The sun was high in the sky as it approached noon. The loosely cobbled path was rather lively. Birds chirped as they flew overhead amongst the trees that flourished alongside the nearby river, which itself created a calming ambiance. The occasional squirrel could be seen darting amidst the trees or the mountain on the other side. The only thing that broke these natural sounds was the sounds of horses.

Three horses walked side-by-side as they began to ascend the slowly inclining road. It was the second day since the family of three had left Fort Amol. This was a great tribute to the scale difference between the game and reality. Increasing the distance by 20 times was not a joke. Of course, part of the reason it was taking so long was due to the young elf on the center horse who was currently reading.

Marcus was wrapping up his third read-through of the Spell Tome: Bound Bow. He was like a student cramming for tests determined to get an A+. The third read-through was mostly unnecessary. However, Marcus took extra care in learning the spell as it was vital to him. Eventually, he closed the book, which disappeared into his inventory, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Then, he extended his left hand, and magic gathered within his outstretched palm. A bow appeared in his hand with a subtle sound and flash while a quiver filled with arrows appeared on his back.

Marcus's parents glanced at each other in shock before he quickly abated with a wry smile. Bound Bow was a relatively complex spell. Even with how studious Marcus had been, it was still an impressive feat to have completed the spell on his first attempt.

Marcus, however, paid no heed to his parents' reaction as he familiarized himself with his bow. Eventually, he dismissed it only to conjure it again to make the spellcasting process more fluid. He focused so hard on the spell simply for one reason; it increased his damage by 250%.

"Marcus, we are almost at the Valtheim Towers," Father said, breaking Marcus out of his practice.

Marcus glanced around at the location, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. However, he quickly brushed it off to familiarity as this road was the primary way to get around the Throat of the World. "Let's leave the horses here and scout it out. Without a garrison, it's a likely spot for bandits due to it being a heavy chokepoint with an exit."

The family quickly dismounted the horses with a quick nod to each other. After they instructed them to stay nearby, they made their way up the rest of the path. Unfortunately, there was little space to hide along this path as there was a steep incline to the left and a sharp decline to the right. There was still some vegetation and rocks that they could use for cover, but not much. Eventually, they came to a sharp curve in the road, not far from the towers. They were about to peek around the bend but stopped as they heard voices slightly muffled in the distance.

"As I said, if you want to get past us, you have to pay the toll." A woman dressed in fur armor said. Flanking her was a large man, similarly dressed in fur armor, with a hand, gripped on the handle of the warhammer on his back, prepared to strike at any moment.

Marcus glanced above and saw an archer atop the tower, prepared to fire at a moment's notice. Though stronger than the mages they had previously encountered, these three bandits were not what caused his parents to freeze before instinctively reaching for their weapons.

"Listen here, you barbarian, you are interfering with official Thalmor business. If you are smart, you'll walk away."

Marcus's parents had a mutual reaction to the presence of the Thalmor, the army of the Dominion which they had fought against in the war.

From around the corner, Marcus took a glance at everyone present. In the distance, he could make out two more figures heading over the bridge that spanned the river far below that connected the two towers. It appears that the bandits had reinforcements headed their way. The bandits' levels all varied between 10 to 15. However, they were significantly tougher than the mages due to their more physical occupations. Their stats were distributed between HP and SP, making them strong enough to survive an attack for Marcus before the Bound Bow. The real threat was the Thalmor bandits they were confronting. They were both around level 25 with a similar stat distribution to the bandits but with more MP. However, they also had the distinct advantage of Elven armor. Even with his Bound Bow, Marcus knew he couldn't take them out with one hit, though he could come close with his maximum damage. However, he could also note the weaknesses of the elven armor thanks to his perks. So long as they were not moving, he was sure to exploit this, rendering the armor almost useless.

The only other figure appeared to be someone the Thalmor were escorting. This captive had their wrists bound and led by a rope, with their head in a sack and body bound to hide their features. However, given their stature, it was clearly a child. Much less the situation, the child hostage, his parents' hatred of the Thalmor, and his conviction in destroying them as a threat, Marcus wanted them removed. However, he was not convinced he could do so safely. As Marcus thought through the logistics of carrying out a fight, the situation suddenly changed.

"They're just stalling for reinforcements!" The Thalmor archer, who had not yet spoken, suddenly exclaimed as she readied her bow.

"Kill them!" The female bandit suddenly shouted as she noted the situation became tense, and victory often came to those who struck first. However, there was a clear difference in discipline and experience between the two groups.

The bandit archer had fired upon the Thalmor archer, but the other Thalmor blocked it with his shield. The melee Thalmor then turned to the warhammer-wielding bandit and charged. As the bandit began to swing his warhammer, the Thalmor bashed his arms, stunning him, and completely diffusing the bow. Simultaneously, the Thalmor archer retaliated against the bandit archer and struck him in the shoulder. The bandit archer reeled back in pain but removed the arrow before drawing another of his own. However, the difficulty from the wound was clear on his face.

"Hurry up, you two!" The bandit woman suddenly shouted towards her reinforcements before she stepped back. As an archer herself, she had little experience in close-up melee. However, the Thalmor archer had her in her sights.

"What should we do?" Mother asked Father.

"I'm not particularly fond of helping either side," Father replied with a frown.

"Then it's simple." Marcus suddenly interjected. "Have you ever heard the expression, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

"Yes," Father replied for the both of them, holding back the question of how Marcus knew.

"Are you saying we should help the bandits?" Mother asked.

Marcus shrugged his shoulders with a cocked smile. "At the moment, I only see my friends. Why would I attack my friends?"

Father shook his head. "Just say wait to attack until there is only one side standing."

As it turned out, the fight lasted only a couple more minutes. The Thalmor had managed to take out the warhammer and archer bandits before their reinforcements came. Unfortunately for the reinforcements, they had arrived just as their companions had lost, only able to save the female bandit temporarily. They decided to continue the attack in that split second instead of running. They made the right decision from a tactical perspective, as retreating would've been exposing their back to a capable archer. Unfortunately, they died regardless.

"Filthy Nords." The female Thalmor spat as she grasped her lightly wounded arm.

"Indeed." The male Thalmor said as he kicked one of the bandit's bodies. "Now then, shall we see if there's anything valuable on them?"

*Thud*

The male Thalmor's head swiveled at the sound of his companion falling. His eyes met hers, now lifeless, before they locked onto the glowing arrow that had pierced her neck. Out of instinct, he immediately swiveled towards the direction the arrow had apparently come from but suddenly froze as the air escaped his lips. He looked down to the side only to see a similar arrow lodged in the gap of his armor. "Curse… You…" He said as he collapsed to the ground as his vision grew dark.