FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Hrothmund:

When we first came here, a third of the home village came and set up their tents south of the old town. Now, they went on to another camp, and the other two-thirds arrived here. Apparently in the winter wet season this is common, scattering with herds to find pasture, and in the summer settling down near water sources: the opposite of Skyrim, where you settle down in winter to keep warm, then scatter in the summer to find green grass.

Makari and Zinni (as well as others with arcane lore like Tsukari and Krinrah) consult with the clan mother about the moon quest- it involves Khajiit secrets that I am not initiated enough to hear so I am busy teaching my apprentice Tsalani how to repair the water pumps. They spend most of the day secluded in her tent, with only the occasional murmur or gopher fetching refreshment showing any sign of life in there.

In the evening they emerge, but defer discussion until they can decompress, seeking ablutions in the bath house. I assume they are waiting also for the subject of the discussion to reveal itself, and as night falls on the sentinel mountain north of town, Secunda glows above it.

I am snacking in the kitchen when Makari, Zinni, Krinrah, and Jidargo return, and my special friend begins explaining.

"We have had intense discussion about the nature of the lunar surface, and have agreed with precaution non-Khajiit could venture there. We were all reluctant, but because we do not understand how the Void Nights affected the nature of the moons, it seems prudent to have you come along in case there is something detrimental to Khajiit. Don't get excited though, it will be troublesome."

She refers to some notes in her journal- "We will need to counteract moon sugar, because the teleportation uses a deep and prolonged sugar trance- the moon monks use alchemy to endure heavy exposure, minimizing the negative effects, and I think I can brew a resist poison potion that will keep you mostly sane."

"Not very reassuring, but since you are going to so much bother for me I don't feel like I can complain until I can digest it fully."

"Of course. You have had some accidental exposure here and there, so perhaps... well, we will see. There is no reason we can't make more than one trip. That is fairly straightforward- Zinni has an optional goal as well." Makari gestures to the Dagi, who speaks-

"Yes, it is probably a vain hope, but I have ties to the Thieves Guild, and thus have done business with Nocturnal. Given our lack of knowledge, a Daedric Prince could be useful... the only problem is how to pay her."

Nobody talks for a few seconds, so I interject- "Well, I am not familiar with how to bribe Nocturnal, although in Skyrim there is talk of a temple to her somewhere. She's the mistress of the night, and doesn't care much for mortal affairs, so I don't know either."

"I appreciate, but it is my idea, you needn't be involved. It is not vital in any case. After what the Clan Mother told us, I am certain that the ring will be there, and if my- the thief never came back, we would find her."

"Do you think it is possible to survive on Secunda that long?"

"Jone is a desert, yes, but there are places one could survive for years, although if the colonists are gone... we will see."

She hides some unsettled emotions, and I take a minute to think more, then realize- "If we need a clan mother to go, doesn't that mean the thief had to get help from her?"

Zinni shakes her head- "They were adept at magic, and as I said they were a master thief... once they got the details they needed, they stole the astrolabe and went alone."

"A-ha, so that's why clan mother was so happy we found one in the ancient city and wanted me to make copies!"

Makari nods- "Yes dear, she thought it was divine favor from Azurah herself."

"I don't like the idea of getting Daedra involved, that never ends well."

Krinrah chuckles- "Not so- did you hear the tale of the Khajiit virgin that was seduced by Sangiin himself?"

I was puzzled until I remembered that is the Khajiit version of Sanguine.

Makari humphs- "Well it wasn't me! I would've given it up!"

"That's why he wasn't interested in you!"

After a few minutes, I ask- "So who is going?"

"All of us here," Makari says, "we cannot risk more clan members. I have my sister, so there will be a clan mother, and Jidargo and Krinrah are needed to ensure success- Krinrah can return us if I am unable. You, Hrothmund, are a ranger, so suited to scouting, and of course Zinni know what she is after."

"Right. Do you expect much danger? If the moon is safe to simply be on. Do you think maybe the Altmer occupy it?"

"Ha, no, but they might monitor it. It is best to be sneaky Khajiit, not even leaving pawprints."

"I am willing to try, whenever we can be ready."

"You are most at risk," says Zinni, "I will not wait any longer if you are willing to rush in- we will need time to prepare, and to sleep well tonight."

We have to strip our inventory to the bare essentials, only one weapon each, then plenty of potions and food, and any miscellaneous items like lockpicks. I put together an air filter for myself, some fine cloth folded over that I can dampen to catch any sugar dust. We all have Khajiit light armor cuirasses, only ten pounds and enough to handle any little monsters.

We spend the morning packing, and afternoon practicing. I am not as sneaky as the rest, so feel responsible for keeping up.

In the evening we have a good meal, then begin the ritual, gathering in the market plaza with bystanders meowling and howling, while Makari adjusts the astrolabe and mutters in Ta'agra. Krinrah passes out packets of colored moon sugar, made by dissolving it in fruit juice, then letting it dry out.

"We will make the sugar painting one grain at a time- meditate, concentrate, think only of your goal, the jump in perception, resonate to the tonal frequencies..."

As the drumming pounded out- SMACK thump thump- SMACK thump thump- the colors spin together into swirling patterns. I start to feel weird, and when it is finished we hold hands. Then at her gesture we lean down to lick it up, and everything goes black, with a weird whooshing noise....

I awake under a hard black sky covered in stars burning with cold fire, thousands and thousands beyond counting. Silver sand covers the ground and swells into dunes that roll to the horizon, and when I turn I see a large and bright blue-green disc rising above it...

"We are on Jone- this is Lleswer." Makari says proudly, putting away the astrolabe.

Zinni bounces around gleefully- "I'm so much lighter- I'm going to climb up every mountain!"

I stumble a bit, so Makari walks over and pets me- "Are you OK Hrothmund?"

"Just a bit woozy- how about you?"

"OK, but I wish I had a fishy stick."

Jidargo groans- "Should my head feel like this?"

Krinrah- "We violated normal space-time using the quantum entanglement of the lunar aligned particles- we created a bubble of space-time that moved your personal collection of atoms out of the normal fabric of Mundus until it reached another portion of the spatial matrix that matched its tonal frequency. Normally, all matter is limited to a maximum speed which is a combination of moving in time and space... the more of your inherent momentum is spent in the spatial dimension, the less is spend in the temporal dimension, and your own personal time is slower. This is why when you use fast travel, you experience a few seconds, but the time of the place you arrive at is hours after when you left- with the longer distance in space taking more 'distance' in time. Don't worry though, even traveling here is a week at most."

"Are you trying to make my head gyrate more!?"

Makari- "It might be best if we did something productive. We need to investigate what happened, see if anyone is still living here, and find that ring."

We are in the plaza in Bath, or a copy of it that is just as ruined as the other version. Moonflowers and desert grasses are the only plants, and luna moths hang on shady walls. Assuming anything there noticed us pop up and stumble around, we quickly scout the buildings, but they're empty. We examine the area for tracks of any kind, but find none, and discuss what to do next.

"It would help to know why this master thief was on the moon."

"I said it was to investigate- the Ring of Khajiit was just a tool of the trade..."

"So why are you after it? Convinced he's dead?"

She winces and flattens her ears- "I... left out some details that seemed irrelevant."

Makari tries kindness- "We need to know too- I can't wait for weeks while you wander the sands."

"She was in the thieves guild since she was young, and slept with guild member- I was an accident and never met him, all I know is he was from Chorrol, and maybe an Imperial. She took me to the jungles to live with family, and was often gone on adventures, but when I was old enough she brought me, as Dagi are magically inclined. I helped her make an expedition all the way to Morrowind, where the ring had been last seen before the Red Year. It was... messy, but we returned home. Then she left without me, only saying she was seeking out another clan that distrusted the Thalmor. It has taken five years to get this far."

We ponder this for some time, until Jidargo says "From Bath there are only two places you can walk to- Dune, and Samar'khan. Which would be more useful to do research?"

"We could find little on the colonies, but I think she went to the ancient city, so we should go there first."

Everyone agrees, and we set off across the silver sands, cautiously at first, but if anything bigger than moths lived here, it was impossible to tell. A few quick breaths test the air filter, which seems to work but there is very little dust in the air currently, so I put it up for now.

As we took a short rest halfway there my mind finally relaxed from being occupied with the effects of the magic and the worries about the quest, and I realized what we were doing as I looked around at the alien desert, harshly glaring in the sunrise.

"Wow, we're actually on a fucking moon! This is so fucking crazy!"

Exciting terror and wonder as the sky barely colored, with the brightest stars still visible. I had noticed the air was thin here, and it must only extend a short ways from the surface. I knew it got thinner on mountain tops, but had always imagined that it filled all the space between planets- could it truly be only a thin layer held down by gravity, with suffocating vacuum and void beyond?

A moment of vertigo, thinking of the sky as down, before I claw the ground and relax- it's not like anyone here knows levitation. The others seem excited too now, but not so worried- no doubt knowing their ancestors survived here has driven any such doubts away. I'm not that different, so I should be safe too.

Only a few minutes pass and we begin again, quickened by emotion, and soon come into view of the ancient city of Samar'khan. Even from afar, I can see it is built in the same half-circle plan, only this version is pristine, preserved in its ancient glory. Aware again of possible eyes, we look for cover, but there is none, only rocks and short, sickly grass.

"If the grass is short, what eats it?" I say to myself, but they hear and wonder too- are there terror birds here as well, or more exotic fauna?

Still, there is nothing much we can do, so we scatter and converge on the nearest gate.

As we get closer, our attention is divided between open windows and the bare sands, scanning for any movement or strange shapes. I see some tiny insect tracks, and find some sort of termite or ant that has tiny underground nests. It is possible they are eating the grass, as I see little else that is edible.

The sharp eyed cats move tensely as we reach the guardian carvings- some sort of feline dragons.

"Alkosh!" Makari whispers, amazed since the other version of the city lacks this, and I can tell they are also thinking that this must mean other details will differ. All is silence as we creep inside, and see the sigils of the ancient clan-kingdom painted inside the gateway. We pass down the street, deserted but mostly intact. Perhaps the lack of strong weather here preserves it even better than Elseweyr- although the sun is extremely hot where it touches us.

We confer-

"I haven't seen any tracks, but have no idea how windy it gets here." says Jidargo, and the rest agree- he is best at tracking, but all of us are decent.

"I have cast detect life and detect magic several times and seen nothing other than us." adds Zinni, and Krinrah agrees.

I mention the insects, and after some discussion of ecology we decide that this side of the moon must be nearly dead, burning and decaying in the sunlight. We had supplies enough to eat well for several days, but water was the main concern.

Zinni decides, as it is her quest. "We should examine the city as it is not large, and we should make as many notes as possible. Once we're sure this is secure territory, then we can explore the inner caverns."

The cave entrance yawned darkly in the cliff face to our right, while the pale creamy city radiated out from the bare plaza. Zinni decided to stay there, as you could see down the streets from there, and us four would go in pairs down different streets, but only halfway, and never out of sight of Zinni.

I walk with Makari down the first street, and we notice that the doors are all gaping, with only remnants of curtains- it seems they lacked wood, so they simply used curtains of cloth and beads. The city has several rings, with the inner ones being shops, and the outer being residential. It is tedious and uneventful, and I am glad when we decide that a quick look was enough. Krinrah didn't detect any magic, aside from small blips in what looks like a mage's guild.

We debate whether it is worthwhile to investigate, and decide to do so as quickly as possible, since the item we're after is magical it makes sense to 'clean up' any others, and also it might be informative.

The building seems very old, although solid stone the steps are worn and windows are small. Inside is cramped, with a counter in the first room, and various small items still behind it. Zinni and Krinrah examine them, grumbling that it's what they expected, little 5 or 10 septim pieces, like restore health one point. The rooms were free of trash, just dusty and cobwebbed, and plenty of furniture remained.

Going upstairs we found their library, still stocked, although I was not familiar with them, since my education had been limited, and I let our mages determine their worth.

"Ah,First Scroll of Baan Dar, interesting... various tomes on gods... common books on basics... I don't see much dated after the Third Era." Krinrah sniffs as dust floats up, and Zinni jests-

"Mages always crave new books, either they could get none or were dead."

Krinrah rubs his chin- "The Void Nights were less than a hundred years ago... perhaps they simply had to move, if it was this dry then..."

We all shrug, lacking enough data, and Zinni decides to continue.

"Well, we only spent an hour in here, but I don't see what else we can learn here, so let's move on to the caverns."

"It has been a few hours, we should eat first."

We all agree, and quickly snack on some fruit and meat, not rationing since we plan to return by the next day, and then rest a few minutes.

Weenter the darknesscarryingtorches, reasoning any Khajiit therewould be using night eye, and thus blinded by us. The cavern appears similar enough, although lacking in the copious water of the other version, and a shadowy statue stands in the same place. We turn aside to climb stone stairs and find a library much like the other, only this one has books! They are dusty and fragile, but I can read some of the titles, and walk with Makari as the others walk farther in.

"Look, this section is alchemy..."

"AAA!"

Her scream is loud, the room is not very big, and it only takes a couple of seconds for us to rush around and find Zinni cowering against Krinrah. On the balcony lies a mess of bones and gear that Jidargo is examining... I assume that the ants ate everything else, since the bones are intact. There is no doubt, since we have not seen even shed fur so far, that this is her mother.

Jidargo picks up a worn journal, but then we hear a strange flapping noise, glance over at the statue, and winged twilights fly at us!

Purplish skin and hair and red eyes, the face and body of a lovely woman, but her arms are distorted into bat wings, her legs scaly with clawed feet, and a big scorpion tail sticks out of her rump.

I pull out my ax, and Makari her crossbow, and I keep them from getting too close while she tries to hit soft spots. Jidargo pulls out a spear, while Krinrah and Zinni charge up wards and spells. Then an angry woman speaks, booming in our heads-

"That one was a follower of my rival Nocturnal! I punished her insolence, and I would do the same to her misbegotten daughter if you would stop interfering!"

Azurah! The winged twilights line up along the balcony, scowling and screaming at us as we back away.

"Fools! I granted you my favor by returning the astrolabe to you! Don't you dare defy me! Surrender the whelp and I'll spare you- you have no other options."

The others are conflicted, but I am stubborn-

"We had a deal, to give safe passage!"

"A Nord! Full of honor but not mead? How odd. Your argument is weak, son of Skyrim- it was merely a verbal agreement, not sworn to any gods... and anyone can forgive you surrenderingto my will."

"Why do you want her?"

"Ignorant Man! Did you forget the gods on your travels? We are always at war! I will do anything to remove her followers from my presence!"

"I'm not her follower!" squeaks Zinni "I just said some nice things like every thief!"

"I can smell her taint on you!"

"Daedra don't have taints!"

I can't let her be torn apart by those monsters, but we can't fight Azura... what other way is there...

"What if she became your follower?" I try.

"WHAT!? Do you think an adventurer can just go around dedicating themselves to every Daedra just so they can profit from quests!? Pledging their immortal souls to a dozen or more Princes that will try to claim their loyalty and afterlife? That suggestion must come from the Mad God himself!"

We stand awkwardly, not knowing what to say, while the winged twilights flutter around the cavern screeching and pissing in our general direction.

Then- "I don't have the patience for this petty matter, it is only an accident that I noticed you at all... if you can escape my minions, I will consider you vindicated via trial by combat, and show mercy the next time we meet."

With that, four winged twilights wailed and flung themselves at us.

Makari jumps on the book case behind us, sniping from the shadows at the one closest to me, dealing at least twenty points of damage, double for successful sneak attacks, as Jidargo speared it and I axed it, killing it within a minute despite both of us getting some health draining claw attacks.

Meanwhile Krinrah and Zinni flung sparks and fireballs at the ones closing in on them, but only did a few points of damage, then yipped as they discovered the daedra have a natural reflect spell ability so they pulled out their Khajiit bows and pulled back into a corner together, chugging fortify health and restore magicka potions. The twilights don't have room to flap and land, which give me a chance to grab one and drag it back, furiously smashing my ax in its head while Makari helps by making some sneak attacks on it.

This leaves just two that are smacking Krinrah and Zinni around while the two mages try to get shots in, but they're only half as powerful as Makari's attacks, and her and Jidargo join to attack the one closest to them and get it distracted enough that Krinrah can throw up a ward, but then the two who had been hanging back come in behind me, and I whirl around.

I equip my glass shield and throw back a fortify/restore health potion, then charge in on one, but the dodge away. Not being foolish, I fall back toward the group, who have managed to kill one, but the other is pounding on the mages hard enough that Makari and Jidargo won't finish it in time before it kills them, so I turn and sprint over to shield bash it, and jidargo pins it with his spear while I whack it good. Zinni and Krinrah take the seconds of relief to drink a couple more potions, while Makari noticed my motions and shoots a few warning shots at the two behind us. Discouraged, they flapped off screeching for help, while Makari helped finish off the one left.

Blood splatters the balcony, and the bones of Zinni's mother were scattered and broken in the melee.

We slump down panting and sweating despite the chill of the cave, and I suddenly realize that if the Ring of Khajiiti was on the ground, it might be lost, and I turn to Zinni, but she looks oddly translucent, blending in with the background...

"Yes, Jidargo just gave it to me... it would have been nice to have it sooner, but we were in a hurry so this one is not going to bitch."

I grunt, and Makari rips into the corpses to recover some bolts and void salts, and I want to rest but Zinni says "I suspect there may be more trouble before we can exit the temple, so we should move before they can attack again. Please, first help me recover the bones for burial at home, and then we can sneak out of here to teleport back."

It takes some grisly time, but we fill a bag with remains, and Zinni scouts ahead wearing the Ring. The remaining winged twilights are waiting at the main entrance, so we take a side passage, but one is waiting there and screeches loudly. Makari and Krinrah loose arrows into it, and I smash it's face in, but two more come behind us. We spin around as they close in, but Zinni (lurking in the shadows with the Ring of Khajiit on) helps take out one with a string of sneak attacks, and the other is shot and stabbed before it knows what happened.

Panting from the panic and exertion we creep along the hall, with the cats using night eye, until we slip out to a high ledge overlooking the city. Overhead the blue-green disk of Nirn is over us again, and we all shiver. Makari says "To return is not as elaborate, we don't need the moon sugar, just the astrolabe and the spell. We can take a minute to tend to wounds."Jidargo and I had both been scratched in places not covered by our armor, and bruised under it. A couple of restore health potions healed them up quickly, and a bottle of wine took care of the aches. Feeling confident, we take a minute to rest while Makari double checks her procedures.