Tsleeixth shook his head as he heard the old Argonian’s words [i]'Blackmarsh, under attack!?'[/i] He thought in stupor, not even registering it when he began to make his way towards the triage area where the wounded lay. He let out a sigh as he shook himself off his stupor and finally took in the sight of the wounded and dying and, for the first time in a long while, felt despair take hold of his heart.

[i]'How can we beat such creatures when it takes at least three of us to be able to barely match them in combat.'[/i] Thought the Argonian spellsword bitterly as he stood up with some difficulty, stepping out of the makeshift infirmary into the cold Windhelm streets shortly after that.

He wandered through the streets of Windhelm with no clear destination in mind, his feet eventually taking him towards the Candleheart Hall inn. He opened the door to the inn with some difficulty, but after a while he was settled in one of the few tables that remained in the busy inn.

He went to where the innkeep was and asked for a bottle of mead before he quickly returned to his seat, waiting for the mead to arrive. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the Argonian waited for his bottle to arrive when he heard a voice that was faintly familiar directed at him.

“Huh, didn’t think you’d be here.” Said the man, a Nord to be precise and to whom the voice belonged “Shouldn’t you be with the wounded?” .

Tsleeixth shook his head “Couldn’t stand the sight no more, thought some fresh air would do me good” He replied noncommittally while motioning to the empty chair in front of him with his head, inviting the man to sit with him. It was shortly after the arrival of the Nord that Tsleeixth’s mead arrived, the Nord that now sat in front of the Argonian asking for one for himself as well.

A few silent, awkward, seconds passed as Tsleeixth tried to recall the man’s name when he remembered “Ah, you were...Aenar, if I am not mistaken right?” Ventured the Argonian. He had fought with two Nords, both part of the Whiter River Braves, earlier this day, but apart from exchanging names they hadn’t spoken much and that information had been relegated to the back of his mind due to what had happened later on in the day.

“Correct.” Replied Aenar, confirming Tsleeixth’s suspicions that this was one of the Nords with which he had battled against one of the Kamals. It was soon after the Nord man had confirmed his suspicion that the second bottle of mead arrived “Well, here’s for surviving another day.” Said the White River Brave as he raised his bottle in a toast, a gesture that Tsleeixth quickly returned.   
 
They spent a few minutes in silence, both men taking the chance to relax as they drank the mead that the both of them had ordered, until the Argonian spellsword broke the silence “So, Aenar, how is your friend, Agnar, doing? He took a pretty bad beating from the Kamal.” 

“Aye, Agnar is fine, has a broken arm pretty much like you but he also got his leg broken during the fight against the giants so he won’t be able to participate again, at least not for the battles to come. Whatever comes after that, who can say” Said the Brave, finishing his mead shortly after he had spoken “And you? How are you holding up? I heard some of the Argonians speaking, trying to get out of Windhelm to try and go towards Blackmarsh, think you’ll join them?”  

Tsleeixth couldn’t help but grimace at the questions that the White Rive Brave had asked to him, letting out a soft sigh and rubbed his forehead with the tip of his fingers “Alright, let me start with the l
ast one. No, I don't plan to leave for Blackmarsh, but what the older Argonian said….it does concerns me slightly.” Admitted the spellsword, letting out a sigh before he continued “But, regardless of how much it worries me I do intend to remain in Windhelm with Ashav and the rest of the company.” He said, taking a breath to calm himself before he could continue. 

“As for how I’m holding up...well, I guess it would be not well” Said the spellsword, letting out a bitter chuckle “This is the second time the Kamals invade us and the only thing I can do is throw spells at them.” He said bitterly, looking at his broken arm for a brief second before looking once more towards the White River Brave  “If the Kamals are going to keep coming, I want to be able to fight them,  and if we are to die by their hands I want to be able to die with a sword in my hands and taking down as many of the bastards as I am able.” Finished Tsleeixth, waiting for Aenar to speak again.

“Hah! Spoken like true nord would.” Said Aenar, laughing a little at the words of the Argonian, an action which Tsleeixth soon imitated despite his less-than bright thoughts on the situation and disposition in general. 

They stayed for a while chatting with each other, trading one or two stories for a few hours until Aenar suddenly stood up “Well, it’s been great chatting with you Tsleeixth, and I am glad to have talked to you more in depth.” Said the Nord as he approached the Argonian and shook his hand in a friendly gesture “But, as it is, I have to leave now, I have other matters to attend to and I can’t delay them any further.” Said the White River Brave in parting before he disappeared into the crowd that was inside the inn. 

Left alone once more the Argonian spellsword let out a heavy sigh. While his meeting with Aenar had served to distract him from his thoughts on the Kamals but now that his newfound acquaintance was gone, Tsleeixth’s thoughts turned to the invading ocne mroe and -unsurprisingly- to the words uttered earlier by the old Argonian. 

[i]'I wonder why it is that the Kamal’s are attacking Blackmarsh, the Empire only managed to conquer the outer fringes...and regardless of that, the land isn’t prone to colonization by other species, especially one that comes from a place so distant as Akavir.'[/i] Thought Tsleeixth to himself, motioning for one of the barmaids to deliver to him another bottle of mead [i]'In the end, I suppose that, for the moment, it doesn’t matters what their reasons are, what matters is defeating them, maybe then we’ll be able to paint a clearer picture of their reasons.'[/i] He mused to himself, his mead arriving shortly after that. Thanking the barmaid for the mead he took a swig from the bottle and decided to put those thoughts in the back of his mind for the time being, determined to try and forget about the thoughts that plagued him for the moment.