Reavers.

The drug-addled, psychopathic maniacs that roamed the wilderness of Skyrim in small packs, armed to the teeth and too crazy to be afraid of the monsters that they shared their land with. Crimson-Eyes-Killer-Viper knew them all too well. Rejected by the civilized settlements -- or what passed for civilization anyway -- they made their home in abandoned forts and other ruins of the old world. Just like him, they scavenged for supplies, gear and valuables. Unlike him, they also raided farms, made the roads unsafe and killed innocents for sport. Viper narrowed his eyes at the sight of them and pulled his cloak a little tighter around himself.

He was perched sixteen feet up in the branches of a huge pine tree, scoping out the watchtower in the valley below him. There were signs of recent settlement around the tower but the place looked to be abandoned now. Knowing that appearances could be deceiving, Viper had settled into the tree for the day. If nothing else, he was a patient elf when it came to his work. His experience paid off once again when the reavers showed up. There looked to be four of them. Viper was unsure whether they were the ones that lived in the watchtower and were coming back from their own mission, or whether they were currently still on one. As far as living arrangements went outside of the massive walls of Windhelm, they could do worse than the watchtower. Viper snowly nibbled away at a piece of dried meat while the reavers fanned out across the tundra that surrounded the watchtower. The way they overturned the tents and cooking pots that were scattered about told Viper all he needed to know. They were on the prowl, same as him.

“Good,” Viper muttered to himself. “Unfamiliar with the lay of the land, distracted by their search. Easy.”

Slow as slow, the Dunmer climbed down and out of the tree. Once on the ground, Viper kept low and crawled down the hill towards the tundra, using glacial boulders that had been deposited there since before the time of man as cover to stay out of sight. At the bottom of the hill Viper peeked out over the top of one of the boulders, his face hidden by the hood of his cloak. One of the reavers kept watch outside while the other three had entered the watchtower. Even from here, some hundred yards away, Viper could hear them hollering and whooping to each other.

“High on something. Hist sap, maybe. Won’t feel pain. Shoot to kill.”

With practiced ease, Viper’s fingers unfastened Heartseeker from its strap and gently laid the crossbow across the boulder. The Dunmer never took his eyes off the reaver. Now that he was a little closer he could see that he was a male Nord, and a strong specimen too. His torso was bare and he kept rolling his jaw while his head shot this way and that, looking around but not seeing anything. Viper closed one eye and rested his cheek on the crossbow’s stock. The other eye was aligned with the iron sights on the weapon. Viper slowed down his breathing and improved his aim with a few minor adjustments. He had one shot.

With a loud thwang and a sharp metallic sound, Heartseeker fired. Viper’s aim had been true. The Nord immediately keeled over as soon as he was struck, the bolt sticking out of his face, having pierced through his nasal cavity and into his brain stem. Viper inhaled deeply -- he’d held his breath for the shot -- and burst into action. He dashed out from behind the rock and towards the watchtower, his soft leather boots carrying him across the frozen ground almost silently. Inside, the remaining reavers were still loudly tearing through whatever they had found. They had not heard their companion’s death. As soon as he entered the watchtower’s shadow, Viper’s deft fingers unclasped one of the bear traps from the side of his backpack and he knelt some ten yards in front of the watchtower’s entrance. He prepared the trap and placed a Fire Rune right beneath it. Then he sprinted away at a ninety degree angle and took cover behind a piece of rubble that had been smashed loose from the top of the watchtower in some long-forgotten incident, some forty-five yards away. He had deliberately left the corpse of the reaver and the bolt stuck in his face outside. The angle at which he had fallen made it clear where Viper had shot him from. He was counting on the other reavers to realize that. If they stepped out of the watchtower now -- and hopefully one in the beartrap, hidden in a clump of grass -- and looked for him in that direction, they would leave their flanks exposed to crossbow fire from his new position.

Seconds turned into minutes as the reavers continued to fail to realize that their watchman had been shot dead. Viper didn’t budge. There was nothing to be gained by moving. He had an advantageous position. Waiting was his best option. So there he remained, still as a statue, his breathing slow and even, barely even blinking.

At long last, one of the reavers finally stepped outside after calling out what sounded like a name repeatedly and, predictably, receiving no response. Viper could hear the woman curse when she saw the corpse of her erstwhile companion and she ran over to him.

“Rookie mistake,” Viper whispered.

Her brief scream of pain as she stepped into and triggered the bear trap was cut short by the explosive pillar of fire that engulfed her. Normally the force of the Fire Rune’s detonation threw its victims clear of the blast zone. That’s why Viper used bear traps that he firmly anchored into the earth. Caught in the cast-iron teeth of the trap, the woman’s body had nowhere to go. She was immolated within seconds and continued to burn as the magical flames created by the Rune latched onto anything flammable -- fur, mostly -- and roared with supernatural hunger. She died slowly and in extreme pain.

The two remaining reavers realized that they had been outmaneuvered and refused to step outside. That was annoying. Still, without anywhere else to go, Viper knew that the reavers would eventually hope that their invisible assailant had grown bored and left. Prey always did. He quickly glanced up to judge the position of the sun. Three more hours until nightfall. That was cutting it close, he reckoned, but he knew that he was practically invisible in the dusk, pressed up against the rubble, his cloak covering every visible inch of him. He had more time than they did. If something had heard the Fire Rune’s detonation or the woman’s screams, it would be drawn to the tower, not to him.

He waited.

As the sun slowly began to disappear behind the mountain ranges that fenced off the western side of the tundra plain, Viper became acutely aware of the shape of something moving towards the watchtower. It descended down the same hill he had first observed the reavers from. Viper’s eyes flitted between the newcomer’s presence and the watchtower. He tried to make his breathing even more silent and made himself even smaller, barely keeping his head high enough to peer out over the rubble. As he had done so many times, Viper wished he had been born as a Khajiit. It had quickly become too dark for him to make out the exact nature of the humanoid entity. In the wastelands of Skyrim, such a person or creature could be anything, or anyone. Whatever it was, it moved entirely silently and almost seemed to fade into its environment. Viper had to squint his eyes and concentrate to the fullest extent of his considerable mental acuity to keep track of its movements.

It paused at the half-collapsed, charred corpse of the woman, as if it was inspecting her. Then it moved into the watchtower without hesitation.

Their screams only lasted a few seconds. Viper clutched Heartseeker’s grip and trigger more tightly. Silence fell over the tundra and nothing continued to happen for several minutes. Above it all, the stars slowly twinkled into visibility, as eternal and uncaring as ever, while the last remnants of the sun’s light receded. Then, after what felt like an eternity, the shape emerged from the watchtower and left the way it came. Viper watched it leave and even after it disappeared from sight on the top of the hill, he waited for a few more minutes.

“Gods above,” he muttered and exhaled slowly.

A grisly sight greeted him inside the tower. The two reavers had been killed with what looked like a rapid succession of blade or spear thrusts. More importantly, however, was that they had been entirely exsanguinated. Fear and revulsion made Viper recoil involuntarily. Someone had once told him that the vampires of the old world only drank a little bit of blood and left their victims alive. They were a part of the continent-spanning society that had allegedly existed and preferred to hide in plain sight. If that was true, Viper thought to himself, vampirism had developed far more abominable forms and practices since the Calamity. Reluctant to stay more than a second longer than was strictly necessary, Viper was relieved to find that the reavers had put all their findings together in a single pile on top of a broken table. There were some old septims, two swords, fresh loaves of bread, salted meats and a selection of ores, probably mined from somewhere local. It looked to him like the watchtower had been inhabited by ordinary people of some kind until very recently.

“Maybe the vampire got them all. Fuck.”

After selecting the most valuable items among the reavers’ haul and stuffing them into his backpack, Viper snuck out of the watchtower and left the tundra as fast as he could, pausing only to collect his crossbow bolt from the Nord’s face. He would feel safer once he was under the cover of some trees again. That said, he made sure he did not go back the way he came. Sharing his trail with a vampire was absolutely out of the question.

He would not breathe freely again until the gates of Windhelm closed behind him, two days later.

“What’s the matter, Viper?” Fenrir asked as he looked up from his inspection of Viper’s backpack. Everything that went into and out of the city was carefully searched, and Wulfharth Backbreaker made sure that he got his cut. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

The Dunmer scowled at him. “No. It was a fucking vampire, alright? Are you done?”

Fenrir exchanged glances with Adunya, his Bosmeri colleague for the evening’s watch. “Yeah, we’re done here. Go on in.”

With an annoyed grunt, Viper snatched his backpack out of Fenrir’s hands and was just about ready to stomp off when the guard held up his hand.

“One more thing. Go visit Caeliana. Said she missed you and your stories. I’m sure she’ll wanna hear all about this vampire of yours,” Fenrir said, not unkindly.

“Fuck off.”

Fenrir sighed. Adunya covered her smile with her hand. “Just go and talk to her.”

“Hmph.”

15th of Rain’s Hand, 5E150
Windhelm, Skyrim

The underbelly of the Temple of Talos was empty, dark, and damp. It was precisely those things that meant it was a perfect place for Caeliana to remain undisturbed. People didn’t like to be in empty, dark places like that that lay under the shadow of a Divine who had not prevented the Calamity, and seemed to have long forgotten his worshippers. In a lonesome corridor, Caeliana had made a small den - the walls illuminated by a series of torches that lit up the stone with an orange glow.

The flames flickered and moved from the motions and gusts of air she was creating with her sword as she danced around with it. The echoes of the swishes sounded down the corridor - the only other sound being her breath with each jab and thrust. She wasn’t as fast today. Wulfharth had let his guards do just enough of a number on her that she still felt bruised and sore. She had still sat high enough in his favour to let the incident with the bear slide and not result in open wounds - or lashings like Biruk the guard had suggested. The whole thing had gotten her out of the pit for a few days though, and that was a blessing. Maybe Talos was watching over her after all.

Her bust lip was sore and her ribs ached enough to prevent her from moving as freely and aggressively as she wanted to. Armour was out of the question too, much too heavy right now. At least she’d had that damn jersey patched up though. Only the flames of the torches kept her warm now. She would slip back into her cloak when she had sufficiently purged the remaining agitated energy from her body. “Damn this place...” she huffed, expelling air from her lungs and anger too. “Fuck Windhelm… Fuck the guards… Fuck Biruk…” she continued, slashing at the air as best she could - her balance near perfect all things considered.

The door to the Temple opened and a gust of cold wind shot into the undercroft. Backlit by the featureless, pale daylight was Crimson-Eyes-Killer-Viper, the eccentric and irritable Dunmer scavenger and hunter that called Windhelm, begrudgingly, his home. Viper closed the door behind him and descended the stairs. The sounds of Caeliana’s voice and the slashes of her sword carried through the halls and corridors of the subterranean Temple and Viper followed the noise until he came upon the torch-lit corridor where the Imperial gladiator was practicing. Viper leaned against the wall and a spark of flame appeared between his fingertips, lighting the tobacco in his pipe and briefly illuminating his distinctive eyes.

“Got yourself in trouble again,” he growled. His voice was as deep and raspy as the rest of his kin. “What did you do this time?”

There was one thing that the Dunmer always managed to do, and that was to sneak up on Caeliana. Whether it was on purpose, or just the way he was - she was never fully sure. As if on cue, he had appeared in the darkness to startle her, back from whatever weary adventure beyond the walls he’d been on this time. She slowed down from her practice to catch her breath again, she was feeling rather tired of the fast pace by now. She began to step as slowly as she could, still swiping down at invisible foes - only now as if she was moving underwater. “Killed a bear. Put him out of his misery.” There was no sense in lying to Viper, he had a keen sense for sniffing out the truth eventually. “Hello to you to, by the way,” she grumbled back at him while she waited for his usual lecture.

“In the ring?” Viper shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You have to stop breaking his toys. He might break you one day. I've said it so many times: keep your head down, don't do anything stupid,” he continued before a sigh escaped him. “Bet you thought it was worth it, too.”

To explain or not? The thought did cross her mind but by now she knew better than to try explaining her reasoning to him. She simply looked him dead in the eye, with the same look she always had when something was important to her, eyes narrowed and hardened.“It was the right thing to do.” She rolled her shoulders, softening her stance at last. “What did you get up to this time anyway? You were gone a little longer than usual.”

Putting an animal out of its misery at the expense of one's own health hardly seemed like the right thing to do to Viper, but that's how Caeliana was. All these lofty ideals and morals from those damned books. He decided to let the topic go and answered her question instead.

“The usual.” The tobacco in his pipe went out and, annoyed, Viper paused to light it again. “Last site I hit gave me some trouble. On the tundra. Old watchtower. Pack of reavers showed up at the same time. Took down two of them, no problem, but the other two waited inside the tower ‘till nightfall.” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, blowing out rings of smoke that drifted lazily throughout the air. “Long story short, I was shittin’ myself less than fifty yards from a vampire killing two grown men in seconds. Waited ‘till it left, grabbed what I could and scrammed. Took a different route home. Left my fucking bear trap, too.”

“A vampire?” that grabbed her attention. Her fingers closed tighter around the hilt of her sword as if she thought the offending creature would descend upon them there and then. “Where did it come from?” she asked as she paced towards Viper. “Was it just one of them? Have you told the guards? Did the vampire have a nest?” Her eyes flitted back and forth as she considered the scenario. She barely gave him time to register a question before she had another one locked and loaded and ready to fire at him. “Do you think he saw you? Followed you?” Her body tensed up again. A fucking vampire! She thought to herself as she paced back down the corridor again, finally relaxing the grip on her sword.

“Great gods of nowhere, woman,” Viper mumbled, exasperated. “Do you ever stop asking questions? No, it didn’t see me and it didn’t follow me. I’ve no fucking idea if it has a nest. You think I’m gonna risk my neck to find out? It went back the way it came, up the hills and into the forests ‘round the Throat of the World. This happened two days out from Windhelm, Caeliana. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m only asking to gather information, do you have to get so short about it?” She smirked over at him, but only a little. She ran the sword back into its sheath and took a seat on a rock by the wall, resting her elbows onto her knees. “It just might be dangerous to have vampires coming closer. If you need someone to come out and help you… I can help.” The Imperial looked up from her seat at him, eyes wide. It wasn’t the first time she’d made the suggestion.

Viper couldn’t help but flash a wry smile. “And by helping, you’re talking about tracking down the vampire and killing it, right? You know that’s not what I do. Nobody does, and with good reason. It’s suicide. The only way I’ve survived so long is by minding my own business. I know what you’re thinking. What about all the poor people out there? Why don’t we do anything to help them?” The Dunmer scoffed and pointed in the direction of the Palace of the Kings through the walls of the undercroft. “That’s on Wulfharth, not us. He keeps the gates shut. I’m just an old elf trying to scrape by, and you’re a girl with a sword. No offense, but you’ve never been outside. You don’t know what it’s like. Not really.”

Her arms folded over her chest at his words and her foot began tapping at the ground. Next, the eyebrows furrowed and a scowl appeared on her heart shaped face where a smile had been just moments ago. “You could do with being less sardonic. If you weren’t you might not have to find company with a disgraced gladiator under a Temple, you know?” She huffed again, standing back up from her seat sharply. “When was the last time you saw me fight in the pit? You know I’m more than a girl with a sword.”

Her fingers rapped over the handle impatiently and she began pacing again, blowing a hair from her face as it fell from her bun. “Besides, you used to give me books that told stories of how one sword can change the world! One sword!” she repeated to him, coming closer to his face, wafting some of the smoke away with the back of her hand. “You’re right about one thing though… I have never stepped outside the walls. But I’m never going to stop asking until you take me, and if you don’t - I will go it alone.”

Viper groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was silent for a long time. “How old are you now?” he asked suddenly.

“I’m… 27 in just a few months,” she responded, the drama of her speech wearing off and her own temper calming back down again. She might have gone overboard this time.

The Dunmer nodded to himself. “Old enough to decide things for yourself,” he said. “By human standards, anyway.” He squared his shoulders and put out his pipe. “Can't believe I'm saying this. Fine. But!” Viper pressed a finger against Caeliana's sternum forcefully. “You do everything I say. If we have to fight, we fight, but if we don't have to, we don't. Survival is as much about avoiding danger as it is about defeating it. If you cross someone out there they won't just rough you up a little. They'll eat your liver. Got it?”

She frowned at him, at the jabbing of his finger and she swatted it away before a smile came to her face again as she realised what the Dunmer was saying. “I swear it on Talos himself…” Caeliana stepped backwards to a statue, where she got down to her haunches to reach behind, scrambling around - feeling her way through the dark until her fingers found a leather strap that she dragged out of the hidden space. She had been hiding it for some time. A bag, filled with supplies, hoarded rations, and a bed roll. “I'm glad you've finally gotten on board,” she sighed and her smile faded. “There's nothing here, Viper. I'd rather die out there than in here.”

Laughing in earnest for the first time in weeks, Viper laid eyes on the bag Caeliana conjured from its hiding spot. “You really weren’t kidding when you said you would’ve gone out there by yourself, eh?. Now you’ve left me no choice.” He was grumbling, but there was a glint in his eyes that showed he was still amused. “Can’t let you go out there by yourself. This Talos of yours would never forgive me.”

He looked back at her and frowned at her last words. “Don’t say shit like that,” Viper hissed. “A lot of people before you have had the same thoughts. Trust me when I say they all regretted it when they were crying for their mothers with their guts in their hands. You have to go out there with the mindset that you cannot and will not allow yourself to die.”

Her eyes broke from his gaze as she thought about the severity of his words. “Sounds like those men needed a girl with a sword on their side.” There was no arrogance to her words, and she half smiled back up towards him. “You already said Wulfharth will break me sooner or later, who is to say he won't spill my guts. Danger in here, danger out there. I'd rather risk it. I mean that. I mean, imagine his stupid fucking face when he realises his number Nine crossed the wall.”

“Would you even be allowed back in, once you’ve done that?” Viper asked skeptically. “There’s no real sanctuary to be found beyond these walls. Longest I’ve ever gone without returning to Windhelm is three weeks. You’ll be signing up for a lifetime of fear, stress and danger, if Wulfharth wants to make an example out of you and refuse you.”

“Yes, I have good warrior's blood, he'd find a way to use that.” She fell silent, averting her eyes from Viper once more, turning her face away now while she pretended to look for something in the bag. “And you're wrong, there is something out there. I know it, I feel it.” She knew he would have something cynical to rebuke it with, but she didn't care. He had said yes, that's all she needed.

Rising to the bait, Viper huffed indignantly. “Like what? I’m one-hundred-and-twelve years old, Caeliana. You think you can feel something out there that I haven’t seen yet? You’re not a mystic, you’re a woman with a dream. It’s admirable, but mistaken. You can come with me and see for yourself, but don’t be surprised if you find me telling you ‘I told you so’ before long.”

“Oh simmer down,” she called out at him, “take another puff of your pipe already.” There was no malice in her tone as she attempted to disarm him and have him wind his irritation at her back in, she even made a winding motion with her hand, mischief in her eyes. “You're right, I'm not a mystic. And if we go out there and you are correct then you can be hold it over my head forever that you were right. But, if I'm right… If I'm right and we do find something out there, then don’t be surprised if you find me telling you that ‘I told you so’.” The Imperial rose to her height, the bag looped over her shoulder and a dimpled smile on her face.

“Bah.” Viper waved dismissively. After a second or two, he lit up the pipe again. “Say what you want.” He looked at the bag over her shoulder and shook his head. “I still have business here. Meet me by the gates at dawn tomorrow. Don’t do something stupid again in the meantime, alright?”

16th of Rain’s Hand, 5E150
Windhelm, Skyrim

The only sign that it had become dawn was that the gray sky had turned a slightly lighter shade of miserable. Viper looked up at it with an appraising eye, trying to judge the likelihood of rain. “Could go either way,” he mumbled to himself. He’d been waiting by the gates for five minutes and already felt impatient. The quiet murmur of conversation in the guardhouse next to the giant metal doors alerted him to the fact that there was a change of guards and he watched impassively as the two Nords that had been on duty during the night wandered away down the empty streets to the barracks.

Windhelm had been home to a much bigger population before the Calamity. Many homes in the city stood empty and abandoned and Wulfharth’s predecessors even had some of them knocked down to make space for farmland. It left the place feeling eerily empty at all hours of the day, even when the city was at its busiest. The knowledge that it should have been much more crowded never left Viper’s mind. He made his own home in what used to be the Gray Quarters, where all the Dunmer citizens of Windhelm had lived in the Fourth Era, including his ancestors. Now, there were only a handful of dark elves left, and most of the apartments that surrounded his own were devoid of inhabitants. The rest of the Gray Quarter was often used by disillusioned youth to smoke skooma or hide illegal contraband, but they knew to stay away from Viper’s territory. Pinning an aspiring thief to the wall with a crossbow bolt was something he’d done more than once.

In a way, he could see what Caeliana meant when she’d said that there was nothing here. The truth was that Viper went out into the wasteland to escape the city as much as he did it to make a living. His engineering skills were such that he could far more easily earn his keep maintaining the ballistae that stood ready on Windhelm’s walls to ward off the remaining dragons. All he’d have to do was offer. The wasteland was dangerous and cruel, but at least it made him feel alive.

“Morning,” a voice said behind him. Viper looked over his shoulder to find Fenrir there, still tugging on his ill-fitting guard uniform. “Thought you’d be gone by now. Are you waiting for something?”

“Mhm.”

Fenrir smiled and rolled his eyes. “Like what?”

Viper smirked. “You’ll see.”

She'd been sure not to miss the first knocks in the barracks. Truthfully, she had barely slept at all. There was too much excitement keeping her awake to have slept. She had gotten dressed quickly and hadn't even spoken a word aloud. No stories or commentary this morning, she was afraid that if she started then she would not stop and she would be overheard.

The Imperial had pulled the cloak around herself, pulling the hood over her head. Her shield was on her back with her sword. She had everything, the satchel from the Temple was slung over her shoulder. By her own estimations, she worked out that if she and Viper cleared the gates soon, they would have a ninety minute head start before anyone noticed she was missing, before anyone alerted Wulfharth she had missed her slot in the pit. How far could they get in ninety minutes?

As she approached the gate she saw Viper standing there and could barely contain her smile. It was finally happening. Finally she'd find out just what was outside of the walls for herself. She'd walk on the ground that she had been silently forbidden from walking on. Fenrir was there, and her smile dropped. She had always found him affable enough, but whether he would turn a blind eye this morning was another matter altogether.

“Good morning Fenrir,” she began in a soft voice, greeting him first before looking too quickly at the Dunmer. “I do hope Viper is not giving you any early morning sass today…” Then she looked at him, with a half smile tugging at her lips and a glint in her eye that communicated her feelings of excitement.

Fenrir looked between Viper and Caeliana when the unmistakable look of realization dawned on his face. Viper had to give him credit where credit was due; the boy wasn’t as stupid as he looked. “No way,” Fenrir said, mouth slightly agape as he fixed his gaze on Caeliana. “Did you clear this with Wulfharth?”

“What do you think?” Viper asked sarcastically. The Dunmer turned to face Fenrir and slapped his palm against the Nord’s in what looked like a friendly handshake; when Viper pulled his hand back, Fenrir found himself looking down on a packet of moonsugar. The day before, Viper had spent some time asking around about who would be on guard duty the next morning, and a little coercion had taught him what Fenrir’s vices were. “I left alone. Makes sense, right? Ol’ Viper never takes anyone with him. Caeliana must have escaped some other way. Maybe through the docks. Either way, you saw nothing.”

After a moment’s deliberation, Fenrir looked up at him and nodded. He glanced sidelong at Caeliana. “Stay safe.”

“Always.” Caeliana replied with a smirk, “and thank you,” she said quietly for Fenrir's ears only. The gates were opened and as she stepped out of them she realised that her anticipation had been so high she'd forgotten to breathe. The first breath outside was… Exhilarating. It looked like a landscape of nothing ahead of her. Just miles and miles of an expanse reaching further than she could imagine. She knew the world was big, it felt like now she was really seeing it.

“Whoah,” she gasped stepping further forwards, forgetting that Viper was behind her - or maybe beside her. She wasn't sure. She was too blinded by the view ahead to notice anything else. The air felt so much cleaner that it felt as though she was finally breathing and her whole life she had been suffocating. “Woah…” Caeliana repeated once more as her hands found her hips.

Windhelm had been built into a mountainside. What lay before them, beyond the bridge that spanned across the river that functioned as Windhelm’s moat and access to the sea, was a rolling landscape of foothills, forests and more rivers that would, eventually, give way to the hot springs and geysers of what once had been Eastmarch Hold. Viper realized that Caeliana would have never seen such a view before -- or anything more than few hundred feet ahead of her. He let her have the moment to marvel at the sight and acclimatize.

“I’ll say that much about Skyrim,” Viper admitted with a chuckle. “Can’t beat the view.”

She simply kept looking out, in adoration of it, in awe. It was beautiful and yet far too dangerous looking all at the same time. Wilderness, real wilderness. Just to look at it started the beating of her rebel heart. No wonder Wulfharth kept everyone inside. “No shit.”

Finally she composed herself, and with a glance back at Viper she motioned her hand for him to come to her. “You been keeping this from me on purpose? Wanted it all for yourself didn't you?” She began walking, it would be all too easy to stay in the spot and drink it all in but she was still against the clock. She could keep her eyes on the horizon while moving. “So where too? I figure we should get that trap of yours back, don't you? Then after that I'm not sure. Got any recommendations? Do you think there's any ruins nearby we can scope out? Think there might be any other life out there?” She was rambling again, she only hoped the Dunmer could keep up with her pace.

Once again, like so many times before, Viper found himself gritting his teeth at the sheer volume of questions levelled against him. He poignantly kept his mouth shut while they walked until the silence that grew between them became awkward. “You done? Alright. Getting the trap back is a good start.” That way, Viper reasoned, he could show Caeliana the rotting carcass of Whiterun in the distance, a lone testament to the corruption and decay of the world amidst the barren tundra.

“Any nearby ruins have already been picked clean,” he continued. “And yes, there is life. Villages, farms, Orc strongholds. They’re out there. Most of them are hidden or difficult to reach. More likely to come across reaver encampments, though. Or a necromancer’s den. Or a Falmer outpost. The list goes on.”

He subconsciously did a gear check, hands moving over his belt, straps and backpack to reassure himself that everything was in place. “First things first though. Listen well, these lessons could save our lives,” Viper said, glancing at Caeliana to make sure she was paying attention. “First, always keep an eye on the skies. There are still dragons in Skyrim and they are the biggest n’wahs around. If the birds go quiet and it sounds like there’s a windstorm coming, find shelter immediately. If you see something, anything, flying over the mountaintops, find shelter immediately. Second, if the ground vibrates, even a little, find shelter immediately. That means giants and their mammoths. They use the roads as much as people do and they do not like us. Third, if you find something that you think you can eat, let me take a look at first. Fourth, if you see something that looks like a large clump of wet paper on a tree, tell me. That’s a beehive and that means bears.”

A quick pause and a moment to think allowed Viper to realize that he wasn’t giving these lessons in a particularly organized or sensible order. “That’s the most important stuff,” he growled. “Oh, and don’t try to swim. The water will kill you.”

“Necromancers, falmer, reavers, dragons, n'wahs-” she stopped to giggle. “Sorry, that's a you thing… Where was I? Dragons, giants, mammoths, beehives, bears. Got it.” She hadn't really been listening. She had heard him speaking, of shelter and danger and n'wahs. She wondered what exactly it was that they could do, but she thought better than to ask him that now. He seemed to be enjoying rattling off his lists and warnings.

She couldn't help but notice that even out here, in the wild freedom of Skyrim, that he was still as gruff as ever, if not more so in fact. The Imperial shrugged and kept on her path, walking ahead of him by a short distance. Right now, she didn't want to think of being afraid and she was thinking only of pounding the ground at her feet to put distance between Windhelm and herself. “Are you going to be able to keep up?” Caeliana asked, not slowing down. She thought better than to ask another question. He hated her slews of questions and always had. She'd save being able to annoy him with them for when they would make camp later.

Her insistence on insolence was already rearing its ugly head and Viper sighed a deep and raspy sigh. He had a foreboding feeling he was going to sorely regret giving Caeliana this opportunity sooner rather than later. The way she’d merely repeated the names of the creatures and threats he’d listed already annoyed him, and her comment about whether or not he could keep up with her pace made him stop dead in his tracks.

“Hold it right there,” he spat and scowled. “Are you daft, girl? Why are you walking ahead? Do you know the way? No, you don’t. Stay behind me, or by my side if you must, but don’t barge on ahead. You’re like a wolf pup, brimming with misplaced confidence.”

His temper was out to play already. She rolled her eyes from her spot before he could reach her. He was the one who had been doing this for most of his life - his life that was significantly longer than hers. From her lips she expelled a relenting sigh, “you're right, I understand. I'm just trying to get as far as I can from there.” The next words were sitting in her throat, refusing to budge but with a soft cough she freed them, “I'm sorry.” She glanced sideways at him, her bottom lip sticking out over her clenched jaw. She could growl too.

“What's more likely to kill us out here? One of the aforementioned creatures, or each other?”

“If you're implying that there's the slightest possibility of that happening, I'm ditching you the first chance I get,” Viper retorted, but the tone of his voice made it clear he wasn't serious. “The truth is that the weather is as treacherous as any beast, person or monster, even in the spring. I see you brought a cloak. Good. Either way, point made. Let's not bicker… too much.”

“I never understood how someone could find their way into the way of life that you have Viper, to have so much freedom like that.” Caeliana wondered if it was his age, he was a great deal older than most in Windhelm, and yet was still in good health, Nord and Imperials who reached any near his age became wrinkled and frail. It had always impressed and baffled her in equal measure. That had only been why she had been fascinated by him. “To come and go like you do. The things that you have seen, even when you tell me about it, I still think you don't really tell me all there is to know.”

It took a while before he responded. “That's a story for another time,” the grizzled Dunmer said at length. “You're right that I haven't told you everything. That would take way too long. Blabbering to you about my misadventures doesn't put food in my mouth.”

Their path took them along the river upon which Windhelm was situated, following it westwards. Viper directed them off the road. “We make better time on the roads but they're often watched for that reason.” That meant they walked beneath the branches of the pine trees that stood clustered together a little ways away from the road.

“You're never seen anything like this, have you?”

“Tsk…” she sounded with her tongue, there always seemed to be a story for another time. “I guess I’ll keep waiting for it then…” she sighed as she approached the corridor of trees, a sudden chill prickling the back of her neck, but she could sense no immediate danger. “Only in dreams, but it’s different. It’s not the same as being here.” It was at that moment she looked up to the sky, grey as always, only hidden behind the branches and needles of the pines. She took in a deep breath through her nose, the scent of them was almost too much to handle.

16th of Rain’s Hand, 5E150
Eastmarch Hold, Skyrim

Night would be setting in soon, she figured they had around an hour of good sunlight left. She felt it too, the air was growing colder and she couldn’t decide if she had ever felt so dangerously cold before. Windhelm was icy, but the walls, buildings, and torches must have been allowing some warmth because this was so much worse. This was just emptiness and so yes, it felt much colder. She wrapped her cloak around herself even more. It had always felt like a such plush garment, but right now it felt like paper. She wasn’t going to tell Viper that, he’d latch onto her first complaint like moths would latch to a flame. She was not going to let him have the satisfaction. Even if he could probably hear the chattering of her teeth.

They had found a relatively sheltered area that sat at the bottom of a large hill. It was protected by some crumbled stone walls and surrounded by trees and overgrown brambles bearing fruit, it was at least partially walled in. This was adventure, this was how it was! As she took her seat on the ground, she smiled, forgetting about the cold for the time being.

The trek had been both exhilarating and horrendous in equal measure. The nature was beautiful, and still the novelty had not worn off of finally being away from Windhelm. The horrendous part had been the grumping of Viper every time she took a step too far ahead, lingered too far behind, meandered too far from his side, asked too many questions, or pointed out another tree, leaf, or rock… Speaking of, “do you think this ruin might have been someone’s home?” Caeliana asked with a curious grin, propping up her chin on her hands. It had been a while since she had last asked him something, and so she felt she’d earned this one.

Viper had immediately set about to the task of preparing a campfire to warm themselves up with, cook some dinner over and, most importantly, boil some canis root tea with, when Caeliana spoke up. He was prepared to grit his teeth again but he found that, to his surprise, it was a fair question. The Dunmer straightened up and looked around, taking in the remnants of the building’s walls, the layout, the foundations.

“Could be,” he said with a nod. “Farmhouse, maybe.” Viper considered the ruin’s location, situated as it was at the bottom of a hill and looking out over a relatively flat, now featureless field. Trees clumped together in the distance, marking the beginnings of the foothills of the closest mountain range, and high above the canopy snow-capped peaks loomed, their silhouettes distorted by mistbanks and wisps of fog.

He turned back to the pile of dried firewood from his backpack, arranged it properly and gently coaxed a small flame into existence in the palm of his hand, which he then used to light the campfire. It crackled to life almost immediately. Satisfied, Viper sat back on one of the stones that littered the ruin’s interior and began rummaging through his backpack.

“I bet they were happy here,” she said quietly with a forlorn sigh as she allowed herself a long look at the scenery ahead. The field ahead was practically barren, save for some dry, patchy grass. The Imperial could quite easily imagine those same fields filled with soil growing wheat and vegetables in abundance for a happy family. Shadows were starting to seep in now as the day faded. Caeliana wasn't afraid, and she looked to her shield and sword, places out on the stone by the fire so that she could sit comfortably for their campout.

She watched the trees in the distance for some time. Each of them unique in their own way, some of them were leaning more at an angle - they must have been blown by the wind. Some of them stood straight, reaching for the sky like towers of branches and leaves. To Viper they were probably just trees, but to Caeliana they were much more. They were proof that things could grow out here, and that while life may not have been thriving, there was life. There was a note of melancholy to the view too, the contrast of the emptiness and the pockets of life littering sporadically through it reminded her that there was also death and decay, and that the decay was more prevalent.

The woman reached into her own bag to find a contribution to the dinner. She had a handful of dried berries that sat in her palm like jewels, and a corner of bread. The bread had seen better days, so it was best to eat it now before it became just more decay to leave behind. “It feels quite humbling to sit here, actually,” she remarked as she placed the food beside Viper. Maybe he would make something of it, maybe it would remain as a snack for after.

“Good,” Viper grumbled as he emerged from the foraging session throughout his own belongings. He placed an iron grille over the fire and a cooking pot on top of that. “Hold onto that feeling.” He glanced up at Caeliana and gave her a weary smile. “Humility will keep you sharp. I don’t much like to dwell on the past but if that’s what it takes for you to… I don’t know, be aware of your own insignificance out here, be my guest.”

After that, the Dunmer poured some water into the pot, along with a helping of scrag ends and seasonings. His eyes fell on the berries and the bread and after a moment’s deliberation, he threw the berries in the soup as well. He gave the bread back to Caeliana. “Dip that in the soup. Helps you forget that it’s stale.”

“It’s our responsibility to remember and honour the past. The old ways of life. You’re right, it keeps us sharp… Keeps us from becoming monsters.” Suddenly she shuddered, drawing her cloak around herself again, leaning to the fire, her eyes transfixed by the flames. She never had managed to learn destruction magic, it was a regret of hers. Viper’s command over fire must have been one of the many reasons he had such impressive survivability.

She began to pick up the scent of the soup he was making, and she nodded at the pot, “smells pretty good, we should share this bread, there’s enough for us both.” With that, she tore it into two pieces, and left the second half beside him. “I remember a few years ago now, Wulfharth roasted a whole pig just for us fighters. By Talos I’d never eaten something with so much flavour. It was so rich in fact that it almost made me sick...” She was watching him stir the soup and how the steam rose in clouds around his face, he looked as weary as ever.

“You’re the one with all the muscles,” Viper said and met Caeliana’s gaze through the swirling vapor. “Gonna need that bread more than I do. Suit yourself, though.” He lifted the spoon and had a taste of the soup. “More seasoning,” he mumbled, seemingly to himself, and he sprinkled another pinch into the pot. He then realized that she would’ve heard what he said and he added: “No, it won’t be as rich as the pig. Don’t worry.”

“You could use some muscle, to keep up with me on this journey,” she said with a smirk. “It’s only fair… I share things, we need to do that now.”

Having Caeliana here, talking about responsibility and honour, was such a sharp contrast to Viper’s usual experiences in the wasteland that it was almost surreal. It wasn’t a topic that was ever brought up in conversation outside Windhelm’s walls. On the occasions that Viper had talked to people while he was out ranging, survival was the only thing on anyone’s mind. He was about to speak his mind on the topic and opened his mouth, only to immediately close it again. He held up a hand and his knife-shaped ears twitched. Something was on the move outside the ruin.

“Hear that?” he hissed while his other hand reached for Heartseeker’s grip.

She had heard it, and she moved slowly forwards from the rock getting low to the ground, a hand on the hilt of her sword. She moved so precisely that it was in front of her in no time at all, without having made a sound. She did not need to say anything to him. Right at dinner… Couldn’t have been before… she thought to herself as she moved to the edge of the ruin so slowly that her cloak just dragged behind her, making no movement of its own. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to make out shapes on the perimeter, but there was nothing.

A blue aura formed in her hand, and her shield lifted from the place she had left it and came floating towards her until she took it into her hand. The silence was broken by a long and low howl outside. A horrifying howl that sent an immediate shiver down her spine. “You ever hear a wolf like that?” she asked under her breath, turning her head to look at him - a concerned and intense burning look in her eyes.

“Yes,” Viper whispered back, but it was bad news. “N’wahs get bigger every year.” Even after having left one at the watchtower, he still had two bear traps left and the Dunmer wasted no time installing them just behind two of the openings in the half-collapsed walls of the ruin. The wolves -- he doubted there was just one, the beasts traveled in packs -- had multiple angles of attack and the two of them couldn’t cover them all. Having installed the second trap, Viper looked around, mind racing, wondering if they were ready, where he could best position himself, what he needed to do. His eyes fell on the remnants of an interior wall, located squarely in the middle of the ruin, covered in moss and lichen. Despite its crumbled state, it was still a good way to put nine feet of extra space between him and the wolves and it allowed him to maintain overview of the situation. Quick as a spider, Viper pulled himself up and crouched on top of the wall on one knee, crossbow at the ready.

Outside, the wolves began to growl. “Not long now,” Viper breathed.

“Hmmm” She hummed, still low to the ground. She’d fought wolves in the pit before, they hunted in packs and they were smart about it. It would only take one of them to knock Caeliana or Viper down, she would be a fool to believe that it wouldn’t. How many? Was what she needed to find out, and she needed to break them from their cover so Viper could get his eyes on one and take a shot. But first, protection. Her hand came to her chest and she closed her eyes, focussing her magicka to her palm so that she could cast her Stoneflesh. She would be taking the hits - not Viper. She thought to throw a dose of Courage at him, but she figured he’d lay into her for it later.

Her eyes focussed on a rock just a short distance from her and she gave a nod to Viper, to let him know she was about to do something, her hand gesturing to the very rock she was about to throw into the clearing, and smack it into the bark of a tree. The noise might startle the wolves, and allow Viper to get the overview he needed.

It happened so fast. The spell was cast and the rock was lobbed forwards and into the trunk of the tree with such a force that it become lodged there. Out of the shadows sprung a single wolf - but it was much bigger than the ones she had seen, it had to be three or four times the size. “Oh shi…” she spat, coming up from the ground with her shield clutched in one hand, sword held out in the other. “That’s a big wolf Viper…” she said quietly, watching it sniff aggressively at the source of the noise.

Viper's eyes watched the trajectory of the rock with great interest. He had to admit to himself that he was pleasantly surprised with Caeliana's tactics. For someone who had only ever fought in the ring before, she took to this type of asymmetrical combat quickly. When the huge wolf appeared as if conjured by the rock, Viper clenched his jaw and raised his crossbow in position. Caeliana was right. It had to be among the biggest wolves Viper had ever seen. He'd have to strike the animal right in the skull to kill it instantly, and that was easier said than done.

But that's why all his bolts were poisoned.

He squeezed the trigger. The bolt hit the wolf in the flank as it took a step back from the tree and it yowled in surprise and pain. Growls came from two other directions in response. While Heartseeker's mechanics cycled to load another bolt, Viper followed the movements of one of the wolves with his ears, tilting his head to keep track of the source of the sound. It sounded like it was going to step into his trap any second now. Viper whistled to grab Caeliana's attention and he pointed to the right side of the ruins. With the Imperial at the ready, anything that triggered the trap could be slain immediately.

She moved quickly. A nod was all that was needed before she dove with precision in the direction Viper had alerted her to. She heard, and felt, the trap spring. It was so forceful that it vibrate through the earth and even the stone under her feet. That was a big one too. She came to the wall, and used the very rock she had been sitting on as a stepping stone of sorts to propel her leap to the top of the crumbling wall.

The wolf had his front leg in the trap. Good. It was big enough to mount, and so she did, hopping down onto his back, the sword in her hand slicing gracefully through the flesh of the neck in a downwards motion. It wasn’t enough to kill the beast, as she was to learn when he shook her free from his back, lunging at her. Mistake. She may have been on her back, but she held the sword at such an angle that the wolf came down on it with its own weight. “Hnnngrh,” she grunted as she pushed it off herself, realising her sudden predicament - she could no longer see Viper, and thus she could not receive his instruction until she got back over the wall. In this scenario, every second would count.

Viper opened his mouth to call out to Caeliana after she disappeared from his line of sight when the third wolf leapt into the interior of the ruins through one of the other openings, avoiding the bear trap by jumping over it. “Clever girl,” Viper growled and whirled his crossbow around to shoot at the beast. He was too slow, however, and before he could take aim and fire the wolf crested the wall he was kneeling on in a single bound and swiped at him with a huge paw, claws out. With nowhere else to go, Viper jumped backwards and off the wall, one hand extended in front of him, dousing the wolf in a shower of flames before he slammed into the ground nine feet below. The wind was knocked out of him and he winced, gasping for air. Above him, the wolf yelped in pain. The fire singed its fur and burnt its nose but the brief burst hadn’t been enough to set the wolf alight completely, and Viper could see its glowing eyes stare down on him menacingly, a guttural growl in its throat and drool dripping from its slavering fangs.

“Fuck,” Viper groaned.

She had to go around this time, the drop had been further than she could jump back up, and so she moved back around the wall, the scent of smoke filled her nostrils to her lungs and she almost stopped in her tracks to avoid it - but Viper was backed up. It was the third wolf, but the first was up and moving to the camp too. It was slower, with the poison coursing through it but it was still moving. She had a choice to make, hit number three or number one - she was dead centre of the two of them.

Viper came first, and she turned her back on the other one, something she was sure to get a lecture about when all was done. She intercepted the attack the burnt wolf was about to make on Viper with a rounding smack to its face with her shield. That got the attention she wanted, she moved to bring her blade down onto it with all of her weight, but the wolf snapped at her sword arm and nipped at her, it was enough to cause the Imperial to flinch and fall back, her sword dropped to the floor and her arm was left feeling sore. The steel bracers and Stoneflesh had nullified most of the damage but it had still taken her by surprise, worse yet, she hadn’t landed a blow.

As it lurched forwards at her again, she pushed back with her shield and made a blunt thudding contact with its nose. “Might need some assistance,” she called out through gritted teeth as she continued to shield bash the wolf, guiding it back and away from Viper with each whack.

After a few excruciating seconds, Viper was finally able to breathe again and he sprang into action, rolling onto his abdomen. The first wolf, the one with the bolt sticking out of it, was still approaching, but slowly, as if it couldn’t find the opening it was looking for. Viper quickly raised Heartseeker to his eye before pulling the trigger. The second bolt hit the beast right between the eyes and it collapsed to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.

Only one wolf left. Viper scrambled to his feet and with a loud thwang and a wicked snick, Blackblood sprang from its sheath in Viper’s vambrace and into position. The serrated blade gleamed menacingly in the light of the campfire. Caeliana hit the wolf in the face with her shield one more time before Viper dashed forward, taking advantage of the wolf’s pain and disorientation, and slashed at its soft belly. Blackblood cut through the wolf’s hide like it was nothing, leaving behind a horribly jagged wound. Blood and guts spilled to the ground with a sickening splash and the wolf let out a bloodcurdling scream. It would be dead within a minute but Viper feared what it might do with the time it had left, prompting him to back away as fast as possible, his outstretched hand at the ready, fire coming to life in his palm. “Back off!” he yelled at Caeliana.

She did as he said once more, taking a hop backwards and dropping to the floor, the shield held up in front of her to protect her from stray flame. She stayed down until she was sure it was done. She could smell the flesh of the wolf burning. That, mixed with the smoke and the blood smell was almost too much and she had to put a hand over her mouth.

“I think you got it!” She yelled out from behind the shield still as the flames died down. At least, if nothing else, she had warmed up now. Not only that, but she was sweating and her heart was pounding from the adrenaline. Each breath was a struggle to catch and she flopped down onto her bottom now that the coast was clear. Caeliana let go of the shield and let it clatter to the ground. “Looks like we have meat for the soup now then,” was all she could think to say in between each breath and she looked over at Viper with a raised eyebrow.

The fight was over but that did not mean that the danger had passed. Viper flicked his wrist in a particular way and Blackblood retracted and resheathed itself while Heartseeker hung from a shoulder strap, leaving his hands free. He pulled a dagger from his boot and knelt down to skin the roasted wolf. “Pack up your stuff. You’ll have to carry the cooking put. Put the lid on it. We have to get out of here as soon as possible,” Viper said, his arm moving up and down with a sawing motion as he relieved the wolf of its hide. “Something will have heard this racket and I don’t want to stay to find out what it is.”

“You think it’s safer on the road in the dark?” She asked, reluctant to believe him, despite his experience. “You want me to walk on the road with a pot full of soup and you covered in blood?” The Imperial folded her arms over her chest, shaking her head. While he was right, something may have heard this - they would have heard it regardless, being on the road like this wasn’t really going to help them, was it? “Where will we go? We need a better plan than that. We can't just walk out there, surely.” The woman got down to collect her sword from the ground, the weight of it straining her wrist as she sheathed it.

“Not the road. Fuck the road.” Viper looked up at Caeliana with irritation in his eyes. “You're supposed to do everything I say. Trust me that we do not want to stay here. We'll go across the field to the edge of the forest. Go, grab your stuff.”

She grumbled under her breath back at him, doing as he asked in an indignant fashion. She lifted the shield over her shoulder and fixed it to the clasp so that it sat comfortably - and as he had requested she rolled up her things and stuffed them into her bag at a fast pace. “I’ll do what you say, never promised I wouldn’t ask questions about it.” The lid went back on the pot with a clatter and she lifted it up. “Lead the way then.”

And so they went, dashing across the field with naught but moon- and starlight to guide them. Viper, unencumbered by the pot, reached the edge of the forest first and used Blackblood to cut down severallow-hanging branches of the ubiquitous pine trees. He used some of the rope in his backpack to tie the branches together and in doing so created a makeshift shelter, like an open-topped pine-igloo. He beckoned for Caeliana to step inside and motioned to stay low. He knelt himself down and created a small gap in the thick wall of needles to stare out over the field, towards the ruin they had just abandoned. A quick look at Caeliana conveyed the need for utter silence.

Nothing happened. Ten minutes later, nothing continued to happen. At last, Viper exhaled slowly and turned back to Caeliana. “Looks like we’re in the clear,” he muttered. “And don’t tell me I’m paranoid,” he added quickly and held up an accusatory finger. “We only need to be unlucky once out here and that’s it for us.”

“Yeah. I know,” she whispered in response, watching out across the field, making out as much as she could in the dark. It wasn't easy to make anything out, or perhaps there was just nothing there. She reached into her bag carefully and took out the bread crust she'd stowed away in there. It had managed to pick up some dust from the ground of their last camp. Caeliana blew it off, wiping it against her cloak before she began to eat it, without the soup.

She had imagined that there might have been more roaming, exploring and adventure on her first day out - but it had been sneaking and vigilance and fighting. There had not even been a soul out with them. The only life having been the wolves that she and Viper had slain. She didn't want to feel deflated, it had only been one day - and yet she felt that this would be the first of a string of days like this. She stretched her legs so that they would poke out of the igloo that Viper had made, and she sighed quietly, wondering what the Dunmer would do next, and whether it was time to eat yet.