(Warning: Story contains graphic violence and may also include sexual encounters. Viewer discretion is advised. Rating: MA only)

Chapter 12: A Meeting of Friends

I don't know if I have ever mentioned this before but I hate traveling. Oh sure, I love to explore but that is because when I do that, I don't know what will happen. I could come across an old Nordic tomb or a bandit camp. But when you travel, you know where you are going and that is boring. I know what's going to happen when I travel. I may meet some bandits, a skooma dealer, some wild animals, maybe some hunters. It's as if the world is programmed to be this way!

Anyway, let me stop rambling before you stop reading. Where was I? Oh, yeah, travelling. Hate that. So, as I rode Shadowmere down the road to Riften I was thinking about this and what the quickest way to kill a mammoth was. Reasoning that you would have to use something really sharp to get through the fat was as far as I got before I came across a peculiar sight.

There was a broken down wagon in the middle of the road, except it wasn't a typical wagon. It was painted in a mixture of bright and dull colors that somehow blended, had a canopy made from leather, and was pulled by two horses. Standing next to the cart was a male Breton and a female Argonian wearing black traveling cloaks. As I rode up, I could hear them arguing. Being the horrible person I am, I sat back and watched them go back and forth.

"The damn axle broke again and you think it's my fault?!" said the Breton.

"Well, you were supposed to get it fixed in Falkreath!" replied the Argonian, her tail twitching.

"I was busy with…"

"What? Busy seducing the tavern girl so you wouldn't go to bed alone?"

"Hey! I wasn't! She was seducing me!"

The Argonian laughed. "Oh let me guess, she pushed her boobs together and said, 'Oh, I love Bretons with curly hair and scraggly beards!'" The Breton lunged at her shouting, "That's not funny!" The Argonian put the Breton in a headlock and started rubbing her fist into his head. "Maybe I can flatten your hair out." "Ow! Agh, stop it! I give!" Chuckling, I rode up to them and, dismounting, said, "Don't worry friend, the Argonians have always been jealous of those with hair." The Argonian let go of the Breton, who dropped to the ground with a hard crash. With speed that I didn't know she had, she whipped out an Ebony Bow and nocked a glass arrow. I backed away with my hands raised. "Whoa, whoa, no harm meant by that! I just thought your little spat was amusing." The Argonian put away her bow and then did something unexpected.

She tapped my breastplate.

Taken aback by this, I stepped back and examined the two. Now that I could see the front of them and their hoods were down, I could see them more clearly. The Argonian wore under her clothes the typical blacksmith apron and clothes that most blacksmiths wear. Her green scales were complimented by flecks of purple that matched her eyes. Her short snout was marked with the tip of a purple V that traced back to the base of her eyes. She had short, curved horns that she had adorned with various archaic symbols and from which two small hammers dangled. The Breton had somewhat tanned skin and a mop of curly black hair on top of his head. What the Argonian had said was true, he did have what looked like a teen's beard, scraggly and barely there. He wore glass armor, the helmet barely containing his hair. I saw what looked like an Ebony Greatsword slung over his shoulder that crackled with lightning. I also noted that while he was tall and had a bit of a gut, the Argonian was slim and seemed to have no muscle on her at all.

The Argonian looked embarrassed as she rubbed the back of her head, her earrings jangling as she did so. "Sorry, I got a little excited when I saw your armor. As you have probably guessed by now, I am a blacksmith. And a damn good one at that." "Who also has an armor fetish?" She screwed up her face and gave me an evil eye. "If I didn't like your armor, I would have slapped you by now." She extended her hand. "My name is Neesei and the big idiot behind me is…" "Amaros." We turned to see the Breton sitting on one of the horses that had been attached to the cart. "My name is Amaros and I am Neesei's bodyguard and friend."

Neesei frowned at him. "Wait, we're not abandoning my cart are we?" "Well, you could always use the materials they have there." He yelped and ducked as a hammer flew at his head. I looked at Neesei as she stood there breathing hard. "Where did you even get that hammer?" She ignored me and pointed a finger at Amaros. "I have too many things in that cart that are sentimental to me. Like my anvil. And my hammers. And my pet Chaurus." "What the fuck!" "It's fine, he's trained." I threw my hands in the air. "And how did you accomplish this?" "Jazberries and Dragon shit. I'm not telling you!" Amaros was shaking his head at the most likely comical sight of us arguing, mainly because my tail was whipping back and forth and her tail was twitching with annoyance. "Hey, can I say something?" "No!" we both yelled as she threw another hammer (I seriously don't know where she got them from).

"Listen," I said before she started throwing more hammers, "How about I help you fix your wagon? Then, you can go to…uh…where were you headed?" Neesei put her hood back on as she spoke. "We're off to join the Dawnguard at the appropriately named Fort Dawnguard." "What a coincidence! I'm heading there too!" Her eyes lit up in excitement. "Really? That's great! I'd like to apologize for earlier, I just overreacted a little." I knelt in front of the cart and tried to lift it. Straining, I motioned to Amaros to help. He rushed over and helped me lift it until it was easy for Neesei to replace the axel with the spare she had in the back of her cart. "You can apologize by letting me ride in your cart. Shadowmere is a loyal horse but he does get tired." She glanced at him as his head drooped in "exhaustion". "Sure, but will he need to be tethered?" "Mm-mm." I grunted. She nodded and then finished putting the wheel back on. With a grunt, we let go of the cart and retreated a few steps away from it.

"Alright, we're good to go." Amaros stated. "I'll drive." "Then I," Neesei pointed to herself with a scaly thumb, "will sit up front and you…" she pointed to me, "…what was your name?" "Falaja." "Ok, Falaja, you will be in the back with Spitter." "Spitter?" "My pet Chaurus." "Oh." I climbed into the back of the cart, my armor clanking and clacking against the wood. The back was cluttered, filled with tools, an anvil, a grindstone, and a three foot baby Chaurus. It looked at me with its beady little black eyes as I climbed in. I pulled the grindstone between the two of us and pointed my finger at it. "You spit on me and I will shove your head up your own ass." Spitter simply turned its head and clacked its mandibles. "Are you ready back there?" I simply knocked on the grindstone. "Alright, off we go." I settled back, taking off my helmet and resting my head on a small sack filled with sand. As I sat there, Spitter climbed over the grindstone and curled itself up in my lap. Great, I thought, now it likes me.

"So, did you know that the Dragonborn is back there?" Neesei looked at Amaros. "No, I didn't." Amaros held his head. "Oh my Talos, really? C'mon, Khajit armed in Dragonbone infused with Ebony armor with a Dwarven cylinder on his back?" She thought for a while. "Nope." Amaros face palmed in exasperation. "Do you ever listen to tavern rumors?" "No because, one, they're rumors and, two, I normally can't hear them because you're too busy drinking and trying to get girls to sleep with you." Amaros leaned forward and said almost under his breath, "At least girls pay attention to me and not you. OW!" He grabbed his head where Neesei had just punched him. "You say one more word and I throw you under the cart."

They traveled in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. "Ok, so, Falaja is a Khajit, right?" "Yeah, I thought the ears, fur, claws, and tail gave that away." "So, do you think it's true?" "What's true?" "That if you step on a Khajit's tale while they're sleeping, they arch there back and run?" He looked at her and saw her grinning. "No, no, I know what you're thinking and I'm not doing it." She almost insisted when suddenly she felt a claw pressed against the back of her neck. She turned to see her reflection in my eyes. "Just want you to know that if you try that, we'll be eating Spitter stew." Spitter actually made a little screeching sound that kind of sounded like a whine. "Understood?" She nodded. "Good." I slid back into my spot in the back and reassuringly patted Spitter. As he curled back up in my lap, I heard Neesei say, "Note to self, don't screw with the Dragonborn."

We arrived in Riften in the dead of night. "Great," said Amaros as he emerged from The Bee and Barb, "No bunks there and I know for a fact that Helga won't give us a bunk at her place." "Yeah, considering that I kind of proved that she is a total whore." He looked taken aback as I said this. "What? Why? And how?" I shrugged. "Well, I took special gems from the men she slept with, showed them to her, blackmailed her into paying me, and the reason I did so was to get laid." "Ewwww, with Helga?" Neesei shuddered. "I'm into chicks and she makes me want to like guys." "No, not her!" "Then who?" "Her niece, Svana, the overworked girl with the big tits." "Bullshit," said Amaros, "no way you did that." "Look, how about we argue inside my house here? That way it's nice and warm instead of chilly and windy." "Wait, you have a house here?" "Yeah, Honeyside." "But that place belongs to the Black-Briars." "Look, you either stay at my place where there is a fire and food or you can spend the night with Shadowmere and Spitter."

Ten minutes later, we were all sitting at my table and eating some horker stew that Svana, who now served as my housecarl, had made. "So, you pay her better than her aunt did?" Amaros had asked between bites. "Her aunt never payed her so, yeah, I do." He nodded and then went back to eating. When everyone had finished, I let Svana show them to their room while I went downstairs.

I sat on the bed with my legs crossed. People believe that this is simply how Khajit sit but this is not true. I simply sit like this to concentrate. This is the reason why Khajit traders are hard to bargain with. The way they sit allows them to concentrate and resist petty bargaining jabs. Controlling my breath and closing my eyes, I had almost relaxed. Until I heard footsteps on the stairs.

I sighed as I swiveled to meet whomever was there. Judging by the footsteps, it was a male warrior. I opened my eyes to see Amaros at the bottom of the steps. "Uh, if you're busy, I can come back." I shook my head. "No, it can wait." I motioned to a chair. "Pull up a seat, don't just stand there like a giant." He nodded in thanks as he sat down. Once he had settled, I motioned to him to speak his mind. He coughed and looked down. "So, uh, you're the Dragonborn?" "Last time I checked, dragon souls kept getting sucked up by my body." "Cool, yeah, cool. So, you know about the Thu'um?" I nodded. "So, would you mind giving me some tips?" I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You know how to shout?" "Yeah, I spent some time with the Greybeards. Just stayed there long enough so that I would have a fighting chance against those draugr. I have spent too much time being thrown about like a doll." I chuckled, knowing how he felt. "Well, I guess I could teach you a bit. Follow me outside to the dock."

We headed up the stairs, passing Svana as she brought some herbs down to the store room. Once we were outside, Amaros turned to me. "You didn't actually do it, did you?" I stopped at the top of the stairs that led down to the dock. "Didn't do what?" "You didn't sleep with Svana." I clasped my hands behind my back, my shirt flapping from a slight breeze that drifted in from the north. "How did you figure it out?" I said as I began walking down the stairs. He followed behind, keeping pace so we could talk. "From the way she acted around you." "Oh?" I stepped down onto the dock and walked over to the far end. "No blushing, giggling, dreamy looks," he said as he stood at the other end of the dock, "She just acted like you were a good friend and employer. Not some lover." "Do you know why I lied?" "No." "You said you wanted to fight vampires with the Dawnguard?" He looked puzzled by my question. "Well, yeah. Oh, and also to protect Neesei while she works there." "Do you know what one of the most powerful weapons a vampire has is?" He shook his head. "Deception. Remember that. Now, let us begin with your Shout training. Think on what I said later. Now, first you need to…"