She waited a moment, then put the key in the lock and opened the door. Yellow-Eyes was still on the bed but awake as she set the plates down and locked the door behind her.
“Everything okay?” he asked taking a plate.
“Yeah. A couple of guys tried to pick my pocket, but no problem. I didn’t have any money there anyway, thanks to you. Apparently there’s a Thieves Guild in this town!”
“Of course. Not uncommon in a city of this size.”
“They called you ‘Kem’.”
Yellow-Eyes didn’t even pause. Between mouthfuls, he grunted, “Yeah. They call me that here.”
“Which is your real name then?”
“Neither. Can you get me some water from the table?”
Dodger crossed to the table, filled a mug from a pitcher there, and brought it back.
“Well, what’s the plan? Are we going to see your friend?”
“No. She’ll come here.”
“She?”
Yellow-Eyes looked up. “Yes. She.”
“When?”
He resumed eating. “Don’t know. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”
“So, we’re just going to stay here?”
“I am. You do whatever you want. Go see the city. Just watch yourself.”
Dodger sat on the floor cross-legged and dug into her dinner in earnest. Once she started eating, it was all she could do to keep from wolfing it all down at once. It was as if her body was reminded how long it had been since she’d last eaten – and how little it had been even then. It wasn’t till her plate had been picked clean that she looked up. Yellow-Eyes was watching her.
“You okay?” he asked.
Dodger wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “Fine. Sorry. I was pretty hungry I guess.”
“I guess!”
“Well, I think I’ll take a look around anyway. You’re really just going to stay here?”
Yellow-Eyes nodded.
“Okay. I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Two knocks, then two,” he said as she was walking out, though this time she looked both ways down the hallway before she turned back.
“Wait, we’re going to change the knocks every time? Why?”
“Someone might have heard you last time.”
“You’re paranoid. You know that, right?”
“Two knocks, then two more. I’ll keep the key and lock up behind you.” he said.
She tossed the key back to him, but he let it hit the floor without making any effort to catch it.
“Lazy too,” she said.
“Dodger. If you get in trouble, I won’t be looking for you. You need to know that. You’re on your own here. Be careful.”
“Alright DAD.”
“That’s the point. I’m not your dad. I’m an architect. I wish you well, Dodger, but I’m not even you’re guardian here. You don’t have a guardian.”
“Okay, okay. Got it. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
The hallway was still clear when she closed the door and by the time she got to the stairs at the end of it, she heard the latch turn. She went back down the stairs. In the public room, the place was getting busier. She took the plates to the end of the bar. Mr. Broad was talking to someone at the other end of the bar, but he noticed her and nodded so she set the plates down and walked out.
The stars were just coming out as she stepped into the cooling air. The streets, though far from deserted, were certainly less bustling than they had been earlier. Yellow-Eyes, a.k.a. Kem, a.k.a. who knows what had given her a fair idea of the city layout with the tower in the center. It did make it easier to navigate though.
But mostly she just watched the people. Such a variety of people. And not just the variation in races she had read about, but the sizes, ages, clothing styles. It was like the vines back in the Marsh – no two were exactly the same.
“No wonder humans think we all look the same. In comparison with them, I guess we do!” she thought. “Not many kids though. I wonder if they keep them indoors?”
She found herself back in the area with the graves. When she came near the one Yellow-Eyes had placed a rock on, she noticed it was gone. At least, if it was the same headstone. They were all so similar she might be wrong, but she didn’t see any rocks on the other nearby headstones either and she was fairly sure she was at the right place.
“Must be some sort of signal,” she thought. “He puts a rock up there and his friend notices, and comes to that inn as a pre-arranged meeting place. Gotta write that down.”
She sat and scribbled some notes about the two men and what they’d told her of the Guild as well as what she’d learned from Yellow-Eyes. The locking of the door and the code knocking she could use too. Even the nasty restroom could be handy. This trip was turning out to be a bounty of ideas!
When she’d finished her notes, she just sat back and watched the people go by. There were certainly Argonians as well as Orsimer occasionally, but they were still a minority compared to the humans with their swirly ears and their patchy hair. She began to notice patterns though. While there were exceptions, the males tended to keep their hair cropped short, while the females’ hair was usually longer and more elaborately kept. Also, the older the males were, the less hair they tended to have if they weren’t completely hairless.
Yet facial hair ran the opposite way. In fact, she finally decided that the females didn’t have facial hair at all! She saw not a single case in which a female sported any below the nose or under the mouth. That must go beyond style and be an actual physical trait.
She also noticed that the females tended to dress to emphasize their breasts, while the males wore loose fitting trousers as a way of de-emphasizing their own sex. She thought back to Yellow-Eyes and his comment about only needing a jacket. She saw no Argonians here without a full outfit though – minus the footwear. Humans may just see a crocodile in a jacket, but he really should have a full set of clothes. She decided to see if she could find him some pants.
Of course, she actually did have some coin. But she certainly didn’t keep it in her pockets like those cutpurse’s seemed to expect. Yellow-Eyes had seen to that long before they got to the city. The problem was going to be to find a clothing store with clothing for Argonians that would fit Yellow-Eyes. She stood up and began to wander around, now with an eye to finding such a store.
However, she began to realize that the storefronts were all closing down for the night. Only the taverns and brothels seemed to stay open much after dark here, so she gave up on that idea and came at last full-circle back to Luther’s. She climbed the stairs, having only elicited a couple of glances by the patrons and knocked the pattern. Within she heard the lock turn and the door opened. Yellow-Eyes was still alone.
“No friend?”
“Not yet.”
Dodger noticed the room had been rearranged somewhat in her absence. A new set of bedclothes had been arranged on the floor among other things. Yellow-Eyes sat atop those, leaving the bed empty for her. She sat down on it.
“You need clothes, Yellow-Eyes. No one walks around without pants here.”
“I’ll get some as soon as I can.”
“I was going to buy you some, but all the shops are closed after dark.”
Yellow-Eyes turned to look at her. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll make my own way.”
“I know. I wanted to,” Dodger said, laying down and turning to the wall.
“Well… thank’s Dodger,” she heard as she closed her eyes.
“No problem.”
She drifted off to sleep then, probably as happy as she could ever remember being. She was on an adventure for the first time in her life, and the next day would bring more adventures without a doubt.
Suddenly she was awoken by knocking. Three knocks, then one. She looked over at Yellow-Eyes, but he was already up, sword in hand and standing at the door. He signaled for her to be quiet, and she backed up away from the door with her feet pulled up.
bdprequel 