~Chapter 2~

I woke to the sound of morning chatter and a shoving against my shoulder.

"Garthar, get your lazy ass out of bed." It was Vex's voice. I shrugged away her hand and turned to my other side.

"Good morning to you as well, Sunshine."

"Bite me."

"Gladly."

Vex only laughed before swiftly knocking me on the head. "You ass. Now hurry up and get moving." Reluctantly I pushed myself up onto my elbows, running a quick hand through my hair and over my sleep fogged eyes.

"And just what has you waking a man up at such an early hour?"

"We've got a request from Maven herself. Says some righteous nord is trying to stick his nose into her business. She wants us to see to it he's caught under some, less than genuine accusations. That's where we come in."

Something about that story didn't feel right... "Maven requested me for something like that? I find that hard to believe."

Vex's features tightened, clearly uncomfortable being caught in her lie. "You don't quit these stupid questions of yours I'm going to break your teeth, you got that?"

I only laughed. She hit me again.

I rolled off the bed to my feet and began buckling up my gear. A twinge of soreness still clung to my muscles from the previous nights adventure with those Foresworn. I shrugged on the last piece of my leather padded gear, rolling my shoulders free of their tension. I glanced around the Cistern, seeing everyone up and about with the morning buzz of activity. Everyone looked occupied with something or another, which has been a common sight ever since I'd joined up here. I began counting heads, seeing if anyone had already left to get an early start on their work. As my eyes roamed the dark and watery cavern with their mental attendance, I found that everyone was near accounted for. All but one.

And just where could the mysterious Elweyn have disappeared to this morning... I gathered my weapons and strapped them back into their hidden holsters and pushed off the last of my grogginess. Vex was off elsewhere at the moment, so it would appear I had some time for a little investigating on our Guild Master.

Now that I thought about it, I recalled Delvin mentioning, "The Boss," on occasion with a relaxed, and content smile on his face while he talked silently with Brynjolf. I had always assumed he simply preferred to talk of Brynjolf's position in the third person or something. Delvin was prone to his oddities now and again, I guess I just never bothered to put two and two together until now. Never really had a reason to before.

I found myself wandering the rim of the Cistern, eyes scanning over everything. They came to a halt at the open ledger sitting upon the wooden desk where Brynjolf spent his hours droning over. The pages were scrawled with black inc and creases; a foreign mixture of numbers and symbols followed by initials and other acronyms that I hadn't the true interest to decode at the moment. I continued to circle the Cistern until I had come full circle and stood in front of the narrow hallway leading back to the Ragged Flagon. With an unsatisfied huff I tucked my hands into my pant pockets.

"You lose somethin?" Inquired Vipir. He was staring sideways at me from the edge of his bed.

I let out a wry chuckle, "Nah. Just lost in my own thoughts I suppose." Vipir beamed a smile,

"Haha!" He belted whole-heartedly, "Got your mind snagged so soon, eh Garthar?" My mind whirred for a moment, deciphering what he was implying. Could my suspicions be that obvious?

"Huh? Oh, ha, I suppose you say that."

Vipir gave a sly smile and shook his head, "Good luck my friend, Vex is as wicked as they come. She'll have you on a pike before you even know she was there."

"Vex...?" I said, confused as to what he meant. Then I realized. "Ah yes, I've grown quite aware myself." I cast a wary look over my shoulder, as if Vex were going to appear any moment and drag me out by my ear.

"We don't have many ladies, but the few we do..." Vipir's eyebrows did a quick implying lift. "They're worth the pain."

"You can say that again," I laughed, crossing my arms across my chest. "It's hard to keep your eyes on just one."

"Between Vex, Sapphire, and Tonillia..." He trailed off, "Just one would be enough to die a happy man." That list seemed one short.

"And Elweyn?" I asked. Vipir looked up for a moment at the name then gave an indifferent shrug of his shoulders.

"If you're into elves, than sure, luck be with you. Can't say I fancy her myself though. I can't quite say I remember her looks very much." He spoke the last words absent-mindedly, more to himself than me. The words stuck home and my eyebrows lifted in curiosity.

"What do you mean?"

Vipir's body tensed and he rubbed the back of his neck, almost embarrassed he'd said anything at all. "Well, I can't say I remember every detail about how she looks. Ever since she returned to us she's kept her face hidden behind her hoods. No idea why; she's always been odd, but not to this degree."

"Since she came back? Just how long was she gone?" There was no passing up this opportunity to find out about her. Vipir squinted his eyes in thought,

"A little over a year if I recall correctly."

My jaw dropped, "An entire year?" I exclaimed. I honestly had not expected such a long time. A month or two sure, but a whole year? What could she have possibly gotten herself into...

"Mhmm. She hasn't been right since then. Kinda miss her though. She was fun." I laced my arms together and leaned my weight against a bed post. Disappeared for a year, comes back and hides her face... Attacked and scarred? Perhaps. Hiding her face in shame? Plausible, it could explain the amounts of money she returns with as guilty recompense for her wrongs... Vipir must have taken notice of my silence.

"...Hey." My head lifted and I was instantly brought back to attention. He and I shared a look for a moment, his eyes almost looked worried; like he'd said something he shouldn't have. "Don't go giving her any trouble or digging up history that ain't yours. Elweyn has earned her place as Guild Master, and you can be damn sure she works hard to prove it." He paused for a moment, "I don't need to see her face to know she's got her own share of torment."

I only stared at him at first, attempting to process his request. "We've all got our share of torment." I said coolly.

"Aye, but something tells me hers is something we shouldn't go digging up." He paused. "Without reason."

It would seem I wasn't the only one with curiosity on the subject.

"Garthar!" shouted Vex, her voice growing closer as it echoed. I turned my back to Vipir,

"Coming dear."

She didn't respond as sweetly.

The air hung upon the ground in heavy gray curtains; thick enough to cut though with a blade. It filled my lungs and sank heavily into my muscles. The fog, as hazy and dreary it made us, the cover it provided was more than beneficial t us. Vex's pale fingers worked at the lock of the door as expertly as she could manage until a reassuring click sounded from the other side of the door. She glanced over her shoulder towards me, a devilish grin gracing the corners of her lips. With a careful push, the door swung open into the house and we quickly filed in and clicked the door shut behind us. Silently we crept across the hallway, glancing every which way before turning corners. The employer had informed Brynjolf that the house would be empty around now due to some, "previous engagement", and so it seemed to hold true. We remained cautious regardless.

Vex had kept herself positioned in from of me the entire time, no doubt keeping me from attempting to sneak past her and venture ahead by my own. I can't quite say that I minded, the view from behind seemed rewarding enough for me. Sometimes I wondered if it was a superiority thing, or it was her way of being protective; either way made me laugh. We came to the base of a stairwell when Vex came to an abrupt stop, freezing in her place before ducking to the side, grabbing me and pulling me along with her in the process. I managed to catch my footing and caught myself before slamming my side against the brick wall beside her. Before I could open my mouth to question what had spooked her, her hand reached out to clamp over my lips. I let out a muffle of surprise but fell silent immediately after. Her entire body was tense, rigid and ready to print at a moments notice.

"People." Her words sent electricity up my spine, my fingers instinctively reached for my blade, lacing themselves firmly around the hilt. Her hand released my mouth and reached for hers as well. Her eyes moved back and forth rapidly, her natural survival instincts kicking into gear. I looked around the room, scanning for a quick escape route should need be. We were hugging the wall beside the wooden staircase which led up to the first floor from the cellar. Approximately 20 paces from our current position was an iron-barred grate which surely led down and out into a nearby river. Grates like that were installed in all basements and buildings along or near bodies of water in case of flooding. The grates iron bars were rusted and crooked, only needing a swift kick to its edges to set it free from its molding. The pipe should be more than wide enough to accommodate the two of us if we slid down one at a time.

"Can't believe that old broad was paranoid enough to sick her dogs on the man already." spoke a gruff voice from the floorboards above us.

"Guess the bitch has more skeletons in her closet than we thought." answered another, this voice more higher pitched than the last. "Come on, the faster we finish them off the faster we get back to base."

I clenched my teeth then gave Vex's shoulder a nudge. She looked at me with a serious face. I gestured with my chin towards the grate and went to move but before I could shift my weight off my feet she threw out a hand to stop me.

"No!" she whispered, her icy-blue eyes intense, "We're finishing the job."

I only gawked at her, searching her for any sign of uncertainty. She was solid in her decision. I swallowed hard and bowed my head to her. There would be no convincing Vex otherwise in the matter, so arguing with her would be pointless.

Vex's grip tightened around her blade, scowling as she stared up the wooden stairs where the two or three men's feet creaked against the wooden floorboards. They were searching for us. A door opened and closed, followed by yet another set of footsteps.

Shit... There's more of them? My eyes rested on Vex once again, watching her fingers tense and fiddle with her weapons. She was planning on killing her way through... My hand instinctively reached for hers which held the blade, forcing her to break her thoughts of murder and bring her back to me. Her eyes drifted from above to her hand then up to me. I clenched her hand in mine, forcing the blade from her grip to fall into my other hand. I kept my gaze locked on hers,

"We're not the Dark Brotherhood." I said frankly. Vex's eyes went wide, "We have our job. That isn't it." I kept my voice to a low whisper, but my words were strong. Vex's shoulders eased and she unclenched her fists. There was a wave of emotion that ran across her face as she looked at me, relief almost, not that I would ever hold my breath waiting for a 'Thank you.' I gave her a reassuring nod then released her hand and sheathed her blade back into it's holster. We waiting for the footsteps above us to fade to another section of the house before I made to move past Vex towards the stairs, only to have her arm outstretch in front of me, blocking my path. She gave me a look of silent resolution, not speaking a word but telling me a story. I stepped back, lettering her continue first.

From the distant sound of the footsteps they all seemed to have gone to search upstairs, talking amongst themselves and calling for us to, "come out and play." Hmph, as if we'd ever give ourselves up. Alive anyway. Vex and I crouched and stealthily crept our way down the wooden hallways lined with empty bookshelves and rickety looking tables. We had been instructed to place a purse of stolen gems along with a nice amount of septims inside the target's personal strongbox which should be located just beside his bed in the master bedchamber.

Loud noises were coming from the floor above us; thuds, banging and creaking wooden planks. They were searching for us. As we approached the base of the stairs leading to the second floor, the noises of the men appeared to be a relatively safe distance from the stairs, giving us an opening to make our way to the second level of the house undetected and slip silently back into the shadows. This floor appeared to be slightly less furnished than the downstairs; several weapon plaques hanging bare on the wall, the floor lacking a rug and the few shelves in my view cried to be filled wit books and other trinkets. Before I could continue my mental analysis of the surroundings Vex slipped past me and continued to move across the hallway, in the opposite direction of the voices; I quickly followed suit, retaking my place beside her. It didn't take a master observer to tell that Vex was on extra high alert. She wasn't used to things not going according to plan, especially while accompanied by someone else. Vex slipped expertly in and out of the shadows like a shadow herself, the only light touched her reflected lightly off the metal buckles on her gear and the few stray stands of blonde hair that escaped into the light. I felt myself grin watching her, seeing her dance through the darkness, mind locked onto the task at hand, no matter how daunting it seemed. She truly was amazing...

"Garthar," Vex whispered, motioning with her hand for me to come closer. "I need you to find a way to lure them over to this side so I can slip in and and leave the drop."

My mind whirred at her request, instantly beginning to process courses of action and their possible outcomes. I gave a swift nod and turned to advance in the opposite direction. My eyes scanned over the room in search for something that would spark the beginning of my thought process. My vision locked onto the window across the room above a table set with tankards, plates and several scattered utensils. One by one the pieces clicked together, I think it's time for the wind to pick up a bit...

I quickly undid the loose lock on the window and opened it fully, waiting for the next powerful gust to blow against the side of the house. As soon as the wind slammed in through the window I swept my arm across the tabletop, forcing all of its contents to spill onto the floor in a loud crash. Using the clattering and bouncing of the items I concealed my hurried footsteps and swiftly made my way back to the safety of the shadow cast by the opposite side of the adjacent wall where Vex had been moments ago.

"By the Gods!" One of the men exclaimed at the sudden calamity.

"What was that?" Growled another. Their heavy footsteps echoed across the hallway into the other room, blades sliding from their sheathes as they moved.

"Bloody- It was the window."

"Damn wind. It knocked all of this clean off."

"Just hurry up and clean it up, will you? We don't have time to waste on petty things like this."

"Yeah, yeah..." mumbled the others.

I kept my back attached to the wall, counting the seconds; 10...11...12...13...14...15... Dammit Vex hurry up. And just like that, her figure slipped into my peripheral vision along my other side and back into the shadows. Her features nearly beamed with success and she motioned for us to leave. One after the other we slipped back down the hall to the stairs, down to the first floor, down the other stairs and out the basement door we first came through and made like hell towards home.