It was raining that night in Rorikstead. It was decided by Lemkil that tending the crops would wait 'till the storm settled, and that in the meantime they would unwind at the Frostfruit Inn. Sitting Bear and Sissel continued to bond, as he told her more about his culture.
"I wish it was sunny outside." Sissel pouted, "Then we could try shooting more arrows!"
"Well, we'll just have to wait." Sitting Bear responded, "But in the meantime, would you like to hear another Bosmer story?"
"Yes please!" Sissel beamed.
"Appropriately, we have a legend about how Coyote helped bring sunlight to the world."
"Really? How's it go?"
"It was dark everywhere for Owl wanted darkness and did not wish that there should be daylight. Bear also wanted darkness; these two were agreed about it. The people were considering what should be. "Why should it always be night? We shall never be able to see anything," they said. " We will make a dance, against those who are stingy of darkness." All the people who lived on the earth agreed to do this. They came where those were who wanted darkness. Bringing some wood, they said, "Let us have a good time, dancing." The others agreed to this and a fire was built in an open plain where they danced. Those who would not give up the daylight were sitting there. Coyote said, "Come let us have a good time dancing." They began to dance. Coyote said, "Let daylight come quickly." Owl sang, "Let there not be daylight." Coyote danced around singing his song. Owl got sleepy and went to sleep. Bear, too, went to sleep. The people who objected to daylight went to sleep. Then Coyote won the daylight. The people who lived on the earth said, "Thanks, my cousin." Owl said he would live under the rocks in the deep canyons and flew into one. Bear said he would go to a large and distant mountain and live in a hollow Douglas spruce where it is dark. Coyote won the daylight and now we have it. The people were happy."
"Wow, I love it!"
"I too. It's one of my fav---"
Just then, there was a knock at the door to the inn. Not a friendly knock, but an urgent and demanding one. Mralki opened the front door, and his face went pale; three Thalmor agents stood proudly before him, each brandishing a weapon and looking as if they'd come ready to kill.
"Pardon our intrusion..." The Justiciar in robes said, "But we have been tasked with the execution of a Bosmer that we believe is living right here in Rorikstead. His name is Marudil, and he has been a thorn in the Aldmeri Dominion's side for many long years. He is wanted for the wanton murder of several Thalmor agents in the provinces of Skyrim, Cyrodiil, Elsweyr, and Valenwood."
"There's no Marudil here." Mralki stated nervously, "But you might want to talk to Sitting Bear over there; he might know something."
The agents approached Sitting Bear and studied his features. He wasn't wearing the dreaded war paint, or his iconic armor, but that face... could it possibly be him?
"Can I... help you?" Sitting Bear asked, standing protectively in front of Sissel.
The Justiciar turned to his warriors. "Take him outside for questioning. Anyone who intervenes will be tried and punished for interfering in Thalmor affairs."
The agents grabbed Sitting Bear and threw him out into the rainy street. Bear got back up and tried to fight back, but he was unprepared for a fight with the Thalmor. One of the two armored agents punched him in the gut, then kicked him back to the ground as the other two agents took hold of his arms and prevented him from defending himself as the third agent maliciously beat his body. They were asking questions, but Sitting Bear could not process them; who was Marudil? Why did they think he would know? What had he done?
"Leave him alone!" Sissel cried out as she ran toward the agents with Sitting Bear's tomahawk. She took a swing at the interrogator's leg, only to be knocked back and disarmed.
"I've seen enough. This wreck can't possibly be Marudil." The Justiciar said in frustration, throwing Sitting Bear face-down into the muddy ground. "They say he has the strength of 10 men or more, yet this miserable Bosmer can hardly even defend himself."
"What about the girl?" The other armored agent asked.
"We warned the others of what would happen if they interfered with our business here. She didn't listen... and so we shall make an example of her."
Sissel backed away as the agents approached her. "No! No! Don't take me away! Sitting Bear! Help! Get up! Get up!"
That sound... that voice... he knew that voice... he knew these elves... that voice... his sister... calling for help...
"This is what happens when fools interfere with the will of the Thalmor!"
"No! You can't do this! Help! Help!"
Blood dripped from his growling mouth as it all started coming back to him. The chase... the fall... his mission... his name... his name... the one they'd come for... Marudil. He rose to his feet and picked up the tomahawk that Sissel had dropped. The townsfolk of Rorikstead gathered to watch the spectacle, and their faces suddenly portrayed an expression of fear and awe at what was coming up behind the Thalmor agents.
"This is what--" The Justiciar turned around, noticing that the pathetic Bosmer had gotten back up. "What are you looking at?"
Instantly Marudil grabbed the Justiciar and threw him several feet from the inn. Before the armored agents could counter, he delivered a crushing blow to the head of one and cut deeply into the other's throat with his tomahawk. A spark of mad rage had gone off in his head, as he took hold of the armored agent and lifted her clean off her feet. He looked her straight in the eyes and spoke with thunderous intensity.
"Here I am, gold-skin!" He bellowed with his gravely voice, "Here is the killer you have hunted! Is this what you wanted?! To die at my hands?!"
Enraged, he threw the agent right into the rocky street before closing in and tearing at her armor. "Please! Mercy!" The agent begged, all at once consumed with fear.
"Mercy?! Is that what you were going to show Sissel?!"
The agent struck back and tumbled right back to her feet, then ran toward Marudil with her blade unsheathed... but it was no use. Ducking under the blade, Marudil delivered three crushing blows to the agent's torso, then another two to her head. So mighty were his fists, that the townsfolk could even hear the sound of the agent's bones splintering! Finally Marudil picked up the agent, raised her over his head and shattered her spine on his shoulders, before ripping her in two and soaking his body in a baptism of blood. Two agents had been killed... now there was only one.
"My neck... my neck!" The Justiciar cried out pitifully as Marudil calmly walked to him, "You've broken my neck! You- you bastard!"
"I?" Marudil sat menacingly upon the Justiciar's fallen body. "You were going to take from me the one thing in all the world that gave light to my soul! That can never be forgiven! Ever!"
Marudil delivered blow after blow after crushing blow to the Justiciar's skull, as his mighty fists seemed to emulate the sound of thunder each time they landed. The Justiciar's pained screaming was intensified by the pain of his shattered neck, until finally his screams were silenced. Where once was his head, there instead was a mush of blood, brain matter, and pieces of the Justiciar's skull. Marudil rose up to his feet; his fists, face, and upper body were dripping with the blood of his enemies, and even as the rain continued to pour, it did little to wash away his frightful image. He turned and faced the people of Rorikstead, finding their faces ridden with horror and revulsion.
"You..." The farmer Ennis said, "It was you they were looking for."
"I can't believe it... you... you tore them apart with your bare hands!" Ennis' Altmer wife, Reldith, said in a stunned tone.
"Look at all this..." Mralki said in horror, observing the chaotic scene.
Sissel nervously approached her friend, terrified by the sight of him. "Sitting Bear...?"
"No. That is not my name... it is what they called me: Marudil. I am Apache... I am their enemy. This is why it is written on my weapon... it is what I have become in their eyes. It is what makes them scared of me."
"You... saved me..."
"You can't stay here!" Lemkil spoke up, standing protectively in front of Sissel as he looked Marudil in the eyes. "When word gets out that you killed these people, they're gonna come looking for you again in bigger numbers! I'm sorry... but we can't protect you here. You have to go. Now."
Marudil looked at Lemkil with an expression both bitter and understanding. "I have enjoyed my time with your people... but I can see now that it was not meant to last. I will gather my belongings and leave in the morning." With that, Marudil returned to the Frostfruit Inn for one last night of rest. He had a long road ahead of him... a long, weary road...
Comments
He'll find peace eventually. Elenwen can't keep him away forever.