It was awkward sitting across from each other. Neither woman spoke at first. The silence was deafening, and the tension so thick not even the sharpest of blades could cut it. Freydis sat, practically sprawled out in her seat with arms crossed her chest and an expression of scrutiny ever present. Kasaanda on the other hand sat bit more daintily with legs crossed, shoulders straight and overall perfect posture while her gaze was directed anywhere but her traveling companion. Fingers fidget nervously as she chew son her bottom lip.
"So what in Oblivion are you exactly? You're obviously not human. You are large like some of the orcs. Yet you have ears like an elf and skin the same color as a lot of the Dunmer. Are you even from Tamriel?"
Adaar is startled at both of the sudden questions and the way that they're asked. Despite that she doesn't hesitate to answer. "I'm Qunari. Well Vasoth to be more exact." the mage states, glancing up. "I mean, I'm still technically a Qunari but it's a bit more complicated than just...Nevermind." There's a pause while she ponders over the name Tamriel. Now granted she was never the best with geography, directions or anything like that. But she knows she's never heard of anywhere called Tamriel. Perhaps Skyrim, and Tamriel in turn, were far north of Thedas or even far south. That could explain such. "I'm a mage mercenary from the Free Marches which, if I recall correctly, is north of Ferelden but between Nevara and Antiva." She hopes that dropping the names of other lands would help jog something in the other woman's mind - a realization of sorts. Anything really. Unfortunately the opposite occurs.
Silently Freydis stares at her as if she's just grown two new heads. Lips are pursed tightly, nose scrunched up and brows so furrowed they looked like they were about to meld together. "Did you hit your head? You must have. None of the places you've named exist. Or have existed to my knowledge." History had been one of her father's most lectured subjects when she and her brother were growing up. While a lot of it may have gone in one ear and out the other, she can recall his lessons on the geography of Nirn; specifically the many maps he had seemed to collect of the years of all the regions. The Nord averts her gaze in thought while also ignoring the panic that had now taken hold of her traveling companion.
"That's impossible!" Kasaanda sputters. Her composure is finally lost. Head is held in her hands in dismay. It's all too confusing. She doesn't know what to make of the situation. There's too many thoughts, too many theories. Too much of everything just flooding her mind: curiosity, worry, confusion. Really she wishes that answer would just fall from the sky or magically appear to her. "I know what I'm talking about! I'm not crazy! I'm a Vashoth mage from the continent of Thedas! I-"
"Akavir." Freydis states, cutting of the distressed mage. "You will say you are from the land of Akavir if anybody asks. When you were a child you, your family and others were shipwrecked on the shores of Black Marsh. Your parents traveled to Cyrodiil to start a new life. You came to Skyrim in search of mercenary work and to possibly study at the College of Winterhold."
Kasaanda could only gawk at the story that the warrior has seemingly pulled out of thin air. It sounded plausible, though she had no clue about any of the places mentioned. Perhaps it was on a need to know basis? She supposes though she won't object to the newly given backstory. There was one thing that still bothered her. "What if there's another incident?"
"Incident?"
"Yes. You know..." Kasaanda mutters sheepishly. She let's out a soft sigh while fiddling with a few strands of her hair. "An instance where I'm refused entry into a city. Getting yelled at is one thing but the guards around here seem so...paranoid?"
Freydis doesn't try to stifle the laugh that leaves her lips. "I would say it's nothing personal but it is. You see, a large portion of Nords, not all of them mind you but a lot of them, can't stand anyone that isn't Nord. Argonians, Khajiit, Orcs but especially the elves. It boils down to a lot of them hold the belief that Skyrim is meant only for the Nords and have this ideal standard of what a TRUE NORD should be. They don't like change or anything that's different." What was suppose to be a simple response had turned into an unsolicited rant. There's a bit of bitter anger tinging her voice as she speaks. "You could be a Nord but if you don't act the way they believe a Nord should act, you could get ridiculed all the same."
There's a pause and Freydis noticed the slight look of worry Kasaanda is giving her. She's unsure if that frustrates her more or not. No, but she takes it as a sign to calm down and return to the original topic at hand, dismissing and waving off the other woman's concerns. "In any case, if we get somewhere and they won't let you in, I'll say I've hired you to travel with me. Or I'll bribe them. Whatever is going to work. Whenever we go back to Whiterun, since I'm a Thane of that hold that gives me a bit more power and credibility."
She watches as a small, relieved smile spreads across the mage's face. It's takes a lot not to roll her eyes. "Don't worry about those details. I've got that covered." Freydis huffs, leaning back. "You're perfectly safe with me." Unless she gets into trouble as well. In that case they'd both be fucked.
Kasaanda relaxes in her own spot. As the conversation comes to a close and silence settles upon them again, her gazes wanders to the world around them. The landscape, while a bit bleak, is still gorgeous. Rocky but coupled with lush flora. It's unlike the sights she's seen in Thedas. Granted, she should be more focused on finding a way back to said home instead of lollygagging about and gallivanting about on an unrelated excursion. Yet in her heart it felt right - like this was exactly what she was suppose to be doing. It's almost as if some divine force had calmed her soul, reassuring her that all was well and right.
It was a particularly harsh bump in the road that had awoken the dragon born from her unanticipated slumber. She isn't given much of a chance to really wake up and process the situation before Kasaanda appears, leaning next to her a little more than she'd like.
"Hey! You should wake up! We're stopping for a little bit." Kasaanda states rather loudly.
Freydis groans, carefully sitting up. How anyone could be that cheerful is beyond her.
They've come to a stop near the edge of a river. The sun has started to set painting the sky in a beautiful gradient of orange, yellow and red. If one looked close enough they could make out the silhouttes of the moons. "I'm going to water and feed the horse. After he's rested a little we'll be back on the road. I'll have you ladies to Riften before dawn." The driver calls out while leading the horse to the bank of the river.
Now that he mentions it, water did sound awfully nice. Freydis stands, stretches and hops out of the carriage with the mage following close behind. Once at the water's edge Freydis removes her gloves and kneels down, scooping water to first splash on her face and then to drink.
Kasaanda watches her companion a moment. Her gaze turns directly to the water. She hesitates with her hands hovering above the water. When she finally takes the chance and water slides down her parched throat, she instantly lets out a gasp. Hurriedly she scoops water up and drinks it down.
"Easy there. You're going to make yourself sick. It's not going anywhere." Freydis scolds. In truth the action is reminiscent of when she and her brother would hunt during the summer months. They'd spend the day traversing through the Great Forest. The temperature was always warm during that time. And it never failed by mid-afternoon they were drenched in sweat and hankering for a good swim. They would drop off their catches and baskets full of herbs and run off to the one spot in the woods where they knew of a small pond. Freydis would always jump in first while Azuol would kneel on the water's edge, gulping down mouthfuls of water as if it were the finest mead in all of Tamriel. She'd dive under the water and wait for him to lean over to either splash him or try and pull him in.
Freydis doesn't realize she's gotten lost in a memory filled daze till she feels a particularly hard nudge nearly causing her to topple over.
"Maker, I'm so sorry!" The apology comes quickly once Freydis shoots a glare at the mage. "It's just...You w-weren't answering me and that was the first idea I had to get your attention?" Kasaanda tries to offer a smile coupled with a shy shrug.
"What is it that you were saying?"
Kasaanda goes to repeat her question but is interrupted by the carriage driver before she can even speak it. As they're sitting back down in carriage does she make a third attempt at her inquiry. "I asked you earlier what we were heading to Riften for."
"I heard rumors of a boy in Windhelm trying to summon the Dark Brotherhood to get revenge on the headmistress of the orphanage in Riften. Apparently she's a real wicked bitch." She notices Adaar open her mouth to speak, however; she doesn't give the other the chance. "The Dark Brotherhood is an assassination organization." That seems to pacify the other. For the time being at least. "Anyways, turns out it was true. Found the boy doing the ridiculous summoning ritual. He thought I was a member and practically begged me to take his contract. I agreed, so here we are. Better he gets involved with me than any of those lowlifes."
Freydis had felt a deep empathy and sympathy for the boy, leaving her with feeling obligated to provide help for the sake of it rather than for some ulterior motive. That in itself was an uncommon thing; a luxury spared for so few. Usually all the things she did were done primarily for the reward, be it money, items, fame or power. Providing aid to people was just an extra notch in her belt. She tries her best to ignore the mushy, heartfelt look that crosses her companion's face.
It's well into the night when they finally arrive at their destination. Freydis thanks the driver, slipping him a few extra coins out of thanks. With weapons in their grasp they make their way to the front gate.
"Halt!" One of the guards commanded. "You are not allowed to enter the city until you pay the visitor tax."
"A what?" Kasaanda snaps. "You're kidding me! What are-"
"What my companion means to say," Freydis begins, "Is that this is obviously a shake down!" Her voice is raised higher and higher with each word that is grudgingly spoken.
Even under his helm, she can tell guard starts to panic. "Alright, alright. Quiet down. I'll unlock the gate." he croaks out. It takes but a few seconds for him to complete the task.
Freydis almost pushes him out of the way, shooting the two a venomous glare while Kasaanda doesn't even bother looking at either of them. A flurry of muffled laughs followed by a whispered stammer of 'Shut up!' is barely heard behind them.
Her body yearns for a bed and her mind screams for a good night's rest. Yet at the same time Adaar finds herself a bit more awake due to the sheer awe of the new location. Never had she seen a town structured like this. She stands near the rails, excitedly looking down at the water below. She doesn't get very long to admire their surroundings as Freydis impatiently pulls her along into a nearby inn saying, "We can look around tomorrow. Sleep now."
The inn feels warm and even cozy. Most of the crowd has gone home. A few drunkards remain. There's bellows and barks and murmured, though slurred, rants. The dragonborn catches a small piece about the Thieves Guild, and that piques her interest. Might be worth looking into.
As they pay for their rooms and are led to their quarters for the night, neither of them catches onto the stranger that's been intently watching them since they walked in.
Morning comes a bit faster than either of them would like. They meet up for breakfast, briefly discussing the plan for the day in between shoveling food into their mouths. All seems calm when they exit the Bee and Barb. That doesn't last, not by a long shot.
Not even a few feet out of the door does someone wriggle their way in between them, a hand placed on the both of their shoulders. There's a bit of playful smugness when the stranger softly speaks up. "Good morning, lasses. I'm going to take a guess and say neither of you have ever done an honest days of work, What with all the coin you lovely lasses are carrying eh?"