Elae

Chapter Four

Elae found her favorite city in Skyrim rather quickly, and that was Riften.

The Rift was accented by beautiful, gold-colored trees and bright sunlight. It was chocked full of fresh, yummy deer and was a nice temperature. She wasn't constant quaking in her boots from the cold.

As soon as the city came into view, though, that's when she was hooked. Grimy, full of tough-looking people, a place where mudcrabs scuttled around. The Breton was absolutely delighted, even though Riefi wasn't.

"Elae, stay by my side. This is where the Thieves Guild hides and lurks about. I can almost guarantee that when you leave, you'll have a few less coins on you."

That got her attention, and they headed into the market where Riefi browsed some armor. The armor Elae had wasn't going to last. She was surprisingly good at wearing it out. Else got bored listening to her bicker and bargain with the lady, so she strayed away to check what else there might be.

The only stand she bought something from was run by a twenty-something-year-old man, who spewed something about "Wisp Essence".

"It's a rare opportunity! A once-in-a-lifetime deal! Ever felt stupid and weak? This is proven to enhance your strength in all ways! Intellectually, physically, magically... even with charisma and looks! I invented this,.had a few sips, and now look at me!"

Well, he was handsome. She couldn't argue with that.

"Excuse me," she said, quietly so Riefi wouldn't be disturbed. He saw her, grinning as he held the bottle close.

"Hello, lass!"

Her heart sped up and she felt blush rising to her cheeks. Was he flirting with her?

"Hi... Hi. Um... how much is the... Wisp Essence?"

"Only twenty gold septims." He watched her with smiling green eyes as she pulled a small purse out. They'd separated her purse into pouches of twenty, ten, and five to make it easier.

She bounced the bag in her hand and offered it to him, wondering why no one else was interested in the offer.

He took it and was about to hand her the tall blue bottle, but she pulled away and let out a huge sneeze. Blushing, ignoring the urge to sniff in, she accepted the bottle and looked at her feet.

"Thank you."

"Welcome. Oh, and lass?"

Another shiver. "Yes?"

"That will help with your illness, too."

She smiled brightly and, tucking the bottle into her belt, went to join Riefi at the Blacksmith's. The man there was using his unusually hot forge to craft a sword. The Bosmer watched carefully as he stuck the red hot metal into water and a cloud of steam billowed up. The sword blade was fit onto a handle, making a beautiful, shiny sword. Elae's eyes grew wide when it was offered to her.

"Riefi, I-"

"You need a decent sword, since you're going to become very good with them soon. Two-handed weapons are a disaster."

Elae blushed, remembering the awful attempt with Riefi's ax. She'd ended up almost killing them both and the pup, along with making her arms numb for weeks. The wolf still didn't trust her, no matter how much of her dinner she gave it.

"Thank you," she murmured, carefully taking it along with the sheath. She carefully removed her iron sword, the one she'd picked up from the bandit, and sold it. It gave her a good 70 coins and Riefi glanced at her.

"Head back to the inn. I'm going to... stay here a little longer. There's some things I want to learn from this man. Order dinner... you know what I like."

"Alright!"

She skipped off to the Bee and Barb, carefully removing the fur gauntlets she adorned as she want inside. It was warm and quiet, with people's voices only barely above a murmur. The counter was run by a bored-looking Argonian.

"Room's ten septims. Would you like to take a look at the menu?" Her voice was raspy, but Elae rather liked her.

"Yes, please. What do you have that doesn't contain meat?"

After a bit of internal debate, Elae decided on a warm cabbage potato soup with a fresh loaf of bread. She got a nice beef steak for herself and raw venison for the pup. The order was taken with a curious glance at her, but no questions asked. She gathered that some real oddities had passed though town.

Riefi walked in as the food was served, and Elae waved her over. They set the plate of venison on the ground for the pup, who took several large chunks out of it right away. Elae was just as hungry, and the first few minutes of their meal were spent in silence.

"Did you know that they don't sell Honningbrew here?" Elae hissed. "What an outrage!"

Riefi's head snapped up and she quickly glanced around. No one was paying attention to them, thankfully.

"Elae, shut up. There's a reason for everything, especially in this city. Don't complain like that."

Shut down, the girl flipped a piece of meat over on her plate. Once she was finished, she felt full and content, other than the sting from being scolded. She was about to get up and head to their room when she gasped.

"Riefi! I got something really cool!"

"Show me." The elf never showed too much emotion, which frustrated the other at times.

"This!"

She took the bottle and set it on the table, swinging her legs expectantly. A grin wormed its way onto her face as she waited for Riefi's reaction.

"You bought something from Brynjolf?'

There wasn't any extra emotion in her voice, but she struck the Breton as displeased.

"That really handsome man in the circle? Yeah..."

The elf said nothing after that and Elae frowned, sniffling in and wiping at her runny nose.

"He was nice. I'm going to try a sip, he said my cold would go away."

She didn't attempt to stop her, just sat back and watched as Elae carefully opened the bottle, tilting her head back to drink some of the liquid down. She coughed a little, nose crinkled at the flavor. The potion was bitter and watered down, two tastes she hated.

"How do you feel?"

"Better! Good. A little... ewgh... ugh.."

"You alright?"

"I feel a little... queasy..."

Next thing she knew, she was falling out of the chair.

Brynjolf had a habit of pissing Riefi off, and it seemed that it hadn't stopped. After carrying the drugged woman back to her room, she headed back out to see the booths closing down.

"Brynjolf! You son of a bitch!"

He turned and smiled. "Ah, I was wondering when I'd see you again. Have you given my offer any though-"

"Where in Oblivion do you get off drugging girls?! You're a thief, not a rapist!"

"A..." The man glanced around before taking her wrist. "Come with me, we're attracting attention."

Riefi despised both situations, but followed him around to the back of some buildings. He glanced around and carefully pressed a button on a coffin. The stone slabs slid against each other as the coffin retreated into the wall.

"Oh, Gods," muttered the elf when the ladder was revealed to her. She descended after Brynjolf, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness.

"Listen, where in Oblivion do you get off-"

"I didn't mean to drug the poor lass."

Riefi stopped, glaring and crossing her arms.

"The elixir had nirnroot in it, but-"

"Nirnroot?!"

"BUT I was told that it would harm anyone. It's only a little, and the rest is water."

"Then explain to me why the young woman I'm teaching fainted out of her chair. You guys are thieves, you hardly ever con. I ran with you long enough to realize that."

"If I'm going to be honest... the Guild's had bad luck since..."

"Since?" Riefi's expression tightened as she waited.

"Karliah, she, well... she killed Gallus. Mercer hasn't been the same since."

Riefi was almost knocked off her feet from the shock. Karliah had always been her favorite member, a gentle Dunmer with the most lovely voice she'd ever heard. She'd actually killed Gallus?

"Brynjolf, don't joke with me about this."

"It happened right after you left." His voice was now gentle. "I tried to get ahold of you, but you're rather hard to find."

"Gods..." She shook her head in annoyance, giving her sadness and grief distance. "But still... Nirnroot? Of all ingredients? You knew who I was talking about immediately, so you don't get much business. I know you, and you're smarter than this."

She turned back to the ladder, but paused.

"Tell Mercer that I send my sympathies."

Elae was rushed out of Riften the next morning, much to her dismay. As she stumbled along the path, hungry due to her lack of breakfast with a splitting headache, she whined and complained.

"What did I eat last night?!"

"You had some Blackbriar Mead. It's strong stuff." Riefi didn't glance back at Riften even once.

"Oh... if I suggest I ever want some of it again, hit me over the head with a shovel. It would be less painful than this."

"Noted. Anyway... let's head to my favorite city."

"Which one is that?"

"Whiterun."

LOOONG CHAPTEEEERRR

Well, whatever. This is the first thing I've written in awhile that I actually, fully enjoyed. As a reminder, this is before the return of dragons and such. But hey, we got Brynjolf~ Oh Brynjolf. Wherefore art thou not marriageable without mods

Anyway, hope you liked this chapter and have a great day.