Thank you guys. Yeah, Farengar always seemed so condescending.
Previously on Ekali of the Frozen Heights: Ekali and Gladio arrived in Whiterun and visited the Jarl up at Dragonsreach. When he'd received her message, and she'd presented Farengar the wizard with the Dragonstone, he gave her a Forsworn bow. Next, Ekali arrives at the inn and gets a surprise!
Chapter 3.4 Surprise, surprise!It was rather late in the afternoon when Ekali arrived at the tavern together with Gladio after visiting the different shops in the city. Closing the door behind her, she walked up to the bar where the owner was just in the process of wiping of the counter.
“Good day, I’m Hulda. What can I get you?” the woman asked with a smile before looking up. When she did, curiosity seeped into her eyes, and Ekali’s ears twitched slightly.
“Hello. I’m Ekali, and I’d like to rent a room for the night. I’d also like to buy a bowl of whatever you’ve got on the stove, and a cup of mead.” Ekali smiled back when Gladio looked around curiously at the patrons of the tavern. Two nords, one a male in iron armour and one woman in plate steel sat on benches drinking. A bard of the same race stood next to the fire pit whilst playing the Age of Aggression, and a female redguard could be glimpsed stirring the pot in the adjoining room.
“Well, you're in luck. As it is I've got one room left. It's at the top of the stairs, first door on the right. Access to the balcony up there, if you'd like to eat alone.” Hulda nodded first to the stairs and then to the balcony above them.
“That would be great thank you,” Ekali answered with a smile.
“Al right then. I'll send Saadia up with your food if you want to settle in. That'll be twenty drakes,” the innkeeper said and smiled. Returning the smile again, the khajiit took the room key from the other woman, handing over twenty drakes from her pouch. Then she and Gladio walked up the steps to the second floor, and into the room she'd just rented.
Ekali dropped her bag in a corner before letting herself fall onto the bed. A few moments later, she could feel it move slightly as Gladio jumped up and lay down next to her.
:-:-:-:
At first, there was no way for Ekali to pinpoint what had woken her, and she lay still. Keeping her breathing steady, the khajiit listened tentatively for any sounds. That’s when she felt the slight breeze from the window she’d latched last night, and heard the shallow breathing of another person in the room.
Where’s Gladio?Grabbing the hilt of the dagger she’d gotten accustomed to keeping beneath her pillow, Ekali threw herself out of the bed towards the intruder. Having used her night eye spell so she could see the other person, she could still see nothing but a dark silhouette when she aimed the dagger for the intruders’ throat. Moments later when she reached the feminine forms’ location, she met only air. Then the dagger was wrung out of her hand, her arm put in a deadlock against her back and the only weapon available to her was put against her back. With quick breath and racing heart she froze.
“I wondered when you’d wake up, waiting can be so incredibly dull sometimes,” a bored feline voice said before the hands released her, and Ekali stumbled forward, even more surprised than before. “Surprised to hear from me after all these years? Thought I’d abandoned you, huh?” This time the voice chuckled, and Ekali turned around to look upon her mother.
“I abandoned you,” the younger khajiit said, frowning whilst the black female took her hood of. Glee and malevolence shone from the eldest eyes.
“You really think I’d have allowed that? Really? You really think you could fool me, don’t you?” Brown braid shifting slightly on the back of her head, the mother laughed quietly. “The only ones fooled where those stupid bandits. They came to me afterwards, telling me how very sorry they were to notice you’d gone.” Ekali just looked at her, still frowning.
“Oh but we can talk about that some other time, now we need to get the current business over with so you can go to sleep. You’ve got a long day ahead of you.” Dar'Ilthi sat down on the foot of the bed, going through her backpack.
“What are you talking about?” Ekali asked with a sigh and walked up to the window to shut out the cold wind. All the while she could feel her mothers eyes on her back.
“You'll see. One way or another, a lot will change in the days to come, and I won't be there for you. There it is,” the black khajiit finished, and Ekali turned around to see her removing a rather large bundle from the pack.
“And what if I don't want you to be there for me?”
“It doesn't matter. Come here now, I want to be sure this fits.” With a frustrated noise, Ekali complied and approached her mother whom unwrapped the bundle. “I'm a bit uncertain as to how this is fastened, but it should be enough to protect you,” Dar'Ilthi said and held up the cuirass of an unfamiliar silver armour. Blue signs littered it, and in some places a piece of blue glass held the symbol if a dragon.
“Where did you get this?” Ekali asked as she reached down to grasp the helmet, finding it's surface to be completely smooth.
“Family heirloom,” Dar'Ilthi answered simply as she took the helmet from her daughters hands and helped her with the armour. Though it took a while, she'd soon managed to dress Ekali in all of the pieces, and the black khajiit drew the younger woman to a mirror that hung in the room.
Screenshot of the armour“It fits you perfectly,” the older said with a frown, and Ekali turned around to look upon her.
“What?” she asked of her mother as they stood there, looking into each other's eyes.
“Nothing,” Dar'Ilthi answered with a shrug, but that it was a lie was evident to her daughter. So the black female stepped back and picked up her possessions, and without another word she walked past Ekali and climbed out the window. Ekali watched her as she descended the wall of the inn and then fell the remaining distance to the road before she walked back to the bed, removed the armour, and went to sleep.
This post has been edited by Saquira: May 12 2012, 10:30 PM