Chapter 3

The crackle of an open flame. The occasional caress of a cool breeze. Auri's faint hums.

Cross-legged on a patch of dirt and scanning the pages of the Tome of Warding, Athias found the atmosphere of their little campsite comforting. Auri sat beside him, sharpening the bones of her stripped prey into arrows, occasionally switching tunes as their meals cook over the flames.

Maybe the comfort came from companionship.

Of course, their fledgling partnership was by no means perfect.

Auri couldn't stand the idea of using wood for a campfire and so she caught wild animals and used their extra parts to start the flame. The smell of burning flesh wasn't something Athias could say he particularly enjoyed but it kept the nightly code at bay. They also kept their bags clearly separated, Auri utterly disgusted by the apples and bread held in his bag. That went both ways, as he didn't want get a peak of any human flesh hers may or may not have held.

Those were just a few of the compromises they made to respect the other.

Athias peaked from his tome to watch Auri's diligent knife-work. She made those arrows of her often, he could tell.

As usual, the deer like antlers growing from her head and the sharp ear tips poking out from her wild red hair, drew his attention.

He was traveling with a freaking elf! Not just that, two different moons hung in the night sky! And to top it all off, he was learning from a magic tome!

Emotional wasn't a word he'd use to describe himself but his excitement and anticipation couldn't be curbed no matter what he tried.

It was a whole new world and he, a blank slate full of possibility.

"You're staring again." Auri said. He nearly jumped out of his skin. The honed instinct of a hunter was truly a scary thing; she hadn't even needed to look up from her work to notice his stare.

"Sorry." Athias said, sheepish.

"It's fine. I was the same way when I left Valenwood." Auri looked up with a friendly smile. "My clan's home is deep within our forests, where visitors are a rare site. They must not be able to appreciate its beauty."

"Or they're afraid of ending up someone's lunch."

"That too." Auri agreed humorously though a frown quickly found its way on her face. "It's not like we sneak about, hunting people for fun. We only seek to uphold our word to Y'ffre and honor the Green Pact. It's no different than religions I've seen others practice since leaving my home."

"Why did you leave Valenwood?"

"That's…" Auri trailed off. She wasn't smiling but she wasn't frowning either. It's almost as if she was doing her best attempt at a poker face, hurriedly restraining whatever emotions the simple question summoned. A hard task for someone as expressive as her.

"You don't have to answer." Athias quickly followed up, realizing he'd stepped into personal territory. He might be a blank slate but that didn't mean everyone else was. It wasn't his place to pry into such things.

Auri smiled gratefully.

Noticing that their meals -simple slabs of meat- were fully cooked, Auri handed him his by the bone stabbed through it.

"I passed through Cyrodiil on my way here but I didn't get the chance to see much." Auri began after a few bites. "What is it like?"

Right; Auri assumed he was an adventurer coming over from Cyrodiil. Luckily, he had played Oblivion once or twice so as long as he kept things vague he should be fine.

"It's not nearly as cold as Skyrim, I can tell you that much." Athias said with a genuine grimace, getting a exhale of amusement from Auri. "The people are, well, people. They're more welcoming than nords at the very least. You'd enjoy the southern area, the forests were thicker around there."

Auri nodded along as he shared a vague recounting of the province until they finished their shared meal.

He quickly offered himself up for first watch and she turned into her tent of furs for the night. No longer distracted by the elf's presence, Athias refocused on the tome, one eye on the forest around their camp.

The first exercise was quite simple in execution and purpose. He was to channel his magicka outward at a controlled constant pace for as long as possible. It was a general exercise meant to prepare fledgling mages for the variety of spells that required unwavering concentration. The longer he could do it, the better.

Athias held out a hand, and his magicka responded, shifting from static to purposeful. A transparent gathering of dark blue energy formed into a sort of wall, not quite a ward, unable to block anything, but mimicking the shape of one.

Magic, he found, came to him easily. Maybe it had to do with his birth-sign or that unknown trait, but he could freely control the energy housed within through thoughts and instinct.

Another thing he found was the mere act of practicing this way increased the progress of all his magical proficiency trees. It wasn't much but the bars filled up at a fixed rate.

That made sense. Realistically speaking, what mage in training was going around fighting animals and bandits just to better their skills? As much as he would've liked to have learned these spells at the click of a button, it was far better to know that game logic didn't apply to every little detail.

If things proved impossibly treacherous at this level, he could always take a step back and learn at a far more leisurely pace, holed up in an inn or camping in the woods.

The ruin they were headed to should put things into perspective.

 ========================

Shriekwind Bastion: an ancient nordic structure built into the side of a mountain north of Falkreath. Much of its stone had been worn down by time and the light snow that fell at the higher level of elevations in the hold.

If things had been as expected, Athias wouldn't have even considered going into the old place. He was rather certain vampires had called the place home in the game.

Knowing that there were years before many things lined up with what he knew, Athias had asked around about the area. Most people hadn't been willing to talk much, but a handful of friendly faces in the local tavern and a few guards shared enough information. There were no rumors of unusually pale corpses turning up or a rise in disappearances, all the people he spoke to warning of the Draugr that undoubtedly dwelled within.

Athias was willing to bet there were no vampires inside.

And if there were…well, you can't spell adventure without venture. And you know what they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

That reckless approach definitely wasn't going to get him killed.

They stood within the ruins' round entranceway before a gate made of metal so dark it was difficult to spot the rust that's spread across it. Athias pushed against it and it squeaked open.

How ominous.

At least it wasn't locked. He wasn't so sure he'd be able to pick one even if he had the right tools.

They descended into the darkness, pushing open one last jet black door marked by a number of spiraling patterns. Nonsense to them but it stood for something to those of days past.

Pitch black darkness wrapped around them as they took their footsteps in and the heavy doors cracked closed behind them.

He really should've expected this. Thinking about things within the premise of a game was proving to be more detrimental than useful.

Athias fumbled with the lantern at his hip, and a handful of attempts, lit up their surroundings.

The bastion earned its title as a ruin. Moss covered the walls of the circular hallway they were in, the roots of the trees outside invading the cracked stone. Insects buzzed about, many attracted to the lantern's light while other's fled.

It's been so long that this place gave birth to its own little ecosystem.

"Is it odd that this place doesn't bother me as much as human settlements?" Auri asked. Despite the humorous tone, she kept her bow in hand and an arrow at the ready, eyes narrowed in a fruitless attempt to peer through the darkness.

Some night vision potions would've gone a long way.

"Odd for you? No." Athias said, with a slight grin.

"Oh? I thought you were the odd one. Or is it normal in Cyrodiil to visit stores without any gold?" Auri teased.

They traded banter as they inched forward.

It was nice distraction from his racing heart.

Athias thought he had managed to mentally prepare himself for their delve into this place, but now that they were here, the lantern's limited light their only source of safety in ruins known to house restless undead and vicious traps, it was hard to pretend his anxiety didn't exist.

Excitement and anticipation outweighed it though.

Along the way, Athias checked a few of the old urns, discovering ancient coins. They weren't made of the same gold as septims but there was a good chance they could be traded or sold to any collector interested in the stuff, so he pocketed them.

Holes, small in size, became prominent the deeper they went. They dripped water and allowed rays of sunlight from the outside to bleed in, reflecting off of old tainted puddles.

Splashes came from the side of the chamber they were in.

Athias turned, sword pulled from its sheath.

Two little creatures that he recognized as skeevers leap out from the darkness, ready to gnaw off his face. An arrow pierced the head of one and sent it back into now bloodied water. Athias ran the other through its open mouth with a stab.

Of course these overgrown rodents managed to find their way in here as well. Good thing they weren't difficult to handle.

Auri walked past him and kneeled down over the dead animals. She yanked her arrow free, ensuring that it was still intact, before taking a bone knife from her hip and severing their tails.

She was going to eat them, or at least a piece of them.

"It'll take too long for me to strip them completely." Auri explained while he kept guard. "The least I could do is take a piece with me for later and hope that pleases Y'ffre."

Athias nodded. They'd get nowhere if she had to eat everything that attacked them; something that was likely to happen in every part of Skyrim. "I get why you're eating the one you killed, but why the other one? I'm the one that killed it."

"That is true." Finished, Auri wrapped up the parts and slipped them into her pack. "I imagine it will take us quite a while to see all of Skyrim which means we'll be together for a long time. In a way, we're our own little clan." Auri flashed him a sharp teethed smile as she readied her bow. "Your enemies are my enemies, so it doesn't really matter which of us killed it."

So she was going to eat anyone he killed. How...sweet. In a disturbing sort of way.

"Clans? I was under the impression Valenwood had their own developed cities and government. You make it sound more tribal and isolated." Athias questioned. Thinking about cannibalism would do him no favors in these darkened ruins.

"Both are true. Over the years some clans have grown so big that they don't move around as much and have changed the way they do things. They're the ones visitors and would be conquers usually deal with. Many tribes keep to the deeper parts of Valenwood, some more nomadic than others." Auri explained as they continued through the old ruin, puddles splashing beneath their feet. It's almost like they weren't deep in a dangerous relic of the land's past but a classroom.

"Your clan comes from one of those tribes?"

"Yes. I came from Greenshade, deep in the south of Valenwood. It's was like it's own world. Before leaving, I knew nothing of the Empire, Thalmor, or of the troubles brewing here in Skyrim." Auri revealed. "Had I know, I might've gone elsewhere."

"Maybe to Elsweyr?" Athias joked. It was stupid but he just couldn't help himself. "Get it? Elsewhere, Elsweyr."

To his surprise a chuckle escaped Auri. One that quickly evolved into laughter. He stopped at a stairway leading up and turned, raising a brow at her. He's the one who made the joke and even he wouldn't laugh at a weak pun like that.

"S-Sorry, I just haven't heard a joke like that in a-"

Gargled groans came from ahead.

Athias twirled back around, shinning his lantern towards the stairway while Auri nocked an arrow.

More gargled nose bounced off the dark walls. They almost sounded like words.

Athias readied his sword.

A pair of blue lights appeared in the darkness at the top of the worn stairs. Then another. And another. More and more joined, all alight with the same restless glow.

"Maybe this wasn't the best place for a chit-chat." Auri said.

"Maybe."

 ========================

Yo. If you really enjoyed my writing consider donating to my patreon where you can read chapters ahead of time, and/or tossing your boy some of those power stones. Need you guys to lend me your energy to turn writing into a full-time thing.

patreon. com/TheExpGarden (It's only about a little over a week ahead meaning 4 chapters but I plan on adding more, There's also two chapters of my og novel ahead of time for those interested in more from me)