#mhari

Mhari gave Amalthea a firm pat before settling into her saddle, Belrand doing the same. As the sun started to peek over the mountains beyond, dressing the valleys with the first glows of morning light, they made their way across the magnificent Dragon Bridge, following the southern path among the towering pines.

"We'll stop to rest once we're farther south down the river, just shy of the half-way point," Mhari called behind her shoulder to Belrand, who gave a quick word of understanding.

The sky had begun to darken, and the stars began to speckle the sky as Mhari and Belrand approached a small stone bridge extending over a small branch of the Karth River. Mhari knew they were nearing the half-way point, but as they continued along the path, she noticed Amalthea growing steadily anxious, her ears perked up in high alert.

"Hold up!" Mhari signaled to Belrand.

"What is it?"

"Something's off," Mhari muttered under her breath, her eyes scanning their surroundings for anything out of the ordinary. "Keep your eyes peeled."

Belrand nodded and drew his sword, readying his other hand with the orange glow of a spell as he dismounted. Mhari followed suit, knocking an arrow in the string of her bow, the two horses following uneasily behind them. As they walked cautiously across the bridge, they noticed a wooden wagon at the side of the road. Mhari jogged closer before stopping in her tracks. The cart appeared to have been ransacked, any of the remaining contents strewn across the dirt. The horse that had been pulling the cart lay dead on it's side, three arrows protruding from it's neck. A Nord man in farmer's clothing was crumbled near the front of the cart, and a Redguard woman had seemingly been flung or dragged a few feet away; both bodies had been badly maimed.

"Gods..." Mhari gasped.

"This is a common sight on the roads of Skyrim these days," Belrand stated gravely, bowing his head. "With the guards and soldiers occupied with the war, the bandits may as well be running unchecked."

"I wonder who they were." Mhari frowned. The faces of the bodies were maimed badly enough that she could not make out any distinctive features.

"This is a merchant's cart; that much is clear. But beyond that, I'm afraid I couldn't tell you."

"Poor things," Mhari sighed, kneeling beside each body, whispering a quick prayer in respect.

"Look over there," Belrand pointed further inland to a small camp by the creek. "Perhaps these two had more travelling Companions; we should warn them that they may be in the presence of bandits. I'd hate to see this happen to somebody else."

Mhari and Belrand led their horses to the camp, but upon arriving, they found no one. Mhari investigated her surroundings while Belrand kept an eye out. The campfire that had been made was only mere embers, now. There were two leather and hide tents pitched side-by-side, with unused bedrolls tucked neatly within them. Mhari noticed a brown leather journal open near one of the tents and decided to read the latest entry.

"They're adventurers, from the looks of it. It says here they were investigating the attacks on the merchant wagons in the area, but..." Mhari continued to read, feeling her stomach drop at the remainder of the entry. "These people seem to doubt it was a mere bandit attack."

"Then what, I wonder," Belrand's expression grew grim as he, too, appeared to be uneasy at the notion. "Does it say anything else?"

"Says here they headed up the trail to investigate a cave nearby called Chillwind Depths, but..." Mhari set the journal down, looking at Belrand with concern. "They left here at dawn, and if they're not back, yet..."

"They may be in trouble," Belrand finished her thought, frowning as he folded his arms. "It would be wise for us to make camp for the night, but I don't know how well I'll sleep knowing that whatever slaughtered those merchants may still be nearby."

Mhari looked up the path that the adventurer had described in his journal and rose to her feet with a deep breath. "Then let's get this over with."

"Are you certain?" Belrand approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's normal to be scared, you know."

"Scared? I'm terrified!" Mhari's eyes met his, her face pale with fear. She steeled herself within a moment and took a deep breath before she continued. "But according to our map, we're liking miles away from any guards, and I wouldn't feel right just moving on if there's even a shred of a chance that these adventurers are still alive and waiting for help."

"Good on you, then," Belrand nodded in respect. He turned from her and faced the embers of the campfire, dusting the ashes into the palms of his hands. "It's not much, but I think we could use a little something to bolster our numbers just in case."

"What are you doing?" Mhari cocked her head in confusion as she watched Belrand summon his magic; her eyes widened with wonder and her jaw dropped.

The embers of the campire rose into the air and started to swirl in front of Belrand like golden torchbugs caught in a whirlwind; each ember popped, bursting into several more sparks, growing more and more numerous before they crashed back into the ashes with a blaze of magical flame and a bright flash of light. Mhari squinted for a moment, allowing her eyes to readjust when she gasped in delight. Where the ashes had been now stood a large flame in the shape of a dire wolf.

"That was incredible!" Mhari exclaimed, regarding the creature with amazement. "How did you do that?!"

"It's a conjuring spell," Belrand chuckled, dusting the ash from his hands as he rose to his feet. "Allows me to summon my wolf familiar."

"I've never seen a conjuring spell quite like that," Mhari watched as the wolf regarded Belrand obediently, waiting for instruction. "Can you teach me how to do that?"

"I think we have more pressing matters at hand?" Belrand chuckled, raising an eyebrow at Mhari, who sheepishly cleared her throat.

"You're right, sorry," she sighed. "But I want to come back to this when we get back."

"If we get back," Belrand joked sardonically.

Mhari and Belrand began to make their way up the path, Belrand's familiar a few meters ahead. Within minutes, they found themselves at the entrance of the cave.

"This must be it, then," Mhari whispered. "Chillwind Depths."

The area surrounding the cave was entirely silent. The air was cold and damp, and around the entrance of the cave were various patches of mushrooms and somewhat fresh footprints that Mhari assumed to belong to the adventurers from the camp.

"I'll take the lead," Belrand suggested in a hushed voice. "Stay behind me, and keep your bow drawn and ready. My familiar will trail behind us in case anything tries to come up from behind. Are you ready?"

"No, but let's get started."

Mhari followed Belran into the damp, darkness of the cave. The light emitting from Belrand's familiar allowed them to see a few feet around them; the stone walls of the cave were slicked with water, luminescent mushrooms grew from the walls, giving the interior of the cave an eerie green glow that made Mhari's stomach churn. Immediately, she could feel that she and Belrand were in danger from the moment they set food beyond the maw of Chillwind Depths.

"Step quiet as you can," Belrand whispered. "Who knows what we'll find in here."

The cave floors were partially-flooded, as Belrand and Mhari waded through cold, knee-deep water. Mhari shivered as they continued as silently as possible, already looking forward to a warm fire and a cozy bedroll. She couldn't help but envy Belrand's familiar, who simply walked on the water's surface effortlessly. They rounded the first corner of a narrow tunnel to see a long stretch of the cave adorned with a smattering of silky cobwebs.

"Wait, what's that?" Mhari spoke hopefully, seeing the silhouette of a figure sitting slumped in a chair on a dry patch of stone in the cave wall just beyond the corridor. Belrand attempted to stop her from rushing ahead, but she had already tread forward to investigate, but halted when she realized that the figure was slumped in the chair with his neck snapped and massive gashes and fatal wounds etched throughout his torso. "Dammit. We're too late."

"That only account for one of the adventurers," Belrand stated calmly. "The other may still be in here somewhere. Do you want to keep going, or are you ready to turn back?"

"No, we can't turn back now."

"Alright, then. Let's keep moving." Belrand continued to wade through the water, the corridor growing darker and darker with every step they took.

To their great discomfort, the cavern grew smaller and more compact as they proceeded onward, both Mhari and Belrand crouching down to fit through the tight openings of the passage. Just as the passages seemed to be getting too small for Belrand to squeeze through, they emerged into a large, open area with large naturally-formed stone columns and stalagmites hanging from the ceiling. The entire room was covered in cobwebs.

Mhari had to stifle a scream as she tripped over what she thought was a large stone, only to realize it had been a petrified human body, bound in layers of silky webbing. She covered her mouth in terror, but the sound of her falling backward into the dust and rocks echoed throughout the walls of the room, alerting what slumbered in the shadows. The sound of insect-like chattering began to reverberate throughout the room, making Mhari's skin crawl.

"Here they come!" Belrand readied his sword and shield, dropping into a defensive stance as he scanned the inky blackness for any signs of movement. "Get ready to defend yourself!"

Mhari gasped and knocked an arrow as Belrand's familiar crouched into an aggressive position. From the ceiling, two spiders the size of Belrand's familiar dropped to the ground. Both spiders were blood-red in colour with eight massive legs, inky black eyes, and gargantuan mandibles. Before Mhari could react, one of the spiders spat a stream of webbing towards Belrand, who managed to raise his shield in time to save himself. The wood of his shield bubbled and sizzled slightly at the contact of the webbing.

"Be careful!" he barked. "Those webs are like acid! Don't let them touch you!"

"Shit!" Mhari hissed. She crouched and took aim at the spider closest to Belrand and let an arrow fly, striking it clean in the abdomen, causing it to let out a shriek that made Mhari's skin crawl.

"Good shot!" Belrand flashed Mhari an exhilarated smile before lifting his blade and piercing the spider in the head, silencing it immediately.

Belrand's familiar rushed forward and engulfed the other in flame, simultaneously searing and tearing the spider apart, turning it to nothing but ooze and ash. Once the dust settled, Mhari could swear his familiar had gotten slighter smaller in size.

"Belrand, your familiar..." Mhari frowned, watching the fiery wolf trot to his side.

"Ah, yes." Belrand warmed his hands over the flames of his familiar. "It doesn't last forever, I'm afraid. Every attack, every use of that fire magic, will cause the spell to weaken and eventually dissipate. Not unlike an elemental atronach. Technically, my familiar is conjured using a very similar spell to that of a flame atronach."

"I have so many questions." Mhari joined her companion, warming her hands as well, grateful for the chance to breathe. "But I suppose we should keep moving."

Mhari and Belrand stepped lightly through the darkness of the cave. Their only light emanating from the lapping flames of Belrand's familiar, and the occasional patch of glowing mushrooms protruding from the dampness, dirt and water-slicked stone.

"How deep is this cave, I wonder," Mhari whispered, her nimble hands gripping her bow in unease.

"It's hard to say." Belrand turned to face her with a heady sigh. "Skyrim's home to all kinds of caves and caverns. Some take days to explore."

"It feels like we've been in here for days..." Mhari frowned, feeling the tension in her bones as she let out a shiver at the chill in the air.

"Only a few hours," Belran chuckled. "We've come this far; no point in going back-"

Belrand let out an anguished grunt of pain as Mhari watched in shock and pure fear; an arrow fashioned of grey chitin with a wickedly-forked tip soared out from the darkness beyond and pierced her companion through the arm. As he dropped to a knee, his hand clasped around the arrow with a curse and a hiss, Mhari knocked an arrow, aiming toward the passage where the arrow had come from, as Belrand's familiar rushed forward, banishing the shadows with a roar of flame, revealing what waited within.

A pale-white, hairless humanoid figure with long, pointed elf-like ears and abnormally-long limbs stood illuminated by the fire; Mhari gawked at the sight. The creature had long slits in the center of it's face that clearly served as it's nose; where Mhari expected to see eyes, she could only see what appeared to be wrinkled scar-tissue. The creature wore little more than a hide loincloth and bracers fashioned from chitin and steel. It let out a feral hiss as it aimed it's own bow at Mhari, paying no heed to Belrand's familiar. Mhari let out a sharp gasp when the arrow narrowly missed her head, ricocheting off the rock wall behind her. She loosed her arrow and struck the creature in the neck. It gurgled and clawed at the arrow for a second before it fell to the ground, letting out a long-winded dying sigh. Belrand cussed as he pulled the arrow from his arm, rising to his feet once more.

"Here," Mhari held out a hand, her palm facing Belrand. "I don't have much by the way of magical ability, but I do know a basic healing spell."

"Save your magic and energy, Freysri," Belrand held up his hand and shook his head. "This is not a mortal injury. We can treat it once we return to the camp."

"What was that thing?" Mhari approached the body of the creature she had slain, her stomach in knots.

"It's a Falmer. Used be called 'Snow Elves,' but that was back before they devolved into the monstrosity you see here." Beland poked the dead Falmer's leg with his toe. "But that's a long history best saved for sitting around a campfire. All you need to know is that they're blind, but their sense of hearing, their sense of smell, are heightened."

"They don't need to see us to be able to kill us, you mean."

"Precisely." Belrand gave Mhari a nod. "We're bound to run into more trouble. Falmer are rarely found on their own. Keep your guard up."

Onward, Mhari and Belrand trekked into the darkness, the sound of a breeze echoing throughout the cave. I can hear the sound of wind; we must be nearly through to the other side. Mhari thought to herself in relief. They finally came to a small, but open room, half-submerged in ice cold water, with a large dirt mount raised in the center. Upon the mound was a pile of bones, bloody rags, and the body of another adventurer, practically torn to pieces.

"Dammit." Mhari let out a cuss of frustration. "We're too late for this one, too."

"That's likely the last of them," Belrand frowned. "Judging by the number of bedrolls at the camp. At least now we know what happened to them."

The sound of a guttural hiss reverberated throughout the walls of the room, snapping Mhari and Belrand to attention as they drew their weapons, Belrand's wolf bristling with a threatening crackle.

"More Falmer..." Mhari's eyes scanned the darkness for movement. "Where are they?"

They were silent for a moment when the pale figure emerged from around the corner across the room, brandishing a spiked club of steel and chitin, as it let out a gut-wrenching snarl. Mhari let loose an arrow, piercing it in the forearm, but this only seemed to anger the Falmer further as it barely flinched, hobbling at her at full-speed. Mhari staggered back, shakingly attempting to knock her next arrow, fumbling as her foe began to quickly close the dostance between them. Belrand's wolf leaped forward and engulfed the Falmer in a magnificent burst of flames, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes. As the light of Belrand's wolf faded, it too, was nowhere to be seen.

Two more Falmer barreled around the corner. Belrand charged and impaled the Falmer in the chest with his sword. The Falmer let out a mixture of a hiss and a roar as it grasped the blade of Belrand's sword, breathing it's last before slumping over. Belrand placed his boot firmly on it's stomach, kicking it to the ground, and whirling around to slice the head clean off the second's shoulders as it attempted to rush him from behind. The cave was silent once more. He wiped the burgundy blood from his blade and let out a sigh of exhaustion as he peered around the corner where the Falmer had come from.

"The way out's right over here," he said at last, motioning for Mhari to follow him. "That should be the last of them."

Mhari and Belrand emerged from the darkness of the cave and into the chilly Skyrim air, simultaneously sighing in relief as they trudged down the path to the adventurer's camp.

"Well, that was a bust," Mhari slumped down at the mouth of one of the tents with a resigned groan.

"Not entirely." Belrand cast a flame spell on the empty firepit, producing a small fire in it's core before tossing a small leather satchel to Mhari. "I took the liberty of throwing some souvenirs in here for us."

Mhari reached in the satchel, expecting perhaps a handful of various mushrooms but nearly shrieked when she pulled out a long, pale pointed ear, still dripping with Falmer blood. Belrand burst out laughing at her reaction.

"Falmer ears are useful alchemical ingredients, Freysri," he chuckled. "When prepared properly, these can help increase your resistance to many poisons."

"Gross." Mhari dropped the ear back into the satchel with a scrunch of her nose. "Useful, but gross."

"You don't have much experience with alchemy, do you?"

"Well, I have some experience." Mhari looked away sheepishly, feeling foolish at her reaction to the Falmer ear. "But I'm used to using other things. Plants, fish, antlers, insects, animal bones; that sort of thing."

"Don't be afraid to expand your resources," Belrand instructed. "You can't always afford to be picky; sometimes you just need to use what you have available."

Mhari nodded in response. "I know, you're right. I guess it just takes some getting used to."

"Oh, now that we're not in that horrible cave," Belrand began, pointing to the puncture wound in his arm with a wince. "Would you mind patching this up?"

"Gladly." Mhari rose to her feet and placed her hands over the wound. "I thought you knew how to cast your own spells."

"I do," Belrand began. "But most folks that practice magic have very specific areas of expertise. Healing is a part of the restoration branch of magic; my area of expertise is in conjurations and destruction, more specifically, fire and light."

"Are you able to cast any other elemental spells?" Mhari rubbed her palms together, generating some heat so that her skin wouldn't be so cold to the touch.

"Technically, I can cast basic lightning and ice spells, but the more you hone your focus on one element, the more powerful those elemental spells become." Belrand winced as Mhari first placed her hands on his wound. "There comes a time where you need to choose; balanced skills in all three elements, or mastering the skills of one in particular."

"I really do have so much to learn." Mhari summoned her magic, her hands filling with golden light. "I only know a couple basic spells."

"I'll tell you what." Belrand watched at his wound closed before his eyes as Mhari's magic wrapped around his arm, fading along with any soreness he'd been feeling. "You teach me how to cast a basic healing spell, and I'll give you some pointers on fire-based conjuration spells."

"Really?!" Mhari perked up at the offer, imagining being able to summon her own familiar. "Gladly!"

"Good! Enthusiasm; I like it." Belrand laughed at Mhari's energetic reaction, giving him arm a stretch, glad that the soreness of his wound had dulled so significantly. "So, how does one start with learning a basic restoration spell?"

"With this!" Mhari chimed, digging into her bag. To Belrand's confusion, she plopped a dead salmon onto the ground before taking a seat in front of it, motioning for Belrand to sit across from her; he hesitantly obliged, waiting for her to explain. "I know what you're thinking, but really, this is the best way to hone your healing skills!"

Mhari used her steel dagger to make a small laceration on the side of the salmon.

"Your spell won't bring the salmon back to life, but this is a great way to practice the fundamentals without causing harm to something that's already alive - or to yourself." Mhari held her hands over the laceration and summoned her magic in the palms of her hands. "You need to focus on what it is you're trying to mend. Bone, tissue, flesh - even scar tissue. Your spell isn't just creating these things out of thin air. What you're actually doing is speeding up the healing process that the body goes through naturally on it's own so that, instead of waiting for weeks, or even months for a bone to heal, you can speed things along and regrow the bone in minutes, or even seconds if you're an expert."

Mhari allowed her magic to seep into the laceration, trying to cast her spell as slowly and carefully as possible. Belrand watched as the tissue of the fish started to regenerate, layer after layer, until the salmon looked as it had before Mhari had taken her blade to it. She made another cut into the salmon and motioned for him to attempt the spell.

"I see." Belrand nodded in understanding, summoning his magic with ease. To his dismay, however, the magic simply surrounded the salmon, causing it to glow, but the wound remained. "Hm. What am I doing wrong?"

"You need to focus on the specific area of the wound," Mhari explained. "Otherwise, your area of effect spreads around your subject, causing it to scatter and dissipate. I think you may be trying to cast your restoration spell similarly to how you case a flame spell; flames tend to engulf and surround the target. Try to imagine that your magic is more like water; allow it to flow into the wound instead of around it."

Belrand followed her instruction and let out a grin as he watched the fish slowly, but surely, healing in layers as it had done for Mhari.

"Perfect!" Mhari cheered. "Keep practicing on things like fish and maybe even insects, and you'll be patching up your own wounds in no time."

Mhari let out an involuntary yawn, stretching her arms up to the sky.

"That may be the end of the lesson, eh?" Belrand chuckled. "That may have been the biggest yawn I've ever seen."

"No, no!" Mhari attempted to look as awake and alert as possible, but to no avail. "I want to learn how to summon a flame-based familiar far more than I want to sleep."

"First thing tomorrow, I'll be happy to show you." Belrand had clearly made up his mind, and Mhari was far too exhausted to protest further. "I'll take the first watch."

Mhari flopped over into her bedroll with a defiant grumble, but within seconds, she was fast asleep. Belrand settled in place by the fire and practiced his new skill on the salmon. May as well let her sleep for a few hours. That kid pushed herself a bit too far today.

~To Be Continued...

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Note From the Author: Thank you again for reading the latest chapter of Songstress of Skyrim! If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider following this story and dropping a review below. I'd love to hear what my readers think; what their favourite parts were, what they'd like to see more of, etc. If I receive any questions, I am happy to either answer them via private message, or even as a short QA section in the next chapter. I hope to see you in the next chapter, dear reader.

"A potion to cure common diseases," Mhari replied, her shoulders dropping with a discouraged pout. "I'm certain I used the right measurements..."

Angeline eyed Mhari's ingredients carefully; Mudcrab Chitins and a pile of black dust. "Let's see..." She thought for a moment and walked to the bookshelf by her counter, carefully unfolding a piece of parchment paper scribbled with nearly-faded notes. "What manner of powder do you have there, dearie?"

"Void Salts."

"Ah, well there's your problem," Angeline nodded, handing Mhari the piece of paper. "You need Vampire Dust, not Void Salts. They seem to have similar physical properties, but their effects are quite different according to the recipe."

Mhari scanned the recipe on the parchment for a moment and tilted her head up in mock exasperation with a scoff. "Vampire Dust! I was so sure I had it right."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Mhari," Angeline smiled as she carefully scanned her shelf for the proper ingredient. "Alchemy is a difficult art to master. I've only specialized in potpourri and herbal teas up until the war started. I still have much to learn myself."

"Thank you for letting me borrow your table, Angeline," Mhari smiled, carefully taking the small bowl of Vampire Dust as Angeline handed it to her. Mhari placed a handful of coin into her hand in exchange before returning to the table. Angeline watched carefully as Mhari cracked open another Mudcrab Claw and carefully smeared the contents into a paste on the surface of the table. Once it was smooth and malleable enough, she folded it into a mortar with the Vampire Dust and used the pestle to grind it together until it was well-incorporated. "And a little boiling water..." Mhari mumbled absent-mindedly as she mixed the pungent, dusty gelatin into a bottle with water. As steam rose into the air, she watched as the dusty grey mixture settled and turned gradually into a light pink. Mhari held up the bottle, inspecting it before turning her gaze to Angeline.

"You did it!" Angeline smiled and nodded with approval. Mhari's eyes lit up and a relieved smile stretched across her face.

"I did it!" Mhari etched the process into a notebook with a delighted squeal, ensuring she would be able to repeat the recipe properly at a later time. "I'll make a mediocre healer, yet."

"Feel free to practice here any time, dearie," Angeline suggested as she tucked away any excess ingredients for later use. "I may be able to learn a thing or two from you as well. But for now, I'll need to close the shop for a few hours. Vivienne and I have some errands to run."

"Of course! Thank you, Angeline," Mhari nodded and tucked her new potion carefully into her pack, waving politely to Angeline and walking out into the streets of Solitude.

"Spare some gold for a veteran?" a raspy voice asked timidly.

"Hm?" Mhari turned her attention to the voice to see an older, balding Imperial man in rags holding out his hand with a hopeful expression. Mhari dug into her coin purse and pulled out a small handful of coins. "Oh, of course. Here you go."

"Oh, thank you!" the man gratefully took the coins. Mhari suspected he had been turned down many times today; he had clearly not been expecting a donation. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that he was clearly missing his left eye, a crudely-fashioned glass sphere where an eye had once been. The majority of the skin near his missing eye was mottled with old scar tissue that had clearly healed badly after an infection.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"Oh, uh I- Noster," he stuttered. He had not been expecting her to ask. "Noster Eagle-Eye."

"Mhari Freysri. So, what's your story?" Mhari asked, taking a seat on a nearby hay bail. She patted the space beside her, inviting him to take a seat with her.

"I was the finest Scout in the Legion once. Tracked down all the places in the wilds that were causing people trouble," he began, taking a seat beside Mhari. She dug out a couple carrots and handed him one, which he took happily and immediately took a large bite before continuing. "Lost my helmet in Steepfall Barrow. My pretty, pretty helmet..."

"What was so special about this helmet?" Mhari asked, noticing his expression grow wistful and grim as he thought back. She munched on her carrot as she waited for him to continue.

"I swear it brought me good fortune," he sighed. "Life just got worse after I lost it. Kept losing things; so many things..." he trailed off as he touched the scarred skin surrounding his missing eye.

"Well, I can't guarantee that it will fix everything, but maybe I can keep an eye out if I'm ever in the area," Mhari suggested as she finished that last of her carrot.

"Oh, you would?" Noster was hopeful for a moment before his expression darkened again. "But I don't have any coin to repay you with. I could show you some of my old scouting tricks."

"Deal," Mhari smiled, holding out her hand for Noster to shake. He smiled crookedly and nodded in agreement.

"So what happened after you lost your eye; if you don't mind me asking?" Mhari asked carefully, resting her elbows on her knees as she waited for a response.

"I was there. I fought in the Great War," Noster began; Mhari could almost see his good eye clouding with the memories he was recounting. "I was on the field at Anvil. And when I was struck down, they left me-...they left me for dead."

Mhari frowned as a silence fell over them. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you managed to stay alive, Noster. I'll let you know if I manage to find your helmet." She hopped to the ground and patted the straw and dust from her backside. "You headed to the marketplace to buy some food?"

Noster nodded and counted what gold he had. Mhari motioned for him to come along with her; once they arrived at the market square, Noster made his way immediately to the fruit and vegetable stand. Mhari had a look at her surroundings. In the center of the market was an old well that had clearly been well-kept and well-maintained. Three well-constructed wooden food stands could be seen; a fish stand, a produce stand and a wine stand, every product was displayed neatly with care, and the scent of freshly-caught fish, pungent onions and sweet wine filled Mhari's nostrils.

"Got plenty of fresh fish for ya," a vaguely familiar voice called. Mhari turned her head to the fish stand, manned by the Imperial she had first seen speaking with Svari during the execution; she approached the stand and inspected the catch of the day.

"You were at the execution," Mhari began. "I take it Svari is your daughter?"

"Yes; it's been hard on her," the merchant nodded grimly. "She misses her uncle. I've tried to explain that Roggvir did something bad and that we all have to be accountable for our actions, but..."

"A child feels what she will," Mhari said solemnly. She and the merchant turned their heads as Svari bolted by, followed by two other laughing children.

"Tag! You're it!" a little boy sang as he tapped Svari on the shoulder before bolting back the way he came.

"Hey!" Svari laughed with a fake scowl. Her eyes met with Mhari's and her father's as she let out a quick wave before skittering after her friends.

"She does seem to be in better spirits, now," the merchant smiled in slight relief. "Even Greta has been finally talking again."

Mhari smiled softly to herself, choosing not to weigh in. "Where do you catch your fish, sir?"

"Oh, my name is Addvar," he interjected before continuing. "Down at the docks there are a few good spots; if you can avoid the East Empire Company workers and those Red Wave Thugs."

As he spoke a couple rough-looking sailors in black and red sailor's tunics passed. One of them spat on the ground by his feet with a glare; Addvar's eyes followed them as his brow furrowed. Mhari shook her head in response to the crewman's rudeness, but she knew better than to get involved.

"Are they always that charming?" Mhari sighed as she returned her attention to the fish. Addvar chuckled with an eye roll, but chose not to go into detail. Mhari reached for a sizeable salmon and handed him a small handful of coin. She thanked Addvar for the fish and moved onto the next booth where Noster was walking away with a small armful of produce and a bottle of mead. The woman behind the stand was a Redguard woman whose face appeared to be etched with a permanent scowl, and she grumbled under her breath as she tucked her newly-earned coin into her coin purse.

Mhari eyed the fruits and vegetables that had been neatly displayed around the stand; everything looked quite fresh for such a cold climate. "Do you ever have trouble getting ripe goods out here?" Mhari asked as she made eye contact with the woman.

"I have my ways, but it's not easy these days," the woman sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "Those Blackblood Marauders have been plundering ships off the coast. Lots of folks been hurt by their foolishness."

"You're telling me, Jala," a nearby voice chimed in. Evette San was leaning on the side of her Spiced Wine stand with her arms folded as she spoke. "If it's not Vittoria Vici and her ridiculous tariffs, it's the Blackbloods. It's a wonder I ever get my ingredients between the two."

Jala nodded with a scoff; Evette looked over to Mhari and smiled. "Oh, thanks again for helping my father earlier."

"My pleasure," Mhari replied with a smile as she picked out a bundle of leeks and some ripe tomatoes from Jala's stand, handing her some coins in exchange.

"You wouldn't happen to have a little extra time on your hands, would you?" Evette began. "I need someone to run down to the docks to pick up a shipment of spices that the East Empire Company is holding up. If you can convince them to, anyways. I swear, it's a fight with them every time. Maybe you'll have better luck."

"I take it you're referring to this 'Vittoria' woman. I'll see what I can do," Mhari smiled with a wince. "Though if she won't listen to you, I'm not sure she'll bother listening to a stranger. Still, I'll try."

"Thanks!" Evette sighed in slight relief. "If you can make it happen, I'll give you something for your time; and a bottle of Spiced Wine free of charge."

"Say no more," Mhari chuckled. She waved politely at Jala and Evette before she wrapped her cloak around her shoulders and sauntered away from the market square to the gates of town.

As Mhari strolled down the dirt path and rounded the corner beyond Katla's Farm, she looked out to the docks where she had first arrived in Solitude only a fortnight prior. She breathed in the crisp salty air and took in the view as the sun had begun to set, painting the skies in a gradient of soft pinks and oranges. Seagulls soared around the sails of the ships that had docked for the night, and the Blue Palace seemed even more radiant as it basked in the golden hues of the early twilight. Mhari shivered as a cold breeze whispered across her skin; she slipped her gloves on before she continued down further into the docks. I don't think I'll ever get used to this cold.

Mhari made her way down the wooden steps to the East Empire Company's warehouse where a dark-haired Imperial woman in a fine green and gold linen dress sat daydreaming behind the counter. Mhari cleared her throat after a moment, snapping Vittoria out of her fantasies.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought," she sighed wistfully. "I'm planning my wedding, you see. So many details to work out."

"Congratulations," Mhari replied with a genuine smile. "It's wonderful to hear of a wedding in times such as these. I think folks need something positive to look forward to these days."

"I know I do," Vittoria giggled. "What can I do for you?"

"Evette San asked me to check on her shipment of spices," Mhari explained. Vittoria's expression immediately changed from excitement to disdain.

"Like I told her, once she pays the two-thousand gold tariff, then we'll be all set," Vittoria sighed, clearly now disinterested in the conversation. Mhari's jaw dropped.

"Two-thousand gold?!" she exclaimed. "Her entire stand is probably only worth that much! Surely you can see why that is far too high a price?"

"How do you figure?" Vittoria scoffed.

"I can buy a horse for half of that," Mhari explained. "She won't be able to keep her stand open if she needs to spend all of her profits on a tariff for her spices alone."

"Ugh, fine," Vittoria rolled her eyes and hauled a small box from the shelves behind her to place them on the counter. "I'll make an exception for her. But only because I like her Spiced Wine. And because I'm feeling generous."

Mhari bit her tongue, irritated by the woman's flippant expression as she waved her off in irritation. "Thank you, ma'am." Picking up the box of spices carefully in her hands, Mhari sighed and turned to walk away when she bumped into an Argonian woman with bright-green scaly skin and an expression that could kill. Mhari nearly dropped the box pf spices, but managed to get a grip on the sides before it spilled over. She could hear Vittoria snickering from where she watched behind the counter.

"You want knives? You want them in your belly?" the Argonian hissed, hovering her scaly slate-grey claws over her glass dagger. Mhari shrinked back, uncertain of how to respond as the Argonian bared a wide mouth of sharp, yellow teeth that were ready to snap without a moment's hesitation should Mhari say the wrong words in return. "Then you'll stay clear of Deeja, warm-blood."

The Argonian shoved past her with a gutteral growl and continued on her way to a nearby docked ship. Mhari shuddered, feeling that she had somehow dodged a very gruesome end. Stay clear of Deeja. Got it. She wasted no time making her way back to the city, finding Evette as she was closing her stand for the night.

"Here you are," Mhari placed the box carefully on the stand. "Hopefully she'll be a bit more lenient going forward. I can see why you don't like dealing with her."

"Tell me about it," Evette sighed as she inspected the contents of the box, nodding in approval as her shoulders relaxed. "Thank you so much. You've earned this.'

Evette handed Mhari a bottle of Spiced Wine and small pouch of gold. Mhari smiled and thanked Evette before returning to The Winking Skeever to relieve Lisette for a song or two. There were very few patrons, but Mhari was somewhat relieved, her nerves still a bit shot from her encounter with Deeja. If I never come across her again, it'll be too soon.

Mhari chatted with Lisette and Corpulus for a little while before retiring for the night. She had earned a little more gold from Evette, but she was still short on coin. Her small tasks around Solitude were adding up, but the process was slow and arduous.

"I'll need to get a bit more creative if I'm going to make enough gold for one of those horses," Mhari sighed under her breath. She wriggled further under the covers of the bed and let out a yawn. "I'll stop by the Blue Palace tomorrow. Between Sorex's rum and Taarie's dress, maybe I can close the gap a little further..."

~To Be Continued...

Note From the Author: Thank you again for reading the latest chapter of Songstress of Skyrim! If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider following this story and dropping a review below. I'd love to hear what my readers think; what their favourite parts were, what they'd like to see more of, etc. If I receive any questions, I am happy to either answer them via private message, or even as a short Q section in the next chapter. I hope to see you in the next chapter, dear reader. Voth Werid

Sticking the ties between her teeth, Kyna grabbed as much of her hair with one hand and brought it over her shoulder. She looked down at the mass of black that cascaded down her shoulder and into her lap, nearly forgetting how much hair she actually had. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she began to work.

---***---

"Has anyone seen Miss Kyna?" Mhari asked, leaning over the railing of the second floor, looking down at those that sat at the table below.

"You mean the Inquisitor?" Bard said, "No, I don't think anyone's seen her all morning. Why?"

"Normally I'd hear her walking around or maybe talking to Reynauld or Dismas," she explained, leaning further over the railing to the point where it looked like she was going to fall, "But it's nearly noon and I haven't seen-"

At that point, she slipped and fell over the edge of the railing. Before her body hit the floor, a pair of arms caught her. She blinked and looked up, seeing the face of the man she considered her father looking down at her.

"Oh, thanks Deimos!" she said cheerfully.

"You need to be more careful," he sighed, putting her down, "You're going to wind up being the cause of a heart attack one of these days. More than likely mine."

"You still got several more years on you before you die, Deimos!" Mhari said with a smile, "I won't be the cause of it!"

"Point, missing it." he said, shaking his head.

Before another word could be said, there was a loud slamming noise from down the hall. Those in the room looked in the general direction of the sound, puzzled.

"What was that?" Bard asked.

"Something could've fallen over." Deimos replied, "Considering how much crap that Dismas has in this place? I wouldn't be surprised that one of his valuables got destroyed."

"Oh, I hope not!" Mhari replied, "He gets kinda angry when that happens."

"Serve him right," Deimos said with a mild growl, "The man has so much hoarded away and could deserve to have some things taken or destroyed."

Mhari looked up at him before looking down the hall. She ran in the direction of where the sound originated.

"Mhari? Where are you going?" Bard asked.

"To see what made that sound! I'll be back!" she replied.

---***---

Kyna groaned as she kept her head at the table. Her hair, still slung over her shoulder, was a mess of tangles after her attempt to braid it.

"Why do I even try..." she muttered.

At that moment, the door to her room opened and a small face peered in. Kyna recognized who it was.

"Miss Kyna?" the girl said.

"Mhari?" Kyna replied, "What're you...?"

"We heard a noise- that is, me, Bard, and Deimos- and we thought something had fallen over." she said, "I came to see what happened."

Kyna sat up, rubbing her forehead. She didn't realize she had been so loud when her head made contact with the table in frustration.

"You're not hurt are you?" Mhari asked, cautiously walking in.

"No. No, of course not, da'len," she replied, "I'm fine."

Mhari tilted her head as she studied Kyna.

"What is it?" Kyna asked.

"What're you doing?" Mhari said.

Kyna looked at the ties that were on the ground and the brush and comb that were still on the table. A faint red appeared on her face.

"I was... trying to braid my hair." Kyna murmured, "It is... proving more difficult than I thought..."

"Hm..." Mhari said, putting her finger to her mouth as she thought. It was only a couple of minutes later that she clapped her hands enthusiastically, jumping a little in place. "I know!"

"You... know? Mhari?" Kyna asked in confusion.

Mhari held out her hands in supplication. Kyna looked up at her.

"Let me do it for you! I can braid your hair, Miss Kyna!" she said cheerfully.

"You... what...? I don't..." Kyna stammered, more than a little flustered.

"I'll be really careful and gentle, I promise!" Mhari replied, "Please let me do it!"

"I... well... alright, I suppose." Kyna said with an embarrassed smile on her face, relinquishing her supplies to the girl in front of her.

"Thanks, Miss Kyna!" Mhari said with a smile as she walked around behind the woman and moved the mass of hair to where she was.

Kyna stood perfectly still as Mhari worked on brushing out her hair. Every once in a while, she heard her chirp a comment happily- "Your hair is so pretty!" or "It's so silky and smooth!". Kyna made no remarks of thanks to her compliments, feeling quite stunned over the strange turn of events.

"Okay... if I remember correctly..." Mhari said, "Three hand widths is usually a good length for a braid..."

"Mhari..." Kyna said finally.

"Yes, Miss Kyna?" Mhari asked, putting a tie at the top of the section of hair she was to braid.

"Why... are you doing this?" Kyna asked.

"Hm? Why?" Mhari said.

"Yes. Why?" Kyna replied.

"Well," Mhari said, as she began to work slowly and carefully on the braid, "You're part of the family now, Miss Kyna. As a family, we try to help each other out in any way we can. If someone's in trouble, we fix the problem. And fixing the problem makes things better."

Kyna felt her breath catch in her chest. Mhari's words... they were of the same make as Cole's. He too would do what he could to try and help those he saw that needed it. The things that he would do were sometimes... less than favorable, but what he did was, in his eyes, helping.

In the short amount of time she'd been living at the hideout with the rest of the Thieves, she noticed small similarities between her and Cole. Always willing to lend a hand. Had an air of innocence that was quite like a child's...

It made her feel warm inside. Happy one would say.

"... Thank you, Mhari." Kyna said, "For helping me."

"Hm?" Mhari said, "Oh, no problem, Miss Kyna! Happy to help when I can!"