Chapter Summary
Esbern's been found, but with rescuers like these, is he any safer? And how long can Delphine keep her two allegiances separate? Meanwhile, down in Falkreath, another danger entirely is stirring...
Chapter 10: A Cornered Rat II: Finding Esbern
With the Thalmor out of the way, the rest of the trip was proving to be a bit easier. Sure, there were skeevers, traps, the occasional thug or vagrant operating out of the Guild's purview and not pleased to see visitors, but these proved no trouble at all to the four of them. Delphine was taking the lead, with Cicero at her side – since the battle, he seemed to have risen to new heights of clingy and if Delphine was honest, she didn't really want to let him out of her sight. Aranea was behind them both, and Eola was bringing up the rear, keeping an eye out for anyone trying to sneak up from behind. A fortunate state of affairs, as it turned out. Aranea tapped Delphine on the shoulder, beckoning her back for an urgent conversation.
"Eola thinks we're being followed," Aranea murmured softly. "She keeps hearing footsteps, that stop when we do."
Delphine felt a shiver run down her spine. Not good news. Not good news at all. "How many?"
"Just one, she thinks."
Well, that was something. "All right. Aranea, you're with me – the two of us are going to proceed slowly and carefully ahead. Cicero, drop back and join Eola, the two of you need to lie in wait for our little stalker. If it's Thalmor or some gutter rat, just kill them. If it's someone from the Guild, keep them alive, I'll want to interrogate them."
"And what if this is an elaborate trap and Thalmor are lying in wait for unprotected Listener?" Cicero asked, his suspicions roused.
"Do you doubt my competence, Keeper?" Aranea asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, no," said Cicero. "Skilled Aranea is a match for most, he knows that. It's just he worries for his Listener when she is not with him."
Delphine had to smile at that. "That's very sweet of you, Cicero. But we're in the field and that means we can't get sentimental. So. Your orders are to go back and assist Eola with bringing in whoever's tailing us. Of course, if you hear fighting up ahead, you have permission to leave her to deal with the straggler and assist us. Is that clear?"
"My Listener," Cicero said, with a little bow of the head. With that, he'd dropped back to find Eola, leaving Delphine and Aranea to start moving on. They'd not gone far when they heard a feminine yelp behind them, much scuffling, something that sounded like an Illusion spell and Cicero singing "and if the thief on Listener sneaks, why then indeed I'll make her shriek!"
"They found the target then," said Aranea, casting her armour and turning back to see exactly what the others had caught.
"And a Guild Thief too from the sound of it," said Delphine. "Come on, let's see what exactly Mercer thinks he's playing at." They turned the corner to find Eola and Cicero crouched in an alcove they'd just passed. Eola had her magic at the ready, blocking the way they'd come, while Cicero had their stalker in a choke-hold, knife at her throat.
"What have you got for me?" Delphine asked, eyeing their captive carefully. She recognised the thief as one of those who had been present when she'd first entered the Guild, a young-ish woman, probably a little under thirty if Delphine was any guess, with dark hair, dark eyes, typical Nord pale skin and a grey variant of the Guild armour. That armour had probably saved her life if the thief did but know it.
"We found this little sneak-thief following behind," Cicero hissed. "Tracking and stalking and hunting us, yes! But we beat the little thief at her own game, we did, and now she's the one whose caught."
"She's been following us since we left the Flagon," said Eola. "I wasn't sure if I was imagining things at first, but then she got just too obvious to ignore."
"Obvious?" the thief hissed. "Of course I was obvious, you think I want a fight with the Brotherhood? I don't mean you any harm! If I did, you'd never have heard me coming." That last was said with a certain sense of professional pride.
"If you had an iota of sense, you wouldn't have crept up on the Brotherhood at all," said Delphine, arms folded. "You know your Guild armour's the only thing keeping you alive at the moment, right? Anyone else down here, they'd already be dead. So. Mercer send you?"
"No!" the thief said. "No one from the Guild knows I'm here..." She went quiet as it occurred to her that probably hadn't been the smartest thing to say.
"So, the Guild that's pretty much your only protection has no idea you're down here, and now you're a Dark Brotherhood prisoner, and we know your Guild's not going to notice if you vanish. Wow, you really are not that bright." Delphine crouched opposite her. "We are on secret and dangerous work, and we are prepared to kill to keep it secret. Every one of us here has killed before, and Cicero there gets off on it. My orders to him not to kill one of the Guild are the only thing stopping him opening an artery, and while I don't want a war with the Guild, I'm quite prepared to have him kill one lone thief who's stepping on our toes. Especially here where there are no witnesses, plenty of places to dump a body, and any number of things that might have killed an unwary thief in the wrong place at the wrong time. So, thief, you are going to tell me exactly who sent you, why you're following us, and what on Nirn you hoped to achieve, and you'd better hope I like those answers. So talk, and start with your name."
"Sapphire," the thief gasped. "I'm called Sapphire. No one sent me, I promise. I don't mean you any harm, I swear it. I – I used to be in the Brotherhood before, used to work for Astrid. But we had a little difference of opinion and I ended up leaving to join the Guild instead. But I miss the fight, miss the killing. Then the other day, Brynjolf found out about this scam I was running on one of the stable-workers. I'd lent him money to get goods shipped to Riften, robbed the shipment, and then demanded he pay me back anyway. I might have threatened him if his repayment wasn't forthcoming. Course, then Brynjolf finds out and flips out on me about the difference between clients and marks, and how murder is bad for business, and that no one is going to borrow from us if they think we're going to screw them over or slit their throats. And honestly, I've just had enough of being told what to do. Then you guys show up and I overhear that you're Brotherhood. Then I heard him, Cicero, psychopathic knife guy or whatever his name is, call you Listener. Is it – is it true? That there's a Listener again and you're it? Because that means the Night Mother is back and that means that bitch Astrid's not the boss any more. I've never been one for gods and magic and dark rituals or anything, but hey, if it means I can come back to the Family and not take orders from her any more, I'm all for it. So, er, that's why I was following you. I wanted to see if you were recruiting..." Sapphire looked hopefully up at Delphine, or as hopefully as one could look when Cicero was holding a knife to one's throat. Delphine appraised her carefully. An interesting story, and Sithis knew they could do with more people. At this rate, she'd have enough people behind her to make the inevitable future confrontation with this Astrid go rather easier. And someone with proven thieving skills could prove invaluable. However, Sapphire's attitude could be a dealbreaker, and Delphine wasn't sure she trusted the young thief yet.
"You are aware of course that being a part of my organisation also involves a certain adherence to rules," said Delphine. "We are the Dark Brotherhood, not some ill-disciplined bandit rabble. Rule number one is that while we are all brothers and sisters in darkness here, we ultimately answer to the Night Mother, and she passes her orders on to me. Which means you will obey any order I give you, no arguing, no complaining, no talking back. Is that clear?"
Sapphire nodded. "Yes, Listener," she whispered.
"Good," said Delphine. She wasn't entirely convinced of Sapphire's reliability just yet, but it was a start. "I need also hardly add that stealing from or scamming your fellow Brotherhood members is also a very bad idea, and obviously we do not prey on our fellow Brotherhood members either. We are also an organisation with secrets, especially given that our very existence is outlawed, most of our activities are illegal, and we've all got enemies. Should anyone outside the Brotherhood find out any of these secrets, such as where our Sanctuaries are, who our members are, our current contracts and projects, that would not go well for us. It would go particularly badly for whoever betrayed us. This includes anyone from the Guild – I consider them friends and occasionally allies, but there is no need for any of them to know where we work out of or what our current ventures involve, and no thief with good intentions will ever ask you to tell them. Again, are we clear on this?"
"We are," said Sapphire. She met Delphine's eyes, a new knowledge dawning. "You're following the Tenets again, aren't you?"
"Why not?" Delphine asked with a shrug. "They're all fairly reasonable to me. Chain of command, loyalty, brothers and sisters being able to trust each other and watch each other's backs – I'm not sure how the Brotherhood's been functioning all these years without them."
"Oh, Astrid was all about the chain of command," said Sapphire knowingly. "Not so much about the loyalty or trust though. She thought I was eyeing up her husband, so out I went."
"Were you?" Delphine asked. Sapphire shook her head.
"No! Never was one for guys anyway, then I ended up imprisoned in some bandit camp and... well, I murdered the lot of them and escaped, and never regretted it. No, it was actually Astrid I was secretly checking out. Don't think she ever twigged though. There's irony for you."
Cicero's grip on her tightened. "Get no ideas here either. The Listener is mine," he hissed.
"Got it!" Sapphire squeaked. "She's a little old for me anyway. No offence," she added hastily.
"None taken," said Delphine. She motioned at Cicero to let her go. "Cicero. Put the knife away and come to me. There's a good Keeper."
Cicero was still glaring at Sapphire, but did as he was told, sheathing his dagger and positioning himself protectively at Delphine's shoulder.
"So... am I in?" Sapphire asked hopefully. Delphine nodded.
"You are. Provisionally anyway. Don't expect to get told all the Brotherhood's secrets right away, it'll be a while before I make this permanent. But you're in. Now, our current mission is to track down an old colleague of mine who's hiding out in the Ratway. The Thalmor are after him, it's our job to get there before they do. The battle in the Flagon will have helped, but I can't rule out a few more of them getting down here. So, we move and we move quickly and quietly. Sapphire, you're behind me, Cicero, you are behind Sapphire. Aranea and Eola, bring up the rear, mop up any more stragglers. Any questions?"
There were none. Sapphire shot a few nervous glances at Cicero, wondering what exactly she'd let herself for. The jester merely smiled viciously at her.
"After you, sister," he growled. Sapphire got the message. Delphine might trust her enough to present her back to the new recruit... but not enough to risk Sapphire being able to strike and escape. At the same time, it was more than she'd hoped for, and one thing was becoming clear – Delphine was not Astrid. Astrid, who had been all sweetness and light and all 'no rules, just respect your family', right up until it had become abundantly clear there were rules, it's just Astrid rarely bothered to share them but still punished you when you transgressed. Delphine on the other hand had been extremely clear about where the boundaries lay, and even the more informal one of 'Cicero and Delphine are clearly a couple – interfere at your own risk' had been spelt out fairly effectively. Of course, that still left the question of where Astrid's group fitted in to the whole setup. Something to ask later, maybe. But for now, things seemed fairly clear-cut and more to the point, they had a job to do. Sapphire fingered her blade hilts. This could be interesting...
Finally, they made it to a particularly dingy cellar area, with a number of cells leading off a balcony. In the distance, a woman was manically listing a number of random objects, and a man seemed to be trying to beckon someone or something to him. Next to either, Cicero looked like a model of reason and sanity.
"What the hell is this place?" Eola murmured, looking about her.
"Place I called home for a year," said Delphine, anything but nostalgic. "I swear, if I hadn't been in mourning, I don't know if I'd have survived without losing my mind. As it is, I didn't care, I just wanted to hide. Holed up here, paid the Guild to bring me food, but didn't speak to anyone. Don't even know if I'd have left if one of the food couriers hadn't been the annoying type of extrovert that insisted on sitting outside and carrying on one-sided conversations by himself. Still, that's Brynjolf for you, never knew when to keep his mouth shut."
"Don't I know it," Sapphire muttered. To her surprise, Cicero actually giggled quietly at that. She glanced up to see the jester watching, sly grin in place.
"Something amusing, jester?" she snapped at him. Cicero merely raised an eyebrow.
"Oh no. Cicero just did not think he and thieving Sapphire would find common ground so quickly."
That made two of them. Sapphire felt her fear of the little psychopath abate somewhat, but she had no intention of trusting him just yet.
"You had a knife to my throat not half an hour ago," Sapphire reminded him. Cicero just shrugged.
"Cicero has held his knife to a great many throats over the years. It is very rarely personal. Sapphire can count herself among the lucky ones – she is still alive."
There wasn't really a lot Sapphire could say to that. On her other side, Aranea patted her shoulder.
"Don't let him get to you, Sapphire. He tried to stab me when we first met too. It's almost like an initiation rite."
"Did I pass?" Sapphire asked, then berated herself for asking such a stupid question.
"Of course," said Aranea. "You're still breathing."
Delphine cleared her throat and called for attention.
"All right. This is it, people. Esbern's room is up there. As he's a paranoid recluse who could teach me a few things on that score, I will go up with Cicero. More of us than that is likely to put him on the defensive and possibly freak him out."
"Whereas Cicero won't have that effect at all," said Eola, rolling her eyes. Delphine glared at her and she quickly fell silent.
"As I was saying," said Delphine tersely. "Cicero and I will go up to find Esbern. The three of you will remain down here and keep watch in case of Thalmor or any other troublemakers. I don't think the other residents will give you any trouble, but best not to disturb them. Stay alert, I don't think we'll be too long, but there'll be things to discuss, also Esbern will need to pack. That's assuming the stubborn old coot will actually leave. OK, positions everyone. Cicero, you're with me."
"Coming, Listener!" Cicero cooed, skipping over to Delphine's side as she led him upstairs. Delphine took him by the arm as they reached the balcony.
"Listen, Cicero, you have to be a little more careful about when you address me as Listener," said Delphine. Cicero tilted his head.
"Why, my Listener? Does Delphine not like her rightful title?"
"It's not that," said Delphine, shaking her head. "It's... well, it's a dead giveaway to anyone who knows anything about the Brotherhood just who we are. You calling me that has given us away to Brynjolf, Delvin Mallory, quite possibly other Guild members, and now Sapphire. While the Guild are unlikely to give us away, others might do, and I don't want to take any unnecessary risks. Can't you call me something else? Or just use my name?"
Cicero looked at her, eyes narrowed and lips pursed. For all he liked to come across as nothing but a simple fool, he'd been a shrewd and calculating man once, and the pieces of a once sharp mind had not blunted as much as Cicero liked to claim.
"You do not wish Esbern to know you are in the Brotherhood now," he said. Delphine gritted her teeth, wishing he wasn't quite so perceptive.
"Not if I can avoid it, no. He's not one of us, Cicero! He's a Blade through and through. And... I don't want him to be disappointed in me." Damn it, she hadn't intended that to sound so plaintive. She was leader of the Dark Brotherhood now, she shouldn't be feeling like such a child! Or like a young girl bringing a prospective husband home to meet her parents. Which wasn't so far from the truth, if she thought about it.
Cicero's face softened and a second later, his arms were around her and he was rubbing her back.
"If Esbern is disappointed in you, the problem is with him. Cicero has nothing but pride for his dear, sweet Lis- Mistress, see, Cicero can change his ways! If Delphine does not wish him to know just yet, Cicero will keep the secret, but Delphine cannot hide this forever, not if Esbern is staying. Which he will be, Cicero imagines, as he cannot see his Delphine abandoning her friend to the nasty Thalmor, hmm?"
"No," Delphine sighed. "He can't stay here, the location's hopelessly compromised, and I don't know how he'll adjust to living in a Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary. But there's no hope for it – we need his dragon knowledge and I'm not abandoning him now. The Thalmor will come back for him eventually. Come on." She broke the embrace and offered Cicero her arm. "Let's go meet Esbern."
The door was impressive, no doubt about it. Solid steel with a slot in it, and an intimidating lock. Delphine knew from personal experience that on the other side was an array of chains, bolts, and a solid steel door bar. Nothing short of an actual dragon was getting through that door any time soon.
Steeling herself, she knocked on the door. The panel slid back.
"Who is it? What do you want?" the familiar voice she remembered snapped out. Delphine couldn't help it, a broad smile crossing her face and all her earlier fears evaporating.
"Esbern," she laughed. "Esbern, old man, it's me. Delphine. Open the door, let me in. I brought someone you need to meet. A friend."
"A friend?" Esbern sounded disbelieving. "The Delphine I knew never had time for that sort of thing." Narrowed eyes peered out at them, and widened as they fell on Delphine.
"Well, good gods. It is you! You don't look a day older, my dear. And this..." He looked at Cicero, who smiled his most charming smile in return. The eyes blinked, before flicking back to Delphine. "Delphine, my dear, who is your, er, friend? Are you sure he's entirely trustworthy? Not a Thalmor agent?"
"His name is Cicero," said Delphine, smiling fondly at Cicero. "And no he's not a Thalmor agent. He's killed too many of them for that. You can trust him, he won't give you away."
Cicero swept a bow, remembering his manners. "Humble Cicero is at venerable Esbern's service. Any friend of his dear Delphine is a friend of Cicero's. If Esbern wishes anyone murdered, slain, decapitated, garrotted, slaughtered, massacred or stabbed, he has merely to utter their name in Cicero's hearing and Cicero will see the matter dealt with."
Delphine felt her heart sink, shooting Cicero a venomous glance that promised an extended discussion later. To her surprise, Esbern uttered a bark of laughter.
"The only one I'd actually want to see dead may prove to be a bit of challenge for you, dear boy. But no matter, no matter." The panel closed and behind the door, the sound of bolts being drawn back echoed out into the Ratway.
"Do you think he likes poor Cicero?" Cicero whispered. He was rewarded by a sharp slap to his rump, causing him to squeal.
"Stop offering your services as a murderer!" Delphine hissed. "He's going to think you're some sort of-" insane psychopath, she almost said but given that Cicero was definitely the first and had more than a few traits associated with the second, it probably would have had no effect. "Ill-mannered child," she said, hoping this at least would get the point across.
Cicero winced at this. "Cicero is sorry," he said unhappily. "Cicero will be quiet and let Delphine do the talking, yes. Esbern is her friend after all, she will know what to say."
"All right," said Delphine, putting an arm around his waist. "Just remember he's not Dark Brotherhood or a client of ours, he has priorities other than wanting people killed."
Cicero looked a bit confused at this concept, but he nodded in acquiescence. It was probably the best Delphine could hope for. Finally the last lock was drawn back and the door swung open. Behind it was an old man in a filthy white tunic and leggings, old but still standing straight and eyes wrinkled in a smile.
"Come in, come in," he said, motioning them forwards. He glanced down into the courtyard and noticed Eola crouching in a corner and Aranea on the stairs. Sapphire was presumably guarding the entrance, hidden from sight. "Delphine, who are those young women?" he asked frostily.
"They're with me," said Delphine. "I expected trouble so rounded up nearly all my people to come get you."
"All of them? Just for me? Is that wise? And people – Delphine, are you reforming the Blades?" Esbern's eyes lit up at the thought. Delphine felt her heart stop.
"Kind of," she said hastily. "Why don't we come inside and talk?"
"Yes, yes," said Esbern, motioning for them to come in and securing the door behind them. "Delphine, you're still alive, I can hardly believe it."
"So are you, I thought they'd got you years ago!" Delphine hugged Esbern, feeling the weight of years slide off her. Not the last Blade any more! Of course, given her new allegiances, that wasn't necessarily a good thing.
"Not yet, my dear," said Esbern gently. "Not yet. So. You didn't come all this way with your entire cadre just to reminisce with an old man. How did you find me and what brings you here?" He let Delphine go and settled into a chair, indicating for them to sit down. Delphine settled on the bed, Cicero coming to join her. Without even thinking, Delphine put her arm around him, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. Esbern noticed and smiled.
"Well, that's one mystery cleared up. I'm very happy for you, dear. Even if he is a little... unusual, it's nice to see love blossom. It's a pity you won't have long to enjoy it, but at least you will be able to have a measure of happiness before the end."
"Before the – what are you talking about, Esbern?" Delphine asked, confused. "The end of what?"
"Why, the end of the world, of course! Don't tell me you hadn't realised." Esbern looked at them both, taking in the looks of polite bafflement on Cicero's part and incomprehension on Delphine's.
"Delphine," said Cicero, sounding only a little nervous, "was he always like this? Cicero would hate to think that our best lead on dragons had lost his mind to the ravages of old age. Such a shame to see a fine mind wasted." He said this last without even a hint of irony.
"Oh he was always a little crazy," Delphine reassured him. "But this is admittedly a little far out even for him. Esbern, come on, end times? Really? Yeah, I know we have dragons coming back, but the end of the world? Are you sure about that?"
"Quite sure," said Esbern sternly. "I have studied the matter in depth, young lady, which I would imagine is more than you have done. All the sources agree, all the books are quite clear on the matter. Alduin the World-Eater has returned, he is raising his kin to fight, war will come and the world will end in fire. The end."
"The end?" Cicero sat up, shocked. "But... but the world can't end yet! We have work to do! People to kill! Si- no, the gods can't want this." Cicero corrected himself in time. "Delphine, surely, would you not have heard if the world was going to end?"
"Not necessarily," said Delphine. "But I have to agree with Cicero, Esbern. Don't you think this is all a bit unlikely? And who is Alduin anyway?"
Esbern sighed, throwing up his hands. "Who is Alduin, she asks. Who is – Delphine, if you had paid more attention in class and spent more time in the library, and a little less time learning how to pulverise anything that moved, you would know who Alduin was. Alduin is the first of the dragons, the eldest son of Akatosh, greatest of all of them, like a demi-god in his own right. Immortal, unstoppable, and his destiny is to arrive at the end of time and eat the world. He is here, now, in our time, and that time will be the last."
"That black dragon we saw at Kynesgrove," said Delphine, lessons from over thirty years ago returning to her. "That was Alduin?"
"You see, you know! You know, but you refuse to understand!" Esbern cried. "Everyone refused to understand, you know. Called me mad when I tried to warn them, ignored me when I said we were running out of time. Said the war was more important. Hmph. Well, there's still a war on, and now the dragons are truly back, time has run out, the Blades are gone and the gods have forsaken us. So who's mad now, hmm? Truly, were it not for the gravity of the situation, I would take great pleasure in saying I told you so."
"And they call me crazy," Cicero murmured in Delphine's ear. Delphine, much as she wanted to disagree with the sentiment, was having a hard time doing so. That familiar and not remotely missed feeling of being the sanest person in the room, a feeling that had started making its presence felt the moment she'd walked out of Dragonsreach for the first time with Cicero and not gone away until Aranea had joined the team, was making its presence felt once more.
"There must be something we can do," said Delphine. "I refuse to believe that our fate is just to roll over and let the end happen."
Esbern smiled sadly. "That's the Delphine I remember. You always were a force to be reckoned with. Alas, Alduin is more than a match for you. More than a match for all of us. Only a Dragonborn could do it. And there's been no Dragonborn for centuries. The gods have abandoned us, Delphine. There's nothing we can do now. Just take your Cicero to a secluded, romantic spot and enjoy the final days in happiness. It is all I can offer you. I can only hope your particular ends are swift and painless."
Delphine opened her mouth to speak, but Cicero beat her to it, leaping to his feet.
"But Cicero is Dragonborn!" he cried. "The Greybeards have said so, Delphine has said so, everyone has said so! He can Shout, he can absorb dragon souls when they die. Cicero does not know how or why it has come about... but he is Dragonborn. And if wise Esbern wants Alduin dealt with, why then humble Cicero shall take the contract."
Esbern's eyes widened and he got up, clapping a stunned Cicero on the shoulders.
"I can hardly believe it – Dragonborn! You're really Dragonborn? Delphine, is it true?"
Delphine nodded, smiling despite herself. "That he is, Esbern."
"That's... unbelievable! Unbelievable! Dear boy, you don't know what this means! The gods haven't abandoned us! There is a way! The world might just survive!" Cicero found himself drawn into a bear hug, before Esbern abruptly released him and pulled Delphine to her feet, shaking her hand firmly.
"My dear girl, you're a marvel. However did you find him – no, don't tell me. Plenty of time to tell me later. This changes everything, of course. Now, clearly we must leave and leave quickly. Let me gather a few things – let me see now..." He began gathering books from among the many piled all over the room. "Ah yes... this one... and certainly that one... that too... not that one... now where is my annotated Anuad?"
"How long's this going to take exactly?" Delphine sighed, itching to be gone before Thalmor reinforcements arrived. "Gotta warn you, Esbern – Cicero's got a bit of a short attention span."
Esbern glanced up at Cicero, who was now sitting cross-legged on a chair, good as gold, quietly reading the Book of Daedra.
"Really," said Esbern sceptically. "Well, I do agree that one of you resembles an impatient child, but it's not the Dragonborn." He returned to his packing, and Delphine couldn't help but glare at Cicero.
"Now you decide to behave for once?" she muttered. Cicero looked up, face utterly guileless.
"Does Delphine not wish her Cicero to behave in public?" he asked innocently.
"No- yes, never mind," Delphine sighed. Of all the times for Cicero to suddenly develop focus. Now he was even passing books and scrolls to Esbern as he asked for them, all the while being helpful, meek and biddable like she'd never seen him. This could not possibly last.
Finally Esbern was finished. Cicero sprang to his feet and opened the door for Esbern and Delphine, bowing as he did so. Delphine led the way, starting to feel a little unnerved. Any minute now, the singing would start, followed inevitably by capering and probably ending in stabbing – actual stabbing or if they were lucky, just a song about it. Any second now.
"Any trouble?" Delphine called. Eola shook her head.
"None. Hey, is this Esbern? Pleased to meet you, sir. Eola at your service."
"No need to call me sir," said Esbern. "Esbern will do just fine. And the others of you are?"
"Aranea Ienith and Sapphire," said Delphine. "There's also Calixto Corrium, but he's off taking care of some other business for us. You'll meet him in time. In the mean time, we need to be off. Esbern, you're with me, Cicero behind us. Sapphire and Aranea next, Eola you're on rearguard watch. Let's go."
"You do have them well trained," Esbern said in admiration as everyone fell into line without a sound. "Why, you'll have the Blades reformed in no time at this rate!"
"Blades?" Sapphire whispered to Aranea. "I thought we were..."
"We are," Aranea murmured. "Eola and I will explain on the way. It's... complicated."
"Just go with it," said Eola. "It's not exactly untrue. Just not the whole truth."
Sapphire could only sigh. She just hoped Delphine did actually have a plan and wasn't completely winging this. She'd had enough of explosive political rune-fields with Astrid's group.
The journey back was surprisingly quiet, although there were rather more figures loitering around in Guild armour than normal, and the Flagon was packed. All of them just waved Delphine and company through. In the upper layers, a few more Thalmor bodies were lying around. Finally, Delphine led them through the door that led out on to the canal side.
To her surprise, she was met by Calixto crouching next to the body of a dead Khajiit, a note in his hand.
"Delphine?" Esbern asked. "Is he with you as well?"
"Oh, hello Li- Delphine," Calixto corrected himself, needing no warning not to use the title around Esbern. "It turns out the business you sent me on brought me to Riften, and so I kept an eye out for you. Then I saw this individual loitering rather suspiciously near the Ratway's entrance and decided that she was a complication you could do without. Lucky I did, she was carrying this." He handed her the note. Delphine scanned it. It was from someone simply called E, but Delphine recognised the Thalmor Ambassador's fingerprints all over this one.
"She's a Thalmor spy," said Delphine crisply. "Orders to watch out for us. Well, Eola and Cicero anyway. You two need to watch yourselves, the Thalmor will be looking all over for you."
"Oh, Cicero hopes so," Cicero giggled. "Thalmor think they're so scary? Cicero shall show them who's scary!"
"Careful, my boy," Esbern warned him. "Many have said that about the Thalmor, many talented mages and mighty warriors both. Most of them succumbed in the end."
"Ordinarily I'd agree with you," said Delphine, crunching the note up and tossing it into the canal. "But they may have met their match with Cicero. He's... unpredictable. Come on, let's get out of here. Calixto, did you sort out that new base for us?"
"I did," said Calixto. "Told the Steward I needed more storage space and wanted the Butcher's lair as an addition to my collection. I also took the liberty of getting a kitchen and dining area put in, there's some bedrolls downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs. In addition, I was able to talk the guards into letting me have some old targets for training purposes."
"Lead on then," said Delphine, impressed. "We've got a lot to discuss and we need somewhere secure to do it. Let's go."
For the journey, Delphine split them up, sending Calixto and Aranea to scout ahead, and Eola and Sapphire to drop back and make sure no one was following. Which left her in the middle with Cicero and Esbern. Cicero, true to form, was singing quietly to himself and dancing along quite merrily behind her.
"Is he... alright?" Esbern asked, mildly concerned.
"I won't lie to you," Delphine sighed. "He's had a traumatic life. Everyone he cared about got killed, including his young fiancee, and he was surviving on his own for years. Don't mistake me, he's very good at surviving, but he was very lonely throughout. It wasn't good for him and, well, it's left its mark. But he's here and he's Dragonborn, and he is very very good at what he does. He meant it when he said he'd kill Alduin, you know."
"But do you think he can really do it?" said Esbern, frowning at the jester, who was now singing about spying a singing bird. "What would he do right now if a dragon swooped down and carried him off?"
"Honestly?" said Delphine, remembering the vehemence with which he'd pounced on Sahloknir. "He'd shove his knife through its jaw, stab its eyes out, make the bugger land and probably walk away untouched while its corpse burned. I told you. He's special. He's unpredictable. He's fearless and deadly, and the fearlessness doesn't come from ignorance or overconfidence either, he knows exactly what he's capable of. And if a dragon showed up right now, he'd either stop the singing and start fighting without even pausing for breath, or he'd start fighting while he sang. Don't underestimate him, Esbern. The ones who do... well, they tend to end up dead."
"Well, you know him better than I do," Esbern conceded. "I just hope you're not letting your feelings blind you to his weak points."
Delphine's mind flashed back to Cicero lying on the Flagon's floor, burned and bloodied. "I know he's not invulnerable," she said softly. "But he's not easy to kill either."
"Now that I can believe," said Esbern. "So tell me as we walk. Wherever did you find him?"
So Delphine told the story of how she'd stepped out to clean her inn porch one day, seen a dragon and ended up in Whiterun where Irileth had brought her this insane jester who was said to be Dragonborn. Of course, she left out the part about the Night Mother and being Listener – no need for Esbern to know that bit – and if Esbern guessed that much was not being said, he didn't show it. He was a Blade too, and Blades knew not to pry. Still, he listened and when Delphine was done, he was looking at Cicero with new respect.
"So you've seen him kill two dragons, he's helped you delve into a dangerous Nordic ruin, he broke into the Thalmor Embassy, and he personally recruited your two most trusted people other than him? I am impressed. Yes, I can see why you like him. There's much to be proud of there. So that's where you've come from, and to put together this entire team in under a month is an impressive feat indeed. What's your next move?"
Kill an innocent woman at her own wedding. But Delphine could hardly say that.
"Well, as far as dragons are concerned, I'm not sure. Our only lead was the Thalmor and they've led us to you. So tell me, Esbern. Now that we've got a Dragonborn, what do we do with him?"
Esbern dived into his backpack and produced a battered copy of Annals of the Dragonguard.
"Here, one of the few tomes I was able to save from Cloud Ruler Temple's library and the most valuable. Tells of the history of the ancient Blades, and in it are a few references to something I think we'll find invaluable. Alduin's Wall." He looked at Delphine as if she should know what that was, but was once more disappointed. "Really, Delphine, did you spend any time in class actually paying attention?"
"How was I to know dragons were going to come back?" Delphine scowled. "Go on then. Alduin's Wall. I take it it's somewhere difficult and dangerous to find."
Esbern opened the book for her and turned the page to an ancient map of Skyrim. Delphine recognised the major cities and a few old settlements that were now in ruins, but the writing was in Akaviri, so it was mostly guesswork for most of it. She noticed the biggest marking of all, a large circle drawn round a dot in what looked like the Karthspire region of the Reach.
"What's that marking, Esbern? It's clearly important, but I didn't know there'd ever been a settlement out there."
"Few do, it's been abandoned for centuries," said Esbern, looking positively gleeful. "But the Blades used to have their Skyrim headquarters there – Sky Haven Temple. Been abandoned for years, of course – the Blades didn't have the resources to keep it up after the Oblivion Crisis. But its very abandonment means it'll still be intact – the Thalmor will never have looted it. I doubt anyone else even knows it's there."
Delphine felt a little shiver go down her spine. Follow the dragons... let the Blades lead you to it. Sky Haven Temple. Secret, isolated, safe. A proper Sanctuary.
"So we go there then," she said, lowering her voice. "See what state it's in, see if it'll make a good base for us."
"We do," said Esbern. "Because not only is it abandoned and secret, it's also the location of Alduin's Wall. It's a bas-relief made by the ancient Akaviri, and it tells of the first defeat of Alduin. It also prophesies his return."
"And you think it might have some clues on how to defeat him. Esbern, that's... that's amazing!" It was further than she'd ever have got on her own, that was for sure.
"Don't speak too soon," Esbern warned her. "It may be no help whatsoever. It will certainly be an arduous and dangerous journey – I've heard the Reach has become wild these last few years."
"It has that," Delphine said, already making plans. "But don't worry. I've got a native Reachwoman in the group, and I have the Dragonborn. We will find this place, Esbern. We will find this place come Oblivion or the outer darkness, and we will make it our own. That I promise you."
It was past dawn as the volcanic warmth of the Aalto plain gave way to the snows of Windhelm, and the city itself loomed above. Calixto led the way, nodding to the guards as they let him pass.
"Brought guests with you, Calixto?" one called to him.
"A couple of old army friends of mine and their families, visiting the city," Calixto replied, improvising on the spot. Esbern and Delphine were the right age to have been involved in the Great War to some extent, and Sapphire and Eola could easily pass for a granddaughter or daughter of Esbern and Delphine respectively. Where Cicero fit in was anyone's guess, but Calixto could always either pass him off as a bodyguard... or simply tell the truth, that he was Delphine's younger lover.
"And the Dunmer?" the other guard asked. "Sure I've seen her before."
"Probably, she was here a few weeks ago visiting me to arrange everything," said Calixto testily. "She's this gentleman's personal physician. He's an old man, he gets sick sometimes." Really, he never knew he was quite so good at lying and deceiving. Then again, being a respectable citizen by day and serial killer by night was good practice.
"In that case, in you come," the guard grunted. "But keep an eye on her, we've already got too many grey-skins in this town."
"She'll be no trouble," Calixto assured them, wondering at the stupidity of guards who would cross-examine Aranea, one of the sanest and most stable people in the group, but let Cicero in without a second thought. "Come on in everyone, let's get you all settled."
Hjerim proved to be even more impressive than any of them expected, although Aranea looked a little nervous and studiously avoided the back end of the house. The place was huge, with a vast living room downstairs, bare at the back except for a couple of wardrobes but outfitted as a dining room and social area at the front. The kitchen off to the side was fully equipped, including food supplies, and three bedrolls had been laid down there. Upstairs was smaller, but the upstairs landing had been fitted with a few target dummies and archery targets, and there were two bedrooms, one small one with a single bed that Delphine assigned to Esbern, and then there was the master bedroom.
"I thought you might like this one, Delphine," said Calixto, showing her around while the others settled in downstairs. Cicero of course had barely left his Listener's side.
"It's..." - almost the size of my entire inn - "lovely!" gasped Delphine. "Divines, Calixto, this must have cost you a fortune. It's going to take a while to pay you back for this."
Calixto shrugged. "Think nothing of it, my lady. Lucilla and I made plenty of gold in our adventuring days, and most of it was sitting around going to waste. You and your Family have given me a second shot at doing something with my life. Only fair I give you something back."
"Well, when I have the funds, I'll see you compensated," Delphine promised. "The room is beautiful, thank you. Why don't you help out with dinner while Cicero and I settle in?" Cicero had already dashed in squealing and proceeded to start bouncing on the bed.
"Pretty room for pretty Lis- lady!" he chanted, amending the words just in time. "Cicero likes this place."
Delphine stepped inside, closing the door behind her as Calixto left.
"Well that's good to know, because you and I will be resting here until tomorrow," said Delphine. "Now. You appear to have had the nerve to have shown up in my bedchamber in Thalmor armour. Remove it immediately then come here, Dragonborn. Someone needs lessons in etiquette..."
Cicero giggled as he led the golden armour fall to the floor, kicking it away before casually sending the rest of his clothing after it and sauntering over to her, unashamedly hard and naked.
"What did my Listener have in mind?" he murmured. Delphine grinned, reaching out with fingers still cold from having been out in Windhelm, relishing the shrieks as they touched Cicero.
"Delphine's hands are freezing!" Cicero yelped. "Oh... oh, now that is not fair, Delphine knows Cicero is ticklish, ahahaa, stop, mercy, please, no more, aieeee!" Delphine was now gleefully tickling him into submission while warming her hands up at the same time. Really, the way he curled into her and wriggled as he howled for mercy was just delightful. Wrapping her arms around him and holding him to her, she lowered him to his knees.
"Listener?" Cicero gasped, still breathless.
"Bed," she whispered into his ear. "I have a sudden urge to get under the covers with a willing young man."
"Cicero is at your service, oh great and powerful Listener," said Cicero, staggering to his feet and into the bed, laying himself out with a sultry look on his face. Shedding her own armour, she joined him. Having a comfortable double bed at her disposal for once was not something she intended to go to waste.
"What in the name of Mara are they doing up there?" Sapphire asked, glancing up at the ceiling as the shrieking laughter echoed around the house.
"Do you really want an answer to that question?" Eola asked from across the dining table, where she was adding some seasoning to her own personal serving of Potage a la Thalmor.
"No," said Calixto and Aranea in unison.
"That she finds the little fool attractive is one thing – there is no accounting for taste after all," said Calixto with a grimace. "But really, do any of us need to know the details? I personally think not."
"I have a great deal of time for young Cicero," said Aranea. "But even I have no wish to know what he gets up to behind closed doors. He and the Listener are happy together. That is all any of us need to know."
There was a general consensus of opinion amongst the four that this was something they could all agree on.
"Wonder what the old man thinks," said Eola thoughtfully. "His room's right opposite the lovenest after all."
"Too busy reading to notice?" Calixto suggested. This was met with general laughter.
"Or so old he's forgotten what sex is," Sapphire chimed in. More laughter, apart from Aranea, who had folded her arms in annoyance.
"May I remind you all that I'm 280 years old, and compared to me, you're all children. And by the way, I do still remember very well what sex is."
"Yeah, but you're an Elf," said Eola. "Different for you guys. You live for ages."
"Not always," said Aranea sadly, clearly remembering loved ones who'd gone before her. The mood of the room dropped and conversation fell silent. Then Sapphire changed the subject, remembering something she'd been meaning to ask for a while.
"So anyway, you guys. What's the deal with us anyway? You know, the Brotherhood. Last time I was a member, Astrid was the boss, and the whole thing was based out of an old Nordic ruin just outside Falkreath. So what changed? How'd this group get started? How'd we get the Night Mother working again, and a Listener? And is Astrid's lot still out there?"
As one, all eyes turned to Eola, who stopped eating and looked back at them all.
"What, am I the expert now?"
"You were the first recruit, weren't you?" Calixto said. "And aren't you and Cicero very good friends? You two are the ones Delphine clearly trusts the most. So stands to reason you'd know what the situation with this Astrid is."
"I don't know a lot," said Eola, folding her napkin and placing it down on the table, her meal clearly done. "Don't think I was supposed to know as much as I do, but we met Delvin Mallory on a job and he let her name slip. Of course, I wanted to know the rest and hit up Cicero for the juicy details afterwards. Turns out the Falkreath Sanctuary is old, it's been active in Skyrim for centuries. They're the established group, we're the newcomers. When the last Listener died way back when, the Skyrim group kept on operating independently, and they survived when the Cyrodiil Sanctuaries didn't. They were the last Dark Brotherhood group, the very last. All apart from Cicero, who'd been a Cyrodiil assassin, and he'd somehow stayed alive all this time, alive and in hiding with the Night Mother. That was, what, twelve years ago now?"
"Cicero was on his own all that time? Divines, no wonder the little guy's nuts," said Sapphire, feeling for the first time sympathy for the jester. "Not sure I'd have managed on my own all that time. Course, I'm not sure I wouldn't have abandoned the Night Mother and gone freelance either."
"Yeah, well, Cicero's old school Dark Brotherhood," said Eola. "He's loyal to the Tenets and Sithis above all. And they'd made him the Night Mother's official Keeper too. He couldn't go, although I'm sure he must have wanted to at times."
"So what changed?" Calixto asked. "How did he end up in Skyrim?"
"He was looking for a new Listener," said Eola. "Trying to save the Brotherhood, put things right, make up for not having been there to save the last one from what I gathered. He didn't really want to talk about the details. But he did tell me that as Astrid's lot were the last surviving Sanctuary, he was going there in the hope one of them might turn out to be the next Listener who'd save them all and restore the old ways, bring the Brotherhood back to its former glory."
Everyone glanced up to where Delphine's bedroom was.
"Well, looks like he found her," said Sapphire. "But Delphine was never Brotherhood. I've heard Brynjolf mention her, she was some paranoid ex-Legion recluse who he eventually sweet-talked into joining the Guild for a few years. How'd she become Listener?"
"Don't know," said Eola with a shrug. "Night Mother liked her style and chose her, I guess. All I know is that Cicero ran into trouble with a dragon on the road and ended up meeting Delphine. She's... well, she's not just ex-Legion, she used to be in the Blades. But that doesn't leave this room, got me? She's been wanted by the Thalmor for years."
"Not surprising, thought the Thalmor had got all the Blades years ago," said Calixto, amazed. "Our Listener has tenacity, it would seem."
"Yeah, well, if they try anything with her now, we'll make them regret it," said Sapphire, fingering her dagger. "All makes sense though, if Esbern's an old Blade colleague and the Thalmor were after him too. But what does this have to do with her being Listener now?"
"Easy. Blades made it their business to know things about the Brotherhood. The Blades were Imperial bodyguards, the Brotherhood made a living assassinating high-profile figures. Delphine recognised Cicero and the Night Mother for who they were, when the rest all just thought he was some random lunatic trying to get his mother's body home. So she offered them Sanctuary. She had her reasons, don't mistake me, it wasn't a selfless action on her part. But the Night Mother called her as Listener anyway. Well, with a Listener found, Cicero never needed to go visit Astrid any more. So he stayed with her, and together they started recruiting. So here we all are. She was running the whole thing out of the inn she owned, but there's a few too many of us for us all to stay there at once. So now we've got this place."
Calixto grinned at Aranea, saluting her with a goblet. "We do. Thanks to me and Madam Aranea here."
Aranea clinked her goblet against us. "Thank you, Brother. But you did most of the work."
"Yes, but you gave me a reason to do it," said Calixto, smiling at her. Aranea looked away, starting to blush. Sapphire rolled her eyes at the sight.
"Great, not another happy couple," she muttered to Eola.
"Hey, plenty of time for one of them to die horribly in service to the Night Mother yet," said Eola. "Anything else you wanted to know about Astrid's group? Don't know much about them, you understand – Cicero's the only one who's ever been in contact, and all that was in writing."
"Do they know about us?" Sapphire asked. Eola shook her head.
"Doubt it," said Eola. "Honestly, do you blame her? Delphine's Listener, which means she's meant to be in charge. You know Astrid better than any of us, do you really think she'd take kindly to Delphine waltzing in with Cicero announcing she was their new boss?"
"She'd kill them," said Sapphire confidently. "Maybe not right away, not in a straight fight. But she'd kill them. A knife in the back, a slit throat in the night, something like that. But she'd kill them. Astrid's boss in her own Sanctuary. No one gets in the way of that, no one."
"Right," said Eola. "So Delphine's keeping her distance, letting them do their own thing while she recruits her own people, builds her own group. Suppose when she's ready, she'll make contact. It's in no one's interests to have a civil war in the Brotherhood."
"That can't last forever though," said Sapphire pensively. "And what if Astrid finds out first? I'm not sure how well she'll take the news."
"How many of them are there?" Aranea asked.
"Seven at the last count," said Sapphire. "Astrid and her husband Arnbjorn, who is a werewolf by the way and used to be in the Companions. Festus Krex, a wizard. Child vampire called Babette. A Shadowscale assassin called Veezara and a Redguard called Nazir who used to be one of Hammerfell's elite Alik'r warriors. Gabriella, a Dunmer mage. Think that's it, unless they've had a new recruit since I left."
Aranea looked up sharply at that last name. "Gabriella's still alive? Well. That complicates things."
"Friend of yours?" Calixto asked. Aranea nodded, a wistful smile on her face.
"Yes. A very good friend of mine back in Morrowind. So she's alive and well and still in the Brotherhood. That's hopefully good news – it's a potential voice in our favour, and it may make her less willing to join in a fight. So seven of them, and given that Esbern may also join in, means we match them now numbers wise."
"But do we match them talent-wise?" Calixto asked, frowning. "A Shadowscale and an ex-Alik'r, a vampire and a werewolf. I can fight, yes, but I'm not so young as I used to be and I left the Legion after the war ended. I still don't like our chances if it did come down to a fight."
"Well then," said Sapphire, straightening her back and thrusting her dagger firmly back into her sheath, "we'd better train like anything, get our skills in order, stay sharp, and if it does come to war, make damn sure we get the drop on them rather than vice versa. Right, folks?"
The response to that was very positive indeed.
The response in the Falkreath Sanctuary to the knowledge that yet another contract had been stolen from them was anything but positive. Assassins took cover as Astrid hurled a war axe across the pond in sheer fury. Arnbjorn winced as it hit the far wall and broke. He'd spent ages honing the edge on it – it'd take days to fix. While he didn't mind his wife's temper, and Sithis knew she had reason to be angry, he could wish it was a little less destructive.
"How dare they?" Astrid screamed, her normally honey-sweet voice sharpening in rage. "Steal our contracts, and not just take the money, but claim they're the Brotherhood into the bargain? This... this insult just will not do. Whoever these impostors are, we will find them and make them pay!"
"We might be better off recruiting them," said Nazir from a safe distance. "Whoever they are, they're good. Someone with a very thorough knowledge of Destruction magic took DuFont and his men apart. Sure, maybe Nilsine Shatter-Shield being the Butcher of Windhelm's last kill was coincidence, but does anyone else think that the court mage getting arrested for the crime the very day after was just a bit too neat? And then there's that murder in Winterhold, which we can't even find a client for."
"Having a mage murdered?" Festus muttered. "Could have been anyone in town, the Nords there all hate magic."
"But everyone's shocked," Gabriella countered. "And we'd heard nothing about anyone disliking the man enough to kill him. It looks like a random kill, maybe even an accident if a bear got into town and caught him while he was relieving himself. But people are saying Dark Brotherhood, and we knew nothing."
"And now someone's butchered that old hag Grelod," said Babette, who'd sneaked in to the orphanage to see the scene for herself. "In and out, slash to the throat, and all the kids adamant it was a Brotherhood assassin, but all giving conveniently different descriptions of the assailant. Whoever did it even used Grelod's hand to paint 'Hail Sithis!' on the wall in her own blood. I mean, murder is one thing, but why pass yourself off as Brotherhood if you're not one of us? They must know the real Brotherhood will be after them. Do they have a death wish?"
It was the only possible motive that Astrid could think of for trying to get the Brotherhood's attention like this, not unless Nazir had a point and the mysterious murderer really did want to join the Brotherhood but had no idea how to find them. Yet Veezara had been certain Muiri had referred to two of them, which made it less likely to be one lone madman hoping to be recruited, and far more likely to be a rival group co-opting the Brotherhood's name. She sincerely hoped Sithis would bring them all to a painful death, but in the absence of the Wrath of Sithis descending, she was quite happy to take on that role herself. If she could just find out who they were... but they were elusive to say the least. The Grelod kill didn't even make any sense. It couldn't have been about the money – the Aretino boy who'd probably requested it didn't have any, or she'd have sent Babette to investigate weeks ago. So why bother with it, if you were running a rival group of assassins? The only reason to bother with it would be as a way of advertising, but advertising one's existence as a Dark Brotherhood cell when the real Dark Brotherhood knew nothing about you and would almost certainly take exception to their name being used was a terrible idea. So either they were dealing with a group of idiots who thought it would be fun to incur the wrath of the Brotherhood – and the skill and planning involved here made that unlikely – or possibly, just possibly, this group perhaps had reason to think themselves legitimate Brotherhood members. Either that, or they just didn't care. Perhaps they thought the Brotherhood had grown weak. Astrid was determined to demonstrate otherwise... but first she had to find them.
"Babette," she said thoughtfully, "get yourself over to Windhelm. I think Grelod the Kind must have been who that Aretino boy wanted killed. Find the boy and see if you can get a description of the assassin who visited him, see if it matches the two who stole the Muiri contract. Also see if you can get any news of visitors to the town, new arrivals, strange activity nearby. We've had a suspected kill there and now a suspected client there, which leads me to think they may have a presence in the city, or near it. Gabriella, head to Winterhold, see if you can find out more about the Nelacar death. Anyone there angry enough at him to have him killed, any travellers in town the night of the death? Also stop in at Whiterun on the way, visit your seer friend Olava, see what she can tell you. We will find these people, whatever it takes. No one hides from the Dark Brotherhood!"