I ran to the nearest carriage, and found it was completely empty. it was my lucky day, it seemed. Just to make sure, I walked to the driver's seat, and asked the driver, "Are you moving?"
The carriage driver was a Nord, seeming to be in his mid twenties. He looked tense, reacting to my question as if it was some kind of godsend. "Absolutely!" He said, as if he were desperate to leave. He must know about the attack on Riften.
"Where are you going?"
"Where-ever you want, for thirty septims."
I raised a brow. Carriage drivers don't work like this one, something is off. "Is this your first time doing this?" I asked.
"Does it matter? Do you want a ride or not?"
I nodded, and pulled a handful of septims out of my pouch, handing it to him.
The man accepted the money, not even bothering to count the coin. "Where to?" He hastily asked.
"Falkreath."
"Hop on back, I'll take you there."
I walked around the carriage and got on back, and we took our ride. The moment we moved, the carriage ride was very bumpy, as if the wheels were damaged or something. Noticing this, I looked at the driver, confused, and then noticed something baffling. He was reading a map while driving. I've taken many carriage drives, but I've never once seen a map wielding driver; All carriage drivers normally know the roads by heart. Combining that with his youthful appearance, I immediately got the idea that he had no idea what he was doing.
"Okay, how old are you?" I asked.
"...Twenty-five..." He said, struggling to hold the map while driving.
"Tell me why you're offering rides when you clearly have no clue what you're doing."
He looked back at me defensively, but my stare showed him that I could read him like a book. He turned back around and admitted his issue. "...I'm trying to escape Riften with some coin in my pocket."
"You heard about the attack, I assume?"
"Everyone heard about the attack. No way I'm getting killed because I happen to live in the same town that the Thieves Guild resides in."
I nodded. "Fair enough. How did you get this carriage?"
"I spent my life savings on this thing and bought it at a discount from a khajiit caravan. I set up the whole thing up myself. I knew how to ride a horse, so I presumed riding a carriage wouldn't be so different; I was mistaken."
"Clearly."
"It's not that hard though, I can make the horses go, I just have to learn the roads better."
I decided to delve into his background."And you just now decided to begin offering rides today?"
"Of course! I've been practicing with this thing beforehand for a few days, though. I was going to wait and practice more, but after hearing the rumors, there's no way I'm staying anywhere in the Rift."
"So you're leaving the Rift for good then?"
"Yes. In all honesty, I hate this place. Everyone's so pouty, and paranoid of getting their things stolen here. I was once accused of stealing a spoon from Svana's bunkhouse. A spoon! Not a pouch of gold, not a valuable gem, a spoon! Can you even fathom being put to the Jarl's court for such a reason?"
I chuckled at the thought of it. "Not at all. Say, what's your name?"
He looked back at me, then looked forward. "My name's Erikur, but you can call me Erik."
"Nice to meet you Erik, my name's Ly'ro."
"Nice to meet you as well, Ly'ro. Not trying to be offensive or anything, but You speak really fluent for a khajiit."
"Don't worry about it, I get that a lot. I was born in Skyrim, so I never developed an accent. Same goes for the rest of my family."
"Oh, that's quite interesting. Goes to show those dimwitted 'kinsmen' that any race can live here."
"Indeed."
"You're also pretty friendly and talkative, for a thief."
My ears perked in surprise. "Wh-what are you talking about?" I said, playing dumb.
"I've been living in Riften all my life, I'm no fool, Ly'ro." I'm surprised someone your age is actually thief more than anything. I mean, why would you choose to be one of those guys? You're young, like me. You've still got a chance to change your fate."
Hearing him say that caused my tone of voice became more serious. "...No, I don't."
He looked back at me with a confused look.
"If you actually knew who I was and how important I was, you would realize that this is the only path I have."
His curiosity caused him to ask, "...What importance are you?"
I laughed. "You think I would really tell you?"
"Well, we've only known each other for a few minutes, but I can keep a secret, if that helps."
I thought about it for a moment, then I realized, I don't want him to keep a secret. I want everyone to know the pain that comes along with what and who I am. "They call me the Thief Prince."
He darted his head back towards me in surprise. "You?!"
I nodded.
"Are you serious? Or are you just joking?"
"Quite serious."
He stared at me a bit longer. "Wow... I wasn't expecting you to be so... young. I thought they said the White Knight killed you."
"He killed my master, not me."
"Wow... I don't know what to say."
"Then say nothing and listen."
"...Okay."
"You asked why I chose to still be a thief correct?"
"Yes..."
"It's because the Thieve's Guild is my family."
"It is...?"
"Ever wonder how the nickname 'Thief Prince' came to be?"
"...No, I never thought about it."
"The master of the Thieve's Guild had a son. That person is me." I felt like I was compromising myself, telling him this information, but my emotions overcame my thoughts.
"So... the guildmaster is like... the king, and you're..."
"The prince, yes."
"Oh, okay, that explains it. So, you live in a whole family of thieves?"
I nodded. "My sister and my father. My mother doesn't work there, however."
"Wow... I can't imagine such a thing. Then again, I've never had a family..."
"You haven't?"
"No, I don't know anything about my parents, I heard they were soldiers in the civil war that happened decades ago, though. Still though, a whole family of thieves..."
I changed the subject. "What about you? If you had no parents, what happened to you?"
"Oh, I was put in the Riften Orphanage. Nobody wanted me when I was a boy, so I eventually grew up and started doing some jobs. Haelga's bunkhouse eventually gave me a place to stay while I worked there, and I saved up some money for this thing." He patted the carriage.
"I thought you said the Bunkhouse was Svana's or something?"
"Oh, well, it originally belonged to Haelga, but she was arrested. I heard she was accused of adultery. Nasty business, that is."
"Hm."
"So, what's it like to work in the Thieves Guild, Mr. Thief Prince?"
"Why so curious? Feeling like you want need a quick coin?"
"Not a chance, I want nothing to do with your types. I just want to know what it's like there."
"Well, I haven't worked there very long, I've only taken a few jobs. What I've mostly been doing is getting stronger so I can fight The White Knight again."
"Wait, you are gonna fight him?"
"Yes."
"Then why are you leaving Riften? Isn't he going to attack it?"
"I need to get stronger, I believe I said that already."
"How are you going to do that?"
"I won't be telling you that part, sorry."
"It's alright, I think I've heard enough. I'm surprised you told me this much already."
There was silence after that. Our horse travel continued, passing over the bridge of Treva River, and passing through the frosted area of New Helgen. After more westward travel, we arrived at Falkreath, by dusk. We stopped a few feet from the gate, the guards giving us nonchalant, passing looks as they saw us.
"Falkreath." Erik said.
I got off the carriage, and walked to the driver's seat. I wanted to speak to Erik again, I had an idea, "Thanks. say, what do you plan on doing after I go?"
"Well, Find more people to give rides."
I looked at the carriage, I didn't noticed my first time inspecting it, but the wood was quite poor, a dull shade of brown, with woodpecker holes strewn across it. After inspecting the carriage, I looked back at Erik, "What do you think are your odds of that happening?" I asked.
"Well, I was waiting for a passenger to come by for some time back in Riften... So, not likely. I guess it's this carriage. It doesnt look great, but It can manage, as you saw."
I smiled. "Erik, I have a proposition for you."
Erik immediately jumped to the conclusion that I wanted him to join the guild, "Not a chance! No way I'm doing any dirty business for you. I need gold, but i'm not desperate."
"Dirty business? I wasn't going to make you do anything, I was just going to see if I could hire you."
"...Hire me?"
"Yes. I was going to ask if you could be my personal driver from now on."
"...Huh?"
"Yeah, I could use the money I have to get you a non-rickety looking carriage, and I'll pay you to take me, and maybe some other guild members to other places. What do you say?"
He looked away from me, thinking about it. "If I was hired by you, then that would mean I would have to stay in Riften. The whole point of why I'm doing all this is to get away from there."
"Yes, but nobody would mess with you if people learned you were an asset of the guild."
"...Yes, but I don't want my identity as an asset to your people public."
"It doesn't have to be, I'll just send word for no one to mess with you is all."
"Hm. Well, I dont know..." He scratched his head.
He was till skeptical, so I decided to give him a taste. "How about this? You can simply try out working for me."
Erik raised a brow, "Try out?"
"Yes, You simply do as I say for a day or two, and after that, you tell me whether you want to continue working for me or not. How does that sound?"
"If I like it, I'll work for you permanently, and If I don't, I can go?"
I nodded.
"Well..." He scratched his face in thought. "Okay."
"Excellent."
"So, what would do have me do for you then... boss?" He began to speak to me more submissively.
"I want you to park your carriage somewhere and stay in the inn at Falkreath. I'll be gone for a while, but I'll be back soon." I searched one of my pockets and tossed a fat pouch of gold at him.
He caught it and looked at it as if it were some sort of gift from the gods. "By the eight..."
"There's about one-hundred and twenty coins in there."
"A whole one hundred and twenty?! Wow, I wasn't expecting this kind of pay..."
"One hundred? That's a lot to you?" I laughed. "Just keep doing as I say, and you'll be even more amazed, got it?"
He nodded enthusiastically and ran to the gates, looking to find an inn.
I started paying attention to the nightingale bird on my shoulder. "Alright, now for you to tell me where The Twilight Sepulcher is..."
