When I woke, the hunter was gone and the fire was cold. Faint bootprints in the underbrush led away from my camp, along with the tell-tale s-shape of a robe being dragged across leaves. A vague memory of that chilly, commanding voice echoed in my mind and I slapped my hand to my neck, searching frantically for any wounds. Blessedly, there were none to be found. With that small comfort, I packed up my camp in the cold morning air.
Chewing on a strip of venison, I called forth the glowing leaves in hopes of picking up the deer's trail, but they only spun leisurely in place. Now what, I wondered. In all truth, the deer had probably gone to Riften, but that was no guarantee and I still had a little time left from the time I would meet Valindor there. So, plucking up my courage, I envisioned the spriggan spirit in her strange realm and attempted to summon her. Nothing happened. A sphere of magicka swirled in my hand, but no amount of pushing the magicka out of of me caused the spriggan to appear.
"Conjuration requires and investment of the caster's soul," Falion murmured in my memory.
An investment... A connection! That was it! I lacked a connection to the other planes of existence. That was why I couldn't conjure creatures anymore. Immediately, I thought of Derkeethus and where his soul might be trapped as a scowl clustered over my brow. Maybe the connection between us hadn't truly closed, and whatever plane his soul now lingered on blocked me from reaching the planes where most animal spirits dwelt. But that spriggan was different somehow. She was like Y'ffre.
Upon that realization, I envisioned Y'ffre's strange forested hall of light and how it felt to walk under those eerie trees. The magicka in my hand condensed and burst into a portal of bright light. From the portal stepped the spriggen, her head tilted curiously.
"I need to find the deer that brought me to the sanctuary," I said.
"Why? Have you lost the trail that lies right under your nose?" she smirked, turning as if to disappear again.
"Wait. Please. Can you help me or not?" I sighed and rubbed the muscles of my temple with my fingers. To my everlasting gratitude, the spriggan dashed up the hill, following what was left of the road until it dead-ended on the edge of the forest. The spirit wove in and out and around the trees, taking me on a helter-skelter chase across the wide basin.
As I followed at a crouch, gold and fiery orange leaves tumbled to the ground as the aspens quaked in the smallest of air currents. Abruptly, we came to a low pond where the spirit stopped and stood looking out across the crowded woodland as if she could see farther than the few hundred yards I could manage before the branches and leaves merged together.
"Your friend has met the creature you seek. You need only go to him." With that, the luminescent spirit fizzled into a fine cloud of light before fading completely.
For several moments, I paused and peered through the trees, trying to glean some idea of where I was. Then, I spied a glimpse of straw rooftops through the trees along with the thin stream of blackened smoke churning from what must have been a smelter. Shor's Stone lay in that direction, which meant Riften was to the south. Feeling more confident at last, I loped southward, Meeko galloping behind me, barking loud enough to alert everything within several miles to our presence.
Nevertheless, we made it in due time, arriving atop an escarpment overlooking the main road by early afternoon. I watched the patrols for a while before slowly climbing down, my fingers remembering how to grip the rock without slipping. The dog barked and whined at the edge, looking down at me as if unsure if he should try climbing, too. Thankfully, he seemed to remember he didn't possess opposable thumbs and settled for running south toward the lake the city overlooked.
When I reached the bottom, my fingers were sore and my nails looked torn and ragged. This would have been easier if I had been wearing gloves, I realized rather belatedly. I proceeded up the road, taking my time now that I had almost reached my destination and enjoying the clear, late spring air. Meeko eventually caught up to me near the city gate, his fur thoroughly drenched and mud caking his legs. The grin on his face was one of careless, almost ignorant, delight.
At the gate, I found the deer, who bowed his great, antlered head and let out his flute-like cry.
"Our journey is at an end end end. Goodbye, boiche -iche -iche..." spoke the strange, whispering voice from the deer, the sound faint and tinny.
"Thank you for your help. Though it would have been nice if you had stuck around to bring me here," I groused. The creature laughed in a wheezing manner, then sped off into the trees. I watched it go for as long as I could see it's flashing, pale tail, then started for the gate. My hand was poised to pull open the great door to the city, when leaves crunching less than a pace behind me made me turn, my sword drawn in a flash.
"You're losing your touch, my dear," smirked Valindor, who deftly stepped aside my wild sweep.
"Sorry, I... I didn't sleep well last night. Bad dreams," I replied. It was an excuse, really. I just didn't want him to know about the body from the pool that still left me on edge, or the phantom in the night making slick, wet sounds on the sleeping hunter. The thought still made me slightly sick.
"Hm. Don't worry about it," he said, his easy smile tainted with traces of obvious doubt. Then his eyes lit up and he took my hand, pulling me towards the stables. "There's a surprise for you over here. I think you'll be quite pleased now that your glorious woodland mount has departed."
"Oh, no. Don't tell me you bought a goat or something worse for me to ride. And there's no way we're riding double on Brelye," I chided, though heat rose unbidden to my face at the thought of spending untold hours so close to my friend. I'll walk if I have to. We can trade riding.
"Unfortunately, nothing quite so enjoyable--Brelye wouldn't tolerate any tomfollery. Ah, here we are. My lady, I present you your magnificent steed across the lands!" He released my hand and bowed, gesturing to the horse in the nearest stall. It was Brelye, and my first reaction was simple confusion and refusal.
"You can't give me your horse. You're mad! Besides, what will you ride?"
"I can do whatever I damn well please with my horse," he laughed. "As for me, I bought this nice little mare here at the stable. Brelye's always been too stodgy and proud for me--he looks better when you're on him." I examined Val's new mount, a painted, long-legged thing with a willy-nilly kind of sloppy grace to her. She was a better fit, if I thought about it. Then, I truly thought about what he just said.
"Are you saying I'm stodgy!"
"No! Not at all! I just meant...er... Ah, he looks more noble as your steed. You make him less stodgy. You're not stodgy at all. Really." He scrabbled for words in a rare moment of gravity, and I felt a grin crawling across my face as I watched him sweat out my accusation. His eyes met mine candidly, and seeing the jest there, relaxed a little. There was a momentarily awkward pause as we mentally groped around something between us.
"We still have a little daylight left. Maybe we can find the Dawnguard by nightfall."
"Right... No time like the present, I suppose." I heard the tinge of regret in his voice as we stepped up into our respective saddles.
Comments
Val! Ready for anything and eager without skill! The perfect companion that doesn't shadow the protagonist!(plus he's not a girl, making the woman being the stronger one.)