Pricking the Needle

Pricking the Needle was a virtual representation of one of Eivor Varinsdottir's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan in 2020 through the Portable Animus HR-8.5.
==Description==
Eivor hunted the Order member known as The Needle in Jorvik. She was first told to search Jorvik's Trade Depot for any clues, as well as to solve its ongoing disputes.
==Dialogue==
After talking with Ljufvina Bjarmarsdottir about the recent demise of The Firebrand, Eivor was told to visit the docks and Trade Depot to ascertain what actions were made between the merchants and the dockmaster. As Eivor arrived at the Trade Depot, she started investigating.
*Eivor: Jorvik's trade depot. This must be where the merchants' wares are being kept.
Eivor then talked to the depot's front guard.
*Eivor: The Dockmaster, I do not see him. Is he here?
*Norse Man 1: Fuck off
*Eivor: There must be another way in.
After finding an entrance through the depot's roof, Eivor made an observation.
*Eivor: The depot is guarded by the Red Hand. The Order has a stake in these docks.
Within the depot, Eivor overheard two bandits arguing.
*Norse Man 2: What are you doing? You're supposed to be in the market!
*Norse Man 3: I know, I... I forgot which merchants to collect from.
*Norse Man 2: I cannot believe this. Black cloth. On their stalls. Gods, never you mind. Someone else will take care of it. You are playing with fire, boy. The Needle is known to sting for far less than this.
Meanwhile, Eivor noticed scrolls on a table.
*Eivor: It seems like the complaints by the merchants never reached the council.
As she made her way to the lower level and disposed of the guards, Eivor reached and opened a door. There, Eivor noticed rugs to the side of the room.
*Eivor: Seized exotic wares. These are worth plenty, something that could be on the Red Hands' agenda. Accumulating wealth.
Across to the other side of the room, Eivor also noted a letter on a table.
:Written OrdersI expect all the coin from merchants to be delivered to my office daily. Their stalls draped in black are not hard to find. Do not fail me again.
*Eivor: "The sting of a Needle..." I'm on his trail... So the dockmaster seizes cargo and resells it through merchants in the marketplace. The ones involved bear black cloths. I may be able to get their attention by showing some silver around the marketplace.
Eivor left the depot and headed towards Coppergate Market to investigate.
*Eivor: Coppergate market. I'll flash some silver to the merchants. That should get their attention.
Eivor talked a merchant at his empty stand.
*Eivor: Hey, friend. I have a hoard of silver I am aching to spend. Can you help me? What have you got?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 1: I have nothing left to trade, but Coppergate market is the right place. Ask around, you'll find someone who will bend an ear.
*Eivor: My thanks.
Eivor then found a merchant near the bridge.
*Eivor: Hear me, friend. I have a haul of silver that will sink my ship. Can you help me spend it?
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 1: Keep it down, would you? You'll get yourself killed, flaunting like that, especially around here!
*Eivor: What good is a market if I cannot sniff around the stalls, eager to spend my gains?
*Anglo-Saxon Woman 1: You want to let go of your silver? Try the narrow alleys. Now begone.
Eivor then headed to a rug merchant.
*Eivor: I hear this marketplace sees its fair share of silver pass through. I have something that may interest you.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: You will want to speak Grigorii.
*Eivor: The dockmaster?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: Sorry, who are you?
*Eivor: Someone who wants to do business. With Grigorii.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: I don't know your face, and I've said too much already. Please go.
Within the rug merchant shop, a little boy eavesdropped and whispered at Eivor.
*Anglo-Saxon Boy 1: Psst. Psst! Hey!
Eivor walked towards the child.
*Anglo-Saxon Boy 1: Did I hear you talking about silver?
*Eivor: I am looking to spend a large sum, not fork it over to some street beggar.
*Anglo-Saxon Boy 1: Oi! I'm no beggar, you dolt. I'm with the big dogs.
*Eivor: You mean The Needle?
*Anglo-Saxon Boy 1: You have something he wants. If you truly want to make a trade, head to the statue near the east gate.
*Eivor: I shall. Watch yourself around here, young one.
*Anglo-Saxon Boy 1: Who me? Ah! Please, I've a bigger sword than the lot of 'em.
Among the people, Eivor overheard some of the Red Hand bandits talking.
*Norse Man 4: Keep your focus. There was trouble at the depot earlier.
*Norse Man 5: What do you mean, trouble?
*Norse Man 4: I don't know for sure, but The Needle is calling for more protection. Meet me here at nightfall. We will go see him together.
Eivor then stated to herself.
*Eivor: Those guards will return after dark. I might be able to follow them to The Needle.
Eivor then passed by more bandits talking.
*Norse Man 6: We will go one by one, and if any of these peddlers gives you a hard time, remind them just who it is they work for.
*Norse Man 7: O', with pleasure.
:If Eivor stole the key from one of the bandit guards at firsthand, she stated to herself
*Eivor: A key. Where to?
:If attacked, the guards addressed Eivor.
*Norse Man 4: I will eat your eyes and make soup of your bones.
Eivor then headed towards the statue.
:If Eivor had not stolen the key, she thought to herself.
*Eivor: This is the statue the child talked about. Now, to find the hidden key.
:Eivor found the key.
*Eivor: Found the key. Now, to locate the hideout.
With the key in hand, Eivor located the Red Hand's hideout.
*Eivor: Empty cart ... and a black cloth marking the house. This is the place.
Eivor unlocked the door and found a secret passage to the sewers.
*Eivor: Hiding among the rats, Needle? Fitting.
Eivor went down the ladder, through the sewer passage, and came to a gated entry.
*Eivor: There must be another way in.
Eivor found her way around the sewer and swam through its waters to a secret workshop.
*Eivor: The sound of metal... A workshop, in the sewers. What is the Needle's operation?
Eivor explored further.
*Eivor: All this silverware... some still in their crates. Has this all been seized as well? They are melting the silver into bars and coins. What do they plan on doing with it?
Eivor then observed from above as she heard a commotion below from one of the workers.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 3: No, please! Don't do this! I promise... I promise you your silver next week! Please! Don't do this. It's a misunderstanding. That's all. I'll pay.
*Norse Man 8: You had your chance. Faster! Or would you prefer another thrashing?
Eivor retrieved a key from one of the bandits, then opened the locked door and entered. Inside, she saw a happy then startled Grigorii, who sat at a table with laden with stolen goods.
*Eivor: I am not surprised to find you creeping down here.
Eivor walked towards him, despite the gated bars between them.
*Grigorii: You! You don't belong down here.
*Eivor: "We run a clean dock in Jorvik." I believe those were your words. And yet here I find you, swimming in silver from all the wares you seized. Are you the Needle, or just another of his pawns?
*Grigorii: You have it all wrong. The fabric of this world has been used up, torn, shredded, you see. Someone must be there to stitch it back together. Someone with a firm yet steady hand. Who can thread a needle. Someone like me.
*Eivor: You're a shit poet, but at least my question is answered.
Grigorii laughed.
*Grigorii: Yes, well, we all have our weaknesses. Yours appears to be the iron between us.
*Eivor: Think your men are going to stop me?
*Grigorii: I would not undermine them so. The Red Hand are loyal to our cause. Which is more than I can say for the merchants. Make it quick. Meet me in the marketplace when you are done.
Grigorii left Eivor to deal with two bandits and a rabid wolf. After defeating them, Eivor escaped the sewers.
*Eivor: That damned bacraut (asshole)... slipped through my fingers. I'll finish this in Coppergate market.
Eivor headed back to Coppergate market and caught sight of Grigorii with the rug merchant she talked to before.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: P-please, no! I-I can explain! Mercy!
*Grigorii: No need. I am well versed in the spouting excuses of bottom-feeders like you. Come come... walk with me. It is good to walk.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: Grigorii...
*Grigorii: Good to take in the air. The sights. The sounds. The smells.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: P-please, Grigorii. I-I-I didn't think you would mind. It was just a few coins!
Grigorii grabbed the man's head.
*Grigorii: Shh shh ... I understand. It's not your fault, it was mine, for thinking you had anything but empty air between your ears.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: With all the silver I've given you, I have nothing left to feed my children, let alone myself. Please, understand.
Grigorii took out his dagger.
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: O, dear God...
*Grigorii: Merchants of Jorvik. I promised you a future rife with opportunity. And what was the one thing I asked in return? Do you remember?
*Anglo-Saxon Man 2: Loyalty.
Grigorii suddenly shouted at the rug merchant.
*Grigorii: Loyalty!
Grigorii stabbed the rug merchant multiple times in the abdomen, killing him.
*Grigorii: Let this serve as a lesson, should any of you think it a good idea to threaten my operation.
Eivor looked for an opportunity as Grigorii continued talking.
*Grigorii: I run this operation. I do the thinking. You do as you're told.
Eivor followed him along the rooftops while he continued to shake down the market.
*Grigorii: It is a simple demand. I bring you the wares. You get rid of them. You give the coin to my men and you don't. Ask. Questions.
As he moved through the market, his guard detail dispersed and the clear lines of sight bended into secluded corners.
*Grigorii: You. I expect your payment by next nightfall. Do not fail me.
Eivor took her opportunity and assassinated Grigorii. In the Memory Corridor, Eivor walked to Grigorii, who stood in a simulation of the market square and stared off into the distance.
*Grigorii: It's funny, as a child I thought of snow as the tears of God, frozen by our sins. Weak with hunger, I stared into the sky, hoping it was me He wept for. Me He sought to save.
Grigorii turned to Eivor.
*Grigorii: But God did not save me. The Vault did. He took me to a fine house. Gave me hearty meals. A warm bed.
Grigorii then looked away and reminisced of the past. 
*Grigorii: For the first time, someone extended a hand, showed me kindness. Compassion.
Grigorii walked further away into the darkness.
*Grigorii: And it was then that I made a vow. I vowed to never turn my back on he who was there for me when God was not.
As Grigorii turned back Eivor as she walked towards him.
*Eivor: So you served The Vault, knowing full well what he was a part of.
A ghostly Odin then walked into the conversation.
*Grigorii: The Order made our paths intersect. I owed them a debt, and I repaid it by saving this city from its own destruction.
*Odin: A life debt is a strong motivator. It took hold of this one's hugr, drove it, and never let go.
As Eivor replied, Odin looked away and then walked off.
*Eivor: Yet not with the same compassion you were shown. Too many have suffered by your hand in pursuit of this cause.
*Grigorii: You're right. Perhaps I deserve this death. But I am but one cog in a large wheel. One that still turns unhindered.
Eivor took Grigorii's Order medallion as he talked. 
*Eivor: Not for long.
Upon this action, Grigorii's spirit turned to ice and exploded, then his spirit immediately vanished. 
*Eivor: Where you have gone, there will be no tears waiting for you.
Eivor then walked away. She defeated the remnants of Grigorii's entourage and made her way back to the royal hall, where she conferred with Ljufvina.
*Ljufvina: What news do you bring?
*Eivor: The Needle will never sting again.
*Ljufvina: Well done, Eivor. Who was hiding behind the name—
Hjorr dashed in and interrupted them.
*Hjorr: My love. There has been an attack at the markets. The dockmaster, Grigorii, is dead.
*Eivor: The Needle. Sold off the wares he seized to collect silver for The Vault.
*Hjorr: He had no such authority, why would anyone believe him?
Eivor presented the council seal she found among Grigorii's personal effects.
*Ljufvina: The council seal. That rat!
*Hjorr: This is getting out of hand. How he was able to obtain this is... concerning. I must return and prepare for the Yuletide feast, but I will do so with a bent ear and a keen eye. Be safe.
Hjorr left them.
*Eivor: One down, two left.
*Ljufvina: The Christian texts will lead to another, I'm sure of it. Search the archives.
==Outcome==
Eivor found and assassinated The Needle, thus ending his manipulation and thievery of the merchants in Jorvik.
==Gallery==
ACV Pricking the Needle 1.png|Eivor visiting the Trade Depot
ACV Pricking the Needle 2.png|The guard chasing Eivor away
ACV Pricking the Needle 3.png|Eivor finding the depot's entrance
ACV Pricking the Needle 8.png|Eivor noticing a boy calling for her
ACV Pricking the Needle 14.png|Grigorii revealing his identity
ACV Pricking the Needle 18.png|Eivor stalking Grigorii in the market
ACV Pricking the Needle 21.png|Grigorii turning into ice
==References==
*Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Category:Memories relived using the Animus HR-8.5
Category:Memories of Eivor Varinsdottir