It was a slow day in Skyrim for a lone Khajiit trader, as well as cold and miserable. Pretty much an average day though, Daro'Faranirr Ranaesi observed. He walked along one of the paths that connected Riften to Whiterun. He'd always hated this trail due to the overpopulation of creatures that wanted to kill him. Trolls, Frostbite Spiders, Spriggans, his luck was so awful on this path he'd once run into a Forsworn. A Forsworn in the Rift. Fortunately, the confused fellow had only wanted directions back to Markarth and in return had given Faranirr a delicious recipe for tea.
Faranirr's ears twitched as he heard the sound of hooves against stone. He was confused, though. This road was not paved. There were some mountains relatively nearby, but that had no paved roads, either. He looked up and saw a looming shadow growing as a body hurtled towards him with a 'Neigh'! Faranirr rolled out of the way as a brown horse crashed into the earth with a sickening 'crack' and a final whinny of pain. Its heavily armored rider was thrown off some distance away.
"By the Nine!" He exclaimed as he ran to the rider's side. The warrior stood up, wiped the blood and dust from their armor, and turned to him.
"So, you recognize Talos as a Divine? How interesting." She said. Her voice was accented with the distinctive Nordic edge of one of Skyrim's native inhabitants. The armor she wore was of Daedric make, hence the confusion over her gender. She carried a bow made of dragon bone, a quiver of ebony arrows, two dragon bone swords, and a daedric dagger that she wore on her hip. Needless to say, she was very well armed. But in her subtle movements he could also hear the familiar 'clink' of gold coins. This was his chance.
He cleared his throat, put on his most charming smile, and said, "Khajiit has wares if you have coin."
"No thanks." She replied, about to walk away.
"Hold on a moment. You're not even slightly interested in what I have for sale?" He asked. "You nearly crushed me with your horse! The least you could do is look."
The warrior stared at him for a long moment before crouching- and disappearing. Faranirr stumbled away from the spot she once stood in, nearly backing into the horse corpse. "Fifty three Giant Toes," her voice said from out of nowhere. She reappeared beside him with a flash of light, holding his coin purse. "and three hundred Blue Mountain Flowers. Your stock is stranger than most traders I happen across."
"That's all the gold I have!" He exclaimed.
The warrior shrugged. "You'll make more."
"No! Give it back, thief!" He exclaimed. He reached for his sword only to discover that it was not only gone, but that he was also now naked.
The warrior once again reappeared, this time turning his sword over in her hand. "Skyforge steel. Impressive, but worthless," she said as she tossed it aside. "What else have you got?"
Daro'Faranirr stared down at his naked body, "I've obviously got nothing, not even the clothes off my back."
"I'll give those back," she said with a little bit of embarrassment. "You're not really an attractive sight."
"First I'm nearly killed by a flying horse, then I am insulted and robbed by a stranger." Faranirr snorted.
"A stranger, huh?" She said, "Maybe it is for the best I remain unrecognized."
As Faranirr prepared to ask her what she meant, a group of bandits ran from the woods. Their leader, a man in steel plate armor, unsheathed his greatsword and shouted, "Charge!"
Faranirr scrambled to grab his sword, but the woman held up an arm to stop him. With a deep breath, she shouted, "FUS... ROH DAH!"
This wasn't an ordinary shout, though. This shout echoed with power like Faranirr had never felt before. The sheer force of it uprooted several trees and decimated a path nearly a mile long. That was what happened to the forest behind the bandits. The bandits themselves were nowhere to be found. But four new piles of ash laid where they stood only a few moments ago.
Faranirr stood with his mouth open as he could only behold with muted horror the scene of casual destruction he'd just witnessed.
The woman- the Dragonborn- walked towards the piles, taking small pouches of gold from them before returning to Faranirr. "What is it?" She asked.
"You...you're...I mean… you're the Dragonborn." Faranirr said.
"Do you want a prize or something? How many wanderers do you see wearing Daedric armor?" She asked. She had a point. She tossed him all of his clothes and supplies before kneeling next to her dead horse. "I spent a thousand gold on this thing, too." She muttered.
"How were you even on this side of the mountain? The only path is one on the other side that curves around it." Faranirr said as he pulled on his clothes.
"A true warrior does not always follow the marked path." She said. "At any rate, I will be leaving. With your gold."
If it were anyone else, Faranirr would've put up a fight. But he saw how that worked out for the bandits. "Fine." He growled as he sheathed his sword.
She began walking down the path, taking a left when the road clearly went right. Faranirr held back a smile. The Dragonborn was heading towards one of the largest Frostbite Spider hollows in the Rift. While he had no doubt she would easily kill them all, she would be extremely uncomfortable while doing it and he'd never have to worry about them again.
It was a good deal, even though it was one that came at the cost of his pride.