"I guess it got bored waiting for me..." He shrugged. He was used to walking, even preferred it. He didn't need all sorts of foods,gear, and skills to maintain his legs.

The offer for food sounded better than he'd expected. He hadn't eaten since this morning when she thought he was making a potion, only realizing it at the suggestion.

"That does sound good...after we check it thoroughly of course. I needed to instruct you on the potion for Maxical anyways. I wrote down it's instructions but you may still have questions." He nodded accepting her offer.

*

The Wobbly Inn Suite Kitchen area:


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Eyja:

"To be honest, I was so hungry this morning that I ate without checking for poisons." Eyja spread her arm out, inviting him to take whatever he wanted from the stores there.

"As you see it is fully stocked; there is plenty here, and the fireplace is set up for cooking. I've seen how cooking relaxes you, so I'll sit and let you take over. Use whatever you would like; just make sure you leave a couple sweetrolls and some strawberries for Maxical. That's all she ever eats unless they have S'Jirra's Potato bread."

Eyja sat in one of the chairs at the table, dusting off the crumbs from her meal and tossing them into the fire.

"You are right though, now that we are back here there is always the question of who the intended target of that first assassination attempt was. I haven't had time to even dwell on it since this happened with Maxical."

She watched him expertly checking over several items for tampering. "Unless they were targeting the inn itself, I would have to think they were targeting someone local, maybe someone on the staff. One of the guests may have been followed here, but then why not take them out on the road?"


*

"To be honest, I was so hungry this morning that I ate without checking for poisons." Eyja said inviting him to the larder.

"Really? Well. I suppose you would have smelled something or we'd have noticed any ill effects by now." He remarked looking over the foodstuffs. He did his usual ritual and soon determined the food was safe.

"As you see it is fully stocked; there is plenty here, and the fireplace is set up for cooking. I've seen how cooking relaxes you, so I'll sit and let you take over. Use whatever you would like; just make sure you leave a couple sweetrolls and some strawberries for Maxical. That's all she ever eats unless they have S'Jirra's Potato bread." She commented.

"That can't be healthy." Sethyas shook his head, laughing. But, who was he too judge.

"I wish you'd said something this morning though. I'm always willing to break bread with people." he said nonchalantly.

He grabbed a few miscellaneous items, and set them up for later use.

He then set up a teapot alongside the fire.

Immediately going to work on the vegetables, cutting carrots, celery, potatoes and some leeks into small chunks. He grabbed a small pot, and put them in with some butter to start simmering. Than he grabbed a paper-wrapped ground meat. Smelling it seemed to indicate it was fresh and probably boar meat. He dumped this in the simmering pot as well.

He than went to work on some flour, kneading it into a thick dough, and lining the bottom of a pan with one section. When the smell of the simmering meat and vegetables rose to nearly being complete, he dumped these into the pan, and grabbed the white, salty goat's cheese and layered it evenly on top. For the completion he put the second section of dough on top of that, pinching the lattice shut. He put the lid on, and put it over the fire to bake.

About twenty minutes, and some Shepherd's Pie. He thought, clapping the remaining flour from his hands, and than washing them in the basin.

"You are right though, now that we are back here there is always the question of who the intended target of that first assassination attempt was. I haven't had time to even dwell on it since this happened with Maxical." Eyja said, as he prepared some Trama Root Tea, pouring cups for the two of them.

"Unless they were targeting the inn itself, I would have to think they were targeting someone local, maybe someone on the staff. One of the guests may have been followed here, but then why not take them out on the road?"


"Speaking of which..." Sethyas pondered. "Maxical mentioned she saw a man drug Abiene's tea? I don't know what state she was in...or does that have nothing to do with this?" He said, blowing on his cup.

"But otherwise, yes...who was being targeted if at all? But, the quality of the poison doesn't suggest an amateur at all, I'm going with the idea that Abiene was being targeted, and by someone with either the skills, or the resources to hire someone of that skill. This suggests someone wealthy with a large enough secret to hide, or someone who is very skilled that made a involuntary slip that could lead to their downfall."

*

Eyja gave a half laugh, half choke. "I will ask, but I think Maxical realized Abiene had been poisoned, and just jumped to the conclusion it was done by some man wanting to have his way with Abiene. Abiene is a beautiful woman, and Maxical is...naive. She has no real experience; went almost straight from being a pampered teen to this service for Akatosh."

Eyja hesitated, unsure if he'd been made to feel awkward by Maxical equating his smell with that of her husband.

"The man you smell so much like was her husband, a Dunmer named Gils. Their marriage was brief, he was killed before it was even consumated. Since then she has been hunting the necromancer that killed him and took his soul. I don't know how much you know about female Khajiit, but they are loyal to their spouses beyond the grave. You need have no worries; you may smell like him, but you are not him. She'll have no thought of anything but the memories and the loss."

Eyja flushed with embarrassment when she recognized immediately that he was making Shepherd's Pie. Her past coming back to haunt her. She caught the quizzical expression in his eyes and flushed deeper.

"I...Shepherd's Pie was the package of delivery when I poisoned marks. I make a delicious one, and never had to worry they wouldn't receive the full dose."

She tapped her finger on the table, meditating on his words about Abiene being the target. "Abiene did tell me a list of secrets she held; clients she had treated."


*

Sethyas chuckled. "Have no fear. Believe it or not, I'm a married mer. Plus, casual dalliances are...quite some time behind me." He said, gazing into the reflection of the tea as though it showed distant memories. Though he'd had one or two flings in his distant past, they were more 'passion of the moment' rather than something in his nature.

His brow did furrow at the revelation of her husband dying before it all truly began. Too much like Ilmeni. "I...I-I am sorry for that..truly." What is it with you two and sharing my pain? He thought sardonically.

Her recognition of his dish came somewhat as a surprise. So the coincidences continue. Mephala may be behind this yet.

"Do you? Well, I'll have to get the recipe from you...both aspects of it." he jested darkly.

When she spoke of the clients list he nodded appreciatively.

"We'll need that, as well as follow the tea. Who made it? Who brought it to her? If she made it herself, who was in the tavern at that moment? Any of these things can be the detail we need to find our assassin." he sorted out in his mind.

*

Eyja:


"I asked her if the one she ordered the tea from was the same who brought it to her, but it was all a fog to her still at the time; the effect of the poisoning itself and probably shock and fear learning about it. She was pretty far along with it, the whites of her eyes were showing blue. The only reason she lived is that Maxical dragged her to the Guild and insisted a mage there heal her steadily. It kept her organs going even as the poison was trying to destroy them. She'd have died in her sleep otherwise."

Eyja tapped her finger quietly on the table again, a nervous habit when she was thinking.

"She may yet remember. I know she ate at the buffet; I saw her take a large breakfast from it and attack it with gusto. Since no one else was poisoned, it must have been in the drink. The Proprietor has a list of guests, but the one who did this wouldn't have signed a register."

Eyja turned around in her seat to face him.

"There was a huge crowd for breakfast here all morning, only a couple of them guests of the inn. Abiene took her tea outside to drink, probably to escape the noise. Maxical did the same, she hates crowds. Maxical liked that bench because you can hear the Priory bells sitting there. She sat beside Abiene and struck up a conversation with her. I stopped by the bench to get Maxical not thirty minutes later. Abiene was...scattered, unable to focus on the conversation. Neither Maxical or I knew her, so could think nothing unusual about it. But when I came inside to talk to you, she must have worsened. Honditar said Maxical had to all but carry her through the gate, he was moved to help her by the sight."

Eyja held up one finger. "One hour. It had to be liquid to act that quickly. She told us she was to be at work at eight, that is her scheduled hour. Schedules make easy targets."

She took a forkfull of his Shepherd's Pie without asking, then pointed her fork at him with a grin. "Mine's better. I'll give you the recipe."


*

Seth took it all in, building a picture in his mind. It did add up as she said. They knew her schedule, when and where to best strike, and left it all within a huge cloak of faces. Perhaps the best form of stealth. A noise in the dark focused the mind. A miasma of faces confused it. No doubt the rest of the crowd would yield a similar story.

The list of patients then, and there was but one rule that he carried from his time in the Guild.

Follow the money.

An assassination attempt of this calibre and sophistication...he would've hired the perpetrator in a heartbeat. Despite the fact that this person was now; whether they knew it or not, his target, he couldn't help but admire the level of skill.

That also made him think: It was a woman's touch.

He blinked as he thought it that same instant she stole some of his food. Was he just being sexist? True he could be just as subtle, and had in fact been in the past...

It was just a hunch, something about the way she said that her's was better. Men were aggressive, women were subtle. It wasn't a matter of superiority, it was just playing to strengths. Women didn't need to be stronger than men physically, they could just pout, show a bit of skin and the hard work was done for them.

Men on the other hand preferred to be hands-on watch and admire their work. They could be but a shadow in the dark with a hidden blade, but a woman would be far more likelier to poison and watch from a distance.

Just like Mephala's Duality. No wonder He/She is represented in Hermaphroditic Relief.

He took a sip of the tea before he shared his thought.

"Just a hunch...does this strike you as something a woman would do?" he shared.

Eyja:

Eyja shrugged, laying her fork down to let him know she was done swiping his food.

"It had to be a pro, and they can come across as either male or female at will when their work is analyzed. I usually leave markings of a male behind for the investigators if a body is left to be found."


*

True. He thought.

"Just a hunch as I said. It is getting late, and my mind is working more slowly than it should." He said, getting up from the table, leaving the potion for Maxical.

"As I said, you might have questions concerning it, but I believe that the note should be sufficient." his eyes motioned to it.

"I can't quite finish my meal, and I feel the effects of a heavy meal and a long day. I'll meet up with you all in the morning, rest easy for now if you can. I am glad she is safe. If you need me for anything, you know where I am." He said amiably, the rims of his eyes becoming as red as the rest of them.

"We'll go over the list, and try to eliminate as many possibilities as we can." He said rubbing his eyes, and taking the tea with him.

"Oh, sorry. You were courteous enough to offer me your kitchen, shall I clean this up?" He offered.

*

Eyja:

She waved him away from cleaning up with a laugh. "No no. Cleaning up a mess is something I am very good at, I think you have seen my skills at it once already."

Eyja walked him to the door, but stopped him before he opened it.

"Seth...thank you. Thank you for everything."



*

He just smiled at her, a rare expression to say the least.

"I am alive to do these things you thank me for, because of you."

He gave her a very serious look.

"I am...." he paused for a moment, shadow falling over his face.

"...very tired, so we can finish this in the morrow." He said breaking into a yawn.

*

Eyja tilted her head to one side, wondering what he'd started to say. "We are even then, or I am in your debt. You saved us all from that Orc twice."

She waited till she heard his room door close and latch before closing her own and latching it. Eyja brought the medicine he'd left behind up to Maxical's room and checked on her, then slumped down into the overstuffed chair by the bed to read the instructions.



*

Abiene, morning

Abiene woke disoriented. It took a moment to remember where she was and determine that she was not late for work. We’re at the inn. You’ve been dismissed for the week. And Maxical is safe.

The violence from the day before had not returned to haunt her dreams. She had feared waking in the night unguarded and shaking with old grief brought close again. It hadn’t happened.

The seed of an idea from the night before had blossomed in her mind. Abiene was anxious to try it, with permission of course. But first things first.

Abiene went through an abbreviated version of her morning exercise then splashed her face with cold water from the basin. She took a sip of her potion as she had been directed and tucked it away again carefully wrapped in a shirt. Hunger gnawed at her. That was a good sign.

An enticing aroma made her mouth water. Was that coffee? She glanced down at her modest nightgown. Not suitable for the tavern but between the girls it would do. She opened the door to the suite and padded barefoot to the kitchen area.

*

Eyja:

Eyja heard Abiene waking up and coming down the stairs just as she was finishing up the cleaning of the kitchen. She had pulled every dish, glass, and utensil and washed it; not willing to trust an inn's staff to have done a thorough job.

By the time Abiene reached the kitchen Eyja had laid out a bowl of fresh fruit in the center of the table, a hunk of cheese on a plate, and the loaf of bread Seth had made on a clean cutting board with a slab of butter on a plate beside it.

"Seth stopped by a few hours ago, and made us a Shepherd's Pie if you are hungry. It is delicious, but I didn't tell him that; I told him mine was better. He left this potion for Maxical, and these instructions."

She set the potion and instructions down on the table and ladled out some of the pie and the bread Seth had made onto a metal griddle, balancing it over the fire in the fireplace while she talked.

"Abiene; Seth and I checked all the food in this kitchen for signs of tampering. You will be safe as long as you only eat or drink in here; but we have to keep the doors sealed from staff or others entering to keep it that way. I used a spell to magically seal the doors to this suite, and after you returned last night I sealed the room door as well so the staff can't enter again. The spell is tamper-proof, only Seth can enter. Seth's room is next to ours; if someone knocks on our room door, don't open it till you hear his coded knock."

She rapped it out on the table for Abiene, then pulled a scroll from her pocket and set it on the table.

"Here is a copy of the spell so you can come and go at will, but ensure you seal the door behind you each time so none can enter while you are out."

She wrapped a towel around her hand and flipped the bread.

"Seth thinks for the time being it would be best to assume you were the target and isolate your means of food supply to something we can control. That will force the assassin to find another means if you are the target. He will have to come out of the shadows and reveal himsef, and Seth and I will be watching for him."

She put a towel over her hands and pulled the griddle out; laying it on the hearth while she pulled a clean plate out.

"It would be best if you could stay close to the inn, it is always best to force enemies to come to where you are prepared for them. That is here, where Seth or I will be protecting you. Whoever did this is a pro, someone has hired them. A pro wouldn't lose control of the packa...poison until it was in the mark's hands. That means it is very possible you were the target."

She set the warmed pie and bread onto the plate, then dropped a dollop of butter on the bread, setting it before Abiene along with some clean utensils.

"Seth made the homemade bread too. Here, let me pour you some hot coffee." She continued talking while she poured.

"The cost in gold for a pro like this one was...the one who hired them would be very rich, and probably with high or dark connections. Think of these clients whose secrets you hold, which of them meet that criteria."

Eyja pushed a bowl of sugar and a small pitcher of heavy cream in front of Abiene before plunking down in the seat across from her.

"I know this is hard to hear before breakfast, but they will strike again; and if we don't face this proactively they may succeed next time. They will have to get you out from the safety of this suite, and everyone knows you are the healer. They could pretend an illness and the staff would immediately send you into their hands. You must be wary of every call that takes you from this suite."

Eyja leaned back, cutting a piece of Seth's bread and buttering it. She took a large bite, chewing it ruminatively; then washed it down with coffee from her own cup.

"Try the coffee, you'll not taste another as good. It is Maxical's, she has it imported from another province. Fathis got her spoiled on it from childhood, and it is one luxury she will not do without."

She took another bite of the buttered bread. "Maxical's fever broke finally, and the vein is back to normal on her forehead; but that wound on her stomach is still terrible. I don't have any but basic spells; but kept healing her every time I woke. I think we all needed the rest."



*

Abiene

Eyja had already laid out an inviting breakfast, and the smells of fresh bread and savory meat pie made Abiene’s stomach gurgle.

“Good morning,” said Abiene. “At least that’s my best guess. I have no idea how long I slept, but it was well worth it.”

Eyja gestured at the fireplace. “Seth stopped by a few hours ago, and made us a Shepherd's Pie if you are hungry. It is delicious, but I didn't tell him that; I told him mine was better. He left this potion for Maxical, and these instructions.”

Abiene sat down at the table and looked at Seth’s instructions. Eyja would be the best one to keep track of Maxical’s medication, but Abiene was eager to learn anything she could about overcoming addiction. The Mages Guild tended to ignore unprofitable ventures, and the chapels of the Nine focused on faith as a cure. The knowledge she needed most was held by those who were too busy practicing to teach. Abiene often found herself struggling to re-discover that which was already known but out of her reach.

Eyja spoke about codes, magical seals, a spell scroll, and tampering. Abiene blinked up at her then reached for the coffee.

By Dibella, this is magnificent! She closed her eyes and breathed in the aroma. A slight smokiness told her the beans had been expertly roasted. Earthy and cereal notes hinted at a complexity that she would not want to sully with sugar or cream. The coffee felt velvety in her mouth, the taste a rich balance of flavors across her tongue.

Eyja served up the hot food, talking of intrigue and assassins. Abiene felt completely out of her depth again. She simply listened.

Until the shepherd’s pie hit the table. Abiene scooped a healthy portion onto her plate. Take it easy, she warned herself. This morning she had a longshoreman’s appetite, but her stomach still remembered scamp skin and electrocuted Altmers.

Eyja spoke between bites of her own breakfast. “Maxical's fever broke finally, and the vein is back to normal on her forehead; but that wound on her stomach is still terrible. I don't have any but basic spells; but kept healing her every time I woke. I think we all needed the rest.”

Abiene nodded. “We did need the rest. You did well getting Maxical through the night, I’m sure it was your constant care that she needed most.” She kept her voice neutral. Eyja had tried to conceal the depth of her devotion once Maxical had awakened, and Abiene did not want to make a reference to Eyja’s strong emotions. For all Abiene knew Eyja might consider her admission to be a sign of weakness.

“This morning I feel ready to take on the next challenge,” Abiene continued. She raised her cup. “Maxical must import this coffee straight from Aetherius, and Seth’s shepherd’s pie is so good I’d wager it has healing properties. Someday I’d love to taste yours so we can compare. Thank you for this.” She smiled at Eyja, her heart lightening in her company. “You’re right, rest and nourishment were what we needed.” Though I would dearly love to feel the weight of a man.

“Eyja, I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve forgotten that code already. Would you show me again?” Abiene repeated the simple rhythm, a blush heating her cheeks.

“I thought some more about the poisoning as we rode back here, but first I’d like to focus on Maxical. Remember how you asked about magicka yesterday? Let’s use your analogy of a well. Each person is a well, and magicka flows or seeps in like water. Spells draw magicka like buckets from the well. Different schools of magic draw from the same well, but you might say they require different buckets. My bucket for Restoration would be very small, since my experience makes those spells cost me very little magicka. In healing I can draw many times from my magical well. My Destruction bucket would be large, as I am unskilled and the smallest spell requires more of me. With only a few spells my well would empty. ”

Abiene paused to allow Eyja to stop her or ask a question.

“I bring this up because you asked about Maxical’s inability to heal herself. I don’t understand her condition, but in our terms I would say that her Restoration bucket has no rope, so she cannot access her magicka at all with those spells. I’m afraid I can’t explain her Destruction anomaly. But the point I’m getting to is this.”

She took a deep breath to settle her nerves. What she was about to propose was akin to Necromancy and not approved by guild or chapel. She hoped Eyja would not judge her harshly. “After we resolve Maxical’s abdominal wound she will benefit from a restoration of the organs damaged by the shock spell. I’m talking about more than just healing. For example if her arm was severed I might heal the stump, but it would take true restoration to re-grow the limb. They don’t teach that at the Arcane University, at least not any more. There are of course powers in this realm and outside it that can accomplish such things, but they are unavailable to me. If you have access to them you should use them. Otherwise I’ll do my best, but I’ll need more than my own magicka well to do it. I can draw from Maxical’s magicka and yours if you will allow it, as I did yesterday. The effect is not painful but it can be disconcerting.

“But first we must address the stomach wound. If I’m right we’ll find shards of Welkynd stone in the flesh over Maxical’s abdomen. I’ll need to examine her again, but I hope I’ll be able to remove them with my debride spell. They’re probably in deep or I would have noticed them before. The spell dissolves anything that is not living tissue and converts it harmlessly to air. It’s not strong for safety reasons, so it will take some effort. Also it’s not safe to allow air bubbles to form in Maxical’s abdomen. If the shards are deep I’ll use my blade to open the flesh so they can escape. In surgery at the healing hall I use another practitioner to safely immobilize and anesthetize the patient. I know the spells but I’ll need all of my magicka in case something unexpected occurs. I would suggest a potion that will put her to sleep and paralyze her nerves if possible. It would only need a short duration. I make my preparations slowly, but I work quickly with the knife.”

Abiene’s watched for Eyja’s reaction. This was not the time to mention that the spell would also dissolve the fur on Maxical’s stomach leaving a significant bald patch. Hopefully I’ll have enough magicka to regrow it before anyone notices.

*

Eyja:

Eyja showed Abiene the coded knock again. “The code will change daily, you understand. A safety precaution in case someone is keeping surveillance in chameleon outside the door.”

Eyja’s frustration was growing as she talked by Abiene’s blank expression and automatic nodding. Abiene wasn’t listening. She was her own worst enemy, She and Seth couldn’t keep her alive if she didn’t take this seriously. She needed to reach her, wake her up. Eyja had learned one weakness Abiene had that first day in the road.

Eyja looked Abiene directly in the eye and spoke loudly. “JERRIC!”

She watched a myriad of emotions flicker over Abiene’s face before speaking again.

“Now, do I have your attention? Good. Seth and I are trying to keep you alive, Abiene. We need your help to do it. You have to come out of that fog of denial and realize it is very likely someone you know wants you dead and has hired a pro to do it. Pro‘s don‘t fail, they keep coming back till the job is done. Seth and I can kill one, and another will be sent by the organization. You have to take this seriously.”

Guilt washed over her at Abiene’s obvious shock, but she didn‘t soften her voice. Abiene needed to be proactive if there was even a possibility this assassin was targeting her.

“I’m sorry, Abiene; but we are doing all we can to keep you alive, and you are not helping us. In the end it is you who will lose your life if you cannot listen when help is offered.”

Eyja reached in her pocket and pulled out a silver ring with a sapphire stone.

“Here, you’ll need to wear one of these. It detects life forms whether the person is invisible or not. If you see a pink form and no one is there, run. Get behind a door and magically seal it or run to me or Seth with all speed. Throw stuff behind you as you go to trip them up; bottles or vials, books, anything you can get your hands on. Don’t hesitate or feel foolish, any hesitation could cost your life.“

Eyja took Abiene’s empty plate and utensils and began washing them as she talked.

“Restoring her organs...how much successful experience have you had doing this? And if there are air bubbles in her stomach, won’t she just fart them out?”

Abiene mentioned cutting into Maxical’s already wounded stomach, and Eyja spun around with the dripping dish in her hand.

“Cut her with a blade? NO! Er...will it help her?“

She turned one way and then the other, dripping the soapy water from the plate into an arc on the floor.

“I want to see the blade you will use first, and personally sterilize it before it touches her. I don’t know where it has been last, and don’t trust anyone’s version of clean but my own when it comes to her. Hanni...Arch Mage Traven taught me his own method for sterilization of instruments.”


*

Maxical:

Several times in the night she woke, unable to tell if she was still dreaming or really was awake. Seth standing over her and Eyja's sleeping forms like a dark guardian. Was he really there? He was like a shadow that lived, moving more silently than even Eyja as he slipped back down the stairs.

Maybe it had been part of a dream, a vision. The soft red of his eyes in the dark, the faint scent of his body. Sweat, dirt, the brandy and smoke. Everything about him a paradox, just like Gils. There was no doubt he was someone's assassin, but she knew he wasn't here for her. Eyja trusted him, and she didn't make mistakes.

It wasn't his red eyes that haunted her dreams, but those that glowed on the wolf Earana had guard her bed in that sanctuary below the city. That wolf and the terrible aching need for that cream.

It didn't take much to figure out why Earana drugged her. She wanted someone to take that jolt for her, and no one in their right mind would have stood willingly to be electrocuted by the gathered forces of nature.

Maxical drew on every resource she had within herself not to cry out for that cream. She had to fight this, would not become like Gellius, who would sell his soul for a vial of Skooma. The worst part was, expending all her willpower on fighting this would leave her weak in other ways.

She didn't dare confront Malan without every resource available to fight him. He would smell her weakness like it was an odor in the air, and end the victor over her just like he did over Gils and Fathis. She needed to cure this completely and heal this wound before he smelled her frail state and hunted her down.

Some time through the night she'd heard Eyja and the Dunmer Seth discussing an assassination attempt. Maybe Malan had already found her. If that sweet Abiene had taken the hit for her, she would have never forgiven herself; even though it wouldn't have been at her hand or will.

Maxical fretted and tossed with the pain and worry, several times waking Eyja up. She'd never seen Eyja so exhausted, but even in her sleep she'd continued casting healing on her stomach to ease the pain.

It was the only way the night was bearable, kept her from crying out with the pain of that stomach, the ache for the cream. For once Maxical didn't gripe about Eyja's hugging, but nestled in and took comfort from it.


*

Abiene

The code will change daily? It was all Abiene could do to keep from burying her face in her palm. She took the silver Detect Life ring, but there were no pockets in her nightie so it stayed on the table.

Eyja was right. Abiene did need to focus on her own situation now that Maxical was out of immediate danger. Eyja and Sethyas stood between her and a professional killer by their own choice. Abiene had to do as she was told or risk losing their protection.

She had always preferred to make mistakes rather than surrendering her judgment, but now the stakes were too high. Abiene brought her knees up and tucked her gown around them to keep from fidgeting. Then she stood to help with the breakfast dishes. Eyja was washing so she picked up a dish towel to dry them.

Eyja had some questions. “Restoring her organs...how much successful experience have you had doing this? And if there are air bubbles in her stomach, won’t she just fart them out?”

Abiene bit her lip. “I’m afraid that the air bubbles might not be in her actual stomach, but possibly throughout her tissue. There would be no way to pass them and at the worst she might experience arterial…” Abiene decided to cut the lecture and get to the point. “She could die.” She put one plate away and picked up another. “I have minimal experience restoring organs. One of my patients is recovering kidney function through regular treatments, and I have improved liver function in two others. I believe that Maxical will be able to live a normal life if she chooses not to undergo such a treatment, but she will need regular healing to keep herself going. To… manage the processes that her body should be doing on its own. Many folk live in such a condition. This type of restoration is not widely practiced.” Possibly to keep healers in business.

Eyja sprayed a great deal of soapy water as she contemplated Maxical’s surgery. Abiene dropped the dish towel and swiped it around with her foot to dry the floor. She had her own concerns about Eyja’s method of sterilization, but it was not Abiene’s way to confront and argue unless sorely pressed. Instead she stayed silent, listening to Eyja’s concerns. They could discuss the specifics after she agreed. Eyja’s reaction was not unexpected. Most people including many health practitioners shared it. It made no sense to cut into flesh for the purpose of healing unless one could see the source of the problem festering underneath.

Abiene spoke when Eyja seemed finished, or at least too upset to continue. “Maxical may be better off seeking the Arch-Mage’s help in the long term, but I am confident that I can close her belly wound. I’m happy to show you my scalpels, and there’s something else I have with me that might ease your mind.” Or possibly make you vomit. “Master Selvilo is the finest surgeon in Cyrodiil, and I am his only student. I waited two years for the position to open so that I could come to Chorrol and study under him.” Abiene softened her tone so that her pride wouldn’t sound like arrogance. “It’s true that I’m unskilled in combat and ignorant of my own safety. To you and Sethyas I must seem like a bumbling child. But I am among the best in what I can do. If you will not allow me to treat Maxical’s wound I must urge you to take her to the Arcane University immediately. You trust the Arch-Mage, and you will follow his advice. Whatever you decide please let me examine Maxical again when she wakes. She has a hard fight against addiction. Constant pain is not helping.”

Abiene picked up the dish towel. “Shall I go get my things to show you?”

*

Eyja:

Eyja watched Abiene fiddle with the life detect ring and then set it on the table. Did she think she could put it on only when she wanted to check for an assassin’s presence? She was as stubborn as a child, protecting her would not be an easy task.

When she finished with the last dish she took the dishtowel Abiene had used on the floor to the utility area by the suite door and added it into a pile of used rags she had scrubbed the floor with earlier.

When she came back she scrubbed the table with a fresh towel and then washed her hands thoroughly. As she was drying them, she looked pointedly at the ring on the table, then held her hand up to Abiene to show her a matching ring on her own finger.

“It has to be worn to work. Your finger or toe doesn’t matter. I did not mention Arch Mage Traven’s training to belittle yours, Abiene. He trained me in every way to protect Maxical with her disorder. I have to be careful for her sake. Let us have a truce between us of our stubborn wills, it will make protecting you easier, and my Nord ways more tolerable and palatable for you. Did you not learn Nords are stubborn from your Jerric?”

She followed Abiene to her room to view her surgical equipment, grabbing her own pack on the way.

“This surgeon you are in training with, will he attend?”



*

Thank You, Seth.

The words actually could cause him pain.

He wasn't worthy of them, nor would he ever be. To end a life, ended all of the possibilities that life held. For good or bad. Future acquaintances, future families...everything.

Was it so strange that the early Morag Tong wanted to 'murder the world'? True enough that they were Sithis-worshippers. Nothing like the asylum-escapees of the Dark Brotherhood who actually thought that Sithis was conscious, or even was made more powerful by their 'ritual'. Sithis was just emptiness, an infinite expanse of nothingness that swallowed the multitude whole.

Anu was infinity, and Sithis was negation; subtraction. The interplay of these primordial forces made Oblivion, Aetherius and the Aurbis. Their world was the eddy in the stream that entered the mouth of Sithis' cave.

Within that eddy, there was Causality.

Within that causality, he had learned it wasn't so much that it was random, so much as patterns associating themselves with other patterns of similar nature. Treachery followed treachery. Vengeance followed vengeance.

Kindness, Love, Compassion, followed themselves. But they alone could overcome these other patterns. The Mortals of this world, were the harbingers of these patterns. When he could forgive himself, then perhaps, these ideal patterns would not hurt him.

Sleep, or you're no good to anyone. He commanded himself.

His consciousness slipped into the void of dreams. A place that Vaermina only ever came by once in a great while. No, this place belonged too Sheogorath mainly. A place where he dreamed he was alive, and normal.

Red eyes opened to the dawn.

Coffee? Haven't smelled that in years. Much less that good.

He heard the pitter-patter of feet on the tavern floor, feminine. Certainly not used to sneaking.

The voices of Abiene and Eyja talking confirmed his suspicions. He donned his armor and weapons scanning the entirety of the quarters for any clues of tampering. Nothing struck a chord.

Best to let the girls have their time together. They've earned it. He thought making his tea, and opening the windows and the door just a crack, to signal he was awake and available.

Inhaling his hackle-lo, he heard Eyja beginning to scold Abiene speaking aloud a name unfamiliar to him.

Jerric?

*Seth and I are trying to keep you alive!* The muted voice carried.

*Pro‘s don‘t fail, they keep coming back till the job is done. Seth and I can kill one, and another will be sent by the organization.*

That they did.

I'll kill every last one. Then the one who hired them. Seth thought violently.

It sickens me when people prey on the the truly good and charitable like Abiene. Her type was the only reason Setsuna and I didn't starve. The rest turned us away as penniless 'demons'. It's about damn time people like me repaid our debts for people like her. His eyes reduced to narrow slits.

*

Eyja:

Eyja gapped Maxical's window to give her fresh air as she was getting her travel pack and the smell of hackle-lo wafted in. No wonder Maxical liked it so well. She leaned out the window and waved her arm in a "Come on over" gesture. The doors were magically sealed, but Seth had already shown he could get around them.

"Seth's on his way, Maxical. Tell him I'll be just a minute, Abiene and I have something to look at."

"Geez, you think I couldn't hear you two down there? You two were like cats yowling on a fence at night. Will you stop bossing her? She is my friend, and you do have a tendency to give orders Eyja."

Maxical waved her hand to stop Eyja from leaving. "Wait just a second. Get your notepad and quill out, I need you to send a message for me."

She waited while Eyja retrieved the pad from her bra. Eyja grabbed a quill off the table by the bed and dipped it in the inkwell there. "Go ahead."

"There is an Alchemist named Ancotar that was working on a cure for Skooma addiction with S'drassa at the Leyawiin Mages Guild; Fathis was funding their research. Send a message to Ancotar at Fort Caractacus, he is the smarter of the two."

Eyja nodded, scribbling it down. "Seth is a master Alchemist, and he is here already."

"Seth the Dunmer that smells so good?"

"Do you know another?"

"Did you really smoke his hackle-lo? Why did you choke, was it rolled wrong or something?"

"Not hardly, he wasn't choking."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing! I put it in my mouth and just kind of...sucked on it."

Maxical rolled her eyes at Eyja. "Geez, Eyja. You're not polishing a sword, you know. I'll teach you how, Gils showed me."

"Don't you dare repeat that when Seth gets here." Eyja scolded her, but was glad to see the grin on her face. She must be feeling better, last night had been a hard one for her.



*

Abiene

“Let us have a truce between us of our stubborn wills, it will make protecting you easier, and my Nord ways more tolerable and palatable for you. Did you not learn Nords are stubborn from your Jerric?”

Abiene closed her mouth over what she had been about to say, her words lost in a flood of emotion. That’s the second time she’s invoked his name. Eyja knew where Abiene was weak, and she would exploit it. It’s for my own good, Abiene thought. Rather than snap back she simply looked Eyja in the eyes, letting her see just how deeply she had cut.

“Let there be peace between us,” Abiene agreed. She picked up the ring and slipped it onto her finger.

“This surgeon you are in training with, will he attend?” asked Eyja. They moved to Maxical’s room.

Abiene gave a tiny shake of her head in reply. She didn’t want Maxical to hear too much and become alarmed, and she had no doubt that if Eyja didn’t understand she would bring it up again later.

Maxical had Abiene laughing within moments of her waking up. Sethyas was awake and possibly on his way to join them. Abiene decided that he could probably stand the sight of a Breton in a nightgown if he arrived before she got dressed, but she made an attempt to smooth her unruly curls. There were some sights that no one should have to suffer. She wanted to show Eyja her things before Maxical woke up enough to get curious.

Abiene retrieved her satchel and headed into the kitchen area.

He saw the wave from Eyja, and she signalled it was okay to enter. Growing up with a sister, he knew she'd valued her privacy, so he associated it with women in general.

Probably preening themselves over that coffee. He thought wryly.

He entered the suite after offering the coded knock.

"Good Morning." he greeted them.

"You seem to be doing much better." He commented, looking to Abiene.

"How is the progress coming along?"

He listened to her, while helping himself to a cup.

Abiene

“Good morning,” Abiene replied with a smile. “I’m doing much better, thank you. I ate enough of your Shepherd’s Pie for breakfast to choke a goblin.” She shot a teasing glance at Eyja. “I wonder if I’ll ever taste its like.”

“How is the progress coming along?” he asked.

Abiene took the opportunity to fill him in on her plans for Maxical’s treatment. Eyja seemed to value Seth’s opinion, and she could use another impartial advocate for Maxical. And for my ideas, she admitted to herself. Seth seemed like a mer who was accustomed to unusual situations.

“So you see, we’re looking at two procedures,” Abiene finished. “The surgery and the restoration. Here are my blades, Eyja.” She unrolled the small packet of instruments she carried with her for emergencies. “Examine them if you like.” She stopped herself before warning that they were sharp.

“The other thing concerns restoring Maxical’s damaged organs. Eyja, you are right to question whether I can manage it. I hope this will help you decide.”

Abiene glanced around the kitchen area before she opened the other parcel. Eyja’s cleaning bordered on the compulsive and Abiene didn’t want to sicken her. She picked a book off of a nearby shelf and placed it on the table.

Then she opened the small bag and removed a withered finger. She laid the bag on top of the book and the finger atop the flattened bag.

Abiene placed her hands palms-down on the table. Narrow and long-fingered as an elf’s with nails kept trimmed and impeccably clean. Strong enough to reset a bone and gentle enough to lift a newborn to his mother’s breast. The hands of a healer.

“That’s my finger,” she said, nodding at the severed digit. “See if you can tell which one it was.”

*

Eyja:


Eyja heard Seth's voice below and hurried down to greet him. "Are you hungry yet?"

She waved Seth to help himself and then went over to inspect Abiene's equipment. She was very impressed by what Abiene showed her on the restoration of tissue.

In the middle of examining Abiene's fingers Maxical called from upstairs. "EYJA! I need help..."

"I'll be right back, I know what she needs." Eyja hurried up the steps and removed the bedpan she'd found in the utility room, cleaned and sterilized for Maxical to use.

"You must have really had to go! Seth is here now, maybe he'll stop up and say hello in a bit. He's talking to Abiene right now."

She glanced around for an urn, then thought it best if Seth was coming up not to have fresh pee scent in the room. She set it down on the ledge in front of the gapped window and leaned forward to make sure no one was walking through the alleyway behind the inn.

There was, a tall figure in a dark robe of fairly decent material. As Eyja glanced out the head turned up, scanning the windows of the upper floor of the suite.

Eyja cast chameleon quickly and watched as the hooded figure honed in on the gapped window she was looking out. They moved closer, staring hard at the open window. The cowled hood covered too much of their face, she couldn't even tell if it was man or woman.

Without taking time to think it through, Eyja dumped the bedpan full of hot cat pee. Assassin or not, they couldn't be up to any good eyeing upper story windows. They were obviously not here to rent a room, prowling around back.

If it was the assassin, they would find out quickly that the scent of cat pee does not wash off easily. Eyja listened closely to the cursing below. The voice was deep, but could have been either male or female. She remembered Earana's voice, if one closed their eyes they'd have thought a man was speaking.

The figure fled toward Chorrol. Eyja bolted the window and checked all the others to make sure they were latched as well, then went back through magically sealing each window. She hurried downstairs still carrying the bedpan, and checked the bolt and magic seal on the access door at the bottom of the stairs.

She ran past Seth and Abiene to the connecting door into the room below; checking the window and door there as well and sealing them. then did the same with the door into the suite.

When she returned she stopped a ways back from Seth and Abiene and held out the bedpan. "Do you both smell that scent? Remember it. It doesn't wash off easily, and I think I've just covered our assassin in it."

She went back to the utility room to clean the bedpan, calling out to them what had happened as she worked on it. When she was done she scrubbed her hands and arms, and stepped back out into the kitchen area.

"Well, we now know they are back, and they know Abiene is in this suite. The staff here must have told them."



*

*

Maxical:


It was lonely in the suite bedroom. People breakfasted downstairs and chatted, she was stuck in this bed alone. Eyja brought her food and medicine, healed her; but only stayed in the room when she was ready to sleep.

Maxical had thought of several excuses to get Eyja to her room to talk, but Eyja was suddenly all business. It was easy to recognize the signs that Eyja was on a case, she was tense and taking command. She was used to having command of a full squad of highly trained assassins, and sometimes forgot she was dealing with regular people when she was trying to protect them. But who was she protecting? Abiene?

It had to be. Eyja never brought her casework around Maxical before; so the fact that she was now meant it was someone in the house. It had to be Abiene. What was going on?

It didn't feel good being out of the loop. Eyja always kept her business secret, but Maxical was adept at eavesdropping and finding out what she was up to. Stuck here in this bed she only managed to overhear snatches of conversations.

Seth's voice was a low rumble that refused to carry distinguishable words. Whatever was going on, he knew the full of it, she was sure of that. More than that, he was in on it.


"It's lonely up here alone, Eyja. Why don't you all talk up here, I can hear everything you say down there anyway..."

Maxical gaped when she realized Eyja intended to throw her pee out the window. "Ew!"

"Hush" Eyja's voice got very quiet, Maxical saw her stiffen. Something was up.

In the blink of an eye Eyja had disappeared. The hurried sealing of the windows and doors she recognized immediately. The fish was landed. Eyja had reeled her mark in, or the mark found its prey.

It was excruciating to be tied to the bed when something was going down, she needed to be mobile with all this happening around her.

"ABIENE! ABIENE! HURRY!"



*

Abiene

Maxical’s cry made Abiene jump. “ABIENE! ABIENE! HURRY!”

Abiene shot a glance at Eyja while she gathered up her instruments. Anyone who could yell that loudly had at least a few more breaths left in them, and Abiene would prefer to act with Eyja as her ally.

She scooped up a clean dish towel and moved toward the stairs.

The lithe black-robed hooded figure rushed from the alley into the wilderness and to Chorrol. The black robe was drenched in what felt and smelled like urine and not just any urine. Cat urine.

The smell was too much and it was overwhelming. The figure gagged as she made a few steps toward Chorrol's front gates, screaming. "Guards! Guards!" she called out.

Three guards were at their post and rushed over to the woman in distress. Two of them were overfed men that must have sat the entire year rather than so much as run after a crook while the other was a woman who could have been born a man judging my the hair growing on her upper lip and the meeting of her heavy accentuated brows.

All three of them ran to her aid and asked: "What is it citizen?"

The black-robed individual motioned to herself and her robe. That symbolic robe that meant so much to her and her people that was now tarnished with animal urine. "I was attacked."

"By who?" one said.

"I see no wounds," the woman added. "Are you hurt?"

The hooded figure pulled back her black hood and felt her hair wet with the yellow hot liquid that was thrown on her. As a victim of a cruel sick joke, she appeared as if she was nearly going to cry.

"Someone had the audacity to pour urine all over me."

"Yeah, she's hurt alright," the woman said. "Her dignity was wounded."

All three of them laughed. The robed woman was the only one that did not share in the light humor. She wasn't feeling humorous, in fact, she almost never did. Especially in this case.

"This isn't a laughing matter. I was assaulted."

They continued to laugh. One decided to ask, "Who are you, citizen?"

"My name is Irvana," she said, and then added her last name.

The mockery slowly died and when it happened it was because they realized who she was. "My lady, I apologize. Where did this happen?"

"I was star-gazing," she said without any open anger toward them. "It happened from behind me. Whether I was attacked or simply a victim of the humor of others, it is still a crime, no?"

It was. According to the law, even pranks such as casting a spell where everyone's modesty is exposed can be a crime. Throwing urine upon an individual is the same.

"Yes, my lady. Where did it happen?"

Irvana pointed in the direction and explained. The smell would not wash off easily and these were the only robes she had with her. If only she was able to get her hands on those who did it, though she knew she wouldn't do anything dangerous. She let her frustration contained and closed her eyes.

"I need a bath. Now."

*

Eyja:


The loud banging combined with shouting and cursing coming from the room adjoining the suite let Eyja know the staff had discovered they could no longer access the room or suite.

She exchanged glances with Abiene. “Will you go see what Maxical wants? I’ll handle this.”

The raised voice was decidedly male. Eyja moved swiftly and mechanically, reaching into her travel pack and pulling out a large odd-shaped towel.

She turned away from Seth to change. With a twist of a hand over her head her clothes disappeared, and she wrapped the towel around herself, tucking one corner into itself. Once on, she twisted the towel at the waist so it fit to her form; accentuating her curves and leaving as revealing a view of her breasts and legs as her low cut top and short skirt would have.

She grabbed a clean dish towel and hurried to the ewer, sticking her hand down in it and heating the water in seconds with a fire spell. Several times she dipped the towel in the ewer and slapped it on her arms and legs, then her neck, face, and hair.

The hot water misted a vapory halo of steam around her face, pinking her cheeks with the heat. Lastly she squeezed it over her breasts so rivulets ran across them with a touch of vapor rising from them as well.

As she hurried toward the door into the room she was twisting her hair into a knot on top of her head, tucking it into itself as she had done the towel.

She glanced at Seth dolefully, hoping he wouldn’t follow and see what she was about to do. She closed and sealed the suite door behind her; then immediately unsealed the outer room door without moving toward it. It crashed open with her still at the suite door, and a huge black Khajiit barreled through it.

Eyja shrieked “Guards! Help! Assault! RAAAAAPE! HELP!”

A Redguard she’d seen around the Inn before was standing in the corridor looking enraged, but at that he rushed in.

“No one is assaulting you! We couldn’t get in your door, and I want to know why!”

“Why are you two men trying to force your way into the room of three defenseless woman who are paying guests? I insist on speaking to Bograk immediately, and if you two men don’t get out of my room this instant I will not just call the guards, but lodge a complaint against this Inn with the Countess Arriana, who has been a champion in the protection of women living alone since her widowhood.”





***





Eyja folded her arms under her chest, accentuating the bulging of them above the towel and stared directly into the Redguard’s eyes; her lids half drooped to look angry and sultry at the same time. His eyes flickered to her breasts and back up to her eyes.

“Get Bograk.” He motioned the Khajiit, then turned back to Eyja. “You won’t be a paying guest once she sets eyes on you, we don’t rent to...your type.”

“What type is that, the type that bathes?” Eyja’s lip curled at him as she continued.

“I know you barged in here last night and dragged Abiene out of this room bodily, and now you wonder why I have locked the door? You’ll not force your way in here again, nor drag any more women from this room or suite, or you will end in jail for rape. I will tear this towel and scream so loud for the guards they will come from Skingrad to see what the commotion is. That is a promise. And by the time they arrive I will be bruised and your face will be scratched. Do we understand each other?“

“There was a sick guest, the healer was brought to him...”

“A man trespassing in a paying guest’s room in the middle of the night and dragging her from her bed...to heal another guest? If anyone believed that, they would wonder why you didn’t knock; and when she answered, then request her assistance. You will not bully Abiene again. She is my guest, staying here in my suite to treat my charge. If she chooses to and is not busy, she is free to treat others as well; but it is her choice. You won’t force your way in here again, or drag her out to treat your guests again. I suggest Bograk or her boy be the only ones we deal with till our stay here ends, do we understand each other?”

Bograk’s thudding steps could be heard ascending the stairs. The Redguard glanced smugly toward the atrium, his look as much as saying Bograk would be throwing Eyja out.

Eyja quickly untwisted the waist of the towel so now it hung loosely like a bulky sack around her. She yanked it over her breasts and re-crossed her arms, but higher up so they now covered her breasts almost completely. When the Redguard turned back his eyes started in surprise. Eyja had tears streaming down her face, her expression frightened; and her stance modest and protective of her virtue.




***





Bograk took one look at her and turned to the Redguard. “What is going on here?”

“She had her door locked, I couldn’t get in. Look at the way she’s dressed! I saw her breasts, she can’t deny it!”

Eyja spoke up tearfully. “It was horrible! I was bathing, and he broke in with his Khajiit friend; just like last night! I didn’t have time to do anything but grab a towel for cover, they burst through the door by force. Last night after midnight he...”

She pointed at the Redguard, then quickly wrapped her arms back around herself modestly, though the now-raised towel showed no cleavage at all.

“He crept in here and dragged Abiene forcibly from her bed, he says to treat another guest at the Inn. She was well bruised on the arm when she returned. Abiene is a paying guest by my proxy; staying in my suite to treat my friend; is under my protection. We are three women, alone and defenseless. Of course I sealed the door against another such attack.”

Eyja lay her hand on Bograk’s arm in appeal. “You saw how critically ill my friend was. Abiene is performing surgery on her. We must limit germs, and she must have complete quiet. Abiene may be willing to help another guest while my friend is in recuperation if requested by you or little Lleris; but I won’t have men coming in our bedchambers at will while we sleep, nor dragging any of us out when he chooses.”

Bograk patted her hand, glaring at the Redguard.

“It won’t happen again; will it, Riad? I offer apologies on his behalf, Miss. You can seal your door, and just let us know if you need anything. It’ll be just myself or Lleris you’ll see from here out, and we‘ll knock and wait an answer. I‘ll take another ten percent from your bill for this disturbance.”

“Thank you, Bograk. I hope my friend does as well as your Lleris has, he looked so well when we returned.”

Eyja stood in the door and watched as Bograk all but shoved the Redguard down the hall and up the stairs to the attic.

As she started to turn back to the room she saw that overstuffed gate guard with the onion breath heaving himself up the stairs; the one she had stood up for a date when Abiene first became ill. He saw her and pointed.

“Stop right there, criminal scum!”

What in hell was this all about? Eyja twisted the towel at the waist quickly and yanked the towel low so her breasts bulged out the top of the towel and it form-fitted her shape again. She had her eyelids dropped halfway down in a sultry look before he labored up to her, pulling a set of shackles from his belt.

Eyja looked up through her lashes at him, her eyes roving hungrily over his overfed body as if looking at a juicy steak.

“Ooh, what strong arms you have; I’ll bet you could just toss me right up in the air with no problems! And here I am in just a towel. Maybe we should slip into my bedroom here...I mean so you can tell me what I’ve done to get on my beau’s bad side. We had a date, remember? You stood me up, I’ve waited here all this time for you.”



*

Abiene

A commotion sounded from the room adjacent to the hall. Abiene resolved to sleep in the extra bed upstairs hereafter. A third disturbance from that quarter would be too much.

“Will you go see what Maxical wants?” asked Eyja. “I’ll handle this.” The Nord woman turned away, raised an arm, and was suddenly altogether naked.

Abiene wasted no time checking for Seth’s reaction, though she imagined that Eyja’s display might put an expression on his face. She darted up the stairs to Maxical, sliding her instruments behind a chest as she passed. Showing a collection of blades to a patient was not a good way to put them at ease.

“I’m here, Maxical,” she called. A moment later she was seated on the bed with Maxical’s hand in hers, gently feeling her forehead.

With Abiene
________________________________________

Sethyas looked stunned.

"I can't." replying as he admired the skill.

"If she needs the procedure, she need the procedure." he shrugged. "Especially if the injuries will make it a slow, painful death, better to get it over with. Apologies if that sounded insensitive, but that is how I see it."

"She may have some of her own words to share before it, however. If she is in full faculties, and refuses it I would respect that choice. Whatever her reason." He shrugged.

Suddenly, Eyja came barging down and told them too recognize the scent of the bedpan she was holding. He doubted he'd ever be able to forget it. J'Dhannar had smelled much the same.

"ABIENE! ABIENE! HURRY!” Maxical cried.

He blinked, uncertain as to where he was needed or what he should do.

It's too early for this. I'm finishing this coffee before any more misadventures, damn it. If I'm going to die for these people, it's going to be wide awake with one less regret of missing this wonderful concoction. He thought crankily.


Suddenly Eyja began giving him a look in response to the banging on the door.

We *just* sat down to breakfast five minutes ago! What is it *with* this Inn?!

Still, he let her handle it her way, as he sat down and listened in.

Sethyas did everything in his power to not guffaw out loud.

Alone and defenseless?! By all the gods, I should be asking that Redguard for protection from you!

She finally negotiated the situation to her liking, with a nice ten percent discount too boot.

Not bad. Not bad at all. He thought, finally reaching the last sip.

Now too check on Maxical and Abiene. He thought.

“Stop right there, criminal scum!” a stalwart cry came from down the hall.

Sethyas stopped right before the stairs, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

I will murder you and then pay the fine. He thought darkly.

I will walk too my room, count out one thousand drakes, stab you from stem to sternum, carry your body to the local magistrate, dump it and my fine in front of him and say: "Sorry!".

He changed direction to help Eyja if needed, but staying at an angle in the room where only she could see him.

*

Maxical:


Maxical wanted to sit up so she would look more effective for what she was about to say, but each attempt brought excruciating pain in her stomach. Abiene's face showed concern when she saw Maxical's stressed state.

"Abiene, I am your patient, and Eyja is not my mother. By law I am fully nineteen years old, but my age was guessed at wrongly for my documentation. I am actually fully twenty-two. The decision for medical treatment does not lie with Eyja, but with me."

She looked Abiene in the eye steadily as she talked.

"I want you to fix my stomach, and whatever that finger thing you were talking about doing was...will you do it? I want to be whole again. But before you do, there is something even Eyja doesn't know about my health. A necromancer took me at age five and put a soul inside me, one he treasured. Eyja knows about that, but what she doesn't know is that he stuffed me with thousands of fragments of souls to protect that one soul, to disguise its presence. Each of those fragments contains its own magicka, that is why my level of magicka is so outrageously high."

Maxical paused. "I will tell you how it was told me by another necromancer who befriended me. The soul fragments bond together inside me and create something called Chaos Bane. It is a form of shadow damage that can destroy anything within 20 yards. It is why I can't heal; why I can only conjure hostile Daedra no matter what I cast; and why my destruction magic is volatile and unstable. It's also the reason I can't aim; everything is geared toward an area. No matter if the spell is from the Arcane Arts, it becomes converted; or maybe the correct word is perverted. It becomes destruction magic that comes from the Dark Arts, not the Arcane. You saw it in action when that bolt hit Earana."

She took Abiene's hand. "Arch Mage Traven has been my physician since I was a child. When I learned what was wrong with me from the necromancer who did this, I never told Hannibal. You yourself know why, his stand against necromancy. He would insist it be removed or I'd lose his friendship."

She pulled Abiene's hand to her cheek and looked into her eyes so she'd see the pain it had caused her as she continued.

"I lost my parents, all my memories of them and my life when they put that soul in me. That one soul became a part of me, and when I was twenty the necromancer she was hidden from removed her. I lost both my husbands to him. These fragments...necromancy or not, they belong to me now; they are all I have that is familiar in my life. I don't want to lose another thing. I want them left there, even if you find you can take them. Will you...will your beliefs allow you to do that for me?"



*

Abiene

Maxical’s words tore at Abiene’s heart. Abiene had always known the comfort of home, that she was and always had been loved. No matter how much tension there was between herself and her mother, how far her sister would go to tease and compete, they were there for her if she needed them. Abiene took pride in building her own life, but she knew that she started on solid rock while others struggled in shifting sand.

And to lose two husbands… Abiene knew how it felt to have her heart divided, but not to lose all hope. She could remember the scent of his hair, the heat of his skin, and she ached to hold him again. The thought of never again hearing that voice or seeing the light in those eyes was too much to bear. And every day Maxical bore it.

“I’ll heal you, Maxical, and I’ll restore your body to health. Don’t worry about me disturbing your souls. However they got there, they’re with you now. I might have drawn from your magicka in healing you, but now I won’t take the risk. You have my word, and you have my discretion.” She leaned forward and hugged Maxical gently against her chest, confident that unlike Eyja she would not cut off Maxical’s air supply with her bosom. Then she laid her back down on the bed.

“Let’s arrange the sheet like this, so I can lift your shirt up without leaving you overly exposed. Lie still for just another moment, and soon you won’t feel any pain. After I examine you I’m going to go get Sethyas to help with a potion. I want to be sure I have enough magicka to free you from this pain.”

First Abiene cast her spells of preparation, fortifying her magicka pool and regeneration as well as the one that temporarily lowered the drain of her Restoration spells. Then she placed her palms on Maxical’s belly wound.

Now that she knew what she was looking for, the Welkynd stone shards were not difficult to find. They appeared as empty spots in Maxical’s flesh rather than as the solid objects that they were. Small bits were festering just under the skin, but two larger fragments had been driven deeper. Abiene decided to use her debride spell on the surface grit after she resolved the deeper wounds. Then she could close and sterilize at the same time.

The organ damage would be impossible to completely assess until she had entered the healing trance. She knew she would need more magicka than her body held. The restoration would come last. Abiene stopped herself from thinking about what would come after.

Abiene scuffed her bare heels on the floor as she came up behind Seth. She was fairly certain he had heard her on the stairs, but Eyja and the inn’s staff were creating quite a racket and Sethyas was not a man one wanted to surprise.

They had talked about the potions she might need over coffee. Paralysis to hold Maxical still and one to put her to sleep, then something to dispel the effects in case Abiene was no longer able. She was sure Seth knew a dozen ways to accomplish those feats, so surely a few would be non-lethal.

Sethyas was standing in a way that suggested subterfuge. He turned his head and looked at her. Rather than speaking Abiene raised her eyebrows and glanced back and up indicating the suite’s upper level, then made a drinking motion. At least that’s how she hoped it appeared.

There was no point trying to talk behind Maxical’s back, the Khajiit could hear a mouse belch in windstorm. Besides, it would be disrespectful. Maxical was only three years younger than Abiene. She walked back through the kitchen and back up to Maxical.

*

Eyja:

Eyja pushed the door shut and latched it, squeezing her eyes tightly to fight off the nausea for what she was about to do. She swallowed it down hard, then forced a teasing smile on her face as she turned back to the gate guard.

He had seated himself on the bed, beads of sweat already appearing on his upper lip. Eyja felt the gag in her throat and swallowed hard again.

She leaned over so her breasts bulged before his face, reaching out with one hand and tickling his ear; then nearly vomiting when she felt crusts of waxiness.

"Now, what could your little Eyja have done, is it a crime to bathe at this inn? Because since I woke, that is all I've done."

He tried to paw at her and she stepped back. "First things first. What have I been accused of?"

His irritation at the interruption didn't reach his sweat glands, they continued oozing droplets.

"A noble woman claims someone threw stinking cat piss on her head while she walked behind the inn in the night. The manager here said you had a Khajiit in your room, the only one at the inn."

"The manager, is he a Redguard man named Riad? Because he just broke in my room with a huge black male Khajiit, you can ask the Proprietor. He must be protecting his friend. I do have a female Khajiit here, who is bedridden and having surgery performed on her; but I'm sure I don't have to tell someone as intelligent as you that female cat pee smells no different than any human's. It is the male Khajiit that have that strong odor in their pee, everyone knows that. If you'd like, you can inspect the urn in her room, you will find everything she has done and no odor stronger than even I would leave behind."

"No need for that, not part of my job description to go inspecting urns. Arresting is what I do."

She ran her fingers through his hair and encountered more sweat and a filmy feeling of grease. "How exciting it would be for me to be watching out the window and see you performing your official duties...arresting someone. You can't imagine how much. I'd think about it every minute till I saw you next."

Sweat was pouring down his neck in rivulets, the hot stench of his armpits reaching her nostrils. His breath was blowing out in heated gusts of onion, and his eyes kept darting down toward the head of the bed.

"My friend the healer is performing a surgery on the other side of that door, or we could...right now. I sure hope I get to see it when you catch the person who did that to that poor woman. I wonder why she was walking behind the inn at night? I'd be terrified, escpecially with that old ruin back there. I always picture some wild beast will charge out of it and bite me."

She tugged him up by the hand and deftly avoided the arms he tried to wrap around her.

"It sure makes me feel safe to know you are protecting us helpless women here at this inn. When my friend is out of the woods after this surgery, maybe I can show my gratitude a little better. I'd better go check on her."

Eyja nearly pushed him out the door as he fought for a kiss, shutting it almost on his arm and sealing it. She turned, leaning her back against the door and shaking uncontrollably; her breath coming in ragged gasps.

She swiped at the tears burning her eyes with the back of her hand, but her hands reeked of the guard. Her skin felt like it crawled with his grease, his odor. A bath. She needed a bath.

Eyja pushed herself off the outer door and ran toward the suite access, for the first time noticing it gapped. Just the barest crack, but beyond it the shadow of an outline. Seth. How much had he seen? The shame and revulsion...or all of it.

Eyja pushed by him without a word and ran to the tub, yanking off the towel and not even heating the water before she dropped into it and started scrubbing her hands and arms, her breasts, her face and neck; scrubbing till the skin became red and raw from it.



*

"Eyja." Sethyas spoke in low tone in the distance between them.

"Just listen, I'll say what I have to say, then I'll leave you alone." he sat down, resting his back to the wall. His eyes traced patterns in the stained wood of the rafters.

"I have to tell you: You remind me so much of my own sister. Plus that wound we share with them being gone; it never gets easier. Each day with it, is just another day we won't have to spend with them."

"Things are pretty bad right now, anyone can see that. Maxical's hurt, Abiene's poisoned, and your making yourself into something you don't want to be to protect them. I know how that feels. I never wanted to do what I do, but I chose it all the same."

"Because the hardest thing to do sometimes, is too move forward. You take the best of your available choices and you keep moving forward. We did this not just because we were willing to take on this burden, but because we couldn't stand the sight of those we love suffer."

"I'm not going to tell you how you should feel right now. Gods know I've done things I'll never be proud of, and I will carry that shame with me to the grave. Yet, at the same time I know I'll do them again, and again because the people that need us, need to move forward. And at the end of all this, we'll come out on top. We will win, because the person next to us picked them up and moved them forward."

"What you did; what you've done. It doesn't taste right, and you know the price you have to pay. But you knew you were the only one that could do it. To get to the end of this, we need to take our steps. We'll take those steps wherever we can find our footing. If we have to step over the bodies, fool the guards, find the malefactors,...we're going to take that next step and we're going to help the person next to us take it. We refuse to die, we will fight through this and we will win."

He stopped and took a deep breath.

"That's all I wanted to say. You do what you need to do, and when you need me; when you need my help to take that next step, I am here."

He stood up, and looked over at Abiene.

"Let's take a look at Maxical, shall we?" He said grabbing his alchemy satchel, and walked up the stairs.

*

Seth words soothed, a balm to that recognition between them.

Some...probably most assassins have long since killed that side of them that cringes in shame and cries at what they've done or wanting to scrub the necessity of it from their souls. Many become as cold and hard as the graves they send their marks to.

Eyja had sought that coldness within herself and never been able to find it. She would have bedded that man if she had to, and done it as many times as needed; had bedded a lot worse when the job called for it.

Very few would have known she would keep doing that as many times as needed, and worse if the job called for it; nor understood what it cost her each time.

Seth called it moving forward...it was. Moving forward with whatever it took, and no matter the cost. Love for Cytherea drove her into this life, survival kept her in it.

"Do what is needed to get the job done." She whispered.

Like Seth said, the love didn't ease in time. Her sister was as much a part of her now as she'd been in life. That love was a barrier against the cold hardness of her job taking her over as it had so many.

She didn't want to reach a place where what she did didn't eat away at her. It was the only way she knew Cytherea still existed somewhere, on some plane. It was the only way she knew Eyja still existed somewhere on this one.



Eyja dried off with a clean towel, kicking her form fitting towel to the wall as she stepped out of the tub. She'd wash it later, right now she couldn't stand to look at it.

After she'd brushed her teeth Eyja pulled out the pair of Arena scrubs Maxical had given her last Saturalia; light cotton pajamas for lounging that were the antithesis of sexy. The vee of the loose top barely showed her neck, and the bottoms were just as baggy, tied at the waist with a thick string.

Somehow Maxical had understood that after jobs like this she wanted to get as far away from what she had to do as possible. She couldn't have given a better gift.

Eyja buttered the last crust of Seth's homemade bread and cut herself a wedge of the cheese, then washed it down with another cup of Maxical's coffee before heading up the stairs to join the others. She had no doubt she had guessed accurately why Maxical called Abiene instead of herself.

Abiene's expression was of one hoping there wouldn't be a scene, Maxical's was a stormy look that said there'd better not be one. Seth's was one of kind understanding. Maxical had his hand tucked in hers, she trusted him as much as Eyja did.

Eyja surrendered her protective qualms. Maxical was of legal age now, it was just hard to remember that when she'd just seen her nearly dead.

"Where do you want me, and what can I do to help?"




*

Maxical was alert, and her eyes took in the sight of the strange Dunmer that had entered into their lives like a shadow. There was nothing that appeared kind about him. His eyes were red like all Dunmer, more accentuated than most, with his dark tattoo that marked him so clearly as Mephala's.

His expression was one that was eternally taciturn. It held all he saw, knew and thought in an unshakeable confidence. Once smelling of the brandy, he now smelled like her favored morning drink of coffee, and the unmistakable scent of hackle-lo. Very much like sage, it grew abundantly in the Bitter Coast and the Grazelands of Morrowind.

The herb was pleasant and vivacious, yet relaxing in it's overall makeup. She inhaled it deeply, letting it carry her to memories of better days. She felt a strong hand take hers, and the low rasp of a Dunmer began to talk.

"Hello, Maxical. Abiene's asked for my assistance in her procedure. Admittedly, this falls outside my normal job description: I am an antithesis to Abiene's profession. However, that also affords me knowledge comparable to hers. She's going to need some time to prepare, and once she begins, I'm going to need to paralyze you." he spoke slowly and enunciated slightly, just to make sure she was properly informed.

"I have various elixirs that can do this, with no permanent or ill effects. You will be returned to your normal state, and it can be done quickly. I also have various pain-killers that I can use, if Abiene approves. I don't know which would be appropriate for this procedure, so I can't promise anything."

"Are you okay with this?" he asked as she opened her eyes and looked at the sound of Eyja walking back upstairs.

Maxical knew her better than he, and Abiene seemed to be concerned for a scene. Maxical looked like she wasn't going to let her.

Her skin was rubbed raw and red around the unusually sparse amount of skin showing, her face without makeup was certainly different. Yet, it contained a beauty in and of itself, like a portrait that had been sketched awaiting the hues of the painter to be applied.

Seth saw she had put the mask back on.

It took a great deal of inner strength to wear it. More than most possessed.

She was okay. For now.

"Where do you want me, and what can I do to help?" she asked like a soldier approaching a general.

Seth looked to Abiene. This was her show.

*

Maxical:


She had just finished shaking her head no at the pain killers when Eyja came in, and paused to make sure Eyja was not there to cluck like a mother hen. Eyja's words seemed to satisfy her. She turned back to Seth.

"Something to calm would help, but I don't want any medication for pain. It might weaken me, or dull my wits; and I have few enough as it is. My Arena training should hold me in good stead through the pain."

Maxical's look was directed at Abiene, but she squeezed Seth's hand to include him in what she was about to say.

"If I can be awake I'd prefer it, I've watched enough stab wounds repaired on myself that it doesn't make me ill; and I know to be still throughout. Sometimes our weakness broadcasts in the void, and enemies sense it and come in for the kill. I have some that watch for those moments, and materialize like ghosts at them. Seth is here to protect me, but some of those enemies are ones he can't live through the fight with. Eyja knows who I speak of. My order is this, if one comes; do not engage. The battle is mine to fight, I'll not lose a friend over it."

She tugged Seth's hand. "That includes you. The reason I want to be awake is, I can think inane thoughts to keep them at bay; and they not realize my weak state."

She nodded at Abiene. "That is for my protection, but you tell me what and I'll do it. I'm ready when you are."



*

Abiene

Abiene cut up a towel to improvise surgical garb. One piece tied around her head kept the curls out of her face. She flattened the loose gown against the front of her body and folded the extra behind her back, secured with another strip of towel. Two basins sat ready on the chest of drawers beside the bed, one filled with water and one empty to receive soiled articles. Extra towels neatly folded went within her easy reach. She lined up her magicka potions, always one more than the rules allowed. Sethyas spoke to Maxical while she worked.

Then Maxical spoke up against the pain medication. Abiene kept her eyes on Maxical though she wanted to confer with Seth. As Maxical said, this was her fight.

“I’ll need you to be still for the first procedure,” she told Maxical. “It will hurt for perhaps a minute and then I’ll stop before the next part. The restoration will be considerably more painful, and I can’t predict how long it will last. However if you move a little there should be no trouble.”

“Where do you want me, and what can I do to help?” Eyja asked. She seemed to have suffered an ordeal and passed through it.

Abiene spoke in her bedside tone, calm and confident. “Eyja this is the instrument I will use, if you would like to sterilize it. I don’t expect much bleeding but if you stand here with a towel we’ll be sure none gets on the bed. Seth, right where you are is good. I’d ask that you please monitor Maxical’s condition. Should she become too distressed during the restoration, make me stop. Punch me if you need to, I might not hear your voice.” She flashed a quick smile. “Don’t worry, I can heal it.

“I’ll have a beam of light under this palm,” she continued. “Please be certain that nothing gets under it. My tools are enchanted against the spell, but anything else that is not living tissue will be dissolved. Including fingernails. Certainly not dangerous, but it can be troublesome.”

She smiled down at Maxical, then looked up between Seth and Eyja. “When I’m finished with the surgery I’ll rinse my hands, take those potions, and begin the restoration. If you would like to help I could use your magicka. When mine runs out I’ll put out my hand, like this. Just take my hand. Let go when you’re empty. I’ll do the rest. Oh, it’s the spell Absorb Magicka, so it does no permanent damage. It can be upsetting though, so... Well, I was going to say don’t feel pressured to do it, but of course that’s how you must feel. Anyway, that’s the plan.”

Abiene closed her eyes for a moment. Only if it’s necessary, she told herself.

“Hmm, and I’ll be skating close to the line of overdose on my potions, so if something should occur don’t give me another one. Ready? Here we go.”

It had taken far longer to discuss than to execute the procedure. Abiene flattened her palm and passed the blade under it, bathing it in blue light. The fur and dried blood on Maxical’s belly misted away. Abiene’s awareness slipped inside Maxical’s body as she brought her hand down onto Maxical’s skin. The pain began to seep in. Blood vessels and muscle fibers loomed around her, and the deep stone fragments made great empty caverns. The knife, the Welkynd shards, and Maxical’s flesh all seemed to be parts of Abiene.

She moved with the swift confidence of simply knowing. Unexpectedly the stones dissolved into pure magicka instead of air. Abiene withdrew the blade, chasing it with her spell. Maxical’s wounds closed under Abiene’s light.

Abiene blinked until her eyes saw the room again. “That was part one. How are we doing?” she said.

Seth prepared a small tea-smelling concoction to help her stay calm. It wasn't much more than some plants and herbs that possessed qualities similar to the 'Calm' spell of illusion, but affected the user much more subtly than it, and with much less of a sudden 'drop' after the spell ended. Even he used it from time to time. It especially helped when those situations arose that he couldn't keep his hand from shaking. As rare as they were.

Sethyas watched with a clinical fascination and admired the skill. Abiene was quite confident in her realm. He also noticed how she had no tremor to her hands, and the way viscera did nothing to visibly shake her.

Another similarity we opposites possess. He thought wryly.

He knew a couple of very basic spells, such as 'Flame' or 'Heal' which any child of eight from primary school could do and usually were taught, and he'd once explored the College of Illusion, many decades ago. But his skill had withered to nearly naught over the years in favor of Alchemy.

She was more than welcome to any magicka he possessed.

He held her hand, and kept his other hand on Maxical's wrist to monitor her pulse, and kept an eye on her facial expressions to try to determine how resolute she really was. It was one thing to say that one could stomach being stabbed, and it was entirely another to have it done.

Regardless, despite the elevated vital signs, she kept her face and eyes forward into a sort of perfect calm. A Battle Trance almost.

You are one tough kitty. He thought in admiration. How you remind me of Ahnassi.

The Welkynd stone fragments dissolved into flitting light of pure magicka. His brows raised in a pleasant surprise. Even two centuries into life, and he could still see new things.

“That was part one. How are we doing?” Abiene inquired after seeming like she were a thousand leagues off.

"I'm good." He reported.

*

Eyja:

How badly she wanted to question Abiene about the patient she’d treated in the night; and whether she’d done a thorough healing since. She sealed her lips, realizing Maxical was in charge now. She just hoped whatever they had it couldn’t be spread to Maxical like that last disease had done.

Eyja was determined not to speak, but when Abiene indicated the scalpel for sterilization she jumped on it; moving quickly and silently to her pack.

She pulled an odd looking pot of a strange alloyed metal out, unhooking the latches on the lid of the pot and removing several towels.

“These towels are sterile, and overly absorbent. These are only to absorb in the wound itself.” She stretched one out and lay the others folded on it; then drew a flask of the same alloy out of the pot. She emptied the flask into the pot.

“Pure sterile water, the minerals removed.” She called over her shoulder.

She carefully positioned the scalpel on a wire mesh tray in the pot without touching any but the end of the hilt, then locked the lid back down and dropped a heavy metal cup of the same alloy over the high-pegged vent in the top of the pan lid.

Eyja squatted down and cast a fire spell under the pot. “The fireplace is only 375 degrees, this spell is almost 900.”

Within seconds the heavy metal cup on the top of the pot began dancing and hissing violently.

“This won’t take long.”

Eyja counted aloud quietly, then wrapped a regular dishtowel on her hand and lifted the pot off the hook over the fire and set it on the hearth. She lifted the heavy cup off and waited till the steam stopped hissing before unlatching the lid.

She counted down the seconds and then cast a frost spell on the scalpel. Lastly, she grabbed one of her sterile towels and lifted the scalpel out by the hilt with it, laying it on the stretched out sterile towel.

“It will feel both cold and hot for a full minute, if you can wait to use it. But there isn’t a germ alive that could live through that.”


She stood near the sterile towels as Abiene had instructed, trying to keep her face and voice from showing her nervousness as glanced over at Abiene.

“If you need me to do anything...just give me orders. I don’t say that often, so take advantage if you have any need.”




*

*

Maxical:

Maxical gripped the cloth of Seth’s shirt, and was glad she hadn’t clutched his hand when she felt the material tearing under her claws that had unsheathed instinctively with the pain.

She tried to think inane thoughts in case Malan had sensed her weakness of the last few days and was already seeking her out; whispering them quietly to herself.

Dear gods Eyja’s breasts are huge. I wonder if that comes from all the mating? Mine are flat as a man's, so it’s probably why.

Geez, Hal-Liurz must mate every hour for hers to be so big.

Maybe they grow bigger if you mate a big man, or don’t grow as much if the man is short.

I wonder how big Dwemer breasts were? Where did they really go?

Do minotaurs come from mixing Orc with cows? Ew, that’s disgusting!

If a cow ate a wolf and then mated, would he have puppies?

I wonder how many times Divayth Fyr has mated in his lifetime?

If a horse mating only produces one baby horse, what if they poured Skooma on his oats? Would he give birth to a litter?

Do mud crabs mate? Would they do it by climbing on from behind or facing each other? Wouldn't their claws get in the way?

I wonder how slaughterfish do it?

Chickens can’t mate, or I‘d have seen it...



*

Abiene

Abiene spent a moment washing her hands and loosening her gown again. She downed her potions, the magicka flowing through her in a welcome rush. Then she knelt on the floor beside the bed. It was easy to lose one’s balance when the body forgot which way was up.

“You’re doing great,” she said, picking up Maxical’s hand and brushing it against her lips. “Let’s finish this.”

She closed her eyes so they wouldn’t get too dry. Then she began.

This time she did not feel any pain. Her spell didn’t work with Maxical so much as on her. Abiene’s mind moved through Maxical’s body, directing the parts to reconstruct themselves. Maxical could have been some dead thing under Abiene’s hands, growing as she was meant to be but driven by Abiene’s will. The sense of control slowly gave way to a thrill of power.

And there was such power. Maxical’s soul fragments were a blinding sun inside her. Abiene felt drawn toward it. To make it hers.

Maxical’s liver became plump and whole.

You could make some small improvements.

Shriveled vessels throughout her kidneys inflated as they began to function again.

Guided by your will her body would be stronger for her fight. Try it. Just a little.

Her ruined lung regrew in a way that could never have been healed.

What are you afraid of? With this much power you could give her wings!

Abiene’s free hand snapped closed and then opened again. There was no more magicka for her to absorb from the others. And she refused to touch those souls. For Maxical’s sake, and for her own.

For a long moment her mind was still.

You know the other way.

A spell once taught at the Arcane University but long ago banned in Cyrodiil. Healer’s Bane, they called it. The end of so many young mages. In Skyrim it was known as Equilibrium.

Abiene drew the spell into her hand. She knew a ball of red light would flicker around her fingers as she continuously cast. She had seen it when Darnand demonstrated, just back from the north and full of ambition. Then once after, trembling with wonder and revulsion as she explored her limits.

Abiene’s magicka filled as her life’s energy drained, converted by the Equilibrium spell. Maxical’s body bloomed under Abiene’s command, her internal workings as healthy as a child’s.

Not too far...

Abiene’s heartbeats came slow and heavy, strong enough to shake her bones. Or was her body just that frail? She couldn’t tell, and it didn’t matter. She let go of the Equilibrium spell and poured the last of her magicka into Maxical. Relief mixed with triumph and a curious sorrow.

She slumped against the side of the bed, forehead resting on her outstretched arm. What was this sense of failure? Maxical was restored and she had resisted temptation, those battles she had won. Yet a part of her wished that she had given in to the lure of that power. She had failed to take the opportunity.

Abiene felt sick, shaken by the turn of her thoughts.

“It’s done,” she said.

*

Maxical:

Pain intensified Maxical's mind, honing it through Abiene's healing till she felt a oneness with her. Maybe that is the way it is supposed to work, but she'd never felt that before in a healing.

Abiene had been exhilarated, wavering on the same borders Maxical had faced a year ago. Power is a lure that draws even the quietest souls into its grasp and shows what they could have; if only.

As terrible a necromancer as everyone thought Mannimarco, it was he that talked her out of crossing that border.

Maxical wasn't hungry, and didn't know if she even could eat yet; but she wanted a moment alone with Abiene.

"Eyja, fix me something to eat, I'm hungry. Is there any more of that bread Seth made?"

"No, I ate the last bit. I'll make you a plate of your favorites." She hurried out. Maxical didn't remember seeing Seth leave, but her wrist had been dropped. She no longer clutched his shirt, but couldn't remember releasing it.

She took hold of Abiene's hand and rubbed it on her cheek. Instead of her own words, she quoted Mannimarco's to her that day.

“It falls hard on one’s heart to relinquish power, once one tastes it. Do you not find it so, my dear friend?"

She kissed Abiene's hand and continued.

"Those aren't my words. They were spoken to me by the most reviled necromancer of the last four Eras. Mannimarco said them to me. A year ago I had to make the same choice you just did. That power makes you feel more alive than any sensation that ever came before; and just for a second in your mind it is easier to grasp than it is to turn away. But crossing that border links you with that other realm."

She shifted closer to Abiene and lowered her voice.

"I had no choice for what was done to me as a child, that power you found in me. It was forced on me, and now I don't want to lose the last remnants of what has been there all my life. But a year ago I had an opportunity that would have opened up to me unbelievable power, enough to make this a mere pittance in comparison. For a second I tasted the dream of holding that power in my hands, as you just did. I had to make that same choice. You have to be willing to bury the part of you that cringes in horror. For me, I couldn't bury it deep enough. There are some of us that just aren't meant to cross those lines."

Maxical rolled over and hugged Abiene. "Thank you, Abiene. Thank you."

As she pulled back she saw a large area of pink flesh on her stomach that should have been covered in white fur.

"GAAAAH! Where's my fur?"



*

The Shadow returned to the kitchen, sensing his minimal role in this procedure was over. These three knew each other, he barely did. Best to let them have their post-session catharses and discussions.

He started looking over the larder and grabbed various ingredients. He started to mix various things into a pot adding water. Vegetable stew was easy enough.


"Eyja, fix me something to eat, I'm hungry. Is there any more of that bread Seth made?" He overheard.

It suddenly occurred to him he hadn't made Serene's masterpiece after her culinary expedition to Wayrest a couple of decades ago. Strawberry shortcake. He went to work on some of the flour.

If this is all she eats, perhaps she'd appreciate it in a different form. He thought whipping the cream with a certain zest.

In a corner of his mind, his wife stood at the doorway looking at him performing such a uncharacteristic task in a distant memory. The first time she'd stopped by Ilmeni and his house, he'd been sprucing the place up with a broom, and she couldn't but help to be shocked for a good half an hour afterwards.

I'm old. Older than most. Even most Dunmer don't live as long as I have, much less look this good for 230. It's really not so strange that I'd pick up hobbies here and there, would it?

He went over the strange events in his mind. An assassin. Another assassin protecting this assassin from that assassin. Assassinating that assassin. Needing a cure for a poisoned healer. Finding a missing charge kidnapped by a battlemage. Killing an Orc, twice. Killing the battlemage. Recovering Khajiits. Performing an esoteric form of healing and medical procedure on recovering Khajiits. Providing potions for skooma addiction.

Am I missing anything? He wondered. Probably.

He put the shortcake mix into the pan and let it bake as he stirred the stew, adding a pinch more of salt.

Now we can probably focus on Abiene's troubles more. That woman is selfless to a fault. That admirable trait will get you killed someday. He thought wryly.

Mopey Abiene

Maxical snapped Abiene out of her spiraling thoughts. Her voice sounded strong with a wheedling edge. “Eyja, fix me something to eat, I'm hungry. Is there any more of that bread Seth made?”

Eyja bustled out. Sethyas seemed to have simply evaporated.

Abiene crawled up onto the bed with Maxical. It was a relief to turn her attention fully outward again.

Maxical spoke of her own trials, limitless power, and an ancient necromancer. “You have to be willing to bury the part of you that cringes in horror,” she said. “For me, I couldn't bury it deep enough. There are some of us that just aren't meant to cross those lines.”

It’s that horrified part that keeps me from crossing, thought Abiene. I don’t want to put a name to the rest of it. Still, Maxical’s words brought a world of comfort. She felt a bond of understanding grow between them.

Abiene’s stomach rumbled as they embraced. It was not a growl of hunger.

Uh oh.

“GAAAAH!” shrieked Maxical. “Where's my fur?”

A large pink patch of skin showed in the white fur over her abdomen.

“Oops!” cried Abiene. “I forgot to— Oh, my stomach!” She clutched at the cramp in her middle, a loud sound announcing the source of her distress.

Mother Mara, I ate all of that Shepherd’s Pie!

“Maxical, please forgive me… ugh, I need the urn!”

Abiene hiked up her skirt and ran, taking position in the nick of time. Her lower digestive system had emptied before she could push the door shut.

“By the Nine,” she moaned, bracing an arm against the wall. Sweat broke out on her face. “Did Eyja seal this window?” The spell scroll was still on the table downstairs. Gods, thought Abiene. No wonder Master Selvilo didn’t want me at the chapel.

“There is no cause for alarm!” she called out in case anyone was fool enough to crack the door open. “At least we know Seth’s potion is working!”

Sethyas' shoulders shook as he laughed as quietly as he could.

She's doing just fine. He thought. And perhaps I was a little thick on the goat cheese.

He took the pan off the fireplace, and let the shortcake start cooling.

Vegetable stew indeed. He glanced at the pot and gave it another swirl, and tasting it.

As Eyja entered, he smiled at her disgusted expression.

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to deliver good Abiene one more potion, would you? I have a remedy for her...condition. I should have warned her to take it easy on eating while the body purged itself." He said pulling out a small vial that was a bright pink.

He lit one more Hackle-Lo. "And give her this as well. It's more for our benefit than hers, but she doesn't need to know that. The smoke will eliminate any other...vapors in the air."

OOC: Mopey Abiene indeed! ROFL!

*

Maxical:

The fear of feeling pain when she moved kept her still for the first few mintues after Abiene left, but the lingering afterscent of her obvious digestive distress was too much to bear. The thought of Seth coming back upstairs and thinking she had done it was the deciding factor in her attempting to get out of bed.

She rolled to her side carefully, gripping the bed's edge. No pain. She pushed her legs over the edge and let them dangle. No pain. How did Abiene do it? Even after Hannibal's treatments or surgeries she'd felt pain.

Lastly, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. No pain. Maxical tested her legs, her hand out to grab the nightstand if they didn't hold. They held, though standing made her head feel a little woozy.

Abiene had fully healed her, as if the wound had never existed...and Malan hadn't come. She was safe for now. Oddly, the hungering for the cream was gone too. Had Seth's potion worked that well, or had Abiene's healing cured the addiction too?

The lightheadedness was probably from laying around for so many days, she wasn't used to being idle. Maxical moved carefully, holding onto the bed and then the dresser, then the wall and banister railing; afraid the dizziness would have her tumbling down the steps and she'd be sent back to bed.

She worked her way quietly to the kitchen where all the noise was coming from, holding on to solid surfaces as she went; and was shocked to see Eyja sitting in a chair watching while Seth bustled around cooking.

Instead of disrupting them, she slid silently into the overstuffed bench chair by the door inside the kitchen and did exactly what Eyja was doing, watched Seth cook.

There was a rapport between them, as if they'd known each other longer than they legitimately had. Seth lit a hackle-lo and gave it to Eyja with a grin. When she heard it was to clear the air for Abiene, Maxical nodded, and broke her silence just before Eyja turned to leave with the hackle-lo in her hand.

"Yes Eyja, please."

"What are you doing down here? You get back to bed this instant!"

"I can't, I was forced from my room by Abiene."

"She told you to come down here?"

"In a manner of speaking. What has she been eating? Whatever it is, it has made her teeth and lips black."

"She's been eating charcoal, and don't you dare mention the black teeth to her, Maxical. She doesn't know, and I'd like to keep it that way."

Eyja left the kitchen, holding the hackle-lo awkwardly and waving it in front of her.

"What are you making, Seth?"





*

Seth looked up with a bemused glance at Maxical.

"Eyja told me that all you eat is strawberries and sweetbread. Then you spoke of having cream as a treat as a child. It reminded me of this recipe I learned from my spouse a while ago. It's from High Rock, Wayrest specifically. Strawberries and shortcake, with whipped cream. Quite delectable in it's own right, haven't made it in some time. That and some vegetable stew, both are rather simple and quick." he replied.

He went back to his work, but continued speaking.

"You've been through quite a bit over these last couple of days. I wonder: How are you doing?" He asked, his voice clearly implying the skooma, but also her general state.

He nodded as he heard her report.

"You're quite fortunate to have a friend in Eyja as well. She is...very skilled." He smiled.

*

Maxical:


She hadn’t really been hungry, just trying to get Eyja away so she could talk to Abiene for a second. But sweetcake and strawberries mixed? It sounded delicious.

The idea of cream after what she had just been through with the addiction was a little iffy, but when he whipped it up it rose into stiff white peaks that looked intriguing.

“Not exactly all I eat. I love grilled crab, but can’t eat it anymore. Khajiit can’t eat meat if they aren’t...breeding; it creates a hunger in us to mate. I actually like any fruit, strawberries is just my favorite. And I love anything sweet. Kind of odd diet for a trained athlete, but it works for me.”

She pulled herself up and moved carefully to the table, sitting in the chair Eyja had been in.

“Is there any coffee left? I‘m afraid I can‘t pour it myself yet, look...” She held up her hand and showed him the tremor.

She pointed to the cream and sugar after he lay a steaming mug in front of her, then started ladling spoon after spoonful of sugar into the coffee.

“Eyja is more than skilled, she is genius. Some time you should get her to tell you about the way she tricked her way into doing a purge on the Dark Brotherhood.”

She paused, looking up at him curiously.

“She is like a chameleon when she needs to be, but sometimes it upsets her when she has to. When I see her in those pajamas she’s wearing now, I know it was one of those times. What happened? I tried to eavesdrop, but couldn’t hear anything but muffled shouting from my bedroom.”


*