Ignem Tristitia (An Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Prequel) [ON HOLD]

Chapter Five - Broken Tables

"Alright, you've got two minutes to tell me exactly why I found you hiding in the lower decks. Then, so help me Syrabane, I will peel off each individual layer of fat skin you have, boil it in a soup and make you swallow it!" screeched Star.

"I wasn't hiding, I was sleeping!" cried the crewman she was yelling at.

He was strapped down in a chair in the interrogation room. Star placed a magical barrier in the straps containing him. He had a gash across his forehead, pouring blood. There was a ball of blue magelight hovering above his head.

This was the fifth crew member she had interrogated so far.

"Star, stop it!" Veezare yells, coming in between her and the crewman.

She glared at him.

"Enough. If you abuse the crew like this, how the hell do you think we're going to get to Southpoint?" he whispered.

She released the barrier, letting the crewman escape. He hobbled out, making a strange whistling noise with his throat that sounded like it was supposed to be a scream.

Brelas and Drelas were leaning against the wall beside the doorway. Kharjo stepped in.

"What is going on?" he asked, stopping in the middle of the room.

"We're leaving," Veezare said.

"That doesn't answer my question, Veezare," Kharjo snapped.

"Someone was murdered below deck," Veezare said.

"She had a strange symbol carved into her arm," Drelas told Kharjo. "Dunno what it is."

"Let me see it," Kharjo said firmly.

"Can't," Veezare said.

"Why not?" Kharjo asked.

"Because it's gone," Brelas said. "Ditched her arm."

"How'd that happen?" Kharjo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Honestly?" Veezare said. "No idea."

Veezare stepped past Kharjo and walked out into the hall. He kept a fast pace. Brelas and Drelas followed behind. Star took one look at Kharjo and I, and went upstairs to her quarters.

"How does a carving just vanish like that?" Kharjo turned and asked me.

"I have no idea," I replied.

He turned and started toward the door. I followed behind him.

"This ship is nice and all, but honestly, it's too big," I said.

"I agree," laughed Kharjo. "I've probably lost weight walking to and from my quarters."

I noticed he was still wearing that moon amulet.

"Where'd you get that amulet?" I asked.

"My mother gave it to me when I was just a cub," he said. "I don't know what I'd do without it."

"I know that feeling," I said, thinking of my mother.

As we approached our quarters, we heard a blunder and shouting above deck.

"What was that?" Kharjo said, looking up.

"Let's go see," I said, starting up the stairs.

Kharjo looked up again, then followed me upstairs.

"No!" Veezare said angrily.

"And why not?" asked Lumak.

"Because!" Veezare said, slamming his fist onto a table, cracking it. "You are a greedy, self-righteous bastard!"

"I'm self-righteous? Me? Ha!" Lumak laughed derisively.

"Yes, you are self-righteous! You're much worse than self-righteous! You're a smelly, arrogant prick with no intelligence whatsoever!" Veezare yelled, a vein in his neck bulging.

"Is that supposed to make me feel bad, lizard?" Lumak hollered back.

"No, but this is!" Veezare opened his hand, extending his claws, and slashed Lumak right across the left cheek.

"Agh!" Lumak yelped.

Then he made a guttural roar of anger, charging at Veezare. He tackled him, both of them crashing through the table. Lumak was on top of Veezare, repeatedly beating his face with his knuckles.

Then, Star barged in.

"What in the name of Magnus is going on in here?!" She yelled.

Veezare was now pushing Lumak off. Lumak stood up and staggered backwards, almost falling down. Veezare stood up and lunged at Lumak, hitting him in the gut with his shoulder. Lumak was hurt by this hit, but not badly enough. He nailed Veezare in the face with an uppercut, sending him flailing backward, sprawling onto the floor.

"Lumak, enough!" Star shouted.

Lumak didn't listen. He jumped with one leg high, to stomp Veezare in the chest. Veezare rolled over, and Lumak missed. Veezare jumped on him from behind, enclosing Lumak's neck into the bend of his arm, choking him. Lumak grabbed Veezare's arms, trying to pull them off. Lumak gagged and reached out, as if trying to physically grab air.

Veezare only tightened his grip, Lumak slowly falling onto his knees. Then he rolled forward, throwing Veezare off his back.

Kharjo and I just stood in the doorway, watching intently.

"Go stop them!" Star commanded us.

"You really think we can break that up?" Kharjo said. "Wiser things have been done."

Star sighed in frustration.

Lumak shoved Veezare against the wall, rapidly punching him in the stomach. Veezare slid out of Lumak's grasp, and into the floor. He rolled underneath Lumak's legs. Veezare whipped his ankles with his tail. Lumak's legs buckled and he fell onto his back.

"Aargh!" Veezare yelled as he picked up a steel dagger and plunged it towards Lumak's spine.

Suddenly, a blue ward of energy exploded in between them, sending Veezare flying against the wall, knife clattering against the dusty wooden floor.

"Enough, you two! You're going to bring the whole damn ship down! Lumak, get up!" Star yelled in frustration.

Lumak stood up and hobbled out the upstairs. Veezare slowly rose, letting out a rattling groan. He was covered in blood, as was Lumak.

"Thanks, Star," he said, breathing heavily. "If I would've stabbed him-"

"No need to thank me, Veezare," Star interrupts. "Now tell me. What in the name of Oblivion was that? Huh?"

"I, uh," he replied groggily. "I don't even, uh, I don't even remember."

"Well, get to the infirmary," she said sternly.

There's an infirmary here too. Well I'll be damned. They're prepared for everything.

Veezare limped out, Star watching his movements.

"I don't know what that was," she said. "But it'd better not happen again, or we're going to have worse problems than broken tables."

-------

It had been two weeks since the fight. No one had said much about it, but everyone was thinking about it. Lumak had gotten out of the infirmary already, but he had three long, jagged scars down the side of his face, where Veezare clawed him in the beginning of the fight.

Veezare, however was still being taken care of. He was badly injured. He'd broken a rib, fractured his skull, and was bleeding internally.

Star visited him every day. He was probably her favorite member of out team. I think there might be something between those two. Maybe, maybe not.

Kharjo was the first person to vocally mention the fight. He was talking to a group of crewmen over by the captain's quarters, describing what was happening. The crewmen were amazed. We were nearly halfway to Southpoint.

"Look! Islands!" shouted a crew member in the crow's nest. I looked in the direction he was pointing to, and on the horizon, there was a chain of small tropical islands in the distance.