Fralia blinked at the light of the day as she stepped through the black door out of the Sanctuary. Jenassa looked at her expectantly, eyeing her new outfit with approval.

"So, how did it go?" she asked. Fralia smiled a smile that Jenassa had never before seen on her friends face. It was genuine and made her eyes sparkle. She guessed that it had gone well and couldn't help but smile back at seeing her friend in such good spirits.

"It was wonderful. This was a fantastic idea." Fralia replied as she made her way up the hill and out of the small clearing. "That sanctuary is full of nothing but the friendliest folk in all of Tamriel. Save one, but you can't expect perfection." As she reached their horses she turned to Jen and held out her arms. "And just look at these robes! They're perfect! So many pockets, and this hood..." she put the hood up over her face. "You can't even tell who i am, can you?" Jenassa just laughed and shook her head. She could still tell it was a bosmer and that red hair was unmistakeable.

"No, i can't. You're completely inconspicuous. Just remember, you probably shouldn't wear that in town. People will notice. It is obviously a garb of the Dark Brotherhood." Fralia's smile faltered a bit. She looked down at her outfit and pondered a moment on a solution. She really did like the outfit...

"I suppose I'll have to only wear it when on a job... and wear armor the rest of the time. I'll make some at home. Something simple. With lots of pockets." She mounted her horse and urged Jenassa to do the same and follow her. From there they made their way around Falkreath, as not to be noticed by it's citizens, and northeast to Lakeview.

X-x-X

While Jenassa made preparations for dinner, Fralia scoured through bookshelves in search of books that she could consult before getting to work on her new piece of armor. Light Armor Forging was the first piece of literature that caught her eye. She grabbed it, skipped past Cherim's Heart and grabbed a leather bound journal that she recognized as belonging to the orc she had come across at Sleeping Tree Camp. He had been dead, of course (giants hate skooma) but his journal held great knowledge of smithing a strong but light armor, and the armor that she found with him had proved invaluable to her. She took these down to the cellar where the Forge lay mostly unused but fully stocked. She placed the books on her workbench before making a short trip back upstairs to grab a few bottles of stocked up Sleeping Tree Sap. She decided to try it out with her armor.

She read through the books thoroughly before getting to work cutting the leather and shaping it, heating it, reshaping and using the sap to make it more pliable while adding thicker layers to the main body of the piece. For the skirt of the armor, she cut up a snow bear pelt and another bear pelt that had a reddish brown color to it. She of course added a ton of pockets to the piece, using more sap and a bit of fox pelt for the inside.

The process took quite a bit of time and she only took a break from it once Jen called her up for the meal she had prepared. By the time she had finished putting the steel shoulder plate on it, it was well past midnight and she was exhausted. She took a step back from her work and eyed it with approval. She had created a strong piece of leather armor, studded and accented with hard steel with enough pockets and straps to hold anything from food to weapons to gemstones. She had even (although it took a lot more time) made a chainmail coinpurse that she had integrated into the folds of the bear skin skirt that would serve as a storage place for her gemstones. She picked it up and felt the fabric, reassuring herself that it was strong as heavy armor but still light enough as not to limit her mobility.

Finally satisfied, she took the piece up to her room and placed it safely in her wardrobe before falling into a deep sleep beside her companion.

X-x-X
They had just passed Haemar's Shame on the path east from Falkreath into the Rift when Fralia finally spoke.

"The Night Mother... is coming to the sanctuary." Jenassa just looked up at her, a look of confusion on her face.

"The Night Mother?" she stated quizzically. Fralia looked towards the azure sky, an image of mystery as well as beauty with her hair being lifted by the wind and her slender, toned body hugged tightly by her newly forged armor, her sword of light on her hip and the dark Nightingale Bow strapped to her back with a quiver of glass arrows. Her Dark Brotherhood robes were tucked safely inside her bag of infinity.
"The Night Mother... is sort of where the Brotherhood started... i guess it really depends on what you believe. But there is one story that seems to stick. She gave birth to the children of Sithis... and then killed them, sending their souls to the void."

"Sithis... is he a daedra?"

"Not quite. He is... the void. Darkness. All that was before and will ever be. He is a sort of Death God and a symbol of worship in the Brotherhood. The Night Mother is his right hand. The Matron of the brotherhood. Mother to us all. She speaks to the one among their ranks known as "Listener". That is how the Brotherhood finds it's contracts. Those who perform the Black Sacrament are praying to her."

"Why are you telling me this? I thought the Brotherhood guarded their secrets well?" Fralia had thought about this. She knew she could possibly get into trouble for revealing these secrets. But she trusted Jenassa... just as Ri'saara had trusted her.

"I trust you. And besides... I wouldn't want to leave you in the dark. We're going to Ivarstead now for a contract. I'll need you to stay close by but out of sight. It is still dark but the guards... I need you to look out for me."

"How will i let you know if someone is coming?"

"I've figured that out already." she reached into her bag and pull out a large piece of soft red cloth and held it out for Jenassa to take. "I'll need you to go to higher ground to keep watch. If you see someone coming that could see, tear a piece of this cloth off, tie it to an arrow and shoot it somewhere i'll be able to see. Just don't shoot me, ok?"

"I should be able to do that." Fralia smiled that unfamiliar smile. She was giddy. She was off to assassinate someone and she was excited. They skirted around a cave that was known to house bears and the tree nearby that had a large beehive on a low branch. Once they were safely past, Ivarstead came into view. The sun would be coming over the horizon soon, and the early risers would be out and getting ready to start their day at the Mill. As they came up on the village, Fralia commanded Jenassa to ride a little way up the mountain so she had a clear view of the dilapidated shack that Narfi would be sleeping in. As she took off, Fralia left her horse just outside of town and snuck around to the top of the waterfall, pulling her robes over her armor once she was hidden.

From on top of the small hill, she could just barely see the form of her victim, huddled against the cold on a stack of hay inside the broken structure. She climbed silently down towards the house, footsteps silent pads against the grass. She stepped into what used to be a doorway and glanced up to see if she could spot Jenassa from where she was. The dunmer was well hidden. She moved on past the fireplace and came upon the poor beggar, snoring softly. She drew her blade and crawled until she was just on top of him, raising her sword to deliver his soul to Sithis. He Stirred awake as the sun was peering over the horizon. He looked up to see the cloaked figure kneeling over him, her face hidden and her shocking red hair flowing from the darkness under her hood.

"Reyda...?" her face was expressionless and her voice solemn when she replied.

"You'll see you sister soon, Narfi... in the void." there was a faint gurgling noise as her blade found its way into the beggar's throat. She pulled the sword from the fresh corpse and sheathed it before picking up the poor creature and carrying him to the creek, throwing him in. As she made her way silently back to her horse, she could hear hooves approaching her from the hill and headed north towards the road, Jenassa meeting up with her soon after.

"Well that was easy... I saw that he woke up. It's a good thing he didn't yell for help." Jenassa said once they were far enough away.
"He was still half asleep and didn't realize what was going on. He'll be halfway to Windhelm before anybody realizes he's missing..." she sort of felt sorry for him. She had returned his sister's necklace to him when she first visited Ivarstead. She told him Reyda was coming back. She didn't have the heart to tell him her skeleton littered the floor of the river.

"Well done... my little nightshade..." his voice echoed through her mind... just like it had the first time she killed. She was his little nightshade... and she missed him. The voice was still a comfort to her and urged her onward at a quicker pace for her next contract.

X-x-X
Ennodius Papius was a satisfying kill. The light of day was upon them when they reached Anga's Mill but the paranoid miller was stationed far outside of it's boundaries, up near the waterfall. The old man was busying himself, fishing near his tent. Fralia had told Jenassa to wait near the mill while she approached her target. He may have been on high alert, but his senses failed him this time. It took no effort at all on her part to sneak far behind him and send an arrow straight into the back of his head. He fell into the river and his body was forced upstream toward the Mill. Fralia moved quickly but inconspicuously back to her horse to make their way to Dawnstar.

Beitild proved to be a harder target. The harsh mine boss was easily spotted when Fralia and Jenassa arrived in Dawnstar. She was hovering between the mine and the ore smelter, barking orders at the miners. She was all too conspicuous and would prove much harder to take out than Narfi had been.

"We'll have to wait until she's asleep," Fralia said after surveying the situation. "Unless you feel like running from the guards?" as she said this she looked around the town, trying to decide if there were anywhere she could hide and shoot the woman with her bow without being noticed. No such luck.

"I don't think it's worth the trouble. We should wait." Jenassa replied. They decided to explore a bit while they waited for nightfall. To avoid looking suspicious, Fralia took on the role of an adventurer looking for work. They stepped into the Jarl's place to ask the steward if there were anything they could do for the hold. They made out with a bounty letter and a strong hatred for the Jarl, who seemed to be a hard headed stormcloak supporter. After the incident in Windhelm, Fralia was beginning to hate the band of rebels more and more each day. It took all she had to keep herself from stabbing the daft old man in the throat to stop him rambling on about his opinions of the war, and the way he talked down to his servants was disgusting.

To calm herself, Fralia checked out the mine next. This turned out to be a good idea. Beitild did more than just order others around, apparently she did some work as well. Fralia and Jen were deep in the mine when they heard Beitild coming in, complaining under her breath about how lazy the others could be. There was no one else in the mine at that time and Fralia took the opportunity without hesitation. Jen hid herself in the shadows while Fralia watched her prey patiently. Just as the woman was getting to work pounding the ore from the rock, Fralia soundlessly slid up behind her, put a hand over her mouth and stabbed her repeatedly in the back until she dropped to the ground. She wiped the blood from her sword, shook whatever gold she could from the body before throwing it to the bottom of the mine shaft, and gestured for Jenassa to follow her out of the mine.

With all three contracts completed, they took some downtime at the Bannered Mare on their way back to the sanctuary. They treated themselves to salted beef and Blackbriar Mead, laughing at the expense of Fralia's recent victims as well as those to come. The next morning they were awake and refreshed and ready to set out again.

Fralia was still filled with excitement about recieving her next tasks as they finally came up to the black door. She looked back at her companion before entering.

"I'd like you to do me a favor," she said, reaching into her gem purse and pulling out a few of the colored stones. "Head back home and place these in the display case in the entryway. Then relax for a bit while i take care of things here. I don't know how long it will take this time and I don't want you waiting here forever. I'll return for you when I'm finished." the dark elf took the gems and directed her horse toward Lakeview. Fralia spoke the password and headed inside. Her heart skipped excitedly when she reached the top of the second set of stairs and heard a familiar high-pitched voice coming from the main cavern...