Bejewelled Manuscript

Chapter 2: Gleaming Gemstone

Chapter 2: Gleaming Gemstone

Madesi was finished with his meal before he heads down to Beggar's Row to rest for the night. The other residents were the two beggars, Edda and Snilf. They were both fine company but even an Argonian like himself knew that begging could only reach so far.

"Not much coins for the day," Snilf sniffed as he counted the septims in his hands while Edda chewed on a rotten green apple slowly. Beggar's Row stank from the musty scent of the sewer water and a few food that had been long gone rotten. Riften's reputation was known for their crimes, the Thieves Guild and not-so-friendly people.

Madesi checked his remaining jewellery. So far, he had two silver rings, a gold necklace and a silver necklace with a flawless emerald in the middle. He had bought more jewellery than sell them from various customers. Though, there was one thing that was nagging at the back of his mind:

Who was that woman at Helga's Bunkhouse?

Most humans weren't fond of Argonians, Dunmers or other Beastfolk that roamed Tamriel. However, a part of him was curious to know who was that woman. In fact, he knew almost all of the residents in Riften including the guards. Was she a resident or a tourist?

"Something wrong, Madesi?" Edda asked with concern. The old woman may be a beggar but her heart was as if he were one of his children. Madesi sighed and asked, "Do you know anyone new that's living in Riften? It's just, I saw an unfamiliar face at Helga's Bunkhouse during my meal time."

The old woman blinked, her expression became thoughtful as she lets out a small 'hmm'. "Snilf, do you know anyone of that description?" The old man pondered and then smiled. "Ah, you mean the bookshop owner that runs her store near the Scorched Hammer? Lovely thing, always giving us pastries and bread after closing time. What was the girl's name again- Maddy or something..."

"Oh! That's where the pastries came from? What a lovely girl and so young too!" Edda cooed, lips smacking at the thought of warm pastries.

"Must be something important if Madesi is wondering about someone in Riften." Snilf had an amused expression on his face.

It wasn't much but Madesi had a lead. He thanked both them and decided to pay a visit at the store tomorrow. Then again, how would he know if the young woman would allow a lizard like him to browse her store?

He will only know for certain the next day.

...

Maria was done baking some fresh bread for the day to go with her favourite cheese and berries. If she weren't so busy, she would stop by the Riften Fishery to learn how to catch some fish for herself instead of buying her produce from Marise Arvel or the bunkhouse to save a bit of money.

Last night, she wondered if she came off as cold to the beautiful Argonian that entered Haelga's Bunkhouse and that blew off her opportunity to get to know him. Although she was fairly new to Riften for a month, Maria wanted nothing more than to know everyone's name and business as well as keeping herself a float in the city of thieves.

Markarth had its beauty but the corrupt had defiled the city from being safe as they claimed. She prayed everyday that no one associated with her family would track her down. After running away from home, she had her first taste of freedom after reaching Whiterun before using the last amount of septims left to go to Riften.

Just then, the sound of the her shop's door opened. She immediately went to the counter to greet her customers with a warm smile. "Welcome, what can I- Tawnyfrost?! What are you doing in Riften?"

In front of her was a tortoiseshell-coloured Khajiit in her dragon-scaled armour and her signature Orcish axe resting on her back, her status as a Dragonborn was well-known throughout the holds and yet, only a few such as herself got the chance to know the real Tawnyfrost instead of the hero everyone claimed. Tawnyfrost lets out a mrrow of laughter. "This one comes to Riften for a home, maybe a new life." 

"A new life? After you slain that dragon named Alduin? But why Riften instead of somewhere nice like Whiterun or Solitude?"

The Dragonborn flicked her tail. "Same reason like you, Maria: a town with potential. Though, Khajiit believes that Maven has a better chance of running this city than Leech Laila. It was either this or you want the Silverbloods to run Markarth."

Maria shuddered at the thought. That was the main reason for her running away in the first place. "I owe you my life, Tawnyfrost," the Imperial looked at her friend with those chocolate brown eyes. "I'm sorry I ran away while the guards thrown you into Cidhna Mine for something you didn't do..."

Tawnyfrost shook her head. "Being this one's friend is already enough. After all, you had to escape from your own problems, yes? Those Forsworns won't be reaching the Reach anytime soon."

 Their silence was broken when a few more customers came into the shop and Maria attended to them first while Tawnyfrost began to browse the shelves. After the rush of customers, Maria paid her attention to the ongoing stalls from her window.

'I should check on the jewelleries,' she thought to herself, unknowingly catching the attention of the Dragonborn. She had the most mischievous smile on her face. "Something you fancy, Maria?"

"I need to browse at the stalls during my lunch break," she told her friend rather quickly. "And give away a few pastries that weren't sold."

...

"Buying and selling fine jewellery here," Madesi called out to ongoing passerby that browsed the stall. Sitting across from where he stood, Edda was still begging people for money, which resulted in her getting insults or ignored just as much as Snilf. He pitied them and wished there was a way to help, but even he doesn't have much of a septim to offer.

Suddenly, as if the gods were playing tricks with him, a young Imperial woman in an orange-red dress with curly dark brown hair approached his stall. Madesi was almost at lost for words at the little smile she greeted him with and those lips...

They were so soft and enticing.

"Excuse me," her voice sounded warm and inviting. "You have beautiful jewelleries for sale. Do you have anything silver?"

Madesi blinked and then nodded. "Yes, I do have silver jewelleries. Anything you fancy, land-strider?"

"Do you have bracelets? I don't mind any type of gem as long as it is silver," the young woman asked, pushing back a strand of her hand behind her ear. Madesi began to check his strongbox and finds a silver bracelet with carvings that reminded one of the dragon's scale. He held it out in front of her. "I have this one which I was inspired by the scales of the dragons. They are a bit different than the usuals, but it will look beautiful on the wearer's wrists."

To his surprise, she held out her left hand. "Can you help me put it on? I have the money for it." The Argonian wanted to say otherwise but wordlessly, he nodded his head and held her hand as he clamped the trinket onto her wrist.

It was soft under his hard-scaled claw.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, fishing out the amount of septims from her small satchel. "Thank you for selling and creating this beautiful jewellery. I...I'm Maria and I run the Waterstone bookstore next to the Scorched Hammer if you want to take a look at some of the books. I also have some baked goods for those that are looking for a snack."

"Madesi," he introduced himself with a smile. "I'd love to but even I don't have the septims to purchase anything."

Maria smiled. "It's alright. Most of my customers just browse the bookstore and left if they couldn't find anything they like. Speaking of which, I have a few baked goods that weren't sold this morning. Can I give some to you as a my welcome gift?"

Something inside of Madesi began to swirl. How could this woman give something away so easily in this city? Maria handed him a small parcel wrapped in parchment paper that smelled divine to his nostrils. He watched as she walked over to Edda to give her the exact thing she gave him before cutting across to Snilf at his seat.

For a moment, Madesi checked his ledger so that he had enough time for the day to visit Waterstone before it closes for the night.