Long
overdue for an update with this I am. I think this chapter is a bit
of a... "childish humor" break, I'll call it. Yay for immature
humor dealing with sex! sweatdrops
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Balabhas asked practically the entire town of Balmora if they had seen anyone matching Isa's description, but none claimed to have seen her. One lead took him all the way back to Seyda Neen, where the guards gave little help. He had been telling everyone that Isa was a pauper, poor in appearance, unarmed and with no gold to her name. Everyone he asked, though, told him that they had encountered a very green, very wealthy Elf. One of the guards handed him a purse filled with gold, saying that the Elf gave instructions to use the money to get him healed.
After confirming that Isa's whereabouts were unknown, Balabhas wandered out of town on the road to Hla Oad. Evening was beginning to descend on that side of the world. A bright orange hue was spreading its way westward, pushing the light blue aside and bringing a deep purple in its wake. The slight chills of fall crisped the air and stirred the trees and swamp surfaces as the wind blew. There were few creatures out, save for the occasional scrib or cliff racer cry off in the distance. As he turned a corner on the beaten road a figure could be seen leaning against a post.
"Greetings, Pet." The man said.
Balabhas' stomach gave a turn at the sight of the dreamer. Though the man was a perfectly healthy Dunmer Balabhas could imagine him as an ashen, faceless figure with several pieces missing.
"What did you call me?" he asked, realizing that he was being addressed in a diminutive manner.
"Don't you know? You're a pet now, although your mistress hasn't thought of a good name for you." the Dreamer sneered.
"Well, whoever this "Mistress" is, tell her that my name is Balabhas and I am no one's pet."
"Oh, but you are. Go to the city of Vos in the north and ask her yourself."
Balabhas opened his mouth to ask a question, closed it, opened it again and eventually decided to punch the Dreamer squarely in the jaw. He picked up the unconscious man by the scruff of his neck and tossed him into the swamp muck.
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Isa walked at a slow pace as the morning sun rose over the hills in the Bitter Coast. At this particular time she was wearing a set of black robes issued by her ash vampire superiors. The robes were not strictly for wearing and served some sort of practical use. Isa mused that Dagoth Ur had some strange and somewhat tacky tastes in clothing, but it didn't really concern her. As long as they didn't cause her to sprout a third eye or have bizarre urges to eat plates.
Isa had around four days left before she had to report to Vos, and she had been spending most of her time freelancing. She had done an array of tasks that ranged from getting cadavers for necromancers, to going into Daedric and Dwemer ruins for smugglers; she had even played matchmaker with an eccentric Khajiit woman and an Imperial. After doing tasks that either desecrated or harmed people Isa was beginning to feel like doing for the general good again. She had stopped to take a small rest in Hla Oad when she heard reports of mating netches to the north in Gnaar Mok. It seemed the one guard stationed in that city was too cowardly to assess the situation, and being bored, Isa decided to meander up the dirt road to kill off the netches herself.
A slough fern next to her rustled and a kwama forager leapt out. It stopped just short of Isa's feet and began to spray her with poison. With an exasperated growl she kicked the beast away, frustrated that only small animals would attack her. She continued along her route, with the kwama following closely behind nipping at her heels.
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Balabhas leaned against the small walls of the plaza of the stronghold. Despite having been expelled from his faction he still had some allies outside of the Dark Brotherhood, although they were but weak smugglers holed up in Hlormaren. With no luck in Seyda Neen he decided to bunk in the fortress for a few days, paying the rent with the purse the guard had given him some days before. While innocent of crime he was still a criminal by reputation, and no respectable establishment would keep his company, or take his money for that matter.
Balabhas closed his eyes and let the morning breezes blow against his sweat-lined brow. Had awoken in the middle of the night with an anxiety attack after dreaming of dancing skeletons and couldn't sleep since. A bad feeling was nestled within him, along with a strong sense of nausea. A moving figure from below caught his eye as he quelled his stomach. He looked down to see a green Elf walking calmly along the road with a kwama forager tiredly chasing after it. Balabhas' eyes widened with gaiety and he vaulted over the wall to land with a thud right in front of the Elf.
Isa leapt back with a shriek and gripped the pommel of Herreslakter, but released it when she realized it was only Balabhas.
"By the Gods, waif, do you delight in scaring people half to death?!" Isa said with a high degree of anger.
"Not normally, but you have to take into consideration that most people don't scare as easily as you do." Balabhas grinned.
"Well, I've got a lot to be paranoid about these days." Isa said, then pointing to Hlormaren, "And besides, you don't know what kind of company stays in those old forts."
"I do, actually. I've been staying there for the past couple of days. It's actually kind of nice when they stop trying to assassinate you during the night."
"I see..." Isa said, turning from him and continuing to walk.
"So, where are you headed?" Balabhas said closing the distance between the pair.
"Gnaar Mok. There are some mating netches causing trouble, and I feel like taking care of them."
"I see. Well, some couples tend to get a little wild when it comes to... taking a struttle."
"A 'struttle'? What on earth is a 'struttle'?" Isa asked, shaking her head and keeping her eyes forward.
"You know what a struttle is," Balabhas said, nudging Isa in the arm, "I can safely say I've had many varied struttles in my time." He said jokingly, "Have you ever struttled?"
"That's none of your business."
"So you have! Was he any good?"
Isa clenched her teeth as they walked, wondering why Balabhas was following her so intently, "Maybe it wasn't with any man." She said. That would get him to leave her alone.
"Not with a man? Oh, so you're one of THOSE types!"
Or not, "Honestly, you're acting worse than the child of fools! Why are you following me?"
"Well, I want to help you kill the netches." Balabhas said, "It will give me something to do before I get my affairs in order."
"I see. Well, if you're in any better condition than when you were trapped in Assemanu then you should be of help." Isa said matter-of-factly.
Balabhas stopped in his tracks and stared at Isa with shock and interest. He remembered the incident in that horrid cave, but to this day he still had no idea who had rescued him. Isa turned to face him with a confused and slightly annoyed expression, and in an instant Balabhas remembered prattling on about peach glass with that face looking down at him.
"You're the one that saved me?" he asked.
"Of course. You weren't the only one interested in the Robe, which I didn't retrieve by the way. I was too busy saving you! Now, stop gaping and let's now waste anymore time. It's still cool, and I don't want to hunt netch in the noon sun."
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Caelestis sat bored on a crate holding a bottle of mazte. The chastisement he had received from Helseth still stung in his ears, but there were no leads in the case of the Sixth House. He watched as ships docked and unloaded passengers and goods into the port of Ebonheart. In his reverie he didn't notice the guard trying to get attention.
"Didn't you hear me? There's been a corprus outbreak in the Bitter Coast."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Balabhas asked practically the entire town of Balmora if they had seen anyone matching Isa's description, but none claimed to have seen her. One lead took him all the way back to Seyda Neen, where the guards gave little help. He had been telling everyone that Isa was a pauper, poor in appearance, unarmed and with no gold to her name. Everyone he asked, though, told him that they had encountered a very green, very wealthy Elf. One of the guards handed him a purse filled with gold, saying that the Elf gave instructions to use the money to get him healed.
After confirming that Isa's whereabouts were unknown, Balabhas wandered out of town on the road to Hla Oad. Evening was beginning to descend on that side of the world. A bright orange hue was spreading its way westward, pushing the light blue aside and bringing a deep purple in its wake. The slight chills of fall crisped the air and stirred the trees and swamp surfaces as the wind blew. There were few creatures out, save for the occasional scrib or cliff racer cry off in the distance. As he turned a corner on the beaten road a figure could be seen leaning against a post.
"Greetings, Pet." The man said.
Balabhas' stomach gave a turn at the sight of the dreamer. Though the man was a perfectly healthy Dunmer Balabhas could imagine him as an ashen, faceless figure with several pieces missing.
"What did you call me?" he asked, realizing that he was being addressed in a diminutive manner.
"Don't you know? You're a pet now, although your mistress hasn't thought of a good name for you." the Dreamer sneered.
"Well, whoever this "Mistress" is, tell her that my name is Balabhas and I am no one's pet."
"Oh, but you are. Go to the city of Vos in the north and ask her yourself."
Balabhas opened his mouth to ask a question, closed it, opened it again and eventually decided to punch the Dreamer squarely in the jaw. He picked up the unconscious man by the scruff of his neck and tossed him into the swamp muck.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Isa walked at a slow pace as the morning sun rose over the hills in the Bitter Coast. At this particular time she was wearing a set of black robes issued by her ash vampire superiors. The robes were not strictly for wearing and served some sort of practical use. Isa mused that Dagoth Ur had some strange and somewhat tacky tastes in clothing, but it didn't really concern her. As long as they didn't cause her to sprout a third eye or have bizarre urges to eat plates.
Isa had around four days left before she had to report to Vos, and she had been spending most of her time freelancing. She had done an array of tasks that ranged from getting cadavers for necromancers, to going into Daedric and Dwemer ruins for smugglers; she had even played matchmaker with an eccentric Khajiit woman and an Imperial. After doing tasks that either desecrated or harmed people Isa was beginning to feel like doing for the general good again. She had stopped to take a small rest in Hla Oad when she heard reports of mating netches to the north in Gnaar Mok. It seemed the one guard stationed in that city was too cowardly to assess the situation, and being bored, Isa decided to meander up the dirt road to kill off the netches herself.
A slough fern next to her rustled and a kwama forager leapt out. It stopped just short of Isa's feet and began to spray her with poison. With an exasperated growl she kicked the beast away, frustrated that only small animals would attack her. She continued along her route, with the kwama following closely behind nipping at her heels.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Balabhas leaned against the small walls of the plaza of the stronghold. Despite having been expelled from his faction he still had some allies outside of the Dark Brotherhood, although they were but weak smugglers holed up in Hlormaren. With no luck in Seyda Neen he decided to bunk in the fortress for a few days, paying the rent with the purse the guard had given him some days before. While innocent of crime he was still a criminal by reputation, and no respectable establishment would keep his company, or take his money for that matter.
Balabhas closed his eyes and let the morning breezes blow against his sweat-lined brow. Had awoken in the middle of the night with an anxiety attack after dreaming of dancing skeletons and couldn't sleep since. A bad feeling was nestled within him, along with a strong sense of nausea. A moving figure from below caught his eye as he quelled his stomach. He looked down to see a green Elf walking calmly along the road with a kwama forager tiredly chasing after it. Balabhas' eyes widened with gaiety and he vaulted over the wall to land with a thud right in front of the Elf.
Isa leapt back with a shriek and gripped the pommel of Herreslakter, but released it when she realized it was only Balabhas.
"By the Gods, waif, do you delight in scaring people half to death?!" Isa said with a high degree of anger.
"Not normally, but you have to take into consideration that most people don't scare as easily as you do." Balabhas grinned.
"Well, I've got a lot to be paranoid about these days." Isa said, then pointing to Hlormaren, "And besides, you don't know what kind of company stays in those old forts."
"I do, actually. I've been staying there for the past couple of days. It's actually kind of nice when they stop trying to assassinate you during the night."
"I see..." Isa said, turning from him and continuing to walk.
"So, where are you headed?" Balabhas said closing the distance between the pair.
"Gnaar Mok. There are some mating netches causing trouble, and I feel like taking care of them."
"I see. Well, some couples tend to get a little wild when it comes to... taking a struttle."
"A 'struttle'? What on earth is a 'struttle'?" Isa asked, shaking her head and keeping her eyes forward.
"You know what a struttle is," Balabhas said, nudging Isa in the arm, "I can safely say I've had many varied struttles in my time." He said jokingly, "Have you ever struttled?"
"That's none of your business."
"So you have! Was he any good?"
Isa clenched her teeth as they walked, wondering why Balabhas was following her so intently, "Maybe it wasn't with any man." She said. That would get him to leave her alone.
"Not with a man? Oh, so you're one of THOSE types!"
Or not, "Honestly, you're acting worse than the child of fools! Why are you following me?"
"Well, I want to help you kill the netches." Balabhas said, "It will give me something to do before I get my affairs in order."
"I see. Well, if you're in any better condition than when you were trapped in Assemanu then you should be of help." Isa said matter-of-factly.
Balabhas stopped in his tracks and stared at Isa with shock and interest. He remembered the incident in that horrid cave, but to this day he still had no idea who had rescued him. Isa turned to face him with a confused and slightly annoyed expression, and in an instant Balabhas remembered prattling on about peach glass with that face looking down at him.
"You're the one that saved me?" he asked.
"Of course. You weren't the only one interested in the Robe, which I didn't retrieve by the way. I was too busy saving you! Now, stop gaping and let's now waste anymore time. It's still cool, and I don't want to hunt netch in the noon sun."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Caelestis sat bored on a crate holding a bottle of mazte. The chastisement he had received from Helseth still stung in his ears, but there were no leads in the case of the Sixth House. He watched as ships docked and unloaded passengers and goods into the port of Ebonheart. In his reverie he didn't notice the guard trying to get attention.
"Didn't you hear me? There's been a corprus outbreak in the Bitter Coast."