The day promised to be pleasant; too bad his companions weren't. The sun had already risen in the east and was bathing the woods in a golden light. Stippled wisps of white clouds floated through the blue sky. The air was warm, but a gentle breeze caressed Ungolim's face, cooling him as he made his way west. They were already on the Gold road, getting closer to Skingrad. They were making good time.
Up ahead he watched Lilia walk, dressed now in a plain grey robe and hood. He and Lucien were following behind, invisible. She'd been chosen to take lead; if the traitor was watching her then the sight of Lucien or Ungolim would reveal that the plot had been discovered. If there was anything to be found it would be easier this way.
At least he finally understood why vampirism was such a touchy subject between the other two assassins. Lucien had been whispering to Ungolim whenever he judged Lilia to be out of earshot about what he knew, or guessed. Apparently she'd taken Vicente for a lover, somehow contracted the disease from him and turned into a vampire, and had then killed her lover and creator within a day of receiving the orders to purify the Cheydinhal sanctuary, stealing his sword in the process. And she'd neglected to mention her vampirism to Lucien on at least two occasions.
Ungolim still hadn't been able to shake the disturbing memories of kissing her. His skin broke out in goosebumps at the thought. While he respected her unconventional talents as an assassin, she creeped him out a little. It was so strange to think of her, walking up ahead in the sunlight, looking just like anyone else, as not really being alive. He'd never been fond of vampires.
"So what are you going to order her to do?" Lucien's whispered voice interrupted his thoughts. They'd been discussing the plan for when they reached Anvil.
"I can't order her to do anything, you know that. You're the one that unbound her from the five tenets." With that act she'd been freed from her obligations not to kill other members of the Dark Brotherhood, or obey the orders of her superiors, which is why she'd been able to assassinate Alval, Shaleez, Havilstein, and J'Ghasta without encountering the Wrath of Sithis.
"You're the one that told me to do it." Lucien was right. As Listener, it had been Ungolim's decision to purify the Cheydinhal sanctuary. All of the evidence had seemed to place the traitor there.
Lilia stopped walking and turned to look back at the other two assassins. It was unnerving, her ability to know exactly where they were. Apparently the vampire had a constant detect life spell active. It certainly seemed to have a far greater range than Lucien's spell. Both he and Lucien stopped speaking. Lucien had warned him that she had enhanced senses, including an ability to hear far better than the Bosmer's keen ears.
The unusual vampire assassin began walking again, her pace quick. Once more Ungolim wished he knew if it was even possible to re-bind someone to the tenets.
Endless plains of waving golden grass stretched out before them. The high walls of Anvil were within view. Lilia was now walking back towards the other two assassins.
"So what's the plan?" Her lips barely moved as she spoke. She was facing the Abacean Sea, hands by her side, looking like a sightseer enjoying the view. If they were being followed then she needed to act natural.
"Why are you asking now? We still have another half hour to walk." Lucien answered.
"Because you're both invisible, and I will not stand outside the city gates having a conversation with what appears to be thin air. Now if you gentlemen haven't come up with a plan, I do have a simple one of my own." She'd assumed a yawning pose, one hand stretched high above her head, the other covering her mouth as she spoke. "I'll go into town, find the barrel, and get the contract and money."
"Alone? I don't think so. You could be carrying the contract on yourself right now. No, I'll be the one to open the barrel." Lucien had tried to convince Ungolim to search Lilia's bag and person when they'd left Bravil. She'd let Ungolim look quickly through her bag, which had contained an unusual amount of torn, stained, or otherwise ruined clothing, but no other contracts had been found. Lucien's further suggestion that they search her body was quickly voted down by both Lilia and himself. He certainly didn't want to touch her again, and she'd actually cast a spell that covered her body with magical flames and had then dared Lucien to try. Ungolim still wasn't sure which one of the two he would bet on if they somehow were to fight. Lucien certainly had the skill and experience, but Lilia seemed crazy enough to perhaps win. Regardless, he was sure it would be brutal.
"But you're not supposed to be seen. If I am watched in Anvil then the traitor will recognize you, or else they might notice the floating barrel lid." She again spoke through clenched teeth, as she bent over to examine her shoe.
"We'll come with you. You can open the barrel, but we'll be standing right beside you, watching." Ungolim spoke, anxious to continue. He'd sent out orders yesterday evening, before his unexpected guests had arrived, for the Black Hand to meet at his house tonight. He'd been planning a visit to consult with the Night Mother, and he didn't know what the others would think if he appeared to be missing. "Hurry up."
Without speaking she turned and started walking briskly towards Anvil, trailed by the two invisible assassins.
"But she's a mage! It doesn't matter if she strips naked, she'll still be able to cast spells!" Lilia was standing in front of an old barrel, both sleeves rolled way back, hands on her hips, expression of annoyance on her face as she listened to Lucien arguing with Ungolim.
"Will you keep your voice down? Besides, mages can't teleport items, only people." They were tucked away near a corner of the high wall, hidden behind a large statue. She was facing the wall, with her back to the seaside town, so she didn't bother covering her mouth as she spoke.
"You certainly moved the contract and antidote around with magic back in Bravil."
"That was a telekinesis spell, not a teleportation spell, you fool." Her tone wasn't kind when she replied to Lucien.
"Stop it, both of you." Ungolim was getting sick of their constant disagreements. "Let's open the barrel together. Everyone, put your hand on the handle." He felt Lucien's invisible hand bump against his own. Lilia waited until they'd both grabbed hold before placing her cool hand on top of his, taking obvious care not to touch Lucien's. Not wanting to prolong contact any further than necessary, Ungolim lifted the lid off the barrel, to find absolutely nothing inside.
"I told you! She's the traitor. She couldn't plant her false evidence with us around!" Lucien's voice was triumphant.
"The same could be said about you." Lilia was staring down into the empty barrel as she spoke. Suddenly she pushed the lid back down and slid into the corner. "Shh, someone's coming." Ungolim watched as she blended into the wall, chameleon spell active.
A very young blonde Wood Elf was approaching nervously. Glancing around, obviously unaware of the three dangerous invisible people in front of him, he lifted the lid off the barrel. He put in a sealed piece of parchment and then hesitated, weighing a heavy looking coin purse in his hand. Ungolim certainly didn't recognize him; he was no assassin of theirs, Lilia had been the only one he hadn't yet seen. The young Bosmer let out a small cry and dropped the purse when Lilia suddenly appeared beside him, her hand clutching his wrist.
Ungolim was impressed, and a little unnerved, with the way she manipulated Enilroth. Not only did she manage to find out who had approached the Wood Elf early that morning, but she'd also managed to convince him that she was an investigator looking into a private matter involving the court of Leyawiin, and that Enilroth had been unwittingly helping out a blackmailer. Enilroth had actually thanked her for saving him from a bad situation, and had sworn to the Nine Gods that not only would he never tell anyone about this, but that he'd never get involved with anything questionable ever again. As Ungolim watched the small mer flee, he mused that perhaps the Silencer had something in common with her Speaker after all.
After waiting for Enilroth to go indoors Lilia turned around again to the invisible Black Hand members. "To the lighthouse next, is it?" She didn't wait for a reply before quickly heading off towards the dock gate.
Ungolim was feeling a bit tired by this point, and he was a little out of breath by the time they reached the lighthouse. Lilia had been walking so quickly it had been difficult to keep up with her. She'd voiced her displeasure at having to wander visible through city streets loudly and colourfully back in his house in Bravil as they'd discussed the plan. She'd pointed out that she'd been going invisible constantly as she'd killed off the Black Hand members, but had finally agreed to remain visible when Ungolim reasoned that the traitor most likely hadn't been following her then. She'd grumbled that there was no reason to think she was being followed now, but she would do it if it would please her Listener. Lucien had started to say something at that but Ungolim had cut him off. The two of them argued like children; lethal, violent, and mildly psychotic children. He was starting to feel like a babysitter.
"Now you need to go talk to the lighthouse keeper." Lucien whispered as they stood at the base of the lighthouse, set on top of a tall outcropping of rock that jutted into the Abacean Sea.
"No way. It's bad enough that I've had to talk to someone today without killing him; I'm not doing it again. Besides, the place you want to go is down there." She pointed at a small door that was set in the side of the lighthouse. It looked as though it would lead to a cellar or storage area.
"So you admit you know the traitor." Ungolim could hear Lucien pull his dagger from its sheath. The Speaker had been jumping to conclusions all day. Ungolim wanted to order him not to kill Lilia, in Sithis' name, just to make his own life easier, but he hesitated to do so. He still didn't entirely trust the cranky vampire.
"For Sithis' sake, Lucien, you're insane! I'm not the traitor! But I can smell the dead things behind that door, and you could to if you got a little closer to it." Lilia stalked over to the low wall that surrounded the graveled walkway and sat on it, keeping both the assassins and the door in her line of vision. She crossed her arms and looked incredibly grumpy.
"Lucien, go open the door." The wind had shifted, and Ungolim knew Lilia was right. He could smell a hint of decay coming from the direction of the lighthouse.
"Yes Listener. But don't let her out of your sight. And don't let her sneak up behind me. And don't let her leave. And…"
"I understand, Speaker. Now go." Ungolim shifted a little to the side, the better able to keep an eye on both Speaker and Silencer at the same time. By observing Lilia's gaze he was able to follow Lucien's progress to the door. It was so bizarre to watch her track something invisible with her eyes.
"Watch out for traps. You should be an expert at spotting them, since you're a master at using them." Lilia called out sardonically in the direction of the door, and then proceeded to lie back on the wall, staring at the blue sky above.
Ungolim was able to hear a lockpick snap as Lucien worked, followed by the Speaker's dark oaths. He thought he heard Lilia snicker at Lucien's troubles. A few seconds later he heard Lucien quietly call out.
"It's open."
"So go look. I'll stay out here and try not to teleport anything." Lilia hadn't moved.
"Nice try. We're not leaving you alone. In fact, you get to go first." Lucien now sounded closer to Ungolim.
"So that I can plant, or conceal, evidence? Thanks." Lilia got up and stalked towards the doorway, waiting for the two others to join her. Ungolim noticed that her breathing was erratic; a quick sniff, followed by several seconds of holding her breath, before exhaling. Did vampires even need to breathe? Some vague recollection seemed to tell him they didn't.
Lilia made her way through the door first, followed by himself, trailed by Lucien. Ungolim wanted to keep as much distance as possible between the two. The smell and noise were the first things he noticed, before his eyes adjusted to the gloom. The stench of rotten meat, putrid and decaying, assaulted his nose. He could hear the incessant drone of flies, buzzing somewhere in the corner. A group of white shapes under the source of the noise revealed themselves to be slaughtered sheep, and following Lilia's stare he saw the dead body of a woman, Breton most likely, lying haphazardly on top of a cupboard, pale green eyes staring into nothingness. The vampire didn't seem to be breathing at all anymore.
"There's no one here." Lucien's voice from behind startled Ungolim, causing him to flinch. He was glad that the other man couldn't see him.
"You sound surprised Lucien. Didn't your detect life spell already tell you that?" Even the presence of so much perversity didn't seem to curb Lilia's tongue.
"Quiet. Lucien, you go look around. Lilia, just stand there and don't do anything." He didn't want the Speaker to have any more reason to suspect the vampire of treachery. Lucien moved off to a door set in the far wall, and went inside. Ungolim could hear him searching through cupboards and drawers. In the meantime Lilia was standing still, hands clasped in front of her, looking directly at Ungolim. She was definitely not breathing any more, and she didn't seem to be blinking either. While the Wood Elf had certainly been surrounded by far worse carnage, often caused by himself, normally he didn't hang around once things started to rot. Standing here in the presence of the decaying corpses, trying to breathe through his mouth while not swallowing any flies, being stared at by the walking undead, he was starting to feel very unsettled.
"Nothing in there." Lucien had moved back into the main room, bitterness clear in his voice. Ungolim was thankful that Lilia was now watching him as he began searching the room, and she seemed to be blinking again. She was even breathing occasionally. Lucien proceeded to methodically search everything, ripping open the mattress, going through all the drawers, cupboards, barrels, and crates that jammed the room. He even pushed around the dead carcasses, making sure nothing was hidden beneath them. Ungolim had always been impressed by the Speaker's ability to remain calm. At least, his ability to remain calm when not dealing with his vampire Silencer.
"Nothing. He's left nothing behind." Lucien had dropped his invisibility spell and was looking angrily at the dead body.
"Well, we do know that he isn't you, and he certainly isn't me." Lilia spoke.
"You need to go talk to the lighthouse keeper." Lucien was looking at the Silencer now, his words commanding.
"No." From the way she stiffened Ungolim could see that she had no intention of doing so.
"Lucien, I think you'd better talk to the lighthouse keeper. I'll wait outside with Lilia." He didn't want to stand around in the smelly cramped horrors of the lighthouse cellar any longer, listening to those two argue. Besides, he was fairly certain that regardless of who asked the lighthouse keeper would be of little help. Whoever the traitor was he certainly was able to hide his identity well. Also, he had a question that he desperately wanted the answer to, and that he didn't want Lucien to overhear.
Lucien gave a curious look in the direction of the Bosmer, but agreed to do it. He left the cellar first, followed closely by Ungolim, Lilia coming out last. The vampire returned to the stone wall, this time sitting on it and looking out towards the sea. Ungolim waited until Lucien had disappeared inside the lighthouse before going to sit a short distance beside her.
"Lilia, there's something I need to know." She turned her head to look at him, a bored expression on her face. She'd stopped trying to charm him with smiles last night; she'd seemed to notice the way his stomach lurched whenever she did that. He wondered if she was tired; he was really starting to feel fatigued, and they had a long walk back to Bravil ahead of them. He realized that he most likely wouldn't get any sleep until after the meeting with the Night Mother. Oh well, he'd stayed awake far longer many times before this. But then, he hadn't had to keep two members of the Black Hand from tearing each other apart.
"Did you know how long it would take before the langourwine poison took effect?" The thought of just what might have happened had Lucien not interrupted them horrified Ungolim. The vampire sneered slightly as she answered.
"No, but don't worry, I wouldn't have compromised your virtue. I find you as attractive as you find me." With that she turned back to the sea.
For the first time that day Ungolim felt just a little bit happy.