Kyana was Chorrol's newest resident. She was a Dunmer with black hair tied in a braid over her left shoulder and bore the traditional ruby-red eyes and black sclera of her race. She had moved to Cyrodiil around two years ago from Morrowind. She originally had a home in Vivec City with her husband, living as market owners and getting ready to welcome their first child together; after the events of the Red Year, she had lost both her home and her love. She would have lost her life as well had she not been visiting a friend in Blacklight the day the Bar Dau fell. She spent time in Solsthiem with other refugees before eventually deciding to move to Cyrodiil as her place to find a fresh start. She arrived in Bruma and settled in for all of a week before giving birth to her daughter, Aixa. Kyana had initially planned to stay in Bruma, but living in the frigid Jerall temperatures was not easy to get used to after living in a warmer climate for so long. So she decided she would migrate further down to Chorrol instead. While she had heard that Cheydinhal was heavily Dunmer influenced and she could feel more at home there, Kyana grew fond of the atmosphere and the friendly faces of Chorrol's citizens and made the decision to stay, making the town her new permanent home.
Around the time she arrived in town, the Mages Guild was closing and the residents of the Chorrol chapter were losing their home. Teekeus had moved in with his friend Geem Jasaiin in the Imperial City to be closer to the University. Angalmo decided to move to Kvatch for reasons that related to his alchemy studies. Alberic Little had stayed in town, since he and his wife already had a home here. But Athragar had no place to go and wanted to remain in Chorrol. There were two houses on the market at the time: Arborwatch- which costs a pretty penny- and Eugal Belette's home, which went up after his demise by the hands of Tala's posse and the city guard six years prior. Eugal's home had been cheap- since no one really wanted to buy a house previously owned by a Mythic Dawn member- so Athragar took advantage of the opportunity and bought the place. He then cleaned out every daedric worshiping paraphernalia remaining inside and offered the basement for rent to help cut down on costs. Kyana happily became a tenant- having no clue about what used to belong in that basement before her arrival- and the rest was history.
Tala was one of the first people to welcome Kyana to the city. The two of them bonded over their love for their children, and were delightfully surprised to discover that they both had Isa Raman as their midwife. Now anytime Tala came through, she would try to make a point of saying hello to Kyana anytime she saw her on the street. Luckily, today she had been walking through town with Aixa resting on her hip when she caught sight of Tala and Marten first. Kyana made a point to call out to the two of them with a bright smile, while her toddler simply stared at them with mild interest.
"Good morning!" Tala delightfully greeted. "You're just the person I wanted to see!"
"Really?" Kyana bubbly replied, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Tala then pulled the satchel from over her shoulder and pulled out the wrapped bundle of herbs. "Reynald told me you were waiting on some Hackle-Lo leaves?"
"Oh yes!" The Dunmer chirped as she took the bundle and tucked it into her own satchel fastened around her hip. "I was so excited when I heard that he was growing it! I've been wanting some for over a year now. My mother used to make her Kwama Egg Quiche with diced Hackle-Lo leaf, and I've been wanting to make it for Aixa to try! I heard someone in Cheydinhal brought a Kwama queen with them from Morrowind and is working on establishing a colony in an abandoned mine outside of the city, so I'm looking into purchasing a few eggs to make it. When I do, perhaps I'll save you some!"
"We'd love to try it!" Tala happily said, with Marten nodding in agreement. "I hope Aixa likes it as well."
"I do too." Kyana said with a smile and a casual tilt of her head to one side. "She's becoming so used to Cyrodiilic food that I worry she'd dislike a traditional Dunmeri cuisine. Which is why I'm trying to make all the meals from home while she's still young... well, with whatever ingredients I can find."
Tala held her smile as everyone turned their attention to the little girl in question, who kept watching Tala while chewing on her nails. Aixa had the most adorable red eyes with an orange center, and her short hair was more of a dark brunette compared to her mother's raven color. When Tala bared her a doting, close-lipped grin, the toddler smiled back before hiding her face in her mother's shoulder.
"We have quite a few plants from Morrowind growing in the greenhouse." Tala decided to say. "We might have other things you're looking for. Just ask and we'll see if we can provide."
Kyana's eyes lit up again at her comment. "Really? I'd love to visit the greenhouse and see! It might remind me of home. Do you suppose Reynald would be okay with me taking a look?"
Tala stiffened at the idea and suppressed her urge to outwardly cringe. "I know Reynald wouldn't mind... but you might want to make sure one of us accompanies you there. We live so close to Hackdirt and I wouldn't want you to get caught up in that whole mess." She politely explained.
"Oh... that's right." Kyanna replied, her enthusiasm slightly fading in her tone. "I've heard about the kidnappings. I'm surprised the Countess hasn't done anything about them."
Tala let out a dejected sigh. "I'm more upset than surprised. I've tried talking to Laythe and the Countess about it, but they've both said that Hackdirt is beyond the city's control."
The conversation was then brought to an end when Tala noticed Modryn Oreyn casually walking down the road towards them. He must have been leaving his house and heading for the Fighters Guild. It was perfect timing; she wouldn't have to head further into the city to try and find him if he was right there in front of her.
When he noticed Tala in return, he snapped a little more to attention. "Ah, you're back." He said. "I trust the Anvil contract went well?"
Tala nodded in reply. "Yes. And the secrecy in Azzan's letter was because he didn't want the contract snatched up by the Blackwood Company."
"Eh... figures." He grumbled under his breath.
While they briefly conversed, Kyana turned around to face him and waited for her chance to politely greet her neighbor. "Good morning, sera." She said with a sweet smile.
"Morning, Kyana." He casually replied. He then noticed the toddler in her arms looking back at him and gave her a subtle smile as he added, "And to you too, Aixa."
Aixa then smiled back at him before bashfully burying her face in her mother's shoulder once again. Kyana simply chuckled and shook her head as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.
"Can you return the hello to Mister Oreyn?" Kyana said to her.
Aixa turned her head slightly so as to look at Modryn from the corner of her eye and slightly waved. "Hi." She managed to squeak. The four of them couldn't resist letting out a soft laugh at the response.
"I can't believe she's being so shy today." Marten commented.
"She seems to be talking when it's on her terms." Kyana chuckled.
"I suppose it's common when they're this young." Modryn said. He then turned to Tala and asked, "Shall we head to the Guild?"
"Actually, I wanted to let you know that I will be out of town for a little while." Tala replied. "I have some errands to run in Kvatch, so it'll be a few days before I return."
"Kvatch, huh? While you're there, see if any of the townsfolk have some job prospects for the Fighters Guild. The Guild chapter there never rebuilt after the Oblivion Crisis, and yet none of the other chapters get any contracts from its citizens. Surely there's someone there who could use the Guild's help."
Tala stopped to process that information and realized that Modryn was correct. "You're right. In the last year that I've been with the Guild, I've never heard somebody taking a contract in Kvatch. I'll see what I can do about getting a few. I would hope it isn't because of the Blackwood Company."
"Kvatch is a little far for them... but I guess if Azzan was worried about it all the way in Anvil, then it wouldn't surprise me if they were taking advantage of the situation in Kvatch." Modryn displeasingly remarked. "But let me know what you find out when you return."
Everyone then said their parting words before branching off in their own directions: Modryn to the Guild, Kyana into Northern Goods and Trade, and Tala and Marten out of the city and to the stables to get their horses. With the two small errands taken care of, it was off to take care of the main one.
The journey down to Skingrad was thankfully an uneventful one. She knew that as long as they stayed on the main roads within traveling distance of city guards, the odds of getting into serious danger was unlikely. Most of their trip, she and Marten passed the time with idle conversation while following an Imperial officer. He'd either tell her about anything he had done while she was away, or just simply anything he found noteworthy to share, while she'd tell him the same. Towards the halfway point to Skingrad, the conversations went silent for several minutes before Marten started up again with a new topic.
"So what's so special about visiting those wayshrines?" He asked.
"Well, when I was in Anvil, I had a Prophet suggest that I take a pilgrimage to each of the wayshrines." She simply answered.
"What's a... pilgrimage?" He slowly asked.
"It's a journey that someone takes that involves visiting places dedicated to the Divines." She explained. "Knights, scholars, and priests will sometimes take pilgrimages as a way to either pay their respects, or to seek guidance from the Gods."
Marten then looked away from his mother to focus on steering the reins in order to keep Lily from walking off the road before he asked, "Why did you get suggested to take a pilgrimage?"
Tala ruminated on the thought for a moment, doing her best to figure out how to answer in a way that a child could understand. It wasn't easy to do, considering that she was periodically asking herself that same question... and she was an adult. She figured maybe it would have been easier to just explain the origin of the reason rather than answer it directly. "Well... the Prophet talked about some prophecy- which is an old story told that predicts a future event that will take place- because something horrible happened at the Chapel in Anvil. He thought that this event was a sign that the prophecy was coming true. A worthy knight is supposed to come along and prevent the prophecy from happening and having it end badly for our world. He suggested I take this pilgrimage to see if I am to be deemed worthy by the Gods."
"Huh... that's cool." Marten responded with a smile. "So you want to see if you're the worthy knight?"
"Maybe." Tala replied. "Your Dad seems to think I should give it a try. Personally, I don't feel like I'm the worthy knight the Nine are looking for, but we'll see."
Marten looked up from his reins to stare at her with a frown. "Why wouldn't you be?"
Now it was getting complicated. Not that Marten wasn't smart enough to follow her train of thought, but Tala never told him about how she was involved in the Oblivion Crisis. Whenever she got attention from people because of that, sometimes Marten would be with her as people stopped to idolize her. And yet, never once did the boy ask for an explanation. And her self-doubt over this whole 'worthy knight' thing was already complicated for her. She didn't need to throw that in her son's lap.
Before she could try and answer his question, the Imperial City guard that was riding fifty feet ahead of them stopped to greet a Skingrad guard on foot and made some light conversation before announcing, "These two are on their way to Skingrad. Is the road safe?"
"It is." The Skingrad guard replied. "I just took care of a Minotaur up the road, and I haven't seen any highwaymen or feral wildlife. The road should be safe to travel."
The Imperial guard turned in his saddle to face them as they approached. "You hear that? You have safe passage to Skingrad. This is where my jurisdiction ends, so you will have to continue on your own."
"Thank you very much for letting us accompany you up to here." Tala politely said. "Thank you both for keeping the road safe. I know we'll be alright from hereon in."
Both guards nodded with a smile as Tala and Marten waved and rode on past them. They didn't say much to each other after that, and Marten didn't press her to answer his question... which was fine, since she still wasn't sure how to.
It was another hour of travel before they finally made it to Skingrad around five in the afternoon. Once they arrived at the Grateful Pass Stables, Tala handed Lily's and Lavender's reins to the ostler and they entered the city. Tala's first place to stop was to see Sinderion. She knew this would be an unannounced visit since this was a last minute errand run, but she knew she was always welcome regardless. However, she wanted to stop by and see if it would be alright to stay, or was it bad timing and they would need to rent a room for the night.
When she knocked on the door to Rosethorn Hall, they waited for a long moment before she heard the door unlock and finally open just a crack. But as soon as the owner of the home recognized his visitors, the door was opened wide with the Altmer in plain view.
"Tala! Marten! What a pleasant surprise. Come in!" He delightfully greeted as he stepped to the side to let them enter.
"I know it's unexpected," Tala said as they walked through the door, "but we're on our way to Kvatch for a quick herb delivery and there wasn't much time to warn you that we were coming. I hope this isn't a bad time."
"Not really." Sinderion nonchalantly replied. "It's not like I have very many guests, you know. Just you two, and occasionally Reynald when I need something from him or vice versa. Otherwise I keep to myself."
"I know. But I still want to check if it is alright for Marten and I stay here for the night?"
"Of course. The upstairs quarters are still available, as you know I spend my time in the basement with my research. I would be delighted to have your company for the evening."
As he escorted them to the dining area, Tala couldn't help but admire the rows of herbs nestled in the bookcases. While most of them were random herbs such as Lady's Mantle, Dragon's Tongue, and Polypores of various species, the furthest bookshelf contained nothing but Nirnroot that was happily glowing and singing away in their little pots. Marten made a point to wander over to that particular bookshelf to admire them all with wide curious eyes and a soft smile. He's yet to have the privilege of finding Nirnroot growing out in the wild, so he only ever sees them when they come here. And his fascination for the little melodious plant never seemed to dwindle with each visit.
"May I interest you in a drink of sorts?" Sinderion asked.
"You wouldn't happen to have an option for coffee, would you?" Tala asked in return.
"I believe I do. I've used up a lot of the ground beans to nourish the soil for my Nirnroot, but I might have enough to produce one cup."
"If you don't that's fine." Tala said as she watched him walk into the kitchen. While she waited, she sat down in one of the dining chairs. "You're using coffee beans for your Nirnroot?" She decided to ask out of curiosity.
"Yes." He called out from the kitchen. "I have discovered that Nirnroot not only needs lots of moisture, but they require a higher acidic soil in order to thrive. I have found that ground coffee beans or jazbay grapes have just enough of an acidity to keep them happy."
"That's fascinating." Tala remarked. "Do you have a healthy supply of both?"
"I am currently alright on coffee plants thanks to you. They should reproduce new beans by the time I've used up the grounds. The jazbay grapes, however, are proving difficult to acquire here in Cyrodiil. I did have this conversation with Reynald the last time we corresponded. He said he'd try and see if he could acquire a jazbay plant to grow in your greenhouse." He then came back to the kitchen with a hot cup of water and a tea bag he filled with ground coffee and set it down in front of her. "Jazbay is difficult to acquire, even as already plucked grape bundles. I don't know how successful he will be in importing one, but I'll hope for the best."
Tala placed the bag in her cup and let it seep. "Well, we'll see what happens. Otherwise, if you need more coffee plants or just need beans, we could send you some."
"I appreciate that, thank you." He simply said.
As she sat there thinking of alchemical ingredients, Tala suddenly remembered what she collected during her contract. "Oh! Are you needing atronach salts of any kind? I have a variety of them that I was going to sell at the alchemy shop while I was in Kvatch, but if you want first dibs on any, I'm happy to provide."
Sinderion's brow slightly elevated with interest. "Which salts?"
"Take your pick. I have five Storm, two Frost, and three Fire. I also have a handful of Daedroth teeth and a daedric heart from a Xivilai."
"Hmm... I might take one of each of your salts. I'll let you sell the heart to the alchemy shop. You'll get a good price for it, I'm sure. How much were you looking for in terms of the salts?"
Tala proceeded to rummage in her apothecary satchel as she shook her head. "For you, no charge. You let Marten and I stay here whenever we pass through, and your connections from the other provinces have been vital to us starting our herbal business. You may have them as a token of my gratitude." She then found one of each bag containing the appropriate atronach salts and set them on the table.
As Sinderion graciously nodded, he then made a point to lean forward- as if doing so would let him see around the wall- and asked, "Speaking of Marten, where did he go?"
"Right here!" They heard him chirp as he came around the corner. "I was just listening to the Nirnroots. I'm not too sure, but I think a few of them sing differently than the others. Some sing higher, while a few sing a little lower. Do you notice that?"
The alchemist let an amused hum rumble in his throat. "Sometimes I do notice that the sounds the Nirnroot produce will slightly alter based on their hydration, nutrition, acidity in the soil, and uptake of sunlight. So yes, some are possibly 'singing' differently than the others. You're very observant! Perhaps you could replace your mother as my field researcher someday."
Marten gave him a wide, cheesy grin that spread from ear to ear. Tala couldn't help but chuckle at the sight; she was pretty sure that compliment made her son's whole day.
"Well perhaps we should wander around the shops and pick up some supplies to make dinner." Tala said to him. "Let's go find something that looks good."
Marten quickly nodded. "Can we stop at that bakery that has the sweets too?"
"Salmo's? Sure, we can see what he's got before he closes." As she arose from her chair, she looked to Sinderion and added, "We'll be back in a bit. Need anything while we're out?"
The Altmer shook his head. "I'm quite settled at the moment. You don't have to consider me in your meal plans tonight either. I already had my supper prior to your arrival."
From there, the two of them left the manor to wander across the bridge into the Chapel District to visit Salmo's Bakery before he closed his doors for the day. Tala decided to spoil Marten a little and get him a couple of sweetrolls while she bought some bread. They then rounded back into the Hightown District to purchase more provisions from Colovian Traders. She made some idle chat with Gunder while he got her a total for the venison he had for sale, and then she and Marten returned to Rosethorn Hall for the night to rest.
They rose early in the morning and said their goodbyes to Sinderion before venturing back out of the West Gate and towards the stables. As they saddled up and started down the road, Tala kept her eyes on what was ahead of her while Marten let his wander to admire the vineyards.
So far, the road was quiet. But once they were back on the straight path and getting to the point where an old Oblivion Gate lay ruin, Tala heard Marten gasp and shout, "Mama, look! Look!"
She quickly turned to look back at him to see that his smile was wide and his attention was focused far out across the hill as he pointed to the left of the road. When she scanned the horizon, she couldn't see anything noteworthy other than some tents strung up not twenty feet out. "What am I looking for?" She cautiously asked.
"There's those white pillars out there on top of that hill! Maybe that's a wayshrine! We could go check it out! C'mon!" He then tightened his reins and gave Lily a couple of nudges as he steered her to the left and sent her off into a canter.
The impulsive excitement caught Tala off guard... as well as a resident within the trio of tents that he whistled straight past. She quickly adjusted Lavender's reins and nudged her in a trot after him, but made a point to humbly wave to the person he had startled.
"Sorry about that!" Tala sheepishly apologized. "He's still learning to ride. I'll make sure he pays closer attention to where he's going."
As she approached the area, she noticed that the Imperial woman before her had been wearing a rough set of leather armor with steel boots and elven gauntlets. The sight of dirt and scars across her face and menacing scowl on her lip suddenly made Tala's blood run cold. As she brought the horse to a stop, an Imperial man came crawling out of the tent wearing a similar set of worn leather armor with mithril boots and gauntlets. Both of them had their steel swords gripped tightly in their hands.
These weren't adventurers or traveling merchants. These were bandits.
"Well perhaps you can make it up to us." The Imperial woman gruffly replied. "You can stop right here and give us everything you have... including your horses."
The surprise on her face slowly faded as a hardened stare replaced it. "I think it'd be wise to step away and forget you saw us." She lowly said as she slowly slipped her boots out of the stirrups.
Both bandits then stepped closer to her and brought their swords at the ready. "You'd be foolish to think we'd allow that." The Imperial woman snickered. "Would you rather we just killed you in front of your brat and then killed him too?"
Tala looked ahead for a flash to see where Marten was. He appeared to have stopped about a hundred feet away from them and was observing the spectacle with wide concerned eyes. He was far enough away that he could safely flee if one of the bandits turned towards him, but she didn't like that he was just standing there watching.
"Get off the horse! Last warning!" The female bandit growled.
Tala slipped her right boot into the stirrup so she could dismount. But as soon as both feet were on the ground and she watched the male bandit turn to walk in Marten's direction, she quickly cast a Lightning Bolt spell and launched it at him with the intention of striking the bandit in the back. Unfortunately, it missed him by a few inches. But the strike gave him a fright and he quickly turned his focus back onto Tala as his companion came rushing towards her.
As Tala smacked Lavender on the rear to send her off, she drew her katana and shouted, "Marten! Get out of here! NOW!"
The boy quickly kicked his heels into his horse as he turned her to run in the direction Lavender had gone. While it wasn't quite what Tala had in mind, at least he was getting further away from the fight that was about to take place.
Being the closest, the female bandit was the first attacker; Tala was already prepared for the first strike and swiftly jumped to the side to avoid the blow before taking her own swing. The bandit noticed her attack and quickly blocked Tala's blade with her steel sword. As they remained locked in place, Tala noticed the other bandit coming at her; she then shoved her first aggressor away and dodged what would have been a blow to her shoulder. Tala quickly cast another spell- this time her trusty Flame Tempest- and enveloped the male bandit with fire. While he became preoccupied on trying to put the flames out, it gave her the chance to focus on eliminating her other opponent. As the female bandit swung again- this time from a side-arm angle- Tala quickly flicked her wrist up and flipped the blade of her sword so that it was parallel to her arm, all the while pulling her arm tight to her body as she let the steel sword clash into her. With this quick trick, she successfully blocked the hit with her sword; and with her arm up against her body, it kept her hand steady and prevented her from losing her grip. It was a handy trick she had learned all those years ago from Baurus that saved her skin a couple of times this year. Tala then took her free hand, cast her Lightning Blast, and launched it into the bandit's gut. She held the shock magicka for as long as she could in order to electrocute her enemy and caused the Imperial woman to crumple dead to the ground in no time flat.
While Tala took a moment to take a deep breath, she heard the other bandit cease the cries of panic and suddenly roar with rage. She then turned to see that he had successfully rolled around in the dirt long enough to put out the fire, but he was now burnt and shakily attempting to stand.
"You think you can stop us with your fancy magic?!" He roared as one leg gave out, forcing him to drop to one knee. "You don't scare me! You're nothing fancy! You're not the Champion of Cyrodiil!"
Tala's eyes narrowed. Without breaking eye contact with him, she grabbed a hold of her glass helmet and slid it off, exposing her long blue locks. As she shook her head a bit to tousle her bangs, she coldly replied, "You were saying?"
She amusingly watched as the bandit's eyes grew wide and he let out a high-pitched, inaudible scream of terror. As she walked slowly towards him, he fell backwards onto his rear and tried to scuttle backwards. "No! Please! I yield! I'll leave and forget I ever saw you!"
When she approached, she pointed the tip of her blade right between his eyes. As the bandit began to hyperventilate, a part of her felt rather sorry for him... not for his predicament, but for how pathetically he was suddenly behaving. Before she could make up her mind on how to kill him, she caught the sight of horses in the corner of her left eye. She then turned her head slightly to get a better view of Marten coming closer to the scene. He had Lavender's reins in one hand and leading her behind Lily while Marten himself was leading two Skingrad guards on foot to their location.
"You're lucky." Tala said as she looked back at the bandit. "You're lucky I have enough morality to not kill you in cold blood in front of a child. I'm going to let the city guard take care of you. Provided you recover from those burns, you'll be spending a lot of time in jail. If they ever let you go free, I better not catch your face as a bandit or marauder ever again... because next time, I won't be so generous."
As soon as she ended her sentence, the guards approached her and quickly tied the bandit's hands behind his back. As they hauled him to his feet, they asked her if she was alright and needed assistance, to which she politely declined and explained what had happened. After they got all the information they needed from her- as well as Marten's eye witness testimony- they hauled the bandit and the corpse back to Skingrad, with one guard keeping the bandit on his feet and the other one dragging the lifeless body across the ground by one arm as if it were a log on a rope. Once the guards were out of sight, Tala picked her helmet up from off the ground and put it back on her head without bothering to tuck her hair back into it.
"Are you alright?" Marten concerningly asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." Tala flatly replied.
"I... I made sure Lavender didn't run away..." He sheepishly said.
Tala didn't reply. She approached to take the reins from him and gave herself a little space so not as to accidentally bump into Lily upon remounting. Marten grew silent as he nervously watched his mother check Lavender's saddle before she got back into the saddle.
Once she was comfortably seated, he spoke in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible, "I'm sorry... I... was just happy that I saw a wayshrine..."
She turned and gave him a reprimanding look. "While I'm glad you want to help me find wayshrines, I'm upset that you weren't careful of your surroundings." She chided. "You never know what's out in the wilderness. We've talked about this. You could've just as easily ran into a mountain lion or a pack of wolves... or an ogre or a troll. All of which would have had no trouble chasing after Lily and taking her down in a heartbeat... which you would have gone down with her. You have no idea how lucky we were that it was a couple of bandits!"
Marten's saddened frown grew deeper as his eyes fell downcast and he nodded his head. "Yes Mama... I won't do it again." He quietly murmured.
As she watched his reaction, her extreme agitation towards his behavior began to lessen. Even though she didn't like making him feel bad, he needed to realize why she wasn't happy about what he did. But at least this was the first time she ever had this kind of scolding with Marten. Aside from the typical rebellious toddler stage that every child goes through, he was never really a troublemaker. And she knew that he didn't do this out of pure recklessness or to try and get a rise out of her. That was Reynald and Jena's problem when dealing with Amal. At least Marten meant well and wanted to go find that wayshrine for her... he just got a little careless in the process. It was in these moments that she recognized that- while he was his father's child in appearance- he was hers in disposition. Knowing that made it difficult for Tala to stay mad at him for very long.
She let her dismay over the incident subside as she took a deep breath. "So... do we think that's a wayshrine up there?" She gently asked him.
His eyes flicked back up to look at her. "W-when I got closer, I saw that it had all the pillars in a circle with a round base like the wayshrines we went to."
"Well let's go up there and see which Divine it belongs to. But keep an eye out for anything on the way, ok?" She then tapped her heels into Lavender's side and asked the mare to walk into the grass.
Marten's eyes lit up and a soft smile returned to his face as he asked Lily to follow. The two of them then made their way through the plains and up the hill to the wayshrine. As they dismounted, Tala noticed that the symbol carved into the obelisks consisted of two slightly-rounded rhombuses intertwined together. She knew instantly that this was a wayshrine she needed to pay homage to.
"This one has a different symbol." Marten spoke aloud as he approached. "That must mean it's for a different God?"
Tala nodded as she came up beside him. "This one is dedicated to Arkay."
"So we need to say a prayer here?" He elatedly asked.
Tala smiled and let out a soft chuckle. "Yes, we do. I don't know about you, but I'd say thank you for Arkay watching over us after that run-in with those bandits. He is the God of Life and Death after all. Clearly he decided to make sure we stayed alive today."
As both of them knelt before the shrine, Tala made a point to silently say that in her prayer. 'Arkay, thank you for keeping Marten and I safe from harm today. Please grant me the insight I need, so that I may clearly see my intended path.'
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A/N 4-14-22: Hey all! I managed to get another chapter done to my satisfaction! And I told ya there would be a little action coming up!
As you obviously guessed in the beginning of the chapter, I added a new minor OC. And I know the name "Aixa" is technically pronounced "A-ee-shah", but for this character, her name is pronounced "A-eek-sah". (I had Almalexia in mind when I saw the name so I pronounced it in my head with the "x" pronounced as such. Even after I learned how the named is correctly pronounced, I still thought the initial pronunciation sounded more appropriate to Dunmeri culture... a headcanon thought, I know, but hey that's where I went with it, lol).
Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. And as always, thank you for your support!