Chapter XCVIII – Out There
The following week wasn't easy.
Even though it seemed like it should have been. Bishop and Aeyrin stayed home, almost returning to their honeymoon bliss. Though it wasn't really like that, even though their routines were mostly the same. They spend their days in the house, the surrounding wilderness, resting, recharging, eventually even distracting themselves with sex. But it wasn't the same.
Aeyrin was still struggling with the looming thoughts and that, in turn, prevented Bishop from enjoying himself as he could have.
But that was fine. He kept reassuring her that it was fine. They just needed time and he would remind her of that over and over again, no matter how long for.
And it wasn't as hard to believe him anymore. At the very least, Aeyrin could tell that things were improving a bit. There were times when she didn't even think about those dark thoughts. Those were the moments she clung to. The distractions, the sudden spells of moments when she just enjoyed resting or doing something silly like cleaning the house or helping Bishop with cooking. She didn't usually help, but now she was eager to do that. To do anything that took her mind off it, really.
It did her good, even though she still didn't feel… normal. But she could still hope that she would feel like that eventually.
A pleasant tune carried through the cottage, along with the tempting aroma of Bishop's latest experiment. While Aeyrin had a lot of trouble sleeping soundly and she still refused to go to the basement where the small shrine was, she did slowly start to eat properly again, much to his relief. And he was taking full advantage of that by trying out any weird new ingredients he could find at the Riften market. Usually at Brand-Shei's stall. Aeyrin seemed to like that. And it was an interesting pastime for him.
Much to his initial disappointment, while he was making lunch today, Aeyrin decided not to help this time. But while he was busy in the kitchen, soon the tune caught his attention.
It was a relief that her reluctance to join wasn't because of her mood. Apparently she was just eager to do something else. It'd been a while since he had seen her tune her lute and play just because.
When he stopped concentrating on the very first guar steak he had seen since his time in Morrowind, which he miraculously found at Brand-Shei's stall, and when he looked at Aeyrin with surprise, she stopped what she was doing as well.
"Sorry… was that disturbing you?" She asked uncertainly.
"What? Why would you even ask that?" Bishop scoffed. First of all, what the fuck was he doing that some music would 'disturb' him? And second, when had he ever not loved to hear her play?
She smiled at him warmly. She knew he would never mind. She was just getting so self-conscious about everything in her state. But she was not going to think about that too much now. Not when she actually felt in the mood to do something she herself thought of doing for once. Up until now, she just felt like she had been relying on Bishop to suggest something to do, like the cooking, or going for a walk around the wilderness, or hunting, or shopping. She liked that he did that, but for some reason, it was really exciting to get an idea about doing something herself and, well… getting excited about doing that. It was such a normal thing, it felt a little odd to be so happy about it, but she decided not to dwell on that fact and just enjoy it.
"It's nice," Bishop smiled. It was even nicer to see her put her new lute to good use. "I like when you play when we're alone." He liked listening to her play at the inns too, but this was always more special. Even if she wasn't actually playing for him, but for herself, he still felt like he was getting a private performance.
Aeyrin promptly grabbed the lute again and the tune rang through the room once more. Bishop concentrated on the food and he did feel weirdly more energetic about it. It made him think.
He had been thinking a lot about how to make Aeyrin feel better. Yeah, yeah, he didn't want to pressure her and he himself kept telling her she needed time, but he couldn't help but wonder either. He was worried the most about her reluctance to go into the basement or the fact that she hadn't asked for Therien's necklace yet. The last time they had been through something rough, all that meditation crap helped her a lot. He himself was surprised that he was concerned about anyone not being religious enough, but with her, it was just worrying. He didn't bring it up though. He knew it was a sore subject and this was exactly the type of thing he should not pressure her about.
But now he was starting to think there might be another tactic to make things a bit better. Seeing her play reminded him of all the nights they had no money and she played at inns to earn them a room. That was kind of the case now too. They didn't have much money, barely a few septims. Bishop bought some sturdy clothes to replace the shitty ones Gaius gave him, and then he kept splurging on those rare ingredients. And he also tended to spoil Aeyrin a bit with some sweet treats through the week. He actually had to get her coinpurse the last time and now they had only a few drakes together.
He planned to go hunting, but maybe it would actually be good to do what they usually did instead. Maybe it was time to get back out there.
Granted, the last time they thought like this, they got roped into Serana's mess and Aeyrin lost her ear.
But he missed it. And he thought Aeyrin might too. Now they could finally wander around the wilderness without the constant paranoia about the Brotherhood. There was no harm in starting to take advantage of that, right?
"Hey, princess," he interrupted her, though he hoped she wouldn't stop playing the lute. She didn't, she just looked up at him curiously. "How would you feel about… getting out there again? On the road."
Aeyrin stopped playing then. Her eyes widened and she seemed quite nervous about that. Fuck. Was he being pushy again?
But after a few seconds, her expression eased and she actually smiled.
"Uhm… yeah," she nodded. She kind of panicked at first – about going back there where anything could happen, where dangers lurked all around. But that was stupid. Dangers were here too. In the city, even in this cottage. If someone wanted to, they would have gotten to them. It was painfully obvious now. And she couldn't avoid the outside world. And besides, after her initial bouts of panic, images of beautiful sceneries and peaceful camping spots where she could stay with Bishop filled her head.
She wanted to feel better. And this made her hopeful.
"Really?" Bishop seemed surprised himself that she agreed.
"Yeah. Really. I want to go back on the road," she nodded resolutely.
It was going to be good. For the both of them.
It was time to set off for new adventures.
…
The wilderness was more than welcoming.
They couldn't have chosen a better day. It was warm enough, even for the middle of autumn and there was not a cloud in the sky. The aspens in the Rift shed their leaves so much this season that there was barely any spot on the ground where one could avoid the golden carpet.
Everything should have felt perfect as Bishop, Aeyrin and Karnwyr traversed the south of the Hold once again, as they had so many times before. They had no particular destination in mind, but all of them loved these forests. It went without saying that they would go in this particular direction for no reason at all. They did not do much planning. The only plan was to get back out there.
They certainly succeeded at that. Though things were much more… calm than usual. And for once, that was not a good thing. It was more silent than usual. Somehow more strained. Bishop was getting used to the occasional somber mood at home, but it felt a bit different here. Maybe he was just hoping it would just… not be there. But he had to remind himself that things still needed time.
It wasn't just Aeyrin's bouts of contemplative silence though.
He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but he felt on edge. He suppressed those feelings as best as he could, but he couldn't actually get rid of them. He didn't know why he would feel like that. But it dawned on him eventually.
They had been walking through the Rift on a technically pleasant day for hours. And when the evening came close, a strong wind began to pick up. It was not a concern though – they came across a small structure which would serve nicely to hide them from the wind. It was an old abandoned cottage with some of its roof and both doors missing. There was no furniture inside. But walls were all they needed, really.
They set up their bedroll inside where they would be shielded from the wind, along with their campfire. The dinner was nice, but Bishop still couldn't help his unease, no matter how hard he tried. And after they were both washed and ready for bed, he finally understood what it was.
Aeyrin was already in the bedroll, huddling under the blanket. All he really needed to do was to join her. But there was that feeling. Nagging. Distracting him.
It was stupid.
He stood in the empty doorway and with a shake of his head, he moved towards the bedroll. But before he would even bend down, he stopped and looked back at the arch. Fuck, this was bothering him.
He walked back there, but then he convinced himself not to get concerned over it and turned around towards Aeyrin again. It was all enough to make it really weird though.
"What are you doing?" Aeyrin looked at him in concern. He looked like he didn't want to join her. That was… odd. Was something wrong?
"Nothing, nothing," Bishop waved his hand dismissively as he walked over to her again. But halfway through, he stopped.
There was a strange tense moment when he looked to be waging some internal battle with himself. Aeyrin got so nervous about it. What could he possibly be thinking?
And then he slumped his shoulders in defeat.
"Fuck this shit. Fucking Void," he groaned angrily. He was so fucking pissed about being on edge all day and now about this 'dilemma'. But he could see when he lost against the paranoia. He would not be calm otherwise.
He thought he was fucking done with this.
He moved towards his pack in quick strides and began to fish inside very briskly with palpably angry motions. Then he finally pulled out one of the Dwemer traps.
They shouldn't need them anymore. That was the best fucking part about it, about going back to the wilderness. They should be fine and safe, just like they used to be before this whole Brotherhood mess. But as he tinkered with the trap angrily, setting it up in the doorway, he finally realized what he'd been bothered about all day.
Maybe Aeyrin wasn't the only one still struggling with what happened.
When he stood in that arch, convincing himself that they were both safe, he couldn't stop thinking about any of it. He couldn't stop thinking about the morning he was desperately trying to wake her up and failing. He couldn't stop thinking about how terrifying it was. And he also couldn't stop thinking about what Aeyrin had been going through, about the pain he could still see in her face from time to time, and about causing that to happen again with carelessness.
They were supposed to be able to be careless again, but he couldn't help it. The fear didn't go away like it should have. The trauma of not just the last part, but everything the Brotherhood had put them through just wouldn't leave. All the paranoia did not vanish.
Maybe it was kind of fitting. No matter how angry that fact made him, it was kind of helping him sympathize with Aeyrin a lot. He had expectations for himself too. He fucking expected to be fine and calm and excited to be back out here and not just the same paranoid mess. Or even fucking worse one than before. It was frustrating. And apparently, it wasn't magically fixed by someone saying they were safe. Just as it wasn't magically fixed for Aeyrin to see him alive. Both things were true, but somehow it didn't chase away those feelings for either of them, apparently.
He continued to set up the trap somewhat angrily before he moved to his pack again and took out the second one. Yeah, yeah, he was doing both entryways like a fucking chump.
Aeyrin was quiet the entire time as he fiddled with the traps. He drew the line at the third one though. He was not doing that. There were only two entry points. He was done.
He quickly shook off his clothes when he finally finished and joined her in the bedroll at last. He knew his frustration was still all too obvious though.
"Don't be mad," Aeyrin smiled at him softly as she snuggled herself into his embrace, placing her hand on his chest to stroke over it. "It's… hard."
"Yeah. It is," he let out another sigh of defeat. "It's not fucking supposed to be though."
Aeyrin only nuzzled into his embrace a bit more without another word. He knew she understood better than anyone. At least there was that. He was weirdly comforted by the fact that he could at least meagerly relate to what she'd been going through. Or just at least understand better that it was not all as easy as it was supposed to be.
But they were not here to wallow in any of it. They were here to get back to normal, to move past all the Brotherhood drama and fear and pain. And Bishop was determined to do that.
It was time to focus on something else than lingering annoyances.
"So, love, we should think about what to do tomorrow," he suggested as he finally willed himself to relax a bit. Aeyrin's hand stroking over his chest helped with that a lot. And the knowledge of the traps and of Karnwyr being out there on the lookout helped as well, of course.
"Alright," she nodded. "What do you want to do?"
"Some action could do us good," he continued thoughtfully. "There's another barrow near Ivarstead. We could be there in a couple of hours. You remember it – it's on that small island on the river. Might be all empty now, so close to the town, but it could be a nice slow start."
"Hm-hm…" Aeyrin murmured softly. She didn't sound too excited though. Was that a bad idea? They went out to get back to it, right? Adventure, traveling, all that. "It's… probably empty though. You're right about that," she pointed out, but he noted a strangely nervous tone in her voice.
"That might be for the best. It could have a Word Wall in there and it could ease us in. It's been a while since we've been to a dungeon," Bishop chuckled a bit. He couldn't even remember the last time. It was probably that barrow with that weird Dunmer who tried to steal their treasure.
"It… just sounds like a waste of time if it's empty," Aeyrin mumbled again. That was really not a reaction he expected from her.
"I don't actually know if it's empty. There might be some places nobody could get past before," he mused, but he was kind of aware that Aeyrin wasn't really concerned about the emptiness of the tomb. "What's going on, love?"
"N-nothing," she briskly shook her head, but she kept her eyes averted from him. He knew she must feel his gaze, if because of nothing else, then by the way he tilted his head. She didn't meet his eyes though. She didn't even try to make excuses anymore. Instead, silence stretched between them. She must have known he had read her hesitation. He just wasn't sure why she was hesitant.
"Is it the barrow? Do you want to go somewhere else?" Bishop asked at last. Maybe it was the dead people everywhere? That could be unpleasant now, maybe.
"No," she sighed. There was no point in hiding anything from Bishop. And maybe she should just admit it. The moment he started to plan the barrow, her heart clenched unpleasantly. She knew exactly why.
"I'm… I'm just… scared," she let out a sigh of defeat at her own admission. It was kind of pathetic, when she thought about it. This was what she wanted to do – adventuring, exploring, fighting. She loved that. But suddenly it all felt so daunting.
"Of the barrow?" Bishop prodded her for more elaborations. This really didn't tell him much.
"Of… anything," she shrugged uncertainly, still unwilling to meet his gaze. "I… just… everything feels… so real."
"What does?"
"Danger… death," Aeyrin answered quietly. She wasn't sure how to explain it. Of course, it'd always been real, but not like this. It was different. It terrified her. And surprisingly enough, the silence in Bishop's lacking response kind of made her want to explain it more. "It… used to be different. But I'm just… scared to go through… that again."
It wasn't just the danger of the ruins, though that was her immediate concern. There was also one thing she was not willing to admit to Bishop. For the first time ever, she was actually scared of their different lifespans. It was like a horrible certainty now. Even if they miraculously avoided all the close calls with death they were so used to, she would still have to go through this at some point. She would still lose him. No matter what.
Well… unless she died first, of course. That was such a weird thing to comfort herself with. She felt bad even thinking it. She felt bad thinking about any of this.
She was so sick of thinking about death.
Bishop wasn't sure what to say. That was… a valid fear after what happened. It was a little weird that they weren't both more concerned about danger all the time, really. But he knew exactly how exhausting it was to be constantly worried about dangers. That was why those fucking traps won after all.
"I get it," he smiled at her sympathetically, even though she couldn't see it. He did make his point by planting a reassuring kiss on the top of her head too though. "We don't have to rush. I guess it will take time. Like sleeping without those fucking traps…"
"Yeah… I hope you're right," Aeyrin nodded somberly. She really hoped it was just a matter of time before these thoughts left her. And clearly Bishop had his own to contend with.
"I do think shit will go back to normal eventually," he reassured her again. They just had to believe that. What else was there to do? "And, princess, you know I will do whatever I can so that you don't have to go through that again. And… that I never have to go through that." He didn't even want to think about that.
"I think the Gods might have something to say about that," Aeyrin scoffed at him, though there was still palpable affection in her voice at his words. It was sweet, but he was really imagining the impossible. One day it would happen, one way or another.
'Gods'. Right. Bishop stayed silent for a while, mulling over her words. It was not that she was wrong – they would die one day, of course. But he chose to concentrate on another part of what she said instead. Something that was still on his mind, no matter what. Sometimes he felt weird thinking about it. It really didn't sit well with him to be questioning anyone when they distanced themselves from some dumb beliefs. But… it was just so concerning when it came to Aeyrin. And most of all, he didn't really understand it at all.
Not that he ever understood her faith, but… this just felt bad somehow. At least back then, he didn't understand something that made her feel better. Now he didn't understand her sudden aversion to it. Especially when he knew those meditations and prayers that had no real effect whatsoever, could actually make her feel better. Maybe that was really the only effect they needed to have.
But that was clearly not the case now. She didn't even come see Therien. Bishop had expected that. He was glad she went to Raven, but still…
"Can I ask you something?" He broached the subject with determination after a long while of silence.
"Hm-hm," Aeyrin nodded her head against him, snuggling a bit closer again.
"You always said that Gods weren't there to do people any favors for getting worshipped. That they aren't there to spare people of bad shit. That it wasn't what your faith was about."
"Yeah," she confirmed absentmindedly. She wasn't sure where he was going with this. She had a hard time explaining 'faith' to him on any day and he knew that. It just wasn't something he would understand and that was fine. Was he really getting into this now? She wasn't really in the mood for this…
"So… what exactly happened? What do the Gods have to do with what I've done?" He questioned her.
"What? No, I meant that the Gods would have 'something to say' about… me never going through that again. I meant…" she thought it was clear and she didn't really want to spell it out, but Bishop interrupted her promptly.
"I know what you meant. I'm asking about something else. You… threw away Therien's necklace. You don't want it back. Why?" Some time ago, he would find it more disturbing that he was the one trying to encourage anyone to come back to weird shit like worshipping Gods, but with Aeyrin, it was just… concerning. He knew she wasn't herself like this.
Aeyrin stayed quiet for a while. He wasn't sure if she was reluctant to answer or just pondering on his words. It was an excruciatingly long moment of silence before she finally answered.
"I'm… not sure," she sighed. "You're right, it's not like they would change anything. I… maybe I just… wanted to be angry at… something." Or maybe she just couldn't stand even the thought of turning to her old comforts. Like nothing was even supposed to be comforting. Nothing was supposed to get better. It wouldn't be right when he was gone.
"Shouldn't you be angry at me?" Bishop smirked a bit. The Gods weren't at fault. He was. He did this to her.
"I didn't want that," she shook her head vehemently. "How could I when you were…" dead. It just made her feel awful even thinking about directing her anger at him. "And then… I just wanted to be happy you're back." None of it should have made her angry. But there was clearly something that didn't feel how it was supposed to. "So… I guess I just got… angry at the… thing…," she inclined her head towards Bishop, as if to the necklace he had been hiding for her. Though he didn't have it on him now, of course, he still understood what she meant. "I was angry that it wasn't what it was supposed to be anymore."
"What was it supposed to be?" He asked. He couldn't even begin to pretend he could understand the significance of shit like that, other than the fact that it was from Therien. But he didn't really ever need to understand it before – he just knew it was important to her, in whatever form, to still wear the various Stendarrite amulets.
"I don't know how to explain," she said uncertainly. "It just… it's a feeling. It brought… comfort. And… now it doesn't."
It was Bishop now who remained eerily quiet. Something about her words just… chilled him. He was almost afraid to ask the question on his mind, but he also couldn't stop himself.
"What about me? Did I stop bringing you comfort?" He always loved that whatever the fuck was wrong in their lives, she saught comfort at his side. It didn't seem to him like she stopped, not like when she tossed the necklace. But then again, he couldn't help but think back on how she left back in Riften and it began to worry him.
"No… I mean… not really," she shook her head. "You know that nothing comforts me as much as being with you," she smiled at him affectionately, but he could still see the slight hesitation in her expression. "It's just… sometimes. Sometimes I remember that awful feeling. And it's hard to chase it away." She didn't know how else to explain it. Most of the time she was starting to feel normal by now. But it still came from time to time. That strange dread about what suddenly felt so… inevitable. No matter her rational thoughts. No matter how much she reminded herself to just enjoy having him here. The loss she went through was still intent on throwing cruel reminders at her.
"I get that," he nodded thoughtfully. It was a less dire response than he was afraid he'd get. And he understood painful reminders all too well.
"But it's getting better," she tried to reassure him. Or maybe herself too. "I remember what I felt like a while ago and it was just… so much worse." While it was oddly painful to recall, it was also encouraging. She just kept clinging to the idea that it might actually be getting better and better. When those dark thoughts weren't currently reminding her that she might have to face everything again.
"Well… we'll just hang in there until then," Bishop leaned in to plant a kiss on the top of her head again. "And in the meantime, we can just… wander around for a bit. We don't need to go plundering barrows right away."
"Thank you," Aeyrin smiled at him affectionately again. This time he did not notice any hesitation in that smile.
It was not like he needed to do something dangerous anyway. He preferred just being with her to anything else in any case.
Despite the worries between them, he was just intent on enjoying that they could be together again.
…
Wandering around, even without adventures, was still quite a nice distraction.
After all, the roads were not exactly boring. This wasn't Cyrodiil with the Legion patrolling the roads and keeping them clear off bandits and wild animals. Bishop mostly took down any animals in the distance with his bow, but unfortunately, that wasn't always a possibility.
The three of them continued to wander around the western Rift for a while until they would plot their next direction. They needed to change course. They had already passed into Whiterun Hold, though only barely, along the edges by the Valtheim Towers where there wasn't usually a lot of foot traffic. Bishop was in the habit of donning his cape whenever they passed the proverbial Hold border and he was always confident that random travelers would not bother them. But getting deeper into the Hold in broad daylight, walking on the road, was just not smart. Especially when the only reason they were even here was because they hadn't decided where to go yet, so they just continued following the same road.
But before they could finally change directions, something tore their attention away.
"Is that… a corpse?" Aeyrin squinted, trying to see what was that black thing lying on the road ahead.
"Looks like it. There's another one back there," Bishop pointed further down the road – another black corpse. It was not that common to see dead people right in the middle of the road. Animals tended to drag them away and bandits often too, in order to loot them in peace. Still, it was not exactly much to be concerned about.
But the fact that they looked both to be in all black did make him a little wary. Perhaps their recent experiences did not leave them much room for interpretation when they saw someone in all black, head to toe. But the figures were still too far to jump to any conclusions.
Besides, Raven said only the one vampire assassin survived, right? This was no child. The bodies were too big.
Bishop still needed to check though. For his own peace of mind.
He felt his heartbeat quicken in preemptive panic as he took a step forward. This couldn't be. It could be anyone. It didn't need to be them. Not just because they were dressed like that. Lots of people dressed like that, right? He himself was often all in black too.
But just as he felt like he needed to rush more to get the anticipation over with, his view got obscured and something big landed right in front of him.
He didn't even realize what it was. A mighty roar escaped its maw while Bishop stumbled back away from it to rouse from his shock.
The furry form in front of him slashed its claw against him right away. A troll. Fuck. How did Bishop miss a troll 'ambushing' him? They were loud as fuck. That thing just jumped from the cliff above him. He should have heard that.
But he was so preoccupied with his paranoia already.
Now he was surprisingly a bit calmer though.
There was no fucking way this troll killed two assassins. It had to just be travelers.
The claw slashed against Bishop's stomach, but it was only met with hard plate. Though it did rip through his leather. Ugh. He would have to restitch that for a thousandth time. But that wasn't important. The beast was clearly pained from colliding its claws with the metal and it stumbled back with a guttural gurgle.
Good. That was Bishop's chance. And he remembered something when he heard the heavy footsteps of Aeyrin rushing behind his back.
"Stop. Leave it to me," Bishop brandished his sword quickly as he called out to her.
This was his trophy. He still needed a troll. He could barely believe that this was the first one they encountered since Cyrodiil. It was unusual that they were so sparse.
Then again, it was the case for a lot of animals. There were decidedly fewer of them around. He noticed a while ago. The areas around the mountains and cliffs used to be much more… lively. He assumed it was the dragons. A predator like that would deter any animal and monster from roaming too brazenly.
Aeyrin's steps behind him stopped soon enough and Bishop didn't hesitate while the beast was still a bit distracted. He plunged the sword into its exposed stomach, just as it was getting its bearings.
The troll snapped at him wildly, but it was clear the pain was too intense for the beast to do much, especially as the lightning enchantment wreaked its body in erratic spasms. He pulled out his sword quickly then and slashed against its neck.
Easy. The beast was dead soon, slumping onto the road as its blood seeped from its spasming body. Bishop looked down on it in satisfaction.
"One more down. Only one to go!" He exclaimed victoriously. By now, Aeyrin approached him again, this time in a much more relaxed manner.
"The easiest one," she chuckled teasingly. It was hard to believe that the troll earring trophy had still not been claimed, despite the dragon and the minotaur ones being won already. "And does this even count? You didn't exactly 'hunt' it. It 'hunted' you and you defended yourself."
"Not true. I lured it into my trap. I knew exactly where it was," Bishop grinned as he delivered the obvious lie. Clearly not convincingly, since Aeyrin just laughed at him again. That was fine. He just loved seeing her laugh like that.
"Fine," she smirked. "I guess I can give you your trophy when we camp. Who are they though?" She pointed to the corpses again.
Right. He almost forgot. He calmed down now that it was pretty obvious it was all the troll ambusher's doing, but he still wanted to check.
The two of them continued down the road until they could see more of those two dead bodies. And as they neared, the details became apparent. Not the ones Bishop was worried about.
But they were also a bit worrying.
Black hoods, black robes. Golden trims. Tall figures.
Thalmor.
Dead Thalmor. In the middle of the road. Here.
"What are they doing here?" Aeyrin stared at the corpse they reached first in disbelief. "They can't be here, can they?"
It was Whiterun Hold. From what she knew, Thalmor were not allowed to cross the Hold – Aeyrin remembered that from when they were helping Saadia with the Alik'r – the Thalmor sent them because they themselves could not operate around Whiterun. And on this road… how would they even get here? They would either have to cross Eastmarch or the Rift. Neither of those Holds would allow them on their territory. They were not allowed anywhere near here.
"The troll didn't kill them," Bishop scowled fiercely. He had no answer for Aeyrin. Only more questions. The man in front of them was not mauled by a beast, clearly. There were puncture wounds in his torso. From… what? A pitchfork? It looked like it.
"So… Thalmor somehow got here and someone killed them? That's… all of that is disturbing," Aeyrin shook her head. The fact that they would be here in the first place was just… not right. So concerning. If they could just walk down the road in Whiterun Hold, would they be able to do so anywhere else? Or did Whiterun form an alliance already?
As much as Aeyrin hated it that Ulfric's influence was clearly spreading through the Province, the Thalmor wandering wherever wasn't exactly the better alternative. She always worried around them. And rightfully so. After all, she had all the information about a certain secret dissidence hiding out from both them and Ulfric.
And then there was the fact that they were killed. By people. Who would just casually kill a powerful Thalmor? The robes meant that these were Justiciars. No easy foe to defeat. And whoever killed them could get into so much trouble with the Dominion for it. Even if they couldn't persecute them officially, in case they had no right to be here, Thalmor were nothing if not vindictive.
"Look! The second one," Bishop suddenly pointed to the other corpse. "Bootprints."
He was right. There was a pool of blood under both Justiciars, but from the second one, there were bloody prints leading away, towards the river. The killer clearly walked away from the corpse with not much care.
Bishop and Aeyrin shared a look. The curiosity was… too much to resist. The trail was fresh and they might be able to look more into this debacle without getting too close to the more dangerous areas of the Hold for them.
This was a mystery that piqued their interest.
And with Karnwyr currently running somewhere further away, doing his own thing, they needed to do the tracking themselves while the trail was fresh.
It was beckoning.
They continued to follow the blood, across the road, through the grass and towards the river. It led into water there.
They would have lost the trail so easily like that. The killer clearly stepped into the water.
They would have thought it was in order to wash off the evidence, but soon, that theory proved untrue. After all, it was clear that there was no hiding. No, this was quite public.
They saw it from afar, a crowd of people gathered on a slope below a large statue of Talos, right there in the wilderness.
They weren't sure what was happening. The crowd was cheering, murmuring, but they could not hear a word properly.
But there was one voice that rang through, loudly, drowning out the others. Almost preaching.
A voice they both recognized.