"Yes, I can at least be glad to be down here for that. I'm actually feeling a bit warm right now; I need to find somewhere to put my coat..." Rukeewei began before walking with Ariel into the barracks. It would be hard for him to stop worrying for quite a while, but he could at least find other things to occupy his time with. 

The barracks were not exactly spacious, but they were much more comfortable than freezing in tents above ground. As such, they slept better that night than they had since they left the ship in Windhelm. They set out towards the Silent City first thing the next morning, or at least what they approximated to be morning. One effect of living underground was that they tended to lose concept of any normal day and night cycle, something that compounded the longer they stayed underground. Generally, any group sent out away from the clanhome on longer term missions would spend a day or two up in Raldbthar so they could re-acclimate themselves. 

Just as Meesei had said, the journey to the Silent City took the better part of a day. However, it was by far the most relaxed part of the trip so far, considering that they were able to ride in the back of a carriage the whole way. Given the distances that needed to be crossed in Blackreach, the clan had brought down horses and constructed carriages to help traverse the road between Raldbthar, the Silent City, and any other outpost they decided to settle. It allowed them to still be well rested as they approached the City itself, which, much like the rest of Blackreach, was a sight to behold for Ariel and Rukeewei. The glowing orb at the city's center could be seen even before the city was in view, so they would know exactly where to look as they emerged from the veritable forest of giant glowing mushrooms. Since taking the Silent City for their own, the clan had cleared away any and all rubble from the area, as well as setting up fortifications of their own. They had built a gatehouse out of stone from collapsed Dwemer structures in the area placed it at the bottom of the massive staircase leading up to the towering city, while the gate itself was entirely metal and ad been scavenged from one of the same collapsed structures. On the surface, it seemed odd to have a gate for a hidden city far underneath Skyrim, but if they were ever attacked, they would be able to close themselves off completely. 

---

Ri'vashi actually gave a slight chuckle. "For the longest time, Ri'vashi didn't cope well at all. She kept it all bottled up, broke things, cried alone in her quarters at night, slept with you..." Grinning, Ri'vashi nudged Gallus' elbow. She wanted to make an attempt to at least somewhat elevate his mood, but she quickly returned to being serious. "Anything to help relieve the stress. You remember what Ri'vashi was like back in Elsweyr, how she didn't trust herself? You did help her with that. In just the months since then, Ri'vashi has had a lot of time to think, a lot of time to gain experience with new people. The decisions she has to make are not getting any easier, but she has started to think about some things differently. Try asking yourself this: is there anyone you are currently in command of that you really, truly believe would do a better job than you at what you are doing now?"