It was clear to Jo'Karra almost immediately that Seyda Neen was something of a shanty town. Sure, the town had a port, a nicer set of buildings, and shops closer to the docks. However, as she continued down the mud path that tried in vain to pass as a road, it became more and more evident that the town was a place left to outlanders and given very little from the rest of Vvardenfell. Most of the buildings she passed were little more than shacks, and the vast majority of the people she saw wore rags that did little to protect them from the almost oppressive humidity of the area.
Holding the parcel hooked firmly under one arm, she followed the main 'road' north, keeping her distance from the few locals she passed along the way. She couldn't help but notice the many looks, stares, and hurried whispers they kept sending her way. A Khajiit her size was very hard to miss and ignore, especially on Vvardenfell…
As she neared a bridge leading north and towards what appeared to be the exit to town, she saw one of the only regular buildings that was made of stone and not actively sinking into the swamp. Hanging above one of the doors was a sign that labeled it as "Arrille's Trade and Bunkhouse." The Khajiit smiled, heading to the doorway, only to hear someone shouting behind her.
Letting out a long sigh, she turned around to see a short elf, Bosmer most likely, sprinting towards her from the south. He raised a hand, waving her down as he approached.
"You, are you one of the ones the boat dropped off? It's strange seeing a boat come in so late in the day, especially one of that size! I hope the Imperials treated you alright."
As the man approached, Jo'Karra lifted a hand to stop him, "They treated me just fine, sera. I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of money, I'm just trying to get some rest, please excuse me,"
The Bosmer blinked and laughed, shaking his head and raising his hands defensively, "Money? No no, I'm not after your Septims, miss! It's just that… Well, I swear those Imperials have my ring! I wanted to know if you had seen it as you left."
She tilted her head at that, feeling the slight weight in her pocket as she looked him over, "It wouldn't surprise me if they did. Imperials seem quite fond of taking everything that isn't theirs at any opportunity."
He nodded quickly, smile widening, "Indeed! They tax us into the ground, I swear they are trying to squeeze every last Septim from us! But yes, it was an enchanted ring, a Ring of Healing! It has an engraving along the outside of a sprawling tree, it is quite valuable to me…"
Smiling, she reached down to push her hand into her pocket, fumbling around for a moment before pulling out the ring in question. She took a moment to ensure it had the right engraving along the side before offering it to him.
"I did indeed see such a ring. The foolish Imperials left it sitting out on a barrel."
The man let out a shout when he saw the ring, taking it and quickly sliding it on his finger. Humming as he looked at the ring, he then looked up to Jo.
"You found it! Amazing! Thank you, thank you! You are now my favorite friend. I'll be sure to tell the others, especially my friend Arrille who runs the tradehouse here. Go see him, he'll be happy to see you now!"
Before Jo could say a word, the man ran past her and into the tradehouse. The Khajiit blinked a couple of times before chuckling and shaking her head, she had forgotten how excitable and bouncy Bosmer were. Tossing her parcel over her back, the Khajiit followed the man inside, ducking through the doorway to enter.
The tradehouse was more crowded than she had expected; besides the man from before and a man she assumed was Arrille, there were six other patrons sitting around the main room. It seemed the inhabitants of Seyda Neen used the place as a bar of sorts, given how many of them were relaxing with a drink in hand. Most turned to look and stare at her for a few moments, some muttering to their friends, others raising their brow at the Khajiit.
Jo sighed, keeping her head low to avoid hitting one of the hanging lights as she headed towards the bar where the man from before was busy chattering away to an Altmer behind the counter. As Jo'Karra approached, the Altmer held up his hand to stop the Bosmer from continuing, looking at her with a soft smile.
"I suppose I have you to thank for returning Farengar's ring, the man wouldn't stop going on and on about how those Imperials shook him down for it." He confidently said.
She smiled, moving to set her parcel on the counter as Farengar thanked her once again, before turning and running out of the bar. Jo'Karra stared after him for a moment, before returning her attention to the Altmer.
"I assume you are Arrille then?" She asked, "I simply wanted to pay for a room for the night."
Arrille nodded, looking the Khajiit up and down, "The beds may be a bit small for you, but I do have some rooms available. A room is 15 gold per night, breakfast is at sunrise."
Jo'Karra reached into her pocket, pulling out the gold coins and offering it to him, "I'll also need a few potions, two magicka and one for fatigue, if you have them."
The man sniffed, taking the gold and setting it aside. He ducked under the counter for a few moments and returned with two potions, setting each on the counter, "I only have one of each, people don't usually come here for potions, so I never restock them. I'll let you have them for 25."
Jo nodded and looked past Arrille, her eyes settling on a rather long spear laying against the wall in the back, "... And for the longspear?"
Arrille looked back, swaying his head back and forth as he thought on it, "... That damn thing has been collecting dust back there for months. 23 gold for it, and we'll call it even."
As Arrille went to grab the spear, Jo counted out the necessary gold, sighing softly as she set it on the counter. At a glance she only had 24 gold left. Shaking her head, she took the potions and the spear and nodded to Arrille, "I appreciate it, sera. Where's the room at?"
The man pointed to his right, "Down the stairs, third door on your left"
Nodding her thanks once again, Jo'Karra turned and headed down the stairs, almost having to crouch under the lip on her way down. Once downstairs, she was quite happy to see that the ceiling was rather high down here, meaning she wouldn't be stooping quite so often. Smiling, she went to the third door on the left and headed inside.
Closing the door behind her, the Khajiit took stock of the room. Inside there was a bed, a small chest, a mirror, a chair and an end table. The bed, as warned, was too small for her, but it would be better than sleeping on the floor or out under the stars. Sighing, she moved to set the spear against the wall and the parcel on the bed, reaching around to open it.
Inside was a bundle of clothing, some bits and pieces of armor, and a very worn dagger. Taking each item out of the parcel, she laid them across the bed, along with the items she had purchased, to get a better sense of her supplies.
She had the ragged clothes on her back from the prison, some ancient clothing from her time trapped in Oblivion, two steel gauntlets, the front half of a cuirass, pauldrons, and some shin guards. Looking down, she noted that the footwraps she wore were broken down to threads. The Khajiit sighed, taking off the pants and shirt she wore throughout her time in prison and setting them on the table.
Returning to the bed, she took stock of the clothing itself, running her hand across her muzzle as she did so. The pants and shirt had been quite expensive when she purchased them, though after such a long time in that lonely, dreary plane, they looked like third-generation hand-me-downs. Functional, but far from pretty. It couldn't be helped, and she was unlikely to find anything that would fit her better out here. o, taking the articles, she slid them on.
Returning to the armor on the bed, the Khajiit shook her head slowly. The few armor pieces she did have were worn quite a bit, but were thankfully not rusted. She took the time to try each piece on, having to cut some of the ragged pants from the table to make impromptu straps for the chest peice. Again, she was happy to find that it all still fit, though the cuirass was a bit loose around her stomach. Nodding her satisfaction, she set the pieces of armor on the table and took the remains of the prison pants and shirt.
Sitting on the bed with the dagger, she began to cut up the rest of the pants, fashioning the strips into more passable footwraps than the threads she had on her feet now. She realized that finding shoes made for Khajiit and their claws, especially for one of her size, would be almost impossible in Vvardenfell,. She would half to commission a tailor for some.
Moving on to the prison shirt, she gathered the remains of the pants she hadn't used for her armor or footwraps to make straps. Using a needle she had found on the table and thread from the pants, she sewed the bottom of the shirt shut to serve as a makeshift backpack. It wouldn't be the most sturdy thing around, but it would hold until she could reach Balmora, or so she hoped.
Finally, her eyes settled on the potions she had purchased. The Khajiit rolled her jaw as she stared at the Magicka potion, unsure of what she should do with it. She could remember a time when she could summon multiple Atronachs, hurl a lightning bolt that could disintegrate a man instantaneously… Now?
She looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers as she attempted to draw upon her once formidable pool of Magicka… It had all worked differently in Oblivion, it was as if she had been shut out from drawing upon it entirely. She had assumed that her reserves would fill as if a dam had burst upon returning to Nirn, but…
She felt empty, naked even. It was as if some piece of her had been ripped out upon her return. She felt a small stream of Magicka that her body was retaining without issue, but it paled in comparison to the flood she was used to. Taking a deep breath, Jo'Karra closed her eyes. She focused on that stream and guided it to her fingers, urging it to take shape into the form she wanted.
She felt the change as she held the stream in her hands. Her fur stood out on end, and she could feel the growing tingling sensation in the tips of her fingers. Smiling ever so softly, she urged that stream out, gasping as she opened her eyes to see small arches of lightning shooting from her fingertips. The spell crackled and popped as it traveled through the open air, fizzling out at around three feet away. Her smile grew to a laugh as she maintained the spell, standing up slowly as she poured what Magicka she did have into it to keep it sustained.
Sadly, she wasn't able to maintain it for long. Sust seconds into her standing up, the crackling stopped and the spell failed. The room returned to its former quiet, and Jo was left with a serious sense of… Emptiness. With her pool of Magicka drained and nearly depleted, she felt as though she had something ripped out of her chest…
She shook her head and sat hard on the bed, closing her eyes and fighting down the rising fear that threatened to return her to that dreadful Plane once more. Steadying her breathing, she took hold of the bedsheets, squeezing them tightly as she focused on where she was. Back on Nirn, she was in control of herself. She was not trapped any longer, nor would she be ever again…
Her breathing slowed and began to relax, and she released her vice grip on the sheets. Reaching up to run her hand across her face, she let out a long sigh as she moved to curl up in bed. As she struggled to get in a comfortable position, she felt her heartbeat start to slow as well. Once finally semi-comfortable, she let out a breath, closing her eyes as she surrendered herself to sleep.
Tomorrow, she would begin her trek towards Balmora.
And hopefully, take the first steps to reclaiming her old life here on Vvardenfell...
(It has come to my attention that I have been calling Balmora, 'Balmorra'. Whoopsie doodle, I shall make sure I fix that for the future. Thank you all so much for reading so far, I have greatly enjoyed putting this story together so far, and am excited to carry on with it! Again, I am always open to reviews and the like, and will happy to respond whenever I can~)
(Proofreading and edits were done by Vieryon, who has a book series named the Cerolian Sagas! Check him out if you have the time~)