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Chapter 3

Eldrin's father appeared momentarily startled by the shower of sparks, but then he glared at Eldrin again, leaning his hand on the doorjamb.

" Zulkan shouldn't have given you that, and he'll be hearing from me about it." He saw Eldrin's mouth twitch open, but Gilan held up a palm. "Shut up, Eldrin. You've been running wild for too long. Iluni Savil's parents accepted your marriage proposal. The date is six months from now. You have until then to figure out what you're going to do with yourself. Apply at the council hall, the Ordinators,something--"

"Become an Ordinator!" Eldrin blurted, enraged, fists clenching and moving to his sides.

"Yes," Gilan snapped, stabbing an accusing finger toward his son's face with the hand that was not against the jamb. "I know you think you're better than that, but you're not. You're finished wasting my gold on this... This lifestyle! How many times have you failed the exams to join the Buoyant Armigers? If you didn't spend so much time drinking and carrying on like a damned fool..!"

Eldrin's entire face was twitching, brows scrunched, lips pressed tightly together to keep from forming into a snarl. A vein was standing out on his forehead.'MY' marriage proposal?! MINE?

"If you haven't figured something out on your own by the time of the wedding, you'll be going to the Temple seminary in Almas Thirr. I've already looked into it."

"The mainland! Father, I can't-"

"That's enough! I'm ashamed to have raised a son who talks back to me so flippantly. I shouldn't have gone so soft on you after your mother - Never mind. I've said what I needed to say. You had better take this seriously, Eldrin. Think of your House. Think of your family. Think of anyone but yourself for once." His father whirled angrily, robes fluttering, and then he was gone up the stairs.

Eldrin stood in front of the doorway, seething with gritted teeth and breathing heavily through flaring nostrils for what seemed like a very long time. He became aware of pain in his palms from his own nails digging in. He uncurled his fists and gently shut the door before sinking into a chair at the table. His hands clenched on the armrests, every muscle of his body rigid.

Everything his father had said buffeted his mind like a tornado of ash, words playing back over and over again and overlaid with others until the cacophony nearly drowned out any thoughts of his own. The rage was still building although Eldrin sat perfectly still, glaring at nothing in particular. He was aware of nothing around him, only a sinking in his gut, as if he'd swallowed a ball of cold lead.

After a while he finally got up to check the lockbox under his bed. He still had about two thousand drakes, and he had things he could sell if he absolutely had to. His father had threatened to cut him off before, but this time he really seemed serious. Eldrin sat kneeling, absently chewing a thumbnail. What was he going to do?

You'll marry Iluni, be sent away to Almas Thirr, and never see your friends again. Then, if you're lucky, you'll end up some kind of clerk in an office. Either that or it's healing infected boils for the rest of your life. It'll be a loveless marriage spent sleeping in separate beds. Both of you will probably fuck other people and pretend not to know about it. You'll never amount to anything in life, but you won't disgrace your family or your House. You'll die quietly in your sleep, unremembered and unmourned.

He exhaled heavily through his nose and scooped some of the gold from the box into his coin purse before shutting and locking it. If Eldrin was resigning himself to that dreary life, why not go out with a bang?

He went over to the mirror to comb, then braid his hair in two tails that hung on either side of his face, the rest of it loose. Then he rubbed lotion on his face and hands and picked out a ring to wear on his other hand, an ebony scarab with rubies marking the spots on its carapace. He spent a little time searching for stray hairs that didn't belong, and then he was ready to go.

The door to the antechamber leading to the master bedroom was open and Eldrin saw his father sitting at his desk from the corner of his eye, but he carried through with his nose up, and Gilan didn't say anything. He just sighed and returned to the report he'd been reading.

It should've been close to twilight but the sky was pitch black with ash when Eldrin stepped out. He quickly arranged his shawl over his nose and leaned into the storm, wind ripping at his hair and clothes. He had to cover his eyes with a hand and walk squinting all the way to the Cat's Paw Cornerclub. Ash had blanketed the road, but he knew the way by the dark shapes looming on either side of himself, and here and there were paper lanterns flapping around on poles that hadn't yet been snuffed out by the wind. It was not a very long walk, as the Cornerclub was still in his neighborhood.

To be inside was a relief. The door banged shut behind him and Eldrin stood shaking ash out of his clothes for a moment. The main room with the bar was just a few short steps up to a raised platform, brightly lit with hanging lanterns, or he could continue down to the lower level. Eldrin went down into the dimly lit basement, to music and laughter and air hazy with smoke. It was already busy, most tables full with people Eldrin's own age or younger. A trio of Dunmer musicians were playing on a little raised platform near the stairs. Most everyone was Dunmer. It was seriously frowned upon for humans or betmer to be here, although other species of elves were tolerated.

Five people from Eldrin's clique were already there, at two square tables pushed together near the back. More would probably be arriving later. Most of them couldn't rightfully be called "friends." They were wealthy people advantageous for Eldrin to know. Some of them he genuinely liked. The others were annoyances he had to tolerate, either because they were a friend to someone else in the group, or they had powerful parents, or they knew someone else Eldrin would like to know someday.

Teris Rothalen was there now, laughing and pounding the table at something someone had said. He was what Eldrin would consider his best friend. Teris noticed Eldrin approaching and grinned crookedly. He stood abruptly, chair clanking against the wall, and leaned forward with his hands on the table. The movement almost knocked over a glass but someone more sober grabbed it just in time.

"Eldrin! Eldrin! I'm glad you came!" Teris exclaimed. He was a few years younger than Eldrin and he dressed better, came from an obviously wealthier family. He did not keep his red hair in any particular style. It wasn't longer than his ears and seemed to flop where it liked, yet somehow Teris never looked disheveled. The others looked up and said their hellos less colorfully.

"Hello, hello. I'm glad to be here. Sit down, you fool," Eldrin said, grinning back at his friend. He took a seat at the side of the table, the back wall to his right and the rest of the open space to his left. Teris followed his friend's advice, flopping down and pouring himself another glass of sujamma. There were several big bottles of various liquors on both tables, some of them already empty.

"I've got something to show you all," Eldrin said, pulling his shawl over his head to fold it over the back of his chair. He brushed down his hair with his hand, yet more ash falling to the floor.

"Ooh, what is it?" the woman on his left, Tirele, asked, leaning forward with her arms crossed on the table. Her eyes looked a bit unfocused, but she wasn't nearly as drunk as Teris, who was already pouring himself yet another drink after slugging down the last. Eldrin kicked Teris under the table so that he would pay attention.

"Look!" He turned in his seat, gesturing toward the empty space between tables. The others at the table were conversing among themselves, not really paying attention, but they would be soon. "Are you ready for this? I call Valka."

To Valka it seemed like a very short time before he was called back again, barely time to register another spear.

He was in a new location this time, a hot room with a low ceiling, full of people and color and noise and smoke. There was a layered scent of chemicals and burning, like an alchemist's laboratory, and some more devices like the one Eldrin had in his room. They were pipes for some sort of recreational drug, it looked like. Well, that was not unknown in the Isles. Among mortals. And the occasional unlucky daedra who became part of an experiment. The tang of alcohol stung his nostrils on top of all the rest.

People were staring at him. He turned to find Eldrin at a table nearby, obviously enjoying himself a great deal.

"Master Eldrin," he said pleasantly, as his guts churned with loathing. "How will I serve?"

Everything suddenly stopped. The music halted jarringly. Voices trailed off and stilled. Eldrin smirked and leaned casually back in his chair, crossing one leg over his knee.

At a table not far off, a Bosmer in a very fine yellow silk robe stared, huge-eyed. Gellesir wore her blond hair dressed in a high roll that fountained into little curls at the top, and the robe was mostly open from collarbones to just above the navel, revealing a great deal of silky freckled skin. She was leaning on the arm of her current mark, a boy about half her age (had he but known it) whose clothes were as fine as his brain was small. He was reasonably handsome, although less so at the moment, when he was gawping with all the rest at Eldrin Llethri's summoned daedra.

How had he ever done it? Eldrin was no wizard, or he could've maybe had a career in magery instead of being about to, if rumor was true, get married off or thrown out of the house or both. It had to be some kind of scroll or artifact. Gellesir narrowed her eyes, trying to scan his appearance for anything suspiciously new.

"Merciful Three!" Teris shouted, blinking up at the Mazken. "Someone tell me this thing isn't real?!" Tirele had turned in her chair to look behind at the creature, hand clasped over her mouth. She pressed herself fearfully back against the table, rattling the bottles.

"You're not drunk enough to be seeing things, are you?" Eldrin laughed. "You're fine as you are, Valka, unless you know any party tricks?" The music resumed, and slowly the chatter from other tables did too, although Eldrin was still gleefully aware of many faces turned in his direction. He caught the eye of a barmaid on the other side of the room, staring transfixed like everyone else was, and Eldrin waved a finger at her. She shook herself and turned to go back upstairs.

"I don't know any party tricks, Master Eldrin," Valka said, managing to make his tone carry the slightest hint of friendly apology. "Party" and "tricks" were both words that he knew, and in the Isles both of those words had an amazing variety of meanings ranging from "tea" to "sexual favors" to "creatively architected ritual murder." As a phrase it could mean frankly anything. He cherished that ignorance, in fact. If he had had to answer in the affirmative Eldrin would probably have made him do something humiliating. More humiliating. He hated being looked at by so many eyes, but Eldrin seemed to revel in it.Disgusting little worm.

Tirele laughed uneasily, her hand dropping from her mouth, shoulders sagging slightly as she relaxed.

"You've got this... daedra... that could probably rip a grown man in half and you want it to juggle?" Teris asked, incredulous. Eldrin shrugged.

"They've got to do something for fun in the Madgod's realm."

The moment seemed to have mostly passed. Gellesir brushed a kiss against her escort's cheek, leaving him red-faced at the knowing laughter of his friends, and got up to saunter over to that table, hips rocking slightly from side to side as she went. Her slippers glittered with gold-colored beads. She rested a hand on Eldrin's chair, looking over at the purple-gray creature in his seemingly inadequate armor. The green-on-black eyes looked back inscrutably, dark lips faintly smiling.

"Now where in the world did you find something like this?" she asked, voice a throaty purr. "My friend Zoso was just saying how amazing that is." She nodded to her escort, who was now frowning, looking from her to Eldrin and back. He couldn't hear them from his table, only see that she was evidently talking to someone else about him.

Eldrin coolly eyed her from head to toe, then glanced at Zoso, his smirk growing just slightly. He smiled warmly at her when she asked the question.

"A family heirloom I inherited today," he said, holding up his hand for her to see the ring. That was technically true, and it sounded much better than_my eccentric lush of an uncle gave it to me without realizing what he was giving away._He stood and pulled his shawl off the chair, bowing forward slightly. "Would you care to join us? I don't believe we've ever been introduced. I'm Eldrin Llethri. These are my friends, Teris Rothalen, Favise Adras, Sunel Bertis, Velis Romlyn, and Tirele Sadrith." He gestured to the others and introduced them counter-clockwise around the table, and each either nodded politely or said hello. All were Dunmer.

He hooked an empty chair from a nearby table to pull up beside the one he had vacated for her.

"I'm Gellesir," she said, smiling at them all as he gave her his chair. She seemed to wiggle all over without really moving as she turned to smile at Eldrin last, causing the fabric of her robe to shift in interesting ways. From the corner of her eye she was aware of Zoso's complexion gradually darkening, drawing his friends' attention to this table. So it was a ring. Well, that was a little tricky, but it could work. Did Eldrin have any idea what his "family heirloom" was worth, that he was flaunting it as carelessly as this? "That's so interesting. Has it been in your family a long time?"

The daedra itself was paying her no attention, looking around the room with arms hanging at its sides. It seemed to be armed with daggers of a strange dark metal, not the red-on-black inlay of dremora weapons or the stern yellow of the Golden Saints she had seen in pictures.

Eldrin did not really know the answer to that question, but he said, "Oh yes, quite a long time. The original owner was a very powerful mage." He was very disinterested in Gellesir and almost wished she would go away, but he would give anything to watch Zoso Varfayn squirm. That's what he got for courting an outlander.

He sat down between Gellesir and Tirele, who had scooted her own chair around to face Valka. Her fear had totally evaporated and she stared at him in rapt fascination, holding up one hand uncertainly as if she wanted to touch him.

The barmaid came back then carrying several bottles and glasses on a platter, warily eyeing the Mazken as she passed. Eldrin held up two fingers, and she set down two glasses in front of the Dunmer and Bosmer along with a bottle of sujamma. The cups were green glass with fat little stems.

"Anything else, Serjo Llethri?" she asked, gathering up some of the empty bottles onto the platter.

"That's all for now, thank you, Falla." Eldrin was very thankful for the interruption as he uncorked the bottle and poured a glass for himself and Gellesir. He did not really want to talk more about the origin of the ring. He didn't even know the full name of the mer it had originally belonged to- Kerghed something-or-other.

Movement, near to his body. Valka's eyes moved to follow the Dunmer girl's upraised fingers. He offered the back of one gauntlet politely, head inclined in a half-bow. He was not sure what rank these females were compared to Eldrin, but being obediently courteous to females was something he had been taught was uniformly mandatory. Mortals were obviously worthless regardless of gender, but if he was going to be trapped here he might as well make himself agreeable. It was the Mazken way. And perhaps they had favors to offer Eldrin if he pleased them. And perhaps if Eldrin were pleased he would not come up with new ways to torment his summoned.

"Ooh, can we touch him?" Gellesir asked. "Is he really warm? I've heard daedra are hot-blooded." A terrible, wonderful idea had just occurred to her.

She knew a limited number of spells. There was one in particular that had often been useful in extracting herself from awkward social situations.

"Sure, I don't care," Eldrin said, then greedily tossed back his first drink of the night.

Tirele carefully laid her palm over the offered gauntlet, her hand lightly sweeping up to touch his naked bicep. She squeezed him gently. "He is warm!" she said, face flushing purple. The mer beside her, Velis, laughed and poked Tirele in the side.

"Calm down there, Tirele! I don't think Eldrin will let you take it home!" The others all laughed, including Eldrin, and she quickly retracted her hand, turning to frown with mock indignation at them.

Gellesir stood up and went to stand behind Tirele, watching as if slightly fearful, dark eyes big. The daedra bore this patiently, smiling slightly down at the Dunmer. Gellesir reached out to touch his chest above his metal corset. It was fever-hot. From the corner of her eye she could see Zoso getting up from his table, angrily gesticulating at his friends. They all got up and started over, clearly egging each other on with drunken exclamations.

_Yes, I think now is a good time._She raised a hand to seemingly fondle the dark seducer's back muscles, and as she did so she fanned her palm open, parsing out the magicka under the skin and forcing it through the surface:

Frenzy.

To her complete startlement, though her hand hid the spell's light, she felt the force of it explode away from the daedra's body. She took a quick step back, hand over her mouth, as the pulse of infuriating magicka burst backward -

• Into the face of Zoso Varfayn. The young Dunmer's face contorted in sudden rage as he threw himself at the first thing he saw, the dark seducer. His three friends fanned out to drunkenly flail at whatever target looked the most annoying. One of them tried to hit Eldrin in the nose.

Eldrin looked over at Zoso from above the rim of his glass, smiling into it.

"Here comes the idiot brigade," Teris said, rolling his eyes. Eldrin clanked down his glass and stood up, feet apart, head high as he smugly watched them approach. Then Zoso threw himself at Valka and all hell broke lose. Eldrin's hand closed around the hilt of his tanto just as one of Zoso's friends smashed a fist into his nose, sending Eldrin tumbling backward over his own chair. Again the music stopped and now everyone was shouting.

Tirele yelped and scrambled away, tripping over her own feet in her drunkenness and continuing toward the edge of the room in a crawl. Teris was unarmed. He picked up his chair and staggered at the mer who had hit Eldrin, shouting incoherently while trying to bash him over the head. His hip slammed into the table as he did so, sending bottles and glasses rolling to the floor. Sunel and Favise had piled on top of one of the others, while Velis had drawn a knife and was circling the third, spouting drunken threats.

Valka was aware that a spell had been cast, and felt it reflected from his body. The flesh of Mazken incorporated so much magicka that they did not easily absorb it. Before he could turn to the source of the attack he found himself suddenly tackled around the neck. He stiffened his legs, realizing that the clacking sound in his ear was teeth as someone tried completely without effect to bite through his helmet.

You will never harm me nor any other person unless I expressly give permission for you to do so.

His hands literally would not reach for his daggers. Valka's face wore an expression of mild annoyance as he gradually pried the Dunmer from around his neck, ignoring the mer's legs flailing ineffectually around his shins. He held the creature at arm's length as he looked around.

The chaos of violence had gradually spread, and the mortal responsible was currently circling around behind his present master. She had something in her hand that was dark and fat and about six inches long. Well, Eldrin had not ordered him to defend him. It wasn't his problem.

"What in the hells!" Eldrin shrieked, sprawled on the floor with his legs over the chair, hand clutching his nose. Something warm and wet spilled down his face. Then he tasted blood. He kicked aside the chair and sprang up, enraged, yanking the tanto from its sheath.

Valka plonked the Dunmer who had attacked him onto his feet, seized the top of his robes, and tore them down to his shoulders, pinning his arms. Then he spun him around, applied a foot to his backside, and pushed him into Velis. He was careful not to inflict any bruises. He'd been ordered not to cause harm. Now he stood with folded arms, watching mortals flail at each other with surprisingly little effect. By this point he felt that there should be at least one corpse. And then the Mazken would stop all of it and send everyone home to their odorous mortal dwellings, because you couldn't let them stay. Drunk wore off, but mad was forever.

Other mortals were heading upstairs to get away from the violence or crowding around to watch. The latter category was also smaller than seemed normal to him. The instinct of self-preservation was also a characteristic somewhat lacking in the citizens of Crucible.

Gellesir grinned as she heard Eldrin's high-pitched protest. She waited until he had a blade in his hand before she leaned forward, swiping at the back of his skull with the cosh she had been keeping strapped to her thigh. In the unlikely event someone actually noticed she could claim self-defense. The law did not favor an Outlander in a Redoran town, but she was smaller than Eldrin, and the worst she was risking was probably being thrown out or having to bribe a guard.

One glance at the chaos had been enough for Eldrin to realize that Valka wasn't helping in any significant way. He hadn't even drawn his dagger! He opened his mouth to snap at the Mazken and then something hard and heavy bludgeoned his skull from behind and Eldrin dropped. The room blinked out briefly and when Eldrin was aware of himself he was flat on his face on the floor, gasping. Blood was streaming from his nose and now his head throbbed with horrible pain.

"Hey!" Teris had seen Gellesir strike Eldrin. He launched himself at her with fist drawn back, but he threw the punch far too early and went flailing past her.

"Valka, do something!" Eldrin snarled from the floor, rolling onto his back with blade in hand to defend from the likely follow up attack.

Valka's first hope, that the ring would be stolen by someone more likely to lose it forever, died aborning as Teris attacked the Bosmer. She ducked nimbly, but by then Eldrin was conscious again, the moment lost.

Do something.

Without contradicting previous orders he could heal Eldrin; he could Burden the thief; he could Burden Teris and hope it was enough. Reluctantly he acknowledged that the last course would probably not achieve the result he wanted with Eldrin now armed and alert. On the other hand, there was a chance that if she escaped, she might try again.

Valka walked calmly over toward them, moving politely aside to let the Bosmer dart past him, and opened his hand toward Eldrin. Blue healing magicka flared around his fingers and formed a sphere that darted out toward the Dunmer.

Gellesir ran for it, dropping the cosh into a potted plant on her way past. She smeared a little blood on one cheek for effect. By the time she hit the top of the stairs she was just another terrified, hysterical woman, bloodied, eyes streaming, and one of the incoming Redoran guards actually gave her a sympathetic pat and checked her over to see if she needed healing before they urged her outside.

The pain disappeared and the blood flow from Eldrin's nose stopped immediately. He kicked at the leg of one of their attackers before rolling over and back to his feet, and when he looked up the guards were on the stairs. He was the only really sober person so he quickly sheathed the tanto and danced away from the maelstrom of flailing bodies who had not yet realized the guards had arrived. There was some shouting as the guards rushed forward to restrain the fighters, but people quickly gave up when they saw bonemold-clad figures enter the fray.

Teris was yelling incoherently about "The Bosmer! Boooosmeeer!" while a guard held his arms from behind. Eldrin looked down at himself, at the bloodstain on the collar of his tunic, at the broken chairs and bottles all over the floor. He looked up and saw the owner watching from the stairs, then his eyes cut to Valka, a red-on-red glare communicating that he was extremely displeased. Eldrin forced himself to appear calm, brushing a stray hair away from his face as he turned to the guards.

Valka took up station behind Eldrin's shoulder as the men in the bonemold armor finally arrived. He was not impressed by their response time. But then, nobody was dead and nothing was on fire, so obviously mortal recreation was conducted very differently here than in Crucible. He returned Eldrin's glare with an expression of helpful confusion, green-on-black eyes wide and innocent, pupils contradictingly large and pleased.

"Care to explain what's going on here?" a guard asked him. It was far from the first time they'd had to break up a fight at the Cat's Paw, nor was it the first time Eldrin had been involved. Many of them knew him by name. He pointed at Zoso.

"Ser, my friends and I were minding our own business when THIS miscreant and his buddies attacked us for no reason. I trust they will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law."

"Uh-huh. And what do you have to say about it?" a guard asked Zoso. Everyone had been properly restrained or had calmed down on their own by then. From the corner of his eye Eldrin saw the owner angrily stalking over.

"It was - I -" Zoso started to explain himself, then stammered to a halt as he realized he wasn't sure exactly what had happened. He remembered starting for the other table, and then he remembered a red-hot explosion of rage, and he had lunged for whatever was in front of him... "His summoned daedra attacked me! I had to defend myself! Just look at this!" He picked at the remains of his robe, the scraps of which now covered him very little between the now-detached mandarin collar and the belt at the waist. In the process of getting his arms free he had destroyed it further. It had been expensive. That fact increased his sullen anger at Eldrin, that smug rich bastard. Couldn't even let him keep his Outlander girlfriend, oh no.

"Is that true?" The guard asked Eldrin. "Are you in control of this creature?"

"No! I mean, yes I am in control of him, but that is not what happened. Zoso attacked first." Eldrin's friends were all nodding and chiming in with agreement, but then the owner stamped up to them.

"I don't care who started it this time! Every single one of your families are going to hear of this!"

Teris had calmed himself enough that the guard relaxed his hold, and now the Dunmer wriggled past Eldrin and almost knocked right into the owner, but Eldrin grabbed him by the shoulders to steady him. He was smiling in a way he thought was placating but really just made him look even more stupid-drunk.

"Let's not be hasty, my good - my good friend. Serjo. What are a few broken- pft- bottles?" Teris started laughing. It took him several tries to disentangle his coin purse from his belt and the owner glared at him while he swayed on his feet, even braced against Eldrin. Eldrin wanted to hide his face in his hands. Finally he freed the bag of gold and held it up, rolling it out of his hands for the mer to catch. It would be more than enough to pay for the damages and even the loss of profits for the night. Unlike Eldrin, Teris was wealthy enough that it really meant nothing to him.

The owner was still glaring with the bag in his hand, but he waved at the group in disgust.

"Just get them out of here."

Zoso's friends were arguing in favor of his interpretation, but Zoso wasn't such a tremendous warrior as to render his claim plausible. Anyone who looked at him and the daedra for a few seconds could reasonably conclude that he was alive because the Mazken had_not_attacked him. A guard's spear-butt firmly tapping the floor silenced all of them.

"You idiots go home. Now," said a voice from behind a bonemold helm, the eyes behind the viewing slit narrow and unamused. "We're not arresting anyone if you're out of here in the next thirty seconds."

They filed out, Zoso glaring at Eldrin and his new pet over his shoulder. One of them snagged a bottle of sujamma on their way out, drunkenly convinced of his unobtrusiveness.

Eldrin smirked back, now that the danger of actually facing real consequences had apparently passed. He held Teris by the arm and guided him out. He had begun to whine that he left his drink at the table (when it was actually smashed all over the floor) but Eldrin patted him on the back and shushed him.

Tirele was long gone. She probably had not wanted to wait around for them in the storm. The sky was pitch black now. Flapping banners and distant clanking joined the roaring wind that pelted them with ash.

"Want to go to Rat in the Pot?" Favise shouted into the wind, shielding her face with cupped hands.

"What? Sure!" Teris said.

"No, Teris." To the others he said, "I think I ought to take him home. You all go ahead." He was still holding onto Teris. It didn't seem like the mer could walk more than a few steps on his own. He nudged his friend back toward the manor district, looking over his shoulder to make sure Zoso and his group weren't coming after him for round two, and that Valka was following.

Valka had no choice. The ring's enchantment constrained him to remain within fifty yards of the possessor unless specifically ordered otherwise, so he might as well seem as though he were behaving obediently. He followed behind Eldrin with his head down as the rest of the group peeled off. With one upraised gauntlet he did his best to deflect ash from the unprotected part of his face. Dimly he thought he remembered seeing one of these storms before, but he had not been outside in it. He would have remembered the uncomfortable sensation of dust being whipped repeatedly into his unprotected chest.

Zoso had thought about going after that rich bastard again, but shirtless in an ash storm he would be flayed alive before they could get into a real fight. He slunk away with his friends to drink at home, each telling the other how brave they had been and what a cowardly fetcher Eldrin was and to hell with faithless Outlander women, anyway.

Eldrin was irritated by what he considered to be Valka's disobedience and the fact that his night of fun had been prematurely curtailed. Plus, some outlander harlot had clubbed him in the back of the head and got away with it. But his anger melted away as he hobbled home with an arm around Teris's shoulder, bowed slightly forward to keep ash out of their eyes. The mer was so warm against his side compared to the cold of the storm, and this close to his friend Eldrin could smell soap and bug musk combating the reek of sujamma on his breath. Beneath all of that Eldrin imagined he could just faintly pick out Teris's natural scent. He turned his face toward the drunk's shoulder under the guise of protecting himself from the storm.

Teris was met at the door by an older Dunmer servant, an actual paid housekeeper whose job it was to supervise the slaves and keep the household in order. She gave them both an exasperated look and hauled Teris away, soothing his protests as she dragged him toward bath and bed. Eldrin felt like a little piece of himself had been hauled away with him, the loss of weight and warmth against his side almost painful. He could meet up with the others at Rat in the Pot, but it wouldn't have been any fun now. As soon as the door closed he whirled to scowl at the Mazken.

"Valka, what in the hells happened back there? Next time someone attacks me, don't just stand staring like an idiot!" He started off toward his own home, moving sideways against the wind to glare back at his daedra with one arm raised in front of himself.

"Of course, Master Eldrin," Valka said, his tone suggesting only polite helpfulness as he, too, did his best to protect himself from the wind. Eldrin had not yet constrained him to answer every question, only to speak the truth. Maybe he wouldn't notice. "Please accept my humble apology. Are you displeased with my service?" Regrettably he could not claim to be sorry. The ring's encumbrance was not enforced by pain, which he was well able to endure. It was simply impossible for him to disobey. His own body and voice would not follow his orders when they conflicted with Eldrin's.

Eldrin stopped walking long enough to turn fully around, glaring up at the Mazken while the wind tossed his hair against his face.

"Quit playing stupid with me," Eldrin snapped. Then, suddenly, a cruel smile broke across his face. "Tell me honestly, Valka, what is the most unpleasant punishment you could ever endure at my hands?"

It had been slightly less infuriating while it lasted, Valka thought.

"Every second spent in your presence is a severe punishment, you puling, narcissistic worm, but I suppose being stabbed and then fucked through the holes by your disgusting friends while you force me to pleasure you orally would be worse." His tone was still calm, although he was now forced to drop the pretense of helpful politeness.

Eldrin's face dropped as if he'd been slapped. He wasn't expecting an answer quite so... vivid. But he quickly hardened his expression again, narrowing his eyes and frowning seriously.

"I would not dishonor my friends by asking them to put their cocks anywhere near a vile Mazken, but I'm sure I could orchestrate a similar punishment. Sunel's family raises nix hounds. I've heard they'll fuck any hole if you smear the female's pheromones on it. I was not clear with my expectations so I'll let it go this time... But next time it looks like I need help, help me without having to be ordered expressly. If I am displeased again I will arrange for this punishment. You are--" He waved an angry hand at the daedra, preparing to dismiss him, and then realized that would be too kind.

Eldrin shut his mouth and whirled around to resume his trudge through the storm. He did not particularly want a daedra slinking around in his house unsupervised while he slept, but Valka could not harm him or anyone else.

Valka, watching the mortal's face sidelong, was somewhat surprised that he'd scored a hit. He tried to figure out subsequently how he'd done it as he listened to the inevitable threat, not trying to keep the disgust off his face now. It was too bad Eldrin had forced that admission. He might have actually been dismissed again, been confronted only with immortal beings who desperately wanted to kill him instead of this revolting and alien and currently painful place.

Eldrin came into the manor quietly and was surprised to see lanterns still burning in the antechamber to his father's room. He spotted Gilan slumped over his desk and Eldrin was momentarily alarmed before he realized the mer had just fallen asleep.

"Go downstairs and stand guard there for the rest of the night," Eldrin said to Valka in a low voice. Then he turned left, and after crossing two short steps down and an open doorway he was in the little room his father used as both personal library and office. The two egg mines he owned were both North of Ald'ruhn so Gilan did not oversee day-to-day operations, but he often spent a great deal of his time in this room poring over various reports and writing out orders.

His father had indeed fallen asleep, using his crossed arms and a heavy ledger beneath them as pillow for his head. It did not look particularly comfortable. Partially pinned beneath his right elbow was a letter, ink inadvertently smeared. It only caught Eldrin's eye because he noticed that it was addressed to Gilan's brother, Garisa Llethri. Eldrin frowned and carefully slid the corner of the paper out from beneath his father's arm to read it.

The letter was asking Garisa for money. Both egg mines were suffering terrible losses after blight disease had wiped out most of the colonies, including the queens. This was a fact Eldrin already knew, but he had never really stopped to consider how serious that might be. You just raised up another one to take its place, didn't you?

According to the letter, there had been no new shipments from either mine for over a month, and it would be four months yet before the new queens matured enough to even begin production again, and another four months before they could produce at full capacity. Workers had been revolting at one of the mines, which complicated matters.

The letter was obviously a rough draft, with phrases scratched out here and there. It seemed like Gilan had been trying to find the words that seemed least like begging. He and Garisa had never really gotten along, and the entire Llethri family viewed Gilan with disdain both for "marrying down" and for not following the political career path shared by most of the family. To ask this of his Councilman brother could not be easy for Gilan.

Eldrin looked down at his father's graying hair and felt a brief pang of sorrow, but bitterness quickly washed that away. Maybe he wanted Savil's dowry to end his financial problems. Maybe his concern for Eldrin's future was genuine and he only wanted to ensure his son would avoid his own fate. It was hard to say. Either answer was understandable. But that didn't make his father's treatment of Eldrin any less unfair!

Eldrin decided not to wake his father up, carefully placing the paper back on the desk and turning away. He suddenly felt very tired, and he was glad that he was home so that he could become unconscious and wake up to a brighter day. He said nothing to Valka as he went downstairs and shut himself in his room, leaving the Mazken alone in the hall.

Being inside out of the storm was a relief to Valka. His skin stung from the ash as he obeyed orders, only mildly curious whether the other Dunmer was alive or dead. Probably alive. Probably he had just collapsed from lack of some mortal necessity. He had never seen his previous master do that, but he was gradually realizing that Kerghed had been much cleverer and better prepared for most situations than the people around Eldrin. Possibly that was why his new master was such an idiot, because he had no reason not to think everyone was.

Eldrin did not speak to Valka again as he went in and shut the door. The Mazken was just as glad to be left out in the hall. He still found the sight of mortals sleeping to be bizarre and uncomfortable. Probably it was as well that Eldrin did not know that. Or possibly the Dunmer would not enjoy having Valka watch him sleep all night, either. Standing bored in a hallway was only a minor irritation. Time was endless, and Valka was patient. Sooner or later someone with no real threats or needs in his life would get bored with having him around.