Dark Brotherhood: Ancient Blood

Chapter 013: The Apprentice Wizard and the Amulet of Mara

     The trip to Riften was a long and quiet one. Neither Cicero nor Jade attempted to carry a conversation, which was strange since neither of them ever knew when to shut up. Truth was, Jade had no business in Riften at that moment. She had made that up on the spot to interrupt the situation with Cicero and Zukira and had no way to follow up other than actually going. She was used to flying by the seat of her pants anyway. Growing up in the Rift, she had plenty of friends and acquaintances about so she was confident that there'd be something to do. Not a big deal.

     Jade dismounted Shadowmere, the Dark Brotherhood Void horse, and began collecting her items from the satchel. Out of breath, Cicero finally caught up on foot. He took his punishment well and didn't complain much beyond his gasps and grunts of exhaustion. Jade smiled as she watched him struggle to make it up the hill with what little energy he had left. Though, his body looked quite toned in that shrouded armor. She'd never really noticed with the way he used to dress. He could kinda pass as a real man now. Kinda.

     "Hurry up, I'm thirsty," she called to him.

     Cicero leaned into a weak jog as he made it to her and was handed a small bag of supplies.

     "I know people here, so don't embarrass me. You know the drill," she mumbled.

     "Of course, Listener."

     The setting sun was casting long shadows across the road into Riften and the street merchants were closing up shop for the night. Everyone seemed to be heading to the Bee and Barb; one of the local taverns at the center of town. Jade could already smell the mead.

     As they entered the establishment, the evening came alive with joyous bard music and local banter. Everyone was merry and actively getting drunk, pleased to have gotten through another workday in the Rift. Jade made her way over to the barkeep and removed a couple of septims from her coin pouch, tapping them on the counter.

     "Black-Briar's finest for my traveling companion and I!" she called over the noise. Cicero joined her at the bar and scanned over the room noting that the clientele was mostly laborers and merchants. Riften was the home of the Skyrim Thieves Guild. Nothing happened in this town without them knowing or having a hand in it, so it was very likely that everyone in the tavern had some shady business practices in one way or another.

     The barkeep slid two tankards of mead across the bar and scooped up the coins. Jade handed one to Cicero before turning to check the room for faces she might recognize. Cicero cradled his drink with both hands and stared down into the dark honey-based liquid. This all was starting to feel a bit fishy.

     "Listener," he tapped her on the shoulder, "Shouldn't we check in with Brynjolf before we drink?"

     Jade laughed, "He doesn't care. Neither should you. Drink."

     Cicero watched her chug the mead before slowly sipping his own. He was beginning to think that there was no real objective to this trip, and if there was, it wasn't business-related as Jade had implied.

     Over the next twenty minutes, Jade managed to down two more tankards with no signs of slowing down. The woman clearly enjoyed her brew. As Cicero was just starting on his second, he began to realize that he may need to keep an eye on his superior. She was starting to draw unnecessary attention to herself with loud outbursts to other patrons.

     "I thought that voice sounded familiar!" a snooty-looking Imperial called from across the tavern. He was dressed in mid-quality mage's robes and was waving, eagerly trying to get Jade's attention through the crowd.