A/N: I feel obliged to warn you: I'll be introducing OCs in the future. I'm sure some of you know, why.
I also hope you'll like some of them a little bit.
Chapter 7
They were watching a leaving carriage, smaller with every passing second and slowly obscured by the cloud of dust. When it completely vanished from view, Farwil sighed with relief.
"Vivec's balls, at last. Not that I dislike her, but she's creepy."
That was true. True enough for Bremman to be afraid of asking: "So what's the deal with lady Falanu? Is she really your aunt?" before. Now was his chance.
Farwil shrugged "Not by blood. But we're from the same Great House, so it kinda counts." he paused "Falanu is a close relative of Queen Barenziah. Father says that it's pretty useful to be in contact with the most important people in our House."
"Then what is she doing in Skingrad, of all places?"
Farwil walked to the bed and plopped down on it "Sent here by her family. She committed some horrible crime in Morrowind and had to flee. Something to do with the dead." he had noticed Bremman's horrified expression "I've asked her once if she was a necromancer and she replied with something like 'No, quite the other way around'."
Bremman scratched his head and pondered all possible scenarios "That doesn't make any sense."
"Yeah, I know. But we are affiliated with House Hlaalu, so she sometimes visits us. And Mother enjoys her company. That's strange, though, but as long as she is happy..."
Bremman didn't quite catch the last bit "What's so strange?"
"That she and Mother are friends, with Mother being a Redoran and all..."
"A Redoran? Really?" from what Bremman gathered, the Great Houses of Morrowind weren't in the most amiable relations. Why would anyone marry their political opponent?
"Mhm. It had something to do with an alliance between the Houses, but it didn't really work. Then Father was appointed the next count of Cheydinhal, so Mother traveled with him to Cyrodiil and that's the story." he rolled over to the side of the bed and looked at Bremman "I'm bored. And it's a shame that my bear ran away during the transport."
The bear was supposed to be Falanu's present for Farwil's birthday. It all started with a weird story she had told them: Bremman wasn't really paying attention, but the tale had something to do with the Vivec Arena, a black bear and a pile of corpses. Farwil found the story fascinating and demanded that for his birthday the story shall be recreated, with a live black bear and the Fighters' Guild as warriors (Bremman suggested the Militia, but the Count didn't want to listen to him). Falanu agreed to provide the bear. The beast was caught near Chorrol and transported down the Red Ring Road, but it managed to run away somewhere around Aleswell. Both Farwil and Falanu were heartbroken.
Maybe it was for the best, really.
"I want to go to Riverview." Farwil began "Father visits it every week and comes back suspiciously happy. I want to know what is in there."
"Um, I don't mean to be rude, but.. you know, probably wine and... ladies."
Farwil looked at him with a curious expression "Nah, he wears a different expression than that. Less of the 'Look at me, I'm the Count of Cheydinhal' and more of 'Look at me, I'm the fucking ruler of the world'."
Bremman was shocked "Wait, what?"
"I overheard Ulene saying something like that." That wasn't surprising. Ulene was the Castle healer and one of the harshest, least pleasant people that Bremman has ever met. Since he grew up among thieves and beggars, it really was an achievement.
Riverview didn't sound appealing. The memories of his near-death in the back alley behind the residence were still fresh. Also, the doorkeeper was an Orc and Bremman didn't want to be bludgeoned to death by an angry Orc with a hammer. Neither did he want to see Farwil meet this horrible, horrible fate.
"We should go to Riverview at the day of the party, it would be more interesting." he suggested "Maybe today we'll go to the Mages' Guild instead? They might have something valuable in there."
Farwil jumped off the bed, suddenly rejuvenated "Ha, that's a great idea, my noble friend! Let's go! Huzzah!"
The Cheydinhal Mages' Guild was a big building with the entrance hidden beneath a small arcade. The most extraordinary part of the facade - the great wheel window just above the front door - was strangely dark and didn't reflect light. Bremman thought that it looked almost sad.
"Do you think it might be a magic window?" he asked Farwil. The other boy just shrugged.
"Nope, rather dirty. I've heard that some of the mages in the Guild are so absorbed in their studies that their quarters look like pigsties. They live among the rotting food and their own shit and dead animals."
Bremman wanted to say something along the lines of 'If you didn't have an army of servants your room would've looked the same.', but he bit his tongue. Sure, Farwil didn't care about his surroundings, but his room wasn't the cleanest one either. For example, he has recently ran out of space to store silverware and jewelry he had 'found' during his escapades with Farwil.
Maybe he should hide them in Farwil's room. Nobody would even suspect him...
"Let's spy on the mages!" the Dunmer was pointing towards the back entrance "We should hide in the bushes and witness the horrible acts they perform when the watchful eye of justice looks elsewhere!"
Bremman nodded. The bushes at the back door of the Mages' Guild held some mildly pleasant memories for him. They were the best place to sleep in the summer and the small well had clear - and very, very tasty - water.
They didn't have to wait long.
A drunken Breton stumbled out of the Guild, trying not to lose his footing. He crawled up to the well and threw up beside it.
"By Julianos, I'm never mixing mead with the fucking potion of endurance again." he spat out, coughing and drawing ragged breaths "I'll kill this Nine-damned Bosmer, I swear. 'You'll get it up in no time'. Load of crap."
"Sounds weird. What is he talking about?" whispered Farwil
Bremman shook his head "No idea."
The man returned to a standing position by clinging to the well. Shaking legs barely supported his frame; the fingers gripping the stone basin were almost white. He looked into the water, then briefly surveyed his surroundings and - with a smug smile - unlaced his trousers.
"Hah, look, he's peeing in the water!" an amused whisper came from the left. Bremman suddenly felt nauseous. Have the guild members always treated this place as a privy? How many times did he... ugh, no.
The man pulled his pants up with a satisfied groan. "Now to find the fucker." he announced and stumbled away in the approximate direction of the Chapel District.
"This guy was completely drunk and it's not even noon. The Mages' Guild must be a fun place." Farwil observed. "Maybe when I become the Count I won't evict them from the city after all."
"Maybe you should. People want to drink clear water."
"Look, another one!" Farwil pointed at the door. They hid deeper in the bushes. Moments later, a pair of Altmers - a man and a woman - walked out the building, embracing and laughing. They were obviously having a good time.
They were also stark naked.
Bremman felt a blush creeping up his face. It wasn't the first time he had seen people without their clothes on, sure, but never like that. Sweet Mara...
"We should stop having sex in the basement, Ori, they'll notice... hey, that tickles!" the lady giggled when this Ori started doing something... weird. It looked as if he was trying to bite a hole in her neck, but the woman wasn't screaming in pain.
"Stop worrying, love." he said when he finally stopped... doing that "I don't want to see these pretty eyebrows furrowed" Ori tickled the base of her nose. "Now, this grass looks nice and soft, doesn't it?" The lady raised her hands and buried them in his hair.
"Not here." she said with a false reprimand in her tone "At least not in the light of day."
"Ah, Eilonwy, why must you wound me so?" Ori put a hand on his heart for dramatic emphasis "Morpane's quarters, then? I think I've heard him leaving a few moments ago."
Eilonwy threw herself on her partner "Oooh, let's do this!" she dragged Ori to the entrance. They vanished in the entrance, making strange noises, somewhat slurping.
From Bremman's left came an excited whisper "Did you see those tits?"
"It was impossible not to see them." Bremman cleared his throat "Anyway, we should get going. I don't want to see..."
The door creaked and yet another person went out to the courtyard. Both of them instantly fell silent.
It was also an Altmer, dressed - thank the Nine - in all black. He was clenching his fists; one brown eye was contorted in some kind of a spasm. On wobbling legs, the man walked to the well and leaned heavily on the stone wall.
"These simple, obtuse Imperial slaves. I'll make them pay." he hissed. His tone sent unpleasant shivers down Bremman's spine "Drown every single one of them, with this wretched city and guild as an example."
Bremman felt the bushes shift; he looked in Farwil's direction. The Dunmer was ready to leap forward and attack the wizard at any moment. Bremman moved over to him, trying to make no sound, and put an arm around his shoulders.
"Don't even think about it." he whispered to Farwil's ear, his voice barely audible. Farwil was shaking with fury, but nodded and stayed in the hideaway.
The Altmer took something out of his pocket. The small object gleamed in sunshine; it was an ebony signet ring. It was surrounded by a dim purple light. Bremman's eyes widened.
"Let's start with the fresh blood." the man tossed the ring down. It hit the water with a very loud splash. "Recommendation my ass."
He turned away and walked into the building. Both Bremman and Farwil jumped out of the bushes.
"He's going straight to the jail!" Farwil exclaimed "Nobody threatens my city. We have to report this to the authorities." he paused "Wait, I'm an authority too. Does it count?"
Bremman had other things on his mind. "Did you see this glow? That ring was magical. We should retrieve it." he was looking longingly towards the well. Farwil snorted.
"You want to go in there after that guy has pissed in it? Heh." he said "And we have to tell Father about this mage in black. We must dispose of the threat before it actually starts to be threatening, as the Telvanni saying goes."
Bremman paused. Oh, well. This whole affair with the suspicious mage and that Altmer couple made him forget about this very important detail. Fucking Breton, pissing in the water supplies. May he never 'get it up', whatever it meant.
"Maybe some other time." he hoped that the Altmer mage wouldn't change his mind and retrieve the ring. It would be a real shame.
Something has waken him up. Yawning, Bremman tried to identify the sound. Knocking.
He stared at the door, confused. Farwil? No, impossible; at this hour he was probably snoring, deep in his sleep. Besides, he never knocked, just burst in. Another visitor? At this hour? No, it was just his imagination. He turned over and decided to go back to sleep.
"May I come in?" a soft voice asked. Bremman identified the visitor as Llathasa Indarys, decided that it was just a dream and buried his head in the pillow. "Are you asleep?" the voice continued. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes and replied "I'm not sure. Probably yes, my lady."
The door opened and the Countess of Cheydinhal stepped into his room. She was dressed in a heavy robe with a floral pattern; in her right hand she held a lit candle.
Still half asleep, Bremman tried to clamber out of his bed to properly greet the guest, but the Countess waved at him "No need for that." She sat at the side of Bremman's bed and fell silent.
He didn't know what to think. Feeling too shy to speak, he just sat and stared at lady Llathasa. After a long moment of uncomfortable silence, the woman groaned.
"By sweet Almalexia, boy, don't stare at me like that." Bremman averted his eyes. The Countess cleared her throat "I haven't found time to do this before, but I wish to thank you. Farwil is very brash and loud, but he's a good boy and it pained me greatly when he didn't want to play with other children of his age. Thanks for keeping him company."
She leaned in as if she was trying to hug him, but then she remembered about the candle in her hand and tilted away. Her red eyes narrowed.
"I don't know what have you been through on these streets. I'm afraid I cannot even imagine it. Andel is dumb enough to think that this city is Azura's fucking Moonshadow and turns a blind eye to all this vile corruption." she stared at the wall "Go on, tell me something about your life there."
Bremman shrugged "There's not much to say, my lady. Knowing where to go and whom to avoid mattered the most. Nothing particularly bad happened to me, at least until that guard... I've heard some things, though. From the houses..." he stopped and looked at the Countess. She nodded.
"They say that the absolute worst happens behind closed doors." Llathasa Indarys spared him a glance "During all those years here I've come to love the city but hate the people. I wish I could travel with Farwil to Ald'ruhn and show him Redoran morality instead of the Hlaalu one."
Bremman ignored the obvious question 'What is Ald'ruhn?' - he assumed that it was Llathasa's hometown or some kind of an awesome Redoran stronghold or maybe both - and asked about something else, something that didn't seem right: "Why can't you do this?"
"Technically, I could. We even have a nice manor in the Ashlands." she admitted "But I can't let Andel gather too much power over Cheydinhal. By the time we got back, the city would be in ruins. That man's not fit to be a Count."
Bremman felt bemused. When the Count and the Countess were together, they behaved like a family. Always smiling and exchanging affectionate gestures; always acting with mutual respect. Yet now, lady Indarys has basically called her husband an idiot and said that he's a crappy ruler. Did they always badmouth themselves behind their backs? Like... since they got married?
Bremman felt his head spin. Fucking Morrowind and their complicated politics. Lady Llathasa has probably noticed it; she reached out and slightly ruffled Bremman's hair.
"Ah, I think I have troubled you enough, child. Let me express my gratitude once more." she bowed her head slightly "Sleep well." the Countess of Cheydinhal stood up and left the room in silence. There was nothing that could prove it real; nothing to ensure him that yes, lady Llathasa Indarys has come to him in the middle of the night. It all could've been a dream.
Still, Bremman couldn't fall asleep that night.
