By: The Orange Mask
The blade was, naturally, the first thing to draw my attention. The silver dagger reflected the moonlight beautifully, and engraved on it was the image of a werecat in mid-jump. The carving glowed a faint green color in the dim light: it didn’t take me long to realize the weapon was enchanted, although I couldn’t tell with what.
The enchantment wasn’t the reason the blade caught my attention, though; no, that could be attributed to the fact that it was a scant foot from my face, grinding its edge against that of my war axe. The Khajiiti thief and I exchanged blows for several minutes before I was physically exhausted. He, however, was still perfectly capable of coming at me full-force. My exhaustion only added to my confusion, and I tried to contemplate for several seconds why he was so much more fit than me.
Then it hit me. Literally. My parry missed considerably. As the dagger cut my flesh, I felt even more drained than I did before the strike: the dagger had a stamina-draining enchantment. Still, I wasn’t able to do anything about it; I had left Wuunferth’s dagger in my bag, which was now somewhere in the bushes. I had no hope of finding the bag before having my throat slit. I backed slowly away from the Khajiit, who was steadily approaching, holding his dagger and preparing for the final blow. I prepared a thunderbolt spell in my left hand, and kept it hidden behind my back, waiting for the right moment.
Suddenly, a skeever leaped onto the Khajiit’s head, gripping his hood and skull as if his life depended on it (and it probably did). The Khajiit began to flail about trying to get the rabid animal off of his head. I was startled by the sudden attack, until I noticed a gaping hole in the side of the skeever, one that should have been fatal. I didn’t have to look to know who had reanimated it.
“Go! We’ll hold him off for as long as we can!” Wulden shouted from behind me. I began to run for the bushes as a volley of magical fire (Ice, rather) was shot from the nearby bushes and into the would-be thief, now hopelessly outnumbered and out-ranged. I dived into the thicket, risking the scratches from the brambles to find my pack. After finding the dappled light of the moon shining through the leaves not enough to find my pack, I cast a magelight spell on the ground. After my eyes adjusted to the light, it took only a few seconds to snatch my pack and satchel from the brush.
I undid the strap and shoved my right hand inside the pack, only to cut my knuckle on the still-sharp edge of Wuunferth’s dagger. I winced from the pain as I grasped the dagger.
“At least I found it easy enough…” I mumbled as I pulled the dagger out of the pack. When I looked up, the thief had finally dispatched the revived skeever, but was still being pelted by shots of ice from Claudia and Wulden. Grasping the dagger in my left hand, I prepared a paralyze spell in the right. I figured that Claudia and Wulden had just about used up their magicka reserves with their fervent spellcasting, and so I prepared for the fight again. Sure enough, the ice bolts stopped flying a few seconds later, and the thief recovered, although he was battered and beaten to the point that it was a miracle he was still standing. I took pity on the Khajiit, and paralyzed him.
He froze in place and fell backwards, dagger held outward as if he was ready to strike. I highly doubted he would be attacking anytime soon, though. I stumbled toward the paralyzed thief and waved my dagger over his. My dagger changed to a sickly green shade almost identical to the one that was on the thief’s, and I placed the blade of my dagger lightly on the neck of the Khajiit. The look of fear in his eyes was unmistakable.
“Now, when I release this spell, you’re going to show me where the release for that snare trap is, understood?” I pointed to my dangling companions as I said this. The Khajiit nodded as I took his dagger out of his hands and threw it into the bushes.
“Good. Now I’m going to release the spell.” I released the paralyze spell, nearly drained of magicka and stamina. I did my best to look like an intimidating force, however. The Khajiit stood up and silently walked behind the tree. I followed, and he released the snare. We both grabbed the rope and gently lowered Claudia and Wulden down onto the ground.
The Khajiit spoke up as we lowered my friends onto the ground: “Tell me; what enchantment does your dagger possess that allows you to take my dagger’s enchantment?” The Khajiit’s question surprised me; I didn’t expect to find a student of the arcane arts using his skills as a common thief.
“You study the arcane arts?”
“Of course. A good thief makes use of all available to him, and magic is a powerful tool, indeed.” The Khajiit looked back at me and smiled as we finished lowering Claudia and Wulden to the ground.
Claudia and Wulden immediately rushed around the side of the tree as the would-be thief and I put down the rope. Claudia had yet another ice spell ready, and Wulden had already revived his skeever, who had been following us all the way from Winterhold.
“Get away from him. NOW!” Claudia shouted, preparing for combat. The thief and I ignored the comment, as we had already struck up a discussion on enchanting.
“So this enchantment is able to take other enchantments from weapons, and use them on itself? Interesting…”
“Essentially, yes. That was quite a powerful enchantment you had on your dagger, though; a few more swings and I would have been out cold. Did you make that one yourself?”
“Yes, actually. I used a rather potent mixture to enhance my enchanting abilities for just a few moments.”
Claudia and Wulden just stood there, dumbfounded. I noticed them after several seconds, and gestured toward the Khajiit.
“It’s alright, guys. He’s friendly.” I said, waving them over.
“Friendly!?” Claudia stormed over, infuriated. “This was the cat who just a minute ago nearly took your head off! And you’re saying he’s FRIENDLY!?”
“I agree with Mistress Claudia. This man isn’t safe to be around. Unless I’m mistaken, that is the armor of the Thieves’ Guild.” Wulden followed Claudia closely, probably to protect her should the Khajiit decide to strike again.
I took a moment to look at the thief’s garb once more; multiple layers of leather, with many pockets and straps across the abdomen. Wulden was right; this Khajiit was a member of the Thieves’ Guild. Claudia was still enraged, however. I put my hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes, and she calmed down ever so slightly. There was still a tense worry in her eyes, and her eyes seemed to say “don’t trust him yet.” I nodded and turned back to the Khajiit.
“Perhaps this could be explained over a warm fire…” The Khajiit said, disappearing into the bushes to gather wood. Claudia, however, though otherwise.
“Good, I hope he doesn’t come back. Come on, let’s get our things and get back on the road.” Claudia stomped back behind the tree, and Wulden followed, watching the bushes carefully. I shrugged and went to go pack up my things.
A few minutes later, I had managed to stuff all that I had brought into my pack and satchel. Just as I shouldered my pack, I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me, and the moonlight gleamed off of a small blade. I drew my war axe and turned to see the Khajiiti thief carrying a load of logs and twigs, as well as his knife.
“I found my dagger.” The Khajiit smiled under his hood, and I smiled in return.
To be continued…
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