Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Bethesda Studios and I own nothing except for the OC and plot. This is a nonprofit work.
Thank you to all of you that have Followed and Favorited this story! Also thank you for the guest who asked me to post soon.
I know it has taken me longer to post, no idea why I have all the ideas of what to write. Just been distracted with cleaning my place up and fixing my computer.
I have been going back and forth about actually writing the walkthrough of this mission. I am not the best with fight scenes when it is only one side. I need to improve of course, and there will be fight scenes to come. But I have decided to only do snippets of the mission. Mostly because how long I seemed to make the parts I did write.
I am of course trying to get Vokun and the Dragonborn together which should happen really soon! Just be patient with me….
Anyways I hope you enjoy the second part to this chapter!
Lygleif had checked his gear when he had gotten dressed. A full set of superior scaled armor, made by his own hands. One orcish great sword of burning, one elven dagger of sapping and two potions of invisibility. Yet after he walked through that door and heard the click of the lock in place, he began to unravel. Malborn had wanted him to do this stealth, mostly sneak around the place until he found the information. Maybe use a bow or dagger to assassinate anyone before they got a chance to see him. While he was a member of the thieves' guild in Riften, Lygleif had not really bothered to progress his ability's in sneaking yet. Most of the time he just waited till the inhabitants of houses where gone, giving him freedom to roam around the place in search of valuables. Other times when he was unlucky enough to get caught he would just end up running away. The only issues with this method was that normally he had to use his strength to do silly chores for people, such as chopping up firewood, in order to gain enough gold to bribe the guards.
He would admit it seemed a little shifty, and it was not something he had been typically proud of. His poor sneaking skills was part of the reason he had not returned to the thief's guild since his trip to Goldenglow Estates. Now was not the time to dwell on such ideas. He had a job to do and just sitting around was going to result in his untimely death from the Thalmor just ahead.
In front of him was a hall with two rooms, one on either side. Both doors where open but from the left he could hear to men jabbering on about robes. Lygleif ducked down into the hunched over position Brynjolf had taught him their first encounter in Riften. His hand shifted to the invisibility potion tied to his waist but stopped. Surely he could make it down the hall without it, the potions only worked for so long and where a pain to find for purchase in the city's.
He had made it to the room on the right without being noticed. Surely there was something inside this room. The place was a wreck with tables thrown up against the wall, and cobwebs decorating the ceiling. It would have been nice if this room offered a way around the two men back down the hall. There was only one way forward and it was probably going to be messy.
Lygleif had tried so hard to perform a silent assassination of the one man with his dagger. His blade sunk silently into the high elf with such speed that even he was surprised how easily the man's flesh broke away. Unfortunately the man's companion had picked the perfect time to look over and see his friend crumple over and to the ground.
The Thalmor man pulled out his steel sword from its sheath and brought it down hard on the table, just inches from where Lygleifs hand had been. "Screw this!" He jumped backwards to dodge the next attack putting room between the two of them. His Orcish greatsword now in his hands ready to taste the blood of his enemy.
"Die Nord!"
The Thalmor fought valiantly, even landing a few lucky blows against his armor. In the end though his body became a bloody corpse in the far left corner away from the stairs. He should have heard the mage coming down the stairs to see what the sounds where. But he was already ransacking the corpse for anything of value. The crackle of lightning could be heard as the mages powers came forth. Lygleif's back was the first target as the man threw his lighting spells forward.
Lygleif felt the numbing sensation travel over his back and down his arms first. If he had been much of a mage he would feel his magicka being sucked from his veins. Instead though it just made his limbs numb, making it impossible to tell if he was holding onto his blade. Let alone swinging hard enough to kill. This was not enough to stop him from attacking and he went forth to end the mages life. The mages barrier came up as he swung his sword down, causing the blade to glance off it. "You damn mages!"
A wiser man would have tried approaching from another direction, or even another tactic. Lygleif instead just kept raising his sword up and slamming it down against the weakening barrier, wildling away a little bit of the man's magicka and health with ever blow. Finally the mage dropped to one knee, with a surge of magicka he threw everything he had into his lightning and released the shield. Lyglief felt the stinging sensation ripple through his chest, his muscles spamming as his blade came down.
His vision was filled with little white dots which prevented him from seeing his blade come down and split the man's head in two. All he could feel was a warm liquid pulling around his feet as he stood there stunned. Had Lydia been there she would have knocked him against the head in an attempt to 'clear his mind'.
Thank the nines for only the three men. Had there been another attacker waiting Lyglief would not have been able to fight off his attacks in this dazed state. A few minutes later he was feeling better, the spots had almost vanished and the tingling feeling in his fingers told him he would not be numb for much longer. While his tactic of brute strength had worked for the first three men, he would not be able to wait around after each wave to regain his strength. The Thalmor where not to be messed with, as he was beginning to learn and their mages could pack quiet a punch.
Lyglief rummaged through the high elfs items, he removed a set of Thalmor armor that the warriors had been wearing. With some work it could be decent armor, or at the very least a nice display in his house. Once he was sure that the only path forward was the stairs Lyglief returned to the crouched position and obtained a potion of invisibility. "New plan, bottoms up." Within seconds the potion began to take its effect. A faint glow ran down his body as the skin began to fade away into nothingness. The bottom bits of the potion was applied to his armor and blade, to ensure that they two where hidden from the watchful eye of his enemy.
Upstairs to the right was another hall that lead to a dining room, ready for some occasion. While the glow of the silverware against candle light was enough to entice any thief's eye, he passed up the chance. Instead he stole a few potions, such as a potion of health. Regeneration and stamina, located on each side of the room. Down the other hallway was just a plain bedroom with a few decorative bits and bobs here and there. But nothing he deemed valuable enough to bother carrying the rest of the way.
There was nowhere else to go but back outside into the cold snow. His feet crunched against the fresh snow and slick stones. Making him even less gracefully then he had been inside.
Brynjolf would have been proud of how he handled himself on the walls. The Thalmor had been spaced enough apart that with a few quick blows his prey was cut down without a sound. The invisibility potion was holding up for now, but already his blade was being soaked in the blood of its prey. If he was not careful the Thalmor would see a piece of floating blade and realize there was someone there watching.
After sneaking around the edge of the courtyard Lygleif had almost walked straight into the mage at the door. With the potions effects beginning to fade away Lygleif had improvised to make the guard walk away from his post, leaving the door free for him to go into.
Inside Elweens Solar his luck had ran out once more. Not only did he have to engage in battle with two Thalmor soldiers, and a Thalmor mage by the name of Rulindil. Upon picking their items he found a key with the inscription Interrogation Chamber off the dead mage. Finally alone he had gone through the rooms on the lower level searching through them. Finally he found a chest, hidden behind a table which held three notes. Dragon Investigation: Current Status, Thalmor Dossier: Delphine, Thalmor Dossier: Ulfric Stormcloak
The first note was written to First Emissary Elenwen which told of a man who they believed held information about the rise of the dragon. 'The informant' as they called him had been moved to Embassy, in the cell closest to Elewen's office stairs, for interrogation. While the note had no date in particular, he assumed that since there was no follow up note or report the man must still be here. While Delphine would be disappointed to know that the Thalmor had just as much of a clue on what was going on. The acquisition of this man could be rather useful for them. Plus it would screw over the Thalmor, which sounded like a pretty good plan at the moment. Placing the documents into his bag for later Lygleif moved to the stairs on the left side of the room. Going to where he assumed was the interrogation chamber.
There was a soft knock on the large wooden doors to her chamber. For someone to disturb her must mean something new had developed. Quickly the priest moved to the edge of the sarcophagus plucking her dark mask up and back to her tattered face. While her subordinates wouldn't question the removal of something as silly as a mask. Alduin would more than likely find it insulting that she removed his token of power from her body. Once everything was back perfectly in place Vokun turned to the doors ready for her guest. "Geh"-"Yes".
Karrygg, her second in command, pushed open the heavy wooden door as if it was nothing. His skin was stretched tight around his eyes as if the man was trying to smile to her. "Mu lost govey qethsegol nol zen wah."- "We have removed the stone from the path." Karrygg opened the door wider bowing his head down some. He expected her to run off to the Library now, which in truth she had planned to do the moment the path was clear. "Studen Karrygg."-"Excellent Karrygg." Quickly she went down the stairs and out the door waiting for her commander to lead her down the hall.
The dead waited for her arrival, most dropping to their knees as she came to the entrance of her beloved Library. If they could have seen her face they would have seen her toothy grin at the sight of the ancient books covered in dust. "Alok. Niist los vorey kroson wah dreh. Fah nu praan ahrk rim hin mul." – "Rise. There is other work to do. For now rest and gain your strength."
Without waiting for her people to go off their separate ways Vokun almost ran into what had been her sanctuary for years. It seemed that after she had been laid to rest this area of her tomb had been left alone. Which was to be expected, since most people could not read back then. It was only the rich and powerful which learned the art of words on paper.
Greedy hands fluttered over the dusty spines of books to clear away the years of neglect. There had to be a book within about souls, let alone ways to transfer them from vessel to vessel. It was only Alduin that could eat the soul from the body without problem. Which meant that most of the books written in the library would be useless. The few books written in the tongue of the dov had been written by others loyal to the dov. Most of these books where what the dragons allowed them to understand about the world. Mostly of Alduins greatness and what was expected from them in exchange for his strength.
Vokun grabbed several large books from the stone walls. The first was bound in a burgundy leather with the golden words of the dov sowed in. If her memory was as good as she assumed the book was mostly about Alduin and his power. The other book that laid off to the side, was a rich mahogany color inscribed with 'Dovah Thun' or 'Dragon Law'.
In the middle of the library played host to a large ornate stone table. The stone was a dark grey marbled with mineral veins as dark as night. The stone had been imported from the Throat of the World years ago. The blacksmiths of her land had crafted metal dragons that held the slab of stone up from the ground. While the table was made partially for decoration it showed how obsessed they were with the dov kind.
Vokun toke the books and placed them on the table for her use. The faint glow of the torches, which had been set up before she had entered the room, casted deep shadows over the room perfect for hiding in. Vokun did not mind the shadows, let someone try to attack her while she studied.
The old pages held a musty smell from years of being sealed up like the rest of this tomb. They once cream pages now tainted yellow by age with tattered edges that threatened to rip away. The state of the books didn't matter now, for the first time in years she was able to read again. She had a purpose, a goal worth achieving.
…
After what seemed like hours of reading the answer she was looking for still eluded her. What had originally been a stack of two books had grown into a mountain of books that had been arranged around the table. Some books had still been open when she had tossed them aside. It was about half way through her current stack that Vokun had retrieved a pink crystal off one of the shelves. The gem was mostly for decorative purposes but there had been rumor of the mages in the north trying to use the stones for something more.
Now as she discarded another useless book her fingers ran over the polish gem mindlessly. "There is a way, what am I missing?" She was beginning to feel discouraged in her search. Her mind was a whirl of thoughts and ideas all clashing together at once. Within this massive storm would be the answer. Vokun tried to relax herself, clearing her mind to try and clam down the storm inside.
The dragon priest calm exterior broke then. Her face twisted in anger as the pink shard was launched against the wall of the library. Her fist came down against the stone table. A cracking sound vibrated through the room but she didn't seem to notice. Books where being flung every direction, pages flying into the sky like scattered birds. A scream left her lips and drowned away the sounds of paper fluttering to the ground.
The draugr could hear their leader's screams within the room and began to grow restless. Though the doors had been closed they did little to hide her rage. When Karrygg had arrived to the room there was already a crowed of followers all standing around the door afraid to open the door. He sent for Avi'nk to be brought here immediately. Never had he heard her act like this, even when Alduin went missing in battle and left them to die. When Avi'nk arrived he too seemed weary of the task at hand.
Vokun did not see the large wooden doors of the room open up. She did not hear their feet cross the stone floor to her but she felt their hands against her arms. Like an animal she instantly began to fight back allowing her magicka to flow forth from her body. A dark flash of magicka ran down her extended hands and over her body. Like a protective layer it clung to her protecting her from the blows of her foes. There was shouting and screams as she began to unleash her fire upon those that dared to attack her. Vokun tried to get a good look at those that held her but the room was in chaos. Fire climbed up the walls of the chamber filling the air with a dark smoke. Bits of glowing ambers streaked across the room as evidence of the growing fire. Someone within the room was using ice, trying to freeze her or something else. It created a puddle of water on the ground which they all began to slide in as she struggled against them. Pain….a blinding white pain in the back of her head. Her body went numb as the world began to shrink out of reality. Her rushed breathing began to calm as she blacked out and went to the ground.
Avi'nk and Karrygg dragged their fallen priest body out of the library and with the help of others carried her back downstairs to rest. They would deal with the consequences of knocking her out later. As soon as the fire had started a few of the braver draugr had entered the room and tried using whatever ice destruction spells they had to stop the flames. Now they battled to save what little was left of the charred room.
Years of knowledge ruined in one fit of blinded rage.
Lygleif used the key he had gotten off Rulindil's body to open the door below the stairs. He was on the second floor of an opened out room. He got down into a crouching position and moved to the edge of the railing. The room had multiple entrances at the top along with what could be an exit near the back half. At the bottom of the room was large metal cages, one which held a man that was chained to the wall. That had to be 'the informant' mentioned in the letters he found upstairs. Other than the caged man the room seemed empty, probably because of the dull party outside. No doubt someone would soon find the dead guards body's. Then there would be people swarming the whole embassy looking for him. Of course he planned to be gone by then.
Lygleif straightened out as he walked down stairs around the corner to the bottom layer of the room. As he emerged from the entry way a Thalmor woman down the hall turned at the end of the cells and began to walk back down the line towards him. Maybe it was the shadows of the entry way but the woman did not spy him yet as she approached giving him enough time to tuck himself back inside the entry and against the darkened walls. As quietly as possible he tried to draw his Orcish GreatSword from its sheath on his back. The woman heard the sound of metal against metal and turned to look at the door. She quickly equipped her own blade before moving towards him.
Lygleif didn't even give the woman the chance. As soon as solider was close enough he lunged his blade forward into the woman's neck. Quickly her face turned to panic as the blood began to leak around his blade. Her hands move to the blade and managed to dislodge it. The only probably for the elf was that Lygleifs blade was the only thing keeping her from bleeding dry. With the blade no free the blood began to gush out like a fountain. Within seconds the guard was on her knees, her eyes rolling back in her head, as she meet death and collapsed.
The body left a large puddle at the entry way that forced him to walk through the blood. While he didn't mind the sight of blood he hated how everything he seemed to own was stained by the crimson liquid. His shoes would be no different now. The metal of his blade had red stains running down the veins of the metal that made it look as if the blade actually drank the blood of his enemy's. While he had heard of such swords existing, so far he had not run into one yet.
Before anyone came down to switch out with the guard he ran to the desk on the right of the line of cells. While the desk was blank of any important papers there was a chest next to the desk, much like upstairs, and to his surprise there was another dossier. This one was labeled Thalmor Dossier: Esbern. Was this the man that was in the cell next door? The top few lines made his heart drop, while this mystery man was not next to him it seemed that he was very valuable to the Thalmor. He was considered the highest priority and was to only be captured. Had Lygleif had more time he would have gone into the long background of the man. But he still had a man to question and an escape route to plot out. So like the other dossiers he secured the new one in his bag to look over later.
A soft moan left the cage of the man in the first cell. According to the papers he read above the Thalmor had been torturing him for the past day or so. He moved to the open door swinging it open. The man was obviously Nord in decent judging by the fair skin and dirty blond hair. His arms where latched to the wall so that he danged down with his knees almost touching the floor. As soon as Lygleif toke a step forward the man spoke with fear present in his voice.
"I've told you, I don't know anything else about it."
The man kept his eyes glued to the floor his head hung in defeat. They had beaten the defiance out of him and he did not look to see who was there. Merely accepted that he had to be one of the Thalmor that held him hear. He wanted to mention he was not one of the Thalmor but feared the man would not tell him all he knew then. A sigh escaped him as he came to the conclusion of what he should do.
"I'd like to hear it all one more time."
"Fine whatever you want. Can't you just kill me and get it over with? There's this old man, I've seen him around Riften. I don't know where he lives, and I don't know his name…..Yes he matches the description of the Esbern you're looking for. Maybe its him…maybe it isn't. That's all I know….Okay!"
Riften, no doubt the thieves guild could help him locate the man in question. For a sum of gold of course. Lygleif considered the idea of sending a letter off to the guild once he escaped. Couriers could often be quiet useful in sending information without it being captured. But with the starting war the courier would have to pass over land that Ulfric considered his own. It is possible that the man could be captured and such delicate information could be past back to the Thalmor. Besides there was always the idea that Delphine didn't want him to find this Esbern fellow in the first place. Maybe he is just a decoy or a defective from the order. He would just have to wait till he meet Delphine back in Riverwood.
"I'm not here to torture you."
"Wh-at….who, what do you want then?"
It was then that one of the wooden doors above let out a squeak as it was opened. Lygleif turned to the man that now looked at him with interest. "Shhh." He motioned with his finger to his lips before dropping down to the ground and out the cage. At the top of the stairs, the one that lead down to the dead body, where three men. Two of which were dressed in Thalmor armor, the other which seemed bound up was Malborn. Lygleif quickly tried to run to the steps and up them, still bent in a crouch to avoid being detected by the guard. He paused just within view of the action ahead.
"Listen up, spy! You're trapped in here, and we have your accomplice. Surrender immediately or you both die."
Malborn glared at the two soldiers, his hands twitching behind his back as if he was trying to undo the ties. The rope fell from his wrist as he pulled out a _ dagger. "Never mind I'm dead already."
Lygleif pulled out his blade and ran the last few steps forward attacking the guard that had turned her back to him while Malborn went for the other. His blade went down into the woman's armor, each time widening what had begun as a small dent. Her elven mace got a few good hits, one to his shoulder and the other his hands. But still he managed to slam the weapon down into her body and down to her stomach as Malborn slammed his dagger into the back of her neck. With one down the favor seemed on their side till Malborn went down to the ground clutching his shoulder as the mace of the living Thalmor hit against his un-armored body.
Lygleif charged forward trying frantically to save the injured man's life before another blow could be landed upon him. The woman turned his attention to the dragon born and with a slew of insults turned her attack to him. The weapons clashed as the two tried to throw the other off balance enough to land the final blow. With a piercing clash the elven mace slipped out of the woman's hands and to the ground by Malborn. With no weapon she was unable to block his blade as it plunged through her light armor and into her stomach. Her death was much slower than her companion but she was soon on the ground in a pile of her own liquids.
Together the searched the woman of their belongings and armor. On both he found the key to the interrogation chamber in which they were now presently within. There was another key labeled as 'Trap Door'. It seemed that somewhere within the room was his escape route in which they have so kindly provided. With the new key in hand Lygleif returned down the bloody stairs with Malborn at his back.
He returned to the man, who he would later come to know as Etienne Rarnis. As soon as he entered the man began on about not knowing anything. His faith in the dragonborns ability's seemed to be very little. Then again days of torture would beat the hope out of any soul.
"I'm not here to torture you."
"What-what do you want then?"
"No time to explain. Let's get out of here."
"Yeah. Sure, okay."
Lygleif moved to the man's side and removed the shackles that held him to the wall. The man landed on his knees with an oomf, not used to holding up his own weight. It toke the man a minute to catch his bearings and stand on his own two feet. While he still wobbled like a newborn calf he was able to move without the assistance of the dragonborn.
"Come on, this way. I've seen the guards use it to get rid of bodies. It must lead somewhere."
"Sounds good, I'll follow you."
"Whatever you want. But let's go, now."
The man walked slowly to the corner of the room, which held the remnants of bones and blood. Beneath the mess was the latch for a trap door leading somewhere down below. Lygleif pulled out the key he had found upon the woman's bodies and handed it to Etienne Rarnis who found the lock and slipped the key into place. Lygleif pulled open the trap door once it was open waiting for both Etienne and Malborn to enter before going in himself and closing the door behind him.
The room below had a single torch that lit the dim area up. There was only one way forward, through the dark tunnel, which held a chill in its air. Lygleif grabbed the torch of the wall and got in the middle of the two men. Allowing Etienne to lead the way down the darkened hall. There was the sound of battle as the approached the light and Entienne dropped down the small hill into the snow. In front of him was a frost toll and a mage engaged in battle.
"Shit!."
He had little choice but to follow the man off the hill and to the Frost troll. Hopefully he could kill the bastard before it killed the unarmed men he was with. The dragonborn pulled forth his greatsword and brought it down on the troll as he fell to the floor. The beast let out a growl as its attention turned towards him and away from Entienne. He tried to lead it deeper into the cave away from the others but there was very little space for the two to fight in.
Frost trolls where trouble for their furry exterior offered a layer of protection against his blades. Even worst the creatures where massive and knew exactly how to swing those massive arms to land a deadly blow. Lygleif toke a deep breath and began to feel the tingle of a shout within his lungs. The words came to his mind as if he was looking right at them. When his body felt like it was about to explode from the shout building inside he yelled out the word. "Krii"
The shout ran forth and slammed right into the frost troll causing a purple glow to emanate off his white fur. The shout would cause the creature to be weakened for some time, allowing his weapons to do greater damage against the beast. With greatsword in hand he ran forth to meet the dazed creature in battle.
…
Lygleif had sustained some damage with his fight with the beast. Most of his wounds would heal within a few days. But the broken nose, and dislocated shoulder would have to be set in place before they could heal properly. At one point in the battle the dragonborn had taken shelter dragging out a bottle of regeneration he had discovered within the embassy above. The liquid was pungent and smelt like boiled Nordic barnacles and some sort of mushroom. While he hated drinking this substances he was left with only a few seconds to decide before the Trolls attention was turned back to him.
The potions effects still lingered even after the battle, he didn't feel healthier bur rather jacked up. As if the potion was filled with liquid adrenaline. He had not felt the pain in his shoulder during the battle and was unable to place when the beast landed the blow. But now as the burning in his veins began to subside he knew the effects where almost over. The two men had taken shelter in what looked like the trolls bed. A pile of snow with bones strewed about it all. They probably remained hidden due to the smell of the bloody dead body of the mage they had seen earlier. Lygleif felt bad for the man's final resting place being the cave, but he never had enough time to move and burry all the bodies he came across. He picked through the man's pockets finding a bag of septims and a staff, which he believed to be of the Familiar.
Once he was done with his looting the Dragonborn, Malborn and Entienne climbed up the snowy rocks to the exit of the snowy cave and freedom. The cool air felt amazing on his sweaty body. A sigh of relief could be heard from Entienne as he seemed to enjoy his new freedom. Malborn turns away from the dragonborn his gaze a glare as he left. It seemed the man was mad that his cover had been blown and wanted nothing better than to leave the 'idiot', as he kept calling Lygleif. Entienne offered his gratitude at least and left on his way back to his home in Riften.
