Ahalivia Thief Fic
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Bethesda Studios. I own Ahalivia.
Chapter 25: Buried Secrets
The best fence in the guild; Fathis Ulen, really is good at his job. He gave me a great price on all the merchandise I had procured from the wizard. I bought some equipment and some training and then waited in the Imperial City for another message from the Gray Fox. I practiced my skulking and sneaking, trying to act playfully innocent should anyone ask.
It was around nightfall, and I had waited in the Talos District, a place I knew well, when Amusei came to me with another message from the Gray Fox. He said that the Gray Fox was waiting in Cheydinhal, in the home of one Ganrdhel, another Bosmer. I nodded my thanks and stole out to the town in the middle of the night.
I arrived in the town and skulked to the house, making sure no one saw me. I entered and the Gray Fox was there, petting one of the dogs near the fireplace. I looked down at the second dog and she seemed to like me. I gave her a quick pat and then the Gray Fox told me about another item he needs. After using Savilla's Stone, he determined that another item he would need would be the Boots of Springheel Jak. The boots are named after a legendary thief that died some three hundred years ago, and rumor was that he was buried with his boots. I was to find Jakben, the only surviving relative of that family and see what I can find out about the boots. The Gray Fox told me that he lived somewhere in the Imperial City, so I had to ask the beggars for some help.
I returned to the Imperial City and, after paying some coin to one of the beggars, he told me that Jakben had a residence in the Talos District. He also told me that the Earl was a bit of an odd case that he loved to walk at night. It was approaching dawn and I did not want to risk entering the house if he were in it. I spent the day casing the manor and studying it carefully. I checked into the Tiber Septim hotel and waited until about dusk, when I was sure he would be leaving.
Dusk came and, as it turned into night, I saw Jakben leave the home. As soon as he was out of sight, and no guards were patrolling the area, I broke in. I began exploring the house, making my way to the basement for any information. I found a door in the wine cellar, but it was locked, and there was no way to pick the lock. I then headed up to his private quarters and picked every lock on the door along the way. I wanted an open house, to make sure that whoever broke in; broke in everywhere.
I managed to find the Earl's private headquarters and opened the lock to his desk. I found a family tree of sorts, detailing every ancestor of the Earl's. I decided to use this information and confront the Earl about his family. He should not have gone far. I exited the house and began looking around for him.
I found him still in the Talos District. He had a glass claymore on him so I got ready for anything. I approached him and he seemed rather stuffy, so I asked him about his ancestry. He begged me to spare his life and to take anything I wanted. He even gave me the key to the family mausoleum in the basement, saying it gave him the creeps. I smirked and disappeared in the darkness.
As I re-entered the house, something was wrong. He gave up too easily. It was as if he wanted me to go down there. I pulled out my bow and opened the door in the wine cellar.
Now I know why; this place was a vampire nest. Here, right underneath the Imperial City. I saw one vampire down the end of the hall and, taking out some silver arrows, fired a few at him, killing him. I skulked in the darkness, knowing that there could be at least more than one. And, I was right; as I explored this underground hellhole, I found another vampire in heavy armor. An Orc vampire, to be exact. That is one dangerous combination. I managed to kill it by firing more silver arrows into her and she fell down quickly. Luckily, I was in the shadows, but I had to get to those boots and fast. I found the coffin and opened it. Instead of finding the boots, I found some jewelry and diary.
I closed the door behind me before reading the diary. It turns out; Springheel Jak did die with his boots on…only to come back as a vampire. I continued reading and discovered that the Earl was indeed the legendary thief that became the legend three hundred years ago. I swallowed and closed the book. I had to kill the Earl, who probably was an expert with that sword of his. Oh, gods; what have I gotten myself into.
I peaked through the door and saw him standing across the hall of the cavern. I waited until I was fully enveloped in shadows and fired my silver arrows at him. I kept firing, because I knew he was going to come at me. He finally fell and I searched his body, finding some new armor and the boots I was looking for. I dumped most of my old armor and put on both the new mithral armor, and the boots. I immediately felt lighter on my feet than I ever had before. I knew the feeling was not going to last long, so I put on my other boots and dashed out of the house. I quickly returned to the top floor of the home and cleaned him out of his jewelry. He will not be needing it anyway.
I slipped out of the house, the cold night air warmer than those catacombs. I returned to the Gray Fox at nearly pre-dawn and gave him the boots. He gave me my pay and said I would meet him again.
I checked into this hotel called the Newlands Lodge and flopped down on the bed. I would rest for hours, hoping to shake the dreams of vampires chasing me. Gods, that was a horrible experience. Although, it did make me think of one thing; if I were daring enough, vampires often had great items for living for centuries…
Next Chapter:
The Ultimate Heist!