I was awake; perhaps awake wasn’t the right word. My eyelids were still closed, but I was conscious, at least. I didn’t dare open my eyes: in fact, I didn’t dare move. I was paralyzed by the unknown. I wasn’t resting on my bedroll, it was still dark out, and I could hear voices that weren’t Claudia and Wulden. My mind began to search for answers that I knew weren’t there. I decided that there was only one option: I needed to open my eyes and see where exactly I was.
My eyes snapped open and I reached for my war axe. Searching the room, I found no one in the moldy wooden structure. Rather, the voices I heard were from below. I noticed that I was on a straw-stuffed bed, one I hadn’t remembered laying to bed on. I stood up and saw my satchel and pack lying on the floorboards next to me, and picked them up. Not knowing what would happen should I be spotted below, I crept over to the steps as stealthily as I could.
My descent down the creaking staircase was indescribably slow. Each step, no matter how lightly I put my foot on it, made a different sound; some creaked loudly, others were muffled by the doubtless clumps of mold hanging from their undersides. Time itself seemed to slow down as the lower level came into view. I put my hand on my war axe again, ready to draw it should the need arise. I leapt down the final three steps and scanned the room quickly, drawing many unnecessary stares in the process.
“What do you think you’re doing!?” A scratchy voice yelled from across the room. I looked in the voice’s direction to find a beige-scaled Argonian woman, her hand raised in irritation. “You’re scaring my customers away, you fool!”
My eyes scanned the room again and I saw many faces of all kinds staring at me from dining chairs and tables. On the tables were all sorts of food and drink. Beside me, a rather large green-scaled Argonian looked prepared to take me down if need be.
“Should I get rid of him, Keerava?” The green-scaled Argonian looked at the other across the counter.
“No, leave him,” she said, shaking her head and returning to washing dishes. “His room’s paid for…”
Memories came rushing back into my head, although I couldn’t match images with words nor vice-versa. I realized I was in an inn in Riften. Other than that, I couldn’t place anything. Who was that Khajiiti thief? How did I get here? Where are Claudia and Wulden? My head swam with questions.
“Look, if you’re going to order something, go ahead.” The green-scaled Argonian said, gesturing toward the counter. “Otherwise, stop bothering the customers. Your friend paid for your room for the next 5 days.” The Argonian patted me on the back and walked away to attend to the other customers. I stood there, trying to understand my situation. Realizing that I was causing some worried conversation among the crowd, I stepped outside.
I caught a fresh breath of the evening’s chill air as I stepped outside. I also caught sight of a young Nord sprinting across the yard, his arms filled to the brim with mounds of glittering jewelry of all kinds. Town guards were chasing and shooting arrows at the nimble thief, who was vaulting over walls and fences, heading towards the exit. I stood and stared, and was reminded of a certain Khajiit dressed in similar garb. I saw an arrow whiz by the man’s head, and knew the next one wouldn’t miss.
Wasting no time, I cast an Ebonyflesh spell on the Nord. Not a second later an arrow bounced off of the man’s skull, landing on the ground as the guards watched the thief escape certain death unharmed. The man made it out of one of the gates, dropping a few of his trinkets along the way. The guards were dumbfounded.
“Come on, then! Let’s get him!” Guards started to run after the man, but I was already at the gate.
“I’ll take care of this…” I said, casting a calm spell on the guards with a flick of my wrist. I hoped they didn’t notice. I calmly strode out of the gates of Riften, in pursuit of the thief. I didn’t have to walk far to find him; I turned a corner and found him panicking, as he had cornered himself on the docks. He dropped part of his newfound wealth as he saw me and pulled out a small dagger, rusty from wear and tear.
“I’m warning you! Stay away!” His hands were shaking: he was obviously frightened.
“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, telling the truth. “I just want some information. Then you can run off with all your hard-earned goods. I’ve already taken care of the guards, so all you have to do is-“
The thief lunged at me with the dagger, dropping the remainder of his finds as he did. Prepared for the situation, I deflected the blow with my right arm and an Ironflesh spell and paralyzed him with my left.
I shook my head as the thief fell to the ground. This recent development threw him even further into a panic as I took the dagger out of his hand and threw it into the water, something I remembered doing just 24 hours before.
“Now, if you want me to release this spell, you’re going to tell me what I want to know. Understood?” The thief’s neck muscles bulged as he strained to break his magical constraints. I heard a muffled reply that seemed to say “yes,” and released the spell. The young Nord scrambled to his feet and gathered up his treasure.
“Also, I wouldn’t try running again; I’ve placed several traps around the area, and if you try to run your body will be fried with elecricity.” I smiled, knowing that the panicked Nord would never guess that I was bluffing.
“O-okay, just tell me what you want to know.” The pathetic thief had calmed down considerably now that he had control of his body again.
He gathered up the last of his treasure and answered my questions with relative ease, and I let him walk straight into the arms of the city guard, where he was promptly arrested. I had the information I needed, though; I returned to the inn for the night, feeling accomplished. In the morning, though, I was headed to Elgrim’s Elixirs.
To be continued…
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