"That's a long way down…"

Jodin admired the waterfall a few seconds more, then decided to find a less deadly way down to the river below. Seeing a less-than-obvious path in the cliff side, the Khajiit made his way down, one narrow outcrop at a time.

"Hey! That's not fair! You know I'm no good at climbing, Jodin!" Reisa said, leaning over the edge. "I don't have your agility, especially in this armor!"

"Well, take the long way down, then!" Jodin called back, still making his way down beside the waterfall. The fine mist that encircled him felt good after hiking all the way from Ivarstead. "I'll meet you at the bottom!" he called, jumping down to the next rock. As much as he loved her, Jodin thought Reisa should have more fun with life. The fur on her ears had nice stripes, though…

Finally, Jodin came to a safe height, and jumped into the pool below. He surfaced, and shaking the water from his whiskers, noticed an object floating toward him. His heart skipped a beat as he realized it was a skull, and just as quickly as it had come, it was gone, rushing downstream. Jodin swam toward the shore, just as Reisa appeared.

"You know, you didn't have to go off on your own, Jodin," Reisa said, giving her companion a stern look. This look soon melted when she saw the expression on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Something bad happened here. A skull floated by me after I jumped into the river. What's that over there?" Jodin pointed to a small wooden structure a few meters away. The two walked toward it, and soon saw a gory mess just outside a deep cavern. "I think we found whose head that was," Jodin said, pointing to a nearly complete skeleton.

"We should go, Jodin. This place gives me the creeps. Besides, we need to get to Windhelm before nightfall." Reisa started backing away, but Jodin caught her by the tail.

"No, there's something bad going on here. We're going to find out what it is. Sholani can wait for us one more day."

"Fine. But if she gives us an earful when we get there, don't say I didn't warn you."

The two Khajiit entered the cavern, and the smell of blood quickly filled their nostrils. "I've got a bad feeling about this," Jodin muttered. "Necromancers, maybe?"

"No, it's too savage," Reisa said, studying the remains scattered throughout the tunnel. "Besides, why would necromancers leave behind bodies? If I had to guess, I would say it was a…" Reisa's face suddenly took on a hardened look. Her voice dropped to a whisper, "Troll. There, behind that rock." Sure enough, there was a fully-grown troll not more than fifty meters away. It seemed to be distracted with the arm of some poor soul it had probably just slaughtered. They both dropped to a crouch, hiding in the shadows of the dimly lit cave.

"Standard plan?" Jodin asked, readying his bow.

"No, go with the fire this time. This one won't go down easily. Besides, I want to watch the bastard burn."

"I love it when you're cruel," Jodin said with a smirk. "Fire it is, then. After you."

Reisa silently moved behind the troll, sword in hand. With a quick move, she plunged it into the beast's leg. With a howl, it turned on her. "Now, Jodin!" she cried. Seemingly out of nowhere, blasts of fire flew toward the troll, and the stench of burnt flesh was added to the already horrid smells of the cavern. Suddenly, the troll charged Reisa, but she was ready. Ducking around a large boulder, she avoided the creature's charge, and swiftly cut another gash into its already bleeding leg. The troll turned on her again, hobbling slightly with its injured leg. The beast swung its long arm at Reisa, slamming against her shield, and pushing her against what used to be her cover. From above, more gouts of fire rained down upon the troll, and it staggered back, trying to shield itself from the inferno. Seeing her chance, Reisa charged, knocking the troll onto its back, and shoved her blade into its neck. The troll tensed for a second, and fell lifeless.

Jodin jumped down from his rocky perch, and walked slowly toward Reisa. "Now why can't you put me on my back like that?"

Reisa gave him a suggestive smile. "Because I don't think you'd want a sword through your neck." She kissed him, and looked around. "Do you think this was the only one?"

"Yeah, I think so. The nearby villages should be happy to learn that their troll problem is over."