By [@Mortarion] and [@Chrononaut]
[center][h3]The New Dax[/h3][/center]
[hr]

Tsleeixth was about to have a bad time on the night of Sun's Height 18. As soon as he as tried to return to the inn, he was greeted by Thoring and a throng of guards. Thoring was furious to have seen Tsleeixth again, who somehow managed to sneak past him the first time around. Two guards made sure the Argonian got no closer than Windpeak's porch before stopping him with their hands. 

"Argonians without permits are not allowed inside Dawnstar proper; jarl's order." The guard announced. "You're going to find your way to the refugee center, or shall we escort you there?"

Tsleeixth was surprised when, upon returning to the Inn, he was greeted by a throng of guards and a clearly furious Thoring, his incredulity only growing when the guards told him that Argonians without permits were not allowed inside Dawnstar "And here I thought the tent city was because my kinsmen were bored." He said acidly, taking a deep breath to calm himself. It would do him no good to upset the guards, especially since they were -at the very least- being civil enough to not throw curses and racist slurs against him.

"My apologies, the last few days have been stressing and my patience has been running thin" He explained once he was more calm "You see, I left with that expedition that went towards Winterhold and as such the deportation of my fellow Argonians is a relatively new piece of information for me." Explained Tsleeixth, trying to move a little closer to the porch of Windpeak "Maybe if I could talk to my employer, Ashav, I'd be able to procure the necessary permits but, alas, he is inside the inn at this moment." Explained the spellsword, not wanting to cause a ruckus with the guards.

Raelyn appeared beside Tsleeixth, "That's who we're both looking for Dax." she said in a tone reminiscent of Cyrodil nobility, added, saying through a smile, "Don't correct me."

She handed the guards Dax's permit, which he had just used to get inside the tavern earlier. "See? He's entirely legal and confused. Forgot he had a permit, on account of being hit on the head earlier."

The guards looked over the permit, then to each other. They all huddled around Thoring, who was holding the permit. They whispered but were loud enough that anyone nearby could hear them anyway, "I mean, that could be Dax. They all look the same." Thoring said.

Another guard whispered, "That other ones acting weird too." The man snuck a look at Raelyn then back to the guard. 

"Alright!" Thoring announced. "Paperwork checks out, I suppose. Don't want to make an event out of it. But if we find out that this is theft or forgery, we will throw you into a cell so far below Mundus that your stink won't reach for days."

Tsleeixth blinked in confusion as an Imperial woman appeared next to him and addressing him as Dax. He was opening his mouth to correct her when she quickly told him not to correct her "Yeah, that's right." He added as the woman handed the guards a pair of permits, blinking again when she invented that he had forgotten he had a permit.

"Yeah, I hit against a rock in a recent battle....can't believe I forgot about the damn papers." He muttered with fake embarrassment as the guards huddled around Thoring.and began mumbling loudly enough for Tsleeixth to hear them "[i]Thank the Hist that to this Nords every Argonian looks the same.[/i]" He thought bewildered as Thoring muttered that all Argonians looked the same.

The argonian let out a sigh of relief when the innkeep mentioned that all the papers checked out "Don't worry, my apologies for the trouble gentlemen." Said Tsleeixth as he quickly snatched the permit from Thoring's outstretched hand, stuffing it in his pocket promptly after and entered the inn. 

Raelyn followed after, "I can't believe you forgot your papers either, Dax. You know, when travelling to strange lands you should always have the proper paperwork."

"Oh you know me, never been particularly good with my paperwork." Said Tsleeixth with a light shrug, yawning a little "Well, time I was on my way to my room, we can talk more tomorrow." Said the Argonian as he stifled yet another yawn before promptly going back to his bedroom.

Alas it seemed that the Argonian, or anyone else in the company, would have much time to rest as the sounds of a scuffle coming from within the inn where heard. Hurrying down the stairs he gasped in surprise when he saw that a crowd was forming around Orakh's room "[i]Someone is targeting us?![/i]" Thought Tsleeixth worriedly as he pushed his way through the gathered crowd, breathing a sigh of relief when some of the other member's of the company started pushing the other patrons away.

However he wasn't prepared for what he saw from the corner of his eye, Orakh lying on a pool of his own blood and Farid being bound by Daelin once Edith had disarmed the Redguard. He blinked rapidly "[i]By the Hist....this must be a dream.....[/i]" He thought weakly, blinking as if to will the horrible scene away. But acceptance soon dawned upon the Argonian who moved away from the grisly scene, needing to clear his mind for a moment. 

Raelyn was practicing near the entrance of the Inn, playing a song she'd been trying to write ever since having met Jorwen. She sung with some confidence,

[hider]Father said, 
You'll be dead,
Far off and wan,
Let me go not in your stead,
But neither you are gone,
[/hider]

There was something missing. Perhaps it was Jorwens daughter actually dying, sometimes the reality of a death could really make a dirge sing. Then again, that could also be in poor taste to someone who knew Jorwens daughter. Well, in any case, her death would happen soon. If there was anything certain about war, was that people died. That's why Raelyn avoided the practice entirely.

As Tsleeixth left the inn he heard Raelyn practicing and perplexed by the song, and looking for something to distract him from the grisly events that had occurred but moments prior, followed the sound until he found the bard "Uh, so you are a bard?" He asked the woman once he located her.

Raelyn grinned, "Picked that up did you? The lute must have been your first hint. I suppose from your sheathed blade, you must be a soldier? Or is that to cut shrubbery?"

"Aye, the lute was my first hint like you said as for if I am a soldier or not I think the term mercenary is more appropriate. After all, being a soldier implies you are part of the standing army of a nation, does it not?" Said the Argonian as he sat next to the bard.

"Perhaps, but consider this. A mercenary is someone who is paid by an individual to perform a task and a soldier would be paid by the crown. The crown, king, emperor, or elsewise, is yet another kind of individual. The wealth comes from the nation, but you could say that a mercenaries wealth also comes from a nations wealth, collected by the employer."

"True enough, but for a soldier to enlist within a nation's armies there are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled, such as being a citizen. Any person can sign up for a mercenary company, regardless of nationality or citizenship within a nation." Said Tsleeixth, letting out a sigh "Although some sort of regulation would be good." He thought grimly as he remembered Orakh's murder. 

"Ah, but there is! Nations only suffer mercenaries, at any time the practice could be outlawed." she put a finger to her chin, looking upward, "Though, those mercenaries would be just as likely to join a professional army or commit to banditry." 

"Hmmm, true enough, but I meant more of an internal-regulation within mercenary companies themselves." Said the spellsword, letting out a sigh "That would have stopped what happened to Orakh from occurring." He muttered lowly, although Raelyn could easily her him, before falling silent, deep in thought over the present situation and the bard's words. 

"Orakh? Did I miss something today? I'm usually onto all the local gossip. Did you know that Brittle actually has a huge penis? At least, that's what he told me."

Tsleeixth was mortified by Raelyn's second comment, looking down "Eh...no, I didn't know nor did I care to know though I guess it's a bit late to say that now." He coughed awkwardly before looking down as he returned his thought to Orakh "Orakh was murdered this mornings by one of the company, a redguard by the name of Farid....not sure if you've heard about it" He said to Raelyn. 

She put a hand to her chest, "Murder? My my, you're a very busy lot. Can't wait until the battle, have to start killing where you sleep. I'm guessing you brought Farid to justice?"

"Bah, Farid acted out of cowardice, snuck upon Orakh and stabbed him in the jugular as far as I know." He spat the words in disgust, at Farid's treacherous actions rather than at Raelyn "And no, we haven't handed him over to the authorities, last I knew Daelin had tied his hands after the Redguard had tried to do something with a dagger." He said, unsure of what exactly had resulted in Farid's hands beign tied. "We will probably judge him ourselves I think." He added after a while, letting out a sigh "By the Hist, what a mess" He muttered dejectedly, rubbing his forehead a little to try and calm down. 

"Is that even legal? By local laws, I mean. Where I come from, you'd have the town guard hang him." Raelyn wasn't sure about this, she suspected that most Nords would have just stabbed him and called it what he deserved.

"I don't know, i mean, Farid killed one of our own, it's not like he had gone and killed a Nord from Dawnstar during a drunken brawl. If that was the case, the people here would be howling for blood already and, so far, things seem relatively quiet." He said, scratching his chin a little as he thought "Regardless, a sentence will be issued, either by Ashav or the local Jarl." 

Raelyn said, "Ah, yes. Freelance justice and racial politics. Nordic culture at its finest. You know, they used to make wonderful songs. Even if all of them were about some battle or how someone in a tavern decapitated a man. Speaking of, you don't want to figure out what they're doing? I'm curious, it's not often that murder gets commited out here. They usually call it war."

Tsleeixht listened as Raelyn spoke, nodding in agreement when she asked him if he didn't want to figure what the company was doing in regards to Farid's murder of Orakh "Aye, I am curious as well on what will happen." Admitted the Saxhleel as he stood up "Come, I am sure that they'll be gathering somewhere nearby." He said as he made his way towards the streets of Dawnstar. 

They later arrived at The Duel, which was a nice sort of diversion if you were wondering what a pint of blood outside of a mans body looked like on an Argonian.