Ignem Tristitia (An Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Prequel) [ON HOLD]

Chapter Three - Finding Adventure

"I'll have another!" Kharjo said, burping.

"I'll have another also!" I said to the bartender. She was a nord, and she looked unsatisfied.

"Can you two pay for this?" She asked sternly.

"Don't you,-" Kharjo hiccuped, "-worry about the septims. We got 'em."

I giggled. This was the first time I'd been to a tavern, and honestly, looking back it wasn't that great, but it sure felt like it then.

I gave the coins to the woman, and I hobbled out of the Singing Sugarcane. Kharjo was right behind me, nearly falling on top of me as he tripped on the doorframe.

I laughed and pushed him off.

Then, suddenly, we both stopped acting like heathens and stared each other in the eyes. Dead silence. Then we both burst out laughing.

"Oh, that was a nice plan," I said to Kharjo, chuckling.

"Nice indeed," he replied hesitantly stifling a laugh. He sniffed and exhaled.

"So," I asked. "What shall we do now?"

"Well, friend, I'd assume the rest of the group is rendezvousing back at the city gates," he said.

"Onward we go then," I said. "To the boat."

"To the boat!" he said softly laughing.

We weren't really intoxicated--not even close. Kharjo had seen a pompous salesman go into the bar and Kharjo decided that, since he was so rude to the residents of the area, that we'd pretend we were drunk simply so we'd annoy him out of the restaurant. We sat right beside him. It worked, and he stormed out.

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At the gates, Kharjo and I waited a few minutes before anyone else showed up. The first one was Veezare. He'd purchased a few weapons for the ship's armory. Lumak was almost right behind him, carrying a tankard spilling with beer. He had new war paint, red lines curving underneath his eyes then swerving beside his cheekbones.

Brelas and Drelas, who each had two quivers packed to the limit slung around their backs, had apparently been all over the city. They were rambling on about someone being murdered in the street. Apparently it wasn't a huge matter, due to the fact that the murdered person was a criminal. Surprising.

Estaara wasn't showing up.

"Where's Star?" Drelas asked. "She's never late."

"Oh, d'you mean that high elf lady?" said someone behind us. I whirled around, but I saw no one.

"Down here," the voice said. "Hello!"

No wonder I didn't see him. It was an overly short bosmer.

"Oh," Veezare said. "It's one of those really short wood elves."

"Excuse me," he said. "A high elf woman walked out the gates before you two came here."

He pointed to Kharjo and me.

"Thanks, shorty," Lumak said.

The bosmer sighed and muttered an insult under his breath, walking away.

We walked back to the carriage, on the western end of the outside wall. Lumak saw a flare of fire launch into the sky.

"Well, that's most likely Star," he said.

Everyone quickly ran towards the stables. There weren't many people there catapulting fireballs into the sky above the capital city. Estaara was.

"Star!" Veezare said, trotting over to her. "What in the Hist are you doing? Trying to burn down Torval?"