-I deeply apologize for the lengthy delay in between last chapter and this one; I was dealing with internet related issues here at home that were confusing to me at the time, and only now still haven't been ideal. It didn't effect the actual writing process, yet it did effect motivation if I'm being honest. Still, I'll try and stay strong to keep getting these chapters out there for you. For now, enjoy!-


Lydia and Siffre walked slowly along the Rift road. Thankfully, they were fortunate enough to not run into any sort of nasty surprises, or detours, as they moved. Nonetheless, they both remained wary of whatever may have been lurking in the surrounding forests, and maybe a little more confident now that they were both armed and able to cover both themselves and each other.

"Finally, we made it..." Lydia said. Soft, orange glow of torchlight they had seen from a distance was now drastically reduced in size and scope. Two lit torches were posted on the stone wall that framed the massive wooden door before them. The moons' light from above bathed the walls in their own glow, which seemed to be further accented from this light mist that filled the air this evening. As such, the brick and stone appeared to glisten, a false finery. In spite of herself, Lydia had to give credit that these walls looked much sturdier than Whiterun's own walls. Though could these stand up to invasions? And if so, for how long...?

The two women walked forward, passing by a nearby wooden house off to the side. A pair of horses could be seen resting in adjoined stables, but no one else was outside of it at this time. No one could be seen in sight as far as either of them could see, except for a single torch-wielding guardsman. He stood in place as his head slowly turned towards the two women as they approached.

"Evening... you two travelers?" he spoke up, "What brings you to Riften at such late hour?"

"Yes... we're travelers," Siffre spoke as softly as she could manage.

"We're just looking for a place to rest for the evening," Lydia added.

"Is that so...?" the guardsman said. There was a strange infliction to his voice as he said that, "Well then... seems there's a lot of you these days..."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lydia asked.

"You know, coming here to Riften, sometimes at odd hours as well," the man said, "Except, obviously not like you yourselves of course, some... 'less fortunate' souls. Some who don't quite have as much coin to themselves as you might think."

"You mean, refugees? Like those who had suffered dragon attacks?" Lydia asked, to which the guard nodded. Lydia frowned at this; a grim and painful reminder that the threat of these dragons seemed to be everywhere in Skyrim, not just in certain holds, "So then, what is your Jarl doing for them?"

"Donations my lady!" the guard said, a little enthusiastically, "Any bit of coin that can be spared would definitely help! In fact, you give to me what you can, and I'll make sure it fills the coffers personally!"

"Really?" Lydia said. Her hand made a motion towards her coin-purse, until she felt her thane's hand on her wrist first. She looked over at her, but was surprised to find a frown of her own, combined with the smallest sign of her head shaking. Before she could question her, she had already turned to look back at the guard.

"So then... if these are 'donations'..." she spoke her usual softness, yet a slight edge could be heard in her speech, "Then why would they be collected by one guardsman...? Alone, and outside the walls of the city it's meant for?" Lydia's eyes widened in realization; that's right! Those were very good points! Her head quickly turned back to the guard as well. The man's face could not be seen but there was that subtle twitch in his head movement that suggested... nervousness.

"Oh, well..." he said, "Riften's a far enough city on its own! We have to do all we can to... to compensate for our... poor placement in Skyrim..." Lydia lightly tilted her head. Those breaks in his sentence; something was definitely fishy going on here...

"But isn't Riften one of the five major cities of Skyrim?" Lydia gave her own question, "Surely it can't also be short on coin to have to request local charity...?"

"Um, I mean- that's... well..." the guard's speech was reduced to stammering by this point, and Lydia's eyes narrowed. Just what was this man really getting at? Time to find out-

"If this is truly coin going towards helping needy refugees, being housed within in these walls as you claim," Lydia continued, "I feel it'd much more reasonable to be personally hand-delivered to the Jarl or even the Jarl's court itself..." She trailed off, her message carrying its potent meaning for her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Siffre smiling at her.

"Ah, b-but of course! Of course that's where it would all be going!" the guard exclaimed, excitement sounding a little too forced in his voice this time, "I-I'm just saying, it might not hurt to, you know, 'lighten the load' towards someone else who could help you out in that regard! I could bring it to the Jarl mys-"

"I think we'll be perfectly fine... thank you..." Siffre cut in rather a forceful whisper, quickly so that vibrations wouldn't have a chance to spill forth before her. With that, she swiftly moved past the guardsman, seemingly catching him off guard by her sudden motion, with Lydia following straight behind her. Her mind was still processing that precise, forward bluntness her thane had just demonstrated to an actual city guardsman. Yet she was still in her own mind to be aware of following directly behind her as she pulled one of the city's doors open, allowing her to slip through first. Behind them, the guard could be seen not making any attempt to follow after as the door closed back.

Once inside, Lydia quickly walked back up with Siffre.

"How did you know?" The question was identical, asked at the exact same time by both of them. Lydia and Siffre surprised each other by their coincidental inquiry. It was then Siffre who hesitated enough for Lydia to know she could go first.

"How did you know if that guard was going to scam us of coin?" the housecarl asked. It was when her thane tilted her head and her mouth cracked open to reply that the answer to her own question hit her, "Of course...! You've had experience...?"

"Um, yes," Siffre replied, "We ran similar 'con-methods'... Though while I couldn't talk back then, I still listened to how they were told..." She looked back towards the now closed main gate, "What he was doing... it reminded me of it..." Lydia turned her head away and towards the inner reaches of Riften. The even moon's light shining from above, combined with a thick mist that blanketed all before them, and the entire city appeared to be shrouded in mystery. Yet despite that, all that could be heard were the sounds of crickets chirping, with the faint echoes of footsteps heard within. There was no sound of clamoring, talking, yelling, or any sort of sound that suggested refugees would be present in these city walls!

"I can't see, nor hear, any refugees..." she spoke aloud to Siffre, "Or could there actually be some here, but just in a building somewhere...?"

"I don't know... This is the first I've seen of this city, so I wouldn't know..." Siffre shrugged, while also trying and failing to contain a yawn, "Oh, I really am tired..." The two ladies turned back to face inwards and towards the city. Unfortunately, with dark of evening combined with the thick, misty fog that filled the air before them, their visibility was severely limited. They could maybe see about ten feet in front of them before nothing at all. And what they could see was only outline of wooden structured houses, the stone walkway they stood upon, and a soft glow of a nearby lit torch brazier. Unlike outside, no guards could immediately seen; though also after what had just happened, perhaps that was for the better.

The two of them slowly walked forward and closer into the mist. If it weren't for the straight path this stone walk way provided, they surely would've ended up being misdirected. Even walking this far and further into the city, the lack of anyone to be seen filled both women with equal parts nervousness as well as relief.

A few more steps forward and the path before them suddenly veered off to the left side, with a wooden bridge stretching before them to the right side. Instinct was to follow the stone path, but the mist had cleared just enough that something could be seen off to the right side and across the bridge. The thick, dark outline of a building, corner facing them, with a small sign that hung outside of a door. They moved across the bridge to get a closer inspection of what the sign said.

"Bee and Barb... Tavern..." Siffre read, "A place for drink, but for a bed...?"

"I guess we can find out," Lydia said with a shrug. The two approached the door, tugged on the door and beheld what was inside.

The dreary dim of the misty air instantly faded upon entry. Siffre and Lydia were now standing amidst a spacious tavern, pleasantly lit, with the light sound of clamor. This tavern's walls and floors were also made of wood, but their design made them stand out from Whiterun's in the way that they felt more like cabins in woods. There were many tables seen throughout the floor, with only few of them being occupied by patrons either drinking, eating, or talking. For the most part, the patrons seated were silently keeping to themselves, with one exception-

"Heed my words, people of Riften!" a man stood a few feet away from another tavern door. He was dressed in an orange, hooded robe, with his arms raised out before him and his face beheld passion upon it, "The return of the dragons is no mere coincidence! This is surely one of the signs that Lady Mara is displeased with your constant inebriation!" The proclamations of this man were not met with any sort of love from the tavern patrons. In fact, from the few patrons that actually did reply, only grumbles and jeers could be heard.

"Quit yer yammerin', Redguard priest!" a fancily-dressed man declared from one of the tables. His condition suggested he'd clearly drank all of what was in his tankard in hand, with his other hand pointing lazily in the priest's general direction, plus the flush gracing his cheeks and slurred speech, "Can't a man have a drink without someone screamin' in his ear?!"

"Like your own screaming is helping..." his drinking mate replied under his breath from in front of him. The priest on the other hand was undeterred by the protests, and in fact retained his passion.

"So put down your flagons filled with your vile liquids, and embrace the teachings of the Divine of Love herself!" the man continued. Another groan could be heard, this time from what appeared to be the barkeep herself. But it wasn't any human Lydia had ever seen. In fact, this may have been the first time she'd ever laid eyes upon these 'Argonians'. She'd heard of them of course, but never met any in real life. The reptilian woman had her face covered by her clawed hands when she placed them down.

"No no, Maramal, we've talked about this..." she groaned, "Talen!" Her head snapped to look to the side. Another Argonian walked across the floor, tail swiftly following his movements. This one was more so dressed as a bartender than the other Argonian. He approached the priest, Maramal, even as the man continued speaking and addressing her.

"Keerava, surely we can come to an understanding? These people must be made aware of the chaos they're sowing-!" The other Argonian reached him by now and placed a hand on his shoulder. There was no effort in moving him as if to throw him out, but rather a simple gesture as one friend would give another.

"Enough, Maramal, we've all heard these stories and rumors of the dragons," he said, his voice much more soothing and controlled than his female counterpart's, "It's no reason to use that as an excuse to harass our customers." Maramal's gaze shifted between both Keerava's and Talen's before letting a hefty sigh.

"Very well, Talen," he said, brushing the reptilian hand from his shoulder and turning to the door, "I'll remove myself from this den of inequity..."

"W-we're not kicking you out!" Talen called after him even as he was leaving through the door, "Keep the sermons at the Temple and let us all sin here in peace..." A hard slamming of the door cut him off, with a few of the patrons quickly objecting to the sudden noise. They nonetheless resumed their drinking as they had before.

"By the Gods, finally..." Keerava groaned. It was then that she suddenly turned her head in Siffre and Lydia's direction, as if having noticed them for the first time, "Oh, more customers?"

"Hm?" Talen said. He turned his head to the other entrance, where Siffre and Lydia were still standing, "Oh, good evening, ladies. What can we do for you?" The two ladies were broken out of their stare of watching the scene unfold before them and took a few steps forward into the tavern area.

"We'd... we'd like a room for this evening; the two of us," Lydia said, "And some food please." Lydia hadn't meant for her eyes to look like they'd been staring longer than they needed to. After all, It was her first time not only meeting one of these lizard-people, but actually holding civilized conversation with one. Was she even staring for too long? This Argonian seemed to be at least cordial with them, so she hoped he wouldn't have taken offense to her perceived stare.

"Oh, alright then," the bartender, Talen calmly replied, "I can set you up with something, Are you thirsty? Hungry? Both?"

"Do you have any... mead?" Siffre quietly spoke up, "And... maybe some kind of meat...?"

"Of course. Some grilled chicken fillets were prepared not too long ago before you'd shown up, which I believe there are still some left over," Talen spoke, "They're not 'as' warm as being straight from the fires, but they're still warm enough to eat. As for drinks, might I be so bold as to suggest one of our 'special drinks'?"

"Ah... I'm fine with just mead, thank you," Siffre dismissed with a light wave of her hand. Lydia on the other hand found herself slightly curious. This Argonian hadn't mentioned anything about her staring, thus far at least; but what was the harm in knowing about such different drinks other than mead? She was in a different city than Whiterun after all...

"Actually, I would like to know about these 'special drinks' of yours..." she said. Talen regarded her, his eyes twitching ever so slightly in a way Lydia hopefully meant he was happy with her suggestion.

"Ah, excellent! I would be happy to tell you more," he said, "But first, would you like to have a seat here in the tavern first...?" Lydia glanced around the tavern floor. Quite frankly, the company that lay before could've been much better. Granted she had only just arrived in this completely different city not but five minutes ago, and it might've been to quick and harsh to judge. But still, why did everyone around appear to be so... depressed? Almost all the patrons' faces, from those that glanced at the two of them to those who kept glued on the tables and food before them, nearly all of them had some kind of negative spirit displayed on their face. Was this normal for this city?

"I think... we'll take this to the room... if that's alright," Siffre quickly and silently spoke up for them. There she went again; so eager to speak for the both of them, despite not being the 'best' speaker...

"As you wish," Talen said, then proceeded to walk in a direction along the tavern floor, "I'll show you to your room, right this way. Fortunately, the room available does have two beds in it-"

"Hey lizard! Need more ale over here!" a voice from within the room cut him off. It came from the fancily-garbed man whom had shouted at Maramal earlier.

"Um, I think you've had enough, Vulwulf," Talen said, halting his steps to regard him, "And it's getting late, maybe you should head on home for now..."

"Stupid scale-back! I say when I'm damn well finished!" the Nord slurred his words, "Now get me another mug, 'fore I have your hide!"

"Comin' up, Lord Show-Shod!" the female Argonian called out from behind the bar itself, "You go ahead, Talen, then back down here!"

"Thanks, Keerava," the male Argonian said, resuming his movements in leading the two women. He rounded a wooden corner, which actually revealed steps leading to the upper floor, before talking again, "You'll have to forgive him; Vulwulf Snow-Shod, he's... a regular here..."

Lydia glanced back in the man's general direction with narrowed eyes even as she walked up the steps, "I think I can tell; are they all like that?"

"Thankfully no," Talen said, "However, don't think 'too' harshly of Lord Snow-Shod; he did lose his daughter in the Great War..." the Argonian quickly stifled what could only be described as a very quick, humorless chuckle from his mouth, "As I'm sure he'd remind everyone..." The three finally reached the top of the steps and turned another corner. A long hallway stretched out before them, with a room and its open door awaiting them at the end. It was a small room, yet not uncomfortably cramped, with indeed two beds inside. Lydia and Siffre stepped inside, with Talen remaining outside, "Now then, you wanted to know more about my specialty drinks, m'lady?"

"Oh um, yes, I would..." Lydia said, instantly reminded that she had said that. The slight parching of her throat served as further reminder.

"They're my own personal recipe," Talen explained, "The first is called 'Velvet Lechance'. It's a mixture of blackberry, honey, spiced wine and a touch of nightshade- but, perfectly safe, I assure you," The Argonian quickly added after seeing Lydia's eyes briefly widen at the mention of nightshade.

"Nightshade...?" she said to herself, "Um... I don't know; what are the others?"

"The second is called 'The White-Gold Tower'; heavy cream with a layer of blended mead, lavender and dragon's tongue on top," Talen explained. Siffre tilted her head as she listened to these strange drinks being described out loud.

"What's dragon's tongue...?" she softly asked.

"It's a type of flower," Lydia quickly explained.

"You... you make many drinks, with plants added to them?" she asked him directly this time.

"These plants are mostly used as a sort of garnish, usually sprinkled atop. I conceived these recipes having studied with a friend of mine in Gideon; he was an alchemist," Talen said, "However, the third drink doesn't have plants, but I can say it's only for the most daring. It's called 'The Cliff-Racer'; Firebrand Wine, Cyrodiilic Brandy, Flin and Sujamma. Those last two are drinks native to Morrowind, and quite popular over there from what I hear. However, these four drinks mixed into one create a strong, powerful taste that's only for the bravest of souls..." It was Lydia's turn this time to tilt her head with a raised eyebrow as well. Firebrand Wine she was familiar with, Cyrodiilic Brandy not so much, and two other drinks completely foreign to her. The first one had its own unique kick to it, and with the way he was describing it, it sounded very much that it would be a strong drink with four times the amount of kick. This was starting to sound like a drink for only the most daring...

Luckily, she was feeling rather daring herself.

"I think I'll have that one; a Cliff-Racer," she said. That look of his eyes practically glowing with joy like she'd seen before returned again.

"Wonderful choice, I assure you," he said, "Alright then, I'll be right back with both your food and those drinks." A simple nod from the two women, and Talen took his leave back down the hall. Now alone, Siffre and Lydia were able to truly take in this room they were in. There were two beds in this room, which they both took a seat at the edges of. Lydia couldn't feel exactly what it was she sitting on, with the armor she was still wearing, but it was already infinitely more comfortable than that bed she'd slept in at High Hrothgar. For one thing, there actually felt like there was a mattress beneath her!

The room's walls were decorated here and there with various pictures and paintings. Most of them were of locations, whether they were based off of real life places or dreamt up from the imagination of the artist, there was little way to be sure.

"So... have you ever been here...?" Siffre's voice spoke up. The Dragonborn was in the process of removing her own arm gauntlets, which prompted Lydia to do the same.

"No, I can't say that I have," she replied, "I mean, Jarl Balgruuf hardly leaves Whiterun anymore, but in earlier days, he would leave to discuss things with other Jarls in different Holds. I think he's spoken to Jarl Laila Law-Giver before..."

"That's who this city's Jarl is?" Lydia nodded.

"I never met her myself," she recalled, "but from what I've heard, she seemed an honorable sort."

"Yeah... I mean, for someone who has the name 'Law-Giver' in her name..." Siffre added. Lydia's eyes narrowed into a slight frown as she recalled.

"Still, what kind of city has its guards doing what that one at the gate tried?" she spoke, "I didn't see any refugees here when we walked into the city, did you?"

"No... I didn't," Siffre said, "Though there was a lot of fog-" A soft sound of throat clearing drew both women back to the door. There stood Talen, with two separate plates of chicken and flagons in each hand.

"Here you ladies are..." he said, handing each one to the both of them, "That should be... thirty gold."

"Wow, that was fast..." Lydia said. She took her food and drink in hand, reached over to her side to fetch forth the requested gold coins.

"Thank you..." Siffre quietly said as she accepted her food and drink, "Hey um... just wondering, are there been any... refugees, here in this city?" Lydia's eyebrow raised at the question.

"Refugees?" Talen asked as he took the coins tha Lydia offered to him.

"Yes..." Siffre said, "You see, the guard at the gate said something about... refugees coming here... likely from the dragon attacks... and then we heard that priest earlier... about dragons..."

"Oh... oh, I see..." Talen said, a tone of voice that was vastly different from before, "Well I might as well tell you now: there are no refugees here. I mean, nothing more unusual than the occasional beggar you might notice."

"There's not?" Lydia said, "Then... what that guard at the entrance said...?" Talen made a sound that sounded something similar to a hiss.

"It seems it's running ever deeper..." he spoke quieter, as if speaking to himself, "Listen, I can tell that you two aren't from here; travelers most likely. Allow me to give you some friendly advice: Riften is not for you..." Both women frowned at that statement.

"Huh...?" Siffre said.

"By that I mean Riften, it's not for any decent person to want to live in..." Talen said, "Corruption, lies, deceit... they're the order of the day here. In fact, it's no secret that 'Thieves Guild' is back at it again..." Siffre's and Lydia's eyes both narrowed with varying levels of concern at this.

"A 'Thieves' Guild...?" Lydia said.

"Trust me, not any sort of group you or anyone would want to have anything to do with," Talen said, lightly shaking his head, "So, don't take it the wrong way when I say this: you're better moving on from here..."

"I... I see..." Siffre said, casting a glance at her housecarl, "We'll... we'll be careful."

"Good," Talen nodded, "But anyway, enjoy yourselves this evening, and if there's anything else you need, just let me know." With that, the Argonian turned around and walked back and down the hallway, leaving the two women along. Siffre quickly got up to lean forward and shut the door completely before returning to her seat.

"How can... a guild of... thieves?" Lydia said to herself, yet still aloud, "How could something like that exist?"

"I don't know..." Siffre said, "But if there's one thing I do know... where coin is involved, you can rally... certain people to do... anything... often working together as well..." She looked back up at Lydia, "We'll just have to be careful here, I think..."

"Agreed," Lydia nodded. She instinctively moved her tankard-held hand to her lips, and for a split-moment was reminded that she hadn't ordered a 'special' drink instead of mead. Even before the brew touched her lips, her nose was assaulted by many different aromas. It was almost overwhelming enough to keep her from taking that first sip, but she powered through it-

A single taste was all she tasted to be even more overpowered! Her eyes widened in amazement at this mixture she held in her hand! Her tongue felt like it was burning from the way mead usually does, yet she still detected some tangy taste within it as well. And even after five seconds of recovering from that first taste, it still felt just as potent as before!

"By the Divines...!" she spoke softly.

"Huh? What is it?" Siffre asked, tilting her head, "Oh wait... you ordered one of those 'special' drinks, didn't you...? What does it taste like?"

"This... this is..." Lydia tried to gather thoughts properly in her mind for an at least adequate description, "It's... so powerful!"

"Huh?" Siffre leaned her head closer, her own tankard seemingly forgotten even while she still held it.

With renewed taste buds, Lydia took a bolder swig of her drink, letting the flavor of the drink practically fill her mouth entirely. Her eyes narrowed, then widened in surprise as each individual taste could be felt, almost in their entirety! What did that man say? Four different drinks? All blended into a single one? And each one having their own degree of 'kick', it meant about four times that much in this case!

She savored the flavors in her mouth for a moment longer, before finally swallowing and letting the molten beverage run down her throat.

"By the Divines...! That was... incredible!" she said. It was as she spoke that she could feel that subtle feeling of fuzziness around the crown of her head. Usually a whole pint of individual mead would have a similar effect, but with this...

"Was it really...?" Siffre asked. The tone heard in her soft voice suggested her interest had definitely been piqued, "Well... maybe... could I try? A sip...?" With a shrug, Lydia handed her tankard to her thane.

The Dragonborn held the tankard close to her for a sniff, similarly to what Lydia had done. She too took a healthy swig of the drink, though maybe just a little longer than Lydia's had been. Nonetheless, the lowered the tankard to reveal her own widened eyes.

"Oh...! Oh my...!" she exclaimed, her volume control forgotten for a moment and hefty vibrations burst from her mouth. Perhaps it was because of her so recent drinking, but Lydia was almost certain she could detect the faint scent of the drink in the air along with this Voice escaping, "Th-that was... so strong! I... I..." As she struggled for words Lydia quickly reached back across to take back her own tankard into her own hand.

"This is my drink, remember...?" she questioned, quickly going for another sip. Each gulp she took she could almost feel herself relaxing, more and more...


"... -dia...? Lydia..?"

Her eyes broke open as she woke, though to immediate regret. She found her head held a dull, almost painful throbbing in it, near the back where it met the neck. By the Divines, her head!

"Ugh... Please, not so loud..." she herself whispered, followed by a dismissing wave of her hand. Her opened eyes took in where she was: still in the rented inn's room, though this time with gentle rays of light pouring in through the nearby window. For the most part nothing appeared to be out of place...

Turning her head slightly she could see Siffre, sitting on the edge of her own bed, one hand securing the buckles to one of her own leg braces. The other one was casually rubbing her own head. Was her head hurting as her own was? Just how much had they drank of that 'special drink'?

Slowly, she raised herself up off of the bed, her feet touching the floor. However, only the faintest touch was felt as they made contact, which initially confused Lydia. Looking down, she was instantly made aware of something- she had fallen asleep with most of her armor on! No wonder her upper body still felt so stiff!

"Ah... morning...?" she heard Siffre speak again, softly this time.

"By the Gods..." Lydia said, rubbing her head with both of her hands, "How... how much did we drink last night?"

"I... don't remember..." Siffre shrugged, "I remember having a taste of your drink, that 'Cliff-runner' or whatever it was called... then drinking my own, and then..." The Dragonborn's eyes squinted as she tried to recall, "Urgh... That's all I remember..."

"We didn't..." Lydia said as she looked around, "What did we do, last night...?" Nothing in their room appeared out of the ordinary, about the same as they'd first seen when they came in last night. Could that eliminate the possibility of drunk-induced rowdiness? She herself had drank her fair share of mead before, and even once or twice fallen under drunken influences. But perhaps the memories of what she'd done while under were... best left unsaid...

"I don't... hopefully, nothing..." Siffre said. She shook her head quickly, then winced immediately with regret after she'd done that. She stood to her own feet, thankfully not making too much noise in the process. Before Lydia herself could stand, she'd need to replace her gauntlets back to her arms. They were still close by, on the little drawer section next to her bed. She must have put them there last night at some point. She slipped them back on, tightened their straps, and finally stood to her own feet. The two weapons lay on the floor directly in front of the bed; her sheathed sword, and that unused mace she'd found. She must have taken them loose and set them there, for all she knew. The sword was easy enough to re-attach to her waist, but the mace...? Oh well, they were planning to be rid of it soon, so she might as well hold it by hand for now.

"Well, aside from this headache, I'd say I'm ready to get going..." Lydia said, speaking in her own soft tone. Siffre nodded as well, she herself having already been dressed before the housecarl had woken. She opened the door, the two ladies gathering their personal belongings back on their persons, and made their way out and through the hallway.

As they walked down the stairs, only silence greeted them from the main tavern floor. Perhaps that was a good thing at the moment; loud noises would not feel good for the senses at the moment. There was no one to be seen inside the Bee and Barb's tables, unlike last night. The only people to be seen were the two Argonians that it was established ran this place. The female, Keerava still stood behind the bar-top, rubbing the countertop off with a rag, while the male Talen casually swept the floors. The sound of footsteps against the wooden floors drew their attention to the two Nord women.

"Oh, good morning to you two," he politely greeted, "I trust all is well?"

"Y-yes, thank you, but..." Siffre said, while taking a moment to rub her head with one hand.

"Ah, I take it you've enjoyed the 'Cliff-Racer'?" he said with a tilted head, "Trust me, it was obvious..."

"Huh?" Siffre said, for a brief moment forgetting her vocal volume control, and small vibrations were felt, "U-um, we didn't... do anything... did we?"

"Hmph, as in like the loud noises you were making in your room?" Keerava scoffed, "Take my advice: next time Talen here offers you his 'special drinks', don't give him the satisfaction-"

"Keerava, please..." Talen said, his tail slumping even more downward somehow, "Don't listen to her; there was no trouble, at all."

"Oh, um... alright..." Siffre said. She spared a look at Lydia, the two exchanging shrugs, before she looked back to him, "Well then, I guess... we'll be on our way..."

"Safe travels, land-striders," the more civil of the two Argonians said with a nod. With that, Siffre and Lydia made their way to one of the wooden doors of the tavern, pushing through to exit.

The light greeted them almost immediately; an unrelenting morning glare accented with through the light mist in the air. Their eyes squinted in response until they slowly adjusted. With a clearer view, they gazed upon this new city they now stood in, through the light of morning.

Riften appeared for the most part a wooden city. What it was they walked upon was actually a wooden sort of bridge, which held along the stone ground next to it. It only was so because off to the other side, and over a wooden railing, was a dip into a water aqueduct below. Light morning dew could be felt along the top of the wooden railing. This same, mist gave off its familiar scent on the air, but at the same time, mixed with something else. Something that smelt like... vegetables.

As they walked on, and more was revealed through the clearing mist, what could now be seen in view appeared to be a town square of sorts. A circular dip in the concrete, with a well in the very center. On four sides of this well four separate wooden stalls stood, with one single person standing within each one. Their voices rang out, advertising their wares, while other customers and patrons walked around in the center themselves, occasionally stopping to browse themselves.

At the sight of this, Lydia was reminded of the mace that she was carrying in her hand, normally reserved for a blade.

"A marketplace?" she said, "Looks like we could sell off this mace to one of those stands there..."

"Yeah, let's go..." Siffre agreed. As the women drew closer to the center, the mass of people and clamoring grew louder. They moved closer to a small, brick wall that ran the perimeter's length of the circular center, where at the edge of it sat a man. As directly opposed to the better dressed people of this place, this man was dressed in rags that were barely held together by a single string. It covered the upper section of his body, and thankfully as he was sitting down, it was unknown if it concealed the lower half as well. The man looked up at the two women as they drew nearer to him, face dirty, eyes pleading, and shaking hands held up before him.

"A coin or two, for a beggar...?" he spoke, the volume in his own voice as low as Lydia had come to know Siffre's as being. Speaking of her, the Dragonborn made a single face at the man, and proceeded to continue to move along the wall. Lydia watched after her, confusion flashing over her own face. She looked back to the man below her, and after a moment's pause, fished forth a single coin to hand to him.

"Oh, thank you!" he said, slowly taking the coin, "Divines bless your kind heart!"

"Just use it wisely, yeah?" Lydia said. Her fair share of encounters with beggars in Whiterun gave her a good sense of what to say in such situations. As long as they weren't greedy, they would not starve.

"Lydia? Over here!" she heard her thane's voice, small vibrations carrying out. Looking up, Siffre was standing along another side of the center, where a blacksmith was seen sitting at a grindstone. She quickly picked up her own pace and rejoined the Dragonborn.

"Oh, hello there," the smith greeted, "What brings you two to Balimund's today? Repair? Purchase?"

"Oh, well..." Lydia said, holding up the steel mace before him, "I wonder if we could sell you this mace here?" The smith, Balimund, blinked, and he ceased the spinning of his wheel. All at once, the grinding sound and the flying sparks stopped as well. With one hand, he took the mace from Lydia to inspect it closely.

"Hm... not bad, not bad at all..." he said, "No scratches, indentures, nor imperfections upon the craft-work... From the looks of it, it's hardly seen any fight in months." He looked back up at his two patrons, "Yeah, I can give you a fair price for this bit of weaponry; say... twenty gold." His offer left Lydia with a smile.

"That is fair; we'll take it!" she said.

"Excellent..." the smith stood from his grindstone and walked over to the door of the building he worked in front of, while pulling a key from his apron pocket, "Just wait right here, I'll not be long at all..." With a turning of the key in the door's lock, he quickly entered and vanished from view. Siffre and Lydia stood patiently, for what felt like a generous ten seconds, before Balimund reemerged, a sack of coins in hand this time, "And here you are." Lydia took the coin purse and got to work adding its amount to her own on her waist.

"You have our thanks..." Siffre said.

"My pleasure," Balimund said. As he walked back to his post, he paused suddenly and cast a look back towards them, "You know, I couldn't help but notice something else, ma'am..." Siffre tilted her head, and Lydia looked back up in response.

"Huh? Me?" she said.

"Yes," the smith replied, "Your armor; I couldn't help but notice dent marks on its side. Looks like something had to pound it but hard to make those kinds of marks. I would even say you must've had a disagreement with some local troll..." The mere mentioning of it was enough for the two women to exchange nervous looks between each other.

"Er... yes, something like that..." Lydia replied with a light shrug.

"Well how about this: for seven gold, you let me take a look at that armor, and I'll fix it up right?" Balimund offered.

"You'd do that?" Lydia asked, "Well, in that case I'd be grateful!" She set her shield down at her feet to free both of her hands. They both set to loosing the buckle on one side of her upper armor, when suddenly she felt something on the other end. Her blood chilled in alarm from this sudden, unexpected action, until she turned to realize that it was in fact Siffre who was taking care of the other side.

"Here, let me get this for you..." she spoke. Lydia said nothing, but was grateful nonetheless. Finally, the two women released both the clasps on their respective sides, allowing the armor to slip off from Lydia. Cool, morning air hit her exposed skin in earnest, at least that which was no longer concealed by the armor and its sleeves. Lydia shivered, she was not wearing armor on her upper body anymore, and in its place was a plain tunic. She tried not to make a habit of baring such state of dress in public for too long, despite it not being completely indecent. As long as the work would end up completed, she handed the armor to Balimund.

"Alright, thank you," he said, "This'll probably take a little longer than before, but the results will be nothing less than perfect." With that he turned and walked around his forge, to a nearby workbench. With strikes of his hammer, he began to work, each pound sending echoes throughout the general area. However, each strik was soon drowned out by a sudden loud commotion that was starting to arise.

Lydia and Siffre turned around to see that something was in fact happening behind them. Some people were starting to gather in a small group, facing something close by to the wooden railing.

"Gotcha now, thief!" a single woman's voice rang out.

"What's happening...?" Siffre softly said. She picked her shield back up in her hand, then her and Lydia found themselves reangling themselves for a better view. Eventually, having merged themselves in with the crowd, they could see exactly what was happening. A woman could be seen, her determined face adorned with blue face paint in a war-like design, clad in iron-strapped armor, with a firm grip on someone else. The other person was dressed some strange outfit, brown-colored leather, a hood covering the head, with his arm yanked and held firmly behind his back. He could be seen struggling as hard as he could against the burlier woman's grip, to no avail.

"Let me go...!" he cried out.

"No escape for you this time!" the Nord woman said. By this point, a couple of Riften's guards were appearing in the small crowd that was forming. The leathered man only seemed to struggle harder in their presence, while the woman looked at them with relief, "Ah, guards! Here you are: I've caught one from the Thieves Guild, right here! He was trying to steal from the merchants!" The guards quickly moved to take the man into their own hands, the woman gladly relinquishing her hold on him. It as at this point another woman had stepped forward; in direct contrast to the armor-clad warrior woman, this one appeared smaller, was dressed in extremely finer looking clothes, and her unmarked face held a strange look on it. Almost as if she was disappointed by what was happening before her.

"Thane Mjoll the Lioness... I see you've made yourself busy this fine morning..." the fancy woman said, barely gesturing to the restrained man as if she wouldn't dare acknowledge his presence directly.

"Maven Black-Briar," the woman 'Mjoll' said, her tone suggested unease, "I've caught this thief just now; I'm simply doing what any decent person would've done."

"Indeed..." Maven said, almost dismissively, "Then if you don't mind, I will be taking over in 'escorting' him to his proper jail cell." At the mention of cell, the restrained thief thrashed harder in protest, with the guards holding his arms tighter.

"Actually, I think I would be more comfortable seeing him there personally," Mjoll spoke up, "These thieves can be crafty, after all." Maven looked back at the other Nord, almost mildly surprised that she had spoken up without warning.

"Nonsense, people like him are filth, nothing more," she spoke with disdain when she glanced in his direction, "You've done your job, now allow me to do mine. After all, as we both serve the Jarl's court personally, let us allow each other to perform our duties without hinderances..." When Mjoll hesitated from immediately replying, Maven took it as her sign to move. With a snap of her fingers, indicative to the two guards, the hauled the screaming and thrashing man towards the steps to a large, stone building, herself trailing not far behind.

For the group of people left behind after this display, after seeing the commotion was over they began to scatter, one by one. Mjoll herself let out a sigh, then walked off in another direction away from the stone building.

"That one..." Lydia heard Siffre softly speak next to her, "She wouldn't have had much trouble... taking that man to jail herself..." Lydia didn't say anything, yet in her mind she very much agreed. Was this just how some things were done, in this completely foreign city to her? She was reminded of the fact that this city had an alleged 'Thieves Guild', so maybe this was some strange everyday occurrence here-

She turned to her side opposite Siffre to return to Balimund, when she suddenly seized up in surprise. Someone was standing close to her, facing her, and who also jumped a little in surprise as she did.

"Whoa whoa! I'm sorry!" this woman held her hands up, "I didn't mean to surprise you..." This action drew Siffre's attention as well, who put a stabilizing hand to Lydia's shoulder. Both women now looked upon this random person: it was a woman, a Bosmer by the looks of it, dressed in casual clothing. Her facial complexion suggested she was young, or however 'young' translated to those of Elven blood. She had light brown flowing hair, skin that was a darker shade of brown, with eyes that were widened a bit to show off their singular dark color.

"Ah... it's alright..." Lydia said, catching her breath, "I just didn't know someone was near me..."

"Yeah, sorry again... " the woman said, "Hm, I don't think I've ever seen you two here before... You're not from here, are you?"

"No, we're not..." Siffre softly said, "We were just... passing through..."

"Ah, I see. That's good..." the Bosmer said. She turned her head to where that scene near the town center had just now occurred, "And I guess you saw that, didn't you?" She looked back at them, "It's an... unfortunate part of living here in Riften; really mind your valuables or coin purses, or else you get people like 'him' after you..."

"We'd heard about that, this 'Thieves Guild'?" Lydia said, "What exactly is the Jarl doing about it?"

The woman shrugged, "Honestly? I couldn't tell you exactly. I'm never privy to what goes on up there in Mistveil Keep; it's all above my paygrade. But between you and me, if there are still thieves like that running around... not enough seems to be getting done..." The woman looked at the two, "So... what are your names?"

"Oh, I'm Lydia, and this is Siffre," Lydia said.

"A pleasure, my friends call me 'Gal'," the woman stretched her hand out, shaking each womans' hand, "And I guess you've also seen those two members of the Jarl's court: Thane Mjoll the Lioness, and Treasurer Maven Black-Briar. You do not want to cross either of them on their bad days..."

"Yeah, I can see..." Lydia heard Siffre speak. 'Thane' Mjoll the Lioness? Well, she was certainly looking the part of an abled warrior, even as someone sworn to protect someone else. She found herself smirking; as a dedicated protector herself, she could appreciate that.

"Um, pardon my curiosity, but... what's with your armor?" Gal pointed out, "Or I guess I should say, 'lack' of it?"

"Oh yeah, we were letting the blacksmith repair it when we heard this commotion..." Lydia said, looking down at her front. Normally her being called out for being in an unusual state of undress would be enough to embarrass her, but she was in the immediate presence of fellow women, so it was not nearly so in this case.

"Let's see if he's finished..." Siffre said, subtly reminding the two of them of their present concern. Lydia was quick to give an agreeing nod. As the two of them moved back to Balimund's station, they noticed that Gal was still following them, or perhaps casually walking beside them. Her suddenly appearing at her side, and now her suddenly choosing to walk alongside them? And about as roughly close as last time?

"Do you... um, what do you do around here?" Lydia found herself asking.

"Hm? Oh I work over at the fishery," Gal said, "Was just on my way there, actually; it's that door next to the blacksmith." She pointed her finger forward, to where there was indeed a door close by to where the smithy was. A couple of people were seen entering through that door one by one at the moment.

"Oh, I see..." the housecarl said. She didn't even see that door there the first time they'd gone to the smithy. Was that starting to be a habit now? Not noticing certain things right away while she was in this city? She felt a strange shudder run up her back as she thought.

"Like I said, I was actually just one my way there, until that whole thing happened..." Gal said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder, "Still... Seeing new people here, it's... well, seeing the same people in this same city can get kinda stale, you know what I mean...?"

"If you think that... why don't you leave...?" Siffre asked, earning her a look from Gal.

"Leave? Leave Riften?" she asked incredulously, then shook her head, "No way, I live here! I couldn't imagine trying my luck anywhere else..." By now the three women had arrived back in front of the smithy. Before them, Balimund was still hammering on the workbench a couple of times before he stopped to pause. He then turned around, and his eyes widened a bit.

"Oh, there you are!" he said to Lydia, "I was just about to call for you. Just finished up here; the armor's better than ever!" He set his hammer down then handed Lydia the steel of armor she had been wearing. She took it in her hands to inspect closer; no longer were there any unseemly dents in the side, like there had been. The steel was back to it's perfect shape, with a perfect smooth finish to match!

"It... it looks good! Thank you!" Lydia said with a smile.

"My pleasure," Balimund said, "Now, that'll be... seven gold please." Lydia nodded, the proceeded to set her shield down against her shins again, and passed her armor to Siffre to briefly hold.

"Alright... here you are," Lydia said, handing the gold to the smith.

"Thank you," he said, "Good doin' business with ya." With that, Lydia took the armor back from Siffre, and the two proceeded to place the armor back into place upon her torso in no time.

"Here, here you are..." Lydia heard Gal say, then looked to find her holding her shield out for her to take.

"Um, thank you..." she said, taking it back in her left hand again.

"Ah, I was wondering something else..." Gal said, "You said you two are travelers, but... where exactly are you from?" This strange question caught the two women off guard, and they found themselves exchanging looks with each other.

"We... we've come from Whiterun," Lydia said.

"Whiterun? Wow..." Gal said in a surprised tone, arms crossing over her chest, "Always wondered what that city was like... That's the one with Jarl Balgruuf, the... Greater...?" Lydia was the first to nod, Siffre right after, "Actually, I had a suspicion from when I noticed your sword there; that horse image, it's Whiterun's symbol, isn't it?" In response, Lydia instinctively looked down to her sword and sheathe. She wasn't sure why, just this random urge to make sure it was there at the mentioning of it. Almost as if she'd forgotten of it, or its significance.

"That's right, where this blade's from at least..." Lydia said, patting a hand on the blade's exposed hilt. There was a subtle action in Gal's face as she did that; her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"That must be nice, being afforded weapons by... an honorable sort..." Gal said, her voice slightly lower in tone than how it was before. Lydia found her eyes noting something, upon this woman's face. Her facial features suddenly appeared more... subdued, drawn in, as if she was disappointed with something. Just as quickly, Gal shook her head, returning her face to it's previously joyous state, "Ah, I'm sorry! I... the breakfast I had this morning... it hasn't been sitting right with me, for some reason..."

"Oh, I see..." Lydia said.

"Well anyway... I guess I'll be... on my way," Gal said, proceeding to turn and move towards the door next to the smithy, "Nice talking to you both; be careful on the road!" Lydia and Siffre watched as she left, giving courteous waves after her. The door closed behind her, and the two looked at each other.

"That was, well..." Lydia said, "This has certainly been a strange experience..."

"Yeah, from what we've seen alone..." Siffre said, looking all around again at their surroundings, "But... I think we've stayed long enough... we should probably get going ourselves..."

"Agreed, let's get going..." With that the two warriors rounded the circular wall of the city's center and back along the wooden path they'd walked before. The mist was thinner when looking towards the city's wall compared to looking inwards, so it was much easier to tell where exactly to go, even with it being morning. A Riften guard posted at the main doors gave a curt nod to the two as they opened the massive door on one side to allow themselves to exit.


"Lass? What is it?!" Brynjolf asked, Galadriel leading him practically by held hand alone. She was dragging him to the concealed Thieves Guild entrance at this point. He had no idea what had gotten into Galadriel in just a short amount of time to get her this worked up. Usually that look she sported on her face suggested she was onto some highly ambitious task, or something had managed to rile her up. However, with the narrow look in her eyes, the latter seemed true in this case; something had seriously gotten to her.

"Please tell me Karliah has finally returned to Riften, Bryn?" she asked over her shoulder as she walked.

"Yea, she arrived back in Riften not too long ago," the man replied.

"Good, very good..." she said, "Also... how's your skill with that great-sword these days?"

"My great-sword?" Brynjolf asked. His eyes widened in genuine confusion; just what was going on here? "Lass, Galadriel... why don't you just tell me exactly what's going on here?" Galadriel actually slowed down, and turned her head to look back at him.

"Bryn... you remember that one carriage driver's report, that listed Balgruuf's sword out there?" she said, "And how it was completely unlikely we'd ever see it? Well I was just talking to someone who had that sword on them just a few minutes ago! Likely the same person who was in possession of it!"

"By the Eight... you're serious?" Brynjolf said, "Well then, what happened? Didn't you try to get it?"

"Of course I tried! And I almost did!" Galadriel replied, "Except, those two women, they were probably mercenaries... I don't think the subtle approach is right for this situation. So that's why... I think we'll need the Trinity..." Brynjolf was silent for a handful of seconds, his head tilting in confusion. Then, his eyes widened again with realization.

"Oh... I see..." he said, "Alright then, I'm with you lass; let's go." Nothing more was said between them as they swiftly made their way to Riften's cematary. Thankfully, that Talos priestess Nura Snow-Shod was nowhere to be seen, which would let them do what they needed to do without fear of discovery. They passed by the meaningless gravestones in the open, moving instead towards a singled stone casket, located inside of a small enclosure. Galadriel's hand spread over the front of the casket's engravings, feeling for something, and pressed in on a diamond shape. She then stepped back, allowing the rest to do its work.

With a grinding sound of stone on stone, the casket slowly slid backwards into the wall itself, taking most of the floor with it as well. A new section of previously hidden steps was revealed, and the two hastily made their way downward. Once inside, and walking upon more level ground within, Brynjolf pulled another chain inside, the casket up and behind them closing back in place, concealing them in darkness.


-Again, deep apologies for the huge wait; let me know what you all thought in the reviews, and I'll try to be more prompt in getting the next chapter(s) out as well! Bye bye!-