The sun beat down on the damp southern forests, making the air hot and muggy even in well shaded areas. The trail which they followed was well used and packed down tightly by hundreds of feet having walked it in the past. Anyone who dared stray off it was at risk to the deep spongy soil, thick foliage and dangerous animals that lay beyond. Cael huffed and looked at his surroundings with a wary eye. Anyone save for wild cubs it seemed. It was quiet for once. He was alone on the road again. Not a good sign. He let his hands drop off the straps if his pack to his sides, casually, yet defensively. He checked his back, listened carefully and smelled the air. Nothing. The cub had stayed down wind. Smart kid. Then a single healthy leaf drifted down through the air and settled on the road in front of Cael. He froze. A wild hissing and spitting rang through the air from above and at the last second Cael planted one foot and spun to face the other direction. The flailing ball of fur and stripes landed in a heap where he had just been standing. He looked down at the cub and smirked. He was short and shrimpy for his age but still full of fight... but perhaps not grace. It must take some time for the cubs to start landing on their feet. "Ahhhh!! Caaaeel!!" the little Ka-Po-Tun rolled around on the ground throwing his arms and legs out to pound it, "" he whined in a strange tongue. Cael simply shrugged innocently and kept walking. Yuda picked himself up and jogged after him. "" he asked with an eye roll. Cael put a finger to his lips and smiled. Then he stooped to pick up the stray leaf off the ground as they passed it and showed it to the kitten. "" Yuda took it from him and looked at it with a frown, "" Cael shook his head and made the same motion with the finger on his lips. Yuda tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. "" Cael nodded. "" he scrambled up Cael's back to sit on his shoulders. Once there he knocked on the man's skull lightly, "" Again Cael just shrugged. The kid would learn eventually. After a miraculous fourteen consecutive seconds of silence Yuda plopped his chin down on the top of Cael's head and sighed, "" After a moment or two Yuda's free ride pointed off into the distance. It took a second but after some confused searching and shielding his eyes against the sun he saw it. Thin tails of smoke, hardly visible in the daylight, drifted up out of a wide section of cleared jungle. Tiny thatched rooftops dotted the clearing a midst the feet of a handful of raised outposts and a couple of taller buildings and towers. "" Yuda bolted off Cael's shoulders. The man shook his head with a smirk and dug a dark bandanna out of his belt which he tied around his scalp and protruding horns. Going into settlements and cities was always such a pain. However, he had heard this one was different. He certainly hoped that was a good thing. "" the cub slammed on the brakes and wheeled around to face him with an excited grin, "" Yuda trailed off as he was met with only a menacing glare. "" he ran after his guardian as he walked past again, "" Cael looked down at him with a raised brow. "" Yuda's yellow eyes became huge and sad and filled with mostly pupil as he pleaded, "" The man stopped and put a gentle hand over the kid's snout, putting down just enough pressure to close his jaws. Then he nodded. The cub bounced excitedly and tried to talk through the muzzle but it only came out as garbled noise. Cael looked down at him with a stern frown until he calmed and quieted. Then he let go. "" Yuda whispered and curled sheepishly,"" The hustle and bustle of the settlement combined with the completely alien peoples and wares of Tamriel wound up pushing the kitten's curiosity and sanity to its very limits. Cael wondered if he should construct a leash as he watched the fuzzball dart back and forth through the streets pointing at things and mouthing to himself. With some level of amusement Cael watched as one of the merchants selling magical bobbles and one or two smuggled Dwemer artifacts beamed down at the cub and greeted him... in Cyrodiilic Common. The excitement and confidence was gone. His bushy tail was tucked firmly around one leg, ears pinned and he shrank before taking a few cautious steps backward. The merchant spoke to him again and he hustled back to his guardian. For quite a while he clung to Cael, listening, watching, ears flicking back and forth. "" he mumbled, "" Cael patted his back. Maybe his voice couldn't understand the languages spoken here, but he could. It was painfully nostalgic, but the familiar words made him feel warm and more at ease. They would get by somehow. Yuda might even learn a useful spell or two (this was a magic-centric place after all) or interesting new words to jabber on with... if only because the Divines were cruel. --- "The destination is not nearly as important as the journey," S'Kylir sighed, "When the snow melts up to the northern border, when there are no more demons to bloody our blades and when our pockets are filled with gold from bounties I should like to return for the summer and engage in more peaceful work and exploration until the next season... Should the Divines be so merciful... Are you growing bored Septimus?" Another day passed over them. They moved slowly. S'Kylir occasionally had held up the pace to wait for the serpentine woman, much to her dismay. They put a mountain ridge behind them at least. On the north side the winter sun rarely touched the low land, allowing the snow and ice to build up among the jagged rocks. Nestled into these rocks they made a small camp. Once again S'Kylir disappeared at dusk only to return when it had grown dark. Once back she stood watch, somehow unable to get comfortable. There was once a time where she could have slept soundly in the sand and rocks while lava flows popped and erupted near by with the threat of wild animals, bandits and rogue Ashlanders looming over her. No more. There was too much pressure on her bones and her mind. However, it seemed Annette would make full use of their stop as she was already out cold. S'Kylir smirked and shook her head. Her eyes turned up to the stars she let her memories wander back to more historical and glorious times. It was a warm and comforting wander until it was ripped up by a rumbling in the very foundations of the mountain. She ran out of the sheltered cut-out, drawing her sword and looking around for any sign of trouble. The rumbling continued and grew more intense until and otherworldly shriek overpowered it. The ice and snow that blanketed the mountain ridge collapsed and crashed downward into the valley. A massive creature, as tall as a tower, an ethereal of ice, steel, rock and bone burst out of the frozen land. The upper body of a man, the front legs and body of a warhorse and the hind quarters and tail of a dragon. Blackened skull-like features and thick antlers that flowed along his body and tangled like spider's legs adorned his head. Long tusks shot out where a mouth should have been. He wielded swords in each of his three arms, the fourth was severed at the elbow and capped off with a jagged hook. Ancient steel plates had been forged directly into his icy flesh in a mess off primitive armor. All of Akavir shuddered under the trampling of his hooves, the edge of his blades and the weight of his presence. Wherever he stood froze. "Witch," he hissed deep and slow as if speaking from the ground up. He turned his gaze on S'Kylir. She backed up with a glare. She would not be able to run. "You come too far north, yet you are not the same," the ethereal twisted his grotesque body and tilted his head as he moved forward, "You are no longer worthy. But I will take my revenge, Slayer of Nulka-Sun-Dir-Kamal. My brother." S'Kylir shrugged stiffly and forced a smile, "Now, now. He died with honor and put up a good fight. I have the scars to prove it, demon. But in the end it would seem I was the better warrior. Ada-Soom-Dir-Kamal should keep a more careful eye on his precious sons." Her hip ached from old wounds, triggered by the memories of an epic battle which lasted days upon days and which she had only barely survived. A low rumble started once more and ripped itself into a furious roar as the royal spawn shook his tusks and antlers, causing earth quakes and trees to topple. She took a fighting stance before looking at the others, begging them to make their escape now. "Such large words for such a small thing," he roared, "Do not insult Him so carelessly. Powers are in place which you will never come to understand, slave." With that his arms unwound, the huge obsidian blades in each hand glinting in the moon light. The dirt and rocks broke under his charge and his weapons came crashing down on the woman.