Skyrim: The Nightshade Assassin

Contract Hunting

Chapter 10

Dragon Bridge

Cicero and I eventually traveled to Dragon Bridge. I mounted Shadowmere, but the fool decided to move on foot. It took a load of convincing for him to leave the sanctuary, and I'm afraid all he worries about is the Night Mother whilst on our journey.

"Even the blasted steed despises Cicero!" he fusses. Apparently Shadowmere had spit on Cicero as he was attempting to feed him an apple, and our loyal steed doesn't favour the fool as well. I can't disagree.

After four hours of traveling, Cicero would always pause and snack on a carrot. And every time I scold him, he pouts and gives me the silent treatment, which doesn't last very long. His personality is also very familiar.

Cicero frowns, eyeing my sweetroll I slipped from my satchel that attached to my belt, but I try to not pay any attention. "Cicero needs a sweetroll... or a carrot," he murmurs, forcing me to split the sweet in half and give it to him. He happily devours the treat and I let out a long, exasperated sigh. No other member wanted to travel with this fool, and they all noticed I had nothing better to do, so of course, I'm stuck with the clown.

A wave of nostalgia hits me as we pass Meeko's shack, a Nord man who passed and left his dog to survive on his own. Meeko occasionally greets me now and then, but travels back to his home afterwards. After minutes later, the tense feeling returns, and my stomach twists into a deep knot. We pass by burned remains of a farm that was left on the side of the road, dead and shrivelled grass forming boundaries of where the fire spread, with two burnt corpses decorating the centre. Bugs and animals have already feasted on half of the limbs. After all these years, nobody has bothered to clean up the mess of the fire. A female elf's hand is sticking out from the debris like claws, and a head is separated from a body.

"Elf...? Are you all right?" I hear Cicero murmur, but I continue to face my attention towards the path. I ignore him completely, not minding the frequent stares he gives me once I swallow my feelings and throw my thoughts into Oblivion. He also seems sad about the burned remains, but why? It isn't like he's connected to the tragedy.

We finally arrive at Dragon Bridge, crossing the stone arch that hangs yards above the water. I'm not afraid of heights, it would seem like I was from my expression, but in truth, I love high places. Once, I pushed my target that I befriended off a high waterfall. I call my new style, "waterfalling." It's actually pretty amusing, and when you're in a hurry, no need for slicing and dicing. Easy as that. Of course, we usually encourage discretion while offing our target, but I do admire seeing their unsettled faces once I reveal my true identity. I mean, they all die anyway, it won't cause any harm, unless they take off running.

"Let's check for rumours at the Four Shields Tavern," I instruct tediously, reminiscing the waterfall memory. I dismount Shadowmere, first allowing him to nuzzle my neck. He nickers lightly as we depart our steed for the tavern.

"Faida's the name. I keep the inn."

She's still alive? Just how long have I visited the town of Dragon Bridge?

I wave, and she widens her eyes in astonishment, gesturing for me to walk by the counter.

"Co....r..." she mutters softly, studying my face completely. Oh man, she sure has aged into a full-grown woman. The last time I've seen her, her hair was tied up in scarlet twin tails, but she still wore the set of green farm clothes. Now a part of her hair was tied back, and her looks have matured. "Cor...ta...na?"

I nod slowly, still trying to remember the last time I saw her face. Cicero watches in lack of interest at our ridiculous conversation, losing his train of thought once she snaps her fingers in victory. "Ah, I remember you! Last time you were here, you were waiting for..."