บท 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.
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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."
...
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