The trip from Markarth was generally uneventful, with few sightings of anything or anyone. The steel armored mercenary followed me but kept his distance.

I appreciated that.

I spent most of the day gathering herbs, noting to myself that if this first trip went well I might hire the mercenary to acquire some more ingredients for me that happened to grow in less than ideal locations that even Bothela would advise against going to.

Midway through the afternoon it began to rain. Towards the evening the rain had evolved into a storm.

With darkness approaching quickly and considering how far we were from the city I realized how dangerous this situation could become.

"We need to find shelter!" I yelled through the wind, as I tried to turn around to motion towards the mercenary. I was surprised to find he was closer than I thought he was and seemed fairly steady on his feet despite the fact I was struggling to stay on mine.

He nodded, then suddenly grabbed my arm and starting leading me towards a more forested area within the rocky terrain.

"Wait! Do you even know where you're going?!" I shouted, as I tried to release myself from his grip.

But between the elements, his strength and the lack of mine, we continued towards the pathless woods.

Within minutes we were completely engulfed in trees, and I prayed that this mercenary knew where he was going. The trees did offer some protection from the wind and I was less afraid of being blown away.

Somehow, miraculously within less than twenty minutes of traveling we stumbled upon a small mining village.

It was incredibly small, even for a village with only three buildings built in a semi-circle in front of a small path that clearly led up to the mine.

'He had to have been here before', I thought to myself as we found ourselves on the porch of the bigger of the three houses.

I didn't realize how right I was.

As I was temporarily lost in my thoughts, I hadn't realized that the wooden door cracked open and a brown eye peeked through the crack.

Suddenly it swung open and I was pulled inside.

"It's so good to see you again!"

"Huh?", I said as my eyes struggled to adapt to the sudden change in light.

They fell upon a finely dressed Breton man, who seemed to be balding rather severely.

Unlike most of the people of the Reach, he seemed surprisingly cheerful.

"Friend to Karthwasten! It's been too long! What brings you do my humble mining town?"

The mercenary leaned forward, and spoke quietly. So quietly in fact that I didn't hear a thing he said.

"Ah I see. Please stay the night. After all you've done it's the least I can do."

I raised my eyebrows. 'All you've done huh?'

The Breton turned to me. "Take the bed, and help yourself to some food. There should be another set of women's clothes around here somewhere, thought I have no idea where. It's been a while since I had a woman in here."

He paused, a looked me up and down. I crossed my arms in response.

"Right…anyway you and I have a few matters to discuss.", the Breton said turning back to the mercenary.

"Why don't we let her warm up and we go downstairs to talk business."

The mercenary looked at me, and I nodded back at him.

Dipping his head in response, he turned to follow the Breton man down the stairs to his basement area.

As soon as they disappeared from my line of vision, I quickly looked around the cabin.

It was fairly large considering how far from civilization we were, with a bedroom, kitchen and dining area.

My eyes immediately fell upon the dining table located directly in front of the fire.

The Breton was true to his word, as on the table was bread, a head of cabbage, a serving of salmon steak and plenty of wine.

As I dug into the fish, I realized how hungry I had been.

After I finished my meal, I glanced over at the bed. Normally I wouldn't sleep in strange men's beds but the chaotic trip had tired me out.

After a few more minutes of contemplation, I crawled into the Breton's bed and passed out.