Frostbite - a TES:V Skyrim Fanfiction Series

7 - Lost

"Sorry, buddy, I'm having those clothes."

Isaac busied himself unbuckling the brownish green tunic and trousers and quickly pulled them on, all the while, throwing glances across the landscape to watch out for the murdering fire culprit. He was relieved to find that neither the tunic nor trousers had a tail-hole stamped out of them, and so his rear was safe from view. The clothes, despite their primitive fabric make, felt surprisingly warm. Though, they weren't in quite the right size, and he needed to find some better ones to avoid chafing in the wrong places.

The cat had also owned some thick fur boots, which he plunged his cold, bare feet into. In the back of the cart, he found a tough burlap sack full of green apples – two of which he immediately crunched into – and an assortment of seemingly random items, including a pile of dusty books, a bag of tools including a hammer and some tongs, an a small, blunt knife that looked like a dagger – complete with a cross guard. He flicked through the first two books which seemed to tell stories with characters and places he'd never heard of.

Armed with the dagger and a third apple, he stood atop the cart and looked around. The land seemed mostly featureless, with the odd bare tree poking up from between uneven dirt and rocks. It dipped steeply some way off in the direction that the carriage was facing, and taking a few strides forward, he saw that the basin opened out into a river – or rather: small pools of water that seemed to bubble and steam, like hot springs.

"Well, chief," Isaac said to himself through a mouthful of juicy apple. "This is certainly a new type of mess you've gotten yourself into."

A movement caught his eye and his heart leapt. In the direction of the distant waterfall, among the thicket of green conifers, he thought he saw someone move, if just for a split second. It could have just been a trick of the light - It was so far away that it was impossible to make out shapes. He watched for a few seconds longer before his stomach growled at him again, impatiently.

"Let's hope these cats don't eat people."

--

He set off in the direction of the waterfall, clambering up and over hidden mounds in the earth and nearly falling off them as their sheer edges blended in against the greys and beiges. Despite the breeze ricocheting around basin, the golden sun on his face was warming, and with the help of his pilfered clothes, his shivering stopped. As he hiked, he saw that a single mountain stood out in what must have been the middle of the basin. It looked as though a small trail led up one side, but it was hard to tell from his distance.

Isaac tucked the knife into the back of his belt.

The rocky, uneven terrain led him up and then down, and then up again. He climbed over dry tree roots and avoided cracks in the earth where steam rose. Pools of steaming water became more frequent. As a larger one blocked his way forward, he walked up to the water and hovered a hand above its surface. It was warm – comfortingly so, and he shivered as goosebumps ran up to his shoulder.

He pushed damning thoughts to the back of his mind: what if he was alone, in this strange wilderness, miles and miles from any civilisation? What if he wasn't able to find any food? Apart from the horse, he hadn't seen any animals – not even birds. The river might hold fish.

"Hello there!" Someone, close by, called out to him. Isaac stopped walking immediately and his hand shot to the hilt of his knife. Ready to dash backwards, he looked slowly upwards to the source of the voice. It didn't sound how he imagined a cat to speak – rather, it sounded like a normal woman, with the twang of some sort of accent that he couldn't name. Speaking before violence was for the best, too. At least this way, he had a chance to learn more about his situation.