Nothing Say's Family Like an Arrow in The Face

I awoke to an odd sound that echoed through the halls of the Sanctuary, it was faint but I was barely awake so I could still hear it. It sounded like… raucous laughter; why this was odd with Cicero around was simple- he was never this loud. Something had to have been deathly funny for him to be this loud, and my curiosity got the better of me as I rose to investigate the disturbance. I navigated the halls and soon I arrived in the main hall, where Cicero sat at the table across from a light green Argonian with a dark patch on one side of his face who seemed more intent on his mead than like he was listening to Cicero's ravings.

"What are you on about now Cicero? And who is this?" I asked him drowsily. Cicero leaned back in his chair and looked at me nearly up sided down,

"Listener! Cicero was wondering when you would finally wake up! This is a new recruit Cicero has found! Cicero has yet to get his name though…" Said the fool with a bit of a playful scowl at the Argonian. I chuckled a little at Cicero's plight and approached the Argonian.

"What's your name? Or should we just call you 'Argonian' all the time?" I asked him simply, though he seemed to ignore me as he sipped his drink again. I sighed and looked at what he was drinking, a simple show mead, I had to give Cicero more credit; he had given him a less than great mead and left the good stuff, the Bochet, as a potential bargaining chip. I'd have to ask Cicero where he found this one later, but I suspected he found him in a tavern or inn.

I began to walk away and let Cicero deal with this when I heard the Argonian slam his flagon onto the table with a satisfied sigh after obviously downing the last of his mead.

"My name is Zany Vazzaras, I don't much care for anyone but myself so don't bother trying… but I do like killing and money; joining the Brotherhood allows for both, so where do I sign up?" He said without even looking to either Cicero or myself. I smiled and walked over to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a fresh bottle of mead. I walked over to Zany's side of the table and opened the bottle, pouring it into the now empty flagon.

"I trust Cicero wouldn't be stupid enough to let you in here without testing you first." I paused to glance at the fool in question slightly, he was grinning more than usual so I suspected I was correct in my assumption. "So let's skip the formalities shall we? Welcome, Brother; if you wish to change into your new armor you can find it in a chest in the recruit's dorm, I'm sure we have something for an Argonian of your stature." I said with a smile, happy to be gaining at least one new member so soon.

"No need, I prefer my armor anyway." He said simply before taking a tentative swig of the refilled flagon; he seemed to like it, as he drank deeply of the high quality Bochet. I acknowledged his request and frankly I didn't mind, his leather armor would more than likely be dark enough to conceal him while on contract so I saw no harm in allowing him this.

"Cicero, since you brought this recruit here without my knowledge, I wish for a full report on how you found him and how you tested him." I told Cicero as I began walking away, glimpsing his disdainful expression as I exited the room.

I didn't really want to do what I was about to do, but I knew that it needed to be done. I walked up the steps to the entrance of the sanctuary where Cicero had placed the Night Mother's coffin on what seemed to be a raised dais in the corner. I needed to speak with our Unholy Matron, hopefully she could tell me where to look for our next recruit. Cicero had said that we needed to wait for a potential to commit a murder, but I was curious to know if the Night Mother could give me a heads up on where to look; there were too few of us to search all nine major cities and still fulfill contracts so any help she could give me would be a Sithis-send.

"You seek my guidance child? Rare is it that a child will come to its mother in such a way, but I will aid in what ways I am able. Your search begins in Winterhold, there you will find a young Breton woman like yourself; she has already committed the necessary act… several times. Find her, and offer her a home where she and her lust to kill can belong." Instructed the Night Mother, causing my head to swim again; but I needed to shrug it off quickly as I walked to the top of the stairs leading to the dining hall.

"Zany! It's time you show me what you can do, were leaving for Winterhold in five minutes; meet me outside the Black Door." I said before walking briskly to my room. I needed to grab a few things before we could leave, mainly a scroll containing information on a contract in the area. This contract was a tricky one and that was why I couldn't take care of it myself or pass it off to Nazir or Babette; this contract was for a mage who lived at the college. While I spoke with the potential, I could test Zany's skills by sending him after the target; at the very least he could tail the target and accurately gauge his schedule for the potential to take care of him, doing this much would be enough for me. I left my room and walked out the Black Door onto the beach. Zany was standing against the rocks looking out to sea. I approached and realized he was fairly tall for an Argonian, standing maybe around 5'11", almost a full 6 feet tall. As he turned to face me I realized that the dark patch on his light green face wasn't just a dark patch of scales- but a half-healed burn; based on the damage done and the fact that it had only partially healed, I guessed that it had to have been magic related. Maybe bringing him to a city close to a bunch of mages wasn't such a good idea. Too late now I suppose,

"Ready to go?" I asked him, he nodded and I whistled for Shadowmere who I had hidden in the sparse forest above the Sanctuary; townspeople seeing a red-eyed horse without its rider could pose too many questions accompanied by inquisitive eyes. "You can either ride with me or walk, it's up to you. Should you chose to walk, I'll meet you at the inn." I said simply as I mounted my horse. Zany looked from me to the horse and took off running in the direction of Winterhold. I chuckled a little and took off myself; Zany could run fast I'd give him that much, but nothing short of a dragon was faster than Shadowmere.

I arrived in Winterhold before the sun had set and waited on the porch of the tavern for Zany, who arrived within the hour. I gave him his orders: to track the target and not kill him, we would test the potential's skill with this contract. As Zany ran off towards the Mage's College I began to wonder how he was going to get in, but sent this thought to the back of my mind as I entered the Inn. Upon entering, I noticed the place was rather… empty; fitting since the city was practically destroyed several years ago. Most of the patrons were male and as such not who I was looking for; there were only two women in the room, a Nord barmaid and a woman sitting in a chair against the wall. She was small, though she seemed taller than myself, with short black hair; and as she looked up to see who had entered the Inn, I noticed she was also a Breton. This had to be the one I was looking for. I walked up to the bar and ordered a drink before sitting down at the table near the black haired woman.

"What's your name stranger?" I asked her simply, an innocent smile plastered on my face.

"Kestrel." Was all she said, no more and no less. She looked to me and I could see the look of a killer in her dark green eyes.

"So Kestrel, I can tell by the fact that you're distant from the people here that you're not from this town. So there are only so many reasons why anyone would come here, one of them being work and the other being the search for work. I am here for the former, while I suspect you are here for the latter; perhaps I can help you with this." I explained to her simply, giving her just enough information to pique her interest in what I was about to offer. I passed her the scroll I had previously shown to Zany and her eyes flitted across the contents before she handed it back to me smiling.

"So if I do this, what am I being paid?" She asked to the point. I smiled,

"You will be paid in more than just gold. Meet me below the College bridge- next to the sea, and I will grant you your reward." I said simply before standing to pay for my drink and leaving. I exited the Inn and found Zany waiting for me outside.

"This mage is boring, all he does is sit in the apprentice dorm and write new spells. Never have I seen a Khajiit this intent on mage craft." he said with an even deeper scowl than he already had. "Can we kill him now?" Zany asked exasperatedly, I smiled at him and motioned for him to follow me as I searched for the easiest and fastest was down the cliff to the icy beach,

"We won't have to, our newest Sister will take care of him for us." I said as we began our descent.

We only had to wait an hour for Kestrel to arrive, a Glass Bow in hand.

"The Khajiit is dead." She stated simply as she placed the bow on her back. I hadn't heard a commotion so I began to wonder why she had her bow at the ready.

"I would ask how it went, but your bow being ready tells me you were spotted." I said, asking her in a roundabout manner. She scoffed,

"Hardly, he was dead before anyone could guess where the shot came from." She corrected me, so she was a talented archer; she must have shot him from the town side of the bridge… an impeccable shot to be sure. "I would have talked my way into the college, but the Khajiit left the main building and began walking down the bridge and into my range; so I took the shot." She explained with pride. I smiled at her,

"Well then about your pay, this is the gold for completing the contract." I said as I handed her the coin purse. "There is more gold to be had though, and a place for you alongside others like you. This is the second half of your reward should you choose to accept it." I continued, watching as realization began to dawn in Kestrel's dark green eyes.

"So your with the Dark Brotherhood? I figured as much, you didn't look like a mage so I wondered why you would want an apprentice dead." She reasoned out loud before continuing, "So you're recruiting me?" she asked, I simply nodded. "Damn… well I might as well accept, not like I have anywhere better to go." She said with a sigh.

"Go to Dawnstar, there you will find a Black Door near the sea; it will ask you a question. Answer: Innocence, my Brother; and your new family will welcome you with open arms." I explained before turning to Zany and nudging him with my foot, as he had nodded off from boredom. With the knowledge of a new recruit on her way home, Zany and I returned to the Sanctuary.