[Finn gets to bed nice and early, so he can meet Lucien.
His dream is inside the Dawnstar Sanctuary this time, within the Listener's chamber. Finn is wearing his red and black Dark Brotherhood robes, sitting on the bed.]
[He is dressed as he always has been, in his black robes and a slightly unnerving smile.]
What a beautiful Sanctuary. Our elder siblings of Skyrim certainly benefited from placing themselves outside of their host cities. I will admit, my own home Sanctuary of Cheydinhal was far less impressive.
[He takes in the place, the feeling of it. While their Sanctuaries might be different, they have a shared character. The Family's presence, warm and cold in one.]
I would like to wander as we talk. To see this place again.
[And they do have much to discuss.] Your work was well done, brother. Did you encounter any difficulties?
Excellent. [He follows the Listener, lowering his hood after a long pause. It feels good to wear these robes, but he doesn't want to miss a thing from Finn's recollection of the Dawnstar Sanctuary. This may be the last time he's live to see it, after all.]
This is our most widely-known contract to date in this world, and it will no doubt be investigated more thoroughly. I will do what I can to monitor the situation.
[Finn leads Lucien down the hallway, past Cicero's room, and into the main room of the Sanctuary, where phantoms of Nazir and the new recruits wander about.]
So far nobody suspects that it was me. I made sure every inch of my skin was covered, and when others look at me they don't exactly take me for an assassin.
[His lips quirk into a smile as he sees these facimiles of family members. He only knows so much as Finn has told him, but it is a happy feeling just to see this place inhabited at all.]
They will suspect an imPort, regardless. It is an easy starting point for them. You will need an alibi in case you are questioned.
Well, got out of there as quickly as possible, made sure the outfit was stashed away where I could get it later, and took a walk right after as if nothing happened. I'm open to suggestion.
[Finn made sure to retrieve the outfit later. Lucky him he knows how to get blood out of clothing.]
[He shakes his head.] That is not why I asked. The drawings are an important part of your alibi. They take too long to produce, obviously, for you to have done the deed. Point to a specific one which you could have done while in that neighborhood. Say you were working on it for hours.
Very good. Don't embellish with too much information. As far as you were
concerned, it was an enjoyable but relatively unremarkable experience,
drawing in a new city.
[He reached out to touch the cool, utterly unreal stone of the Sanctuary's
walls.] Liars often add too many details to their stories, in an attempt to
'prove' the soundness of their memory. Do not fall for that mistake.
[Finn leads Lucien out into the main area of the Sanctuary, where ghostly assassins roam about, a fire crackles, and just up the stairs is Mother's coffin.]
A lot of other imPorts are worried this is going to make things worse. Frankly, if anyone was going to kill someone who hates imPorts, it might as well have been us.
[A chill runs down his spine once again as he sees the figment of a coffin. It may not be real, but it feels real enough that the only polite and proper thing to do is bow to it before the conversation continues.]
We have always been hated. There has always been malice from and towards our Family. That we are now hated due to our origin is little different.
Not the first time I've been in this position. That year I spent in Skyrim before being ported in, let's just say race relations between Dunmer and Nords hasn't improved since your time.
And between Morrowind and Blackmarsh? Slavery was outlawed by King Hlaalu Helseth, but it sparked civil war. I'm not truly certain the conflict was settled before the Emperor's assassination.
[He had some personal interest in this matter. His own wards had been quite involved in this issue, or at least he suspected as much. No one had ordered Ocheeva and Teinaava to speak on their time spent in service to Argonia, but Shadowscales did not simply guard their king. That would be a waste of their talents. No, they almost certainly would have participated in weakening Dunmer influence at the northern border, killing both slave raider and collaborationist alike.]
Not great either. After the Red Mountain disaster, Black Marsh invaded Morrowind. House Redoran drew them back, but not before they did great damage to the capitol.
[Finn only knows this through history books and stories from his grandparents. A few specters of murderer-rank assassins flit by, addressing Finn as 'master'.]
I was lucky in that I was born and raised in a small village, where we had a few non-dunmer neighbors, including a nice Argonian family.
Their provincial capital, or Mournhold? [Was a Redoran on the throne at that point? It would make sense that the mainland Houses would survive an eruption of the mountain most unscathed, but he wondered how diminished they might already have been by the war and invasion from Oblivion. First word from the country had indicated they were hit at least as hard as the rest of Tamriel.]
I've never really known the small town life. Was it anything like the Family? [A handful of people of different backgrounds, all vaguely united by some commonality between them.]
[Lucien was alive when Vvardenfell was at its prime. How Finn wishes he could have seen it. The way his grandparents described it, it sounds like it was beautiful.]
Kind of. It was the kind of village where everybody knew each other. The Argoninan family worshiped Sithis, and I dated their son for a while.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
applewatcher) wrote2018-02-05 07:53 am
no subject
His dream is inside the Dawnstar Sanctuary this time, within the Listener's chamber. Finn is wearing his red and black Dark Brotherhood robes, sitting on the bed.]
no subject
What a beautiful Sanctuary. Our elder siblings of Skyrim certainly benefited from placing themselves outside of their host cities. I will admit, my own home Sanctuary of Cheydinhal was far less impressive.
no subject
I do like this one, especially after we spruced it up. We even have a little indoor garden for growing poisonous plants upstairs.
no subject
I would like to wander as we talk. To see this place again.
[And they do have much to discuss.] Your work was well done, brother. Did you encounter any difficulties?
no subject
[Finn stands up and pulls his hood back, so he may face Lucien properly. He waves Lucien along and leads him out of the Listener's quarters.]
I didn't. He didn't put up a fight, and it was a quick, clean kill.
no subject
This is our most widely-known contract to date in this world, and it will no doubt be investigated more thoroughly. I will do what I can to monitor the situation.
no subject
So far nobody suspects that it was me. I made sure every inch of my skin was covered, and when others look at me they don't exactly take me for an assassin.
no subject
They will suspect an imPort, regardless. It is an easy starting point for them. You will need an alibi in case you are questioned.
no subject
[Finn made sure to retrieve the outfit later. Lucky him he knows how to get blood out of clothing.]
no subject
Were any of your friends on this trip with you? Their recollections will need to be accounted for as well.
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Then you do not need to corroborate your story with anyone in detail. Did you draw any of your sketches while you were in the city?
no subject
no subject
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Very good. Don't embellish with too much information. As far as you were concerned, it was an enjoyable but relatively unremarkable experience, drawing in a new city.
[He reached out to touch the cool, utterly unreal stone of the Sanctuary's walls.] Liars often add too many details to their stories, in an attempt to 'prove' the soundness of their memory. Do not fall for that mistake.
no subject
[Finn leads Lucien out into the main area of the Sanctuary, where ghostly assassins roam about, a fire crackles, and just up the stairs is Mother's coffin.]
A lot of other imPorts are worried this is going to make things worse. Frankly, if anyone was going to kill someone who hates imPorts, it might as well have been us.
no subject
We have always been hated. There has always been malice from and towards our Family. That we are now hated due to our origin is little different.
no subject
no subject
[He had some personal interest in this matter. His own wards had been quite involved in this issue, or at least he suspected as much. No one had ordered Ocheeva and Teinaava to speak on their time spent in service to Argonia, but Shadowscales did not simply guard their king. That would be a waste of their talents. No, they almost certainly would have participated in weakening Dunmer influence at the northern border, killing both slave raider and collaborationist alike.]
no subject
[Finn only knows this through history books and stories from his grandparents. A few specters of murderer-rank assassins flit by, addressing Finn as 'master'.]
I was lucky in that I was born and raised in a small village, where we had a few non-dunmer neighbors, including a nice Argonian family.
no subject
I've never really known the small town life. Was it anything like the Family? [A handful of people of different backgrounds, all vaguely united by some commonality between them.]
no subject
[Lucien was alive when Vvardenfell was at its prime. How Finn wishes he could have seen it. The way his grandparents described it, it sounds like it was beautiful.]
Kind of. It was the kind of village where everybody knew each other. The Argoninan family worshiped Sithis, and I dated their son for a while.