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Fall from High Rock	By : mistressarachnia Category: +A through F > Elder Scrolls - Morrowind Views: 4940 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The Elder Scrolls universe belongs to Bethesda. Alyssa Elbert belongs to me. I make no money from writing about her adventures.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Chapter 8: An Unexpected
Meeting
Alyssa had left one morning for
Balmora, this time to see Ajira.� Edwinna and Anarenen had both agreed that it
was best for her to take a friend along on further hunts for alchemical
ingredients, and Ajira had happily agreed to the extra help.� She had just been
promoted to journeyman rank recently, and as a result had a little more free
time on her hands.� However, when Alyssa arrived at the guild, she was
surprised to see the little cat noticeably agitated.
�What�s wrong?� asked Alyssa.
�Ajira has many secrets, many of
them important,� purred the little Kajiit, twitching her tail nervously.
�What kind of secrets?� asked
Alyssa.
�Secrets that could get Ajira into
trouble if her rival Galbedir were to put them into the wrong hands,� Ajira
growled under her breath.
�Why would Galbedir do that?� I
don�t understand her, you haven�t done anything to her and she�s always so
mean,� said Alyssa, becoming more puzzled by the minute.
�Galbedir does not like Kajiit.�
Many Bosmer do not,� growled Ajira, her ears flattening with the thought, �And
many Kajiit do not like Bosmer.�
�Well, you�d think she�d be able to
put that behind her in the efforts of getting along in the Imperial Mages
Guild,� said Alyssa.� Ajira smiled, her ears rising to their normal stance as
she licked her whiskers.
�Alyssa is a good friend.� Does
Alyssa want to help other Kajiit?� Some are not as fortunate as Ajira is to be
a mage, some must sneak away from slavers who beat them,� said Ajira, twitching
her tail nervously as she awaited a response.
�Oh I know.� I do think it�s
dreadful, what the Dunmer do to your people.� I don�t know how I can help
though,� replied Alyssa.� Ajira leaned closer.
�Ajira has a letter from a slave
hiding nearby who has escaped from Orvel Dren�s plantation.� She needs help and
the letter tells where she is.� But Ajira was silly and put the letter in her
journal, and Galbedir has stolen Ajira�s journal,� Ajira hissed, �Ajira does
not know what Galbedir will do with the letter, but if someone else finds the
slave first they will probably kill her.� If Ajira is found to be assisting her
then Ajira will be punished as well.�
�Oh dear!� I see.� That�s
horrible!� What can I do to help?� asked Alyssa, suddenly very concerned.� She
did not realize that the little cat dabbled in matters of such dangerous
importance.
�Ajira knows that Galbedir keeps
the journal upstairs locked in her desk, and Ajira has managed to pick a key
from Galbedir�s robes.� But every time Ajira goes upstairs the wood elf follows
her and blocks the desk.� Ajira cannot go upstairs and retrieve it,� she
growled, �But friend Alyssa can, if Ajira gives her the key and distracts
Galbedir downstairs.�� She looked up hopefully.
�Alright, I can�t see any harm in
that plan,� said Alyssa, �I�ll do it.� But what do you want me to do with the
journal, and letter inside of it, once I have them?�
�Ajira has a friend next door,
Ra�vir the trader, who will know what to do with the letter to make sure the
poor slave is safe and Ajira does not get into trouble,� Ajira purred,
twitching her tail, �It is very easy.� Once Ra�vir has the letter safe and
sound, Ajira can have her journal back and we can go out and look for
mushrooms.�
�Ok, I�ll do it,� said Alyssa
cautiously.
�Good.� Alyssa is a good friend,�
purred Ajira, handing Alyssa a key.� The two girls walked out into the main
room and up the corridor to the entrance.� They spotted Galbedir near the
stairwell, polishing a soul gem.� She looked up with a smirk.
�If you didn�t go putting your
dirty little paws all over my soul gems, I wouldn�t have to polish them every
day.� I know you can�t trap human and elven souls with a petty soul gem, but I
can�t help but wonder what would happen if you tried it on a Kajiit,� she said
with an evil laugh, �Did you ever find your journal by the way?�
�No, but Ajira does not care.�
Ajira is starting a new journal,� Ajira retorted, looking at Alyssa
pleadingly.� Alyssa took the hint and headed upstairs, Galbedir�s high pitched
voice ringing in her ears from downstairs.� The desk was the first thing she
saw, and the key fit right inside.� Ajira�s journal was under a few papers.� It
looked like it had been unopened.� Apparently the jealous wood elf just wanted
to keep it away from Ajira, but wasn�t interested in the actual contents.� She
tucked it under her robe, shut the desk, and headed back downstairs, past the
bickering Bosmer and Kajiit.� She nodded silently at Ajira as she left,
catching the faintest hint of a relieved smile as she flicked her tail.
~*~
Ra�vir�s tradehouse was right next
door to the Balmora Mage�s Guild, and Alyssa was at the door in only a few
short paces.� She let herself inside and saw a big Kajiit male standing at the
entrance watching her.
�You must be Ra�vir,� she said,
taking out the journal.
�Yes, sugar, I am Ra�vir.� What can
I do for you?� I have many fine goods for sale today,� he purred.
�Ajira told me to give you this
letter � she said you would know what to do with it,� she replied, opening the
journal and handing Ra�vir the letter which fell out.� His ears flattened as he
read it and he thanked Alyssa and told her to come back anytime; for any friend
of Ajira was a friend of Ra�vir.� He glanced up the stairs as he said this.� As
Alyssa followed his gaze, she felt her blood run cold.� Facing her coming down
the stairs was a young Imperial man, looking to be in his mid-twenties, with
long straight light brown hair tied up in a rogue�s knot with black ribbon, and
piercing blue eyes.� She recognized him immediately as the man who raped her.� Panicked,
she touched the amulet at her neck and with a single word was transported away
in a flash.
~*~
She arrived at the Moonmoth Legion
Fort�s Imperial Shrine instantly, tears in her eyes.� She couldn�t go back to
Balmora.� She needed to get away.� A priestess came over and asked what was
wrong.� She only cried that wasn�t safe here.� She wasn�t safe anywhere.� The
woman placed a hand on her shaking shoulder and promised her sanctuary, asking
again what was wrong.� But Alyssa didn�t want to discuss it. �With tears in her
eyes she thanked the woman.� She raised her voice to a scream as she shouted
the words that would recall her back home to Ald�ruhn.� Dizzy, she wondered
what Ajira would think when she did not return as scheduled.
~*~
�What was that spy doing here?�
asked Malcus Esdric.
�The girl delivered a letter from a
slave who has escaped from Dren�s plantation and is hiding in secret,� answered
Ra�vir, �The girl said Ajira sent her.�
�Why would Ajira need to send
anyone?� She�s right next door,� answered Malcus.
�The girl had Ajira�s journal with
her, Ra�vir recognizes the writing as Ajira�s,� answered Ra�vir.
�Why would Ajira let anyone touch
her journal?� She must have stolen it.� I bet that �secret location� leads
right into a trap,� Malcus replied, �In fact I�m certain of it.� Why else would
she have disappeared so suddenly?�
�Hmm, Ra�vir thinks you may be
right,� Ra�vir growled, flattening his ears, �But Ra�vir thinks it would be
wise to question Ajira about this.�
�Do that then,� answered Malcus.�
They didn�t have long to wait, for in a few minutes Ajira came to the shop
herself, twitching her tail in agitation.
�Where is friend Alyssa?� Did a
pretty Breton girl come by here with a letter?� asked Ajira.
�Oh she did indeed.� But you might
be interested to know that your �friend� is a Telvanni spy.� She said a word
and disappeared somewhere or another as soon as I came down the stairs,�
responded Malcus angrily.
�Alyssa is no Telvanni spy.� Alyssa
is the younger sister of Edwinna Elbert, of the Ald�ruhn Mages Guild, and
Ajira�s friend,� growled Ajira, flattening her ears at his tone.
�Then why does she carry Telvanni
propaganda?� asked Malcus.� Ajira looked surprised, and a little confused.
�Tiram gave Alyssa a book on the
Telvanni when he was visiting last week after Alyssa asked about the Great
Houses � Alyssa had never heard of them before.� Ajira was there when he gave
it to her, but Ajira did not know Alyssa carried it with her everywhere.� Ajira
thinks it is much too heavy for that,� replied Ajira.� The angry look on
Malcus� face faded quickly to one of shock and horror.� Closing his eyes for a
moment, he regained his composure.
�What do you know about this girl?�
he asked cautiously.
�Ajira knows that Alyssa is a
refugee from High Rock.� Alyssa�s family and guildmates were murdered by the
Dark Brotherhood so Alyssa lives with her sister Edwinna now,� Ajira purred.
�That explains why she wouldn�t
know about the Great Houses, I suppose.� Edwinna�s little sister�� he shook his
head, trying to let the information sink in while holding back the horror he
felt at the implication of this news.
�Ra�vir thinks we should save the
slave from the plantation, now that we know the message is not a trap,� Ra�vir
suggested.
�I agree.� I could have sworn that
girl was a Telvanni agent�� Malcus mused.
�Ajira has no love for the
Telvanni, but Ajira loves Alyssa.� Poor Alyssa has very bad luck.� Ajira should
go find Alyssa.� First Alyssa was a refugee, then a smuggler raped Alyssa while
she collected flowers, then a few nights ago the Dark Brotherhood attacked the
Ald�ruhn guild hall and nearly killed Alyssa.� Ajira should make sure Alyssa is
not in more trouble,� Ajira purred, twitching her tail nervously.� Malcus�
blood ran cold, but he kept his face blank.
�Yes, go.� Malcus and Ra�vir will
find the slave.� Many thanks, friend Ajira,� agreed Ra�vir gratefully.� Ajira
purred and turned to leave, her tail swishing beneath her robe.� Malcus could
only stare.
�Come,� said Ra�vir, throwing a
cloak over his shoulders as he took out the key to close his shop.� Malcus
nodded, unable to speak.� He followed the Kajiit in a daze as they left Balmora
and wandered into the Ascadian Isles.
How could he have so grossly
misjudged the situation last week?� He had received word through the Twin Lamps
of a shipment of slaves being held in a cavern located west off the main road
between Balmora and Peligiad.� The slaves were destined for the Tel Aruhn slave
market, the most notorious of the Vvardenfell flesh peddlers.� When he arrived
and snuck inside, he overheard the smugglers discussing a meeting with a
Telvanni woman.� At first, he assumed the meeting would take place in Telvanni
territory, but after he slaughtered the slavers and spied a young mage reading
pro-Telvanni literature just outside the cavern door he realized that the
meeting must have been expected to take place right here.� How could he have
been so wrong?
The slaves he liberated had been so
beaten and bruised that one of the elderly Argonian women died in his arms even
as he tried desperately to heal her.� Her mate had gone catatonic at her death,
refusing to let him take the body and hissing incomprehensibly at anyone who
came near it.� Many of the slaves had been sexually abused as well, young males
and females alike.� He doubted many of them would recover from the experience.�
How could anyone allow such atrocities to be committed against their fellow
creatures?
By the time he emerged from the
cave, he was furious.� The pretty young well-dressed mage sitting on the grass reading
pro-slavery filth as she delicately picked flowers around her enraged him
beyond reason.� Ordinarily he would have killed her and been done with it.� Now
that he knew of his error in judgment he thanked the gods that he had not.� But
at the time death had seemed too easy for one whom he assumed had inflicted
such torment on others, so he decided to teach her a lesson in empathy he hoped
she would always remember.� If he killed her, the Telvanni would simply send
another to collect their goods.� But if he could teach just one of them a
lesson� maybe they would think twice before inflicting the same pain on another
sentient being.
It seemed a good enough idea in
theory.� But how could he live with himself now?� The girl he had brutalized
had been entirely innocent.� The pretty sobbing face and big eyes pleading with
him to spare her had no idea what was going on, or why.� The delicate body he
nearly crushed was not that of a spoiled slaver, but a blameless, beautiful,
terrified young girl.� Furthermore, from Ajira�s story, this girl had already
gone through enough pain and misery.� With a start, he remembered the amount of
blood she had lost when he took her� she hadn�t just been scared by the threat
of death and humiliation, she�d never been touched at all before.� His eyes
welled with tears as he realized that now she might never be able to trust
another man again.� From what he remembered hearing of Breton sexuality this
was no small matter.� She was straight from High Rock�� He had to catch himself
to keep from collapsing in dizziness, Ra�vir taking his arm and pulling him
along swiftly through the grasslands and marshes.
How could he have done this to
Ajira�s friend, of all people?� What would she think if she ever found out?�
And what would the rest of the Twin Lamps think of him after this?� The great
Edwinna Elbert�s younger sister� how on earth did he ever mistake her for a
Telvanni slaver?� His face paled as he remembered the rumors he�d heard of
Edwinna�s skills as a battlemage.� But they were only rumors� right?� He�d had
no trouble in Ald�ruhn the last time he was there, although he�d still never
seen Edwinna in person�� With a start, he realized that the guild had probably
been empty when he�d arrived for no other reason than concern over Alyssa�s
delicate condition � a condition for which he was directly responsible.� It was
inexcusable.� He�d only helped himself to one small blade while he was there
instead of looting the entire guild but�
His head spun.� This couldn�t be
happening.� It just couldn�t.
The great Malcus Esdric, secret
trusted member of the Imperial Blades, devout Imperial Cult layman, recent
initiate of the noble Bal Molagamer, loyal member of the Twin Lamps, salvation
of captive slaves everywhere�
Reformed prisoner, high ranking
thieves� guild member, rapist�
He was no better than a common
street thug.
Hell, he was no better than the
heartless slavers he hunted down and destroyed.
And he knew it.
- 7
- 8
- 9
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Fall from High Rock