The Ebony Renegades (Skyrim)

chapter eighty two

As the group made their way down the winding cobblestone road of Whiterun hold and continued through the bumpy road passing over a bridge and then going by the Honningbrew meadery continuing immediately to the right passing a Whiterun guard who gave Gila a nod recognizing her as the group continued making their way North along the road passing a couple farms on the left side of the road such as the Chillfurrow farm owned by the irritating noble Redguard called Naseem which Sabrina after discovering who owned the farm decided to play a bit of mischief. She split off from the group for a moment before running towards the front door picking up a big hunk of cow dung on her way over before wrapping it up in a piece of paper and then lighting it on fire with a flint and steel before running back to the group as they made their way down the road. "Don't look at me like that, that arrogant fuckhead had it coming." Sabrina said with an evil smirk while Gila just sighed while chuckling agreeing with her. As they continued along the road on the right hand side they spotted a fancy house that seemed to be for sale with a blacksmith shop on the one side of it along with a stable and a honey farm nearby as they passed it Gila spoke up. " I overheard Aela say that the house was called Tundra homestead apparently the sale price is almost six figures." Gila said as they continued riding along the path while they made their way up Salazar suddenly clicked his mandibles as if on a hive mind Severin pulled his daedric crossbow off of his back pointing it to the right hand side. "Salazar what's wrong?" Lianya asked her brother who grumbled out in the ancient tongue of the snow elves as she listened for a few moments before nodding. "Salazar sensed more of our blinded kinsman nearby apparently there is a huge nest in a cave." Lianya explained as the group nodded making a mental note to take care of the hive while they were in the general vicinity as they continue to riding down the road. On their way they passed the whitewatch tower on their left hand side passing a still birding torch at the front as they continued their way down once they got to the next farm house which was Loreius farm they turned to the immediate left going off road. They ride up the hill now I'm heading west passing a single tree nearby as they continued making their way forward through the thick valley and rocky terrain after two minutes of riding they finally arrived at halted steam camp. The group parked their horses in the nearby Glen before slowly splitting up there were two entrances one the immediate right side and one facing the front from on a high vantage point in a tree Gila using her makeshift telescope was able to take in the stronghold with the wooden walls and was able to thoroughly take inventory of the settlement. On the far back wall above the entrance to the mine shaft she was able to see a raised platform with two barrels with two wood cutters axes along with a grindstone. In the middle of the settlement was a mostly wall-less building with what appeared to be Mammoth remains with a table on the far right side with a single barrel a mead barrel and a lantern along with a Mammoth snout. There was a full walk around allowing them to have a full range of sight all around them except for the mountainous Hill directly behind them which would prove to be a hazard if they got ambushed. Once they went inside they immediately cleared out the bandits that were calling it home taking them out before they even knew they were there before splitting up with the majority staying outside to tend to the walls and get rid of the bodies meanwhile a small splinter group consisting of Gila, Sabrina Tully and Zed made their way into the mineshaft in order to wipe out any bandits that were inside.

(Zed pov)

As we entered the mineshaft of halted steam cave we immediately quietly crept our way forward myself and Gila taking point with our bows drawn meanwhile Tully and Sabrina came up behind us with Tully wielding his reddish greatsword and Sabrina moving with her twin scimitars we carefully moved around the trap as we made our way down. We were able to see crates lockpicks pickaxes and shovels along with a mining cart against the wall the mining cart in particular seemed to enrage Gila as it was completely filled with Mammoth tusks and snouts evidently these guys were poachers. There was a bandit at the far corner who charged that us only to be dropped by a well-placed dwarven arrow from my bow dropping him dead on the ground. We quickly moved him out of the way and looked around I saw Sabrina crouching down harvesting some of the growing alchemical ingredients called Fly amantia we were able to see lots of iron veins scattered about along with a single closed metal door which after a few moments of my novice lock picking skills I managed to open. The four of us quietly descended down passing more and more iron ore veins and more fly amantia which Sabrina collected on our way down once we were in what appeared to be the main chamber we were able to see a bandit chief on a raised platform on the far left side along with two more bandits directly below us to our immediate right was a table up against the wall along with sacks and a barrel as well as more sacks in front of us. We gave each other a nod as Gila looked up and then pointed up at the glowing fire infused lanterns hanging from the ceiling I immediately got what she was saying as I pulled zephyr off my back locking a single iron arrow I picked off the ground since I didn't want to waste any of my dwarven arrows and shot the iron arrow up at the lantern causing it to fall down and ignite the oil that was at the bandit's feet causing them all to be set on fire. As the bandit Chief ran over Gila wielding a single wood cutters axe immediately jumped over the railing wielding her skyforge steel war axe and twisted the bandit's arm and throwing him and then as if the divines themselves condoned such a act of retribution for the poacher the man was impaled on one of the harvested tusks laying on the floor. From there we left him there to die while we looked around we were able to see a blacksmith forge nearby the ramp that we went down along with a shelf full of more Mammoth tusks and snouts even though I didn't know Gila very well I could immediately tell that she was enraged at the blatant act of poaching and killing for sport. There was a tanning rack up against the wall along with a hidden walkway as I walked down it I saw an empty shelf on the right side hugging the wall along with a single chest on the far back corner. I was easily able to lock picket and found some more Mammoth meat sitting inside as I came back out I noticed Gila gently petting the mammoth corpse laying in the middle of the room whispering a soft prayer to Kyne while Tully was up on the raised platform looking around going through the big chest that was next to the bed while Sabrina was over in the other passageway collecting more fly amantia along with disabling any traps that were in the way. I noticed the Gila picked up the wood cutters ax that was used by the bandit chief before hurling it at the wall with such alarming strength that the handle snapped when it came into contact with the wall and I was mentally freezing that I wasn't in the way because that would have shattered every bone in my body even with my dwarven mail armor it wouldn't have stood up to that. "Zed please go up and tell the others we have dinner for the night and I will get to work cooking immediately, we're not going to waste any bit of this poor creature." Gila asked me as I nodded and made my way up the ramp up to the upper floor to go back outside and let the others know what's going on. On my way up I saw Myra, Yamma, and Gentu already inside and mining the iron ore that was scattered around they already emptied out one of the mining carts that were up against the wall and currently had the iron ore chunks that they mind piled in there. Once I made my way out of The mineshaft and into the main courtyard I was able to see the progress they made in such a short time. All of the horses and the reindeer were currently inside the gate wandering around minding their own business whether it be walking around, laying in the shade, or for some strange reason staring at a corner. I shook my head not wanting to try to think what's going on in those equines brains and made my way over to Ebon-shi who was currently sitting on one of the steps beside Asadelf gently rubbing her back as I could tell she looked extremely exhausted from that gate magic she used it only made me respect the altmer in front of me even more. "Excuse me, but Gila sent me up with a message." I said as the dark elf shifted his attention from Asadelf to look up and look me in the eye before giving a nod signaling for me to continue. "She says we have dinner for the night already, she will get to making it immediately." I said passing the message along to the dunmer in front of me as he gave a nod of acknowledgment. "Is there anything I can do to help? I don't want to just sit here and do nothing I want to be useful is there anything I can help with? Whether it be scouting, watch duty, or even something simple like feeding the horses let me do something to contribute." I said looking at him before he brought his hand up to his chin like he was contemplating something before he let out a gentle nod before looking back up at me. "Gentu says you used to be a scout right?" He asked as I nodded I indeed used to be a scout a long time ago I used to travel with a group of adventurers and I acted as the scout of the party. "Yes sir I did used to be a scout and my skills as a scout are as sharp as ever what is it you need me to do?" I asked as I stood there waiting to get my instructions. "You know that fort near here the one Shadow-step said used to be the base of operations for a group of assassins?" Ebon-shi asked as I nodded knowing full well where he was talking about. "Yes sir, if my memory serves me correctly I believe the stronghold you talk of is the one Southwest of here, what of it?" I asked wanting to get the full instructions of what he wanted me to do whether it to be to scout out the area and estimate the numbers, or to infiltrate and wipe out the enemy. "I do not want you to engage the enemy, I want you to scout out around the area and look for any blind spots or back roads we can use to make a quick getaway. However should you encounter an enemy you are not to engage unless absolutely necessary this is not an assault this is a recon of the surrounding area." Ebon-shi instructed as I gave a nod of understanding and prepared to make my way out of the place we were currently calling home for the night before the dunmer behind me spoke up again. "We have approximately a few hours of sunlight left, I want you back here before sundown if you feel you are being followed do what you have to to lose them and don't take chances." He said in a firm yet careful tone. Out of habit because of my old profession I brought my fist up over my left shoulder before rushing off out one of the gates as Lianya closed it behind me I knew the general area where the boss wanted me to scout out so I quietly made my way over using the nearby hills, trees, and ditches for cover as I got closer to the old nordic for I crouched down nearby a mud pond infested with mud crabs and smeared mud all over my dwarven mail armor to cover the sheen of the reflective dwarven material as I silently crept closer to the fort.