Cesare Visits the Campsite

Cesare secures his horse to the fence that surrounds Lucrezia and Milo's camp. He had been waiting all morning for Lucrezia to leave so he could wait there to speak with Milo. Lucrezia was very predictable. She had nearly the exact same schedule every day. Though, she was so paranoid that if she heard or saw anything out of place, she would change things up a bit, to confuse whomever she thought was following her. That happened a few times while Cesare was following her in Woodhearth and she nearly caught him in the face with an arrow at one time, but luckily, she was drunk and her aim was off. But now that he knew her schedule and habits pretty well, he had no reason to follow her anymore.

Cesare walked past the fence and looked around the camp for a few moments. It was small but looked comfortable enough for a pair of Bosmer. He still couldn't believe his half sister would choose to live out in the open like an animal. He was even more surprised that Milo, who seemed intelligent and well kept, would agree and even enjoy living in such a place.

He sighed and took a seat on a tree stump near the fence, waiting for Milo to arrive.

Milo came riding up to the camp about an hour later. The sound of hooves on dry ground would have alerted Cesare to Milo's approach before the bosmer knew the camp was occupied. As usual, he was wearing his blue and black leathers with his bow slung over his back and the long knives at his sides. He pulled up short when he caught sight of Cesare near the fence, immediately wary. Then he glanced about the campsite and the nearby hills as well, just to be safe. He didn't notice anything else out of the ordinary, so he relaxed a little. Instead of dismounting right away as he had planned, he walked Skyrose nearer to the visitor, staying tall in the saddle.

"I wasn't expecting you," Milo called over, fixing a smile on his face. "But I'm sure you get that a lot. What brings you out to our humble camp?"

Cesare noticed Milo's hesitation and scanning of the area when he saw Cesare by the fence. He chuckled to himself, thinking that both bosmer were extremely paranoid.

He waved him over and put on a friendly smile. "Good morning, Milo. Don't worry, it's just me here. I only wished to speak to you, alone. Shall we step inside your cozy camp or do you feel better up there on your horse?"

He let the little jab go and gracefully hopped down from the saddle to stand in front of Cesare. "My apologies. I suppose I am a little jumpy. Please, make yourself at home." He walked into the camp, leaving Skyrose to graze nearby.

He opened the tent flap and pulled out a pair of small squat chairs for the both of them and sat himself in one. "So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

Cesare followed Milo toward the tent, looking around. He was appalled at their living conditions. So open and simple. He didn't think this would be comfortable for long term living. At least not for someone like him.

He took a seat and smiled. "I love what you've done with the place. Very...simple and nice. But yes, I am here for a reason. I'm afraid things may start getting bad here for me soon. My Brotherhood were only letting me live because I was able to get a good deal with the Sugar Claws for Skooma distribution, but now that no more skooma is being made, I believe my time here is cut short. I will need to leave soon." he put it all out there, not stopping for even a moment. There was no other way to put it. And then he decided to brave it out, and add in the rest, "And I want Lucrezia to come with me."

Milo listened to him talk, sitting casually. He also noted Cesare's reaction to the simple campsite; it didn't bother him that the Imperial might look down on it, he'd lived in worse places. When Cesare got around to the last part and said he wanted Lucrezia to come with him, Milo took a moment before answering.

"Now I'm curious what you could say to make me think that might be a good idea. You want her to come with you? Why is that? Are you starting to like having her for a sister, or is it more for her safety?" He was usually a very good actor at keeping his true feelings hidden behind a mask. Now though, he thought the suggestion of Lucrezia leaving was absurd and he wasn't disguising it.

Cesare knew this was going to be a hard discussion to have. He tried to talk himself out of it several times, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He half expected Milo to punch him when he suggested Lucrezia leaving with him, and it was still a bit stiff and guarded, as if waiting for him to get violent at any moment.

"A bit of both, I suppose. I have gotten to know her and even though she is an odd one, she's still my sister. She always has been and always will be. It's in my nature to want to protect her. The Brotherhood, they are going to come looking for me soon and I don't want her getting in the middle. The quest they sent her on in Morrowind, I'm afraid they may have just been amusing her. Or had something else up their sleeve. The person killed was a spy for the Thalmor and Rangers and will be noticed. It makes me wonder if the Brotherhood will tell them Lucrezia killed him so they would go after her. That way they keep their promise to her, but she still dies anyway." Cesare paused. Trying to let it all sink in. Even for himself. He had never meant for everything to get so out of hand, but now that it had, he felt like he was rushing to fix everything before something terrible happened.

"This is why she needs to run. She needs to always be running, one step ahead of them at all times."

He frowned deeply. He had expected her brother to tell him the assassins guild was still a threat to her, but hadn't really anticipated the Thalmor or Rangers getting involved. It was a possibility, and assassins were usually thorough about tying up loose ends. It was very difficult now to not just blame him for bringing trouble down on her, but pointing fingers wasn't going to solve anything. It wasn't like the Thalmor needed another reason to harass them, but he could clear her name with the Rangers or at least give them reason to pause in his next report. He sat in silence for a short while until he sighed.

"Do you think that will work? And for how long? Is the safest place with you and your ship, sailing about with no safe harbor? Is this even about her? If your associates are coming for you, wouldn't it be wiser to go your separate ways?"

Cesare sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I'm not taking the ship. It belongs to The Brotherhood and so does it's crew. I don't trust any of them at this point. I've made a good amount of coin lately and was planning to head back to Skyrim or Cyrodiil by horse within the next few weeks. I can hide out there for a while till I figure out another plan." he paused again, looking at the Bosmer in front of him. His face was usually hard to read but now it was obvious that he wore an expression of concern for Lucrezia.

"Look, I know she means something to you and you want to keep her around. Honestly neither one of us have done a good job of keeping her safe so far. I almost got her killed twice in Morrowind and I heard that a few days ago she was possessed and nearly died." he shook his head at that thought. He felt guilty for some reason. He had been avoiding her, ashamed that their trip to Morrowind nearly killed her and was staying away from her for her own safety. And then he heard she had almost died anyway.

"So tell me, Bosmer, what can you do to protect her? Are you going to poison them all? I know you have some good connections. I've tried getting some information on you before, but there are many years missing in your reports. It's as if you dropped off Tamriel for most of your adult life. You went from petty thief to honest Merchant to now a trusted member of the Sugar Claws. What's your secret?"

Milo again felt his patience being tested. His first reaction would have been defensively denying that Lucrezia could have been in danger around him, but that wouldn't be true. She had been possessed by magics that he knew nothing about. It was a sore and frustrating point that he had to acknowledge.

When Cesare began questioning Milo's true motives and identity, he chose not to make it easy for him. His expression became a mask nonchalance, as if the conversation only barely held his interest. "Done some looking into my past, have you? Lucrezia told me you've been reporting on me to your assassin friends, too. I can understand why you'd be curious, especially now that you're the older brother looking out for your sister's safety. You don't need to worry about who I was, Cesare. I'm in love with Lucrezia, and she loves me. She's much better off staying here with the Sugar Claws and frankly, I think you would be, too."

"Of course I've looked into your past. Once I found out you were sleeping with my sister, I needed to make sure your intentions were noble." he lied. He really was just curious about him and if he had any connections he could use. At the time, he could care less what his intentions with Lucrezia were, as he didn't know her or cared much to know her then.

"So you say the two of you are in love? Then why not run away together? Or are you both too attached to this Clan? Can you be so sure that they would keep you both safe?" He ran his hands through his hair, already getting frustrated and he was sure his tone showed that.

When Milo spoke of him staying as well, that shocked him and he was unable to hide it. "You want me to stay? The man you poisoned and left to rot on that rock?" he shook his head. "I do not belong here or with these people. They do not care for me and my ways."

"I know this might be hard to take from me, considering the way I treated you," he began. "We're a community here. Lucrezia and I have a place we belong. Some of our friends aren't so different from you, Cesare. There are cutthroats, killers, gamblers, lovers, mages, warriors... a crazy mix that even assassins would balk at. I'm quite sure that S'ren-ja is the safest place we could be. There aren't that many that care if I'm alive, but your sister has a lot of friends here willing to protect her."

He regarded Cesare thoughtfully. "I do want you to stay. You're Lucrezia's only family. And I'm starting to trust you. Plus, you've got better odds staying with people you know than running alone."

Cesare sat there, stunned. Someone wanted him to stay. He wasn't sure how to process that. He wondered if it were a trick or some kind of agenda. He opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again, not able to find the right words. He was silent for a few moments until he finally spoke.

He sighed, "I will stay. If only for a little while longer. I understand what you are saying. Now that I think about it, you're right. Your group is very diverse. Maybe I can find a place to belong. But, I do warn you that we will still be in danger here. The Brotherhood will come. I hope your clan is ready for that. I only wonder, if we should keep this between us for now or let others know."

Milo smiled, relieved that the Imperial agreed to stick around at least for a while. He still wasn't quite sure how to read Cesare.

"There's no shortage of danger at S'ren-ja. If you're willing to fight for the Sugar Claws or support those who do, you'll be welcome. I would prefer to warn Lucrezia, Bethany and the Guard as soon as we can. It isn't worth delaying on something as serious as this."

He only shrugged and gave a loud sigh. He couldn't really argue with him anymore. And he was a little happy to be able to stay a while longer. The Imperial would still not call S'ren-Ja home yet, but it was a nice temporary one.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to warn them. That way they can at least be ready for them when they do show up. But I don't think they're going to welcome me with open arms when they find out who my connections are."

*TIME JUMP*

About a week later, Milo was bringing supplies into the Greedy Goblet. He lifted crates of foodstuffs from a wagon outside and brought them in to replace the materials in the kitchen that were either certainly poisoned or still questionable. It was also necessary to check on Gnarlus' supplies of alcohol to make sure they didn't run out. A dry tavern is not a happy tavern.

Finished with the heavy labor, Milo exited the building and noticed a familar face just down the steps. Smiling, he hailed Cesare. "Hey, what's new?"

Cesare had left Rawl'kha to visit Lucrezia and Milo at their camp, but they weren't there. He figured Lucrezia must have had Guard duty and Milo must be doing...whatever merchants do, so he headed into S'ren-ja.

When he reached the steps to the Clan Mother's, he paused, trying to decide whether he should go inside or look for Lucrezia at the Guard barracks. Before he could think about it too long, Milo called out to him. He tried to smile but it was hard to do. The Imperial was not in a good mood. So instead he sighed and ran up the steps to face Milo.

"Not much, friend, just the Dark Brotherhood being in town." he said to him in a low, worried tone. "I heard they attacked and some of the guard were hurt. Are you and Lucrezia alright?"

Cesare's apparent sense of caution and line of questions put Milo on edge. He frowned at the Imperial and shook his head.

"We're both fine, Cesare. There was an attack, but the guard fought them off. Lucrezia's around here somewhere, on duty, I think. Are you alright? Did you encounter any assassins?"

Cesare sighed with relief.

"Good, I hope you both can try to stay safe and not go looking for trouble with them. Yes, one of them did come to me. I suppose to see where my loyalties lie. I think I did a good enough job to convince them that I was not going to interfere. But I fear they may ask for my help at some point."

Milo relaxed a bit as Cesare seemed to also, but the edge of worry remained. "Now you have me curious. What is your plan when they do come asking? Or maybe 'insisting' is closer to what will actually happen." He wasn't trying to be rude, but the mild panic had him fallen outside his usual friendly self. He took a moment to center his thoughts and emotions, took a deep breath, and felt a lot calmer.

He smiled again. "Forget that I asked. You look like you could use a drink. Something from Cyrodil, perhaps?" He gestured for Cesare to walk with him back toward the doors of the Clan Mother's house, obviously wanting to sit down with him at the Greedy Goblet.

Cesare followed Milo inside and looked around first before speaking. He was a little paranoid and was sure it was showing but he didn't care. It was better to be safe than sorry. He didn't want to be over heard.

"Yes, something from Cyrodiil would be nice." he finally said to the bosmer and sat at the table in the corner, so he could keep an eye on the door and stairs. He could tell that he had worried Milo and was feeling bad about that, he had looked to be in a good mood when he first saw him out on the steps.

"I apologize, I don't mean to ruin a good day. I am just on edge. I thought I had more time before the Dark Brotherhood showed up here, they don't even know yet that I don't have anymore skooma to send back to them. So imagine my surprise when I come here looking for a fun time and find out that assassins are attacking the guard, the guard that my sister is a part of!" he sighs, shaking his head. "Then I get back to my room and one of my fellow brothers is sitting there waiting for me. For a moment, I thought it was my end. But then he kept asking me about a vampire. He didn't give me his name, only asked if I had seen him around and if I would keep my eyes open for him. Then he was trying to get names from me. Wanted to know who I knew in the Clan. I told him I hadn't been introduced to everyone yet, that I only have my skooma contact and I wouldn't give him that name because I didn't want him to try to take my business from me. I think he believed me."

He took a sip of the drink that Milo handed to him, instantly feeling calmer once the liquid touched his lips. It reminded him of home.

"So is everyone here alright? No one was killed, were they?"

Milo hoped to help Cesare relax a bit and maybe get him talking. He hardly knew anything about Lu's half-brother and whether he could be an asset or a liability. He knew that Cesare had stepped up to help Lucrezia in Morrowind, but that situation had been partly his own making. What if Milo or one of his friends needed help; was Cesare a person they might count on?

He stepped into the kitchen to check into the liquor stock and found a suitable hard cider from one of Cyrodil's many orchards and brought it over to the table to share.

"Everyone is alright. We had a few wounded, that's all. The assassins aren't finding any easy targets here. Things are actually pretty good." He tried to be subtle about changing the subject. "I'm glad to see you're okay as well. You said you were coming to town looking for some fun? What does that mean, exactly?" He smiled again, hoping he seemed casual enough in tone and manner.

"That's a relief. You know, this town and the people in it start to get to you, make you actually give a damn about what happens." he says as he sips the cider, enjoying the smooth and satisfying taste. He even make an approving nod and smile after putting the cup down. He was starting to feel much better.

"Well, I was here for fun and business really. Since the shipments have stopped, I still need to make some coin. I was going to ask Sylvaswift if he needed anyone. I hear he hires people to get him information and other things. I thought I would give it a try, it might be something I'll be good at. But he was busy at the moment and then this red headed goddess caught my eye. Now she was a lot of fun. Whew." he gave a broad grin towards Milo and raised his glass, as if to toast the woman he had recently met. "I had hoped to run into her again but all the Dark Brotherhood stuff kept me from seeking her out. She's a mage, which is a bit of a shame. I don't normally care for mages. Magic is a funny thing. Don't trust it." he took another long sip from his drink. "What about you? You and Lu still in love and happily living in the woods?" he teased the bosmer with a grin.

He smiled, deciding the Imperial's opinion of the town was a good sign. He also sipped the cider as he listened, paying careful attention.

"A red-headed mage?" he asked, suddenly concerned but trying not to let it show. He hoped Cesare wasn't talking about Lorys. "Human or elf?"

"Oh yes, Lu and I are just crazy about each other," he assured with a grin. "We've been staying in town for a few days, more safe during the troubles you know. But we'll be glad to head back out to our camp soon. There will be more privacy for the games we play." Milo thought his frankness about his half-sister's sex life might disuade Cesare from further questions along that avenue. Of course, Cesare could instead be curious or understand what Milo was doing and persist just to tease him.

"I hope Sylva does give you a chance, I think you'd fit well as a Stalker in the Sugar Claws. Honestly we could use the help of more people watching for threats and manipulating people in the right places." The bosmer had no problem supporting shadow games of politics and the occasional expedient death if it kept people safe at night in the end.

The concerned look he gave him caught him off guard, "Uh, Breton woman I believe, Leslie Harkle. You know her? Tall, long hair, great legs. She said she's from the mages guild. Is there something I should know? Is she dangerous? She seemed a well practiced mage but otherwise harmless. Very friendly though." he gave a little wink and chuckle, then took another sip of his drink.

After a moment, he remembered something, "You don't think she's the mage that possessed Lu, do you?"

Cesare raised his eyebrows when Milo mentioned 'games' very casually into their conversation about he and Lucrezia. He was curious, and had even asked Lu what she and Milo did when they were alone together. But she got pissed and nearly turned over the table before threatening him and storming off. He never asked again. He wasn't trying to be nosy, Cesare was just very open about sex. He didn't see any shame in discussing it at all.

"I'm glad you're staying in town where it's safe, it does make me feel a lot more at ease as well. And I don't doubt that the two of you are crazy for each other, I see the silly looks and grins you wear when you're together. If I wasn't a little bit of a romantic, it would sicken me." he joked, "Hopefully the drama will end soon and you can get back to your bedroom games. Though I'm curious as to what kind of games the two of you could come up with. You seem the polite sort and well, she doesn't seem very creative." he teased and sipped his drink again with a playful grin.

When Milo spoke of Sylva, he had his full attention again. "I'll speak to him, next time I have a chance. I just got a weird vibe from him the other day. He looked at me sort of coldly and I'm not sure why. I only met him a few times before that and it was never unpleasant. But you're right, I would enjoy that type of work. My skills as a thief and assassin could come in handy in a position like that."

Milo shook his head when Cesare asked about the mage. "No, thankfully. That other sorceress, Lorys, is locked away. She's a Bosmer with short red hair, if you ever do have the misfortune of meeting her. It sounds like you found a better time with that Breton, Leslie."

Back to the subject of their sex life, Milo wasn't sure how much he wanted to share with Cesare. He was generally a private person, not prone to bragging and very much a gentleman about not discussing his girlfriend's intimate qualities. Just a day or so before, he'd told John Wolf to mind his own business when their intimate relationship was even vaguely mentioned. On the other hand, he also didn't want to clam up while expecting Cesare to share his thoughts openly and look hypocritical. "We like to experiment," he said, trying to remain vague. "Lucrezia's actually quite imaginative. But you might be right. What I think is outlandish, you might say is boring in your wider range of experience. I might be interested if you shared some of that experience and perhaps gave me some creative suggestions that I might not think of on my own." There, some flattery to steer the Imperial away from talking about Milo and tell more about himself.

"Bosmer named Lorys with short red hair," he repeated, as if memorizing the description. "I'll be sure to look out for that one. Thank you." and he smiled when Leslie was mentioned again, "Yes, we spent a nice afternoon together. One that I wouldn't mind repeating if I ever saw her again."

The Imperial watched the bosmer closely, to see if he had struck a nerve or not. Cesare liked to play this game of his, to see how far he could push someone's buttons. He wasn't necessarily testing Milo or trying to be rude, he just wanted to see what limitations their conversations would have. And if he was any fun or not.

He was surprised to hear that they experiment and that Lucrezia was imaginative. But then he figured what they may think is kinky, would be just the norm for him. Certainly a pair of bosmer, one extremely awkward and the other carries himself as a proper gentleman, couldn't find much to do in bed other than try out a few positions. He nodded when Milo asked about his own experiences.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of really, lad. It's easy to get use to a few things and then stick with them for a while. But to keep you two from getting bored, I'd suggest spicing it up a bit. I've found that a lot people enjoy a few simple things like being tied up, public sex, spankings...There's a lot to work with. I've found that bringing another for you both to enjoy is really fun, but you have to be careful with that. Sometimes unwanted feelings could occur or some jealousy. Lu might be the possessive type so that might not be the way to go." Cesare got lost in talking about his many accomplishments in the bedroom. He told a story or two about some weird experiences he had back when he was a consort, completely forgetting about his curiosity of Milo and Lu's relationship.

It was difficult not to smirk at Cesare's suggestions, so he quickly took a drink of the hard cider to cover it. It was a shame he couldn't fake a blush as he tried to look shyly scandalized and embarrassed by the Imperial. He put on a coy smile and tugged at the collar of his shirt, "Oh... oh wow. I don't know about all that. I mean, it would take some convincing for Lucrezia. I don't know that I'm even ready for... another person, really? You've done that? I thought that was some kind of story that people tell."

Now he could smile and pretend it was envious interest. "Where did you find women like that? Were there more in Morrowind or Cyrodiil?"

Cesare chuckled at Milo's response to his suggestions, then he was grinning at his curiosity over threesomes. "Oh it's not just a tale. It happens. Sometimes very often for consorts. I've done it a few times. Usually with couples, though sometimes that ends badly. Once person enjoys the consort more than their spouse and it gets ugly. The most enjoyable one were these two friends, a man and a woman, the man was very skittish at first but by the end I dare say he was enjoying me more than his lady friend. It was quite the experience for him. Though I always had the most fun with two women."

He laughed again and sipped his drink. "Women like that are all over, Milo. I was just a kid in Cyrodiil so most of them were in Skyrim and Morrowind. In Skyrim I got to entertain lonely Nord wives that their drunk husbands neglected and confused men. And in Morrowind, well, I was surrounded by Dunmer so I was exotic and interesting to some of them and they would just play out some of their wildest fantasies with me."

Milo sipped the cider and smiled agreeably to Cesare's tales. "When you were in Morrowind, that's where you got involved with the assassins, right? Did they recruit you, or was it more like a business arrangement to captain their boat for them? Were you working with them long before you came to S'ren-ja?"

"No I was in Skyrim at the time. I was fourteen years old and was sleeping with this shop keeper's wife. He walked in on us one day and he came at me but I was quicker than he was and managed to toss him out the window. He was dead in an instant. So to save me and his old lady a lot of trouble, I made it look like an accident and it turned out one of the members were in the area, saw the whole thing and was impressed with my ability to not panic and think quickly on my feet. So they recruited me to help them cover their tracks when needed and eventually I moved up in ranks. When I moved to Morrowind, I seemed out the brotherhood there. They had heard of me and welcomed me there with them. So I've been with them a while. And use to be in a leadership role but that all changed when I started interfering with their attempts on Lu." His expression darkened as he paused for a moment to take a big gulp of his drink, finishing it off and wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"I've done some really shady things for them. Things that still haunt me to this day. But I couldn't go along with that. I finally had to draw a line. But the Brotherhood, they don't take kindly to bring told no. They only keep me alive to help them with coin but once that's gone..." He shrugged with a frown on his face. "It doesn't matter." He shook his head and gave Milo a smirk. "What about you? Did always want to be a merchant and join a Khajiit Clan?"

Milo was rather surprised that Cesare was being so open about his past. He also found it a compelling story, and made him a bit more inclined to see the Imperial stick around and perhaps help the Sugar Claws.

"Oh no, I never had a grand plan," Milo answered truthfully. "Becoming a merchant, following the Sugar Claws around and eventually joining them, that was all just taking the opportunities that I saw in front of me." He sat back, recalling his past and rearranging events as best he could to sound convincing and fluid.

"I was out on my own in Reaper's March as a teenager when bandits took my parents. I stayed with my aunt for a while but I was too restless and rebellious to stay long, so I went into Grahtwood. I hung around with a bunch of rebellious guys and learned how to live by the Right of Theft and to make myself useful to bosmer who were restricted by the Green Pact. Eventually I learned that I could talk someone out of their money more easily than I could pick their pocket, so I apprenticed to a merchant. Earning money legally was harder but safer than stealing, and I made friends all over Valenwood. I took on a job that brought me to Auridon, the city of Skywatch, and there were a bunch of khajiit forming a merchant's guild of sorts. I signed up on a whim. It was... difficult and chaotic, trying to get people to cooperate and there were some fights over who was in charge. Then a warehouse fire nearly destroyed the business. The whole operation moved to Woodhearth which I liked, it was closer to home, but I was still about ready to cut my losses. That's when I met your half-sister."

Cesare listened to Milo's description of his past. He couldn't tell if he was being honest or not, the bosmer could mask his expressions well. Cesare had been honest, he wanted to get to know his sister's boyfriend. He wanted to get to know anyone in this town. He was starting to feel very alone here, no doubt in his mind that was his own fault for being hard to get along with and not socializing with anyone. For a while he thought he was better than all of them. But now he was probably worse off than any of them. It was time for a change.

"You're from Reaper's March? You must be glad to be back home again. Are you planning on staying here long? Building a life here with Lucrezia?" he asked casually, while refilling his cup and then holding it up to offer to refill Milo's.

"A lot of traveling you've done. It's a shame that you were having trouble with business before, it's tricky trying to get yourself involved and well known, but it looks like your patience has paid off. You seem to do pretty well for yourself now."

The Imperial smiled and then looked at him curiously when his half sister was mentioned. "I was in Woodhearth around that time, researching the clan and checking up on Lu. At first I thought the two of you were a very odd couple. Complete opposites. Usually someone with your kind of knowledge and upbringing dosen't usually go after the wild ones. At least not for long term. But it seems the two of you are well matched. Hopefully it lasts." he commented, trying to compliment the relationship.

Milo nodded to his question and offered to refill Cesare's hard cider cup. "Yes, it's nice to be in familiar surroundings. I'll stay here as long as the Clan does, which I'm hoping is permanent but might not be. As far as building a life, well, I'll try to make us more comfortable than that little campsite we have now." He chuckled lightly.

"I haven't really been outside of Dominion territory, so I think you've done more traveling than I have. I'd like to see more of the world sometime, when I feel like the Clan is more stable. I feel like such a babysitter sometimes," he joked. "I want to see Skyrim's snows, and maybe Morrowind for all the strange plants and animals that live there."

At Cesare's compliment he smiled. "We are opposites in some things, it's true. In other ways we're very similar, and I think that combination just works for us. I find her exciting and fun, she thinks I'm romantic. I want it to last a long, long time, but I'm not going to pressure her into any commitments right away. We're still learning about each other and how we fit together. In a personality-sense," he quickly added to dispel any innuendo he might've created.

Cesare chuckled and accepted the refill. "So you do plan to have walls around you and a roof over your head. Good. That will be much more comfortable for you both." He thought for a moment and then gave an honest smile. "If you plan on building a home, I'd be happy to help, if you ever need it." He leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs. And this time when he spoke, it could possibly be noticed that his accent has dropped some, not being as strong as normal. A sign that the Imperial was feeling less guarded and tense. He was started to feel a little more comfortable around the Bosmer.

"I would suggest seeing both Skyrim and Morrowind sometime in your life. Both very different but beautiful in their own ways. The snow is hard to get use to at first but after a while, you start to love it." He said as he smiled, recalling a few happy memories of both places.

He then laughed at Milo's description of his relationship with Lucrezia. "Fun, excitement and romance? No wonder you two are attached at the hip. That's quite a mix. I haven't done relationships since I was a teen. Seemed like too much work for me. Hell, just one night stands can get messy these days." He said as he recalled one recent one night stand with a particular feisty Khajiit. One he hadn't seen in a while, now that he thought about it. "I hope I'm not keeping you from anything important." He said, now starting to feel like he may be over staying his welcome.

Milo was pleasantly surprised that Cesare would offer to help him build. "Do you know much about carpentry? I once helped my father put small fishing boats together and patch them up, but I'm not schooled in construction." It would be nice to find someone who knew a bit about architecture before they tried to begin the project.

"No, you're not keeping me Cesare," he assured the Imperial. "I keep my own schedule and I prefer it that way. The kitchen duties can wait a bit." He noticed the milder accent and thought it was curious, but chose not to comment on it. Cesare wouldn't be the first person he met who made extra effort to seem exotic and worldly. "Lucrezia is well worth the effort. She even lets me know when I'm trying too hard to impress her with excitement and romance when other women I've known would just soak it up and then leave when things cooled down. We can just be comfortable together, like best friends."

Cesare frowned some and then shook his head. "Afraid not. But I'm sure we can find someone that does. I can help with some heavy lifting or whatever you need. Believe it or not, these hands are no stranger to hard work." he smiled broadly and took another sip of his drink.

He was pleased to hear that he wasn't being an inconvenience. He was actually starting to enjoy himself. The more he talked to Milo and got to know him, the more he liked him and thought he was good for Lucrezia. He was pretty good at reading people and though he could tell that Milo masked a lot of his emotions, when he spoke of Lucrezia, he seemed to instantly brighten. It was cute, annoyingly cute. He couldn't help but chuckle as he spoke of her.

"Best friends. That's nice and hard to find. I haven't had a best friend since I was a small lad." he really started laughing when Milo said that Lucrezia would tell him when he was being too romantic. "That sounds like her. Very different from most women but it's not uncommon. I've met some that just hate romance and anything new or exciting. They can get pretty dull. Hopefully she's the perfect mix to keep you both happy. I'd hate to see the two of you split up over something as dumb as boredom."

He chuckled and nodded again at Cesare's offer of assistance. "There will be plenty of heavy lifting and I'm grateful for another pair of hands. Thank you. I expect we'll begin in a couple of weeks, after the lumber is bought and transported from Auridon. I wouldn't want to offend any local Green Pact followers by felling trees at the edge of the Valenwood."

Speaking of Lucrezia almost always did put him in a good mood. Milo's eyes would brighten and he smiled more easily and more often. He was beginning to like Cesare, too. The Imperial had a disarming casualness about him that made it easy to feel relaxed, and he was a good talker to boot. Eloquent, sometimes wry or sarcastic, but with infectious humor behind the words.

"I think Lucrezia is wonderful. For me it's like some storybook tale come true. We've been so happy, a small part of me just tensely waiting for reality to hit, you know? Like something terrible will happen to balance it all out." He thought back briefly for a moment on the trouble Lorys caused them both, and internally shivered to dispell the bad memory. "I hope that whatever comes just makes us stronger in the end."

"The two of you don't follow the Green Pact then? That's a relief. I think the Pact is a little ridiculous myself, very restricted, but everyone's free to follow whatever beliefs they want." The Imperial shrugged and began lightly tapping his fingers on the table. "Just let me know what you need me and I'll be there."

Cesare frowned when Milo talked of something possibly coming between he and Lucrezia and he noticed the bosmer's expression darken for only a split second, but it was there. "I'm sure there will be times when something or someone will try to come between the two of you, but if the relationship is as strong as you say, it shouldn't be an issue." he paused for a moment before continuing. "You look troubled, is there anything you want to talk about? I know I talk an awful lot, but I'm a good listener too." He gave the bosmer a smile and sipped his drink again.

Milo made a dismissive wave of his hand but there was clearly something troubling him by his sour expression and the way he avoided Cesare's gaze. He rotated his own cup of cider idly between his fingers on the tabletop while he spoke.

"I want to talk about it, and at the same time I want to forget it and pretend it never happened. There was someone who tried to come between Lucrezia and me. I was controlled, enslaved, by some kind of sorcery. It even twisted my thoughts so that... I enjoyed it." He made an expression of disgust. "It was... a humiliating and degrading experience. But what makes me really angry about the whole thing is how scared I am that it could happen again. And it could be worse. I feel powerless, like chance and fate are playing games with our lives."

He let the story flow out of him, feeling some small measure of the pain removed as he did so. Now he had to hope that Cesare could empathize with his dark tale despite his vagueness, withholding the details. He gave a little smirk and glanced up to try and read Cesare's reaction, thinking he probably wasn't expecting the Bosmer to open up about his personal troubles like that.

Cesare listened without saying a word. His expression went from smirking to frowning, then to shock and disgust. He knew there was a sorceress that was causing trouble in town but he didn't expect this. He immediately thought of the bosmer that Milo mentioned earlier.

"Who did that you? The same one that possessed Lucrezia? Is it that bosmer you told me about?" he asks, not realizing at first that he may be blurting out too many questions and doesn't want Milo to think he's interrogating him. "I'm sorry, I just...hate that this happened to you. This is why I don't like magic. It's...too unpredictable and you can't stop it."

Cesare didn't press further. He could tell that Milo was traumatized by the experience and he didn't want to make him feel even worse about it. He sat there for a minute, giving him some peace and quiet.

Milo sighed deeply, keeping his gaze lowered to the table between them for a moment. "Yes, that was her. Like I said, I'm trying to put the whole thing behind me. Us." He chose to pour himself some more and stayed silent for a bit, not knowing what to add or how to smoothly change the subject.

"Do you fish, Cesare?" he asked after an uncomfortable silence. "Do you like to go fishing with a rod and line? That's something we could do together if you wanted. There's a lot of decent streams running through this area, though we might have better luck going north to the river." He took a drink while Cesare answered, willfully ignoring the abrupt topic shift and his expression returning to a more neutral one of casual interest.

Cesare started to feel like his blood was boiling. That sorceress needed to be dealt with. She was causing too much trouble and possibly ruining lives and relationships. He went over Milo's earlier description of her in his head, memorizing it. He made up his mind that he would be paying this bosmer a visit. He needed to see what else she was up to. Cesare didn't trust the Guard to do what was necessary, there were always loop holes and ways to get around the law. He knew this very well. He didn't mention his plans to Milo. He only nodded and tried to put up a mask of just concern.

He didn't say anything about the subject being changed. He and Milo had said all that needed to be said on that subject and Cesare had all the information that he needed. As an experienced assassin, he only needed a few clues and bits of information about his target, then he would stalk his prey and plan his attack. This would be a satisfying kill for him.

"Oh I love fishing. It's very calming and entertaining for me. I use to fish off the ship all the time. It's been a while since I've fished in streams and rivers with a rod and line, but I don't doubt it would still be as enjoyable. We should get together sometime and make a day of it. That is, if I can get you away from my sister long enough to enjoy your company."

His last comment got a chuckle out of Milo. "We do spend a lot of time together. I'll let her know that I want to hang out with you, that should make her happy to hear." He wasn't aware of Cesare's plans as his concentration had slipped from trying to read the Imperial.

"I'll make sure we can have a day for fishing, soon. Bait is never hard to come by, with all the slow torchbugs buzzing around the March. I feel like they were harder to catch as a kid, when surely the opposite is true."

"I think she would like that. She's been getting on to me lately about us bonding." he chuckled and sipped his drink. "I suppose she just wants everyone to get along. Though she's been more insistent on it lately. Maybe she knows you need some time quiet time to relax and clear your head. Fishing's perfect for that."

He nodded and smiled broadly, "Sounds like a plan then. It will be nice to get out of the city for a day and just enjoy the quiet and scenery." he chuckled some more when Milo mentioned the torchbugs being harder to catch as a kid. "Everything was harder to catch then, mostly because you were only focusing on one at a time. As you get older, you watch them all, as a whole, and then pick off the slow and weak ones." he told him as he thought about how true that was to not just catching torchbugs, but to just about everything else in life.

Milo smirked and looked at Cesare with a sideways glance. "Are you sure we're talking about catching bugs?" He thought about it for a moment, then added, "Nevermind, I don't want to know." Instead, he thought about what else they might discuss. Childhood memories seemed a safe avenue.

"Some of my first memories were on a small boat with my father. He wasn't a very good fisherman, but he liked to be out on the water for a long time. We rarely went hungry, but he wasn't home very often. The more I think back on my parents, I wonder if they just stayed together because they had me."

Cesare let out a good loud laugh at Milo's reaction. He hadn't meant anything dark or dirty by it, just an observation of his own past. But then he remembered that his past was a dark one and he may have spoke of some things that he didn't mean to bring up.

He nodded and listened to Milo talk about his childhood. It made him frown a little to hear that his father wasn't around much. "I'm sorry to hear that. Every lad needs his father. When my died, it tore me up inside. I couldn't function for a while." he sipped his drink, thinking of those dark days. "You might be interested to know how Lu was as a child. She was much like she is now. Happy, wild, and tough. She was a lot younger and smaller than me, but she'd still trying to beat me up." he chuckled into his drink.

Milo shook his head, refusing Cesare's sympathy. "No, you misunderstand me. I spent a lot of time with my father, and my mother. It's just that I have a hard time recalling when they were actually together. I always saw my mother at home or in the village, and my father stuck to his fishing boat, the docks, and the wilderness."

He sipped his drink and smiled at Cesare's description of Lucrezia as a child. "That's exactly as I would have imagined her. She must have been adorable, too." Then more seriously, he added, "I lost my father and mother later on, but I still know the feeling. I was angry all the time, frustrated, and lonely. My aunt was truly divine for taking me in in that state. At least we can joke these days about how much angst I was carrying around then."

"Forgive me, the drink must be clouding my concentration." Cesare bowed his head to Milo and continued to listen. "It's good that you got to spend a lot of time with both your parents. Them not being together often might not be as strange as you think. A lot of times, couples marry for the sole purpose of reproducing and building a family. I've seen people marry that barely know each other the entire time they're married, but some how it works for them. I'm not sure if it's different for Bosmer. That's only my experience with Nords and Imperials."

He took another sip of his drink and continued, "I was set up to marry a pretty little thing back in Skyrim, before my parents split up. And the marriage was only so my father could strike up a business deal with her father. He was pretty pissed off when the girl caught me in bed with another and called the whole thing off." he chuckled again, thinking about the look on that girl's face and then frowned a little when he remembered how his father had reacted.

Then he frowned even more while listening to Milo's description of how he handled his parents death. It felt very close to how he handled it when his father died. "I'm sorry you lost your parents so young. It's good that you had other family to take you in, your aunt sounds like a saint. Most people wouldn't even bother, especially with angry boys because we can be a handful. When my father died, my own mother wouldn't take me in." he scowled at the thought of her. "But I had the Brotherhood at the time so I ended up getting taken care of, though it always came with a price." he said the last past of the sentence a little lower.

Cesare's musing on family ties actually made a lot of sense to Milo, though it wasn't easy for him to accept that his happy childhood hadn't been surrounded by as much love as he'd always assumed. "When I have a family of my own, it won't be that way," he declared as much to himself as to his drinking partner.

The mention of the Dark Brotherhood brought Milo out of his self-centered thoughts and he gave Cesare a look of sympathy. "Yeah, that's the way of the world sometimes. If parents or friends or whatever were a little more considerate of others, groups like the Brotherhood would dry up and vanish. Well, I'm glad you had the heart to look after Lucrezia. The Clan takes care of its people too, you know, and they don't ask much in return. Not normally as much as the Brotherhood, anyway."

The Imperial smiled at Milo's words about family. "That's a good goal to have. I truly believe it the parents are happy, the children will be even more happy. The first few years of my childhood were great, my parents were still in love then. But when my mother found out about my father's affairs, it just went downhill after that. I'd recommend starting your family with someone you would be happy with for the rest of your life. My father should have chosen wiser."

"You're very right, Milo. But everyone's only looking out for their own hide. It's good that your Clan is more civil now and cares about protecting it's people. It makes me feel better at night to know that Lucrezia is being looked after." he smiles and then shakes his head, "Well, at the time I was angry at her, but she was still my sister. I'm afraid I may have been able to help her better then but chose not to. Now we're all suffering for that little mistake of mine. So don't think highly of it, it really wasn't as much as I could and should have done. And that I'm truly sorry for."

"We all make mistakes Cesare. It's good that you want to make amends for them. And Lucrezia's capable of looking after herself now." He took another drink, looking around the tavern. "I've started to like this place. Not just because I grew up here, but because of the people I've met. I think it will grow on you, too."

smiles and nods at the Bosmer, "Thank you. I have been trying. Maybe I could try a little harder though." he said, actually considering the idea.

"I'm starting to like it here as well. It would be a nice place to live if it weren't for all the attacks and trouble that seem to attract to this place."