My mother doesn't give me a chance to speak, snarling, "You shouldn't be here!". I hold back my sigh and tell her, "I know, but we need to know where an elder scroll is.". The woman's eyes flash and she tells me, "What do you need to find the scroll for?". My companion is slowly slinking forward, but still attempting to stay away from my mother's gaze. I can't say I blame her. However, that doesn't stop my mother from seeing her. The woman hisses and demands, "Who is this?!". My friend freezes and I motion for her to come and stand beside me, aware that sending her away would only make everything worse. When the Khajiit is at my side my mother eyes her and questions, "Who is this?".
I save my friend from answering by telling my mother, "A friend, now what about the scroll?". My mother completely ignores me, turning to the cowering Khajiit. She sneers as she says, "So, Harkon allowed a sniveling craven to join his ranks. Pathetic. Now, why is a half bred vampire traveling with my daughter?". I once again go to save the woman from answering, but she does before I can say anything. "I want to keep Serana safe.". My mouth was open to say something, but I quickly snap it shut. Mostly out of surprise, but a little out of shock. She came with me to make sure I'm safe? I'm a little insulted, I can take care of myself and be fine. However, I'm also a tiny bit flattered. Her answer wasn't 'to find the scroll' or 'to defeat Harkon', it was to make sure I didn't end up getting beheaded or burned to death. It's a nice thought.
My mother seems to disagree because she simply snorts and says, "I'm certain. Now, what do you plan on doing with the scroll?". The Khajiit doesn't even bother to hesitate, answering, "I plan on defeating Harkon.". My mother's laugh causes the Khajiit's tail to puff up, but she doesn't back away. Progress. Now, my mother tells her, "If you think you can defeat Harkon, then you're a bigger fool than I took you for.". I expect the Khajiit to cower and back away, but instead her ears flatten in anger and she demands, "Do you know where the scroll is or not?". My mother grins and answers, "I do, but I'm not going to just give it to you.". My companion sighs and questions, "Why is that?".
My mother begins to pace like a caged tiger as she says, "I hid the scroll away to protect Serana, and I don't expect you to understand that.". My companion takes a step forward, her chest almost pressing against the invisible barrier as she growls, "Yes, locking her away sure kept her safe. I plan on taking permanent care of the problem, and freeing Serana of Harkon. If you don't want to help, fine. But at the very least help your own daughter.". Valerica's grin disappears and she snarls, "Insolent, disgusting, filthy Khajiit! I should-". I have to stop this, they'll be here all day snarling threats at one another. I find my voice and roar, "Enough!". They both turn to look at me, very different expressions on their faces. My mother looks at me with anger and exasperation, like I'm a small child that's misbehaved in front of company. However, the Khajiit gives me an apologetic and remorseful looks, as if she were a dog that got caught pissing on the furniture.
I sigh and tell them, "We need the scroll. Period. Now, are you going to give it to us?". My mother glares at me, but relents and tells me, "Very well, but you need to take down this barrier first.". I nod and question her, "How do we do that?". The woman simply tells me, "There are three Boneyard Keepers scattered throughout the land. Find them and slay them, then this barrier will be dissolved. Be warned, a dragon named Durnehviir patrols the land, and might descend on you at any moment.". I can practically feel the Khajiit's fear, and I know I need to get her out of here. So, I nod and tell my mother, "Fine, we'll go.". She looks like she wants to say something else, but I don't give her the chance. I grab my friend and leave, my mother forced to stay behind due to the barrier between us.
As we walk my companion asks, "Where are the keepers?". I shrug and tell her, "We'll just wander around and find them. Eventually.". She nods in agreement. I take this chance to ask her, "So, you came here to make sure I'm safe?". I can tell if she was alive she would be blushing. She coughs and explains, "I'm still a gigantic coward, although I'm getting a little better now that I know there's an Oblivion.". Crap, I didn't even think about the fact that the Soul Cairn can be used to verify the gods existence. The Khajiit continues by saying, "If it wasn't for you, I would have run away a long time ago. Probably to Elsweyr or The Summerset Isles. But I can't just leave you, I want to make sure you get through this okay.". I can't help asking, "What about after? Are you still going to flee?".
The Khajiit keeps walking, but I can see a look of contemplation coming over her face. Finally, she tells me, "I don't think I'll be fleeing Skyrim.". I follow up by asking, "Are you going to try to marry Ysolda?". The woman lets out a small, sad chuckle and tells me, "I don't think so, but I still want to kick that bard's ass. No, I think my infatuation with Ysolda has passed, but I think there's still some sort of romance going on in my heart.". Is she talking about me? Do I want her to talk about me? Damn, why can't this woman just be straightforward? She is with everything else, but she suddenly decides to be subtle and behind the bush when she starts talking about romance. But, I still don't know if I want her talking about me.
I try to find some emotion in my heart, and after a few moments I find it. I like the woman, and it's in a way I've never felt before. However, I've never had a friend or romantic partner. I can't differentiate the two, but I know I would like both. But which one would I like the Khajiit to be? I truly don't know, and right now isn't the time to sort that out. So, I simply allow the question to die for the moment. Suddenly, the Khajiit whistles to get my attention. She points off into the distance, and I follow her finger. I'm not certain what the gigantic tower has to do with anything, and I question the Khajiit on it. She shrugs and answers, "If I was a keeper I would be up there.". I honestly don't know where a keeper would even be in this wasteland, so right now the tower seems like a good enough place to check. I draw my spells and tell the woman, "Follow me.". She nods as I begin walking away, happily trailing behind me.
We reach the base of the tower and meet five skeletons, but those are easily defeated. I expect to take care of most of them, but the Khajiit surprises me and takes down four of the monsters. Seems this trip to Oblivion is doing her some good, she's gotten a little bit of backbone. It might not be much (her fur is still standing on end), but it's enough. It suddenly occurs to me that the woman has been surviving in Skyrim, all the while considering herself a craven. I wonder how she does it. If you aren't brave or strong, then Skyrim is a horrible place to live. She must be secretly clever or fast or maybe even seductive when she wants to be because there's no way she would survive more than a month if she wasn't. As if reading my mind, the woman turns and smiles at me due to her accomplishment of fighting. Her crooked teeth, scrunched pink nose, and gigantic ears remind me of a kitten I once saw, the tiny cat too small to feed to the death hounds.
Somehow I don't think it was her seductive charms, the woman isn't bursting with feminine charms. I'm not denying the average amount of attractiveness she has, but her looks wouldn't make brigands release her from their clutches. Maybe she's clever. As if to prove me wrong the woman takes a step, slips on a skeleton's bone, and falls flat on her face. She chuckles and stands back up, rubbing her face. Then, she jogs away. I follow her and realize where she's going, a glowing purple portal. When she reaches it she stops, turning back to me. When I reach her I ask, "You think we should step on it?". She nods and explains, "It'll take us somewhere, and it might be where we want to go.". That's poor logic, but I shrug and accept it. The Khajiit smiles her gratitude and leaps onto the portal, disappearing in a second. I sigh, but follow her.
Black and purple energy wraps around me, a crackling filling my ear. Suddenly, the energy dissolves and I find myself standing on top of the tower. Damn, the Khajiit was right. I step away from the edge and notice the sound of fighting. I begin jogging towards the noises, hurdling up the stairs. A skeleton blocks my path, hissing his discontent. A spike of ice stops the argument, and I resume my jog towards the fighting. Finally, I arrive at the main battle. A keeper is raising his gigantic hammer, slowly bringing it down on my companion. She easily dodges the blow, rushing around the monster. The bodies of a few skeletons litter the ground, casualties from the battle. I activate my magic and fire a spike of ice at the monster, the frozen water sinking into the creature's side. It roars and turns to me, its hammer once again rising. I easily dodge the hammer, but not its foot. I scream as I roll along the ground, and feel my side meet thin air.
My scream becomes louder as I begin to fall, shoving my hands away from my body. My left hand brushes the side of the tower, but the right manages to scrape along the roof. My fingers curl, the joints popping as the rest of my body fights to keep flying. But my tendons and muscles are strong, and my fingers win the fight. Now, I'm dangling from the tower by the tips of my fingers, and only five of them. I try to bring my other hand up, but the motion causes me to slide a little. I freeze, and look down. I scream at the sight, the grey ground appears to be thousands of feet below me and the Khajiit is still fighting the keeper. I can't see them, but I can hear the noises. I remain like that, simply dangling and listening. Then, I hear the keeper roar louder than ever before. A loud scream reaches my ears, followed by a suspicious crunch. I wait. Nothing. I keep waiting, waiting for the Khajiit to whistle and realize that I'm about to die. Nothing. Just a prolonged silence, and the sound of a light breeze beginning to blow on my side. Fuck.