Few noticed and fewer cared about the battered Imperial skulking around the streets of the Windhelm. People apparently had more important things to see to than a beat-up rogue that looked like they would fall over if one so much as breathed on them; things such as looking for missing loved ones, finding medicine, and other such similar, trivial matters. Besides, the guards could deal with one little thief, couldn't they? Good thing for Sagax, he was not interested in plying his former trade. He wasn't sneaking about looking for neglected trinkets and dangling purses; no, he was listening. He wanted information, and the Imperial decided there would be no better source than the gossiping civilians of Windhelm's districts. Pressed against corners, crouching in dark alleys, or sometimes even standing right next to a group of people as they spoke in hushed, conspiratorial tones, Sagax took in everything he heard. He heard many, many different rumors, but a few were consistent. For one, it had apparently been a Dunmer that incited the violence back at the main gate; threw a bottle of some kind of alchemical mixture into the middle of the mob. The Dunmer in question did not yet have a name attached to them, but people nevertheless had their suspicions. Bartender of the New Gnisis Cornerclub, a general goods merchant, even a farmer was named. Whoever it was, they weren't the one Sagax was looking for. The Dunmer simply brought the mob to violence, someone else was responsible for rallying the Argonians in the first place. But who? More likely than not, it was another Argonian, but Sagax had no way of knowing for certain.

The man's search was interrupted by the sight of a large grouping of people crowding a street. A bunch of Dunmer were circling an elderly man sprawled out on the ground, but they had all turned their attention away from him. At the other end of the street was who appeared to be Solveig and a faintly familiar man. One of the Dunmer yelled something about "watchers" to their friend, and most of them bolted after the two Nords, both of whom had already began running off towards the snaking alleyways behind them. Two of the Dunmer stayed behind to further beat on the man on the ground.

"Just wait until Vaeren and the others get back, you old n'wah! We're gonna make you pay back all those years of slights against our people here!" One said as he planted his foot firmly into the man's chest.

"Hrmph...ha! I fought in the Great War, killed scores of Thalmor infantry! Stared down a decorated battlemage before I cut her frilly hands off! You think I'm scared of some knife-ear'd punks like you!?" Apparently, the Dunmer found the boasting absolutely hilarious, as they just laughed while kicking the old soldier around like a doll. Their behavior disgusted Sagax. What in the world had that man done to them to warrant such abuse? Mere mean words did not justify physical violence, surely. He thought about simply running up and burying his blade in one of the Dunmers' shoulders. That would be far easier. Ultimately he decided to give the two Mer the benefit of the doubt, and simply made his presence known by drawing his sword noisily. 

"Disperse! There is nothing for you here, Dunmer!" His words brought him incredulous looks from the two elves, as if they were asking themselves "[i]Is this runt talking to US?[/i]"

"Disperse? Disperse he says, Balen!" Looking from his friend to Sagax, the Dunmer shook his head in disbelief. Just who did this Imperial whoreson think he was? "How about this, Imperial, we'll 'disperse' after we're done getting some payback against this racist s'wit!" he said, kicking the old man in the side.

"That's...not going to work, friend. Leave. Now." Sagax tried his best to glare menacingly at the elf; he was attempting to imitate the look Solveig gave him back at the inn when they first met. It seemed to have worked, as the one called Balen became very apprehensive. 

"Uh...you know, Nilos, this really doesn't seem worth it. I mean, we can always just find this guy later and-" 

"[i]Later[/i] Balen? There might not be a LATER, you netch-brained coward! It's just ONE Imperial! A pretty pathetic one at that!" Nilos looked Sagax up and down, clearly unimpressed with him. Fed up with his friend's ensuing silence, Nilos groaned with frustration. "FINE! I'll deal with the whoreson then!" He said, drawing a gnarled dagger from his belt. "You and me, Imperial!"

Sagax had no time to make a diplomatic appeal, as Nilos ran forward and lunged straight for his chest. Hopping to the left, away from the Mer's weapon hand, Sagax positioned himself for a reactionary strike with his pommel to the side of Nilos' head, but the Mer was the slippery sort; he simply dodged backwards out of the way, turning to face the Imperial again. Sagax backed up and hopped around, keeping out of range of Nilos' slashes and stabs. This continued for quite a while, the elf becoming more and more frustrated as the fight went on; his jabs became more vicious and sporadic, but also less accurate. He had gotten to the point where he was not worried about finesse, he just wanted the rogue dead. However, that didn't mean the man didn't have any tricks up his sleeve. He waited for Sagax to hop out of the way of another stab, and then slammed into the Imperial's exposed chest with his elbow as soon as he landed. The strike caused Sagax to reel back; his chest felt like it was being burned up all over again, and his head burst with agony as his vision began to blur and spin. Nilos took advantage of the opening, using it to grab Sagax's arm and throw him to the ground.

The grin Nilos wore would make even the most upbeat bard want to knock his lights out. Speaking between exhausted breaths, it became clear that the elf had never heard the phrase about brevity and wit when he began taunting his opponent. "Aha! I gotta...gotta hand it to you, imp...you're quick on your feet. Ah, but not quick enough!" He had raised his dagger, and was ready to plunge it straight into Sagax's chest, when Balen yelled for Nilos to "watch out!". This distracted Nilos long enough to keep him from bringing Sagax to an early demise, and for him to see the shield that had planted itself against his face.

The elf fell to his side, bleeding heavily from his nose with his eyes focusing on nothing in particular before closing. Sagax felt someone grab his arm and pull him to his feet, steadying him when he swayed. With his sight returning to normal, the man looked up to meet his savior: a city guard, though this one seemed very familiar...

"Hmph. Well well, sneak-thief. I expected you to be crawling about here, but not defending old men from rabid dark elves. I suppose the 'thief' part is a bit misplaced then." Turning away from Sagax, the guard kicked Nilos onto his back, confirming his unconsciousness. Balen must have jumped nearly three feet when the brown-garbed man shouted at him to stay put.

"Bah, fuckin' knife-ear'd pricks! Serves you right!" The old man had been able to get himself up, though he was clutching his sides, suggesting at least a bit of bruising."Ever since that god damn lizard started shouting about a 'Hist' or whatever, this city's gone to hell! Well, more than it had before, anyway...I need a fucking nap..." Sagax perked up when the man mentioned an Argonian. Perhaps this Argonian was the origin of the riots?

"Wait, sir, excuse me," he said, stopping the man before he thundered back into his home. "you mentioned an Argonian. They might be whom I'm looking for, do you have any idea where they are? Maybe a name?"

"What? Nah, ain't got a name for you. Apparently he's some kind of elder though, not that you'd be able to tell by just looking at the scaly bastard. Dunno where he is now, either. If you wanna find him, then more power to ya, lad, but I'm taking a damn nap." With all potentially useful information passed on, the rather grumpy old soldier went back inside, nursing his sore ribs. The sound of footsteps coming from the side street revealed two more guards, and with one nod from the senior guardsman, the two newcomers rounded up Nilos and Balen and readied them to be carted them off towards the city dungeon while Sagax warned of the other Dunmer that might come back. The senior ordered for another detachment before turning to the Imperial. "Hm...we're being stretched thin here, but the more of this rabble we can get off the streets, the better. We need as many bodies as possible to address the invaders, but we won't be able to do that if our defense force is occupied with a bunch of two-bit thieves and these rioters."

"I agree, that's why I'm trying to find this Argonian elder; perhaps he can calm his kin, and bring whatever peace possible back to the city." The watchman nodded in agreement, as Sagax had hoped. The more help he had, the better, and it would be very beneficial to have a combat-capable ally in case their search brought about more violence.

"Well, Sneak, we're not going to be finding anyone just standing here. Let's get moving. Best bet is near the gates to the docks; that's where most of the lizards wander about when not working the piers." With no more trouble to tend to, the two men began making their way through the city in search of the elder, eyes sharp for any sign of them, and of any potential undesirables lurking in the dark alleys of Windhelm.