Kapitel 417: Dealing with THE Dealer
Ja'nir and all other combat able Khajiit in the room quickly get to their feet, weapons drawn as they prepare to engage the stranger. "Identify yourself! Now!" Ja'nir demands, a low growl powerfully echoing from his chest, as if a giant tiger had been standing in his place.
"Now, now. Let's not harm my littler friend here." the voice says, the neckless pulsing with light as it does so, as if it was the origin. The cloaked figure taps their staff on the floor, causing the weapons in the Khajiit's hands to turn freezing cold, causing many to drop them.
The few who manage to resist and retain their weapons are surprised to find ice and frost crawling up their hands and arms, allowing numbness to quickly spread through the limb.
Ja'nir gives a scowl and smashes his hand into the nearby stone wall, destroying the ice as he steps forward, "Explain yourself now. Or this one will carve your arms off and have it tortured out of you."
"Ahaha! Hear that? 'This One!', oh, my sister really does like her quirky pets!" the voice laughs from the necklace. "Now, I couldn't help but overhear your plight. As an honourable and gracious person, I decided to see if I couldn't help you out with it."
...
"What would you know of our plight!? Mothers end their own lives in despair after their young dies, succumbing to the vile sickness sewn among the Khajiit! My people flee from their homes and return to Elseweyr only to find nothing but despair!" Ja'nir's pupils shrink to a pinpoint as he glares a hole through the stranger, "You know nothing, and offer nothing!"
The voice hums, "I wouldn't be so sure of that. You haven't even heard what I can offer! The first steps to trade start with common ground. We can't deal if we are 'clawing' at each other's throats." it says, jokingly emphasizing 'clawing'.
"You would jape!? Joke while we suffer!?" Ja'nir growls, his patience quickly drawing thin as he takes another step toward the cloaked stranger.
"Oh! Lighten' up pussy cat! I am the one person who can help you now, understand that killing my little servant will doom your people. I care more about them than a bunch of flea-bitten fur-balls!"
...
Ja'kir rests a hand on Ja'nir's shoulder almost causing the Mane to run him through in response, "Calm down... Let us hear them out first, then we can deal with them how you wish."
...
Ja'nir reluctantly nods but doesn't let go of his sword, "Speak."
"As I said earlier, I am willing to help your lot out. I have already developed means of healing it, actually." the voice says, drawing suspicious and hopefully eyes. "My friend, show them."
The cloaked figure reaches into a pouch on their hip, pulling out a palm-sized circular crystal of some sort. It was a pale white opaque, barely allowing one to see through it.
"And what is that? Snake oil?" one of the Khajiit sneers, they themselves knowing the ins and outs of scamming folk out of their coin.
"Aha! Good one! But no, this is a Moon Gem." the voice states as the cloaked figure continues showing the Khajiit.
...
"No one curious enough to ask what it does? My, the saying 'Curiosity killed the cat' must be true if all the curious ones are already dead..."
"Enough with the jokes!" Ja'nir exclaims while pointing a sharp claw at them, "This one has not the patience to continue this! Get to the point now!"
The voice lets out a seemingly mournful sigh, "Fine, take my fun... When the sickly moonlight shines through the Moon Gem, it will purify it. Hold it above a pregnant Khajiit and... Well, you can guess, can't you?"
...
"Guards! Retrieve a pregnant woman, we will test this. And if it fails... You die." Ja'nir states.
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A few days later, they had tested the Moon Gem on a Khajiit woman who was close to labour, shining the sickly green moonlight through the gem, resulting in a soothing pale white beam to focus on the woman.
The air around her shimmered, and her eyes lit up, no one could find anything different with her or the child, however. The Moon Gem did disintegrate immediately after a single use, causing a few raised brows at the time.
A couple days later, the child was born... And they were... Healthy!
There was some strange additions to them however... While they looked like regular two-legged Khajiit, they had two small horns sprouting from the top of their head. They were blunt nubs at the moment to prevent the mother from getting harmed by them, but they'd grow larger soon enough.
Despite this, everyone was overjoyed by the successful birth, especially the mother, who burst into tears of happiness that continued for days afterwards.
The Mane Ja'nir and his other confidants regathered with the cloaked figure, now knowing that they did indeed possess a solution to their problem. "Where did you discover these 'Moon Gems'?" he asks, still suspicious of the stranger.
"Hmph! No thanks for saving one newborn?" the voice huffs before returning to the subject at hand. "As you probably guessed, Moon Gems are not naturally occurring things. I had to personally create them. And sadly, I doubt anyone else would be able to do the same."
"Why? Are you so greedy that you would keep the method despite it now being essential to our people? We would pay you handsomely for it, yet you wish to trade in pieces!"
The voice laughs, "Any good merchant will be the first to tell you that keeping your customers coming is better than single purchases! I know of a few Khajiit Mages who choose to cure the symptoms of a disease instead of the disease itself. It's just business, isn't that right, Mr Ja'kir."
...
A few Khajiit glance over at Ja'kir who was shrinking into himself. Sure, he ran a few less than honest businesses but, could he be blamed? Gold is gold... It wasn't like he was doing anything illegal... Just, dishonourable..."
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Niggross
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Kapitel 418: Cas'cus, God of Cats.
Ja'nir lets out a grating sigh, "What is your price?"
"My price? Well, before that. I think you should know just who you are dealing with..." the necklace glows slightly before a speck of light drifts to the floor from it. Once it descends, it flashes, causing everyone to close their eyes momentarily.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." the voice says, and once everyone's vision clears, they're able to see the new guest in the room... A short-horned man stood next to the cloaked figure with a smug look on his impish face. He wore fine yet simple clothes, and his eyes glowed a dim green... "I am Clavicus Vile, I'm sure you've of me, so I'll dispense with the titles."
...
Everyone gapes at the literal Daedric Prince standing in the middle of the room. The Mages present could detect that he wasn't actually there, merely an illusion projected by the necklace, nonetheless, it was still damned scary to be in his presence.
"The wise one, the horned one, Cas'cus..." one mutters, remembering the old tale of the Horned Cat. Then, a realisation struck them, the horned child...
Clacivus lets out a chuckle, the story wasn't exactly wrong but, it was retold by Khajiit who projected themselves onto it... He wasn't going to argue against it as it provided him with a form they could commiserate with. He ducks his head, pushing the Chain of Arkmis to change his projected form into a tall, wise-looking horned Khajiit. "An old tale."
...
Ja'nir wasn't sure how to react to this. A god was standing before them, offering a solution to their problems. He and many others had prayed to Azurah, begged Azurah. Yet she hadn't answered. He suspected that it was due to the destruction of her shrines, but even then, she was a god, and they were her people...
He shakes his head, "Cas'cus, what is your price."
Clavicus nods, "As much as I wish to help you for the goodness of my own heart... Producing Moon Gems is a difficult and draining process. To make the number required for all the Khajiit, I'd need... Worship."
...
"W-worship?"
Clavicus grins, "You will make me the Khajiit's patron god. Azurah has failed you, but I offer you salvation. Not only that, I offer you the chance to become something greater."
"N-no... We can't... We are children of Azurah, to abandon her... What child would abandon their mother?"
Clavicus shrugs, "Abused, neglected, and uncared for children. Who knows, maybe it was her who caused the Moon Sickness... The Moons are her domain after all, to me, it's suspicious that she has yet to act when she so easily could. Why, she could snap her fingers and turn the Moons back to normal if she wished."
...
"T-thank you Cas'cus, but... Will you allow us time to consider this?" Ja'nir asks, conflicted on whether he should accept or not.
Clavicus nods, sure, he could press the issue and force them to make a decision, but there was no point. Azurah wouldn't be able to do anything after all the preparations he'd made. She was stuck, only able to watch as her 'children' suffered.
Most of her shrines had been destroyed, many of her most devout worshippers massacred, and he'd even managed to acquire and corrupt her many artifacts. She probably should have seen this coming but, Azurah had always been too prideful for her own good.
"I await your decision, but... Don't take too long, the longer you wait the more Khajiit suffer." he states as his form dissipates, the cloaked figure leaving immediately after.
Four days after that, Clavicus returned and appeared before the Mane who'd seemingly made his decision. "Well?"
...
"We... Accept."
Flashback end :
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Michael breaths somewhat harshly as he finishes reading the letter. The Khajiit had just declared Clavicus Vile, or Cas'cus, their patron god... Fuck.
Shrines to Cas'cus had started to be erected all around Elseweyr, and any pregnant woman who wished to birth a healthy child had to pray to Cas'cus while sacrificing something. Apparently, the thing you sacrificed had to be something of importance to you... Meaning, a toy from your childhood, the blade your father wielded, or even the corpse of a loved one.
The Khajiit, a culture that is already well known for its bartering and trade, had engaged with this like fish to water, almost immediately integrating the process into their traditions... Sure, many were reluctant to abandon 'Azurah' the Khajiit equivalent for Azura, but these people were becoming less and less as more Khajit women birthed healthy, if horned, young.
Khajiit didn't even birth subspecies anymore, every Khajiit birthed, regardless of the state of the moons, was always a two-legged, horned Khajiit. Surprisingly, most Khajiit actually preferred this to the previous lottery method, which only lent credence to Cas'cus' superiority over Azurah.
All in all, the world was changing and Michael wasn't sure he could do anything about it.
Letting out a sigh, he looks up and spots Maria and Illococoo approaching, nodding to them he hands the former the letter, causing the woman to freeze up and scowl fiercely.
"M-my daughter must be a big part of this... I heard that the Prince of Deals had been quiet until recently... Until Charlotte bargained her soul for me..." she solemnly says, first with the feeling of guilt for her daughter striking her, and then guilt for potentially being responsible for what was essentially the enslavement of an entire species.
Michael stands and rests a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Stop thinking like that. There was nothing you could have done to stop this, in fact, the only thing that might have prevented this was you not getting poisoned in the past... Would you rather have let Charlotte drink it instead?"
...
She nods, "I know but..." she trails off, sure, rationally she knew there wasn't much she could have done. But it doesn't make it any easier to accept.
"If anything, it's me who's guilty in all this... Maybe I could have done something else? Asking the Divines for aid didn't work, but that didn't mean I should have given up... I knew Charlotte was hearing things, and I knew it was probably a Daedra, but I thought she was smart enough to ignore it..." runs a finger over his lips, feeling the same phantom sensation that was seemingly always present, "Just more fuck ups to add the tragedy that is my life..." he mutters before shaking his head.
AUTORENGEDANKEN
Niggross
Niggross
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