It wasn't supposed to end like this, Lucien thought, as he stared down at the corpse of his most recent recruit.
He hadn't been that old, though, Lucien thought, with elves it was hard to tell. The Bosmer, who he had been sent to recruit, was tall and slim, in accordance to most of his kind. His features hadn't been particularly remarkable, shoulder length brown hair and hazel eyes. A ex member of the Mages Guild, expelled for the deaths of two of his fellow mages, one accidental and the second intentional.
Lucien had seen this recruit as the key to sorting out this entire mess in the Brotherhood. A new recruit couldn't be the traitor, and with proper training, could be used to flush out the true betrayer in their midst.
The clearing of a throat brought him back to his surroundings.
Telaendril was still standing before him, waiting for a dismissal. She had been the one to deliver the body to Lucien, as she had been tracking the younger Bosmer. Many new members had an older member shadow them, without their knowing, to monitor their progress, and on occasions like this, remove bodies from the scene before guards could show up.
A wave of his hand dismissed the Wood Elf, who cast one last glance at her fallen comrade. As she left, Lucien heard the soft sounds of conversation in the hallway. Ocheeva, it seemed, was informing their resident vampire of their recent recruit's death. Lucien couldn't hear his response, but he guessed Vicente was offering the matron of Cheydinhal some form of condolences. Ocheeva became very attached to every recruit that came through their doors, treating them more like children than the bloodthirsty assassins most of them were.
The steady click of heels on the stone floor was his only indication that Vicente had entered the room, an act of courtesy from a man who could move as silently as the shadows. In an assassin's guild, you learn early on to give warning of your approach so as not to end up with a dagger in your throat. As he moved up next to the dead Bosmer, the vampire's hand went to tilt the head to better examine the corpse. After a moment's silence, he finally spoke.
"Did he kill his mark?" A nod from Lucien was all the response he got as the Speaker moved to the other side of the body, in preparation for the autopsy they were about to conduct. Vicente furrowed his brows at the response. "Is there any reason we should be suspecting something amiss then?"
Lucien removed his outer black robe, leaving him in a plain black shirt, sleeves already rolled up in preparation for their work. "No, but the Hand wants every dead assassin examined, just in case," he said, watching as the vampire poked and prodded at the corpse with a frown. "What is it?"
Slim fingers tapped on the chest of the late Bosmer. "Whatever killed him, has caused severe swelling. We won't be able to remove the armor short of cutting it off," said the vampire. His lips twisted into a wry smile. "My guess is our friend here was careless in his exit, and met the wrong end of a Nord's war hammer."
As Lucien cut open the leather, Vicente's guess looked to be right. The chest was a colorful montage of blues, blacks, and purples. Distortion showed several broken ribs, and, when they flipped the corpse, a shattered spine. Vicente raised an eyebrow at the Speaker. "Are we done then? I believe the cause of death is rather self-explanatory."
"No," Lucien shook his head. "We still need to search his belongings. There could be something there. I doubt it," he sneered, "but the Listener has insisted." He moved over to the pack of belongings, property of his late Slayer. Looking through it provided some cursory items, healing potions, an iron dagger, a few repair hammers and a journal. However, at the bottom of the bag was a pouch, none too large, but rather heavy. Unlacing the leather straps that held it shut, Lucien reached in and pulled out what had to be the largest ruby he had every seen.
"By Sithis Vicente, look at it! I've never seen such a large gem. Do you have any idea how he could have gotten such a thing?" The vampire's eyes were fixed on the gem before he moved to take the heavy chain from Lucien, examining it more closely before turning to the Speaker, and fixing the chain around his neck. Lucien didn't even have a chance to voice an inquiry before the chain simply slipped off his neck, into the waiting palm of the vampire. Lucien opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, Vicente looked him straight in the eye.
"This is the Amulet of Kings. This is the very symbol of the Emperor's rule," a half smile twisted across the vampires lips, "or should we say, former rule." Vicente slipped the necklace back into the sturdy pouch it was removed from, and turned to the worn journal laying upon the desk. "Perhaps there is a little more insight to be found here," he muttered idly, flipping through the first few pages which contained little of interested, written during the limited amount of time the Bosmer had spent in the Imperial prison.
Lucien moved to read the journal over the vampire's shoulder. They scanned the pages, before Lucien pointed out a passage. "There, look. The ink all of a sudden changes." He moved to get a better look as they both read.
27th of Last Seed, 3E433
There is little to mark the day of my newly acquired freedom yet, but I imagine the news will travel soon of the death of the Emperor. It is strange to think, only a few hours ago, that I was a prisoner. Yet here I am, not only free, but possessing one of the most important items in the Empire, and with no other instructions but to find a man in Weynon Priory by the name of Jauffre…
[The entry continues, but contains little else concerning the Amulet]
Lucien sneered down at the entry. "Last Seed, Vicente! It is almost half way through Sun's Dusk now! When was he planning on finishing this little errand of his?" He picked up the pouch, weighing it in his hand as he mused. "He couldn't have hoped to sell something like this. Not even the best fences could work with something this hot." Lucien turned to the vampire, who flipped through the remaining pages.
"There's no further mention of the Amulet here. It's almost as if he had wished to forget it completely. He returns to the Mages Guild for a while, before the accident which lands him with us. And that's the end of it." Vicente tosses the journal onto the table. Lucien is still holding the pouch in his hands, tossing it from palm to palm. Finally he speaks.
"So what is to be done with it then?" he asks the vampire, though he is not truly expecting a response. To his surprise though, Vicente's lips curl into a smile.
"You're going to bring it to the Night Mother, of course." He smirked at the blank look Lucien directed at him.
"What would she want with such a trinket? I doubt she'll be interested in some relic of Imperial history," he said, tossing the pouch with greater agitation. Vicente nodded, plucking the pouch out of the air.
"No, the Amulet will be of no interest to her, that is true. But you said you wanted to know what is to be done with it, correct?" Lucien nodded. "Then take it to her and ask. Though, if it is what I believe it to be, then I can predict what the Night Mother will want to be done." He began to move briskly through the room, signaling to the Dark Guardian waiting outside the room to take the corpse. When he saw that Lucien had yet to move, he frowned, lips pulling back slightly to reveal fangs.
"Well, we haven't got all year. Your former Slayer has wasted enough time as it is. So get moving!"
Lucien spared the vampire one last dark sneer before donning his black robes and leaving his teacher standing there with a dead man's journal in his hand.
A/N: Because we all know the Dark Brotherhood was pissed off when those Mythic Dawn posers showed up and started taking over their turf, and getting in on their death and terror business.