Skyrim and the Journey of Cerise Ch. 02

I shrugged, "It's not what you think," I told her. "It's just, I'm headed to the barrows today, and who knows what will happen. And if I survive that, will be headed to Whiterun. And Ralof's going to be heading to Winterhold," I said, telling her, "It just happened."

She nodded in understanding. "Well, it's not like you won't have companionship," she smirked, "I hear Faendal is going with you, that will keep you warm," she laughed as I truly did blush.

"He's in love with Camilla," I told her as she scoffed.

"He is a man and you are a beautiful woman," she said with finality, "don't trust any of them," she laughed.

"Even Hod?" I asked, wondering if she knew of our encounters.

"Especially Hod," she laughed. "By the gods, when I woke up he was sitting by the fire watching you sleep, your breasts bared before him," she laughed.

Remembering the urgency I had sucked his cock last night, I again felt my body heat with desire, though I once again said nothing.

I tried to offer and help Gerdur with breakfast, but she again kicked me out, telling me to visit the smith to get my gear while she packed a travel bag for her. I told her not to bother and she scolded me, saying it was the least she could do as she threw me the dress I had on the night before. Once I had it on, she guided me out the door.

I didn't see anybody in the streets as I left the house; however, Alvor was waiting on his porch when I arrived, a large packet and sheathed sword sitting next to him. He greeted me and handed me the packet, as well as the sword saying he made the sheath overnight.

I thanked him profusely, promising I would use it well as I headed back to the house. Entering, I saw Hod seated at the table, although Ralof was surprisingly absent as I asked Gerdur if he had already eaten.

She looked at me in surprise and I asked what was wrong, as she said, "Ralof left for Winterhold this morning, he told me that last night," she said in surprise. "Didn't you know?"

I shook my head, realizing Ralof's visit to me was his way of goodbye as we finished eating.

Hod looked at me a few times asking if I had enough to drink, the hidden meaning not lost on me as I smiled back at him, telling him I could out drink him any day. Gerdur laughed, the hidden barb lost on her, as I saw Hod now blush.

Afterwards, Hod went to work at the mill while Gerdur helped me unpack the armor. As I stripped to put it on, she exclaimed in surprise.

Looking over, she held it up. "It's beautiful," she said.

I too was shocked at how complete and finished it was, wondering how long Alvor had worked on it last night as she helped me don it.

The top was mainly a set of leather shoulder pads that rested across my shoulders, attaching the front and back by leather straps. The cuirass covered most of my back, attaching at the bottom to the skirt. It was the front that was what caught our breaths.

The front mainly consisted of two wide leather bands extending from the shoulders to fall across my breasts, attached to the skirt with a wide band covering my lower stomach. The cuirass was almost in the fashion of suspenders, but providing considerable protection against slashing and piercing attacks. The collar extended down the front with a metal plate etched with intricate designs covering the tops of my breasts. The workmanship was incredible, with detail etchings in the leather and metal that had caused our pleasant surprise.

The sides of the cuirass were open, similar to the ragged clothes I had worn from the Trader, the sides of my breasts visible; however, my arms protected my sides covered with leather padded bracers extending down from my elbows.

The skirt attached to the cuirass in the back and front, the front being covered by another plated piece of steel with intricate designs to protect my stomach. The rest of the skirt was pleated straps of hardened leather, allowing me full range of movement.

Soft matching suede boots were also in the bundle, the tops folding over below my knees for traveling. I could pull them up to cover my knees if needed allowing more protection for my legs as I again was amazed at Alvor's craftsmanship.

Finally I put on the helm, which had a metal cross-guard coming down the bridge of my nose to protect my face and a hard metal band across the top covering my head and protecting against any attack to my skull. The primary piece was a skull cap, with pleated straps in the back similar to the skirt to protect my neck and ears.

Again I marveled at the beautiful workmanship as I donned the armor. I looked in Gerdur's mirror and felt it was sexier than even the revealing dress I had worn the night before.

Taking the package of provisions Gerdur had packed for me, she wished me well, telling me to hurry back. There were tears in her eyes as she ushered me out the door, but refused to talk as she wished me well once more, closing the door.

Faendal was waiting for me on the main lane, sitting on a tree stump with a long Hunting Bow next to him. I was impressed with the workmanship of the bow, as mine was only a minor Long Bow and he told me while we traveled he would teach me a few tricks with archery, which I happily agreed to.

Picking up a similar bag of provisions as mine, we made our way out the western gate to the bridge, where surprisingly Ralof was sitting, a full pack sitting next to him as I looked at him in astonishment.

"It's time I headed to Winterhold and see if Ulfric made it back," he said as I nodded in understanding. "But I had to say goodbye. Don't let the thieves get you," he told me, firmly gripping my arm.

"Don't let the Imperials get you either," I said back to him, touched that he had held off his trip to say goodbye as I smiled at him. "I won't be there to save you from them or dragons this time," I laughed.

Laughing with me, we said our farewells, wondering if we would ever see each other again as Faendal and I headed up the northwest pass while Ralof headed to the southwest.

The weather was perfect as Faendal and I hiked up the foot of the mountain. While we walked, Faendal and I talked about archery, covering not only how to shoot, but also the process of making bows and arrows. I found the instruction helpful, if not somewhat repetitive at some points, my forgotten memory recognizing some of what he said.

He was a good companion, and his company was welcomed as we climbed up towards the mountain pass; however, I once again had a stir of memory knowing I had travelled with companions in the past, but not a man. Yet as I thought about it, the memory once again slipped from me. Resigned to such flights of memory I continued on up the pass with Faendal.

At one point in our journey we came across a pack of wolves; however, they were scared off by us as we continued our way up the mountain. Spring was still in the foothills, so the wolves had plenty to eat without tackling two armed humans, although we kept a sharper eye out, knowing there were worse things than wolves around.

After a few hours we had climbed to the mountain's snowline, the ground becoming frosted and the temperature dropping dramatically. Faendal expressed concern at my revealing armor, afraid it would not keep me warm, but I honestly did not feel the cold. My body felt alive, my senses alert, wondering again how long and why the energetic boost was going to last. Also the exertion of climbing kept me warm, the sweat steaming off my body.

As we travelled I thought about the energy my body was feeling. I knew it was somehow related to the sex I had last night. I knew other people having sex with five men would be considered gauche, but somehow it felt natural for me. Instead of wondering at me sleeping with so many men, I instead wondered how much and how long the energy I seemed to have derived from the acts would last.

My thoughts quickly fled as Faendal began discussing the proper ways of making a longbow, choosing the correct wood, sinew, and how to fletch arrows for the bow you were making. The topic kept my mind off of other things and Faendal seemed content to do most of the talking as we made our way up the mountain foothills.

By the time we crested the first major rise, the sky had begun to darken and it started to snow. I grieved for the loss of the good weather due to our traveling, hoping it was not a foreshadowing of things to come as we climbed further up the high pass.

Slowly cresting the mountain, following the barely visible path through the snow, we saw a tower ahead. I became glad for the weather now, hoping it would hide our passage as we moved closer to the tower.

Up until now we had seen no sign of the thieves; however, as the fortification stood overlooking the town and was along the path to the barrow, we took no chances. It would be a fine place for an ambush, as we slowly crept our way forward, using the rocks and terrain to our best advantage.

"There's somebody there," the elf told me as we got closer. As I tried to look, he pointed to an overhand leading to the tower where I saw movement, a man standing beneath the lone tree.

As we watched, another man made his way across the walkway on patrol. Being careful, we slowly moved closer as Faendal finally was able to discern them being armed.

Neither of us was sure if they were friend or foe, them having no discernible uniform or emblems; however, we both agreed they should be given the benefit of the doubt. Even though we would have preferred the element of surprise, we did not want to harm any innocent travelers that may have stopped to wait out the oncoming snowstorm at the only shelter this high into the hills.

In the end, we decided to be visible, though both of us were wary in case of an attack.

Getting closer, my enhanced vision finally was able to make out two men, both armed, apparently standing guard. One person was on patrol while the other was waiting by the tree at the pass. It would be impossible to sneak past them, so we decided to see what happened as we made our way forward, hands on the hilts of our weapons, ready to draw at the first sign of hostility.

Getting closer and no longer hiding and moving between the jagged rocks, both of the men became aware of us, drawing their weapons. That alone did not warrant any hostility from us, as they did not attack. We still kept our guard, not drawing our weapons in the hopes of a peaceful resolution.

Suddenly the closest one yelled out, "You picked a bad time to get lost, friend," as he ran towards us to attack.

He was wielding a one-handed axe, and I deftly blocked his first attack. Faendal had quickly pulled his bow, firing a shot at the other man who was running towards us; however, I did not see if he scored a hit as I again parried another swipe from my opponent.

While fighting the first man, I saw movement to my side recognizing the other man coming upon us. To the side I saw Faendal pull out his dagger, which the other man easily parried before coming after me.

Without a thought I let his sword thrust get close, at the last second pivoting on my foot as I moved in close to him, my sword sliding through the gap in his armor beneath his arm into his chest. The man gasped in surprise, his life ebbing away as he collapsed.

Sensing more than seeing movement to my side, I ducked, spinning around and slashing out blindly with my sword, the blade feeling so natural it was an extension of my own body, as I deftly sliced the blade across the first man's chest.

Reeling back in surprise, blood seeping from the gash across his chest, he made to attack me again. Suddenly his eyes grew wide as he let out a gasp, falling dead before me as I saw Faendal behind him, his dagger bloodied from the mortal wound he had inflicted on the raider.

The battle had only lasted probably a minute as I looked around for another foe. Seeing nobody around, I cleaned my blade off one of the fallen raiders' armor and sheathed my sword.

I saw Faendal looking at me in wonder as I asked him what was wrong.

"I have never seen anybody move like that before," he said in what I realized was awe. "Not even an elf could have parried that axe so quickly and performed such a kill, only to attack a second opponent," he said.

I did not know what to say, other than to tell him they were sloppy as we checked their corpses for anything worth looting. They had a few pieces of gold upon them, and remembering my promise to Alvor, we stripped them of their armor and weapons, stashing the equipment further from the path to collect when we returned.

Although we were certain the sounds of battle would have brought any additional raiders to us, we investigated the tower with care.

The first two floors were empty of anything so I led the way up to the third, accessible from an outside platform.

It was a good thing I was cautious, as my heightened senses registered movement as I entered the upper entrance of the tower. In pure reflex I put up my blade, stopping the chop of another raider with an axe and shield. As I parried his attack, I followed with a riposte which he blocked with his shield, attempting to bash my head in with his axe.

Sidestepping, I spun past him, to attack as well as give Faendal room, as the small platform was too thin for two people.

Although the raider was prepared for Faendal, blocking his attack with his shield, he had his guard down for a brief instance on my side as I slashed his stomach. It was not a mortal wound, but it slowed our attacker down as Faendal moved in, feinting to the left.

Recognizing his move, I thrusted the second I heard the raider parry Faendal's dagger thrust, stabbing the raider on his now-exposed left side, open as he had not fallen for Faendal's faint. My blade made a suctioning sound as it entered the raider's left side, slicing through his kidney, liver, and stomach. Immediately the raider collapsed, sliding off my sword.

As I cleaned off the blade on the dead mans' clothes Faendal was again looking at me as I asked him what he was thinking. "You fight as if dancing, I've never seen the like before," he told me, again saying he had not even seen elves move as gracefully in combat.

I once again shrugged, not able to say anything as we checked out the rest of the tower.

At the very top we found a chest containing some gold and healing potions, which we gladly took. We also stashed the recent opponent's gear with the others, bundling it in fur armor to keep it from the elements. We did not stash everything, as Faendal took an axe and shield, recognizing that his dagger, although good for cleaning and skinning animals, was not as useful as a larger weapon.

Once we cleaned our weapons and readjusted our armor, we made sure the path was safe and continued on up the pass to the barrows, more wary now as we both surmised this as the rear guard from the main group.

An hour later we came upon the Barrows. By then the snow was coming down relentlessly, the skies dark and the wind causing the snow to blow and swirl until we could only see a few meters in front of us. Even Faendal's elven eyes could not tell if the Barrows were guarded or not as we proceeded forward cautiously, using the surrounding stones as cover.

The barrows were of ancient design, of a time when the area probably thrived with races other than humans as we examined the massive arches from our view.

Moving from standing stone to standing stone to stay under cover, we proceeded closer. We were thankful for our caution when I suddenly discerned movement at the top of the stone steps leading to the barrow.

Looking in the direction where I pointed, we observed at least one armed raider with a strung bow. Still hoping for surprise being on our side, we cautiously stepped forward until we came to the last standing stone before the stairs, seeing the guard silhouetted against the dark sky before moving back and continuing his patrol.

There was no longer any question about the hostility of these men as we mentally prepared ourselves for a fight. Peaceful men did not patrol an area devoted to the dead, particularly in this type of weather. Although many would have a watch, the attentiveness of the guard indicated they expected trouble, and we knew the welcome we would get if we showed ourselves.

Knowing the stairs gave a wide view of us and would alert the bandits, I motioned to Faendal who understood immediately, unstringing his bow. As the guard made his next pass, pausing to look out over the pass, Faendal let his arrow go with a sharp twang. His marksmanship was spot on as the figure clutched its stomach, falling off the platform to the jagged rocks below.

Unfortunately the shot alerted others, as two bandits charged down the stairs, screaming war cries. The first made to slash my stomach as I swiftly spun past him, his sword hitting nothing but air as I buried my blade through his spine. He let out a loud gurgling cry before falling to the ground dead.

I continued my forward momentum and turned quickly, instinctively parrying another blade as the next bandit attacked. I had only a moment to recognize her as a dark elf before we closed in and attacked each other.

I heard fighting behind me knowing Faendal was with another opponent as the woman and I stared at each other.

She was wielding a two handed warhammer, and the way she moved, I knew she could use it. One hit and I would not have to worry about finding Lucan's claw, so I kept my distance. As we danced the age-old moves of battle I stayed out of her range, only moving in when there was an opening I could quickly make use of before jumping back, trying to wear her down.

The female raider apparently recognized what I was doing as she came at me again, spinning her weapon in front of her. I took a step back only to have my back bump against a standing stone. Having nowhere to go I dropped down, rolling to the side before jumping to my feet, the loud 'swish' of her weapon in my ears letting me know how close she had come to caving in my head as I heard the weapon smash into the stone edifice.

Regaining my balance, the woman advanced upon me more cautiously, as I was now away from the stone and had more room to maneuver.

Suddenly she stiffened, and to my surprised dropped her hammer. Falling forward I saw an arrow sticking directly out of her spine. Behind her I saw Faendal, his bow drawn and ready in case she moved again as I nodded thanks.

Seeing his opponent dead—a wicked slash on his neck almost severing his head—I looked around for more opponents, seeing nobody immediately around us. As I caught my breath, I suddenly felt fire in my side, hearing a loud 'Pfffft' in my ears too late as I recognized an arrow in flight. Looking down I saw a thin line of blood along my side, realizing if I had not shifted at that exact moment, it would have impaled my stomach. Ignoring the large gash on my side we both dove for cover.