Family, and Making an Entrance

Yuri and Bjorn turned around to find a curious Cynthia had already gotten out to stand beside it. She got back in the Carriage first, followed by Yuri and Bjorn. Yuri returned next to her without a fuss, to Cynthia's delight, and Bjorn sat up straight while thinking he had succeeded.

The carriage moved onward, and the hinterlands of the sprawling Rift eased past at a dream-like pace. After three more hours of driving, chatting, reading, and napping, the crew arrived in Shor's Stone and had lunch in a local tavern.

After lunch, the gang decided to take a walk around and sightsee the town. Shor's Stone was a town largely comprised of longhouses with thatched rooves. These longhouses could be anything, however. A general store, a smithy, an alchemist shop, someone's house. The only thing separating one from the other was a sign or lack thereof. The mine that was nestled in the mountainside edge of the town was their greatest moneymaker. Ebony Ore is not something that comes cheaply, and finding a mine of it is rare or already captured by an Orsimer Settlement.

Yuri didn't visit the mine, he knew that he had neither the skill to process raw ore nor the money to purchase it. He did, however, visit the smithy with hopes of finding Ebony gauntlets and boots.

"2500 Septims for the Gaunts. 2000 for the boots" Responded the Smith to Yuri's inquiry. Yuri was appalled. He could likely trade them for items he had or for enchanting pieces in the Smith's very shop, but honestly, they didn't look nearly as good as they did in the game.

While the Record held Skyrim's authenticity and beauty in a much better light, it lacked the game's uniformity in smithing and alchemical products sold in the average place. The armor pieces didn't look like the intricately carved and menacing raven-black pieces he had thought they would, just black-colored steel with a simple design. Yuri had Armament Haki, for now, he doubted he needed it, but it would be a good first line of defense. But he wouldn't buy such poor-looking stuff for that price. He had standards. If Yuri wanted something he deemed as perfect, he would have to buy it from the Exchange or make it himself. Maybe learning a little bit of smithing wouldn't be so bad... but he would want to at least do it at the Skyforge if given the opportunity.

Yuri left disappointed. The gang resumed their drive shortly after seeing the rest of town. It was scenic, but they didn't stop, the sun hadn't fallen.

From Shor's Stone, Merryfair Farm was only a two-hour ride. The gang encountered only wolves and sabretooth tigers along the way, which Bjorn killed while Yuri guarded. Yuri knew they were not protecting themselves, but actively hunting them, and gave the go-ahead. Bjorn would be disappointed at the lack of bandits.

The driver approached Merryfair Farm on a dirt road, and at some point, they could see almost the entire farm from an inclined position. The sun was setting upon the waves of wheat that billowed for acre upon acre of golden land. Lake Honrich bordered the other side of the plot, surrounded by the farmland and a large waterside manor that housed the siblings in their childhoods. Aside from the manor, warehouses and barns bordered the opposite end of the plot, along with a mill. These buildings seemed small compared to the size of the farm they were harvesting, but the town the farm fed was close enough to sell quickly and evade the need for greater storage. It took a fair bit of time to navigate the dirt road that divided the wheat fields and led to the main manor, lending more insight into just how big the place seemed.

The driver eventually came to a halt and greeted the couple that was already waiting on the deck of their wraparound porch, before telling his passengers they had arrived. The siblings exited first to say hi to their parents and introduce Yuri.

When Yuri stepped out of the carriage, he looked up at the gently smiling Nord couple who had stepped down from the porch to hug their children. It was a beautiful family moment with a beautiful background, he didn't want to interrupt it.

The family broke away from each other and turned towards their guest, who had nodded and thanked the driver already and sent him on his way.

"Aren't you going to take the carriage up to Riften, Yuri?" Asked Cynthia.

"A small walk would do a body good. I can see the City from here" Yuri responded while turning to look at the stone brick walls of the infamous city.

"And I doubt this teleporter would be walking" Added Bjorn with a grin.

"So who is this young man?" Asked the father, beckoning his son to do the introductions.

Bjorn cleared his throat, "Father, this is Yuri Nightingale, Apprentice to the Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold. Yuri, meet my father, a farmer named Baldur." Bjorn undersold his father, cheekily exaggerating the discrepancy in status between guest and host.

"Owner and proprietor of Merryfair Farms, feeder of a thousand mouths. Including yours!" Added Baldur, and rightfully so.

Yuri approached Baldur and shook his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you" Yuri flashed his kindly smile and welcoming eyes. Baldur and his wife who hung on his shoulder gained a good impression.

"And how about you, ma'am?" Yuri held his hand out to Baldur's wife. She took it without further ado, "Edith, dear. Thank you for taking care of our mischievous children" She added while throwing them an almost disapproving glance filled with love instead of actual distaste.

"Do you have time for dinner, Mr. Nightingale?" Asked Baldur in a welcoming baritone.

"If you'll allow me to trouble you" Obliged Yuri.

With that, the family stepped inside, followed by the man who almost felt out of place.

'Family, huh.'

Yuri's parents had stepped off the mortal coil before he had turned 25. A car accident taught him the fragility of life. At 26, he tried to join them. They meant the world to him. Family was never in his plans. His mentality and dating track record weren't conducive to family planning. He was even terrible with children.

But things were different, now. This scene caused him to feel his own eternal heart beat a little deeper, a little harder. It ached before he knew why... then he knew.

'I want this. I want to build a peaceful life with women who I adore, who adore me. I want to watch children, my children, grow up surrounded by a great father and great mothers. I want to be a father. Not yet, but I want a chance to be a father who gives their children the world and see them look up to me. I want to be proud of the children I had raised.'

He crossed the doorway and followed the family to the dining room and witnessed it had already been prepared for 5 people. He had no idea how they communicated about Yuri's arrival without him noticing. He cast aside his thoughts for later.

'But first, I have a job to do'

Yuri spent the night talking between the family and regaling the parents with tales of magic and its uses to a bettered civilization. Baldur was supportive, sure, but he and Edith didn't believe their career paths could ever be met again after their choice. Men with their heads in the clouds vs. hands in the dirt, so to speak.

Yuri quickly tried to cut that notion down with the help of the siblings. Earth, water, and restoration magic couldn't be more helpful to a farm environment. Destruction magic couldn't be a better pest killer. Even if they don't become grandmasters, Baldur would have the most effective expanders and problem solvers in his workforce thanks to magic. Of course, the details would be left to the siblings. He doubted they would go back to being farmhands no matter how badly they did in College. But a spell here and there would put his farm in a much better position. Winterhold did it in worse conditions after all.

Bjorn and Cynthia explained the progress of their passions to the parents while they all did their best to include Yuri. He didn't mind being left out, considering his accomplishments in magic would only make the conversations about him, so he downplayed certain things while posing ideas to whatever Bjorn and Cynthia came up with. Then, it was the parents' turn to feel left out when the conversations drifted to spellcraft.

Their kids were growing up, and the parents were increasingly grateful to the first guest the kids ever brought home for the first time helping them so much. Edith, in particular, noticed the looks Cynthia was giving him when she thought he was looking away.

'Oh, boy. Her first crush' She thought to herself with no small amount of grief.

Baldur noticed too, but as much as he was grateful to the guest, he didn't approve of her infatuation. He was friendly, but a bit more experienced than he would like for his naïve daughter. He hid a gaze he was all too familiar with.

'The boy is a killer. A good man, but still a killer. They live in two separate worlds. I should talk to Edith later, then let her handle Cynthia.'

Baldur made his beginnings in the ratway before leaving that life for good in honor of the wishes of his true love's father. He never regretted it. Inheriting the farm from Edith's father and raising his family was his life's greatest achievement. He loved them with all his heart and praised his lucky stars for such a clean getaway.

"Thank you for the meal, Mr. and Mrs. Laniston. And thank you for joining me on the road, Bjorn, Cynthia. But, I must be going now." Yuri mentioned after a two-hour sumptuous dinner

"Oh, it's already dark, you should stay the night. Don't worry about intruding" Edith was doing her best to get the boy to stick around.

"I would love to, but I was given a task to fulfill, and the nighttime is no deterrent" 'In fact, it's a motivator' Yuri added inwardly. No good thieves are active in the daytime, the ratway never sleeps.

Baldur grasped his wife's thigh lightly under the table, motioning her to let him lead the conversation. "That is a shame, Mr. Nightingale. If that is the case, we won't keep you. Our doors are always open, and we wish you luck."

'The only task that can't wait till morning is a task done in the "dark".' He thought to himself.

Bjorn and Cynthia were confused at the abrupt parting, but didn't question their father and also bid Yuri farewell before making plans to reunite before returning to the College.

Baldur and Yuri locked eyes, and Yuri immediately knew the man had an inkling of the nature of his work. He nodded gratefully, and Baldur returned it as if to say, 'Happy Hunting'.

Edith shot him a questioning glance, eyebrow raised unamused at the blocking act he pulled on his own daughter. He simply shook his head. Edith understood after that, but would still fight to get him in the family. So what if he was in the 'dark'. Baldur was too. Cynthia is a mage now, she can choose her own stripes, especially handsome and well-stationed ones.

Baldur would never fully understand how right he was. He truly did live in different worlds from them and would continue to cross further ones. Yuri wasn't about to take a girl like Cynthia away from her farm, her family, her country. There are other fish in the sea.

With those thoughts, Yuri strode out the door and cast Shroud of the Hunter to blend with the shadows. He then changed his mage robes to his newly bought and newly named 'Nightwalker Set'! Black cowl and cloak with leather pauldrons, black and gold lined robes, and pants underneath with a leather armor chest piece. Black leather gauntlets and boots. With one more detail!

On the trip there he realized that his eyes are unique to him in this world for the most part. Amber eyes existed in Mer races, but if anyone saw his persona and then saw his eyes again without the Nightwalker set, he would be instantly recognized due to the unique brightness and purity.

He bought red-colored contacts for 20 RP. The uneven number of 8620 RP was bothering him anyway. Two birds, one stone.

He lifted his fingers to his eyes and put them on before blinking a couple of times. Now he was ready!

He didn't deactivate the Shroud, however. Better to enter without anyone noticing. He approached the city at a 40 mile per hour running speed from the farm after a mere 8 minutes of running. He could go faster, but he didn't want to fatigue himself.

He was almost to the main entry where two guards stood at either side of the door. He reached 20 feet away before changing directions to the wall beside the entry and leaped! He landed on the wall 10 feet up and used earth magic to cling to it, before climbing up and over. He landed on the battlements where guards were periodically patrolling and leaped again toward the ground on the other side. He landed hard with a thud, the wall was 40 feet high, but it was his body so he instinctively knew it wouldn't hurt him. He activated night vision.

The town wasn't a surprising sight. Perhaps a surprising smell... Stone was everywhere. It was the floor, the houses, the bridges, the platforms. Wood was only used for the docks connected to the ratway below and the rooves for the houses above. The docks were only fit for dinghies, however. He didn't see the actual fishing port on the other side of town, but the lake was massively bigger so it must have an equally sizable area.

Riften wasn't formatted differently at all, aside from the borders being more expansive toward the south. It nearly nudged the mountains that separated Riften from Cyrodiil and was filled with the residential district, also divided between the poor and the well off if the obvious change in building height was any indication.

Yuri stopped investigating what didn't matter and used his ESP to search the ratways for the cistern. There was no way he was walking through all that shit just to get to his destination. That part seemed to be much more complicated. In fact, he added Detect Life just to have an easier time finding the densest area where the thieves resided. The paths were either dead ends and filled with traps or lead to rooms housing the less fortunate or less friendly. He even found a jail that shouldn't exist beneath the Jarl's place. Unsurprising when it came to Maven.

He found it. A forked waterway joined at the center of a massive open area, fit with 4 branching rooms and a bazaar/bar attached. People loitered in huge numbers in every corner, selling wares from their carpets or sitting idly and sharpening something. He recognized the practice rooms for archery and lockpicking, the vault, and other areas for the thieves' communal purposes. He had found it.

'Time to make an entrance'

And then he teleported.