Creeping through the house, Lakeview Manor she thought it was called, Vex looked for valuables. She saw the usual; a few gems, a few purses, a jewellery box here and there, but nothing spectacular. Nothing that would bring the Guild back to the top.
Until she found the cellar, that is.
For the love of Nocturnal, that cellar. She almost missed the trapdoor, and only found it because she'd stumbled over it. Going down carefully, she lit a candle.
And gasped.
Weapons and armour, of what had to be the greatest craftsmanship in Skyrim. All glowing with the tell-tale shimmer of enchantment.
One weapon in particular caught her eye. A bow. Silver and gold it was, and the light itself seemed to be sucked into it, making it's glow all the brighter.
Only one weapon she had ever heard of had that effect.
Auriel's bow.
She grabbed it and looked longingly at the other items in the room. If this was a room where Auriel's Bow wasn't held in any sort of place of honour, what must the other items be? She had to get Delvin to look at this. She couldn't possibly carry all of it to Riften on her own, so she just took the bow and ran.
"Delvin! Come with me. Now!" she barked when she walked into the Ragged Flagon.
"Finally come to your senses then?" he winked lewdly, as he wondered why she had a bow covered in cloth.
"This isn't the time. Come with me, I need to show you something. You won't believe it."
They headed into the Cistern together, and Vex tugged him towards Brynjolf.
"Open the Vault." she said, offering no explanation.
"No. I'm not opening the vault just so you can all gawk at what little Mercer's left inside it."
"I have something to show you, and it's far too valuable to be shown out here, where anyone can see." she insisted, and out of curiosity the two acquiesced.
"Now, what is it lass?" Brynjolf asked.
"This." she said, and she unveiled the Bow.
The room itself seemed to grow brighter, and both Brynjolf and Delvin gasped.
"What is that?" Brynjolf said, amazed.
"The most powerful bow in existence." the mesmerised Breton told him, "The Bow that fired Lorkhan's Heart across the seas. The Bow with the power to turn the Sun against your enemies.
That is Auriel's Bow. Where on earth did you find it Vex?"
"The cellar of an abandoned house. And that's not the only thing. It was just one enchanted item amongst many, I'm not sure what all the others were, but... I think I saw the Masque of Clavicus Vile. I couldn't carry it all back, I need you two to help me." she said, to their growing excitement.
"Lead on." they said, with no hesitation.
Come nightfall the next day, they were outside Lakeview, rearing to go. Brynjolf picked the lock quickly, and they headed in.
"Looks pretty empty to me, lass." he said as he walked.
"I though the same, but look at this."
She lead them to the cellar.
"We need to leave. Now. Put Auriel's Bow back, and then we need to run and never mention this to anyone." Delvin said, after coming out of his shock.
"No! This could bring the Guild back from what Mercer did to us!" Vex shouted.
"Aye, all this must be worth a fortune. Why would we leave it?"
"Because I'd rather live how I live now for twenty more years than have a week of wealth. Do you see these things? Masque of Clavicus Vile, Boethiah's Ebony Mail, Spellbreaker," he said, pointing at a mannequin, "The Sanguine Rose, Vaermina's Skull of Corruption, Sheogorath's Wobbajack," he pointed at a rack of staves, "Meridia's Dawnbreaker, the Mace of Molag Bal, Hircine's Saviours Hide, the Ring of Namira," he pointed at the second mannequin, "Mehrunes' Razor, Azura's Star, Hermaeus-Mora's Oghma Infinium," he pointed at a shelf, "Mephala's Ebony Blade, Malacath's Hammer of Might, Volendrung, and the Staff of Magnus!" he shouted as he pointed towards a weapons rack.
"Don't you understand? Whoever's house this is or was, they consorted with Daedra at the highest level! This is not the house of some easy mark, this is the house of a Daedric Champion! The Daedric Champion even, considering that all Princes other than Nocturnal are accounted for!"
"But this is worth so much gold!" Brynjolf drooled, "We could live in luxury forever!"
"If you make this house's owner angry, you won't live a month! How do you think the Daedra will react to someone they did not find worthy wielding their Artifacts?"
"Oh..." Brynjolf said, realising the danger they were in.
"The Daedra aren't the kindest of beings! If each of them found this one person worthy, and we annoy that person, we're dead."
"What are these then?" asked Vex, holding a few books.
"DROP THOSE RIGHT NOW!" Delvin shouted.
"Alright, alright, calm down old man. What are they then? They're just a few books, what's the worst they could do?" Vex said.
"Those are Black Books-" "-I can see that."
"Shut up Vex. Those are the Black Books of Hermaeus-Mora. If you open one of those you'll be dragged to Oblivion. Literally."
Suddenly a clapping noise echoed around the room.
"Well, well, well. Delvin Mallory. You seem to know quite a lot about Daedric Artifacts." the voice came from the middle of the room, but there was nobody there. Not even the tell-tale shimmer of an invisibility charm.
"I make it my business to know what I can sell and what I shouldn't touch." said Delvin, slightly shakily.
"How... Admirable. I saw you here, Vex, when you were last here. Or should I call you... Lady Aria?"
"How do you know that?" Vex said angrily.
"I know many things, Aria. I am the Champion of the Prince of Forbidden Knowledge after all."
"Leave her be." Brynjolf said protectively, seeing Vex was getting upset.
"Of course... Ulf Shatter-Shield." Brynjolf looked as though he had been physically struck. "How do you know that! I haven't gone by that name since I was ten!"
"How sweet... You call your Guild your family, but half of you hide your names and your past. I know because I made it my business to know. Now, tell me where you keep my bow."
"In the most secure vault in Skyrim." Vex said smugly.
"Oh? And what makes it so secure?" mocked the voice.
"You'd need two keys to unlock it, and the locks are unpickable!" Vex said, even though the two men were trying to shut her up.
"And both keys are in this room." that shut her up very quickly.
"I already have the keys. I will now tell you three to leave, I shall retrieve my Bow, and return your keys after that."
Brynjolf and Delvin checked their pockets and gasped. Everything was there except for the keys. And they hadn't noticed a thing.
"What's stopping us from killing you and taking the keys and your Artifacts?" Vex said angrily.
"For the love of Talos Vex, stop trying to get yourself and us killed!" said Delvin angrily.
"What's stopping you? Aside from not knowing where I am?" Vex blushed.
"You cannot kill me. I have seen the mists of Sovngarde and emerged victorious. I have traversed the realm of Apocrypha and emerged with only more knowledge. You are a thief, little girl, but I am an assassin, a Champion, a Vanquisher. You cannot kill me, and frankly, I'm not even sure I can be killed anymore."
At this, a figure emerges from the shadows and stands before them. "Now tell me, Aria, will you and your companions leave on your own legs, or will I be dragging your bodies away? It would he such a shame too, just when Frey died, for three of the senior guild members to die."
The figure was coming into detail now, a tight outfit of red and black covering a lithe and slim body.
"Let's go Vex." said Brynjolf insistently.
"No! I won't let anyone speak to me like that!" and she charged with her dagger.
Vaguely she heard a shout, "TIID", and then she was lying on the ground, the back of her knee cut through excruciatingly, stopping her from standing. Her dagger was in her target's hand, and the figure was tutting at her.
"Aria, did you learn nothing from your experience with Krex, when you were younger?" Vex flinched at this, memories of burning flesh rising again, but how was she to know that the brat could use magic? "Don't attack people if you don't know their capabilities. Since your friends seem smarter than you, I'll let them carry you out and back to the Cistern." it said, and to the surprised looks, the figure continued, "Oh yes, I know all about your little outfit. Who do you think killed Mercer Frey?"
"A brotherhood assassin killed the bastard, and I'd shake his hand if I could." growled Delvin.
"Now's your chance." the figure stuck out an arm.
"You? But why?"
"A child prayed to the mother, thief, and I answered."
The two dragged Vex out and gave her a potion, berating her for being so aggressive. By the time they were back in Riften, the Bow was gone, but they didn't have the keys to the vault.
Or so they thought, until they checked their pockets.
They were staying away from that house, that's for sure. Perhaps they needed a new shadowmark... "Danger, Run" or something of the sort. They had one for traps ahead, but that wasn't quite adequate for cases like these.
Yes, they needed a "Danger, Run!" mark, if only for that house.
Author's note: first of all, thank you for reading this story, and, should you be following A Fine Joke, I'll be uploading the next chapter on that one next. Please do review, criticise, comment, admire, anything!