He entered the swampy city and knocked on Veexith's hut. His scaly head appeared.
"Yes? Sorry I don't want any." He said, slowly closing the door.
Hasir chuckled and pushed the door open, almost knocking Veexith on his ass.
"Fuuny." He joked; lowering himself into a reed chair. "I played and won your little game." He said, fiddling with one of his claws.
"Do you have any other tasks for me? Tasks that will make me 'one of the people'?"
Veexith shook his spikey head looking at his eggcousin with a amused expression.
"No, you already did all the proving trials I set out for you. You are now one of us." He thought for a bit, "If you don't have anything
going on, we have a celebratory feast reserved for every new Blackmarsh citizen. It's called the fishboon festival. For the residential
Blackmarshites, it's a celebration of the water dragon, Ryujin, arriving from Akavir and giving us Argonians a lot of fish during an
unfathomably long period of dry earth and withered crops."
Hasir brightened at the familiar name.
"Ryujin? She originated from here? I thought she was from Akavir."
Veexith slapped his forehead with his palm.
"Of course she is, mud-for-brains. The ceremony just commemorates her bounty that was given to us in our times of need. She
governs not just the sea around Avakir but the entire Padomiac sea that spans around the rest of Tamriel." He sighed as he gestured
to Aquarius, the companions and the blue khajiit. They left the hut to set up the celebration both for the new resident and for the
scaly resident of the Tamreilic waters."
Choixth went over to Veexith; their tails intertwning as he kissed her. The pale green female furrowed her eyebrow at him as she
pulled out of the embrace.
"Why are you doing the celebration now. Have you forgotten about what today is?"
He stared blankly at her. She huffed in annoyance and shot daggers at him.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten." She said, "today is the anniversary of the day that the Argonian scoundrel, Red Brammen set sail
from the city of Gideon." Her scaly husband sighed, "I know, I know." She said, sighing again. "Red Bramman is dead. Torn apart by
the sea. His ship cleaved in two by an invisible sword."
Veexith shook his head, laughing and envisioned a pirate ship with sails black as midnight adorned with an Argonian skull and
crossbones parked in a small inlet beside a cave.
"You moronic reptile. Bramman is not dead, he is very much alive. He's in a fort on Crimson isle with his crew. There is a cave on
that island that he had made his home in." She said, eyeing him carefully. "I am worried about him. I would hate having his
celebratory welcome disrupted by a huge black raven with flaming eyes hanging over him." She looked at him pleadingly; her bottom
lip protruding slightly.
Veexith looked at her uneasily and jerked his head to this door.
"You go ahead. I'll follow." Choixth nodded and left the hut.
Veexith walked, tail swaying, toward where Aela sat, He took the woven chair opposite her. The female Nord stared at the male
Argonian.
"What do you want, swampbreath?" He stared open-mouthed at her and doubled-over as she snarled and swiped at him. She looked
up at him; her face red as a crimson nirnroot. "Look, I don't know what the fuck you lot have planned for Hasir... who I don't like by
the way." She added hastily, "What do you lot have planned for him? Are you murderers?"
Veexith shook his head and pushed his chair back from the table and stood up.
"No we're not murderers. We have not led him to be slaughtered like a cow, if that's what you mean."
The female nord shook her head and sighed. Veexith turned to a shadowy corner of the hut.
"Sulahkeesh, can you come here please?" He said.
The Argonian walked over to the table and sat beside Veexith and embraced him.
"It is nice to see you again, grandson." The male Argonian returned the gesture
The aged shadowcale turned to the Nord,
"So here we are again. You hating Saxhleel and me defending them. Tell me." She said staring at her with milky white eyes, "Why do
you hate the Saxhleel? Did we do something to sullen your view of our race?"
Aela said nothing but continued glaring at the aged Saxhleel.
"Like I said before. I don't have to tell you anything!" She said as she slammed her dagger into the table. A Bit of straw stripped
away as the small metal instrument's blade embedded into it.
The female nord stood up, removed the small blade, sheathed it and ran toward the door. Sulahkeesh got up and watched her as she
slammed the hut door. Veexith turned to the elderly Saxhleel.
"Sulahkeesh, why don't you try to hammer that rusty nail for the reason why she hates Saxhleel." The white eyed Argonian
nodded and went after the insolent Nord.
When the elderly Argonian exited the hut, she saw no sign of Hasir or the girl with hair like flowing fire. She walked around the small
hut and smelled, near the entrance of the village, a mix of reed and trimethylmine. She tore herself away from the sweet-smelling
dishes and heard. several voices coming from the sides of the table. Saluhkeesh listened to the voices for a while until she 'saw'
Hasir and the other Argonians sitting at the table near him.
She sat down as Hasir pulled out a chair for her. She heard Veexith's voice as well as that of his Uxith-beeko, Choixth. Veexith stood
up and addressed the table as a whole. Everyone stopped what they were doing and gazed at him.
"Eggkin, not only is the fish boon festival upon us but we've another reason to celebrate this auspicious occasion." He turned to Hasir
and beamed. "This Saxhleel, who returned home after many moons in a distant land, has finally found what it means to be a
member of Blackmarsh, that and... he completed all the trials I and the An-Xileel had set out of him."
There was a chorus of applause at this rather jubilant message. Inigo slapped Hasir on the back.
"Well done, my friend. You did well. That and... well, I'm starving. Let's eat." He said, eyeing the clam chowder with greed.
Aela reached over the table and flicked Inigo on the nose. The khajiit rubbed his sore nose while glaring at her indignantly. She
crossed her arms and shook her head. The blue khajiit slumped into his chair, muttering gloomily. Veexith leaned over and slapped
the Nord.
"Stupid nord. Your thinking is as constricted as the land you come from. Everyone, Saxhleel or otherwise, can join in on the fish boon
festival." He gestured from the khajiit to the fish stew, "Go on, enjoy it." He said smiling. Inigo thanked him and ate the bowl full of
clams and crabmeat. Saluhkeesh looked at her grandson and asked if Red Bramman would make a surprise appearance. He glanced
toward the ground and slowly shook his head.
Hasir turned to Sulahkeesh; eyebrow raised.
"You know of Red Bramman? I would love to meet him."
Sulahkeesh shook her head, sighed and told the young Saxhleel about what horrible things the pirate had done and how today is the
anniversary of the pirate's vast misdeeds when he sailed from Gideon along the east coast of Blackmarsh. She told Hasir how Red
resides on an island to the east of blackmarsh.
Hasir's eyes brightened as he rested the wooden spoon on the bowl.
"Maybe we can pay him a visit. I've only had dreams about him. It would be nice to finally put a name to a face and ask him all kinds
of questions.
Saluhkeesh looked at Veexith with a confused expression and then back at Hasir.
"Erm... I don't think that's a great idea. Red Bramman and his water-borne thugs are not exactly friendly."
Hasir sighed and rested his head on his arms, enpregnating the reed table. Inigo looked at him and rubbed his back.
"Hasir, I know how you feel. I miss someone as well." He was about to say something else when a loud yell could be heard nearby.
Hasir and shot out of their seats and rushed to the source of the sound. Just outside of a swampy puddle lay a female Argonian face
down in a mud puddle.
Hasir ran toward her and helped her up and hugged her.
"K'hairi, you made it!" He said, excited. "His skipey brows furrowed, "How did you get here?"
The female Argonian told him that Kynareth granted her acess via a portal connecting Eldergleam Sanctuary with the dreary swamp
she now stood in. She walked toward Hasir and embraced him. He stroked her leafy black hair and leaned into her embrace. He
pulled away, telling her that the village was having a celebration due to him completing a Saxhleel rite of passage. She nodded as he
led her to the celebration as she marveled at the strange huts on stilts and the reed paths snaking their way between them.
After greeting the many Saxhleel smiling at her, she sat beside the blue khajiit.
"Hi, my name is K'hairi, I am Hasir's hatching mate. I was with him when we were birthed in one of the many hatching pools that lay
strewn about the Marsh."
Inigo looked at her uncertainly. He was not sure what a 'hatching pool' was but he was relieved to share a conversation with
someone related to Hasir. He was a bit unnerved but also relieved to be part of a kind of haphazard interracial family. One thing,
though, was different. This inpromptu family did not find Inigo's color of fur odd like many of the khajiit on Elsweyr. These Argonians
also did not shun him as if he was unclean like many cities of Skyrim. He knew Hasir was pleased to be spirited away from that dark
cloud of rascism as well.
Hasir got up and walked from the table to the edge of the pale green water where he saw a dark shadow swimming toward him. He
beamed as the creature surfaced, not minding the cascade of water that flowed over him. It felt to him as though he had just had a
refreshing swim, cooling his scales, he stared the blue dragon in her sea-blue eyes.
"Ryujin, nice to see you again." He said. He regarded her, scratching his chin, "What are you doing here?"
The dragon bowed her head in greeting.
"I have come here only to observe the festival."
Hasir stared at her, shocked.
"You have?" He composed himself and sighed, "Look, Ryujin, This festival is nice and all but I am like a helpless ant watching my
fellow ants getting butchered by hawks. I am going crazy here. I should be out there finding out what Molag Bal is up to and getting
closer to my goal of stopping him and his children, not sitting here eating stew." He said, gesturing to the table.
He looked at her and saw a knowing grin stretch across her face.
"Waiting is hard, I know. You should revel in your celebration. Who knows how long peace will last...especially with Stone fire
gaining a stranglehold on the continent of Tamriel and the creatures that inhabit it." Hasir sighed, resigning himself to the fact that
she was right. She used her paddle-like fins tto inch closer to him. "I do know, however, that the dark brotherhood in this region is
hiring, if you would like to join."
Hasir mulled this thought over in his brain and nooded.
"Sulahkeesh had the same idea." He said. "I do have one reservation, however. I am a dragonkinght. I don't know how well
dragonknights mesh with the shadowscales." He said, twiling his tail in nervousness, "I know my parents were raised shaowscales
but I don't know if..."
The aquatic dragon shot him with a piercing stare.
"Hasir, forget about what your parents want. Do what you want." She said authoritatively. "Only you can shape your destiny. Other
people can give you advice, but, they cannot control what you do." As she said this, she touched his moist scales with her flipper.
He nodded and pointed, uncertainly, to the small island to the east. The dragon followed his gaze and knew he wanted to know more
of Red Bramman. He told he of the dreams he'd had about the Argonian pirate and the grisly end that he faced, almost as if it was a
premonition. She smiled.
"Hasir, they are just that, dreams. They don't dictate your future. You are free to go your own way. Don't let being confined to one
path in life deter you. Follow your heart. If it tells you to investigate that fort over there, then do so. Your end goal is clear but do not
hesitate to make various pit stops along the way. Trust in your intuition. It can guide you to do extraordinary things." She glanced
past the kneeling Argonian to a blue khajiit gorging himself on fish stew. "If that is your path, you'd better share that journey with
others." She turned around and glanced over her soulder at him, "I can take you over there, if you'd like."
Hasir said that would be wonderful and went to get Inigo. He walked up behind Inigo, poking him in the shoulder. The khajiit looked
up from his food and turned to look at the Argonian.
"Yes my friend, what is it?" He asked warmly
Hasir told him about the crimson isle, the pirate fortress and the untold riches that could be found there. The khajiit beamed hugely
and together, he and the Argonian walked to where the water dragon waited.
The dragon watched as the Argonian and khajiit approached. The khajiit shook like a leaf on a tree as he beheld the creature.
"W-what is that thing? My friend, I don't like that hungry look in its eye. Is it going to serve us up like a pig on a platter to Molag
Bal?"
Hasir chuckled and shook his head incredulously and gazed sorrowfully into the water dragon's blue eyes, as if saying that he wasn't
the brightest kitten in the basket and imagining her passionate response.
"She isn't going to eat you. " He chuckled as he saw the khajiit's confused expression. "Inigo, this is Ryujin. She is going to take us
to the fort over there." He said, nodding to the fortress' silouhette rising like a mountain into the sky.
Inigo relaxed and breathed easier now that the dragon was not about to serve him up as its next meal. Inigo turned to Hasir and
frowned as his scaly friend was clutching his head as if it was a hatching egg. After a few minutes of gritting his teeth to attempt to
stem the flow of ever changing images: a hist tree, a temple deep in the marsh and a bird swooping on a helpless mouse, Hasir
unfolded himself and saw Inigo staring at him, worried.
Inigo and Ryujin both stared at Hasir as he told them of the images he'd seen. He told Inigo that he had to find the source of those
visions. The khajiit nodded and followed Hasir past the gate of Lilmoth and into the swamp. He cast a glance over his shoulder and
saw Ryujin sinking back beneath the swampy waters.
The khajiit followed the argonian through the swamp to a village consisting of reed huts surrounding a hist tree. Hasir approached a
brightly colord Argonian outfitted in the sash the color of tree bark. He looked up from his saltrice crops.
"Greetings. My name is Xukas. To what pleasure do I owe an egg-kin and an ojel venture into Brightthroat village?"
The blue khajiit's tail twitched nervously as he tried to comprehend the froggy-voiced Argonian's message. Hasir cut into the mist of
uncertainty with the knife of clarity and told Inigo what the argonian had meant by 'ojel.' He elbowed Inigo in the ribs as he went to
lung at Xukas.
"Sorry about that." He said, a sheepish look on his face. "This wamasu has teeth, though I will try to keep 'it' on a tighter eash." He
said, eyeing Inigo dangerously. "Now, as to why I'm here." He said, fidgeting with his claws. "I recieved a message from the Hist
telling me to go see the An-Xileel about a hawk capturing a mouse." Hasir said. "I can only assume the 'hawk catching the mouse'
has something to do with me joining some kind of organization... maybe the dark brotherhood? Why they want me to join, though, I
have no clue." He paused to let Xukas drink this elusive brand of Hist sap in. "I must ask, do you know where there is a guild like this
in the swamp?" He asked, looking at Xukas with a piericing stare. "Also, who are the An-Xileel and... where are they? I've never
seen them."
Xukas thought about this for a while and then offered his two septims as to who the elusive, shadowy rulers were.
"Beeko, the An-Xileel are the governing body of Blackmarsh. A small sect oversees every tribe in the swamp. The base of operations,
however, is in a Xanmeer near the Xinchei-Konu momument north of Lilmoth."
Inigo looked at Xukas with concern as he wondered what the unusual momument was and, moreover, why it was there.
"Xinchei-Konu? What's that? Forgive me if I seem uninformed." He added, seeing Xukas steam like a forgotten teapot.
Xukas groaned and hissed in annoyance. He cursed the Hist for the khajiit's audacity.
"Typical dryskin. You lot never explore; always wanting things forcefed to you." He said condescendingly. He looked at Hasir's
narrowed eyes and sighed, "Very well. Xinchei-Konu is the Argonian calendar whose months dictate whether the Hist blesses us with
rain to make our crops bloom or curses us with a barren field."
He glanced at Inigo who sat beside Hasir in the birthing hut. Xukas looked at them, smiled and continued
"As for the Xanmeer, it is called Ixtaxh Thtithl Meht. The Xanmeer is located to the west of the Xinchei-Konu monument. I would
explain more but I don't want to rain on your parade. Go and see what they have in store for you, and good luck."
Inigo and Hasir left Bright-Throat village and headed east toward the momunment that Xukas had told them about. Inigo spotted the
Xanmeer rising above a strange circular stone indentation in the ground with a tree-like symbol in the center. Around the symbol, the
blue khajiit saw twelve small chambers containing twelve more strange symbols which was surrounded as a whole by another stone
ring intermittently broken by four moons in various phases.
Inigo's brow furrowed as he studied the strange stone effigy and was about to ask Hasir if he'd seen it but Hasir wasn't staring at the
stone symbol but instead at a stone pyramid structure standing like a wolf towering over a terrified dog. Hasir motioned for Inigo to
follow him as he covered the short distance from the monument to the Xanmeer.
Hasir reached the bottom of the Xanmeer and held out a hand as the khajiit attempted to climb the stairs.
"I would rather you wait here, Inigo. I haven't met the An-Xileel before. I have a hunch that they will not want a khajiit in their
presence." Inigo did as Hasir asked and wished him good luck as he ascended the steps and entered the stone door.
Hasir conjured a tiny sun that hovered near him as his footfalls echoed against the stone floor as he walked. He descended deeper
into the Xanmeer which was populated by vines of ivy hanging down from the ceiling. Hasir walked under another string of ivy
hangings and beheld a smaller stone chamber than the one he'd come through. He glanced around at the grey stone walls and saw
vines climbed up the walls like spiders. The argonian tore his eyes away from the spider-like vines and saw a stone table against the
rear wall with four Saxhleel sitting behind it.
Hasir inched closer to the table, tail between his legs as he saw the four Argonians outfitted in brown and blue ancient Saxhleel
armor. He'd guessed these Argonians had descended from the ancient Argonians from long ago. He smiled as he shook hands with
the An-Xileel members.
"Greetings Hasir, I am Haxara. This is Xal-Sesei, Ximukto and..."
Hasir gaped as he saw an argonian he'd thought was in Lilmoth.
"Veexith, what in Hircine's name are you doing here?" He asked, shocked
Veexith stood up and moved over to Hasir, his tail swaying behind him.
"I am a member of the An-Xileel. Shocking, I know. I trained you in our ways." He said as he encircled the Argonian. "Bow training,
hunting the Haj-Mota and Teeba-Hatsei was an Initiation ritual as well as an introduction to Argonian life."
Hasir stared at him; eyes wide with disbelief.
"An initiation? For what?" He said, the stoney interior strangely magnifying his voice
Veexith smiled and gestured to Haxara who stood up as he went back to his seat.
"Hasir, we usually kill Lukiuls for fear of bringing non-argonian ways into blackmarsh." Hasir screwed his face up in confusion. Haxara
chuckled, "I forget, you are not privy to Jel, are you? Lukiul is our word to describe someone who did not partake in the Hist from
their birth." Hasir told her that he got the sap in another manner but she held up a hand. "A saxhleel cannot simply gain the sap of
the Hist tree from just anywhere. The hist do not migrate as though they are a khajiit caravan. The hist's root run deep into the soil
of Blackmarsh and, as such, young hatchlings drink deep the hist from the hatching pools spread throughout the swamp."
Hasir raised an eyebrow as if to agrue her point. She noticed this and change paths.
"Anyway, that is all water under the bridge now,. The reason we implanted though images in your mind was because we would like
you to serve us in the dark brotherhood. As Veexith had said, we want to preserve our ways - Saxhleel ways - and many outsiders,
specifically the Thalmor and the nosy Imperials. We want you to discourage our invaders from settling here. If you choose to join, go
to the outlaw refuge near the fort on Crimson Isle."
The green argonian's eyes widened with terro at the mention of the name.
"I don't know." He said, hissing silently. "Isn't that where...?
Haxara smiled and nodded. She did, however note Hasir trepidation.
"Yes. That is where the pirate Red Bramman and his n'er-do-wells are holed up. You need not worry, Argonian, they've agreed to help
us eradicate the smoke from the waters of Blackmarsh." Hasir crossed his arms across his chest. "Your uncertainty is well warranted
but-"
Hasir held up a hand and stared intensely at Haxara.
"Stop right there. Look Haxara, what you and the gathered An-Xileel members are doing is admirable but I wish to seek revenge on
Red, not partner up with him." He scanned Haxara's shocked face. "I'm sorry but I have to decline your offer. As I said once before, I
am not a shadowscale, I am a dragonkinght, that shocked my parents too but they eventually got used to it and I think you will
too."
Haxara nodded glumly and went back to her seat as Haisr left the chamber and exited the Xanmeer.
Inigo smiled when he saw Hasir descending the stone steps towards him.
"So how did it go? Did you gain the An-Xileel's favor?" He asked as he and Hasir walked back to Lilmoth.
Hasir gazed at him and shook his head, leaving the khajiit unclear of his intended meaning.
"They wanted me to team up with the person who killed me, in my dream I mean." Inigo looked at him confused. "Not only that but
his crewmembers threw me in a cage just because they had enough ducks in the pond." He said as he gestured Inigo inside
Veexith's hut and sat down on the stool; resting his elbows on the counter.
He looked around and saw that the hut was empty except for him, Inigo and Choixth who was enjoying a bowl of fish stew at the
table where He and the shadowscale had sat hours before. He guessed the other were still celebrating his assimilation back into the
marsh.Inigo came out of the kitchen with two mugs of spiced cider, sat down next to Hasir and smiled.
"Here. This might calm the troubled waters of your mind." He said as he slid the extra mug over to his reptilian friend.
The argonian raised an eyebrow as he glanced from the brown liquid to the khajiit.
"How did you make this? I thought you could only acquire those ingredients on Skyrim. Blackmarsh, as far as I am aware has no
such ingredients."
The smart blue cat took a sip from his mug; savoring the sweet tangy and earthy flavor as it trickled down his throat.
"My, friend you did not look hard enough. Veexith told me, at the feast, that the Hist provides that which you seek." Inigo furrowed
his eyebrow, scratching his temple, trying to remember the exact wording. Of course, he could've said something entirely different
and I misconstrewed his meaning."
Hasir nodded not wanting to make the waters murkier than they already were and drank deeply from his own mug. He set the mug
on the bar and swirled the cider in it; watching as the liquid formed tiny ripples.
"Inigo, about Veexith, did you know he was part of the An-Xileel?"
The khajiit shook his head. Hasir told him about what happened in the Xanmeer. The blue khajiit's hair stood on end. He could not
believe that Veexith did not tell them when he first met them. He was also surprised his wife, Choixth said nothing either. Hasir went
back to examining his mug as he traced the intricated lines on the mug with his claw.
"Inigo, I had a feeling that the An-Xileel would use me for their xenophobic desires so I made up my mind to check out the outlaw's
refuge here in Blackmarsh. Veexith told me that it is somewhere in Lilmoth, near the western wall of the city."
Inigo drained the rest of his drink, savoring every last drop and fixed his friend with a confused look.
"Ok. If that's what you what to do, my friend then I'm all for it."
They both agreed they would set out the next morning for the refuge. Footsteps and raised voices made them look towards the door
as the many Argonians that had been present at the celebratory feast filed into the hut. Some sitting at the bar, some at the table in
the back and some even sprawled out on the floor. Hasir scanned the room and spotted Veexith, still wearing his An-Xileel garb.
Hasir snarled and hissed as he clutched the mug almost to shattering point in his claw. Inigo gulped and tried his best to hold the
angry argonian back. He looked at the sky through a small window at the back of the hut and decided it would be best if they got
ready to turn in for the night.
The khajiit crossed the hut, zig-zagging through the sleeping Argonians and found a pair of rolled up reed bedrolls leaning against
the wall and laid them down next to the sleeping shadowscale. He gestured to Hasir, who quickly drained his drink and manuevered
through the bodies to where Inigo was. They laid down on the reed, which to Inigo's discomfort was much too hard. Hasir, however,
fell alseep immediately, not caring about the material his bed was made of. The khajiit, knowing he would have to get used to this
new land sooner or later, followed suit.
The Argonian opened his eyes as the warm fingers of the dawn sun entered the small hut. Hasir turned to the reed bedroll next to
him and, realizing the khajiit was not there, went out to the Argonian village. He called for the khajiit again and the blue khajiit
sprinted towards him, waving his hands above him.
"My friend, I found a ruined house overgrown with vines among the reed huts of the village." He said as he panted, clutching his
knees.
Hasir nodded and followed the khajiit as he led the way through the stick-like stilts of the reed huts to the ruined house he'd
been to before. The argonian gazed at the mossy house and thought that this was an usual facade for an entrance to the city's
assassin's guild. He walked into the house and saw a trident shaped symbol on a wooden trapdoor - the same symbol he'd seen in
Fargrave.
He through the great wooden doors wide and descended into darkness, closely followed by the khajiit. The sight that met Hasir's
eyes was not the outlaw's refuge he was used to but, instead, a long flooded tunnel. Inigo shivered as he thought of the water that
would, no doub, knot his fur. He gulped and inched to the water's edge. It felt cold as ice. Hasir, however, had none of the
reservations Inigo had. He felt in his element, moreso than the blue khajiit. Once they emerged, they continued to follow the
meandering tunnel.
Hasir gazed in awe at the stone tunnel that opened onto an outdoor area dominated by hanging ivy and other greenery. He ascended
the stone steps rising out of the ivy-covered ruin like a mountain over a sprawling sea and saw several stalls manned by several
khajiit and Argonians. Inigo caught up with him and shared the Argonian's slack-jawed expression as he saw the wares of each of the
stalls: armor, ingredients, potions and poisons.
One of the Argonians eyed him from his stall and called the green Argonian over.
"Your name is Hasir, correct?" Hasir nodded. "I thought so. I received an anonymous tip that you went to Ixtaxh Thtithl Meht and
gained an audience with the An-Xileel."
The argonian nodded again, saying that it did not go as planned.
"I did but things went downhill after I started talking with them. They don't care about anything except for keeping Blackmarsh for
the Argonians. They will not hesitate to kill anyone they deem an outsider. They wanted me to become a spy for them." The argonian
vendor asked Hasir about what he duties would've been.
He placed his palms on the wooden counter and stared at the black argonian.
"They wanted me to help them thin the weeds, so to speak."
The black Argonian narrowed his eyes and hissed in indignation.
"Xuth! That dries my scales. So, if I got this straight, you want to become a shadowscale, correct? You want to take the battle to the
An-Xileel?" He gestured to Inigo, "I suppose the khajiit wants to join as well." Hasir nodded. "Well then," The argonian said, rubbing
his hands together. "Let's get to business."
He led the Argonian and the khajiit to a side room just off the airy room of the Outlaw's refuge. Hasir's eyes went wide as he saw, in
a corner of the stone room, a barrel of weapons - swords, axes and small daggers. In another corner were targets and sandbag
training dummies that made Hasir think of the ones in the dark brotherhood sanctuary in Cyrodiil.
The black argonian went over to a barrel, grabbed a spear and asked Hasir and Inigo to do the same. They looked at the barrel and
scoffed as the unsheathed their own weapons.
"Interesting choice. I would've thought you were unarmed, that is why I supplied you with extra weapons. I guess introductions are
in order." He bowed slightly, taking care to point the spear tip away from the newcomers. "I am Haj-Ta, I joined the outlaw's refuge
here in Lilmoth when I was a hatchling. From a young age, I was taught the ways of shadow and deception. I think now is as good a
time as any to pass on what I know."
He lashed out with the spear, spinning it around him in a circle. Both Inigo and Hasir yelped as their legs were pulled out from under
them as though from a rather strong undertow. The black argonian shook his head as he helped them up.
"That was a fair first attempt, but you must learn t iron snake o guard against such attacks. Either leap the iron snake or block it
with you fists. Take a swing at me and I will show you what I mean."
Hasir raised the dragonbone sword and whirled it about him, just as the Argonian had done. The argonian thrust his spear into the
ground, grabbed the sword as it traversed the ground, rested it from the green Argonian's grasp and pointed it at Hasir's neck.
"Oh, eggkin." He said ashamedly; "I expected the snake to show more acid. As it stands, your fangs are dry as bone." He said as he
handed Hasir back his sword. "Never let down your gaurd. Rule number one of the shadowscales. You should guard more closely,
eggkin."
Inigo unsheathed his dragonbone sword, stepped towards the black Argonian and pointed it at his back. Haj-Ta turned and looked
like a deer caught in twin carriage lamps.
"Rule number two, never turn your back on your opponent." He said, sneering as he sheathed his sword. The black argonian got up,
unsheathed the spear and thrusted it towards the khajiit. The khajiit leapt over the spear as if it were an ebony flame and kicked the
black argonian so hard he crashed into the stone wall with the force of an argonian hitting a Teeba-Hatsei ball.
The khajiit's eyes were fixed on the fallen spear and rushed to grab it just as Haj-Ta shook off the confusion as well as a shower of
dust. The black argonian was backed further into the wall by Inigo's stern stare as he raised the spear above his head. The black
argonian cringed and clamped his eyes shut as he heard the spear hit stone instead of scales.
Haj-Ta opened his eyes uncertainly as he glanced up at the blue khajiit and smiled.
"Well done. you learned what is, perhaps, the most important rule of the shadowscale organization." He said, clapping
Inigo lost his rockhard expression and raised a white eyebrow.
"That's funny, my dad never told me there were three rules in an argonian dark brotherhood."
He bent down and helped Haj-Ta to his feet. Haj-taj rubbed his neck sheepishly.
"Technically, there are ten rules. Like your standard Tamriel dark brotherhood. The only reason there are three rules is
because...erm...those are more important than any of the othe rules. As to what the most important rule is..." His eyes unfocused
for a bit as he thought. "The most important rule is to not knowing when to murder an injured fleshfly but when to spare that fleshfly
the fate of being fed to a hungry Wamasu. Well done indeed." He said as he stood up, put his foot on the embedded spear and
wrenched it free. He smiled and gestured to the khajiit, "You have the makings of a fine shadowscale... even though you aren't one
of us." He said gesturing to himself and Hasir.
He faced Hasir with his spear standing at attention, Hasir unsheathed his twin waraxes, tossed them aside much to the dismay of
Inigo and Haj-Ta and grabbed a warhammer from the barrels of weapons. He braced against the black Argonian's attack and, seeing
an opening, swept the warhammer toward the argonian's tail, knocking him to the floor like a particularly heavy bag of rocks. The
green Argonian walked up to the black Argonian smirking as he raised the warhammer, ready to deal the final blow. Hasir failed to
notice that the black argonian was already planning his counterattack.
Haj-Ta took advantage of this and swung his leg out, knocking Hasir on his tail. A loud thud followed by a hiss of indignation rang out
though the small chamber. Haj-Ta smirked as he swifted swung his sword downward, cleaving the warhammer in two. Hasir got to his
feet and discarded the broken bits of the hammer and quickly caught up his discarded waraxes as he ducked under the Argonian's
furiously swinging spear and embedded both axes into the Argonian's tail.
The black Argonian hissed in pain as he felt the ivory dragon teeth bite into the snake. Haj-Ta spun around and lashed out with his
spear. The argonian bent backwards as the spear narrowly gazed his leafy black hair. Hasir jabbed outwards with the blunt end of his
axe. The black Argonian exhaled sharply and staggered backwards against the wall.
Haj-Ta stood up and laughed as he sheathed his spear and proffered a hand and called Inigo over. The khajiit walked over; tail
swaying to and fro behind him. The black argonian looked from one to the other of them, beaming.
"Hasir, those were some nice moves. You two will make fine shadowscales." Both the argonian and the khajiit raised their eyebrows,
studying him as if he was a particularly appetizing bug, "What I mean by that is..." He said, gulping, "You passed the weapons test of
shadowscale training. The second step of the training is..."
Haj-Ta turned as he caught the scent of a khajiit ascending the stone steps. The ebony Argonian narrowed his eyes at the orange,
tiger-striped khajiit.
"The second step of your training is... nothing." Suzali said finishing Haj's sentence for him. "Xuth, Haj, accept them into the
shadowscales already. I do not know how shadowscales accept their own race or what, or how long the initiation is, but, make them
permanent members for the sake of the mother cat."
Haj-Ta nodded and descended the stairs with the two khajiit and the Argonian. Haj-Ta gestured to a pale green Argonian similarly
clothed in black leather who introduced herself as Wuleen-Weska who bowed.
"Greetings eggkin and ojel, my name is Wuleen-Weska, I am the head of this refuge. I have been watching you closely ever since
you came to this refuge and, from what I saw, you two will make fine shadowscales." She thought for a moment, "I know the perfect
opportunity to prove yourselves. The job is risky but I'm sure you can handle it." Inigo and Hasir nodded.
Haj-Ta rolled his eyes in annoyace. He'd said countless times they weren't ready for such dangerous a task yet, or any task for that
matter. If Wuleen believed in them, he supposed he would have to warm up to the idea as well.
Wuleen walked over to a small stone cabinet that stood in the corner like a chameleon hiding itself in plain sight and came back with
two pairs of neatly folded black armor.
"Relax, you'll turn your scales white. They'll be fine. I will tail them the whole way." Inigo screwed his face up with disgust at this. He
mimed throwing up as he envisioned a Saxhleel-sized wart growing on each of their tails as they carried out the assignment.
Hasir tried to hold in his laughter but the dam broke as flood waters came rushing out in copious amounts.
"Inigo, you are a special kind of dumb, you know that right?" He said, staring into the khajiit eyes, "What my scaly eggcousin meant
was... He will be following us the whole way. In no way was he talking about being a tiny wart lizard."
Inigo sighed in relief as they dressed and followed Wuleen out to the ruined house entrance. When they were back in Lilmoth, Inigo
saw his scaly friend struggling with his black bodysuit. The khajiit helped the struggling Argonian by cutting a hole just a bit bigger
than his tail in the fabric. He stood back and admired his handiwork.
"How does that feel my friend?" He asked. "Better?" He supplied with a raised eyebrow. Hasir nodded and started struggling with the
fat spider that was threatening to engulf his snout.
Wuleen glanced over at Hasir, sighed and ripped the fiercely clinging spider to shreds, watching as the tiny bits of fabric cascaded to
the ground.
"Hasir, if you didn't want to wear the mask, you should've said something." She said, giggling as he gasped for air.
He did his best imitation of a shrug. She gave him a smile and turned and looked across the Oliis Bay to the fortress situated atop
the Crimson Isle.
"I heard a chilling tale that the island is so named because of Red Bramman and his crew taking prisoners there to tortutre them in
order to get information out of them." Both Inigo's eyes went wide as golfballs, which were nigh indistinguishable under the shadows
cast by the hoods.Wuleen glanced at them, nodded and made her way to the water situated to the north of their current position.
Inigo shot Hasir a look that clearly said his fleas would bite him later for this. The argonian laughed and reassured Inigo that he
could ride on his back in he was afraid. He shook his head.
"No, my friend, I'll be fine. I just need to build up my courage." No sooner did he say this then he felt the floodgates open. A rush of
anger and sadness for the falcon rushed forth. He buried them again and followed Hasir as he got into the water behind Wuleen.
Reptilian and feline rudders manuvered through the water and stopped just below a rocky cliff. Wuleen swam through the water
and gestured for Hasir and Inigo to stay low as they scrambled up the cliff. Hasir broke off from the group and headed for the ship
docked in the harbor. Wuleen stopped and looked in the Argonian's direction.
"Hasir, not that way." She said in a panicked voice. "You'll get caught."
The young Argonian raised a hand, tapped his temple and walked to the crimson ship with its half-gargoyle winged sails. Iniigo
stared helplessly as he opened the ship's cabin door and slipped inside.
Wuleen sighed and crouch-walked alongside the fort's greystone wall and unsheathed her ebony dagger. Inigo took this moment to
unsheathe his own dagger and simultaneously ended the two guards' lives. They pushed the doors silently as they could and
dispatched some more guards; slitting their throats with their daggers.
The black Argonian withdrew the dagger from the Almter's chest, cleaned it using a cloth she took from her bag, sheathed it and
looked from the bodies slumped against the wall near the door to the blue khajiit.
"Inigo, should we help Hasir?" She asked, wiping She shrugged. "Who knows, he may've walked into into a trap."
Inigo smiled wearily at her and shook his head.
"We'd better not lest we want to make the 'trap' worse for him."
Wuleen nodded and started ascending a wooden staircase amidst boxes and barrels full of weapons and stolen Argonian Ale in a
narrowed arrow-slit windowed chamber. Strewn about the floor was loose straw presumably ripped free from haybales that she
guessed normally populated the corners of the chamber.
Inigo walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She turn to face him; a look of wonderment on her face as she asked the
khajiit what was the matter.
"Nothing is the matter." He said with an air of confidence he hardly felt. "I just... want to check on Hasir, you know, to see if he is
okay."
He expected the Argonian to say that he should see this through with her but, to his surprise, she nodded. The smart blue cat
thanked her andleft the fort.
The khajiit wasted no time in traversing the rocks that seperated the fort from the tiny inlet. He gulped as he decided to submerge
himself in the icy water and became like a fly on the, er, ship as he used this unscrupulous vantage point to see if he can overhear
any voices up on deck or discern if his scaly friend is in any sort of danger. He heard raised voices up on deck.
Inigo listened intenly as he tried to placed the voices as they were naught but a tangled web that he tried to unravel. When he finall
y succeeded in unraveling the thread of voices, he heard two voices clearly above all the rest.
"You efforts to foil our plans have failed Argonian. Come out now and we will be merciful. If, however, you continue to hide in there
like the scared little scrib you are and my friend here will be forced to use his newfound powers.
Inigo blood ran cold as he dared not to imagine what these 'new powers' were that Red Bramman was talking about, though Inigo
of course knew who he was talking about; he just hoped he was wrong.
Inigo glanced to his left and saw a brown dock the color of a mudcrab shell extending from the island fort and pulled himself up onto
it and, like a fish struggling to walk, found his feet. The khajiit snuck to the ship silent as a ghost. Slipping behind two barrels,
shielding himself from view from the guards that stood beside the black khajiit guarding that door that he knew Hasir was in.
The smart blue cat unsheathed his dragonbone sword and let out a low whistle. One of the guards heard this and was quickly
dispatched by the khajiit. He withdrew the sword and wiped it down with a leather cloth, placed it back into its sheath, leapt from his
hiding spot and throw himself at the black khajiit. Inigo's eyes went wide as he saw shadowy appendages extending from the black
khajiit's back.
Inigo hung in the air like a puppet that had its strings immobilized by a shadowy puppeteer. Inigo's narrowed his pumpkinish eyes on
the khajiit and thought he or his new 'friends' must've done something, if that was what they were to be called. The doomstrider
turned and Inigo's mouth gaped in horror.
The khajiit strode over to him with the 'arms' arguingg amongst themselves as to who would get his heart.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't my little blue friend." He said, smiling darkly. He told the khajiit to hold on while he made the demon arms
be quiet as the waters around the ship. He turned back to the blue khajiit, and seeing his confused expression, explained his
unusual companions. "Inigo, may I introduce you to my new friends. I recieved them as a gift from the lady of darkness; don't you
like them?"
The blue khajiit marionette struggled against his invisible bonds .
"Like them?" he said, eyes narrowed. "If anything, they make you look more monstrous. By the way, where did you get them? The
shop in Whiterun that peddles shadowy goods?"
The black khajiit stroked one of the heads; feeling its slimy, fish-like skin under his furry fingers.
"That dingy old shop that sells 'pets'?" He said, laughing jerringly, "Mere child's play compared to where I got these beauties." He
said smirking as the arm's ivory fangs tried biting the blue khajiit. The doomstrider strode over and rested his finger under Inigo's
chin while he scolded the demon arm with the other hand. "Now, now, you can eat khajiit flombay later." He turned from the demon
arm and fixed his red eyes on the blue khajiit. "These arms are manifestations of Namira."
Inigo raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Namira? Why her? She is not allied with Molag Bal."
The doomstrider's eyes glistened with malice as he laughed.
"Molag Bal and Namira joined forces against the abomination Hircine and, apparently, the sightless void, the one you call Hermaeus
Mora." He gestured to the heads affixed to his back, "These can help me in that regard. They are one of the last Xivkyn in
existence." Inigo raised an eyebrow a second time. The black khajiit sighed, running a paw-like hand down his face, "A Xivkyn is a
twisted amalgamation of Namira's Valkynaz and Molag Bal's Xivili."
The doomstrider went on explaining what A Xivkyn was. The demon heads told him to stop dawdling and deal with the feline puppet
in front of them. Unseen by Inigo, a rift opened behind the barrels. A gale-force wind pulled at the khajiit and the barrels that flow
and shattered on contact with the massive rip in the fabric of time and space.
The argonian exited the cabin at that point and his jaw dropping upon seeing the khajiit struggle to find a handhold.
"Hey Inigo, I searched and did not find Red Bramman anywhere." He yelled over the deafening roar of the massive anomaly. His
scales turned white as he saw the sneering black khajiit with a new addition he'd not seen before. He bellowed out as he lunged at
the doomstrider.
Inigo fell to the deck as the the black hole disappeared. Getting to his feet, the Doomstrider cast the Argonian aside, conjured a long,
black tentacle from his hand. The tentacle sped towards Inigo and would've impaled him had it not been for Hasir. The argonian flung
himself at the khajiit; knocking him out of the way. He snarled at the Doomstrider and summoned a ring of fiery orbs that orbited
him like Massar and Secuda around Nirn.
The argonian fired one fiery ball after another at the shadowy demon heads. The fireballs phazed through the shadowy heads
enveloped in darkness like a volcano being enveloped by the heavens. The doomstrider smirked as Hasir flung a flaming ball of
Oblivion at the black khajiit. He ducked, causing the fireball to slam into the wood paneled wall behind him, and waved his hands in
midair and a portal fashioned out of the starry night blossomed out of nowhere.
With one foot in the portal, the Doomstrider turned back and smirked as another, blockier khajiit wearing a purple robe stepped
through the portal.
"Before, I go one last thing. Molag Bal seeks not only to kill Hircine's children to solve the unholy union but also to create werewolf
and vampire hybrids; much like Vykosa here." He eyed them with contempt and smirked. "I will leave you in her capable hands. I
shall see you later, although given Vykosa's penchant for ripping apart her food, probably not."
The argonian knelt down and withdrew a small jade stone depicting twin serpents from his bag. Vykosa ripped her eyes from the
rapidly closing portal and caught a glimpse of the green stone glinting water-like in the sun.
"What do you plan to do with that? Polish me to death?" The female khajiit laughed.
Hasir stared, narrow-eyed, at her and smashed the tiny green stone. Vykosa ceased laughing when she saw a small Volcano
engulfing the stone. A coiling fiery red serpent rose from the black smoke and intertwined the Argonian. The grey khajiit stared at
the Argonian and hissed.
"What is this?" She asked. "Am I supposed to be amused? I will send that 'shield' of yours to Oblivion." She snared.
The dragon roared his displeasure and he and the Argonian rushed forward with his sword swinging rapidly. Seeing this, Vykosa
transformed and tore at the dragon. The steel-like scales of the dragon, much to Hasir's low expectation, stayed resolute. The black
seven foot werewolf roared as her claws shattered like glass on Tosh Raka's hard scales.
Tosh Raka broke free of his protective state and exelled a successive gout of three fireballs that set Vykosa's pelt aflame as if it was a
cloudy day set ablaze by the late afternoon sun.
The werewolf lord howled in pain and flailed about the ship wildly. Tosh Raka wrapped himself around the main mast of the ship,
tripping the giant behemoth and sending her head over tail over the railing and into the watery depths below. Hasir and Inigo rushed
to the railing just as Tosh Raka was enveloped by the stone and watched wide-eyed as Vykose was swallowed up by the ferocious
waves that battered against the ship like angry pirates battling a sea serpent.
Hasir went back mid deck and picked the green stone up and stowed it away into his leather backpack. Inigo smiled and nodded to
the water.
"Bet she would like that... Fur matting is a nightmare of us khajiit, I suspect the same can be said for tree-climbing furlickers that
transform into oversized buttsniffers." Hasir looked at Inigo and they both burst out laughing.
They did not stop laughing until they found themselves back on the island again. They knew they had to find Red Bramman and end
his reign of terror. All images of Vykosa's sinking form was wiped clean by this new train of thougt. Hasir turned to Inigo and asked if
he knew where the black Argonian went. The blue khajiit said he would use his trusty sense of smell to ascertain the direction that
she went. He wondered if she'd already found Red Bramman.
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