Skyrim: The Nightshade Assassin

Little Red Riding Hoods

Chapter 8

It is nice to be walking with Astrid again. We wore Babette's red hood, in our luck we found an extra. The trek isn't far, and we spot the hunter in no time flat. He is gazing around the trees, swinging his sword around aimlessly.

"Innocent and adolescent," Astrid says to me, pulling up her scarlet hood. I nod, releasing just the right amount of tears, and fix my tangled curls.

I stumble over the hunter, harshly tugging on his fur armour, tears falling down to my cheeks as if I've been running for a while. "Sir!"

"What do you want? Go bother somebody else," he fusses, shaking me off his apparel, and scowls. I suppress my irk with sobs, and pull onto his arm, forcing him to become more aggravated with me.

"There's a wolf chasing my sister and I, and we need your help!" I cry, gaping up at him, causing myself to look shorter. His demeanour switches to alarmed, I guess he's been bored hunting rabbits for the past few hours. Astrid suddenly runs over to me, panting heavily.

"I think I lost him, but he will be here any minute!" she coughs, placing her hands on her knees. "Surely you can help my little sister and I."

"Lead me to the beast," he demands, and we both nod. Astrid sobs realistically as we quickly head to our destination, wasting no time at all as we dodge the trees and decomposing logs that springs up from the ground.

I suddenly stop, realising this is the place we want our target to be, and face our attention to the right, farther away from the path. "Right here," I sniff, cowering behind Astrid. "My sister and I were chased starting from here..."

"It was a frightening sight. The wolf chased us until we couldn't run any longer. We were only delivering goods for our grandmother that lived in a small cottage, just by Falkreath," Astrid explains, pointing to the city. "I'm afraid the beast will hunt us down again, knowing we're weak and helpless."

I cringe at the words, and so does Astrid as she speaks. We both know we are not weak. But, actresses are actresses. We're experienced and advanced in this, no way a simple lie can get in the way.

We await for the exciting moment that will occur, only we mask our enthusiasm with terrified faces. Hot breathes press down on our hoods, sending shivers to shoot down our spine. We slowly swivel our head in the direction of the low rumbles, a terrifying creature catching our wandering eyes.

"Werewolf!" the hunter shrieks, unsheathing his sword. I created an illusion that trees block our path, something Festus taught me while completing contracts in the woods.

"We have nowhere to run!" he squawks, scanning the area, but only branches meet his gaze. He swings at the wolf, however it grabs the sword in reply and angrily tosses it to the side, where the hunter can't run for it. After moments of panicking, Astrid and I let out an ominous laugh.

In a quick movement, I grab his wrists, forcing his hands behind his back, guaranteed to break if he tried to escape. He fidgets violently, but howls in pain once I snap his elbow the opposite way.

"Silly boy, hasn't your mother taught you to never talk to strangers?" I whisper apocalyptically, licking my lips as the crimson hood masks my eyes that gleams with malevolence. His quaking frantically increases as he then faces towards Astrid, who is standing in front of the wolf.

"W-why isn't he attacking you?!" he chokes his words in fear, his eye twitching at the pain caused in his arm.

Astrid shakes her head, pretending to seem disgraced. "Oh my, why would my husband go slaughtering his wife?" she clicks her tongue, shaking off her hood. The hunter squirms in my grasp, but yelps painfully once again as I pull his shoulder out from his socket. He screams in agony, but I force throat-burning poison into his mouth.

Astrid steps aside for Arnbjorn, causing the hunter to panic as his shrieks escape in enraged coughs. His helmet is slapped off his head once Arnbjorn claws at his face, busting his lip and cutting half of his eye. The feeble victim's cheek is roseate from the harsh impact of the blow. Astrid and I giggle menacingly, Arnbjorn widening his mouth like a troll's cave.

"...and the big bad wolf ate him up!" we harmonise together, afterwards bursting out into intimidating and hysterical laughter. Terrorising victims is my speciality, and I enjoy it the most. Whether it be any method I use to kill, I'll always send terror before them. It's really enjoyable, actually. Everyone should try it.

One last muted scream is taken place before we force him into Arnbjorn's mouth, his jaw chewing fiercely in an upwards motion, hearing cracks of bones and squeezing of organs. Blood dance their way inbetween his teeth, dripping to the ground and around his chin as he gives a large swallow.

This is fun.

Astrid claps her hands, chuckling softly. "This was rather amusing, don't you think, husband?"

"Not bad for an imbecile," I snicker, receiving a death glare from him.

"We will meet you at the sanctuary, dear," Astrid says, stroking his fur that lies atop his arms. He nods and flees, a howl the last thing we hear before he disappears into the forest. We giggle triumphantly, another soul delivered to the Void.

We stroll to the path, my illusion of the trees wearing off. Our feet meet with the path, the air much cooler than it used to be, now free from the stuffy smell of pine. I jump from the slope, landing perfectly on my feet as I susurrate the password. I stretch, skipping down the steps as I toss my dagger onto the table that holds a map.

"Ah, there you guys are," Babette greets us happily, handing us a carrot. "You two must be hungry. Nazir is roasting elk meat, so it'll be ready once the others come ba ー hey, is that my cloak?"

I nod, and laugh softly. "Had an interesting contract using these hoods. Perhaps I'll tell the story this Fridas with Astrid."

"I see," she giggles. "Kaito is off doing the rest of his quests. He'll probably be here in two days time. Ivarstead and Dawnstar is a long way back, having to travel across a mountainous area. Trust me, I know." Babette sighs, the look on her face seeming exhausted just thinking about her latest contracts. "Anyway, I received word from our Keeper. He said he'll be arriving pretty soon, and delivering our Mother with him."

She hands me the note, and nods before departing. Astrid has her eyes over my shoulder, also reading the note.

Astrid,

The wheel was fixed by a kind gentleman by Loreius's farm! Oh, but the farmer didn't help me, that loon was no help at all. It was the traveler's help that gave me a hand to convince stupid Loreius. The Night Mother and I will be arriving in Falkreath soon enough.

-Cicero

I passed the letter to Astrid and followed Babette to her usual whereabouts, sitting down beside her. "How was the kill?"

She shrugs, testing out a new potion on a mountain flower. "Boring at first, but until he got the hang of it, I just watched. He's quite skilled with a bow, sword, and heavy weapons. I taught him about acting, and he tried it out as an older Nord brother of mine. It was fun, until they started running. Other than that, he's fine. No mercy for them," she jabbers dully, focusing on her toxin.

I nod and leave, taking a magicka potion for myself. I don't normally drink mixtures in bottles, but the illusion spell has me fatigue. Keeping up a spell for more than a minute without resting is exhausting.

"Gabriella is back, and the roast is almost ready," Astrid knocks onto my door, sending me the news.

"Okay," I reply wearily, and try out a destruction spell. I aim a fire bolt at the wall, and launch my spell. The incantation barely makes a small explosion in the wall like it usually does, and instead disappears out of thin air in the middle of reaching the end. Perhaps I really do need the potion. I slowly sip the elixir, slightly wincing at the taste, but it isn't that bad. Letting it slip in my throat, it tastes bitter, like unsweetened mead or sewer water. It's still disgusting.

I'll just relax for the day, and hope nobody annoys me, or they'll have their head hanging atop my doorway.