Balanced On the Knife Edge

Chapter 2

Karme was many things, but a quitter was not one of them. She would make it through these godforsaken mountains and prove that charcoal-scaled Argonian wrong.

Truthfully, she wasn't sure where she was going. The plan had been to leave Bruma by the main road, slip out before anyone found out about Svaknal (not that Karme thought people would care; she was doing the town a favour, really), and head to Cheydinhal. There she would petition the help of Count Andel Indarys, who, as a fellow immigrant from Morrowind, from House Hlaalu no less, would be compelled by her tearjerking story to give her board and lodging. And if the good count so desired, she might even work, putting her education and upbringing to good use.

Of course, this was all fancy, and Karme knew this. Traipsing through pine trees, dressed in commoner clothes, her stomach growled like a wolf, and she knew that she was in for some truly hard times. But the image of the sneer on that Argonian's face, and the fear of the moneylenders and guards that would come after her if she gave in, kept her going.

Karme stopped by a stream to refill her waterskin and rest. She had been making slow progress, and she supposed it was now midnight. If she tried to sleep here, with no tent, she'd freeze to death, or be gobbled up by a wolf. So she would keep going.

The problem was, Karme had no idea whether she was going the right way. She searched vainly in the sky for the constellations that would guide her, wishing she'd paid more attention to her tutor when he rambled on about the cosmos.

Karme was about to continue when her eye caught on something. A few metres away from the stream there was a log. She was sure she had seen this exact log before, almost an hour ago. She stood up, walked around the clearing, and it slowly dawned on her that she had been to this exact place already.

"Oh, fireblood!"

She kicked the log and crouched beside it. How exactly had she lost her way? She was following one of the paths, but in the dark she must have turned back on herself.

A wolf howled in the distance, and she started to shiver. She might be able to fight one or two off with magic, but even then, she'd probably starve before she reached civilisation.

"Need some help?"

Nusha appeared in front of her, melting out of the undergrowth. Karme jumped and cursed again.

"Have you been following me all this time? Just to laugh at me?"

"Not just to laugh at you. I told you, I need that amulet."

"Believe me, I'd give it to you if I could!"

The Argonian looked at her disparagingly. "There's no point in us travelling separately. Where are you heading?"

"Chorrol," she spat out.

"I can take you there, make sure you don't starve or get eaten. All I ask in return is that you at least consider going to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary with me."

Karme sighed. She did not like to be this beholden to someone, but she had no choice. "Fine. Do you know how to hunt?"

"Already taken care of." She disappeared into a bush and came back holding two rabbits.

"There are rabbits here?"

"You might've noticed had you not been stomping through the forest like that. Can you make a fire?"

Karme bit her lip. "I can try."

"What, so you can blast a man apart but not make a campfire?"

"It's not that simple!" she retorted. "I find it hard to control it, use it in small quantities."