JoS/Henriette/10th Journal - New Beginning

Sun's Dawn, 28th, 4E 202

I've been staying at the Old Hroldan Inn. I'm happy to be here as a patron, as they don't ask any questions. Well, Skuli has been bugging me, but I know what he wants means no trouble for me. I'll humor him later. Maybe.

I got to have a decent bath too to wash the smell of sweat and cum off my body, and it's so good to actually be wearing some clothes. I still have all of the ebony wrapped around my skin though… Not sure who can help me with these? They are pretty high-quality items. The padding feels really good and they don't even weigh all that much.

I don't feel like writing much… Just had to after yesterday and how I felt after killing that man. I don't regret what I did for a second, but… Did he deserve to die? Well, probably not. Oh well, what's done is done. At least he served his purpose in the food chain as a prey for me to feast on. As for Markarth as a whole, I hope to never ever return there. Goodbye, Markarth. I'll never forget you, but that doesn't mean I'll miss you.

I'll be heading straight back to the Sanctuary, but it's still a long way to Falkreath. They probably aren't expecting me back, but I'm sure they welcome me. Astrid told me that they've all had to deal with being imprisoned once or few times. That reminds me, is the contract on the Emperor still on? Have they failed or have they succeeded without me? I hope not… I'd be devastated if that kill were to be taken away from me…

First Seed, 2nd, 4E 202

It seems like I have returned to the Sanctuary at a strange time. It must've been an eventful day, and to top it off, none of them were expecting to ever see me ever again. They had heard about how I was serving a life sentence in the Cidnha mines and even destined to be executed. They were very happy to be wrong.

Anyhow, Cicero has done something to betray the Brotherhood or something. The situation looks messy, Vezeera is badly injured and Babette is tending to him. He's the only casualty in all of this though, as it appears that nobody else has been hurt. I find it hard to believe that he would try to kill his brothers and sisters without a good reason. Like, he's a lunatic, but so? The tenets clearly prohibit harming the members of ones family and he knows this better than most of us do. He's the most committed member of our family as far as the old ways, tenets and the Night Mother are concerned… But it's also true that our current leader, Astrid, is the complete opposite of that. She does openly admit to that. I don't find it surprising that Cicero would get angry if someone were to push him the wrong way, or even insult the Night Mother.

I am to act as a mediator in this situation, although my brothers and sisters insist on Cicero meeting justice. My job on paper is to kill him. I'm kind of split though… If it has to be done, if there's no other way, then so be it. He will die by my hand for his betrayal, but I want to hear him out first and listen to his side of the story. Astrid also instructed me to loan her horse, Shadowmere, to help me get to Cicero faster. I've never ridden a horse, but how hard can it be? His journals suggest that he's gone off to an abandoned Sanctuary in Dawnstar. Never even knew there was a place like that.

I've only regained my freedom and I'm already being pushed all this work… Isn't that just lovely? I guess some things never change. I don't even have time to go see Sofia. She probably misses me.

First Seed, 3rd, 4E 202

So, I talked to Cicero, I heard what he has to say, listened to him, why he did what he did, and I thoroughly believe that I did the right thing.

He doesn't deserve to die, for he did no crime. All he did was defend Night Mother's honor against a woman who even I have my reservations about. For me to kill the Keeper especially when you consider my role as the Listener, that would be madness. That said, I understand what Astrid is thinking about as well, why she sees Cicero as a threat to be eliminated… But nobody has died yet, and nobody in our family has to die. We should all learn from what took place.

Well, honestly, it won't be that easy. If Astrid would learn of the fact that I spared Cicero's life, she would be pissed. So, just as Cicero and I agreed, I must lie. For his sake, for my sake, for everyone's sake, I will lie to Astrid, but Cicero cannot return to our sanctuary, at least not until we've fulfilled our contract and assassinated the Emperor. I trust this madman in holding his part of the deal and not show his face around our family again…

That kind of makes me wonder though, are we going to need a new Keeper, even if it's just temporary? I'm the only one who knows the binding words, but I don't have the binding tomes. I'm not sure where Cicero keeps them. Quite a predicament if I may say so. Oh well, it's not something I'm going to have to worry about today or even tomorrow.

I should return to Falkreath as soon as possible.

First Seed, 4th, 4E 202

Astrid was happy with me. She never suspected me of a lie. None of them did. She even let me keep the horse, as she suspects I have more use for it than she does. I mean, sure. Horses are really expensive, so to get one given to me for free is amazing.

Now, back to more pressing matters. I was sent on a task I'm not too excited about completing, for it starts in Markarth. Just when I thought I would never return there, I'll have to go back there to collect information. Oh, Sithis, give me strength… Why must this happen to me…

Well, my actual target isn't in Markarth, I think, so it'll be a brief visit. My target this time around is a famous chef simply known as the Gourmet. Nobody knows who this person is… Well, almost nobody. He's meant to cook a meal to the Emperor on his visit to Solitude which, a visit that is only ten days away from now. If someone were to pose as Gourmet, and be able to get away with it by stealing his Writ of Passage, a proof of his identity, that someone would have an easy access to the Emperor. I'm no chef, but this sounds like a recipe for a Bloody Sundas.

My best bet at finding any clues about his true identity is consulting a cook who used to have a signed copy of "Uncommon Taste", which happens to be a cookbook written by the Gourmet. He better know, because last thing I want to do is go back to that corrupt city for nothing…

First Seed, 5th, 4E 202

Dear diary, isn't it great to actually get to places quickly? Shadowmere is such a good companion, don't you think?

Anyway, the first thing that happened to me when I came to Markarth… Wait for it… I was arrested! Nah, just kidding, but the guards said that I should come with them, so it might've as well been an arrest. It wasn't in my best interest to refuse this invitation. They then took me straight to Jarl Igmund, to have him personally apologize to me on behalf of all the wrongdoing that had been done to me. That's it. An apology.

A mere apology.

Then and there, I reached my hand to my leather armor, and I stripped it all off. Half-naked, down to my underwear in front of the Jarl, I pointed my finger at the permanent marking that now sits right under my bellybutton, and I asked him, "what are you going to do about this?"

"Nothing", he said. There's nothing that can be done about it. It's like, etched to my very soul or something. It's part of me now. I'll carry this lewd mark of a slave for the rest of my life and even to my afterlife.

I then pointed at my collar and said, "Then at least get rid of these things". That he was willing to help me with for free, but let's be honest, they probably just did it to get this bondage gear back to their own hands, not because they wanted to help me or anything.

He offered me one final financial compensation, if you can even call it that. I have a right to purchase property in his city. Can you believe the nerve of these bastards? Who do they take me for? I didn't come here to be insulted and humiliated again, yet that's all they do! I swear, these nobles… I hope there's a special plane of Oblivion where all these entitled, posh and greedy nobles go on to rot in for all eternity. And I hope they take tourists, as I would love to pay just to spit on them while they writhe in agony.

Well, I did manage to complete my task here though. The chef I was looking for was called Anton Virane. Finding the right time to approach him took some time, but as soon as we were alone, intimidating and murdering him was child's play. Now I even know who the Gourmet is. He's an Orc, and he's staying at the Nightgate Inn in the middle of nowhere. Now, that sounds like a good place for someone like him to hide, and a good setting for an assassin to get away with a murder.

First Seed, 7th, 4E 202

His name was Balagog gro-Nolob, something like that, hard to pronounce. I was lucky to find him outside with nobody else there. I prepared his last meal for him and decided to serve it raw for the local Slaughterfish population to feast on. I had my own bite as well and I must say, the blood of a man with a good palate tastes better than your common bandit. Their blood has a lot richer texture to it. Then, I simply left, and that was that.

I was so glad I was able to find the Gourmet so quick. There's still a week until the fateful day, a lot of time to prepare. After that, the Emperor awaits.