Chapter Text
"Where did you get this?"
The Khajiit merchant scoffed. "Truly, does anything matter less in this moment than where This One has obtained this item?" She waved her clawed hand dismissively and scoffed. "You are here to purchase, not for a history lesson."
Tertullian sighed and reached out to pick up the old nautical chart to take a closer look. The merchant slapped his intruding hand away with a snarl. "Ah-ah-ah!" she hissed. "We mustn't touch what we do not intend to purchase," she said, tail swishing back and forth behind her.
Tertullian stepped back, crossing his arms. "So, what's it worth to you, Merchant?" he asked, reaching for his purse.
The Merchant smiled. "Ninety septims would satisfy this one."
Tertullian froze mid-motion. "That's a bit- I mean-" he stuttered, nearly dropping his purse. He took a moment to recompose himself, and continued: "Would you accept the credit of the East Empire Company? I'm authorised to draw up a contract for it."
"Absolutely not," hissed the Merchant. "This One has found that they are not particularly fond of honouring their contracts with Khajiit," she said.
Tertullian rubbed his chin. He looked left and right at the other stalls and stands in the busy marketplace and scratched his head. "I truly did not intend to spend so much today," he said, trying to haggle with her.
"And yet," said the Merchant with a flick of her tail, "you have come to This One and enquired her wares. Perhaps you understand This One's confusion?"
Tertullian smiled politely. "Would fifty septims cover it?" he asked.
The Merchant did not smile politely. "No," she said. Her ears were laid flat and her tail continued to swish and sway.
Tertullian once again looked around the marketplace, this time with an exasperated sigh. The afternoon sun in Senchal was brutal, and it beat down upon him. The combination of the sounds and smells of the marketplace in conjunction with the oppressive Pelletine heat forced his hand. He handed the merchant his whole purse. "There's about eighty in there."
The merchant huffed and upended the purse, pouring out eighty-two septims exactly, which kicked up sandy dust as they plunked onto the ground. "You had better thank your Gods that This One is a charitable soul," she said, scooping the coins up and dropping them back into the fine purple-red purse. "This One will also be keeping the purse — to cover the difference, you understand," she said, stuffing the whole purse into her satchel. She then gingerly rolled the antique nautical chart and placed it in a small wooden case, and handed it to Tertullian. "Off you go, then," she commanded, giving him a small push.
Tertullian opened his mouth to object, but he rightly hesitated, not wishing to make a scene. He knew how things worked here in Senchal, and so he quickly thanked the Merchant and moved along, new purchase securely in hand.
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"Tertullian," said Aurelia, holding the little wooden case in her hands. "Do you really think this was worth ninety septims?" she chided as she opened the case and carefully unravelled the otherwise unremarkable piece of parchment. It was quite clearly a navigational chart of the waters of western Tamriel and the seas beyond — though by its wear and its illegible glyphs, it was obviously quite dated.
"At first I was hesitant, Captain," said Tertullian, "but then I noticed something in this corner that caught my eye." He held onto the upper left corner of the map and pointed to a small island and a headland beyond, far out in the middle of the Azuran Sea. A line extended from this unknown landmass back to Tamriel — indicating a viable shipping lane. "This isn't any country with which I'm familiar, Captain, but this map looks reasonably true and accurate. I thought we might investigate it further, Captain."
Aurelia squinted and looked closer at the anomaly on the map. There was something written next to it in a script she didn't recognise. "What's this say?"
"If I only knew, Captain," said Tertullian. "I can only tell that it's Dwemer script — and that it's likely very, very old."
"The Dwemer," Aurelia repeated, not releasing her squint. "Who knows what those clever elves might have been doing all the way out there in the sea?"
"I wouldn't have any idea, Captain," said Tertullian with a shrug. "But since we're shoving off for Solitude in the morning, I thought we might have somebody at the University take a look at it, Captain."
Aurelia nodded. "Excellent idea, Tertullian," she said, rolling up the map and returning it to the wooden case. She placed the case back into his hands and mused: "Perhaps we can wring back your ninety septims from this purchase after all."