Lands Unkonwn part 5

Both Serana and Tarrion felt highly uncomfortable. More so than before. They found themselves in a room that was perfectly round with a small area that was slightly elevated. They sat on the ground and in front of them they saw the leader of the Tang Mo balancing on his staff. He had a wide grin on his face as he stared at the two humans in front of him and both of them seemed to think the same thing.

This guy was crazy.

"So…" the leader grinned. "I imagine you two have a million-and-a-half questions, right? Where are we? Who are these guys? What is going on? How is he balancing on that stick? How does he know our language? And of course, how do we get back?... Wait!... those are only six questions. Anyway, although the first three questions are the most obvious, they are also the most irrelevant. The fourth one is not your business….. lots of practice… and the fifth one is too difficult to answer. The last one is the one you should ask."

The smiled at them and they stared back. Confused and tired they did not understand what this character was talking about, but after a full minute of silence Serana finally, and very carefully, asked.

"How do we get back?"

"Ah! Yes… good question. Very good. Don't know… maddening isn't it? You find someone that speaks your language and he cannot help you. Life isn't fair sometimes. But relax…. Although I cannot help you get back, I can direct you to someone who can direct you to someone who in his turn can direct you to someone who may know someone who can help you get back."

He smiled triumphantly at them until Tarrion carefully responded.

"…. Thank you?"

"You're welcome…" and he jumped off his stick. "But," and he jumped back on, "I cannot give you aid for free. But," he jumped off his stick again, "You have already killed two Tsaesci, and all of them are a pain in our behinds, so I am sure you can help us again."

"You want us to kill more of these Snake-men, in exchange for your help?"

"Yes," the Monkey-man said happily. "No," he corrected himself cautiously. "Maybe… I don't know… Can you repeat the question? Kidding… no, I want your help in killing as many of these slithering sithererers as possible. I can't ask you to go to their strongholds and cities… that would be suicide… but I can ask you to kill any you see. Kill any you meet… take their heads off and bring them to me-.. no don't do that. What would I do with their heads? Wear their hide as armour then? Eww.. even worse… No, just kill them. That would be enough. But first I must tell you to go to Ka Po Tun. Humans on Akavir would attract the attention of the entire continent. The Cats will have my hide if I don't send you to them immediately."

An hour later Tarrion and Serana entered a small house that the leader had given to them to stay the night in. New clothes would be brought in and they would be given time to refresh themselves for the long journey tomorrow.

"Was it me or-," Tarrion started but Serana shook her head.

"No… that was not just you. That guy was crazy… my head started to hurt. How is someone like that even in charge here?"

"If I start to think about that my head starts to hurt."

"At least he gave us time to rest and refresh."

"Yes, but for what?" Tarrion asked. "I am glad we can rest for a while, but I have the feeling that we will need every second of it for what is about to come."

Serana started to remove her tattered boots. "What do you mean?"

"You heard what he said? 'The Cats will have my hide'… I have a feeling that the Tiger-People aren't going to be as friendly as him."

The next day they found themselves on the road again, this time escorted by a small group of Tang Mo and refreshed from a good rest. New clothes were found, yet they had to be altered a bit, especially the boots. Since neither Tarrion or Serana had thumbs on their feet, the boots were changed to fit their feet, something that the leader, Keka Mo, had found highly amusing. They now journeyed southeast and followed something that seemed like a path. An overgrown path, yet a path nonetheless. They were told it would take two days to reach the nearest city of the Ka Po Tun, and after that they would be lead to Rakash Tol, the capital of the Ka Po Tun.

The journey was strange, yet uneventful. The strange trees and plants were something that Serana would have found interesting if the circumstances were not the way they were. During the nights she would take a small amount of blood from Tarrion, wanting to drain him as little as possible. He was thankful for this, since the Tang Mo kept a steady pace and large portions of the journey had them walking over massive tree branches and immense roots. On these moments Tarrion especially sometimes had a hard time keeping his balance, and the constant switching of terrain and tough climbs were taking a toll on his constitution. The Tang Mo ate mostly fruits and only very little meat, and Tarrion found himself willing to kill for a slice of horker.

"Not worry," Ogun said. "Ka Po Tun eat lots meat. Should feel at home."

The large Tang Mo had accompanied them and exchanged the most words with the two. This was not surprising as the others could speak only two or three words in the Tamriellic language.

After a day and a half Serana sensed something and alerted Tarrion.

"They're close," she said. "Not Tsaesci…. And not Tang Mo either. They smell like Khajiit." The front scout stopped a few moments later and held up his fist. Everyone stopped and waited for a signal.

"HooHooHaaHaaaHaaaa!" the scout shouted and a few moments later a loud roar was heard.

Serana could already sense them, but Tarrion was in for a shock. From behind the trees a small force came walking. At first Tarrion thought he had landed in a country filled with giants and he now saw that they were indeed like the Khajiit. Except they were bigger…. a lot bigger.

The Ka Po Tun were tall. Much taller than either Tarrion or Serana had expected. A group of twelve came walking toward them and the tallest of them reached just over nine foot tall. Most of them were around eight foot tall and very broad. They had the cat-like features of the Khajiit, yet the patterns on their fur was mostly the same; black stripes across their necks, arms, backs and legs. Their fur had a colour which was mostly between yellow and orange, with the throat and insides of their arms and legs being much lighter, nearing white. Their armour was similar to that of the Tang Mo, yet heavier with plated shoulders, gauntlets, shins and chests. They were also heavily armed, with the biggest of the group carrying a large halberd on his back. The others wore strange swords on their hips or backs. They were thin with a slight curve running the length of the blade. Their sheaths were long and round and Tarrion recognized the type. He had a sword that was similar to it, yet he hadn't used it in a long time. DragonBane, the sword he used to kill Alduin, now lay stored away in his home in Falkreath, locked in a special chest. He remembered the sword and its shape and he saw that each of the Ka Po Tun were carrying a sword just like it. He would be surprised by this, yet he knew that DragonBane was a swords crafted by the ancient Akavir that had invaded Tamriel long ago.

The leader of the group walked toward Ogun and exchanged a few rough words with him before walking toward the two companions. His eyes were yellow and stared down at them menacingly.

"Tamriel," he said and his voice was low and almost animalistic, much heavier than any of the Khajiit Tarrion had met. "Humans…. Strange that you are here. What are your names? Speak."

"I am Tarrion," Tarrion answered. "This is Serana."

"How did you come here? Why did you decide to invade us?"

"We didn't decide anything," was the calm answer. "We were forced to the open sea through a storm that seemed to chase us. We then were caught in a different storm, and our ship sank. We were stranded here as the only survivors."

"How many ships were there?"

"One. We had no intention of going to Akavir. As I said, we were chased by a storm and were forced to head east… much further than we wanted."

A few of the Ka Po Tun talked to each other and it was clear that none of them seemed to believe him. Their leader growled loud and all of them stopped whispering.

"You will come with us," he said harshly. "We will see how much truth there is to this."

As he turned around Tarrion whispered to Serana; "It seems we have little choice."

"You have no choice," the leader corrected him.

After a few hours they arrived at a city, and it was the first city either of them had seen in months. The first thing they saw was a high, stone wall with a line of sharpened stakes at the base. The stonework was smooth and seemed impossible to climb and the gatehouse had two separate gates. As they walked through it Serana and Tarrion saw that this was only the first wall, and the second one was almost a mile further. The land between the two walls seemed to be farmland and they saw a large number of farms in the distance and close by. the fields looked like they were flooded, yet no-one seemed to do something about it, and Serana assumed that the crops needed that much water to grow. The Ka Po Tun that worked them all seemed to be much taller than humans, yet not as broad as the soldiers escorting the two humans. As they walked over the road many of the workers stopped with what they were doing to see the two humans and Serana and Tarrion felt small amongst these giants.

The second wall was similar to the first wall, yet much higher and had a row of stakes at the top pointing downward. The actual city seemed to be built on a hill because the closer they got to the centre, the more elevated the terrain became. Each of the houses were slightly elevated off the ground with tilted roofs and wooden walls. The windows were round and the doors could be opened by sliding them sideways. This all was strange to both Tarrion and Serana.

As they followed the wide roads further to the centre of the city and closer to a large, palace-like building, they again found themselves being ogled by everyone that was outside at the moment. Everyone stopped with what they were doing and stared at the two humans that just walked into their city. They were strange, each of them thought. No fur, no visible, sharp teeth and no claw-like hands. Small and harmless they seemed to the Ka Po Tun, and some giggled as they passed.

The two humans saw that there were visible differences between the males and females. The males were more rugged and slightly bigger, whereas the females were smaller and seemed to have smoother fur. Their heads were also slimmer and just like the humans and Khajiit, they had breasts.

The main palace, or that is what it seemed like, was worthy of a king. Being about the same size as the Blue Palace in Solitude it was filled with statues and stone pillars that held up the tilted ceiling. This seemed to be the only building in the city that had actual stone walls and a strong, wooden gate. Inside they arrived at an entry hall where they were searched for any hidden weapons and despite that nothing was found, they still were given untrusting and intimidating glares from the natives.

After a small hallway they arrived at the main hall, or throne room. It was a large, lengthy hall with a row of columns on both sides of the main isle. It was large enough to fit a Dragon, yet it did not seem strange to Tarrion or Serana. The Ka Po Tun were a large people and their buildings would naturally be larger as well. On the far end they saw a large and strange throne. It had two separate chairs, the one at the top of a few high steps, and the second one at the bottom. On this second one sat a Ka Po Tun. A guard had just whispered something to him when the escort walked in and the figure rose from his seat and Serana could see an expression of shock and surprise on his face.

"Humans? How is that possible?"

Within a few minutes the entire city knew of the two humans that had apparently arrived on Akavir. Everyone that did not have anything important to do had gathered around the palace, hoping to catch a glimpse of these two beings that have not been seen for centuries… and longer.

Serana and Tarrion could hear the crowd outside and they understood it was all for them, yet they now sat on cushions on the floor to explain to the king what they were doing. Tarrion explained again what had happened on the ship and how the storm had chased them. How it eventually caught up with them and sunk them, with them being the only two survivors. Serana explained how she thought she had seen a ship in the waves… one that was larger than others and seemed to attack. This piqued the interest of all who could understand her.

"A ship?" the king asked. "What did it look like? Speak!"

"I could only see it for a second before it was gone. I barely survived."

This was not entirely true. Serana did not see the ship for longer than a second, yet it was then that she was blown away by the hurricane-like winds. The tiny wings of bats were not strong enough to keep up with the storm. She had little difficulty surviving, yet she refused to tell him about her Vampirism.

"Hmm… that had to have been a Tsaesci ship then," the king said to himself. "But they do not ride out unless they are met with an equal force. So how many ships were in your fleet? And why did you try and invade Akavir?"

"We didn't!" Tarrion exclaimed. "One of your captains asked the same, and the answer is still the same. We did not try to invade Akavir.. we don't even want to be here. There was only one ship, and it sunk."

The king shook his head in disbelief and the large number of guards did the same. "I do not belief you and no-one in my kingdom lies to me."

The king bared his teeth as he spoke and the guards had gripped their weapons tighter.

"But there is a way to settle this without 'unnecessary' bloodshed… that might even be entertaining," and a number of guards smiled. "We let Fate decide."

An hour later Tarrion was brought to a separate building, far from the main palace. It looked large and round from the outside, but Tarrion was unable to get a good look at it. he was brought below to what seemed like a jail. There he was told to remove his tunic and boots, only his trousers were left alone. Serana was tossed in a jail next to his and was told to do the same. A minute later the guards left them alone to prepare.

"For what?!" Tarrion shouted.

"Fighting," was the answer and the door was slammed shut.

It took hours before anyone came to explain what they had to do. The Ka Po Tun that had escorted them to the city walked in and explained very quickly what had to be done.

"One of you will fight to prove you speak truth. Only one will fight in the arena… the other will stay locked here alone. The fight is done when one surrenders or can no longer fight. Killing is not forbidden, but magic is. This is a fight of strength, not magics."

"How does this prove anything?" Serana asked indignantly.

"If the Gods favour you… they will let you win. If not…. Well, then it is decided that you lied," he finished with a smile. "I will return shortly…. Decide who will fight."

Again Serana and Tarrion were left alone in the jail below what they now knew to be an arena. Serana's thoughts went rapidly and tried to hatch a plan to get them out of here. Tarrion looked at her and sighed.

"On second thought…." He said and he tried to conjure a smile. "this vacation was a bad idea."

"Ha," Serana uttered humourless. "an understatement. But now we're stuck here, and I don't mean this cell."

"We can break out of this and fight our way out of the city…" Tarrion started.
"… but we cannot leave the continent," Serana finished and she nodded. "We need help but these people do not seem to want to help. So far the Tang Mo were the only ones that helped."

"I know," he nodded. "but we should first focus on what will happen in a few moments. Like who of us will fight, and what do we think we will face out there."

"Probably their strongest warrior," Serana remarked and Tarrion agreed. "It is a fight of strength, as he said, so…." And she looked at Tarrion. "I don't know what might be better against them. Speed or strength."

"I know..." and he looked at her. "I'm inclined to say that I don't want you fighting out there…. But I am sure you will say the same."

Serana chuckled. "We are each other's weakness, are we not?"

"And each other's strength," he added.

They smiled at each other and took each other's hands through the metal bars.

Suddenly Serana looked up. "Maybe we don't have to win,"

Tarrion looked at her and saw an idea forming in her head.

"Maybe we can get the other to surrender if we convince them that the 'Gods' are on our side."

"What do you mean?" he asked her as he saw her eyes light up.

"We might be able to trick them," she answered and a sly smirk appeared on her face. "I just need one thing for that….. I need to be alone."

The noise was deafening when Tarrion was escorted to a large metal gate, flanked by two of the Ka Po Tun. They mockingly laughed when they saw him. A puny man was about to face one of their strongest warriors. They looked down on him as he passed and almost pitied him as he walked through the gate and into the arena.

It was large and circular. A few large boulders lay scattered on the sandy surface and it was surrounded by a high stone wall. Above that the stands were build and hundreds of Ka Po Tun looked and cheered and shouted. They laughed as Tarrion walked through the one gate, and cheered when their champion appeared on the other end. Tarrion recognized him as the nine foot tall guard from before. He roared loudly as he entered the arena and the king, who sat on a golden chair overlooking the arena, already clapped.

Tarrion looked at his opponent and admitted he was intimidated. There was no man in Tamriel that scared him, but a Tiger-man that was almost three times his size was a different story entirely. The broad shoulders and powerful muscles were clearly visible and a number of scars were on his back and arms.

"May the Gods decide who is righteous," the king shouted, and with no warning a large gong was struck and the fight began.

The large Ka Po Tun, named Tarsh, was incredibly strong. Before Tarrion knew it a large boulder was hurled in his direction. Tarrion immediately spend a lot of his time dodging the rocks and boulders that were hurled in his direction. Shortly after that Tarsh was out of rocks to throw and engaged his opponent in melee combat.

The large and powerful strikes were well aimed and deadly, yet also slower than Tarrion. In the quick moments after a strike Tarrion was able to land a few quick blows on his opponent. But he might as well have been throwing pebbles at a mountain. His strikes were not effective and before long a powerful strike knocked him across the arena. He nearly broke his ribs when he landed and the crowd cheered and shouted as Tarsh roared again in victory.

'Damn, this guy hits like a battering-ram,' Tarrion thought to himself as he rubbed his chest.

If it weren't for his life as a battle-hardened adventurer he would have surrendered, but he knew how to take a hit… and he was still waiting.

He ran straight for his opponent and shouted. His opponent laughed and ran toward Tarrion, but at the last possible moment Tarrion ducked and slid through Tarsh' legs. With a move he learned from Serana he turned around and jumped high. Tarsh turned around and Tarrion's fist landed hard on his jaw.

For the first time in any battle, Tarsh fell to the ground. Despite his size, it seemed that Tarrion was stronger than anticipated. The blow was so hard that one of Tarsh' teeth came loose and fell on the ground.

Tarrion rubbed his fist as he saw Tarsh get up. He hoped that he hadn't broken his hand in that strike, but he knew it wouldn't take long for Tarsh to get his bearing again. Wasting no time Tarrion charged again, but this time he was too late. Tarsh had gotten up and with a roar Tarrion was knocked back. Again he flew through the air and rammed into the stone wall around the arena.

The crowd cheered again, but then stopped. A silence came over the arena and Tarrion crawled back on his feet. Tarsh had stopped and looked to the sky and as Tarrion looked up as well, he smiled.

Bats had appeared above the arena. First it were a few dozen, but after a while it became a hundred. Then two hundred. And before long there seemed to be over a thousand bats flying over the arena. In a large circle they flew over the stands, in tight formation, gradually tightening the circle. Countless shrieks and flapping noises filled the air, but nothing happened.

Tarsh looked from the bats to Tarrion who had a blank expression on his face. Tarsh growled and attacked his opponent again, but it seemed with less ferocity. Tarrion ducked under the first strike, but was hit by the second one.

Immediately the bats flew lower than before. The shrieking intensified and they now flew just a few feet above the stands. Again Tarsh looked up and seemed nervous. Tarrion took this opportunity to strike Tarsh' knee and deal another blow to the jaw.

And every time Tarsh would hit Tarrion the bats would fly lower. Lower and lower, until the crowd could hardly see the fight, and panic started to overtake all. All except Tarrion who kept fighting. But Tarsh, now almost ducking not to have the bats fly around his ears, looked at the human and stopped fighting. He covered his ears to blot out the shrieking and flapping, but there was no escaping it. the bats were now everywhere and even the king thought it unwise to continue the fight.

"He brought his own gods with him," he said to himself and he wanted to tell his men to end the fighting, but none listened… too afraid to move with over a thousand bats flying near them. On the stands it was chaos. All of the Ka Po Tun had started panicking and many of them desperately tried to flee. The few that stayed covered their ears and dared not to look.

Tarsh had kneeled and lowered his head and shouted. First in his own language, but then in the Tamriellic language.

"I surrender!…. Please stop this!"

Immediately the bats broke their formation and flew towards Tarrion, forming a tight circle around him. The stands were free of bats, and Tarsh dared to look up but he saw a black whirlwind around his opponent and bowed his head again. Tarrion felt countless wings brush over his bruised and bloodied body and he couldn't help but smirk.

"Later, Serana," he said and it almost seemed that a girly giggle was heard among the countless wings.

The bats flew upward and dispersed. Tarsh still kneeled in the arena and surrendered again for all to hear. Tarrion stood triumphant in the arena and had a smile on his face. He was bruised and had a number of cuts on his body, but he smiled.

The king had found himself compelled to believe Tarrion. Never before had he seen that a god had come down to defend its champion and all of the Tang Mo that saw him bowed as he passed. Serana waited for him back in her cell and tried her best to keep a straight face when she saw the terrified looks that the guards had. They had left her alone in her cell to watch the fight, and only dared to come back after the bats had dispersed. Now she had an uncontrollable smile on her face, yet the Ka Po Tun believed it to be a smile of relief.

Yet their euphoria ended when they heard that the king would still not help them.

"Please," he begged. "You must understand. It is not so that I do not want to help… I would not defy the Gods themselves…. But I simply cannot help you. We understand you wish to return to Tamriel, yet we cannot build ships that are strong enough to withstand the crossing. But more than that, the Tsaesci control the Western Seas. Their ships are stronger, larger and faster. Their ships can bring you to Tamriel… but we cannot make them, and we certainly cannot steal them or take them by force. We are more populous than them, and our armies are stronger than theirs… but their strongholds are unreachable to us, and their ports are too heavily defended. We would lose countless lives… too many."

All of the guards and councillors that were present bowed deeply and begged for their understanding, and both Tarrion and Serana knew that they would not ask that of them. they would not send these people to certain death… but they would have to find another way. And yet, both felt more optimistic than before. The Ka Po Tun would now give their aid if they could, something they did not have before. A house was prepared for them not far from the main palace.

It was small but cosy. It was strange to them at first and they found themselves try to pull the sliding doors open.. A small garden was made outside with a small pond in the centre. The bedroom was smaller than they were used to, yet the bed was bigger. There Serana helped Tarrion with his wounds and she tended to his body. Even areas that didn't necessarily need tending, she tended to them all the same.

That evening Serana woke up in the middle of the night. A soft breeze blew through the open window, which seemed strange to her. She was sure she closed it. She took a deep breath through her nose and immediately was wide awake. She woke Tarrion and placed her hand over his mouth to prevent him from making noise.

"Mmm…" he muttered but she kept him quiet.

With silent gestures she made clear they were being watched and he nodded. Both closed their eyes and pretended to be asleep as Serana sensed someone entering the room. She knew it was a Ka Po Tun… their scent was unmistakable… and it moved slowly. She knew where it was and held Tarrion's arm tighter as the intruder came closer. They both felt a bit of a déjà vu as this seemed eerily similar to their first encounter with the Tsaesci, and just like that time they were prepared.

They felt how a small object was placed on the bed and they pounced. Serana knocked the intruder off their feet and Tarrion rammed his fists against their head, and before two seconds had passed, the intruder lay unconscious on the ground and they saw who it was.

She was a Ka Po Tun, that was clear. She looked like she was taller than both of them, yet not as tall as most of the males of her people. She wore a dark leather outfit with a dark hood and mask. A small dagger was strapped to her hip and a second one to her calve. Both her hands had fingerless gloves and only her long, striped tail was not wrapped in armour.

She had the look of an assassin, something that both Tarrion and Serana agreed on, but that changed when they saw what she placed on the bed. It was a letter, and it was sealed with a wax seal, yet there was no crest or insignia. The two looked at each other and Serana grabbed the letter and read quietly.

To the receivers of this letter.

We must speak urgently. We understand you wish to return to Tamriel, and I can help you. We are running out of time and options, and thus we seek your aid. In return, we will give you anything we can give, including passage back to your home.

We cannot explain who we are in this letter, for it may be intercepted… but we can say that we are friends. We have more knowledge than even the King of Rakash Tol, and we are fully willing and able to share it with you.

We humbly ask that you meet with us in two days, to the north. We will leave clues for you to find and for our own protection.

With hope,

A friend

We must request that you burn this letter after you have read it. It cannot fall into the wrong hands. There is more at stake than you know.

Tarrion looked at Serana who's eyes had widened as she read it. She looked up at him and they asked each other the same question.

"What in Oblivion…?"

=End of Chapter=

=Author's Notes=

Nothing is ever simple with these two is it? Conspiracies, plots and intrigue… they can't seem to get rid of them.

But that is it for this chapter… stay tuned for the next one.

Also; the size of the Ka Po Tun. I thought it made sense that these guys are bigger than normal Khajiit. The Khajiit are based on cats, while the Ka Po Tun are based on Tigers. A tiger is a lot bigger than the normal house-cat… and so I thought it made sense that the Ka Po Tun are also bigger.

I also tried to bring a bit of a Japanese vibe to them…. I am not sure if I succeeded. For now it is mostly the story that I want to continue… but if there are any readers with Japanese origin/heritage and/or knowledge and are willing to give me some tips… feel free to do so.