The Solitude stable was owned and operated by a surly woman named Katla, whose face resembled worn leather and whose frame stood straight and flat like a board. She charged a high price to keep horses in her stable, but the expense was fair enough for the care she showed them. Since my last visit, the woman had acquired a small boy who I found working the grain mill. His dark tunic was covered in dust and wheat chaff. That boy looked lonely enough, being the only one on the stead, working himself to the bone.
Meeko leaned idly against my side, and I watched him for a while, thinking of where we were going next. "Meeko," I said, my heart already aching with what I was about to do. "I need you to stay here. Stay with that boy over there."
The dog looked to the boy, then back to me and whined. His nosed pushed into my hip and his ears flattened against his skull.
"I'm sorry, friend. You can't come with me. I'm going somewhere too dangerous for you. Stay with that boy. Make him your friend--I think he needs one." I hugged the dog, breathing in the oily smell of his fur. 'I'm come back. I promise. But I can't take you where those creatures would just as soon tear you apart for sport."
With low moan, Meeko sat on his haunches and eyed the boy, the whites of his eyes betraying his anxiety. After several moments, he huffed and laid in the dirt, seeming to accept his new fate. Standing, I choked on the sorrow of parting with my constant companion. I could still remember seeing his form emerging out of the mists of the swamp to clamp his teeth down on a chaurus that had been inches from lopping my head off. He staid with me, even when creeping into dragon nests and caves, but now we were heading into something too great for even his brave heart.
Valindor shrugged in sympathy, placing a hand on my back as we made our way down to the docks. Serana, on the other hand, hid in the stables to avoid the blazing noonday sun. She followed begrudgingly, blinking like a cat emerging from a long nap.
"Goodbye, Meeko," I murmured. Behind me, the dog began to howl.
"Quiet you! If you're gonna stay here, get to work!"
"Katla, go easy on the pup. He's just lost his pack."
"As if you would know. You've never seen a wolf in your life, let alone know what a pack was."
The voices of the quarreling farmers receded in the distance as the bluff rose behind us, the neatly cobbled path winding in a tight switchback toward the water. A set of stairs escorted dockworkers and merchants to a maze of boardwalks and docks. Underfoot, the water-warped wood creaked nosily, in dire need of oiling and refinishing. Overhead, the sun gleamed like a bright portal in the sky.
All things considered, our journey promised to start off in better conditions than the last one. We were relatively well-rested and unhurried, though my feet moved faster than strictly necessary.
Around us, huge ships with carefully rolled mainsails bobbed slowly in the water of the inlet. Some were laden with innumerable crates, others barren and empty. A few sailors milled about, but those on leave were undoubtedly holed up in the Winking Skeever, drinking the afternoon away only to drink the night away as well.
"Out of the way, elf," groused an Argonian carrying a large barrel on one shoulder. His scales were a pale color like that of human skin, and his eyes didn't seem quite like any other of his race that I had seen. The dark plumes on his head looked less like traditional feathers and more like bristly hairs. Is he part human? "What 'r you starin at?" To my alarm, his grimace held teeth that were shaped much like my own, though they grew along the rim of a snout.
"Nothing. Apologies."
"Tsch. Keep your apologies."
He stalked up a short stair leading to a building bearing the mark of the East Empire Company and disappeared into the building.
"Gwaihen, this man take us to island. Come. We must depart. Mother is waiting." Serana waved at me from the end of a pier where a short, watery-eyed man sat with his legs dangling over the water. The vampire's hood slipped and she snatched at it, pulling it down to hide her face.
"To eat us, no doubt," smirked Valindor, pausing to wait for me.
"We'll be fine."
"Are you saying you trust her?"
"Not exactly, but I'm counting on her needing us enough to make our lives valuable."
"What does a vampire need with a couple of Bosmer?"
The question actually had not yet occurred to me, and it placed a seed of doubt in regard to our actual use in this woman's mission. Why did she need us to hide her scroll? What sacrifice must be made to ensure the scroll is hidden? As my thoughts churned unpleasantly, the returning answers were unfavorable and each more horrifying than the last. Still, she had something to do with the Soul Cairn. I was sure of it, though my evidence proving such was flimsy at best. The best I could hope for was to follow her, aid her, and hope her connection would reveal itself to us in time.
We clambered into the boat, I assuming my usual position hanging over the edge of the vessel, barely able to keep the constant nausea at bay. Round and round we go, I thought as the familiar coarse to the castle unraveled over the course of the day.
At least this time, it wasn't snowing.
