Chương 407: The Fifth Labour (1, 2) : Morag Tong
Another Double Chapter... works get easier this way.
~~~~~~~~~~
(Part 1)
*Three days later - Whiterun*
"Khajiit wants to go in the town."
"Bugger off, your kind ain't welcome in."
"But Khajiit had done nothing wrong, Khajiit only wants to go inside."
"Bugger off or I'll throw you in the castle's cell, cat."
"What sort of discrimination is this? Khajiit only requested entry."
"I said bugger off or else."
"Humph, Khajiit is going away."
For the first time in his two lives, Jon was facing racial discrimination. The guards of Whiterun were clearly harassing Khajiits and Argonians not allowing them in at all costs.
"It's okay, Hooman. They are clearly jealous of your glorious mane." Nefertiti said.
Nefertiti remained stuck to Jon for the past few days as he kept his Khajiit form observing him closely. Somehow, she was fascinated by the transformation and would find ways to play with the new Jon she has.
"My glorious mane? I am happy that you see it this way but... It is still disturbing. Sadly, I took the Polyjuice Potion this morning and can't transform unless 24 hours pass. This is annoying." Jon was still annoyed about the discrimination.
He kept looking for a while around the gate. He could sneak in or use Teleportation but this will cause problems if someone asked for identification inside Whiterun.
While he was at it, a Wood Elf passed in front of him with a small wooden tablet. This seemed to be a Foreigner's Pass. Jon has a Diplomatic Pass carrying the Seal of House Vici but that will cause attention for him. While that wood elf got his Pass marked for entry by the Guards and went in, Jon manipulated the pass from the Elf's bag by Telekinesis and snatched it away.
[Ionya ////]
The name of the Elf seemed to be Ionya and the marks beside the name indicated the number of entries which is four.
"Hmm... This will work."
Jon used his claws and carved on the wood changing the name.
[J'onya]
"Much better."
He took a liking to his Khajiit name and kept the wooden tablet for himself, he then hid from the eyes and teleported in the town.
***
Whiterun is Whiterun, a bustling hub and a prosperous place. No wonder all Skyrim players make this place their home base despite how tiny the player home is in this city... without mods, of course.
As he walked the streets of Whiterun among the common folk, he felt like going back to the life of a nobody like how things were in Riften and in his past life, Jon felt so much lighter. He is now just another ordinary mug in the street who would avoid attention and pickpocketers. With really nothing to do, Jon sat outside the Bannered Mare inn drinking some Dunmeri Sujamma to blend in.
'System, remind me again of the content of the Labour's riddle.'
<Reach the unreached under the dragon, under layers of lies and cheat. Keep silence else your success is not guaranteed.
Seek the servants of the Dark Mistress, face their traitor. There, you'll find the Blade of Deceit.>
'Hmm... Unreached means that something is being hid and the word Dragon with the word Reach means Dragonsreach Palace of Whiterun. The only thing that is hidden there is 'that' weapon. I understand that but Azura mentioned the Dark Mistress, her servants, a traitor and a Blade of Deceit.'
'From my knowledge of the game, I am well aware of what's inside Dragonsreach but Azura doesn't know that I know. She wants me to seek help because unlike the game, some random vagrant won't be even let near the castle let alone inside it. Dark Mistress... hmm...'
'Basically, every Female Daedra calls herself the Dark Mistress and add the Night Mother to the bunch but I doubt that the Dark Brotherhood has any bases here... Servants of the Dark Mistress... I see... I noticed those guys last time I was here... The Morag Tong of Morrowind, Servants of Mephala, the Original Dark Mistress whose Morag Tong was the origin of the Dark Brotherhood and the Night Mother was once the Head of the Tong. Good job, Jon... I mean, J'onya."
The Morag Tong, which translates to The Killing Guild, is the most ancient society of assassins on Tamriel. They worship the Webspinner Mephala and used to do their kills under the protection of the law. For example, the Guild had a system called the Writ System, any assassin caught with a writ for a certain killing he committed will be set free. This was the old practice in Morrowind until an Emperor was killed and the Tong became a Crime Faction all across Tamriel.
Right now, the Tong is rarely seen outside Morrowind and their presence in Whiterun was the most curious thing to Jon.
Still, he needed to find them and guess who is the traitor among them.
"May I set here?" A voice interrupted Jon's thoughts.
Jon looked to the side and found a Redguard man pointing to the spare chair on his table. Looking around, many places were empty.
"Does Furless One have to?" Jon asked.
"I see why not?"
"Then Khajiit welcomes you."
"Thanks."
Jon perfected the act of both the accent and the Khajiiti generosity. He then didn't bother with the man and put more food to Nefertiti sitting on the table.
He was still thinking of how to contact the Mora...
"Excuse me."
But he was rudely interrupted.
"Yes, my friend, how can Khajiit help you?"
"How did a Khajiit enter Whiterun by the by?" The Redguard asked.
Jon examined the curious man up and down. He was a young one, trained, shorthaired and seemed to be well-off. His clothes were clean and the style was foreign not giving Jon a hint of what this man does.
Jon smiled and replied.
"Khajiit has many charms. I took bet against a guard on who has it better, Khajiit's Mane or Nord's Beard. Khajiit won by a hair's width. It was a beard contest after all, hahaha!"
"Oh, haha! I see."
Jon's affinity to bullshit was as good as ever.
"By any chance, you two are the Red Man and the Black Cat? The ones sent by Lady Aranea?"
""Hm?""
Seeing not only Jon but Nefertiti react, the Redguard was shocked senseless.
"Hooman, what should we do?"
"Kill now, ask later."
"Wait!"
As the two felines were having their eyes glowing brightly with killing intent, the Redguard raised his hands up trying to not alert anyone.
"I am here to receive you. The word was a Red Man and a Black Cat will arrive... not a Red Cathay-Raht and a Black Alfiq."
The scene felt a bit cringy. Was this how the Morag Tong operates or rather...
"... You are new at this?"
"Huh?"
"Khajiit means... shouldn't the Tong use passwords or secret handshakes? What if Khajiit is not the one you are looking for?"
"... Oh!"
The Redguard started feeling awkward. Today, he and the other disciples should be on the lookout for a large red man and a black cat but the team around Whiterun didn't find anyone with that description until the gate was closed on sunset. Realizing that they should have missed something, the Tong started looking around in the inns and taverns until this combination of a red Khajiit male and a black cat was found.
"I am... My name... They call me Grey Sand."
"Goodness, you are clearly very green." Jon shook his head. "This one is J'onya and this is Khajiit's little sister."
"Oh... I see. The... the one who sent me wishes to speak with you."
"Very well. Khajiit will follow... but do something funny and Khajiit will make Grey Sand regret it."
"... Okay."
Grey Sand paid for Jon's bill and invited him forward. The two took the way out of the inn to the plains district and further to the slum beside the low walls. There, the two arrived a run-down building with no special feature about it.
Grey Sand knocked on the door twice then once then six times.
"A secret knock! Now we are talking." Jon nodded in satisfaction.
"Yes... haha!"
The door opened and Grey Sand walked in followed by Jon. Inside, a number of random-looking people were standing by on corners. As Jon took a step in, small crossbows were aimed at him from all directions.
"Grey Sand... Who have you brought?" A female voice spoke from all corners.
"Oh, impressive... Khajiit is not scared though." Jon smugged in.
"My Lady, this Khajiit... he is the red man with the black cat."
Despite saying so, none put down their crossbows.
"This screw-up..."
"He did it again, didn't he?"
"He is dead this time."
The ones around looked down on Grey Sand and chattered among themselves.
"Grey Sand, the descriptions were a red man." The voice spoke.
"Yes... he is a Khajiit male with tabby fur."
"And the black cat."
*meow*
Nefertiti responded.
"..."
Somehow... it made sense to the owner of the voice.
"Fine." She said and one of the people on the corners stepped forward.
As it approached the light, its features showed up as a Dunmer woman.
"So, a tabby Khajiit and a black cat are a red man and a black cat? Makes sense, but..."
The woman aimed her crossbow at Jon's forehead and spoke.
"You are supposed to be a Nord."
"Khajiit can be whatever you want." Jon replied in a playful way.
"Really?" She smiled then looked at Grey Sand, "How much does this cat know?"
"..." Grey Sand was sweating profoundly.
"Oh! That much? You really ran your mouth."
"... Actually, Red Leaf. He... he already knew about the Tong when I talked to him." Grey Sand said.
"... He did? Looks like this Khajiit ain't walking out of this easily." Red Leaf turned her glare at Jon, "Cat, how much do you know?"
Jon was lazily looking around until the question was directed to him.
"Enough to solve your problem."
"Oh? That's interesting, I don't have any problems as far as I can tell."
"... Not even a traitor problem?" Jon tilted his head.
"..." The woman lowered her crossbow for a second but raised it once again.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Finally, the woman showed some expressions that Jon likes.
"Hold on a sec." He said as he put his hand on his face casting 'Dispel'.
None in the room could expect that one coming, a Khajiit with its face reforming and deforming, his hair growing and shortening and his tail going away.
As soon as this was done, someone else entirely stood in place of that Khajiit.
A tall man, with long red hair and a traveler's facial hair, looking down at them.
"Matches the description now?"
**********
(Part 2)
"How in the dark name of Mephala..."
"Just to disclose things, this ain't a magic others can do."
Jon made himself at home and sought out a cozy chair beside the house's fire pit.
"What can we call you now?" The woman stood in front of Jon and asked.
"The Red Man sounds good, you guys call yourself some fancy names around here so pick me one." Jon said.
"I am in no mood to humor you so answer the questions I ask."
"Many faces, many aliases, it is hard to keep track. I prefer to be known as Krilon."
Red Leaf seemed short on patience with Jon's temperaments but she still wanted to know more.
"So, Krilon... I suppose you are the ones who Labour for lady Azura."
"Indeed."
"We received a message from a Priestess of Azura called Aranea, Azura's Prophet, and also a message from the Headquarters telling us to cooperate with you."
"I'm glad then."
"One thing you have to remember, however, is that I am the leader of this Sanctuary and I don't take orders from some Labourer. Whatever that Labour is, we will provide help as we see fit and operate our way."
"Whatever."
"Now to the more pressing matter, how do you know about the Traitor?" Red Leaf asked.
Jon looked to the people around the place then back at Red Leaf.
"You seem very comfortable speaking the fact out loud even though I was only teasing you with it."
"Please, we are Servants of Mephala, Lady of Murder, Sex, and Secrets. Do you think we are some run the mill gang just because one is an idiot." She said while glaring at Grey Sand.
"Truth be told, your Tong's demise is pretty epic and the so-called idiot is the one who found me in the end."
"Fine, now cut to the chase. Is your Labour about the Traitor?"
"Not really." Jon said and found a fresh-looking apple on the table, "Is this Poisonous?"
"No."
"Tsk... So unprofessional. 200 years ago, these things were the real deal."
"Your Labour!" Red Leaf's tone became stern.
"Collect the Blade of Deceit. Maybe I'll face some Traitor in the process according to Azura's poem."
The atmosphere of the room turned cold as Jon said those words. Jon didn't even bother as he ate the apple and offered a bite to Nefertiti.
Read Leaf was very frustrated, her face twitched and twisted many times revealing her complicated emotions. All she could do then is to slap the table and spring away on her feet to take some air. None of her disciples standing around dared to even go near her while her mood was foul.
"The Gods... they are so cruel!" She groaned.
"Tell me about it." Jon played along.
"For years... For so many fucking years, I have established this sanctuary to retrieve the Blade and kill the Traitor but... GAH!" She slapped the furniture again.
"For them to only send another guy to get the job done, right?" Jon continued for her.
She turned around glaring at him.
"Well, this is getting interesting." Jon turned to her, "It seems my Labour and your ultimate goal in life are entwined. Now let's have a chat."
Red Leaf found it frustrating but as the Gods have spoken, she can do nothing about it. She merely walked back to her chair beside the fire opposite to Jon.
"Red Leaf, I am a sensible man and I understand your frustration. If your mission is to retrieve a blade and kill a traitor then consider me here to add onto your number and get this thing over. Don't you agree it is for the best?"
"..." The woman didn't seem to be going to respond so Jon kept going.
"I assume that the Blade of Deceit is the [Ebony Blade] of Mephala. The blade is currently sealed in the Jarl's Castle and your mission is to get it out but you seem to be unsuccessful till now. I assume that the Traitor is someone inside the Jarl's castle too and is pretty much a formidable opponent."
Red Leaf eased up a bit and nodded.
"You are right. The [Ebony Blade] is sealed somewhere in that humongous castle and the traitor is inside guarding it."
"Good, my exact mission is the Blade so I'll be blunt when I say I have no interest in your grudges. But I can't help being curious... Who on Nirn is so formidable in Dragonsreach that a whole Morag Tong cell can't go up against?"
Jon's question was received by Red Leaf's stiff face and bitter reply.
"My older sister... The finest Assassin the Morag Tong has ever trained in the whole Fourth Era as the Elders would say. Her name is Irileth."
"Hold on, hold on, hold on... Irileth? Jarl Balgruuf's attendant."
"You seem to be aware of her identity."
"Yes... this is a problem indeed."
"A problem?"
"Eh... I mean... I am well aware of her skill in combat since I saw her fight a few times."
Jon made that one up. The things on his mind were how Irileth was an important character in the future. If she is to die now, the Game's main quest may get really more messed up than what it already is. Irileth is one of the characters that the players interact with very early and is basically Jarl Balgruuf's bodyguard and lifeline, the man who is opposing the Civil War.
This was problematic indeed.
"Do you have a plan?" Jon asked.
"No." Red Leaf was blunt about it. "Anyone who enters in there doesn't survive Irileth."
"I see, so your disciples are obviously no match against her and she detects them quite easily. That means whatever plan we come up with won't put someone with the level of your people in any close position to Irileth even as a lookout."
"... You are right."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"How much can you fair against her?" Jon asked.
Red Leaf turned silent before replying.
"She taught me everything I know."
"Oh! No wonder."
All in all, the fact that Red Leaf and her disciples are not making any progress against Irileth is because she is actually their mentor. That's the worst natural enemy of all especially with how talented Irileth is.
Just what is the Tong thinking by sending Red Leaf after Irileth?
"How did she become Balgruuf's attendant anyway? Her talents are so wasted as a bodyguard and I am not buying their old friendship story."
"... My sister was talented. So talented that she was chosen to carry the Blade of Deceit. According to Legends, the blade will grow dull and rusty if it is not fed with the Blood of Deceit and as its Keeper, she was to slay those who trust her in order to bring up the blades full potential."
"In other words... you."
"... Yes."
"But she chose not to and Balgruuf found her, talked his wisdom into her head and she managed to abandoned the blade then swore fealty to him and lived happily ever after."
"You summed it up."
"So your sister spared you and you just see her as a traitor?"
Red Leaf frowned. She glared at Jon and roared.
"And what do you know? The sister I know was everything I had pride in. She was the one to bring the Tong back to the top and make its name shake all the corners of Tamriel once again but she chose what? This? I would have given my life and everything I hold dear to see her wield the Blade and lead the Tong."
Red Leaf's break down was surely tough.
Jon looked at her with lazy eyes and yawned.
"Being a Fanatic is sure tough. Being an Elf means you are more sentimental than humans. Being a Fanatic Elf... okay, sucks to be you."
Jon stood up and faced the rest.
"You are all too dull and out of practice. You can't even infiltrate a single damn castle and you keep calling yourself the Tong."
"How dare you?" Red Leaf jumped at Jon but something unexpected occurred.
His head turned around facing her with a gruesome Aura being unleashed from him. Those who were blasted by the Aura fell down on the ground holding their chests as their hearts were about to explode.
Jon's silhouette was red as a devil from hell. Those who met his eyes started leaking like children.
"I kill people for that word. Sadly, I have a use for you ants." His voice came from every corner and shook the ever-living souls out of Red Leaf and her disciples.
Nefertiti was seeing this and shaking her head. She transformed into her Child Form and pulled Jon from his robe.
"Duh! Duh! We talked about this... Don't go all psycho when the 'D word ' is said."
Jon calmed down gradually and retreated his Tyrant Aura. Those who were on the verge of suffocating on the ground found it easy once again to breathe. They kept groaning and moaning on the ground from the agony that befell on them.
Red Leaf was on her butt facing Jon with a body too frightened to even stop shaking.
"I don't know what kind of assassins you are but you all suck. Looks like you are some logistics team or some shit. I didn't have to waste time even listening to your story."
Jon walked around and seemed annoyed with those untrained sleeper agents.
"I don't want to make this Labour a long one so here is what will you do, you will sleep early and wake up early like good boys and girls, you will prepare some flammable materials and cause chaos in the city by my orders. Once we get the attention of the palace, I'll be sneaking in alone."
He looked around and glared.
"Am I clear?"
Those who were able enough to respond barely nodded.
"Good. Will see you tomorrow."
Jon and Nefertiti disappeared from their places and went in the [Cube] leaving the dumbfounded Morag Tong cell to clean their own shit.
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