Hi! You were waiting once again, but sadly studies take priority. My beta reader also had some problems with sending me the edited chapter, was a jerk.
Lunar Loon - The only kind of understanding possible between Ted and cliff racers is that they are sworn enemies. Cliff racers are stupid - they attack anything, no matter how strong the enemy is. If the dragon wasn't much faster, he would be forced to fight them all the time. You are exaggerating, there are only 17 breeds of Khajiit confirmed, with the possibility of few more. Azirra herself is Suthay-raht. Suthay (without raht) is the most cat-like biped Khajiit and is quite short (they are actually even shorter than the average Bosmer), while Suthay-raht are just like them, except they are actually tall enough to be taken seriously. So yes, Azirra is as cat-like as possible without making her a sentient saber-tooth lion (I hope no Senche or especially Senche-raht is reading this fanfic, I want to grow old before dying...). What happens if Ted meets Alduin? That's... actually a really good question. Given that Ted must live for two hundred years more before that happens, anything is possible - so far Ted is still mostly in his mortal mindset, but so much free time (and a certain god of madness) might drive him crazy. As he is right now, Ted would probably pretend to be an ally and then he would beat the crap out of Al on the Throat of the World, most likely with some cheap shot.
Moikan Yoloko - Lategame, sure, it was no longer a problem. But until you exploited all of that traveling in Morrowind was like walking on broken glass, painful with every step. Especially if you played Morrowind after Skyrim, like I did.
Lazymanjones96 - Glad to hear it.
Guest - Dude, relax. Ted wasn't exactly hurt, even a papercut would hurt him more than that bandit did. He was more surprised he actually felt that hit than anything. Up to this point he was convinced he had a really awesome dream and when that was proven false, he simply panicked at being stranded in the middle of nowhere with some barbarian with a sword. The human mindset prevailed - he actually got scared even though he could easily squash that Dunmer. It's not a matter of dragons being weak, but of Ted being totally confused and no longer computing what was going on. In later chapter he was wiping the floor with skilled fighters just fine even with only two shouts learned, the only hiccups being the moments of stupidity on his part.
NoSkillzOnlyHax - Indeed. I have no idea who invented microwaves, but I must go back in time just to send him flowers.
Charles506 - What can I say, Ted learned from the best. The best in this case being Gilgamesh from Final Fantasy V.
Here we go, chapter fourteen. One that turns out great for Azirra and terribly for Rotheimaak.
"Oh, the look on your luft was priceless!"
Azirra, confused and angry, tried to drill a hole in the beast with her glare alone. However, to be honest, she wasn't really that surprised about seeing the dragon again, she expected it would happen... just not here.
"We are underground and those corridors aren't even two meters wide! How in the world did you even get in here?!"
"With great difficulty."
Azirra frowned as she realized why the walls were covered in scratches.
"Don't you dare to tell me you ate what I came here for."
"Oh, not at all. The skull is just fine, I made sure I moved to the side anything of value before I entered. It's a bit cramped here." The dragon pointed with his head at a small pile of ingredients, a book, a small treasure chest, some enchanted dagger and, thank gods, a skull with markings.
"Take whatever you want. By the way, that was one of the worst books I've ever read. Maybe the archcanon of the Tribunal Temple is a wise joor, but he sure can't write a good sermon. Totally unworthy of my effort to turn the pages without hands."
"Y-you are a d-dragon!" Dar'shanji finally found his voice.
"I noticed," sarcastically answered the beast and then returned it's attention to Azirra, who was just putting the ingredients in her backpack. "A fahdon of yours?"
"What?"
"A friend."
"...Kind of. Owed me a favour and wanted to help," mumbled Azirra, still a bit angry at being tracked by the mythical creature. She put the backpack on and looked the dragon in the eyes. "What is your problem? It's the third time you appeared where I need to go, are you following me?"
The dragon seemed to contemplate the question.
"It doesn't really count as following, if I'm always one step ahead, geh? One could even think you were following me."
That's it, I've had enough of him. With an angry huff, Azirra turned around and marched out, heading for the exit. After a second she was joined by a still confused Dar'shanji. In the meantime, her bonewalker disappeared since her spell had came to an end.
"Hey, wait! I can't move that fast in here! I still haven't said everything I wanted to!" called the dragon after her. She ignored him.
After few seconds she climbed the last set of stairs and left through the main entrance.
"Azirra, what was all of that?"
"Just a dragon that likes to make stupid jokes and lift your expectations just to crush them."
"I... I guess you've met him before?"
She snorted.
"Twice. The first time he scared me to death, appearing right after a Bosmer wizard fell from the sky, he probably dropped him. The second time he tried to be all 'I know everything about you', only to crack a few terrible jokes in the end."
"Excuse me," suddenly, a new voice cut into the conversation. "I hope I'm not intruding at a bad time."
The two Khajiits turned. A male Dunmer walked up to them. He had a short, well trimmed beard, a mustache and brown hair. He was wearing a bonemold cuirass and boots, while his clothes were quite elegant. On his hip rested a scabbard with a dagger.
"Greetings. I am Nels Llendo, a noble, a gentleman, and a bandit for fun."
That introduction immediately made both Khajiits unsheathe their swords.
"Calm down, killing is an action that I take only if I can't win by charm and words. See, my weapon is still in its scabbard. I have a proposition, however first I would like to ask: are you spoken for, milady?"
After two seconds Azirra realized with a blush she was the only person in sight that he could be addressing. Who in Oblivion uses that as a conversation starter?!
"Err, n-no. But, why are you asking?"
"Ah, you see, I have a little rule when it comes to my hobby of banditry. No matter what happens, ladies will never get hurt. I may be a bandit, but I am gentleman first and foremost. I never ask them for money either. If they are not spoken for, then I do ask them... but for a kiss, not money."
The blush intensified. Gods, why are you doing this to me?!
"You've got to be joking," said Dar'shanji with a blank face.
"Not at all. I know many jokes, but I never tell any when I speak with a lady as Llendo the bandit."
Oh no, he's serious...
"And you call yourself a gentleman? You force women to kiss you!" Dar'shanji seemed less than impressed.
"Wrong. Weren't you listening carefully? I said that ladies will never get hurt in my presence. If they agree, we both walk away with a good memory. If not, well, that just happens. Nels Llendo might be popular, but he knows not every woman is romantic enough to accept an embrace from an outlaw. I see no fault in that." Nels bowed and looked at Azirra. "Will you give me that honor, milady?"
Azirra smiled nervously. Her cheeks were burning and never before was she so thankful that Aedra gave her species fur.
"I-I'm sorry, b-but that would be my first and..."
"Ah, I see. I can respect that attitude, waiting for true love." he bowed again. Not quite what I wanted to say, but it'll do. "As for you, mister, since you are accompanying this lady, I'll not force you to pay, as I usually do with most men that face me on this road."
"Whyyyyyyyy?!" a sudden cry interrupted the strange conversation. "My ship just sunk! Oh, the cruel world!"
For the record, Nels' reaction was quite temperate, given the situation. At the sight of a dragon he merely took a step back and stared at him with his mouth open. The other two only glanced in confusion.
"What ship?" finally asked Dar'shanji. "We are not even on the coast."
The dragon ignored him.
"I guess it just wasn't meant to be..." he grumbled. "Alright, so we are outside again. Please, don't run away like that, err..." The giant lizard blinked in confusion. "I just realized I never asked about your name, goraan Kaaz."
"It's Azirra. And what does that even mean, you keep calling me... 'Kaaz', was it?"
"That's how we dragons refer both to Khajiit and a regular cat." Azirra snorted at that. Of course it would be the same word. "As for my name... I say it to few, since the name of a dragon is also three words of Thu'um and thus carries power that shouldn't be used too often. You, however? You should know it, you are worthy. I am Rot-Heim-Aak, which means Word Forging Guide."
The mage furrowed her brows.
"So... you are a politician."
"NID!" The word struck with a power of a thunder and everyone else covered their ears. "I am NOT a politician!"
Azirra hunched slightly. What just happened reminded her that, while he seemed friendly (maybe even a little too friendly), he could probably still kill everyone present without much effort.
"Well. Now that it's out of the way, let's get to important matters." Rotheimaak looked in the direction of the bandit and the thief. "I need to speak with Azirra in privacy."
The other two, who had much less experience with the dragon and were still under impression he was a volcano that might erupt at any moment, quickly nodded and made way for Pelagiad. Azirra looked with both annoyance and curiosity at the dragon, who was observing departing men.
You better have some answers instead of more jokes, lizard. That's the only reason I'm still here.
Finally, when he judged the other two were far enough away, he looked back at her.
"Before we begin, know that I can't tell you everything this instant. Some of these things might affect the bok, era, in unexpected way if revealed too early or are simply not my secrets to reveal. Got it?"
She nodded. It's not like she had a choice if she wanted to learn anything.
"I believe I already mentioned to you that I am a seer of sorts. Being a son of the God of Time can do that to you. I just know when I encounter someone important. People with suleyk, inner power, tend to put a pressure on the world, even if they don't try or are unaware of it. And you, Azirra, you are one such person."
"What are you talking about?"
"Drem. All in the right time. Whether you believe it or not, you are important. The change is coming, Morrowind will never be the same and you will be at the very center of it, I'm now sure of it. I sensed something is different about you when we first met and thus I dedicated my time to find out what it is. I wanted to be ready... and to be honest I also wanted to spice up my boring immortal life."
Azirra was slowly getting more upset.
"You are speaking in riddles again. If that's all you want to say, then we are done here."
"Don't be so hasty. As I said, not my place to tell you everything at one. Now, there are questions that you still don't know answers to. Why have you become a Blade?" Azirra's eyes widened. He knows even THAT? "Why does the Spymaster wants you to investigate the Sixth House and Nerevarine cult? And why, of all people, did the Emperor himself gave you a pardon and release in Morrowind?" He sighed. "Do I know the answers? Yes. Can I tell them? No. All three will be answered by Caius Cosades. You just need to give him some more time and he will tell on his own, but not a moment earlier. By the time of our next meeting you will already know."
She sighed. I guess this is better then nothing.
"It might not seem that way, but I do want to help you fulfill your destiny, even if it's still a mystery to you. If you want to face the challenges ahead, you must get stronger. Train, learn and prepare. I see you carry a spear and a sword... If you aren't good with them yet, find someone who will help you get better. Are you a member of any important faction?"
"I'm with the Mages Guild." At least he doesn't really know anything about the Guild.
"Then learn many different spells. I've noticed you summoned an undead back in the tomb. Perhaps it would be wise to learn a thing or two from that necromancer Orc if you haven't already."
She smirked. Never mind, he knows.
"Just because everyone knows she's one doesn't mean she will teach me anything.
"Oh, there's a way. You see, she has a book, 'Legions of the Dead'. Her copy is signed. Mentioning the book might be enough, though it would be more foolproof if you stole it and then gave it back. Oh, and give Ajira my regards."
This is getting stupid. He knows almost everything.
"Before I go, I have a small advice for you, it might help on your next mission. There's a bookstore in Foreign Quarter in Vivec, the owner is called Jobasha. If you need a book that is hard to find, he is the best source. It's certainly easier than, let's say, stealing a forbidden tome from a library at the Temple."
She gave him a suspicious look.
"That's a very... precise example."
"I have no idea what are you talking about," stated Rotheimaak with a smirk. "Also, the smugglers like to hide in the sewers, and the best way to get rid of a tax agent is to say his suspect boarded the ship for the mainland. Just a loose thought, don't give it much attention."
"Mhm."
Rotheimaak looked up into the sun. Azirra noticed that, unlike pretty much anyone else, he did so without a single blink, as if staring into a hole leading to Aetherius itself wasn't blinding him.
"I guess it's my time to go. I still have to arrange something with the Wise Woman of Erabenimsun, and I don't know how long it will take to get things done." He looked back at her. "Also, remember to not mention me to anyone, not that many people would believe you. Especially not Caius."
"And why is that?"
"...Hi ni zok onik. You clearly don't know the history of the faction you joined, Kaaz. While officially Blades are an order dedicated to spaan, protect the Emperor, and are also secretly his spy network, they were founded as Dovahkriide, dragonslayers. I would rather delay the inevitable clash with some fool that may want to kill a legendary beast out of some misguided sense of duty." Then, to her surprise, the dragon lowered his head in a... bow? "I wish you well, kro. Many fall, but one remains. Pruzah nir!"
"Er, yes, thank you. And good luck to you too, Rotheimaak."
After their farewells, the dragon took to the air and disappeared behind the mountains, leaving Azirra to continue her trip to Pelagiad.
By the time she returned to Balmora, it was evening already. She would've been there earlier had Dar'shanji's friend, Ahnassi, not invited both of them for a dinner. She shared his trade, which didn't surprise Azirra too much - when you are a Khajiit yourself, you usually can tell how close to the stereotype another of your kind is. Needless to say, one couldn't get closer to it than Ahnassi. The mage also made a stop at the local pawnshop to sell the dagger she found in the tomb and a few Dwemer coins - her new friend assured her the owner collected such things. When questioned how he knew, he answered he stole some Dwemer device from his bedroom just before she arrived at the town so that he could get a leverage on a corrupted soldier from the local fort (she decided to not ask for details - it's not healthy to know too much about the business of thieves).
Once in Balmora, our Blade rookie immediately returned to the Mages Guild to exchange a body part of an enchanter and possible necromancer for information on a highly elusive and secretive cult that wanted to kick out a few gods and one holy empire from their homeland. Sharn fortunately confirmed it was the correct skull, which was a relief to Azirra - due to her irritation from meeting that dragon creep, as she sometimes called him in her thoughts, she left the tomb without checking all of the chambers, even though there could have been more than one skull with markings. She just assumed it was the correct one, since the supposed seer believed it was.
"Ah, it's preserved in good state. Perfect for what I have in mind," said Sharn, taking the skull. "Now, I believe you have some questions for me."
Azirra was already holding an empty scroll and a quill.
"Tell me about the Nerevarine cult."
[Exposition time, those that know the main quest of Morrowind even backwards can skip]
"Before we get started on the cult itself, you must understand the difference between Ashlanders and Great Houses. At one point in time they were all tribes that arrived with the prophet Veloth to Morrowind after a disagreement with their cousins, who's present direct descendants are Altmer of Summerset Isles. The disagreement was of cultural and religious nature - Veloth and his tribes disliked the fact the Aldmer fully settled instead of continuing their traditional way of living, while their cousins despised them for the worship of Daedra. That's how the tribes arrived to Morrowind, which they called Resdayn.
"Those ancestors of Dunmer, called Chimer, were at the very beginning quite united in terms of religion and culture. The problems started to appear when some of the tribes built strongholds to settle down for good. The nomadic tribes started calling those large structures 'great houses' and the name remained to this very day, even if no house uses those strongholds anymore. There were also many wars amongst the tribes, and as a result only six major houses remained, along with several minor houses. The nomad tribes remain uncounted to this day, though only four of them are big enough to be of any importance. Settled and nomadic Chimer weren't trusting each other at all, in that regard nothing improved over the ages.
"When Azura revealed to Nerevar Indoril a secret plan of the Dwemer to build the artificial god Numidium, almost all big Chimer tribes and houses went to war against them to stop what they saw as blasphemy of highest order, with House Dagoth as the only exception. In the end, the Chimer won and Dwemer disappeared without a trace. Nerevar died and his three generals, known since then as the Tribunal, ascended to godhood and Chimer were changed into Dunmer. After this short alliance of tribals and settlers, everything went back to former hostility, no longer united by Hortator and common enemy.
"The Tribunal claimed their leader died of wounds he received in battle, but the Nerevarine cults believes they were actually directly responsible for his death. Furthermore, it is widely known amongst all Dunmer that Indoril had sworn upon his ring Moon-And-Star to daedric prince Azura and people of Resdayn to cast down the false gods of their homeland, which at the time meant Numidium. The divinity of Tribunal is questioned by all Ashlanders, so you can guess why the idea that Nerevar Indoril would come back to life to honor his promise appeared.
"There's one last thing one must understand when it comes to the Nerevarine cult. Just like all Ashlanders, its members believe in prophetic dreams and visions. They are passed down from one wise woman or shaman to another. I don't have to say what the Temple and Imperial Cult think about it, as it should be obvious to you."
"But... The Imperial Cult agrees that the Septim line has such abilities, right?"
"Of course. But at any given time there's only a few Septims and each of them is a descendant of Talos. In case you don't know, there's a rather big difference between them claiming they had a vision and some old Dunmer hag living in the middle of nowhere doing the same." Sharn chuckled. "If you have both money and power, you can get away with claiming almost anything. Back to the topic: there are quite a few of Nerevarine prophecies, but the most famous of them all is THE STRANGER." Sharn achieved the impossible and said the last two words in a way that left no doubt that they were meant to be written in big letters.
"Why big letters?"
"I don't know, it just is. Anyway, this is how it goes:
When earth is sundered, and skies choked black,
And sleepers serve the seven curses,
To the hearth there comes a stranger,
Journeyed far 'neath moon and star.
Though stark-born to sire uncertain
His aspect marks his certain fate.
Wicked stalk him, righteous curse him.
Prophets speak, but all deny.
Many trials make manifest
The stranger's fate, the curses' bane.
Many touchstones try the stranger
Many fall, but one remains."
That's when Azirra broke her quill. Sharn lifted an eyebrow when the Khajiit started to giggle. Somehow it didn't sound as if she was amused.
"...Are you alright?"
"...Knew that too... Oh, don't worry, I'm perfectly fine. Really."
"...Right. Anyway, there are three more Nerevarine prophecies, but they were lost to time due to carelessness or, as some believe, the deliberate action of Wise Women. Only the names are remembered: The Lost Prophecies, The Seven Curses and The Seven Visions of Seven Trials of the Incarnate. They might be actually still available, written down by priests of Tribunal or in memories of isolated Ashlanders. They might be also simply kept in secret by the Wise Women instead of being lost. I believe that's all I have for you."
"Very well." Azirra rolled her report. "Thanks."
[Exposition is over, everyone come out of the bunker.]
Alright, mystic dragon, thought Azirra. Time to see how useful your predictions are.
"There's another thing I would like to talk about."
"What is it?"
She glanced to the side and confirmed no one was in the range of hearing.
"I saw your book, The Legions of the Dead. The one with your signature."
For a second Azirra could have sworn that when Sharn's composure shattered into tiny pieces it did so with the sound of breaking glass.
"Sorry, Ajira's bad!" came from another room. Galbedir, incredibly angry and covered in some green ooze, stormed past them, chased by the Khajiit alchemist. "This one certainly did not intend to break a bottle of resin on you, honest!"
"Leave me alone, fur licker! I'll show you... I'll finish my experiment right away and you will see how badly outmatched you are!"
Sharn and Azirra looked back at each other and without words agreed to ignore the other mages.
"...So, it appears that you know, no point hiding now. What do you want in exchange for not telling anyone in the Temple?"
Azirra was puzzled by a tired, nearly monotonous way in which the necromancer said it.
"Aren't you worried?"
"Girl, you are the eighth person that pulled that trick on me just this month. There's a good reason why everyone always keeps calling me a necromancer, only to add afterwards that it's a joke." Sharn frowned. "The only thing that is a real joke is that the very people that oppose necromancy, the Temple and its believers, practice it whenever they have to bury their dead. It's ridiculous - sure, it's fine to them if you use your own grandfather as an eternal guardian for your family tomb, binding his soul for the rest of eternity, but when someone tries to acquire a body and do a few experiments for the sake of education, it's suddenly evil and blasphemy. Hmpf."
The Khajiit scratched her head.
"Look, can you just teach me something on the subject? I know how to summon a lesser bonewalker, but I could use more variety of backup in a fight."
"Ah, a fellow conjurer? Very well, I will teach you a spell. You already have a simple undead, how about a ghost against the enemies that have only physical attacks? Very effective against your average foolhardy Nord."
And that's when a not so distant sound of exploding false soul gem made all present mages laugh.
"Finally, some new intel," stated Caius, reading her report. "It's not surprising there are some prophecies about the Nerevarine, but so far my informants found none. Good work. By the way, what did Sharn asked about this time?"
"A skull of some Dunmer enchanter."
"A skull? Then she's only missing two ribs and a hip bone by now, unless I missed something."
Azirra opened her mouth and closed it after a moment - she had no desire to know more. Meanwhile Cosades finished reading and looked at her. He was deadly serious.
"Before we get to our next objective, we must talk about something else. I've heard what you have been up to recently."
"Y-you mean?"
This is bad, this is bad, he's angry at me!
"Nine-Toes told me about your little investigation. How you risked revealing your ties to the Thieves Guild." Suddenly the frown was replaced by a smile. "Just joking, I'm happy you helped a fellow Blade without any order from me. But please, be more careful in the future, secrecy is our main tool."
"Noted." Stop it, Caius. No, really, stop it. You are terrible at pranking.
"He also said to pay a visit to Flaenia Amiulusus, Hasphat's friend at the Fighters Guild. Something about his reward. In fact, I too believe you deserve something. You are doing your tasks swiftly and efficiently, so from now on you are a Blade Apprentice."
Huh. I guess I caught him in a good mood.
"Thank you. Does the new rank actually give me anything besides the better title no one outside of our circle of friends is allowed to know about?"
"I see your getting bolder... Not the same nervous Khajiit that I saw a few days ago. Morrowind may be harsh, but it has a good effect on you." Caius opened a book sitting on the table. "And yes, it does give you a bigger discount when using services of other Blades. Speaking of money, here, take those."
Azirra grabbed a coin purse he tossed at her.
"You may need it on your next mission. This time you are going to Vivec."
"Is it another task with finding the informants?" Although she did her best to hide her displeasure, some of it clearly was noticed by her superior.
"Most missions are about gathering information, Azirra. That's how we work. And be grateful it's just that, I don't think you are quite ready yet for anything serious. Trust me, when I actually do give you an order that requires you to fight, you will wish it was just another task about intel."
"I already DO have to fight. Those informants send me to some forgotten ruins filled with enemies."
Caius smiled again.
"This time it won't be a problem. There are three informants you must ask this time, but each already owes me a favour, so they shouldn't ask for anything in return."
"What are their names?"
"First, there's Addhiranirr, an operative from the Thieves Guild. She's probably somewhere at St. Olms Canton. Next, Huleeya, an assassin from Morag Tong, he likes to spend his time at Black Shalk Cornerclub in the Foreign Quarter. Third informant is a Temple priestess, Mehra Milo. She works in the library inside Temple Canton. And the most important part - DO NOT ask anyone about her. She's a good friend and in too much danger as it is, no need to draw attention to the fact she talks with outlanders. She has copper eyes and hair, so that's how you will recognize her."
"What do I need to ask them?"
"Ask about both the Nerevarine and Sixth House. Some will probably only know an answer to one question." He paused for a moment. "You're still here? What are you waiting for, get going!"
Azirra rolled her eyes and left Caius' house.
So, it's back to Vivec then. Could have been worse, at least I don't have to do much walking. Vivec is only one Guild teleportation away. I guess it's time to get that bowl now.
Ah, yes, the bowl. It was stupid.
Yesterday, after she gave Ajira the flowers she asked for (the award for them was six cheap potions of magicka restoration), the fellow Khajiit had no task for her. This morning, however, the alchemist asked her to get a ceramic bowl, of all possible items.
I still don't get why would she make a guild task out of this. So what if she wanted to speak with some mage, Ra'virr's shop is on the same street!
Azirra entered the main room of the guild with the ceramic bowl in her hands. To her surprise, she was greeted by a sight of a panicking Ajira and Marayn Dren doing his best (and failing miserably) to calm her down. The other Khajiit was throwing all of the books from the bookcase on the floor, much to the ire of other mages.
"What's going on?"
"They're gone! My reports, gone!"
Azirra heard a laugh coming from upstairs.
"That, that Bosmer stole all my reports! Now Ajira can't give them to Athrys, and she'll lose the bet! This one will never hear the end of this!" shrieked the alchemist, setting aside a shelf and checking behind it.
The secret agent frowned.
"Is there nothing that can be done? I thought it was against the rules to steal from other members. Can we use that to get Galbedir expelled?"
The Dunmer wizard shook his head.
"It doesn't count if you aren't caught. We already got Athrys to agree to check Galbedir's desk and chest, but we didn't find the reports. We know, however, that she didn't have enough time to destroy them unnoticed and that she remained in the building since morning. She obviously put those reports somewhere to get herself some more time to replace the soul gem in her experiment."
Azirra put the bowl on the table.
"Alright, so we must hurry or we will have to put up with the prideful Bosmer for at least a few months. Ajira, no offense, but you won't find anything like that, you will only make a mess that is harder to search through. I have a better idea." The Blade lifted her hands above the head and clapped loudly, getting an attention of other mages. "Show of hands! Who wants to see Galbedir get knocked down a few pegs?"
Unsurprisingly, everyone lifted a hand.
By dividing the building into zones and leaving each mage to carefully search through one of them, they were able to locate both reports. Ajira was overjoyed, with Galbedir being obviously furious at pretty much everyone else. It got only worse when a courier with the soul gem package entered just five minutes after the alchemist gave the reports to Athrys and got herself promoted.
"That will teach her!" Ajira said proudly after she sat behind her desk. "Thank you for helping, everyone."
"It was a pleasure to help you."
"No problem."
"Mhm."
"Whatever, I have a book to read. This silly search already delayed me enough."
"But you do that everyday anyway, Sharn."
"Shut up, Dren."
The other mages returned to their own matters, while Azirra sat next to Ajira.
"Looks like we won once again against the forces of darkness," joked Azirra.
Ajira chuckled.
"Thank you, friend. This one thinks you deserve those..."
Three bottles found their way onto the desk.
"Oh, no, no, it's fine. It wasn't really that hard and I- sorry, Azirra hadn't really done more than the rest."
"That may be, but you need a reward so that it will count as a big work for the Guild. And if it will count as a big work for the Guild, it would be your third..."
For a second Azirra couldn't understand what Ajira was getting at, but finally her eyes widened.
"You mean..."
"That this can get you advanced? Yes."
The Mages Guild Associate without words opened her arms wide and hugged the Journeyman of the same organization.
"Alright, that's enough, you're making it more awkward than it has to be," mumbled the bashful alchemist. As the other mage detached herself, she added: "Besides, with the project done, Ajira no longer has any work for someone of low rank. You will have to look for work from Guild Stewards from now on. But... just a suggestion, don't bother with Archmage Trebonius or Athrys. He's a fool and she... well, Ajira had to work a lot just to get a task that didn't involve setting her enemies on fire, mostly Telvanni wizards... and they are much better at setting people on fire than Ajira. Ask Edwinna Elbert from Ald'ruhn instead, she's a friend of mine."
After a few more words, Azirra left the room and climbed the stairs to find Ranis Athrys.
"Greetings, Wizard Athrys."
"Ah, Associate... I was expecting you would want to talk to me sometime soon. It's about the advancement?"
"Correct."
"That's all I wanted to ask, Ajira already delivered the papers. You are now an Apprentice. Know that it is important advancement, for it means you are no longer some new member that might be thrown out for a small mistake. Your ties to the Guild are stronger and you can take jobs from the leaders of each guild hall. I hope you will make us proud, Apprentice Azirra."
"Many thanks. I will see you soon."
"A-khem."
Any traces of a smile disappeared from Azirra's face. She turned around.
"If you just helped Ajira, I wouldn't be mad at you, Apprentice" said Galbedir through clenched teeth. Honestly, if she looked a little bit more fiery, anyone would mistake her for fire atronach. "She had a right to call for your aid. But to make everyone turn on me like that..."
"I hardly did anything. You can only blame yourself if the entire guild jumps in to spite you," stated Azirra calmly. She knew Galbedir had stronger bark than bite.
The Bosmer wizard seethed.
"You think you are so smart, huh? Probably think you will outrank me, too?! Well, know this - I never forget when someone tries to make me a laughing stock. Your days as a mage are counted, that's a promise." The short enchanter huffed once more and walked away.
Azirra and Athrys looked at each other.
"Twenty septims on her trying to steal something of mine to indiscriminate me."
"...I'm not foolish enough to make that wager, Apprentice. If there is one thing I've learned about her in the last few months, it's that Galbedir is a one trick guar."
Azirra shrugged, said goodbye to Athrys and left the building. She stopped for a moment to think.
I still have a half of a day left. I guess I could teleport to Vivec and try to find informants, but I think it would require more time than that. Besides, I have to wait a bit before I can show up in the Poor District again, I was there a lot lately... Hold on, I've got it! If I stop at Southern Wall Cornerclub on each of my visits to Caius, that should divert some attention. Anyone aware of both Caius 'problem' with skooma and that the club is the seat of power for the Thieves Guild would just assume I supply him. It's perfect!
Speaking of Caius, he mentioned something about Nine-Toes arranging for me a meeting with someone at the Fighters Guild. I guess I should check this out.
She nodded to herself, took a step to the right and, already standing in front of the entrance to the hall (seriously, both guilds are close to each other in more ways than one), reached with her hand to open the door.
Fate had it that someone from the other side did the same a second earlier.
Clutching her head on the spot she was hit by the door, Azirra got knocked on the ground and cursed. The warrior responsible for this, an orc in steel plate and with warhammer on his back, only chuckled.
"What's the matter, kitty got hurt?"
Azirra glared at him with the eye not covered by hand.
"Well, I'm sorry," he said in a tone that left no doubt he wasn't. "Next time don't walk where real warriors tend to be, cat." With that he stepped over her and continued to walk wherever he intended to be.
Right after stepping on the tip of her tail.
"ARRRRGH!" screamed Azirra and grabbed her poor, slightly crushed tail. She hissed at the brute, who only chuckled and disappeared behind the building.
For a second, Khajiit contemplated her chances of finding the bastard again and successfully unleashing her scroll of Taldam's Scorcher right in his face, but one look at the nearby Hlaalu guard was enough for her to abandon this interesting plan. Forming a mob against a lone member of beast races came as natural to Dunmers as breathing.
The guild's blacksmith appeared in the entrance, probably to check what this commotion was all about.
"You alright, adventurer?"
"More or less. Some stupid orc just stepped on my tail on purpose," murmured Azirra while standing up.
"That was probably Gromlak Gro-Gharash. People like him give the Guild a bad name." The two walked inside. "What brings you here today?"
"A friend of mine said he arranged for me a meeting with someone. A woman named... Amiulus?"
"It's Amiulusus, actually. You will find her downstairs, in the training room."
"Thanks."
When Azirra entered the training room, she found Hasphat Antabolis talking with some woman, probably Amiulusus.
Why do Imperials have such pointlessly long, complicated names? Just 'Amiulus' would be fine, it already ends with an 's'.
"Speak of the daedra..." said bald trainer. "Good day to you. I assume Caius was satisfied with my information?"
"Good afternoon, Hasphat. Yes, he was. Say, the blacksmith upstairs said I'd find Amiulusus here..."
The woman nodded.
"That would be me. I assume you are the newbie my Argonian friend told me about?"
Newbie... Ugh. The worst part is, she's right. Even after those Dwemer ruins I know close to nothing in terms of combat.
"I guess so. I was told to meet you, but I wasn't told the reason."
Amiulusus smiled.
"Isn't that obvious? I'm a trainer of the Fighters Guild and we now stand in the training room. I owed Nine-Toes a favour, this is how I'm supposed to repay it."
"A training? A training in what?"
"I teach a little about blocking and athletics, but my main area of expertise are spears."
Right, Nine-Toes probably noticed it on my back and guessed I don't really know how to use it.
"A spear training sounds good to me. I don't really know how to use any weapon. I picked a spear because it doesn't actually require much skill to use."
"Doesn't require... oh Divines, you have a lot to learn." The trainer shook her head.
"Flaenia, before you bring our friend here to the state of total exhaustion, can I have a word with her?" After speaking, Hasphat put his hand on Azirra's shoulder and led her to a corner. "I think I discovered something that may be of interest to you."
"What exactly?"
"I was investigating that Dwemer puzzle you brought me and, while the minor damage it sustained made it difficult, I still managed to acquire schematics of something that is without any doubt a key." Antabolis opened a small chest in the corner and pulled out something that was probably a grandfather of your average keys to the city, you know, the ones Imperials give when they have to admit someone's importance without actually giving them anything important.
"How can you call it a key? It's at least half a meter long!"
"Oh, it is a key. It doesn't resemble anything else, even if it's very big. From what I gathered, it's the key to a Dwemer city."
Called it!
"Which city? Wouldn't a Dwemer city be very famous?"
"I'm going to ignore that thoughtless question. For your knowledge, almost all Dwemer ruins were once cities, not counting the military and scientific outposts, which also weren't actually that far from being cities. As for the key, my best guess would be Arkngthand, since that's where the puzzle was. Have you encountered any door with a complicated lock in there?"
Azirra had a short flashback of the door eating her lockpicks.
"If by complicated you mean "absurdly well secured", then yes, I definitely did."
"Then feel welcomed to check what is behind them. I do not need the key or any additional funding, but you secret agents always seem willing to stockpile resources."
Returning to Arkngthand? No, thank you sir, I'm good.
"...I'll consider it." The Khajiit took the key, if only to be polite.
"Now then, I believe you have an appointment with my friend."
Azirra nodded and walked to the center of the room, where Flaenia Amiulusus already waited for her with a chitin spear in hand. The Blade pulled out her own.
"A dwarven weapon, huh? Not bad. It won't help you however if you don't know how to use it. We will start with blocking. Know it's not recommended to block with a normal spear, since wood is no good against a sharp sword. Those made of metal are better, but they can be still be damaged with very strong strikes. General rule of blocking, not only with spears: you block minor attacks, not powerful blows. Your weapon will last longer and you won't be staggered. When your enemy tries to overpower you like that, you need to dodge and exploit their momentum. Now we will test how good you are with blocking. Get ready. This spear is old and not as sharp, but it will still hurt when you get hit."
"...Can't we just use a blunt weapon, like a staff?"
The trainer smirked.
"Of course we could. But this way you will put more effort into learning."
My new trainer is a sadist. Wonderful.
Manirai was having a bad time.
When Rotheimaak appeared in the early afternoon at the Erabenimsun camp, the Wise Woman thought he merely wanted to talk about something. She was wrong.
The dragon wanted to talk while they were flying over the Red Mountain.
"Is this really necessary?!" shouted the Dunmer, holding the dragon's neck with all of her strength.
"Sorry, it's the shortest route!"
It was hard to even breath - the smoke from the volcano was everywhere. The visibility was terrible as well - she could see only the glow of lava, marking the crater itself. How Rotheimaak was finding his way through here was beyond her.
"I mean the whole trip!"
"I told you, I need you to speak with Nibani Maesa. As a fellow Wise Woman you will prove the authenticity of my words."
"You still haven't told me what it is you want to talk about, Thunder-Lizard."
A low grumble below her told her the new guardian spirit of Erabenimsum still wasn't fond of the name.
"You know, suddenly I found myself wanting to do a barrel roll."
"What is a barrel roll?"
"...Ugh. According to a certain badly informed game company, it's a maneuver in which a flying object spins so that for a moment he flies upside down."
"...DON'T."
"Then don't call me that stupid name. Answering your question, I found the Nerevarine. The problem is Nerevar was reborn not only as a female, but also as a Kaaz... sorry, Khajiit. Urshilaku are going to need some convincing to even give her a chance."
Manirai frowned.
"The Nerevarine is a cat? Surely you jest."
"Afraid not."
"Are you absolutely certain?"
"For the last time, yes. I can tell when I meet someone with such a strong connection to Fate. Only Heroes and gods are like that and Azirra definitely isn't a god."
The Wise Woman started to think intensely.
"What kind of person is she?"
"From what I've seen she is cautious, but not to the point of being a nikriin, a coward. A bit shy, but only as long as someone doesn't try to press her buttons, that's when she gets angry. Now that I think about it, character wise she is exactly like your average Dunmer when you replace the feeling of rel with meekness."
"I meant her skills. Her character may be important, but it won't help her defeat the false gods."
"Character is very important, Wise Woman. That's what pushes us forward... As for her dun, I can not say for sure. I know she was strong enough to destroy an entire smuggler den by herself. She carries both a sword and a spear, but we won't know how good is she with either until we see her in vukein. I asked her about the organizations she is a member of and apparently she's in the Mages Guild, so that's probably her main area of interest."
Manirai nodded slowly.
"Smugglers aren't Ordinators, nor the spawn of Dagoth Ur, but it's a start."
"True. It's a good thing she still has a lot of time before she must face either. On her current level of strength they would pose a big danger. Even on my current level of strength they could be problematic, and I'm not exactly a pushover. They can be really..."
And that's when Murphy's law, in the form of massive fireball, struck Rotheimaak right in the wing.
"...FUCKING CURDS!"
Manirai barely managed to hold on when the dragon, destabilized by his wound, dived. She glanced in the direction from which the projectile came and saw a lone figure standing atop of one of Dwemer structures scattered on the mountain.
"Ash vampire..."
"OH, HE IS GOING TO BE AN ASH WHEN I'M DONE WITH HIM, THAT'S FOR SURE! Uh oh..."
The dive turned into a free-fall.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"I can't help it! If I use only one wing... Err, remember how I was telling you about that barrel roll?"
Manirai's eyes shrinked from fear, and the two, screaming with all of their strength, plummeted from the sky towards the harsh, unforgiving ground... and lava, as if crashing into obsidian wasn't bad enough.
The crater of Red Mountain was getting closer.
A/N:
A cliffhanger... Forget Dagoth Ur, Mehrunes Dagon and Alduin, I am the true face of evil.
Nels Llendo makes an appearance. I just had to. The first time I encountered him I was "oh, okay, a gentleman bandit, that's interesting". The second time however, when I was playing as a female character (because why not), he asked for a kiss and got me weired out. In case you didn't knew, the game actually pays attention to your gender - there's a number of instances when it makes your life easier if you are of the right gender.
In the game you needed to steal Sharn's book in order to achieve anything and it wasn't easy. There's a number of people in the room and the lock has a high level. Doesn't really pay off, given relatively unimportant prize.
We also saw the protagonist of Fighters Guild quest line. He's an asshole - he must be, given the quests. As for Flaenia Amiulusus, she's one of only two trainers for Spear skill, the other being the master trainer. Well, at least it's better than with Medium Armor skill - in vanilla there was no master trainer, the developers simply forgot to put her in the game. And finally, Azirra's efforts are noticed - she gets promoted both in Blades and Mages Guild.
I finally found a nice way to give some more attention to Ted - a little adventure in the most dangerous area in the game, yay. Finally a challenge for him.
Next chapter - Rotheimaak and Manirai's misadventures on Red Mountain and maybe, just maybe, also Azirra's mission in Vivec.