-Ah, that was a wonderful bath –
I stepped out of the tub and wrapped myself in the towel that I left in the nearby table. I quickly got dressed and stepped back outside, my outfit was a special made set, similar to the dark brotherhood outfit, but showing imperial colors and Shade’s squad symbol, laying on my shoulder; the head of a grey wolf, with a slick shadow motif.
I stepped outside of the bathroom and called out for Brennan, saying it was his turn to bathe. I received no answer, and as I turned my head to the side I could see him sitting in a chair, with his head hung low, sleeping…
I sighed, and then walked over to the balcony, the landscape was a beautiful sight. From here I could see the plains of Whiterun hold, and the mountain standing tall on the middle of it, the Throat of the World. It was truly a wonderful sight, looking up I could see one of the moons, Masser, it’s light flooded the landscape and made a small smile appear on my face.
I decided to go back inside, and laid down on the bed. I was not particularly tired, and I slept light, keeping a vigilant ear for any emergency.
I woke up early the next day, but Brennan was already up. He looked like he had bathed already, and was reading a small book, probably waiting for me to wake up and have breakfast downstairs. He put his book down as soon as he saw me move and shot a friendly smile at my direction. We went downstairs without making conversation. The Jarl and his housecarl, that annoying dark elf were already up and having their meal.
Brennan pulled a chair for me and I accepted his gesture without much thought. Then he wished Balgruuf a good morning and took a seat next to him. I tried to overhear their conversation, but it was mostly troll shit about taxes, the war, and other bothersome topics. I was surprised though, when Brennan asked me to join the conversation. After I pulled my chair closer to them the tone of the talk changed, they were now discussing the dragon.
-We have received information from guards and hunters from around the hold. The dragon seems to have made a nest in a nearby cave. There have been a few sightings, Bleak Falls Barrow, a cave near the top of the Throat of the World, and other locations, we don’t know the beast’s lair, it could be any of these locations. This is why we need your services, track down the beast and kill it. Naturally you will receive assistance from the Whiterun guard, and any other resources you need to rid the hold of this monster – Said the Jarl
-Naturally this will be one of the first times anyone from this time has seen, or as a matter of fact, hunted, one of these beasts. The captain expects the rewards to be, substantial – Said Brennan
-I would not expect anything else, I suppose it is time to put the cards on the table, state your terms –
Brennan handed him a sealed piece of paper, one that the captain prepared for this kind of situation. The Jarl unsealed the paper and read it’s contents out loud.
-Most esteemed employer, if you are reading this letter than you have hired our services and I am not available at the moment. This particular letter deals with the following contract, a dragon. My associates will carry out the deed in the established time and with minor, if any, damages to any personnel or structures that are in the vicinity. The price for this contract is the following, my associates will keep the carcass of the beast and you will provide a letter of credit, stating that you, the employer, will be held by your word and your honor, to provide a specific service, yet to be stated, in return for the fulfillment of the dead. Sincerely, Lucius Capran, Captain of the Imperial Legion a.k.a. The Grey Wolf of The Legion – He said with a small sign of surprise when he read the price – A letter of credit? What is this? I’m ready to pay a hefty sum of gold for taking care of this dragon, but he wants an exchange of favors? This is unacceptable! I can’t even know which favor he will ask for, and I would be honor bound to return it! – He said with an angry expression
-This is the way Lucius operates, no offence but he has no need for your gold, or anyone else’s. Favors though, admittedly being under the table negotiations, are much more profitable for people in our line of work. You see, since the civil war broke out, the Empire has lost footing in Skyrim. The Grey wolf is a name that carries a certain weight, especially in the holds of your country. Our group has solved many situations across the nine holds. Vampires, necromancers, rogue mages, witches, forsworn, magical anomalies and even daedra. These letters of credit are our shield, our way of protecting ourselves with the help of the jarl, in a place where the Empire’s grasp is weakening daily. We are generally attacked by the general populous in a daily basis, of course they praise us when the beast is taken down, but then they start to think. How did they kill the beast? If they can kill those things, surely they are the real danger. The peasants are fickle my friend, we prefer to have these ready to protect us –
-But if you’re going to use this letter as a shield then what is your real reward? I doubt I would not have any use for the beast’s body anyways, if he had not put that request in the letter I would have assumed the corpse would be left to rot. What are you playing at lieutenant? – Asked the jarl
Brennan took a sip of his cup, it smelled like tea, and then he looked at the jarl and smiled.
-Well then, I suppose we have reached a stalemate then, goodbye Jarl Balgruuf, I sincerely hope you can find someone else to take care of the dragon problem, I wish you the best of fortunes and I hope we can do business in the future. Ruby, come with me, we’re leaving – Said Brennan as he finished his tea and got up to leave
I followed him while taking a quick glance at the jarl. He was astonished, frozen with surprise. Brennan signaled to me, and I quickly followed him. When we were about to leave the jarl’s steward called us back to the table. His housecarl had a disappointed look on her face. As we approached, the jarl had a tired a look. He bit his lip and looked up at Brennan.
-Fine, I’ll sign the letter of credit. Of course you will be able to redeem this letter for any favor that is chosen by the Grey Wolf himself –
Brennan smiled and put back his straw hat. He told the jarl that we would be in our room, preparing for the hunt. He signaled for me to follow and led the way.
The preparations were quite lengthy, Brennan spent some time sharpening his swords and carefully applying what he told me was a special concentrated poison that blocked the flow of magika. I did the same to my stiletto, If worst came to worst, stabbing the dragon with this dagger would stop him from using the Thu’um for some time. I took some time to consider the explosives that were given to me: three frost shells, crafted with tripwire shells, akaviri black powder and frost salts coated with netch jelly. And four explosive bombs, made from ceramic impact shells, imperial black powder and fire salts mixed with small pieces of iron, to explode with many piercing shrapnel, intended to kill the target without fail.
I decide that the frost shells would be useless, they would serve well for traps and ambushes, but useless against a flying beast. The jarl said that he would provide troop support, which would mean a couple of soldiers, and a regiment of archers. I had concerns about this though; the dragon hide was rumored to be one of the toughest substances known in Nirn, I doubt that the steel arrowheads that the guards used would do much to the beast, ebony though, makes me almost wish Shade was here.
Thinking about that, Brennan’s scimitars wouldn’t do much, I’ve seen him fight, and he was a monster on the battlefield, probably being able to stand toe to toe with Shade. Between his flash steps and incredible strength I would assume that the he could make relatively short work of the dragon. But his weapons were not designed to kill, nor was his style, he preferred to incapacitate his targets rather then laying the blessing of Sithis upon them. I wonder if that would change in a fight against a bloodthirsty beast.
The sun was already setting, for obvious reasons we decided to search for the beast at night. And now was nearing the time to hunt. I decided against my better judgment to starve myself for today, I figured my vampiric powers would do little good against our prey, so the more strength and savagery I could muster the better. Brennan rummaged through his packs and picked up a large chest, opening it on the table. Inside were a few objects, two large ebony bows, and two pouches, filled with sharp ebony arrows. Ha, he thought of everything…
As he handed the bow and the arrows to me the door slammed open, Irileth, the Dunmer housecarl, stormed into the living space.
-The dragon! It has been sighted attacking the western watchtower! Come with me immediately! – Said the dark elf
Brennan raised his head calmly, and smiled.
-Seems its our time to shine, Ruby, I hope your ready for this…
Comments
enough clues now