Contracts
Chapter One
After the death of Astrid, nothing has been the same. And this means a lot coming from a world filled with death. Especially when you're the one responsible for a massive amount of it. Murder is all I know now. Does it get a little old after a while? Yes of course it does, but, sadly, there's nothing I can do about it. For such a great honor, being the listener really blows. I am basically the foundation of this Brotherhood now. The Dark Brotherhood. And after the assassination of the emperor, contracts have been flooding in rampantly. I guess they finally realized we are some serious shit. Sure, its good money, but extremely exhausting, especially since I am the only one doing a majority of the slaughtering. Its like working in a pig pen on a farm and you're the only one chopping heads and everyone is getting paid. Its disgusting, dirty, and sometimes a little scary. Sure, Nazir and his found Initiates help out a bit, whereas Babette sits on her ass all day, trying to pull pranks on everyone. I'd have her head if it weren't for her uses in alchemy. But there is the worst of them all. The Night Mother.
Don't get me wrong, I love and respect our night mother as much as the next assassin, but when you're the listener, or as I see it, her little bitch, it is quite possibly the worst thing ever. I almost wish I could go back to before I joined. Our Night Mother is incredibly demanding and easily disappointed. In this case though, being good at your job does not pay off though. I don't like to brag, but I am good at what I do. I've only ever gotten caught once, and that was the assassination of Vittoria Vici, the Emperor's cousin. Hmmf.. What a great kill that was.. Anyways, basically, I am good. And that basically means I do everything. She always asks for me. I always talk to the contracts. I always kill the target. And I have to do it all over again every day. Eventually, there will be no one left in Skyrim to kill. Hell, no one left in all of Tamriel.
My fingers restlessly tap the wooden table. The food in front of me although delicious, looks absolutely sickening. I know what this must mean. Usually when my appetite is lost, a Black Sacrament is being performed, and of course, I am going to be the one to have to go out and take care of it.
"Aelva, you should eat, killing on an empty stomach isn't good. Besides, our newest initiate made this all by himself, have some respect," Nazir speaks with chewed sweet roll stuffed aside in his cheeks.
"Then why doesn't he burn the apron and actually go out and do his job," I mumble, but Nazir still catches it.
"Is that all you can do? Complain? You should be honored. If I had the opportunity to be the Listener, I would take it in a heart beat!" Nazir sits up straight with a proud expression.
"You say that now. If I could trade places with you, I would, believe me. Have this stupid gift," I toss my fork down on the untouched food in front of me. An eerie whisper suddenly slides inside my ears, bouncing off the walls of my skull, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go do some actual work," throwing the bench back as I stand, I trot up the stone steps to the Night Mother's coffin and kneel before her.
"Yet another child had prayed to their mother. Speak with the hunter at the Winking Skeever in Solitude. Accept his gold and kill the target. Hail Sithis!" Her whispers pierce through.
"Hail Sithis," I sigh as I stand up and head up the steps to the door. Shadowmere awaits outside the sanctuary. After pulling myself up onto him, he takes off towards Solitude.
Just as the sun is nearly completely set behind the distant mountains, we arrive at the massive wooden doors sealing off the city. The guards stare at me, they know exactly who I am, but they dare not speak a word for they know my capability. Hopping off Shadowmere, they push open the doors, allowing me entrance. The streets were nearly empty towards this time the night. The abundant torchbugs littering the sky provided all the light you could ever need. Ignoring the annoying, drunk, veteran bums, I push open the metal doors to the Winking Skeever. My eyes canvas over the room. A bard and a musician stand in the far corner, a man and women sit at the same table arguing vaguely, and a mercer guzzles down mead in the far corner of the room with a large breasted mage. Yep, this is familiar.
"Aelva!" The bartender calls, "Its been a while, come on, I'll get you the usual," a smile curls on my lips even though it is hidden by my shroud. I sit myself down as he hands me a bottle of some fine Firebrand wine.
"You know me best Corpulus," I raise the bottle to him and take a large drink.
"So, you know which one of these are your contract yet?" He peers over the room. I respond with a light shrug.
A good amount of time and two whole bottles later nothing happens. This is pretty commonly, but incredibly annoying. Usually contacts chicken out or try to say it was an accident but we know. We always know. Everyone is a coward nowadays. Well, actually I guess I thought too soon because a man suddenly takes a seat next to me. By the looks of it, he's a hunter.
"Another one?" Corpulus takes my old bottle.
"I'll take care of this one," a voice startles me. I look over to see the hunter grinning at me. I give him a confused look. "Hey, I'm already about to pay you a mass amount of septims for this, might as well throw in a wine. Get me one as well, Corpulus," they nod at each other. He hands us our bottles. "Thank you my good man," the hunter looks back at me, "now, may we speak business somewhere a little bit more private?" I nod and he stands. As I follow him I look back at Corpulus and he just shrugs. The hunter leads me down the stairs to the basement where all the kegs are. To the right is a small table adorned with a candle. I honestly would have never known this was down here. We take a seat and begin sipping our wines.
"You're probably waiting for me to get to the point now," he gives a cheeky smile, but I remain silent. "A quiet one. Well, I guess that's what I should have expected from the Dark Brotherhood. Anyways, a few days ago some Thalmor prick stole some of my venison and I'd like him to be taken care of. He typically walks outside of Ivarstead, I doubt you'll have trouble finding him," it almost looks as if the hunter winked at me but then again it is pretty hard to see down here.
"It will be done, if you can provide the coin," I finish off the rest of my wine.
"And so she speaks," he smirks, "funny, I'm about to give you a bag full of gold and I bought you wine, yet I don't even know your name."
"What, is this a business deal or a meet and greet?" I retaliate.
"All I asked for was your name," he swirls the few drips of liquid in his bottle.
"Aelva," I say after a moment of hesitation, "you?"
"Reglius," a sly smile curls on his lips as he tosses a massive coin purse onto the table, "5,000 septims exact."
"By gods! This is way more than what we'd ask for!" My eyes widen as I weigh the back with my hands.
"Well then, consider it a gift for the great time we had, and for the good job you're going to do, right? And if you do a good job, there will be more where this comes from," Reglius raises his wine.
"Right," my lips curl into a smile and he finishes off his wine.
After arriving at Ivarstead, I stalk on the outskirts of the small town. I wonder why that hunter offered so much money. Is he going to set up some big contract like the one we just had with the emperor? Great, who am I going to have to kill now? Every Jarl in Skyrim? The sound of snapping twigs fumbles my thoughts. I immediately draw back my bow and aim straight for a Thalmor's skull. After a few moments of steadying my hand, I let it fly. Perfect hit. His lifeless body collapses to the floor.
Upon arriving to the sanctuary, everyone is dead asleep. Once I enter my room, I hang up my Dark Brotherhood armor and collapse on the bed with a long sigh. I'm too exhausted to sleep at my actual house so I'll crash here for the night. The next few hours are filled with thought of that hunter, Reglius.