Snatching my bow and quiver, along with a bundle I tied about my waist, I returned to Valindor and Meeko, who stood waiting on the path. On my table, I left a note for Rayya should she come by. We were only going to Falkreath, but for some reason, I felt the need to prepare as if I wouldn't return for some time. The bundle contained what items I might need for travel, for the pack I carried on so many journeys was lost in a crevice in the north. I winced as my sword dug into my side.
Initially, we started down the path, following the trail of Beleval and the rest of the Dawnguard. The sun's bright rays gradually diminished as clouds crept in to shroud the day in a thick layer of moist air. Meeko padded along gamely behind me. Valindor brought up the rear, his footfalls soft and meandering. As we passed a pond, fish started and shoaled to the opposite bank, waking drowsing mudcrabs that plucked fish from the water as a bird plucks berries from the brush. The dog barked at the crabs when they waddled too close. In surprise, they raised their claws, clacking their jaws, tiny cabinet-like maws squealing threats. One of the crustaceans managed to clamp on to Meeko's nose, and with a yelp, he ran to me, shaking his head violently.
"You shouldn't have bothered that crab," I reprimanded, gripping the claw and wrenching it open wide enough for his nose to slip free. He whined and trotted ahead, trying to recover some of his dignity.
After half an hour, we reached the road, diverging from the Dawnguard's trail by turning south towards the town of Falkreath. I spent the next stretch of road gathering enough courage to even approach the memories I so studiously avoided. "So, that's your song I've heard in the tavern, isn't it?" I asked at last.
"Yes. The one I sang at the celebration," he responded, catching up to me so we walked abreast. The clouds thickened and a fine drizzle started to fall. I wrapped an oilskin hood over my head, knowing the weather would grow worse as we approached the town. It always did. Never have I seen a settlement so prone to gloomy rain that was always just cold enough to make old wounds ache.
"I bet Viarmo was very interested to know why you left," I commented, recalling the Altmer who bet on whether or not I existed. At this, my companion's face reddened to the deep shade of a radish.
"I--He-- He didn't exactly know when I left. We don't speak anymore," he stammered, wringing the hem of his tunic.
"Why not?" I asked in surprise. The two had seemed fairly close--a master and an apprentice at the very least, if not friends.
"After you left, I might have attended a party for the courtiers where I was to sing. And at that party, I might have drank too much spiced wine. It's possible that I botched my song and insulted Jarl Elisif by comparing her to a horker. And I'm not sure, but Thane Erikur might have said something that offended me, and I might have trussed him on the table and gagged him with an apple, then imitated eating him," he explained. Though his face contorted into an ashamed cringe, the grin he sported spread slowly across its surface as water fills a basin. By the end of his recount, he resembled a tiny old goblin that just ingested a bowl of moon sugar.
"You what!" I cried. I wasn't sure if I should laugh at him or hurt him.
"Viarmo expelled me from the College, and the Jarl has banned me from returning to Solitude until my hair grows white."
"So, your career as a bard is over, then."
"No! not over! Never over, my dear. That's why I want to go with you. I want to prove to Viarmo that one doesn't need formal training to become great. I'll go back with a song for the ages!" he proclaimed, eyes bright. His hands gripped mine in excitement.
I stepped back a pace, suddenly uncomfortable and reminded of strange visions and a terrifying closeness with the Bosmer. "Viarmo seemed like the kind of Altmer who developed a sense of humor," I said as a distraction. "I would have thought he found the whole night amusing."
"He would have, had he not been debarred from the court and the Burning of King Olaf officially banned with no change of repeal."
"Oh." That was serious given how proud the mer appeared with the prospect of the festival continuing in all its glory.
We continued down the road, progressing ever downhill towards the valley where Falkreath dwelt. A darkened cabin loomed in the trees over the road, and even in the daylight, a chill came from that place. I wondered, then, as I had every time I passed that house, if it was here the townspeople thought the "witch woman" lived. Thankfully, I was generally unrecognizable with my hood on. No one would bother a stranger garbed as a hunter. Though, the thought of gliding through Falkreath in "disguise" reminded me of the time Derkeethus and I masqueraded as Imperial soldiers in Solitude. My skills at beguiling others had not improved since then, and I felt that traveling with such an ostentatious, but attractive, bard would not aid me in stealth.
So lost in my thoughts was I that I didn't notice when I marched on alone. That Valindor disappeared from my side. Only Meeko tailed at my heels, protective as ever. Turning, peering through the now-pouring rain, I spied the Bosmer staring up into the trees with a strange look on his face.
"Valindor?" I called as I approached him.
"Come here, look at this," he whispered, squinting his eyes. I followed his gaze, searching blindly for whatever drew his attention. "No, there." His hands forced my head to turn a little to the left, so that I gazed into a tall spruce, bursting with cones. I froze.
Peering from between the branches and needles were a pair of violently green eyes, bright and glowing. One of them winked at me as if in recognition, and though I had no idea what was in that tree. I only knew those eyes looked terribly familiar. I just couldn't quite place to whom they belonged. Still, the discomfort and power I sensed from that gaze had me drawing and arrow and firing into the tree at those haunting orbs. Suddenly, a gust ruffled the tree, and I heard branches cracking and wood groaning. My arrow tumbled harmlessly to the ground. Rain fell into my eyes, but when I cleared them, the watching eyes were gone.
"What was that?" I asked.
"I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me. They looked familiar, didn't they," he replied, thoughtful.
With a frown, I tugged on his tunic as I passed. "Come on. This rain won't get any better the longer we stand here."
It wasn't long before the road tipped down a steep slope, ending in a gate arched over the road. A pair of guards stood watch, though their frequent glances toward the interior of the town suggested their shifts were almost over. Off to the right, a few starlings chirped shrilly to each other as they searched for food. Meeko chased after them, delighting in frightening them into the trees where they squawked angrily at the intruder. Feeling a hand on my arm, I stopped to see the Bosmer yanking his clinging tunic and leggings back into their respective places.
"This weather is horrible here. Is it always like this?" he said, with a visibly suppressed shiver.
"Usually. Sometimes there's sunlight for a few hours."
"Why do you imprison yourself here? You could live anywhere! You could live in Solitude. Or Riften. With me-- With many who care about you."
"Maybe I just need a good soaking," I replied idly, walking ahead.
"What? What does that mean?" Valindor called, trotting to catch up with me. I made no reply as we passed under the gates into Falkreath, where the rain filled the streets with shallow puddles and the mill leaked damp sawdust into a slushy pile that oozed throughout the town.
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