Eldrin, the Argonian with an Elven name

Chapter 7 - 19th of Second Seed, Second Era 581

Eldrin awoke a couple hours after the sun had risen. It was still too early for him as he tried to adjust his eyes by squinting. He grabbed a roll of bread stealthily on his way out of the inn.

He sat down on the ground in the shade of a tree to eat the stolen loaf. A few minutes went by before he heard someone sit on the other side of the tree. He glanced to see it was Zuryl.

"Zuryl does not want to fight any longer." She said in a solemn tone.

He had tried to sit with his feelings over their argument last night but it was too much then and it was too much now.

"I suppose that's like an apology." His words dripped in self righteousness.

When Zuryl didn't laugh or answer him with more sarcasm, he tried to walk it back, "I don't want to fight either. Your business is yours."

The Khajiit scooted closer to him and put a paw on his knee, "Zuryl just worries about the lizard being indebted to an assassin."

"He said he did it because we're both Saxhleel and he didn't want a fellow Argonian being in jail for something he did. So I think we're square." Eldrin thought for a moment.

"Although, he did give me all these market vouchers. So maybe we're not... or maybe he felt bad about strangling me? Nah because he had all of these prepared already..." Eldrin pulled the folded parchment stack out of his pocket and waved it around the air.

Zuryl opened her paw in an asking for it manner and he handed it to her.

The cat opened all the papers, skim reading them as she quickly flipped through them. She returned to the pages with The Lost Communion on them to read them more thoroughly. She thought about taking the vouchers and redeeming them without him, then selling it all but she was just happy they had moved on from her money troubles.

Eventually she asked, "But why would he give Eldrin this story about the missed bond between one lizard and the magic tree all lizards worship?"

Her question was simple and Eldrin wanted to just give her a simple answer but it made him think. Why did he give him this story? The assassin had also mentioned curiosity in his elven name but why would he care? Eldrin had never heard of the Dark Brotherhood freeing someone from jail before. The assassin said it was purely because he didn't want to let Eldrin rot in prison for something he did. So then why include the vouchers and this story?

Eldrin grabbed the parchment stack from Zuryl and read The Lost Communion again and again. Eldrin thought,

He's trying to tell me something but... why wouldn't he have just said it?

Finally Eldrin could feel it in his Argonian soul; he needed to connect with the Hist. He needed to travel to Black Marsh and drink Hist sap. That's why the stranger gave him vouchers, they were for supplies for his travels. That's why the stranger gave him this story, it was a hint.

Then a wave of anger washed over Eldrin. How dare this lizard presume to know so much about him based solely on his elven name. What's so great about the Hist anyway? He's lived this long just fine without It. He can go the rest of his life without It. How dare this stranger assume he needs this swamp tree to have a meaningful life.

He didn't want to feel anything, so he pushed each feeling down. He buried it underneath his desire to not need help.

For the first time since he was a teenager, his anger refused to be set aside. It boiled in his stomach until it spread to his extremities, turning into another feeling. Dread.

These stories of the Abbot of the Free were already too big to control. He wasn't the Abbot either. He was just a lizard who accidentally killed a naked unarmed elf, and if the story had died there, he would have been fine with it. These stories were taking his whole life with them into a direction he wasn't sure he could handle.