Not many more months had gone by when I was assigned a job to steal some gold trinket at the House of Clan Shatter-Shield in Windhelm.
I had broken in and found the gold horn without difficulty. I had just managed to stuff it under the folds of my tunic when I spotted something peculiar on a bookshelf in the hall.
It looked like any other shiny treasure at first: a gem, sparkly and rosy, already boxed in a pocket-sized gold case.
It seemed ridiculous to say aloud, but this unusual gem called to me, begging me to take it, as though Nocturnal herself had nodded her head in approval.
It was stuffed unceremoniously into the folds of my tunic, too.
When I returned, I showed the strange gem to Vex. Her normally sour demeanor became more pensive as she turned the jewel this way and that.
"What is it?" I asked her as she handed it back to me.
"It could be one of the Stones of Barenziah." She shrugged noncommittally and feigned disinterest. "Maybe."
"A Stone of Baringeeah?"
"Barenziah," she corrected sharply. "From Queen Barenziah's crown."
"What happened to the crown?"
Vex waved a hand dismissively. "The crown was stolen. The stones were pried off and sold throughout Skyrim."
I eyed the gem with more interest. "How much is it worth?" I envisioned counting stacks of septims and throwing the coins into my chest one by one while the others envied my good luck.
Vex laughed. "Nothing. A single gem isn't worth a septim."
"But it was part of a crown - "
"That's right," she cut in. "Part of a crown. You'd need the whole set for them to be worth anything."
A whole set?
"You'll never find them all," Vex continued, resting against some stacked crates. "Who knows where they are now."
"How many are there?" I asked, almost dreading her response.
Vex smirked.
"Twenty-four."
