Tea by Name Tea by Nature

A second volume swiftly followed the first, with our young Khajiit also having a namesake created as a player character in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Tales of a Quite Peculiar Cat – Volume 2

By Rubyn Frey

In many ways Ji'sari was a typical Khajiit, they have a tendency towards very sweet things and also to develop various abilities that may cause them to cross paths with the authorities. Often as a very young kit, Ji'sari wished to test herself but also had a yearning for something sweet.

~——————————~

On one such occasion it was a yearning for some sweet Dune gnocchi, Ji'sari slipped out of her room and across the rooftops, sometimes leaping from roof to roof, or if the jump was too far, dropping down and passing unseen across roads or alleyways and finding a way back up to the rooftops to continue making her way to the market which was close to the warehouse district, but not so close that she would could cause any concern to her father or his employer. Reaching the inn nearby Ji'sari quietly dropped from the roof onto some conveniently stacked crates.

Pausing and observing the various merchants and their customers for a time, she then slipped under a table and waited, ensuring that she could see, but be unseen. The various stalls of sweet treats and meats were busy as local Khajiit picked up their supplies, occasional stalls of household goods and fine fabrics were less busy but visited by nobles or, servants sent on errands by their masters.

Waiting for the opportune moment Ji'sari, slipped behind a large group making their way around the market, to the next stall, where again she waited. Ji'sari repeated the process until she reached the sweet traders stall, the strong smell of cinnamon and other treats filling her senses. The traders robes of red and tan were long and flowing, the under robes in silk, the over robes in a heavy cotton to keep out the dust which would blow around the city when the winds came in from the deserts. A purse to his right heavy with coin, and a deep fold to the left giving an indication to Ji'sari that a pocket lay within.

Cautiously our kit slipped some coins into the pocket, taking care not to disturb the fabric more than a gentle breeze disturbs a tree, and then, reached slowly from under the stall to pick up the tempting gnocchi, still warm to the touch. A large hand covered hers, enclosing the hand and the gnocchi which lay within, and dragged Ji'sari from her hiding place, the Raht guard hauling her to her feet.

“That one!” The sweet trader growled, “again!”

“This one did not do anything,” claimed the kit.

“You cannot deny, you have been caught red handed,” rumbled the guard.

Ji’sari wriggled until her tunic came loose from the firm grip, and made off with a start, giggling. “Oh yes, ha, check Khajiit pocket!”

Running off towards the back of the inn, quickly finding a a safe place to hide her prize in her leather pouch, Ji'sari climbed back up to the rooftops. Finding a spot to again observe the goings on of the market, she settled back to enjoy her sweet Dune gnocchi with some blackberry flavoured milk from a small earthenware flask tied onto her belt.

Yes, Ji’sari, while a typical mischievous kit, was also honourable, the thrill was in taking, not being caught and being in places no one would suspect, but never in stealing.

~——————————~

#Fiction #ElderScrolls

The Goo Goo Dolls have just released their latest EP, “Summer Anthem.” I'll be 100% honest the first song released as part of their “Summer Anthem” tour, “Nothing Lasts Forever” had me worried, had John Rzeznik finally run out of lyrics? This is a reflection of my first 24 hrs. with the album.

Whilst the album has a different feel to recent albums, it gives me “Something for the Rest of Us” vibes in that this may not have been the full album they wanted to put out due to being pushed out on tour following the renewed interest in “Iris”, but it is music they wanted to write and release, it strikes me as very personal for where they are now in their lives. Also, whoever came up with the artwork, needs to be given the exact items in the image and try to make them work!

I can't find a bad track, it's trademark Goo, happy, hopeful but look under the surface and you can see what brought them here, they're still holding onto the ground for dear life even after nearly 40 years of the band.

“Ocean” is a total rock out, it’s serious steering wheel drums, keyboard and head nodding in the car with this one! It's quite an intense track for more recent Goo Goo Dolls albums, it's not quite “Gutterflower” level, but getting there.

One day I will sit down and analyse “Nothing Lasts Forever”, there are a lot of shared lyrics from “Money, Fame and Fortune”, but if you listen closely there are other tracks as well. In a recent NPR interview John said in question to whether it was his retirement song, “I wish it was, but it was just more about the transient nature of our relationships and life.”

“Slightly Broken” is feels very modern, but “so” John since “Let Love In”, the man still sounds like he's completely in love and grateful for the family he now has.

“Misery” gives me Don Henley “Boys of Summer” vibes, it's not quite the right description, but I think it's the right era, it's mellow summer all over!

The obligatory Robby Takac track “Such A Mystery”, is the happiest sounding track on the album, would love to see this played live, it's very “Prayer in my Pocket” mixed with “Strange Love.”

“Run All Night” was released initially in 2023, fantastic track and something to live by, make the most of the time you have, very poignant for me as this was the year my brother passed away at 47.

“Not Goodbye (Close my Eyes)” had me in tears the first time I heard it, I can't tell if it's releasing memories, the loss of someone, hope or if I'm reading between the lines too much, which is easy to do with John's lyrics as he tends to be quite biographical.

Sitting here hopeful for a UK/Europe tour soon as I found the Goo Goo Dolls just as they finished their last UK tour in 2023, but was lucky enough to see them in New Zealand with Matchbox Twenty in 2024, but still feel like I've known them for decades.

[Disclaimer: No affiliation to the Goo Goo Dolls or Warner Music, just a bean counter in the UK who loves music]

#NowPlaying #NewMusic

Here follows my first response to a writing challenge issued by the Tamriel Vault, the challenge was to write in-game books as found in Skyrim. This was written prior to the Elsweyr chapter of Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) being released, and a number of years before I finally gave in and started playing ESO A this time other than some mods there were no images of the province, only in game descriptions of a land of sand.

Tales of a Quite Peculiar Cat – Volume 1

By Rubyn Frey

Our tale begins in Elsweyer, with a kit who was a little too curious, finding herself amongst the feet of the elders in the markets or climbing onto the low sloping roofs and finding hiding spots to overhear the more noble Khajiit or visiting Justicas.

Our kit, Ji'sari, had a way of quite deliberately being in the wrong place at the wrong time, being marched back to her parents after learning the very thing she was seeking, very often smiling to herself.

~——————————~

On one such occasion, Ji’sari, her green eyes glinting in the sunlight, had been intent on reaching the warehouse where her father worked to hear his fate after an accident had led to his position being placed in jeopardy. Ji’sari had been forbidden from visiting the warehouse at any time, and knew that if she were seen then she would be in more trouble than a fish in the desert sands. Climbing from an upper floor window, Ji’sari made her way across the lower rooftop, and leapt to the next, the warehouse was in a lower district near the city walls so she had to drop to the ground and carefully climb the next building without being seen.

It took most of the afternoon for Ji’sari to reach the warehouse, local people and merchants milling around the streets, the occasional pickpocket unseen by most, but quietly observed from her various hiding places upon the rooftops.

Waiting outside of the warehouse were a small number of heavily armed Cathay-raht, the largest of the two-legged Khajiit, wearing the mark of the Justicars, not the ruling classes. Ji’sari was perched in a small nook on the rooftop opposite, still observing the movements below, wondering how to reach the building where her father was due to learn his fate.

Noticing an increasing number of people coming through the street, Ji’sari quietly dropped from the roof and mingled amongst the legs of crowd until they passed close by the warehouse, noting that some old broken crates were stacked haphazardly against the wall where she could hide amongst them.

Once the crowd cleared the kit looked for a way up, knowing that small though she was, the crates could not be trusted to support her. A shuttered window gave her a way up, Ji’sari was glad that she was still allowed to run barefoot, her claws being quite helpful for climbing.

The roof space was clear, only guarded at night when opportunist thieves prowled the district. Creeping across the roof, she tried to identify where her father and his employer were meeting, her keen ears picking up on a heated conversation on the far side.

Moving very slowly she approached the voices, just able to make out her father's amongst the others, more than three people were in the room below it seemed. Settling down atop the roof to listen in, Ji’sari failed to notice the creaking below her, ears straining to hear the words spoken below. As one of the voices grew louder, and accusations were being made toward her father by a rather haughty mer, the roof below her gave way, Ji’sari landing in a cloud of dust upon a desk.

A rather plump Khajiit, clad in silks sat down heavily upon a chair behind him, raising a bejewelled hand to his brow. A Justicar stepped forward and dragged the kit to her feet upon the desk. Her father, a weathered old thing, shuffled his feet as a second Justicar surveyed the hole above them.

“So, what do we have here? A thief, a spy?” Mused the first Justicar, “hmm, I wonder...”

“No,” interrupted her father, “this one is mine.”

“She's a rather cute little thing, for a cat,” the second Justicar rubbed one of Ji’sari's ears while the kit bit her tongue.

A large sigh came from the larger Khajiit as he stood and placed his palms together, “this one senses that it is time to bring matters to a close before the moons are high and hot sands are pleasant underfoot.”

“Very well, we are not tyrants, however the goods cannot easily be replaced, therefore some recompense is expected.”

“Khajiit is a hard worker, the value of this cannot be underestimated,” the Khajiit bowed his head, “you will have your recompense, but Khajiit keeps his position.”

The Justicars nodded in return, and turned to leave, pausing, the first Justicar turned to Ji’sari, “I have my eye on you cat.”

The door closed and the three Khajiit breathed deeply.

~——————————~

#Fiction #ElderScrolls

Some in the Fediverse may know me as Meli, others as Tea by Name Tea by Nature, those whom I have met in real life may be able to identify me by the latter. I do like to keep my online and offline lives separate, especially when it comes to my writing.

I hoping that this little corner of the Fediverse will allow me to share more lengthy posts or thoughts that are not suited to the shorter Mastodon format, and that when I share some of my gaming based fiction or poetry it may even bring a smile. In time I hope to be able to devote more time to original fiction, but I have a bad habit, best described by my Argonian alter-ego name of Starts-Many-Projects.

There are some who may have encountered my gaming-based fiction or even art, possibly in the corners of the internet known as The Skyrim Blog, Tamriel Vault or The Sky Forge. Although I have written on and off over many years, the Elder Scrolls series gave me something to get my teeth into and develop my writing skills. Random thoughts such as why are there tomatoes in a land of apparently perpetual snow in the north while there was a civil war going on, led to me creating an auditor sent to do a census in Skyrim and developing my own tax system, and how he would react to coming face to face with a dragon.

A part of me would also love to get more involved with table top role-playing games, creating maps and scenarios and items to to go with them, such as tavern menu’s can keep me occupied for hours.

I have a long running love of music, inspired in part by growing up with my parents vinyl collection, this has evolved and become more eclectic, and a wish that maybe I could play keyboard semi-proficiently, but also a desire to re-start my vinyl collection and attend more live gigs, whether they be small or large venue.

I also love generally researching and getting my teeth into a subject, once I did toy with the idea of becoming a technical author, however my love has tech also has a very sustainable and non-AI angle to it, so this is currently on pause.

I look forward to reading other content in the tavern, and hope to see you around in the Fediverse.

#introduction #Meli