“Shhh – you’ll wake him” – Hauk pulled Lena to the side. Geralt was still asleep in the other bed, it was 4 a.m. “You’ve got blood on your armour, you should be more careful – the guards here don’t like murder.” Hauk was wiping some smudges off Lena’s cuirass.
“How…” – she started, but he put a hand over her mouth.
“Shhh…” – he looked at the door. “The guards have just been here looking for anything suspicious” – Hauk whispered into Lena’s ear. “Give them half an hour and they’ll forget about it, but you do need to lay low just now. They probably saw you come in.”
And without another word, he quickly removed her cuirass and pulled her into the bed with him.
“Shhh…”
Lena saw where this was going and didn’t protest – she trusted Hauk completely. He had far more experience in covert matters than she did – she’d simply get arrested and pay the fines, but it was far better not to get arrested.
“Oh – pardon me” – a guard walked into the room looking for Lena, and finding her in Hauk’s embrace. “False alarm” – he added turning to another guard with a wink.
The guards left, and Lena raised her head to look over Hauk’s shoulder. She saw shadows in the hall – the coast wasn’t clear yet. She dived back.
The innkeep stuck his head into the door, looking at his guests with interest. The witcher was still asleep, clearly enjoying the comfort of a rather wide bed all to himself – here was a man who valued comfort when he had it. But the other guest… a Nord but not from here… and that girl – the witcher’s sister… a much, much younger sister, by the looks of her… She was gone all day, then returned at night, and look where she’s now… Well, love birds, you don’t need to hide from me, I’ve seen worse.
The innkeep smirked and left.
“Thank you” – whispered Lena. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
She was tired after her long journey back and forth – the contract wasn’t the only fight along the way.
“Skyrim has an awful lot of bandits” – she whispered to Hauk. “It must be the civil war, I don’t remember it being that bad before. I am exhausted. Not all of that blood was from the contract.”
She nestled next to her friend and fell asleep.
Hauk stroked her hair gently, thinking to himself again: “If only…”
…
“You can sleep some more, there is no rush” – Geralt looked into the room as Lena was about to get up.
“You heard me come in?”
“Of course I heard you, I’m a witcher” – he grinned. “I just didn’t think it would help to show it.”
“Well, I’m awake now, might as well get up” – Lena was putting her armour on. “What’s for breakfast?”
…
It was a beautiful day, and Lena, Geralt and Hauk decided to ride East and see about those bandits at Nilheim that the Jarl wanted removed. As they approached the bridge to the tower, they saw a merchant sitting on the ground by his broken cart.
“Can you help me?” – he asked. “Bandits have attacked my cart and killed my horse. My camp is just over the bridge by that tower – get me there safely, and you’ll be rewarded.”
“Ai” – said Lena getting off her horse with a smile – “it will be our pleasure. Always up for a reward.”
Of course this was a trap, but this time it were the bandits that got caught in it. Lena summoned a dremora already before the “merchant” declared that they would now be killed, and Hauk and Geralt were ready to join in while the bandits were still unsheathing their weapons. A short but fierce fight followed.
“We shall indeed be rewarded – he didn’t lie” – laughed Lena. “But we will need to go to Riften for it. Shall we ride there today? The weather is lovely.”
The weather was indeed lovely, and so they rode on.
…
“You have committed crimes against Skyrim and its people” – a guard stopped Lena’s horse as they approached Riften. “Pay your fine and surrender any stolen goods.”
“I think you’re mistaking me for someone else” – Lena replied. “I don’t steal. But I’ll pay the fine since you asked nicely.”
The fine was for an assault. She couldn’t remember assaulting anyone unprovoked and not seeing it through.
“They couldn’t prove murder and settled on an assault charge” – Hauk was explaining afterwards. “People rarely dispute assaults because everyone does it, just not everyone gets caught.”
Ah, yes. She was in Skyrim.
The bounty for the bandits of Nilheim far outweighed the fine, and they still had plenty of coin for a meal and a room. They would stay the night, and go North West tomorrow.
Riften was strange. At the market Lena was approached by some fellow in expensive clothes insisting that none of her wealth had been earned by honest means…
“That depends what you consider honest work” – Lena thought spinning around. “You probably think I’m a wannabe thief and am going to be flattered.”
“Well…” – she said hesitantly.
“I’ve got a proposition for you…” – Brynjolf suddenly broke off as Hauk stood behind Lena. “Well, I’ll be at the Bee and Barb later if you want to talk.”
“He’s Thieves Guild” – Hauk said in Lena’s ear. “Our paths had crossed at some point. I think he’ll be staying out of your way now.”
“Oh, that is interesting” – Lena was watching Brynjolf walk back to his stall on the market. She would remember his face.
They walked around the market some more, looked at the stalls, the Temple of Mara, the wooden houses on the main street. If it was supposed to remind Lena of Bravil, it didn’t. Riften had the canal, the bridges and the wooden houses, and even the same patron Divine, but there was no Lucky Lady here and the atmosphere was decidedly different.
“I don’t know you – you looking for trouble?” Lena was stopped by an aggressive looking character. “The Black-Briers don’t want strangers poking their noses into their business.”
“So, there is a business that needs poking, then?” Lena looked him straight in the eye. “Ogre” – she thought. “Equal in force and intelligence.”
Maul wasn’t used to not have an effect. He stared at Lena menacingly and clutched his fists. She smiled sweetly, but kept her gaze cold. Geralt appeared from a side alley – Maul didn’t know him either. The dilemma of what to do next must have overwhelmed him, because he turned around and walked off without another word.
“What was all that about?” Geralt followed Maul with his gaze.
“I have no idea” – replied Lena. “A local bully, perhaps?”
“Another member of the Thieves Guild” – Hauk commented, catching up with them. “This town is drowning in them.”
“The Jarl’s steward didn’t think that the Thieves Guild posed any threat” – Lena related her conversation with the steward earlier.
“That’s a convenient stance if you can’t solve the problem” – Hauk shook his head. “The Black-Briers are a powerful family, and they support the Thieves Guild. They also often call on your friend Astrid, but the relationship there is more strenuous, I understand. The Black-Briers are demanding customers.”
Lena was listening with astonishment, although by now she should have known better.
“How…” – she started, but Geralt touched her arm.
“Let the man have some secrets” – he said. “It gives him an air of mystery.”
They laughed and went to the Bee and Barb.
Masser and Secunda 