"Ok Then. I'll try and figure it out. But I'll need a good source of information." Yew said.
"The inns and taverns of this city are a good start. You'll learn things here first that everyone will soon know, and you'll learn things no one else can tell you. The innkeepers are sorta the internet of this place. Well, books are the internet maybe...point is innkeepers know a lot. Just like in video games." Jasmine said.
"And tabletops, yeah." Yew nodded.
"But really the best information will be at court. Especially for news from outside this city. Most of the time normal folk only have access to news at best to about five miles in each direction from the city limits. The court has scouts, messengers, messenger birds and magic to gather information. If you really want your hand on the pulse, then you'll have to get in good with the Jarl." Jasmine said.
"Sounds like a plan. How do I go about doing that?" Yew said.
" I dunno. Do quests for him. Charm him. Show off your ass. Suck his cock. I've down the first three and he seems to like me pretty well." Jasmine said.
"Ask a dumb question..." Yew said.
"You'll be alright. You seem pretty smart. And it's not like I won't help you at all. I just hate to do things just because I'm supposed to...if you know what I mean." Jasmine said.
"Not really. But I respect it. We should probably head out. Otherwise, they'll worry. Or think we're fucking." Yew said.
"Pft, as if you could last this long with me." Jasmine said.
"My tongue could." I said.
"A bottom huh? Should have called that." Jasmine said, she headed towards the door.
"Might not want to leave without your clothes." Yew said.
"I'm a quirky bard. I can do what I want." Jasmine said.
"People don't trust me here. I'd rather you walk out of this room with clothes on." Yew said.
"Fine. I just wanted to see if you would stare at my ass when I walked past anyway. And you totally did by the way." Jasmine said.
"W-well it is a very nice butt." Yew said.
"I know." Jasmine said. And she started getting dressed. Yew was able to pry his eyes off of Jasmine for long enough to do the same.
The two-headed back down.
"You two were gone for some time." Greta said.
"Did you two fuck or what?" Uthgerd said. Greta gave her a look.
"No. We did not. We merely discussed some things. And I've decided to help you. If any of you three need any help. Myself and Freya will offer our services." Jasmine said.
"Oh. That is very kind of you." Greta said.
"You two must have had quite the conversation." Uthgerd said.
"We did. I suppose I owe you two a conversation of your own. You must have questions concerning my order, and what things I will expect from you when in my company. And what you can expect from me. We'll talk all about it in private." Yew said.
"Are we staying here?" Uthgerd asked.
"I'm not sure that would be a good idea. Is there a more...accommodating inn, besides the one our little battle ruined?" Yew asked.
"A few but this place isn't bad. And I know you've been getting stares, but it's unlikely to come to more than that. Relax and get a room." Jasmine said.
"Is everyone else fine with that?" Yew asked his team.
"Aye. I don't mind where I sleep." Uthgerd said.
"Yes. That is fine." Greta said, though she was clearly a bit uncomfortable.
Yew and Jasmine finished their meal and Jasmine and Freya retired to the room Jasmine had bought earlier. Yew then went up to buy a room for the night.
The room wasn't that bad all things considered. It was certainly better then most medieval inns on earth would have looked like, but it wasn't as good as the rooms at the Bannered Mare.
"There's only one bed." Greta said.
"Don't worry. I can sleep on the floor." Uthgerd said.
"I...I mean that doesn't solve all of it." Greta said.
"If you want I can sleep on the floor as well." Yew said.
"I...I don't want both of you to have to sleep on the floor for my benefit. Maybe I could sleep on the floor...or..." Greta said.
"Or?" Yew asked.
"Or we could...allsleeptogether. If that wouldn't be too strange." Greta said, looking a bit embarrassed and nervous. Yew raised an eyebrow at this. It certainly was intriguing.
"I sure wouldn't mind it. But I don't know if we could all fit." Uthgerd said.
"We will have to discuss it later. For now let's talk. It's a bit early for bed anyway." Yew said.
"That's true...and I have my questions." Greta said.
"I do as well." Uthgerd said.
"I understand completely. It must have been shocking to hear about my worship of gods that are viewed...less than favorably. You must be questioning my values. I wanted to make things very clear." Yew said.
"First: I have no intentions of murdering or hurting any innocent people. I intend to only hurt those in situations of self defense, when doing so would protect an innocent life, or for a greater harmony. However, I will take pains on avoiding killing if I can. Killing isn't the best way to strive for Harmony." Yew said.
"What exactly does it mean, to strive for harmony?" Uthgerd said.
"I confess I'm not totally sure what you mean by that either." Greta said.
"I'm getting to that point. Secondly: I lay with both men and women. My libido is quite strong so expect me to do this often. If you are in any way uncomfortable with that it's best if I know now." Yew said.
"I...I'm fine with that myself." Greta said.
"No problems here." Uthgerd said.
"Excellent. Next, clearly you have noticed my more...feminine qualities. Neither of you have seemed to have much of a problem with these before, but I can't gurrantee that it will always be the same with any who we might encounter. Especially if I dress in a more outwardly feminine manner. Do you find this acceptable?" Yew said.
"If anyone says a word they'll be eating their own teeth." Uthgerd said.
"I have no problem with who you are. Even though I'm not...I cannot...your a very unique person in my experience." Greta said.
"I understand that. Now to the greater harmony aspect. I'm striving for balance not just between civilization and nature, not just between mortals and the gods, but between civilizations themselves. Between groups of people. We envision a world where groups of people can cooperate and not get into ultimately senseless wars like this current civil war. Where mortals of all races can work together for a greater good." Yew said.
"You're picturing the empire." Greta said.
"The empire hasn't been that for a long time." Uthgerd said.
"Exactly. I don't know what the true answer is. I'm only an initiate. Maybe the empire needs to be reformed. Maybe it needs to be destroyed and something new must take it's place. I just have an idea of what the world should look like. If you agree, maybe, while we are busy putting out all kinds of fires, we could strive for that as well." Yew said.
"That sounds good to me. I'm a true nord, but I'm no Stormcloak fanatic. I'd rather work with other races then fight with them, unless I need to. Like those Thalmor dogs. Those bastards need a good beating at best." Uthgerd said.
"I agree with the general sentiments of Uthgerd. I'd like to help too." Greta said.
"Good. Do you have any other questions?" Yew said.
"Your order doesn't practice anything...creepy does it?" Uthgerd said.
"It depends on what you'd classify as creepy. We don't perform sacrifices of men or mer or beastfolk." Yew said.
"Then why keep things so secret...just wondering." Greta said.
"Our rites are sacred. We don't necessarily want outsiders viewing them. In the past, our services were more open and our order was all but extinguished by other groups. We have learned from our mistakes and adapted and expanded our order for the modern world." Yew said.
"So your not just repeating the past. You're trying to compete with the other faiths and magical orders." Greta said.
"Yes. In a manner of speaking." Yew said.
"Politics is complicated." Uthgerd said.
"It is. Which is why it's a shame that's the game we will need to play." Yew said.
"What do you mean?" Greta said.
"After we track down that bandit leader for the Jarl, I'm going to have to increase my influence at court. Become a player. I need coin and information to complete my objectives here." Yew said.
"I see. Then we shall help however we can." Greta said.
"Aye." Uthgerd said.
"We should figure out the bed situation, before it gets too late." Yew said.
The three talked for a bit and it was decided that for the evening, Uthgerd would sleep in a chair and Yew and Greta would sleep in the bed. It was chaste, but Yew couldn't help but get a little excited by the notion and it took him longer than usual to fall asleep.
When he did fall asleep he saw his character sheet. He had leveled up his speech skill, as well as his Lore skill. Yew was pretty sure his knowledge of the world, in general, was represented by Lore and he had increased that through his various conversations over the course of the day. A few others seemed to gain some experiance, but not much else had changed.
Breakfast wasn't bad. Most of the patrons didn't stay overnight, and those who did were either fellow adventurers grabbing a bite before heading out or people too hungover to make much of a fuss.
"Ha, did you three get a single room? Because I wasn't sure that was quite the nature of your realtionship." Jasmine said.
"Yourself and Freya got the same room, should we make the same assumptions about your realtionship?" Yew shot back.
"I wish." Jasmine said with a shrug.
"What do you three have planned for today?" Freya asked.
"Getting our supplies already and in order and setting out to track Noctis Tharn. Hopefully, we can take down the bastard quickly. A couple of days, maybe." Yew said.
"Good luck with that." Jasmine said.
"What about you two?" Greta asked.
"Freya's going to the Companions. I'll be playing at a couple of establishments to make my name as a bard." Jasmine said.
"Well, good luck with that yourself. We should stay in contact. We'll you be basing yourself out of the Bannered Mare when it gets up and running?" Yew said.
"Yes, until then it's the Laughing Maid for us. But really I have ownership of Breezehome. It's nearby Adrienne's blacksmithy. You can always check in there or with the Jarl if you can't find us elsewhere." Jasmine said.
Yew, Uthgerd and Greta didn't have a lot on their shopping list. Mostly they just needed some food for the trip, and to make sure each of them had a good stock of potions. However Yew wanted to make sure to check on what magical aid Farengar could offer. The staff he had picked up and the spell tome had been quite indecipherable to him and he needed the items identified.
"Hm. This staff is a staff of Sparks. It could be of some use to you or the priestess. The spell tome is a ward you can cast on allies. Which again might be usful for the priestess." Farengar informed the party.
"Ah I see that could come in handy. You think you'll be able to learn this Ward spell Greta?" Yew asked, handing her the tome. She looked it over.
"Y-yeah. I think I'll be able to. You should probably take the staff, since your better at offensive magic I think it will be of greater use to you." Greta said.
"Alright." Yew said with a nod.
"I don't know if I can offer much else to your party at this time. Perhaps later." Farengar said.
"We'll keep checking in. Thanks for the help." Yew said.
The three of them, as well as Yew's wolf, were out of the city a little afternoon.
They spent most of the afternoon slowly leaving the city limits, interrogating the stablemaster and various guards along the way to get a good grasp of where Tharn and his crew had ran off too.
The verdict was that they were heading east, in the general direction of Riften. Which seemed the most logical place for a group of bandits to take refuge in, considering by all accounts, it was a den of thieves.
"If they arrive...the thieves guild or the Blackbriars might offer them protection for exchange for some services." Greta said.
"Does that happen regularly?" Yew asked.
"Yes. Though in the case of the Thieves guild they generally don't sponsor murder, but they are willing to use murders for intimidation, protection or other aid." Greta said.
"Then we'll just have to stop them before they arrive in Riften." Yew said.
Yew's wolf, had picked up on the scent of the bandits during the fight, and thanks to Yew's deeper understanding of his animal companion, he was able to lead Yew in a more precise direction.
Thus the pursuit began.