#5: Riften
It took them several more hours of walking to finally reach the city of Riften, by then noon had already settled in and the shops had opened. Both Narvee and Grognik reached the gates just as a group of merchants and travelers were let inside. Once they were inside Grognik led the way to the local inn. The Bee and Barb, a place where all sort of people bedded down to sleep or eat.
The Inn was run by two argonian lovers, Keenrava and Talen-Jei who had recently married. Grognik remembered helping Talen-Jei find the things he had needed to create a wedding ring for his lover. Once they had sat down at a table, the male argonian Talen came over and greeted them "greetings friends! Welcome of the Bee and Barb, how can I- Grognik! It's so good to see you again my friend!"
"Talen-Jei! How are you and the miss?" Grognik asked with a smile.
"Quite well thank you, and who is this lovely marsh-sister?" The male argonian turned his attention to Narvee and smiled kindly. She nodded back to the other argonian and blinked.
"I am Narvee, a mage that happened across Grognik in my travels." She answered him and looked over at the orc who leaned back in his seat.
Talen-Jei gave a smile and cleared his throat glancing between the two "alright, so what will you two have today?"
"Just an ale for me, old friend. And you Narvee?" Grognik asked as he looked over to her and the argonian woman glanced at her robe and fixed it a bit "the same please."
Talen-Jei nodded and walked away to grab their drinks, Narvee leaned on the table a bit and looked over at the orc "you did not tell me you knew other argonians."
"Does that upset you?" He asked as he looked up at her and scratched the side of his face.
"No, it is good that you are willing to talk with others outside of your norms." She gave a slight smile at him and tapped the table with her finger, after a few minutes Talen-Jei returned and sat two hugs of ale on the table and walked off to serve other customers.
Grognik grabbed the handle of his mug and took a drink, then he nodded to her mug and the argonian woman lifted it up and raised it to her lips. She had drank before, but she had grown used to the wine that the College served. This was something that was a bit different to her. She stared into the mug and blinked, then after another minute she finally took a sip and tasted the ale "hmm… not bad."
"Heh! It does take some getting used to, the stronger the better." Grognik said as he took another drink from his mug. Narvee and the orc sat for a while, taking sips of ale in the quiet of each other's company. The minutes passed by and after a bit, the argonian sat her mug down and stood up "I am going to see if there is a place I can clean up in."
"Alright, just be careful. Riften is not the safest city in Skyrim." The orc answered as he downed his mug. When Narvee turned to walk to the bar, Grognik grabbed her mug and began to down that one too.
Narvee tapped Talen-Jei on the shoulder "excuse me."
"Oh greetings friend, can I help you with something?" He asked in a kind tone as he looked over her face. She nodded and watched him turn to face her "yes, do you have a place where I can clean up?"
"Oh of course! There is a tub in the basement, please use it at your wish. Just make sure that you clean up any mess you make down there." The male argonian said as he pointed in the direction of a doorward. Narvee nodded and turned away from him, then walked through the door and climbed down a ladder that led to the basement.
It was quiet down there, lite only by a few lanterns. But she found the tub at the back of the room and began to fill it with water from a small well that had a bucket next to it. Once the tub was filled to her desired portion she glanced at it and touched the water with her claw. It was cold, horribly so… With a flick of her wrist Narvee warmed the water up with magic.
A slight drift of steam rose from the pool but it wasn't enough for anyone above to notice. Then she began to undress, undoing her robe and draping it over the side of the tub. Then she took of her underwear and bra, shivering slightly as the steam touched her now naked form. Narvee stepped one foot into the water and let out a relaxing gasp, then she swung her other leg over and into the water. With a smile she let herself fall into the hot water, her head only staying above the water as she rested it against the side of the tub.
The argonian glanced up at the ceiling and thought for a moment, she wondered what her family was doing back in Blackmarsh. Her sister was no doubt hunter the marshes as Narvee relaxed, hunting such creatures like guar, giant snakes, crocodiles, the tick-like hoarvors, and other horrors that the swamps often let loose. Narvee's mother and father were both likely teaching the children the natures of the Hist and what their roles in the tribe would be. Narvee's brother was likely a soldier now, like he had always wanted to be.
She closed her eyes and sank her head into the water, letting it wrap around her like a liquid blanket. She opened her eyes in the hot water and blinked, she didn't see the bottom of a wooden tub or even the sides. Instead she saw a vast sea with seaweed rising from the ocean floor. She saw various kinds of fish and water insects, then the scene began to change. For only a brief moment her eyes gazed at a series of tall ziggurats surrounded by lush jungle and swamplands. Blackmarsh, her homeland stretching out before her.
She had had seen such visions before, when she was a child. All native argonians to Blackmarsh licked the Hist sap from Hist trees, it was a rite of passage. Most were blessed with visions of the past, present, or sometimes future. From that point on they were linked to their tribe's tree no matter how far away they traveled from it. Narvee saw her tribe, in the vast sea. She saw the smiles on many argonian traders and elders tending to their huts. She watched as argonian children sat around a fire, eating and talking with one another.
A couple, male and female that looked to be in their 20s had snuck off from the rest of the tribe and hid away in a small hovel underneath a large tree. She didn't need to see much more to know what they were doing, nonetheless she watched as the male and female both stripped out of their clothing and slipped out of sight to show their love for each other.
Then suddenly she heard a scream, and the vision changed once more. Several small boats were moving up the river toward the tribe, the sails were black as the night. Narvee's eyes widened as she tried to shout but as she was able to make was a bubbling sound. Pirates had come to ransack the tribe, those that could fight grabbed weapons and prepared for battle. The younger argonians fled for the safety of the jungles, then the vision abruptly ended and Narvee suddenly found herself staring at her own legs in the wooden tub.
Had the vision been real? She had no doubt but why had the Hist chosen to show it to her? Did it want her to return home to aid her people? Did it simply want to show that she might not have much of a home to return to? Or maybe it had just been her thoughts teasing her with the thoughts of seeing her family? The argonian woman didn't know, and she no longer had the desire to stay in the tub. With a splash of water she climbed out of the tub and grabbed her robe.
Narvee wrapped the robe around herself and glanced at the water again, her hands grabbed the edges and she was about to empty the water when suddenly a voice reached her ears "a woman like you shouldn't bath so openly, might attract the wrong sort of attention."
Narvee's spine immediately stiffened as someone's hands gripped his hips and slowly slid along them. She bit her lip and gulped trembling slightly. Slowly she turned her head to see who was down in the basement with her, but the person gripped her sides hard causing Narvee to gasp.
"W-who are you?" She asked trying to at least sound fierce, but she was still shaken up from the vision and her voice shook a bit. The figure's hands stayed on her hips as soft lips touched Narvee's neck and a woman's voice spoke softly "someone who admires beauty when she see's it."
"What do you want from me?" Narvee asked as the woman's hands slid down to the tops of her thighs and chuckled softly.
"Not gold, nor gemstones, or magic artifacts. I simply wish to sate my curiosity nothing more. I watched you enter the tavern, a woman I had never seen before and I wondered who this woman was, why had she come to Riften." The woman's voice was soft but strong willed, certainly a woman who didn't mind getting her hands dirty if she had to.
The woman paused for a brief moment and laid a couple more kisses on Narvee's neck "then I followed you down here, watched you undress and climb into that tub. Such beauty! Such grace! You move as if each action matters, I could have mistaken you for a noble if you had come with finer clothes."
Narvee grabbed the woman's hands and closed her eyes, they were warm and soft "and is your curiosity sated?"
"Almost, I have a business opportunity for a woman like you. You see I run a business here in the underbelly of Riften, a business that trades pleasure and desire for coin." The woman's hands snaked away from Narvee's and she pulled away from the argonian.
Narvee quickly turned around to see a dunmar woman with long black hair, she was fair though she could have easily been hundreds of years older then the argonian. The woman was dressed in a red dress with wolf's fur lining it likely to keep the wearer warm. She gave a calm yet strong smile at Narvee and ran her hand softly across her face "I simply need you to help me rob someone here who has yet to pay for the pleasure they bought, all you have to do is be the distraction."
Narvee frowned and blinked at the woman "so you work as some sort of brothel then?"
"Hmm yes and no, we do indeed pleasure those that have the coin to pay for it. But we also give back to the needy of this city. The gold goes to the orphans that need better homes, the beggers in the streets that need food or shelter." The dark elf explained as she grabbed the sides of Narvee's robe and stepped close to her, their bodies almost touching.
Narvee blushed at the closeness and blinked "what… do you want me to do?"
"It's simple really, a merchant who visits Riften often is in town. He stays at a private home close by. But he pays for women to pleasure him when he's here. Normally men like him wouldn't be a problem, but he hasn't payed the last few times he's visited."
Narvee nodded and tilted her head "so you need me to get the money from him?"
"Not quite, he knows my girls. Knows that we are skilled in theft just as we are in sex. All you have to do is keep him busy in his bedroom while me and my girls rob him blind." The dark elf said as she took a step back.
"But if he knows of your business then wouldn't he expect me?" Narvee asked not really convinced to help just yet.
"Your not from around here, and we aren't the only brothel in Riften. This is a man who likes exotic women like you, he won't be able to resist you." The woman said with a smirk.
"Now what do you say? You'll get a cut from the gold." The woman held out her hand and gave another smirk, the kind that suggested she was very good with words.
Narvee thought about it and blinked "I have a friend just upstairs, what do I tell him?"
"Tell him nothing, just wait for him to go to bed and sneak out of the tavern. I will be waiting outside and we will go from there."
Narvee looked at the offered hand, she did indeed need the gold after all she couldn't rely on Grognik forever. She looked up at the woman's face and shrugged then she shook her hand and nodded "very well, I will help you with this scheme."
"Excellent! Then I shall see you in a few hours!"
Author's Note: Thanks guys for reading as always! Please tell me what you think of this mysterious woman, can Narvee trust her?