Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter CXLIII - Down Memory Lane

Author's Note:

And of course, we have to have one last proper full-smut chapter in the last arc :D While those are often easily skippable, if you prefer, I do recommend at least familiarizing yourselves with the setting for this one to know what's going on in the next ;)

Other than that, I hope you enjoy the lemons :)

Thank you for reading!

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"Will you tell me where we're going already?"

Aeyrin prodded Bishop eagerly. They had been on the road for a while now and she still had no idea what Bishop had 'planned' for today.

They set off right after breakfast, eager to get away from all the drama with the Imperial Legion. The soldiers' presence in town was unnerving enough on its own without them barging into stores and taverns to harass people. A break away from all that was more than welcome.

Bishop took her east of town, still unwilling to divulge their ultimate destination. After a while though, she started to suspect that it wasn't the fastest route he could have chosen. More likely it was the least upsetting one.

They never entered the forests. They did pass an intersection in the road from which they could see a burned down cabin in the distance. Bishop noted that it was 'Pinewatch' – apparently one of three Thorn's bases in Falkreath that had been cleared out and destroyed in Karliah's attacks. It just made Aeyrin shiver at how much was Falkreath at that creep's mercy. He had the town completely surrounded by his bandits. At least she assumed as much. She didn't even remember where the last base was in the Hold. She didn't even remember where Thorn's main cavern was. The forests were so confusing. Once someone got off the road, even places relatively near could take hours to get to. The forests led people wherever they chose. Nature was in charge here. And those that knew it well enough were the only ones who could use that to their advantage.

But Bishop made sure not to take shortcuts and stick to the road. That included the direction. Aeyrin realized soon enough that after they had traveled to the north a bit, they turned west again. She was sure that the western road out of Falkreath would have been faster. But she also knew that Bishop likely didn't want to stir those memories on this day, whatever he was planning. It wasn't as if they hadn't walked those roads plenty of times before after it all happened. But this felt a little different. This was their choice, not just the quickest or, ironically, safest route. This was their attempt to actually enjoy the surroundings.

"Not yet. I told you, it's a surprise. You'll find out when we get there," Bishop smirked at her teasingly. He was frustratingly tight-lipped. But then again, she did get more and more giddy at that. She did love surprises. If only there weren't so many things here that worried her.

"Can you at least tell me if we're going to go through the forests?" she prodded again. She was the most worried about that part of their adventures. She doubted that there were enough lucrative places for them to explore around here that had a road leading to it.

"Not today," he shook his head adamantly. "No forests. No fighting."

'No fighting'? He wasn't planning some venture into an interesting dungeon? That only intrigued her more.

She didn't ask anything more. She wasn't sure what to ask. And soon enough, the answers became a little more clear on their own.

The White River followed their steps for a while, but eventually, it spread into the wide waters of Lake Ilinalta. She was starting to get a suspicion about where they were headed.