Alrighty, i did say there was gonna be characters from mods right? well say hello to the first one! (If you want to meet this character yourself, go to Nexus mods for PC or the mod section on Xbox One and search for 'Tails of Troubles' and/or M'rissi. it is a fantastic mod and one of the best i've ever found for a game, and fits really darned well into the vanilla game) hope yall enjoy! (i'll let yall know when i hit something that i get the idea from a mod or if a character is from a mod. there are quite a few i would recommend and may include just to spice things up!)
William watched the gate closing behind him with a small sigh. He admittedly felt fairly bad for simply abandoning Max, but at this point, he was already inside the walls of Whiterun. Max had no need for William's help, so William felt no real inclination to stay with him.
The question is… where do I go from here? He let out a small sigh as he walked down the weathered and collapsing defenses and secondary gate house, simply letting his feet carry him down the path.
Well… I could go find one of the other Rangers. Most of the holds have one or two. I think the closest is in Rorikstead… It wouldn't have been the first time he had gone there. Most of the southern holds had been his backyard for his entire life. It had been several years since he had met any of the other Rangers, but he was confident he could find the one in Rorikstead. As far as getting there from Whiterun, the main westward road out of Whiterun ran straight to the town. The biggest hassle would be the good two day walk to get there.
As soon as he was on the westward road, he let his eyes begin to wander. His mind had drifted off into the events of Helgan just two days prior, as most of his time had been spent of late, when a small camp on the side of the road drew his attention. A camp in and of itself was not out of the ordinary. The Whiterun gate had been sealed when he and Max had approached it just a few minutes ago, so it was not unsurprising to have found someone camping on the side of the road. What was odd about them, was that it was three Thalmor and a bound Kajiit. Even though he was nearly thirty yards away, he could clearly smell blood, and not just fresh blood, but old dried blood as well. All of his instincts were screaming out that the smell was emanating from the Kajiit.
Curious, he diverged off the road toward them, one of the two armored soldiers in the group gesturing to the female mage of the group. Immediately, the trio snapped to their feet, both soldiers drawing their strange glass blades.
"Halt, come no further citizen! This is official Thalmor business!" the female leader snapped that out, William not heeding her command as he continued. "I said HALT!" a fireball flew from the woman's hand, slamming into the ground at William's feet.
He stopped and feigned curiosity as he stared at the blackened mark ahead of him, his heart racing. Now that he was much closer, he could easily see several open wounds on the Kajiit, her clothes ripped and bloodied.
I gotta help her somehow… As crazy as it was, a ruse had already formed in his mind, merely hoping he could pull it off.
"Well, I saw that Kajiit ya got there, thought I would see if I could buy her off you! I need a serv-" he didn't get to finish his ploy, as another fireball slammed into the dirt.
"Begone, filth, this Kajiit is under the custody of the Aldmeri Dominion! Now leave this area at once!" the high elf was snarling at him, another fireball prepped.
Well, they are certainly jumpy… I think talking is out of the question here… I could just do as they say and leave. He glanced at the Kajiit with his thoughts, seeing the way her ears were pressed back on her skull, the slight quiver in her fur as her body trembled.
No. No way I can leave her like this. Not even if it means fighting the whole Dominion. He did his best to put on a confident smirk, already plotting out a plan for the coming fight based off the surrounding terrain. There were large boulders to his right, less than a dozen feet away. He could easily reach them before the two soldiers would be able to reach him, and it would provide him with ample cover from the mage's magic, forcing her to either deal with him up close, or give him all the time in the world to dispatch her guards.
"Well, last time I checked, you had no authority to order around a single person in Skyrim. Skyrim is, after all, an Imperial holding. So I think I'll go where I please." He did his best to sound snarky and overconfident, surprised at how easy it was.
"I warned you…" she reared back, about to chuck the fireball in his direction.
William never gave her the chance for a clear shot though, launching to his right and amongst the boulders as he drew his blade. As much as he would prefer to use his bow, the Thalmor were simply going to be much too close for that. As soon as he was in relative cover, he spun on the spot, and just in time as one of the armored Thalmor rounded the boulder, aiming a vicious swing for William. He braced his shorter blade's tip with his hand, catching the heavy handed strike before forcing his hilt to the ground and angling the point toward the Thalmor. With the Thalmor glass blade digging into the steel of his own blade, it dragged the Thalmor's blade down. In the same dropping motion, he slammed his foot into the back of the Thalmor's knee, forcing the taller being down, and his chin straight into William's waiting sword point.
The Thalmor slumped over, the blade deep enough into the high elf's skull to have killed him instantly. In one deft motion, he kicked the corpse down, yanking his blade free and bringing it into a low guard. The second Thalmor skidded to a stop, visibly taking a second look at his fallen comrade, shock evident on his face.
William monopolized on that shock, rushing forward with a feinting jab toward the Thalmor's exposed face. The Thalmor immediately tried to parry the thrust, but struck nothing as a quick movement of his two handed grip popped his blade up and clear, swinging in a short arc around the other side and opening the Thalmor's throat with the tip of his blade in one swift cut. The Thalmor dropped to his knees, clutching at the wound fruitlessly as he tried to stem the flow of blood.
William though, dropped his blade completely, pulling the bow from his back and knocking an arrow. He held the bow in his right hand, despite normally wielding the bow in his left, as he stepped around the boulder, drawing the bow in the same motion. The Thalmor mage was startled by his sudden appearance, not reacting at all to the arrow leaping from his bow until it was burying itself into her shoulder.
She let out a scream, clutching the bleeding wound for a moment before her hand glowed with purple energy. A small flash at her hand caused a similarly colored dark portal to envelope her, cracking shut after it engulfed her.
That literally could not have gone smoother… he let out a deep and relieved breath with that thought, slipping the bow back away before cleaning and retrieving his sword. As soon as he had his equipment back, he rushed over to where the Kajiit was lying on the ground.
He expected the Kajiit to be showing some sort of relief or gratitude, but instead, she was still utterly panicking, sputtering out several garbled phrases in her native tongue.
"Let's get some bandages on these wounds." He spoke as calmly as he could manage, pulling bandages from his small satchel.
"No! you must save the young one! The young one is in danger!" she tried to stop him from bandaging the visibly worst wound, an open and actively bleeding slice on her thigh.
"W-What!? Young one? What are you talking about?"
"Near Riverwood! S'ahara will be fine! S'ahara is resourceful, just save the young one!" she was still utterly panicking, trying to shove William's hands away.
"Stop. I'm treating you and taking you to Whiterun. When I'm done, I will go save the young one. But I am not wasting the chance to save someone's life while I have it. You can give me more details on the way." As soon as he finished speaking, he began wrapping the bandage over the bleeding wound, the cat letting out a faint hiss, but no longer struggling against him.
The expression on the Kajiit's face was one he could not find words to describe, as her fear mixed with hope and relief, all seeming to conflict and fight over which to be shown as he continued to treat the wounds within his abilities.
William let out a small sigh as he moved, his feet aching from spending the past few days walking. Thankfully, he had now reached Riverwood.
Now how do I find this 'young one' though? I mean, I guess it's a young Kajiit, by itself, so… maybe it will be easier than I suspect. He let out a sigh as his eyes drifted up and down the single cobbled street the riverside village was built on, seeing a handful of people moving back and forth in the dying light of the day. The first building on his left after entering the village walls was the inn, William figuring it was a good starting place. Having visited Riverwood several times with his father, he knew the inn keeper by name.
His feet carried him up the stone steps to the building, swinging the door open the moment he reached it. Inside was an explosive cacophony of noise, centered around one shockingly familiar Nord screaming 'Ragnar the Red' at the absolute top of the massive man's lungs. William did his best to avoid the awful noise as he shook his head, cutting left and weaving through the many evening inhabitants of the establishment on his way toward the bar.
"William!? Is that you?" a clear and strong female voice rang out from behind the bar, an older blonde Nordic woman staring at him in mild shock.
William merely finished approaching the bar, leaning on it as he calmly nodded to her.
"Wow… I'm glad to see you alive. I heard about Helgan and… well, not many seem to have survived." She visibly glanced up and down him, a grimace forming on her face. "I'm guessing by the cloak and blade that your father didn't make it?"
"No, Delphine. He didn't." no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop a single tear from trickling out of his eye, dashing it away as soon as it came.
"I'm sorry. If there's anything you need, just say the word. Your father was a great friend." Her voice was genuinely remorseful, a strong frown crossing her face.
"Actually, there is. I'm looking for someone. Don't have much in the way of a description. Just young and Kajiit." William tried to keep himself as calm as he could, but it was nothing more than him forcing it. He had more than once helped his father with his father's jobs but being the one to do it himself felt wrong to him. And all it did was bring up memories of his father.
"You're looking for someone? Is it someone your father knew or…" her brow was furrowed as she leaned on the counter herself.
"No. nothing like that. I encountered an injured Kajiit over by Whiterun a day or so ago. She demanded I find this 'young one', insisting they were in danger."
"Are you sure you are up to this sort of thing kid?" her body visibly slackened, her voice softening to a point that it was nearly lost in the din of the tavern. "I mean, you just lost your father, trying to take up his job so quickly… it's reckless."
"I'm up for it. Greif and tears never saved anyone." As much as he did believe in the words his father had said to him several times over the years, simply repeating them made tears want to spring forth from his own eyes.
She let out a quiet sigh, a gentle smile crossing her face. "Your father did love saying that. Just don't overdo it kid. And I might be able to help you. I… struggle to call her a Kajiit but, there's a girl, fairly young by my guess, who's been hanging around the back of the tavern. I've been setting scraps out for her. She's never said anything to me though."
What did she mean by 'struggle to call her a Kajiit'? Kajiit are pretty easy to recognize.
"And to warn you, she's… a strange one. I am certain she's a Kajiit, at least in part. So maybe you're looking for her." Delphine shrugged, her eyes bouncing between William's.
"Thanks. I'll see if I can find her. If you hear anything else-"
"You'll be the first to know kid."
William turned to walk away as soon as she finished speaking but was forced to look back at her as she continued.
"And William? I think you will make a great Ranger. It doesn't bring your father back, but I know he's already very proud of you right now." She was smiling warmly, no longer leaning on the counter.
"Thank you, Delphine." Several tears slipped out of their own accord from her small statement, William wiping them away before he turned back for the exit.
Once he was outside, he made his way around to the back of the building, frowning as the light of the day was beginning to fade. Once more, as the wind shifted, he suddenly got a nearly overpowering blast of the smell of blood, nearly falling flat on his face from the suddenness of it. He readied an arrow on his bow as he followed the smell into the trees behind the inn, his ears quickly picking up the sounds of voices.
"Can I just gut this… thing? It already killed Hroth and that hound we bought to find it. Who's to say it won't try to kill us before we can turn it in?"
"We won't get paid if it's dead! Just keep your blade on it! Where the hell did Hroth put the rope!?"
William slowly crept through the trees toward the voices, the fading light making his sight worse and worse. The smell of blood was almost overpowering as he slipped around brush into a small clearing, finding a pair of Nord's standing near the center of it. One was pointing a blade down at something obscured in the low brush. The other was digging through a pack, just feet from a pair of fresh corpses, a dog and a third armed Nord. Neither of the two bounty hunters had noticed William yet, so he slowly crept closer, seeing a pair of reflective green eyes where the blade was being pointed. Those eyes belonged to a form he couldn't really recognize in the fading light, but he could make out its distinctive cat like ears and humanoid figure, cowering before the two bounty hunters.
The green eyes locked with William's for a moment before a new voice rang out. "No! Go away! She doesn't want anyone else hurt!" there was no doubt she was a female by her pitched voice, it cracking a little in fear. He was no judge of vocal patterns, but even his ears could tell she was also very young, likely years younger than himself.
Definitely a Kajiit… no other race has that sort of accent.
"For the love of Talos…. Shut that thing up! It keeps shouting like that and it's gonna draw someone's attention!" the bounty hunter digging through the pack harshly whispered that at his partner, the partner never taking his eyes from the Kajiit.
"How!? I don't having anything to muzzle it with!"
"Cut it's tongue out if you have too! It just needs to be alive."
"If either of you lay a finger on her, you'll be dead men." William spoke coldly and evenly, using the sound of his voice to mask the sound of him drawing the string back on his bow, his arrow focused on the kneeling Nord.
"Who the fuck are you!? Get out of here before I gut you like a fish! This doesn't concern you!" the kneeling man shot to his feet, ripping an axe from his belt line and gesturing the weapon at William.
"I'm going to give you one more warning. Leave. Her. Alone." William let all of the feelings of despair, sadness, and frustration he had been doing his best to keep hidden for the past few days turn into a burning anger, saturating his voice in it as a small snarl developed on his upper lip.
"Just kill him Dengir, we don't have time for this!" the second bounty hunter took his eyes off the Kajiit for only a moment, but she suddenly leapt off the ground, a violent hiss ripping from her throat. The bounty hunter's attention returned to her just as she barreled into him.
William didn't hesitate even a moment, loosing his arrow the moment the Kajiit had moved. It ripped clean through the Nord's throat at this range, disappearing off into the forest as he fell, clutching at the blood gushing from the wound. As soon as the arrow had been clear of the bow, William had slipped another arrow from his quiver, sliding it on the string and drawing back to aim at the struggling Kajiit and her opponent.
The bounty hunter had lost his sword when she pounced him, several bloody streaks on his skin marking points where she had managed to swipe him with her claws. That said, he had managed to throw her to the ground and was now on top of her, pressing a knife down toward her throat. She simply didn't have the strength to stop him, the knife being redirected into one of her arms. She let out a night cleaving yowl as the blade plunged down to its hilt in her upper arm, just as William got his aim on the bounty hunter. The man got no warning of the arrow, it ripping into his shoulder and piercing his heart from above. He screamed as he recoiled back, grabbing at the shaft for a moment before falling back to the ground, dead.
The Kajiit was still whimpering quietly as William lowered the bow, inching toward her. "Are you al-"
He didn't get to finish his question as her eyes snapped to him, getting a brief glance of her face before she shot to her feet, the knife still lodged in her arm as she sprinted off into the forest.
"-right… damn it… I just wanted to help you…" he spoke softly to himself as his shoulder's drooped.
She did look quite strange. Her face looked almost human in many ways… just covered in fur. He shrugged away his thoughts as he began to search the three corpses, taking what few septims they had between them and a small note stuffed away in their knapsack before turning back to the village.
"Explaining this to the guards will not be fun." He muttered that to himself as he unfolded the note, reading the short description of a 'peculiar and unique Kajiit' wanted alive, nearly dropping the note when he saw the Thalmor seal at the bottom.