Capítulo 257: Toll
The next day after the group had conquered the Draugr crypt, the group made their way to Riften, the large walled, lakeside city that housed thriving fishing businesses, meaderies, smithies... Not to mention the rather public secret that the Thieves Guild was housed there.
Michael spots the dark stone walls after an hour or two more of riding, the entrance was sparse, aside from a few visitors and the two guards that stood on either side of the open gate. The buildings of the town looked far better constructed than Falkreath, indeed, everything did.
Despite its reputation as an utter cesspool, it seems that the city wasn't losing out on gold because of it. If anything, it made Falkreath look like a homeless hovel... It made him wonder just how Solitude would look.
"Okay, just let me do the talking so we can get through the gates in one piece." Medresi states.
"Is it really so bad? Surely they wouldn't do anything to guests of the city?" Tiffania asks, pulling her hood tighter over her head to avoid her ears being seen.
Medresi nods, "It is, you see, it doesn't matter what side of the law you're on in this place. Guard, thief, Jarl, all of them are criminals to some degree."
Michael sends a sideways glance at her, "Does that include you as well?"
The Dark Elf shrugs her shoulders, "Let's just say that the gold I used to pay the miners wasn't earned." she says before hopping off of the cart and walking towards the guards.
"Halt, carts and carriages require licences to move through the city. There is also a toll for any visitor who doesn't own any property." Michael hears one of the guards says.
Medresi just crosses her arms and glares at the armoured man, "Oh? Well that's good then, considering I live here and own a business. It should be under my name, Dresi Mrad. Check it."
...
The guard pulls out some parchments and goes through them, eventually nodding, "You're on it." he says but nods his head in the group's direction, "But they're not, they have to pay the toll."
Medresi lets out a sigh, "I see, I suppose I'll have to let my friend, Naven know that I've been obstructed." she drawls, causing the men to freeze up.
"S-sorry, did you say Maven?" one stutters out in a barely audible whisper.
Medresi smiles innocently, "Oh? Did I?" she says, not elaborating any further.
...
The guards look at one another and quickly nod, making way and having the gates open. Medresi smirks and hops back onto the cart as Michael has the horses move, a confused and slightly wary look on his face. "You know Maven Black-Briar?" he questions. He had cause to be worried too, even in Falkreath the reach of Maven could be felt, her family having deep ties to both Skyrim Nobility and the Empire. This was the case both through legal means and illegal. He'd even heard that the Black-Briars had tied with the Dark Brotherhood, a rumour that started when an upcoming rival business was steadily wiped out over two weeks, the entire family that owned it disappearing.
There was also Maven's ties with the Thieves Guild to keep in mind, he remembered that from the game. The woman basically owned the guild through her patronage of it, along with Mercer Fray stealing from the guild and putting it in such deep debt that they'd never shake Maven's control.
Medresi shakes her head, "I've never met Maven, nor have I any dealings with her... I just... Mislead the guards slightly."
"Isn't that... You know. Very, dangerous? And very stupid?" he asks, knowing thing using the Black-Briar name without permission was basically a death sentence.
Again the Dark Elf shakes her head, "Did I say Maven? I was only talking about my friend Naven, they must've misheard." she smiles coyly, "Besides, the guards are not supposed to be collecting 'tolls' anyway, they won't say a word of this to anyone, fearing retaliation from Maven's goons... Anyway, shall we go to my property and drop off my part of the treasure?"
Michael just nods, following the directions of the woman while observing the town itself. The main streets looked fine, clean even. But it only took a peek into the alleyways and sidepaths to see the real Riften. Gangs, thieves, thugs, and every other criminal you could name inhabited the place.
There was a distinct lack of homeless present as well, though, whether this was because of Riften's policies or because of the many criminals, he didn't know. The city's security isn't the best either, with guards either sleeping at their posts or literally assisting those who they were supposed to capture.
The fact that half of the city was built atop docks that sat over the lake was also a factor... All it would take is an ember in the wrong place and bam, the whole place would burn. The wooden docks were ill-maintained, with much of them rotting or lazily patched over with another plank of wood nailed into it.
Eventually, they stop the cart in front of an average-sized building on the east side of town. Medresi gets out after glaring at the few watches who was greedily looking at the contents of the cart, the woman throwing a couple rocks at the more persistent ones.
With that done, she enters the building to check if anything had moved before getting Michael and the others to help her move her shit inside... Unfortunately, this endeavour would not be as peaceful as they hoped.
As Michael retrieved the last sack of Medresi's gold, a group of five quickly approaches him as he's about to walk through the doors.
"You there. it seems you've got something of ours. We'd like it back!" the leader demands, a dagger already in his hand.
Michael groans and pinches the bridge of his nose, "Can you mooks and nobodies just piss off and mind your own business for once?"
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Niggross
Niggross Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
JayJonnaJamison
Jack Allen
Faruk Ereng
Capítulo 258: Ace'd
"What did you fuckin' say to me you little shit!?" one of the thugs exclaims, furious at Michael's blatant disrespect towards them.
"I said, piss off." Michael says, walking through the door and tossing the sack of gold next to the others. Medresi walks outside and scowls when she sees the group, "You again? I thought you got it through your skulls last time, I have nothing to steal. Unless you want those iron shavings?" she asks, not wanting the fact that she was now pretty rich to get out into the public.
The leader growls at her, "Iron shavings or not, it's ours now. Plus, that boy of yours disrespected us! You will compensate us for our troubles, or else!" he says, his eyes glancing towards Tiffania, Charlotte, and Maria in the back of the Cart. Illococoo had been helping carry the gold for Medresi while the others waited... Clearly, their pretty faces ha caught the man's attention...
Medresi pauses, "Uhm, I wouldn't do that if I were you..." she warns, not wanting corpses on her doorstep.
Michael walks out and claps the dust off of his hands, "Alright, that's everything. It's been a pleasure working with you." he says, nodding to her and ignoring the mooks as he climbs back into his cart.
"Oi! I'm talking to you! You better!-" the man starts as he grabs Michael's shoulder, only to be punched in the face so hard that his head hits the floor with his feet up in the air.
...
"Michael, I think it would be better if you stayed here... You wouldn't be able to keep your cart in the city if you stayed at an inn." Medresi says, ignoring the thugs who were trying to awaken their unconscious leader.
Michael shakes his head, "It's fine, we won't be in the city long."
Medresi shakes her head, "You're interested in magic right? The Jarl's Court Mage probably has some Tomes you could buy. But you'd need to arrange a meeting with her first...?" she says, not wanting him to leave so soon. She needed to find a way to secure her loot before it gets stolen, so having Michael was another layer of defence.
...
He glances at the others and sees Charlotte and Tiffania nodding, Illococoo didn't care either way, and Maria didn't have a clue where she was, so... "Fine, we'll stay for one day, but that's it." he determines, not wanting to get involved with anything in Riften.
Medresi smiles and inwardly pumps her fist in triumph, "Good, I'll prepare your rooms." she says, entering her building and leaving the group with the thugs. Their leader waking up after much 'help' from his men.
"Boss! That guy just one punched you!"
...
"Boss?"
"Shut your mouth!" the leader shouts, pointing his finger at Michael, "You'll pay for that! If my name isn't Ace D. Venturedge!"
"Ace D. Venturedge? Did you pick that name yourself?" Michael snickers, causing the man's face to redden even further, only making his quickly bruising cheek stand out more.
"I-... Fuck you!" the man exclaims, running off with his groupies.
Michael chuckles, "Well, that's the last we'll see of them... Oh, I just jinxed it, didn't I?" he mutters, inwardly kicking himself.
"They were acting funny... Do you think they were ill?" Tiffania asks.
Michael nods, "Yeah, they were definitely sick alright..." he shakes his head, "Let's leave Medresi for now and check out the Temple of Mara, wherever that is.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After asking around a bit, the group find themselves standing before the Temple of Mara, which looked more like a city fortification than a traditional temple. The outside of it was almost entirely made of stone, harsh on the eyes with the only the Mistveil Keep where the Jarl stayed being taller than it.
Regardless, they enter inside, a warm glow of fire washing over them as they step into the temple. It was drastically different compared to the Hall of the Dead dedicated to Arkay, with many church pews facing the front where a shrine of Mara sat. He remembers this from the game, this was where marriages were held...
He'd been here a couple times for *Ahem*, testing the games features... Specifically, getting married to a certain Werewolf girl... Not to mention the hours he'd spent trying to marry a certain Vampire, only to find that such an option didn't exist... A travesty, truly.
He feels someone nudge his side, and looks over to find Tiffania giving him a curious look, he coughs into his hand and stifles his embarrassment, "I was just surprised at how familiar this all looked. Like the temples of my home." he says ambiguously before walking down the hall towards the single priest present.
"Hello?"
The man smiles, "Greetings my son, is there something you need?"
Michael nods, "My friends and I were hoping to see if we could receive the blessings of Mara..." he gestures to Charlotte and Maria, the shorter girl stepping forward with an earnest look on her usually blank face.
"My mother, she was hurt trying to protect me. Her mind is..."
The priest rests a gentle hand on her shoulder and nods, "I see, please be calm, there is no need to explain yourself to me. Come, let her Benevolence judge us." he says, taking Charlotte and Maria's hands, leading them in front of the Shrine of Mara and then going through the short ceremony.
The priest, now named Maramal lowers his head and closes his eyes, his hands tucked on his hip. Charlotte has Maria follow the step, even if the woman fidgets and forgets to do as she's told. Regardless, Charlotte follows Maramal's lead, and silence reigns in the temple.
Michael sits on a nearby pew with Tiffania and Illococoo sitting either side of him, each watching with slight worry on their faces.
"Do you think it will work?"
Michael shrugs, "I know that Mara exists, whether or not she'll help is her own prerogative."
...
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES
Niggross
Niggross
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
JayJonnaJamison
Jack Allen
Faruk Ereng
Estado de energía semanal
200+ Ranking de
Poder 
0 Piedra de
Poder 
Comentario de párrafo