The Pink Haired Pirate: An Old Norse Saying
Rated: M for language, future mature themes, violence, gore
Warnings: Spoiler alert for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
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Chihiro jumped off the bed the moment Sakura sat down, rubbing her eyes. The pink-haired woman performed her usual routine using the cleaning technique developed on the field and untangled her hair. She tied her long pink locks at the nape of her neck with a dark blue ribbon and stretched. The cat rolled a little on the floor.
"I'm hungry, Sakura-chan. Can't you call the room service?"
"This is an inn, Chihiro-chan, not a hotel. There's no room service."
"Same thing."
Sakura sighed and grabbed the pleated straw basket from the top of the dresser. From the whole 2250 of septims she has saved and owned, she took about 250 and stored them in the coin purse on the bottom of the basket, together with her journal, quill, and inkwell, and the potions she currently owned. She'd sell them later. The rest of the coin she stored in a small storage scroll she tied around Chihiro's collar, small enough not to bother her. Sakura brushed the apron of her dress.
"I'm off to get some breakfast and get you some fish. Keep your ears open, and tell me if you hear something interesting."
Chihiro purred in response. "Sure thing."
Sakura shook her head and walked outside her room, pocketing the key after locking the door. She sat down the stool in front of the counter.
"Good morning, Sakura. Slept well?"
Sakura smiled in response. Keevara became noticeably kinder towards her especially, since last night. She gained back the septims lost, after all. Even if they were collected by her. "I did, thank you." She hummed and ate her tomato soup, leaving a nice-sized portion of grilled salmon as Chihiro's breakfast. She left about 9 septims on the counter for payment and left.
Chihiro stared long after her master and stretched a few more times, before climbing on the sill of the window. She forced them open with her paws and slid through the creak before jumping on the roof of Bee and Barb. The city was up and bustling even early in the morning. It was barely 6 A.M., as her biological clock told her, and the businesses were, if not open, then at least getting cleaned up to welcome clients. Nobody paid attention to the white-furred cat with coffee-colored paws and ears, and Chihiro liked it that way. If her master's strategy was going to work, she had to be as normal as possible while keeping an eye on the citizens of Riften and gathering information on the city. Nobody could kill her either, as suspicious of the feline they were. She could always summon herself back to safety and leave them scratching their heads. And when she'd be back after their asses...they'd taste hers and Sakura's wrath. Chihiro jumped on the roof of a market stall and sat down.
If you didn't count the two beggars from the Beggar's Row, Edda, and Snilf, the most familiar faces were Brand-Shei or Chihiro's favorite Riften person next to Priestess Dinya and her legendary ear massages, Madesi or the lizard she'd rather spit in the face for being so mean, Grelka a rather irritating Nord woman and Marise, who didn't mind to give some spare fish to Chihiro. In her own words, she has never seen a fur so soft and beautiful. Now that was a compliment that inflated her ego. Her coffee-colored ears twitched.
"Hey. What's the matter with you? You have no right to spread rumors around town about me."
"What rumors?"
"You know very well what I'm talking about. You're saying that I only married Bolli for his gold and that I don't really love him."
"Well, if the shoe fits..."
Chihiro listened slightly interested the conversation of the stall owner's roof she was currently occupying, and a weird-looking elf woman clad in green clothes and fur, and one couldn't mistake the glint of golden jewelry adorning her neck and fingers. But she looked much more different than Marise, Dinya or Brand-Shei. What kind of elf she was?
Nivenor furrowed her eyebrows as she left the stall, soon after confronting Marise. At that moment, Chihiro dropped from the roof and landed safely on a free portion of the table which was not occupied by goods for sale. Marise muffled her surprised gasp.
"Oh, there you are! Where is your owner?" Chihiro drew a long meow and let the Dunmer woman pet her head. "I see...I will feed you some fish as soon as Bolli comes with the daily delivery of fish, alright?" she chuckled.
Chihiro curled in a ball and batted her tail a little. 'Bolli, hm?'
"I can take her to ask for some fish later. I wanted to talk to Wujeeta about something anyways."
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Sakura walked outside heading towards the Riften Fishery. It was a sort of a...temporary goal to open a fishery herself. Her trusted summons were cats, and even if Chihiro, Matatabi or Richie were not asking for some sort of 'payment' in exchange for their services, the cats playing as spies would ask for fish, because fish was their favorite food. At least in most cases. They could exchange the fish for something else they liked back at the Cat Manor anyways, whether for another kind of food, drink or even trade it with weapons, so fish was the most used currency among the felines. Maybe except for Reggie, that old battle-scarred cat which developed a wine addiction, who thought that after the Third Shinobi World War, the best way to cope with loss and suffering was to drown your sorrows in alcohol. But that feline was a walking history encyclopedia, and Sakura had a lot of respect for him. He was much older than her too.
The docks were nothing spectacular. All along the wooden platforms were barrels of fish and other workers, often humming a song of the seas while repairing the nets or catching fish from Lake Honrich.
The most prominent scene was of a Nord in a deep argument with an Argonian worker, and the more she approached, the more she heard.
"Wujeeta, we need to talk."
"I know, I was late. I'm sorry."
"I don't know what I'm going to do with you. I can't just let this go unpunished."
"Please, don't get rid of me! I need the coin. I... I'll work for free for the rest of this week. Please!"
Bolli sighed. "Very well. You're lucky Maramal has placed me in a very forgiving mood."
The Argonian woman sighed and sat down on a barrel, holding her head in apparent pain.
"Oh, my aching head...why do I always do this to myself..?"
"Are you okay, miss?" Wujeeta looked up to the pink-haired stranger she has never seen before. Not one with pink hair at least, now that was new.
"Not really. I have a raging headache and I'm on point to lose my job at the Fishery. Nothing's okay."
Sakura frowned and rummaged through her basket, pulling out a red bottle. "Would this suffice?"
Wujeeta smiled gratefully and drank it all in one go. The effect was not quite immediate, but she was feeling better. At the same time, Sakura sat down on a crate and let her alleviate the headache as she patted her back.
"My job at the Riften Fishery is in danger. The owner, Bolli, said that if I show up for work in this condition one more time, then I'm out. I don't mean to do this to myself, but I can't help it. I tried some skooma a year ago, and ever since then, I can't stop!" she paused and looked down at the bottle. "Maybe now I can since I cleansed the poison out of my body."
"Skooma?" Sakura shook her head. The only person worth annoying with questions was Brynjolf. "Never mind. Are you feeling better? Is there a way I can help?"
Wujeeta shook her head and took Sakura's hand. "Your kindness will never be forgotten. Here, take this. It's all I can offer for what you've given me." She handed her a silver ring.
Sakura looked at her puzzled.
"Don't give me that look. Keep it, it's the least I can do. You're a hatchling at heart, that's all I can say."
The pink-haired woman fell into deep thought for a moment. "Thank you, miss. But who do you have the skooma from?"
Her amber eyes widened. "Are you crazy? He'd kill me if I said anything."
'So the dealer's a he.'
"He's not going to kill you if I put my hands on his throat first. I will make sure he's taken care of."
But for some reason, Wujeeta actually believed her. The Argonian woman drew in a long sigh.
"I get my skooma from Sarthis Idren. He has some sort of setup inside the Riften Warehouse. But it's been long ago locked for the duration of the war."
Sakura COULD bust the doors open, but what use would that be?
"Do you know who has the key?"
Wujeeta shrugged. "I've overheard them saying that the only person who has the key is the Jarl. If you can convince Laila Law-Giver, then you might have a chance."
"I see. I will pay the Jarl a visit then. Stay safe, Wujeeta."
And the last thing Wujeeta has seen before the pink-haired woman vanished, was a bright, reassuring smile.
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Nobody seemed to care as Sakura walked past the large, dark-colored doors of the Mistveil Keep. She has caught the glimpse of Chihiro hopping from place to place, from roof to roof, lounging around in the autumn sun and listening to the idle chatter of the citizens.
The castle's entryway was also a mix of a dining and throne room. The chamber with high ceilings was pretty cramped with all the furniture inside. There was a small fire in the middle of the lower area, surrounded by three long tables making out a U-shape. Past the tables, Sakura climbed just a few steps to reach the higher platform where the throne of Laila Law-Giver and her Dunmer Steward took in her exotic appearance of a baby-faced young lady no day older than 18 or maybe 19.
And in stark comparison, the woman on the throne dressed in clad fine and even more refined noble clothes, leaned with her back against the throne, proper and posh, and the eyes the color of the sapphires adorning her circlet on her forehead seemed too calm for the Jarl of Riften. Like the city was an overflow of honey and milk and nobody had a care in the world.
"Oh, a newcomer. What can I do for you? I wish to hear all my subjects have to say."
Sakura responded with a short bow towards her superior. It was a matter of etiquette after all.
"I have discovered a Skooma dealer in Riften, my Jarl."
"A polite one. Yes, I'm afraid we're aware of Sarthis's presence in the warehouse. Unfortunately, we're certain he has informants within the city guard. Every time we've made a move to arrest him, he's escaped. However, if you'd take care of this discreetly, you might be able to surprise him without warning."
Sakura's eyes widened slightly and nodded. If this Sarthis persona knew of each of the raids, then there was an informant among the Riften guards. She could see the Steward tense slightly.
"I understand, my lady. I will do my best to care of the dealer."
"Excellent. Here, this is the key to the warehouse. See if you can drop in on this dealer of poison and convince him to close down his operation permanently." Laila smiled just lightly and motioned Anuriel the steward to hand Sakura a silver key.
"I will be on my way."
As soon as Sakura was out of sight, Laila looked at her steward with a hard look.
"Anuriel."
"Yes, my lady?"
"A falsehood perpetrated by the Empire, hm?"
The Dunmer gulped.
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Sakura slipped carefully through the wooden doors of the warehouse. And true to Wujueeta's words, the warehouse was all dusty and disused. It's been closed down since the Civil War-torn Skyrim in half, after the Markarth Incident, from what she has read about. She pinched her nose hard, holding back a strong sneeze as her nostrils filled immediately with the thick layer of dust. She carefully stepped over the few empty bottles of mead littering the wooden floor and hid behind some shelves. Heavy armored boots were getting closer and closer, followed by the unsheathing of an iron sword that was ready to pierce through her neck if she had the chance.
"Who's there?!" A Dunmer bandit walked closer to her hiding place. Besides him and who she assumed was the leader of the underground Skooma dealing, they were alone.
The sound of a chair pushing against the wall in a quick manner and the boots sounding against stairs was accompanied by an annoyed growl. Sakura stepped out of the hiding place with a fist to the face, twisting her body hard enough to not get touch by the edgy side of the blade.
"You damned wench..." The Dunmer rubbed his face and a broken nose. His red eyes widened as the blade pierced through the woman's right arm. Blood was dripping out but she showed no signs of pain. Sakura held the sword still in her hands with the help of her pierced forearm. She locked eyes with Sarthis the dealer, who froze on his spot, his hand gripped on the hilt of his sword. A grin split her lips in two and with a tight hold, ribbons of lighting started to dance on the blade. Sarthis' bodyguard started to scream in pain, as his whole body shook and convulsed, burning the hair on his head and soon let go of the blade, slumping on the floor.
Sakura took the iron sword out of her arm and tossed the bloody blade away, walking over to Sarthis. She rubbed her pierced arm slightly as the wound soon closed and burnt itself, with the help of her demonic, unclean fragments of chakra.
"I'm sorry, mister Sarthis, but I've been told not to take prisoners." He narrowed his eyes and cursed, breaking out of the frozen daze of fear.
"Y-You...you won't get out alive! Why!? Why are you doing this!?"
Sakura merely shrugged, brushing the apron of her blue tunic dress. The woman with a young face, round eyes and infantile-colored hair tied with a ribbon as equally pretty as her dainty hands smeared in blood simply walked closer.
"It's very simple, mister Sarthis. Everybody thinks that Jarl Laila is too stupid or blind to take care of the problems of Riften. She's fed lies by her guards, her Steward, by the Black-Briar family making her believe everything is alright. Including you, who thinks that if you have a snitch among the guards you can make a clean getaway and continue selling poison, silencing your opponents.
"I'm here to prove you wrong."
Sakura made another step closer and did not care if she actually made a sound this time. She pushed the raised sword with the tip of her finger away and grabbed the throat of the Dunmer tightly in her small hand. He let out a croaked yelp in pain as the grip tightened and the fingernails dug into his veins.
"You'll serve as an example to everyone who thinks they can trample over Jarl's authority."
She applied a kick to the back of the knees, to make him kneel down in front of her. She bent down to keep the grip on his neck.
"Long live the Jarl." And when Sarthis gaze in the red colored iris of the eye he supposed it should have been blue, he screamed.
Sakura looted the key off Sarthis body and wiped the blood off her hands on a stray piece of clothing and unlocked the door of the basement. Guards were already barging inside the warehouse. The screams were not to be missed, and the horror-struck faces of Sarthis and his bodyguard had to be dragged out of the warehouse. Sakura started to hurry up. She grabbed an empty sack from the corner of the cellar and started to knock down the bowls of moonsugar and bottles of skooma insides. Sakura had to rub her nose to keep out the sweet smell of the drug. She pocketed the few stray septims littered on the table, the note of Sarthis' transactions and waited.
The door of the cellar was banging loudly, and when the guards smashed the door open, they could find nothing. The drugs were cleared out, the coins were drained and nothing of value was left. The murderer has vanished and left behind a dry warehouse.
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"Sarthis has been taken care of, my Jarl. Here's the written proof of his transactions and here's the poison he's been dealing with the citizens of Riften."
Laila Law-Giver eyed the young woman holding a proper bow position, assuming it was a habit of her people of showing respect. One would usually bend a knee in front of their Jarl. But the Jarl made no comments about it. The intention was all that mattered.
"I know. The guards have dragged the bodies out and my housecarl is inspecting the goods. You've done Riften a great service." The Jarl smiled lightly. "You seem very familiar with this lifestyle. Yet you look so young..." she sighed. "I have one more task for you. If your performance is satisfying, I can make sure there's a title and a room in the court waiting for you."
"A...room in the court?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"My Jarl-"
Laila raised a hand to silence Anuriel. "You're strong, polite and resourceful. Help me and the citizens of Riften and I can secure you a permanent place in the Rift. What do you say?"
A place in the Rift? If she was able to get a home in Riften, she wouldn't have to hop from inn to inn. She wouldn't have to worry about her conversations being overheard. And she could sleep in peace too, with a fully warded home. Actually, as a member of the court, she'd have a longer leash to do as she pleased too. All while executing her Thieves' actions under the disguise of a ruthless recruit.
"I accept, my Jarl. What is the task?"
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Brand-Shei inspected the collar around the cat's neck. It was a weird swirly symbol, shaped like...a leaf? It was pretty strange, as strange as the small parchment scroll neatly tied and sealed right next to the pendant of the collar.
"The cat lets you pet it?"
Brand-Shei shrugged. It was the first sentence Madesi has addressed him since he was released from his imprisonment. But even the Argonian jeweler knew there was no way for the silver ring to end up in his friend's pocket.
"She does. I'm not a cat person, I prefer dogs, but this cat is really well-behaved. And nice. It's Sakura's."
Madesi fell into a second of thought. "Sakura...that strange woman with pink hair, right?" He recalled. "Wasn't she the one who...you know..." Madesi asked a little suspicious.
The dark elf merely shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm here now. She...tries her best to be fair, whatever her intentions are. I'm not worrying yet."
Brand-Shei looked down at the cat who curled in a ball to take a nap.
"Come on, let's go to the fishery. I promised you some treats."
Chihiro's eyes opened instantly, earning a chuckle from him. Brand-Shei temporary closed down his stall and followed the cat outside, towards the docks. The Ragdoll started cackling and meowing, quickening her pace, smelling the fish closer and closer. She stopped at the boots of an Argonian woman.
"Shoo, cats are not allowed here!" Wujeeta tried to chase the cat away, who simply sat down and waited for Brand-Shei to catch up.
Wujeeta raised an eyebrow and resumed a neutral stance. "Brand-Shei? Is this your cat? She won't leave."
The Dunmer shook his head. "It's Sakura's. I came here to buy some fish from her."
"Sakura, you say?" Wujeeta glanced at Chihiro one more time. "If it's Sakura's, you can go in the back and choose some fresh fish from the top of the barrel. She has stopped by earlier to help me with a little problem I had. Her cat is welcome to eat as much fish as she wants, as long as she won't go overboard with draining our supplies.
Chihiro almost chuckled. Almost.
"Mister Brand-Shei?" The Dunmer turned around to see someone familiar. Sakura smiled and sat down her basket on the grass. Brand-Shei let the cat eat as he sat down on a tree-stump, taking a break. He looked up and smiled lightly.
"Thank you for taking care of Chihiro. She seems to have taken a liking to you."
"For nothing. You helped me with a problem, and I just tried to return the favor. So her name is Chihiro?"
Sakura's eyebrows furrowed.
"But I caused it too. I felt I had to do something."
Chihiro pushed a lid of the basket open and slid inside, sitting along with the rest of her supplies and loot from the Cragslane Cavern. She peeked her head out.
"I caused it on my own. If anything, I'm glad you were the one who had to rescue me. Who knows for how long I should have stayed in there?"
He...had a fair point.
"I see. The situation in Riften is very...complicated."
Brand-Shei nodded and got up from the tree-stump. "It is. Trying to change something is almost impossible, Sakura. But if you need an ally, I'm here. And just for your information...you could talk to Mjoll the Lioness. But alone. She might prove to be useful."
Sakura picked the basket off the grass and smiled. "Act as if nothing happened, sir. I'll do my best."
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"So...what happened at Cragslane Cavern? Anything interesting?" Chihiro peeked out from her basket as Sakura walked back towards the keep, to inform the Jarl of the current state of the dealers.
"Nothing...interesting really. No." She shook her head. "The place was filthy, the owners organize gambling on pit wolf fighting."
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Sakura stepped through the mass of filth as shrugged the bandit known as the 'Bouncer' off her shoulder, who wanted to claw at her neck in a last desperate attempt to drag her down with him. She dodged the arrows and ignored the yells of protest and profanities. The arrangement was a relatively small cave, but big enough to hold two pits of wolves protected by wooden fences that were biting at each other's necks. Their fury soon turned into something else beginning with letter F, called fear. Nothing smacked the slip of a girl down, as she easily dodged the swords, arrows, and axes while piercing their torsos with her strange, glowing hand.
The woman turned around one of the bandits and looked straight at the bandit chief, dubbed the Butcher, whose knees were shaky, holding the handle of the two-handed mace with his hands damped in sweat. Everybody except him was dead, and everything happened too fast.
Sakura smiled down, gently. The man was a Bosmer, otherwise known as a Wood Elf. Her collection - the old man's collection - was almost done. All left was the blood of a Falmer. She took the machine out of the wooden basket and had it drink the blood of the elf before putting it back.
"You...You're not human...you're a demon, by Azura's name!"
"Don't take it personally. I've been told by my Jarl to take care of the Skooma operations. They would have done the same."
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"But the mission is done," Chihiro concluded.
"Yes, the mission is done. I also got a few septims and a nice book to read...I won't grow bored anytime soon." She smiled and left a few septims down for the beggars as she passed through the market place, and headed to report. And Laila was more than pleased to see her new blade wielder return.
"My Jarl." Sakura instantly dropped in a low bow, holding her basket.
"I assume the cavern is cleared out?"
"Yes, my Jarl. The bandits are dead and the skooma is destroyed. To not let it fall in the wrong hands." Sakura decided to let the detail about the wolf fighting pits out. It wasn't a crime, here, apparently. Laila smiled and looked down at her.
"Your continued efforts have been of great benefit to the people of Riften. Allow me to present you with this compensation for your selfless efforts. You're a very hardworking woman. To be able to accomplish all of that on your own..." The Jarl motioned Anuriel to bring a sheathed blade in her hands. Sakura eyed the typical Nordic engraves on the sheath.
Laila's face lit up slightly as the young woman took the blade from Anuriel's hands with a growing fascination.
"It's a beautiful blade. Thank you." Sakura inspected it closely.
"I'm glad you like it, Sakura. Here's also 500 septims for you. But I'm not done with you." Laila shook her head, as Sakura secured the blade around her hip. It was heavier than a simple katana she was used to...she'd have to practice a lot to master it properly. "As I said, someone like you belongs in my Court. You have gained my trust, but you have to gain the trust of the citizens as well. And own a property in the Rift."
"I understand, my Jarl."
"Good. You can talk to my Steward, Anuriel, about purchasing Honeyside. It will be a really beautiful house once it's properly cleaned up. Until then, here's a list of the pleas of the citizens."
And with that, Sakura was handed a long list of tasks. She supposed that because of the war, guards and other men of the Hold couldn't be spared to attend the needs of the citizens properly. Sakura scanned the paper and held the urge to chuckle. It was like doing D-ranked missions over and over again. It felt...nostalgic.
"I will get right to them, my Jarl. Thank you for this opportunity, I will make sure to do my best."
"I know you will, Sakura." Laila smiled once again.
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A/N: And it's finally done. I've had this chapter in drafts for...for how long? A week? Two? I'm not sure. But I'm glad it's finally done. I hope this will be good enough. Most of Skyrim's side quests look like D-ranks to me. Or C-rank at most, like those where you have to travel to different Holds. The Honeyside can be bought for 5000 septims, did you know that? If you have more than that, Anuriel will take your septims up to 8k though, so you could just bring a follower and store all your septims except for those 5k ones and done! You got the house cheaper. That's the price of Breezehome too.
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Balance: 2739 septims.
Apparel: Clothes, Boots, Amulet of Mara, Amulet of Talos, Amulet of Zenithar, Thieves Guild Armor, Thieves Guild Boots, Thieves Guild Hood, Thieves Guild Gloves
Weapons: Iron Sword of Fire
Potions: Draught of Light Feet, Poison
Scrolls (spells): N/A
Food: N/A
Ingredients: N/A
Books: 2920, vol V - Second Seed (Speech Skill Book), Advances in Lockpicking (Skill - R), Aedra and Daedra (Lore - R), Boethiah's Proving (Lore - R), Cats of Skyrim (Lore), Enchanter's Primer (Enchanting Skill Book), Proper Lock Design (Skill - R), Shadowmarks (Lore - R), The Exodus (Restoration Skill Book), The Wolf Queen Book I (Lockpicking Skill Book), Walking the World - Volume XI: Solitude (Lore - R).
Journals: Sakura's Journal
Letters: N/A
Keys: Riften Warehouse;
Misc: Summoning scroll, Storage scrolls, Quill, Inkwell, Lockpicks (8), Black Soul Gem (1)
Passive Effects: Agent of Mara (15% Resist Magic.)
Spells: N/A
Shouts: N/A
Perks: N/A
Quest Log (Started): Discerning the Transmundane, Join the Stormcloaks, Loud and Clear
Quest Log (Completed): A Chance Arrangement, Book of Love, Drowned Sorrows, Helping Hand, Supply and Demand, Taking Care of Business, The Raid
Bounties Collected: N/A
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Bye-bye til later *^*