26 Last Seed, 4E 201, Swindler's Den
"That's far enough!"
Ivar froze, crouching low so as not to bang his head on stone, cold water rushing past his ankles. Behind him, Lydia stopped motionless as well.
So much for stealth, he thought in disgust.
"You've done well to track us down, and fight your way through those bandits in the outer caves." The voice carried confidence and strength, and just a trace of Hammerfell accent. "This doesn't have to end in bloodshed."
Slowly, carefully, knowing full well that someone watched from out in the darkness, Ivar sheathed his sword. At a gesture, Lydia did the same. They waded forward, emerging into a high-vaulted cavern and the dim light of torches.
Perhaps a dozen Redguard warriors stood around the edges of the chamber, some of them with bows at the ready. Ivar estimated the odds and found them very poor. He searched until he found one with the appearance of a leader.
"I assume you're Kematu," Ivar called.
The man inclined his head regally.
"I've been sent to kill you," said the smith, smiling and making no move toward his weapons.
A dozen men leaned forward, bows drawn to greater tension, hands tight on the hilts of curved swords. Only Kematu did not move.
Ivar's smile grew wide and warm, teeth gleaming in his beard. "I'm beginning to think that would not be wise."
Finally, Kematu made a gesture of command. All around the cavern, warriors eased back from the brink.
Ivar accepted the unspoken invitation, climbing up from the bottom of the chamber to approach the Redguard leader, still careful to keep hands well away from weapons. Lydia followed, trying to glare in every direction at once.
"I've been hearing about you," said Kematu at last. "The new thane at Balgruuf's court."
"That would be me. I'm also the acquaintance of a certain Redguard woman in Whiterun. About so tall, exceedingly well-formed, with skin like rich dark soil, hair like midnight, and a pair of very cold blue eyes. About forty years of age, perhaps more, although she carries her years very well. Sound familiar?"
"By what name do you know her?"
"Why don't you tell me that?" Ivar asked slowly.
"She has used many names, but the most likely ones are Shazra, or Saadia." Kematu smiled, not unkindly. "I wonder, did she appeal to your sense of honor? Your greed? A more . . . base need, perhaps?"
"Saadia it was," said Ivar, "and my motivations are none of your business."
"No shame to you. She is a past master of manipulation. Even of seduction." Kematu shrugged. "It doesn't matter. No doubt she has convinced you that she is a victim."
"Something like that. Why don't you tell me why you pursue her?"
"She is wanted by the noble houses of Taneth for treason. We were hired to see to it that she returns to Hammerfell to answer for her crimes."
"She betrayed her city to the Aldmeri Dominion," Ivar stated flatly.
Lydia stared at her thane.
"That is true. How did you know?"
"She was careless in her choice of lies," said the smith. "She told me that she is a fugitive because she opposed the Dominion in Hammerfell, that her family and city cast her out for it. Now, I've never been to Hammerfell, but I've spoken to those who know your people. Your hatred for the Aldmeri is old and bitter. You broke free of the Empire in order to oppose them. You even buried your own internal feuds, some of them centuries old, to oppose them. Why would any Redguard be exiled for speaking out against the Dominion?"
"No people are entirely unified in anything," pointed out Kematu. "Her family might have been one of those few who opposed the resistance."
"Perhaps . . . but I also applied my own reason. If she's an enemy of the Aldmeri, why would a band of Alik'r warriors be sent to pursue her? The Dominion has many agents in Skyrim, wandering the land openly, dealing with their enemies as they please. None of the jarls loyal to the Empire dare oppose them. A Thalmor execution team could hunt Saadia down at will."
"On the other hand, if she was an agent of the Thalmor, she could run to their protection."
Ivar frowned. "True."
"We don't know why she hasn't done that." Kematu shrugged. "Maybe she knows full well what contempt the Thalmor hold for all men and women, even their own agents."
"That makes sense. In any case, I have . . . spent time with Saadia twice. The first time, she did not know who I was, but by morning she would have had to be deaf not to hear the rumors. No secret that the man she met the night before was the jarl's new thane, and no friend to the Dominion. So she knew what story to tell me on the second occasion. Perhaps she thought me too simple to look deeply into her lies. Or she thought I would do anything for a lover, and not ask questions."
"So you did lie with her," Kematu murmured. "You should be more careful around a pretty face."
Ivar snorted. "I'm my own man, Alik'r, and I serve my own ends. No one buys me, not with title, not with gold, not with a night's pleasure."
"Good. What do you plan to do now?"
The smith stared into the Redguard warrior's eyes. "Do you give me your word, by the honor of your clan and your guild, that you do not seek her death?"
"I give you my word. Her death is for the elders of Taneth to decide, and that after a fair hearing." Kematu extended his hand for Ivar to grasp. "Who knows? Perhaps she will be able to defend herself. That's not my concern. My commission is to take her home unharmed."
Ivar took the other man's hand, squeezing hard and feeling wiry strength in response. "So be it."