Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter XXXII - A New Phase

Author's Note:

A very, very long chapter ahead. Sorry about that. Things always get away from me a little at the meadery. Too many things to talk about :D In any case, I hope you are all ready for Bishop and Raven to meet again :D Pettiness for everyone!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you'll enjoy <3

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Aeyrin closed the door of the meadery behind her and stepped towards the counter.

She was exhausted. The battle... well... she could not really call it a 'battle', could she? The survival of Alduin's assault took a lot from them and when they were finally sure that the coast was clear, they left for the meadery right away with no rest or recuperation. They could not afford the risk – what if he came back for them since he knew where they were? They had to hide instantly and the meadery was their best option. They could rest there after all.

It was already past nightfall, but she didn't even have to use the key that Karliah had given her for emergencies. Sabjorn was still awake, taking care of his bookkeeping behind the counter.

"Ah, hello, lass. Good to see you again," he beamed at her in greeting.

"Hello, Sabjorn. Still working?" she smiled at him in return.

"Aye, lass, aye," he sighed tiredly. "You're in luck today. They're both in."

That was both good news and bad news. She and Bishop needed to talk to both Karliah and Raven, probably. Although she wasn't sure if Raven was still in charge of her missions, since the caravans were finally taken care of. And Karliah knew all about her jobs anyway. But the bad news was that there would not be a lot of room for all of them to sleep there. And also... she kind of did not want Bishop and Raven to meet, after she cracked and told him about the kiss. It was probably going to be very uncomfortable.

"They've been here a lot lately, both of them. But a lot more people come and go, so I guess they just got lazy," Sabjorn chuckled. It was more likely that Karliah had most of her research and plans here and she did not want to travel with those too much, lest she got ambushed.

A sudden sound from the other room behind the closed doors interrupted them. It was a subtle creak of the hinges of the window.

Good. Bishop got there without a hitch. The last thing they needed today was for him to get caught by a patrol in Whiterun Hold. They separated soon after leaving their hiding cave, unfortunately. It was still too dangerous for Bishop to travel on the roads so near the city and Aeyrin wouldn't be as fast and subtle as him in the wilderness. It was for the best, even though it was the last thing either of them wanted to do after that ordeal. But it all went without any trouble, thank the Eight.

"There he goes again," Sabjorn sighed. Aeyrin was surprised for a bit that the man knew about Bishop's stealthy entrances, but it made sense. He had to know, in case he caught him there at any point. "You know that man, right? I remember that you were here too once, when he came in."

He was probably referring to the first time her and Bishop ran into each other here – the time when they first saw each other after Falkreath. That was months ago now. She was surprised that Sabjorn even remembered this.

She only nodded in response.

"Say, lass, you happen to know why he creeps through the window? Miss Karliah only said to keep the window unlocked for him, but nothing else," Sabjorn's brows creased in suspicion.

It made sense that he didn't know. He probably didn't even know who Bishop was, despite the bounty. He'd probably never seen the man entering through the window. It was for the best. The bounty was for a lot of money and who knew how loyal Sabjorn really was?