"I'm ready for my first contract, Mr. Valtieri." I said, entering his room after being granted permission.
"Please, sister, call me Vicente." He smiled. I felt a little more comfortable around him after a few kind words from the other members. Everyone deserves a chance. Except Mraj-Dar. And Lachance...
"And you may call me Bella, if you wish." I smiled back.
"Yes, I heard all about you. Lucien put in more than a few good words about you. I see you've done something right to earn his respect." Vicente said nonchalantly. Respect? By the nines, another round of questioning my morals...
"Well I'm glad to hear that. I was worried I hadn't got off on the right foot with him." I admitted.
"Yes, we hear that often. I've known Lucien since he was a bit younger. He wasn't always this way, but he's had his fair and unfair dealings in life. As I'm sure we all have." Vicente straightened out his robes and motioned for me to sit, so I did. "Don't you worry about it. You'll both come around.
As for your contract, I am proud to present you with your first one. You must go to the Waterfront District of the Imperial City, there you will find the pirate ship the Marie Elena. You must gain access to it and kill the captain of the ship, your target-"
"Gaston Tussaud." I sighed. He looked surprised.
"You've heard of him, then. So you'll know the danger ahead and precautions to take?" He inquired.
"Yes sir, I've had a few run-ins with Tussaud. Old Breton with no manners and riches he never worked for a day in his life." I felt sick at the thought of Tussaud.
"Well your connections serve you well this time, but do try to get into the habit of asking your fellow brothers and sisters for advice on contracts. Some may have useful things to say. Use any means at your disposal this time, seeing as it is your first contract, you will not be offered a bonus. But keep in mind for future reference, that some contracts may come with certain borders. Rules to stay well within, or your bonus should be forfeit." I thanked him and stood to leave and proceeded to ask around for advice but gained nothing I hadn't already figured out from personal experience.
The Waterfront District in Imperial City was a place I had both missed dearly and been avoiding. Home to the Thieves Guild, but crawling with n'er-do-wells and independent thieves. Something I agree with the Grey Fox in frowning upon.
Finding the Marie Elena was not hard. And waiting nearby until nightfall was not hard either, except for the unrelenting sea shanties and perverted jokes that made me want to turn them into mince meat as I had the drunkard in Leyawiin.
I found it easy to slip past the singing pirates and careless guards to get into a large shipping container and wait until they'd stored it onboard over an hour later. After the voices of pirates had gone, I slipped quietly out of the box, pulling out splinters from places they shouldn't have been, and snuck my way down the hallway, looting a few things from unguarded containers out of habit. Some loose Septims and jewelry. A few ingredients here and there. All in all, nothing noteworthy.
My first two crew mates were caught unaware and easily taken down, I knew their screams could be heard by no one other than me and Sithis.
The next level of the ship was the Mid-deck, there were no pirates and nothing worth looting, so I ascended to the Captain's Quarters to spy my target. He was sleeping in his bed, blissfully unaware. I walked up to him for old-times sake and shook him gently. He awoke with a start, before recognizing me and connecting the dots.
"Donna, how good to see you!" He said, getting up. I hated that nickname with a passion. He'd only ever heard it from his own mouth, so why he thought it was okay, I was unsure.
"Yes, Tussaud, I came to pay a visit. I heard things have been going well lately." I put on a sweet face. Why not toy with him a bit? Have fun. For old time's sake.
"Please, it's Gaston. Come, have a drink." He tried getting me to sit down with him. I laughed airily.
"Actually, I came for another reason." I allowed my eyelids to relax a little, giving a perhaps sensual look. He looked at me with a self-absorbed smirk.
"So you've come to your senses, then?" He inched closer, looking all to proud with himself.
"Oh yes, I have." I said honestly, unsheathed my new blade and slit his throat with one quick move before the betrayal could even register in his eyes. A few more pirates heard the thud of his lifeless body and came rushing in, but were taken equally by surprise as I hid behind the door and took each of them down at the throats. "That was easy." And I was off to the Sanctuary. Not before looting the quarters, finding a mere hundred Septims, but also a few rather nice bottle of Surilie vintage 399.
After collecting my reward from Vicente: the "black band", a ring with rather handy enchantments, I accompanied Vicente and joined the others at dinner.
"How was the contract, Grand Champion?" Gogron said merrily.
"Terribly mundane." I said honestly, sitting down. Then pulled from behind my back the bottles. "But this was a nice reward for my lack of troubles, wasn't it?" I set them on the table and allowed everyone to have their share. "My thanks to Gaston Tussaud for the wine, and Vicente for this lovely ring."
"To future contracts as rewarding as these," Vicente gave a playful toast, his goblet holding a red liquid much more useful to him than wine.
"Hear, hear." I said.
The wine must have been more vintage than we thought, seeing as most woke the next morning with a bit of a hangover. I and Gogron were unfazed. I would have like to challenge him to a drink-off.
"Are we sure the bottle didn't say 'zero'?" Said Antoinetta. She was never much of a drinker apparently. She took the brunt of it.
"That doesn't even make sense." Teinaava laughed.
"Ready for another contract, I see?" Vicente asked me as I made my way to his chambers. I hadn't even knocked yet. I opened the doors and sat down with him. "This contract is a little different. And you will be offered a bonus, should you remain within the parameters. You will be staging an accident. Your target is a Wood elf named Baenlin. You will find him at his home in Bruma. Enter secretly and avoid his manservant, Gromm. On the second floor is a secreted door leading to a crawlspace. Inside are the fastenings of a mounted head that hangs over Baenlin's favorite chair. Loosen the fastenings any night between 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm, and the head will surely fall on Baenlin as he relaxes in his chair, as is his custom. If Baenlin is eliminated in any other manner, or if the manservant Gromm is killed, you will forfeit the bonus. Now go, and may Sithis be with you."
I took to my family members for advice. The only advice I could be given, apparently, was just to be wary of the manservant, Gromm. Though no one had any doubts I could do it, Taelandril seemed to value the bonus and Gogron seemed to value bloodshed. As per usual.
The travel to Bruma wasn't too hard, but the weather was nasty and I chose to wear a dark robe once I got closer to the winter atmosphere of the Nordic settlement. Having left my paint horse at the stable, I entered just as the sun set over the horizon on the Jerrall mountains. It was a beautiful sight, but I hadn't the time to linger on the glistening snow that bordered Skyrim and it's fields.
My first stop was to utilize my connections, asking old Ongar about said Baenlin.
"Bella! It's been so long!" Olav, the Inn-Keeper, greeted me merrily. "Come, have a drink." I obliged, seeing as I had a few hours to kill before my designated time to be in the house and ready to strike. I chose nine pm to be the best time and it was only seven.
"Hello, Olav. Hello Alga, Istirus, Ongar. My favorite regulars. Surprised grumpy Alval Uvani isn't here, it is Fredas, right?" I bantered with them. As if on cue, he came through the door and I waved, but he paid no mind, stopping only to say to me, "I have no time for your pathetic attempts at small-talk, Dumont." Before walking off again.
"Awe he remembered my name." We shared a laugh. But something about the glare he gave me had given me the creeps. It seemed a little too familiar. Then I realized I couldn't remember ever having told him my name. Odd.
"What brings you into town, Bella? Surely not old Olav. Though it would make me blush." He played. I knew he wasn't really sweet on me, so the banter was welcomed. I'd come to know him in my younger years, before the imprisonment and Oblivion crisis. When I was just a young adult wandering from county to county in search of odd jobs to make ends meet. Before I'd even considered what it would mean to join guilds or tango with the Daedra.
"Business, my dear Olav. I figured Ongar could help. If not, you might know something." I realized I could be putting my reputation with them at risk, but I needed to do it.
"Well what trouble are you in this time?" He said playfully, but little did he know.
"None yet," I said, "I was wondering about any rumors you've heard. I'm searching for a little work again, something new. Maybe exciting." I thought up a quick but almost believable lie.
"In Bruma? Exciting? Bah-ha-ha!" He laughed hoarsely, almost dropping the tankard he was wiping off. "You're serious, huh? Tell me, what's really going on."
"Well. . ." Here goes nothing, "I heard a rumor about an old wood elf named Baenlin. Would you happen to know where he lives?"
"Yeah, I know him. Or his manservant, anyway. Gromm comes in from time to time, for a drink or groceries for his old man. He lives just down the road, next to Lyra Rosentia." He said. "What kind of rumor?"
"Guild business." I gave a little nod to Ongar that only Olav could see. He looked serious and puffed out his chest.
"Yeah, secretive. I get it. I know the old man collected things in his days. Just be careful not to let Gromm catch you. He seems the unstable type to me." I mentally noted that and thanked him, content with what I'd learned and a rumor I would be helping come true. I payed my tab and went the direct path to Baenlin's house, having realized after Olav pointed it out unknowingly, that Baenlin was my neighbor the entire time. I'd never spent much time at my house in Bruma and could only assume I wouldn't be spending any in the near future. Though I did enter it and begin to hatch my plan.
I knew the Bruma guards were less than intelligent creatures. They let in Raynil Dralas without a second thought and most at the battle of Bruma had died before I'd even entered the Great Gate. I began writing in a journal, with handwriting that was not my own, hoping it would be able to pass of as Gromm's after I'd taken anything else from his room that could be compared to this writing. If the guards were smart enough to even think of such an idea.
Once I felt I had written enough incriminating evidence on a manservant's descent into madness over an old man with nothing better to do than work him to the bone, I set out to the back of Baenlin's house and entered through the basement.
The lock was simple and the basement was empty of people, so I proceeded to the main level. I saw through the shadows I hid in that Baenlin was in his spot, just on time and I had another half hour to set up the crime scene. I snuck upstairs and half of the work had been done for me, Gromm owned next to nothing besides a couple spell scrolls, spare armor, a couple weapons, and a bed. For security measures, I took his books to ensure no notes were written within them without having the time to check. I planted the journal under his pillow, peeking out slightly to be found by a guard.
I proceeded to the crawl space, being careful with the grating wood and waited for the moment I heard Baenlin speak under the Minotaur head to undo the fastenings and flee from the way I came in.
I knew the framing of Gromm was unnecessary, but something in killing a man and ruining another in the same night felt so satisfying that I couldn't pass up the opportunity. And it was more to cover my tracks with Olav than anything. With any luck, he would think I fled because I saw a murder. Or the guards would never find the journal and it would all be held up as an accident. It was the uncertainty that made my heart race and kept the adrenaline flowing. All the way back to the Sanctuary in Cheydinhall.