Once Dar'Elaraya left the Ratway, having compared her leather armor and her new leather Thieves Guild armor, she headed out. She figured it would be best to remain detached from the Guild in the more public places of Skyrim until she couldn't keep that a secret. In Riften, it started raining while she was in the Ratway and the Flagon. She never thought she would need the leather hood Tonilla gave her, and, reluctantly, folded her ears back and donned it. The cowl of the hood put a shadow over her eyes, yet an icy stare shown clearly with a somewhat forced playful mischief danced in them. She obviously meant no harm, at least, that is what the Khajiit hoped others would think. Just to be on the safe side, she walked around until she wandered near the Bee and Barb. I owe them, she thought sadly, the memory coming back. Threatening Haegla was the most fun, but she hated asking the gold from her Argonian friends. She entered the inn.

     "Ah, Dar'Elaraya," the familiar voice of Talen-Jei said as the Khajiit entered the Bee and Barb. "How does your," he hesitated, and a look of uncertain distrust flashed across his face, "job treat you?"

     "It treats this one well," she replied. "I am on a job now, actually," she said, and continued in a hushed voice. "Goldenglow is not doing what it's supposed to, and I will be sent in to make sure that is...fixed."

     The Argonian nodded. "Why don't you wait out the storm here?" His voice still held disappointment from the Khajiit's job choice. It was there since she had to get the hundred septims from Keerava.

     "Thank you, Talen-Jei. I'll talk to Keerava about getting a room." Dar'Elaraya then headed to the bar and greeted the other Argonian. "I'd like a room," the Khajiit said, already reaching for the money. Ten septims was all it would cost, but she grabbed a bit extra.

     "Alright," Keerava replied. "You know the cost." She held out her palm.

     "Indeed, this one does. But I have a gift for you, for you and Talen-Jei." Dar'Elaraya pulled out the extra coins. With the cost of the room, she held in her hand a pouch with a hundred-and-sixty septims. "I never liked that job." She smiled at Keerava.

     The Argonian was speechless. "Thank you, my friend," she got out finally.

     "It is my pleasure."

✦ ✦ ❦ ✦ ✦

     Dar'Elaraya woke up confused. Why was she wearing leather armor? Didn't she leave it--

     It all came back to her. The Guild. Frey. The armor. Goldenglow. My job now. She got out of the bed and grabbed her knapsack. She went through it, making sure she had lockpicks and good arrows. She frowned. Dar'Elaraya had no good arrows, mainly iron ones. Maybe a few dozen steel ones. At least I have plenty of picks, she thought, gathering her bag again and hefting it onto her shoulders. Maybe I can stop by the forge, make new arrows... I did see a forge in the marketplace, didn't I?

     Leaving the room and going down the stairs, she saw the unnamed assassin talking to Talen-Jei. She ignored him and walked towards the counter, where Keerava was. "Greetings, Keerava. Hear any rumors? Maybe anything about haunted places?"

     Keerava thought a moment. "Y'know, I haven't heard anything about haunted places, but there's a place, near Winterhold, where the Dumner from Morrowind made a shrine to Azura. It's huge!"

     "Alright," the Khajiit said, slowly. "What's the local happenings?"

     "Talk of the dragons, as one might expect. If it's true that the dragons have returned, it means the end of us all. Be careful on your journeys, friend."

     Dar'Elaraya nodded. "I will, Keerava. I promise, no dragon shall slay this one anytime soon!" They both laughed. "Though," the Khajiit started, "is the Jarl offering any work? Khajiit is doubtful she will get many good jobs from her flute or furs."

     Keerava thought again, then pulled out a bounty letter, Riften's crossed daggers on a clay seal in the lower right corner. "Yeah. She had some of her men come in here and post a bounty for a bandit leader. Do you want it?"

"I do. Thank you, friend." The Khajiit took the bounty and looked at it. It said,

    By order of Laila Law-Giver:

    To all able bodied men and women of the Rift. The bandits located in Treva's Watch have been harassing, robbing, and attacking citizens and visitors.
A reward will be offered to anyone who kills their leader.
--Anuriel

Dar'Elaraya folded the bounty, and headed out of the Bee and Barb. She silently made her way past the back of the assassin and out into the streets of Riften. The sun was now shining brightly, so the hood she had worn yesterday stayed in her knapsack and her ears flicking around, listening to Riften's conversings. Another look at the bounty, and a following look at the map, showed the Khajiit where she would find her new job. "Great way to get some coin," she murmured to herself, walking out of Riften's north gate.

     According to the map, Treva's Watch was on her side of the Treva River.

     Dar'Elaraya followed the path heading out from Riften, and she saw a fortress farther along the path. What she didn't see, however, were Rift Hold guards. She thought she could see men and women in fur, leather, and scaled armor. The telltale sign of bandits having taken over the place. Then she saw a well-worn path at the turn in the road that headed toward the overrun fort. "It is better than this one getting killed by bandits." The Khajiit followed the path, and saw a wolf stalking a deer. About to pull out her bow, the wolf saw her, and left the deer to stalk its new prey. The wolf launched itself at her, being shocked by Dar'Elaraya's magic and soon stabbed by her sword. "More pelts. Not that it does me much good." She skinned it and kept walking down the path.

     After a little more of walking, a bandit wanted to fight the Khajiit. He made the usual taunts, threatening to skin her and make her a rug. But Dar'Elaraya noticed he had blood trickling down his face, and a gash in his arm. He's been in a fight, maybe with a wolf. This one will not give mercy to one who wishes for death. She raised her sword, and let him come at her. She easily sidestepped his rushed and clumsy attack, to stab him through the gut. He fell to the ground, dead, his body unable to take so much damage.

     Dar'Elaraya picked up the coin purse he had, though it one had a total of eight gold pieces, and kept on her way to the town that was north of Riften.

     The trip to the small village of Shor's Stone was uneventful, not counting another run-in with a wolf.
The main reason she even stopped there at all was to see if she could sell the Thalmor armor and robes she  had "collected" from the Altmer. When she walked up to the blacksmith to sell the armor to, he mentioned the mine. "Hope you haven't come for work in the mine. It's dry, right now."

     "What is wrong with your mine?" she asked, intrigued. It wasn't that the mine was dry of ore, she could tell.

     "It's full of spiders, that's what's wrong with it. Almost killed Grogmar and me when they showed up. I'm worried they'll come out of the mine looking for food soon... Then we're all in even bigger trouble."

     "The Hold guards will help you, no?"

     "They're as useless as a fifth wheel on a wagon," the blacksmith spat. "Gave me some sort of a line about 'keeping an eye out for enemy soldiers.'" He started hammering on some heated metal. "What's the point of protecting this place if the mine's completely useless? Idiots." He stuck the metal into the water to cool it. Dar'Elaraya heard the resentment in his voice all too clearly.

     "This one would clear out the mine for you, that is, if you'd pay. Deal, yes?"

     The blacksmith glanced back at the Khajiit, relief in his eyes. His voice stayed nearly neutral as he spoke, however. "Tell you what. Keep to your word, and I will line your pockets with as much as I can scrape up."

     "Khajiit thanks you, good sir. Before I go, may we barter?"

     "Take a look at my wares. Name's Filnjar."

     "Dar'Elaraya."

     She bought nine new steel arrows for fiftey-four septims, and considered buying the ten steel ingots he had. She was no master fltecher, though she had heard a rumor that there was a good one in Solitude. I have a job to do there for Vex anyway. This will help me in Goldenglow, since I would like to be as self-sufficient as possible. Dar'Elaraya decided in the end to not buy the ingots since she had just over three hundred coins. She did decide, however, to sell some of the Thalmor's armor and the Imperial armor from Helgan to him. She gained her coin back and more. "Thank you, Filnjar. I will be back soon with news of the spider's demise."

     "I wouldn't count the spiders out so easily, Khajiit. They nearly killed two Nords who are miners. You'd  be lucky if you came out alive, much less victorious. I don't want to be responsible for sending you to your death. Be careful in there."

     Dar'Elaraya wasn't too bothered by the Nord's lack of confidence. "Alright, so can you tell this one about the mine?"

     "Redbelly mind get's it's name from the red mist filling the place. You get used to it after a while... kind of smells like the hot springs out in the tundra. No idea what's causing it, though." Filnjar went back to creating a sword, or at least that was what Dar'Elaraya had assumed. He was ready for her to stop pestering him.

     "Good fortune to you and your family."

     After the conversation with Filnjar ended, the Khajiit noticed the sun had set and the Twin Moons were rising. "The small trek here must have been longer than this one had thought. If I can't find an inn, I'll just start on the spiders now."

     Considering there were three houses and the mine, there was no inn. However, outside the mine there was a fire that some of the miners were sitting near, chatting. Dar'Elaraya joined them, if only talking to the one female miner, who was a Nord. There was a Dunmer and Orsimer, too. "Is this one faring well, with the mine closed down?" she asked the Nord woman.

     "Not particularly. You're not from around here, are you? Would you be headding toward Darkwater Crossing, by chance?"

     "Why Darkwater Crossing? This one is sorry, but I haven't heard of it."

     "My parents live there," the woman said. "I usually make the journey to bring them gifts and to just say hello, but I haven't been well lately. I've written some letters and placed them in a satchel. Perhaps you wouldn't mind delivering them on my behalf?"

     "Khajiit would like to know where Darkwater Crossing is, but this one would do this for your family."

     "You would?" The Nord's eyes lit up. She grabbed the satchel from the ground beside her. "Well then, I would insist on rewarding you for your time."

     "Thank you, miss." Dar'Elaraya took the satchel and placed it in her knapsack, in the one empty pocket.

     "I'm Sylgia. And Darkwater Crossing is just on the other side of the mountain here. Northwest a little, but it would be easier to head east." Sylgia pointed it out on the Khajiit's map.

     "I will go there soon," Dar'Elaraya promised. "First, I have a job to do. In the mine."

☠ ✎ ❦ ✎ ☠
Priase Azurah, I actually wrote the next chapter. I'm going to edit the beginning of this soon and spread out that giant 6000 word chapter, so the rest of these will be my standard 2000 word length. At the time of writing this, this is chapter four. Working on chapter five as I post this! Man it feels unbelievably good to play Skyrim and write this again! Hope you guys enjoyed, and hopefully look forward to more chapters, coming bi-monthly! Thank you guys so much for sticking with this book. Bi-monthly updates starts January 3, 2016! Also, sorry that Dar'Elaraya didn't go to Goldenglow this chapter, but I think she needs a bit more equipment to go in without killing Aringoth. She needs to become a novice alchemist ;)