Disclaimer: I do not own Elder Scrolls Oblivion, Bethseda does. Nor the characters.
Notes: I do however own Mitheo and a copy of the game.
Chapter 1: Escape.
"Ugh . . . Ooh my head . . . What happened?" Mitheo opened her soft green eyes. She looked around the slowly focusing world around her. She shook her head closing her eyes. She rubbed the bump on her head. She gasped as her eyes flew open. She stood quickly and looked around the cell she was in.
She remembered stealing something important, but everything else was a blur after that. Her eyes turned to a pair of shackles in one corner of the room near a lit torch. Glancing to the other side of the cell and spotting a single wooden chair and table with a empty clay tan pitcher and cup on it.
She gasped an looked toward the front of her cell, the sound of laughing catching her attention. She slowly crept forward. Her throat becoming dry. She swallowed hard. She expected to see one of the sadistic guards of the imperial city she kept hearing about jump out at her, but instead, she saw a Dunmer in the cell across from her walk forward taking hold of his cell bars.
"My, my. Aren't you the special one. A bit strange, but I suppose not everyone is perfect, my little kitty. Speaking of kitties. There's a rat in my cell, yes, a big, fat, JUICY rat." Mitheo scoffed in relief and disgust. "Does the kitty want it? Is the kitty hungry?" Mitheo shook her head and turned her back to him. She didn't consider herself special, but instead a freak.
She didn't look like other Khajiit, instead, she was half imperial and half khajiit. Possessing the looks of a beautiful imperial maiden, but the claws, tail and ears of a khajiit. As well as the ability to see in the dark and fangs. She found it useful however in her line of work. A master thief. She could pass herself off as a innocent little imperial lady looking for a place to stay. Taking advantage of every man's gullible nature and need for pleasure. After knocking out her unwitting victim. She stole their armor, clothes, weapons, gold, everything.
Her tail and ears were a problem to hide though when she wasn't wearing a cloak. Considered far too different among her own people and imperials. "You'd better take what you can get halfling. They don't feed the new prisoners. Didn't you know that?" Mitheo's right ear gave a quick flicker before she tilted her head back and slightly to the right listening curiously to what he had to say. Her arms folded across her chest. The bars were too small for her to slip through. She figured she'd best be smart to listen to the Dunmer and what he had to say.
"First, they starve you, then they beat you. Then, if your lucky, they kill you. Thaat's right, You're going to die in here!" Mitheo turned keeping her arms folded. She turned her head slightly to look at the Dunmer. "I don't plan on dying in here. I plan on escaping." Mitheo narrowed her eyes at the Dunmer as her ears flattened back. When she had the chance, she'd teach that Dunmer a lesson, but for now, she'd have to wait.
Her left ear perked up and turned with a flick in the direction of the stairs beside her new enemy's cell. 'Foot steps?' she looked curiously at the stairs as her eyes unnarrowed and her arms unfolded. "Hey, you hear that? The guards are coming . . . For you!" The Dunmer gave a laugh and walked back to the back of his cell near the window. Mitheo gasped softly before turning and running to the back of her own cell. She looked up at the window. Even with the table and chair, it would still be to high. She looked around on the floor for something, anything to protect herself with. She stopped a pile of bones in a corner of the room. She gave a smile of hope and picked up a rib, attempting to sharpen it against the stone wall before the guards came.
Their footsteps getting closer and closer. She examined the rib, not nearly as sharp as she'd hoped. She turned quickly hiding the rib behind her in her rope belt. She gulped and waited for the guards.
"Baurus! Close the door behind us."
"Yessir."
"My sons . . . They're dead, aren't they?"
"We don't know that sire. The messenger only said they were attacked."
Mitheo leaned to the side trying to see the guards. Her ears pointed up straight to try and listen in. 'That sounds like the king . . . His sons are dead?' Mitheo listened curiously to the guards and the king.
"No, they're dead, I know it . . ."
"My job right now is to protect you sire."
"What's this prisoner doing I here? This cell is supposed to be off limits." Mitheo gave a soft gasp and took in a sharp breath. She straightened against the wall, her eyes wide, her ears flat against her head blending in with her golden brown hair. Her tail stiff and straight against the back of her leg.
"Usual mix-up with the watch. I . . ." The tall Redguard began but was cut off by the female imperial guard. "Never mind. Get that gate open." Baurus gave a nod and began to open the cell. Mitheo "Mmm"ed nervously as the King came in sight behind the two guards.
She couldn't hear quite clearly what the imperial had said due to her ears being flat. That was one thing she hated about being half Khajiit. Your ears have to stick straight up to hear and they twitch. She managed to make out something about a pursuit and "Come on".
"You. I've seen you." Mitheo turned her attention from the redguard to the King. He walked toward her. Mitheo gripped the rib tightly behind her nervously, her soft tanned knuckled turned white as her palms began to sweat. Her tail began to quiver nervously.
She let her ears up a it to listen to the King as he spoke, most of what he said passed her. But she figured she knew what he was saying. "What's going on?" She asked shyly. She wasn't used to being near the king and wasn't sure what to say.
Her gave her a brief explanation of the events that passed. Assassins killed his sons and he said that he was next. And that his Blades, who she thought must be the guards, were leading him out through a secret passage which happened to be in her cell apparently. "Who are you?" She asked softly to the King. She knew who he was, everyone did. But she couldn't think of much else, besides asking why she was jailed.
He told her that he was her Emperor, Uriel Septim, and that he was asking for her to serve her kingdom. She gave a hesitant nod. "Why am I in jail?" Uriel explained that it may be because the god's had meant for them to meet and that what she had done was not important, but she does will be. He begins to ask her if he'll join them. " . . . I'm sorry King, but I go my own way . . ."
The king nods and tells her that everyone goes their own way and that the path she chooses will lead to the same thing. The guard that was beside her pressed one of the stone bricks. She jumps surprised and watches as her would-be bed lowers and the wall that was behind it slides away revealing a cave like structure. The guards following the King glance at her and follow. One of them tells her that she is lucky but should stay behind.
She gives a scoff. "Like I'll do that." She bolts past the king and guards following the path down some stairs and into a large underground room. She looks around seeing nothing useful. She chuckles to herself and walks to the left side steps. "Time to see if I can still jump." She says to herself and readied herself, jumping to the middle platform between the stairs and to a dark platform in the wall. She turns spotting a door almost immediately. "Score!" She reaches for the door and tries to open it, locked. She sighs disappointed. Perhaps her escape won't be so easy.
She looks to the stair case where she entered the room and see the King and his guards enter. She simply shrugs and slips off her wooden sandals. 'Damn those are uncomfortable!' She thinks to herself as she tosses them aside, choosing to keep her wrist irons on. Her ears twitched to the sound of the door creaking open. Instinctively, she pressed herself into the shadows and watched five red hooded, black armored people entered with swords drawn. She gave a smirk and readied her sharp claws to strike. Four of the men hopped from the platform to the floor and straight for the guards and King. The fifth met an unlucky and painful end to Mitheo's claws. Mitheo watched as his armor and sword began fading away in a white glow. Simple red robes and a hood replaced the armor and helmet, no sword.
She gasped recognizing the clothes. "Mythic Dawn!" She whispered to herself as she looked to the battle, the female imperial fell to one of the Mythic Dawn. The other guards managed to dispose of the Mythic Dawn easily however. She watched as they made sure the king was alright and continued forward. They walked to a gate in room. "Wait!" Mitheo called out and hopped off the platform. "What about me?" She asked. One of the guards told her to just stay here and wait for the other guards to come get her.
She growled and swore as the guards left making sure they heard her. She kicked one of the near by Mythic Dawn a few times grumbling to herself before looting them. Of their potions. She took the female Imperial's Katana and short sword from her. She slipped the Katana's scabbard on her rope belt as well as the short sword's. She drew the short sword and paced the room near where the guard's left waiting for something good to happen, as well as praying to Azura.
Something finally did happen, a broken stone wall of the room fell down and two large rats ran in, straight for Mitheo. She gave a scream and drew her short sword swinging wildly in an attempt to kill the rats. She somehow succeeded in doing so. Panting and holding the sword close. She ran past the rat's corpses and entered the next nearly dark room. A torch and some light was all that was lighting the room. She shook her head and used her Khajiit night vision to scour the room for weapons, armor, anything.
Only finding 5 gold and a rusty axe in a chest. She wandered over to a skeleton laying near a chest. She knelt and reached nervously for the skeleton, poking it once and retreating. She watched the Skeleton. It didn't move, well, except for the skull rolling away and the arms falling off. She gave a sighed of relief. She had been traumatized as a child at the sight of a rallying skeleton army. Now, she never did trust the dead to stay dead. She quickly made haste of killing a rat and stripping the skeleton of it's bow, quiver of 25 arrows, 5 gold and leather cuirass. She replaced her sack cloth shirt with the rough leather. It wasn't comfortable, but she was used to it. She threw her shirt away and took a rusty dagger from the skeleton's forever dead hand.
"It's better then a heavy sword." She said to herself tossing aside the short sword and tucking the dagger in the built on dagger scabbard. She also looted a few lockpicks. Kneeling, she proceeded to skillfully unlock the chest, opening it expecting to find hundreds in cold. She only found 5 gold and a dull sapphire. Sighing disappointedly she stood walking toward and inspecting the contents of a near by barrel. She held up 12 arrows and 2 lockpicks in triumph. "Yes!" She laughed and thanked Lady luck. Being a thief, these were better then gold. She turned and saw a dead goblin slumped over a stone. Her once gleeful expression, turned to blank shock, her eyes wide.
She didn't deal well with dead corpses, but as long as there was hope of treasure, she'd unwillingly loot a bloody corpse. 'Oh dear Azura . . .' She crept to the corpse just incase. Reaching hesitantly and checking it. She grabbed a scroll of Chameleon and an iron key. She had no use for a potion to recover magic, since she couldn't use magic. A scroll was different for her, it didn't require a sense of magic, just point, read, use.
She moved around the corpse and to a wooden door. Watching the corpse, she fiddled with the lock and key, as soon as she heard a click. She threw down the lock and key and ran inside the next room. She pressed herself against the door with a relieved smile. The only things inside this room was a single rat, and treasure chest. She gave a grin and knelt readying her bow and arrow, taking careful and steady aim. The rat stood sniffing the air. She let loose the arrow, the rat fell without as much as a sound.
Mitheo gave a victorious arm pump and stood running to the treasure, she flipped it open. "Jack pot!" She lifted out a quiver of 24 arrows and loaded them into her own quiver. She slipped out a single healing potion and a few lockpicks. She slipped them into the pouch hanging at her hip. She'd also taken it from the skeleton and was glad she did. She left the other items in the chest, she stood and continued happily humming to herself as she walked down the small slope. She stopped and watched as two rats rounded the corner and ran past her.
The sound of a screeching rat made her cringe. 'That can't be good . . .' She took a step back and readied her dagger quietly. A shadow began down the corner as the being the shadow belonged to followed. A decaying, grey fleshed, disgusting, white eyed zombie rounded the corner. Mitheo gave a scream and swung wildly at the zombie. The dagger barely even making the zombie slow down. It took a swing at Mitheo but missed. Dark red, sticky and foul smelling blood splashed her as she sliced open the zombie's throat. It moaned and fell twitching. Mitheo fell back trying to wipe off the blood.
Gagging at the smell, she wiped it all off and stood on her hands and knees puking. "Oh Gods!" She wiped her mouth. She stood shaking and turned running past the still twitching zombie, past a rat and turning right then left down another tunnel. She did not want to stop for anything. Looking only for a way out. She gave a short scream falling off a small ledge and onto the hard dirt floor of another large room.
The sounds of squeaks filled the air as three rats took notice and tried attacking Mitheo. She lashed out with her claws striking the rats. Their sharp claws only hitting the leather she wore. She stood and ran through the rats, around a pillar and down yet another tunnel, seeing a single door, she barged through it and fell once again. She rolling onto her back as the rats approached quicker, kicking the door closed. She lay there panting and coughing as the rats scratched at the door. "Oh gods . . ." She said between pants. She opened her eyes staring at the ceiling. She waited a few moments before standing slowly and continuing her escape.
She cautiously walked down the slope. She turned and looked at an intact barrel and crate. Looking inside both, she only found Ink and a Quill. She turned her ears perking up in the direction opposite the crate and barrel. 'Fire? Smoke? Cooked meat? And . . . and . . . Goblin.' She growled at the thought of goblins. Her village was plagued by Goblins day and night. It's one of the reasons she became a thief, to learn to use her young slender body to kill the damned things. She crouched and snuck toward the scent of the Goblin, bow and arrow ready. She narrowed her eyes as she watched her target stop in front of a crate. She took aim and whistled. The Goblin looked toward her curiously before the arrow pierced it's skull. It fell easily. She stood and explored the Goblin's little area, checking the chest for anything useful. She took the gold and lock picks.
Catching the scent of yet another goblin. A grin formed on her beautiful face as she drew the Katana she had gotten from the poor imperial guard. She ran straight to the Goblin, weapon ready. The quite snap of a rope making her ear twitch. She gasped as a row of spiked logs came swinging down quickly at her. The spiked logs took out the Goblin quickly and were coming straight for her.
Her eyes widened at what could be her death.
End Chapter 1.