Stin

Road to War

Xaliyah sits atop of her dark brown stallion, Caper, as they navigate the road through the Pale. She brushes a strand of her hair out of her face and glances over at Brynjolf, who sits atop his palomino horse. She quickly looks away when he begins turning his head towards her. Instead, she focuses on the road ahead and at the signs of another snowstorm.

"Should we make camp?" Xaliyah suggests, looking over at Ayla who is on her black stallion, Paladin she named him. The Dragonborn glances up at the sky before replying.

"We have a few hours of daylight left and the storm will most likely miss us," she explains, giving Xaliyah a quick glance over her shoulder, "the base isn't far from here anyway. We might make it in time,"

"What exactly is this base you speak of?" Brynjolf questions from beside Xaliyah, staring ahead at the two in front of them, "is it a cluster of tents or a hut in the woods?"

Kharjo lets out a laugh as he rides is painted mare, "a group of tents or a hut couldn't hold an entire rebellion," he explains with another chuckle, "do you think Ulfric Stormcloak or General Tullius has their soldiers living in tents in the forest?"

Xaliyah bites back a laugh as she glances over at Brynjolf, who seems unamused by the Khajiit's remark, "of course not," he says, tone annoyed, "it's just that you two never really properly described this base of yours,"

"You'll see it soon, I promise," Ayla speaks up, "it's unlike anything you've ever seen," she adds before they return to a comfortable silence. Xaliyah stares up at a flock of birds as they find a tree to rest on, chirping noisily amongst themselves. Two squirrels hop in the snow as a rabbit chases another rabbit. This is such a peaceful moment and Xaliyah knows she should enjoy it while it lasts. This may be the last peaceful moment for a long while.

"Here we are," Ayla says after another hour of traveling. The sun is starting to set, but the entire group could see the looming fortress in front of them. It was obviously dwemer made, given by the dwemer's infamous architectural style.

"It's dwemer," Brynjolf says softly after a few moments of staring at the building.

Ayla chuckles, "that it is," she replies, "it used to be a ruin, but we rebuilt it in a few months time, trying to keep it similar to its original form,"

It's massive. Built literally for a rebellion. Xaliyah grabs hold of the reins as Caper tosses his head, a frightened neigh leaving him as he takes a few steps back.

The source of the horse's nervousness shows itself as it flies above them, letting out a loud roar, causing several flocks of birds to fly off. The group watches as the dragon lands on the roof of the base.

"Shall we?" Ayla asks, urging her horse forward and the group follows. Xaliyah looks over at Brynjolf to see him giving her a questioning look. She shrugs in response before urging Caper to gallop forward to catch up to Ayla and Kharjo.

~

"What do you think, lass?" Brynjolf asks her from the doorway to her new room for the next year or so, "is it everything you hoped for?"

Xaliyah takes a deep breath and runs a hand through her brown curls as she sits down on her bed. The room is pretty large, a fireplace against the main wall surrounded by a few chairs. A window shows the snowy mountains surrounding the base.

"It is different," she replies, meeting his gaze quickly before looking away, "less familiar than the cistern, but I can get used to this," she adds with a small smile.

"Definitely a lot more fresh food than what the Flagon offers," Brynjolf says with a chuckle, one Xaliyah returns. As much as she likes the Flagon and enjoys spending most of her free time in the small tavern, the food wasn't always as fresh as it was in other establishments.