Count Only The Happy Hours

Part 1: VII

 Their timing wasn't quite right. The sun was just cresting the horizon as they reached the camp, only to find Alandro already up and looking over papers by the long-dead fire. Vivec braced himself for a "Where have you been" lecture. Instead, it seemed that luck was on their side; Alandro seemed quite genuinely surprised to see them.

He did actually ask, "Where have you two been?" but in a way that was perplexed rather than chiding. Internally, Vivec went weak with relief at their second success of the evening.

"I couldn't sleep," Sil said with surprising ease, taking off Voryn's cloak. "Vivec offered to walk with me until I could."

"We just went down the hill. There's a group of wild netch down there, and they're always more active early in the morning," Vivec added breezily.

Alandro looked between the two of them, sitting back. After a moment, he nodded. "Well, listening to Vehk for too long must have tired you out," he said to Sil with a grin. "Nerevar told you the plan, right? We're just making preparations today, so you can go back to sleep if you'd li..."

He trailed off and leapt up to his feet. Both Sil and Vivec turned to follow his gaze.

In the distance, along the road, a line of people were slowly making their way through the ashen, rolling hills. There must have been hundreds; Alandro murmured something about an army, but made no move for a moment. Armies, after all, usually had trebuchets and weapons, not wagons and guar. And, distant as they were, there was something distinctly downtrodden in their gait and golden in their skin.

It was Chimer coming their way, treading the road like their ancestors had with Veloth.

Without a word, Alandro disappeared into Nerevar's tent. When he came back out, he had Neht in tow, with Voryn not far behind. The three of them spoke in sharp whispers; Vive

They met the first of the migrants a fair way from camp, with Nerevar practically sprinting up to the first mer in the train. "What's happened?" he asked, hands falling on the man's shoulders. "Where have you all come from?"

"Hofstaag," he said, expression pained. "There's been a new edict. Every mer's been ordered out of the city." The woman beside him choked back a wail, and he wrapped a hand around her arm comfortingly before looking back to Neht. "We had hardly any time to gather our things, and we've no instruction of where to go. Just...out."

"That's hardly unexpected with Nords. Impulsive n'wah," Voryn hissed through his teeth. He gathered himself, standing up tall and regal as he looked over the couple. "Rest assured, House Dagoth will do whatever we can to ensure all the mer here are cared for."

"Is there some sort of leader among you?" Alandro asked, ready to get to brass tacks. He gently dislodged Nerevar's hands from the man's shoulders; Neht's eyes had gone distant, thoughts clearly starting to roil. "I don't suppose you'd have a mayor, but someone you look to? Let us speak with them, and we can come up with an idea of what's to be done."

Nerevar stepped back for a moment as Alandro and Voryn spoke with the man, the line of mer drifting around them to see what was happening. Vivec drifted up to his side, Sil not much further, both staying quiet.

"Azura really has provided," Nerevar murmured to himself. "This is just what we needed."

Vivec saw Sil start to speak, but he quickly shot a look his way, finger going to his lips. There was more than just getting the mer out that needed to be done; if the others thought it was divine, then all the more reason for them to listen to Azura's Chosen Son. He looked back to Nerevar.