Eclipse

Eclipse: Chapter 12

Eclipse: Chapter 12

by Dracanoth Dereal and Spottedleaf9

(Dracanoth)

I had assumed that the Dragonborn had stopped having her unusual nightmares which was good, without her my plan would be useless. The woman had become increasingly unresponsive, but on the upside what very little she did say was usually helpful and only in a greater goal of helping in my quest. It was very well possible though that she was still having the nightmares. I had been quick to believing they had stopped although it is possible they continued. I kept her well hydrated throughout the day and fed her at regular intervals to assure she remained in a state of health, although at times I had to order the foolish tool to do so, less she would not. It seemed as though she was remaining healthy whih was all that was important; albeit she seemed especially unresponsive. She seemed mentally healthy and alert at mostly all times, the only thing that lead me to believe differently is when she left her room in the mornings after what I had assumed was a well rested night, and I saw that haunting look in her eyes. That unexplainable thing that seemed to remind me distinctly of the very set of eyes I hate. With that thought, the black eyes flashed before my third eye and I recoiled from my thoughts.

The Dragonborn appeared to be acting normally and that was all that mattered. Until her health was threatened by night terrors, if she was still experiencing them, it would remain unimportant.

After a long walk up towards Solitude, a small exchange of short and curt words was exchanged between me and the stable owner which resulted in three horses to my name in exchange for a few coin. Returning my mind to the tasks at hand, I began saddling the horse we had purchased from town, fastening the leather straps wrapped around the large muscled torso. I was preparing to mount before Valisilwen stopped the process she stepped from behind Michael and grabbed hold of the horse. I was gently nudged aside and waited for a good long while before finally, the horses chest contracted and he released his breath. She fastened the leather straps even more and then stepped aside for me to step on. Had she not known of the horses little trick I would likely have fallen off in mid ride when my saddle slid out from under me due to this witty mare.

I mounted, Michael behind me, and our journey began. Michael and I had gone over the plans earlier in the day, preparing to travel far across the lands to Rorikstead and track down these daedric beings. I was accompanied only by a water skin lying limply at my side, a small sack of dried meats in a pouch on my opposite side the clothes on my back, and the much needed book of conjuration hanging at my side. We had decided to travel light to make good time, and thus would only be stopping for one camp brake on the great journey. All around me the trees shifted, snow filled the air, and the storm began to pick up. Wind pinched and bit at my skin and I could already tell the journey would be a long one. We all mounted, paying proper farewells to the fiend who sold us our horses, and began riding back down the hill away from Solitude. I could feel my short hairs riffling in the wind, and my ears go numb. I pulled my hood up to shroud my face, and made sure to look behind me only to find that the other two had done the same. I turned my head back to the destination ahead of us, the ground rushing past me in a blur, and as we passed the hut I looked one last time over everything to make sure we were prepared for the long journey. The door was closed and barred, the windows were nailed shut, and we had all of our belongings. As I glanced over the land my eyes fell upon the spot I knew was filled with death and the black eyes shimmered before my mind's eye yet again. I shook my head and looked ahead, now ignoring the small hut, and kept on riding. We rode and the day wore on, and on.

The campfire flickered and crackled in the night, radiating warmth that seemed to keep us as tightly woven together as the fibers in my chair back home. Though it was but a source of energy and light and no more, it still seemed to draw us into it and keep us huddled near it as though it were a flawless jewel we were inspecting preparing to reap for the profits. But the only profits to be reaped were the warming of our numb fingers. The blood slowly rushed back into my hands, and a comforting familiar feeling radiated through my body. It was a feeling I was rather accustomed to but yet, in this land amongst all this solidified water and lone moon in the sky, it seemed foreign like some sort of fine luxury. Even in the distant and seeming state of thoughtlessness of her own health and welfare, the Dragonborn drew close to the fire as well. I highly doubted that any of us wished to draw ourselves away from the campfire to set up camp but sooner or later the inevitable chore had to be done. If we simply lay down here and fell asleep we would freeze, if we set our bedrolls here we would be just as likely to burn, never to mention getting covered in a sheet of snow. Michael groaned as he stood, dealing with the aches and cramps left deep in his joints from the cold, as did we all. We pitched our tents and prepared for a long night in the cold.