Riverwood: Sundas 15 Frostfall
"So," she sat right next to me on the bench, "What're you writing so intently?"
I snapped shut my journal, and winced. "Just a story?"
"Really?" she squinted at me, "What about?"
"Oh, you know," I thought fast, "the Dragonborn?"
"Dragonborn," her eyes widened, "What do you know about the Dragonborn?"
"Nothing?" I just read that one book. I lost everthing back in Helgen, so I had to grab something to read. It was pretty good, though, gave me ideas.
"Am I in it?" she smiled.
"No?" I shook my head, "Why would you be?"
She laughed, "You seem to have taken an interest in me," more like a humorless chuckle, "I saw you, you know, in Whiterun?"
"Oh," I looked around, "ah?"
She put her arm around me, "Relax," grinned viciously. She didn't look that strong, but I realized her elbow was pressing the handle of my sword into the bench, so I couldn't draw it. "We should go talk."
To anyone else, it probably looked like she was being friendly, but I realized I must have underestimated her. "Come on," she took my sword! "You won't be needing this." She propped it up against the door in my room, and leaned back against it. I looked down, at the jagged green blade on her hip, but she just crossed her arms. "Who sent you?"
Softer than the conversation outside, she dropped the friendly barmaid act, and her voice rang like steel. "Uh," I sat on my bed, "Noone?"
"Don't give me that," she opened my journal.
"Hey!" I sat back down when her free hand came down to rest on the pommel of her weapon.
"Hmm," she flipped back to the last pages with ink still drying on it. Carefully pulling them apart, she read it silently. Then, "Maven Blackbriar, huh?" She looked up, "Is she working with the Thalmor, now, too?"
"Who?" I shook my head.
"Oh, come on, who else would send you?" She laughed, "Though it was clever of them to pick a Nord so incredably inept that I'd never suspect the connection."
"No, really!" I shook my head, and crossed my arms, "Who are these 'Thalamores'?"
"You really don't know," she shook her head, "Do you?" A deep breath, and a sigh, "That doesn't mean they can't be using you through Maven, but if you're with the Thieves' guild, maybe I can get some use out of you, after all."
"What kind of 'Use'?" I wondered.
"Stick Around," she left, and I got my sword back. Following her back out, she went in another room, but locked the door so I couldn't tail her after that. I thought about getting out my picks, but everyone was watching me, and even crouching down seemed to make them more suspicious.
Then, that guy came in, looked around, and asked the bartender about "Delfine." He tried to keep his voice down, but even at a whisper, it was deep, and powerful. That was her name, I just waited. After a while, she came back up, and talked to him first. He tried to rent the Attic room, but I looked up at the rafters clear to the Thatch. Idiot.
She gave him another room, and slipped me a note before shooing me off:
Delfine said:
All right, child. You want information, so you can earn it by going to get some for me. Go to Thalmor Headquarters, in Solitude, and see what you can find out about what they're up to. If you survive, and bring me back something good, I might be able to give you some in return. Or, you can return to Maven, and tell her you failed. Up to you.
D
Great. I definitely underestimated her, and she definitely had me. Never mind Maven's my only link to the Dark Brotherhood, she knows them. That means I can run, but with their reputation, how long would that last? Oh well, 2 days was more than enough time wasted in this boring backwater, anyway. At least I could go out, and Do something now...