Chapter 3
"Great to hear lass! Oh, I cannot wait to see how the lands have changed since I've been ...indisposed. Oh! Pardon my manners lass, but I didn't catch your name, and I cannot just keep calling you 'lass' now can I?" I say. The Khajiit looks at me and says "This One's name is Mir'inale, Saviour." I smile beneath my helm. "Mir'inale, 'tis a lovely name for a lovely girl. Oh, again pardon my manners, my name is Jordan Villeious, a pleasure to meet your formal acquaintance Mir'inale." As I finish saying this I turn back around towards the only living elf, and cast an Illusion spell to make him forget the last hour. I then face Mir'inale again and gesture for her to come closer, "Come my new friend, I'm not going to bite, I assure you." Her heartbeat begins to slow down from it's panicked pace, and she approaches me hesitantly, eventually drawing close enough-4 feet-
that she needs to crane her head upwards to see my helm. "This One is grateful for y-your help, my lord. Might she inquire as to where you are heading for?" "Why, Riftwood, the Capital of The Rift where else would I go?" Her tail twitches and she meekly states "This One does not know of a Riftwood, only of a city called Riften, of course she could be wrong, as She does not know these lands well." "Ah...yes, things would change, wouldn't they? Hmm, well do you know the way there, Mir'inale? Because, I assure you, I'm very much lost." I chuckle at end of my statement to make it seem less desperate, and begin cleaning my long sword with my clothe. She gulps and says "She saw a sign on the main road pointing the way there, She would be happy to take you too the city!" I hum and say "Well,let me finish cleaning my sword, and we can be on our way to this....Riften." I sense her nod and step back, looking at the corpses around us, ears flicking about. After a few more minutes of relative silence between us, neither willing to break it for very different reasons, I finish wiping off my blade and sheath it, then hum and say "After you, my new friend." She startles a little at me talking, probably lost in her thoughts, "Ah, r-right, of course, um..." She pauses, twirls around, looking for the correct direction, finds it, and hesitantly starts walking. "....it's this way, my lord." After a while-76 minutes- of walking, I ask her in a friendly manner "So, how long have you been in Skyrim Mir'inale?" She again startles, and says " This One just arrived, my lord-" I stop her there "Please,call me Jordan, I haven't been a lord for a...long time." She responds "Of course, my l- Jordan." "Please, continue, I'm sorry for interrupting you." "Um, well, She has just arrived, less than a week ago, She was among the..servants..heading for the Thalmor Embassy."I stop in my steps, gripping the shaft of my blade, and say in a rage filled-put upon- tone "Embassy? An Embassy for those filthy slavers, in MY homeland!? By the Eight, just what in The HELLS has happened while I've been imprisoned!? Shortly before I was trapped, the Gods-Be-Damned Altmer barely had enough men to protect their own little Isles of Tyranny! Now they have an Embassy in the most spite filled region of Tamriel, second only to Elsewyre!" She also stops and recoils a little from the venom in my words. Eventually, she answers me, "The Great War happened, my lord. The Cyrodilic Empire is in shambles, and civil war has consumed Skyrim, in fact, the Empire just regained Helgen from The Stormcloak Rebels less than three moons ago. And Elsewyre... most of Her homeland has long since been brought to heel, only the hottest deserts of Elsewyre remain free. And even that is a bloody freedom, my lord." She finishes her speech with the sort of sadness only victims of war can bring forth into their voices. I 'stew' in 'anger ' for a few moments, then speak with a weary spirit to my words "When we have gotten ourselves situated in relative safety, I hope you would speak with me more on these matters." "Of course my l-...Jordan." I begin to walk once more, and with 'false cheer' say "Well, lead on Mir'inale, lets get to this Riften you speak of! Gods, it has been too long since I've heard the singing of bards... I wonder what new songs have been written since I've been locked away? Say, Mir'inale, do you know any good songs?" She takes a moment to respond, probably confused at my quick change of attitude,but eventually states as we continue our tred to Riften "Hmm... This One has sang some ballads,if you wish to hear?" I warmly say "Tis a great idea Mir'inale! But only if you so desire to sing, I will not force you to." I sense her look at me with what is probably a smile,can't really tell with my ripoff echolocation, and with warmth in her words,states "She is happy to sing for her Saviour! *Ahem* "Khajiit likes to sneak~..."
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About fourty minutes later, we reached the main road, and four hours after that-give or take thirty minutes for Mir'inale to rest- we begin to see the wooden city in the distance. Conversing for most of the time. [ 'Its larger than it was in the-of course its larger, this is real life now....although why did they rebuild it with wood, even though this place was burned down so many years ago? Seems like a repeat of history is bound to happen sooner or later.' ] I muse to myself as approach the southern entrance, a group of four guards keeping the gate, checking people entering the city, with some blatant extortion as I sense coin being passed from a visitor to one of the guards,"Go on in, and welcome to Riften traveler." Even the guard's VOICE sounds scummy. Eventually, are turn comes and the guards tense up, seeing my companion. "Friend, you seem new to Skyrim so I'll be the first to tell you this, but Khajiit aren't allowed inside the cities. Ever. Shit, your cat might have fleas!" One of them chuckles at their fellow guard's joke. But all of them are tensed, ready to draw their blades at a sign of hostility, the group of people behind us slowly stepping back, sensing that this little altercation could become violent. Mir'inale looks to me, probably about to speak up, but I raise my left hand at her, silencing whatever she was about to say. I speak "Well boy, I can't exactly see worth a damn, so she acts as my eyes, and I'd rather not be stumbling about like a drunken fool. So, could you make an acception for a veteran?" While this is happening, I hide my right hand behind Mir'inale, close enough as to seem I'm holding onto her dress, casting a silent self-alteration spell, getting rid of my eyes, and adding some horrific acid burns, shortening my ears to that of a human's, while aging my features to that of a sixty year old man's who'd lived a hard life,adding a greying, well taken care of beard to my now grizzled appearance.
"Ha, yeah right, you must take us for fools if you think we'd believe that-" As one of the guards say this, I remove my helm, promptly making the guard eat his words as they take in my grizzled, elderly appearance, with the fancy cloths wrapped around my eyes. I speak in a rougher voice before any of them can say a thing "Want me to take off my bandages too boy? Or are you done humiliating me? And if you must know, the girl is my daughter." I sense the three guards who haven't spoken look towards the one who's made a VERY big blunder. He hastily says "I- no sir, no need for that...but the laws of the region state Khajiit aren't allowed inside the city...even if they are the daughter and helper of a veteran, I'm sorry. We can get you someone else to help guide you while in the city, if you want?" I can hear the reproacheful tone in his voice while saying all this. I shake my head and put my helm back on, removing the roughness of my voice, to make it seem like my helm is what adds the youthfulness to it, and say "Nay, I trust my girl to not lead me astray, I won't trust a stranger who could very well decide to have me walk of the edge of a dock into the lake, to be my eyes. Me and my daughter will look somewhere else to lay our heads tonight." The guard quickly says " Please wait a moment sir. Horril ! Come guide these people around the outer walls to the stables, will you?" One of the guards who have yet to speak comes closer,saying "Ay Barkos, I'll do that. come along sir, miss, I'll take you there." I sigh and say "Thank you laddey, good to know someone still respects there elders." I sense the guard's- Barkos- shoulders droop at my statement. [ 'Huh, didn't think a conman would take my remark so badly-ah right, Nords.'] "Mir'inale?" I hold my right hand towards her general direction, and she quickly takes it, following along with my little play, although I think she almost believes it. "Of course Papa, I'm right here." And she leads me along, following the guard- Horril- to the stables on the other side of the city,walking around the outer walls till we reach the northern gate. Horril says to Mir'inale "You see the stables there lass? Tell the Stable Master Hofgrir, and if he isn't around, ask one of his stablehands for Shadr and when he comes, ask himyou need somewhere to rest. And if they dont help, well, ask one of the Khajiit at the caravan for somewhere to sleep, I'm sure they'd help. Well, if you'll excuse me Sir, miss, I need to get back to my posting." Before either of us can say anything, he's already begun walking back to the Southern Gate. When he's out my false sight range, I turn away from where he walked, and undo my alteration spell, feeling my eyes return and the scars fade is a slight relief. I hear Mir'inale say "Ooh, magic." under her breath. "Right then, Mir'inale, lets go ask where Honeyside is." "Um why?" "I have a plan."