Mother,
I am alive and unwell. I fear you and father were right about this journey being too much for me to handle. There has been an accident and while I have arrived at Whiterun I lost all my cargo and cattle. In addition, the gold we had stashed has gone missing and I have not the faintest idea who might have taken it or when. Please, I know it is asking a lot of you since you have already sunk so much gold into this lost venture, but I am begging you to give me more so I may buy horses and provisions enough to see me home. A brave warrior is in my service and, while she swears she needs not for gold, I wish to repay her for all she has done.
She has saved my life more times that I can count during my journey and even now she refuses to leave my side until she knows I have been safely returned to you. Her chivalry might make her unable to ask for gold, so I would like very much to give her riches befitting the service she has done me by saving my life and returning me to you. I am begging you, if you can not send gold, then at least send letters of promise. Our closest ally is in Dawnstar, but if you see fit to send me there I will not argue. I long for home and father and sister and you. Allow me back and I shall never leave again if you and father wish. I have gotten myself into so much trouble and I have not the foggiest of ideas on how to put everything aright.
As of Loredas 30th, Last Seed 4E 201, I am located in Whiterun in the house you have purchased with my warrior companion guarding me. I have no supplies or provisions save for those found in the home. Even the clothes on my back are borrowed. I was able to trade some potatoes to get enough gold to send this to you. Beyond that, there is nothing in the house for me to use to gain any substantial amount of gold. I am in dire need. I understand the dangers of sending gold by courier or bird, so I don't expect your answer to come soon or any plan to be brought to fruition within the next week or beyond. Please, just let me hear from you. Give me a sign my letter got through. I still have terrors from my journey that I wish not to discuss through paper.
Just know many of my dreams are haunted by visions of you and father and sister fading away with me helpless to prevent it. Even if it is false, I pray your return letter brings hope that I shall see you one day. Even my warrior traveling companion can not give me the solace a mother can. There is also a more dire matter of what has occurred to me during my travels from Riften to Whiterun. I wish not to discuss them in paper or person. Luckily, as soon as you see me I'm sure you will realize what I was referring to and understand why I chose not to discuss it.
With love,
"I want to sign my name.". I glance at the Khajiit and see her looking at me with a locked jaw and quivering lip. The woman took an hour to tell me the words to write and constantly had me going back and changing words or striking sentences. We ended up using our remaining five gold to buy another sheet of parchment when we looked over the final draft and saw the paper was more strikes and scribbles than actual letter. Throughout the letter, I notice the merchant being vague. Given our luck, I can't blame her. A bandit who brings down a bird and sees a letter promising riches and rewards for the return of a merchant's daughter will have no qualms with a little kidnapping with some abuse along the way. Still, the merchant's parents are going to want some assurance this is their daughter.
Writing back and asking the raven keeper the description of the woman who sent the note would suffice given she's the only Khajiit within Whiterun, but that means the process needs to take even longer. Her name signed would assist if it wasn't for the fact the entire letter was in a stranger's writing. A signature would show that the Khajiit was who she was and the letter was written with her permission and blessing. Of course, I remember one very important fact about the woman before me: she's right handed.
"I don't think that's a good idea. They might not,". I swallow past the lump in my throat telling me not to continue. "recognize your signature.". Sure enough, I shouldn't have said that. The woman's lip begins quivering even more as her ears droop to the sides of her head. Even her whiskers lose some of their perkiness as she gives me a look like I've murdered her puppy.
"Alright, point taken. Just practice on the back of the other letter for a few tries, please?". She nods her consent as her ears and whiskers return to their normal positions. I flip the first letter we wrote onto its back and pass the feather to the Khajiit. Her first signature is a mess and every one after that isn't much better. It's only after she's ran out of room and her signature is still sloppy that I arrive at another idea.
"Could you put your paw print on the back of the letter? It should be dry enough by now.". The woman frowns at me.
"Hand print. And, yes, I could.". She flexes her one remaining hand. It's not like there are many other Khajiit sending letters from Whiterun to her parents. I'm sure the print of a Khajiit would be enough to assure them it's their daughter writing them. After all, no other race can hope to mimic the unique way a Khajiit's hand flexes and stretches when placed flat on a surface. With the claws throw into the mix, I have no doubt her parents will believe her.
The woman offers her upturned hand to me with her claws already out. I take our inkwell and upend it over her hand while making sure to coat every inch. It's only when the inkwell is dry I move it away from the woman's hand. I roll the final letter onto it's blank side and the Khajiit lets her hand stop dripping. Then, one smooth stroke down the letter's length and she pulls back. Her paw print is stamped in clear ink with the texture of her fur and shape of her claws clearly there. With the unique length of her fingers and the awkward position of the thumb all Khajiit share, there's no questioning it was a Khajiit that stamped her hand on the page.
I flip the letter over and begin waving it to let the print dry. As I do, I take the feather and scribble the merchant's name below the parting on the letter. After a few minutes, everything is dry and perfect. The man wearing a turban returns to us as soon as he sees we're done. A bird is standing on his shoulder and already agitated and looking towards the sky. He strokes the animal's feathers once to calm it while talking to us.
"I'll seal the letter to prevent fraud. Do you wish any sigil to be inlaid in the wax?". She nods to my surprise.
"A beaver holding a bunch of grapes.". He goes about shuffling underneath his desk and gives me a chance to talk to the merchant.
"A beaver holding grapes?". She nods.
"It was painted on the building my father first bought to operate out of. We kept it. Now, if you see our ships or a building we own, it has a beaver holding grapes on it. My father even tried buying a beaver from High Rock once. He only returned it once my mother refused to live under the same roof as an "overgrown rat with buck teeth".". I scoff in amusement as the man finishes up and attaches the letter to his bird. He thrusts his arm upwards and the raven is off in a puff of shit and cawing. Slowly, the woman and I leave the stand as we both simultaneously realize that there's nothing left for us here. The two of us awkwardly begin walking back towards the house we're staying at. We're halfway there when the merchant tries making conversation.
"What now?". I stop and the woman stops with me. We move to the side of the road just in case there's traffic coming by. I mull the situation over before hearing the ding of a hammer striking metal and remembering the smithy we saw on the way in.
"I think I'll go down to the smith and see if they need any help. I could earn us a few gold to buy some dinner.". The woman shakes her head.
"I promised you steak.". I laugh and take her in my arms.
"I promise I won't get mad if we postpone our steak dinner for a little longer.". I notice a slight blush has arisen underneath the woman's fur as I pull back from her. I have the decency not to mention it as she stutters a few false starts out. Finally, she manages to spit out what she intends on doing while I'm inquiring about a job.
"I'll explore the city and see if there's anything of use for us. There are plenty of barrels nobody owns that I can check for food in.". The idea of the Khajiit that's missing an arm routing through the trash for food sounds like the worst idea I could think of. Still, I don't question her. Letting the woman test her own limits and explore the city doesn't sound like a bad idea. After all, she'll need to adjust to life with only one arm sooner or later unless she can someone regrow it. The worst that could happen to her is she accidentally falls in and can't get out because of her missing arm. It'll be humiliating, but there are guards and citizens everywhere.
If they don't see her fall in, then they'll hear her screams for help sooner or later and someone will come to turn the barrel upside down. The best that could happen is she doesn't fall into a barrel and actually gets some decent food from looking around in the garbage. The woman still has a wicked set of claws and fangs on her along with enough spirit even a horsemaster couldn't break her, so I'm not worried about her being attacked or robbed. Still, I give her a word of advice as I begin to leave her.
"Be back at the house before the sun is down. It's dangerous at night.". She nods and we part ways for the day. Thankfully, the smith is working when I find her and it only takes her a few more hits before she reaches a stopping point. A few minutes of back and forth follow before she offers to let me use her forge and some materials in return for the end products at half price until she's made up the cost, then everything she purchases will be for the whole price she would pay otherwise. I know enough about how to smith and my back is strong, so I take her steel and iron and leather without complaint and get to work. If I'm lucky, there'll be enough for a steak dinner when I'm done.