9 Chapter 9

Athias gazed out into the darkness of the night.

The faint breeze that passed him wasn't as cold as what he's become accustomed to. While still on the cooler side, it seemed things grew more temperate the closer they drew to the heart of Skyrim. A good thing if you asked him. He didn't let it stop him from venturing into the unknown and satisfying his curiosity, but he could do without the cold that plagued this land.

He was changing.

Or maybe his new identify was truly solidifying.

Athias could still hear the screams of the bandits he'd burnt to a crisp. Their blackened skin and their dulled eyes, all signs of life consumed by his magical flames.

And yet he felt no guilt. No regret. No shame.

This world was a brutal one, where conflict and death often went hand in hand, bloodshed commonplace no matter what country one called home.

Just as he killed, he would one day be killed. Maybe a ruin would get the better of him and a trap would end him. Maybe he'd end up food for some wild animal. Perhaps he'd just end up in the wrong place at the wrong time and make an enemy out of someone he couldn't handle; that business with the Jarl of Falkreath showed that such a thing was certainly possible.

He was Athias Viria, an adventurer. Exploring the unknown and rediscovering the forgotten would leave plenty of blood on his hands; it was kill or be killed after all.

A sigh left him.

His previous life felt so distant. Impersonal. Whatever morals and beliefs accompanied the memories didn't apply to him despite being his.

How contradictory.

Something cold ran down the back of his neck.

For once he didn't jump away.

"Are you alright?" Auri asked, joining him on the edge of their campsite. "You've been a little quieter than usual."

"Just thinking about what we're going to do." That was the worst lie he's told yet. He wasn't the type to be weighed down by such things, something Auri knew by now. Never the less she went along with it.

He rather liked what they had going. They were two carefree adventurers, aimlessly exploring Skyrim, no real goals in mind. No need to needlessly complicate that by prying into the other's thoughts.

"Hmmm, I don't think that horse will be coming back." Auri said. "Hopefully he makes his way back to Falkreath." Despite her all meat based diet she was surprisingly fond of animals. Or maybe that fondness was born because of that diet; animals allowed her to live the way she did after all.

"Hopefully that paranoid bastard will assume we kicked the bucket if it does. That'll be more convenient than a bounty." He turned to her, gesturing towards the center of their camp with a shoulder. "What about you? Are you okay?"

Auri frowned as she followed his gaze.

Their campsite was bigger than usual, just off to the side of the road rather than the small clearings surrounded on all sides by trees that they liked to set up in. It left them far more exposed than he liked but that couldn't be helped.

Their, still as of yet unnamed, companions needed the space.

The bearded redguard they helped stirred a metal pot filled with a variety of vegetables and meats over a campfire fueled by chopped wood, his damaged carriage taking up most of the campsite. The breton woman that traveled with him sat on a old stump beside the fire, writing away in a journal of some sort.

"I'll get used to it." Auri insisted despite her obvious disdain for almost everything in the camp.

He certainly hoped she did because whatever that redguard was cooking up, Athias fully intended to partake. Meat was great and all but he liked to switch it up with different things and, though they both knew he bought some from town, he only ever ate things like fruit or bread when Auri was busy.

He didn't like how restrictive that felt.

"Gather round, young ones. The meal is ready." The redguard said.

Soon they were gathered around the fire, bowls and spoons made of wood in hand, their contents steaming.

All except for Auri of course. She pulled out a rather familiar piece of flesh that memories of his previous life identified as a human organ. The kidney or liver maybe? Either way, having seen her cut open the bandits before they headed out, Athias wasn't the least bit surprised when she stabbed it through and hung it over the fire, reluctantly making use of the wood fueled fire.

Sure enough, knowing that Auri consumed the flesh of man and mer and seeing it firsthand were too very different things. Watching someone with a penchant for playfulness casually cook the harvested remains of a person was disturbing. No two ways about it.

No one was more disturbed than the breton woman.

"Are you….are you preparing that for some sort of potion?" The woman asked. She didn't even look particularly comfortable with that suggestion; he could only imagine her reaction when she realized what was really going on.

Athias, savored a spoonful of the steaming stew, enjoying the spice that accented its contents. This was going to be an interesting exchange.

"I'm going to eat it." Auri said. Simple and straight to the point. She wasn't in the mood for jokes it seemed.

"Umm, sorry, I think misheard you. Did you say you're going to eat that?"

Ah, denial. His unique circumstances had allowed him to skip that step entirely.

"Yes."

"I-you-but-" Utterly baffled by the blunt admission, the breton fumbled between words, the ability to form a coherent sentence alluding her for a few moments. "B-But that was another person! You can't just cut up people to-"

"She's upholding the Meat Mandate." The redguard interjected before anything offensive could be said. He was composed, unbothered by the cooking organ. "It is not our place to prosecute another for their religion and its tenants. Leave that to the High Elves."

"But-"

"Come now, nobles are supposed to set an example for others to follow. Put that nobility to use and show some tolerance."

Her denial of the noble status the redguard so often mentioned never came. Instead she lowered her bowl on the stump, looking sick. "I…I think I lost my appetite." Making sure not to look in Auri's direction, the breton took off towards her tent.

By far, one of the few normal reactions to have after learning you were sharing a camp with a cannibal.

"You know of my people's pact with Y'ffre?" Auri asked the redguard.

He hummed his affirmation. "I have seen many things in my travels. You are not the first follower of the Green Pact that I have encountered and, divines willing, not the last. I have found that your ilk are not bad allies to have."

"To so readily uphold the sacred pact made with your god even beyond the lands it encompasses says much about you. Few can claim to hold such conviction or loyalty."

That uplifted Auri's mood if her small smile was anything to go off of.

"You sound like you've been around." Athias commented, his curiosity peaked.

"It's only natural in my line of work." The redguard lowered his spoon, wiping bits of stew from his beard with a sleeve. "My mother named me Freme but she had a poor taste in names. You, my saviors, may call me Frem, I am a traveling merchant. Perhaps you've heard of me? My roaming emporium is quite well known across Hammerfell and Highrock for high quality products."

Athias didn't call any such person from the games, but he did have a hunch. "You wouldn't happen to be the one who sold the blacksmith of Falkreath a pair of scimitars would you?"

Frem's dark eyes lit up. "So you have heard of me then. I assume you are the pair of would be adventurers I heard mention of?" At their nods he smiled. It's was an opportunistic one that spoke of a formulating plan, but held no malicious intent. "Our meeting must be fate then, friends. I have found myself in need of a new escort and I know first hand that you are more than qualified to see me to my destination. Are your blades for hire?"

"What happened to your first escort?"

Frem frowned. A first coming from him. "That man did his job well enough but the moment we were outnumbered he used some of that fancy magic of his to cover his own get away. I'm sure you noticed his handiwork." That checked out; it explained the faint burns on Frem's carriage and the charred bodies that had been there before their timely arrival. "You would think a member of those knight orders High Rock is so proud of would have enough honor to see their task through to its bitter end but I suppose not."

Athias looked to Auri who, while clearly listening to the conversation, was more concerned with rotating her soon to be meal for an even cook. Well, she did say she would watch his back when they first agreed to travel together so maybe she intended to leave all major decisions to him.

"Where are you headed?" Athias asked.

"Markarth." Frem said.

How unfortunate. Athias had considered heading that way to leave Falkreath but decided against it. The Forsworn alone made The Reach an exceedingly dangerous hold compared to the others. His birth-sign didn't help things. Magic was the thing most likely to end his life and those people were known to use it.

It was too dangerous.

"I'd be willing to part with 3000 gold upon our arrival."

Then again, what adventure wasn't dangerous? He could either arrive in Whiterun with the small amount of gold he had on him or he could brave the dangers of The Reach and earn enough gold to get ahold of countless spell tomes, books on alchemy and enchanting, and anything else he wanted.

High risk, high reward.

From the corner of his eye he could see Auri giving him a knowing smile. Yep, the moment that gold came into the mix his answer had been decided.

"Looks like you've got yourself new bodyguards." Athias said.

"Perfect." Athias raised a hand, catching a hefty bag. A peak revealed at least 500 gold, maybe more. "Consider that a show of good faith. I have a good feeling about the two of you."

Frem finished his bowl quickly enough and turned in to his tent for the night, leaving him and Auri alone.

She looked up at him with a smug smile as if predicting his answer was some grand achievement.

"Fireballs Auri, fireballs." He said.

In reality he'd be getting tomes on conjuration, illusion, and alteration. Maybe another novice level destruction book for a different element. The more varied his skills, the more likely they'd be able to handle any situation they found themselves in. A restoration book wouldn't hurt either. There was more spell variety than the game so there could very well be a few things geared towards the handling of poison.

"Uh-huh." Auri said, voice chock-full of amusement.

"Being excited about magic doesn't make me childish."

"Uh-huh."

Seeing as there was no winning with her, Athias grabbed the untouched bowl that breton left behind. At least he could stuff himself full of tasty food tonight; that was its own victory.

What was the deal with that so called noble anyway?

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Some introspection, a change in direction, and a character introduction. A solid chapter if I do say so myself. Toss your boy a stone if you agree. Toss one if you don't. Trust me, I'll be able to tell the difference.

Random question for the people who played modded Skyrim. What's a can't do without mod for you? For me, its any alternate start mod; that intro is cool every once in awhile but usually I want to get right into making my character and the world.

If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead join me and a couple other people on patreon(Shout out to my first patrons). It's 10 chapters ahead and liable to grow after every weekend since I do tend to write on those days too if I have the time. If you like my writing and just want to help me create stuff like this full time there's also a cheaper tier for that. 

patreon .com/TheExpGarden

See you all Friday.