Sarila, Marcurio, and Ysgrig stayed in Solitude for more than just a few days in Solitude; they had spent two weeks there. The first three days were for sightseeing. Sarila then decided that Solitude was a prime target for larceny. She practiced picking locks and sneaking around in houses, quickly and quietly nabbing anything of value, which she brought to Gulum-Ei. Gulum-Ei was surprised at how quickly this new thief was learning. By her scent, she had not been around the guild long, but they were already starting to influence her.
Sarila had broken into nearly every home in Solitude. She hid her childish grin when she overheard several people in the market complaining about how they had 'misplaced' their satchels of gold and jewels. Sarila knew that if she hit a single house more than twice, suspicion would be raised. And of course, who else would be to blame except the newcomers?
Sarila knew that she wasn't the only troublemaker in town. Jaree-Ra and Deeja, the Argonian siblings, seemed like shady characters. Jaree-Ra had even hissed beneath his breath and beckoned her to come to him for the "deal of a lifetime", as he put it. Gulum-Ei wasn't the most popular in town either, due to his lifestyle of smuggling. There was also Noster Eagle-Eye, who liked to spend his days towards the front of the city. Noster hadn't seemed like a bad man to Sarila, just overly reliant on others. Several times as she neared the Bards College, she had seen a strange, elderly Bosmer man wandering around, rambling about how his master had abandoned him. He had cast several distasteful glares towards Sarila, as if he knew what she were doing, but otherwise said nothing. Sarila found it best not to stare at the strange fellow.
On the fourteenth day in Solitude, Sarila was selling a beautiful golden necklace to Gulum-Ei when the Argonian decided to make a business proposition.
"Sarila, if you have a moment, I have a deal I'd like to make with you." Gulum-Ei stated, prompting Sarila to look up at him. "There's…there's something one of my clients has been looking for, and they've been asking for quite a while." The Argonian began. "What are they looking for?" Sarila asked. "Firebrand Wine. The buyer has been looking for a case of Firebrand Wine. There just so happens to be a single case in the Blue Palace. Bring it to me, and I'll have some things for you in return."
Sarila walked out of the inn, pondering her next move. Gulum-Ei had asked her to enter the Blue Palace, an actual palace, where a jarl lived. Sarila felt her stomach fill with butterflies of anxiety and excitement at the thought of breaking into a palace.
Her plan was clear; she needed a disguise of some kind to safely traverse the palace. She could easily procure a disguise; she was a thief. Sarila looked around the marketplace at everyone's clothes. Tunics, dresses, robes, nothing out of the ordinary. Sarila knew that if she marched into the palace wearing any of those dull outfits, the guards would immediately recognize her as a commoner, and shoo her away. Entering the palace in her guild armor was out of the question; she'd be tossed into Castle Dour dungeon the moment someone realized she was from the guild.
Sarila was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even realize the Solitude guard walking right by her. She ran her eyes up and down the fellow's red and silver armor and formulated an idea. I could disguise myself as a guard and enter the palace that way. Sarila mentally praised herself; her plan was pure genius. She could put some cloth in the armor to bulk herself up to look like a man, and the helmet would hide her face and hair.
The guard had noticed Sarila staring at him. "Keeping well, citizen?" He asked with concern. Sarila was brought out of her thoughts and gave a warm smile to the guard. "Oh, yes. I was just in a daydream. Certainly a lovely day, isn't it?" She softly replied with her innocent voice. The guard nodded and continued to patrol the area.
Sarila snuck to Castle Dour. Several guards were seen circling a table with a political map on it. Sarila decided to sneak downstairs to the guard barracks and search for some guard armor there. She crossed her fingers in hopes that there would be no guards in the barracks. Stendarr smiled upon her, and there were no guards. Sarila snuck towards the back of the room towards the stacks of crates. She quietly removed the lid on one of them and began rooting around.
Several crates were searched before a full set of guard armor, including a shield, was found. Sarila quickly placed the armor in her backpack and rushed out of Castle Dour.
Sarila entered the Winking Skeever and ran down to the cellar. She put her guard armor on over her clothes, carefully tucking Ytri's amulet of Talos under the cuirass. She looked around until she found cloth, which she stuffed into the armor to bulk herself up. She looped her arm through the shield. "All I need is a sword…" She mumbled to herself under her breath.
Thankfully, Beirand, Solitude's blacksmith, had forged plenty of swords. Sarila immediately approached him when she realized this. Beirand was hammering away at a piece of raw iron. He looked up when he saw Sarila approaching. "Evening, sir. Looking for a new weapon?" Beirand asked. Sarila nodded. "Preferably a steel sword, please. My old one finally bit the dust yesterday in training." She explained, deepening her voice. "That'll be 67 Septims, please." Sarila reached into her backpack and pulled out the gold, handing it to Beirand. The blacksmith put his hammer down and took a gleaming steel sword off the nearby table. "Here you go, sir. Need a sheath to carry it in?" He asked. Sarila nodded once more.
In no time, Sarila was a fully suited up as a guard, complete with a sword and shield. She hoped she wouldn't need to use the sword for any reason, as she wasn't used to wielding something so heavy in combat. She strolled up the path and to the Blue Palace. The guard out front paid no mind to Sarila, and continued to stand obediently at his post. Sarila entered the Blue Palace, its metal doors quietly thudding as they shut behind her.
Sarila had no time to admire how gorgeous the palace looked. She was on a mission. She pretended to patrol the palace. She searched each hall until she reached the hall before the kitchen. There, on a table, was the case of Firebrand Wine. She licked her lips in concentration and checked to see if anyone was nearby. She inhaled deeply and quickly snatched the case, placing it in her backpack. She quickly marched through the halls when she was stopped by a brown-haired man in Solitude armor. "Evening, soldier. You're needed at the Lady Elisif's side." The fellow commanded sternly.
Sarila took one look at the man and realized he was Captain Aldis, captain of the guards in Solitude. "Right away, sir." Sarila replied with her artificially deepened voice. Aldis raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Not many of you soldiers obey without protest." Aldis commented, intrigued by this strangely obedient guard. Sarila thought up an answer immediately after his statement. "A good guard never denies his superior."
Captain Aldis broke out into a smile. "You're not bad, soldier. What's your name?" He asked. Sarila panicked and searched her mind for a fake name. The only male name that came to mind was her father's. "Battori, sir. My name is Battori." She answered. Aldis nodded and made a mental note. "Alright, then. Well, it's been nice meeting you, Battori. Off to the Jarl with you, now. I'll keep an eye out for you in training." "Battori" nodded and walked up the stairs to the throne room.
Sarila nervously walked towards the throne where Jarl Elisif sat. Elisif was so caught up in political affairs with her steward, Falk Firebeard, and her court mage, Sybille Stentor, that she didn't even notice Sarila approach. Sarila patiently stood by the Jarl for hours, and no one suspected a thing. Finally, another guard approached and offered to take Sarila's place. Sarila was overjoyed at the chance of escape, and she marched out of the palace to "continue patrolling".
As soon as she entered the Winking Skeever, Sarila approached Gulum-Ei. Gulum-Ei took one look at the "guard" in front of him and panicked. "Oh, uh….heh….what can I do for you…?" The Argonian fence nervously asked, sweat glistening on his scales. Sarila scoffed and took off her helmet. Gulum-Ei looked shocked for a moment before his blasé expression returned. "It's only me, Gulum-Ei. I apologize; I didn't mean to scare you." Sarila laughed, slipping out of her guard armor, revealing her normal outfit once more. She tossed the cloth she had used to stuff the armor on the ground.
Gulum-Ei chuckled. "Clever. I never would have imagined it." He praised. "And of course, let's not forget the wine I procured." Sarila beamed, reaching into her backpack and taking out the Firebrand Wine case. She handed the case of alcohol to Gulum-Ei who took it with a smile on his scaly face. "Excellent. That buyer will be most pleased with this successful dealing. And, of course, let's not forget your reward."
Gulum-Ei handed Sarila several unrecognizable potions, along with a brown bag. "What's in this bag?" Sarila asked curiously. Gulum-Ei chuckled once more. "Just a few alchemical ingredients I…'found'…in the East Empire Company Warehouse." He explained. Sarila untied the rough string around the bag and opened it. Much to her surprise, there were ice wraith teeth, fire salts, and a small pearl inside. She gaped in shock at these ingredients. "Gulum-Ei! Do you know how hard these are to find?!" She grinned, observing the ingredients once more in the bag. He nodded with a smile. "You didn't have to give me these, you know."
"Of course I did. You've been not only an excellent client, but…on a more personal note, a good friend. I wasn't sure of you at first, Sarila, but you've got a heart of gold. I won't forget that." Gulum-Ei smiled warmly to Sarila, who reflected his smile. "Thank you, Gulum-Ei. Thank you for everything. I'll come back up to visit, and maybe help you 'obtain' some more goods, too." Sarila pulled Gulum-Ei into a hug. Gulum-Ei chuckled. "And thank you, Sarila. Thank you for sparing my life when you could have easily had me killed for associating with Karliah." Gulum-Ei returned Sarila's embrace. "Stay safe, Gulum-Ei." Sarila released Gulum-Ei from her hug and walked back up to her room.
Unbeknownst to Sarila, Marcurio had looked over the balcony of the upper level, and had seen Sarila and Gulum-Ei hugging. He immediately knew the twinge he felt in his chest was one of jealousy.
Sarila and Ysgrig took the bed once more. The siblings blew out the candles on each nightstand and fell asleep almost immediately. Marcurio was still wide awake at his chair, though. He grumbled beneath his breath. "How could that…that…that damned, slimy, confounded lizard woo Sarila, and someone like me didn't? Has she lost her mind?! What does she see in that…that…that laggard?!"
Marcurio continued to quietly ramble about how Gulum-Ei had supposedly attracted Sarila until he fell fast asleep at the table, face-down into a bowl of tomatoes.
The trio awoke early the next morning and left the city. The carriage driver of Solitude, Thaer, waited at the outskirts of the city by Katla's farm. Sarila asked him to drive them to Riften. "I can indeed. Twenty gold, please." Sarila dug around in her backpack until she found twenty gold. She handed them to Thaer, and sat in the back of the carriage with Marcurio and Ysgrig. The carriage then shoved off and began its journey to Riften.
"How long will this trip take, exactly?" Sarila asked the carriage driver. "About a day or so." Thaer answered, unfazed. Everyone in the back of the carriage groaned. "A day?" Marcurio whined. "I suppose so. We have food if anyone's hungry." Ysgrig replied.
Sarila and Ysgrig chatted throughout the trip, occasionally stopping to take a nap or have lunch. Marcurio remained silent and bitter, and Sarila took notice. "What's the matter, Marcurio?" She asked. Marcurio refused to look into her tempting eyes. "Why don't you ask your lover? He seems to know everything." He spat.
Sarila was taken aback for a moment by Marcurio's harsh accusation. She leaned in to whisper to Ysgrig, who seemed slightly less confused by Marcurio's motives. "Who is he talking about?" Sarila asked. Ysgrig shrugged, though he hid a smirk from his oblivious sister. Marcurio, he thought, did fancy his sister after all.
The day felt like weeks, and exactly twenty six hours after their departure, the carriage arrived at the Riften stables. It was 11:36 p.m., and Sarila felt exhausted, even though she had sat around in a carriage all day. Marcurio and Ysgrig would be lying if they said they didn't feel the same, and the two men stretched their leg muscles as they exited the carriage.
The trio arrived at the Bee and Barb. Lyvette began to run towards Sarila and tackle her in a hug, but she stopped when she saw how tired she looked. The ebony-haired seven year old noticed Marcurio and Ysgrig, who trailed behind her, also looked tired. Lyvette instead gave Sarila a sunny smile and helped her up to her room. Sarila trudged towards her bed and fell into it, though she was asleep before she even hit the covers.