Chapter LXXXII – All Aboard

The day had come soon enough.

After the meeting with Casavir and another night spent at the Skeever, the time of the ceremony had arrived. It had been surprisingly uneventful. There was no pomp, no commotion. Aeyrin was simply called to court and made to stand in front of the throne while Elisif proclaimed her a thane in front of the nobles and guards gathered around.

Some of those nobles looked a little disgruntled. She noticed that Bryling woman in particular scowling fiercely through the whole thing. It wasn't surprising. She was part of that… group. And they wanted Gisli to take the title instead. At least that was what she had gathered from all of this. It was still a little confusing.

But she didn't want to think about that. Casavir was on the case and she only needed to concern herself with it if Azshan contacted her again. Which he might not, considering the fact that his cohorts weren't exactly thrilled with him involving Aeyrin. It was for the best. She had no idea if she would be able to treat him like she used to. She felt an uncomfortable clench in her stomach and burning sensation at the back of her neck whenever she even thought about him.

She was done thinking about him. She was done playing noble games and getting tangled up into conspiracies and plots. If Casavir needed her help, she was happy to oblige, but until then, she would only make things worse. She didn't know how these games worked and she was far from subtle and suave. She would blab something out accidentally for sure.

Just like she had blabbed about her thaneship. But fortunately, nothing bad came from that. The ceremony concluded without a hitch and then she received her deed to the house at last. And she was allowed to write in Bishop's name on the deed too, making him an official citizen of Haafingar. That was probably the last Hold that he wanted to be associated with, but desperate times called for desperate measures. They needed to keep the barking dog Tullius on a leash before he would bite them.

After the ceremony, Bishop and Aeyrin made their way back to the already familiar mansion.

It looked even grander in daylight, but there was still this lingering sensation as if it weren't theirs to begin with. It was understandable. They knew that very soon, they wouldn't be alone there.

But until that time came, they were determined to enjoy the place as much as they could.

They got to the place by noon and, after enjoying the bed one more time, they decided to make use of the rest of the house as well.

Aeyrin couldn't resist the large bath in the basement. It even had a curtain for privacy – that was new. It wasn't something that could be found even in taverns. It was much more comfortable than washing in the small tub under the stairs in Breezehome.

In the meantime, Bishop made full use of the kitchen. He wanted to test out the new spices that Aeyrin cajoled from that drunken idiot Jack anyway and he didn't get many chances to cook for her in an actual kitchen. Although he was kind of more comfortable with the usual campfire, having more space to maneuver was definitely helpful. Still, through all that, he felt like he was in some borrowed place. He couldn't wait to do that in a kitchen that was actually all theirs.

Soon, he would find a way to fix up that cottage and get it ready. He just had to wait for an opportunity.

He was almost done with his meal while Aeyrin was still bathing. The kitchen was actually even stocked so he made good use of that. He hadn't had mudcrab legs in ages and he wasn't sure if Aeyrin had ever had them. There were mudcrabs in Cyrodiil, and basically everywhere else, but maybe she didn't try that particular treat yet. He was sure she would love it and while they've killed their fair share of mudcrabs before, it wasn't really something to do by the open fire easily. And they took way too long to steam. So he took the opportunity now.

The mansion was starting to fill with a pleasant smell from the meal already, but before Bishop could finish everything up, the sound of the door opening disturbed the quiet.

Fuck, was the housecarl here already? He thought that they would get at least one more day, but that was probably naïve.

Now they had to be all careful again. It was possible that this person would be just another spy. Even if Elisif wouldn't do that to them, which Bishop was still not convinced of, despite all her previous help, anyone else could have gotten to that housecarl and bribed them or brainwashed them or something.

Bishop still concentrated on the food as he heard footsteps behind him, finally followed by an uncertain voice.

"Uhm… hi?"

Bishop only shot a quick look over his shoulder at the woman. She was a Nord, as all of them were, apparently. She definitely looked like a warrior, she looked quite stout and muscular, but surprisingly enough, she wasn't clad in armor like Lydia had been. She actually wore clothes that looked kinda expensive, like one of the nobles wore. Although not that overly opulent and fancy. Still, hopefully she wasn't one of those. He had enough of all that stupid noble drama for a lifetime.

"Hey," he answered noncommittally. "You the housecarl?" As if he needed to ask that. But he didn't know what else to say to her. It would be all the same again, the forced deference and politeness. It was annoying.

"Yeah," the woman answered. "I'm Jordis."

"Bishop," he responded curtly.

"You're the other person who owns this house, right?" she asked after a little bit of silence. "You're an adventurer?"

"Yeah," Bishop nodded. Among other things. It was as good a thing as any to call himself by now though.

"So…" Jordis hesitated for a while before she spoke again. "So I don't have to call you 'sir' or anything right?"

Bishop couldn't help the snort of a chuckle escaping his nose. At least she asked before she got all weird and polite. "No. Don't call me that."

"And I don't have to call her 'milady' or anything like that either, right?" There seemed to be a genuinely hopeful tone in her voice as she asked that. Maybe she wouldn't be all the same.

"No, you don't have to call her that either. Her name's Aeyrin, by the way," Bishop chuckled.

"Oh good. You're normal people," Jordis huffed out in relief and, without further ado, she sat down by the dining table haphazardly as if she wanted to exaggeratedly show how much she relaxed at that. "I volunteered, you know. When I heard that they were looking for a housecarl for the Dragonborn. I really didn't wanna play maid or some shit for one of those nobles."

Bishop chuckled again before he finally turned his attention away from the food and towards her. He kinda liked this one. This was certainly a refreshing attitude. Not that he would trust that she's not a spy yet, this could have been some other tactic after all, but that was just a simple matter of not discussing their more secret endeavors.

"You don't wanna serve nobles? Why the fuck did you become a housecarl? In Solitude," he laughed. That seemed like a sure way to be under some stuck-up noble's bootheel.

"Ugh, don't ask that. It's an embarrassing story," she smirked at him.

Bishop smirked in return before he walked towards one of the cabinets in the kitchen and pulled out two bottles of mead. He threw one of them to Jordis and she caught it deftly. "This will help," he winked at her.

"Fine. You asked for it," Jordis snickered before she uncorked the bottle and took a deep swig. "So, I was like sixteen. Really stupid. And… there was this guy."

Bishop rolled his eyes with a barely subdued laugh. He really didn't expect someone like her. It was much less uncomfortable than that weirdness in Riften. Even if she was a spy, who cared? They were planning to be careful about what they said in front of her anyway and their master bedroom had an actual lock, so there was not gonna be any snooping through Aeyrin's stuff or shit like that.

"He was joining the housecarl training program and I joined too, so that… you know, we'd spend more and more time together and he'd fall hopelessly in love with me. It was inevitable," she laughed.

"Riight," Bishop chuckled. "So did he?"

"No. That asshole got recruited by the Legion like a month into the training," Jordis scoffed. "And I wasn't gonna follow him there. Besides, I liked living in the Palace with the guards. They were fun. And not a lot of people get to live in the Palace for free," she chuckled. "And they told me I was gonna live in a mansion after that, so why would I not go through with it, right?"

"Uh-huh. Except for the nobles," Bishop smirked.

"I didn't think it would be that bad," Jordis shrugged. "But then my training was over and I got to see more of the Palace than the guard quarters and… yeah… it may have been a mistake," she rolled her eyes at herself.

"So this is your first assignment?" Bishop raised his brow at her. If so, she kind of lucked out.

"No. My last one died a few months ago. He was such an asshole," Jordis scoffed. "But now I got it all, right? A mansion and no nobles," she winked at him conspiratorially.

"Right," Bishop laughed. She probably already realized that she would even have the mansion all to herself often. Well… at least someone could enjoy the house.

"So I don't even have to cook or anything? You're doing that?" she smirked at him.

"I am now," Bishop nodded. "But we'll be leaving soon, probably. So you gotta feed yourself whatever slop you can make on your own."

"Huh… there's always a downside to everything, isn't there?" she huffed. Didn't the Palace cooks teach her? Maybe it really wasn't all that common that housecarls got to Lydia's level of cooking.

Before Bishop could respond to that, again the sound of steps interrupted them as he could hear Aeyrin making her way up from the basement.

"Gods, what are you making?" she called out before she even came into view. "It smells so good. I got lured out of the bath by it." There was a hint of pouting in her voice before she finally appeared upstairs and came into view of Jordis. "Oh. Hi," she waved at the woman uncertainly.

"Jordis," the woman grinned at her.

"Uhm… Aeyrin. Nice to meet you," she gave her a weak smile in return. Jordis didn't even stand up from her table. There was no obedient bow, no 'milady' and things like that. That kind of threw Aeyrin off. She was mentally bracing herself for dealing with all of that. But it was certainly a pleasant surprise.

"So… what do I have to do?" Jordis continued the previous discussion promptly. "Besides watching the house, I mean. You don't want me to go and kill dragons with you, right?"

"No. You really don't have to come with us," Aeyrin shook her head vehemently. Every housecarl seemed concerned about that, though that was no wonder. Who wanted to willingly go against a dragon? Even she didn't.

"Good. I would probably get eaten by the very first one," Jordis chuckled. She really was pleasantly informal.

"You don't have to do anything. Just make sure the house is standing," Aeyrin smiled at her. "It's more your house now anyway. We won't be here all that often. So do whatever you like."

"Really?" Jordis raised her brow. She probably got caught off guard by the notion of the mansion being practically hers. "So… can I even… invite some people here?"

Aeyrin gave her a strange expression. What did she mean exactly? "Like… throw parties?"

"No," Jordis chuckled. "Although this place would be nice for that, but then I would have to clean the mess," she scoffed. "I meant like… invite people."

"She means for fucking," Bishop laughed merrily. He wasn't exactly sure if that was what she had meant, but it was the first thing that came to mind. Of course she would want to know that.

Aeyrin's face turned predictably red and she looked like she would chastise Bishop, but before she could, Jordis spoke up.

"Well I didn't want to say it," she smirked. "But there's this guy… one of the guards. And there's no privacy at the Palace."

"You can invite whoever you want," Aeyrin quickly answered her while Bishop still chuckled at it all. She wanted to add 'when we're not here'. She didn't exactly want some stranger coming here. Though… Jordis was a stranger now too. Maybe it wasn't that odd. She shouldn't overthink it too much. It was all just so different than she would have expected. Lydia had always been so shy about bringing Saadia home in the beginning.

"So… I can do what I want, invite who I want, and I get to live in a mansion?" Jordis smirked before she took another swig from the bottle. "See? This is why I stuck with it," she threw Bishop a grin.

Bishop only shook his head at her with a smile. It still seemed like taking a lot on faith – she was definitely more likely to have been stuck with noble fops all her life. Then again, she could always leave their service if she wanted. It probably wasn't all that serious.

There was only a brief moment of silence before Bishop interrupted it with some noise as he began to fish out the mudcrab legs from the pot and prepare the other parts of the dish.

"So what did you make?" Aeyrin asked the still unanswered question as she craned her neck to see what he was doing by the fire.

"Steamed mudcrab legs. Ever had them?" he asked. He wasn't even sure why he hoped that she hadn't. He got way too fixated on her enjoying his food and he had only made them like twice before. He kind of hoped she didn't have some frame of reference from some fancy inn in the Imperial City.

"No," Aeyrin shook her head. "They don't make them in a lot of places down south. And they're expensive. Was this stuff here?" Her eyes went wide. They really went all out with the house. It must have been common to pander to all the nobles here, furnishing and supplying their houses to the last detail. That certainly wasn't the case in the other cities.

Then again, it was understandable after everything she had learned about the nobles here. Keeping them happy was probably an integral part of Solitude politics. Otherwise they might demand compensation or something similarly entitled.

"Yeah," Bishop smirked. "Everything's here. It's crazy how much shit they dragged in."

He finally took out the legs from the pot and began preparing the food on the table. The delicious smell was even more overwhelming when the steaming meal was presented at last, with some grilled vegetables and garlic bread on the side. Luckily he didn't have to make that bread. That would have all taken even longer and he wasn't really good at baking shit. He only tried that once before. But surprisingly enough, it was already there, only probably a day old. That must have been what those people who had interrupted the morning after their 'afterparty' were doing here yesterday – stocking the house with fresh food, likely until the housecarl could get there.

"I can eat with you too, right?" Jordis gave them a wry smile. "Because it smells really good. And there's a lot of it, you can't possibly eat all that just the two of you. Just saying."

"Of course you can," Aeyrin chuckled. "And there's three of us, by the way." She looked around after that. Karnwyr was nowhere to be seen. Usually he came running when he smelled food.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Bishop smirked when he saw Aeyrin looking around in confusion. "He was asleep upstairs the last time I saw him, but this will wake him up soon enough."

"There's someone else?" Jordis raised her brow. They didn't need to answer though, just as the question left her lips, the rapid pitter patter of paws on stone echoed through the house.

Karnwyr rushed into the kitchen with heavy pants and an excited expression on his face. He immediately sat by Bishop's side and craned his neck to see what he was putting on the table with his tail wagging in excitement.

"Is… that a wolf?" Jordis raised her brows at the sight.

"Don't worry, he won't attack," Aeyrin reassured her promptly. Any other wolf would have torn into them all already after all. It must have been obvious that Karnwyr was different.

"Unless you piss him off," Bishop smirked.

Jordis tentatively put one of her hands below the table with an uncertain expression on her face. She watched the wolf warily, but she still rubbed her fingers together a bit to call him over. She seemed much more intrigued than scared.

Karnwyr saw the motion in a few seconds and he made a few careful steps towards Jordis's hand, below the table. He craned his neck when he was close enough and sniffed. Jordis still looked like she would pull away at any second, but in the end, she stayed perfectly still.

Karnwyr likely expected to get some treat, but after he briefly licked her hand to check and found nothing, he walked right back dejectedly. It didn't seem to dampen Jordis's enthusiasm in the slightest, however. Likely just the fact that a wolf approached her and licked her hand instead of attacking was enough to fascinate her.

And it usually took Karnwyr a bit longer to warm up to someone new anyway. Except for Aeyrin, but that may have had something to do with her healing his wounds after a likely traumatic experience. For everyone else, he was more detached at first, even with Lydia after she had bribed him with dried meat. It still took him a while before he began nuzzling her and barking excitedly when he saw her.

"That's amazing. You tamed a wolf?" she gasped in astonishment.

"He's not tame," Bishop scoffed. "He's just smart enough to know when not to bite. He can still rip out a throat like the best of them." He placed another plate with prepared food on the table and ruffled Karnwyr's fur affectionately, earning a happy bark in return.

"Well… he's still kind of cute," Jordis smirked. "I never thought that I would say that about a wolf. Then again, I was starting to think that I would never say and do a lot of things again once I got my new thane. Now I'm not surprised by anything," she chuckled.

"You asked if you could eat with us. Did your last thane not eat with you?" Aeyrin raised her brow. That sounded sad. Like that personality that Iona had put on to be a diligent housecarl and a good spy had actually been something expected and counted on in any housecarl. She was glad that Jordis got comfortable outside this dynamic instantly. It only made her anxious when someone behaved with such deference towards her. She didn't know how to deal with that.

"No, not on his life," Jordis scoffed. "None of his staff did. We couldn't even eat the same food – that was reserved for the nobles. We got some simple, cheaper stuff so that we don't drop dead from starvation or something. And we ate in a different wing in the house, after the family was done with their meal and the servants cleaned up after them." She let out a deep sigh, but she tried to mask her moroseness with a disinterested eye-roll. "They all told us how valued and distinguished the housecarls are, but that man just liked to make everyone without a family name feel like crap."

"They all do that," Bishop snorted. "What did you even expect?" He didn't remember meeting a noble who didn't look down on others. Well… maybe Elisif. Was she even a noble before the King married her?

"I told you, I was stupid," Jordis huffed. "But… not all of them do that. I figured I'd try one more time. I was with that old man for only a year. And if it didn't pan out again, I would just find some other work."

Bishop only shrugged at that. Even a year in something like that would have been too much. Fuck, he wouldn't last a day. He'd had enough nobles for a lifetime already. It was good that Jordis wasn't acting like they were ones. He just wanted to forget any nobles and paladins ever existed after what happened. At least that fucking tin-head didn't want Aeyrin involved too much with his investigations and they could leave soon.

There was no more talking as Bishop finally joined them by the table when everything was ready and they all started to concentrate on the food.

Aeyrin eagerly grabbed one of the crab legs and snapped the hard shell with her hands. It took a bit of effort, but soon the shell yielded under her force and revealed the aromatic white meat beneath. She barely missed a beat before she scooped some of the meat with her fingers and popped it into her mouth.

A low moan of satisfaction escaped her as the taste spread on her tongue. Bishop's food was always so delicious, but this was beyond amazing. She caught Bishop's self-pleased grin out of the corner of her eye and shot him a wry smile as she continued to chew eagerly.

"Divines, this is so good," she let out another moan to punctuate the point. "I could eat this stuff forever."

Bishop chuckled at her reaction. He knew she would love it, but he still couldn't help but get somewhat giddy, seeing the actual response. "There's more of those legs stored here," he smirked. "We could take it with us on the road if you want. Though it will be a bit tougher to pull off on a campfire." It would still be worth it just to hear those satisfied moans from her as she ate.

"Fuck, it is really good," Jordis nodded in accord as she finally got through the hard shell herself and tasted some of the meat. "They're even better than they make them in the Palace."

Bishop only gave her a grin in return. Those fops in the Palace probably usually ruined it with a ton of other fancy and expensive ingredients. But it was still kind of a high praise. Not as good as Aeyrin's reaction though, but he doubted that anything would ever be as important to him. Although Karnwyr's reaction was pretty satisfying too as he continued barking and nuzzling Bishop's leg after he had thrown him a piece of the meat too. He clearly wanted more.

"I could eat like this forever too," Jordis chuckled before she turned to Aeyrin. "You think I could keep him here?"

"The mudcrab or Bishop?" Aeyrin smirked at her. "Because both are mine." She popped another piece of meat into her mouth greedily. As much as she would dislike letting go of the idea, already embedded in her head firmly, to take the rest of the crab legs with them on the road, she would hate even more parting with Bishop. And not just because of the cooking, though right now that was the primary thing on her mind.

Bishop let out an affectionate laugh at that and leaned towards her briefly to plant a kiss on the top of her head. He loved it when she got possessive like that, even if it was half-jokingly.

"Dammit, fine," Jordis chuckled. "Are you at least staying a bit? I'm not as confident in my cooking skills."

"We're not sure yet, actually," Bishop pondered. They haven't talked about leaving yet – they didn't have any pressing matters to attend to. But he assumed they wouldn't stay much longer anymore. They've been in Solitude for ages now and they both definitely missed the wilderness. Although… Solitude did feel pleasantly safe as opposed to that. It was probably naïve to think they were safe from the Brotherhood here, but… it felt better than being surrounded by traps in some random location out there.

"We can stay for a while I think, maybe one or two days more?" Aeyrin turned a questioning look towards Bishop. She was eager to move on and to get some place new after such a long time in the city, but there was no urgent rush yet.

Bishop nodded at her with a pleased smile.

They would leave soon enough, but before that, they could still enjoy the mansion a bit longer.

…

The next morning came soon enough after another enjoyable night in the mansion.

Although now with Jordis sleeping in the basement, Bishop and Aeyrin did have to rein themselves in a little bit. Aeyrin was self-conscious about being too loud, even though they could actually lock themselves in their room for a change, the sound would still carry if they overdid it – after all, they did hear the workers come in the morning after their afterparty, so it wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility.

They discussed Jordis quietly at night. They both still kept the fact that she could be another spy in mind. They agreed not to talk about anything they wouldn't want anyone to know inside the house at all, but that didn't mean that they needed to be hostile or unfriendly. Jordis was surprising, when it came to housecarls. Her leisurely attitude was quite endearing after dealing with the uncomfortable deference twice already. Even though Lydia turned out to be a dear friend in the end, it was tough navigating through her dutiful persona in the beginning. There were no such issues with Jordis though.

There was no harm in enjoying her company and friendship, as long as they still remained wary of her.

When they finally got out of the bed in the morning, they came upon Jordis sitting in an armchair in the entryway of the house. Surprisingly enough, she had a large canvas placed on her lap and she carefully glided a piece of sharpened charcoal over it. There wasn't anything properly drawn on it yet, just vague shapes, but she was in deep concentration and she didn't even notice them coming downstairs.

"Jordis?" Aeyrin approached her and caught her attention.

"Oh!" Jordis practically flinched. She gave Aeyrin a startled look, but when she noticed her smiling, she relaxed visibly. "I… uh… like to draw. You said I could do what I want."

"Of course you can," Aeyrin chuckled at her before she peered at the shapes again. It looked like Jordis would be drawing some kind of a village or a hamlet. There seemed to be small houses outlined there.

"Good. Thanks," Jordis smiled in return. "The old Thane didn't want me to draw. Said it's not one of my duties. I could only do that when I was in my chambers and I still had to be secretive about it, in case he came in. I don't know what his problem was," she huffed in annoyance.

Aeyrin scrunched up her face in a cringe. That man really sounded horrible. It was surprising that Jordis had stayed there for a year.

"I didn't make breakfast because I figured… or hoped that Bishop would," Jordis smirked, only earning a nod from Aeyrin. Bishop was already in the nearby kitchen after all.

"Oh! Also," Jordis suddenly looked like she remembered something. "There was a courier here a few hours ago. So I did some housecarl duties," she chuckled before she leaned her canvas carefully against the side of the armchair and stood up. "You both got a letter!" she yelled the last part so that even Bishop would hear.

Bishop appeared in the entryway within a second and gave Jordis an expectant look. He really hoped that it wasn't something secret and that Jordis didn't read the letters, but most of their associates knew to be vague in their messages, fortunately.

Jordis ushered them towards a nearby shelf. There was a small letter there and, surprisingly enough, a simple vase with a single red rose in it and a small note leaning on its side.

"This one's for you," Jordis passed the letter to Bishop. "And this one's for you," she pointed towards the rose and a note as she nodded at Aeyrin.

"What?" Bishop scowled instantly. He didn't even open his letter. "Who the fuck is sending you roses?" the edge in his voice was palpable. He didn't even know what this was about yet he was already tense.

"I don't know yet," Aeyrin chuckled at him, although she herself was surprised by seeing it. She reached out for the note and read to herself, but she could feel Bishop craning his neck to see the contents.

.

Congratulations on your new title, my lady. There are none more deserving of it than you.

I am more than pleased to welcome you to the city as a resident and I hope that you will enjoy your new house.

Until we will see each other again, may your faith be your everlasting guide.

Sincerely

Casavir

.

An angry growl echoed from behind her as she finished reading the note. She turned around with a wry smile only to see Bishop with one of his fists clenched and the other gripping his own letter still very tensely.

She should have expected that reaction. Despite Casavir's innocence in her poisoning, Bishop's anger at him didn't wane. He did promise her not to pick a fight with him anymore, as long as the paladin extended him the same courtesy, but much like Casavir himself, he told her that there would be no forgiving and no forgetting the past. She understood that. As long as they didn't fight anymore so openly, she was happy with how things turned out.

And besides, she still found it kind of endearing how jealous Bishop got over things like this.

"That fucker," he hissed through his teeth.

The gesture was very sweet from Casavir, but still, she couldn't help but wonder if the paladin knew that it would infuriate Bishop that he had sent her a flower. Although that may have been unfair to him to presume that.

Jordis looked positively giddy about Bishop's display, as if she was watching a dramatic play unfold in front of her. Aeyrin quickly put the note down and patted Bishop on his cheek to diffuse the situation.

"What did you get?" She brought attention to the letter in Bishop's hand.

Finally his jaw unclenched slightly and, with a deep sigh, he unfolded the letter and positioned it so that Aeyrin could see it as well.

.

Dear friends,

I hope you are faring well. I am in need of assistance and in need of your skills. Please, meet me at the following coordinates so that we can discuss the matter.

16'2, 37'5

I hope to see you soon. Come well prepared and equipped for an adventure.

K

.

Aeyrin and Bishop shared a meaningful look. The letter was vague enough that even they weren't sure what this was about, but they still hoped that Jordis hadn't read it with the coordinates right there. Then again, Karliah knew how to hide well. She would surely be on guard against anyone roaming through the area.

"Well… we should probably head out soon then," Aeyrin nodded. Karliah mentioned an adventure specifically. Would this be some dungeon delving? Unusual for Karliah, but not impossible.

"Oh. You've been called somewhere?" Jordis couldn't hide the disappointment from her voice.

"Yeah," Bishop nodded before he started murmuring mostly to himself. "She's probably already there."

"We can head out after lunch?" Aeyrin gave him a questioning look and she promptly earned a nod in response.

"Oh, good," Jordis smiled at them. "At least I still get some lunch from him."

Bishop and Aeyrin chuckled at that. It was a good idea to make use of the kitchen a few more times at least before they left. A couple more hours wouldn't kill Karliah. And the coordinates looked like they were on the other side of the province, though they would still need to consult a map properly.

It was sure to take some time to get there. Hopefully Karliah counted on that.

Bishop quickly stashed the letter in his pocket before Jordis interrupted the quiet once again.

"So… what's for breakfast?"

…

After a delicious lunch and after saying their goodbyes to Jordis, Aeyrin, Bishop and Karnwyr set off to leave Solitude at last, fully stocked with anything that they might need for the adventure.

They had no idea what they were getting into, but they knew they needed to get to Windhelm. Or, to be more precise, near Windhelm. The coordinates pointed to a place past the farmsteads on the outskirts, but there was nothing in there, according to the map. And according to Bishop's knowledge. They would have to wait and see what this was all about.

The journey would certainly take a while. They had to cross the entire province to get there. But surely Karliah counted on that being a possibility.

They marched down the paved road leading outside of Solitude, eager to get back out there, before something drew their attention away again from their intended goal.

Near the docks approach stairs, there were two men arguing about something – two familiar men, in fact. One of them they were unable to mistake for anyone else. The Redguard was clad in gaudy and yet cheap-looking jewelry-adorned outfit, with long weathered coat, tall muddy boots and, most strikingly of all, a large tricorn hat with a colorful feather pinned to it.

Captain Jack.

The other man was also familiar, although a little less memorable. It looked like Jack's Altmer healer and crewmate, though neither Bishop nor Aeyrin remembered his name.

"Aw, shit, I think he saw us," Bishop smirked when Jack's line of sight fell on them and he began to wave them over enthusiastically.

Aeyrin only shrugged with a smile and they both picked up their pace to approach the captain.

"Me friends! So good to see you again," Jack grinned at them as the Altmer gave them a small polite nod. "Me pretty, you look even better without the blurred vision," the captain laughed heartily, earning a slight blush from Aeyrin.

"Good to see you again, Jack," Aeyrin smiled at him. "It's surprising you're still here."

"Aye, aye," Jack sighed. "We stayed a wee bit longer than usual. "Tibby 'ere got himself drunk in the city and we couldn't find him for days. Says he didn't drink my cursed rum, but I don't believe him. There were a few bottles missing when he brought it back," he threw the Altmer a suspicious look.

Bishop only smirked covertly at that. Then again, maybe the elf took a few more bottles for himself too. Who knew?

"Right. The rum out of Oblivion," Aeyrin giggled. As if it was that unusual for a sailor to get so drunk he got lost.

"For fuck's sake, you idiot," the elf groaned. "It's not cursed! And I didn't take your stupid rum anyway. You left it at the side of the road. Anyone with half a brain would help themselves."

Bishop chuckled at that again. Exactly. Who in their right mind wouldn't take the opportunity?

"Fine, fine, Tibby. Whatever you say," Jack scoffed at him before he turned back to Aeyrin and Bishop. "Anyways, I wanted to thank ye again for the help. You two are a good sort."

"It's no problem, Jack. You thanked us enough with those spices," Aeyrin smiled. Especially after they've tried some already – it was definitely worth the hassle. Not to mention the rum, but Jack didn't need to know about that. They still had one bottle left and Jack would surely take it from them if he knew – so that they wouldn't drink the booze straight out of Oblivion.

"Eeer… spices?" Jack gave her a confused look.

"You had me give them spices for the help, you drunken moron," the Altmer rolled his eyes at the captain.

"Right! Right! Spices," Jack chuckled. He clearly didn't remember at all. "Still doesn't feel like enough, draggin' me poor cursed self back to me ship. But I'm glad I didn't let you walk off empty."

"It's more than enough, Jack, don't worry about it," Aeyrin chuckled.

"Yer kind to say so, me pretty," Jack nodded. "So where are you two off to?" he pried after a brief second of silence.

"On the road again," Aeyrin let out a somewhat contented sigh. "Going to plunder some dungeons and things like that. We're heading to Eastmarch so we've got a long way ahead."

"Eastmarch, aye?" Jack's eyes went wide. "We're settin' sails again right now, me friends. Headed to Blacklight for more trade 'fore we set back to our dear ol' Sentinel. Why don't we take ye along? Drop you off by the lighthouse? Is on the way after all, and I feel like I owe ye still," he smiled warmly.

Bishop and Aeyrin shared an intrigued look. That didn't sound half-bad, given their current situation. That would cut their traveling time in half at least. They could reach Karliah much sooner and the lighthouse near Windhelm was very close to her coordinates.

Aeyrin tentatively threw a questioning look towards 'Tibby'. It would have been too uncomfortable if Jack's crew wasn't happy about this.

"It's fine, we're sailin' past the lighthouse anyway," Tibby nodded at them with a slight smile. "And we really are grateful for you getting' this jackass back to us unharmed. He gets into too much trouble."

"Says you, our poor little lost drunken Tibby," Jack laughed heartily. "I ain't the one we had to stay 'ere so long for."

"Aye, aye, whatever," Tibby rolled his eyes before he set them on the last member of the intended guest party on their ship. "Just one question, the wolf's tame, right?" he scowled a bit warily at Karnwyr who had been diligently sitting by Bishop's feet all this time.

"He's fine. He won't jump anyone unless you do something stupid," Bishop nodded at him.

"Right, so he'll only jump Jack," Tibby snickered in response.

"Shut yer trap, boy," Jack nudged him with his elbow in a friendly manner. "I promise, I don't drink when I steer. Not too much anyways. And no cursed shit!" He raised his hands in mock surrender.

This sounded like a rather nice change of pace. They would make good time towards Karliah and they could relax on the ship easily. Unless one of the crewmembers was an assassin, as unlikely as it was, they would be safe there from the Brotherhood and they wouldn't need to bother with all the traps and with finding a good place to camp. That had been taking up too much of their time lately since they had all manners of considerations to make against any potential attackers.

Aeyrin looked at Bishop again curiously and he only gave her a subtle nod in turn. It was a good opportunity. Why not? And at least the sailors would likely be fun company for the day. He would get to be alone with Aeyrin and Karnwyr soon enough again anyway and he definitely needed a break from all those fucking nobles. This sounded perfect.

"Alright, Jack, since you're offering," Aeyrin gave him another smile. "We'd be happy to join you until the lighthouse."

"Grand!" Jack grinned. "You ain't gonna regret it, me pretty. The sea's a cruel mistress, she is. Dangers are as plenty as the roads, but the fun's double," he laughed.

He had no idea – for them, the dangers of the sea were definitely a reprieve.

But it was certainly looking like an interesting diversion nonetheless.