The area around the mill was blessedly quiet.
Upon their return to The Winking Skeever, they found out they only had a single day before their clandestine meeting with Delphine.
Corpulus wasn't really pleased with them occupying the room for two more nights while they weren't even there… and haven't paid. With their funds mostly depleted on the bail, they had no other way to pay for their room and food than to offer something to barter. Aeyrin reluctantly relinquished the silver ruby bracelet from Casavir. It was rude of her, but she had no other idea. And she wasn't about to give up that gorgeous headband. That bracelet at least paid for the rest of their stay, but they would have to leave the morning after the Thalmor party.
It suited Bishop fine though. The sooner they got away from Solitude and the paladin, the better. And Karnwyr was getting really frustrated too. They at least took him outside the city walls this time – he could run around the wilderness until they returned from the party, at least he would get some of the energy out of his system.
Now there was only one thing in the way of getting away from the gruesome insecurity that plagued him ever since they arrived into the city – surviving a Thalmor party.
"Pssst!"
There was a sound coming from inside the mill.
Bishop and Aeyrin shared an exasperated look before heading inside the structure to meet the ominously cloaked figure waiting inside.
"Nice to see you, Delphine," Aeyrin chuckled at her. She was a bit over the top with the paranoia.
"Ssshhh! Speak softly. You never know if they might be listening…" the woman whispered, looking around the very empty mill.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, woman... Please, tell me you found another lead, or got the info already," Bishop grumbled at her.
"I… no… we need to go ahead with the party infiltration…" Delphine sighed in defeat.
"Fucking great… perfect end to a shitty fortnight," he groaned.
"Come on… it wasn't that bad… we had fun…" Aeyrin poked a finger at his chest teasingly, eliciting a pleased smirk from him. There were definitely fun parts…
"Ugh… stop making googly eyes and listen. We need to go over every part of the plan carefully. One misstep and we might all get caught," Delphine chastised them impatiently.
"'We all'? If I remember correctly, you're not actually gonna be risking your neck, unlike us!" Bishop growled at her.
"Well if either of you gets captured and tortured, there's really no guarantee that you won't sell me out, is there?" she huffed back at him angrily.
Delphine was met with an indignant stare from both of them. She only sighed again, fishing in her pack instead and pulling out several parchments.
"First, Aeyrin. I have gotten you an invitation. There is really no need for you to hide in any way, pretend you're someone else or anything. The invitation's for the Dragonborn. The Thalmor ambassador was apparently very interested in meeting you. All you need to do is be inconspicuous and casual. Mingle, dance, and such," Delphine smiled reassuringly, but Aeyrin let out a desperate whimper. That was not comforting! "The important part is that you absolutely cannot let anyone leave the party. Anytime you see someone leaving, distract them, keep them in. There will be a contact of mine there to help you for a while, but after some time, he will need to disappear to provide access for Bishop to get inside."
Aeyrin nodded slowly. She was anxious about being inconspicuous in a room full of Thalmor, trying to keep everyone in. But Bishop's part would definitely be more dangerous. She had to do everything she could to make it easier.
"Oh! I almost forgot. I got you some things for the party. In case you were gonna complain about having to do everything yourselves…" she threw Bishop a glare, then pulled out a sack from her pack.
Aeyrin took it, peering inside briefly, seeing a hint of light turquoise fabric. Another dress… She only hoped this one didn't include another bustier.
"Now… you," she turned to Bishop. "There is a… service entrance that you can get inside with… here. You need to get past the wall around the embassy, but I have that covered. There's some shrubbery, here and here, in between them, my associate will uhmm… well, he dug a hole… under the wall…" Delphine shrugged, earning a dubious stare from Bishop. "You just have to make sure you're not seen. You can do that, right?"
"And what then? I suppose the service entrance will be opened by your contact. But you said I need to get inside the other building," Bishop scowled at her, peering at the blueprints.
"Yes. My contact will then meet with you and show you where to hide. Then he will… cause a commotion at the party. Most of the guards should go deal with that. You will have a clearer path to make it to the other building, but you still need to be careful. I got you some invisibility potions just in case. And this," she handed him a small satchel of potions and a simple silver ring. "It's enchanted. It should muffle your movements somewhat. Are you familiar with that magic?"
Bishop nodded. It was hardly foolproof, but it always helped on jobs. She was… surprisingly prepared.
"Aeyrin, while the guards will be at the party, you need to make sure they stay as long as possible. My contact will help, but… if something goes wrong… Just do your best to improvise."
"What am I looking for exactly?" Bishop scowled at her.
"Documents, likely. It would be best if you scoured the building, but don't take too many risks unnecessarily. The best hope is the ambassador's office… here. And… the torture chambers… here, in the basement."
"And how the fuck do I get out then?"
"That's the best part!" Delphine actually beamed proudly at him. "In the torture chamber, there's a… corpse shoot… you can't get inside like that, it's too high and too visible to just enter the room like that. But the other way… you'll be able to get there by the beams across the ceiling or something. It leads through a cavern, then outside, right by the shore of the sea. You'll be a safe distance away then, with the documents."
"How do I get out?" Aeyrin frowned a bit. It sounded rather convoluted, but… surprisingly, she felt sort of optimistic about it. Delphine really thought of a lot of things.
"With the other guests, of course. If everything goes well, there should be absolutely no suspicion on you."
They were silent for a while, looking over Delphine's plans and the items she brought. There were even some lockpicks in Bishop's package.
"Well… go on… what's wrong? Get the complaining done so we can move on," Delphine folded her arms across her chest expectantly.
"It's pointless, that's what's wrong. Useless risk…" Bishop barked at her, another minute of silence following. "But… eh… I've had worse jobs. Should be easy," he shrugged noncommittally. He would never admit that, but he was actually getting a bit… excited. It's been a while since he infiltrated something. And if it weren't for Mercer's presence looming all over the job, he would have even enjoyed the Goldenglow contract.
Delphine gave him a surprised stare, but then furrowed her brows again, looking at Aeyrin.
"I… I'll try my best… I don't know… I'm not good at… being subtle… and fancy parties…" she shrugged nervously.
"You'll be fine, princess, you've got practice now," Bishop chuckled. "Just have a drink and keep bugging people trying to leave. No big deal," he squeezed her around her shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't… overdo it with the drinks… you need to keep alert," Delphine reprimanded her.
"Well, alright then. This went better than I thought," she laughed a bit. "The party's tomorrow, as you know. My contact will be having lunch at the Skeever before going to the embassy. Be sure to go to the common room too and check him out so you know who to expect. Do not approach him though! We cannot have any connection between you whatsoever. He's a Bosmer. Shouldn't be hard to pinpoint. He has spiky light brown hair and will be wearing a blue tunic."
"A Bosmer? You're working with a Bosmer? Isn't he an inevitable Thalmor spy?" Bishop chuckled at her meanly.
"He's fine. He already helped me against them several times," she scowled at him disinterestedly.
"That's how you gain someone's trust. Then you wait for the most opportune time and…"
"Bishop! Don't make her more paranoid!" Aeyrin chastised him, giving a slightly apologetic shrug to Delphine.
"Whatever… I'll see you tomorrow. Here, after the party. I'll be waiting for you."
…
"Come on, let's see it!"
Bishop chuckled as he was putting on his leather armor, making sure that no buckle could come undone, no clasp could rattle – nothing could give him away.
They were making their preparations in the bathing area of The Winking Skeever, most of their things left back at their room. They couldn't really carry anything with them. Bishop would move much easier without a pack and Aeyrin would likely be searched for any weapons and such. A bit redundant at a Thalmor embassy… wasn't everyone there a mage?
Aeyrin was putting on the things Delphine got her behind the changing screen. Bishop seemed excited about her in another dress, and to be fair, she was kind of starting to come around about wearing them too. They were all rather uncomfortable, and she still hated the high heels, but she liked how the dresses looked and how they affected Bishop. And ever since she saw him in his fancy frock, the insecurities planted by the shopkeeper from The Jewel were erased.
She finally left from behind the changing screen.
She was wearing a tight fitting dress, bound behind her neck with the majority of her back exposed, same at the golden one from Mercer. The skirt was atypical, flowing down to right above her knees at the front but going all the way down at the back. It was light turquoise at the top, seamlessly blending into a pearly white color at the midsection and light violet at the bottom. There was an ornate applique made of various small pearls and gems covering the collar and cleavage. She also had light turquoise shoes with straps going all the way up her calves, as well as some jewelry in colors and style perfectly matching the dress. Delphine certainly spared no expense to make her blend into the high society. Where did she even get the money to get all these things? She did mention that she owned the Sleeping Giant Inn, but still…
Her hair was made up into a high bun with few strands falling down the sides of her face and she applied light make-up to her eyes. She was definitely more comfortable in this than the ballgown… the skirt wasn't so heavy and she could actually breathe normally for a change. Luckily, Delphine didn't think that her figure needed to be more presentable…
"Fuck… do we really have to go already? We should have done this a lot sooner…" Bishop crossed the distance between them, draping his hands over her waist and pulling her close to him, trapping her in a deep kiss a second later.
She giggled at him, her cheeks flushing.
"Well… think of it as an incentive. I better see you back at the mill soon."
