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Should I continue to write this piece?


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iPedobear

Sexy Bear
This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction. Any constructive criticism is welcome. If you’d like to see more, let me know. Enjoy.
___________________________________________________________________________

“Sweet Mother, Sweet Mother, send your child unto me…” The woman stopped to breathe. She was tired; tired of the evil that surrounded her; tired of the accusations; tired of the constant complaints of thievery; the woman was very, very tired.

“Sweet Mother, Sweet mother, send your child unto me,” The woman began again. A month ago, she would never have thought of executing the Black Sacrament. Even today, she felt that the Brotherhood was no better than the guild. The Brotherhood was not stationed in Riften, however. Besides, it had to be done. Her life was at stake. If no one in the Rift was going to try to stop the madness, she would surely try her best to find someone who could help. She heard feet coming up the stairs. Before she could react, the doors swung open.

“Mother, it seems I’ve broken my sword again.” The Jarl’s son stopped in his tracks, staring at the objects on the ground; a corpse and a heart lay there, lifeless. Next to them were a rather large book, a dagger, and a single nightshade flower. The boy then looked at his mother, who was on her hands and knees, kneeling over the corpse. She looked at her son, her face as pale as snow.

“Mother, is that…the Black Sacrament?” The when the jarl did not answer, he was sure that his mother had performed the taboo ritual. “Who do you intend to have killed, Mother?

“I intend to kill the very woman who has been planning my murder for months. I intend to have l Maven Black-Briar killed, and the corruption in the Rift shall die with her.” The Jarl stood, and walked past her son, down the stairs to the throne room. The boy stood there in disbelief. His eyes wandered around the room until they found their way back to the corpse on the ground. He turned, and followed his mother down the stairs. There was nothing he could do now.
___________________________________________________________________________

The stench of Riften was strong in her nostrils, forcing her eyes to water; it reeked of the sewers; rat excrement and mold. The air was thick, almost difficult to inhale. In spite of its location in the beautiful Autumnal Forest, the city was old, worn, and did not look very “beautiful”. She looked around town for the first time in almost 2 years. It was dark, and she could barely see past the fog. Rats scurried along the pavement in all directions. She looked at Mistveil Keep. How long had it been since she set foot in Riften? Perhaps it had been during her campaign with the stormcloaks. She started toward the keep, her companions close behind her. Maybe it was back when she killed Grelod the Kind at the orphanage. No, no. The last time she had been to Riften was right after the assassination of the emperor. It had been nearly a week since the Night Mother sent her to meet with this contact. Had she not been waiting on Nikka and Shazzar, the two newest members of the family, she may have arrived three days earlier. Hopefully, the contact would be patient.

As they reached the top stair, the redheaded nord turned to her two followers. “I must ask that you two stay out of the keep until I am finished. I am fairly sure that the contact does not expect to be approached by three assassins, and even surer that her guards do not expect for her to have any guests tonight.” She looked at that smaller of the two followers, a young nord girl. “Nikka, I would like for you to go to my home here, and make sure that there is adequate amounts of food and supplies there. If not, use this gold to buy food at the Bee and Barb.”

The girl took the pouch of gold and the key to Honeyside. “Yes, Listener.” Nikka turned and walked back toward the main gate. The redheaded nord then turned to her redguard companion.

“Shazzar,” she started. The redguard seemed to be preoccupied with the sight of Nikka’s rear end. “Shazzar, do I have your attention?”

“Oh yes, Listener. Forgive me. What is it that you want?” The redguard glanced toward the main gate, but Nikka was no longer in sight.

“I need you to go to Balimund, and ask him to sharpen this.” She handed the redguard her daedric dagger. “Give him these fire salts, and tell him that I sent you.tss late, and he may be asleep. If he does not answer, pick the lock.” The redguard nodded, turned and walked toward the town’s marketplace.

The redheaded nord stepped into the keep for the first time in over a year. It had changed dramatically. The fire was out, the room was empty. There was no food on the table. She looked into the Court Wizard’s quarters, only to find that she was no longer there. The redheaded nord silently progressed up the stairs to meet with the contact. Once up the stairs, she was greeted by an older woman, one whose voice seemed vaguely familiar.

“Hello, Katarina,” the Jarl started. “What brings you to Mistveil keep this late at night?” Katarina immediately recognized the Jarl after this greeting. In the two years since they had seen each other last, she had aged tremendously.

“Hello, Laila. It is my understanding that you have a problem that you need dealt with.” Katarina was careful to choose her words wisely, as the jarl’s youngest son was a supporter of the imperials, and while the imperials had no presence in Skyrim at the moment, she did not want to put her old friend in danger of future persecution.

The jarl seemed confused. “A problem? I don’t know where you would have heard such a thing. Everything is fine in the Rift.” Katarina looked at the Jarl. The jarl seemed to be hiding something.

“Nothing is ever fine in the Rift, my Jarl. I am here to help to do the bidding of Sithis. The night mother sent me here to you tonight.” She said this at a whisper. The jarl looked more puzzled than she did before.

“You mean to say that you’re with the… Dark Brotherhood?” The jarl said the last part in a whisper. Katarina nodded, and walked into the bedroom completely.

“Have we got business to discuss, my jarl?”
 

Cerodyn

Dainty Assassin
This is really good ! I like how you wrote it all from a Jarl's perspective. Definitely following this. Great job! :)
 

bulbaquil

...is not Sjadbek, he just runs him.
Very clever. I've had Maven performing the Sacrament on Laila, but not Laila performing the Sacrament on Maven.

(Though it would make sense, if Laila ever got wind that Maven wasn't exactly as "trying to get rid of the Thieves Guild" as she makes herself out to be....)
 

iPedobear

Sexy Bear
Thanks for the feedback.:) I've been working on this for a while now. I've almost got another chapter finished, and it should be up later today.
 

Docta Corvina

Well-Known Member
Yeah, very neat stuff! Well written! I've always sort of felt like Maven was long overdue for a Black Sacrament on her, and this is intriguing me. :D

Please do keep it up!
 

Start Dale

I got 99 problems but a Deadra ain't one.
Yeah keep it up, i'm liking the Jarls perspective and wondering how it turns out. I've been thinking of doing something with the Black Sacrament myself. As yours is involving the Jarl i'm hoping for some Political trickery in the future.

Nice work
 

bulbaquil

...is not Sjadbek, he just runs him.
Yeah, very neat stuff! Well written! I've always sort of felt like Maven was long overdue for a Black Sacrament on her, and this is intriguing me. :D

Please do keep it up!

Yeah. I think the reason a Black Sacrament hasn't been done on her yet is that because before the Listener shows up Night Mother actually returns to the Sanctuary, you still have the Astrid-operated "non-mythical" Brotherhood, which has special arrangements with Maven.
 

Docta Corvina

Well-Known Member
Yeah. I think the reason a Black Sacrament hasn't been done on her yet is that because before the Listener shows up Night Mother actually returns to the Sanctuary, you still have the Astrid-operated "non-mythical" Brotherhood, which has special arrangements with Maven.

That makes sense - I guess I just always sort of thought that a) Maven's kinda old and she could well pre-date the special arrangements the Brotherhood has with Astrid's management (I admittedly don't know the DB timeline well...or, like at all) or b) she'd become killable once the player becomes Listener and all that jazz is sorted out. Because, I mean, seriously. Seriously. Woman has it coming to her!
 

iPedobear

Sexy Bear
Chapters two and three coming.

Chapter 2: By order of the Jarl

Laila stood in the doorway, staring at her old friend. She didn’t seem like the sneaky type. That was irrelevant now, however. The Brotherhood had answered her plea for help.

“Shall we get right to the contract?” Laila asked. She was nervous, her voice shaky.

“I believe would be best, Laila.” Katarina walked around the room, fondling gems and furs. “Whose soul is it that I will reunite with the Dread Father?”

“I trust you remember of Maven Black-Briar, the matriarch of the Black-Briars. It has recently come to my attention that she is not as innocent as she appears to be. Mijol overheard a conversation between Maven and her lackey, Maul, pertaining to my assassination. What’s more, Mijol has evidence that Maven has been working with the Thieves’ Guild under my nose. I wouldn’t dare call Maven out, and put my family at risk.” The jarl sat down on the bed.

“And so you want me to kill the most influential woman in the entire rift, and possibly all of Skyrim?” Katarina laughed at the thought. To kill Maven could quite possibly be more difficult than killing Tidus Mede for a third time. “Surely, you understand the difficulty of this task. Maven has hundreds of mercenaries at her disposal, as well as the Thieves’ Guild. Though they choose not to kill, they are not incapable of shedding blood.”

“I do understand, and I intend to pay you well for your services, should you succeed.” Laila feared she would be rejected. “But my dear friend, do you understand the importance of this contract? If Maven is not killed, I will be dead before South Wind’s Prayer. Maven will take her place as Jarl, and would likely side with the empire, should they decide to come back. Maven is an opportunist; she remains affiliated with the empire, even after they have been removed from Skyrim.” Katarina had not thought about this. Riften was her first home. She fought in the civil war to keep it out of the hands of the empire. She would not see it fall into their hands.

“How much are you willing to pay, my jarl?”

Laila’s Expression lightened. “For Maven’s life, I would trade my title as Jarl of the Rift. For you, I offer 50,000 septims, as well as the title of Thane of the Rift.” This was an extremely attractive offer; more than double the gold she had gotten for the assassination of an emperor, and the title of Thane, a place in the Jarls court.

“Typically, the title of Thane would not entice me,” Katarina started. “But because you are the Jarl, it would be my greatest honor to serve as thane to your hold. The brotherhood accepts your contract.”
_________________________________________________________________________________
Katarina entered her home to find a redguard passed out in the basement, and Nikka reading a copy of Immortal Blood that had been on the bookshelf. The listener sat next to the girl, and opened a bottle of Black-Briar Reserve.

“We’ll be staying here in Riften for a few weeks.” She finished the bottle, and briefly disappeared up the stairs. When she returned, Shazzar was half awake, and Nikka had put the book away.

“Have you negotiated the contract, listener?” Nikka asked.

“It’s obvious that our mistress has set up a contract. Why else would we be staying in this skeever hole of a town?” The redguard chuckled at his own comment, but Katarina did not smile.

“Do not insult my home. This is not how Riften has always been. Riften was once as beautiful as the forest that surrounds it. With this contract, we will help for it to return to the way it was in my youth.” The nord settled down, realizing that she had gotten upset. “Now, onto business. Our mark is a woman of great power here in the Rift. It is a woman who I have known for the whole of my life, and I can tell you, she is no easy target. Her name is Maven Black-Briar. She owns the Black-Briar Meadery here in Riften. A dear friend of mine has asked us to kill this woman, and I have accepted on the behalf of the Brotherhood.”

“I’m sorry,” the redguard started. “Surely you aren’t saying that we are expected to kill Maven Black-Briar? THE, Maven Black-Briar? The woman is an unofficial celebrity. In Hammerfell, her name was known by all, although it was only uttered among the highest echelon of nobles. It would be a mistake to attack her!”

“Why, Shazzar, are you afraid of Maven? It’s odd that you are brave enough to question me, the listener of the Dark Brotherhood, but are afraid to take part in the assassination of a mere diplomat.” She in one swift movement, her dagger was touching the tip of the redguard’s nose. “When you question me, you are questioning our unholy matron.” Shazzar inched away, toward the wall, but with every step he took, Katarina’s dagger followed. A bead of blood dripped from his nose. “When you question the unholy matron, you question the Dread Father. You wouldn’t dare question the dread father, would you?”

The redguard shook his head slowly, careful not to cut his nose on the freshly sharpened dagger. Katarina then lowered the dagger, and the redguard let out a sigh of relief. “Don’t at all think that you have been forgiven. I don’t very much like you, Shazzar. You are here only because your uncle, Nazir, says that you are gifted. In my eyes, you are nothing more than a man with a dagger, far from an assassin.”

“I’m sorry, listener,” Shazzar said meekly. Katarina left the basement. Nikka, who had been suppressing laughter the whole time erupted with laughter.

“How’s your nose?” Nikka wheezed. The redguard was not at all amused. He stood up. “Where are you going?”

“I’ll be at the Bee and Barb,” the redguard said as he walked up the stairs and out of the door. Nikka couldn’t stop laughing.
 

iPedobear

Sexy Bear
Chapter 3: A Lost Friendship – (This chapter is mostly a flashback, and is intended to provide the reader with an understanding of the Katarina’s relationships with Laila and Maven)

“Come on Laila, don’t be a mudcrab.” The smaller, ginger headed girl said. She was roughly fifteen years of age.

“Yeah, Laila! Hurry up!” Said the older of the two. She was sixteen, her hair jet black. The third and youngest girl was running behind them, trying her best to keep up. She was fifteen as well. “Maven, Kat, slow down! You’re going too fast!” They ran through the Autumnal Forest, on their way to Honeystrand Cave. It was so late that it was morning, and the girls could barely see each other. As they reached the cave, Maven walked over to one rock, while Katarina walked to the other. Laila sat down on a rock, trying to catch her breath.

The two girls came back and sat down next to Laila. Katarina handed Maven and Laila each two phials of double distilled skooma (which was not illegal at the time, but was still incredibly hard to come by). Maven handed the others one bottle of mead each.”

“This had better be good, Maven. Last time we tried your mead, Laila contracted Rockjoint.”

“How was I to know that wolves’ blood was not an ingredient meant for mead?” The Girl opened her bottle. “I promise you, this batch is free of any poisons and toxins.” The two girls opened their bottles, and sipped at the mead.

“This isn’t half bad, Maven,” Laila started. “Do I detect a hint of spriggon sap?”

“If I told you, I’d have to perform the black sacrament. I’ll call it Black-Briar Reserve, but I won’t be selling any for a few years. I couldn’t afford to open a business now, and don’t want to share the profits with my father.” Maven downed her first bottle and grabbed a few more. The girls continued to drink the mead, occasionally taking hits of skooma in order to stay awake. There was a loud growling sound.

“What in Oblivion was that?” Laila asked. The other girls hadn’t heard anything.

“What are you talking about, Laila, I didn’t hear anyth—“ A large shadow swiped Katarina across the face, and she fell unconscious.

“BEAR!” Maven screamed. She was too high to fight the bear, and started off toward Riften, leaving Laila and an unconscious Katarina behind. Laila quickly drew Katarina’s homemade dagger, and picked up a bottle from the ground, breaking it over the rock where she had been sitting. She then stood, ready to fight the bear. The beast swung at her, missing, and instead hitting a tree branch. She slashed at it with the stone dagger breaking its skin. She then threw the bottle at the bear. The bottle missed, and the bear slashed at her chest, knocking her to the ground. As she fell, her head hit a rock, and Laila fell unconscious.

Katarina began to stir. As she opened her eyes, she saw no one. There was no sign of Laila or Maven. She slowly rose to her feet, her head pounding. She felt something warm on her face, and brought her hand to touch it. “Blood.” She thought. She looked around for her attacker, but saw nothing. She then turned to return to Riften. As she began to walk, she stumbled over what she thought to be a log. When she looked back, she found Laila, covered in blood, motionless. Tears rushed to her eyes. She couldn’t leave the body of her best friend lying in the forest. She picked Laila up, and carried her back to the gates of Riften.

As she walked up to the gates, she heard her father’s voice. Her father was a town guard., who was working at the main gate for the night. He did not recognize his daughter with her face covered in blood, missing skin.

But he did recognize Laila, The jarl’s daughter. “You, there! Stop. By order of the jarl, you are under arrest for the kidnapping and assault of his only daughter, Laila.” Before she realized what was happening, she was in binds.

“Buhh Dahddeh…” she tried to speak, but her mouth was full of blood. Her voice was distorted. There would be no way of convincing him that she was his daughter. He had a brief discussion with another guard, and then left for the keep, carrying Laila. The other guard walked her to the keep as well, but led her to the dungeons. Katarina, for the first time in her life was afraid.

She remained in her cell for 3 days. She had to get out, but there was no way she could escape without fleeing or being punished. She tried telling the dungeon guards who she was.

“I’m Katarina, the daughter of Skjarp and Gisla, a resident of Riften.” She would say, but the guards would ignore her. Surely her father would come looking for her; she hadn’t been home in days. But after the fifth day, when no one came looking, she decided it was time to leave. She had hidden a lockpick in her hair; well, she hadn’t hidden it, but the guards failed to find it when they searched her. She picked the lock with ease, and silently opened the door to her cell. She snuck up the stairs to the weapons rack. “How convenient” she thought to herself. She grabbed a sword, and proceeded to the exit. Once outside, no one tried to stop her. She couldn’t return home to Honeyside; the guards would surely search the town for a fugitive. No, she would have to leave the Rift. As time passed, and she began to feel more and more alone, she started to hate Maven more and more for not being there with them that night.

___________________________________________________________________________

The nord awoke from her dream. She had forgotten about her anger at Shazzar; there was no time to be upset. They had to start planning immediately. She walked out of the door to the right of her bed. Outside on the balcony were Nikka and Shazzar, both eating sweetrolls.

“Mistress,” the redguard began. “I hope that you will be pleased to hear that I have information for you.”

“What kind of information?”

“Maven will be giving a speech at the Riften New Life Festival, right after the Jarl. We can make our move on her then. A public assassination.” The redguard said this proudly, his head held high. Apparently, he had forgotten about last night’s incident as well.

It was the 24thof evening star. That meant that there were six days until the start of the new year, when The speeches would be delivered. That gave them six days to prepare; it was perfect.

“Let’s start planning immediately then, shall we?
 

Start Dale

I got 99 problems but a Deadra ain't one.
More!
 

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