Chapter six - Farewell, Guild Brother
Loredas, First Seed 4, 4E 0 - Dusk
"Master?" Amusei asked after he knocked and cracked open the door.
"What is it?" I called back.
"You have three guests here to see you."
"Let them in." I stood up from my desk then turned around, walked to the center of the room, and waited.
A few seconds later, a Khajiit walked in, followed by two others.
"Ah, the Black Horse brothers. Welcome." I greeted them.
"A rather interesting label for us, I can agree with that." Hassiri said.
Before I left the Black Horse Courier a couple days ago, I had given the location where our Guild Hall is located. Pretty risky to give out the location of the Thieves Guild, but I knew I could trust the young Khajiit brothers.
"Quite an unexpected visit, how may I help you?" I asked.
"We have bought ourselves out of the contract, but the Imperial Council had been suspicious of us. Must have been wondering where we've gotten 25,000 septims from." Hassiri said.
"I seen it from within the look in their eyes that they believe we are up to something." Ra'jiradh included.
"That does sound like something to be concerned about, but the Imperial Council cannot file any warrant of arrest without evidential proof. You have nothing to worry about." I promised them.
"I hope not, we wouldn't want to be behind bars." Urjabhi said.
"There's no reason for you to be. You simply wanted out of the contract, to charge for your newspapers. I don't find any suspicion behind that."
"Me neither, that is our business." Hassiri included.
"It is, have you started the charges?"
"Yes, today. 2 septims per copy for the public. The citizens within the Imperial City were only too happy to buy." He said.
"How many were you able to sell?"
"Within the Imperial City alone? Over 50 today sold. Our couriers are selling in other towns. They will be here before sunrise to turn in the money from sold copies, then exchange with them a full bag more of copies."
"Sounds like everything is working out. Perhaps you could spread your business to other provinces." I suggested.
The three brothers stood silent, gave each other looks then turned their attention back to me. "We have not thought of that." Hassiri said.
"You have not? Oh, what money that will bring! You could expand your business within the lands of Tamriel. Perhaps, Skyrim? I hear their province is full of trade and business."
"That sounds like a great idea!" Urjabhi agreed.
"This will take some time to accomplish, though, traveling to and from Skyrim weekly. We will need to hire plenty more couriers." Ra'jiradh said.
"Yes. It would also be much more efficient to open a new Black Horse Courier in Skyrim. You would have your own newspaper here in Imperial City, and another home in Skyrim."
Urjabhi wide-eyed with enthusiasm. "That's another great idea! We would have two Black Horse Couriers!"
"A lot of time and money though. We should start our saving after we learn how much we will receive monthly from newspaper sales." Hassiri planned.
"Indeed." I said.
Sundas, First Seed 5, 4E 0 - Midday
Ongar the World-Weary lay tiresome in his bed, resting from the lack of energy that his body hsa permanently burdened upon him due to old age.
He had just finished fencing with a low-recruit thief from the Thieves Guild, probably the last time he will see him since he had fenced over 500 septims in value of stolen goods, the low-recruit will now move on to the next fence.
Ongar had been old and weak, had not a wife or family, just himself living in his small single-room shack in Bruma. Everyday, Ongar ate his meals at Olav's Tap and Tack, stayed there to lounge around, after that, come home and return to his bed.
Ongar let sleep overtake him, and now opened his eyes to view a perfectly structured home of sweet smelling scents. He felt comfortable on his king sized bed, but sat up, seen that his door had been left open and could hear voices of kids playing while the mother warned them to be careful.
Standing up, Ongar felt lively and completely full of energy. He gazed around his surroundings, in love with the comforts of his home.
He took steps forward, out his room, and then out the front door, joining with the small family as they played in the snow. He smiled as he looked upon the two kids playing, happy, and enjoying their youth.
Ongar also smiled as he looked to the beautiful, sweet smelling mother of the children as he approached behind her, wrapped his arms around her then kissed her head.
She turned to look at him then smiled back. "Hey you. Finally awake, now." The voice of what Ongar was sure to be an angel spoke to him.
"Yes, I am now. I missed the three of you too much to sleep longer." He responded.
She smiled more, then turned, wrapped her arms around his neck while he held her, and kissed him. Ongar felt as if he were lifted off his feet, levitating above ground as her angel wings kept them afloat.
He felt nothing else, no other touch or smelled no scent but hers. Feeling as if he had been glued to her, unable to break off, the kids interrupted calling their dad.
He and her had broke off to see their two kids running happily with big, bright eyes and huge smiles on their faces. Ongar had embraced both of them in his arms after kneeling down, and kissed the foreheads of his two girls.
Not long after, a loud roar interrupted and startled them as it had come from beyond the trees. Many birds have flown and left their positions in the trees, their nests, their homes, as another loud roar sounded.
Ongar's little girls became scared and pressing their weight to their dad as they stared into the trees. Ongar knew exactly the sound of what it was, he ran immediately back into his home, looking for a sword or boy and arrows, anything he can get to defend his family.
He grabbed a long spear that rested against a wall, then ran back out when he heard screams and another roar. His family had been twenty feet away as a gigantic brown animal full of fur neared them.
He ran to their side, stood in front of them, told them to move away, to go inside. They ran, and he held up the spear to point at the grizzly bear. Just a few yards away, the bear stood as it opened it's mouth wide revealing all it's sharp, long teeth and roaring again as saliva spitted out it's mouth.
Ongar kept his ground and pushed the spear forward then pulling back, attempting to scare off the bear, but it did not work. The grizzly bear strikes with it's claws at the spear and it had flown out of Ongar's hands to the ground a few yards away.
He looked at it, then to the bear, realizing he had no other weapon with him, completely defenseless. He had no choice but made the attempt while the bear drew closer to dive for the spear and grab it.
Once he did so, the bear moved in on him and raised it's claws again and struck him on the head. Ongar blacked out, his vision failed and all he could hear was the screams of his family, then nothing at all. Everything fell silent as he lay unconscious.
Ongar woke, his head stained with blood and pain throbbing at his skull, he sat up and seen that the bear had killed his family, and had been feeding from their corpses. He stared in horror, eyes filling up with tears then he let out a cry.
The bear turned and realized he wasn't dead, Ongar got up quickly and grabbed the spear. As the bear engaged him, he pointed the spear and the bear ran at him into it. The bear's body fell onto him and half of his body was trapped underneath it.
Struggling to move his body out from underneath the bear, he finally squeezed himself out. He rushed to his family after he got up, knelt down and cried as he looked upon the dead bodies of his family. He knew from that moment on, he will never live on his own separate from society again, never will live in the snow land of Skyrim again.
Ongar woke up to the door being slammed shut, and eyed a stranger he had not known standing at his door.
"Who are you? Get out of my house!" Ongar yelled out as he sat up.
"You must be Ongar, fence of the Thieves Guild." The man had said, Ongar silenced a moment then made his mind that this man was no member of the Thieves Guild.
"You have the wrong person, now get out or I will call the guards!" Ongar yelled as he stood up.
"No need to, your Guild will have justice, with vengeance." The man said darkly as he approached.
Ongar noticed there had been a tiresome look in his eyes as if he had not slept in months. The man neared closer, and next thing Ongar knew, the man had pushed him against the wall with a strong force of strength then bit him on his neck.
Ongar cried out, then struggled to push him off, he had panicked and fear had spread throughout his body. Then he felt even weaker than her ever had, feeling his life slowly fading away, the pain he felt moments before seemed to slow down and subside, then he decided to give up.
He was so tired even more than ever, struggling to stay awake, he closed his eyes and allowed his life to leave his body as he fell onto the bed, as his life had joined into the spirit world. Ongar will finally be able to reunite with his family.
Later that day...
A Khajiit man named Dra'haj entered the house of Ongar's to fence more stolen goods he had, he found that Ongar had been murdered, blood everywhere on the floor and his lifeless body on the bed.
Dra'haj had moved near Ongar's corpse, horrified from the sight of a dead body, a dead fellow brother. Dra'haj noticed plenty of blood that came directly from his neck that stained his skin and clothes.
Dra'haj noticed Ongar's eyes to be still open, but unseeing. He moved near, then used two fingers to close his eyes.
"Farewell, Guild brother. May you rest in peace." Dra'haj said then left Ongar's shack to alarm the city guard.