Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter LXX - Straight out of Oblivion

They finally emerged on a small path leading towards the end of the docks – where the East Empire Company warehouse was.

It was a relief to finally be out of those catacombs and out in the fresh air. The sun was already setting on the horizon and Bishop and Aeyrin were still uncomfortably damp and filthy, but at least they were feeling better now. Neither of them had sustained any severe injuries so, after gulping down a magicka potion, Aeyrin had managed to take care of any unpleasant wounds in the catacombs already.

Now the only tasks ahead of them were to lock the docks exit to the tombs, return the key to the priests and then report to Elisif. It would probably be much better to get rid of the filth before they did that though and there was no rush anyway. With Potema taken care of, no danger awaited anyone in the catacombs.

The idea of rushing straight to Elisif to get the house and a place to rest freely was tempting, but the explaining and bureaucracy that would precede it certainly deterred them. After all, it was possible that the house would not be ready to be occupied, just like in Riften. And they were in dire need of relaxation right now.

Elisif and the priests could wait. The comforts of the Skeever were their next destination.

After they got rid of at least some of the filth.

Bishop and Aeyrin locked the door to the catacombs tight and headed out towards the pier. Their armors were already way too uncomfortable, so they stopped near the warehouse entrance and dropped their packs by the water. The docks were still bustling with people at this hour and the songs of drunken sailors carried throughout the air. The place looked busier than usual for some reason, but the two of them had never spent that much time at the docks to actually know for sure if this was out of the ordinary. It did look like the ships and boats had trouble fitting by the piers though. Perhaps the restrictions on the docks in Windhelm made the trade ships change their course and boosted the traffic in Solitude.

The two of them began to take off their armors at last, before they started to work on removing the worst of the ashes and dirt. They definitely needed to wash everything again properly at the inn, including themselves, but they needed to at least make it a little acceptable before they shoved their equipment back into their packs.

"So, straight to the Skeever, right?" Bishop asked with a hopeful tone in his voice when they finally put their armors back in their packs and readied themselves to head back to the city.

"Yes, I just want a bath," Aeyrin let out an exasperated sigh. Her hair looked positively grey, as did Bishop's, and she hadn't felt this filthy and sticky in a long time. Elisif could definitely wait.

They walked along the pier and up the stairs leading towards the city approach while the bustle and noise of the docks dissipated in the distance. The road there was much calmer and there was barely anyone on it, aside from one figure in the distance near a familiar mill.

Bishop and Aeyrin didn't pay much attention to it until they got a bit closer. The area looked completely empty, with vacant stables and a farmhouse with no visible lights inside. The trees around were burnt to a crisp, void of any leaves or needles, and the ground had sizable scorch marks on it too. This must have been the site of the dragon attack that Elisif had mentioned – it was so close to the city.

And in the middle of it all was a man, stumbling around. His walk was wobbly and he was always swaying from side to side. He was clearly drunk. But it was not just that which caught their attention.

The man kept stopping in his wobbly tracks, bending down to grab something by his foot. He didn't seem to ever succeed, however, so he stumbled forward again before he bent down and tried once more.