By: The Orange Mask
Claudia, Wulden and I found ourselves travelling near Lake Honrich just around sunset. I had tried to warn Claudia of starting too early, but her excitement was infectious, and we soon found ourselves packing up camp and closing in on Riften; the same town that a mere 2 days ago seemed a world away. Despite the searing pain Claudia must’ve been feeling in the direct sunlight, she was still beaming.
“Doesn’t it hurt to be up this early, Claudia?” I asked.
“I agree, Mistress Claudia; you shouldn’t be up this early, not while the sun’s still out.” Wulden looked genuinely concerned for Claudia, but I couldn’t tell if that emotion was due to his enthrallment or not.
“Sure, it hurts,” Claudia stopped walking, and turned away from the sun, towards us. “But I’m just so excited! All my life I’ve wanted to go to Riften!”
“Why? From what I’ve heard, the city’s only important figures are the Thieves’ Guild and the Black-Briar family.” I personally disliked both thieves and rich families, so Riften held nothing of importance to me.
“I used to have a cousin in Riften, and he was in with the Thieves’ Guild. He used to tell me how great working with them was; the thrill of doing a job, the gold he’d made. He said it was the best job in the world…” Claudia stared off into the distance for a few moments.
“So you want to join the Thieves’ Guild? You just joined the College a few weeks ago.”
“I just want to see what it’s like; I want to run a job with the Thieves’ Guild.” A look of shock and horror spread across Wulden’s face.
“Mistress Claudia! How could you want to do something so reckless? What if you were to get hurt?”
“Relax, Wulden; chances are they won’t send me on anything dangerous.” Claudia smiled, trying to help Wulden calm down.
“If they let you in, that is.” I said. Claudia looked over at me and pouted. “If you really wanted to go to Riften, why didn’t you do it earlier? 70 years is plenty of time to travel.”
“I don’t know. Whiterun was the only home I ever knew until a few weeks ago; it was the only place I ever had friends, or a family. I guess-“
“You didn’t want to be alone.” I finished Claudia’s sentence.
“Yeah.” Tears began to well up in Claudia’s eyes as the sun set behind her. She smiled that remarkable smile that had first attracted me to her, and I found myself unable to look away. Rather, I smiled back. Shortly after, I found myself embracing Claudia as she cried.
“Mistress Claudia, I hate to interrupt the moment, but perhaps we should get going.” Wulden was timid about interrupting, and I frankly didn’t want the moment to pass, but Claudia let go of me nonetheless.
“You’re right, Wulden; we should keep moving.” I wanted to object, but Claudia had made up her mind, and I didn’t want to upset her. She turned just as the sun set, and as we kept walking, I heard Claudia issue a sigh of relief.
“I thought you said the sun didn’t bother you.” I said. Claudia gave me a playful push.
“Shut up…” Claudia began to giggle a bit.
Claudia, Wulden and I walked along in silence for a while, appreciating the sounds of the night around Lake Honrich. Since I’d joined the College, the only sounds I’d heard at night were the howling of wolves and wind. After 2 years, the sound of crickets was almost foreign, yet strangely comforting. Claudia seemed to be enjoying it, too; I’m sure that 3 weeks at the college had made her feel separated from the world, and I could tell she missed the sounds of the forest and the plains. Her expression was happier than I’d seen her since those first few nights in Whiterun.
Wulden, however, seemed almost frightened of the sounds. Perhaps it was due to living in Dawnstar, or fear of his own life, or fear of Claudia’s; he mistrusted the woods, and every sudden sound scared him out of his wits. He was hoping to get into the nearest shelter as soon as possible. That’s why he interrupted Claudia and me, I guess…
I was jolted out of my thoughts as I heard a scream a few hundred feet ahead of me. I looked around to find Claudia and Wulden, only to hear Wulden calling for help in the same direction the scream came from.
“Son of a…” I began sprinting in my armor all the way to Claudia and Wulden, who were both hanging, upside-down, from a tree some 40-feet tall. I was flabbergasted; I couldn’t believe someone had gone through the trouble to hang a snare trap that high in a tree.
“…Hey! Help us down!” Claudia cried, sounding more like she was complaining than actually in peril. I began to formulate a plan. I couldn’t see where the careless hunter had put the stake to hold his trap in place; the darkness made sure of that. I’d have to cut them down, but I couldn’t just reach up there with my war axe. Suddenly, an idea shone above the rest.
“Claudia! Cast Frostbite on the rope, then hit it. You’ll-“
“Look out!” Claudia pointed at something behind me; something I hadn’t sensed coming.
I turned to face a black-furred Khajiit, clad in leather armor and a matching hood. He had stopped moving, as if paralyzed. He had a look of pleading on his face and his eyes were full of fear, as if he was hoping I hadn’t noticed his hands buried in my satchel. I scowled and tore myself away from him, out of his grasp.
In a flurry of motion, I threw off my pack and satchel and flung them away, towards the tree. Before I could ready a spell, however, the thief was upon me, eyes glowing in the dark, and his dagger glistening as the light of the two moons hit it. I drew my war axe a split second before the dagger found its mark in my chest, and parried. Our blades remained locked for several seconds before he pulled away and jumped back, preparing for another strike.
To be continued…
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