13th of Midyear - Noon - The Three Crowns Hotel
Gilane
Midday in Gilane was often the same, as Raelynn had come to notice. There was a certain bustle and business that was unlike anything she’d ever seen. Giant pans and skillets of food would be thrown onto hot fires behind food stalls and scents would permeate the air one by one. Saffron, garlic, paprika, chilli. She had grown accustomed to this. It was as if she need not look to a clock now, but pay attention to her nose to know that it was time for a meal. She weaved in and out of the crowds purposefully to the Three Crowns Hotel, wearing calf-length satin trousers in shades of cream and gold and a linen cropped shirt in a rich plum colour - she looked every part a Lady of Hammerfell.
With everything that had happened, it was easy to believe that the party had been here for weeks or months, but truthfully, it hadn’t been that long at all, and yet each day felt like an eternity.
Does everyone else feel the slowing of time, too? She thought to herself as she ascended the staircase to the room she had shared with the girls. With Jude, Rhona, Mazrah, and… Daro’Vasora.
It had been a lifetime since she herself had been here.
She pushed open the door gingerly, not knowing if anyone would be inside. She only wanted to collect some of her things. A small knife, a bowl. Just
things. Things she could have easily replaced, things that held no sentimental value to her - and yet, she didn’t look to her lockbox when she entered the room. Her steel blue eyes fell immediately onto the space where Daro’Vasora used to sleep. They observed the absence of the Khajiit. The way the bed sheet was still a little crumpled from where she hadn’t quite pulled it tightly into the board when she made it, the pillow still had the indent of her head. Some of her things sat on the table beside the futon - an empty glass, a plate. Just things that highlighted that Daro’Vasora was still gone.
Thoughts lingered on the morning that they had all bickered amongst themselves. She had been embarrassed and annoyed then - how she wished that mornings like that could have been the worst of her time in Gilane. She approached the bed pensively and placed her fingertips against the sheet, before whispering under her breath, “they’re going to get you out of there…” She knew it wouldn’t be her, she wouldn’t be part of Latro’s rescue team. Not in her state. She ran her fingers over the sheet once more before leaving it at last, making her way to her lockbox in the corner. It was then that she heard the soft footsteps of someone approaching…
Shakti had been so caught up in her own little world she had almost plowed into the open door. The young Redguard girl was running her hands along the rough wall as she walked along, staring off into space. She had made a habit of doing laps of the hotel grounds to keep herself from getting cooped up in her tiny room. If she let herself do only what she wanted, she knew that is what would happen. So she forced herself to take walks. Usually she would find someone to talk to or some sort of trouble to get into, but lately there was a tinge of darkness in her normally sunny heart. Something about being lied to and then being forced to be around the man who had caused her quest to avenge her father to stall so badly. It just… it just.. It was hard to deal with, okay?
She had tried to sew up her other tunic but she had quickly become frustrated and given up, just throwing on her other tunic and walking out in a huff. Both of them were equally er,
loved (tattered) but the other one was made of a nicer cloth and so the fact it had been cut during her duel annoyed her further. Both of them were earth-coloured and loose-fitting tunic that had no sleeves and exposed her mocha skin and rather-scarred-for-a-teenager-arms.
The open door shook Shakti out of her reverie and she peered into the open room, not quite knowing what she was looking at. It was a rather lived-in room with a single occupant; a pale woman doing something to a bed. “Are… you looking for something?” Shakti asked, against the wishes of her brain. Unfortunately for her brain and its bad mood, sociability was in her nature and the words came naturally.
Suddenly disturbed by the presence, Raelynn pulled herself from her deep thoughts and she glanced over to the doorway, she looked the girl who stood there up and down. The new Redguard girl. She didn’t know a great deal about her. What was her name - she had heard it spoken at the party, but that was all muffled noise and drunken revelry. Shhhhh something. She narrowed her eyes in concentration before speaking, “I’m just collecting some things… I’ll be leaving soon,” her hands took out the items from the bottom of the chest, and she began placing them into her satchel one by one. Empty bottles, floral sprigs, and pouches of beetle scrub - ingredients. The girl was stood there still, and Raelynn once again narrowed her eyes in her direction, “can I help you with something?” She sighed, a long exhalation of air to show her impatience.
“No, it’s just that I do not think we’ve met.” Shakti wasn’t in the mood for introductions, not really, not now, but a small voice in the back of her head (probably her mother’s) told her that she should not project her own bad mood onto others. So Shakti dutifully pressed on with her introduction. “I’m Shakti, of the Alik’r.” Sands take you Mother, why did you raise me to be so polite? It’s clear that this woman is not in the mood to talk, so just disengage and walk away. “I just thought it would be rude if I didn’t at least tell you my name after seeing you twice now.”
She listened to the young girl with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Why, she couldn't have been older than twenty. “I see…” cooed Raelynn, her voice suddenly soft. “Well Shakti, it's nice to meet you. My name is Raelynn.” She was done packing up her satchel and so she rose to her feet slowly. Shakti was much taller than her, but her youthful demeanour diminished any chance of the Breton being intimidated by her size. She moved back over to Daro'Vasora's bed once more, she knew in her heart that she wouldn't be allowed back here. “Say, Shakti - would you care to help me collect her belongings?”
Shakti found the woman’s sudden change in tone of voice to be more than a little unnerving, nonetheless she couldn’t rightly refuse a request for help. “It is so lovely to meet you Raelynn. It would be my pleasure to help. It is the least I could do. I’ve only just met this company, I’m sure her presence is greatly missed by all of you.” She entered the room and strode over to the area that, judging by the amount of hair everywhere, must have belonged to the Khajiiti woman. Shakti had no idea what kind of possessions a tomb-raiding cat person would, well, possess and so looked over to Raelynn for guidance.
“Truth be told, I am not entirely certain what it is that she owns… Can't say I ever had reason enough to care. I suppose I shall start,” her hands tugged at the handle of the drawer, although it appeared to be so full with something that it was wedged shut, “here.” With it open just a crack, she slipped her fingers in and felt the recognisable leather cover of a book which she pushed down, springing the drawer open. “Well it appears she likes to write,” Raelynn stated as she took out several journals that had been stowed away. “So tell me, Shakti, how did you come to be with us? Or better yet, do you feel that you will stick around?”
“I joined the cause when some of your comrades freed me from Dwemer imprisonment. I hate the thought of my homeland being ruled by an elven empire. My grandparents fought the Dominion when they invaded and I feel it is my duty to fight the Deep Elves in turn.” She held her tongue for a moment, unsure of whether it was wise to share her other, more personal reason, “I also think the Dwemer are somehow tied up in the death of my Father, and it is something I intend to find out. On my own time, of course. I could never ask another to assist me in such a selfish task.” The last line was somewhat of a bending of the truth. In reality, Shakti felt like to ask someone else for help would almost be cheating. That to ask someone to walk her path with her would go against the spirit of the entire journey. Was that true? She didn’t know. The young Redguard pulled out various strange objects from drawers and packs that littered Sora’s living area and examined them, wondering where they should go and if they were even hers to begin with.
Raelynn actually listened to the girl, taking a seat at the foot of the bed with Sora's journals in her lap, thumbing the pages - but she was neither peering or reading them. Hearing the young girl tell her story did tug at her. If Shakti believed her father's death was the result of the Dwemer, then her loss was incredibly fresh. “I'm sorry to hear about your father. You know, I often think that there is no greater duty than that to our family. It's very honourable of you, but a heavy burden to carry alone wouldn't you agree?” She tilted her head to the side, loose strands of hair slipping from the grip of her hairpin.
“I cannot lie, it is a heavy burden, and I am often not sure how to proceed. But I am the oldest, I must do this. It’s like you said, it is my duty to my family.” Shakti shrugged and stared at a heavily marked map of some place that she did not recognise. She flipped it many times to try and figure out the correct orientation. “I came to Gilane in search of a knight that served in the same order as my father. He knows something but I haven’t been able to question him properly. He’s the reason I ended up in a Deep Elf prison.” The memory made her forearm scar itch slightly and she rubbed it unconsciously.
The Breton nodded along with Shakti's story. She was so young, and yet so set on a path for vengeance, with the burden sitting on her shoulders. It was horrifying and amusing all at the same time. A quick smile curled up on her lips, and disappeared as quickly as it had come on. “How has your journey alone gone so far?” She asked, the sweet voice returning and her fingers stroking the spine of the journal in her lap. “Forgive me, but, you were captured once already were you not?”
“It has gone okay, all things considered. I haven’t made much progress but I could be dead. And yes, I was captured a few days before I met your company.” Come to think of it, that was pretty much the only time she had been in major trouble in a big city. Most of the other trouble she had been in had been with bandits or wild animals in the deserts. She had only been in Gilane for a month maybe, but she already missed the wide expanse of the Alik’r. Cities were so claustrophobic sometimes.
“I see.” She sighed sharply, getting up from the bed. She walked back over to the table and began to pile up each of the journals. She wanted so badly to read one, just a look, a glance. Anything to give her some insight into the Khajiit’s mind, but she didn’t - and only because she would hate for someone to read her own. “Do you think that you will continue with the group then?” She ask, looking into the girls eyes, in genuine wonder of her answer. She seemed to have a personal mission, unlike the rest of the group. “Most of them were all together at the start, before I wound up with them. I just got swept along for the ride… Perhaps you’re going to be caught in the riptide of it all too.”
“I…” Shakti caught her words and stopped to think her answer over. “I think my task aligns with the group, at least loosely. I can do the investigation part on my own, the others don’t need to help with that. But either way I won’t let the Dwemer occupy my home, and I do need help with that. So for now, I do not see any reason to part with the group.”
“We need more fighters - for the rescue, to travel with us. I'm not a fighter see…” Raelynn could tell that even under the baggy clothing that Shakti was lithe - and had the body of an acrobat, and that even at her age she would be a skilled warrior. “You have a fighter's spirit, don't you? Why, I think that you Redguards are born with it. But, never be afraid to ask for help, it doesn't make you weak.” Raelynn paid close attention to the girl, staring at her scars - she wondered just where they had all come from. “Besides, just about everyone in this company is far too curious for their own good, far too eager to help each other, and just much too interested in causes and duty, to pass up any opportunity to get involved in anything they should probably keep their noses out of…”
Shakti laughed a light, fluttery laugh at Raelynn’s last comment, even though she had no idea if the other woman was being humorous. “Yes, I suppose that’s true. I don’t mind it, not really. It is nice to not do everything alone, sort of.” She was still getting used to being around so many strangers. All her life she had spent either with her tribe, all of whom she knew very well, or alone, travelling. “Though, I have to ask. If you aren’t a fighter, what are you?” The idea that such a question might be offensive suddenly blasted its way into her mind. “Er, not that there is anything wrong with not being a warrior.” Pretty much all Redguards knew at least the basics of fighting, so the idea someone would know nothing was a bit shocking to the girl.
“I’m a healer and alchemist. I can patch up a wound without much thought, brew you a potion to boost you, but… I’m not much use front and centre fighting anyone. Unless that fight involves giving someone a dressing down - then maybe I stand a chance against the best of them…” There was humour in her tone, but a tinge of sadness too. Raelynn wished she was a better fighter - if only she was she might have been able to do more, and have been able to protect herself better recently. To protect Gregor, and Daro’Vasora too. She looked at Shakti with a smile, they were from completely different worlds. “But… You should stay with us, Shakti. Like I said, we can always use another sword, and we need all the help we can get to free Daro’Vasora.”
“I will stay. I do not mind lending my sword to such a righteous cause. Healing is a noble pursuit, you should be proud. Without healers such as yourself, I’m sure I would be dead three times over.” The girl laughed, but it was probably true. Shakti turned back to the pile of Sora’s things and started once again picking through them. “So where are you from, Raelynn the Healer?” She was dressed like a cosmopolitan Redguard woman, but it was obvious from the way she was sweating that she was not from here.
Raelynn smiled at Shakti, she certainly seemed like she was noble in her own intention too. “I'm from Daggerfall, but I spent a lot of time in Skyrim… Winterhold and Windhelm, and then in places like Riften. A truly beautiful province, and I do miss it actually…” She sighed, longing for the wilds of Skyrim again, the thick forest and deep snow, the chill on her skin, to be wrapped in furs. “Seems like so long ago now. That's what happens when you get older, time feels shorter and it slips away. I'm not old by any stretch, but you should enjoy your youth Shakti, don't let it run away from you while you're off chasing revenge.”
“I’ve heard so much about Skyrim recently. Seems like so many of your company are from there. I would like to trade dunes of sand for drifts of snow some day. It sounds so beautiful!” Shakti tried to picture what Skyrim would look like, but she had never seen snow, so it was fairly difficult. On the other hand, she would love to spend more time lazing around and enjoying the fruits of youth, but alas the young Redguard knew she couldn’t. Not while her father’s killer still lived. Maybe someday.
“It's wonderful. A wild place, far from where I was raised and yet it is very much my home. Hammerfell is a lovely place but, I'm afraid it's beauty has been tainted for me. There's so much blood amongst the sands…” Her gaze fell to the doors to the balcony, and she remembered standing there admonishing Mazrah and Daro'Vasora. She wanted to smile, but she couldn't manage it this time, and sadness sat in her eyes instead. “Such is life. It waits for no one and shows us no mercy, I suppose.”
“That is part of Hammerfell’s beauty, Raelynn the healer.” Shakti made a wide sweeping gesture as she continued her impassioned speech, “We have been fighting to protect this land that we call home ever since my people first arrived on the shores. First from Goblins, Orcs, and Men. Then the Empire, and even recently against the Dominion. Hammerfell is beautiful because of what we have sacrificed to make it our own! And I also really like the dunes at sunset.” The Redguard woman sheepishly turned back to sorting Sora’s stuff, slightly embarrassed at how passionate a speech she had just given.
As she listened to Shakti’s impassioned speech she was reminded of something that Judena had said in this very room, about the energy of youth. It made her smile, and she looked up at Shakti as warmth returned to her eyes. “I suppose you're right.” She stood slowly, and gathered Sora's belongings together at last. She considered the innocence of Shakti, her youthful nature and spirit. She had witnessed terrible things, but zest still remained, and she wondered if she could dig deep enough to find some of her own too. If it was still there - with people like Shakti around, perhaps enthusiasm and passion could be contagious once more. “It has been lovely to meet you Shakti… I'm glad you will travel with us, truly.” She thought about placing a hand on the girl, or giving her any kind of touch of appreciation, but she made her way to the door instead, things in hand.
“Remember,” she began as she turned once more to face the girl, “if ever you should need our help… Let us help you. You need only ask.” She smiled again, and motioned with her head to the bags, “thank you for this. Daro'Vasora will appreciate it, I promise.”
“I will do that. Water and shade to you, Raelynn the Healer.” Shakti gave a small wave as she said the traditional Alik’r greeting/farewell. A small part of her hoped she wouldn’t need to ask for help, but a larger part of Shakti knew she would need all the help she could get.
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