Sabhira’s Daughter #26

As the group continued down the path, skirting the southern shore of the lake, Muz-Ra turned to Udaran and asked, “So Udie, you haven’t said much.” “About your story? Well, a couple things DO strike me as odd, though I really can’t doubt it. It’s tough to disbelieve anything here.” “That’s true,” Muz-Ra replied, tossing a pebble she’d picked up out into the lake. Ubergard, just a few steps ahead, turned around quickly with a frown. "Don’t do that. You never know what may lie at the bottom of a lake. No need to disturb it.“
Muz-Ra put her hands up in defense, "OK! OK! Looks peaceful enough.” Ubergard snorted. "Just remember, we don’t ALL have guardian angels,“ she pointed out, turning back. Udaran took that opportunity to add, "That’s one thing right there. How did they know what was happening to you? Do you think they’re watching your every move?” Muz-Ra looked shocked. "I… don’t know! I sure HOPE not!“ Now the Argonian looked a bit worried.
Udaran went on, "And they took you to their realm using your outfit you say, yet they return you naked. Does that make sense?” Muz-Ra shrugged a bit more perplexed herself. “And then there’s YOUR attitude. If what you say is true, why would you trust them so much? After all, it sounds to me like they basically made you their sex slave. They can transport people from place to place, heal critical wounds, even restore your eyesight but they can’t clean up their own castle?”
Muz-Ra bristled at that, “Now wait a minute. I never said I had sex with them!” “No? It sure sounded like it to me.” “Well, maybe I embellished a little bit. I tend to do that you know.”
“I don’t know Red, it just sounds a little TOO convenient.” “Well, maybe it is, but I know I’d be dead without them! THAT you can’t argue with!” “Frankly, it sounds to me like they have something else planned for you.” Muz-Ra pondered this in silence for a while as they continued on.
Kitty listened closely to this exchange, and sensed the tenseness between the two. “Well, I don’t care what their motives were, Red, we’re ALL very glad to have you back!” Udaran agreed, “Absolutely Red. I’m suspicious by nature. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“Ok Udie,” Muz-Ra replied, “and you’ve given me something to think about. When we get to Markarth, maybe I’ll change out of this outfit.” Kitty noticed Muz-Ra glance down at her golden bikini with a quick but odd expression. Was there perhaps a touch of suspicion there?
“Well anyway, it’s getting late. Uber, do you have any ideas where we should stop for the night?” Udaran called ahead to the big Argonian. Without answering her, Ubergard suddenly stopped with a hand raised back in warning. The other three crouched instinctively as they watched the warrior scrutinze the landscape ahead.
Udaran whispered, “What is it Uber? I don’t hear anything.” “Exactly. The animals have gone silent. There’s something ahead that disturbed them.” Udaran turned back to the others, “Let’s get out of sight. Quietly.”

Sabhira’s Daughter #25

Kitty looked at the Argonian’s outfit as if looking at it for the first time. "I always thought your bikini seemed somehow different than the costumes that most of the girls wear!“ she observed. "Oh yes, this isn’t something H provided. I brought it with me into the Chateau. And I could never part with it. I once had it examined by an alchemist who claimed that it is, in fact, some odd form of flexible gold,” Muz-Ra explained while performing a proud pirouette.
“GOLD? You’re wearing pure gold?!” Kitty asked excitedly, her tail twitching. “Oh calm down Kitty, you look like a cat that just heard the can opener! Besides, that doesn’t explain ANYTHING about what happened at Helgen,” Udaran said, turning to Muz-Ra with her hands on her hips. “I’m getting to that…” Muz-Ra said.
“Up until Helgen, it had never shown the slightest sign of having any sort of magical attribute, but now I know better. When that Mage burned me, I was nearly killed outright. I’m sure Ubergard got to him as quickly as she could, but my body had already been severely burned and my eyes were useless. I knew I was about to die, but the pain was so unbearable I welcomed the end. Then suddenly my outfit came to life somehow and swept me away from that place.”
“Blessedly, the pain was instantly erased and I seemed to dream, or at least that’s the best I can describe of what it was like. At times I felt like I lay in a molten sea, at others the feeling was a blessed coldness as if I lay on the peak of a windswept mountain. Yet again sometimes it felt I was bathed in an ocean. But my eyes were sealed shut.”
“Some time later, I’ve no idea how long, I heard the Master’s voice and the Mistress as well. Though I could not see anything, he told me to relax and not be afraid. He said he had used the outfit to recall me to his realm before my death was irreversible, as a way of paying me back for my service all those years ago. Even the Mistress was kind to me and I felt my body become whole again as she did SOMETHING to it. I can’t say if she applied some ointment or cast some spell, all I know is I felt myself return to normal physically, and I know it was her that did it.”
“I remained with them for what felt like weeks, but my eyes were never able to open and I could not stand. I feared I’d gone permanently blind, but the Master assured me that it was only temporary. Finally, the Master told me that it was time for me to return and I felt him once again carry me with strong arms up the tower. Though I couldn’t see it, I FELT him lay me down again onto that strange blue lens. He also told me he had informed my friends about my return and I would not awake alone. Further, that he was sending me back to the Guardian Stones, a place where his power to transport was particularly adept. He assured me he had returned my possessions ahead of me.”
“That must have been my dream,” said Kitty, recalling the odd way the vision she had the night before seemed distorted, as if seen through a long distance lens. Muz-Ra agreed, “I assume so too. The next thing I knew, I was laying between the Stones where you were sleeping. And that’s it, that’s all I know.
"Solid gold bra and panties huh? Must be nice!” Kitty said, admiring the material. “And no, you can’t try them on for size Kitty,” Muz-Ra smiled. “I know they wouldn’t fit! But still, flexible gold.” Kitty said, her fingers involuntarily reaching out as if to touch the magical cloth.
“Naughty Kitty. Go ahead, you may touch the Golden Body.” “Ooooo! It’s smooth! And surprisingly warm,” Kitty said as she slid her paws over the smooth surface with it’s slightly indented runes.
“Well thank you Kitty. But if you don’t mind, you’re turning me on and I’m SUPPOSED to be hetero,” the Argonian warned with a gleam in her eye. “OH! Sorry,” Kitty apologized as she yanked back her hands.
Udaran sighed and cleared her throat, “Well, if you two are done groping each other, can we get moving again?”

Sabhira’s Daughter #24

“Ok, so where was I when I was telling my story?” Muz-Ra asked as they began to walk. “You’d just climbed to the top of the tower and the Master and Mistress were gone,” Kitty recalled eagerly. “Oh yes, I remember…” Muz-Ra said as she continued her tale.
“At the top of the tower there was a stairway to the roof. When I emerged, I saw a machine of sorts, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. It was a mass of lenses and gears as best I can describe it, slowly moving and gyrating on different axis in complex arcs. Yet in the center was a larger lens of different character. It was this that beckoned to me as if it wanted me to step upon it. I can’t really explain how I knew this, but it was the same imperative that had led me to the tower in the first place, but even stronger at close range.”
“Having no reason to do otherwise, I stepped upon the mechanism and then to the lens, to the very center. Suddenly, all the peripheral glass-work came to a stop and seemed to focus on me. There was a sensory explosion of sorts, as if all my nerves were instantly tweaked and I fell immobile but conscious to the odd blue lens below me. It was a feeling I can only call orgasmic, though it was not concentrated on any particular part of me but instead it radiated from everywhere. It lasted only a split-second, but in some sense that moment lasted much longer and my sense of self disappeared.”
“The next moment I was aware of, I was again lying naked, still on the island but outside the walls in the exact position I had been in when I first sprang from the water to escape the monsters that dwelled there. However, I was not wet so I knew I’d not imagined it all. Of the castle itself, I could see no sign. It seemed to have disappeared. Having no other recourse, I entered the water, oddly clear now of any reptilian guardians, and emerged on the far side. As if through a haze, I was then again able to perceive the castle back on the island. I’ve no explanation, I’m just describing what happened.”
“However, there was one thing more I haven’t told you yet. Nearby where I emerged was my original clothes, complete and whole as if the episode with the reptilian guardians had never happened. And there was one other thing in the pack. A metallic yet flexible, yellow and terribly skimpy two-piece outfit. On it’s surface was scrawled patterns that I took to be decorative but now I think perhaps they are some sort of runes.”
“I tried them on, and of course they fit perfectly – no mean feat given my proportions even then! I turned back towards the island, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of someone at a window to acknowledge the gift, but I saw no one.”
“So I put on my old adventuring clothes, turned and left, never looking back. I often used to wonder if it was all just some weird dream. Years later I tried to retrace my steps, but try as I might I never did rediscover the island, let alone the castle.”
“At the time I wasn’t nearly as… daring let’s say, as I am today and I just kept the odd outfit with me. It wasn’t till years later that I began to wear this outfit regularly. It served me well, especially when I came to be employed by H and needed something exotic to wear.”
“What else but my gift from the Master? And so I wear it still today, and it hasn’t worn or faded a bit in that time.”

Sabhira’s Daughter on short hiatus (really, I promise!)

[Progress edit – COMPLETED! WOOHOO! I’ll probably waste a day, but then will be starting on #24 finally.]

Though I have the next post written, I’m going to take some time and revise the format rather drastically. I recently started copying to SoFurry as I feel it’s definitely a better venue for this project. (I was going to do FA, but copying the HTML over there was going to be a real pain in the ass.)

Then I started receiving some critiques. Just a couple, but when words like “atrocious” are thrown around, you sit up and take notice.

In particular, there’s a couple format changes I have in mind. While the critics there did suggest I turn it into a true comic, with text in the images, I’m still not going to do that. Those of you that have been with it since Katherine Managan days know I started that way but abandoned it as too constricting (and frankly too time-consuming). I originally had two goals in mind, to be able to post new content quickly, and to provide high-res images.

What I had in mind was less of a comic format, but more of a heavily illustrated short story.

However, the critiques I got DID alert me to two issues that I can address without having to radically go back and change everything.

1 – I had come up with my own shorthanded way of doing dialogue. That was pretentious of me and really hurts the readability of it. So I’m going to redo ALL the text following standard grammatical rules. Yes, double quotes, “ she said.”, all of it. It’s going to take a while to do that, but I have to agree that it will improve the overall readability. Plus, doing so will force me to rethink sentence structure and allow some more detail in the text portions.

2 – The images are too big. They overwhelm the text. I do hate to lose the high resolution aspect, but I can go back to the “click the image for high resolution” method that I’d started with. In fact, I’ll probably reduce the images QUITE a bit, but you’ll still be able to click to get the high-res versions.

I’m going to do this starting with Sabhira’s Daughter #1 so, if you feel the desire, you can sort of watch my progress as I go through revising them all. If you click here, this is the new format I’m going for:

http://tailsofthekhajiit.tumblr.com/post/131598377763/sabhiras-daughter-1

Sorry for the delay. I’d been churning out posts at a pretty breakneck pace, concentrating primarily on the images. It’s time to turn my attention to the text as well and I do think this will improve it overall. While it still won’t be a comic in the accepted form of the term, it should at least be easier to follow I’m hoping.

And, of course, any comments or critiques are ALWAYS welcomed! If I can handle someone calling my “baby” atrocious, I’m sure I can handle others. (Yeah, it does sting a bit, but if the end result is a better, more readable, more accessible story, it’s a sting I’d best get used to.)

Sabhira’s Daughter #23

The sun had risen and it was well into mid-morning by the time they arrived back at the Guardian stones, where all were disappointed to find nothing waiting for them there. “No, it’s ok Kitty. I know you believed in your dream. I’d do the same if I was as sure,” Udaran said, to reassure Kitty. “But dammit, it wasn’t a dream. It was something else. I can’t describe it, but it was like I was looking through a lens right at her. And she was HERE!” Kitty cried. “No trace that I can find,” said Ubergard, returning from a search of the area.
“Should we go back to Falkreath?” Udaran asked Ubergard. “No. From here there’s a trail that skirts the southern end of the lake. We can just follow that. But there’s no more towns on the way.” Ubergard suggested. “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. Let’s nap here and get caught up on some sleep. Sound OK?” Udaran asked them both. “Please! I’m a bit hungover too I’m afraid,” Ubergard admitted, “and sleepy.” Kitty apologised to them both, “Yeah. Look, I’m sorry you guys. I feel so stupid.”
“I was so SURE, Udie. Dammit, it’s like losing her all over again.” “Just rest a while Kitty. You’ll feel better when you’ve slept a bit.” “I’ll try. Thanks Udaran. For everything. I’ve been naive and stupid as a kitten and I know it.” “Shhh. It’ll be ok. Sleep.” – Udaran
An hour or so later… “Kitty?” whispered Muz-Ra.
“Mrph… what?” Kitty asked her friend. “Wake up Kitty, I need to talk to you,” insisted Muz-Ra “Ok! I’m getting up. What do you need?” asked an uncomprehending Kitty. “What day is it?” the Argonian asked.
“RED!!!!!” Kitty cried, suddenly understanding who she was looking at, and she buried her head in her friend’s shoulder unable to say more.
Udaran awoke at Kitty’s cry, startled to see her assumed dead friend. “Red! What!?” How did you get here? Where have you been?!“ "Long story Udie. I’ll tell it in good time though. But first, mind if you tell ME what happened to YOU guys? I have no idea how long ago I… left,” Muz-Ra explained. “Sure Red!” Kitty said, finally releasing her friend, “Well, the last we saw of you was yesterday when that Mage was casting Flame at you. I couldn’t see at the time but I heard you. Red, I heard you screaming. Oh Red! How are you OK?” “Yesterday? Oh! That’s good anyway. And you all got away?” asked Muz-Ra.
“Well, Kitty pushed Hasskir off and he apparently broke his neck. At least we think it was Hasskir who was shooting from the walls. A Khajiit anyway. Then Ubergard got rid of the Mage, and the others ran off,” Udaran explained. “She split him clean in half Red! It was… awesome AND gruesome!” Kitty continued. “And the others behind the wall?” asked Muz-Ra. “There weren’t any. Uber thinks the mage was making his voice come from behind the wall. Or maybe they ran off too. Either way, the battle ended just after you disappeared. We thought the worst I’m afraid,” said Udaran. “We had a party for you in Falkreath last night Red,” Kitty added, “You’d have loved it!”
“I see. So, what are your plans now?” Muz-Ra smiled. “Well, Udaran thinks that mage may have been telling the truth when he said Hasskir sold his daughter in Markarth. So we were heading there,” Kitty concluded. “Yeah, that makes sense. Ok, I’ll tell you everything that happened to me. For me it seems like it’s been a lot longer than that though. But before I start, can you help me find my clothes? They’ll be nearby somewhere,” asked Muz-Ra.
A few minutes later… “There! NOW I feel back to normal! Ok, I’ll tell you what happened, but I actually need to finish my earlier story first. It will all make more sense to you then. Well, at least as much as it CAN make sense.” “So you WEREN’T making it all up?” asked Kitty. “Well, maybe I used a little artistic license. You may not believe it, but I’ve been known to exaggerate a bit. And perhaps add a bit of… spice,” Muz-Ra explained “No! I’d never have believed it!” Udaran commented sarcastically. “Oh, I’m sorry Red. Force of habit. Red, I’m just DAMNED glad to have you back!” Udaran confessed. “And me too Red. I’m sorry I don’t express myself well, but I am… very happy,” Ubergard admitted. “Oh god, not you TOO Uber?! I don’t even HAVE tear ducts and I still want to cry. Thanks guys.”