Fredas, 1st of Sun's Dusk 2E401 Noon
Malborn
"Poke out your eyes, lad, pour lead in your ears.
These sails portend madness, dark horror, and fear.
Abandon your losses, your ships, and your gold.
Blood on the water, Velehk this way comes."
There are some days where it's easy to forget the trauma of my past, live in the present where things are… not great, but at least tolerable. Other days, it's impossible to close my eyes without smelling the burning trees, seeing the strung-up corpses.
"A noose from the rigging a plank from the boards,
Do yourself in, don't try at crossing swords.
Mercy's not a shipmate among that heartless horde.
Blood on the water, the Pirate King comes."
Today is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I'm here for Delphine's plan, waiting for whatever poor sod she's hoodwinked into her latest scheme. Hard not to think about why I became a spy when I'm on spy business.
"Stout Empire Galleon or swift Elven Skiff,
They every one splinter and just as soon sink.
But only after crew and captain have their fun,
Blood on the water, your days are done."
On the other hand, the Winking Skeever is in a fairly jaunty mood, especially for mid-day. Thanks to the bard currently belting out Pirate King of the Abacean for the lunch crowd; apparently he'd been here for a few days and captured more than a few admirers with his talents, a cut above the usual apprentices from the Bard's college. It certainly helps keep my mood tempered, though I have one eye and ear open for someone else.
"He'll tear your gut and he'll eat your heart raw.
His eyes gleam red, his heart will never thaw.
Mark well these words, you quaking babes.
Blood on the water follows Captain Velehk Sain."
The tavern erupts into applause and cheers as the bard finishes his song with a flourish and a bow. I add to the din enough not to stick out among the fawning crowd, but inwardly breathe a sigh of relief as he seems ready to take a respite, plied with coin and drinks alike. Good, I can focus on finding my mark now. My Ashfire Mead sits untouched on the table in front of me. I doubt he snuck in without me seeing, and everybody in the tavern are regulars; no strangers waiting in any dark corners waiting to make a move. Ugh. Ius is testing me. It figures Delphine would send someone with no sense of punctuality. If he isn't here soon, I'll have to head up to the Embassy empty-handed, and he'll have to make do without my help. Well, at least no one has tried talking to-
"Ho there, friend!"
What did I do to agitate you, Ius? "Can I help you?"
The bard - because of course it had to be the bard - takes the seat next to me without so much as an is this taken? with a drink in each hand; one pint of whatever Vinius has on tap today, which he places on the table in front of me, the other around a bottle I can't quite read from my seat. "But of course! You can help me drink one of these!"
"Thanks, but I already have some of my own," I say, gesturing to the drink on the table in front of me. "And besides, I happen to be waiting for someone."
"Oh! My apologies, good mer, I didn't mean to intrude." He seems genuine enough, and doesn't actually smell or look terribly drunk. A little tipsy perhaps, but still conscious and aware enough to pick up social cues. "Merriment is my trade; I saw someone in the corner alone and thought I would check on them, is all. Plenty enough dread in the world outside these walls, a reprieve from that world can be a balm for a weary soul."
"Well, while not needed, it is appreciated. Though at this rate, it seems I might have been… stood up, as it were."
"A tragedy is what that is…?"
Not a terrible risk giving my name here. "Malborn." And my cover story with Delphine was, in fact, that I was waiting for someone and being stood up, to explain my long solitary wait at a tavern.
"Talao is mine. I'm sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience. I only hope nothing has happened to them."
"Mm, possible, but I doubt it. We were set up through a friend of mine and she has a knack for picking out the cream of the crop," I say, with a very significant eyeroll.
He smirks, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Well, I hope, for your friend's sake, that's all it is. I thought the same myself a while back, but… No, sorry, it's not something I should bring up here."
"Why might that be?" Part of me is still surveying the room and watching the door, but each passing moment makes it more unlikely, so I might as well enjoy the company, charming as it is. "The Winking Skeever is a safe enough place, no criminals listening through the walls like you might find in Riften."
"Less the tavern so much as the city, Malborn. And certain… political groups that make their home here. I thought he'd just forgotten our meeting, only to find out he'd…" He clears his throat, stopping his retelling in its tracks.
Well now, if this is where I think it's going… "Let me guess. Thalmor crack squad?" He nods, eyes glancing around in suspicion. "Don't worry, no agents here. Vinius doesn't look kindly on magical espionage any more than mundane."
"Still dangerous things to be saying, let alone thinking, in Solitude. I've heard they can plumb the depths of your mind with but a passing glance."
"Thankfully, no. I'd never be able to work for them if they could. Not after what they did to my family." At his incredulous look, I smile back. "Where better to place yourself for some revenge than right under their noses?"
"There's nothing I'd like more than that," he says with a wistful look.
Why not? "Well, truth told, the person I was waiting for was supposed to help me with something tonight. It'd be dangerous, but if you've the mind to do something…"
"Yes, Malborn, I think that'd be just fine." He then pops the bottle in his off hand, takes a swig and then places the Ashfire Mead down on the table, rotating it to match my own untouched bottle. "Our mutual friend sent me, after all."
"You have got to be… YOU'RE who she picked?" Words cannot encompass the frustration coursing through me right now. "Is there any particular reason you deemed it necessary to waste my time so thoroughly for the last hour?"
"A few, actually, all very good reasons." He takes another swig of the mead, his tipsy demeanour long gone, while I contemplate wringing his neck. "First, I was establishing my cover as a bard of renown, with a tasteful ear for songs that are equally appealing to any audience regardless of political affiliation. Y'ffre forbid I burst into Age of Oppression in the middle of the Thalmor Embassy. Our mutual friend laid much of the groundwork for my invitation, but the Thalmor agent who WAS in here yesterday would have confirmed to the Ambassador that I actually existed. Second, Delphine said you might be a bit hard to convince of my capability to perform the task set before me, and the best way I could think to demonstrate my charming ways was firsthand convincing you that I was a potential ally. I had a bit of help knowing who you were in the first place, but you can't deny it was effective."
It's hard to deny, although… "Elenwen isn't exactly the most trusting person; in fact you could say she's probably one of the most paranoid of the Thalmor, being stuck here in a province she despises in every way."
"Of course! No doubt she'll be a tough nut to crack, but while not every Thalmor is cut from the same cloth, they do all use the same pattern, if you catch my metaphor?"
"Close enough. Any other reasons?"
He grins. "It was a lot of fun."
"Of course it was. I thought it was Ius testing me, but instead another disciple of Y'ffre decided to have some fun at my expense. What could I have been thinking?" I sigh, but my frustration has abated enough to move on; I really was short on time by this point. "What have you got for me? There's a shipment of Colovian Brandy that I'm taking to the Embassy soon, should be enough cover for anything short of a set of plate armor you need me to smuggle."
"Nothing so unsubtle, Malborn." He hands me a small rucksack from which I hear the gentle clack of potion bottles. "Care with that; everything should be well insulated, but I still wouldn't go throwing it around."
"Shouldn't be a problem; no one will think twice about me treating a case of alcohol gingerly to avoid any breakages. I'd ask what your plan is, but… I think the Imperials refer to it as operational security? The less I know the better."
He nods in approval. "Nothing should go wrong, if I play this correctly, but we all know how long a plan survives contact with the enemy. Not at all."
"One way or another, Talao, I wish you luck. For my sake, if nothing else."
"Ha!" The smile on his face is genuine, and I'm glad he doesn't take offense to my desire not to be tortured by the Thalmor if our plot was exposed. "Worry not, I assure you the Dominion abhors my existence more still than yours, even before what I have planned this evening. Y'ffre guide you, Malborn. See you on the other side."
With a hurried farewell, I leave with the package, headed to my rendezvous with the party shipment. The ride back to the Embassy is long, and my mind inevitably wanders back to the fires that haunt my dreams, but this time I imagine them engulfing the Embassy, screams of the Thalmor replacing the screams of my friends and family. "Soon, everyone. Sap will be paid with blood. I promise."
A/N: I want to stay away from personal notes on these stories, but we did recently hit over 100 follows and favorites! It seems like small potatoes compared to larger fanfic communities, but I wanted to thank everyone who has been keeping up with the story. I appreciate your views, your reviews, and every person you share the story with. I've also done some minor editing to all the chapters up to this point, cleaning up grammar and spelling errors, formatting, etc. Nothing that you really need go back to read, but it should be a more consistent reading experience now.