A Breton Amongst Dremora
Dianne made a face and tossed the bottle aside. Skooma was bad ews and she didn't want to use it and risk addiction. It broke against some rocks with a tinkle of glass. Ranyu scanned the area for more bandits, then they made their way inside the cave.
It was just big enough for them to move shoulder by shoulder, with limestone walls and floors. Bioluminescent fungi cast a blue-purple flow, but it wasn't enough to light the way. To that end, the bandits had set lanterns periodically throughout. The cave's air flt damp and slimy on their exposed skin.
Voices drifted to them from up ahead. A trio of bandits was discussing their latest take. A young Dunmer woman said, "Next time you all want me to rob someone, I ain't doing it that way again."
"It got the job done, didn't it, Irida? What are you whinin' about?"
"Well, it wasn't right. I mean, yeah, we're bandits, so it's funny we're talking about this, but I just felt bad afterwards. He was so nice."
Now another voice chimed in with, "Nice? Hahahaha! You're funny, kid. Let me tell you something. You ain't playing a game just to piss off your rich daddy. You're a bandit. Like us.We ain't 'nice'. Either people hand their shit over, or they die. Only reason we didn't have ya fight him was he would have painted the ground with your blood. Probably still would, given a chance."
Ranyu and Dianne moved closer. Now they saw a Nord man, an Imperial woman, and the Dunmer woman, Irida. She was just as lovely as they'd been told. The way she had her arms wrapped around herself and her words told them both that she really did regret wat she'd done. It also sounded like she was a runaway child of a local wealthy Dunmer, possibly even a nobleman. There would be a big reward to get her home safely. They would just have to convince their Nord friend to not kill her.
The Nord man spoke, saying "Get moving. You're on cooking duty today, and it will be time for lunch soon."
Irida sighed. "Yeah, okay. I'll get on it. Rat or nix hound?"
The woman sniffed. "Whichever we have mroe of. Just don't burn it, or you're gonna be hunting for fresh." She watched Irida head deeper into the cave, muttering "Useless. We're never taking in another runaway noble kid again."
'Won't be doing much of anything again, when we're done with you,' Ranyu thought. He nodded to Dianne, who nodded back. Without going for any sort of stealth, they burst out of their concealed positions and attacked.
Both bandits were wholly unprepared for the sudden attack. The woman managed to dodge Dianne's attack just in time. Now she fumbled with her hand axe, trying to get it out of its loop on her belt. Next to them, Ranyu knocked the Nord man to the ground, and they wrestled on the cave floor. The Nord knocked Ranyu's sword from his hand, and it flew a fair few feet away. Stones and dust flew as they scuffled. The man let out a yelp as Ranyu's fist struck a telling blow, then used his feet to shove him off.
Dianne recovered from her swing as she'd been taught, and lashed out in an arc. The woman had gotten her axe out, and swiftly blocked with a sharp grunt. They traded attacks, dodging and circling each other. the Imperial came in at dianne's midsection, hitting hard, though not hard enough to penetrate her armor. Still, it pushed her stumbling back a few feet and knocked the air from her lungs. She doubled over and struggled to draw in air.
The woman immediately pressed her advatage, bringing her knee up sharply into Dianne's jaw. The blow sent her staggering backwards. Between the dizzying pain in her head and still being breathless, Dianne went on her back. Stars exploded in her vision.
Ranyu knew what had happened but was in no position to respond. He still had the Nord man to contend with. Even without weapons, he was still a force to be reckoned with. Ranyu managed to get the Nord on his back. Before he could be thrown off, Ranyu grabbed his head and bashed it into the stone floor of the cavern, twice. The man shuddered and went still.
Hey!" he called to the woman. Sure enough, she was stupid nough to turn her attention away from Dianne. the few seconds was all it took for Ranyu to leap up and charge her. He slammed her into the cave's wall. There was a horrid sound like a booted foot breaking through the surface of an ice-covered pond. She slumped to the ground, nose trickling blood.
Ranyu didn't bother making sure she was dead. He went to Dianne's side and knelt down. He checked her over, assessing her injuries. Her jaw was already swollen, but didn't appear broken. She wasn't unconscious, just stunned, which was also good. That meant their minor healing potions would alleviate some of the damage.
He helped her to sit up, then dug a potion out of his belt pounch. "Here. Drink it." He helped her drink it.
Dianne coughed a bit, "It's working. Feel a bit btter. thought that bitch might have broken my jaw, but thankfully not."
Ranyu nodded. "Sit still. I'm going to see if they have anything good."
While Dianne lt th potion do its work, Ranyu looted the bodies. Aside froa handful of septims, another healing potion to replac the one used, and their basic weapons, they didn't have much. Dianne stood up with Ranyu's help, and they mmoved along deeper.