Chapter LXXV – Normalcy

Aeyrin brushed her hand through the short hair above Bishop's ear.

He almost felt like he was going to purr. She was barely even touching him, but the soft contact sent shivers down his spine. And even more when she softly blew against his ear.

He always loved the preamble before, but he had been worried that this time, the little ritual would be devoid of it. After what happened and after everything that it led to, he kind of thought that Aeyrin wouldn't even be thinking about giving him the dragon trophy earring. He wouldn't blame her. But at one point while they were spending their fifth day in the chapel, she suggested it herself.

She seemed more at ease. Bishop could see that she was still troubled and who knew what about anymore? She mentioned to him that she told Therien about everything – about the lycanthropy and the people she killed, about Ri'zhassa and about that Altmer dickface who, sure maybe didn't deserve to die, but still made Bishop mad.

But maybe the worries and guilt were slowly settling. He hoped so.

As for himself, surprisingly enough, the stay here really helped. But Therien's words helped more. He was actually surprised with how much they helped, but there was a lot of logic in it. He did let his shock and grief cloud his mind. Of course this wasn't some eternal doom for any potential child they might want to have in the future. The fact that this happened and that it could happen, was knowledge they could use. If they planned this, they could just leave Skyrim for a while. Or they could actually give home to some unlucky kid that needed it.

But with that worry out of his mind, he could just… forget all this shit. It's not like he was eager for any of it right now. That stuff was best left in the future where it had always belonged. Now he just wanted to concentrate on other things. There were assassins and dragons and some eternal darkness to be worried about after all. And there was a wedding to be looking forward to.

That was why it was so encouraging when Aeyrin suggested giving him the earring. It was like a hint of return to normalcy.

He let out a pleased groan when she nipped on his lobe briefly. They had little privacy in the chapel all this time, but they did find a small storage room that was only filled with boxes. They were no strangers to doing all sorts of things in cramped spaces, but it was a little too close to where everyone's beds were and relying on the sound not getting past a wooden door was not entirely smart, so they just used it to be alone without sex for once. And Aeyrin did join Bishop on a hunt or two when they didn't actually end up hunting.

Now they were back in the storage room though. There was no reason not to use the small place for this little ritual of theirs. Aeyrin took a candle and a goblet filled with chipped ice with her, but before anything else, she just continued to play with his ear eagerly, running her tongue over the cartilage and the two metal rings already there.

"You're more than half-way done," she smiled as she gently rubbed her fingers over the spot she was going to use. It was probably the last one on his cartilage she would be using, right above the two earrings. It would look great if she pierced his lobe next instead. She would have to ask him first if he would like that, but that would have to wait until he hunted down a troll or a werewolf. The troll would probably not take too long.

"What would have been the half-way point? Killing half a dragon?" Bishop smirked. "Is that like killing an Argonian?"

"I don't think Argonians are half-dragons," she chuckled at him. How did he even get that idea?

"They're lizards too! There's gotta be some connection there," he pointed out.

"So? Falmer and Bosmer are both elves. That doesn't mean some of them are half-Bosmer or… you know what? Forget I said anything." The implications suddenly made her feel iffy. Ugh. She hated the Falmer, at least what was left of them. Why did she even make that comparison?

"Right. Not important cause I killed a whole dragon," he smirked.

"That's right," she smiled at him proudly. Now that she could think a little more about the fight without getting instantly drowned in horrible thoughts, she remembered how impressive he was. He almost killed it all on his own. Almost.

She finally dipped her fingers into the goblet and grabbed some bits of the ice. Soon, Bishop felt the pleasant cold cover his ear. It felt even better when he felt those other earrings tingle his ear a bit as their metal cooled.

As always, Aeyrin took a long while and several new pieces of ice to cool his ear. It always took more effort for a Nord. But soon, her fingers retreated and he knew it was coming. A little sting went through his ear as always. He barely felt it.

He didn't even feel her clasp the earring there, but he knew she was done when he felt a cloth on his ear.

"I guess I should have put on more ice. It's bleeding a bit," she sighed.

"It's fine. It will stop soon," Bishop shrugged. Of course she couldn't heal it – that might actually close the new hole too much, even around the earring. And it was just a little blood. And while she rubbed his ear with the cloth, he wrapped his arm around the backs of her thighs and pressed her to himself. She had been kneeling on the same large box he was sitting on for better access to his ear so he had her near all this time, but he didn't dare grab her before she disposed of the needle.

Aeyrin didn't hesitate to press herself to him affectionately. It was nice, being alone with him here, even if it was just a tiny room.

She kind of started missing being alone with him. She missed how things were before. Sure, this place did her a lot of good and it was amazing being here and actually not worrying about their safety, but… in this tiny room, she realized how much the wilderness began calling to her again.

"So, Bish… do you want to head out. Tomorrow maybe?" She suggested. She assumed he would be fine with it, but she didn't want to presume. When Master Therien forced him to stay for the difficult talk, she could see how much Bishop needed it too. They both needed this place and Master Therien just then. And she didn't want to leave if he still did need more of the safety and peace.

"Are you sure? We've still got some time before we really need to head to Falkreath," Bishop noted. "If you want to stay longer…"

"No. I don't. Do you?" She gave him a tentative look, but he only shook his head briskly.

"No. I miss being out there with you," he smiled affectionately. He was glad to leave, even if their stay here was a good thing.

"And I miss your cooking," Aeyrin giggled.

It was a little joke, but it meant more to Bishop than she probably realized. It was one thing that she liked his cooking so much, but it was even better that she was actually excited about his food again. It was like things were slowly going back to normal.

They needed normal. Or at least what passed for normal in their lives. There were things they needed to move past and things they needed to focus on. They would be getting married soon. They should really be rearing for that to happen.

And Aeyrin was cured of her lycanthropy – that was also something they should still be enjoying.

Bishop was kind of excited about the notion of leaving. And while they probably couldn't do much else tonight, they could just talk and plan all this together – their next course of action and anything else they might wanna do.

It was good to finally be able to do what they usually did.

No matter how much the calm helped, some action might help even more.

And he was ready to head out there and get back into their dangerous life all over again.

…

"Are you done?" Bishop peered over Aeyrin's shoulder curiously.

She had been agonizing over the letter for a better part of an hour. Now it was full of scratches and rewrites. It was no wonder she was nervous about this one, but Bishop was getting a little impatient. They were finally camping out alone, only with Karnwyr, back in the wilderness. It was only noon now and they stopped for a proper lunch – Aeyrin didn't want to wait until dinner to have Bishop cook for them. They still planned on continuing on the road, but before that, Bishop was hoping for some quality alone time.

"I… I think so," she sighed. It's been only a few hours since they said goodbye to Master Therien and left the temple, but she already had to agonize over another thing. Oh well. Hopefully now it was good and after rewriting it on a new parchment, she could relax again. She moved the paper a bit so that Bishop could see.

.

Dear Vuaerion,

I'm writing to tell you that I have been cured of my lycanthropy.

The people that cursed me with it have worked to

I was fortunate to be rid of the affliction, but the cure is limited

The Companions

NO!

I can't tell you who

I wish I could provide as many details for you and your men as possible, however I'm afraid that the cure only works on the particular strain that I contracted and there is a limited number of people who can receive it.

At the very least, I hope the information I have will prove useful for any people that find themselves in a similar situation. There was a coven of witches that cursed the Companions

NO! Stop mentioning them!

To find the cure, those cursed worked on tracing the origin of the curse itself – a coven of witches that had cast it on the original carriers of the strain. Killing the coven and making a ritualistic sacrifice was necessary to summon the wolven spirits of those afflicted and slay them. I wish I could tell you more, but I'm afraid that is all the information I have. I do hope that other lycanthropy strains might be cured by similar means. Or perhaps there are other ways. The most important thing is that there is hope.

I know that with what happened with your sister

I know that this might not be the best news for you from a personal perspective, but I hope it will help more lycanthropes return to the lives they deserve. I am truly sorry that it is too late for your sister, but there might be ways to cure her even in death but maybe there are still things we don't know about these curses. Have faith.

Thank you for giving me a chance.

May Stendarr watch over your path.

Aeyrin

.

It was difficult to say what she wanted and not give anything away about the Companions. Even if Vuaerion himself might not want to do anything about their lycanthropy rampage, he might say something to others of his order who may not be so understanding. It was unfortunate she couldn't reveal more details about the cure and the possibility of it being done posthumously, but it was for the best. She couldn't have more death on her conscience.

"It's good," Bishop nodded. He could definitely not have been that respectful of either the Companions or the Vigilant. "You're gonna get rid of those crossed out parts and shit, right?" He chuckled.

"Yes," Aeyrin snorted. She could agonize over that letter a bit longer, but it was best to leave it alone already. Just one clean rewrite and it would be done.

She quickly grabbed another parchment and got to work. This would be quick now.

As she continued to write, Bishop continued peering over her shoulder. She wasn't exactly sure why he would, but soon enough, when she was barely halfway done, she felt his hand sneak around her waist and up towards her breasts. He pressed even closer to her and the next thing she felt were his lips on the side of her neck.

"Bish, I need to finish this," she groaned a bit, though she realized it sounded more pleased than annoyed.

"I know. So finish it. I'm not stopping you." She felt him grin against her skin as his hand slowly kneaded her breasts through her clothes.

"No, but you're distracting me," she chuckled.

"You love my distractions," he smirked and continued his treatment. Soon, she felt him trace a line with his tongue across her neck, then a soft nibble on her skin there.

"I do," she groaned again. "But I really need to get this done."

Bishop let out a defeated sigh and retreated from her again. He did sprawl himself down on the grass though and made it very clear by that gesture what he hoped for next.

Aeyrin started to rush her letter a lot after those distractions. And she couldn't help but glance at him every now and then. Dammit, even when he stopped, it didn't help getting rid of these thoughts.

The letter suddenly felt like the longest task ever, but she finally got it done. Now she could concentrate on more pleasant things at last. She folded the letter and stuffed it into her pack before she finally stretched herself out next to Bishop.

Bishop wrapped his arm around her instantly and enveloped her in a deep kiss.

The two of them out here in the grass, it finally started to feel a little normal. Like it was supposed to.

And after what felt like a long time, Aeyrin could finally focus on the good that lay in store for them.

It was still a little hard to believe that in less than two weeks they'd be married.

But she finally felt the excitement about it that she missed so much.

…

It was strangely irresistible.

When the two of them walked through the forest and spotted an ancient barrow they'd walked past a million times before, it almost seemed to call to them.

When was the last time they actually delved into a dungeon? When was the last time they did that just because they wanted to? Neither of them could even remember. Their combat consisted of being ambushed by assassins or sent against dragons lately and it was just not as cathartic and satisfying as looting an old ruin and finding treasures inside.

It was unanimous. Even Karnwyr seemed excited.

And they had the time. Why not? They were all rearing to go anyway.

They entered the ruin eagerly, but the second they did, there was an unusual sound carrying though the chambers.

There was a dead draugr right at their feet and it sounded like something was further in. Not something. Someone. A person muttering something, but surprisingly loudly. Though the words couldn't be made out.

"Is… is someone here?" Aeyrin asked in shock, though she didn't call out. She only asked Bishop. Karnwyr was calm though, so it was probably really a person and not some monster capable of speech.

It didn't happen often that they encountered anyone in a barrow. Actually, it happened only twice. Once they met a young warrior mage that wanted a scroll rumored to be in the barrow. She was nice company and capable in battle too. But the other time was… Golldir. Despite knowing the man only shortly, they would probably never forget that very unpleasant experience.

It was still very unusual. There were a lot of adventurers around Skyrim delving into the ruins, but it was rare that they managed to meet each other at the same time.

"Let's find out," Bishop nodded. If it was someone like that mage girl… what was her name again? Something starting with 'A'… it would have been a fun adventure regardless.

They continued into the next chamber quickly with Karnwyr on their heels. And there they saw the source of the muttering.

There was a Dunmer woman standing there, watching a chamber below. There was nothing in it from what they could see, so they concentrated on the woman herself.

She was definitely dressed oddly for a dungeon crawl. She had pretty common clothes on her, that one could find on anyone walking around town or such, and merely a small pack. There was clearly no huge pack filled with equipment and she had no armor to protect her. She could have been a mage, sure but she didn't even wear robes. And the adventurer they met before was a mage too but she still wore armor because she wasn't an idiot.

"Hello?" Aeyrin took a careful step forward and interrupted the woman's muttering and scanning of the area.

"Oh! Crap! What?" The woman turned around sharply. "Oh. People. Why are you here?"

"To loot this place," Bishop smirked. Why else? "Why are you here? Dressed like that…"

The woman looked down at her clothing critically before she returned her gaze to them. There was a permanent scowl on her face, but maybe that was just her face.

"I came here to excavate this ruin with my workers. For… research. But those idiots uncovered a chamber full of the dead and they ran with their tails between their legs," she scoffed.

Excavating? Hmm… the ruin did seem very crumbled and there was clear evidence of some rocks piled up by a door in the chamber below – someone clearly cleared out the way there. But there was still a lot that sounded strange with what she said.

"They saw some dead? In a barrow? What did they expect?" Bishop scoffed. This place was full of dead people.

"Not ones that would walk and fight," the woman huffed.

Really? Wasn't the presence of the undead kind of common knowledge when it came to the barrows? But maybe not. Maybe it was just easily assumed for the two of them when they knew all that shit about dragon cults and everything. Esbern's lectures took care of any knowledge gaps they had before.

"What are you researching?" Aeyrin asked curiously. She only ever heard of someone researching Nordic ruins in the College and those ruins were Saarthal and Labyrinthian with its ancient evils and artifacts of Magnus. She really hoped this place didn't hold anything equally dangerous.

"Just… the barrow," the woman shrugged.

Weird. Most researchers were all too eager to start spewing about their interest for ages. She was strangely not talkative. But maybe it was just because they were too used to the College people and Esbern. Come to think of it…

"Are you from the College?" Aeyrin prodded again. Maybe Faralda was more open to sending out people to explore ruins. But then again, why would this woman be here alone without her fellow mages?

"No. I'm here on my own. I took my workers to excavate this place, but now they ran and I can't get past those damned monsters," the elf huffed.

Bishop narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. She had… workers? Her own workers? He didn't exactly want to ask because he knew she would just call him racist, but shit wasn't easy for the Dunmer in Skyrim. He had never met any of them who would be rich enough to be able to afford workers. There could always be an exception, but it still felt suspicious to him.

"Now I've just been here for hours, trying to think of a way to get past those monsters," the elf grumbled in annoyance. "But… since you two… ehm… three are here now…" She looked down at Karnwyr skeptically before she returned her gaze back to the two of them.

"Not for your 'research'," Bishop scoffed. He still found all this weird and suspicious. How long had she really been here? How long ago did those workers leave? He and Aeyrin didn't see anyone around. And… why was there no equipment left here after them? Did they pack everything up during their escape?

"You could get rid of those monsters though, couldn't you? For the pay I was going to give to the workers maybe?" The Dunmer suggested.

Bishop and Aeyrin shared a look. They were going to go explore the ruins anyway. What did it matter if this woman was there for her research or not? She wanted to pay them for that? That was… so strange.

But then again… why not? If she wanted to spend her money pointlessly, who were they to stop her?

"Alright. We can… clear the room out so that you can do your research there," Aeyrin shrugged.

"Great. Now, chop, chop. I've wasted enough time here," the woman urged them.

For someone who was stuck and needed help, her attitude was kind of off-putting. But the potential extra money surely wasn't. Maybe Aeyrin and Bishop could use it for the wedding. They would probably have to pay for something, right? Maybe they might need some boats crafted. They still had no idea what exactly needed to be done.

Aeyrin just headed towards the door with Bishop and Karnwyr in tow.

It was kind of exciting, going into battle again, especially now that she was able to Shout once more. The presence of the Dunmer woman did make her a little apprehensive about that, but the excitement over being able to utilize her full arsenal again won over any discomfort borne out of the woman finding out who she is.

She opened the door to the next chamber eagerly and stepped inside. There was rubble everywhere – this ruin was in a very sorry state. No wonder it needed someone to actually excavate this entrance. The ceiling must have been coming down to cause this – it looked quite uneven, though there were still enough stones in it not to let the natural light in, some of it must have collapsed. And the floor wasn't in a much better shape, probably after the collapse.

But there was not much time to ponder on the state of the place. They could already see why the workers ran off. There was a group of draugr stumbling over the rubble and they all looked armed to the teeth. And unfortunately, despite the collapsed rocks and pillars, Bishop and Aeyrin did not have anywhere to hide quickly and gouge the situation.

Two draugr spotted them right away. There was no more point in approaching subtly. One of the undead let out a strange shriek that instantly alerted the rest of them and that just meant they needed to act fast.

Aeyrin charged without hesitation and Karnwyr began to run right after her with a vicious snarl escaping his maw. Before he could outrun her though, Aeyrin quickly took care of making the battle a little easier for them.

"KRII LUN!"

Three of the draugr got enveloped with a red light, and before they could rouse from what happened, Karnwyr picked up the speed and lunged at one of them, biting into its shin. The leg visibly snapped under the force of his teeth and the Shout.

Bishop's arrow flew at another one, though he picked one of those not affected by the Shout. He aimed carefully and he managed to shoot it right into the hole of its horned helmet. That thing staggered back and got enveloped with green light, paralyzed, before it fell to the ground rigidly.

"SU!"

Aeyrin's arm began to tingle almost unbearably. She just reached the most armored draugr, and before the undead even managed to gain momentum to hit her with its claymore, her mace began hitting into its helmet in an insane flurry of bashes. It was constant. She couldn't stop her arm from moving. And with every heavy hit, the draugr staggered, his helmet enveloped a bit in frost, flames and shock at the same time. With one, it dropped its sword altogether. And after a few more, the helmet cracked, then again and again, until part of its plate fell down onto the ground and she finally bashed its skull in. So many hits and it all barely took a minute.

Another loud sound suddenly echoed through the cavern and Aeyrin felt a strange force crash into her. This was not the same shriek of the draugr as before – this was a Shout. And she knew now which one. Her back crashed into a half-collapsed pillar with force before she knew it. At least it was just her back. She didn't hit her head. But the force of it still reverberated through her whole body and a dull ache spread through her. She was shocked that she didn't hear any of the crystals on her armor shatter.

Bishop instantly drew his bow to take care of that Shouting fucker. Aeyrin likely needed a minute to gather herself.

But just as he aimed again to hit it in a weak spot, suddenly something hit his back.

Not a weapon. Was that… a rock? Did someone just throw a small rock at his back?

Bishop turned his head sharply, only to see the Dunmer woman standing several paces behind him.

What the fuck?

"Hey! Are you done yet?" The woman huffed and tried to peer past him to see the state of the battle.

Did she just fucking interrupt him while he was aiming? Did she just fucking burst in here in the middle of battle and think it was a good idea to ask that? What the fuck was wrong with her? This was worse than that fuckweasel Golldir.

"No! Are you insane?!" Bishop barked at her angrily before he quickly turned back to the battle and aimed his bow again. Fucking idiot, interrupting him like that. He immediately checked on Aeyrin, but she was already back in the fray again, now taking care of that Shouting draugr. And Karnwyr was running towards another one already. There was only one left for Bishop to pick off. At least that bitch didn't manage to distract him enough that it would make their situation in battle unmanageable.

Aeyrin's arm began to feel normal again, but by that time, she already bashed another skull in, despite the helmet on it. Karnwyr managed to snap another leg and then he went for the spine as Bishop's arrow found the last target.

Within moments, the battle was finally over. The pain in Aeyrin's body faded for the most part – it was really just the impact. It might hurt tomorrow, but she was good to fight again right now.

Bishop, on the other hand, was still seething. What the fuck was that woman's problem? He promptly turned to face her again when the calm swept over the chamber. Right now, the Dunmer was further away from him, finally waiting until the battle was over. Too little, too late though. If something had happened because of that interruption, she would have been in for a world of hurt.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?!" He yelled at her across the room. "You don't fucking interrupt during a battle! And definitely not by throwing fucking rocks!"

"She did what?" Aeyrin's eyes widened at his outburst. She didn't see what happened. She could barely see the woman on the other side of the room. Did she throw a rock at Bishop? Aeyrin only heard some weird exchange before, but she didn't concentrate on it much in the heat of the battle.

"Sorry," the Dunmer shrugged as she began to walk over to them. "It was just taking so long. Are you done now?"

"Yes," Aeyrin sighed. Well, it was done. Hopefully the woman had learnt not to do this again. She better. Bishop needed to concentrate on his aim in battle.

"Good. Let's continue then. There might be more further in," the woman nodded with determination.

"What?" Bishop sputtered. "I thought you wanted to do research here. Do your shit and we'll go ahead and clear the ruins." He did not like the idea of being rushed by her while they were excited for their dungeon adventure.

"There's nothing in here. Let's go!" The woman urged them.

Aeyrin and Bishop could only share another exasperated look.

This was going to be really annoying.

…

The ruins were so large. Too large.

Normally Bishop and Aeyrin wouldn't mind. But there was a hamper on their enjoyment here.

That woman – Medresi, as she eventually introduced herself – was a nightmare. She kept nagging them whenever they looked around the rooms for loot, she always rushed them through the rooms and she even decided it was a good idea to yell 'tips' from across the room as they fought.

That was infuriating. Bishop couldn't help but yell at her several times through that, but it was no use. She said 'sorry', but she continued with the same behavior. He had half a mind to leave her to the draugr, but how? She kept following them. And unless he would actually actively kill her, there was apparently no getting rid of her. And she kept bringing up the money. At the very fucking least, she better deliver so that they can get something from this ordeal.

Whenever they asked about her research, she only gave some evasive answers. She did not seem like a scholar at all. She wasn't interested in anything in the ruins. She didn't even get curious or surprised by Aeyrin Shouting. It was baffling.

It was getting so exhausting. Even Karnwyr seemed morose. But maybe the fact that she kept rushing them wasn't a bad thing. At the very least, they would be through this faster.

They'd been here so long and the enemies were getting tougher and tougher. Hopefully it was almost over.

They stopped in front of a short corridor barred with a metal gate and a swinging giant axe trap in front of it. Medresi was insanely impatient again while Bishop and Aeyrin scoured the room for a lever to disable the trap.

"Is this normal? Swinging death traps?" Medresi scoffed as she tried to peer through the trap into the next chamber.

"Yeah. It's normal. The old dragon priests probably didn't want just anyone getting to their treasures," Aeyrin sighed. It wasn't that annoying of a question, but by now, she was really exhausted because of that woman.

"Oh. So there's treasure there? Are you sure?" Medresi suddenly brightened.

"No, we're not fucking 'sure'. We've never been here before," Bishop grumbled. "Why? Are you researching 'treasure' or something?" He scoffed. He was still not clear on what this woman was even doing here. She was not taking their treasure. If there even was any. She was paying and letting them keep all the loot. Not like she could fight them for it.

Medresi didn't get to answer. Soon enough, Aeyrin found a lever behind one of the old metal shelves and pulled it. A metallic sound echoed through the chamber and soon, the axe stopped moving, sliding into its slot in the wall. And the metal gate behind it retracted into the archway too.

Medresi sprung forth instantly, running through the hallway and into the chamber behind. If there was something there waiting for intruders, she was gonna be sorry.

Bishop and Aeyrin only sighed, almost in unison, and they headed towards her. They didn't rush though – she was being irresponsible all on her own and they were tired of her antics.

As they passed through the hallway with Karnwyr in tow, Medresi disappeared into the room behind.

They didn't get to reach the next room. Suddenly the gate in front of them sprung into life again and closed, right in front of their faces. And what was more, the metallic sound rang through the hallway once more, followed by a panicked yip.

"Karnwyr!" Bishop yelled in panic as he turned back sharply. He could recognize that sound anywhere.

To his horror, Karnwyr was crouching on the ground with a terrified expression on his face while the blade swung above him again. Shit! Did he get slashed?

Aeyrin was quick to react. She rushed towards the blade and stopped right in front of it. As it was now, it wasn't near Karnwyr, but if he got up on his legs, it would definitely hurt him.

"Sssh, Karnwyr, just crawl here, come," she tried to soothe his panic with a gentle voice. The wolf whimpered desperately, but fortunately, he obeyed. He started to slowly crawl towards her, never rising on his feet and letting out whimpers with each motion. She noticed some blood on the ground where he had been. He got hurt.

When he was finally past the trap, she quickly examined his back. She could feel Bishop's intense stare over her shoulder. Gods, he must have been so worried. But as she started to feel under his fur, she finally located the cut.

"It's really shallow. He'll be fine," she let out a sigh of relief and her hands lit up with healing magic instantly.

Karnwyr whimpered softly as she worked, but his panicked panting was finally calming down a bit. And Bishop could at last breathe out too.

What the fuck happened? Was the release of the trap just temporary? They were so fucking lucky nothing worse happened.

"Hah! I was hoping that would happen," a jarring voice suddenly interrupted their tense moment.

What? What did she mean?

"What the fuck?" Bishop growled at Medresi. Now she was by the bars again, fully visible through the gate, but quite inaccessible.

"I saw another lever here and took a shot. Looks like I got lucky," the woman smirked.

"Lucky?" Aeyrin sputtered. "What's wrong with you?!" Why would she want the trap to spring again?!

"I hear these places are full of treasure. I just took a chance when I saw you heading over here," Medresi chuckled.

What? What did that mean? What was she talking about?

"You're no fucking researcher, are you?" Bishop growled. What was she then?

"Not at all," she laughed. "I just saw you two, armed to the teeth strolling towards the ruin. So I ran ahead. I tried to go further, but the undead were there, so I stayed in the first chamber and when I saw the state it was in, I came up with the excavation shit. Worked like a charm. Then I just waited for an opportunity to ditch you once you got rid of all the undead. The treasure is all mine."

"What treasure?! There might not be anything in here," Aeyrin threw up her arms in exasperation when she was done healing the wolf. He was now carefully standing up on his feet again, but he still looked rattled.

"People say these places are full of treasure," Medresi scoffed.

"Not all of them, idiot. Some have been ransacked a thousand times over already," Bishop rolled his eyes. "And even if not, how the fuck are you getting out of here with your 'treasure'? Past us. You're gonna fucking pay for hurting him! You could have killed him! Or us!"

She just made the fucking mistake of her lifetime, which was inevitably shortening. Bishop only hoped there was no secret exit further in the ruins.

"I'll figure something out. Always been good on my feet. I am pretty sure I'm gonna reach the treasure room soon," she winked at them meanly. She turned on her heel right after that and started walking into the center of the room. There was some strange large hollowed pillar there. It kind of looked like one of the Dwemer elevator rooms, only the outer walls were visible too. There was a lever inside it too though.

And apparently, Medresi figured it would take her deeper into the ruins and towards her treasure.

"Don't fucking do it!" Bishop growled at her angrily. He was going to get her for this. She was not getting out.

Aeyrin ran towards the gate, but Medresi only smirked at her. She was already inside the pillar.

Wait, this wasn't a Dwemer complex. Who knew what that thing…

It was so fast.

The Dunmer pulled the lever victoriously, but the second she did, the floor of the hollowed pillar moved with her at great speed. Up.

But there was no chute to take her to the surface.

All they heard was a sickening crunch. The 'trap' revealed a new addition to the room – now there was a hole on the bottom of the pillar with a spiral staircase leading down. And up by the pillar's ceiling, blood dripped from within the grooves between the slab and the top.

She got crushed by that thing.

"Oh Gods," Aeyrin gasped from the shock. She did not see this coming. That was such a nasty trap. She felt a little guilty for not focusing on the woman who just died senselessly there, but she couldn't help but wonder whether she or Bishop would have considered that being a possible outcome, being as used to the Dwemer lifts as they were.

"Shit. Fucking stupid," Bishop shook his head. Rushing ahead and gloating like that never ended well. She brought it on herself. And she almost got Karnwyr killed! Still… that was disturbingly gruesome.

Such an idiotic and ill-thought out scheme. This is how it ended for her.

But now he needed to concentrate on how this shit ended for them. They were trapped now between the gate and the swinging axe. What the fuck were they supposed to do now?

"How do we get out of here?" He growled. That bitch and her greed. Now they were stuck.

"What? O-oh," Aeyrin tried to shake the shock off. She still wasn't sure that really happened. But she slowly realized what Bishop had said. "Right. Just… give me a moment."

Bishop wondered if she had a plan. What plan? With this mess. But it dawned on him a second later.

"FEIM!"

"Oh. I forgot!" He chuckled a little. He got so used to her not being able to Shout, he completely forgot this was an option. He got a little nervous about how long it would last, but fortunately, Aeyrin didn't return past that swinging trap but she marched forward to locate the second lever Medresi pulled on them.

She waited to materialize in that room where she was visible to Bishop, as if to prevent him from panicking from not being able to see her for a while, not knowing what was happening, but soon, the Shout's effects were over and she was fully herself again. She disappeared out of his view and the gate opened only a second later.

Good. Free again. Now they had a way forward and no more annoying tagalong.

Still… to end like that. That was just fucking bleak.

Bishop did wonder whether there actually was some treasure inside though.

…

MIR

There was something to gain from their struggles here.

There was one more chamber below the stairwell and one more tough draugr. Bishop had to take care of it alone with Karnwyr while Aeyrin rushed towards the Word Wall there.

The two of them managed without any major injuries – Bishop just got hit by a hammer, but by that time, the draugr was so weakened it was hardly a full-force hit. Maybe something that would bruise on his flank.

Now as they took a breather after all that, Aeyrin was looking for the translation of the Word and Bishop scoured the room for treasures. There were some, but hardly anything noteworthy – some weapons, an enchanted dagger, soul gems and one small emerald. It would get them some drakes, but nothing that overwhelming. If Medresi survived, she would have been disappointed.

"It means 'allegiance'," Aeyrin called out as she finally found the word. "I don't know what to make of that."

"Try it out then," Bishop answered as he stashed the last treasures into his pack.

"But you two need to really step back," Aeyrin scowled. She hated when she didn't even have an indication about what a Shout could do.

Bishop obeyed and he ushered Karnwyr back towards the stairs. That should be far enough.

"RAAN MIR!"

The Shout echoed through the room, but nothing happened at all. She did get an indication though. It was a second Word. One that belonged with that 'animal' Shout. She still had no idea what it did, but she knew it needed to target some animals.

She wasn't gonna try it out on Karnwyr though.

"Alright. It's the one that affected the fishies back at Ysgramor's Tomb. You remember?" She asked as she approached Bishop and Karnwyr again.

"Yeah. We're gonna try it out at some point," he smiled a bit. "Guess we're done here then."

"Yeah," she nodded. "That was… unsettling," she sighed, thinking back on Medresi.

"It was her own fault," Bishop sighed. "She had no qualms about the trap killing any of us. This is on her."

It was on her. But it was still a disturbing thing to witness.

Aeyrin was glad that it was all over though. The ruin would have been much more satisfying without Medresi there.

"Well… I'm just glad we can get out of here," she mumbled. It had been a long day. It was probably a good time to find some place outside to get some rest.

"Yeah. I guess this was all pretty normal for us though," Bishop smirked a little. "Feels kinda good to be dealing with this shit again." It did. He didn't think of their past troubles and tragedies once through all of this.

"This is our 'normal'?" Aeyrin chuckled at him. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"Isn't it? A dangerous dungeon, and annoying weirdo along for the ride. We've been there before."

He had a point. And it did make her feel kind of… normal. It was a strange feeling that had a tinge of guilt in it, as if forgetting about everything for a while wasn't the right thing to do, even though she knew it should be. But most of all, she was grateful for the respite for her mind.

And it felt easier now to not get stuck on the guilt anymore. It felt easier to think about more pleasant things.

They would have a pleasant evening together now. And then… Falkreath awaited. Not the awful cursed Falkreath. No. This time, it would be different. They would not get sucked up in politics and they would not be adventuring around in that awful place.

Everything ahead now was supposed to just be enjoyable.

And she was damn well going to do everything in her power to make that happen.