DF: Yeah, this chapter is about a week late. Hopefully, next week won't be as hectic as this one was!

Chapter 13

They were almost back in Riften. After a quick stop at Sadri's Used Wares, they hit the road headed back south. The change from the valley to the birch forests signaled their close proximity to the city. However, before they made it all the way back to Riften, Lyz came to a stop in the middle of the road. She hummed to herself and turned to Bran.

"I'm low on alchemy ingredients. Want to help me collect some more?"

Bran didn't know much about alchemy in Skyrim, but he imagined that picking flowers and berries couldn't be too difficult. Besides, he might learn something that might be useful in the future. He nodded his head.

Lyz bent down and picked one of the flowers growing alongside the road. "This is a blue mountain flower. If you combine it with wheat, you can create a simple yet effective healing potion. Let's pick some mountain flowers while we are out here."

Bran helped Lyz pick mountain flowers along the road. The flowers grew in thick clusters which made it easier for Bran to spot them among the green, white and browns of the Rift forest. The mellow yet pleasant fragrance of the flowers clung to Bran's nose as he picked them, and he considered saving some of the flowers to line his resting spot in Lyz's cabin. When they ran out of flowers along the road to pick, they moved deeper into the woods to search for more flowers.

Bran was in the middle of nosing through a cluster of red mountain flowers when something moved out of the corner of his eyes. He sniffed the air and smiled knowingly. Lowering himself into a crouch, he silently stalked in the direction of the movement. His ears faintly picked up the sound of scratching and chewing. He crept a few steps closer and launched himself through the bushes. The rabbit gave a loud squeak as Bran grabbed it between his jaws.

Once the rabbit had been dispatched, Bran picked up his prize with a proud grin. The hunt was brief, but it had relieved some of the stress that Bran had been carrying for over a week. He realized, with a start, that it had been a while since he had last gone out hunting.

For a werewolf as old as him, habits were important. Habits were what kept them sane when their wolf half chose to be difficult. Or if they suddenly found themselves in a strange magical world far away from home. He hadn't realized that he had started neglecting his own habits until now. He would have to convince Lyz to go out hunting with him more often. Perhaps with her around, he would be able to hunt freely without having to worry about an ambush from any more Silver Hand.

He took a step towards where Lyz was no doubt waiting for him and heard a muted crunch. He lifted his paw and stared oddly at the object he had just stepped on.

A piece of shell lay on the ground. It was dark and odorless but had crunched underneath his paw like a discarded cicada shell. Shedding from a spider, Bran guessed. He stepped over the husk and brought the rabbit to Lyz.

Lyz glanced at the rabbit in surprise. "I was wondering why you ran off. Looks like we have something for dinner tonight."

Lyz patted his head before taking the rabbit. Bran felt almost ridiculous when his tail wagged happily in response. He watched as Lyz attached the rabbit to her belt, then helped her gather up the remaining flowers.

"This should be enough to last at least a month," Lyz said as she stuffed the last bundle of flowers into her pack. "Just need to take them back home so that I can dry them. Good job."

They headed back towards the road. As they walked, Lyz glanced down at him sideways and appeared to take a deep breath.

"A lot of people underestimate the usefulness of alchemy. They think that if they need a potion, they can just buy it from a local alchemist. But those people are short-sighted. Knowing how to mix your own potions gives you much greater flexibility."

Trying to start a conversation, are you? Bran thought. Getting tired of the silence, or just want to see how I will react?

To Lyz's words, he just nodded pensively.

Lyz frowned uncertainly. "For example, let's say you are fighting a giant. Most people would think that a regular poison would work best. But an experienced alchemist would mix a poison that would weaken a giant, as well as slow it down so that it can't chase you. What do you think?"

Bran simply chuffed in agreement.

Lyz's frown deepened. "Are you going to give me an answer or just keep making those noises at me?"

Bran looked at her blankly. He was a wolf. Why did she expect him to be able to talk?

Lyz shook her head. "Never mind."

When they reached the gates of Riften, instead of going straight, they turned towards the lake and took the steps leading up to Lyz's cabin. Bran let out a sigh of relief and sprawled out on the rug when they entered the cabin. He'd missed that rug so much. Lyz let out a giggle and covered her mouth in shock. Bran rolled onto his back and lowered his eyelids at her.

"You didn't hear that," Lyz said as she stepped over him and laid the rabbit on the tabletop. She dumped the bag of mountain flowers next to the rabbit and set about skinning and gutting the animal. Bran watched her from his resting spot lazily.

Lyz's knife maneuvered around the rabbit with an ease that hinted at years of practice. She discarded the skin and grabbed several spices from her kitchen. Salt, apples, snowberries, and mountain flowers. The last ingredient piqued Bran's interest and he began to watch her carefully.

Lyz sliced the apples thinly and crushed the berries. She plucked the petals off the mountain flowers and tossed them into the cooking pot by the fire along with the salt. She stirred the dry ingredients around until a sweet fragrance began to fill the room, then quickly added in the fruit. Soon the rabbit and a couple more spices followed. By the time the dish was complete, the room had filled with the heavy scent of food and Bran was salivating.

Lyz scooped the food into two separate bowls and placed one of the bowls on the ground in front of him. Some more shuffling came from the kitchen, and she returned with a plate of steamed vegetables that smelled of lavender.

They ate on the floor together. The rabbit dish was sweet and savory. The mountain flowers had added an aromatic aftertaste that complemented the sweetness of the fruit. Bran bit into one of the steamed vegetables and couldn't stop his tail from wagging.

Lyz chuckled as he ate another one of the steamed vegetables. "I have to eat more than dried meat and roasted sticks once in a while."

When Bran was full, he stood up, stretched and went over to the bookshelf across from Lyz's bed. He scanned the covers of the books lined up on the shelf and looked for the one with the most interesting title. His eyes paused on one book in particular and he pulled the book off the shelf and dropped it in Lyz's lap.

"Huh?" Lyz mumbled sleepily, blinking away a food coma. She looked down at the book. "You want me to read to you again? I didn't know you were this fond of bedtime stories. Although, I have to mention that 'Herbane's Bestiary' isn't exactly most people's first choice. You sure you don't want to pick a different one?"

Bran laid back down on the rug and gazed at Lyz patiently. Lyz shrugged at him and began reading.

The book detailed the author's knowledge of a creature known as a 'hagraven.' The writer described the creature as being some horrible amalgamation of bird and woman. The writer even described their magic.

The more Lyz read, the more Bran's fur began to stand on end. In his mind's eye, he saw a monster that had stood beside a black witch in a forest. It hunched over and clicked its dark talons as its face pulled back into a tight sneer. It reeked of darkness.

Bran's suspicions when he had selected the book had been correct. The creature that had attacked him outside of Aspen Creek had been a hagraven. He hadn't recognized it when he first saw it because it wasn't a creature of his world. It was a creature of this world.

Lyz noticed his agitation and stopped reading. "What's wrong? Don't like the book? You should have picked a different one like 'Sword fighting for Dummies.'"

Bran had many questions that he needed to ask Lyz. He wanted to ask her about what hagravens truly were, where did they come from, and how they were made. But his wolf form prevented him from doing so. In frustration, he tried to force his body back into his human shape. He fought and fought until he was gasping for breath, but he didn't even feel the beginnings of the Change take place. In the end, he roared in frustration and collapsed onto the ground.

His outburst had shocked Lyz. She slowly set the book on the ground and took a few steps back. "Okay. Maybe we can save bedtime stories for another night. I'm going to bed."

Lyz grabbed the leftover mountain flowers off the table and took them downstairs.

Bran let out a defeated sigh. It had been several days since he had first arrived in Skyrim, yet he felt like he was getting nowhere. At the rate things were going, he would never be able to return to Aspen Creek.

The negative thoughts would keep him up all night if he didn't go to sleep before he got too pessimistic, so he curled up into a ball and closed his eyes.

Lyz's 'job' had been completed without a hitch. Lyz left the cabin the next morning and returned with a pouch full of coins. Her eyes almost appeared to glow as she counted the coins over and over again. Now that the job in Windhelm had been completed, they now had at least a couple of days off until their next job.

For the next few days, Bran accompanied Lyz on various small outings around the Rift hold. They would hunt for food and harvest alchemy ingredients that grew in the forests surrounding the city. Occasionally, they would venture out into the city and barter with local merchants and exchange gossip with locals.

From these outings, Bran learned more about the region and its people. The Rift, he'd learned, wasn't only home to humans and elves. Other sentient creatures took up residence in the city. The Argonians were a race of reptilian creatures who originated from Black Marsh and were frequently found working the docks of Riften. On one particular day, a caravan of strange cat-like people set up camp outside of Riften and sold items of questionable origin. Just when Bran had thought he'd seen it all, he and Lyz had run into an aging orcish warrior who was on a journey to seek out an honorable death. Bran hadn't understood that one, but Lyz had simply wished the warrior luck before the pair continued on their way. So many odd people were to be found in such an isolated region.

Every night after a good hunt, he and Lyz would eat together and store away their newly acquired supplies. Bran would select another book and have Lyz read to him. With each story, Bran increased his knowledge of the strange new world known as Tamriel. He learned about the history of Skyrim, the background of the civil war, and the culture of the people who live in the region.

While most of this information fascinated Bran, none of them led him closer to his goal. They did not provide any answers as to why a hagraven had attacked his home, why he had lost his ability to Change, or how he could return home. Each night, he went to sleep feeling increasingly frustrated and helpless.

The only real progress he had made was with his closeness to Lyz. At some point, without Bran really realizing it, the woman had lost her aversion of being near him. She no longer moved away when he approached her. She no longer hesitated before scratching his ear. She no longer hid her facial expressions from him when she thought he was watching. The improvement was almost enough to make Bran forget about his frustrations.

Despite Lyz's increased ease around him, she still kept many secrets. The woman rarely spoke of her past and would ignore Bran's prompting for more information. Worst of all, the strange, red-haired man from before continued to visit Lyz from time to time. This man - Brynjolf, Bran recalled - would knock on the door late at night after most of the Riften residents had already gone to sleep. Lyz and Brynjolf would step into the kitchen and speak in quiet tones about matters that Lyz never shared with Bran.

Brynjolf made Bran wary and suspicious. No good could come from the man.

On one particular night, Bran was awoken by a quiet knock on the front door. He was sprawled out in one of his usual sleeping spots at the foot of Lyz's bed. He'd been expecting Brynjolf to eventually visit again, so Bran ignored the knock and pretended to still be asleep. He intended to find out who this Brynjolf character was and what he was up to. Tonight, his efforts paid off. His eye opened by a slit and he watched as Lyz slipped out of bed and tiptoed around him. She glanced back at Bran and checked to see if he was awake. Bran kept his breathing level and his body relaxed. Reassured that he was still asleep, Lyz looked away and opened the door silently.

Brynjolf stood on the other side. On previous nights, Brynjolf had been dressed in plain clothes that would have kept him hidden and unnoticed even after dark. This time, however, the man wore sleek leather armor and a hood that bore a striking resemblance to Lyz's preferred outfit. Brynjolf placed a hand on Lyz's arm and pulled her close. His lips pressed against her ear.

A protective instinct surged through Bran and nearly caused him to rush for Brynjolf. Fortunately, Bran managed to suppress the instinct long enough to notice that Brynjolf's lips were moving.

"... come with me. It can't wait."

Lyz looked into Brynjolf's eyes before nodding silently. She followed him outside and closed the door behind her. Their footsteps began to fade out of earshot.

Brynjolf had visited in the middle of the night, but they had always kept their discussions inside the house. This was the first time they had actually left the house entirely. Curiosity and suspicion ate at Bran and he decided he had gone without answers for too long. Tonight was the night that he would find out what Lyz and Brynjolf were really up to.

Bran stood up and made his way to the door. Lyz had locked the door behind her, the careful woman that she was. But unlocking it with his mouth and paws was easy and Bran slipped out of the cabin without making a noise.

The two humans had already disappeared into the night, but their scents still lingered. Bran used his nose to trail them, first through the central market, then into the cemetery. Bran made his way past the weathered tombstones and the patches of nightshade flowers that liked to grow in the graveyard. The scent trail led all the way up to a large tomb on the far side of the cemetery before vanishing completely.

Bran tilted his head in confusion and sniffed around. He didn't think that they used magic to hide their scents. They hadn't done so on their way out and a human's sense of smell was weak enough that they probably wouldn't have thought to hide their scents to begin with. That meant that Bran was missing something.

By chance, Bran's nose grazed a small lump protruding from one of the walls of the tomb. Bran hadn't noticed it at first, but as soon as he realized it was there, he noticed how worn that particular spot was. While the rest of the tomb had become dusty and oxidized with age, this particular spot had been rubbed smooth. It was as if this particular spot was touched regularly.

He poked the lump with his nose experimentally and felt it slide into place inside a hidden chamber inside the wall. The tomb suddenly shifted, and Bran took several steps back. The ground slid away and revealed a stone staircase disappearing beneath the tomb. Bran studied the staircase curiously. Brynjolf's scent lingered on the steps. Several sets of shoe prints were worn into the steps. Bran gingerly crept down the steps until he reached the bottom of the staircase. He flinched when the stone coffin slid back over the staircase and plunged Bran into the darkness and musty scent of the hidden passageway.

Bran grumbled in irritation. The only way back was forward. He gave a sigh of resignation and groped around for a way out. Bran nosed around until he found a small doorway inside the passageway and eased his way through.

The passageway opened up into a large underground cistern. Water covered almost every surface and pooled into the center of the cistern. The stone floor was slimy and stank of mildew. Bran's nose wrinkled in disgust at the muck that clung to his paws as he entered the cistern. However, he froze when he caught sight of the shadowy outlines of people on the walkways crossing over the cistern. The people were all dressed in dark leather armor and moved too silently. Some of them lay on beds placed in the corners of the cistern.

It was a hideout, Bran realized. It was a place to gather underneath Riften without being noticed. Bran had been walking over the cistern every day without ever realizing that it was there. Lyz had never mentioned this place to him either.

Bran kept to the shadows as he crept forward. His ears tilted left and right as he tried to estimate the number of people roaming around the cistern. Eventually, his ears caught a familiar feminine voice.

Lyz stood in the center of the cistern where all of the walkways intersect. One of her blonde braids stuck out from underneath her hood and rested over her shoulder. Her back was to Bran, but he could see the faces of the men in front of her and see their mouths moving. She was in a deep conversation with Brynjolf and an older man.

"This is serious, lass. I told you to be careful with the Goldenglow job."

Brynjolf's voice drifted towards Bran as the wolf positioned himself behind a cluster of barrels. The man sounded mildly worried and gazed at Lyz with furrowed eyebrows.

Lyz folded her arms. "The Goldenglow job wasn't my idea. And it was approved by Lady Blackbriar."

The older man grunted. "What about the job where you stole her horse?"

Lyz was silent.

"You're lucky that Maven likes you so much. Otherwise, she would have had you killed. This time, she decided that you will repay her by completing another job for her. It's a simple enough job. Just have to deal with one of her competitors."

"Thank you, Mercer. I will take care of it immediately. Hopefully, that will be enough to get Maven off my back."

"Don't be so overconfident. I thought I trained members of the Thieves Guild better than this. Stealing that horse was not only stupid, it was sloppy."

Lyz looked down at her feet sheepishly.

Bran's ears were pinned back. Lyz was a thief. And not just any thief. She was a member of a thieves guild. Much of what he had witnessed of her suddenly made sense. The secret meetings, the jobs involving sketchy characters, her lockpicking skills, her obsession with gold. It all made sense now. Well... maybe not that last one.

"Well, what do we have here?"

A hand seized Bran's leg and dragged him out from behind the barrels. Bran twisted in surprise. He hadn't heard the man approach. Only felt the sharp yank that left him exposed for the entire Thieves Guild to see. Bran curled his body around and snapped his teeth at the man who had dragged him out of his hiding spot. The bald man jumped away and grinned at him fiercely.

"Feisty one, aren'tcha? Thought that you could hide from a bunch of trained thieves, huh?"

Bran looked around and realized that all heads were now turned towards him. They slowly made their way towards Bran and laughed when he growled at them.

"We've got ourselves a mean one. I wonder if it's a stray."

"Throw it into the pot with the rest. I'm hungry."

"At least let me play with it first. I have a new trick I would like to test out."

"It's mine."

Lyz's voice rang out above the rest. All heads turned and the cistern fell silent. The other thieves shifted out of the way as Lyz passed through the crowd and stood before Bran.

"It's my dog. I thought I left it at home."

The last comment must have been directed at Bran because Lyz's face settled into a stony frown when she said it.

One of the thieves gave Lyz a weird look. "You of all people got a dog? I thought you hated animals."

"Yes, I do. Human and elven animals included," Lyz deadpanned. "But I figured that if I am going to be out robbing the homes of important people, I should at least have some backup."

Mercer gave Lyz a deeply suspicious look. "Interesting choice of backup. He appears to be about as well-trained as you are."

Lyz opened and closed her mouth. Then she glared at Bran. "Sit."

Bran looked at her oddly. She was going to tell him to sit at a time like this?

Lyz's eyes narrowed to thin lines. "I said sit."

Bran sat down slowly, holding Lyz's gaze defiantly.

"Down."

He laid down.

"Roll over."

Bran rolled over, then glared at Lyz coldly.

"See?" Lyz said. "He knows a few tricks. Although, he appears to have difficulty with the stay command."

Mercer didn't look entirely convinced, though he didn't press Lyz further. "Next time warn us before inviting your pet to our hideout. The last thing we need is for someone to find out that we're down here. Maven might have our backs, but the jarl will have our throats." Mercer looked at the gathered crowd. "Back to work, all of you."

The thieves muttered in disappointment and drifted away. Brynjolf gave Lyz a wistful look before leaving. Mercer's eyes lingered on Bran, cold and predatory, before he too left.

Lyz sighed. "That could have gone worse," she muttered.

She looked at Bran, a scowl etched into her face, before gesturing towards the secret entrance. Bran led the way back outside and they silently made their way back to the cabin. As soon as the door shut behind them, Lyz whirled around to face Bran with a furious look.

"What were you thinking?" She hissed, eyes blazing. "Do you even realize how much trouble you nearly got me into?"

Bran met her glare with an equally angry stare. The thief had the nerve to criticize his actions after she'd kept her profession a secret from him for weeks. All this time spent working alongside this woman only to discover that he had been aiding a thief. He couldn't use words to express how offended he felt, but that didn't stop him from growling.

"You're going to growl at me? After I let you stay in my house? After I put up with your attitude for weeks? You're sitting here getting upset about me being a member of the Thieves Guild when we both know that you are way more than the dog you pretend to be."

Bran blinked. He hadn't thought of that. Now that she had mentioned it, it was hard to deny that he had been lying too. He had initially tried to fool Lyz into believing that he was a lost dog. In fact, the only reason he had stopped pretending was because Lyz had eventually seen through the act. His anger was not only illogical. It was hypocritical.

When had Bran become so invested in Lyz's private life? Getting this emotionally involved with her had never been a part of his plan. He just needed a place to stay and some means of safely traveling around while he tried to find a way back to Earth. So why was he getting so upset about Lyz keeping secrets from him?

Bran looked at Lyz's angry face, then down at his claws that were in the process of digging themselves into the floorboards. He was getting attached to her. He was beginning to care about her safety when he had only intended to stay with her temporarily. As ridiculous as it was, he shouldn't have been surprised. Wolves were pack animals, not loners.

Bran lowered his head onto his forepaws and gave an apologetic whine.

Lyz tilted her head in confusion. "Was that supposed to be an apology or an attempt to garner sympathy? I really hope it's not the latter." She frowned. "No, wait. You're hungry again. You always liked to steal food out of the kitchen every night around this time."

Apparently, their communication skills still needed some work. Bran padded up to Lyz and rolled onto his back. He flattened his ears and tucked his tail between his legs in a classic submissive pose. As an alpha werewolf, the pose felt both foreign and incredibly uncomfortable.

Lyz stared down at him blankly. Then she very slowly crouched down and patted his belly. "Fine. I forgive you. Next time just let me sneak out in peace. Okay?"

Bran immediately rolled over and surprised her with a lick to her cheek. That got a giggle out of Lyz as she swatted his face away.

"You brat! That was disgusting. This is why I don't keep pets."

That didn't stop you from keeping some stranger's dog, Bran thought unrepentantly.

Lyz sat on the floor with a sudden frown. Her fingers fiddled with the tip of her braid as she chewed on her lip. Bran nudged his head underneath her chin and whimpered.

"It's nothing serious," Lyz explained. "I just need your help with something. You see, I may have pissed off the most powerful woman in town by stealing one of her prized horses and she recently found out. May have."

Bran lifted an eyebrow at her. For some reason, he did not believe that 'may have' portion of her words.

"I mean," she tapped her fingers together. "It's not like I'm afraid of her. I'm well-connected and quite skilled despite what Mercer thinks. If I wanted to, I could probably break into her house and slit her throat without anyone noticing. And even if I didn't, she is going to lose whatever edge she has over me pretty soon. The real reason I'm concerned is because someone like that can still make my life difficult. That's why I need your help with the next job that was handed to me."

Her words sounded like bragging, but Bran didn't miss the bald casualness in her voice. He wasn't sure what connections she was referring to. Although, he did not doubt that Lyz could beat Lady Blackbriar in a fight. The noble struck Bran as the type to rely on others to do her dirty work. She wouldn't stand a chance against Lyz if the skilled thief managed to corner her in the middle of the night.

Bran nudged Lyz's arm with his nose, urging her to continue.

"I just got offered a small job involving one of Maven's competitors. There's a place south of Whiterun. They call it Honningbrew Meadery."