When I came to, my head was still spinning, and I squinted my eyes in an attempt to focus them. I soon realized that the ceiling above my head had the same rugged, uneven surface as a rock. I was in a cave. Where was Yazhin? Panic sent my heart racing as I tried to get up, and I quickly caught on to the fact that my hands were bound and tied to a wooden post.

"By Mephala's tangled nest!" I hissed angrily, my head throbbing, trying to figure out what could've happened to me. "What the heck is this?"

"I would keep your voice down if I were you," said a small voice. "The boss doesn't like it when we're loud. Well, he's not here, but you should practice for when he is."

I turned my head toward the voice but couldn't see them. "What? Who's there?"

"Just… just me."

"Gods, look, can you please tell me what's going on here? Where is this place, and who captured me?"

There was a brief pause before the small voice let out a tiny sigh. "You're in the boss's lair. I think you're a guest, but I'm not sure. I was a guest a while back, but I work here now. You might get to work here, too."

I grimaced and moaned impatiently. This person, whoever they were, was proving to be highly unhelpful, so I decided to look around and try to figure out where I was myself. I was inside what seemed to be some kind of makeshift animal pen. Beyond the fence, there were oil lamps, supply crates of varying sizes, barrels, cages, and rolled-up pieces of parchment. At first glance, I'd say it looked like some kind of hideout… bandits, raiders, or perhaps even poachers. Just my luck.

"Zuth!" I spat out the Khajiiti curse word with gusto, making whoever it was in the cave with me giggle.

"You say that rather well," they said. "I'd think you were a native."

I was about to snap a nasty reply at them when I heard the sound of something foreign yet familiar to me coming from nearby. I twisted my head and leaned forward, managing to see a soft glow coming from around the corner, possibly indicating the entrance of the cave. I breathed in deeply, detecting the unmistakable scent of water and humidity.

"Are we near a river?" I asked, bemused.

"I… yes," answered the voice slowly.

I shook my head. "Last I knew, I was in the desert wastes of Rimmen. By the way, have you—"

"Well, we technically aren't far from Rimmen, I know that."

I grunted and rolled my eyes, figuring we were on the coast of the Niben, somewhere I really didn't want to be. "Have you seen my companion, a Khajiit? He should be with me."

"Uh, well, I don't know. What does he look like?"

"A Khajiit," I answered dryly, beginning to think that this person's purpose here was to annoy me. Either that or they're some kind of half-wit.

"You're gonna have to be more specific," they chirped. "Are they Ohmes, Tojay, Pahmer, or even a Senche-raht?"

I was surprised to hear the person's voice change accents to pronounce the furstocks correctly.

I leaned back against the post I was tied to and closed my eyes, believing I'd heard enough to know this person was of no use to me.

"Hello? Which furstock did you say he was?"

"I didn't," I groaned. "Now, unless you're going to help me get out of here, please stop talking."

The voice sighed again and made a chirping sound. "I only ask because there's a dead Khajiit laying on the ground over here, knowing which furstock your friend is might help m—"

My eyes flew open as I sat up in a panic. "What? Cathay, Cathay, he's a Cathay!"

"Color?" asked the voice sweetly in a strange but decidedly Khajiiti accent.

"He's dark brown, and he has distinctive eyes, they're silver hazel and… and…" I trailed off, my eyes filling with tears as the sharp tendrils of shock began to tear at my chest. How could Yazhin be dead? How could he just leave me alone like this?

I waited for a response, but none came. "Hello! Is it him? Please tell me, please say it's not!"

To my surprise, a cat jumped into view from behind a barrel, making me flinch. It sat down and began to purr, lifting up its front leg to lick its paw.

"H-hello," I called out to the voice again. "Is it him? Please, you have to tell me! Oh Yazhin, where are you? Yazhin! Yazhin!"

"Okay, okay," the cat snapped, agitated. "Calm down. The dead Khajiit is Senche, not Cathay. This one promises your friend's not dead, yes, so please hush it. One would think you've had your sugar stolen."

Dumbfounded, I stared at her fluffy visage as she shook her head disdainfully. She was no ordinary cat but an Alfiq, a breed of Khajiit, with as much sentience and capacity for intellect as anyone reading this.

"You mean… he's not dead?"

The Alfiq stretched her front legs out and extended her claws, which dug into the barrel she was sitting on top of. "No, he is not. Li'rari had seen him staking out the cave. He is a smart one, sharp-clawed, and handsome too, yes… which is why this one must humbly ask, is he single?"

I closed my eyes and fell back against the wooden post again as she was talking, relief flowing through me. I let Li'rari go on for a few minutes until she finally hissed at me.

"What now?" I asked her.

"Were you not listening to Li'rari? She said she spoke to your friend."

"What did he say?" I asked, frowning and leaning forward.

Li'rari smiled smugly and tsked at me. "You have to answer this one's question first. She wonders, is your friend single?"

"Looks like I was right," I said with a sniff.

"Huh?"

"Your purpose here is to annoy me."

Li'rari huffed and jumped into the pen with me, eyeing me sulkily. "This one's purpose here is none of your concern."

"Oh, of course. But like I can trust anything you say anyway, you've been lying to me this whole time."

Li'rari stopped stalking toward me, her eyes opening wide as she brought her head back up. "What do you mean?"

"When I first woke up, you spoke like you were a captive here like me, and referred to yourself in the first person to hide the fact that you were Khajiit. You can obviously move about freely and come and go as you please, so stop with the games. Just tell me what's going on here and what Yazhin told you. If you really did speak to him, that is."

Li'rari stared at the ground irritably before sitting down, her tail curling around her legs. "Mrmmmm, ziss-ro! This one thought Bretons were only good for mage apprentices, being rich, and sunbathing with Altmer cousins in High Rock or Summerset… rah! Fine, you win, ja. Listen, Li'rari is a simple Khajiit. She was tending to her flock of terror birds when—"

"Try again," I said, clearing my throat and shaking my head.

"Dark moons. Fine, this one is spy for Dominion, yes? She keeps an eye on shady activity in sacred Dominion lands and sends her reports back to snooty High Elves. She sees handsome Khajiit looking flustered, so she asks to lend her paw. Now she's stuck helping handsome Khajiit's pretty girlfriend, who is currently making her attitude problem Li'rari's problem, giving poor Li'rari a headache at same time, yes? Has this one left anything out? Why are you smiling? Perhaps a swipe from Li'rari's claws would set you straight, eh?"

I laughed and buried my face in my knees. "So you're here to help me, is that right?"

"Correct, so you should be showing Li'rari gratitude instead of laughing at her."

I wiped the tears away from my eyes on my knees and leaned forward. "You're right, I'm sorry. Why weren't you just honest from the start?"

"Li'rari had to be sure you're the right one. These criminals aren't just any old bandits, they use mind control magic. Handsome Khajiit stays at distance while Li'rari gets around traps outside cave to make sure his companion is safe, and not raving mad. We wait until the raiders get back and fall asleep, traps are lowered, and zzh'ra! We save ungrateful girlfriend from mind wizards then go about our business. Simple, yes?"

What Li'rari said about the bandits using mind manipulation unnerved me, but it's always the same with these sorts of gangs. The leader is genius-level intelligent, bold, and calculated, but hires run-of-the-mill henchmen to do their bidding for them, normally resulting in chaos, unreached potential, and men wielding serious magic with explosive consequences.

"Well," began Li'rari. "Now, it's just a matter of—"

"Wait," I interjected, something occurring to me. "What did you mean when you said you had to make sure I was the right one? Is there someone else here?"

"Another pretty human matching your description was brought in like you, yes."

I looked around the cave but saw nothing but barrels. "Where?"

"On the other side of pen, near dead Senche."

I tilted my head, eyeing her. "Is she… okay?"

"This one does not know."

I stared across the cave uneasily before turning back to Li'rari. "Okay, can you please cut me loose?"

Li'rari shook her head comically. "No! Did you not hear Li'rari? We wait until bandits come back to disarm traps."

"I'm not waiting until they come back. They might kill me! No, I'm getting out of here, with or without your help."

Li'rari hissed and cursed, complaining about never being taken seriously as I fiddled with my bindings, incinerating them with a destructive touch of fire. I stood up on unsteady legs, looking around cautiously before making my way to the edge of the pen. I peered around the barrels and saw the Senche lying on the ground. Sure enough, next to it was another Breton with a blanket over her.

I frowned and tilted my head. "No way."

"Be careful, Li'rari warns you. Don't you get too close!" The Alfiq ran to my side, her head looking this way and that.

I climbed over the fence and dropped onto the other side. I couldn't help but try to get a closer look at the Breton. Ignoring Li'rari, I crept past the Senche and knelt down next to the girl. I pulled the blanket off of her, realizing with a wave of dread that the girl was me. I gasped, falling back and pushing myself away from… me with my legs. I knocked my back against the fence, causing the Senche to stir.

"I thought you said the Senche was dead!" I shrieked at Li'rari.

The Senche looked at me before his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed again. As he did, Ximena Version Two gasped and sat up.

"Yazhin!" she cried, crawling over to him and pushing his shoulder. "Wake up! We have to go! Please!"

"What?" I yelled, pushing myself further against the fence.

The other Ximena looked toward me but seemed to stare straight through me, as if hearing me but not seeing me. "I can hear the voices, Yazhin. They're coming for us. We can't hide forever."

My eyes widened as the other Ximena faded away and Senche Yazhin started to decay rapidly before my eyes.

I had to get out of there. I got to my feet, tasting vomit in my mouth as I stumbled past some cages with dead and dying animals inside.

"Come," prompted Li'rari, who ran for the corner leading to the mouth of the cave.

I followed her, exhaling sharply to rid my nostrils of the stench of decay, before freezing on the spot as I heard voices.

Li'rari reappeared back around the corner, her fur standing on end. "Hide."

I turned around and made a break for the far edge of the cave, past the pen I'd been held in, crouching and hiding in a sizeable crate behind two large stalagmites. Li'rari squeezed in after me, her fur in my face and claws in my legs.

"Ouch," I complained. "Do you mind?"

"Shh."

"Just get your damn claws out of my—"

Li'rari hissed at me. "Idiot human. Do you want to live? Li'rari wants to live, and remain sane too, so shut your mouth. We now wait for bandits to sleep."

I swallowed and fell silent.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Mother." An Imperial with long black hair came into view, followed by some other humans, Nords and Bretons, and two Argonians. "But we need only to perform one more blood ritual for Sithis to bring about The Change. Beheading her on the altar should more than suffice."

A short silence followed before the Imperial looked around in confusion. "What do you mean, she's right th—… wait, where is she? She's escaped the pen." The Imperial waved his arms dramatically at the men. "Well? Find her!"

The men unsheathed their weapons and started searching the cave.

My heart was beating so hard I could basically feel it in the back of my throat.

"Yes Mother, I know." The Imperial continued to talk to his "mother" near the tunnel entrance as his men started emptying crates and barrels. I sat fearfully in the crate, thinking about being beheaded and the possibility of never seeing Yazhin again. Tears fell from my eyes and landed on Li'rari, causing her to shake her head. Since Li'rari was more or less a cat, her expressions were limited, and I couldn't really tell if she was afraid or content.

One of the Argonians was getting pretty close to us as I watched him from a hole in the crate. He was tall and muscular, built like a brick wall, and had two horns on the back of his head, giving him a draconic appearance. I leaned back as far as I could, making the wood creak against my weight. I gasped as the Argonian's eyes flicked to the crate we were in. He bared his teeth and came toward us. I closed my eyes shut as hard as I could, waiting for him to be upon us.

"Found her!" yelled one of the men from the other side of the cave. "She's right here next to the pen. Didn't get far, did she?"

I opened my eyes and looked through the hole at the Argonian. He leaned his head back and watched the crate suspiciously before taking a few steps backward and finally turning away.

"What is happening?" I asked in amazement. "Who did they find?"

Li'rari sighed softly. "They found you, is what it sounds like."

I looked back through the hole worriedly. "If she is me, then… shouldn't we try to save her?"

"No. These idiots have been tricked by their own illusion magic."

"How can you be sure?"

Li'rari dug her claws into me, causing me to inhale sharply through gritted teeth. "Now who's the annoying one, eh? You're right here with me. You're real Breton girl, the other is fake."

I touched my forehead softly as I shifted my legs. "I don't know… something doesn't seem right."

"Nothing seems right here. Just hush."

"I think… I think it's the—"

I stopped talking when Li'rari swatted my head with her tail.

The Imperial, who'd finally stopped talking to his mother, sat down against the wall of the cave. "Gods, what a long day... by the way, has anyone seen Lee? He was supposed to be here when we got back."

"Probably got caught up, you know how he is. He'll be back," replied the other Argonian.

"What should we do with her? She's just lying there," asked a blonde Breton man.

"Just leave her. She probably triggered one of the traps, so she won't be getting up anytime soon. Who knows the things she'll be seeing if she comes to anyway. With any luck, she'll remain out cold until midnight."

"Yeah. Coz that's when we'll be sacrificing her!" shouted the young Breton.

"... yes. Thank you for stating the obvious, as always, Clint."

My mind began to race. Did I trigger one of the traps? Is that why I saw what I saw? Was any of this even real?"

Feeling sick again, I leaned out, wanting to get some air.

"Stop!" spat Li'rari in a hushed voice. "They'll see."

The Imperial got up and stretched. "I'm going to get some sleep, if anyone wants to join me."

"Good idea, Dion," said the Argonian who almost discovered us.

Li'rari purred. "See, what did this one tell you?"

Clint, the young blonde Breton, began to fidget. "It's your turn to keep watch though, Kaivu."

I looked at Li'rari and narrowed my eyes, and she raised her paw while grinning sheepishly.

"Wrong again, forker. It's Bleetu's turn for guard duty."

Clint opened his mouth, frowning and shaking his head. "What does that even mean?"

"You're an idiot."

"Hey!"

"That's literally what it means."

"How is that—"

"Enough!" said Dion, closing his eyes and holding his hands up. "Kaivu, you keep watch since you're decidedly the most capable one here."

Clint squinted, but then pulled his mouth down and nodded slowly as he looked up, mouthing, "Yeah."

"We just need to make sure the sacrificial lamb doesn't wake up and slip out while we're sleeping."

Kaivu crossed his arms and flared his nostrils. "You can count on me," he said, his deep voice betraying his true feelings of animosity.

We waited for about ten minutes as the men settled down to sleep in some rough-looking bedrolls. I watched them as they moved, struggling to decide if they were more stupid or dangerous.

"So," I whispered to Li'rari. "Since it was your idea to stay here until they came back, I assume you have a grand exit plan stashed away between those two fluffy ears of yours?"

Li'rari growled at me. "Don't start. If sassy attitude could save us, we'd be free as Jerboas right now, yes? Just let Li'rari think, or make yourself useful and come up with your own plan."

I peered back through the hole and looked around, my attention being drawn to a barrel standing by itself near the tunnel leading out of the cave.

"Hey," I said. "Is that what I think it is?"

Li'rari bumped her head against mine to look through the hole.

"Oi!" I said in protest.

"Move your head, it's Li'rari's turn to use the hole."

"No, you just had your turn, so why don't you move your head?"

We struggled with each other to look through the hole, with me closing one eye and Li'rari pushing my head with her front legs as we both strained to see.

"The barrel by the tunnel," I began. "I think it contains explosives."

"What barrel? Let Li'rari see," she said as she pushed my face out of the way, accidentally clipping me with her claw.

"Ouch! Keep your paws off me," I complained, shoving her away.

Li'rari bared her teeth. "Shove this one again, shaveskin, and that soft flesh will catch a real taste of these claws."

"Are you seriously threatening me?" I huffed. "I have about 100 pounds on you, you know?"

Li'rari stared at me coldly, her tail swishing angrily.

"Gods, you have a temper. Anyway, if stealth doesn't work, we'll kick the barrel over and I'll use my magic to… ah."

I stopped talking as I peered out of the hole again, realizing with dread that Kaivu stood a few feet away with his arms crossed. He shattered the crate we were in with one mighty kick, exposing us.

"Well, well, well," he said slowly. "What do we have here?"