I do not own Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The only things that I do own are my own characters, and the storylines that I place them, and characters from the original game, into. TES V has served as inspiration.
Reviewer Responses:
Guest: I hope you can get your computer to cooperate with you! I know how annoying it can be, when something you use everyday doesn't want to work. And thank you, Aela's definitely a good one.
Guest: I mean, I wouldn't ever write a story about Vex and Brynjolf, as a couple, but in-game, they just seem like there's history. And yes, striking fear into the hearts of readers is always my goal, hahaha!
The End: Telling the Guild
Brynjolf had immediately headed for the cistern, not seeing any reason to not go in the secret entrance. As he lowered himself down off of the ladder, he was surprised to hear that no one was reacting to his arrival. He turned around, and was faced with an empty cistern.
Confused, he circled the perimeter, and poked his head into the training room as well, just to make sure that the cistern was, indeed, completely void of thieves.
Frowning to himself, Brynjolf headed for the Ragged Flagon. As soon as he walked through the door leading to it out of the cistern, he was hit by a flood of noise, and he exhaled, knowing why they were most likely all gathered there.
He pushed his way out through the hidden doorway in the cabinet, and found the Flagon filled to the brim with Guild members, Vekel, Dirge, and their first one to spot him was Delvin, however, and the Breton immediately hurried over to him.
"Bryn, it's just awful," he started. "Ziris is dead. Some Dark Brotherhood assassin got to her, and we have no idea why!"
"I do," Brynjolf said, and then he pushed his way to the center of the room. His movement caught the attention of everyone who was gathered, and he heard surprised exclamations and quiet murmuring. He raised his hands, and it all immediately went silent.
Brynjolf looked around at his Guild, trying to figure out how to begin.
"Hi," he said, which was as good a start as anything. "I know you're all probably wondering where I've been, and I'll explain it to you, as soon as I explain what happened to me."
"What happened to you?" Vipir called, only to be elbowed sharply in the ribs by Niruin.
Brynjolf ignored this, and went on: "As you all know, Ziris and I went to the royal wedding a little over a month ago. Originally, we planned to return as soon as the wedding was over, but… something occurred that made that impossible."
"Which was?" Vex inquired from where she leaned against a table.
"Someone made an attempt on Cry Silverworthy's life," Brynjolf responded.
There was silence, and then, someone whispered: "Who in the Eight Divines is that?"
And someone else: "The Dragonborn, you idiot."
Brynjolf chose to ignore this as well. "As such, I was going to stay in Windhelm, do what I could to figure out who had tried to kill her, and why. Ziris, however, elected to leave the city. King Ulfric didn't appreciate this, and he sent me after her to keep her from telling anyone that the Dragonborn had been shot by a poisoned arrow.
"I had expected Ziris to go straight to Riften, but she hadn't. I followed the odd trail she'd left behind, which included a stop in Whiterun for whatever reason. Eventually, I caught up with her in the woods just outside of Riften's walls, and I demanded to know what she'd been doing."
Brynjolf hesitated a moment before continuing, "She… she told me that she'd been part of the plan to kill the Dragonborn. When I asked her why, she didn't have an answer, and instead pummeled me with a rock."
He gestured to the freshly healed scar on his head, and several of the thieves shifted uncomfortably.
"I don't doubt that she intended for me to die, but I like to think I'm made of sturdy stuff." Brynjolf exhaled. "She returned to Riften, I suppose, and I went to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary -"
"Wait, hold on," Thrynn interrupted, pushing his way to the front of the group. "Are you saying that you asked the Dark Brotherhood to kill Ziris?"
More muttering. Brynjolf looked around at his thieves, and then at Thrynn. "No, I'm not," he said, calmly. "I'm saying I went to the Sanctuary to tell Cry about what Ziris had done, so that she could do whatever she wanted about it. At that point, after having Ziris try to have Cry killed, and then trying to kill me, I figured she'd committed enough crimes to receive whatever was coming to her."
There was silence for a moment, and then Rune pushed his way forward, until he was standing beside Thrynn.
"She's dead, Bryn," the young thief said, quietly. "The guards found her about a week ago, and recognized her by her armor. Maul told Dirge, and Dirge told us. Delvin and Vex retrieved her from the Temple of Mara."
"Where is she now?" Brynjolf asked, deciding to leave out the fact that he knew she was already dead.
"We buried her already," Thrynn replied, his arms crossed and his face masked.
Brynjolf let out a breath, and squared his shoulders. "All right," he said. "She deserved that much." He looked around at everyone. "We'll obviously need to decide on a new Guild Master, and I want to formally withdraw my name from the pool."
"What?"
"Are you kidding?"
"Brynjolf, you can't be serious!"
There was an explosion of opposition from practically everyone aside from Thrynn, who merely stared at him, arms still crossed.
Brynjolf glanced around at all of them, frowning to himself. Did they really want him to be Guild Master? He didn't think the position suited him whatsoever. He didn't know who else it suited, either, but he certainly didn't want it.
"People, people, please," he said, putting up his hands in a peace gesture. The crowd quieted down, and he crossed his arms. "I really don't want the position. I don't think I could handle it."
"And who else do you suggest take it instead?" Delvin demanded of him. "Me? Vex? Neither one of us want it, either, and a good Guild Master wants the position."
"Ziris didn't want it," Thrynn muttered, and then he pushed his way past Brynjolf and headed for the cistern.
His exit left the Flagon in an awkward silence, which was only broken when there was a new arrival, pushing his way through where Garthar and Cynric were standing near the bridge.
"Brynjolf," Vilkas started, and then he paused, glancing around at everyone. "I'm interrupting something?"
"Nothing that can't wait," Brynjolf responded, and then he exhaled and looked at the Companion. "What do you need?"
"I was hoping to discuss something with you," Vilkas said, looking at Garthar, who had his eyes narrowed at him. The Companion straightened his shoulders and turned his attention to Brynjolf. "In private, preferably."
Brynjolf nodded. "Sure," he said. "Why don't you come with me?" He gestured with a jerk of his head, and Vilkas moved towards him, ignoring the looks he was receiving from the other thieves. Brynjolf let him duck into the secret passage ahead of him, and he looked around at everyone. "We'll discuss this further, later," he said, mostly to Delvin and Vex, and then he followed Vilkas.
He led him into the cistern, where Thrynn was sitting on the edge of his bed, his gaze trained on the floor. He glanced up at their arrival, and his eyes narrowed at the sight of Vilkas. He glowered at Brynjolf accusingly, but the redhead ignored him, instead pointing in the direction of the hall leading to the training room.
"We can talk in there," he said, and Vilkas nodded in agreement.
The two of them headed in that direction, and once they were in the room, Vilkas paced to the center of it, crossing his arms. Brynjolf remained near the entryway, keeping an eye on the hall to make sure no one decided they wanted to eavesdrop. He glanced at Vilkas, and focused most of his attention on the Companion.
"How is he?" he asked, meaning Hainin.
Vilkas let out a breath, and shook his head. "It doesn't seem like anything is going to change immediately, but we don't know how much longer the mixed concoction of potions is going to keep the poison at bay." He looked at Brynjolf. "The poison is what I wanted to talk to you about."
Brynjolf frowned at this, and returned his gaze to Vilkas; he'd been looking down the hall while Vilkas had explained what was going on. "Talk to me? Why?"
"We thought that, if anyone knows what kind of poison Ziris used on her blade, it would be you," Vilkas explained. "The alchemist said that we can't come up with a counter-potion if we don't know what the poison was."
"The alchemist?"
Vilkas nodded. "Aela brought Hainin to the city's apothecary when the priests and the court mage couldn't do anything for him." He exhaled and focused on the ground. "So… do you know what Ziris's poison was?"
Brynjolf thought about it for a moment, and in doing so lost whatever small remnant of focus he still had on the hallway. "I don't know," he said, softly. "I… I never knew her to be one to have to use poison, you know? She was a skilled fighter; that was what a lot of her training with Mercer Frey focused on."
Vilkas looked distressed. "So you have no idea?"
Brynjolf shook his head. "I really don't. I wish I did, but…"
"But she didn't trust you enough to tell you."
Brynjolf whipped around to see that Thrynn had come down the hallway, and was now standing in the entryway to the training room. He had his arms crossed, and looked less angry than he had before. In fact, he almost looked defeated.
"She didn't really trust me, either, but I sort of caught her looking at it one day," he said, quietly. "She had it hidden in the Guild Master's desk. I think it was Mercer's, before, but she found it and decided to keep it." He glanced up. "I guess she managed to get some use out of it, although I don't know if it was for the right reason."
"Thrynn, do you know what was in the poison?" Brynjolf asked, carefully, and Thrynn glanced up, meeting his gaze. He then glanced past him, towards Vilkas.
"You say that the man she fought… he might die?" he asked, and Vilkas nodded.
"She hit him, and the poison entered his system, but normal cure poisons haven't helped heal him; they're just keeping the poison from spreading."
Thrynn didn't look as though he knew what to say. He glanced back and forth between the two of them momentarily. "She… she tried to kill the Dragonborn? Really?" he finally asked, and it was Brynjolf's turn to nod.
"She admitted it to me, and then tried to kill me, too." He considered his words very carefully before continuing. "Thrynn, I think that… that she was extremely close to Mercer, and that closeness influenced her to do things she might not have done, had she not been mentored by him. Ziris wouldn't have been the way she was at the end, had it not been for Mercer."
Thrynn merely continued to gaze at him, and Brynjolf decided to continue, even though he wasn't sure if Thrynn was actually hearing him. "She would have never done that, not when we were younger, before she'd been mentored by him for very long. I think… I think his heartlessness was appealing to her, because of what she'd gone through, and after she was forced to kill him, that was too much for her to handle, and so she changed."
Thrynn's shoulders relaxed, slightly. "I know," he said, his voice low. "She would have never killed someone willingly, not before Mercer died." He closed his eyes. "She was too close to him. I should've helped her. I could've, but I didn't."
Brynjolf took a step towards him. "We both should've helped her, Thrynn," he said, and Thrynn glanced at him once more.
The two thieves gazed at one another for a long moment, and then Thrynn let out a breath and looked at Vilkas. "She called it Frost Venom," he said. "I don't know what was in it, or where the name came from, but… maybe that'll help."
Vilkas nodded. "Thank you." He looked at Brynjolf. "Both of you."
With that, he ducked past Thrynn out of the training room, leaving the two thieves alone. After a moment of silence, Brynjolf spoke: "Did you love her?"
Thrynn nodded. "She didn't love me, though."
"I don't think she was able to love," Brynjolf replied, quietly, and Thrynn nodded again.
"I wish I could've taught her how, but I don't think that's something anyone can do."
"I don't, either," Brynjolf agreed, and then he walked forward enough to be able to place his hand on Thrynn's shoulder. "I'm sure that her friendship with you was real. She cared about that, even if she didn't care about you in the same way you did her."
Thrynn smiled, thinly. "I guess that's better than nothing at all," he said, "but I'll never know for sure, will I?"
He turned and left the training room. Brynjolf remained where he was for a moment, and then he closed his eyes and hung his head.
He stayed like that for what felt like an extremely long time, but what was probably only a few minutes. Delvin broke the spell by entering the training room, looking for him.
"Bryn?" Brynjolf raised his head, and the Breton lifted an eyebrow. "Are you all right?"
"Fine." Brynjolf exhaled, then focused his attention on him. "What do you need?"
"What did the Companion want?" Delvin asked, frowning slightly, and Brynjolf shook his head.
"It doesn't matter."
"Yes, it does," Delvin responded. "As far as I'm concerned, the Dragonborn killed our Guild Master, which means that we're at war with the Companions -"
"Delvin, no," Brynjolf said, shortly, and Delvin took a surprised step back.
"What?" he asked, blinking, and Brynjolf shook his head again, this time as a form of disagreement.
"We aren't at war with anyone," he said. "Ziris worked alone, and she was part of a plot to kill someone. As far as I'm concerned, that removes her from the Guild Master position. She only made it worse when she tried to kill me."
Delvin gazed at him for a moment without speaking. "This is about the Dragonborn, isn't it? And your night together?" he finally asked, and Brynjolf rolled his eyes to the ceiling.
"Delvin, please do us both a favor, and don't even take it there," he said, slowly. "This has nothing to do with that whatsoever. Ziris committed treason, by attempting to kill her second-in-command. When Karliah had supposedly done the same thing, we chased her to the ends of Skyrim."
"That was different," Delvin said. "We'd all thought that she'd killed our Guild Master. Ziris was our Guild Master."
Brynjolf couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you actually trying to excuse what she did? I would've died, Delvin, had it not been for the Dragonborn and her companions. Ziris would've seen me dead, rather than simply dismiss me from the Guild. What does that say about her?"
Delvin merely gazed at him for a moment, and then he snorted and turned to leave the training room. Brynjolf let him go, not knowing what more there was to say. Delvin wasn't willing to listen, and Brynjolf didn't blame him; he'd been close to Ziris, too.
The redheaded thief let out a heavy exhalation and settled down on the floor, his back against the wall. He didn't know what he was supposed to do, now. Most of the Guild seemed to want him to be the Guild Master, but he didn't want to be Guild Master.
Then again, if anyone else were to become Guild Master, they might end up wanting to do something to hurt the Companions, since it also seemed like most of the Guild was blaming them for Ziris's death. He needed to be in charge, to avoid something like that happening.
He placed his head in his hands and closed his eyes. A very bad headache was beginning to develop right in the center of his forehead.
"Bryn?"
He lifted his head found that Rune had entered the room. He was gazing down at him, looking worried.
Brynjolf forced a smile. "Do you need something?"
"I just wanted to talk to you, about the Guild Master thing." Rune made himself comfortable on the floor in front of him, and crossed his legs. "I really don't think anyone else deserves to be Guild Master as much as you do."
"Rune -"
"I mean it. Vex and Delvin are great, but… they're not leaders, Bryn." Rune shook his head. "You're the only one that can actually lead."
"But I can't," Brynjolf said, "because I don't want to. It doesn't suit me. I can't sit behind a desk all day. I need to be out on jobs."
Rune glanced downwards. "Ziris went on jobs," he said, quietly.
Brynjolf didn't respond for a moment. When he did, it was with a change of subject. "I wouldn't be a good Guild Master," he said, "but I don't know what else there is to do."
"What do you mean?" Rune asked, looking up at him again.
"I mean that… I'm pretty sure everyone wants the Dragonborn dead, and I'm not entirely sure how to make sure we don't start a feud with the Companions without being in charge," Brynjolf explained, running a hand through his hair.
"That's the only reason you'd become Guild Master?" Rune questioned, sounding surprised, and Brynjolf shrugged.
"It's the only way I could foresee something like that not happening," he said. "Everyone else would agree to do whatever the rest of the Guild wants, even if it's wrong."
Rune was quiet for a time. Brynjolf glanced at him, waiting for a response. After a while, Rune let out a breath, and met his gaze.
"So… Ziris really did try to kill you?" he asked, and Brynjolf nodded.
"She hit me over the head with a rock until I was unconscious, and left me in the woods."
Rune flinched. "I'm sorry," he said. "If we'd known -"
"What did she say, when she came back?" Brynjolf asked, and Rune shook his head.
"Not much. She acted like she had no idea where you were, or what you were doing." He exhaled. "We didn't really know what to think. She seemed normal enough, but -"
"She was good at hiding what she was actually feeling," Brynjolf concluded with a sigh. "I know, and I realized it too late."
"Well," Rune started after a moment of silence, "it's up to you, of course, but… I don't think any of us would be mad if you become Guild Master. We respect you, Bryn, and that's really all a Guild Master needs in order to be a good leader."
He stood up, and walked out of the training room, leaving Brynjolf alone once more. He looked at the floor, eyebrows drawn in concentration, and thought.
Well, after accidentally deleting this document in the manager, and then having to spend thirty minutes recreating it, it is done.
Please, please, go check out A Crowd of Hundreds, over in A Collection of Stories, and let me know what you think of it.
Next time, we'll see if Thrynn's help on what the poison was will help save Hainin's life, or if everybody's favorite assassin is at a much larger risk than everyone thought.
