Chapter 8: A Tale of Two Kitties (Part 1)

Middas, 20th of Last Seed, 4E 98

Dear Diary,

Ah, how relaxing it is to write in a diary again, although Khinashi regrets that she could not use her old one, for that still resides back home in Torval. A'zari was kind enough to give Khinashi a new one to use, for she says it is important to record all that happens on our adventure – and equally important to some day return and show her. This one does not think there will be much to write, however, all we are doing is traveling to Corinthe and informing the Clan Mother and other authorities their of Ra-Zara'chi's treachery – it will be out of our hands from then on, and we will most likely return to Torval with them as they deal with Ra-Zara'chi. Still, of what adventure there will be, Khinashi will make sure to write about it, after all, this one should be as equally enthusiastic about it – adventuring is what this one has always dreamed of doing some day, no? Except right now, all it seems to be is a bunch of walking...

We had set out from Portneu View yesterday morning, and it is now Middas evening. We are setting up some camp from supplies the villagers lent to us for our journey, and if we wake up early, we should arrive in Corinthe tomorrow around the time the sun reaches its zenith. We might have arrived earlier, if Dagi remembered which way to go...he had led us in the wrong direction for hours until J'shabi finally realized after checking her map. The following argument between them was quite amusing. No one may know J'shabi's age, but some times it is quite clear that, even if she is not the oldest, she quite acts like it. J'shabi and Jahirr have a full time job keeping the rest of us in line.

Each night Dagi has been acting strange, he keeps looking at the night sky with a look of anxiety, and asks if any of us has seen the moons. He did this back in Portneu View as well, but this one has tried to tell him – on cloudy nights, in the Tenmar forest on the ground floor, it is difficult to see them with the canopy and emergent trees blocking most of the sky. When we arrive in Corinthe they will be clear for all to see, but why does it matter so much to him? There is much mystery surrounding Dagi, but this one has learned not to ask about it. If he feels something should remain secret, then that is his choice, this one just wishes he could at least admit what it is he fears that is bothering him so much...

Despite the circumstances, Khinashi must admit she is eager to see Corinthe with her own eyes. She has heard much about the cities of Elsweyr from Father, and from books – it will be interesting to see how accurate those accounts have been. They said Corinthe is a border town between old Pelletine and Anequina, even though it was officially a part of Anequina – or rather Ne Quin-al in its truest name – and as such, many from the south and the north live there in relative unity under the twin moons. Corinthe was mostly destroyed during the unification of Anequina and Pelletine to become Elsweyr, early in 2nd era. Entire districts that once existed were no more after the battles that took place there – but it still fared better than other places throughout the land, like Ne Quin-al - the capital city of the north itself, which is now lost beneath the sands. Most fascinating is that, according to history, when Rid-T'thar-Ri'datta proposed the Riddle'Thar – the rotational governing power based on the phases of the moons - the two warring tribes who were in the midst of battle within Corinthe, sheathed their claws and settled there to help rebuild. Descendants from those two tribes – The Khajepako of Anequina and the Jah'ishir from Pelletine - exist even to this day, and take much pride in their lineage, which is a strange concept for most Khajiit. Aside from the Clan Mother, the Chieftain of the Khajepako and the lord of the Jah'ishir have rotational authority based on the phases, in regards to city-wide decisions.

The city itself is a bit beyond the Tenmar forest, where the green grass merges with the yellow savannah, and trees become less plentiful. The architecture of the buildings is diverse, from stone buildings with flat roofs like most of the big cities in the north, to wooden ones made to mimic Pelletine's palaces with their curved roofs, while the Khajepako have large fortified tents in respect to their nomadic heritage, even though they themselves do not wander anymore. Most of the city proper is on a flat hilltop of sorts, and as such what rain they do get does not threaten them with floods, so the buildings are on the ground rather than propped in the air, it must feel strange living so close to the ground. Outside of the hilltop are where the farms are about, along with some nomadic and traveling Khajiit who set their tents up for the duration of their stay, since it is far too crowded within the city. The Inn is quite simply not enough for the amount of traffic they get, and so they are more of a tent selling shop. Most who pass through Elsweyr often go through Corinthe for provisions and trade, and because of that, Corinthe is one of the largest trading cities in Elsweyr, on par with Rimmen, but still outmatched by Senchal, of course. Still, most of the center stretch of the city is a bustling, busy bazaar - built over one of the districts that were destroyed in the old war - and is far bigger than the humble marketplace of Torval.

But that is just what the books say, the best source of information for Khinashi is to see it herself, which is exactly what she will do tomorrow. Ra-Zara'chi will be brought to justice soon when they hear our tale.

Bright Moons, diary.


"Hah, this is still not even a challenge, J'shabi!" Khinashi roars as she dashes through the jungle, she can see the end of the trees not far ahead, and soon the grass will part to meet the savannah and the city of Corinthe just ahead.

"Hey, you're cheating! You said you wouldn't use your legs like that, I can't run that way!" J'shabi scolds. It is true, J'shabi would never be able to outrun a Suthay under normal circumstances, this one had already shortened her steps but apparently that is not enough to convince her she tried to make it easier for her.

"Fine, Khinashi bets she can still run faster than you backwards then, and we will race to the city gates so you can catch up!"

J'shabi did not respond, but now that this one is looking behind she can see her face, and she does not seem to like the idea of needing a handicap to be able to win. It is her fault for challenging this one to a race to prove that Ohmes can run just as fast as Suthays – no Ohmes could run faster than a Suthay – much less a Tojay - in a straight line, our feet and legs are built for speed and leaps, but not for balance or turning, but she does not accept this, so what other option is there but to prove it?

J'shabi sprints forward with determination, at an angle so diagonal it is a wonder she does not trip, she is gaining distance now however. The last of the trees part and we are now in the open, and J'shabi begins to tire out from the sprinting – she did not pace herself and now faces the consequences, nearly tripping over a log as she regains her balance.

"Come now, J'shabi, you will have to do better than that if you-woah!"

This one tumbles over a rock she could not see from running backwards and spirals down a short hill off of the road nearby Corinthe. After rolling for a few seconds this one finally manages to stand up and sees that the hill led to an overhanging ledge leading into a cave – which was blocked off with a strange black door.

"Hope you had a nice trip Khinashi-! Wait, what is that?" J'shabi says, walking down to her from the hill.

Khinashi inspects the door closer and sees that there are strange worn carvings on it – something that looks like a skull with a hand print on its forehead, and the skeleton of an infant child beneath it.

"This one thinks she has seen this symbol somewhere before...Or read about it."

Khinashi raises out a hand to step forward and touch it, but before she can, J'shabi grabs her arm and pulls her back.

"Hey! What are you-"

"I don't like the look of this Khinashi..."

This one gave a confused look toward J'shabi, but before she is able to say anything she is interrupted by the sight of Jahirr and Dagi, soon followed by Smallpaws and the twins – Ma'krin looking as annoyed as he ever has since we decided for him to carry all of the supplies.

Jahirr gave a warning growl and forced us to step away from the door.

"What is it Jahirr? Do you know something about this door?"

Jahirr roared again, shaking his head, in such a way that he was not answering the question, but saying he will not say anything about it.

"Ah, so you have found the Black Door." Dagi says, approaching us.

"So you know what this is then? This one thinks she has heard of something like it, before, but she cannot remember-"

"Most in Corinthe know of the door, yes. No one knows how to open it, but if you stand too close, it starts asking strange questions, some have tried to answer them to see if it opens, but they have either failed or..."

"Or what?"

"Or they are not heard from again."

"So someone has gotten inside of it before then-?"

"Khinashi, come on lets just go, it's just a door, we'll be seeing a lot of those when we get to Corinthe. Whatever's behind it can stay there, we've got a job to do." J'shabi interrupts, with a clear sense of impatience.

"Hey, this one was just asking a question, no need to-"

Khinashi is interrupted by the sound of Jahirr jumping forward, Khinashi turns around to see that Smallpaws had crawled close up to the door and was now being chased away from it by Jahirr.

And then the door spoke.

"What is the feeling of life?"

This one was thinking of an answer to respond, but Ma'ketra became too frightened from the door and ran off back to the road, and Jahirr gave a look that told her it would not be a good idea to say anything, lest she face his wrath.

Khinashi shakes her head and walks off with the rest, thinking about what the answer would be to that question, what is on the other side, and where she has seen that symbol before.

"Hey Khinashi, I think you're forgetting something." J'shabi says, far ahead as she looks back.

"What?"

"The race isn't over, we're still not at the city gates!" she says, dashing off into another sprint. This one picked up her feet and ran after her to catch up.


"Oh come on, it's no fun if you just let me win. We'll have to have a rematch later." J'shabi says to this one as she sits down next to her outside of the city gates. It will be a few moments before the others catch up to us.

"Fine, perhaps this one will make it less obvious next time then, or you could be less hard on yourself whenever you lose at something and that would not be necessary, hmm?"

"Sorry, it's just...I think I could do better, but I can't tell what I'm doing wrong if you don't point out my mistakes."

"The only mistake you are making is feeling you need to be good at everything, J'shabi. Suthays and Tojays have a natural advantage in speed and jumping over Ohmes and Cathays, but not as much balance or stability. Tojay-rahts even moreso, have you ever seen a Tojay-raht run and jump? They are the best at our sports, but set them up and they will trip on a twig!"

"Well, A'zari didn't seem that fast back in Portneu."

"And A'zari is not a Tojay-raht, she is a Tojay. She is also 12 and not used to physical training, what would you expect? One's form might give them an advantage, but it does not automatically make them good at anything. They still have to put in effort."

"What do you mean? I thought she was a Tojay-raht, she was taller than us even at her age, and she had my face and your legs and ears, and had wider shoulders."

Khinashi chuckles at this, even though J'shabi has been here for three years, sometimes it seems...otherwise, based on her acknowledgement of our culture. Perhaps she would know more if she showed more interest in learning it.

"That is close, yes, but the easiest way to tell a Tojay from a Tojay-raht is whether they have fur or not. Like Ohmes are the only Khajiit without at tail, the Tojay are the only form without fur. Also, Tojay-rahts are much taller, as tall as Cathay-rahts."

"She didn't have fur? Strange, I thought that would be more...well, noticeable?"

"As noticeable as your fur is from afar, perhaps. Ah, but do not worry J'shabi, they are the rarest normal form of Khajiit, moreso than even Dagis, so it is alright that you did not know that. There are no Tojays living in Torval that Khinashi knows of currently - most tend to go north, for their lack of fur makes their living in the rainforest unpleasant from all the bugs."

"Gee, thanks for the culture lesson Khinashi, could you be anymore boring?" J'shabi says sarcastically. Khinashi laughs at this, and sees the others walking toward them, with the exception of Dagi, who hangs back with his hood covering his face.

"What is the matter Dagi? The sun is not so bright that you must hide from it, is it?"

"This one would feel better if we did not stay here long. People here may recognize him, Dagi does not want to put them at risk while the assassins still live. They will be safer if they did not see this one, so he will stick to the shadows and alleyways while you inform the Clan Mother."

"It probably does not matter if they see you, Dagi, once they learn of our plea the assassins will be dealt with, and it is not like they could have known where we went. Besides, they are not just looking for you, but this one as well now."

"You are a stranger to them, they have no reason to withhold information for your protection against their own risk. Besides, this place brings back too many memories...He would rather not be reminded of them more than he must."

"Fair enough, you can wait out here if you wish. We should not be long, right?" Khinashi says, looking to the rest of her group. The others gave no look of protest at the suggestion, and so this one stood up to enter the city, with the others following close behind. It only then dawned on her that it was a bit strange there are no guards posted outside the gates.

We pushed open the large wooden door to the city proper, and our first glimpse of Corinthe was one of admiration, excitement, and...confusion. From the start this one can tell something was different here, the looks on people's faces as we walk by, they do not seem cheerful, but hesitant, full of worry...full of doubt. There were many people, the streets filled to the brim and spilling over into the alleys, but it did not have that sound of chatter that this one heard during times when the marketplace was busy in Torval – and this is even much bigger than that. It did not seem to fit the city scene it was in. The others noticed it too, this one could tell, from the looks on their faces, we did not all know what to expect Corinthe would be like, but we at least expected it to be more...lively.

But that is no matter, we came here to talk to the Clan Mother, where ever she is in this large city.

A door opens from a nearby building and two Cathay Khajiit guards, a male and female, step outside what looks to be their barracks as they return to their posts at the gates. Perhaps they were just on break earlier which is why we did not see them?

This one tugs on J'shabi's shoulder and points over to them, and she understood. We could just ask them where the Clan Mother is rather than wander around aimlessly.

"Hey, excuse Khajiit-" This one says as she approaches them.

"Let this one guess...Someone stole your sweet roll?" The male guard responds, and they both burst out laughing.

"What...?"

"Ah Rojar, this one can still not get over that, after all that chasing, and then he just eats it..."

"And the look on his face, Keshna, priceless...This one never saw someone so angry about losing a sweet roll, or one so desperate to steal it and not give it up, a story to tell among guards for years to be sure."

"Excuse me," J'shabi interrupts them. "I believe Khinashi wanted to ask you a question."

Suddenly both of the guards jolly faces turn serious.

"Wait, did you say Khinashi?" The male guard – Rojar – says.

"You think it could be them?" The other guard, Keshna, replies.

"I do not know, but now that you mention it..."

Khinashi's face turns fearful, as do the others. The way they said that did not sound good.

"Wait, Khajiit is not-" Khinashi spat out the words, but was interrupted by Rojar.

"You there! All of you! It is all over, lawbreakers, your spree is at an end! This one will take any stolen goods you have, and will haul you away!"

Khinashi heard the sounds of claws being unsheathed, and threatening growls issued from her companions, likewise the guards readied their weapons.

"Stop, all of you! Do not fight! This is just a misunderstanding, we can explain ourselves...We are innocent!" This one shouted amongst them before the fighting would begin. J'shabi and the others did not seem completely convinced this was a good idea, we do not know why the guards are calling us criminals.

"Please..." This one begged, and finally they sheathed their claws and weapons.

"You're making a mistake, we aren't the criminals, it's-!" J'shabi shouts.

This one nudged J'shabi to stop her from continuing, if we are to talk our way out of this, it will require subtly. We do not even know why they are taking us in.

"That is too bad, this one was hoping you would resist arrest...Fine, we will take you to captain Tarel at-Taneth and see what he would have us do with all of you."

The guards hold out their weapons and begin escorting us somewhere with our hands raised or heads low depending on which was possible.

"Tarel at Taneth? Where is Taneth?" This one asks.

"It's a city in Hammerfell." J'shabi says.

"You are taking us all the way to Hammerfell?" Khinashi asks incredulously.

"No, that's his surname, at-Taneth, meaning he was born in Taneth. It's a Redguard tradition." She explains.

"Hmph, silly smooth-skins and their family names. Khajiit do not bother with that."

"I'm surprised you didn't know that, does that mean I knew something you didn't?"

"So who is the boring one now, hmm?"

"Will you two shut up?" The guard Keshna says out of annoyance.


We are shoved forcefully into a small room with a desk, which a Redguard man sits at with his back turned, looking at a large poster pinned to the wall. It is hard to see what it depicts from this distance, but it looks like a wanted poster with several Khajiit drawn on it.

"Tarel at-Taneth, sir! This one has captured the culprits you mentioned who would be arriving here soon. This one deserves a raise, yes?" The guard Roger says, expectantly.

"Keshna helped too, she was first to suggest it could be them..."

"Ah, you did? Good work! That's one thing less that we have to worry about." Tarel says, turning in his chair, but his smile turns to a frown upon seeing us, mixed with a look of confusion. He slowly stands up and walks around the desk to look at us, and this one can now get a clearer look at the Wanted poster.

She can see our names on it – Khinashi, J'shabi, 'Dagi', Jahirr, Ma'ketra, Ma'krin and Smallpaws. What? How could that be? What is a Wanted poster doing here – how did they know we would come here? How did they know who was with us? J'shabi and most of the others were not even at the festival that night...

"Like I told your friends, we didn't do anything wrong!" J'shabi starts.

"Wait." Tarel commands. He pulls a hand to his chin and looks more closely at us. "Where is the last one?"

"Hmm? There is another?"

"Yes, the Dagi – a boy with tortoiseshell coloured fur. He was on the list too."

Tortoiseshell coloured? Dagi is calico coloured, not Tortoiseshell.

"Uh, we did not see him with the others..." Rojar responds, soon followed by his companion. "So you let him get away?"

"What? No, you were with this one too, you could have stayed behind, you should have remembered to remind him there was another if you knew!"

Khinashi looks to the poster again and, straining her eyes, can confirm that the poster does indeed depict Dagi as a tortoiseshell boy, and the other depictions...J'shabi has a tail and whiskers on her face, Khinashi is a solid dark colour instead of striped, Ma'krin and Ma'ketra have stripes instead of spots...none of them seem to properly depict any of us, but yet our names are correct...This gives Khinashi an idea.

"Keshna cannot be expected to-"

"Enough!" Tarel interrupts.

"Excuse this one, Tarel at-Taneth? May this one speak?" Khinashi requests, as humbly and innocently as possible.

"Speak. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"La'nashi is confused as to what is happening? This one and her friends were traveling from Portneu View and decided to stop through here for the day, and now we are being arrested?"

J'shabi looked confused toward this one, and so Khinashi tilted her head toward the poster.

"La'nashi? Keshna thought you said her name was Khinashi, Rojar!"

"It is! That is what the Ohmes said, she called her Khinashi, she is just trying to trick us."

"So you are looking for someone named Khinashi, or what?" This one continues.

"We were looking for you, do not think you can-" Rojar begins.

"Stop." Tarel orders. He looks back to the poster, inspects it, and then turns to us.

"I'm sorry, I think there's been a mistake."

"There is no mistake, this is them-!"

"Rojar, does this girl look like an Ohmes-raht to you? Do any of these others match the depictions on this poster?" He points over to it.

"Well..."

"Perhaps Rojar's eyesight is so bad he cannot tell the difference, hmm?" Keshna teases him.

"But you thought it was them too, Keshna, you did not deny it, you even suggested it first!"

"This one does not know what you are talking about, Rojar."

Tarel sighs at their constant bickering. "Please, both of you just return to your posts in case the actual culprits are found."

"Keshna will ensure Rojar does not do anything else stupid, Tarel."

The two guards leave the room, with only the six of us and the captain of the guard remaining. Suddenly Khinashi feels like she can relax now, and lets out a deep sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, I'm afraid you've come to Corinthe at a bad time."

"What was that all about? You are looking for some people, yes? Who, and why?" Khinashi pressed – perhaps we could learn more of the situation from him.

"Reports are that there was trouble over in Torval recently, there was an assassination attempt on the Mane, they say his own brother and the Moon Hallowed - among others - tried to kill him during the Festival of the Third Moon. The Mane survived, but he lost his right hand in the battle, and the palace was set aflame while the Moon Hallowed's daughter escaped along with some others. They learned they were heading this way, and so earlier today we received the word to be on the look out for them, but I'm afraid we've had our own problems within the city the past few days on top of this."

"That is-!" J'shabi shouts, but this one stops her before continuing, she cannot let her emotions ruin our cover.

"That is terrible news, but at least the Mane is alive. Hopefully justice will be brought to the ones behind the assassination." This one tried her hardest to sound convincing.

This one's blood boils at the mention of Father being an assassin. The story has been skewed so terribly wrong, we will have to fix that, but if they somehow knew we were heading to Corinthe...then it will not be so easy to convince them, for they will have already accepted the story from Ra-Zara'chi.

"We have news of our own to impart – the Clan Mother of Portneu View wanted us to request a meeting with the Clan Mother of this city, to talk of recent happenings in Elsweyr, if that is all possible?"

"Dra'muzi sent you? Strange, she usually comes here herself to speak to Kishari."

"Dark times call for drastic measures, yes?"

"I guess so. Well, I'm afraid I can't help much with that. I have a lot of things that need my attention today, and my wife has her hands full herself with all that's been going on in Corinthe. You can try and talk to her, but my guess is she won't have the time. Honestly, my advice would be to leave and wait until things calm down here, it might be safer that way in case things turn ugly."

"Well, it is somewhat urgent...What is happening in town? The people here do not seem very happy."

"Hmph, well to answer that I'll ask this first: Have you taken a look at the night sky lately? Noticed anything strange about it?"

"This one has seen it, yes, but nothing too strange, why?"

"See - that's what I've been saying, there's nothing strange about it. You know then that for the past few days the moons haven't been seen. Some people are overreacting and think it's a bad omen - but it's just a phase, the New Moons come and go, and I guess sometimes when you don't expect them."

"Wait, the moons have not been seen at all? This one just thought the Tenmar trees hid them, but that is strange, it is not supposed to be a New Moon phase until-"

J'shabi interrupts and brings us back on topic. "So what does that have to do with anything in Corinthe?"

"Well, it certainly hasn't done any good for the town's two influential ruling tribes. They rotate power based on the Ja-kha'jay, you know? I always thought it was a bit silly but it's worked out for them, until now anyway...Well, under New Moons, the Khajepako tribe is supposed to rule, but the ones who keep track of the lattice say it's supposed to be a Waning Masser and full Secunda right now, which would mean the Jah'ishir are still supposed to be in charge for some time, and because of this, both of them think they're supposed to rule right now."

"Is it really so hard to just make some compromise until the moons go to their next phase?" J'shabi asks.

"Maybe not three years or so ago, but ever since then the two tribes haven't been on good terms, and recently that took a turn for the worst when a planned marriage between two of them fell flat. They've been at each other's throats over the simplest of disagreements, and now this happens? It's down to the Clan Mother to make a decision tonight on the matter of the ruling policy and, between the crazies who are using this sudden phase as an excuse to blame society, and the two tribes that both feel their claim to rule is right...there's a worry of a riot taking place tonight."

"And what if one happens, hmm? You will be able to control it, yes?"

"I'd like to think so, yes, but Corinthe is a big city, and so are the tribes. Riots in Elsweyr aren't like what they are in Hammerfell, from what I've heard anyway. Senche-rahts can cause a lot of collateral damage...no one is safe. Still, do what you will – You can try and see if my wife is able to spare some time to help you, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. She's seen no end to the questions and complaints since the eclipse, just keep that in mind if she seems a bit on edge."

"Thanks, we will."

"Oh, and if you do happen to see anyone who matches those depictions..." Tarel points over to the poster. "Be sure to let us know, we have enough problems as it is to worry about assassins lurking throughout the city."

"Of course...we will be sure to keep an eye out for them, thanks for the information..." Khinashi says, and with that the group recedes to the door and returns to the streets of Corinthe.


"So...what just happened?" J'shabi asks, as we walk far enough away from the barracks, the looks on the other's faces seem to share her confusion.

"This one...does not know? Someone must really have not known what we look like when drawing those wanted posters."

"Yeah, I get that...sort of, but more importantly, how did they even know we would be coming here? How did they know we were with you? I thought they were only after you and Dagi."

Khinashi gives it much thought before responding. Perhaps Ra-Zara'chi sent someone to Portneu View and they learned from them? This one dreads the thought – for they would not have given up the information willingly, they would know of Ra-Zara'chi's betrayal...Could we have saved them only to put them in more danger? Hmm, but no, that cannot be – if they were already so close, and were able to force them into telling them, they would just chased us down before we got to Corinthe. Perhaps they did but due to us taking the wrong direction for awhile we may have missed them pursuing us? But that does not explain the posters – the posters did not depict our new shawls which we would have gotten from Portneu View, but then the posters did not look at all like us from the start. Did they give them false information to save us from being caught? That would have only ended in their imprisonment or worse, and would not have been effective – Ra-Zara'chi, as speaker, was known to use quadruped Khajiit during interrogations to prevent them from lying, there is no reason he would not have done so still. That only means the posters must have been drawn from the artist's own memory and from someone Ra-Zara'chi mistakenly trusted – but without the knowledge of the new shawls from Portneu – so drawn from Torval, but if that is the case, how then would they have known the others were with Khinashi and Dagi and that we left to Corinthe?

But wait, this one had sent a letter to Mother in Torval before we left...If the courier was fast, it would have reached them early in the first day since our departure, and if Mother was for some reason unable to receive the letter...How could this one not have suspected that?

"Oh no...This one thinks she figured out how they know where we are..."

"What? What is it then?"

"The letter Khinashi wrote – if Mother was in jail, or...Well the letter would have been given to someone of authority instead. If Ra-Zara'chi heard it was from Khinashi, no doubt he would have read it. That must be how he knows where we are."

"Oh, right, if he killed his own brother for power he probably isn't above reading someone else's letter..."

"J'shabi, this one's Mother may not even be alive...If she is that means she would be in jail, she might not know we are...She might think we are dead."

"You don't know any of that, Khinashi, it's not safe to assume, and besides, whatever happened, we'll be able to fix it once we get our plea heard by the Clan Mother here."

"This one is starting to think the Clan Mother may not hear us out..."

Suddenly Khinashi feels a thump on her head and sees a rock fall to the ground next to her. Putting a hand to her head to ease the pain the pebble brought she attunes her ears and eyes to her surroundings, finding whomever would do this.

"Psst, over here!" A low, strained voice says in not much more than a whisper. Khinashi only heard it from having tilted her ears in that direction at that moment. It came from a nearby alleyway, too dark to see – but Khinashi strains her eyes to see in the dark, making the light outside of it blinding, and sees the form of Dagi with his hood completely concealing his face from tilting his head.

"Khinashi? What is it?" J'shabi asks, as she and the others realized this one had stopped walking.

Khinashi signals for the others to follow her and they retreat into the alleyway with Dagi.

"Dagi? What are you doing here? This one thought you were going to stay outside of the city."

"That was true, until he noticed wanted posters being put up around the walls everywhere." Dagi pulls out a rolled up piece of paper and flattens it out for us to see.

"We've already seen this, Dagi, we were taken in by the guards but we managed to convince them we weren't the ones they were looking for."

"No, you have not seen this before – you have seen its copies. This one can tell it is the original."

"So what? They look the same, no? Someone must have had a very bad memory of what we look like."

"Perhaps, but Dagi can see more. This picture has been altered in some way, can you not see? Look at the lines – you can tell the strokes are from two different people. Someone had changed this just before it was sent to Corinthe to have copies made of it, and they have not yet realized this."

J'shabi grabs ahold of the poster and takes a closer look.

"Yuck, is that really what I'd look like if I had tattooed my face and had a tail? And the way they drew my claws, extended and sharp makes me look like a bloodthirsty murderer – and...am I really that fat?"

Suddenly the poster levitates out of J'shabi's hands and slaps her in the face, with which is followed by a snigger from Smallpaws, until Jahirr steps one of his forepaws on his head, bringing him to the ground.

Dagi picks up the poster and rolls it back up to return to a pocket within his desert jacket.

"Anyway...Had this not happened, you would likely not have walked out of that jailhouse until execution time..."

Khinashi sends a prayer of thanks to whomever had done this, as well as one in hopes that they also are working to keep Mother safe.

"...But it will not save you forever." Dagi continues. "The guard now know you are in the city, it may not take them long for the ones at Torval to realize the posters were altered, and may already have sent another courier to bring a correct version. You cannot continue walking about the city in the open without some sort of disguise and alias. Even that may not be enough for the guards now that they have seen you, but it should work for anyone else."

"We also figured out how they may have known we came to Corinthe, Dagi..."

"As does this one. You know, for one whom studies the various forms of Khajiit so much as you say, you really do underestimate your fellow feline's hearing. You are lucky no one else was nearby but Dagi to hear it. Do not worry about it, you were concerned for your Mother as was natural, no one can blame you."

This one wishes she could agree with him, but it is hard not to feel guilty when your actions have such major consequences.

"So where do we get these disguises then? We won't have to steal them will we?"

"Thankfully, no. The bazaar here has many merchants which sell many things, clothes included. The Moon Sugar we were given a supply of from Portneu View can be used as a currency here in place of coin. You may be used to using gold for everything in the south, but the further north you go, the less that is necessary."

Ma'krin growls in disapproval of the suggestion of using the Moon Sugar as currency.

"Oh come on, Ma'krin," this one says. " It will be for a good cause, and we do not have to spend all of it."

Ma'krin still does not seem happy with the idea, but we have no choice.

"Khinashi thinks it would be best if we split up. It will draw more attention if a group of a disguised Suthay, Ohmes, Dagi, Alfiq, Pahmar-raht and two Senche are walking around together when a group of exactly those type of Khajiit are wanted and being searched for within the city."

"I guess that's a good point...you're better at talking than I am, maybe you should go see the Clan Mother? I can go buy the disguises for us."

This one almost agreed to that suggestion, but then remembered Khinashi would probably be the easiest to recognize even in a disguise, due to her missing tooth and striped fur. If the Clan Mother does not agree to hear our concerns, it would be more dangerous if Khinashi had been the one to talk to her. J'shabi could pass for a Bosmer under certain circumstances even, and her fur is plain and common – easier to blend in after we get a disguise.

"No, this one will buy the disguises, you see the Clan Mother. You are an Ohmes with plain fur, this one is a striped Suthay and a broken tooth, she would be recognized easier, it is better if the Clan Mother does not see this one until after she has agreed to hear our concerns...Hmm, Smallpaws and Jahirr, you should go with her – Ma'krin and Ma'ketra, you can come with this one to buy the disguises. And you, Dagi? Will you go back outside?"

"No. This one thinks now it may be better to be close by, he will watch for signs of anything that could be of importance. Once you all have finished your tasks, meet this one behind the Inn to the west of the Bazaar. There may be something else you should know, but this one is not certain yet until he checks."

Khinashi looks around the group, and all seem to be satisfied with how she split us up. This one does not know why she chose those whom she did, but it felt correct, an instinctive sense of knowing who would be best at which place doing which task. This one nodded, which all took as a unanimous agreement that we should begin, and set off on our ways.


The sound of people yelling and complaining became louder every second as we approached the Clan Mother's house on the far side of town. Even the bazaar was relatively quiet for how busy it looked, it was like someone took all of the sound of the rest of the city and closed it off around here, and it showed on Kishari's face as we came within distance.

Smallpaws covered his ears with his paws and Jahirr looked unsettled by the commotion. Khajiit of all forms, making all sounds imaginable, surrounded Kishari from the steps to her house. She tried to speak over them and answer questions one at a time but it seems to not be working – and any time she starts talking, someone else interrupts her to mention how she's wrong about something.

It really didn't look like we'd ever be able to get a chance to speak to her alone this way.

I tugged on the shawl of one of the Khajiit standing in the back, he was an old Cathay with his arms crossed and a look of impatience and frustration that startled me a bit when he turned around.

"Uh, excuse me-"

"What do you want?" He said with an unfriendly tone.

"I just um, wanted to know, why-"

"That is what we would all like to know, but the Clan Mother does not tell us!" He interrupts.

"No, I mean, not that, but-"

"It is obvious why, she just does not want to admit it," another Khajiit, an equally elderly female Suthay-raht, says upon noticing our 'conversation', "the moons have left us because we have betrayed them, we were given a chance of redemption to remove all outside influence from our lands properly upon the new age, but we have failed. We may not be a part of the empire anymore, but it still holds sway here, and Jone and Jode have punished us for this treason."

"What? But the moons aren't gone, it's just a phase-"

"That is what the Clan Mother and the guards would have you believe, because they do not want to admit it is their fault they have let Elsweyr fall so far!" The Suthay-raht continues.

"When the old Mane signed the treaty with the empire to give away Leyawinn, he shamed us all! Our ancestors earned that land west of the Xylo in the five-year war, they did not fight for five years only to lose the same amount of land on the other side!"

"The Renrija Krin were doing us a favour! We cast them out like the fools we were decades ago, but they are back! They can bring the Moons back! They can restore our faith to Jone and Jode so they return!"

"Renrija vaba shal, Renrjia vaba var!"

Amidst the babbling of the complaining Khajiit, a loud roar echoes over all and suddenly all of them fall silent, completely calm and walk off as if remembering they all have better things to do than complain to the Clan Mother.

Knowing better, I look down to Smallpaws and see that he looks exhausted from casting that calm spell, and crouch and pick him up so he can rest in my arms as we continue.

As the crowd disperses completely, Kishari lets out a deep sigh of relief, until she looks up and sees Smallpaws, Jahirr and I still in front of her house.

"Oh...This one knew it was too good to be true. Fine, what do you want? Are you here to complain about the missing moons too? Are you here to make Kishari's life miserable? This one just wants to relax in peace and quiet before nightfall comes..."

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's important, and, no, it's not about the moons, or anything in Corinthe. I have to talk to you about Torval, but it would be better if it wasn't...out here." I say, looking around for anyone who might be able to overhear us.

"Hmm, is that so? Well, this one will listen, but she only deals with problems in Corinthe...Still, come inside and we will talk, Kishari's legs are hurting from all this standing anyway."


"Hmm, what do you think? She might like the Anequinan style clothes, the desert jacket and collar would suit her well, but this one will always prefer the Pelletine garbs."

Khinashi holds out some clothes over her to see how they would look, Ma'ketra nods approvingly, and Ma'krin looks bored.

"And what for you?" This one says, looking at Ma'krin, "Will you wear a shawl and body wrap to match your sister? Or would you prefer to wear something unique?"

Ma'krin shrugs from his resting position and closes his eyes.

"Hey, do not fall asleep now! You need to choose something..."

Ma'krin gave no response.

"Fine, something different this one guesses."

Khinashi goes through the various selection of clothes hung and displayed about and picks something out in Ma'krin's size, and does not spend much time looking at the designs for he would not care so much. The others whom are not here could not choose their disguise, but this one did her best to pick something they would like, and if they do not, then oh well, for it is merely temporary anyway.

This one placed the bunches of clothes onto the counter of the stall merchant in the bazaar, a small Ohmes whom could not see this one from the other side of the pile while he sat down.

"150 Septims" he says at last, after counting the amount and type of clothes – nothing too expensive, but garb for several people adds up in cost. Khinashi has never had that much gold on her before. This one always thought it silly we still use the Septim as a currency despite no longer being a part of the Empire for almost a century.

"Um, Khajiit was going to pay in Moon Sugar instead, if that is okay? Or does this one need to exchange it somewhere first-"

"6 ounces" the little Ohmes says from behind his counter, before lifting up some weight contraption and a bag full of Moon Sugar.

This one takes off a small bag tied to her waist and pours the sugar in, but it is not enough. The Ohmes gives this one an impatient look.

"Sorry, just one moment?"

Khinashi walks to Ma'krin, who is holding most of our food supplies, which includes Moon Sugar, and tugs at the bag containing it, which does not budge since Ma'krin is sleeping on it.

"Hey, get up for one moment, this one needs more Moon Sugar."

Ma'krin growls in response, telling this one he heard her, but still does not move, still pretending to be asleep.

Ma'ketra nudges him to try and help and he begins to totter back and forth. Khinashi finally tugs the bag out from beneath the hulking Ma'krin but propels herself backwards and loses her balance, crashing into a nearby Khajiit who was walking past.

We fall to the ground, and this one hears a squish as she realizes the Khajiit – an Ohmes-raht boy, perhaps a bit older than Khinashi – had been carrying some sort of sweet delicacy - a cake - which he had landed fast first in. Khinashi drops the bag of Moon Sugar and goes to help him up.

"Oh, this one is so sorry, she did not mean to do that, my friend - the Senche, he would not move, and-"

"Do not worry. It is not the first time today Ja'skar has had food thrown in his face, it will probably not be the last." The Ohmes-raht says in a voice that can only be described as depressed. He could not see this one well for his entire face was now covered in Moon Sugar frosting, but this one could see that he wore the clothes of an Anequinan noble – of which his personality from his statement did not seem to befit.

This one sought to lighten the mood, and so wiped off a bit of the frosting from his face and tasted it.

"Mmm, this is quite good, you know? You have good taste."

"Thank you. It was to be a gift to someone but, well now it will not be. Perhaps that is just as well..." The Ohmes-raht said these words as he walks away, and Khinashi cannot help but feel guilt that she had hurt him.

But this was no time for such thoughts. Khinashi picked up the bag of Moon Sugar and returned to the clothing stall owner to complete her payment.


"...And so that's about it, really...We were hoping you might be able to help us return to Torval and confront Ra-Zara'chi."

"My my, that was quite some tale. You are...quite brave to come here, if this is true, you are wanted by this Ra-Zara'chi, whom you call the imposter Mane? He seeks you out, is he quite powerful?"

"Well, I don't know, but I guess with everyone thinking he's the real Mane and all, the guards wouldn't have any reason to turn against him."

"This is bad, very bad...Child, this one is sorry, but Kishari does not know what she can do, she wants to help you, but..."

Kishari opens her mouth to speak, but closes it again, an expression of fear and guilt on her face as she turns to look out of the window.

"But what?"

"Ah, would you perhaps like some milk? You must all be tired from having walked so far, and very thirsty. Perhaps your friends would want some too?"

"No thanks, I can wait until later, you don't need to go through any trouble-"

"This one insists. Please, sit down, have a drink. Relax. You are safe here in Corinthe."

I sit down as she requests, and Smallpaws jumps off, having restored enough energy from his earlier spell casting. He wanders about the house as Kishari pours out some milk at a table and stirs it.

"Are we, though? We were told from the guard captain that things were pretty rough ever since the unexpected phase of the New Moons began, and outside, it looked like there were a bunch of unhappy people."

"Ah yes, this one's husband, Tarel, likes to exaggerate things sometimes...As for the people, well they will come to realize it is just a phase that will pass, nothing more, and things will go back to normal, perhaps even tonight."

"I guess so, he said you've been on edge recently about it, but you seem pretty calm about it now."

"This one has had a lot of work to do recently. Normally Kishari's apprentice would help her take care of things...she was like a daughter to us." Kishari's voice drifts off with that last sentence, as she stares vacantly.

"Was?"

"Here, this warm milk should refresh you all. Kishari even added some herbs to improve the taste."

The Clan Mother handed me a cup, and placed two bowls on the ground for Jahirr and Smallpaws. Kishari looked expectantly with a smile at us. Jahirr sniffed the milk for a few seconds and then growled just before I took a sip, the growl was aimed at me.

"What is it, Jahirr? Does it taste bad?"

Jahirr shook his head and tipped over both of the bowls of milk, then pushed me from the chair making me spill mine.

"Jahirr, what are you-"

"Hey, get away from there, Alfiq!" Kishari shouts, upon turning around to see Smallpaws looking over a piece of paper. She runs toward him but he picks up the paper with his mouth and jumps out of a nearby window. While she has her back turned, Jahirr bites my hand and tugs me away from the chair, and then out of the house. He signals for me to follow him, confused as I am I have no other idea of what to do and so we run. We just run. Why are we running?

"Where do you think you are going? Come back here!" Kishari shouts from outside her house. Several people look over at us and judge whether or not to chase after, but then seem to remember their concerns with the Clan Mother and instead decide to huddle around her. Within moments the scene we saw as we approached her house repeats itself again.

We run all the way through the Bazaar with several guards eyeing us suspiciously, and take a sharp turn behind a building at the edge. I look around once more as we do to see if anyone's chasing after us, and forget to look back in time and end up crashing into someone beneath an awning at an empty stall.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I hope you're alright, I didn't mean to-" the words cut off as I realize who it is that I bumped over.

Khinashi hefts herself up from the ground and dusts off her eloquent disguise.

"Oh, hey Khinashi, I almost didn't recognize you for a second in that thing. That's a bit fancy of a disguise though isn't it, how much did that cost? And where are the others?"

"How dare you call this one by that name! La'zanja is certainly not Khinashi, and demands recompense for pushing her over."

"So you're going by La'zanja now? Was La'nashi not convincing enough? But then you did go by that name with the guards..."

"What are you babbling on about, peasant? This one is La'zanja, not Khinashi, not La'nashi - La'zanja. Just who are you to go about addressing the heir of lord Ra-Dahadirr in such a disrespectful manner? Give La'zanja one good reason she should not have you hauled away by the guards to the barracks, hmm?"

"Wait..."

I take a closer look at her, and realize she doesn't have a missing tooth. But her fur pattern and eye colour are nearly identical to Khinashi's. Only her tooth and the fact that her hair is down, and her clothes make her look any different from her. I guess maybe she does sound a bit more high-pitched and is maybe a tad older too, though.

"I'm very sorry, I thought you were someone else. I'll be going now!"

"Hmph. You will be spared only this once, peasant." La'zanja calls out as we run off into the distance.


Khinashi sneaks through the alleyways, checking to make sure the coast is clear before signaling the others to follow, and slowly we make our way to the spot Dagi had mentioned to meet at, except no Dagi is found.

This one hears more running footsteps, and so presses against the wall to remain hidden from whomever it is, but the footsteps stop as they pass by, and turn sharply into their direction.

"Ah, J'shabi, Jahirr, so you have finished as well then, yes? Wait, where is Smallpaws?"

"I'm not sure, he ran off when-ow!" J'shabi holds a hand to her head as a rock falls on her. We all look up from where it fell and see a rope being thrown over the ledge of the roof of the Inn by a figure at the top, beckoning us to climb.

This one looks to J'shabi and shrugs, and then looks to the others.

"Well, this one guesses you should stay here, out of sight. Dagi must be up there and for some reason would prefer we follow. It should only be for a moment."

Jahirr gives no response, Ma'krin looks happy to be able to relax in the shade for the time being, but Ma'ketra looks worried, and walks up to J'shabi with an inquisitive look.

"What is it Ma'ketra?"

As an answer to J'shabi's question she lifts up a paw and extends her claws for a moment, her way of signifying she asks of Smallpaws Sharpclaws.

"Oh, don't worry about Paws, he was okay last I saw him, he just took a different direction than us, he knows where we were going to meet, so he should be here soon, I'm sure."

Ma'ketra looks pleased to hear this. This one grabs ahold of the rope and begins the climb up to the roof, with J'shabi following close behind. It does not take long before we reach the top, and it is a simple matter to climb and roll onto the flat roof. Khinashi sees Dagi overlooking an open part of the roof which lets sun shine in, he does not move as we approach.

"Dagi, what are you doing up here?" Khinashi whispers, knowing by his stance that he seeks to remain quiet and out of sight.

He does not respond, only holds a finger up to silence us, but does not seem against us peering over the sunroof ourselves to see what he is watching.

This one lays down and rests her head over the ledge, the inside of the Inn is quite beautiful, the sunroof allows for a large tropical tree and lush gardens to grow in the center, to provide the freshest of fruits. Small square tables are set up about the ground floor, mostly packed, with a counter near the entrance where the Innkeepers make drinks and food and sell tents and rooms, the rooms themselves are positioned on a higher floor reached by a staircase that follows the wall. The rooms have balconies from which the Inn-stayers can see the goings-on of the city.

"Be careful not to put your head out too far, and be ready to move, they could see us from up here." Dagi whispers to us.

"Who could see us? Who are we watching, Dagi?" This one asks.

"The one who killed my Father, or one of them anyway. The black-furred Dagi-raht in the corner."

"Dazlah..." Khinashi says his name with malice.

"So he has a name." Dagi sounds satisfied, knowing now what to call his enemy.

"This one overheard them at the Festival, it seems he has recovered, but what of his companion, Rajirr, the Cathay-raht? Where is he?"

"Dagi has not seen any Cathay-raht that matches his description, only those two Khajiit at his table."

"Hmm, it is possible Rajirr may not have survived the festival, when this one knocked him out, he remained unconscious until Khinashi burnt down the palace."

J'shabi shook her head at this in disapproval, she understands Khinashi was filled with fury, from her story of the events, but burning down the palace – possibly killing dozens, both guilty and innocent, is an unnerving prospect, and not something this one likes to remember.

"So what is he doing here? Any idea?"

"We will find out soon enough." Dagi responds. "Smallpaws had arrived before the rest of you, he was carrying a piece of paper which says some alarming things, but has been unable to explain the full meaning of it. This one saw Dazlah and his companions enter just then – and so Dagi suggested he listen in on them to learn of their plans. An Alfiq can get close enough to them to overhear anything they say without arousing suspicion, and Dagi has anonymously paid for some drink to make them more likely to say things worthwhile."

"You seem to know quite a lot about espionage, Dagi." J'shabi says, suddenly.

"Mother taught this one well in her limited time to teach him."

"Did you not say your Mother was a hunter, though?" This one asks.

"Of a sort."

The conversation ended there, and we returned to watching the scene below. This one could see Smallpaws hiding behind a bush near the center of the Inn, or at least, his tail that stuck out from the other side – unseen by the ones whom he spies upon.

Stranger yet, this one sees a white-furred Alfiq, perhaps female, stalking about the outer edge of the garden, approaching Smallpaws.

Khinashi looks to her left and right, and sees their eyes following as well, who is this Alfiq?

"La'vani? What are you doing?" Dagi whispers, even lower than usual.

The white-furred Alfiq – La'vani – nudges Smallpaws and pushes him out from the cover of the bushes, and begins playfully toying with him, rubbing up against him and pushing him over, to which Smallpaws seems confused of this manner. They seem to be signing their language to each other, but Khinashi has no idea of seeing from this far away what they might mean, but the result of it is La'vani walking toward Dazlah an his companions, to which Smallpaws runs and tackles her to stop her, or at least he tried to anyway – La'vani broke out into a dash and the two Alfiq seem to be chasing each other about the Inn.

"What is happening? What is La'vani doing, Dagi? And how do you know her name?"

"La'vani is...very playful, and lives up to her title. She is the sister of the direct Pelletine heir and this one knows her because...well that is not important. Knowing her, she must have become interested in Smallpaws and threatened to break his cover to the ones he was spying on, if he did not play a game with her, it is...what she does."

"But what of the mission?" This one asks, but before anyone could answer, Khinashi heard a growl from below as Ma'ketra roared in anger. The two Alfiq split apart and Ma'ketra chased after La'vani whilst Smallpaws made a break for it. It was not long before the residents of the Inn became aware of the chaos and Dazlah, his companions, among others, retreated from the Inn.

Dagi moved his head back and sighed in defeat.

"Ma'ketra...Ugh, why did you have to do that?" J'shabi vents.

"She could not have known, J'shabi, it is not her fault."

"Let us just hope Smallpaws heard something useful while it lasted."


Jahirr finishes writing the final line with his paw and dips it into the water bucket to clean it. Smallpaws never did like writing, and so chose to sign the information he learned to Jahirr, who – with noticeable annoyance that Smallpaws refused to do it himself – wrote out everything on a canvas behind the Inn, while the rest of us put on our disguises, and helped those who could not do it themselves with theirs.

Jahirr gave a signal to let us know he had finished, and Dagi, whom had no need of a disguise, picked up the parchment and began to read it.

"Hmm, so indeed, Ra-Zara'chi sent Dazlah and some 'smile bandit' to hunt us down and kill us. It seems he – perhaps rightly so – did not think the guards were capable of the task by themselves."

"Smile bandit? That does not sound correct, Dagi...Perhaps it is meant to be read in a different language? That would be Krin Renrij in Ta'agra." Khinashi said, before he could continue.

"The Renrija Krin? I heard that being said around town earlier, some kind of group of Khajiit, one that was respected by some but cast out by others."

"Ah, of course, the Renrija Krin," This one began. "They were a group of thugs - to some seen as freedom fighters, to others, seen as terrorists - back around the end of the last era. They did not like that the Mane of that time ceded the eastern section of Elsweyr to Cyrodiil and wished to take it back. They eventually disbanded following the first few decades into the Fourth Era, however, when Bravil attaced Leyawiin and civil war erupted in Elsweyr after the assassination of the previous Mane – er, the one before Rid-Rawl'vah."

This one finished, satisfied with her recounting of the rise and fall of the Renrija Krin, but she became confused when the she received stares from everyone that made her feel like she said something unnecessary.

"What?" Khinashi said at last.

"Well, whatever the matter, they also seemed to have been duped by the altered posters. They realize this however, and have come up with another plan of action to kill us."

"And what might that be, hmm? If they do not know what we look like."

"Indirectly. By igniting a riot that could potentially kill hundreds within the city, with the sole purpose of killing us in the crossfire. It might have worked, too, had we not overheard that bit of information."

"From what Tarel at-Taneth says, it does not seem like a riot will need any igniting to take place...It may well happen upon its own accord. The sudden phase of New Moons has people assuming the worst, and the two ruling tribes apparently are at odds with each other over who will rule during this time." Khinashi says solemnly, knowing that an event could take place at which hundreds could die unnecessarily.

"Did the Clan Mother agree to hear us out, at least? Perhaps she should know of this."

Before J'shabi could speak, Jahirr growls and shakes his head distastefully.

"I'm not really sure...It seemed to be going alright for awhile, but she kept mentioning being unable to do anything about it – and yet, she also acted like everything will be okay. Then Jahirr and Smallpaws started acting strange and we ended up running away."

"Hm, so that letter was for the Clan Mother, Dagi guesses? That does not...bode well."

J'shabi looks startled. "Why? What did it say?"

"It indicated that the author was holding someone dear to them hostage somewhere and that if they interfered or informed anyone of this, that the hostage would be killed. It also said that should people mentioning anything in relation to events in Torval that differed from the official explanation, be found within the city, they could be traded to them for the safety of the hostage. The only form of signature was a the symbol of a black hand."

"A black hand?" This one asks.

"It would have been Dazlah, most likely, or one of the others – clearly a further trap to catch us. They knew we would inform the Clan Mother of the events at Torval and they arrived here before us, it should come as no surprise." Dagi responds.

"So what do we do? If the Clan Mother is being threatened, the guards will be looking for us, a riot is almost assuredly going to take place, and assassins are hunting us down...What can we do?" J'shabi looks between us all for an answer, even to those whom cannot speak.

"Khinashi thinks there are two options...One - We stop the riot before it starts. If we could find and free the hostage, and prevent the riot somehow, we would earn the trust of the Clan Mother and the guards – they would hear us out, they would listen to us and no longer have any reason not to be able to help us with Ra-Zara'chi in Torval."

"Right, and the other option? Because I don't really think we can do the first..." J'shabi says.

"The other option is that we flee Corinthe to save ourselves, knowing that hundreds could die all in the name of some assassins hunting us down. We would be wanted all throughout Elsweyr and have no further means of being able to acquire aid to stop Ra-Zara'chi."

"Not the best set of options there Khinashi...You can't think of anything else that doesn't involve doing the impossible or giving up entirely?"

"Actually, Dagi thinks we may just be able to achieve that. This one has been thinking this over for awhile in case it came to it."

Khinashi looks to Dagi with hope. Does he have a plan, then? Usually it is this one who makes the plans, but Dagi knows Corinthe, he knows the people here, of course he knows.

"Well you sound pretty optimistic, lets hear it."

"When Dagi lived in Corinthe, the two ruling tribes were great friends with each other. This one does not know what has led to break them apart, but he knows that their still must be a semblance of reason between them, we just need to convince them to make peace."

"So what? You think we can just walk up and talk to the leaders and everything will be okay?"

"Not exactly. They would never listen to outsiders...but they would listen to one of their own, one of their children, perhaps."

"Why would their children be any more welcoming to the idea than themselves?"

"When Dagi lived in Corinthe, this one knew two children from both tribes whom were very close. From what this one has overheard upon his return, it seems these two were planned to be married together not too long ago, but that for some reason, something went wrong between them and they have not been on speaking terms since, and it has only worsened the relationship between their families."

"So...?"

"So if you could manage to befriend them, and bring them back together, they would have reason to want peace between their families, and could convince their parents not to have war."

"So what do you know of these children, hmm? What are their names?"

"The boy is an Ohmes-raht named Ja'skar from Anequina. He is a tad shy and insecure of himself, he lacks confidence but has always been creative and artistic. The girl is a Suthay, she looks quite like you actually, Khinashi. She is called La'zanja – the sister of La'vani, and she is..."

"A jerk." J'shabi says, bluntly.

"Well, that is quite harsh..."

"I ran into her in the bazaar earlier after running away from the Clan Mother, she didn't seem very nice."

"This one as well has seen the one you call Ja'skar, we did not have the best first impression, Khinashi accidentally made him fall face first into a cake he was carrying. It did taste quite good though."

"Perhaps you would both be better suited to meeting the ones whom you did not already run into."

"Fine with me." J'shabi says.

"What of you, Dagi? Perhaps you would be able to talk to them – you know them both better than us."

"Eh, this one would really prefer not to, if possible. If either of them knew that this one was in the city...It may complicate things. Besides, while securing the trust and respect between the two tribes will prevent a riot initiating naturally, Dagi will look to scout down and stop Dazlah and the others from igniting it themselves, as well as finding the hostage they are holding."

"Then this one thinks Jahirr should go with you, Dagi. He can help sniff them out if he can find their trace, or perhaps one of the hostage, if you can learn who it is that is being held."

Jahirr nods, approving of the suggestion.

"Ma'krin, you should go with J'shabi, from what this one knows of the Anequinan tribal clans, it is that they respect strength and skill, both of which you posses when combined."

"This one can agree to that." Dagi says.

Ma'krin slowly stands up and stretches, yawning to prepare for his mission.

"Smallpaws and Ma'ketra, this one knows you two were not completely responsible for what happened at the Inn, but still, perhaps it may be safer if you were not quite involved directly this time. You can watch around the city and inform of us of any new developments."

Smallpaws and Ma'ketra look sad at this suggestion, but there is a lot at risk. If one of us have any mistakes, hundreds could die, and we may be unable to stop Ra-Zara'chi.

"So then, is that it? Do we all know what we are doing?" This one asks the group, looking to everyone.

"So let me get this straight. We have to somehow convince both Ja'skar and La'zanja to well...not hate each other anymore, so they can convince their parents not to hate each other anymore, while Dagi and Jahirr have to scout down and stop Dazlah and the Renrija Krin from starting a riot, which might start anyway if we can't convince the two to make peace...All before nightfall in several hours, when Kishari makes the call on what to do during the New Moon phase, and without getting caught by the guards, the Clan Mother, or Dazlah and the Renrija Krin in the meantime."

"Yes, that is about it really." Dagi says.

"Then let us begin."