Fort Fellhammer

*Bonus chapter for 10 reviews!*

The pair left Winterhold and headed back in the direction of Dawnstar. However, before they got there, Brom had one pit stop to make. He recognized the mountain nearby; they were close to Fortdunstad. From what he remembered, Fortdunstad was close to Fellhammer, the fort where the bandits who had killed his horse had set up base.

It was near here that there was a small forest that surrounded the fort. Those who did not already know about its location would find it hard to locate it. The dense forest and the tall mountains did well to hide it, yet it still remained close to the main road. These factors helped make it a perfect bandit hideout.

As they neared the fort, Brom finally informed Erin of the plan, telling her at the last minute as usual so that she would be less likely to disagree. Whether or not Eric minded, Brom, did not know. But being sworn to him gave her little choice in the matter. Moving stealthily, they scouted around the perimeter. As they did so, Erin pointed out something unusual.

"The bandits have almost double the numbers that these places normally hold. How did they recruit so many people?"

"Yeah, that one is on me. I wiped out a fort earlier and the survivors joined up with these guys."

"Of course you did," Erin said exasperated. "I'm not sure you understand what wiped out actually means."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Brom acted hurt, he misunderstood what she meant. She had meant of course he had wiped out a fort solo. But he'd thought she meant it as, of course, as him clearing the bandits from the fort, he had allowed some to escape... Seeing this confusion, Erin smiled.

"How about this time, don't leave anyone to try and get revenge later."

Erin's words and haughty attitude backfired with Brom's next words.

"Fine then, show me how it is done, and I'll watch. Go on, show me the proper way to clear a fort. And maybe next time you won't be so hasty to insult my work."

Brom was eager to see how she would fare in real combat.

"Whaa… Fine. I will."

Erin said, with a determined look on her face. Brom nodded his approval and sat down against a tree. If she needed help, he would save her, but hopefully, that wouldn't be the case.

-Erin's Perspective-

Erin watched as Brom casually sat down by the tree. Swallowing dryly, she turned to look at the fort, she had never done this before. At least as far as she could remember. And now it looked as if she would be completely alone in this task. Nervously, she cast invisibility and pulled out a bow that Brom had given her. It was a smaller bow, but she did not need a powerful one for what she had in mind.

She crept towards the tree line, looking at the guards in front of her. They were half asleep and leaning against the stone tower on the wall. Drawing an arrow, she cast a frenzy rune upon the arrowhead. This was a custom spell she had come up with herself. When the arrow landed, it would release an illusion, causing anyone nearby to enter a state of rage. The success of her plan hinged upon this spell.

Satisfied with her spell, she nocked the arrow, drawing back till her middle finger touched the corner of her mouth, as the feathers brushed against her cheek, she released. The arrow flew, quickly soaring over the wall and out of sight. A small tinking sound of metal against stone rewarded her efforts. Hearing the arrow land, Erin crouched low, going as silent as possible. The guards would be on alert now that her arrow had been heard, any sudden movements could cause her plan to fail.

Then she heard it, shouting. Clashes of steel on steel soon followed the initial shouts. Acting quickly, Erin released another Frenzy Arrow, this time aiming for the guards on the wall. In her haste she missed, hitting the ground behind them. The arrow shattered, and the frenzy rune took hold of their senses. Forgetting about Erin, the bandits launched themselves at each other, hacking at their former allies with reckless abandon.

Smiling, Erin used this chaos to move to the wall where the guards were all busy fighting each other and shot a rope up into the stone. Testing the rope to make sure it was secure, she hauled herself over the wall and snuck into the fort's main tower. As she did so, she cast invisibility once more to make sure it did not run out at the worst possible moment. Climbing the spiraling wooden stairs she reached the top and went through the hatch in the ceiling. There was another archer up here, he was currently looking down upon the courtyard trying to figure out what was going on. Erin shot him through the neck, even her weaker bow could kill a man at this range.

Now that she had a good vantage point, she could see the chaos she had caused. Ignoring the screams, she took another arrow out and cast a chain lightning rune on it. She looked around and saw that they had split into separate groups. They were all fighting for their lives, many were soaked in blood. Then she picked out the biggest group of bodies and launched her arrow at the cluster of enemies. The lightning effect took place and shot through each bandit, frying them as it passes through them. Sending their bodies to the ground convulsing. She shot another Chain-Lighting Arrow at the archers who had gathered together to volley the crazed bandits among their ranks.

By now most of the bandits were dead, and the remaining ones were in the process of killing the rest. Erin had one more arrow she wanted to try; this was a specialty one. She cast a Flame Atronach rune on her arrow. Unsure if this one would even work, she aimed at the last group of sane people still desperately fighting their enraged brethren and fired.

As the arrow hit, the rune activated. Erin winced as she felt a major drain on her magicka. This spell was costly, but it did work. A Flame Atronach spawned and began launching fireballs at the nearby enemies. Unfortunately, the atronach was physically weak. As it appeared, the bandits turned their attention on it, showering the construct with blows. The atronach died rather quickly, but this was what Erin had been waiting on. When a Flame Atronach died, they exploded in a fiery blast, and this was exactly what was about to happen.

Erin could hear someone yelling and noticed the leader of the bandits was running away while the others looked on in confusion at why he was running. Then the atronach's body exploded. With a loud boom, the atronach burst into flames, engulfing the nearby bandits in a fiery explosion that blinded even Erin for a moment. Screaming loudly, all those near the atronach were turned to ash, while those more fortunate escaped with only severe burns. Thick steam rose up from the fort as the snow near where the atronach had stood vanished, replaced by charred dirt and fragments of burnt bones...

No longer able to see, Erin cast Detect Life. The spell revealed many weak pulses of life. She only noted two that seemed strong enough to matter, the bandit's leader and herself. She noticed she could not see Brom's life pulse in the trees. She shrugged; he probably was just out of her range. Taking aim at the life force that she assumed was the bandit leader, she fired a simple Fireball Arrow to finish him off.

-Brom's perspective-

Brom had been watching Erin closely, she made good use of her talent in illusion magic and turned the whole fort against each other. Smiling to himself he relaxed, it seemed she would not need him after all. A few minutes passed and then he heard an explosion, then steam engulfed the fort and he could no longer see her.

Brom swiftly got up and ran towards the gate, she had not used an explosion yet and he was worried. He burst through the gate with Iron Fist and ran towards the tower. Looking around all he could see was white, and the only thing he could hear were people dying on the ground near him. He looked around for Erin's tower and saw it. Squinting he noticed the steam splitting and an arrow flying at him.

Without his enhanced comprehension and reflexes, he would not have been able to bring up a Ward in time. The arrow hit his ward and exploded, a huge fireball engulfing him.

"Erin! It's me, you idiot!" He yelled as he took the full force of another arrow that had followed the first.

Hearing nothing, Brom grew worried. Just as he was about to yell out once more, a small voice yelled back.

"Sorry! How was I supposed to know you were there? I can't even see you!"

"You sure saw me well enough to shoot me! Twice! Now get down here, so I don't have to yell."

He walked towards the door to the tower and went inside, he wanted to get out of the stiffening steam and away from the smell of burning flesh. Not long after, Erin came down the wooden stairs. upon seeing Brom she froze. Brom could see she was scared of what he would do to her. He shocked her with his next few words.

"Erin, you did well. Now let us continue onwards before it gets too dark."

With that Brom stood and started walking out. Leaving Erin confused, but he was confused too. At first, he was angry that she shot him, but when he saw her face, he became conflicted. Not knowing what he was feeling, he decided that just complimenting her and leaving would be the best option. That way there wouldn't have to be a discussion.

They walked back to where they picketed the horse and made camp. Nothing else was said on the way there, or while Erin made dinner and Brom set up the tents. Both were lost in their own thoughts.

Erin was hoping, she didn't make him so mad he could not speak to her. And Brom was wondering how he really felt about her; was she just a companion, or something more?

He pushed the bothersome thoughts away as she brought his plate over; they were eating some rabbit Brom had killed during the trip. Even though it was a simple meal, Erin's cooking still tasted better than any dish at a tavern. Brom decided to give in and ask what made it so special.

"Your cooking, what makes it so good?"

Erin wanted to retaliate with 'I thought you didn't like my cooking' but seeing this as an extension of good will, she relented.

"I use magic, to enhance the flavor. The rest is practice."

"How do you use magic to cook? I detected no spells being cast while you were cooking."

"That I'm not saying, if I told you my secret to cooking, you wouldn't need me anymore"

Smiling at this Brom, accepted her answer. It seemed the moment of tension between them was over. After eating their meals, they both went to bed for the night. They would need the rest to keep traveling at the forced pace Brom kept.