When the khajiit exited the sqaure opening, he saw multiple altars - at least that's what he thought they were - and stood before a giant staircase flanked by pentagram flags on poles. He ascended the stairs and approached the vampire behind the bar.
"Excuse me, but, er, would you happen to know where I can find a bunny?"
The vampire looked at him skeptically; wondering if he should trust him or just drink his blood.
"We have lots of pets here; taken by Lord Bal's minions from their owners. Go ahead and see for yourself." He said, gesturing upstairs.
Inigo nodded nervously and slowly back away.
"Thank you, I think. I am sorry." He said, seeing the vampire eyeing him hungrily. "Khajiit is not on the menu. I taste utterly atrocious anyway." He said as he walked toward the skull laden turret.
Inigo emerged from the tower and screwed his face up in disgust at the grotesque demon done in stained glass. He turned and left the cathedral. He found himself back outside and entered the tower opposite the throne room. Inside, he saw more altars and cages, but none of them held animals. He moved deeper into the room until he spotted a wooden trapdoor poking out from underneath an altar. He opened it and disappeared.
Inigo gasped as he entered another room that was wall to ceiling with wrought iron cages. Within these cages were animals of all shapes and sizes: rabbits, falcons, crows, rats and owls. Inigo gazed in awe at the myriad cages filling the cylindrical tower. He thought about calling out but feared a collapse of the tower would ensue.
He gulped, prayed that such a thing would not happen and braced for the worst but hoped for the best.
"My friend, are you here? If you are, squeak once so I can locate you." He grinned to himself as he thought this was a good plan but felt a boulder drop into his stomach as he realized that there were multiple rabbits in the cylindrical prison, not just his 'furry' friend. Hastily, Inigo began opening all the cages within reach. He soon cursed himself as he was soon overrun by a stampede of freed animals.
He saw a horned, black and blue ladder resting between two cages. He thought about using this to free the other animals when he caught sight of a winding staircase running along the inner edges of the tower. The khajiit looked from the ladder to the staircase, obviously making up his mind. With his mind made up, he ascended the stairs and found his furry friend in the cage situated between a tawny owl and a rather talkative raven. He leapt off of the staircase, grabbing one of the cages and using it to swing from one cage to the other. He repeated this daring maneuvre until he latched onto the brown bunny's cage. He unlocked the cage with his claw and left the tower with the rabbit through the portal from whence he came.
He landed on all fours in the alchemical shop back in Elsweyr. He walked, rabbit in his arms, back to the shop where he met the aged khajiit. He entered and they prepared a reversal potion in the back room. When that was done, Inigo uncorked it and poured some onto the brown fur. The rabbit rose into the air aas the potion worked its magic. Fur disappeared and became scale. The argonian coughed and spluttered. The blue khajiit hugged his friend and asked how his little 'furrry' adventure was; cursed though it may've been.
Hasir rubbed his neck; trying to remember. As a matter of fact, his reptilian brain recalled little before its furry transformation.
"Erm... Inigo, I don't really remember. It was all a blur. All I remember is me dishonoring the Doomstrider and 'poof' I had furry legs and whiskers. I wish I could paint a much better picture, but..." He shrugged, "Damn it to Oblivion, I just can't."
Inigo grabbed his friend's shoulder and embraced him.
"It's ok, my friend. I remember little after my foray into skooma." Hasir looked at the blue khajiit with an inquisitive look. Inigo gulped. "Anyway, an aquaintance told me that one of Tigress's masters is in Akavir we must see her if you're too..." He looked apologetically at the Argonian. "Oh right, sorry. He also said that if you need additional training, you should see him."
Hasir looked wonderingly at Inigo.
"Who exactly is this man? Tigress's master? You mean the Ka'Po'Tun dragon?" He tittered a bit. "He is sequestered in the jade dragon I have in my pocket, or he's supposed to be anyway." He said, looking thoughtful.
Inigo stared at his scaly friend; incredulous.
"You forgot his name and you think he-? No, first off, Tosh Raka is male. I mean, well, I got that splattered in mud, didn't I? The male who he said we should seek out goes by the name of Shen Xiao."
Hasir rubbed his hands together, excitedly. He has been waiting age to return to Akavir.
"Well. What are we waiting for? Let's go to Akavir."
Inigo made a calming motion with his hands.
"You're putting the Saxhleel before the Hist tree. First we should go and see Xhekaj. She is a powerful khajiit mane who rules over these lands and gives khajiit permission whether or not to leave this island... for military or trade reasons. If she is okay with it then and only then will we go to Akavir for some... training."
Hasir nodded and followed Inigo out of the shop. About midway, he stopped and thought on something.
"Hang on. Don't we have to find a khajiit caravan? After all, our end goal takes priority."
Inigo nodded reluctantly and followed his friend as they headed for the Senchal outskirts. They walked for hours until they found a khajiit caravan near the outskirts of the khajiit city.
Hasir was about to approach when the blue khajiit held him back, discouraging him from any possible altercation that might enrage the caravaners. He sat in the dirt and watched while Inigo went up to a black and tan khajiit.
"Warm sands to you. fellow khajiit. May I have a word?"
The khajiit nodded and stuck out his hand which Inigo shook firmly.
"Greetings. Ra'jesh is the name." Over there are my fellow caravaners Mu'hara, Ge'kish and W'thistru. What may this one help you with?" He asked with a thick Elsweyrian accent.
Hasir, resenting being told he may be quarrelsome, rudely interrupted Inigo just as the khajiit opened his mouth.
"Forgive him, he gets cranky if he doesn't have his daily skooma fix. We require an army to fight Molag Bal." The argonian stated bluntly. "Also, we wish to have a place to stay for the night."
Ra'jesh looked taken aback by such a bold gesture.
"Are you serious? Skooma addiction is no laughing matter. Trust khajiit, he knows. Such a bold claim." He said, shaking his head as he faced his fellow caravaner's tent system they had built. He gestured to one of the big tents at the rear of the camp. "Of course, who are we if not hospitable? The offer we would like to think on a bit more. While we deliberate, you can sleep in that tent with the decorative awning. Do not worry, it has already been made up... if you do not, er, how can Ra'jesh put this... mind living the life of a khajiit; even if for at least one night."
Hasir made a gesture to show he did not mind and turned to Ingo, who grew red-faced at the prospect of being reminded of his days of skooma addiction - a spot of shame for most khajiit. Hasir told him to let it pass like a calm river over rocks as they walked towards the tent so graciously offered by Ra'jesh and his fellow caravaners.
Hasir opened the tan flap to find a space not much bigger than the tent extior. He was disappointed to find bedrolls, not bproper beds, have been laid out for them; each with a signle wolf fur for warmth. Inigo laid down and thought of their warm beds back in Jorrvaskr and how they trade in a heartbeat. He rolled over to find Hasir stripping out of his armor and laying down on the thin bit of leather and was soon fast asleep; tail resting limply by his side.
For the longest time, Inigo stared at the rising and falling chest of his reptilian companion, but, soonthereafter, sleep enveloped him like a warm, but rather unwelcome, blanket.
Hasir fell headfirst into a maelstrom of rather conflicting dreams. A kaleidoscope of confusing images. He saw Tosh Raka become a dragon, not by choice or birthright, as Tigress had predicted, but by the brutal slaugter of his duelling opponent as set forth by the ruler of the Tiger-dragon nation. Just before the Argonian could ascertain the dream proeperly, the temple of Tosh Raka's forced coronation turned into an earthen and foresty landscape with trees and valleys. In this portion of the dream, he was being told by Hircine that he broke lycanthropic law and was to relinquish his lycanthropic powers lest he be set upon by his former brethren.
He woke up, this time without the blue cat hanging like moss over his crystal clear lake wondering if he was suffering some psychological deprivation from being submerged in the water of his dreams for a prolonged period. Hasir reveled in this realizatian, and, just to be such the khajiit had not succumbed to nightmares, he repositioned himself to check on his furry friend. He needn't have worried, his friend was sleeping like a log that became entombed in a mossy prison. Satisfied, the Argonian smiled to himself and lay back against the bedroll, staring at the underside of the tent.
Morning came; the sun's long fingers gently carressed Hasir's scaly cheek but he was too busy having some pleasant dream to notice. The khajiit's pumpinish eyes flew open and flicked toward were his Argonian friend lay; completely oblivious of the fire trying to burn into his seemingly sensitive scales. Inigo got up, walked over to where Hasir lay and gently shook him.
Startled, the Argonian's eyes flew open and he looked all about for a danger that may or may not've been present.
"What!?" He said, jerking bolt upright. "Oh, it's you, Inigo." He said with a voice like a half strangled wolf. "Give me five more minutes." He said, holding up on hand; five fingers extended. "Let this sleeping dog lie. Don't wake a sleeping dog or wolf for that matter, else they'll bite your tail off." He said, voice tailing away as Inigo heard a loud 'THUD' as his scaly head hit the pillow.
Inigo stood there; tail flicking forward and back in sheer annoyance. He had know idea how unreasonably thick and ignorant his scaly comrade could be.
"Come on, my friend, get up, we need to see what the khajiit caravan's consenus is." He said, slapping Hasir's tail.
No matter what he did, his scaly friend's snores became insurmountable and all too hard for the khajiit to handle. Frustrated, the khajiit ripped the bedroll out from under the scaly lout but to no effect. He snored on, unaffected by the change of surface. Seeing no alternative, Inigo took out his flask and dumped it over Hasir's face. Like a startled cat, the Argonian shot, like a bullet, out of his bed and hit one of the support pillars of the tent.
When he came back down from the high, he glared at Inigo.
"What did you do that for? I was having a good dream for Hircine's sake." He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrasment. "Well, that was after..." His voiced tailed away as if he was unsure whether or not to tell Inigo, which was, in fact, the case. Seeing this as a way to clear his mind, he stared at where his bedroll lay and muttered. "Listen, erm... the dreams were not all pleasant." He said, in a gravelly voice that was as soft as a sheep encased in a rocky shell.
Inigo put his hand to his ear and told the Argonian to speak louder.
"I'm sorry, what? Can you speak up? I must have wool and rocks in my ears from all the rocky sheep you threw at me."
Hasir glared at him and, annoyed, took a deep breath.
"I said 'the dreams were not all pleasant'." Inigo cowered against the blunt force of his words just like he thought the khajiit would. "See?" Hasir said, gesturing frustratedly, "That is why I hate speaking aloud. I perceive my words as loud enough and, if I speak loudly," He said, sitting on the sandy ground. I am afraid people might misconstrue my words as being somehow critical of them, almost as I am yelling. That is also why I prefer to stay quiet most times." "I... I also hate repeating myself, you know, just in case... reactions like yours happen."
Inigo walk towards Hasir, sat next to him and hugged him. He hated seeing his friend so bent out of shape over this.
"My friend, I will never judge me no matter how many daggers you throw at me. I trust you know that."
Hasir put his head on Inigo's shoulder.
"Thank you Inigo, you are a true blue friend... er, no offense." He said as he noted his friend's fur color.
Inigo pulled out of the embrace and smiled back, his pumpkinish eyes glow a bit.
"No offense taken, my friend. I just saw you hurting and I was there to pick up the pieces, no apology needed. Now, let's go and see how to the khajiit caravan's deliberation went, shall we?"
They both got up and walked to the entrance of the tent. Once outside, they walked over to the khajiit caravaners huddled around the fire they had built. Ra'jesh paused his eating of some fish he'd prepared and skeptically eyed them.
"We, my fellow khajiit and this one, have deliberated upon your concerns put to us and we graciously accept your offer. This one must ask, tough, have you considered asking the other khajiit caravaners as well as the khajiit bard, Daahin, about the possibility of joining forces against Molag Bal as well? After all, we khajiit are a semi-nomadic people." He eyed the newcomer's blank expressions and sighed. "Mother cat preserve us, a couple of dry skins, eh? Very well." He patted a log on which he sat, gesturing for Inigo and Hasir to sit; they did so. "The khajiit are a proud people descended from gypsies and other nomadic people that came here from the old country, Yakuda. "Khajiit had a tough time adapting, always never staying in one spot for too long, always having to pack up and move wherever the caravans goes. So, by that logic, if one khajiit goes to a place, all must follow." He looked at the newcomer's curiously, "Do you understand now?"
Inigo and Hasir nodded and introduced themselves; feeling shameful for not doing so the previous evening.
"Ra'jesh, my name is Inigo, pleased to meet you." He said, turning to the other khajiit. Ra'jesh smiled and returned the gesture. Hasir, confused by this, intrdouced himself as Inigo nudged him in his shoulder.
The black and tan khajiit smiled, thanked them for their kindness and, in turn, introduced his caravanmates. After introductions were over, Ra'jesh gave Hasir and Inigo wooden plates of a mixture of apples in a strange gelatine liquid, meat, fish and carrots smothered in a sort of crystalline powder. Inigo turned to Ra'jesh and asked what the food was.
Ra'jesh looked from the confused reptilian and felines faces to the plates full of food and laughed.
"Have you lived under a rock? That is a stable of many Elsweyrian dishes."
Inigo and Hasir stared intensely at the black and tan khajiit, not finding this remotely amusing. Ra'jesh cowed beneath their intense glare.
"I'm sorry... He said, scratching his neck in embarrasement. "Erm... I mean, er, that..." He said, gesturing to the fish, "is abacean sea fish, it is quite good. Khajiit has had it many times for an innumerable amount of meals. Next to the fish you have sabre tooth meat, green apples, sliced and served in netch jelly and some carrots drizzled with moon sugar. We put it on everything. Think of it as a flavor enhancer."
After everyone ate their meal, they repeated their query. Ra'kesh considered this for a long time. Deciding it would be rude to stay silent, he stood up and extended a clawed hand to Hasir who mirrored his movements.
"Khajiit would be happy to assist. We may be humble caravaners, travelers from a land of heat and sand, but we can fight with the best of them. Our weapons may be a bit... unconventional and our armor a bit odd to most but we, as I'm sure many others you may recruit are eager to fight and willing to add our plots of land to the overall map, as it were."
Inigo, fruriated, leapt off of the log and flew toward the khajiit, pinning him to the ground with a clawed hand while brandishing a dagger inches from his throat.
"My friend asked for a strict yes or no answer, not your entire life story, which, by the way, we do not give a burning leaf in Oblivion about. Do we have an understanding?" He snarled, spitting landing like raindrops on the furry field that is Ra'kesh.
Nervously, Ra'kesh nodded and went to the tent and came back holding a cloth draped over something - similar to how Hasir offered Inigo his armor - and offered it to the Argonian and Khajiit. Hasir saw another khajiit dragging an iron bound trunk in the mud towards them. Ra'kesh unfolded the leather.
"For our sincerest apologies, take this. It is a stable, and the pinnacle, of all Elsweyrian weaponry."
Inigo took the weapons and examined them; a steel katana wtih a Ta'agran character etched on the blade with an elsweyrian pattern on the handle and an equally ornate red and gold half-moon shield. Testing there weight and durability, Inigo's eyes lit up bright as carriage lights.
"My friend, this is of fantastic make. What metal did you use for it? No need to answer. These are light as a feather but as deadly as a werewolf's fangs. Thank you for this. He said, beaming at the brown and tan khajiit.
The khajiit gave his thanks and motioned for the female khajiit standing near the brown iron-bound chest to open it. As the lid fell away, Hasir could see a silver armor atop a coat of chainmail. Upon it's extracation, the Argonian saw a roaring bear set against a silver moon atop a brown strap running diagonally from the upper left shoulder to the lower right hip protector.
The female khajiit bestowed the armor to Hasir, The argonian put the armor in his backpack and thanked her. The female khajiit smiled and remembered something.
"You're welcome. Erm... Hasir, do you remember me? I am Hircine's most faithful servant. I was the deer you saw in that field. Hircine has granted me the power of transformation, as I suspect did his sister, the state was given to me upon completing a particularly trying task."
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