The Dragonborn's Apprentice

Krii Rok Voth Kindness

"Arnbjorn is safe, and for that you have my thanks," Astrid's words held sincerity, but it dissolved as quick as dawn. "But what of the fool? Is Cicero dead?" She asked, as if not truly believing my letter. She was right not to.

"Yes, Cicero is dead." My words, however, lacked all conviction, sadness, or pride. I was to be a blank slate. If I wasn't, I may just have lost it. When had I started depending on the fool so?

I had decided that going back to the sanctuary was the best course of action, no matter how much Cicero had protested. I thought through what he had told me about Astrid several times. She wanted me gone and Sanguine knew that I was here. But he couldn't possibly know where here was. There's no way that Astrid would disclose the location of the Dark Brotherhood so easily. Even so, she wouldn't kill me until I had finished with the Emperor. Even if I was disposable in her eyes, she needed that right now in case things went south. And I had a hunch that they might.

Until then I had a job to finish and a Night Mother to watch over in place of the presumably dead Keeper. That was the only reason he had let me walk out of the Dawnstar Sanctuary without him. If something happened to the Night Mother, Cicero would probably hang himself for letting it happen. Once the Emperor was no longer, I would deal with the Astrid situation, however that may be. I hoped I had some time to figure that out.

"Excellent. Once again, you've proven yourself a born assassin. Tell you what. Why don't you hold onto Shadowmere a while longer? He's a fine steed and hasn't been ridden as nearly as much as he should lately. And now that this Cicero mess has been mopped up, we can get back to the matter at hand, hmm?" Her voice dripped with condescending kindness that I could now clearly see was a façade. How could I have been blind to it for so long?

"Right," I swallowed my wrath. "So, what's my next task?"

"There's just one more target before we strike out at the Emperor." Only one? Anxiety welled in my throat. "Have you by chance heard of the "Gourmet"? Read his cookbook? It's become quite a phenomenon. The Gourmet is scheduled to cook for the Emperor at a special dinner. You'll kill him, steal his Writ of Passage, and assume the role of master chef. Festus has been spearheading this part of the assassination plan. He's close to discovering the identity of the Gourmet. You should report to him."

Arnbjorn caught me on my way through the sanctuary. I prayed to Sithis that he didn't see right through me.

"There you are. Look, I... I just wanted to say thanks for coming to find me back in Dawnstar. Crazy jester finally met his match, am I right?" Although he tried to hide it, I could tell he was grateful. I smiled halfheartedly and slunk away.

"There you are. Took your sweet time dealing with Cicero," Festus scoffed. It saddened me to hear him say that. Festus was one of the few brothers that truly understood the importance of the Night Mother. Now he spoke of the Keeper like he was some pest in the basement all because of a misunderstanding. I wished I could tell him of Astrid and her plans, but now was not the time. Maybe when the Emperor was dead. "Now let's get down to business. Astrid told you about the Gourmet, I hope?"

"That I need to kill him and take on his identity?"

"Quite so. But first you'll need to learn who he is. Assuming, of course, that the Gourmet actually is a 'he.' Could be a woman for all we know."

"So, you don't even know who the Gourmet is? Wonderful." I was having difficulty hiding my frustration at the mage.

"Don't be so petulant! In my investigations, I came upon this." He took a book off the enchanting table and handed it to me. It was worn, but I still knew exactly what it was. "It's a copy of the Gourmet's cookbook. Ah, but not just any copy. It's signed you see! Seems to be a message from the Gourmet to one Anton Virane. I've tracked Virane to the keep in Markarth. It would seem he's the cook."