Carciel awoke feeling more refreshed than she had been in weeks. Maybe because she wasn’t really stressed. Sure, the end of the world as she knew it was coming but that wasn’t an immediate threat, and sure she still hadn’t settled things with Niyleen and still didn’t know how she would… but just knowing that Niyleen and Lucari were both safe just put her heart at ease. That and all those drinks from the day prior probably helped.

After light yawning and lightly stretching, she looked around and immediately felt all of the energy drained from her body. There was no one left, though she could figure out what had happened. More than likely Niyleen left first, probably so she could cope with leaving them so soon. Then Nyleine, after waking and trying to sneak to her sister’s side, probably saw that she was missing and decided that she didn’t need to be here either.

 

The Breton shook her head and sighed. “There were some things I wanted to ask too…” It was too late for regrets though. Carciel gathered some things, headed toward the exit, took one final look back, and with a sigh exited the lair.

 

 

 

Before heading out, Carciel decided to stretch. It was more to clear her mind rather than relax her muscles.

‘You should probably meet up with her again and ask for advice.’

 

“And just how am I supposed to do that?” The last time she spoke with her sister was when she felt that there was no one left on Tamriel that cared about her well-being. Although their methods and actions were not always to her liking, Carciel knew that the Halfling sisters had her back and ultimately meant right by her.

“It’s not like I can just wave my hands around,” she began doing the gesture. “And say, ‘Eolri I need to talk to you,’ and suddenly she’ll appear.”

She looked to the west and her heart sunk. “Besides, I don’t think she’d want to talk to me anyway… she is in the middle of the hunt…” Carciel remembered how annoyed Eolri seemed the last they spoke, and honestly didn’t want to see that again. “I don’t even have a bearing… Even Nyleine was given that much…” The Breton sighed and shook her head. The whole situation would have seemed bogus to her just one month ago, but now… she just wanted it to be done with.

 

Finishing her stretches, Carciel gathered her things and set off to the west. She may not have any sense of where she needed to go, but she knew that her sister never left the Reach. And so Carciel ventured off to find her sister and began to remember the feeling she once had when she and her sister would adventure around the reach before Eolri became Forsworn. Staying on the path, she passed an impressive fort, came across some wolves, saw some mammoths in the distance, and was forced to dispatch a few bandits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basking in the freshness of it all it was past midday when the Breton finally reached Rorikstead. She had planned on continuing on, but a rumbling in her stomach persuaded her otherwise, and thus after making sure that she had gotten most of the blood and dirt off of her Carciel headed straight for Frostfruit Inn.

 

The inn was surprisingly occupied, but the two individuals that piqued her interests were a young fellow and a man who Carciel presumed to be the Innkeeper. Disregarding her curiosity for the moment, Carciel immediately went to the innkeeper and dropped some coin—way more than was needed for just a room and some food—in front of him.“You’ve got a bath?”

“You like to play dirty huh?” When all he got was a scowl from her, the innkeeper took the money and said, “No baths, but we’ve got a room with a wash basin. Your privacy will be secured.”

(I bet…) Carciel glared at him for the less than proper bathing arrangements, but decided getting the filth off of her was more important than anything else. “Where?”

“In the back under the steps. I’ll look out.”

Carciel rolled her eyes and headed towards the cleaning area. “This is it?” she said making sure to keep her voice low. It wasn’t very private, but all things considered, it could be worse.

 

Undressing, Carciel made sure to place her clothes into the basket, and got into the basin. She took her time, making sure to clean herself thoroughly, and it wasn’t until she was sure that she was completely clean that she finished washing herself.

 

 

 

 

“That felt amazing,” she said as she stretched. She felt relaxed, even more so than she had felt earlier today. “Maybe this means good days are ahead? Now then,” she reached for her clothes, “…Wait what!?! My clothes!!!” She said that a bit louder than she meant to and she could have sworn someone had heard her, but there were no footsteps or murmurs directed towards her so she calmed for a second and tried to gather her thoughts.

 

Suddenly, she heard someone—a male—speak. “Yeah, give me a couple of minutes. I’m going to wash up real quick, then I’ll be ready for my next shift.”

 

(CrapcrapcrapcrapCRAP!!!) Carciel looked around but there was nowhere to hide, and it was only moments before she was caught. She went to grab her weapon to use for self-defense, but that too was missing. Seeing the curtain to the washroom flutter, she instinctively covered herself.

Moments later a huge uproar was heard from outside and a man walked into the washroom. “Oh I know it’s big ladies, but still—what the—”

The man locked eyes with Carciel and his face reddened. “H-hey gorgeous. Is all this just for me?”

Carciel instantly kicked the man as hard as she could and he went crashing into the wall falling unconscious.

 

Breathing heavily, she noticed who it was and flinched. (It’s that young man!) Suddenly she felt embarrassed. She had called him young, but she knew that he was all man from his physique.

 

(W-w-why is he nude!?!) She’d never seen a man naked before, and before she knew it was transfixed by it.

 

After a while, he began stirring and Carciel panicked. “I-Innkeeper! I need some help!!”

 

Seconds later the innkeeper came in and Carciel could only imagine what he was thinking by the look on his face.
Before he could speak, Carciel said, “Priavcy huh?” She walked right up to him and gave him a hard stern look.

 

“Someone stole my clothes and he,” she said pointing at the young man, “Came waltzing in with everything on display! Is this a joke? Because it’s not funny!”

“Hold on, hold on, my s—employee would never act like that willingly. He doesn’t have the spine to do it. Anyway, I’ll get you some fresh clothes, and I’ll get him out of here. Just—cover yourself will you?”

Carciel reddened as the innkeeper left with the young male in tow. Sighing, she sat down and couldn’t help but feel tired. (I was just relaxed earlier and now… I need a drink…)

‘You may want to begin drinking from this day forth.’ Nega’s words echoed in her ears.

 

Carciel gripped her head in pain. (Why did I remember that…)

The innkeeper slid some clothes under the door, and if her memory stood correct, Carciel knew what exactly what that outfit was. She sighed again. (Maybe two…)

After dressing, she exited the washroom and saw the young man moping on one side of the inn. Ignoring the whistles directed towards her, Carciel sat down on the wall opposite the boy.

 

As soon as her butt touched the bench she immediately heard, “So, what can I do you for, Miss? Assuming you’ve got the coin.”

 

Carciel noticed how jokingly he said that last part and rolled her eyes. “Some food, some weapons, and some wat—”

‘Eolrianna was almost always drunk, but her mind was ever so much more clearer when she was and it enabled her to draw forth powers that she didn’t even imagine she’d be able to.’

 

“Excuse me, Miss? Food, weapons and what?”

“I… wat… give me your finest ale or mead, and some water.” The Innkeeper grinned and proceeded to fix Carciel’s meal. Carciel looked at him thoughtlessly for a moment before sucking her teeth. (What am I doing listening to her…)

Carciel didn’t want to believe that Nega could possibly be right about this. She thought something was strange when she had felt fine—better than fine—after drinking so much, but for her to obtain some sort of profound clarity? By getting drunk? She wasn’t ready to believe that that’s the kind of person she truly was.

Moments later the Innkeeper came over and placed two bottles, and two daggers on the table. “The food will take a bit longer, but please, enjoy yourself,” the Innkeeper said with a smile. “I know it isn’t much and may not mean much after what’s happened to you, but I do take pride in my inn and the service provided. Give me a holler if you need anything. The name’s Mralki.”

The Breton nodded. “Carciel,” she said after taking a sip from the bottle of ale.

Mralki smiled again, this time it was gentler and seemed more genuine in a way. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” Carciel blushed at that and Mralki grinned. He then bowed and went back to tending to his other patrons and preparing her meal.

 

Carciel thought about taking a sip from her bottle when she froze. (Could I… read into his true feelings?)

Carciel sat back away from the bottle with wide eyes. “N-n-no way… T-that’s insane,” she said taking another swig from it. And another. And another. Each taste, each swallow was letting her perceive things about her surroundings that she couldn’t begin to fathom while sober.

 

(That boy…) Carciel began to think, feeling the effects of the alcohol take over. (That man, had to be related to Mralki. His son? Anyway, he seemed distressed about something… It’s clear that he’s mulling over what just transpired, but his face… it’s like a caged animal… longing just a nibble of freedom. Was Mralki keeping him here? To what end? The inn could be tended by the older man himself.

She took a long hard look at the Innkeeper and noticed something: fear, but of what? A son wanting to be freed from his parental cage, a father fearful…

 

 

Carciel turned from them and took another sip. “Haa… I’m probably just reading into things…”

“What do you mean, Miss?” said a boyish voice behind her. She turned and saw the boy staring right at her. “Reading into what?”

 

Carciel reddened. “I…” (I don’t have time for this…) Carciel took three big gulps from the bottle and looked at the boy sharply. “Get me another bottle,” she snapped. He seemed like he was going to dispute it, but the look in Carciel’s eyes dissuaded him from doing so, and within moments another bottle was in her possession. Carciel opened the bottle began downing it. “You’re good at taking orders and living by the rules of others. You’d make a terrible adventurer,”she said wiping her mouth.

 

 

“W-what!?! How dare you—”

 

Carciel stood up and pointed her one of her daggers at him. The inn fell silent.

 

“What are you doing!?!” Mralki shouted. He was about to rush her down when Carciel raised a hand to stop him.

“What would you do if I meant to strike you down with this dagger?”

“I… I’m unarmed—”

Carciel immediately tossed him the dagger, and swiftly reached out towards the other one on the table and pointed it at him. “You’re not unarmed now. So, what will you do? Attack? Kill? Hesitate?”

She looked at him and could see the sweat dripping from his brow. She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I’ve already killed you four times because of your hesitation. Why didn’t you act? Who said this was hypothetical? Because I will kill you.”

Be it by bravado or embarrassment, the boy swung the dagger at her and in a single motion Carciel broke it free from his grip with a single blow and planted the young man on his rear.

 

“I may be just a woman, but bandits and thugs along with a variety of wildlife, and all sorts of beings stronger than I are a very real part of adventuring. Your poor form and hesitation… you wouldn’t last past the end of the day.” Whispers were heard around the inn, but Carciel sat back down and ignored them.

“Y-you said your name was Carciel?” The Breton nodded without turning to him. “W-why would you… why would you tear down my dream l-like that?”

“You’re ruining the atmosphere! In more ways than one,” she said sharply making sure to take in every facial expression the man made. “Your father has a right to be fearful. You’ve no training and yet, you want to go out by yourself and adventure the harsh lands of Skyrim?”

She turned from him. “Forsworn would tear you apart in the west. Giants would flatten you to the east and further east you’d be easy pickings for bandits and thieves. Hell, I don’t even know if having a seasoned adventurer at your side with how you are now would help your chances.”

She looked at her bottle and scowled. “Now you’ve made me go and waste my drink on this… Go bring me another bottle!” A door slammed and Carciel sighed. The effects of the alcohol slowly dissipated.

 

 

(That… wasn’t me.) Carciel brought her knees up to her chest. (I was so tough, so straight forward, so… unrestrained. I don’t know if it was because of what happened earlier or because of the drinks, but I wasn’t speaking what immediately came to my mind, rather I was saying what he immediately needed to hear… in a way that—)

A plate and another bottle of ale was slammed onto the table so hard it almost made her jump. Carciel looked up and saw Mralki standing there with a mixed expression on his face. “You’ve done damage here stranger.”

 

Carciel shrugged. “I didn’t say or do anything that was unnecessary. Besides, it was payback,” she said as she began to partake in her meal.

“He’ll definitely try to run off now. ‘By the end of the day’? Weren’t you being a bit rough?”

 

“Rough?" Carciel put her food down and looked at the older man. “Look here, I’m not his mother. Besides, it wasn’t me who was rough on him, but you. I showed him his current weakness and how he would compare if he ever decided to waddle out into the wild as is. Not even giving him that much, it was you that was rough… Keeping him caged here like a damned bird…” Mralki raise an eyebrow. “Anyway, be a father to him. Go, tell him you’ll train him.”

“But I don’t want him to leave—”

 

“You said from your own mouth that he was going to try and run off,” Carciel snapped. “Train him. Make him be ready. Test him. And when you think it’s time, let him spread his wings and take flight from this prison you call home. He’ll love you eternally for this.”

“How do you know—” Mralki cut his words short seeing as Carciel was focused solely on drinking and eating. Something must have resonated with him because he gave her a key and immediately left behind his son.

 

It took her a moment, but when Carciel realized she was alone in the inn she stopped eating and simply blinked. (Huh? So this is the result of having wisdom beyond one’s years… Kinda nice.) She then continued to tear into her meal while deciding how she was going to spend the rest of her afternoon.