Zajhirra(Khajiit, Female, Defensive, Insecure)
Zajhirra is a skooma addict. This makes her a bit unstable. She used to run with the Khajiit caravans until her habit started chasing customers away. As a result, she’s bitter toward her former employers, but more sad than angry, and extremely sensitive when insulted or attacked. She now works with the Thalmor as an informant, albeit not a very good one, in exchange for skooma.
Conversation Start
1. Listen to me stranger, and listen well. The Khajiit Caravans are not to be trusted.
2. Sanyon says betrayers shave their rear ends, to resemble the Nord ones they are fond of licking.
3. But Zajhirra, she is loyal to the Thalmor. Her rear end is not shaved.
How do I know it isn’t? I’ll have to inspect it to make sure.
4. Zajhirra need not prove her loyalty. She has informed Sanyon many times of where to find Talos worshippers in exchange for fine skooma.
The Thalmor are a blight on this land that must be purged.
5. Blight? Zajhirra does not know what kind of skooma you are huffing, but she would like you to share.
6. The saviors brought back the moons to Elsweyr. The Eight have crowned them the true rulers of Tamriel. J’Zhirra tells them where to hunt the ninth.
The Khajiit Caravans are honest merchants.
7. That is what they want you to think. Then when your back is turned, they are spreading lies about your mother.
8. They are saying she raised a litter of skooma addicts. The saviors would never speak such treachery about Zajhirra.
You’re a Thalmor informant?
9. Yes. Zajhirra does good work too. The bodies west of Riverwood? That was her doing.
10. People come to pray to the false god. Zajhirra sometimes warns them that Talos is but a man.
11. Yet still they pray. Zajhirra has no choice but to tell the saviors of their blasphemy. She thinks it would be best if they die.
12. Then they can meet Talos in the next world, where he is just another man scratching himself and smelling his fingers.
Is that what you’re doing here?
13. Yes, Zajhirra finds Talos worshippers and reports them to Sanyon. Right now she is shadowing the one called Sonja.
14. She is waiting for her to leave the inn and contact her fellow Talos worshippers. Zajhirra has waited a very long time.
Good. Talos worshippers deserve nothing save a painful and inglorious death.
15. Zajhirra does not want them to feel pain. She simply wishes to save them, just as the Thalmor saved the moons.
15b. But she does not know any dawn magicks like the Elves do. She owns no staff. But Sanyon gave her an ink wand to write down their names.
If you send innocents to their death, you’re a murderer.
16. Zajhirra agrees. But these are not innocents. These are Talos worshippers. The saviors of the moon have stated they must be punished.
17. Zajhirra does not like the killing so much, but as she has said before, sometimes the only way to open their eyes is to close them.
I bet Talos’ fingers smell like juniper berries.
18. Zajhirra does not think so. She has sniffed many fingers, and done many unsavory things for her precious skooma.
19. Most Nord fingers smell of mead honey, and blood. But those who pray to Talos like to make wreaths out of snowberries.
19b. That is how Zajhirra tells them apart. That is what their fingers smell like. She has told Sanyon as much.
You mentioned you have a taste for skooma.
20. Why? Do you have some? Why are we wasting time talking?
Sorry, I don’t have any skooma to offer.
21. That is not kind of you, stranger, to get Zajhirra’s hopes up. She will have to wait for Sanyon.
I have skooma, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to feed your habit.
22. Why not? What does Zajhirra have to do for you? Or to you? She promises she won’t tell anyone, not even Sanyon.
I wish I could help you, but I don’t have any skooma on me.
23. Then Zajhirra begs you, go find some. She is desperate for skooma, but she promised Sanyon she would wait here and collect information on the infidels.
Sure. Have a bottle on me.
24. Smoke of the sugar, breath of the gods! Tell me your secrets, little bottle…tell me what she needs to know.
25. But not here. Not in the presence of these infidels. They will use it against us, just as Ma’Dran has.
You give me some information first, and there might be a bottle in it for you.
26. That is not how Sanyon does it. It is always skooma first, talk later. Zajhirra does not trust strangers.
What issues do you have with the Khajiit Caravans?
27. They are traitors.
Yes, everyone knows they’re traders.
28. No, not traders. Traitors! They sell wares and weapons to the worshippers of the false god.
I’m still not following you. Traders sell to all kinds of folk.
29. It seems the stranger’s ears are full of yarn. They’re not traders, they’re trai-tors. Betrayers, back-stabbers, infidels, dogs.
They seem fairly neutral to me.
30. As neutral as the dark side of Secunda. For Zajhirra has witnessed firsthand the sale of weapons to none other than Stormcloaks.
But the Thalmor love the Stormcloaks. They’re weakening the Empire.
31. Hush! Zajhirra knows this, the stranger knows this, and the Imperials know this. But the Stormcloaks do not. And there is one in this very inn.
32. But to your point, Ma’Dran does not help the Stormcloaks because the saviors ask him to. He does it for gold.
Anyone who helps the Stormcloaks is indeed a traitor.
33. Zajhirra is glad she will not have to name you in her report. To be honest, Zajhirra tires of killing so many men.
The Stormcloaks are fighting for honor and principle.
34. It would not be wise for you to praise the usurpers. Zajhirra will be forced to name you in her report.
Merchants are only loyal to gold.
35. If you are loyal to gold you betray the saviors. Zajhirra told Sanyon that Ma’Dran was guilty of many such betrayals.
No, they’re not.
36. Why do you insist on defending them? Who are you, anyway? How many Divines do you pray to?
Eight, just like you.
37. So you say. Zajhiira will leave it up to Sanyon to decide, when she files her report.
There are Nine Divines and I pray to all of them.
38. Nine, you say? This will have to go into Zajhirra’s report. Sanyon cannot ignore this blasphemy for much longer.
I worship myself and myself alone.
39. Zajhirra begs the stranger to reconsider her beliefs. One must worship the Gods, lest they take away the moons.
40. Zajhirra begs the stranger to reconsider his beliefs. One must worship the Gods, lest they take away the moons.
I worship darker gods, cat.
41. Do not speak of such, stranger. The dark gods live in the void. The moons must always fill that space.
What’s this about Ma’Dran?
42. He runs the caravan in Solitude and Windhelm. Zajhirra used to be under his employ, until he accused her of being a skooma addict.
43. His claws cut her deep. He is the one who introduced her to it. Then he said she was chasing customers away, that her shaking was bad for business.
44. Worse yet, he said she was unstable. That her mind was unhealthy. But if her mind were truly sick, she wouldn’t have uncovered Ma’Dran’s true motive.
45. Yes, Zajhirra is bad for business. The business of Ma’Dran’s coin purse.
Why are you bad for Ma’Dran’s business?
46. Because less workers means a larger share of the profits. He could not rid himself of the bodyguards, but his assistant…he found her unnecessary.
Yes, your mind appears to be in perfect health for a crazy person.
47. Zajhirra was only trying to warn the stranger. You did not have to return her favor with insults.
So that’s why you tell people not to trust the caravans. This is personal.
48. That is not true! She does this for your sake, and the sake of the moons.
49. Beware, Ma’Dran’s lies are as sweet as moon sugar. But the visions he paints are false. They are a pulling of the tail. A twist of the ears.
Well, are you? Unnecessary? Or is there some skill set you possess?
50. Zajhirra will do whatever she is asked, provided she is given skooma, or gold to buy it.
For Ma’Dran, she cooked and cleaned. She set up the tent, and kept the fire warm to remind us all of home.
51. Now it is Ma’jhad who cooks, and Ra’zhinda who keeps his fire warm. Zajhirra should not have taught them how.
Why do you consider the Thalmor your savior?
52. Do you not know? They are the wielders of the Dawn Magicks, ancient spells that brought the moons back to Elsweyr, and saved all of Tamriel.
That must have been some magic.
53. Oh yes, many in Elsweyr have told the story of how the saviors filled the sky with light, and when it faded, the moons stood in its place.
54. Zajhirra is forever grateful to her golden-skinned friends. Even now, they provide her with the skooma that keeps her close to the moons.
Some say the Thalmor knew when the moons would return.
55. Oh no, it was never a matter of when, but always a matter of how. The saviors uncovered the dawn magic, and many of us bore witness to its splendor.
56. Zajhirra is forever grateful to her golden-skinned friends. Even now, they provide her with the skooma that keeps her close to the moons.
By the Nine, you are a fool. A bit of a victim, but mostly a fool.
57. Why must you mock Zajhirra, stranger? She is only answering your questions.
58. The Thalmor have been good to Zajhirra. They have allowed her to live her life whereas others only scold.
What does skooma feel like?
59. You have been kind enough to provide Zajhirra with a bottle, so perhaps you already know the answer. But she will explain, if that is your wish.
60. It is best smoked, although the taste is sweet, but Zajhirra does not use skooma for the taste.
61. The mind is flooded with pleasure, and in that moment, anything is possible, and everyone loves you.
62. And when it’s over, you will do anything…scratch and claw, chase your tail, and tear out your fur to get that feeling again.
I certainly understand the allure.
63. Then you are wiser than most. Still, some may find such behavior…sickening.
But Zajhirra does not care what Ma’Dran says. It is not wrong to surrender to a feeling.
Sounds dangerous.
It is not. It is not. Although it is true that some find such behavior…sickening.
Perhaps Ma’Dran cared about your health and wanted you to get better.
64. Khajiit wishes it were so, but Ma’Dran cares only for the health of his pockets. That is why he betrayed Zajhirra and the saviors.
I know what you mean. I feel the same way about murder.
65. You frighten this Khajiit, stranger. She is talking of bliss. You speak of pain. It is not a feeling she wishes to chase.
Don’t Khajiit celebrate the use of moon sugar and skooma?
66. Yes, Zajhirra told Ma’Dran as much, but he said her use was excessive. He pointed to the claw marks on her forearms, the scabs freshly torn.
67. She told him it wouldn’t be a problem if he hadn’t hidden her stash.
Who is Sanyon?
68. He is a Thalmor agent and Zajhirra’s friend. She sends him letters by courier. It has the list of names and locations of potential Talos worshippers.
69. Sanyon then kills the infidels, and makes a tableau. That is a fancy Elf word for a murder party.
70. This gets the attention of the Stormcloaks, who then redouble their efforts against the Empire.
71. The saviors get stronger, and Zajhirra gets her skooma. Everybody wins.
You mean the regular couriers the Nords use?
72. Oh no, they cannot transport the skooma to Zajhirra. It is not allowed. There are peddlers in Sanyon’s employ.
73. You may see them on the road from time to time. They smell of hay and skeevers.
So the Thalmor are encouraging the war.
74. Zajhirra did not say this. That is the mead talking. It does not have nice things to say like the skooma.
A murder party? I love those! I wish I was invited.
75. It is Zajhirra’s job to find the parties, and to keep the skooma. You will not take this from her. You must find your own savior to help you.
In this scenario, everyone does not win. In fact, many will die.
76. Everyone dies. The skooma has told Zajhirra as much. This makes her feel better about all the dying.
It all makes sense now. The Thalmor and the Stormcloaks are working together.
77. Zajhirra thinks your theory is crazier than a barrel full of Orcs.
78. Now she is convinced your skooma is better than Sanyon’s. You must bring more. Zajhirra will do whatever you please.
Do you experience any side effects?
79. Zajhirra does not know what this means, this “side effect.” She experiences many effects, and they are all good.
80. Sometimes Zajhirra sees things. Other times she hears them. They give her comfort.
81. On occasion, she experiences things beyond explanation. Millions of years in a matter of seconds. The taste of music. Deep echoes of silence.
82. She wakes up clutching a bottle, knowing an entire world was inside, and she longs to consume another. She yearns for one more breath.
Greetings/Goodbyes
83. May your road lead you to warm sands, and good skooma.
84. Safe travels.
85. What can Zajhirra do for you?
86. Keep an eye out for Talos worshippers.
87. Remember what I said about the caravans.
88. There are rumors of a Talos shrine east of Cradlecrush Rock. This information is worth at least two more bottles.
89. Your Wood Elf companion…Zajhirra has seen him before…but she is not sure where.
90. Moons guide you.
91. Yes?
92. What is it?
93. Need something?
94. Sugar and sands, friend.