Thread: The Sands of Elsweyr (Collector x IrishRose)

Kiro waited on the pier overlooking the great river that ran through the jungle. A lesser man might have been impatient, but Kiro had learned well in his studies that a patient man could make the most money a wise merchant only needed to wait for the right time to buy or sell and he could make a fortune. Patience could bring a man anything he wanted, which was why Kiro had no problem waiting for his guests to arrive. It was traditional for khajiit, especially those in the nobility, to greet each other with an exchange of gifts, which was why Kiro had arranged a great many gifts for his visitors, though they had all been selected with one particular visitor in mind. After all, a king would have little use for a collection of women's clothing and jewelry. It had been a surprise to Kiro when King Edvard of Skyrim had contacted him for a few reasons. The first of these was, the last time Kiro had seen Edvard, when Kiro was but a kitten of twelve years, Edvard had not been king. Back then, Edvard had simply been the father of one of Kiro's dearest friends, Tasia a Nordic tomboy who had towered over him as a child and thoroughly thrashed him whenever they had roughhoused. One of his most vivid memories of Tasia was of the girl dragging him by his tail through the halls of the Blue Palace when he was nine and she was eight, much to the amusement of everyone but himself. Tasia's father had been royalty, yes, but he was a second son and seemed thoroughly uninterested in inheriting the crown content instead to travel the world and see the sights it had to behold. Kiro's father and Edvard had hit things off quite well when they first met, and their children had gotten along as well, which had caused the two families to interact many times over the years. Sometimes Edvard and Tasia would visit Elsweyr, and other times Kiro's father would bring him to visit Solitude. Unfortunately, as Kiro grew older, he had to learn more and more about becoming a trader and had less and less time to travel. Edvard and Tasia became a distant memory as Kiro found new friends in business partners and investors. The second reason why Kiro had been so surprised was because of what Edvard had proposed. It seemed that Edvard's brother had died quite suddenly, leaving Edvard with the crown and few allies. He had made friends in his travels, yes, but none so well-connected and wealthy as Kiro. The khajiit had been suspicious as to why Edvard hadn't contacted his father instead of him, but it became apparent when Edvard made his offer his daughter in exchange for good trade and perhaps some mercenaries to help solidify Edvard's reign. There was just one snag Tasia remained as fiercely independent as ever, so Kiro would have to put in some effort to tame her. Despite being bested in all of his contests against Tasia, Kiro had fond memories of the girl and the thought of having such a lioness as a prize intrigued him, though he could not ignore the fact that he would have to tame her himself. He liked the idea of adorning his arm with Tasia, yes, but she wasn't so much a gift as she was a challenge. Edvard would have to negotiate long and hard to get everything he wanted from Kiro at a reasonable price. After quite a bit of back and forth, and some snooping on Edvard's part, Kiro had managed to learn Tasia's measurements and had prepared the gifts he intended to shower her with upon her arrival. Kiro did not stand on the dock alone he had a retinue of slave girls, guards and his personal mage. The slaves were of mixed races - a few humans and elves, as well as a couple of khajiit - each dressed in light, scant garments some wore skirts that were slit all the way up both thighs, while others wore long, flowing pants, and vests or braziers to cover their breasts, though none of them wore shoes. Each slave wore a finely-crafted metal collar around her throat and held in her arms a gift that was to be presented to Tasia when she arrived. The guards were tall khajiit men, wearing light armor that would allow them to move quickly through the jungle. Each bore weapons according to their own preferences, though curved swords and greatswords featured prominently among the eight men, but each carried a shortbow on their back and a quiver of arrows at their hip. The mage, Khalani, was perhaps the most eye-catching, however. She was a bit taller than the slave girls, though simultaneously more and less clothed than each of them. Her chest was completely bare, save for a long cloak that would only cover her breasts when her arms were held at her sides, a fine golden collar around her throat and a long silken loin cloth that only preserved her modesty from the front. Her wrists were adorned with golden cuffs connected with a long, thin golden chain that looped through her collar. The chain gave the illusion of bondage, though did very little to actually restrict her movement. She had light gray fur freckled with circular spots, similar to an ocelot's, and bright, curious green eyes that sparkled whenever the noonday sun trickled through the foliage. Much of the correspondence in the weeks leading up to Edvard's visit had been between Khalani and Edvard's mage, as messenger birds would have taken too long to arrange a visit at such short notice. Kiro himself struck an impressive figure. He stood at six foot five, having grown much since the days of his youth, with dark gray fur that was speckled with larger spots that occasionally formed stripes along his body. His golden eyes were cool and patient as he waited, but could quickly become bright and friendly or even furious as the situation necessitated. He wore a tunic of the finest white silk and similarly fine black trousers. He wore a pair of traveling boots that had been modified to fit his digitigrade feet, a gold and diamond necklace around his neck and a ring on each finger. The necklace and the rings had been enchanted to boost the prowess of his silver tongue, making the already charismatic khajiit neigh-irresistible. He had three gold earrings in each ear, each of which were kept neatly-polished to shine alluringly in any given lighting. Over his ensemble, he wore a light traveling cloak that would blunt the harshness of the sun while preventing him from overheating. Kiro stood in front of his guards and slaves, though Khalani stood to his left, denoting her place as a favored servant. Kiro's eyes shone as he saw the approaching boat making its way up the river. Whatever happened during the king's visit, the next few days promised to be very interesting indeed.