Getting into Cheydinhall, finding the house, entering the door using the secret password- it was all easy. What was not easy, however, was finding my reception so... welcoming. For a bunch of murderers, everyone had seemed so happy and accepting of a new member. Or of life in general. I found it hard to believe.
Upon entering, I had met the members immediately and all but one had open arms. Some literally. Most were huggers, especially the Orc Gogron gro-Bolmog. He had nearly crushed my ribcage out of excitement.
The one who had not seemed to be happy to see me was the Kajhiit, Mraj-Dar. He had a foul attitude and took it upon himself to call me a, "foul-smelling ape". Funny for a little house cat to have such strong opinions.
Upon finding the Argonian woman Ocheeva, I spoke to her and she seemed much too happy. Just like the others.
"Greetings, sister! Greetings! I am Ocheeva, mistress of this Sanctuary. Lucien has told me all about you. I welcome you to the Dark Brotherhood! You stand now in our Sanctuary. May it serve as your new home, a place of comfort and security whenever the need arises. When you're ready for work, go and speak with Vicente Valtieri. He handles all assignments for new family members. But before you go, please accept this gift from your new family. A unique set of armor, lighter than normal leather and black as the Void. Now, I've kept you long enough. Vicente is waiting. You'll find him in his quarters. Go now, my child, and may Sithis go with you." I took the armor, feeling a little overwhelmed by all the new information and took a momentary deep breath.
"Ocheeva, before I go see Vicente, could I ask a few questions maybe?" I asked, wary of how this new "family" would respond to practically anything. So far, most seemed sane.
"Oh, of course. It slipped my mind that you might not know much right now." She laughed. "Surely Lucien must have told you something?"
"Well... no. In all honesty, my first- and second- meeting with him seemed a bit standoff-ish. He's reserved, for sure. Um, I was wondering about him, really." I said, walking on eggshells.
"Lucien isn't here very often. His duties with the Black Hand keep him very busy, so he trusts me to keep the Sanctuary in order." She said. "I wouldn't worry about him. You won't see him unless you've done something really wrong or really good. Anything else?"
"No, that is all. Thank you." I took my armor and then my leave to find Vicente.
"Go now, dear family member, and may the Night Mother wrap you in her cold, loving embrace." She said behind me and I acted like I didn't hear her.
Finding Vicente was not too difficult, seeing as the Sanctuary is not overly large. Rather straight-forward. I knocked on the door and heard a, "come in" so I opened it and walked in to find myself standing alone in a room with a vampire murderer. I felt a little uneasy to say the least.
"Warmest greetings to you. I trust you've already spoken with Ocheeva? I am Vicente Valtieri. I provide assignments for all new family members. Please, do not let my appearance... unnerve you. The needs and Tenets of the Dark Brotherhood come before my own needs as a vampire. Now, if you're ready to get to work, I can provide you with your first contract." He said with a rather toothy- or fang-y- smile.
"Well first, what are the tenets?" I asked curiously.
"Of course! They are as follows: Tenet I. Never dishonor the Night Mother. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Tenet II. Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Tenet III. Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Tenet IV. Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. And lastly, Tenet V. Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis." He said happily. "Anything else?"
"Who is the Night Mother? Exactly?"
"The Night Mother speaks to only one member of the Dark Brotherhood -- the Listener of the Black Hand. And when Our Lady speaks, death follows. As for our Dread Father Sithis, well... Sithis is the darkness of time immemorial. He is no Daedra, and dwells not in the realm of Oblivion. No, Sithis is something altogether... different." His answers proved rather vague. I simply smiled back and decided my best course of action would be to try on the armor and get to know everyone a little bit without really talking to them.
"One final question before I take my leave to get settled in, how about Lucien Lachance?"
"When I first joined the family, this Sanctuary was controlled by another Speaker. Lucien took over when she was killed while fulfilling a contract. Such things tend to happen in our line of work, but no matter. You needn't worry about that just yet. Not until you're ready for your first contract, anyway." He gave a hearty laugh and I thanked him quickly and left. I could find nowhere to change without prying eyes watching, so I chose to leave for a moment to my house in Cheydinhall to change and take a breather.