Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

The Forsworn Retribution	By : Samson Category: +A through F > Elder Scrolls - Skyrim Views: 60892 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls intellectual property, nor am I making any money off of this fanfic. Unauthorized duplication of this work is prohibited.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
...Stays Together

The Forsworn Retribution
Part V - "Braves"
By: Jesse Racine AKA Samson
Original Date Written: July 10, 2014

Maximus lounged around in the inn, munching on a light breakfast of milk and buttered bread. Kleppr and his wife had woken up barely fifteen minutes before, and judging by the sluggish way they comported themselves, they had either had a late night arguing, or were too busy cracking the bedframe to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. For some reason, Maximus doubted it was the latter, but you never really knew with weird couples such as they. Maybe they got off on all the arguing they did with each other, for all he knew. As each of his lady friends, sans Sabrina, came meandering out into the cool lobby, Maximus briefly grinned to himself in amusement. Now that he thought about it, he supposed he didn’t really have the grounds to call anyone else’s relationships odd. Even one of his relationships could make a yarn fit to spin a seaman’s ears.

The Dunmer and Svetlana both dropped themselves into their chairs, sleepy-eyed and mumbling. Bunny, meanwhile, was as bright-eyed and bushy tailed as ever, smiling contentedly as she drew Sabrina’s cloak tight around her body. With the fire having gone out some time in the night and Kleppr still too drowsy to light a new one, the robe’s stifling warmth was actually a blessing, now. Maximus gestured for some more food, and soon, the three of them were tucking back some breakfast of their own, getting ready for what would likely turn out to be a fairly eventful day. None of them were in a particularly talkative mood just yet, so the meal passed by in general silence. Maximus passed the time by thinking over when the Silver-Blood man from the day before might contact him, and what he had even wanted, to begin with.

Once Svetlana and the Dunmer had gotten a bit of food in them, they could blow the cobwebs from their heads and finally become a little more alert. Maximus gave Svetlana a nod, knocked his knuckles at the table, and said “Lana, get the supply packs, would you? If we’re going to head for Red Eagle, we’re gonna need a lot more food for the trip. Should put a smile on Kleppr’s face. That Silver-Blood guy from the other day could contact us at any minute.” Svetlana gave a little yawn, nodding silently as she rose to her feet. The Dunmer raised an eyebrow as she finished off her glass of milk. Briefly licking at her lips, she asked “Maximus, are you really sure about this? If the camp’s as big as Bunny says...I mean, how much help do you really think this man could give us?”

Maximus glanced at her. “Hopefully, enough to get the job done. I realize this is a lot more dangerous than anything we’ve done before, so if you wanna stay behind, I’m not going to force you into going.” The Dunmer’s eyebrows went high, and her eyes widened in surprise. His declaration was so shocking, she leaned back in her chair, her lips drawing in a wide, flat line. Bunny just sat there in silence, awkwardly looking back and forth between the two of them. Maximus shrugged at the dark elf, briefly arching his eyebrows. “Well? Are you gonna come, or are you gonna stay behind?”

The Dunmer slowly relaxed. Was this a trick? Was this some kind of trap? Just what was he planning? Was this...Genuine? Was he really offering her a way out? After waking her up like he had, she had a hard time imagining he wouldn’t laugh in her face, should she agree. Her eyes drifted off to the side, and her mouth slowly opened, a crack. There were a few uncomfortable seconds of silence before the Dunmer finally said “I’ll...I’ll go. With you.” Maximus smiled, and for once, it didn’t have a sadistic or conniving twist. The Dunmer started to smile a little, herself. She quickly tossed out “I might as well see this through. I can understand your need for revenge. I just hope it doesn’t get us all killed.” Maximus gave a little shake with his head. Confidently, he stated “It won’t. Trust me.”

She smiled more. Flatly, she answered “That’s a bit of a stretch, Max.” He grinned, chuckling to himself. Bunny smiled again, giving them both a look before curiously asking “So, is Sabrina going to catch up with us? We’re not going to fight without her again, are we?” Maximus’ eyes drifted off to the side, watching Svetlana stand beside Kleppr with her sack of supplies, negotiating the prices for filling it up. Absent-mindedly, he replied “She’ll catch up. I just hope she doesn’t do anything to give herself away, if this Silver-Blood guy plans on giving us soldiers to help. Oh, that reminds me, I drank your potion, Bunny.” Bunny’s eyes lit up. A big, eager grin quickly split her face. “Yeah? So, what happened? How have the effects been? Do you feel any different?”

Maximus pouted out his bottom lip and gave a shake with his head. “Nope. Don’t feel a thing.” Bunny’s exuberance was instantly deflated. She lost her grin, her shoulders slumped, and her head started to hang down. Mumbling, she said “Oh...I guess it didn’t turn out as well as I thought it would...That’s too bad...” Bunny needed a few moments to overcome the disappointment. Making a little face was a sign that the melancholy was gone and passed. She gave a little shrug, then said “Well...Maybe mammoth tusk wasn’t the right ingredient. I’m sure I’m on the right track, though.” Perking up some more, she looked at Maximus and asked “Hey, is it true that there are minotaurs in Cyrodiil? Maybe a minotaur horn would be a better reagent than a mammoth tusk...How am I gonna get one of those all the way over in Skyrim, though?...”

Maximus shrugged, sounding fairly bored as he commented “No clue. Put in a special order with Bothela, or something.” Bunny made another face, puckering her lips and pouting them off to the side. Just then, Svetlana walked over, dropping her supply sack on the table with a heavy whump. She let out a sigh and smiled, glancing around from face to face as she sweetly said “I think I got us a deal. We should have more than enough for the trip. When’re we leaving?” Maximus raised an eyebrow, giving Kleppr a glance from over his shoulder. He gestured for the man, signalling that everyone was done with their dishes. As he did so, he answered “Not sure. Guess it depends on this guy we’re supposed to meet. We’ll give him one day, today. If he doesn’t get in touch with us by tomorrow morning, we’re leaving.”

Svetlana’s smile turned a bit uneasy. “Really?...You’d take on the whole camp with us? J-Just us?” Maximus raised his eyebrows, leaned his head to the side, and sighed. Raising a hand, he briefly scratched at the side of his neck, sighing out “Look, you don’t have to come, if you don’t want to. This is something I have to do, and we’re not even guaranteed to get paid, for it. I need to see this through.” The Dunmer sat up in her seat, putting her elbows to the table. Looking intently at him, she firmly asked “Why? This goes beyond being a little vindictive about some attacks.”

Maximus dropped his hand from his neck, letting it thump against the table. Giving her a brief smile, he flatly said “You already know why, don’t act like it’s some big secret. Why have I been going after the Forsworn, at all? That goes beyond just wanting coin, in general.” Bunny lightly swallowed. Chuckling nervously, she smiled and got out “Yeah, but...Max, eh heh...I don’t know if you really appreciate how big of a camp Red Eagle could end up being.” Maximus threw up his hands in exasperation, then rose up to his feet. “Then stay here, Bunny! Don’t let me drag you to your death, sheesh.” Bunny quickly stood up, blurting out “No, wait, I didn’t mean it like that!” Maximus raised an eyebrow at her, glancing at the Dunmer as she rose to her feet, as well. Svetlana brought a hand to his shoulder, a little smile gracing her face. Svetlana took it upon herself to speak for everyone when she said “We’re with you, Max. We’ll see this through, with you.”

The Dunmer raised an eyebrow, reluctantly adding “You’ve led us fine, so far...” Maximus smiled a little, wondering just how much pride she had had to swallow to give that little concession. His eyes darted from face to face before he said “We’ll get through it, I promise. Nothing’s gonna happen to any of you.” None of them said anything, they simply looked at him with surprisingly trusting smiles. He didn’t think much of it at first, but for some odd reason, the looks they were giving him quickly started to make him uneasy. It wasn’t that he doubted their trust. He could tell they truly did believe in him, and that was precisely the problem. Knowing he had their confidence put a bit more on the line than just his life. The thought of letting them all down felt a bit...Troubling. Pulling them on his personal crusade had never felt like an issue before, but now...

Maximus brushed off the feeling. Without another word, he left the inn, the three of them following close behind. As soon as they stepped into the sunlight, they noticed a large group of figures in the city’s front square, all standing at the ready as they glanced around. Maximus raised his eyebrows, sizing the group up. There must’ve been at least a dozen of them, and not only were they all Nords judging by their height, but they were each dressed in a full suit of steel armour. There was only one among them wearing anything of higher quality, which marked them clear as the leader. It didn’t take long for the group to spot Maximus, which caused several individuals to mutter something to a figure in Dwarven armour. The figure quickly turned and looked at Maximus, giving him a bit of a start.

He had never seen Dwemer armour before, but he had heard how, like almost everything else, the long-gone elves had sculpted their face in for a mark. The Dwarven helmet had the intimidating continence of a Dwemer face baring his teeth in rage, the eyes left unsettling black holes for the wearer to see through. The figure began to approach Maximus, thick Dwarven greaves clanging against the stone floor with every hard, hasty step. The Dunmer’s hands went for her daggers when the figure was close enough, and Bunny similarly let her hands stray for her bow and quiver. The figure abruptly stopped, leaned in a little, and asked “You Maximus? The one who wants to fight Forsworn?”

Maximus gave a nod, subtly trying to see the figure’s eyes through the faceplate of the helmet. The figure, male by the deepness of the muffled voice, reached out, grabbed his hand, and shook it. “Good, great. It’s about time we got going. We’re mercenaries, we were hired by Thongvar Silver-Blood to help you clear out a camp at Red Eagle Redoubt. He’s already paid us, so all we need to do is get the job done.” The man glanced at Maximus’ lady friends, then commented “...We were told we’d be your support, but since we look to outnumber you three to one, I guess it’s the other way around. We should have more than enough to handle the camp, either way. We need to pick up our weapons from a repair job at the blacksmith’s, but then we’ll be ready to march. Will you be, too?”

Maximus nodded, but Svetlana blurted out “Oh, give me a few minutes, I need to stop by the temple!” She didn’t give anyone a chance to respond before she was rushing off up Markarth’s main street, heading towards a nearby stone staircase. Maximus watched her go, shrugging as he looked back at the mercenary ringleader. The man didn’t say anything, and after a moment, he turned back to his soldiers, gesturing for them to follow. He led them off, and after a few minutes, everyone had returned to the city square. When Svetlana returned with a smile, the group finally set off, trekking into the east in search of their destination. Bunny advised everyone that if they wished to reach Red Eagle Redoubt without fighting through half a dozen Forsworn camps, they’d have to take an extremely lengthy trek around the perimeter of the Reach, and come at the camp from the eastern side instead of the more direct western path.

Obviously, this created a great deal of grumbling, but nobody was particularly anxious to try and take on what would’ve certainly been a task fit for an army. The trek looming before them could stretch on for almost a week, but if shaving off a few days meant quadrupling the danger, they’d all put up with it. Maximus found himself on guard for the entire first day of trekking. Perhaps it had been unfair of him, but he had been half expecting the mercenaries to try and humiliate him. Given that the average age among them seemed to be at least ten years his senior, they might’ve tried to openly look down upon him as inexperienced. Perhaps they might’ve even tried to intimidate him with their greater numbers, and then dare him to do anything as they forced themselves onto his lady friends. Pure paranoia.

To his surprise, neither of those things happened. The mercenaries were so disciplined, in fact, that Maximus didn’t even realize that there were women in their number until the end of the day, when the marching ended and it came time to set up camp. Only then did they speak, and only then did Maximus realize that the mercenaries didn’t fit the rough and gruff image he had set for them. They were each certainly unpleasant to the eyes, however, which at least explained why Maximus hadn’t noticed the women. If they hadn’t been born ugly, they had been made that way by battle. In a way, Maximus respected that. He respected the leader even more, however, especially when the man got to telling tales.

By a roaring campfire, as an immense pot of stew lay simmering, the leader sat with Maximus, properly introducing himself as Johan before telling him tales of past battles. The men and women under Johan’s command chimed in every now and then, but largely left the tale-telling to their leader. Maximus listened to two or three lengthy stories before he finally got a chance to ask Johan about the impressive scars on his face. Johan grinned, raising an eyebrow. He pointed to the scar running from his hairline to the crown of his skull, and said he got it from a Hagraven claw before tearing her feathers out.

Pointing to the deep purple mark under his left eye, he claimed to have gotten it from a Forsworn arrow. Going to the puncture mark in his cheek nearly deep enough to enter his mouth, he said he got it from a brawl with a wandering Thalmor Justiciar. Finally going to the scar across his throat, he claimed to have given that one to himself, after he had found an old wife to be unfaithful. For some reason, that earned some laughs from Johan’s soldiers, but Maximus could tell by the man’s eyes that he was quite serious. If the others were laughing, there must’ve been more to the story. Maximus thought better than to ask. As Johan passed Maximus a bowl of stew, he asked “So, tell me, what makes a young man like yourself take up the mantle of sellsword, eh? It’s not a pretty life. You keep at it, you’ll end up looking like us!”

Johan’s men and women laughed. Maximus and his lady friends thought it impolite to join in. Maximus raised an eyebrow and smiled, trying his best to fit in with the older, more experienced warriors. “Everyone has a reason. Sometimes, it’s personal.” A few of Johan’s warriors glanced amongst themselves, frowning. Maximus subtly glanced around. Had he just committed some kind of social taboo? Johan gave him his answer. Giving Maximus a hard pat on the shoulder, which came across a bit more like a smack to the young Imperial, he said “Hear that? Personal, huh? C’mon, we’re going to be battle-brothers, soon. Tell me what makes you fight. Go on.” Maximus raised his eyebrows, slowly losing his smile.

Svetlana, Bunny, and the Dunmer each glanced at each other, unsure of how to react. They respected Maximus’ privacy, and seeing someone trying to pressure him into talking about his parents made them uncomfortable. Maximus jabbed his fork into his bowl, pulled out a bit of meat, and just before popping it into his mouth, casually stated “...Forsworn killed my parents in their uprising.” Svetlana subtly sighed through her nose. Johan gave a severe nod. “And you fight to honour and avenge them, aye?” Maximus gave a nod of his own, still chewing at his bit of steak. Johan gave him another pat on the back. “I can respect that. That just begs the question, though...” At this, Johan started to grin, leaning in close to Maximus.

Quietly, but not so softly that his warriors couldn’t hear, he asked “...Why haven’t you taken your women somewhere warm and just lived in the sun, huh? One bad swing, and they won’t be the prettiest girls at the ball, anymore. I mean, look at us! Most of us have this life ‘cause we couldn’t even pay someone to warm our beds!” Johan’s soldiers started laughing and pulling mead bottles from their own supply packs. Johan himself started guffawing as Maximus smiled, clapping him on the back good-naturedly. His lady friends relaxed enough to smile, but decided not to join in on the developing drinking songs or dances. Perhaps if Maximus had taken the lead, they would’ve joined him, but he didn’t, and so neither did they. None of them necessarily distrusted the mercenaries, but they were, by nature, a violent lot, and getting physical with them after they had had a few drinks was just tempting fate.

Maximus ultimately slipped away during the growing revelry, finding there was too much on his mind to sit and watch the others dance and wrestle. With only the moonlight to guide him, he crept away until the songs were almost out of earshot, then finally found a place to get comfortable and think. Looking around, he found an old tree stump, positioned in a small clearing at the base of a hill. He took a seat with a weary sigh, briefly rubbing at his eyes before looking up to the sky. There was no aurora borealis that night, but Maximus found the innumerable stars beautiful enough. He passed the time trying to pick out the constellations in the firmament, idly wondering which star sign was looking down on him.

He didn’t know how much time passed. Enough for the mercenaries to get through a handful of songs, at the very least. When the footsteps started approaching, Maximus thought one of his lady friends had noticed his absence and gone searching for him. He was half right, at least. Looking over in the direction of the sound, he waited several moments for the moonlight to make her visible, giving a start when he saw her face. It was Sabrina, with blood smeared all around her mouth and chin, her eyes dull and heavy-lidded. Oddly enough, she froze up when she saw him, as if she hadn’t been expecting to see him. Before Maximus could get out a word, Sabrina was already babbling. It wasn’t made immediately apparent why she was keeping her distance, but he soon figured it out.

“M-Max, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help it! When I woke up, my meat felt so weird, it had grown like it was hard, but, like, it was still soft! My balls were tingling so bad, I didn’t know what else to do! I tried playing with myself for, like, two hours! I even tried sucking myself and fingering myself, but nothing felt good enough! Well, sticking my fingers up my ass felt pretty great, but I couldn’t get deep enough to make it work. Beating my meat when it was all soft like that was no fun, so I went out and tried to find you. When I found some bandits at this little camp...I couldn’t help myself, honest! I totally didn’t mean to!” Maximus just stared at her, eyes a little wide. Why was she talking like that? She seemed a little less...Articulate than usual.

Sabrina threw a bit of a fit, swinging her hands up and down for a few seconds. Fighting back a little sob, she blurted out “I sucked them dry! I only needed one, but I sucked all three like some kind of monster! I don’t wanna be a monster! I was a bad girl, but I’m sorry! I never wanted this, it’s just who I am, now! Once I started, I just couldn’t stop myself! I guess I got what was coming to me...” Sabrina calmed down a bit, putting one hand to a hip as she ran the other through her bangs. He just sat and stared, waiting to wake up so this weird situation would end. Averting her eyes from Maximus, she was pouting her lips as she mumbled “The last one woke up from the stupid screams. He hit me with a spell, and, like...It got me all dumb, in the head. Now, I just...I don’t get stuff. Half the stuff in my head makes no sense, now. It made me so mad, I almost pulled his head right off! I know this thing will wear off, eventually, but until then, I wanted to be around you. I had no idea you were here though, I thought you were another bandit, for a second! I know you wouldn’t let anything happen to me. I think I would’ve found you sooner, but I had to wash the blood from my hands.”

Maximus blinked, then flatly pointed out “Uh...Right. Forgot about the blood around your mouth, though, huh?” Sabrina simply stared at him, as if she couldn’t comprehend what he was suggesting. When it finally clicked several seconds later, she raised a hand and touched her chin. When she pulled her hand back and saw the blood, she stomped a foot. She was almost puffing out her cheeks like child having a tantrum when she whined out “Oh, no! I didn’t wanna be all bloody when I saw you!” She threw her arms down, sniffling as she started to hang her head. Maximus just kept staring at her, wide-eyed with incredulity. He couldn’t make up his mind whether this was real, or just some clever fantasy she had finally plucked up the courage to try and act out.

Sabrina barely looked back up at him. Raising her hands, she adjusted her spectacles on the bridge of her nose, then smoothed her hair behind her ears. He saw her lightly twist a foot around, like some nervous lass about to make a big request. Crossing her arms over her belly and fidgeting uncomfortably, she slowly said “So, like...I was a bad girl. I won’t lie. I played with myself so hard that it made my arms sore, but I didn’t cum, honest! I don’t know why, but I didn’t! And, I killed a lot of people, but they were just bandits, right?...So...I just wanted to fess up before you stick it in m-my ass, again. I was thinking that, if I didn’t lie about being bad, that’d be good, right?...R-Right? And if I’m a good girl, you’ll be a little more gentle with my butt, right? When you stick it up there, you can be pretty rough, and I just thought...I dunno...Maybe...If I was a really good girl, you might, like...Be softer with my tooshie? M-Maybe?”

Maximus started to smile, narrowing his eyes. Without saying a word, he raised a hand and beckoned her with a finger. Then, he pointed down at his lap. Sabrina whimpered, but her eyes started to glaze even further. She shuffled over, dragging her feet like a condemned prisoner. Maximus watched her walk up beside him, sniffling pitifully as she reached into her skirt. She pulled her panties down, and he could practically hear the smack as her fat pole came flopping free, whapping down against her thighs. Sabrina slid her ruffled underwear down her leggings, past her knees, and all the way down around her black boots. Then, she eased herself down, lowering herself over his lap until her thick, massive backside was stuck up in the air, left vulnerable to those with bad intentions. When she reached back and voluntarily pulled her skirt up, her submission towards her apportioned fate was made clear for all to see, her manslaying rump brazenly presented for her one and only master to inspect.

She whimpered and bit on her bottom lip, screwing her eyes shut, awaiting the penalty for her bad behaviour. Maximus didn’t start her punishment right away, however. He teased her, wanting to hear her beg for it. He brought a hand to her thick, cushiony cheeks, stroking a hand across the voluminous ass flesh before giving it a hard squeeze, sinking his fingers as deep into her juiciness as he could get them. Sabrina let out a quiet whine, then gave a little squirm under his firm grip. An evil grin grew on Maximus’ face as he pulled her skirt up a little more, getting it completely out of the way. He forced her cheeks apart, spreading her open so he could try and get a look at her quivering little rosebud, a futile task in the dark of night. Forcefully, he demanded “What do you like, Sabrina? What do you like, most of all?”

Sabrina squirmed, weakly wiggling her rump under his hands. Her voice was soft, but the dimming her intelligence had taken had also robbed her of her shame. “I like it when you treat me like your slut...I like...Sitting on it...And kissing it...And getting my lips around it...And I love feeling how hot it can get in my ass, when it shoots! P-Please, my cock’s aching so bad, can I sit on it, now? Can I ride it?” Maximus grinned, patting her cheeks hard enough to make them jiggle. He prodded her on, playing dumb. Sabrina whined. She started wriggling her hips over and over again, shaking her backside as hard as she could, perhaps trying to tempt him with the sight of a giant, jelly-jiggling ass. To her credit, she came close. “You know, ride it...That hot, hard, th-throbbing...S-Stretching...Oh, gods...” Sabrina swallowed some saliva, unable to continue.

Maximus finally got around to punishing her, letting her think he was only doing it because she couldn’t finish her sentence. He raised a hand, brought it whipping down, and slapped her as hard as he could. He landed a bullseye over her right cheek, swatting her hard enough to make her flinch and cry out. Tears ran down her cheeks, making her mascara run in black streaks. Maximus was utterly brutal with his punishment, and although he was slapping her cheeks as hard as he could, he didn’t let up for several minutes. For the first minute or so, Sabrina flinched on every spank, but for the rest, she simply went still and took it. Funny how much of a parallel that was with her in the bedroom, actually. When Maximus finally stopped, Sabrina was whimpering and snuffling, the vampire’s voluptuous, voluminous derriere positively sizzling.

Maximus smiled and patted her over the red hand prints he had given her, which had all melded together into a wide red mark. Sabrina winced at his touch, and almost blubbered when he said “Heh...If I cracked an egg on this ass, I could make an omelette.” Sabrina didn’t answer him, right away. Slowly, with his help, she got back up to her feet. She sniffled a few times, whimpering at the burn on her cheeks. Softly, she mumbled out “Thanks...I really needed that.” Maximus raised an eyebrow, his eyes falling to her groin. With her skirt still hiked up, he could see her in all her glory. True to her story, her manhood was unusually large, as if she were aroused, yet she was as limp and hung as a wet noodle. Her swollen tip was shiny with pre-cum, matching a large patch that had leaked over the front of her hefty, dangling orbs. A rather fat bead of her girly juice collected over her tip just before she pulled her panties up, carefully tucking away her rather sizeable manhood in the silky fabric.

She promptly turned and started to shuffle off, but Maximus stopped her before she could get far. Open about his curiosity, he asked “Hey, Sabrina, where’re you going?” Sabrina slowly turned back around, a movement made awkward by her positively punished posterior. Letting out a sniffle, she quietly said “W-Well...I don’t really want to be around you, when I’m like this. Wait, no, I didn’t mean to say it, like that. I need to wash up, and...I just don’t get stuff, right now. I don’t want you to see me when I’m dumb, like this...I can come back tomorrow, though. Don’t you like me better when I’m smart?” Maximus thought for a moment, then smiled. He waved her over, which put a surprised look on her face. He nodded his head to the side, then said “Just...C’mere, for a bit. I want to talk to you.” Sabrina simply looked at him for a couple of seconds, her mouth hanging open a crack. Eventually, she started walking over, rubbing the mascara from her cheeks with the backs of her hands.

Dragging her feet a little, she made her way back to him, slouching all the while. She glanced at him worriedly, dejectedly mumbling out “I don’t know about this, Max...I’m not gonna be a good talker, right now. I won’t be...Uh...I mean, I’m not good at talk...Rgh, I meant...” Maximus impatiently grabbed her by the hand, pulling her down on to the stump beside him, making her wince and tense up as she fell on her bottom. Raising an eyebrow in momentary annoyance, he muttered “Just sit down, already. I don’t care if you’re feeling stupid, I just want to talk.” Sabrina slowly shifted around for a few moments, silently trying to find some magical position where her buns wouldn’t feel as sore. Of course, that never happened, but it took her a while before she realized that fidgeting and grinding her tush into the stump was about as helpful as rubbing lemon juice across herself.

Neither of them said anything, at first. Sabrina waited with a bit of an awkward look on her face, holding her knees and trying not to think about the blood on her face. Maximus’ eyes drifted around at anything of even minute interest, stalling and delaying his decision to make a confidant of Sabrina. For nearly a full minute, he wrestled with the idea, but he eventually got the first few words out. “I’m, uh...I’m not sure why, but I feel like I’m starting to get cold feet about Red Eagle. I don’t think I’m losing my nerve, exactly...It’s hard to explain.” Sabrina looked over at him, her eyes momentarily widening in surprise. Maximus’ expression was calm, his brow lightly furrowed, his eyes deep in reflection. “It started earlier today, when we were still at the inn. I was fine until Lana, Bunny, and the elf started giving me guff about Red Eagle.”

Sabrina, after a moment of confusion, murmured out “What did they say?” Maximus barely glanced at her. “About what you’d expect. When I said we might leave without any reinforcements, they got nervous about taking on Red Eagle alone, so I told them they could just stay in Markarth, for all I cared. This is something I have to do, and if they’re worried that I’m leading them to their deaths, they don’t have to come. Neither do you.” Sabrina blinked twice in rapid succession, but otherwise remained silent. Maximus briefly looked up at the sky, then looked away from her general direction. He sighed, then muttered “Well, they insisted on going, and said they all trusted me. Said that I’ve been doing a fine job leading them. Is that what you think, too?”

Sabrina gave a little shrug. Looking down at her legs, she idly turned her ankles a few times, pointing her heels inwards and outwards. “Well...Nobody’s died. That, like, counts for something. And, you’re a good fighter. You’ve made everyone money, ‘cept for me...I don’t really care about gold, so whatever. You don’t hate me, just ‘cause of what I am...That means something, too.” Maximus turned his head in her direction, but didn’t directly look at her. With a rather serious tone of voice, he asked “Would you say you trust me, too?” Sabrina raised a hand, smoothing some of her hair behind an ear. When her hand went back down for her knee, it suddenly veered off course, heading over and finding his wrist. She gave a little nod, her eyes going over in his direction.

“Mm-hmm. If you had wanted to kill me, you would’ve done it ages ago. For someone like me, that’s a big deal. You, like...Um...You give me something to do, you know? N-Not like that, I mean, you give me a reason. Something better than just drinking blood and reading books. You, uh...I don’t know how to say it. I told you, this is a bad time to talk to me.” Maximus just smiled a little, giving her a weary glance. “I get the gist of what you mean.” Sabrina turned her head a little, smiling as she finally looked directly at him. Her fingers tightened around his wrist with confidence, but she couldn’t find the courage to make for his hand. As it was, she was surprised he hadn’t already pulled his hand away.

Maximus briefly looked up at the sky, then stared into the distance. He narrowed his eyes, for a few seconds. “I don’t know, hearing everyone put their faith in me just...Rattled me, I guess. It’s weird. None of this mattered before, but when they looked me in the eyes and said it, everything suddenly changed. It made me realize just how far I’m taking you guys on my own personal mission.” Sabrina gently raised her eyebrows. “You scared of letting us down?” Maximus’ brow twitched down. Glancing at her, he replied with a flat “I don’t know if I’d go that far. Maybe worried about getting you killed for something you don’t believe in, anyway.”

Sabrina scooched a little closer to him, touching her side to his. She smiled warmly, giving him an affectionate gaze. “That’s not true, Max...I don’t know about the others, but I wanna help you. I...I dunno...I, uh...I can’t say it right. It’s just the right thing to do, and...” Maximus gave her another glance. “Alright, settle down. If your brain’s really fried, don’t ruin it further. I get what you mean.” Sabrina smiled and chortled, momentarily leaning against him. “I should be normal, again, soon. These things don’t really last all that long...I hate being dumb. First time you really wanna talk to me, and I, like, can’t even talk. I feel so stupid!” Sabrina chuckled uncomfortably, hoping she wouldn’t make him feel awkward.

Maximus raised an eyebrow at her. After a moment of deliberation, he slowly said “Well...Maybe we’ll do this again, when you’re yourself. Why don’t you get outta here, go wash up, or something. I don’t think we’ll really be able to see each other much, until Red Eagle. We’ve got some mercenaries from Markarth with us, and they might be able to figure out what you are. Besides...They’re pretty damn pushy. Spare yourself the questions, fang-face.” Sabrina smiled to herself. If she told the truth about liking that nickname, would he stop calling her by it? She slowly started to stand up, reluctantly slipping her hand away from his wrist. Getting the pressure off of her spanked-red rump made her sigh with relief, but she tried to keep the noise subtle. She couldn’t hide rubbing a hand across herself, however.

“Okay, then...If you need me, just throw around my old master’s vial. I could feel her blood anywhere. I’ll head for Red Eagle as fast as I can.” She said a soft farewell, giving him a little wave as she walked off into the darkness, her steps a bit stiff from the tough love her backside had been shown. Maximus watched her leave until she had disappeared into the shadows. What did she mean by “feel her blood”? He took in a deep breath, sighing it out as he ran a hand through his hair. After another moment or two, he stood up and made his way back towards the others. Everyone, of course, noticed him immediately, and thoroughly bombarded him with questions. Maximus played off his absence by saying he had answered a call of nature, which thankfully discouraged further prodding.

The next day saw numerous troubles, on the road. If it wasn’t wolves or trolls, it was a wayward bear or sabrecat. Normally, these encounters ended without anyone sustaining serious injuries, as their large numbers typically made short work of foes. However, on one occasion, a troll managed to land a rather hard crack against the side of Svetlana’s head. Without even a helmet to protect her, the blow positively floored her, leaving her in a stunned heap. Maximus, in a rage, tackled into the troll hard enough to send it stumbling down to all fours. When it roared at him and tried to rise, he plunged his sword directly into it’s mouth, running it through the beast’s gullet. A few hard stomps to the skull finished it off, after that.

One of Johan’s soldiers stepped towards Svetlana, asking “Hey, you alright? You took a bad knocking, there.” Svetlana struggled to sit up, blinking hard as she mumbled something incoherent. Maximus and the Dunmer looked at her with concern, unsure of what to do until Bunny took the initiative. The lithe Breton perked up, smiling happily to herself. This was her time to shine! “Hey, wait a second, I know what to do!” Everyone looked over at her in curiosity. Bunny hurried over to Svetlana’s supply pack and, in perhaps the most overtly sexual way possible, bent all the way over.

She simply fell over from above the waist until her face was level with her groin, sticking her backside right up in the air until her loincloth could barely conceal her nether regions. As it was, if someone leaned over far enough, they could probably catch a glimpse of Bunny’s lips. Bunny, amusingly, even started to wiggle her hips, humming a happy tune to herself as she dug around in the supply pack. Apparently, she was unaware that someone might’ve been watching, completely oblivious to the idea that someone might’ve taken advantage. Either that, or she just really didn’t care.

It was hard to imagine somebody being so clueless, but even when the careless show didn’t end for several long seconds and long inches began to grow under armour, nobody could make up their mind whether or not Bunny was doing it on purpose...Aside from Maximus, anyway. He was pretty sure she was intentionally doing it to tease him, specifically, and the added bonus of exhibitionism was just a secondary thrill. He was all but proven right when Bunny stood back up, smiling just a little mischievously as she glanced around, trying to pick out who in the crowd had a red face. Her eyes stopped at Maximus, and her smile briefly strengthened. She then hurried to Svetlana’s side, finally exposing the little homemade potion in her hands. Thumbing off the cork, her lusty side ebbed as she focused back on the task at hand.

“Here, Lana, drink this...You’re not bleeding, but that was still a nasty rattle, anyway. I made this myself, it’ll help balance your head. Just take it slow for a few minutes, stay off your feet, okay?” Svetlana just mumbled. Clearly too dazed to take the potion, Bunny had to put the vial in her hand and guide it to her lips, herself. Maximus glanced at Johan’s soldiers through the corners of his eyes. Obviously, the men had enjoyed the little show Bunny had put on, but unexpectedly, so too did some of the women. It was clear to see who had gotten their jollies, all Maximus had to do was see who was elbowing the person next to them. As far as he was concerned, they could ogle all they wanted, as long as they didn’t try making any moves on Bunny. She was his little masochist, nobody else’s. Once Svetlana was back on her feet, the group moved on.

They all passed through Karthwasten on the third day. That night, as everyone lay sleeping, the Dunmer sat by the fire pit, watching the final pieces of wood collapse under the hungry flames. The group had made camp not far off the road, and she had instantly volunteered for the first shift of watch duty, once the question had been raised of who would sacrifice some sleep. Her arms wrapped around her legs, she kept her knees close to her chest, her eyes half-closed in thought. She blinked, shifting her eyes over to Maximus. There he lay, sound asleep. Defenceless. Only she was there to protect him from whatever might be lurking in the darkness.

At one time, she might’ve used this opportunity to cut his throat. The fact that he was even putting himself in this position, and that she was thinking about protecting him, presented the extremely troubling suggestion that their relationship had started evolving. Her brow sank, and her eyes shot away from him. Bastard didn’t deserve her protection. She hated him, everything about him, everything he did. Everything he touched turned to crap, as far as she was concerned. She might not be able to cut his throat anymore, but she could still leave. In fact, why hadn’t she, already?

Oh, that’s right...Because she said she trusted him and his leadership. She sighed through her nose, her posture briefly weakening. Why had she said such a stupid thing?...Now, the thought of leaving put another guilty knot in her stomach. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, touching her forehead to her knees. When she had said she trusted him, he had smiled. What did that mean? Did he trust her to watch over him in the night, or did he think she just couldn’t screw anything up too badly with so many people around? She raised her head a little, giving him another look. She hated him, she really did, and yet at the same time, she didn’t know if she wanted to. She thought back to how upset he had gotten with her, after her last little theft. He had really been worried about her, hadn’t he?

Sure, he may have disguised it as something else, but he wouldn’t have gotten so furious at the risk she had taken if he simply didn’t care. It took so much energy to hate...Did he still deserve it? Was there an easier way? No. Impossible. She should just get up and walk away, away from him and Red Eagle, away from Svetlana, Bunny, and Sabrina, away from this weird life she had found herself in. She could go back to thieving, sleeping where she wanted, living off of her skills...Such as they were. She hadn’t exactly been the luckiest of thieves. In fact, the money she had gotten from working with Maximus had dwarfed any hauls she had made as a thief. Sometimes, she wondered if thieving was really all she could do, if she couldn’t use her skills for anything more profitable.

She barely noticed the stench as it wafted into the camp, so absorbed was she in her tumultuous thoughts. Out of the troubling haze she had put herself in, she finally forced herself to face a single question: did she at all care about Maximus? A simple question that unfortunately warranted a complicated answer. She wanted to say that she didn’t, but she knew that some of the things she had said, some of the things she had done, would outright contradict that. She had absolutely no reason to. In fact, there were a dozen reasons why that should’ve been completely impossible. She looked in his direction again, and simply stared for several seconds. Maybe...Maybe she did. A little. In some weird, implausible way, maybe she did. It’d certainly explain a few things. She still hated him, but she could no longer wish the worst upon him and truly mean it. As a matter of fact...

She stood up. For a single second, she thought about going to him, letting him know what she was thinking. Then, she realized that this was Maximus she was thinking about. This was the guy who had taken to using a racial slur for a nickname, who had blackmailed her into a facefuck five minutes after meeting her. What in Azura’s name had she been thinking? Her expression soured, but only for a split-second before something thudded against her lower back. The pain was numbed, thanks to the paralyzing agent locking up her muscles. That didn’t stop her cheek from bruising black when she collapsed and hit her face against a stone, however. Her heart started racing. Attackers! She had failed! Everyone was defenceless, now!

Frustrated tears quickly flooded her eyes. No. She had to fight! Her heart hammering against her ribs, she listened as a few hoarse voices muttered in some alien language. Something scuttled closer her, and judging by the odd gait the footsteps took, she knew the figure must’ve been squatting low as they moved. She fought the lethargy hitting her limbs with all of her might, but her muscles felt like they were made of lead, pinning her to the dirt. The figure came up beside her, breathing hard as it pulled the arrow back out of her. Then, it grabbed her by the arm.

When it turned her over, she wanted to scream. She would’ve, if she could’ve. It had a pale, hairless head, vaguely humanoid, but deformed just enough that the creature must’ve been further back on the evolutionary chain. It had long, Mer-like ears that stuck out quite prominently, jutting out on either side of it’s malformed head. It’s mouth was rather small, and the creature’s nose had all but disappeared, leaving only tiny holes in it’s face for nostrils. Perhaps most disturbingly, the creature had shrunken eyes, both of which were covered over with a layer of yellowed skin. The Falmer bared it’s sharpened teeth, making a quiet growl-like noise before it grabbed her by the head.

The Dunmer’s tears started running, out of terror. It smelled like something out of a nightmare, like gore-soaked dirt, or corpses covered with fecal matter. It roughly felt across her throat with long, boney fingers, each topped off with a dangerously sharp nail, each practically a claw. She could see the shadows of others as they started slinking into the campsite, looking around at the helpless prey. The Falmer felt up her face, touching from her jaw to her nose, then to her forehead. Finally, it went to her ears, roughly grabbing them by the points. She winced, struggling with all of her might to get her hand to one of her daggers. Feeling her Mer ears seemed to anger the Falmer, for some reason. It briefly squeezed her ears between it’s fingers, then let go with a low snarl. When it grabbed the arrow it had hit her with and raised it over her face, her heart skipped a beat.

It was aiming the point directly down at her right eye. Strength flooded her muscles as her terror turned to energy. The creature raised the arrow up, tightening it’s grip on the shaft. She got her hand on one of her daggers, pulled it free, and shot it up into the Falmer’s stomach. The creature instantly shrieked, tensing up as it cried out. As the creature’s blood ran down her arm, the Dunmer found the strength to cry out Maximus’ name. All hell broke loose in that instant. The rest of the Falmer, first alerted by their fellow’s cry, twisted around, looking over at the noise. The Dunmer calling out finished waking the others, who had already been disturbed by the first scream.

Maximus jolted awake, hand instantly finding his sword. Johan found his Dwarven greatsword, scrambling up to his feet as he took stock of the situation. Svetlana and Bunny got up as quickly as they could, looking around and trying not to wince at the stench. As the rest of Johan’s soldiers got up, Maximus bolted over to the Dunmer’s side. The Falmer over her looked up when it heard his footsteps, catching a vicious punt to the chin before it could even react. The brutal attack knocked it right off of her, sending it sprawling by her feet. Two nearby Falmer pulled bone-like arrows on odd bows seemingly made of shell material, aiming them right for Maximus. When Johan raced towards them, yelling bloody murder, the blind Falmer were instantly distracted.

Svetlana spotted a blue glow in the darkness, watching in surprise as a Falmer in black, chitinous armour came rushing out of the darkness, casting a Ward spell in front of itself. Bunny grabbed her quiver and fired an arrow at the Falmer, but it’s Ward slowed the arrow enough that it bounced harmlessly off of it’s armour. The Falmer looked over at the two, snarling like an animal. It brought up it’s free hand, and a purple-black burst of life marked the Conjuration spell. In the wake of the light, a Bound Sword was left in it’s hand, looking like an ethereal Daedric Sword with a wicked curve.

Maximus briefly knelt by the Dunmer, grabbing her by the shoulder. Looking down at her, he urgently asked “You okay? Say something, you alright?” The Dunmer feebly nodded, slowly mumbling what he wanted to hear. He looked over at the Falmer who had attacked her, baring his teeth in rage. Before the creature could rise, he took his sword with both hands, pulled it back, and shoved it right into the Falmer’s stomach. When the creature struggled, he pulled the sword back out, then reintroduced it by way of the Falmer’s throat. The other seven or so Falmer fought tooth and claw against Johan’s men, but the apparent leader, the one with the most advanced armour, charged directly at Svetlana and Bunny.

Svetlana pushed Bunny out of the way just as the Falmer warmonger came swinging, gasping as the Bound Sword cut right through her priestess robe. She stumbled back, looking down at the slice across her stomach. The dark red running through the fabric moved at a frightening pace, suggesting Svetlana had taken a little more than a flesh wound. She looked up just in time to see the Falmer swing again, but this time, she was ready for it. She raised both hands and erected a Ward of her own, and when the Falmer’s Bound Sword hit the magical barrier, it bounced off like it had struck an impenetrable tower shield. The Falmer shrieked in fury, swinging a few more times before trying to sidestep and get her from a blind spot.

A lightning bolt came cracking out of the darkness, striking the Falmer hard enough to shatter it’s Ward. It stumbled away from Svetlana and looked over in confusion, hearing the hard footsteps rushing out of the darkness. Svetlana looked over, already feeling tired out from using such a powerful Ward. Sabrina came striding out of the shadows, crackles of electricity rushing along her arms. She thrust out both arms, firing another lightning bolt at the Falmer. The creature raised another Ward just in time to absorb the blow, although having it’s magic overpowered a second time sent it stumbling, once again. Roaring, the warmonger charged towards Sabrina, raising the summoned sword over it’s shoulder.

Sabrina flicked a hand over her shoulder, causing a brief blue glow to fill her palm, which then shot down to her feet. The Muffle spell completely silenced her footsteps, allowing her to avoid the warmonger by jumping to the side, and all without leaving it any the wiser. The Falmer simply kept charging, certain she was still somewhere in front of it. When she was back up to her feet, she was baring her teeth in anger, electricity beginning to rush along her arms more intensely. By the time the warmonger had heard her spell, it was already too late. Sabrina briefly gestured around herself with her arms, the intensifying charge in the air making everyone’s hair stand on end. The Falmer tried raising a Ward, but Sabrina had already thrust her arms out, letting out a cry as a constant stream of lightning blew from the palms of her hands. The arch Destruction magic hit the warmonger hard enough to knock it back through the air, crashing it into a nearby tree. Sabrina stood her ground, unleashing the spell for several long seconds, making sure the Falmer ringleader was well and truly dead.

Bunny and Svetlana didn’t see much action, in the fight. A good deal of Svetlana’s attention was consumed with trying to heal herself, while Bunny found she couldn’t use her bow on any of the Falmer without risking hitting an ally. It didn’t much matter, in the end; with superior numbers and a good deal of experience, Maximus, Johan, and the other soldiers were able to dispatch the remaining Falmer after a short and vicious fight. Aside from one of Johan’s men taking a nasty laceration across the face, which Svetlana would quickly heal, the battle had ended without any severe injuries.

As Maximus made his way back to the Dunmer, he and Johan were both eyeing Sabrina. Since she was keeping her distance, Maximus had to loudly call out to her. “I thought you said you’d be heading for Red Eagle?” Sabrina grinned, teasingly calling out “I changed my mind, don’t be so ungrateful!” Her eyes shifted to Johan, who was heading in her direction a little too quickly for her liking. She literally vanished in the blink of an eye, turning completely invisible before noiselessly retreating into the darkness. Johan stopped dead in his tracks, then looked over at Maximus. Walking over, he demanded “You know that woman?” Maximus raised an eyebrow, glancing at him before kneeling beside the Dunmer. “Yeah, what of her? She’s the last member of my team. She was supposed to be our vanguard, but she has a stubborn streak the size of a goddamn country mile.”

Johan made a “Hmph” sound, muttering something impolite about mages before turning his attention back to his soldiers. Maximus looked down at the Dunmer, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. Just loud enough for her to hear, he muttered out “Speaking of stubborn streaks...” The Dunmer didn’t even glare. As soon as he had helped her sit up, she sluggishly put her arms around his neck, latching on to him. He paused in surprise, taking her by the waist as she touched her forehead to his chest. He didn’t say anything, purely because the unusual move had simply taken him aback too much for him to get anything out. One of his hands strayed to the small of her back, and when he felt the blood from her wound, he looked up at Bunny. “Bunny, quick, grab me one of our healing potions. The elf took a hit, hurry up...”

The Dunmer screwed her eyes shut, trying to block out the image of the Falmer’s face. The tears were even harder to stop. One problem at a time.
- 12
- 13
- 14
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Forsworn Retribution