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SPOILER INFO
This fanfic novel is largely based on the events that occurred in an actual game of Skyrim I played. Therefore, it's inevitably a spoiler.
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previous day
4-202-03-26 05:29
Jerall View Inn, Bruma, Bruma County, Cyrodiil
The sun is rising, but one can still see some stars in the partially cloudy sky. I ask the girls what we should do. We could head north and explore Rielle, or we could go east and try to find those Talos worshippers. In either direction, we might find Albus's dog. I don't believe he'll be in the area west of the city we criss-crossed yesterday.
We decide to eastwards, in the general direction of the place where we killed those thalmor agents a few days ago. That was south of Gautierre Manor, if I remember correctly. We can explore the area west and north of that very high mountain as much as the terrain permits, and then head back west towards Rielle, hopefully arriving before the nightfall.
Sounds like a good plan. Let's go!
Dar'taqto is nowhere to be seen, so he has only himself to blame when I leave the city now. I did all I could, even asked Stantus to tell him I was looking for him. So I can now head east with a clear conscience.
Bruma county certainly doesn't look scenic this morning, now that the clouds have covered the sky completely and snowfall has started. It makes the slopes extremely slippery, which is why we have to choose a more northerly route.
The sun comes out briefly and then disappears again. By 8 o'clock, we reach the approximate area where we killed the thalmor agents. Then we pass by the Gautierre Manor which looks very inviting in this weather, but we're not going in.
I want to see how far north we can go. Not very far, as it turns out.
So we just continue crossing the big mountain (on top of which is that high tower) clockwise from the north. And then we see a dog lying on a path ahead.
As we approach, the dog makes no move of running away or attacking. It just lies there and eyes us, looking unhappy.
I ask it if it's Scruffy. It barks, apparently recognizing the name. I tell him he ought to go home. Scruffy whimpers. He doesn't seem to like the idea.
Jordis notices he has patches without fur. She says it looks like he's been burned or scalded with hot water.
Yeah, I guess Banus is going to have some questions to answer before he can have his dog back. Right now, however, we proceed eastwards up the path and Scruffy seems to be happy to run along with us, from which one can conclude that at least he doesn't have anything broken.
We continue to climb up and down mountain paths without much idea where we're going.
A little after 11 o'clock, we find a cave called Hjalti's Refuge. It's not very big and has very little light.
Among patches of snow lie three dead people, and at the far end of the cave is a shrine of Talos. Is this the place Quatrius wanted us to find? If it is, we're obviously too late.
Upon exiting, we're attacked by thalmors. Looks like this is indeed the right place. Scruffy whom no one has taught about keeping one's distance from the enemy rushes to do his part of our combat effort and in fact causes considerable trouble to one of the thalmors before the latter is killed by my girls' ice magic.
Scruffy looks like revitalized. As we travel on, he keeps running right next to me and whenever I stop, he jumps up to lick my face.
We're already in the east-southeast of Frostcrag Spire, not very far from the southern lowlands. That's not where I want to go, so we turn northeast to see how far up the mountains can be climbed. I figure that should we find ourselves unable to go on any farther, we'll travel back west towards Gautierre Manor, from which it's not far to the main road to Bruma.
An eastward path up the mountain leads us to a small cave from which a couple of human-like creatures appear.
One of them has a bow and begins to shoot at me. I shoot back and then more of them appear and we invade the place and kill them. They were goblins.
There's no going further northeast, so we turn west, back towards Bruma, taking the lower path this time that is more or less parallel to the one by which we traveled east earlier. We find a cave crawling with giant spiders and get out again quickly. The sights are much better outside. ;-)
By half past 2, we're at the intersection where we could turn right towards the Skyrim border crossing (how about we bring the dog to the innkeeper Erlus whose old dog died??) or left towards Bruma.
We're going to Bruma first. Before depriving the boy of his dog, I have to give him an opportunity to speak in his own defense. I had planned on exploring Rielle this afternoon, but we'll have to skip it, because it's too dangerous for the dog.
As we approach the city, it becomes obvious that Scruffy doesn't want to go there. So I leave him with Jenassa and Jordis in the Eastern Watchtower. They can help the guards keep watch or play cards or whatever it is they do there. I enter the city with Lydia.
It's most admirable that you're defending your father, kid, but I can't return a dog to a home where he's going to be maltreated.
Banus is in tears, begging me to bring Scruffy back to him. I tell him I'll talk to his father first, and he'd better leave me alone now because I have official business with the city guards.
I meet Quatrius on the street. He seems to feel good in the scumbag Adius's shoes. I tell him what happened at Hjalti's Refuge. He whinges something about this being not quite what he had hoped for, but then he thanks me for giving my best, and says we'd better keep this secret and can he buy me a drink at the Jerall View Inn?
Huh?
I reply that should we happen to be there at the same time someday, then we'll see.
Quatrius asks if I'm free now. He just wants to talk to me, nothing special. I shrug and begin walking towards the inn. He's a strange guy. I don't know what to make of him.
Lydia follows us looking carefully in every direction. She seems to be thinking what I am thinking. Now I walk the steps up to the inn door. Then I enter. No, there's no thalmor ambush. Everything in the taproom looks normal. I'm happy my suspicion turned out unfounded, but what does Quatrius want then? Does he simply fancy me or has he some other intrigue up his sleeve?
I see Dar'taqto sitting at his favorite place with his back towards the entrance.
"Tough luck," I inform Quatrius. "My boyfriend is here, so you won't be buying me anything today." Without waiting for his reply, I turn away, trusting Lydia who has entered after us to be able to handle him if necessary.
I nod Stantus hello and walk up to Dar'taqto. I rub my nose against his (that's what the Khajiits do instead of kissing) and ask him if he's not in a hurry – I'd rather not go downstairs right now, because I urgently need to find Albecius Jucani and have a word with him. When Dar'taqto says it's all right, I waste no time going back out. I smile at Lydia who has sat Quatrius down in the opposite corner facing away from me. She's a great helper! I'll have to make her a beautiful present one of these days.
Luckily, Albecius is sitting on a bench in front of his house. He answers my questions about Scruffy as if he had barely noticed the dog's existence. The man has his emotions perfectly under control – if he even has any – but I'm having the distinct impression that he is not at all unhappy about the dog's having run away.
I walk slowly back towards the inn. It's half past 5 by now and I don't know how much time Dar'taqto would require with me, but I guess we won't be exploring Rielle today. I think tomorrow, after I've given Gergus of Applewatch the sad news about his lost horse, we'll go to Snowstone Rest with Scruffy and ask if Erlus wants him, and then why not return to Skyrim? I feel I really need a change of scenery.
I've had dreams about home almost nightly. (I mean my real home.) I now remember practically all of Camlorn's streets. Also, my crazy childhood adventures with Cortoran are returning into my memory one after another. Which means it's just about the right time to travel to Windhelm and see if the priestess Jora has something interesting to tell me and then ask Yrsarald what he thinks is the best way for me to travel to High Rock.
Yeah, for fairness's sake I'll talk to Eddvia and her mother this evening as well. About the dog, I mean. I wish I could find some kind of a solution for this case that would not make Banus view his father as guilty of him losing his dearest companion, which Scruffy undoubtedly is for him. But now I'm back in the taproom. I walk up to Dar'taqto and tell him I'm ready when he is. Unsurprisingly, he's ready already.
Dar'taqto wants me to suck. "And you're going to ejaculate in my mouth for two minutes or more?" I ask with a hint of sarcastic resignation. He shrugs: "That depends largely upon what you do, but yes, it'll likely be the case."
Oh well. It was bound to happen for the first time someday. And, quite fankly, licking a Khajiit dick is just about the only thing missing to make this day completely crazy. So go ahead and lie down, darling.
Now, I must admit that this is something I'll be happy never to have to do again. Khajiit men's penises are covered with those little... not quite prickles and not quite knobs. Down there, they feel heavenly, but to caress such a thing with your mouth is quite an ordeal. I'll rather not show it to you from up close. This is awkward enough as it is.
After I've struggled for a considerable time, Dar'taqto gets impatient, grabs my head and forces me to go faster. Luckily it doesn't take long then for him to come. And yes, his ejaculation lasts like forever. But he seems happy.
After Dar'taqto has left, I walk across the empty corridor to the bath, naked as I am, to have some, er, rest. Then I get dressed and pay another visit to the Jucani house and try to coax something out of Banus's mother, Ruccia. She says she has no idea how and when Scruffy might have gotten injured, but insists that it's out of the question that someone in their family might have tortured him, and she's tired and would I please leave now.
Eddvia is not at home and the shop where she works is closed, so I'll leave talking to her for tomorrow.
I spend the rest of the evening and in fact the whole night working on our gear. As I'm used to happening every once in a while, it's broad daylight by the time I walk back to the inn and go to sleep.
next awakening
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