Through Altmer's Eyes: Chapter 4

Calemirwen was still new to Skyrim and hasn't been to too many places yet so when she recently heard of a busy village in the middle of the forest, she thought it was an excellent opportunity to see more of Skyrim and still earn some more coin. It was described as being full of life and there always being a few jobs open to prospective travelers. She was but a novice mage so now that she had a mercenary traveling with her, she could travel without worry. He had already proven himself to be a capable fighter.

As their journey led them down forgotten paths through thick forests, they had encountered a few hostiles. The first to impede their progress was a band of thieves who thought it was their lucky day; Vidkun was more then happy to prove them wrong. Nature wasn't any kinder as they were attacked more than once by some unfriendly bears and sabre cats. After each animal attack, once they lay dead, Vidkun had bent over them and skinned them so that he may sell them for a small profit, much to Calemirwen's disgust. She left him to it, choosing instead to wander down the path; she couldn't stand the sight or sound of him skinning those beasts.

Once they arrived at their destination, it was more than she expected. Walking down the path, the woods opened up to a huge clearing. The sun shined down upon many small buildings that were tightly clustered together. To the right was the market; small buildings with various signs sat in a tight semi-circle, clustered around the market stalls. To the left were houses that stretched to the small river that ran down alongside the village. Straight down, beyond the houses and the market were the staples of the town; the inn, the pub, the lumber mill, the blacksmith, the graveyard, the barracks, and the jail. Even further beyond that, on a hill just before the woods in the distance, was a grand mansion, cut off from the rest of the town by the walls that surrounded it and the patrolling guards.

Calemirwen explored the town as people bustled by and children ran underfoot as they played one of their games. With so many people living here, there had to be a few jobs she could take on. First, she started with the bartender who had a few bounties on hand. Then she moved onto the shop keepers and from there she asked around town, listening to gossip and rumors. She found so many odd jobs that would pay that she had to go to the inn to rent a place to stay for three nights.

"I need a room with two beds," she requested from the innkeeper. He slowly turned and walked over to the counter to greet her. The dark circles under his eyes told her that he needed one of his own rooms.

"Sorry," the exhausted innkeeper replied. "One bed per room."

"Hmm," she muttered. "It's too expensive to rent two rooms for three nights."

"It looks like we'll have to share the bed," Vidkun said with a smile. Calemirwen turned to glare at him with an expression that told him she wasn't amused. "Don't worry," he said seriously, "I'll just sleep on the floor."

Satisfied with the arrangement, she turned back to the innkeeper and rented a room for three nights.

Once that was taken care of, she immediately went to work in town starting with the smallest and easiest jobs first. While delivering a package to someone's house, a falcon came soaring out of the sky and landed on Vidkun's shoulder; tied to its leg was a small message. He undid the message and read it as the falcon flew off.

"What is it?" she inquired.

"Nothing," he responded nonchalantly. His serious expression told her to drop it so she didn't press the issue any further. He crumbled the note into his pocket as they walked off.

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That night Calemirwen retired to bed exhausted after a full day of running around. At least the jobs paid good money. She collapsed on the bed while Vidkun spread out his sleeping bag on the floor beside her. The bed was musty and it had a faint odor but she was thankful for a good nights sleep on a bed instead of on the forest floor in her sleeping bag. She was asleep within minutes.

She awoke in the middle of the night to roll to her other side when she noticed Vidkun was missing. She briefly wondered where he could have gone to in the middle of the night as she fell back to sleep.

The next morning she was awoken by the sun's shining rays on her face. She stirred and, sitting up, rubbed sleep from her eyes. She glanced over to find Vidkun sound asleep in his sleeping bag. 'He must have returned sometime last night,' she thought to herself. 'Where did he go?'

She spent the whole day tracking down and eliminating bandits for their bounties. Vidkun was oddly quiet and didn't make a single wise crack to her the whole day. She wondered if it had anything to do with where he went last night. She also wondered what was tied to that falcon's leg; it was all very mysterious. Of course Vidkun remained tight lipped about it. She figured if he wouldn't talk about it, she would stay awake that night and follow him if he left again.

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She laid in bed, trying her hardest to stay awake but she was exhausted. She laid in the bed on her back with her eyes closed, listening to the crickets chirping outside and the low hum of voices that drifted down the hallway to their room. Before she realized it, she had fallen asleep.

Calemirwen awoke in the middle of the night to discover Vidkun had, once again, vanished. She cursed herself silently as she made her way downstairs. She inquired about him to the innkeeper behind the counter who revealed to her that he had left about an hour ago. Without any idea of where he went, she had no way to trail him. They had one night left; she would have to stay awake then if she wanted to find out what secret he was keeping.

They've only been traveling together for a few days and she didn't know more than his name. He always refused to talk about himself. Sure, she didn't talk about herself either but he never asked. He was being even more mysterious than usual and she felt this was her chance to find something out about him. She gave up for the night and went back to bed.

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She had heard rumors about people disappearing at a nearby cave so she spent the whole day investigating with Vidkun. It turned out that the people were being lured there and then killed by Will O Wisps. The townspeople paid a lot of gold after they were able to clear out the cave of the Will O Wisp threat.

This was their last night here and Calemirwen was determined to find out where Vidkun was sneaking off to every night. So that night she laid in bed with her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. She listened very carefully to Vidkun's breathing from his place on the floor. Ever since that falcon came, he's been acting totally different than usual. He's been silent and serious with no wise cracks whatsoever. It made her wonder what was really going on. Maybe he's in trouble and is too proud to ask for help. She had to find out and help him if that was true.

Night seemed to drift on forever as he laid motionless on his sleeping bag. 'Maybe he's not going tonight,' she pondered as she started to drift off once again.

She hadn't been asleep very long when she jolted awake. She glanced over and found his spot empty once again. 'Damn it,' she thought as she leapt out of bed and raced to the window. It was pitch black so she almost missed the black figure leave the inn and head up the path in the direction of the mansion that sat away from the town. 'Not this time.' She quickly slipped her shoes on and bolted from the room.

She threw the front door to the inn open and stepped outside. The stars in the night sky along with the torch bugs helped shed some light as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. A cool night breeze swept along her face as she quickly raced down the path in the direction she saw him go.

The mansion was enclosed within a stone wall. Two guards blocked the iron gate which was the only visible entrance. The glare they gave her told her that no one was allowed in. She was certain though that she saw him come this way. She looked around and saw no one else except for the town guards patrolling the area. Turning away from the mansion entrance, she walked off and carefully snuck around the mansion. Perhaps he went behind the mansion and, sure enough, that's where she found him.

"Vidkun!" she exclaimed.

He spun around, clearly startled. "Shh!" he hushed. "What in Oblivion are you doing here?!" His tone, although in a low whisper, was very angry.

"Following you," she whispered back as she crept over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"It's business. Go back." He turned away from her to face the back of the stone wall.

"No," she whispered back with determination in her voice.

"This isn't a game," he glared angrily at her over his shoulder.

"I can help," she pleaded. "Whatever you're doing, let me help you."

He glared at her in silence before sighing in exasperation. "Fine," he conceded, "but be quiet. Come here," he gestured. She walked up to him as he bent down and cupped his hands. "Jump up." She stepped on his hands and he lifted her up. She grabbed the top of the wall but lacked the upper body strength to pull herself up. He put his hands on her rear.

"Get your hands off my ass," she hissed in a whisper.

"I'm only helping you up," he replied, smiling. "Aren't you a little short for a High Elf?"

"Not now," she said. This wasn't the time for them to discuss her unusual shorter stature. He pushed her up until she sat at the top of the wall. The stone was cold beneath her fingers as she gripped the wall for support. "How are you going to get up?" She looked down at him quizzically. She certainly wouldn't be able to pull him up.

He smiled up at her as he sprinted at the wall, running up it's side a few steps only to push off of it, stepping on the side of a nearby tree and pushing off of it as well, coming to a soft landing on the wall next to her. He crouched down along side her with a smug expression on his face; she was certain he was just showing off now. She had to admit, though, that it was impressive. Her mouth was left gaping open as she stared in amazement. This made his smile grow wider as he hopped off the wall and landed on the ground with a soft thud. He turned around to look up at her and held his hands up at her, motioning for her to jump down.

She looked down at the ground. The wall suddenly seemed a lot higher up and the fall even worse. She clung to the wall and shook her head. She wasn't about to just jump off a high wall.

"I'll catch you," he quietly assured her.

She stared at him for a moment as she thought it over to herself. She came all the way here to convince him to trust her; the least she could do was trust him to catch her. Besides, she couldn't just stay up here on this wall.

Biting her lower lip, she swung her legs over the side of the wall. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and pushed off.

Air brushed past her face as she fell from the wall. When she was starting to worry that he wouldn't catch her, she felt his strong arms wrap around her waist, holding her against him. She opened her eyes and stared down into his. They stared into each others eyes for a moment in silence before he started to put her down. As he was slowly releasing her, her body rubbed against his. The contact between them caused a friction of electricity they both surely felt. On her way back down to the ground, their eyes never left each other.

Once her feet were planted back on the ground, he jerked his head toward the back door in a motion that meant she was to follow him before he snuck over. She crouched down and tried to imitate his movements. She studied the way he silently crept through the yard soundlessly. His movements were always very fluid and smooth with everything he did. It was amazing to see him stalking through the shadows like a panther.

As they approached the back door, he pulled out some small tools and began  working on the lock. It was unlocked in a matter of seconds and he quietly snuck in. Calemirwen carefully followed his lead through the mansion.

The hallway was large, built with strong, dark wood. The occasional torch and lamp lent little light to the dark hallway that was bathed in shadow. Portraits watched their forbidden entry with disapproving glares. The rooms they passed glittered with wealth. A fireplace crackled in a nearby room, making the hallway stuffy and warm. Mumbling and laughter of nearby guards drifted down the hallway as their heavy boots announced their approach.

Vidkun quickly opened a door and pushed her inside. They waited in the dark room until the guards passed by before sneaking back out.

They silently crept up the stairs and continued down yet another long hallway. Vidkun passed by without a sound but Calemirwen stepped on a squeaky floor board, alerting a nearby guard.

"Who's there?!" he shouted, boots rushing towards them. Vidkun pushed her into another room where they hid in the dark. "Come out!" Vidkun kept calm but Calemirwen was trying hard not to panic. Her heart slammed in her ears as her breathing became just as panicked. They were going to get caught for sure.

Vidkun placed a hand over her mouth and silently mouthed, 'Calm down,' and she did. She looked at him in the dark and felt calmer, safer.

"I guess I was just hearing things," the guard muttered, walking away. Vidkun peaked out before motioning for her to follow him.

They found themselves at the last room in the hallway. The wide double doors led her to assume it was the master suite. Vidkun had passed up many valuables on the way here. Whatever was in there must be a major find, a treasure of treasures. She was ready to follow him inside when he turned around and checked a small, dark room across the hall.

"Wait in here," he instructed.

She was about to protest when he snuck into the master suite and closed the door. So she turned around and waited for him in that small room. She left the door open a crack so that she could keep an eye on his door.

All was silent for a few minutes; Calemirwen was starting to get nervous. Suddenly, she heard a loud crash coming from his room.

'Crap,' she thought. There's no way anyone missed that noise. Sure enough, loud boots came thundering up the stairs. She had to do something to help Vidkun.

Leaving the safety of the small room she was hiding in, she carefully snuck across the hallway and cracked open his door. Silently, her hand began to glow as she cast a small spell into the dark room. The glowing eyes of her familiar stared back at her from the shadows. "Mew."

"You know what to do," she whispered, leaving the door cracked open before sneaking back to her hiding spot. She listened to an angry guard run down the hallway. Then her familiar slyly walked out of the room. She heard the guard stop in his tracks.

"It's just a damn cat," he said. "How in Oblivion did a cat get in?"

Her familiar jumped up onto a side hallway table and began to push things off. They crashed to the floor, resulting in a string of curses from the guard. Then the chase was on; her familiar went running down the hall, the guard giving chase. Their footsteps disappeared, giving way to silence.

Once the coast was clear, Vidkun entered the hallway. He smiled at Calemirwen as she snuck out into the hallway after him.

"Perhaps you're not totally helpless after all. It's a good thing you came." She beamed proudly at his praise. "Come one," he said, crouching down. "We still have to get out of here."

They made their way back through the house. Her familiar showed up as they made their way back down the stairs. The cat continued to provide distractions when they needed it. They had a few close calls but made it through without being caught.

Once they were back outside, Vidkun offered his support again as he helped Calemirwen up the wall. It was too high a jump for her familiar so she unsummoned him. There was no trees on this side of the wall so she wondered how he would make it up this time.

She watched with interest as he moved to a corner of the wall. Using the two intersecting walls, he pulled a similar feat as before. He was able to skillfully jump back and forth until he reached the top of the wall. Then he jumped down and moved over to catch her.

They safely made it back to their room. Calemirwen was bursting with energy from the adrenaline; she couldn't hold still as she flopped onto the bed.

"That was so exciting! I can't believe we made it through without getting caught! Did you see how many guards were posted? Tons! Do you do this often?"

He stood there, smiling at her enthusiasm. "Often enough."

"You are amazing! That was amazing!" she gushed, bouncing up and down on the bed. "So, what was the big score? What'd you steal?"

He turned away from her as he pulled out a small cloth and a bloodied dagger. Silence fell over them as she stopped bouncing, her enthusiasm drained instantly.

"No score," he said as he cleaned his dagger in solemn silence.

'What have I gotten myself into?'


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They didn't talk to each other the next day as Calemirwen waved farewell to the innkeeper.

When they reached the shops, a huge crowd had formed. Calemirwen walked over, wondering what all the noise was about. Everyone was talking at once; the wealthier people were in tears.

She stopped and asked what happened. Through choking sobs, she learned from one wealthy woman that a very wealthy man who was well respected among his class was murdered last night in his sleep.

"Who would have done such a thing?" the woman cried. Calemirwen looked to Vidkun who just stared at her with a blank expression. Calemirwen walked off and found a secluded place to talk. She furrowed her eyebrows angrily as she spun to confront him.

"You killed that man, didn't you?" she accused him. He just stared at her in silence. "Why? What'd he ever do to you?"

"Nothing," he said coolly. "I never knew him."

"Then why..."

"It's what I do." Silence, then he asked, "Are you afraid of me now?"

"No," she lied. He glared at her for a moment before looking away. "Perhaps it would be better if we...went out separate ways," Calemirwen offered.

"Yeah," he said, his gaze distant. He walked off without another word, without looking back at her.

'This is for the best,' she told herself. After all, she barely knew the man.

She felt a sharp pang in her chest and had no idea why.


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She was walking around town in a daze. She didn't know how much time had past. A couple of minutes? An hour? She was an accessory to murder. It was something she couldn't wrap her mind around. She wasn't sure how she felt about it.

While walking around town, she noticed a poor looking woman crying alone in a secluded area. There was a lot of people crying that day but they were all wealthy people talking about how great the deceased was.

She decided to approach the woman to comfort her. "Are you okay?" she asked. The woman continues to sob. Calemirwen then asked if she was crying over the murder; the woman nodded.

Calemirwen was overcome with even more guilt. "I'm sorry," she said to the woman.

The crying woman shook her head. "I'm not crying because I'm upset," she explained. "I'm crying because I'm happy."

"Huh?" That wasn't what Calemirwen expected to hear.

"He was an awful man and I'm glad he's dead." Calemirwen listened to her confession in shock. Everyone so far had loved the man. "He raped my daughter; she was only 16 years old. He then used his money to cover it up so no one would believe her; they all called her a liar. She killed herself shortly after. Not one person came to her funeral. No, I'm glad he's dead."

The first thing Calemirwen thought of was Vidkun. 'So he didn't kill a kind man; he killed a rapist.' She still didn't know him and knew it would be wise to stay away from him but she suddenly felt compelled to find him.


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The first place she thought to check was a bar. It was filled with customers, mostly Nords. She approached the burly man behind the counter.

"Can I help ye, miss?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm looking for a man; a Nord with blue eyes and long, black hair. Have you seen anyone like that?"

"Every time I look in the mirror," he joked. The whole bar erupted in laughter.

"His name is Vidkun," she added.

"Look, little missy. I dun ask me customer their names. Now, are ye gonna order somethin' or what?"

She left disappointed. She knew it was a long shot but she asked around town as well.

After she spent all day asking around town and coming up empty, she gave up. She dragged herself to the exit of town. Rounding a wall of trees that surrounded the town, she headed to the stables when she saw him. He was leaning against the trees, arms crossed, waiting for her. Her heart leapt when she saw him.

"Vidkun!" she called, walking over to him. "I've been looking for you."

"I heard," he said. His words dripped with ice and his stare was just as cold.

She looked at him questionably. "Huh?"

"When an elf, especially an Altmer, goes around town asking about a Nord, word spreads."

"Ah," she nodded, a bit embarrassed.

"Well, here I am," he said. "Talk." He glared at her with that cold, icy stare.

"I've heard some things about that man," she began nervously.

"Oh?" he said nonchalantly.

"Yeah. It turns out that he was actually an awful person. What he did, I say he got what he deserved."

"Is that so?" he said as if he didn't really care. "I don't know what he did or didn't do and I don't care. Don't make me out to be a hero because I'm not."

"I know," she said, "but listen; you're the only one I know here in Skyrim and regardless of what you did or do, I still wouldn't have made it this far without your help. I would feel safer if you continued to travel with me."

A look of shock flashed across his face before he quickly covered it up with his cold, blank stare. "Aren't you afraid that I'll stab you in the back?"

"Nope," she replied with a smirk. "I already saved your life once so the way I figure it, you owe me one. So I don't think that I have to worry about that."

He smirked at his own words being used against him.

"So, what do you say?"

He smiled then held his hand out to her, palm up. She looked at him questionably.

"You fired me, remember? Now that you're hiring me back, I require my fee again."

"Seriously?!" She was outraged but he just smiled. She fished around in her pouch and removed the one thousand, slamming it into his waiting palm. However, he didn't pull his hand back.

"It's one thousand five hundred now."

"WHAT?! That's ridiculous!!"

"Inflation," he grinned.

"It's only been a couple of hours!"

"What can I say? My price has gone up since then." He was enjoying himself immensity."You want me; you have to pay, honey."

Leaving his hand outstretched, he lightly gripped her chin with the other. "If you don't want to pay the increased amount, I have another way you can pay me," he started to lightly stroke her bottom lip with his thumb.  The touch made her lip tingle and sent a small shiver down her spine. "with a kiss."

She looked up at him in surprise. Was he serious or was he simply making a fool out of her? She looked up into his face as his thumb continued to caress her lip.

'It would be cheaper,' she reasoned. 'It's just a kiss, right?'

His eyes gazed into hers with intensity but a small grin spread out on his lips. 'He's making fun of me!' she thought with irritation.

"A hundred gold and I don't fry your ass," she said stubbornly.

She thought she saw a look of disappointment flash across his face before he put on a pseudo upset expression. "Aww. You don't want to give me a kiss? I'm hurt." He stuck out his lower lip to make his point.

"Pfft. As if. I'd rather kiss a skeever."

"You wound me, madame." He pulled his hand away from her face. "Alright. A hundred gold extra only because I like ya so much." He gave her a wink.

She fished out the extra gold and continued onto the stables. He put them away and followed after her.


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That night they sat around a small fire that Calemirwen had set up in the middle of the forest while the horses were off grazing a few feet away. Calemirwen pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her head on her knees. She was watching the fire crackle when Vidkun, who had been staring at her, spoke up.

"You really are short for a High Elf, aren't you. Why is that?"He sat cross legged on the grass, his elbows rested on his knees, his head in his hands.

She glared at him for a moment before turning back to stare into the fire.

"It's a rare genetic trait," she began with a pause. He watched her as she gathered her thoughts, the humor leaving his face with her serious tone. "Back along my blood line, one of my ancestors married a wood elf."

"I thought your kind was very selective about their marriage and breeding traditions?" he asked.

"We are. Normally, there's a selection process where we choose a mate with the highest standards," she paused before adding, "and they're always another Altmer.

"But somewhere along my line, we chose to marry for love which resulted in a union with a Bosmer. That was unheard of and my family's status plummeted." She paused again to gather her thoughts.

"It happened again after that with someone else in my family. So, because of that, every once in a while, someone in my family will be shorter than average," she looked over at him and added, "like me."

She sighed and stared back at the crackling fire. "I've never had a relationship because of it."

"That's stupid," he said all of a sudden. She looked over at him in shock. "Are you telling me that you're a virgin and all because of your ancestors, because of your height?"

"You don't understand. Our traditions are very strict."

"You're right; I don't understand."

She glanced solemnly at the fire when he said, "So...are you really a virgin then?" The shock and disbelief was evident in his voice.

She avoided his gaze, her face coloring in embarrassment. She could almost hear the snide grin in his voice. "I can help you with that."

'How did the conversation end up like this?!' she wondered. "G-goodnight!" she yelled, quickly flopping onto her sleeping bag.