JoS/Kanna/21st Journal - Strange Bedfellows

Sun's Dawn, 14th, 3E 428

Life's been busy recently but in all the wrong ways, and now's the first time in weeks I've been able to just sit down and relax.

I've been just patrolling the roads for the Legion on the west coast, occasionally stopping travelers to ask them about their business. It was an around-the-clock kinda gig where we didn't spend a whole lot of time in one place, and would it not have been for the guys in my unit, I would've died from boredom after just one week of doing that shit.

We were quite a motley crew despite everyone working for the Legion, with a Nord, an Argonian, and a Wood Elf sharing my tent as men, and a young Breton chick sharing the other tent with our boss, an Orc veteran who's been serving the Legion for over forty years. It kinda started at strictly business for all of us, but having shared daily pints of Matze in every stinking tavern from Gnisis to Ebonheart, we became pretty close.

Jeelus-Lai, the Argonian, was probably the best of the bunch. Born in the village of Chasecreek in northern Argonia, he was taken from home when he was but a little hatchling and was raised in the bondage of slavery in some Dren plantation just south of Almalexia. It's sadly a story not that uncommon for an Argonian living in southern Morrowind, but the thing that makes him different is that he managed to escape his servitude, thanks to the help of the Twin Lamps. Now, he's devoted his life to helping other slaves in the very same organization. Being part of the Legion, while noble in his eyes, is merely a job and a way to make money, or so he says. I've also told him my story privately, and since we're similar in many ways, we have a mutual understanding and respect for one another. The fact that he has a great sense of humor also helps.

As for Liliana, the young Breton, the kid's like twelve or something, I'm not actually sure, and she's supposedly a noble too, considering both her parents are part of the Order of the Lily. They're a very typical knightly order in High Rock, devoted to their patron goddess Dibella, but I don't know much beyond that. All I know is that she came to Morrowind with a group of missionaries and is heavily involved with the Imperial Church. Being a Knight-Initiate, she can handle heavy armor and a sword really well, but she mostly acts as our healer. The kid's definitely better at Restoration magic than my sister is. Not as cute, though, but cute enough for me to have a crush on that flat-chested little brunette. Wish that little shorty had eyes for me because I'd love to see if Dibella's worshippers are as great lovers as the rumors say, but I'm afraid to ask.

Anyway, when we made it to Fort Hawkmoth in Ebonheart a couple of days ago, we were tasked with infiltrating a recently-discovered Sixth House base just an hour's walk to the north, a major hotspot for illegal smuggling to the mainland. Conducting our attack late in the evening, we actually caught a small group of "Dreamers" loading several large wooden crates onto a ship and took them out quickly.

When we inspected the crates, we found them full of creepy red statues, each one being about the size of a standard glass bottle, and they were all filled to the brim with volcanic ash. Not sure what to make of all this, we decided it was for the best to set the ship and its contents on fire, and let the strange statues sink to the shallow sea floor.

The rest of the mission, which happened inside a seaside cave called Assemanu, didn't go too well.

I didn't mention Jeelus-Lai and Liliana for nothing; we're the only three that made it out alive. One-third of our unit got wiped out in an unfortunate ambush, while our boss died fighting the enemy leader. He was another one of those nasty half-man, half-tentacle creatures, the likes of which I saw in the other hideout with Aliya and my sister. Luckily, I didn't have to witness anyone get raped by that thing this time. Jeelus-Lai and I managed to take him down in the end, with Liliana also doing a superb job despite having the least field experience out of us all. Although she says she's fine, she was visibly shaken following our raid, having witnessed the loss of life for the first time on the battlefield. Jeelus-Lai got badly wounded, but says he has suffered worse, so he'll be fine. Me? I contracted blight for the third time. Luckily, it wasn't corprus, so I knew I could be cured. Still, we had to visit the temple in Balmora as fast as possible to get it sorted out before I would turn into a monster.

After explaining the situation to the master of the Temple, Feldrelo, she suggested I might've actually gotten the blight from the ash statues. The Sixth House uses them to spread their influence to the mainland, by spreading the disease. This supposedly allows Dagoth Ur - "The Sharmat", as she called him - and his priests to reach more and more people and brainwash them into his cause, using dark dreams to speak to his victims in their sleep. I guess there's a reason why they call his followers "Dreamers", "Sleepers", and whatnot. She called it a soul sickness meant to test the faith of mortals, especially of the Dunmer, with those who are easily swayed and those who possess low willpower being the most likely victims. Still, as Dagoth Ur grows more powerful, it will become difficult for even the most devout and faithful to resist his curse.

That reminds me, Aliya has complained about seeing strange dreams a lot too, meaning she's being targeted by Dagoth Ur's curse like many of the Dunmer who live here. Curiously, the dark dreams don't tend to reach outlanders as often, which is probably why Kanna and I have been left untargeted, but I guess that has nothing to do with us being more powerful than our average Dunmer. Rather, we're seen as slaves to be subjugated and a pest to be eradicated.

On that note, she thanked us profusely for killing the "Priest", the leader of that particular cave, and said that killing him should've helped free some people from the Sharmat's curse, and while we accepted the thanks, and were happy to help, it also saddens us to know that some of those men and women we had to kill could've been saved from their own curse, and woken up from their dark dreams.

Anyway, glad that's over with. I'm still feeling under the weather, so I'll spend at least a few days relaxing at home.

I've got to say it feels so lonely and quiet without Kanna and Aliya here. I don't think they've been home at all, as the house looks exactly as it did when I last visited a week or so ago. It's been quite a while since they left for the east coast, which makes me wonder, what's up with them? Sure hope everything's okay with those two, wherever they could be. Wish I could at least hear something from them, even if just to confirm they're safe and sound. Like, I know those two are more capable than their appearance leads one to believe, but since the Legion has a bounty on Kanna in Cyrodiil, and the Tribunal Temple has an arrest warrant on Aliya, I can't help but worry a little.

This is probably a long shot since I'm not sure where to start looking, but could I go look for them now that I'm on leave from active duty? Maybe I'll get permission if I ask for one.

For now, I'll get some rest to see if I can fully heal from this stinky ash-flu…

Sun's Dawn, 15th, 3E 428

My request for administrative leave has been granted, but Radd Hard-Heart, my commanding officer here in Balmora, reminded me not to "desert my post", as he put it. While the Legion, the Temple, and the Great Houses - mostly Redoran - are doing a fine job at combatting the growing Sixth House threat, I'm still needed for duty.

Fine, I was probably never going to find those two anyway, not when they could be anywhere on this cursed island. Hell, they could even be visiting the mainland for gods-know-what! It's just so annoying that I can't leave, all because of my higher-ups holding my past over my head and blackmailing me into doing everything they tell me. It's days like these that make me feel like joining the Legion was a big, fat mistake.

Wait, maybe I could ask to be stationed on the east coast? Wolverine Hall is the only Imperial fortress there, but if there's one place on that side of Vvardenfell where I could come across those girls, or at least hear rumors of them, it would be that place. Then again, maybe I should just give it up and have faith. I would've heard from at least one of them if something terrible had happened, so perhaps their silence is a good sign.

Whatever happens, I feel I should do something during these days off. Maybe I'll give my sword a few practice swings, see if the local guilds have work to offer, catch up with those two who survived the assault with me to see what they're up to, or maybe I'll see if I can find a sexy chick to bed in the local Cornerclub.

Maybe I'll do all that.

Sun's Dawn, 19th, 3E 428

It had been a while since I last stepped inside the Fighters Guild, but Eydis, the local steward, was happy to see me all the same. I asked her for any and all kinds of jobs I could do locally, and she has given me several.

My first task involved killing some egg poachers. Boring shit, if I'm being perfectly honest, but stealing food from Kwama mines is a pretty serious crime, so it was an important job. There's enough poverty and hunger amongst the lower class as it is, and the Dunmer don't need the eggs falling into the wrong hands. I got paid pretty handsomely.

The other job I took was rather menial and something that should've been reserved for a beginner, but at least I got something out of it. A local lass named Drarayne had trouble with some cave rats and needed an exterminator. For some reason, these rats felt more powerful than the others I've had to stomp out during my travels all over Tamriel - probably due to having access to abundant food in Drarayne's storage - but I'll be damned before I let a filthy rodent get the better of me. I got rid of them all in less than a minute.

I wouldn't even write about a mission like this, were it not for the fact that Drarayne was an absolute loon! For starters, she seems to be collecting pillows. Can you believe it? What kind of commentary am I even supposed to provide here? Fucking pillows, I swear. Secondly, she was into me, which I don't blame her for, but she was strangely open about it, and suspiciously focused on my race. "Big, burly humans just do it better", are the exact words she used, if my memory serves me right. The local Dunmer men would've ripped her a new one for insulting their masculinity and suggesting such a thing. Me? I was just happy to rip through her ass! That crazy bitch loved anal, and although I'm not exactly in her age bracket since she's in her thirties, she was okay-looking. She was damn loud and talkative too, going on and on about how she just loves young human cock, about how it had been such a long time since she had bred with a stud as young as myself, and expressed her desire to be ravaged by a "brute" like myself. It's like he was fetishizing me for being a human - and a teenager too, I guess - but I'm not offended or anything. I don't mind at all. Besides, I AM a sexy brute! Made sure to reach around her waist to give her grey clit some love too. Man, what a wild bitch. It'd been a while since I last got laid, so even though I only used her back door as she requested, I came like buckets.

Now, I'm home, and feeling strangely regretful. They say you shouldn't put your dick in crazy, but that's exactly what I did. At least I'm confident in knowing this affair isn't gonna lead to a kid.

Not sure how to end this entry, so I'll just say that Eydis promised me more work tomorrow. In a way, I hope it's more menial tasks, as easy money is always welcome.

Sun's Dawn, 20th, 3E 428

Today, Eydis sent me to acquire some sort of code book from a woman named Sottilde at the South Wall Cornerclub, which was great since I was planning to meet up with Jeelus-Lai for a drink there anyway. While I was meant to get the book by "any means necessary", this was supposed to be just a simple request that didn't involve fighting or killing. Didn't go quite as planned.

I was stepping into the Thieves Guild territory, but even though I'm not a member myself, I've had prior positive dealings with them, so I'm both recognized and trusted. After asking around for my target Sottilde for a while, I was led to the bar downstairs, the place where all the fun, drinking, and hook-ups happen. Upstairs is simply an eatery, or so I've understood.

My target's full name was Glass-Eye Sottilde, as apparent by the scar that ran across her face and the fact that she had only one functioning eye, and she was sitting alone at a table. She was a gorgeous Nordic brunette, young but definitely older than me, and she wasn't afraid to show her stunning hourglass figure. Her tits were so big I could hardly believe her button-up tunic could contain them, but then again, she had it partially open and unbuckled since it was clearly impossible to close the shirt completely. She smiled when she saw me, but it was quite clear she wasn't looking for company. Regardless, work is work, so I offered her a glass of Colovian brandy. It was all I needed to sit down with her.

She got super friendly when I mentioned the code book, which made me think that maybe she and Eydis had some kind of a deal. Still, she was also suspiciously evasive about the subject. She just swirled her glass around, not once breaking eye contact, and put on a seductive, even sexually suggestive smile while I took a sip from my own glass. The last thing I remember before passing out was hearing her say: "Good night." She must've laced my glass of brandy with some kind of poison while I wasn't looking, and enchanted by her beauty, I never even saw it coming. Looking back, I think she might've put an illusion spell on me, but none of that matters anymore.

All that matters is that when I came to, the bitch had stripped me naked, and helplessly tied me to some bed's four corners by my limbs. She wasn't alone either, as Habasi was there too. She's a Khajiit I remember very well, for she's the local ringleader in Balmora. I asked her, "what the fuck is this", but she just replied by telling me to shut my mouth and only speak when spoken to.

Meanwhile, Sottilde, the crazy bitch, sat on the bed and stroked my skin with the tip of her malachite dagger while still smiling that same seductive smile and chuckling with a low tone. I knew I was in deep shit, and I didn't even know why. As soon as her dagger reached my pubes, she stopped, and grabbed my dick with her free hand, acting like she was about to cut it off! Then, with a sickly-sweet voice, she just asked: "Who sent you?"

"Eydis! From the Fighters Guild!" I shouted, feeling like I couldn't answer fast enough.

That sadistic little bitch licked her lips, and even though she clearly knew who I was talking about, she wasn't satisfied with my answer. "Eydis who-now? I don't know anyone who goes by the name "from the Fighters Guild"", she said, skillfully running her finger horizontally right underneath my exposed glans.

"Fire-Eye! Her name is Eydis Fire-Eye!"

Suddenly, she grabbed my cock even harder. "Oh? That Fire-Eye? Eydis "rides Camonna Tong's cock" Fire-Eye? Eydis "licks the cheese off Orvas Dren's cock" Fire-Eye?"

I must admit, I was confused because that was my local boss in the Fighters Guild she was talking about, not some sick criminal thug the likes of which Camonna Tong employs, but by the gods, those two women looked serious. Habasi looked especially furious, and I almost could hear her hiss at me, although I could also see a hint of disappointment in her eyes. Sottilde, though, was clearly enjoying herself, and she didn't like my silence one bit.

"Oh, do speak", she said, inching the blade's edge closer to my member. "Or do I have to make you scream?"

I didn't even know what to say, so I just shouted: "That's her!" It was a rapid-fire discussion from there.

"Do you even know why she wants the code book?"

"She talked about a client, and - "

"That client's name is Orvas Dren", she said, raising her voice and immediately sounding more imposing.

"I didn't know! I swear!"

"Be clear, little man. You do not know who I'm talking about?"

"I know! But I didn't know she was working with him! How could I have!?" At that point, I turned toward Habasi, who was just listening to the discussion from the sidelines. She still looked so pissed, but she was willing to listen. "Habasi, you know I'm telling you the truth! I'm no friend of Camonna Tong! Please, you've got to believe me!"

The silence lasted only for five seconds, until Sottilde started rubbing and stroking my cock. Without breaking eye contact with me, she asked: "May I have your permission to neuter this dog, boss?"

"It may have been nothing but a pawn on Dren's chess board", Habasi said, trying to keep calm, "but it speaks the truth. Khajiit knows it can be trusted."

That was a relief for me, but Sottilde still didn't look too happy. She stared me down, full of suspicion, and I felt like I had to say something to calm her down and appeal to her senses. I told her about working with the Guild before against Camonna Tong, together with the Twin Lamps. It seemed to make her face soften, but I wasn't done. I also told her about my sister and how they tortured her, and asked her if she seriously thought I could forgive those bandits for that? For hurting the only family I have? She quieted down completely, but she looked more furious than ever. Not at me this time, but at Camonna Tong. Her anger toward them was palpable, but she couldn't utter a word for a while.

Still, it appears to be true. Eydis is working for Camonna Tong. This isn't a case of the Fighters Guild simply working against the Thieves Guild because the latter are considered criminals, but rather a business deal steeped in personal greed. Camonna Tong's blood money reaches far and wide into corrupt pockets, and if Habasi and Sottilde are to be believed, there's not an institution more rotten than the Fighters Guild in all of Morrowind. "And it's not just Eydis", Sottilde said. "It's the entire fucking leadership."

The code book itself was an encrypted document listing Skooma deliveries to various Camonna Tong hideouts across Vvardenfell, acquired by an insider named Guldrise Dralor whom the Thieves Guild had inside that bandit clan. As for why Sottilde got caught with the code book in her possession? Well, that's the same insider's fault. Sottilde's part of the Guild's counter-intelligence operation against Camonna Tong, and when the unfortunate fool came to deliver the document to her a couple of nights ago, the Tong's thugs followed. Although Guldrise got caught and captured, Sottilde luckily made it out, but she's still far from the clear. She's afraid of being kidnapped and enslaved - "Just like ten years ago", she said, while clutching her scar - but not so afraid that she would stop herself from getting revenge against the bandits who robbed her of her innocent childhood.

That kind of makes me understand why she initially saw me as a threat. She really must've seen me as a bad guy, just like those people who enslaved her when she was a kid. She didn't outright say it, but she did sort of admit to being wrong about me, and to being emotional and afraid. Not sure if I can even blame her. This was a simple misunderstanding on her part.

Habasi, in her seemingly limitless genius, had luckily already decoded the code book, so there was no harm in handing it over to Eydis anymore. She knew about most of the Tong hideouts listed in the book, for the map Elone could secure from the Dren Plantation several months ago already had revealed them all, but it also showed an additional one. With only codewords ILL, MIR, and ELDER as clues, Habasi suspected there could be a hideout somewhere in Ald'ruhn, which translates to "Elder Home" in Tamrielic language.

"So take the book to Dren's little whore", Habasi said and nodded at Sottilde, instructing her to cut loose the ties holding me down. "Khajiit was planning on handing it over to the authorities so we can steal the trade route for ourselves… but that's dangerous business. Instead, you, Redguard, will be "the authority" and help the Guild. So it will work for us again, yes? Come back tomorrow. It should help us find who or what "ILL MIR" is."

Sottilde also had a request of her own. "Avenge Guldrise for me. She was my best friend, and it pains me to think what she must be going through right now. So make their deaths painful and bloody, big guy." Then, her angry scowl turned into a smirk. "I will personally reward you for every single piece of scum you eradicate from the face of this island", she added and blew me a kiss.

Then, I left, luckily with my dick still attached. And I didn't even get to share that drink with Jeelus-Lai. Worst bar night ever!

Luckily, it doesn't seem like Eydis has any suspicions about me knowing about her dirty little secret, and seems to trust me blindly. All she did was thank me for a job well done, and paid me for my troubles, promising even more work tomorrow. I'm not sure if I should even take the job, but I guess I must, just to make sure she doesn't get suspicious of me in the future either.

Still, it's so hard to believe she could be working for Camonna Tong, but I don't believe those two women were lying to me either. I guess time will tell what the truth is, and help me decide where my allegiances lie. For now, I'll trust my gut and work with the Thieves Guild because I know for sure that THEY aren't in cahoots with Camonna Tong. Hopefully, Habasi will shed some light tomorrow on how I can help them.

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