A rugged land of cold [Skyrim]

[Spicy]

Chapter 1.

The human consciousness is quite an interesting thing. Normally one's perception of the world would provide sufficient stimulation for the mind to ignore such matters and focus on more vivid things. In my case though, the only things I could feel at the moment was my simple sense of self. Slowly I became more aware. First came the sensation of movement, after that I could once again feel the presence of my hands and feet, numb as they were.

Then came the ravaging feeling of bone deep coldness.

My eyes snapped open, bashing my mind against the sudden light. My hands instinctively wrapped around myself. A strange out of place feeling came when they did, like the proportions of my body were kinda...different?.

"Well, it doesn't matter right now" I thought. My mind was dull and my memory was drawing a blank. Where was I? What am I doing? What was happening.

"My name is Aron Chester".That's good, I know my name. I nudged my brain to start working again. Hard and slow like forcing rusted gears to spin once again, I began recalling my most recent memory.

I was at a some kind of party, my 28th birthday if I'm not mistaken. I kept recalling bits and pieces of what happened that night. Some of the people and some of the conversations. The last thing I could remember was getting drunk out of my mind when playing beer pong, loosing my balance and then everything is blank, like I was hitting some wall in my mind.

"I feel like I hit a wall in my body too..."

My vision began stabilizing allowing me to get a better look around. I was in some kind of… carriage perhaps? Well from what I could see, it was more akin to a covered cart. The wooden planks were a rat gray color, old and some of them actually rotten. The "roof", if you were generous enough to call it that, was a dirty wrap of cloth hung and held across the cart with small sticks. With every bump in the road and every groaning of wood my apprehension began building up.

My eyes went from the roof to my fellow passengers. Across me was a blond man, big fellow, easily 6 feet tall with broad shoulders and meaty arms. He was lazily swinging a quarter filled bottle in his hand. The liquid sloshing lively inside. The man had a blank look, seemingly fascinated by his action.

To my left was a woman, maybe in her thirties? With auburn hair that reached her shoulders. Part of it was braided and tied at the back of the head giving a clear view of her face. She was scowling. Her hand were in a position similar to mine, wrapped around herself to save as much heat as possible.

"Damn this weather! And damn this place as well! Only people touched in the head would choose to live here." she said bitterly and giving a helpless look to the big man who didn't seem to mind the frigid air at all.

He turned his head to the woman and gave a small smile. Taking a sip out of the bottle before giving a sigh.

"Come dear, is that anyway to talk about your dear husband's homeland?"

The woman scowl lessened but didn't fully disappear. She rubbed her hands a bit before talking.

"You'll have to forgive me beloved, but I was born and raised in the capital. Being so far up north is very unnatural for me." said the man's wife.

The two began talking about their family matters, mostly about some cousin they were visiting now. I listened a bit, but soon lost interest. The other person besides us three not even bothering to open his eyes.

He was sitting opposite to the woman, at the man's right. His face was wrapped in dark red cloth and had a fur blanket over him.

The couple were wearing strange clothes. The man wore a blue tunic that reached halfway to his thighs, with brown leather vest and simple white pants. The woman also wore blue, but in the form of a lightly adorned dress that covered her ankles together with a hooded cape that was wrapped around her.

Were we going to some kind of medieval fare I wondered. That thought pattern was quickly cast away though. There was something in the back of my mind that said this situation was much more complicated than it seemed. Terrific.

Speaking about clothes, I turned my eyes to check what I was wearing. There was nothing like a hood or hat on my head, as shown by my frozen ears. Going down was a simple white tunic that had probably seen better days. Similar to the man across me, it reached halfway to my thighs. The material it was made off was coarse and not very comfortable. It felt like I was wearing something more akin to a grain sack than a proper shirt. The pants were giving off a similar feel. Dark brown and ragged with a few loose ends nearing the ankles. The strangest part of my attire had to be the shoes though. They were a just bags of leather wrapped around my feet with a few straps to hold them tight.

No wonder my feet were freezing.

This is weird. This is very weird. Where on God's green Earth was I? Who were these people? Why were we dressed this way? Where were we heading?

The carriage kept going at a steady pace, ignoring my distressed mind. From the little light that came through the cloth "door" at my right, it was currently daytime. Good thing too. At night it would probably be pitch black in here and that really would not have helped my, already rocky, emotional state.

I was awake and aware now. The couple were still speaking, something about a relative of theirs, Dagny or whatever. I turned my head towards the man in front of me. It was high time I started asking questions instead of just rolling them inside my head.

Just as I opened my mouth the carriage suddenly stopped with a loud neigh from the horse. The couple stopped speaking and the other man slightly opened his eyes.

"We just had a break not even half an hour ago. Maybe we already reached the city?" said the woman with a confused tone.

The man raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "That can't be right, we just passed the border and barley entered the Hold. We should be at least a few days off of Falkreath"

The man stood up at the end of his sentence and reached for the exit after seeing the urging look in his wife's eyes.

"Wait a second. Did he just say Flakreath!? As in the… oh, oh no"

I needed answers and I needed them now!

"Excuse m-"

*woosh *

A… a frickin arrow just ripped through the wall! I felt the woman jump out of her seat while her husband threw the cloth covering the exit open revealing a snow covered forest and a gravel road.

The sound of feet hitting snow and shouts were becoming more and more clear, just like my panic and confusion.

Then I heard it...



"Skyrim belongs to the Nords!"



If that didn't tell me where I was, then I didn't know what would. So right now I was in...bloody Skyrim and was currently attacked by bandits.

"Crap baskets!"

I shook off my dazed state and made to stand up. Action now, thinking later seemed like an appropriate attitude to have right now. The same moment I got to my feet I heard a rustling sound to the back where the woman and the covered man were. Suddenly a figure dressed in a form fitting black and red attire flew past me.

For a split second something in the figure's hand reflected light. It was a dagger. The blond man didn't have time to even turn his head when he was stabbed in the back.

Along side the man's painful scream, the woman's horrified gasp and my eyes threatening to bulge out of my skull, the figure shouted:


"Hail Sithis!"

 

[Spicy]

Chapter 2


You know that feeling when you come home on a cold rainy day, make yourself a cup of calming herbal tea and sip it leisurely while being wrapped in a blanket in front of the computer or TV?

Well...

I was feeling the opposite of that.

"Strodmir!!" The woman's shout was screeching in my ears. A perfect sound to accompany her husband's gushing blood and his attacker's mad crackle.

"Geh, heh, heh...Let's see that filthy blood sucking runt call me a failure now!"

Judging by his armor the man was clearly a member of the Dark Brotherhood, the band of pseudo-religious assassins you could join in the game. It was home to a number of interesting characters, most of them quite well made and unique. Unfortunately I did not recognize this one at all. He was certainly not one of the NPCs you meet in that particular quest line. Though I did manage to get a strange sense of familiarity from realizing he was referring to Babette, the immortal vampire girl, with the "filthy blood sucking runt" comment.

Now, usually one might be more than a little reluctant to take on a murderer, especially a trained, fanatical murderer. Though, as always, circumstance has a big part to play in decision making. For example being trapped inside a very small space with said person and a group of bandits outside ready to tear you apart like wolves.

Strodmir, as was his name, was currently falling over his face, his back covered in dark red blood. So the big brawny nord, that he was, was useless in dealing with the problem. His wife, who was on the verge of fainting, proved equally unhelpful. In conclusion, the only one left to deal with the hunched over assassin was little old me.

Wonderful.

Of course there was a chance he would now make a run for it. No need to silence us if the bandits were going to do so anyway. Plus I'm sure he didn't want to stop and fight them with just that measly dagger .

"Right, then the moment he bolts out of the carriage I'll asses the situation and get myself out of here" I was beginning to calm down now. Not having to deal with the Dark Brotherhood goon was easing on my nerves. Granted, I was still very high strung, but all my fear and anxiety turned to focus. I was going to get out of here alive and, preferably, unhurt. That just left me with the bandit problem.

"Ah, that was reliving to say the least" the killer said with happiness. His face was still covered in cloth so I couldn't discern his facial expression, but by the glint in his eyes he certainly looked satisfied.

"Now then, while my associates deal with the guards outside..." he didn't finish that sentence , but turned towards us with his dagger raised indicating exactly what he wanted to do to us.

The good news was that there were guards outside that could delay, or hopefully deal with the bandits. The bad news was that rag face over here was in cahoots with them. That meant he didn't have to fight his way out of here. That also meant he could deal with us witnesses at his discretion.

"Damn it all" Alright, now that the worst possible scenario was going full swing, what am I going to do? Straight up fight him? Best outcome, I get stabbed. Worse outcome, I get stabbed repeatedly.

"A distraction" I thought "I have to distract him somehow and then take him down" I didn't know what I meant by taking him down. Do I kill him? I never took a life, I'm not going to say it would not be justified in this scenario, but the morals I developed all my life would make me more than hesitate. "And get stabbed" I concluded, can't forget that part.

As long as I incapacitate him long enough to get out of here it should be enough. I jerked my head sideways a bit, making it seem like I'm looking behind him and put on an exaggerated expression of surprise.

"Babette!? What are you doing here?"

The assassin turned around like the snap of a whip. I didn't know why he jumped like that or why he seemed scared at the mentioning of her name. Maybe he though she would have heard his earlier comment? Anyway, with my distraction successful, I stepped forward with my left foot and drew my right one back. Then with a kick filled with pure desire to live, I whacked him in the balls.

The scream that followed was agony in it's purest form.

*Thud *

The man fell over his victim's body, his arms and legs twitching randomly. The dagger fell out of his hand and clattered near my feet. It looked similar to the iron dagger that appears in game, just with some kind of red wood for the hilt and a small engraving of a skull at the base of the blade. I quickly bent over and picked it up trying to ignore the blood on it.

Spearing another glance at the assassin I jumped out and laded on the snow. If my feet were not frozen before they were going to now. In front of our carriage was a big wagon that carried all kinds of boxes and chests. A few people, civilians, were hiding behind it. A dozen meters or so further away were two men with a sword and shield and a two handed sword respectively. They were trying to hold against less impressive but more numerous foes. The guards were already wounded, an arrow sticking out of one's right shoulder, while the other had blood dripping from a cut above his eye.

For a few moments I contemplated helping them, but I was everything but good at fighting and my newly acquired dagger was very different from a regular kitchen knife. Also I'm not sure what damage I could deal against armored people, those furs looked quite thick, wielding things like axes, swords and bows. My body proportions also felt off somehow. It would not surprise me if, besides being somehow transported in the world of the Elder Scrolls, some body changing shenanigans were going on. I'm not sure about effectively using my body, let alone a weapon.

My musings were interrupted by the sound of feet hitting the snowy ground. Behind me, the woman slowly walked over, her attention on the ensuing battle. Besides her red eyes and puffed cheeks that indicated lots of crying, the most notable thing about her was now the spray of crimson on her dress and a bloody knife in her trembling hand. I didn't bother to ask what she did inside. Suffice to say that Dark Brotherhood acolyte was not coming out of the carriage anytime soon.

She reached my side, giving a glace at my dagger or, most likely, at her husband's blood on it, but kept quiet otherwise.

Another bandit fell, with a gruesome stab wound in the gut. The guards were gaping for air, but began to garner hope as one more of their foes died.

A burning sound was heard and I let my eyes search for it. * Boom * A fireball? came loose through the air and I watched in morbid fascination as it hit the backside of the wagon where the civilians were hiding.

I was hearing a lot of screams today

 

[Spicy]

Chapter 3



A few moments after the poor wretches began their wailing, both the remaining bandits and the two guards stopped fighting to stare at the destruction. The side hit was completely wrecked with a few of the crates inside falling over. The wagon was made out of solid wood and reinforced with iron strips, even though it was not going to move anytime soon, most of it held fast against the blast.

The same could not be said about the people behind it. Most of them died instantly, the rest shortly after from the heat or flames. A nauseating smell of burnt flesh and cloth began rising in the air together with the smoke.

My stomach churned and my gag reflex kicked in, fortunately there was no vomit. Apparently my stomach was totally empty, not even water inside it, though I could sure use some right now. My body was as tense as a spring. Without even realizing it, I was putting pressure on my feet and shifting my weight around, ready to run as far away as possible from the flames.

Yet I couldn't. My mind, my poor, confused mind had too many shocks in the last ten minutes. First I wake up in Skyrim, then bandits attack, then a psychopath murders someone right in front of me, and finally, a damn fireball on steroids just...ends a group of people not even 20 feet away from me!

I was nothing special, a normal guy, living a normal life. A life filled with banality and comfort. Nothing in it came even close to preparing me for something like this. Yeah, sure, you see people die on TV all the time, even the occasional car crash on the highway, but nothing prepares you for the smell of burning people.

I was out of my depth. I was out of my depth so hard I didn't even know what I was supposed to do right now.

"GHAA-!"

The scream pierced my head like a needle under the nail. In the time everybody was gawking at the destruction, an enthusiastic bandit jumped the distance and stabbed one of the guards right through the chest. Everybody snapped out of their trance and resumed fighting. Unfortunately for us, the remaining guard could not hope to hold against the attackers for long. He'll be taken down very soon.

I felt someone grab my arm. I turn my head to the side to stare into a face of pure disgust and rage. I completely forgot about her with the spectacle in front of me. The woman was looking at me with a sense of urgency, the blood on her dress shining a sickening red in the flame's light.

"Snap out of it kid! We got to run away right now or we'll be the next to die!"

I really wanted to ask her about the "kid" part, but that could wait. She was right, it won't be long before our weary protector would be overwhelmed, the bandits coming for us afterwards.

I tightened my grip on the dagger and took a breath, not remembering when I had last done so.

"Damn it all.." I was all for running, but where? I knew from the couple's conversation earlier that we were in Falkreath Hold, but where exactly? How far away from the city? The road was our only lead. The front was occupied by bandits, but the back, leading to Skyrim's border, was empty. There was surely an outpost with soldiers at the end of it that could offer us protection.

She saw me look in that direction, guessing my thoughts.

"Bad idea, the border is at least half an hour's way from here, open field too. Good place to get an arrow in the back or one of those charged fireballs" She changed to grip on her dagger and dragged it across her dress, ripping it in the front and back from from halfway down. Can't be classy when you're running for your life I guess.

"Listen, our only bet are the woods, lots of trees to shield ourselves with."

She was right. The border was out, even if my current adrenaline rush assured me I could run the distance with no problems, the risk of getting shot down or exploded was to great. The woods though, posed another series of problems. First it was easy to get lost in them, Skyrim being way more...primal than modern nature settings. Secondly, if the game was any indication, we would have to deal with less than friendly wildlife. And the thing I was most certain about at the moment was that anything besides an old, crippled wolf would make an easy meal out of me.

"We don't have time, we have to-"

Her urging was suddenly interrupted by a pitiful scream. Our last hope was on the ground, a bandit in full plate, steel armor was lazily lifting a bloody, two handed war hammer from he's crushed skull.

We made eye contact. If not for the current situation I would have marveled at seeing a living, breathing, murdering orc in reality.

"RUN!" the woman screamed and started running towards the tree line. Half a second later I bolted after her, dagger in hand and jaw clenched.

Just as I was about to reach the forest, I felt my hair stand on end. I hard the sound of something cutting through the air. Immediately I jumped to my left and, without looking at the arrow that landed where I just was, I kept running after the woman's back. A moment after I passed the first tree, a
*thunk * was herd, another arrow stabbing the bark.

We kept running and running easily loosing sight of the road and the bandits until nothing but ancient trees and snow was all that I could see. My feet were numb, the cold seeping dangerously in my flesh and bones. Fortunately, as they say, adrenaline was one hell of a drug, great painkiller too as I was currently learning. So I ran without stopping for maybe 15 minutes, continuously avoiding trees, rocks and low branches.

Eventually we stopped near a large rock formation, a hanging stone's peak forming a natural roof. We went under it, the giant stones hiding us from sigh and blocking a large part of the wind. We spend a few minutes regaining our breaths. The woman sat down after clearing some of the snow of a rock and gave me searching look.

"Are you alright kid? Did any of them manage to get a shot on you?"

I found myself a dry spot to sit. The adrenaline was leaving my body, my lungs were burning and my legs were trembling. But, besides a few scratches from the branches I couldn't avoid in time, I was surprisingly unhurt all things considered.

"I'm fine, just a few scratches, what about you?" I asked. I really hoped she was fine, otherwise I would have even more problems on my hands.

"I reached the tree line before those wretched pigs had even drawn their bows" she said with hate. I could understand where her feelings were coming from. Even if you ignore the fact that they were bandits and were disliked on principle alone, those were the men that, apparently, worked together with her husband's killer.

We spent a few more minutes in silence. I was trying to process my sudden turn in life, while my companion had a bleak look on her face. I could see tears gathering at the edge of her eyes, no doubt thinking about her husband that died not even an hour ago. Her emotions seemed to alternate between rage and sorrow. I felt sorry for her, while my situation was horrible, her's was much worse.

"Do you know where we are? How far away from Falkreath?"I tried moving her mind towards other things. We both had quite a bit of shocks today, but her mourning will have to come later. We had to concentrate on survival right now and an unfocused mind would bring us nothing good.

She contemplated for a few seconds then answered me with a strained voice.

"I don't know exactly, we're just past the border so the city should be a few days down the road we came from. Though I don't want to go there for at least a few hours. Problem is, they will surely send someone to look for us. The fewer witnesses reporting to the Jarl, the smaller the chance they would be hunted down like the scum sucking, filthy bastards they-"

"Hey, easy, easy, calm down." I interrupted her. Her right hand was trembling and tightly gripping the dagger. Her knuckles were white and the blade was dangerously close to her thigh. She didn't even notice that while she spoke. Unconsciously stabbing herself was the last thing we needed right now.

Slowly she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, her hand stopped shaking, but her grip on the weapon was as firm as ever.

"Good, listen, the cold isn't doing us any good and I'm sure some rest would do wonders for both of us. Help me find dry wood and get a fire going" I knew that a fire could prove counterproductive to our efforts of being undiscovered, but it was currently day time so the light would not stand out much. More than that, now that the adrenaline wore off, and I began to cool down, the cold came back with a hateful, vicious vengeance.

She nodded weakly and we began searching for whatever could catch a flame in this frozen place.

 

[Spicy]

Chapter 4



In a strange and morbid sense of the word, luck was actually on our side. Though I'm not cynical enough to entertain that thought for long. The forest around us was filled with dead wood, a lot of the broken branches were scattered here and there, most of them still hanging a little of the trees.

In less then 15 minutes we had a relatively big pile of dry sticks and leaves gathered together between a few rocks to hold the heat in. By now, I was almost certain frostbite was starting to develop on my feet. Even if the leather my "shoes" were made of was quite resistant to tearing, it did almost nothing against the snow and ice.

"Skyrim seemed like a much warmer place from behind the computer screen" I thought. In my recent experience many things seemed quite different from the game. For one, that debacle earlier? That would have been a fun experience if I had a mouse in my hand and not...well, the bloodied dagger of a bodysuit wearing maniac.

But I digress.

While my gathering of sticks proved successful, my mental inquires did not. I had time to think, but nothing became of it. I still can't remember how I ended up in a, supposedly, fictional world. My memory was still drawing a blank, especially with the new additions to it, "O God, the fire!" and "O God, the smell!".

So I decided not worry about how I ended up here and focus more on the present. The horrible, horrible present. I was tired and starting to get hungry. My thirst was quickly taken care of after a few bites of snow, so at least I got that going for me… My companion, whose name I still didn't know, was keeping her silence, many thoughts on her mind just like me.

"Hey" I said "What's your name?"

She threw the last few sticks on the pile and gave me and exhausted look.

"Kaieela" she said and, after a brief pause and clenching of her hands "Kaieela Spring-Blade"

I gave a nod "Aron Chester" I would have said it was nice to meet her, but there was nothing pleasant about our meeting. So I kept my mouth shut and turned to look at the pile of sticks in between us.

Right, the fire.

…

I realized I didn't know how to start a fire.

"Crap baskets!"

Do… do I rub two sticks together? It would be stupidity itself if we gathered the wood for nothing.

Fortunately my rising panic was quickly put down by Kaieela. She pointed her hand at the pile and, after a short moment, a shinny tongue of fire left her palm, igniting the wood and giving off a wave of warmth.

"O… right, Skyrim, magic, of course." I thought with a sigh. Just like my companion, I plopped myself on a stump of wood. Not wasting any more time, I fiddled with the leather straps and freed my feet from the less than adequate footwear. The skin was now almost as pale as the snow around us.

The heat felt wonderful, my body was warming up and a red color could be seen returning to my hands and feet. Though, as I looked at them calmly, my earlier assumption about a body change was proving to be true. These were not what I was used to. The skin color was different, even after warming myself up. It was lighter, almost pale. The fingers had different proportions and none of the marks I had known to have were there. I lightly touched my face. Indeed, it also felt different. I didn't now how I looked, but my facial structure was foreign to me and I was missing my beard. My hair was a different length, reaching between my shoulder blades. It was actually tied in a ponytail, not that I noticed with all the commotion earlier. I brought it forward and gave it a look. It was as dark as coal with a bit of shine to it, while the hair I knew to have was blonde.

This certainly brought up even more questions than I actually had, though, because of my exhaustion or inability to get answers, I chose to push the issue to the back of my mind for the moment.

"Hey kid" I was apparently younger too "What forsaken wind brought you to Skyrim?"

It looks like Kaieela wanted to make conversation. Not that I was blaming her, the silence and crackling of flames were not very agreeable to my psyche right now. Problem was, "I wish I knew lady" didn't seem like a trust inspiring answer. So instead I went with something simple.

"Ran out of a future where I lived before, thought Skyrim would be a new beginning I guess."

She scoffed "Right, new beginning, that didn't go as well as you expected did it?"

I shrugged, a lot of things were unexpected today "Still I made my choice-" "Wish I had" "- just have to make it work somehow".

She raised an eyebrow "There aren't that many bretons that make that choice though. Skyrim's population is less then inclined to accept someone of a magical disposition." Looks like I'm a breton or at least look like one.

"Well, I'm really not that into magic, never had a chance to learn you know..." especially since I found out magic was real only two hours ago.

"A breton not knowing even a lick of magic? You got on the carriage in Bruma, don't tell me the mages there didn't even spare you a glace?" Apparently, "I" came from Bruma, good to know for future reference.

"I didn't grow up in Bruma, I'm from the Capital, born and raised a street rat, not much magic to be learned in Cyrodiil's alleys I think. Any septims I managed to get my hands on were either spent on food or getting me out of the slums"

And down the rabbit hole we go. Thank you past me for coming up with overly complicated role-playing backstories in the game. Even though that particular character was an argonian mercenary, it was my most recently played one, it's story still fresh in my mind.

Kaieela didn't bat an eyelid "Ah, I see, can't say I understand though. I was born in a merchant clan, never had any problems with septims."

Seeing the opportunity to move the subject of discussion from "my" past, I asked "Merchant clan? Is that why you were coming to Skyrim? To set up shop?"

She frowned "No… not at all, me and my family have long since cut ties. We were moving in with my dear Strodmir's cousin, Balgruuf, in Whiterun"

"Wait, what? Balgruuf? Balgruuf the Greater? As in the Jarl of Whiterun?"

Kaieela gave a small chuckle "The Greater, heh, I still can't believe that's what he's called. All I can think of when I hear that name is the scrawny teenager tripping over his own sword while trying to impress his father"

Well, it looks like I was in the presence of royalty. Or, well, not royalty, but something along those lines. Kaieela never appeared in the game, so I'm guessing she either wasn't important enough or… that Dark Brotherhood assassin wasn't originally interrupted by a cross-dimensional entity like myself.

"Listen, Aron right? I can tell you're not much of a fighter, hell I'm not one either, but those bandits are going to come looking for us soon. Even if we somehow reach a city before then, another assassin is going to come after us."

The thought of being hunted down by the Dark Brotherhood was not a pleasant one. Normally they would leave us alone since we were just bystanders and not the target himself, but we kinda killed one of their own. Theoretically I just kicked him in the balls and Kaieela took revenge for her husband. Though Astrid, their leader, would probably interpret it as me intentionally incapacitating him for Kaieela to stab. Wonderful...

"I see, so what do you suggest we do?"

An orange light reflected on her face from the flame. A smile full of malice stretched on her lips before they softly parted.

"It's simple" she said "We hunt them down like the foul rats they are!"

 

[Spicy]

Chapter 5



I just stared at her.

She wants to go hunt down bandits, the armed and very dangerous bandits, with just the two of us… All right, Even if you ignore the fact that we don't know were they were, even if we knew, what could we possibly do against them? They had every advantage possible, better armor, weapons and, most importantly, someone capable of hurling explosions at our faces. We had what? A couple of daggers and rags that couldn't fend off the cold, let alone a war hammer.

I began speaking slowly "I know those bandits saw our faces and that could prove very problematic in the future, but that is the future, only a possibility. If we go after them now, not only would we be unable to eliminate any of them, but it would guarantee our deaths."

Kaieela scowled "It's not a possibility. I'm certain we would be killed in our sleep sooner or later and I don't want to think about that every night until it eventually becomes a reality. Trust me, I know who held that murderer's leash and they are a very dedicated, very dangerous group."

I couldn't argue that part unfortunately. The Dark Brotherhood, as a group of assassins were, by definition, dangerous. But the biggest problem was their dedication. I remember in the game, once you had their attention, you'd be kidnapped in your sleep and, usually, taken halfway across Skyrim to an abandoned shack. And it didn't matter where you slept. That implied two terrible things.

First, city walls, guards and locks meant nothing at all if they could take you from your own bed in the middle of Whiterun. Secondly, they could drag even the Dragonborn, practically a demigod, out of his home, past an entire city's population, through the harsh lands of Skyrim and throw him inside a cabin like a bag of potatoes.

Of course, that happened in the game. Reality should be quite different. The notion of successfully kidnapping someone like that was, honestly, ridiculous. Unfortunately, they would not attempt something like that with us. No, we don't get the premium membership treatment, just the regular one...

A cut across the throat.

"Great, not even a day in the wonderful lands of Skyrim, and I already have a target painted on my back." I said in exasperation

She scoffed "You won't have one if there's no filthy bandit to give you away." Her expression hardened as she continued "Look, they're just bandits, if we play our cards right everything is going to go smoothly"

I gave her an incredulous look "Cards? What cards are you talking about? They have all the cards, we have, at best, the fact that they don't know where we are. If we go after them we lose even that small advantage.

From her smirk it looked like she expected my answer. She opened her mouth to respond but immediately closed it.

"Woof, woof"

"Oh, Jenskr! When you're done pissin', get over here. The mutt picked up their scent" a voice was heard a bit off in the distance.

We both became as still as a rock. They already found us. We could run for it, but neither of us had the energy to do so for long and, when they eventually caught up with us, we'd be to exhausted to put up a fight. Hiding was another option, but the dog, because of course they'd have a dog, would sniff out our position immediately.

Our only option, as unpleasant as it may be, was to fight. Judging from the look Kaieela was giving me, she came to the same conclusion. We both stood up.

"We can't take them head on, there's at least two of them. An ambush is our only solution. Hide among the stones and take the first opportunity you get." She said.

I gave her a nod. It was a good plan, one I wanted to suggest myself. Our daggers were not much use in open combat, but they were deadly in a sneak attack. Quickly I maneuvered myself between a few stones. My body was hidden rather well and it gave me a clear view of the clearing where we had the still burning fire. Kaieela went in another direction, also disappearing from view.

There was only still, unnatural silence now, only the occasional cracking from the burning wood was heard. I tightly gripped my dagger, trying to get my breathing under control. My heart was pounding like mad and for a moment I was afraid it was so laud the bandits would hear it.

A minute passed, then two. Finally I heard a voice a few feet away.

"I swear to any Daedra listening Jenskr, if you stop to piss one more time before we get back to camp, I'm going to do to you what the boss did to Holgder."

I could see two bandits near a large boulder taking to each other. A raggedy dog was standing near one of them, sniffing the air. There were only two of them fortunately, a nord and, judging by the tone of his skin, a redguard. They looked anything but tense, like they were out picking leeks, not hunting people.

"Overconfidence? Or just plain old stupidity?" My question was quickly answered by the redguard. He took a bottle with a bee on it's label and drowned half of it's content in a few gulps.

"Stupidity. Definitely stupidity." One of the bandits had duller sense thanks to the mead. Good to know.

"Bah, I can handle your punches old man. I ain't a little desert flower like Holgder!" he shivered at the name "Can't say I could take what the boss gave him though..."

His companion shrugged "What did you expect, the idiot used one of the boss's spell scrolls without permission. He only had a couple of those, and only in case we had to deal with the Hold guards coming after us"

That's a valuable piece of information right there. So that blast from earlier was from a scroll. They didn't have a mage tucked away somewhere ready to incinerate us. Though if their boss still had a few scrolls left they could prove just as dangerous.

"Woof, woof"

The bandits conversation was cut short by the dog. They both turned to look at it, before the old nord gave it some kind of signal. The dog scurried off somewhere through the rocks. Hopefully it wouldn't find Kaieela too easily. I was harder to spot than her. While we both had a number of smells on us from the forest and sweat, she had blood sprayed all over her dress. I knew hunting dogs were particularly trained to sniff out wounded prey, so right before I hid, I took a bunch of snow to clean my dagger and even rubbing some dirt on it.

"Alright, it looks like the mutt found something. Let's go" said the nord, already stepping forward to follow after the dog.

"Mhm, yeah, you go on ahead I just gotta color the snow for a second… don't look at me like that, you know what this stuff does to my bladder, I don't know how you people drink it all day."

The nord closed his eyes for a second then gave a sigh "Fine, I hope it freezes and falls off. Just so you know, after I gut the other one, I'm not sharing the woman with ya, not after what happened last time."

The redguard looked outraged "O come on! That only happened once and you bloody know it was an accident!"

The nord just scoffed and proceeded to follow the dog leaving his companion grumbling behind.

"Shitty old man. I haven't touched a woman in ages, let's see him try and stop me" the bandit gave off a few more curses in the nord's direction before picking a spot to relieve himself.

It didn't take him long to decide. After a few steps, he put the mead bottle away and proceeded to untie the rope holding his pants up. The sound of liquid hitting a solid surface was heard. I could hear it very clearly.

I was just behind the rock he was pissing on.

 

[Spicy]

Chapter 6



The bandit was doing to the rock what life seems to be doing to me for the past few hours. His eyes were vacant and mouth slightly opened, a face that said that mead bottle over there was only his most recent one. Couldn't have asked for a better opponent given the circumstances.

Behind cover, I gave him an appraising look. His clothes could be counted as fur armor, held together with a few leather strips here and there, not much that could help against a serious attempt at stabbing, lucky for me. His head was uncovered, dirty patches of brown hair falling over his face. His weapon of choice was a two handed war axe strapped to his back, giving me ample opportunity to do damage before he gets to it.

The bandit finished his business and proceeded to fumble with the rope that acted as his belt. I quickly changed my dagger into a reverse grip and squashed any hesitation on my mind.

"Now!" I jumped out from behind the rock and quickly closed the distance. His head was looking down and his half-drunken mind was focused on tying a knot. He noticed me only after I was a few feet away from him. His eyes widened and he instinctively stepped back, one hand going behind him for his weapon.

"Too late!" Just before he managed to bring the axe around, I was in front of him, weapon raised and ready to strike. In that split second I saw his surprise transition into fear and finally into terror.

He tried to dodge, but to no avail.

My dagger pierced his unprotected throat, showering half my body in blood. He tried to scream, but only a strange, strangled cry came out thanks to my blade still being stuck inside.

With enough adrenaline in my system for a heart attack, I pushed him with my other hand, putting my whole body behind it. I lost my balance, but thankfully I didn't topple over. The bandit had both his hands around his throat, desperately trying to stop his life from ending. His efforts were useless though. A few moments later he fell on his back, the snow around us dyed crimson. His eyes were still opened, and, through my foggy vision, I could see no small amount of fear and helplessness reflected in them.

I was shaking, my stomach felt like it was full of lead and saliva was gathering in my mouth, awaiting the nonexistent content of my stomach. Was it justified? Yes, yes it was. I knew in my mind that, I really did, but my heart felt only wrongness, like what I had done was something unnatural and frowned upon by everybody from worms to gods.

The guilt hit me like a brick to the head. Again, logic was useless against it, no matter how many arguments I gave myself.

Through my hazy consciousness I heard a scream and suddenly remembered I was not alone here. The other bandit must have found Kaieela.

"Action now, thinking later" I told myself as I ruthlessly stomped down on my emotions. My eyes could see clear again and, even though my gag reflex was still struggling to squeeze out something from my stomach, I straightened my back and stepped over the dead body.

I heard another scream. Fearing that Kaieela was not as lucky as me with her opponent, I began running between the sharp rock formations and boulders. Even if that other bandit was sober, I felt like he could be dealt with. Once you resolve a problem, a similar one becomes easier. Just like how, apparently, once you kill somebody, it's easier to think about doing so again…

"Damn it all!" I didn't like my thinking. I didn't like my thinking one bit.

After sliding through the gap between two natural stone pillars I reached the edge of the stone formation. The sight that greeted me was better than I imagined, but worse than I had hoped.

Kaieela was on the ground with her back against a tree, her dagger nowhere in sight. Her dress was ripped open at the torso, exposing a lot of her skin. There was a bit of blood running out the corner of her lips and she had a nasty gash on the left side of her face. Her expression was murderous. Her right hand was lifted, palmed open and pointed a few feet away where the other bandit was.

He was on the ground, face in his palms and screaming bloody murder. I could sense the, unfortunately familiar, smell of burnt flesh in the air. A short moment after taking in the scene, I quickly understood what had taken place. It appeared that stupidity was a trait more commonly shared among bandits than I had expected. One of them comes on a human hunt drunk and the other tries to force himself on one of their targets the first chance he gets. Did he forget about me? Or did he not care at all? Did he believe himself stab proof while his pants were down I wonder?

I started running before the nord took his hands down from his face. His mace was a little farther away, but he could still reach it if he lunged for it. I didn't want to give him the chance.

I was quickly closing in on him, my dagger still fresh with blood. I heard a few barks, but I paid them no mind. That was until the dog, who jumped from God knows where, slammed into my side.

He latched onto my right arm and we came tumbling down. He was standing over me growling while trying to rip off the chunk of flesh he bit. I was in quite a bit of pain, but, thanks to my battered emotional state and exhaustion, it didn't stun me as much as the surprise itself.

I really like dogs, but I liked living even more. I punched him in the head with my free arm and, while he was sort of dazed, I switched hands on my dagger. The blade pierced the side of his head a second later and, after a moment, I freed my now wounded arm from it's teeth.

I pushed the body off of me and stood up. I felt very week. I really wanted to just fall down and sleep, but the danger was not over. During my scuffle with his dog, the bandit reached for his weapon and was walking at a brisk pace towards me. His face had black soot at the edges, his eyebrows were missing and his red eyes were screaming nothing but hate and rage.

"I'll mount your head on a wall!" he screamed, spit flying out of his mouth.

If that mace even so much as touches my head I'll be out as a light or, most likely, dead.

"I can't let him get a good swing on me" Ignoring the pain in my arm I waited for him to get closer. Once he was close enough, he raised his mace ready to end my life, when I sprung with as much speed as I could muster. Before his weapon came down, I was already in his face, my left arm gripping his right and the other poised to strike with my dagger.

I didn't have the chance to do that though. The nord, while demonstrating that all bandits were not the same, headbutted me right between my eyes. And, without missing a beat, he used his free arm to punch me in the face.

The hit disoriented me badly. I lost the grip I had on his arm holding the mace and took a couple of steps back trying to readjust myself. Unfortunately I was now in the perfect range of his weapon.

Luckily, just as it was halfway from my skull, a stream of fire hit the bandit in the face, a few licks of flame reaching me as well. He screamed and brought both of his arms up to shield his face.

The magic did not last long, but it was enough for me to reorient myself. Leaving no time to pause, I ignored the newly acquired burns on my forearms and lunged at my target.

This time he could do nothing to stop me as I plunged the dagger in his side. He screamed, but he was not down yet, so I yanked the blade out and thrust it in again, this time in his chest. Unfortunately, even if I was sure I hit a lung, it still wasn't instant death so, in his pain induced rage, he managed to land another punch in my face. He almost made me black out.

We both fell on the ground. Me on my backside and my opponent on his knees. He thrashed around some more before finally giving away his life, another splash of crimson staining the snow.

 

[Spicy]

Chapter 7



I felt weak, like nothing more than a breeze would topple me over. My legs won't help me stand up anytime soon and my body felt colder than the snow I was sitting on. Kaieela was slowly walking over, her exposed skin was once again covered. She looked just as tired as I was.

This went better than expected, all things considered. We were entirely unprepared for a fight, but still managed to keep our lives. The only reason we won was because of the terrain and the bandits general foolishness. If they had taken us seriously from the start, it would have meant an open battle and, as my currently hurting face suggested, lots and lots of wounds.

"Hell, even their dog proved to be dangerous" I thought while inspecting the bite on my arm. It was deep, with quite a bit of blood around it.

Speaking of blood, the white tunic I wore was now covered in it, the pants not much better. The right sleeve was mangled where I was bit, but still held together somehow. My clothes now resembled something a serial killer would wear after a fun night in town and I don't want to even think what my face looked like.

"The killer part is not really that far off from the truth" I thought with a grimace. The body laid out in front of me was probably still warm, even with the snow under it. The heavy feeling in my gut returned, but I was to tired to care at this point.

"Are you alright?" I asked Kaieela. She had reached me a few moments ago and was fiercely staring at the corpse. I hoped she didn't have any serious injuries, excluding the one on her face and the bloody lips. She probably got those the same way as me.

"I'm fine" she finally said, turning her head from the bandit to me "What about you? The mutt didn't reach your throat did it?"

The fact that she asked about my scuffle with the dog and not the bandit bewildered me for a bit. I guess, practically, the dog was the only one to draw blood out of me? Or, did she consider a headbutt and two punches to the face as love taps? Whatever.

Honestly I didn't care enough to ask her. "I'm alright, just weak in the knees and a bit dizzy" The dog bite I plan to clean with some snow and tie it up in a bit of fabric as soon as we return to the campfire. I really, really wanted to be near something warm right now.

"What about the other one?"

"Dead, a few feet away from the large stone near the fire."

She nodded and let the tension slip away from her. "That's good, we need to head back. I don't like being in the open right now. If more of this scum come, we won't be able to do anything against them."

And wasn't that a pretty little scenario? I took a look around and, yes, we were quite exposed, right in the middle of a clearing between the rock formation and the rest of the forest. I took my eyes off the trees, just in case I stare long enough and bandits magically appear behind them.

"Ah, yes, exhaustion induced paranoia. Lovely."

I shook my head and took a deep breath. I had to keep my mind in check. This was a survival situation and the worst thing I can do right now is hop on the optimism-pessimism pendulum. Calm and collected, take advantage of anything you can, work with what's in front of you.

In this case, the thing in front of me just so happened to be the body of a man I repeatedly stabbed. Some may think it's morally reprehensible to steal from the dead. I agree in most cases.

But certainly not this one.

"First, help my search the corpse, see if he has any septims on him. Well take his weapon, too. Those furs on him, though bloody, would be a great help." And I really wanted some decent footwear, my feet froze all over again.

Kaieela scowled "I'm not putting those dirty, smelly things on me, especially since they're soaked in the bastard's blood."

Was this really the time to be picky I wondered? But, after taking a good look at her I figured she could afford to. That dress of hers was quite thick, with multiple layers underneath. The solid, leather shoes with fur lining made me want to cry out of jealousy for a bit. She dressed as was expected to for someone planning to face Skyrim's weather.

"So why aren't I?" Bruma was not the warmest place on the continent so, if "I" got on a carriage heading towards Skyrim from there, why was I so unequipped? "Even more questions for later I suppose."

"I'll make use of them then. I'll freeze at this rate, besides, there's the other one I left behind. He has… fewer holes in him. Though that's no reason to waste these ones."

She gave me a shrug and I began searching the bandit. Since he's clothes were rather rough made, there were no pockets, but he had a small satchel with 30 septims on him. After taking that, I began untying the various straps holding the furs together. While I worked on that, Kaieela retrieved the mace. It was nothing glorious. An iron club with four spikes on the end, better than a dagger that's for sure.

"What happened to your dagger anyway? I don't see it around here." I asked while I fiddled with the straps on the shoes.

"I tried getting the bastard in the back, but he dodged at the last second and I hit the stone besides him. The blade snapped." She frowned "That's when the mutt found me and chased me out here"

I gave a nod. So we were down one weapon, that wasn't good, but thankfully we managed to replace it. How effective we will be with the new ones was still a question, one I hoped wouldn't be answered.

"Alright, I got what I wanted from him let's return before the fire goes out." I had my dagger in my left hand, the fur jacket and shoes in my right.

She raised an eyebrow "What, aren't you going to take his pants too?"

"Judging from the smell, no. No, I'm not." A shame too. Those looked like a warm pair of pants, but I'd rather be naked then have my genitals anywhere inside them. I'm already half-worried I got something from the dog bite, I don't need whatever those man's pants could give me.

Judging from the scowl on her face she felt it too. She gave me an understanding nod and we returned to our temporary camp.

Thankfully the fire was still going, though not as strong as before. Kaieela sat on her spot, tending the flame and washing her face with snow.

Meanwhile, I searched the other bandit. I found another 8 septims and took his clothing, leaving the pants untouched of course. His two handed axe was surprisingly light. Though the head was iron, the shaft was made out of wood with no ornaments. It looked more like something used to chop wood not people.

Though somewhere in my heart I was disappointed I was not getting a sword, because, well, swords were cool. But an axe was a far better option for me. I have zero training wielding a blade, but an axe was a no-brainer for most people.

"Make's sense a bandit would use it"

With my spoils in hand I returned to the fire. I sat the axe on a nearby rock and put the less bloody armor over my tunic. I almost immediately felt warmer which brought a small smile to my face. I then took of my current shoes and, after warming my feet near the fire for a bit, put on the new pair.

Did they smell like roses? No. But were they the perfect protection against the cold and snow? Also no.

But they were a hell of a lot warmer than what I had before that's for sure.

 

[Spicy]

Chapter 8



It's really amazing how quick certain things can change your outlook on life. Warm clothes are one example. Our situation was now, arguably, better than before. Not by much really, but I certainly felt the difference, mentally speaking of course. My body might as well been run over by a truck from the signals it kept sending me. The painful variety mostly.

"I think we should give up on killing the rest of them for now." Kaieela suddenly said.

"Really!? How'd you figure?" I wanted to ask her. Sure they went down more easily then I would have thought, but one slip up from us and we'd be the one's on the ground.

Having said that, either because I survived a life or death battle or I had proven to my subconsciousness that I am capable of dealing with threats, my confidence shot up.

After the fight, I learned it was possible to handle bandits, even outnumbered if, and I mean if, you were properly trained or equipped. I'm not either, but I still managed to kill two of them somehow. That should speak a little about their prowess if even a total rookie manged to defeat them.

Anyway, bandits are not professionals fighters. They're not amazingly intelligent either from what I've seen. If somebody was ready for them, they'd be cut down like grass.

No wonder then that bandits stuck to raiding. Numbers and surprise was all they got against real fighters. Now that I remember, the caravan we came with only had two guards from what I had seen. Only two, and they still managed to keep at bay around a dozen bandits.

Heck, I imagine what you do to them in the game as the dragonborn is a close depiction of reality. Just find their lair then blast them and the walls around them to smithereens with the voice. What could hobos covered in furs possibly do against that?

Unfortunately, neither me, nor Kaieela were the legend incarnate so we had to struggle fiercely for our lives. I don't even know if he or she appeared yet. I don't even know if dragons are a thing yet or if everything is already over for that matter.

"I agree, we are in no condition to do anything. I have to ask though, why did you think it would be a good idea in the first place?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment before she bit her lip and answered. "I mostly wanted to find out who and why would someone target my husband." what she wanted to do to that person remained unsaid, but couldn't be very different from what we did to those bandits earlier "As for why I was confident, well, you saw I can do some magic. I thought that would be enough to deal with them."

So basically she underestimated her opponent and overestimated herself. That fire spell was useful, yes no doubt about it, but a guy with a shield was enough to render it useless. Kaieela probably didn't know anything more powerful than that, otherwise that bandit would have been no problem for her. She was, at most, a novice mage.

"They had an orc in full, steel plate armor. I don't think that fire spell of yours would have made him flinch." I said and she had the decency to look a bit sheepish.

"We met a group of similar low lives when we left Cyrodiil, the moment they saw my magic they fled for the hills. That made me think it would be more effective in combat than it actually was."

Of course they ran. The caravan was still "fresh", so to speak, and there were guards hired to protect it. It was even close to the capital. Something like that was already very risky for a group of criminals to target. A mage showing up out of nowhere must have spooked the living daylights out of them.

"I guess you're right..." she said after I explained my thought process to her.

Well, at least she's giving up on the idea of going after them. Now we can focus on what truly mattered. Getting out of this forest and out of danger.

"We head for Falkreath then, we'll stay here a few more minutes to rest then we move." I said. It would have been nice to take a short nap before leaving, but we never know when they'll send someone to look after their missing comrades.

"Right, we'll have to go through the woods though. Not much time has passed since they attacked the caravan. They're most likely still there, trying to move the valuables to their hideout."

I gave her a nod and closed my eyes. I wasn't trying to sleep, but rest as best as I knew how. The fire warmed up my fur armor and it felt like I was wrapped in a blanket. A smelly, bloody blanket.

We sat there in silence for what seemed like half an hour, both of us keeping to our thoughts. My hunger was becoming more pronounced, but it could be easily ignored for now. Falkreath was a few days away by carriage on the road, so about double that on foot through the forest. If the terrain is bad, even more.

"We'll have to camp for the night" I thought. It was well past noon when the caravan raid happened. We now have, at best, two, two and a half hours of daylight remaining.

"Alright, let's move." I put the extra fur armor on my back, sort of like a cloak. I placed my dagger beneath a leather strap under my left arm and tied the axe over my shoulder. Following my philosophy of "use what you can", I tied my old shoes to my rope-belt as improvised pouches. I felt better prepared now, even if I was carrying mostly junk.

I didn't bother with the remaining embers. If a forest fire actually happened in this frozen hell, I will be the first one to apologize to mother nature or, rather, Kynareth if you want to be technical about it.

We proceeded at a brisk place. We were tired yes, but it was better than being dead. With only the little bit of daylight left I planned to cover as much ground as possible then find a secure place to sleep.

So we walked and walked. The terrain was not as bad as I had feared, but we still had to go around or climb certain obstacles like fallen trees or the like.

I occasionally threw a glance at Kaieela as we went. She was better than me physically, but worse mentally. I had wounds on my body while she had wounds on her heart. I could tell from the look in her eyes, she was focusing as much as she could on the here and now, trying to stay away from her thoughts.

I had respect for her, she was one tough lady. Many people would have broken down by now if they went through what she did. Hell, I practically had it easier than her and I was still struggling. Confusion and anxiety were way better than grief and misery.

Still, as much as she held on until now, I was scared she would crack sooner or later. I was hoping for later, preferably at an inn, in the middle of the city.

It may sound like something a heartless bastard would say, but I can't afford to lose one of my advantages right now. An extra person with me is a great help, especially to my mental state. She would help take some of the pressure off of me. Something like that was very useful in these circumstances. Though, if she got herself in serious trouble, I highly doubt I'd be able to contemplate abandoning her. Asset or not she was still a person in my eyes.

"I wonder, should I be happy or frustrated at my bleeding heart?"

Just as the sun was about to set we found a nice little cave in the side of a hill. Since it didn't look like an animal lived here we gathered some wood and made another fire. Nighttime game quickly. Outside the cave it was pitch black, I couldn't see the star or moons since the sky was covered in dense clouds.

Kaieela took the first shift, probably wanting to be alone with her thoughts for a bit. I put my second fur armor over me and kept my axe nearby as I fell asleep to the crackling of burning wood.

My slumber ended quickly. It seemed like I blinked and it was over. I was groggy, but felt a bit more life in me now. Kaieela went to sleep immediately after waking me up. She frowned a bit when I gave her my improvised blanket, but in the end she still decided to use it.

"Can't smell it if you're asleep" I said.

Time passed by relatively quickly. I tended to the fire and answered the call of nature a couple of times. Kaieela tossed and turned in her sleep, but thankfully she didn't wake up. She needed as much sleep as she could get.

As early morning was approaching I dozed of a couple of minutes. Apparently I did so a few too many. I didn't hear the footsteps until the figure was right in front of me.

Startled, I reached for my axe and looked up. Golden, reflective eyes met my own, smooth fur covering the face around them. Before I even manged to make a sound the figure spoke.

"M'aiq understands why you are so relaxed. Any creature would be terrified by someone so smelly."

 

[Spicy]

Chapter 9



A few months ago I went to a quaint little pastry shop that opened near my apartment. Lovely place truly. I remember them having this delicious treat, a Belgian bun I think it was called. It was a simple thing, a sweet bun with some icing spread on it.

What drew my attention was the bright red cherry on top. It was so different, yet it fit so well with the rest of the treat. Was the cherry drawing attention to the bun or was it the other way around I wonder?

Why am I thinking about pastry right now you may ask? Well, I find that my mind tends to go on some wild rides when I'm stressed. Some of the things in front of me directly relate to whatever mental image I have coughed up.

In this case, the events that took place in the last, grueling six hours represented the bun. The icing was, of course, the constant anxiety and tension. While the sweet, glistening cherry? Heh...

It was the cat man.

It was the bloody cat man!

...

It looks so God damn weird man I swear.

"M'aiq believes you just thought something very rude about him."

The cat- khajiit was wearing a worn out brown robe that reached his ankles. Around his head was a yellow cowl that contrasted heavily with the environment. His fur was a light brown with white spots around his mouth and the occasional black patches on his forehead.

Right now he was standing in front of me with his arms crossed. For some reason I felt the look he was giving me was condescending, but I breezed passed that.

I knew in my head that there were many different races in the Elder Scrolls, heck I had already seen an orc. The nord and redguard didn't leave that much of an impression on me since they looked like regular humans. But khajiit were very different aesthetically. Even if I had expected to see one in front of my eyes today, which I hadn't by the way, I would still be a bit put off.

I knew M'aiq from the game, he was a vague character that you could randomly meet around the world . He had a few lines of dialog, most of them funny in some way, but no quest or anything else interesting. He was more of an easter egg from what I had gathered rather then an NPC with any real significance.

I didn't really know how I felt right now to be honest. I mean, I was jittery from his sudden appearance, but most of my emotional turmoil came from seeing a known video game character right in front of me.

On one hand, I had a strange sense of comfort from knowing about him, on the other though, I felt quite a bit of dissociation. The video game "box" and real world "box" were trying to merge inside my head.

"Who are you!?"

Kaieela woke up with a start. Her hair was disheveled and a bit of grogginess could be still seen on her, but the mace was already in her hands and brought between her and the new arrival.

"It is rude to scream so early in the morning, the birds are still sleeping. M'aiq thinks you should have respect for other's slumber." he spoke, as if scolding a child, seemingly not even noticing his hypocrisy or our weapons.

"He talks like most khajiit so I'm guessing M'aiq is his name" I said, pretending not to know anything about our furry guest.

Kaieela gave me an accusatory glance, wondering what kind of watch I was keeping if the brightly dressed feline had managed to come so close to us without alerting me. I did feel guilty. If it was somebody with violent intentions, we would have been dead already.

M'aiq huffed "M'aiq had the decency to introduce himself. He hopes you would do the same."

I paused for a moment then spoke "Aron, pleased to meet you, I think."

Kaieela was looking at me like I was crazy. I knew she was still in a bad place, but we couldn't afford another fight. Besides, he didn't take any aggressive action towards us, especially when he had the opportunity to do so.

I gave her an assuring nod, witch she interpreted either as "Yes, I am indeed crazy" or "Give him your name, I don't want khajiit claws in my eyes". Whatever option she picked she chose to introduce herself.

"Name's Kaieela" she said with some reluctance "What do you want?"

M'aiq seemed satisfied. He uncrossed his arms and calmly sat on a rock near the fire, even lifting his hands towards it to warm himself. He acted casual, like he wasn't a stranger at all, witch put me off balance for a bit.

"M'aiq is not native to these lands you see. He wished to arrive at Flakreath a few days ago, but Lester would not leave M'aiq alone. M'aiq lost his way and ended up in these distant woods."

Kaieela glared at him, but made no other moves "I don't see what that has anything to do with us"

M'aiq's whiskers shook a bit as he answered "M'aiq is a social creature and trees don't have a lot to talk about. He hopes you will keep him company until he reaches the city."

I ignored the part about the trees, best not to find out if he was serious or not. "So, basically, you want to follow us on our way to Falkreath?"

Seeing him nod I turned thoughtful. His presence would be both a risk and boon. I know very little about him, for all intents and purposes he was a stranger and that always had risk. On the other hand, another person would take us from being a pair to becoming a group, raising the safety and intimidation factor.

"No way! You just come in here and expect us to take you along just like that. How would you have even known where we were heading anyway? Why should we even help you?"

Kaieela's questions were on point. I don't know how he figured out where we were going, but that didn't matter much right now. His presence was unexpected, but that didn't necessarily mean it was a bad thing. I can understand her attitude though.

"Do not worry. M'aiq knows very well the ways of the world. He promises you will be rewarded once we reach the city."

"That sounded like the beginning of a quest if I ever heard one" I thought, but quickly dismissed the thought. I was not playing Skyrim, I was living it right now.

"As if-"

"Excuse us for a minute ." I interrupted Kaieela. He just gave a shrug and continued to warm himself by the fire. Meanwhile I managed to bring Kaieela out of the cave, preferably out of our guest's hearing range. It was early morning and the cold was harsher than ever, but the clouds were beginning to disperse so we may have some sun today.

"I really hope you're not actually considering taking the khajiit with us Aron." she said while throwing a glance at the cave's entrance. Her mace was still out in her hands, as was my axe. "We know nothing of his intentions, regardless of what he says."

"True, I wouldn't trust my back to him anytime soon that's for sure" I agreed with her "But I think it's better to take him with us anyway. One extra person should prove helpful if we run into anything dangerous along the way. Besides he's even offering us a reward once we reach town and we could certainly use the money."

"We could just take it right now and be done with it" she said with a frown "I didn't see any weapon on him."

"You actually plan to rob him? Kaieela I refuse to do that." I said firmly. Thankfully she was not really serious about it.

"I don't want to do it either! I… I just…" I gave a sigh. I knew the paranoia was marking any stranger as an enemy to her right now, but I can't let her lash out or she might bring serious trouble on us. She said M'aiq didn't carry any weapons but she forgot that khajiits had claws that could easily tear through flesh. Another conflict would take all that's left in us.

"And we can't forget about magic" An unarmed man traveling through the province of Skyrim was either a fool or a mage.

"I know. I'm not asking you to trust him, that would be a stupid thing to do. What I want is for you to see that he has his uses."

She bit her lip and turned thoughtful for a few minutes. I hoped I made a compelling case. Even without M'aiq we should reach Falkreath without problems, but it never hurts to have extra insurance.

In the end she agreed.

"Fine, we'll take him with us, but he walks in front where I can see him. The second he does anything suspicious I'm bashing his head in."

 

[Spicy]

Chapter 10



Having come to a consensus we returned to the cave. I'm probably going to adopt the same approach as Kaieela. Meaning I'm going to keep my eyes on M'aiq and, if he so much as moves his whiskers in an aggressive way, I'll test my new axe on him.

He was still standing by the fire, his tail wrapped around him. He didn't look dangerous, that's for sure. The fact that he didn't carry any weapons was off putting.

"Look at me now. I feel uncomfortable if someone isn't armed" I thought bitterly. My nerves were filled with tension and even the few hours of sleep didn't help much with that. It seems, just like Kaieela, I already assume there's danger everywhere. Seeing something that doesn't conform to that strikes me as odd.

"He probably has magic though, enough not to need a weapon" Said my paranoia "But, it's not paranoia if you're right damn it!"

"Hey, how come you're not carrying any weapons on you? Skyrim is a dangerous place." I asked M'aiq. My approach was as subtle as a bull in a china shop, but it was the only one I could think of. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Kaieela playing close attention.

He turned his head from the fire "M'aiq has back problems. He can not drag around lumps of metal in his travels. M'aiq is also a pacifist, otherwise he would not let himself be chased around by Lester." he said with a completely straight face. Kaieela was already scowling at him.

"I… see."

I didn't.

Alright, so that did nothing to alleviate my concerns and neither those of Kaieela I'd wager. Regardless of his… back problems, he could still have a dagger in his boot or something like that. Though the final part of his explanation caught my attention, Kaieela's as well.

"Who's Lester?" she asked him while handling me my other fur armor.

M'aiq grimaced as if he was remembering some unpleasant things. "M'aiq has quite an appetite and often gets very hungry on the road. Some time ago he found Lester and took some of his meat. He… wasn't very pleased about it and began chasing M'aiq around the forest."

Kaieela raised an eyebrow at his explanation "So you got lost while running from a well deserved beating. Why did you have to take his food in the first place, couldn't you have asked?"

M'aiq shook his head "If a few slaps were enough for M'aiq to repay the meat, he would have tragically suffered them. But no, from the look on Lester's face, he was planning to make M'aiq his dinner." he said while hugging his himself for comfort.

"He won't be a problem right? From what you're telling me he is around here in the forest" I asked. I would prefer not having to fight again, but I highly doubt it would come to that over a few bits of meat.

"Lester should have not left the forest yes. As long as we run fast enough, he won't be able to catch us."

"Run? Can't he be spoken to? It's just some food" said Kaieela

M'aiq suddenly look tired "No, among the numerous vulgarities M'aiq has blessed him with, M'aiq has also tried to plead for his life. Lester can't understand civilized conversation unfortunately" he said with a frown.

A barbaric man with anger issues then, even if you ignore M'aiq cussing at him. This Lester could prove to be a headache, but I doubt he would be foolish enough to try anything violent with the three of us. Surprisingly, Kaieela didn't seem to care either way.

"On the off chance we manage to meet each other in this frozen place, we'll figure it out then and there." she said with a shrug. "Now, Aron here managed to convince me to take you along. Don't make me regret it or you'd wish this Lester fellow would have caught you before."

"M'aiq appreciates your help. He assures you that you will not regret it." he said while standing up. "Are we ready to depart?"

I looked at Kaieela and she gave me a nod. Throwing a glance over the cave in case we forgot anything and putting the fur armor over my shoulder, I left for the exit. Kaieela and M'aiq not far way.

Once we reached the outside again, I could see a bit of sunlight coming in through the tree's upper branches. The sky looked relatively clear and a couple of stars could be seen fading away here and there.

"Which way do we go Kaieela?"

"Just like yesterday, we head north. Flakreath is directly in that direction from the border. Even if, by some miracle, we miss it, we'll just turn back a bit once we hit lake Ilinalta."

I nod "Alright, let's move then, no point in wasting daylight."

"Wait." Kaieela suddenly said then turned towards M'aiq "You're walking in front." she stated with no room for negotiation in her tone.

M'aiq just shrugged and went forward "Please try not to stare at M'aiq's tail. It makes him very uncomfortable."

Kaieela scowled, but didn't respond.

The conversation now over, we began moving. M'aiq in front, Kaieela and me to his sides and a bit to the back. With the exception of some crows and a passing fox we didn't see any other living thing in this place for hours on end.

I was very hungry by this point, not exactly starving, but close enough. Kaieela was putting up a brave front, but I knew she was feeling it too. If this kept up and we don't find anything to eat, I highly doubt we will reach Flakreath. We both burned through a lot of energy running and fighting, I even lost quite a bit of blood from that dog's bite. I didn't know how magic worked, but it had to consume something. Kaieela should be feeling the effects no doubt.

In the virtual Skyrim you often encountered deer and rabbits running through the wilds, but I haven't seen either one of those for the moment. Though, even if I did find some, it's not like I could do anything. I don't know anything about hunting and I'm not going to chase a buck halfway across the province just so I could hit it with my axe. Then comes the problem of butchering, which, again, I don't know how to do.

With these thoughts on my mind we walked and walked, avoiding the occasional pitfall and thorny bushes. My hunger made me even more weak than I already was and the axe on my back was starting to get heavier. Kaieela lost her breath a few times so we had to take quite a few breaks. The only one unaffected by the effort was M'aiq. He was easily dealing with the rough terrain. I don't know if the grace he had while moving came from his own experience as a traveler or the feline nature of khajiits.

Close to sunset we set up camp near a huge tree. It was a bad spot and quite in the open, but it was the best we could find. We did have some luck though. When we were gathering wood for the fire, Kaieela managed to find a couple of snowberrie bushes. I also stumbled on some mushrooms, but their bright blue color was less then assuring. Both Kaieela and M'aiq agreed we should stay away from them.

The snowberries were round in shape and had dull, red color. They tasted mostly sweet with a bit of sour at the end. The many seeds in them were annoying, but me and my stomach couldn't care less at this point. Kaieela reluctantly shared some with M'aiq who unceremoniously went through them like popcorn.

Night quickly arrived and we had a bit of a dispute over the watch order. Kaieela wanted one of us to keep watch with M'aiq while the other slept. I wouldn't have a problem with that, but she wanted to go first and alone. While I understood her need to be alone with her thoughts, it would be foolish to have the khajiit, the one with night vision, not take first watch.

We argued for a bit, but in the end she agreed to let me and M'aiq go first. We settled down and began waiting the night out. I had to wake up M'aiq a few times, but nothing special happened otherwise. I already learned my lesson from last time and every time I felt sleepy I would rub some snow on my face to freshen up. The coldness was good at keeping me awake, but so were my thoughts and the forest's different noises.

Was that sound made by some creature out to get us or by an owl flying overhead? I certainly didn't know, but my imagination was having a field day with it. By the time our shift came to an end I was already contemplating how to fight off werewolves, vampires and giant mudcrabs.