“Not exactly, Matriarch,” Shevawna said nervously. “I mean, Kodlak is writing a letter but it's taking time. And Belethor's... no longer a problem.” The man had taken his own life after clawing at his arms, screaming he was being consumed from the inside. There'd been no signs of that actually being the case... until the priest of Arkay opened his corpse to find what looked like tunnels chewed into his innards, and no sign of the creatures that might have made them. As if they'd materialised inside him, feasted on him and then vanished. There'd been a lot of whispering in Jorrvaskr and Shevawna had carefully schooled her face into a mask of appalled sympathy. Behind closed doors, she'd just shaken her head at the stupidity of the man, reading a Hagraven's mail and thinking it would end any other way.
“Good,” Keirine smirked. “That'll teach him. If he weren't dead, of course. You know I treated him for an arrow wound once – did he not realise I'd taken a blood sample? Fool.” She looked up at Shevawna, lips pursed.
“You didn't come all this way just to tell me Belethor's kin need the news breaking to them, did you?”
Shevawna shook her head slowly. “No, Matriarch,” she whispered. “Matriarch, I need help. Or... or my friend does. She saved me from a dragon once, helped me kill a whole bunch of Stormcloaks. Then she went to Markarth and I told her not to, I told her not to interfere, but she did and now she's in Cidhna Mine – Matriarch, please, she's got two little girls waiting for her, she's been framed, you have to get her out of there, you have to...” Shevawna's voice trailed off as Keirine slowly got to her feet, grandmotherly facade vanishing as the room got noticeably darker, some of the shadows seeming to hiss as they moved.
By Sithis, this had been a terrible idea, and if Shevawna ever saw Liriel again and didn't end up soul trapped, she was telling the elf in no uncertain terms that next time she went poking around in the affairs of the Forsworn, she was on her own.
“Have to?” Keirine said, her voice low and dangerous.
“I mean, you don't have to,” Shevawna babbled. “Of course you don't, you're First Matriarch, you can do what you like, oh Sithis, please don't kill me.”
Keirine kept advancing, claws flexed and teeth bared.
“You want me to get your idiot little friend out of Cidhna Mine,” Keirine growled. “As if I can rend the very earth apart to break it open. Do you not think if I had that sort of power, I'd have retrieved my idiot of a twin years ago??”
That was a very good point and now that Shevawna thought about it, if Madanach was still in there, the place really must be unbreakable. Except Sissel and Lucia's terrified faces kept swimming before her eyes, and she knew that even if Keirine killed her now, she had to at least have tried.
“She's got children, they're only little,” Shevawna whispered, and something in Keirine's face did soften just slightly.
“So did he once,” Keirine said quietly. “And I could do nothing for any of them because that bitch Mireen had her claws in them.” She lowered her hands, walking back to the table to sit down again, her own claws raking through her hair.
“Go back to those children,” Keirine said quietly. “Take care of them as best you can. I will send word to my brother to ensure she's not harmed down there. What's her name?”
“Liriel,” Shevawna whispered. “She's an Altmer. Red hair. Yellow eyes. She's really smart and a really powerful mage, she could be useful...”
Keirine had gone still, before turning to face her, surprised. “An elf. A High Elf. Your friend's a High Elf mage? Did you say she'd saved you from a dragon?”
Shevawna nodded, wondering what difference this made, but she didn't get a chance to find out. The outer door flung open and Kaie came running in, eyes wild. She didn't look like she'd slept either.
“Auntie!” Kaie cried. “Auntie, where are you?? You need to come quick!”
“Y ap Davrha tolas,” Keirine whispered. The dragon's child's come? That made no sense at all to Shevawna, but Keirine was getting up and making her way over to Kaie.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: The Witch of Jorrvaskr 5.8 (formerly Blood Magic's Honour)
Date: 2014-05-24 02:09 pm (UTC)“Good,” Keirine smirked. “That'll teach him. If he weren't dead, of course. You know I treated him for an arrow wound once – did he not realise I'd taken a blood sample? Fool.” She looked up at Shevawna, lips pursed.
“You didn't come all this way just to tell me Belethor's kin need the news breaking to them, did you?”
Shevawna shook her head slowly. “No, Matriarch,” she whispered. “Matriarch, I need help. Or... or my friend does. She saved me from a dragon once, helped me kill a whole bunch of Stormcloaks. Then she went to Markarth and I told her not to, I told her not to interfere, but she did and now she's in Cidhna Mine – Matriarch, please, she's got two little girls waiting for her, she's been framed, you have to get her out of there, you have to...” Shevawna's voice trailed off as Keirine slowly got to her feet, grandmotherly facade vanishing as the room got noticeably darker, some of the shadows seeming to hiss as they moved.
By Sithis, this had been a terrible idea, and if Shevawna ever saw Liriel again and didn't end up soul trapped, she was telling the elf in no uncertain terms that next time she went poking around in the affairs of the Forsworn, she was on her own.
“Have to?” Keirine said, her voice low and dangerous.
“I mean, you don't have to,” Shevawna babbled. “Of course you don't, you're First Matriarch, you can do what you like, oh Sithis, please don't kill me.”
Keirine kept advancing, claws flexed and teeth bared.
“You want me to get your idiot little friend out of Cidhna Mine,” Keirine growled. “As if I can rend the very earth apart to break it open. Do you not think if I had that sort of power, I'd have retrieved my idiot of a twin years ago??”
That was a very good point and now that Shevawna thought about it, if Madanach was still in there, the place really must be unbreakable. Except Sissel and Lucia's terrified faces kept swimming before her eyes, and she knew that even if Keirine killed her now, she had to at least have tried.
“She's got children, they're only little,” Shevawna whispered, and something in Keirine's face did soften just slightly.
“So did he once,” Keirine said quietly. “And I could do nothing for any of them because that bitch Mireen had her claws in them.” She lowered her hands, walking back to the table to sit down again, her own claws raking through her hair.
“Go back to those children,” Keirine said quietly. “Take care of them as best you can. I will send word to my brother to ensure she's not harmed down there. What's her name?”
“Liriel,” Shevawna whispered. “She's an Altmer. Red hair. Yellow eyes. She's really smart and a really powerful mage, she could be useful...”
Keirine had gone still, before turning to face her, surprised. “An elf. A High Elf. Your friend's a High Elf mage? Did you say she'd saved you from a dragon?”
Shevawna nodded, wondering what difference this made, but she didn't get a chance to find out. The outer door flung open and Kaie came running in, eyes wild. She didn't look like she'd slept either.
“Auntie!” Kaie cried. “Auntie, where are you?? You need to come quick!”
“Y ap Davrha tolas,” Keirine whispered. The dragon's child's come? That made no sense at all to Shevawna, but Keirine was getting up and making her way over to Kaie.