Chapter VI: The Yellow Road
On the morning of Last Seed 31, in the Fourth year of the Fourth Era, Jayne Goodfall left Cracked Wood Cave. Rain was falling softly but steadily. Her clothes quickly became soaked as she began to stride north. Confident, yet apprehensive. There was an apple in the new satchel one of the archers had made for her. Jayne grabbed it, and began to munch.
There would be plenty of jail time in her future, she knew this. She was ready to face it. After years of living as a fugitive though, fleeing from Cyrodiil, then living in poverty and obscurity in Morrowind ... after months of being enslaved by that gang, maybe incarceration wouldn't be so bad. The Imperial City itself was supposed to have rather 'comfortable' living quarters, compared to jails in some of Cyrodiil's outlying counties. So she had heard, anyway. Maybe incarceration wouldn't be so bad.
The time had come to get the matter addressed, at least. For she was
not going back to Morrowind.
The goblins who'd hosted her for the night were not happy to see her go, of course. But the truth was, it could be dangerous for her to continue with them. Cracked Wood's shaman explained (brokenly, in Jayne's own language) that goblin hunting was rare nowadays. It had literally been years since any of Cyrodiil's Third Era adventurers had even been heard of,.in the Niben. Also, the former rivalry between regional tribes had died long ago. All of this was good news to Jayne, but she also knew the reality. Could not ignore the reality. The civilized world still viewed goblin societies with hostility. There was still plenty of work to be done.
As she walked she looked down to her feet, which were newly-painted: bright white, orange and green, plainly visible through the sandals she wore. She hoped her feet would not become a problem. The children had wanted to paint her face as well, but for reasons they could not understand yet, this would definitely not be a good idea.
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By mid-day, Jayne reached the intersection between the Yellow Road she'd traveled upon, and the Red Ring Road she'd be taking to the city. Pleasantly surprised, she was, by the state of Cyrodiil's roads.
When she'd fled the province several years before, it was rare to see any sort of citizen traipsing along calmly. Roads were considered unsafe, mostly inhabited by outlaws, and the guards who chased them. Then, the Oblivion Crisis had begun to dominate Cyrodiil. One never knew when and where the next Oblivion Gate might break through. One never knew if that nearby grove of hickory and clover might become yet another opening into a hellish plane. For all these reasons, Jayne's final memories of Cyrodiil's roads were chaotic ones.
Well, this had certainly changed.
"Hello!" chirped a friendly merchant, greeting Jayne as though it were not rainy.
"Good to see you!" a Redguard lady waved.
"What is it, Breton trash?"
At one point, a platinum-haired elf walked by, a Dunmer, oddly wearing Nordic armor pieces. Jayne tried greeting this man on her own, but for once, all she got in return was a solid glare. Merely shrugged away. If this was as bad as things got these days, she had little to worry about.
Even when a leather-clad orc bandit spotted her, cast some sort of spell, then began chase, all Jayne had to do was backtrack down the Yellow Road. The chainmail-wearing Colovian soldier who she'd passed a half-hour before was still there. A quick fight ensued, the soldier gladly taking down the orc. Jayne was out of breath, but had garnered not even a scratch. She thanked the soldier for her assistance, then headed back north again. Back toward the city.
But then, she viewed an Imperial Legionnaire in the distance, and her spirit sank. The man was horseback. Clad in shiny, expensive armor.
"Time to get this done and over with," Jayne said aloud, before plowing tentatively forward.
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"Yaaagh!"Goodbye fellow creatures!Striding north"Come back here!"Colovian assistanceThis post has been edited by Renee: Sep 1 2019, 07:35 PM