Into the Storm

Chapter 3: Chasing tail

Ashe watched as Bishop's face grew hard with anger. He crumpled the sheet of paper in his fist, throwing it to the side before storming out of the room. Ashe had to run after him to catch up as the ranger hightailed it out of the fort and back onto the road. She watched his tense shoulders as he continued down the path. She felt like she should say something, try to calm him down, but couldn't think what to say. They had a destination now, all they had to do was find the cave and rescue Karnwyr.

For miles he set a hard pace, not looking back and not showing any sign of slowing down. After a few hours,  Ashe began to struggle a little, still sore from the fight and her escape from Helgen. A stitch bloomed in her rib cage and she started to limp a little bit. The angry ranger kept up the pace, not bothering to interact or even check that Ashe was still with him.

When the sky darkened and he still showed no signs of stopping, Ashe reached her limit.

"Bishop!"

He turned his head to show he was listening but continued on otherwise.

"We should stop and get some rest." She said.

Bishop stopped and looked up in surprise, as if he hadn't even noticed the darkening sky. He turned to look back at Ashe.

"I..." He was panting lightly from the long hike, a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. "yeah... yeah that's a good idea." He looked around to take in their surroundings. "I know a spot not too far from here where we can set up camp."

He stepped off the road, moving into the tree line. As they passed through the woods the sound of a nearby waterfall grew in volume. They reached a clearing at the edge of a cliff, the waterfall flowed from the mountains up above, down to pass under a bridge Ashe hadn't been able to see from the road.

Bishop dumped his pack on the ground and started clearing the ground to set up his tent. His actions were jerky and quick as Ashe watched him. She approached him and laid a hand gently on his shoulder. He tensed under her touch, his hand going to his dagger before he realised it.

"We're going to find him, Bishop." She tried to sound confident but also comforting. 

He sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know... I'm only concerned by how long it's been. He would have already done the same for me by now."

They finished pitching their tents and sat by a fire, a meagre meal in their hands.

"You... never answered my question." She said tentatively, picking at the bread in her hand.

"What?" He said, jerking out of whatever thoughts he had been lost in.

"I asked if you wanted to be a ranger, or do you just do it for the gold?"

"I was raised with the skills, it only seemed natural to use them to make a living. I was taught them to survive though, not for profit. Not an... honest kind of profit anyway." He coughed. "Anyway, what about you? You're so curious about my past, tell me about yours."

Ashe continued to pick at her food, aware of his eyes on her. "Nothing very interesting to say I'm afraid. Up until two years ago, I wasn't much more than my Mother's assistant."

"What happened two years ago?" he asked. He wondered how the woman before him could have ever been 'just' an assistant. Her skills in combat suggested much more than that.

"She died." Ashe's eyes looked deeply into the fire, "She was called to a village overwhelmed by a plague... but she never returned. I didn't even get to bury her body, it was burned with the rest. After that... I decided to leave Valenwood, to travel a bit."