Really enjoyed this chapter. I loved Erdi’s little huffs about being the third wheel, and Cyr talking her round to being an adventurer. The Elven Armour suits her. That vizard Ahtar has to wear is terrifying though, hah. Can understand why he was against it.
I love reading this through for the second time, because I pick up on delightful details and subtleties I missed on the first read. This one from Erdi especially:
“I love your bows, I used to get to shoot one when Elenwen used to have those day-long…um.”
Hehe. Cyr was probably just as well he wasn’t there when she was. c:<
"Gilgondoron spotted me on my way back and followed me up, begging piteously.
[Nothing has changed in supervening years. Erdi claims that this is why Elysium house has so many cats.]"
Ahh, and good old Gilgondoron's back! I loved this little aside – it showed a softer side to Cyr (or what he might consider softer, anyway). Did you add in the last part recently or did I just not notice on my last readthrough? Either way, I love it. I'm curious as to just how many cats they've got at Elysium.
""It's in my bodice," she said.
Ahtar snorted.
"I will– ah– leave whatever it is to your discretion, then," I said, a little too quickly."
Hehehe. I love Cyrelian getting all flustered by Erdi here, and Ahtar's laugh. He's a man that's seen everything. (I also loved the "Daedric shit" callback in the next paragraph, too. Always makes me grin.)
"Why I did not think to ask that ass Gilgondoron if he had any healing skill is beyond me. Then again, perhaps my instincts made a wise demurral."
Yep, gotta agree with Cyr here. Probably a good call.
"Ahtar has since advised me of his philosophy on helmet horns. They are handles, to be used for shaking sense into raw recruits. I did not need to see his face to know that his lip curled under hood-and-mask."
Hah, he isn't wrong. I love getting little glimpses of Captain/Commander Ahtar. I especially loved his speaking Altmeris – he's a clever one – and Cyr's playing along with the gambit. Plus, Cyr in this? Even when he's puking in a side ditch he's still in full-on Thalmor Commander mode. Honestly, the pair of them are kind of a scary formidable force. Mix Erdi in too and they're a team to be reckoned with, once she gets into her own.
Hah, no, actually that bit about the cats was in there from the beginning– I was just sort of quietly drinking tea listening to the pawing at the door…
There are definitely depths to Ahtar that we haven’t seen yet.
That key, of course… well, Erdi didn’t get it from the Thalmor Headquarters, but right now it definitely qualifies as “Daedric shit”…
Excellent story segment! I enjoyed it very much – it was just the thing after a long, long, long day in the office. 🙂
Glad you liked it!
Really enjoyed this chapter. I loved Erdi’s little huffs about being the third wheel, and Cyr talking her round to being an adventurer. The Elven Armour suits her. That vizard Ahtar has to wear is terrifying though, hah. Can understand why he was against it.
I love reading this through for the second time, because I pick up on delightful details and subtleties I missed on the first read. This one from Erdi especially:
“I love your bows, I used to get to shoot one when Elenwen used to have those day-long…um.”
Hehe. Cyr was probably just as well he wasn’t there when she was. c:<
"Gilgondoron spotted me on my way back and followed me up, begging piteously.
[Nothing has changed in supervening years. Erdi claims that this is why Elysium house has so many cats.]"
Ahh, and good old Gilgondoron's back! I loved this little aside – it showed a softer side to Cyr (or what he might consider softer, anyway). Did you add in the last part recently or did I just not notice on my last readthrough? Either way, I love it. I'm curious as to just how many cats they've got at Elysium.
""It's in my bodice," she said.
Ahtar snorted.
"I will– ah– leave whatever it is to your discretion, then," I said, a little too quickly."
Hehehe. I love Cyrelian getting all flustered by Erdi here, and Ahtar's laugh. He's a man that's seen everything. (I also loved the "Daedric shit" callback in the next paragraph, too. Always makes me grin.)
"Why I did not think to ask that ass Gilgondoron if he had any healing skill is beyond me. Then again, perhaps my instincts made a wise demurral."
Yep, gotta agree with Cyr here. Probably a good call.
"Ahtar has since advised me of his philosophy on helmet horns. They are handles, to be used for shaking sense into raw recruits. I did not need to see his face to know that his lip curled under hood-and-mask."
Hah, he isn't wrong. I love getting little glimpses of Captain/Commander Ahtar. I especially loved his speaking Altmeris – he's a clever one – and Cyr's playing along with the gambit. Plus, Cyr in this? Even when he's puking in a side ditch he's still in full-on Thalmor Commander mode. Honestly, the pair of them are kind of a scary formidable force. Mix Erdi in too and they're a team to be reckoned with, once she gets into her own.
Hah, no, actually that bit about the cats was in there from the beginning– I was just sort of quietly drinking tea listening to the pawing at the door…
There are definitely depths to Ahtar that we haven’t seen yet.
That key, of course… well, Erdi didn’t get it from the Thalmor Headquarters, but right now it definitely qualifies as “Daedric shit”…