The unlikely pair headed up the low dirt incline to the higher ground of the inner keep, through another gate and portcullis into a courtyard very unlike the one below where they had just come from. It was not immaculately trimmed shrubs or manicured lawns by any means, but it was definitely better kept than the hard packed dirt and the clutter of the sparring yard below.  The grounds were clean and untracked, everything looked very organized, and there were even green shrubs of some tall skinny variety that Edovan had never seen before, planted in strategic locations. But plants in this city were so rare Edovan noticed them right away.  Somebody was making an effort to make the place look at least half civilized.  

There were several stone buildings against the larger high outer walls with wide stone paths leading back and forth between them.  One was an obvious smithy where Edovan could see a large and burly orc, shirtless and sweaty, hammering glowing steel on a giant anvil. So intent was his gaze on his work that Edovan was sure that he hadn’t even looked up at the giant commotion below when it happened. If anything, he looked irritated that anything would distract him from his craft. Staan waved as they passed and the Orc just grunted and raised the right corner of his mouth in the barest of possible acknowledgments.  

“Hmmm. They must be close...” Edovan thought wryly to himself.

There was a two story building far away from all the others on his left that Edovan quickly deduced as some kind of infirmary given the traffic of wounded in and bandaged out. But Edovan’s attention was immediately captured by where they were headed. In the middle was a large bronze colored tower, that stood out starkly against the grey stone everywhere. It was Dwemer for sure but, he noted, also unlike all the Dwemer structures the town itself was built on.   Most of those were mechanical, non symmetrical, made for function over form. This, this was made to beautiful.  It was graceful, round and concentric in design, with lots of ornamentation on the buttresses.

Edovan could tell two things about it right away. Immediately, he could tell it wasn’t mechanical.  There were no large visible pipes, no steam coming out, no clanking noises.  The second thing was that he knew he wasn’t seeing all of it. He could tell by the way the architecture was designed that this was the only the top of a potentially much larger structure.  The large burnished doors made of the strange Dwemer metal that they were heading towards were most likely originally opening on to some sort of balcony. How this tower got partially buried and still remained here intact was a mystery Edovan earnestly wanted to unravel. Perhaps it was an ancient volcanIc eruption? Or maybe the ground collapsed under it and it sank.. Or perhaps-..

“You lost in those big thoughts again?“ Staan’s voice came from directly in front of him. Edovan’s eyes refocused on his friend’s grinning face, level with his own, and the big hand he was waving back and forth in front of his nose.

“Oh, yes. Sorry.”  Edovan stammered, blushing a bit.  “This… This tower is different from the rest,” he told Staanovaar.

Staan had gone down on one knee again in front of Edovan so they could talk easier.  “Oh yeah. Its dwarven and the rest of the keep is good solid Nord stone, instead of this weird metal.” He banged on the side of the building with his fist to emphasize the point. It reverberated with a low GOOOOOOONNNNGGGGG noise, not unlike some gigantic bell.

“No, I mean it’s different from all the Dwe-”  Edovan cut himself off because he didn’t want to seem pretentious, “ --dwarven structures as well.  See how there’s no pipes or steam?  And it’s all decorated and inscribed?” he said. Edovan didn’t mention that it was also fairly bristling in runes that even he didn’t recognize.

“You know, I think you’re right. I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen any other building in town that’s like this one.  I guess I just never thought about why…” Staan trailed off thoughtfully. But not nearly as thoughtfully as Edovan had considered the difference.

Edovan ran a hand across the cool metal, feeling the power of the runes he was touching crackling under his fingertips. He definitely would have have to take a closer look at this.  If his theory about the structure the town was built on was correct, then THIS building had to have been constructed as some kind of command and control/living quarters for some very high ranking Dwemer official.

“Lost you again!”  Staan said, chuckling.

“Ugh, I’m sorry Staan.  It’s just... I studied Dwe-  I mean Dwarven, society at length at the Academy, and it was my most fascinating subject. And now I find myself in front of what may well be one of the rarest buildings of them all.  I’m a bit giddy to be honest,” Edovan admitted.

Staan laughed again at his small friend. “Well good, because we’re keepin ya around till you get sick of the place.  And now you get to see the inside, because we have to go in here to meet the Commander.”  

Staan easily pushed his way through the large metal doors, and they disappeared inside.

It was like back at the Boar, with the noise canceling wards. Once the doors closed they were in a different world, only this time Edovan was sure it was due to the properties of the materials the place was constructed from and, not majik.  Once his eyes adjusted to the much darker interior he had to blink several times to assure himself he was seeing what he was seeing. Edovan had studied and even explored Dwemer ruins before, so he thought he knew what to expect. He’d even seem them repurposed and made habitable like the city of Markarth back in Skyrim, and the whole town down below. But this was no ruin.  

It was if he had stepped back in time, what, over two thousand  years?  Everything was polished, shiny, and looked as new as it must have when its owners vanished into the unknown along with the rest of their race, over two millennia ago! He didn’t understand how such a thing was possible. But yet here it was, possibly one of the greatest finds of Dwemer archaeological science in centuries, perhaps, even ever... and they were using it as the headquarters for their fighters guild.  

“It’s pretty nice isn’t it?” Staan was grinning down at him. “But you should probably close your mouth before something flies in,” he teased.

Edovan was taking in the surroundings. They were in a large entry way, behind them the metal walls of the inside of the tower curved around. In front of them two twin staircases curved upwards to meet on a single landing in front of a large set of metal double doors, not much smaller than the ones they had come in through. There was also a smaller door directly below the landing, and two hallways leading off to each side. Everything was carved, inscribed, etched or gilded in some way, but the thing that grabbed Edovan’s attention was the floor. Where they were standing was a small slab of dwemer stone, covered by a typical Nord rug to wipe your feet on, but the rest of the floor was neither stone nor metal, but covered in some kind of ornate, thick red patterned rug that covered the entire floor perfectly, right up the edges of the walls. Edovan had come from considerable wealth. He knew the finer things. But even he had never seen a single seamless rug that covered the entire floor!  Running water, pipes that provided steam on demand, and now this?  The Dwemer must have been far advanced indeed beyond the rest of the world!

Staan pointed cautiously at the big double doors at the top of the stairs. “That’s where the Commander’s office is…”   Staan put a little too much emphasis on “that’s”  for Edovan’s comfort, and he was about to ask about it, but he had stepped forward onto this marvelous new surface covering the floor… and it had turned out to be very unlike anything he had ever walked on. His toes sunk in deep, too deep, and when they finally caught on the real floor below, he tripped and instantly fell face first into the thankfully soft, somewhat spongy, but luxurious surface.

“You okay?” Staan was asking, as straightfaced as possible, but Edovan could already read his new friend well enough to see he was trying desperately not to burst out laughing as he offered Edovan a hand. He took it and Staan and pulled him back to his feet.  

“Of course, no problem at all… it’s… uh.  Spongey,” Edovan finally decided.

Normally Edovan would have been horribly embarrassed by such a clumsy incident as this, but something about Staan put him at ease, and he found himself trying to stifle his own laugh, which of course caused them both to bust into full blown laughter.  After they both got control of themselves again, Edovan gingerly stepped out for a second try. He held his foot flat and let it sink in. The plush fibers came up almost to his ankle! He repeated with his other foot and found he was able to effectively, if awkwardly, traverse the surface.

He slowly made his way toward the stairs.  They, too, were covered in the stuff, and were particularly tricky to navigate, save for the curved metal handrail he was holding onto for dear life. Staan was right behind him, and seemed to have no trouble at all.  He gave Edovan a sheepish grin, as if to say “you’ll get used to it”.  

When the tiny Bosmer finally reached the top stair, he paused in front of the large, intimidating doors.  Even though these were metal and covered in Dwemer runes, he couldn’t helped but be reminded of passing through another pair of huge double doors…. Mavka’s huge, dark, inviting...  doors. DOORS! He felt light headed for a second or two...  “Doors!”  Logical brain repeated, as he finished tying the gag around an already bound lizard brain before stuffing him in the closet.

“Whoa. That must have been a really big thought!”  Staan joked as Edovan came out of his memory.

“Oh, you have no idea...”  Edovan replied matter of factly.

Edovan stood still waiting for Staan to push the doors open and usher them both in, but the big Nord was making no move to do so. In fact, Edovan could sense anxiety coming from his huge friend.

“I take it you aren’t coming in with me?” he asked carefully.

For a second, Edovan thought he saw sheer terror in Staan’s eyes, but then the light came back and the customary huge smile spread across his face once more.

“Oh no-no-no-no-no-no.  I gotta run go check on Mountains and Baryk. I’m sure the Commander is going to want a report on how banged up they are.”  

He gently turned Edovan toward the huge metal doors and begin to shove him forward. But the little elf quickly put both his hands up, bracing himself against the outside of the huge doors in a desperate attempt to stop his forward progression. They had two huge pull handles protruding from the bronzed meta surface and he was gripping both of them as hard as he could.  He knew he couldn’t resist the superior size and strength of his burly buddy, but he WAS on the wrong side of obviously outward opening doors, and he was counting on Staan’s good and honest nature to come to his rescue. It worked. Staan stopped pushing and looked suddenly very uncomfortable. The fear was back on his face.

“Staan? Why does it feel like there is something you are not telling me?” Edovan asked.

“Because you are about to meet the second scariest woman in the entire guild...” Staan admitted after a few moments of fearful silence.

“Scary how, exactly?” Edovan asked. He had a hard time wrapping his mind around the idea of Staan being scared of anyone.  After all, he had approached  a 15 ft tall harbinger of death/legend come to life not even 30 minutes ago, and had not even flinched.

“Oh wow, it’s getting late. Well, you better not keep her waiting!” Staan said, slipping easily back into his cheery self.

“Wait! Staan! You didn’t answer the question.  Scary how?  Why?” Edovan asked, feeling his own fear creeping up.

Staan was pushing firmly now, and Edovan’s feet were slipping through the thick floor stuff.  To make matters worse, the doors were somehow giving INWARD on their hinges, because of course they were.  As they started to part before him, he realized he had forgotten to ask the other question. Perhaps the most important one.

“Wait… Staan. You said second. Who’s the FIRST scariest?” he asked.

The big man gave him one final shove from behind as the doors gave way completely. Edovan was thrust forward into a richly appointed, but dimly lit, interior.

“You’ve already met her!” Staan said hurriedly as he disappeared behind the doors while they swung back closed, leaving Edovan alone in a room with presumably the second scariest woman in the entire guild.

He swallowed slowly, took a deep breath and turned around.

************************************

Edovan noticed immediately that something was different about this room. Something… unnerving. His eyes were taking longer than usual to adjust for some reason, and he felt strangely cut off and isolated somehow, though through the gloom he could see the room was a cozy size, with comfortable and well crafted Nord furniture, decorations and accoutrements. It was dark for the most part, only candles and few old fashioned lamps lit the room, and even then, not very well. No magical illumination. And it appeared at first glance to be completely devoid of any of the magical runes that had covered the outside of the building, or that had filled the entryway.

He looked behind himself again and noticed that this side of the large metal doors was blank, as well. He held out his hand and tried to summon forth Candlelight, a very rudimentary alteration spell that even the most neophyte mages could master. Nothing happened. He felt the word of power pass his lips, but then it just disappeared into nothingness, the sound never even reaching his ears. It was then he realized that even the large ornate jewel on his staff wasn't giving off any of its customary dark ruby light.

He was staring back and forth between the door and his staff in disbelief when he heard a dusky and seductive but strangely familiar female voice.

“What’s the matter little mouse? Scared of strange, dark places? Hmmmmm?” It purred from somewhere directly behind and well above him.

Edovan whirled around quickly and found himself face-to-leather-clad-crotch with the owner of the sultry voice. He backed away unconsciously, as his eyes finally began to adjust to the darkness. She seemingly materialized in front of him as if from the shadows themselves. She was tall, long of leg, well proportioned, and tightly packed into skin tight black leather breeches and a reinforced leather bodice that reminded him a lot of Yagaritte's working outfit, except for the fact that these were armored in tiny black shiny scales that shimmered under the soft flames of the torches, candles and lanterns that were scattered through the room in a futile attempt to light it properly. If anything they only seemed to increase the shadows, if that was somehow possible.

His gaze swept upward, past her considerable bosom, to her face... and his heart leapt. That strong, but feminine chin! That confidant, if not somewhat predatory, smile… It had to be...

“Yag--” he started to call, but cut himself short as she stepped forward into the glow of a nearby lantern’s light, illuminating her just enough for Edovan to distinguish her features more clearly.

It was as if Yagaritte had aged twenty years somehow. Same face, still beautiful, but lined with years of wisdom, and much colder and hungrier. This woman’s long luxurious hair was also silvery white and braided down her back, and her eyes were a cold blue grey, like winter storms or icebergs, and though smiling, seemed to be giving off just about as much warmth. This was not Yagaritte, but she must be some kind of close kin for such a striking resemblance.

Edovan could feel the iciness of her eyes seeping into his spine. He shuddered. “Ah…” he intoned. Once again, unsure of himself and having zero idea of what was happening in his life.

“Are you…?” he trailed off.

“Yes. I’m the Commander,” she said matter of factly, and slowly came down on one knee in front of him, those ice cold eyes still boring through him, and now from much closer.

“And you must be the “Little Mouse” I keep hearing so much about.” Her voice was dark and throaty, with the barest hint of a growl, and now from this distance, he noticed her teeth seemed brighter and sharper somehow and her mouth was larger. It was almost as if Yagaritte had been turned into some sort of sentient humanoid sabrecat.

Even down on one knee, just like Yagaritte, she towered over him, his head being eye level with her bust. She reached out her hand and lightly, but firmly, grasped his chin, turned his head slightly side to side, staring intently at his face. He did not resist her. Lizard brain was gleefully pointing out that her ample cleavage was now just inches from his face, and though it was not quite as ample as Yagaritte’s. it was certainly ample enough to conjure up that memory of when they had first met, and she had pinned him to the wall. Logical brain was certain that if THIS woman had been there that day instead of Yagaritte, he wouldn’t be standing here today.

Yagaritte, for all her scariness, could be warm, soft and inviting, both in voice and body. This woman appeared to be ice, ice... and… more ice. Her face was cold, glacial, unreadable to him.

She released his chin and grasped his ears, slowly rubbing her thumb around the inside curves in a way that made him flush red, sending shivers down his spine, and then squeezing the pointed tips. What on earth was she doing? He finally got up the courage to say something.

“Ma’am… I...”

She cut him off, her hands dropping from his ears to grasp his arms through his coat.

“Where are you from, Little Mouse?” She said, squeezing his forearms, and then his biceps, experimentally with her strong hands while staring intently at him with those iceberg eyes.

“Wayrest... in Highrock.” He’d blurted it out, without even thinking. Not a cover story, not a hastily thought up fabrication, but the truth. He’d spoken the truth. Curse the Nine...

“Interesting…” was all she said in response. Her hands moved from his arms down to his chest. She poked him. Lightly at first, but then harder.

“And you are full Bosmer?” she questioned.

“Ow. Yes ma’am.” he nodded.

Her hands continued their examination down his body; poking, prodding, occasionally squeezing. Eventually drifting down to his hips. Gripping him tightly on either side, she pulled him a little closer to her, so close that his face was actually between her prodigious bosoms, but without touching them. He stood, frozen in place, daring not to move lest he brush into them. He had no idea what she was doing. Was it some kind of physical exam? Much to lizard brain’s disappointment, there didn’t seem to be anything sexual about her touch, and though he did feel somewhat violated, as usual, he had no ability to resist.

“And what of your parents?”

“I-... they-... are... gone...” was his only response.

The emotion hit him suddenly, the wounds far fresher than he expected. But it gave him strength. Strength to say something. Strength to pull back. Strength to say no if he wanted.

But it turned out not to be necessary. Her examination halted abruptly and she stood to her feet and leaned back against the large dwemer table she had clearly commandeered for her own use. He was relieved to no longer be hovering amidst her cleavage, only to find he was now well between her long, athletic looking, scaled leather clad legs, which she splayed out on either side of him as she perched herself on the edge of the desk.

“I’m feeling a little warm. Hope you don’t mind if I...”

She wiped her brow, which indeed had a slight sheen of sweat suddenly, and then nonchalantly undid the top 3 stays on her already revealing black leather bodice, the effect of which was to magnify the presence of her cleavage by a factor of 374, possibly more. It was Yagaritte’s bedroom all over again. The slight differences in the physical appearances of the two women were melting away with the sweat that was now beading on her chest, threatening to trickle into the pale valley between at any moment. Her skin was creamy white, just as pale as Svie’s, only where Svie had hints of pink flushing her skin, the Commander’s was pure alabaster with a tinge of blue.

She ignored his slackjawed gaping and continued with her questioning.

“That’s quite a large staff you have there. I trust you know how to use that.” she said with a smirk that reminded him so much of Yagaritte he was about to lose his mind. It also didn’t help that she seemed to be subconsciously moving her hips back and forth, almost imperceptibly, like her leathers were chaffing and she needed to scratch some unseen itch she couldn’t reach without disrobing.

“Y… y... y... yes Ma’am!” he stammered

“Good,” she replied wiping her forehead again. “We have been in need of someone with arcane expertise for quite some time. You are formally trained? The Academia Magica is in Evermore, if I remember correctly?”

She was still squirming. More obviously now. Like she had a mouse in her breeches, her whole hips rolling sinuously back and forth in front of him, but it was lost on him. His mind was whirling. How could she have known? Did she know who he was? What he was running from? His heart was beating out of his chest, but he did his best to appear as calm as possible in front of her.

“I believe it is,” was his only response. He gave it as flatly as he could, hoping not to disperse any information he wanted to keep to himself.

He looked at her with as neutral a face as he could muster, but said nothing further. It was only then he noticed her movements and the fact that her legs, which he was still standing well between, were slowly closing. Her knees now just inches from his own hips on either side. Now it was his turn to wipe sweat from his brow.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, and him trying not to stare at her breasts, or her increasingly animated hips, she finally spoke again.

“Hmmm. That’s odd. It definitely seems to be getting warmer in here, don’t you think?” she asked, a hand coming up to fan fruitlessly at her face.

She leaned down toward him.

“Or maybe it’s just you?”

Edovan looked up at her with a mix of apprehension and confusion. Oh no... not her too, he thought to himself. Suddenly she was down on her knees in front of him. Her legs apart, her knees resting on either side of him so she could stare him right in the eye just inches from him but not touching. She leaned in close, almost face to face, but hesitant. She licked her lips unconsciously and then her mouth parted, and for a second he thought she was going to kiss him, but she only continued speaking.

“I’ve heard of you, you know. You’re kind of famous. All the women in town are talking about you. To be honest, I wanted to see you for myself. See if you really do have this strange effect on women… or if it was just a bunch of whores and housewives gossiping on about the little golden boy who landed on our shores. Not many around here have seen elves before… let alone Bosmer. So it makes sense that everyone would be obsessed with you based on that alone. A young, handsome Bosmer boy, a mage no less, and one of such tiny stature… all alone on an island full of pent up Nord women who, thanks to the war, outnumber the men nearly 2 to 1. You would be a hot commodity under those circumstances by themselves. But I wanted to know if there was something else going on. Some spell, or…” she paused briefly. “A curse even. Perhaps you weren’t even Bosmer? Some daedra in disguise?” she conjectured curiously.

She was moving closer to him as she spoke. Her legs closing around him. Her breasts almost brushing against him. He could somehow feel their weight, their warmth.

“This room. I know you noticed. I don’t know how or why, but the Dwemer architects who created it made it cancel out all magic somehow. If you were magically disguised or using some enchantment, some glamour to alter your appearance, it would have dissolved the moment you stepped through those doors. Likewise any magical curse would have been momentarily lifted. And yet you still stand before me like a tiny golden god with no change at all. Oh, and I CAN feel it. This strange pull you have…” she said quietly, almost with soft groan.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back and opened her generous mouth wide, exposing her sharpened canines and leaving Edovan to stare down her glistening pink throat. Then, just as suddenly, she closed her mouth and laughed. And it wasn’t Yagaritte’s full, warm, belly-laugh, either. It was a low chuckle, and conveyed that the owner of the laugh was thinking the most salacious thoughts possible.

“I can sense you with my eyes closed. Smell you in my nose, taste you on my tongue. My nethers are quivering even as we speak. It’s like I can’t decide if I want to bed you, marry you, or just eat you all up somehow. Maybe all three?”

She looked down on him with those predatory eyes. “I must confess, I am of a bit of man-eater myself. They actually call me ‘The Dragon’, though in truth that’s only one of many reasons.”

She chuckled again when she saw the look of abject terror on his face at that announcement.

“That means I tend to go through men. I never settle down. So the fact that I want to lay you or even eat you or is far less surprising to me than the fact that part of me wants to actually wed you. Especially since I barely know you. There is definitely something strange going on with you, so since I know about it, I’m not even going to try to fight it, if that’s ok with you? After all I can’t really be responsible for my actions now can I?” She grinned down at him lasciviously.

Edovan had no idea what she meant by that, though several possibilities came to mind, all of which Lizard brain heartily approved and logical brain sternly was against. He was conflicted inside as usual, so of course he just simply nodded.

“But, nevermind that for now,” she told him, licking her lips. “It’s still morning. And I haven’t… eaten... Just enough time to have you for breakfast,” she purred as she leaned down toward him again with a wicked toothy smile on her over generous mouth.

“Sadly enough, though, she said I couldn’t eat you, isn’t that a rude thing to demand?... but... she didn't say I couldn’t feed you… ” she murmured, her cleavage hanging above him like an avalanche of snow-white flesh threatening to bury him.

Suddenly she leaned back up and pushed away from the table she had been leaning against and turned away from him. Bending down over the low table, she left Edovan to stare at her shapely leather clad behind as she reached for something on its surface. When she turned back around, much to logical brain’s relief (and lizard brain’s extreme disappointment) she held out a metal tray covered with fruit, large hunks of roasted sausages, and even a sweet roll!

“Are you a hungry little mouse?” she asked him.

She gestured to a small stool beside the huge dwemer table she was using as a desk, setting the tray down in front of it. She patted the stool, indicating for Edovan to join her as she sat down beside it.

Edovan stared at her, dumbfounded. “Of… of course!” he squeaked out, the flush slowly leaving his cheeks. As if on cue, his stomach rumbled, eliciting a chuckle from the woman. He climbed the stool and sat down gratefully with a soft sigh of relief. Even though the table was low to her, it was still massive to him… taller even than a “regular” Bosmer-sized table.

Before he had even climbed the stool and settled down, she had already gotten a plate for him, which she was currently piling high with meat. “Have you had curdled mammoth cheese before?” she asked him, as she was slicing from a wheel of what Edovan assumed to be curdled mammoth cheese. He shook his head no.

“It’s a Nord delicacy, and one of my favorites,” she said, as she put a generous slice of cheese onto Edovan’s plate.

Edovan watched her move, arms deft and sinewy, muscles rippling just underneath the surface of her skin as she reached from tray to plate, and back again. But even as he marveled at her, he could feel a coldness seeping into him. He jerked his eyes up and caught her watching him. Her eyes delved right into his soul and straight out the other side. He was suddenly grateful Yagaritte hadn’t quite inherited these eyes, though, as he well knew, she had her own piercing look…

“Ah… thank you,” he squeaked out, looking down at his plate, unable to hold that gaze for long.

She smirked. “I’m a huge meat-eater…” she purred, playing with the pile of meat on the tray. “But my favorite is sausages...” she said, as she deftly skewered a huge one on the end of her fork and then slipped it into her large mouth and halfway down her throat somehow, before biting down into it with those sharp canines, as juices dribbled out of it and down her chin. She closed her mouth around it and swallowed the entire bite whole, her cold eyes watching him to make sure he was watching her as she flipped the fork around and the other half disappeared into her mouth in another single bite.

Edovan jerked, groaning softly. “S-sausages…” he repeated, swallowing thickly. “Um… yes, they’re good,” he agreed. He understood her meaning, but he didn’t want to… encourage it. Did he? Or didn’t he? He couldn’t decide if he should be totally passive or try to ward her advancements off by playing dumb, so long as he stayed on her good side. Not that he had to play too hard. He swallowed again. “I…” he murmured, trailing off.

She chuckled again, leaning over Edovan’s plate. “Do you know how to use your hands?” she asked him, taking his hand into her own. She brought his hand up to her face, licking her lips. “It’s very important for a young man to exercise his fingers, you know…” she trailed off, examining his fingers closely. She seemed pleased with what she saw, biting her lip as she took his hand and set it on her own knee, sliding it up between her thighs

“Well, are you going to eat?” she asked him.

Edovan, as red as ever, could only nod. Eat? Eat what!? He was receiving so many different signals. Oh gods. What had he gotten himself into… what had Staan gotten him into!? He looked back and forth between his plate and her lap. He felt his face burning, but at the same time… his stomach growled again. He squeezed his eyes closed and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly through his nose. When he opened his eyes again he saw that she was holding a fork in front of his face, a bit of meat, cheese, and vegetables skewered through the tines. “Are you going to eat?” she repeated.

Edovan all but collapsed into a relieved pile, all the tension leaving his body. He was safe, for the moment, at least. He took the fork from her gratefully and shoveled it into his face.

“That’s more like it,” she said, nodding as she watched him eat. He had, on par with almost any Nord she’d ever met, a healthy appetite. It was a scant ten minutes later when he used the last bit of his sweet roll to sop up meat juice from his bare plate. He popped it into his mouth and patted his stomach contentedly, exhaling happily. Whomever had cooked this meal knew their way around a kitchen, that was certain.

While he was engrossed in eating, the commander had gotten up from her place at his side and was moving around the room behind him. Now that he was finished, he was about to to turn around and see what she was up to when he suddenly he felt her hot breath in his ear, her lips so close they they softly brushed the bottom of his ear lobe. That sent shivers down lizard brain’s spine.

“Well, now that you're a happy, fat little mousey, I think we’ve talked enough about your past. Let’s talk about your future, shall we? And this is a long, but necessary, speech, so I would grab a chair if I were you,” she said, and pointed to a Nord size wooden one a few feet to his left, hiding in the shadows. It was ornately carved and quite heavy, with leather upholstery on the back and the seat.

As he hopped down from his stool and wrestled the enormous chair over to a spot a bit more comfortably away from where she liked to lean against her desk, he inwardly sighed a huge sigh of relief at the change of subjects. He wasn’t just protecting himself. Bad things happened to anyone who he confided in, trusted, or who figured out too much on their own. People had been hurt. Good people. And it was all his fault just for being around them. It was the main reason he’d come to this remote island, hundreds of miles from anywhere. But even here, he was still worried about what might happen. Better to play it safe and keep it to himself… from the Commander, from Staan, from Yagaritte. Everyone.

Outwardly, however, he was just trying really hard not to look small and weak and awkward as he climbed up into the huge chair, much in the manner of a small child. After dragging it over, he had to turn to face it first and then hoist himself up into seat, only turn around and sit with his legs dangling in midair, feet several inches off the ground. By the time he got turned around properly in the seat, he was quite winded, flushed, and not all prepared for the fact that while his back was turned, she’d undone her bodice completely and had just let it hang open, with only her flimsy shift covering her not-quite-Yagaritte-sized bosoms. But, unlike Yagaritte’s, her shift was fine silk, and was also mostly plastered to her frame with sweat, so for all intents and purposes, she might as well have been leaning backwards against the desk in front of him with her top half covered in nothing but glossy white paint… still WET glossy white paint.

Lizard brain was doing cartwheels. Logical brain was trying to catch Lizard brain in a big butterfly net with little success. Just then the commander leaned forward and deftly grabbed his chair and pulled it forward, closer to the desk, her perspiration drenched cleavage hanging only inches above Edovan’s tiny face. As she pulled it and him closer to her, a single drop of her sweet musky sweat dripped from that deep valley and landed just on the edge of his upper lip. With zero thought process he instinctively he curled up his tongue and licked it up before it could fall.

Logical brain almost fell over. If he had been drinking a glass of something, he would have sprayed it everywhere.

“YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT!” he was screaming at himself, but then he saw lizard brain dashing toward the big lever labeled “Begin Erection.”

There was no chance of stopping him.

Meanwhile, in the real world, her strong voice brought him back to the physical room. She was in Commander mode now, for sure. If she had noticed anything awry with the state of his breeches, she didn’t say anything. So Edovan was grateful for that at least. That is, until she sauntered around behind his chair and she reached around him from behind, a thin leather strip held between her hands. Before Edovan could much register what he was looking at, the strip was attached around his neck and buckled firmly in the back. A collar!?

With surprising speed she attached something to the collar that pulled his head back and held it to the chair. Then just as rapidly, she produced straps that fastened his arms to the armrest and his legs to the feet of the chair. In seconds he was completely restrained and terrified out of his mind. Looking back he had noticed those straps on the chair as he drug it over, but he had just assumed they were decorations on the upholstery.

She came around in front of him now, easily straddling the chair and him in it. Her crotch was just in front of and above his face. As she stood there towering over him Logical brain was screaming something, something important, but Lizard brain was drowning him out with his hooting and hollering as she slowly lowered herself into his tiny lap, looking down at him through her cleavage with those predatory eyes, with some kind of... leather crop... in her hand? Logical brain resorted to hand gestures pointing frantically at the chair beneath him. At what? The straps?

Of course. He was trying to point out that the straps had been permanently attached to the chair.

It was made that way. On purpose. Whatever she was about to do to him was something she did often enough that she had had a special chair constructed just for it. Second scariest woman on the Island indeed. The first scariest must be a nightmare.

She was straddling him completely now, her well over 200lb frame pressing down on his legs, almost painfully... but the only thing Edovan could think about was how mortified he was as he felt his out of control erection pressing up into her breeches. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything.

Instead the leather crop she was holding suddenly appeared under his chin, pressing upward into his skin with no small amount of pressure. It was forcing his face upward to look at hers. Gods, had he been staring at her breasts again? He dutifully focused his eyes up through the valley of her breasts and on her face, which if you had seen the serious, business like expression on her face, seemed very out of place, especially considering her hips were even now moving on their own again as she slowly almost undetectably ground herself against him even as she began to speak., Her voice was a low seductive growl that he felt through the vibrations of her body pressed to his, as much as heard.

“Judging by your age, I‘d say you have never been part of a chartered guild before, let alone a fighters guild. So it is my job to educate you on what a fighter’s guild is… what WE are... and what we are not. At the same time, it’s also my chance to test your mettle, really see what you are made of. So before we begin. I will tell you that you can end all this at any time by just saying no... that’s it. One simple no and you are free to go and join the rest of the milk-drinkers who don’t have the guts to do what we do. But if you pass the test… and you answer enough of my questions correctly, you will be one of us…”

“Oh is that all. All I have to do is say no.” he thought to himself. She might as well have said “All you have to do is turn into a bat and fly around the room.” He had about as much ability to do that as he did to say no, what with her breasts in his face and her hips grinding slowly against the betrayer in his pants. As he had experienced before in the laundry at the Boar, that word didn’t seem to work for him in situations like this, not without considerable effort and pain. And in his current predicament not only could could he not say no, it was all he could do to keep from screaming out “YESS!!!”

Not that it mattered. Even if he could have said the word, he wouldn’t have, and not just because a giant beautiful woman who looked like a sabrecat Yagaritte was humping him while tied to a chair. He wouldn’t have said it because the real Yagaritte had gone to great trouble to set this up for him, find him a sponsor, get him a job. He didn’t care what they did to him. He would see it through to the end because he couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing her. Somewhere at the end of this long, dark, confusing yet seductive feminine tunnel (he fervently hoped that was a metaphor and would not turn out to be literally true) Yagaritte would be waiting for him. That was the hope that burned like a signal fire in his head, and in a rare moment of agreement, both Lizard brain and Logical brain chanted in unison: “Let’s do this.”

“Let’s do this,” he said out loud, looking up at her defiantly.

“Oh, some fire! I like that! I think we just might find a...” She squeezed him hard with her iron thighs and buried his face between her breasts. “A perfect place for you yet!” She held him there in her cleavage for several seconds before she released him, and the crop guided his face upwards again.

“First question. Do we take contracts to kill people?”

Edovan shook his head immediately. He wasn’t dumb. There was only one guild who accepted those kinds of contracts (two if you counted the infamous Morag Tong, but the Island was so far from Morrowind that they weren’t even a possibility.).

“Very good, little mouse. That’s right, we are not the thrice be damned Dark Brotherhood.
We are not assassins. We don’t take contracts to kill anyone, unless by anyone you mean any of the beasts or beastmen, creatures, magical constructs, summoned beings, or other non-sentient entities sanctioned for free…”

She paused. Edovan was staring at her again, jaws agape, this time for an entirely different reason.

“What? I assumed I could use the big words with you.” She cocked her head at him in such a Yagaritte like manner he couldn’t think straight. “Is that a problem?”

She stared at him pointedly as if he was being insulting until he closed his mouth and shook his head no.

“You can, of course, defend yourself against anyone trying to kill you. But this doesn't mean you can go insult someone’s parentage to trick them into you “defending yourself from them” to death. Am I clear?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Do we take bounties? Either personal or those by writ of local or regional government?”

This was trickier. As someone who HAD bounties, Edovan knew a bit about about them and it seemed to vary from one locale to the next. But this guild was remote. If they didn’t, who did? He decided to take a guess and gave a nod.

His answer was the sharp sting of the crop on his backside. Now he knew why the chair was open in back near the bottom. Strapped in as he was, all he could do was yelp like a kicked puppy.

“I’m sorry. That’s not really fair of me. It’s a trick question. Honestly I just wanted to hear what kind of noise you make when disciplined. But that was so adorable I hope you get at least one more question wrong.” she said, licking her lips as she fingered the crop seductively.

“We, the guild itself, are also not bounty hunters, though individual members may, from time to time, engage in that pursuit on their own. As a guild, we do not take bounty contracts. Clear?”

“Yes ma'am,” Edovan squeaked.

“We are not soldiers. Can you tell me why?”

Edovan thought about this a quiet moment, retreating into his mind.

“Because you don’t have the authority?” he said, finally, after some consideration.

He squinted his eyes and tensed his buttocks in anticipation of the next whack, in case he was wrong, (or she just wanted to hear him squeak again), but instead she clasped him to her bosom again.

“That’s right! What a good little mousey!” she said as she squeezed his face between her breasts. “We are collective of individuals. We do not blindly follow orders by authorities. We do not fight wars, and nor do we have any authority to enforce the will of any government, king, council, or law.”

He nodded, cheeks still tucked between her breasts.

“And lastly, but most importantly, what is the difference between us and mercenaries?” she questioned as she leaned back again, studying his face.

Edovan knew this one. Mercenaries were cold-blooded, ruthless, and they were paid not to ask questions. Guild fighters, on the other hand, might vary from guild to guild, but they all had some set of rules to follow.

“Mercenaries will do anything for money,” he said grimly.

This time she didn’t strike him or crush him with her tits. She simply smiled and got up off him, moving to begin undoing all the straps.

“Correct. We are NOT mercenaries, swords for hire to the highest bidder who will do anything for money. As your sponsor has already instructed you, we have a strict but simple code and we follow it.” she said as she released the last one and then leaned back against the table again..

Edovan, now free, warily raised his hand.

“This isn’t mage school, rookie. If you have something to say just say it.” She planted her hands on either thigh and leaned in toward him again. She was practically glistening with sweat by now.

Edovan was trying his hardest not to be intimidated or further aroused. She was imposing, of course. A formidable woman with an iron will, who didn’t suffer fools, and it didn’t help that she was a deadringer for Yagaritte. But trying and doing are not the same thing. And he was failing on both counts. But he was all about knowledge. And something she had said had caught his attention.

“Wh--what is the code?”

She looked nonplussed at that. “I know you are too smart to have forgotten it already. So I’m going to assume your sponsor never told you?” she shook her head. “ What? Again with the hand?”

“Sorry. Um... it’s just… it’s just that.. I don’t even know... who my sponsor is….?”

He had strong suspicions, of course, but the truth was he honestly didn’t know, and was hoping he could find out.

She had a sudden look of realization on her face. As if she had remembered something important.

“Oh, yes. Of course. Nevermind, I’ll just tell you.”

Edovan’s eyes lit up!

“The code, I mean...”

Oh well, it had been worth a try.

“Our code is this: In All things, Valor.”

She ignored his blank look and pressed on.

“What that means is, that the guild ISN’T about how well you can swing a sword or how tough your are or how much punishment you can take. It’s about doing the right thing. What makes us different from most of the citizenry is that when big scary things that most people run from show up, WE are the people running TOWARD the danger. We are willing to fight, when others are not. To defend people who need to be defended.

There is no Valor in simply doing things for money. We do what we do because it’s the right thing to do and no one else will. If someone hires mercenaries to go force someone else off their farm, WE are the one’s that family will turn to make sure that doesn’t happen. I personally screen and approve EVERY contract that comes through this guild. We are here for the betterment of this island and the people on it, and as long as I am in charge that’s how it’s going to be.

The second part of that code is that we do NOT run. We may fail or suffer defeat, but we don’t give up and we don’t turn tail. Everybody wants to play soldier, be the big hero, but the bottom line is that most people don’t have the guts for it. When faced with real danger and the fact that they might die, they panic and flee. I was in the war. I fought Daedra and worse during the Planemeld. I’ve seen fresh recruits and conscripts compromise entire battalion formations when they left our flanks exposed because they couldn’t face combat. I can’t have that here. If you can stand your ground and give back as well as you get, I can make a fighter out of just about anyone. But the most skilled swordsman in all of Tamriel is useless to me if they turn and run or worse, sell out to the other side. So courage and loyalty is above all what we are looking for, and your sponsor tells me you have it.”

She leaned and closer to him to stare him level in his large golden eyes. Edovan swallowed, but didn’t blink. She was close, her huge face only inches from his. Winter storms appeared to be howling within her own ice gray/blue eyes. Her face took up his entire field of view.

“I think I see it too. I sense your eyes have seen some things in your short life thus far. You’ve endured loss. You’ve fought before. You’ve run when you had to, but you’ve also stood your ground.” She leaned back up again and crossed her arms. “Which is good. Because I sense a storm coming. Nothing like the Planemeld I hope. But something is going on here... on the island. You aren’t the only stranger to our shores recently. I’ve heard reports of a larger than usual number of visitors, which is to say any at all because of how remote we are from anywhere. Many of them seem to be doing their damndest to blend in as well but they stick out like sore thumbs to those who know what to look for. I don’t know what is going on, but I’m going to find out, and I can use allies like you on my side. This is in strictest confidence of course. Breathe not a word of this to anyone. I don’t want ANY of these newcomers to even suspect that we are on to them. Just know that when the time comes I’m going to need you.”

Edovan gulped silently. He had been so focused on his own situation he had no idea anything else was going on. They could even be here looking for him! Though he decided not say anything about that till he knew for sure. And it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to spot a stranger unless they weren’t a nord. He barely knew anyone here. But the people he did know had been amazing to him. Margara, all the girls at the Boar…..Mavka.. And especially Yagaritte. And he had already made good friends here at the guild with Staan.

“Maam. I want to thank you for this opportunity. And I promise I won’t let you down. Everyone here has been so good to me, both at the Boar and here at the guild. I know I haven’t been here very long but I consider this place my home now. And I swear on my birthright, I won’t let anything in my power stop me from protecting them or this island. “

He had stood straight as he spoke and held his staff upright in his hand, resting on the floor like a proper wizard. He must have made some kind of impression on her because the commander suddenly clasped her hand to her mouth in shock but then quickly regained her composure.

“I believe you Edovan.”

It was the first time she had used his name. He was getting called “little mouse” so often these days, when anyone actually said “Edovan” he knew it was serious.

“Well welcome to the guild then. I only have one more thing for you.” She walked over to the table and retrieved a parchment from the many papers spread across it. As guild master of this fighter’s guild it is my duty to inform you that another brand new recruit has issued a formal challenge of combat to your acceptance. Normally you would have to accept the challenge to be admitted, but as you have already been vouched for and specifically requested in a contract, technically it's just a formality and as such, I have the authority to waive the challenge.”

She handed him the parchment.

“I’ll leave it up to you of course. I would never deprive a new recruit of the opportunity to prove to everyone else what they are made of.”

She waited expectantly as Edovan read quickly through the parchment in his hand.

I, being a member of the Jatte Kvinde Fighter’s Guild in good standing, formally challenge the acceptance of the raw recruit known as Edovan as unfit to join our ranks because he is untested in combat. As is our custom, he must face me in the challenge ring to prove both his ability and his courage or be refused membership in our fine guild till such time as he is willing to accept my challenge or is otherwise proven in battle.

In All Things Valor…

Signed,

Utha Evershine

Edovan looked up at the Commander more determined than ever.

“I’ll do it” he said resolutely.

“Well then,” said the Commander, smirking like Yagaritte again. Let’s see if you can fight as well as you eat!”

Edovan smiled at her with chagrin. He had a feeling this might be more challenging. A bad feeling. But it was important to him that his new guildmates know that he wasn’t afraid to face them. In what seemed like another life entirely now, back when he was in school, a pampered kid from a rich family, he had been an easy target, even among other pampered kids from other rich families. He’d faced his share of bullies. All the way up until his skills with magicka started to develope. Then the tables had turned and he had become quite the little arrogant shit. And though he never bullied anyone else, he was merciless to those who had the bad form to attempt to do so in his presence, either to him or anyone else for that matter. But those had been mage duels. None of his classmates could hope to best him in that arena. As he learned during his six month headlong flight from his home, real enemies with steel and arrows or even just fists were a different matter entirely. And he had the scars to prove it.

“You go ahead and head to the lower yard then.” said the Commander, “ I’ll... be along shortly. But don't start without me. I wouldn’t want to miss this.”

As Edovan turned and walked away from her toward the doors, she allowed the look of shock she had concealed from him to return to her face. She’d been here nearly all her life. She’d been commander of this guild for over 20. She’d had tried magic of all kinds from all over Tamriel. Save the dwemer table she had used as a desk, and the many artifacts that were originally found on it, and carefully stacked in the corners by the very first guild master who had occupied this office, nothing in this room had ever given off the faintest glimmer of magical ability or aura.

That’s why she was more than a little shocked when Edovan had given his little speech about how he considered the Island to be his new home, and how he would fight for it. It was during that speech the big red jewel at the top has staff....

..had started to glow.

* * * * * * * * * *

Edovan strode purposefully out of the huge double doors into the entryway. He was a man with a purpose. If he was going to believe that he belonged here, he didn’t just need to prove it to them. He needed to prove it to himself. As he carefully picked his way down the plush stairs he saw Staan pacing back and forth nervously at the bottom. The big nord’s face lit up as he saw his little friend gingerly coming down the stairs.

“Edo! How did it go? Are you ok? What happened?”

Edovan waited till he had closed the distance between them and beckoned the big nord down to his level. As Staan took a knee and leaned in to Edovan, the little bosmer whispered.

“I think we both know what happened.”

A look of concern washed over Staan’s face. It was clear he felt guilty about just feeding his little friend to the Dragon, so to speak.

“Chair?” was his single word inquiry.

“Chair.” was Edovan’s monosyllable response.

“I’m sorry Eddo. I really am. But even if I’d told you, would it have stopped you?”

Edovan hadn’t considered that. He didn’t think it would have. He probably wouldn’t have taken it seriously if Staan had told him. He decided to chalk it up to something they would share but never speak of again, and with a knowing look in each others eyes, that was the end of it.

“So what’s on the parchment?” Staan asked as they turned together to walk through the outer doors, back out into the sunlit yard. “Oh. I forgot. I was challenged by one of the other rookies.”

He handed Staan the notice. He figured Staan would know all about these challenges and how they work and could maybe even give him some tips. He continued talking as they walked and Staan read

“She said I didn’t have to do it, but I took the challenge. I want to prove I belong here.” he finished proudly.

But as he turned to see what Staan’s reaction would be he realized that the big nord was several paces behind him. He was holding the notice at arms length and all the color had drained from his face.

“What’s wrong Staan? I just have to fight another rookie. Utha Evershine? I mean with a name like that, how bad can she be, right?”

Edovan felt his stomach dropping. The look on his friend’s face was as if someone close to him had died and he had just read about it.

“Edovan.” Staan said. His voice flat, like he was trying to keep it under control.

“Utha Evershine is… Mountains.”