Disclaimer: I don't own Oblivion.

It's not like I forgot about that fishing tournament and my lack of internet access or anything… That's not why I don't have this posted before school, of course not…

SCHOOL. That should be enough of an excuse.

Updates will be slow from now on, since I can't always post on weekends and am at school all day.

I know things are going a bit faster here, and it may seem like coincidence, but all will make sense soon… Actually, I just have to shift the style a bit for the next part, so just bear with me.

I had been in Anvil for several weeks, spending half of that with the ability to fish at night.

This particular day I was wandering the docks, idly chatting with whoever walked by that was in the mood to talk.

Most of the time, I just watched the water.

That is, until three men happened to come by. They loitered in front of one of the stores, occasionally muttering to one another.

The first thing I noticed though was their armor; bright Mithril that I recognized from a raid on the Fighter's Guild some years prior while I was still with Nocturnal. A Mithril Cuirass was what paid for my house, actually.

But what I really noticed was that they were jerks.

You see, I'd been bored most of the day, and their appearance had brought the opportunity for some entertainment. I didn't recognize them, from around town or the docks, so I decided to make conversation and work on my people skills a little. I finished my snack of grapes and stood up.

I raised my hand in greeting, an attempt at a friendly smile on my face, "Hey there—"

"Go away, we're too busy to talk to someone like you." said the Bosmer irritably.

Alright, my people skills aren't that bad.

I glared at them (quite menacingly, I might add) and turned back to the Flowing Bowl to get something else to eat.

It began to rain just as I went in, which wasn't overly strange. It could mean better fishing that night, if it stopped by then, that is, so I was happy to spend the evening in the tavern, though it was now crowded with people hiding from the weather. I stayed back toward the back, idly munching on more grapes with bread and sipping mead.

The men from earlier came in as well.

They didn't notice me, whether it was because I still had enough talent to fade into the background or they just didn't have enough sense to look around I don't know.

I don't tend to listen in on other people's conversations, but some of the things they said caught my attention.

Especially when they mentioned "that scrawny Breton girl".

I hunched back on instinct, forming back into the shadows to hide my face. They were to my left, huddled over a table and ignoring their drinks. The Dunmer was speaking in a quick, hushed tone I couldn't quite understand. The Nord had been the one to catch my attention.

The Bosmer spoke in a much lighter, but no less irritated voice that I could understand, "I didn't know this town could be so crowded!"

The Nord responded to something the Dunmer said, "No, the Kvatch refugees didn't come this way; most stayed near the city."

"Keep your voice down!" scolded the Bosmer, albeit hypocritically.

"Tch, we've been stopped by half the people in here. If they don't know we're here, they're as dumb as they look!"

I downed my cup and slipped back upstairs to take a nap before time to go back out for the night.

I woke up as the sun was setting, and I threw on a cloak in case it was still raining a bit outside. Snatching up my nets and tying my pack to my belt, I left the small room that had become my room to the wonderful experience that is fishing.

Those jerks were out there again. Right where I was planning on fishing.

So I just moved down a bit on the dock and decided that they could stand my casting for a while, whether they wanted to or not.

(Maybe this has something to do with my people skills, or lack thereof.)

They gave me some odd looks when I slipped Fin Gleam on, but didn't comment. I looked out at the blue-tinted scene, and was happy to find that the waters were fairly calm. Sadly, the fish weren't very active, but I tossed in some mud crab meat hoping something was hungry.

The men started to glance at me as the sun began to set, and I assumed they thought I was going inside. Seeing their faces out of the corner of my eye, I was suddenly worried. They didn't look like they were planning a picnic…

For some reason, I feel like retracting that last statement.

Anyway, I thought for a moment before gathering up my nets and walking over toward an old warehouse, settling down on a bench and trying to look like I was messing with a knot or tangle in the ropes.

I really hadn't planned on, shall we say, "taking the law into my own hands". No, of course not! People tend to ask questions about that sort of thing, and it isn't exactly the safest option out there.

Trust me on this one.

Alright, alright, I'll back up.

I continued to mess with the ropes, watching the men out of the corner of my eye. I was careful to hold it close, so they couldn't tell I had any form of night vision, and pulled it off quite well, if I do say so myself. They didn't suspect a thing.

I must admit feeling a little proud when they started to get frustrated with the locks on the door, and heard the tell-tale snap of a lockpick breaking. They gave up subtlety in favor of more eyes on the obstacle, huddling around it.

If you couldn't guess already, I threw the net on them at about this moment.

Lead weights can really hurt…

So the Dunmer and Bosmer were tangled up in the ropes, scrambling for weapons that they couldn't quite reach. The Nord started to charge at me and I ducked to the side, but thankfully there startled yelps had gotten the attention of a couple of guards. My attacker reluctantly fled, sparing his partners a conflicted glance before hurrying into the darkening night. As for his partners, once the guards got there they decided not to draw their weapons and struggled considerably less.

"What's going on here, citizen?"

The Dunmer yelled before I could speak, "This simpleton just threw a net at us!"

The other guard appeared to actually have a sense of humor, "Well yes, we can see that."

I spoke up, "They were trying to break into this store."

"I'd like to say that you shouldn't have done that, but we've actually been trying to catch these guys for a while now." said the first guard.

"She's lying!" called the Bosmer. "We weren't doing anything!"

"There was a Nord here too, but he ran away." I provided, ignoring the struggling men.

The other guard hauled the two elves to their feet, starting to untangle the net, "You might want to talk to Azzan in the Fighter's Guild; the shopkeeper asked him for help with this too. He'll need to know that the job isn't open anymore."

I nodded, "Alright, I'll head over first thing tomorrow."

And they didn't even pay me… I can be a good person too sometimes!

So the next morning, I was off to the Fighter's Guild.

I entered the building and was about half as intimidated as I thought I'd be.

So I was hunched a bit and was avoiding all possible eye-contact until I came to a very… Forget being nice, this Nord was ugly.

"Hello, I'm looking for Azzan." I said politely, not trying to let any fear show. These people couldn't be that much stronger than the guards I had spoken to in the past, and they had had a reason (one usually tucked into my coat) to hurt me.

"Try upstairs in his office. If you get lost, don't be afraid to ask someone." he said, not paying me much mind other than the bit of advice.

"Thanks."

Azzan is a hard man to talk to. He's all business, devoted to the Guild and to his men. Being in the Fighter's Guild doesn't necessarily mean boring business, you know.

So he only really half-minded when I knocked on the door and interrupted his paperwork.

"Excuse me, but I was told to talk to you about some thieves on the docks…" I said hesitantly, getting a bit tired of being scare—I mean nervous.

"If you're reporting another theft, I have someone on it starting tonight."

"I caught them." I said, and continued when he raised his eyebrows and gave me a disbelieving look. "The guards are sending a report."

"I see… Did you come for payment or…?"

Well if you insist… "No, just to let you know the job was done," I said, "but if you want to pay me, I won't say no." Hey, he wasn't my superior, I could talk to him however I—

Wow that's a big sword…

I do believe that was the last comment I made to him that could be considered witty.

He thought for a moment, and then smiled, "So you, without any formal training and a single relic, were able to handle a job I'd normally give a decent man around here?"

"I guess you could say that…"

"I would." he pulled out a paper, "And I have something for you, if you're interested."

I must admit, working for the Fighter's Guild wasn't exactly appealing, but I decided the pay was worth a look. Hey, I could always bribe a guard or dockhand to help me out if it was too hard.

"Do you know who Viranus Donton is?"

I should have backed out, but I didn't.

At the time, I'd only heard the name a couple of times while in Chorrol, where I'd run into a problem with fences and ended up stuck in the Gray Mare listening to the romantic ramblings of its proprietor during a bad storm. I knew who he was, though.

"Yes." I answered.

He sighed, "His mother was looking for a novice bodyguard for him, said a professional would be babying him too much. But when she looked at what we had to offer, she wasn't pleased with anything." he paused, "I think she was hoping for some prodigy to come along, but those sorts don't stay novices for long."

"And this concerns me because…?"

His face grew a bit more serious, "It's easy; we do some background checks and you go to Chorrol to work an easy job in the lap of luxury. Viranus is rarely sent on any jobs, let alone hard ones, and the pay is, well…" He stood and handed me a piece of parchment.

That was a lot of money. I thought about my options; stay in Anvil, leading a meager life as a fisherman, or Chorrol; where I could work for more money and live in relative comfort. Don't get me wrong, I liked my life on the docks. Then again, I had hoped to move on at some point.

Then something else struck me: I someone was following me again. Well, there was a chance of it. That Nord had gotten away, but I know he must've seen my face at some point… What if he came back? What if he already had?

And so I weighed my options, but finally came to a decision.

"I'll do it."

"Good, now I'll need your name for those background checks, and to send word to Moderyn Oreyn that he can stop looking for recruits for this." he said, immediately back at the desk with a quill in hand.

I responded with the first name that I came to in my past in High Rock.

"Welcome to the Fighter's Guild, Marguerite Dantés."