[h3][center]A Familiar Face[/center][/h3] [hr] A collab by: [@Greenie] & I [i]22nd of Second Seed [s]6:00pm[/s], Anvil[/i] Rhona rose long before Brynja awoke, leaving the sleeping giant in her bed. By the way she snored, she judged that Brynja wouldn’t wake to the sound of her bathing, so she took a gamble and prepped the bath water. She made quick use of the hot water, scrubbing every nook and cranny she could reach until the water became cloudy. She dried herself off, still impressed that Brynja had yet to wake, and dressed herself. Rhona used a scrap piece of paper to leave a note for her, telling her that she was leaving to offer her services down by the harbor. The air felt heavy from the moisture, but it didn’t bother her one bit. She opted out of wearing her leather boots again, not minding the hot stone against the soles of her feet. Today, she had switched out her linen dress for her tunic and trousers, the change of clothes allowing for her to remain cool in the daytime heat. Rhona found a little niche along the harbor walls where she set up a space to offer her enchanting services again. She laid out her cloak to sit upon, and delved into her rucksack, pulling out her enchanting board, journal and chalk, and setting out a few petty soul gems to indicate what she offered. Tobias had tagged along as usual now, the goat didn’t stray far from her these days, and she felt it almost odd to be without his company. He appeared well-behaved for a goat on some regards, perhaps he had once been someone’s beloved pet? For the most part, the day was slow and she had had little customers. An older woman stopped to ask her to enchant a silver amethyst ring, and a young Khajiiti youth brought her a pair of boots to fortify them with sneaking, but other than that, she spent her morning and the better part of the afternoon resting against the wall. Her mind was preoccupied with Brynja’s words. [i]You want to free that heart of yours? Be honest. Be honest with your heart, and with others… your heart will thank you for it.[/i] She knew she needed to find Calen, and at least offer him an explanation on why she had been avoiding him. It was the right thing to do. She gathered up her belongings, and in a short time, shouldered her rucksack, leather boots in one hand, staff in the other, sticking her pipe in her mouth and lighting it with the tips of her fingers. "Oh, fancy seein' you here. Rhona, right?" “That’s right.” After spending the rest of the afternoon after lunch wandering about Anvil and filling in her map, the Nord had finally decided to head back to the harbour. She wasn't tired as yet, but a little relaxation sounded good. The humidity was still stifling compared to Skyrim's crisp air, but she found herself slowly getting used to it. It helped that her clothes were no longer thick and winter combatting. Smiling, she approached the familiar woman, someone she had seen quite a bit of on the journey from Skingrad but unfortunately hadn't had the opportunity to talk to. "You been here 'fore or this's your first time too?" “No, I’ve been here many a time before. Uh… Meg right?” She asked, chewing on the end of her pipe, “Where are you headed to? I was going to head back to The Flowing Bowl.” “Same,” Meg replied, glad that she got her name right. “And aye, m’name’s Meg. Been stayin’ here since we arrived.” She waved her grubby map a little before carefully folding it, not wanting it to fly away with the evening breeze. “Been goin’ round an’ addin’ to my map. Not that you’d be needin’ one, I s’pose” She nodded towards Rhona, curious. “What’ve you been up to?” “Ah, well let’s walk together.” Rhona said, drawing on her pipe, a curl of smoke rolled out of her nose, “I’ve offered my services today, I’m an enchantress of sorts. Been a slow day, really. And yourself? Meet any interesting people?” "An enchantress, eh? Sounds pretty fancy, never was any good at magic an' that sorta thing myself..." She paused a little, watching the smoke escape Rhona before continuing, "Interesting people? Depends on what y'mean by that. But on the whole, 'sides havin' a nice meeting with Jaraleet, it's been quiet." “Jaraleet… oh the Argonian. Yes yes.” She paused for a moment of thinking, then continued, “So... have your services for the day ended or...?" A hopeful tinge in her voice, Meg hoped she wasn't imposing. “Ah? Not necessarily. Is there something I can do for you?” Rhona asked, pulling the pipe away from her mouth to give Meg her full attention. It was clear that Meg was uncertain, and there was reason to that uncertainty as well; she had never actually owned an enchanted [I]anything [/I]. Chewing on her lip for a few seconds, she finally spoke. “Well, I don' have it here, but my chest piece- d’you think there might be some way t’make it… I dunno… stronger?” It was old, older than she was, but the Nord didn't feel like parting with it any time soon. Rhona brought the stem of the pipe back to her lips, it was empty now, but she chewed on the end, her brows furrowed together as she wracked her mind, “Stronger as in...reinforce the structure? Or make you stronger?” She rocked back and forth on her heels, Tobias had taken to sniffing around Meg’s boots, before bumping her with his head. Nothing to be alarmed over, just a gentle nudge. Meg looked to the ground, surprise showing on her face. “Ah, a goat.” Grinning, she reached down and very lightly patted the back of his neck before pulling her hand back and looking to Rhona, slightly sheepish. “Don’t worry, Tobias is harmless, took to me like a newborn fledging.” “Ah, sorry, forgot m’self there for a bit. I mean the actual armour. It belonged to my Ma, but it’s old… I’ve been takin’ care of it but it could use a li’l extra help, y’know?” “Is it… light or heavy armor? I might be able to help actually.” Rhona said, her brows raising. Yes that’s right, she ought to have a enchantment inscription for light and heavy armor in her journal if she remembered correctly. "Heavy armour," Meg replied immediately. Leather or studded would have suited her better, but there was no speaking sense to sentimental value. "Banded iron- I got it in m'room in the Flowin' Bowl, I can go get it for you!" “On second thought, I’ve a room over there too. Let’s walk together, no sense in two women walking alone through these streets. It might not be the Imperial City, but there are people who would still do someone harm.” Rhona said through a sigh, and then gestured with her staff, “Right then, let’s get to it!” The stroll back to the [i]Flowing Bowl[/i] proved enjoyable, one that Rhona personally enjoyed, the hot humid air had begun to cool considerably, lessening the effects of the suffocating moisture. It felt odd, walking through these streets again with Aurelia by her side. Her spirit suddenly fell as she thought about those that had come and left. She thought of her mother, and Holbert. Even Lysanna. She felt a twang of guilt as she realized that she had spent little time thinking or even searching for them. She thought of her father, Asbjorn, and her brother Uthred. She hadn’t seen either of them since she was a little girl. What of Sayyid? That dastardly Redguard that stole her heart when she was sixteen? Or what of Vanozza? She knew her tutor had long since retired, but she had lived in the Imperial City. And then there was Eranas, Asirelle, and Viras. Did they still travel with Aurelia? Had they parted ways? Megana had such a vibrant personality, it helped distract her from her early morning thoughts. No sense in letting her thoughts sour the mood. After all, Meg had asked her for help. They had come in sight of the tavern when Rhona directed the conversation back to Meg, she knew she was a Nord, but she was curious about her family, “Tell me about your family Meg. And yourself. Are you from Cyrodiil?” “Me,” Meg started, “I’m from Skyrim, like m’Ma was, born in Riverwood like her too.” She smiled at the thought of having been born in the same house as her mother; when she thought of it like that, it made her feel closer to her Ma. “Pa’s from Cyrodill, but he’s not been there in… [i]ages[/i]. Rhea’s dwemer ruins was the first time I came here…” She motioned about to nothing in particular with her hands. “All this? All new for me. Skyrim’s what’m used to… not that I don’ like bein’ here, ‘cause I do. Just kinda wish it wasn’ just cause a buncha should be dead people are tryin’ t’kill us.” She rubbed the back of her head before shrugging. “It’s kinda surprisin’ how [i]calm[/i] people’re here. On the one hand I’m glad, on the other I’m kinda…” She made an awful face before chuckling. “Petty.” By the time she finished, they had reached the Flowing Bowl. Meg pulled the door open and nodded to Rhona to enter first. “Not many folks can say that they have known both of their parents. My father, he’s from Skyrim, I don’t know where. But he met my mother in Camlorn. When I was little… my mother ran away to be with my stepfather. I have a brother, Uthred, but I haven’t seen him nor my father since my mother left with Holbert, that’s my stepfather. I was brought up in Bruma, but when my mother married Holbert, we stayed on in the Imperial City.” Rhona admitted half-heartedly as she crossed the threshold, “Family has been a complicated matter for me. But, never pay that any attention! Let’s have a look at the armor of yours, hm?” Meg couldn’t [i]not[/i] to pay attention to that, truth be told. Having lived in Whiterun from her teens, she’d always been a little jealous seeing the children there with their parents, wishing she had a mother around to coddle her even a little. What Rhona had mentioned forced her to realize that she [i]was[/i] indeed one of the lucky ones. At least she knew who her Ma and Pa were, and for as long as she’d lived, her mother and father had been together and much in love. It was hard to remember the blessings of Mara sometimes. “Right,” Meg replied as she entered the tavern behind Rhona. “Won’ be but a bit!” With that said, she quickly headed off to her room to fetch her armour, which was currently set in a wardrobe that came with the room along with her sword and bow. For a moment the wild thought of having her weapons enchanted tried to tempt her, but Meg easily combatted it, reminding herself that the only reason she even had gold at this moment was because Brynja was a lovely person who could have easily kept it for herself. “Here ya go,” she called once she returned, setting the chest piece on a table, while Rhona moved over to join her. Taking note of the surprisingly lack of people in the tavern, nevertheless, she turned to her rucksack, and pulled it off her shoulders. She pulled out her enchanting board and laid it flat beside the breastplate. She rummaged around some more until she found what she was looking for, a charcoal stick, a greater soul gem, and her leather bound journal, all of which she set atop the board, flipping through the pages, her eyes sweeping back and forth across the black ink depictions. “Ahhh. Here we are.” In one hand, she held the book open, and with her free hand cleared the board. She claimed the charcoal stick, and with a careful, but steady hand, began to draw out the inscription for the breastplate, fortify heavy armor. It was one she had rarely used. When she had drawn out the inscription, Rhona closed the journal, returning both the charcoal and journal to her rucksack. She moved her focus back to the armor, and set it directly over top the enchantment pattern. Rhona let her hands fall away, seemingly lost in her own thoughts before she muttered under her breath. “Meridia, come to me now, in my hour of need.” She picked up the soul gem, and placed it gingerly upon the armor. At first nothing happened. Rhona closed her eyes, whispering, “Maybe if the sun doesn’t set…” and just then, a flare of blueish purple light crackled out from the soul gem, encasing the armor entirely, the charcoal pattern glowed brilliantly, attracting attention from some of the patrons before the soul gem burst from the energy consumed. The crystal exploded in a cloud of shimmering dust that settled over the armor. Rhona opened her eyes, a smile spreading across her lips as she turned to Meg. “Well there you have it!” She wiped off the crystalline powder onto the floor, and presented the armor to Meg. Having watched Rhona's process as diligently as a student, Meg very carefully took hold of the armour, holding it out before her so that she could see it properly. "Now that was amazin'," she finally said. "Never seen anythin' like it!" She smiled and set it back on the table, thereafter reaching for her money pouch. "How much do I owe ya?" Rhona regarded Meg’s proposition, part of her didn’t want to take any money from her, but she had used her only full greater soul gem on the armor. She chewed her lip, considering what price to say, and then sighed, “I’ll make you a deal, 75 septims.” Meg paused a moment before nodding. Luckily she had enough left in the pouch Brynja had won. Picking out a few coins from within, she set the pouch with septims on the table for Rhona. “Should be ‘nough in there,” she said. “Go ‘head an’ count just in case though.” “Mara tells me to put faith in people. I trust you.” She said, then continued, “Well if there is anything else I can do, tell me now. If not, then I’m headed off to find some food.” “Should be all,” Meg replied. “T’was nice finally gettin’ t’chat with you.” She gave the enchantress a nod. “Hope t’see you again sometime soon!” “I’ll be back here tonight, if I see you this evening then we should get a drink. Good evening, Meg!” Rhona collected her belongings, shouldered the rucksack, and then slipped outside into the approaching darkness. She had seen a particular tavern called [i]Frisky Dolphin[/i] on the way out to the harbor, and remember stopping there with Aurelia on her last travel to Anvil before the group disbanded. With her staff in hand, and Tobias trotting beside her, her thoughts traveled elsewhere, her gaze turned down to the cobblestone under foot. When she next lifted her gaze, the sign of the [i]Frisky Dolphin[/i] came into view, and that was when she heard a soft whistle coming from the alleyway. She stopped, wondering if her ears betrayed her. She stared into the shadows, straining to see the source of the sound. Rhona was about to continue on when she heard it again. Was it a trick of sound by Nocturnal, her beloved mistress of shadows? She took a step forward towards the alleyway, and halted. The whistle came again, and for whatever reason, the call reminded her of a bird. Was it injured? She took another step, still hesitant. Just then, a gloved hand snatched at her tunic, pulling her into the darkness. The same gloves hand covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming, she tried to bite at the hand but froze when she heard a voice all too familiar. “Did you really think you could run forever?” Darkness enveloped her.