The rumors spread like wildfire over the next few weeks, engulfing the community in fear and paranoia; the Forsworn were in the city, and the guards were rounding up the native Bretons of the Reach for interrogation. Quinn, not being a native, and being a homeowner, was not among those rounded up. I thanked Kynareth for that small miracle every night as I lay intertwined with him. I wanted to leave this city, to take my family, and Quinn, and never look back, but I lacked the articulacy to convey my message in a way that my husband could accept. Was it a wives duty to obey and stand by their husband with unwavering support? I wished Quinn would see the terror of the city as what it was, and not hide from the truth.

The streets were colder now then ever before, most citizen were fearful of leaving their homes any longer then they had to,myself included. The sole solace of the cold and dark of Markarth was the Silver-Blood Inn, even so, I never went there alone. That name dripped of venom, a venom which I had no interest in being poisoned by.

"So how long are you going to be gone?" Hilda inquired, looking over Kerah's jewelry. "It'll take a few days to set this deal up" Quinn answered, packing some salted beef into his pack. "Are you going to bring presents when you get back?" "I said I would" Quinn's eyes turned to face mine. He reached for my hand, but I pulled it away. "Why do you have to go?" I asked "Send somebody else for this job" Quinn sighed heavily, the bags under his eyes a sign of his own lack of sleep. I wonder if he lay awake at night, praying for this nightmare to end as I did. "This is an opportunity that I can't afford to miss. If I help settle this mine, I'll be made a co-owner of it, think of what that could mean for us." "This is no time for you to just leave" I pleaded with him desperately. He was my only friend here, and with him gone, I'd be alone. "I know this is scary my love, but I can't turn this down, I'll be home in a few days." Tears streaking my eyeliner, he caressed my cheek, and kissed me softly, and with that, he left.

As I walked the steps to Vlindrel Hall, I saw Thongvor speaking with the orc blacksmith Ghorza. I was tired of being left in the dark, I needed answers, and I knew he had them. "Money isn't an issue orc, I need those weapons for the guards." "This is a strange request is...." "Thongvor" I barked, a mix of dread and unbridled rage rose in my voice. He turned to face me, and his eyes showed me nothing they had before, was he truly done with his pursuit? "Can I help you Fiona?" "We need to talk. Alone" "We'll finish this discussion later orc, lead on then"

I led him toward my homes front porch, away from curious ears, but close enough to home in case something went south. "I haven't all day woman, speak your piece." "Quinn left for Karthwasten, apparently to claim it, what do you know about this?" "Karthwasten is the last mine I don't control, Quinn has a silver tongue, besides, keeping someone I trust in control only makes sense." "Yet for some reason, I don't think that's all there is to it." His eyes narrowed on me, I saw that I was getting under his skin, then he regained composure. "I'm offering you and your family a chance to better yourselves. Have you ever heard the saying, 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth'. You seem rather ungrateful, considering all the strings I've pulled keeping your family safe." "What are you talking about?" "If it weren't for me, you think Quinn wouldn't be in the Cidhna Mine as we speak?" He was protecting us, why? "Now if were done, I have business to attend to." "So your plan is to leave us in your debt?" He scoffed. "Darling, everybody in the Reach is in my debt, you just need to get with the program. This should be known as prayer here; the Silver-Bloods are the law." With those words, he walked away, leaving me with more questions then answers. "What the hell is happening to this city?"

Happy birthday to me, sitting home alone, drinking myself to a stupor, hating everything... but that's neither here nor there. If anybodies wondering, no, I wrote this sober and on the tenth, I just took the pictures and posted it for my birthday, I wish I could write like this drunk. I hope anybody reading this enjoys, and appreciates the time I put into making this story. If you could take the time to tell me what you think, I would love to hear your opinions. So yeah, I hope you enjoy and keep following this story.

Updates, updates, oh yeah, I finally got an enb up and running, so I hope my pictures look nicer. I'm going back to college in two days, so I may not be able post as frequent as I do, but I hope I will. I'll keep you posted if anybody wants to know anything. Thanks for taking the time to read this and bye for now.