Halas would be fast asleep when he would be woken again for watch. Faendal had made some steaming coffee and Halas had again taken a few stones wrapped in burlap out to a different spot to keep an eye on the camp. He drank the liquid quickly and then waited until Secunda was nearly across the horizon before he went to wake Faendal for last watch. It was nearly dawn now and Halas did not feel as if he had had any decent sleep. He went back asleep again only to be awoken by Faendal making breakfast.
“Did you sleep good?” Faendal asked as Halas picked up his items from inside his tent. Each item placed in the same spot each time so that it became easy to find your sword or bow. “You wouldn’t want to die looking for your axes, “ he remembered Markus saying.
Halas rubbed his eyes and looked at the sun streaming in over the mountains that bordered Morrowind. “No it was not the best sleep,” he stated flatly as he stretched his arms skyward. He felt a little better and realized he was hungry. He decided to do some talking because he was still groggy and wanted to shake out the sleepiness. “Where are we headed today?” Halas asked with a curious tone. “I would like to get to the area where the pale, Whiterun, and Eastmarch holds come together.” He said this as he undid a purse string at the top of a leather pouch and poured the contents into some water. Faendal was making one of his wilderness stews that was made of dried vegetables and meat. Add salt and it was quite good. It would take a few minutes before the dried food soaked up the moisture and looked palatable but until then Halas helped himself to some coffee and looked around for a few moments.
Faendal looked at his apprentice rubbing his chin and looking at the rising sun. “We best get packed as we have a long road ahead today.” Halas looked in the same direction and smiled, “I thought we didn’t use roads during a perimeter survey,” he continued to smile wryly as Faendal nodded. “You know what I mean apprentice. Now go pack my tent!” Faendal smiled and Halas grimaced as he went and began to break down camp.
Leather tents were pretty straight forward to break down and it only took Halas a few minutes to complete the chore and have it rolled into a fat tube that would be slung onto Rugot for travel.
The bedroll would be rolled up so that the waterproof bottom would be on the outside so that if it rained the bedroll would not get wet. Here Halas carried his bedroll under his backpack and Faendal kept his stored in Rugot.
Breakfast was ready by the time Halas had broken down the tents. Now the pair were ready to head out and after finishing eating and washing the pot out in a nearby water pool they mounted their horses and headed east.
They headed roughly toward fort Greymoor and then would cross the road and head toward the southern side of the western watchtower. On the way Halas bagged two deer and it took an hour for the pair to cut up the meat and salt the skins until they could properly clean them. “Gotta have meat for winter, “ Faendal had said as he hacked the choice cuts off the animal.
Halas looked around and realized that the spring rains had turned Whiterun plains into a gorgeous vibrant place. Most of the year it was dull but during the summer it came to life with the relatively mild temperatures and rains. It was the one time the plants had the chance to flower and sow their seeds. It was also the peak of the grazing time for many of the herbivores including elk and deer. Faendal had Halas pick up many of the types of flowers as they finished cleaning the deer Halas had killed. It was a nice place for sure and Halas truly appreciated the beauty of it.
As they continued toward the Western Watch tower a Whiterun guard waved his hands at the two riders. “I wonder what this is about?” Faendal wondered as he spurred Rugot toward the guard. Halas felt a blip of excitement as the two moved close to the guard and dismounted.
“Greetings Faendal I am Eric and we have a bit of a problem here.” Faendal nodded and let the guard speak. Halas found it curious that the guards would know Faendal’s name. He supposed that it was every guard’s duty to know the name of the Jarl’s Ranger.
“We caught two bandits stealing goods from Pelagia’s farm. We couldn’t leave our posts so we had the men form a rough circle around the area they disappeared to. They are probably going to wait till nightfall to try and make a move somewhere.” The guard looked down and kicked a small stone. He then looked back up. “We are waiting for Captain Maro to send more men to relieve us but it could take a while. The Jarl would be mad if these bandits escaped with goods so close to town. A wee bit embarrassing eh?”
Faendal nodded and turned around and scanned the area where the bandits had hidden. It was a small depression in the ground with some trees and grass. He frowned and realized it was not a good hiding spot unless it was night. “You are right they cant stay there, “ Faendal said to the guard as he turned around. "In fact one of them is making a run for freedom right now.” Faendal turned back around and Halas undid his bow. “Offer him a chance to surrender if he doesn’t stop then turn him into a pincussion.” Halas undid his bow and notched an arrow. On the far side of the trees a khajiit in light armor was running toward a gap in the lines of guards. “Have your axes ready Halas in case he slips through.” Halas looked around quickly and nearly laughed when he saw two guards and Faendal with arrows notched and bows drawn to the cheek.
However he did what he was told and the nearby guard named Eric boomed out a command, “By the name of the Jarl of Whiterun stop and drop your weapons!” The Khajiit only quickened his pace and he ran really fast. He was closing the distance fast and the guards fired their arrows. Both arrows missed and now Halas steeled himself. If Faendal missed he would have to deal with this opponent running at him full speed. How would he stop him? Could he chop him in the leg or something? Halas had never had to deal with this before. However he didn’t have to. Faendal’s arrow punched through the khajiits head and came out the back side. The bandit’s momentum had made the impact even harder than normal. Halas cringed a bit as he saw the bandit pitch backward from the impact.
The Whiterun guards had tried to notch a second arrow but it wasn’t needed. “By the divines that is a brutal shot! I have heard you are good with a bow and now I can see it!” The guard was amazed and walked up to the body to inspect the wound. “Right between the eyes, “ the guard stared at the body in wonder.
Faendal interrupted them, “There is a second bandit out there and if they just saw what happened here we certainly won’t catch them easily. “
Faendal knew that the Jarl had zero tolerance for banditry and would likely hang or execute anyone caught. So any bandits that could be caught would rather take their chances fighting than surrendering. It was a reality that the guards and the rangers had to deal with. However being a bandit could be lucrative and many found the life of adventure, despite the risk, very attractive.
Most avoided conflict as they simply just wanted to live on the fringes of society. However they could not be tolerated because they would attack travelers or homeowners. Still it was unusual for bandits to strike so close to a city and during the daytime at that.
“we are going to go scout things out so as to find this second bandit’s location. Tell your men that we might flush them out and they might make a run for it.” Faendal said as if he was in charge. Halas looked at the guards and realized that Faendal was in charge! The men waited for orders from the ranger. “Oh and Eric make sure your men focus a bit better on the archery this time. Tell them to wait for a good shot and not to rush it. We cant have them messing this up.” Eric nodded and went quickly to consult with his men. His chainmail made a loud swishy metallic sound as he ran down the cobbled road to talk to the other guards. Halas realized now why heavy armor was unsuitable for rangers.
They were first going to find the tracks of the bandits so that they could find their likely location. It is unlikely that the bandit would try to scale the mountain that was south of the watchtower. But they would soon find out as the snow on the slopes would betray their location. It was also unlikely that a bandit would try to cover their tracks and if they had they would have done a slopply job of it.
The pair moved to the farm and soon picked up the tracks through some mud by a chicken nest and followed it back to the area where the guards said the bandits went to hide. Another set of deeper and bigger tracks were next to the smaller ones. “Is that the guard chasing them?” Halas asked hoping he was right. Faendal smiled and nodded. “Yes that is the unmistakable large footprint of a strapping Nord in heavy armor.”
Soon the larger tracks peeled off and went toward the watchtower. “Where he left to go tell the other guards, “ Halas said confidently. “Halas your skills of observation are astounding!” Halas sneered a bit at the back of Faendal as he knew his master well enough to know his sarcasm.
As they approached a small hill that would give them purchase of the area below the pair became quiet and stealthy. Halas remembered the skills that his master had taught him, and employed them now. Peering through some grasses they saw the bandit hiding by some rocks.
It was a girl and she was obviously on high alert.
The two backed off a bit so that they could whisper. “I want you to pull out your axes and approach her and ask her to surrender to the mercy of the Jarl.” Halas felt his heart race. “And if she doesn’t?” Halas let the question hang in the air. Faendal chose not to answer the question. “I will be behind you with the bow. I will try to put her down before she gets to close but you need to be prepared for a fight.”
Deep down Faendal was just as scared as Halas. Not for himself but rather for his apprentice. However he also knew that he had to give Halas real experience with acting as a ranger. “Remember your training and you will be fine.”
Faendal knew that he would have to take a shot if his apprentice got into trouble. He just prayed he wouldn’t have to.
“She doesn’t have a bow and only has a rusty old war axe. This should not be hard for you.” Faendal said with encouragement.
Halas descended down the hill and the bandit walked toward him with her axe and Halas undid his own. The bandit was taken aback by the fact that Halas was wielding two axes. She hesitated but walked closer. It was at this point that Halas had serious doubt that he could do this. She was quite pretty and he had no desire to harm or kill a girl. However the bandit then saw Faendal standing with his bow drawn and locked onto the bandit. Halas looked at the girl and pleaded with her.
“Please lower your weapon and come with us by the order of the Jarl.” Halas felt a bit ridiculous for asking nicely but he just couldn’t help it. The beauty of the woman was a bit mesmerizing but he remained focused. The bandit started to lower her weapon and then charged suddenly at Halas. Halas had not lowered his weapon as he knew an opponent might try to throw off someone. She came desperately and Halas knew that she was not match for him. However he dreaded sinking his axes into her beautiful body.
He would not have to. Halas felt a rush of air to his left and a moment later a stunned look on the bandits face as the arrow seemingly passed by her without hitting her. Perhaps she was scared by how close the arrow had come. It took a moment but the bandit stopped and dropped her axe and grabbed her throat. Blood dribbled between her fingers and she fell backwards. The arrow had been poisoned but because it had not stayed in her body, only some of the poison would have made it inside her body. She was coughing and lying on the ground and Halas felt himself freeze. A pool of crimson began to form on the snow beneath her body and Halas watched in horror as she kicked her legs in agony and continued to writhe on the ground. Tears flowed down her face as he eyes were wide open with fear. “Finish it Halas!” He heard Faendal say loudly from behind. Halas took out his dagger and looked down at his shaking hand and felt sick. “I….I…umm how should I do it?” He asked desperately and in shock.
He suddenly heard footsteps from behind and Halas began to walk up to the bandit. Suddenly he was flung off to the side and Faendal quickly knelt down over the bandit. He grabbed her leather chest armor which was low cut anyway and yanked it down to expose her chest and managed to expose her breasts as well. He then plunged his dagger deep into her chest and the look of fear turned to emptiness as her heart stopped.
Faendal was frustrated and upset at his apprentice. “What is wrong with you Halas?” He asked furiously. He was as mad as Halas had ever seen him. It was something terrifying to see and Halas was stunned by his master’s sudden anger. “What do you mean?” Halas asked sheepishly. He looked down now. “You would have her lay there and suffer and do nothing?” He demanded an answer from his apprentice and Halas simply stood there looking at the snow and hearing the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. “I….I….wanted to help or something. I couldn’t think of what to do!” Was all that Halas managed to eek out.
Faendal took a deep breath. “You do what is necessary to end it. I told you to finish her and I should not have said that much! You should know when to end suffering.” Faendal was despondant and upset and a whole litany of emotions at this point.
“Yesterday you did the same thing!” Faendal said throwing his hands up in the air. Halas was quiet but with his head down he again felt sick and turned away. “Go ahead and throw up. I know you need to!”
Halas did exactly that and the yummy breakfast was now wasted onto the tundra of Whiterun Plain. Halas was sobbing now and felt ridiculous. Not only had a beautiful girl died this day right in front of him he also had to endure the wrath of his master.
Faendal cupped his forehead and rubbed his temples, “When you are finished I want you to strip her body of any salvageable items including armor and meet me back by the watchtower.” Halas nodded and hoped his master had seen the nodding from behind because he couldn’t face his master now. Faendal was just as upset because he had yelled at his apprentice but he felt it was necessary.
Halas took to the task of stripping the bandit of all items and was feeling anger boil up in him. He felt ridiculous for not doing what he was supposed to. And now the one person in his life that cared for him as much as anyone he could remember just finished yelling at him. He wanted to impress and please Faendal more than anything but he just kept freezing everytime he had to finish off an opponent. Halas realized that once the threat of his own death was passed he no longer wanted to fight, much less kill someone.
The pair rode in silence for some distance until they passed Whiterun. They then turned up the road to Riverwood and finally Faendal broke the silence. “Do you know why I got so mad back there Halas?”
The horses clopped along quietly. Rugut and Suriel knew that humans were having an important conversation and they plodded along toward Riverwood, the two ranger horses looking at each other occasionally. Halas sighed, “I am a coward and not meant for this I guess. You should just take me back to Riften and drop me off at the jail, “ Halas said dramatically. Faendal chuckled but admittedly did not expect that response. “Nonsense. You are a good apprentice. The problem is that you know how to win a fight but you don’t know how to finish it. When the rush of battle is over your humanity sneaks back in and takes over.”
“So because I care that makes me weak I guess.” Halas said with resignation. Faendal laughed a little, “No not at all in fact it is your strength.” Faendal sighed as he collected his thoughts. “Look you have a great deal of empathy and that is important. But you have to know how to channel that empathy to give a merciful end to your opponent.”
Halas seemed to understand, but wondered if he would be able to do what his master asked. He had to. If he couldn’t get over this hurdle then he might not be allowed to be considered a candidate to be a ranger. He told himself and Faendal that next time he would put an end to his opponents life. “You will do fine Halas,” Faendal said confidently. Deep down Faendal knew that if his apprentice could not shake this then he could be disqualified for continuation of his apprenticeship. Fortunately only Faendal knew of his apprentice’s weakness
They had an uneventful rest of the morning and early afternoon. Their tour took them through riverwood where they turned left through the village and took the rarely used gate that led up a mountain pass toward Helgen. The views were breathtaking and the only sounds were the distant screeches of hawks and the wind.
Occasionally a hare or fox would go bounding away but the pair would only stop if they could get a significant amount of meat from a hunt.
Finally they came to a crossroad that would lead toward Helgen, Lake Ilinata and then back to Riverwood. Here the stopped and briefly talked to a hunter that reported nothing out of the ordinary.
They then followed the road back down the road toward the White River. Here Halas passed the places of what seemed like a distant memory. It was here that Halas had followed along behind Faendal on his horse and where he first met the people of Riverwood. He found a few new slaughterfish nests and some of the flowers had regrown since the last time he had come through. He took a few moments to gather these to practice his alchemy at some later time.
They passed back through Riverwood and briefly chatted with Alvor who invited them in for lunch. After enjoying a wonderful spread of food the pair headed back out again and followed the White River downstream passed White Run. Here they would follow the river to the mountains and then turn north where they hoped to camp somewhere on the plain.
Here they stopped short near a small island. Faendal indicated to Halas to get down quietly and to sneak up toward the island for a better view. Halas saw what Faendal had seen a moment ago. A big male sabercat was sleeping on the small island.
Halas pulled out an arrow and poisoned it with the strongest toxin he had. He did not want to paralyze the beast as he might fall in the water and be swept away.
Halas lined up his shot as he had many times. The big cat stirred and stretched and began to look around. Halas did his best to anticipate where the animal would go. He took a breath and calmed his heart. He released a perfect shot that sailed toward its target. Unfortunately his target walked away from where the arrow was heading.
“Damn!” whispered Halas loudly. He toyed with the idea of getting out another arrow but instead realized that due to the terrain the cat would have to zig zag its way to their location. That is exactly what it did. With ferocious speed it ran around some large boulders and Faendal had his own daggers ready. “Here it comes!” exclaimed Faendal.
Halas was planning on sliding to one side and giving the cat a glancing blow to get some poison into its veins. However due to the rocks on the ground and the slope of the hill he struggled to move as fast as he needed. The sabercat however was moving at full speed and had the hill at his back. It was like trying to hit lightning flying at you. Halas could not get out of the way fast enough and the beast managed to punch and scratch Halas in the chest with one of its massive claws. Both cat and apprentice went rolling down the hill and Faendal ran down the hill to catch up to the battle.
The contents of Halas backpack went flying as he fell down the hillside toward the water. He had extended his arms so that his axes were over his head as he rolled. The large spikes on the back of the axes Halas employed to stop his fall. Digging the spikes into the earth it stopped his slide and he was able to get back on his feet. The big cat had done something similar with its claws and was now bounding back up the hill. Now the advantage was with Halas and he pressed it.
The cat leapt again but this time the cat was jumping up a hill and Halas could more easily adjust. He sliced the paw of the beast with the axe blade as it lashed out at the apprenticed. It howled in pain and as halas ran down the hill he managed to get a huge gash into the side of the beast with a fearsome swing of the blade. The poison was having an effect and the beast was sluggish. It ambled toward Halas but fell down breathing heavy. Halas walked up and spun the axe blade so that the spike on the axe was pointing down. In a heavy move he drove the spike into the skull of the beast and after twitching for a few seconds the beast was silent.
Halas breathed heavily and realized his chest hurt. He put his hand to his chest and felt something squishy. He realized he was bleeding and sat down. Faendal inspected the wound and took off his chest armor. Faendal whistled. “Am I that attractive shirtless?” Halas managed to say only to laugh and make his chest hurt more. He grimaced as Faendal laid his apprentice on the grass and began to look at the wound. “Its superficial but you will have some scars for sure. “ He retrieved a cure disease potion and made halas drink the bitter concoction made of mudcrab chitin and hawks beak. It was milky white but tasted nothing like milk.
Numbing the wound with a mixture of imp stool and swamp fungal pod Faendal set to suturing a few of the spots that needed it. Four gashes went across his chest from upper right shoulder to his left chest. After about twenty minutes Halas was able to ride and the two set out to find camp. Halas felt surprisingly good but knew that might change when the numbing potion wore off. In the back of his mind he was worried about infection. If he didn’t spike a fever in a few hours then he knew he would be ok. But still it worried him. He nearly died from a leg wound and feared a repeat if rot set in. He also knew that it would take days just to recover from that and it would mean missing the Ranger Council. That of course would mean the end of his apprenticeship. It was a reality that neither Faendal nor Halas talked about as they made their way toward camp of the second night of their perimeter survey.
