Shadows Preserve Us

Chapter 1: Riften Arrival

3rd POV
It was a cloudy day when the dark elf girl arrived at Riften. It had been a long walk from Falkreath, but she had finally arrived. As she walked up, she saw two guards standing at the gate to the city. She had been warned on the way here about them. They ran a scam at the gate, saying people had to pay a visitor's tax as they approached the city. The girl didn't want to deal with them today. Sure, she could call them out but she was too tired to deal with it. Truth be told it was better this way, the less attention on her the better. She noticed a staircase off to the side of the gate. Worth a shot. The girl slipped around the side and up the stairs which led her to a deck. The only door available to her on the deck led into a house. Can't enter that way, breaking into a house to enter the city is not a good way to lay low. She then looked at her other options. She could dive into the water and swim to the fishery docks and enter the city that way. I would like to avoid getting wet, hard not to notice a new girl that looks like a drowned skeever. That only left climbing. Thankfully the girl was excellent at climbing walls. She climbed onto the railing of the deck and took a leap, grabbing the top of the city wall. Before she lost her momentum, she pulled herself over the wall and safely dropped down on the other side and in the Riften gates. She walked out of the little side garden of the house and towards the tavern to get a room. She talked with the argonian Keerava and got a room. Finally, she decided to go to the market before anything else. She was about to approach the blacksmith shop, she heard "Running a little light in the pockets there, eh lass?"

Brynjolf POV

I was tending my stall in the market like always, on the watch for newcomers and listening for information. Just as I was about to close up for the day, I saw her. A girl I had never seen before emerged from the alley between the Pawned Prawn and the Bee and Barb. I had never seen her come in the gate and she wasn't wet like she came up from the lake. How did she get in the city? She then entered the inn and I quickly closed my stall and went to Maul asking if she had come in the front gate and I had just missed her. However, he hadn't seen her either. He was very irritated that someone was able to get into the city without him knowing. After talking with Maul, I was even more interested in this girl. Clearly she had found a way into the city without coming through the gate or swimming up to the docks. This is the kind of person we need to recruit into the guild. I walk back to the market, hoping to spot the girl. It doesn't take long, she is walking towards the blacksmith's shop. I can finally get a good look at her, now that she is closer. She is a dark elf with light grey skin, and has long midnight black hair with the front pieces tied back from her face, just barely showing her pointed ears. She wore simple leather armor as though she had little money, but her weapon was a different story. The bow and arrows slung on her back were made of glass, which is a more expensive weapon. The armor and weapons seemed to contradict each other, the armor said she had little money to afford armor, but the weapon suggested that she had enough money to get a glass weapon. She had a long scar from the top of her cheekbone down to her chin. I wonder how that happened. But her most striking feature were her eyes. They were bright blue, like the summer sky. Surrounding her eyes was blue warpaint, in no particular pattern seeming to be randomly placed.  I walked up behind the girl and said "Running a little light in the pockets there, eh lass?" She turns to me with a wary look in her eye, and almost whispers, "what?" I feel a smirk form on my face as I say, "I'm saying you don't have a lot of money in your pockets." She turns away from me and her voice gains an angry tone when she says, "My wealth is none of your business!" I walked around to stand in front of her again and say, " That's where you're wrong lass, my name is Brynjolf and wealth is my business. Maybe you would like a taste?" I see her bright blue eyes light up. "What did you have in mind?"  My smirk grows bigger as I hear this, larceny is in this lass' blood. "I've got a bit of an errand to perform, but I need an extra pair of hands. And in my line of work, extra hands are well paid." I don't need to say anything else. The girl thinks about it for a minute and agrees to help. "I was needing a bit of money anyway. What do you need me to do?" I give her the details of the job and point out who Brand-Shei and Madesi are. She nods and then moves to a better position, acting like she is shopping at Madesi's stall. I see the signal we had discussed and proceed with the distraction. The distraction works and everyone comes over to see the "falmer blood elixir". While they are watching me, the lass disappears behind Madesi's stall. She seems to break into the stall and strongbox really quickly. Next thing I know she is walking calmly to Brand-Shei's stall. If I hadn't been watching to see her finish the job, I never would have known. Before I knew it she was standing at the back of the crowd and gave me the signal meaning it was done. I ended my speech and, once the crowd had dispersed, walked over to the lass. "Well done lass! Here you go, your payment just as promised. The way things have been going around here, it is a relief our plan went off without a hitch." The lass immediately looks wary at that last comment. She takes the coin purse and says, " What has been going on?" She looks like she is ready to bolt depending on what I say next. I decide to downplay it a little bit and respond, "Bah, my organization's been having a run of bad luck, though I suppose that is just how it goes." What said seemed to have worked because she visibly relaxed after hearing my answer. I wonder why the lass looked so worried. "But never mind that, you did the job and you did it well. Best of all there is more where that came from, if you think you can handle it.." I say with my smirk returning to my face. She looks at me, and seems to consider her options for a few minutes when she grins and says, "I can handle it." I grin right back at her and say, "All right then, let's put that to the test. The group I represent has its home in the ratway beneath the city. In a tavern called the Ragged Flagon. Get there in one piece, and will see if you've really got what it takes." I start to walk away when I realize I don't even know this lass' name. I turn back around and call out, "Hey lass! I never got your name?" She turns to face me and smile forms on her face. She calls back, " Almeta."