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FALNAS
To Catch a Thief
City of Riften
As luck would have it, Falnas arrived in Riften on market day, his favourite day of the week, no matter what the actual day was, it was different in every city. Market day meant there weren't just the usual stalls in the market place, the vegetable and fruit stands, the butcher's stall, and all that sort of low-profit chump-change opportunities, no, on market day the other merchants came, and those brought the chances for some good business. For themselves, and for Falnas.
It wouldn't be as easy here as it would be in Morrowind, of course. A Dunmer tended to stand out, and the mostly Nordic population of Tamriel still tended to associate a dark skin with subterfuge and deception. Completely unjustified of them, of course, Falnas thought to himself, grinning. True, these people were simpler and less perceptive than his fellow Dunmer, but on the other hand, if you got caught stealing in Skyrim, most people didn't turn you in to the authorities, they simply chased you with a butcher's knife or a woodcutter's axe. What happened then depended on whose legs gave out first.
Falnas was rather confident he'd be able to make a quick septim or two here, however. Markets were deliciously busy, and the people wonderfully carefree. He'd have to be careful for one of them though, a powerful-looking blonde Nord woman with a big battle axe on her back and blue dye on one side of her face. She didn't wear a guard's armour, but Falnas was certain, from the look in her eyes, that she considered herself in charge of protecting this city. Right now her eyes were set on a dark-haired woman in an expensive-looking blue dress, adorned with jewelry. That seemed like a wonderful target, even though she looked more aware and perceptive than most of the dullards around here. She looked Breton or Cyrodiilic, Falnas could not say. At that moment, the dark-haired woman looked back at the blonde manbitch, and shot her a look of annoyance and hostility. The blonde crossed her arms and stared back, betraying no emotion.
Hmmm, power struggles in this little hamlet. Always good opportunities for profit.
But first, business at hand. Inconspicuously, Falnas got closer to the dark-haired woman, moving effortlessly through the crowd, and resisting the temptation to snatch a coin purse or two while he was at it – no point getting caught and having to make an escape over a few lousy septims when there was a rich woman hung with gold to rob. She was inspecting rolls of silk now, and the gold and diamond brooch she wore on her chest seemed to be worth a small fortune. Brooches were always easy to steal. Necklaces, you had to tear them off, which meant you had to reveal yourself, rings were even harder, and earrings, well, Falnas hated blood. He was a thief, not a vulgar mugger. A job well done was a job the mark didn't notice until Falnas was far away. It was how you didn't get caught.
He shouldered closer to the black-haired woman, and as she held up a sample of silk against the pale sunlight, he walked up to her, meaning to bump into her 'by accident' (always a classic) and unpin the brooch and pocket it in a single, ephemeral movement. Shame he had to stay undetected, a good squeeze in the stuck-up rich woman's tit would have been a nice bonus.
"I have a few questions for you," a Nord-accented female voice interrupted his operation, and he quickly withdrew his hand, cursing silently as a golden opportunity was ruined. The dark-haired woman turned towards the blonde with the axe. "Ugh. Mjoll, 'the Lioness'. Must you pester me at every turn?"
"Another of the Amberblossom employees was found floating face-down in the canal last night."
The dark-haired woman shrugged and gave a contemptuous sneer. "An unfortunate accident, I'm sure?"
"Someone unfortunately falling on his back, holding a knife," the Nord said, her eyes narrowing. "A lot of dead brewers in one week. One mauled by dogs, one disappeared entirely, and now a third, stabbed during the night."
"These streets are dangerous, Mjoll," the other woman replied confidently. The crowd, including Falnas, had all stopped to gawk at the exchange. "It's unfortunate that so many thieves and killers still stalk these streets at night. They kill a man over a septim or two, I've heard."
"I know the streets are dangerous at night," the Nord bit back. "And I want it to stop."
The woman in the dark blue dress gave the Nord a flighty snort. "Report it to the guard, then."
"The guard? You mean those corrupt fools you have in your pocket?"
The other brought a hand to her chest, acting wounded. "But my dear, why ever would you suggest such a thing? I'm only a legitimate businesswoman. I'm not the criminal, those cutthroats at night are." She brought her face closer to the blonde. "I've heard they stop at nothing. I'd watch my step at night, if I were you. This whole vigilante thing is so very dangerous. It'd be unfortunate if the guards found a lioness floating face-down in the canal one morning."
The blonde's face contorted in a snarl, and she took a step forward, grabbing the rich woman by the front of her dress, pushing her backward into the crowd. "You dare threaten me?" the Nord snarled, spit flying from her lips. As the mass of people tried to surge away from the woman in blue, Falnas saw his chance and with his fingertips, he removed the brooch from the woman's dress, sending it sliding down his sleeve in the same motion. "You're a murderer," the Nord continued, "and I will see you brought to justice, mark my words!"
"I suggest you let go of me right now, or I shall report you to the guard for assault," Falnas heard the black-haired woman calmly threaten as he slunk away, slipping through the crowd, his heart racing. The brooch had been the catch of the century. He didn't care much for whatever it was between those women, all he wanted was to find a fence. He knew someone here, pretty thing called Sapphire, had links to the Thieves' Guild, she'd be able to find a buyer for this tacky but valuable eyesore. How anyone could adorn themselves with such a gaudy piece of jewelry was beyond him, but what mattered was that people paid a lot of money for it.
He'd last contacted Sapphire at the Bee and Barb, the local tavern, so he made his way there, hoping she'd still be there, and true enough, he immediately saw her sitting at a table, one leg crossed over the other, sipping a goblet of wine and regarding all the other patrons with her usual look of suspicion mixed with disdain. She was good-looking, for sure, but personality like stone. Falnas briefly wondered why she was that way, but he supposed it was none of his business. He'd asked her if there might be any vacancies within the Thieves' Guild, but every time, she'd simply snorted and told him to come back in a few years.
"Ugh, Falnas," the young woman grunted when he sat down opposite her. "Brought me another fake gold chain, have you?"
He'd never live that one down.
"That was two years ago, Sapphire," Falnas reminded her. "And all my other loot's been good after that."
"Yes, yes," she said, annoyed. "Got anything good? Or just the usual two-septim junk?"
His smile as broad as he could make it, Falnas said, "No junk. At least a thousand. Easily."
Her interest peaked, Sapphire leaned forward. "It's twenty percent for me and the Guild, as always. Now what do you have?"
After briefly looking through the inn to make sure no one was watching them, Falnas took the brooch from his sleeve and laid it out on the table, then gave Sapphire his most winning smile.
He very briefly saw a strange look in the woman's eyes when she beheld the brooch, but it was gone as soon as he'd noticed it. "This'll take some time," she said. "Meet me… uh," she had to think for a while. "You know where the Ratway is?"
Falnas nodded. Of course he knew. It was supposedly a sewer complex, but it was a public secret that the Thieves' Guild had their headquarters in there. If his luck was in, this might just mean she'd lead him to the Guild. Trying to find it alone was suicide – the Ratway was a maze filled with traps, deadfalls, concealed doors and whathaveyou, and if you didn't know where you were going, you got lost and never came back out. That she wanted to meet there meant she'd hopefully show him where the Guild was. She had better, because few thieves could swipe prizes like these.
"Meet me there after nightfall," Sapphire said hastily, rising from her chair and marching through the door, throwing a furtive glance through the common room as she did so.
Falnas saw no reason to be nervous, and ordered himself a goblet of whatever it was Sapphire had been drinking.