The formerly harsh rays of the sun were almost blocked off entirely by the thick, lush tree tops towering over the adventurers. The only sounds that could be heard were the rustling of the leaves, the chattering of birds, and the pounding of their hearts. Lydia had never seen trees this tall before. The natural giants provided her with more anxiety than comfort; their shadows dancing about as the three adventurers cautiously walked by.
Wanting to strike up a conversation, Lydia turned her attention to Borick.
"So...Borick, I have to ask: why didn't you leave Pip and I for dead? I'm certain that we are just burdens to you."
"Though you may be a burden, you're not a threat," he said, glancing back and shooting Lydia a glare.
Taken aback at Borick's straight-forward rudeness, Lydia's cheeks flared with embarrassment and irritation. Despite her attempts to calm down, her headstrong side got the better of her.
"You've could have just killed us, you know! It would have been much simpler that way!" she snapped.
Borick stopped dead in his tracks.
"Believe me, Miss Lydia, if I wanted you dead..."
Lydia blinked. To her surprise, Borick was no longer standing if front of her where he had previously been.
"...you'd already be dead," he whispered in her ear, his tone as sharp as the dagger he had to her throat from behind her.
Gods...I didn't think anyone could be that fast, she thought.
Discreetly, Lydia slid her right hand across her torso, hoping to reach her blade. As soon as she felt the hilt against her fingertips, Borick's boot connected with her back, sending her to the ground. As she fell, he pulled Lydia's sword from it's sheath and pointed it at Lydia, just inches away from her face.
"Like I said, if I wanted you dead, you would be. You're both lucky that killing you isn't required." said Borick bluntly, tossing Lydia's sword back to her and turning back to the forest path.
With a huff, Lydia returned to her feet and dusted herself off.
"Something about him doesn't seem right, Miss Lydia," Pip whispered so as to not be heard by Borick.
"I know," replied Lydia, "but he's right. He must not want to kill us, or else he would have already done it by now. I may not trust him, but he's our best shot at getting to the monastery alive."
"We'd better get going, then," replied Pip, reminding Lydia that Borick was a good distance ahead of them.
Lydia and Pip followed hurriedly after Borick, not wanting to face the trials of the forest alone.
As the party trekked further into the woods, Lydia kept thinking she heard the sound of rushing water. Dismissing this as nothing more than her imagination getting the better of her, she forged on. However, the farther she walked, the louder the sound became until she was sure she wasn't imagining it. Looking to the faces of Borick and Pip, she saw that she wasn't the only one who heard it.
Going towards the source of the sound, the group came upon an open patch of forest floor, the trial plaque standing in the center. Curious, Lydia walked over and read the text aloud:
To know your enemy is one element,
To know how to combat your enemy is entirely different.
"What does it mean?" asked Pip.
Before Lydia could respond, a stack of wood fell to the ground in front of her feet. Looking up, she saw Borick, a smirk on his face.
"We're going to be setting up camp here tonight," he said.
Lydia looked through the tree tops and noticed that the sky had changed from blue to a darkening purple, red and gold.
I must have lost track of time, she thought.
Of course you did. Idiotic girl.
It was him. His voice. No matter how much she didn't want to believe it, the Dragonborn was still with her. He was still criticizing her for every mistake she made. Was there nothing she could do to escape him?
"Miss Lydia? Miss Lydia, hey!" called a distant, child-like voice somewhere in the depths of her mind.
You can't do anything right. You couldn't even save your family, could you? Your father dies in battle, your mother, brother, and sister slaughtered by the Stormcloaks, and, oh - what about good old Captain Hloggar? After killing your mother and siblings, didn't he take you as a "prize"? Such a shame your innocence had to be torn from you at such a young age.
How could he have known that? How could he have possibly known that?!
"Miss Lydia! Miss Lydia, snap out of it!"
Tears streamed down Lydia's face, making woeful pathways from her blank, distant expression. A slap to the face snapped her back to reality. Blinking several times to ensure her consciousness, she saw Pip standing in front of her, a guilty expression plastered on his muzzle.
"Sorry, Miss Lydia. I didn't mean to hit you that hard."
Regaining her composure, Lydia gave Pip a light hug, trying not to let him see the years of pain reflected on her face. "It's okay, Pip. Thank you."
"Thanks for helping with the firewood, you two," Borick chided, using a fire spell to ignite the pile of wood near the pillar ablaze, "there's a small waterfall a couple hundred feet away if you need a drink."
Lydia debated about taking a brief trip to the falls. After she realized that she may not get another chance to wash away the sand, grit, and horrid thoughts from her mind anytime soon, she chose to take it.
"You both go ahead and start eating, I will return in a bit," she said, heading towards the sounds of water impacting against rock.
Pushing past the thick brush proved more difficult than Lydia had expected. Each step she took was hindered by the dense vegetation that seemed to hold her legs in a vice-like grip.
Gods...how did Borick make it through here without leaving some sort of trail? she thought.
After clearing through one last tree limb, Lydia beheld the small waterfall. A shallow pool housed the pristine water cascading down the short distance from the top. From the pool, a stream led the excess water away, deep into the darkness of the forest. To Lydia, it looked as though the moon's pale light shone directly on the falls, illuminating the rising mist and casting a faint teal glow around the natural spectacle.
Lydia glanced back towards the camp, the faint light of a fire flickering in the distance. With a sigh of exhaustion, she turned back to the falls. Near the water's edge, she stuck her sword in the ground and set her shield down next to it. She unhooked the clasps on her breastplate and let it fall to the ground. The sudden rush of cool air against her bare chest acted as both a comfort and a shock to her senses. Removing her leggings, boots, and gauntlets and placing them next to her breastplate, she took her first cautious steps into the pool.
Despite the water's chill, a warm, unknown comfort seeped through Lydia's veins as she took further steps into the pool. Soon, she was submerged up to her upper waist with the falling water only an arm's length away.
If only this water could wash away more than simply the sand and grit, thought Lydia.
With a deep breath, she dipped her head into the glass-clear pool, allowing the water to envelop her.
Muted crackles from the fire echoed through the surrounding forest. Borick poked at the flaming logs with a tree branch, sending stray embers into the evening air.
"So Pip..." said Borick.
Pip took his eyes from the flames and focused on Borick.
"...do you feel that this is something you want to do? Adventuring and the lot?"
"Well, I like it so far. I've wanted to be an adventurer for as long as I can remember."
Borick looked Pip square in the eye, his gaze expressionless and stern. "Are you prepared to kill?"
This caught Pip off-guard. "P...pardon me?"
"I asked if you are prepared to kill. To be an adventurer, you will encounter situations where you will either have to kill or be killed. I first experienced a situation such as that when I was about your age; a wolf had made it's way into the hen house, and either I had to kill it or it would kill me. They say that your first kill is the hardest, and that couldn't be closer to the truth."
"How many times have you...killed?" Pip asked nervously.
Borick chuckled a bit. "Dozens, perhaps hundreds of times - I've lost count. Many of those I've had to carry out whether I wanted to or not."
"Whether you wanted to or not? What do you mean?"
"Some of those I've had to kill I've known by name, some were complete strangers to me, but in order to protect my mother, brothers, and sisters, I must not show any mercy to those who oppose us or to those who are required to die." answered Borick, his voice containing not a shred of emotion.
Borick's expression shifted from stern to chipper soon after he had finished.
"Eh, I don't want to frighten you too much, lad. Glad you're with us." He reached over and ruffled Pip's hair underneath his bandanna.
Pip, visibly unnerved, quickly tried to come up with some sort of excuse to get away from Borick.
"Um... I need to get a drink of water. I'll be back in a minute," said Pip, getting up and heading towards the falls.
Borick looked after him, smiling to himself, then returned to stoking the fire.
Making his way towards the growing sounds of water against rock, Pip followed Lydia's boot prints under the dense brush. He counted himself lucky that he was short enough to not face the plants' full wrath.
Soon, a teal glow entered his view as well as the opening out of the growth. With child-like glee, he dashed the rest of the way until he was no longer a prisoner of the plants. His excitement turned to panic in a split second when he saw a figure standing in the pool under the falling water. Stifling a scream, he maneuvered himself behind a nearby tree, heart in his throat. Part of him wanted to run away - run away and seek out Borick. However, thinking back to what Borick had said, a strange new courage swelled inside him.
Borick wouldn't run away...neither would Lydia. I have to show them that I can be a great adventurer. I have to be brave.
After an audible gulp and a deep breath to calm himself, Pip slowly turned around so that he was looking at the figure yet still hidden behind the tree. He studied the creature. It's height, flowing brown hair, and well-defined, curvy features seemed all too familiar to him; that's when Pip recognized what - moreover, who he was beholding.
Lydia?
The white and brown fur on Pip's face slowly turned to a deep crimson; his eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. Never before had he seen anything so beautiful, so majestic, so amazing.
Wow...
Suddenly, a hand clasped around his mouth and pulled him into the bushes. He tried to scream, but his cry was muffled by the hand. Looking up, he saw Borick, his index finger to his lips..
Borick glanced back, making sure Lydia hadn't heard anything. When all seemed clear, his gaze returned to Pip, irritated and concerned. He took his hand away from Pip's mouth and motioned for him to follow him back to the camp.
Scared of what would befall him if he didn't, Pip reluctantly obeyed.
Once by the fire, Borick sat Pip down next to him, his expression one of urgency.
"Now, Pip," he began, "I understand that you weren't intentionally spying on her, but even so, I can imagine she wouldn't want anyone viewing her...personal affairs."
Pip made occasional glances to Borick, but focused his gaze to the forest floor.
"I'm sorry, Borick. I thought there was some sort of monster out there and when I saw that it was her...I don't know what happened," said the motley colt, a mad blush still consuming his face.
Smiling faintly, Borick ruffled the colt's mane. "Quite a sight, wasn't it, though? I understand completely. From what I've seen, she's a strong Nord woman in all senses of the word. I, myself, would be interested in her, but someone like me should never know the joy of marriage."
Pip looked at Borick, puzzled. What does he mean someone like him shouldn't get married?
Not noticing Pip's confusion, Borick sighed. "Regardless, I'm afraid that you shouldn't pursue her. You're a different species, not even close to the same age, hell, you aren't even from the same world."
"But why should any of that matter?" asked Pip, visibly hurt by Borick's words.
Before Borick could reply, Lydia stepped out of the growth, panting and brushing stray leaves off of her armor.
"Hello," she said, "I have returned. Anything interesting happen in my absence?"
Shaking his head, Borick smiled. "Nothing that we know of, right, Pip?" he said, giving Pip a quick, sideways wink.
It took a moment for Pip to catch on, but he did, nonetheless. "Yep. Nothing going on here," he said, his tone still slightly nervous.
Just as Lydia moved to sit next to her companions, a shrill growl sounded from the brush.
Anticipating anything, Lydia and Borick drew their weapons.
Pip, having no form of protection, stayed close to Lydia's side.
Even a momentary glimpse up to Lydia's steadfast gaze reminded Pip of the events prior, bringing the redness to his face once more.
Luckily, in the darkness, Lydia didn't notice.
"Borick, now would be a good time as any to tell us what in Oblivion the plaque means," Lydia said sternly, looking back at him.
"If I knew, I'd tell you," he replied.
None of them took their eyes off the bushes or towering treetops. An eerie, almost soothing calm befell the forest, but neither Lydia nor Borick lowered their guard. The only light came from the still-crackling campfire.
Suddenly, a flash of tan fur shot out of the treetops. Before Lydia could react, the blur collided with her torso, forcing the wind from her lungs and sent her crashing to the ground, nearly knocked unconscious by the unexpected blow.
Coughing and gasping for breath, Lydia struggled to reopen her eyes. When she managed to do so, she found herself looking into the piercing black and amber eyes of a saber toothed cat. It's long, sharp teeth dripped with saliva, anticipating the beast's next meal. Cuts and scars dotted it's coat and a low, malefic rumble came from it's mouth.
It's similar to the ones back home, Lydia thought to herself.
The cat raised one of it's paws, ready to strike down Lydia where she lay. Just then, a ball of flames slammed into the cat's side, sending it tumbling across the forest floor.
As quick as she could, Lydia scrambled to her feet, her blade and shield still held firmly in her grasp.
Another cat shot from above and dove towards Lydia. Not being caught off-guard again, Lydia jumped out of the cat's range. When the cat's paws touched the ground, it immediately turned itself around and leaped towards Lydia. Lydia raised her shield, preparing herself for the eminent impact. The force of her enemy's collision sent her stumbling back to the grass. Looking at the motionless beast in front of her, blood seeping from it's skull, she knew that it's failed attack had been it's undoing.
"Lydia!" shouted Borick, slashing a cat as it leaped towards him, "I figured out what the plaque means."
"By all means, let me hear it," Lydia replied just before dodging another lethal pounce.
Borick opened his mouth to respond, but a scream replaced his answer as a cat sunk it's teeth into his shoulder.
"Damned monster!" he cried. He took his dagger and stabbed above his bitten shoulder, the blade penetrating the cat's skull. After the deceased beast had let go, Borick shook it off. "It means we have to use our environment to our advantage."
"How exactly do you intend we do that? From what I can gather-" Lydia paused to cut down another whiskered enemy attempting to lunge at her. "-from what I can gather, these things hold all of the advantages."
"I'm still working on that one. Just keep them off yourself and Pip."
Lydia nodded. Turning her attention away from Borick, she saw Pip, his back against a tree and a saber cat closing in on him.
Sticking her sword in the ground and drawing her bow, Lydia fired an arrow at the cat. The arrow sunk home, sticking deep in the cat's chest.
The cat howled in pain and turned it's attention to Lydia. Before she could string a second arrow, the cat darted towards her, it's eyes seething with rage.
Moving as quickly as she could, Lydia strung the second arrow and aimed for the fast-approaching enemy's head. A dagger zipped past Lydia and hit the cat between the eyes. The cat fell to the ground: dead.
Lydia looked over to Borick and saw that both of his hands now contained balls of flame.
"Give the dagger to Pip; he's going to need some sort or protection," said Borick.
Dislodging the blade from the feline corpse, Lydia walked over to Pip and set it on the ground in front of him. "Here. Take it."
Pip, still shaking, took the hilt of the dagger in his teeth and nervously looked at Lydia.
"Don't worry, Pip. Hopefully you won't need-"
A shrill, animalistic scream rang out from ahead of Lydia and Pip. Suddenly, an abnormally large saber cat barreled out of the brush towards the duo.
Barely having any time to react as well as her sword being stuck in the ground a ways away, Lydia did the only thing she could think of doing: she tossed Pip into the air, out of harms way, and backed up against the tree. Just as the cat's powerful jaws were about to bite down on her, she forced her bow into it's mouth, preventing it from clamping shut. This only gave Lydia a moment of peace before the bow broke like a twig between the cat's teeth.
Pip, about to come down on top of the cat, hesitated momentarily. Could he really do this? Kill another creature? Borick had said that the first is always the hardest, but could he really pass that first hurdle and become what he so desperately wanted to become?
"Pip!" Lydia called out.
The cry of his named snapped Pip from his deep thoughts. Seeing Lydia, trapped against the tree, the beast's razor-sharp teeth only inches away from her, brought new courage into his heart.
Kill or be killed.
The phrase repeated itself over and over in Pip's mind. He came down from the air, dagger facing down, poised to strike. Before the cat could sink it's teeth into Lydia, Pip landed on the back of it's neck, the dagger puncturing it's hairy flesh.
Howling in surprise and agony, the beast tried to claw behind itself at Pip.
Pip drove the dagger further into the cat's neck, causing it's shrieks to turn to no more than a low gurgle as blood seeped into it's throat. Not long after, it collapsed to the ground, a final breath escaping it's lungs.
Yanking the dagger out, Pip turned his attention to Lydia, her expression one of awe and amazement.
Pip came over to her and dropped the dagger from his mouth, but before he could say something, an explosion of flames grabbed their attention and turned it to Borick.
Balls of flame from his hands were shot left and right, fending off the hordes of felines closing in on him. Lydia, knowing Borick wouldn't last alone much longer, scooped Pip and his dagger up and bolted over to assist him.
A stray fireball missed it's mark and slammed into a tree, exploding and setting the tree ablaze. To Lydia's surprise, the fire almost immediately spread to another tree, then another, and then another. Soon, she and her comrades were surrounded in a towering inferno. Cats still in the trees whaled as their fur caught fire and met the same fate as their colossal homes.
"Run!" Borick shouted, grabbing Lydia's arm and pulling her until she herself was running for her life.
The remaining cats that pursued them were taken one by one by the flaming trees until none remained.
Following Borick through the blazing forest, it was to Lydia as if the entire world was burning around her, and she was just unfortunate enough to witness it.
Suddenly, Lydia's foot caught on a tree root, sending her sailing forward onto the ground, her head impacting hard against the dirt.
Before her hazy vision, the burning forest shifted to her home, the city of Markarth, burning before her. Before her now stood a Stormcloak officer, smiling wickedly at her.
"Watch your precious home burn, milk-drinker," he said to her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her towards him.
Lydia, now a young girl, looked up at the officer. A large scar stretched across his face, slightly covered by his long brown hair.
"Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am Captain Hloggar, your new master. Don't worry, girl," he leaned in close enough for Lydia to smell his mead-laced breath, "I'll take good care of you."
"No!"
Lydia awoke, screaming. Looking around, she noticed that she was no longer in the forest, instead surrounded by open ground and smoldering ashes.
"Hey, she's finally awake," said Borick, walking over to her and offering his hand to help her up.
She accepted, taking his hand and rising to her feet. Looking back, she gazed upon the ashen remains of the forest; no trees, no grass, and no cats - just an open plane of black, charred earth.
Borick put his hand on Lydia's shoulder. "I guess that's one way to use your environment to your advantage," he said, slightly amused.
Still thinking of her dream, Lydia barely noticed Pip tapping her leggings.
"Miss Lydia, I'm so glad you're okay," he said, hugging her leg.
Smiling, Lydia picked Pip up off the ground and placed him on her shoulder then turned to Borick. "Alright, Borick, what awaits us, now?"
Wiping the sweat off his ashen face with his forearm, Borick gave Lydia a serious look. "The Meadow of Murder."