Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter XVIII - Guidance and Salvation

Aeyrin quickly stashed the letter for Karliah into a mailbox by the Riften stables before she hurried off into another direction altogether.

It was probably a good idea to stay away from the city for now. She had no clue what had been going on in the Guild lately and she didn't even know for certain where she stood with Maven. As much as she wanted to lie down in a real bed again, it was not worth the risk.

She still wanted to send out more letters – one to Master Therien, if only to reassure him that she was alive. She wasn't sure if she was ready to talk to him about everything that was constantly plaguing her mind these days, but she resorted herself to wait and see what came out when she actually held the quill in her hand and started to write. Unfortunately, she didn't feel ready for it the previous night. Besides, the journey and the battle in the mine took a lot out of her. She also needed to reassure Jora of her well-being too and... she needed to apologize to Bishop.

She would do all that once the sun set and she made camp.

Aeyrin took a wide circle around Riften and headed further south. She had no particular destination in mind, but being in the Rift soothed her for some reason. She was constantly remembering the first time when Bishop took her there, when he said that he would show her 'all that was worth seeing in Skyrim'. She remembered the trepidation she had felt around him back then, the uncertain first steps of their relationship.

How she wished she could go back to those times.

But now she would just have to make do with the memories coursing through her mind as she walked through the colorful foliage of the aspen trees.

...

Bishop was making good time since he skipped sleeping in Dawnstar the previous night and rather decided to walk off his drunken state in the fresh freezing air.

He was dead tired, but it was for the best. He could get to Dragon Bridge by nightfall and he would just sleep it all off there before he got around to his mission. In the meantime, all he had to do was hope that he didn't get caught in some rough battle.

He traipsed along the edge of the moors of Hjaalmarch with Karnwyr constantly at his heel. By now he could see the rocky hills of the Haafingar border in the distance. Good. He was already sick of wading through the drab marshes.

Karnwyr ran forward excitedly, eager to get his fur out of the swampy waters as well. It was no wonder. Bishop would have walked faster too if he had the energy to do anything but slog through that dismal place. But at least the exhaustion left his mind quite pleasantly blank today.

He walked for almost another hour before he was trailing around the mouth of Karth River, down towards Dragon Bridge. At least the journey was easier now, he would make it over there even sooner than he had originally expected, especially since he didn't need to actually wade through that fucking swamp anymore.

Just as he was scaling the shore opposite the Solitude Sawmill, however, a familiar sound startled him from the uneventful walk.

Fuck, please tell me I did not just hear...

The rumble got louder, followed by a ferocious deep roar. It came from the plateau atop a rocky hill right above the shore he was walking.

There was no place to hide anywhere now. And he heard the dragon approach steadily. He was sure that it would be in sight in no time.

He hated these fucking things. For something so big, they could sure as fuck sneak up on people effectively. If the beast was sleeping just out of sight enough, no one would notice it. But the moment it woke up, there was usually nowhere to hide and no time to run far enough. It was too fast and always had the best vantage point.