Alright, before I continue I need all the Nords to leave.
Well there's the slight chance you will get offended with the next part and I don’t want you killing me.
I’m glad you understand... I think?
Day11(Nords on the Road)
Well not a lot happened after the test. I couldn’t really move much the day afterward because of the pain that still lingered from the bite, so I spent most of my time in my bunk. I really couldn’t do much either other then watch Twilight and the other mages scurry about doing, um...magic stuff. At one point Twilight got Ajira to come try and teach me how to mix herbs to make potions. It didn’t go well as every time I tried to mix up a potion it would explode. To this day I still can’t make a potion without it blowing up.
Anyway somewhere between when the second and tenth potion explosion, Twilight was called by the guild master for something. Turns out it was going to be our next assignment for the guild, and it was no simple errand either. She was being relocated to the Ald’ruhn to help with Dwemer research. Something to do with Twilight’s magic being unique to her and wanting to see how Dwemer artifacts would react to it. I was simply to act as her escort being I had the most “experience” around her.
Anyway the rest of that day involved Twilight frantically getting ready for the trip as we had to leave by the following morning. Now it’s not that we had a lot of stuff with us to pack, but we had no idea where Ald’ruhn was other then “follow the road north”. She even left the guild hall to find information elsewhere, leaving me alone.
I just shrugged and went back to trying to learn alchemy skills from Ajira. We gave up twenty-five explosions later, and I slept the rest of the day away.
The next day came and my back end was still hurting but not enough to affect my movement like it had the day before. Twilight was up early getting a few last things ready for the trip and was getting Fox saddled up. She was convinced by the information she had gathered that we could make it to Ald’ruhn before nightfall if everything went right.
The first half of our trip wasn’t too bad. It finally gave Twilight the chance to tell me more about her world without the mages questioning her after every word she spoke. And last time she did have the chance to tell me I was puking from the unpleasant site of organs being poked at. The puking is also the reason we didn’t take the Silt Strider. Even though it would be more convenient and even faster, we didn’t think I could stomach that again.
It was the first time she told me about where she came from, a land called Equestria, and that her race was actually something called a pony and a unicorn was just a subrace. She made it sound so peaceful and tranquil, as if the land and its people were from a fairy tale. So much so that it reminded me of my youth when a guard would tell me stories while I sat in my prison cell. I wish I could remember his name. It was weird though because at some point in Twilight’s tales I could swear it was that guards voice I heard and not her’s.
“..after I got Cerberus back to Tartarus I thought that was it. Then -”
Twilight never got to finish what she was saying for as we just passed a bend in the road, we came up to, well, a naked nord. Nearly bumped right into the poor man. Twilight’s face went so red with blush that it went through her fur, that or her fur changed colors to match the blush. She came to a full stop and just stared at him.
“Twilight?” I asked trying to get her attention.
No response. I tried calling her name again but still got no reaction. I took a few glances at the nord then back to Twilight trying to figure out what had made Twilight freeze like this. I finally clapped my hands in front of her while calling her name.
“So big!” she shouted as the clap startled her out of her trance.
The nord started letting out a hearty laugh at Twilights reaction. actually something about this guy seemed off. He didn’t react like everyone else did upon first meeting Twilight. In fact he didn’t do anything till Twilight spoke up again.
“All nords are!” he said very proudly, “However I’m in a bit of a predicament. A traveling companion of mine turned out to be a witch, and last night she showed her true colors. casted a spell on me and the next thing I knew I was alone, stripped of everything I own, even my clothes, but more importantly, my beloved CLOUDCLEAVER!” he yelled.
“What’s a Cloudcleaver?” I asked
“Cloudcleaver is my ax, the sharpest you could find and an enchantment that makes it all the deadlier to use against my foes.”
“Ok.”
“So will you help me retrieve my belongings from the witch? She should still be at our camp just a little ways north.”
“What do you say Twilight? You’ve been telling me stories of how you are always helping someone.”
“Huh? Yeah sure, so big...” she said still in a trance like state as she followed him.
I looked between her and the nord again before heading out, trying for the life of me to figure out what it was that had Twilight acting this way. It was weird.
We found the camp an hour up the road. It was a little ways off the road.
“Now you go up there and get Cloudcleaver back?”
“You're not coming?” I asked in surprise.
“Are you blind, I’m currently not equipped to deal with a witch right now if you haven't noticed.”
“Oh you're very well equipped” Twilight blurted out.
“Anyway just hurry up and get Cloudcleaver back for me.” the nord said as he started to get antsy.
So I went up to the camp and found a fine looking nord woman standing by a fire wearing just a simple green robe. I noticed the nords stuff in a pile next to her. The nord woman kept her gaze on me the whole time I approached.
“Hold it there traveler!” she commanded in a soft yet stern voice as I got closer to the camp, “Who are your and way are you traveling with that pig of a man?”
“Well um, my name is Sanjuro and I was just trying to help him get his stuff back.” I said as i pointed back at the nord.
“What did he tell you?”
“Well, that you're a witch and you stole his stuff.” I said scratching the back of my head.
She just started to laugh as if she just heard a funny joke.
“By the Nine he may truly be hopeless. I am no witch, actually quite the opposite. I’m a traveling healer that was trying to teach that brute a lesson after he started getting a little too fresh with me last night.”
“Fresh?”
“Yes, you know trying to force himself on me.”
I just stared at her blankly trying to figure out what she meant.
“Oh gods, you're not really that thick are you?”
“Ummm... ”
She just looked at me, not believing my reaction.
“Let just say he tried to hurt me last night and I put a spell on him to get away and stole his stuff to teach him a lesson. There is a mining town just south of here, tell him he can get his stuff from there in three days. Now please get out of here, I’m tired of messing with idiots today.”
I found her story convincing, she did admit to using magics to subdue the naked nord, and a valid reason to go along with it. That plus she said she would give him his stuff back in three days so I helped him too. So I went to deliver the news, it was not taken like I thought.
“I will not wait three days!” He bellowed, “I will have that witches head today! Even if I have to twist it off her body!”
“Wait... are you saying your going to kill her,” I asked.
At that Twilight started to act normal again.
“Kill?!” she yelled.
“Didn’t you just say you couldn’t take her earlier?”
“I don’t care anymore! I... WILL... HAVE... MY... AX... BACK!” he shouted as he started stomping off to the camp in a heated rage.
“NO! No more death!” Twilight yelled as her horn flared with magic and the nord was enveloped in a purple glow.
He came to a stop but was still clearly struggling, as was Twilight trying to keep him in place. I quickly got up in front of him to try and hold him back once Twilight gave in. It didn’t take long before Twilight was spent and the nord freed again. I was nowhere near as strong as the nord was back then and in the moment when Twilight’s magic faded I was being pushed back.
“Calm down will you, she said-” is all I got out before he punched me in the face.
“Ah! you didn’t have to-”
Another punch to the face.
“Stop tha-”
Another punch.
“I-”
Another punch.
“That’s i-”
Another punch.
“Stop!”
Another punch.
“Wah Kren Vukein!” the nord woman shouted from behind.
It wasn’t normal shout, I felt coming course though my body. It was really cold and squirmy, like a worm was traveling through me. It didn’t last long but it felt very unsettling. The raging nord in front of me however let off a scream of pain as he clenched his head and fell to the ground. He was knocked out before long but was also shivering on the ground.
“What?” I asked aloud.
“It’s a little trick I picked up in my homeland of Skyrim. Its ment to stop those that are in combat, namely the aggressor. However I feel it may have a different effect on that thing.” The nord woman said as she pointed behind me.
I turned around and saw Twilight with a strange look in her eye as she was chasing after Fox. Fox running away as fast as his gaur’s feet would go.
“Come back here boy! Momma wants to play!”
I blink at the sight for a moment then realized something important.
“Twilight you're going the wrong way!” I yelled as I gave chase.
Whatever that woman did to Twilight it didn’t last long. As she was back to her normal self after about five minutes of running. We got back on track and was going to stop at the camp to see if the nord woman needed any help with what to do about the naked nord. To our surprise however both were gone when we returned. We decided it wasn’t worth trying to figure out what was going on and the woman was more than capable of defending herself. And so we started back on our trek to Ald’ruhn.
“Sanjuro, I want to say I’m sorry.” Twilight said out of the blue as we continued down the road.
“What for?”
“Earlier when I saw that persons ‘equipment’ I was acting like I shouldn’t have. You see ponies don’t enter heat normal. We only enter heat when we see a male’s ‘parts’. It causes us to act, well how I was back there and it takes a lot to break out of that state of mind once entered,” she said, looking at me shamefully.
I blinked a few times before answering.
“Twilight, what are you talking about? That woman had all the naked guys stuff.”
Twilight literally tripped over her front legs after hearing my response.
“Sanjuro, I don’t mean to be blunt but how much do you know about sex.”
“...What is sex?”
“What...” she deadpanned.
“I’m sorry?”
“You're serious aren't you?”
“...”
“This is going to take a while...”
Twilight began to teach me about the birds and the bees as she called it. It was both a fascinating yet awkward lesson to learn on the road. We got so caught up in the subject that we didn’t even notice scenery started to change the closer we got to Ald’ruhn. The lush green grass as now browned lifeless earth, dead trees littered the area, and ash scattered everywhere. It was like a fire had swept across the land, which I later found out wasn’t too far off.
The sun was starting to set when we came across another bend in the road. I blinked a few times making sure I saw what I was seeing. It was another naked nord. This one was different as he had a beard and he still had a few belongings, namely a hat that he was still wearing. He remained perfectly still however.
I quickly got in front of Twilight to block her view now knowing how she would react, and told her to stay behind. She did just that as I approached. The nord still not moving.
“Mrrrph” he muttered out.
“He is magically paralyzed.” Twilight said from behind.
I looked back to find her horn glowing showing she was infact using magic. Then I looked back at the nord.
“What should I do?” I asked
“From what we dealt with so far today, I say he did something to deserve it somehow. Just find a way to cover him up so I can pass.”
There wasn’t much there I could use, but his ‘parts’ were big enough to hang his hat off of. It was good enough for Twilight to pass without going into heat. So we continued on leaving the nord there. He gave one last grunt as we passed by.
We soon entered Ald’ruhn just as night was beginning. The city was different from Balmora to say the least. We walked through the ash covered streets to the mages guild. Tomorrow was going to be the beginning of Twilights assignment. One that we would learn so much from by the time we finished it.