First Solo Contract

by the Queen of Nightmares

The 3rd of Rain's Hand, Teranin accepted her first solo contract. She had initially helped out Right-Wind with some stuff as a thank you for everything. Now she was ready to fly solo for the first time. She still had much to learn and hoped that the learning wouldn't come lethally. Right-Wind had told her, that these were the days when most warriors died. These days when they were fresh out of training, and they were on their own.

These days, the warriors felt like they were ten feet tall and impervious to swords. She had barely three and a half months of combat training under her belt. If she ran into the wrong person and made a fight of it, she could be dead. But that was the life of a warrior… those who belonged in this class, this was their testing forge. This was the time when wheat was separated from the chaff.

Early days of spring, a light rain had started this morning. Her contract was basic, 100 gold to bring in a bandit for trial. She needed to bring him in alive. These Dead or Alive contracts worked on the basis normally, where the value would be cut in half if the person was dead. This bandit is 1 of 4 that was involved in a series of carriage robberies. The other three had been captured by the Bruma Guard and turned over to the Imperial legion. This one had escaped.

She was tracking him, northwest of Bruma, up to a certain point, he had diverted straight west. Probably to avoid Cloud Ruler Temple. This bandit would be easy for some to track. For her, it was good practice.

His footsteps were dug in, implying that he was moving fast, in a panic. She knew that all four had been captured by the Imperials, but he managed to break free near here. An advantage of light armor was not making as much noise, but apparently…

"Stop right there. I could hear that creasing a mile away."

From behind a rock, popped up the bandit with an arrow aimed at Teranin. She was caught. "You're a fool." Said the bandit.

"You're under arrest."

"And an idiot too." Mused the bandit.

"So, what are we to do?"

"Throw down your sword, your dagger, and your money pouch and take ten steps back. Then I won't kill you."

She did as commanded. Her weapons and money. He approached them, putting his weapon away. "Silver? Nice. I can fetch a good price in Skyrim. I'm never coming back here again."

He grabbed her weapons and gold and took off. Once he was out of sight, and hopefully, earshot. She found a place under a tree and took off her leather gear. Now she was wearing basic attire. She began to pursue again. This time focusing more on her steps, and her cautious approach. Because she had seen him, he became easier than ever to track. His tracks were deeper because he was carrying more weight, but less dug in because he wasn't trying so hard.

She followed him for two hours, suffering every bit of the cold along the way. Finally, he found him. Eating some raw meat he had. She made her approach, he thought he heard something. She got closer… and closer… she needed to draw his attention. So, she used her magic, to make it sound like there were footsteps several feet away from her.

"I know you are there. I didn't think you would track me unarmed. You really are a foolish elf."

She used her magic again, to make a sound of boots digging in. The bandit pulled out his sword, "This time I'm going to kill you." He stepped forward cautiously, and then once he saw a large broken tree, he jumped around, as if thinking he had the drop her on. But she was behind him. She smashed him in the back of the head with a medium-sized branch.

He tried to get up, but she smashed the corner of her elbow against his head. He was out cold. "I'll be taking my stuff back now asshole." She picked up her sword and hilt. Her dagger, and her money. She got some rope and bound his hands. She pulled some smelling salts, a gift from Right-Wind, and used them to wake the bandit up. She held a dagger to his throat, "… and now I've captured myself a fool. Let's go."

She dragged the groggy bandit back for two hours, to where she left her armor, once there, she dressed herself fully, and they continued along my way.

The Bandit said, "I'm innocent you know."

"Sure. You're a priest actually, you've just had a run of bad luck."

"Uh… yea. May Talos bless you."

She jerked his rope, "I'm an Altmer you moron."

"May… Akatosh bless you. I'm a priest of Akatosh."

Teranin shook her head at the idiocy of the bandit, "You're not a very smart lot, are you?

"No, bandits are desperate. We are making a living, just like you."

Teranin scoffed, "Robbery, and murder. That's life."

"Better than begging. Easier to take, than it is to ask."

"Do beggars go to the Imperial Jail?"

The bandit had no answer. The conversation between them came largely to an end for the rest of the trip. Still, she understood being desperate. Sometimes people do things they never thought they would have…

Once in Bruma, she found the recently appointed Captain of the Guards, Burd. She had congratulated him when they ran into each other a month ago. "Teranin? What do you have for me?" Burd examined the bandit. "Very good. Thank you. Not too much trouble, was he?"

Teranin didn't answer. This lowly bandit got the drop on her and could have killed her. All because she was still very much a greenhorn. Light armor didn't quite suite her. Warriors like Right-Wind, their armor felt like a second skin to him. But her… well. It was a thing.

After she returned to the Porter and collected her fee, she found Right-Wind and told him the story. He sighed and didn't judge her, but he did say, "You're very lucky. But then again, so was I once upon a time. You need to train with light armor, and you need to train with sneak. Olfand can train you, and being a smith, he could probably tailor that leather to you too. I would speak to him. As for sneaking skills… I'm a warrior. You'll have to search for yourself to find people with that skill, and the willingness to train you."

Teranin nodded. "Thank you."