There's been a change of plans.
We're still going to Ivarstead to return the horn, but we're heading for Riften, first. I need to make a quick stop there so I can handle some… Personal business.
The others are on board with it, too, but this is for me. I've been doing what other people tell me to do for too damn long and I'm getting sick of it.
Erandur's a bit nervous, but if he keeps his head down we should be all right.
Anyway, turns out the two doors we didn't investigate in Gallows Rock just connect to each other down a long hallway with nothing in it, so we left for Windhelm to sell the goods.
We stopped at the pond that's on the way to the path down the hill. Erandur asked to see the map and said he'd heard of the place. It's called Mara's Eye Pond, and from above, it does look a bit like an eye. It's not too deep in one spot, so I went out to see what was in the boat tied off at the little island in the middle. There wasn't much, just supplies in a bag, but I did notice a blood-splattered trapdoor in the island.
I called out to the others what I'd found, and Lydia said we should check for more Silver Hand members in there. I agreed, and we went down the ladder.
It's a small cave with some statues like you see in Nord ruins coming out of a small pool that's down to the lower right. To the left is typical hideout stuff. There were two campfires, tables, chairs, even some beds set up, and there were dozens of barrels, boxes, and bags of loot. Mostly supplies, it turns out, but there were some potions and other nice goodies mixed in.
There were also two vampires and their thralls! They attacked us as soon as we got down there.
Of course, Erandur was LIVID that there were vampires in Mara's Eye! I heard him say, "How dare you defile this place!" as he rushed them, covered in fire and with a sword in each hand. Valdimar joined him with his flame staff and his axe, while Lydia, Septim and I took care of the thralls.
Once everyone was taken care of, I went around to see what I could find. As I said, there was some good loot there, and I found a notebook on one of the small tables.
It was a journal outlining their most recent job. Apparently, this was a smuggler's den that wasn't connected to the Silver Hand at all, despite being practically outside their door. They'd been hired to move some boxes, no questions asked. Of course, curiosity got the better of them, so they took a peek to see what they were moving. Turns out, they were moving bodies.
Obviously, they weren't just any bodies, but vampires, and they paid the price for it. I found two long crates full of straw bedding and soft furs.
I walked down a small earthen ramp into the little pond, and found three cages in the knee-deep water, along with a chest. Two of the cages were empty, but the third held a dead Vigilant of Stendarr.
I told the others that the person was a Vigilant, and Erandur asked Valdimar if he would help him retrieve the body.
While I went through all the containers I could pry open, the other three took care of the Vigilant. Lydia took one of the vampire's coffins and arranged it as best she could for the dead man while Erandur and Valdimar got the body out of the water and up the ramp.
We couldn't bury him, but at least we could lay him to rest in a coffin and hammer the lid shut tight so the skeevers wouldn't get to him.
Erandur said a few words for the man, and we were on our way to Windhelm.
We stopped in at the market to sell off our goods, while Erandur ducked into the Temple of Talos to let the priests know about the dead Vigilant.
Before we left the city, we went to check on Sofie. We found her by the big shrine of Talos near the gate to the docks, where she usually stands. She seems all right, and I bought all she had. I also slipped some extra coins in her basket, just in case.
Since we were by the docks, I wanted to go see what it would take to get to Solstheim in the future, if the boat was even there. We found the boat mentioned in the cultists' orders, the Northern Maiden, but the captain was in a foul mood and said he wasn't going anywhere!
I spoke with the dock workers to see if they could tell me what was up, but they didn't know anything. They're almost all Argonians, but I've never seen an Argonian in the city. I asked one of them about it, and he said the Jarl wouldn't let them in Windhelm.
Ugh, just like the Khajiit.
I'm beginning to dislike Ulfric more and more.
One of the ladies I spoke with, Shahvee, asked us to keep an eye out for her Amulet of Zenithar while we were out wandering. Some thieves made off with it and left the city. I said we would, and she thanked us before going back to work.
We went back into the city, and it was about mid-afternoon. As we walked back towards the main gate, I remembered how I wasn't able to get into the Aretino boy's house last time.
The others thought it would be a good idea to see if he was all right, so we went to his house on the bridge.
This time there was no one around, so I picked the lock and we slipped inside.
We were at the bottom of a staircase, and could hear the faint sound of a child talking, along with a dull thudding noise. Both repeated over and over, the noise following the chanting. Septim ducked behind us, and I could feel a chill that was more than the weather.
We traded glances. I couldn't see Lydia's face, obviously, but she was stock-still. She gets like that before a fight. Reminds of a wolf before it lunges. Erandur put his hand over his heart and both he and Valdimar nodded at me. They could feel it, too.
I crept up the steps, and came up in a small vestibule-type room. Next to it was a large room with a fireplace, a bookshelf, a table with two chairs, a dresser, and a small bed. Fairly normal house, really. To our right was a small alcove, brightly lit with candles, and we could hear the chanting coming from there. Candlelight threw the boy's shadow across the floor. It looked like he was stabbing something, and we could understand what he was saying, now:
Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear.
I went to look in the alcove, and it was horrifying!
I mean, we've seen some terrible things, but to see a child like that was just… I still can't believe he actually did it!
Aventus was kneeling on the floor, stabbing a dagger into a skeleton while he chanted.
He and the skeleton were surrounded by candles. There was a chunk of human flesh there, along with a human heart, and a nightshade flower next to the book, "A Kiss, Sweet Mother."
I didn't ask him where he got… All that, and I don't want to know.
I crept up to him, grabbed the dagger from his hand, and told him to stop. He was startled, and jumped up. I asked if he was all right, but instead of answering, he got all excited.
He thinks I'm an assassin from the Dark Brotherhood!
Yeah, no. He doesn't know I'm one of their targets, but whatever.
I told him he was mistaken. We were just checking in on him, but he wouldn't listen. He'd done the ritual, asked for an assassin to show up, and here I was!
I couldn't convince Aventus that I wasn't from the Dark Brotherhood no matter how hard I tried, so I asked what happened to his mother. He started to sniffle, and said that she'd gotten sick, and one day, she just didn't wake up.
I hugged him, then picked him up and took him over to his bed. I sat down with him and comforted him as best I could. Septim jumped into the bed with us and snuggled up next to him. I talked with Aventus for a bit, and Valdimar set to work on getting the fire going so he could make the boy a decent meal, while the others cleaned up the horrible mess in the little alcove.
-/-/-/-/-/-
The wash water's almost warm enough, I'm going to get my bath things ready.
—
All right! We're clean, and Lydia's hair is done. I can write while she does mine.
-/-/-/-/-/-
Aventus showed me a letter he got from the steward. I've seen letters like this before, handed in to the orphanage with the new kids. They always say they're sorry about what happened, but that honestly makes it feel even colder. The letter expressed Ulfric's condolences, and said that a guard would escort Aventus to Honorhall Orphanage in Riften.
I asked him about the orphanage, and said that I'd heard he'd gone, then come back. Why?
What he said next started another crying fit that quickly turned to anger. He told me all about the headmistress of the orphanage, Grelod the Kind. She's the one he wants an assassin for.
I'll split my quill if I write down exactly what he told me about her.
How could she?! That BITCH! I want to tie her up and throw her in a pond full of angry mudcrabs! See how she likes the pain of a thousand little hurts.
That hag is as good as dead.
The others acted like they weren't paying attention, but I saw the glares and heard a whispered curse in Dunmeri from Valdimar as he leaned over the soup he was working on.
He came over and handed Aventus a bowl, and told him to eat up.
I told Aventus that I had to talk with my friends for a minute, and we went into the little alcove where he'd been performing the ritual.
It smelled of sandalwood, now, and looked like nothing terrible had ever happened here. Erandur got to his feet from where he'd been kneeling. He'd been praying, "cleansing the place of hatred," he said, and had even brought out his incense.
That, and it covered the smell of rot pretty well.
They'd all heard about what really went on at the orphanage. Lydia said that she found it hard to believe, but for a child to go to all this trouble, it was pretty convincing. Erandur shivered, and whispered that he'd done terrible things when he was the boy's age, too, but he had guidance. There were adults around to help him. Aventus did all of this on his own. Valdimar pointed out that not only had the boy not been eating well - there wasn't much food in there, and Aventus is awfully thin - he'd not been sleeping well, either.
He held out his hand, and there was a smear of dust on it. He said it was from Aventus' bed. He'd noticed the dust when he came over with the soup, and put his hand on the bed to make sure. I ran my hands over the back of my legs and my hind end, and sure enough, I'd sat in a thick layer of it.
Lydia nodded. That explained the ragged cloak she'd found balled up in the corner of the alcove. He was probably sleeping in here, next to the circle of candles. Valdimar said the logs for the fireplace were covered in dust, too.
I realized something and I must have gone pale because Erandur asked me if I was all right. I pulled out this thing and flipped through to the front of it.
I heard about Aventus trying to hire the Dark Brotherhood my second day in Skyrim.
He'd been stabbing those bones, chanting, living like this, for months!
That was it for me. I said we were going to Riften, and the others agreed.
Aventus was getting himself another helping of soup when we walked back into the living area, and he was overjoyed to hear that Grelod would be taken care of.
He said he hadn't expected a whole team of assassins to show up!
I told him again that we weren't assassins, but he wouldn't have it.
Oh, well.
Valdimar went to get him some more firewood, and Lydia went through our supplies to make sure he'd have enough to hold him over until we got back from Riften. Erandur fixed up the boy's bed, and got him to promise that he'd use it. Aventus confirmed that he hadn't been sleeping in it; he wanted to be ready when the assassin showed up! I gave him some gold, and whispered to him to lay low, but if the guards gave him any trouble, he could pay them off to ignore him. They've got bigger problems.
It was getting close to evening by the time we got him settled and well-stocked, but we're pretty sure he'll be all right until we get back.
Before we left, Aventus said that there was another lady who worked at the orphanage named Constance, and asked me not to hurt her. She was sweet, and actually cared for them, but couldn't stand up to Grelod.
I promised not to hurt her, and we slipped out, back into the city. I tried to keep my mood up around the boy, but when we got to the street, I couldn't help but mutter about what I want to do to that hag when I get my hands on her.
We were soon out of the city and on our way to Kynesgrove. During the march across the bridge, once we were out of earshot of the guards, I let myself rage about how horrible Grelod is, and how Ulfric's useless. He can't spare a single guard to check in on Aventus?! I heard about that kid in RIVERWOOD months ago, for Mara's sake! There's no WAY the Guard didn't know about it!
The others weren't completely surprised by my outburst, but they made sure I quieted down before we reached the guards at the far end of the bridge.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
I felt bad for Septim, though. He was worried about me and whining so bad, I had to stop and comfort him and give him hugs.
I needed the hugs, too.
As soon as we were out of sight of the Windhelm guards, Lydia stopped and dug a sack out of her pack, then threw it into the woods. She saw our questioning looks and explained that it was full of the bones and such from the Black Sacrament. "The forest will take care of it," she said.
What do I always say? She's a savvy sweetroll, she is.
We got to the Braidwood Inn just as the sun set. Iddra was glad to see we were all right, and everyone there was accounted for, which was a relief. So, we ordered dinner and got ourselves rooms for the night.
As we ate, one of the guards came up and said that he saw a bit of what happened the other day from his post down by the mine. He said that he could've sworn that he heard one of the dragons speak our language?
I said that he heard right. And I told him what Alduin said to me.
The fact that they had names was chilling enough to him, never mind that they could speak!
Tell me about it.
Anyway, he thanked us for killing the dragon, and we finished our meal. We took turns washing up in the room Lydia and I shared, and I started on today's entry.
Valdimar is braiding Erandur's hair again!
Erandur came out to join us by the fire, but he didn't grab his comb or anything. He just started running his fingers through it to pull out the tangles like he used to.
Old habits die hard.
So, Lydia got Erandur's things, set them down in front of Valdimar (she did give him a wink) and made Erandur sit down next to him to get his hair taken care of properly.
Erandur tried to resist, but soon gave up and let Valdimar do his hair for him. He made a joke about how if we kept making him neaten up people might start to think he was the important one of the group.
Valdimar didn't miss a beat and said that he was important to us. Erandur blushed and tried to fight the smile on his face, but gave up again. He stammered a bit, then just muttered a "Thank you."
The style Valdimar gave him was nothing as complicated as before, but it looks nice and works with his circlet. Valdimar made two flat braids in the front, right at Erandur's temples, and tied the lengths in the back. He left the rest loose. As I said, very simple, but it looks nice on him!
While he worked, Valdimar asked if we were going to take the horn to High Hrothgar, first.
No, I said. Tomorrow we head to Riften, THEN Ivarstead.
I said that the Greybeards can wait, Sarthaal can wait, Solstheim can wait, Delphine can wait, they can all wait.
Those children can't.
He smiled and said he'd hoped I'd say that.
Well, things are winding down in here, and the others have gone to bed. I'm going to finish my -
-/-/-/-/-/-
Iddra and I just had a nice little talk. She noticed that Erandur looked different, and wanted to know what happened. I told her that he used to spend all of his time alone, and had sort of… Forgotten how to take care of himself.
She nodded and put words to something that I've been trying to but didn't know how. She said that it almost hurts to remember how he used to smile. She had no idea how sad he was, before, until she saw him laughing earlier.
She said she'd glad to know he's with us, and that he looks a lot healthier, too. Like he's finally gotten decent food and rest. Then she told me that I had to get my rest, too.
And I will, soon as the ink dries.
Tomorrow, we go to Riften.
I hate this place.
We've been here for barely two hours and I already want to leave.
If I didn't have an abusive bitch to put in the ground I'd have turned around and headed for Ivarstead already.
Even Erandur's claimed a bottle of wine for his own tonight, and he's stopped using his cup already!
Anyway, we started for Riften bright and early after a big breakfast at the Inn.
The walk along the plains was quiet, thankfully. We stuck to the road and ran into a few wolves, but that was it. We did have to wander off the path a few times to avoid giants and mammoths, but it didn't slow us down too much.
We talked on the way, and the others told me what they knew about Riften. Lydia and Erandur have never been there, but Valdimar has, on business for Idgrod.
According to them, Riften's known for two things: Mead and Crime. The Temple of Mara is here, too, so it's a popular wedding destination.
We were all surprised to learn that Erandur's never been to the Temple of Mara, even though he was excited to visit. Turns out, he had a good reason to stay away. He'd only been out of the smuggling rings and illegal alchemy business for a few years when he joined the Order. There was too much of a chance that he'd be recognized if he went to Riften, so he stayed away.
Besides, the Black-Briar family have control of this part of Skyrim, and his groups were in direct competition with them in regards to smuggling.
"They move more than just mead in those crates," he said.
I'm not surprised. Besides, gangs are as territorial as mudcrabs.
But it's been over thirty years. Most of the people involved back then are probably dead (life is short in the underworld) and chances are good that anyone left with unfinished business won't think it's worth the hassle.
Near the top of the mountain, a pack of wolves came out from the trees and attacked us. One of them ran off, and Septim chased it. I followed, and found him over the body on the other side of the small stand of trees.
There was a clear path going through the mountains, and looking at my map, I saw that it could take off a decent portion of our trip! Lydia asked if I was sure it went all the way through; it could lead to a ruin. I didn't know, but luckily Valdimar spoke up and reassured her that yes, it did. He'd been that way before. It was going to be cold and a bit dangerous, but it would save us a lot of time.
That was good enough for Lydia, so we started to make our way through the snow.
There were so many ruins up there! I could see them poking out from the trees and rocks, and little trails broke off from the main path leading to them or who-knows-what. I want to explore that area later. Maybe we can pick one to dive into on our way back home?
Like Valdimar said, there were a lot of wild animals to contend with, but they weren't that bad, and we came away with a nice pile of skins to sell. He assured me that there were plenty of traders in Riften who would take them, so I didn't mind it.
Besides, I was able to fill more soul gems. I need to remember to recharge our weapons later.
As we hiked, Lydia asked Valdimar what he was doing going to Riften for Jarl Idgrod.
Valdimar just shrugged and said that Idgrod had a message she wanted to send to Jarl Laila Law-Giver, and didn't want to trust a regular courier with it. Something about one of Law-Giver's sons, far as he knew. He said that Idgrod often sent him to other Jarls with messages from her, usually from her visions.
Whether or not they listened was another matter, but that wasn't his job. His job was to safely deliver her letters, wait for a reply (if there was one) and return to Morthal.
After a while, the snow gave way to a beautiful forest, full of golden-leaved birch trees and soft grass. It was so lovely, I actually slowed my pace and just enjoyed the walk.
Granted, there were at least a half dozen bears we had to hack through before we got to Riften, but it didn't matter much.
As we walked, I realized that I hadn't seen Valdimar in Morthal when Lydia and I were there taking care of the vampires. I asked him if he'd been out delivering a message, but he wasn't. Idgrod had sent him to look for Laelette in the surrounding Stormcloak camps.
That explained some things. I'd always wondered why Idgrod never mentioned Laelette when we spoke with her. A missing person is more urgent than a possible murder, but there was no need if Valdimar was already looking into it.
Erandur commented that was a lot to put on a single guard, and Valdimar laughed. "Yes, but not for a field agent!" he said.
We were surprised! We all assumed he was a member of the guard!
Right about then we found a dirt road, and Valdimar explained (at Erandur's insistence) what exactly being a "field agent" meant.
Besides delivering messages and such for Idgrod, he would serve the people of the Hjallmarch however he could. Helping at the mill, hunting chaurus or other dangerous animals, making sure there wasn't any dark magic being done in the woods, chasing down lost horses, escorting travelers, finding things, building things…
Whatever the Jarl or the people asked of him, he did.
I had to ask if he didn't mind being at the beck and call of an entire hold. Surely he had to rest sometime?
Valdimar just laughed in that way he does, and asked when do we see him rest? Being busy makes him happy, and knowing that he was helping people and making a difference made every scar and rough night sleeping wild worth it.
I can't imagine being like that!
Lydia commented that Idgrod must miss having him around, and he said that yes, she did. Still, she stood by her decision to place him with me. Apparently she had one of her visions, and according to Valdimar, she saw a small dragon spread its wings over Morthal, but not to attack. It was defending the town with the help of a Dwemer construct, made of Ebony and in the form of an armored woman. They chased a darkness from the hold, then vanished.
Lydia and I looked at each other. I can't see her face with her helm on, but I know exactly what expression she was making behind that visor
Valdimar laughed, and said that a few days before I was made Thane, Idgrod had another vision. She saw the dragon again, but this time at the far end of the hold, perched on a stone tower in a "mighty keep" where Windstad Manor is now. With it was the Ebony construct, a great wolf spirit, a shadow with a heart of fire, and a "titan" made of ice.
Clearly, that was us!
I looked back at him and he actually looked a little embarrassed about how he'd appeared in Idgrod's vision.
He said that Idgrod told him about her visions the last time we were in town. Idgrod overheard one of the guards complain to him about how they had to do all the work he used to do, so she told them what she'd seen. It's how she knew she'd done the right thing.
He also said that was pretty rare; Idgrod didn't usually share exactly what she saw, only that she had "seen things".
Shortly after this the trees thinned out and we saw Riften.
At first, it looks great! Beautiful woods, a lovely lake, mountains… The city itself is partially on the water, with a little dock area and locks set into the city walls. It's all very pretty, until you get to the guards.
They wouldn't let us in unless we gave them a bribe! 50 septims each!
No way. I was mad about it, like anyone would be, and asked the stablehand working nearby if that's how the guards always were.
He just laughed at me and said I'd better get used to it! Gave me some line about mages having brains but no smarts. I snapped back that he'd know all about being brainless, and he challenged me to a fight.
I won but he got some good hits in, much as I hate to admit it. He apologized for picking on me, and said that we might want to try the other gate.
So, we circled the wall, but it was no better over there. The guards just flatly refused to let us in, and said we had to go back to the north gate.
I wasn't going to pay their stupid bribe, so I walked along the shoreline and looked at the docks. There were a few buildings built over the water, but one was built partway through the city wall, near one of the canal locks. Valdimar said that was the Black-Briar Meadery.
Erandur leaned in and asked if I was thinking what he was thinking. Yes, yes I was.
A bit of advice: There's always a way in through the docks. Always.
We could see a staircase going into the water by a low, empty mooring, clearly meant for loading small boats. So, we waded in, swam over to the steps, and got on the docks. We were at a warehouse of some kind, and quickly made our way to the meadery.
We just walked in through the dockside entrance, then out through the main shop area's door into the city itself.
Riften itself isn't bad-looking. They have a nice market area, and the canals going through it remind me of some parts of the Capital. There's a few trees, and all those gold leaves look nice against the stone and dark wood buildings.
Of course, no sooner had we left the meadery than some red-headed guy with an accent I recognized sidled up to me. He said that he knew I hadn't done an honest day's work in my life, what with the gold I had.
I just rolled my eyes and shouldered past him. It didn't take a genius to see that! We're all wearing quality gear, and I have some stubborn bloodstains on my robes. I muttered that I had things to do. He said he could take a hint, and that if I changed my mind, I knew where to find him.
Didn't help that he called me "lass." Ugh.
Valdimar's the only one allowed to call me that.
Anyway, that redheaded guy's shady as hell, and the perfume he's doused himself in isn't doing much to cover up the smell of mildew and musty leather. I've heard that accent of his before, but only in my parts of the Capital. Never in the honest bits.
He's in here, drinking at another table with that Sapphire lady and eyeing me.
Speaking of, we first saw her while we were deciding where to stay for the night. She was on one of the bridges over the canals, shaking down a Redguard man named Shadr over some gold he owed her.
I could smell a scam, so I went over to see what was going on after she left. What happened was that Sapphire lent him some money to get a shipment of horse tack from Whiterun, but the carriage was robbed and he lost the goods. He was afraid that she'd kill him for not paying her back.
I agreed to talk with her and we followed her here, to the Bee and Barb.
Of course, that's when another problem popped up, but not one we can fix.
We walked in to a surprise sermon about the evils of drinking, being given by the second-most annoying priest in all of Skyrim.
The man, whose back was to us, was gesturing to the patrons, telling them to leave this place, and give up drinking away their troubles! They should take the dragons' return as a warning to stop their sinful ways, and come to the temple of Mara.
We all turned to look at Erandur, but he was facing the wall with his arms crossed, clearly hiding his face from the priest. I could just hear him grumbling to himself over the man's preaching.
The barkeep, an Argonian woman named Keerava, sighed and said that they've been over this. From the sounds of it, it's not the first time she's had to put up with his nonsense. Another Argonian, Talen-Jei, went over and asked him to please stop with the sermon and let them "sin in peace".
The priest left in a huff - To be perfectly clear, they didn't kick him out, they just wanted him to shut up and were a million times more polite about it than I would've been - and I asked the others to find a table while I talked to Sapphire.
I wanted to get Shadr's problem handled before I went back to ask Erandur what THAT was all about.
So I spoke with Sapphire, who hadn't gotten a table yet, and she agreed to let Shadr off the hook. She couldn't really argue; she got her money back and then some with the stolen goods, and she knew damn well that trying to get more from Shadr was like getting blood from a stone. As I'd thought, she'd been the one behind the robbery.
Classic. She has the same smell about her as the redhead. Seeing them drinking, I can tell that they work together. They certainly don't have the look of a couple, but they're clearly close enough that they can get a message across with a single look.
Best to steer clear of them as much as I can. I might be allergic to honest work, but I'm trying not to get on the books for any lawbreaking if I can help it.
I joined the others after I got us all rooms and dinner, and asked Erandur about the priest. Clearly, he knew him.
Erandur was refilling his wine glass already, and couldn't keep the sneer off his face. He knew him all right, and they DO NOT like each other. As he put it, they have some big "theological differences" when it comes to Mara's worship.
The priest's name is Maramal (yes, he chose that when he joined) and he lives here in Riften, at the Temple.
Erandur met him when he came by carriage to Dawnstar while on pilgrimage. He was making a round of shrines to Mara around Skyrim. They've crossed paths a few times since, and Erandur says that each time the man seems to have gotten worse.
Valdimar cut in here to say that he'd heard of him, too. Erandur was surprised, and Valdimar explained that his sister had also complained about Maramal. They'd been acolytes together, and he had to go on pilgrimage alone because she refused to travel with him!
Erandur laughed when he realized that the Thora he knew was the same little girl he'd met all those years ago in Morthal. He hadn't made the connection, and like Valdimar, she'd been too little back then to remember his name!
He also didn't know that Valdimar's little sister became a priestess of Mara, but then again, we hardly know anything about Valdimar or his family.
Of course, the two had to talk about Thora for a bit. Erandur hadn't seen her for a while and wanted to know what she and her family were up to. She used to visit him sometimes with news and Temple supplies like incense, amulets, that sort of thing.
Valdimar said that she and her family moved to the borders of Hammerfell to establish a shrine and help with the refugees. Last he'd heard, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl (bringing her to three children), and the shrine was already being expanded into a Temple.
Erandur was glad to hear this, then told us about the first time he met Maramal.
Years ago, the Temple sent word that Maramal was going to be visiting while on his first pilgrimage. Like he always did for pilgrims, Erandur got him a room and was waiting to meet him at the inn. Maramal was appalled when Erandur offered him mead to warm up, and was even more shocked to see that he was drinking wine and carried a weapon.
Erandur assured us that there's nothing in Mara's teachings that forbids booze or fighting. Priests need to defend themselves, after all, and in Her Mercy she gave them the skills to do it!
Of course, things didn't stop there. Maramal didn't let up about the mace, even when Erandur used it to fight off a sabercat and a wolf on the way to Nightcaller Temple. The Flame magic didn't help, and Maramal even insulted the state of Erandur's shrine once they were inside.
Erandur admitted that it wasn't much to look at it, but it did the job, and that was the important thing. Maramal got even angrier when he heard that Erandur didn't even do weddings there, and in fact did most of them at the Windpeak Inn!
Where was he supposed to do them? In the mines?
Anyway, Maramal's visit to the shrine was a short one, and he hopped on the ferry to Solitude the very next morning.
The few times they've met since, all Maramal had were complaints about Erandur's supposedly lax practices, while Erandur cited manuscripts and customs followed by literally every other priest of Mara he'd ever met.
I mean, we all know where the word "honeymoon" comes from, and Lady Mara clearly doesn't have a problem with that! Why would she mind people relaxing with a drink?
Erandur drained his cup and said that until he saw Maramal he was excited to visit the Temple, but now he almost didn't want to!
By then we were done with dinner, and I got to writing.
It's getting late, and the bar's nearly empty. Lydia and I are the only ones left down here.
I admit, I'm a bit nervous about tomorrow. I have some decent poisons on me, and I think I'm going to try to make it as quick and quiet as I can. No need to scare the kids any more than I have to.
I wish I could poison her food or something so she just keels over, but I can't guarantee that she'll be the only one to eat it. I can't risk hurting that Constance lady Aventus mentioned or any of the children.
The plan is to get up early, and while the others do some trading in the market, I'll head to the orphanage to take care of business. Once I'm done there, we'll head to the Temple so I can lay low for a little while and Erandur can do whatever it is he wants to do. If we're lucky, maybe Maramal will be out harassing people so he won't bother Erandur.
Talen-Jei's putting up the chairs so he can mop. Time to finish my drink and turn in.