How to Pickpocket a Pickpocket

Chapter 21

As she expected, Artis arrived at the gates of Solitude at the break of dawn. She didn't encounter much problems on her way, except for the usual bandit or two that thought it'd be smart to rob the carriage with the Dragonborn in it. She paid the driver an extra fee to get back to Riften, because, why not? She had the money and she could get more if she wanted.

Artis stuck around Katla's farm, where the stables were located until the gates of Solitude opened up. She still felt tempted to get a horse, but Bandit was still fresh in her thoughts. If she would get a horse, it had to look just like Bandit, white with black spots. She stroked a few horses and even fed one of two. No one was around to stop her, and she had a soft spot for the hooved creatures.

By the time the gates opened, she was starving. Artis barely set foot in the city, when an execution took place. She didn't stick around to witness that though. It reminded her of that day in Helgen... She knew Solitude was the home of the Legion, the very same people who wanted her beheaded back in Helgen. Her hatred for the Imperial Legion was big. As she wandered down the street she couldn't help but stare at everything. It was her second time in Solitude and everything was still so different here. If she thought Windhelm was big, this city was even bigger. How was she supposed to find her way around this place? Better question: how was she supposed to find a single person in this place?

"Artis?"

She stopped when hearing someone calling her name.

"Artis, is that you?"

She followed the voice until she found who it belonged to, "Hadvar?"

"By Kyne!" he smiled and engulfed her in a tight hug, "I never thought I would ever see you here in Solitude. What are you doing here?"

"I could say the same about you." She chuckled, "I haven't seen you since the dragon attack at Helgen. I thought you were injured, or worse, killed."

He rolled his eyes playfully, "Injured, yes. Killed, not even close. Just minor burns. Nothing a healing potion couldn't fix. But first tell me, what brings you to Solitude?"

Artis knew she couldn't tell him the truth, so she had to spin some sort of story, "After escaping Helgen and informing the Jarl of Whiterun of the danger, he sent me on a few quests. I'm ticking them off my list and my current one is here in Solitude."

"Well, I'm glad you're here." Hadvar smiled, "Finally I have some decent company for a day."

Hadvar showed Artis around the city for a bit and told her about the Legion. Even though she told him how she felt about the Imperials, he still enjoyed fighting for them. She didn't judge him, though. He had bad experiences with the Stormcloaks, she had bad experiences with the Imperials. They had their own stands in the war and they respected each other for it.

Finally, Hadvar showed her to the inn, the Winking Skeever. They had a few drinks, exchanged a few stories and did some catching up before he had to return to his duties at the Blue Palace. She had to admit, seeing a familiar face in an unfamiliar city made her feel a little more positive about her quest. Artis moved so that she sat in one of the darker corners of the inn, so no one could pay any attention to her. Her eyes scanned the crowd, locals probably, in search for Gulum-Ei. By his name she figured he was an Argonian.

However, as she brought her tankard to her lips, a sudden presence behind her made itself known. Without thinking twice, Artis spun around and pressed the blade of her dagger against the person's throat. She did it so swiftly, so flawlessly that no one in the inn even saw it happening.

However, when she got a good look at who it was, she immediately drew back the dagger, "Brynjolf?!"

"Lass." He greeted with a cheeky smile, as if his life wasn't on the line a second before.