The first couple of days had been absolutely exhausting. She had moved to an employee sleeping quarter just off the kitchen that had three beds, which showed how much busier the place used to be. Each bed had a nightstand on one side and a small trunk at the foot which locked with a key. Geldis had a small room down a short stairwell.

Vanya had cleaned non-stop between dishes, rooms, and simply keeping ash from building up on the floors. Now that she was getting the hang of the routine and had learned where everything was, it didn't seem so hard. Every morning she got up and went out to the well to start filling buckets for tea and cooking. Geldis helped her haul the water in and prepared the fires. He was a little perturbed by the fact that she could not- or would not for all he knew- use magic to stoke the flames of the hearth but he did not press her about it, instead muttering something about human stubbornness. He set about cooking while she set up the pots to boil water. Geldis was quite eager to teach Vanya the cooking as he'd long had Drovas doing it and preferred to spend his time tending bar or with his brewing experiments. That meant that Vanya had to suck it up and taste all the bugs. She'd managed to keep everything down by simply denying in her mind that kwama, scrib, nix-hound, and ash-hopper were insects. She needed this job and cognitive dissonance was the only way she was going to get through.

It was fortunate, really, that the place was not overly busy and the usual patrons were simply townsfolk who didn't want to bother cooking for themselves. Though Vanya felt overwhelmed learning all the new ingredients and dishes, it was an ideal pace and the customers were very understanding. It turned out that some, such as Fethis and Garyn, did not even pay with gold but instead had a barter arrangement set up. There was simply so little outside gold coming in that it was easier to trade goods and services. That also meant that there was not much gold to pay her with, though Geldis did pay her a little on top of free room and board. She wasn't going to complain at all. She also enjoyed getting to know everyone. Having kept mostly to herself since her arrival, focused on trying to get by, it was nice to relax and talk to people.

She'd just finished delivering breakfast to Captain Veleth and Dreyla when she heard Geldis exclaim, "You can't be serious!?"

Vanya approached the bar and noticed Mogrul leaning over the counter, his dunmer bodyguard standing menacingly behind him. "Geldis, do I look like I'm joking?" Mogrul growled. Geldis did not reply but looked tremendously irritated. "I expect payment by Fredas. Or you know what happens," the orc said before he stalked out of the tavern.

"What was that all about?" Vanya asked after she was sure he was gone.

"Apparently, Drovas borrowed a thousand septims from Mogrul," Geldis spat. "I told that boy not to borrow from him, I told him."

"A thousand septims? What did he need that for?"

"I don't know, he was always buying spellbooks and enchanted rings and such." Geldis threw his hands up in frustration. "But now that he's gone and Mogrul cannot reach him, that N'wah expects me to pay the debt! Absolute lunacy, I'm not his kin!"

"How can he expect that? Can't you get, like, Captain Veleth to get him off your back?" Vanya lowered her voice a bit to not draw the captain's attention.

"The guard is not going to get involved with money squabbles, stretched thin as they are. And what can I do? If I don't pay him he'll send thugs to extract his due by force. I don't have that kind of coin just laying around."

Vanya knit her brow, thinking for a moment. "Can we send Drovas a letter?"

"We will not receive a response in time." Geldis seemed resigned to his fate.

They had to get back to work but Vanya continued thinking about the problem for the rest of the day. There must be something they could do to get out of the debt- or at least reduce it.

Late that night when the dinner patrons were gone and only Glover and a couple of guards sat at a table with drinks, Vanya knocked on the open door of Geldis room. He was sitting at his desk writing notes in his ledger.

"Hmm?" He responded, not looking up.

"I've been thinking," Vanya said.

"Let's hear it."

"Let's write Drovas a letter telling him he owes a thousand septims, then try to reason with Mogrul to reduce the debt, pay it, then if and when Drovas sends any money it can be payback."

Geldis tapped the feather of his quill against his chin. "Hmmm, possibly. He may not respond, the fetcher. He's untouchable in that Telvanni mushroom tower."

The mushroom tower comment gave Vanya pause, but she continued, "Maybe, but perhaps he will since you have a history with him. It's worth a shot, right?"

"One problem." The dunmer looked at her. "How do you propose bargaining with Mogrul?"

Vanya approached his desk, leaning on it with one hand as she lowered her voice. "What can you afford, Geldis? The absolute most?"

He pursed his lips and considered a moment before answering, "If I really stretch I could come up with seven hundred septims, but that's cleaning me out."

She nodded thoughtfully. When she was twenty-two she'd made some bad choices with credit cards and ended up being hounded by debt collectors. If her experience with them had taught her anything, they were often willing to settle the debt for less just to be done chasing people down.

"What are you thinking?" Geldis interrupted.

"Well, I imagine Mogrul has spent some coin trying to extract the debt from Drovas but has failed so he's already out some money on the deal. I don't know how much he pays his thugs but I'm sure they don't come cheap so he may not be too keen on paying them a second time on the same debt. If we could offer him an amount that breaks him something close to even, he may agree."

Geldis thought on it and his expression showed he was following her logic. "Yes, that might work. That might work. But you would have to be the one to do it."

Vanya's eyes widened. "Me? Why?"

"Mogrul already doesn't like me. He won't be very amenable to anything I propose to him. You, on the other hand, he may not have formed an opinion about. You have a certain charm and it may just be enough to make him forget that the deal is benefiting me."

Vanya wanted to thank him for the compliment but her mind was frozen with dread at the prospect of even approaching Mogrul, let alone trying to speak to him. She had served the orc and his dunmer bodyguard their meals but as they had the same thing every day- ash yam with fried horker steak and nix hound with saltrice, respectively- all she had to do was set it on the table and leave. Mogrul never so much as glanced at her and she certainly didn't stick around to see if he was enjoying his meal.

She would rather beg on the streets for the money. "I can't do it, I can't."

"How come? He's after me, the worst he would do to you is refuse. He pays others to do his dirty work and Slitter is there for his protection, not as enforcement."

"I...I just can't." She was trying to keep from shaking but by the look on Geldis' face, she knew her fear was clearly visible. "I'm sorry," She said as she left the room to return to her work.

That night, she tossed and turned with nightmares about her time in the cave. She gave up on sleep and lay staring at the ceiling. She felt rather guilty for coming up with a plan to try and help, then backing out like that. She also didn't want to tell Geldis the details of her experience, for all he knew she was found just wandering the woods. She wanted desperately to help him, but she was certain that she would fumble the whole thing out of fear. Dealing with Mogrul personally was just out of the question.


The next morning, after breakfast was over, Vanya paid Bralsa a visit. She had taken to stopping by the shack most days and she and Bralsa, different as they were, had become friends. Even Rirns welcomed her as she often brought leftover food to share.

Usually, the three sat on the floor of the shack with the door open for air, but today Vanya wanted to talk privately with Bralsa. Rirns was quite content to be left alone to eat so the two women headed toward the shore. They chatted idly as they walked until they reached a large rock, where they decided to sit.

"So what is it?" Bralsa asked.

Vanya took a deep breath, "I need to talk about what happened to me when I got here."

"To Raven Rock?"

"No, to..." She nearly said Nirn but thought better of it. "Solstheim."

"Alright, go ahead."

Bralsa listened as Vanya recounted the events of her first days on Solstheim, encouraging her to continue when the memories became too painful to put into words. Bralsa winced as she described the worst of it- when the orc had gotten a hold of her. She finished with being rescued and Teldryn dropping her off in Raven Rock. When her tale was over, she felt like a candle had been lit in a dark corner of her heart.

"Vanya, I had no idea. I'm so sorry that happened to you."

Vanya huffed, "Me, too."

"And you don't remember where you are from? Or how you got here?"

A knot formed in Vanya's stomach. Though it had been therapeutic to talk through her experiences on Nirn, she was not prepared to delve into her life before. "No, I barely knew my own name when I came to," she lied.

Bralsa nodded, accepting her answer.

"Thank you for listening, Bralsa. You are the only person I've told."

"The deepest secrets of your heart are safe with me, my friend."

They smiled at each other and both looked out into the distance at the only thing there was to see- Red Mountain. After a few moments of companionable silence, Vanya asked, "Do you know much about Mogrul?"

Bralsa snapped her head to look at her. "Why?" she barked. "You aren't thinking of borrowing from him are you?"

"No!" Vanya replied quickly. "No, nothing like that. It's just that Drovas left a debt unpaid and now Mogrul is after Geldis for it. We have a plan to try and bargain with him but Geldis thinks that I should be the one to talk to him. He says Mogrul doesn't like him."

"Drovas," Bralsa said his name like a curse. "He really is pathetic. You know, at least when I've begged for money I don't make anyone think I plan on paying them back." Her stern expression cracked into a grin as Vanya laughed.

"That's terrible!" Vanya said between giggles. "But also true, I guess." The levity was brief and she sighed. "I want to help Geldis, but when I look at Mogrul all I can see is that orc in the cave. I don't think I can do it."

Bralsa scoffed, "Mogrul is a coward. Look at where he is, preying on people up to their eyes in ash and poverty, paying others to handle anything beyond giving dirty looks. You don't need to be afraid of him. And besides, if you should fail it's not your hide on the line. Look at it this way, if you don't try then Geldis gets roughed up. If you do try, Geldis might get roughed up." The dunmer woman smiled. "Either way you're safe, you're not his family. Mogrul won't touch you."

Vanya considered for a moment. If what Bralsa said was true it heartened her considerably. She was a little skeptical since Mogrul had no qualms about going after Geldis when he was not related to Drovas, but she really did want to help.

Bralsa interrupted her thoughts, "The sun is pretty high, I think it's time to be heading back. Geldis will be looking for you."

"Oh, you're right!" The pair hopped off the rock and started back toward the center of town. "If it goes badly, can I stay with you so I'm not collateral damage?" Vanya asked, only half joking.

Bralsa put her arm around Vanya's shoulder. "You won't fail. And stop trying to move in with me."


When Mogrul came in that day, Vanya watched him closely. He wasn't nearly as tall as the orc from the cave, nor was he as muscular. In fact, he didn't wear a shred of armor and looked as if he hadn't seen much fighting. The same could not be said for Slitter. The dunmer bodyguard was a silent sentinel and looked as if he'd cut your throat if you so much as looked at his boss wrong. Obviously how he got his name. He was certainly the more intimidating of the two, but she figured if she spoke politely she'd have no reason to worry.

Later that night, Vanya informed Geldis she had changed her mind. They talked over the plan and decided that tomorrow when Mogrul came in for lunch, she would execute it.