Thanks for proof reading my dyslexic notes Tomed Ceht. Thanks for the review & feedback Godamnet Daedric Prince of Cliffhangers.
Y-Ko, Don't worry, my love for the Companions will bring them honor.
Thanks for the review Moonflower04.
Alienking686, yes it is.
Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you enjoy Chapter 2.
She looked at her map for the fourth time this morning. Staying off main roads was such a pain in the ass. But, it was that or deal with the people she met along the way; especially those damnable extremists of Stendarr.
She loved killing those idiots. Sometimes she enjoyed talking to them and then transforming in front of them. The looks on their faces … so worth it! They seemed to be everywhere and more often now as well. She wondered why they were around more.
She put her map back in her ruck sack and silently thanked Tolfdir again for the gift. They had found it when they had been rummaging around in the Arch Mage's quarters. He had said it was passed on by the Arch Mages at the college over the years.
The enchanted ruck sack could hold whatever she wanted, but it did have its limits. She couldn't put a mammoth in there, but it still held quite a bit. It was a pretty genius bit of enchanting and unfortunately, Tolfdir also said it was one-of-a-kind and it couldn't be disenchanted.
To get things out, she just had to concentrate on what she wanted in order to retrieve the object from the bag. If she wanted everything out, she just had to think about the bag spiting it all out when she held it upside down. It made her giggle the first time Tolfdir told her that, but she tried it and it worked.
She was almost to Markarth. She had to do a job for Delvin, and it needed to be taken care of as soon as she possible. Delvin had told her the job was for Endon in Markarth and involved retrieving an item for the man. Once it was set, they'd be able to move merchandise throughout the hold and to other Provinces for trade, and the Guild would make some serious coin.
"Gods, these jobs for Delvin and Vex never fucking end." She muttered. At least she got paid well. Besides, Delvin assured her this was 'the last one' … again. When she had arrived in Falkreath, she had sent word ahead with a courier when she should be expected to arrive in Markarth. She had set their meeting point to be the Silverblood Inn.
It was early afternoon when she arrived and made her way to their scheduled rendezvous point. She was rather thankful she had chosen the Inn. It had been a long trip from Rift, minus the minor detour in Falkreath at the Sanctuary to catch up with Astrid.
She sat down and waited. Endon would be arriving any minute to give her job, and she wanted to order some food. Then she heard the arguing…
"We have a customer, and there you are, back there slouching about again old man!" she heard a woman shout. An old woman walked down the stairs and set her broom down, "Can I get you anything dear?" the older woman said to her.
"What's on the menu?" Azriel responded smirking.
"Well … what would you like? I'm Frabbi, and the lazy old badger I'm married to is Kleppr. We run the Silverblood Inn." Frabbi said smiling.
On all of her trips to Markarth, she'd never actually stepped foot into the Inn. "Could I have venison and a mug of ale please?"
"Sure thing!" Frabbi said, turning toward the back and yelling, "Kleppr you old horses' ass, the young woman wants Venison. And be quick about it!"
Azriel laughed. They argued like they meant it, but she didn't think they did. She hoped they didn't, anyway.
Frabbi set down a cold mug of ale in front of her. A few minutes later, Azriel turned towards the door as it opened. A middle-aged Redgaurd walked in. He smiled as he took as seat next to her. Frabbi walked over and asked him if he had wanted to order anything. In a moment she returned with his mead.
"Delvin told me who he'd be sending, but I didn't believe him." He said simply.
"Oh? Why is that?" she asked taking a sip of ale.
"You're the Drangonborn aren't you?" he asked with a smile. "I didn't expect you to be involved with … Delvin."
"I see. But I still need to make coin somehow, don't I?" she replied coyly.
He smiled again, "True. You get around a bit don't you? Shall we move to a more private table Dragonborn?"
"Call me Azriel. And yes, I do." She picked up her ale and followed him to the far table, away from the other two people in the Inn. "So, how can my organization help you, Endon? Delvin said you need an item retrieved. What kind of object is it and where should I begin looking for it?"
"I want an object that I believe bandits have taken." Endon said sipping his mead. "It may not seem as special as I'm sure you're thinking it may be. It's a candlestick mold. It's important to my trade and my family's business."
"Wait … a candlestick mold? You mean like this?" She reached into her ruck sack and pulled out the curious mold.
"Are you kidding me? Where did you get this?! " He asked excitedly.
"Well, off some corpses … after I killed them. I was tracking some slave traders a while back. They lead me to a bandit camp that held some interesting things. Once I took care of them, it was in a stack of loot I recovered. I've been dragging the damned thing around ever since." She said with a smile.
He just laughed. "This changes things. I knew you guys were good, but by Oblivion, I didn't think you'd be that fast." He reached down on to his belt and pulled off the plump coin purse. "This is for you. I was going to ask you to kill them, but it seems you already have. And I didn't have to wait an Era to get my mold. Give my regards to Delvin. And tell him whatever he needs, it's his."
She had been waiting for this. She arched her eyebrow, "We want to open up 'trade' through the Reach. We're expanding business. Are you interested? Before you answer, think of it as a means to make a lot of coin for your family. It will be very lucrative."
"I am. I'll get in touch with Delvin and set up the details. Is there anything else?"
"I've got a personal vendetta against the slave traders in Skyrim. It appears that they are on the rise because this stupid war, but for some reason it's being overlooked within the holds. They seem to like attacking caravans or anyone they get ahold of. I'm trying to figure out who's behind it and stop it. I'd appreciate any information I can get."
"I've heard the same. However, I don't really know anything. If I get any details, I'll send you a letter."
She laughed, "Those couriers are tenacious. I'm sure they'll find me."
Kleppr walked over with her food. "Here you are young lady."
Endon stood, "I'll be off now. Good day to you, Azriel."
"Good day to you to, Endon."
She was relieved that it turned out to be no trouble at all for herself. She tended to cart around a lot of things and this time, it actually came in handy. Something finally worked out in her favor for once. She really loved this ruck sack.
She pulled out her ledger and her map, scratching off Delvin's job from her list as she ran down the short list of things she needed to do. She sighed, Calcelmo had sent her another letter about Dwarven artifacts a while back. She didn't have anything with her so she moved on. Nothing really caught her attention as needing to be done immediately, so she decided to check out the letter she had received from Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone.
Thane Azriel,
As you know, homes in Morthal have not been available for purchase for a very long time. The Hold has always been small. It pleases me to announce that I have decided to open up land purchases in Hjaalmarch to aid in the growth and prosperity of the Hold.
These are troubled times my friend, and there are a few other matters I wish to discuss with you at your convenience. When next you are in Hjaalmarch, come see me so we can talk.
~Idgrod
Azriel returned the letter to the back of her ledger and made herself a note. Seems Morthal is next. She dropped some septims on the table, repacked her ruck sack, and made her way out the door.
It was a beautiful day in Markarth. The sun was shining, the market was bustling with activity, and the air was crisp with smells of fresh goods. A city guard walked up to her "Hail Companion! Have you heard they're reforming the Dawngaurd?"
"The what?" she was confused. What in Oblivion was that?
"Dragonborn, you don't know what the Dawngaurd is? Wait, no, I suppose you won't, you're not from Skyrim." He said scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"So do I get a clue or do I have to guess?"
"Ah, well, they are vampire hunters." He said proudly.
She rolled her eyes. "Vampire hunters? You're fucking kidding me."
It was obvious she'd confused him with her angry reply. "Uh, no, I'm not. Vampires have started attacking different villages around Skyrim. Surely you've heard."
Well that explains why Stendarr's extremist assholes where everywhere. "And these Dawnguard vampire hunters are who exactly?"
"I'm not sure Dragonborn. But the Order is very old supposedly and their reforming it!" he replied.
"Well aren't you a wealth of Nordic knowledge? Thanks for that information."
"You are very welcome Dragonborn." He answered with a smile.
No wonder why this idiot is a guard. "Have a good day." she huffed. She was definitely cranky. She decided to spend the rest of her afternoon in Vlindrel Hall and leave in the morning. Besides, Argis wasn't a very talkative person, which was nice. She'd be able to sort herself out, and get back on the road in the morning.
What's going on in Morthal? She wondered as she walked to her home. Why would the Jarl send her such a vague note? She pondered the information guard had told her about the Dawnguard reforming and wondered if the two were somehow connected.
When she arrived at Vlindrel Hall, Argis greeted Azriel in his usual quiet tone. "Good to see you again Thane. It's been a while."
"Hello Argis." She paused, "Argis, do you know anything about Vampire attacks in Skyrim, or the Dawnguard?"
"I've heard about vampire attacks randomly through the holds, yes. They are rather scattered and usually only attack smaller, less guarded communities. Why do you ask, my Thane?"
"Argis, please don't call me that. I have a name, would you like it if I called you Housecarl?" she snapped.
"No. I wouldn't Azriel." He replied stiffly.
"Good, because it sounds rather condescending calling you 'Housecarl' and not by your proper name, and I personally don't like it. So they're only attacking smaller communities?"
"Last I heard, yes. They come in, attack, and then run off. No one seems to know why, and they don't take anything; which is odd, even for Vampires."
"It sounds like their assessing weak points for attacks." Azriel said flatly.
"Possibly. Forgive me for asking again, but why is it you ask?"
"I was just in the Market, and a Guard was telling me about the Dawnguard reforming. Do you know anything about them?"
"I've heard the same thing. No, I don't, other than they are Vampire hunters and they are looking for recruits somewhere in the East."
"Thanks Argis, and I'm sorry I snapped at you. I've been rather cranky lately. I'll be in my room if you need me."
He nodded in response and Azriel trudged off to her room to clean up and get ready for the morning.
I wonder if the Dawnguard are like the Silver Hand were; single minded in their focus to kill Vampires regardless of their nature. Knowing Vampires, much like werewolves, differed greatly. Not every one of them was bent on draining mortals dry. She'd crossed paths with Vampires before, and some were quite civil.
Her thoughts fluttered for a moment to Babette, her protective instincts instantly kicked in. I'll kill anyone if they ever hurt a solitary hair on her head. Even though Babette was hundreds of years older than Azriel, she was like a sister to her, and she could feel her blood boiling at the thought of anyone harming her.
Relax she told herself. You are getting way too worked up over this.
She tossed her ruck sack and sword on the bed. She sat down on the stone bed, and took off her boots and gauntlets. She unbuckled her dragon scale armor and untucked her undershirt. I need a bath; a very hot and very long bath. One of the luxuries of Vlindrel Hall was the bath, and she planned to indulge in it.