Chapter 201: Bad Vibes IV
"Yes, the Thalmor forces were overwhelming, and Ra'Sadir did what was necessary to ensure his clan's survival." The Lorekeeper says, bringing me back to reality.
"When he surrendered the rest, a handful were killed, and the Thalmor had him kill his own brother as a show of good faith... The ring of the clan was lost in the chaos; it was thought to be lost for good, but now it has come again!" The Lorekeeper continues to explain.
"But, if that's true, why are you here and not with your clan?" I ask once I'm free of my memories.
"This one came here with the women and children, but he got separated. He decided to exile himself to this tiny shack in shame and lived out his miserable life." The Lorekeeper laments.
"So, you know nothing of what became of the women and children?" I probe him as M'rissi, and I await his response with batted breath.
"This one does not know what became of them... But he is curious: how did you come of Ra'Sadir's daughter?" The Lorekeeper asks with equal interest in our response.
"I came across my Kitten when I was following up on a lead from a captured Khajiit woman. She begged me to save M'rissi after I killed her Thalmor captors, and I then found M'rissi outside an Inn in Riverwood, killing some mercenaries and later finding out about someone chasing her named Isael. From there, we searched for clues regarding her missing memories... And other... Things." I say with a proud smile as I wrap my arm around M'rissi's shoulder, making her blush.
"If Isael had her... Then I fear the others are dead... That woman is a daedra wearing elven skin... Even the most hardened warriors tremble at her name... She was the one responsible for the clan's demise. This one cannot do much now, but he can seek them out if they have perished... If you truly wish to restore her memory, perhaps the mages in the town of Winterhold can be of some use." The Lorekeeper suggests as M'rissi goes pale, slumping against me as the Lorekeeper disappears into a cloud of blue mist.
"Fluffy... She-" M'rissi starts to say once she's regained her composure, only to be cut off by a gruff voice.
"There you are; come with us quietly, and we won't rough you up too much, girly." A bandit captain says as he blocks the entrance to the shack.
I position M'rissi behind me as I draw my sword and hold it up to block the Bandit's advance before taunting him, "Sorry, friend. This 'girly' is mine, and mine alone. You better find someone more suited for your charms... Perhaps a skeever or a draugar?"
"Fuck off, this is your one chance to walk away!" The bandit captain sneers as he hefts out a giant hammer, making me sneer back.
"Oh? And if I don't want to, are you going to make me?" I ask as I hold my sword up as if I was going to block a side strike, baiting him for an overhead strike.
"Then I'll just have to kill you! Huh-" The bandit threatens as he brings his hammer up for the mighty overhead swing I had prompted. The hammer's head gets caught in the small doorway of the shack, stopping him dead in his tracks as I dart forward and pierce his throat with a thrust of my blade, making him fall over in a heap.
"Get'em!" Another bandit shouts as he looses an arrow at me that I dodge by rolling to the left. I hear another arrow whistle over me, assumedly fired by M'rissi, as I focus my attention on the last bandit, who is closing in with an axe and shield.
I dive below the swing of his axe before rolling to his side, blinding him with a torrent of flame before bringing my blade across his exposed neck.
Turning back, I see M'rissi has dealt with the archer, allowing me to loot our attackers in peace finding another bounty note.
[WANTED: Strange-looking Khajiit female, snout closely resembles a face. Black hair, blond-brown fur. Travels together with a dangerous stranger.]
[1000 septims for the Khajiit if brought alive. No interest in the stranger.]
"Huh, Kitten, it seems they are still undervaluing you." I say, handing her the note, which she reads before playfully swatting my shoulder.
"Stupid, Fluffy,.," M'rissi says as we begin searching the cabin for more loot and information.
I'm able to find a few important alchemical ingredients and a jar with a butterfly in it before I stumbled upon the Lorekeeper's half-buried bones, which I use my [Move Earth] spell to bury entirely.
"Fluffy, come look! She found something!" M'rissi says excitedly as I see her crawl out from under the bed with a book in her hand, "Will you read it with her?"
M'rissi asks with a pleading look that I just can't say no to, "Sure, Kitten, but let's get back to camp first." I say as we make our way back to camp, where we get cozy in my tent and lay together as I crack open the book and M'rissi snuggles close against my chest.
[Abzirr Trajijazaeri]
[By]
[Anonymous]
[This is an absurd book. But like all things Khajiiti, as the expression goes, "gealzi vaberzarita maaszi," or "absurdity has become necessity." Much of what I have to say has probably never been written before, and if it has, no one has read it. The Imperials feel that everything must be written down for posterity, but every Khajiiti kitten born in Elswer knows his history; he drinks it in with his mother's milk.]
[Fairly recently, however, our struggles to win back our homeland from the rapacious Count of Levawiin have attracted sympathetic persons, even Imperials, who wish to join our cause but, it seems, do not understand our ways. Our enemies, of course, do not understand us either, but that is, as we wish it, a weapon in our arsenal. Our non-Khajiiti friends, however, should know who we are, why we are, and what we are doing.]