It all starts with Ma'iq. This one was working the streets of Leyawiin, and let's say she knew Ma'iq well He told her one day that he'd come across a farm for sale in Anvil County. The soil was poor, and the property abandoned, but the farmhouse itself was sound. The Countess was eager to sell it off, so that it didn't become a haven for bandits or marauders, so the price was very low, something even this one might afford.

"This one, a home-owner?" she asked, disbelieving.

"Would I lie?" he asked. "To you, I mean."

It certainly sounded like a good idea, the way he described the place. Not too far from town, a price this one really could afford, as long as she didn't need to spend any gold repairing the place. She'd traded for services before, so she imagined that fixing it up shouldn't be a problem. It certainly would be nice to have a permanent roof over her head instead of using bedrolls and dark doorways. The poor land wasn't an issue, as this one wasn't going to become a farmer.

You may think her foolish, but this one gave Ma'iq all the gold she had to go ahead to Anvil and buy the farm for her. This one found out later that he had to add some gold of his own, but he didn't tell her that. She arrived a few days after and found that the previous owners had a left a small amount of furniture behind, including a real bed! That helped her thank Ma'iq properly.

The first customer was the Legion Patrolman, a fortunate circumstance, as it always helps to have the law on your side. This one set up an arrangement with him, where he'd bring supplies from town, in return for a discount for the Legion. He passed the word to some of the guard in Anvil, who are always helpful in giving strangers directions. Pretty soon there was a steady stream of visitors, all without this one setting foot in town.

Getting the place fixed up went much as expected. There was lot of labour given in lieu of gold, as well as not having to buy the materials. The men were making the place comfortable for themselves as much as for this one, after all.

Of course, one reason things were going well was that Khajiiti are rare in this business, and that made this one special. Most female Khajiiti are so ruled by the moons that they aren't interested for most of the month., When they are, it's so intense they'd never think to ask for gold, or to sheath their claws! This one doesn't know why she's different. There must be a bit of human or elf in her ancestry, she supposes.

But then Faustina and Signy turned up. They'd been working at the Flowing Bowl in Anvil, they told her, and heard about her activities at Gweden from the customers there. Faustina proposed a "merger". as she put it. They'd join her at the farm and in return, not report her to the Countess .

"Report this one? For what?"

"Running an unlicenced brothel, of course. Don't you know the Castle has to approve any business operating here?"

She didn't know any such thing. This one was a full paid-up member of the Guild, and had never heard of any county needing licences before. But then again, she'd not owned her own property before, either. Were the rules different if you weren't on the streets?

To make a long story short, Faustina convinced this one that she should let her and Signy stay at the farm and "help". That was a bad idea. Pretty soon this one found out that they were robbing the men, instead of giving them what they'd paid for. You don't get repeat customers that way, even if you do get a bit more gold than they were prepared to give you. This one was going to throw the two of them out, but Faustina pulled out a wicked-looking dagger and threatened her with it.

"You're part of this gang, just as much as we are," she said. "If you go to the watch they'll just throw you in jail. They'll think you're the ringleader, since you own the place."

This one didn't know the Anvil watch well enough to contradict that. She never went into town, and only knew the few who were customers before Faustina and Signy arrived. Decent sorts, but a bit literal-minded and unbending when it came to the law. This one could imagine Faustina was right.

This one became a prisoner in her own home. Faustina and Signy would go into town and look for men to lure back to the farm. She'd have to stay behind, and they locked the door when they left. She went to the basement when the men came. She didn't want any part of their scheme.

Then one night, the man who turned up was a bit less gullible than the others. Apparently, he didn't put down his weapon and undress like the others, but confronted the women. The stupid pair attacked him! This one ran up from the basement to try and stop the fight, but it was all over and Faustina and Signy were dead. A couple of guards from Anvil came in and took their bodies away, and paid the man for his help.

That man is now the Champion of Cyrodiil.

After the guards left, we talked. He told this one the story of how Maelona and Gogan had recruited him to act as the Sirens' next victim. They were supposed to follow him in and arrest the gang, but all the hard work was over before they turned up. He'd also had to convince them that this one wasn't involved, as she'd been assumed part of the gang. She had a bounty that was more than she'd paid for the farm!

Realising just how much she owed this man, this one told him the farm was his, and proposed that she re-open the original business and work for him. If he could recruit a few more girls to help, honest ones this time, he could have a good source of income here. This one is good at persuading, but it didn't take much .

He already knew a likely candidate, just down the road at the next farm. Her husband had run off and left her, taking a family heirloom with him. He'd just retrieved that for her, and she was now a widow. Maeva the Buxom, he called her, and it fits her well. Maeva not only comes to work part-time at Gweden, she brings us fresh produce from her own farm.

At that time, the Champion was travelling around Cyrodiil closing Oblivion gates and collecting items for Martin's attempt to recover the Amulet of Kings, so it wan't hard for him to check in each city for likely girls to work here. Each of them has a tale to tell of the Champion. Would you like to hear them?