4E 132, Valenwood

He’d only left Silvenar a few days ago, and already he was sure he was lost. J’hasi groaned quietly, rolling up his map with irritation. While Valenwood’s dense forests weren’t something foreign to him, and in fact the footing and local flora and fauna were significantly easier to handle than back home in Black Marsh…he had no idea if he’d gotten turned around or not. Even a source of water could serve as a landmark, but the dirt under his feet was drier than he’d expect out of a rainforest.

The Khajiit slipped his map back into his pack. He’d just have to keep heading south. Even if he wasn’t going far enough east, he’d hit the coast eventually. He couldn’t find the thrice-damned ‘walking city’ of Falinesti, which had been his best hope for sources for a cure, but nooo. It had to traipse off into the heart of the forested province every winter. J’hasi scowled, hopping off the twisted roots he’d been crouched on, his tail giving a sharp, irritated swish behind him. He just had to be patient. From what he’d heard, Southpoint and Haven, whichever one he came across first didn’t take lively strolls every season.

He’d hardly taken more than a few dozen steps before he felt something shift against his ankle. A snap, a sudden blast of pain against the back of his skull, and then his world was suddenly upside down and a lot higher off the ground than before. J’hasi let out a string of curses, wobbling and clutching his head. It was once he pulled his hands away that he saw some blood on his fingers, hissing out another curse before trying to steady himself and his heartbeat. He looked down- well…up, spotting a twisted rope, looking like it was made from vines and strips of bark wrapped around his ankle. He sighed, letting himself hang for a few moments to think. At least no one was around to see him dangling here…

The Khajiit huffed, touching the back of his head again and finding more blood, closing his eyes against the wave of nausea before trying to reach for…

His dagger was missing.

J’hasi looked around, spotting his spear laying on the ground (no surprise), but also the shiny glint of steel on the forest floor far below. He cursed, looking up to check and see if the one strapped to his leg was still there. Thankfully, it was. J’hasi wasn’t quite sure how he’d get down, but cutting the snare was his first priority. He took a few deep breaths, then curled up at the waist, reaching for his dagger. It was when he was nearly there, fingertips brushing the bone hilt that he felt lightheaded, dropping back down, trying not to get sick while wobbling back and forth. He tried again once he was still once more, his claws catching on the bone, his eyes widening with anticipation…only for the dagger to come unsheathed, slip between his fingers, and tumble to the forest floor below.

“<Oh COME ON!>” he snarled, dropping back to hang. His ankle was starting to ache, and now he had nothing but his teeth and claws to cut the rope. J’hasi huffed, unshouldering his pack and looking at it before grimacing.

“<…please stay shut.>” he quietly pleaded with the bag before letting it drop, wincing at the sound of something breaking inside far below. The flush of embarrassment burned under his pelt as he twisted around, grabbing the rope and attempting to climb up it. It was when he’d started to pick at the snare around his ankle that he heard the creak of a bowstring, ears pricking. He looked down to see a Dunmer standing on the roots of a tree, aiming a gleaming ebony arrow right for him.

“<Stay right there, fetcher, and I’ll make this quick.>” J’hasi’s eyes widened, letting go once the arrow was loosed, hearing a curse from the archer before they whipped out a dagger, cutting the line fastened just behind them. The Khajiit cursed, twisting around and landing on all fours, hissing in pain from the shock transferring up his limbs. He lifted up an arm and pressed it to his chest, fairly certain that the unsettling crack he’d heard from it wasn’t a good sign. The Dunmer jumped into the leaf litter with a thump, drawing their bow again.

“<Make this easy on yourself and don’t try to run. I’ll fill you full of arrows before you make the edge of the clearing.>” they growled. J’hasi huffed, looking up at them, the cloth around their mouth and nose leaving only their eyes exposed, hood drawn up against the dappled sunlight that faded and grew through the minimal gaps in the leafy canopy above and the clouds even higher than that. The Khajiit shifted, the mer redoubling their grip on their bow.

“<Last warning, cat.>” J’hasi scowled.

“<I don’t have any money, so you can piss off.>” The Dunmer chuckled darkly.

“<Oh, it’s not money I’m after. It’s you. You and every other supernatural piece of garbage that walks Tamriel. Now sit still so I can kill you quickly.>” The Khajiit darted for his dagger, managing to grab the bone-handled one and the haft of his spear, only to drop the latter when the arrow fired, sinking into his shoulder as he bolted. J’hasi gasped, still running, another arrow just narrowly missing his leg, a third striking him in the side once he broke into the denser forest.

[Part Two]