Tirdas, 26th of Last Seed, 4E 201
Dear Diary:
I found Lydia's weakness! And it makes me, the tiny one who screamed about getting covered in draugr blood, look tough!
Lydia, the sarcastic, tough-as-nails housecarl who gave me a look that could kill when I told her I lost my sword up a dragon's nose, is afraid of spiders.
We set out for Riften this morning (we're going to stop there en-route to Windhelm), and less than five minutes after passing the intersecting roads near Honnigbrew Meadery, we stumbled up a frostbite spider that was in the process of rending a Flame Atronach limb from fiery limb. Spiders freak me out, of course, because no creature should have that many eyes and legs, and Faendal went pretty white, but Lydia's reaction took the cake.
Faendal and I screamed and started shooting it with arrows like normal people. Lydia screamed bloody murder and fainted. Yes, fainted (though Faendal wasn't any better, after it died full of arrows he ran over and started trying to stomp on it)! She was still pretty shaken up and refused to open her eyes until the body was gone, so Faendal and I had to push it into the river before she would even consider getting up. After that we wanted to join Lydia in rolling around in the middle of the road writhing because ew. We all got a little closer in those few minutes, squirming and screaming about touching a spider. I'm getting the shakes from just writing about it, UGH. At least now Lydia and I are getting along. Once you willingly touch a dead giant spider for someone, you kind of have to be their new best friend. That's what Gisli did for El and I all those years ago (not with giant spiders, of course, just the little ones). We would all be sitting in my bedroom talking or playing, and a small spider would come plodding out from Khenthari knows where. El and I would jump on my bed or a chair, hugging each other and screaming, and Gisli would sigh and attack it with her shoe, then pick it up (eeeewwwwww) and throw it out the window. "I'm used to it, I have an older brother," she would always say.
I'm kind of glad I don't have an older brother. Gisli always had a bunch of horror stories about the things that her brother would do to her, so I was very glad to have an older sister instead...though I was practically an only child anyway. Sigirek was twenty years older than me (she would be thirty-five today if she's still alive somewhere) and was out of the house a lot of the time, and I don't have any biological siblings, which is actually very rare for Khajiit (I learned this from Dro'shuji). Most Khajiit have litters of three or more kittens. Twins are rare. Single births are even rarer. Just another thing that sets me apart from other people. I could fill a book, couldn't I?
...wait...
Never mind, I'm already doing that.
Anyway, after that spider incident earlier, the three of us actually started having conversations. Faendal and I didn't actually talk much with each other when it was just the two of us, since I kept trying to guard myself from something I couldn't explain. Lydia almost never spoke at all. But now, we're all getting along with each other, and I think I like that a lot better.
Nothing much really happened except for some bandits that were hiding out in a bridge across the White River attacking. One of them tried to claim that the road was a toll road, and, in all of my brilliance, I believed her and was about to hand over some money when Lydia stabbed the bandit. When we were done fighting Lydia thought that I was strategizing by distracting the bandits so that she and Faendal could get into position to attack. I didn't have the heart to tell her that no, I'm just not that bright and will probably believe anything I'm told if somebody doesn't intervene (like at Swindler's Den a few days ago), but Faendal did. I got a lecture about common sense from Lydia after that one.
It's not that I'm stupid, I just trust people too quickly. That may seem weird, since I didn't trust Ralof enough to tell him my whole story at first, but he got me to trust him by telling me he saved my life. There are still some things I don't trust people with, like my last name, since Erisla and Roghild instilled that fear of sharing it in me. "People will hurt you if you tell them your real last name!" they always said. So if people ask, I just tell them I don't remember it since I was adopted. I haven't even told Faendal or Lydia what it is, but they don't ask.
Everything else about me up for grabs to anyone who can talk me into it. It sucks how easily I trust people, but I can't help it. I like to believe that most people are good, even though these past few days have proven very much otherwise. I actually told Lydia this while we stopped for lunch in this little mining town called Darkwater Crossing (ironic, isn't it? I was just writing about how I trust people too easily and then I went and demonstrated it) and she gave me a sad look. She said she would try to help me as best as she could, but what do you actually do for someone who trusts too easily? I can't think of anything. Maybe she knows. I certainly don't.
We left Darkwater Crossing almost as soon as we arrived, and thus began my first real mountain climb. Faendal somehow knew the area (he told me that he used to be an explorer, hence his knowledge of ancient Nord burial crypts that got us through Bleak Falls Barrow, but that was all he said and I didn't bother asking more), and we took the road that swung us up past an old Nordic tower.
Lydia and Faendal were able to walk up that mountain with almost no problems, but I was another story. I don't have as much stamina as they do, so I started getting pretty worn out a lot faster. My legs were burning by the time we actually made it to the top and I was about ready to ask Faendal what in Oblivion had possessed him to take us up this way, but I was too tired to argue. How am I supposed to be a living Nord legend if I felt like my legs were going to fall off after hauling myself up a mountain?
Thankfully, the rest of the way to Riften was nice and flat. It was also extremely beautiful because of all of the trees everywhere. The sunset made everything look even better when we got closer to the city, and we didn't run into any trouble on the road at all! The only people we saw before getting near the outskirts were a few extremely happy drunks that tried to get us to share a bunch of drinks with them. Lydia and Faendal accepted the mead they offered, but I turned it down since alcohol and young Khajiit don't mix well at all. I learned that the hard way when I was seven years old and trying to get Roghild to let me have a taste of the mead he was drinking. He figured "oh, why not, she probably won't like it" and let me have a sip. I was fine for about a half hour and then I got sick for three days straight. I haven't had any kind of alcohol since then. I'd rather be called a milk drinker (which I am because I love milk) than go through that again!
Kind of strange in hindsight because we're in Riften now, isn't it?
Speaking of Riften, getting into the city was a nightmare. It was dark and late when we got to the wall, but the guard at the gate wouldn't let us through. Lydia actually started yelling at her ("IS IT BECAUSE SHE'S A KHAJIIT? WE'RE TIRED AND DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR RACISM!", stuff like that).
Turns out that we couldn't get in through that gate because they close the south gates at night for some reason, and it had nothing to do with the fact that I'm a Khajiit. Also long as I'm not part of a trade caravan, I'm allowed in the city.
We managed to get to the north gate, but one of the guards there said that there was a visitor's tax. As usual, I almost believed him and was about to hand over most of our money, when Lydia, who gets really, really mean when she's tired, stopped me and informed the guard that he was, in her exact words "full of shit" because visitor's taxes are illegal in Skyrim. Then she threatened to snap his neck if he didn't let us in.
We got in pretty damn quick after that one.
Then we ran into two more obstacles, and their names were Maul and Brynjolf.
Maul works for this lady, Maven Black-Briar, who he says runs the town, not just the meadery. He's her right hand man and makes sure that no one causes her any problems, and he also knows all of the "dirt" on the people of Riften. He wouldn't tell me anything, though. None of my usual manipulation tricks worked, which was a little startling, to say the least. All he told me to stay out of this "Maven" person's way, but he didn't even bother telling me what she looked like. Kind of clever once I think about it, since it means that I probably will be thinking twice about what I say to strangers.
The second obstacle between Lydia and sleep was Brynjolf, a member of the Thieves Guild, who started talking smack about my money (which I don't have a lot of despite dressing nicely) and saying how I must have earned it dishonestly. If prying it out of the cold, twice-dead hands of draugr is dishonest money, well, then yes, I did earn a bit of it dishonestly. But I don't steal money!
Either way, Brynjolf told me that he had a job for me if I was interested, which would involve me stealing a ring and planting it on this Dunmer man named Brand-Shei (and odd name for a Dunmer, but then again I went by "Sorja" for many years and that isn't exactly a Khajiit name) to get him thrown in jail. I said:
"Well, if I get desperate enough that eating dragon souls for breakfast stops paying well, I'll come find you."
Then I walked away.
- Zahrassa
Middas, 27th of Last Seed, 4E 201
Dear Diary:
Alright, change of plans. We're not going to Windhelm today. Lydia nearly punched me when I told her why, then she proceeded to start teasing me.
So why are we not going to Windhelm yet? Because I met someone today. Someone who is male.
I swear it isn't a crush or anything, honestly! It's more of a mutual understanding of the other person's current emotions regarding our biological parents that we connected over. And missing amulets that we really, really want back. Plus, he's twenty-six, I'm fifteen. That's just...ew.
His name is Kharjo and he's traveling with one of the other trade caravans that roam Skyrim. I was feeling restless at an abnormal hour as usual, so I went for a stroll just outside of the north gate. The sun was just starting to rise over the mountains, and after I walked down the road a little bit, I saw a caravan. I stupidly thought for a split second that it was Idhisa because the merchant looked a bit like her, but it wasn't. That didn't stop me from nearly sprinting up to them to check and startling the living daylights out of the merchant, Ahkari.
Even though she wasn't Idhisa, it was nice to see another Khajiit, and that dulled the pain for a bit. It did help ease some of the more difficult emotions I've been dealing with since...yeah. They were nice enough to let me sit and hang out with them for a while, and that was when I made almost instant friends with Kharjo.
&%&%&%&
"Skyrim is filled with all manner of dangerous beasts. Wolves, trolls, mammoths, and giants would all like to make a meal of us," Kharjo said, swinging his axe up and bringing it down on a log, splitting clean in half. Zahrassa momentarily flashed back to when she tried to cut wood back in Riverwood and clocked herself in the head, then tried to stifle the laugh that threatened to burst out. "But the dragons are the most fearsome. Lucky for us, they don't seem to hunt along the roads."
"Wolves were a huge problem for us when I was little," she said, watching intently as Kharjo picked up the logs he had cut and placed them on the small, growing pile next to the chopping block. "One got me right here when I was four."
Kharjo looked up to see Zahrassa pointing at the thin white scar that started just over her left eye, crossed over the bridge of her nose, and came to a stop at the top of her right cheekbone.
"I have one here from a bear," he said, rolling up his left sleeve as showing Zahrassa his scarred forearm, "that attacked us in Dawnstar five months ago."
"Looks painful," Zahrassa observed, noting the dark patches of skin where there was no fur.
"It was," he answered, rolling his sleeve back down and sitting on the chopping block so that he was facing her. "You say you were attacked by a wolf here in Skyrim when you were four. You have been here long, yes?"
"My entire life, give or take a few months," she answered, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them. "What about you?"
"Not long, only a few months. I was hired to protect the others as we walk the roads of Skyrim,"
"Do you miss Elsweyr?"
"What kind of a question is that?" He laughed, patting her on the head. "It is a thankless task, protecting the others, and I would much rather be back home in Elsweyr, but I have little choice."
"Why?"
"Ahkari freed me from a prison in Cyrodiil, and now I must repay my debt to her," he explained. "But it is a hidden blessing. Not many Khajiit can say they have visited Skyrim, no?"
"True," Zahrassa said, tugging a bit of grass out of the ground and letting it fall from her hand. "Ever fewer can say that they've actually lived here and seen the inside of the cities...well, some of them."
"You said that you were part of a trade caravan, yes? It is assumed that Khajiit in caravans are not allowed within the walls,"
"It's a very long story."
"Khajiit has time," Kharjo said, crossing his arms. Zahrassa gave him a slightly startled look, dropping all of the grass she was holding in one swoop. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, no, it's just that...nobody has ever really been interested in knowing. Or even asked. They just kind of...accept it, I guess?" She shrugged, plucking another handful of grass. "I don't normally give the details, I just say that I was raised by Nords, and that's that."
"Raised by Nords?" Kharjo asked, intrigued. "I wish to know the details."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, it sounds like a most intriguing tale,"
"Well, my parents vanished when I was five, and a Nord family in Solitude took me in. They gave me a new name and everything," Zahrassa explained, pulling out a third fistful of grass and sprinkling it back onto the ground. "Then they disappeared, too, when I was twelve. I joined a trade caravan, and well, now..."
"I do hope they did not vanish as well," Kharjo exclaimed. "That would be most tragic."
"No, we got separated. We were going to Cyrodiil to visit the pregnant sister of our boss, then her daughter fell and broke her foot. I went looking for the ingredients to make a potion to fix it, and...I...don't exactly enjoy talking about what happened after that, but it was very...unpleasant." Zahrassa took a long, hard look at the ground. "Anyway, after all of that, a bunch of stuff happened, and I found that I'm the Dragonborn-"
"S'rendarr's mercy, you? The Dragonborn?" Kharjo gasped, sitting up straight. Zaynabi, who had been sewing something next to the fire, looked up to stare at the two conversing Khajiit. "This one always assumed that the Dragonborn of legend would be a Nord!"
"Well, guess what, she's not," Zahrassa sighed. "She's a small, overtired Khajiit."
"But you are just a cub!"
"I know that, but whichever divine that is in charge of these things didn't care."
"I hope that you are not alone in this,"
"Oh, no, I have friends who help me!" Zahrassa explained quickly. "A Nord woman named Lydia and a Bosmer man named Faendal. They travel with me. Well, Lydia has to, because the Jarl of Whiterun-"
"Slow down, yes? Khajiit needs to take a moment to process, yes?" Kharjo said, making Zahrassa pause. "Now, what is it about the Jarl of Whiterun?"
"A dragon attacked a small fort in Whiterun, and I was asked to help fight it because I survived...well, I helped fight it, it died, I absorbed its soul, and the Jarl made me his Thane. Lydia protects me. Faendal helped take care of me when I first...well..."
"I see you have an aversion to discussing your separation, yes?"
"It's not the separation that I have a hard time talking about, it's what happened to me in the beginning that I have a hard time talking about," Zahrassa explained, hugging her knees to her chest even tighter than before while she unconsciously let her ears begin to flatten.
"Soldiers have times like that," Kharjo said, trying to make Zahrassa feel better. "They do not wish to speak of battles they have been in."
"But I'm a kid, not a soldier," Zahrassa said.
"That is fine. Just take your time. You will be able to discuss it someday," he responded, patting her lightly on the head once more.
"There were Thalmor there," Zahrassa mumbled.
"But you got away, yes?"
"Yeah."
"Then that is something to celebrate."
"I guess. It's just...alongside all that happened, I lost my mother's wedding ring and an amulet that my real father gave me before he vanished."
"This one knows exactly how you feel," Kharjo said sympathetically, "a few days ago, we were ambushed. A nuisance, really, but many of the marauders had quick fingers. One of them stole my Moon Amulet, given to me by my mother when I was just a cub. It is my only memory of home in this cold land."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Zahrassa responded sadly, "where did it happen?"
"At a road intersection outside of Dawnstar, near Heljarchen. One of them carried a note ordering them to bring whatever they stole to a place called Halted Stream Camp. I believe that is where they are headquartered."
"If you keep an eye out for my father's amulet, I'll keep an eye out for yours."
"You are very kind to offer," Kharjo said, "but be careful. I miss my amulet, but a life is not as easily replaced."
"I'm sure I'll be fine, I have eaten dragon souls before." Zahrassa laughed, sending the two into a fit of giggles.
"ZAHRASSAAAAAAAAA!"
"Oh shoot," Zahrassa gasped, jumping up from her seat on the ground.
"What is it?" Kharjo asked, also standing up and turning in the direction the voice had come from.
"It's Lydia. She's probably wondering where I am," she explained, dusting her dark green skirts off.
"You are looking for someone, yes?" Ahkari asked as Lydia appeared at the main tent, huffing.
"Yes, someone didn't tell me where she was going," Lydia snapped, glaring at Zahrassa as she walked over sheepishly. Kharjo laughed.
"I'll see you later, Kharjo," she said as Lydia began walking back towards the gates, grumbling under her breath. "Remember, it's an Amulet of Kynareth that's missing the sapphire!"
"I will remember!" He called back. "Save travels!"
Zahrassa followed Lydia back into the city, a real, genuine smile on her face for the first time since Helgen.
&%&%&%&
I may be acting like there's something, but there isn't any. I'm just really glad to have made a new friend that has some sort of understanding of how I've been feeling. Honestly.
The rest of the day went along normally. I talked with some of the shopkeepers, including the Brand-Shei man I mentioned yesterday. He sells imports from Morrowind at the market, and let me tell you, the Dunmer have some nifty-looking things! And the rare ingredients he had, oh by, Dro'shuji would have a field day! Sadly, I can't afford them right now. I could, however, afford this strange-looking plant called an "ash yam", which are basically yams grown in ash. That's it.
We also had the whole "being adopted by another race" thing in common, which provided some interesting conversation. He was adopted by Argonians, I was adopted by Nords. However, he has no idea who his birth parents are, while I at least know the names of mine. I said that I would keep an eye out for anything that could provide him with some information, then started looking around at the things that the other merchants were selling (and realized that I'm becoming a professional errand girl while being the legendary Dragonborn).
Of course, then my mouth went and got me in trouble with Maven Black-Briar...oops.
&%&%&%&
"I don't like being made a fool of, Brand-Shei. Not one bit."
"Maven, please, I didn't know it was your man! Had I known, I would have looked the other way, I swear!" Brand-Shei stammered. Zahrassa, who was looking at a piece of armor that was for sale in the next stall over, looked up to see what was going on. A tall Nord woman, who must have been none other than Maven Black-Briar, was looming over Brand-Shei with an extremely ugly look on her face.
"Turning him in to the guards? Have you joined Mjoll as official peacekeepers of Riften? You cost me a lot of coin!" She snarled, setting her hands on the sides of his stall and leaning in.
"Hey, leave him alone!" Zahrassa cried, dropping the piece of armor she was looking at and turning to face Maven, hands on her hips. The merchant that had been trying to sell her the armor scowled. Maven looked away from Brand-Shei to glare at Zahrassa, who glared back. Lydia looked up from the jewelry she had been inspecting at another stall and felt her stomach drop; why was Zahrassa always getting herself into trouble?
"What did you say?" Maven asked dangerously, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I said 'leave him alone'," Zahrassa answered, attempting to stand even higher on her toes to make herself seem bigger. Much of the marketplace had gone silent, Brynjolf actually stopping his tirade about his Falmer blood elixir to stare. Lydia didn't know if she should make a move or not.
"Do you know who I am?" Maven finally asked.
"Afraid not. Do you know who I am?" Zahrassa asked back, her ears slightly flattening against her head under the dark green headscarf she was wearing. Maven looked about ready to strike her and silence fell between the two once more. Neither looked like they were going to speak any time soon, but Zahrassa finally did. "I'm Zahrassa. The Dragonborn. And I think people would like you better if you were nicer. Just a thought."
A small gasp ran through the market as Lydia hit herself in the face.
"Dragonborn?" Maven inquired, surveying Zahrassa from top to bottom. Then, she broke out in a small smile, making the overall atmosphere of the market somewhat calmer. "It seems that we may have gotten off on a bad foot, Dragonborn."
Zahrassa took her hands off of her hips and crossed her arms, a little apprehensive towards Maven's sudden mood whiplash.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am-" Maven began extending a hand, and Zahrassa jumped backwards.
"Do not touch me," she hissed, her claws unconsciously creeping out of her fingertips and pushing against the inside of her leather gloves. Maven pulled her hand back as if she had been burned and began to glare once more.
"She doesn't like being touched by strangers." Lydia finally said, appearing at Zahrassa's side.
"I presume that you are her guardian?" Maven inquired, tilting her head but still not taking her eyes off of the Khajiit in front of her.
"Until she comes of age, yes," Lydia lied. "Sometimes she doesn't know what she's doing. I would assume you know how young girls can act at times?"
"Yes, I can understand," Maven said, finally taking her glare off of Zahrassa and looking at Lydia. "Well, perhaps we can have a better introduction some other time."
"I think that's a very good idea. Until then, I'll be sure to make sure she understands that she needs to watch her mouth more frequently," Lydia said with a tone of finality. The two women nodded at each other, and then Maven walked off, presumably to go bully someone else, but Zahrassa still wasn't in the clear. The exact moment that Maven turned her back, Lydia grabbed one of Zahrassa's ears and gave it a twist.
"Hey, stop it!" Zahrassa hissed, tugging her head away and covering her ears with her hands.
"Watch your mouth more often and maybe then you won't get your ears twisted!" Lydia snapped, crossing her arms and glaring down at Zahrassa like an angry mother. Zahrassa scowled back before returning to looking at the armor she had been inspecting earlier. Lydia sighed, ruffled Zahrassa's headscarf, and went to look at the imports that Brand-Shei was selling. The hustle and bustle of the marketplace returned soon afterward.
&%&%&%&
I remember that my mother used to twist my ears around whenever I misbehaved. I wonder where Lydia learned to do that?
Anyway, after that debacle (and one of the beggars yelling "you're gonna die kid" as I walked by), I wandered out of the marketplace and poked around the city a little more...not on my own, though. Lydia says that until I "learn my lesson", she's going to constantly supervise me like an overbearing mother. Ugh.
When it was getting late, she and I started to head back to the inn, but we accidentally went into this place called "Haegla's Bunkhouse". I recognized a lot of the people there from the marketplace and a Bosmer man offered me a sweet roll in celebration of me mouthing off at Maven Black-Briar and living to tell the tale. Lydia wouldn't let him give it to me because she hates fun.
I managed to convince her to let me hang around for just a little longer, and that's when I met an Argonian woman named Wujeeta. She was sitting off by herself and looked like she was on the verge of tears, so I went and asked her what was wrong. She told me that she was in danger of losing her job because of her skooma addiction and had no idea what to do about it. All I really know about skooma is that a lot of the guards in Markarth bought it from Idhisa and that Dar'zahn used to be addicted to the stuff, so I wasn't very much help other than offering Wujeeta a small healing potion so that she didn't feel as horrible.
I was still a little curious about skooma, though, so I started asking her a few questions. It took a while for her to open up about it, but I learned that there was a notorious dealer right in the city that had been selling to her. I also gave her some of my gold so that she could afford to buy more healing potions just in case the one wasn't enough, and then Lydia dragged me off to the inn because it was getting late, and as I've said before, Lydia gets mean when she's tired.
I'm going to try and tell the Jarl about the whole skooma thing tomorrow so that I can try and get more help for Wujeeta. Dar'zahn never really told M'zami and I much about skooma, but he did give us many lectures about how it ruined his life. Sometimes I thought that Idhisa put him up to it so that M'zami and I wouldn't turn to the stuff.
Needless to say, it worked. I don't know if it really does make your eyes bleed and fall out, but I'm not going to take the chance if it does!
- Zahrassa
Turdas, 28th of Last Seed, 4E 201
Dear Diary:
I FOUND MY MOTHER'S WEDDING RING! And stopped almost all of the skooma operations going on in Riften, but that isn't as important to me because I FOUND MY MOTHER'S WEDDING RING!
I got up early (as usual), left a note for Lydia telling her that I would be in the market and would try not to get into any fights but no promises, and went to the market to just sit and watch the sun come up. Madsei, the Argonian jewelry maker, and Balimund, the Nord blacksmith, were the only ones that were out and about, save for a few guards (one of which praised me for having the guts to sass Maven Black-Brair...I really hope that isn't going to be what I'm known for for the rest of time). Balimund was at work with a sword, while Madsei was carefully placing his merchandise into small display cases in his market stall. I decided to go over and say hi, as well as look at the shiny things.
Madsei was actually glad to see me around, because he needed some help reading an inscription on a ring that he had gotten from Ahkari yesterday. He said it looked like it was in Ta'agra, but couldn't tell. I don't exactly know Ta'agra anymore, since I haven't actually spoken it since I was five years old. I really only know a few simple words and things that my parents used to say a lot (like shurh ahziss kirmir'iiliten, which my mother said to me all of the time), but I still offered to take a look.
I had to say it out loud (I can't read Ta'agra very well because I never really learned to read it, just Tamrielic) and was excited when I understood what it said. Then I nearly screamed because I remembered that was what my mother's wedding ring had inscribed in it when my father made it for her.
Ahziss ajo'tok fusozay; ahziss skra'iv an ahziss maaszi; M'nara Barahir.
"My wonderful wife without regret; my everything and my necessity; M'nara Barahir."
I started crying immediately, which startled Madsei quite a bit. I explained what I could about how I had lost it (and carefully guarded my last name) and asked if I could have it back pretty please. He was a bit hesitant at first because of the fact that he had paid a lot for it and I didn't have the coin to pay him back, but he eventually agreed. In exchange, I'm going to help him acquire some materials so he can make more jewelry.
I have a pretty huge "to do" list right now, but Lydia wrote everything down for me. I'll just add Madsei's things and stick the list in here so that I don't misplace it...
Zahrassa's To Do List as Written by Lydia
1. Go to High Hrothgar
2. Speak to Ulfric Stormcloak (Windhelm)
3. Find Kharjo's Moon Amulet at Halted Stream Camp
4. Stop arguing/fighting with strangers
5. Bring mammoth tusk to Madsei in Riften
6. Find gold ore for Madsei in Riften
7. Find two flawless sapphires for Madsei in Riften
8. Buy pants
9. Talk to Jarl of Riften about Wujeeta
10. Find a wizard that can read enchantments
That should cover it.
Anyway, after I got my mother's ring back, I went back to the inn to tell Lydia and Faendal the good news. I ran into Lydia the minute I walked back into the inn (she had woken up, read my note, and was on her way to come find me) and we went back to the room so that I could show her the ring (she wouldn't let me tell her in the barroom because "the thieves guild has the run of the place and you'll lose it again").
It's a very pretty ring that my father made himself. It's a golden band, with a sapphire in the middle that is surrounded by small emeralds. He took the sapphire out of his Amulet of Kynareth because he couldn't afford to buy the gem itself. I think it's also enchanted, but I don't know what the enchantment is and I'm not about to destroy it just to figure it out. I'll have to try to find a wizard that can read enchantments so I can know...better add that to my to-do list really quick.
After I got done showing my mother's wedding ring off to Faendal and Lydia, we went to go speak to the Jarl. While we were walking to the Keep, the blacksmith asked me is I could make a fast sword delivery to one of the Jarl's sons, who had broken it. I agreed to it, since I could use the whole "delivery girl" guise to get into the Keep if they didn't just let me in, but it actually wasn't too much of a hassle in the first place! The guard at the door let me in without asking any questions the minute I told her I was the Dragonborn and needed to see the Jarl about something important.
The Jarl's housecarl wasn't going to agree to that as easily, though. The Jarl was busy talking to none other than Maven Black-Briar about something, and then all of a sudden there a was big, redheaded Nord man in Elven armor demanding to know who I was and why I was there. I stammered out that I was the Dragonborn, had a delivery for one of her children, and had information about skooma operations in the city. He was hesitant to believe that I was actually the Dragonborn, but let me talk to the Jarl anyway. While she was finishing up talking to Maven, I gave her son Harrald his repaired sword. He gave me two very pretty gemstones as a thank you, but I don't know what I'll do with them. For now, I'll keep them wrapped up in my satchel.
Maven finally left (I was tempted to stick my tongue out at her when her back was turned, but Lydia looked at me as if she would twist me ears around again if I some much as blinked at her wrong, and I thought against it), and then I got to talk to the Jarl, Laila Law-Giver.
She was initially skeptical of me being the Dragonborn, just like her housecarl, only instead of being skeptical because I'm not a Nord, she was skeptical because I'm so young. "But then again, a child assassinated the First Chancellor of Summerset Isles during the Great War," she said after that, which really got my interest. Unfortunately, she told me that barely anything is known about what exactly happened, so we just went right to me telling her about Wujeeta's problems with skooma and how she got in the city from some man near the warehouse.
Next thing I know, Faendal, Lydia, and I are taking the whole illegal operation down ourselves on the Jarl's orders. We first had to get past Maul, who was guarding the door, so I lied and told him that Maven was looking for him. He must not be as smart as he claims, because he went running right away, leaving us to waltz right inside...well, sneak, but you get the idea. There were two men measuring out some moon sugar into small bowls that noticed us and came after me with a dagger, but I pulled out the oathblade I got from Bloated Man's Grotto and one of the curved swords and he slid to a stop in terror, which is when Faendal shot him with a bow and arrow. The other guy thought it would be a good idea to target Lydia with just a dagger, but he was mistaken and didn't even last three seconds.
We ransacked the entire warehouse and found a note that said where the source of all of the skooma was that we could bring to the Jarl, but I also took a few vials of moon sugar for myself (I don't take it as a drug, I swear, I use it for cooking) and put every bottle of skooma into a big bag. We managed to get out of the warehouse before Maul came back and I threw the sack of skooma into the lake before we went back to the Jarl.
The whole thing wasn't over yet, though. Jarl Laila sent us to the main base of operations to stop it right at the source, so in the early afternoon we were scrambling around Cragslane Cavern killing the dealers and the wolves that they set on us...well, Lydia and Faendal killed the dealers, I killed the wolves and smashed all of the bottles of skooma that were laying around. One of the wolves reared up, had its paws on my shoulders, and tried to bite me, so I hit it in the teeth with the hilt of the oathblade. Lydia was proud of me for that one.
It was starting to get dark out when we went back to Riften and the Jarl had gone to bed by the time we got back, but her steward promised to tell her what we had done tomorrow morning and paid us pretty well. Add that on top of the gold we snatched from the cavern, and I'm carrying more gold than I've ever seen in one place in my entire life in a black pouch on my belt. When we got back to the inn for the night we divided the gold up and decided that we would head back to Whiterun in the morning to go find Kharjo's amulet.
Faendal has largely left me alone about the fact that my new best friend is a male, but Lydia is still teasing me. Rude.
- Zahrassa
A/N: Well that was one long chapter, wasn't it? In hindsight, I probably could have divided it up more, but I'm recovering from finals week and Christmas and currently incapable of rational thought. It's currently twenty-six pages in OpenOffice...whew.
In other news, it's Christmas! I went home to my family for the holiday and have been running around baking, shopping, cooking, decorating, and screaming at my computer. The fun isn't over, since we also celebrate Orthodox Christmas, which is about two weeks away. So in two weeks we'll be doing the whole thing over again.
Updates are going to be verrrrry slow over the next few days and probably won't return to normal until mid-January because I got all of the other Elder Scrolls games for Christmas. Yes, you read that correctly, all of the other ones, plus their DLCs. That means I now have:
The Elder Scrolls I: Arena
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Oblivion and Morrowind are already up and running. I just need to download and install a DOS emulator so that Daggerfall and Arena can join the stage. This is all being run on a bootcamped MAC, so my technology is softly weeping. I spent most of this afternoon backing everything up onto fifty million flash drives and moving all of my games to a 1TB external hard drive, so now I can go really hardcore with the mods and games. Woohoo!
Anyway, as a special Christmas treat, I'm adding two chapter today.
Keep an eye on my profile, because I'm planning a very special treat for Orthodox Christmas.