"Here we are. The Last Vigil."
Ariem and Rykon had spent the last part of the day trekking up the mountain to the site of the battle between the Ebony Warrior and the Challenger. Ariem watched the setting sun over the mountains to the west, casting a glow over the perpetual autumn of the Rift. Rykon tended to the horses and joined Ariem at the edge of the cliff.
"Shall we camp here for the night?" Rykon asked. "The weather's clear for a change. Shouldn't get much colder than this, my warmly-wrapped friend."
Rykon patted the back of Ariem's heavy fur hood - the cold weather didn't seem to be treating the native of Summerset Isle too well. Ariem nodded in agreement.
"Very well. I'd like to study the area - we could discover valuable clues here."
"What, after a few decades of snow?"
"I have... other talents. Go collect some firewood."
"As you wish, my lady," Rykon said, bowing low. Ariem shot him a piercing look, clearly not amused by his mockery. Rykon grabbed a torch and trekked down to a lower elevation, leaving Ariem alone at the Vigil.
"It's a beautiful view..." she thought to herself. But it was time to get to work.
Turning back toward the flattened area behind her, Ariem cast a few spells. Sifting through the snow near the rocky cliffs, one of the spells pinpointed something hidden underneath. Brushing the snow to the side and extracting a few inches of earth using another spell, she discovered the remains of a one-man tent. "Perhaps this belonged to the warrior?" she mused. As she examined the decaying leather and wood, her spell picked up something remarkable - a hugely powerful magical aura, a few feet below the surface.
"Could it be?"
Extracting the rest of the earth, a gleaming ebony breastplate came into view, followed by the rest of the armor. Using telekesis to pull the suit of ebony from what appeared to be a grave, Ariem lay it onto the snow and removed the helmet. A skull dropped out from beneath - the neck snapped in two.
"The Ebony Warrior. The Challenger gave him a proper burial, it seems. But what exactly happened here?"
Casting a spell on the body, the area went eerily dark. Two ghostly figures came into existence. At the top of the slope, a large Man - larger than any Altmer - stood, clad in full Ebony plate, tasting the edge of his blade. Approaching him was an Imperial man, wearing lamellar armor of the finest make, wielding two weapons - a mace and sword - the Challenger. He uttered a single phrase.
"May you find glory in death."
A trio of incomprehensible words escaped his lips, and he flew into a whirling fury unlike Ariem had ever seen. More than a dozen blows on the Ebony Warrior in just a few seconds sent him reeling, but he quickly recovered, protecting himself with a spell. The Challenger used this opportunity to drop his blade and ready his shield, bashing the Warrior, staggering him again, before unleashing a rapid flurry of mace strikes, penetrating the Warrior's armor and breaking more than a few bones. Before falling to his knees, the Warrior cloaked himself in an aura of frost, but to no avail - it merely fed the Challenger's power.
"Finish it." the Warrior said.
"I won't kill a helpless opponent," replied the Challenger, picking up his blade.
The Warrior uttered a terrible shout, regaining his footing and landing a blow on the Challenger that would cut a lesser man in half - but it merely deflected off the Challenger's pauldron. Before the Warrior could retaliate, the Challenger spun in a circle, his sword meeting the Warrior's neck.
And then Ariem blacked out.
She awoke inside a warm tent by a fireplace. Rykon was sitting on small stool, stirring a pot over the flames. Ariem's head was spinning; she collapsed again almost as soon as she got up.
"Ah, you're finally awake!"
Holding her head, Ariem propped herself up with her elbows. "How long was I out? What happened?" she asked, groaning.
"I was walking back up here when I heard the sounds of battle," Rykon answered. "I hurried back up here to find you face down in the snow - with some very interesting remains nearby." Rykon nodded to the late Ebony Warrior. "You've been out a few hours, I was expecting an explaination from you..."
"Uhhh... just... give me a moment..." Ariem had clearly taken been affected by whatever happened with the spell.
"Come on, you'll feel much better with a warm meal. Rabbit?"
Ariem nodded, so Rykon lifted her over to the fireplace, handing her a wooden bowl of hot stew. A few moments later she was ready to answer.
"I discovered the Ebony Warrior's grave and cast a spell on him to see how he died."
"Are you mad?"
"Beg your pardon?"
"You send me off to go collect firewood, while you meddle with the affairs of the dead - you have no idea what could've happened!"
"I can handle myself-"
"You hire me to protect you, and then place me in a position where that isn't possible! I can respect my employer's privacy but I have a reputation to uphold - and you placing yourself in mortal danger isn't doing anything good for that!"
Ariem looked down into her bowl. Rykon clearly wasn't happy.
"I'm sorry."
Rykon was quite taken aback.
"I've treated you like nothing more than a brute, after his next pouch of gold. But I can see you're more than that. You really care about your employer - you've been nothing but a benefit since we left Windhelm."
Rykon smirked. "They don't call me the best mercenary in the North for nothing."
"I think you're better than that. I can see it - you don't really enjoy helping old scholars around ancient ruins for a few handfuls of gold - you want to be like the Challenger. To make Tamriel a better place for everyone. To use your talents to really make a difference. You fight like him, even from I've heard act like him."
Rykon knew that deep down this was true.
"Skyrim's the safest it's been in milennia. Bandits are few and far between, and rarely harass villages and roads. Dragons have dissapeared. Vampires are rare. Selling my sword is the only thing I can do."
"If you think it will stay like that forever you're more stupid than I thought. Tamriel needs someone like you to help her, not chase around your next few coins."
Rykon was perplexed. "Why are you telling me this?"
"When I hired you, you made sure I was really devoted to finding the Challenger. You wanted us to take a shortcut - you suggested we travel to the Last Vigil. Don't think I can't see it; you want to find the Challenger as much as I do."
"She can read me like a book," Rykon thought. "How does she do it? Magic?"
"I propose a partnership. We find the Challenger together, I get my research, and you can do what you were born to do - take up his mantle as the new Challenger."
All was silent for a minute. Rykon thought about the treasures he'd already amassed, the gold he had already earned. Ariem was right - he really did admire the Challenger - not only for his strength and bravery, but for his deeds. An elf he'd only met a couple of days ago had possibly inspired him the most he'd ever been in his life. He extended his hand.
"Partners it is."
They shook hands.
"But I can be your partner in more ways than one, you know."
"By the Divines, you just had to go there didn't you."
Author's Note: I decided to create Ariem and Rykon in-game to consolidate who these characters actually are and what they look like. Enjoy:
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