23rd of First Seed 4E203

"Oh no," she thinks, as she approaches the blazing door of the open sanctuary. A sword slashes her back and she turns to face an onslaught of guards with the help of a black, immortal stallion with red eyes. A soldier falls before her, coming to his end with a slice across his throat from her dagger.

She knew this dream. She had it so many times she knew exactly what would happen, how it would end.

She runs inside, past the corpses of the fallen guards and through the the hallway that led to a large opening. Fire is everywhere, the smoke clouding her vision and causing her eyes to water. The smell is overwhelming, assaulting her senses. Where is he? She spots the werewolf, fighting for his life and falling with an arrow to the back. She feels the spectral assassin move past her to take on a soldier, one powerful strike sending the ethereal form back to the void. Clashing swords, a redguard fighting at the top of stairs in his Alik'r armor. Where is he? An open casket. Darkness.

Although still asleep, she was aware of what was happening. She knew what was to come next. Astrid.

She runs up stairs and through a doorway she had never seen. Debris litters the floor. She jumps over burning wood. Her lungs burn as she jumps through a wall of smoke. Ahead of her she sees a body…

No. It's changed.

Instead of a burnt body on the floor, she sees a man standing in the center of a circle of nightshade and candles. There is no longer an Alik'r warrior with her. She is alone with this man, his back turned to her. Who is he?! Slowly he turns to face her…

Mercer!?

She runs to him but stops before she enters the circle. Her heart pounds in her chest at the sight of him. "What are you doing here?!" she yells above the sound of crumbling stone. He seems to notice for the first time that he's not alone. His gaze raises to meet hers, but there is no recognition in his eyes. "Mercer, it's me!" she calls out, but his face doesn't soften. Instead, his blank stare turns into a menacing scowl, filling his features with hatred. Still, he does not speak. She feels anger rise from her stomach, burning her heart. "HOW COULD YOU!?" she screams, picking up a rock from the floor and launching it at him. He doesn't flinch. "I trusted you! I gave you everything! Did it mean nothing!?" her voice cracks from the effort, smoke still in her lungs, burning her throat. He remains silent. Her anger rages inside her, hating him for not giving her answers. "Tell me to my face you never cared, you bastard!" she screams again, her thu'um threatening to unleash its power on the man before her. "Tell me it was all a trick! Tell me it was all lies! TELL ME YOU DIDN'T LOVE ME!" she pulls at her hair as the sanctuary crumbles around them, but still he does not speak. He stares at her, baring his teeth in disgust but he does not answer her.

Suddenly, the sanctuary begins to crumble above them, large boulders crashing between and around them. They are in danger. "MERCER!" she screams, anger forgotten as she races to him to protect him from the falling stone. A large rock falls in her path, blocking her from getting to him. He does not move, though now his face seems to hold fear. He is afraid. He reaches for her just as a boulder drops from the ceiling and heads straight for him… "MERCER!"

She sat up with a jolt as her eyes snapped open, screaming Mercer's name. Brynjolf hovered above her, straddling her over the furs. His hands were on her shoulders from his unsuccessful attempts to wake her from her nightmare. His breathing matched hers, ragged and heavy. Both of them were sweaty. Both looked scared.

"Are you okay, lass?" he asked with a shaky voice.

"Yeah," she answered, her adrenaline slowly returning to a normal level. "I was having a nightmare."

"So I noticed," he said with a smirk. "At first I thought you were trying to fight me, as many blows as I took trying to figure out what was happening."

Her eyes went wide. "I'm so sorry Bryn," she apologized as her hands covered her mouth in shock. "I didn't mean to!"

"I know, Kai" he laughed as he rolled away from where he straddled her, flopping onto the bed beside her. "It's forgiven. That must have been a nasty one though."

Kaiya ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to catch up. "I have them a lot" she stated as fact. "I should have warned you if I was going to sleep next to you, it's just that, I haven't had a nightmare like that since…" her voice trailed off as a realization struck her.

"Since when, lass?" Brynjolf asked, putting his weight on his elbow in order to face her.

"Since I started sleeping next to Mercer." She slowly turned her head so that her wide eyed stare would meet Brynjolf's. He looked angry.

"And seeing as how you were screaming his name, I'm willing to guess he made an appearance in your nightmare as well."

She shook her head in affirmation.

"Bastard," he cursed as he rolled onto his back. "Just another thing he robbed from you."

Kaiya winced at Brynjolf's anger, although hers was beginning to rise as well. He was right. No matter what happened in the next few days, Mercer had taken away her ability to sleep soundly. She was now worse off than she was before, his betrayal adding a whole new horror to her night terrors.

"Let's go meet Karliah," Kaiya spoke with an eerie calm. "I'm ready."

"That a girl!" Brynjolf exclaimed as he jumped out of bed and started throwing his leathers on over his undershirt. "There's that fire we need!"

Kaiya tried to hold onto it, the "fire" as Brynjolf had called it - the lasting fear and anger from her nightmare. Though it was there, she couldn't shake another residual feeling from her dream that laid right under the surface. A feeling that was so potent and horrifying that she knew she couldn't ponder on it lest she lose her nerve. She would push it down and fight it but she knew it was there - the overwhelming sense of dread, loss and heartbreak she felt as she watched that boulder crashing down towards Mercer as she was powerless to stop it.


"I feel like we're about to do some necromancy or something," Kaiya joked as she approached the two thieves at the Shadow Stone outside of Riften.

Karliah seemed a bit surprised at Kaiya's jovial attitude considering why they were meeting, but Brynjolf cracked a grin in response as if he was used to this type of behavior from the Breton. "You say that like you have experience, lass. Was this a phase you went through in your time at the college?"

Kaiya matched his grin, happy that he understood her need for banter as a distraction. "Bryn how many times have I had to tell you that what happens at the college stays at the college?"

"Tell that to the horrible case of the rattles I brought home one time."

A laugh burst out of Kaiya's chest as her hand shot up to cover her mouth in an attempt to refrain from laughing at Brynjolf's misfortune. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he watched her reaction, happy to see her smiling again.

The smile was not meant to last however as Karliah brought their attention back to the matter at hand. "Can we get started?"

Kaiya forced herself not to roll her eyes as she diverted her attention to the Dunmer. "Sure," she agreed with a shrug. "I'd love to hear why we're having a secret meeting by the Shadow Stone."

"We've come to seek the edge we need to defeat Mercer Frey." Her voice was steel, unrelenting to the pain she knew it inflicted.

Kaiya stifled a wince. She had to stop reacting so openly to every mention of the man's name. Still, she couldn't stop the acceleration of her heart rate at the blunt admission. "I don't know," Kaiya dithered "I'm pretty fond of the Lord Stone."

"We're not here for the standing stone, Kaiya" Karliah spat with impatience. "This is Nightingale Hall." She pointed towards the mountainside to a door cut into the rock.

"Are we to become Nightingales, then?" Brynjolf asked with wonder in his tone.

"It is my hope that you will, yes." Karliah answered. "Now let's go inside."

A strange sense of foreboding washed over Kaiya as they entered the hall. It was the same feeling she got when she spoke to Gulum-Ei or even Astrid, a feeling that something more was going on beneath the surface and that she should stay alert.

Brynjolf did not seem to have the same reservations, spinning around as he walked to see everything the hall had to offer. "So this is Nightingale Hall?" he asked as they made their way past the entrance and into the cavernous stone opening. "I heard about this place when I joined the Guild, but I never believed it existed."

Kaiya couldn't help the scoff she exhaled as she watched Brynjolf's reaction. He was like a starstruck child. Karliah went on to explain the need the Nightingales had to keep their existence a secret, but that same feeling kept itching at Kaiya's consciousness, wanting to hear what this was really about.

"Why are we here, Karliah?" Kaiya's words seemed to snap Brynjolf out of his reverie and bring attention to the questions he undoubtedly had as well.

"I'm with Kaiya on this one, lass" he said. "I'm not looking to become some priest. I'm not exactly a religious person, nor do I see myself becoming one."

"This isn't about religion Brynjolf," Karliah groaned in irritation. "It's about business."

"Yeah you say that, but we have no idea what's going on." Kaiya interjected, unable to let Karliah skirt the question.

"This is Nightingale Hall," Karliah spoke reverently, effectively ignoring Kaiya's statement. "Now, if you'll both proceed to the armory to don your Nightingale Armor, we can begin the oath."

"The Oath!?" Kaiya and Brynjolf yelped in unison.

"Just put on the armor and I'll tell you everything you want to know." Karliah was beginning to lose her patience, but the two thieves were suspicious.

In the end, Kaiya's curiosity won out over her suspicion. In all her time traversing Skyrim, she knew the value of protecting herself and was never one to turn down a good weapon or effective armor. A small gasp left her lips as she began sliding the enchanted leather onto her body. This armor was exquisite! It fit to her small frame like a second skin and covered her completely. She felt invincible, like no one could touch her as long as she wore it. Perhaps Karliah was right to push them to don the armor first; Kaiya had definitely become more open minded to this Nightingale business if this was part of the deal.

"This is enough to make your head spin, eh?" Brynjolf joked from his position next to her.

When she looked over to respond, her words stopped on her lips at the sight before her. He was like a shadow, his armor so dark that she could barely make out the details. It fit him just as snugly, accentuating every inch of his body that was normally concealed in his bulky guild leathers. She had to admit, he looked pretty damn good in that armor. As if on cue, the reminder that Mercer had been a Nightingale crept up into her mind. Oh what she would have paid to see Mercer wearing this armor. To watch the leather meld to his lithe frame, revealing nothing but his green eyes. Stop it, Kai! She scolded herself, shaking her head to force the thoughts from her mind.

Brynjolf interpreted her actions as a compliment to him, a small chuckle breaking free from the shadow. "Look your fill, lass?" He teased as he stood up a little straighter.

"Oh get over yourself, Bryn" Kaiya responded as she rolled her eyes. If she had thought of telling him he looked good before, she wouldn't now. It would be way too much for his ego.

"We're wasting time." Karliah's voice came from another shadow, having donned the armor herself as well. Kaiya couldn't help but think that Karliah looked comfortable dressed this way, as if she finally felt at home. Her heart softened a bit towards the Dunmer at that. How long had it been since Karliah was able to feel comfortable?

"Okay lass. We've got these getups on. Now what?"

"Beyond this gate is the first step in becoming a Nightingale," Karliah explained as she determinedly headed for the gate.

"Whoa there lass," Brynjolf insisted. "I appreciate the armor but we need to talk about this."

Karliah turned to face them, impatience seeping out of her stance. "If we wish to have any hope of defeating Mercer, we must have Nocturnal at our backs and in order to do that, an arrangement must be struck."

"Wait, what?" Kaiya interjected. "Why would we need the help of a Daedric Prince to take out Mercer? He's just a man."

"For you and Mercer to have been lovers, you don't know much about him," Karliah spat venomously, her fists balled by her sides.

"Whoa!" Kaiya retorted. "Easy there, spitfire. If we're not understanding the gravity of the situation, then maybe you should slow this down and explain it to us."

Karliah's chest rose and fell dramatically, signalling that she was taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. "I need you to trust me on this. There is more but I am honor bound to secrecy until you take the oath."

Kaiya approached Karliah cautiously, not wanting to anger her further. "Look, Karliah. I'm not saying that I'm unwilling to do this or that I don't trust you. You just need to tell us the terms of what we're getting ourselves into."

"I agree with her, lass." Brynjolf walked towards them as he spoke, his hands up to show he meant no harm. "I need to know the terms."

Karliah lifted her chin confidently. "The terms are quite simple. Nocturnal will allow you to become a Nightingale and use your abilities for whatever you wish."

Kaiya's eyebrows shot up with skepticism. "And what does she want in return?"

"And in return, both in life and in death, you must serve as a guardian of the Twilight Sepulcher."

"Aye, there's always a catch." Brynjolf relented as he rubbed the back of his neck in nervous habit. "But at this point, I suppose there isn't much to lose. If it means the end of Mercer Frey, you can count me in."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Kaiya exclaimed, holding her hands up to the others as if commanding them to stop. "Hold on a second, Brynjolf. That's a big commitment. Yeah, we all want to right the wrongs of the Guild, but to resign yourself into service of a Daedric Prince for eternity? Is that not a bit steep?"

"Why the worry for me, lass?" he asked in a teasing tone. "I noticed you didn't mention your own afterlife."

"Don't worry about me," Kaiya brushed off his sentiments with a wave of her hand. "My afterlife has never been my own. But yours…"

"In the grand scheme of things, Nocturnal doesn't sound that bad" Brynjolf joked. "If Gallus did it, it couldn't be that bad of a decision."

Kaiya rolled her eyes at his nonchalance. "I will never understand how people can be so careless with their souls."

"And what about you, Kaiya?" Karliah asked expectantly. "Will you transact the oath?"

Kaiya cocked her head to the side at Karliah's question. "I feel the need to remind you both that before I was in the Guild I killed dragons for a living. Huge, fire and frost breathing dragons. And I absorbed their souls." She began gesturing with her hands, waving them around to accentuate her story. "I traveled to Sovngarde to slay the Worldeater. I killed the godsdamned Emperor of Tamriel for crying out loud!"

At this, Karliah's brows shot up in surprise, reminding Kaiya that maybe she should be a little more careful with her boasting.

"Forget that last one about the Emperor. That was a joke. Heh!" she laughed awkwardly to try to make her lie convincing, but decided to instead just carry on. "My point is, I'm having a hard time believing I should get in deep with Nocturnal in order to have a chance against the man I was sleeping with up until a few days ago."

"I have no doubts that you are strong," Karliah spoke calmly. "But an Agent of Nocturnal has abilities you've never seen before. Will you not join us?"

"All right look," Kaiya rebuked, a gloved finger shooting up to point at the Dunmer. "I'm already indebted to more Daedric Princes than you could imagine, so for me it's not a big deal to add one more. You probably could have sold me on this for the armor alone. That being said, I think it's bullshit that you sprung this on us like this. It takes a special kind of selfish to try to urge two people into making a deal with a daedra in order to further your own end. I know I don't know you very well, but if this doesn't make you feel at least the slightest bit guilty, maybe you should think long and hard about what separates you from Mercer."

"Kaiya!" Brynjolf scolded, his gloved fists resting on his hips. "Watch your tongue."

Kaiya rolled her eyes. "I know, I know, she's not my enemy, blah blah. Well consider this a warning to you too, Brynjolf." Her gloved finger moved to point at Brynjolf's chest. "If you continue jumping into trusting others so easily then we're going to be right back here in another few years, shocked and surprised at someone's betrayal. I've warned you of this before. You see others for what you hope them to be, but rarely for what they really are. Did Mercer's betrayal not teach you to be at least a little hesitant before offering others your trust?"

The room fell silent after Kaiya's outburst as the thieves thought on her words. Karliah's eyes cast downward in shame while Brynjolf crossed his arms and looked away in embarrassment. Exasperated from her monologue, Kaiya threw her hands up and stormed to the gate where Karliah stood. "Now if we're good and ready, I'd like to do the damn thing before I change my mind."

Karliah nodded before pulling the chain on the wall next to her to lower the gate. "Please stand on the western circle," she mumbled to Kaiya as they entered, her eyes still unable to meet the Breton's.


"I don't understand why you're angry." Karliah stood her ground, hands on her hips as Kaiya paced back and forth before her.

"Because you just used us as payment!" Kaiya thundered, gesturing to the circles each of them had stood on to transact the oath to Nocturnal moments before. "Even Nocturnal said that the deal was in her favor! And there I stood, hearing for the first time that you were not on good terms with her and that you brought 'two more people to transact the oath'" Kaiya mimicked Karliah's accent as she quoted her "so that you could be reinstated? Why would that not upset me?!"

Karliah remained quiet. What could be seen of her eyes through the Nightingale armor showed that her brows were knit together in confusion.

"But no, we just had to become Nightingales so that we would 'have any hope of defeating Mercer'" Kaiya mimicked her again.

"Kaiya, calm down!" Brynjolf demanded, his hand gripping her shoulder so that she would stand still. "You're not even giving her a chance to explain!"

"By all means," Kaiya taunted with a fake bow towards the Dunmer "explain."

"Remember earlier when I said you needed to trust me? That there was more to this but that I had to wait until you had taken your oaths to tell you?" Karliah snapped, any calm she felt gone with Kaiya's repeated attacks.

Brynjolf nodded. Kaiya spun her finger in the air as if to say "get on with it."

She took a deep breath before she continued. "Well now I can tell you Mercer's true crime. He stole a powerful artifact from the Twilight Sepulcher called the Skeleton Key. This is why he was able to open the Guild's vault without two keys. But worse than that, by stealing the key, he's compromised the Guild's ties to Nocturnal and in essence, caused our luck to run dry."

"Our luck?" Kaiya asked with raised brows, her skepticism seeping into her tone. She crossed her arms over her chest as she faced off with the Dunmer, unconvinced that this crime was as bad as described. "Please, enlighten me on this key. It opens any door, I'm guessing."

"You jest, but yes." Karliah crossed her arms to match Kaiya's stance as she continued. "But that's not all it does. It's not restricted to just unlock doors, but also minds. It can access untapped abilities that are securely sealed within our minds. Once anyone realizes that the key can do this, the potential becomes limitless."

Kaiya's skepticism remained firmly in place. "Do you realize how crazy that sounds?" she laughed at the absurdity. "Right. Mercer stole a key that can open any door, which to be fair, that I believe. It's the whole 'you can unlock your true potential" idea that I have problems with."

Karliah's impatience rose to the forefront again, her fists returning to her sides. "I don't know what to tell you," she shrugged as if she didn't care, although her tension betrayed her. "It's the truth. The key can unlock doors both physical and mental, which makes Mercer incredibly powerful. Not only that, but without the key in its lock in the Twilight Sepulcher, things will never be the same for the Guild. It's already been missing for two decades, so soon our luck would diminish to nothing." Seeing Kaiya's unbelieving smirk at the idea of luck, she continued. "Whether you realize it or not, our luck is what defines our trade. That's why Nocturnal has been the driving force behind the Thieves Guild for centuries."

"You know what?" Kaiya threw her hands up in surrender, her head shaking back and forth at what she was about to say. "Fine. It's too late to turn back now anyway. And to be fair, I have enough experience with Daedric Princes to know that when they're involved, things rarely make sense."

"So you're still in this with us?" Karliah squeaked with surprise. "You're going to help us kill Mercer?"

"What?" Kaiya was confused. She didn't realize she had given Karliah the impression that she would back out. "Yes, I'm still in. I am still pissed about this Nocturnal nonsense and I'm not really sure how I feel about all you said with the key and whatever, but none of that matters when it comes to what we're setting out to do. These are all just steps in the process."

Kaiya could have sworn she saw the black mask covering Karliah's face shift to signal a smile. "Thank you, Kaiya. We'll need you."

"Yep!" she agreed. "So what's the next step? Any more Daedric Princes we need to bind ourselves to for eternity before we go out to face a mortal man in a dwarven ruin?" While she was willing to move on from her anger, it would continue to be an unceasing subject of teasing that she would use against the Dunmer.

"Irkngthand." Brynjolf declared with authority. "We head to Irkngthand. And ladies, prepare yourselves. This will be a fight to remember."