-Go easy on him Brohn, I don't want him dying just yet... -
This idiot, he has the godamm nerve to call himself a mercenary. In the tavern he was a hero! Telling stories to woo the bar wenches, about how he single handedly defeated Shade and his assassins! The most dangerous man in Tamriel! Listener of the unholy matron! And now he spits his teeth and begs for mercy....
It started this morning when we walked into Riften. The guard was being clever and asked for a toll to pass into the town, I was in a good mood, so I indulged his desire, giving him enough money to plough his way into oblivion for the next few weeks. But then I remembered that he did not rightfully owned the money he received, so I kindly took it back from him, along with the other tolls he took during the day while I passed by. Now that I had my paws filled with coins it was time to gather information on the local tavern. We were stopped yet again, this time by a Black-Briar thug, wanting to sell information. That was lucky, otherwise I would have to spend all day looking for a crook to sell me information, but one just walks in front of us and makes himself available.
-Listen here cat, this town belongs to Maven Black-Briar, they got the thieves guild on their back so you better not do anything to disturb her.- said the nord
-I’m not here for trouble, my name is Dar'ruk and my associate here is Brohn, we are bounty hunters from High Rock sent here to capture this man.- I said as I handed him the wanted poster.
-I don't quite remember him, maybe I saw him the other day, but who knows?- said the information dealer, gazing lazily at my coin purse.
-Sigh, maybe this will refresh your memory.- I said as I tossed him a couple of septims.
He then unfolded the guild documents that contained the descriptions of our targets, while putting his payment on his own pocket. He analyzed each paper thoroughly, seeing which info he could for the paid price and counting to see how much more he could extort from me. The first paper contained the drawing of a nord girl, dark hair, pale complexion, yellow eyes and wanted for murder in Kvatch, 6000 septims. The second described another woman, rich red hair, breton, dark orange eyes and wanted for conspiracy and treason, 30000 spetims, and the last poster contained only the detailed drawing of a mask, it seemed ancient, like the ones used by the dragon priests of legend, it was colored with a pale fading blue, and had eyes that seemed to close, but behind that a dark red was seen, to represent the eyes of the target. This one was titled as Shade, 40000 septims and a lordship over an estate in High Rock.
-The girl is known as the butcher of Kvatch, accused of deadra worship, deadric rituals, deadric artifact possession, murder, and cannibalism. I have never seen the redhead in my life, neither heard of her, and for the mask, well, that costs extra...- saying the words I expected him to say, I gave him another handful of coins and eagerly awaited his response.
-That mask belongs to Shade, the infamous leader of the dark brotherhood, I’m surprised that they offered such a large reward for his head, but how large is it if you will never have to pay it?- that was not the answer I was looking for.
-I paid you enough already, give me details.- I demanded
-All I know is that many tried to pursue that mask, and those who returned, came back insane, with the only response to anything being "those eyes, those eyes", eventually they died though.-
-Cause?-
-Stopped eating, drinking, sleeping and eventually died, either naturally or suicide. There is one young lad who claims to have faced Shade and lived, in my opinion its mostly sweet talk to attract young ladies, but behind lies there is always a bit of truth - he said, I gave him an extra coin for the good word and left for the bee and the bard alongside my menacing companion. We were already attracting whispers and stares, so I told Brohn to hurry and get inside.
It was not hard to find the object of attention inside the bar, as he was surrounded by bards, travelers and young ladies who wanted to hear how he defeated Shade in a single handed duel. We kept our distance, but continued listening, as he went on about how he was afraid at first, but when Shade made the mistake of accepting his duel's terms instead of using his eyes to invoke madness on his challenger he knew that winning was now only a matter of time. He described his own fencing skills, which surpassed Shade's own sword fighting abilities. Describing how well he kept his posture, and how his opponent’s greatest mistake was not wearing good armor to fight such a prestigious duelist such as himself. He then approached the climax of the story, how he managed to disarm the assassin and step in to wound his hand, then he proceeded to describe how Shade begged him to allow the victor to keep his mask, as he had completely drained his energy on the fight, and would not be able to defend himself with his eyes, not only that, but also that the winner was so handsome he felt completely ashamed of his own horrible disfigured face. I kept listening for a while, looking for the truth behind the lie so to speak, and finally decided to approach him.
-Hello young man, me and my associate here were looking for clues one the whereabouts of these criminals, they are all wanted by the will of the imperial court and we are part by the blade runners guild of High Rock, bounty hunters so to speak, and our job is bring them to justice.- I said as I introduced myself and my partner.
-Well I'll be glad to help such noble officers of the law such as you gentlemen. Lets see... The red hair girl I’ve never seen before, this beautiful young woman, I read about her in the Black horse courier, such a pity that a fine young lady like herself is such a dreadful criminal capable of these acts of carnage. Wait a moment, I know this mask! I was just telling my courageous tale about how I defeated this man in a just duel for the life of a young maiden who suffered the terrible fate of being a target for the dark brotherhood!- he said, telling me exactly what I was expecting.
-I was not quite listening to your tale of wonder young sir, would you care to give me a smaller summarized version, but please focus on the details of this man, his appearance, his fighting style, his armor, his weapon...- I said, now desperate for a source of information.
The young man did not cower before my questioning though, and went into great detail about a numerous amount of things that very much confirmed that he had actually seen the infamous assassin, even if most of his story was false, he mentioned the mask in great detail, even how it irradiated magika, he mentioned the armor, black like midnight with the goat skull emblem, the ebony falchion, and the fact that he wielded it backwards, pulling the sword from the scabbard on his lower back and using his signature style, where he drew his sword into a precise slash that was rumored to pass through armor like if it was paper. All of the facts were there, this kid had seen Shade, even seen him fighting, but what was he hiding? I thanked him for the story and signaled Brohn to rent us a room for the night.
It was very late, Brohn knew how to move quietly, even with his immense size. We took the sleeping storyteller and brought him outside, into the ratways and deep enough that his screams would not be heard. When he finally woke up he seamed rather surprised to see us, and began blubbering something and reaching out for where his dagger was supposed to be, only to find empty air.
-You must be wondering why I brought you to this little corner of town, don't bother screaming, no one will be able to hear you anyways - I said, that did not stop him though, as he cried for help at the top of his lungs. Brohn was quick to fix this though, as a direct kick to the gut made him shut up and gasp for air.
-I don't know what you are talking about... Gasp... I admit it, I’m just a storyteller, a bard! Don't you have those in your homeland? - he asked desperate already.
-Oh, we do, but they are usually liars, and I was unusually convinced by your tale of wonder... Don't try to hide it, I doubt that you fought Shade, but you saw him fight, you saw HIM! WHERE IS HE!? - I shouted the last part, beginning to lose my patience.
-I don't know what you’re talking about.... - he pleaded
-Brohn, remind him of my question! - I barked at the orc as he began to give the young man the punishment of a lifetime
-please... no more... I'll tell you... - he said spiting out more blood.
-He helped me... I got attacked by bandits in the road to Riften and he appeared... he and his partner told me to stand back... while they massacred an entire bandit clan I watched amazed... when he finished he grabbed a letter from the leader... he told me to be careful on the road, and that this bandit was worth quite a bounty... he said "seize this opportunity young one, I have no use for him now"... his partner than whispered something to him and they left...- he was almost losing consciousness, but I was so close now!
-What did the other one look like?- I asked in a rushed tone.
-He was a knight, with a shining armor of quicksilver steel alloy, it was very bright, a mirror shield with a perfect reflective surface, and a shining sword, that looked like it was forged by Meridia herself... - he whispered the last words as he took his final breath and fell into the arms of Arkay.
-This is good, we have a description, as well as a confirmed sighting - I said.
-I have faith in you cat, what now? - asked my partner.
-We play the waiting game, set up a base here in Riften and expand our search with the contacts of the Black-Briars, from my understanding Maven has quarrel with the brotherhood and would surely aid those who would search for them...
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