The sunrise that morning seemed devoid of its distinctively joyous Valenwood flair. The green of the trees was dull and lifeless, and the air seemed stiff and dry. It was not at all as Marudil had remembered it to be; he found that he had actually come to miss what the forest had been before the Aldmeri Dominion had claimed it as their own, despite lacking the religious adoration for the forest that his kinsmen cherished. Marudil sat perched high up in the treetops, gazing across the horizon as the sun peeked over the lush wilderness... he could feel the influence of the Thalmor in the air, whispering pompous taunts of victory and supremacy. Though Marudil always insisted that the "old ways" put a blight on his kind, they were far more welcome than the stench of the gold-skins.
"It feels different, doesn't it?" A voice called up from below. "You recognize it, I can tell."
"Elberoth, isn't it?" Marudil replied, "The muscle of our people?"
"You still remember."
Marudil leaped down to his feet to properly greet Elberoth. He was about as tall as Marudil, with significantly pronounced muscles and a half-shaven head of hair.
"It's been many years, old friend." Elberoth said, "Sometimes I wonder where our people would be if you lead us still."
"I'm surprised by your tone. I had assumed that every last one of you had cursed my name to the Ooze after I broke the Pact."
"Most, yes... but some understood your plight and stood by your decision. I am proud to count myself among them... the few, still faithful to their true chief."
"Your 'true chief' is honored to have an old friend fighting at his side. I thank you for that."
"No, Marudil... we thank you for coming to take the fight to our enemy. Rudinor has fallen prey to melancholy... ever since the War of the Blue Divide, he has been convinced that the Dominion is an indestructible adversary."
"An indestructible adversary would not fall so easily to an arrow."
Elberoth laughed. "Truly! That's the spirit, old friend -- good to see you've not lost it! You know, lately I've been hearing word of an assassin in Whiterun picking off Thalmor justiciars in the woods..."
"Target practice."
"That was you??"
Marudil nodded. "That was my doing."
"I thought I saw your hand in it."
"Still got that sharp eye for detail, I see."
Elberoth nodded. "Come. Rudinor means to speak with you."
Marudil and Elberoth returned to the primary encampment of the tribe, heeding Rudinor's call. The chief stood before his subjects, regal and powerful as he prepared to announce his decision. Immediately, Marudil noticed Sevria was absent.
"Where is Sevria?" Marudil whispered to Elberoth.
"Hunting." Elberoth replied, "We have run low on food, and she volunteered to bring us more."
"Marudil..." Rudinor began, "You have broken our sacred oaths and denounced our gracious creator. By Y'ffre's word, we should be compelled to strike you down and return you to the green from whence you came."
"Filthy blasphemer..." A voice murmured in the small gathering, "Took him three days to make up his mind, we should've sent his soul to the Ooze when we had the chance..."
"Why you ignorant...!!" Elberoth started towards the warrior that had said this, but Marudil kept his friend back and gave him a look of restraint. Reluctantly, Elberoth kept his distance from the offending elf.
"... As I was meaning to say..." Rudinor continued, "There is, however, a chance for you to redeem your soul... both in our eyes, and in those of Y'ffre."
It made Marudil sick to have to appease an old god he no longer served, but he knew that Sevria was counting on him. So for this moment, he put aside his inhibitions and chose instead to embrace his task.
"What would you have me do, my brother?" Marudil asked.
'"There is a creature that lurks within these woods... a shifter of legend."
"Shifter?"
"Yes. It is a Bosmer who has fallen prey to the animal within... he took form beyond the borders of the Wild Hunt, and is now, and forevermore, a feral wolf. He has killed indiscriminately for many long years.... and now you are going to slay him."
Marudil nodded with a sarcastic grin on his face. "Oh. I see... you are asking me to yet again whet my blade with Bosmeri blood, yes? I suppose you'll want me to eat him too?"
"My friend..." Elberoth replied, "Watch your tongue. Remember why you are here..."
Marudil paused, then turned to Rudinor. "... ... I beg your pardon, brother. I will slay him... and upon my return, we shall discuss how the Dominion is to be dealt with."
Rudinor nodded. "On your way, then, brother. Do not return until the beast has been killed."
With that, Marudil gathered his arsenal and headed off into the woods. Such a mundane task this was, he thought to himself; after all, hunting was part of a Bosmer's very nature. Surely any one of his tribesmen could have slain the beast long before he'd arrived... but this was also a chance to serve the community that had been crippled by an even greater adversary. Strange, Marudil thought, that he should feel any sort of pity or empathy for his kinsmen, after all that had happened... perhaps there was still a shred of the chief he had once been, buried deep beneath the bitterness that clouded his soul...
A noise directed Marudil's attention, and all at once his hunting instinct kicked in. He whipped an arrow from his quiver and guided it by ear... by smell... by sight... his quarry was nearby, he could tell. The trees spoke of its presence... there, he thought, that's where it is. The prey. The prize. He could see its monstrous shape in the distance, distracted by a hunt of its own. It looked to be no ordinary wolf... but rather, it seemed far more akin to a werewolf.
"This is the one..." Marudil muttered to himself, "I can smell the blood in its breath from here."
Cautiously Marudil drew the arrow back, aimed for the beast's head... and then sat still, when it seemed that the creature spotted Marudil in the distance -- and simply stood there, as if it... recognized him... and instead of lashing out like an animal, it studied his posture and seemed to express a level of intelligence in its eyes. This threw Marudil off-guard, and the two simply looked at each other for what seemed to have been several minutes. He had been told that this creature had been lost to the animal within, but... though he could not determine what it was, there was something about this thing... this man, he even dared to call it... that seemed to suggest a higher intelligence...
But before Marudil could make sense of the beast's expression, an anonymous spear was hurled in the creature's direction. The weapon missed its mark, but the animal still retreated into the forest. Marudil spun around angrily to face whoever had interrupted the scene -- and much to his frustration, found himself accompanied by a squadron of Imga scouts; they were smaller in stature than their more well-known brethren, but still carried themselves just as highly.
"Urgh! Foul creature!" One of them said, with a voice hardly befitting its formal language, "It escaped our grasp once more!"
"Fear not, friend, we'll hunt it down." Another said, "It's only a matter of time before--" All at once the apes recognized their Bosmeri company.
"You..." A third member of the hunt said, "You are the dishonored chief... Marudil, of the Silvenar tribe!"
"What is it to you, 'great' apes?" Marudil asked, with sarcasm that leaped clean over the apes' heads.
"The honorable Thalmor have sought you out for centuries... now you return here, to your homeland? For what reason?"
"It is of no concern to your kind."
"Oh, but it is..." The ape drew out another spear. "For while the Dominion demands your capture, outlaw... we must honor their wishes."
"You don't want to do this." Marudil said in a grim, foreboding tone.
"It is out of your hands, you faithless blasphemer." The other apes drew out their weapons. "We are 8 warriors strong, and you are without your people."
Marudil clutched his knives and drew them out slowly, glaring at the Imga apes. "I am armed... and I've nothing to lose. That... is the only advantage that I need."
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