Coins tingled as they changed owners, and eager hands traded payment for goods. It was a lovely morn in the market district of the Imperial City. Traders had come from all over Cyrodiil, and even silk traders from Elsweyr could be seen in their robes and braids of the Khajiit race. From the vast forests of Valenwood came the wood elves, trading handcrafted wood items, and here and there a Redguard could be seen, showing off their fine weapons and armours for sale. Among them all was an Imperial trader who went by the name of Sicarius Tenebra. Highly skilled in the arts of mercantile and speechcraft, he travelled all over the country, trading spices. Along with Sicarius travelled a sellsword by the name of Cyra, a redguard with incredible skills with the blade.
"Look at this." Sicarius Tenebra said to Cyra, who was walking at his side. Following them was a grey donkey, pulling a wooden cart with numerous chests which contained Sicarius precious spices and herbs.
"What?" Cyra said as they walked past a shouting merchant waving with fresh meat.
"Cheap meat. Cheap silk. And cheap spices. Trading is not what it was, Cyra. Ten years ago, all merchants sold quality goods for good prices, but now..." Sicarius fingered a piece of silk, and put it back in disgust. He patted his donkey. He bought an apple at a nearby stand. A fine, red fruit it was. He held it out to the donkey, which was called Tiber Septim. The animal ate it with big chews.
"Well, Tamriel is lucky they have you then, Sicarius. You and your quality spices." Cyra said sarcastically and smiled an almost unnoticeable smile.
"The thing is that you are exactly right!" Sicarius exclaimed. "I have good spices, quality, I promise you!" He patted the rucksack on his back, from which there came a strong smell of different spices and herbs. It was his most precious stash.
"Yes, yes." Cyra said. "Where are we supposed to be?" Cyra had black hair in a ponytail and intense green eyes. She was teh best swordsman Sicarius had ever met, and she did her job as bodyguard well.
"It´s somewhere here, I think.." Sicarius looked around for a while, and then he spotted and empty space. "There we go! Come on, Cyra! It´s spice time!"
Sicarius was a trader around the age of thirty. He had copper hair in a short ponytail, and blue wise eyes. He had grown up as a serving boy in a cheap tavern in Skingrad. An orphan, he had been, all alone until when he was five, and the owner of a tavern had offered Sicarius a place as running boy. It had saved Sicarius from the revolting life of a pickpocket.
Now, Sicarius Tenebra had a very noble name. It started when Sicarius was nine years old. He had developed an intense interest of spices. He would often help the cooks spicing the food, and when a rich spice trader by the name of Tenebra had come to Skingrad to dine with the count, the owner of the tavern had seen his chance. He had sold the young Sicarius as a page to the spice trader for a pricely sum. Rumors say that for the money, the owner of the tavern had packed his things and left Cyrodiil, to start a new life in Summerset isles. The spice trader Tenebra was a stern man, but nevertheless he thaught Sicarius Tenebra, who had now been adopted by the trader, everything about being a spice merchant. The tricks for attracting customers, how to use scales, the system of economy, everything. But the older Sicarius grew, the sterner and harder his adoptive father became. At the age of fifteen, Sicarius was often slapped for doing even minor mistakes. One year later, Sicarius Tenebra, Sixteen years old and already a noble knower of spices, ran away from his horrid father. Sicarius took himself higher and higher up in the spice trading hierarchy, and soon he had established a comfortable reputation. He had then met Cyra, who at the time had been quite poor and in serious need of employment. Sicarius Tenebra had offered her the place as his bodyguard, and since then they would always travel toghether.
"Come, dear people of the Imperial city!" Sicarius shouted. "Yes, yes! Would you miss a chance to stock up on precious spices from the very best in spice trading?" People came closer at the sound of the charismatic and self-confident spicer.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I, Sicarius Tenebra, am here today to personally distribute my fine goods to you, dear citizens!"
"It´s that Tenebra!" Someone shouted, and some people gasped and came closer. "Sicarius Tenebra! He´s here, come on!"
Almost twenty people had gathered around the spot where Sicarius was standing. He had packed up small samples of his spices on squares of cloth on some barrels and crates. Cyra stood, watchful against anyone who seemed to be interested in thievery.
A woman in burgundy linens pointed at a small pile of green leaves.
"How much for a hectogram of that, Mister Tenebra?"
"Oh!" Sicarius Tenebra exclaimed as he picked up his scales from the rucksack. "I see, milady has a taste for fresh sage leaves! Handpicked from the forest around Niben bay!"
Sicarius took a handful of leaves from a bag on the wooden cart and placed them on the scales, measuring a hectogram of it.
"That would be a hundred gold septims, m´lady!"
"You drive a hard bargain, Sicarius Tenebra, but by Akatosh, the tea of your sage leaves is a blessing from the divines." The woman traded a handful of coins for a cloth pouch of leaves.
"Anyone else interested in spices?"
Business went good that day. Sicarius sold several different spices, cinnamon which he had traded from a Khajiit salesman, apple leaves and nettles, and an alchemist even brought the useless nirnroots which Sicarius had plucked without reason. Sicarius even ran out of pepper, which rarely happened. When the sun was on its way down, the many customers began to dissapear, one by one, until Sicarius and Cyra decided to spend some of the money on food and warm beds at the nearby Merchants inn. The innkeep provided a safe place for the wooden cart and place in the stables for Tiber. They ordered a large evening meal consisting of venison, vegetable stew, potatoes, corn and bacon meat.
"Sicarius." Cyra said while the two of them were sitting by a table in front of a warm fire at the inn. They were enjoying fine imported Black-briar mead from Skyrim, after a large dinner.
"What..*buurp*..is it, Cyra? Enjoying your mead?"
"Yes, Sicarius, I am, but...I..I suspect nasty things are in the making."
"What is it, then?" Sicarius placed the mead bottle on the table.
"Come closer." Sicarius leaned forward, so that the distance between him and Cyra was very small.
"The thing is, I saw a bunch of men in robes and hoods a distance away from where you were selling spices. They were gesturing towards us, and speaking in low voices. I couldn´t hear anything they said because of all the noise from the customers, but I don´t think this bodes well, Sicarius."
Sicarius was silent for a while. He reached for a tankard of mead and emptied it.
"I do not think it is anything to be worried of, Cyra."
"I guess not, then. But if we see them again we´d better be careful."