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JASH
Sissel and I followed the soldier through the now peaceful battlefield. Until we had to move again this would be our base. It had been three years since I had been able to call a place home. While I had traveled between my various properties in Skyrim, each had its own place and reason to be called home.
Now I didn’t have a single spot that I thought of as my own.
The sounds around me were now mostly the healers doing their craft. Words softly spoken so that soldiers were calm as their bodies were healed. Sighs breathed as men and women felt all their pains fade away.
A grin briefly passed over my face as I noticed how Sissel yearned to heal others rather than attend to her duties. Only those familiar with her would have picked up on the slight way she had trouble keeping her focus straight ahead. Someone that just met her would hardly be able to notice how her steps faltered briefly.
But I did.
We stopped in front of a group of soldiers. They surrounded a man to the point his identity was hidden from me.
“Let me see him.” I said and my men immediately backed up enough that I had a clear look at the man.
The dryskin was, as the soldier had pointed out, not born of Nirn and instead came from Earth. His face wasn’t immediately known to me and it took a few precious seconds to recall his name: Tim Breaker.
“Do you know this man?” The soldier who had called for me asked.
Tim looked at me with exhausted eyes. However he had arrived here must not have been intentional as there was a hint of fear to his gaze.
“His name is Tim Breaker.” I answered. “And he is a friend of mine.”
The Sheriff had only seen me in a human disguise so of course he looked at me with confusion. To him I was only a stranger. To me he was a distant acquaintance. We hadn’t spent much time together but it had been enough to let me know of his kind nature.
“Release him.” I commanded and immediately the Reforged cut Tim’s binds. “I will take him to that tent. We will need privacy.”
“Thanks.” Tim said as he massaged his wrists.
As Sissel, Tim, and myself walked towards the nearby tent our men raced ahead to make sure we would have the privacy I desired.
“It looks like there’s a war going on.” Tim said as if trying to understand when and where he was.
“There is.” I replied with no judgment in my voice.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Do what?”
“Lie about knowing me. I don’t know how you knew my name but I would have remembered seeing a six foot lizard.”
“Saxhleel. Lizard is an offensive term for our people. And we did meet but it was ours to wear a disguise so my true identity was not known.”
I had talked with two versions of Tim. Both iterations had been slightly different from each other. What version was I talking to now? It made the most sense that Tim would be from the same loop that Alex, my current husband, was from.
"When we first met I went by the alias of Jash Casey.” I replied. “Alex and I are still happily married.”
Tim nearly fell in shock. Good. I had correctly guessed which version of the dryskin I was talking to.
“So this must be the land of bitter coffee.” Tim said after a moment.
I grinned in response and then nodded.
The rest of the walk to the tent was taken in silence. I was grateful for the respite as there was time to think about what my next course of action was. It was bad enough that Tim had traveled to Nirn and him arriving in the middle of a war would just make things worse.
Much too soon we were all gathered in the tent with no one to hear us.
“He was the Sheriff of Bright Falls.” I replied.
“I didn’t exactly get a lot of time to know him.” Tim explained. “One moment the FBI agents were performing an autopsy and the next I was in the Dark Place.”
“The last place I know Tim went was the Dark Place. I had no knowledge about his journey involving visiting Nirn.”
From what I knew about the Dark Place, it was nearly impossible to navigate. It could change its design on a whim and mess with your mind so you could barely think. If someone as powerful as Alan Wake had trouble getting out, it was a testament to his strength that Tim had gotten out.
It would also help explain any missing memory of how he had arrived here.
“It is good to see you again, Tim, and I am curious about how you came to be here.” I said even though I didn’t expect him to have an answer.
“I wish we could have met under, you know, different circumstances. I have no idea how I got here.” Tim admitted. “The last thing I remember is traveling through the Dark Place and suddenly I was in the middle of a battle.”
“It is yours to have arrived in the middle of the Second Great War with the Thalmor.”
Before I could continue to explain the situation, I felt an odd sensation. It was a hard thing to place as it came from everywhere and yet was also only pulsating from my head.
Alex Casey. My love. My husband.
“I will explain things later.” I said and Sissel nodded. “Alex Casey is attempting to contact me and it feels more urgent than usual. Tim, my Consort will heal your injuries and make you comfortable.”
“Sorry, she’s not my type.” Tim said with a slight grin and Sissel chuckled.
I shook my head and tried to hide my grin.
“After I’m done talking with my husband, I will call you to my tent and I’ll explain everything.” I said.
“There’s not going to be another attack while you’re gone?” Tim asked.
“Any Thalmor that managed to escape are nursing their wounds like we are. What you will learn, if you stay here, is that most of war is just waiting. Battles are a rarity in comparison.”
With a curt nod I left to return to my own tent.
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