Spin-Off (1/12/19)

You clear your throat.



“Goodmorning, Katherin. You too M’Iago.” You say. You’re voice is still coarse.



“Woah, duuuuuude! You sound like a badass!... You need some water or something?” M’Iago says.



“Yes, that’d be… helpful” You say. He leaves for the tent. Liz quickly exits the entryway for the tent and stands off to the side as M’Iago enters. You turn your attention back to Katherin.



“Are you OK? What happened last night?” You ask her.



“Yes, Ke’tiem. I’m fine. You were the only one who got hurt last night. Besides Itaish… M’Iago killed him. He’s no longer an issue. I… there are no vampires anywhere near here so I’m safe from them. I can finally let my guard down.” She says. “Here. Let me help you get to your feet.” She gets up and holds out her hand for you to take.



You grab her hand and she pulls you up. Your body is extremely sore and your stomach feels like it’s on fire as you rise to your feet.



You lean most of your weight against the wall. You look down at your stomach. It’s wrapped in blood soaked cloth.



“Is… is that your shirt?” You ask.



“Yeah. M’Iago’s scarf too.” She says. “You know that Liz is actually the one that stopped the bleeding. She was using healing spells.”



“What!?” You look over at Liz. “Why?”



Liz shrugs. “I could help so I--” Liz stops as M’Iago comes back out of the tent.



She crosses her arms and takes a step back.



“You lucked out! Last one.” He says. He hands it to you.



You take it from him and start to attempt to remove the cork. It’s really stuck in there. It doesn’t help that you’re strength still hasn’t completely returned. You see Katherin staring at you with a slight smile from the corner of your eye. What? What is she looking at? Are you doing something weird? Do you have something on your face?



“You need some help with that?” She eventually says.



“Ah, no. I... I got it. Just… just give me a second.” AAAAAAAA Come on! Now she thinks you’re an idiot. YOU WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY A CORK!




“M’Iago touched my boobs!”



You, Katherin, and M’Iago freeze and look over at her. Her blush intensifies because of the newfound attention.



“Excuse me?” Katherin says after a few seconds.



“I said it was an accident!” M’Iago exclaims. “I rolled over in my sleep and BAM! My hand flew out and landed on you. I’m not at fault here. I’m also a victim.” He says.



Liz slowly shakes her head and mouths the word ‘lies’ while pointing at him



Katherin raises an eyebrow. “So… his hand landed on your chest while you were sleeping?” She asks.



Liz and M’Iago nod.



“Did he… cup a feel?”



“It was just contact. I wouldn’t ever do anything like that.” M’Iago says innocently.



Katherin looks at Liz for confirmation. Liz nods in agreement with what M’Iago said.



“Not like there’s much to cup anyway.” He says under his breath. You don’t think Katherin or Liz hear him.



“Then it wasn’t on purpose. It’s not like you got hurt. Plus you’re a reptile. M’Iago, you should apologize anyway and… go take your mind off of it and pack up the tent. I need to…” Katherin looks over to you. “Help Ke’tiem with that bottle.”



M’Iago says a ‘sincere’ apology and Liz begrudgingly starts helping him take down the tent as Katherin walks up to you and holds out a hand. “Give it to me.” She says.



You give removing the cork one more go before admitting defeat and handing it to her. It takes her two seconds to pop it out. She hands it back to you. You accept it, slightly embarrassed. You take a few swigs. It’s warm but still refreshing and manages to sooth your throat.



“So how are you feeling? Sore I imagine. Maybe you want to go on a quick walk? To see if you are even fit to?” She asks you.



“Yeah I’m pretty sore. And… sure I guess we could go on a walk while Liz and M’Iago pack up. As long as it’s a slow pace I think I’ll be fine.” You say.



“M’Iago, Liz! Ke’tiem and I are going to go on ahead. Just to check and make sure he can walk and so he can stretch his legs. When you finish up here it should be easy enough to catch up to us.” She says.



“Alright. Don’t get attacked by bandits or anything!” M’Iago responds.



“Don’t jinx it.” Katherin sighs. She looks over at you and holds out her hand. “Here. Lean on me at first.” You take her hand and she helps keep you upright as you slowly make your way towards the road. You are unsteady at first, but eventually find your balance and just need Katherin to occasionally steady you with a hand on your shoulder if you stumble.



You walk in silence for a while.



“Ke’tiem I… why did you do that anyway? Checking up on me while you were fighting Itaish I mean.”



“Its… because I… he cast a spell at you and I had no idea what it was. It turned out to just be burden but I thought it could be anything. When you fell down I didn’t know what to think. I just had to make sure you were fine.” You say.



She opens her mouth to respond but stops. More silence follows.



“Are you doing alright? Should we slow down? You’re breathing pretty hard.” Katherin says.



“Yeah, I’m fine… it’s just… I’m out of shape I guess.”



Katherin laughs. “I don’t know about that.” She says.



After a few more minutes of walking you see the White Gold Tower in the distance. Katherin stops. You do the same.



“Hey look! There it is!” She says.



“Yeah. It’s hard to miss.”



“Quite the view too. It actually doesn’t look that big from right here. To think I’ve gone halfway across Tamriel just to go there… even though it turns out I didn’t need to it’s still… relieving to see it.”



You see an opportunity. An opportunity you’ve had, but messed up in the past and you almost didn’t get another chance. You… well here goes.



“Yeah. This view is pretty but it’s… it’s... not as pretty as you.” You say.



You notice a slight blush and smile forming on Katherin’s face as she continues to look at the tower.



“Finally got the guts to say it huh?” She asks.



“Finally? It’s not even been a whole twenty-four hours!”



She laughs and gives you a light nudge. “I’m just joking.” She is silent for a couple seconds. “Thanks for the compliment… I guess.”



She takes a deep breath. “So… you know what happens now?”



“I… You say what you said yesterday? You know… about being preoccupied?”



She turns towards you. “... Not quite.” She says. She sounds… nervous?



“What do you mea-- mmmph!”




. . .



Ok. Yeah. You died. Itaish killed you and you are now in Aetherius.



Just as quickly as she started, she stops and then briefly looks behind her. You can faintly hear people talking in the distance. You assume it’s Liz and M’Iago. They’re getting closer. “We’ll talk tonight.” She says. She then grabs your shoulder and makes you turn around and continue walking like nothing out of the ordinary just occurred.



Well then. That's a thing that just happened.

Your heart is racing right now. Katherin just kissed you. She kissed you. You didn’t initiate the kiss, she did. Why? What changed? Is… was… because… who cares!? She kissed you!



“Don’t tell M’Iago or Liz.” Katherin says. “Especially M’Iago.”



“I-I… Won’t.” You stutter.



“Hey! There you guys are!” You hear M’Iago call from behind you after a few minutes.



He jogs up to you with Liz a few steps behind. “You see the White Gold Tower in the distance? I’d say we are just a few hours away… How long are we going to be staying there and what are we going to be doing?” He asks.



“Probably a few days.” Katherin says. “We can just relax a bit until I figure out what to do next. Is that fine with you two?”



“Yup. Sounds good to me. Been meaning to peruse the capital for a while anyway.” M’Iago says.



“I don’t think I’ll stay the whole time.” Liz says. “I’m on my way to Chorrol actually. I’ll stay a day or two to take a peek at the Arcane University though.”



“Alright. That’s reasonable.” Katherin says. “And Ke’tiem is required to stay the whole time because I’m paying him.”



“If I’m being paid why haven’t you give--”



You stop and look around as a seemingly imaginary wind blows across your body, sending a shiver down your spine and giving you a sense of dread. Something seems… off all of a sudden. “Did you feel that?” You ask.



“... Yeah.” Katherin says while also taking a quick look around. “What was that?”



“I felt it too.” M’Iago says.



You notice Liz staring hard into the tree line to the side of the road. She looks like she’s seen a ghost.



“Liz?” Katherin says, worry clear in her voice. “What’s wrong?”



“It’s…” She starts. Her voice is unsteady. “Probably nothing.”



M’Iago surveys the surround area while thinking about something. “That certainly felt like some kind of magic.” He eventually says.



“Yes, it was magic.” Liz confirms. “But it was probably nothing. Just some mage practicing their art nearby. Yeah. That’s what it is.”



You don’t sound too confident.” You say.



Liz is silent.



Katherin gives you a worried look. “You think you can up the pace a little bit? I don’t know what that was but it’s making me nervous.”



You nod. “Yeah. I can go a little faster.”



“Ok then. Let’s… just get out of here. C’mon M’Iago, Liz. Let’s just book it to the Imperial City.”



You put your arm around her shoulder and you continue walking toward the Imperial City at a faster pace. Liz keeps glancing back as you walk. What is going on? She clearly knows something that she isn’t telling you.

After walking into the city a bit you take a second to look around. Everything looks so… tall… and brownish-grey.


An apothecary could certainly help Ke’tiem, but… you do have that oddly shaped potion already. You don’t know how much it’s able to heal but it will probably do something. You’ll rent two rooms at an inn and hope that one of the rooms has a bottle you can transfer the potion’s contents into for Ke’tiem to drink. Now you just need to actually find an inn.



You locate an imperial guard and ask him for directions. He points at one of the buildings behind you and says that the closest inn is the Tiber Septim Hotel located right there. M’Iago comments about how it can’t be an inn if it has the word hotel in its name. The guard briefly look at him and nods in agreement. You thank the guard for the directions and begin heading towards the hotel.


“Hey, M’Iago? When did you learn to swim?” Liz asks.

M’Iago glares at her for a second before responding.



“Are you saying that because I’m a khajiit I shouldn’t swim?” He says.



“Er… no. It’s… I was just… I didn’t...” Liz stutters, her cheeks starting to flush.



M’Iago laughs under his breath. “I was just joking.” He says.



“O-oh. I knew that.” Liz says. “I was just playing along.”



“Pfft. Sure.” M’Iago says. “Well to answer your question it was out of necessity, not choice. I used to fall out of my boat a lot while fishing. I’m not some... boatsmith so I could never get the balance of them quite right. It’s the…” He puts a fist over his heart and gazes upwards. “Price I got to pay... for fish.”



“Uh huh.” Liz doesn’t seem impressed.



“But I actually kind of like it now.” He says. “It’s good exercise and relaxing in a way. As long as you’re not getting chased by slaughterfish anyway.”



You enter the Tiber Septim Hotel. You and Ke’tiem walk up to the innkeeper. She introduces herself as Augusta Calidia and asks you if you would like a room. You say that you want two. She says that it’ll cost eighty gold. You put up forty and M’Iago chips in the other half saying it’s the least he can do for letting him stick around. She gives you two keys and walks you to your rooms. She tells you to make yourself at home before heading back to the front desk.



You unlock one of the rooms and step inside to look around. It’s decently sized. There’s a table, some chairs, a bookshelf, and some cabinets. Still only one bed, but that’s why you got two. Although… who is going to end up bedding down with who? Preferably you’d want to be with Ke’tiem so you can talk in private, but you doubt Liz want’s to be with M’Iago again. You decide that the best course of action is to bring the subject up.



“So who is going to be sharing a room with who?” You ask.



“I think that Katherin and I should share a room.” Liz says. “Ke’tiem and M’Iago can have the other one.”



You notice Ke’tiem glance over at you before responding. “I can see why that makes sense.” He says. It looks like you’ll need to find some other way to talk to him without getting interrupted.



M’Iago nods and says it’s for the best. Now that you got that matter all settled you look about the room hoping to find a drinking glass. You find one in one of the cabinets and hand it to Ke’tiem.

You grab your potion bottle. It catches M’Iago’s attention almost immediately.



“Hey,” He says as he points at the bottle. “The door is still open you know.”



You dismiss what he said and pop the cork off of the bottle and begin to pour it into the glass Ke’tiem is holding. He comments that it’s a smart idea to transfer its contents like this.



Once you’ve emptied the bottle you casually toss it in M’Iago’s direction and say he can find a better use for it than you can. He catches it, inspects it for a second, then puts it down on the table without a word.



“This should at least help with the soreness.” You tell Ke’tiem.



He swirls the liquid in his glass for a moment, considering it. After a few seconds he brings it up to his lips and drinks all of it in a few gulps. He brings the glass down and wipes his mouth with his forearm after giving a satisfied “Ahhh.”



“Yup. That did the trick.” He says, stretching a bit. “Feels much better now.”



“Good… now you just need some clothes that aren’t covered in blood and full of holes. I could probably go for some too. I’ve been wearing these for a week straight. Not to mention you’re using half of my outfit as a bandage.” You say.



“Sounds good to me.” Ke’tiem says. He turns to look at Liz and M’Iago. “You want to come too?” They both nod in agreement and M’Iago dumps all the camping gear he’s holding next to the bed. You all exit the room. You remember to lock it before leaving.


Uhhh no. Just some clothes. You don’t want to be penniless again. You exit the inn. M’Iago says that you should follow him because he think he knows where the market district is. Figuring that, at worst, you’ll just lose a bit of time you oblige and start following him.



After a bit of walking you find yourself in front of a bunch of stores. Divine Elegance, Slash ‘N Smash, and The Best Defence just to name a few. Divine Elegance sounds like a clothing store. Probably pricy though.



M’Iago runs off and tells you he is going to buy some food for later and Liz get’s distracted by a store named Edgar’s Discount Spells leaving just you and Ke’tiem to go buy some clothes. You decide to check out Divine Elegance simply because it’s the closest store that seems to specialize in just clothing.

You are now M’Iago. You take a quick look around. No one is in sight. Good. You have to be quick. You grab Arri and put hoist her up over your shoulders and make your way over to the sewer grate that’s next to the well.



You quickly and carefully climb down the ladder. Once you reach the bottom you activate your Night’s Eye and take a look around.



Empty. Things are going good so far but you shouldn’t let your guard down. Gah! This would have all been so much simpler if Ke’tiem didn’t just happen to be guarding her! You kick a small rock out of anger. It flies across the room and hits the other wall with a clack that echoes throughout the sewers.



You take a deep breath and start walking. It’s ok. You’re doing this for the benefit of many. You just hope Ke’tiem doesn’t find out. You’ll need some sort of cover story… Maybe bandits? You sigh. No, you don’t think there’s any way to preserve your friendship with him this time. Not with what you’re doing. You might just disappear for good this time. If only he understood why you have to do this.




You are now Ke’tiem. You have retrieved Liz from the spell shop. She learned a telekinesis spell and is messing around with a spoon she found in a barrel. You don’t like it. It’s possible to do all sorts of weird things when you can move stuff without touching it. You’ll have to keep an extra sharp eye on her now.



She notices you glaring at her and drops the spoon. She turns toward you and puts a hand on her hip. “What’s your problem with me?” She says.



“Do you even have to ask? You’re a mage!” You respond.



Liz sighs. “That doesn’t really answer my question.”



“I simply do not trust mages because they dabble in stuff that is dangerous and they like to lock themselves in towers and grow really long beards to hide their mouth so you can’t see them smiling as they deceive you.” You explain.



“Thats… I can’t even grow a beard! We’ve been over this!” She almost shouts. She sighs and takes a deep breath. “Look. I’m going to go the Arcane University now because I’m sick of dealing with your conspiracy theories about mages. I’ll be back at the inn by nightfall.” She storms off. She might just be going there to get reinforcements to attack you. You’ll be ready.



With Liz gone you wait a few minutes for Katherin and M’Iago to return. Then you wait a few more… then a few more… a few more… a few more… OK. What’s taking so long? It’s almost been half an hour. You’re starting to get worried. You decide you’ll go look for her yourself.



You start walking around the district, occasionally asking people if they’ve seen either of them. You don’t have any luck. You suddenly hear someone shout your name. It sounds like Liz’s voice. You turn around, looking for her. You eventually see her standing next to a gate that leads out of the district, waving you over.



You’re about to ignore her and keep looking for Katherin but you notice the look on her face. She seems… really concerned about something. You decide to walk over to her.



She immediately starts talking at a million miles a minute.



“So - I was trying to get into the Arcane University but they wouldn’t let me in so I was walking around the outside wall trying to find a place to peek into - I didn’t find any and on my way back I saw someone walking down near the water and they were holding another person. I was about to ignore them but then I noticed that the person being carried looked a lot like Katherin. So I got a little closer to investigate and I saw that it was Katherin I didn’t see the person who was carrying them though because I made a noise and I didn’t want to be seen so I ran back here to tell you!”



...



"WHHHAAAAAT!?"

“Then we need to go back there!” You say. You don’t even wait for her response before bolting off in the direction she came from. You hear her attempting to follow after you. As she starts to fall behind she tells you to go past the arena and then take a left. That’ll lead you to the university. You begin to speed up, causing your stomach to start flaring up in pain. You ignore it and keep going.



It takes you no longer than a minute to reach the Arcane University. You’re winded, but you push on. You remember Liz said she saw them down near the water. You circle around to the back of the university, trying to find a way down to shoreline. You eventually manage to find something
traversable.



You reach the edge of the water and begin looking for any signs of someone.


He’s at least better than you because he knows what to look for. You don’t see any footprints in the sand or anything and that’s about all you can think to look for.. You know that they can’t be far but you don’t know which direction they were going in. You look behind you. Liz should get here soon. Assuming this isn’t a trap. What if she just lured you here? The only thing keeping you from launching a counter trap is the possibility she is telling the truth.



You look around a bit more but don’t see anything. Eventually you hear Liz approach from behind you.



“You see anything?” She asks you.



“No. Nothing. Which way were they going? They can’t be far from here” You say as you turn to face her.



“South. I think. Well, it was that way.” She points behind you.



“And… you’re sure it was Katherin?” You ask.



She nods. “I’m pretty certain. There was orange fur and everything. The only difference is she was wearing a tunic or robe of sorts. It was a dark green.”



“That’s…” You sigh as your heart sinks. Liz would have had no other way to know what she was wearing. “Yeah she just bought those. It’s got to be her.”



Liz frowns. “Great… Any idea who was carrying her?”



“It’s… probably a vampire? Those are the only people after her... Unless she hasn’t told me something.” You say. “Gah! Either way we need to save her.” You start walking in the direction Liz said they were going. She follows after you. “You wouldn’t happen to have some sort of tracking… magic?” You ask her.



She sighs. “No. I thought about getting detect life instead of telekinesis but… well…” She picks up a pebble with magic and tosses it. “Yeah. Too late now.”