Ahalivia Thief Fic

Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Bethesda Studios. I own Ahalivia.

Chapter 1: Escape

My name is Ahalivia. I am a blonde Wood Elf, and want to be a thief. Why do I want to be a thief, you may ask? I hate the rich; they steal everything from the poor to line their fat pockets. I will show them. I will show them all.

I broke into the home of this rich man out in a small town and tried sneaking in quietly. Of course, I did not get far as there was a guard standing near me, eyeing me. I tried to snatch something, but he grabbed me by the base of my neck and hefted me off of my feet. He then walked out and reported me to the guards. I struggled to break free, but the guard knocked me out.

I awoke in the city prison, groaning as I got up. I sniffed the air and it was the smell of death and decay. I am so used to the sounds of nature and the woods that the smell of a dungeon is foreign to me, and rancid.

I stumble to my feet and noticed the rags I have on. I feel so horrible and stupid that I got caught. I had to be a thief, though. It was what I was fated to do.

I heard a Dunmar's voice in the cell across from me and, still bleary eyed from the guard knocking me out, I approached until I was at the cell door. He taunted me, obviously knowing I was a Bosmer and was driving in the fact that I used to live in the forest. That was true, I did. I liked it a lot. His taunts were hurting me, but I had to put up a good front. Deep down, though, I was terrified. I was going to die in a musty old dungeon. I looked away from him, knowing full well he was right.

My sharp ears then detected something. I looked up and heard the sounds of clanging armor and some voices. Now doubt, it was some of the guards from the prison. I looked again and I saw a regal figure standing with them. He obviously had money, but he was also old. One of the guards said they had to get to the Emperor to safety. That guard then looked at me and said that the cell was supposed to be off limits. She then threatened to kill me if got in the way. I walked to other end of the cell, never taking my eyes off of them. I had no idea what was going on, but these guards were not prison guard. They looked…stronger.

The Emperor looked at me, as if he was seeing into my very soul. I seemed to freeze, but not in terror. Awe was the best I could describe it. He went on about assassins murdering his sons, and that he was next. Before he could explain any further, the female guard with them pressed a brick on the wall and a secret passage opened up in the cell. They all went down it.

I blinked and waited until they disappeared and I slowly crept down the stairs. There was an overpowering stench, like the stench of death, as I came down the stairs quietly. I tried to stay close, but I was afraid they might kill me, so I decided to stay in the shadows and watch.

I peered around a corner and I was stunned into silence. There were these men in armor that I have never seen before, coming in out of thin air as they attacked the guards. They managed to kill one of them before the assassins were all vanquished. These must be the assassins the Emperor was talking about, but I have never seen such assassins. Were these the Dark Brotherhood? I had heard stories.

A few minutes go by, and they continue on. The door is locked behind them and I leave from my corner and pick up a blade. I also pick up that other blade the fallen guard had. I figured it may be worth some money. I looked around the bodies and looted them of potions and possibly other weapons.

Just then, I heard a clawing at the wall. I turned, making a defensive pose. Two rats tunneled through and were coming at me. I used my Beast Tongue power and communicated one rat to kill the other. The two rats fought each other, until both were dead. I looked at the space that the rats had made. It was a tight fit, but I did manage to squeeze through to the other side.

It was dark and dusty, like time forgot about this place. I tried navigating the darkness as best I could, but I had neither the Night Eyes of a Khajiit, nor any sort of way to see. I did not want to light a torch because it might give me away to anything else that was down here. I saw a chest in the darkness and opened it. Inside was a rusty axe and gold. I took the gold and continued onward.

As I navigated the darkness, I found a skeleton lying on the ground, and he had arrows. There was a bow next to him and, though rusted, it was still usable. I fired at a rat to test it and I was satisfied. I looked around the room and found a dead Goblin shaman with a key to the next room. No doubt, killed by the rats.

As I ventured through the musty tomb of this place, I encountered mostly rats. There was some treasure here, and I found a lot of lock picks. These would come in handy, for sure. I continued onward, finally getting used to the smell of decay. That was the case, until I saw rats coming at me, and I braced for an attack, but they ran right by me. I heard a shuffling and found a zombie was chasing after them. I used my minor flare attack to get rid of the zombie, and it went down hard. The smell of dead and charred flesh turned my stomach. I stopped and tried to catch my breath. I was desperately trying to slow my heart beat down and gain some sort of composure. When I was composed, I continued onward, until I saw some caverns. In these caverns, there were goblins, and I managed to kill one with two arrow shots. Surprisingly easy if you sneak up on them.

As I slipped past the first goblin, I saw a trap and chuckled to myself. I dispatched the next goblin near the trap and tripped the wire, waiting for it to spring. After it sprung, I continued onward. There was another trap and two goblins ready to come at me. I tripped the trap and watched as the logs crushed the goblins. Although crude, the trap was surely effective.

After defeating other goblins, including what appeared to be their leader, and delighting myself in the treasures she guarded, I managed to catch up to the Emperor and his guards. One of them accused me of being an assassin, but, before I could say anything, the Emperor said I was not one of them, and that I would be able to help them.

We continued onward, encountering more of those assassins. I stayed out of the way; I was an archer and, despite my skill with a blade, I was as good as the body guards. We reached the Sanctum and the guards and I split off; I was with the emperor and the others went in another direction, to find a way out. The Emperor gave me an amulet and told me to find another heir. A man named Jauffre would know where he is. I admit, it was a nice amulet, but there would be no way I could sell it. It was way too valuable.

No sooner did I receive the amulet, one of the assassins came through a secret entrance and stab the Emperor. I did my best to dodge the attack, and the other guards came and rescued me. I explained everything to them and one of the guards gave me a key to the sewers. He also thanked me for recovering the katana.

I skulked through the shadows, finding some chests that contained goodies and delved into the sewers. I covered my nose from the horrible stench and ventured onward, attempting to find the way out through this putrid maze. Goblins and rats could hardly stand in my way as I dispatched them without them knowing I was there.

It must have felt like hours as I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Hesitantly, I opened the gate…

Next Chapter:

The Imperial City…

AN: I have taken some creative liberties involved in writing this story and some actions will not be available in in-game play. You have been warned.