Kay(jiit) Sarah Sara: Part 3 - To Riverwood
Author’s note: I’ve only recently started using mods in Skyrim so my mod list is constantly changing as I experiment with different ways to play the game. To increase the roleplaying element of the game, one of the mods permanently in my load list is iNeed. This mod gives buffs for staying well fed, hydrated, and rested and reduces your effectiveness the longer you go without. I’ve got mine configured such that I die if I go too long without sleep or sustenance. I’ve also made food scarce in Skyrim on this playthrough. No more wandering around Skyrim with 50 bottles of alto wine and 1,000 cabbages.
- Atsie Newt
Sundas, 17th of Last Seed
This one has a message to deliver.
‘We should split up,’ said the Nord, drawing this one’s attention from the rustling grass, chirping birds, and distant crackle of the burning town further up the mountainside.
Kay could not agree more. This one managed to cross the Imperial Province without being attacked. Being near Stormcloak soldiers is not good for Khajiit’s health.
Descending through the woods alongside the mountain road, this one followed the Nord’s directions to the village, a sense of calm seeping into Khajiit’s spirit at the sounds of nature; the creak of branches, the bubbling of a mountain stream, the snarl of a wolf.
Spinning to face the direction of the sound, this one crouched, claws at the ready. Bounding across the uneven terrain was a great, black wolf, slavering at the thought of sinking its teeth into Khajiit’s flesh. A blast of flame was not enough to discourage it from its course, dodging as this one weaved her magic. The spell may not have stopped the wolf, but it gave Kay the advantage. Lashing out as this one stepped to the side, Kay tore at the wolf’s face, gouging its eyes, while avoiding its yellowed teeth. Disorientated by the ferocity of this one’s attack, the wolf stood no chance against another burst of flame.
This one’s mother taught Khajiit the importance of turning crisis into opportunity, and wolf fur could fetch this one some coin, even if it was slightly singed. Continuing through the forest, Kay arrived at the edge of the village of Riverwood. Less impressive than Ralof made it sound, the village boasted a blacksmith, an inn, some farmhouses, a trading post and a lumber mill. Hardly the place for this one to study and forge her own destiny.
With rumbling stomach, this one remembered that the Nord told Khajiit that his sister owned the mill and would help this one. Maybe she would buy the wolf fur.
‘And who’s this?’ a blonde, Nord woman asked as this one rounded the mill to see her engaged in conversation with Ralof.
‘A friend,’ Ralof replied. ‘I owe her my life, in fact. Is there somewhere we can talk?’
This one tensed at the prospect of being drawn into the Nord’s fight, but there is no harm in talking, no? Ralof told his sister, Gerdur, and her husband, Hod, of the capture of Ulfric Stormcloak and the dragon attack on Helgen as this one observed, confirming details when required.
‘We need to send word to Jarl Balgruuf,’ Gerdur said to this one after Ralof finished his story. ‘If you do that for me, I’ll be in your debt.’
Delivering a message is not the same as joining a fight, no? Besides, having Gerdur in this one’s debt may be useful if Khajiit wants to be a successful trader. First, Kay needed to scrub herself clean to get good prices for her wares. Nobody would want to buy from a Khajiit in soiled clothing.
The river was colder than this one would like. Everything about this land is colder than this one would like. Still, the water flushed out the accumulated dirt and grime from Kay’s clothes, with the help of some rocks and elbow grease. Leaving the waterlogged fabric to dry in the late afternoon sun, this one proceeded to multitask and clean herself while catching some food.
Claws filled with salmon, Kay made her way to the river’s edge.
Hydrated and with a belly full of fish, this one sat a while in the evening sun to dry her fur. The wind had died, leaving a pleasant end to an otherwise stressful day. A brief respite ahead of the long journey to the college of Winterhold. Khajiit’s caravan would be half way to High Rock by now. Too late to turn back and rejoin her family, even if this one wanted to. With night gathering, Kay looked out across the pine-specked landscape, realising just how alone she was. A smile spread across Khajiit’s face at the thought of all the adventures that awaited this one.
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