|
Chapter 17: Nem's Rest
The four of us
dismounted the silt strider in Suran, still having a bit of an argument about
our short boat trip back.
"I still can't
believe you crashed into the shore..." I said, shaking my head.
"It wasn't my
fault!" Schimmel said. "You told me to keep the boat going straight west, that's
what I did!"
"You should have
had enough common sense to turn when you saw the beach in your way!"
"Don't be too
hard on him, you're the one that said to go east when we first left the island.
How stupid was that?" Barbarius laughed.
"It was an
honest mistake, I don't usually go by just directions, I just follow the signs."
"Roadsigns on
the sea... that would be interesting." Bryenn chuckled. "Of course they'd have
to be renamed seasigns."
"This is getting
stupid. Why don't-" I began, but was promptly cut off.
"Gentlemen!
Welcome back!" Parven shouted, walking toward us with a smile on his face. "I
heard about your little trip from Fargoth, how was it?"
"Dismal. I'd
rather not think about it right now." I said, still a bit irritated. The others
nodded in agreement.
"All right, well
I'm glad you're all back. There are big plans afoot and I need some of my best
members, that includes you four!" Parven said.
"Four? But I
haven't even gone on a mission for you yet, how did I get to be one of your
'best members' all of a sudden?" Barbarius asked.
"You're a
special case, we need you to act as a guide. The plans take place in Solstheim,
and you're probably the most familiar with that land out of all my members.
Therefore, you're going as well." Parven grinned. "I'll explain everything in
two days, preparations must be finished first. Rest up until then!" he walked
off in a hurry, mumbling to himself.
I stared blankly
at Parven as he left, wondering what he was talking about and why I had a really
bad feeling about it. I decided not to think about it too much and wandered off
to the barracks for some sleep, leaving the other three to their own interests.
Morning came
faster than I expected. I stumbled out of the barracks and into the tavern, half
asleep and hungry. I mumbled my order and sat on one of the stools, trying to
wake up. I nearly fell over when someone shouted my name and ran up next to me.
I stared at them for a moment, waiting for my eyes to focus. Once I could make
out the face I was wondering if I was still dreaming. "Trelana?"
"Hey, you
remembered my name this time!" she laughed, sitting on the barstool next to me.
"I heard you were through an awful lot after leaving Ald-Ruhn. I'm glad you're
okay."
"Uh, thanks.
What are you doing here anyway? This tavern is supposed to be only for Forlorn
members, you could get thrown out." I said with a yawn.
"Not a chance,
I'm in the guild too!"
"You wha....
w-why would you do something like that?" I stuttered.
"The Mages'
Guild was getting a little boring, so I decided to try something new. I was only
coming here to visit you at first, but I was told you and three others had just
left for somewhere. I couldn't really afford an inn, so I really just signed up
to have a place to stay. Unfortunately I didn't know there was a trial mission
for newcomers so I had to do that, what a headache."
"Nothing too
dangerous I hope..."
"Not really. Oh
right, I almost forgot. I gave a dwemer tube to Edwinna for you, I said you
dropped it off because you didn't want to see her. She didn't believe me of
course, but didn't have any way to prove it didn't come from you."
"Thanks... I had
been meaning to get one of those to her."
"I also met the
three you went traveling with... it was nice talking with Schimmel again, and
those other two seemed decent enough. I kinda doubted the Nord though, he seemed
a bit strange... what was his name again? Barb... Barber... Barbie..."
"Barbarius!"
someone shouted, walking up behind us. We turned to see Barbarius with an angry
expression on his face. "Don't... call me Barbie..."
"My apologies,
I'm not very good with names." Trelana laughed.
Barbarius
grumbled something and sat down next to Trelana. "So what do you think the
mission is tomorrow, any idea Nem?"
"Not a clue." I
said, turning my attention to the plate of food the bartender just placed in
front of me. "Whatever it is, it can't be good."
"It never is...
not with the missions this lunatic hands out." Ruby grumbled, leaning onto the
counter. "Sorry to bother you, but have any of you seen Schimmel?"
"Nope..." I
said.
"I haven't seen
him since last night." Barbarius replied.
"I know where he
went! Schimmel and Bryenn went to some cave north of town, they heard about some
bandits abducting travelers and Bryenn seemed adamant about going to slaughter
them. Schimmel went along to help. They asked me to join them as well but I
wanted to see Nem first."
"That idiot... I
better go save them." Ruby sighed, turning to leave.
"What are you
talking about?" I asked.
"I heard they're
pretty tricky, those two may be strong but I don't know if they can handle it
alone."
"In that case, I
better go too." Trelana said, getting up.
"Me too."
Barbarius said, following them. "You coming, Nem?"
I shook my head.
"Why bother? If those fools want to get themselves killed it's not my business."
"What? But they
told me when you couldn't find me on that island you were really worried. I bet
you were worried about them as well at first."
"That was
different... it was my fault for getting all of you into that mess. It was my
responsibility to make sure all of you were brought back here safely. I had
nothing to do with their running off this time, it's their problem, not mine." I
said bluntly, continuing to eat.
"Th... that's
just horrible. How can you not be worried!?" Trelana asked, her voice somewhere
between anger and sorrow.
I didn't answer,
taking another bite of food.
"You... are
just.... argh!" Trelana screamed, punching me in the back of the head and
storming out of the tavern, Barbarius following after her.
"With an
attitude like that you'd make a decent assassin. Suppressing your emotions
something most scholars do?" Ruby asked.
"I wouldn't
know. It's just the way I am after..." I began, thinking about my life back in
High Rock, and what had happened after my arrival on Vvardenfell. "Nevermind...
if you're going to help them you'd best be off. Good luck."
"I plan on
talking to you about that later." Ruby said stubbornly, leaving the tavern.
I shrugged it
off, focusing on my breakfast.
"I can't believe
he would say such a thing..." Trelana sighed, walking along the road. "That
jerk, what's wrong with him!? Doesn't he care about them?"
"He's an odd one
all right..." Ruby said, glancing over her shoulder.
"Something's not
right with him. I think all those books have messed up his head." Barbarius
said.
"If you want me
to Trelana, I can beat him up when we get back." Ruby offered.
"No..." Trelana
sighed again. "There's no need for you do to that... I'll do it myself."
"Hate to break
up your Nem bashing, but where exactly is this cave they went to?" Barbarius
asked.
"It a bit
further, we should see it pretty soon." Ruby said.
After a few more
minutes of walking the trio came to a door in the mountainside with two corpses
nearby. It appeared that Schimmel and Bryenn had cut their way in easily. The
three of them went inside and walked along the tunnel, occasionally passing a
corpse or two. Eventually they began to hear sounds of combat and shouting
coming from up ahead.
Bryenn's voice
echoed from down the tunnel. "Damn it Schimmel, I told you not to pull that
lever!"
"How would I
know something like this would happen?! Jeez!" Schimmel replied.
Trelana charged
down the tunnel, Barbarius close behind her. Ruby hesitated, looking back the
way they came and grinning. She muttered something, shaking her head and running
off to join the others. The three of them dashed down the passage, finding
Bryenn and Schimmel in a large, round room with four gates. The one in front of
the trio was open, along with the two on each side of them, the one across
however, was shut and locked. Bryenn and Schimmel had their backs to the closed
gate, fending off dozens of Nix Hounds that were pouring in from the gates on
the left and right.
"I've never seen
so many of them in one place..." Trelana muttered, staring at the Nix Hounds.
"Now is not the
time to be impressed, we've got to help them!" Ruby shouted, dashing by Trelana
and Barbarius with a dagger in each hand. "Get away from him you ugly beasts!"
she yelled, leaping on top of one and thrusting her daggers into it's back.
Barbarius and
Trelana followed suit, using every weapon and spell at their disposal to slay
the countless Nix Hounds that were surrounding their friends.
Bryenn and
Schimmel were surprised by the sudden appearance of Ruby, Barbarius and Trelana,
but quickly came to their senses and starting hacking away at the Nix Hounds as
well.
After a few
minutes, all of the Hounds were dead. The group of five had survived the
onslaught, but not without their share of injuries. As they treated their
wounds, a voice echoed through the room.
"I can't believe
this..." someone said.
They looked up,
and saw a Breton with short black hair and a tattered gray robe standing on a
small balcony above the barred door. He glared down at the group, and began
yelling. "Damn it! Why can't you all just mind your own business!? I needed
those Nix Hounds!"
"We could care
less about those things, now return the people you have held here!" Bryenn
shouted at him.
"You're too late
to save them, you fetcher. They're already dead. Now leave, I have to finish
something important."
"If you think
we're gonna just let you get away with murdering people..."
"You're dead
wrong!" Barbarius shouted, hurling a throwing knife at the Breton and piercing
his shoulder.
The Breton let
out a cry of pain and stumbled backwards as it struck. "Damn you, you'll regret
that! You'll all be my final test." He shouted, running off.
After a moment
the barred gate slowly opened, but nothing beyond a couple inches could be seen.
Trelana stepped toward the entrance, and stared down the dark tunnel for a
second, then turned to the others.
"I don't have a
torch... how about y-" Trelana was cut off as something swung at her from the
edge of the shadows. It struck her firmly in the side, sending her flying across
the room and colliding with Schimmel, knocking them both out.
"That was a
cheap shot, Breton!" Bryenn shouted, rushing at the darkness with his sword in
the air. Before he could reach them, a large figure, much larger than a Breton,
charged out of the tunnel and struck Bryenn in the chest. Bryenn sailed through
the air and struck the opposite wall, collapsing into a heap on the ground.
"What the hell
is that thing?!" Ruby yelled, backing away from it.
The beast
appeared to be a Nix Hound, but it stood on two legs and was as big as a Nord.
The Breton they had seen earlier appeared on the balcony again, laughing. "How
do you like it? I've been searching for ways to create much more powerful
monsters, and this is one of my best outcomes! If it can slaughter you fools, I
know it has been all worth it! I'll show that fool, he'll regret what he did to
me!"
"That guy's
psycho..." Ruby muttered, keeping an eye on the deformed Nix Hound.
"This is not
good..." Barbarius said, glancing at Trelana, Schimmel and Bryenn, who were all
still unconscious. "You think we can kill it alone?"
"No idea. I do
know I won't go down without a fight though." Ruby grinned.
"You're right
about that." Barbarius said, gripping his dagger tightly.
|
