A/N: Hey all! Here's chapter eleven...this one was actually quite fun to write. We introduce a few games that skyflower51 and MadameHyde invented. In a way, they're all bonding in this chapter. I do hope you like this one!

Chapter Eleven

Even though there wasn't any sign of time change in this land of Pass, Quill thought it had a kind of nightly feel about it.

They were gathered around the tall, sort-of-dead, sort-of-alive tree. She had produced a few more bedrolls since their party had now officially grown from two to six. Of course, the matter of getting them from her satchel that looked barely large enough to contain one had sparked slight amazement from the newcomers.

'Okay,' said Kajsa slowly as Quill burrowed into her satchel. 'Now I've seen everything.'

'It has an enchantment over it,' Quill explained, giving Shouts-at-Sun two more bedrolls. 'You don't want to know how much other stuff is in it.' She had smiled a little wryly at that. A few assorted weapons, some clothes, a bit of food (though it wasn't terribly much use here) and potions. She was amazed she had even brought that all to Sovngarde with her.

The Argonian had flashed her a grin. He had been equally surprised at her bag at first, but like her identical status as Dragonborn, had come to accept it.

'Out of curiosity,' Morwyn the Dark Elf said questioningly, 'What else do you have?'

'A few potions, a bit of food, useless stuff like that,' answered Quill, throwing it back against the trunk. It had made a very loud thunk when it had collided with the tree trunk, quite disproportionate to its size.

'You only have three bedrolls?' J'shana asked.

'Yes. I'm actually surprised I have even two. I usually travel alone.'

'Why?' Kajsa asked.

Quill paused. 'A few nightmares, that's all,' she replied quietly.

She saw Alyssa's face shadow a little at this and wondered if she had nightmares as well.

Three were permitted to rest and the other three were to guard. Since Shouts-at-Sun still hadn't entirely recovered from his encounter with the knight, he rested with an apparently-exhausted Kajsa and Morwyn who both looked quite pleased to be sleeping on something other than ash and rock. J'shana, who seemed to take to the idea of watching from above rather than below, was now settled like a large, furry cat in the tree branches and observing her surroundings from there. Quill and Alyssa, who did not possess claws, remained on the ground.

Quill shivered as she remembered the strange weapon she had awoken. The one that her friend had used while he stayed unceremoniously in Skyrim. It had been bloody painful to eject—it had nearly sliced her finger off. Even now Quill examined the cut and sighed. A lack of time meant that it wasn't going to be healing fast, though it didn't seem to hurt now.

Beside her, she heard a soft laugh. 'I had the same problem when I ejected it for the first time, you know.'

Quill jumped and glanced over her shoulder. Alyssa came over and sat beside her, and she nodded knowingly at Quill's bracer as she settled on the ash.

'One of the Assassins,' Alyssa went on, 'was quite keen for me to have my finger removed. But I was quite keen on keeping that finger.' She pushed out her left hand, the one that Quill saw was covered with a worn Guild leather glove, and tapped it. There was a slight metallic rustling each time she tapped it and Quill remembered that when this woman had come to her aid, she had displayed two blades, one under, and one over. 'So I innovated. It saved my finger and I'm glad I did, particularly as Altaïr changed the design later.'

Quill jumped at the sound of his name—spoken aloud by someone of an Alternate Certainty (according to Alyssa), more unusually at that. Alyssa looked surprised that she had said his name as well—it was as though she had been preparing to take a plunge with it during all her time here.

Then her eyes lowered. 'But you met him as well?'

Quill hesitantly nodded. 'Yes. I did. But I don't understand—I didn't have this on me when I died.' She held out her hand and examined the bracer again, but didn't want to release the blade for fear of cutting her finger clean off. 'So why do I have it in Pass?'

Alyssa seemed very quiet and thoughtful for a moment.

Then she said, 'He watches over me, you know. He and I...well, we shared the Currents together, in death.'

'The Currents of Time, right?' Quill guessed, in reference to "Currents". She had remembered quite a bit about what Alyssa had told her and Shouts-at-Sun not long ago, about the parallel universes and all that.

Alyssa nodded. 'Aye. It was connected to his world and ours in a way that should both be blatantly obvious and unseen. And I often visit his world, you know. I went there twice in life—and I know what it is to have a soul torn forcefully from you, and to live without the fireblood in your veins.'

Quill put a hand over her mouth. 'You...you went to his world?' she whispered. 'Syria?'

Alyssa laughed. 'Syria, Quill, is the name of his homeland. His world had a different name.' She grew subdued and added, 'And it has a different meaning to me. My Gods...a part of me wishes to be back there, for the first time, waking up in the Holy Land with Odah at my side...'

'Odahviing?' interrupted Quill. She tried to take it in. 'A dragon went with you to...to Altaïr's world?' She winced—it seemed to feel inappropriate to speak his name, as much as she wanted to in order to keep the relevance in the conversation.

Alyssa smiled. 'Aye. Odah did. He and I possessed a connection and we were together at the time we were sent through the Vortex. The connection was a soul-linked one, enabling us to commune through telepathy, and it was strong enough to keep us two dragons together while in that world.'

She picked absently at a few grains of dust in front of her boot. 'He was very surprised, and alarmed, to meet Odah face to face.' She glanced at Quill and added, 'Did he...in your Certainty...did he ever meet Odahviing?'

Quill shook her head. 'He helped me kill a dragon and he saw me absorb its soul, but at that time Odahviing was still our enemy. He was there when we faced Alduin on the Throat of the World, but...vanished, unceremoniously, shortly after—I think, back to his world.' She couldn't, however, deny the glimpses of him she thought she had seen in Sovngarde, and hearing his voice, frightened and concerned, murmuring faintly in her ear. Had he somehow reached across worlds and given her his bracer as she died? As a sign of good luck? Had he even known where she was going? Maybe Pass was a kind of hell for him, like Oblivion was in Tamriel.

Alyssa sighed. 'I was the one who kept doing the vanishing. It tore me apart the first time to leave him, though—that, and joy at returning home. It was what I had wanted, after all, but I had joined his Order and I cared so much for the Assassins there. They had really honed my skills and given my life purpose again.' She fell silent, as though remembering something. Perhaps the last time they had seen each other, Quill guessed mentally.

After a moment, Quill said quietly, 'It sounded as though you were very good friends with him.'

'Yes,' murmured Alyssa. 'Very good friends.' Her thoughts still seemed elsewhere.

Quill dared herself to ask what had been pressing on her mind. 'Did you...did you...?'

She didn't even need to ask the whole question. Alyssa's eyes grew brighter with alarm and anger, and then dulled to sadness and loneliness.

'I don't know anymore,' she answered.

She sighed quietly. 'But I'm glad that I met him at all. Let's stay with that.'

Quill leaned forward, her hands running through the soft grey snow beneath her hands.

'You fight very well with the Hidden Blades,' she said.

Alyssa smiled a little. 'They're my beauties. I was trained to use these by the Assassins I met. And as a result, it's left my pockets free. They work like the Skeleton Key when I need to get somewhere I'm not meant to be.'

She glanced at Quill's bracer. 'But the knights have the advantage. I'm the only one who can really kill them. You don't know how to fight them with that weapon.'

Quill narrowed her eyes. 'I'm not defenseless.'

'Against the knights, you pretty much are. Some of the Novices I met were better than you. Here, hand me that bracer.'

Quill didn't bother asking what "Novices" she had mentioned, and felt a little irritated at Alyssa's calm dismissal of her abilities. However, she took the bracer off nonetheless and handed it to her. With a nod of thanks, Alyssa took it.

'What are you going to do with it?' she asked.

'Tamper it so you can use it without slicing your finger off.' Alyssa examined it with sharp green eyes. 'I remember some of Leo's tampering with the bracer he got. Let's hope that it'll be enough.'

'Leo?' echoed Quill.

Alyssa didn't spare her an answer. She seemed to be completely immersed with carefully disassembling it. Quill watched, her brow furrowing. For some reason, she felt very protective of it, and felt more and more certain that Alyssa was currently destroying it.

Several long moments passed and there seemed to be no progress, but Alyssa didn't look frustrated or uncertain for a single moment. Then, there was a little click, one that sounded affirmative. Alyssa unsheathed her wristblade on her left arm, the one that went over the knuckles, and with the tip, twiddled around at the edges like a spanner. Then, she sheathed it and tested it. The blade jumped out keenly, and Alyssa sheathed it again, and handed it back to Quill.

'There. Try that.'

'What have you done to it?' Quill asked suspiciously.

Alyssa shrugged. 'Adapted it so it won't slice off your finger, that's all.'

'So what will it do instead?' Quill fastened it around her wrist. 'Cut off my whole hand?'

'Very funny.' Alyssa raised her right hand and flicked her wrist—the blade jumped out beneath her hand, and Quill's eyes were drawn to the sharp movement of it. She saw that, like before, it didn't slash her ring finger open. 'It'll simply behave like this one.'

Quill felt cautious. She finished tightening the buckles and examined it. It didn't appear any different than it had been earlier. She held out her left hand and closed her eyes and tensed as though she were about to skydive from the Throat of the World.

Then, she unsheathed it.

She heard the sharp zing as the blade jumped out from its sheath.

But she felt no pain accompany it.

She opened her eyes, and saw that the blade had passed beneath her wrist, but her fingers had been left untouched.

Alyssa grinned. 'Ah, good. My knowledge hasn't gone rusty, then.'

'How...how...?' Quill stammered, amazed. She sheathed it—the blade passed smoothly beneath her fingers and into its sheath without the slightest sound.

'I had an excellent teacher,' Alyssa responded lightly. She stood up and motioned for Quill to do the same. 'Now, I'm going to pass down what I know to you, so you know how to fight against these knights should they ever come against you again.'

Quill frowned. She felt at a serious disadvantage. 'But you still have an advantage. You have two.'

Alyssa looked levelly at Quill and stated, 'From the time when I faced these particular knights, Quill, I had one.' She tapped her Guildmaster's bracer. 'And I killed so many with it that I've nearly lost count. Sparing kills between the Bow, of course.'

'The Bow?' Quill echoed.

'The Nightingale Bow.' Alyssa frowned. 'You did get it, didn't you? From Karliah.'

'...Yes,' Quill replied uncertainly. She stood up. 'And you did, too, I'm guessing.' It felt all the weirder seeing and speaking with these...these parallel versions of herself. All (save Sun, fortunately) who had become Guildmasters of their respective Thieves Guilds, met Karliah, killed Mercer and received their leathers from Tonilia.

Alyssa gave a single nod, and then stepped back, unsheathing the blade on her left arm. Quill unsheathed hers, feeling a small thrill pass through her as she did so. The mechanism felt so more advanced and subtle than she could have dreamed, more lethal than an assassin's dagger, more useful than a sackful of lockpicks...

'I'll make an Assassin out of you yet,' Alyssa said.

Quill gave a determined nod. 'I'm ready.'

'Ten of Dragons.' J'shana threw down her card with a triumphant smirk.

Morwyn's face brightened and she grinned. 'King of Elves.' She threw down her card with a grin. 'Although the drawing on it is terrible. Since when do we look like that?'

'You already look like a stone carving,' Kajsa replied. 'Ace of Elves. Mine.' She gestured to the cards.

'Damn it.' Morwyn and J'shana pushed their hands over. Kajsa smiled at them as she took them in.

'Pleasure doing business with you,' she replied. She glanced to her left. 'Well, Shouts-at-Sun? What's your call?'

'Hmm...' The Argonian fumbled with his hand, then proffered a card and put it down. 'Eight of Beastfolk.' He grinned toothily at them. 'And I look very handsome in that card, might I add.'

'I look even nicer on the Four of Beastfolk,' replied J'shana with a smirk. 'Nine of Humans, though I'm anything but.' She set hers on top of Shouts-at-Sun, who hissed with frustration, lashing his tail with the sharp end.

'Watch it,' Kajsa warned him. 'Keep weapons sheathed during play.'

'Ten of Humans,' said Morwyn, putting down her card. 'And I do believe that these cards are mine to call my own.'

'How do you know?' Kajsa challenged.

'Because you let slip your poker face.'

Kajsa examined her cards and then sighed. 'Bugger. That's what you get for playing with fellow thieves.'

J'shana laughed. 'I had plenty of practice with Mercer.'

'And this is how you spent your two years with the Guild before you went to Goldenglow?' Morwyn inquired. The Khajiit flashed her a grin.

'More or less. Bryn was pretty good as well, might I add. Vex was just plain dangerous. Delvin was completely shoddy. As for me, well, I'm naturally sneaky. Two of Dragons.' J'shana threw her card down.

'Three of Humans,' Morwyn retaliated.

'Five of Beastfolk,' Kajsa responded.

'Six of Beastfolk,' Shouts-at-Sun challenged.

'Seven of Dragons,' answered J'shana.

'Question,' interjected Kajsa. 'Are your cards always dragons?'

J'shana laughed. 'I'm not going to answer that, Red-Blade. Morwyn, play your piece.'

'Eight,' Morwyn announced dramatically, 'of Sheogorath!' And she slapped an invisible card on the pile.

Shouts-at-Sun was bemused. 'Eight of Sheogorath?'

'It overrules all opposition.' The Dunmer grinned at him.

'Take your "eight of Sheogorath" back, madwoman,' J'shana told her wearily, with a roll of her copper-coloured eyes. 'And play down your card.'

Morwyn pouted as she took her invisible Eight of Sheogorath back. 'Then I'm out.'

'Well, I can counter with Nine of Dragons,' Kajsa declared.

'And I can counter with Housecarl of Beastfolk,' Shouts-at-Sun replied.

The group looked at their cards and sighed.

'Thank you most appreciatively.' Shouts-at-Sun took in the notably large pile.

Kajsa distantly heard the cling of metal and glanced over her shoulder. 'They're still at it?' she asked, almost incredulously—and jealously. She was still shivering from her heavy bite from the wraith.

'Looks like it.' J'shana's eyes drifted over Kajsa's shoulder towards where she could see the two others of their party still practicing, the glint of their wristblades visible from where they sat beneath the tree. 'My goodness. They've been going at it for quite a while.'

'Do you know what they're actually doing?' Kajsa asked. She glanced back at the group. 'I mean, what are those weapons at all? They're unlike anything I've seen!'

'They're unlike anything that we've seen,' Morwyn replied, 'but if Alyssa's training her up to fight off those knights, then I'm content.' She threw down her card and said, 'Three of Humans, and if anyone has anything higher then—'

'Five of Elves,' Kajsa said.

'—I'm out.'

The card game circulated for a little while yet, until gradually the interest simmered away and the cards were tucked away into J'shana's pocket. 'And they're still at it,' the Khajiit added ruefully.

Morwyn rolled her eyes. 'Then call them back over. They'll exhaust themselves.'

'But they're getting better,' Shouts-at-Sun noted. He had been watching Quill for quite a while, and at first, she had been awkward and clumsy and hesitant with her movements, unsure how to use that bracer-blade of hers, or whatever it was called. Now she and Alyssa could hold their spars for longer and longer before Quill was defeated.

'It'll have to do for now,' said Kajsa. 'We can't have them dropping dead on us.'

J'shana put her fingers in her mouth and whistled sharply, attracting both their attention. Alyssa and Quill snapped around at the shrill sound, pausing mid-spar.

'Over here, you two!' J'shana called.

'I,' stated Morwyn slowly, as Alyssa and Quill padded over, 'have always wanted to do that.'

J'shana blinked innocently. 'What?'

'That...that whistle thing. How do you do it?'

'It's the best way for dealing with dogs,' J'shana explained. 'It was dead useful when I had to call Meeko.'

Kajsa frowned. 'What about werewolves?'

'By the way that we've now obediently come over, it's confirmed it works on all kinds of dogs,' Alyssa answered, as she came into speaking distance with Quill just behind her. The group shuffled over, making room for the two new arrivals. They both looked quite relieved to be off their feet.

'You were going at it for quite some time,' Shouts-at-Sun noted, seeing Quill's weary expression.

She smiled wearily in response. 'Yeah. But I've gained some new knowledge.'

'Let's hope it stays there,' Alyssa replied. 'But you don't look as bored nearly as much as I imagined.'

'We've been passing the moments,' J'shana explained.

Kajsa groaned and put her head in her hands. 'If we are going to teach these two how to play cards, and then play any more cards, I'm going to need to kill something really badly.'

Quill furrowed her brow. 'Tired of cards?' she guessed.

Shouts-at-Sun shrugged. 'One of us is, at least.'

Kajsa glared at him. 'Don't you start as well,' she growled. 'Damn beastfolk...'

Shouts-at-Sun was puzzled. 'Start what?'

'Don't worry about it,' J'shana said. 'I have that happy role of annoying her whenever I have the chance. Morwyn has the happy role of annoying everyone when she has the chance.'

'And do you also have the happy role of telling everyone their happy roles?' Morwyn asked.

Everyone laughed.

'No,' J'shana said slowly, 'but I do have the happy role of telling you I don't have the happy role of telling everyone their happy roles when I already have a happy role and you have a happy role that should be happily rolled.'

Confusion. 'Um...repeat?' asked Quill slowly.

'Don't encourage her!' Kajsa exclaimed. 'Are you mad?'

'Ooh, ooh, I know this one! Repeat?'

'Morwyn!'

'Certainly!' J'shana replied brightly. 'I do have the happy—'

Shouts-at-Sun cuffed her.

'Thank you,' Kajsa sighed gratefully.

'Now that we've relieved our boredom for about five seconds,' Alyssa said, as J'shana rubbed the back of her head and swore blackly at Shouts-at-Sun in Ta'agra, 'How should we pass a few more moments?'

'You know,' Quill interjected suddenly, 'I have wondered if we can eat here.'

The group glanced at her. 'There's nothing to eat, even if we wanted to,' argued Kajsa.

'But it must be possible,' Quill pressed. 'We've all been to Sovngarde. We've all seen the heroes of old eating.'

'Roast ox,' Alyssa commented. 'It's quite delicious. I hope you tried it.'

'I did,' Kajsa put in. 'Pork tastes nicer, though.'

'I prefer ribs to ox, I think,' Shouts-at-Sun stated.

'Ox is delicious,' Morwyn said, frowning disapprovingly at the Argonian and half-Breton. 'How could you say otherwise?'

'I like fish better,' J'shana said.

'But your point at bringing up food in the first place?' Alyssa asked questioningly.

Quill jumped. 'Right. Well, I think I have a few bottles of mead in my satchel...'

'Of course, the magic satchel,' Morwyn announced, clapping a palm to her head. 'How could we have forgotten?'

'You took booze to Sovngarde?' Kajsa asked in astonishment. 'You took alcohol to Shor's Hall—a mead hall!?'

'I forgot it was in there!' Quill said in her defense, as she pulled her satchel to her side and began to rummage around in it. 'In fact, I have a lot of weird things in here...' She stuck her head into the bag and the group heard her voice echo out of it. 'Wow. I completely forgot this was in here...'

'Let's see it!' J'shana said eagerly.

'Let's not see it,' Alyssa suggested, 'and find out what she wants us to see.'

'I shudder to think what exactly is going to fall out of it if she upends it,' said Shouts-at-Sun.

'Maybe several artifacts we know and love?' suggested Morwyn.

'Well, several artifacts that maybe you know and love, Dark Elf,' Kajsa deflected. 'Not all of us are willing Daedric servants.'

'Excuse me? Willing?' Morwyn cocked a brow. 'The Daedra are merely a part of my life – or were, I should say. Just like the air and the sun and the stars are.'

'They make you do terrible things,' Kajsa argued.

'And clearing out a temple was a terrible thing?' Morwyn challenged.

'It was when the Daedra make you feel as though you're their property,' muttered J'shana mutinously, with a flick of their tail.

Alyssa smiled wryly. 'You know,' she said thoughtfully, 'all my life, I grew up learning to hate the Daedra. And yet, in the end...I was indebted to a few of them.'

'You were?' Shouts-at-Sun asked, surprised.

'Who?' asked J'shana curiously. 'Surely not Nocturnal?'

'Oblivion, no, not Nocturnal. I broke my oath in life with her when I left Skyrim. I was, however, indebted to—'

At that moment Quill resurfaced with a grin of triumph and several bottles of mead in her hand. 'And here we have it!' she said, putting six bottles of mead on the ground. 'And they're all still full!'

'Is there a portal out of Pass in that satchel of yours, too?' Kajsa asked sarcastically, but picking up a bottle of mead nonetheless.

Quill looked thoughtful. 'Let me just check,' she said, delving back into her satchel again. J'shana started coughing and Kajsa threw her a glare.

'The real question is, however,' wondered Alyssa, picking up a bottle, 'if we can still drink these.'

'Why not?' asked Morwyn. 'It feels solid.' Her eyes suddenly brightened. 'And I have an idea on exactly how we drink it.'

'Oh, yes?' Kajsa said. 'And what is this wonderful idea of yours?'

'Hey, Quill! Do you have any paper and charcoal in that bag, and a spare helmet?'

'Paper and charcoal, I do have...' Quill withdrew the items, looking puzzled. 'But a helmet, I...wait, I have an iron one. Will that do?' She sounded perplexed as she drew out the helmet—by the glow around its edges, it appeared enchanted, though weakly.

'It'll do.' Morwyn took the helmet and writing materials and swiftly started writing on the piece of paper, tearing each piece of writing off, folding it in half and tucking it into the helmet.

The group had no idea what she was doing. At last, Shouts-at-Sun braved the question.

'What are you doing, Morwyn?'

She looked up, honestly surprised. 'You've never played Scar or Story?'

'What's that?' J'shana asked curiously.

'YOU haven't played it?' Morwyn stared. 'But you're in the Guild!'

'...Yes, I was,' J'shana replied. 'But Scar or Story wasn't one I know.'

'Nor I,' Quill added. Alyssa and Kajsa nodded agreement. 'And as for Sun, he wasn't even in the Guild.' Quill threw him a glance.

'Wow,' stated Kajsa flatly. 'That must be awkward.'

Shouts-at-Sun narrowed his eyes. 'I must say, I'm coping surprisingly well sitting next to a small band of thieves, who all claim to have been Guildmasters.'

'We were!' the defensive reply chorused.

He held up his hands. 'All right, all right. Alternate Certainties, yes?'

'Geh,' answered Alyssa, absently slipping into the dragon's tongue, and then out of it. 'You nearly finished whatever it is that you're doing over there, Morwyn?'

'Aye!' the Dunmer affirmed, Nordic style, put the last piece of paper in the helmet, and then rested it by her knees as she picked up a bottle. 'Now—since none of you appear to have ever played Scar or Story in your alternate dimensions before, I'll explain. Scar or Story is the usual drinking game of the Guild I knew. What happens is, we go around the group in a circle of sorts, and on your turn, you can show us a scar and explain how you got it, or draw a story out of the helmet and tell that. These slips of paper—' She shook the helmet '—can say anything. First time you stole something, first time arrested, last time you did something incredibly stupid, first time you bedded a—something.' She was made aware the group wasn't single sex anymore by a raised-eyebrow reminder from Shouts-at-Sun. 'Life stories like that,' she went on. 'Or you can choose to pass, but you have to chug down what's left in your bottle. If you can't, then you're dared to do something—which you have to do. No backing out of it.'

'I don't know whether that sounds fun or harsh,' commented Kajsa.

'Sounds fun!' exclaimed J'shana brightly.

'I'm willing to give it a go,' Shouts-at-Sun commented. Quill nodded.

Alyssa bit her lip. 'Hmm. I have a feeling I'm going to be telling a lot of stories.'

Morwyn's eyes shadowed and Quill glanced uncertainly between them. 'No scars?' she guessed.

'Too many,' Alyssa answered softly.

The others looked puzzled and intrigued, but Morwyn cut across them and announced, 'Who wants to start?' At the silence, she rolled her eyes and said, 'All right, I will.' She uncorked her bottle, was silent for a moment, then said, 'Story—'

'Before we start,' interjected Shouts-at-Sun, 'what happens if the mead runs out?'

'I actually seem to have a lot of it,' said Quill. 'I think we'll be all right, so long as none of us pass too often.'

'Depends what the slips of paper say,' muttered Kajsa darkly.

'Here is an example,' Morwyn announced, drawing a piece of paper from the helmet and unfolding it. She read it aloud: 'First time you stole something.' With a small smile she put it down and added, 'Well, for me, that'd have to be the Elder Scroll from Blackreach.'

'Now since we've all been there,' Shouts-at-Sun interrupted, 'how about you tell us exactly how you fared underground? Did you go alone?'

Morwyn shook her head. 'Ralof came with me.'

Recognition flashed in all their eyes. 'I'd like to know how he fared against Vulthuryol,' commented Kajsa.

'That ancient dragon who lived in Blackreach?' Shouts-at-Sun checked.

'He was pretty good against it,' Morwyn conceded. 'And all agog like most Nords were when he saw me absorb its soul. Fared well against the Falmer, too. Saved my hide a few times and I saved his arse pretty much around every bend.'

'That sounds like my Ralof,' mused Alyssa. 'Always charging headfirst into things without checking what might be waiting for him first.'

'Tell me about it.' Morwyn passed the helmet to Kajsa. 'Scar or Story?'

Kajsa hesitated. She looked uncertain.

'If it's a scar,' said Shouts-at-Sun coaxingly, 'and you don't want to show us, then that's fine. Draw a story.'

Kajsa nodded and wordlessly drew a slip of paper from the helmet. She read it, and seemed to relax slightly.

'What does it say?' J'shana asked.

'First job with the Guild,' announced Kajsa.

Shous-at-Sun frowned. 'What happens if I draw a slip that's related to the Guild?' he demanded.

'Then we adapt it—first job with the Companions,' answered Morwyn. She paused. 'You are the Harbinger of the Companions, right?'

'Yes, I am. Also Arch-Mage. Satisfied? Just not in the crime area of Skyrim.'

'Don't say that when you're speaking to thieves and assassins,' Alyssa advised. 'Excluding you, everyone except Morwyn is both.'

'Question,' Kajsa put in. 'I was a member of the Cyrodiil Thieves Guild and Skyrim's. Which Guild?'

'Whichever you want,' said Alyssa. 'For most of us, the Goldenglow job was our first, and we don't need to hear about burning beehives and punching the shit out of a certain Altmer.'

'It felt good, though,' Morwyn put in.

'Mer loves to beat up mer. No wonder you're mad, Morwyn.'

'Thank you, Mr. Sun. Kajsa?'

'Well, being born and raised in the Thieves Guild in Skyrim, being nurtured by two parents who were thieves and generally causing havoc as a kid, it was inevitable that I'd grow up to be a thief,' Kajsa began. 'When I headed down to Cyrodiil I joined with the Cyrodiilic Thieves Guild. My first job, I remember, was a simple one. Plant some phoney evidence and get some poor sod locked up in the cells.

'Only thing was, that "poor sod" happened to be a pirate.'

'My goodness,' said J'shana sarcastically, 'a pirate. Oh, in comparison the Goldenglow Estate was just too easy...'

'Shut up, J'shana,' Kajsa snapped, and the Khajiit laughed. Kajsa was grinning a bit herself though as she continued. 'So it started out all right. I snuck into a crate and climbed out when they had moved me into the hull. Snuck past the pirates who were on the bottom floor easily enough. Climbed up the ladder and stole towards the captain's cabin. Picked the lock, slipped inside, he was drunk, planting the evidence in his pocket was the easy part—but then came the dilemma of getting off.'

'What happened?' asked Quill.

'Well, for one thing, the boat was out in the middle of the Niben...'

The group cracked at that.

'...and the pirates also noted me walking out of the captain's cabin,' Kajsa added.

'Now that was smart,' said Morwyn wisely.

'Which meant,' Kajsa continued, 'I had to try and explain why I was exactly in the captain's cabin without drawing suspicion if I wanted the plan to go off without a hitch. But it was quite difficult to explain that when you're wearing rather notable Cyrodiilic Thieves Guild armour with a hood over your head to cover your eyes and a mask over your face to protect your identity and muffle your voice.'

She grinned. 'At least, it would have been difficult, if the pirates hadn't been drunk.'

'Gods bless alcohol!' shouted Morwyn, thrusting her bottle up in the air.

'Cut it out, Morwyn—surely you're not drunk already?' Alyssa inquired.

'Who knows, I might be—this tastes like mead through and through!'

'Go on, Kajsa,' Shouts-at-Sun prompted. 'What happened next?'

'What happened,' said Kajsa serenely, 'was that I told them that I had gotten onto the wrong boat and that I'd be leaving now. Of course, they pointed out helpfully that they were in the middle of the Niben and on due course for the oceans beyond. If I jumped off now the slaughterfish would get me. So I asked them if they could kindly drop me off at Bravil since we were just passing it.'

'And they didn't?' J'shana asked.

'Actually, they were very courteous pirates when they were drunk.'

Several spluttered with laughter. 'They didn't, did they?' exclaimed Quill.

'The next thing I knew, I was being rowed across the Niben by a pirate who deposited me on the bank near Bravil, wished me a good night and had rowed off back to the boat again—without their captain knowing.' Kajsa smirked. 'And since I was due back in Bravil, they could hardly understand how I could have gotten to the city so damn quickly. I think they thought I was drunk when they told me the pirates dropped me off on Bravil's doorstep and wished me goodnight. Especially when ten days later the captain ended up in the Imperial City prisons.'

The group howled with laughter and Kajsa winked. 'My friends, take pirate contracts whenever you're feeling lazy!' She pushed the helmet along to Alyssa. 'Scar or Story?' She seemed to be getting the hang of it.

'Story,' Alyssa replied, and drew out a slip of paper. She examined it and cocked an eyebrow. 'My, how tactful.'

'What does it say?' Quill asked, trying to read it over Alyssa's shoulder.

'Most hilarious family memory,' she said aloud.

Shouts-at-Sun looked interested. 'This should be good.'

Alyssa grinned, setting it down, already by the look in her eyes recollecting a memory. 'Aye, I can remember at the time it was. It was the day that Zara first attempted to Shout.'

They all sat up at this. 'Excuse me?' exclaimed Kajsa. 'You mean...dragon Shout?'

'Yes – it was also one of the first signs that my sister was far more sensitive in the ways of the Voice than I ever was,' Alyssa added, grinning even more widely. 'And, naturally, it had to be a fire Shout.

'In our family, we get trained to become many things—my mother was a brilliant archer and taught me and Zara how to shoot an arrow. My father was a legendary bladesman. Both he and Delphine taught us—'

'Delphine?' repeated Morwyn, frowning. 'You don't mean...?'

'Yes, I do. Good old Aunty Delphine.' Alyssa grinned at the surprised expressions on her fellow Dragonborns. 'Oh, come on! It was inevitable! My family have been Blades for generations, ever since Tacita! My father was the former Grandmaster, and Delphine was his Second—after Cloud Ruler was sacked, Delphine took refuge in our Estate for a few years, until I was seven. And in that time they taught me and Zara all that they knew about the proper use of a Katana. Zara became a master with her Katana and could match Aunty Delphine any day.'

'AUNTY Delphine,' said J'shana flatly, exchanging a glance with Morwyn.

'Did you still call her that in Sky Haven?' inquired Morwyn, smirking.

'Please,' said Alyssa, rolling her eyes. 'It was interesting enough meeting her as a "harmless innkeeper" in Riverwood – and interesting enough for her to meet me again, after she heard my family had been wiped out a year ago. We dropped the whole "aunt" thing then and there. But as I was saying, so I come into the practice room when I'm five-and-a-half, watching Zara spar with Delphine. My sister was always very interested in the theory of the Voice and spent all her spare time reading about it, studying it, learning to write in it...'

'And you did, too?' Quill asked.

Alyssa made a yea-nay gesture. 'I was more interested in archery, to be honest.

'But recently Zara had learned the incantation for a full Fire Breath thu'um. Of course, she hadn't studied it precisely enough to use it completely—but she had studied some of it, and that was enough.'

'Oh, I can see where this is going,' grinned Morwyn. Knowing grins were spreading around the rest of the circle as Alyssa went on.

'So Zara was sparring against Delphine and back then she wasn't excellent at the blade. Better at defense than offense, so to say. She was only ten! In any case, Delphine was close to disarming her and she says, "Not quite as good as your father yet, eh?" and Zara answers, "I'm better than you ever were at ten!" and Delphine simply stares at her blankly and says, "What?" because Zara had said that completely in the dragon's tongue. Father was busy roaring with laughter and didn't notice when Delphine accused Zara of insulting her. Zara denied it and snapped that Delphine ought to calm down.

'Naturally, though, Delphine didn't. "Impertinent little whelp!" she says. "That's dragonling," says Zara. "I don't care what you are, you ought to show me more respect!" she states. "Well, you should be careful," says Zara. "My kind are prone to breathing fire when we're angry, and I don't want to send you out of the room in cinders." "You wouldn't dare," says Delphine, but she's hesitant, and Zara grins and says the Fire Breath thu'um. She meant it to be a joke.'

J'shana clapped a hand to her head suddenly. 'That's why Delphine has those scars on her cheek!' she stated abruptly. 'I have your sister to thank for it!'

Alyssa winked. 'It turned out to be a killer joke. I think we were all surprised when she actually did breathe fire, including the offender. The same strength as the first word of the Shout, but it was enough to give Delphine third-degree burns on her head. I still have the amusing memory of seeing Delphine run around the room with her head on fire.'

They laughed. 'And thus did Delphine hate anything that could breathe fire thereafter,' Alyssa concluded. 'She was always a little more wary whenever Zara asked to swordplay her again.'

'I'm not surprised,' smirked Kajsa. 'I wish I'd seen that.'

'Hey, it was her risk!' said Alyssa indignantly. 'Delphine should have known better than to spend time in a nest of dragons!' She passed the helmet over to Quill. 'Scar or Story?'

Quill bit her lip thoughtfully, and then said, 'Scar.' She decided to break the chain of storytelling. Her hand went up to the corner of her Nightingale Armour and she unclipped it a little around her shoulder—she felt self-conscious, but there was only one male in the group and Shouts-at-Sun was an Argonian. Besides, this was the largest scar she had. Then she lowered it enough until her shoulder was visible in the halflight and she saw the others' faces wear bemused and amazed expressions.

'From a dragon?' guessed Shouts-at-Sun politely, his eyes taking in the thick, jagged white gash that stretched across her shoulder.

Quill shook her head. 'Actually, from a knight's blade—when they were in my world.'

Alyssa frowned. 'From...seriously? They were in your Certainty?'

'Yes, they came with...with my friend,' Quill explained. 'I was fighting them—they wanted him, and—'

'Who was your friend?' Morwyn interrupted.

'He was a man, a visitor from another world—that one that Alyssa's been to,' Quill explained, a little shyly. 'He looked a little like a Redguard and apparently his world was as hot and as dry as Hammerfell. He was brilliant with a sword. This was his.' She held up her bracer and unsheathed the blade, sheathed it again and went on. 'The knights were his enemies. They faced me and I fought them but one of them stabbed me through the shoulder. Their weapons cut a bad wound in my arm—and no healing potion would mend it.'

Alyssa looked intrigued. 'Why not? They worked for me.'

'I'm not sure—Tolfdir had some theories about it when I explained it to him. But my friend had to heal it in the old-fashioned way, with stitches.'

Everyone winced. They all had had experiences with stitches, it seemed. By the dark expressions in Morwyn's and Kajsa's eyes, more experiences than others.

'It still left a scar,' Quill said. 'But these knights here...it's not my first experiences with them, and I think a few of them still remember me.' As she drew her Nightingale armour back over her shoulder, she shot a grateful glance at Shouts-at-Sun. 'If you hadn't turned up when you did, they probably would have killed me.' She paused. 'Or...or made me fade, or something. I'm already dead.'

Alyssa was silent but her eyes had become thoughtful. Quill thought she heard Alyssa mutter the words 'Vostrunmahsille', but she was already passing the helmet to Shouts-at-Sun. 'Scar or Story?'

'Scar,' Shouts-at-Sun replied, and removed the dragonbone gauntlet on his left arm. Three long, narrow, jagged pink-coloured slashes were visible through his reddish scales. 'These, I got from a bunch of bandits who ambushed me when I was making a delivery run between Kvatch and Anvil, when I still worked in the inn.'

'You let bandits do that to you?' Morwyn said, surprised. 'Bandits?'

Shouts-at-Sun gave her a toothy grin. 'I wasn't as good with a sword like I became when I went to Skyrim. I could hold my own and I killed the bandits—but my armour wasn't great, either. Banded iron.'

'That's pathetic,' muttered Kajsa, tapping her Ebony Mail meaningfully.

'Still,' Shouts-at-Sun said, 'the Orc was pretty tough. He nearly bashed my head in with that large warhammer of his. Now, if I ever meet that Orc again...' He smirked, his dragonish appearance becoming somewhat more prominent. Quill vaguely wondered if he had borne this appearance all his life or if it had somehow grown on him. Argonian blood, it seemed, played well to the reptilian nature of the dragons.

Shouts-at-Sun put the gauntlet back on and passed the helmet to J'shana. 'Scar or Story?'

'Story,' J'shana decided after a moment, and withdrew a slip of paper. She read it and grinned. 'Oh, come on. Who writes this?'

'You've got it, haven't you?' Morwyn grinned broadly.

J'shana shot her a dragon-worthy glare, flicking her tail furiously. 'I thought this was about the Guild, not about personal life interests!'

'Why? What does it say?' Alyssa asked eagerly.

'First kiss,' said J'shana ruefully.

Everyone cracked up a little at that.

'Thank goodness I didn't draw that,' Shouts-at-Sun commented.

Quill leaned over to him. 'Why?'

He glanced awkwardly at her. 'Why do you think?'

Quill's eyebrows rose and she stifled a giggle.

'You know the rules,' Kajsa prompted, sounding satisfied that she hadn't been the one to draw the slip. 'Tell the story or drink what's left in the bottle in one gulp. If not...'

'I shudder to think of the dare you'd give me,' J'shana hissed. Then she smiled and sighed. 'Oh, well.' She folded the paper in half in her fingers and said, 'Very well. First time I've ever been kissed?

'I was exploring an old cave near a waterfall somewhere between the Rift and Eastmarch that was full of Falmer. It was after I killed the Falmer's leader that I realized that there was a large underground cage. I looked through a series of bars that acted as part of the floor and saw a trapped Argonian in there. He introduced himself as Derkeethus—' A few knowing nods as various women recognized the name and location '—and asked me to free him.

'I picked the lock and let him out and escorted him back to Darkwater Crossing. It was a fair walk and we got to know each other better along the way. I didn't see him again for a while but it was after he had joined me in my journeys that...well, it happened.'

'You kissed an Argonian?' asked Kajsa, unsure what expression to wear.

J'shana flattened her ears and shot daggers at her. 'Yes, it's not a usual coupling, but so what?' she spat. More calmly she went on. 'We were in Skuldafn together. Derkeethus had promised to come with me and so we rode on Odahviing together...'

'Then how did he get out?' demanded Alyssa. 'Odahviing flew off!'

J'shana shrugged. 'He must've come back for Keeth. But after hacking our way through various Draugr and a few lesser dragons who kept ambushing us on the way to the entrance to Sovngarde, we came to the top level and faced down that Dragon Priest, what's-his-name, Nahkriin. Two dragons, a frost and an elder, attacked the pair of us as well. They were intent on killing us before we go the chance to follow their master into Sovngarde. It was a pretty bloody battle.'

Morwyn cocked a brow. 'Mine now sounds too easy.'

'Why? What happened in yours?' J'shana asked curiously.

Morwyn snorted. 'I do believe that I interrupted them, told Oblivion to take them, promptly threw my glass dagger into Nahkriin's arm, pulled it out and punched it through his throat, asked the dragons who was going to be next and they flew off.'

She shrugged. 'I was pissed. You would be as well if you had to trudge through bloody Skuldafn alone.'

'We know how that feels,' muttered Quill darkly.

'Well, all three attacked at once,' J'shana went on. 'I took down the frost dragon easily enough but the elder was pretty tough and Nahkriin was powerful.' She shook her head. 'It took all the strength out of me. Keeth saved my life as the elder dragon let out a blast of fire. Nahkriin nearly sent me flying out of Skuldafn completely. I killed the elder dragon and faced Nahkriin only to see him attack. He cut a gash in my arm and I dropped the bow and he loomed above me and prepared to send me to Sovngarde on a one-way trip.'

'And then Keeth heroically saves you?' Kajsa guessed.

J'shana shot her more daggers and then continued. 'Yes, Keeth saved me. He struck down Nahkriin and gave me a health potion. We inserted the staff into the dais and the portal opened up, but Keeth couldn't come with me. So he told me good luck...and...' She flattened her ears, blushing beneath her ash-coloured fur. 'Well, you can guess what happened then.'

'I shudder to think,' Kajsa said drily.

J'shana cursed at her blackly in Ta'agra. Then, switching back to Tamrielic, she added, 'Probably not the most original first-kiss tale, I'm afraid.'

'Good enough,' said Alyssa, sounding satisfied. 'I didn't get mine until after the civil war ended.'

'Who was your husband again?' Quill asked.

'Ralof. Pass the helmet along, J'shana.'

J'shana obliged, passing it back to Morwyn. The cycle began again – but it seemed a more interesting way to pass the moments here than playing cards.

A/N: SO. There's my attempt at wit. I hope you liked that chapter, though; I must say, it's been one of the more entertaining ones to write, and I hope you had fun reading. And next time, there's Jon's dramatic entrance, so don't go anywhere!

PS, don't you just love Quill's satchel?