Dar-Meena
~ ~ ~
Sometimes I wonder how I get talked into half the things I do.
Traveling to Riften was Lisaa’s idea. She, Ertius, and I all agreed – anything was worth leaving behind the sorry troupe we’d banded with in Cheydinhal. Hard to believe they actually called themselves ‘professionals.’ Their idea of a risky heist was snatching some old woman’s heirloom and selling it for what came to two days’ worth of meals. I’d seen some pathetic lots, but they set a new standard. All the marks they went after were poor. Not by choice, mind you, they just couldn’t do any better.
I would’ve rather taken the gallows’ noose than kept with those idiots, making targets of inn keepers and stable hands…
After leaving, we could’ve gone anywhere we wanted to. Valenwood, High Rock, maybe even Elsweyr. But no. We went to Skyrim. The coldest province in all damn Tamriel.
At least the Rift wasn’t as wintery as the other holds. You could actually tell it was autumn from the bright colored trees. The wind felt nice and gentle too. There were bee hives, bird nests, and leaves fluttering to the ground. As we rode through the forest on our horses, I had to admit the land was beautiful.
Still cold, though. Not to mention filled with bears.
Ertius lost his horse to one. Sort of. Its leg had been broken first. He rode it too hard through the thick of the forest, chasing an elk he insisted on catching for dinner. Probably misstepped a runoff or got the horse’s foot caught in a hole. He never did say exactly how it happened, just that he saw the bear very close by after he got thrown from his mount. I was unpleasantly reminded that bears are meat eaters when I went to go find the mare.
Wasn’t much left of the poor thing.
Now he and Lisaa were riding double on a tired looking paint horse. Ertius was enjoying himself with it, the lout. I still don’t know why Lisaa insisted on bringing that straw-haired Breton along. I never liked him. He was too quick to act on impulse, the kind of thing that gets thieves killed.
We’d just passed a village called Ivarstead not long ago when a column of smoke appeared in the distance. Columns, I should say. It looked like several fires had been lit. A band of caravans, maybe? Wasn’t a forest fire. The flames weren’t big enough. It was right down the path, so we would see it one way or another.
“How many of ‘em do you think there are?” Ertius wondered aloud.
“There might not even be anyone down there,” Lisaa replied, brushing back her long, black hair. “All we can see is the smoke.”
“Oh come on, the fires are right by the road! There must be people!”
“You can hope for whatever you want.”
“Hey, all I’m saying is, if there are people then we can stop by for a bit and chat. Maybe get our supplies restocked in the process.”
He meant steal from them.
“Are you crazy? We could never get away with that!” Lisaa protested.
“Pfft. I thought Nords were supposed to be fearless. What’s the fun in being a thief if there’s no challenge? She knows what I’m talking about,” Ertius quipped, looking at me. “Don’t you, Dar?”
I shifted in my saddle, tail slung over the side. The sun heated my jet-black scales, making them warm to the touch.
“How about you both keep your mouths shut,” I scoffed, combing a clawed hand through the bleached white feathers on my head. “Unless you want someone to hear us.”
They stopped talking. We weren’t very far from the fires and our voices were carrying. I’d hoped at least Lisaa would’ve thought about that. She was more tolerable than Ertius – had even been helpful a few times back in Cyrodiil – but that was it. We didn’t really see eye to eye. The Nord had a contact in the Riften Thieves’ Guild, so she decided to try her luck and go join them after leaving Cheydinhal.
She wanted me and the Breton along for mutual benefit. Strength in numbers, she said.
Bullshit. Lisaa didn’t have the skill or talent to survive alone. That’s the only reason she brought us. Still, I liked the idea of joining a guild. There was some excitement in that, a chance to find a troupe that could finally replace my first one. The only good one I ever had. The one I lost.
I’d gotten excited about Cheydinhal too, though, once upon a time. And look how that turned out. Only time would tell if our trip to Skyrim had been worth the effort.
A bird flew high overhead. Our bags and luggage were draped over our horses. We’d packed plenty of supplies for the trip, including winter clothes. They’re a pain to carry around when nobody’s using them. I had to pack extra. Argonians don’t like acclimatizing, especially if the climate is cold. Though that might just be me…
The road bent sharply up toward a river. Then the fires came into view.
Lisaa stifled a scream.
We halted our horses. Further up the path an overturned carriage lay on its side, goods and wares spilled across the ground. Bodies of men, women and horses were flung about, devoured by flames or torn into pieces. Blood and gore plastered the stone pave way and surrounding trees, tinged to a caked dark maroon. I held my hand up to my snout. There were so many confusing scents. Noxious sulfur, something like burnt liver, and even a musky sweetness. My stomach rose into my throat.
“Damn,” Ertius muttered, dismounting.
I couldn’t speak. Words failed me.
“Gods… I never would have thought…” Lisaa trailed off, almost in a whisper. “How did this happen?”
“You think it was magic?” Ertius mused. “Wizards could have started the fires.”
“But the bodies… Why are they ripped into pieces like that? What wizard does this?”
Ertius started walking toward the carriage. Lisaa balked at him.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
“Checking it out. What does it look like?”
Lisaa was worried, but she didn’t say anything in protest. I rode up beside her. My voice had finally come back.
“We shouldn’t be here,” I hissed. I wanted to leave. Badly.
Whatever did this could do the same to us.
“Looks like the carriage was carting general goods. Might’ve been a caravan after all,” Ertius said, raising his voice for us to hear. “A lot of cargo’s still intact!”
“Be quiet!” Lissa snapped. “Get back here, Ertius! We’re not staying to snoop around!”
“I want to know what happened here,” he said, annoyed. “Just give me a couple minutes…”
The Breton continued to ignore Lisaa’s pleas. I gripped the reins on my horse tightly, looking around the forest. Nothing moved, just leaves rustling in the trees. Another bird flew through the clouds high above in circles. I stared at it. The thing started gliding lower to the ground, almost in a straight dive. It was moving fast. Toward us.
It wasn’t a bird.
“What is that!?” I called out, fixed on the sky. The others looked up.
Why I asked such a stupid question, I don’t know. It didn’t matter what the thing was. Anyone could see it was about to kill us. On closer view, the creature was massive. Its wings spanned wide, body covered in a hide of brownish-green scales. Ertius started running back. He wasn’t nearly quick enough.
“YOL… TOOR SHUL!!!”
The beast flew over, fire exploding from its mouth as it passed, missing Lissa and I just barely. My horse bucked in fear and threw me off before bolting away. I landed hard, feeling the wind knock out of me. Ertius was hollering, writhing in flames. I saw the monster make a banking turn, gliding above the trees. Trunks and branches swayed in its tailwinds. It was faster than anything I’d ever seen in my life.
Lisaa’s horse lunged into a full gallop, almost trampling me. I watched her ride off into the forest. The creature set its sights on the Nord, correcting its flight before landing dead in front of her. More screaming. As I got up, I watched the monster rise on its hind and snap down at the horse and rider. It clenched Lisaa in its teeth and shook her back and forth like a dog shaking a freshly caught rabbit, before tossing her lifeless body against a rock. Another breath of fire torched her mare.
A single word shrieked inside my head: run.
I tried to put as much distance between me and the giant lizard as possible before it rose again into the air. But if Lisaa couldn’t outride it, how was I supposed to outrun it? There was nowhere to go. Fighting back the urge to panic, I tore past the remains of the caravan. Trees, rocks, and bushes burnt with embers surrounded me. I saw the river beyond the road.
The river.
If I reached it, I could hide deep underwater and try to swim away. I’m an Argonian. I wouldn’t have to come up for air…
Thinking to look behind me, I saw a blaze of orange hurling in my direction. It was blisteringly hot. I jumped out of the way as the monster made another pass, but not before I felt a searing pain in my shoulder. As I sprang back up from the road I yelped, clutching my arm. It felt very warm.
I ignored the pain, going on nothing but pure adrenaline, rushing toward the water. Toward safety. The beast banked again, trying to beat me before I could reach the river. It was a contest. A mad race. Cat and mouse.
The mouse won this time.
That thing must have been scant feet away when I finally felt the cold shock of water on my scales. With a beat of my legs and tail, I pushed off into the stream with speed I’d have never guessed I had. My shadow cast over the river floor as light danced on the surface above. It looked like a muddy sunset. I caught my breath.
The water was freezing, but it soothed my shoulder. I wasted no time waiting around and swam up river. To where, I didn’t give a damn. Anyplace would have been a step up, so long as the monster wasn’t there.
Gods damn… It’s easier to talk about all this now, but… at the time…
It didn’t seem real. None of it. I was swimming for my life in complete terror. I expected that thing to dive into the water any moment and snatch me up like a bird of prey. But it didn’t. It felt like an hour – a sick, maddening hour – had passed before it hit me. I escaped. I was alive.
And I was alone.
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