Chapter XII – Steam

"You keep staring at it."

Bishop noted as he followed the direction of Aeyrin's gaze for at least a hundredth time today.

It was a nice view, true. After a pleasant evening spent in Anvil at a nice inn, they decided to make their way towards Kvatch. It was still early. Today was only the twenty-fifth. Two more nights before the meeting with Ri'zhassa was scheduled. They had a plan for that, sort of. It was hard to plan when they weren't sure what to expect, but they had the upper hand in that Ri'zhassa had no idea they would be cooperating. But still, nothing should be left up to chance. So instead of going to Kvatch proper, they decided to wait the nights out in the wilderness. In case Ri'zhassa was already there and he saw them interact more or just in general pulled something unexpected. It was safer this way.

Aeyrin had been quite silent today though. And now she kept staring at the ruins ahead while they lazed about their camp. The orange light of the setting sun illuminated the Ayleid mosaics quite nicely. The complex was huge and it really looked quite inviting from afar, even if it was just a ruined city. Still, a pretty sight. Though not so pretty that one should be this preoccupied with it.

"Yeah, I know," she sighed, providing no further explanation.

"You know what this place is?" He asked. He wasn't sure – they all looked the same to him. He never really 'adventured' back in his Cyrodiil days and Ayleid ruins were just deathtraps – the worst nightmare for anyone struggling to even survive. He had no illusions about his abilities back then. It was different now, of course, but he still wondered if Aeyrin had explored this place before.

"Miscarcand. One of the largest Ayleid cities in the past. The stories say that during the Oblivion crisis, this place held some source of power that helped the Emperor and his champions defeat the cultists," Aeyrin explained. She always liked to learn about the ruins.

"You've been inside?" Bishop prodded curiously. It did look intimidatingly big.

"No. I didn't dare. I mostly explored the smaller ones," she smiled softly. Her smile faltered after a while though and she looked back at the ruins with her brows creased.

"What's wrong, love?" He nudged her a bit to get her attention. As interesting as talk of ruins was, there was clearly something else on her mind.

"I… I don't know," she groaned. "I'm getting anxious. Like something bad's going to happen. And… I keep thinking… ugh, never mind." She kept thinking about Ri'zhassa. She kept thinking about their history, about everything he had done to her and about their last encounter. It wasn't strange with the upcoming plans, of course, but still, it kept filling her with anger every time she thought about him. Like she couldn't relax and chase those thoughts away.

"What's that got to do with the ruins?" Bishop cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Nothing. Just… nice to look at, I guess. I'm just… antsy," she shrugged. She didn't know how else to explain her mood, but much to her surprise, Bishop nodded at her in understanding.

"You need to kill something."

"What? I don't need to kill stuff. Ever," she huffed. Killing was a necessity, not a leisure activity. It was to protect people or loot stuff that was guarded. They needed money, of course. And if monsters and bandits didn't guard the treasures or attack people, there would be no need for killing.

"Pfft, yeah right," Bishop laughed. "Come on, it's fine. You need to blow off some steam. Of course you do with that shithead plotting whatever."

"And killing stuff will make me feel better?" Aeyrin scowled at him. Though that wasn't really a good question. She had been looking at those ruins and imagining delving inside – some adrenaline, some adventure, some danger. It could often take her mind off things.

"Yeah. Is that seriously you talking? Should I remind you of Fellhammer?" he smirked. It was disturbing back then, but now, as time went by, he didn't really mind that memory so much. He understood her flying off the handle like that. Shit happened. But he soon realized it wasn't probably the best example.

"What? You're encouraging me to act like that again?" Aeyrin scoffed. That was exactly what she didn't want.

"Well, maybe if you blow off that steam now, it won't go tits up when you actually see him. You know? No skooma, no dealers, no shitty past, just good old walking corpses and deadly traps," he gave her an encouraging nudge. "We can go in. We have a lot of time. It will be good for you to let some of the anger out."

Well… maybe he had a point. Fellhammer was an extreme situation and blowing off steam did really usually help. And she was much better at controlling herself now anyway. The last skooma refinery she attacked, she acted very rationally. She was much more confident about holding back now. And besides, she couldn't Shout, so the danger of some major damage on her part was mostly gone. Although… with that monster inside her… no, it didn't work like that. She felt nothing like it when she got angry. She didn't need to be concerned about that, right?

"So?" Bishop gave her an amused look. "Wanna pack it up and go lop off some zombie heads?"

"You make it sound so tempting," she chuckled back at him. Her eyes went back to the ruins once more. She always wanted to see one of the bigger cities. "And I guess I can't do much damage when I can't Shout anyway."

Bishop still kept observing her as she stared at the glittering mosaics for a moment longer. Soon enough though, she turned her eyes to him with a grateful smile on her face and determination in her voice.

"Alright. Let's do this."

…

Bishop looked around the hallway curiously, running his hand over another mosaic lining the walls. It was oddly mesmerizing. The small blue, silver and bronze stones didn't create any images, but they glittered in the dim light of the magical 'chandeliers' made out of white and blue crystals. All the walls looked like light marble. He had seen plenty of that outside, of course – there were Ayleid ruins all over Cyrodiil. But seeing it from the inside was… different. Maybe it was the lighting. Maybe it was just the excitement of a new adventure. But it did almost feel… beckoning.

"You seem quite in awe," Aeyrin smiled at him when she spotted his expression. It must have been similar to one she had the first few times she saw Ayleid ruins from the inside.

"I've never been inside one of these before. Looks different," Bishop smirked, but instead of another smile, Aeyrin's face suddenly turned serious and maybe even a bit worried.

"Oh. This is your first time?" She made an uncertain grimace. She promptly seemed to decide on some solution for her mental predicament though and she rushed past him to stand in the front.

"What?" Bishop cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"I'll take point. No scouting ahead for you today," she nodded at him with determination. "I never thought I'd say this, but I know these traps better than you. I've been to several of these before. I know what to look for. Believe me, Ayleids were nasty with their security."

"Alright," Bishop smirked at her. It made sense. He was well versed in Nordic ruins and he could even spot some Dwemer mechanism – he may not have been an 'adventurer' before he met her, but he had been sent on many such missions by Thorn in search of treasures and loot. Even the death-traps in Mzulft gave him some insight into the Dwemer nastiness.

"So obedient," Aeyrin giggled at him. But she was glad that he wasn't trying to talk her out of this. Their usual tactics were very good, but it would be for nothing if he got flattened by the first moving platform he stepped on or if he sprung some poisonous gas on them both.

"Just go, show-off," he grinned back at her.

It was… refreshing.

She didn't know why she thought of this just then. Maybe it was all the memories still coursing through her head. She couldn't help but think how sheltered she had been when she was growing up in the temple. Everyone was eager to protect her from her sordid past. She appreciated it. She still did. But sometimes… sometimes she just wanted someone to trust that she knew what she was doing. Or that she could handle anything going awry on her own. It brought her back to the memories she couldn't get out of her head.

Of everything that had transpired six years ago.

…

Raised and oddly angry voices echoed through the chapel.

It was unusual for certain, but not enough to be anything entirely new. She couldn't discern much as she walked up the stairs to the main hall. The footsteps beside her, and her own as well, mostly drowned out the distant noises, but she could hear Master Therien quite clearly. He sounded frustrated, yet she couldn't hear what he was actually saying.

She did try to concentrate on it, but it was promptly drowned out again.

"Oh-oh. Someone's in trouble," Azshan chuckled as they walked up the steps together. They'd spent some time together in the undercroft, practicing the lute together. The ghosts always loved the music. But now it was time for their duties again. They were to prepare the main hall for the evening mass.

It did sound like Azshan was right. It was likely another drunkard being aggressive. It happened sometimes.

They made their way up to the main hall, but before they could turn over and see what the fuss was about by the temple doors, suddenly a voice echoed through the entire chamber.

"Rabbit! Come here!"

A horrible chill went down her spine in an instant. She didn't even need to see the man to be affected by him like this.

Ri'zhassa.

She hadn't seen him in over a year. Before, it was mostly chance encounters in the streets where he threatened her or tried to get aggressive. He was still bitter, still upset about her leaving and letting Faldaen take care of his own debts. Which he couldn't. Not as effectively as she did at least. Of course it took some business away from the Khajiit. But she never went back to the slums and she didn't wander around the city at night alone. Even if he wanted to make good on his threats, he had no opportunity to do so. Ever.

She never really thought that he would even bother with anything more than threats anyway. What did he care? He had a whole profitable network and Faldaen was one small slaughterfish in his big pond. Sure, she didn't expect him to pass her without mentioning anything, but she hardly expected him to ever do anything else.

Like actually showing up at the temple.

He was never there. Ever. Faldaen sometimes came, desperate and broke, in one of his withdrawals. He yelled at the priests so that they would 'give her back'.

But not Ri'zhassa.

It was disturbing to hear his voice echo through the halls where she always felt so safe. It was disturbing to feel that old fear again whenever he was near.

But most of all, it was too disturbing that she still actually felt compelled to… 'come there', just as he had ordered her to. Had she really been so deeply conditioned by him to still feel like that?

It was quite fortunate that she was actually physically stuck in place. She barely managed to turn around to see him, as if she needed to make sure that he was really there and this wasn't just some horrible nightmare like she still tended to have of him from time to time.

"Do NOT speak to her," Master Therien's voice bellowed at the Khajiit. It must have been an unfortunate timing for him on her part. He probably hoped to be rid of the man before Aeyrin could even find out he was here. He did that often with Faldaen. And she wasn't even sure if he always told her about it after. She still got upset over it and he tended to try and protect her from that.

She still didn't know what to do. Should she go over there? She could send him away herself! He wouldn't be able to do anything to her here anyway. He would never get away with something like that. She didn't want Master Therien to have to deal with that monster anyway.

She wasn't even sure if she managed to take a step forward or not. It happened so fast. Azshan grabbed her instantly and he pulled her away, spinning her into his arms as if to shelter her from even seeing Ri'zhassa.

It was… sweet. She was rattled but… she could surely handle that here where she was safe, right? Why did his gesture make her a little peeved?

"We need to talk!" Ri'zhassa called out to her and she peeked out of Azshan's embrace.

'Talk'? About what? What could he possibly have to talk to her about? If it was more threats, what was the point?

She opened her mouth to question him, but before she could speak, her mentor's voice rang through the hall again.

"You have nothing worthwhile to talk to her about. Leave, now!"

Well, alright, she was going to say basically the same thing. Kind of. She did wonder what he wanted though, now after all these years of empty threats. It's been five years since she was taken to the temple. Why did he come now?

"Fine! I'll leave!" The Khajiit called out again, making sure that she would hear him. As if she couldn't. Everyone could hear what was happening in the chapel. It was fortunate that there weren't many people around, but she did notice two or three visitors watching the scene with rapt attention, as well as her fellow cleric Gavros who stood by the statue of Stendarr with a concerned expression on his face.

"You don't want to help, that's fine," Ri'zhassa continued with a scoff. 'Help'? Why would she help him with anything ever again? "Like I give a fuck if that wafiit jekosiit finally kicks the bucket. Just thought I'd do him one last solid. Shit like this is not worth it though."

What? What was he saying?

Was Faldaen… dying?

"W-what?" She asked into the hall that was silent in anticipation. But soon enough, the conversation got interrupted again.

"Don't talk to him. Let's just leave," Azshan hissed angrily and she felt him try to drag her away.

What? No! She needed to know if he was telling the truth! Was her father really dying? What was going on?

"N-no," she stood firmly, not letting Azshan move her as she still kept peeking out and watching the Khajiit warily. "What do you mean?"

"What does it sound like, rabbit?" Ri'zhassa scoffed. "He's dying. You could help, if you wanted to. Prolong my business a bit at the same time. But I'm starting to think the pay-off's not worth dealing with these khrassozay qojiit."

She was kind of glad she never knew what his insults meant. She did know they were always insults though. Ri'zhassa never spoke like a lot of the other Khajiit. He grew up here in Chorrol, though that was all Aeyrin knew about his past. He did only learn some of the more colorful Ta'agra phrases though. She wasn't sure why. Maybe he thought insulting people without having them understand would make him more intimidating.

Aeyrin finally decided to get more forceful. She practically yanked herself away from Azshan's arms and she stepped a few steps closer to Ri'zhassa. What he was saying… it made sort of sense. It made sense that this was something that would make him come here of all places. For a bit more of his future profits… he was often willing to do a lot even for a little.

"If he is sick, he is welcome to our healing," Master Therien scowled at the man. "Here."

"You think that jetwijijri will ever let any of you help him?" Ri'zhassa scoffed. "You stole her from him. He might be out of it most of the time, but he remembers THAT. And I'm sure as fuck not gonna drag him here. Not. Worth. It. Either our rabbit comes with me, or it's goodbye, daddy," he smirked at Aeyrin meanly.

That… did sound like Faldaen, unfortunately. He hated the priests so much for saving her.

Aeyrin took a shuddering breath, conflicted. No matter what anyone told her, her conscience was still plaguing her about leaving Faldaen to his own devices five years ago. It was still hard to hear about him coming around here, lashing out and screaming at everyone to return her.

Could she really just… let him die? She could help him. Ri'zhassa said so. Maybe it was just a simple disease, but even those, when left untreated, could be deadly. Especially for someone with their body wrecked by a lifetime of skooma abuse.

"No!" Azshan snarled, but Aeyrin took another few steps away from him. Maybe it was instinct. She knew that he was just trying to protect her and she really appreciated that he was, but… she was worried that he would grab her again. And she didn't want that.

She had to help him, right?

Master Therien, on the other hand, didn't look half as rearing as he had just a moment ago. His eyes were not filled with anger anymore, not even the stoic, calm anger he was only capable of exuding. He looked… sad. And definitely concerned.

"This… this is your decision, my dear," he sighed at her in resignation. "I will not try to stop you from helping someone. But please, remember that people like HIM are not to be trusted." He threw a glare at Ri'zhassa.

"Whatever you say, old man," Ri'zhassa scoffed.

"What's wrong with him? I might not be able to…" Aeyrin stammered a bit – she was not a priest yet after all. They didn't teach the more advanced healing spells to the clerics. But Ri'zhassa raised his hand to stop her from finishing the question promptly.

"I'm not going to speak of this in front of… them. Are you coming with me or not, rabbit?"

"I… uh…"

She had to. She did, right? She would never forgive herself otherwise.

"Don't!" Azshan called out to her from behind her back, but she wasn't listening to him anymore. She looked again at her mentor, but the man held no answers for her this time, no guidance. Just the same sad and concerned look.

"He doesn't have much time," Ri'zhassa urged her, but he did that so casually, whilst observing the sharpened claws on his hand idly, that it seemed like he didn't care about that fact at all. He probably didn't.

Nobody cared about Faldaen.

Maybe he didn't deserve to have anyone care about him.

But he was still a person. He was still in need of help. And she had to. Even if it was out of selfishness to ease her own conscience.

"Alright. I'll… I'll come with you," she nodded at last.

She didn't have to look at neither Azshan nor Master Therien to know that they were disappointed with her decision. Maybe Master Therien not so much, but he was surely worried about her naivety by now.

But she didn't think Ri'zhassa was lying.

And this was the right thing to do.

…

"Do you see that?"

Aeyrin pointed ahead into the chamber.

"Yeah. A zombie," Bishop smirked. He already had a bow out, trained at the shambling corpse currently nearing them.

"Wait, don't shoot," she stopped him promptly. She wanted to show him something.

Bishop raised his brow at her in surprise, but he didn't question her. It was not as if they had been in any mortal danger anyway. Zombies were so slow. Sometimes even frustratingly so. Bishop had been taking out most of them with his bow and Aeyrin barely managed to get a hit in. It was mostly the wraiths that were being more problematic for them here. Those, on the other hand, were very quick and vicious. But with their enchanted weapons, they managed rather well for now.

The zombie shambled closer, across the middle of the room. Bishop couldn't help but let out an impatient sigh.

"You know, the whole Nordic embalming thing may be creepy as fuck, but at least it leaves their joints sprightly."

"I don't think it's the embalming," Aeyrin giggled. "What do you expect? It doesn't even have a head. It can't see where it's going." It was kind of strange to be making fun of a zombie, granted, but it surely didn't mind. Whoever this poor explorer used to be was long dead, resurrected only by the latent magics that still permeated the ruins. "If anything, it's more resilient. The draugr die when you take their head off."

"That's a good point," Bishop smirked. "So much for Nordic hardiness. So… why am I not killing it again?"

"Just a second. It's almost there," she observed the corpse eagerly. She could see the creases on the floor. There were plenty of cracks and creases all over the place, but these were different. She knew what was coming.

And just as she had thought, a moment later, the zombie stepped into that spot. The floor suddenly rumbled under it and, only a second later, it sprung up. Just like the Dwemer lifts, it carried the zombie upwards. Except, there was an actual ceiling there. And the next thing they heard was a crushing sound.

The platform was much faster than Dwemer elevators, and soon it descended once more, leaving the sight of some very mushed and flattened rotten flesh.

"Holy shit!" Bishop's eyes went wide at the scene. "These Ayleid traps are fun. So brutal," he laughed.

"I don't know," Aeyrin smirked. "The first time I saw that moving spiky door trap in a Nordic barrow, I had nightmares of it for a whole week."

"Oh yeah, that one's fun too," he grinned. There was no limit to trap imagination. "But, tell me then, where's the disarm lever or something?"

"Nowhere," Aeyrin shrugged. At least she had never found any specific ones to disable traps. Pushing on tiles in Ayleid ruins tended to be dangerous.

"So how the fuck do we get across? It's blocking the way," Bishop scowled. It was too fast. He might risk running over it, but he sure as fuck wouldn't have Aeyrin risk that with her heavy armor on.

"Well, we climb," she pointed to one of the half-halls blocking their way from the path. It was nothing new. They climbed these walls before to reach the pedestals for those magic stones. Those were the real treasures in a place like this. It had been mostly plundered otherwise anyway.

"Shit, that really is a fun trap," Bishop chuckled again. "I'll have to remember how to spot it. Good work on that, by the way," he winked at her. "That could have been nasty."

Indeed. At least she still trusted herself to be perceptive in Ayleid ruins, though her first trips to these were really touch and go. Still, she was proud of how much she was able to learn from the few times she had delved into the smaller ruins.

She wasn't always so great at learning her lessons. Sometimes she just did something over and over again, always hoping that it would be different. Like that time with Ri'zhassa.

Still, she wasn't sure if she regretted it. She still wasn't sure if it turned out much worse than it could have, or if it was actually for the best.

After all, she knew she wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't at least find out what was going on.

…

"Where are you taking me?"

Aeyrin frowned at the Khajiit as he weaved his way through the shabby side alleys of the slums. Gods, she hadn't been here for ages. It still looked the same, like nothing had changed. And unfortunately, it still felt the same too – a mixture of fear and despair. But even after this time, she still recognized the alleys.

Ri'zhassa wasn't leading her to her father's shack.

"A small warehouse I own," the Khajiit answered disinterestedly as he continued weaving through the side alleys.

"Why? I thought we're going to see my father," she scowled. That sounded fishy. Why one of his warehouses? And he had never let anyone he didn't trust know where his stashes were being kept. This was odd.

"I dragged him there. It's… cleaner," Ri'zhassa chuckled meanly.

Well… alright. The hovel was definitely a very bad environment for a sick person. Especially if Aeyrin wasn't around to at least try to clean it a little. But the wooden walls were moldy, rotting, there wasn't any floor, just a few haphazardly thrown old wooden planks and some blankets to cover the damp soil. It was an awful place. Sometimes she thought that even the homeless beggars were able to find better places to sleep.

Still, it was a little odd for Ri'zhassa to put so much effort into helping Faldaen. He surely wasn't that profitable for him to try this hard. Maybe… maybe Ri'zhassa had a conscience. They had known each other for a long time, even if the Khajiit had always treated her father like dirt. Maybe he would actually care if he died. Was it possible? The man who had hurt her so much, every time her father had reservations about the danger she was supposed to be put into, he only hurt her to force him to allow it. The man who had ordered her to burn down that house. The man who had only ever manipulated people.

They taught her important lessons at the temple – nobody was beyond redemption. She was taught to consider this all the time. Mercy. That was what Stendarr advocated. Sometimes it was easy. Like when she thought of her father. He was just… sick. But she had never even allowed herself to consider the same when it came to Ri'zhassa. He was the reason for so much misery. There could not be a good side to him, could there?

It was a conflicting feeling. She wasn't sure if she wanted it to be true or not.

They finally stopped by one of the houses. It looked old and abandoned, but considerably more sturdy than the hovel. Was this it? One of Ri'zhassa's warehouses?

She was worried about the state she would find her father in. The Khajiit said nothing – not about what illness plagued him or anything else. What if she couldn't help? What if it was too late?

"Well, go on in," Ri'zhassa inclined his head at the door.

Right. No point in dawdling. She would only find out if there was anything she could do by actually going inside. She wasn't sure if she was prepared to see him again, but she couldn't dwell on her anxiety. No matter what, there was a man that needed her help in there.

She opened the door and hurried inside, only with Ri'zhassa's footsteps behind her. At first, her eyes went to the ground of the small room. She had expected Faldaen to lie there, sick and delirious.

But there was nothing. There was no one inside. There were only several sealed crates there.

And an empty cage.

…

It was fortunate that the Ayleids were so fond of placing remotely controlled gates at every turn. It provided Bishop and Aeyrin with a good place to camp for the night inside the ruins and leave the rest of their explorations for the next day. Even the few evening hours in the dungeon left them quite exhausted, but they were able to lock themselves in one of the chambers and rest securely.

They did wake up to a zombie clawing at one of the gates, but they made short work of it.

The further they continued into the ruins though, the tougher it got. There weren't too many treasures there to take, except for the magic stones. There were some Ayleid dishes and ordinary items here and there that would still fetch a decent price, but nothing groundbreaking. Then again, they didn't exactly expect much – these ruins had been plundered before, maybe even more times than during the Oblivion Crisis. This place had become the talk of legends and many eager adventurers surely wanted to see its grandness for their own. Those had probably left behind some corpses to be risen again with the latent magics, but it was more likely that even the zombies they had defeated so far would in time rise again due to the effects. And they weren't even considering the wraiths. Neither of them were exactly certain where those came from, but Aeyrin did mention that they often 'guarded' the ancient cities and sites.

Plundered or not, going through these ruins would probably be a struggle on any day, but after the first bouts of euphoria from visiting them waned, it was starting to get more exhausting than anything else.

Another wraith fell when Bishop's blade slashed through it, leaving the lightning enchantment wring its ethereal body until it squished and twisted into nothing but a dark goo left on the ground. He wiped off the sweat from his brow with the back of his leather glove as he let out a relieved sigh. These things were really annoying. And tough. Aeyrin was still smashing her mace against one. Or rather letting it flow through the ethereal form while her special enchantment wreaked havoc on it.

Bishop was preoccupied watching her fight. He wasn't sure if he was more concentrated on whether she needed help or just… on her. Her crystal armor looked almost otherworldly in the dim magical lighting of these ruins. And it glittered every time she moved. Not to mention how her ass looked when she moved like that.

Shit. Focus.

He heard some rumble behind his back a second later, just as Aeyrin delivered her final blow that made the wraith twist in spot and shriek with a strangely muffled voice.

He turned around when the strange rumble was followed by a crackling sound.

"Shit! Mage!" Bishop exclaimed the second he saw it. There was an undead thing, emerging from the hall behind them, dressed in robes and with hands lit up with lightning.

Bishop jumped out of the way instantly, evading the spell that shot from the undead mage's hands. He ended up on the ground with the sudden momentum, but that was fine. As long as the spell didn't hit him. Though what happened instead was quite unexpected.

He didn't realize it at all when he jumped, but now the spell was directed right at Aeyrin. She was still there, panting after her battle, but when she turned around at his call, it was already too late. She only saw the flash of lightning in front of her as it hit her chest.

Or it would have.

She felt a slight burn, as if only a small portion of the lightning enveloped her chest. It was barely more than a slight singe and a twitch. She managed to only blink instead of shutting her eyes in the shock and she was able to witness as the lightning oddly broke over the shiny crystals of her armor. Tiny little bolts of electricity shot into all directions instead, hitting the walls, the floor, and also the undead mage. Not just it though, a few of those bolts hit Bishop in the arm as well as he was still sprawled on the floor after his evasive maneuver.

He felt burning in his arm, though it was nothing too bad. Not as bad as he would feel if the entire lightning got him, that was for certain. Still, he was more shocked about what happened. And besides…

"Agh, shit. Fine, I deserved that," he scoffed at the singed leather of his armor. He did. If he had realized that the lightning would go straight to Aeyrin instead, he wouldn't have dodged. Then again, she was fine. What the fuck were those crystals, to be able to do this?

Aeyrin didn't wait to rally herself from the shock properly. She had seen this undead creature before – a lich. She had only encountered it once and it resulted in her having to rush out of the dungeon in defeat. Not this time.

She lunged forward – the lich was caught off guard now and she had a good chance of ending it there and then. A bolt of light shot from her hands, right into the creature. Flames enveloped it instantly and it hissed as its robes caught fire. Though soon enough, one of its bony hands created an icy spell and it enveloped the creature in light-blue mist. The flames were extinguished just like that.

Not for long though. While the creature struggled with that, Aeyrin was in front of it already, smashing her mace into its head. The lich's skull cracked under the blow and the flames, lightning and frost enveloped it instantly.

One more blow, then another one, the lich didn't even know what hit it. And a few moments later, it fell onto the ground, hissing some more before the sounds finally stopped.

It was dead.

She defeated a lich!

When the dust settled a bit, she quickly rushed towards Bishop. He was slowly collecting himself off the ground. He looked fine, but she couldn't be sure. She knew that the bolts went everywhere.

"Are you alright?" She looked him up and down with palpable worry.

"Yeah. Fuck. I'm good. Maybe some tiny burns, but it feels like they barely even went through the armor," he inspected his arm critically. He didn't feel the burning anymore. That was a good sign. "What the fuck happened? Did the crystals really break that lightning?" He gaped at her.

"Yeah. I think so. I didn't see it coming either," she chuckled. Those crystals were more than just sturdy. It seemed like they were imbued with some magical protection too. That was amazing.

But it wasn't just that that filled her with strange satisfaction.

She really defeated one of these creatures. She hadn't been able to before. In fact, she was convinced back then that she would never be able to defeat something like that.

But ever since then, she had been through so much. So many hard-won battles, so much sweat and blood, but she persevered through all of it. Dragons, vicious bandits, vampires, she had defeated so many of them.

She'd come a long way.

Maybe the fear she still felt about facing Ri'zhassa was irrational. He had no idea whom he would be facing now. He had no idea back then either, in fact. She had caught him off guard before, but it ended up not mattering. He still got away. He still got the upper hand in the end.

She still remembered how stupid she had been to never even see it coming.

…

"What is this? Where is he?" Her voice started to shake in fear as she looked over the small warehouse. There was no Faldaen – only the crates and the menacing cage. Why? Where was her father?

Before she could even react though, she felt hands on her wrists. Her arms were yanked back, painfully pulled behind her back. She was grabbed and pulled right into the Khajiit's menacing embrace, immobilized and subdued. She struggled with all her might, but she couldn't move. He was stronger than her. Faster than her. He had always been.

What was he doing? Were his threats not empty? But why? Why now? Why would he try to hurt her now and for what? Was that small fish really worth it for him, worth angering the temple?

"Settle down, little rabbit," he hissed into her ear, eliciting an unpleasant shiver from her. "This is the end of the road for you."

"What are you doing? Where's my father?" She struggled again, trying to get away from his grip. She even kicked her legs, attempting to hit his shin, but it didn't do her any good. He had her fully in his grasp. Whenever she moved, he twisted her arms some more, causing even more pain. His claws were digging through her light-blue robes into her wrists. She was sure that she was bleeding.

"I don't give a fuck where that wafiit is. Probably in a gutter, riding his high," Ri'zhassa chuckled.

"Was he ever even sick?" She spat at him angrily. Was this all a ruse to get her to leave the temple and follow him here?

"Not that I know of, rabbit. And who cares? This isn't about him," he hissed at her.

It wasn't about her father? What was it about then? What else was there that she had in common with Ri'zhassa? It had always been about her father – about how much money she could get him so that he could in turn pay it to Ri'zhassa for his skooma.

"Why-ah!" She cried out when he dug his clawed fingers into her even more. Gods, what was happening? Why did she believe him? Was she really that stupid? Really that naïve? Azshan and Master Therien were right. And she only proved them right. She wanted to be better, to be more compassionate, to still try to help her father, despite it all. He was just sick. But in that stupidity, she fell for a scheme of a man that she knew should never be trusted.

What did he want from her?

"Shush, little rabbit," he chuckled into her ear meanly. "What do you think this is about? You have an amazing chance to finally not be worthless. So stop struggling. It will all be easier for you."

Divines, what did that mean?

She had no idea what he had in store for her. And nobody even knew where he took her. They would never find her here.

She was all alone in this. In the mess made out of her own naivety.

And she was worried that there was no way out of this.

There were no benevolent priests that would free her from his grasp this time.

…

This was the last chamber.

It was enormous. The walls and ceilings all shone with all manner of crystals around them, playing in various soft colors. The whole place looked magical. That is, after Bishop and Aeyrin finally disposed of all the undead lurking there.

It was late again. They were exhausted, but the sight alone was worth it. Even if they found nothing in this place. After the whole day, they had explored the entire ruin. At the very end, there was an empty stone holder that clearly had something extraordinarily large in it – very likely the artifact used during the Oblivion Crisis. But now there was nothing there.

Still, it was a sight to see. And a great accomplishment for them both to get through such a large Ayleid ruin for the first time. They managed quite well. Even when they got locked in a room where poisonous gas started to leave some traps, they managed to get out soon enough.

"So, how are you feeling? Blew off some steam?" Bishop smirked at Aeyrin.

"I think so," she nodded. She definitely felt a bit better. Though the thoughts and memories would not leave her, she felt a little more optimistic about everything this time around. She had gone far in the world. Five years ago, she could never even begin to imagine accomplishing something like this.

Ri'zhassa would be shocked to see who she was now.

And he would pay for everything he had ever done.

"Good. It was intense," Bishop let out a tired sigh. "Fun though."

"It was," she smiled back at him. And she was glad to have him here with her. Exploring and adventuring would never be the same without him. She was sure of it. She hated it when they were apart for things like this. It was all much better to experience the adrenaline and the hidden beauties together.

"It's a long way back," Bishop pondered after a while. "We should probably stay another night and then head back early in the morning." It would take them several hours to go back. It wasn't very late yet, but if they went to sleep right now, exhausted as they were, they would likely be able to get to Kvatch by noon.

"Yeah, agreed," Aeyrin let out a tired yawn of her own. The battles tended to get them sleepy early. "We can go back into the previous chamber and lock ourselves in," she suggested.

It was a good idea. The previous chamber was perfect.

They walked back there, even though they cleared out the ruins, they could never be sure if something wouldn't suddenly become animated again.

And the room they reached was good for the night, even though it was probably very unpleasant for its inhabitants.

There were strangely decorative cages all over the place. It looked like a prison. But based on the historical facts, it was probably a slave pen instead. Or maybe cells for those that misbehaved.

They entered one of the cages and closed the door behind them. It was odd, choosing to sleep in a cage, but it really was convenient. They set up their bedroll there and Bishop managed to lock the door with his lockpick. Then they grabbed some of their rations and enjoyed their meal in quiet calmness.

"What's with elves and slavery anyway?" Bishop pondered after a while, letting his voice echo through the empty halls. "First Ayleids, then Dunmer, then Thalmor… even if they don't call it that," he scoffed. "You got any urges to cage people and whip them until they obey?" He smirked as he poked Aeyrin's arm teasingly.

"Hmm… sometimes," she shrugged as a wry smile formed on her lips. "It depends on how mad you make me."

"Ooh! A challenge!" He laughed. "What will it take to have those ancient slaver urges overcome you at last?"

"You're in for a good start, just with that," she smirked. It was clear neither of them was really serious, but she couldn't exactly laugh just then. She still had her mind elsewhere. "You know… Ri'zhassa did that. Sometimes when he got an opportunity and wanted to punish someone, he would sell them. I don't know if it was always to the same place or how it worked or stuff like that, but… sometimes people who crossed him just disappeared. And then there was the…"

"The time he tried to sell you?" Bishop scoffed disdainfully. It was going to be good, ridding the world of that asshole at last.

Aeyrin had to think for a moment about the fact that Bishop knew about that. But then she realized he was referring to something else. To when Ri'zhassa made Faldaen whore her out when she was a child. To when Master Therien found her and 'bought' her and never returned her. Thank the Gods.

"That too, but that was just… not forever," she sighed. It was bad enough, but there were still worse things he had done, unfortunately.

She couldn't help but remember again how terrified she had been back then. His plans were always vicious with no regard for anyone but his own wealth. But after she had been raised in the temple, she really saw them for what they were. She always hated him, but there was still so much she didn't really understand, young and blind as she had been with nobody but him and Faldaen to tell her anything. Only when she saw how the rest of the world lived she found out that monsters like Ri'zhassa may not have been as rare as she hoped, but that they had been the worst of the worst. She always comforted herself that maybe other people had it worse. And surely they did. But then she saw what kind of childhood she could have had if she was a little luckier. It was a bitter feeling. But at least it made her see the truth. For her, there was no worse villain than Ri'zhassa.

And yet, even then, she tried to believe that he would care for someone. For Faldaen.

Maybe it wasn't about him. Maybe it was just that she hoped that there was someone who would take care of her father when she abandoned him.

Now she knew better. Now she knew that her father wasn't just sick. She knew that he made poor choices, but they were his choices to make. And she couldn't spend her life regretting living her life just because he gave up on his for the sake of his drug.

But she still didn't regret following Ri'zhassa into that warehouse back then. Not fully.

She could have stayed passive and afraid, but that day, even if it may have been for a different reason, for Faldaen's health, she managed to get results.

Despots like this deserved to be taken down, even in the smallest of ways.

…

"Let go of me! What are you planning?!" She growled at the Khajiit as she still tried her best to get out of his grip. Each time he just dug his claws in deeper, scratched her with them, or twisted her arms more painfully. She could feel tears of pain prickling her eyes and she hated the fact that he would see her cry because of him yet again. Even now when she thought herself free.

"I have big plans, don't you worry. See, you've been raising drakes for that wretch well," he smirked. "You running off to those zealots really put a halt to that."

"He can clearly still afford you," Aeyrin spat back at him. Her father was certainly not free from the skooma.

"Yes, I find him opportunities. But it's not the same," he sighed. "You see, I still feel like you owe me, little rabbit."

"I don't owe you anything! Let go of me!" She yelled, almost in panic. She couldn't help it. She was so terrified of him. He always hurt her, always punished her, even for things she didn't do. She really thought that she wasn't worth his time anymore. "Why are you doing this now?"

"Why? An opportunity presented itself, of course," Ri'zhassa scoffed. "See, I just got a new friend. And some people owe me money. This friend pays well for those that are indebted. You know how it is when you don't pay."

'Pays for people'? To do what?

"What? What do they do with them?" Aeyrin's voice suddenly got much quieter. She couldn't help it. She couldn't stop imagining the horrors he would concoct.

"What do I care, rabbit?" She couldn't see, but she knew he was giving her the meanest grin. "They don't pay, so what use are they? My friend will pay for them. I assume they go to various places, but recently, my friend had a request for me. Probably to fill the ranks in some fine establishment, but the wafiit asked if I could deliver anyone… less used. Preferably even… unused."

'Used'? What did he mean? Was he talking about drugs or… or something else? Another shiver ran down her spine instantly.

"I thought of you instantly, my little rabbit. If nothing else, I'm pretty sure the temple was good for one thing – keeping your legs closed. You'll fetch a nice price. Make up for what you still owe me."

Oh Gods. That despicable bastard! How could he even live with himself, treating people like this? And that's why he concocted this story? Because he couldn't find anyone 'unused' among his drug addicts? That was disgusting. No matter how afraid she was of him, she was NOT going to let him get away with this.

"Now stop fussing and let's get you into your pretty new home," he pushed her into the direction of the cage. "You're merchandise now after all."

He dragged her towards the cage forcibly and she couldn't help but take a few steps forward. He was so strong. How was he so strong? She had trained so much just so she could defend herself from people like him. She even considered focusing on combat and joining a paladin order when the time came. But this was disheartening. It only made her feel worthless. She still wasn't good enough to fight scum like this.

When she was being shoved into that cage though, she noticed something. His tail was swinging right by her leg. She wasn't wearing boots that were too heavy, but she had learned enough about physiology by now to know how sensitive Khajiit tails were. And she would make use of it.

With all her strength, she stepped onto his tail. Ri'zhassa screeched in pain and he instantly let go of her arms. She felt the blood trickling from her wrist, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was defeating him. Killing him. If anyone deserved it, it was him. She hoped that Oblivion would swallow him. Someone like that didn't deserve the comfort of the Gods in their afterlife.

She managed to escape his grasp easily with him being that distracted. And then she noticed something else. Her eyes went automatically to his tail and she couldn't not see it. As he would say: 'an opportunity presented itself'.

She grabbed onto the bars of the cage door and slammed it. The edge of the door looked sharp and rusted and if she put in enough strength…

A deafening high-pitched hiss filled the small warehouse. For a moment, she could see nothing but blood spraying from his tail. It was right there at the cage's 'doorway'. And she slammed it in. She thought he would be trapped there, but something else happened instead. After a while of staring at the scene in shock, she noticed the chunk of furry flesh under all that blood.

She chopped off a part of his tail.

She didn't exactly mean to, but she couldn't help but be a little satisfied by that carnage. He deserved it. He deserved so much more.

She used his shock to grab him by the back of his neck, gripping the fur. She gathered her strength again and slammed his head into the bars. The Khajiit hissed in pain again and more blood spattered all over the cage. She would end him. She would finally rid the world of him. It would become a better place that way. She would free Chorrol from his tyranny.

She prepared for another slam, but instead, Ri'zhassa twisted away from her grip and grabbed her by the forearm. His claws dug in once more, deep, but she wouldn't let it deter her. She quickly yanked her arm away, leaving behind a ripped sleeve of her robe and deep gashes in her forearm. But it was all worth it. She shoved him away, letting him fall onto his back and on the ground. She may have had only her bare hands, but she wasn't going to let it stop her.

But then, suddenly, he extended his arm towards her. Only then she noticed something on his arm. Some… contraption. Before she could realize herself, a metal bolt shot from it and lodged itself into her shoulder.

Aeyrin cried out in pain again. He had a shooter of some kind – some sort of wrist-attached crossbow. And it hurt like the Void.

"Did those zealots teach you that?!" Ri'zhassa spat at her, splattering some blood over his fur in the process. "No matter. Next one goes in your head."

There were no more concerns of profit. Now he wanted revenge. Aeyrin suddenly realized the situation. She was unarmed. And while everything felt like it happened in slow motion, she saw him move his arm to aim at her head.

He wasn't kidding.

There was no way she could do anything to him before he shot that thing. Was it reloaded just like that, without him doing anything? Did it have multiple bolts loaded? What kind of a contraption was this?

But there was no time to think about this.

She stood no chance against this.

She needed to run.

As much as she hated it, it was her only option. He was on the ground, he wouldn't be able to catch up to her.

She turned on her heel and ran, as fast as she could. She heard the sound of another bolt, lodging itself into the wood somewhere by her head, but she didn't lose time looking at the scene. She just ran. She swung the door open and sprinted out of that warehouse, leaving the man behind.

She huffed in deep breaths, panted in exertion, but she never stopped for a second, not before she finally got out of the slums and reached the square in front of the temple.

Her arms hurt so much and they were still bleeding. Azshan would just shake his head at her stupidity and Master Therien would give her countless lectures about trusting Ri'zhassa or her father.

But still, at least she had done some damage.

And she would do more.

Ri'zhassa never expected her to get out of that place. And now she knew where one of his warehouses was.

The second she would get healed, she would report it to the guards. Report HIM. She had tried before, but there was never any evidence on him anywhere.

Now there would be. She just had to hurry. Ri'zhassa wouldn't be able to move his goods from that place quickly enough.

Maybe she really did it.

Maybe he would actually go to prison.

She did the right thing by following him.

He would finally pay.

…

Aeyrin let out a contented sigh as she snuggled into Bishop's embrace.

The walls and floors were cold in this place, but it was still significantly warmer than any dungeon in Skyrim. And much prettier too.

And even though her memories were still full of events past, she had high hopes that this time, she would finally deal with Ri'zhassa once and for all. Back then, the guards investigated the warehouse promptly. They found the place and the skooma in there, along with the cage and the blood. But Ri'zhassa was nowhere to be found. For weeks, actually.

And when he finally got back, he was quickly apprehended and questioned. There was nothing to link him to the goods in the warehouse, nothing but Aeyrin's word. Still, the guards promised that they would get the truth out of him – they saw the missing piece of his tail – her story added up.

But the Khajiit had connections.

And soon enough he was plaguing the streets again.

Now with a renewed plan. There were no more empty threats from him. No more interactions. He ignored her entirely whenever he saw her from a distance.

But she knew that he was plotting something.

She knew that he would want revenge for the loss of his profits and the loss of his tail.

And she wanted revenge too. She wanted to finally wipe him off the face of Nirn.

Now, at long last, she had an opportunity to do it.

And she wouldn't waste it.