Eye of the Wind – Ch. 1 – 7: The Elixir

• Posted by Kyrielle Atrinati September 2, 2012 - 399 views

  Derkeethus ran ahead, firing arrows into the bodies of two bandits that came out to meet us.  Yet, as we were running in, a pack of wolves from the other side charged the same bandits.  For several moments, a three-sided melee opened up.  Teeth flashed, weapons slashed, armor clashed, it was a cacophony of sound and movement.  I watched, picking off the archers up on the walls, focusing each shot into the center of their bodies.

  That was, until I heard, "GET 'ER!" and "YER MINE YA WENCH!"

  I took down the hide-draped bandit out in front, but caught a blow from the axe of the thug right behind him that unsteadied me.  The wolves and Jorin left an out of breath Derkeethus to follow the axe-wielding maniac.  I drew my knives as all five of us collided.  

  In the frenzy of motion, Jorin snuck under the legs of the thug as I aimed a blow at his right shoulder.  He was sent stumbling over my companion and the wolves did their work on him, while I did my work on the wolves.  They collapsed in a heap on top of Jorin, who I yanked from the pile by the scruff of his neck.

  "Honestly, what were you thinking?" I asked him.  But there was no time for admonishments as the remaining bandits on the battlements ran towards the stairs.

  Derkeethus recovered and beat them before they reached an archway.  As he fired an arrow, I ran past him to slice up the last of our foes.

  At this point in the battle I could feel the power from the dragon heart pulsing in my ears, demanding action.  Demanding resolution.  My movements became effortless.  The smell of blood was glued to the inside of my brain and I could no longer contain myself as the last bandit fell.

  Dropping to my knees I carved a chunk of flesh from the arm of the woman and savored the taste.  Behind me, I heard Derkeethus clear his throat.  "You're not planning to eat all of our enemies, are you?  I don't want to have to roll you the rest of the way to Riften."

  I stared at him, uncomprehending.  Then I returned to myself and swallowed, feeling like nothing more than a flea-bitten mutt crawling around in filth.

  "No, we'll pile the rest in the forge."  I could not meet his gaze.

  "Oh, good." He shuffled his feet a little uneasily, and distantly, I heard his stomach growl.

  "If you want some, we'd better cook it first.  Not...eat it raw."

  "I see." he looked at me quizzically.  "Are you all right?"

  "I'm fine."  I stood at the edge of the battlements, gripping the stone until my knuckles turned white.  I tried to get a grip on myself, but continued to feel as if my mind was sliding into pieces.  Fragmenting and shattering into reflections of itself.  I felt Derk's presence somewhere behind me before I felt his hand on my shoulder.

  "My people have done stranger things than gnaw on somebody's arm."

  "It's not that.  I...I can't explain it.  I felt like I was fracturing into a million different pieces for a moment there.  I still feel it to a degree, but it's ebbing away with each breath."  I sighed, and we looked out for a while towards the road to Riften.

  We eventually descended the stairs and began to move the bodies towards the still-burning forge.  It was hard work, as many of the bodies were quite heavy.  Even after we divested them of their effects.

  Derkeethus offered to take the first watch this time, insisting I rest in the stable on the soft hay.  Sleep took me and for a while I did find peace in my dreams of Valenwood.

  When he woke me for my shift, the stars were bright overhead.  Tiny diamonds in the sky.  Little holes in the ether leading out into some nowhere realm.  Leaving Jorin and Derk to sleep, I quietly climbed the wooden lookout platform and sat staring at the sky.

  Maybe my destiny was written up there.  I spotted the Archer in the sky, gaily leaping and aiming his bow at his foe, the Serpent.

  I took his lead and aimed into the sky at the same Serpent, envisioning it as the strangeness inside my mind.  I fired, knowing full well I was wasting an arrow in the process, but not minding as I listened to it whistle far out into the dark.

  Wandering around the fort, I spent the remainder of the early morning using the fire-tempered bones from the forge to fletch more arrows.  Using some bear fat from earlier, I sat down and oiled the plates of my armor, one piece at a time, finding deep comfort in the warm smell of the fat and smooth texture of the plates.  I slipped Derk's weapons from his prone form and cleaned them of blood, doing the same for my knives.

  By the time I was done, larks were singing with the coming of dawn and I felt my mind whole again.

  I woke Derkeethus and we ate a hasty meal of bear meat and cheese.  Then I called the horses from the surrounding fields and we headed onward to Riften.

  When we reached the assuredly active watchtowers of Riften, a courier intercepted me.  He gave me a handbill detailing a new museum of some sort in Dawnstar.  I hadn't the slightest idea where Dawnstar was, but I figured it must be somewhere with access to a nice sunrise.

  Passing by, we climbed the hill towards the main gates.  At the stables, I saw, to my delight, the Khajiit caravan had camped in their southern location.  Derkeethus saw to the horses while I did a little haggling.

  I greeted Ahkari with the kind of enthusiasm reserved for professional relationships where many shared events are not spoken of, but only suggested behind the rigors of small talk.

  "Morning Ahkari, it's been some time since I've seen you across the river near Kynesgrove."

  "Ah, so nice to see a friendly face," she said, smiling, "So many refuse to talk to us.  They call us thieves and smugglers."

  "Well, you do smuggle things.  And you're very good at getting goods that don't always come from reputable sources," I quipped.

  "That is true, but they don't have to know that, do they?"  We laughed.  It was true, but the caravans were, for the most part, completely legitimate.

  We bartered for a while, I trading in some pelts, animal parts, and odds and ends for a few hard to find ingredients.  Then we parted.  Derkeethus and Jorin joined me at the entrance, and we passed inside, thoroughly ignoring the guard who looked like a charlatan if there ever was one.

  As the heavy gate closed behind us, we found ourselves in the hustle and bustle of a morning at the market.