A Khajiit's Tale
Chapter 1 – A New Beginning
My head hung low as I slowly walked along. Occasionally, I saw an animal, such as a fox, but apart from that, all I saw was trees. Great big plants shooting out of the ground with huge roots, as if they were designed for people to fall over on. I had been travelling now for three days, and had not seen anything in the way of civilisation at all. Every night, I camped in my tent, and tried to eat as little food as possible, as I could not be sure to be able to get more food anytime soon. I only had 3 bread rolls, 2 apples and some cheese when I set off. Now I only had half a bread roll left. Just as I was about to give up hope, I saw something amazing in the distance. I ran towards it, and soon emerged from the thick, dense forest. There it was - a village! I walked through the gates, which were heavily guarded by two fierce looking imperial soldiers. Most of the people walking around the streets gave me a surprised look, but nobody stopped or anything.
It took me a long time to navigate my way around the place, but I eventually found the sign hung above the tavern, and went inside. I looked for any free tables, but there wasn't one in sight. I saw a free stool at the bar, so I walked over and sat on it. The bar maid worked her way round the bar, serving everyone a drink. When she got to me, she looked into my eyes and smiled. "Welcome, traveller."
"Hello." I replied.
"We don't see many khajiits around here, but anybody is welcome in my pub. So, what can I get you?" she asked, happily.
"Erm…" I paused, desperately trying to think of a drink. "Do you have any mead?" I finally asked.
"Yes, we do. I have Nordic mead, or Black-Briar mead, freshly brewed in Riften."
"Black-Briar sounds good" I said. I got out 10 gold coins and laid them on the table. She only took 6, so I put the rest back in my pocket, and waited, as she went to get my drink. She returned, and placed the large pint glass on the table. She didn't leave, but stayed, and watched me sip the mead instead. "Was there something else?" I asked.
"No, not really," she quickly responded. "I just had a few questions." She added.
"Sure. Go right ahead." I said, putting the drink back down on the table.
"Well, I was wondering where you came from," she said.
"I come from Elsewyr."
"That is interesting, but how did you end up in Rorikstead? Or even Skyrim?"
"That's a long story, and I'm afraid I won't be here for very long. Although you have just told me where I am. Rorikstead, was it?"
"Yes, that's right. Rorikstead. Where are you going to, by the way?"
"That's a good question, but before I can answer that, I need to know one thing. What is the capital city called?"
"That would be Solitude."
"Solitude it is then. How might I get there, may I ask?"
"By cart is probably your best choice."
"Thanks. Is there a food seller in town? I am running rather low on supplies."
"Yes, there is."
"Good. Thank you for all your information, but I must be going now."
"Goodbye, and good luck on your travels!" she called after me as I left. Once outside again, I saw a cart full of fresh produce outside what I presumed to be the grocer. I looked around, but saw nobody. I quickly took some lettuce, cheese and anything else I could grab and stuffed them in my sack. As far as I knew, nobody could see. I hastily walked to the other end of the town. I walked through the gates and quickly found the carriage. I walked up to the front where the driver was perched. "Ahem." I coughed. He jumped up from his previous slumped position. "Do you think you could take me to Solitude?" I asked, hopefully.
"Yes, of course." He said, in a cheery voice. "Just hop in the back and we'll soon be off." I walked to the back of the cart and first threw my sack in, then climbed in myself. I knew it would be a long way, so I prepared my clothes and sack in such a way that they could be used as a bed. We set off with a jolt, and then just kept a steady pace. I looked all around me at our surroundings, which was a dense forest at first, where I could see rabbits and foxes prancing about with the occasional deer. I sat patiently in my seat, and then after a while began semi-laying down.
I was nearly asleep when the carriage suddenly came to a halt. I woke immediately and looked around me, quite startled. The carriage driver leapt from his seat picking up the small, slightly rusty sword that had lain next to him on the bench. I watched where he was going and found that he was lunging for a small pack of wolves that had appeared. What I did next was probably the only thing I could think to do, which was to pull out my small dagger and run after them. I jumped down from the carriage and threw myself at one of the wolves. My blade tore through its right leg, and it turned to attack me. The wolf stumbled a bit on its leg but it had only seemed to make the wolf angrier. It bit sharply at my stomach as it jumped up. I stabbed its right eye. The eye began bleeding and spurting blood everywhere. The wolf howled in pain and I flinched to see so much blood. I briefly looked over at the driver, who then plunged his sword deep into the other wolf's neck. He simultaneously drew his sword out and pushed the dead body away from him, and watched as it slumped to the floor. He then ran over to me and sliced straight through the bone in the wolf's already inured right leg. It turned to face him and I took that as my cue to finish it off. The wolf jumped at the driver's face and just before it bit, I thrust my dagger sharply into the wolf's neck. The force of my thrust brought the wolf back down from its leap, and with a quiet howl, it fell dead on the floor.
The driver put his sword back on his bench at the front of the carriage, then came to inspect my wounds.
"You did well there, but you have been hurt in the fight" he said, with a sorrowful face. I gasped as I held my top tightly against the wound to try and stop the bleeding. "Luck is on our side," the driver said, in a slightly more cheerful voice. "We are not far from Dragon Bridge, maybe only 3 hours or so" he added. "Here, I'll help you into the carriage." He carefully picked me up and walked forwards, then laid me on my pre-prepared bed."
"Thank-you" I gasped. He hopped back into his seat, and with a jolt, we were off.
Just as he had said, about 3 hours later, we arrived. The carriage pulled up outside a cosy little house, and then stopped. The driver got out at came to the back, where he lifted me down. He put one of my arms over his far shoulder, and then supported me with his other arm. I hobbled into the house and looked around. The driver carefully laid me on a wooden bench, then went to talk to the man that had been behind a counter. I couldn't quite hear what he was saying, but a moment later, the man came over and knelt down in front of me. "I'm not very good at spell casting, but I think I have a potion that will do just the job." He went over to a set of shelves and reached up to the top for a small, blue bottle. My eyes followed him around the room, amazed by so many bottles and plates of strange looking items. He brought the bottle to me, at took the cap off. "Drink this," he said, pushing it towards me. I took the bottle from him and looked at it all over, then put the top to my lips and drank the contents. It was a very strange taste, but it was actually quite nice. Nothing seemed to happen for 10 seconds, so I handed the bottle back. No sooner had I done so, than my wound slowly disappeared, and I felt much better. My eyes lit up, like a torch being lit.
"You are a genius!" I exclaimed.
"Glad you're feeling much better," he said, putting the bottle under his desk.
"How much?" I asked, reaching for my coin purse.
"For a friend…" he paused. I waited eager to know the amount. "Free." He said. My jaw instantly fell from its position.
"That's amazing, thank-you so much!" I said, bewildered.
"You're welcome." He turned to the driver. "Where are you headed to?"
"Up to the capital" he replied.
"Not too far to go, then." The alchemist said.
"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, turning back to me. "I am Vlandar, and if you ever need anything alchemy, I'm the one to come to." He said, with a smile on his face.
"I don't believe I know your name either" I said, facing the driver.
"I do beg your pardon" he said. "I am Faldar, and I drive a carriage all across Skyrim." He proudly added. "So, you know who we are, but what is your name?" he asked. Both of the men eagerly leaned forwards bearing massive grins. I slowly backed up so I was squashed against the back of the chair.
"I am Sh'zirr" I replied.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you" Vlandar said, kindly.
"Anyway, had we better get a move on to Solitude?" Faldar said, changing the subject.
"Yes, I think we should" I said.
"Well it was lovely to meet you, Sh'zirr," Vlandar said, as he opened the door.
"Yes, you too," I said as I walked out of the shop and turned round to wait for Faldar. He soon came out and turned back to face Vlandar.
"Goodbye, Vlandar." He said.
"Yes, hopefully it won't be too long before we meet again." Vlandar said, and then he shut the door.
I climbed into the carriage and Faldar jumped up to his bench and picked up the reins. We set off, and began to go through forest again. The view in the distance was staggering, especially the high mountain peaks. The journey lasted about two and a half hours in total. For almost the entire journey I had my mouth open wide, as I gazed in awe at the views. I closed my mouth and looked around, knowing not where I was. I soon figured it out though, as I looked past Faldar's head and on to a ginormous set of gates. We had arrived in Solitude. Faldar turned round to face me whilst the queue of traffic in front of us was being inspected by some burly-looking imperial guards. "Here we are then: Solitude." He said. "What do you plan to do now?" he asked.
"I don't really know. I guess finding a place to stay is at the top of the list." I replied. We gradually shunted forward until we reached the gate. The guards looked the carriage all over, and then they allowed us to go forward into the city. We pulled up just inside the main gates, and I hopped out. Faldar walked round the back and got my bag out for me. He handed the bag to me.
"Don't leave it too long," he said. "If you ever need me I'm based here in Solitude, so you should see me around a lot."
"Where are you off to now?" I asked.
"Erm… the tavern, for a drink" he said, and we both chuckled. "Care to join me?" he asked.
"Go on then," I said, and we both began walking down the street to the tavern.