FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

*See Intro

My vision slowly returns. I'm still a little dizzy. It feels like I'm moving. I can hear the clip-clop of hooves on stone. My hands are bound with rope. I'm on a wagon with three others. As my vision clears, I can tell the one across from me is Ralof. He looks at me the same time I look at him.

"Bolt," he says, "good, you're finally awake. You got caught up in that Imperial ambush, same as us and that thief over there."

I look to the right of Ralof and see someone I haven't met. He has dark skin and long dark hair.

"Damn Stormcloaks," his tone is angry, "the Imperial army was nice and lazy before you came along. If it wasn't for you I could have stolen that horse and been half way to Hammerfell by now." I remember from the maps that Hammerfell is next to Skyrim.

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now." Was all Ralof said.

The thief looked to a spot on my right and said:

"What's with him?" I look to my left and see Ufric Stormcloak. The Jarl of Windhelm beaten, gagged, and bound at the wrists.

"Watch your tongue!" Ralof says, suddenly savage, "Your looking at Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!"

"Wait, if they captured you..." panic strikes his face as fear takes hold. "Oh, gods. Where are they taking us?"

"Where ever we are going, Sovngarde awaits." He says solemnly. I remember Sovngarde is where a Nord's spirit goes when its body dies, and I start to get nervous.

I suddenly feel faint. My vision blurs again. Damn it, Imperial must've given me a concussion. I pass out.

When I wake up again, I'm being dragged through a hallway. My head starts pounding and I let out a groan. It feels like my head is about to split open.

"Finally awake, prisoner?" the guard says, "Good. Now I don't have to drag you."

He picks me up and pushes me forward with a "Get moving".

The throbbing starts to go down. I look around and see I'm in a prison. Steel bar doors line the hallway on both sides at even intervals. Some occupied, some empty, some holding only skeletons.

"Strange little dog you are," he says, "but a lucky one. It's the headsman's day off today, so you'd better enjoy your last day alive." He adds with a chuckle. "Hope you like your roommate." He's laughing loudly now. We stop in front of one of the gates. The guard produces a set of keys and uses one of them to open it. As soon as the door is open, he shoves me inside. I hit the ground hard. As I sit up, I notice a figure in the cell with me. It's too dark to make out any details, but I can tell they're crouched over and staring directly at me. Their eyes seem to glow in the darkness.

"A new prisoner, eh?" They say. The tone is obviously male and has a slight accent I can't identify. "And here I thought this cell couldn't get any smaller."

I look around and as my eyes adjust to the light I see the cell is very small, about the size of an average bathroom with one bed taking up most of the room. The other person is sitting on the bed.

"Who are you?" he asks curtly.

"To tell you the truth, I don't really know, but everyone calls me Bolt." I reply, "And you are?"

"I am known as Ty'gra."

Something clicks in my mind and I laugh, but I don't know why.

"What is so funny about my name?" he challenges.

"Again, I don't know." I laugh again.

My eyes finally adjust to the low light. I notice two points on top of his head. Then I realize they are his ears.

"You're a Khajiit." I say dumbly. "I've never met one before." Now I know why the guard was laughing his head off: I'm the dog rooming with a cat.

"And I've never met a whatever-you-are before. Just what are you?"

"I'd tell you if I knew."

Ty'gra squints at me. "You seem to know little about anything. Tell me, are you a simpleton?" He asks so emotionlessly I take no offence.

"Uh, no. Actually, I lost my memory." I tell him everything that has happened to me since I woke up in Skyrim. He listens without questions and when I'm finished, he sighs.

"You've been through a lot in such a short amount of time." I think I hear genuine pity in his voice. "Arrested and to be executed not long after realizing you have no memory. It's like your life just started and is being cut short right away."

It's than that the awful truth hits me. I'm going to die without knowing who I was. I look at Ty'gra and what I once thought was pity is actually pure sadness. Now that I can see him clearly, I realize he's much younger than I originally thought, around 16, which makes me wonder for the first time how old I am. The fur I can see is light orange with parts of his face white like a tiger's. He doesn't have any actual hair, like me. When he was talking about a life being cut short, Ty'gra was talking about himself just as much as me.

"How old are you?" I ask.

"16," just as I thought.

"What's a 16 year old doing in prison?"

"You already know don't you? My kind are famous for it!" he reply's angrily. He sighs again. He then holds up his right hand and a faint orange light appears in it. He then says "Muffle". It glows brighter for a second than fades again. The walls of the cell glow with a faint light much like the one in his hand. It's a modified muffle spell, designed to keep others from hearing us.

"I was just inducted into the Thieves Guild. Vex sent me on an important sweep job. I was to steal as much as possible from Jarl Balgruuf's personal treasury. The infiltration was the easy part; got in without anyone noticing. I lock picked my way into the vault, which was also pretty easy. I had never seen so much gold in my life. I stuffed every one of my pockets with coin and made my escape." He pauses, takes a breath. "I never suspected I'd see guards on the other side."

"Everyone said I had so much potential, that I'd live in luxury for the rest of my life." He sighs again. "And look where I am now. Helgen's got the worst prisons in the hold." He seems miserable. Apparently, Helgen is the town we were taken to.

I'm about to say something to comfort him, when a guard comes to the door.

"Lights out." He says, "Gotta big day tomorrow." He adds with a dark chuckle. He reaches up and grabs something above the door and pulls it down. It's a blind like the ones you put on windows. It's impossible to see out now.

Ty'gra removes the rough spun tunic he was wearing and curls up under the covers naked, with his back facing me. He tosses me one of the two cowhides that function as blankets. I guess I get the floor, I think to myself as I remove my clothing and try to catch some sleep.

But I can't sleep. It can't end her. I think, not now. I still have my past to uncover. I lie there and think for a while.

After what must've been an hour, I sit up, look at Ty'gra, and voice what I've been mulling over...