The Fishmonger
Disclaimer: I do not own the Elder Scrolls, all characters are either created by me, or fictional characters from Bethesda's Elder scrolls Series.
The scales of a fish were similar to the layers of an onion. They were complex and intricate, and were always making one large pattern that served as the first line of defence for a poor fish. They had to be light so the fish could float, yet strong enough to keep the fish safe. The scales of a fish were not simply its skin, they were its armour.
Much like any armour, if could nearly always be pierced when it clashed with a stronger more durable weapon. Apparently the Divines hadn't put enough thought into the scales of a simple salmon, or perhaps they recognized it needed to be easy to overpower so it could provide for their other creations.
Rather than focusing on his prey, Va-kaz contemplated on the scales of the fish as his small wooden spear stabbed into its flesh, tearing the scales apart. He watched as a few loose remains of the fish idly floated in the small stream it was a pity seeing them go to waste, but he was satisfied with his catch nonetheless.
The feeling of water surrounding him was blissful for the young Argonian, it was the only time he felt at home in the cold wasteland that was Central Skyrim. He lost that feeling of home once he peaked his head out of the stream, instinctively swathing his tongue out as it lashed through the air taking in various scents. It was natural of him to survey his surroundings even when outside of danger and so close to his riverside shack.
The air around the small stream that separated Falkreath and Whiterun was think and dense but quickly thinned as you moved inwards to either of the Holds. Va-kaz though had never ventured too far into either, sure he had been to Helgen and Riverwood, and he even once managed to make a journey all the way to Half-Moon Mill. This was not one of his happiest journeys. There was something off about that Inn Keeper; he didn't stick around for long after his single night stay.
As Va-kaz stood with his spear in his hand, he quickly slid his thick argonian claws down the length of the wooden pole, pushing three fish into a nearly filled bucket. He would now have enough fish to last him a weak, of course the fish themselves couldn't last a weak and he was far too poor to afford Frost Salts or Ice Wraith teeth, so he would simply sell them.
His dark green scales were accented by a bright orange than ran just inwards of the length of the young lizard's sides. He picked up the buckets with little struggle and carried them into his cabin which was a literal stone's throw away. The hut itself was small and fairly quiet, it was entirely made of wood and hay and the bed was a simple slab of wood with multiple layers of fur topping it to provide a much needed cushion for its single inhabitant whom soon collapsed upon it.
A single lantern sat unlit on a small dresser which held normal rags along with the Argonian's Formal clothes, which consisted of cut up robes made to fit his odd body shape. Under the clothes whoever was a small enchanted glass blade, the Argonian's prized possession. After hours of swimming and catching fish, Va-kaz grew increasingly tired, for he was knocked into a deep sleep before he could even reset the traps around his small shack.
His dreams were fairly normal; they consisted of memories of his early life back in Black Marsh. Swimming in the swamps with his kinsmen, being with the Hist trees in near perfect harmony, and most prominently the young lover who he had all but forgotten. She was a blue scaled Argonian he was sweet on from back in her village. He remembered the smell of juniper in her scales, the long nights they spent at the waterside and most of all, their last days together before the tragic event that nearly cleared his village.
It was too late, his thoughts had shifted to that day in Last Seed, the day he would always resent. His dreams were blurred but he knew the vision well regardless. The image of almost fifteen Dunmer, mostly mages, ascending on the small border town, casting spells and burning down homes, they spared no mercy for the women or even the children of Va-kaz's village. His lover was no exception. He barely got out alive; the massacre was the result of retaliation from former militia in Morrowind seeking retribution for the occupation. Even then Va-kaz didn't feel the attack was justified. He himself was nearly killed in the chaos and had barely made it out with only a handful of other survivors. The echoes of screams and fire still burned brightly in his mind.
With a jolt the Argonian nearly jumped off his bed looking around nervously as his sweat turned cold. "Just another dream" muttered the scaleskin. His voice was low and raspy like most Argonians, yet not stereotypical in that he put effort into pronouncing his words correctly. It was the only way to show the stupid local Nords that he wasn't a uneducated beast. Yet he couldn't blame them for thinking that, before the Vigils of Stendarr brought him to the Refugee camp in Skyrim, he thought the Nords to be fools as well.
He had now just noticed that upon collapsing, he hadn't the energy, nor the decency to re-clothe himself. So he reached into the creaky dresser and pulled out the first drawer. Due to its age it nearly fell off its hinges. But the Argonian used his reflexes to effectively stop it before slipping on a loose pair of rags.
Looking outside he could only assume that dawn was approaching, so he needed to hurry and sell the fish. Taking three of the five buckets with him, and scooping the edges into the water of the stream nearby, Va-kaz ran up the path heading north to Riverwood. He knew very well that by this time of day he couldn't risk losing the fish on the more dangerous path to Helgen. Muttering curses along the way the Argonian stopped for a rest on a large tree, drawing his single iron blade as he did so just to make sure any potential threats kept their distance.
"What do we have here-" Va-kaz froze as he heard a shrill voice from behind him. Perhaps whoever it was would go away if they didn't see him. "A lizard with buckets of succulent fish" A high pitched cackle echoed through the air as a short stubby nord, obviously very well aged stood just below the Argonian staring down at the game he had spent all morning catching.
"He-hello Miss." Uttered the frightened lizard, attempting to maintain his composure but losing control on the last syllable as his 's' went far longer than expected. This raised a smile from the hag who stood before him. "How can this lonely fishmonger help you?"
Va-kaz was trying to put on his business voice he used when trying to sell the fish, this required him to suppress his natural Black Marsh accent as much a possible. "I'd like to purchase your fish, for my experim- er I mean due to the fact that I have oh so very little to eat." She stepped closer as her long black robs dragged across the dusty path. "Would a handsome man like you be willing to help out an old woman?"
Va-kaz was somewhat intimidated; a random lady simply finds him in the middle of a forest path and asks to buy all his supplies. Something smelt fishy, and not in the literal sense.
As soon as Va-kaz shook his head to decline the woman, she stood fully clenching her hands into a fist. As he reached for the buckets he was stunned as a bolt of lightning ran through his body. "You dare defy me? I'll burn you to a crisp clam breath!" Yelled the woman. Her voice was now far deeper and more acute, she seemed more intimidating and fear ran through Va-kaz's body. He resorted to his Argonian instincts and easily dodged the reminder of lightning bolts ducking around the tree only allowing him a moment's rest.
He tried to remember back to the massacre on his village, the spells that were cast seeing if he could remember any, yet this only evoked more fear and anger. Anger that pulsed through his veins as he strained to remember, but just as he thought of the spell, the tree he leaned on ignited in a burst of fire allowing Va-kaz mere seconds to get away from the flames as a large ice spike narrowly missed his head. That was it! Ice!
While bustling through the cold forest leaves and stumbling over roots that were far to large to be practical, he looked to the ground and using what little concentration that remained, Va-kaz casted a weak Ice Rune, but it was enough, for when the witch stumbled upon it she was blasted with frost as her senile rage was swiftly ended by a knife to the gut splattering her dark red blood across the treeline. Normally that alone wouldn't have been enough to kill such a strong mage, but the even more potent poison on it was powerful enough to stun her for enough time in order for the Argonian to finish the job in a reckless array of slashing and hacking at the witch.
As if the fact that he was covered in blood wasn't enough, dawn was mere minutes from hitting; he had just realized he had killed a woman, taken a life. Yet he couldn't spare the time to linger, so he picked up his fish buckets, some were now fried but that may have only made them better to eat. He ran through the forest in the general direction of Riverwood before finding a cabin he was sure belonged to the Witch. Now being out of breath and too late to return home or finish his journey, Va-kaz simply slipped inside to find what he considered a godsend. "Thank Zenithar" Yelled the Argonian. For in the cabin sat a massive collection of staves and precious alchemical ingredients.
He was no longer just an Argonian Fishmonger; he was a damn rich one.