Kay(jiit) Sarah Sara: Part 17 – Fellglow Keep
Author’s Note: I’ve recently installed SkyUI because a few of my mods need it to run properly. Still getting used to waiting until the icons disappear before taking screenshots. A few of the ones I wanted to use for this chapter were ruined by cooldown icons that I’m not used to seeing.
- Atsie Newt
Sundas, 24th of Last Seed
This one is sick of fighting.
Studying the women more closely, Kay noticed their skin was more pallid than most Nords. What this one had initially taken to be bloodshot eyes were indeed a permanent discolouration. Unable to trust that the women would not attack if they were released, and unwilling to leave them to starve to death, Kay summoned her flames and incinerated each of them in turn, the last of the three giving this one a pitiful look as the flames lapped around her.
‘Let’s get your books and get out of here,’ Stenvar said as the flames petered out. ‘There’s one over there.’
Stenvar’s enthusiasm was commendable, but the book on the table opposite the cages was a generic text. This one doubted a book readily available on the open market was the one she sought.
Ascending from the dungeons, Kayjiit’s nostrils were overwhelmed by the metallic stench of blood.
‘What foul sorcery are they conducting here?’ Stenvar asked as this one picked her way through a room used for surgery. Upon a table, the mutilated remains of a male vampire were caked in blood while another rotted in a cage suspended from the ceiling.
‘This blood is fresh,’ Kay said as she gingerly touched one finger to the congealing fluid.
‘Then we’d best be on guard,’ Stenvar replied as he drew his sword.
‘This one agrees,’ said Kay, her ears pricking at the distant howls of a wolf.
Advancing through the keep, the noises grew louder until this one entered a prison room. Before Khajiit could react, a black-robed wizard yanked on a lever in the centre of the room, releasing the lock of one of the cages. As a giant wolf bounded from the cell, Kay blasted the wizard with fire. The wolf circled the blaze only to meet Stenvar’s sword as it cut a shining arc through the air, its polished surface reflecting the fire as it sunk into the wolf’s throat.
With the immediate threat ended, Khajiit turned her attention to the caged elf.
‘I don't have them anymore,’ Orthorn said when this one asked what he had done with the books. ‘She took them... The Caller. They threw me in here until they were ready to use me in one of their experiments.’
This one did not like the sound of that. The chances that The Caller would hand over the books willingly were low. Deciding that Orthorn would be of little use, Kay pulled the lever to release his cage lock and headed for the door.
‘Thank you, thank you! I promise I'll help,’ Orthorn said as he made to follow Kay and Stenvar.
‘Khajiit does not need help from a cowardly thief,’ this one replied as she placed one hand on the door handle.
‘I'll just stay behind you a little bit, and follow along quietly,’ said Orthorn, looking around nervously.
Tired of dealing with timewasters, Kay turned and hissed at the man, baring her teeth. Deterred from his course of action, Orthorn turned and ran back the way Khajiit had come.
‘Harsh,’ said Stenvar as he sheathed his sword.
‘Did the proud Nord want to hold the hand of a thieving wizard, yes?’ Kay asked as she pushed open the door.
‘Since you put it that way,’ Stenvar replied, gesturing for this one to lead the way.
It was too much to hope for that the wizard watching over Orthorn was the last of The Caller’s apprentices. A pang of jealousy pierced Kay’s heart to see so many mages gathered outside the college.
‘One day,’ this one muttered as she approached a room where apprentice pyromancers practised fireball spells.
‘
‘Hmm?’ Stenvar queried, careful to keep his voice low.
This one shook her head. ‘Nothing. This one will go right.’
Stenvar nodded and tightened his grip on his sword before rushing into the room.
The combat was swift but brutal. With the element of surprise. Two of the mages lay bleeding before the third could cast a spell. As Khajiit kept the third mage occupied, fighting fire with fire, Stenvar swept in to deal a vicious strike and bring the battle to a close.
Patting out the flames that clung to this one’s robes, Khajiit channelled her healing magic to repair her singed skin and turned to Stenvar.
‘Now, for The Caller.’
Fighting past more apprentices, Khajiit made her way to the centre of the keep’s tower, eager to be done with this place. Putting her hand on the door handle to the tower’s central chamber, Kay wondered if she had made a mistake coming here to found her trading empire. This land and its people were too quick to leap to violence to solve their disputes.
‘So, you're the one who barged into my home and laid waste to my projects,’ The Caller said as this one pushed open the door to the ritual chamber. ‘How nice to meet you.’
Taken aback by The Caller’s polite welcome, Kay hesitated before asking for the books.
‘You come here, kill my assistants, disrupt my work,’ said The Caller, tension seeping into her voice. ‘You've annoyed me, so I don't think I'll be giving you anything.’
Kay sighed, knowing that violence was forthcoming but unwilling to give up on diplomacy. ‘Perhaps, there is something this one can offer as payment for the books.’
The Caller smirked. ‘I'm afraid you don't have anything worth trading. Now, you can go back to your College and leave me be, or I can kill you. Your choice.’
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