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"I must say Nim, you've really outdone yourself here," said Delvin, eyes darting around the Ragged Flagon in awe. Hundreds of thousands of brightly coloured lights decorated the walls. Red, green, blue, gold light scattered and danced across the cistern's water and the cobblestone floor and walls. Upon closer inspection, the lights seemed to be shaking, and letting off a soft hum.
"Why thank you Delvin," Nimre replied, uncorking a bottle of Black-Briar Mead with a smile.
Delvin turned back to Nimre, eyes still alight with child-like wonder. "Now, how in Oblivion did you manage to pull that off? I wouldn't have picked you for a mage. It's amazing how you could get all these torchbugs like this!"
Nimre raised her eyebrows playfully at Delvin. "Well, you know, I just have a few, let's say… hmm…" she thought long and hard, her smirk growing. "Connections? Maybe? And leave it at that."
"Well, I'd be very interested in meeting this connection of yours, could be quite an asset to the Guild."
Nimre bit her lip to try and stifle a giggle. "Ummm… I don't exactly think he'd be willing to uh, do anything for us anytime soon…"
Delvin squinted hard at his boss. "How come?"
"Well," Nimre said softly. "I may or may not have found a mage."
"That much is obvious," Delvin said dryly.
"And I may or may not have told him that if he doesn't decorate the flagon, I will tell his wife about his, ahhh, hmm, how do I say this," she muttured, searching her brain for the right words. "Activities involving a potion of fire resistance and his Flame Atronach? And before you ask Delvin, I am NOT disclosing how I became aware of that information."
Delvin laughed, shaking his head. "You cheeky devil Nim. A good reminder to never get on your bad side."
"Smart move," she laughed.
Nimre and Delvin kept themselves occupied with a lot of mead, while The Ragged Flagon grew louder and more lively as the Guild filed in, all carrying different sorts of packages.
"Just put them under the tree!" Nimre called out lazily, gesturing vaguely to the corner. A small, decorative tree had been put up, courtesy of Vekel. He had taken the whole thing, roots and all out of the ground, and plonked it in between two crates. It leaned dangerously, threatening to topple over at any minute, but somehow it held. Thistle branches were adorned with more torchbugs, broken lockpicks, and a suspicious amount of gleaming gemstones. Perched up on the top was a large, decorative golden star. The pile of gifts under the tree grew bigger and bigger with each Guild Member that came. Some gifts were bigger, some smaller. Some were neatly wrapped in ornate cloth, others hastily bundled up in rags. It didn't take long for everyone to file into the Flagon. Even Karliah came out from Nightingale Hall. There was a buzz in the air, as Vekel handed out his own special spiced mead. It also didn't take long for somebody to drink too much.
"Sapphire, this next one goes out to you," said Vipir, holding a lute. It was a new hobby, and one that wasn't entirely popular with the other members of the Guild.
"Oh for fuck's sake," Sapphire groaned into her hand, before she made her way up to Vekel at the bar.
"I… don't want a lot for Saturalia…" Vipir sang, his voice wobbling, his lute out of tune. "There is just one thing I need…"
"Vipir, shut it!" Sapphire yelled. She stormed over, drink in hand. And without any hesitation, she dumped it all over him.
"Okay, come on, let's behave ourselves here! Vipir, lad, please, none of us want to be subjected to your rendition of Last Saturalia," said Brynjolf, wrestling the lute out of his hands.
"Nimre! Come on, what happened to not stealing from other Guild members?!" Vipir protested, as Brynjolf held the lute aloft, and stuck it safely behind the bar.
Nimre ignored him. "Anyways, I think it's time for Secret Sanguine!" and she began to make her way over towards the tree.
The Guild followed her over, into the corner. "Now, you all know how this works. We'll open our gifts at the same time, and then afterwards, figure out who our Secret Sanguines are!" And with that, she began to hand out gifts. "Alright Bryn, this is now yours," Nimre said, as she handed him a small, neatly wrapped parcel. "And this one's for… Tonilia! My goodness, that label's hard to read," she muttured, as she passed her a package. It went on for a while, Nimre handing out presents left, right and centre calling out names. Before long, everyone was holding a gift of some sort.
"Can we open these yet lass?" Brynjolf asked, shaking his present around and grinning from ear to ear.
"Sure can," Nimre smiled back. And with that, bits of cloth and twine flew everywhere. There was chatter amongst the Guild, as everyone excitedly discussed their presents.
"Lute Basics? Who got me this?" Vipir asked, holding up a book, eyeing it suspiciously.
"If you're going to try and serenade someone, you should try being good first," Sapphire giggled.
"Oh, these are really beautiful," Niruin said, carefully examining half a dozen sleek, silver arrows.
"Thought you'd appreciate them," said Karliah, as she examined a carved stone pendant.
Nimre struggled a little with getting her fingers around the intricate knots that tied up her gift. It was the largest out of everybody, and the most meticulously wrapped. But finally, after losing patience and reaching for her dagger, she had managed to unwrap her present.
"A statue of Dibella?" she asked, holding the gold and silver statue in the gleaming lights.
"Ay lass," Brynjolf smiled, walking up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Thought it would look nice in Honeyside."
"Oh Bryn, what are you playing at?" Nimre teased with a wink.
Brynjolf raised a brow at her. "You can find out later if you want lass," he said quietly. "But anyways, it's a good party that you've managed to put on," he said a little later.
"Thank you," Nimre replied. "Can't think of a better way to spend Saturalia."