Freystein's Tale: Embershard (Ch. 8)

  • Faendal and I arrived at the 'secret' entrance to Embershard Mine just as the sun sank behind the mountains. I helped the wood-alfar (will I ever get used to 'elf' or 'mer'?) into my leather and chain armor. He was smaller than me, but not by too much with the straps tightened all the way down. I left him to guard the mine entrance in case any of my foe tried to run.

    He understood the necessity of staying behind, but I could tell he would have preferred to fight by my side. I would have preferred that, too, but we were only two warriors and there were two entrances to cover. Not for the first time I thought that since I was solving a problem for Riverwood, all of Riverwood should be in arms beside me.

    I wasn't in a sneaking mood by the time I crashed through the front gates of the mine. I was ready for a fight and woe unto anyone standing before me. Imagine my surprise to be unopposed, then. I began descending the shaft into the mine, dodged an obvious trap, and eventually heard slurred voices. I burst into a well-lit cavern and the two men inside clumsily drew their weapons and began charging up a ramp at me. I could smell the wine on their breath from twenty paces away and the fight was over before it hardly began.

    Don't drink and fight.

    A quick look around confirmed that the drawbridge was the only way to proceed. I found the lever to operate the contraption in an overlooking room. I released the winch, and when the bridge fell into place with a crash. I heard men shout in alarm and as their footsteps approached I lept across the gap and took a bracing stance on the span.

    My father had told me of the fight at Maldon, against the Saxons. He told me how three of their warriors held off Olaf Tyrggvason's army for an entire day on a narrow spit of land. An armored man who cannot be flanked is like a rock against which the waves harmlessly crash and fall.

    Someone should have told the bandits of Embershard.

    The fight was going well. These bandits were incompetents, not true warriors. I began to think that the best men had been posted along the road. I dispatched a scantily clad woman guarding a store room with barely any effort. This was boring.

    I heard the sounds of smithing from up ahead. I made my way along a narrow passage and came to great cavern with bridges suspended along its walls and over a small lake. I saw an archer patrolling one of the bridges, and I drew my bow and shot him down before he knew I was there. The sound of hammering stopped and I turned as I heard footsteps approaching from my right and I found myself facing...

    A giant cat.

    With a sword.

    I was so taken aback for a moment that he... she... it got a blow in and nearly knocked my shield from my hand. I had just returned to form when I was staggered by a mighty blow from behind. I fell away to my right, struggling to regain my balance, and as I twisted to face this new foe, I saw a tall woman with a huge warhammer standing over me. She shouted to the cat to finish me, and it turned its slitted eyes on me with a vicious grin.

    I scrambled to my feet, dodging its sword as I ran toward the passage I had come from. I had to duck under a swing of the warhammer and ran like my life depended on it. As I expected, the cat outpaced the woman with the hammer, and just when I felt like it must be overcome with confidence I planted my feet against a stone and spun to face my feline pursuer. It never had time to take a stance as I launched myself toward it, driving the point of my sword clean through its breast and following it down to the ground.

    I withdrew my sword as I rose, and quickly deflected a blow from the warhammer woman with my shield. Her weapon was mighty, and her strength apparent, but she had no secondary weapon and little armor. Once I shoved her weapon to my left, I stepped in against her and began hacking at her with my sword. I couldn't get a good strike in, but neither could she, and as she tried to back away I stayed on her, chopping all the while. Eventually the loss of blood drove her to her knees and it was over in a moment.

    There weren't any more enemies bearing down on me, so I took a moment to catch my breath. I had an uncomfortable dent in the backplate of my armor, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. I thanked Thor that the tall woman had struck me in the back and not the head. I doubt my helmet would have saved me.

    I grabbed a torch from a sconce and went back to inspect my other dead opponent.

    Giant, intelligent cats. Surely this was a place of wonders.

    "Khajiit," said a soft voice behind me and I spun around, tripped over a rock and fell backwards over the dead cat. Faendal was standing there, grinning. I almost threw my torch at him, as I glared and asked, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be guarding the exit!"

    He shrugged, "I heard fighting. Then it stopped. I came in to see if you were victorious and finish the job if you weren't."

    He extended a hand and helped me up, then spat upon the... Khajiit. I looked at him and he explained, "The Khajiit come from Elsweyr, with borders Valenwood, my home, to the east. We have fought many wars. Never trust them, Freystein. They are liars and theives, all."

    As if I would ever trust a cat, giant or otherwise.

    We spent a few hours gathering everything of value in the mine, including much easily dislodged iron ore.

    I made Faendal give me back my leather and chain armor so I could get out of my dented set, but he didn't seem to mind. He had looted a set of furs made of wolf skin that he said were 'perfect'.

    I thought they made him smell like a wet dog, but I didn't say so: it would have sounded too... Khajiiti.