[A/N] Hello, everyone! I know there were quite a few people waiting on this and I'm sorry about taking so long to post again; "Out of the Ashes" needed to be finished first and I had a couple of hectic days where I didn't have time to even touch a keyboard. But it's up now, and I'll post the rest of what I have over the next few days... until I run out of chapters and I have to start writing again. :)

[DISCLAIMER] I do not own The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim or anything related to it; that's Bethesda's deal, not mine (sadly). However, Kajsa Red-Blade is my original character and she belongs to me.

CHAPTER I - The Sweep Job

Kajsa Red-Blade had an uncomfortable, trapped feeling about Windhelm as soon as she stepped through the gates. The stone buildings with their high arches and fiercely pointed roofs towered over everything; it almost would have reminded her of Markarth if there had been an abundance of treacherous stairways and less ice and snow.

"You come here where you're not wanted, you eat our food, you pollute our city with your stink, and you refuse to help the Stormcloaks!" It was a mustached Nord man, arms akimbo and shouting at a slim, stiff-backed Dunmer woman.

The young woman sighed. However, the amiable people of Windhelm are very reminiscent of Markarth.

"But we haven't taken a side because it's not our fight," the dark elf protested.

"Hey," another Nord man in ragged robes, standing at the first man's side, suggested, "maybe the reason these gray-skins don't help in the war is because they're Imperial spies!"

"Imperial spies?" The woman was shocked. "You can't be serious!"

"Maybe we'll pay you a visit tonight, little spy," the first man threatened ominously. "We got ways of finding out what you really are." With that, he and his friend strode off across the courtyard, brushing past Kajsa.

The Dunmer noticed her and sneered. "Do you hate the dark elves? Are you here to bully us and tell us to leave?"

"No. I don't hate your people," the young woman answered honestly, a little taken aback by the angry question.

The other's shoulders slumped as a sad, pitying look came over her face. "You've come to the wrong city, then. Windhelm's a haven of prejudice and narrow thinking, unworthy of one such as you."

"Looked like those Nords were giving you trouble." Kajsa glanced over her shoulder; the two men in question had stopped walking and were glaring at them.

"Nothing new there. Most of the Nords living in Windhelm don't care much for us, but Rolff is the worst by far. He likes to get drunk and walk around the Gray Quarter, yelling insults at us in the small hours of the morning." The dark elf snorted dryly. "A real charmer, that one."

"Sounds like he's a popular fellow," the other woman replied sarcastically. "But why would anyone think you're a spy?"

"Some of these Nords will come up with any excuse to despise us. And it isn't just the dark elves they hate – they make a target of the Argonians as well." She paused and then continued bitterly. "In fact, just about anyone who isn't a Nord is fair game for their bullying."

"Are you surprised that I don't stand with them?"

"Mildly," the Dunmer admitted, making her way to the steps leading up to the tavern that dominated the courtyard and sat down. "You are a Nord, correct?"

"My father was," Kajsa said, joining her. "My mother was a Breton. Most people believe I'm a Nord, though. Makes it easier."

"So you know some kinship with the Mer, then." The other smiled. "What's your name?"

"Kajsa. Kajsa Red-Blade. And you?"

"Suvaris Atheron. It's a pleasure to meet you." She shook the Nord woman's proffered hand. "If you don't mind my asking, why have you come to Windhelm?"

"Business." And rumors. "I'll only be staying for a night."

"Come down to the New Gnisis Cornerclub, then," Suvaris recommended. "Ambarys and I don't see eye-to-eye, but everyone knows the drinks there are far better than those at Candlehearth Hall."

"I'll keep that in mind." Kajsa stood. A strong drink might be just what I need to keep me from tiring – and getting sentimental with people I've just met. "Farewell for now."

"Safe travels."

Stealthily closing the heavy, metal-plated door behind her, Kajsa looked around approvingly at the interior of House Shatter-Shield. The wood walls with exposed beams, the worn rugs, and the soft light from the chandelier gave it a cozier impression than the exterior.

Shame that they keep the place locked up so tightly. She smiled to herself. Must be worried about robbers.

"There are three valuables that you need to acquire," Vex had explained matter-of-factly. "A golden urn, a jeweled flagon, and a golden model of a ship. They shouldn't be locked up, so it'll be easy pickings if you don't get caught."

Kajsa had grinned craftily at the Imperial infiltrator. "I don't get caught, Vex. That's why I'm doing this, remember?"

The first of the artifacts, the golden urn vaguely shaped like a beehive, was resting on a table in the adjoining pantry. After stashing her lockpicks in the hidden pocket up her sleeve, the Nord thief snatched the urn, wrapped it in some linen, and placed it in an empty sack.

While creeping out of the small room, a flash of gold from the top of a shelf by the door caught her attention. Going up on tiptoes, Kajsa grabbed the jeweled flagon and stashed it in the sack after swaddling it in the same manner as the urn. It wouldn't do for anyone to hear a tell-tale clink.

Crossing into another neighboring room, she snuck up the stairs, being careful not to make a single creak. The second floor seemed to mirror the layout of the first: a main room and then two others flanking it. An elk's head was mounted over a crackling fire in the grate.

Somebody's here. The thief slunk through the doorway on her right, emerging into a large, but mostly empty bedroom. On a carved wooden bed backed against the wall, a middle-aged woman slept soundly.

The golden model of the ship sat on a table at the far end of the room. Kajsa took considerable care in binding it and placing it in her sack, all the while glancing over at the sole occupant of House Shatter-Shield.

Job's done. Might as well see what else there is in here. The thief stole over to the oblivious woman and carefully pickpocketed her with bated breath.

A golden house key was the only thing that was on her. Disappointed, but placing it in a pouch on her armor anyway, the Nord woman crept out of the room.

Strolling along the darkened streets of Windhelm, Kajsa turned the key she'd found over in her hand. Once night had fallen, she'd tested it on every house and shop she passed in the hopes of it opening. None of them worked.

Perhaps it belongs to a safe, she mused. If so, I might want to return to House Shatter-Shield and search it a little more carefully. Who knows: it might even be the key to the place!

She paused in her tracks and glanced around, not fully realizing where she was. Glancing to one house and then another, the thief dejectedly recognized that she was lost.

Curse my faulty sense of direction! Shaking her head, the Nord thief took another look at her surroundings. Brass gates on either side of her heralded the entrances to two grand houses.

I don't think I tried these ones yet. Checking to make sure that no guards were about, she ran under one of the gates and up the front steps of the one on her left. Crouching by the door, Kajsa whipped out the key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it carefully.

There was a tiny click as it unlocked.

Mildly surprised, the thief pried open the door, noting that no lights were on in the house. Turning around, she shut the door behind her and then squinted into the darkness. Her eyes suddenly widened at the sight before her.

Gods and Daedra... what happened here?

[A/N] True story, dat. "Blood on the Ice" wouldn't start normally for me, so I had to employ some roundabout methods to make it do so - and it worked. The only lasting problem was that Susanna's corpse randomly appeared in the graveyard a few days after I completed it. :P Oddly enough, on my current file, the quest started without a hitch and without any bugs whatsoever.