Dark chocolate with nuts (AmySorin x Ban The Game)

[Ban the Game]

The fog rolled into the valley from the high mountain tops. Warm aspen trees faded into the cold morning mist, it followed the rivers and streams to the lake all the way to the docks of Riften. The honest working folk had already started their daily toil, and the dishonest folk has retreated into the depths with their ill gotten gains. A normal morning in the Rift of southern Skyrim. Deeper in the city, at a simple Inn called the Bee and Barb, a youthful dunmer woke up from a groggy slumber. She stumbled to her feet, grabbed the simple lenin brown dress off the foot of her bed, and then staggered back onto chair in front of a table covered with odds and ends.

She reached for her brush first, fixing up her hair for the day. She brushed it for almost a half hour before grabbing a handfull of metal wire off the table and pressed it to her hair. With a bit of concentration and some arcane gesturing the metal moved and bond itself together into a fashionable accesory, holding her hair in place. Picking up a mirror she appraised her face, dabbing her finger into some wax powder, rubbing it on her face with the glow of magicka forming it into fine lipstick, eye shadow, and just the right kind of blush for a dunmer woman. She put her hand on her throat, and quietly sung a song until the tone heightened to her liking. Finally, she looked down at the dress in her lap and shook her head. "Oh this just won't do but the question is what would I like to wear today?" She placed it on the table, flattened it out, and got to work. The frays bound into perfect stitching and the ugly natural lenin turned into a vibrant green. She smiled and stared at her work for a moment before putting it on. "Well, todays the day," she said after she finished getting dressed and grabbed a quill and parchment. "Time to write up this notice." She dipped the quill into her ink vial and began writing:

Adventurer's wanted
Hiring skilled explorers and mercenaries to assist in an expedition into a local ruin. Must have experience in martial disciplines and self sufficiency.
Magical background a plus but is not a requirement. Payment is based off of performance and finds looted from the site after employer appraisal.
Visit Ravvyna's Enchantments and Cosmetics if interested.​

"Okay that should do it," Ravvyna sighed before making the parchment look a bit fancier. She took the note downstairs into the Inn proper and to the notice board, pinning it up before finding a seat and enjoying a small breakfast of local fruit with a bit of honey. She peered around the inn, wondering if anyone noticed that she pinned something new to the board. Biting her lip, she stood up and left after finishing her meal, paying a few coins to the barkeep on her way out. The Sun seemed unusually bright that morning even with the fog. Ravvyna took it as a good sign and walked over to her stand with a spring in her step. It was just a simple wooden vender stand with a carved sign. There was a large cabnet at the bottom but she would never be so foolish to leave anything trully valuable in there. Just some bulky and ratty lenin and hemp, with all the trully valuable goods in her satchel that she carried with her. She checked on the lenin and double checked the supplies in her pouch before sitting on a stool and waiting for customers to arrive. She placesa few vials of wax powder on the counter, took out her mirror, and idly demonstrated her craft whenever someone passed close enough to actually notice.

 

[AmySorin]

Sighing every now and then, Alicia was making her way through the fogged streets of Riften. It was a cold morning in the city of thieves, but when had it not been cold in Skyrim? Throughout her many years of wandering alone through the snowy and hilly lands of Skyrim, one of the things she had learned for sure was that there was no such thing as a warm day. At least by her standards, every single day was chilly and dark, no matter where she was. Perhaps the fact that she travelled around only in a black dress and equally black boots didn’t help her cause either, but in her head she was convinced that feeling the everyday cold was better than paying the hefty prices of winter garment.

How long had ago had she started to roam through the many places of Skyrim without a proper destination? Four years? Five? At that point, the young looking redhead couldn’t tell for sure anymore. She knew it was a long time, but she couldn’t pinpoint that long gone day when she woke up half naked in a random house in Solitude anymore. That was the first memory she had of her current life. Anything besides that, was just a great number of fragmented and senseless blurs. If it wasn’t by the silver necklace shaped as the name Alicia that was resting on top of the nightstand beside the bed she had woken up, she most likely wouldn’t even know what to call herself. She didn’t even dare claim that name as her real one, as the necklace could’ve belonged to someone who lived in that household at some point.

She didn’t even know where she had come from. Her name pointed to an Imperial heritage, but her skin was way too fair in comparison with the natural inhabitants of Cyrodill. Her skin tone alone pointed that she might actually be a Breton. However, if one was to consider her magical prowess, it would be highly unlikely that she had come from High Rock, as she only knew enchanting and alteration sorceries to a certain degree. She could also be a Nord, but the fact that she didn’t even reach 150cm when her boots were off made that an unlikely possibility. Also, she was clearly not as adapted to the cold as one would expect from a Skyrim native.

She had only two other items tying her to a possible past. One of them was a sword with blade length nearly as long as that of your average Nordic greatsword, yet narrow and thick, with its weight distributed in a way it could be easily handled with her left hand alone. With a complex guard designed to protect the user’s hand, it was a sword unlike any other seen in Tamriel. The other item was a more typical looking dagger, with a bit more protection on its guard than average, which was usually used by the girl on her right hand. Despite her lack of memory, her muscles seemed really well acquainted with the two pieces of weaponry and she was said to have the fighting skills of a true redguard.

As she walked through the streets, she eventually decided to stop at a tavern. Despite the looks that made her look not only like a young girl – looks that didn’t change at all since she woke up – but also like an almost typical Court Lady, she would usually get a living out of scavenging ruins and helping people with mercenary work, much to their surprise. That kind of job offer was usually found on the taverns’ notice boards. That indeed seemed to be the case that day, as someone had posted a notice seeking for skilled explorers and mercenaries.
Without further ado, she walked out of the tavern, not consuming anything before that. Quietly, she made her way through the streets again, now looking for a store called “Ravvyna’s Enchantments and Cosmetics”. Eventually, she stopped by a wooden stand, where a Dunmer, who she presumed to be Ravvyna herself, was sitting on a stool.

“I’m here because of your notice on the tavern’s board” the redhead mentioned, going straight to the point. Although she was rather straightforward, her voice matched that of a sweet and gentle noble girl “I believe you’re looking for explorers, yes?”
​

 

[Ban the Game]

Ravvyna's morning seemed rather boring. No one seemed interested in the wears and services she was selling but that was a rather normal accurance. At least she managed to get through the morning without anyone from the thieves guild harassing her for what little profits she could make. Still, she kept herself occupied by fiddling with her own make up and casually experimenting with some simple enchantments on the circle she had etched into the counter top of her stall. Suddenly, a woman's voice came to her and she looked up to see a cute little redheaded woman. Blinking for a moment she took a moment to process what she had said. "Oh yes! Forgive me, I hadn't expected my notice to get attention so quickly." She looked the woman up and down for a moment before peering her gaze around the market. "We shouldn't talk about this here, would you care to join me back at the Bee and Barb? I have a room there were we can speak in private." Before the woman could even answer she collected all of her vials, soul gems, and fabrics, and quickly stashed them away in her purse before closing up her stall. Stepping around she gave the woman and expecting look, "What might your name be?"

 

[AmySorin]

The young redhead looked at the Dunmer for a bit, her arms crossed below her chest as she waited for the answer. She actually expected a person who had just posted a sign looking for help to be ready, especially because it involved payments and sums of gold. The prospect of making money would likely attract a few people quite quickly, even if through the wrong means. Still, in the end she decided to just go with it without questioning and nodded at who she believed to be Ravvyna. At the very least the woman didn’t ask her about her age or made any remark about it.

“I wouldn’t mind discussing the matter here, but if you feel insecure about it, I suppose we could talk about it elsewhere” Alicia replied, shrugging and resting her hands by her sides “And you can call me Alicia. Now, would you kindly lead the way? I’m still not as acquainted to the city as I’d like, so for now I’d prefer to follow” the human gently asked, giving the elf an embarrassed smile.

Casually, Alicia stepped back and waited for Ravvyna to take the lead, her right hand fiddling with the tip of her long and curled pigtail. Her left hand rested alongside her body, her fingers lazily pattering the pommel of the dagger she carried with her. All the time while she was waiting she kept quietly humming a slow and seemingly peaceful song, slightly different from what one would usually hear in a tavern. As she did so, a small and carefree smile could be spotted on her lips. Meanwhile, however, her red eyes kept moving from side to side, watching the movement of people around them while she stood in wait for her possible patron.
​

 

[Ban the Game]

I took a few minutes for Ravvyna to pack up her things but once she was done she didn't waste any time before walking to the tavern. "Right then, it's the same tavern I put up ht notice," she said already a having walked a few yards from her stall. Arriving at the tavern, her stance and actions took a strange turn. She grabbed Alicia by the arm and leaned in with a whisper. "Try to act natural. Success at this action is a requirement to be hired for the job. You picked up a date and are about to head up to the tavern for a one night stand and will be taking her to a room upstairs. Thats what it's supposed to look like to everyone from the outside." Ravvyna opened the door then quickly leaned back against Alicia with an appearance of giddyness and glee.

Once the two reached her room, she shut the door behind them and she took a moment to look through her drawers for some notes she had scrawled down. "Have a seat please." Ravvyna took a seat herself by the main dresser in the room. "So before I discuss more details on the job I have some questions for you," she said before clearing her throat and looking down at her notes. "I'd like to know about your formal occupations, any experience you have in mercenary work, the details of your training, and lastly any magical aptitude you may have." The look on Ravvyna's face was completely serious, seemingly oblivious to the demands she gave earlier and the strange method of arriving here.

 

[AmySorin]

As Ravvyna led the way to the tavern, Alicia made sure to stay two or three steps back. The look on her face remained carefree and relaxed, but at all times her left hand kept playfully pattering on the dagger’s pommel. Her red eyes as well never seemed to stay still for too long as she analyzed her surroundings repeatedly. Only on rare occasions she’d actually look at the Dunmer’s back and those moments didn’t last for long.

She would catch up with her, however, the moment they were reaching the tavern. Not by option, but because Ravvyna waited for her and suddenly held on her arm. Instinctively, Alicia pulled her dagger from its sheath and touched the woman’s waist with its tip even before she had the opportunity to start talking about what she wanted. “Is this some kind of bad joke?” the redhead asked, pressing the point of the blade against the elf slightly harder than before. “I’m a traveler, not a hooker” she whispered, scanning the tavern around them.

The moment her eyes fixed on Ravvyna’s face again, however, she discretely sheathed her weapon and held on her arm with both her arms, pulling it close to her body. She sighed softly and then forced herself to smile. While walking together, she stood as close as possible, her head pointing at the woman’s face and her arms holding hers close to her small chest. Like that, she crossed the tavern all the way until reaching Ravvyna’s room.

As she entered the small bedroom, she walked over to the bed. Taking her left hand to her right side, she pulled her sword out of its scabbard and sat on the edge of the bed “I have no formal occupation. I’m a traveler, I live life on what I manage to find during my pilgrimage. I have done mercenary work, yes” while talking, she kept her gaze on her sword’s narrow green blade, which glowed red on uncertain intervals “I can’t share with you details of my training, but I’m more than capable of carrying my own weight around” the redhead said, her eyes still fixed on her weapon, now slowly moving it from side to side.
​

 

[Ban the Game]

As Alicia explained her history, Ravvyna listened intently but her hands continued to work sorting the piles of parchment she had. Once Alicia was done she took out what appeared to be a small map of The Rift. "Well I suppose that resume will be enough. As long as you are willing to risk the dangers then I will hire you but I must explain them clearly." She flattened out the map and plugged two pins down at specific locations. "Here and here are two local ruins I'd be interested in investigating. One is an old nordic crypt, relatively small and hidden away in a cave. The other is an unknown Dwemer watch tower high in the mountains. Both are relatively hidden away and if you have the experience your letting on you should know what to expect."

She pulled out the pins and rolled up the map before moving on. "Now thats the easy part. The real danger I'm worried about is right here in Riften. As for what happened when we came in here, no one else knows whats on the notice. It took a lot of work but the text on the parchment can't be read by anyone from Riften. The local thieves guild has been harassing me a great deal and while that diversion bought us some time , I'm sure the guild will be on our trail as soon as we leave."

 

[AmySorin]

“Nothing too out of ordinary, is it?” Alicia asked, paying little attention to the map that Ravvyna had shown her, her eyes still more interested in the glowing red blade of her own sword. She pointed the weapon forward, causing its tip to almost touch her hirer’s skin. She let out a small sigh “I just hope we can find some malachite there, otherwise this will all have been some rather wasted time” she said in a low voice, almost inaudible to Ravvyna.

The redhead finally sheathed her sword and stood up “People harassing you, huh?” she repeated while she stretched her small body “This explains why there were four or five people staring at your back while I was following you” Alicia continued, nodding. She rested her right hand on her sword’s complex hilt and shot the Dunmer a serious look “That changes things a bit. If you want me to do something about this, your initial proposition most certainly won’t be enough. Killing people is a much different and much more expensive job” the young girl informed Ravvyna with little to no emotion in her voice.​

 

[Ban the Game]

Alicia's clumsily threatening gesture caught Ravvyna off guard. The girl didn't seem like she actually meant to do what she did, more like she got lost in thought. Rubbing her hand down her mouth, Ravvyna stepped back and forth for a moment listening to her hireling's demands before speaking. "Mercenary work doesn't leave much up for interpretation. You knew from the flier exactly what you were walking into so that bargaining tactic doesn't work on me. I don't care what happens to the men they send, as long as they are kept from getting in our way."


She shrugged, "Honestly as this point your payment really isn't up for negotiation. As a minimum I can only promise around 30 to 40% of the finding but I really only need enough gold and supplies to set up a shop in another location. Any surplus loot can be given to you as a bonus. If the findings are really nothing you are interested in then I can take them and compensate you with invested stock in my shop for a more long term financial option. Alternatively, I could reward you with store credit or other personal favors. I'm sure a woman as beautiful as you can make use of what I have to offer." She said with a somewhat suggestive tone, punctuating with an inviting smile. "At any rate. If Malachite is what you seek then the dwemer watch tower is likely our best bet. The dwemer used such metals of red mountain as currency."