Chapter Forty Six

“I’ll be going on a trip. I’m leaving the Nurog and her crew in your hands, Lidun. You know what I’m going to say.”

The redguard sighed. “Yes, yes… Don’t leave the port, keep everyone out of trouble with the guards.” He was older than her, at least from, a visual comparison. Gaeolin could not tell for sure without knowing more about either of them. “But Captain, are you sure this is safe? Heading off with these strangers.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “You said yourself that one is a vampire…” 

Urmha shrugged. “I’m not worried for my safety. He needs me to get his cure. And between you and me, none of his group are stealthy enough to get the drop on me anyway.” She smirked. “Worrying about me, are you?”

He laughed. “I would never disrespect your abilities like that. Just watch your back, captain.”

Urmha nodded, fastening her cloak as she joined Gaeolin. He had been leaning against the stairs up onto the deck of the ship. “Everything going to be okay here?”

“Lidun is a good man.” She led the way onto the deck, the night air still and clear in the wake of the storm. “He doesn’t trust you. Just thought I’d put that on the table.”

Gaeolin gave a small grin. “Why did you want me to come aboard, anyway?”

“Well, so they know who to look for if I don’t come back.” She didn’t spare a glance to his look of offense. “He’s known me since I was a child. It’s a protective thing.”

“Since you were a child? How long have you had the ship?”

“This one, not long. I was studying at the College in Winterhold until a year ago. Found me a ship, hired me a crew. Lidun was from the old crew, he’d friends with my father.” She paused. “At least he was.” Catching the hint Gaeolin felt a pang of sympathy.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Urmha responded with a shrug. “He’d have wanted me to sail the seas. It’s the only life I know. It was also the best he had.” Inigo, Bai’lira and Auroth were outside of the Windpeak when the two reappeared. “Alright swine, get the rocks out of your knickers. We’ve got bandits to catch.”

“Just because he-” Auroth pointed to Gaeolin, “is letting you follow us doesn’t mean you can order us around.” Urmha answered as she had earlier. With a flick of her wrist a barrel on the Inn’s porch flew out and missed the elf by mere inches.

“You would think you would learn…” Inigo muttered.

“Come on, we need to get to Solitude. I have people there who may know more about where we can find the bandits.”

Under their newest companion’s constant urging, they covered quite a great distance in very little time. Eventually, Gaeolin found that he had to force a stop. “We need to rest here. I’ll start gathering wood.”

“Thank the Gods…” Inigo plopped into a snowbank, not minding the cold as long as it meant he no longer had to walk. Auroth held his hand over the area they had chosen, flames from his hand clearing the snow from the ground enough that they might sit. Bai’lira joined in the search for kindling. She came upon a dead log, swinging her axe high above her head to split it. Gaeolin started picking up the chunks she had hewn, marveling at her efficiency. 

“How do you do that so well?”

She glared at their newest recruit. “It helps this one to imagine the harpy’s face on the trunk. I use the nose as a marker.” She cut another piece before muttering. “Bai’lira does not appreciate being treated like this by a petty thief.”

Gaeolin laid a hand on her arm. “I know. I’ll speak to her. Try and be patient with her. She’s used to a more, crude environment than this.”

Soon they had enough wood to start a fire. After piling it in a manner deemed suitable, Gaeolin began to strike a flint against his knife. Inigo divided up a meager lunch of bread and cheese to the others as the first flames began to climb the fuel. No one spoke. It was clear that they were all tired, perhaps with the exception of Urmha and Gaeolin. Inigo turned to Urmha, trying to start some sort of conversation. “So, what is it like sailing the Sea of Ghosts? I have not sailed very much. My legs tend to prefer dry land over waves.”

“Best life one could have. When I was a lass, my father and I would stay in Anvil during the cold times. Nowadays it’s nothing but smooth sailing, pillaging, booze, cheap whores and all the fish you could want.”

“Do your crew sing while sailing to pass the time? I occasionally sing, but save it for the Bard’s college for the most part.” 

“Music’s an annoyance. I’d rather chew off my own tit than take part in it.”

“Really?” Inigo looked alarmed at the negative outlook. “I find a good song can improve the mood at almost any time.” He cleared his throat. “Dragon pie, oh my, oh my! It’s a tasty dish you really should try. Dragon pie, oh my, oh my! Our bowls are empty a dragon must die-”

“Can it cat. My dagger’s about to make you sing in a second!”

“That’s it!” Auroth stood up. “I’m sick of your attitude you green skinned freak!”

The tension among the travellers was tangible. Urmha’s head turned slowly, a dangerous look crossing her face. “What did you just call me?”

Auroth sneered. “I said green… skinned… freak.”

Before anyone could react, the bosmer girl had leapt clear over the fire, landing on top of Auroth with her arms churning to pummel him into submission. Inigo and Bai’lira jumped up to run to his aid. Gaeolin stopped them. “Let them sort this out themselves.”

The pair rolled away from the fire, the snow crunching under them as they went back and forth trying to put the other in their place. Auroth pinned her for a moment, bringing his knuckles across her cheek before she butted him with her head. He fell back, losing his advantage as she clawed at his face. He noted that while she was far stronger than he had expected, she did not follow a very disciplined fighting style. She was unbalanced in her hits. He dodged a punch, tossing her away while he stood again. She turned to face him, a half crazed smile on her face as she ran at him. He sidestepped as she lept to kick his chest. When she landed, he made to punch her temple. She grabbed his arm, twisting it round until she had her own wrapped around his throat. They stopped, panting as a light snow began to fall. 

“You’re tougher than you look…” Auroth coughed.

“You can thank my dear old mom for the Orc blood.” She squeezed, waiting until Auroth gagged before letting go. “Not too bad for a green skinned freak, eh?”

He rubbed his neck, laughing to himself. “Not bad at all. Nice to see you can backup your bad attitude.” He looked a bit unsettled by the outcome of the fight, but also impressed. “No offense about the skin tone. Just got tired of your tyrannical orders.”

She nodded. “I’m used to people doing what I say. We’ll call it a mutual misunderstanding.”

“There, now that you two have gotten that settled… Who are we looking for in Solitude?”

She settled back into her place by the fire, massaging her arm. “We’re looking for an Argonian named Jaree-ra. He’s always been after us, jealous of our targets, and the fact that we usually pull off pretty good heists. He recently came into possession of a small ship. He caught us off guard, boarded us, and managed to take down several of my best men.” She stared into the fire. “I doubt he’ll help us directly, but all we need is some hint to where they are hiding. He’s cocky, and should give himself away easily.”

Inigo yawned, still looking a little hurt at his song being so disliked earlier. “Well, at least we have a plan. For now though, I am feeling a little tired. Can we rest for a few hours before going on?”

Bai’lira and Auroth sent looks of silent agreement to this idea. Urmha shook her head. “None of you would make it on a ship.”

Gaeolin chuckled. “We can rest here. Urmha and I will take watch. Get some sleep.” 

The hours passed, the sounds of the three sleeping party members the only noise in the night. Gaeolin prodded the fire as Urmha stared out over the tundra.

  “So.” Urmha started conversation after a lengthy spell of silence. “Tell me about this daughter of yours.”

“She’s a sweetheart.” Gaeolin answered. “ Parents were killed when she was a cub. She’s warmed up to me, though I can still tell she’s suffering.” He sighed. “Then I show up looking like this…you’d have thought she saw a demon from the look she gave me.”

“When you’re on your own at that age, it wears on you.” Urmha shrugged. “ I suppose she was lucky to find you. Some of us aren’t.” She smiled, oddly enough. “I can’t help but wonder if ol’ pop would be proud of me.”

“Well, he was in your line of work, so I would think so.”

“He wasn’t always.” Drawing into the snow with a stick, her mouth slanted into a frown. “I’m what you call a bastard. My pops ended up at an Orc stronghold, was about my age. He had eyes for one of the chieftain’s wives. The chieftain himself was a true arse, he’d beat the spit out of his women without a second thought. Long story short, mom and dad made magic and I popped out. I ended up killing my mother in the process and the chief was enraged that I came out looking like my father. When he threatened to kill me, the midwife stole me away and tracked down my dad.” She rested her elbows on her knees, propping her face on her hands. “Nurog, that was her name. At least, that’s what my old captain said. He and dad were sailing together when I came along. The captain had a kid my age, maybe he figured we’d get along.”

“Not a chance?”

Urmha grinned. “Would you expect any less of me?” She stretched her legs out and leaned back. “We grew up together, sure, but the captain wanted me to take over for him. His son wasn’t happy about it and started turning crew members against us. Being that most of the crew were Nords and I am, shall we say, magically gifted, they didn’t take much convincing. Lidun was one of the few that stayed faithful. One day mutiny happens, the captain is killed and I jumped overboard to save my hide. I ended up at the college for a while, scavenged ships and caves, got my own boat and here I am…walking through a snowy wilderness with a bunch of whelps.”

“Your father was killed on the ship?”

“Hmmm? No, he ate it a few years prior. We made landfall and decided to hide in a cave after the ship took damage. Turns out the place was home to some spriggans. Dad and a couple crew members stayed behind so we could escape. We found the bodies of crew, but never dad’s. All that was left was his sword.” 

Gaeolin didn’t know what more to say. Instead, he continued his work on the fire for a while. “Listen, I know you didn’t have to help us like this so… Thank you, Urmha.”

She gave a soft laugh. “You’re welcome. I consider this business though. You are helping me as well. Don’t try and paint me as a philanthropist. The color doesn’t fit.” She looked at the moons above. Walking over to Auroth, she kicked him awake. “Come on, lout! Night’s a wastin’! Gaeolin probably would like to at least reach a cave before daybreak.”