"Were you followed?"
Siri, Beirir, Esbern, and Aranath had just stepped back into the Ragged Flagon when Ra'Zha swept up to them, his eyes fixed intently on Siri.
"Followed? Followed where?" she responded, looking instinctively about for anything unusual. The Khajiit's inquiry startled her.
"Into the Ratway. Were you followed?" Ra'Zha pressed. He seemed calm on the surface, but Siri could tell by his gaze that he had noticed something that had made him wary. She struggled to remember.
"No, I—I don't think I was," she said hesitantly. "Why—what's wrong? Why do you ask?"
The Khajiit looked back toward the crowded pub before he spoke again. "I've been watching the Flagon," he said, "keeping an eye out for any suspicious types. Shortly after you arrived, a Khajiit I had never seen before showed up and sat in one of the shadowy corners—I don't think she saw you leave, but she'd had her eyes on the area around the door to the Vaults the whole time you were gone. She left a few minutes ago." He paused before continuing. "She can't be with a trade caravan, or they wouldn't let her into the city. In fact, that's probably why she caught my attention: it's not often you see Khajiit down here. Though if she's here at the behest of the Dominion, I must say that the choice of a Khajiit agent was rather clever; she certainly stood out less down here than, say, an Altmer would. Speaking of which…" Ra'Zha turned his attention to the unfamiliar Altmer standing behind Beirir, who took the opportunity to address his friend.
"Zha," Beirir said, "you wouldn't happen to have a spare bed, would you? My new friend here is defecting from the Thalmor and needs a place to lie low for a few days while he decides what to do with himself."
Ra'Zha looked at the Altmer for a moment before holding out a hand. "I certainly do," he said. "Welcome to the Ragged Flagon, my friend. I am Ra'Zha."
"And I am Aranath," the Altmer replied. "My thanks to you. I promise shall not burden you for too long."
"That reminds me," Siri said, "don't forget to get yourself some more-nondescript armor." She gestured to the sack of armor and weapons that he was carrying.
"Indeed," added Ra'Zha, a hint of pride in his voice now. "You can sell all of your acquired goods right here in the Flagon if you need some coin. Don't even have to risk going up to the city." He pointed across the water to one of the alcoves, into which was tucked a glowing forge. "Arnskar will set you up properly."
"Maybe you can sell all that and buy yourself a set of leather armor," Siri suggested. "You'd stand out much less in that than in that old Elven stuff you were wearing before. It's far too visible for someone who's looking to keep a low profile."
Taking the proffered advice, Aranath took his spoils over to Arnskar Ember-Master. Ra'Zha, meanwhile, turned his attention back to Siri.
"If you would like to avoid the Khajiit woman, I can sneak you out of here another way," he said.
Siri shook her head. "Thank you for your offer, Ra'Zha," she said, "but if I don't deal with her now I will have to deal with her later, perhaps when I am not expecting her. Better to confront her now, I think, and get it over with so I can travel in…well, maybe not peace. So that I can travel without being followed…"
The Khajiit bowed his head in agreement. "A wise choice. I expected nothing less from you," he said. "But be careful; who is to say how many Thalmor agents may have joined her out there in the Ratway?"
Here Beirir spoke once more. He had been leaning casually against Vekel's bar eating an apple, but it seemed now he had more to say.
"Sister," he said, "may I accompany you as backup? I have an idea that may keep the element of surprise on our side…"
Shavari's patience was wearing thin.
Not long ago, a Thalmor Justiciar and a couple of Thalmor footsoldiers had shown up in the Ratway and insisted on remaining to capture the elderly Nord man, Esbern, and the woman who had been seeking him. Shavari was not accustomed to company while she worked. Elenwen usually called upon her to deal discreetly with affairs she wanted kept silent. Had the Ambassador changed her mind? Was the woman not to be eliminated?
Abruptly the door to the Flagon opened and the young Nord woman appeared in the small stairwell. She moved forward slightly, peering around, but seeming to miss the shadows on the floor—sloppy, thought Shavari—she gestured into the large, empty space behind her. A moment later, out stepped an older Nord man, and the two moved cautiously toward the top of the staircase.
Shavari cursed inwardly. Had it not been for the Justiciar's plan, she could already have eliminated both of the Nords and been on her way back to Elenwen to deliver the good news—and claim her hefty reward.
"By order of First Emissary Elenwen, stop right there!"
The Justiciar's authoritative, arrogant voice reverberated around the small stone chamber, and the two Nords froze, attention drawn at once to the Aldmeri agents who had been lurking in a blind spot in the room. A long silence ensued before the woman finally spoke.
"What do you want with us?" she asked. Shavari was impressed; the woman's voice betrayed no fear. She would soon remedy that.
"You are to come with us back to the Thalmor Embassy in Haafingar to answer a few questions," came the response.
"And what makes you think we would go with you?" Siri asked sweetly. "Why should we comply? You'll only wind up killing us once we're there anyway."
Shavari could hold herself back no longer. It was clear that the Altmer's plan was not going to work; hers, however, still would. With a snarl she began to advance on the Nord woman.
"Then you will pay now for meddling in the Thalmor's affairs!"
All at once the scene dissolved into chaos as Beirir appeared between Shavari and the Justiciar. With a violent motion he drove his dagger into the Khajiit woman's neck, severing her spinal cord and killing her instantly. Before she had even hit the ground, he turned, jamming his blade into the Justiciar's throat with a single, fluid, sweeping motion.
As Beirir had emerged from his invisibility, Siri and Esbern had begun to move—she in one direction, he in the other. A loud crashing sound signalled the arrival from Oblivion of Esbern's Daedric summon, the massive frost atronach; Esbern and his atronach took on the shorter Thalmor soldier, dispatching him in short order, while Siri took out the tall female Thalmor with relative ease, given the elf's shock at the fate of her superior.
As quickly as it began, the fight was over. Blood seeped across the floor along the ancient grout lines between the stones; Shavari's eyes stared sightlessly at the wall across from her corpse, and the Justiciar lay facedown on the floor, the hood of his robe still pulled up over his head.
"Good plan," Siri said to her brother, giving his shoulder an affectionate punch as she walked by. "Now come on, let's get out of here. We need to get Esbern to Riverwood as quickly as we can."
