Riften is a pisshole, thought Windy as she walked in the main street of the city of Riften for the first time. The air there was, to put it mildly, unwelcoming, at least to the average traveler. Also, the people of that city looked rigid; Windy began to wonder if she could find any information there without resorting to bribery. She could only hope the Brynjolf fellow Delphine had told her about would help her find Esbern before the Thalmor did without much fuss.

Windy halted when she saw a big, burly, dark-haired Nord who wore armor approach her. "You," he said to her. "I don't know you. You in Riften looking for trouble?"

The harassment of passing travelers seemed to be a common occurrence in that city, for nobody paid any heed to the scene the Nord was causing by accusing Windy, a total stranger to him, of possible mischief. Windy groaned in her mind. First the guard who had tried to con her into paying a visitor's fee to Riften, now an obvious sell-sword who thought he was the law here? "Just passing through," she said, trying to look the part of a common, not-much-dangerous-looking traveler who could be trusted not to look for trouble.

To her dismay, the Nord wasn't convinced. "Yeah? Well I got news for you; there's nothing to see here. Last thing the Black-Briars need is some stranger stickin' their nose where it doesn't belong."

Black-Briars…the name sounded very familiar to her. "Who are the Black-Briars?" she asked.

"The Black-Briars have Riften in their pocket and the Thieves Guild watchin' their back," he explained, "so keep your nose out of their business. Me? I'm Maul. I watch the streets for 'em. If you need dirt on anythin', I'm your guy…but it'll cost you."

Windy had a feeling getting involved with him was not a good idea so she said, "I'll stay out of your way."

Maul shrugged. "Suit yourself then. I'll be at the docks if you change your mind." Windy watched him go and then moved onward, still thinking about what he said about the Black-Briars.

There was a Maven Black-Briar at the Thalmor Embassy party she had infiltrated the week before. She had known Windy was working undercover the moment she laid eyes on her, but didn't bother to alert anyone about it. Windy didn't know if she should feel grateful or suspicious of her decision: she was obviously no ally. Then again, she seemed to be the sort who didn't care for things that are unrelated to their affairs.

But thoughts of Maven Black-Briar faded as soon as Windy saw the marketplace she happened to be approaching toward. This would be an excellent opportunity to stock up on potions, she thought, and made a beeline for the stand selling bottles of a variety of potions.

"Never made an honest life's work in your life for all that coin you're carrying, eh lass?" a deep, male voice interrupted her thoughts while she was in the middle of deciding whether to buy a potion of plentiful healing or a pair of potions of minor stamina. Windy looked up and saw that the voice belonged to the stand's owner, a red-haired Nord who, unlike the other vendors there, was dressed in fine clothes.

"I'm sorry, what?" she said, confused.

He gestured to the fat coin-purse in her hand. "I'm saying you've got the coin, but you didn't earn a septim of it honestly. I can tell."

Windy crossed her arms, still clutching the coin-purse. "I don't see how my wealth is any of your business," she said.

He chuckled. "Oh, but that's where you're wrong, lass. Wealth is my business." He leaned forward to look into her face. "Maybe you'd like a taste?" He said this in a low voice, but the confident tone within it told Windy he was used to making offers like this to strangers like her.

For a while, Windy was silent. "What do you have in mind?" she enquired finally after much thought.

"Simple…I'm going to cause a distraction and you're going to steal Madesi's silver ring from his strongbox under his stand." He pointed at the stand that belonged to an Argonian. "Once you have it, I want you to place it in Brand-Shei's pocket without him noticing. He's the Dark Elf over there."

Windy stared at him as though he had just asked her to ingest frostbite venom. "Break the law for you? Are you kidding?" she hissed the last part.

If the man was taken aback by her outrage, he didn't show it. "Sorry," he said, but from the look of total indifference in his face, he didn't mean it. "I usually have a nose for this kind of thing." He shrugged. "Never mind, lass. If you change your mind, come find me." He flashed her a mysterious smile and then went about his business.

"Wait!" Windy said. Something about the confident yet secretive way he carried himself made her think he was the sort of person who knows who here in Riften. "Actually, I'm hoping you can help me with something. I'm looking for a man named Brynjolf," she explained. "He has information I need."

The man's eyes widened just a little at the mention of Brynjolf. Well, thought a satisfied Windy, looks like I asked the right person. "Expecting free information, eh?" he said, amused. "Help me with my business first, then we'll see how I can help you."

Windy frowned. "Now hold on," she said. "I just wanted some information."

Then something strange happened. The man's eyes lost their humor and in its place was cold seriousness. Windy almost flinched – almost. This was a man of authority with little patience for matters that do not concern him. "And I'm busy," he told her. "You help me out, and I'll help you out. That's just the way it is."

Windy sighed. "Fine," she said, "let's get this over with." Good job, Windy, she thought bitterly. It hasn't been a month yet since you became the Arch-Mage and already you're falling back into your old ways. As the Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold, she was supposed to set an example to aspiring mages all over Skyrim. That meant no breaking the law, not even in secret, especially now that the College was at the peak of its unpopularity, no thanks to Ancano.

But she had to do this; for all she knew, the Thalmor had already managed to locate Esbern's exact whereabouts, which meant his life expectancy was dwindling by the minute or he could already be dead. She hoped it was the former or none at all.

"Good. Wait until I start the distraction and then show me what you're made of."

As the Nord announced to everyone at the marketplace, including the guards who were patrolling the area, to gather round his stand, Windy quickly made her way to Maseli's stand. When she saw that no eyes were on her, she quickly bent down and lockpicked the sliding panel under the stand and then the strong-box within it. With the silver-ring now in her hand, she casted a muffle spell and then an invisibility spell before walking her way to the back of the stack of crates where Brand-Shei the Dark Elf was lounging on. The poor fool was hanging on to every word the Nord merchant was saying. After she sucessfully planted the ring, Windy was surprised to find herself smiling a little.

When she was visible again, she joined the gathered crowd and nodded solemnly to the Nord merchant. He understood the signal and then told everyone his time was up and that they should all go back to their businesses.

"That was a waste of time!" she heard Brand-Shei complaining as he left. "I knew I shouldn't have come."

I can certainly agree with you on that, Windy thought sympathetically.

"Looks like I chose the right person for the job," the red-haired Nord said as he approached her, looking very impressed. "Here you go..." he handed her a modestly-filled coin purse. "Your payment, just as I promised."

Windy took the offering. "And Brynjolf?"

"You can find him at the tavern called the Ragged Flagon in the Ratway beneath Riften."

"The Ratway? You mean the underground tunnel system?" Windy had heard about the Ratway from J'zargo. The place was supposed to be crawling with skeevers, beggars, the desperate and the insane. And, a wide-eyed J'zargo told her, it is rumored to be the home of the Thieves Guild. Wonderful.

The man smiled. "That's the one. The entrance is near Honorhall Orphanage right over there."

"There has to be another way I can meet him," Windy objected. "He has to come up for fresh air sometimes."

He shrugged. "Perhaps, but Riften's a big city, lass. I guarantee you the Ragged Flagon is where he mostly spends his hours."

Windy sighed. "Alright, then." Without pausing to say goodbye, because the man didn't deserve it after what he had made her do, she turned and walked away in the direction of Honorhall Orphanage.