[i]Anvil - 21st of Second Seed, Midday[/i] [hr] Judena realized a few things over the course of their travels to Anvil. Uncertainty reigned everyday and unlike before where it would burn away with the morning sun, it lingered for the entirety of the day. The lack of routine to her days was beginning to wear, the need for certainty growing. Perhaps for the first time in a decade did she feel a tug of homesickness, for Soulrest. Genuinely she appreciated the company but their quiet suffering was suffocating. Judena’s empathy soaking up the various forms of misery - a little from some and a lot from others. Perhaps - [i]perhaps[/i] some time to herself in the new city would clear these cloudy thoughts. The new faces of Rhona, Calen, Gregor, Jaraleet, and Nanine took some time to learn, mixing up their names and their faces often. It was usually easier to learn one or two at a time not five. Jaraleet in particular took an interest in keeping close, learning quickly of Judena’s memory. His acute attention pulled away upon arrival to Anvil. Judena pulled away from the group, quietly. Not announcing her departure, knowing some on reflex now try to pull her back to the group. That reflex served them well while they travelled but Judena was confident in her abilities to move around in a city on her own. Things were uniform and unchanging. She got lost nonetheless. She gave up on trying to track her movements in her notes, stopping every few feet to write notes on a city she was never bound to remember let alone be in again - it seemed a waste of time and paper. If it was important her feet would remember. She wound up several times by the docks, always pulled to the sound of water. Drawn to the sound of the open market, merchants trying to sell their goods to travellers and sailors. She peeled open her satchel, some tradable goods held on from Skingrad, things she could potentially haggle for but she’d have to search beyond the vendors here to sell her finds. Her clothing suffered various patch work and while dips into water and scrubbing away grease stains helped, she looked undeniably shabby. Her scales dull, flakey skin peeling up in need for a decent molt or her bristly brush left behind at the Arcane University. Her ‘beard’ felt itchy, however the humidity was working a magic of its own for her. Perhaps a midnight swim in the bay would help. The salty waters always felt better for her skin than ponds and rivers. Daro’Vasora aired one sentiment she agreed with when she yelled at Rhea. It [i]would[/i] have been nice to get paid. The young Khajiit always so vocal. Being on the road allowed for so little certainty. Truthfully their brush with the Dominion was terrifying, the Thalmor infamous for cruel torture. Judena knew she would not be spared if they were caught. Rhea was at the end of her rope, she felt the imperial woman’s cloying guilt. It made the elder argonian uncomfortable. A bright spot of light shined on her eyes making her squint moving out of it. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of a vendor selling what appeared to be various bright coppery gold dwemer pieces, unmistakable to her sharp eyes. A strange place for them to set up shop, she reasoned they hoped to snag some curious travellers. Re-adjusting her bag behind her, she approached the booth. The middle aged imperial man counting septims as he addressed her. Curly brown hair and a full moustache grew on his upper lip, dark green eyes shrewdly going over Judena. She did a small wave, “Hello, good sir-” “Brant.” He said, he stuck out his hand. “Interested in taking a closer look at some dwemer pieces. Missus-” “Callisar.” Judena supplied, “Yes I am! May I see what you have on display?” Brant smiled, “Of course, Madame Callisar.” The tell tale twinkle of a future sale in his eye. “[i]Authentic[/i] pieces scavenged from the Imperial City, gathered at a great cost and peril to my personal safety but here we are! A little piece of the bastards themselves.” She reached for one piece, looking like a severed piece of a gyro, he scrambled patting her hand. “Please be careful, ma’am. It is very heavy-” Lifting it far more easily than she expected she straightened with it in her hands. “Worry not, I am an expert. This is quite a bit lighter than I expected but perhaps it is because it is only partially intact.” She used both hands weighing it with more scrutiny. Instincts telling her something wasn’t right. Brant’s eyes widened at the mention of expert he reached again to pull it out of her hands, “Really I must insist.” Judena let him have it but as his back turned to carefully replace it she scooped up another bit of plate metal. It was far too light. This time she held it out of his reach. She examined her fingertips, brushed copper paint gathering under her nails. Her eyes narrowed, searching around it for more signs of authenticity. “Madame, [i]please[/i]. You are pawing away it’s value from Imperial City.” Judena said quietly, “Did you know that a great deal of Dwemer material can be dated by its direct proximity the piece was discovered to the Falmer and how deep it was found? Soil samples, temperature, and marks delivered by Falmer weaponry lend well to telling scholars when [i]exactly[/i] it existed and on closer inspection based on the metal work we can discover when it was created.” She peered up underneath the plate, purposefully rubbing her thumb leaving a streak exposing the true metal beneath it - iron. “Details that are the building blocks to a story.” Brant’s initial excited faded into panic, he pushed up on the tip of his toes to reach for Judena. “Ah ha!” She said bringing the phoney piece back down and dropping it to the ground. It caught on the merchant’s foot. He howled jumping away holding his foot. “Absolutely [i]fake![/i]” She declared, going through his stock on display. He scrambled behind her as she scowled at more fake pieces, “This is truly disgraceful, taking money and scamming people for cheaply disguised hunks of metal.” She pushed through the display knocking more to the ground with [i]klangs![/i] “What if a Legionnaire happened by your booth and bought any of your so-called pieces to examine? What good would that do? Hmm?” Brant angrily snapped, “It’s none of your business you nosy lizard! Now leave before I call the guards to haul you back to the swamp you crawled out of!” He grasped at broken mace in Jude’s hands, using his bit of strength to tug it from her. She held strong, “It is wrong! You are capitalizing on a tragedy for easy coin! I will not stand by and let this go!” Other merchants were looking on out of curiosity. They argued on, Brant demanding Judena to leave. Jude insisting to pay the coin back out to his previous customers. She didn’t know what had come over her, anger and unease boiling over directly at Brant. Her beard expanded. Their ruckus drawing more attention. Other shoppers wagging a finger and taking Judena’s side while some of the neighboring merchants defended Brant. “Gods be damned, lizard!”