Elsewhere :
Shakeesh scowls as he heads to the meetup location he and Jotdarra had previously agreed to, wondering if the annoying Khajiit had actually managed to escape that crazy kid. Yes, he was referring to the person he ran away from as a kid, his pride would not let him do otherwise...
Unfortunately, it isn't Jotdarra that he meets once there, instead it's their unfamiliar familiar colleague known as Dol. The Nord that'd also escaped the kid's wrath, inadvertently leaving Jotdarra on his own... Not that Shakeesh could say a word on that particular matter.
"Where's the Khajiit?" Shakeesh grouses, stomping over to the Nord with a scowl.
Dol shakes his head, "He has been arrested and is rotting in the Falkreath jails. Fortunately, we have a few 'sympathetic' men on the inside, so his treatment will not be terrible." he says, barely holding back his grin from Shakeesh, as if he knew something the Redguard didn't.
Shakeesh folds his arms together, wondering what he'd do now... Jotdarra hadn't yet paid him for his work, so he was hesitant to leave without getting compensation. "What now?"
Dol smirks, "This is one thing all new bloods learn. It's good to know people in low places... Isn't that right, Darra?" he says, confusing Shakeesh.
"It is right, small donations can create nations, this one thinks. A bribe here, a bribe there, it makes a great difference... Every man has his price." the Khajiit states semi-sarcastically as he walks out from Oblivion-knows where and stands amongst them, freshly freed from prison. His arm was splinted and he did walk with a limp however, showing that Michael had not left him unscathed.
"B-but... Surely the guards wouldn't fold so easily? Would they not know to be careful with you? The Thieves Guild has a reputation after all." he asks.
Dol nods "They do usually try. But with enough information anything's possible... I slipped a note containing the name, age, address, friends, and hobbies of one of the guard's daughters, he caught on quickly."
Shakeesh frowns, not liking such disgraceful tactics being used in his presence, but he could stifle his discomfort for now... "You two may be fine, but I'll become a criminal if the boy decides to alert them to my presence."
Jotdarra shakes his head, "There is no proof, the boy did not reveal you knowing this."
Dol shrugs, "Regardless, the fence is fucked now. We'll have to set up somewhere else, but I for one don't want to have any part in it. This place is boring, little to nothing happening... I'll be headed back to Riften, you two can come if you like." he says while pulling a backpack from his shoulders and rearranging things, making sure he had enough supplies on him to make it to the next village.
"Will you not do anything to the boy for his actions? I knew you were thieves, but I didn't take you for cowards." Shakeesh states with a look of contempt.
Dol chuckles, "No, that kid's pissed me off, but we are thieves, not one of your warriors back in Hammerfell... We specialize in not only information gathering, but distribution as well. We'll put in a nice word for that boy, Michael. Make it known he possesses incredibly rare coins, jewellery, magic artifacts... Maybe even some rumours of his scandalous relationship with vampires." he snorts in amusement, "We'll see what I can be bothered to do at least. You'd be surprised with what people'll believe if you tell it to them enough."
Shakeesh looks down with a frown, "Khajiit, do you have my payment?"
"No, this one had to spend it to convince his captors. If you want gold, you will have to come to Riften." Jotdarra explains, causing Shakeesh's brows to furrow.
"It's not like I have any other choice. I cannot stay in Falkreath, and I wouldn't make it to the next village without freezing, let alone Whiterun... I'll come, but only for my reward." he says, deciding to go with them, get his pay, and immediately head to Whiterun to join the companions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two more days pass for Michael and the girls with not much else happening. Charlotte continues her attempts to learn the Tamrielic. Honestly, she was most focussed on learning to read it than anything else, her interest in this world's books getting peaked when he'd read a book called 'The Dragon War' to her, which detailed the relationship between ancient men and the mythical dragons, the latter of which most believed to only be a myth... At least for now.
Illococoo was quickly mastering the language however, her work as a waitress was only improving it further as she makes small talk with the locals and practises actually speaking it. Michael reckoned that she'd be fully proficient with it in a month, if not weeks.
Michael had taken up one other job from the Jarl during this, investigating reports of a corrupt tax collector who'd been taking advantage of nearby villages. It was a quick and easy job, especially since he'd caught them attempting to molest a village Elder's daughter while using Jarl Dengeir's name to intimidate them. He cut the man's foot off and left him for the villagers to deal with, afterwards reporting the events to the Jarl. It may not have been 'proper procedure', but Jarl Dengeir granted a good amount of freedom with how he completed the tasks.
The man had actually laughed and praised Michael for his actions concerning the tax collector, noting that he only actually collected taxes because the empire demanded it. He thought giving the criminal to the villagers to deal with was better than any compensation he could've provided... Plus, this way he wouldn't have to pay them or intervene to soothe their tempers.
Honestly, Michael was surprised with how well he was getting on with Dengeir. His hatred for all those with authority and who held nobility could not be understated, but Dengeir was a more hands-off and 'live and let live' leader than any Michael had met before. Apparently, that was how most Nord Jarl's were, something he appreciated greatly.
The Jarl's friendliness could also be attributed to his contribution to Falkreath. Retrieving Lohir's body was one thing, but directly or indirectly ridding Falkreath of a Thieves Guild outpost had the paranoid Jarl almost throwing a celebration in Michael's honour.
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It's at the end of these two rather relaxed days that something fantastic finally occurred...
Michael was playing dice with Valdr, Ari, and Niels when Illococoo runs up and grabs his arm, her face beaming as she hurriedly pulls him towards Tiffania's room. Realising what they probably meant, he dropped everything, even his lead in the game to follow her.
Inside, he was both stunned and relieved to see Tiffania sitting up and rubbing her eyes, looking as if she'd simply slept in instead of sleeping for a week... "Tiff." he starts, a smile creeping to his face as Charlotte joins him and Illococoo in greeting the sleepy-looking Half-Elf.
"Mhmm...?" Tiffania murmurs, wiping the sleep from her eyes as she turns towards them, "M-morning Michael...?" she says, her words trailing off into a questioning tone when she remembers what she was doing before she passed out. "D-did it work?"
Michael grins and nods, walking over and sitting on her bedside, "Yeah it did, but you've been asleep for around a week now. We were worried you'd never wake up." he explains causing the girl's eyes to widen.
He then goes into an explanation of the world they were in, the land, the people, their attitude on elves and why she shouldn't declare herself one, along with what he, Charlotte, and Illococoo had been doing while she was unconscious.
At first, she was apologetic to Charlotte as the short girl had to take care of her needs, bathing, food, water, etc. But her attitude slowly changed to a more excited and curious one the more she heard about Tamriel. She was eager to learn, to explore this world where no one was vying for her extermination... To her knowledge at least, perhaps he should avoid telling her about the Thalmor for now?... No that would be stupid.
Unlike Charlotte, she wasn't all that interested in learning this land's magic, probably because she'd only just scratched the surface on her own Void Magic. Though, Alchemy did seem to pique her interest, her old hobby of gardening would help her if she ever decided to learn the art.
"So, what are our plans?" she asks after taking a moment to properly absorb the information they'd just dumped on her. "A-and is your mother healed yet?" she asks after turning to Charlotte. She frowns sympathetically as the short girl shakes her head.
"Actually Charlotte, on that subject, I've gotten our options down to three Gods... The first that might accept your pleas and heal Mari is Dibella, God of Love and Beauty. To be honest, most who I spoke to about her made her sound more like the God of Sex, but we can't really be picky with how important our final decision is. From what I've heard there's a Temple dedicated to her over in Markarth, which is a far departure from our planned route... We'll go there if we have to though." he adds, getting a small, grateful smile from the girl.
"The second is Stendarr, God of Justice, Compassion, and Mercy. All of which would be valid concerning Maria's actions and poisoning. A Just, compassionate and merciful God would hear her. Plus the Hall of the Vigilant, a Temple to Stendarr of sorts is located near Dawnstar, which isn't all that far from Winterhold...
Lastly, and the Divine who I think would be most willing to heal Maria, is Mara. Mara is the God of Love, Compassion and Family." he explains, inwardly making a comparison between her and the God of the Hearth, Hestia. "There's a Temple dedicated to her over in Riften, but... Well, let's just say that the town's a complete shit hole and leave it at that. In the end, it's up to you where we take her, even if one fails we can go to another, it's not like we're on a time limit or anything."
Charlotte nods, "Thank you." she quietly says before leaving the room, most likely going to attend to Maria. Illococoo exits soon after, wishing to keep her master company, leaving Tiffania and him alone.
He coughs lightly in his fist and decides to continue explaining his plans to her, "That aside, there are some things I want to get done while we travel... Our final destination will be Winterhold College, I can almost guarantee our acceptance simply due to her otherworldly magic alone, I doubt we'll have to advertise it too much either, the Archmage will probably just be happy to discover a whole new type of magic and allow us to keep it quiet... I think.
I do also want to visit Whiterun to see a blacksmith there, while you were out I delved into a dungeon and got myself a full suit of ebony armour, but to use it I'll need a master smith to melt it down into something more my size. That, and I'd also like to check out the Companions, ah-" he pauses upon seeing her confused look, "They're like honourable mercenary warriors I think, taking and complete tasks given to them and protecting folk... Enough about what I want though, what do you want, Tiff? We're in a new world entirely, I bet you have lots of things you want to do?"
Tiffania slowly nods, rubbing her nervously rubbing her hands together, "I-I would like to explore. See famous places... Maybe help people afterwards?" she questions, not having thought that far forwards. "But I want to stay with you, no matter what happens." she adds with an expression full of determination.
Michael smiles, "Of course, did you think I'd be letting you go after all we've been through? I told you, it's us against the world, or worlds...?" he shakes his head, "So, you fancy trying the local food? It's the afternoon so things should already be ready to eat."
*Ruuuuuummmmble*
Tiffania blushes an almost fluorescent red as her stomach declares its intentions for her. Seems like the soft foods and soups she'd been fed thus far hadn't satisfied her... "I-I'd like that..."
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