Rayla's Journey: A Skyrim Fanfiction

Chapter 2

Kjelt and his family welcome Rayla as a guard might point a prisoner to their cell. Kjelt is a stern man with an eye for money. Their home is simple with a warm hearth and shelves cluttered with fancy trinkets, and plenty of books and maps. Kjelt quickly exchanges Rayla's letter of credit for some gold and a Trade Wit to use in the cities of Skyrim.

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Rayla says. Kjelt's wife looks down her nose at Rayla as her husband stows away his remaining coins.

"There are many inns in Solitude," Kjelt answers. They look ready for her to go. Rayla hurries back outside, away from their serious attitudes and returns to the chilly nighttime street. Maybe she visited too late; was she keeping them up?

Rayla walks up the main road of Solitude, reading signs that hang above each establishment. She checks into one inn, but they are full. The general store is closed for the night, and she wanders until she loops back to the main entrance—clearly taking a wrong turn somewhere. If she is supposed to go and find her aunt, she thinks she would be able to figure something out as simple as lodging, right? How can she face any of the challenges of her journey if she can't do this one thing? Before she can figure it out, a tall figure crosses her path, and she almost runs into them.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Rayla says.

The figure turns around and it is a tall and lithe feline Khajiit. Rayla flinches and takes a step back, but the Khajiit only bows his head.

His amber eyes look up as Rayla thinks of what to say. She's never seen a Khajiit before. She's only ever heard rumors...Do they really eat raw meat?

The Khajiit wears loose hand-woven robes and has a hood over his ears. He looks to the doors he was just about to exit out of, back to the paths outside of Solitude.

"This one humbly apologizes," he says, "but you look a little lost. Do you have lodgings for the night?"

"I...I just arrived in Solitude. I am hoping to travel south of here, but I—" Should she tell this stranger where she is going? Is that a good idea? Rayla stops talking and looks at her feet.

"If you haven't found somewhere to stay for the night, you are welcome to come to this one's camp. The Khajiit are not allowed to stay within the city walls. Well, the Khajiit are permitted but would rather not face any trouble if someone decides they are a bother. The caravan will be leaving for Whiterun in five days. Perhaps this matches your direction?"

"On Loredas?"

"Yes."

Rayla pauses and picks at the straps of her backpack. She is tired of walking around in the cold and it is very late. This Khajiit seems to be the first genuinely helpful person she has met in Solitude. Not that anyone was unkind—but can she trust him?

"What is your name?" Rayla asks.

"This one is called Ma'dran."

Rayla extends her hand. "Well, nice to meet you Ma'dran. I would be grateful to stay with your caravan and join your travels. I appreciate the support."

Ma'dran looks down at Rayla's hand. He extends his paw, more human-like than Rayla expected, and shakes her hand gently.

"Welcome, Rayla."

***

Rayla sleeps in her sleeping bag by a glowing fire that night in the Khajiit caravan's campsite. She returns to Solitude the next day to stock up on supplies and uses her new gold to purchase rations, salt, a leather fur-lined tunic, and fur gloves. She also purchases some ink to use for writing in her travel journal.

Rayla's time in Solitude slips away quickly as she explores the city and local areas for five days. When Loredas arrives, Rayla wakes up early and departs with the caravan for Whiterun.

Ma'dran travels with two guards and keeps all his wares and supplies in a horse-drawn cart with the guards walking alongside. Ma'dran's guards are Ma'jhad and Ra'zhinda, both are Khajiit with whiskered jowls and triangular ears.

They are kind companions full of stories as they all cross the wild roads of Skyrim. The weather on their first day is beautiful with the sun high in the sky and birds singing in the trees. Three-tusked sea lions rest on the shoreline and giant crabs bury themselves into the many rivulets and streams feeding into the swamps as they leave Solitude behind. Hours pass and the land becomes rockier and harsher as pine trees spiral upwards and thick bracken and hardy bushes fill out the undergrowth.

On occasion, a stag or deer appears for a flicker of an instant out in the woods or rocky plains, but to Rayla's disappointment, they run away far before she can see them clearly.

With 200 kilometers to go, the beauty of the first day never sways but the real challenge of walking so far each day puts a strain on Rayla. Water becomes a sacred resource—luckily plentiful with the crystalline creeks spilling down from the distant mountains. A tall white mountain range stands below Solitude's seat in the province of Haffingar. The Khajiit go around these slopes on the western side to avoid the snow and peaks without breaking stride as if they are having a peaceful stroll through flat farmland. It makes Rayla miss her afternoon walks on her father's vineyard and farm. Her head spins as she sweats and tries to keep pace. A few days into their journey, her feet feel like they are going to fall off and she wonders how much farther she can really go. How did Aunt Katria handle all this? What will it be like when she finds Aunt Katria and has to walk all the way back?

Eventually, Rayla gets used to the rhythm of their journey and the nights under the stars trading stories and tall tales. After the freezing snow passages around the mountains, a few more days pass until after their tenth day on the road, the worn cobblestone paths open to a large valley beneath the mountains and the walled city of Whiterun appears.