Elisif collapses into a seat, the Khajiit and I sliding into the chairs across from her. The queen accepts a bottle of wine from a servant, takes a swig, and tells us, "This obviously isn't a good situation, and I need you two to be together on the issue.". The Khajiit instantly quips, "Why wouldn't we be together?". Elisif rolls her eyes and answers, "Because a certain little birdie of mine claimed he saw you two arguing near the inn. I'm not certain what went on, but I need you two to be the same as you usually are. Unbeatable.". We both nod, the affair problem at the back of our minds. At least, it's at the back of mine. Elisif nods back in approval, then tells us, "The infected are gone from the city, but there could still be sickness.". She turns so she's specifically talking to me, "As the general it's your responsibility to rule the city while I'm gone. Throw any of the infected out, we can't have sickness spreading.". I nod, and the queen goes back to addressing both of us, "We can't go anything about The Crusaders, just don't get yourselves killed. Hopefully the guards will catch them, or they'll find someone else to bother. Just run the city like Tullius would. Do you think both of you can do that?". Without thinking I nod, and can see my lover nod out of the corner of my eye. Elisif sighs, takes another swig of wine, and tells us, "I leave in an hour to take my rightful place as acknowledged queen of Skyrim. Start getting to work.".
I slowly walk down the path, my lover bounding beside me. She's in her full werewolf form, but I'm still uneasy. When we reach the town square I see the burnt effigies, each wooden statue standing ten feet tall. The Crusaders must have had this planned for a while, these aren't the kind of statues you just throw up in a night. My lover bounds over to one that resembles a dog, the gigantic beast climbing onto her own effigy. When she's at the top of the Khajiit statue's head she slowly stands up. I whistle and whisper, "Get down from there!". I can practically hear her roll her eyes, but she bounds down. Elisif left a few hours ago, and my main concern is The Crusaders launching an attack. We have guards posted everywhere, and each guard was assigned three hounds. If the madmen do manage to get into the city, then we'll know. My lover suddenly freezes and I tense, but when a cat leaps from the shadows I calm down. Within seconds my lover is upon it, devouring the beast whole. I roll my eyes and ask, "Isn't that a sort of cannibalism?". She gives me a raspy laugh, then pads back to my side. I pat her shoulder, continuing my patrol. A part of me wants The Crusaders to attack, so I can rip them limp from limp. However, another part of me wishes to never see them again. Those religious nuts burned my house to the ground, killed Lydia (it was only for a minute or two, but I count it), and almost killed the rest of my family. As much as I hate to admit it, they're a force to be reckoned with.
When we reach the west side of town the air is swarming in ash and smoke, remains of the recent fires. I blink to free my eyes of the debris, but the floating ash manages to sneak into my mouth. The grey powder taste like the broken dreams and hopes of those killed, their final moments consumed in fire and haze. I spit the taste out and push on, my lover lowering her head in the thick smog. My foot hits a dead body, and I quickly drag it into a cleared area. The Khajiit follows, sniffing the corpse. Finally, we're able to make out the body. My heart begins to speed like a runaway horse, the red diamond underneath my fingers stained by ash. I reach up and grasp the crusader's helmet, slowly taking it off. The sight before me is horrifying, the Orc's face covered in strange marks. Red diamonds are tattooed all over his skin, his eyes stained a bright green, and his teeth colored purple. I'm sure the colors represent something, but I don't care to know what. The man's head is shaved bald, some commandment tattooed into his flesh. My lover sniffs his face, cringing at the horrific sight. I reassuringly pat her shoulder, heave the man onto my shoulders, and begin carrying him back to The Blue Palace. I wasn't expecting to find a body, but I suppose this is still progress. Besides, the guards can patrol without me for one night. I need answers, and I need them now. Besides, having a healer examine the body is as good a place to start as any.
The autopsy is over, the healer coming to get me. When she finds us I demand she take me to the body, and the woman reluctantly does so. My lover is right behind me, now in her regular form. The man is stripped and washed, his internal organs on display. The healer clears her throat, points at his lungs, and tells me, "He died of smoke inhalation.". I honestly only want to know where he was from and who he was, but I allow the healer to continue. It's better to suffer through her speech and make a new friend, if I told her to shut up I would have one more possibly assassin. The healer points at random parts of The Crusader's body, telling random things about him. Finally, she tells me, "He seems to be from some obscure tribe in his native land, but I couldn't find identification. Actually that's a lie, I found a sort of identification.". She flips him over, a lion's paw burned into his back. My lover lets out a hiss, and when I turn to her she explains, "That's the mark of a sklave.". When I give her a questioning look she says, "It means slave. When ancient Khajiit tribes captured one another, we would make the captured Khajiit our slaves. The practice is extinct since slavery is illegal, but some savage tribes still manage to capture one another.". I look down at the man and ask, "Was he a slave or free?".
Before the healer can answer me, my lover explains, "If he was freed his master would have cut off his tattoo, he was still a slave.". I snort and say, "How religious of The Crusaders.". The healer cuts in by saying, "According to The Nine it's absolutely fine to have slaves.". I offer her a glare and she quickly raises her hands and defends, "I don't believe in any deity, but I know about other religions. According to The Crusader's religion if you two are in love and have sex, then you're going to oblivion because you're both women. However, the commandments never say slavery, abusive relationships, or rape is wrong.". She offers a small chuckle and says, "According to them there's a better chance that nut who tried to take over Whiterun is going to the gods, but you two are instantly sent to oblivion.". She shakes her head and asks, "Can I be dismissed now?". I nod and the woman walks away, leaving the Khajiit and me with the body. We walk up, examining the Orc. I ask the Khajiit, "Do you think The Crusaders are using slaves?". She shrugs, but says, "We better hope not.". Without thinking I ask, "Why?". My lover has a concerned look on her face as she explains, "The hidden slaves of Elsweyr are endless.". I nod and look down at the man, his face a collage of colors. It seems there's a good chance the religious nuts are using slaves. Damn it.
Sarieh POV:
The boat is ready, our builders made it last night. The small vessel is far from the best, but it'll do. It's an average boat besides it's hull. Inside are three decks, one for each type of slave. The top floor is for the healthy and untouched slaves, and they'll be treated like regular passengers. There aren't a large amount of them, so they have enough room to turn, stretch, and do whatever they please. The second floor is for those slaves that aren't too badly infected, so they can be cured or at least do a little work before they die. They'll be treated like children or pets, we'll have to be sterner on them. There are quite a few of them, so they'll be slightly cramped and uncomfortable. Finally, the last deck is for the dying and disgusting slaves. We'll have to clean that deck of bodies often, but it'll be worth it. We'll have to treat them extremely cruel, so they're prepared for what's coming. The floor is small and the slaves are many, so the slaves don't even have the room to even turn around. The food we feed them also varies, the healthiest getting the food we'd eat ourselves. The slave's closest to death won't be fed, so we won't have to waste supplies on them. However, we can't stop the slaves from sharing. I honestly don't care, I just want to make a profit. When the slaves are loaded we bring the food on board, followed by the animals and treasures.
Aeta wants to get into the slaving business, but she also wants to make some surefire money. The animals are the weakest we have that we would probably end up cooking, but they'll still bring in a decent profit. According to Aeta, pork and beef are rare on the Isles because livestock can't eat the indigenous flora. I honestly don't care, but my sister is proud of her gained knowledge. I see the last animal loaded on, my men beginning to board. The boat is starting to become heavy, the ship slowly dipping deeper into the water. I hear the pained moans of slaves from inside, but I shake it from my mind. Aeta said they're just like pigs and cows, and Aeta is never wrong. Probably. Finally, the last of the supplies are brought on board. The richest treasures and artifacts our family's had for generations, now about to be sold. Many of us disagreed with my older sister, but the promise of better rewards was too tempting. When everything is loaded on the ship I quickly climb onto my boat, the words La Bave written on the side. Thankfully, not a soul alive knows the real meaning of the word. Aeta and I know what it means, but that's due to our demonic blood. I blow my warhorn, my men pulling up the anchor and pushing off. My ship groans and slowly begins to move, our sails refusing to stir. I considered making the slaves row, but that'll tire them out. I sigh at the slow pace and go into my cabin, aching for a nap.
The elf beside me looks at all the slaves for sale, a gleam in her eyes. I never bothered to learn the head ambassadors name, but the Altmer doesn't seem to mind. When I asked if she would like to, 'Add to her collection' the woman jumped at the offer. I was taken aback by the realization of what 'adding to her collection' meant, but brushed it aside. I'm a slaver, and I shouldn't question the Altmer. It's not my job to question why the woman has slaves, it's my job to provide her with new ones. Finally, the woman selects half of our healthy slaves and pays me. When the gold is gone she collars all of her new slaves, the women and man crying out and fighting. The Altmer simply laughs and yanks on their leashes, forcing them to follow her. I shudder, but return to my ship. I store the gold in a safe place and set my sails for The Summerset Isles, the easy part behind me.
Note: As some of you know my other story (Love) is now done. Usually I have an idea of the next story I want to do, or at least a few ideas. However, I've just hit a wall and have no idea what to write. I've toyed with the idea of a Serana or Lydia story, but can't seem to do anything else. Any ideas or opinions are happily welcomed. -KhajiitWarriorSam
P.S. La Bave is french for The Slaver.