The Dragonborn Arrives (Skyrim)

Diplomatic Immunity pt. 1

One of the benefits of travelling extremely lightly is that I can be up and ready to go on a mission in a moment's notice. When the courier finally came with a message from Delphine I was ready to go see what she needed in minutes. I travel only with my weapons (stalhrim sword and axe as well as two daggers strapped into my boots), armour (modified bonemould), some healing and stamina potions, some lockpicks and a light snack. Under my armour I wear plain robes that I use to sleep in. Sure I can get a bit sweaty when I'm on the roads, but what are inn washrooms for? Or ponds in the woods?

I set off from High Hrothgar bright and early in the morning after I received word from Delphine. The journey took me longer than expected, but I don't think it matters. From Ivarstead, I hitched a ride to Windhelm and from Windhelm I rented a horse to ride to Riverwood. The horse was fast and sturdy and got me there in a matter of hours. Evening was starting to fall when I finally arrived outside the Sleeping Giant Inn. Delphine wasn't at the bar, but I headed into her room anyway and into the secret room downstairs.

She's sitting at the table, pouring over a map. She looks up when I enter the room and smiles. "I've figured out how we're going to get you into the Thalmor Embassy,"

"You're not coming?" I ask. I would have assumed she'd be raving to go on some kind of mission like this.

"That would be a bad idea," Delphine shakes her head. "I'd be too likely to attract the wrong kind of attention. But they don't know you at all...yet,"

"That didn't take long for you to think about," I compliment her. Well it's been a few weeks, almost a month, but I would have expected it to take longer.

"I've been doing this a long time, remember? While the Thalmor's been looking for me, I've been watching them," Delphine smirks.

"Why not just fight our way in?" I suggest. "I'm sure we could take them,"

 Delphine folds her arms. "So that's your plan, huh? Even if you could survive, by the time you got inside, whatever documents they had would be long gone. We're there for information, remember? Trust me, I've been doing this for a long time. My way is better,"

Feeling a little put out of place, I decide to see just how great her idea is. "So what's your plan? How do I infiltrate the Thalmor Embassy?"

"The Thalmor ambassador, Elenwen, regularly throws parties where the rich and connected cosy up to the Thalmor. I can get you into one of those parties. Once you're inside the Embassy, you get away and find Elenwen's secret files," Delphine explains. "I have a contact inside the Embassy. He's not up for this kind of high-risk mission, but he can help you. His name's Malborn. Wood elf, plenty of reason to hate the Thalmor. You can trust him. I'll get word for him to meet you in Solitude, at the Winking Skeever and while you're doing that, I'll work on getting you an invitation to Elenwen's little party. Meet me at the Solitude stables after you've arranged things with Malborn. Any questions?"

I have several. "Who's this contact of yours? You're sure I can trust him?

"Don't worry about Malborn," Delphine insists. "He's not a dangerous character like you but he hates the Thalmor at least as much as I do. He's a wood elf - the Thalmor wiped out his family back in Valenwood during one of their purges that we never hear about. Luckily they don't know who he really is, or he wouldn't be serving drinks at the Ambassador's parties,"

"How am I going to get into this party?" my mind starts reeling. I have no idea how to behave at these kinds of parties. I never really went to any in Raven Rock, unless you count the time I saved the Councillor's life and had a small celebration. Everything else has been drinking in the Retching Netch or under the stars with some of the others my age. I was never invited to any of Neloth's parties...my brother Marco had been though. Neloth always had a soft spot for Marco.