Nephili's mind was focused inward as she walked down the road, trying not to regret the decision she had made. From Cropsford to Bruma to Whiterun, those in power had unraveled and threatened her life or pulled her away from the one's she loved. The resulting fear and anger had festered inside in fits and turns, until it had finally exploded in Lydia's presence. Now a vast gulf of sky and tundra had been wedged in between them as the housecarl purposely trailed far behind her Thane.
Making her way past the outskirts of the city, Nephili found herself unable to turn around and confront her follower. She had made a principled stand under Gildergreen, and proclaimed the course of her destiny would be under her own power. The truth of the matter was that her power was lacking and she needed help; but after her outburst, she found herself unable to admit that she wasn't strong and, even found it difficult to admit that to herself. Walking along the ancient highway, she had become terrifyingly glad to have Lydia's estranged company and could only hate herself for it.
Soon, the last of the farmsteads surrounding Whiterun passed away. By the late afternoon, she stood in the shadows of the mid-northern mountain range, peaks still shining brightly, telling the world that the sun's day was not yet done. Off in the middle distance, a herd of mammoths held court while trees and snow, once again, found purchase in the rolling landscape of grass. Clouds could be seen pouring down the rising foothills, threatening to engulf the scenery.
Sensing that the weather might turn, Nephili begin looking for anything she might use as shelter. Off the main path, she spied a trail leading into the trees. Feeling perhaps this might lead to an opportunity, she turned off the road and moved into the sparse woods.
A few moments later, the young mage felt Lydia coming up from behind as the warrior sought to catch up to her charge. “My Thane! Please hold for a moment.”
Nephili stopped and turned around. This was the first conversation the two of them had since leaving the city.
Hands on her knees, Lydia took in several deep breaths and stood back up to speak. “I would ask... you to reconsider. These woods are dangerous and there is no telling what we might find. The winter storm rolling in will make us miserable but if we travel further, we may find an Inn or an old ruin just off the main road.”
The young woman was not ready to undercut her own independence and wondered if the roads of Skyrim were truly any less dangerous than its forests. She didn't want to agree right away but she didn't want to push Lydia away either. The silence forced her hand.
“You... yes well,...”
How can I say this!
Nephili looked away trying to compose herself when she spied a clearing. A large rock outcropping held the surrounding trees in attendance and a fissure could be spied at it's base.
“Look! There! I think that might be a cave up ahead. We can take shelter inside without having to worry about the storm.”
Glad that she could make her own decision, she sprinted into the clearing and looked about. A small cairn indicated that this place once held the interest of men. Peering into the cave mouth, Nephili searched, straining her eyes to see if anything moved and slowly entered the deep.
Lydia watched the young Breton tear off and immediately followed after. Leaving Whiterun, she had made peace with the Jarl's appointment and accepted that her new Thane lacked a nordic backbone. This girl, however, was also showing a certain lack of common sense. She seemed to want to charge into danger, like a solitary wolf that sometimes misjudged prey.
The two entered the underground as quietly as they could. A short corridor ended in a sharp turn that spilled them into a roughly circular cavern, a space that was as large as a cathedral. A surprising amount of light filled in the dark recesses due to an opening in the ceiling. Several stunted evergreens grew out of the soil and a carpet of snow covered parts of the ground. In the back, they could just make out the outline of a neolithic bird carving, its mouth open as if calling out to the void.
A wolf's snarl echoed in the chamber. The Nord warrior drew her sword and swiftly took a step before her Thane. Then came a screaming howl.
Lydia took a step in retreat. “Talos! It’s a snow sabrecat. Run!”
Nephili didn’t argue and turned to sprint out of the cave. A single ice wolf was attempting to circle a much larger snow sabrecat and attack from an unguarded flank. This fight would be over in mere seconds; they needed to leave, now.
Running into the clearing, they turned right and ran through the forest seeking the road ahead. Behind, they could hear the ice wolf yelp in pain, silence following its brief cry. The snow sabrecat was disemboweling its much weaker attacker, its attention still focused on the corpse. This wasn't going to last.
"Lydia! Can you... hold your ground against that beast? I can set off some spells... and try to kill it!"
"Thane, we need to find a defensible location!"
Looking back, Lydia assessed the area above the cave entrance. "Run up to the top of the rock outcropping!"
The two tacked to the right again and began running up the back side, slowing down as the way got steeper. The snow sabrecat, having finished with the corpse, quickly ambled out of the cavern. Sensing their location, he turned right and bounded into pursuit, a mere seventy yards behind the intruders and quickly closing.
"Count to four, then turn around and ready your spells!"
"Lydia, we're almost there!" They were still forty yards from the cliff face.
The fearsome beast was now thirty yards away.
"No time! We do it here!"
Lydia swung around with shield at the ready. The sword was out but with the hilt held close to her ribcage. The snow sabrecat leapt uphill, claws fanned out in front. The warrior dodged left and caught the massive right paw on her shield as it swiped at her head. The weight of the leg drove Lydia into the ground as the massive teeth closed in for the kill. She awkwardly thrust the sword under the jaw, piercing part way into his mouth. The sabrecat recoiled at the pain and dropped low to the ground spitting blood. He swiped at Lydia's back and tore flesh as she rolled away to stand up.
The warrior screamed and fell to her fours.
Nephili watched Lydia taking the first attack as she cast her familiar. The sight of the screaming Nord sent the mage into near shock. This did not feel like any of the fights she had witnessed traveling with the caravan. They were being overwhelmed. Her mind stopped analyzing the events, unwilling to further subject itself to the pain and desperation before her.
The spectral wolf leapt past the Nord and bit into the beast's flesh, momentarily distracting it. Fighting panic, the Breton girl unleashed her Flames at the beast.
Lydia realized the Breton was not controlling her magic fire, carelessly aiming at both the beast and her own specter.
Foolish!
She jumped back onto her feet. "Give me room! I've got him!"
Crouching low, she arced her sword back and forth across neck and shoulder desparately trying to get the big animal to bleed out. The sabrecat snapped several times at the familiar and finally caught him with a bite, unraveling the spell. Facing the warrior, his head shrank into his body as he tried to protect it from sword and flame. He suddenly lunged forward to snap at the Nord's midsection then attacked with his claws. Lydia fell to the ground again, her leg now rended open and bleeding profusely. She was beginning to lose her strength and her presence of mind.
Another familiar tackled the angry beast. This time, the sabrecat took a step back, finally feeling the effects of his injuries. He bit into the spectre, undoing the weak conjuration. The spell was the last of Nephili's magics as she now desparately tried to spout off a few more licks of magical fire. Lydia, having pushed herself back into a crouch, fought to keep her balance. With exhausted growl, she lunged downhill at the sabrecat, bashing her shield into his face before driving her sword into its neck. The beast stared at Lydia's exposed legs and attempted to open wide his jaws. He stopped, trying to remember what it was doing, then finally fell over into the blooded snow. Massive lungs heaved great clouds around the Nord hovering over his head. Taking smaller and smaller breaths, he gave his final rattle and closed his eyes.
Nephili fell onto her knees, arms dangling. Nostrils flared as she swallowed angry tears, grinning and grimacing in equal measure.
Letting go of her sword, Lydia turned over and fell to the ground, resting her back against the animal, swallowing as much air as she could. Her body was retracting blood out of her extremities and back into her core. She curled up to stay warm and fought to keep awake. Looking at her charge, she spoke in between her gasps.
"I am... your sword... and shield."
The Breton nodded in reply.
* * * *
Comments
Thanks again to Ricardo for keeping me evaluating my efforts.