Author's Note:

TRIGGER WARNING!

Another trigger warning. I guess it's probably expected by now when we're dealing with the clan :D Check out the bottom of the chapter again if you want to.

Chapter XXVI – One Down

It was disheartening to think about, but Bishop was starting to hate hunting.

Or maybe he just hated doing anything for Ost and Duful's benefit. Or maybe he was just frustrated with his lack of progress. All the days had been the same so far – hunting, giving whatever he would normally use or sell to Ost, then spending the rest of his day either with the two brothers, trying to pull useful information out of them like teeth or waiting for any opportunity. There was none of that. Or he sometimes stopped by the cave to see the rest of the clan. Only after that he could go back to Aeyrin at last.

She seemed just as frustrated. Maybe more so. She said that the things she would like doing in town were not nearly as fun without him, and to be frank, Leyawiin was not exactly a cultural hub. There weren't many plays she could go see, or bard performances, or anything like that. There wasn't that much to do in the city.

He really did love coming back to the inn to her though. It was like the constant stress and mistrust got wiped away at the end of each day.

But it was always renewed the next day. Today was no exception. But the hunt went well at least. He got a mountain lion pelt. It was surprising to find it so far south, but it was lucky. The pelts fetched a lot of drakes. And of course, he got plenty more boar meat in the wilderness, along with several tusks.

Ost wasn't paying him for his hauls yet. He promised to do that at the end of the week, though Bishop couldn't give a shit about the money. He wouldn't say 'no' to it, obviously, but it was the last thing on his mind, even though he had to pretend like it was the only thing he was interested in.

He came back to the tavern again after his hunt and located Ost promptly. The two brothers were almost always there, but then again, they did most of their business like that – talking to other shitheads in this place and then forcing their siblings into doing the real work.

"Hey, got some good stuff today," he grunted at Ost as he sat down next to him and tossed the sack of his yields on the table.

"Did ya?" Ost scoffed while he gave Bishop a strange look. What?

"Yeah. Got a mountain lion pelt," Bishop nodded. Was that really something to question? He gestured towards the bartender to get himself a drink. Hopefully Ost wouldn't keep him too long today. Just one drink. But before the barkeep managed to notice him, Ost grabbed his arm and pulled it down, preventing the gesture.

"You know, I was kinda thinking I'd like to see those hunting skills you keep bragging about," he gave him an interested look.

"You… wanna come hunt with me?" Bishop gave him a shocked look back. He didn't see this coming. Why would Ost wanna do that? He shouldn't care, right? It was not like he came with Liesl or Galric to see with his own eyes how they made the money. Not that Bishop minded though. Just the two of them, out there in the woods? That was… that was weird. It hadn't been nearly long enough for Ost to trust Bishop to leave the relative safety of the public eye in the city with him, right? Or maybe Bishop was overestimating Ost's carefulness. He wasn't sure. Or maybe Duful would be coming with them. Where was he anyway?

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Ost's expression turned challenging.

"No, I don't care. I assume you still know how to fucking behave on a hunt and won't scare shit off," Bishop smirked. Ost really seemed serious about this.

"Don't fucking insult me. I spend half my time in the wilderness," Ost scowled. "I remember you not being half-bad before, but I wanna see for myself how rusty those skills got."

"Doesn't the haul speak for itself?" Bishop chuckled.

"Hmm… some reason you don't want me to come?"

What? That was a weird question. What was Ost on about? And seriously, why the sudden interest. But it really was an opportunity.

"No. You can come tomorrow, if you want. I don't care," Bishop shrugged.

"Now. Not tomorrow," Ost promptly shook his head.

"Now? I just came back from a hunt," Bishop scoffed. Why the fucking rush? What was going on?

"So?"

Alright… he had no real answer for that.

"Fine, if you want to. What the fuck's wrong with you today? Well… not just today I guess," Bishop smirked.

"Shut up and get your ass up. We're going. Leave the haul here, Duful will get it," Ost commanded.

At least Duful wasn't coming with. Bishop had no idea what was going on, but he was ready to take full advantage of that.

When he got the chance.

…

Bishop was trying.

He really was. He wanted to take Ost by surprise, he wanted to ambush him somehow. He still had no idea what Ost was capable of when it came to defending himself and he had to expect that Bishop just might try something. It was in their nature to expect that from their siblings. It was how they were raised. That was why Bishop needed the element of surprise. He said it before – it's not about strength. He needed strength and smarts to do this.

But Ost was not giving him any opportunity. In fact, Bishop felt like he was the one giving Ost too many opportunities to stab him in the back. Literally. Ost always insisted on Bishop taking the lead. It made sense, of course, he was the one hunting. But it still ended up with too many times when Bishop felt Ost right behind his back with uncomfortable proximity.

Bishop was starting to feel less and less in control by the minute. He came into this with a plan that the brothers had no idea about. He had the upper hand. He knew something they didn't. He had intentions they were kept in the dark about. It made him feel like he had things somewhat under control. Not now though. He wasn't sure what changed. Ost was… intense. More daring, but also somehow more in control. Bishop had no idea why. He still played his same role, but now it didn't feel like the one he had agreed on in the first place.

"So, where the fuck are you even staying anyway, when not at the tavern?" Ost's voice disturbed the silence of the swamp after a while. That wasn't a creepy question at all…

"Out here. Around. I'm used to it," Bishop shrugged. It was the best answer. He didn't have to specify anything. "And it's what I can afford on any day."

"Uh-huh," Ost scoffed. Bishop wasn't sure why he sounded doubtful. "You hunt more to feed yourself?" He continued to question Bishop.

"Sure," Bishop nodded. "Cheaper too. And usually better than the slop I would get anywhere else anyway."

"Riight… sure," Ost grumbled from behind him. He really was being weird, wasn't he? Bishop wasn't sure what to make of it. He just tried to keep his distance so that he wouldn't get stabbed in the back. But there was something bothering him even more.

He felt watched. And not just by Ost. Sometimes he heard noises near them, but when he stopped in his tracks to listen for the sounds of the animals, the noises always stopped. Animals didn't do that.

If this was an ambush though, what was Ost waiting for? Bishop was ready. And he was the one leading the way, wherever he wanted. Ost couldn't just usher him into an ambush like this. Bishop was purposefully choosing the most difficult paths through the swamps too – nobody would be going through those.

"Sounds fucking boring, being here all night," Ost scoffed. "The fuck do you even do?"

What the fuck was with all those questions?

"I don't know, sleep and hunt, what the fuck do you do?" Bishop rolled his eyes. What kind of a question was that? Seriously, what was up with Ost?

"You don't even stay at the tavern into the night. That's fucking weird. And you bolt whenever we start talking to some whores. What's up with that?"

"What's up with all these questions? You fucking writing a book? Why do you care?" Bishop growled. He had no idea how to answer him. How could he answer him, when it was all still a secret? It was best to go on the counter-offensive.

"Brotherly bonding?" Ost chuckled meanly.

"Yeah right, I'll believe that when fucking sabre cats start to bark," Bishop scoffed, though he didn't expect an actual answer from Ost. He just wanted him to stop the prodding.

Fuck, he really needed to think of some way to kill him. This was such a good opportunity. They were alone in the woods.

But the situation still made Bishop too wary. The noises he sometimes heard, the weird mood Ost seemed to be in. Bishop was thrown. And he was still lacking any good opportunities to strike anyway. It was so fucking frustrating. He wished he knew Ost better so that he knew what to expect. Maybe it would be no issue to overpower him in one-on-one combat. But could Bishop really risk that?

"Just seems weird, you're barely spending any money, sleeping in the woods, but you wear shit like this," Ost gestured to Bishop's black leather armor.

"I didn't buy this," Bishop scoffed. He did, but Ost didn't need to know that. "You think I bought any of this shit?"

"So you took out someone with this kind of equipment?" Ost sounded doubtful. "Why not sell it if you're hard on money?" He continued with the prodding. It was fucking annoying.

"Because it's fucking good shit and it's useful. If I actually had money, this is the kind of shit I'd spend it on anyway," Bishop answered promptly. Enough already with the questions. What the fuck was this about? And it only made Bishop more on edge. He kept hearing noises around and he couldn't focus with Ost's blabbering following his every step.

Enough of this.

"Shut up for a while, I keep hearing something," Bishop finally put a stop to it. Or so he thought.

"What? I don't hear anything," Ost growled. "You're just a paranoid fuck. It's nothing but the leaves and swamp and…"

"Shut up!" Bishop's voice was louder than he had intended. It was an unfortunate lapse.

A rumble echoed through the woods. He was pretty sure that this wasn't the subtle sound he had been hearing all this time. It was a different one. Heavy footsteps rang through, sloshing in the swamp and almost shaking the ground. Something was clearly coming at them.

"The fuck…?" Ost grumbled and another sound echoed through the area in a spell – the telltale sound of unsheathing a weapon. It was clear that Ost readied his scimitar.

Bishop already had his bow out, little good it did him with Ost constantly watching him, but maybe now there was a chance. Alright, Ost was ready for battle, but he would take the melee point against whatever this was. A stray arrow was easy to pull off when he was going to be preoccupied.

The sounds got louder and Bishop could tell where it was coming from. Nothing could be seen from behind the thick trees and vines all over the swampy hillside. And soon, Bishop noticed Ost sheathe his scimitar again.

"What are you doing?" He hissed. Wasn't he gonna fight?

"Pfft, did an overgrown lizard eat your brain up north? It's a minotaur. I'm not fighting a fucking minotaur up close," Ost scoffed.

A minotaur? Really? Bishop couldn't tell by the sounds – after all he had only ever seen a few before from a distance, ages ago. He had never really fought one. Though granted, from what he'd heard, he would not do that up close either.

The beast appeared soon enough, just as Ost grabbed a hold of one of the small hand-axes fastened to his belt. He had three of them, clearly meant for throwing. And he was not going to take point. Fuck, Bishop would not only have to be careful about the minotaur, but also about Ost. He was at a disadvantage yet again. He may have been a great shot, but aiming took much more time than chucking an axe at someone. And Ost would be able to see him change his target.

Bishop had no illusions about 'brotherly bonding'. He suspected Ost from doing something shitty at every minute of every day. Though that axe could have been chucked at him before too, really anytime.

There was not much time to ponder on this. The giant half-bull, half-man let out a huff as it brandished its battleaxe. Its stature was much more intimidating than Bishop had expected. Seeing it from a closer distance was something else. Skyrim's roads may have been much more dangerous with constant dragon attacks and bandits – that wasn't an issue in Cyrodiil, not with all those patrols. But on the other hand, it sometimes felt like there was nowhere to hide in the actual wilderness. In Skyrim, hiding from dragons under the canopy of trees was easy enough and the worst thing to take one off guard there were those big bears. Here though, the 'wildlife' was somewhat more vicious. Animals could be dealt with easily, though intelligent hulking horned monsters, or packs of ogres and swarms of goblins, those were the real issues here. Maybe they were still lucky to attract the attention of only one minotaur.

If Bishop had been alone, this would not be a problem. He knew how to stay quiet. But fucking Ost just had to keep prodding him.

He drew his bow and aimed at the beast, covertly checking, just for a brief moment, that Ost was doing the same and not actually aiming at him. It looked fine. Ost even attacked first, throwing his axe at the monster.

The axe dug into the minotaur's upper arm and it grunted in pain, giving Bishop an excellent opportunity. He let his arrow loose, aiming right at the beast's exposed neck.

The arrow went through, turning the grunts into gurgles, but what would fell a man clearly did not affect the minotaur that much. It started to charge its attackers promptly. They had to act fast.

Ost threw another axe right away, this time hitting its thigh. His aim was crap, that was for sure. Bishop's was much better. He notched another arrow and readied it, aiming at the beast's eye. He hit his mark soon, and that finally stopped the minotaur in its tracks.

Oddly enough, that was when Ost stopped attacking too. Bishop gave him a suspicious look, but he wasn't even reaching for his last axe. He was just watching Bishop with narrowed eyes. It was so fucking weird and uncomfortable, but the minotaur was still not dead.

Bishop notched another arrow and shot at its head again, this time hitting it straight in the middle of its brow.

One more arrow to the neck and that finally did it. The lumbering hulk was dead. It dropped its giant axe first, then it fell over onto the ground.

Ost was still watching Bishop warily. What the fuck was that about? Weird.

"Thanks for the 'help'," Bishop scoffed. He did sweet fuck-all. Those two shots of his barely did any damage.

"Told you, I wanna see you hunt," Ost answered coldly. Hunt? Minotaurs? Well… he saw that. But it was kind of a hunt, wasn't it? One that deserved a trophy. Like one of those earrings Aeyrin got him.

He definitely earned this.

One down.

Four to go.

If only the same could be said of Ost. Bishop felt like he could still hear those soft sounds around that he had been hearing all day and it was making him nervous. No less nervous than Ost's constant stare though.

"Well, you saw," Bishop smirked cockily.

"Come on. Let's get those horns off. They fetch a lot of drakes," Ost finally nodded. The way he said it, and the way he waited… it was clear that Bishop was not going to get an opportunity to have Ost's back turned on him, especially not with his bow ready.

Fuck. Fine.

Bishop begrudgingly attached his bow back to the strap on his back and only then Ost moved. He was still watching Bishop though, all throughout that.

They moved towards the beast's carcass together and Ost took out a hunting knife, gesturing towards Bishop to join him.

"You got a buyer for minotaur horns too?" Bishop smirked, but his smile waned a moment later when he heard the already familiar noise again. He still felt watched, beyond Ost's gaze.

"Yeah, I got a buyer for everything," Ost nodded. "You'll get paid at the end of the week."

"Yeah, you said," Bishop let out a grumbling sigh. He knew. Although, he really needed proof of his accomplishment. And he kinda wanted to get away from Ost already. He was so fucking wary, opportunities never presented themselves. And not only that, but Bishop was sure that there was someone watching Ost's back here. Duful, probably. It made sense. The siblings assured Bishop that Ost wasn't an easy target. He had to think of something else.

"Hey, can I take one of these for a while?" Bishop presented the horn he had cut off to Ost.

"Why?" Ost narrowed his eyes. It was a predictable question.

"There's this fucking asshole hunter in town. Met him around here one day and he got all cocky about his kills. I wanna show him this shit," he smirked. He just wanted to show Aeyrin, but this was more believable for his cover story.

"You better not fucking try to sell it. I want it back," Ost snarled.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll get it back," Bishop rolled his eyes. That wasn't exactly an issue.

"Fine. But… you know what, this wasn't half bad, but I still wanna see some action. How about you come find me after midnight and we'll head out again? I'm pretty fucking sure you'll be shit with that bow at night," Ost smirked.

"What? Why the fuck would you think that? I can hunt at night," Bishop scoffed. "And why do you care anyway?"

"I wanna see if you're a good investment. You still haven't told us shit about that 'opportunity' of yours, so this is all you can do. Maybe you have some little hunter bitch here that you steal the hauls from. What about when we gotta move? What if you're fucking useless then? I need to make sure that you'll really earn your place here. You know this is not how it works, we're lenient with you because of your fucking promises, and I wanna see that they're something you actually can keep."

Bishop only huffed at Ost's speech. Something else was up. He was sure of it. But he had no idea what this shit was all about. If Ost wanted to see another hunt, fine, Bishop was very comfortable in dark forests at night. He would not be the one at a disadvantage.

"Besides," Ost gave him a weirdly eager smile. "I can show you at night what these horns are for."

"What? That's fucking creepy. What would they be for?" Bishop cringed. He had only one idea that popped into his head and he really didn't want his brother to show him anything even remotely similar to that.

"You'll see. They have special uses. And not the ones you're thinking," Ost smirked.

"What? Bullshit. They're horns. They don't have 'uses'," Bishop shook his head. Maybe for alchemy or something, when they were ground up or shit. But Ost probably didn't know anything about alchemy. And why at night? This made no sense.

"You have your secrets, I have mine for now. At least I'm gonna be sharing this one soon, so don't fucking protest. Meet me at the tavern after midnight and bring that fucking horn back," Ost finished the discussion adamantly.

"Fine," what could he do but roll his eyes at the insistence? Besides, he was curious now. And he was eager to see if he could actually attack Ost at night. He would definitely be the one better equipped for a night in the woods, even if Ost suspected otherwise.

Bishop began to leave, but he never turned his back on Ost. Neither did Ost turn around to continue to remove the other horn. They just both watched each other long enough before Bishop could finally disappear behind the large trees.

He let out a sigh of relief when he was out of sight. Ost was making him more and more nervous and Bishop really felt like he was slowly losing control of the situation with how much he was in the dark right now.

But that would soon change.

Because in the dark, that was where he was the most comfortable. Just not the metaphorical kind.

Tonight, with any luck, Ost would meet his end.

And as Bishop moved through the swamp, back towards the city, he noted that he could no longer hear the sound following him. He was sure that Ost's 'guard' was staying there with him, watching his back.

That was fine. At least Bishop didn't have to watch his so much.

He was eager to turn the tables on them already.

…

Bishop rummaged in his pockets and belt pouches for a good minute, but he could not find the key to their room at the Three Sisters' for the life of him.

He probably left it in the room though. He was very distracted when he was leaving, since Aeyrin was trying to convince him to stay in bed a while longer. Fuck, why did he not let himself get convinced? Now he was thinking about nothing else again.

He could just unlock with his lockpicks, but why bother? And what if someone saw him in broad daylight? He just knocked instead, as weird as it was.

He heard some shuffling behind the door before Aeyrin opened it. She looked a bit wary and surprised to hear the knock, but when she saw it was him, her face lit up instead. So fucking cute.

"Hey, princess," he smirked as he moved into the room and let her close the door behind him. "I think I left my key."

"Scatterbrain," she giggled. "You're here so early. Are you staying?" She looked so hopeful. Fuck, he still felt so guilty about leaving her holed up here like this.

"For now. I gotta go meet them after midnight again for something," he nodded. It wasn't ideal, but it was more time than he had with her for days.

"Oh. After midnight. Why?" Aeyrin instantly looked concerned again.

"Apparently, Ost wants to see me hunt. Again. He already did today. It was… weird. Now he claims he wants to see it at night too. That he suspects I'm just full of shit and steal my hauls somewhere," Bishop scoffed.

"What? Why would he even care if you steal? He just wants the hauls, right? And… why does he need to see you himself? Bish, this is really weird," Aeyrin started to fidget uncomfortably with the thoughts suddenly swirling in her head.

"It is weird. And I think he's up to something," Bishop sighed. "He gave me some reasons, but… he practically dragged me out into the swamp today. I thought that I could kill him there, but he was so fucking careful and I think Duful or one of his other lackeys were watching us. I'm not sure what was the point of all this if he didn't try to kill me or something. Maybe he just wanted to try but when he did see me in action, he thought he might do better at night. He won't."

"Bishop, this is really bad," Aeyrin's eyes widened at him. "You're gonna walk into an ambush voluntarily?"

"No. No ambush. I'm the one leading the way out there. And I know when someone's watching," Bishop shook his head.

"What about when someone's shooting?" She couldn't help but feel like this was a very bad idea. Bishop knew Ost better, of course, and he could gouge his intentions the best out of the two of them, but this was clearly some weird scheme. Couldn't she at least follow him too? She knew what he would say – she wasn't subtle enough to do that, but she really wanted to do something.

"Love, it's fine, I promise, it sounds worse than it is. I'll do some snooping before we head out. And I think he might be just… gouging what I'm capable of. Taking me on the hunt right now wasn't exactly spontaneous of him either, if he was planning to kill me, why not do it now?"

"That's not comforting!" Aeyrin scoffed.

"I know," he sighed. "I know this is fucking fishy and dangerous, but approaching them anytime is, really. But look, if he thinks he can best me in the wilderness, he's dead wrong. Sweetness, I saw him in action too. He's shit. With his aim, at least. I promise you, I'm the one with the advantage there, even if he doesn't believe that yet. And… I want a chance to fucking kill him already. It's impossible here."

Aeyrin pouted for a while. She knew there was no talking him out of this. Stubborn ass.

"I swear to you, I won't let him get the better of me, if that's what he's hoping for," Bishop came closer and enveloped her in his arms comfortingly. They were still standing by the door there, without ever moving further into the room. The discussion turned serious all too quickly.

"You better not," Aeyrin nuzzled into his chest, before she remembered what he had been saying and raised her head a bit to look at him. "You keep talking about 'action'. What happened on the hunt? Why was Ost fighting too?"

"Oh! That's the best part," Bishop smirked. He disentangled himself from the embrace again and he reached out for one of his deepest pouches. He had hidden the horn there. He pulled it out promptly with a proud smirk on his face. "I came to get my first trophy."

"Oh. Is that a minotaur horn?" Aeyrin gaped at it. Though she had seen many minotaurs before, she had never seen a horn removed this… freshly. There was still a lot of blood on it. And some… skin.

"Yeah. It's my proof. And before you question it, Ost did shit. He was throwing some kiddie axes at it and it barely hit. I killed it," he puffed up his chest proudly.

"I believe you," she chuckled affectionately. She had no trouble believing Bishop would kill a minotaur on his own. She had killed a few on her own before. Though they were tough opponents. It was an impressive feat nonetheless. "So… you want your trophy, huh?" She grinned at him.

"You bet," he smirked again, and without another word, Aeyrin grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along, towards the bed. He let her guide him until she ushered him to sit. He did, but he really didn't want to stay in his armor, so he started to remove his equipment while Aeyrin began to rummage in the pouches of her belt, then one of their food sacs.

Soon they were ready. Bishop was sitting on the bed, finally only in his regular clothes, and Aeyrin approached him with the minotaur earring, two ice wraith teeth, and a needle in her hand.

"You know how to do this then?" Bishop chuckled. Not that he would mind some experimenting, but still, no need for more scars.

"The jeweler told me the basics and it makes sense from a… physiological point of view. I know that it should work like that," she gave him a wry smile.

"Alright," Bishop nodded. It was not as if he didn't trust her. And she knew about this shit.

"You'll need to hold the candle. It shouldn't hurt too much, but it might, a bit," she continued to explain. That was not really what he was worried about. He reached out for one of the burning candles on the nightstand and he held the small plate under it in his hand steadily. All the while Aeyrin put down the needle and the earring and only kept the ice wraith teeth in her hand.

Bishop expected to feel the cold when she brushed the hair behind his ear carefully. He was looking forward to something so icy. But instead, he felt the warm softness of her tongue slide along the cartilage of his ear. It sent shivers down his spine instantly.

Much to his delight, she kept playing with his ear for a while, nibbling on his lobe or kissing the skin behind it. It still ended all too soon though, and the last bit of breath from her he felt there was when she whispered.

"Ready?"

"Sure," Bishop chuckled. It wouldn't hurt much, so what was there to get ready for?

He closed his eyes to enjoy the sensation as she placed the teeth to the upper part of his ear and began to knead them along a bit.

"This is probably gonna take a while, since… you know, Nord stuff," she pointed out. Anyone but Nord would not feel the ear much sooner.

He didn't mind. He liked the feeling. From time to time, Aeyrin pricked his ear with her nail, asking if he could feel it, but he still could. It really did take a while. The cold water from the small surface of the teeth that melted against his skin trickled down his neck and under his shirt pleasantly.

After some time, he really did not feel the pricking anymore.

Aeyrin took hold of the needle and started to heat it up over the candle. It was one of the needles they used for fixing up their clothing and such. There was no need for anything else after all.

Once the needle was heated red, she withdrew it. She waited only a little while before he felt a tiny prick in his upper ear again. He still kept his eyes closed, but soon there was no feeling there again. Though he could hear stuff happening. Some shuffling. Something rustling near his ear, then there was another very brief prick, and then he felt Aeyrin's presence withdraw.

He finally opened his eyes. That was quick. He got up promptly and walked over to the mirror on the wall by the dresser.

The earring was already in his ear. It looked good. He was eager to earn the other trophies already too. Maybe they'd run into a bear or a troll on another hunt.

"I like it," Aeyrin approached him slowly and wrapped her arms around him. She wanted to kiss his ear again, but it could still be sensitive for a bit. "It really suits you."

"Thanks, love," he smiled at her affectionately. "It does suit me. It's a great gift."

It really was. And a good challenge. His first minotaur. Those things always intimidated him when he was a kid. No wonder he was feeling kind of confident about not letting Ost get the better of him. This day was good. He was good.

And now, he earned some proper celebrations of his victory too.

After all, there was still so much time left before midnight.

…

The evening was certainly enjoyable.

Aeyrin ended up half-asleep in the bed, with only enough energy to drape herself in Bishop's old shirt, in case someone came knocking again. She was pretty tuckered out after their activities. It was for the best. At least she wouldn't worry all night. Not as much, at least.

Bishop himself was still feeling a little light-headed, but it would soon pass. He was ready. He only gave Aeyrin a kiss goodbye, ignoring her half-hearted tired murmurs of protests about him going, before he headed into the tavern again.

Only when he was outside he remembered that fucking key again. He was so distracted with Aeyrin, it completely slipped his mind to look for it.

Ah, whatever, he would just break into the room with his lockpicks. He always had those with him.

He entered the crowded swamp tavern for the second time this day. He always disliked coming there, but it was especially bad right now. Not only was the place even more packed this late at night, but he still couldn't shake the nervousness that enveloped him on his way to Ost. The uncertainty fucking sucked. He just could not read Ost as much as he might want to.

Both his brothers were there that night. Though Duful seemed distracted. He was relentless. He seemed to be even fidgety as his eyes lingered on any passing girl. There wasn't a night Bishop remembered when he wouldn't run off to get one of them somewhere private. Then again, it was not like Bishop could blame him. If he wasn't that fond of his own solitude sometimes back before Aeyrin, he would have been doing the same.

There was another guy with them by their table, but Bishop ignored that entirely. He sat down on a free chair and nodded at everyone in greetings.

"You came," Ost smirked at him.

"Why wouldn't I?" Bishop narrowed his eyes at him. They had agreed after all. And he promised to bring the horn back. He had no idea what Ost was up to and he was not going to betray his role here just yet.

"I don't know. You're never around at this hour, who the fuck knows what you do?" Ost shrugged.

"Sleep. I get up early to hunt," Bishop rolled his eyes.

"Well I hope you won't miss your beauty rest tonight," Ost chuckled meanly at him.

"I'll live. Are we going or what?" He really wanted to get this over with already. Although he was now a bit worried that Duful was going to join this time. Then again, better than him following from afar.

"Yeah, let's," Ost nodded. He got up from his chair and waved his hand dismissively at the other man by the table. "Come talk to me when you actually have the money, fucker. I'm not a fucking charity."

The man grumbled and left their company promptly. Duful, on the other hand, seemed to still be concentrated on anything but his brothers. Now he was mostly focused on the very short skirt of a girl walking towards the bar.

"You coming?" Bishop prodded Duful. If he wasn't, asking outright wouldn't exactly make him. Bishop just wanted to make sure so that he could already plan in his head accordingly.

"Hmm? What?" Duful finally focused on Bishop instead. "Nah, you two go running around the dark swamp on your own. I have better shit to do," he inclined his head towards the girl.

Well… that remained to be seen. Or heard. But fine.

Ost and Bishop left him there and headed outside at last. The walk out of town was quick enough. Bishop did spot Galric hanging around some distance from the city gates, but he tried to appear as if he didn't notice. There was no need for more questions from Ost. He could already hear it. 'Did you recognize him?' 'Did you see him around here before?' 'Did you talk?' Paranoid fuck. Then again, there was a good reason for him to be paranoid. Bishop was gonna kill him.

They headed out of the gates and into the swamp once more. Just like before, Ost gestured to Bishop and let him lead the way. That was good. This time, Bishop chose a completely different direction, just in case. Maybe Ost could have hoped Bishop had some preferred hunting spots. No such luck though.

Surprisingly enough though, as they walked through the swamp, Bishop could not hear the sounds following them anymore. Not like this afternoon.

Strange. And why did it make Bishop even more uneasy? He should be relieved about that.

They were alone in the swamp.

Ost was still at Bishop's back and he knew that any wrong move would earn him an axe to his head. Well… maybe not head. Ost had a crappy aim after all. And Bishop's fancy equipment would be fine when it came to shitty little hand-axes. But not if he actually did hit the head.

Hopefully there would be an actual opportunity down the line. There had to be.

It was time to take this one down too.

Maybe if Bishop let him think that he was vulnerable. What if he found some monster and then tripped on purpose or some shit. Ost would be forced to dispose of his crappy axes and he would have to turn to melee combat instead. Bishop had no doubt that he was better at that. In fact, he still remembered. Ost had been the best of them in melee. Only second to Torban. It was pretty likely that he only got better with age – he had been only fifteen back then and he could still kick Bishop's ass up close at any day. But if he was forced to use his scimitar now against whatever beast they could run into, Bishop could actually stay in the back and shoot him.

That was a promising plan, right? This could work. Now just to find something more dangerous than a boar. Tracking in the night, and in the swamp of all places, was pointless. He needed to go by sounds. It was too fucking bad that Ost was making some noise. He didn't have the advantage of Bishop's muffling enchantment. Though granted, given Ost's size, he wasn't making nearly as much noise as Bishop had originally worried.

So… where were those fucking minotaurs when one needed them? This afternoon Bishop caught one's attention by being too loud. Maybe he should try that again.

"Hey, wait up a bit," Ost's voice interrupted Bishop's planning.

"What?" Bishop turned back towards Ost. What was it now?

"Did you bring back that horn?"

Oh. Right. He almost forgot about that.

He rummaged in his larger pouch and pulled out the horn again. He handed it back to Ost promptly. Not like he cared. He already got his prize.

"Wait, didn't you wanna show me what these are for or some shit like that?" Bishop remembered. He was still curious about that thing.

"Exactly. I think now is the best time," Ost smirked enigmatically. "Come on, have a look." He urged Bishop closer.

Alright, now he was really curious. What the fuck was going to happen? It was a fucking horn. What even could happen?

Bishop took a few steps closer and peered at the horn in Ost's hand. Nothing was weird about it. He was doing nothing with it, what the fuck was supposed to…

Suddenly, Ost's hand moved. He thrusted the horn at great speed, right into Bishop's stomach.

Well, he tried.

A loud clank echoed through the swamp. The sound of hard bone sliding against metal. Bishop's leather armor ripped at his stomach, but the sturdy ebony plate underneath could not be even dented by something like this. And Ost did not see that coming.

The hidden plates had saved Bishop's life more than once. But right now, it wasn't exactly fair to say. He could tell where Ost was aiming. He was not trying to kill Bishop. He wanted him incapacitated.

Unfortunately for Ost though, Bishop did have the intent of actually killing him.

"Well then," he smirked. "You just made this all too easy."

Bishop's bow wasn't even out yet. It made it all the easier for him to brandish his sword. Just like Ost didn't anticipate the hidden plate, he would surely underestimate the rest of his equipment as well. Like the lightning enchantment on his ebony sword.

But just as Bishop grabbed the hilt of the weapon, suddenly he was tackled to the ground. His legs buckled under him and he couldn't prevent the fall in any way. Ost was so fucking physically strong. He overpowered Bishop quite easily. Not to mention the element of surprise.

"Pfft, this only proves what I already know," Ost snarled hatefully. "You lied to me. I know everything."

A punch landed in Bishop's face with force he had not felt in… possibly ever. His nose cracked painfully under the impact and he couldn't stop the loud groan of pain from escaping his lips. He had to retaliate.

Fight strong, but fight smart. He knew what to do with people like Ost, people like Torban. It was not about getting the better of them in a fair combat. No matter what Torban thought of these tactics, Bishop didn't care anymore. He had to do something unexpected. He had to fight smart.

Ost grabbed onto his arm and pinned it below into the moist ground. He made sure that Bishop could not reach his sword, but he still had his hunting knife on the other side of his belt. And his other arm free.

Bishop punched Ost's flank promptly. He knew it wouldn't incapacitate him, but it caught him off guard long enough for Bishop to brandish his hunting knife.

"Fucker!" Ost didn't notice the knife yet, but he did punch Bishop's face again. Very painfully. "I know you have money, I know where you're staying. With some noble whore of yours. I know you're not here for a piece of the action, so there's only one shit an asshole like you can come back for. You think you'll get to finish the job, you weak shit?!"

Wait what? Disregarding the 'noble' shit, Ost knew? Bishop fucking knew he should have been more careful about his secrets. They weren't exactly too well guarded around here. Fuck. But that didn't matter. Ost was about to die very soon. And after that…

Uhh… why was Duful not here for this?

What the fuck was he doing instead? Ost would have brought backup for this, right?

Bishop didn't want to prolong this, especially with the uneasy feeling enveloping him. He quickly tried to plunge his hunting knife into Ost's flank, but unfortunately, the motion got noticed. Ost grabbed his wrist with his free hand and twisted painfully, making Bishop drop his knife in pain.

Ost reached out for the knife promptly, but during that, Bishop managed to twist out of his grip and actually flip him over, rolling himself from under him. They were both lying on the ground now, but Ost got the hold of Bishop's hunting knife. And he was intent on using it. He slashed at Bishop, hitting his upper arm and leaving behind a nasty gash through his armor.

Bishop hissed in pain and scurried a little further from Ost. His brother only smirked at him maliciously. He was barely hurt through all this, unlike Bishop.

"I remember this," Ost looked briefly at the bloodied knife in his hand. "You used to carry it everywhere. You don't fucking deserve anything good in your life for trying to trick me, you bastard. Not even this crappy little butter-knife. I am not gonna kill you. I will take every single fucking thing that brings you any joy."

An involuntary shiver went down Bishop's spine at those words.

"You think you could do me like Torban?" Ost scoffed. "Stupid fuck, I'm so much more than that old pathetic bastard. You're not gonna do me like Torban. I'm gonna do you like Jack. Remember him?"

Alright, that made the shiver worse. Ruining Jack's life had been Torban's mission before for some reason, taking away anything he had gained, anything he had accomplished in life. And with the revelation about the fate of Jack's fiancé that the kids provided him with recently, it made the statement even more fucking disturbing.

Seriously… why wasn't Duful here? Where did he go to leave Ost alone to deal with Bishop?

Bishop wasn't even sure why he was trying to ask himself these questions in his mind. He knew. He knew all too well. Divide and conquer. Ost was keeping Bishop here while Duful was going to try and take away his 'everything'.

He reached out to his belt for his sword, but even without standing up at first, Ost was quicker. He grabbed one of his shitty little axes and threw it right at Bishop. He had no idea where he had been aiming for, but the axe ended up lodged in a tree, right next to Bishop's head – only a hair's breadth away, in fact.

That was probably not intentional. Fuck, he would die because of Ost's crappy aim!

New plan. No killing. He needed to get the fuck away. That was his number one concern. He needed to run back to town and get to Aeyrin. Right fucking now!

Though if he did manage to kill Ost in the process, he wouldn't complain.

But how? Ost was so fucking quick with those axes. And all too dangerous. Maybe there was no other choice but to have him deplete his supplies.

Bishop quickly started to get up on his feet and Ost used the opportunity to do the same. Right when they were both up though, Ost threw another axe. This one hit Bishop's stomach. Ineffectively. Thank the fucking Gods for those plates.

"Get the fuck back down!" Ost growled.

"Make me!" Bishop hissed in turn. He reached out for his bow, but as predicted, Ost brandished his last axe and threw it. Bishop actually had to duck this time. It was coming right at his neck.

But Ost didn't hesitate. Before he would let Bishop grab his bow, he brandished his scimitar instead and charged. That was all that Bishop needed.

He wasn't going to risk standing against Ost in melee. He didn't like his chances. He was still hurt, especially his arm, and he wouldn't even be fast enough to unsheathe his sword. There was one thing he could do though.

He ran.

He had a tiny head-start, but he was quicker in the rough swampy terrain than Ost. The practice from slugging around Hjaalmarch really came in handy. And he was good in the dark.

Ost chased after him relentlessly. But as Bishop just continued to run, without looking back, the sounds got fainter and fainter. He was getting away.

He would deal with Ost some other time. Now he had to get back to the inn.

He knew all too well what Duful was meant to take away from him.

And he would never let that happen.

…

Aeyrin was barely asleep, though she kept dozing off. She was trying to stay awake and wait for Bishop. She was worried about him tonight. More than any other time.

But she felt quite tired. And it was late. The whole afternoon was spent in bed with Bishop and to be fair, he was quite… energetic after he earned his first trophy earring. She was pretty adverse to moving at all right now. She had barely enough energy before when he was still there to go downstairs and order some food and a bottle of wine which was now half-drunk at her nightstand. Maybe if she finished it after he left, she would sleep more easily, but she was too lazy to even do that.

She had been lying there, worrying for a bit, dozing off for most part though, before she finally heard the noise of the key opening the door. He was back. Good.

Now she could finally stop worrying. The door closed almost silently – he must have been careful not to wake her. She wasn't exactly asleep, but she was a little woozy. Bishop even walked around the room quietly. His footsteps barely made any noise as he scurried about.

He was scurrying for a long time though. He kept walking around and his footsteps were a little jarring. She wanted his warm body next to her in the bed already. It couldn't take him this long to take off his armor and clothes and slip in with her.

After a while, she got too frustrated with the noises waking her from her half-slumber and she really wanted to snuggle under the blanket with him already.

"Bish," she groaned tiredly. "What are you doing? Come to bed." Her voice sounded so groggy just then. But it was effective. There was a palpable pause in the footsteps and the shuffling. The pause felt very long, but she knew it was probably just her imagination. Soon, she felt the bed dip on the other side and Bishop sliding under the blanket.

Finally.

He snuck his arm around her soon, pulling her into his chest. Wait, he still had his clothes on. Well… some clothes. They were much rougher than his clothes. What was that? And his hand felt…

Before she could even start to think properly, her hair got gripped in a very painful manner and she let out a yelp instinctively. Her eyes finally snapped open, but it was pointless. The man behind her, who was clearly not Bishop, held her head in place firmly like that as she felt his hot breath on her ear.

"Well I'll be damned. You're actually fuckable. Wouldn't wanna miss out on an invitation like that," a deep voice rumbled behind her.

How did she not suspect something?! Fine, he used the keys, but she could hear his footsteps! How did she not realize? Bishop always wore the muffling ring.

She didn't even have to think about it too much. She knew what kind of bastard would steal Bishop's key and get inside here. She had no idea how any of them found out, but this was definitely his brother. It was doubtful that this was Galric, judging by the strength, but then again, Galric would be the only one who could know about her and this room.

Unless somehow Ost and Duful found out. It had to be one of them.

Aeyrin's shock and pondering impaired her for longer than she would like. Soon, she felt the man press her closer into his body – way too close. The feel of him against her, even clothed, made her sick to her stomach. But he hardly even subdued her.

"Now be a good girl and keep quiet," she could practically hear the disturbing smile in his voice. "Maybe you'll even like it."

Ew.

Aeyrin didn't hesitate any longer. She bent her knee and delivered a swift kick to his shin. And her elbow hit him right in the stomach immediately. He did not expect that in the slightest. Why didn't he expect her to fight back? He let out a grunt of pain, or maybe just surprise, but he did let go of her hair. Aeyrin promptly twisted out of his grip and rolled off the bed.

She really wished she were wearing something other than only Bishop's old shirt. It rode up and exposed her uncomfortably as she fell off the bed, but she quickly jumped up and on her feet again. The man was getting up too, all too quickly, but now at least she could see him in the candlelight. A Redguard, with messy dark dreadlocks, half of his face burned, and one blind eye with the other being the very familiar amber color.

Duful.

She suspected one of them.

She had no idea how they found out about her, but it didn't matter now.

"Feisty. Didn't see that coming," Duful chuckled at her. "That's fine, it's been a while since I had a challenge."

At least from what she could see, he wasn't armed. He had commoner clothes on him, likely to get past the guards at the inn. Nobody would let a stranger on the upper floors, armed to the teeth. Even if he had a key. She wasn't sure how he got past the guards, but his lack of weapons played in her favor. After all, her weapons were hidden in the dresser. If Bishop were here, he would have his hunting knife under the pillow. But he wasn't. She could only hope that Ost didn't catch him off guard on their hunt.

But now she had this one to deal with.

Duful wasn't waiting any longer. He ran around the bed and lunged at her, though he was just… charging with no regard. Maybe he thought it would intimidate her, freeze her in place. He had no idea how many lumbering hulks trying to go after her she had staved off in the past.

The moment he got close enough, she ducked, escaping his grip. As she did, he stumbled over her crouched torso, falling onto the floor. That was easy. She promptly used his fall to kick him in the teeth.

The kick was painful with her foot bare, but it was much more painful for Duful. He let out an angry roar at the contact, but he reacted quickly. He grabbed her foot right after and yanked her hard, sending her toppling to the ground next to him. They were both there by the door, struggling against each other. Duful gripped her neck with one hand and squeezed hard, making her let out a wheeze of pain and shock. His grip pushed her all the way down and he got on top of her in another uncomfortably close position. And his free hand was quick enough to slap her face roughly.

"Enough fighting, cunt. You better stay still, or shit's gonna get real bad for you," he growled at her.

Yeah, right!

As if she would just let him!

She bent her knee promptly, kicking him right in the crotch.

Duful screamed out in pain, but he didn't let go. If anything, his grip on her neck got even tighter. She couldn't breathe! Her head was starting to spin, but she had to fight through it. She had to fight him.

"How the fuck did a little bitch like you get so strong?" Duful growled at her hatefully. "Fine, wanna play rough?"

His hand kept choking her, making her let out the strained wheezing sounds. His other hand gripped her under the knee and he forcibly pushed her leg down to the floor, spreading her really painfully like that. She tried to scream, but nothing more than those choked noises came out.

She had to act quick. She moved her other leg fast, twisting under him. The position was very painful and unnatural, but as if by some miracle, it gave her a good opportunity to bend her other leg, despite how much that would expose her to him, and actually knee him in the head.

She didn't manage to do it with as much force as she hoped, but it was enough. Enough for him to waver and let go of her other leg. With the momentum catching him off guard, she gripped the hand around her neck with both of hers and she yanked it away from herself.

She did it! She was free! As she took deep, desperate breaths, Duful grabbed at her shirt in panic and it ripped, leaving her cleavage much more open than it was, but that was all he managed to do while she got up on her feet. He was still kneeling down there, grabbing at her, but she hopped out of the way.

She had to get rid of him. She had to do something! She had to stop this, she was no match for him in strength. The only advantage she seemed to have was him constantly underestimating her own.

She needed to use something else than strength alone. She couldn't exactly overpower him by turning into a werewolf either. She was at an inn! She couldn't risk that. What if she went on a rampage here? Especially without Bishop's calming presence here by her side.

And just then, she noticed it.

Duful was kneeling on the ground, right next to the door. In fact, he was kind of leaning on it with the side of his head. And… his hale eye was right there… right in front of the handle.

Alright. Drastic action time. She couldn't overthink this. He needed to be dealt with.

She grabbed his dreadlocks firmly. Duful wasn't caught off guard this time, and he reacted quickly. He didn't try to get away from her grip, but instead he grabbed her on his own. His hands dug into the backs of her thighs, nails burrowing in her flesh. It was a painful grip, but she didn't waver.

No more hesitation.

She yanked his head towards herself, impaling him. His hale eye, right into the handle, as his hands dragged down her thighs, leaving deep scratches behind.

It was a sickening sound. Even more a sickening sight. The handle went so deep. It was horrible. And the shriek that Duful let out was no better.

He… he was still alive. But there was blood coming from his mouth and he couldn't see anything. She needed to finish this.

Was it… alright to kill Bishop's brother?

What are you thinking? He's here to kill him anyway! And he's an asshole who just tried to rape you!

She couldn't keep looking at the disturbing sight, at the man impaled on the door handle, but she couldn't look away either. At the very least, she needed him to stop gurgling blood and she needed the body to stop thrashing.

She rushed towards the dresser and she quickly rummaged in her pack. She located the Dwemer soul-trapping dagger first. She didn't want to bash his impaled skull in! And she didn't want him to catch fire in this room full of wood. The dagger was safer. The enchantment would do nothing, she had no soul gem big enough to absorb a black soul.

And hopefully nobody else in this inn did either. She wouldn't wish this one's soul being in anyone's gem. The enchantments made from it might turn against their makers or something.

At least it was quick with the dagger. She knelt down and slit his throat in one quick motion before she stepped back again.

The dagger fell on the floor with a loud clank. She wasn't sure why she dropped it. It was the sight before her that made her feel like she was in a dream. Or some nightmare.

There was Duful, bleeding out on the floor with his eye impaled on the bloodied handle. It was such a disturbing sight.

What would happen now? Did someone hear the fight? The screams? There was no hiding the blood. And someone may have seen Duful come upstairs. How would she explain this? Would she get in trouble?

She stood there, staring at him, for what felt like an eternity.

The eerie silence of the room seemed to seep into the moment, making everything even worse. Somehow, she had no idea what to do now. She couldn't even move.

But after a while, something else moved.

The door.

She didn't hear anyone unlock, but she may have been too out of it. The handle was pulled down from the other side in a quick motion and Duful slid down from it in a disturbing display. His body crumpled to the floor by the door, and just as it was opened with surprising speed and force, the corpse was pushed away, leaving a trail of blood behind it.

Aeyrin didn't even have it in her to be shocked at the unexpected entrance. But soon, a wave of relief washed over her when she saw Bishop enter.

His face was bruised and bloody and he looked panicked, but the same relief was palpable on him when he saw her.

He didn't even look around the room. He rushed towards her instantly and wrapped her in his embrace. She knew he noticed some things though. Probably the red welts on her face and neck. He squeezed her in his embrace so tightly before he finally noticed what had previously tried to obstruct his forced entry into the room.

"I… I'm sorry, I…" Aeyrin stammered. What was she sorry about? She didn't even know. She just… wasn't sure what to say. She felt strange for killing his brother, and in such a gruesome manner. But she still knew he would certainly not be mad at her.

"I'm sorry," Bishop shook his head promptly. "Fuck, I should have suspected… I had no idea they knew about you. Are you alright? What did he do?" Bishop pulled back a bit to examine her face and especially her neck. It must have looked very bad, judging from his stare.

Though he himself didn't look much better. Was his arm bleeding?

"N-nothing… we just… he tried to… and then I fought him off and we… just fought and he was close to the door handle and I just… impaled his eye on it," she rambled, trying to tell him what happened and to fight through her shock and panic.

"Fuck, good going," Bishop let out a sigh of relief. "I… didn't do that well. Ost's still alive."

"Bish, what do we do?" They were both hurt with a corpse on their floor and… she couldn't even start to wrap her head around all this.

"It's alright. Just… no healing and don't change your clothes," Bishop nodded at her confidently. "We tell the truth, alright? It's the best thing we got. You got assaulted and you did nothing wrong. We just need to make sure the guards believe it."

Aeyrin nodded quickly. Alright. This was good. Truth was good. It was so much better than what she had been worried about – hiding the corpse, cleaning the room and all that. She wouldn't even know how to begin doing that. And this time, there was no fire to erase their tracks like in Kvatch.

"It's gonna be alright, princess," Bishop pulled her into his arms again, letting out another relieved sigh. "As long as you're alright, everything's fine." Fuck, he knew she could take care of herself, but this was impressive. She was almost asleep when he left! He needed to hear how she did this in detail. But fuck, was it good to see that bastard dead for even thinking of touching her.

At least there was one fate of Jack's that they avoided. Ost mentioned something about his 'noble whore'. Maybe he didn't know who Aeyrin really was. That was lucky. They thought her an easy prey, but she was far from that.

Still, there was Ost left.

There was gonna be no more pretending now. The truth was out. About Aeyrin, about Bishop's motives for being here.

Now he kinda worried though, not as much for his and Aeyrin's safety. Ost would know that they would be ready for him now.

But did he know on whose urging Bishop came to kill him?

Fuck. He was gonna take it out on them.

Bishop had to think carefully about his next move. He didn't want anyone else endangered. But at least for now, there was one important thing that he could take solace in. One thing that this awful night had accomplished.

One down.

* Trigger warning: attempted rape, violent assault