Holding her teacup at her lips, Vanya sucked a steady stream of liquid into her mouth, her eyes devouring the words on the page of the book laid on the table. Her mind was no longer in the tavern, transported into the shoes of a hungry thief who was fleeing into the woods, pursued by those from whom he'd stolen, desperate and scared as the hunters seemed to grow in number the more he ran.

Into an abandoned shack, he's hiding, realizing with horror that he's not alone. A shriveled old man, the face of death, the silhouettes of the predators that had corralled the thief to his doom. Talons reach for him from the shadows...

"What are you reading?" Teldryn's voice ripped her back to the present, his heavy hand on her shoulder causing her to shriek as she slammed her cup to the table, a few drops of tea sloshing over the edges. He pulled his hand back, chuckling as he fell into the chair across from her. "That good, huh?"

"Jesus Christ," she breathed as she leaned her head into one hand, the other resting over her thumping heart.

He slid the book around, folding it over to read the cover. "Ah, Trap," he said with recognition. "No wonder you're in such a state. Vampires will do that."

She dropped her hand from her head to glare at him as he slid the book back around to her. "I didn't know they were vampires yet, I hadn't finished it!" She slammed the book shut. "You owe me five septims for ruining the ending."

"Is that how much Fethis charged you for it?" He scoffed, "That old fetcher."

She rolled her eyes, picking up her teacup to finish off the contents. "Suppose you're hungry," she said as she pushed to her feet, gathering up her breakfast dishes. "Gotta makes sure you have plenty of energy for beating up on the guards." Modyn had finally convinced Teldryn to help keep the guards in shape- not without a healthy bribe- and so he'd been fairly busy with that over the past couple weeks. It did cut into her training time, or cut out her training altogether, but that had become little more than an exercise in frustration between them so it wasn't much of a loss. They had better things to do, anyway.

A rather ornery grin spread on his lips. "New blood today."


"Alright, dear," Milore said as she situated a few bowls on her work table in the market. "Sit in that chair, there." She waved her fingers vaguely in the direction of a rickety wooden chair nearby that looked as though it might hold only the elder woman's weight and precisely no more. Vanya sat, carefully.

Milore approached with one of the bowls. "Dip a little of this out and spread it on your hands." The chair creaked precariously as Vanya leaned for a closer look at the grey, gelatinous blob inside. She made a face at the dunmer.

"What is it?"

"Troll fat, " Milore replied. "And a little bit of garlic. Excellent for topical poison resistance." Vanya suppressed a gag as the sour, garlicky smell curled into her nose.

She slowly reached out two fingers toward the bowl, every inch closer increasing her dread.

"Oh, come now!" Milore admonished. "It's harmless!" The fat jiggled as she spoke and Vanya thought that it seemed at least a little bit threatening.

With a pout, she stuck her fingers in the goop. "Ewwww, it's cold!" she whined as she scooped out a glob and spread it across her palm. Cold, greasy, slimy, smelly. Disgusting.

"Spread it evenly," the dunmer instructed. "Or you may be more uncomfortable later." She set a large mortar in front of Vanya full of glossy, fat mushrooms. "Now, crush these into a paste. Smooth as you can get it."

Vanya picked up the pestle and got to work. "How can something so poisonous go into a potion to cure disease?"

"That Imp Stool is not for the potion. It's for this," she said as she hefted a large claw onto the table. She rapped on it with her knuckles. "Mudcrab Chitin. Can't very well make a potion with something hard as rock. Simmer this in a bit of Imp Stool and it softens right up." She turned toward her ingredient chest and pulled out a small iron wedge and a hammer.

Vanya worked the pestle absently as she watched Milore shove the wedge into a crevice of the claw. "Wouldn't that poison the chitin?"

"Ah, good observation," Milore said, clearly pleased. "As it turns out, Mudcrab Chitin can be used to resist poison and so..." she slammed the hammer onto the top of the wedge with no effect. She raised the hammer again. "...even though the Imp Stool breaks it down..." her voice straining as she hit the wedge once more. She huffed, dropping the hammer in defeat. "...the effects cancel each other. Lovely isn't it?" She tried to pull the wedge from the claw, throwing her hands up when it didn't budge. "Oh, where is Garyn when I need him?"

"I'd help you but my hands are slimed."

"No, no you keep at that, I'll-" she stopped short, staring out into the market. "I'll figure it out." She brushed past purposefully. "You! Lizard!"

Vanya grimaced a little, hoping that moniker wasn't considered offensive as the little dunmer approached Teeba-Ei, who she was surprised to see in the market at this early hour. She couldn't hear what Milore was saying but he was tilting away from her uncomfortably. When he looked in the direction of the work table, Vanya gave him a smile, waving with the pestle still in her hand. He seemed to relax, finally nodding and following Milore.

"Hey Teeba-Ei," Vanya greeted, preferring to use his name despite her suggested nickname the others had adopted. She felt a little guilty about that, no matter how fitting it was.

"Good day," he mumbled.

"Here, here, take this." Milore lifted the claw from the table, holding it out with both hands. The argonian's large hand closed around it, making it look as if it had shrunk suddenly. Milore gave him an encouraging nod. "Go on."

Teeba-Ei pressed the claw between his palms, the chitin instantly cracking apart as if it were an eggshell. Vanya gaped, collecting herself as Milore giggled approvingly.

"Marvelous! Here." She picked up a shallow pan and held it under his hands. "Drop it in here and I'll pick out the meat." Teeba-Ei did as she said, then stepped back to give her space. "Don't go too far," the dunmer added as she dug out a thick segment of meat, tossing it into a nearby bowl. "Some of these pieces will need to be broken down more." He looked as if he'd rather be anywhere else at the moment, his hands clenching and relaxing at his sides.

"How's the fern?" Vanya asked, hoping to distract him.

He perked up a little. "She is doing well. She has grown a little. Teeba-Ei worries for the ash, it is hard to keep out of the bowl when she sits in the sun."

"A little ash is a good fertilizer," Milore said, holding out a chunk of chitin to the argonian. "But you ought to cover the dirt with straw to keep it from being overwhelmed." He tilted his head as he crushed the chitin effortlessly, depositing the pieces into the waiting pan. "And give the leaves a good dusting every so often so they can breathe."

Teeba-Ei nodded, his eyes darting back and forth in focus as if he were transcribing the instructions in his brain.

"Did you guys finish at the house early?" Vanya asked when he looked to be done with the mental exercise.

"Er...not exactly," he replied, the regret in his voice mirroring his sudden change in expression. "Teeba-Ei stepped on Neetranaza's tail again. After knocking over the roof slats..." Vanya winced as he bobbed his head back and forth, obviously not finished laying out his mishaps. "...and spilling a bucket of lacquer. Teeba-Ei is relieved of building duties," he concluded with a pout, or at least the closest she guessed an argonian face could come to one.

"So will you go back to the mines now?"

"Suppose so," he said morosely as he took another piece of chitin from Milore, producing a series of cracks as he closed his scaled fist around it. "Teeba-Ei is better at breaking rocks anyway."

Vanya shared a look with Milore, who curled her lips in somewhat guiltily.

"Well," the dunmer chimed in brightly, relieving him of the broken up chitin. "What do you want to do?"

He pressed his hands together stiffly. "It doesn't matter."

"All the more reason to tell us, then!" Milore pressed. Vanya nodded enthusiastically when he glanced toward her.

"Uh..." His gaze shifted between them. "It's not-"

"G'day Milore," a smooth, feminine voice interrupted and they all looked to its owner, a bosmer huntress holding an impressive bundle of long white feathers.

"Ah, Gael," Milore chirped. "I didn't expect you back until later today! Wonderful!"

"It would seem Felsaad Tern are not as wary as hawks," Gael's turquoise eyes glinted as she handed over the feathers. "I took the liberty of eating the meat, hope you don't mind."

"Of course not, my dear. Let me fetch your pay." Milore hurried toward the house, cradling the bundle. "Oh, these are just lovely..."

Gael reached up and plucked a sharp bone from somewhere in her mysteriously tied up hair and began picking at her teeth, staring up at towering argonian in front of her. "Rough day?"

His eyes were distant, luminous reflections of the morning sun and after a few moments of silence, he simply turned and walked away leaving them watching his retreating form as he headed toward the path to the mine. A little confused but completely unoffended, Vanya turned her attention to the long, elegant bow on Gael's back, her eyes traveling down absorbing the myriad of objects hanging onto the bosmer's leather armor. A fox tail, a sash strung with rabbit ears, various sizes of knives tucked into straps and now that she looked closer she could see her bronze hair was twisted up around more thin bones. Gael shrugged carelessly as she turned back around, wiping off her toothpick and stabbing it back into place on her head giving a good view of her extremely toned muscles as she raised her arms.

"So you can hit birds right out of the sky with a bow and arrow?" Vanya asked, more for confirmation than curiosity.

"Aye, I can." The huntress grinned, revealing rather prominent canines. "Felsaad Tern are quite large, it's not difficult."

Wow. That sounded like a magical feat all on its own. She would love to see that in action.

"Mama!" They both looked across the market to see Beniel running toward them with Llero trotting close behind, though he stopped by the well to wait as the girl leapt into her mother's arms. Vanya winked at him and he smiled shyly, shuffling behind the well out of sight.

"Beni, my love, have you been good while I was gone?"

"Yes, mama, yes!" Beniel assured, trying to dodge a kiss as she was set back down. "Did you bring me a wishbone?" She reached out toward the satchel on her mother's belt, her tiny hands being promptly smacked away.

"Tch! Back you little raccoon!" Gael scolded playfully, opening the pouch and pulling out a wishbone. "I have two. You can have one now," she lifted the prize quickly from Beniel's grabby reach. "And I'll give you the other if Llero's mother gives me a good report."

"She will! She will! She will!" Beniel cried earnestly, positively vibrating with excitement as the object of her desire was lowered to her hands. The moment she took possession she was off toward the well. "Llero, look, look!"

The bosmer scoffed, giving Vanya an exasperated look. "Shows how much she missed me."

Milore reappeared from the house with a small bag in hand. "Here you are, Gael. Excellent job, really."

"Thank you." She tipped her head toward the dunmer, then to Vanya, backing away to take her leave. She stopped suddenly, addressing them both. "Eh, would you happen to know whereabouts Captain Veleth is this time of day?"

Vanya straightened up in the chair, intrigued. "Hard to say, I would try his office first. Is something wrong?"

She paused to consider for a moment before she answered. "I hope not." She gave them a stiff grin and turned away, heading for Morvayn Manor.

Vanya looked back to Milore with a shrug, then returned to her task of creaming the Imp Stool, hunting down chunks to smash with the pestle. The way news traveled around, if anything was going on she was sure to hear about it sooner or later.

"Once you're finished with that," Milore said as she poured water from a bucket into a cauldron. "Scrape the Imp Stool into here." She leaned down to light the fire underneath. "Simmer until it has a good froth on the top, then toss the chitin in. Since I've got some time now that I don't have to break it up, I'm going to sort those feathers. Come and get me when the chitin is ready or if anyone wants to buy something." She made her way back to the door but before she could go inside Vanya stopped her.

"Wait! How will I know the chitin is softened enough?"

"Oh, um..." Milore's eyes darted around at the various tools laying about before landing on Vanya's hip. "Ah, poke it with that blade of yours. If it cuts like cheese, it's ready."

With that, Vanya was left to her task, enjoying herself by watching the bustle of the market. Even the troll fat wasn't bothering her anym- no, that was a lie. It was still gross. At least she could no longer smell it.