Dark Brotherhood: Ancient Blood

Chapter 028: Doggie Style- part 1

     It had been a long while since Jade had spent any time in Whiterun. She would visit occasionally to barter goods and fence some items, but she tried to limit her stay now that she was part of the Dark Brotherhood. After multiple run-ins with the law, she thought it best to avoid being noticed at all. Unfortunately, she couldn't exactly explain that to the Night Mother and expect to get out of her assignment. The fact that Jade owned property within the city probably made it seem like she would be more suited for the job... hopefully, she wouldn't be noticed.

     The target she was assigned to was known to lodge in Whiterun that time of year. Besides a residence, a transient's only option for lodging would be the Bannered Mare in the Plains District. Though, as it was mid-afternoon, the inn/tavern was near empty. Jade didn't want to draw too much attention to herself by asking around openly so she decided that the next best option would be to simply keep her eyes peeled for an Argonian dressed as a sell-sword. Whiterun was a Nord city after all; any member of a beast race would stick out like a sore thumb.

     Jade made her way up to the Winds District following the comforting scent of a hot burning forge. Comforting to a girl who had a blacksmith for a father. He bent steal for the Thieves Guild while working as a fence for stolen weapons. Jade had spent much of her early childhood watching him craft and deal his shady business in Riften. It was one of the reasons she had picked up the hobby of collecting rare and unique weapons; weapons which she merely stow in her house, viewing them as treasure over protection.

     Jade's eyes shifted up to the enormous upturned longboat that was re-purposed as a mead hall and home of the Companions. Jorrvaskr. She had visited the hall many times over the years to partake in parties and training. The Companions had grown fond of her drunken loud entertainment and eventually accepted her as a fellow warrior after she assisted them with some personal matters.

     The clanking of the metal from the Skyforge high above the mead hall suddenly reminded Jade of something Cicero always chattered about whenever they'd stop in Whiterun. He would go on and on about wanting to get his hands on some Skyforge steel for a dagger. She would always ignore him and sometimes even avoid the area around the forge just to spite him. Sure, they hadn't been seeing eye-to-eye lately... Well, maybe they'd never seen eye-to-eye, but Jade was starting to feel as if she should at least make an effort at this point considering the... circumstances. 

     Being someone who stockpiled weapons and secretly enjoyed hoarding shiny trinkets, she had become quite aware that Cicero owned next to nothing. He came to Skyrim with merely a dagger, the lint in his pockets, and a couple of septims. Septims which he rewarded her with for assisting him when the wheel broke on his wagon while transporting the Night Mother from Dawnstar to Falkreath. It was the first time they'd met and frankly, Jade wanted nothing to do with him even then. If it wasn't for that stubborn farmer being such a negative jerk about helping the stranded fool, she'd have left Cicero high and dry herself. But the frustrated little jester was the lesser of two evils at that moment, and Jade never turned down an opportunity to make someone eat their own shit, so to speak.

     As she made her way up the wide staircase toward the entrance of Jorrvaskr, the sounds of men cheering could be heard within. The Companions were probably having another brawl. The barbaric nature of her people brought her such pride. She so wanted to join in but decided to use her better judgment and focus on keeping a low profile. On her way up to the forge, Jade decided to inquire about getting a dagger made for Cicero. Luckily, she knew the Skyforge blacksmith well and had long since earned his respect. 

     Eorlund Gray-Mane, a formidable-looking older Nord, stood over the forge. His brow was covered in soot and sweat and he appeared to be working on a large sword with unique markings on it.