Chapter 10

Hope I did alright writing the action scenes here! Enjoy!

Liette found Vex sitting in her usual place in the Flagon, scowling and poring over a hand drawn map of Goldenglow estate. She looked up, scowling as Liette sat down across from her.

"What in the name of the divines do you want?" Vex said, voice absolutely dripping with contempt.

She tried not to shrink back in her seat, though the woman absolutely terrified her.

"Brynjolf told me that I'm to go with you on the Goldenglow job..." she said, feeling like she was walking on a floor of pressure plates, not quite knowing which one would bring about her demise. Vex slammed her fist on the table in fury, making Liette flinch back.

"How the fuck does that arrogant man expect me to do this job if I have to drag around a pathetic child like you? To Oblivion with Brynjolf, I'm going by myself" she raged. "Don't you DARE follow me!"

Vex immediately stormed off, leaving Liette to sit there, momentarily stunned. When she regained her senses she knew going to Brynjolf had to be the first thing she did. As petty as she felt running to him to tattle, she preferred it to what Vex might do to her if she tailed her.

She pushed back her chair, ready to track down Brynjolf when he came in from the cistern and sat down next to her, sporting a fresh black eye.

"Vex?" She questioned.

He shrugged. "I guess you won't get your chance to prove yourself today, lass" he sighed.

"Never mind me, are you alright?"

"Aye" he stated. "It's not the first time I've been punched by Vex and I'm sure it won't be the last."

"Are you sure?" She asked, still alarmed by Vex's behavior.

"Stop fussing over me, woman" he chuckled. "Let's have a few drinks. Gods only know how smug Vex will be when she gets back, I'd like to be well into my cups by that time."

Vex wasn't quite as smug as Brynjolf had predicted when she finally returned. She came in limping and and angrier than before, if that was possible.

"Damn it all. What were you thinking going in there alone? You knew that Aringoth had hired mercenaries!" Brynjolf raged at her as she sat down, wincing.

"Shut it. I wasn't about to bring dead weight with me on a job this important" she snapped.

While they argued, Liette slipped quietly out of the Flagon with her bow. She was tired of the arguing, and words didn't mean shit when it came to actually getting things done. Brynjolf had told her a lot was riding on this job and Vex had failed him. Liette was sure the blame would fall on him since the guildmaster had been conveniently absent since her induction. She set off for Goldenglow Estate, determined to amend the situation for Brynjolf's sake.

Knowing nothing of Vex's plan to sneak into the Estate, and realizing that it hadn't worked anyway, Liette implemented the only plan she had: walk through the front door and kill everything inside. She crossed the stone bridge as quiet as a whisper, fixing the first guard she saw in her sights. She loosed an arrow and it plunged through his neck, killing him instantly. She approached the gate and inspected it, there was no lock on the outside. Realizing it must be barred from the inside, she was momentarily stumped. Looking around and assessing her other options, Liette realized there was a rocky outcrop just to the right of the gate. If she could remain sure-footed, she could climb over the wall and into the estate itself.

The rocks proved to be a challenge, they were jagged and slippery and she nearly lost her footing twice before making it over the wall. She found herself on a hastily built lookout platform, no doubt put up by Aringoth's thugs. Glancing to her right she could see the main house, no doubt swarming with thugs the way the bees swarmed around the hive. Deciding that the hives were a safer bet for now, she crept down the cobblestone path, an arrow nocked. She killed two mercenaries on the way to the hives, fortunately noticing them before they noticed her. As the hives came into view she realized that she had nothing to set them ablaze with. Liette silently cursed herself for the oversight, wracking her brain to find an alternative. Finally it came to her, making her feel like a bloody fool. Though her magical skill was minimal, pathetic by Breton standards, she still knew how to cast a simple flame spell, though she'd had a bit trouble containing the fire in the past. Hoping the flames wouldn't blaze wildly out of control, she called fire to her palms and torched the first three hives, running the other way as soon as they began to burn. Getting stung to death was not high on her to do list.

Unfortunately she ran right into a trio of thugs who were on their way to investigate the cause of the smoke. Forcing her back towards the hives the three burly nords all brandished weapons that probably weighed more than she did. This close range and without the advantage of being hidden, her bow was virtually useless. That left her with a dagger and her magic and she didn't like those odds. Calling forth the arcane flames again, she lit the first man on fire and darted away from the hives while he rolled on the ground, burning to death. The other two men charged her, the first with a battleaxe, but she was much too quick for him. He swung his heavy weapon in a downward sweep, missing her completely. While he was trying to recover she darted in and plunged her dagger through his heart. The other nord swung his warhammer at her, not making the same mistake. He anticipated her dodge and swung the handled of the hammer at her as she sidestepped, striking her in the ribs. Liette felt at least two of her ribs crack, the pain surging through her like an electric shock. Desperate, she called on the power she'd gained from the dragon in Whiterun. She'd never used it on anyone or anything up to this point and she truly had no idea what would happen. Letting it surge from her chest was more painful than anything she'd ever experienced before, her broken ribs cracking further and her body screaming in protest.

"FUS!" It came out as a desperate scream, knocking the mercenary on to his back where he struck his head on a rock and stopped moving.

Liette sat down on the ground, trying like mad to remember any of the lessons her Ma had given on restoration magic. A full healing was completely beyond her scope, but she needed to finish this job, for her own place in the guild and, she realized, for Brynjolf. That bizarre desire to impress him had only increased in the short time she'd known him and it was at its peak now. She focused on the warmth of a simple healing spell to dull the pain in her side, fiercely driven to succeed where Vex had failed. The spell was pathetic and drained the rest of her magicka reserves, but it managed to make the pain somewhat bearable. Steeling herself for the task ahead, she headed to the main house.

There was no one standing guard at the door to the house and the door was unlocked to boot. This Aringoth must have been pretty arrogant to think that he didn't even need a guard at the door. Skulking through the front room, Liette kept another arrow nocked, hoping not to be caught unawares again.

The first thugs she ran across were sitting around a table drinking. Before they knew what was happening she had peppered them with arrows and moved on.

Eventually she had to make a decision, upstairs or down? She had no idea which floor the safe was on. She chose to go upstairs first, reasoning that Aringoth's private quarters were more likely to be up there and the safe had a good chance of being in his rooms. Creaking open the door cautiously, she surveyed the room, ascertaining that there were no immediate threats. It wasn't long before she had to fight again though, this place was absolutely crawling with hired thugs. After what felt like an eternity of going blade to blade with an orc she finally managed to slice his throat and turn the corner that led to Aringoth's room. She was exhausted and silently praying to Talos that there were no more threats on the other side of his locked door.

Liette didn't even bother with her picks, this was a simple wooden door with a shoddy lock. She jammed her dagger between the door and the frame and wrenched it down, breaking the lock in half. At first when she entered the room she didn't see anyone, but as she studied the room further, she noticed a wood elf crouched behind a wardrobe. Walking cautiously up to him, dagger drawn, she gave a short whistle to get his attention and he looked up at her, petrified.

"Where is your safe, elf? I don't see it up here" she said.

"Do you really think I'm going to help you? I knew that Maven and Mercer had no intention of letting me get away with this, but I had little choice. If you want anything from me, you'll have to kill me" he said, trying to sound brave. She didn't even hesitate to kill the sniveling little elf. She was wounded and in a hurry to finish this job, in light of that he became no more than an obstacle. Fishing around in his pockets she found a key that she assumed must belong to the safe and headed back downstairs.

Mercifully, there were only three more mercenaries between her and safe and they were all quickly dispatched by her arrows. She was also pleasantly surprised that there was a sewer grate in the basement, likely leading out to the property. Unlocking the safe, she found a considerable amount of gold and a bill of sale that she didn't bother to read. She simply lowered herself into the sewer tunnel and headed back to Riften as quickly as she could.

Brynjolf hadn't noticed that Liette was missing until quite a bit later, after he had finished screaming at Vex. He headed to the cistern to see if she had simply wished to escape the emotionally charged situation, but she was nowhere to be found. Maybe it was better, no doubt Maven would castrate him for this failure, then Liette would surely lose interest. He tried to reassure himself that she'd simply gone back to the Bee and Barb, but a niggling sensation told him he was wrong. Against his better judgment, he climbed the ladder to the cemetery and decided to look around for her. But there was no need, she was sitting in the cemetery with her back to a headstone, eyes closed as if fiercely concentrating. It was a moment before he realized she was bloodied and he knelt at her side to be sure she was still alive.

"Lass? Can you hear me?" She cracked open an eye to look at him and tried to grin, though it came across as more of a grimace.

"Aye, Brynjolf" she said. "Loud and clear. She held out a piece of paper to him. "Here's what was in the safe at Goldenglow."

"What are you talking about?" He took the note from her and read it, noting the strange symbol at the top.

Aringoth,

This document acknowledges the sale of Goldenglow Estate and all property, assets and materials contained within. Payment of the property has been made in full by Gulum-Ei as an agent on behalf of the buyer. All dealings with the Thieves Guild in Riften is to cease immediately. To deter any possible retribution for this act, you are to take immediate steps to protect our assets in any way you see fit. I think you'll find that the Thieves Guild is far more bark than bite and will likely avoid Goldenglow Estate rather than thin their already dwindling numbers.

Good luck and may this be the start of a long and lucrative partnership.

"Lass, you didn't go to Goldenglow alone?"

"Can we talk about this later, Bryn?" She grimaced again, holding her side. Not knowing how he could have missed it, he realized she must have an internal injury. No longer hesitating, he scooped her up and carried her to the Temple of Mara.