Hello everyone! This submission is a compilation of stories that introduce new characters and move the plot forward. There won't be much sexy content here.
The events of this chapter take place between the events of the stories "Ch.01 Lana" and "Ch. 02 Ulrise
".
__________________________________________________________________________
1. The mage
A small caravan moved along the ridge of mighty mountains. It was heading south, toward the borders of Skyrim and Cyrodiil. However, they were not here for trading. Not much trade happened between the Empire and independent Skyrim since the Stormcloak rebellion.
A rugged bunch carefully walked unsteady mountain trails. Elves, khajit, redguards -- the only thing they had in common was a desire to leave Skyrim.
An experienced Nord guide led them, picking ways that allowed them to avoid the Stormcloak patrols. Right now, he was staring disapprovingly at the Altmer mage, who struggled to keep up with the group. If they were caught because of this elf, big troubles waited for all of them and the mage in particular. Ulfric's dislike of the Altmeri people was well known.
They found a nice, hidden cave to spend the night in. Despite the mage slowing them, they made decent progress today. At least the elf was not whining or demanding stops, that deserved some respect.
The travelers disguised the entrance to the cave with branches and leaves. They drew lots to decide who will be on the watch. The mage drew the morning shift, which allowed him to grab some rest.
As the dawn emerged, the guide was infuriated to find that the mage was not on the post. As a matter of fact, there was not a single trace of him in the cave, nor him nor his possessions.
The Nord shrugged -- If the elf wanted to take a walk in the mountains at night, it was his choice. He wondered who will get to the elf first -- Stormcloaks, predators, or just treacherous unsteady footing of the mountain trails. Without spending any time looking for the missing elf, the group moved forward.
Little did the guide know that none of these dangers got the mage. As he returned to conciseness in a cellar lit with a torch, the first thing he saw was the tall dark-skinned woman, playing with her knife in front of him.
"Mistress... I can explain everything! The companions, they destroyed the place, I was forced to flee for my life!"
"And I am guessing you enjoyed fleeing so much you decided to continue it, out of the Skyrim," the woman mockingly retorted. A flicker of torchlight cast reflections upon her tattooed arm. Thin glowing threads flickered and faded in the darkness.
"Quite an interesting reading I found in your backpack," she told and waved a book in front of him. The terrified mage recognized his own research notes.
"You know, making detailed notes of all experiments and spells is a trait of a good scholar. But you have proven yourself unreliable."
"No, no, no! I still have some ideas that only I know! Do not kill me!" he retreated from her until his back was pressed to the wall.
"Kill you? Oh dear," the woman unbuckled her belt. "That would be wasteful."
"In your notes, you often wondered how do I produce the "secret ingredient" for the experiments. You are about to learn it firsthand."
In silent horror, the mage stared at the abomination in front of him. A thick, long, veiny dick was growing out of the woman's crotch, with a pair of heavy balls hanging under it. She pumped her hand on it, smiling manically:
"Say hello to your new master."
2. The warrior
A hulking orc woman stood in the forest clearing, looking at the white bones of a troll. Her name was Agrulla and she, along with her annoying Bosmer companion, was tasked with finding any creatures that might have escaped from the perverted menagerie that they cleared recently.
Both of them were Companions, fresh blood in the pack as one of their comrades said. Not long ago they got a word that a weirdly behaving werewolf was spotted in this neck of the woods. Apparently, he tried to mate with a local woman but was driven off by the villagers.
Agrulla cast a glance at his comrade. Aeranel might be an insufferable prick at times but he was good at tracking. It was him who lead their team to this cursed den, full of cages.
She stepped closer to the bones and scattered them with her boot. As expected, there were traces of the pink crap on the bones.
When they fought in the cave, they quickly noticed the pattern -- beasts always went after women, but they did not try to kill them. Agrulla herself fought off a huge snow troll with a raging boner. She preferred not to think about what might have happened if the monster managed to pin her down.
Ultimately, the Companions prevailed. Some monsters managed to slip away though, so here she was, tasked with exterminating them. Looking at the remnants of a beast, she thought, "The ones that we killed in the cave also disintegrated into dust. This magic stuff makes my head hurt. It is dead, this is what is important."
The elf whistled, "There is a second set of tracks here. A human, a woman, or a child judging by the size of a boot."
Agrulla approached him, but all she notices was a shrub with some pink flowers and grass around it.
She asked, "Were they hurt? What happened here?"
After walking between the shrub and the nearby creek the elf made a sigh of relief:
"Whoever it was, they successfully escaped the beast. The tracks go to the dragonthorn there," he pointed at the pink shrub, "And then back to the creek. The return tracks are deeper, this person was running away. They escaped, thanks Gods."
The orc woman shared his relief. She was afraid to think what this troll would have done to a village girl if he got a hold of her.
"What a peculiar breed of dragonthorn. Such an exquisite color!"
She threw a glance at her companion. He already switched back to his annoying personality and now was ogling the shrub, which was apparently somehow special. Aeranel took a whiff of it, acting with his usual mannerism. Why did elder Companions see fit to pair them together?
Agrulla sighed and angrily stared at the bones in front of her.
"Is this an arrow?" the elf inquired. He approached herm now having a wreath of flowers on his head. How was he able to make it so quickly?
The orc woman rolled the troll's ribcage aside and saw that her companion was correct -- there was, indeed, an arrowhead beneath it. The beast probably broke the shaft on its way here.
"Good eye," she grumbled. Agrulla kneeled and noticed it stuck between troll bones. Good steel was always not easy to come by, and Companions endorsed scavenging as much as possible.
Seeing that it is stuck deep and it will be impossible to simply dislodge the arrowhead she grinned. "Now it is my time to show this pesky leaf-eater how I earn my pay."
Agrulla flexed her muscles, took two bones, and snapped them in half in one quick motion. She took the arrowhead and inspected it. Agrulla brushed her thumb over the edge to check if it is still sharp.
"Nice find, it is still in good condition," she showed the bead of blood forming on her finger to the elf. "Did not expect it to pierce my skin, ha!"
She tossed the arrowhead to the elf who caught it in a swift, snake-like movement and put it in the bag.
"Was that the last set of tracks?" the orc warrior asked.
"Indeed, it was. Jorrvaskr waits to hear of our victory and celebrate it as it deserves!"
Agrulla grinned. It was still days to get there, but she can almost feel the rich mead taste on her tongue. Even her companion's fancy wordplay can not spoil her mood now.
The pair of warriors turned southeast and were soon on their way. None of them noticed several pink dustbins on the inner edge of the arrowhead, smeared in fresh blood.
3. The assassin
