Spin-Off (1/12/19)

Come to think of it, where is he? You get up and have a quick look around. You haven't seen him since you set up camp. Could he have gone to get some more firewood?



OK. No. You have more than enough. You start to sense that something is about to go horribly wrong.




Katherin Felsson? No, your name is... actually, if you want to disappear effectively, it would be smart to go by a different name. At least until you sort your predicament out in the Imperial City.




You don't have a knife, but you do have a sweet axe.



That’s no longer there.



The sound of something repeatedly hitting wood grabs your attention. It sounds like it came from behind that rock.



You peak behind it.



Well, you found your axe. And your hired mercenary. You think his name is Ke'tiem. Looks like he took your axe to fight that other guy. You should probably help him.




You've had a little bit of formal training with blunt weapons. Specifically the axe, but Ke'tiem is currently using your only axe to chop at some bandit at light speed.


Magic? Yeah, the last time you tried using magic you lost an outfit and a lot of fur. Needless to say, you don't think you'll be trying that again anytime soon.




That could work. All your years as a merchant have made you a little better at persuasion than most. You hope that someday you will be able to go back to that life. You don't even know if you'll ever be able to go back home. Your life has been completely turned upside down. You-



Whoops. Looks like this battle has taken a drastic turn. You need to do something quick!




You shout the first thing that pops into your head.


"Could you put the catitude on paws and end this little cat-fight?"


Oh, gods that was awful. You prey that somehow they didn't hear you



Judging by how he is looking at you with hate in his eyes, he heard you and most definitely thinks you're racist. You look over to Ke'tiem for help.




He just stares back with a dumbfounded look on his face. You're not sure if it's because you just said the worst pun ever in an attempt to save his life, or the fact that it worked.

At this point, you can't even blame the bandit for wanting to kill you. If you heard anyone say what you just said, you-



... Would do that.



"Greetings, Law-Abiding Citizens." He says.




Hey! You haven't broken any laws! Just because you’re a Khajiit doesn’t mean you go around breaking laws willy-nilly!




New name huh? You don’t really want to make a new name, but you’re in a situation where doing such a thing could mean life or death. You think you’ll go with Katherin Felsson.




It looks like he’s got that all under control. He did punch him into the next plane of Oblivion, so you don’t think he’ll be getting up anytime soon.




You rush over to Ke’tiem to assess the injury. The cut on his arm is still bleeding, but doesn’t seem to be very deep. You don’t have any potions of healing, so you’ll have to resort to more rudimentary methods of first-aid. You might still have a bottle of booze in your tent that you could soak a bandage in. If you had one. Maybe the imperial soldier has supplies. You ask him.



He states that, unfortunately, he is out of supplies after a long day of delivering justice, and helping those in need. He was just on his way back to Anvil to make his report when he heard someone shouting. When he approached he saw this khajiit being a bandit.



If you want to, he says. You could come with him to Anvil for proper medical attention. You think about his offer. Ke'tiem does need to be healed, but Anvil is in the complete opposite direction you need to be going. You decide to decline his offer. You figure that Kvatch is closer, and it's on the way to the Imperial City.



He says he understands. Schedules are made to be kept. He only wishes he could do more for your friend here. Ke’tiem mutters something about having been through worse under his breath as he gets to his feet.



The soldier puts the bandit over his shoulder and says that he needs to get moving as to not be late. You say goodbye and thank him again. Turning your attention back to dealing with Ke’tiem’s wound, you head into your tent and grab a half full bottle of booze.




You had almost forgotten about your axe. you turn to where the soldier had been, but he's already left. You don't see your axe on the ground anywhere, so the bandit was probably still holding on to it when the soldier took him. You spent a few minutes looking for that bottle, so you doubt you could catch up to him. Hopefully your axe finds a new owner.



Ke'tiem asks what the deal was with that... "joke". All you can do is awkwardly laugh and say you panicked. At least it distracted that freak, he says.




You tell Ke’tiem that your plan is to rip off his sleeve, soak it in this booze, and use that as a makeshift bandage. Unless he has a better idea. He says that he probably knows even less about this sort of stuff than you. But agrees that what you want to do makes the most sense.




Well, it says bourbon on the label. If you remember right, bourbon is close to rum in its alcoholic value. You don’t even remember buying this. It must belong to Ke’tiem.




He could probably drink some of the bourbon to help with the pain. You think that's a thing. You ask him if he'd like to drink some to take the edge off the pain. He complies and takes a few swigs, then gives the bottle back to you. You begin your plan by tearing off his sleeve.



As for what time it is, it's very early morning. You had walked into the night a fair amount, you spent some time in your camp, and now this whole bandit situation. If you left right now, you would be able to reach Kvatch by sunrise. If you walked at a brisk pace that is. You only got a few hours of sleep, however. You ask Ke'tiem if he could keep up if you left for Kvatch now.



He thinks about it for a moment, then says yes. His injury isn't on his leg, and he hasn't lost a severe amount of blood. He can't see a reason as to why he couldn't keep up. The only problem he sees, is his wound opening back up from the movement.



This is gonna hurt, you say. You pour some bourbon directly on his wound, then quickly tie his sleeve around his arm. Ke’tiem lets out a yelp followed by pained grunts and heavy breathing. Divines, that hurts, he says through gritted teeth. Now you just need to decide if you’re going to get some rest, or rush to Kvatch.




Yeah. Bandits usually do travel in groups. Given that you’ve lost your only weapon, you're in no position to fight a mudcrab let alone a bandit. Moving is starting to seem like the better option.




While Ke'tiem sits by the fire, you begin packing your things and disassembling your tent. You don't have any clubs, but Ke'tiem does have a broken dagger. He'd been using it as a weapon until yesterday when he tried to use it to cut a branch off a tree for firewood. Not much use for combat anymore, but you could probably poke someone's eye out if your fast enough.




You got it.




... What? Did he? You were focusing on assessing the severity of his wound, so you weren't paying any attention to his face. If he did, it was probably because if his embarrassing defeat, and... not something else. Right?




There are several problems with this idea. First, you're not a cat, you're a khajiit. Big difference. Second, you already patched him up. Third, if a khajiit was to lick someone, it would be extremely gross and creepy, or an act that would mean something... more than just friendship



He does look a little sad over there. Probably because he's in a lot of pain. Maybe jokingly offering to lick his open wound could give him a good laugh. Unless he takes your offer seriously. Then he would think you have some weird fetish. Ok. Wow. The more thought you put into this, the more you question your mental stability. You take your mind off of this ridiculous suggestion and finish packing up and snuffing out the fire.



You ask Ke’tiem if he’s ready. He nods and gets to his feet. You set off toward Kvatch.


You are now Sword Lizard. You love swords. Your Khajiit Bandit Friend has been defeated in the name of justice.



You saw it all from This Bush.



You Mourn for Khajiit Bandit Friend. This mourning fills you with sadness. This sadness fills you with rage. This rage fills you with a want for revenge against The Two Khajiit Travel Party because they are responsible for Khajiit Bandit Friend being defeated. This revenge will be achieved by filling The Two Khajiit Travel Party...



full of SWORDS!




You are now Katherin. Your pace is brisk, but not tiring. Ke'tiem is doing his best to keep his arm still, as to not agitate his injury. The atmosphere does have a certain weight to it. You attempt to defuse the tension with a casual conversation.




"Hey, Ke'tiem. I uh... thanks for having my back there. If you hadn't noticed that bandit, who knows what he could have done."

He's silent for a moment.



"You're the one who had my back." He says. "He was about to end my life, but your shout distracted him and alerted that guard. The person who needs thanking here is you. All I really did was catch an axe in my arm.



"But if you hadn't noticed him, he could have snuck up and killed both of us."



"I appreciate your... appreciation, but he wasn't good at sneaking I can tell you that. His sneaking was like a giant dancing in a pottery shop. I'm surprised you didn't hear him. I took your axe and hunted him down. I even managed to get the drop on him, but he blocked all my strikes. Fighting with axes is clearly not my forte."



"I can tell. You were swinging that thing around like a monkey with a switchblade."



“I was not.”


"Where did you learn to fight anyway?"



"I learned from my parents. They moved back to Elsweyr a couple years ago, but I stayed. Never did like all that sand anyway."



"You're from Elsweyr? You don't sound like it at all."



"Well, it's been about a decade since I was last there. I moved to hammerfell when I was eleven. Been living there ever since." He pauses for a moment. "What about you? Why are you rushing to the Imperial City anyway? Under normal circumstances, I would have refused to go so far but you were pretty desperate looking when you hired me."



"Oh, thats... it's... personal."



"Come on. I told you about my life. It's only fair you tell me why your walking halfway across Tamriel. If your running from something, it would be extremely beneficial for me, the person who you hired to protect you, to know what exactly that is. I'd hate for yo- us to get hurt because I don't know what we're dealing with."



You really don't want to tell him. You're greatful that he even agreed to come with you, but if he knew the truth he would want no part in this. Maybe you could lie?




You are now Sword Lizard. You love swords. You plan to achieve your vengeance at once! You had heard that Two Khajiit Travel Party are planning on heading to Kvatch.



You expertly maneuver along the underbrush to the side of the road to Kvatch. Your heart is racing at the thought of your swords cutting through the flesh of the living, The flesh that ended poor Khajiit Bandit Friend's life. Your racing heart fills you with excitement. Excitement that you need to empty and replace with calmness before moving forward. You are as silent as something that does not make any noise.



However, you do hear noise. You gesture for your non-existent partner to stop. You determine that it’s not your noise, but the noise of talking. Talking that is about a place someone learned to fight. It sounds like Two Khajiit Travel Party. They come into view. You obtain a good vantage point and wait for your chance to strike.




You are now Katherin. You are hit with a sudden realization that Ke'tiem may have feelings for you. It would explain a lot about his behavior. You'd just assumed that he was easily embarrassed, but this makes more sense.


While playing with someone's emotions is rude at best, you don’t really have any other choice to get out of this conversation. You hope this works.



"Well, you see..."



You are now Sword Lizard again. You spot this as a wonderful opportunity. You reach for your swords and prepare your strike. You are full of rage and sadness, but soon you will be full of vengeance and happiness and Two Khajiit Travel Party will be full of death and swords.



You burst from your cover with your swords guiding your path straight for the reddish orange khajiit.




You are now Katherin. You hear yelling from behind you. You turn and see a crazy argonian coming at full speed toward you with murder in his eyes and swords in his hands.


You dodge to the side in an attempt to not get impaled. You manage to just narrowly dodge the blade.



The argonian flies past you and crashes into Ke’tiem.


Claws are not going to be effective against someone with that many swords, and you’re not going to bite him. Just imagine how bad he must taste. You are never going to weaponize puns ever again. You hate yourself enough for doing that just once. Eye of Fear, however, is something that could work.





You are now Sword Lizard. You push off of Mustard-Coloured Khajiit and then get filled with fear and regret. Why did you think you could take on the two khajiits that managed to defeat Khajiit Bandit Friend?


You are far to elegant to trip over your own tail. Even if you still had it. Instead, you will tactically retreat and reassess your plan for vengeance.



You are now Katherin. You ask Ke’tiem if he’s OK. He says that his wound is bleeding again. Must have opened when he got rammed. You’ll have to deal with that later. Right now you have about thirty seconds until your Eye of Fear wears off on that argonian. You need to get out of here and fast!


Yup. There is a crazed bandit with many swords who wants your head for one reason or another. Now seems like a perfectly valid time to...



FREAK OUT!



You grab Ke’tiem’s good arm and abscond outa there.



You’re running as fast as your legs will carry you. You can see Kvatch in the distance. You’re almost there. Even if the bandit sees you, all you would have to do is outrun him to the city. After a few minutes of running...



You stand before the gate to Kvatch. Hopefully you managed to lose the bandit.




You push the main gate open and step inside. The first thing you notice is there is a lot of bricks.




Ok. Nothing about that was romantic. You just grabbed him so you wouldn’t get separated. It wasn’t even his hand. It was his wrist. Anyway, now isn’t the right time for this. Ke’tiem is bleeding and you need to fix that.


While potions are good at stopping people from bleeding, you can’t afford one. You’ll have to find a cheaper option.




You are now Sword Lizard. You are full of shame, disappointment, and anger. You let those who are responsible for getting your only friend killed get away.


While your stealth skills would certainly allow you to do something like that, you can wait for them. Yes. You will wait. Less risk of failure this way anyway. You will catch them when they leave.



You find a nice place in a tree on the side of the road that leads to Kvatch and you wait.


You are now Katherin. You don't see how this would accomplish anything other than making you look like a total idiot. No one even practices traditional medicine anymore.




Now that’s a good idea. You open the door and peek inside.



She looks like a priest. You approach her and ask if she could heal Ke’tiem.




You are now Sword Lizard. You are full of offence. You will not tolerate such insubordination! Your subconscious is clearly operating under an erroneous illusion whose base is to obnoxious to be observed.




You are now Katherin. That would be The Lady. Yeah, not the most flashy birthsign but it lets you run longer so… cool.


No, that’s still stealing.



Besides Ke’tiem is as good as new now. The priest did a good job. She even gave you a minor health potion. It’s obnoxiously red and… oddly shaped. She probably just didn’t want it in the church.



Right now your plan is to stay the day here and then get a move on to Skingrad tomorrow. So you guess you can just chillax for the rest of the day.


Come to think of it, you are a bit hungry. You don’t know what ‘Fancy Feast’ is, but you have your own food. It’s called being self sufficient.



You ask Ke’tiem if he is up for some breakfast.



He says yes, so you find a bench and dig out the last of your food supplies. You make a mental note to buy more before you leave.




You wave a guard over and ask him if any guards will be traveling toward Skingrad tomorrow.



He says that there are two patrols going that way. One at the end of the day, and one that leaves before the sun even comes up.


Well, you definitely don’t want to get up that early because you didn’t get much rest last night. So if you want to travel with a guard, you will have to spend another day here. You thank the guard and he goes back to his patrols.




Partner? While you will admit that he is nice... maybe even a little cute, you hardly know him. The only reason he’s here is because you gave him some money and a desperate look. You can’t even be sure that he does like you that way. A little blushing doesn’t necessarily mean anything. You’ll put a pin in the subject.




Sleeping in the church would just be uncomfortable. If you can’t afford the inn, you’d rather just set up your tent outside of town.


They probably have rooms with two beds. If not, then it could get a little awkward...




You’ve got sixty two coins. That should be enough for a night at the inn and some basic resupplying.




Holding liquids, and… yeah you’re going to put this away and never think about it again.



You finish eating and get up. You’ll have to buy a room, some more food, and maybe a new shirt for Ke’tiem.




“Hey, Katherin. Do you like my long, bushy eyelashes?”



“What are you-”


“Holy crap! How long have you had those?”



“I found this marker on the bench. I drew them on.”


“That's … actually really impressive that you did that without a mirror. You're not keeping them... are you?”


“No. I'll just need to…”



Ke'tiem licks his hand and attempts to rub off the marker.





“There.”


Ke'tiem is weird.


You ask Ke'tiem if he wants a new shirt. He says yes. He'd rather not look like a beggar with his tattered sleeve. You could probably find a cheap shirt at a general store. You decide to head there now.




You already know how to fight with an axe. Ke'tiem uses a dagger, but he broke it while cutting firewood yesterday. You don't know why he was even using it because he could have just used your axe. But he is a good fighter. Just not with axes. The khajiit with the shield wasn't your first bandit encounter; Ke'tiem had ran a few off before. It was actually impressive. If you have any leftover coin, it would be a good idea to either repair his dagger or just buy a new one.



You enter the general store.


The shopkeeper greets you. You ask her if she has any shirts. Preferably cheap. She says that she has something. Looks to be your friends size too.



Ke’tiem strikes a pose and asks you how he looks. You say that you think the shirt looks good on him.



Sweet, he says.



You are now Ke’tiem. You follow Katherin outside. It’s a little past noon by now. Katherin states that she thinks that buying a room at the inn now would be a good idea. As you walk toward the inn you can’t help but think: You still don’t know what Katherin’s running from. You would bring it up again, but she was clearly uncomfortable the last time you did. You don’t want to irritate her. You had tried to lighten her mood earlier when you drew on eyelashes, but that didn’t even get a chuckle.



You enter the inn. The barkeeper looks like he’s just about done with life. Katherin immediately starts talking to him. Complementing his fine establishment. You assume that it’s some technique to get better prices. It doesn’t appear to do much. When she finally gets around to asking the price for a room for the two of you, he just flatly says thirty-five.



Katherin hands him the gold and he gives her a key. Katherin tells you that she wants to drop off her bag in the room before you continue looking around. You say you’ll wait here.


Katherin has all the gold between you two, so you can’t buy a drink. Besides, it would be better spent on something more productive. And you don’t think that jokes would go over well given how he was reacting to Katherin’s attempts at flattery, but what the heck.



"How do you separate sailors in the Elsweyr Navy?



“...”



“With a hammer and tongs."



“Hilarious.”



Well, that was... underwhelming.




There’s no need to evaluate. You know exactly how you feel about Katherin.





You are now Katherin. You’ve left your bag in your room because it seems safe enough. The door is locked. Locked doors are good at keeping people out. You did take your coin purse, however. Just in case you notice anything worth buying. On your way back to Ke’tiem you noticed this extremely peculiar framed painting. It’s eyes peer into your soul.



You shrug it off and continue walking.






When you enter the lobby, you notice that Ke’tiem is having an extremely intense staring contest with the barkeeper. You call over to him and tell him you’re leaving. He admits defeat and follows you outside.




Ke’tiem thanks you for buying his shirt and that he does plan to pay you back. You accept his thanks and then ask him if there is any place in particular he wants to visit. He states that it would be a good idea to buy more weapons. There’s no way you could afford two decent weapons, so you can either arm yourself or Ke’tiem.


Ke’tiem has definitely been in more real battles than you. Looking around for a job to gain just a little more coin could definitely be worth it, but you don’t think there are any jobs that you could do quickly enough that also pay well.


That’s a good argument. Without an axe you would be unable to cut your own firewood. You express this thought to Ke’tiem. He agrees that your logic is sound. He states that if the axe isn’t too expensive they may be able to get a repair hammer for his dagger. He’s always wanted to try out blacksmithing.



You are now Sword Lizard. As full of patience as you are, this book has been read by you enough times for you to get all of the entertainment it could possible offer you.



For entertainment you resort to jumping from tree to tree.



You are unsure as to how long they plan to stay in that city. You would really like to stab something.



Like those two.



Wait no.



That’s Guard Guy Who Punched Khajiit Bandit Friend. Seeing him fills you with anger. You know you can’t beat him. He killed Khajiit Bandit Friend with just his fists. All you can do is turn around and leave with your want for revenge rekindled.




On your way back to the first tree, you decide to carve Khajiit Bandit Friend into a tree to immortalize him. This looks like a good tree.



This is gonna be the best carving ever.



You are now Katherin. You’ve entered the blacksmith's shop. The shopkeeper has already pointed you toward their axe supplies. Some of these are pretty pricy...


You pick the only one you can afford and bring it up to the counter.



Right before you pay Ke’tiem butts in.



“Hey, so... O.K. I got a request for you.”



“Ask away.” The shopkeeper responds.



“So, I’ve got this dagger. K? And I was wondering if I could use your forge to make it not be broken?”



“A khajiit repairing a dagger? That’s something I’d like to see, but i’ve got a business to run here. How about I let you try for Five gold?”



Ke’tiem looks over to you for confirmation.



You have just enough to afford that alongside your axe, but that would mean you won’t be able to buy any other precautions.


You tell him to knock himself out and hand the shopkeeper the gold. Ke’tiem tells you to wait outside. He wants his amazing blade to be a surprise.




As you exit the shop you hear Ke’tiem ask the shopkeeper what a bellows is. This can only end well.



Telling him the dagger he just fixed sucks would just be unnecessarily rude. Besides, how hard can it be to attach a blade back onto the hilt? It’s not like he’s making one from scratch. You’re confident he can do it.



You are now Sword Lizard. This carving is coming together well. You are pouring your anger into it.


Your secrets? Yes. You are full of them. For instance, you once snuck into an old lady’s house and stole all of her pans. You used them to make a sword. This was when you were a hatchling. You still have that sword. It’s… wait. No, you did lose that sword.



This carving is done.


You are full of purpose.



You are now Katherin. Ke’tiem has been at it in there for about five minutes. You’ve heard nothing but clashing of steel. It sounds like a war zone. You’re starting to have your doubts about how well this is going to work.




Play with your tale? No. You’re not a little kid.




You are now Sword Lizard. While cleaning your sword, you think about finding a new companion. You’re positive you can’t just find a new Khajiit Bandit Friend. You could use the support of a Wizard. If they happen to be an argonian that would be best because wizard lizard rhymes.


No, no. You must wait. You don’t like cities, the guards in there already know you like to stab things, and Two Khajiit Travel Party will leave eventually. You will just need to wait. It is a virtue.




You are now Ke’tiem. You’ve been trying your best to make this the best and most fancy dagger to ever exist. It’ll be so great and Katherin will be impressed with your skills!




Yeah...



You put the finishing touches on the dagger and exit the shop.





“Its curved like those swords from Hammerfell.”

You are now Katherin. You weren't expecting much, but this… this is something else.



Ke'tiem starts talking about how the “curvature of the blade allows for optimal coolness and maybe even aerodynamic-ism”.







Yeah, there’s no way that this is a ‘wonderful job’. Struggling for something nice to say, you tell him that the curve is definitely unique. You ask him how he even managed it.



He says that he used a vise and a whole lot of pushing. The blacksmith didn't want him to use the forge because she was worried he'd break it. He also doesn’t fully understand the practical purpose of a curved blade. He just did it for the massive style points.



At least it’s sharp you think to yourself.



You are now an argonian aspiring to become a powerful wizard. You have been trying to get this teleportation technique down for a whole month!



You don’t know what you’ve been doing wrong, but you think you’ve got it this time!



Here goes!










YES! YOU DID IT! But now you’re stuck in a tree. Luckily It looks like someone is over there. He could probably help you.




“Excuse me sir! Yes you over there! The one with many swords! I could use some help over here!”



He turns and looks around clearly confused as to who just called out.


After a little looking around he notices you and approaches the tree. He gazes up clearly wondering how you even managed to get there.



“Climbing trees is something that cats do. You’re not a cat. Why are you in a tree?” He says.



“Well. That’s actually a funny story. You see, I was practicing a teleportation spell. I guess it misfired and I ended up here. I’m stuck. Obviously.”



He chuckles at your misfortune.



“Yes. Well, I wish you luck in getting unstuck.”



He turns and starts to leave.



“Wait! Why don’t you help me get unstuck?”



“You teleport into the tree, so you can teleport out. Right?”



“Er… no. I don’t really know how I managed to teleport the first time. But you can just totally help me get out of here.”



“Charity is not something I frequent.”



“Come on! You could just cut some of these branches and I would be free. It’s not like you don’t have enough swords to do so.”



“Yes. I could help you, but would I get anything from it? Cutting trees is not satisfying. So I will leave this task to a lumberjack.”



What’s with this guy? You’re a damsel in distress and he’s not willing to help you?



“What if I could make it worth your while?”



“How do you plan on doing that?”



“You seem to like swords. I could buy you a new one?”



“What kind?”



“What kind do you want?”



“Glass shortsword.”



“That’s like six hundred gold!”



“And? You are not in a position for negotiation.”



“You sure there isn’t anything else you want?”



“... Well, there is a pair of khajiits. I have reason to believe that they are in Kvatch. I cannot go there myself, but if you were to bring them to me…”



“T-that’s something I could do! I’ll bring them back here if you cut me down.”




You are now Katherin. You’re not complaining, you’re just massively underwhelmed. You honestly can’t think of anything nice to say that isn’t complete nonsense.



Ke’tiem picks up on your dissatisfaction.



“You don’t like it. Do you?”



Now you just feel bad.



“It’s just… different. Look, It’s impressive. Really it is. How many people can say they made an aerodynamically curved dagger as their first smithing project?”



“Heh. Yeah. I was just super excited that I actually made something that hasn’t fallen apart.”


You ask Ke’tiem if he wants to head back to the inn. You’ve got nothing left to do anyway.


He agrees and you head back toward the inn.



Wow. Racist.






You go inside and demand that the barkeeper explain himself. He says that the sign outside was mainly aimed at just one khajiit in particular. He says that because you already paid, and he can’t be bothered to give you a refund, you are still able to stay.



Having that issue resolved, you continue to your room.




You are now the aspiring mage again. The multi-blade-owning-argonian has agreed to help you. He has also requested that he hold onto your spell book until the task is complete.



He is now trying to cut you free.



After a few branches have been dismembered you are free to move and you climb down the tree.




You begrudgingly give him your spell book.


It’s true that you have no idea why this argonian wants these khajiit, but you shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that his intentions are malicious. You decide to ask him about it.

“So, what’s your relation to these khajiit?”



“We are… old friends. Yes. We have a history. They would much like to meet me again. Infact, why don’t you keep the reason they need to come here a secret. I would much enjoy to see the surprise on their faces.”



That isn’t very believable.



“Ok. What do I tell them then? I doubt they would leave town with someone they just met for no good reason.”



“That is for you to come up with.”



“What do they look like?”



“One is male and the other is female. The female has orange fur and wears a green shirt. The male has old mustard colored fur and is wearing a blue shirt.”



“Any Idea where in the town they might be?”



“An inn? A shop? The town square? It is your job to find them. I will wait here for your return. Do not take too long. Go now.”



You head into Kvatch. None of that information other than the descriptions is useful. You are still unsure as to what is true motives are. You heavily doubt that they are old friends. You’re tempted to go to the guards, but then you’d never get your book back.


You wish you could. The fact that you had to bribe him to help you out makes you irritated. The problem is hes got a lot of swords. Anyone who carries around that many swords knows how to use them. Also, you’re not that great at magic. Yet!



You can do this. Which you think is cool. You named him Wick.


Maybe, but knowing the way justice is upheld in Cyrodiil the guards would probably hold onto it as ‘evidence’. You’ve also documented some questionably legal research in there.



The inn seems like a better place to start. Chances are; if they’re staying here they would have checked into the inn. You head there now.



You enter the inn and ask the barkeeper if he’s seen any khajiit who match the description you were given.



He says that yes, he has seen them.



You ask him if he knows where they are.




You are now Katherin. You’ve entered your room. Ke’tiem has already plopped down on the bed. You walk over to your bag and pull out a deck of playing cards.



“Hey, Ke’tiem. You want to play some Blackjack?”



“Blackjack? Isn’t that like, a fancy hammer?”



“It’s also a card game. I’ve got a deck of cards here. We’ve got nothing left to do today, so...:”



“Sure. Tell me the rules.”



“Well, the goal of the game is to get cards whose value adds up to be higher than that of the other player but less than twenty.”



“So a counting game?”



“There’s a lot of strategy and planning to it. It's more than just a coun---”



You’re cut off by a knock at the door.



“Who could that be?” Ke’tiem asks.



You open the door and are greeted by an argonian woman wearing a dark robe.



“Can I help you?” You ask her.




She says that an argonian outside the city gates is looking for you, and that she was tasked with bringing you too them


Panicked, you begin to question her.



“W-what? Were they wearing robes? Did they have any odd tattoos?”



“Robes? No, they just had on a generic cloth shirt and pants, and I didn’t notice any tattoos. They did have a bunch of swords, though. I assumed they were up to no good when they asked me to fetch you two.”



You breath a sigh of relief. You assume it’s the same argonian who jumped you before.



“He’s persistent I’ll give him that. He jumped us before we arrived here. We managed to escape. I guess he holds a grudge.”



“Really? He told me you guys were old friends. He didn’t make a good case, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”



“Well, how about you just tell him that you couldn’t find us, and that we are on the way to Anvil.”



“I don’t think he’d buy it. If he did he’d just send me there.”



“So? You wouldn’t have to go. You could just say you are, then not.”



“Well, as a way to make sure I follow through, he is holding on to one of my books.”



“It’s just one book. There’s a bookshop in town. Just buy another one.”



“It’s a my main research book. It’s not something I could replace.”

Ke’tiem suddenly speaks up.


“Yeah, that seems like a you problem. So, I’m just going to…”



He closes the door.



Ke’tiem explains that since you don’t plan to leave until tomorrow, any normal person would leave before waiting that long. So you are safe.



You could have just told her that, you say. He agrees that he should have just told her that.

Ke’tiem mentions how at the beginning of your conversation with that lady you kinda freaked out. He asks if you’re OK.



You tell him that you had just misinterpreted the situation. Nothing more.


It’s not the Dark Brotherhood, but you wouldn’t be surprised if those who are after you used their services.





Pushing those thoughts to the back of your mind, you remember that Ke’tiem just slammed the door on someone who needed help. You open the door again, apologize for Ke’tiem being a spaz, and ask her if she wants to come inside to talk about what you’re going to do now.



She enters your room. Ke’tiem clearly isn’t fond of her, but apologizes for his rash behavior anyway.


She reiterates that she would like to get her book back, and would much like your help in doing so. She suggests that perhaps all three of you could team up and beat him.



You don’t really want to get into a another fight against that guy. The only way you were able to survive last time was because of Eye of Fear. You ask her if perhaps there is a non-violent way of getting her book back.



She thinks for a moment, then says that you could wait until nightfall and attempt to steal it from him while he is sleeping.



You are now Ke’tiem. Katherin and this argonian wanna-be-wizard are talking about some great plan to get back at that sword bandit. You honestly don’t care about getting her book back. You don’t trust wizards. They always have some hidden motive. This could just be an elaborate trap to make you think that she told you about the plan, but that was actually part of the plan. She is double-double crossing by pretending to betray the bandit.



You’ve got your eyes on her. She’s not going to get the jump on you.


You can’t right now. Not when she is literally right in front of you. If you get some… alone time with Katherin, you might consider it.



(That picture resolution increase tho)

Yes. You do need a plan. A plan that counters her reverse betrayal perfectly. So perfectly that Katherin will be super impressed by it. For now, you need to figure out exactly what her secret plan is.



You turn your attention back to the conversation. Katherin suggests that you could go to the city guards. They would take care of the bandit. Wanna-Be-Wizard says that she’d prefer if the guards didn’t get involved



Suspicion intensifies.


Why wouldn’t she want the guards involved unless she plans on backstabbing you? It’s all very suspicious.




Katherin asks the wanna-be what her name is.



She says that she mainly goes by Liz with her friends. You bet that she only said that so you would trust her more. It’s not working. You have less than zero trust toward her.





You are now Katherin. You introduce yourself and Ke’tiem. Liz says that it’s nice to meet you.




Turning the conversation back to how you are going to recover her book, you state that stealing it back from the bandit while he is sleeping seems like the best option. It’s low risk and if you wake him up, you can just axe him in the face.

Liz thinks about it for a moment, then says that it is the best idea you’ve come up with. You ask Ke’tiem what he thinks about it.

He says that it is a good idea and complements you for coming up with it.



Liz says that all you really have to do to prepare is to wait until dark, then hope that he actually goes to sleep. She asks what you want to do to pass the time.



You mention that you were going to play a card game before she knocked.



She says that a card game sounds like fun. She asks which one in particular you had in mind. You tell her you were planning on playing Blackjack.



She agrees and all three of you sit down at the table and begin playing.


Yeah, that previous statement is completely false. You’ve seen Liz blink several times during your conversation. While you’re no expert in blinking, you think that eyelids are a requirement.



You wish you were the best at blackjack. You actually suck at this game. Luckily you’re not doing bets.




To make a little small talk while you’re playing, you ask Liz if she’s a mage. She says yes. She’s still learning more intermediate spells, but she is adept in the more basic ones. She hopes to one day be a powerful mage. She’s taken an interest into destruction magic. You tell her that you once tried out magic, but it didn’t end very well. She asks you what went wrong.



You say that you had tried to conjure a fireball. You ended up charring everything in a 20 meter radius. Not because it was a huge fireball, but because you caught yourself on fire. It was not fun.



She lets out a chuckle, then says that perhaps she could teach you a thing or two. While she admits she isn’t that good, she’s never caught herself on fire before. She suggests maybe teaching you a healing spell. They’re useful and can’t backfire. Unless you would rather an offensive spell?



Ke’tiem says if you learned a healing spell, you could throw out that potion bottle. It’s shape makes him uncomfortable.

Liz asks what about a potion bottle could make you uncomfortable. You show her



She agrees that this bottle should be disposed of. She’ll teach you a basic healing spell so you no longer need that...



You are now Sword Lizard. You are beginning to wonder what is taking Teleportation-Failure so long. It should not be difficult to find a pair of cats in a relatively small, but still fairly large, city.



You do have her book. It appears to be valuable, so you have doubts that she would just leave it with you. This line of thought leads you to wonder what is inside of this book.



You open it.



This handwriting is terrible. It’s magic in of itself that she could even read this. It’s got some pretty pictures in it though.



Like this one. It might be a rat. All this writing and diagrams appear to be all professional. You conclude that this is not a diary and are filled with slight disappointment.



Yes. This will be a moment to remember until the day you are also filled with swords. You hope that Teleport-Failure hurries up. It’s starting to get dark. Due to your stakeout last night, you got no sleep. You don’t think you could stay up late.




You were not being a penis. You were merely making sure that the situation was mutually beneficial.


Setting up security is a good idea. If not to protect you from betrayal, then to protect you from wolves. You don’t like wolves. They stole your food once.



You look around for a good place to set up camp. Here seems good enough. You remember that you don’t have a tent. You’ll have to make do with sleeping in that tree. Like a cat (Which you are not.)



You move up into the tree and hide among the leaves. No one will be able to see you from the ground now. You have become hidden. You have a good view of the location Teleportation-Failure would bring the khajiits. Now it's just a waiting game.




You are now Katherin. You look out your window. You don’t see anyone. You don’t know why you expected to see a khajiit fighting a ghost in the middle of a town. That would just be ridiculous.



You tell Liz that you are ready to start learning.


Ke’tiem says since Liz is teaching you, he might as well learn too. Twice the healing power and whatnot. Liz says that fine.



She begins to explain that the first step into casting any spell is to channel your magicka into one, or both, hands. For this spell, you only need one hand. She usually uses her left. She mentions that, like most spells, restoration spells are governed by willpower.



You tell her that your birth sign is The Lady, so you have a bonus is that area. She says that’s good and will help with the potency of the healing spell.



She asks you to try and channel your magicka into your left hand and attempt to cast a healing spell.



“I’m not feeling anything..”



“It can take a while.” Liz explains. “Just focus. Feel the magicka inside of you and move it from your core to your hand. It’s hard to explain the process, but once you get it you’ll be able to do it consistently.”



You focus on moving this invisible force to your hand. You’re not feeling anything. The only thing you seem to be accomplishing is aggressively staring at your hand.



You look over to Ke’tiem. He seems to be struggling aswe--



Or not.



“HA! Katherin Did you see that? I did it!”


“Yeah... I saw it.” You say with astonishment in your voice. “How did you figure that out so fast?”



“I uh… don’t know actually. I just was focusing on gathering my magicka into my hand, then when I felt some weight to it I thought about healing. That if… someone I cared about were to get hurt, I would need to heal them. It worked I guess.”



Liz says that learning a spell that fast is certainly impressive. She tells him to keep trying it until he can get it consistently.


Ke’tiem says he will name his new spell “Super Useful Healing Kindness” or “SUHK” for short.



You tell him he should rethink that name, as it’s kind of stupid, but he refuses to change it.



Ke’tiem says he is now going to master using both hands. He begins practicing.




Getting back to attempting the healing spell yourself, you try to focus on the arcane power you know is inside of you.



You close your eyes and try to remember how you managed to conjure that fireball many years ago. When you can almost feel an invisible weight to your hand, you command it to gather into a bolt of energy. An energy that has the power to mend tissue and fix broken bones. You feel it building up in your hand. You let it go.



THAT'S NOT A HEALING SPELL!

Luckily you didn’t hit anything…



Except the melone painting.



Ke’tiem says that was totally awesome.


Yes that most certainly wasn’t healing. It is a weapon of mass destruction though. Not complaining about that.



Liz asks how you managed to turn a restoration spell into destruction.



You just shrug and guess that your magicka just likes destruction more. You were trying for a healing bolt though.



Ke’tiem says that shooting lightning from your fingers is a lot cooler than being able to fix a paper cut at will. You are inclined to agree with him.



Yeah… You can’t afford any compensation for this. You should probably hide or fix the damage or...


It is just a watermelon. It’s not like they’re super hard to paint. It couldn’t have cost more than five gold. You could probably even repaint it yourself. You’re not going to though. That would take a few hours and you need to get Liz’s book back.



Speaking of which, it's dark out now. You tell Liz that now would be a good time to get her book back.



You are now Sword Lizard. You’ve been patiently waiting for them to show. You will give them another hour before you storm Kvatch yourself. Your patience only lasts so long. While you do not want to go into town, it is worth it if--... You notice someone standing at the base of your tree.



You don’t have a clear view of them. You move to get a better view, but they hear you.



In an instant they jump up the tree, tackle you out of it, and pin you down with a knife against your throat.



“Whatcha doing up in a tree, Saxhleel? Spying on me?” His voice has an unusual calmness to it.



“It was my camp. Don’t have a tent, you see. Trees can make a good second.”



“But you were positioned like you were watching something. Are you perhaps waiting for someone? Someone you know would end up there at some point?”



You don’t know what he’s getting at or how he came to this conclusion, but you see no sense in lying.



“I am just waiting for some khajiit.”



His eyes light up.



“Khajiit you say? An orange one perhaps?”



You are confused as to how he knew this.



“Yes. I will have my revenge against her. I will kill her as she did my friend.”



“You? Kill her? No, no, no, no. That will be me. Now, you tell me where she is and I let you go.”



You’re not letting this guy get your revenge for you. You must do it yourself.



“No. I will kill her. I will have vengeance. She killed Khajiit Bandit Friend. I must kill her myself or I will not be satisfied. I will not tell you her location. If I di--”



He slits your throat



“Guess I’ll just wait for her then.”



You can no longer be Sword Lizard.



You are now Katherin. You along with Liz, and Ke’tiem have exited Kvatch. You are a nervous about how this is going to go. It could go off without a hitch, or it could end with a fight for your life. You hope the former is true.



Liz says that just up ahead is where she encountered the bandit. She says we should be extra careful from this point on. It is likely that, if he isn’t camping out, he is hiding somewhere and waiting for your arrival.



Ke’tiem says that you forgot to bring weapons in case this goes south.



How did you even manage to do that? He offers to run back and get them. You tell him to hurry.



Ke’tiem leaves and you hide behind a rock to survey the surrounding area. Smelling the air you notice a very faint scent of blood. It seems to be coming from the left. You tell Liz. She tells you to wait there and then ducks into the underbrush.



After a few minutes she comes back holding a book. She looks worried.



A little confused, you ask her what happened.



She says that she found the bandit that took her book. He was dead. Slit throat. Her book was just lying there. She is worried that whoever killed him could still be nearby. She suggests you get back to Kvatch quickly. She is going to head back to the cave she was in before this whole mess started. You thank her for not deceiving you and wish her luck.



You start jogging back to Kvatch. As it starts to rain, you pick up your pace. You are constantly looking behind you to make sure you aren’t being followed.



You run into Ke’tiem near the gate. He asks you what’s going on. You tell him you’ll explain at the inn. You want to get out of this rain.



You fill him in on what happened. He says that he’s glad that got sorted out semi-peacefully.



You are now this robed argonian. You are currently on the roof of the Kvatch inn. You followed the saxhleel who took the bandit’s book. She led you right to your quarry. She certainly gave you the slip a couple days ago. The only thing stopping you from jumping in their window and butchering them in their sleep is the fact that doing it outside the city would be much cleaner.



You’ll let them rest tonight…



But come morning…



You are now Katherin. Your overshirt got soaked in the rain so you took it off. It would be uncomfortable to sleep in a wet shirt. Your undershirt is also a little wet, but you’d rather keep it on.



Ke’tiem has been staring at the bed for three minutes now. He seems hesitant to share it with you. You’ve been sleeping separately up until this point.



Ke’tiem asks you if you are OK sleeping next to each other. You say you don’t mind.



You crawl into bed together.


Ke’tiem launches into casual small talk.



“So, healing magic is kinda cool. Right?.”



“Yeah. It was nice of Liz to tutor us in the art of magic. Albeit I learned a completely different spell.”



“Hey, Your spell is waaaaay cooler than mine. You’re like a legit wizard. I’m just a wanna-be priest with heal minor wounds.”



“Maybe, but you can’t heal someone with a lightning spell.”



“I suppose.”



“...”



“So... how about that weather?”



Nice one.



“It’s wet. Raining actually.”



“Good thing we got an inn tonight. Our tent is not waterproof so we would have been soaked.”



“Even more so than I got. Hope my shirt dries out overnight.”



“...”





“You Ok? You’re looking a little red.”



“Y-Yeah. I’m fine. I-It’s just hot in here. Yeah. Not used to sleeping indoors. I’ve gotten used to the colder outside camping weather.”




“You know, maybe I could just sleep on the floor. It would give you more room up here, and It would be cooler down there because hot air rises or something.”



“You’re fine up here. I don’t need more space. You’ve been sleeping on the floor for four days. You deserve a proper bed tonight.”



“Y-Yeah. Ok.




Yeah. He’s not fooling anyone, but advancing -- not that you want to -- could just make it thousands of times worse





Heh. You guess you are. Ke’tiem is internally freaking out just because he’s laying next to you. It’s flattering really.



You really don’t want this to continue. It’s only getting worse. Maybe acknowledging it will help.



Just as you are about to say something Ke’tiem dives underneath the blanket and curls up at the foot of the bed.



Ok, now that’s just weird.



“Ke’tiem? Whatcha doing down there?”



No response. Did he get so uncomfortable that he just decided to hide?



Just as quickly as he dived under he pops back up.



You ask him what that was all about.








"why can't Argonians fight like Orcs? Because they aren’t up to scale!” He says in a high pitched voice. Clearly pretending his tail is saying it.



You can’t help but chuckle at the sheer idiocy that is occurring in front of you. It is the cutest thing you’ve ever seen though.



“Did you really draw a face on your tail with the marker you found in the park?” You say trying not to laugh



“Yup.”


Yeah. It is getting late. You tell Ke’tiem it’s probably about time you actually got to sleep. He agrees and you close your eyes and begin to drift into sleep.




You are now Ke’tiem. You’re glad that worked out. You couldn’t handle anymore of that atmosphere.




Yeah. No point in staying up any later.

“Good night, Ke’tiem.”



“Good night, Katherin.”





Sleep tight, khajiit. We’ll be meeting again soon.








When you wake up you instantly wish you weren’t the first one up. You try to wiggle your way to the side of the bed.



You fall off and hit the ground with a loud thud.



“Ke’tiem? Was that you?”



“Owww. Yes.”



“The heck did you do?”



“I umm… fell out of bed.”



“Ha. You clutz.”



“Rude.”



“I’m just joking.”



You get up and try to pretend you didn’t just fall out of bed while trying to wiggle your way out of Katherin’s personal space.



She asks you if you need to do anything before you get ready to leave Kvatch.







“... No. I’m good.”



“Ok. We’ll leave in say... twenty minutes? Should be enough time to pack up and check out. I’ll go see about checking out now actually.”


“Ok. Sounds good. We’re going to Skingrad next right?”



“That’s the plan. Hopefully we can get there by today. Would be a good idea to earn some more money once we get there. Being broke makes things harder.”



She leaves the room.




There’s no way you’re going to just murder him. He’s helped you out too much. You are going to keep him forever. Or at least until the marker wears off. Since you are keeping him around, you will need a name for him.


Yes! Ke’tail. It’s perfect. Katherin should like it because it’s a pun. You think she likes those anyway.




You look inside of Katherin’s bag. Inside is: an apple, the… healing potion, an empty coin purse, Katherin’s overshirt, a… note?



You pull it out. Should you read it? It would be extremely snoopy to do something like that, but at the same time you are super curious as to what it could say. You decide that it can’t do any harm and give its contents a peak.



What? Imperial City tip? She hired you to escort her to the Imperial City though. Why does this suggest that she shouldn’t go there then?



Katherin comes back in.



“So, apparently yo--... What’s that paper you got there?”



“I uhh.. Was looking through your bag and this was in it. Sorry. I shouldn’t have been snooping.”



“No, that’s fine. But I didn’t put a note in my bag. What’s it say?”



You give it to her.



“The Imperial City tip… is wrong.” She reads.



“What’s that even mean? We were going to the Imperial City right?



“Yeah… we are. I... don’t know where this came from. This definitely wasn’t in there yesterday.”



“Do you know what the Imperial City tip is? Is that why you're rushing to the Imperial City?



“...”



“Katherin… It’s Okay. You can tell me what's going on. Why you're running. I’m in this for the long haul. Whatever it takes to make sure you’re safe I’ll do it. Just… just tell me if you’re running away from something and if this note has anything to do with it. You hired me to protect you and I can’t do that effectively if I don’t understand the situation.”



“Look, Ke’tiem, it’s just… I am running away from someone. Someone who wants me dead. I was told that somewhere in the Imperial City someone could help me. I assume that’s what this note means by the ‘Imperial City tip’.”



Looks like she's finally going to give you some answers.


“I’m going to need some more information than that. Anything specific you know about those chasing you could mean life or death in an encounter.”



“Well… They’re vampires.”



“Vampires? Like, a whole coven of them?”



“It seems that way.”



Crap. Vampires give you the creeps.



“Well, that means we should at least be fairly safe during the day.”



“Yeah. I guess. Chances are we will only be confronted by them at night.”


“What’s exactly is the ‘Imperial City tip’ you received anyway?”



“It’s what it sounds like. I got tipped off that someone in the Imperial City could help me with the vampires. I wasn’t told exactly who. Just that I would know them when I saw them.”



“Who told you exactly? Was it in the form of a note like this one?”



“No… It was told to me in a dream or vision of sorts. There was a Silhouette of a small person. He was rather… cheerful in the way he talked to me. He told me that I should go to the Imperial City.”



“A midget in a dream told you?”



“Yes. That’s what happened. Normally I would have brushed it off, but he had a certain… weight to him. He felt powerful… divine almost.”




You can’t help but to stare at her in disbelief. She’s going halfway across Tamriel because a small man in a dream told her to...



She notices the way you are looking at her.



“Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but It’s what happened. I can’t explain it but… I just trust what he said.”



“You’re right. It does sound crazy. But… If it’s what you want to do…?”



“Yes. I think the Imperial City is the only way to deal with the vampires.”



“Then what do you think the deal is with the note?”



“Honestly, I don’t know what to make of it. It could be the man changed his mind, or perhaps... No. That wouldn’t be good.”



“What? What wouldn’t be good?”



“What if one of the vampires snuck in here last night and hid this in there? That would mean that they somehow knew about the dream and maybe they’re still in here waiting for us to let our guards down? We sho--”


“Don’t freak yourself out Katherin. There’s no one in here but us. Let’s just… Pack up and get on the road. We’ll decide if the note is credible and come up with a more permanent plan of action in Skingrad. We’ve already spent too much time in Kvatch already.”



“... Yeah. Sorry. I’m just… scared. I’ve never even been in any life threatening situations let alone have a whole group of vampires out to get me… Let’s go.”



You tell her you understand.



You wish you got the chance to ask her if she knew why they were after her. You decide it would be best if you just dropped the subject for now. You’ll be able to ask her later.



You grab her backpack and head out of the city gates.




Too late. You have already left town. You’re not exactly aligned with any of the nine anyway. You doubt praying to them would do any good. There were a lot of people standing around the door so you think there might have been some sort of event going on. One you don’t have time to participate in even if you wanted to.



You are now Katherin. Explaining your situation to Ke’tiem has only heightened your paranoia. Hopefully, you can get to Skingrad without any problems.


You wouldn’t really call them an assassin… but it is certainly a possibility he put that note in your bag. You don’t know why they would go through all of the effort to sneak into your room and leave a note instead of… just killing you. You have no way of knowing who gave you that note. All you can really do is push on and maybe you’ll find out.



Ke’tiem seems to notice that you’re still worried and starts to tell a story about one time when he and his old friend, M’iago, tried to go fishing. It sounds like it would be an amusing story but you don’t focus on what he’s saying. You’re too distracted making sure no one is following you. Ever since you left Kvatch you’ve had this feeling that you’re being watched.



Ke’tiem notices that you keep looking around and stops his story. He says not to worry. It’s his job is to make sure you’re not being followed and that you should try to relax a bit.



You’ve tell him that you’ve been trying too. You just can’t shake the feeling you’re being followed. He assures you that he hasn’t seen or heard anything that would suggest a pursuer. It’s going to be fine.


You hope the situation is fine. You thank Ke’tiem for the reassurance and tell him you’ll try to calm down. Panicking again won’t do any good. You push all your worried thoughts to the back of your mind.



“So, do you know any good jokes?” You ask hoping to pass the time.



“I don’t know any good jokes, but... Ke’tail does.”



“Ke...tail?



“Why did you keep that?”



“Cuz he’s cute.”



“I guess so. What’s he got?”



“Why did the Altimer cross the road?”



“Um … he felt like it?”



“The ground was higher on the other side!”



“Heh. Good one.”



“I’ll be here all week.”



“Ooh, I got a good one.”



“Let me hear it.”



“A khajiit walks up to a bartender and asks him if he’s seen her friend. The bartender apologizes and says that she’ll have to look Elsw--



You hear a branch snap up in a tree.



In the same second Ke’tiem: steps between you and the tree, gives you your axe, and draws his dagger.



All of your worries come flooding back. You hope and pray that it’s just a bird.


An argonian jumps out of the tree and lands in front of you.



“Long time no see, Katherin. It’s come to my attention that…



“Ok yeah, no. I’ll just say it as it is. I’m going to kill you and would appreciate it if you didn’t fight back or run away because chasing you down is a real pain in the ass. Same applies with your boyfriend.”


(Click me!)



Itaish begrudgingly surrenders and you take his weapons. You search through the pouch he has on his belt. It’s contents are: two minor healing potions, a weak magicka potion, two petty and one black soul gems, five gold coins, and several alchemical ingredients. You only recognize lavender and nightshade.



You have a little bit of rope that goes with your tent. You decide to repurpose it in order to restrain Itaish by tying him to a tree off to the side of the road. He is clearly unhappy about the events that are taking place.




“Who do you work for!?” Ke’tiem says getting his interrogation face on.



“I work for myself.”



“Yeah? If that’s the case then I’m queen Barenziah. Tell. Me. Who. You. Work. For.”



“I. Work. For. My. Self.”



“OK. If we pretend for a half a second that’s true, why would you want to kill Katherin?”



“You see, it’s very important for many that she is killed. I wouldn’t be the only person to benefit from such an… event occurring.”



“Forgive me for not seeing how murdering Katherin could benefit anyone in any way.”



“It’s understandable you don’t see the motives behind my actions. I try to keep them obscure.”



“... Are you going to tell me?”



“Nope.”



“Come onnnnnnnn!”



Ke’tiem clearly isn’t very good at this whole ‘getting answers’ sorta thing. You’ll admit you don’t even know why they want you dead. The only illegal thing you’ve done is steal a few coins here and there from inns. It’s not your fault they just leave them on the table inside your room. It’s definitely not enough to warrant a death sentence from a bunch of blood-thirsty vampires.



“If you don’t tell me why you want to kill Katherin I will cut you.”



“Oooh. I’m so scared.” The sarcasm in his voice is almost palpable.



“What about if I kill you?”



“Then I really wouldn’t be able to tell you now would I?”



Ke’tiem turns to you.



“He’s good. Too good. He’s done this before.”



“I’m sure he has. As much as I would like to continue this interrogation, we really shouldn’t waste any more time here if we’re going to get to Skingrad before nightfall. We should just leave him here, point a guard in his direction, and book it to Skingrad.”



“Gah. You’re right… You win this round Itaish.”



You really don’t like the idea of just leaving him there. At least you’ve injured him. Hopefully that will at least slow him down should he somehow escape arrest.



After walking down the road a bit, you spot an imperial soldier. You call to him and inform him about Itaish’s location.



He thanks you for assisting in delivering justice and gives you a sticker. You have no idea why anyone would put this on a sticker.





You think there may be some deeper meaning to this ‘melone’ than you first thought. Is it a painting by some famous artist?


You offer Ke’tiem the sticker and tell him that he could find a better use for it than you.







He gladly accepts your offer and sticks it under the face he drew on his tail. He launches into a speech about how Ke’tail has earned this honor by fighting bravely against the knife-wielding-argonian named Itaish.



“Speaking of knives, do you want the one I took off of him?”



“It’s not as well crafted as my Bendy-Dagger-Of-Doom, but I guess I could still use it.”



You hand him the knife.



“You think I look more threatening using knives that Itaish? I’m at least better right?” He says while giving it a few test swings.



“I don’t know about that. An argonian vampire who wants to kill me is just slightly more intimidating than you.”



“What about cooler? I like going to style points. It’s why I put the bendy in Bendy-Dagger-Of-Doom.”



“Sure. We’ll go with that.”.



You walk in silence for a couple minutes.



“Hey, so… Itaish was going on about how Katherin isn’t your name… If.. if you don’t mind me asking… what is it? Your real name.”



You were expecting him to bring this back up. Since no one is around you don’t see a reason not to tell him.



“It’s… Ma’Arri.”



“Ma? How old are you?”



“No, it’s not there because age. It’s because my mother was also a merchant. She’s kinda the reason I became one too. I should probably drop it soon though.”



“Oh. That makes more sense... So, Arri huh? I like it. It rolls off the tongue nicely.”



“I’d prefer if you continued to use Katherin. At least until we figure this whole vampire situation out.”



“Yeah, no problem. Do you even know why they’re after you? Did you do something to them or… what?”



“I don’t fully know the reason. Itaish mentioned once about how he was told to. So they’re just lackeys I guess. All I know is that they want me dead. Don’t know what they are trying to achieve by doing that though.”



“Hmm… Maybe the person in the Imperial City knows the reason.”



“I just hope that they can help. If they even exist. That note has been giving me doubts about the credibility of the dream. Maybe the dream was meant to lead me into a trap and the note is trying to protect me… or maybe it’s the other way around. I just don’t know. ”



“Don’t worry so much. If the notes are for real we’ll probably get some more that provide a little bit of useful information. Until they give us a secondary location we should continue to trust in the dream you had.”



“Yeah… I guess you’re right. We’ll just have to wait it out.”



“Oh! Speaking of dreams… You ever have one where there’s a mudcrab with a monocle and mustache who yodels while you try to sear a slaughterfish but you can’t because your fingers keep turning into leeks?”



“What? No. That’s… Have you?”



“No… never. That would just be ridiculous.”


A killer? No. In Fact your fight with Itaish was the most you’ve ever even injured someone. As for Ke’tiem, given his line of work, it’s safe to assume he’s ended a life at one point or another.


You are now Ke’tiem. You cannot be Ke’tail because he is apart of Ke’tiem.


Yes and no. You’ve seen vampires around before -- at least you’re fairly certain they were vampires, but you’ve never been in a fight with one.


Itaish used his dagger instead of claws. If argonians even have claws. You’re not sure about that because you’ve never looked at an argonian’s hand close up before, but you digress. The only injuries you and Katherin suffered during the fight are a few nicks here and there. They’re hardly even noticeable through your fur. You really lucked out.



Itaish on the other hand got an axe right to the stomach. Not a powerful swing, but it still drew a lot of blood. Katherin just ducked around his dagger and caught him off guard. It was just so… so… amazing.



You are now Liz. You were out collecting alchemical ingredients when you heard the casting of spells. You were heading in their direction but they have since stopped. You’re fairly sure that they were coming from somewhere around here. You suspect it may be an aspiring mage practicing their art. If they are, you’d like to learn a little from them.



Two novice mages learning from each other. Sounds like it could be a lot of fun!


What? Sure it is. There’s plenty of open space to practice spells, lots of alchemy ingredients, and the sun is shining bright. Perfect for lizards.


You have a few. Heal Minor Wounds, Wick, Minor respite, weak fireball, and, as of yesterday, teleportation… sometimes. You still don’t really know what makes it work.


Yes, actually. You’ve been in the company of plenty of necromancers in the past. Before it was outlawed anyway. But it’s the middle of the day so any vampires would have gone into a cave long ago.



After a little more looking around you spot someone. They appear to be tied to a tree. Maybe they’re the novice mage and they accidentally cast Greater Tie to Tree on themselves? Unlikely as you’ve never heard of that spell before, but they appear to be wearing robes so it’s not out of the question that they were the one casting the spells you heard…



You decide to approach.



“Hey, so umm… Why are you tied to a tree? Was it because of a spell called Greater Tie to Tree or something similar?”



“What? No… It was bandits. Came out of nowhere. Hit me in the stomach with an axe and robbed me while I was down. Tied me up and left me for dead.”



“Wow yeah. That does look bad. I know a few healing spells if you want I could...”



“Would they happen to be necromantic? I’m not exactly… alive.”



“You’re a vampire?”



“... Sadly. I’ve been looking all over Tamriel for a cure. I just hate having to feed off of others. Passing this terrible disease onto them. I try to only feed off of criminals and bandits, but sometimes I have no choice. Luckily, I might have finally tracked down a cure to here, in Cyrodiil. Those plans will need to be put on hold since I’ve lost everything.”



“Well, you’re at least a little bit in luck. I happen to know Necromantic healing. Here, let me untie you first.”



You begin attempting to untie the argonian vampire. You’ve never even seen a knot that looks even remotely similar to this one.



You can’t help but feel bad for the vampire. Looking high and low for a cure and just when he finds a lead he gets robbed of his belongings. On the bright side, he may have been the one casting spells.



“So, I heard some spell casting earlier. Was that you or the bandits?”



“The bandits. I don’t know any… combat spells.”



“Yeah? What kind of spells do you know then?”



“Mysticism, illusion, and alteration mainly. Why do you want to know?”



“Well, I uhh… was just thinking that maybe we could learn from each other. I’m an aspiring mage myself. But seeing your predicament I understand if you’d rather do something a bit more… financially productive.



“Yeah. I don’t have time to learn or teach any spells. I’ve got to try and get my stuff back from those bandits.”



“Maybe I could help?”



“No… no. I wouldn’t want to put you in danger. I can do it myself. If I take them by surprise instead of the other way around, I’m certain I could beat them.”



“I don’t know. Maybe you should just go to the guards?”



“No. I can do it myself. It’s a… pride thing, you see?”



“O..kay. If you say so.”



You finish untying him and cast a few healing spells. He gets to his feet.



“Thanks for helping me out, but I’ve got to go. Need resupply and catch up to those bandits before they get too far.”



“Good luck, I guess.”



He runs off. You feel good about what you’ve just done.




You are now Ke’tiem.



“Good job with the uh... axe-work against Itaish. You made it seem like his name was Itreeash”



Your joke earns a light chuckle and a grin.



“Thanks. It was the adrenaline really. I couldn’t do that again that’s for sure.”



“Still. You did it once and it won us the battle.”



“Yeah. I guess so.”



“Ooh! Hey, We also made enough coin to buy a night at the inn. Soul gems sell for quite a bit. Especially that black one.”



“Yeah. We did. We should get a room with two beds this time.”



You both agree and disagree with that statement.



“Yeah. Probably. Let’s just hope that they don’t cost too much more.”



“Hopefully."




Heh… so what if you do?




“Anyway, I shouldn’t get all the credit for beating Itaish. Ke’tail also helped a lot. At the time I thought that he was annoying, but thinking back on it… I don’t think we would have won without him ‘having a believe’ in me.”



“Yeah! Ke’tail is the best wingman in all of Cyrodiil. He’s always got my back. Probably because he’s attached to it.”



“I still can’t believe you kept that. I don’t think I’d be able to go out into public with something like that on my tail.”



“Meh. I try to not let the opinions of people I don’t know bother me.”



“I suppose that’s good. Unless you want a good reputation.”



“Reputation? Please. Who needs that when you’re as good looking as me?”



“Being good looking and having a good reputation is better.”



“Woah! Look at that view. It goes on forever!”



“Oh, yeah. Wow.”



She turns to get a better look.






“This view is pretty,... but… it’s… uhmmm…”



“It’s what?”



You can’t do it. You can’t say it. You hate yourself for being such a coward.




“...But It’s probably time to go. We shouldn’t waste any more time here.”



You are now Katherin.



You know that wasn’t what he was going to say. You understand why he’s reluctant to make any moves toward you, but you need to have a conversation about this. Since he won’t start it, you will.





“I don’t think that’s what you were going to say.”



“Sure it was. What else could it have been?”



“Well, ‘This view is pretty, but it’s not as pretty as you’ seems like a possibility... Look, I know how you feel about me, Ke’tiem. You’re not very good at hiding it.”



“... Well... Is… it a possibility?”



“I don’t know... It’s not that I don’t like you - you’re a nice guy, I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now. The whole being hunted down by vampires thing… it’s… stressful. My priorities don’t involve finding a partner right now.”



“I… I understand.”



“...Well, we should probably continue walking now. I’d say we aren’t too much farther from Skingrad.”



“Yeah… yeah.”



You are now Ke’tiem. You are trailing behind Katherin a bit.




‘It’s not that I don’t like you - you’re a nice guy… my priorities don’t involve finding a partner right now’. It just keeps replaying inside your head over and over again. You know she was just trying to be nice, but that just makes it worse.




You choke back tears as you look up to the sky.


They’re right. Why did you ever think that she would feel the same way about you? You’re just a means to an end to her. A sword. Nothing else. You should have gone with your gut feeling and rejected the job when she first came to you.



You let out a sigh and try to look on the bright side. All this negative thinking is self-destructive. If you didn’t go with Katherin, she might not have found another person willing to go so far. On her own, she might not have been able to protect herself.



And she didn’t say ‘no’ to having a relationship with you, she said ‘I don’t know’. That’s just a ‘not right now’ in disguise.



You decide that you are going to protect Katherin from Itaish and the other vampires so well that she’ll have no choice but to fall for you. All you’ve got to do is get to the Imperial City and whoever’s there can deal with the vampires. Then on your way back to Hammerfell Katherin will have plenty of time to rethink her decision.



Having renewed your determination, you speed up your pace to catch back up to Katherin.



You hear something crash into a tree and someone shout out a curse. You and Katherin stop dead in your tracks.



Quickly scanning the surrounding trees, you notice an argonian hanging off a branch.



You recognize her as Liz.



You notice her… exposure.




You do your best not to look. You wouldn’t want to take advantage of the situation or anything. As a side note; you hope that Katherin will appreciate your ‘faithfulness’.




You wouldn't say you’re disappointed with the current situation with Katherin… if anything you feel a little better now that she knows how you feel. Sure, you’re a little sad that she doesn’t appear to have much interest in you, but you hope you can change that.



Also, this is Liz we’re talking about here. You still don’t trust her her. Even though she taught you a healing spell, she’s still a mage. Mages are not to be trusted. She might have even purposely exposed herself in order to gain your trust or even affection. It’s not going to work. You’re still too smart for her.



You are now Katherin. You don’t know why Liz thought that climbing a tree in a robe with nothing under it was a good idea. You feel kinda bad for her though. You bet Ke’tiem is enjoying the show.



You look over at him and are surprised to see that he isn’t staring. You applaud his lack of perversion. You know of a few guys back in Hammerfell who’d use this opportunity to make a whole bunch of stupid wood jokes or try to hit on her. You’re glad he’s above that kind of behavior.


Destroying the whole tree seems like a bit extreme. You’ll just call out to her instead.



“Hey, uhhh. Liz! You need some help?”



Realizing there are people around, she quickly tries to cover herself up. She isn’t doing a very good job.



“Oh, hey!” She says trying to play off the embarrassment of the situation. “Fancy meeting you here.”



“Yeah... You seem to be… a little stuck there. Would uhh.... would you like some assistance in getting down?”



“Yes. That would be… very helpful. Preferably before anyone else comes by.”



After some tree climbing and argonian saving you’ve returned Liz safely back to the ground. She thanks you for your help.




“When god sinks a ship, he builds a treehouse. Amiright?”



“What?”



“I have no idea. I used to have a friend who would say that all the time. It seemed fitting up until I said it.”



“Was it M’Iago? You’ll have to tell me the story of how you two met one of these days. Giving what I heard about that fishing trip; he seems like an…. Interesting fellow.”



“I don’t think our meeting was very interesting, but sure. Just let me know.”


You have noticed a bit of a pattern with Liz’s appearances. She always seems to turn up after you’ve been attacked. While you don’t think she has anything to do with it, you decide to be better safe than sorry and ask her what she was doing climbing a tree.



She states that it actually wasn’t her intention to end up in a tree. She explains that she was out gathering alchemical ingredients when she heard someone casting some spells. It turns out that someone had been attacked by some bandits and left for dead. She healed them up in the hopes that maybe they could teach each other some spells. He refused so she figured that she’d just head to Skingrad to see what spells they teach at the mages guild there. She wanted to cut down on some of the travel time by using her teleportation spell. Clearly, it didn’t work. She is having thoughts about renaming it to ‘Legendary Get Stuck in Tree’.



You suggest that maybe she should just stop using it entirely. Especially when she isn’t wearing pants.



All she can do is nervously laugh and look away in embarrassment.







You ask Liz that, since you're both going to Skingrad, if she wants to tag along. She says sure. She could use some company.







Hoping to spark conversation during your walk, you jokingly ask Liz where her Wizard Beard is. She seems confused and asks you what you mean. You explain that since most mages have a beard she must be hiding it somewhere.



She states that argonians are unable to grow beards. Your joke clearly flew over her head.



Ke’tiem says that he found your joke funny. Liz asks if that was even meant to be a joke. She thought it was a legitimate inquiry. You tell her that it was, in fact, meant to be a joke. She asks you if you know of any better ones.



Ignoring the, probably, unintentional insult you decide to try and retell the one you were going to say before Itaish… happened.



“A khajiit walks into a bar and asks the barkeep if he’s seen her friend. He apologizes and says that she’ll have to look Elsweyr.”



“Oh! Is the joke the fact that Elsweyr sounds kinda like elsewhere?”



“Yeah… that is the joke.”



“That’s a good one. I’ll have to use that sometime. I’ll credit you of course.”



Skingrad comes into view.



Ke’tiem shouts out that it’s about time. His feet are killing him. Liz tells him that he didn’t need to shout to which he replies that she’s not his real mom. Liz opens her mouth to say something but stops herself.



You’ve gotten here quicker than you expected. It’s only about two or three in the afternoon. Looks like you’ll have plenty of time to earn some gold before nightfall after all.




You didn’t give him a ‘no’, but you didn’t really say ‘maybe’ either. You’re just unsure about the whole thing. He’s certainly not unpleasant to be around... you’re just having a hard time focusing on anything other than getting away from your pursuers. You realize that your response may have came across as a ‘no’ or ‘possibly’, but the truth is; you were trying to convey the fact you know how he feels, but due to your current situation you don’t have time or the, for lack of a better word, desire to pursue any sort of relationship.



One thing you can say for sure is he’s the most genuinely nice guy you’ve met in a while.




You turn your thoughts back to formulating a plan for the rest of today. You have no use for Itaish’s soul gems or alchemy ingredients. You’ll sell those. Your tent is useless without that rope so you could probably sell it by pretending it’s a giant blanket or tapestry of sorts.



You tell Ke’tiem and Liz about your plans. Ke’tiem adds a suggestion about chopping firewood for the blacksmith. Liz asks why you’re trying to make so much coin.



You explain that you completely spent all of your money in Kvatch and need, at the very least, enough for a meal and a night at the inn. She says that she might be able to pull some strings in order to let you sleep in the mages guild. You tell her that you’d be grateful if she did.



You approach the gate. Ke’tiem walks up to the guard and asks if he likes his job. The guard continues to stare blankly forward. What do you need, khajiit. He says in the most monotone voice you've ever heard. Ke’tiem awkwardly backs away and hides behind You and Liz.



You walk past the guard, push the gate open, and enter Skingrad.



Liz says she wants to head to the Mages Guild right away and asks where she should meet up with you. You tell her you’ll probably have finished with all your selling within an hour and to meet you at the inn. She says that, since the inn is right next to the mages guild, you might as well just go there instead. Hopefully she’ll have been able to convince them to let you sleep there tonight.



You thank her again as you split up. If she manages to convince them She would be saving you upwards of thirty gold.




You are now Liz. You suppose that continuing to follow along with Katherin and Ke’tiem is a possibility. You’ll have to remember to ask them where they’re headed next when you meet back up. You were planning on heading to Chorrol. If they're headed in that direction you see no reason not to tag along at least for a little while.



You enter the Mages Guild. The stench of magic, alchemy, and B.O. assault your senses. Yep. Just like the guild in Anvil.

Yes. That is what you were planning to do. You could use a calm spell for a certain khajiit who has massive trust issues with you for some reason. Hopefully they teach illusion here.




You are now Ke’tiem. You’re on a super important mission. Katherin has given you orders to find the blacksmith an inn and offer to use your manly muscles to chop firewood or carry super heavy things for them while she tries to get a good price for the soul gems and alchemy ingredients. You are determined not to fail!



You think you’ve located an inn. The sign says Two Sisters Lodge. If it’s not an inn, then at the very least you will be able to discuss as to why they have the word ‘lodge’ in their name.



You enter and put on your business face. Katherin is counting on you to get a whole lotta coin.



You approach the counter.



“Why, hello there. You’ve got quite the establishment established here. Might I add that the name you’ve chosen for this established establishment establishes the idea that you’ve established an Inn. Am I correct in this assumption?”



“… Sorry, you lost me at ‘establish’.”



“I’ll just skip the flattery… I’m looking for work. Can you provide?”



“Work? Can’t say that I need anything done. Why don’t you check the West Weald Inn?”



“YES! Of course… where are they?”



“If you go out the door and take a left you’ll see their sign. Right by the mages guild.”



“Ok. I’ll take my leave then. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!”



You march out of the Lodge.



You find the West Weald Inn. You’re hopeful that they will have a job available.



Upon entry you are greeted by the innkeeper.



“Welcome to the West Weald Inn, traveler. You look tired. Can I get you a room?”



“That won’t be necessary right now. What is necessary is that you give me a task to do. One that you would be willing to give me money for accomplishing.”



“So… work?”



“Indeed.”



“Well… Sinderion is always in need of something. Why don’t you ask him? He’s through the door on your left.”



“Will do.”



You enter the door. You wonder what kind of job you’ll end up doing. Sinderion sounds like an elf's name. Perhaps it will be related to magic. You hope not because that would mean that he’s a mage and you won’t accept gold from a mage. They could have cursed the coin to always fall out of your pocket. That won't do.



This room is devoid of any other sentient being.




Mages do like turning themselves invisible. This is starting to look like a lose-lose situation here. It’s either nobody is in here, or there’s an invisible mage. Both options mean you have no business here. You turn to exit the cellar.



It’s locked. Hmm… Yup. There’s an invisible mage in here playing a trick on you. He has locked the door to get you to try and panic.


No. You are not going to panic. You’re just locked in a wine cellar with an invisible mage. There is nothing to panic about. Unless the mage becomes hostile because you’ve outsmarted him.



You draw Bendy Dagger of Doom. This mage is inhibiting your ability to accomplish the mission Katherin gave you. Thus you will enact vengeance. You will find where they are hiding.


You figure that if you tell the wizard that you’ve caught onto them, they might surrender willingly.



“Come on out, wizard! I know what you’re trying to do and it won’t work! Don’t make me use a spell of my own! I call it MY FIST!... THAT HAS A KNIFE IN IT! I’M HOLDING A KNIFE!”



No answer.


The only problem with that plan is you want to hurt him. He’s a wizard who trapped you in a basement. He deserves to be hurt.




Mmhmm. This barrel is empty. OR IS IT? You’ll--



You hear the door open. WIZARD!



That’s not a wizard.



“Ke’tiem? The heck are you doing down here?”


“Uhh… What are you doing down here?”



“... I was upstairs seeing how much a room costs when I hear you screaming bloody-murder down here. The innkeeper sent me to see what that was... Now, what are YOU doing down here?”



“I was looking for someone, but they weren’t here. When I pulled on the door to leave it was locked so I figured there was some invisible mage playing a trick on me.”



“Pulled? It’s a push, Ke’tiem. You push the door to open it.”



“... Oh. That explains it.”




“Gods, I’m an idiot. I was three seconds away from flailing my dagger around the whole room. I’m sorry, Katherin, I’ve totally made a fool of myself... But you can understand where I was coming from right?”





“Heh… No I can’t. My first assumption when I come across a door that I can’t open isn’t that there is a mage who made himself invisible and is just messing with me.”



“I guess that that is a little… out there.”



“You don’t say?” She says while chuckling “We should probably go tell the innkeeper that there isn’t someone being murdered in her wine cellar.”



“Yeah that’s… that’s a good idea.”



You head upstairs, apologize for creating a ruckus, and leave the inn.



Katherin tells you that she’s managed to get one hundred-fifty gold from the soul gems and alchemy ingredients. She knows she got a little cheated on the gems, but didn't really have the time to argue as you have roughly twenty minutes before Liz will be expecting you in the Mages Guild.


You’re really not in a ‘move making’ kinda mood. You‘ve just completely embarrassed yourself. Not to mention the rather cold rejection your previous move got you has... injured your hopes about the possibility of her returning your feelings.




Katherin says she’d like to get a bite to eat. The mention of food makes you realize that you’re actually really hungry, You instantly agree with the idea. She tells you she’ll head back into the inn and buy the food.



After a few minutes she comes back out with a few apples, some bread, and a tomato. You find a nice place next to the city wall to sit down and have your meal.



You are now Katherin. You offer Ke’tiem a loaf of bread. He happily accepts and starts eating. You begin to reflect on all the events that have taken place over the last few days. So much has changed. You have a feeling things will never return to the way things were before the vampires started chasing you.



Seeming to sense your thoughts, Ke’tiem asks what’s troubling you.



“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about our fight with Itaish.”



“Yeah? We really messed him up didn’t we? He ought to be rotting in a cell by now... But he isn’t the only vampire after us is he?”



“No, Itaish isn’t the only one.”



He turns to look up at the sky, and sighs before continuing.



“And you have no idea why they want to kill you?”



“...”



“I don’t understand why you don’t want to tell me. It’s not like I’m going to do anything weird with that information.”



“I’m only hesitant because I can only speculate why they want me dead. They’ve never told me outright, and I haven’t found any solid proof of my suspicions. Other than the soul gems.”



“The soul gems? You think Itaish wants your soul?”



“It seems like a very likely reason. He had a black soul gem on him. Same with… with the other vampires that tried for my life before I left for the Imperial City.”



“They’ve attempted before you even left Hammerfell?”



“Yeah. It’s been a constant fear for a few months now. One got too close to achieving their goal a few days after I got the dream telling me about the Imperial City. It was then that I decided it was worth investigating. I hired you because… well, I feared for my life.”



“I had no idea this has been going on for so long… I’m real sorry you have to go through something like this. Mark my words: Nothing will stop me from making sure these pale-skinned blood-sucking jerks get what's coming to them - and them some! I’ll kick them right in their fangs with my fist! Although maybe not. Don’t really want to get bitten… I might need to rethink my plan.”



You take solace knowing how much Ke’tiem cares for your safety. He understands the severity of your situation, and yet at the same time manages to make light of the situation and make you feel that it’s going to be OK. You know you wouldn’t have made it this far without him. You almost feel like giving him a hug... Almost.



“Thank you, Ke’tiem.” You say to yourself.



“Hmm? Did you say something?”



“Oh! I uhh… I was just thinking that’s about time we headed to the mages guild. Don’t want to keep Liz waiting.”



Ke’tiem looks toward the guild with a slightly annoyed look on his face.



“I don’t like mages.”



“Yeah. I can tell. Liz seems like a good person though. Not really a reason to not like her anyway.”



“Maybe… but there are still the other mages in the guild. Could I just... wait outside?”



“I won’t force you to go inside.”



“Yes!” He says while doing a fist pump.




Hey, you said you almost felt like hugging him! You don’t even know how appropriate such an action would be. He’s a hired mercenary after all. It wouldn’t be very conventional. Besides, given how he feels about you, it might be super awkward.


Gah, fine. You’ll offer to give him a hug - Just a quick one.



“Hey, Ke’tiem?”



“What’s up?”



“This might be a little weird, but… can I give you a... hug?”



You can’t believe you’re doing this.



“... I’m sorry, I think I misheard you... Did you just ask for a hug?”



“Yes, I did. It’s just… given everything you’ve done for me... and how you…. It’s… hugging seems like the right thing to do.”



“Is… are you playing a trick on me? It’s not funny if you are.”



It makes sense that he’s so skeptical. You’ve just told him you’re not interested in a partner and now you’re asking to hug him… You want to express your gratitude for him accompanying you on this trip. Plus you do feel bad about rejecting him back on that bridge. And… maybe because you just feel like hugging him.



“No, I’m being serious.”



You are now Ke’tiem. Katherin has just asked you for a hug and you have no idea how to respond. Is it a test? A trick question? A puzzle? A joke? A metaphor? Did she eat some moldy bread and is now hallucinating? Are you putting way too much thought into this and that will cause you to miss what will possibly be your only chance hug Katherin? The only one of these questions you can answer is the last one. Yes. You are putting too much thought into this. You’re going to tell her that she can give you a hug because you really want to hug her yourself.



“Y-yes... Yes you can.”



She opens her arms and gestures for you to walk into them. She’s avoiding eye contact. You’re heart is caught in your throat as you make the first step toward her. All you can think about is whether or not this is actually going to happen. You half expect her to say it was all a joke and that she got you good.





“I’m going to go get Liz now. I’ll see you in a little bit.”



She turns and walks away. Leaving you to contemplate if that really just happened.






It takes all of your willpower not to scream ‘Thank you’ to the heavens. You will remember that hug for the rest of eternity.



You’re not even sure why Katherin just hugged you, but you aren’t complaining. You think you heard her say something about it being because of everything you’ve done for her. You were kind of just spacing out that whole time thinking about whether or not she was pulling a fast one on you, but if that’s true then you guess you’re doing a really good job at being a bodyguard.



Either way, the spark has been rekindled. You have a chance with her after all!



You are now Katherin. You still can’t believe you went through with that. He seemed… excited... enough about it anyway. Hopefully the right message came across.


It was a tighter hug than you were expecting, okay!



You try to push the thoughts about the hug away and focus on the task at hand. Right now you’ve got to talk to Liz and see if you’ll end up sleeping in the mages guild. Ke’tiem might not like that option, but you’re fairly positive he’d do it if you asked him to.



You enter the mages guild. It stinks in here.



Trying not to breath from your nose, you begin to look around for anyone who could help you locate Liz.



You find someone and ask them if they’ve seen an argonian mage in dark robes anywhere.



They say that, yes, they did see someone matching that description come in a while ago. He believes they are still up in the living quarters.



You thank him for his assistance and head up the stairs. You wonder what she’s been doing this whole time. The living quarters probably aren’t the best place to learn new spells… maybe she’s just been negotiating your stay the whole time? That would be super nice of her.




You think you’ve reached the living quarte--



...






Shit.


You don’t even give him a chance to react before you bolt back down the stairs and out of the mages guild.



You pass by Liz on the way and she asks you what’s going on. You ignore her and keep running.


Given that the guards couldn’t manage to arrest Itaish while he was injured and tied up, you don’t feel like putting your trust in them again. You’ll just get Ke’tiem and discuss what you should do about this situation. You're thinking you are just going to get as far away from Skingrad as you can.



You burst out of the mages guild front door. You quickly glance around looking for Ke’tiem. You don’t see him anywhere in front of the guild, so you assume he’s still where you ate lunch.



You round the corner and see him sitting in the grass staring at the sky with a silly grin on his face. You call out to him.



He snaps out of his daydream and looks over at you.



“Katherin? What’s wrong?” He says as he jumps to his feet.



“It’s Itaish! He’s in the mages guild!”



“What!?”



You hear the mages guild’s door open. You whip around fully expecting to see Itaish.



You breath a sigh of relief that it’s just Liz. She is clearly and understandably confused.



“OK, what in Oblivion is going on? Why are you running about the place like there’s a fire?”



“It’s complicated. I don’t have time to explain right now, but we need to get away from here, like, right now.”



“Away? Katherin, We can’t make it to the Imperial City. Where would we sleep? You sold our tent.” Ke’tiem says.



“Are we just supposed to stay here and let that psycho kill us in our sleep? Sleeping on the ground is a damn good alternative.”



“...”



“Kill you? Who wants to kill you?” You forgot Liz was standing right there.



“It’s… he’s… They’re in the mages guild right now.”



“Woah, what? Are you serious? You should call the guards. They’d offer some protection.”



“That’s what Ke’tiem is for… Look, I don’t want to waste time talking to the guards when I could be getting away from here.”



“To where?”



“The Imperial City.”



“That’s kinda far… I suppose I could tag along at least for a bit - if you want me to that is. I’ve finished what I wanted to come here for.”



“Yeah, you can come.” You feel bad that the only reason you want her to tag along is added protection from Itaish.



You head towards Skingrad’s east gate. You hope this is the right call.



You are now Itaish. Ma’Arri has just bolted back through the door she entered in. You can’t blame her. She wasn’t expecting you, and you weren’t expecting her. You caught each other off guard. You didn’t think she’d have any reason to enter the mages guild let alone the living quarters so you’ve just been waiting around here until night. You needed to grab another soul gem anyways.



You look out the window. You see her burst out of the front door, stop for a moment, then run behind the guild. You have a sneaking suspicion she’s going to skip town. You curse yourself for being seen. There goes your plans for killing them in their sleep. At least you know where they’re going.



… Actually, having them leave right now is almost perfect. You couldn’t have planned it better yourself.




You are now Katherin. You did you some sense! It’s why you decided to run instead of staying in Skingrad. Vampires don’t like the sun. It’s sunny out right now. There is no shade on this road. There is lots of shade in Skingrad. He can’t follow you until nightfall… unless he feeds on someone… you hadn’t thought of that.


Now you’re starting to freak out. There really isn’t a good move to make here. Is there? You could continue down the path you’re taking, but risk him coming after you because he did feed on someone, or you could go back to skingrad and take your chances at being in a really close proximity to him but with guards around. You couldn’t sleep there that’s for sure. No way he wouldn’t off you in your sleep.



How did he even manage to escape the guard you sent his way? He should be rotting in a cell in Kvatch, not sitting in the Skingrad mages guild! Just when you were starting to feel like you were actually going to survive this, something like this happens. That’s what you get for lowering your guard.



“Katherin? You OK?” Ke’tiem says. Clearly worried.



“No, I’m not OK! Why would I be OK right now?”



“... Is there something I could do to make you OK?”



“Yeah. Kill Itaish. Like we should have when we tied him up.”



“Tied up?” Liz asks.



When you don’t answer, Ke’tiem does instead.



“Yeah. Itaish, the guy who wants to… kill Katherin, attacked us earlier today. We managed to fend him off. Katherin wounded him pretty bad with an axe swing to the stomach and then we tied him to a tree and sent an Imperial Legion soldier his way.”



“...Oh.”



Ke’tiem turns his attention back to you.



“I won’t let him get away next time.”



He puts a hand on your shoulder. “Trust me.”



You don’t know why his calmness is irritating you so much. You know you shouldn’t take your anger out on him, but it’s getting hard to hold it back.



“Next time? I don’t want a next time! I want for this to all be over!”



“It will be… just give me time. I’ll fix everything.”



You’re about to yell at him. Tell him that he can’t fix everything. No one can. When you hear a voice.



“Hey, Ma’Ar-- I mean Katherin. Just pretend like you can’t hear me. OK?” Well, I guess asking you questions isn’t going to work out well if you listen to my instructions. But really, don’t bring this to anyone one of your friend’s attention. It’ll make this situation even more of a mess.”



It sounds like it’s coming from all around. It doesn’t seem to have an origin.



“Now, I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions. I will be able to answer them, some of them anyway, In time. But for now you really need to stay calm. You’re in good hands here. Also, maybe you should apologize for being a teensy bit rude to Ke’... Tam Was it? He’s really trying his best you know. Oh, and I would recommend not sleeping outside tonight. There are some ruins in the forest you’re about to enter. You should camp out there. Wouldn’t want Itaish to find you too easy, now would we?”



With that, the voice stops just as quickly as it started. Great. Now you’re going crazy.


Gods, you hope not. That is literally the only thing that could make this situation worse. You’re already dealing with vampires, you really don’t need a daedric prince messing with you too.




Ke’tiem opens your backpack and digs around in it for a second.



“Do you have the Lamb Sauce, Katherin? I think I may have forgotten it.”



“Lamb sauce? What?”



“You know, Lamb Sauce. For cooking stuff. We’re going to be camping out and I would really like some Lamb Sauce on my campfire food.”



“Our ‘campfire food’ consists of two apples and a tomato.”



“Yes, but we could kill a deer or something.”



“...no. I don’t have any lamb sauce.”



“Dang.”


“Hey, Katherin. I’ve been meaning to ask you… where did you get that amulet-necklace-thingie?” Ke’tiem asks after a few moments of silence.



“Oh, you mean this?”



“Yeah. I don’t remember you having that yesterday.”



“I picked it up in the alchemy shop. It was on the desk. The shopkeeper said she didn’t know where it came from, so she sold it to me for five gold. It looked pretty and didn’t cost much, so I decided to get it.”



“It looks good on you... Does it have an engraving or anything on it?”



“Yeah. Here.” You take of the necklace and hand it to Ke’tiem.



“Oh, yeah. Looks like a… dog? It’s some four legged animal that’s for sure.”



“That’s what I was thinking. I’d prefer it if it didn’t have any engravings on it though. Luckily it’s only the one side.”



“I still like it. Either way really.” He turns it around a couple times then gives it back to you.



It’s conversations like these that really lift your spirits. It’s something someone would talk about if they weren’t being hunted down by literal blood-thirsty killers. It makes you feel like your life is not completely falling apart around you right now.



You are now Ke’tiem. It looks like your plan worked. You have distracted Katherin from her worries.



Looks like you’ll have at least another hour before the sun sets. You don’t know how camping out is going to work considering you don’t have a tent. You could probably find shelter in some ruins off the side of the road… you’ll just need to cross that bridge when you get to it.



You realize that Liz has been quiet since you told her about Itaish. She might be planning something.



You look over at her. She is avoiding your gaze. Yup. She’s up to something.



“Hey, Liz. Whatcha thinking about?” You ready your master interrogative skills.



“Oh, Nothing. It’s... just magic stuff. Nothing you would be interested i-.”



“You don’t know that. I take great interest in magic actually. Especially if it’s magic that could be used against me. You must know thine enemy!”



Liz looks at you like you're crazy.



“Stop giving her such a hard time.” Says Katherin.



“Hmmm. I guess because you helped me learn a healing spell… I will try to internalize my distrust for you a bit more.”



“Wow, thanks.” The sarcasm in Liz’s voice is intense.



You are now Katherin. While those two give each other a death glare, you turn your thoughts back to the voice you heard. It’s not one you recognize. It seems to want to help but you can’t be certain. It wouldn’t be very wise to just trust it completely. You don’t know if it’s some higher being, some magic user, or you’ve just gone insane. You’re tempted to tell Ke’tiem and Liz about it. While it said not to, you don’t know how it would manage to retaliate. It’s is just a voice after all.


Yeah. That is really the only thing keeping you quiet. You know for a fact that Liz would think you’re crazy.


You’d consider telling Ke’tiem if Liz wasn’t around to overhear. If she goes off someplace for a while you might bring it up.


You hadn’t even considered the possibility that it’s enchanted. You have no idea how to tell whether or not any magic is bound to an item, but chances are Liz can. You ask her.



She says that she can usually sense enchantments that are a bit more powerful, but she has trouble detecting any of the more weak ones. You ask her if she’d be willing to see if your necklace has one. She says that she can try.




You hand her the necklace and she starts her inspection. After a few minutes she says that she can’t pinpoint what the enchantment is, but there is magic present. A lot of it too. She hands it back to you and asks if you feel any different when you wear it.



You tell her that you don’t. It just seems like an ordinary necklace to you. She says that maybe it’s simply a really powerful water breathing enchantment or something similar. She asks you if you’d be willing to test it out. You tell her that you’d rather just get it inspected by a more experienced enchanter when you reach the Imperial City. She agrees that doing that would be a better idea.



After a few minutes of silence, you see two other people on the road. You notice the one in the back has what appears to be a tent. Chances are very good that they’ll be going to Skingrad. Because they’d be able to make it there before it gets too dark if they walk at a decent pace, maybe they’ll sell you their tent. It would certainly make camping out a lot easier.



“Excuse me, sirs. Are you going to need that tent you have there? I’d be willing to pay for it.”



The Khajiit looks at his partner with a questioning look.



“No, we won’t be needing it any longer. Not where we’re going.” Says the person in the red robes.



“Skingrad right? So, how much for it? I’d be willing to pay ten gold for it.”



“Ten gold sounds fine.”



You give him the money and he hands you the tent. You thank them and wish them luck in getting to Skingrad safely.



You continue walking. That was an interesting group to say the least. The khajiit was dressed like a guard, and his follower looked like the kind of mage you’d understand Ke’tiem being skeptical of. Guess this land is fairly diverse. Makes sense considering it’s the center of Tamriel.



“Think we really need a tent?” Asks Ke’tiem.



“Yeah. I figured they’d give it to us for cheap. Looks to be quality and sleeping in a tent beats sleeping outside.”



“Guess that’s true. It does feel like it's getting colder and since we don’t want to be found, a fire is out of the question. Now that I think about it, we do need a tent.”



Ke’tiem looks up and thinks for a moment.



“We should set up camp right about now actually.”



You want to keep pushing forward, but you know that doing so would not be a good idea. You need to rest.



“I’m not seeing any ruins around… we could find someplace behind one of those rocks to stay hidden from the roa-” You get cut off by the disembodied voice.



“No! Not here. You need to go further. Itaish will find you too easily anywhere around here. You need to make it to Ceyatatar. It’s some elven ruins just a bit up ahead. It’ll take you no more than ten minutes to get there. I understand that you are tired, but please trust me. Your continued survival is very important.”



“Is something wrong, Katherin? You just kind of cut off there.” Ke’tiem sounds worried again.



“I…. I just had a thought that we should keep going until we do find some ruins. It would be safer that way. Plus it’s not like Itaish is going to suddenly appear next to us when it gets dark. We still have a fair amount of time.” You’re trying your best not to sound suspicious. You are unsure how well you are doing.



“It’s more of a concern about it getting too dark to work efficiently... but I guess we could go for another fifteen minutes or so.” Ke’tiem says while scratching the back of his head.



“I know you’re putting a lot of faith into someone you haven’t even met, but you just have to trust me. When your two friends go to sleep, we can talk more formally.” The voice fades away again.



You quietly sigh. You have so many questions that this voice needs to answer. It seems like he’s not a figment of your imagination after all. You hope that he actually does want to help you.



Perhaps this guy is the person from the Imperial City that you learned about in your dream. If that’s the case, then they know more about your situation than you ever could have hoped for. Explaining it to them was something you didn’t know if you could do well enough for them to want to help you.



Gah, you shouldn’t get your hopes up. That will only lead to disappointment.



After ten minutes of walking in silence, you come across a fork in the road.



“Go left. That’s where Ceyatatar is.” The voice says.



You simply start walking in that direction without a word. Ke’tiem and Liz follow.



“Uh, Katherin? Shouldn’t we stay on the road?” Ke’tiem says sounding confused.



“Look.” You point at some ruins that are barely visible through the trees.

“Oh, sweet! I didn’t even notice those.”





“What are you thinking: Outside the ruins or inside them?”



“Outside. Who knows what’s in there? At least we know that if we do get attacked by something it’ll be… you know. Plus we get to make better use of our new tent.”



After about twenty minutes You, Liz, and Ke’tiem have set up camp behind one of the walls. It feels good to finally be able to get some rest. You’ve been walking all day. Sadly, you can’t let your guard down just yet. Almost, you tell yourself. You’re so close to the Imperial City.