Never Trust a Khajiit
“Ji’Dar, I’m pretty sure this contract was made for you,” said Astrid.
“And why is that?” asked Ji’Dar.
“Well let’s just say the next contract is a bit of a cat lover.”
“I’m no cat, I’m a Khajiit!” Ji’Dar said furiously.
“Yes I know, I meant wild cats. More particularly, sabre cats. The contract, an old Nord named Ulfgar Craven, loves sabre cats. Rumor has it that Ulfgar has always wanted a Sabre Cat as a pet but has failed to be able to tame one. This is why there is a contract out for him. He has been going around to the Khajiit caravan traders asking if he could buy one of them.”
“I don’t think I’m following what you’re saying Astrid” said Ji’Dar, a little confused.
“Ji’Dar,” Astrid said, looking Ji’Dar directly in the eyes, “Ulfgar Craven is trying to buy a Khajiit to act as his personal pet.”
“Let me guess,” said Ji’Dar, “you want me to become this crazy old Nord’s pet?”
“That, my friend, is up to you. The thing with Craven is that he only leaves the walls of Windhelm to go and speak with the caravan traders just outside the city. If you think you can get into Windhelm, kill Craven, and get out undetected, then so be it. But just remember that there is another way to get into this guy’s home, whether you like it or not.”
“Alright, I think I know someone who can help me with this.”
“Just don’t let anybody find out who you work for. That won’t turn out for you very well, I can assure you.” Astrid said with an evil look in her eye.
Ji’Dar sighed deeply and said “sometimes I wish I wasn’t the only Khajiit in the dark brotherhood.”
...
After leaving the sanctuary just outside of Falkreath, Ji’Dar decided that he would make his way to Whiterun, stay the night with either Ahkari’s or Ri’Saad’s caravan group, and then make his way to Windhelm.
After a long day of having to sneak past multiple bandit camps, Ji’Dar finally made it to Whiterun. Upon his arrival he was glad to see that it was Ri’Saad’s caravan that was at Whiterun. Ri’Saad and Ji’Dar weren’t the closest of friends, but without Ri’Saad, Ji’Dar would most likely still be in Elsweyr. Ri’Saad welcomed Ji’Dar to stay with him and his group for the night so they could catch up.
The next morning, Ji’Dar woke up to find Ri’Saad and the rest of his group packing up their wares to move on to Markarth.
“Thank you for letting me stay with your group last night Ri’Saad. I need to get going to Windhelm for some business” Ji’Dar said as he sat up and stretched. “Do you know if my cousin Ma’Dran is still leading his caravan group there?”
“Ma’Dran? I’m not sure. I haven’t spoken to him since we came to Skyrim a few years ago but I’m sure I would have heard if he decided to give up leading his caravan group” Ri’Saad said as he tied a mammoth tusk to his backpack.
“Alright, well I hope he’ll be there. Hopefully he’s not in Solitude today.”
“Even if he is in Solitude, just wait a few days and I’m sure he’ll show up. Before you go, do you want to take some moon sugar for the road?” Ri’Saad asked Ji’Dar with a devilish grin on his face.
“Come on Ri’Saad, you know I gave up that stuff when I came to Skyrim. Maybe you should give it up too.”
“I’ll tell you what Ji’Dar,” Ri’Saad said “I’ll give up my moon sugar when you tell me what you do for a living”.
Ji’Dar laughed and said, “Looks like you aren’t going to get off that moon sugar any time soon.”
…
As Ji’Dar stepped foot over the mountain he was crossing, he finally saw Windhelm and the stables outside the gate. He noticed a glowing orange and yellow fire next to the stables. He knew that fire had to belong to a caravan.
It took Ji’Dar about an hour to carefully navigate his way down the mountain but once he finally made it down he could see who was at the caravan camp.
“Ma’Dran!” Ji’Dar yelled as he looked inside Ma’Dran’s tent.
Jumping awake, Ma’Dran looked up and saw his cousin Ji’Dar poking his head through the flap of the tent.
“Ji’Dar, it has been too long. Come, let us go and sit by the fire to talk.”
Settling down next to the fire, Ma’Dran asked Ji’Dar what he was doing in Windhelm.
“All I can say is that I’m here looking for somebody for work.”
“Can you tell me who you are looking for?” Ma’Dran asked.
“I am looking for an old Nord man named Ulfgar Craven. You have probably seen him and maybe even spoken to him. I heard he likes us Khajiits.”
“Oh yes. I have spoken with this Ulfgar Craven before. He is a sick man. And yes, he does like us Khajiits.” Ma’Dran said, shaking his head. “May I ask you a question cousin?”
“Of course Ma’Dran, what is it?”
“You aren’t part of the dark brotherhood, are you?”
Ji’Dar looked horrified. How could he have found out I was a dark brotherhood assassin? “What would make you think I am?” Ji’Dar asked.
“Well cousin,” Ma’Dran leaned in closer to Ji’Dar so only he could hear, “I performed the black sacrament a couple of days ago because I wanted to get this Craven man to finally leave us alone. Isn’t it odd? I performed the sacrament a few days ago and now you turn up looking for the man I hoped to have assassinated.”
Ji’Dar had hoped nobody would ever find out that he was a part of the dark brotherhood, but he was just glad that out of all the people who could have found out, it was his cousin. “Alright Ma’Dran, I’ll tell you the truth, but you can’t tell anyone else or it will be the end of both of us.”
“I won’t tell another soul, I promise.” Ma’Dran said.
“I am a dark brotherhood assassin and I am here to find and kill Ulfgar Craven. Is there anything you can tell me about him that would help me get to him?” Ji’Dar asked.
Ma’Dran sat for a few seconds thinking. “Cousin, I think I have a plan. I’m not sure if you will like it though.”
…
“Alright Ji’Dar, here comes Ulfgar. Go sit next to the fire over there and he is sure to notice you. When he comes over to talk to you, just remember the plan and go along with whatever he tells you to do.”
“Are you sure about this? Do you know for sure that this guy isn’t just some crazy lunatic that wants to murder a Khajiit?” Ji’Dar asked, looking concerned.
“Do I know if he is a crazy, Khajiit murderer? No, I don’t know that he isn’t for sure, but what’s life without a little risk?” Ma’Dran said jokingly. “Once you leave with Craven, the rest of the caravan and I are going to head for Solitude to stay on schedule. When we head out I’ll leave your payment in a barrel behind the stables. If the money is still there when we come back, I’ll sneak into the city to try and find you. If the money is gone, I’ll know that it was a job well done.”
“Thank you cousin. I hope that once this is over with we can see each other again, hopefully under better circumstances” Ji’Dar said smiling.
“I hope so too. Quick, go sit by the fire, Craven is at the stables. Good luck Ji’Dar.”
…
As Ulfgar Craven neared the Khajiit caravan, he noticed that there was a new Khajiit with the caravan that he had never seen before. This new Khajiit had golden brown fur and was very muscular, just like the sabre cats he had seen so many times in books and the wild. “He would make the perfect pet,” Craven said under his breath.
Ji’Dar looked up as the old Nord approached him. “Good morning sir. If you are looking to buy something, you should speak to Ma’Dran.”
“You needn’t call me sir, just call me Ulfgar and that’s funny you should say that” Ulfgar said as he took a seat next to Ji’Dar. “Because, you see, I am looking to buy something, but nothing that Ma’Dran can sell me.”
“I’m Ji’Dar, it’s a pleasure to meet you Ulfgar. May I ask what you were looking to buy?”
“Well actually, I was looking to buy, well, you” Ulfgar said, rather nervously.
“I’m sorry Ulfgar, but I don’t think I understand what you are implying?”
“You see Ji’Dar, I have always loved sabre cats, but it seems as if sabre cats don’t love me as much as I love them. I have tried using magic to tame them so I could keep one as a pet but it didn’t turn out very well. The next best option for me was to see if I could pay a Khajiit to act as my pet. It would be quite a simple job. All you would have to do is accompany me when I ask and when I don’t, you can simply do as you like inside the house, just like a pet.”
“Well, to be honest Ulfgar, the job does seem quit tempting because of its simplicity. Do you mind my asking how much you would pay?” Ji’Dar asked.
“I am willing to pay you 500 septims a week.”
Ji’Dar looked at the fire and smiled, then looked back at Craven and said, “I’ll take the job.”
“Excellent!” Ulfgar exclaimed. “I will pay you the first five hundred once we get to the house. You will love it there. It is a very large house and it will just be the two of us with the whole house to ourselves. Oh, enough about the house, you will see it soon enough. Come; let us be on our way!” Ulfgar said getting up.
As Ulfgar and Ji’Dar headed toward the Windhelm gates, Ji’Dar looked back at Ma’Dran and gave him a wink. Ma’Dran winked back and pointed to a barrel behind the horse stables. Ji’Dar understood what the barrel was and kept walking toward the gate with his new master, Ulfgar Craven.
…
Ulfgar unlocked the front door to his home and let himself and Ji’Dar in. Once Ji’Dar was through the door, Ulfgar closed the door and started to show Ji’Dar around.
“As you can tell,” Ulfgar said pointing to the many different paintings of sabre cats on the wall, “I truly do love sabre cats. There is actually an artist here in town that grew up on a farm just outside of Markarth where there are many sabre cats. Ever since she was a young teen, she would draw and paint pictures of sabre cats.”
“These paintings are nice Ulfgar, but, I don’t mean to be rude, but do you have the five hundred septims you promised me when we left the caravan?” Ji’Dar asked.
“Oh yes, of course!” Ulfgar said, “silly old me, I got so excited about you being here, I forgot all about the your first payment!” Ulfgar said laughingly. Ulfgar walked over to a painting on the wall of a sabre cat standing atop a rock in the wild, grabbed the edges of the painting, and pulled the painting off of the wall. Behind where the painting used to hang, sat a safe. Ulfgar turned the dial entering his code and the door to the safe swung open freely.
As the door to the safe opened, Ji’Dar swiped his massive sharp claws at the back of Ulfgar, knocking him to the floor. Ulfgar screamed in pain as he rolled over and look up at Ji’Dar.
“W-Why are you d-doing this?” Ulfgar asked with a shaky voice.
“Silly old man” Ji’Dar said, looking down at the man, “I am no tame house cat. I am a Khajiit. Never trust a Khajiit.” Ji’Dar took one last swipe at the old man, ending him.
Ji’Dar looked at his kill and smiled and shook his head. “Silly old man, when will people learn to never trust a Khajiit?” Ji”Dar asked, chuckling to himself.
Ji’Dar turned back to the open safe and stared in amazement. Inside the safe was a sack of about 5000 septims, a gold diamond necklace, and a gold diamond ring. Ji’Dar slipped the necklace and ring into the sack of septims, stepped over his kill, and left the house.
…
As Ji’Dar walked past the stables outside of Windhlem, he noticed that Ma’Dran and his caravan were already gone. He looked behind the stables to the barrel that Ma’Dran had pointed to before he entered the city. As he approached the barrel, he noticed the pads of his paws were slightly sweaty. He had never received more than 5000 septims from a job before and for this job he had already received 5000 septims and was still yet to be paid. Ji’Dar opened the barrel and just smiled and laughed. Inside the barrel was his payment, but it wasn’t as much as he had expected.
Ji’Dar grabbed the single septim that lay at the bottom of the barrel and started walking towards the mountainous pass back toward Whiterun. “Never trust a Khajiit. Hmph, isn’t that the truth.”
Comments