Meeting

4E 175, Month of Sunset (November), 15th day, Fredas.

In a small tavern, the Frozen Fruit, that was built on this land quite recently, at one of the wooden tables that were located against the wall, there was a woman in the usual leather armor for these places, which was slightly larger and had fur in places. The woman looked like a Breton, but she had some peculiarities in contrast to her "relatives".

Blonde hair, brown eyes, and slightly pointed ears, some of the customers guessed who this mysterious woman was, but did not dare to approach and ask. She was taking her time sipping Nord mead and making some notes in her diary when the door opened with a long creak and a cold wind and snow began to break into the tavern.

Under the deathly silence, guests began to enter the tavern, one after another. They were covered with thin cloaks, and from under them, one could see strong iron armor with a lot of fur underneath. The clang of armor and the clatter of iron accompanied them until the group of five entered the hall.

Only the crackling of the fire in the stone fence and the rapid breathing of most of the customers could be heard at this moment, the atmosphere in the tavern began to heat up, until the voice of the innkeeper, who seemed not to notice the current atmosphere, was heard from behind the counter.

"Come in, come in." What do you want?" Honey or wine, or maybe you want to eat a hearty meal and relax? Our tavern has everything you need!

One of the guests in an incomprehensible gray mask and hood answered, to the innkeeper:

"We all have the much-vaunted Nordic honey, two for each of us." The man took a bag of gold from behind his back and placed it on the counter, walking over to her, not forgetting to ask, " We should be waiting for ... a certain Morlina…

After a quick glance at the bag of money, the innkeeper quickly realized and looked in the direction of the "Breton", who was still immersed in her notes and replied: "I dare not detain you. I'll get the drinks.

The warrior turned and nodded, heading for the Breton table, followed by the others. Gradually, the silence was filled with conversation and laughter, and the wars of sitting down at the table no longer attracted as much attention as at the beginning.

"You're too late." the blonde woman said, holding the diary in her hands, which she hastily put away.

"Humph! The time of our meeting was not discussed, do not try to get a discount for yourself, otherwise we will leave. one of the two women in the group, who was closer to the orc, who was leaning against the wall, unwilling to sit down, suddenly declared. It was truly huge, but orcs were, and it was not considered so huge in the orc tribes or in the eyes of those who were used to them.

"Then you can leave." – What is it? " she quickly retorted, as the iron glass in the hand that had spoken before bent.

"You know you'll have to pay for the time you've taken." the woman next to the orc calmly remarked that she was ready to explode before, but the warriors understood that their comrade's mood had changed because she was ready to cut off the head of the customer. At this moment, the previously silent orc spoke in his broken voice:

- Calm down, it seems to me that we just do not understand each other. Our friend is right that the time was not fixed and when you hire mercenaries, you should know that we take money for the time spent and if you do not want to stay with the order in your hands, then it is better to moderate your ardor, and we will take care of your friend.

The Breton girl thought for a moment, then nodded and answered:

"Well, I think you want to know about the assignment quickly, I'll be brief..." Before she could finish, the man in the gray mask interrupted her. We're not just a bunch of mercenaries who don't care about their lives, their reputations, or their mission. Tell us everything in detail and our task, then we will ask a couple of questions and discuss the price. If everything suits us, we are ready to complete the task and will do everything that depends on us.

- *sigh * ... Looks like the rumors about you weren't lying… A team of mercenaries who have completed all the orders perfectly ... and who ask too many questions…

I think you've heard about the latest developments in the Reach. Recently, we, the Richmen or the natives of the Reach, elected a king and returned the territories that had belonged to us before the arrival of the... Nords! We do not bear any hostility, all the inhabitants of the region are alive and we do not intend to oppress them regardless of race, we only want to live in the territory of our ancestors and worship our gods. Our people also want to establish a connection with the empire and we recognize the rule of the Emperor Titus Mid 2 ... " the resident of the Limit was interrupted again and it was the same woman:

"Look, we need mission-related information, not the history and experiences of you and your people. Tell us what is required of us and other important details related to the task.

"Humph! Great, the rumors were lying about you, you're just as much a mercenary as anyone else…

"Enough!" The woman felt suffocated by the aura that emanated from the ever-silent Nord. Otherwise ... your head will go to Madanah faster than you will get... where you get there, after death.

- *Glyk* We recently learned that the young Jarl of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormbringer, is plotting a war against us, he will invade in early spring, at a time when we are vulnerable. Your task is to help us protect and strengthen Markart, as this is the last place where I and my people can hide. You will also have to clean up the catacombs under the city, for which you will receive a separate fee.

There was a moment of silence in the group, and at that moment the innkeeper brought ten bottles of Nord mead and quickly left. The masked man spoke first:

-The task is ... vague and very difficult… I think you'll hire other warriors as well, but you have to consider that organization ... it just won't be there. And from what I've heard of Madanach, he's far from a stupid man, which means you want to use us as meat to stop Ulfric until the Month of the Second Grain (May) arrives, do I understand you correctly?

Nervousness and beads of sweat appeared on the once calm and cold face of the richman woman:

"Yes... Ulfric will take us down… We have no time to buy or prepare food, weapons are also in small quantities and then not of the best quality, we also do not have gold, and who would help us even if it were?

"Remember, girl ... never reveal or confirm your weaknesses to the other side, but since you have decided to be honest, even if not intentionally... we offer you our help, but!" We will sign a contract, are you interested in this offer? the masked man asked as the other warriors stared at the woman from the reach.

"I can ... listen to you, but the decision rests with our king."

"That's enough. You will give us a percentage of all the mines in Markart, and you will also allow us to build our headquarters. We, in turn, will ... protect you from Ulfric!" Great offer, don't you think? the woman was shocked, while the rest of the warriors nodded slightly, smiling, at their comrade's statement.

"Why should we trust the words of a mercenary?"

"Why should we trust the outcasts?" The masked warrior retorted sarcastically.

- Good .… I'll explain in more detail. We connect all our connections and personal means to protect and defend the city and its residents. We will also provide you with as much food as we can, but in return we demand a percentage of the mines and a place in the city. If we do not complete our task, we will go into a major minus or lose our lives altogether, and if we complete it, we will receive a good reward, and other mercenaries should also be recalled.

The woman thought about the offer for a long time and soon nodded, saying getting up:

"I will ... inform Lord Madanach of your offer, everything will depend on him."

As Morlina left the tavern, one of the women spoke to her masked companion, " Arkon, do you think the Richmen can be trusted?" If we pass the information to the Nords, we will get a good profit and guaranteed. Arkon had been thinking about his partner's suggestion for a while when Nord, who was sitting next to him, said, " I would be in favor, but little Ulfrik is leading the Nords, and I have a bad feeling about him." Besides, is there a guarantee that he will spare us? the hoarse voice coming from Nord's mouth was right about something.

"Hrankorn is right. As much as I hate to disagree with him, he has a point. Grankorn and I are well acquainted with little Ulfric, and I don't think he'll let us go after delivering the information. I don't think he'll kill us, but he'll figure out a way for us to work for him and for free, and we don't work like this! "What is it?" said the woman who had been silent all along, removing the hood from her head to reveal a young imperial girl with dark hair and green eyes like emeralds.

"I think ... we should listen to Grankorn and Linovet, but I'll bet everything on the Richmen."… We need a third party to guarantee the execution of the transaction. "No," said Morlina, who had previously argued with her, a high elf with an interesting name for her race, Nemesis. Orc, Mufalt nodded in agreement. Arkon said: "Let's discuss our future plans on the way to the base.

After taking a last sip of the good old Nord honey and sniffing the loaf on the table, Nord got up from the table first, saying: "Good go!" and headed for the door, the sound of heavy iron armor coming from under the warrior's cloak, and his long two-handed sword that was strapped to his back swaying from side to side as the elf followed, urging her companions on: "Let's hurry up, and I'll go look after the Popcorn before it breaks anyone's nose." After laughing, the rest of the group stood up and followed Nemesis and Hrankorn.

Outside the door, they were greeted by the harsh Skyrim weather, the cold air washing over the warriors ' faces, cheering them up, and the cold snow, thinly spread at their feet and crunching under them, forcing them to constantly move their legs so as not to freeze them.

Skyrim was a kingdom of many mountains and forests, and the harsh weather and dangerous flora and fauna made it the harshest province in the Empire, if not all of Tamriel. There was also the famous mountain, which was the highest mountain in Tamriel, surpassing even the infamous Red Mountain.

Arkon and his companions headed east, and when they were some distance from Roriksted, the village where the Frozen Fruit Tavern was located, where they had a meeting, he began to express his thoughts:

"The Richmen are trying to mend relations with the emperor, but so far it's not working out well, and the reason lies in the connection of the Traitors with the empire. In fact, they are in the ring of the Nords and most of the letters do not reach, which is why the conversation with the empire is partially cut off and they can not understand each other's motives to the end. Arkon spoke sharply and continued, catching his breath, mentally formulating the further conversation. "We will be a bridge between the two 'allies' and it will serve as a good advertisement for our intentions, and then we will ask the Empire to be the third party, but we must not allow the Richmen to build their own communication hub with the empire at this time, as this will disrupt our plans and we will have less value for Markart and the Richmen. Arkon finished.

The group of warriors moved quickly through the knee-deep snow, pondering what their masked comrade had said. Snow-white snow, trees and mountains-everything that surrounded the group of daredevils who decided to move around Skyrim at night.

"It's pretty risky… It won't be a problem to cut off the Traitor nodes, even if they realize it's us. They won't have any other choice, but if the empire starts building communication nodes, then there's nothing we can do. We currently do not have the influence or wealth to manipulate the empire at this level. In addition, the human resource is limited. It's worth adding to that how we're going to protect Markart. We all understand that you're trying to play a bet with the empire, but it's too risky. Nemesis remarked as Mufalt began to speak:

"I agree with our elf, but there aren't many problems with Markart's defenses. I'm worried about the consequences of maintaining the Limelight. In these times... Arkon, we were too narrowly focused on the situation before, and now that Morlina has revealed information and maps to us, we must take a more careful approach to preparing this mission ... Yes, Malakat bless us…

"Who says the Empire can't be deceived?" – What is it? " asked their masked companion, as he slowly took it off, and the moons lit up a pale gray face that had a predatory smile on it, as if an animal had come out to hunt, he was intently watching the huge red body and the gray one that was positioned next to it, like a younger brother, on the beautiful sky canvas of the Old Kingdom. "How much do you think the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves' Guild will charge for running small errands?" Without looking up from the beautiful night, the dark elf asked, his golden eyes shimmering in the light of the moons.