427 Chapter 386

I think I kind of knew how Artoria feels when Medea gets her hands on her now.

"So Big." Venelana cooed.

"It feels strange as well." Izzy agreed. "And these are so rough and hard."

"They feel good to touch though." Venelana continued. "They are very charming; I can't seem to stop myself."

"What is it with you all and my Horns and Tail." I said emotionlessly as they groped my new Devil Parts. "Even Scáthach didn't hide how enthusiastic she was about touching them."

"You say that after you had your hand on my ass for the entire time you and Venelana talked about your history." Izzy deadpanned.

"That's different."

"How so?" Venelana tilted her head. "I find these parts just as attractive as you most likely find our feminine parts."

"…really?" I questioned skeptically.

"Oh yes." Venelana smiled beautifully. "I admit I'm very taken with this form of yours. I already thought you were a handsome man, but seeing these makes me feel a very pleasant tingle."

"Did you not get it out of your system in the shower?" Izzy snorted. "Three hours you spent in there with him. If this was a normal house, you would have long ran out of hot water." She added with a roll of her eyes. "And while I don't quite feel the same way, I do think they are interesting…..and they are cute."

"Oh dear." Venelana giggled. "It's never out of my system." She grinned lasciviously. "And it helps coming to terms with the fact that my world seems so much smaller than it was yesterday."

"I know the feeling." Izzy huffed. "And he was much less gentle with the revelation than he was with you. You took it very well, merely asking a few questions."

"I'll probably take some time to really ponder it later. It makes sense in a strange context. Everything that's happened, the weirdness that suddenly occurred with the Youkai faction that has everyone in a tizzy."

"Odin knows, by the way." I remembered that little tidbit as well. "Just thought you should know. Otherwise, pretty much everyone around us knows bar Kunou."

"He is a wise God, I'm not surprised." Venelana nodded, rubbing her thumb against the tip of my left horn. "And are you waiting until Kunou is older? I can imagine that's a difficult subject to broach."

"Yeah, Yasaka and I mentioned telling her without any real substance to the talks, but I'll probably bring it up again soon. Kunou's birthday is later this month, so we may tell her then."

I'm glad that nothing had  really changed between us after telling her my full story.

She took it probably the best out of everyone that didn't already know the concepts so widely known such as the Servants I'm acquainted with.

She merely asked some questions, asked for some evidence, and such along those lines. Some clarifications and explanations as well, but that was to be expected. Artoria responded to a message about her true identity did wonders to convince her nearly instantaneously.

If I had to guess, I think she sounded more enthralled than encumbered by the revelation.

She is a bit old, not in a bad way, so I suppose it's not unexpected that something so new and different would be a welcomed surprise.

"Anyways, are you two ready?" I'd been their personal doll for about an hour now.

"I'm not sure." Izzy hummed, gripping my tail, an action she knew still made me feel weird. That little smile of hers was telling in that she was doing it to get a reaction out of me. "It makes me happy to know that I can return the favor for all your little touches."

I'd remember this.

"As much as I would genuinely like doing this for longer, I am a little excited for our date." Venelana leaned against me and smiled brightly.

"Mm, good point. I don't want to keep you from that, and I do wish to have a talk with Meridia." Izzy agreed, relenting.

She was vague about this supposed 'talk' merely saying something that both as 'Gods' for lack of a better word on Meridia's part, that they needed to have a talk now that she was 'officially' my woman.

I chalked it up to some nuance that I wouldn't understand as a non-God and something I shouldn't stick my nose in as it was a private matter they needed to settle between them without my presence.

"I only met her for a brief moment not too long ago." Venelana chimed in. "I had thought I did something wrong on our first meeting as she quickly left once I arrived. But your explanation set me more at ease, knowing that she can't easily leave her…realm for too long. I'm not sure how that works, in detail, but I am curious, does it not get difficult to continue being together if you are both separated for long periods? "

"I guess the definition of 'long' is subjective here. And I would of course prefer to have her at my side every waking moment, but it simply can't be helped. I was aware that there would be times where we wouldn't see each other for weeks, months, or even years if things happened. Imagine if Nurarihyon could and would usurp Yasaka's position if she left Kyoto for a period of time or saw the slightest signs of weakness."

"That sounds awful."

"Yup, and it's a 'game' between beings of similar power. Of course, she doesn't simply 'leave' when she shows up around here, but you get the general idea. It's a power struggle and she doesn't really have any friends in the game."

"I already have a warped perception of time compared to mortals, but even I cannot fathom her entire existence from start to this point. I would imagine that a week to a month is very similar to how we would feel about a day or even less." Izzy also shared her unique perspective. "I have personally not noticed the passing of years on occasion."

"I suppose it's a matter of perspective as you said. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with what was happening. I don't want you to feel lonely without her around."

"It's hard for me to feel lonely when I have both of you here with me." I smiled at them. "But I understand that everyone has their life to live. Hell, Artoria, Raikou, Jinn and Scáthach are still discovering what it means to live their lives as is and I wouldn't want to get in the way of that. You have your own family and responsibilities that I wouldn't want trample on."

I would absolutely love to have Meridia here every second of the day. I'm selfish like that and would never want to let her leave from my sight. But the rational part of me recognized her own independent existence.

Venelana hummed and looked pleased with what I said. "You mentioned during the talk, offhandedly, that you had a Immortal Peach that you wanted to ask me to make a wine out of. If we're going to see Meridia, and knowing what she is, I would have something to ask her in that regard."

"Oh? Something she can help there?" I rubbed my chin. "Color me intrigued. Speaking of, are you two ready to go?"

Izzy stood up, straightening her clothes. "I am."

Venelana kissed my cheek and climbed up off the seat. "I'm ready to go explore the unknown."

I merely waved my hand, producing a portal to the Colored Rooms with Meridia's instant attention locking onto me. "After you."

"What a gentleman." Venelana winked, walking through.

And Izzy was about to follow her, but I stopped her with a little smile of mine.

She raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

[***]

"Honey, I'm home." I declared walking through the portal and closing it behind me.

"Welcome home, dear." She deadpanned, staring at me. "You brought the others with you then."

"You've briefly met Venelana." I politely introduced her, even if Meridia knew we were coming.

"I have. I am to assume she knows everything now that she is here." Meridia questioned from atop her 'throne'.

"Yes, we just finished that talk." Venelana politely bowed her head. "And I thank you for entrance to your Realm, Lady Meridia."

"Your gesture is appreciated but unneeded. Wilhelm is my lover thus his other interests are welcomed." Meridia's attitude leaned towards casualness, but there was a clear hint of approval for the way that Venelana didn't just assume on her part and went through the proper gestures.

"And I brought one more that you've met already." I informed her.

"….I see that." Meridia said dryly staring at said Death Goddess who was currently being carried in my arms.

"This is Izanami, my Death Goddess. There are other Death Goddesses like her, but this one is mine." I introduced.

"I hate you." Izzy huffed. a tiny blush covered her cheeks as she looked away from me before wiggled out of my arms and standing by herself.

"Thank you for the invitation." Izzy was a tad more casual than Venelana, but she knew Meridia a little bit more. Perhaps an unspoken respect between two beings beyond mortal standards. Even if Meridia was even far beyond Izzy as well.

Meridia nodded again. "Pay no heed, our mutual lover has a tendency to embarrass others for his own amusement."

"I don't deny it." I noticed Venelana covering her mouth to lightly giggle.

Meridia shook her head, standing up from her throne and walking towards us. "Give me a kiss, then depart. You will be a distraction."

How assertive.

I liked it.

"Love you." I fulfilled her request with gusto.

"Yes, I love you as well." Meridia's expression softened. "And don't think I'm ignoring your decision to fight recently. If I had my way, I would have marched over there and taken the head of that God who dared act so presumptuous."

"It's handled." I snuck my arms around her waist. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience you. You've been busy recently, yeah?"

"Merely some nonsense with Hermaeous Mora."

"The Daedric Prince of Knowledge, right?"

"That is correct." Meridia sniffed in annoyance. "His desire was…you and the others. I took offense to his attempts and rebuffed him. Things escalated to a point, and we had a discussion and settled on a duel between two champions to decide terms." Her lips curled up into a smile. "That child you brought me served her purpose well."

"You used Ophis."

"Indeed." Meridia looked rather smug.

"I see, this is what you meant when Yasaka said that Ophis was 'taken off the board'." Venelana whispered from the side.

Ah, I had forgotten to mention that. Well, it's not like I could talk about every tiny detail in the time we had so far.

"Is she behaving?"

"She simply sits in her small void and stares silently into the nothingness." Meridia shrugged. "In terms of existence, she is truly a child still, so I'm not surprised. She is something that will outlive your planet and welcome what comes next. I would not be surprised if she's still in her first Kalpa."

"That's too long for me to process right now. But I'm happy she's a boon for you."

"Yes, and stop distracting me." She pulled my hands away that had been sliding downwards through our conversation. "You are going on a date with Venelana to that mortal city, correct?"

"That was the plan." I confirmed. "But is there something wrong for you to bring it up?"

"Just some annoyances there at the moment, but nothing you cannot handle on your own."

Well, a heads up was appreciated. "Oh, before we go, Venelana wanted to ask something I believe?" I gave her an opening.

Venelana perked up once the attention was set on her. "I had a thought, I don't know if it's proper or if I'm stepping over a line."

"You may ask, I will tell you if I dislike the request. No distasteful feelings of mine will befall you."

"Wilhelm asked me to brew him a wine using a few ingredients. One of which is an Immortal Peach, and the other he suggested was some water from the River Styx. Conveniently they both align with Life and Death, would it be bad If I suggest a small blessing from both of you on them?" She asked.

"I have no problem with this request" Izzy replied first. "I had assumed it would be something more complicated. While I do not give out my blessing lightly, this is not something worth noting as it stays within the group."

"I agree." Meridia responded next. "Bring me the object, I will give it a touch of my light."

"I hadn't thought about it." There was a reason that Venelana was the expert on brewing here. I stepped away from Meridia's immediate space and held my hands out, producing a vial of water from the River Styx, and the Peach of Immortality.

"Amusing produce." Meridia took it from my hand, eyeing it. "It is basically a bundle of life force molded into the shape and identity of a fruit. I can see why such a thing is an object of desire for mortals. It is unfortunate that it has no viable seed to reproduce. It would be an object I could use to bring more to my side." She turned her gaze towards what Izzy was holding now. "That is the water of death?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that. It is imbued with the Aura of Death but it also has connotations with life. It is the river that separates life and death in the Greek Underworld." Izzy explained, her Divinity flashing briefly as she focused it onto the vial of liquid. "It aligns with me as well and took my Blessing without problem. Some of the negative effects should be remedied but it is still a volatile substance." She warned, handing it back to me.

"Shall I offset that then?" Meridia asked. "I worried I would give too much of my power, but it will need to compliment the substance if you wish to have mortals ingest it." She spoke, but it was more rhetorical as she didn't wait for a response before a bright light enveloped the Peach. "There." She simply put it back into my hand. "I did not change it overly much, but the life force is purer now and will not lose effect from the process of dissimilation. There was a small flaw that I corrected, it should be a degree more potent."

"Thank you." I smiled towards both of them.

"I would not suggest more than three drops of this for the vat of wine you would make." Izzy looked at Venelana.

"Don't worry, I'll experiment a little bit before making it properly." Venelana reassured me. "And thank you from me as well. I'm looking forward to making this and putting it all together. I've never brewed Wine with such valuable ingredients before."

Meridia allowed herself to smile ever so slightly. "There is no need for thanks. It was a simple matter. You are together with him as well, such things are not worth mentioning."

I'm glad that Meridia was so accepting. I knew she wasn't keen on Dark-aligned creatures. And that was a very polite way of saying it. But she recognized things outside of her sphere of existence and was willing to give them a fair chance.

"However, I believe we have skipped over something much more important." Meridia continued, her hands now grabbed at my horns. "These are amusing."

Venelana and Izzy just left me to Meridia's groping, much to my chagrin.

[***]

"Sorry for springing this whole thing on you last minute."

"What are you referring to? The existence of things beyond my imagination as you described in your explanation. Or are you talking about this impromptu date?" Venelana asked as she leaned into me, her arm wrapped around mine.

"I was talking about the date, but I suppose the former does deserve acknowledgement."

"I don't think there's a good way to drop all of that on someone. Ripping off the band aid in a controlled and intimate way like you did was probably the best I was going to get. As for the date, I'm not complaining. It's not as if I had any plans today, and I do enjoy the spontaneousness of it."

"And you're fine with where we're at?" I asked.

"Dear, I was around long before society was civilized." She giggled. "Believe me when I say that this is nostalgic and in no way unwelcomed. Honestly, it's better than I remember back home during the same type of period."

"Well, if you're sure."

Venelana and I were currently strolling around the streets of Skyrim.

"Oh this." Venelana's eyes lit up, pulling me to a nearby stall. "Is this wheat?"

"Ya never seen wheat before, lass?" An older woman looked at her weirdly.

"It's a bit more golden than what I'm used to." Venelana took it in stride. "I'll take a few bundles, please."

"Six septims for each wrap." The Older Woman grunted.

I happily handed over the money and Venelana claimed her new prize. "I can't wait to try and make some mead with this." She said happily, stealthily hiding it away in the bracelet I gave her.

She practically glided over to another one, dragging me along. "I've never seen these kind of berries before?"

"Aye, just picked some fresh Juniper Berries coming from Helgen. 'pose you not from Skyrim if ya haven't seen them yet. They got a nice bitter taste that makes for a good Mead and some good pie." The stall owner responded.

"And is that fresh honey?" She asked, pointing to a few jars at the corner.

"Aye, Miss. Cousin said it was harvested this week." He nodded. "The supply from Riften started up again. Still be costing a pretty coin, but tis not hoarded anymore. Damn dragon burned down the biggest farm in the region some months ago, but ah heard they got the hives back up."

"Well, I will certainly take your stock then." Her eyes lit up. "And what else do you have?"

The stall owner grinned wide, like he found a prize. "Got a bit of everythin, Miss. If you got a hankering, I got some Mammoth Meat, fresh. I have a few bags of freshly picked apples and potatoes. Also got me some cheese wheels, goat and –"

"I'll take all of it." Venelana cut him off.

The man blinked, but quickly recovered, leaning on his stall. "You got a good eye for quality, miss. Now, hows about we talk about price."

I simply sat a sack of Septims on the stall.

He paused, looking at it, nudging it a couple time and peeked inside before nodding to himself. "Pleasure doin business with ya. Do ya need a help moving the goods?"

"Oh, no thank you." Venelana rejected. "I got a nice strong man here to help me with everything." She jokingly nudged my shoulder.

"Ya got a cart?" He eyed me skeptically because…there was quite a lot of things around his stall.

"No need." I held my hand up and quickly took everything I wanted into my ring as I got close to each item.

"A mage." He blinked, then his eyes widened slightly. "Ah, I knew I recognized you, lad! The Red Dragon Emperor, at my stall! I'm gonna tell the boys at the tavern about this tonight!" He laughed, slapping my shoulder heartily.

I rolled my eyes and set a few more septims down on the stall. "Drinks are on me."

He grinned happily and slapped my shoulder again. "Hah, what a good lad. If only more outsiders were like you then Skyrim wouldn't be turning to shite!"

The Man pocketed his money and cheerful left now that his day was cleared up and Venelana just looked at me with a rather amused look.

"Red Dragon Emperor, huh? I guess even here Ddraig has a reputation."

[And don't you forget it.] Said Dragon proudly proclaimed.

"Ddraig likes to show off." I grumbled slightly. "And I may share that sentiment."

"I think it's sweet." She grabbed my arm again. "He wasn't the only one. You said you were known here, but I didn't realize it was like this. Ever since we walked inside, people have been whispering and glancing our way, I thought for entirely different reasons."

"Well, I have a beautiful woman on my arm. I would stare too if I saw you walking down the street."

"Oh you flirt." She giggled. "This is so much fun. Mammoth Meat, I didn't know that was even possible."

"To be honest, I haven't tried it either. I think I knew that there were Mammoths around here, but my mind didn't put two and two together until just now. Tell me what you think of it when you try it. I'm sure Artoria will be ecstatic that there's an animal that comes in a size she prefers her meals to be."

"Hmm, want to go see that friend of yours now? I'm afraid if I look around any longer, I'll buy up everything and we'll be here all afternoon."

"Sure, we can go see Thorum. And I really don't mind if you want to buy everything, seeing you happy means more than any insignificant amount of money."

"Such a sweetie." She squeezed my arm. "you called it a boat building offhandedly, are you referring to that one just over there?" She pointed to the Jorrvaskr that was barely peeking over a few roofs a bit further away.

"That would be it." I leaned over, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Shall we?"

"Lead the way, dear." She smiled beautifully.

The Companion's building was only a block or so away from the market area, which was rather convenient. But as we got close, we noticed a crowd somewhat forming.

"What's going on?" Venelana asked one of the people as we snuck up.

"Damn Thalmor, thinking they own the place! They just barged right into the Jorrvaskr and won't let anyone get close." The man didn't even turn back to face her but responded anyway with a low hiss in his voice.

I looked ahead and saw two Elves wearing clothes similar to that one guy back at the College of Winterhold.

"I forgot about the Thalmor."

"Cliff notes?" Venelana asked.

"Uh, racist Elves? Don't want one of the Nord's Gods worshiped for some vague reason. They were warring with the Empire for a while and all that. It was part of a treaty that Talos worship would be outlawed in the Empire." I whispered.

"Are you going to do something?"

"…..Thorum can handle himself and –"

"Let me reiterate, I don't mind if you do something." She corrected herself.

I didn't want to ruin this little date we had, but she gave her blessing. And she wasn't someone who would say something was okay and not really mean it.

"Alright, follow my lead."

I moved my arm to take Venelana's hand into mine and we began pushing through the couple dozen or so people gathered.

The two Elfs guarding the door looked at us as we approached and moved to stand in our way. "Halt, this place is –"

"The Jorrvaskr, I know I've been here before. Let's go inside, dear." We just pretended to ignore them. They seemed utterly confused that we didn't acknowledge their presence, for good or ill. We just pushed right past them and threw doors wide open and walked inside.

The scene that greeted us was tense.

There were Eight more Thalmor inside and it looked like they were having a standoff with Thorum and the Companions. It looked like we came in right during the heat of an argument.

"Will?" Thorum was the first to exclaim.

"Hey Thorum, it's been too long. I came to visit to see how you were doing."

"My friend!" He brightened up and then just as quickly regained a rather serious expression. "The timing is poor."

"You." The Thalmor that looked to be the leader turned to address me. "Another on the list. Your description is a perfect match." His eyes ran up and down me before turning back to Thorum. "And you claimed that you did not know his location Dragonborn." The Thalmor scoffed.

"Uh, what's going on?" I asked.

Immediately the doors swung open again and the two Thalmor from outside barged right in.

"Captain." One of the ones who entered had politely greeted the head elf. "These two just pushed past us. We'll immediately send them out." He put his hand on my shoulder and I noticed the other did the same to Venelana.

"Who gave you permission to put your hands on us?" I grabbed it and twisted. The Elf let out a surprised shriek of pain and tumbled over as I twisted his hand.

Nearly instantaneously, the one who dared to touch Venelana also followed suit. Though he looked a bit worse if I were to be honest.

As much as Venelana was one to slum it with us and get her hands dirty on occasion, she has a sense of propriety and did not abide by certain actions. Such as strangers touching her without permission in an aggressive way.

"You all saw it, they assaulted us. We were simply defending ourselves." I deliver a perfect case for self-defense.

"...Aye, a close encounter with some would be assailants." Aela delivered with a dry tone.

"Don't be ridiculous, they merely placed their hands on them!" The Thalmor at the front scowled. "Release my men or I will have you arrested for assaulting –"

"They even have weapons on them!" I grabbed at the dagger hidden under the coat of the one struggling in my grasp. "A dagger. A tool of a thief or an assassin! Clearly, they were up to no good. I mean, look at the colors they're wearing. Black! The colors of thieves, and assassins."

"Wilhelm, dear." Venelana spoke up. "You're wearing black."

"And I have stolen things before." I pointed out.

"Do you think this nonsense will stand? You will surrender yourself to my custody and I will be merciful not to inflict a stricter form of interrogation on you afterwards. Should you come quietly that is."

"What's he going on about?" I asked Thorum.

"He claims to be carrying out his duty to search for any 'Talos worshippers' and he claims that the Companions are a refuge for it as well as a list of other names." Thorum clarified.

"Mine, I presume."

"Aye."

"And Artoria and Rin as well?"

"Aye."

"…..and everyone else I'm acquainted with."

"…aye."

"What a dumbass."

"Of course such curt and uncouth behavior would come from one of your kind." He sniffed.

"My kind?" I questioned.

"A Daedra worshiper." He spat out.

"I'm not a Daedra worshiper." I replied.

"We have a significant number of reports contradicting that statement."

"Well, let's agree to disagree." I loved to tease Meridia, but not at the expense of her standing to others, unless they were my other girls. To the people of her world, as much as I wanted to joke about what I did to her was not worship unless the bedroom counted, I wouldn't voice it out loud.

"It matters not, we will have answers one way or another." He snapped his fingers and the Elfs around him looked ready to fight. "Come along quietly or we will use force if necessary."

"Does….he even have the legal authority to 'apprehend' us?" I asked.

"It depends on your interpretation." Aela gripped her sheathed blade. "Technically no, but technically yes."

"Have they proven themselves to be Thalmor then?"

"What?" The Head Elf guy scowled again. "You dare question – "

I let my Reiatsu seep out and it descended upon the elves present in the room. The full weight of my soul was brought to bear against theirs and they were found wanting.

Nearly all of them had their eyes rolled back and they dropped to the ground. The only one who didn't was their leader who was showing admirable resistance.

"Y-y-y-ou –" He trembled, his knees buckling and it looked like he was having trouble even speaking.

Even some of the most generous and good natured people I've met in Skyrim hate the Thalmor.

So…..

I took out my old trusty Brick that I nicked before leaving Soul Society and threw it at his face.

It made a wonderful sound on connection and the elf was taken out immediately.

"….my friend, did you just throw a brick at him." Thorum asked.

"I did." I didn't deny it.

Aela was the first to snort out a little bit of laughter then they all joined in, the tension easing immediately. "Serves those damn elves right."

"Aye, a fitting way to quiet the dishonorable Thalmor." Farkas chuckled.

"What should we do with them now?" Thorum asked.

"Uh, so….send them to the Jarl?" I offered.

"The Jarl?" Aela mulled it over. "He might be put in a bad position if we send them to him."

"Tell him they didn't identify themselves and assaulted us. I'm sure he's savvy enough to use that to get them out of his city. He's probably aware they're here already and is barely tolerating their presence."

They all looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sounds good, my friend!" Thorum walked up with that big goofy smile of his and wrapped me up in a big hug. "It's good to see you again!"

"You too, buddy." I chuckled, patting his shoulder. He was stronger again. "And let me introduce my companion to you."

"Venelana Gremory." She held out her hand. "Wilhelm speaks very highly of you."

"Lady Gremory." Thorum politely took it and returned the greeting. "It is a pleasure. What is your…?"

"She's my woman." I clarified.

"Another one?" Aela snorted, tossing one of the Elves out the door. "Can this one even handle a drink? Looks like she belongs in the cloud district with the other pompous fools."

"Oh sweetie, I can handle my drink much better than you can." Venelana rose to the provocation, good-naturedly.

Aela paused and stared at her with an amused grin. "Aye, let's see it then. Give her some good Nord Mead."

"Ah, Lady Gremory, I apologize for Aela. She can be a little….brash." Thorum whispered an apology.

"It's no problem, I knew what I was getting into when I came here. Don't worry, this is far from the first time I've been in a situation like this." Venelana seemed unphased.

"Ya know, I'm surprised things turned out the way they did." Farkas fixed the chairs at a nearby table, making sure there was enough room for all of us to join him. "Didn't expect the Thalmor to just sit there after being messed with. They usually don't take being insulted well and all that."

"They probably had a script in their head about how things would go and planned accordingly. Sometimes, just acting so blatantly audacious can throw someone off enough that they don't know how to properly respond." I replied, pulling out a chair for Venelana to sit down.

It's how I managed to win over Meridia.

Always a good option now and then.

"My friend, you came at a good time then!" Thorum smiled again. "We did not know how to handle them without causing an incident."

"I voted to just beat them up and throw them out of the city." Aela tossed a round of drinks onto the table and fell into her chair. "Bottoms up." She took a swig of her drink, eyeing Venelana.

"You don't need to drink this if you don't want to, Lady Gremory. Nord mead doesn't –

"No need." Venelana smiled, taking her own into her own. In one motion, she threw her head back and started downing it. We all looked at her as she downed the entire thing in one go. "Not bad." She said simply, setting the empty bottle down. "Have anything stronger?"

Aela slowly opened her mouth and closed it again. She looked competitive of all things then followed suit, quickly chugging down her own drink. She let out a burp, slamming her bottle onto the table. "Four more bottles down here."

"That sounds wonderful. But why don't you order some for yourself too." Venelana's eyes twinkled in amusement.

"…..I like her." Thorum whispered towards me.

"Yeah, she's great." I couldn't help but grin stupidly. I don't know why Thorum approving meant so much to me, but it did.

"I ain't too hard headed to admit when I'm wrong." Aela grunted. "I take back what I said, you're okay in my book. Handled that elf well too."

"Quick, someone go check outside. Are there any Pigs flying? Aela just apologized." Farkas spoke up, but Aela quickly jabbed him in the shoulder.

"Quiet, you big lug." She huffed.

I just realized, every time I end up here, regardless of who I'm with, we end up getting rather deep into the drinks….

Oh well, they all seemed to enjoy it.

"I accept your apology." Venelana giggled. "This date of ours wasn't planned, otherwise I would have worn something more appropriate here, so I can understand your skepticism."

"Got yourself another one, Milk Drinker?" Aela accepted another bottle that was handed to her.

"He sure did." Venelana scooted a tad closer as if telling all of them that she was claiming me.

"Aye, my friend! Tell me how you two got together. And what you have been up to! Things have been quiet around here and I've only been hearing rumors of things. A man with a spear and a Khajit at his side warding off Dragons in the west and laying low the Dark Brotherhood. Then I hear of a man in Riften wearing Armor black as night and another in not but cloth and a strange sword felling a dragon there. I admit I prefer the city to be safe, but hearing such exciting rumors has made me feel conflicted about keeping still. Tell me of your own adventures, let me relish in your triumphs, my friend."

Those sounded rather familiar. I would need to check up to see how Assassin, Rider, and Archer were doing while playing around here in skyrim.

"Oh jeez, where to start." I popped the cork off my bottle and I was about to answer until I felt a buzz on my Kaleidophone. "One second."

I quickly checked it to see what message I received.

Zelretch: I'm done. I finished a method for you to reenter the world-line undetected. Come see me when you have time.

I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety fill me but I pushed it to the side for now.

I was with Venelana and I would finish this date of ours before letting my mind be taken over by thoughts of Chaldea and that world.

"Sorry, where was I?" I asked.

"You were speaking of your adventures." Thorum helpfully replied.

"Right, how about how I almost died recently?"

[***]

A/N

If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

Next chapter is the clock tower party, then off to Orleans.