The Snake That Walks @cholalaxi - Tumblr Blog

lycannalla:

Indes was silent for a moment after he finished speaking, still making a mental note about the location. Down south, near the Rift… The Bosmer finally nodded. “Aye, I doubt you have much to worry about here. But thank you for the information. It will be most helpful.”

“No, we should be fine... Please take care though. Probably better to stay in the city until they’ve gone.” If they were even here in the first place. You could never be sure with rumors, but with the Silver Hand, it was definitely better to err on the side of caution.

#lycannalla #tanel

madaj-jo:

Madaj makes a contemplative sound and leaps lightly up onto the low, makeshift plank table that the woman is sitting behind. Looking over at Lock, she nods, as if she’s received some sort of affirmation with his sudden, more directed interest.

She turns to the woman and determinedly stamps a front foot, to emphasize the importance of the question. “Could she, and he, perhaps, see this book?”

Being ordered around by a cat is exceedingly strange. She almost wants to laugh. “Well, nobody’s bought anything anyway. Suppose you could accompany us back to the house...”

The building in question is a particularly dour example of Windhelm architecture, built of colorless stone and wood and hunched up against the city wall like a disgruntled crab in a rocky tidepool. Lock cranes his head upwards, peering at the tiny windows set deep and burning coal-orange in the house’s bulk.

He and Madaj are shown inside by the artist (her name is Berthe, she mentioned as much on the way back to the house), and into the library. It’s an oddly claustrophobic room, almost small enough for Lock to reach out touch one wall with his hand and the opposite with the tip of his tail. Bookshelves line each of the walls, lit by a hanging chandelier he’s definitely going to bump his head into repeatedly.

Berthe browses the shelves for a moment before selecting a slender book bound in faded blue-gray fabric, placing it on a small table next to the sole reading chair in the room. “This is the one... I don’t remember what page it’s on so, be careful...”

#madajjo #lock

lycannalla:

Her brows furrowed just slightly. “Good to hear the people are not buying their lies, then. But you said they were around? I was curious to know if the rumors were telling about where they were exactly. Have they been harassing any of the farms or villages nearby?”

“Supposedly down south, near the Rift... I heard it from some folks who just got to the city today. Supposedly ran into them on the road and got shaken down. I don't think they'll come here though. Like I said, they don't try this in the cities..." That wasn't to say they might not stop here to refuel, of course. While they might not pose a direct danger, Tanel didn't relish the idea of running into them. Maybe some tiny, angry part of him did, but the logical portion of his mind had stamped that right out.

#lycannalla #Tanel

lycannalla replied to your post: “Hearing rumors that the Silver Hand is around… Most people in these...”:

"Silver Hand? What are people saying about them, if I may ask?"

“They’re a bunch of con artists and fearmongers. Maybe they do find a legitimate werewolf every once in a while, but for the most part they just sow mistrust in a community. They’ll kill a few farm animals in the night and then show up the next day, offering to get rid of the werewolf that’s supposedly shown up. And in the meantime everybody in town’s wondering who’s the werewolf, people start mistrusting one another, and... I’m sure you can imagine it doesn’t end well.”

#lycannalla #Tanel

“Hearing rumors that the Silver Hand is around... Most people in these larger cities don’t fall for their act, but I’ve heard about small towns tearing each other apart over imaginary werewolves...”

#Tanel

scalesandsecrets

cholalaxi started following you

cholalaxi

scalesandsecrets:

A white puff of breath becomes evident in the chill air as Nor pauses in his stride, giving one last glance over his shoulder at the road behind him before he turns back towards the Windhelm gate. Idly he flicks his cloak a bit tighter about his frame, both in an attempt to stave off the deepening chill for a little bit longer and to make certain he wouldn’t have an unintended slip-ups while passing by the guards. Windhelm was not his first choice of accommodations by any means, but the growing storm he’d seen moving against the horizon earlier was not one he wanted to be caught in either. And beggars could not be choosers, as they said.

Of course, the longer he tarried at the edge of town the less chance he’d be able to get inside in any sort of timely fashion. And even less likely he’d be able to secure some sort of meal and lodging before the storm hit. At least Nor’d had the forethought to retrieve his papers before he’d gotten within view of the guards, so he wouldn’t have to shuffle through his satchel to find them. Now he could only hope they didn’t have any particularly malicious streak running through them this evening as he started for the gate.

“-alright, alright, I’m going...” The gate grinds open with a painful squeal of unoiled hinges and swollen wood, allowing Lock through. He could usually get this close to the gate without an issue, but somebody had decided to take their job seriously tonight and enforce the no-Argonians-inside-the-city rule, and Lock wasn’t going to waste his breath arguing. There were ways back inside he could take, they couldn’t keep him-

He pauses short of slamming his hip into another Argonian, one standing holding his papers in one shivering hand. Lock peers down at them, flicking his tongue once. “Probably not gonna work today, buddy. Better off finding another way in.”

#scalesandsecrets #lock

forestmist:

There Is A Way Out Of Every Dark Mist by Cécile Via Flickr

nordicdragonborn:

Rummaging through his pockets, he takes out a pouch full of coins and plops it down on the counter closer to the barkeep. “Lets start with drink and food first, I’m in the mood for something different so surprise me with my drink, that along with anything left over from earlier will do.”

He turned to the side and took a few moments to look at the other patron, the same Dunmer that walked in. Sheepish fellow wasn’t he? Almost as if he’s hiding something. “Sure is quiet tonight.” He comments, partly to the bartender and partly to himself.

Tan wonders how this man might feel about frostbite spider pastries, as that was what they’d been serving shortly before he came in. Personally, he liked them. Very crunchy, delicious when you managed to make them without getting any hair in with the leg meat.

“Mm...” he murmurs sympathetically, since the bartender’s decided not to reply. “...in town on any particular business, sera?”

#Nordicdragonborn #tanel

artbyriana

cholalaxi

dailyriana:

I finally managed to acquire a poncho in the style of the ones my characters in my comic wear and these are the first in a series of studies of it I’m making. Ponchos are very unusual and it’s wonderful that I no longer have to guess how they look if I’m caught with a strange pose.

#reference #perfect for tan who is the king of ponchos

lord-of-hahn

madaj-jo:

Madaj sits up, the better to join the conversation, ears pricked forward curiously. “Poem? She has heard of this, that sometimes these are written but they are incantations instead. Perhaps this is why she paints the scene, hm?”

She laughs, patting at the frame of the nearest painting and utterly disregarding the artist’s continuing alarm at being spoken to by a person shaped completely like a cat.

“I... perhaps. I’m not sure why else it might have happened...” The artist rests her fingertips on her lips, staring in puzzlement at Madaj. She’d heard of housecats that could speak traveling with some of the caravans, but she’d never approached one herself...

Lock looks at her sharply. “Do you still have the book it was in? When did you paint this?” If the poem was an incantation, they’d need to get it somewhere out of untrained hands. There could be others, if it was a collection.

She seems momentarily taken aback, snapped out of her thoughts. “About a month ago. I believe it’s still in our library...”

#madajjo #lock

nordicdragonborn:

Herryk’s eyes briefly darted up to the cornerclub’s newest patron, he too was hooded which piqued the man’s curiosity and even a little suspicion. It was only when the skin tone of the other was revealed that he averted his attention. Another dark elf wasn’t anything to be worried about, probably another resident trying to escape the cold and the boors among the Nords.

When it became clear that couldn’t wait to be served, the man rose from his corner and approached the counter, taking the closest available seat, muttering an “Evening” to the bartender behind it.

The bartender eyes Herryk with less subtle suspicion, but nothing that couldn’t be mistaken for how any Dunmer in Windhelm would treat an unfamiliar Nord. “What’ll it be, sera? You here for drink, food, or work?”

It wasn’t exactly rowdy before, but now the rest of the cornerclub has gone very quiet, Tan especially, who holds his breath while still trying to appear nonchalant, looking steadily at his fingers folded on the counter.

#Nordicdragonborn #tanel