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Eliya danced back and forth with Ilsa as their swordplay continued. The Dunmer woman was renowned for her skill with a sword, but the Altmer was no novice either when it came to playing with knives. The dark elf's longsword slid away from the high elf' weapons and came precariously close to cutting off an ear. Viciously Eliya quickly followed the attack with one of her own, advancing on the woman and causing her to stumble back slightly as the redhead took advantage of her wounded arm with a high kick. At this exact moment the mage assassin heard someone cry out, and a moment later an arrow zipped between the two female elves, uncomfortably close. Taking advantage of the brief moment, Eliya turned to check on Illumus.

What she saw was so unexpected that is caused her to falter. An arrow was sticking out of the young man's right eye, or rather what had been his right eye. Blood was pouring down his face. And even as their gazes connected, the man managed to line up another arrow and let go. Fortunately for Eliya, Illumus was either extremely good at Archery, or extremely lucky in this moment, (though that seemed an odd thing to think considering the damage that had just been done to him) because despite only having one functioning eye, he successfully shot another arrow into Ilsa. This one thudded through the middle of her throat, and stopped her in mid attack as she attempted to cut down the distracted Altmer.

As the arrow whizzed past Eliya, she didn't notice how close it was, but turned just in time to see Ilsa fall back from her attack. The redhead hadn't expected the woman to recover so quickly from the kick to her injured shoulder, if Illumus hadn't just shot that arrow.....a knot of fear settled in Eliya's stomach as she moved quickly towards her fellow assassin, reaching for the spare potion of health she had on her belt. If he lived there was going to be serious permanent damage, and as much as she hated to think about it, his eye sight was permanently gone in one eye. She reached him just as he seemed about to collapse, and helped pour the potion down his throat. It would instantly stop the bleeding, but she wasn't sure how much it would heal him, or if he would have the ability to continue to fight. If the roles were reversed, Eliya didn't think she'd be able to.

Once he was drinking the potion, Eliya's cat like gaze scanned the room to assess. Another Fighter's Guild member had barged in and apparently mistaken Illumus for the enemy. How this was possible Eliya didn't know, but she had heard of dumb mistakes from Fighter's Guild associates before. The dumb loaf.... Eliya wanted to stalk right up to him and plunge her dagger into him repeatedly until the light faded from his eyes.....Eliya focus. Her attention shifted towards Torval and the other Fighter's Guild associate, the one with the claymore, as the newest arrival joined in on taking down the bandit leader. At this rate it wouldn't take long for Torval to be dead. But as it was Eliya wouldn't leave until she was sure. Anything less would be unacceptable to her peers, even with the state Illumus was in. The Altmer could only hope the potion she'd given him was strong enough and that he would make it. Since they appeared to have a moment, Eliya spoke to Illumus, her hand against his back as she helped him. "We need to take that arrow out. Carefully."

In the back of her mind, a part of Eliya wondered at her concern for the young man. Normally she kept herself detached from individuals, but this was a fellow brother in Sithis, and her family at the Sanctuary, as strange as it might seem, was the closest thing she had to family. Perhaps it was because they had gone on another mission before together and she had began to get to know the young man. He had become personalized, a real person in her mind, and that was what the difference was. Generally Eliya viewed people as tools, objects, targets. Not this one.

Before the two assassins could make their escape, the other fighter's guild member, the one who had shot Illumus in the eye, intercepted them with a particularly lackluster apology. His trailing words left Eliya with a brief sense of disbelief. Was this idiot human actually the one Illumus had conversed with carelessly before the battle? What were the odds....before Eliya could even react however, her dark brother spoke up and came clean, explaining how the two of them were not married and how he'd just wanted to be left alone from the annoying man's incessant pestering.

The irritated sincerity of Illumus' words ostensibly left the Fighter's Guild associate dumbfounded. The other warrior, the skeptical one, seemed to find this amusing and made no attempt to stifle his amusement. As provoking as this was, the words he spoke next only furthered the aggravation Eliya felt. The temptation to stick a dagger in him was momentarily overwhelming, but the female assassin settled for a glare full of venomous hate instead. If looks could kill, and how I wish they could, that man would drop dead where he stands. Though the Altmer wanted to act out violently, she listened to reason and grit her teeth, keeping her mouth shut. She paused however, to give Illumus a moment if he wanted to shoot any malicious departing words. If the mage assassin came across that Fighter's Guild warrior again...the thought of coming across him in an anonymous setting and slitting his throat gave Eliya a small sliver of gratification. Just a sliver though and then as quick as it had came it was gone.

The two assassins made their way down and out of the fort, exiting the way they had entered. It was apparent through the sounds they heard that battle was finishing up and the Fighter's Guild was settling in at the fort they had come to reclaim. Sounds of cheering and victory could already be heard. Little did the fools know they had been working alongside the Dark Brotherhood...little did they know how they had been used....they would never know. And such is the hand of Sithis at work.... there was no sign of the other assassins and Eliya was confident they had been successful and were already making their way back to the Sanctuary. Eliya and Illumus gathered their horses and traveled as quickly back to Cheydinhal as possible. They stopped in Anvil along the way despite Illumus' initial reluctance, and there they gathered supplies and some healing potions.Their only other stops in their four day journey was to eat and sleep, though they did stop briefly to dispose of the Hammerfell Fighter Guild's disguises. Eliya made sure no evidence of their masquerade remained. She wondered if Illumus would be able to make it to the Sanctuary, but he seemed surprisingly settled at the fact he had lost an eye, not losing a moment to practice his singular line of vision at every opportunity. They didn't speak much on the way back; both likely had much on their mind.

Four and a half days later they arrived at the Sanctuary in Cheydinhal. Illumus promptly spoke to Ocheeva and was firmly directed towards the Sanctuary's newest arrival, a medic. From the bits and pieces Eliya was able to pick up about the newcomer, it was more then obvious that there was speculation circling around. No one knew where he'd come from, how he knew Valtieri, or even who he was. So far everyone she'd come into contact with had simply referred to him as 'the purifier', a strange thing, she thought, considering he was the closest thing the Brotherhood had to a healer. Why not refer to him as 'the healer'? Or 'the medic' even? Upon her her initial arrival Eliya had reported directly to Re'Zheel, the Argonian who had selected her to lead the mission. He had been extremely pleased with her report, and had waived off Illumus' tragic loss.

"The boy will recover, and he will likely not make the ssssame missstake again." Eliya wanted to interject and state that it hadn't been Illumus' fault, but at that moment Valtieri entered to discuss some matter with the lizard man. Biting her tongue, Eliya bowed her head and turned to leave them alone. Before she departed however, Re'Zheel spoke. "Congratulationsss on your victory, Eliya Lok'tah. You have proven yourself worthy to be called 'Assassin'." The mage assassin stopped in mid stride, pride, warm like liquid, spreading throughout her entire body. She forced her mouth into a straight line and turned to bow once more. "Thank you." The Argonian and Vampire began to speak, and Eliya once more took her dismissal, a smile again on her lips as she walked away. Assassin....I like it.

After she'd reported the success of the mission to her superiors, the elven woman had the entered the dining hall in search of sustenance. Eliya figured she'd spend the next couple days getting some r&r. She deserved it. And since her classes at the University were on a holiday break she actually didn't have to rush back. It was then in the dining hall that she had heard bits of gossip about this new medic, 'the purifier'. As she ate she wondered if the rumors were true. Had this new healer arrived the way they'd said? The redhead decided it didn't matter, though she was intrigued by his description. Dropping the rest of her cheese and bread on her near empty plate, Eliya decided to head down to check on Illumus and this new, 'Purifier'.