Antisocial Behaviors

"You're what?!"

Someone from the room on the other side of the wall pounded and called for them to be quiet.

"….in the Thieves Guild." It was almost a whisper.

The altmer sat with his hands braced on the mattress, his shoulders hunched nearly up to his ears, feet tucked back under the bed with his knees turned in as he watched Teldryn pace the tiny aisle of their shared room, shadow thrown to monstrous length across the wall and stretched up to the ceiling.

"You steal things?"

"…Yes."

Teldryn did a double take, glaring. Ceirin had said that in such a straightforward manner. The spellsword didn't know what to make of this latest revelation. What kind of person admitted to such antisocial behavior?

"Have you stolen from the people here? Is that how you've been paying me?"

"What? No!" Ceirin wrinkled his nose in distaste at the very idea.

If a thief could be offended. If a thief could be believed.

"What is it you do for them, exactly, if I may ask?" Teldryn raked both hands back through his hair, his tone acerbic. It wasn't his business and he wasn't sure he wanted to know, but damn it to all to Oblivion, he didn't have anything left now. He had been working for a criminal. His contract was void. He slammed his fist into wall.

Ceirin's eyes widened and he looked down at Teldryn's feet. When he looked back up, he looked so abjectly sorry. Teldryn wanted to grab him by the shoulders, or maybe the neck, and shake him.

"What? What else is there?" The spellsword demanded.

The altmer chewed his bottom lip, let out a breath and then said the final last thing Teldryn was expecting to hear.

"I'm the Guild Master."

"You're what?!"

The next morning, as he stormed across the plaza, he replayed the conversation in his head, every interaction they'd ever had, wondering what he had missed. How had this all gone wrong?

Absorbed in his thoughts, eyes to the ground, he rounded a corner and nearly ran down Second Councilor Arano. After flustered apologies were exchanged on both sides, the councilor shifted from foot to foot, not wanting to leave, but uncertain of how to proceed all the same.

"I was just about to make inquiries of your employer. Is he about?" Arano admitted after and uncomfortable pause. He looked around as if searching for him, but Teldryn noticed him checking back over his shoulder.

Something was going on.

As it happened, after their 'discussion' last night, they had decided to work apart for the foreseeable future. Well, Teldryn had decided. Ceirin had agreed, though he'd been reluctant. He had then packed up earlier and headed up to Tel Mithryn to ask Neloth about those black books. They would reconvene to discuss the final stone, somewhere north in the wilderness, when he got back.

Which had left Teldryn alone, faced with an unplanned day off, with no further prospects, and a hangover. In other words, in want of distraction. Now, however…

"He's been called away on another matter, Second Councilor. Perhaps I can assist you?"

The councilor hesitated for a moment, then seeming to come to some internal decision, drew him back into the shadow of a building. He proceeded to tersely explain his suspicions that an assassination attempt was going to be made on First Councilor Morvayn, soon.

Teldryn knew bits of the history from rumors that had gone around over the years. How the Ulens of House Hlaalu blamed Morvayn for the death of some ancestor or other; there was still some denial in their mind over the lawfulness of the execution, and a blood feud had been started over it.

What made Arano believe they were active here in Raven Rock, now, was a matter of doubt. The Second Councilor admitted that he was acting primarily on a gut instinct. He was bound to Redoran House law and the First Councilor did not support his suspicions. He felt powerless to act and was looking to hire an intermediary.

Which was where the spellsword came in. Arano's request was simple. Have a look around, maybe ask some questions and get a better sense of whether or not his instincts were correct. If at all possible, uncover evidence that would allow him to act.

Teldryn wasn't sure about the whole spy routine; it sounded an awful lot like what he had argued with the altmer about, but with nothing better to do he decided it wouldn't hurt to nose around a bit. He knew most of the people in Raven Rock, by reputation if not by name. Arano's first lead was Geldis anyway, so there wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary to start.

Heading back down to the Netch, he waited until Geldis was working back behind the bar and away from customers.

"Well, well. Adril's got himself a spy, does he?" The bartender took it in stride, shaking his head and adding, "Azura knows he needs all the help he can get. He's been chasing the Ulens for years now."

"You think he's mistaken?" Teldryn frowned. He hadn't realized the extent of the feud. Arano had made it sound as though the Ulens had been coming after them, not the other way around.

"No." Geldis placed some clean mugs on the shelf, wiping away the dust as he set them down, in neat rows. "I just think he's going about this the wrong way."

Politicians. Teldryn shook his head. He should have known Arano wasn't giving him the whole story. Always had to skew things to make themselves look like they were innocent. Not that they were the only ones.

"You have a better idea?" He leaned against the support beam next to the counter and rubbed his forehead. He could have done with more sleep last night or less of a hangover. Or both.

"Actually, I do." Geldis shook a finger at Teldryn and grinned, lowering his voice. Teldryn found himself leaning in and listening.

It served to remind Teldryn, as he hid in the shadows of the Ulen tomb, that Geldis was a canny bastard and had a streak of cleverness in him that he didn't often get to show off in his day to day routine.

Upon hearing someone quietly enter and approach the alter, he stepped out and came face to face with, of all people, Tilisu Severin.

She was well-dressed as always; jewelry and makeup all done as if for a day at court, and caught rather awkwardly in the process of kneeling to place ash yams on the altar. She raised her head high and recovered her shock with a haughty veneer of authority, but something about the way she held herself made her attitude seem brittle, forced. Teldryn made some excuse about the guards expressing concern over someone possibly vandalizing the tombs, apologized for disturbing her, and made his retreat.

He needed to get back to Arano with this. The Severins? After all they had invested in Raven Rock over the years, could they really be spies here only to kill? That was a lot of work to go to for revenge. His stomach ached and his eyes felt scratchy. Wasn't anyone who they said they were? He checked to make sure she hadn't followed him out, and then crossed the street to the low wooden building where the offices of the First and Second Councilors were located.

The next stage of the Arano's plan had him crouched in the twilight shadows outside the Severin's manor house door, fumbling with the unfamiliar picks in his hand, fingers tense and clumsy, biting back the urge to curse out loud as yet another slender metal tool snapped due to his inexpert use.

Ceirin hadn't made this look so difficult.

He ground his teeth and tried again.

Councilor Arano had made it clear. It was all on him to get the evidence. Assuming there was any. Once he had it, whatever he needed to do to get it back intact was sanctioned. Until then or unless, he was on his own.

He offered a silent prayer of thanks to Azura when the lock finally clicked open. He forced himself to wait. Ceirin always listened for activity first when they came to a locked door. And cleaned up all his broken picks. Teldryn set to pocketing every piece he could find.

What am I doing?

He cautiously edged the door open a crack and looked around the larger foyer. There was a fireplace at one end, a coat rack on the wall and a neat line of boots and shoes beneath that. A carved iron and wood bench sat off to one side flanked by a reading table that held a sculptural small bit of art and an assortment of the type of books wealthy people put out that were meant to make a room look homey and lived in but that no one ever actually read. There was a nice carpet at the top of the staircase leading down to the living quarters. The floor was swept clean.

The décor was about what he had expected. It was tasteful, expensive, and in much better condition than what he was used to seeing elsewhere in the town. Whatever the Severins' had invested in Raven Rock, they weren't being hurt financially by its downturn.

The room offered no cover, few shadows, and no evidence of any kind. He snuck in and pressed the door closed behind him with painful slowness, flinching as it clicked shut, certain the entire place had heard.

When it remained quiet, he edged towards the stairs, heart pounding, and eased his way down to search the rest of the rooms. His adrenaline spiked every time a tread creaked under foot.

Once hidden in the deeper shadows at the bottom of the stairwell, palms sweating, he peered across at the expanse of the house, built well back into the slope of a hill. Hallways stretched out in three directions, opening onto more rooms and alcoves. He could hear two women conversing off somewhere in one of them. Likely Tilisu and her daughter. There was no sign of Vendil, yet.

"Boethiah inspire me" He whispered, before taking a guess at where a wealthy family might chose to store important items, and sneaking deeper into the house.

He had just finished his search of two of the bedrooms and was heading into the third and largest when the door upstairs opened and Vendil Severin arrived home.

"Tilisu? Mirri? Do we have a guest? Who tracked all this ash in here? "

Teldryn froze, heart hammering. His boots! He hadn't thought about his filthy boots on their clean floor. Of all the ridiculous things to get caught over. He'd go to prison. And that would be if he was lucky. They might just kill him. Without proof, Arano couldn't back him.

Frantic, he began looking for a place to hide. No brilliant options presented themselves.

Down the hall, voices answered Vendil's call.

Teldryn gave up his search and scrambled to fit under the bed.

He held his breath and waited.

The sound of footsteps approached.