It was decided. The group stayed together for a while longer, walking into Thorn.

To Janius, Sabine, and Meesei, Thorn's front gates were only a hint of the vast and elaborate beauty the city displayed on their first visit, during the festival they attended years ago. Still, there was little else in the world exactly like it. Even Karl's impaired vision did not prevent him from tracing the broader patterns and colours around the gates as he was lead through on Sabine's arm.

The walk through the city was not quite as they expected. Sabine kept slowing down ahead and occasionally looking down at a letter in her other hand, written in Dunmeris. They were not on the streets familiar to them the last time they visited Ariel.

"Uh, Sabine, where are we going?" Janius asked.

Sabine answered without taking her eyes off the landmarks around them. "To Ariel's new store. She moved into a larger building when she was expecting children."

"Ah," Janius nodded. "I've been living away from cities for so long, I almost forgot about such matters."

It turned out their destination was not far after all. It was in the same district as before, though not a small shop tucked away in an alley like before. On a main thoroughfare, close to where the market day stalls would set up each week, was a two story, ochre painted townhouse with a generous glass storefront, creeper vines up one corner, and a familiar looking sign. The building was closer to Argonian architecture than Imperial. It appeared to be built for resilience to Thorn's climate and was well positioned to avoid the more common floodings of the area. More notably, it was at least half as much larger than the previous store.

There was no pretending it was lavish compared to the wealthier parts of the city. Ariel was still a frugal individual. But, after the reward for helping the clans with her skills, it would make less sense for everything to remain the same.

Sabine smiled. "This is it."