Eriah and Brynjolf, newly christened Nightingales, were on their way to meet up with Karliah at Irkngthand, a Dwemer ruin in Eastmarch. They were going after the traitorous Nightingale, Mercer Frey, who was also the Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild. Normally, Eriah wouldn't have associated with a man like Brynjolf but he had made her an offer she couldn't refuse if she ever wanted to get anywhere with Alduin's threat. In exchange for information on Esbern, the Blades archivist that Delphine had sent her to Riften to find, Brynjolf had her commit some petty thievery to frame Brand-Shei, a Dunmer stall owner, for theft by planting a ring from Madesi, an Argonian jeweler. Eriah hated him for that but as it were, she had to reevaluate her views on some things. The thieves in the Guild were just like her in that they had to make a living and thievery was really their only option. Still, she didn't like having to do what Brynjolf said just for his cooperation in locating Esbern. The man himself was also somewhat flirty but at least he knew how to read people and knew better than to try his luck with Eriah. She knew she would've been a fling to him if she had been so easily taken in by his damnable charm. She would be the conquest of absolutely no one. At this point, the Dragonborn could grudgingly admit that perhaps she could call him a friend.
Then there was Nocturnal. She was like any other Daedric Prince in that she knew the hearts of mortals but unlike most, was more concerned about keeping the Twilight Sepulcher and her Skeleton Key safe. In exchange, she blessed the Thieves Guild with unnatural luck in their heists. But since Mercer Frey betrayed his fellow Nightingales, murdered Gallus, and stole the Key, Nocturnal cursed them. The curse left them a shadow of their former selves by the time the Dragonborn got to Skyrim. Eriah managed to strike a deal with Nocturnal where she would help Karliah and Brynjolf take down Mercer in exchange for being left in peace afterward since the life of a thief was not for her. The feminine Prince decided that perhaps it would be harmless. Eriah had no intention of revealing the Sepulcher's location to anyone else and the return of the Key was all she desired anyway. So with the deal struck, she blessed Eriah with her gifts and sent her, Karliah, and Brynjolf on their way.
Karliah had gone ahead while Brynjolf and Eriah returned to the Guild to store some things before joining her. The Dragonborn, despite not being one of them officially, had earned the Guild's respect all the same after it was discovered that Mercer had been robbing them blind all these years. So she felt safe with leaving her Blades armor and other items she wasn't going to need on this venture there, including those of great value. They would remain in the chest she had been given and no one would try to make off with them. As far as the Guild was concerned, she had earned her place among them and Guildmates didn't steal from each other. There was also the fact Brynjolf, as number two in the hierarchy, didn't suffer such actions lightly and the Guild respected him too much to go behind his back. Eriah had pretty much been under his protection the entire time she was helping them.
She was brought back to the present when she felt Brynjolf's hand on her shoulder, bringing her to a stop. "I don't like the looks of those clouds, lass. We're in for quite a storm that we shouldn't get caught in." he said, pointing to the sky ahead of them. "So what now?" Eriah asked. "There's a cave nearby where we can shelter. We could be there all night though." said her companion. Eriah groaned inwardly. Sure, Brynjolf never tried adding her to his potential list of conquests while she stayed in the Cistern...but the wilds were another story. Who knew what would happen. At least in the Cistern, the presence of others made things easy. Out here with no one around, he might not be so willing to take no for an answer. The Dragonborn felt ashamed her trust in the red-haired Nord was cautiously optimistic at best and downright shaky at worst but she honestly didn't know if he was genuine in backing off when she refused his overtures. But if worst came to worst this night, well, all she had to do was knock him out, go on to Irkngthand alone, make excuses to Karliah, take down Mercer, and all would be right with the world once more.
"Lead on, then. We don't seem have much of a choice." Eriah sighed. Brynjolf, a master of the wilds due to his profession, led her off-course before they found the cave he spoke of. "I hope Keizaal will be okay in this weather." the Dragonborn said, following him in. The cave was almost a bit too cozy due to its relatively small size but the thunder was getting closer every few minutes so there wasn't time to find any place bigger. "Keizaal?" Brynjolf asked as he sat down and pulled his Nightingale hood off. "My new horse. Bought her in Markarth last month. She's currently housed in Riften's stable." Eriah replied, mimicking him. "She wouldn't be that fine piebald mare Rune told me about, would she?" her companion asked. "That's the one." the Dragonborn replied. "Seems my hunch was spot on. Rune presented that horse as a potential mark to pinch. I had a feeling she belonged to you so I told the Guild to keep their hands off. Keizaal is unusual name, though." Brynjolf said.
Eriah smiled to herself. Seemed he had extended his protection not just to her but to her horse as well. "Keizaal is the dragons' name for Skyrim. It translates to Rebellion May in our tongue. Fitting name since we have the war going on. Keizaal was a skittish thing in the shadow of the mountains of the Reach but she's grown confident in my care." she explained, just as the storm hit. The two Nightingales went quiet as they watched the storm outside. Brynjolf soon turned his attention the woman next to him. He would be lying through his teeth if he said she wasn't a beauty. It was the first thing he noticed when he first saw her. While he knew he didn't have a prayer in conquering her like most other women who swooned at his charm...gods, was she fun to tease. That was pretty much all he did in the Cistern. After his first two serious attempts were soundly rejected, he was content to push his luck a little because he had a good grasp of her personality. Eriah was slow to anger and easy-going when she knew she was being teased. Push her too much and she became a force to reckon with. He once had the pleasure of seeing her in the Bee and Barb getting harassed by a drunkard who just wouldn't back off. She threw the most beautiful right hook he had seen in quite some time and laid waste to the man, beating him senseless. When it was all over, she then paid Keerava out of her own pocket for the damages.
His thoughts drifted to her journal, which he had lifted when she started staying there. While a questionable act, even to him, it did give him even more insight to her character and it was how he discovered she was the Dragonborn everyone was talking about. Eriah never found out because he took it one night while everyone was asleep, read all of it in a space of a few hours, and put it back in its place before she woke up. Brynjolf had to admire this woman. She was pretty strong in spirit but not so strong that she felt invulnerable. But still...some of the entries were alluding to a man she never named but seemed pretty smitten by. When he added that to an entry dated 4E 190, which revealed to him that she was unable to conceive, and an entry from when she was 25 that revealed her last relationship ended, Brynjolf came to the conclusion she was rather starved for affection even if she didn't show it.
Eriah sensed she was being looked at and threw Brynjolf a look. "What?" she asked, pulling her Elvish warhammer from her back and setting it against the wall next to her. "Nothing. Just thinking about something, lass." he replied, a rather smarmy grin sneaking its way onto his face. Thanks to experience, the Dragonborn's face settled into a deadpan. "Do I want to know?" she asked. "Well...I was thinking about the misfortune we ran into with this storm going on." he said, turning up the charm as he shifted a bit closer. Eriah's eyes narrowed in suspicion and shifted away. "Someone seems to have forgotten I can Shout at people and set them on fire." she said, thinly. "Aye but you wouldn't do that here, would you? Or to someone you deem a friend?" he inquired, taking a hold of her warhammer and tossing it towards the front of the cave as he kept closing the distance. It wasn't long before he had her cornered in the back of the small alcove they were in. She was outright glaring at him now but it wasn't the sort of anger he associated with one seeing an enemy. She knew what he was up to but wasn't going to resort to drastic measures if he gave her no reason to.
"You're an ass." she said, wishing the Nightingale armor wasn't so formfitting because she suddenly felt vulnerable. Something she didn't feel with heavy armor like her Blades armor. "And proud of it. Still, I can tell you're in need of some...affection. What do you say? We're here...alone...with the weather keeping everyone away. No one would know." Brynjolf said, turning up the huskiness. He got a kick out seeing her turn several shades of red and he was just playing around. Eriah was more or less thrown from a loop right now. He was really laying it on thicker than usual, enough to make her doubt a few things. Curse him. "Hold it!" she protested when he leaned in, pushing against his chest. "You seem to be off your game. Normally, you would've hit me by now. Or perhaps I've finally managed to crack your hard exterior." he said, as he held the hand she had to his chest captive. Her glare hardened into a scowl. "Are you seriously jeopardizing both our mission and my rather fragile trust in you by pulling this stunt?" she asked. There it was. The armor-piercing question. Brynjolf just smirked before leaning his forehead to hers, eyes shut. "Lass, you don't trust me as far as you could throw me. I know you better than you think I do. But if you really want an explanation for this...well, you owe me." he said. Eriah balked enough that he pulled away just a little but still keeping her hand captive.
"For what!?" she inquired, incredulously. "I'm not the only man in the Cistern who had his eye on you, Eriah. I'm just the safest one in the lot. Aside from the first couple times, all my flirting was just to tease you. It was also a way of subtly showing the others how dangerous you can potentially be to their health if they tried to bed you." he said. His bluntness made her wish the ground would open up. He sure as Oblivion didn't sugarcoat much. "So you're saying I owe you for keeping them in line or what?" she all but growled. "Precisely. I obviously don't hold you rejecting me twice against you. What do you say?" Brynjolf asked. The outright glare he got in answer was a thing of beauty. She was still nowhere near considering using her strange power on him but it was enough to know he had to be careful from here on out. Did he want to bed her still? Sure. Was he going to demand it? Not a chance if he wanted to keep breathing. She ended up deflating a bit, which surprised him since she wasn't easily defeated. "What do you want from me? I have enough worries as it is without this going on." she said. "All I want from you is a kiss, love. I know you well enough to know that choice is pretty damn sacred to you. I may not understand why you're so hung up but I think you can stand to loosen up a bit. I've protected you all this time and all I'm asking in return is one, simple kiss." he explained. Then he shot her an wolfish look. "But if you want to go further, well, be it far from me to deny a beautiful woman like yourself." he said.
Eriah looked at him incredulously. "And if I say no?" she asked. "Your call, love." he said. "I think you're trying to take advantage of the fact that I'm finally in a position where you hold all the power." she said. "Only if you want to get cynical about it and if you want to forget that you're more than capable of fighting your way out. See this as an unorthodox way of repaying a debt. Besides, if I wanted to take advantage of you, I wouldn't be wasting words. You know that." he said. He had her there. Like any thief, Brynjolf didn't waste words if he didn't have to. Unlike the more unsavory characters she had come across on her travels, he had his own code of honor and that's what he was invoking right now. He wanted to settle this debt she had with him and she should've figured he wouldn't have done all he had done for her for free. Still, he was kind of preying on her honesty. She always tried to settle her debts as they came along but it was usually with coin or favors. He was asking for something a bit more intimate. "So if I give you what you want, I can write it off as me owing you a favor and having it settled?" she asked. "Aye. One little kiss that you're free to give or not. Either way, I won't ask you for anything anymore because you've been a huge help to me and the Guild. Once we kill that bastard Mercer, you won't have to worry about us." he replied.
The Dragonborn decided that since life was messy and she wasn't actually breaking her own code of not being loose, then this was pretty harmless. She just let Brynjolf know through her eyes that he won this round. The thief let a smirk cross his lips before leaning in again, his free hand coming up to rest on her face. "I really hate you, you know." she said, her voice quiet and her own free hand subconsciously gripping the wall behind her. "I know, lass. You can still back out if you want." he said in reply. In spite of herself because she was only human, Eriah's heart started to race a little. Like any normal human being, she felt both wariness and a touch of excitement. She couldn't deny that, even though Brynjolf wasn't her lover by any stretch. He still gave her the option of denying him one last time but right now, she really need to keep her focus on taking care of Mercer and she didn't want this hanging over her head. She could work through everything else later. With a resigned sigh, she was the one who closed the gap and pressed her lips to Brynjolf's. He was obviously surprised she went for it but he was soon returning it.
The kiss was slow and was teetering close to sensual on his part. He still wasn't taking his chances, though. Smart man. She pulled back rather quickly before his hand hooked onto her head and he joined them again. He was really milking it for all it was worth since she kept denying him every other time. Eriah added a little more push and forced the break. "Don't get cocky." she said. Brynjolf looked a bit disappointed but he then shrugged and put some more space between them. "Sorry, lass. I don't think you're aware of how good of a kisser you are." he said. "Ass." was all he got. "All kidding aside, that storm will likely go on until morning. I'll take first watch while you get some sleep." he then asked. Eriah threw him a look. Brynjolf blinked before chuckling. "Lass...I'm a man of my word. No tricks. Nothing of that sort. Contrary to what you may think, I like living." he said. The Dragonborn sighed before running a hand through her hair. "Sorry. A bit frazzled and I want this whole thing with Mercer done." she said. Her fellow Nightingale pat her shoulder before moving closer to the entrance and taking up his post. Keeping her back to the wall, Eriah stretched out on the ground. "And Brynjolf?" she said. "Yes, lass?" he replied. "Don't think that because I let you get away with a kiss, it means I'm on your list of conquests. Got that?" she shot at him. "Of course not, lass. Never crossed my mind and it won't as long as I live." he said. Feeling a bit better about it, she lay awake, watching the storm. When he sensed her drifting off, Brynjolf looked over to see that and smiled a bit before turning his attention back to the outside.
Soon, the Guild would be free of both Mercer and Nocturnal's curse. And it was all thanks to the Dragonborn.