27h of Rain's Hand, 4E

Some people say that one could smell trouble, even before an action takes place. Lelia Sibus believed this as she walked briskly into Whiterun's rather busy marketplace, her blue dress flowing softly with the wind. People were anxious to buy one thing or another it seemed. The streets were crowded more than ever. It was a task to even make it by Warmaidens, the local armor and weapons shop settled in Whiterun. Lelia carefully scanned the crowd again for an opening. A look of accomplishment played across her features as she found an opening towards Breezehome.

'I don't mind stopping for a while. Maybe Lydia is here today' she thought pleasingly.

She slowly made her way towards the simple house. Noting a few wealthy people in the crowd, she quietly slipped her hand into their pockets, taking a few gold from each. It was enough for them not to notice, she reasoned each time she reached for the currency. Finally reaching the door, she went to open it when she heard an argument arise from the crowd.

"You goddam horker!" said a voice as the commotion died down a little.

Lelia turned to see what the commotion was. It seemed to be an argument between a Breton man and one of the local vendors. At first, Lelia thought that it was Carlotta because, from time to time, even Lelia would catch Carlottta in a bad mood and get her angry. However, as Lelia focused more on the conversation, she realized that the vendor was Ysolda instead.

'Not if I had a say in it' her mind raged.

Although she wasn't into Ysolda in that kind of way, the were still close friends that helped each other from time to time. Ysolda would give Lelia a discount on an important item from the caravan, and Lelia would give Ysolda help with the trade caravans in return. Even steal from rivals to help the Thieves Guild and the friendly caravan she was helping. In that time, they grew to have a mutual understanding, they would back each other up whenever possible.

This was one of those times.

Lelia made her way through the crowd again, this time more aggressive with her movements, often getting comments from others as she passed.

"Watch it!"

"Hey!"

"What's your problem!"

When closed in on the scene, she planned out how she could deal with the situation. She took a look around from her position behind the first row of people. Many of the products were scattered about, apples and the like. The man was almost behind the counter due to his leaning stance, ready to pounce on the Nord at any moment. From their time together, Lelia knew that Ysolda kept an iron dagger on her at all times. She needed to use that to her advantage.

She walked through the first line of people with authority and swagger, not too different from high-ranking officials or Thalmor members.

"Alright!" she began. "What seems to be the trouble?"

Everyone stopped their banter and turned to nervously look at the Imperial woman. Although Lelia didn't look that tough, with a smaller frame and lighter build, she DID make it up in surprise attacks. It also may be the fact that she was Dragonborn, but that didn't matter at the moment.

The Breton man didn't seem to back down in her presence. "This poor excuse of a vendor won't sell me anything. Saying that I was too drunk off of the mead!"

Lelia kept her cool, not even changing her facial expression. However, as the man bantered on, she did shift her gaze toward Ysolda. She caught the Nord's attention almost instantly. It wasn't hard for anyone to tell that Ysolda was getting scared of this man. Lelia jerked her head lightly towards her own hand, which she molded into a fist. The Nord understood the gesture immediately and reached for her iron dagger.

Lelia smiled as she turned her attention back to the ranting Breton.

"-I was just looking for a small thing to eat to wash down the mead. But no. She had the nerve to shut me down!"

"Alright, look." Lelia mused, already growing tired of the mindless banter. "I know that you had a little bit too much to drink. Your body language says it all: not-so-delicate balance, swaying from one way to another, impaired judgment, and even aggressive behavior. So, because I'm feeling great today, I'm going to give you the chance of walking away, not ever returning until you learn how to properly treat women. Or," Ysolda pulls out the dagger at this point "we can do this the hard way. You and me fight, I will win, and I will call the guards to arrest you for disturbing the peace. I don't much care how special you think you are, you are messing with my friend. Now, which is it going to be: fight, or flight?"

The crowd and the Breton were silent for what seemed like hours. She assumed that he was legitimately thinking about the options available to him.

"Let's fight!" the Breton exclaimed.

'Or he could just try to fight his problems with steel like most men in Skyrim' Lelia disappointingly thought to herself.

"Alright." she said, reaching for her elven dagger in its holster on her belt. "Let's fight."

The Breton struck out at her with his own dagger, a steel one by the looks of it. He was fast, but due to his drunken state, he was clumsy. Lelia easily sidestepped him and struck low. The dagger sliced a part of his calf. Dark red blood began to squirt out as he fell to the ground screaming.

Lelia disarmed herself and stood once more over the crying man, looking at him with little pity. The wound wouldn't be fatal, but it would hurt like a hargraven for a while.

"I told you I would win." said Lelia as she motioned a guard over. The guard promptly arrested the man like Lelia predicted: for disturbing the peace and even starting a fight.

As the Breton man was lead away by the Whiterun guard, Ysolda ran up to Lelia, sliding the dagger back into her holster in the process.

"Come on." said Lelia before Ysolda got a chance to speak. "Let's get out of here." But not before saying aloud, "This stand is closed for the day." and taking the bag of earnings out from stand.

Lelia then guided Ysolda back towards Breezehome as the crowds dispersed. Many of people were still shocked from the spectacle that just happened before their eyes. She couldn't blame them. She managed to beat a man in dagger-to-dagger fight in two seconds flat without getting herself hurt. She wished she could get a better look at their faces when she almost sliced the poor Breton's leg open. She would've easily laughed at the legions of people with jaws slamming against the cobbled street.

When Lelia and Ysolda approached the small home, Lydia peeked her head out of the door, her long black hair waving in the breeze.

"What's going on out here, my Thane?" she asked timidly.

Lelia sighed. She didn't appreciate being called Thane by her housecarl, but she didn't mind much. She had many arguments her housecarl about the issue, however she ended up allowing her to keep calling Lelia the name for the sake of convenience.

"Nothing Lydia." Lelia answered. "Just get inside."

Lydia seemed to accept that answer as Lelia lead Ysolda inside the house, hoping to keep the attention off of them. As the door closed, the crowd's banter was blocked away from the trio's ears. The blazing cooking fire engulfed their bodies in comfortable warmth.

"Please, take a seat." Lelia motioned to Ysolda.

As Ysolda politely took a seat by the fire, Lydia rushed up stairs to her bedroom. While they were alone, Lelia decided to question Ysolda about the events that almost got her killed in the market.

"So." she started, "Do you mind telling me what all of that was about?"

The Nord squirmed sheepishly in her chair, "Nothing much really."

"Didn't seem that way." Lelia pushed.

"Just a disagreement. That's all." Ysolda said defensively.

"He pulled a dagger on you!" Lelia pointed out. "If it wasn't something major, then he would've just went to another vendor. Something tells me he had a personal vendetta with you."

Ysolda remained silent for a few moments, as if contemplating a response. Then, she sighed heavily.

"You're right." Ysolda admitted. "He was an ex-lover of mine. We recently had a disagreement. He found out that I worked the trade caravans with the Khajiit. He almost went to the guards about it. However, I lead him away from doing such an action…."

She went silent again, waiting for Lelia to put the pieces together.

"You…. threatened him not to talk?" Lelia suggested.

Ysolda silently nodded in agreement.

"He wasn't so keen on being talkative with an iron dagger to his throat." Ysolda replied cleverly.

Lelia laughed for a good moment. She knew that Ysolda picked up a thing or two when dealing with uncooperative buyers. She was proud of the Nord, being able to stand up to the man while having the upper hand was always an accomplishment. However, she didn't like it whenever she got over-confident with her technique, such as the incident today. If Ysolda would've kept going with the Breton, who knows what would have went down.

"Well, in any case, I'm just glad that you're feeling fine." Lelia said at last.

It was a that moment that Lydia came thumping down the stairs to the living room, still adorning her steel armor and sword.

"My Thane!" she spoke aloud, slightly annoying the Imperial in question.

"What is it Lydia?" asked Lelia as she stood and looked at the Nord housecarl.

"I almost forgot to tell you..." said Lydia as she dug into one of the pouches hanging from her waist. "A courier came looking for you. He said that he had a letter for you; your eyes only."

Lydia pulled a piece of yellow-white paper from her pouch and extended it to Lelia, who slightly rolled her eyes. Couriers came every now and then to deliver her letters. The problem was that those letters were almost always from a mysterious sender, always telling her to go to some crypt or dungeon and find the Words of Power that lie within, and always signing as "a friend". It made Lelia want to slice a mountain or two each time she received those letters.

"Alright, let's see which dungeon I have to raid next." Lelia silently spat out as she unfolded the letter.

Lelia was silent as she read the mysterious letter:

Lelia,

I need to speak with you. There is an urgent matter that can threaten the entire Guild, if not the whole of Skyrim. Meet me on the northern wall outside of Whiterun when the moon is high, lass. Come alone.

-Brynjolf

She recoiled in slight amusement. Brynjolf never asked to meet anywhere besides their hideaway in the Ratway under Riften. However, the matter that he hinted at in the letter made her think for a minute. The issue could only be one of two things: Vampires or Dragons. Both entities were major players in Skyrim's sack of problems. Vampires kept having the mammoth of the urge to blot out the sun and leave Tamriel in eternal darkness. Lelia discarded the blood-suckers as being the issue, fortunately, as she and the Dawnguard Order dealt with Lord Harkon and his puppets only a few months ago.

That left the Dragons. Lelia shivered at the thought. Lately, since becoming the Dragonborn, Lelia noticed an increased amount of sightings and conflicts with the ancient beings. Entire villages were destroyed by one of these; with only a very rare occurrence of a major attack. The Graybeards on the Throat of the World and the Blades, both of which fight dragons and have a personal vendetta for one another, told her that the god of Dragons, Alduin, was behind the attacks. However, not much progress has been done in the way of finding a weakness. Both groups also warned her about the consequences of letting the ancient beasts gain more power, such as a major attack on a hold, or even the rest of Tamriel

"What does it say?" a curious Lydia asked.

Lelia folded the letter and placed it in a pocket on her dress. "Nothing much." she replied sheepishly. "Brynjolf wants to talk tonight."

Lydia glanced at Ysolda with a face that practically glowed with suspicion, "Sounds like he wants to do more than talk."

Lelia ignored Lydia's rude snickering. Although it wasn't the first time that she heard the housecarl suggest something like this, it surprised her when the comments came around.

"It's nothing like that, I tell you every time. Why do you insist that I have a relationship with the man?" Lelia questioned.

"Just a comment, my Thane." said Lydia quietly.

Lelia sighed loudly as she took a seat next to Ysolda and began to throw meat and herbs into the cooking pot.

"Well, I guess I'll wait and see." Lelia said as she stirred the pot.

Hey guys! Thanks for reading the first chapter of this soon-to-be epic adventure. I hope that you guys enjoyed.

RNG, OUT!