JoS/Kanna/2nd Journal - Outlanders
It had been a busy day at Arrille's little shop by now with many people going through the door, in and out, to trade, to share friendly chats, and to dine. The young elf sitting alone at one of the tables didn't pay much attention at first to the man walking up the stairs, but as soon as she noticed an unfamiliar face at the corner of her eye, her head and body turned completely. She bolted up and approached the tall Redguard in the middle of his puberty, who noticed the preteen Altmer girl focused on him.
"Excuse me, but are you Karim?"
The Redguard looked surprised, and stuttered out a simple "Yeah". He saw the relief wash over the elf's face, and noticed a kind smile. "What's this about?"
"I'm Aliya. The truth is, I'm here because of Caius Cosades."
"Oh, is this important?"
"Yeah, kind of… I need some help with a task I've been given. I think it's important… I'm not sure I can do it alone…"
"If Caius sent you to me, I suppose it's important… He wouldn't contact me if it wasn't." Karim then sighed, as he was forced to let Aliya down for a moment. "Unfortunately I have a small task of mine left here. I've been looking for someone for two full days now, and I just can't let it go. It's annoying me."
"I could maybe help you", Aliya said and smiled happily.
"Sounds good. I've been looking for a man named Processus Vitellus who went missing a few days back. He's a tax collector."
"Well, I found a dead body by the shore while I was honing my spellcraft", the Aliya commented, wondering if that could be the man Karim was looking for. "He had some money on him, some papers too… I only picked up the money though…"
Karim nodded. "Could be the one. Can you show me to him?"
And that's exactly what she did. It took only fifteen minutes for them to walk by the shore to find the place where the dead Imperial man was laying in the bushes.
Karim leaned in to inspect Processus's body, and came to a conclusion that he truly was the man he had been looking for, and confirmed Aliya's suspicions about the wounds on him being result of a short blade, possibly a dagger. The paper he had on him also proved the fact that he was in fact a tax collector, and it even had a list of people he was collecting taxes from. Case was closed, and the two youngsters walked to the Census office at Seyda Neen to report their findings to Socucius along with some evidence.
The old Breton was surprised and glad to see Aliya once again, and asked if she's been well, to which Aliya replied positively, although a little hesitantly. Socucius also commented about how wonderful it was that these two outlanders who had been sent to a foreign province had found good friends in each other. Karim and Aliya barely knew each other yet, but neither of them felt that it was appropriate to correct the old man on that. After all, they both believed that they were capable of becoming friends.
Karim explained to Socucius that the man he was hired to search for had in fact been murdered, and urged Aliya to give the money he had on him as well. Aliya wasn't originally planning on doing that, but Karim insisted that Aliya should do the right thing, and that good things happens to honest people. Sure enough, at least that day, that was true, as Socucius was more than happy to reward the pair of youngsters if they could hunt down the murderer. Collectively, they would be paid five hundred septims should they bring him to justice, which was more than double what Aliya had looted from the dead man.
"Do you have any idea who it could be?" Karim asked, hoping to hear some clues from his current employer.
"No, I'm sorry, but I don't know", Socucius admitted. "Could be a Bandit for all I know."
Ganciele, the Legionnaire who was in the room with Socucius, suggested that the youngsters should hold onto the tax record for clues, suggesting that the murderer could be on the list. "Citizens of Vvardenfell aren't too happy about the high taxes the Empire has on them, so my guess is that one of them could've snapped."
After that, the two youngsters left the office.
First person they approached for clues was Fargoth, a young Bosmer living at the village, who said that he wasn't at all surprised that he got murdered, but was of course not happy about it. Nobody liked the man according to Fargoth, apart from a woman who lives at the Lighthouse, a woman by the name of Thavere. Going to her for clues was their next logical step.
The Dunmer broke down crying as soon as she heard the news, saying that she and Processus were lovers, and that she didn't know what to even do without him. It was clear to the two youngsters that she was not a suspect, but they insisted on learning some clues, anything that they could use for their advantage in finding the murderer. All she could remember was that Processus once talked about an argument he had with a man over taxes, a man by the name of Foryn Gilnith, a local fisherman. Based on the tax records the pair had on them, this man sure owes a lot in comparison to many others, and suspiciously, hasn't paid a single septim. The fact that the man was a fisherman was also suspect, as it could potentially explain where the body was, by the sea. It was time for them to find this man and approach him.
And thus, the mystery had been solved, as the man confessed to the murder. "Yeah, I killed that fetcher", he said without a hint of hesitation or regret. It angered Karim, who took the man by his collar and pushed him against the wall.
"That's no reason to kill a man", he said, but the grey-skinned elf just smiled, almost as if telling Karim to calm down. "He was just doing his job."
"Fetcher is what he was, a thief, corrupt to the bone", Foryn said. "I did everyone a favor by getting rid of him."
Aliya put his hand on Karim, urging him to pull away before he would punch the Dunmer. Aliya had noticed that the suspect was armed. "Stop, let's not hurt him."
Karim wanted to punch the man so bad, but he relaxed his grip anyway.
"Smart girl", Foryn said. "Now walk away, outlander. I'm by far not the only one in this town who hates the Empire's thieves."
"Let's go", Aliya said.
Outside, Karim seemed confused at what Aliya had just said, and how she had acted. "What was that about? I should be arresting him right now!"
"I sympathize with him", Aliya admitted. "I don't like the Empire too much either, not after everything they've put me through. Don't like the idea of high taxes too much either… He's probably struggling to make ends meet."
"Yeah, I have my reservations about the Imperials too, but let's not forget who we serve", Karim said strictly. "We're both Blades, aren't we? And I serve the Legion too. I have to do what's right. No, we have to do what's right."
"I suppose… But that's not a reason to get our hands bloody", Aliya said. "Come on, Karim. Let's go report him to the authorities, so they can decide what to do with him."
And that's exactly what they did. They both got paid for their troubles, and the local Legionnaires arrested the criminal, preparing to escort him to Fort Moonmoth, where he would be jailed, and probably executed as a punishment. As it was getting late, Aliya and Karim decided to rest for the night and prepare for the next day.
On the following day, the pair of Aliya and Karim departed for adventure. Their target, the ruins of Arkngthand, weren't too far away from Balmora; cross the river, follow down the road to Caldera and from there to Molag Mar, cross the old Dwemer bridge, and voila, there it would standing. On their road they discussed a lot about themselves, trying to get to each other. They mostly touched on their current allegiances, which were in both of their cases quite heavily favored the Empire. They also talked about the kind of work they had been doing so far, which in Karim's case was a lot more, as he had been in Morrowind for a while longer.
As they approached their destination, crossing the old metal bridge that was constructed over the dried-up river of fire, they were attacked by a bandit, an Imperial male. It spooked Aliya out a little because it was the first time ever she had been attacked like that, and the bandit, wielding an axe, was talking about all the nasty things he would do to Aliya, about how "they" would rape her for hours and make her beg for her life. Had it not been for Karim, he might've even succeeded. Aliya was a talented mage, but she had no experience with dealing with bandits like this. Karim got himself injured in the melee, but not badly. As soon as he managed to defeat the enemy, Aliya came for her companion's aid.
"Are you okay?" Aliya asked, showing genuine concern. Karim simply nodded, and he sat down. "I'll try to heal you a little. Show me where he got you."
"Here", Karim said, and showed at the deep wound he'd been inflicted with. Aliya was no master of Restoration, but she knew how to heal injuries like this.
"Give me a moment", Aliya said, but what the bandit had said was making her worry, and her gaze and focus to wander off. "Are there more of them?" she asked. "He said they."
"Yeah, I think there are more", Karim said, "but try to focus on me. I'll focus on surroundings."
It took her some time, but after ten or so minutes of tending to her companion, Karim was feeling as if nothing happened.
"That felt good", Karim said and stood up. "Thanks, you're the best."
"Y-you're welcome", Aliya replied with a shaky voice, blushing slightly. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, let's go. I think the door is just behind the hill."
Although they did find the door, they couldn't figure out how to get past it at first. It was a strange and sturdy metal contraption and wouldn't budge no matter how much they tried. They eventually found a tiny gas valve they could turn to activate the door, but even then it took them at least two more minutes trying to figure out exactly how the door worked. Opening it blocked the entrance, but only briefly. When it closed, they were locked inside, but would be able to enter the ruins. Thus begun their descent into the depths of this ancient city.
Just as they predicted, and just like the bandit had alluded to, they found more enemies. A pair of Bandits, another Imperial accompanied by a Redguard, were sitting down at the bottom of a staircase, sharing banter, talking rather loudly about something.
"I have a plan", Karim said. "I need you to take out one of them for me."
Aliya's heart was racing, because she had never killed a human before, or an elf for that matter, at least not on purpose. She was afraid to say it out loud, so she simply just nodded, and urged Karim to explain the plan in as much detail as possible, as the last thing Aliya wanted to do was fuck it up. After about a minute of explanation and rehearsing it, they decided to put it into action.
First, Aliya descended from the ledge to the lower level, where their two targets were waiting. There was a spiraling staircase that led down, and Karim took this route. The enemy hadn't realized their presence yet, and they were being set up for a situation where they were being attacked from both sides. Karim saw that Aliya was ready, after which he purposely let himself be discovered. The two bandits bolted up, swearing, picking up their weapons and throwing threats Karim's way. Aliya snuck up to the Imperial male and from behind, she slit her throat open with a dagger while Karim charged forward. Realizing his partner had just been killed, the remaining bandit lost his focus on the approaching enemy, but just for a moment. He was able to parry Karim's attack, but he wasn't prepared for what was coming next.
"Dodge!" Aliya commanded as she plunged her two hands forward, pressing them against her enemy's back. She unleashed a torrent of fiery flames that engulfed her enemy, flames which Karim was more than capable of avoiding. He finished off the enemy with couple of unprotected attacks, and let out a sigh of relief.
"That was easy", Karim commented.
"I-I can't believe I actually killed a man." Aliya spoke in utter shock, sounding out of breath. She took a look at her bloodied dagger.
"You'll get over it", Karim said and tapped Aliya on the shoulder. "He was a criminal scum, don't worry."
"I-I mean, he must've still had a family, people he loves, people who love him…" Aliya said, trying to reason with herself.
"I don't mean to sound cold, but it's best you don't think about it like that", Karim said. "Just wipe your weapon from blood and put it away, so it won't rust." That's exactly what Aliya did.
They immediately found out that they weren't able to progress further. A tall man wielding a large warhammer emerged from inside a door, which was located on another tall ledge, accessible only by a bit of climbing. "What the fuck is this ruckus about", he said, laying his hammer on his shoulder. "Couple of fucking kids? What have you done to my men?"
Aliya and Karim both prepared for combat. The enemy, visibly angry, jumped down, and attacked the couple. He wasn't even making any threats about what he was about to do, he simply wanted to kill. He seemed more focused on Karim, as he didn't see the puny barehanded elf as a threat. Feeling confident about herself though, Aliya gathered all her courage to go on offense, once again deciding to rely on her magic. She unleashed another close-quarters fire spell, thinking it might even be extra effective because of the plate her enemy was wielding. She did manage to do plenty of damage, but it was clear that the enemy wasn't going to go down so easily.
"You fucking cunt", he shouted, "I'll rape you!"
"You can't win", Karim said, and with his enemy being distracted, just like the last time Aliya intervened with previous enemy, he was able to strike at his enemy. Bandit blocked the attack, but Karim was able to follow up with another, which would disarm the thug. He had no more weapons at his disposal, so he simply plunged at Aliya, who was unprepared for such assault. Green as she was, she had no counter for this giant of a man grabbing hold of her, putting her in a chokehold.
"Alright, pretty boy", the man threatened. "Drop your weapon, or I'll snap this cunt's neck like a twig."
Karim did as was ordered, and let go of his sword, even going as far as to kick it away from himself.
"Who sent you?" the bandit asked.
Deciding it would be best to act chill, Karim told everything, but ended up twisting the truth ever-so slightly. "We're looking for a puzzle cube. My associate here hired me to help with retrieving it."
"Is that so?" the man asked. "Answer me, you whore. Why do you want the puzzle cube?"
"Someone from the Fighter Guild wants, I'm not sure why", Aliya replied, truthfully and honestly. The Nord wasn't impressed with the story, and demanded further explanation. "His name is Hasphat Antabolis. In return I need information from him regarding the sixth house and the Nerevarine cult…"
"Sounds like horseshit, but you're in luck ", the man says. "I have the cube, and it's fucking useless. We've tried to solve it for weeks. It's supposed to be the key to open the door that leads further down, but it's all a fucking scam I tell you." He then turned his gaze towards Karim. "I'll give it to you, so you can fuck off, and we can fuck off as well, and stop wasting time on this god-forsaken island. The girl is coming with us. Any objections?"
"None", Karim replied with a stern expression on his face.
"N-no way…!" Aliya replied in horror. Her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't believe that her ally would be willing to give up and abandon her so easily. "K-Karim, please…! You can't!"
"You're a smart man", the bandit said with a grin on his face, as he groped Aliya's small, developing breasts. "She's such a beauty… I think after raping her for a while with the boys I can even forgive you for killing my underlings."
"Please, please no…!" Aliya pleaded in tears, closing her eyes. Memories of being in captivity, being raped and abused day in and day out flooded her mind, as the realization about her immediate future started setting in. It was going to happen again, but this time with bandits? Was she going to become a sex-slave for some band of criminals? She couldn't bear the thought, but she had already completely given up in her mind, as it didn't look like salvation was possible anymore.
"So, where's the cube?" Karim asked.
"It's in the room where I came from", the bandit said, as he continued to tease the girl in his grasp, going as far as to pinch her nipple through the shirt now, laughing through his grin, breathing heavily. Suddenly however, he let go of his target, screaming in pain. Aliya realizing she was free plunged her body forward and fell to the ground, placing her hand on her hip where her dagger was sheathed. The dagger was in Karim's hand, he had taken it while walking past the unassuming, distracted bandit, and stuck it straight through his enemy's eye. Karim proceeded to cut the enemy's throat open, after which he tossed the dagger back to Aliya, right to her feet.
"You go ahead, escape this place", Karim said. "There could be more of them, so hurry. I'll go get the cube so we can get out of here."
Aliya, still feeling like she could cry, with her entire body shaking and shivering from fear, picked up the dagger, and did as was told. Pure rush of adrenaline forced her legs to move, and she practically ran up the spiraling road back to surface. She collapsed to her knees at the door, and just laid her back against it, trying to catch her breath. It really was a testament to how badly her physical strength had deteriorated, as she couldn't move at all, couldn't have ran any step further, didn't have any strength left in her body. After about a minute had passed, she heard steps approaching. She raised her gaze to stare at Karim, who was holding a tiny, ornate metal cube in his left hand, right hand extended towards Aliya. He helped her back to her feet, and Aliya collapsed forward, leaned against Karim's body and hugged him tight. Karim hugged her back, and assured her that she's safe with him. "Let's go", he said.
End of current content