At the Winking Skeever, Solitude
Jordis sat quietly at a corner table in the tavern, watching the rest of the people in the tavern celebrate, nursing a bottle of mead. She wasn't sure why everyone was so happy – maybe there had been a wedding in the city since she had left with her former Thane. That was, until somebody saw her.
"There she is!" He shouted, "one of the heroes!"
Suddenly the entire room was silent as Jordis felt all the eyes focus on her. Then the people surged forward, all shouting at her.
"Well done!"
"You saved us!"
"Thank you!"
One of the crowd managed to push everyone out of the way and grabbed the chair opposite Jordis. He sat down and waved the others away.
"Give her some room!" The burly Nord said, "she's had a long day!" As the crowd gradually drifted back to celebrating, Jordis leaned forward to the Nord.
"I'm sorry, I've been out of the city for a few hours, what's everyone celebrating for?" She asked. The Nord slapped a plate-sized hand on the table and laughed.
"Why, the reason you've been out of the city is the reason we're celebrating!" He said, "The dragon! That thing had been flying dangerously close to the city for a while now. We all retreated into our houses until we heard the roars of pain coming from the dragon, over the hill out the city. We assumed that it had been killed and since somebody had seen you and your Thane leaving the city, heading for Fort Hraggstad we put two and two together and…" The Nord trailed off, eyebrow raised.
Jordis gave a short sharp chuckle. "I'm sorry, but I didn't really do much in that battle."
"Oh, of course," the Nord gave another toothless grin, "I know how it works. I was a Housecarl once as well. Let me guess, you do all the hard work while your Thane comes up with an epic poem to describe his heroic victory defeating the dragon, and then he pays you to keep quiet while he claims the glory. I know how it works," he repeated.
"I assure you, that was not what happened," Jordis raised the tankard of ale to her lips again.
"Well, however it worked out, the pair of you did the city a huge favour. Solitude is in your debt."
As he finished, a huge cheer came up from the door of the Winking Skeever.
"Sounds like your Thane has arrived," the Nord said, standing up, "I'll leave you two in peace."
The Nord left as Alarik walked over to the table, a bottle of ale in his hand. He set the ale down on the table and then sat down. Silently, he pulled out a templewarden's pipe and put it in his mouth, the long stem protruding out and nearly sitting on the table. He then reached into a pouch attached to his belt and brought out some tobacco. He packed the tobacco into his pipe, pressing it down slightly so the bowl of his pipe was half full. He then took out a match, lit it against the table, and gently circled it over the tobacco, drawing as he did so. Once he had done this, he puffed on the pipe until it had gone out, and then lit it again. He sat there silently drawing in the smoke for a few more seconds until Jordis leaned forward.
"I need to know," she hissed, "why did you kill that dragon? Because as far as I'm concerned, you did it for the spoils of the dragon, but as far as the people of Solitude are concerned, you saved them. You'd better not be taking advantage of these people-"
"I'm not," Alarik said flatly, taking the pipe out of his mouth, "the dragon was flying too close to the city. I saw Markarth get attacked by a dragon and while it survived, it was not without casualties and damage to the city. I didn't want the same thing happening here." Finished, he put the pipe back in his mouth and continued to draw on it.
"And the gold? I've heard the legends – dragons hoard gold like nobody's business."
Alarik laughed.
"Gold? Where is a dragon going to store the gold? You saw the skeleton after I absorbed the dragon's soul – there was no gold on it. Not even an iron boot.
"Now, I want to speak to you about your career choice. I understand you were angry when you left. I had no right to drag you into that fight, fun though it was. So, I'm going to be frank. If you remain as my Housecarl, I will promise danger, adventure, almost definite injury, possible death by dismemberment, incineration and maybe some torture as well, depending on who we run into. If you say yes, I will make it worthwhile. If you say no, I won't hold it against you."
He leaned back. "What do you say?"
Jordis smiled enigmatically. "I say yes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get back to Proudspire Manor, my Thane. I am incredibly tired from today's activities. I'll feed your dogs when I get home as well."
"Goodnight," the Thane said, picking up his bottle of ale.
When Jordis woke the following morning, she didn't have half the headache she was expecting. Maybe I didn't drink as much as I thought I did, she thought, as she sat up in her bed.
Suddenly she heard creaking floorboards. Her ears picked up and she reached over for a pair of fabric trousers and an undershirt. She quickly slipped them on and grabbed a dagger. She climbed the stairs from the basement cautiously.
If it's my Thane, then I have nothing to worry about, she thought, but he seemed quite keen to sit there at the Winking Skeever last night and drink away. I doubt he'd be awake this early in the morning.
As she reached the last step she spotted an unfamiliar figure, crouching down and stroking Sceolang behind the ear. The husky didn't seem all that angry toward her and Jordis rolled her eyes at the dog's useless ability at guarding. As Jordis stepped closer to the intruder she started to recognize her.
"Erdi?" Jordis asked, putting the dagger away, "what are you doing here"
Erdi, one of the maids at the Blue Palace, stood up immediately. Jordis noticed that she was only wearing an undershirt that clearly wasn't hers – could it be Alarik's?
"I…er…well," Erdi began, but Jordis put her hand up to silence her.
"You didn't, did you?" She asked. Erdi nodded.
"With him? With Alarik?" Erdi nodded again. Jordis threw her hands up in the air.
"Gods, Erdi! Are you on a quest to bed every man in Solitude? How much did you charge this one?"
"I'm not a common whore!" Erdi said defensively, "it's just, it gets so lonely, in the Blue Palace, all by myself." Erdi stepped forward to Jordis while she spoke. When she was close to Jordis, she started twirling Jordis' hair in her fingers.
"You know, I've never bedded a woman before," Erdi whispered, "but I'll give it a try, just for you."
Jordis pushed her away.
"You need to leave. Now." Jordis said.
"Dressed as I am?" Erdi asked.
"When Alarik finds out what manner of diseases you've probably got, walking to the Blue Palace in just a shirt is going to be the least of your worries. Here," Jordis kicked off her own fur boots, "wear these as well. Return them first chance you get – they're far more comfortable than my steel ones."
"Thank you, Jordis." Erdi smiled, slipped on the boots and quickly left. Jordis sighed and started to climb the stairs to her Thane's bedroom. She stopped by the door and knocked twice. Alarik grunted and sat up.
"Who is it?"
"It is your Housecarl, my Thane." Jordis said, "I bumped into Erdi downstairs this morning."
"Oh, was that her name? She just said she wanted to thank me for defeating the dragon." Alarik smiled. "I'm glad she did."
"Well, you won't be glad now," Jordis said, leaning against the doorframe, "Erdi's bed holds the record for being the least used in the whole city."
The smile disappeared from Alarik's face. "What do you mean?"
Jordis rolled her eyes. "Gods, do I have to spell it out? She doesn't use her bed because she's busy using other men's – and not for sleeping. I suggest, first chance you get, you visit the doctor, up at Castle Dour and get looked at – there are a lot of diseases you could have contracted."
Smirking, Jordis left the room and shut the door behind her.