Author's Note:

I realize that there's a significant amount of discrepancy between my story and the established lore of TES. Please understand that this is due to the fact that I have only had an opportunity to play Skyrim, and none of my attempts at solo research into the history, geography, and politics of Nirn have helped. Any help that anyone can provide in making the story mesh better would be greatly appreciated.

Prologue

And the scrolls have fortold

Of black wings in the cold

That when brothers wage war come unfurled

Alduin bane of kings

Ancient shadow unbound

With a hunger to swallow the world

-Song of the Dragonborn

Many years ago, the words of the Song of the Dragonborn were fulfilled when, during the Stormcloak Rebellion, Alduin the World-Eater returned without warning and threatened to end the world. However, a Dovhakiin, Dragonborn, arose as well, and succeeded in stopping him, ending his threat. As the years passed, the Blades, a clan of dedicated dragon-hunters, hunted down and exterminated the Dragon race. As history marched on, Dragons were all but forgotten, and the continent of Tamriel settled again. This all took place in the Skyrim region in the north. This story, however, focuses south of Tamriel, on the more recently discovered Kalresh. Bigger than an island, but smaller than a continent, Kalresh was discovered by an independant expedition. It was colonized, and in the process divided into four sections, aligned with the compass directions. The northern Hold, simply "Northold," has its capital in the city of Centerport, where virtually all ships coming from Tamriel dock. It's population consists mostly of either immigrants from Tamriel or the people who establish shops, inns, and the like to profit off of those immigrants, who eventually move out of the city to look for work and settle down elsewhere. In the west, Stonemarch is more barren, since a good amount of its terrain is riddled with too many rocks to settle in with a farm. However, the rocks and caves that can be found in the mountains can be a good source of metal ore, which resulted in Stonemarch becoming a flourishing home for blacksmiths and others who make a living by making various tools and selling or trading them for food and whatever else they might need. Its capital, Stonegate, also took advantage of the abundant rocks, and was built almost entirely from stone, including the strongest wall in Kalresh. The people of Stonegate are rough, but fair, making it a draw for honest men who simply want to live off the work of their hands. Riverhold is the opposite, low on mountains but rich in forests and fertile farmland thanks to the rivers that run through it. Its capital, Riverwall, takes advantage of a mountain that somehow survived on the coast. With a lot of work, its founders were able to redirect a river around it, then build a wall on the inner bank, resulting in a secure city surrounded by farmland. North along the coast and almost at the border is Trail's End, easily the most disreputable city in Kalresh. It's home to the biggest slave market anywhere, and by extension of that is a hive for criminals and others who would rather live off the work of others' hands. In the south, Ridgehold is set apart from the others by a series of mountain ranges that make up its borders. Its lands are less fertile than Riverhold's, but more hospitable than Stonemarch's, and make for good pastures for cattle and other livestock. Unsurprisingly, it includes the southernmost point in Kalresh, a large peninsula that holds Southpoint, its capital. Guarded by a wall on the land and reefs in the ocean, Southpoint is arguably the most secure city in Kalresh, rivaled only by Stonegate. It also boasts being the home of the biggest installment of the Fighter's Guild, characterized by the concept strength and honor in equal parts. Much like Skyrim, Kalresh is ruled by Jarls, each effectively the king of their own Hold. Each Hold has one major city, where the Jarl resides, and also contains several towns, as well as the occasional farm, or mill. It is largely populated by humans, generally referred to as Kals. Other races, such as Elves, Argonians, Khajiit, and so on, are less common, but still present, despite the Kals' widespread racism. Unlike in Skyrim and most of the Imperial provinces, slavery is alive and well in Kalresh, even in light of recent attempts to squelch it. The land has been politically stable for the last twenty years, since the Aldmeri Dominion, the governmental body of the Altmer, or High Elves, tried to seize it as they did the Empire. Their attempt, however, failed when the Imperial army took advantage of their distraction to invade the Altmer homeland of Summerset Isle. Within the political stability, there has been talk among some of the Jarls of the possibility of convening a moot to select a High King for Kalresh, as the Jarls of Skyrim do. Within this setting, the citizens of Kalresh go about the daily lives, from the the mundane to the exciting, from the simple farmer to the occasional adventurer, and everything in between.

Beginning at Trail's End

Kavo watched the slave auction with mild disinterest from a nearby rooftop. Despite the Kals' bigotry against others, all the slaves sold today had been humans like them. The crowd was entirely made up of humans, most of which were the overweight, overfed masters, who didn't bring slaves to the auctions. That meant that the few slaves present were the ones who had been bought at the auction. He'd already spotted the item the contact wanted, and now it was just a matter of figuring out how to get it. The current auction ended, and the next one was prepared inside while the buyer went over to pay. The auction platform was on the second floor of a house that overlooked Trail's End's busy marketplace. Stairs on the left-hand side of the platform led down to a table where a man sat to count out payment from the winning bidders. The auctioneer, a fat man in overly fancy clothes, talked faster than seemed possible while his burly assistant stood by to keep order.

Kavo's red-orange eyes widened a little when the next prisoner was brought out. Sharp green eyes, one surrounded by a black ring, gazed down at the crowd with anger. Scraggly, unwashed red hair clung to the her head. She was about five and a half feet tall, covered in red fur, which managed to show itself despite the dirt, with white fur on the chest, the front of her neck, her chin and cheeks, and the insides of her thighs, and brown covering the lower arms and legs. It didn't look like she'd been eating enough for several weeks. A black-tipped tail flicked back and forth behind her, while her hands were bound closely in front of her. Her clothes had been mostly torn away, probably to show off the fur, and barely left a shred of decency. Kavo's own tail, dark gray with a black tip, also flicked back and forth as the auctioneer's assistant shoved at her from behind. He reached to his back, and drew out his bow, then nocked an arrow. With his left arm stretched out in front, he pulled back the arrow until his right hand brushed against the side of his black-striped muzzle. He squinted down the shaft and felt the wind with his whiskers. The native humans of the Kalresh region could be as racist as they wanted, but none of them could match an experienced fox's marksmanship. He drifted the arrow's tip about, selecting a target, then settled on the auctioneer's flamboyant hat. Then the cascade of events started.

Kavo flicked his fingertips away from the arrow's fetching, letting it jump forward into its path. He stood up, flicking his hand back for another arrow just as the first one found its mark, grabbing the auctioneer's hat off his head and pinning it to the wall behind. The second arrow leaped forward, snagging the assistant's sleeve. He ran forward, replacing the bow with one hand while the other dug into his pocket and returned with an orb the size of his fist. The presence of the arrows sank into the crowd's collective awareness and started causing a stir as he reached the edge of the rooftop, throwing the orb into the crowd ahead of him in midair. It burst open on the back of an auctiongoer's head, spilling out a cloud of smoke as Kavo landed and sprinted forward. Nose-to-tail gray and black with a flapping cloak, his very presence proved disorienting to the people around him. Another smoke bomb preceded him, shrouding his approach through the rapidly growing confusion. He leaped upward and flipped onto the auction platform, knocking over the auctioneer and distracting the assistant with another smoke bomb, mentally noting that he was out of those now, while snagging the man's dagger, the item he'd been hired to obtain, off of his belt. He simultaneously kicked at the door, which opened inward, and grabbed the bound vixen's arm, then pulled her inside. As he did, he jabbed the dagger into the arm of a surprised man who had been waiting inside to be called on to bring out the next prisoner. That man screamed pain and anger as it came out and the prisoner he'd been ready to bring out, a big strong man, broke free. Kavo slipped the dagger through the man's bonds, then through those of the vixen he hauled behind him. Given no other choice, she followed him as he hustled to the stairs while the freed prisoner behind him proceeded to take out his anger on the slavers making their way inside.

The last slaver in the house, who had been guarding the door, rushed over to the bottom of the stairs, then crumpled backward as Kavo's foot, backed by his full weight and airborne momentum, collided with his gut. Despite the chaos upstairs, Kavo stopped for a moment and turned to his follower. "You alright?" He asked.

She sucked in a breath and nodded.

"Good," Kavo flipped the hood of the dark brown cloak he wore up over his head, then took another out of the bag at his side and handed it to her. "Put this on,"

She did, following him as he moved over to the house's back door and opened it just a crack, looking outside. Then he stepped back and jumped, grabbing the upper edge of the door's frame and kicking it with one leg while the other arced out and caught yet another man, who stood guard outside, in the face. He gestured for her to follow as he slipped away into the shadows of a nearby alley. "I'm Brii," She said, catching her breath. "Tha-"

"No time," Kavo interrupted her, keeping his voice low. "There's a place we can talk outside the city, follow me."

Kavo moved quickly through the city, followed by Brii, leaving the clamor of the marketplace behind. He pulled the edge of his cloak back and slid the dagger into an outside pocket on his bag. Brii watched, curiously. "I saw you take that, you know," She said. "But why?"

Kavo looked at her. "It's why I was here in the first place," He said. "If you want to know more, you'll have to wait until we're outside the city." An irritated look crossed Brii's face, but she said no more until they made it out of the city and had been walking down the road for several minutes.

"I'm Kavo, by the way," He finally spoke up. "You said your name was Brii, right?"

"Yes," Brii nodded. A thought crossed her mind. "You said you were in the city for the dagger. Why? And why rescue me? You clearly knew what you were doing, but I probably slowed you down."

"This way," Kavo said, gently pulling at Brii's arm and leading her off the road toward a small hill. "I've been in the Kalresh region for a while, and, outside of the Guild, it's pretty rare to see a fox being treated with any real respect by the locals. I guess it just kind of pushed me over the top seeing what they were doing back there," He moved quickly up the rough hillside with little difficulty, and Brii scrabbled to keep up with him. She looked up at him when he said that.

"The Guild? What's-ah!" The question ended in a yelp of surprise as a rock she was stepping on gave way beneath her. Kavo grabbed her by the wrist and helped her back to her feet. "Thanks. What's the Guild?"

They reached a cave mouth, hidden by rocks and bushes, and Kavo led her inside. "I'll tell you," Kavo replied, "But rescuer has first pick of questions. What were you doing in a slave auction?"

Brii didn't answer for several moments, and there was a cold undertone in her voice when she did. "Bandits," She said. "They came to my family's home in Elsweyr. Killed my parents for no reason at all, then beat my brothers and I half to death and ransacked our home. We tried to fight them off, but there were just too many. Once they'd taken everything of value, they tied us up and burned the house down. My parents," She choked back a sob. "They always said I was stronger than my brothers. I wish they'd been wrong. By the time the bandits got on the ship to Kalresh, their beating us all had just about killed them. When they went to sell us to those slavers, they wouldn't even take my brothers, so the bandits just killed them. The slavers got me back to Trail's End, and you know the rest."

Kavo remained silent for several minutes after Brii had finished. Then he gathered several pieces of wood from a pile in the back of the cave and arranged them in the middle of a small circle of rocks. He withdrew a piece of metal from his back and started grinding a rock against it until it spouted sparks, which set the wood on fire. "Sit down," He said gently, as he did the same. "I think we're going to get along."

"Why's that?" Brii asked, sitting. She suppressed a tone of indignation in her voice. "And why does a little squirt like you care what happened to me?"

Kavo sighed. He was almost, but not quite, five feet tall, and had heard more than his share of short jokes. "So what if I'm short?" He asked. "I'm still fourteen, and for your information being short is a good thing for what I do. Now, did you want to hear my story, or did you want to insult the guy who kept you from being some fat brute's toy?"

Acceptance flashed across Brii's face. "I'm sorry," She said. She huddled in front of the fire and pulled the cloak around herself, trying to get warm. "There was no need for that,"

Kavo stood up, walked over to the wood pile, and picked up a well-filled backpack, then came back over to the fire and sat down again. "Don't worry about it," He said, pulling a tin cup with a bucket-like handle on it out of his bag. "I've heard enough of those to be used to them by now," Next he took out a pouch, similar to a wineskin but bigger. He poured a stew from it into the cup. "I had two brothers myself, and both of them were tall for their age, so I never really heard the end of it while they were around," He hung the cup on the tip of an arrow, then suspended it just over the fire. "But they were just like that, mean and ungrateful. They left me and our parents as soon as they turned twelve." (Among the Elsweyrn fox-people, commonly referred to as Rojixai, young are usually considered to be "of age" somewhere between eleven and twelve years old.) "My parents were too old to hunt, so for several months after that, I had to get really good at hunting." He withdrew the cup from the fire and handed it to Brii by the handle. "Here. It'll be hot, but it doesn't taste good at all if you let it get cold." He stood and walked over to the mouth of the cave, where he pulled a curtain across the entrance and set rocks along the bottom edge to keep it there. It had already been getting dark, and now only the firelight illuminated the cave.

"So what happened after that?" Brii asked as he returned to the fire and sat down again. "And how did you wind up here?"

Kavo sighed. "I came back from hunting one day, and the house was on fire," He said, pulling another cup out of the bag. "I could hear my parents screaming, but there was no way to get inside," He filled the cup with stew and dangled it over the fire. "I was so mad I couldn't even think. I followed the tracks leading away from the house and found a cave with wolf fights going on inside. There was only one entrance, so I lit a nice big fire there and put an arrow through anyone who came out. After that, I had nothing, just kind of went crazy for a while." Brii had set the stew down, and was now looking at Kavo with an expression he couldn't quite identify. "I'm not sure how long it lasted, but eventually, someone from the Guild found me. He helped me get myself together, so then I joined up with them. Been with the Guild for about a year and a half now."

Silence filled the cave as Kavo pulled the cup out of the fire and took a gulp. Then Brii spoke. "I'm so sorry..." She began. "I had no idea,"

"No one ever does," Kavo answered. "I got over it a long time ago. Nowhere to go but forward."

"I suppose so," Brii nodded. "So what's this Guild you joined?"

"The Thieves Guild, in Centerport," Kavo answered. "It's seen better days, but we're something close to a family. That's why I was in Trail's End in the first place. Someone had that dagger stolen from them, family heirloom or something like that, came to us to get it back."

Brii thought for a moment. "Well, then," She said. "I guess you'll have to teach me as we go. I've got nothing to do but follow you around, so I may as well be useful." A yawn forced its way out of her mouth, and Kavo nodded along with it.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he said. "There's a stream not far from here, you can get cleaned up in the morning. Only bed in the cave is a straw pile, you can have that," First, he stood up and spread the cloak out on the ground, then slid his shirt up over his head. This he folded up into a flat, lumpy pillow and placed in the hood of the cloak. (It's worth pointing out here that the Rojixai don't rely on clothing as much as humans, having their fur, so it wasn't really as immodest for him to disrobe in front of Brii as you might think.) Having done so, he lay down on the cloak and folded it over himself with his tail sticking out the open side. Brii followed his example over on the hay pile, and soon fell asleep. Kavo, meanwhile, was awake a bit longer, thinking about what would come next. He had never brought an Initiate into the Guild, and as such had little teaching experience. But Brii seemed pretty sharp, he reasoned, and should be able to pick up on things quick enough. With that thought in his mind, he drifted off.

Kavo woke up to the slivers of sunlight that made their way around the curtain. He got up and dressed, though he left the cloak next to his bag. When he turned to wake Brii up, he saw that she'd already awoken on her own. "Morning," he greeted her. "How'd you sleep?"

"Uhh..." Brii twisted her head around, cracking her neck. "Okay, I guess. Better than a cage." She draped the cloak over her shoulders. "You said there was a stream outside?" She asked.

"Yeah, just a moment..." Kavo's voice dropped off as he rummaged in his backpack. "Ah, here it is," He came out victoriously with a set of plain clothes, which he handed to Brii. "What?" He asked, when she gave him a skeptical look. "Sometimes dressing like a thief just doesn't say 'pay no attention.'" Brii shrugged and accepted the clothes, then followed Kavo to the cave mouth. He pointed to the right, away from the road. "Just go around that way and you can't miss it,"

"Thanks," Brii disappeared around the side of the hill, and Kavo turned back into the cave, leaving the curtain open to let sunlight in. He spread out what was left on the cave floor. His backpack, the now mostly-empty side bag, the two cloaks, and his bow and quiver. First, he poured the last of the stew into the two cups and set them aside, followed by the skin. Next, he set aside some dried meat and moved a few other things from the backpack to the side bag, which he then tested to make sure wasn't too heavy. Satisfied with that, he set to work rebuilding the fire.

Brii returned several minutes later, looking much better now that the dirt was washed out of her fur. Kavo noted that, since the clothes she was wearing were fit for him, the pants ended several inches higher on her, but it wouldn't be any problem. The shirt fit a bit more loosely, which he attributed to her more slender build. "Feeling better?" He asked.

A gurgling sound was the first reply he got, followed by Brii blushing. "Except for that," She answered.

"I believe it," Kavo said with a laugh. "You remember what I did with the stew last night?" he asked.

"Yes, I remember," Brii said, walking over to the quiver and withdrawing an arrow, then mounting the cup on it and holding it over the fire. "Like this, right?"

"Yep," Kavo nodded and did likewise. "Just don't leave it in too long, or it'll start sticking to the cup and make a mess." He started heating his own stew. "So, you still want to join the Guild?"

"Mm-hm," Brii mumbled around a mouthful of stew, then swallowed. "I've got nowhere else to go, like I said. How long will it take us to get to Centerport?"

"It'll take a few days," Kavo answered. "The client who wanted the dagger back isn't too particular about when, so we can take our time getting back. I figure we can travel part of the day, then stop somewhere so I can teach you a thing or two." He neglected to mention that he wasn't quite sure how much travel she could take yet.

"Alright," Brii slurped down the rest of her stew. "What exactly is Centerport, anyway?"

Kavo finished his own stew and set the cup down. "Well, it's the capitol or Northold, and it's got the biggest port in Kalresh, so most people coming in wind up there. From here, it's a bit east and a good ways north. I usually take three or four days to get there from the southern cities, but then that's traveling all day. I figure it'll take about a week for us to get there."

He picked up the two cups and the empty stew bag, then stood. "I'll be back in a little while," he said. "Why don't you see if one of those two bags isn't too heavy,"

A while later, Kavo walked back into the cave with the cups and bag, now cleaned out, and put them in the backpack. Also, his fur, once gray and black, was now shades of red and brown.

Brii looked at him, confused. He smiled. "Sometimes I'll rub soot into my fur before a job," He explained. "Makes it easier to avoid being noticed," Brii picked the side bag, so he hefted the backpack up and walked out, with Brii following.

"So," Brii said, as they started out down the road, "Could you tell me more about the Guild?"

"You'll have to be more specific," Kavo replied. "Do you mean what the Guild does, what the actual place is like, who's in it, what?"

"Hm..." Brii considered for a moment. "Tell me more about what it does."

"Well," Kavo answered, "The Guild relieves people of...unneeded items. Occasionally we'll take a job from someone. People call us heartless, lawless, names like that or worse. But we have rules. Respect your Guildmates, never steal something someone actually needs, and the most important rule, the one that sets us apart; never kill the mark. Anyone who breaks that rule gets ejected from the Guild."

"That explains why you only shot the guy's hat," Brii muttered, before asking her next question. "So what are the members like?"

"That's a pretty short list right now," Kavo said with a sigh. "First there's Veh'zra, our resident Argonian." He caught a questioning look from Brii. "Argonains are pretty much lizard people, from the Black Marsh. They're immune to poison, can wait in a single position for days, and can breathe underwater. Veh'zra doesn't get out much, but from what I've heard he's one of the best when he does. Mostly he sticks around the Guild and does all the talking no one else cares to do." Brii nodded understanding. "The three main members are Sertha, Ketla, and Calla. They're sort of a trifecta of thief skills. Sertha can get just about anywhere without being noticed, and in and out of someone's pocket before they know she's there. Ketla can pick a lock as quickly as if he had the key, and knows exactly where to put a dagger in any given situation. Calla is an artist with a bow, almost as good as a fox, and she could climb a straight up-and-down, seamless stone wall," Brii raised an incredulous eyebrow, and Kavo laughed. "Yeah, I know. I didn't believe it until I saw her climb right up the side of Centerpoint's wall. Last is the Guildmaster, a Khajiit. I've never seen him in action, and I've never heard stories, either, but you don't get to be Guildmaster by sitting around doing nothing, and no one messes with him."

They kept walking for a while, until the sun was directly overhead. "This way," Kavo said, directing Brii off the road toward a stand of trees. Behind that, hidden from view of the road, was a run-down looking house. "It's been abandoned for a while," Kavo explained when Brii looked at it curiously. "From what I can tell, the people who used to live here were killed by bears or something."

"Huh," Brii surveyed the area somewhat critically. The house was made of wood, but falling apart. From the look of the roof, there was at least one room with no ceiling at all. A stream somewhere in the woods beyond added background noise. "Looks like it was a while ago."

"Yeah," Kavo agreed. "But it's not too bad a place to stay a night. There's an intact fireplace, and a stream fairly close by. This is a good time of year for it, too. Clear summer nights, good view of the stars." He took in a breath of forest air, then turned to Brii. "But one thing at a time. I'm going to catch something for lunch while you rest a bit, then I want to see how you are at hand-to-hand." He walked over to the house and set his bag and cloak down next to it. Brii did likewise, then sprawled out in the grass while Kavo left with his bow and quiver.

He returned some time later with a rabbit, which Brii started skinning while he built a fire to cook it over. Once they'd both eaten their fill, he cut the meat into strips and sprinkled with powder, then hung them over the fire.

"What was that powder?" Brii asked, curiously.

"Garlic," Kavo answered, standing up. "I've tried a bunch of different things, but nothing quite matches the flavor some crushed garlic gives it. Now," He stretched out and twisted his back, cracking it. "Let's see how you are in a fight."

Brii also stood, cracking her neck. "You're on."

They walked to the middle of the clear area and took fighting stances. Kavo made the first move, with a jab at Brii's right shoulder. She responded by knocking the blow aside with her wrist, then returning one of her own, which he dodged. She followed the blow up with a kick aimed at his gut, but he caught that. He twisted her leg, forcing her whole body to spin. Normally, that would put someone on their face. Brii, however, took her left foot off the ground, caught herself on her hands, and pushed off into a full-body kick, taking Kavo in the side and knocking him down.

"Gah!" Kavo started pushing himself up, trying to replace the lost air. "Oof..." He took several staggered breaths, then stood again. "Good, good," he said. "I haven't seen that move before,"

Brii smiled, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "Eh. The ankle grab was good, too. You good to keep going?"

Kavo sucked in one more breath, then steadied. "Yeah, I'm good." He took his stance again, and waited for Brii to strike. It was a kick, aimed at his gut again. This time he dodged to the right, took a step forward, and swept the left leg out from under her, knocking her to the ground.

They kept going for a while, until finally both were too tired to keep it up. The whole time, Kavo found himself hard-pressed to keep up. Brii was proving much better than he expected, knocking him to the ground more often than not.

"So," Kavo said, breathing heavily, "Had enough?"

Brii smiled. "I guess so." She popped her neck. "Just about time to eat anyway, isn't it?"

Kavo nodded. "I guess so." He started walking toward the woods behind the house. "Stream's back this way. I don't know about you, but I want to get the sweat out before eating."

That night, after they'd both washed the sweat out in the stream and enjoyed dinner of duck and apples, they stretched out on their cloaks in the ceiling-less room, looking up at the stars. Kavo let out a contented sigh. "You know, it's things like this that make me feel alive,"

"What's that mean?" Brii asked. "You've obviously never been dead."

Kavo smiled. "True, but that's not what I meant. In the Guild, it's easy enough to get whatever you want. Whatever kind of food, trinkets, anything like that. But it never really means anything. For example, I never enjoy a meal quite so much as one that I hunt down myself. And you can't buy or steal a night like this, no problems, nothing to worry about, just clean air and the stars. Know what I mean?"

Brii considered for a moment. "I guess. But it must be nice being able to just take whatever you want."

"Mm. But there's a certain quality to something that you actually earned."

Conversation drifted into silence, and silence drifted into sleep.

Kavo woke in the morning and just lay there for a while, enjoying the cool morning air. When he did sit up, he saw that Brii was still asleep, so he reached for his bag and pulled out a book, then started reading.

"What's that?" Brii asked sometime later.

"What?" Startled, Kavo looked up. He'd become so absorbed by the book he hadn't noticed her waking up. "Oh. Good morning," He stuck a piece of paper in between the pages and closed the book. Then he stood up and stretched a little. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," Brii gestured at the book. "You didn't strike me as the reading type,"

"Not a lot of books," Kavo admitted, picking up his bag and stowing the book. "But towards the start of my time with the Guild, a book titled 'Dovahkiin' caught my attention while I was on a job, so I took it and read it later."

"Dovahkiin?" Brii asked, confused. "What does that mean?"

Kavo's gaze turned skyward. "Have you ever heard of dragons?" he asked, his voice taking on a tone not unlike that of a storyteller's.

Brii thought for a moment. "Big, flying lizards that breathe fire?" She asked. "One time a bunch of bards were passing through the area, and one of them told some stories to my brothers and I. Dragons showed up in one of them, but I don't really remember it."

"Hm," Kavo picked up his bag and cloak and started making his way out of the house, with Brii following while he talked. His eyes glazed over as they walked, and he barely seemed to be paying attention to the road, half-tripping occasionally on the rough spots. "That only scratches the surface. Dragons are, or were, a race older than just about everything. According to the legend, Akatosh originated their race with Alduin, then it went from there. Dragons, or 'Dovah,' in their own language, were immense and powerful, fifty feet long or more when fully grown, and able to breathe both fire and frost. Their power, in fact was their language. The Dov language brought the word 'literal' to a whole new meaning. For example, a dragon that wanted to breathe fire would actually shout the word-'Yol,' to do so, or even extend it. 'Yol Toor Shul,' was the full version, most closely translating to 'Fire, Inferno, Sun.'"

Brii listened in alternating combinations of amusement, confusion, interest, and even irritation as, for the next hour, including right through breakfast and as they started walking, Kavo talked on and on, bouncing from topic to topic about dragons and their language. Finally, she stopped him.

"Kavo?"

"...which meant that basically, anyone could Shout with a deep enough understanding of-huh?"

"You've been talking about dragons for over an hour."

Kavo stopped dead in his tracks as Brii's statement took hold. "Oh."

Brii kept walking, which prompted Kavo to do so as well. "And I don't think you even answered my question," She commented.

"What was that, again?"

"What does 'Dovahkiin' mean?"

"Ah, right," Kavo snapped his fingers. "Alduin got it into his head that dragons should be in charge, claiming he had a 'divine right' since he was the 'firstborn of Akatosh.' He turned that belief into a dragon cult. The only descriptions of that that I could find were 'a time of unspeakable tyranny and cruelty.' It got so bad that Kynareth gave people the ability to speak the dragon language the way dragons did. A way to fight back. But to do so required a deep understanding of the dragon language and usually years of practice. Those of the rebellion simply didn't have enough time, didn't understand the language enough. So Akatosh instituted the Dovahkiin. In our language, Dragonborn. The Dragonborn had the ability to absorb a dragon's understanding of the language, and a natural, inborn ability to speak it the way dragons did, to Shout."

"Shout?"

"Like I said, a dragon's powers came from their language. Using that language for effect is a Shout. I've tried it myself a few times," he shrugged. "But I guess I don't understand the language well enough, since it didn't work. Anyway, about five hundred years ago, Alduin returned, and then dragons started showing up all over Skyrim. It's a big deal over there, but Skryim's where all the action happened, so the legend doesn't go out too much further. According to the legend, though, the fact that a Dragonborn appeared at the same time as Alduin is the only reason his return wasn't the literal end of the world."

Brii regarded Kavo with a bemused look. "Well, it looks like there are some things you're really interested in. How many books have you collected?"

"I've got eight good ones back at the Guild, plus this one," Kavo admitted. "After I found the first one, it seemed I just had to know more about it. I've been studying the Dov language for over a year now,"

They kept walking for a few hours, then a few more after a break for a meal around noon. About three hours before dusk, Kavo called a halt just before the road curved sharply around a rocky spire.

"Stop," Kavo held up his hand, signaling Brii to stop behind him. Then he reached for his bow.

"What is it?" She asked, stopping next to him.

"Listen,"

"You heard me, I said your money or your life!"

"And you heard me, I said neither!"

"Bandits," Kavo muttered, pulling out an arrow. He took a quick glance around the corner. "They've got some sort of walkway rigged up going over the road. Three of them up top with bows, two more with maces have stopped a guy on a horse,"

"What's the plan?" Kavo could practically hear the gleam in Brii's eyes at the thought of killing bandits. Around the corner, the conversation continued in increasingly agitated tones.

"I'll deal with the three up top. The guy they stopped looks like he can handle himself while I do that. Once it's clear, run in and pick up a weapon in case they've got more hiding out. Places like this they'll usually have a fort hidden in the background, sometimes a cave," Kavo nocked the arrow, then slipped around the corner, aimed, and fired. A yell of surprise and the sound of confusion followed as he repeated twice, then stowed the bow on his back and darted forward with his knife. Clashing weapons from the three on the ground sounded, then went silent as Kavo caught one in the back while their would-be victim dealt with the other. It was all over before Brii was halfway there.

Like Kavo had said, a wooden platform extended over the road, two bandits slumped over it and one having fallen to the ground, where Kavo and a solidly-built man in leather armor and holding a bloody sword now stood, looking over one another. Built out from the rock was a clumsy palisade wall with a gate in it.

"Thanks," the man said, wiping his sword on one of the dead bandits' clothes. "Shor's bones, you can't go anywhere on the road these days without someone trying to take your things. I'm Vendil."

"Kavo. This is Brii," Kavo glanced back and noticed that Brii was testing the balance of the two axes the bandits on the ground had been wielding. The sounds of approaching men from the other side of the wall heralded imminent combat. Brii raised the axes into position and took a spot on one side of the gate, while Vendil moved over to the other. Kavo took several steps back and readied his bow. "Talk more later, I guess," he said, just before the gate burst open.

An arrow took the first bandit in the throat, and the next one stumbled over him into the path of Vendil's sword. Brii and the axes caught the next one. An arrow flitted by Kavo's head, causing his attention to turn to clearing three new attackers from the walkway. While he was busy with that, bandits flooded out of the fort faster than Brii and Vendil could cut them down. Once the archers were dealt with, Kavo picked up a crudely forged iron sword one of the bandits had dropped and turned his attention to the fifteen bandits who were now attacking. Brii had been forced to back up, but Vendil's blade was quick enough to keep three busy at a time. Kavo pressed his attack, and forced the bandits back, corralling most of them in the gateway. When they surged forward again, an axe from Brii's direction caught one in the side, dropping him and startling the rest. Before long, the four remaining bandits fled back into the fort, only to be replaced by one in steel armor, which must have been stolen. This bandit, clearly the leader, strode forward with confidence, wielding a sword that intrigued Kavo. The hilt housed a circular setting, which appeared to hold a crystal of some sort. The blade was long and straight, but the whole sword looked like it had been set to rust, then coated in thick smoke. Still, the bandit leader's strong blows forced even Vendil back, quickly knocked his weapon from his hands and sent him sprawling backward. Kavo moved in and deflected what would have been the killing blow, then moved to force the combat in a different direction, letting Brii move in to help Vendil up.

The fight continued, with the bandit holding the upper hand. Blow after blow, Kavo lost ground, trying to keep his arms from collapsing under the bandit's brute strength. Finally, seeing an opportunity, he ducked under a crosswise stroke and drove his sword through a gap in the bandit's armor, impaling the man's belly. A look of shock and pain took over the bandit leader's face as Kavo twisted the blade around, then pulled it out. Without a word, Kavo's opponent fell, dropping his sword. Kavo looked over his own blade, now stained with his opponent's blood. He jabbed it into the ground next to the foe's head and bent down to investigate the bandit's sword. He couldn't quite place it, but it definitely reminded him of something. He unbuckled the scabbard from its previous owner and examined it. It appeared to be a perfect fit for the sword, though similarly tarnished. Still, he wiped the blade off as best he could, then sheathed it and stood.

"Thanks for the help," Vendil said, extending his hand for Kavo to shake. "Always a good thing to have with bandits."

Kavo nodded and shook Vendil's hand. "No problem. Those vagabonds are all over the road these days; no one's going to complain about taking a few out."

Vendil laughed. "I hear you. Will you be staying around to loot the camp?"

"Of course. It's as good a place as any to spend the night, after all."

"Fair enough," Vendil agreed, and disappeared inside the gate.

Brii looked at Kavo with a half-raised eyebrow. "Loot the camp?" She asked.

"Why not?" Kavo asked, bending down to check the pockets of one of the bandits. "These guys make a living stealing stuff from people. No way to be sure who a given item came from most of the time, so it's only fair whoever deals with the bandits gets first pick," He fished out a small purse that jingled with a few coins. "It's not the richest work, but it's a lot more satisfying that what I usually do," he said, moving on to another bandit.

Brii nodded and shrugged. "Hard to argue with that," she admitted, and tentatively started searching another bandit.

It wasn't long before they finished with the bandits outside the fort and moved in. On the inside, the bandits' fort was just two rough-hewn shacks, a firepit with logs in a ring around it on the right, and on the left what looked to be a makeshift blacksmith's shop, which Vendil was partway through investigating.

"Hello," he called out, noticing them. "Not much over here, just a bunch of basic stuff. Looks like their smith was partway through a set of leather armor when we showed up." He held up a pair of leather gauntlets demonstratively. Kavo walked over to investigate while Brii approached the shack on the right. The gauntlets were well enough made, though a bit big for him, and the boots wouldn't do at all. The torso armor was just about the right size, though, so he tried that on. It wasn't much. Overlapping layers of hardened leather covered most of the chest and back, and more provided light protection around the waist and thighs. Several more pieces of leather, as well as a few metal ingots, littered the workbench.

"I might actually be able to use this," Kavo commented, bending a piece of leather around his right shoulder experimentally.

"Suit yourself," Vendil said, and walked off toward the left-hand shack while Kavo continued fiddling with the materials at the workbench.

By dusk, Brii had found the bandit's larder, started a fire in the firepit, and cooked several pieces of venison over it. "Kavo!" she yelled out at him, still at the workbench. "Aren't you hungry yet?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Kavo hollered back. "I'm almost done," A few moments later, he walked over. He was wearing the armor he'd been working with earlier, although altered. There was a sheathed dagger mounted on the chest and a shell of leather mounted over the right shoulder. He'd turned the left-hand gauntlet into a bracer, with a flared shield extending up the arm so it rested against the elbow. Another piece of leather sat on his head, cut and fitted over his snout and around his ears, cut back so it didn't interfere with his sight. Smaller pieces of leather were mounted on his legs, though for the sake of mobility not much could be done with that. The sword, bow, and quiver were mounted on his back, and he was carrying the bag. "So," he said, setting the bag down against the side of the shack, "What do you think?"

"Hm," Vendil looked over the armor and grunted approval. "A bit light for my taste, but that's a matter of opinion."

"Ha," Kavo smirked. "Twenty septims says you can't land a punch on me before I put you on the ground,"

Vendil returned the confident expression. "You're on."

The walked out into an open part of the fort, and the contest began. Vendil threw a powerful right jab, but Kavo ducked sideways, letting the punch move harmlessly past his shoulder. He returned the attack by flitting around Vendil's left side, planting an elbow in his ribs as he went. Vendil turned to follow and lashed out clumsily with his left hand, but Kavo caught it by the wrist, braced his leg against his opponent's ankles, and pulled the extended arm over his shoulder, unbalancing Vendil and tumbling him to the ground.

Vendil smiled as Kavo helped him up. "Very nice," He said, walking back over to where Brii, who stood by garnering her own amusement from the display, kept a haunch of venison turning slowly over the fire. He dug around in his bag, counted out the coins, and handed them to Kavo. "Bet's a bet. But if you ask me, it's about time to eat."

"No argument there," Kavo said. He turned to Brii. "So what did the bandits have in their larder?"

"A lot of stuff," Brii answered. "But this is all I could be sure was clean," She withdrew the meat from its perch, cut it into pieces and put those on plates, then handed one each to Kavo and Vendil. After taking her own, she set the rest aside.

They ate and talked for a while while it got darker out before Vendil decided to sleep in one of the shacks while Kavo and Brii elected to sleep by the fire, which gave off enough warmth to balance out the night air. Kavo sat up for a while, trying to clean off the sword in the fire's light. The hilt was long enough to use with one hand or both, something he'd heard referred to as a "hand-and-a-half" sword. He'd also noted that it was impressively balanced. Rather than a more traditional hilt, with a bar crossing it, this one had a circular part instead, which looked like it had a jewel mounted in the middle. It was hard to tell, though, since the whole thing was covered in a black film which wouldn't come off no matter how hard he scrubbed at it.

"That sword's pretty dirty," Brii commented. "Why not take another one?" She gestured to the pile of weapons they'd gathered, which included several swords.

"No," Kavo said, looking up. "This one reminds me of something I read, I just need to check on it." He abandoned the scrubbing momentarily to pass the sword through a few motions. "Besides, the balance on this is really nice."

Brii shrugged indifferently and turned over, her back to the fire. "Each to their own, I guess," she muttered.

Kavo kept scrubbing for a while, then gave up and went to sleep.

Kavo walked around slowly. He was blindfolded, but didn't care. He couldn't clearly feel what was around him, but the room felt nice enough, and was pleasantly cool. Then he heard someone approaching. Soft fingers slipped under the blindfold and pried it off his head. He blinked at the change of light, and his vision cleared. There was Brii, standing in front of him with the blindfold in one hand. Then he noticed that the room was different. The floor was rough, and damp, and there was a nasty smell in the air, which was also just a bit too cold. Kavo rubbed his arm.

"Gah," He spat. "This room is worse than I thought it was."

"It is," Brii agreed. "Which way out?"

"There's a door over there," Kavo gestured over his shoulder. "But it's locked."

Brii walked over to the door, which was made of rough-cut planks of wood and set into the wall. She reached up and plucked a key hanging from the ceiling.

"Think this would help?"

"Yeah, it might," Kavo smiled awkwardly and took the key. Then he inserted it into the lock and turned it. The door clicked open, revealing a set of stairs going up. In the distance, a bright light and accompanying smells and sounds promised good food and company. "Let's go."

They started up the stairs, but they never seemed to end. Finally, Kavo saw the glowing white shape of someone beckoning them upward, but then heard a soft gasp from beside him. He turned and looked to see a shadowy figure pulling a dagger out of Brii's back. He turned to start running up the stairs, but felt the dagger in his own back, and the dream ended.

The smell of death. Kavo woke with a start, breathing heavily. Memory of the dream faded into awareness. They were in the bandit's camp, and he was just smelling the piled-up bodies from the day before. Unsettled by the effect of the dream and the smell, he got up and dressed, then set to distracting himself by unpacking and repacking his things. That done, he inspected his armor and repaired a few flaws he found. Once that was done, he looked around. He cleared out the remains of the previous night's fire and started a new one. He found a pot among the bandits' supplies and began cooking a stew.

"Yaawh..." Brii woke up, yawned, and looked at Kavo. "Good morning."

Kavo glanced at her. "Good morning," A part of the dream flashed through his mind, but didn't stick. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," she cast a look at the pot over the fire. "Decided to take a turn cooking, huh?"

They had their fill of stew, then left the rest for Vendil. The day's walk was quieter, due to the fragmented feelings from the dream playing through Kavo's mind. The silence wasn't lost on Brii.

"You're a lot quieter," she observed while they passed through a field of unusually tall grass. "What's wrong?"

Kavo grunted. "Bad dream, I think. I can't really remember it." his ears twitched, and his stance and voice lowered. "Draw your sword," he muttered, doing the same.

Brii did, and looked to either side, copying Kavo's change of stance. "What is it?"

The grass rustled. Birds fluttered out of the grass. Brii grasped her sword's hilt, trying to figure out what Kavo had heard. She caught the sound of rustling grass, which seemed to be following them. She found that very unsettling. Kavo reached for his dagger, undoing the clasp that held it in place. "Hold on a moment..." he flipped the dagger into the air with his left hand and caught it by the tip, slowing to a stop. There was a moment of silence. Kavo's ears flicked from side to side, and his tail twitched. Abruptly, his wrist jerked, sending the dagger spinning into the grass.

The initial response was an angry growl from where the dagger had gone. As a wolf with the dagger embedded in its shoulder charged, Kavo intercepted another on his right with the sword. The blade laid across the wolf's ribs, cutting in and knocking it away. Meanwhile, he caught the other wolf's bite on his left bracer. Behind, he could hear Brii fighting as well, but couldn't turn to help as another emerged on his side of the road. He thrust the sword through that wolf's side, pinning it to the ground. He put a foot on it and bent down to extract the dagger, and felt a bite on the exposed upper part of his right arm. He reached around with his left hand and wrenched the wolf's upper jaw opened. The wolf fell back, so he grabbed the dagger and pulled it away from its previous victim along with the sword, both in time to intercept a wolf on either side. On the right, he felt the sword's target's skull give way. On the left, the dagger slashed at the inside of its target's mouth before he spun, digging the sword into that wolf's neck.

The silence was as sudden as the chaos had been. Turning, he saw Brii standing victoriously over another two wolves, a few tears left on her sleeves, but no blood. She looked at Kavo's bite.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "That doesn't look good."

"It's not that bad," he replied, sheathing both weapons, then squeezing his left hand over the bite. "Last time I was ambushed by wolves, there were eight of them, and they got me a few times." He dipped into his bag for a few moments before coming out with a cloth bundle. In a few minutes, he had applied a salve to the wound and bandaged it.

Brii smiled in disbelief. "You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

Kavo returned the smile. "There's a fine line between being prepared and over-prepared. The trick is knowing if you've crossed it or not." He repacked what remained and returned it to the bag. Buzzards were already circling overhead.

Brii looked at the dead wolves. "Should we do anything with them?"

"No," Kavo answered, gesturing upward. "They'll deal with that. We should keep going."

They walked on for a while. The road from Trail's End to Centerport favored Riverhold's terrain, so a stream that snaked around on the right-hand side of the road kept plant life well fed, which in turn kept herbivorous creatures plentiful. This meant deer bounding away were a common sight.

A while later, they stopped for lunch in a field with what looked to be a tree that had been destroyed by lightning. After they finished, Kavo walked over to the burned stump and set to carving a bulls eye on it.

"Archery lesson?" Brii asked, walking up.

"Archery lesson," Kavo confirmed, finishing and sheathing the sword. He paced off thirty, forty, and fifty yards. "Come on," he said, walking over to where their gear was to retrieve his bow and quiver, and Brii did likewise. Then they both walked over to the thirty-yard line.

"Now," Kavo said, standing sideways to the target with the bow stretched out in his left hand. "You generally want to start learning with this pose. Just let the arrow's shaft rest on the handle – yes, like that – and pull it back next to your face..."

THWACK! The arrow embedded in the tree. It stood out sideways, quivering in the circle just above the center, along with three more which had since stilled.

"Good, good," Kavo said, following Brii forward from the recently-inscribed sixty-yard line. They approached the target and started removing arrows. "You're shooting a bit high, but you'll work through that with practice." Brii was a good student, quickly grasping the mechanics of the bow and making them work for her.

"Thanks," Brii said, placing the last arrow back in the quiver. "But it's going to get dark soon. We should get a fire going and get something to eat."

In reply, Kavo raised his bow and nocked an arrow. He turned slowly, tracking a flock of geese. As he watched, the lead goose dropped lower than the rest and fell back to the end of the left arm of the flock. The arrow flew, and the goose fell. A fresh wave of honking spread through the flock, and another goose broke away and dropped down toward its fallen comrade, but honked madly and took off again when Kavo approached.

Brii, meanwhile, busied herself finding rocks to make a fire circle. "That was quite a shot," she commented as Kavo approached. "I don't think I'll be able to do that for a while."

Kavo set the bird down and helped with Brii's task. "Don't be too sure. I didn't hit a bulls eye at sixty yards until my second day. Here," he handed Brii a rock that was the right size for a gap she was trying to fill.

"Thanks,"

The circle completed, they set about finding burnables, which didn't take too long.

"So how far are we from Centerport? Here, try this one." Brii offered Kavo a stripped branch to replace a stick that had broken in the spit he was making.

"Thanks. I think if we keep walking after lunch tomorrow, we should be able to get there by nightfall."

Soon after, Brii started preparing the goose while Kavo started sorting through one of the bags from the fort. Suddenly, his ears pricked up. He set the bag aside and stood.

"What is it?" Brii asked, looking up.

"Hold on," Kavo picked up his sword and strapped it into place, then walked away toward the woods. He came back a while later with a bloody bear trap. "Nice big wolf," he explained, dropping the trap next to their gear. "By the time I got there, he was just about ready to chew his own foot off."

"Oh," Brii, who was by now turning the goose over the fire, wrinkled her nose, replied. "How pleasant. And it didn't try to bite you?"

"It did," Kavo replied, matter-of-factly. "But have you ever tried to bite someone who's holding your mouth shut?"

"Yes." Brii's tone warned Kavo he was headed in a bad direction.

The thought clicked in Kavo's mind, and he let the issue drop without another word.

So they ate, and when they'd had their fill, Kavo took what was left and laid it just outside the woods. He explained that if the wolf was still around and hungry, it would be better to give it food than to be its food. Brii had to agree with the logic, and before long they both fell asleep on either side of the fire.

They woke up in the morning, ate breakfast, and broke camp. After they'd been walking for a little over two hours, a pair of men came sauntering down the road, staggering and smelling of five different kinds of mead and wine. Both wore normal clothes, albeit stained, torn, and smelly.

"Well, looky here, Belka, a couple of foxes. What're you dogs doing here?" The pair had stopped in the middle of the road, blocking Kavo and Brii's path. As they tried to move around and keep going, Belka intercepted. "Now, where do you think you're going? We got something to say to you furry vermin,"

"Oh, go pass out somewhere," Kavo said, the situation instantly eliminating the good feeling warm weather had imparted on him. "We've no purpose talking to a couple of drunken blockheads."

"Oi, ya hear that, Keldun?" Belka swayed slightly. "This one's got a bit o' fire in 'im!"

"Ay, I heard," Keldun replied, laughing in the inane manner of drunks. He looked at Brii. "Ah, but look at this one! How much do you cost, little vixen?"

Keldun moved to grab at Brii, and that was enough. She shifted aside, grabbing him by the wrist with her left hand, pulling it forward and down while swinging her right hand up against the pull and the man's weight into his elbow, eliciting a crack as it bent in the wrong direction. She continued to pull, sending him sprawling on the ground, where she drove his face into the dirt before turning to Belka, who figured out what had happened right around then. He charged, and Brii caught his outstretched right hand in her left while pulling it along and twisting her body to deliver her right elbow into his ribs. She withdrew that and replaced it with her knee, then tossed him on top of his moaning drinking buddy.

Kavo, who had watched with an impressed gaze, now clapped slowly and nodded approval. "Nicely done," he complimented, pushing one of the drunk's legs out of the way with his foot.

"Humph. Been a while since I met someone that stupid. They should have listened to you and passed out on their own."

Kavo laughed, then started digging through his bag. He pulled out a chunk of dried meat and threw it off into the grass.

"What?" he asked, when Brii shot him a look. "That wolf is still following us. Don't worry, I've got a plan for that."

"Okay," Brii cast an uneasy look in the direction Kavo had thrown the mean, but kept walking.

It was about two hours before dark when they stopped at a large pile of rocks about a half mile outside of Centerport's wall. Kavo put up his hand, indicating a stop.

"Wait here," he walked about thirty yards away from the rock mound, and stared in the direction of a nearby stand of trees. He let out a low, drawn-out growl. An answering growl returned, followed by a gray wolf, bigger than any Brii had ever seen. As she watched, the wolf approached Kavo, and their eyes locked. Once it was in range, and without warning, the wolf leaped with jaws open. Kavo caught the bite on his right bracer, then started wrestling with the wolf, forcing it to the ground. He pinned it on its side, then locked eyes with it until it looked away.

"What was that?" Brii asked, approaching as Kavo let the wolf up. The wolf broke away from sniffing Kavo's hand and turned to face her, adopting a fighting stance and growling.

"Hey!" Kavo uttered the word sharply, almost like a bark, and growled softly. The wolf stopped, looked at him, and eased off. "Good," He rested a hand on the wolf's shoulder. "Just a minute," he said to Brii, crouching in front of the wolf and exchanging a series of growls and head gestures with it. He stood, and the wolf trotted off into the trees.

He turned to Brii. "Within a wolf pack, dominance is established by pinning a rival on the ground. That, and the groundwork of freeing him from the trap and feeding him, and I've made a new friend. Any more questions?"

"Yeah. How did you communicate with it so easily?"

Kavo smiled. "Let's just say I spent a lot of time with a pack of wolves while I was out of it."

Brii nodded, then followed as Kavo strode over to the rock pile. "So how do we get to the Guild's hideout?" As she asked the question, she looked over the pile. It was several times her own height, formed by large rocks and filled in with smaller ones and dirt.

"Nothing easier," Kavo reached into a hole in the rocks just bigger than his arm and twisted it around for a moment. There was a click, and a stone slab sank back into the rock, then disappeared into the ground, revealing a tunnel that slanted downward. They both stepped in, and Kavo pulled a metal ring hanging from the wall by a chain. The stone slab rose back out of the ground, then clicked into place.