An illustrated Skyrim story beyond the fall of the Dark Brotherhood~
After a surreal event, Cicero is inexplicably thrown back into a clear state of mind and his memories from his life prior to his madness return. We begin to learn who he really is...
Just before sunrise, Cicero and his students arrived at the farm just north of Whiterun. Standing on the side of the dirt road, he surveyed the area for any patrolling guards before leading Rage and Krow to the cover of the shadows of a large windmill. He knelt in the grass and motioned for them to do the same.
"Alright, this should be pretty straightforward," Cicero explained and glanced toward the farmhouse, "The first thing you need in order to be a successful assassin is to have as much information as possible about the location and the target before making your move."
"I thought the first thing was to kill without being seen?" Krow asked as he studied the steel talons on his fingertips.
Cicero sighed as he continued to monitor the house, "While a great assassin can kill his mark in plain sight without detection, there's much more to the process beforehand. We'll get to that later," he turned to Krow, "There's an art to information gathering and what you do with it. It could mean the difference between being successful and being caught. But for today, you're simply setting your benchmark. I just want to see where your basic skills begin. So I've already done the 'footwork' on this target."
"The guy lives in the middle of nowhere," Krow groaned, "Can't I just kick the door in and slit his throat?"
Cicero shook his head, "As fun as that would be, this is supposed to be a controlled learning experience. I'm making this easy for yo-"
"It would be easier to just burn the place down and go get some beer," Krow smiled and winked at Rage.
She nodded, "I'm with him on that one. My feet hurt from walking."
"...Seriously?" Cicero frowned, "We're going to need to work on your stamina-"
"When can I get a horse?" she crossed her legs and began picking at the grass like a bored child, "I want a black one like Mother has. I could pick me up some sexy mens with that beastie."
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"This mission is time-sensitive," Cicero continued, not wanting to encourage more nonsense with a response, "Here's what you need to know. The target is a middle-aged male Imperial of average build. He's a farmer with little to no combat training but he carries an iron dagger for self-defense. He is more likely to rely on local law for protection because he would rather run his mouth and complain than actually be of any assistan-" Cicero caught himself mid-tangent, "He lives with his wife, a high elf of average build for her age and race, who is not a threat. In fact, your assigned challenge is to enter the abode stealthfully and take the farmer out without alerting her."
"Easy," Krow cracked his knuckles and stood up, "Let's get this over with. I'm thirsty for somethin' bubbly..."
"Same," Rage sighed, leaning back on her arms lethargically, "The sooner the better."
