Tsurista: A Knights Tale
A Bad Start With a Worse Ending page 12
I squeaked indigently as I hit the floor and then again when I hit my head on the wall trying to avoid getting one of his feet in my face. Ash's eyes were almost alert as he sat fully up and looked at me.
"Damn it all Ash! I know the bed's small, but I just wanted enough room to not have to lay on the log rail." He growled something at me that I didn't understand and sat there with the blanket pooled around his hips.
I grabbed up my pack and took myself off to the bathing room to get dressed, having left my armor with the Inn Keeper's Wife who said she would wash out the lining and sponge the armored links for me. I took my time in the bath and then dressed in the armor that had been left on a hanger in the dressing room.
I was eating breakfast when Ash finally showed up to eat, but from outside, not our room. Getting tossed out of bed would be the best part of the next week.
There being no carriage service from Winterhold, you had to be lucky enough to catch one bringing supplies in to get out, we went back down the coast to Dawnstar and caught a boat to Solitude and then a carriage to Markarth.
We decided to walk through the reach, to see if it would be a good place for another Priory and perhaps a way-station for travelers, both for those of our order and those not. Not all our gold was donations, we worked for a living. We already knew a good way-station was needed between Winterhold and anywhere. While the Night-gate Inn was a great stop, you could only reach it from Winter-hold on a good day and only in the summer when the days were long, otherwise, it was a cold overnight unless one was well prepared.
We found a couple of likely places and headed on to Rorikstead, it was a very quiet trip most of the way back to Whiterun... I say most of the way. Something was on Ash's mind, but he wasn't speaking. I knew he was as disappointed as I was about finding nothing of use at the Mages College about the Cultists we had run into, but it seemed he was even more surly than ever.
Whiterun was in sight, close by to our left, the Western Watchtower within spitting distance, when I finally had enough. The tension between the two of us had gotten to the point where I could feel it in my head as a loud buzzing. I pulled Ash to a stop and then took a deep breath.
"What is wrong with you Ash? You're shutting me out and I don't even know why." He looked at me out of eyes that had gone almost silver, his lips a thin hard line. He looked down, then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
"Tsuri, the answer is staring you in the face, if you care to find it." With that, he turned away and started walking towards Whiterun. I blinked and then shook my head, throwing my arms in the air.
"What In Oblivion is THAT supposed to mean?!!" About the time I would have caught up to him, an arrow went whizzing by. Ash and I both stopped and looked up. What we had taken for Whiterun guards were in fact, bandits.
I summoned a Flame Atronach and then went in spells and sword swinging. Ash used his bow and sword to good effect. We cleared the outside of the fort, but realized after the first few rooms inside the Fort, that we would need more help clearing it.
We had not even made far past the Western Watchtower when we were stopped by the very Cultists that we had been trying so hard to find news of.
The battle with them was short and hard, we had the help of an Afflicted that had walked by about the time they stopped their very cliched spiel and just decided to "end my life for Lord Miraak".. well I wasn't the one that ended up cold in the ground. We did find a letter about how pleased Lord Miraak would be if they succeeded.
I tucked it in my pouch and watched as Ash ran off onto the Tundra.. sighing I followed. That ended in a good fight with a small swarm of Giant Tundra Spiders and a few wolves.
As we turned to walk away from the last of the Giant spiders, a Frost Dragon decided to attack us. I was tired and a bit irritated by then, Ash on the other hand seemed to be venting some kind of Ire on the the dragon.
It was late when we arrived in Whiterun and I saw the tel-tail red glow of a Vampires attacking. I summoned two flame atronachs from Oblivion and sent up a prayer to Akatosh that no townsman would find their way to Arkay this night. I heard Ash cursing as a Thrall swung his battle hammer at his head. This was not a short or easy fight, trying to keep the vampires away from the townsfolk was not made easier by them rushing in to "help", though thankfully the few that did, were well armed.
Ash and I visited the Temple of Kynareth and got a blessing to make sure that we had not been infected. I would have loved to have had it out with him, about what he meant, but I was too tired and all I really wanted was a soak in hot water, a hotter meal, and a warm bed. That at least I got, but in the morning Ash said we would head to the White River Priory and rest for a day, before going to Windhlem and catching a boat to Solstheim.
That was a busy week, writing letters to the head of our order and various other Priors who needed to know what was going on. I also wrote a letter to Adien, telling him about the cultist, that this Miraak was also another Dragonborn, and that if we failed, he would most likely have to deal with the man.
Most nights that week, I could only wish that I had Maya to talk to, I was not as worldly as her and I think perhaps I was too close to see whatever it was Ash thought I should be able to see clearly.
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