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<\/p>\nThey sat close to the tiny fire they\u2019d started, well hidden in a shallow depression in the rocks.\u00a0 In spite of having put her hood back on, and wrapping both her cape and the long scarf around her, the cold was starting to bother Sayma and she shivered.<\/p>\n
After leaving Ben Erai they had headed across the sand to Arenar\u2019s oasis, then west toward the mountains, agreeing that being next to them would be to their advantage in case they needed to gain height quickly. Past the mouth of the box canyon leading to the Halls of the West the mountains took a sudden turn, stretching back to the east and blocking their way; and there was nothing for it but to skirt their edge, looking for a way to continue north.<\/p>\n
They had done just that, pushing forward until finally the mountains dwindled to just a ridge of stone rising out of the sand and they were able to cross it. It was nearly full dark by then, so Brynjolf had gathered a few dead branches and made the small fire beside which they sat, and Sayma had pulled some bread and cheese out of her pack and shared it with him as they sat in the quiet.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I answered your question,\u201d Brynjolf said out of nowhere, surprising her. \u201cWhen are you going to answer mine?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sayma looked at him, confused. \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in Falkreath. You asked me \u2018why\u2019 and I gave you the best answer I have. And I also said that I could ask you the same question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBryn, I\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou owe me.\u201d His voice was quiet, but intense, and he turned to stare at her as he spoke.\u00a0 \u201cYou really do. You know it. My life changed that day and I want to know why. A chest of gems is nice, but you know it\u2019s not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sayma shuddered again, not from the cold this time. It was so hard to come up with an explanation that sounded remotely sane, even to her.\u00a0 She sighed, and he shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not backing down. I was ready to drain you dry over this before I knew it was you. I want to know why.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, Bryn. I know.\u201d\u00a0 She glanced at him. \u201cThat was one of the most terrifying moments I\u2019ve ever had, do you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brynjolf paused, examining her, clearly weighing what he would say next. \u201cI\u2019m sure it was. But the reason it happened was the question I need you to answer. Why? What possible reason made you just\u2026 walk away from us?\u201d<\/p>\n
From \u201cus,\u201d Bryn? Do you mean the Guild? Or us, our marriage? Does that even matter to you anymore? Can I even find words for you?<\/em><\/p>\n She gazed at him. Even in the dark, his eyes shone a vivid green that twisted her heart into knots.\u00a0 I need to at least try. Maybe you won\u2019t accept it as a valid reason but at least I need to talk.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt won\u2019t even make sense unless I go way back. To Mercer Frey, even.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf frowned at her. \u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you remember Bronze Water Cave?\u201d\u00a0 I know you do. That was burned into my mind and it had to have been into yours as well. Please tell me you remember.<\/em><\/p>\n He hesitated for a moment, and then nodded slowly. \u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI told you I wanted to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf turned away from her, poked the fire with a stick, stirred up the embers a bit and added a couple additional branches to it.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I told you that I did, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I wanted to kill him in the same way you wanted to kill the Listener for not giving you the truth. Like some kind of animal. I wanted to rip him apart, Bryn. It was all I could think of, the whole time we were there. I wanted to taste his blood, see it on my blade. I wanted to watch him die in fear.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf was silent for several moments, and she could see him passing that information through his mind and rolling it around.<\/p>\n \u201cIt must be obvious that I understand that feeling. That doesn\u2019t explain why you left.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t the first time I\u2019d felt like that. And it got worse after Mercer was gone. You kept telling me not to kill, not to kill, and I just wanted to more and more. It was like a voice in my ear. \u00a0It\u2019s why I know the voice saying \u2018come to me\u2019 right now isn\u2019t my father, because some of what I heard back then was<\/em> my father. I don\u2019t even want to describe what I did for Torsten Cruel-Sea. It was driving me crazy, Bryn. I was afraid. Of myself. \u00a0And then\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The words started spilling out of her, then, all the things she had wanted to share with him all that time before but hadn\u2019t dared to. Grelod the Kind. Astrid. Cicero. The Night Mother. The fire at the Sanctuary. There were so many things, and it felt so good to finally have them said even as it hurt so badly to rip them out into the open once more.<\/p>\n Again there was a long hesitation before Brynjolf spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you couldn\u2019t have told me about it? Couldn\u2019t we have worked something out together?\u201d His voice was calm, but he sounded sad, subdued.<\/p>\n And this is the hard part. This is the shameful part. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI found out I was pregnant, Bryn.\u201d Her voice caught, and she was grateful that it was dark and he wouldn\u2019t be able to see the fat tears building in her eyes. \u201cI\u2019d been\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n He sighed in the dark, looking away over the hillside so that she couldn\u2019t see his face. She was grateful for that.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Roggi. I know. I knew it would happen, before we ever got married. I hoped it wouldn\u2019t, but I wasn\u2019t surprised that it did.\u201d<\/p>\n She swallowed hard, and had to work to force her voice out. \u201cThere\u2019s no excuse for that, Bryn, and I know it, and if I could change a single thing about my life that\u2019s what I would change. When I figured out why I was sick, I panicked. All I could think about was what would happen if my son had blonde hair.\u201d\u00a0 She tried to clear her throat. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, but I was afraid. Of you. Of all of it. I had to run away. Looking back now, it makes no sense \u2013 but that\u2019s what I was thinking.\u201d She sniffled. In spite of herself the tears standing in her eyes were threatening to run down her nose. \u201cI was only thinking about myself. And I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf rose from the fire and walked a few paces away.\u00a0 He stood still for a few moments, then scooped up a stone from the ground and threw it as hard as he could at the mountainside. It ricocheted off the rocks, making a resounding crack that echoed for several moments.<\/p>\n \u201cDamn it!\u201d he growled.\u00a0 \u201cGods damn it, and my father, and me for being my father\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n What is this?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBryn, come back to the fire.\u00a0 It\u2019s cold.\u201d<\/p>\n He returned, and sat down next to her, closer than he had been before but not touching. Still she could feel the heat radiating from him and was comforted.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was that about?\u201d<\/p>\n He looked at her and shook his head. \u201cMy father was a hard man. He had a terrible temper, and he didn\u2019t like me at all. I learned how to steal things as just a wee lad and he hated me for it. I got away as soon as I could. I wanted to stay alive. I always hoped maybe I\u2019d turn out better than him but it seems I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n He picked up a stick and poked at the fire again, angrily, sparks erupting from it and flying up through the air.<\/p>\n \u201cI told you I was careful about feeding, when I was a vampire. Well, I tried<\/em> to be careful, when I thought about it. I forgot a lot of the time, just like I forgot to cast the illusion spell. That\u2019s how I ended up being a Nightlord.\u201d He started to say something else, then closed his mouth, then started again. \u201cI guess I\u2019m not surprised that you were afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh Bryn. I\u2019m sorry.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI had no idea. All I knew was that you\u2019d lost your temper with me the one time, and that was bad enough. I\u2019d have been doubly afraid if I\u2019d known what Roggi really is.\u00a0 But mostly I was afraid of myself, Bryn.\u201d She looked into the fire and hesitated. \u201cI\u2026 have to tell you something else. And I don\u2019t know how.\u201d<\/p>\n He snorted. \u201cJust say it.\u00a0 It can\u2019t be any worse than everything else we\u2019ve had to tell each other.\u201d<\/p>\n Well now he\u2019ll hear what kind of a monster he married.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWell, you know that the Emperor was killed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course I do, everybody\u2026\u201d He stopped and turned to stare at her. \u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n The words tumbled out of her. It was a dam breaking, the thing she had most wanted to be able to tell someone; and here he was, the one person most likely to understand it and at the same time most likely to be hurt by it. She couldn\u2019t stop herself.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was me, Bryn.\u00a0 I killed him.\u00a0 It was just after that awful fire at the Falkreath Sanctuary. And the worst of it was that it was the most exciting thing I\u2019ve ever done. I don\u2019t know what I was thinking, carrying a child and doing that kind of work except that I knew I could do it and the Night Mother wanted it done. Nazir, Babette, Cicero and I were all that was left. I felt like I had to. We saved the Thieves Guild, Brynjolf \u2013 you, me, and Karliah. I had to do something for the Brotherhood. It was almost dead as well. And she chose me. The Night Mother. Of all the people in the world, she chose me to speak to. They listened to me. They wanted me. They looked to me.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head. \u201cI know you all chose me in the Guild but it wasn\u2019t like Nocturnal picked me. This was the Night Mother, Bryn. And\u2026 it still sounds pitiful, doesn\u2019t it.\u201d<\/p>\n It was silent for several long minutes, only the occasional snap of a branch in the fire making a sound.\u00a0 Finally Brynjolf reached for a water skin and took a sip.<\/p>\n \u201cYou assassinated the Emperor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. And all his guards. I killed them all.\u201d She looked sideways at him. \u201cAnd I enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure what to say,\u201d he mumbled.<\/p>\n \u201cI know,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I\u2019m just very sorry.\u00a0 For all of it, and for what happened afterward, and for Andante\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVitus,\u201d he murmured, almost to himself. \u201cVitus Perdeti. Don\u2019t be sorry about him.\u201d He turned to look at her. \u201cAnd don\u2019t be sorry about Roggi. Listen, I\u2019ve had years now to think about that. Roggi\u2019s my friend. It was in the past. It\u2019s done. You needed him, and he needed you. And I needed Vitus.\u201d<\/p>\n She shivered.\u00a0 I\u2019m so stupid with the cold. This is ridiculous.<\/em><\/p>\n He sighed, and moved next to her, putting one arm around her shoulders.<\/p>\n \u201cHere. Get warm. I\u2019d be lying if I said I wasn\u2019t still angry that you left. But there\u2019s no reason for you to freeze to death when I\u2019m right here.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma shivered more, and wasn\u2019t certain whether she was shivering from the cold, or from Brynjolf\u2019s touch. But he was warm, and the fire was warm, and she found herself calming and relaxing in spite of herself. Maybe Mother was right. Maybe Bryn and Roggi would have taken care of me no matter what my son\u2019s hair looked like. Maybe I was foolish to have been afraid.<\/em><\/p>\n An odd thought passed through her mind, causing her to glance at him.\u00a0 He was staring at the fire, frowning.<\/p>\n He hasn\u2019t called me \u201class.\u201d\u00a0 Not a single time.<\/em><\/p>\n __<\/p>\n It was still early in the morning when they descended onto the sand once more and continued on their way.\u00a0 It was much closer to due west that they walked than Sayma had expected, and she wondered whether or not they should go north instead; but the plan had been to stay near the mountains and it seemed better to stick to it.<\/p>\n After a time they neared what was clearly a Dwemer ruin, tucked up into the side of the nearest mountain.\u00a0 Brynjolf ran up the steps onto the first of several landings, and then called back down to her.<\/p>\n \u201cAre we going in?\u201d<\/p>\n She pulled the map out of her pack and stared at it.\u00a0 There was no such ruin marked on it, and she didn\u2019t remember Syloria having mentioned such a thing. Sayma waved Brynjolf back down the stairs and shook her head at him.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think so, Bryn. Syloria, the officer back in Ben Erai, told me about two places we need to find, and they were both to the north, not the west.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy are we heading west, then?\u201d he said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause there was one other place she mentioned, specifically because I\u2019m Redguard, and that was to the northwest. An old temple, she said, if I remember properly.\u201d She looked up at the Dwemer ruin, and the part of her that was a dedicated thief started making its argument for going in.\u00a0 Dwemer ruins always had things of worth in them.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe we should go in anyway? We might be able to find some amount of wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf also looked up at the shining domes of the place, and she recognized the same expression of avarice on his face that she knew she must be wearing.\u00a0 Then he shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. It\u2019s tempting, but we can\u2019t spend any more time here than we need to. Besides, I can\u2019t imagine that this place hasn\u2019t been picked clean over the years. If what you\u2019ve said is true, they probably needed the coin for trading.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re right.\u00a0 Well maybe we\u2019ll go in some day when everything at home has calmed down again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAye. Maybe we will.\u201d<\/p>\n They started trotting along in the sand once more.\u00a0 From atop the next highest dune, they could see a huge building to the east.\u00a0 She pointed to it.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure that\u2019s one of the places we need to go.\u00a0 Positive of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShould we go there now, then?\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head. \u201cNo. I want to go find the temple. We should be almost there by now. \u00a0We\u2019ll come back to this complex here later.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright. That sounds reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n They headed out to the northwest again, hugging the edge of the mountains, keeping near the places where they could leap to a higher vantage point to escape danger.\u00a0 Sayma stole a glance at Brynjolf and smiled. We always have worked well together. It\u2019s good to know that hasn\u2019t changed in spite of everything.<\/em><\/p>\n They reached the place where the mountains turned east again in an unbroken line.\u00a0 On the relatively flat area before this corner of the two ranges stood a structure that was unmistakably an old temple, ringed by tall towers with open decks beneath elegant, rounded domes.\u00a0 There were palms growing within the outer walls, speaking of water inside. She pointed down toward it.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s got to be it. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n But Brynjolf grabbed at her arm and held her back.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat in Oblivion is that<\/em> thing?\u201d<\/p>\n There was a huge creature scuttling back and forth between them and the temple.\u00a0 It reminded Sayma of a chaurus, the large insects bred by Falmer in their caves; but it was larger than a chaurus and a bronzed, sandy color that blended into the desert. If not for its movement, she might have walked straight into its path and never seen it.\u00a0 As she stared at it, more movement caught her eye.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to guess that\u2019s a Dune Ripper.\u00a0 I\u2019ll try to hit it from here. There\u2019s another one down past it, as well, do you see him? But watch for fireballs. I don\u2019t know about you but I\u2019m not fond of them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. Neither am I.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma pulled out her bow, moved to a better vantage point, and took aim at the nearer of the creatures.\u00a0 The arrow landed squarely in its shell; but to her dismay it barely slowed the beast down.\u00a0 It turned and started rushing in her direction.\u00a0 She took another shot at it, which missed because it had caught sight of Brynjolf and turned just as she\u2019d loosed the arrow.\u00a0 She saw a flicker of light at its mandibles and feared it was getting ready to spit fire.\u00a0 Even worse, she looked beyond it and saw yet a third Dune Ripper crawling up over the sand ridge toward them.<\/p>\n \u201cThree of them, Bryn,\u201d she called out.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m on it,\u201d he answered.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t look at him, but saw another arrow whizzing down the slope to catch the second creature squarely.<\/p>\n She managed to kill the first of the insects after several more shots, and saw arrows reaching the third one far below. She turned to see that Brynjolf had done exactly what he said he\u2019d do; he had taken the high ground atop a rock outcropping and was firing at the beasts as fast as he could.\u00a0 The remaining insect had turned back toward her, though, so she fired four more arrows at it in quick succession, finally dropping it.<\/p>\n Brynjolf jumped down and came to meet her.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was well done. And not a single fireball,\u201d he said, grinning.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. I think we were too fast for them.\u201d She smiled back at him. \u201cLet\u2019s go see what\u2019s in this temple.\u201d<\/p>\n They passed the corpses of the dune rippers.\u00a0 Sayma couldn\u2019t help but shudder at the size of them.\u00a0 They glistened, their enormous segmented bodies almost a metallic hue in the increasingly bright sun.\u00a0 She examined one of them and gathered a sample of its blood.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s for\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. Maybe potions? It seems worth getting some. Babette knows a lot more about alchemy than I do; maybe she can do something with it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHeh,\u201d he said. \u201cOr Roggi. Did you know he\u2019s pretty good at poisons himself?\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma shivered. \u201cI\u2019m not surprised, but it still bothers me to think of him doing that kind of work, Bryn.\u00a0 He\u2019s such a sweet man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt least on the surface,\u201d Brynjolf mumbled.\u00a0 \u201cAt least nobody ever has to wonder about me.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma stared at him for a moment and burst out laughing.\u00a0 \u201cYou are kidding, right? You, the guy in the fancy clothes selling fake elixirs to hopeful people in the marketplace?\u00a0 I\u2019m sure they all look right through that and see a thief.\u00a0 Really, Red.\u201d<\/p>\n He glared at her for a moment. Then his face relaxed and he chuckled. \u201cAlright, I get your point.\u201d<\/p>\n They reached the open end of the Temple and walked in, slowly.\u00a0 The place was exquisite. In spite of being ancient it was in excellent repair with only one or two of its elaborately carved pillars having toppled over the eons. The tile flooring, even with sand drifts here and there and grass growing up through dried and cracked grout, was still beautiful, the palest of green with an occasional pattern in white. Palms and a few other succulents clung to life in the old planters, untouched in ages but still clearly receiving moisture from somewhere beneath. The sun through the trees and through the latticework panels left elaborate shadows on the floor; and in spite of the rising heat of the day it was cool inside the temple\u2019s walls. It was quiet, and peaceful.<\/p>\n The open corridor they\u2019d entered led to an enclosed plaza, tiled but for the planted areas far at the end. There was an open structure in the plaza\u2019s center, an enormous gazebo of sorts with a courtyard surrounding it; to the left was a fountain, still bubbling with the water that showed this to be an oasis. To the right was a well, in remarkably good repair, with cactuses and ferns growing around its base. Sayma turned to the left and passed the fountain, following the tiled pathway along the outer walls.<\/p>\n In each of the corners beyond the gazebo was a chest.\u00a0 Sayma opened them, and looked at their contents; but aside from a few coins in each there was nothing of any significance.<\/p>\n \u201cHmm. So why am I here, then?\u201d<\/p>\n She entered the central structure. The room was tall, and serene, with ornate mosaics and latticework on the walls and a platform in its center holding a huge, curious structure with blank sides. \u00a0Over her head was a dome in spectacular shades of orange, red, yellow and green. Before her was a low table with three books on it. She picked up each to find that they were spell tomes for basic spells in each of the schools of elemental magic: fire, ice, and lightning.<\/p>\n Sayma wandered around the gazebo for some time, trying to figure out what to do.<\/p>\n It\u2019s in there, in the middle, whatever it is I\u2019m supposed to find. The books have something to do with it, but I already know these spells. What is it? I don\u2019t see anything in here that gives me a clue. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMaybe there\u2019s something you can\u2019t see,\u201d Brynjolf murmured from behind her, making her jump.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t hear you come in. Don\u2019t scare me like that,\u201d she grumbled.<\/p>\n \u201cWell now you\u2019ve seen me sneak up on a mark,\u201d he said. \u201cOr rather, you haven\u2019t seen me. Nor heard me, either.\u00a0 What about that spell of yours? The one that showed the portal in Falkreath?\u201d<\/p>\n Her mouth fell open.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course.\u00a0 Of course that\u2019s what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n She stood well back from the structure and cast Ancient Vision, which erupted noisily as usual.\u00a0 There, on three sides of the room, were three small pillars that had not been there before.\u00a0 She approached the first, quickly, knowing how little time she had before Ancient Vision would dissipate.\u00a0 At roughly shoulder height, the pillar was engraved with the symbol of a lightning bolt.<\/p>\n \u201cOk, even I can figure this out.\u201d<\/p>\n She gathered her magic and cast Lightning at the pillar.\u00a0 In the center of the room, the blank walls began to sink down; they retracted about a third of their total height and then ground to a stop.\u00a0 Ancient Vision dissipated with its usual loud explosion, and the lightning bolt pillar was gone.<\/p>\n Sayma repeated the process twice more, first on the Fire pillar and then on the Ice pillar.\u00a0 As the walls reached their lowest extent and Ancient Vision dissipated, she turned to find a basin, resting on an ornate tile platform that reflected the glorious dome above.\u00a0 She stepped up to the basin and found, inside, another journal of Caio Umbranox, the sixth one she had located since entering the Eye of Cyrodiil, what felt like an eon before.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t get it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a journal. I\u2019m sure that Seviana Umbranox \u2013 she\u2019s the woman back in the Reach \u2013 would like to have these. I have six of them, and they\u2019re all by her ancestor. But why then would it be important for me<\/em> to come here? What does this have to do with my being Redguard? I don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. Did you check everything inside the walls?\u00a0 I looked around outside and didn\u2019t find anything except sand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHmm. I thought I had,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I\u2019ll look again.\u201d<\/p>\n She walked around the inside of the gazebo, checking carefully under the low table and against all the walls, and found nothing.\u00a0 She did the same in the narrow corridor surrounding the gazebo.\u00a0 There was still nothing.\u00a0 Frowning, she stopped and glanced out one of the doorways, toward the plaza\u2019s back corner, and realized that there was another of the open basins, smaller than the one in which she had just found the journal, nestled beneath its own small dome.<\/p>\n \u201cHuh. I didn\u2019t look in that earlier.\u00a0 But why would there be\u2026\u201d\u00a0 She trotted to the small gazebo and peered into the basin.\u00a0 There, at the bottom of it, was a large, ornate key.<\/p>\n \u201cThere you go,\u201d Brynjolf said.<\/p>\n She picked up the key and nodded. \u201cIt\u2019s the only thing we hadn\u2019t found. But what does it go to, Bryn? The chests in the corners here were unlocked.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomething we haven\u2019t run across yet, I\u2019d wager.\u201d<\/p>\n Sayma sighed.\u00a0 \u201cRight. It\u2019s the only explanation.\u00a0 Maybe I\u2019ll know it when I see it. I hope so.\u201d<\/p>\n They trudged back to the temple\u2019s entrance.\u00a0 It was beginning to be truly warm now, and Sayma had been casting a flame spell.\u00a0 When they reached the fountain, she removed her hood and gratefully splashed some of the tepid water over her face.\u00a0 Brynjolf\u00a0 grinned, and stuck his entire head into the fountain\u2019s flow, wetting down his hair.<\/p>\n \u201cBetter,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be dry again soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n By the time they reached the top of the partially-buried stairway leading away from the Temple, the sun was high in the sky and beating mercilessly down on them.\u00a0 Sayma put her hood back on; it was black, but it would keep the worst of the sun off her face.\u00a0\u00a0 They ran up onto the dunes for a few hundred paces and looked around.<\/p>\n \u201cGods it\u2019s hot,\u201d Brynjolf grumbled.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. It\u2019s a desert. Make sure to drink some water. But see that group of trees over there? Looks like an oasis.\u00a0 Let\u2019s head for it.\u00a0 We can splash down again.\u00a0 And then,\u201d she said, scanning the area, \u201cfrom there we can head to the big place.\u00a0 Al Shedim, I think she called it.\u201d\u00a0 From where they stood, the huge structure was plainly visible, off to their left, about as far from the oasis as they were from it.<\/p>\n Brynjolf finished the sip of water he was drinking and nodded.\u00a0 They trotted down the slope they were on, into a bowl-shaped valley, and then up the side of the next dune.\u00a0 They were almost to its peak when they heard wolves.<\/p>\n There were three of them, large, dun-colored wolves that rushed at them from the oasis.\u00a0 Sayma took the first down without a problem; she heard the thwack of Brynjolf\u2019s bowstring as he laughed at the second of them.\u00a0 It yelped, and fell, and they both turned to the third wolf.\u00a0 Brynjolf had his sword out and dispatched the animal easily.<\/p>\n \u201cHa,\u201d he said, wiping his brow. \u201cHardly felt a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell that\u2019s great,\u201d Sayma said. \u201cBut you\u2019re sweating again.\u00a0 Come splash off your face.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSounds good,\u201d he agreed.<\/p>\n The oasis was small, but cool, with a clear pool of water in its center. \u00a0Sayma ran into it, gratefully wetting herself down; but she had barely gotten wet when three more wolves rushed down the hill toward her.<\/p>\n Makes sense. The animals stick near the water. <\/em><\/p>\n This time she took all three of them down herself.\u00a0 She had a sword with Daedric markings that she had taken from the Halls of the West; it was imbued with a Soul Trap enchantment that exploded, three times in quick succession.<\/p>\n \u201cGuess I didn\u2019t realize how many soul gems I\u2019d picked up along the way,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s quite a blade,\u201d Brynjolf said, taking it from her and examining it before handing it back.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d she said, sheathing it. \u201cIt\u2019s the only heavy thing I took on my way here. I liked the Daedric markings, and it\u2019s sharper than my old soul trap sword. Seemed only appropriate after working my way all the way through Coldharbour and such.\u201d<\/p>\n There were two more wolves between them and the next structure; she took one with her bow, and Brynjolf did the same with the other.\u00a0 She was just about to dash for the entrance to Al Shedim when Brynjolf called out, \u201cWait.\u00a0 Dune ripper.\u201d<\/p>\n They chased it, with their bows.\u00a0 Brynjolf seemed particularly determined to get this one, following it down the side of the dune even after it was clearly hurt nearly to death.\u00a0 But it was now time to get under cover.\u00a0 The heat was rising in waves from the sand, and Redguard though she may have been even Sayma was feeling ill from it.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s go, Bryn,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to get indoors.\u201d<\/p>\n “I’m right behind you.”<\/p>\n They scurried back over the dune and down the hill, into the long, shaded entrance to the huge edifice of Al Shedim.<\/p>\n They sat close to the tiny fire they\u2019d started, well hidden in a shallow depression in the rocks.\u00a0 In spite of having put her hood back on, and wrapping both her cape and the long scarf around her, the cold was starting to bother Sayma and she shivered. 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<\/p>\nPart I: Sayma Sendu<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"