Chapter 28

Loredas, the 2nd of Sun's Height, Year 202 of the 4th Era

When Hemming Black-Briar and his men lead them into the main hall of Mistveil Keep, Daenerys expected to find the hall crowded. Nords placed a lot of value on food and especially the sharing of it. Daenerys believed it was because of Skyrim's harsh winters. Food was not something that Nords took for granted. They worked hard to store enough away for the long cold months of winter. Jarls held court in long halls that doubled as feasting halls, and every noble and thane was guaranteed a seat at the table. Evening meals could last for hours and involved much drinking, bragging, storytelling, as well as political dealmaking. Given the hour, Daenerys expected to find Jarl Law-Giver presiding over the traditional Nord banquet. However, the hall was almost empty. There was no food on the tables, not even place settings. Indeed, the entire hall looked poor compared even to Winterhold. The tables and chairs were aged, scuffed, and mismatched. Ulfric Stormcloak sent a not very subtle message by keeping his dining hall set with food all through the day. It sent the message that he was a powerful jarl that could easily afford to feed his people. This empty room with the mismatched furniture told the opposite story. It declared that Jarl Law-Giver was weak and impotent. It also confirmed some of the things that she had picked up from talking to Harrald Law-Giver. The coffers of the Rift were clearly low. Given the complaints she had heard in Ivarstead about taxes and tariffs, Daenerys had to wonder – where was all the money going?

Jarl Laila Law-Giver herself wasn't present. At the end of the hall her throne stood empty. Off to the side of the empty throne stood a few other chairs where two people were dining at a small table. That sent a very different message. Food for a few, but not for all. She recognized one of them immediately, Harrald Law-Giver. She didn't know the dark-haired woman with the sour expression on her face, but given she had a resemblance to Hemming, that had to be Maven Black-Briar. The large man standing behind Maven wearing steel plate armor had to be her housecarl, Maul.

Hemming Black-Briar hurried forward leaving his men standing around and looking uncertain as to what was to be done. He rushed over to where his mother and Harrald were eating and started talking to them. Daenerys couldn't hear the conversation going on, so she studied the mannerisms. Maven looked upset. She shook her fork at her son as the two exchanged words. Hemming mostly stood there and nodded. When Maven was done, he gave a bow to his mother and rushed back coming to a halt just in front of her.

"Lady Targaryen." Hemming addressed her with the sullen reluctance of a scolded child. "Jarl Law-Giver is still indisposed. My mother bids you join us for dinner."

Daenerys gave him a polite smile, mostly because her being polite seemed to irritate Hemming. Actually, everything she did seemed to irritate Hemming. "If my advisor, Faralda, can come as well, I will happily join you. He has been quite helpful in providing me good counsel on matters of the Rift."

"The elf? My mother only asked for you," said Hemming with a sneer.

She had been trading slights with Hemming, but calling Faralda 'the elf' was an insult she couldn't overlook. "Her. Name. Is. Faralda. She is a Mistress of Destruction and is also my advisor, mentor, and friend. You will apologize to her now, or I will call challenge on you, Hemming of Clan Black-Briar."

Hemming paled but he didn't apologize. "I will not-"

Maven Black-Briar loudly interrupted. "Is there a problem? Are you throwing my hospitality back in my face?"

Daenerys looked over to the table. Maven was on her feet and her housecarl looked ready to draw his sword. "Yes, there is a problem. Your son just insulted my friend and mentor. He also implied that elves don't belong at your table. I was about to challenge him as he just refused to apologize."

"Hemming! That kind of prejudice is for the lower classes. I've raised you better than that. Get your tongue out of your ass and apologize."

Hemming's face went through shock and shame and ended on anger. "I chose my words poorly. You and… Faralda are welcome to join us for dinner."

As apologies go, Hemming's was inadequate. Daenerys glanced to Faralda.

Faralda didn't seem at all phased. "I've heard worse apologies. Let us put this behind us."

"Very well, we'll accept your mother's hospitality and will gladly join you as guests for this meal." That offered her some protections under the customs of hospitality. Sadly, hospitality was not the same as guest right in Westeros. Guest right was sacred. The gods were said to punish those who broke it. Violating hospitality in Tamriel was a breach of etiquette and resulted in a reputation as boorish, crass, or untrustworthy, depending on how severe the breach, but there were no stories of divine retribution. She turned to the rest of her followers. "Sofija, you're on housecarl duty. Lydia, I see that Lady Black-Briar only has one housecarl. It would be best if you guided the rest back to the quarters the jarl assigned us. Would you please check up on Raina and Aringoth? I may be a few hours. I would not be surprised if there is a lot to discuss."

Lydia thumped her chest and then departed at a quick pace. Sofija stayed behind. Barbas did as well, wagging his tail and pretending to be just a dog.

Hemming glanced at Sofija and said nothing. He looked over to Barbas and smiled. "I'm afraid that dogs aren't allowed in the great hall."

Daenerys was amused by the petty spitefulness of it, but it didn't bother her. "Very well. Barbas, stay." It wasn't like he couldn't run across the room in seconds.

Barbas obediently lay down on the floor right where he was.

Hemming started to say something, but apparently caught himself. "This way, Lady Targaryen."

Daenerys approached the table and waited to be introduced. And waited.

After a long awkward pause when Hemming didn't introduce them, Harrald Law-Giver stood. "Allow me to make introductions." He gestured to Faralda. "Faralda holds the position of Mistress of Destruction at the College of Winterhold. On my right, as you are probably already aware is Maven Black-Briar, Matriarch of Clan Black-Briar, trusted confidant and advisor to my mother, the Jarl of Riften. Lastly, we have Lady Daenerys Targaryen, Thane of Whiterun and Winterhold, the Dragonborn, and Ysmir, Dragon of the North."

Maven had remained seated the whole time. "Welcome to Riften. Please, join us for the meal."

"Thank you." Daenerys sat down. Maven had stood up just a few moments ago to scold her son, so she was certainly not too infirm to rise. Her remaining seated for the introduction was either a deliberate insult or a claim that she spoke with the voice of the jarl. Daenerys decided it was probably both but chose to ignore the slight.

The meal was fish served on a bed of greens and surrounded by thinly sliced carrots and potatoes with a generous slice of bread. Unsurprisingly, it was served with mead. Daenerys sampled the fish, smelling it first but detected nothing off. She took a delicate first bite and tasted nothing amiss. The fish was delightfully seasoned, but the possibility that it was poisoned even though her werewolf senses detected nothing made it difficult to enjoy.

"Those are some impressive titles," observed Maven who had already eaten half her fish and was clearly enjoying her meal.

Daenerys shrugged. She was tempted to give her full list of titles, but that would cause more problems than it was worth. However, there was one title that Harrald had neglected that she needed to claim. "If you say so. Although, I am also a Companion of Jorrvaskr."

"I was aware of that," replied Maven. "A title you used to great effect today at Honorhall, or so I am told."

"I did, indeed," agreed Daenerys. "I couldn't stand by and do otherwise. How that woman was treating those orphans was an affront to my honor as a Companion. She deserved what I gave her and more. Even so, she brought it on herself. I gave her ample opportunity to quit."

"To be honest, I think you were too merciful. She came running to me trying to get me to arrest you – a Companion of Jorrvaskr for upholding Nord honor. Since she admitted she'd been stealing from me as well, I had her executed."

Daenerys took a sip of mead before replying. Maven had obviously wanted Grelod silenced before her rumors made things worse. "I'm surprised. I understood that the punishment for theft in Riften was imprisonment, not execution."

"She stole from me!" If Maven was faking her anger, she was very convincing. "She besmirched the Black-Briar name and yours, and she had the audacity to try to shift the blame to you? No, she was an old fool. That kind never change. Death was a kindness."

Daenerys nodded her agreement. Regardless of why Maven had her killed, Skyrim was a better place without Grelod in it. "There are some that live their lives that way. They believe that life is a game of chance, and the only way to win is to cheat."

"Very true, but some would say that if you aren't cheating at war or politics, then you aren't trying hard enough." Maven shrugged. "However, I do have a bone to pick with how you handled the aftermath. I heard you put one of your own people in charge. Rather presumptuous of you considering that Honorhall Orphanage belongs to the Black-Briars."

"You have a point, but I couldn't very well do otherwise. It was my action that left the orphanage without a matron. I spoke with Grelod the Cruel's assistant, Constance Michel. She seemed earnest to me and to truly want to do right by the children, but she also stood by while Grelod abused them. I couldn't leave her in charge, so I put one of my people in place for the night. Aana is a kind soul and has raised children on our own. She will do until you have time to hire someone. I would even go so far as to recommend her for the position. Aana is lame in one foot. She's not really suited to a life on the road with the Dragonguard."

"Hmm, we'll see. I would have to speak with her." Maven took a sip of her mead. "I hear you also took the ledger?"

Given the short amount of time that had passed, Maven had almost certainly heard about the ledger from Harald. Daenerys was surprised he informed on her so readily. Given the way he was smitten by her, she had not expected him to tattle like a child. At least she had found out he was untrustworthy on something this minor. "I did indeed. We found a large amount of coin hidden under Grelod's bed. I wanted my quartermaster to look over the ledger and see if she could spot anything out-of-order."

"I wish you hadn't done that. There are spells, Alteration magic, and potions that can remove ink. Now that the ledger has passed through a few different hands, anyone could have altered it."

"Really?" asked Faralda. "That's an interesting use of Alteration magic that I've never heard of before. I'll have to take your word about the potion. I've never been much for Alchemy myself and the Alchemy position at the College of Winterhold has gone unfilled for a long time."

Maven sighed. "I'm quite sure about it. My daughter, Ingun, is obsessed with Alchemy. It's not a bad career for some, but she's a Black-Briar. She's better than some urchin that grew up on the streets."

Daenerys took a sip of mead as she unraveled the buried messages. The most important was that even if there was something to find in the ledger, Maven would simply claim it was altered. That didn't bother Daenerys very much. She had never expected the ledger to convince someone who was already in Maven's camp. It was just another piece of evidence that could help sway some that already had doubts about Maven. Given Harrald's tattling tongue, the insult against street urchins was almost certainly a veiled insult at her. Whether his flirtations had been sincere or not, this just confirmed that he couldn't be trusted. "You would be surprised at what a young girl can do. In my homeland a young warrior maid saved everyone. There is a story going around about her, Arya Stark."

Maven frowned. "I haven't heard about that. I'd like to hear it sometime, but I have found that men often underestimate women."

It was a pity no one here understood her reference to reference to Arya Stark and Littlefinger. Although Maven did seem to realize that there had been a second meaning to her comment. "I believe we have found one point where we can agree wholeheartedly. I have often been underestimated by men to my advantage."

Faralda shrugged. "I have never found myself underestimated because of my gender, but I would imagine being a mage has a lot to do with that."

Daenerys laughed. "Faralda, I've seen you in combat. I watched you blow apart a charge with one well-placed fireball. Your Icy Spears give dragons pause. Only a fool would underestimate you." Daenerys was enjoying Maven's discomfort at being reminded that she was sitting across from two people who could easily kill her and all her allies. That also made it a good time to press her. "But enough about that. I expected to speak to Jarl Law-Giver. Hemming implied that I was in trouble for defending myself from an assassin who tried to kill me. I would like to get that resolved."

Maven waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. My son was just recently promoted to Captain of the Riften Guard. He was just taking his duties too seriously. I can assure you that you will suffer no consequences for defending yourself, and the Riften Guard will turn over every stone to determine the identity of this assassin and who hired him."

Daenerys dipped her head in acknowledgment while not smiling too much as Maven gave a half-hearted apology for Hemming's actions. "On behalf of myself and the Dragonguard, I appreciate the support of Riften." She also heard Maven's underlying message. Maven could speak for both the jarl and the Riften Guard. That she did so right in front of Harrald, the heir to the throne, without him even reacting said volumes about just how much power Maven wielded. "I know that Harrald believes there is no Thieves' Guild, but they are my primary suspect right now," lied Daenerys.

Maven nodded. "I agree with you. I'm familiar with Harrald's opinion, but there is plenty of evidence the Thieves' Guild does exist. I'm sure the Dragonborn being in town has them frightened. They're lashing out. They even raided my manor last night while I and my children were sleeping there! I promise you that everyone who took part in the attack from planning to execution to fencing the goods will pay!" She ended banged her fist on the table. "Their actions cannot be tolerated. If you find out any solid evidence, even any credible rumors, bring them to me. House Black-Briar and the Riften Guard stand ready to take action against them. The vermin must be stamped out!"

"If I hear anything, I'll be certain to let you know," agreed Daenerys without flinching. The subtext was thick. Maven undoubtedly suspected that she had ordered or perhaps commissioned the attack. She did seem genuinely angry at the Thieves' Guild. Perhaps having Karliah's actions had been more successful at turning Maven against the Thieves' Guild than she had hoped. "That goes both ways. I know the Riften Guard far outnumber the Dragonguard, but with myself and Faralda we hit hard. If you need assistance while we are still in Riften, we can help."

Maven smiled. "A very generous offer. We will certainly let you know if we receive any information on where to strike. Now, you said while you are in Riften. What exactly is it that you are seeking in Riften?"

"Part of it is that the Dragonguard is recovering from the fight with Lok-Nos-Dov. He destroyed two of our ballistae. I left a portion of the Dragonguard in Ivarstead building more. We'll need those ballistae when we head north. From the rumors I've heard there is a dragon roaming the sulfur pools region of Eastmarch. We plan to kill it. Which should be good news for the Black-Briars and for Riften. It would open up the trade route to Windhelm."

"Yes," agreed Maven with a smile. "I'll admit it would be good to be able to ship our mead again. However, you could have stayed in Ivarstead, so again, what brings you to Riften?"

"Many things. We're hoping to recruit more people for the Dragonguard for one. Resupply for another. I really hadn't planned to stay in Riften for all that long. I want to visit the Dawnguard. I'm interested in the crossbows they use."

"Crossbows?" asked Harrald speaking up for the first time. "Why crossbows? I'll grant you that they hit harder than a weak bow, but a decent bow can hit as hard. They're also far too slow to reload."

"True," agreed Daenerys. "Which is why they aren't popular. However, dragons are well-armored. That extra bit of power might make all the difference." She left off that it took at least a decade to make a good archer. Those years weren't just about mastering the skill. They were also about building up the strength of arm needed to pull a heavy bow. She didn't have a decade. A man with a crossbow could hit as hard with less training, and with the way dragons flew around on the attack the extra time to reload didn't matter as much. Harrald was likely an experienced archer, so he saw a crossbow as a poor imitation of a good bow.

"So, you're not planning on staying in Riften very long?" asked Maven.

"We're certainly not skipping out on the feast tomorrow. That would be horribly rude to Jarl Law-Giver. Not to mention you cannot get food like this on the road. We'll probably leave on the morning of the 4th. Perhaps the 5th depending on how business and recruiting goes, but no later than that. It's almost a week's journey to Fort Dawnguard and it will be another week back. I want to be back and ready to depart for Windhelm when the ballistae are ready. Although…" Daenerys let out a long sigh. "Depending on how many men we recruit, we may have to stay longer due to finances."

"Finances?" asked Maven. "I understood the Dragonguard was well-funded."

Daenerys shrugged. "We are for now, but keeping an army in the field is expensive. Our income comes from killing bandits and raiding Nord barrows. It's dangerous work, but it pays well. Would you know of any places in the Rift that need to be cleared out?"

Maven smiled. "Actually, yes. There is an old ruin atop the mountain just south of Riften, Forelhost. It's said to be where the dragon cultists made their last stand. Also, Gonnar has been after me and the jarl to provide troops to retake Fort Greenwall. It's been overrun with bandits and he thinks we should take it and fortify it. In fact, we have a modest bounty of 500 septims on anyone who cleans it out and brings in the head of the bandit chief."

Daenerys nodded. "That's right on our marching route to Eastmarch, so I'll probably take you up on that at least. I might investigate Forelhost as well." That site wasn't mentioned in any of the research she had done, but if Maven's facts checked out, it was a likely candidate for a Word Wall. "However, not for a couple of days at least. We need another day at least in Riften. Oh, and that reminds me." She wagged a finger at Maven. "I understand you can't put the Dragonguard up in Mistveil Keep, but what is this crap about them having to camp outside? Do you know how long it's been since my men have had leave in a proper city? Ivarstead only has one tavern and it doubles as an inn and maybe half a dozen whores. I know soldiers get a little wild while they're on leave, but why does the jarl have a problem with my men spending their gold in Riften?"

Maven looked positively flat-footed. "You mean, you're just going to turn them loose on leave?"

"Well, obviously not all at once. We do have a treasury and supplies that will have to be watched, but with your permission I could put that in my suite and have a half-dozen men watching it in shifts. That would more than suffice."

Maven's mouth broke into a wide smile. "Of course, of course. I completely understand. I'll have the orders changed at once to allow them entrance. I'm sure the taverns and brothels will be thrilled to help your soldiers spend their coin."

"Thank you, Lady Black-briar. I'll head out to the camp first thing tomorrow morning and let them know." Daenerys smiled at having gotten the Dragonguard officially welcomed into Riften. She turned to Hemming. "As Captain of the Riften Guard, could I ask you to please go easy on whatever fools of mine eventually get picked up for brawling?"

Hemming looked to his mother and didn't reply until she nodded. "Of course, Lady Dragonborn. After all, you're doing the Rift a service by killing the dragons."

"True, very true," agreed Maven. "Which brings us to a very good point. Now, I'm sure you've been asked before, but I'd love to hear the story of your fight with the dragon Loknosdov."

Daenerys smiled back at Maven. Could Karliah be wrong about her? She seemed far more open and honest than she expected. However, not all villains were as obvious as Cersei Lannister. She needed to stay alert no matter how charming Maven could be.