Spellsword

A Smoother Course

The waters of Solitude were by no means still, yet compared to the Sea of Ghosts, the ship might as well have been wedged into sand. 

Stepping steadily aboard the upper deck, I found the very gentle sway to be almost soothing. That lingering warmth of firebrand wine may have had something to with it too, of course. 

I glanced around for the familiar silhouette of Teldryn beneath the stars, listening out for a sign of him, and was met with the gentle coo of something else. Beyond the ships edge, across the waters and from the darkness came the clicking, whirring and humming of many creatures that prowled the night unseen. In those forest-like sounds - I felt the tension drop from my shoulders, the scent of salt reaching my face on the cool night air. I hoped that this may have been the greeting Teldryn had received when he found himself back down here, and that where ever he was hiding, he was calmer. 

As I stepped below deck, lifting a stray rope out of my way and letting my eyes softly adjust to the lantern light, I spotted the movement of his shoulder. His back to me, he seemed to be sitting on the edge of one of the cots, fiddling with something on the ground in front of him. I wasn't sure if I heard the grunt he made, or if that was simply my assumption of his usual posture. He, too, had of course noticed my entrance, being that he was ever on guard these days. 

"You may be able to sneak up on deer, savage, but that foolery doesn't work with me," he said, with a crisp wit. 

I descended the stairs entirely, and stepped further into the room, finding myself unsure of what to say - and, after a moment, settling on; "No J'zargo or Enthir tonight?" observing that the two college-members-come-shipmates were no where in sight. 

"Mephala knows. I have come to learn that just because I cannot see your mage cult doesn't necessarily mean they aren't in fact there," Teldryn said, somewhat more softly than I had expected, but still with a sharp edge of irritation hidden in his voice.

I took a step closer, lingering somewhere in the middle of the room, as if approaching an unpredictable animal. "Come now, that's no way to talk about the greatest khajiit mage in all of Elswyr." 

Teldryn betrayed a dry, short laugh. In turn, I smiled silently, and there was a pause. The ship gave that now familiar creak, and the humming beyond the water seemed to lift slightly, before quiet set in again.

"You hear that," Teldryn finally rounded on his seat, glancing across his shoulder toward me, allowing his voice to raise as if addressing an unseen audience, "Not even the greatest in Skyrim." 

Another pause, in which the two of us looked around with a light smirk upon our faces, before Teldryn continued, again more quietly; "See? Just us. There's no way that overly confident fool wouldn't have bit at that bait." 

"I don't think Enthir has left the East Empire warehouse since we got here... I can't imagine J'Zargo not taking that opportunity to explore the city..." I said, casually folding my arms. 

"Seems human cities really are letting any one in these days." Teldryn lifted his face to me, and the glimmer of the lantern shone across his eyes as I caught his meaning. It relaxed me enough to venture the real question. 

"What happened back there? With Tamlen?"

His expression dropped immediately, but his gaze did not leave mine. He sighed, seeming even just the slightest bit embarrassed. "I had a word with him."

 I waited a moment, expecting more, but noticed his hesitancy. "A word? Interesting choice of expression given what he gave you back." 

"Oh... all right. I saw you two talking. It irked me how he sat there, so full of golden pride. After you left the table, I didn't appreciate how he shook his head at you, I watched him down his drink and wander up to his room - so I followed him in. I told him to leave you be, to get off your back and stop fussing you about some dimswit prophecy. He didn't take too kindly to that last part and.... well he lost his little golden temper. And who was I to know his words were louder than his actions?"