Skyrim IV: The Ghost of Hamvir's Rest

Chapter Fifteen: The Rueful Axe

Taniiaae was sleeping on her side, facing the fire. Sinding held her against him, listening to her breathe. The anxiety he felt knowing that she was nearly killed along with their unborn baby scared him. He looked up to see Arodil staring at the fire. He handcuffs were gone, and he was free to go, but yet he stayed. Sinding looked up from his bedroll and said, "Thank you. For saving them."
Arodil nodded, but kept his eyes on the fire.
"I'm in your debt." Sinding said.
Arodil shook his head. "No, I'm in yours." He blinks and sighs. "I'm not a natural at this.....community thing. When I was in the Thalmor's guard, we were taught to kill each other in order to improve on one another. We weren't friends or even a comrades. Just soldiers...trained to kill."
Sinding watched as the elf looked down at his maimed hand. "My father was a cruel man as you have learned. He made sure that whenever I shown weakness, he would punish me for it. He even beheaded my horse in front of me for refusing to beat another man senseless."
Sinding closed his eyes at the thought. At the horror of living like that. He looked down at Tanii, who was sleeping peacefully. "You don't have to live that way anymore." He said softly to Arodil. "If you choose, you have a place with us."
"I'll be a fugitive." Arodil said.
"I was a fugitive." Sinding said. "I told you how Tanii found me, and she made it work. She found a way to be with me and give me a chance to start over. We can do the same for you."
Arodil's gold eyes widened at the offer. He slowly nodded.
................................................................

Taniiaae.

When I woke up early in the dark morning, I was wrapped in Sinding's arm. His chin was in the crook of my neck, his breathing slow as he slept. I didn't want to wake him, but I knew we didn't have much time if we wanted to keep a move on. I felt my breath as I felt my stomach turn. I still had horrible morning sickness.
I wriggled my way out of Sinding's arms and ran into the woods, covering my mouth. I keeled over and retched up my guts from last night's dinner. I could feel the heat in my head as it flowed down my neck and chest. I headed barefoot to the nearby stream and bent over to clean my mouth out with water by the flowing creek. I rinsed and spit the nasty taste out of my mouth and got up to slowly walk back to the camp. When I got there, Barbas sat nearby, barking loudly.
"Can you ever shut up?" Aela snaps as she eats some dried meats.
"No, because if we want to get this axe and take care of Sebastian Lort. We need to do it now while it's still dark." He growls.
I walk over to Sinding who is now up and had tidied up where we slept. He looked over to me and put an arm around my waste. I allowed myself to lean into his touch as Karliah walked out of the shadows of the dawn and said. "I was scouting ahead while you were all resting,"
"And?" Aela asked.
"Lort's hideout is indeed abandoned. But the man is dangerous." Karliah said. "He doesn't sleep. And he stays near the Rueful Axe at all times. We will definitely need to be careful facing him."
"I can phase into a werewolf." Aela said.
"Oh yes, that's a great idea." Serana said, rolling her eyes. "Let's taunt the worshipper of Clavicus Vile with a worshipper of Hircine. Not that he sold his madness for his daughter doing the same thing."
I nod, "Serana has a point. But I also think we have better chances if Aela is transformed."
Aela gestured towards me, "See? She has some wisdom here."
"I wouldn't call it wisdom, Aela." I say. "Afterall, we are going against a man who killed his own daughter for being a werewolf." Sinding's hand tighten around my waist as I said. "But if he is so far gone in this curse, then we need strength to kill him."
Barbas whimpered, "She is right. Vile won't make it easy for you to get back the Rueful Axe, and definitely not for me to return to his graces. So anything that we can do to get this over with, that will be good."
"We should walk on foot then." Sinding said, looking at me, "That way we don't scare the horses when you phase, Aela." He said, his attention turning back towards her. Aela rolled her eyes but ended up agreeing. We ended up following Barbas and Karliah towards the abandoned camp. Sinding and I were walking in the back of the formation, and I could see Sinding study me. I look at him in surprise, "What is it?"
Sinding brushes hair away from my face. "You got sick again, didn't you?"
"I didn't want to wake you up. You looked exhausted." I admitted.
Sinding gently grabbed my elbow and said, "Tanii, look at me."
I look at the others walking ahead, but turn back to him. "Yes?"
"You don't have to have carry this in silence. I'm here for you. If you can't sleep, wake me up. If you are sick, tell me, and I'll help you. If you are sad, let me let you weep on me." He held my face in his hands. I reach up and grasp his wrist, closing my eyes. "You did everything you could to save me that night in Falkreath, and you gave constantly to me, The Companions, Skyrim, and even Tamriel." Sinding said, "Let me give back to you. Let me be there."
I bite my lip and then lean forward and kiss Sinding on the lips, followed my leaning into him. Sinding holds me and I say in a muffled voice. "After this, I think I want to go home for a while. Stay near Whiterun. Raise Lucia, raise our new child in peace."
I can hear Sinding about to speak when a voice jolts us out of our conversation. "Hey, are you coming or not?"
I pulled away and turned as Aela stood a few feet away, her arms crossed. I sigh, "Yes, Aela. We are coming."
"Good, talk later, after we kill this bastard and take back what is ours." Aela said, turning around and heading towards the others.
"I'm gonna kill her." Sinding said, his voice irritated and jokingly.
"Get in line." I say, rolling my eyes.
....................................................................

The abandoned campsite looked more like an abandoned fortress. As we all stood from the outside, Barbas said, "I will try to distract Lort, while you Dragonborn, take the Axe. You and the Heir of Barenziah need to be either of those to get it. The rest of us will take down Lort."
I look at Karliah, and then back at Barbas. "Vile never said we had to touch it."
"He did, but if you want to free your ghostly friend and retrieve back your God-Cleaver, than you have to be the ones to touch the Rueful Axe." Barbas said.
Aela nods, "Right, let's get this over with." She phases into her beast form, Arodil looking at her cautiously. Serana outstretches her hands to create flames. "Alright, Barbas, you do what you do best. Arodil, you are with me."
Sinding nodded and looked at Karliah and I, "I'll have the girls' backs."
Aela smirked with her wolfish grin, "Good, and I'll lunge if Lort tries to attack the dog."
Karliah nods and she gestures me to follow her as we all separate. Sinding is behind us as we walk around the disheveled fort. I could hear Barbas play his role as a mongrel well as I heard another voice.
"I know who you are, dog...."
My skin crawled at the voice of Sebastian Lort, a man plagued by madness and horror. "And I know why you are here....I would of thought...no....I guess Vile was like all the other Daedric Princes...."
Karliah put a finger to her lips and we slipped through a small opening in the back of the wall. In the corner of the room, leaning in a corner, was a giant war axe, tinted in a shimmering green aura. "The axe." I breathed.
Karliah nodded and we both crouch ahead, as Barbas played the role of a dumb animal. He wasn't going to let Lort know what he was....smart.
All the dog did was bark.
Lort shook his head, his balding head sweating as he pulled at the long hair by his ears. "Enough, mutt."
Barbas didn't stop barking.
"I SAID ENOUGH!" Lort snapped as he kicked Barbas straight in the ribs. I cover a gasp as Karliah puts her hands on the handle of the axe.
The dog whimpers in pain as I watch Lort walks over and smashes another kick into Barbas's ribs.
"Stop!"
My heart stops as I look behind me and see that Sinding isn't there. Karliah's violet eyes widened as Sinding stood a few feet away from Sebastian Lort. I could see Aela attempted to enter through the fort's gate, but a ward kept her from getting through. She growled in anger. I couldn't see Serana or Arodil either. It was just Karliah and I near the Axe, and now Sinding facing Lort.
I watched as Lort stared at Sinding in fury when Karliah whispered. "Taniiaae, you need to put your hand on the Rueful Axe. Once you do that, Axe will be free from it's spell."
I look at her and whisper, "But....Sinding..."
Karliah nodded.
I inch forward and wrap my hand around the Axe, both Dragonborn and Heir of Barenziah touching it, but the green aura didn't go away. Karliah's face distorted in horror as she tried to pick it up, but it didn't budge. "It's not working..."
I try to help lift the axe but it didn't move.
"You thought you could make this so easy...." Sebastian Lort said. "Send in the pet of Vile to taunt me while you steal my Axe. I thought when I sent my men to come get you that you would stay away. But I was wrong....."
Lort pulls out a sharp dagger and points it at Sinding. "I'll gut you first and then take care of your pretty little bitch. And once I'm done, I'll take care of the Dunmer."
Karliah and I pant as we try to lift the Rueful Axe from the ground but to no avail.
The sound of banging draws my attention towards a small room blocked off by another seal. Serana and Arodil bang against the shield that kept them locked away, and Aela clawed against the one that held her out. Sinding kept his back towards us, trying to keep Sebastian Lort from lunging at us. Sinding held up his hands. "Easy.....if you let us take the Axe, we will help you be free from Clavicus Vile's grasp. "
Sebastian Lort gave a crazed laugh. "What do you know? You are thieves trying to take away what is mine!"
"Your daughter was taken from you....was she not?" Sinding said, gently.
Lort stopped. "How....."
"She was cursed by Hircine, if I remember correctly...." Sinding said. "You thought you could go to Vile to free her....but he did something cruel...."
"What would you know of cruelty by the Daedric Princes?!" Lort snapped, spittle coating his lips.
"Because most people in this room were cursed by their cruelty." Sinding said, inching closer to Lort. "I was bitten by a werewolf and tried to find a way to lessen my transformations. I made a grave error by stealing a Daedric Ring. I paid for that error with a life of a child. My wife became a werewolf to join me so I wouldn't have this ordeal alone."
I felt my hand loosen on the hilt of the Axe.
"The girl you have locked in that room," Sinding gestured to Serana, "She was cursed by Molag Bal, by her own father."
"Our other friend, is a devotee to Nocturnal, but was betrayed deeply by someone she deemed to be a friend." Karliah stiffened and I saw tears gleam in her eyes.
"But that doesn't mean that's who we are. We are not those curses." Sinding said as he was now face to face with Sebastian Lort. "We can help you get a life back. Give us the Axe, and we will help you find a civil life."
Sebastian's eyes drifted as he said. "You would do that?"
Sinding nodded, "If you help us, we will help you. Skyrim is counting on us getting that Axe...."
I smile in relief as Lort lowers his knife. He closes his eyes in sorrow as he says. "The thing is, I wish I could have a normal life....but I killed my daughter. I don't deserve a second chance. And neither do you." As quickly as he lowered it, Lort jammed the dagger into Sinding's belly.
I screamed in terror as I heard Sinding cry out in pain. He falls to the grown, holding his hand over his stab wound when the whizz of an arrow soars through the air and hits Lort directly in the throat. I turn as Karliah lowers her bow. Paralyzed, Sebastian Lort hit the ground and Barbas leaped on to him. No longer did he look like a shaggy dog, but a giant beast as he tore into Lort.  As the man's screams echoed in my ears, in a fury of anger, I pulled the Rueful Axe up with Karliah's help. The green aura disappeared and the Axe was free. Both of us stumbled at how much lighter the Axe was from when we were pulling our weight onto it. Karliah looked at me as the sounds of Sebastian Lort's screaming died away  and she said, "Go to him." 
  I nodded a thank you to her and rushed over to Sinding's side.  He was pushing himself with his feet away from the sight of Lort's mangled body, and Barbas's rubbing his bloody face with his paws. Sinding looked at me and I saw as he used his hand to cover the wound which was oozing blood. 
   I kneeled by him and he gritted his teeth, "It didn't go that deep, but whatever he coated on the blade, it burns." 
  "Your blood is darker than usual...." I grimace as I help him remove his shirt.  I sucked in a breath when I saw the bleeding wound on his stomach on his right side. I gently touched the wound, getting my hands coating the blood. Sinding groans in pain. 
 "I'm sorry...."I say as I hear footsteps behind us.  Sinding's pain glazed eyes looked up and I turned to see Arodil approach, his face concerned. 
  "Can you help him?" I ask, my voice gravely. "Can you heal him, like you did me, Brother?" 
Arodil swallows and slowly nods, extending a hand over the wound. Sinding sucked in a breath as the wound closed together. My blood coated hands gripped Sinding's hand which he squeezed.  
  "Is he alright?" Aela asks from the edge of the room, now in her human form. 
 Sinding nods, "Thanks to him, yes." He smiles at Arodil. "Thank you."
I lean towards my brother and give him a grateful smile. "Yes, thank you."
"It's the least I could-" Arodil didn't finish that comment as I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. "I owe you my life, my child's and my husbands, brother. Thank you." I whisper. I feel his arms loosely and then tightly hug me back. "No, thank you for saving me, Sister." He said. "I made my choice. I'll go home with you and Sinding."
  I release him and move back towards Sinding as I turned to help him put back on his shirt when Barbas's loud voice rang out. "Not that this isn't very touching, but now that we took care of Lort and got the Rueful Axe, we should get back going to Vile." 
  Karliah came behind me and held out a hand for me to take. I look at it briefly before taking it and she helps me up. 
  I turn back to the dog.  His face was covered in blood,  but his tail was wagging. A horrid sight. 
"Will there be anymore acquired of us after we return the Rueful Axe and receive back the God-Cleaver? Or will Vile have enough plan cooked up for us?" Karliah asked, her voice rough. 
 "That is not up to me, but Clavicus Vile." Barbas barked. "Go talk to him and then we will see."