"Well lass, what did you have to tell me?" asked Brynjolf as he slipped into the seat opposite her. She drained her tankard of mead, caught Vekel's eye and flashed him two fingers, then leaned back and smiled at Brynjolf.
"Remember Irkngthand? More importantly, do you remember how much we made off it, not even counting the Eyes?" She paused as Vekel brought their drinks and set them on the table, then she took another swig as Brynjolf nodded at her expectantly. "Well, I discovered another Dwemer ruin-never mind how, long story-but the important part is that it's so big that it makes Irkngthand look like a broom closet, and it's been inaccessible to most people for thousands of years. Weirdest key I've ever seen, like a little metal ball. Anyway, the wizard who told me about it in the first place called it Blackreach."
At this Brynjolf nearly choked on his mead. Blackreach? Was the lass mad? He had heard the name once or twice from Gallus, but even he had considered it mythical rather than a real place. And yet...if it was real, the woman across from him would be the one to find it. For whatever reason, extraordinary things seemed to happen around her, things he had a hard time believing even when he had been present.
She continued, "...full of all sorts of old treasures, more than I could possibly carry at the time, and I barely even scratched the surface exploring it! So now that all this trouble with Alduin is done, I was thinking about heading back down there. I thought you might want to see it, and of course share in the loot." She fiddled with her tankard and looked at him expectantly, blue eyes widening a fraction as she searched his face for an answer.
Brynjolf's thoughts were a tangled mess. There was always plenty of work needing his attention around the Guild. Keeping a group of thieves working together-or at least not against each other-was quite a time-consuming and delicate task. Coordinating jobs and contacts also ate into his time. He was needed here. He could send another of the thieves with her, maybe Rune or Cynric. He should send someone else with her.
However, the way she described it...if anything, the lass had a gift for understatement, meaning that the trip would definitely be more than worth it. He thought back on Irkngthand, remembering the frustration as they tracked Mercer Frey and the terrible stench of the Falmer, but also remembering the incredible majesty of the dwarven ruins and the huge amount of riches they hauled out of it. As he looked into her wide blue eyes, he found himself nodding.
"It sounds intriguing, and more importantly, profitable. If there's anywhere near what you say is there, it'd be a shame to leave it be. I just need to take care of some things around here first and set things up for when we're gone. Oh, and where is it, anyway?"
...
As she and Brynjolf made plans to leave in a week's time, the tension she had refused to acknowledge began to melt away. Of all the people she had met in her travels around Skyrim, he alone made her feel like a young girl eager to impress.
Actually, one of the reasons she enjoyed the company of the thieves was how they treated her as just another thief, rather than a legend. Not that they didn't respect her, of course, but they were nowhere near as sycophantic as even the jarls were these days. Even Maven Black-Briar spoke kindly to her, in public at least.
"So I'll see you in Windhelm in a week's time, lass," Brynjolf said as he stood. She nodded to him and watched as he made his way back towards the cistern, lost in her thoughts of supplies and maps.
"Enjoyin' the view?" Delvin sat in the recently vacated seat across from her, and she started.
"I wasn't-I mean I...I was just thinking!" she blurted defensively.
Delvin chuckled and replied, "Thinkin' about Brynjolf's ass is more what I saw you doin', boss. Not that it's any of my business, anyway. What's this trip you two were plannin'? You both gonna leave us for a while?"
She tried not to show her embarrassment as she realized that she had indeed been staring at Brynjolf's posterior, and jumped at the opportunity to go with a change in subject. "Yeah, but we won't be too long. A month at the most, I'd say, but probably only a couple weeks. There's this big Dwemer ruin I found, and I need someone to watch my back who won't bring all the Falmer down on us at once. It's bound to be full of all sorts of valuable loot from what I saw, but I was in a bit of a rush at the time so I didn't get to go through much."
"Sounds good, boss. No better source for a tip than your own eyes. Ya know Vex and I will make sure this lot doesn't kill each other while you're gone. Just be careful and hurry back, eh? It'd be a shame to lose the one who beat this place back into shape." Delvin stood and walked over to Vex, presumably to tell her what he'd found out.
The Dragonborn also stood and gathered her belongings, and returned to her house to prepare and pack for the trip.