”I take you've been bothering Adrianne? You'd better be careful or her husband will pound you into the ground until just your head pokes out. Then I can charge people to see the amazing bodiless man.” Narasa smiled around her mead at him, teasing.
Kotadal couldn't help but share her smile, grinning a wide grin of his own and letting out a boisterous laugh, "Hey! What can I say? She's quite the beautiful woman," A curvy gesture was made with battle-callused hands, "and I'm lusting for a wife of my own. So, if The Old Bear buries me to the neck and leaves me for the skeevers, so be it!" He all but shouted the last bit, merry as ever and catching the attention of a few neighboring drunkards, rocking back in his chair in delight. It was nothing but the truth he spoke. Ever since he made it to Skyrim so many winters ago, his one goal was to catch a wife. Kota fell in love easily, having a fastened heartbeat for almost every woman he's met. The problem so far is getting them to return the feeling.
"Speaking of beautiful women." Kota mused as the chair beside Narasa slid out, and was quickly occupied by Ograza and her monstrous warhammer, who nodded to him in greeting. Kota returned the greeting with a wide smile and a small wave. She inquired Narasa about her wary state, and suggested Narasa take up a battleaxe of her own. Kotadal couldn't help but snort at the suggestion, and not quietly.
However, his joking manner ebbed away slowly as Ograza asked about the reason they were here, if not just for drinks and merriment. Kotadal leaned forward keenly, folding his hands neatly beneath his chin to listen intently as their leader grabbed their attention, ”I'm not sure. I ran into this guy named Dereod in the market stalls today who said he's heard of us, and wants to hire us to retrieve something from a tomb. He set he'd meet us here and give the details. But be warned.” He found himself leaning in farther in anticipation as she paused to swig down the rest of her mead, ”He's a tool. But a rich tool, based on the fancy clothing he was wearing.”
As Narasa continued, Kotadal's expression hollowed slightly, “The job might be difficult. After Hagmar left to live his life for Kynareth by living off of nature as naked as the day he was born... That leaves us one member short. We might have a hard time with just the three of us, so we need to be extra careful.”
"No good goddess-lover." Kotadal muttered with an uncharacteristic bitterness. He had always been quite fond of Hagmar. He might have even considered him a friend at one time, but he was no better than a traitor now. At least, in Kota's eyes, "Placing The Divines before ones allies makes you no better than a deserter--" A fourth occupant joining their table made Kota stop abruptly from his rant. The Nord stranger sat in complete silence, comfortable as if he were a friend, eyeing each of the mercenaries in turn, seeming to be sizing them up.
Kota's hand moved on it's own, sudden alarms sounding inside his head, reaching over his shoulder at a snail's pace for the hilt of his sword. Everything in Kotadal's mind screamed that this guy was a threat, a stranger, an unknown variable. The Nord, if only currently, was a danger to his allies. He was all but ready to spring to his feet when The Nord's eyes rested on Narasa for a moment too long, when he finally spoke, making Kotadal pause, "Who are you?"
Baffled, Kotadal glanced to his allies, his hand still on his sword, wondering who this strange Nord was. He felt obliged to wait for Narasa to answer, but the Nord didn't give any of them the chance, "I've been listening to your conversation for quite a while now. From what I gathered, I assume that you are a... Group with certain abilities and contracts. If that proves to be true... I possess certain abilities and skills, that I believe you can utilize." The Nord took so many pauses that it seemed he was just coming up with this on the spot.
Releasing his hand from his sword's hilt, Kotadal relaxed his arm, though the stiffness in his shoulders didn't release, "Before you go making offers," He started out warily, looking The Nord straight in the eye as he spoke "How about a name? Yours would be preferable, but any will do"