather foul."
Aera rolled her eyes. "That's great Bryn, but we are looking for information on Daedric Lords – not peasant battles." She stared with a sour expression at the mounds of books around them. There was only a small pile on her desk of ones the pair had looked through. After learning of Hermaeus Mora's involvement with their Avicto crisis, Aera dragged Brynjolf to Riften's private library and they had returned with cartful's of possible information. Considering none of the other thieves knew how to read, the task of scouring each tome for clues had been left to Aera and Brynjolf. Aera sighed and reopened her book.
"…yet though Malacath blessed Scourge to be potent against his Daedra kin, he though not that it should fall into Daedric hands, then to serve as a tool for private war among caitiff and forsaken. Thus did Malacath curse the device such that, should any dark kin seek to invoke its powers, that a void should open and swallow that Deadra, and purge him into Oblivion's voidstreams, from hence to path find back to the Real and Unreal Worlds-"
"What in seven hells is going on here?"
Aera looked up to see Lynne navigating her way through the piles, looking particularly flabbergasted.
"Research," she replied simply. "What do you need?"
"I was bored and thought I would stop by. See if you were up for a pint." The red-head bounced up to sit on the desk – the only bare spot – before idly kicking at a pile nearby which tumbled onto a disgruntled Brynjolf. "Sorry," Lynne muttered sheepishly. She turned her attention to a discarded book next to her. "Before the Ages of Man, sounds absolutely riveting. What are you doing reading some old drab like this? What are you 'researching'?" She made quotes with her fingers and raised a questioning eyebrow at the Khajiit.
"Hermaeus Mora is working with Avicto. Or the other way around, we don't know for sure yet." Aera said, putting her book aside and picking up the next.
"I know that name," Lynne said trailing off. Aera looked up. "Yeah I fought him and his goonies about a year ago. Had a hold on the last Dragonborn. Well the first technically…but I defeated him anyway." Lynne sat proudly, but Aera was dubious.
"You know you can't really defeat a Daedric Prince."
Lynne waved her off. "I am well aware. I never said I did – just that I took out the Dragonborn."
Aera put her book aside. "Well it seems you have some experience with Mora; so tell us what you know."
"Solstheim. Where the bloody hell is Solstheim?" Brynjolf grumbled.
"It's an island north of Skyrim, between here and Morrowind. Mainly a Dunmer settlement." Lynne said, shoving her clothes and supplies unceremoniously into a bag. "We can get passage through Windhelm. I know a guy." She smiled. After Lynne's story of her adventures through Solstheim, the trio decided it would be their best lead to investigate Mora's influence there. Lynne had mentioned a temple to the Dragonborn Miraak there, which she had used previously to get to Mora's realm for the first time through a Black Book she found there. When she left, she had given the wretched things to a Dunmer named Neloth for safe keeping. Their plan involved using the books again to reach Mora and end his ties with Avicto forever. So was the hope anyway. Aera finished packing her bag and met eyes with Lynne who nodded appreciatively as the Breton slung her bag over her shoulder. Aera then turned to Brynjolf, lounging on her bed playing with a piece of a soul gem. "Bryn," she began softly. As he looked up, his green eyes showed nothing less than remorse. A wave of what felt like fear swept over Aera, but she shook it off. Now was not the time to begin doubting her actions. "Bryn I need you to wa –."
"Watch over the Guild while you're away. Aye, I know lass." He smiled, but it faded quickly. Aera frowned; he really was worried for her.
"I'll be fine, Brynjolf." Aera tried consoling the Nord, but he seemed unfazed.
"This time," he said quietly, spinning the gem. "This time it feels different. What you're doing is far more dangerous than anything you've done before – and you've done a lot of things. I'm scared. I'm scared for you, scared for what could happen to you, scared you might never come back." His face hardened, as if he was fighting back tears. He looked at her and Aera rushed over, wrapping the man in a warm embrace. He returned it and they held each other for a moment. She finally pulled back and gave him her most encouraging smile.
"I promise to come back. Just as I promised I would end this." Aera stood and grabbed Lynne by the shoulder, giving it a shake. "Besides, I have this one to protect me!" They all laughed.
Brynjolf stood. "You should get going. You don't need my pity holding you here all evening." He smiled at them as they left, and just before the trap door at the top of the ladder closed she heard him cry, "Go kick some Daedric ass!"
Had it been minutes or hours since she last ate? Had a day already flitted by with her not so much as lifting a claw to do anything? Aera was laying on her back in the hold of Gjalund Salt-Sage's ship, the Northern Maiden. There were a few dim rays of light filtering through the cracks and grating in the roof above which gave light to the small cargo hold. Her armor lay discarded in a pile beside her; it was far too stuffy and humid to wear anything more that her small clothes. However she wasn't alone on the vessel and managed to salvage some spare cotton garbs to wear instead.
Beside her, Lynne groaned and rolled over, clutching her stomach. After the first three days of their voyage to Solstheim, whatever food hadn't been eaten began to spoil, leaving the duo with slices of stale bread for dinner. Shortly after that, they entered pirate waters and were forced to remain in the hold. Gjalund had said that a busier ship would draw more attention; Aera liked to think he was just getting tired of Lynne's constant nattering.
The Breton's hair was matted and grimy, with dirt smeared down her face; Aera was sure she looked no better. Standing weakly, she made her way to the storage barrels and removed two slightly moldy biscuits. She returned to Lynne and placed one in front of her. Lynne cracked open an eye, then sat up and started picking off the mold with dry fingers.
"Are we there yet?" she asked. Aera shrugged, peeling off a wad of bread and stuffing it into her hungry maw. "I suspect we should be there soon. Gjalund said the trip would only take about a week, if the wind was with us."
Lynne frowned at her biscuit as she flicked away crumbs. "I just want to get there, destroy this bloody book and go home. Though I'm not sure the trip was worth it. You don't suppose they would let us stay in Solstheim, would they? What is the weather like this time of year?" Aera put a paw over the Breton's rambling mouth and hushed her.
Lynne peeled her hand off and whispered, "What is it?" Aera's ears twitched as she listened above deck for what she thought she had heard. Suddenly a faint voice cried again. "Land ho! Prepare to dock starboard!" Aera smiled and jumped up, grabbing Lynne by the shoulders and shaking her in excitement. "Land!" she said giddily. "He sees land! We can finally get off this god dammed boat!" Lynne pumped her fist in the air before grabbing her pack and shoving her belongings back inside; Aera followed suit.
After a moment, the two practically burst through the hatch on the deck. The clean, salty air assaulted her nostrils, but was quickly replaced by a cloud of dust. Aera waved it away coughing and looked at the approaching land mass.
There was a towering wall to her left, and beyond, the docks. Behind that was a small village nestled among rocky pillars and mounds of what looked like sand, though she couldn't imagine where from. Her eyes ventured further into the distance, and Aera could have sworn she saw a snow capped mountain. The peculiar thing about the town was how everything had a layer of the sand on it. Looking down she saw that even their boat had a thin layer already. She reached down and rubbed some between fingers. Lynne poked her shoulder and she turned.
Her companion was staring off in the other direction towards a massive volcano; from which bellowed pillars of grey smoke. So it isn't sand, she thought. It's ash.
Their boat pulled up to the dock and instantly the men were hard at working with ropes and pulleys. They were about to walk off when Gjalund stopped the pair, holding a hand out. As Lynne dealt with their captain, a briskly walking figure caught her attention. Aera stepped off the boat but he raised a hand to stop her.
"I don't recognize you, so I'll assume you're new to Raven Rock. State your intentions." The man said to her, his voice deep but surprisingly unaccented. He was clad in an orange doublet with his length of brown hair tucked behind pointed, grey ears. He cleared his throat, and only then did Aera realize she hadn't answered yet. She mentally slapped herself; as if their true intentions weren't suspicious enough, her pausing certainly hadn't helped. But just as she was about to answer with some excuse, Lynne stepped up and the Dunmer's expression changed to a more welcoming one almost instantly. He did a curt bow. "Lady Lynne." He said. "We hadn't expected you back so soon. Had I known I would have prepared – ah, well, something. I am assuming the Khajiit is your companion?"
"She is my companion. Actually." Aera butted in. Lynne gave her a quick glare, obviously not enjoying having the spotlight taken from her. The Dunmer didn't look pleased either, but said nothing.
"Thank you, Adril." Lynne said, regaining her spotlight. "But we are just passing through Raven Rock. Our journey takes us to Tel Mithryn, I'm afraid."
Adril scoffed and folded his arms. "Neloth has a brain as diseased as that fungus he calls a home. A real smear on the glory of the Dunmer, if you ask me. Take caution when dealing with him, Dragonborn." He bowed low this time. "However, I offer my best wishes on your journey, and hope you enjoy your stay. If there is anything at all I can do, please do not be afraid to let me know."
Aera grabbed her friend and began walking off down the dock. "No, thank you, that's all. Have a nice day," she said hastily as they departed. Lynne pulled away and walked back, grinning.
"Actually, Adril, you can help us." She said. "We are going to need transportation."
There was a pause, then the Dunmer smiled deviously. "I think I know just the thing."
Oh my god I am so sorry for the long wait. I tried to make it a long chapter, but ya know.
I have been overloaded with school work for the past few months, and writing progress was slow, and I wasn't it the mood - I just had a lot of things working against me getting this chapter out at a decent time. But here it is! YAY!
Next chapter will probably be some more filler-ish stuff, and chapter 10 will have some action for sure, when they finally reach Miraak's temple. Again at which point I have no idea how to take. However, school is ending soon, so I am going to write a SHIT TON over the summer to make up for everything.
And because I know you're reading this - hey Jessica. Hows Jon. Horizontal line test Graves.
Yep.
- Ink