“<First thing, pilgrim. You’re new. And you look it. Here’s two hundred drakes. Go get yourself a decent weapon. Or armor. Or a spell. And second…>”
The Khajiit stared at the purse, opening it and finding that there were a lot of coins in there. A lot. Nearly as many as that old Imperial back at the Census Office gave him, and without him having to kill someone for it first. Two hundred drakes…just like that… He wasn’t entirely paying attention until he realized Caius was looking at him, a brow raised.
“<Are you listening?>” J’hasi’s ears flicked back, pulling the purse closed and holding it closer to his chest.
“<Y-yes.>” The Imperial sighed.
“<Look…you’re here working for me, alright? Under orders from the Emperor himself. It’s an incredible honor to be made one of the Blades, and not a choice made lightly, understand?>” J’hasi’s ears flicked back, his lower lip pouting out a little in a frown.
“<Why did he pick me then?>”
“<That’s not a decision I’m in a place to question, he did so for his own reasons. Now…what did I just ask you?>” The Khajiit swallowed, silent for a few moments until Caius sighed, pressing his fingers into his forehead.
“<That’s what I thought… You’ll need a cover identity, alright? You can do freelance adventuring, that’s common enough around here, or if you’re interested, there’s some guilds and factions that frequently take people on. It would be good practice for you after you’re trained a bit with the Blades trainers.>” J’hasi frowned.
“<I thought I was working for you. Or the Emperor or…whatever…>” Caius gave him a long stare, patience apparently wearing a little thin.
“<Yes, but you need a cover identity. You can’t go around telling people you work for the Blades, that’s not how we operate. And you clearly need some more skills before I send you out on orders. If I were you, I’d focus on listening first.>” J’hasi’s ears flicked back, mouth opening to protest, only for the Imperial to give him a firm look.
“<You couldn’t tell me what I asked you before, so yes, listening first. Then some training. I’m going to have to send you on some missions that could be dangerous, so you need to be able to handle yourself in a fight, alright?>” J’hasi scowled, looking towards the ground.
“<…I’m not killing people…>” Caius’ expression softened a little.
“<I’m not making any promises that you won’t have to, but it’s more of a concern that you come back alive.>” The Khajiit’s tail swished low behind him, ears pressed back for a few moments before he finally looked up.
“<…does freelance work mean I have to kill people?>”
“<Sometimes, yes. Would you rather be in a guild?>” J’hasi nodded. Caius sighed, starting to tick off his fingers.
“<Groups that favor Imperial interests are, of course, the Blades, but also the Imperial Cult, the Imperial Legion, the Fighters’ Guild, the Mages’ Guild, and the Thieves’ Guild…>”
“<No.>” Caius raised a brow, giving him a look that the Khajiit realized was a silent ‘are you finished?’ look before resuming.
“<Groups that favor the native Dunmer interests are House Redoran, House Hlaalu, and House Telvanni, as well as the Temple, the Morag Tong, the Camonna Tong, and the Ashlanders. The Great Houses hold a lot of the power here in Morrowind, and are likely to accept outlanders into their ranks, while the Camonna Tong and the Ashlanders aren’t fond of them. The Te->”
“<The Houses?>” Caius paused, looking at him.
“<What do you want to know about them?>” J’hasi fidgeted.
“<D’they…d’they have slaves?>” The Imperial nodded.
“<Yes. A lot of people here have slaves. It’s protected by the Armistice.>” The Khajiit’s face twisted a little, ears flicking back, fumbling with the leather of the coinpurse in his hands.
“<…if I joined a House, would people be able to make me a slave?>” Caius’ brows hiked up a notch.
“<…they would be less likely to, knowing that you’re in a position of power, no matter what your rank.>” J’hasi’s eyes focused on the Imperial’s.
“<I want to join them.>” Caius nodded.
“<Well, you can only join one. They don’t allow conflicts of interest within their ranks.>”
“<I know.>” Caius noticed the Khajiit’s fingers rubbing over his wrist anxiously.
“<…each of the Great Houses goes about things their own way. House Redoran is a very serious and honorable bunch. House Hlaalu are supporters of the Empire and very open-minded in religious and cultural matters, greedy and ambitious in the best Imperial tradition. House Telvanni… Well, their nobles are thousand-year-old wizards, and they’re supposed to hate politics, foreigners, and just about everything else, but the Vvardenfell Telvanni are apparently more ambitious and adventurous than most. I don’t know much about them, but they do hire Western mercenaries, and some even rise to higher ranks.>” The Khajiit’s eyes lit up at the ‘wizards’ bit, but then his expression shifted closer to nervous the longer they went on. He looked contemplative for a few moments, then…
“<…that’s all you know about them?>”
“<Yes. I wish I could tell you more.>” The Khajiit sighed through his nose.
“<…where can I join House Redoran?>” Caius’ brows rose.
“<Ald’ruhn. Their councilors are located primarily there. It’s a long way, so I would take the silt strider there if I were you.>” J’hasi nodded, taking a deep breath.
“<Okay… Um…I-I guess I’ll see you later, then.>” The Imperial nodded with a slight smile, giving a wave as the Khajiit headed for the door, picking up his spear (gods he hoped that poor kid would pick up something better) and heading outside.
J’hasi leaned against Caius’ door, resting his head back to stare at the sky for a few moments. It was a lot to take in, and he wasn’t sure he was ready for all of this, but…if it meant he didn’t have to worry about becoming a slave ever again…he’d do it. But first… The Khajiit looked down at the coinpurse, digging around in his clothes to pull out the remains of the other one he had, dumping the gold from the smaller pouch into the bigger.
He was going to get some food first.
vvardenfellcat 