Fall 2020 x Summer 2023
Dulciana’s head ached. She slept through the night and through the morning, but clearly that wasn’t enough.
What was it she had done the day before…?
Ah, yes — she hazily recalled being stuck in some sort of enchanted painting full of horrid trolls. Dulciana wasn’t the magic and alchemy type, but what little she knew of each meant the difference between seeing another day and certain death, her corpse stuck in another plane of reality.
She hadn’t even been paid in gold! Even though the little Dunmer man she saved was the most famous painter in the land. But wasn’t that how it always went?
Dulciana did admit seeing the Dunmer couple reunite was kind of cute, but…he would have been more useful to her single.
No matter. As soon as she could politely leave, Dulciana booked it to Newland’s Lounge and bought a round of drinks for everyone in the tavern. Soon the laughs and drinks were flowing freely, and her mind and bones were able to forget their troubles, if only for a little while. These were the nights she treasured.
The mornings, though…it took forever to slip on her fresh green silks, every bit of her was aching and throbbing. Dulciana wasn’t sure of how much more of this life her body could take. She shambled down the stairs.
“My dear publican…what time is it?”
“It’s 4:30 in the afternoon, my sweet adventurer!”
“Ahhh…”
As the fresh faced Dunmer lady excitedly recounted last night’s silly exploits, Dulciana zoned out. She had no idea how someone so young could muster up the responsibility to wake up early and take care of this rowdy place, day in and day out. Doesn’t she get bored? Doesn’t she get tired? How can she stand it? Dulciana felt her stomach rumble.
“…Do you have anything to eat?”
The publican stopped talking mid-sentence and sheepishly looked down.
“Sorry, we got cleared out during lunchtime. That Fridas rush, you know.”
“I see.”
“I saved you a sweetroll though! And we’ll be fully stocked for dinner. “
“You’re the best Dervera!” Dulciana flashed her a sweet smile and scarfed down the sweetroll in an instant. The other woman seemed pleased…but in all honesty, it wasn’t enough. If Dulciana didn’t get some solid food in her, she may and well actually lose it.
“I think I’m going to head out to work now,” Dulciana spit out, the pleasant expression never leaving her face.
“Ooo! What will it be today?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I have some leads.”
“Alright, stay safe! See you tonight!”
That was a lie. Dulciana had absolutely intention of working today, and was merely going across the street to eat at the inn at the opposite side of the road.
The Cheydinhal Bridge Inn…while it fit Dulciana’s upper class aspirations on the surface, her stay here on her first night in Cheyhindal left much to be desired. There were no customers other than herself, and the publican seemed almost desperate to keep her around. Also, 40 gold a night? What a joke! That’s how much a night at the Tiber Septim costs, and that’s the most luxurious hotel in the capital.
Dulciana had only been here once more, for drinks with the newly made captain of the town guard (terribly boring guy), and it was similarly empty. If she could help it, Dulciana wouldn’t be going here at all, but when you gotta eat, you gotta eat.
Sure enough, when she got there the place was empty, empty, empty. It was a roundabout blessing in a way though, as Dulciana could eat in peace without anyone aggravating her headache. A little sweet talk with the snooty publican, and Dulciana had a veritable feast on her hands. Rich, juicy boar meat with fat still sizzling…fluffy loaves of bread…stacks of cheese slices, both the creamy AND tangy kind…and a bowl full of ripe, juicy strawberries. Bliss!
While she was sipping on a light, floral mead, two Imperial ladies decked out in fine velvet dresses came in and sat at the table next to her. Dulciana couldn’t help but perk up her pointy ears — while she loved eavesdropping on all sorts of conversations, conversations between the wealthy were her favorites.
Castle gossip…complaining about their husbands…trash talking the Dunmer who stood up to the corrupt guards….what are you going to wear to wear at tomorrow’s Riverview party? The Riverview party…Dulciana had heard whispers about it from time from the Orc crew who frequented Newland’s Lounge, but not even the Orc boy who was sweet on her would give her any information. Something so secretive, exclusive, and high class…she just had to be in on it!
Dulciana downed the rest of her mead in one mighty gulp and approached her targets.
“Hello lovely ladies! I couldn’t help but notice those wonderful Palonirya designs you two are sporting! I think she makes the best clothing in Tamriel, don’t you?”
That’s all she needed. While she never failed to get a rush from approaching total strangers like that, Dulciana was pretty good at sussing what people wanted to hear and how they wanted to hear it. In no time the three of them are laughing and having a good time.
“So I’ve been hearing about this Riverview party lately, do you two know anything about it?”
The atmosphere immediately chilled. Fuck!
“That’s right, you’re new here…”
“It’s not that we don’t like you — we really do! — but Voranil is very…particular about who he invites to his parties.”
Dulciana mustered up a feeble, wan expression, looked off to the distance, and fingered her amulet that’s a spitting image of the Amulet of Kings if you don’t look too closely.
“Oh, that’s ok. I understand…”
“Don’t worry! You’ve done so much for Cheyhindal –“
“Yes! You deposed that horribly corrupt guard!”
“Yeah! And you recovered our treasured Lythandas!”
“Voranil is sure to know of you soon!”
“Yes! And when we put in a good word for you, you might be able to get into one of his parties as soon as next week!”
Dulciana evoked the most wistful smile she could. “You mean it?”
“Of course! It’ll be so fun!”
That’s as good as it’s going to get. The conversation lasts for a little longer, then the two ladies make their leave, earnestly promising to meet up with Dulciana next week in the same inn.
When the two of them are finally gone, Dulciana ordered the most expensive Tamika’s Wine on hand and slumped over when the publican isn’t looking. Performing can be so exhausting!
But more than that — Dulciana didn’t *have* a week to wait. Cheydinhal was nice, yes, with lush greenery and beautiful clear rivers, but she could feel it in her bones…she was getting bored. She had to move on. If she was going to go to this party, it would be tomorrow or bust!
The afternoon lazily drifted into night. While people came in and out to pick up drinks and food, no one stuck around. By nightfall, it was clear this was as busy as the night was going to get. That was fine with Dulciana. Despite the copious platters of food she had downed, she was still exhausted, and the prospect of walking across the street back to Newland’s seemed like a monumental task. So she sucked it up, paid for a night’s lodging, and shuffled up the stairs…but when she opened the door, someone was already in there!
Dulciana recognized the pretty young Redguard lady…yes, her name was Shelley. Dulciana usually saw her by the castle, and they always had nice little chats. She was pretty sure Shelley worked at the there, considering how elegant her mannerisms were.
“Miss Shelley, I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize I was in the wrong room!”
Shelley chuckled. “No need to worry, I was just putting the finishing touches in your room. I hadn’t expected you to come up here so quickly.”
“You work here? You know, I thought you worked at the castle.”
A warm, genuine smile. “Oh, I’m flattered, but I actually help Miss Mariana out here. Normally I’m not so sloppy with my work, but the last occupant had barely left.”
“Oh please, don’t worry. There’s no need to rush.”
While it was unexpected, Dulciana enjoyed the company and slumped down at the table across the bed. At that moment, the publican herself entered the room, bearing a platter with a pitcher of water. It had thick, jewel-like orange slices inside, and was chilled to perfection with frost salts. To top it off, fragrant tiger lilies garnished the side of the platter.
“Oh…I didn’t order this!”
Mariana winked. “It’s on me, lady adventurer. You’ve really given us a lot to talk about the last few days.”
“Well, I’m not one to turn down a free drink…”
Dulciana poured herself a cup and took a sip. Invigorating! If all water tasted like this, maybe she wouldn’t have to drink mead so much. After a few generous gulps, she almost felt back to her regular self, and starting chatting with the two ladies.
There were three things Dulciana gleaned from this conversation. One, Fridas and Loredas were the slowest days at the Cheyhindal Bridge Inn, and people sleeping over wasn’t guaranteed on those days. Two, even though they didn’t say anything, Mariana and Shelley were certainly in *that* type of relationship. Three, from the atmosphere in the room, they definitely seemed to find Dulciana quite appealing in that way as well. But of course, the rules of propriety would never let them do anything about it.
Dulciana reveled in that type of tension. To make or break rules as she saw fit — that’s what she lived for. They seemed nice enough, and she was going to leave town soon anyway, so she decided to give them an in.
“You know, I picked up a bottle of Surlie Brothers Vintage 399 in Skingrad the other day…would you two ladies like to share it with me?”
~~~
Another day.
That familiar, aching feeling.
The clock on the wall read 2:56.
“Well that’s earlier than yesterday…” Dulciana grumbled.
Well, today was the day of the party. If Dulciana wanted to make it, she was going to have to get a move on.
Slowly but surely, she put on her finest wear, a black dress of velvet with gold trimmings. She admired herself in the mirror some — yes, she was getting on in the years, and the abuse her body took everyday didn’t help, but she was still beautiful. Bosmer luck, she figured. Her people were generally pretty youthful looking. She shuffled downstairs, eager to face the day.
“Looking good, lady adventurer!” The publican was beaming.
“Oh no.” Dulciana inwardly cringed.
As they had said the night before, the place was empty. This was a tricky situation.
“Oh yes, I have some business at the castle today…”
“The castle?” Mariana’s eyes were basically sparkling.
“Oh yes, I have to follow up with the captain of the town guard…that nasty business with corruption you know…”
“Yes, yes!” She laid down a plate in front of Dulciana. Rich roasted boar’s meat, freshly baked loaves of bread, a whole wheel of cheese.
“Free of charge!” Her eyes were full of affection. Oh no! No, no, no.
But what could Dulciana do? She scarfed it all down as fast as she could and had her foot out the door in lightning speed, all while never letting that sickly sweet expression off her face.
“See you later!” the publican cheerfully exclaimed. One thing was certain — Dulciana would never step foot in that inn again!
~~~
It didn’t matter who Dulciana talked to or what she said — the response was a polite, yet firm affirmation that she wasn’t allowed to go to the party.
This was the point where Dulciana usually turned tail and moved on with her life, but something about this situation really had her steamed. What made this party so great, so exclusive, so out of reach? She simply had to see with her own two eyes!
And so Dulciana found herself scaled up on the highest window of the highest-regarded mansion in town at approximately 9 pm on a Saturday night. Not the most glamorous or cool thing, admittedly, but it was what she had to do.
Thankfully, nobody saw, and she was free to slip into the house. She found herself in an extremely nice room — assuredly the master’s — and marveled at her surroundings a bit. How nice it would be to have a four cornered bed of her own, with the finest cotton and silks the world had to offer. To openly and vulgarly display her treasures instead of having to keep everything close to her chest. To have everything so saturated with the scent of jasmine and roses that it stopped registering as a luxury, or even a sensation.
She relaxed and sighed, taking a moment to pretend it was all hers.
Now for the hard part — sneaking down to the main scene without she herself being seen. It was a matter of life or death, a matter of getting away with it or never being welcome in this town again. Heart pumping, palms sweating, she gracefully made her way in the shadows.
Finally, she would get to see what was so harshly denied her!
If Dulciana hadn’t had every muscle in her body on alert, she would’ve have fallen over from shock — it was just a dinner party. Just run-of-the-mill, boring as hell dinner party. Admittedly, the food looked good, but all this intrigue, all this drama, for THIS? A dinner party with the same people every week, talking about the same things, with the same food, with just the slightest bit of variation to make it all seem new.
Dulciana felt a profound wave of embarrassment wash over her. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but it definitely wasn’t…this.
She wasn’t sure how she made it out of there in one piece, but before she knew it she was at the town lake, feet in the water, hunched over willows reassuring her with their presence. Dulciana pulled out a bottle of Cyrodillic brandy she was going to share with everyone at the party and started drinking it straight from the bottle.
Pfft, “party.” Some party! That wasn’t a party at all. That was boring.
“Couldn’t make it inside, could you?” asked a jarring, crackled voice. It was one of the beggars Dulciana tried to wheedle information out of earlier, an Imperial lady.
“Yeah…nah… it’s whatever.” Dulciana avoided eye contact. To be pitied by a failed Imperial in a country made for Imperials was just too much.
“They’re all shitheads anyway…care to share some of that?” The lady — Lucina? — extended a humble wooden cup towards Dulciana.
“Yeah, sure, alright.” Dulciana sucked up her irritation and poured. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, and there was nothing sadder than drinking alone.
With the offering of libations, Lucina went from dull and craggy to animated and alive. Torrents of stories and gossip overflowed from her like a hot spring, like it had been a long time since there was someone to listen. Despite what Dulciana would think, it was all so interesting. And it was nice to just sit back and not worry about about what she could get from this or what she looked like. It was the simple reality of a transient presence sharing spirits with an invisible one, nothing more and nothing less.
The velvet night sky twinkled while two moons hung overhead. The brandy drained steadily and laughter filled the air. In a few hours, Dulciana would probably be on the road again, having exhausted everything Cheydinhal had to offer her. This lifestyle wasn’t easy, and its expiration date loomed heavily on the horizon, but in this moment, at the very least — the world felt warm and full of possibility.