Dragonborn Rising Ch. 13

Chapter 13 - Crossing a Line

*****

Aranea was living at my place. No, we were not intimate. She was simply a friend, offered to be my steward, and would offer to accompany me on the road if and when I chose to head off on another adventure. I guess I didn't really need a steward, but more importantly, it gave her a roof over her head, and I suggested she get to know any of her fellow mages in town.

I also had to warn her about my lifestyle. I didn't exactly show her the Dibellan room, but I let her know that when Haelga visited, she would hear lots of noise from within. I also admitted that I would enjoy physical relations with the women I was intimate with around the house. She surprised me by simply laughing, stating she was young once, and if she did walk in on me with a woman, she would simply head to her own room.

My first visitor after Aranea moved in was actually Ingun. We saw each other often, nearly every day, but we very rarely spent a night together. After returning from the Shrine of Azura, I spent the first night with Haelga at the Bunkhouse, where we made love but spent most of the night just talking, then the next night I stayed with Karliah at the Hall.

Heading down to Elgrim's shop, Ingun was behind the counter as always, busy working away, though as soon as she noticed it was me who walked in, she ran around the counter and leapt into my arms. Thankfully I was strong enough to hold her, even with her legs wrapped around me. "I've missed you!" she whispered before I was kissed in such a way, it was bound to get a bodily reaction.

"That's why I'm here. How would you like to come to my place for dinner tonight?"

Her face lit up in absolute delight. "Of course. When would you like me there?"

"I'll be home all day, so whenever you finish. I'm thinking dinner first, then perhaps dessert and a little wine or brandy on the porch."

"Then sex?" she asked hopefully.

I couldn't help chuckle. "Yes, then sex."

She kissed me again before lowering herself to the ground, letting me know she would be at my front door at dusk. I headed to the market, as although I had plenty of food at the house, I thought some fresh fish would be a nice change. The Riften fishery just outside the city walls always had the latest catch, and for the price of a couple of septims, I had a couple of nice salmon steaks for Ingun and I. I was no chef, but I sprinkled a few herbs onto the fish in preparation, while I would do the same with the potatoes and vegetables. I had quite the wine collection growing, some I'd purchased legally, others gained through more nefarious means. I still didn't rob from anyone within Riften, but that didn't mean I wouldn't stoop to robbing transports between others cities and Riften, particularly if I heard there was something worth stealing.

Ingun appeared as the sun was slowly starting to set, the sky a beautiful mix of orange and purple. Inviting her inside, we sat at the dining table as I poured her some wine, and I served dinner rather quickly. She was rather complimentary of the meal I cooked. I wasn't any sort of grand chef, but I was slowly learning what worked and what didn't.

"And what's for dessert?" she asked in such a tone, I think she was suggesting something other than the small cakes I'd bought. I mentioned I did have those, and a tasty brandy that should go with them. She surprised me stating she would like to have some of those and we could sit on the porch.

The sun had set by the time we took a seat on the porch. Torches had been lit across the city, providing light, though we sat mostly in darkness. Ingun lasted all of five minutes before she was sitting on my lap, leaning back against me, head resting against my shoulder. "It's a lovely evening," she said softly.

"It certainly is. Though I have to admit my first impression of Riften wasn't great."

"There's a reason why it is like you see. Around seventy years ago, there was a jarl in charge of the city and surrounding area who proved little more than a tyrant. The people eventually cried enough and fought back, but after lighting his castle on fire, it spread and eventually consumed the entire city. What you see is the portion of Riften that's been rebuilt. It used to be a grand old city on the shores of Lake Honrich. Now it's... what you see. So, little wonder you didn't think a lot. But Riften's experienced a lot of hard times over the centuries."

"Has your family always been in Riften?"

"Well, I was born here, as was mother. Before that, I'm not sure. I've never really asked, to be honest. What about you?"

"All I know is that I'm a Nord. Being an orphan..."

"Sorry."

"No, no. Trust me, it's not a wound of any sort. It's just I don't know my heritage at all."

"So what do you think of Riften now?"

Putting my lips to her ear, I whispered, "Let's just say I have a few reasons to stay," before I kissed her cheek.

She stood up, and I thought was going to grab my hand to lead me inside. Instead, she sat down on her knees on my lap, and we had a little make out session while sitting on the porch. One or two of the guards may have noticed if walking at the right angle, but I'd discovered the porch did provide an element of privacy. I hadn't had sex on the porch, though. Or, at least, I hadn't yet.

Ingun and I didn't have sex on the porch. After quite a long make-out session, during which I may have partially disrobed Ingun, we headed inside for some fun. Before doing that, though, she asked about my special room that I'd designed for Haelga. Slightly surprised that she was interested, I figured there was no harm in showing her.

I'll admit I found her reaction to some of the things I had in their quite amusing, particularly the manacles and chains attached to the ceiling and roof, and then she had a nosy in the drawers, pulling out a rather long phallic like object. "She likes this?"

"In her arse," I stated bluntly.

Ingun's jaw dropped. "Seriously?" she asked quietly.

"I'm sure you've heard the rumours about Haelga. While most of them are probably true, there is a good reason why we are together too."

"You really like her, don't you?"

"I do. She's totally misunderstood. And, surprisingly, since we started our relationship, I know she has not been with anyone else. She says she hasn't, and I believe her."

"Do you want me to do anything like this? I mean, like with the chains or..."

"No. Not at all. I made all this purely for Haelga and I. She's into it, and I don't mind experimenting with her."

I think she sighed with relief, putting the rather large phallic object back in the drawer. In the comfort of my bedroom, I slowly undressed her until she was nude, then lay her back on the bed and ate her out to a couple of orgasms. Laying down next to her after the second, she lay back with a sweet smile on her face as she recovered, ensuring she cuddled into me, then laughing away when she realised I was still clothed except for having removed my shoes.

We stayed like that for quite a while, continuing to chat away. Ingun loved to talk about all her experiments, and I'd happily listen. There's nothing better than listening to someone speak so enthusiastically about their passions. I did the same with Haelga, though her passions were more about what we did together, while Karliah would regale me with stories of jobs she'd pulled prior to her exile.

Ingun eventually had enough and pulled me to my feet and slowly undressed me. Her hands were like mine, a little rough. She worried about them from time to time, so I made sure I spent plenty of time kissing her palms, letting her know that I didn't worry about them. Once she had me naked, she returned the favour by dropping to her knees. Looking up at me with those gorgeous eyes of hers, I didn't last particularly long, though I was rather turned on from having spent so long eating her out.

She didn't blow me to completion. I let her knew I was close before she lay back on the bed so we could fuck, albeit very briefly, before I came. She held onto me tightly as I did, kissing me all over my face. "I love it when you do that," she whispered. Thankfully, because of her job, she always had plenty of potions to prevent the possible outcome of always doing that.

We made love again a little later, this time Ingun quite happily riding me for quite a while. She knew I loved watching her slowly grind herself with my length inside her, while I could run my hands all over her body, particularly those two perfect globes on her chest, which I'd be constantly sitting up to suck and lick, feeling her hands wrap around my head to hold my head in place as I did so. Once we both came, I'd lie down with her on top of me, heading resting on my chest as I stroked her back. Apart from her hands, the rest of her was silky smooth. I really did enjoy every time we were together. I think we would have both liked it more often, but she understood my lifestyle, so we just ensured we enjoyed every single moment we were together.

I walked her to the shop the next morning, where she made sure to leave a very long, lingering kiss on my lips before she softly bid me farewell for the moment. I often looked at Ingun, then compared her to the rest of the family, and wondered how someone as kind-hearted and good natured as her ever rose from the rest. Don't get me wrong, I worked for Maven in a way, but the difference between Ingun and the rest was stark.

The next couple of days were spent with Vex, Delvin, Brynjolf and Karliah, looking into more Daedric artefacts and what we could possibly find next. We thought obtaining any known texts on Daedra would help us locate further locations of statues, or at least an idea of what we might be looking for. The five of us did manage to put together a list of Daedra we know about, but as to if they had statues or shrines, we didn't know.

"Put out feelers about any Daedric influence," I suggested, "If any strange occurrences are happening around Skyrim, perhaps it might involve one of them?"

"Not a bad idea. Daedra can be behind some of the strange shit that goes on around here," Brynjolf admitted, "I'll send out word, and if there's anything weird that catches the eye or ear, we should certainly be notified."

"Are you still sure we should be doing this?" Delvin asked. I wasn't the only one to hear the concern in his tone.

I understand his caution. "What concerns you?"

"Look, you've done a bloody good job, boss. But we've already got the blessing of one Daedra. That I can handle. But if we go supporting more Daedra, or obtaining more of their artefacts, we're going to start gaining the attention of others who won't like it."

"You mean the Vigilants," Vex stated.

"Precisely. And they don't fuck around. They will come in here so fast, it'll make your head spin."

"Vigilants?" I had to ask, "Never heard of them."

"They hunt Daedra worshippers, boss," Delvin explained, "And if the get even the faintest whiff of that, they ask no questions. And they have free reign to do so."

"Okay, so we do our investigations and we do it quietly. And if we get a hint the Vigilants are closing in, we shut it down until they lose interest."

The four shared a glance and agreed that wasn't a bad idea. I guessed Delvin would remain concerned no matter what, but at least he'd got it off his chest immediately, instead of continuously worrying about it.

Heading home when it was dark, I'd barely shrugged off my coat when there was a knock at the door. Not expecting Karliah or Ingun, I thought it would be Haelga. I had told her as soon as I moved into Riftweald that she was welcome anytime she wanted as she definitely didn't need an invitation. Opening the door, I was surprised to see a courier. "Ragnar of Riften?"

"Aye."

"I have a letter for you."

That surprised me. One, because apart from members of the Thieves Guild, very few knew I even existed, let alone knew where I lived. Taking the letter from the courier, I did have a glance around outside as he walked away, wondering if anyone was watching my place. I wasn't nervous or suspicious, but I was wondering who and why I had a letter.

Dear Ragnar,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I know my writing you probably has you wondering who has written to you and why. I must confess that I find myself thinking of you often, and that as I've thought of you and the time we spent together, I find myself wondering if you are just the man I need to solve my problem.

I have told you everything that happened to me, but I was wondering if you might be willing to help me further. I don't wish to write too much in this letter, but if you are willing to help me, please return to Markarth as soon as possible so I can explain.

Love,

Muiri

"I wonder what she wants?" I muttered to myself. While I don't believe it was urgent, considering I wasn't doing a whole lot else, I figured I might as well just go straight away.

After letting everyone at the Flagon know that I'd be heading out for a few days, not exactly wanting to share too many details, even with Karliah, I did let Haelga know that I was heading west again. Naturally, she was ever so concerned about me heading into Markarth after last time. I hugged her and quietly told her that I'd be fine, as anyone involved in my incarceration was either dead or in jail themselves.

It was at least midday by the time I departed, so knew I'd still be on the road come nightfall. I wasn't too worried, as I had my sword and shield, a dagger, plus my bow and quiver of steel arrows. I didn't wear my Nightingale armour, going with my scaled armour that I'd bought from Grelka. I couldn't always wear my Nightingale armour, as it would simply draw too much attention, so I would generally wear that if the job was at night.

I made it to Falkreath after dark, only having to deal with a few wolves, shooting two of them from horseback, scaring the rest off by summoning a small ball of flame and flinging it in their general direction. I very rarely used magic, but there were rare occasions that I would. Booking a room at the inn, I did enjoy a couple of tankards and conversation with the locals before bed.

The journey between Falkreath and Markarth took place in peace though the weather took a turn, and I arrived at Markarth stables drenched to the bone. Heading straight to Muiri's house, she opened the door, took one look at me and gasped, before grasping my forearm and dragging me inside. "You're soaked, Ragnar, and you'll catch a chill!"

She helped me take off my soaking clothes until I was just in my underwear, sitting me down by the fire before she grabbed a blanket and wrapped me in it, grabbing a towel so she could dry my hair at the same time. I didn't realise how cold I was until I sat by the fire. I was near frozen. She sat down next to me and got under the blanket too, wrapping her arms around me. She felt very warm.

"I didn't think you'd come so quickly," she said, though I could hear how pleased she was to see me.

"It sounded urgent, and I had nothing else on, so I left as soon as I received your letter."

"Do you want to know now or can it wait until morning?"

"Morning is fine. I just want to get warm and eventually go to sleep."

We slept together that night, in the same bed, but we did nothing but cuddle, Muiri moulding herself into my body as I held her. We didn't talk a whole lot. I think she wanted to discuss whatever was on her mind, and I wanted to ask plenty of questions. I did ask what had happened in Markarth since I'd left, and apparently the jarl now owned the mine, and was making sure any profit made flowed back into the city. As for the Silver-Bloods, most of them were now dead, and their influence in the city had waned significantly.

The next morning after breakfast, Muiri sat with me by the fire and told me what she wanted. "I want you to kill someone for me, Ragnar. No, not just one. I want two people dead."

"Muiri, I'm..."

She squeezed my hand. "Let me finish. Please." I nodded. "Have you ever heard of the Black Sacrament?"

Of course I had. No-one would admit it, but everyone had heard of the Dark Brotherhood, and the Black Sacrament was performed to contact them. I didn't know if the Brotherhood existed in Skyrim. I'd heard rumours of others trying to contact them, and Mercer had mentioned an agreement with the Brotherhood regarding dealing with Guild matters. So I guess they were somewhere around. I admitted to Muiri that I knew what it was.

"I performed the Black Sacrament, Ragnar, because I want Alain Dufont dead. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here alone in Markarth. My friends wouldn't have run me out of Windhelm when he broke my heart and took everything from them. But while he deserves to die, so does Nilsine. We were like sisters, as was I with Friga. Yet when she died, and I went looking for comfort, I was cast aside by all of them. She should suffer like I have." I didn't say anything as this was a request I had slightly expected, but actually hearing it was something else altogether. She looked at me with pleading in her eyes. "Say something, please?" she asked quietly.

"Alain, I can kill without worry. He's a bandit, or whatever... Even better, I'll try and get my hand on anything he's stolen. But Nilsine... Muiri, that's straight up murder. That's..." I took a deep breath. "I know I'm a thief. I do it with barely any hesitation, and rarely if ever feel any guilt about it. I can still claim that being a thief is generally a victimless crime, in the sense no-one is hurt."

She grabbed both my hands and kissed me, our mouths opening, tongues dancing, and I knew then and there that I'd agree. Because I really liked her. And though I'd never felt the heartache she'd suffered, I guess there was a small part of me that understood, even sympathised with her. When she broke the kiss, she barely leaned back, stroking my cheek with her right hand. "Will you, for me, Ragnar?" she asked softly.

"For you, Muiri, I will."

She kissed me deeply again, and I knew from that moment, she was mine, as much as I was hers. I eventually had to gently prise her off me so I could get details. Nilsine was in Windhelm, that was the easy part. I needed to know where Alain was. "Raldbthar. It's a Dwemer ruin west of Windhelm. He will have men with him. I always wondered who some of them were. He always told me they were old friends. I was such a fool..."

I suggested I should leave immediately, and would only return once the deed was done. Muiri walked with me all the way to the stables, where I wrapped my arms around her again, our parting kiss leaving both of us longing for each other, I'm sure. I'll be honest, if it wasn't for the three women I had to Riften, I'd had moved to Markarth immediately. She was beautiful, intelligent, and obviously had a dangerous, dark streak to her. She knew I liked her, and I knew I was being slightly used, but I didn't mind at all.

Having everything I would need, I headed straight in the direction of Windhelm. It wasn't raining but was still bitterly cold, thankfully all my clothes having dried out as they'd been hung for the fire all night. I always took camping supplies so was prepared for when I had to camp during the night. It took two nights of travel to make it all the way to Windhelm, thankfully making it in the early morning. The first thing to do was ask about Raldbthar, and with the map I had, locals in one of the taverns were able to point me in the right direction, asking why I was interested. I said I had a problem that needed dealing with. Most figured I was some sort of mercenary or bounty hunter. That suited me just fine.

The next job was to locate Nilsine Shatter-Shield. Muiri gave me all the information I needed. Where their house was and a general description of the woman herself. Dressing in regular clothing, I tried to make myself invisible in the crowds and finding Nilsine wasn't particularly difficult, as Muiri gave me a rundown of her usual day. Then it was just a matter of tracking her movements and getting her alone.