Silent Moon Camp (1)
After calming Aela down, we departed from Whiterun, running through the grassy plains towards our objective.
Silent Moons Camp was a good ways away, roughly half an hour on foot over the rolling wilderness that made up Whiterun Hold.
Running in silence, Aela and I eventually made it to the large stone ruins, which two dozen some odd bandits occupied.
We had went the long way to scale the mountain behind the ruins, positioning ourselves not only above the unknowing bandits, but also behind them.
The small outcropping of rocks we were laying on gave us a view of the mysterious forge, as well as the six bandits standing inside the small circular room, one scribbling down inside a thick notebook while another hammered away at a steel ingot, likely conducting experiments to see if there was any enchantments during the day.
"So, how did you want to do this?" I whispered to Aela.
The Huntress pursed her lips, her pale blue eyes scanning the entire area, taking in the patrolling bandits, lounging bandits, and even two hounds, who were currently sleeping.
"We can start by picking off those in isolated groups; if you can manage to shoot at least two inside the forge room, we can move to occupy the top of the ruins and start raining arrows down on the rest as they try to get to us..."
I nodded, seeing the logic in that.
There were a large amount of bandits down the giant stone staircase, occupying the tents and various tables scattered around on the platforms, but we could see none inside the outer ring surrounding the forge.
Of course, that didn't mean anything; a bandit or two could easily be sitting or laying silently inside as a guard.
However, either way we would be taking on this entire camp; if we can start with at least six guaranteed kills, so be it.
Besides that, two of the six inside the forge were wearing heavy steel plate armor, with giant steel great swords strapped to their backs.
Currently their helmets were off, as they were speaking with the smith and person writing everything down.
"Alright; I'll take the writer and smith then. After my shots are off, I'll enter the outer ring before making my way to the stairs, drawing their attention. You either stay here or take the roof."
Aela nodded, unslinging her bow and nocking an arrow.
Mirroring her, I grinned as my hunting bow shimmered purple, denoting its soul trap enchantment.
Hoping and praying that I might get one of these idiots souls, I placed a steel arrow on the string, aiming towards the scribe first.
He was hunched over an armorers bench, his long greasy blonde hair swaying as he furiously wrote something down.
His head was stationary, making the perfect target.
As for the smith, he was equipped with hide armor, so I was going to place the arrow center mass; his head was moving too much for a headshot.
"Ready?"
I nodded, and Aela and I took a deep breath, only to let our bows sing a moment later.
Swiftly nocking another arrow, we both shot our second target, only for Aela to almost inhumanly send arrows hurtling towards her remaining two targets.
My arrows sunk deep into the scribes head and smiths heart, killing them instantly.
Drawing my axe, I scurried down the cliff face, making sure to be as quiet as I could before scaling the roof, peering over into the forge room.
Seeing everyone dead, I grinned before dropping down, my feet landing softly on the stone ground.
Turning instantly towards the door, I peeked out and scanned the halls to my left and right, and upon seeing no one I moved out, axe in hand.
Stepping forwards a few feet to the left, I saw a man at the door, looking down over the stairs.
Moving back, I went towards the right, seeing another man standing there as well.
Pursing my lips, I calculated the distance between the two before smirking.
Sneaking forwards, I crouched behind the man on the right and clamped my hand over his mouth, dragging him back into the hall before burying my axe into his skull.
Silently running to the left, I repeated that action, killing the other guard.
Returning to the forge, I saw Aela lounging on the roof, a smirk on her face.
"Really?"
Hearing my exasperated whisper, she chuckled silently before nodding, whispering back "Are you ready?"
Giving her the finger, I went back towards the right, placing my axe back on my belt and taking my bow.
Laying another arrow on the string, I peered out of the doorway and saw the mini bandit army outside.
Grinning to myself, I waited a moment before watching as a man simply dropped dead, an arrow in his skull.
Quickly shooting his companion, I turned towards another group, this one lounging at a table, eating.
Sending arrows hurtling towards them, I clicked my tongue when one let out a shout of surprise, alerting the others.
What had initially been a quiet, peaceful day suddenly turned to a bloody one, as the bandits screamed at one another and drew their weapons, charing up the stairs towards me.
With a grin still on my lips I picked them off as they rushed towards me, targeting the closest ones while Aela hit the heavily armored ones.
Some smartened up swiftly, hiding behind their companions and carrying their lifeless bodies up the stairs, using them as meat shields.
However...
Placing the bow into my inventory, I coated my hands in flame, extending my arms and unleashing a sea of deadly fire over the charging bandits.
Laughing as they screamed in agony, I increased my output of magicka, enjoying the light drain of such a simple spell.
Those dressed in furs burned swiftly, the animal hide laden with grease going alight in mere seconds, while those donning hardened iron or steel were cooked alive, the metal only increasing the heat they felt as they waded through the sea of flames.
Some dropped to the ground, rolling around as they screamed, while others tried running away, only to collide with another bandit and spread the flames.
The few at the back that thought they were lucky were impaled by arrows, dropping dead to the ground.
Cancelling my magic, I panted as I felt drained, only to grin as various notifications hit me.
{Archery: 26 -> 28}
{Sneak: 25 -> 28}
{Soul Trap Failed!}
{Soul Trap Failed}
{One Handed: 34 -> 35}
{Sneak: 28 -> 29}
{Archery: 28 -> 29}
{Soul Trap Failed!}
{Soul Trap Failed!}
{Soul Trap partially successful; Common Soul Gem Filled!}
{Soul Trap Failed! x3}
{Destruction: 29 -> 34}
{Level Up: 11 -> 13}
Bringing my stamina to 140 to match my HP and MP, I then selected {Augmented Flames (1/2)} and {Stealth (2/5)}, grinning to myself.
The consecutive ringing made my head spin for a moment, before I watched as Aela dropped down beside me, a smile on her face as she looked over the charred corpses around us.
"Damn Jeleia... that was brutal."
Nodding, I started moving between corpses, checking their inventories.
Getting a few random gems, a lot of gold, and some simple jewelry, I grinned again before gesturing towards the main ruin, saying "Shall we clear it out?"
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Sorry for the break, time's just been flying by...
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