Authors note: Every so often I'd see someone wearing that outfit that I thought of as 'the spider dress' I think Samia in Pelagiad is one who wears it. Well, what is up with that anyway? That is where the original idea for this story came from. Sort of. Also, for this story I have adopted the Morrowind convention that spell-learning and spell-creating doesn't take much objective time. However in my 'world' it's not nearly as safe as it is in-game. If a spell is "too powerful" you certainly could cast it 'anyway'. Bad things would happen.
In game, Hla Oad is a little scrap of a town south of Balmora. Despite (or maybe because of) its small size, it's quite a hotbed of villainy.
Standard disclaimer: I do not own Morrowind, or any of the other wondrous creations of Bethesda Softworks, however I certainly lay claim to misspellings, mistakes, tweaks, spells and characters of my own creation. Reviews and plot bunnies are always appreciated; any used plot bunnies will be credited.
Midnabi woke as the first light of dawn turned the skies from black to faint grey-blue. She carefully crept out of her bedroll in the corner of the room. A woven screen blocked off the area that her mother Fadila used as a more private area. By the door she noted a large pair of chitin boots. Apparently her mother had been entertaining again. Which was fine, of course, Midnabi would never criticize family.
Hastily she made the sign of reverence toward the small ebony oval that hung near the door of their shack. "Ancestors guarding the waiting door, bless your family-that-remains" she whispered under her breath.
Once she had eased the door closed behind her, she relaxed slightly. She ran her hands hastily through her overly long silver hair, and quickly plaited it into one long braid. It was easier to keep track of that way. Her brown leggings bore a few greenish smudges down the side of her right leg, but there wasn't anything to be done about it. Fortunately her tunic was more mottled in color and didn't really show the few stains.
She made her careful way toward the docks. Telura, her occasional instructor in the arcane and alchemical arts, had mentioned being interested in rare ingredients. Which, practically speaking, meant just about anything that wasn't growing nearby and easily picked. It had occurred to Midnabi that the The Harpy, Hla Oad's one locally owned ship (and calling it that was being quite generous) usually travelled the shallows and the running boards often picked up various shoal-growing plants. Maybe one of them would be useful.
Down by the docks, she saw a second ship next to The Harpy. She recognized it as the Chun-Ook out of Ebonhart. It was in a little better repair than usual, and had been recently touched up with some kind of lacquer. The rails had a sheen that hadn't been there previously. She could hear the low voices of dunmer, and she paused. Peeking around the nearest shack, she saw Baleni Salavel, the shipmaster of The Harpy. She had one hand to her knife belt, but her expression was amused. Doing most of the talking was a gold-and-green garbed man with a greying goatee and an expression of excessive sincerity.
He was gesturing extravagantly, "So then he tells me he found a spawning grounds for shoal grubs, tells me it's a higher tide-pool, and if I'll provide transport before high tide the next day, he'll split the harvest with me," pausing, he raised a hand, "now I know well that Faldras Arinith wouldn't know a shoal grub from a scrib, so I tell him I'll make him a deal. If he has found what he says he found, then I'll provide the transport and we'll split 50-50. But if he hasn't found what he says he's found, then he owes me transport fee and the next deal he offers will be 60-40, and I'll be claiming the 60."
"I notice you phrased your deal most carefully," Baleni murmured appreciatively.
"Indeed." He looked insufferably pleased with himself.
Baleni said. "Since you look as smug as an ordinator, I'm suspecting that things worked out well for you."
"Indeed. I was right, and those were no shoal grubs." He paused expectantly. When she made a get-on-with-it gesture he added, "They were Sload larvae."
"Sweet Azura, how many?"
He chuckled. "I have two barrels full down in my hold. They're barely half the size of scribs. I know I owe you a favor-"
"More than one."
"So I'll give you one of the barrels."
She looked pleased, then rueful. "Neat, Serjo, with one move you wipe out your debt to me and put me into your debt."
"Unless you refuse." His voice was teasing.
She shook her head. "You are tempting when you want to be, Nevosi my friend."
Midnabi considered. Telura Ulver, her sometime instructor in the art of spell-weaving was always on the lookout for valuable alchemical ingredients, and Sload grubs were a source of a particularly valuable substance. If she recalled her lessons right it was one of the few treatments for rockjoint or helljoint: both diseases could cripple if left untreated.
It was true that Perien Aurelie, who ran the local tradehouse would also be interested, but since Midnabi suspected that Baleri and Nevosi were going to be approaching her with their supply, so that wasn't a wise choice.
As the two older dunmer walked off arm-in-arm to discuss things further over a bottle or three of sujamma, Midnabi made her careful way to the docks. It was early enough that few mer were about, so made her way to the stern of the ship, where any guards were unlikely to be. She heard snoring from below.
Imperials. Had to be. Humans were such creatures of habit. As Telura had taught her, they invariably drank well at night and paid for it in the morning. She made her silent way into the hold, slipping past the one sleeping - yes - Imperial guard.
Among the crates, she easily noted two barrels, braced in place with nets strapped over their tops. The floor nearby was a bit wet. As she made her careful way through the supplies, she noticed a trail of sorts, a foot wide path of water around several boxes. Curious, she followed it.
Behind the third crate she saw something. It looked like a cross between a starfish and one of the soft easily shaped pillows that might be placed in a child's bed. It was maybe the size of a small Kwama egg, but it was dark, almost a grey-black in color. She couldn't help thinking that it was adorable.
It turned toward her as she approached, and then extended two … protrusions? They seemed a little like arms or hands. Midnabi wasn't entirely sure. Small fingers extended from the hands, and one palm turned up, the other turned down, reminiscent of how an instructor in spellweaving would indicate for the student to approach.
Midnabi knelt by the creature and gently put her palms out to meet it.
And felt the unmistakable energies of the little creature's magica open around her. It was holding magicka for her, just as Telura had when teaching Midnabi to weave spells. Granted, the young dunmer was not very experienced, but the sensation was unmistakable.
Several things hit her at once. This little being was sentient. This was its attempt to communicate with her. So she had better make the most of it. So, what was needed here? What could she do? The only two spells she'd actually managed to learn were a minor healing spell and a little cantrip to calm down an aggressive creature.
Well, that latter spell meant she had experience affecting the mind. And wasn't communication something to do with the mind? Good start, but she remembered Telura's lecture on restrictions. The more open-ended a spell was, the more power it required, and Midnabi wasn't really all that powerful. So she needed this spell to be very precise. Precision, not power. So communication between two entities. No, make that two willing entities. Two willing, touching entities. Make it for no more than a minute; after all she was certainly willing to call up this magick as often as needed.
She caught a sense of approval from the little Sload. Midnabi's eyes widened. Not only could it hold magicka, but it could sense quite a bit of what she was doing. This was no unintelligent grub, this was a thoughtful individual. Promptly she cast the spell she'd just created. It seemed to work; now she could feel something with her mind the way she could feel the creature's hands with her own.
'Hello?' She sent the thought cautiously outward, not sure what to expect. 'My name is Midnabi.'
What she got back wasn't words at first. Curiosity, hungry and urgent against a background of watching elders, unimpressed and waiting for *something* to weed out too much *noise*? A sensation of being one in a crowd, waving for attention, but no attention would be given until the crowd thinned. Was thinned. Memories of silvery predators, snapping, snapping, sounds of teeth gnashing, blood in the waters, holding still, very still. Not exactly fear, but awareness of danger and consequences.
Something older, touching, holding out *magic?* a test and a question, waiting for her to form an answer *a spell?* Shaping weaving magicka seeing more distantly brightness and shapes and close and far.
Resting and safe (no, thought Minabi, safe was too strong), but then not. Waves and motion and night and moving and flying and landing but not hurt, resting, sore. Found by something large that flickered with smug amusement and disgust that was sharp like sunburn, like scraping. Swimming and lost and no familiar *trails?* *smells?* and a veil that trapped and crowded together with others, tumbled and angry. Perceptions of other's hunger, impatience. Finding open air, danger, but maybe safer. Creeping slowly. Then touched by the attention of something soft *not-disgust*, and *maybe-safe* and Midnabi suddenly realized that this was the little Sload's perception of her.
Not-disgust and maybe-safe. She would have to think about that.
There came a snort and an exhalation of breath from where Midnabi had passed the guard. She crouched behind a pile of crates, and hastily lifted her shirt, pressing the young Sload up against her belly. Thin rubbery arms extended themselves around her torso and held snugly.
First order of business was to get out of here. Listening carefully, she heard the guard shift position and settle down. Better to wait, so while she crouched, she cast her new spell again.
She'd initially expected that it would feel like normal conversation, but apparently Sload and Mer didn't think very much alike. Still, it was all she had at the moment.
'Do you have family?' Midnabi tried to send concepts and not just words. She was wondering if there was a home that this little one wanted to return to.
The answering images were of regimented competition, weakness rewarded by damage.
Weeding out the weak - or was it being weeded out? The knowledge that many had been produced, so if she perished, the whole would not be lessened. Curiosity about attention, about being noticed, being ... gently regarded. An odd sensation and a new one. Welcome.
Midnabi realized that this was how the Sload saw her. Sload culture must be very different from that of mer.
'How old are you?' She wondered.
She received a sensation of waves, of alternating warmth and ice, and eventually something that seemed to resolve into 'thirty two seasons' or that was as close as she could put it. If the alternation of ice and warmth meant a year, then that would put this Sload at about 17 years. Midnabi herself was 16.
Then an image of two hands clasping two hands, and the imagery faded.
After a moment she realized that while she had been able to create some magic, the Sload had not. So she carefully reached her hands under her tunic. The spell faded, but she could sense the mystical potential of her physically small partner. She held out her own power to create a space for a weaving to be born.
She could feel sorting, colors, almost tastes. A breath of refreshing cool on skin, softer than a breeze. Water. The shaping folded into itself, and Midnabi thought about what it could accomplish. Keeping something, not exactly wet, but not letting needed water dry out. Of course, a young Sload wouldn't do well on land. Not without help.
Then a pause.
Midnabi considered. Despite the fact that working with magic felt like it took a long time subjectively, it never took long in actual time. Another minute or two was a little bit of time for the guard to fall more deeply asleep. So she attempted to send encouragement, to strengthen her presence as a space for the youngster to work.
A tendril of energy gently extended toward her. Then another pause.
Finally getting the hint, Midnabi cast her communication spell. All right at this rate, she was going to need to enchant some sort of item to hold the spell more permanently. She got a sense of eagerness in response, then an image of sparkling, a swiftly swimming shape the size of Midnabi herself, furred and toothed but an eater of plants first and a threat only later. Then up into dangerous lack of wet; and then largish movable ringed and things that floated away. Grinding together and then concentrating and small things suddenly big and detailed.
'What was that?' But by the time she could formulate the question, her spell had faded.
She cast it again, and this time the little sload sent clearer images, separated by short pauses. First was the huge undulating swimmer, with a sense of concentration on sharp pale protruding teeth that dug among shallow seaweed. Then a pause. Next was a sense of a slow, effort-filled struggle through dangerously shallow waters, to find a wide columnar somethings. Midnabi understood this time that the sload meant to indicate whatever was inside them. It made her think of muck sponges. As she thought of that, she got a flash of enthusiasm from the little sload. Then another pause, and then a series that was clearly meant to be connected together. Something blurry or fuzzy, a full tummy, and then the blurry or fuzzy thing revealed as many interlocking details.
She had to cast the spell again, and the guard was snoring loudly by the time she realized what the sload was getting at. Alchemy. A preparation to increase intelligence. Using ingredients that Midnabi had never heard of.
'Wow,' She sent back, 'That sounds … like maybe we could do it. But we have to get out of the boat first.' And hopefully before Baleni and Nevosi arrived.