I was dry by the time I was turning the boat to tie up at the Suran docks. The Dunmer dockmaster strode up to us as we disembarked. She wore a wide conical straw hat to keep the sun off. "How long will you be docking your boat?"

"Well that's up to you. I'd like to sell it."

The woman tipped her hat up to peer at the boat. "It looks to be in good condition. Give me an hour and I'll have an appraisal ready."

"Perfect." I strapped the Orcish sword to my belt and slung the quiver and bow over my shoulder. After temporarily donning the helmet, I dragged the cliff racer carcass out of the boat. The dockmaster eyed the blood mixed with river water in the bottom of the boat. "Sorry about that," I added. Ajira led the way to the butcher, having visited Suran on a previous occasion. "I'll split the money we get from the boat with you. You might as well get a little freelance pay from this trip."

"Oh," she bit her lip. "Ajira really didn't help much."

"Nonsense. You buttered up that high and mighty wizard. It would have gone differently if I'd tried to stand toe to toe with him. Besides, I was taught to keep partners paid. That way everyone's fat and happy."

"Ajira will take the money, but you should remember that she was the daughter of a priest. Ajira does not seek money for herself."

When we arrived at the butcher, Ajira paused, looking at a Bosmer woman as she left the shop. "Gildee, is that you?"

The wood elf looked up and gave Ajira an enthusiastic hug. "Ajira, what are you doing in Suran?"

Ajira gave a brief explanation of our escapades and introduced me. Gildee shook my hand, unperturbed by the dead animal on my shoulder. She wasn't tall. She had her blond curly hair tied back with a piece of rawhide. Her eyes were green and slanted like most elves. Her clothes weren't what I was used to seeing women wear. Roughspun pants and a short sleeved leather jerkin. She wore a quiver and a short recurve bow that looked much less cumbersome than mine. She introduced herself. "I'm Gildee, a hunter." Her manner was gleeful, as if she hadn't a care in the world.

I had to force myself to look serious and not just grin back. "I'm Han-lu, debt collector, sellsword, and earner of money in general."

Ajira hijacked the conversation, hugging Gildee with one arm. "Gildee and Ajira grew up together in Elsweyr. We came here together."

"Well," I interrupted. "Why don't you two go catch up? It'll be late by the time we sell the boat. We can sleep at an inn and get a fresh start in the morning."

"Oh thank you," Gildee gushed. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She spoke with a twinkle in her eye that was somewhere between friendly and flirtatious as she pulled Ajira away. The Khajiit looked as though she wanted to argue, but in Gildee's flurry, she never got the chance. They disappeared in the crowd of the street. "They don't make 'em like that in Cyrodiil," I mused.

After collecting my thoughts, I went about town, quickly conducting my business. I sold the cliff racer, the Orcish helmet, and the boat just as the respective shops were closing. After subtracting Ajira's cut, I'd made nearly six hundred septims.

When I finally found an inn serving food, I sat at the bar to eat. Gildee and Ajira were there, drinking, but I let them be alone. I was thinking about money and how much it would take to get me off this island. Five thousand would probably be plenty, but you never knew with smugglers. I counted out my coin. Counting the scam I'd run on the Nord in Seyda Neen, the money from the fighters guild job, and what I'd made today, minus supplies, I had a thousand with some change.

My thoughts continued on matters of how I could make more money and how I'd find a smuggler until I nodded off at the bar. Someone snapped their fingers in my ear to wake me.

"Hey sellsword, come dance with me." I awoke to the sound of musicians playing in a corner. The whole bar room was shaking as the drinkers all stomped to a lively tune. An inebriated Nord man had grabbed one of the barmaids and pulled her into the middle of the room to dance. Patrons had pulled tables away from the middle to give space to the dancers and now Ajira's friend Gildee was pulling on my arm, tugging me toward the center.

As soon as I realised what was happening, I resisted. "Woah, hold up. I don't want to dance."

She stopped pulling and put her hands on her hips. I looked at her not sure what to say when her eyes flashed a bright green. For one moment, I recognized the tingle of magic wash over me, but as soon as that moment was over, I couldn't have cared less what had happened. All my inhibitions melted away and I grinned stupidly as she dragged me away to the floor.

The dance she chose was not one I was familiar with, but I didn't seem to mind. I tried to copy the jig she danced as I watched her. Our feet were half stomping to the music and half dancing. Revelers all around us cheered and bellowed raucously and soon another pair joined the floor.

Gildee stared at me, a pretty grin on her face. She was obviously comfortable with this sort of thing. I tried to gather a logical thought, but all I could seem to do was acquiesce to her. My own jig was not nearly as graceful as hers and I didn't like being outdone. As an attempt to take the lead, I grabbed Gildee's hand and took her waist. I led us to a lively version of the cyrodilic ballroom dancing I'd been taught, adding the lively stomping. At first, I had trouble keeping pace with the music, but Gildee caught on to my ploy and began spinning, adding rhythm to the normally dull style.

I added the occasional swing to keep things interesting and Gildee followed my lead smoothly. She spun out to arm's length with only our fingers touching before spinning in, wrapping herself in my arms. I grabbed her other hand and spun her out to arm's length the other way, then pulled her close. She let go of my hands and pressed herself against me promiscuously. I leaned in close to her face, half expecting a kiss when she pulled my bow up and over my head. I hadn't noticed, but the long weapon had been interfering with her rhythm.

She took one of my hands and leaned back into a dip so she could lay the bow on a table next to Ajira who was stomping with the rest of the crowd. She caught my eye and raised a mug to me. I laughed as another Khajiit approached her and offered her a hand. Being the shy, quiet type, she didn't accept right away. As I spun around, Gildee also caught sight of Ajira's plight. Her face turned almost serious and she glanced between me and Ajira.

She seemed to come to a decision and her eyes flashed again. All at once, I was myself again. I tried to pull away, not understanding why I had willingly joined Gildee, but she tightened her grip on me. She whispered into my ear, "Come on, let yourself have a good time."

I broke away from her grip and stepped back off the floor. How long had I been dancing like an idiot? I touched my satchel and sword, making sure I still had all my things, but then I remembered the bow. Ajira had been holding it, but now she was dancing as though she hadn't a care in the world. I realized then, what had happened. Gildee had charmed me with a spell, but had switched the spell to Ajira and freed me. She stepped close again, trying to take my hand and start dancing again. I pulled away, scanning the room for my missing weapon.

A dark elf was walking low, around the edge of the room. I stared after him and caught sight of my bow in his hands as he neared the door. I abandoned the crazy Bosmer girl and pursued the thief out into the night.

"Stop," I yelled! When he realized he was being chased, he ran. The night was lit by a bright moon and I ran after him, yelling for a guard.

I followed, breathing hard from the dancing. He led me toward the outskirts of town to where a rope bridge spanned the Nabia river. I stopped as he rushed onto the planks and drew my sword. "Stop or I'll cut the bridge!" This stopped the thief in his tracks. He halted, panting on the bouncing bridge. "Come back here and give me the bow," I ordered.

Slowly, the elf turned and inched towards me. "I'm sorry muthsera. Don't hurt me." He held out the bow at arm's length to me. I considered taking the bow and cutting the bridge anyway, but that would cause problems to travelers. I sheathed my sword and reached out to grab the bow suddenly. I was able to pull him forward, off balance and threw a right hook in his jaw. The punch, connected and I dropped the bow so I could follow with a gut punch. He tried to retreat, but I caught him part way over the bridge and threw him over the side, into the river.

The thief landed with a splash and came up sputtering. He swam ashore twenty yards downriver and disappeared into the night. When I turned around, Gildee was picking up my dropped bow, shamefaced.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you trouble. I was just looking for a good time." I shook my head, my sides heaving and I fell against the ropes making up the railing. She approached me and offered the bow, which I took and set in my lap while I tried to catch my breath.

"You… you bewitched me."

She nodded. "You dark elves are so uptight. How else am I supposed to have a little fun?"

I just shook my head again. I wasn't angry with her, I was just out of breath. She leaned on the rail next to me, afraid I hadn't forgiven her. "I really didn't mean any harm by it."

"I don't mind. It was fun, but I still can't say I'm really comfortable with being bewitched. My Uncle Fargoth warned me about girls like you," I teased.

She smiled, happy that I'd forgiven her, but didn't miss a beat with her flirtatious response. "And what kind of girl might that be?"

I chuckled for a moment, remembering Fargoth's face as he said it. "The fun kind of course."

Her chuckles joined mine until we both fell quiet. I thought for a moment that I'd break the silence, but the sound of the river was so pretty and the moon shone so brightly on the tributaries to the south, I didn't mind the silence and neither did she as she joined me in gazing at the horizon.

After a few moments, Gildee took a strange bottle out of her bag and took a swig. A pungent smell wafted over to me, similar to gravy. "What's that," I asked?

"Oh, it's a favorite drink among my people. I doubt you'd like it."

"It smells like meat," I pushed.

She nodded. "It's fermented pork broth. My religion doesn't allow the eating of plants, so we make everything we eat from animal products."

I stared, halfway between disbelief and disgust at the drink. She mistook my stare as curiosity and offered me the bottle. "Oh, no thanks. I'm good." We fell silent again. My mind lingered on why she was here with me. Did she like me? I wasn't sure what to do if that was the case and the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I became. She didn't interrupt the silence this time, seeming completely content to enjoy the moment.

Finally, I thought of an excuse. "I wonder how Ajira's doing."

Gildee's eyes shot wide open. "Oh no. When I left, the charm spell would have broken." She shot bolt upright and headed for the tavern again to make amends with her abandoned friend. However, when we arrived, the musicians were still playing, the music had turned slow, and Ajira was still swaying with the bigger Khajiit who'd asked her to dance.

Seeing that there was no emergency, I slipped away to the owner and rented a room for the night. It was well past time to lay on a soft mattress.