I am Lena Wolf, Lena's life as it happens Options

[Lena Wolf]

12 Second Seed, 4E202 - Thieves Guild - Travel plans

"Fathis Ules - Master Thief, top fence; J'baana - Master Thief, master of security; S'krivva - Shadowfoot, doyen; Othrelos - Shadowfoot, master of covert affairs; Orrin - Shadowfoot, high level fence. That's the entire top of the Thieves Guild, plus the Guildmaster, of course - the current Grey Fox. And Corvus Umbranox." Lena was going through the list. "There are plenty more members, but I don't think we can eliminate all thieves in Cyrodiil, and neither should we wish to."

"Agreed" - Lucien nodded. "How close are you to completing?"

Lena shot him a glance.

"You know how close I am - these deaths are not exactly low profile" - she smiled. "But fine, have it your way: Fathis Ules - 1 Sun’s Dawn, Othrelos - 8 First Seed, S'krivva - 5 Second Seed, J'baana - 11 Second Seed. I released the wraith of Sithis in Umbranox' abandoned house on 15 Morning Star, so it's been nearly four months. The last two deaths being so close together should make him think it'll soon be him, but no, not yet."

"In particular with J'baana hiding in the Imperial City prison" - Lucien smirked. "But of course you've been there on several occasions already." He paused, reading through a parchment. "Lady Umbranox wishes her husband 'to suffer the anguish of being hunted for at least six months before he is killed' - it says here" - Lucien read from the contract. "You are on schedule" - he smiled.

They sat sipping their wine for a while, each making notes and looking through more papers.

"What did the Night Mother say about this contract?" - Lena ventured a question that's been bothering her for a while now. "It requires publicity and is remarkably vague on detail."

"The ultimate target was clear from the start, so she couldn't refuse" - Lucien frowned. "I had to negotiate adequate compensation, considering the breach of privacy for the Dark Brotherhood - we are not the Skyrim assassins. But the Night Mother approved that you should be the one to handle it, given your previous work in Anvil - she is fully aware who it was that provided that anonymous tip on the identity and whereabouts of the real traitor."

Lena looked up in surprise.

"But how did she know? I was in hiding from the assassins all the while..."

"And yet you tracked down the traitor. She knows." Lucien was watching Lena across the table, pondering something. Then finally he asked: "Why did you do it?"

"To clear my name" - Lena answered automatically.

"No, why did you really do it? Not the official version, please" - Lucien smiled.

Lena sat back in her chair, lifting her eyes from the papers to meet Lucien's, still watching her.

"He had to be stopped. Everyone at the Sanctuary was being hunted, and you disappeared - in hiding or exile, I didn't know, but it wasn't good. The others didn't know the details, so they couldn't help, and I couldn't find you, so I had to act on my own. Until someone gave me that anonymous note suggesting to investigate a certain address in Anvil..." Lena broke off, seeing Lucien shaking his head. "What?"

"Not how you did it, but why?"

"Oh..." - Lena looked confused. "I never thought of that... I couldn't not do it."

Lucien felt that she was holding something back, but decided not to press her any further. He sensed that it was something to do with the Sanctuary, with himself, perhaps... He watched Lena across the table, thinking of the time when she just joined his group, so very young, yet determined, a vampire, but dealing with it, not giving up, not turning into a beast. She was an assassin, but not just that - she was more, so much more, like her mother. Lucien didn't know her mother very well, but from what he knew and heard, the resemblance was striking, and not just skin-deep. He couldn't help but take an interest in this young half-Breton half-Nord brought up by an Argonian from an early age... But surely she was too young for him. Back then - yes, but now? She kept coming back to his fort, he wondered why. She never checked to see if he was there, and sometimes he was - cloaked in chameleon, he moved silently, yet she must have noticed. She never showed it if she did. She would spend the night there, sometimes touching him in her sleep. Was she aware of that? It seemed she wasn't.

Two hundred years was a long time to wait, she said. Perhaps. Lucien wasn't just sitting and waiting though - life continued, he was busy, not having a Silencer to share the work, and Ocheeva had always insisted he shouldn't neglect his own needs either... Ocheeva could always see everything plainly. Yet with every woman he kissed, he felt an increasing emptiness and a growing longing for that one half-Breton half-Nord that kept coming to his fort while he was away.

Then one day Lena reappeared, and not just in his fort - she was back in Mundus, looking as young as when she joined them. Was it really she? He had to watch her for a while. Yes, it was she, vampirism cured, looks restored, experience gained. The Shivering Isles - that's where she'd been! That explained everything - why they could not find her when she was being hunted, why she completely vanished afterwards with only brief appearances at long intervals, and why she hadn't aged two hundred years like everyone else. But she wasn't in her twenties either - no longer a child, far from it. And she was still an assassin.

The Night Mother agreed it was time to call her back. Lena didn't need asking twice - she was happy to be back with the Sanctuary, all the old friends that she'd missed. She refused a promotion when Lucien offered it to her - no, she wasn't made to be a Black Hand... "Well, you'll change your mind in time" - he thought and didn't insist. She was back in his life - that was all that mattered.

Then there was this contract from Lady Umbranox, and the Night Mother gave it to him - to his group, but of course there was just one person he'd give it to. The Night Mother agreed, she'd been expecting it. Lena took the contract, drew up a plan, left it in Lucien's fort for his approval. Lucien was going to write a note in reply, but then he left her flowers instead - goldenrod, morning glory, lily of the valley, blue hyacinth. Would she understand the meaning? He was sure she would. Good fortune, my dear - yours, always. Yours. A lily of the valley would send a much stronger message than a rose.

Lena kept the flowers, but didn't give a response. "Are you sure?" - she asked. Yes, he was sure. She was his missing half. But whether he was hers... time would tell.

...

"Come with me to Skyrim" - Lena said suddenly.

"You're asking me to accompany you?" - Lucien wasn't used to being an escort.

"There's work to be done there, as you well know."

"Work that you are more than capable of doing yourself" - Lucien interjected. "Even if you don't want any of your friends to help, you could ask your brother."

"You know about Wolf?" - Lena should have expected it, but she didn't.

"News travels fast. He's famous."

"In his own right, yes. But..." - Lena realised that further discussion was pointless. Of course Lucien knew about her brother. She had to lay more cards on the table. "I want to spend time with you."

"If you don't know me as yet..."

"I know you, Assassin!" - Lena interrupted. "I want to know Lucien now."

"They are one and the same."

"Are they? Did the Assassin give me that lily of the valley?"

Lucien looked up sharply.

"Very well, my Barenziah."

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:50 PM

[Lena Wolf]

13-14 Second Seed, 4E202 - Vampires of the Imperial City

Before Lena could go to Skyrim, there was one unfinished business she had to follow up on: Seridur. She had to choose between Roland and Seridur - which one would she believe? She chose to believe Roland.

Having asked around following Roland's tip, she discovered that Seridur was known to take regular trips to the Memorial Cave, always carrying food and other supplies. Lena went to investigate.

The cave housed a small group of vampires whom Seridur was obviously supporting. Lena tried talking to him, but he attacked, and the other vampires joined in. There was no other way but to slay them.

There was however something strange about this group: the cave was set up for Necromancy, with several dread zombies and wraiths roaming in it. The only way these undead would have been ignoring the vampires was if the vampires had raised them. Were they then necromancers as well? Stranger things had happened.

Lena found a dead captive in a cell. Vampires would normally keep him alive. It all seemed that they were more interested in raising the dead than in maintaining their own existence. Could a vampire ascend to lichdom? Could an undead become undead?

Lena checked the corpses, collecting vampire dust. Almost all Elves. They did say that the Elves in the Imperial City looked out for each other. She checked Seridur. No vampire dust. His eyes hadn't been red either. Was he perhaps an ex-vampire like herself? That would explain many things. And if he wasn't drinking blood anymore, he would not have been able to sense her past vampirism either. Lena recalled that incident with Thadon's chalice - her fangs had returned and she bit Dylan's neck and drank his blood. No, she wasn't a vampire any longer, but that blood had woken up her senses again. Not so with Seridur.

So what did really happen in that back alley in the Imperial City? Roland's girlfriend came to stay with him, but after a time started taking solitary walks in the evenings. Roland suspected an affair, followed her and caught her in Seridur's embrace. Roland claimed that Seridur was biting her neck, but what if it was a kiss, not a bite? Seridur turned on Roland, pushing away the girl, she slipped and fell, cracking her skull on the stones.

Both men were now blaming each other for her death, Roland out of jealousy, Seridur to protect his vampire friends. The Order of Virtuous Blood was a sham of course, but did Seridur really have to die? Lena never got a chance to find out what those vampires were like, but admittedly it didn't look good. So be it, her hand had been forced.

14 Second Seed

It was well past midnight when Lena came out of the Memorial Cave. The whole affair left a rather unpleasant taste in her mouth - she felt like she was being used. She rode straight to Roland's cabin to tell him of the outcome, and she didn't care if she had to wake him for it. At least she was certain that he wasn't a vampire.

Roland didn't mind being woken up in the middle of the night. He thanked Lena and asked her to see him in Seridur's house - he intended to carry on with The Order of Virtuous Blood.

"Well" - Lena thought on the way back. "They are not exactly competent. For all their talk of great knowledge, they didn't suspect Seridur - or me, for that matter! And they should have. What a waste of space."

She turned her thoughts towards her upcoming trip to Skyrim - Lucien would be meeting her in Bruma, then they would take the Pale Pass North.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 02:58 PM

[macole]

History repeats itself once again. Seridur experimenting in lichdom, now that's an interesting twist.
Really, the OVB hasn't had an accomplished vampire hunter since... oh, what's his name? I can't seem to remember.

[Lena Wolf]

History repeats itself once again. Seridur experimenting in lichdom, now that's an interesting twist.

I always felt that quest was weird. Both men lying, neither of them a vampire. Then the cave not looking anything like a vampire den, except for the vampires within. Really strange.

Seridur's excuse for insisting that it should be us to go handle the "vampire": "We are just three old men, we are no match for a vampire." Well then, if the three of you cannot handle a single vampire, then what are you doing calling yourselves vampire hunters?

Really, the OVB hasn't had an accomplished vampire hunter since... oh, what's his name? I can't seem to remember.

Yes, I've heard of him. Ja...something or other? I hear he had enough of them and retired to wine making on the Gold Coast.

[Renee]

Up to post 11 now. That makes so much sense, about the Stormcloaks who made their camp just to the east of Helgen. Never thought of it that way. So they rushed away from Helgen, maybe found that spot, that dell in the middle of the forest. Made camp for the night, and then never left.

"Look - poorly healed scars, frostbite and their stomachs stuck to their spines. Supply problems, clearly."

In my imagination, this is how I imagine the huge disparity between low-leveled enemies (such as, let's say, Level 1 through 5 bandits) in one area, but higher-level enemies in another area. They are malnourished / sick / diseased if they're low-leveled, which makes them easy prey for our characters. Yet often in a lower-leveled environment there will be a boss who matches our character's level, or nearly so. This boss takes most of the food, most of the things which keep the rest of the party in poverty. The boss allows them to live there, which (from their standpoint) is better than braving it out somewhere in the wilderness. But they can't get rich / better-nourished under such conditions since the boss is taking the lion's share. Protection in numbers seems to be the main idea.

You were right, Lena. Now that I've finished Post 1, the rest of these are quicker reads.

This post has been edited by Renee: Jul 4 2021, 01:49 PM

[macole]

I always felt that quest was weird. Both men lying, neither of them a vampire. Then the cave not looking anything like a vampire den, except for the vampires within. Really strange.

The vampire hunting mod I use fixes that a bit. Seridur becomes a nasty one. Before he is cured of his affliction, he goes into a long discourse on how he's going to taste all the young maidens in the Imperial City.

Yes, I've heard of him. Ja...something or other? I hear he had enough of them and retired to wine making on the Gold Coast.

That's the plan but just like Borne, Wick, and Corleone; he keeps getting pulled back in.

This post has been edited by macole: Jul 4 2021, 06:28 PM

[Lena Wolf]

"Look - poorly healed scars, frostbite and their stomachs stuck to their spines. Supply problems, clearly."

In my imagination, this is how I imagine the huge disparity between low-leveled enemies (such as, let's say, Level 1 through 5 bandits) in one area, but higher-level enemies in another area. They are malnourished / sick / diseased if they're low-leveled, which makes them easy prey for our characters.

As you travel the roads of Skyrim and meet Stormcloak patrols, you often hear them complain of supply problems. They say they are cold and hungry and Ulfric doesn't care to fix it. They say it themselves! Justifying to one another the need to raid passers by because they've got to eat! So I just pulled it into the story here.

[Lena Wolf]

14-15 Second Seed, 4E202 - Bruma

"Hello!" - Hafid Hollowleg greeted Lena at the Jerall View Inn. "Your room is ready."

"Nice to see you again, Hafid" - Lena smiled. "But how did you know I'd be coming?"

"Weren't you the one trying to break up a fight between a Legion soldier and a Bruma city guard just outside the gates? Again?" - he laughed.

"Point taken" - Lena laughed too. "I just think it's such a waste!"

"Oh don't worry about it, it's not to the death. Nothing a good helping of mead wouldn't cure. Dinner?"

"Yes, please" - Lena looked around the room, spotting Lucien at the corner table. "I'll be over there."

"You're with... Oh!" - Hafid's face broke in a broad smile. "Of course!"

15 Second Seed

"Do you have a plan?" - Lucien asked when they met in the dining room for breakfast.

"The same as in Cyrodiil" - Lena answered. "We'll need to make our way to Riften."

"Yes..." - Lucien looked in the distance. "But perhaps we should first pay a visit to a certain group in Falkreath."

"You mean..?" - Lena's eyes widened.

"No-no, just to talk" - Lucien smiled. "Bring the game out into the open. And - you lead. It'll be fun to watch" - he smirked and winked at her.

Lena smirked too: "All right. I know just how to approach them."

"And then? Straight onto Riften or do you want to see your brother first?"

"Wolf first" - she said firmly. Lucien nodded.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 03:02 PM

[Lena Wolf]

16 Second Seed, 4E202 - A visit to the Skyrim assassins - About mother

"You thought I fancied you" - Lena whispered into Arnbjorn's ear locking his arm behind his back. "Why would I when I've got him?"

Lucien readied his blade.

"Who are you?" - asked Arnbjorn suddenly realising that his mistrust of Lena was well founded. Werewolves could sense things and he was the only one of the Skyrim group to mistrust Lena to the point of dislike.

"I am Lucien Lachance's Silencer."

"But..." - Arnbjorn broke off. Information wasn't Astrid's strong suit, it got them into trouble many times before. They didn't mind killing the wrong people - one could always fix that - but now she had led a traitor into their midst. "Lucien Lachance has been dead for 200 years and we are the last Dark Brotherhood group in Tamriel" - Arnbjorn recounted the official version of events.

"Ai, that's what you'd read in the Imperial Chronicles" - agreed Lena. "It was a convenient way to take attention away from the real Dark Brotherhood, but we were never gone anywhere."

"You have come to perform Purification" - concluded Arnbjorn.

"No, because you are not the Dark Brotherhood, you are just a bunch of murderers. Ah-ah!" - Lena pressed her silver dagger to Arnbjorn's side as he tried to twist out of her grip. "I'm not done talking to you yet."

"So what do you want?"

"To warn you. Tell the others we'll be watching. We know who you all are, and we let you live at our discretion. We have no branches in Skyrim, so you may continue calling yourselves whatever you like. But remember how easy it was to get to you."

She released Arnbjorn's arm.

"And you may want to drop that Black Sacrament business since it does nothing for you anyway. Your contracts simply come by courier - didn't Astrid tell you that?"

And while Arnbjorn was gasping at the idea that his Astrid wasn't entirely open with him regarding their group - and what else then? - Lena and Lucien vanished and left the Sanctuary.

"What do you think they'll do now?" - Lena asked turning to Lucien, as this was his idea.

"They'll go after us - or try to" - he seemed amused at the prospect. "We need to stay alert, but I wouldn't worry too much. Let's get a dog or something."

"They are not entirely useless though" - Lena was more cautious. "Penitus Oculatus has been after them for years, in vain."

"And you infiltrated them within a week" - Lucien pointed out. "We could have wiped them out now if we wanted to. Penitus Oculatus has the wrong methods."

They rode in silence for a while.

"Why did Arnbjorn think you fancied him?" - Lucien asked.

"I have no idea!" - Lena protested. "No, wait - I think I know. I paid attention to him, talked to him, asked personal questions - I did the same with each of them, of course. They all thought I was getting to know my new family, but Arnbjorn must have sensed an ulterior motive - werewolves are good at that. And naturally he assumed I fancied him."

Lucien smiled as if it had been an entirely innocent question.

Approaching Lake View Manor, they saw Geralt chopping wood in the yard.

"Are you hiding from Sven's mother again?" - Lena teased him.

"Yes" - Geralt grimaced. "She keeps going on about her son and how wonderful he is. Makes me sick." Then turning to Lucien he added: "Hello, Lucien. You look remarkably fresh for someone who's been dead for 200 years."

"Geralt" - Lucien nodded a greeting.

They've never met before but each recognised the other from rumours.

"Don't get my sister into any more trouble than she would do herself" - said Geralt half-jokingly. "She's very good at it as it is."

"She doesn't let me" - replied Lucien returning Geralt's gaze.

Geralt's stay at the Lake View had its benefits. He valued comfort when it was available, so there was hot water in the kitchen, food in the larder and roaring fire in the grate. They sat down for dinner.

"Tell us about our mother" - said Geralt filling Lucien's goblet. "I understand you knew her?"

Lucien looked up. There was another man who knew more than he let on.

"I didn't know her very well" - answered Lucien. "She was a few ranks above me when I just started. She gave me some training and some advice, as is the custom. She was particularly skilled at healing... if you survived her fireball, that is" - he chuckled. "Not all recruits did."

"Yes, she was a mage, we knew that" - Geralt indicated this wasn't enough.

"Well, there isn't much more to tell, really. She quit soon after I joined."

"Quit?" - Lena was astonished. "You don't just quit the Dark Brotherhood!"

"You did, for a time" - Lucien looked at her and smiled. "She was very persuasive. I later learned that there was a man involved - someone rather high placed, that she wanted to be with. Your father, I surmise."

"So she was allowed to leave as a favour to him?"

"No, I don't think so. Rather as an assurance of the Dark Brotherhood's continued existence" - he paused, tasting the wine. "We are powerful, but we are not all-powerful. We wouldn't want to go against Morag Tong, for example."

This wasn't much, but it fitted with what they already knew about their parents. And again there was no real clue of their father's identity. He was a Nord, but there were many Nords in high places at the time, including the very top... But no, Lena wasn't a Septim - she figured that out already during the Oblivion Crisis. It was someone else...

"You mentioned before that mother went rogue" - Lena remembered something Lucien once said. "What was that all about?"

"She... refused an order, like someone else here" - Lucien winked at her. "It wasn't a Purification order though, but she refused a contract. That in itself would get her exiled, but she killed the contract giver instead."

Lena laughed.

"She was making sure that no one else would pick up that contract in her stead. How did she know who issued it?"

Assassins weren't usually informed of all the details.

"I am not sure" - answered Lucien. "She must have gotten it from the Speaker or even from the Listener - no one else would have known. Healing wasn't her only strong suit - she was also adept at illusions."

"Ok then" - Lena conceded. "Who was the target?"

"Your father."

Suddenly a whole different picture was emerging.

"So..." - Lena was laying out grapes on the table in a row, as was her habit. "She was allowed to quit because she had defeated Sithis' wraith every time, having taken care of the contract in her own way. With the contract giver dead, the plot or the coup or whatever was shattered, and the Dark Brotherhood was keen not to have been a part of it." Lena started eating the grapes now, in the order they lay on the table. "She protected the person important to her - exactly what I would have done" - she concluded picking up the last grape.

"I know" - Lucien said, having followed the grape manipulations with his eyes. "I cannot help but admire it."

"And her death later?" - asked Geralt.

"Swamp fever, I believe" - Lucien turned to him. "Nothing to do with us. There was quite an epidemic."

Again, this fitted with what they already knew. Yes, even gifted mages died of swamp fever.

...

It was getting late and Lena and Lucien intended to set off for Riften in the morning. They checked on the horses and readied some supplies. The evening was drawing to a close.

Geralt put his arm around Lena's shoulders in a big brother way, and led her out onto the deck. The stars were bright in the clear sky.

"Leave him alone" - he said. "He isn't your lover."

"But--" Lena gasped, lost for words. "But he said he loved me!" - she protested.

"Which isn't the same thing!"

"But you and Yen - how many times you've broken up and came back together again, and all the while--"

"Me and Yen" - Geralt interrupted - "have started out as lovers, you haven't. Do you share his feeling?" - he looked at Lena sternly. "Do you? Or are you just taking advantage of it?"

She didn't know. Feelings were complicated, she was confused. She was never spoken to like that, either. Who did he think he was? Oh right, her brother.

Lena thought of all those nights she spent in Lucien's fort, believing or pretending to believe that he was away. Why did she go there? Because it was convenient and she needed a place to stay, or because she sought something else? Friendship? Companionship? Safety? Excitement?

Geralt was watching Lena's face. "Do what you came here to do, and don't get killed, either of you. You are mortal again - remember that."

"Even vampires can be extinguished" - Lena said automatically.

Lucien came onto the deck too.

"It's a beautiful night but we wanted to leave early tomorrow. Better get some sleep" - he looked at Lena and Geralt as if he knew exactly what they'd been talking about. He probably guessed - he was, after all, much older than either of them.

He was right, of course. It was time to get some sleep.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 03:03 PM

[Lena Wolf]

17 Second Seed, 4E202 - Riften - The first assassination attempt

Lena and Lucien arrived in Riften in late afternoon. It has been a long journey and they decided to relax for the rest of the day - walk around town, have a meal and retire early.

"Welcome if you've got the coin, or else hit the road!" - they were greeted at the Bee and Barb.

"We've got the coin" - Lena smiled.

"Oh hello - back again?" - the innkeep recognised her. "With a different friend this time? We're fully booked though, so you'll have to share."

"What's the occasion?" - Lena looked around the crowded room. "It's busier than usual."

"A wedding. The Temple of Mara keeps us busy."

"A perfect backdrop for an assassination" - Lucien whispered in Lena's ear. "A lot of strangers in town. We should be watchful tonight."

...

The rooms might have been all booked, but the guests were still feasting downstairs, and the upper floor of the inn was deserted. Lena and Lucien entered their room and closed the door.

"We'll have to take turns sleeping" - said Lucien looking out through a crack. "They might well make a move tonight."

"I have a better idea."

Lena snapped her fingers summoning the Spectral Assassin.

"Sister?" - he greeted her.

"I need you to stand guard while we sleep" - she told him. "Wake us if someone enters."

"I am an assassin, not a bodyguard" - he protested. "I am Lucien Lachance."

"No, I am Lucien Lachance" - said Lucien. "You are an apparition. Brother." Then turning to Lena he added: "What if one of the other assassins tries to summon him as well?"

"Then they won't be able to. There is only one Spectral Assassin, and he's here."

She walked over to the Spectral Assassin who looked rather confused.

"He's right, you know, you can't be Lucien's ghost because Lucien is still alive and well and standing before you. But it doesn't matter - we still need your help."

"I serve the one who summoned me. But who am I? Am I still an assassin?"

"Without a doubt" - Lena tried to sound convincing. How do you cheer up a ghostly apparition? "Krex created you, and made you believe you're Lucien's ghost. But I think you're your own man instead."

That seemed to have worked. The Spectral Assassin sat down and prepared for a long wake.

...

Lena woke up as if a bucket of cold water was poured over her. The Spectral Assassin was holding her by the shoulders.

"Wake up" - he whispered. "There's someone in the hall, and I think they've come for you."

Lucien was on his feet and behind the door before the Assassin finished whispering. Lena prepared her daggers but didn't get up, instead she closed her eyes almost completely. The Spectral Assassin crouched behind her - his smokey shape barely distinguishable in the dark.

The door opened slightly - someone was peering in. Faint candle light reflected off their hand. An Argonian. Was that the ex-Shadowscale from the Sanctuary?

With one jump he was on top of Lena with his daggers against her throat, but she had been expecting him. She blocked his strike, and kicked him off. A short struggle followed.

"So... Arnbjorn didn't lie..." - he groaned. "You are a Silencer. And you've got Lucien Lachance's ghost with you, too."

"No" - Lucien stepped out of the shadows. "That's a Spectral Assassin. I am Lucien Lachance" - he said, sheathing his dagger. "You can go and tell them that. If you live long enough."

The Argonian crawled out of the room.

"The next one we'll kill" - said Lucien noticing confused looks from Lena and the Spectral Assassin. "Don't you worry, they'll try again. But not tonight - besides, it's already morning."

The sun was starting to rise, but Lucien returned to bed.

"That's something I picked up from your friend Hauk" - he told Lena. "A swift death is not always the right answer. Come on, let's sleep some more."

She dispelled the Spectral Assassin and settled down next to Lucien for another nap.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 03:10 PM

[Lena Wolf]

18 Second Seed, 4E202 - Broken Helm Hollow - Gabriella

"We shouldn't be staying in Riften" - said Lucien in the morning. "It's too easy for the assassins to get to us. Let's find a cave just outside town to stay in."

"What about the Broken Helm Hollow that Grosta was talking about?" - suggested Lena. "If it's just bandits, it won't be too hard to clear, and there should be a camp inside."

The hollow was just outside Riften, and indeed was easy enough to clear. It had everything they needed - a camp site with a good fire and a cooking pot, several bedrolls, and fresh water just outside. The cave even had a lockable door and a trap by the entrance.

"Still, we should also block the entrance with a boulder for the night" - said Lucien, looking around. There didn't seem to be another entrance.

...

Racket, stifled screams and swears woke them up. Someone just tried to enter the cave. With all the noise that they'd made, Lena and Lucien had enough time to retreat into the shadows.

Gabriella. After the traps, she caught herself, became careful - much too late of course. She looked around the cave, saw the campfire with glowing embers, the empty bedrolls, she tried to peer into the dark corners of the cave, but didn't dare to use a night eye spell, so didn't see either Lena or Lucien, even when looking straight at them. Perhaps she decided they were not in?

"I know you're here" - she said. "But I made a fool of myself and alerted you. Come out and fight!"

She should know better than that, really. That's a stupid suggestion. Why on Nirn would they do that?

Lena dipped an arrow in poison, silently took out her Shadowhunt. Gabriella heard the arrow being released, but at that range she was hit almost immediately. She turned towards Lena and felt Lucien's blade on her neck. He moved as Lena shot.

"We won't let you go, you know" - he said. "We've warned you people enough, but still you come. It's your call."

He cut her throat.

...

Gabriella was sitting outside the cave, as if enjoying the morning sunshine. The door was locked and the boulder was back in place blocking the entrance. It was much too early to get up.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 04:59 PM

[Lena Wolf]

19 Second Seed, 4E202 - Preparations - Nazir

"So, we have a plan then" - Lucien concluded, summarising their conversation over breakfast. "Did we miss anyone?"

"There might be more members that I'm not aware of" - Lena looked pensive. "But this town is not exactly keeping quiet about who's in the Thieves Guild, so those members would be rather low-ranking, I would have thought."

"Not important enough" - agreed Lucien. "And if they think they are - we'll notice."

The plan was to remove the Thieves Guild from existence. Of course it would never be possible to remove all thieves from existence, no matter how much Lena would have liked to do that. And they didn't think they could touch Maven Black-Briar - they didn't think they should touch her, rather. She was the patron of the Thieves Guild, true, and as corrupt as could be, but she was also a supporter of the Empire, and thus could be useful in the Civil War. Besides, there didn't seem to exist a single uncorrupt noble in Riften anyway. No, Maven Black-Briar would be spared.

The day would be spent getting the lay of the land - walking around town, discovering all its secret passages, exploring the Ratway, and not actually doing anything suspicious. Although two people nosing about was going to be suspicious in itself.

"Let's hope we won't get into too many fights" - said Lena. Lucien looked bored.

...

When they returned to the Broken Helm Hollow, they found the boulder removed and the trap disarmed. Gabriella's body was no where to be seen. They had visitors.

"Well, this will be interesting" - smiled Lucien.

They entered silently, keeping to the shadows, but they knew they could not be completely hidden. The cave looked empty - the assassin was keeping to the shadows, too.

"Babette or Nazir" - Lena breathed into Lucien's ear. "The others are too blunt."

"Nazir" - answered Lucien pointing at a fleeting glow in the far corner - Nazir's curved sword briefly reflected Lucien's shooting light. Of course it gave away their location, but that being the entrance, it was obvious already anyway.

They split up, quickly moving to the opposite corners of the cave - left and right from the entrance. Nazir was now between them, he would have to choose whom to attack first. Lena decided on a diversion and summoned a dremora in the middle of the cave.

"I smell weakness!" - roared dremora, taking up his greatsword and turning towards Nazir. There was no hiding from a dremora.

Nazir shot an arrow at the dremora - he was good. The dremora stepped back, momentarily stunned, then lunged forward. Another arrow - and he was banished.

Unfortunately for Nazir, this was exactly what Lena had expected to happen. It was only a dremora churl - they made a lot of noise but were not that hard to defeat. The noise, the commotion and Nazir's attention fixed on the dremora allowed Lena and Lucien to reach Nazir before the show was over.

...

"Well, that's another one of them dealt with" - said Lucien propping up Nazir's body at the cave entrance. "At this rate, they'll hunt themselves into extinction."

"Babette might come at night" - said Lena, looking into the distance. "I believe there are some vampire covens nearby, she might be staying there. She might even have Arnbjorn with her - she calls him 'puppy' and I think he likes it. Not that he'll ever admit that, of course!"

"We better poison the trap then" - reflected Lucien. "And the boulder. They'll have to touch it to move it. Fighting a vampire and a werewolf in tight quarters is not going to be easy."

...

The night was quiet - nobody came. In the morning they carefully disarmed the trap and moved the boulder slightly, to see if there was an ambush outside. All seemed clear. They readied their blades - just in case - and moved the boulder to the side. They stepped out. Nothing. No ambush. All was quiet.

"Nazir's body is gone" - noted Lucien. "They are changing their tactics - we might have impressed them after all." He looked pleased.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 05:00 PM

[Renee]

Am up to post 19. Wow, so she rid all three subjects Astrid presented to her! The parts when Geralt keeps pinching her back had me laughing.

[Lena Wolf]

Am up to post 19. Wow, so she rid all three subjects Astrid presented to her!

She had to get it right. This wasn't the time to be merciful.

The parts when Geralt keeps pinching her back had me laughing.

I think he quite likes being the big brother.

[Lena Wolf]

20-21 Second Seed, 4E202 - The Ratway

"They won't get me as easily as that" - said Lucien emerging from a back passage in the Ratway. He was casting healing spells, but still bleeding.

"Lucien!" - Lena rushed to him. "You've been poisoned." She pulled him into one of the prison cells and onto a cot. "You need to lie down."

"I can't cast spells lying down" - he protested. "And it isn't the first time I've been poisoned. Comes with the job" - he smirked.

"Yes, but now I'm here" - Lena could be stubborn too. "Come on - on the cot!"

Lucien looked bewildered but obeyed.

"I forgot already what it was like to have a partner" - he said. "Ok, do your thing, I won't interfere. Just - don't rip the robe to shreds, will you?"

Ripping the robe into strips for bandages was exactly what Lena was going to do...

"Oh, right - the enchantment" - she caught herself. "Ok, let's see what else we've got."

There was no shortage of suitable clothing on the corpses around them, and soon Lena was engrossed in the old fashioned healing techniques of cleaning the wounds, extracting the poison and covering the patient in bandages - preferably starting with the face. She could do without helpful hints, thank you very much. Lucien allowed her to proceed with it all, even refraining from the hints - and Lena wouldn't dream of bandaging up his face without a need. His face wasn't injured.

"Where did you learn all that?" - asked Lucien when she was finished.

"Magic can only get you so far" - she said. "The real healing is done by your body, I'm just giving it a hand on the right level." She smiled. "And no, I didn't learn it at the Temple... just picked it up along the way." She thought of all those "crazy" people in the Shivering Isles that had taught her, people that dared to prefer bandages to magic. "It's a useful skill, I found."

The prison cells in the Ratway Warrens were definitely not the most luxurious lodgings in Skyrim, but they were safe, certainly for now, and Lucien had to rest. So they decided to stay there for a day or two.

...

The new tactic of the Skyrim assassins turned out to be to warn the Thieves Guild and have them wait in the Ragged Flagon armed to the teeth. Babette herself was no where to be seen, though Lena was sure it was Babette's doing. But even without her, the fighting was intense - much too intense for a couple of assassins, even skilled ones. The Spectral Assassin really showed his colours here - such as they were - he was an assassin and he was going to prove it, and contrary to a regular summon, he was not bound by time and would only be banished once he was defeated.

The thieves expected two people, not three. They led away Lucien into the Vaults and quickly closed the gate behind him, separating him from Lena. Their plan was obviously to get Lena first, as she was the weaker one of the two. Then they would overwhelm Lucien in sheer numbers, reinforced by a dozen or more of local lowlife waiting there.

The plan worked at first - Lena and Lucien got separated. But Lena wasn't going down easily - she summoned the Spectral Assassin, and together they dispatched their immediate opposition at the Flagon. Following into the Vaults, she sent the Assassin after Lucien - he had no problems passing through locked gates - while Lena focussed on clearing the passages around her. Those numbers had to be brought down.

Eventually Lucien emerged from the section he was in - one of the thieves had a key to the gate. The Spectral Assassin fell in battle, and Lucien looked pretty bad himself, yet he was still alive.

21 Rain's Hand

"So, what have you learned about me so far?" - asked Lucien at dinner. Lena had reluctantly agreed that he did need to sit up for eating.

"That you make a decent patient" - she smiled. "And also that you need to be more careful - and not attack five assassins at once!"

"What?! They weren't assassins - just thieves with daggers! Don't tell me how to do my job! I've been at it far longer than you..." - he broke off. Were they having an argument? "You provoked me" - he said much more calmly, looking at her suspiciously. "Why?"

"You are a very level-headed assassin" - she said. "But I wanted to see what lay beneath the still waters."

She looked him in the eye. He didn't divert his gaze. They sat there, keeping eye contact, until one of them would break it - but who? They were equally strong willed.

A rat sneaked up to them and grabbed a piece of roast.

"Hey!!" - two fireballs went after it, charring it.

"Well, I guess it's a tie" - said Lucien, smiling.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 05:00 PM

[Lena Wolf]

22 Second Seed, 4E202 - Sapphire - Assassin's End

"We didn't get everyone we wanted" - Lena went over her list. "I've checked all the corpses, and four important people were not among them: Sapphire, Brynjolf, Karliah and Mercer Frey. Also Maul wasn't there, but he's closer to Maven Black-Briar than to the Thieves Guild. How is your wound? Let me see."

She motioned Lucien not to get up from the cot.

"It's... fine" - he groaned and rolled his eyes but let her check the wound.

"Ok, your insides will stay inside - it closed" - Lena was satisfied. Abdominal wounds were not to be taken lightly. "Still, you should take it easy for another day. Sapphire is hanging around The Bee and Barb - I'll see what it's all about, she seems to be waiting for something."

"I'll come with you" - Lucien insisted. "To keep reminding you not to attack her out in the open. You are too hot-headed."

Lena was going to protest but then thought better of it. Don't be hot-headed.

...

"He owes me a debt, and that's that" - was what Sapphire had to say about Shadr.

Lena took the easy way out and offered her a bribe. It worked. Sapphire moved away - to the Ratway.

"And this is where you kill her without witnesses" - Lucien smiled. "And get your money back, of course."

One more corpse didn't make much of a difference. Someone would have to clean it all up, before the rot set in.

"Not bad, Silencer" - Lucien was watching from the side. "A bit crude, perhaps, but I didn't think you needed any help."

"I didn't know you watched us train" - Lena looked surprised.

"Oh but I have. It is the duty of a Speaker to watch over his Silencer - as well as the other members of his group" - Lucien smiled. "Of course, the others have Ocheeva and Vicente watching over them as well. But you - you just have me. Come on, we're done here. I've had enough of the smell."

...

"I think I know where Brynjolf is, and I wouldn't be surprised if Karliah and Mercer Frey were somewhere in the same area" - Lena said at lunch at The Bee and Barb. "It was about six weeks ago, but I did bump into Brynjolf at Irkngthand. He looked concerned, and lost, somehow."

"Well, they are the top of the Thieves Guild, are they not?" - Lucien looked up from his slaughterfish stake. "And they weren't here, so that's as good a lead as any. What's the nearest inn? Nightgate?"

"It is" - Lena nodded. "But I have another place in mind where we can stay" - she smiled at the memory.

"Oh?"

"You'll see."

Lucien frowned - he didn't like not to know what was coming, but decided to let Lena have her little surprise.

...

"You are holding the map upside down" - Lucien laughed when they stopped at the same signpost for the third time.

"I am not!" - protested Lena, rotating the map. "But look - this signpost shows Whiterun - South, and the next signpost on the same road sends us right back!"

"Perhaps we missed another turn in between?" - Lucien suggested, still laughing.

Lena was furious at the map, at the signposts and at their mutual contradictions, and Lucien was finding it very amusing.

"It is definitely more entertaining to travel with you than by myself - I don't tend to argue with signposts." He peered at the map over her shoulder. "It doesn't show the roads - not very helpful."

"I know!" - Lena rolled her eyes. "These new 'terrain' maps are useless for actually finding anything..." She folded the map. "Well, let's trust this signpost and look for that other turn that we might have missed..."

...

"Through here" - Lena pointed at a barely visible fissure between some rocks near Whiterun. "Did you know about this place?"

She turned to Lucien, but he shook his head - he didn't know. Lena smiled.

The fissure opened into a cave which led to a familiar door.

"The Whiterun Sanctuary?" - Lucien looked at Lena in surprise. "I've heard that it was well hidden, and here it is! But can we enter?"

"We can" - Lena put her hand onto the door. "It knows us - the Black Hand enchantment."

The door opened and they were inside.

"Well, well!" - Lucien looked around.

"Sister. Brother" - the assassin in daedric armour greeted them. "Good to see you again, sister."

"And you, brother" - Lena smiled. "But I thought you were going to leave?"

"We will" - the assassin confirmed. "Will you be staying?"

"Just for a few nights. We still have no branches in Skyrim, we are on business here."

"Of course" - the assassin nodded. "The Sanctuary is at your disposal. We decided to stay until someone moves in."

He walked out of the room.

"Who is he?" - asked Lucien, following him with his gaze.

"A memory of an assassin who used to live here. This is what they all are - guardians of sorts."

They walked down the corridor greeting other assassins. It felt like home.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 05:01 PM

[Lena Wolf]

23 Second Seed, 4E202 - Irkngthand

"Well, have you come to your senses, lass? Ready to make some coin?" - Brynjolf was standing by the entrance of Irkngthand, waiting for someone.

"Sure" - Lena beamed at him. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"I saw you here already before" - Brynjolf said non-committally. "Why are you back?"

"There were some chests inside that I couldn't open last time" - Lena said quite truthfully. "I came to have another go. There should be a lot fewer falmer in there now, too."

Brynjolf grimaced.

"Foul creatures! That's exactly why I haven't gone in yet. But" - he beamed at Lena - "why don't you come with me? I'll help you with those chests."

"Ok, let's go" - Lena nodded.

"Except..." - Brynjolf looked uncertain. "I've been waiting for a friend of mine, but she's not here yet. She should arrive shortly, we'll have to wait."

"You go on, I'll wait here" - Lucien leaned against the wall. "When she arrives, I'll tell her you went ahead."

...

Even though Lena tried to avoid most of the fighting last time, the ruin was littered with broken Dwemer automatons and dead falmer.

"I'm sure it wasn't me who killed all of those!" - Lena commented. "Someone else had been here in the meantime. Oh and look - that chest - I couldn't open it, but now it's open and empty!"

"Frey" - Brynjolf frowned. "He got here first!" He swore. Then turning to Lena, added: "There's a legendary Dwemer artefact in the final chamber - a giant statue - have you seen it?"

"I couldn't enter the final chamber, the lock was too hard for me to pick" - Lena made herself look ashamed.

"Ah... Well, if you join us, we can fix that" - Brynjolf looked happy. "Come on, it shouldn't be too hard to get there, now that Frey killed whatever was left over after your exploration."

They continued through the ruin, there were still traps in full working order and more Dwemer automatons released from their crevices. The falmer were mostly dead, until they got to the Grand Cavern - those were mostly still alive.

"I sneaked past these ones last time" - Lena turned to Brynjolf. "It's not too hard."

They sneaked past without an incident, all the way to the final door that Lena could not unlock.

"Here, let me" - Brynjolf stepped forward. A few moments later, the lock clicked.

They heard soft footsteps behind them. Lena swung around, sword at the ready. It wasn't a falmer - it was a Dunmer woman.

"No, no - it's Ok" - she gestured. "I'm Brynjolf's friend."

"Karliah!" - Brynjolf turned around, smiling. "Just in time. Come on."

They entered the final chamber. A giant Dwemer statue stood in the middle, with a man jumping about, removing the gems from its eye sockets.

"Frey!" - Brynjolf cried out. "Stop right there!"

"Oh? Why should I? And who did you bring with you? Is she going to make waves?" - he smirked.

"You must return the Skeleton Key!" - Karliah joined in. "It belongs to Nocturnal!"

"I won't! It is nothing but a key to unlimited wealth! My blade will be stained with Nightingale blood today!"

He cast a spell, causing a cave-in - the door behind them was now blocked. Brynjolf and Karliah started fighting.
"What..?" - Lena looked at them in disbelief.

"It's his power" - Brynjolf explained, parring with Karliah. "We cannot stop ourselves. You must kill him, or we'll stay here forever."

Lena looked back at Mercer Frey.

"So... the door behind us is blocked, thanks to your little trick" - she said coldly. "And there is no other way out. How were you planning to leave?"

"I have my ways" - he answered, rather more angrily than was called for, Lena thought. She suspected he didn't have a clue. Then he attacked her.

The battle didn't last long - Frey's disappearing tricks didn't fool the Spectral Assassin that Lena had summoned.

"I am not a thief" - Lena said in Frey's ear. "I am an assassin." She put her blade through his heart.

Brynjolf and Karliah stopped fighting - the spell was lifted.

"Oh good" - Brynjolf rushed to Frey's body. "Quick - get the Skeleton Key."

It was too easy. As Brynjolf kneeled over Frey's body going through his pockets, Lena put her blade through his heart too.

"Assassin?" - Brynjolf looked up, going pale. Then he was dead.

Karliah watched, bewildered. Then she ran at Lena, sword drawn - or at least she started running at Lena, because the water in the room was rising, and Karliah got swept off her feet at that point. So was Lena. They were going to drown.

"Let's find a way out first" - Karliah shouted. "Then I'll kill you!"

"Ok - except for the last part" - Lena shouted back.

They tried the door - pointless, it was completely stuck. Some rocks in the ceiling looked to be loose, and there was a draft coming from there, but they couldn't reach them. Not yet - but the rising water was bringing them close. They climbed onto the statue, put their shoulders into it - and a small avalanche of rocks tumbled down, revealing a passage.

"That's it - let's go!" - Karliah pulled herself up into the passage. Lena was just about to follow, when the water suddenly started receding - the door must have given way and opened.

"I'll go that way" - Lena told Karliah. "You can try to kill me another time. Give my regards to Nocturnal - I prefer not to kill Nightingales."

"Oh?" - Karliah was confused. "You seem to know an awful lot. Who are you and why are you here?"

"I am an assassin, and I don't like thieves" - Lena replied.

"You are not with Astrid's group" - Karliah looked suspicious.

"No, I am with the Dark Brotherhood" - Lena smiled. "The real one, that is."

"That explains a lot" - Karliah nodded. "So the Ratway?"

"Yeah, it was us."

"Well..." - Karliah turned to crawl further into the passage. "Shadow hide you."

...

"It's a good thing I followed you" - Lucien greeted Lena as she squeezed through the opening in the door. "You can't trust thieves."

"Thank you!" - she smiled at him, blushing slightly. "Still watching over me, I see."

"Always" - he smiled warmly.

...

"I didn't kill Karliah" - said Lena, stretching her hands towards the fire at the Nightgate Inn. "She is a Nightingale. Admittedly, so was Mercer Frey, but he was also the Guildmaster. He had killed Gallus - the third Nightingale, and this was what the quarrel was all about - Brynjolf muttered as much along the way. I thought Nocturnal should keep one guardian."

"Without the Thieves Guild ranks to back her, she alone won't be able to do much harm" - conceded Lucien. "And we do respect Nocturnal."

"I don't understand what the fuss with the Skeleton Key is though" - Lena mused. "I did a favour for Nocturnal back in Cyrodiil, and she gave it to me - or one of the copies, anyway. But the Nightingales here claim it must remain in the Sanctum, or else. Doesn't make sense to me" - she shrugged.

"I doubt it was Nocturnal's idea" - Lucien nodded.

They sat in silence for a while.

"What are you going to do with the Grey Cowl of Nocturnal once you have it?" - asked Lucien after a pause.

"Return it to Nocturnal" - Lena looked into the distance. "It's like you said - we respect her. Shadow hides us."

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 05:02 PM

[Lena Wolf]

23-24 Second Seed, 4E202 - Fort Dunstad - Dawnstar Sanctuary

"Here - have a look at this bounty letter" - the innkeep at the Nightgate Inn slid a piece of paper towards Lena. "It seems that bandits have taken residence in Fort Dunstad again - they are bothering people from there. You two look like you could take them on" - he looked at Lucien with significance.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" - Lucien looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"I never forget a face" - the innkeep winked. "During the War. Don't tell me you're a mage - that was the other fellow." Then turning to Lena, he added: "Give him my regards, will you?"

"I shall" - Lena smiled. "Thank you for not knowing any of us."

They took a room for the night - it was too late to go back to the Whiterun Sanctuary, and Lena was tired after her Irkngthand exploration.

24 Second Seed

"So what do you think about this Fort Dunstad?" - asked Lena at breakfast. "Shall we do the Jarl a favour?"

"Why not - practice makes perfect" - Lucien nodded.

...

Fort Dunstad was a rather large Imperial fort, complete with a tavern on the grounds - The Stumbling Sabrecat. Unfortunately, the bandits had killed the barkeep.

"It would have been a really nice place with the Legion still around" - Lena sighed. "I like the cat above the fireplace."

"Well, the Legion is not here" - Lucien interjected. "But the bandits are. Come on - we're not done yet."

It wasn't that hard to clear the bandits. The fort had several separate areas - the barracks with a kitchen, the commander's quarters and a large prison. The prison cells were filled with skeevers...

"How odd" - commented Lena, warming up the bandit chief with her fire spray while Lucien put a blade through his heart. "Why would the chief choose to sleep in a prison cell?"

"Makes him feel at home, I guess" - smirked Lucien.

They found more skeevers in the barracks - cages full of them. Then finally all became clear in the kitchen.

"Do you know what this reminds me of?" - Lena looked at the skeever roast in disbelief. "Goblins. In Cyrodiil they are the only ones to keep rats for food!"

"They shouldn't have murdered the barkeep. Chances are, he had better supplies" - Lucien nodded. "We're done here. Let's go to Dawnstar - they've got a decent inn."

...

"We should check on the old Sanctuary while we are here" - said Lucien at lunch.

"I've been there" - said Lena. "I couldn't enter, it's sealed."

"Ah" - Lucien smiled. "But now I am here."

...

They approached the Sanctuary door. Lucien touched it.

"What is the greatest illusion?" - a hushed voice asked.

"Innocence, my brother" - answered Lucien.

The lock clicked. They entered.

"Dank and dimly lit, but still home" - said Lucien, looking around. A guardian ghost drew his weapon but did not attack. "They recognise us - enough to allow us in."

The Dawnstar Sanctuary had not been used in a very long time. Rubble and cobwebs gathered in the corners and the air was somewhat musty with fungus and skeever smells.

"How did you know the password?" - asked Lena.

"I've been here before" - Lucien cast a shield spell. "There's a trap ahead, it will deactivate once we are through."

"Blood everywhere..." - Lena noted. "What happened here?"

"Greed" - Lucien shook his head. "This group took rich prisoners. They tortured them in the cellars for ransom. Of course they killed them afterwards, but someone was still able to follow the money trail. There's a cave behind that stained glass window - it leads into the cellars. Intruders came in through that - there was a bloodbath."

"Was everyone killed?"

"All the intruders, yes, and most of the assassins. The Sanctuary was deemed compromised though, and sealed. Until now."

"But is it safe now?" - Lena looked uncertain.

"Yes, it is. This was over a century ago" - Lucien touched the old walls, they were covered in dust. "The Night Mother asked me to check in. She thinks it might be time to return to Skyrim."

"Interesting" - Lena was kindling the fire in the grate. "What about Astrid's group though?"

"What's left of it, you mean?" - Lucien grinned. "Wasn't there one or the other person among them worth keeping?"

"Krex - the mage" - Lena looked up. "He doesn't like the way things are done. Everyone else worships Astrid."

"That's a start" - Lucien nodded. "There are no provisions here - what have we got with us?"

"Plenty" - Lena started putting food on the table. "Enough for a couple of days."

"Good. Because there's nowhere else I'd rather be right now..."

They were home.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 05:03 PM

[Lena Wolf]

25 Second Seed, 4E202 - Barenziah

The last couple of days had been strange. Lena and Lucien had completed their Thieves Guild mission, which meant they were ready to return to Cyrodiil and to their separate lives. Yet something was holding them back, they were finding things to do that took them North - away from the Cyrodiil border crossing. They talked - but only about the immediate matters, not the reason why they were not going back.

Finally, Lucien took the lead.

"We're done here" - he said - "but you are not yet ready to return. And neither am I."

"You..?" - Lena looked surprised. "I thought you were just doing me a favour with this trip."

"Getting to know each other works both ways" - Lucien pointed out. "I saw sides of you I never suspected to exist. Like that healing" - he touched the side of his abdomen where Lena had treated his poisoned wound.

"Oh, that skill..."

"I don't mean the skill. Yes, that too, but what I mean is that you took charge and... what you did to get the poison out."

She looked up.

"Well, I had to do it to clean the wound - the cloth got inside. I had to take it off" - she shrugged. "You needed help. And..." - she smiled - "You didn't stop me."

"No, I had to see what you'd do..." - he gave her a long look. "It's like I said - getting to know each other goes both ways."

They sat in silence for a while, drinking spiced wine. The Sanctuary was quiet around them.

"Perhaps I should have another look at that wound" - Lena smiled, blushing slightly. "You know, just in case..."

Lucien got up, taking her hand.

"Then come" - he pulled her in an embrace. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this..."

He had called her his Barenziah. But was he her Symmachus or her Nightingale?

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 05:04 PM

[Lena Wolf]

26 Rain's Hand, 4E202 - Dawnstar Sanctuary

"I can feel your affection" - Lucien held Lena's face in his hands, looking into her eyes. "And I can see your confusion. Don't worry, time will tell."

Their kiss was long, they didn't want to stop. They had each been waiting for a night like this for such a long time.

"Confusion, yes..." - Lena said softly. "You are a part of my life more than you know. Have been ever since you came to see me back then..." She kissed the palm of his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. "Who was it I had killed? It was a mistake, I think - I only meant to kill bandits. But I was grateful for it."

"Is that why you haven't said a word that night?"

"You remember?" - Lena smiled. "I lost my voice, I think..."

"I thought you were but a child, or nearly - so very young" - he stroked her cheek. "I told Ocheeva to keep an eye on you - we've had trouble enough with Antoinette Marie. But you were very different from the start. So determined, so meticulous - like your mother, even though in truth I only knew her very little. But I've heard a lot."

They now sat at breakfast, Lena staring at her sweetroll.

"Lucien" - she started hesitantly. "You deserve better. You've waited patiently for two centuries, didn't even kick me out of your home, and here I am not able to make up my mind." She looked at him apologetically.

"Oh that..." - he paused. "Why did you keep coming to my home? I wondered about that."

"I've been asking myself that recently" - Lena looked pensive. "I wanted to be with you."

"Then why did you never check to see if I was there? Sometimes I was."

"And what would you have me say?" - she looked at him in disbelief. "'Hello Lucien, I missed you'?" - she smirked.

"Is that what you felt?" - said Lucien slowly.

"Yes, that's what I felt. That, and shame. I would not have wanted you to see me the way I looked. Well, you have seen me, of course" - she blushed.

"After you've taken the cure?" - Lucien raised an eyebrow. "That... Yes, I see why you wanted to stay away. I would have still been glad to see you... I was glad to see you when you came."

He took her hand, bringing it to his lips. His long black hair fell forward as he bowed his head in a kiss. He looked Elven.

"Don't rush it" - he said. "Your feelings will clear up in time - as your looks have done. I'll wait." He looked at her releasing her hand. "But next time you come to my home and decide to stay overnight, I won't pretend not to be there."

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 26 2024, 05:07 PM