The New Faces of Skyrim

Chapter Five - Qa'shan

Qa'shan found herself pleasantly surprised when she didn't have to argue with Mynil. In fact, he had been the one to throw open his door and stare straight at her. Well, not immediately, anyway. Some other Dunmer caught his attention first. Qa'shan didn't really care about her or Mynil's weird stagger. Trying to get this elf to come with her gave her a darker tunnel vision then usual.

"Do you always create obstacle courses in your home?" Qa'shan casted a thoughtful eye on the scattering of furniture near the doorway. Not that she was judging."This one can see the benefits, of course. It could keep one on their toes, yes?"

Mynil gripped the back of a chair, his knuckles paling. "It's not an obstacle course," he explained, returning the chair back to its original place. "I was... Well, I was barricading the doorway."

Qa'shan tipped her head to the side. "Why? Were you keeping Qa'shan out in the street?"

"Yes. You kind of terrified me."

A sense of smugness came over Qa'shan. Like a warm blanket. Mmm, and she liked it. "But you decided differently."

Mynil nodded, staring at the floor instead of her eyes. "I was trying to prove someone something, actually. She left before you got here, though."

Something seemed to be left on the tip of Mynil's tongue. Qa'shan remained silent, letting it come out on its own.

"But..." He moved sideways to a messy bed. His hands shook as he piled fallen blankets onto it. "I have to -- er, want to -- go with you. So there's that."

"This one figured you would say yes, eventually," Qa'shan responded. She would have made him say yes, anyways. That counted, didn't it? "Pack your belongings and meet Qa'shan by the stables. She will supply the septims for a horse," she instructed, pulling the hood of her cloak up and sweeping out the still-open door. Mynil started to say something behind her, trailing off with a sigh when he realized she didn't hear him. Qa'shan had things to do, and the Dunmer's stammering wasted the precious movement of the sun.

He met the Khajiit hovering by the stables nervously, even her tail tucked into the confines of her cloak. The man tending the horses sent her odd looks now and then, but the dog seemed quite happy to lay at her feet. Her eyes flashed under the shadow of her hood when Mynil remarked on it. "Kind of odd to see a dog so happy with a cat," he laughed, albeit nervously.

"Take the coins. Meet Qa'shan on the main road." Qa'shan dropped a sack of septims into Mynil's hands and dislodged the dog from her foot with a hiss. "Be quick, please," she added curtly, jogging down the path. The road led her past the mining houses and out onto the wide curve of the hold roads, where a patient Shadowmere met her behind a stack of boulders. Quickly, she knotted her hand in his mane and swung onto the saddle, settling into the worn leather with a sigh of comfort. Twisting, she fed her tail through a hole in the cloak and removed the hood, reveling in the breeze on her face and the sudden freedom of a twitching tail.

Right when she kicked the stallion into a walk, he let out a whicker, greeting a pinto mare and her rider coming down the way. Qa'shan watched the mare skitter to the side nervously and stop in her tracks. Mynil clung desperately to the saddle for a moment, then shakily sat straight and tried to coax her forward. She snorted and planted her hooves firmly into the ground.

"She will warm to him." Qa'shan answered Mynil's hopeless look. "For now, you can ride behind me."

"Where are we going?" Mynil asked.

"Dawnstar. Qa'shan's brother has info for the both of us." She started Shadowmere down the road with a gently nudge. "Well, info for you and supplies for Qa'shan. He will meet you when we arrive."

Mynil clucked softly, encouraging the pinto mare after the other horse. "You have family here?"

"No. Brother does not mean blood relation. But he is family," Qa'shan replied. Mynil mumbled behind her.

"That didn't clear anything up."

---

After meeting several individuals with selective hearing, selective learning came as a whole new experience for Qa'shan.

After noting the wobbling lack of balance the Dunmer had on top of his mount, Qa'shan reluctantly pulled Shadowmere to a stop and pointed out some quick tips. Mynil grasped the basics of horseback riding in no time, seeming infinitely more comfortable with the piebald mare than the Khajiit he reluctantly followed. Qa'shan had heard him coo to the mare, named Felsaad, more times than she wanted to count.

However, he did not learn that Qa'shan had long perfected the art of ending conversations. Especially those she didn't want to get into.

"Do your enemies ever use your tail against you?" Mynil tried again when they slowed the horses from a trot to an easy walk.

"This one's enemies never see her."

"How many people have you killed?"

"Fourteen Dunmer."

"That... That's not what I asked."

Qa'shan didn't reply this time, except to kick Shadowmere into a smooth canter.

Snow began to fall in thick sheets after sunset, forcing the two to stop and take shelter. Qa'shan cursed the cold air of Skyrim, muttering about sand. Mynil simply vanished into his furs and fell into a restless sleep. Qa'shan still envied him.

When morning came, the snow still fell, the flakes now small and sparse compared to the heavier crystals of the previous day. The road all but gone, Qa'shan made the best guess of where to go. When they traveled close to Dawnstar they arrived on the western side, far from the main road. Disgruntled, Qa'shan urged Shadowmere to slog between the houses.

"We passed the inn." Mynil twisted with a creak of his saddle. Felsaad halted and let out a hopeful sound. Her flanks quivered with her whicker, dislodging the fine powder blanketing them.

"We're not going to the inn," Qa'shan called back over her shoulder, leaning forward to help Shadowmere through the snow drifts of the hill that led out of Dawnstar and towards the sea. She looked over her shoulder at the top, making sure that Mynil and Felsaad still followed.

She slipped off of Shadowmere's back near the cliff side, tying him to a post pounded into the frozen ground nearby. After a lot of coaxing, she and Mynil managed to tie Felsaad down as well. Shadowmere extended his nose curiously, a low neigh behind his quivering nostrils. Felsaad steadfastly ignored him.

Turning toward the cliff face, Qa'shan slogged over and pressed a hand to the carved skull hidden in the stone. Immediately, the air changed and a pressure on the sides of her head suddenly mounted. A voice, pulsing in her ears and her mind, posed its question.

"What is life's greatest illusion?"

Qa'shan answered without hesitation, whispering it so that Mynil didn't hear. "Innocence, my brother."

"Welcome home."

----

Author's note; so this is a bit late. I say "a bit" but I really mean "a lot." I've had a very busy few weeks and this is my three-day cooldown before I leave for a big vacation. Anyways, this chapter isn't very exciting, but I'll hopefully be putting out another chapter tonight/tomorrow with a new character and a bit more excitement. I also say that, but it might only be exciting to me.