Fire Alarms and Sprinklers...Oh what fun (Issy)

 Despite what Baurus might think of them, the imperial city sewers are not my idea of fun. Sure, they’re useful when it comes to his work as a Blade and he enjoys wandering around finding new routes to get from place to place unseen. However I for one find them dark, damp, and mildly creepy- at least sometimes. Cutting down the last zombie that stands in my way I head for the ladder returning to the surface, ah fresh air. The warm evening allows my clothes to dry at least partly as I run my errands and drop off the items that lead me to the sewers in the first place. With that done, it’s high time I go take a shower.

Returning to the little room I’d paid for at Luther Broads Boarding House, an inn that Baurus had introduced me to that has better accommodations than my bed and chest at the arcane university, the innkeeper looks at my wet clothes and waves me off in the direction of the stairs. A silent signal to say go clean up first and then if you want food come back down here. It’s understandable, running around in drain water and who knows what else makes what ones wearing not the most socially acceptable attire when it comes to both appearance as well as smell. Locking the door behind me I drop my things and begin the precarious process of taking off layers of armor and setting them off to the side until I’m left in just my clothes. They’re less of a mess than the armor, which took most of the damage, but still in no acceptable state. Running the shower to allow it to warm up I discard the shirt and pair of trousers in the pile with everything else.

Warm water really does wonders for sore muscles and an otherwise beaten body, this is just what I needed. So often cleaning up is a quick business before moving on to the next task at hand, as a result this time to myself allows me to feel more relaxed than I have in weeks. By the time I’m done the room is filled with steam though it quickly clears away once the source of it stops. I think about changing into an actual set of clothes and going downstairs for dinner but decide I have substantial food here already, and instead change into my nightclothes. Dinner is simple, bread and cheese with a few other things I’d found stuffed in my bag or that were left in the room, nonetheless it’s filling.

After dinner I read for awhile, various things ranging from the details of my next contract for the dark brotherhood, to my instructions from The Grey Fox to break into the imperial palace which unfortunately requires another trip into the sewers, to some information on the philosophy of The Mythic Dawn. It’s all fascinating, each in their own right, yet a sleepiness comes over me and I wind up falling asleep.

I wake up in the chair I’d been sitting in with the book on the Mythic Dawn laying still open on my chest, by now it’s the middle of the night. Placing a page marker in the book I set it aside and with a grumble to myself crawl into bed. I sleep for awhile longer before being awoken by a cold wetness and annoying continuous ringing and realize it’s a fire alarm- the sprinklers are going off. Thankfully I don’t have anything out that can get ruined by the water. Mumbling my annoyance to myself I put on my closest pair of shoes and grabbing the key open the door, heading downstairs and outside. I didn’t smell any smoke, and it didn’t feel warm when I was coming down the stairs, I didn’t even see any fire. If this is a false alarm I may just wring the innkeepers neck. A group of guards come to assess the situation and thanks to a handy invisibility spell I avoid being seen, I don’t remember my current bounty or if I even have one, but they’ve come to recognize me based on sight alone given my history. After they leave the innkeeper addresses the waiting patrons as we stand in the street, there was in fact a small fire in the basement however it’s been contained and we are free to go back to our rooms. I make a mental note to check out the basement when I have time, for now my primary objective is to change once more and go back to sleep.

Once in bed again I lay there for awhile, most of my things didn’t get all that wet and those that did were waterproof enough to be unharmed. At least it was clean water this time, things could have been worse. Fire alarms and sprinklers were not on my list of things to encounter in this sprawling city, now I at least know to prepare for the unexpected midnight fire.

 Fatigue gets the better of me in the end and I fall asleep once again, waking up early in the morning as usual for a light breakfast and gathering my things. This was a nice if brief change of pace, but more important things await. The innkeeper watched me curiously as I exit the building and step out into the street as the sun rises over the hills before disappearing out of sight. I stick to the shadows by nature and avoid guards with ease as I pass through the various districts of the Imperial city until I reach one of the gates that lead out of it and into greater Cyrodiil beyond, a sprawling country with its own cultural and political divides depending on where one is, the perfect place for a spy, a thief, or an assassin, or all of the above, to thrive. I open my map and look at the roads across the bridge, all leading in different directions marked with various major cities and towns. Now where to next- Cheydinhal, Bruma, or Anvil?