• Day 2


    Riverwood and Whiterun were completely not worth my time though really I am supposed to be on a quest for the Court Mage. I ditched it and took off for Riften where the Thieves’ Guild is supposed to make its home. This is where the money is in my opinion and that’s really what I was back home, a good for nothing thief. Of course I don’t expect to find them easily at all. Perhaps I should have done that mission for the Whiterun Court Mage first for some gold but I had no interest in going into some creepy dungeon where there could be those blasted giant spiders. I know they have a name but I don’t know what the Nords call them.
    Getting enough gold to even get a carriage ride to Riften was rough but I managed it but pickpocketing people for their gold after getting caught several times. Now I stand at the Riften Stables, sizing up the guards at the gates to the city. ‘Perhaps I should have at least attempted the dungeon for Farengar first after all,’ I think. ‘These soldiers look tough but I don’t have enough gold for a trip back to Whiterun so this is my only option for the moment.’ Slowly I approach the guards, just hoping that they’ll let me through without bothering me or starting a fight.
    One of the two guards stops me before I can even get to the doors and commands me to pay a visitor’s tax. ‘What the heck is this about,’ I wonder. There’s no way I’m going to pay such a foolish tax but I want to know what it’s for. “What’s the tax for,” I ask calmly.
    “For the privilege of entering the city,” he replies. “What does it matter.” I frown, knowing that this isn’t right.
    “This is obviously a shakedown,” I say in an attempt to talk my way out of paying it since I don’t know if I’m right about it or not. Evidently I’m right because he shushes me and lets me into the city and I don’t have to pay him one piece of gold. I don’t make it far into the city before some random man stops me.
    “I don’t know you,” he says. “Are you lookin’ for trouble?”
    “Just passing through,” I reply calmly though that’s not what I’m thinking. ‘Is he looking for a fight ‘cause I’ll give it to him,’ I think. Of course the man doesn’t seem to believe me and says some name I don’t recognize.
    “Who are the Black-Briars,” I ask. When he says that they’re tied somehow to the Thieves’ Guild my ears perk up. I’ll give anything for information on the Thieves’ Guild. The man tells me his name is Maul and that he watches the streets for the Black-Briars. I really want to pay him for information but I know I don’t have enough gold so I just say that I’ll stay out of his way. ‘Until I have enough gold that is,’ I think as he walks off towards the Riften docks. After he’s gone I just keep walking towards the center of the city, or at least what I think the center of the city is.
    When I’m about to walk right into it yet another man approaches me. ‘Not again,’ I think but I stop to listen to him. He asks if I’m low on gold, catching me by surprise.
    “I’m sorry, what,” I say slowly, not really understanding this strange man.
    “Your pockets, they’re a little low on coin,” he says but I don’t listen to the bit he says after that.
    “How could you possibly know that,” I ask calmly.
    “It’s all about sizing up your mark lass,” he replies but I don’t really understand what he means. “The way they walk, what they’re wearing, it’s a dead giveaway.”
    “My wealth is none of your business.”
    “Oh but that’s where you’re wrong lass. Wealth is my business. Maybe you’d like a taste?”
    “What do you have in mind?” I’m eager now; this is what I’ve been waiting for. I bet this man is a member of the Thieves’ Guild and I hope I’m right. He says that he has a bit of an errand to perform and that he needs help with it. I smile now, knowing that this is what I’ve been looking for. Plus he says that extra hands are well-paid and I NEED gold.
    “What do I have to do,” I ask him eagerly. He says that he’s going to provide a distraction and that all I have to do is steal a ring from someone’s strongbox and plant it on someone else. I ask why and he just tells me that someone wants the man I’m to plant the stolen ring on out of business. That’s all I need to hear and I say that I’ll do it.
    Unfortunately I get caught trying to pick the lock and end up paying a fine of five gold so I don’t go to jail. I hate the fact that I have failed when back home I was an excellent thief. I end up going to jail anyway when I try to steal my gold back. This is not a good day at all and I’m about to just give up on becoming a member of the Thieves’ Guild. Kajiit don’t give up that easily though. I go searching for the thief I met that got me caught for the first crime. I find him in a tavern called the Bee and Barb. He’s disappointed in me and didn’t think I’d get caught but he isn’t surprised.
    “What’s been going on,” I ask.
    “Bah. My organization’s been having a run of bad luck lately,” he replies. Then he tells me to never mind and that there’s plenty of gold out there for the taking if I’m up to the challenge. I say that I can handle it because that’s true. He tells me to find the Ragged Flagon in the Ratways beneath Riften and if I get there in one piece he’ll see if I really have what it takes. With that he leaves me alone in the tavern. It’s late now so I probably should wait until day to try to find it. Until then I probably should rest and pray to whatever deity is the patron or matron of the Thieves’ Guild. I really want to become a member because being a thief is all I know how to do.
    I check my pockets to see how much gold I have left which is only 20 pieces, not much but maybe enough for a room here for the night. A room for a night is only 10 gold, just my luck! At last something seems to be going good for me here in Skyrim. Perhaps tomorrow will be better. I rent a room and wander around until I find it. It’s small but much better than the tent I slept in when I roamed with a Kajiit caravan. Carefully I curl up on the bed, making sure that I won’t fall off once again when I dream about the terrible Dragon that attacked Helgen before I was executed. ‘Tomorrow better be better than today,’ I think as I drift off to sleep.