Author's notes: Hi folks! In this chapter I will tell how Agrippina pulls off the great Bkhalzarf bank heist. And yeah thanks to L0rkhan for his detailed review and critique. As it seems, the "limestone method" to neutralize acid is not recommendable. Agrippina would have devastated master Selthrie's mushroom house and probably killed herself along the way. So not cool! Also it's 13 constellations at Nirn's night sky instead of 12. And I was asked to give Slyboots more features. Aye-aye sir… But it took some time until I could post this. You see, there was a really nasty thunderstorm lately. My 'hood was struck by lightning and…well our router got fried in the process. So my brother had to order a new one which took time.

Disclaimer: I don't own project AHO, Dimonoider and HAEM studios do. I only own my OC Agrippina.

The great Bkhalzarf bank heist

I had returned to the Great Hexagon Library. By now, my stomach was rumbling and clenching. Yep I was hungry. The sooner I got this bank heist done, the better. Suddenly I heard the tell-tale stomping that I had learned to fear recently. Oh no, not another one! I thought. But sure enough it was there: a prowler patrolling the reading rooms. I went into a crouch and ducked behind the reading chairs. Slowly, one inch at a time, I began to creep towards the door to the Repository. The prowler hadn't noticed me and was stomping off in another direction. Phew!

I decided to try out the spell tome typewriter once again. Because I had a filled great soul gem now. So I inserted the sealed melody of green forests and the soul gem. A green light went on and the gears set in motion. I heard the rattling of Dwarven letters and a *bling* chime every once in a while. After some minutes a spell tome, printed and already bound, slid out of a hatch at the lower end of the machine. I read the title. It was the spell "oak-flesh", a decidedly useful novice level spell. I opened the spell tome and skimmed through the pages. The knowledge forced itself on my brain and made me dizzy. The book turned to dust in my hands. After my surroundings stopped spinning I started practising the spell. It was a strange feeling like I was wearing a leather cuirass under my skin. Then I walked through the door behind me.

The Dwemer repository was a huge rectangular hall. There were a decent number of safes if the number of lights was anything to go by. Those lights were all yellow, those on the ground floor and those on the gallery. At the opposite end of the hall stairs led up to the gallery and the code lock panel. I climbed said stairs and stood before the console. The front part held the buttons with Imperial numbers. The rear part was a great block of stone holding many, many buttons. The rows were filed with Dwemer letters. I made a show of dusting my hands and cracking my knuckles. Then I pressed II, IV, I, VIII. There were no shrill bells ringing. So far so good. Then I went to the rear part of the panel. Those Dwemer letters were…confusing to put it mildly. I looked at the letters like an ox might look at an organ. I rummaged through my sack but dang, I had left the transcription of the Dwemer alphabet at Shannath's. So I shrugged and decided to simply press each button that could be pressed. No harm there, right? So I went along the rows of buttons and pressed each. Then I looked from my observation point if something had changed in the hall.

Quite a few lights on right gallery had turned from yellow to bright white. Those safes had all slid open. Riches here I come! I went over to examine the first safe. There was an ancient parchment of Dwemer schematics of one kind or another. Gently, I took it and placed it in my luggage. Then there were two moonstone ingots. I pocketed those as well. There also was a whole heap of coins but – alas – most of them were ancient Dwemer currency minted with the cogwheel symbol. Meh! It took me some time to sort the precious few septims out. I scoured through the rest of the safes. By the end of my looting session my luggage was bursting with Dwemer documents, septims, precious metal ingots, silver chandeliers, an elven dagger and a Dwemer statuette.

Oh yeah…the statuette! It had obviously been enchanted with a powerful knowledge transferring enchantment – something we puny later-born couldn't do anymore. Because when I touched this statuette, which pictured a stylized cogwheel, a mother-load of knowledge hit my poor brain. It was a bit like learning the oak-flesh spell, only ten times worse. A whole swarm of metaphorical candlewicks seemed to light up over my poor abused head. Fighting skills, smithing, alchemy, sneak skills, magical practice and sciences that I had yet no names for… The enchantment showed me exactly what not to do and how to do better. I couldn't wait to practice my freshly honed skills. So I hoisted my sack, promptly keeled over backwards and landed flat on my arse. Okay Agrippina, you overdid the looting! Time to unburden some weight. But which items do I leave behind? Hmm…in all honesty I could live without the full set of gilded elven armour. Chitin was nice and much lighter at that. So I dumped the elven armour: helmet *clang*, cuirass, armoured gloves, armoured boots *CLANG*.

Then I could move without toppling over. I chose to leave the repository through the back door. On a Dwemer stone console I found a loose crank. You might want to pick it up, Agrippina. Who knows what machine you can operate? Do they have a weather controlling device down here? I idly wondered and pocketed the crank. All things considered my heist had been a full success. I returned to upper Bkhalzarf and then to Sadrith Kegran. Time to finish a few quests… I sold most of my loot to the Amusing Mudcrab. It was practically awestruck with the cogwheel statuette, pop-eyes even popping out a bit further. *scribble-scribble* "WHERE DID YOU FIND THAT GIRL?"

"Oh I did a bank heist at the Bkhalzarf repository." I confessed without even blushing.

*scribble-scribble* "NAUGHTY YOU! I CAN SELL YOU MORE SECRET CODES, IF YOU LIKE. BUT THAT WON'T BE CHEAP."

"Well I'll think about it. But right now I have more than enough money to buy my freedom back." I replied.

Then I walked over to Tel And, and entered the council hall. Time to deliver some books… Erver Milo sat on his throne and mumbled something really weird: "Three for the elves, seven for the Dwemer, nine for the men…"

I blinked my eyes and asked a confused: "Begging you pardon, consul Milo?"

Consul Milo twitched his pointy ears and blushed self-consciously. "Ah never mind, Agrippina. I was just reciting an old piece of lore about ancient rings of power. Well what can I do for you?"

"It's more about what I can do for you. Here's your book at long last." I said and handed "Fellowship of the temple" over to consul Milo.

Then consul Verendas cut in impatiently: "Do you have my book, too? Shannath kept me waiting for five years, five fucking years! He probably kept forgetting it."

I tried – and failed – to hide a gleeful grin. "Well of course, here it is. "Mara's Tear" as ordered. That's a lake here in Skyrim. There are rumours of vampires hiding under an islet." I told her.

Consul Verendas rolled her crimson eyes and drawled: "Now did I want to know that?" But she gladly accepted the book. Then I left the council hall again and went to sera Elenil's workshop. She was just as glad for the edition of "Holidays on the Iliac Bay" as the other two Dunmer. And she identified the effects of my age-old Dwemer ingredients. Well they had deteriorated and enhanced in the past ages, strange as it sounds. There were only two effects left but those were surprising. For example: the mouldy troll fat could be used to brew fear-inducing poisons. It was kind of understandable with the way this stuff reeked. Then I said my farewell and left the alchemy shop. On my way to Yen-Ilu I had two meetings.

In the shadows Slyboots cowered and was munching on a dead skeever. It saw me and uttered a greeting screech. I waved back and went on. Near a pond I met Ra'zhirra. I rummaged in my pocket and gave him 20 septims. "What's the latest news?" I asked.

Ra'zhirra put on his craftiest Khajit grin and purred. "A word of advice: friend Agrippina shouldn't hand out her money quite so trustingly. That was it."

Annoyed, I stooped, grabbed Ra'zhirra's tail quick as lightning and gave said appendage a good yank. Ra'zhirra gave an almighty and very satisfying *MEOW!*… And off he was. So maybe he would be pouting and ignoring me in the days to come. But I decided that was worth it. Then I walked to the "cave within the cave" and finally I could use the elevator. When it stopped again I went all "Oh my golly!" I was in a huge cave completely choked with emperor mushroom roots. Quite some mycelium indeed! The only free part was the walkway to the Dwemer quay.

And at the end of the quay a huge metal sphere sat in a nest of fungus roots. So that was the fabled AHO! It was dark blue, strengthened with curving, sweeping lines of gold. There was a kind of hatch hidden under a blazing white force field. I gulped nervously and touched the force field with the little finger of my left hand. Nothing nasty happened. So it was safe to pass through and I did that. The interior left me awestruck again. I was in a Dwemer wonderland. The whole setup seemed to be two-storied. Where I had entered, shelves and a desk stood. Next to the desk was a device that left me stunned. It was a kind of round table and above it floated the likeness of a spriggan formed of blue light. Mind you: a life-sized, three-dimensional picture! "What the…?!" I started to blurt out.

Then I heard a polite cough behind me. "You never saw a holograph projector in your whole life, I take it?" Yen-Ilu asked.

I just shook my head dazedly. Then I exclaimed: "Someone please pinch me now! This feels like a dream."

And Yen-Ilu did me the favour with his metal hand. I yelped: "Ouch! Well I've been asking for it. So this is real. I wonder what Nirn would look like if the Dwemer had survived."

Yen-Ilu shrugged and said: "No one will ever know. But I start to measure what I have unearthed. It's a scientist's dream come true but also a huge responsibility. Just imagine the Thalmor get their twisted yellow paws on it. Or Shannath for that…"

I did think about it for a moment and the very thought made my skin crawl. Because I had read that infamous letter of Shannath's. It said:

"How dare you Yen-Ilu? How dare you?! I pull you out of this Nord's hole and you…"

The screeching and offense went on for a few lines and ended in a serious threat of corprus spores. I gulped. It looked as if my master wasn't just some tottering scatterbrain but a serious liability for Sadrith Kegran. Then I pulled myself out of my sombre musings and said: "I've got those documents, master Ilu. I treated them like raw eggs. Here they are." So I gave him the folios, blueprints, plays and novels of a lost civilisation.

Yen-Ilu smiled at me and said: "Very well done Agrippina. Now I'll have a little chat with consuls Milo and Verendas, uncover your true identity and the implications of it. Oh, and I took the liberty to write a letter to your father so he can prepare Castle Dour for your return. Everything will fall in place, you just wait." And he patted me on the shoulder with his metal hand.

Gods I had to stifle a relieved sob there. I could have kissed the Dunmer on the spot. Rather I settled for a delighted squeal and a bear hug.

Master Ilu gasped: "Oof! Thank Sotha Sil for that hybrid armour. I'd be a cripple without it by now." But he gave me a good-natured wink all the same.

I muttered: "Sorry, I have to return to this jerk now." And I released master Ilu and left the AHO.

xxx

The "jerk" was safely back at his mushroom hut and pacing in a way that would dig a trench in the floor before long. He fumbled with his ginger beard and muttered gibberish and threats under his breath. He was shifting his eyes to the door ever so often. Poor, poor Agrippina! She'd be in for one lot of trouble.

xxx

I sensed a storm brewing on the horizon and chose to sate my hunger first. So I paid Chitin & Flin a visit and dined like a queen. Horker and ash yams stew? Yes please! And each and every sweet treat on the menu, too. I decided to face Shannath's wrath with a full stomach. Then I paid my tab and returned to Shannath's.

author's notes the second: [dusting my figural hands off] So that was that! I hope you enjoyed reading it. What Agrippina can do with this loose crank will be really cool! But I'll let you keep guessing. Mean me! I also took the liberty to introduce Dwemer currency which isn't there in the original mod. And about man-handling a certain Khajiti rumour monger… I often wished, there'd been such a script option like "pull Ra'zhirra's tail". He deserved it more often than not with his cryptic hints!