The rest of the day proceeded much like every other step of their journey: slowly and exhausting. Nevertheless, they were making progress. They were hungry and tired, but Blankenmarch was close enough to keep them motivated. By some miracle, it seemed like they were going to be able to reach the town that day. It would be after nightfall, but they could deal with the darkness if it meant food.

By the time they were about an hour away from the village, it was dusk, and the sun was close to setting over the horizon. Fortunately, the moons were bright in the sky, so they would likely have enough light to at least get them to the village. Overall, things seemed to be going well for the moment, but as they reached a bend in the road, it quickly became clear that fate did not intend to be kind to them. From their hiding places behind a tree, three individuals stepped out in front of them and blocked the way. They all wore some type of leather armor, and were all quite armed. Two of them, a Nord woman and a Khajiit male, carried a few blades, ranging from longswords to daggers, as well as a mace hanging from the Nord's belt. The last was a Bosmer man with a bow in his hands. He had an arrow nocked, but not drawn.

"Well, what a fine evening this is, wouldn't you agree?" The Nord woman said in a sarcastically friendly tone. She kept her hand on her blade and looked quite sharply at Swims and Veria's weapons. "Why don't you just keep those weapons sheathed now, alright? Draw them, and you might find yourself getting well-acquainted with an arrow from my friend here. We're in a hurry, so I'm going to skip all the banter and just cut to the chase. Give us a hundred gold, and you pass with your lives. Refuse, and we kill you. Simple, right?"

Swims had been training for months to learn how to fight, and he had saved up for even longer to buy his equipment, but despite all of that, he immediately felt afraid. He felt he should be able to fight them, but everything in him was telling him to just give them what they wanted. Unfortunately, with only about thirty gold between the two, he couldn't actually meet that demand.

"But...we don't have a hundred gold." Swims responded though he wasn't sure what kind of mercy to expect from highwaymen.

Sure enough, the Nord did not seem impressed. "Oh really, then I guess we'll just have to take-." She began, but just as she started to draw her mace, the Khajiit beside her nudged her elbow and whispered. "Boss, the patrol."

The Nord bandit grumbled and seemed disappointed, but regardless, she let go of her sword's hilt. "Fine, because I am feeling so generous, give us fifty gold and you can go."

At this point, Swims was very visibly afraid, being unable to meet even the revised demand. "We don't...we don't have fifty gold either. But...surely we can give you-" He began, trying to reason with her, but the Nord bandit was too impatient to listen. This time, she fully drew her mace and glared threateningly at them.

"You lying little lizard, we don't have time for this. We'll just take the gold from your corpses!" She shouted, causing Swims to instinctively raise his shield and look to Veria with fear in his eyes.

Vera seeing her draw her weapon drew hers and shot an arrow quickly quickly luckily hitting the hand that had the weapon it. "And he is saying we cannot meet your demands unless you want an arrow through each of your heads I suggest you back off and let us passed we are not in the goddamn mood for you stupid bandits to stop us from reaching the town" she said with venom in her voice that was never there before, her eyes showed the anger and hate she was feeling as she stared at the Nord shooting another arrow into the tree.

At first, the Nord actually showed a bit of fear after Veria's first shot, but once her second missed spectacularly, she looked at the pair while clutching her bleeding hand with more anger than Swims had ever seen in a person. "You...you're going to pay for that! Get her, and keep her alive. I want to have fun with this one."

The Khajiit seemed dubious about getting into a fight while they were in such a hurry, but he wasn't about to disobey. The Bosmer fired an arrow at Swims, but by some miracle (or perhaps just because his shield was large enough to cover most of his body) the arrow impacted the shield without penetrating. That did not, however, stop the Nord from picking up her mace in her off hand and coming after him, as he was between her and Veria. He tried to stop the Khajiit from rushing past him towards her, but the Nord came at him with her mace and forced him to put up his defense. He drew his blade as the weapon impacted the shield, but even so, he still stumbled back. He didn't expect either the force he was hit with, or how much his arm would hurt from the mace's impact.

"I thought the shield was supposed to protect me? Why did it hurt so much?" He thought to himself. Nevertheless, as soon as he was stable once more, he took a swing with his own sword at her neck. Unfortunately for him, he unconsciously telegraphed his swing far too much and made it too predictable. Not to mention the fact that he committed too much force to the swing and left himself open for too long. All the Nord had to do was hop back to avoid the swing, then lunge forward with her mace. She struck him in the shoulder hard enough to throw him off balance, then kicked him to the ground. His armor was of little use against a blunt weapon, so he received the full force of the strike, enough to fracture his shoulderblade. He rolled over onto his back and tried to stand up, but it was easy for the Nord to kick the sword out of his hand. He was able to put up his shield to protect his face, but his body was completely exposed. She struck his torso again and again with the mace. He cried out in pain, as it seemed like each hit broke a new rib or other bone. When he finally moved his shield to protect his body, she hit him clean in the head, causing him to bleed from both his nose and mouth, but somehow, he remained conscious.

Meanwhile, the Khajiit wasted no time in rushing Veria. She did not have enough time to nock another arrow before the Khajiit reached her, and since he had been ordered not to kill her, instead of using his dagger, he jumped and tackled her straight to the ground. With him on top of her, the bow she carried was entirely useless. The Khajiit was no barbarian, but nevertheless, his physical strength could overpower Veria's. He decided he would beat her into submission, so he balled up his fist and started punching her repeatedly in the jaw.

She screamed and struggled against the Khahjiit watching as her lover was thrown to the ground but she was completely useless without her bow and she was getting too tired from the long walk they had done and the hungry was making things worse as she was starting to see black dots in her vision. She struggled to get him off and stay away but she was slowly weaking. 'S Swims i im s so sorry' she thought as she slowly went limp panting not having anymore strength to struggle as she blinked multiple times one slower than the last as she tried to keep the open

She screamed and struggled against the Khahjiit watching as her lover was thrown to the ground but she was completely useless without her bow and she was getting too tired from the long walk they had done and the hungry was making things worse as she was starting to see black dots in her vision. She struggled to get him off and stay away but she was slowly weaking. 'S Swims i im s so sorry' she thought as she slowly went limp panting not having anymore strength to struggle as she blinked multiple times one slower than the last as she tried to keep the open

The Khajiit stopped beating on Veria once she stopped resisting and instead grabbed both of her arms and pulled her to her feet. "Boss, I got her." He said simply. Ultimately, it was Veria's choice to submit that ended up saving Swims, as when the Nord heard the Khajiit speak up, she stopped short of delivering the killing blow on Swims and instead approaching Veria. He was too heavily wounded to even stand, so Swims was of no threat to them, and without help, would likely die of his wounds.

When the Nord walked up to Veria, she grabbed her by the shoulders and, in a rage, slammed her up against a nearby tree. "You stubborn little girl, you just had to be stubborn, didn't you? All you had to do was pay up and you would be fine. But you had to go shooting me with that lucky arrow of yours. Now, I'm going to make you wish you were dead."

The Khajiit took a few steps back to avoid the effects of his boss' rage, but he still seemed uncomfortable. "Boss, we really can't afford to wait around here like this. W have to get moving or-"

"Shut up!" The Nord barked, returning her attention to Veria. With the hand Veria had shot, the Nord grabbed Veria's right hand and pressed the back of it up against the tree. "You see this wound you gave me? Cut clean through my hand." As she spoke, she pulled one of her daggers with her other hand, then all at once stabbed it completely through Veria's hand, pinning it to the tree. "Well, I'm going to do that, and much, much worse."

Before the Nord could make good on her threats, a loud voice rang out to their left. "Hey!"

When they turned their heads, they saw a single Khajiit male in Imperial light armor standing over the fresh corpse of their Bosmer companion, with his throat cut. Both the remaining bandits drew their weapons to defend themselves, but in doing so, they stepped just far enough away from Veria that the rest of the Imperial patrol, who were concealed in the bushes behind them, could fire their bows. Both the Khajiit bandit and the Nord were riddled with arrows and were dead before they hit the ground.

The Khajiit soldier ran forward as the rest of his patrol revealed themselves. If Veria was still perceptive enough to notice, she would recognize the Khajiit as someone they knew from Leyawiin, Do'Khajra. He wasn't quite a friend of Swims and Veria, but more of an acquaintance they were on good terms with. He was a few years older than them and had joined the Imperial legion three years prior. Evidently, he was good enough to be given command of his own patrol.

"Swims, Veria, what are you two doing out here?" Do'Khajra exclaimed. Noticing their dire predicament, he looked to his patrol's healer. "Lurian, check on the Argonian, see what you can do."

As the Imperial healer went to help Swims, Do'Khajra rushed over to Veria, removed the dagger from her hand, then caught her as she nearly collapsed to the ground. "Hold on, let me help you." He said, quickly reaching into his bag and pulling out a few bandages to wrap around her hand. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Veria struggled to hear what the person, who she couldnt identify was saying as her hand bleed and said "S Save Swims...he needs more...help" she said as her eyes slid closed and she passed out from exhaustion as her stomach grumbled weakly. The next time she woke up she was laying in a hospital like bed making her sit up and hiss when she felt her hand hurt. She looked at it and saw there was a bloody bandage covering it as memories of that night returned to her head. She rushed out of bed ignoring the head rush by doing so and ran from her room looking for her lover with worry in her eyes.

"Swims...Swims where are you....Swims" she called out through the empty hall each time he didn't answer caused her worry to grow

When she heard screaming coming from the basement underneath the main room of the chapel, the Priestess of Kynareth wasted no time in going downstairs to comfort their guest. She was an Orc, middle aged, with black hair. She wore a simple, tan robe, with no sort of extravagant accessories. She had been in charge of caring wounded pair of travelers since the Imperial patrol brought them in the previous night. Presently, it was a few hours past noon, so they had been sleeping for over twelve hours.

Once downstairs, the Orc priestess saw the Imperial girl looking around frantically. She approached in a nonthreatening manner and spoke in a calm voice. "Do not worry, child, your friend is fine. Kynareth has blessed both of you with good health. I have been watching over both of you since you arrived last night. Your friend awoke about an hour ago. I can take you to him soon, just let me take a look at you first. You were hit in the head a few times, by what I could tell. I need to make sure you are alright."

She nodded shaking as she was still in a panic watching the woman as she got closer as she finally register the bandage around her head making her touch it with her bandaged hand making her wince as she remember the hits on her head from the bandits. "W what happened to the bandits from last night..." she looked around "w where is my b bow a and arrows" she said

"All of your belongings are in your room, you need not worry. Now come, take a seat and let me get a look at you." The priestess said reassuringly. She sat down on one of the benches lining the sides of the hallway and motioned for Veria to do the same. Despite all of the stereotypes of frightening and barbaric Orcs, the priestess had a soothingly calm demeanor. She was not unlike a caring mother for all who would come to her temple. Placing her hand on Veria's head, she let her restoration magic flow through her skull, which both soothed some of Veria's pain, and allowed her to see if anything was wrong with her health.

After a minute or so, the priestess was content that Veria was in good enough health, so she moved her hand from her head and gave her a smile. "I believe you are fine, my child. The soldier who brought you here, he said your name is Veria? It is good to meet you, my name is Murnglesh. Would you like me to take you to your friend, Swims?"

She nodded and stood up eager to get to him to see how he was doing "I want tp see him thats all I care about" she said looking at the priestess before walking slowly towards the door so she wouldnt get lost trying to find Swims again. "I dont remember much of what happened after the first hit to my head and that stab to my hand, how is his condition since I couldn't get a good look at him." she asked as she tried to remember

Murnglesh walked along with Veria to guide her to the room her friend was staying in and did her best to reassure her along the way. "As I said, your friend is in perfectly good health, or at least he will be. The bandits broke a few of hit ribs, his jaw, and cracked his skull. I know that sounds bad, but all-in-all, it could have been worse. The head injury did give him a concussion, but the Imperial healer who tended to him first did an excellent job of stopping any damage there, as well as repairing his fractured skull. I have been tending to his other wounds, and he will recover. He is awake, but I have forbidden him from leaving his bed for at least two days. I do not want him himself hurting himself any more than he already is. His jaw still pains him, so he has a bit of trouble speaking, but he is awake and fully conscious. As near as I can tell, it has not hurt his mind."

It was not long before the pair reached Swims' room . Murnglesh opened the door and motioned for Veria to enter. Swims was inside laying down in a bed eating a breakfast of oats, soup, and other items that did not require chewing. "Veria!" He shouted with a smile as soon as he saw her, which of course sent pain shooting through his face and caused him to grab his jaw. "Owww." He groaned. "I really shouldn't laugh. It kind of hurts...a lot. Anyway, I can't tell you how glad I am to see you. Are you alright?" He asked. His voice was somewhat slurred from his injury, but he seemed in good spirits.

Veria smiled tears gathering in her eyes as she got closer as she sat by him "H hey Swims" she said with a watery smile holding his hand in a tight grip as she struggled not to cry knowing she caused the bandits to attack when she shoot her arrows. "I am so sorry this all my fault if I havent attacked you wouldnt be like this" she said with a whimper coming up from her throat as she looked up at him tears coming out of her eyes

Veria smiled tears gathering in her eyes as she got closer as she sat by him "H hey Swims" she said with a watery smile holding his hand in a tight grip as she struggled not to cry knowing she caused the bandits to attack when she shoot her arrows. "I am so sorry this all my fault if I havent attacked you wouldnt be like this" she said with a whimper coming up from her throat as she looked up at him tears coming out of her eyes

Swims looked into Veria's eyes sympathetically. He could understand why she was blaming herself, but he didn't think what she was saying was true. "Veria, do not be so hard on yourself. If anything, you saved me. That bandit was impatient, and didn't believe that we didn't have the gold, or maybe she didn't even care. She was going to kill us anyway. If you hadn't shot her, then she probably wouldn't have delayed in killing us. If she wouldn't have stopped to, you know, torture you, then those soldiers wouldn't have been able to save us in time. I owe you my life, and I think we both owe those soldiers our lives."

Murnglesh stayed near the door so as not to get in the way, but spoke up once she heard mention of the soldiers. "The patrol that saved you is still here in Blankenmarch. The leader, Do'Khajra I think, wanted to know if you recovered. I still don't think you should move from that bed, but I could go tell him and see if he would like to come to you."

"Yes, please. I would appreciate that. Thank you, for everything." Swims responded. Murnglesh bowed her head, then left the room to go get the Khajiit.

"Do'Khajira is here, what is he doing here" Vera said once they were alone looking at her lover "Was he the one who was talking to me after the bandits were killed" she said trying to remember. She gripped his hand before standing "I will go find him for you since the priestess said not to move, I sure hope he didnt send notice to our parents of what happened " she said before exiting the room giving him a kiss on the lips. She went to Murnglesh.

"Do you know where Do'Khajira is currently staying so I can bring him here for Swims" she said with politeness knowing she would still be in a lot of pain if it wasnt for her

"Do'Khajira is here, what is he doing here" Vera said once they were alone looking at her lover "Was he the one who was talking to me after the bandits were killed" she said trying to remember. She gripped his hand before standing "I will go find him for you since the priestess said not to move, I sure hope he didnt send notice to our parents of what happened " she said before exiting the room giving him a kiss on the lips. She went to Murnglesh.

"Do you know where Do'Khajira is currently staying so I can bring him here for Swims" she said with politeness knowing she would still be in a lot of pain if it wasnt for her

Murnglesh nodded to Veria, who came running up beside her. "Yes, I do. He should still be in the Legion outpost on the edge of the village. I believe he has to leave soon, but he delayed because he wanted to know if you two recovered. I'm sure he will be glad to see you. Come, I will take you to him."

The pair walked upstairs, then out of the Temple of Kynareth. As Blankenmarch was not a large settlement by any means, their temple was not a grand stone cathedral like the ones in the big cities, but it was still the largest building in town. There wasn't much different in the environment around Blankenmarch from Leyawiin, as both locations were in the swamp-like Blackwood forest. The air in Leyawiin felt a bit saltier due to the ocean nearby, but that was about the only difference. The village itself was small, consisting of simple wooden buildings treated to withstand the high humidity. There wasn't much in the way of decorations, so it wasn't a beautiful village, but it seemed peaceful. The Imperial Legion had a modest presence to keep the people safe from bandits and other dangers, which was why there was an outpost to begin with.

Murnglesh guided Veria to the Legion outpost, which was essentially a watchtower with a few small rooms in the bottom floor. Very little happened in Blankenmarch that concerned the Legion, so the Imperial sitting in the cramped first room was a bit surprised to see them enter.

"Oh, uh, hello. Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes, is Do'Khajra still here? We would like to speak with him." Murnglesh requested.

"Yes, uh, hold on, I'll get him." The Imperial responded before getting up from his chair and stepping into another room. Not a minute later, Do'Khajra emerged with a relieved expression on his face once he saw Veria.

"Ah, it is good to see you have recovered. How is swims, is he still alive and well?" Do'Khajra asked.

Vera smiled seeing a familiar face around, which was still very surprising since she never expected to see him so soon in their journey but she was very grateful for it."Yes he is fine he was hoping you would come and see him before you left, if it weren't for you then we would have been dead" she said with a smile on youthful face as the other guards went about their duties ignoring the conversation all together. Vera looked down at her bandaged hand and grimace seeing blood seep through.

"Plus I should get back I need to change my bandage on my hand" she said getting the priestess's attention

Do'Khajra nodded. "Of course, you are the reason this one has remained in the village this long. Do'Khajra was meant to be in Leyawiin a few hours ago, but Imperial Captains are given some...discretion in our choices. It should be no problem. Khaj will go with you to visit Swims, but then he will have to go." He explained, allowing Murnglesh to take the lead to guide them back to Kynareth's chapel.

On the way back, Do'Khajra walked alongside Veria to question her further on last night's events. "Khaj has not seen you two much since he joined the Legion, what brought you so far from the city? County Leyawiin is a dangerous place, even with the Empire stationing troops along the border to the Dominion. Now, the bandits just set up on the east side of the Niben river. With tensions as high as they are, bandits are taking advantage of how distracted the Legion has become."