Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-3293219-20140308235607/@comment-3293219-20140312110129

(Ooooh... I just had a friggin' awesome idea for what to do with Kaizen.

But first...)

The companions arrived at the Riften's gates; Nepht was mesmerized by its design as she had never seen anything like it before.

"Something wrong?" Lucian asked, confused at the fact that she was just standing there, staring at it.

"N-No... It's just..." The Dunmer glanced back to him, with a nervous smile.

"I've been waiting for this my whole life...

I just can't believe that I'm here..."

Strange girl... Lucian thought to himself but he kept quiet and stood in silence, looking at the engraving on the door and beginning to see what she was seeing. He looked up to see that the guards were getting nervous about them studying the city, for all they knew, they could be planning an attack.

"I think we should head in now..." The Vampire informed her, gesturing to the conversing guards.

They approached the main gate, standing directly in front of it, until the guards opened it for them. Lucian took charge, being the most experienced of the two and lead his companion through the main gate, who awkwardly shuffled behind him as if she was afraid of her own shadow.

Her stomach sank as she saw it; nothing could have prepared her for this...

The overpowering buildings, the volume of smog in the air, the hundreds of people who hustled and bustled, too many faces to take in, too many names to remember! The memories of Cheydinhal's tranquility were oppressed by the noisy honking of motorcar horns and the bells ringing on bicycles (I assume that they have bicycles, I mean it's hardly rocket science...). She was nearly hit, several times, by both as they swerved around her, causing her to retreat to the pavement, where she bumped into Lucian again.

Lucian felt Nepht walk into him, half expecting it to be a pickpocket as he had no idea where Nepht had gone for that brief moment that she had gotten lost in the crowd.

"Well? Is it everything you hoped for?" The Imperial balled over the sound of life, all around him.

"It's so... loud!" Nepht cried out, over the sound of a paper boy, calling out for someone to read the tabloid journalism in his hands, so that he could pay for his next meal.

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Lucian nodded in agreement, it had been a while since Lucian last set foot in this pustule of a city, it was unpleasant back then before industrialisation but wasn't sure if this was an improvement...

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"Want to find somewhere quiet?"

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"Yes please!" Nepht replied, showing her first smile since the one that was swiped off as she entered the city.

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Lucian nodded and began to walk away; he was surprised when she caught up with him and grabbed hold of his arm, startling him for a few moments. He turned to her and noticed that she was smiling at him, gesturing for him to move on and get her out of this hell, Lucian was happy to oblige.

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">-

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The two of them found their way to the old town, the din at the main gate was just background noise now as they stepped into the old town.

''<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Daniel's home... ''<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Nepht sighed, heavily as she was taken to a park bench, she sat down and buried her face into her hands.

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The Assassin had seen this before, culture shock, perhaps he should have prepared her more but how could he, when he wasn't even expecting that himself.

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"You okay?"

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"Yeah... just... need a minute."

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"Take your time." He advised her, taking a seat next to her and placing his hand on her back, hovering for a few seconds before he did. "Going to strange places can be... overwhelming, to say the least." He replied, sympathetically.

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"It’s not how Daniel described it..." She admitted, glancing up at a rich nord couple, who were strolling through the park. The smiled at her, out of courtesy, a smile that she returned before going back into her slump, placing her head back into her hands.

''<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Maybe mum was right... ''<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">

''<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Maybe I'm not ready yet... ''<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Lucian just glanced around, trying to remember what Riften was like, the last time he came here. He was a different man back then and the memories of that era were hazy, to say the least. He let some time pass before he spoke to his companion again, removing his hand as it didn't seem to be doing much good.

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"How do you feel?"

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"Hungry..." Nepht muttered, drawing her hands down her face and lifting her head up. "Is it too early to eat?"

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"It's never too early to eat." Lucian said, with a smile as he stood up and offered her his hand. She took it as she was pulled to her feet, still slightly shaky from the exhaustion of walking here as well as her recent overhaul.

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">"There's a tavern, just through here, if I remember correctly." Lucian offered, gesturing for her to follow him with his finger as he marched across the old town, Nepht followed him, her slight shuffle picked up into a timid walk as there were less people here.

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">-

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">They eventually arrived at the old tavern, which had been doing quite well due to the sheer accident of the old town's tourism boom. The old canals were seen as 'romantic' and 'exotic' by tourists and the old town was eventually preserved, becoming a tourist attraction for the rich, allowing the local taverns to flourish.

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Nepht stopped at the door, looking up at the sign post that hung, just above her head.

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The Bee and Barb... Sounds friendly enough... <span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">

<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-ansi-language: EN;">She smiled, shrugged and followed Lucian in; maybe she'd feel better after a good old fashioned pub dinner.