Chapter 70
Squeaky Wheels
(Recommended background music Limited Time or The South Gate Border from the FFIX Soundtrack)
It was fairly late in the evening. Bishop sat by in one of the rickety chairs at their small table, sipping on the second bottle of Honningbrew. He'd tucked Bast into his bed earlier, letting her sleep when she got tired. Jules was feeling so good he ran off to go find Elise and pick her up for their date and hadn't returned yet because he was probably spending the night with her.
Karnwyr slept soundly in Jules' bed too. On his back with his feet in the air, paws curled over. Bishop tipped the rest of the drink back then set it aside on the table and yawned. He was ready to pass out himself. It had to be nearly three in the morning. Then he heard a light rap at the door and went over to get it.
He opened it and Elska was standing by, fully dressed in a white and mauve tavern dress, which accentuated her figure nicely. For a woman who'd been dancing and having sex all night she sure looked amazing. Perfect makeup and hair still.
"Sorry it's so late," she whispered.
"No problem, figured you'd be busy all night," he said quietly as he let her in and she went over to her sleeping child.
"How was she?"
"Quietest kid I've ever met," he chuckled.
Elska smiled and leaned over to kiss the little girl on her forehead, "I'm glad she was good for you. I never have to worry about her, she's so mild mannered," she turned back to Bishop and asked, "What do I owe you?"
He waved a hand, "Don't worry about it."
"Are you sure?" Elska pulled out a thick coin purse from inside her bra, "I made quite a bit this evening."
He crossed his arms and leaned against a wall and said, "Don't worry about paying me. But can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Who was Bast's father?"
Elska blinked and raised a brow, "Well, to be honest I really couldn't say. You know my line of work Bishop..."
"I mean, where was he from? Do you have any idea?"
Elska thought for a moment and said, "I'm pretty sure he was a khajiit. I got pregnant with her around the time the Rift had a visit from plenty of wealthy khajiit nobles from Elsweyr," she scrunched her nose, "I didn't much care for that. They get too rough with their claws and the biting and their dicks are all barbed, hurts like hell-"
Bishop put a hand up to stop her. That was way more than he ever wanted to know about the khajiit. He said, "My brother is half-khajiit. That's why I asked." She looked at him curiously as he pulled out the potion she'd given him earlier and he said, "Jules has suffered with physical problems for years now. He gets this awful cough and a fever really bad. At the worst he'll cough up blood. It happened today. He was convulsing and could barely breathe. I used half this potion on him and it worked better than anything else I've ever tried."
He stepped over and handed it back to her and she looked it over in her hand and smiled weakly. "Bast was the same way," she said, "My second oldest, Qetesh, she started to study alchemy and tried so many different mixtures and recipes. She tried everything to help her. Finally, she came up with this amazing elixir, a mix between a stamina potion and a health potion. It was a miracle," she looked back over at her daughter and caressed her forehead, "She hardly ever gets sick anymore and when she does we just need half a bottle of this and she's all better."
"Can I meet her? I'll do whatever I have to do, but this other shit - the garbage I've been buying from these other alchemists that don't give a damn, they're not working anymore. I'll pay, buy or find the ingredients myself. I'll do anything," he pleaded with her and she smiled kindly at him.
"I'll gladly introduce you. In fact, why don't you come down to Fort Amol on your next day off and we'll have dinner. You can meet all my girls and I'm sure you and Qetesh can work up some sort of arrangement together."
"Thanks Elska. I owe you for this."
"Think nothing of it Bishop. You've been kind to me and all my working girls. You've always looked out for us and have never tried to hurt us like some of the other men around here," she handed him back the half potion and pulled another out of her bag, "Take these as payment for watching her for me. I've got another to tide me over until we get back home and it sounds like your brother needs them more than she does."
His next day off couldn't come fast enough. He got stuck working Collections and had to threaten to crack some skulls at the local businesses in the Rift, which he never cared for. Most of the people he was harassing were just innocent folk, trying to go about their lives in peace and here he was shaking them down for 'protection' money.
Thankfully his next day off was tomorrow and he planned to go see Elska with Jules then. He'd finished up for the evening and was heading back up to his room with Karnwyr when a Rat caught up to him and stopped him.
"Uhh, Bishop? You're Bishop right? With the wolf?"
Bishop didn't even look at the boy as he kept right on walking and said, "Yeah. What do you want Rat?"
"Thorn's asking for you."
Bishop grit his teeth and grumbled, "God damn it." He kept walking though and took Karnwyr up to his room and went in. He caught Jules in a precarious position with his lady friend, not totally unclothed, though her top was yanked down and she was straddling him on the bed while they were heavily lip-locked. Karnwyr padded right over to them and threw his front paws up on the bed, making to lick at Jules face startling the both of them. Bishop smirked and said teasingly, "I'm home pumpkin."
Elise quickly pulled away from Jules, blushing furiously and yanked the top of her tunic back up as she sat back on the bed normally. She was a very pretty nord woman with beautiful, long golden blonde hair, gorgeous dark brown eyes and she had a very nice figure.
Jules leaned around her, pushing Karnwyr down and scowled at Bishop, "Ever heard of knocking!?"
Bishop laughed, "Why would I knock on my own door?"
Jules held a hand out to Elise who looked even more embarrassed when he said, "Because of the obvious?"
Bishop rolled his eyes and took his quiver and bow off, setting them aside and said, "Don't mind me. Just stopping in to drop a few things off. Feel free to continue after I leave."
Jules frowned at him, "Where are you going?"
"Got called down to Thorn's lair," he said, setting his dagger on the table.
"Again?" Jules scoffed.
"Guess it's my own fault for being too good at what I do."
"He creeps me out," Elise said as her embarrassment subsided, "How do you put up with it?"
"Well," Bishop said, "I like keeping my skin firmly attached to my body. That's all the motivation I need to put up with it."
She looked at his weapons and said, "You're going unarmed?"
"Those are the rules," he replied.
She knit her brows together and asked, "Will you be alright?"
He shrugged, "I'm sure he just wants to pile more jobs on my shoulders," he looked over at Jules and said, "Which means our meeting tomorrow might get pushed back."
"I should be okay," Jules said, "I only needed the other half of that potion once this week. That stuff is amazing. It lasts way longer than that nasty goop you were getting from Elgrim."
"Glad to hear it," Bishop said as he walked to the door again, "Look after Karnwyr for me and uh," he smirked at them, "have fun you two." Jules looked at him annoyed and Bishop gave him a wink before sweeping out the door.
Thorn's lair, as everyone called it, was located further down in the tunnels. He liked being closer to the first floor and got some sort of weird pleasure over it being a little deeper down in the ground, treating it like a real lair. Bishop was sure it was because it struck more fear into his victims whenever they were dragged down there.
He came up to the entrance where the two orcs from the day before, that were working Muscle outside the brothel, were now working Muscle outside Thorn's doors. Their eyes followed Bishop as he let himself in, but otherwise made no move to stop him. He was such a regular that they never even bothered to search him anymore.
(Recommended background music Gloom from FFX Soundtrack)
He went down the tunnel, walking by Thorn's torture chamber. Thankfully there was no one screaming in there that evening. He hated arriving, only to have to listen to one of those deranged monsters torturing some helpless woman within. Instead he heard the voices of every one of The Whips talking loudly further down. He stepped inside and found six men, seated at a large table centered in the middle of the lavishly furnished room eating a traditional nordic feast. All the food was fresh and clean looking. Of course Thorn would never dine on any of the rotten stuff he left for everyone else.
The room itself looked like an incredibly absurd and mismatched palace. There were plenty of high end and elegant pieces of furniture fit in the corners and against the walls, but none of it matched. There was also an assortment of odd paintings, all very violent and abstract looking, some even ripped and torn. There were banners hung up from each hold as well which were burned at the edges or cut to ribbons.
There was a very large and elegantly, patterned khajiiti rug on the floor which had probably been beautiful at one point in time but was now ripped and frayed in the corners and stained in places with wine… or blood. Probably blood, he guessed. Thorn's taste in decorating was strange to say the least.
Seated around the table were Thorn's closest nord companions, Bane, Sten, Lars and Vince. Bishop always got the feeling that Vince was the only one of them that didn't care for the sadistic shit they were all into, but he certainly wasn't opposed to forcing himself on a woman either and he seemed to like the power that being a Whip gave him. The only odd man out was Slash, since he was a khajiit. Thorn was seated in the center of the table facing the hall and he was in the midst of a particularly nasty tale of his, "...and then I carved out her liver. Mmm, the way she squirmed and screamed under me as I ripped it out of her, listening to those thick veins snapping... makes me shiver with pleasure just thinking about it."
The others had wicked grins on their faces and chuckled lightly at the disturbing dinner conversation.
Bishop stood by, arms crossed, maintaining his gruff demeanor and expression as he watched all the sick freaks tear into their plates of bloody venison. He cleared his throat and caught Thorn's attention.
Thorn looked up from his very rare bite of meat and flashed Bishop a nasty grin, "Ah, if it isn't Bishop. Glad to see my Rat caught up with you."
"What do you want Thorn?" He was curt and to the point. The sooner Thorn told him whatever the hell he wanted the sooner he could leave.
"Why the hurry?" Thorn asked. Bishop rolled his eyes. He always asked this. Every time. Because he enjoyed provoking Bishop and wasting his time whenever he could.
"You know why," he said shortly again with half-lidded eyes, "Now just tell me what job you've got for me and I'll go take care of it like I always do."
Thorn gave a dry laugh and said, "You are my favorite Bishop. Wish the other Specialists had more drive like you. We'd get a lot more done around here if they had your attitude."
Bishop grumbled under his breath as Thorn kept stalling and dancing around the subject.
His nasty grin got a little wider as he said, "Fine job you did this week in Collections. Real fine job."
"Yeah, I know," Bishop said annoyed, "Can you just tell me what you need? I'm fucking tired and want to go get piss-ass drunk and pass out already."
Thorn picked at a piece of red meat stuck in his teeth with his thick, dirty finger and leaned back in his throne of a chair, throwing his boots up on the table, "Alright Bishop. I've got another Collections job for you that only you can handle."
Bishop made a face that shouted, so out with it!
"I need you to make a trip out to Riften. There's an old friend of mine there that owes me quite a bit of gold. Name's Mercer Frey."
Bishop scowled at him, "You want me to hit up the leader of the Thieves Guild for protection money? Are you insane?"
Thorn's grin got a little wider and nastier when he said, "I think it's about time the Guild started to learn their place in my kingdom. They need to pay their dues and oh my... do they owe me."
"So you're sending me on a suicide mission then? Trying to kill off your best?"
Thorn laughed, "I'm not an idiot Bish. I'll be sending plenty of Muscle with you. You've got the orcs, Biggs and Wedge, along with six of my best Specialists. I'm sending a bunch of the Thieves with you as well, including your brother, that way you have more incentive to get out of their alive."
Bishop did not like this idea at all. He'd had some sparse dealings with the Thieves Guild in the past. The only one he'd really been acquainted with was Delvin Mallory when he'd used him as a fence to pawn off some more expensive steals and even then the man had screwed him over.
He'd seen the place. The Flagon was dirty, being in a sewer and all, and really didn't seem like much to look at, but he knew appearances weren't everything. He figured they made it look like a shithole intentionally so anyone looking to screw over the Guild would let their guards down and be easier to gut and dump right into that slimy water.
He'd also seen plenty of their own coming and going and they had quite a bit of muscle themselves. But it was only natural that Thorn would continue to spread his reach over the Rift and it seemed that day had finally come.
"When do you want me to take care of this for you?"
Thorn clasped his hands together and smirked, "No worries, I won't cut into your time off. Take your days to yourself, get plenty of rest. I want you at your sharpest. You'll head out on Morndas and should be in Riften in a day or so. That's when you'll meet with Frey."
"And he's expecting us?"
Thorn chuckled dryly, "Shouldn't be, unless we have a squeaky wheel in the group."
Bishop raised a brow at him, "You think someone in group is leaking information to the Guild?"
Thorn licked at his lips and said, "That I do. That big job I had my Thieves running… seems the Guild beat us to it. Only way they'd have known about it is if one of our own ran off and told them. Been happening a lot lately, in fact."
"So you're looking to flush them out," he paused thinking and realized, asking, "The Thieves coming with me?"
"All on my suspects list," he confirmed, flashing a wicked grin and said, "I'm sure you'll go run off and ask your baby brother if he's the one double dipping, working for me and the Guild."
Bishop felt his heart pounding in his chest then. Jules wouldn't… he couldn't be that stupid, could he? He wasn't always around though. Sure he got sick a lot, but most of the time he was doing okay and working with some of the other Thieves. A tight knit group of them in fact. Him and five others… Thorn was sending six Thieves and six Specialists. Bishop pieced it together. Thorn suspected Jules and all his friends and he had Specialists ready to work Murder for each of them if he was right.
Thorn stared at him, watching his face for any flicker of movement that gave away his thoughts, but Bishop was an expert at staying straight faced. Then looking smug Thorn finally said, "It's up to you whether you confront him first or not. By all means, spread the word for me. Get our little beehive buzzing. I want everyone to know that I won't tolerate traitors. We've got enough Rats crawling around here, I don't need any more in my kingdom. I'll tell you one thing for damn sure though, Bishop. If I find out it's him… any of them… well, let's just say I'm looking forward to painting my walls with blood."
Bishop stalked up the path back to his room mulling over this new information. He could ask his brother and make sure he kept his fucking mouth shut about it. But if Jules didn't… he'd run off and tell the others in his group. No doubt, if they were guilty, some of them would get scared and Thorn would be prepared, jaws open and ready to snap shut on any one of them that tried to run.
He probably had Rats on all of them already. Bishop stopped suddenly and looked over his shoulder, glancing around for any sneaky kids tailing him. No sign of anyone though… he made sure to squint his eyes, really looking. If they had invisibility potions and many of them did, he'd see their outline, a thin transparent line, distorting the cavern walls. Nothing.
He continued walking, feeling incredibly paranoid. Jules wouldn't like it, but he was already planning their escape from that place. First they'd meet with Elska, meet her daughter, the one who made that potion. He'd fucking learn how to make it himself. He was okay at alchemy, knew how to brew a good healing potion. He was sure he could handle something like this if he really focused and paid attention.
He made it back to their room and went inside, making sure to tuck through the door tightly, in case he really did miss anyone tailing him. Karnwyr was sleeping over on his bed, face on his paws while he snoozed and Jules was alone, laying on his bed, hands behind his head, with a satisfied smirk on his face. At least he wouldn't have to kick Elise out.
Bishop pulled up a chair, sitting backwards in it facing his brother. Jules looked over at him, still grinning and asked, "So, what'd the degenerate want?" Bishop gave him a very serious look and Jules raised his brows, "What?"
"You trust me, right?"
"Yeah of course," Jules sat upright looking over his brother's stern expression and asked again, "Bish, what? What is it?"
"I need you to trust me Jules and I need you to be totally honest with me," he said firmly.
Jules grumbled frustrated, "Would you spit it out already? You're starting to freak me out."
"You been picking up side work with the Thieves Guild?" Bishop kept his eyes on his brother and caught a tiny hint of a tell when the corner of his eye twitched ever so slightly. Jules caught himself though, he'd been getting damn good at keeping a straight face.
And then he lied, "No. Of course not. Why do you ask?"
"I'm working Collections next week," he said.
Jules looked perplexed, "What's that got to do with the Thieves Guild?"
"Collecting from Mercer Frey," he said flatly.
Jules' jaw dropped and his eyes widened, "Is Thorn insane? He's going to get you killed!"
"Not going alone," Bishop said, "We're bringing Muscle, Specialists and plenty of Thieves all our own."
Jules looked really worried then and said, "Who?"
"You."
"Me? But why me?"
"Thorn knows Jules. He knows what you and your group have been up to. He knows you've been leaking information on their jobs to the Guild and he's coming for blood. Yours, theirs, every single squeaky wheel in the place. He wanted me to tell you because he wants you to tell them and he's ready for whoever runs," Bishop was firm, telling him everything as matter-of-factly as possible. Then he glared at his brother, his brows lowering darkly over his eyes, "You promised to trust me and you fucking lied to my face just now."
Jules looked away ashamed, "Bish… I'm sorry. Elise… she's… fuck," he looked back at his brother, knitting his brows together, "If Thorn ever gets his hands on her… gods."
Bishop said, "I won't let that happen. We're going to get the hell out of here, but we have to be safe about it. Tell the others, but no one runs," he jut a finger at him, "You make damn sure of that because anyone that runs, Jules, dies."
"Fuuuck… fuck, fuck, fuck!" Jules clenched his fists and looked around the room, getting antsy.
"Why?" Bishop asked him shaking his head, "Why'd you do it?"
Jules sighed "Because the money's good Bishop. And the people are good, damn better than here. They actually respect you if you know what you're doing… and I mean, I'm not as good a thief as the others, but I'm great with numbers and Mercer always needs me. I'm practically his right hand man when it comes to cooking books."
"But telling them about the jobs," Bishop seethed, "You didn't think Thorn would fucking notice every damn time the Guild beat him to the punch!?"
"That wasn't me!" Jules shouted, "It was Vilvik. He's an idiot, thinks he can make his way up in the Guild by leaking every one of Thorn's secrets to Mercer."
"This is how you get yourself killed," Bishop growled, "By trusting these people. Haven't you learned anything yet? You can't trust anyone."
Jules met his gaze and asked, "Not even you?"
Bishop snarled, "I'm the only one you can trust. I've always had your back Jules. I hope you remember that next time you get the nerve to lie right to my face." He got up and stalked over to his bed, throwing his clothes off down to his underwear then yanked the blanket up, forcing Karnwyr to move over.
He crawled in his bed, turning away from his brother. He was pissed, he was scared and he had a bad feeling about all of it.
(Recommended background music Frontier Village Dali or Lindblum from the FFIX Soundtrack)
The next day the two of them hardly spoke. Bishop was still furious with his brother for lying to him and Jules could sense his ire. The two of them got dressed though and left with Karnwyr for Fort Amol. Luckily it wasn't too far away, only an hour's walk from the hideout.
When they arrived at the old broken down fort they were greeted by a few of the Courtesans and some of the Thieves living out of there. The place was fairly busy and bustling for being so run down. There were plenty of kids running all over the place too. The folk that lived there had essentially turned the outside pavilion into a small market square where they could sell and exchange goods and services.
Since Bishop was one of the more well known Specialists he was personally greeted by plenty of the Courtesans and a few of the Thieves. He was polite but short with them as they wandered around looking for Elska. She'd said she would meet them outside so they stopped by a well that'd been dug up and fashioned together with some old stones in a quiet corner to wait.
Karnwyr sniffed at the feet of all the passersby and a few stopped to pet him. One woman in particular caught Bishop's eye as she stopped to give the wolf some lavish attention. She was drop-dead gorgeous. She had beautiful, long, dark-brown hair that curled around the nape of her thin neck and past her shoulder blades, she had very full lips and long eyelashes that bat over her big brown eyes. She was wearing a green, belted tunic, and dark trousers that shaped nicely around her curvy hips and firm ass. As she knelt down to give Karnwyr some really thorough neck scratches, putting her pretty face up to his and cooing at him, Bishop got an excellent view of her ample bosom and her lovely cleavage as her tunic dipped a little.
"Well aren't you a handsome man," she said with a beautiful smile to Karnwyr, praising him as she rubbed him in just the right spot behind his ears, getting him to start scratching at the air with his leg as if to say, yeesss that's the spot!
She gave the wolf a kiss on his head then and Bishop couldn't stop himself, he didn't want to. "Can I borrow one of those?" He asked her.
Her pretty eyes looked right up at him curiously and she cocked her head a little. "Borrow what?"
"One of those kisses." She laughed a little, which pleased him very much. Then he said with a charming grin, "I promise to give it back."
A flirty smirk curled at her luscious lips and she stood up, her bosom bouncing with her and she said, "You must be Bishop."
"Damn, already heard about me. Only good things I hope."
"Well considering you stole my little sister's heart, I'm not so sure about that," she teased.
But his smile fell and he started wracking his brain on just what woman he slept with that might still be pissed at him for coming and running - and who might've been related to this beautiful woman in front of him. He was at a loss and said dumbfounded, "Uhhh..."
The woman held out a hand and said, "Freya. My little sister Bast's told us all about you."
"Ooh," he said with relief as he took her hand and flashed her his roguish grin again, "That little sister. Yeah, she's a real sweetheart, you know when she isn't taking me for all I'm worth."
Freya laughed then looked over at Jules who was turning his head away, as if he were trying really hard not to be noticed. She said, "Oh Jules, I didn't know you had a brother."
Jules said, "Uh yeah. My big brother, Bishop. Now you know," he seemed not too thrilled about this meeting.
Bishop of course gave him a hard time about it saying, "You know this goddess and you never introduced me?"
Freya cocked an eyebrow, still smirking and started to get a real good look at Bishop then, with her eyes traveling up and down his muscular form and resting for a brief moment on the outline of the package in his trousers before she moved on again.
Jules pressed his lips together and said, "Well... we're just acquaintances really."
Bishop threw his arm over his brother's shoulder and said, "Baby brother, you do not keep a holy Divine like her all to yourself."
Jules rolled his eyes and changed the subject, looking at Freya and asking, "So if you're Bast's sister then that means... you're one of Elska's kids?"
"Sure am," she said, "The oldest of the four."
Bishop had to meet them. He had to know if the other two were as sexy as her. "So, when do we get to meet the rest of your lovely family?"
"Right now," she said, motioning for them to follow her.
Bishop's eyes were glued to her round derriere with hardly much tunic covering it, he praised the gods for that. She led them through the fort and past the kitchens into a spacious living area the occupants had adorned with plenty of furniture, which, much like Thorn's lair, was all mismatched. The place was a lot less sinister looking though, especially since there were toys and little kids running all over the place.
Both Bishop and Jules had to watch where they stepped as children between the ages of five and ten wove between them, chasing and playing with each other. Several stopped to grab at Karnwyr too who growled, annoyed and he had to give the wolf a few warnings because he was afraid he'd bite one of them. Bishop even caught sight of a few toddlers stumbling around while some of the Courtesans, presumably their mothers, sat by entertaining and watching their babies and kept an eye on the other kids.
Bishop nearly tripped when one kid plowed right into him. The little boy stumbled back, looking up at him wide-eyed before a little girl ran over and touched his shoulder and screamed, "TAG! YOU'RE IT!" Then ran away again giggling madly.
Bishop stuck his pinky in his ear, twisted it and snarled, "Gods! How do you put up with this? You live here?"
Freya laughed and said, "Yeah, you get used to it. You never get bored, that's for damn sure."
"I bet," he said as they finally got away from the child infested living space, however there was no shortage of little ones running through the halls either. Both he and Jules watched their feet and finally Freya led them into a large room with four beds pressed against the side wall. Three dressers and a wardrobe adorned the rest of the wall space and a medium sized dining table sat in the center of the room with long benches flanking either side of it.
Elska and two other women, Bishop presumed were her other daughters, were seated at the table with an assortment of alchemical ingredients sitting in front of them in bowls.
Bishop noted that the other two women were very close in age to Freya and also just as beautiful. If there was one thing Elska was good at, it was producing some of the prettiest women he'd ever seen.
Elska looked over at the two of them and said, "Oh Bishop! Please, join us."
"Gladly," he grinned. Jules went with him and they sat down across from the three women. Freya made a point to sit right next to Bishop, which he did not mind in the slightest.
Elska said, "You must be Jules," she held a hand out and he took it.
"Yeah, nice to finally meet you Miss Elska," he said politely.
"Oh, please," she smiled warmly, "Just call me Elska. I see you've already met Freya. And these are my other daughters Venus," she put a hand to a pretty Imperial looking woman with high cheekbones and long mousy brown hair. Then she put a hand to the obviously orc woman and said, "And this is our famous alchemist, Qetesh."
Bishop shook her hand. Although she was clearly half orc she was incredibly beautiful too. She had a full figure just like Elska and very small bottom incisors that jut out a bit from her full lips. Her thick, black dreadlocks were long and well cared for, parted nicely around her face and her bright golden eyes rivaled Bishop's amber ones.
"Great to finally meet you," he said to her.
"Likewise," she said smiling, "Bast just can't stop talking about you."
He chuckled and looked around, "That quiet little girl? Where is she anyhow?"
"Probably out playing with the other children," Elska said, "She likes the outdoors and tends to spend her time climbing up any good trees she can find."
Bishop looked over the ingredients on the table and asked, "So, is this it? Everything you need to make that crazy potion of yours?"
"That's all of it," Qetesh said.
Bishop looked over each bowl and pointed to the one nearest to him, "Alright, what's this?"
"Charred skeever hide," she said.
Jules made a gagging face, "Ugh... really? I have to drink this you know."
Qetesh laughed, "Well you definitely don't want to know the next one then." He looked over at the soupy goop in the next bowl over and she said, "Sabre cat eyes."
Jules held a hand to his mouth and Bishop asked, "You, uh, mash them up?"
She shrugged, "Makes for a better consistency," she looked at the third and said, "Hawk feathers. You'll want to grind them down into this dust."
He glanced at the fourth bowl and raised his brow, "Nirnroot? Thought that stuff was for invisibility potions."
"Usually is," she said, "Something about adding a leaf of Nirnroot just binds the mixture better. Thing is though, it's nothing compared to a special kind of Nirnroot I came across once."
"What kind of special?" Bishop asked.
"Well, I'd been all over Skyrim, years ago, when I was still trying to make the best potion I could for Bast. I stumbled upon a very strange place underneath a Dwemer ruin. It was a huge cavern full of tall, glowing plants. It was otherworldly. I discovered a red colored Nirnroot down in that place. Brought as many as I could find back with me, once I'd figured out how to get the hell out of there. Used it in my mix and damn... the effect it had was astounding. Bast didn't need another potion for over a month. Unfortunately, I ran out years ago and never had an opportunity to try searching for that strange place again. Regular leaf of Nirnroot works just fine for it, but it's not as effective as the red one sadly."
"What Dwemer ruin was it in?"
"Alfthand," she said, "Nasty place that was. Full of falmer and of course Dwarven automatons. I don't recommend trekking through there. It's easy to get lost and even worse if you find yourself in the depths of that strange place below the ruins."
Unfortunately, Bishop didn't have the luxury to go spend days, weeks, or months at a time crawling through ruins, not with Thorn at his back. He'd have to stick with the regular Nirnroot. Skeever hide would be easy to get considering the damn things were crawling around everywhere in Lost Knife. The sabre cat eyes would be a bit harder, but nothing short of his usual prey, same with the hawk feathers. As for the Nirnroot, well that'd be easy too since you could hear the damn things from miles away.
"Show me how to mix it," he said.
"You ever mixed potions before?" She asked.
"Plenty of crappy healing potions," he grinned.
She chuckled and got up and said, "Alright, let's get started then."
Qetesh spent a good couple of hours showing him the right temperature for each ingredient, when to mix it and how much of each. She even added in juniper berries after to help with the taste.
While the two of them worked on that Jules got to chatting with the other three women and as another hour rolled on by Bast finally came in, a surprising little chatterbox, going a mile a minute, "Mama, when is Bishop going to be here? I found a pretty yellow mountain flower, like his eyes and -" she saw him over in the corner, mixing potions with Qetesh and he glanced back, waving at her, smiling and saying, "Hey kid."
Her face turned the deepest shade of red and she clammed right up and ran back out the door. The other women all burst into laughter and Freya said, "Told you she couldn't stop talking about you!"
"Bishop," Elska simpered, "You've gone and stolen my youngest's heart, how could you!"
He chuckled, "Must be my animal magnetism."
He finished mixing his potion and Qetesh looked it over, "Seems alright," she said, "Bit too much eyeball fluid, but it'll do. Let him try it."
Bishop walked over and passed the potion off to Jules who grimaced and said, "Too much eyeball fluid?"
"Bottoms up," he said smirking at him.
Jules sighed and drank it in a quick gulp. He scrunched his face and said, "Not as bad as Elgrim's, but definitely not as good as hers. Kind of sour."
"Picky, picky, picky," Bishop rolled his eyes, "The real question is, how do you feel?"
"Pretty good," he said, "But I've been feeling great since the last time I took that stuff."
"Well, keep practicing it anyhow," Qetesh said, "And when he has an episode give him one and see how he feels. I've gotten really good at making it myself and have plenty of extra too, but I'll have to charge you if you want to buy from me, the ingredients aren't the easiest to come by."
"We'll keep that in mind," Bishop said.
Jules however tossed a coin purse on the table and asked, "How many can I get with that?"
Qetesh took it and sifted through the pouch, "Got a decent amount here, I can sell you four more. This'll be enough to cover the cost of the ingredients plus a little extra for my labor."
"I'll take it!" Jules said grinning.
Bishop frowned, "What? Don't trust me to make it for yah?"
Jules narrowed his eyes and held his hands out, "Too much eyeball fluid."
They all shared in a laugh and Elska asked, "So, what do you boys plan to do with the rest of your day?"
"Didn't have any other plans," Bishop said. He wasn't in any hurry to leave though, especially when his eyes met with Freya's and he said, "What do you say we stay for dinner? I can cook you all something."
"That sounds lovely!" Elska said cheerfully.
He and his brother spent the rest of the day with the women, having good conversation, telling stories and laughing a lot. Even Bast found the courage to rejoin them at one point, though she went tight-lipped around Bishop again. He found a small branch laying on the floor and started whittling it with his knife while he listened to Freya and Qetesh tease Venus for being such a poor thief.
She frowned deeply, arms crossed and said, "I'd rather be a merchant if I had a choice!"
"Yeah, too bad there's no Merchants tier in the group," Freya laughed, "Bet you could sell all those bits of jewelry you make for a lot though."
"You should see what this woman can do with all the tacky stuff we come across," Qetesh said enthusiastically, "tears it all apart and makes some of the most beautiful pieces I've ever seen".
Elska clutched at a pretty and intricate necklace, adorned with emeralds on her neck and said, "She made this piece for me. It's my absolute favorite." She gave Venus a very motherly kiss on the cheek and the woman blushed a little and scoffed, "Mother."
They all teased and Bishop was grinning. He was enjoying their company, it was a nice change of pace getting out of the hideout and away from all nastiness that festered there. Elska and Qetesh had gotten up to use the powder room, as they called it, while Jules was busy asking Venus about the possibility of her making a pair of earrings and a necklace for Elise if he provided the materials. Bast was over on her bed playing with her raggedy doll and petting Karnwyr who was leaning into her hand as she scratched behind his ears.
Bishop finished whittling a doll sized bow and two tiny sticks for arrows while Freya watched him curiously the entire time. He leaned over to her asked, "Mind if I take a hair?"
She raised a brow at him, "You want a bit of my hair?"
"Just one strand will do, then I can finish the bow I'm making," he held up the tiny thing and she smirked at him.
She turned her head and said, "Alright, but just one."
He ran his fingers through her soft locks, enjoying the feeling on his hand, then touched her scalp underneath and started to massage her head a little, giving her a taste of his skills.
She gave a light sigh and said sensually, "I thought you were taking a hair?"
"In due time, my dear, but to get the best one you have to stroke it gently."
She chuckled a little and he set his tiny project aside as he took his other hand and began a full scalp massage on her. Her light moans were doing a fine job of making his trousers a bit too tight. He didn't want to drag the tease on too long though, as the others would be back soon, so he reeled it back and gently pulled a single hair from her head.
She turned to face him again a light blush burning on her cheeks as she asked, "Hmm… did you get the best one?"
He looked over her beautiful face, his eyes smoldering with desire and whispered, "Oh definitely."
Then as Elska and Qetesh returned he quickly grabbed the tiny bow and started to twist Freya's hair to it, creating a string for the thing. It certainly wouldn't work like a real bow, too small and easy to break, but it would do for a child's toy. He tore a piece of stray leather from his cuirass and cut it down into a small strip then got up and went over to Bast, who was happily swaying her shoulders back and forth while she made a funny face at Karnwyr, sticking her tongue out like he was.
Bishop chuckled and she looked up at him, fully embarrassed yet again. He asked, "Hey, lemme see your doll."
She grabbed the ratty thing and passed it to him. He tied the leather strap over the shoulder and hip of the doll and tucked the bow and two arrow sticks into it and handed it back to her, "There, now she's a real hunter."
Bast stared wide-eyed at the thing, amazed and she looked up at him and shyly mumbled, "Thank you…"
He grinned and said, "You're very welcome, Princess." Then he turned back to the others and said, "Who's hungry? Let's get some food cooking."
Everyone agreed and Bishop spent the evening in their shared kitchen with Freya, who'd volunteered to help him, much to Jules' chagrin it seemed. He ignored his brother though and focused his attention on the tasks at hand, one being to make supper and the other being to flirt and charm this lovely woman as much as possible.
After they all dined, Elska thanked Bishop for his kindness and went to go to bed with Bast. Venus joined shortly thereafter, but Freya insisted they continue the evening together, suggesting they play a game of dice. Bishop eagerly agreed and Qetesh shrugged, saying she'd join. Jules was itching to go already, but reluctantly joined them all when Bishop told him they'd probably have to spend the night anyways since it was too late to travel the roads safely.
They took their drinks out into the now quiet living space, devoid of any children who'd all been hurried off to bed for the night and sat down at a medium sized table. Karnwyr plopped down between Bishop's legs and nodded off. Freya pulled out a deck of playing cards and started shuffling them with impressive skill.
Bishop kept his eyes on her the entire time. He liked her hands, she had nice nails, she had nice everything to be honest, but he liked way her delicate hands moved as she shuffled the cards and dealt them out. He wanted those hands to touch him.
She rolled out two die and grabbed a nearby child's cup, half full with water and poured it out then set it on the table. The four of them started the game and Bishop renewed his subtle flirtations with both women, though he focused mainly on upping the ante with Freya.
Jules even got a little more interested in the game when they started betting real gold. He was telling jokes and being his usual friendly self, though a few times he kicked Bishop in the leg whenever he got too flirty with Freya.
Bishop ignored him of course, keeping up the tease with this fun woman. He'd noticed she was cheating throughout the whole game too. Whether she made it visible to him on purpose though, he wasn't sure, but he did see her swipe the die out a few times for her own weighted pair and occasionally slipped one card out for another under her sleeve.
Jules groaned loudly and Qetesh scoffed after Freya won another round and started raking in the gold on the table toward herself. Bishop flashed her a roguish grin, taking a sip of his mead and said, "I suppose I should know better than to play a game of dice with a bunch of Thieves."
She smirked at him and said, "Oh? You accusing me of cheating?"
He chuckled, setting the bottle down and leaned his elbows on the table, "Now, now, darlin', I wouldn't do that since it'd require me to strip you down and search your person for those loaded die and the three aces you're hiding up your sleeve. And I am a gentleman. I'd never strip a woman naked unless she wanted me too." Freya's eyes burned heavily with desire and he made sure to return the look.
Qetesh leaned back and said, "Damn, you two need to get a room already. And seriously Freya? Couldn't play one honest game?"
Freya bit her lip and shrugged. Qetesh got up then and said, "Well, it's been fun boys, but I need my beauty sleep. It was really nice meeting you both. And Jules, I really do hope you start to get better."
"With these potions, definitely," he said and thanked her again. Qetesh disappeared down the hall and he looked over at Bishop and asked, "We really spending the night here?"
"Unless you want to make the trek back in the middle of the night," Bishop replied.
Jules gave him a half-smile and said, "That I do! Meet you outside bro," he got up, clicking for Karnwyr to follow and left Bishop and Freya alone together.
She stood, collecting her cards and dice from the table and said, pouting a little, "Sorry to see you leave so soon."
He got up too and said, "Just keep an eye out for me at the hideout, darlin'. I'm usually around."
She stepped over to him, putting a hand to his hip and asked, "Still need to borrow that kiss?"
He raised his brows and wet his lips, smiling, "Oh, very much so."
She leaned in and kissed him, deeply and he returned it with just as much vigor, wrapping his arms around her waist and exploring the depths of her lovely mouth while he got a nice taste of her very full lips. He enjoyed it a lot, especially when she got a handful of him through his pants. When they parted, reluctantly so, she said, "Be sure to give it back next time I see you."
She sauntered off down the dark hallway and he sighed, watching her go.
He met up with Jules and Karnwyr outside and they started their walk back to Lost Knife. Bishop had been smiling the entire time and Jules finally said, "You should stay away from her."
The smile was wiped from his face and he looked over at his brother, "Why?"
"She's bad news, Bish. She plays nice, but Freya's fucking nuts. You do not want to get involved with her."
"What kind of nuts?"
"Like manipulative, crazy bitch nuts."
Bishop scoffed, "Pft… dealt with plenty of those types before. It's nothing I can't handle, plus the crazier ones are always a little more fun."
"Not this one Bishop. Just trust me on this."
They were quiet for a while and Bishop finally asked, "You told any of your friends yet?"
"No," Jules said, "I'm going to tell Elise tomorrow."
"Make sure she knows Jules. She runs…"
"Yeah. I know," he ran a hand through his mop of hair and sighed heavily, "The fuck have we gotten ourselves into?"
"It'll be fine," Bishop assured him, "As long as no one runs, as long as you all keep your shit together and your mouths shut. We'll get through this."
Bishop wasn't so sure though. He was worried. But he prepared himself. His brother and his wolf were his number one priorities. He'd protect them, Jules especially, first and foremost, like he always did.