Skyrim Unbound: Profit and Loss

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Evesa sighed a little at Ryti's statement. How could a girl get to be seventeen and still not know how to use a bow at all?! Granted, the mercenary was much more skilled now, at 24, than she had been at seventeen, but she had been training for over a year at that time. No wonder this weak little thing had been captured as essentially tribute to the Empire and Altmeri Dominion.

"Well, you can kill an animal with many methods, but ranged attacks are easiest. That leaves ranged spells and bows. Ranged spells from the Destruction school are fun, but they can leave the pelt singed, reducing it's quality. Life Drain spells from the Restoration school could also be used, but they tend to make the meat taste odd, at least to me. So for hunting, that leaves bows and arrows. Do you already know how to skin and clean an animal carcass into pelts and meat?" the mercenary explained as they continued walking.

For the moment she forgot that Ryti was essentially her prisoner, and only thought about imparting her hard-earned knowledge, just as the same knowledge had once been imparted to her. The discussion would also help her to understand if Ryti had any other skills besides cooking and herb gathering. If this shy halfling was to be a decent assistant, she would have to train her. But of course, deep down Evesa knew that she could not bring Ryti up to her own level. She still needed to be able to overpower her when the time came.
 
Ryti nodded at Evesa's question, before remembering that it was dark, and she was walking behind the mercenary. So she added a quiet "mmhmm," before swallowing. It was true enough that she wouldn't get in trouble for it. She had never had to skin anything except rats for herself, and there was no need to keep that pretty. But she had temporarily worked for a butcher in the Imperial City, until one of his other apprentices framed the quiet girl for some meat supplies that went missing. She had been shown how to work with the small animals, how to remove a clean pelt and work through the muscle to get clean cuts. It hopefully wouldn't be that much of a stretch to work it on anything that Evesa caught. She also doubted that the mercenary would allow her to take first shot at the carcass, which meant that Ryti would have at least one chance, probably more, to watch and mirror Evesa's technique.

She couldn't help but wonder what plans Evesa had to teach her. The mercenary did not seem to be one to stay in one place long enough to teach Ryti anything more than basics. She had given Ryti permission to carry one of the Imperial bows that had survived the dragon attack, but Ryti could do little without any arrows or training. Would the mercenary even allow her to buy weapons once they reached Falkreath? She had earned some money from the journey, hopefully enough to give her a decent chance at buying some supplies. Ryti wanted to be able to survive, but the only thing that had kept her safe on the journeys was the fact that she had constantly been under escort, first by the soldiers, and now by Evesa herself.
Once more, Ryti entertained ideas of trying to find a way to get away from the mercenary. Surely there was someone in Falkreath who would take on an apprentice, if only for a short time. But whomever Ryti went to would have to contend with the mercenary. If Evesa would even bother to fight to try and keep her...
 
Evesa just barely heard her companion's assent and was pleased with it, though she knew that only seeing the girl actually perform the task would allow her to determine Ryti's true skill. It was evident, even to someone as self-absorbed as Evesa, that the young woman was so afraid of her she would say anything to avoid the woman's wrath. The thought sent a mild pang to the mercenary's chest, which she quickly dismissed. This was Skyrim; if this weakling could not toughen up and stop being so sensitive, she would die anyway. Perhaps it was best for her to be sent to the mines, for the work would strengthen her and she would be fed enough to survive.

They walked along in silence for two more hours, slowed only by Evesa's occasional unexplained stops to pick flowers or herbs for alchemy potions, and occasionally to catch a passing butterfly for the same purpose. Finally, they reached the gates of Falkreath and entered unimpeded by the guards.

The town was small, only a few streets, but it had an inn, a bank, and a couple of shops that would allow Evesa to lighten her load, and perhaps Ryti's too, if the mercenary was in the mood.

"So this place is supposed to be near a big graveyard, and legend says that Dark Brotherhood assassin's Guild headquarters was once nearby. So everything's been named with dead man's puns that make me cringe," Evesa mused to Ryti as they entered the aptly named "Dead Man's Drink."

"Wait out here with the stuff," Evesa commanded as she removed her heavy packs and put them beside Ryti off to the side of the inn. "I won't be long." Without another word, she strode around to the front of the establishment and let herself in the door, a bell tinkling overhead to signal her arrival.

"How much for three nights?" she asked the innkeeper as she pulled out her smallest change purse. If you showed how much money or goods you really had, many of these shady innkeepers would overcharge you. Many of the sweetest people in the world could turn into downright crooks when they saw a few thousand gold. Despicable.


"Sixty gold, twenty-five a night, but if you are staying for three or more, you get a discount down to twenty," the female red-haired innkeeper replied. Evesa sighed, but did not attempt to haggle. She was far too tired from the walk, and sixty gold was not that much money. After paying the cash, she walked back out and met with her new servant.


"Bring the stuff in and then I'll pay you for the past two days. We are in room four. You can have a key when you finish as well," the mercenary commanded coldly, picking up two packs and leaving her assistant to load in the rest in a few trips.
 
Ryti let out a silent breath of relief when her dark eyes finally caught a glimpse of the walls and roofs of Falkreath through the trees. She past by the guards warily, keeping her eyes locked forward, all the while wondering what they would have to say about the burden she and Evesa were carrying. But they passed through the gates without so much as an additional glance, the guards only nodding slightly, used to the sight of heavily burdened travelers. They knew as well as anyone that the wilds of Skyrim were not a friendly place, and if you didn't take whatever you found you might not be able to survive the next time you left the secure walls of the city. Ryti, however, still burned with a touch of shame at the memory of the thief's blood that had spilled all over her hands.

When they finally came to a rest and Ryti was ordered to wait, she unstrapped the ropes that were cutting into her hips and shoulders, and let the bags fall to the ground with much less care than she had the last time the two had been granted a brief rest. She sat down next to one of the bags, curling her knees up to her chest, and leaned backwards into the bag. Something hard and moderately sharp pressed into her back, but she shifted slightly to the side and the thing vanished.

For one minute she let herself go limp, uncaring of the road dust that would coat her light armor. She was already a mess, and it felt far too good to relax. The few Flakreath guards who were wandering the streets at this hour cast her unusual glances, but none of them interrupted her. She was not in the way, so they would tolerate her.

She got quickly back to her feet as the door to the inn banged open, revealing Evesa. Nothing in Ryti's expression gave hint to the fact that she had been sitting; it was as bland of an expression as ever. Of course, it was doubtful that the mercenary would really be all that upset, but Ryti was not willing to take the chance.

Ryti nodded at Evesa's words, surveying the three bags which remained sitting before the inn. She quickly balanced the options, weighing pros and cons. On the one hand, if she took all the bags at once, she would be done that much faster. Ryti was not particularly fond of making trips, as her childhood had taught her that anything you leave unguarded would not be there when you returned to claim it. On the other hand, it had been enough of a struggle to carry two of the bags. If she took all three of them at once, who knew what kind of trouble she would get herself into. Still, taking them all at once seemed well worth the effort.

She tested all three bags with care, weighing them and trying to figure out how best to distribute them over her small body. Finally, she returned her first two bags to her shoulders and prepared to lift the third in her arms while carrying it to the room.

However, just as she was about to do so, she felt a gentle hand slip onto her shoulders, and relieve her of one of the packs. She spun wildly, fully prepared to tackle whatever thief was trying to walk away with Evesa's bags, when she was stopped dead in her tracks by the sight of a whimsical, smiling face. She quickly dropped her eyes, far too uncertain to let the stranger see the Mer-blood that was so distinctly written into her features. However she did catch a glimpse of a fine-boned face, a woody complexion, golden eyes, and hair the color of maple leaves in autumn.

"That is quite a load you have there," the Bosmer commented good-naturedly. "Let me help you with it."

Ryti shook her head violently, her eyes still lowered so that she could only see the elf's boots.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to steal anything," he told her. "I'm a scribe, over at the Thane's residence. If anything is missing, you know where to find me. Just ask for Lidell. What is your name?"

Ryti, still refusing to look up, stubbornly shook her head again.

"Don't say much, do you?" Lidell said, his voice warm with a smile. "But I must say, you have the most stunning eyes."

This was unexpected enough that Ryti unconsciously looked up from the ground. There was indeed a smile on Lidell's face, something warm and soft and entirely foreign. "We don't get many part-Mer up in Skyrim," he continued, "but they weren't as uncommon down in the Valenwood.

"You shouldn't be so ashamed of your heritage. People aren't the most forgiving, but only a fool would miss your beauty."

Ryti blushed. The idea that someone might use flattery to try and get what they wanted from her was an entirely foreign concept. She knew only that people tried to take what they want, and had never possessed anything of enough value to make someone try and flatter her to get her to lower her guard. Luckily for Ryti, Lidell was nearly as honest as she was, and he meant every word he said.

"Where are you staying?"

"Room four," she whispered.

"She speaks!" Lidell said, feigning surprise, but not the pleasure. "Why don't you hand me that other bag, and we can get you to your room in one piece."

Suddenly remembering Evesa, and wondering what the woman would say if she knew that Ryti had handed over their bags to a stranger, Ryti shook her head, dropping her eyes once more and holding out her hands for the bag. Lidell seemed to get that this was something more than distrust, because his next words were soft and firm. "Don't worry, I know how to look out for myself. Even if you were traveling with a sabertooth, it wouldn't get a bite out of me." And then, with that, the young Bosmer turned and marched away towards the inn, leaving Ryti to carry the other two bags, but keeping the third to himself. Ryti quickly picked up the last bag and hurried after him.

The inn was quite this early in the morning, but there were still a few men, lounging sleepily about on the tables or near the fire. Ryti hurried after the retreating back of Lidell, her eyes wide. However, he did not barge into the room. Rather, he set the bag down gently next to the door, and turned to face her one last time.

"You have some fine bows in there." He said, politely refraining from asking her where exactly she got them. "Do you know how to shoot?" Rtyi shook her head, but kept her head up. She had already admitted that once this evening, and the first time to someone a lot more intimidating than Lidell.

"If you have the time, come and find me. I'd be glad to give you a few pointers." And with that he was gone, leaving only a hint of golden color, and the warmth of his smile. Ryti stood dumb for a few moments, before shaking herself out of her reverie. She picked up her bag again, and gently slid the third into the room. The ghost of a smile danced across her lips.
 
Given the callous way that Evesa had treated her scared employee, one might think that she would have completely derided Ryti for daring to allow a stranger to touch her bags. And perhaps she would have, had she actually seen Lidell. But her door was closed, and he stayed on the outside. Quite apart from that, she was tired, far too tired than she wanted to let on the Ryti. Subconsciously, she trusted the small girl to bring all of the stuff in without running off, if for no other reason that Ryti was clearly too afraid of the mercenary to try anything.

The small inn room had two one-person beds, both made of hay and furs each with a pillow made of feathers. Evesa had already chosen her favorite, and was sitting down and taking off her boots and armor when Ryti arrived. As she sat on the bed, cleaning the Elven cuirass, leather greaves, glass gloves, she heard the little girl come in.

"Set the stuff down and I'll give you your gold," she ordered, pulling out one of her several coin-purses. She generally carried around a thousand gold with her at any one time, depositing the rest into the bank to avoid any bandits snatching all of it. But of course, she currently still had all she had recovered from the guards, the dragons, and the thieves.

When Ryti finally came over, she handed the girl another 90 gold. Though it had only been a day or two since she had paid her, she did not want to get behind. The least I can do is let the the little halfling have some spending money before I sell her to the mines, Evesa thought with a pang of guilt she would not acknowledge, even to herself.
 
Ryti couldn't help but let out a tiny sigh of relief when she realized that Evesa had not seen Lidell, and therefore did not know that, willing or not, Ryti had allowed someone else to touch the bags. It took her three trips to get all the bags into the room, and she couldn't help but hope that Evesa would not think it strange that all three were waiting right outside the room, when it was clearly a strain for Ryti to carry even two of them at a time. Luckily, it seemed that Evesa's thoughts were otherwise occupied at the moment, and after laying them at the feet of the beds, she sat down rather limply onto the single bed.

Her eyes were heavy, and now that she knew she was not going to have to walk any further Ryti could feel her body nearly giving up. She had not had to carry so much weight in a very long time, and she could already feel the desperately sore ache building in her back, shoulders, and legs. Ryti could only barely keep her eyes open long enough to receive the gold that Evesa was handing her. She set it down on the side table without even giving it a second glance, completely unaware of the fact that it was nearly tradition to count the money at this point. Instead, she curled up on one side of the bed, her back pressed against the wall, and closed her eyes. In an instant, she was asleep.
 
Evesa disapproved of the way this naïve child handled her gold, without caring to even put it away. But alas, it was her money, and truth was, Evesa was tired too. Despite herself, the mercenary smiled lightly as she watched Ryti drift off to sleep. For all her naivety, the little halfling was a good helper. Ryti had not gotten under any of the blankets when she had fallen asleep, the poor child had been apparently too exhausted to bother, so Evesa grabbed a light blanket from their pack and draped it over her.

Then she too got back under the covers and fell asleep.

~*~*~

The next morning, Evesa awoke even before Ryti, and decided to begin work on selling her goods. But of course, a good salesperson always kept his or her stock organized. It was simply more professional. So, she emptied two of the seven large bags, and sorted through it, separating potions, dragon bones, and organizing the weapons in terms of condition and ability. There were several weapons of dwarven, elven, and glass types, but mostly lots of iron and steel swords and imperial bows.

Evesa had already taken the weapons and armor that were upgrades for her, leaving her with an Elven cuirass and greaves, a pair of ebony and glass daggers, a glass sword, and a glass bow. She had cleaned these items immediately, but none of them had been improved yet.

It took another hour to organize everything else just from those two bags, and by the end of it, the dark elf had her smithing work cut out for her. She decided that first she would go through and sell the iron and basic bow items that were hardly worth bothering to improve, not to mention the potions that would be useless to her, and that that alone would likely clean the local smith and general goods store out. Then the rest of the day could be dedicated to the work of improving the remaining items.
 
An unfortunate history with being woken rudely by anyone who happened to find her sleeping ensured that the moment Evesa began to stir Ryti was awake as well. Her eyes flew open, and she immediately curled in on herself, expecting shouts or a boot to the side, which was how she had been awoken nearly every morning on her journey north from the Imperial City. For a moment she lay there shivering, but soon the warm feel of the bed cut through her nerves. Her eyes opened slowly, just in time for Evesa to dump one of the packs onto the floor, quickly to be followed by the second one. The girl nearly yelped, but instead only pulled in tighter on herself.

It took nearly fifteen minutes before she was ready to uncurl from her rather secure fetal position. Any other time she would likely have been out of it much faster, but the fact that Evesa was not paying any attention to her somehow led her to stay there much longer than was strictly necessary. Eventually she did fully uncurl, glancing briefly at the gold and weapon on her bedside table, before turning to watch Evesa.

It was clear that the mercenary had a fairly high familiarity with almost everything that was in the bags that she and Evesa had carried down to the city. Ryti watched her with her lower lip lightly clamped between her teeth, afraid that the mercenary was going to ask her to help. She could likely guess at what Evesa was doing, and mimic it fairly closely, but the mercenary seemed to be doing a very precise sorting. Perhaps that was why Evesa left the girl alone for another half hour, while Ryti remained lightly perched on the bed, watching Evesa sort with something very closely resembling fascination.

When Evesa was nearly done sorting Ryti moved over to the other side of her bed and lightly picked up the Orcish dagger. She returned to the side of the bed closer to Evesa, and offered her the dagger hilt first. Her intention wasn't exactly clear, but as soon as Evesa took the dagger Ryti intended to pick up one of the Glass daggers, which was sitting on top of the pile at the foot of her bed.
 
Evesa ignored Ryti's cowering, deciding that she could not care less whether the girl got up or not, at least for now. She needed no help with the organization, as this was one of those tasks that could only be made more complicated if she had to give the girl instructions. So she finished her sorting quickly, ending up with a pile of relatively heavy but inexpensive items. The next pile consisted of weapons and armor, from least to most valuable, that could be improved, but for now Evesa only took the first.

"Ryti, come with me or don't, it makes no difference. But if you want to come, stay out of the way," she ordered apathetically, nodding in Ryti's direction as she grabbed a full, but well-organized, bag and left the room.

The local smith, a large Redguard man named Cain, was working when Evesa approached him. She patiently waited for him to finish, and then greeted the man.

"I have some wares to sell," she commented mildly, meeting his eyes with a practiced stare.

"Oh joy, another damned adventurer. Half the stuff you guys bring to me is junk that's barely good for resell or scrap metal. And you always bring so damn much of it, and expect me to buy everything as if I'm just here to amuse you and give you money. You aren't the only character around here, you know."

"What makes you think I'm an adventurer?" the dunmer mercenary asked mildly, an eyebrow cocked.

"I know the type, arrogant, half the time have some poor lackey around, and bags full of stuff to hawk off. Even without your armor on it's obvious, lady. Now what have you got."

Evesa shrugged and began to remove her carefully sorted piles of weapons and armor, all relatively cheap pieces The useless potions, junk, and jewelry that she left would be for the general goods store down the road.

"I'm interested in selling the weapons and armor," she commented. "What will you give me for them?"

"They aren't worth much, but I'll give you a thousand for the set. They'll make good scrap at least."

"Cow shit, the set is worth at least two thousand."

"1500 and not a septim more."

Smirking slightly, Evesa nodded and pushed the large pile towards the shopkeeper. Nothing in this pile even exceeded steel quality, and she was sure she could negotiate the use of his forge for the day to work on the more expensive pieces that were worth the repair materials.

But first, she pulled out a few dragon bones, enough to make Cain intake a breath of interest.

"You might at least be one of the competent ones," he muttered after a moment.

"In this business, the competent ones are the ones who manage to stay alive," the mercenary retorted with a serious note. "Anyway, I'd like to know if you can make these bones into a sword and bow for me, or if you know anyone who can."

"Now now, that information doesn't come cheap. And anyone you find will charge a large commission. Dragonbone weapons are the best, but they are not easy to work with. Only a master smith can do it, and that kind of skill costs a lot to hire."

"Where can I find a smith that can do it?" The desire for an answer was far more evident in Evesa's eyes than was entirely prudent in a negotiation situation.

"That's going to cost you a hundred," Cain answered, a smirk across his own dark face.

"Thirty now, and seventy more if the information is actually good. I dont even know what you have," the dark elf pointed out coldly.

But Cain was certain of the value of his information and nodded at the request, so Evesa counted out thirty coins from the 1500 he had just given her and placed them on the table.
 
For a moment, Ryti actually contemplated remaining in the room while Evesa went to conduct her business. It was doubtful that the girl would find anything valuable in the experience, and it was likely that remaining close to Evesa would put the girl in the direct line of fire, at some point or another. But, if she stayed behind, she was more than a little uncertain as to what exactly she would do. Somehow, Ryti doubted that she had permission to fully wander away. "Leave the room"was a very different proposition from "don't come."

Ultimately, Ryti went along because she was not used to having nothing to do. Back in the Imperial City, every day had been consumed with the basic necessity of survival. On the march north it had been much the same. Having free time was such a foreign concept to her that she did not feel comfortable allowing it to happen.

Maybe later, if she was lucky, Lidell might spot her, and recruit her for... something. Something that would ultimately conclude in archery training. Surely Evesa couldn't keep Ryti next to her forever?

Once Evesa turned and began to leave the room, Ryti scooped up the glass dagger that she had been eying while Evesa sorted. She slid it carefully into her waistband, wondering how long it would take for the dark elf to notice its disappearance, and what she would do when she found that Ryti had it. But the scuffle with the three bandits on the road to Falkreath had taught her that she was going to be relying on her weapons more and more, and if all she had to protect herself was a dagger, she wanted to make sure it would do as much damage as possible.

The smithy was only a few houses into Falkreath, although on the other side of the street from the inn. Ryti watched the smith from outside the porch, peering through the gaps in the railing as she crouched nearby. Evesa seemed content to completely ignore her, and memories of the last time she had been in a forge kept her from drawing too close.

What did completely shock her, though, was the site of so much gold changing hands so easily. In Cyrodiil, her days had been measured by gold, but they were numbers so small as to seem completely worthless to Evesa. On a good day, she might get eight septims. On a bad, one or two. It would be enough for a loaf or less of bread that her and her mother would share in the late afternoon. The idea that information could be worth a hundred septims nearly caused the girl to cry.

She clung tightly to the railing, as she listened to the blacksmith's response. Guaranteed that he would now have a captive audience, the smith was settling into storyteller mode. It was rare that people wanted to listen to him, so he was determined to weave a tale worthy of awe. Almost all of it would be true, too.
"The greatest master of Dragonsmithing also happens to be the closest. Or, at least, he was the closest up until a couple of months ago.

"Tristore Rodyrick had been training as the Jarl of Markarth's personal blacksmith since his twelfth year. They say that he and the at-the-time soon-to-be Jarl Kjarik were as close as brothers. He has mastered dwarven smithing by his fifteenth year, and from there it was impossible to stop him. For a time he was renowned as one of the best smiths in the land."

Cain paused for effect, waiting to see if there would be any kind of reaction from Evesa. She, however, was too used to the art of storytelling to give him the satisfaction, and she could sense the but coming as well as anyone.

"Were it that simple, he would be the smith you would want to craft your weapon. Could you find him, he would be able to create the best dragonsmithed weapons and armor this side of the border."

There was a moment of silence while Evesa waited for the continuation of the information. Soon, however, it became clear that she would be forced to ask. "Where can I find him, smith?"

"That's the thing. No one knows. They say, two months ago, he stormed out of the Keep and flew away on the back of a dragon he summoned with a horn he had crafted from the beast's own claw." There was a finality to his words. The story was over.

Evesa stared at him a moment longer, before turning and walking off the porch.

"Now, hold on a second." Cain called after her. "What about my gold."

"I asked where I could find a smith who could craft with dragonbone. Not to hear some story."

"Fine. You want to know all the smiths who can craft dragonbone? Everlynn in Riften can. So can Olhn in Winterhold. I'm sure that Serje in Solitude could whip something up as well. But Tristore is by far the best, and, judging by the stuff you sold, you are going to be heading to Markarth anyways to sell the rest of whatever you managed to scavenge off the dead. It isn't my fault that the best is missing." Cain held out his hand.
 
Evesa paused only for a moment before taking out her change purse and counting out 85 septims. Added to the 30 she had given the smith beforehand, it was 115 for the information, a tidy enough sum, and more than they had agreed upon. Cain gave her a confused look.

"You're a decent storyteller," was all she said in reply. "Maybe you missed your calling as a bard." Smirking slightly, she turned away as if to leave. "Hey, do you mind if I use your forge tonight? Perhaps when you're at dinner or after you go to sleep?" Cain rolled his eyes, already doubting the sincerity of her praise, but he acquiesced.

"Yeah, it's free between high noon and 2 pm today, and after 8pm tonight until 6 am in the morning. I'll need to charge you for the fuel though. How's twenty septims a day."

"How about fifteen?"

"The coal is expensive, can you provide your own?"

"Oh, alright, twenty then, although that's more than most charge," she fibbed, rolling her eyes. Still grumbling slightly, Evesa handed him the last of her coins and walked off the porch. Even spending a total of 135 on the information, she had still made 1365 in profit, and that was nothing to sneeze at, especially since her bartering had only just begun.

She crossed back over the street with her bag and turned to Ryti. "We are having breakfast soon, then I'm going over to the general goods store. You can come with me if you like, but you don't have to. I do, however, expect you to meet me at the forge to work from noon to two. It's will be hot, but you get used to it. We are buying breakfast from the inn, but I want you to fill up our water skins in the creek now. Trust me, we will need them working a forge in the hot sun. As far as the afternoon, well, expect to have some work, but I'm not sure yet. I want to see how the morning goes first, and let's just hope there's not a damned dragon attack or something."
 
Ryti nodded quietly as she walked down the path behind Evesa, her eyes slightly misted over as she thought about the story that the blacksmith had spun. She had always enjoyed sitting and listening to the bards that wandered the Imperial City, even if she had never had anything to give them, and they would stop playing if she was the only one there. A small spark of curiosity as to the nature of the fight between the Jarl and the master smith had formed within her, and it wasn't going to be put out any time soon.

As they ate a light breakfast, Ryti studied her mixed feelings about going back to work at a forge. On the one hand, it was probably the only thing here that Ryti could do with a moderate level of skill. She might actually be able to hold her own against Evesa for a change. Although it was unlikely. On the other hand, Ryti's small body made it almost impossible for her to maintain any sort of weight intensive labor for long. Blacksmithing was one of those, and while she had a decent lung for movement after the march up here, she was also weakened by the constant movement and lack of good food. Not that she had ever really had good food.

Ultimately it did not matter. She would do what she could, and every strike of the hammer would speak to the grace of Zenithar. Ryti was not above honest labor.

By the end of the meal, Rti had also decided to accompany Evesa to the General Store. Ryti was not sure what was going to happen to her after Evesa managed to sell all of the goods they were carrying, but on the off chance that she would be sent out on her own Ryti was going to need to know a little bit about bargaining. She had never gotten the opportunity to learn as a child, so she would have to try and learn now. Watching a few bargaining sales wouldn't necessarily help her learn much, but it would be better than nothing.

She devoured the food that Evesa provided for her quickly, while being careful to devour every crumb. Far too often in her past, Ryti had found that people enjoyed taking away that which was offered. She had never given the mercenary a chance to make that decision when it came to her food. She made sure that she had aten every portion of it before Evesa could be done herself. It may have been unnecessary, but that was not one of the risks she would be willing to take.
 
Evesa was not a slow eater, and she would have imagined that someone as tiny as Ryti would take much longer to eat than she did. But she was surprised when she glanced over and saw that Ryti was finished first. Hmm, she must be more hungry than I realized. Poor thing is useless in a lot of ways, but she really doesn't complain at all. Quickly finishing her own plate, she called the tavern waitress over.

"Inara, two small bowls of apple oatmeal please, one for me, and one for my companion. And I'll take some refills on our orange juice glasses when you get a chance. We have a lot of hard work to do today," she requested, in a cavalier, but polite tone.

"Right away," was all the twenty-year-old, red-haired tavern wench replied. She loved it when adventurers came to town. They were big spenders and they usually had awesome stories to tell around the fire. Quickly, and with a genuine smile, she grabbed the pitcher of fresh-squeezed orange juice, and poured both women a new glass.

~*~*~

It was only about fifteen more minutes before Evesa and Ryti finished, and Evesa paid for both of their meals, plus a fifteen percent tip. Overall, she had spent about 60 gold on brunch for both of them, but they had eaten a rather large meal, which was always a great luxury after several days on the road. Besides, Ryti was a thin as a broomstick, which would be a hazard when she was doing hard labor in the Solitude mines. The least Evesa could do before turning her back over to the authorities would be to at least feed her well.

That last thought created a pang of guilt. She rather liked the girl, and though she knew nothing, the half-breed seemed open to learning. A companion was useful in this line of work, someone to watch your back, to help you carry stuff, to bury you if you died. The only problem was the idea of splitting the profits. That idea made Evesa cringe almost as much as the idea of giving her new acquaintance over to the mines. But perhaps she could change at least the old plan without actually increasing Ryti's pitiful wage. After all, as far as the Empire was concerned, she had died with the other prisoners in the dragon attack. Besides, the Empire was notorious for not paying out well, especially if they had any excuse not to. The loss of the other prisoners was certainly enough, and Evesa would have enough money without the few thousand gold.

It was in those few moments, as Evesa grabbed the bag of goods and strode over to the general store, that she decided she liked Ryti's presence enough to at least not sell her into slavery. There was no great moment of the girl saving her life (after all, that alone had done little to sway her decision), no touch of love, just a simple decision that the intangible benefits of a cheap companion were more valuable to her than the unlikely chance at a few thousand septims from an unreliable payer. That was a far cry from wanting to pay her an equal share of the profits, or even a fair wage, but it was something.

That decision logged away with little emotional attachment, Evesa stepped inside the establishment.
 
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Ryti glanced down in surprise at the bowl of oatmeal that was sat down in front of her, before picking up her spoon again. She made it about halfway through this second bowl before she began to feel a tightness in her gut, telling her that she had eaten far more than she was used to eating. The last time she had felt like this was several months before she was taken away from the Imperial City, a couple of years after her mother's death. A street rat had broken into a noble's mansion, and Ryti took the opportunity to sneak into the gardens. She had nearly made herself sick on apples that night, but it had been well worth it.

Just the same as then, Ryti kept eating until there was not a scrap of the grain left in her bowl, even though she could feel a churning in her gut. She gulped down a couple mouthfuls of juice, hoping this might help settle her stomach, before burping faintly. Hunger was a remarkably uncomfortable feeling, but she had forgotten that being over-full had its own pains to go along with it.

She stood up carefully, any line of discomfort wiped off of her face. When Evesa walked out of the inn, Ryti fell into step behind her. The girl kept her head bent slightly forward, but that did not stop her eyes from flitting from point to point and person to person. Her natural habits as a street-rat were never far from her mind, but she kept her fingers laced carefully behind her back. Right now, her actions affected not only herself, but also Evesa.

The General Goods store was small compared to the ones in the larger cities, but it was well-stocked, both with supplies and gold. The moment the door opened the Nord woman standing behind the counter immediately looked up from her records, a slightly forced smile plastered across her face.

"Good day," she replied, her eyes skimming over Ryti to lock onto Evesa. The woman quickly assessed her face and armor, and it didn't take long for her to reach the conclusion that Evesa was an adventurer. The town was small enough that it was easily possible for everyone to know everyone else, so a new face with even moderately nice armor was to be taken as an adventurer. That meant a whole new set of rules when it came to sales.

"Come to restock?" She asked politely, closing the book and quickly stowing it under the counter. "We just got in a new order of healing potions, as well as other important supplies."
 
Ryti seemed to eat as though she would never have another meal, and that fact was more than a little depressing to Evesa. Still, there was no reason to say anything. She would work hard to keep both of them fed, but there were never any guarantees on the road, so it was good to at least try and feast while they were in a town with a low cost of living, and therefore, relatively low prices at the inns. Then again, there was a reason she was only selling her cheaper junk here.

She could not help but roll her eyes as the shopkeeper's demeanor changed upon notice of her light armor. On the one hand, it was comfortable to her now, and it was good to be lightly armed in case of an emergency, for instance if a trio of dragons happened to randomly attack you. On the other hand, it made things more difficult to blend in. She would need to remember to wear some of her more "normal" clothes next time.

"I'm largely here to sell," she replied calmly, to the obvious eye-roll on the part of the shopkeeper. Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone hates adventurers, but let's face it, we are the main ones who replenish your stock. It's hard to get a good delivery system out here what with you idiots not letting the Khajit in, and the fact that half of the other caravans get attacked and raided. "But I'm also looking for some decent potions and anything you have in the way of non-perishable food. Oh, and soul gems if you have them. I've been working on my enchanting skills in my spare time," she answered, eliciting a bit more of a calm demeanor from the woman.

The negotiations went quickly, with Evesa selling some of her cheaper potions, various books and other odds and ends, and a single gold ring, mostly to sweeten the deal. The more valuable weapons would be improved and sold primarily in Markarth, though she would not begrudge Cain buying a few if he liked her work. The rest of the jewelry, an item Evesa loved to find because it was light and valuable, would also be sold there. In any case, the adventurer traded what she considered "excess weight" for a few healing potions, two soul gems, some vegetables and dried meat, and still made a profit of about 400 gold. For the shopkeeper's part, she had a few commodities which she could sell for more than she'd paid. Both sides considered it a rather fair deal, and Evesa left the store, expecting Ryti to follow.

Without bothering to explain herself, she went back to their room in the inn and dropped off the goods they had received, and then picked up her coin purses that she had left in small locked chest. Between the money from the sales, and the coins she had picked up from the corpses of soldiers and dragons alike (why did dragons need money anyway?), she had over five thousand septims, a nice picking for any thief or bandit that came along her way.

A few minutes later, they were walking through the doors to the small Falkreath branch of the Imperial Bank, and Evesa motioned for Ryti to stay out of the way while she took out a quill and filled out a deposit slip on some blank parchment.


Name: Evesa Dirac
Amount: 5,000
Method Earned (for tax purposes): Dragon Attack, selling wares
Occupation: Adventurer

She rolled her eyes at the procedure as she strode up to the banker and handed him the bags along with the slip. Then she waited for what seemed an hour as he counted out the coins, as if she were totally incapable of doing so herself, or at least would be dishonest. Well, that was at least a real fear. It was times like this that she wondered if the idiotic Empire would ever start minting these in larger denominations.

When he was finally finished, the banker gave her a slightly shocked look, as if to say "Wow, it's really there," but he maintained his professionalism and wrote out a receipt for her. Rolling her eyes, Evesa took the paper and strode out, staring ahead. Her account balance was actually higher than some of noble birth, but she had earned every penny herself. Besides, she was having too much fun to stop just yet. Maybe in a few more years. Besides, she enjoyed learning various skills. An adventurer had to be sort of a jack of all trades, and she could not deny that she had learned fighting, smithing, and even some sorcery, just in an effort to stay alive. Fear of death could be an excellent motivator.

"Time to work on the forge. That bastard would give us the hottest time of the day. I have half a mind to say 'fuck it" until evening when he leaves. But I need the time to teach you, and we can bathe afterwards.
 
Ryti watched everything both Evesa and the shopkeeper did with an attention that was born from needing to learn absolutely everything form the actions of other people. No one was willing to teach a street rat how to sell a piece of bread or a necklace, or how to get a good deal on a potion or piece of armor. They preferred to just look over her. But such skills were going to be, no essential, but at least highly necessary in whatever life Ryti was going to find for herself at this point. Her future was still in the air, she did not know where she was gong to stay, or what Evesa was going to try and do to her, but someday she would be responsible for everything she did. Bartering was gong to be a part of that.

Ultimately, Ryti learned little from watching Evesa, but she knew more now than she had this morning. Almost certainly she would still get completely ripped off if she tried to purchase anything on her own, but maybe she would be able to save a piece of gold or two.

Evesa and Ryti left the shop and moved back out into the street, Ryti keeping close to Evesa's heels. Ryti was a city-rat in the end, and was not unfamiliar with the workings of cities. there was no doubt that the Imperial City was far bigger than this town of Falkreath. But Evesa moved with the confidence of one who had been here before, and knew exactly where she was going. Ryti could profess no such knowledge. They passed by the hall of the Jarl, and Ryti looked through the door. To her surprise, she saw Lidell staring straight back at her. For a brief instant they simply stared at each other, before his face twitched slightly in surprise and pleasure. IT was clear he thought that Ryti had come to see him. Ryti maintained eye contact for only a split second longer, before her eyes dropped away. She could almost imagine Lidell's face fall as he saw Evesa, and the clearly subservient attitude Ryti possessed around her. Maybe that was just as good. Having him around would do her no good.

All through the time they were waiting in line, Ryti's mind kept going back to Lidell. She had never seen someone who was so very interested in getting to know her. The real her. There had been guys who had given her attention before, but she had quickly learned that they did not want to know her. All they wanted was... her. But she could feel that Lidell was different. He was genuinely interested in her, half-breed blood and all.

But the forge was waiting, and there was no time to think about the past or the future. The present beckoned her attention. The call of the forge was surprisingly sweet.

To Evesa's obvious surprise, Ryti proved competent. Her thin arms put her at a definite disadvantage in any job that required strength, but she pushed through stubbornly, finding creative methods to ump the bellows that she had learned back whens he was even smaller. there were a couple of times where a curt comment was required to prompt Ryti in the correct direction, but once she was told something once she almost never needed to be told it again.

Slowly the pile of weapons requiring alteration began to fall in number, while the collection of upgraded weapons grew.
 
Evesa and Ryti worked for two hours, and by the end of it, Evesa had improved half of her small stock of Orcish, Dwarven, and Glass weapons. She still was not very good with Ebony or Daedric types yet, and would sooner break the valuable items than fix them. So she shied away from those out of habit. Still, she knew that the more she practiced and studied, the better she would get. Until then, her improvements made her hundreds of septims worth of extra gold.

As she worked, she had tasked Ryti with stoking the forge, bringing a few more weapons from their room, and returning the improved items. So things went more efficiently than they might have otherwise. Having a lackey around to do the ancillary work was incredibly useful. There was less clean up to do now, and they packed up quickly, leaving the forge cleaner than they had found it. The work had gone so well that she was very annoyed as she remembered just how many weapons and pieces of armor she had left buried at the site of the dragon attack, along with a great many bones and dragon hides. The thought of someone else finding the treasure that she had risked her life for nearly made her cringe.

That being said, both of them were covered in sweat and grime from working in a hot environment in the hot sun.

"You did good work, thanks," Evesa began as they reached the hotel room, completely oblivious to how rare it was for her to compliment anything Ryti ever did. She handed her forty gold pieces as well. "That's your pay for today, plus a bonus for helping me in such annoying conditions. I don't know about you, but I'm going to go bathe in the river, and perhaps look for some alchemy ingredients while I'm out. I would not mind your help, especially since you seem to know your herbs, but I won't force you to join me. Be back by seven if you want dinner, and then we will finish our work with improving what's left, starting at 7:45. Lock the door behind you when you leave."

As she spoke, the adventurer was taking a change of clothes to change into, after her bath, a simple tunic and a pair of slacks. She had removed her armor well before the improvements had started. Taking up the new outfit, she left the room and the inn with only a bow, some arrows, her shortsword, and a dagger for protection. It seemed, outwardly at least, that she did not particularly care whether Ryti followed or not.
 
Ryti took the gold delicately, but held it in her hand after Evesa walked away, uncertain what exactly she was supposed to do with it at this point. The weight of so much gold was unfamiliar in her hands, and eventually she simply dropped it onto the bed, listening to the sound the pieces made as they hit the mattress. She stood there for a moment longer, thinking about nothing other than Evesa's last instructions.

Eventually the girl let out a quiet sigh and turned towards the door. She rubbed a dirty fist in the corner of her eye, let out a small yawn of weariness, but knew that she was going to follow Evesa anyways. It wasn't as though she really had anywhere else to go, or anything else she could do. Ryti was a shadow on Evesa's quest, following, aiding, but ultimately insignificant. What was the dark elf going to do with her as the days wore on?

Ryti carefully closed the door to the room behind her, and checked the knob to make sure that it was locked. She left the inn quickly; if she hurried she would still be able to catch up with the adventurer before she left the boundaries of the city and Ryti was forced to wander through the woods alone. However, she was brought to a sudden halt by the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. Ryti let out a surprised yelp and whirled around, folding in on herself as she prepared to take whatever next piece of unpleasantness was coming her way, only to find herself greeted by Lidell. His face was almost as surprised as Ryti's, and he quickly pulled his hand away.

"I'm sorry," he said, his head dropping slightly in embarrassment. "I shouldn't have grabbed you like that. But I couldn't think of any other way to get your attention. You..." he grinned sheepishly, running his fingers through his hair. "You never gave me your name."

"Rytinyian," she replied, unable to meet Lidell's eyes.

"Your name is beautiful," he told her sweetly. "But, Rytinyian, you are a mess. What have you been doing?"

"I was working at the forge with Evesa."

"Evesa," Lidell repeated, his lip briefly curling back in disgust. It was clear that he had formed his own opinions about the adventurer, and they were not particularly pleasant. But Ryti, her eyes still downcast, failed to notice the expression. "So that's her name."

Lidell looked down on the thin girl, and his face softened. "Well, it doesn't seem like Evesa needs you right now. Why don't you come with me? I can get you into the bathhouse, and you could get cleaned up."

Now Ryti looked up, her eyes wide with surprise. She was met with Lidell's rather sheepish smile, and she hesitantly returned it with one of her own. Lidell's grin grew wider, and he seemed to take her smile for acceptance because he reached out, lightly grabbed her hand, and began tugging her away. For a moment Ryti resisted, uncertain that she truly wanted to go with this man, but a moment later she relaxed and allowed herself to be pulled away.

It wasn't, she thought, as though Evesa would miss her presence.
 
[BCOLOR=transparent]Evesa noticed that her assistant was not with her, but had not particularly expected the girl to come in the first place. So she stalked off and traversed a fair mile to the nearest large body of water, a small lake. Grinning, she removed her clothing and stepped in, enjoying the feel of the freezing water after working for so long. However, she found herself looking back at her weapons every five minutes to make sure they had not been taken, and glancing around to make sure that no one had an arrow or a pair of peeping eyes trained on her. Still, she washed her clothes and laid them out in the sun to dry, and they were nearly dry before she stepped out of the pond and donned them once again.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Next, she began to wander around near the lake's shore, searching for potion ingredients and placing them in her satchel, careful as always to keep them well organized. After all, it was not as thought there was some kind of magical organization system to do that for her. It should have been an incredibly boring task, but Evesa found it rather peaceful, given the excitement over the recent few days. Even so, she found herself mildly wishing she had ordered Ryti to come along, since the teenager appeared rather skilled in finding herbs, at least for cooking. She wondered if the girl was a budding alchemist as well. After all, alchemy began in the kitchen. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The dunmer adventurer was quite fortunate that afternoon. She was completely left alone. No wild animals came to attack her; no thieves or bandits approached her belongings, and not a single magical creature attacked, neither dragon nor spriggan. It was a blissfully uneventful day. She alternated between swimming, picking herbs, and catching a few fish to dry out for their travels. When she returned to the inn around 6:30 PM, her satchel was chock-full of ingredients, both from plants and fish scales, and her arms held six medium-sized salmon, already gutted and cleaned, ready to dry out into some nice jerky pieces.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]It was when she started cooking the fish meat on the inn's stove that she realized her assistant would be much better at this job. But alas, she had told the girl that she could have the afternoon off, so she could not very well be angry at her for not being present.[/BCOLOR]
 
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The bathhouse was a small, warm, humid building tucked away among some of the houses of Falkreath. When they walked in Lidell walked up to the counter, handing over a token to the attendant behind the counter. The nord took it, gave it a cursory glance, before gesturing the Lidell should enter the door to the left. He shook his head, before gesturing at Ryti. For her part, Ryti had hesitated before entering the building, and even now she remained hovering by the door. Her lanky, filthy hair hung in front of her face, hiding her eyes from sight.

For a moment it looked as though the bathhouse attendant was going to object, whether it was because of Ryti's general filth or because Lidell was using one of the Jarl's tokens to get someone not directly under the Jarl's employ in, but eventually the man took pity on both Lidell and Ryti, and gestured for her to enter the room to the right. Lidell guided Ryti to the door, before pushing her gently through. She glanced back at him, wild eyed, but he gave her an encouraging smile and Ryti vanished into the steaming interior.

The room was empty, and filled with several small pools of steaming water, heated and circulated by a giant fire underneath the floor. Ryti shed her clothes somewhat reluctantly, before slipping into the water. She nearly winced as the hot water scalded her flesh, she had never taken a bath in anything but cold water before this moment, but her body quickly adjusted and she found herself relaxing in the quiet, steamy interior of the bathhouse.

Slowly the grime from her journey from the Capital City fell away under Ryti's efficient ministrations and the healing power of the hot water. Her hair slowly untangled, falling in a wet wave down her shoulders, nearly to the middle of her back. Without the dirt it lightened from the muddy brown, and the dark red tones within it began to reflect in the dim interior light.

Ryti didn't know it, but, if one could get past the anomaly of her dark mer eyes, she was an incredibly beautiful creature. The fine nose and high cheekbones of the altmer blended naturally with the rich fullness of breton lips and jaw. Without the dirt of travel the scars on her body became more noticeable, but so did the sweetness of her face.

When Ryi finally emerged from the bathhouse, even wearing the prisoner's clothes and ill-fitting leather armor, Lidell's jaw dropped in surprise.
 
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