Fight some bandits

“It’s beautiful!” I gasped as I grasped the weapon just below the ornate blade.

It was exactly as tall as I am, a long axe topped with a spike, and a sharp hook on its back. With the right movements, it could cut, stab and grapple, all from a nice distance. I swung it, and savored its perfect length. The wind hummed around it.

“Glad you like it. I find halberds brutal yet elegant, much like your fighting’s been described to me.”

“You’ll make me blush,” I said, giving the old man my sweetest smile.

“Now, go on,” Eorlund ushered. “You two go and fight. I don’t make decorative pieces.”

“We will,” I said, and I kissed the old man on the cheek. “Thank you, Eorlund.”

-

“How many?” I asked when Ria ducked back behind the rocks.

“I counted four,” she said.

“We can handle that,” I bluffed. “As long as they don’t call for backup.”

“If we can sneak up on them, that would be great.”

“If only there was another way in,” I said.

The civil war had put a strain on Skyrim’s jarls, and bandits were making use of it. To maintain a semblance of order, the job to take care of them was given to the companions and private mercenaries. These particular outlaws had driven the miners out of Halted Stream Mine, and were profiting from the valuable metals and poaching of the hold’s wildlife.

“I did see something interesting,” Ria said. “Seems like they’ve dug a pit trap close to the hill, to catch mammoths and the like.”

“Okay, I said. “Let’s check it out.”

We tried to be as stealthy as we could, sneaking towards the pit. Upon inspection we were quite sure the little tunnel that was built into the side of the pit, would lead into the mine.

“It’s a gamble, but you know, the Divines favor the bold, don’t they?”

Ria nodded. “Okay, so down we go?”

“Down we go.”

We carefully avoided the wooden spikes at the bottom, something a poor Altmer hadn’t managed to do, and slipped through the narrow passage into the mine.

"Gotta have a sharp axe to cut through all that fat..." one voice said, from the other end of the sloped tunnel

"Hurry up with it, we've got a merchant in the pit to take care of after we carve this thing up,” another responded.

The passage was filled with traps. I pulled Ria against the rocky wall before she stepped onto a bear trap. I scanned the tunnel. Apart from the bear trap, they’d rigged a mammoth skull to swing down upon triggering a tripwire, some bones used as chimes to alert the raiding residents, and a fire pot hooked up to a pressure plate.

“We can use this,” I whispered.

We moved the bear trap to a different place, cut down the fire pot, hid near the tripwire and pressure plate, and threw a rock against the bone chimes.

“What was that?” one of the voices said.

“You sure that merchant’s dead?

“I’ll make sure.”

Unwittingly, the man walked right into the bear trap. He screamed and cursed, falling down, not even aware of our presence.

“Who the fuck moved that damn thing?” He wailed, causing his buddy to come running. Sadly for him, as he stepped over the tripwire, it was cut by Ria, and the heavy skull of a mammoth slammed into him with a sick crunch. With both of them dispatched, we stayed put, listening closely for possible help.

Suddenly, the trapped bandit noticed the two women hiding in the shadows.

“H-help! Intruders!” He gasped, before being knocked out with the butt of a halberd.

“So much for stealth,” I said.

“Get your ass over here,” a gruff voice called out.

“Where are they?” a voice answered.

“The tunnel,” the gruff voice said. “They have nowhere to go.”

“Shouldn’t I get the others?”

“And leave me to get ganged up on? Grab a weapon.”

As soon as the two got in view, I threw the fire pot at them. The thing exploded on the chest of the first, which shielded the second one from the flames. As he ran of screaming with his clothes on fire, the one with the gruff voice raised his warhammer.

“You made a big mistake, ladies,” the man growled, seemingly unconcerned for his burning buddy.

“Did we?” I said,” Seems like we outnumber you.”

“For now,” he said, and he swung his weapon in Ria’s direction.

I jumped forward, intending to drive a spike into the man’s leg, but he was fast, smacking my weapon to the side with his. I wheeled around him, feigning attacks to distract him, looking for an opening. I’d never fought with a halberd before Eorlund gave me one, but it felt like a dream. I caught the man’s blows with ease, and then, when he deflected mine, the hook on the back caught his leg, to which I pulled him out of balance. As he tried to recover, Ria’s sword delivered a clean cut to his arm, lopping it straight off.

“Ouch,” I said, as I wrested the warhammer from his remaining hand. “I think you’ll need a healer, and fast.”

He spit on the ground.

“You better tell your lackeys to clear out and get help. Unless you wish us to put you out of your misery, of course.”

He lowered his head, and we led him to the entrance — the official one — where he told his men to stand down.

After Ria tied their hands and roped them in a neat file — under threat of my new weapon — we strapped the ones who couldn’t walk to their horses, claiming to for ourselves, and rode straight to Whiterun.

“You’ll find the mine free of miscreants,” I told the steward as we collected the reward.

“We’ll send a few guards,” he answered. “Whiterun thanks you, Companion.”