The Thief That Stole His Heart
Summary: Since the Dovahkiin restored the Guild to its full strength, the thieves have enjoyed their luck and filled their coin purses to the brim; but their luck will become even stronger when a foe becomes an ally. But what ties to the Guild does this thief have and why is Brynjolf so drawn to her?
I: Preying on the Moonlight
The Ragged Flagon was alive with music and flowing with mead as Vekel passed around the finest banquet he had ever made; today they would feast like kings and queens, but tonight they would take advantage of the shadows and embark on a quest for a valuable heirloom. Luck was on their side now that Mercer was gone and with a leader as powerful and fearsome as Odin, nobody was going to mess with the Thieves Guild any more.
"Can you believe this lad," Brynjolf turned to the Dragonborn with a beaming smile, "even our little Vex is smiling."
"It's been very prosperous for us, Brynjolf. You should take some pride, you made this all happen." Odin turned to his best friend and gave him a nod. "If you hadn't have approached me, none of this would have happened."
"What can I say? I know a good thief when I see one."
"As do I, that's why I'm sending you to Windhelm to steal Ulfric Stormcloak's axe right from above his head. There's no better way to show our authority than to take the axe from under the true High King's nose."
"I know you're not one for politics lad, but are you sure you want to make a statement like that?"
"The only thing I care about is showing Skyrim that the Guild is back for good." Odin got onto his feet, grabbing a plateful of food and a cup of mead. "Take Vex with you, divines know she needs out of this Ratway."
Brynjolf nodded in agreement and glanced at Vex as her smile faded while Delvin tried his best to get her attention. "Come on Vex, we've got a job to do."
As a war against the Empire raged on, the virtually empty palace was the perfect place to hit; minimum security while the guards were off fighting in Whiterun and Ulfric, well hopefully he would be closer to the front lines. Brynjolf wasn't eager to test the power of the Stormcloak leader's voice.
He kept a look out, keeping his eyes glued to the dirty, frozen city while Vex put her talents to good use. The heavy iron doors were locked for a change and they were hard locks to pick, but Vex was an expert. With a click of the latch, Vex swung the door open smugly and pulled Brynjolf out of the cold. Once they were certain that the palace was abandoned, they stood up straight and investigated rooms hoping to find the war axe before they were discovered.
Their luck was starting to run out, there was no sign of the axe anywhere. Perhaps Odin sent them on a wild goose chase or maybe Ulfric decided to wield his favoured axe in battle. Whatever the case was, no axe was to be found.
"Give up Bryn, the axe isn't here." Vex said lowly as she leaned against the wooden doorframe, watching Brynjolf as he searched through every chest and cupboard in the room.
"Odin wouldn't send us here if the axe isn't in the palace." He glanced over his shoulder at her as he stuck his arm into a deep chest. "Are you just going to stand there and watch me, lass?"
"What would you have me do, magic the axe out of thin air?" her tone was sarcastic as she waved her arms around. "Or perhaps I should wait for Ulfric to come back here so I can plead him to hand it over?" she dropped her arms back to her side and sighed exhaustedly. "Let's just get out of here, I'm tired and we have a long walk back to Riften."
Brynjolf slammed the lid of the chest shut, knowing Vex was right was one thing but he wasn't going to admit it. He just had to taste the sour flavour of defeat. "Let's get out of here before we both lose our heads."
As they made their way back into the main hallway of the palace, they noticed something shining in their eyes, reflecting the moonlight onto their faces. They stood and watched as the axe's blade taunted them but it was moving in thin air.
"You're seeing this, aren't you Vex?"
"Someone's messing with us," she unsheathed her dagger, hoping for a fight, "show yourself, if you think you're brave enough."
"I would suggest that you lower your dagger, unless you wish to lose your life." The voice was female and coming from the throne at the end of the room. "You have until the count of three to put that blunt dagger away or I'll send you both to Oblivion."
Brynjolf turned to Vex as she dared the invisible being to make a move. "Vex, put the blade away." He commanded with a growl.
"I can take her on."
"Let's not test that theory. Put it down, I'm your superior in this quest."
She stared up at him with a glare that was as sharp as her dagger but gave into him, putting it back in its sheath.
"Smart choice," the woman said with a slight laugh, "how about we talk this out like the honourable thieves we are."
"We'll talk when we can see who we're talking to." Brynjolf tried to sound like an authority figure, but it only made the woman laugh at him mockingly.
The woman revealed herself, lounging on the throne with the axe in her hand as if she was modelling it. Her face was covered by a cowl but from the attire she was wearing, it looked as if it was a mage's robe mixed with armour. She played with a fireball as she watched them, the two thieves could just about see a white smirk from the shadows as she pulled her cowl down a little lower.
"Who are you?" Brynjolf tried to take a step closer but the woman raised her finger, warning him to stop.
"That's for me to know and you to find out." She sniggered a little and she got onto her feet. "I guess I'm the new enemy of the Thieves Guild. Did I just declare war?"
"I think you just sign your death warrant." Vex went to grab her dagger but before she could, a low-level fireball skimmed past her hand and hit the iron doors.
"Send my regards to Mercer for me." The woman said smugly, but it was short lived.
"Mercer's dead, he's been dead for a year now." Brynjolf informed, a brow raised.
"What? That's not possible." The smirk faded into the shadows again and the woman shook her head, her voice became more upset. "No matter, send my regards to the Guild."
Before the thieves could say anything else, the woman was gone along with the axe. Vex looked at Brynjolf with a scowl but he was at a loss for words; how was he going to tell Odin about this and who was this mystery woman. A victim to crime or an ex Guild member looking for revenge?
"What are we going to say to Odin, he's going to be furious that we left without the axe." Vex complained as she folded her arms across her chest.
"Let's think about that later, for now we need to get out of this palace before Ulfric Stormcloak shows up."
The two thieves feared telling their guild master that they had failed, but what else were they to do? If there was anyone that would be able to find answers about that mystery thief, it was the Dragonborn.
Brynjolf sent Vex to her sleeping quarters and took the heavy burden of informing Odin about their failure; he hoped that out of the two of them, he would be more forgiving to Brynjolf, after all he was the one that introduced him to this life.
Odin was a strong, Nord man with shoulder length, blonde hair. He was the picture of a true warrior of Skyrim, everything that Ulfric envisioned the perfect Stormcloak rebel to be; but that wasn't the path Odin wanted to travel. For such a heavy and bulky man, he knew how to remain undetected and use the shadows to his advantage.
"Brynjolf, I'm surprised to see you back so early." He raised a brow at his friend and shook his head. "Is something wrong, Brynjolf? You look as if you saw the ghost of Ysgramor."
"I'm fine, lad I just have something to say to you." Brynjolf cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he tried to find the words.
"Did something happen to Vex? Spit it out, Bryn." He said impatiently.
"We didn't get the axe… Someone beat us to the punch." He blurted out, sighing to himself straight after. He was disappointed in himself, he didn't need his friend to be disappointed in him too. "It was like she knew we were going to be targeting the axe."
"That's preposterous!" he cried out, banging his fist on to the table. "Only two people knew of this plan, I was one of them…"
"And who was the other, lad? Perhaps we can find this rat together."
Odin looked across the table at his friend and pushed the black hood from his head. "There's a problem with that, you see the other person who knew is dead. Mercer created the plan, I just found it a few days ago, and kept it to myself." He began to pace behind the table, his hands gripped behind his back as he tried to work out what was going on.
"Did you tell your wife of what you were planning to do?"
"Ysolda wouldn't say anything to anyone, besides I just said that I kept it to myself. This has something to do with Mercer, but I know that he's dead. I dealt the final blow that ended his miserable life. Maybe he had been in contact with this mysterious thief just before his death. Or perhaps she wants revenge on the Guild for betraying him?"
"It seemed like she didn't even know that he was dead, she told me to send her regards to Mercer."
Odin's eyes lit up ever so slightly and a smile crept onto his face. "Then she's an enemy of Mercer Frey and not the Guild. We could recruit her, make this Guild even stronger." He sat on his seat behind the table and leaned on his arm as he watched Brynjolf watch him. "Tell me everything you know about this thief."
"She's a female, possibly some sort of mage. Her armour did look like it was crafted from a light ebony chain mail mixed with apprentice robes."
"A mage… I have a few contacts in the College of Winterhold. I'll make the journey there in the morning and try to find out what's going on once and for all. For now, Brynjolf, I think you should get some rest. You've earned it."
Brynjolf nodded in thanks and slipped out of the room, heading towards the living quarters of the Ragged Flagon. Vex was leaning against the wall, eagerly waiting news from her friend. She stepped over to him with her hands on her hips and raised a brow.
"Well, how did he take the news?"
"Better than I expected lass, he's going to take a trip up to Winterhold and see if the College can give him any information. I just hope this trip to Windhelm didn't bite him on the ass."
"Only time will tell. Do you fancy a drink before you head back to your room?" she looked a little optimistic, eyes twinkling up at him. She always had a soft spot for Brynjolf.
"Not tonight, lass. I need some rest. Perhaps another time." He smiled sympathetically at her and retired to his room, shutting the door behind him and locking it with his key.
Brynjolf was embarrassed, it was the first time he had ever failed a mission for the Guild and he took it harder than he ever expected to. Whoever did this, if they were found, better have a good explanation.