Sephiroth walked into the Sanctuary and heard his new Family conversing with each other about their kills. He stayed in the doorway and overheard their conversation.
"Hahahaha. Again! Again! Do the part were he offered to buy you some candy!" A voice exclaimed.
"Okay, okay. Wait. Here we go. 'Ooh, you're such a pretty little girl. Would a sweetie like a sweetie? Oh yes, how about some chocolate?' Oh yes please kind sir. My mama and papa left me all alone and I'm so very hungry. I know a shortcut to the candy shop. Through this alley. 'Oh ya, very good. Very good. My it's dark down here. But, you are so beautiful. Such a lovely smile. Your teeth... Your teeth! No! Argggh!'" A young female voice exclaimed. Some laughing took place afterwards.
"Oh Babette, you are so wicked." A woman said.
"What about you, Festus? How did your last contract go?" A male asked.
"Oh, yes, please old man. Regale us with your tales of wizardry..." A man said and Sephiroth could hear the sarcasm dripping from every word like honey.
"Ah, the young and stupid. Always mocking the experienced and brilliant. My contract went very well I'll have you know. Tried a new spell. A little something I've been working on in my spare time. Came 'this' close to turning that priest inside out. Damned messy." The man named Festus replied. Sephiroth wondered if the man named Festus wouldn't mind teaching him that spell so Sephiroth could try it on Cloud.
"And what of your contract, Arnbjorn? Something about a Khajiit? Merchant was it?" The woman who praised the one named Babette asked.
"Oh, a big doggy chasing a little kitty. How adorable." The child named Babette said with a condescending tone. Most people laughed at her remark.
"I am not adorable, it was not funny, and he was not a merchant. He was a Khajiit monk, a master of the Whispering Fang style. But now he's dead... And I have a new loincloth." The man named Arnbjorn said. Another round of laughter took place.
The group began to disperse. Sephiroth was beginning to like the Dark Brotherhood. He took a look at the armour Astrid gave him. He looked at the armour of the others still left in the room. Not one of their armour seemed to be the exact same. Sephiroth gave a small chuckle as he saw the dark leather coat, trimmed with red sitting in his hands. He let a smile tug at his lips as he took off his plain black coat and slipped on the one he was given. He nodded approvingly and stepped into the open space in front of him.
A thin layer of mist hung in the air as his eyes wandered the cavern around him. The sound of a hammer being pounded against metal broke the silence. Sephiroth decided to follow the noise and found a small makeshift forge sitting in the corner. At the workbench, was a man with white hair and a white beard, sleeveless armour and no shoes. He had a battleaxe strapped to his back. He looked up from the bench and walked over to Sephiroth.
"Well, well, it's raw meat. Oh, my beautiful wife told me about you." Arnbjorn said. Sephiroth frowned and crossed his arms.
"You know nothing about me, or my abilities." Sephiroth replied. His green eyes pierced through the silver veil and stared at him evilly.
"I'll give you a week before you end up dead in a ditch." Arnbjorn said with a grin.
"You say that because you don't know what I'm capable of." Sephrioth said with a somewhat calm tone. He swept his bangs out of his face with one finger and let his mood lighten slightly.
"What can you tell me about yourself?" Sephiroth asked.
"Look. If you're trying to get to know me- don't. I don't like you and I never will. Its nothing personal, but... My wife trusts you, and I trust her judgement. So you can't be all bad. Here's all you need to know; I'm a were-wolf. I like killing things. I love Astrid. I hate annoying people. And the colour blue gives me a headache." Arnbjorn replied. Sephiroth nodded quietly.
"Good luck, tidbit." Arnbjorn said and walked back towards his forge. Sephiroth smiled and turned away.
"Same with you... fuzzy." Sephiroth replied as a smirk tugged at the sides of his lips. Arnbjorn gave him an annoyed stare as Sephiroth chuckled and walked away.
He spotted an Argonian sitting on the ground, staring at the stones beneath him. Sephrioth walked towards him and the Argonian looked up at him. His scales were a dull emerald green. His armour was similar to that of Astrid's.
"Welcome, my brother. Welcome to our Sanctuary. You made the right choice joining us, I assure you." Veezara said.
"What can you tell me about yourself?" Sephiroth asked.
"Once, I was a Shadowscale. An assassin in service to the King of Black Marsh. Trained by the Dark Brotherhood since the day of my hatching. Ah, but that was a lifetime ago. Today, I am the last of my kind. The order is extinct. Now I serve Astrid and this Sanctuary, happily. I am a trained killer, and once again have been given purpose. Life is good." Veezara replied. Sephiroth nodded. Veezara flicked a stone away from his fingers and stretched.
"It was a pleasure meeting you." Sephiroth said.
"As it was me meeting you." Veezara replied with a nod.
Sephiroth turned around to find a Redguard warming his hands over a fire, burning on top of a small pillar. His armour was a darkened version of the Hammerfell garbs. He turned around to face the silver haired angel. Sephiroth took note of his curved blade sitting on his hip.
"So, you're the newest member of our dwindling, dysfunctional family. I've heard quite a bit about you." He said with a smirk spreading across his face.
"You will hear even more, I assure you." Sephiroth replied, his bright green eyes twinkled with mischief.
"Ooh, cocky. I give you three days before you screw up and someone runs a knife across your throat. But who knows? I've been proven wrong before." Nazir said, the smirk spreading to his eyes. The glimmer in the angel's eyes faded as his ruthlessness took hold again.
"You don't know my abilities or anything about me. Don't come to those conclusions so easily. Anyways, Astrid said you'd have some work for me." Sephiroth replied.
"Did she, now? Well, as it turns out, there are a few lingering contracts we haven't had the chance to complete just as yet. And more, dribbling in from time to time. I'll assign them to you as they become available. To be completed at your leisure." Nazir said.
"Sounds simple enough." Sephiroth said almost coldly.
"It is. These aren't particularly glamorous assassinations, I'll be honest. Don't pay much either. But, they'll keep you busy. Just do them as you're able. There is no real time limit- the targets aren't going anywhere. You can turn in each one as it's completed, or wait and turn in the whole group when all the targets have been eliminated. Whichever works for you." Nazir replied.
"I'm ready for the first set of contracts." Sephiroth announced with a hidden excitement nibbling at his veins.
"We'll then, let's get started. I've got three available right now. Your targets are a beggar named Narfi, an ex-miller named Ennodius Papius, and Beitild, a mine boss. When you've completed all those, we'll see if I might have some more." Nazir replied. He handed Sephiroth three pieces of paper with the whereabouts of such named targets.
"Thank you." Sephiroth said with a nod.
"Go on now." Nazir replied and nodded his head over to the entrance of the sanctuary. Sephiroth chuckled as he headed through the dark underground base and out into the dark woods.
