The Shadow of Argonia

The flies were buzzing in the orange light lighting the basemant through a small opening at the top of the wooden wall. Fleshflies, the softskins would call them as their ears and noses slowly eroded away, slowly being consumed. But no softskins would ever come here. This little place, smacked down in the middle of nowhere on what little solid ground the Marsh could provide, had never been graced by a softskin. It had never had the fortune of an Imperial, Breton or even Dunmer to block the sunlight to the basemant. Not in ages, it would seem. But the Lord preferred it that way. The Lord preferred a lot of things.

Everything, except the basemant. “Too rough, too unclean” he said. If he was down there that day, he wouldn't call it rough. Unclean, yes, but rough? Not with the damp air, not at all. Rain had fallen in the river for what seemed like an eternity and the low lands were flooded. Some people might have a hard time sleeping with heavy rain but who could say they slept in knee-deep mud and river water being dumped down the opening in the wall? Cold, cold river water that had seeped through the cracks in the wooden wall. Not the Lord, no. He was too clean for that. He wouldn't sleep in that no matter how much hay you used. And Lix-Tanei was given only a sparse layer.

As the light shone and lit up more of the basemant, it reached the olive green, scaly creature, who was awaken by the sudden ray of warmth, which was much in contrast to the cold, muddy and soaked hay. And wake up he had to. Already he could hear the faint sound of steps above him. Up he had to go, up from the water and dry off. Clean. The Lord wouldn't suffer spots of mud on the floor or the walls. Lix-Tanei wouldn't want that either, want to clean it up. With an old, large tree leaf, he gently scraqed off most of the dirt. Legs and arms, stomach and head, the ragged cloth around his legs, all had to be clean. Even the tail. Especially the tail, for it would sometimes have a life of its own. The steps were getting louder, closer. Almost like thunder that was common in the afternoon. And as he went further up the rotten stairs, lightning struck as the wooden door was flung up. He was late, far too late.

“Do you know what time it is?” the black figure spoke in a hissing, aggressive tone as the incoming light blinded the scaly creature in the staircase.
“Morning, my Lord?” the creature spoke, his heart beating fast, his back hugging the wall behind him and hand blocking the light.
“More like midday! Stop slacking and get the rooms finished while I'm out. I'm expecting important company later this afternoon and I want every room to be sparkling.”

The black figure was colored red as the shock of the light wore off. A cool breeze entered the hallways as the Lord left the building. Off to where on a Sundas? What was out there, anyway, other than the field and palisade? Surely something important enough to drive the Lord from his home. But those thoughts were quickly dimming away. There was a lot of work to be done. Lix-Tanei couldn't afford to be distracted by anything. Not even the sounds coming through the dirty window. The sound of strange tools being shoved into the ground, over and over again, by others. Others like the Lord, just less clothed, thinner and with different colors. Others like Lix-Tanei. But no one was yelling at them. That only occurred when the blue sky turned orange and red. Sometimes he would hear it at night, starlit or clouded but rainless. And the screams, the hissing screams. Those he would hear as well. Both low- and high-pitched screams. But mostly just low-pitched. The other were less frequent, roughly once after every full moon. The big, red full moon. And if the night was very quiet, he could even hear the very faint screams.

However, the scaly creature was getting distracted. His back was still stuck at the wall and the floor wasn't going to clean itself. Confusingly enough, the floor looked clean enough to him. It had always looked that way, for as long as he could remember cleaning it. The Lord was even happy with it. Why would he want it even cleaner? Did he do something wrong? Or was it because he had slept too long and was being punished? Not likely, the Lord wouldn't give him such a menial task as punishment. How did the Lord use to punish him? The creature can't remember as he scrubbed the floor. Others brought in a wooden canister of water. A bucket, they called it. The creature didn't recognize the person bringing it in, though. He wasn't good at remembering faces. Was this a new face? Had to be, the scent was unfamiliar. So many new faces, everyday, it would seem. Where would they come from even? Lix-Tanei wouldn't know.

He did know that these buckets were always too small. He couldn't quite fit his hands in it, only one at a time. To much of his annoyance then that he would drop the scrubber in it. It would be easier to use both hands to get it out, but the bucket is too small for that. The little, cold and gray straps around the wrists didn't help either. In with one arm, grasping at the scrubber, he pulled the little thing out and proceeded to scrub the floor until the big bright spot in the sky was a bit lower than it was before. But even with the floor done, there was still a lot of work to do.

The table, the wooden table in the little diner just before the door to the outside, was in a rough state. Yesterday's food lay around and food from the day before that. Most of it the creature had seen before. A little fish the Lord would bring in every now and then, a long, slimy thing that would sometimes slink into the basemant during the wet nights. Even a few berries and roots the others would bring inside in small baskets. Some of it was new, though. Foreign and unknown scent. Red slabs with white stripes, thick and heavy, next to small yellow things the size of his fist, rounded and easily squashed. Then there was a little, mysterious, cloth bag on the table. The creature was curious. He pulled away a thin string and looked inside. Round, shiny and yellow disks with an unfamiliar face on one side and a winged, tailed creature on the other. Many of these things were in the bag. Where did the Lord find these? Who was that face and the creature?

A strange noise came from outside. He had heard a similar noise, but that one was much louder and didn't happen in such a quick succession as these ones did. Neither was the sky getting redder than usual as when he heard the louder noise, so long ago. The scaly creature turned to the sound of the noise coming through the window. A new thing stood there, outside the window. Four-legged, black and a tall bump on its back. The bump had a strange thing on one side. But the bump was moving and suddenly detached itself and two more legs appeared. The figure became two distinct ones. One was large, long, had pointy ears and a furry tail and was breathing so heavily that the scaly creature could hear the breath inside the building. The other was about the size of the others if a bit taller. An in inch or so. It was clothed and moved around more like a softskin. Was this the company the Lord anticipated?

Lix-Tanei couldn't get distracted. The food had to get off the table. Into the bins, into the fire. What about his belly? He didn't get to eat at this time of the day. The Lord wouldn't allow it. “Wait till darkness” the Lord would always say. And only a few berries and roots would the Lord give him. Sometimes the belly would just continue to make noises, to growl. Maybe there was a slimy thing in the basemant? He certainly had tasted and eaten those before but only at night when they came out. The taste, oh the taste would definitely calm the belly. A bit tingly and dry on the tongue, a bit different from the sour berries and bitter roots. So few tastes there were in the small world! Maybe the red slab would have a different taste? A new taste! The mouth was just watering from the thought. He touched it. He touched the red thing and licked the fingers.

“Bad! Bad Lix-Tanei! You mustn't eat food until darkness falls and only eat what you are given. But the taste! The savory taste! Just a bite, just one... No.”

The Lord had expectations. The Lord expected a lot of things from the scaly creature. He had to do what he was told, or the Lord would punish him. How did the Lord punish him again? The memories escaped him. Perhaps it was better that way. He had to continue working. The Lord expected the rooms to be cleaned and if they weren't and the company came with the Lord-
A big thumping noise, repeating three times came from the door.

His heart was beating fast again, his back quickly slammed against the wall. Was the Lord back already? But he wasn't even finished! The rooms aren't even done yet! The noises began again, three times once more. His mind raced on what he could do, never coming to an answer, never focusing enough on an answer. How could he be so distracted? Was it the food? More noises came from the door, a lot louder this time and four times repeated. He began looking for a place to go, for a place to hide. Upstairs, maybe? No, the Lord would find him there. The Lord found him there before a long time ago and he was punished for it. It wasn't safe. Maybe in a bin? He didn't find one big enough. Behind a door or some other object? A small clicking noise came from the door. The Lord was coming in! “Quick, hide!” And he hid in the safest place he knew of. He hid in the basemant.

He saw the tiny little lights showing through the wooden ceiling being pierced by darkness. The basemant was darker, too. Four, short-haired legs with bare, black ends were covering the opening in the wall. Footsteps came from above, the darkness moving. The scaly creature glued his back towards the wall and sat down in the mud. His legs were shaking like the shadow of a cup was shaking in the light from the fireplace. The darkness kept moving, stopping every once in a while then moved on. The sound of the outside door closing traveled down the stairs and the building went silent. The four legs were still outside the opening, but there was no darkness in sight. Were did it go? Wouldn't the Lord also have checked the basemant? The scaly creature was perplexed. He didn't move from his spot, back glued to the wall, his scaly hands around the knees.

An eternity seemed to have passed but there was no darkness, no footsteps. Only the four legs. Lix-Tanei mustered his strength and slowly crawled up the stairs. At the door, he sat up, back against the wall and looked around. There was no one there. It looked like no one ever was there. There was no mud on the very clean floor at all. He picked up the leaf again and cleaned off the mud from his body and looked around. The table was untouched, just as he left it. His heart calmed down. What had just happened? Was it just in his mind? He promptly forgot about it all and moved the food off the table.

It all went into the bins, as the Lord would have him do it. Were the bins went, he didn't know. They were just empty the day after. With the food off the table, he could begin scrubbing it and crouched to bring up the bucket to a more comfortable height. But then he froze solid. Not even the tail moved. He felt his heart almost stop as a cold thing moved across his back. There wasn't a single thought running through his head. He couldn't think of what happened or what was about to happen. He felt ready to collapse onto the floor face first and cover his head and ears, was it not for the smell. The scent was different. He hadn't tasted it before. It wasn't the Lord. A new face? A voice uttered, a bit lower than his own.

“You're covered in mud. Did you know that?”

Mud? How was he covered in mud? He cleaned himself, didn't he? His hands, his legs and stomach were clean. Even his tail didn't have a speck of mud on it. How? He gently looked up and sure enough, the walls were covered in it too. He wanted to turn around, see who it was that spoke, but his body was still terrified and frozen solid. A black hand came crashing down on his shoulder. It wasn't hard as the Lord's hands were. It was soft. A gentle touch.

“You alright? Let me clean you off.” the voice spoke gently as the bucket was moved away from him. Behind him. Watery sounds came loose and cold water ran down his back along with the gentle touch of a second hand. But then the motion stopped. What sort of punishment is this? The Lord would never consider this as punishment. The motion continued, but there was no water this time. The hand moved in a pattern, in lines across the back. Beginning at one end and stopping at another. Rinse and repeat but at different places.

“How long have you had these?”

Had what? Lix-Tanei didn't remember having anything on his back. He forced himself not to remember. Better that way. What was it that he didn't want to remember. But he couldn't help himself anymore. It came back, in full force. Memories from ages ago. Disobedience. One bad act deserved another. A black string, thundering, booming noises and the swift motion. The jerky motion and the screams. The hissing screams that once were as high-pitched as those he would hear during the night, faded away and grew silent as the memories got closer to now. But the jerky motion didn't cease. It never ceased. A final thundering boom, louder than ever, struck him and he couldn't stop but move just like he did in his memories. Darkness came as the memories faded away. Water ran down him again, not from his back but from his face as his eyes shut. A black hand touched his face, a voice whispered into his left ear.

“I'm sorry this has happened to you.”

Lix-Tanei finally looked to his left with his watered eyes. He saw a face. Dark under a black hood. Yellow lines emerging from the back of the neck. A bright spot on the front of it. Three red lines covering the left eye. The blue eyes, each with a thin black line on them, were looking at him. Not like the Lord that always looked a bit to the side of him, but actually into his eyes. The dark figure removed the hood and a scaly texture came forth under the light from the fireplace. Two tan horns were revealed with black feathers between them coming up from the head. The mouth opened and the white teeth moved in symphony with the red tongue.

“Do you have a name?” the figure spoke in such a clear voice unlike the Lord with his hissing.

He drew upon all his courage, opened his mouth and spoke with what basic language skills he had.

“Lix-Tanei. My name.”
“Lix-Tanei.” The figure wobbled his head up and down slightly. “My name's Shadow. Have you been here long?”

Lix-Tanei looked confused and tried to grasp the very concept of time. To him, there was only now and eternity. Nothing in-between. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't come up with an answer. So Shadow gazed to the side and spoke again.

“Do you know your parents or other members of your family?”

Lix-Tanei wasn't sure what the stranger meant by “parent” and “family”. Shadow looked upon him again when he knew the answer wasn't coming.

“Do you know anyone else here?”
“My Lord. The others. Outside.”

Shadow shut his eyes for a few seconds and sighed. But it wasn't out of irritation. It was of something else. Something Lix-Tanei hadn't heard before. He wanted to ask who this Shadow was, if the Lord had sent him, but his mouth couldn't remain open long enough. It was too weak and the growling began again. Shadow opened his eyes that seemed to be fixed on the gray straps, the stomach and finally back to Lix-Tanei's face.

“This 'Lord'...” he spoke out in an all too familiar tone, “Where is he?”
“Outside. Expecting company. Soon.” Lix-Tanei wasn't sure of why Shadow was so interested in the Lord. The stomach growled on.
“I see.” Shadow looked around. “Stand up.” he spoke and gently grabbed Lix-Tanei's left arm and helped him up. He pulled out a chair. “Sit down, would you?”

“Sit down? On the chair?” he thought. The Lord would never allow that! Why should Lix-Tanei trust this stranger who barged in? He should disobey and ask him to leave and yet, he couldn't deny the same obedience he gave to the Lord. It was second nature to him to follow, to obey. So he sat down on the chair. Never had his back ever felt more comfortable. But why? Why was he doing what the stranger asked him to and without any reluctance? No resistance at all? He stared at what the stranger was doing. Shadow was over by the fireplace. A big, long, grey thing attached on his back. He was doing something with the big, black pot. Things were thrown into it; roots, more of those yellow, round things, dices of the red slab and a white powder. Shadow stirred the pot and put his black-covered hand over it. Bright light and flames seemed to emerge. He grabbed a bowl and poured the mixture into it and walked towards Lix-Tanei.

“Here, eat this.” He laid the bowl on the table and gave Lix-Tanei a wooden stick, flattened at the end.

The same watery mouth feeling came to Lix-Tanei's mouth. He couldn't allow himself to eat it, could he? The Lord would surely punish him if he did. But the taste! The scent alone forced his mouth open, his tongue slightly sticking out as if to get a taste of the scent itself. He couldn't hold back the cravings any longer. He grabbed the bowl, brought it to his mouth and chugged. The tan liquid, the red slab dices and the round, yellow things, all went down his throat. He chugged as if the bright spot in the sky wouldn't rise again.

What was one bowl, became another. A third and a fourth, never had he been allowed to eat so much, to even see a tiny bulge on his stomach as the stranger removed the mud from the walls. It felt like he had eaten more than he had in his entire life. His tongue was still hanging out slightly as he put away the last bowl. He could barely move but he felt a warmth he hadn't felt before. Not from the outside, but from the inside. Inside him!

The stranger began to clean off the table. But something was strange, off. Surely this was Lix-Tanei's task, wasn't it? He had always been the one to clean the table, to clean everything. Now this stranger was doing it for him. He wanted to stand up, to clean, but he couldn't. Not with the food in his belly. Looking at the work being done in front of him, he noticed a dark, red item with strange etchings, fastened on the stranger's hip, concealed slightly by a long, black garment that reached down the the stranger's ankles. His face grew more puzzled as he gazed upon the etchings.

A noise came from outside, voices of different pitches. And a tone, a hissing tone. The stranger put away the last of the bowl and quickly, but silently, moved to the window like the breeze of the wind. Lix-Tanei rose slowly from the chair and listened to the voices, but the stranger's voice overpowered the other voices.

“Two Orcs, heavily armored. An Imperial and an Argonian, rather well clothed with red scales and a dorsal fin. Do you know him?” he rapidly said. Red scales? Well clothed? And so many words unheard of.
“My Lord!” Lix-Tanei gasped, his heart beating fast once more.
“And the others must be his 'expected company'. An Imperial trader with Orc bodyguards, no doubt.”

The scaly creature slowly moved back towards the wall, to safety, to glue his back. But his arm was grabbed by one arm, his neck by another. He turned towards the blue eyes.

“He mustn't know I'm here. Act normal, like nothing ever happened.”

A clicking noise came from the door, the voices were louder. Both looked at the door, but the stranger turned back to the scaly creature.

“He won't hurt you, I promise.”

The stranger moved away towards the upper staircase and became true to his name. A shadow on the wall. His outlines were still visible, but less noticeable. The scaly creature looked around, to find a way to “act”. He took a broom and began sweeping and tried to calm himself. The creaking sound of the door echoed in the room, only trumped by the fireplace. The Lord gazed upon the scaly creature.

“I supposed it could've been better. Go upstairs and do the room.”

The scaly creature nodded and headed for the staircase, only to stop by the shadow on the wall, looking at it.

“Keep going, you're doing fine.” the shadow whispered and stared intently on the Lord and his company.

And up he went, leaving the many voices behind him. Only the wooden squeaks from the floor reached his ears. He wasn't allowed to go upstairs without the Lord's permission and the Lord preferred it that way. This was where he slept, where he drew black patterns on thin, white sheets in thick, heavy blocks. Blocks with a lot sheets in them. The scaly creature remembered this place, even though he didn't want to. The brown desk, that's where he was so long ago, in the dark. He was much smaller back then, but the hissing shouts of the Lord were the same. The Lord tore up this room, stacks of blocks thrown on the floor, the black string in his hand. The creature was rolled up, underneath the desk, trying not to make a sound. But it was all for naught. The Lord grabbed him by the fins and flexed the string once more. Another thundering boom, another scream and jerky motion. Lix-Tanei snapped out of it and began sweeping.

He looked out the window and saw that the four-legged creature was gone. Whereto, he didn't know as a cold breeze blew in from the doorway. It was the stranger, hood on and silently moving. He remembered what he was told to do, to “keep going” and “act”, as the stranger rifled through the desk. Shadow brought forth a block, thinner than most but still heavy, and turned sheet after sheet. Fanatically, almost. Lix-Tanei wasn't sure what the stranger was looking for. Shadow stopped at one sheet and slid his finger down the sheet, stopping every once in a while. The eerie silence was broken by the footsteps coming from below as Shadow concealed the block and ran towards the door and hid behind it.

“So, business then, Trexus. I can offer you a lot.” the Lord spoke as he entered the room.
“Ah yes, of course. You wouldn't have invited me here just for a simple chat.” the white softskin smiled.
“I can have two carriages fully loaded by midnight. I just need you to provide the men and the drakes.” the Lord pointed out to the white softskin and sat down at his desk. He pulled out a block and a feather from under the desk and looked at the scaly creature. “Close the door.”

This was the first time the creature had seen a softskin in a long time. But he couldn't ponder on why they were here, he had been given an order. As he got to the door, two big, green softskins covered in gray plates stood outside. He closed the door and saw the stranger was nothing but a shadow. A bit out of place without the door, but hardly noticeable by anyone without a keen eye.

“Two thousand drakes, was it not? I'm sure I can provide it. The produce here is sure to find buyers. But what of the eggs? I know of a few special clients that would pay dearly for them.” the white softskin placed his finger on his chin.
“I only have a few and they aren't easy to come by. They're going to cost extra.” the Lord tightened his eyes.
“I'm sure can I think of a good price.” the white softskin lowered his eyes and scratched what little gray hair he had.

Lix-Tanei heard a clicking noise from the door and felt a breeze again from behind.

“Does it involve death?”

Before Lix-Tanei could react, the room was in chaos. With an amazing grace, the stranger jumped out of the shadow and knocked the white softskin against the piles of blocks in the wall. With an amazing strength, the stranger grabbed the end of the desk and flipped it aside, planting his black foot against the Lord's chest as the Lord was toppled backwards against the window that cracked under the force. Shocked, the Lord watched as the stranger removed his hood, pulled out a long, gray but sharp tool from his back, almost as long as he was, and pointed it towards the Lord's throat.

The piles of blocks lay around the floor in a shamble. The white softskin had trouble moving, groaning as he placed his hands on his hip. Lix-Tanei wasn't sure what to do, what to feel, as he watched Shadow's next move. His blue eyes stared intently into the Lord's as if they were on fire. An aggressive scent filled the room.

“You decide.”

When Shadow spoke, the anger in his voice filled the entire room, the room grew dark as if a thunderstorm was summoned inside.

“Who- Who are you?” the Lord stammered, the black lines on his orange eyes widening.
“The gatekeeper to your afterlife, if you so desire! What in Sithis's name have you done here? Has the Second Arnesian War taught you nothing? Speak!” he shouted and made the Lord flinch.
“Taught me what? That I'm not allowed to do business, to make a fortune?”
“By selling crops harvested by slaves? Worse! By selling Saxhleel eggs?! Our very unborn!”
“I- I don't know what you're talking about!” the Lord shook his head, but that only showed his fear.

Shadow pulled out the concealed block and threw it at the Lord's face.

“Explain that, then. For twenty years, you've harvested not just crops but also eggs and sold them. You don't even specify to whom, whereto or for what purpose! And the ones that had already hatched or were born alive were either kept as a slave or had their throats slit.”

The door was banging, but it wouldn't budge. The voices from behind it grew larger for every bang. Both Shadow and the Lord turned their eyes towards the door then back to each other. The Lord would not speak. He dared not.

“You're an Archin, 'Lord', and probably the only one to not have gone bankrupt. But this disgusting plantation is over. I'm putting you out of business. Permanently if I have to!”
“You- You only want it for yourself!” the Lord exasperated as the gray blade crept ever closer to the throat, Shadow's eyes even more aflame.
“And what makes you think that I would want a slaver-run plantation in Argonia; a disgrace to our people. You spit on the name of the dead that fought to secure our freedom!”
“Says the one who speaks like an Imperial. I bet you grew up in the Imperial City, too. You have the same ideals as I.”

Those words could've been the Lord's last, had Shadow not stayed his hand. Lix-Tanei had moved to the wall, clinging to it, for the air had grown dangerously angry. The door was beginning to shatter as small, circular blades tried to bash their way through.

“No, I grew up in a small village near Thorn and only recently returned to the Marsh from Cyrodiil. I fought in the war against the Dunmer. My ideals are not the same as yours. You took the ideals of profit from a crippled empire whose captain can't even keep his own men in check and ship from sinking and perverted them.”

The Lord realized he wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of his predicament and was seemingly paralyzed. The blades had almost made it through the door, as Shadow noticed.

“I should let you know, I dislike killing my kinsmen. But that doesn't mean you get to walk away freely from what you've done.”

The building seemed to shake, the ground quaked, as Shadow's mouth moved. Hissing and clicking in a tongue so unfamiliar to Lix-Tanei yet still somehow native. A faint blue light emerged from the gray blade and touched the Lord's face, still paralyzed. And as it faded away, Shadow removed the blade from the Lord's throat.

“I'm freeing the slaves, whether you like it or not. All the gold you've made taken and distributed between them. And if you even think of taking another slave or egg, that curse will bring you death.”

The door broke down and two green hulks emerged, weapon in hand and cried out in battle. Shadow turned quickly away and rushed towards them. One of the weapons aimed at Shadow flung to the side, away from its master's hands, hitting the white softskins in the torso. The other only hit air. A long gray shaft was driven through the last armed softskin's stomach with both hands, Shadow's great fangs flashing in the assailant's eyes. In a quick motion, the shaft was removed and swung at the remaining green softskin, covering the walls in a dark shade of red as the head rolled onto the floor.

Lix-Tanei stood in shock at what he had witnessed, leaning against the wall, trying to “act” and “keep going” as a sharp noise came from the side. A small, straight and gray talon was raised and moving towards Shadow. Another sharp noise and the talon fell to the ground. Shadow turned around to see what had happened. What had happened? Lix-Tanei didn't know, his arm stretched out. The Lord lay on the ground, the talon next to him. The Lord's head had a dark, red talon with strange etchings stuck in it. Lix-Tanei merely stared at it as his arm was lowered by Shadow.

“It's okay. He won't hurt you anymore.”

Lix-Tanei turned his eyes to Shadow as the dark, red talon was picked up and sheathed.

“Let's get out of here. I'll keep you safe.”

And for the first time in his life, the olive green, scaly creature left the building he had spent an eternity in and saw what the outside world was beyond what the opening hole in the basemant and the windows provided. The gray straps on his wrists were removed and revealed the sores that had been unable to heal. The straps were removed from all of the others on the field. Gathered together and the strange tools dropped, they were all led away from the plantation, some farther away than they had ever been. “Gideon”, Shadow told Lix-Tanei when asked about where he was taking them. A caravan of freed slaves, some with eggs, some with live-born children who hadn't had the chance to lick the sap, all followed.

Lix-Tanei found himself a life he had never before experienced and a place he could call home. As the stranger stayed with them the first five years, Lix-Tanei learnt how to speak, both Cyrodiilic and Jel. Writing, crafting, cooking, all were taught. He soon learnt to forget the plantation and the Lord. Surely enough, he did in time. But some scars never heal. His back would never heal completely and neither would his memories. But with the life he got and the lives he found, even if the new faces he often forgot and scents remembered, he found for the first time a sense of peace and comfort as he listened to the symphony of the trees and watched the stranger return to the shadows of the Marsh.

He would still see the stranger from time to time. Every few years or so, Shadow returned to check up on Lix-Tanei and brought with him stories of faraway lands. Some strange, some completely wonderful. Except for one time, when Lix-Tanei was ready to move on and see other people. A new life.

Shadow came at midday through the marsh. His smile he usually brought was gone. Lix-Tanei wondered what was wrong, but Shadow gave only an eerie silence, one that heralded doom almost.
With a sigh and melancholic eyes, he spoke only once and left. “To Helstrom” he said he was going.

”What you do from now on is up to you, for I don't believe we'll meet again. Dark times are ahead, I fear. Question is, where will the threat come from? That is a question I need an answer for, and quickly. Take care and stay safe, my friend.”

As Shadow left, Lix-Tanei couldn't help but share the sorrow in his voice, but was unable to figure where to place it. He could only put it aside and move towards a new life, in a new place to the southeast while the flies were still buzzing in the sunlight.

Written By Lix-Tanei
Published in Lilmoth, 22^nd Frostfall, 4E 41

Criticism is very much welcomed. Note that this short story serves as a bit of backstory to one of my characters.

EDIT: And of course, the thread title gets messed up.