Author's Note:

I hope you're all excited to see the last city we have yet to visit down south :) Very south in fact. I'm looking forward to sharing the Leyawiin plotline with you all. Before we get to it though, a small warning on this chapter. As always, spoilers for why are at the bottom of the chapter, so check them out if you want to.

TRIGGER WARNING!

Chapter XXII – The White Stallion

Leyawiin.

It'd been a long time for the both of them, but the city had its unforgettable charm.

The colorful buildings illuminated in the afternoon sun made the city look so beautiful. The familiar wetness in the air made both of them nostalgic as the swamp atmosphere permeated through the place. It really did have something to it. Leyawiin had always been a pleasant town – it wasn't overly opulent and… touristy like the rest of the Cyrodiil cities. It was kind of like Anvil, but only the docks part – a hub for travelers, adventurers and trade, connecting those brave enough to venture into the bogs of Black Marsh and the jungles of Elsweyr.

"Always liked this place," Bishop mused as they walked through the colorful streets together.

"Me too, it's so… different. But lively," Aeyrin smiled wistfully. She had been in Leyawiin a few times. She really liked to return here.

"Are we gonna stay at the Three Sisters'? I've never been to that one," Bishop asked curiously. It made sense – they had the money to stay there and he could be sure that his family would not be there. It was smart to keep a little distance. He would find them somehow, but he didn't want to be sleeping in the room next to some of them. That was just asking for trouble.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Aeyrin nodded. "The other place is kinda…"

"Shady. Yeah," Bishop smirked. "That's where I'm headed. But let's get a room first."

They headed right for the large building near the gates. Bishop was not looking forward to spending his day in another crummy tavern, trying to gouge out information. It was effective so far, but it was getting tedious. Especially since he wanted to leave Aeyrin behind again today. He was dreading spending a whole day there again like he had to in Chorrol. What if no one talked to him?

Funny. A few years ago, he would enjoy spending his time alone in a shady tavern, especially if nobody talked to him. How the times have changed.

But first, it was time to spend at least some time in a much more pleasant environment.

…

"Dammit, I don't wanna go," Bishop groaned as he nuzzled into Aeyrin's body more firmly. He really didn't. They've only spent a little over an hour at the Three Sisters' – first getting their shit in their new room for the night, then having lunch. And then, of course, they needed to test out their room properly – especially the bed.

Now he really didn't want to leave. Though it was smart to find out today in case the clan had moved on again, frustratingly enough, but he really hoped that wasn't the case. He was tired of this, even though he didn't want to see them or deal with them.

But having to go sit in a filthy tavern and trying to get information out of people instead of staying naked in bed with Aeyrin was just pure torture.

"Don't go then, stay here with me," Aeyrin planted a tempting kiss on the corner of his mouth, then another on his jaw, while her bare, still heated, body rubbed against him.

"Fuck, you're making it so much harder," he sighed. He really should get this over with.

"Really? Already? Let me see," she chuckled at him and snuck her hand between his legs under the blanket, gently touching his spent cock. Hah, she knew what he meant, but still…

"Keep this up and it's gonna be true soon," a low growl left his lips and he promptly turned over, enveloping her in an embrace and counter-attacking by planting passionate kisses on her neck and collar.

He continued that for a moment until his hand started to find its way towards her breasts. Dammit, if there was a point of no return… no, he had to be strong and resist. He had to get this shit done and then return to her and fuck the whole night away after he knew whether they would be on the move once more tomorrow.

"Fuck," he pulled back before he touched her even more intimately and he forced himself to sit up, his lips reluctantly leaving her skin. "Temptress. I really gotta go."

"I know," Aeyrin sighed dejectedly, though she didn't make it easy, sprawled on the bed there, as if inviting to drink in the view. The blanket was only covering her from the waist down. And it was so tempting to just pull it off her and…

Stop it.

"I don't want to be here worrying into the night anyway," she nodded. The sooner he left, the sooner he would be back and she wouldn't have to lose sleep out of concern. If she was going to lose sleep tonight, it better be for a much more pleasant reason.

Maybe the last four days had spoiled them a bit. It was hard to get out of that rhythm. After all, they'd spent them basically almost entirely just enjoying themselves in the wilderness, aside from the one day spent travelling towards Leyawiin and the transformations.

"I'll be back as soon as I find something out," he smiled at her comfortingly. That was the plan anyway.

"Are you really sure I can't come with you? Or just follow you again?" She sat up on the bed as well to hug him from behind, pressing her breasts against his back.

So unfair.

"Princess, it's really for the best." He was still uncertain what he was walking into and he was too uncomfortable putting Aeyrin at risk right from the start. Even the following thing wasn't ideal. She wasn't subtle at all. The fact that it worked out in Cheydinhal was really just a lucky coincidence. If he hadn't played it right, they would have lost the trail back in the Imperial City. And it was different when she was 'stalking' him while they were idly walking around town, from a distance, and when they were cooped up in a small tavern. It would be the same as at The Bloated Float – she would look suspicious.

"We don't have the soul gem rings anymore. How will I know if you're in trouble?" She pouted. She didn't even realize how much the lack of that ring would bother her. Now it really made her anxious that he wanted to leave her behind.

"I'll yell real loud?" Bishop smirked. He really didn't have another answer for her. He didn't know. He just knew he didn't want to risk her unnecessarily. "It's gonna be alright. I won't go to anyone's house this time, I'll just be in the tavern, and when I find out anything, I'll come and tell you, alright?"

"Alright," Aeyrin let out a defeated sigh. She still didn't like this at all, but he was adamant. She really hoped that he would find something out soon and come back to her.

Bishop leaned in for another kiss, this time a much more gentle one, before he disentangled himself from her embrace and stood up from the bed. He started to look around the floor for his discarded clothes while he spoke again reassuringly.

"I'm sure I'll be back soon, princess."

…

Leyawiin looked a lot different in the slums. The colors were almost all gone in the bleakness of moldered wood and swamp ponds all around. It was easy to see the more vibrant parts of the city in the distance, but unfortunately, those weren't the ones Bishop was here for.

The tavern was relatively new – Bishop still remembered the time when it wasn't there. Now The Marsh Pit stood above the murky waters of one of the larger swamp ponds, perched atop high logs to keep it at least moderately dry. Not that it helped. The whole thing was made out of wood and green through and through, even after such a short time of its existence. Whoever thought it was a good idea to build a tavern on the actual swamp water was an idiot.

But Bishop was determined to breathe in the stuffy air and suffer the disgusting swill they served there if it got him what he needed. He just needed to find out if…

Wait.

Was he just imagining this or…

Before he could even enter the tavern, he saw a figure in the distance that seemed… familiar. At least he thought as much, but he couldn't see her properly. What he could see was the black hair though. That alone made him take a step back and wonder if he should approach. Could it be one of his sisters? It didn't look like Kari – she didn't have those wine robes, but… it could be Liesl.

Maybe. Maybe he was just seeing what he wanted to see.

The girl was standing by one of the houses there, wearing… not much… and she seemed to be looking at all the passersby intently. Maybe she was going to distract those louts to pickpocket them. Though… why here? People with money didn't frequent this street.

Or maybe she wasn't robbing but… selling.

Ugh, fine, he would check.

The closer he got, the more sure he was. He still couldn't tell for certain, but then, suddenly, another person ran out from in between the houses – from some side alley. A young man with his short hair partly black with its ends lightened into a ginger color.

Fuck. It was them.

"Asshole! He was stingy," the man exclaimed in exasperation while he readjusted his scanty clothes.

"Told you," the girl let out an exasperated sigh. "He always is. Not worth the hassle."

Liesl. Galric. Bishop was sure now. So they were here, in Leyawiin. He had no idea where the clan was staying, but these two were clearly frequenting the city at least. It was lucky, really. Bishop was really worried that he would run into Ost or Duful first. At least he could talk to these two. Hopefully.

"What about that one?" Galric pointed towards a woman walking by some distance away.

"I don't know her. But if you think women are any better, you're fucking daft," Liesl scoffed. "Go on, try her out though."

"Hang on," Galric's eyes roamed over the street before they suddenly landed on Bishop. Fuck, he was seen. Did he not want to be seen? He wasn't even sure anymore. He was so caught off guard by actually seeing them, he just stayed there, standing in the middle of the street, staring.

The next words Galric said were too quiet for Bishop to hear, but now both of them looked at him.

Alright. No point in dawdling now. He just needed to go over to them.

"Hey, listen here, fucker," Galric called out to him when he started to approach. "I don't know what you think we're doing here, but we're doing nothin'," he folded his arms across his chest defiantly.

Did he think Bishop was a guard?

Without answering, Bishop continued on his way, approaching them. He could feel the nervous tension in the air when he didn't stop and Galric even flinched and reached out for Liesl, as if to drag her away, make her run, but all that was interrupted by a startled shriek.

"By the fucking Gods! Bishop?!"

Liesl was probably in too much shock to even move to meet him half-way. Her hands shot towards her mouth to cover the surprised expression, while Galric only stared at her in confusion.

"What?" He cocked his head, letting strands of his uniquely colored hair fall into his face. The same recognition did not dawn on him. Though was it any wonder? He was only five when Bishop left. And the only way Bishop even recognized him in turn was the hair. It used to be much longer when he was a kid, but now he had the sides shaved and the dark and vibrant mane combed somewhat messily to the side, as if he had only done that with his fingers. Which was likely.

Liesl, on the other hand, looked surprisingly groomed. Her thick black hair was done in a neat do, coiffed up in a small bun at the back with the rest of the strands falling over her shoulders. The amount of makeup and its intense colors, along with the quite short red dress with deep cleavage she was wearing, would leave nobody guessing as to what she was doing here. What they were apparently both doing here.

"It's Bishop! You're here!" Liesl looked quite excited as he finally reached them. It was… good to see. He wasn't sure about the reception he'd get.

"The one that killed Torban?" Galric gave Bishop a measured and suspicious look.

"That's him," Liesl chirped. "What are you doing here?" She turned to Bishop again.

What? She didn't know? Then again, Kari probably didn't get to tell them she found him. Or that he came to see her at the cult's cave.

"What am I doing here? I'm looking for you," Bishop scoffed.

"Me?" Liesl's deep blue eyes widened.

"No. I mean, you too. Everyone. Just… the clan," he clarified. Hopefully that would be enough for her to realize why he was here. Kari did mention that she was coming to find him, didn't she?

"Why?" Galric interjected. He still looked so suspicious.

"Because of Kari. You don't know?" Bishop shrugged. Now he was getting uncertain. What was Kari plotting again? Why didn't they know about the possibility of him coming back south when she had been trying to make him for over a year with those bounties? She said she kept coming back to Skyrim when he didn't show up. And she said it was to protect the family from Duful and Ost. But they seemed so oblivious. Did they even need protection? Though Bishop did note some of the bruises on their bodies – their outfits didn't really manage to hide those. But that could just as well be from their… obvious occupation and some rough customers.

"Kari? Why Kari?" Liesl looked confused, but then, finally, Galric let out a loud 'aah' of realization.

"You remember? Kari said ages ago that she was gonna go find him. After that whole shit with her cultist friend," he nudged Liesl's arm. "I thought it was just pissed off talk."

"Oh. Right!" Liesl clapped her hands excitedly. "Wait… so you really came to kill those two?"

Alright. Now they were getting somewhere. But still… Bishop didn't really have an answer to this question.

"I… don't know, alright? I don't really know shit about what's happening here. And I don't trust Kari not to have some weird ulterior motive. I just… I came to find her so that she would fucking leave me alone and to find out what you all want from me after all this time," Bishop growled. "Do you know what she fucking did?"

"No," Liesl shook her head. "She just said like… ages ago, after Ost killed one of her friends, she said she'd come and find you to butcher them like you butchered Torban. We thought she was just… venting, or I don't fucking know. She never talked about it again. What did she do?"

"She kept exposing those fucking bounties to chase me from Skyrim," Bishop snarled angrily. He was still so pissed at that.

"Wouldn't they just kill you in Skyrim if they knew about the bounties?" Galric scowled? "Rina always says that we can't go to Skyrim cause we'd all be slaughtered right away."

"They're twenty years old. Nobody fucking remembered," Bishop rolled his eyes. "Not until Kari interfered."

"Wait… so, she ousted you out of Skyrim?" Liesl's brows furrowed as well. "You here to kill her for that?"

"No," he sighed. "Though I fucking felt like killing her for this messed up shit. She kept saying she did that so that I help you with those two fuckers."

"And you… agreed?" Galric's brows shot up. "Why the fuck did you agree?"

What a question! He still didn't really know.

"Fuck, I don't know. I just… I wanna get this shit over with. I wanna go back to Skyrim without having to worry about one of you fuckers pulling something again to try and drag me into your crap. So there. I'm here to get you out of my life for good, in whatever way," he growled. Yeah. That was why he was here. Closure.

"You wanna go back? I thought the bounties were exposed," Galric scoffed.

"I dealt with that and now I'm gonna deal with this," Bishop nodded in determination.

"Why did you even go to Skyrim in the first place, you dumb tit? The one place they have bounties on you," Galric rolled his eyes at him.

"Because none of you would follow us there," he growled. It was the only place they could escape the revenge of the clan. Or so they thought.

"Whatever, it's just… good to see you here," Liesl smiled at him a bit. "Ost and Duful probably won't be happy."

"I don't expect anyone to be 'happy'," Bishop scoffed. Everyone hated each other in the clan. Mostly. Liesl and Galric probably didn't. And he and Jules didn't. But other than that, everyone would just sell each other out or betray each other in a heartbeat. "What the fuck even happened? I've been chasing your trail from Anvil. Through half the fucking Province in only weeks."

"Oh… Anvil, that got shitty eventually," Liesl sighed. "We were staying in this abandoned farm and working the city. But then… I pissed off this customer and he turned me in."

"For what? Whoring?" Bishop looked at her dubiously. Was that even illegal? Or was she selling something besides the obvious?

"Yeah, you gotta belong to a… what do they fucking call it… an 'establishment' or some shit. Those fuckers take cut. I'm not gonna do that. Most of those assholes don't turn us in," she scoffed dejectedly.

"You pick the worst ones," Galric scowled. "And then you tell me to go after those fuckers too."

"I do not! It was just that one," Liesl grumbled. "And maybe the one that wanted the…"

"Yeah, I don't need to hear about your little business venture here," Bishop rolled his eyes. It wasn't exactly anything new to see some of his siblings resort to this source of income. And honestly, it was just as dangerous and shitty as the smuggling and stealing and banditry – you couldn't really pick a safe 'profession' with the clan. It would be much safer if they actually worked in an 'establishment', but the street walkers would really only ever attract desperate scum that couldn't afford brothels.

"Right. So… I got arrested and so they left, right? I told and then I followed. As always. And then we got to the Waterfront," Liesl sighed. It wasn't unfamiliar either. It was a common routine born of mutual backstabbing. One would get arrested for some minor crime and in exchange for freedom, they would rat out the entire clan's activities and location. But since this was a common practice already, the clan knew and moved every single time someone got in trouble. It was a stupid cycle of constant danger and betrayal.

"What happened at the Waterfront?" Bishop scowled. They hadn't stayed there for long either.

"Well… do you know who Talos is?" Liesl questioned him.

"Uh… yeah… I was living in Skyrim for eleven years," he scoffed. And even if he wasn't – everyone knew who Talos was, no matter how much the Thalmor tried to erase the God from history.

"Not that Talos, dipshit," Galric rolled his eyes. "Our brother. Talos. A little half-Altmer bitch."

Right. That Talos.

"Kari mentioned him. Said Rina claimed to have him with a Thalmor," Bishop shook his head. Yeah right. He seriously doubted that.

"It's true though," Liesl pointed out. "And the Thalmor wants the brat back. That's why we left. Because he was threatening to find something on us that would get us in trouble with the Thalmor if we didn't give Talos to him."

"What? Why would he want him?" Bishop raised his brow. "He's a fucking mongrel half-breed. He's a Nord!" The Thalmor were kind of finicky about their lineages, right?

"For some genealogy experiments," Liesl sighed.

"Gene-what?" What the fuck did that mean?

"Genealogy. It's like… ancestry and heritage stuff. Maybe the guy wanted to dissect Talos to see if he had some physical similarities to the Altmer on the inside. He was talking like that at least," she explained. Bishop wasn't really surprised about her knowing weird magicky words – she did have that obsession of hers. And this sounded like a Thalmor thing to do. But… there was still one thing that didn't make sense.

"You didn't give him the brat?" He scoffed. He would expect them to do that instantly, no matter how messed up that was.

"We wanted to," Galric growled.

"We gotta protect the kids," Liesl sighed. "Ost's orders. They make the most money together. One of them getting killed is no big deal but Dylia, she's the second oldest of them, she got them in cahoots. They all protect each other and threaten to leave if we sacrifice even one of them. Even if they would all die out there without us. Guess Dylia figured it would be their best way to survive."

"Smart girl," Bishop pointed out. It was definitely a better tactic than just taking the abuse and taking the blame for anything that went wrong.

"Not really," Galric scoffed. "One of these days, Ost will get too tired of their shit. Or Duful will snap. He snaps a lot."

"Right." Not even a little surprising to hear that. "So you left the City for Cheydinhal, Duful bought his poisons there and then you went to Bravil."

"Poisons? Is that what he buys there?" Liesl's brows rose at the mention. "How do you know?"

"Doesn't matter. I had to dig to find you. You're not really making this shit easy," Bishop waved his hand dismissively.

"Well Bravil was shit. Now it was Duful that fucked up, so of course we couldn't leave him to deal with it. I don't even know what he did, but we were in Bravil for like a week before he chased us away and so we came here."

"And you're not worried the Thalmor will send his squads to track you down to get Talos?" Bishop raised his brow. Why wouldn't he, if he really wanted his son that bad?

"Please, what squads? He's a small fish. He doesn't have fucking squads," Galric scoffed. "You think a Justiciar or something would even spare a second to look at Rina? And he won't admit to anyone he fucked a Nord."

Fair point.

"Right. So… what now? Where are you staying?" Bishop prodded. He still had no idea what he was even supposed to do here, what Ost and Duful were really doing. He needed to find out more and he wanted to know where the rest of the clan was hiding.

"We should take you there. Kari will tell us all more, I guess," Liesl nodded.

"Wait, Kari's here?" Why didn't she tell them he was coming? Maybe they should have waited with her, but then again, it could have been Ost or Duful that dragged her back and Bishop wasn't sure what they would do when they found out he was here.

"Yeah, they dragged her back, she's been with us since Bravil," Liesl nodded. "She didn't tell us you were coming."

Weird. But maybe Kari still didn't really believe that he was going to come.

"We really gonna take him to the hideout? What if he's lying?" Galric scowled.

"I doubt it," Liesl shrugged before she gave her brother a meaningful look. "Just… trust me. If anyone can deal with those two, it's him."

"Hang on, I haven't agreed to anything," Bishop raised his hands at her preemptively. "I don't even know what the fuck's going on." And what the fuck did they think of him? That he's some professional now in family killing? He knew that with all this mistrust in the clan, it was almost impossible to devise a plan to actually kill the tyrants in charge. He had lived in this hopelessness himself for a long time. But he proved that it was possible before. Why wouldn't they at least try to get out of this situation themselves? They were clearly on the same page. At least Liesl, Kari and Galric were. Wasn't that enough to manage to kill those two assholes?

"Fine, let's just… go. We'll tell you all about those two on the way," Liesl nodded.

"Now? But people will be coming from work soon!" Galric protested – probably a good time for them to do 'business'.

"It's gonna be worth it," Liesl smiled a bit. "I'm sure of it."

…

"So, what exactly happened after we left?" Bishop asked as the three of them slogged through the bog outside of the city. Apparently the clan had been staying in some weird cave east of Leyawiin. Liesl said the place creeped her out because it had a big shrine to Sheogorath in it. Though it was fitting. The whole clan was insane, so why not?

"I… don't remember all of it. I was pretty young," Liesl sighed. And Galric only nodded. He was even younger, of course. She was twelve back then and Galric only five. "I remember that Rina was really pissed. She didn't know what to do now with nobody to threaten us to keep making money for her. And Morgen. She only ever cared about him."

"Right," Bishop rolled his eyes. Rina's obsession with Morgen was disturbing to say the least.

"Well… I just remember Ost stepping up pretty fast," Liesl said with a palpable grudge in her voice. "He kept telling us that we'll all die unless we continue to do the work that kept us alive. And… we believed him, you know. Kari left pretty soon for her cult, but she was the oldest and she'd been doing this the longest. Ost wanted her back. So he marched us to that cult and had us… ambush and capture one of her friends to blackmail her. They aren't really fighters, you know? And Ost knows how to scare people. She… came back after that. Though I guess Ost agreed to let her come back to the cult sometimes, probably did what Torban did, get information and money from those people just to keep Kari alive."

Right, Bishop had assumed as much – Ost carrying on Torban's tradition.

"There was only one that ever got away, though… we're pretty sure he's dead," Liesl sighed. "Morgen. Ost probably had him killed. We never heard from him ever again. He would have to get some powerful help to escape and how could he? He just… got fed up with Rina's obsession with him, he always hated that. But Ost just said to everyone to forget Morgen ever existed. He had to beat the fact into Rina multiple times – she needed to forget about him. So I think he's dead."

Hmm… Morgen made it out? Bishop wasn't so sure about the 'dead' part. Didn't Vilkas mention something about one of the Thrice-Banished being on Solstheim? Maybe that wasn't true anymore, but Vilkas had obviously done some meticulous research if he knew where Jules and Bishop were. He might have been onto something. Maybe Morgen did get powerful friends. Who knew?

"I haven't seen Aces in years either, but when someone asks about her, Ost just says that she's doing her part. I don't know what that means," Liesl shrugged.

Aces had always been detached, it wasn't really anything new. She begrudgingly did as she was told, but she always found every opportunity to stay as far away from the actual clan as possible. None of this was really surprising.

"I don't know what to say about the rest. It was all the same. Ost kept ordering us around, telling us what to do, what to steal, how to make money. He lets us choose though. As long as we bring in money, he doesn't hurt us. And neither does Duful, but he snaps a lot, has big expectations. But we can still choose. Like me and Galric. This is much safer than stealing and robbing. We're not too good at that shit."

"Yeah, I can see how safe it is," Bishop scowled and he pointedly looked at the dark bruise on Liesl's wrist.

"Shut up, you don't know. It's worse when we don't bring in the money. Or when we get arrested," Liesl growled.

"Why do you need me though? How many of you are there? You could have killed the two of them by now," Bishop scoffed.

"No we couldn't. We can't fight. Duful and Ost can fight. Nobody taught us nothing. Torban only taught his kids how to hunt, how to fight. We don't even get weapons. Ost and Duful take them from us when we steal some," Liesl sighed.

That was bullshit. Why were they like this? They were always like this. Only Torban's kids ever tried to fight, tried to leave or take his place. And Jules just went along with Bishop's plans for escape. They all wanted out, but none of them even tried. Well… Kari did, supposedly, but with her cult that was actively ambushing people for their sacrifices to Arkay, surely she could have had them killed before. It was this resigned obedience that baffled Bishop's mind even when he was young. Torban taught them all to strive for survival more than anything. Maybe that's what they were all doing. Just taking it all in order to survive. But he knew that there was something just as important as that survival. Freedom.

"There's always a way. You just don't even think about that sort of shit," Bishop grumbled. "Why the fuck don't you try to leave? Where are they now that they could stop you?"

"And do what? We'd die out there. He has contacts all over that would be on the lookout for us. And we have no money, no skills to survive the treks," Liesl shook her head.

"Treks? It's the fucking Imperial roads! There are not even any bandits on them," Bishop threw up his arms in exasperation.

"You mean the roads that lead to other cities with other friends of theirs? And the roads that are just crawling with the guards we piss off? We know how to avoid them in the cities, but there are warrants out there for some of us and shit. And this way, we get to live," she shrugged.

"Yeah, sounds like a great life when it led Kari to look for me of all people," he rolled his eyes.

"You know her," she scoffed. "She gets a crazy scheme in her head and doesn't let go. If we knew, we would have made her stop. For fuck's sake, what kind of a plan is that? We haven't seen you in a decade, we don't know who you are now. What if you just killed her the second you saw her? She's so stupid."

"Can't argue with that," Bishop smirked. It was really stupid.

"So we're taking him to our hideout why? What if he wants to just find us so that he can kill us all? He said he wanted to be done with this shit," Galric snarled.

Bishop couldn't blame him for his suspicions. They were very reasonable.

"I don't know Gar, guess I'm naïve as fuck and getting actually hopeful. But… I can promise you, Bishop, if you help us, we'll never see each other again," Liesl shrugged.

"Good. That's all I want. I don't wanna slaughter everyone, even though it would probably be quicker. Unlike Torban though, I don't really see the appeal of killing the defenseless," Bishop sighed. Besides, presuming someone defenseless was dangerous. He still remembered when some enemy of Torban's found their hideout and tried to slit Torban's throat in his sleep. The man even managed to disable some of their traps to get to them, but the second he approached Torban, he woke up and killed the guy instead. Any plotting of getting Torban while he was 'defenseless' by any of the siblings evaporated in that moment entirely. Torban was never defenseless. And that was probably the case for Ost and Duful too.

"Won't those two be there though?" Bishop asked uncertainly.

"Nah, they don't stay with us unless we travel. We don't know where they stay. They just check on us a few times a day, order us to do shit or punish us when we don't give them enough money. But they're not there now, they're already at the tavern, drinking away our drakes," Liesl growled.

Fuck, it was a good thing Bishop didn't end up entering the tavern.

They were almost at the cave by now. Soon he would hopefully find out what to do. And Kari better be more forthcoming now.

It still sounded so inconceivable to him now. His current self couldn't really imagine this… passivity about a shitty situation. But still, at the back of his mind, he remembered. He remembered that sometimes he used to feel like that too – what was the point in hoping for better days? For freedom? If he didn't have Jules to protect, someone he cared about so much he would risk anything to make him safe, he was pretty sure he would have felt like that all the time. He always understood and believed this 'survival at any cost', but Jules and him had learned with Torban's death – they both knew now that while survival was always integral, there were always ways to escape, even if they were risky.

But without someone or something to fight for, it was easy to just accept your crappy place. Like Jules – he only fought Thorn, in his own way, when he knew his family needed to get out of there. There were things no amount of danger would deter one from protecting.

Bishop couldn't help but wonder what happened over a year ago.

What made Kari finally start to act then?

…

"Holy fucking shit!"

Kari's voice rang through the damn dismal cave system once they finally reached the main chamber.

"You actually came." She sounded so surprised. Then again, why wouldn't she be? This was a daft idea – to just come here and try to help them or whatever. He still didn't understand his actions fully. It was so weird. He usually let his rationality decide his actions, but this defied his reason. It was kind of like when he found out that Aeyrin was the Dragonborn. All the reason in his head told him to leave – he barely knew her after all and she wasn't all that… friendly in the ways he was after back then. But somehow he just couldn't let go. It turned out for the best. He didn't even want to think about what his life would be like now if he had really left back then, missing out on what he had now. So maybe this was a good choice too?

He didn't know. It felt wrong, but it also felt like he had no choice either.

"Yeah, don't remind me, unless you want me to recall again why I'm here in the first place," Bishop growled at her. This was all still her fault.

The cavern was quite large, but it appeared that the clan only moved about the largest chamber further in, likely to avoid suspicion. There was that statue of Sheogorath there, where they apparently decided to dry their clothes, having them hang about the entire thing, covering most of the stone. It was a familiar scene – a few fires, bedrolls, buckets for washing, a small storage of food, and not much else at all. They never had much. No luxuries, no personal shit. Some of them had weapons back then, but not everyone got to keep one. Hiding places for them were also kind of a no go with the whole clan on the move so often. It was just like any other squalor, while those that were 'in charge' got to reap any benefits.

Kari was sitting on the statue's pedestal and it looked like she had been writing some letters before she spotted Liesl and Galric returning with Bishop in tow. She wasn't the only one there, however. There was a group of four kids by the wall of the cave, sitting in a small circle and doing something in the middle which Bishop couldn't see. They did tear their attention away from that soon though and looked at the new arrival with palpable concern and wariness. A young girl, possibly around ten, with long light-brown hair, a boy whose skin was just a little bit more hued, almost golden, with surprisingly fair hair, another clearly younger girl with her bottom lip jutted out and a slight green tinge to her cheeks and a very small boy, possibly no older than five, with long black hair and a deeper tan than anyone else there. Bishop saw them all for the very first time. The only other person Bishop recognized was her. Rina.

She sat there by the fire, watching her children live their wretched lives with palpable disdain etched on her face. When she saw Bishop, however, the expression turned even more sour. He didn't think it was even possible.

"Look at the wayward brat returning," she scoffed. She seemed so disinterested, not even a little surprised, but then again, she was always like that. Bishop wasn't sure if she was even capable of feeling any other emotion than contempt anymore. "Come here to ruin our lives again?"

'Ruin their lives'. Right. She was pissed off at him for killing Torban, no matter how much he abused and beat her, because she wasn't sure if she could keep this fucked up setup going. She was probably not really happy with Ost taking over. After all, he was not her son. And he hated her guts. Then again, so did all her children too.

"Piss off, old hag," Bishop spat. "I don't give a shit what you think of it – they're the ones that keep claiming they need help. From someone actually competent."

"Help? What help?" The brown-haired girl by the cave wall interjected with her brows creased. "Who's this?"

"Hah! Look at this fucker, coming in thinking he's some knight on a white stallion or some shit," Kari barked out in laughter. "You came to kill some bastards, don't act like you're fucking better than us. Just a fucking thug."

"Kari!" Liesl hissed at her sister. "You were the one to ask him for help."

"'Ask.' Riiight," Bishop scoffed. "And did you seriously go through all that fucking shit and not even tell anyone I was gonna come?" He shook his head at Kari. He didn't care what she called him, but he still didn't understand that she kept her mouth shut about their meeting at her cult, now that she was here.

"You told me to fuck off and then you show up at the monastery. How the fuck was I supposed to know you won't change your mind again?" Kari rolled her eyes exaggeratedly.

"What's going on? Who is that?" The young girl interrupted again, clearly beyond frustrated with the situation. All those children there looked quite startled. They were all standing by now, next to each other in a wary and protective stance. They looked like they were ready for something bad to happen.

"This is Bishop," Liesl explained. "Our oldest brother. He's the one that killed Torban."

An annoyed growl left Rina's lips at those words, but her face still bore mostly disdain and some measure of disinterest.

"Oh… Ah…" the young girl looked at Bishop uncertainly, fidgeting on the spot for a spell, before Kari's voice tore her from her trepidations.

"Dylinda."

"Dylia! For fuck's sake, remember it already," the young girl hissed.

"Whatever. It's time," Kari just nodded at her meaningfully and while the girl shuffled uncertainly in place again, she did nod in turn after a while.

"Time for what?" Bishop scowled. What the fuck was going on?

"To kill Ost and Duful. That's why you're here, dumb fuck. Did you forget already?" Kari scoffed.

"Stop being shitty to him, Kari. He is here to help," Liesl barked at her.

"We'll see about that," Galric scoffed.

"Yeah, we will see about that," Bishop nodded promptly. Surprisingly enough, even though Galric had been only suspicious of him, he was the only one actually grasping Bishop's attitude properly. He did not know if he was going to 'help' yet. "I'm just here to see what the fuck's happening that you resorted to that shit to get me here. And what the fuck I gotta do to have you all leave me alone for good."

"Don't worry. You'll have your fucking peace," Kari let out an exasperated sigh. "After you kill those two."

"Easy, alright? I haven't decided yet. I don't even get where you got the daft idea to come and chase me back here," Bishop growled at her. "You have a whole fucking cult assassinating people."

"It's not a cult!" Kari snarled. "And nobody assassinates anyone! We bring people to Arkay's side when he demands."

"Please, don't get her started about this shit," Liesl groaned.

"Shut up, both of you!" Rina suddenly bellowed. "Neither of you have any right to speak of the Gods when you act like this and don't even understand what they ask of us."

"I thought Liesl understood what you think they ask by fucking everything that moves," Kari scoffed.

"I'm just making money, you bitter bitch! It has nothing to do with Rina's insane bullshit," Liesl snarled. "You know, that shit we get beaten for every day?! How about we concentrate on that?!"

"Ungrateful brats, all of you," Rina mumbled under her breath.

"Shut up," Bishop growled to put an end to this fucking display. He was already regretting coming here. This constant hateful bickering was getting on his nerves. "What exactly do you expect me to do that you couldn't do yourselves? If you need weapons, I'll get you weapons, but I doubt you couldn't ask anyone for that before. What else do you think I can fucking do to them though? I can't just kill them in the city. I'm not having the guards after me. And I doubt they'd actually duel me, after Torban."

"Calm down," Kari raised her hand preemptively. "It's not like you can kill either of them anyway. They expect it. They're careful. We don't even know where they're staying through nights. We can't catch them off guard. And they have friends."

"So… again, what the fuck exactly do you expect me to do here?" Bishop sighed. If those two were so fucking untouchable, what did Kari think he could do?

"Well… I thought I could ask you because… we need someone to get close to them. You know… pretend not to want to actually kill them but still don't make fucking friends or something. They're not stupid. It wouldn't work with any of us, they expect a knife in the back from us the most," Kari grumbled. "But you could do it. Make them think you're here for some other shit, that you want… in on their business. You killed Torban! You gave them this… opportunity. It makes sense you think you deserve a piece of that, right?"

"You really think it's gonna work? Look at him. He looks fucking rich," Galric scowled, looking over Bishop's clothes.

"I stole this from some dead fucker," Bishop shrugged. They really didn't need to know he was kind of rich, currently.

"Oh please, I saw what you and your whore had on when you came to the monastery, all that fancy equipment," Kari scoffed at him.

Oh. Right. He forgot about that. Fuck.

"What whore?" Liesl cocked her head in confusion.

"Probably not one to take your wretched territory, bitch, don't worry," Kari rolled her eyes.

"Fuck off, Kari! Seriously, what whore? You got some girl?" She looked at Bishop with strange concern in her eyes. Why the fuck did she care? Why would anyone care?

"Need to pass time at nights somehow, the fuck does it matter?" He scowled, again trying to downplay their relationship. "Let's focus on those two fuckers. Why the fuck do you think they wouldn't just have me killed or something when I ask them for their fucking money. What kind of a plan is that?"

"Well you gotta offer them something in return, obviously," Kari shrugged.

Fuck, this was all so vague, and he still felt like he didn't know anything. He knew what those two were doing to his siblings. He knew how this shit went. He had been through this – the beatings, the demands for every single septim he brought back. Nobody even owned any personal shit since it was searched for and taken away constantly. Torban and Rina did all this, then Torban did the same to Rina and for some unfathomable reason, she let him. Well… not unfathomable – it was fear. Truth be told, this pattern really did sound all the same. Most of the time Torban wasn't sleeping where the clan was either, except for when they traveled or were in some remote location. And in those cases, he was always ready for an ambush, from anyone, even his family. Ost and Duful learned well, apparently. And Bishop knew this wouldn't be as easy as killing some unsuspecting asshole. His 'assassinations' were mostly a string of extraordinary luck, along with some skill. But he couldn't rely on that now. And he couldn't rely that much on his skills either, not here. Skyrim was… easier in the cities. There weren't nearly as many people and guards around. If he tried the same shit he did with Sibbi and Neeshka, he knew it would end badly. And that duel shit… it was not an option either. For one, those two would never agree to it, even if provoked. Maybe Duful might, if he really 'snaps' easily as Liesl said, but still… he had no idea what level of skill he might expect from either of them. He only defeated Torban with Jules's help. And now, there was nobody here he would trust enough to ask, even though they claimed to want them dead too. He could never be sure of anything with these fuckers. And he was not involving Aeyrin.

Unfortunately, Kari's infuriatingly vague idea was the only thing up in the air right now.

"Can you just… slow down? What exactly do you think I'll be doing here?" Bishop let out an exasperated sigh. It wasn't much of a plan.

"What? I have to do all the work?" Kari scoffed. "You think of something. You figured out how to piss around those fucking bounties of yours, you can figure this out too."

"What bounties? What are they talking about?" Dylia interrupted again, shaking her head in frustration.

"You don't even fucking know?" Bishop sputtered. "This is not a fucking plan. This in nothing. You're asking me for a huge fucking favor and then you don't even do the bare minimum of work? I don't even know them! I don't know anything about them. You do. You are the ones supposed to figure out the best tactics. I'm not risking my neck for you with a half-assed plan and nothing to gain from it."

"You get your peace," Kari snarled.

"You're overplaying your hand, Kari. You have nothing more on me. The bounties are done, like you said, I managed to 'piss around' them. You have nothing else to threaten me with and I can just easily go back home now and leave you all here to deal with whatever the fuck's happening alone," he snarled.

"No! Please!" Liesl piped up promptly. "Kari, stop being a fucking bitch! We need help. You know they will never trust any of us and they'll always be guarded around us. They'll always expect us to try something," she sighed before she turned towards Bishop with a desperate expression. "But… if they think they're valuable to you somehow, you could find an opening. You just need something to offer them, but… it needs to be believable. It needs to be profitable for you… but at the same time…" she stammered.

Alright, clearly none of them had thought this through. Not that it was surprising. Nobody even knew he would be here, except for Kari. And she didn't believe that he would really come. Maybe he was better off coming up with something himself. He got what they were alluding to, they were just not very good at this, apparently. Maybe he could improvise something. He couldn't really kill Ost or Duful in the city, but neither could they kill him. If he tried to approach them in public, he could just go from there and see what he could figure out.

He still wasn't sure why he was helping. But the thought of someone else treating them all like Torban used to was just pissing him off. He understood their hopeless situation. And while a year ago he wouldn't even think twice on this, now it somehow kept gnawing at him – how they should get the same chance at turning his life around as he did. He wasn't sure he liked that about himself now. He kinda did, but then again, life would be so much simpler if he could just let this go and leave. Liesl's pleading expression did him in though. It was unfair.

"Somebody better tell me what the fuck's going on already!" Dylia shouted again, letting her voice echo through the caverns. The children were clearly fidgety and nervous about the stranger in their midst and everyone talking about some things they had no context for.

"Shut up, you little brat," Kari snarled. "Don't get fucking uppity just because you think you're untouchable. Ost isn't the only one who can smack you around, bitch."

"Memories," Bishop sighed in mock wistfulness. His family didn't change one bit. "Look, you can tell the kids whatever, but since you have no actual plan, I think I'm gonna get out of this shithole and come up with a proper one."

It was for the best. He wasn't sure what else to get out of them. He was becoming more and more sour from being around everyone. That Dylia girl really did look like she was trying to seem like the 'boss' of those fuckers, just like Kari said, by constantly butting in. Rina's resting bitch face was driving him to violent thoughts and Kari's voice was even worse. Not to mention Galric's constant suspicious stares.

Fuck, his family just brought this all out in him – the hatred, disdain, anger, it was like a natural reaction to this environment. He felt like wringing someone's neck.

It was for the best to leave and just go over all this in his head somewhere more calm. Like in bed with Aeyrin. Just the thought of that managed to ease his stress a bit.

"Yeah… they're getting into it again," Liesl rolled her eyes. "I'll walk you out."

"We're just letting him leave? Now that he knows where we are?" Galric sputtered. Smart guy. It was suspect. Bishop could just as easily rat out their location and get his 'peace' that way. But that would just piss off Ost and Duful. And it wasn't as if he had anything to blame on them, except for the whoring of the two siblings that currently actually weren't driving him insane with each word uttered.

"Gar, it's fine, I promise," Liesl nodded at the young man in determination before she grabbed Bishop by the arm and started to drag him away from the cave.

"Good riddance," Rina's voice echoed behind them, but Bishop paid it no more mind as he let Liesl usher him outside at last. He couldn't wait to get out of that stifling place.

He still felt like people weren't too shocked about him there, or maybe nobody just knew how to react about a reunion that no one in their right mind ever wanted. He sure as fuck didn't. And he was looking forward to breathing somewhat freely once more, even if it was the swamp air.

Once they were outside, Liesl turned towards him again with a worried crease between her brows.

"You're… you're not gonna, are you? Rat us out?" She bit her lower lip a little nervously, letting her bright red lipstick stain her teeth.

"Rat out what? I know nothing about the shit you pull now," Bishop scoffed. "Even if I have an idea, what exactly would I tell anyone?"

Liesl shuffled a bit on the spot, still apparently a bit nervous. Alright, maybe he could be a little more… open. Just with her.

"I don't wanna rat you out, Liesl," he sighed. "You're in a shitty place and… despite what our dear family usually does, I have no interest in making shit worse for you."

"Thanks, Bishop. You know…" she stammered a bit again. "I've always been a little jealous of Jules. How you looked out for him."

"You didn't want to leave," Bishop scowled a bit. He was willing to take her with them.

"I was scared. I was sure you two would die out there. Uhm… did… did he?"

"Yeah…" he nodded somberly. It was a fair concern on her part.

"S-still… I just… liked the idea of that knight on a white stallion, you know? Even if he is a common thug. As long as there's someone out there for you. Galric is there, a bit. But he's still kinda young and… he doesn't have any more skills than I do. Neither of us can do shit about Ost and Duful. I don't know what I'm even rambling, I just… I'm glad you're here. I kinda… missed you."

"Yeah?" Bishop raised his brow. He couldn't really say that he missed her too. He didn't think of her all that often, but then again, his life was very different. And she clearly built him up as some weird savior figure in her head – she often did that with people. But still… "I guess it's not too bad to see you. It's kinda shitty seeing you still like… this though. In this life. And whoring yourself out to pay those two fuckwads."

"Hey, I promise, it's not as bad as things were before I started doing that," Liesl scoffed. "Sure, some of those assholes get rough, but not as rough or vicious as Ost and Duful when they beat me. I was never able to bring in enough money before I started. It's a good thing."

"If you say so," he shrugged. She may have had a point. And there were worse things she could be doing. "Hopefully soon though you'll be able to keep the money from that and get away from this shit. Maybe become at least a barmaid or something."

"Or a scholar at the University," she beamed at him with those big hopeful eyes of hers.

"Sure, Liesl," he smirked. He would have laughed at her naivety, but then again… why the fuck not? He turned his life around in ways he could have never imagined. Maybe she would too.

"Speaking of whores…" she smirked right back at him. "You really brought someone with you?"

"Why do you care?" Bishop scowled. Why did she keep asking that? Why was that important to her in any way?

"I don't know… I'm curious. Can I meet her?" She prodded.

What? Why? Why the fuck would she even want to?

"No," he scoffed. Aeyrin did not need to be a part of this shit-show.

"Why not?" Liesl whined a bit.

"Because why would you even want to? Don't worry about her, she's just a pretty face to distract me from the bullshit here," he waved his hand dismissively.

"But… Kari knew about her," Liesl frowned slightly. "Did you drag her with you all over Cyrodiil?"

"So?" Bishop scoffed. Why was she questioning him so much about Aeyrin? This was making him uncomfortable.

"I'm just surprised," she shrugged. "Don't know many of us who wouldn't get sick of someone for so long. And… I just… never mind," she shook her head briskly.

"She's a good fuck," he smirked again. That was the explanation he was intent on sticking to, even in front of Liesl.

"Alright," she looked a little disappointed by the lack of information she got, but she did nod at him. "Maybe I'll get to meet her later."

"Doubt it," he muttered. Not if he could help it.

There was a long moment of silence. Liesl still looked a bit nervous, but then she finally looked up at him again with a concerned expression on her face.

"Just… whatever you decide, be careful, alright? Ost and Duful are… I know I was little and I don't remember much, but… they're worse than he was."

Really? Worse than Torban?

That didn't sound too good. Maybe Liesl's memories of it were skewed though.

Or maybe she really was right.

Why the fuck was he getting involved?

* Trigger warning: mentions of teenage prostitution (one of the mentioned prostitutes is sixteen at this point, but the chapter includes no explicit content regarding this, only a brief mention and implications), mentions of an abusive environment and violence against children