"In all my years, I've never seen Mercer this angry."
"Neither have I, though you can't blame him. Some unknown force is trying to ruin everything we've done to get the guild back to its former glory," Delvin sighed, "Though I wish he wouldn't always take it out on us."
"I'm starting to feel sorry for Vex and Maeva," Rune, an oddity at their table, claimed, "He's hard on Vex because of her failure to do the Goldenglow job. As for Maeva, I have no idea what she did to him. She's done everything he's wanted and more, yet he continues to belittle her."
"I'm not sure what is wrong with him anymore, but I have a feeling that maybe Maven has something to do with it. Everyone knows how she can be," Brynjolf stated, leaning back in his wooden chair.
"I hear she's been demanding a lot from Mercer lately, giving him a million jobs that need to be done."
"Yet here we are, talking and not doing anything," Delvin mused.
"Wanna know who's doing them?" Brynjolf growled, "Maeva. I haven't seen her since we came back from our job in Whiterun, and that was a week and a half ago! All I see of her is her back as she leaves for job after job. Mercer is punishing us all, but not as harsh as Maeva."
"I wish we could get the gold flowing more steadily. Yes, we have placed ourselves back in Solitude after that special job Vex had to complete, but it's not enough. The gold is sporadic. One day it could be piles we're receiving, but the next we have none."
"Hopefully the jobs Maeva has been forced to do are helping to spread the word," Rune muttered, biting at his lip, "her hard work should be for something."
Brynjolf shook his head to try and get rid of the scowl he knew he was supporting, but it didn't help. Mercer's attitude had been slowly driving him to madness. If it had just been to his second, he wouldn't have minded as much, but he was pressuring everyone under him. Delvin had been snapped at many a time, Vex had been close to hitting him for the things he had said to her, and even Vekel had been under his wrath. These were Brynjolf's brothers and sisters, and he wasn't going to stand around forever while they got abused.
"I'm going to go see if I can get some money from my potions," Brynjolf grunted as an excuse. Seeing his mood, Delvin didn't comment on the fakeness of them and just let him go.
The second made his way out of the Cistern without catching Mercer's attention, who was deep in a conversation with a random courier, and snuck through the hidden entrance in the cemetery. It was bleak outside today, though when wasn't it in Riften? A mist was covering the city, which the Nord had learned was a prequel for rain, and it left the city sad enough to host a funeral.
Brynjolf ended up walking all around the hold, going no where in particular, but just looked around. He would pass by shops and memories would cover his vision of those same shops, but years earlier. He was looking through the eyes of his younger self, when Lady Luck had shone upon them and made the city prosper.
People of Riften always talked about how they were glad to be mostly rid of the Thieves Guild, but when they had been at their strongest, the hold had flowed with gold. They were the ones to bring the wealth to Riften.
However, that had been when Gallus was the Guild Master. That was when they were a happy family of thieves, as contradictory as that sounded. That was before Karliah destroyed everything.
She was the vile poison she used. That had been the first thing he thought of when a younger Mercer Frey had walked through the Cistern close to death. She had a special poison that she always used with her arrows and it was at that time he thought it to be her blood. It was the only way that she could kill someone like Gallus; she had to have poison in her veins.
Brynjolf had tried to track her down in the beginning, Talos, everyone had. But Bryn had taken it harder than anyone else. Gallus had been more than a father to the Nord. He had taken him in at such a young age after catching him behind a stand. He hadn't called the guards; all he did was give him gold and told him to follow him if he wanted more. After that, the man had been a role model to the Nord, and it had ripped his heart to pieces to hear that he had been murdered. And by Karliah none the less.
Unknowingly, Brynjolf had made his way to the gates of Riften, where two guards stood. They both gave him discreet nods, being loyal to the guild, and he did the same out of habit. He made to turn around and go Mara knows where when the gate they were guarding opened up.
"Lass?" the red haired man inquired. Hearing his voice, Maeva looked up to see her fellow thief standing there with a curious but slightly happy face. She gave him a small smile and slowly walked over.
"Hello Brynjolf. It's been a while since I got the chance to talk to you."
Brynjolf heard the exhaustion in her voice and looked harder into her hood so he could better see her eyes. He noticed for the first time it was hard to see those exuberant eyes because they didn't hold that sparkle they usually did and under them she had dark circles like she hadn't slept in a while. With the way she was hunched over, he wouldn't have been surprised if she hadn't in a very long time.
"Lass, you're a complete wreck."
Maeva gave a sheepish smile under her mask, though she wasn't sure if he saw or not. "Do I look that bad?"
"I'll be a true friend and tell you the truth, and that is yes."
Maeva nodded and rubbed her eyes with her gloved hands, trying to get that aching feeling out of her eyes. "Then I'm as bad as I feel. Mercer's been on my ass for the week and all I'm trying to do is make him more civil. Every time I come back he just gets angrier. Damn it Bryn, I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
"Lass…"
The Nord could tell she was extremely upset over the whole ordeal, whether it was just because of the lack of sleep or Mercer, he didn't know, but he could feel how distraught she was. He came up to her and pulled her in a tight hug, which she wasn't really expecting. Not that Brynjolf had expected himself to do it anyway, but he didn't back away from it once it happened. Maeva finally relaxed into it and hugged him back, closing her eyes and wishing she could just sleep in his arms.
"I want this to be my family, but with Mercer breathing down my neck, I feel like the stranger I am. Life was so much easier with Satha."
"He'll come around once he figures out who this mystery person is who's ruining our business. Now let's bring you back home where you can get back a week's worth of sleep."
Brynjolf pulled away from the hug but kept his arm around Maeva's shoulder so they were close as they walked. She was short enough that it was perfectly comfortable for him and she fit against his side like she had been molded to fit here. They were silent on their way to the Cistern, but it was a content silence.
Brynjolf led her to an empty bed near the statue they had of Nocturnal, which was one of the ones that was more comfortable and blocked off most of the noise that some of his brothers could make. While he was assuring her it was fine for her to sleep here, Brynjolf caught Mercer's gaze. It looked like he wanted to see Maeva, probably to send her out again, but he wasn't going to allow it.
"Sleep and I'll take care of Mercer."
Maeva, who had taken her hood and mask off, smiled at him and nodded. Before he could leave, though, she planted a small kiss on his lips that lasted a second and pulled away. Even though she was tired, she still held a playful look in her eye.
"Thank you Bryn."
Giving her the wicked grin he always did, Brynjolf gave her a wink as he walked away. He was happy to hear her laugh softly at that as she lay down. The happiness fled from him when he walked over to Mercer's station and saw his stony expression.
"What is going on? I need to talk to Maeva about a job and she's sleeping?"
"Mercer, you've been going too hard on her."
"Have I?" the gray haired man said, amused, though it wasn't the good kind, "I didn't realize she deserved special treatment because you had some feelings for her."
So he had seen the little kiss. Not that it mattered, because it wasn't what he was thinking. And he wouldn't let the Guild Master deter him from his point of putting the man back in his place.
"It's not because of that Mercer. You have been acting so insufferable lately and we're all tiring of it. When it was the Goldenglow job, I understood some of your anger and frustration. I understood it a little less after we came back from Whiterun. Now you've gone too far. Not only has Maeva suffered from your abuse, but the rest of us as well. You're over working us and you're pushing everyone else to the edge. You can't expect us to be happily loyal to you with that kind of attitude."
"And what are you trying to say Brynjolf?"
"I'm saying," the second ground out, "to lay off my people."
"Your people?" Mercer laughed at that, something Bryn hadn't seen him do in a long time. "I am the Guild Master here Brynjolf, you are all my people."
"You may lead us, but right now, they are all running to me because you are forcing them away, so they are mine. Lay off of them and maybe they will respect you again. Right now, you're just some bully."
Mercer got red faced at that and Brynjolf was scared that he might actually explode because of it, but it was as if someone had pulled a lever. He let out a slow breath and his face gained its original color. He nodded his head and looked at Brynjolf with a calmer demeanor.
"You're right Brynjolf. I've been so harsh lately I've been pushing everyone away. With Maven breathing down my neck, it's been hard. Thank you for this lad; there's a reason you're my second."
Brynjolf gave him a bright smile and smacked his shoulder. "There's the Mercer I know. Still not happy, but that's typical."
Mercer rolled his eyes but gave the Nord a smile. "Yeah, yeah. Why don't you go tell your people that I'm not a fire breathing dragon anymore? I have to prepare for a job."
"A job? The one you were going to give Maeva? Mercer, you don't have to do it. I would happily—"
"Don't worry about it Bryn. It concerns the buyer of the Goldenglow Estate and Honningbrew and now that I think about it, it's best that I go. I am Guild Master here and I should be getting the information. You're in charge while I'm gone, got it? I believe I'll be back in a week's time."
Brynjolf gave the man a nod in understanding and watched him for a bit while he started to gather supplies for himself. It had been a long time since he himself had taken on a job, and it was usually something of extreme importance. Maybe after this, they would finally know the identity of the person behind their troubles.
Was it bad that they were celebrating Mercer's leave of absence? Brynjolf started to think so when Sapphire brought it up, but once he got down to the Flagon and saw how happy everyone was just sitting around and drinking, he decided that it couldn't be that bad.
They truthfully hadn't been together like this in a very long time, not for ten years at least. All the guild members were usually scattered through their underground keep or up above in Riften. For the first time in years, every member was sitting in the Ragged Flagon, drinking and talking.
Well, everyone except for Maeva.
No one had seen her at all today, not in the city or underground, but her whereabouts weren't their main priority at the moment. Getting ready for their party seemed to be. Delvin had invited some feminine guests from Ivarstead, which he was impatiently waiting for; Vex was uncharacteristically flirting with Dirge, and Tonilia was giving Vekel the time of day. The family was having a great time, even though they were missing their newest member.
Brynjolf was looking around for her, however, which was catching the attention of Delvin. He grabbed the Nord's arm as he was walking by and gave him a mischievous look.
"Last I saw her, she said she was making her way out to the gates of Riften."
How in the name of the Divines did he know he was looking for Maeva? He didn't have time to question it because the bald man was walking away, so he pushed it from his mind and headed out to Riften. And when he stepped out of the hidden entrance, it was oddly sunny out. Not that they didn't get their fair share of bright days, but it just seemed a little odd.
Even odder was the fact that the whole town seemed to be milling about the market place. By the Nine, there were even unknown people here looking for good deals and being wooed by Madesi and his trinkets. Had Brynjolf been at his stand, he would have made a good amount of gold.
However, his mind was preoccupied on finding Maeva. Plus, he didn't have any bogus potions to sell at the moment. Or, that was the excuse he forced himself to believe. With a happy smile on his face, he walked through the Riften gates to see the stables and a few other people milling about. It was a strangely nice day. Now, if only he could find his silver haired Breton.
His silver haired Breton? Well, why not.
He walked down a good portion of the road with still no sign of the woman. He didn't want to get too far away from the hold, knowing the trouble that his fellow thieves could create, but it was bothering him how Maeva had disappeared. She hadn't had any jobs to do today.
Thankfully, just a few more paces around the bend he found her walking his way, her bow strapped to her back and a couple dead hares placed in her grasp. She had just gone hunting; everyone was entitled to do that.
Looking up from the trail she had been following, Maeva noticed Brynjolf standing there, someone she had been running into a lot lately. She smiled despite herself and picked up the pace, making it to the Nord a little faster.
"What are you doing out here Bryn?" she asked.
"Taking a little stroll for fresh air. We're having a party down in the Flagon, and there won't be any leaving once it begins."
"What did I tell you about Nords? Give them any excuse and they'll use it to get drunk."
Brynjolf gave her a huge grin and shrugged as if he had been found out. "We're in a need for good spirits, why waste the fleeting days of Mercer's absence to do something he'd never want us to do?"
Maeva just laughed and started walking, prompting her friend to do the same. They chatted on their way back to Riften, though mostly it was just them teasing one another. They were only a couple yards away from the guarded gates when Maeva abruptly stopped, almost making Brynjolf bump into her.
"Lass, what's wrong?"
"Do you hear that?" she whispered, her ears looking perked while her eyes were turned towards the sky.
Following her example, he turned all his attention to listening to what she was hearing and could actually hear it. It sounded like a bird flapping its wings, but that was only a rough example. It was too big to be a bird, and was making too much noise. What in the name of Talos could it be?
That's when they both heard the roar and knew exactly what it was. A dragon.
Maeva dropped the hares to the ground and went for her bow, though by the time she had it half way drawn, the scaled beast had already landed right in front of them. Her blue eyes were wide and Brynjolf's mouth was wide open.
He had never seen anything so big in his entire life. And its serpent gaze was directed at them. And boy, did it look pissed.
"Holy shit," Brynjolf was able to swear before it started to spew fire from its mouth. The two thieves were able to dodge the blaze slightly, with the only damage being their singed clothes.
Without a second thought, Maeva started to shoot her arrows into the beast, barely giving the missiles time to be notched before they went straight at the creature. However, the iron arrows she had been carrying for her simple hunt weren't doing much to hinder it.
Brynjolf went into action and started to hack at the beast with his sword. It was a very daunting thing, looking the beast in the eye as he tried to kill it. Hell, if he would have been by himself, the thief wouldn't have thought twice about running away; he would have just done it.
However, there were guards running their way, and he had Maeva, who was making as little progress with the dragon as he was. If they all worked together, he was sure they could defeat it. Hopefully no one but the monster would die in the process.
"Damn it!" Maeva swore, watching as another one of her iron arrows bounced off the thing's scales. The Breton had only brought these and a few glass arrows with her, the stronger ones for any bears she might run into on her hunt. But this so wasn't a bear. Why bother wasting her arrows, even the glass ones, when it would do little to no damage?
As the guards came down on the dragon like pests, Maeva cursed herself for not carrying anything but a bow and dagger with her. She hadn't been prepared for this fight, but it's not like she could run away. She wasn't a coward, but she wasn't an idiot either.
That's when a brilliant thought came to her mind. Poison, her poison. She could lather it onto the glass arrowheads that were sure to penetrate and it would slow the beast down. As long as she got the dragon in the most vital of places, the poison would work its magic in no time.
Brynjolf watched in horror as the dragon took the closest guard and tore him to pieces with his razor sharp teeth. The man hadn't even had time to scream in terror before he was killed. It had taken no effort on the dragon's part while the mere mortals were giving this fight everything they had. How in Oblivion did they think they could win?
"Brynjolf, move! You're in my shot!"
Brynjolf didn't waste time arguing of what was going on, only threw himself to the side and into the way of safety. It wasn't until the monster roared with pain that his brain recognized that Maeva had warned him. He looked over at her and saw her kneeling down, her aim true as she notched a glass bow. There was something very green dripping from it, and when he looked over at the dragon, he saw it had an identical arrow sticking out of its throat. The beast seemed to be off balance and wasn't even fighting the guards that were attacking it.
Poison, she's using poison.
Brynjolf's world swam with that realization. Ever since Gallus' death, he had hated dealing with poison and venom of the like. Seeing it most of the time could make him sick, but seeing her using it just brought up painful memories of a woman who had done the same.
Maeva was concentrating her aim and was filled with pride that it was working. The dragon had slowed down and was wobbly now, feeling the slight effect the poison was having. It alone might not have killed it, because this poison wasn't made for anything so large, but with the help of the guards, they were bringing it down.
"This is the last one," she muttered to herself, aiming where she could only guess the heart to be. She hoped the glass arrow would be strong enough as she sent it away. Relief flooded her when it sunk deep into its mark, making it roar one last time before a guard made the finishing blow.
Triumph ran through the blood of every fighter as they watched the beast die, its skin turning to ash and flame as it burned, leaving only bones and discarded arrows in its wake. No one could believe something so monstrous could actually be killed.
With a smile large enough to take over her face, Maeva trotted up to Brynjolf, offering him her hand. He oddly hadn't moved since he fell out of her way. "We did it Bryn!"
The Nord cursed at himself for feeling so weak, but he couldn't take her hand, not when the green poison still lingered against the leather of her gloves. He understood that she wasn't Karliah, but the thought of it still haunted him. That was his darkest fear, something he never wanted to admit. Trying to pass it off, he stood up by himself and gave the woman a forced smile.
"You've got a bit of something on your hand lass."
Looking down, Maeva noticed that the green poison still lingered and had to stop herself from swearing. If he would have had a cut on his hand, it could have killed him!
"I'm sorry Bryn!" she apologized, digging around in her pocket with her clean hand to find a jar of red ointment. Sticking her fingers in it, she spread it across her hands and made the motions like she was cleaning them, which she was essentially doing.
"I'm not used to having to resort to using poisons all that often, and I forget that I usually still have some on my hands. I should probably go clean off my arrows before anyone happens upon them and gets themselves killed."
Brynjolf tried to calm himself down as he watched Maeva walk away and apply the red antidote on the arrowheads, rendering them nothing but a normal weapon. She would never kill a friend with that poison; it was only her last resort. Those thoughts helped him slow his heartbeat.
Maeva had collected all of her arrows and gotten rid of the poison when she found something strange. There was a lone ebony arrow by her pile of glass arrows that was dipped in the same poison she had used. Her eyebrows came together in confusion as she picked it up, rubbing the ointment on it to get rid of the poison. It worked, leaving just the sharp tip, but Maeva was still confused.
She didn't own any ebony arrows.
A/N: I just wanted to let you know that instead of daily, I'm going to be updating this everyday, that way I can spread it out longer. This story is pretty much done, but I don't want to rush putting it up.