North, then.
Again and again, I have to tell myself that Serana will be fine. It's just Falkreath, hardly the craziest lot I've dealt with. If things get bad, she can leave. I just hope her family is as much of a help as she thinks they'll be.
There is something delicious about the notion of sending a dozen ancient vampires scouring Skyrim for my enemy. I mean, I prefer to do the hunting myself, but so far, my usual methods--the raging, the killing, the screaming--have turned up nothing. So it looks like I'll have to turn to the in-laws. I don't know much about the family ways of vampires, but I'm counting on this tight-knit group going to great lengths to help out their former lord's daughter.
And, now that I think about it, I'm actually the one in charge of the castle. They should obey me.
But that's a hurdle I'll cross later--right now, I've got to deal with the newest stranger to cross my path.
"You're not the first Khajit to try shaking me down," I say, "but I'm really hoping you'll be the last." I can forgive thieves for not getting the whole facial recognition thing--I haven't been the most conspicuous guild leader--but you'd think the sight of the horse I'm riding would make people think twice.
The cat just laughs at me.
"Fai'mar is not a thief, stranger. Business has brought Fai'mar to Skyrim. The Empire's Favor."
"The what?" I ask.
"A person armed such as yourself has not heard? There is a great bounty, a legendary sum, on the head of a person who people say is in Skyrim. All of Cyrodiil has heard. Many murderous degenerates, such as Fai'mar, have come to the north for a chance to kill the Favored of the Emperor." He smiles. "And Fa'imar has been the first to find him."
I'd been afraid of this.
"So you are the first," I say. "Or maybe you can just leave now and tell the others to stay away from me. You've really picked the worst guy and at the wrong time."
"You misunderstand Fai'mar," the Khajit says. "You are not the Favored, unless you are also a Breton under all those scales."
"Wait, what? Who are you after? Why'd you say you found him, then?"
Fai'mar shrugs. "Some wretch who has angered the Empire. Fai'mar knows he is here, but so does everyone else who is coming. But Fai'mar knows something else that only he knows--he knows that you are the Dragonborn. Tales of your time in Elsweyr have spread among the Moonborn. And with the Dragonborn's reputation, I know that you and the Favored must meet. And so I follow you."
"Well, I'm definitely looking for someone," I say. "Maybe it's your Favored. Unfortunately for you, this guy's crossed me in a bad way. You're certainly not getting the kill."
"Fai'mar will take that chance."
In the end, I relent and decide to let the new Khajit tag along the rest of the way up north to Volkihar. He's less talkative than most Khajit I've been around, and as usual, I can't tell if he's actually friendly or just a bit crazy.
But I do some fishing on this "Favored" he's after--it'd be too good to be true if it turns out to be the same man I'm after, but I know better than to doubt the instincts of a Khajit. It turns out that all anyone knows is that the Favored is a Breton, possibly a very powerful mage, and wanted for many, many crimes in the Empire. Murder's the one most people know about, but Fai'mar tells me that this is the highest bounty ever placed, and by the Emperor himself--this Breton must have done something uniquely atrocious to deserve such ire.
Yeah, well, killing a friend of mine is enough; I don't really care what else this guy's done. I just need to convince the Court he's dangerous enough to merit a hunt.
Well...now they know he's dangerous.
I go walking through the halls, hoping someone survived. I never thought I'd be so devastated by the death of a bunch of vampires, but they are my in-laws...and I can only imagine the effect this will have on Serana when she finds out.
"This one would like to know how you knew these vampires," Fai'mar says, following me into the great room.
"They were my wife's attendants. Vampires, thousands of years old."
"Then Fai'mar is glad to have you as an ally, for a prey who can kill such creatures as these will be very difficult to catch."
I look up at him. "We're not allies."
"Perhaps Fai'mar can assist you, nonetheless; he has some skill as a tracker. The bodies say they have not been dead six hours--the fires still burn because they were created by magic, and will burn until their maker releases them...
It seems rumors of the Favored's skill have not been exaggerated."
"Six hours? Then he was just here!" I say, jumping to my feet. "We just missed him! We need to go."
"To where?" Fai'mar asks. "Has the Dragonborn suddenly become a tracker like Fai'mar?"
"Falkreath," I say, brushing him aside and making for the front door. "If he killed them this recently, then he did it because he knew I was coming here. He wanted me to see this. And if he knew I was coming here...
...then he knows I left Serana."
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