“That… is such a complicated question. In short, the places with the most fighting are the places you’re least likely to get wrapped up in it, since they’re the places that are actually politically neutral. But of course both sides want to take those to turn the tide of the war in their favor, so…”

”Uh, Riften is…”

“A hotspot of crime and corruption?” suggests Mjoll flatly.

“Yes, that, thank you. Let’s say that my first interaction with the city was an official guard attempting to shake me down for my money, which colored the rest of my visit.”

He nods. "That doesn't too safe, especially since I already don't have any local currency on me, so I suppose I will need to find another place to go. Hm...I guess I could do work mining, but I don't have a lot of experience with physical labor. Do you know if there's any place that have need for someone of a more intellectual bent?"

“I… there’s the college, but if you’re not a mage you won’t have any luck there. There’s the Bard’s College, but trust me when I say that Skyrim has terrible prospects for bards. I came here originally to get work as one, and the first letter I got was from a friend telling me that the pay was bad and I should go back to Cyrodiil. Um… what work did you do previously, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Mjoll, while they’re talking, waves the innkeeper over and orders a three plates of goat cheese and baked potatoes for a few coins, along with two bottles of mead. She distributes the plates (or wooden trays, really, with simple metal two-pronged forks) between them, and hands one of the bottles to Nathan. She opens the other and takes a drink herself.

"I...uh...didn't do much, honestly. Work is a lot harder to come by in America than in Skyrim, it feels like. Mostly I helped my dad, who grew medicinal herbs and spices and such. If you know any...I guess, alchemists, who want help growing materials?" He raises a hand to the offered bottle. "Never had a stomach for alcohol." He does dig into the potato though. Mm, hard to go wrong with baked potato.

She nods, and tucks it away into some kind of backpack.

“Alchemy’s pretty profitable? I… wouldn’t say work’s easy to come by, not if you like decent pay and non-terrible conditions. Most don’t do much farming for their materials; the ones that grow well, or at all, are the one’s that are already pretty cheap. I… hm. You do seem sensible enough; I’m tempted to hire you on myself, honestly.”

On the one hand, going with an adventurer sounds pretty dangerous, especially since he really doesn't have much to contribute to combat at the moment and is not fond of getting shot or stabbed or bludgeoned. On the other hand, not going with these two doesn't guarantee he's not going to get attacked, especially since there's a war on. Plus these two do seem reasonably competent, and if he works with them for a while he might get a better grasp of this whole new world things. After this consideration he nods. "I'd be willing to work for you, if you'll have me?"

“Ah, not fighting, to clarify- I meant, more, how are you with childcare, because currently my housecarl is doing it and that is super not actually her job in any way.”

"Ah, well I've never done it as a job, but I at least like to think I'm good with kids. I'm decent enough of at cooking and cleaning as well, not amazing but not atrocious either?"

“Hm. Hire you on for a trial period, ask Lydia to interfere if you’re terrible, and see if you’re a decent fit? Might need to sort out living arrangements, but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I… hm. How about I let you see how much stuff costs before talking about pay, that seems for the best.”

"Sounds like a plan," he agrees. "Oh I just realized I never actually introduced myself. I'm Nathan."

Presumably after they finish their meals, Nathan can check out the tavern's prices, the cost of a room at the town's inn, and maybe talk with the town's blacksmith Filnjar about how much various items might cost, before finding his way back to the group.

An inn room is ten gold, which is apparently a standard guild price! Meals tend to be priced in the two to five Septims range. A good weapon at the blacksmith might be anywhere from thirty Septims to several hundred depending on quality. A set of good steel plate is around five hundred Septims. If he asks, iron ingots cost five per in bulk.

He briefly wonders why gold seems so inflated compared to his world, but figures that's a relatively small difference compared the jump in tech level and especially the presence of magic,

Still, equipped with this basic knowledge of prices, Nathan thinks he's reasonably prepared to talk with Hallana about the housekeeping/babysitting job, with the expectations of probably something like 40-ish coins a month.

“Hello!” she greets him cheerfully once he’s back. “Got the money worked out, then? There would probably be more expensive items in the big cities, but I think this should be fine to get a basic idea?”

Nathan nods. "Yeah, I think so! Assuming I live in the house, I was thinking that 40 Septims a month would probably be reasonable? Naturally I'm open to negotiation on that if it's unreasonable."

“…Right, that makes sense, but I *am* willing to pay for loyalty, and the cities often have more expensive goods.. Sixty a month, ninety after the trial period, plus a reasonable stipend for clothes, food, etc, I’ll sort out the specifics there later. If you get any bribes, tell me and I’ll deal with it, then give you double the amount.”

Bribes? He's a little surprised at the possibility, but tries to not let is phase him. "Oh, alright, I obviously won't turn down higher pay."

He guesses he has a job now? It's an odd feeling, and yet also nothing in particular has changed. Aside from being in a whole new world that has magic and dragons, of course. He's gotten the basic info, but maybe he could know a bit more about Hallana? Maybe also why people would be bribing him?

They’ll have plenty of time to talk! It’s a decently long walk to Riften, which they don’t enter, but instead purchase a carriage ride to Whiterun, which isn’t particularly pleasant but has the virtue of not needing to walk. They’re only attacked by wolves twice; apparently large parties tend to scare them off. Bandits, unfortunately, are not usually scared off by large parties.

”Get down!” Hallana shouts, before setting the person threatening to kill her if she doesn’t empty her pocketbooks on fire. Mjoll jumps out and hits the individual with her sword (it looks to be some kind of green glass?), and Hallana starts channeling some sort of spell, aimed near the bandit’s friends.

Nathan does indeed get down! Some part of him, unfamiliar to his conscious mind, attempts to reach out towards the cart and horses only to find itself painfully incapable. Despite the peculiar twinge, Nathan continues to keep himself away from the danger and avoid doing anything eye-catching.

The bandits are killed and looted relatively quickly; one does get close to the carriage, but the horse kicks her to death. A bundle of weapons, armor, and a few coins are placed in the back, and the ride continues.

Nathan tries very hard to not look at any of the dead bodies for very long. Crushed spiders is one thing, even giant ones, but dead people is whole other thing. He will probably be processing that for the whole rest of the ride and consequently be pretty quiet, though he'll still be responsive to questions and the like.

Hallana and Mjoll seem pretty content to ride in silence! Nothing else particularly eventful happens, and they reach Whiterun within a few more hours. Mjoll goes to sort out the living situation, inviting Nathan to go with her, while Hallana goes to report a bounty of some kind and sell the loot. 

“Right, I just need to sort out the rooming situation - we were saving up for a larger home, actually, so your timing wasn’t ideal… but I think we can divide off part of the loft for you, and put down some bedding easily enough. Hm, I wonder if getting an expansion would require a permit.”