Well, it's finally time that my characters reach Riften. Unfortunately, I way underestimated how long this chapter will be so the visit to Riften will be several parts, hopefully around 2 but probably 3. This chapter is a little shorter than most but I couldn't find any other place to cut it off. Thought I could get this uploaded earlier but direct dialogue got in the way. Just like writing a story, it's a lot harder than you first think. Oh well, guess I'll be sticking to a chapter a week update. Well, please review and see you soon!
Enough you bumbling idiot! Just pay the man and get on with it! The more you argue, the more you're going to make him mad and raise the dang toll! I thought bitterly to myself as of scrawny, petite Nord in front of me continued to refuse to pay the "visitor's tax." Of course he's scamming people; it's as plain as day! But if this fool thinks that his cute little speech will make the guard feel any guilt whatsoever then he's barking up the wrong tree. The man cares about money, not ethnics. By now I had crossed my arms over my chest while I studied the pathetic scene for appeared to be for the hundredth time. The man was dressed in a simple belted tunic and had a large hooked nose, long pure white hair that fell past his shoulders and a huge bald spot on the top of his head, and seemed to carry himself with pride. And from the way that he talked I could tell that the man was very religious. Great. He's probably a priest. And he's going into a city that's notorious for thieves, corruption, deceit, and all things criminal. Real smart.
"This is ridiculous! Absurd! You people have no honor! How can you live with yourself! By the Divines, you people are sick!" said the Nord, whose face was blood red from all his screaming. The guard just leaned against the stone wall impatiently yet seemed to have not a care in the world. Beside me, Shade yawned and stared down at the ground with vague interest, obviously tired of the Nord's rampage.
"Look, the law is the law. You can either pay the tax or move on, but the fee is still 100 septims." Said the guard and even I had to agree with the other Nord that that was pretty steep. But as I watched the scene play out before me, an idea slipped into my head. This may be a scam, but this brute doesn't seem like someone who could get very far in this field. For one he's a fool. And it's always so easy to trip a fool.
"Excuse me, sir, but you're holding me up and I need to get into the city," I said to the Nord who apparently just noticed that I was there. Once he caught the meaning of my words, the old man looked at me with an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, ma 'dam, but it is preposterous that hard-working citizens have to pay an arm and a leg just to enter the city. I've never even heard of a visitor's tax!" he said, his voice getting louder and louder as he spoke.
"I know, sir. How about I pay the tax for you, hmm?" I said politely as I smiled.
"Oh no, I couldn't! Lady Mara forgive, I would feel ashamed if I took money from an innocent young woman like yourself." He said. I groaned inwardly. It's always harder when the other person is humble.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I can pay for both of us and it's not like septims are disappearing from the world." I said. I grabbed 100 septims from my coin purse (which is very well concealed) and handed them to the man. He caught them easily and tilted his head in respect.
"Lady Mara bless you, child! Though I will probably never be able to repay you, I'm sure Lady Mara will in my stead." He said gratefully. He glanced back at the guard. "And may Lady Mara show these people the light." A smile came to his face when he turned back to me. "Oh, I didn't tell you did I? The reason I'm in Riften in the first place is because I'm going to join the Temple of Mara here. Hopefully I'll be able help the head priest with turning this city of corruption around." He said, sounding like a little kid at his favorite candy store. "You should stop by sometime. A kind and charitable soul like yours will always be welcome at the Temple."
And with that the priest turned and handed the gold to the guard, who seemed to want to run something through. Both Shade and I watched very carefully as the guard pocketed the money and I saw that his huge bulging coin purse was loosely tied by his side, right under his sash. Just what I thought. The man doesn't even know how to hide his coin purse. I thought gleefully. He's making this way too easy.
I waited until the priest had gone inside before I approached the guard. He immediately caught sight of me and narrowed his gaze. I stopped and placed my hands on my hips, sizing him up just as he did the same to me. We both stayed silent, waiting for the other to move.
The guard spoke first. "Alright, like with the old man, before I let you into Riften, you need to pay the visitor's tax."
I decided to take test the guard's patience and try the curious route. "What's the tax for?"
I made sure to keep a straight face as the guard gave me a look that said he was done with any nonsense. "For the privilege of entering the city. What does it matter?" he said with annoyance.
"This is obviously a shakedown." I said, Shade growling for inference.
"No, it's a traveler's charge. Now are you going to pay or not?" Said the guard. Traveler's charge? I thought it was a visitor's tax. I thought to myself. This will be so easy.
"Alright, though this is obviously a shakedown, I'll pay." I said, handing him the rest of my gold.
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Let me open the gate and you can head into the city." He said with smug confidence. He turned to go and open the gate. I glanced back to Shade, who gave a small nod. Time to do this.
I started to walk towards the gate, the guard walking jauntily back to his post. As I passed the man, Shade jerked her head back at some noise only she could hear and quickly let out a shrill bark, causing me to turn my head in surprise and trip right into the poor guard. Instinctively he stepped to my left and caught my arm firmly. I tilted my body so the other guard wouldn't see and working with quick diligence, I moved my arm to seemingly grasp the guard's side for support, but my hand brushed over his pathetically concealed coin purse and in a blink of an eye, I yanked the bugling purse from where it hung on his belt and slipped it into the loop of my belt where my own coin purse secretly was before. And with that, I managed to get my feet under me and stand up straight. I looked up at the guard to find that he was facing Shade and was unsuccessfully trying to get her to stop barking by yelling just as loud as she was, though at this point Shade was just being annoying. So much for discretion.
"Enough, you mangy mutt!" yelled the guard but with a barely discernible nod from me, Shade quickly stopped barking and just stared at the two of us suspiciously, at which I rolled my eyes.
"Hmph," said the guard, crossing his arms. Apparently he thought Shade was stupid enough to take orders from him. Yeah right. If Shade wants to bark her head off then she's going to bark her head off, no matter who tells her to stop. "Next time muzzle your damn dog, kid" said the guard and I belatedly realized that he was talking to me.
"Sorry sir, but you know how dogs are. They bark at everything." I said, ignoring him calling me 'kid.' Ok, I might be only fifteen, but last time I checked, a 'kid' can't outrun assassins for a year and a half and barely leave a trace of their existence.
"Alright, just get inside before you cause any more trouble." He said and after quickly calling Shade back before she 'ran off' into the woods after whatever sound she had heard, we headed into Riften, my stomach clenched tightly in apprehension.
"I don't know you. You in Riften lookin' for trouble?" said a man aggressively. Shade gave a low growl as I turned to see a Nord man in a full set of steel armor minus the helmet and a steel dagger strapped to his side. He leaned against a post and studied me intensely, sizing me up cynically as if he thought I was just some little insect. Once again people think that they can push me around. And they're dead wrong.
"I'm not scared of you." I said defiantly, crossing my arms as I did so. But this seemed to just make the Nord mad.
"That's the wrong answer." Said the Nord as he narrowed his eyes. "The last thing the Black-Briars need around here is some troublemaker tryin' to steal a piece of the action." His voice had an edge of warning in it. Yeah, if you try and bash my head in then you'll be walking away without your own. I thought.
"Who are the Black-Briars?" I asked, realizing that I didn't know the name. I've heard that name before, though, but where?
"The Black-Briars have Riften in their pocket and the Thieves Guild watchin' their back, so keep your nose out of their business. Me? I'm Maul. I watch the streets for 'em. If you need dirt on anythin', I'm your guy… but it'll cost you." He said with a bit of a challenge.
"Dirt, huh? I'm not exactly clean myself…" I said, hoping that the temptation would be hard for this Maul character to resist. Unfortunately, it wasn't.
"Then you're stupider than you look." He said, his voice filled with scorn. "You better watch your ass around here." And with that he took his weight off the beam and turned toward the city.
I narrowed my eyes at his back, but quickly an idea came into my head and in one deft movement, I grabbed a handful of gold and gave it a quick glance.
"Hey," I called. Maul looked over his shoulder, his eyes half open. A look of shock came to him as he caught sight of the gold that I threw his way. Immediately the Nord turned and caught with one hand, which lowered as he went through the gold. As he counted I took his place against the beam and crossed my arms; Shade took her place by my side, her head held high, signaling that anyone who messed with me messed with her as well. Without waiting for him I said tersely, "Spill it. Now."
Maul looked up with a grin. "Pleasure doing business with you. So what do you want to know?"
I paused for a moment, unsure of how to start. Should I just come out and ask him or should I go for something a bit simpler? Well, I guess I could test him, see if he's worth it. I shouldn't ask too many people and leave a trail, after all. "Tell me more about the Black-Briars" I said.
"Well, you got Maven, she pretty much runs the whole operation. She's got friends in high places if you know what I mean. She's also got ties to the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild, so basically no one can touch her." He met my gaze squarely now. "Just remember, if she tells you to do somethin' … you damn well better do exactly what she says." When Maul finished talking, he was barely an inch from my face and only backed away with a mirthless laugh when Shade growled.
Hmm. Too easy. Another question. "Know anything about the Thieves Guild?" I asked.
Maul laughed for real this time. "You kiddin'? My brother Dirge works in their hideout. I used to run with them myself, but took a job with Maven after they started hittin' a rough patch. If you want to get in on that action, find Bynjolf in the marketplace. I'm sure he could use someone like you." He said, looking me up and down.
Well, it seems he does know a lot. And he's not one to be intimidated lightly. Perhaps it's time to see what he really knows. "Thanks for the tip. Just one more thing," I said as I rummaged through my knapsack and came out with a note; the same note that I've been rereading every night trying to unsuccessfully figure out since I looted it off its owner. "Do you know anything about who wrote this note? Or who it is addressed to?" I asked as I handed him the note.
Maul swiftly took it out of my hand and began to read its contents. His brow furrowed as he read and when he lifted his head to meet my gaze, his face was emotionless, but his eyes studied me with renewed curiosity. "Do you have a Dark Brotherhood contract on your head?" he asked, his voice a whisper.
I snorted and said, "No, of course not! If I knew that someone from the Dark Brotherhood wrote that note then I'd wouldn't have taken it to you or even be here for that matter."
Maul gave short bark of a laugh and looked back down at the note. "Well, I can't tell much from this note, only that you must a damn good fighter in order to evade these people. They sound like an assassin group, and if they are then they need to watch their backs because the Dark Brotherhood is swift when it comes to competitors, but these people want you alive?" he phrased that last part in the form of a question.
"Yeah, don't know why though, which is what I'm trying to find out. But before I can figure out the why, I need to figure out the whom. So, know anything?" I said.
Maul sighed. "Well, kid, I honestly don't have a damn clue. Never heard of these people or even that there was an assassin group starting up, and I know just about anything." He paused, then added, "These two names here, Galos and Dralas Zenammu, they both sound elven,"
I scoffed at the remark. "Really. Well, considering I'm an Elf, that fact would obviously escape me. Yeah, of course they're elven, Dunmer no doubt."
Maul held up his hands. "Hey, I'm just saying. Last time I checked, you wanted information on these guys. Well, I'm giving you information." As he lowered his hands, a thought came into his head. "Hey, these people, what kind of armor they wear?" he asked.
"Dark brown leather with some sort of bone-like material on it. Never seen anything like it so it's kind of hard to explain." I said with a sigh. I swear these people leave less of a trace than I do.
"Hmph. Not much to go on, but I can ask around. You should too." A mischievous smile crept to his face. "After reading this, I'm intrigued."
"No. I don't need this leaving a trace for a certain group of people to follow. It's one of the only ways that I've been able to avoid them for so long." I said, ignoring that I was allowing concern into my voice.
Maul laughed at my worry. "Oh, don't get so worked up. I know how to be discreet. You, on the other hand, should go see Delvin Mallory of the Thieves Guild. He's well known for his contacts. Might be able to get what you're looking for. Just tell Maul sent you his way."
"How do I find the Thieves Guild?" I asked.
"Easy. They're in the Ratway. Need directions, go talk to anyone in town." He handed the note back to me.
"Thanks." I said, figuring that it was good that I at least had a lead. Hopefully this Delvin Mallory will have the answers I need. Or can point me in the right direction. And with that, I stepped away from the beam that I had been leaning against, which was quickly replaced by Maul.
"No problem. Tell me what you find out." Said Maul as he took his place back. I nodded and both Shade and I started down the road further into the city.
"Hey!" called Maul. I turned and found a dark smile on his face. "Welcome to Riften." He said.
I smiled back at him as Shade gave a howling bark. And together we turned and headed deeper into Riften, home of the Thieves Guild.