[Aqua-chan]

Fortunately for them the two Bosmeri women were able swimmers, capable of holding a good breath. They were nothing in comparison to Dwells-In-Thick-Marsh, however, as the Argonian was a swift swimmer and didn’t need to return to the surface periodically for air. He did hang back with them once they began to lag behind, keeping a careful look out and brandishing his spear at the common slaughterfish that kept nearing them hungrily. It would be safer to get on land were they could stop and catch their breaths, he decided. He tapped one of the elves on the shoulder and began swimming towards the beach.

It was good to have solid land under their feet. Seyda Need was far out of sight and they weren’t being pursued as far as they could tell, but they would still have to keep moving. Dwells-In-Thick-Marsh would remind them of this after they’d rested a while. In the meantime, it would be interesting to see what the two were like when they weren’t running for their lives.

“This was a bloody stupid idea.”

“I’m free of shackles and that dark boat. I ain’t complainin’.”

“It’ll be the first time in a while you’ve actually kept your mouth shut,” she taller woman snapped. She was clearly irritated, understandable since she had been through a very stressful ordeal and had come out of it only dripping wet and bleeding. It was too dark to make out her face, but Dwells-In-Thick-Marsh could feel her eyes boring into him. “So, you’re our exalted savior now. Tell me, what do we do now, exactly?”

The Argonian shifted his weight and took her attitude into stride. “Now we rest. Maybe only for an hour since we’re still only a stone’s throw from Seyda Neen. We’ll move again once you both are collected.”

The smaller of the two wood elves happily collapsed upon hearing this, eager to relax her tired muscles. The other was more reluctant to indulge and seemed to want to get moving, but reconsidered her status. She took her seat on a fallen tree, and Dwells-In-Thick-Marsh merely leaned on a boulder for support.

“So, where are we?” the smaller elf asked, ripping the leaves of a plant apart unconsciously. She was clearly nervous and lost having not seen daylight since they’d left Cyrodiil roughly a week before.

“You’re on Vvarndenfell. The Ascadian Isles, to be precise.”

“Oh,” was the only reply she could muster before her companion took charge.

“And who are you? More importantly, why did you attack that ship?”

“I am Dwells-In-Thick-Marsh, loyal member to the Thieves Guild. And we attacked your captors because we believe that some one very important to the well-being of the local population was being held-“

“The younger elf interrupted, “Why did you help us? You could have saved yourself, but you hesitated because we were there.”

Dwells-In-Thick-Marsh looked up to the night sky and recognized the star patterns entirely. He placed and named every one he saw, and one stood out in particular. “Were either of you born under the sign of the Shadow?”

Again, the younger elf answered. “Yes, I was.” Dwells-In-Thick-Marsh turned to the taller woman, and now her face was illuminated by some luminous russula that was flowering nearby.

“And you were born under the Ritual.” It wasn’t a question.

The elf straightened up threateningly as if suspicious of the Argonian. “How did you know that?”

“A lucky guess,” he lied, sheathing his spear over his back, “We should get moving now. We won’t have the dark to hide us for much longer, and I’d like to get to Vivec with as little notice as possible. I’ll answer your questions along the way.”




--- --- ---



The hike was interesting, if uneventful. Dwells-In-Thick-Marsh had been brought back to his own first days on the new continent as he led the two Bosmer sisters, Sietsuna and Allorin, through the region. Neither of them had ever heard of or seen netches before, and seeing the massive jellyfish-like animals suspended in the air stunned and puzzled them both. Allorin was definitely fascinated with the more fluorescent Betty netches with their blue coloration, and Sietsuna was seemingly curious with the local plant life and the alchemical properties behind everything. Through the entire trip they bounded the Argonian with questions about every little thing they came across, and being a patient man Dwells-In-Thick-Marsh divulged every bit of information he knew.

At one point Allorin, the younger and seemingly more carefree of the two sisters, noticed a complex of lights out to sea. “Is that where we’re heading?”

Dwells-In-Thick-Marsh glanced over quickly before returning his discerning eye back over to the pair of kogouti that was getting too close for comfort. “No, that’s Ebonheart. It’s an Imperial city, and while I doubt that word of our escapade in Seyda Neen has gotten there yet I don’t want to take any chances. We’re going to Vivec which is under Temple jurisdiction and, more importantly, is much larger.”

“How long will it be until things settle down with the Imperial Guard, do you think? It’ll be a tedious task, always having to hide from them.”

“Well, that really depends on how much they find out. Alone, I’d say it’ll be about a week before you can come out of hiding, but should somebody let it slip that you escaped during an attack on a ship because we were liberating the Nerevarine you may always have to watch you backs.”

“What the hell is the Nerevarine?”

The Argonian stopped and turned to the women. “I suppose its best we talk about this now before we get into Vivec city, lest the Ordinators hear us and arrest us on the spot. The Dunmer have an old prophecy that speaks of the god Nerevar and the betrayal of certain other gods. I don’t know all of the prophecy, but lore tells us that Nerevar had some very powerful weapons in his possession. Apparently the Tribunal gods - Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil - took these weapons for their own use. These days the god of Blight, Dagoth Ur, has possession of these items and lives inside Red Mountain, waiting for the incarnate of Nerevar, the Nerevarine, to come and make a truce or something along those lines…”

Sietsuna rose and eyebrow and crossed her arms. “That made absolutely no sense at all.”

“As I said, the prophecy itself is very much unknown. We know that the story includes the deception of the Tribunal gods, so it makes sense that the Tribunal Temple would work to discredit the prophecy and everything about it. They’ve banned most books speaking of the history of this land, and almost nothing is known about what happened at Red Mountain all those years ago. Perhaps some of the Ashlander tribes can recall the story, but few of them really care to speak with outlanders like you and I.”

“Back to the current things that apply to us,” Sietsuna started, and once again the trio was back to traveling along the beaten path. The kogouti were long gone leaving only scribs and the trees to eavesdrop on their conversation, “What will we be doing in Vivec? We’ve got no gold between us and nobody but your allies to side with, should you have any.”

“I have no Guild associates in Vivec but Addhiranirr, but there’s no telling where she is at the present. We’re going to my cousin, Miun-Gei. He’s a freelance enchanter in the Foreign Quarter of Vivec. He’ll offer us sanction until you get back on your feet. You should have no trouble acquiring gold in a city where everybody is willing to pay to have something done.”

“You should know that work and labor is not typically how Sietsuna and I earn our gold.” Allorin grinned widely, yet the deviant look offset even the mellowest of Argonians.

“I never did learn why you both had been imprisoned,” he pointed out. For a moment it looked as if Allorin was ready to quell his curiosity before Sietsuna stopped her.

“Later. Right now let’s just focus on getting to this cousin of yours. I just don’t feel safe out here anymore.”