Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter XCVIII - Safe Places

The rest of the day had been surprisingly successful.

The workers had combed the surrounding areas through and through. Eventually, they found another Thalmor spy, a young Bosmer, trying to scout the area just as the Khajiit had. And a few hours later, another Bosmer actually showed up at the farmstead, trying to ask the proprietors about one of the Talos worshippers. Apparently the elf had lost his target.

The workers were more than eager to actually get rid of the spies. It was... for the best. They were in the same situation as the Khajiit and risking revealing their endeavors in the mountains was too dangerous, no matter the Hold's current allegiance. They were just lucky that the Thalmor couldn't send a whole squadron to investigate in the Rift and had to rely on lone, subtle spies.

But as unpleasant as this business was, it was taken care of.

They were safe. The chapel was safe. The Talos worshippers were safe.

Why did everything still feel so foreboding?

It felt like the Thalmor knew more than it appeared. It felt like there was looming danger that no one was able to anticipate or predict. And Aeyrin couldn't stop thinking about Master Therien. Had she put him in danger by involving him with Jora?

It wasn't the only thought lingering in her head. She was still wondering about that 'bait' at the bureau. She needed to talk to Bishop about it. She was curious what had caused all this.

Though maybe she should be grateful. Whatever Bishop had done, it set things in motion, but most importantly, it revealed something she would have no chance of finding out otherwise. Without this misstep, whatever it was, they would never find out about the agent in Cyrodiil. And then it could have gotten worse.

It was strange to think that things may have turned out for the best. Especially when it really didn't feel like it. It still felt like something went terribly wrong down the line.

But Aeyrin was doing her best not thinking about any of it.

Only two more days left in this place if everything went according to plans.

She needed to write to Bishop again. To tell him where to meet her and when.

And maybe agonizing over making the letter 'interesting' again could take her mind off the worries.

...

Days went by and the atmosphere at the cottage had lightened considerably.

Bishop promised Lydia and Saadia to talk to Aeyrin about the important stuff before any actual wedding and they stopped harping on it at last. He didn't want to think about it anymore and he wanted to just concentrate on the cottage. And eventually, Lydia and Saadia got into the spirit too. Especially after a few drinks. They had a lot of opinions on what they thought that Aeyrin would like in the house, based on how she made Breezehome homelier.

Bishop received one letter from her at one point. She didn't give him any information about where to send anything back so he had to assume that it wasn't safe to do so, unfortunately. He was also a little disappointed that the letter wasn't sufficiently 'interesting' as he had hoped, but at least she was alright and their endeavors were going well. That was most important.

He would make sure that she made up anything else to him once they were back.

The cottage was steadily actually starting to look... good. Very good.

They had finished the outside completely. The wood was sanded properly, the roof was re-thatched and the garden was not just a field of deadly thorns and thistles now. Bishop didn't bother with actually making it a garden or anything. Some shit would grow there again eventually anyway. The only goal was to make it actually passable.