"Get back here wretch!"
"Do you people ever give up?"
A clash of swords. Crashing through the brush. The booming crack of a tree slowly falling to the ground.
"What in the world..."
Our heads turned in unison toward the cacophony, the moment between us popping like a bubble. It was only a second before the disruption that we sat against a tree, so close our sides were mashed together; not talking much, just watching the forest. Val's hand had settled on my leg, and I was steadfastly contemplating what to do about it. Now we were up on our feet, weapons drawn, slinking in the direction of the commotion.
Evidently, we didn't have to go very far. A group of Altmer garbed in the black and gold filigreed armor of Thalmor Justicars gathered around the base of an ancient, creaking pine. Several trees of its like lay strewn across the forest floor, their stumps smoking and charred. "You cannot hide up there forever," sneered one of the mer. There was no reply, though a shadow shifted on one of the branches.
"What are you doing!"
"Val, no!" My friend burst from the shrubs we crouched behind, rushing up to the nearest Justicar to seize her by the shoulder as she readied a spell.
"How dare you fell these trees for no reason! Look at the damage you've done. It'll be decades before this section of the forest recovers!"
"This is Thalmor business, and if you're wise you'll stay out of the way." The Altmer regarded the Bosmer coolly, shaking him off with a rough shrug.
"What if we helped you? We could get whatever that is down. Right, Gwaihen?" I begrudgingly stood and returned my bow to its hook on my pack, pursing my lips in silence. The Thalmor turned as one, one of them starting slightly as his eyes flicked to the tattoo on my left cheek. However, the female regarded me with unrestrained dislike.
"As I stated. This is Thalmor business, and those of you who do not associate with us would do well to be on your way."
"Then I can't allow you to massacre the forest just to bring down a single...whatever that is up there."
"Allow! Allow! Boy, you do not 'allow' us to do anything. We will do whatever it takes to see to it that justice is enacted. By writ of capias, we are to seize this woman for questioning. We believe she in league with a band of ruffians who have vandalized no small amount of Aldmeri Dominion property." With an air of authority, the female Altmer produced a scroll, which she held open for us to read. The sneer on her face and speed at which she stuffed the document back into her coat suggested she believed she could not. Just before the parchment was taken away, I caught a familiar signature scrawled in the bottom. Ondolemar.
"We'll leave you be. Please avoid any further destruction. It's...inefficient," I said, attempting my best clipped and neutral tone. "Let's go, Val. We have things to track, remember?"
I took his hand, pulling him after me, while Valindor gaped and huffed. The Justicar nodded regally to us, turning back to their quarry in the tree only to find the shadow was gone. "Dammit!" hissed one of the mer. "Lay traps about the base. She's still up there, I know it. We'll catch her sooner or later."
They faded into the green afternoon as we marched about a mile before I was satisfied enough to be away from them. My friend at last threw my hand away, though I reached after it, this time holding on more gently. His glare was utterly furious. "Why didn't you do something to stop them?"
"I did. They won't burn the trees down anymore, I don't think."
"But they were after that woman!"
"It wasn't our business. Plus, Val, you must not remember, but if I interfere with anything the Justicars do, they have every right to kill me for it. Had one of those Altmer not recognized me, I wouldn't have been worried about intervening."
"But..."
"Furthermore, Ondolemar signed that writ, and of all the--"
"--sleazy, low-down Thalmor, he's the worst."
I spun to see a woman peering at me from the lower branches of a completely different tree. With a heavy thump, she dropped to the thick, fern-coated ground and regarded me with a hard expression. He's not that bad. Just obnoxious and rude. I kept those thoughts to myself, though, as she didn't look like the sort of person who'd appreciate any defense on his behalf. Then, she whistled, and a dog trotted through the undergrowth to sit docilely at her side. It was the same half-wolf breed that Meeko, who, on that note, joyfully greeted another of his kind. "You weren't the one in the tree. Who was?"
"Farkas." I paled at the name at the same time that I blushed. "I see you know him. He'll lead them on a merry chase. Tonight's a full moon after all."
"Full moon?" Valindor's bewildered stare left me wondering how much studying he'd actually done at the Bard's College. This was the sort of thing people were supposed to write about, wasn't it?
"Farkas is a werewolf," I ground out.
"Oh. Do I need to ask how you know that?"
"No." My refusal didn't erase the images of Farkas, in all his Nordic glory, showing off his 'powers' by attempting to hunt and maul me in the woods. How that led to several nights under my roof, I'll never be entirely certain. I was a very different mer then. When I looked up from the ground that had so taken my interest, the woman was gone along with her dog. Meeko seemed decidedly putout by this. I, however, felt quite relieved.
By the time it was well into the afternoon, we split off from the trail to restore our rapidly diminishing rations. I knew we'd probably reach Falkreath by nightfall, but I preferred to see my food walking before I ate it. Valindor left with Meeko to chase smaller game, while I lay still as death on an escarpment overlooking a sunken glade. There, a herd of deer grazed placidly, relying on the largest stag's tall stature and perked ears for protection. His nose lifted, scenting the air delicately.
As I waited for the right moment, my spine tingled and I fought to scratch at it. Then, I spotted my target. On the edge of the herd struggled an old creature, the previous dominant buck with greying hair and bone-white antlers. I drew my bow, engraving the rhythm of its feeding into my head. The tingling spread up my shoulders and down my arms. Dimly, I heard a strange fluttering sound that reminded me of a bird. All of this I forced into the back of my head as I focused on my target, taking careful aim.
Green leaves suddenly strafed across my vision, distracting me as the tingling enveloped my entire body. With a sigh, I relaxed the bowstring and sat up. I looked at my hands and saw tiny, bright green leaves twining around my arms, shrinking until they were small enough to wind around each of my fingers. What is this? I tried to catch one, but it passed right through my skin. They're not real. Yet I was seeing them plain as day.
Suddenly, an unearthly howl cut through the air and a wolf came barreling through the glade. It seized the elderly male deer by the leg and brought his life to an abrupt end. Then, with its maw bloody and toothsome, it stared right at me. I froze, unsure of what this meant. First the leaves, now the wolf. Am I not meant to hunt here, Y'ffre?
My perturbation doubled as the creature approached me. Slowly, I clambered down from the rocks and waited for it in the meadow. Somewhere nearby, Valindor and Meeko were returning, a song of victory drifting from his lips. It stopped a yard from me and stared expectantly.
"Yes?"
Of course, the creature didn't say anything, though part of me expected it to. In the leaves surrounding me, I thought I heard an echo of a voice, reedy and high like a spriggan's. I tried to call forth the one who had designated herself as my guide, but she was either not listening or was nowhere to be found. What if she's inside of me right now. I shook my head at the thought and pinched the bridge of my nose. The wolf, meanwhile, turned and trotted off, looking behind it every few paces. I was meant to follow.
"Val," I called, "I'll be back. I-- There's-- Something I need to attend to." Over on the edge of the forest, Valindor waved and nodded, hands bloody as he cleaned the rabbits he caught.
Ahead, the wolf was waiting for me, and sensing this was no time to have second doubts about divine messages, I followed.
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