"You mean the entire town cannot sleep?"
Aeyrin's brows creased as she looked over her shoulder towards the shore where Dawnstar was hiding in the morning mists.
They had a short breakfast at the Windpeak Inn and, surprisingly enough, they found a lot of patrons awake in the very early morning hours. They headed to the docks immediately after and located a very small transport boat which would take them to Solitude. The ferryman seemed friendly and, seeing their haggard looks, he instantly asked about the night they had.
He mentioned that for a long time now, the entire town was being plagued by nightmares. Nobody knew why this was happening and nobody knew how to stop it.
"Well… it's uncanny, lass. See, people get used to anything. It's not like the folk can't function. It hits travelers the worst – they don't know what they're in for. I, for one, always take my boat far enough to the sea when it's calm to get some shut eye. It ain't pleasant, but it's livable," the man shrugged. He didn't seem so concerned.
Honestly, she couldn't remember the last time she was this tired after hours of sleep.
"You can rest on my boat. I don't mind. It'll be a couple of hours before we reach the capital anyways…" the man gave them a kind smile.
It was freezing on the boat, even when she was draped firmly in her fur cloak and under a thick blanket. Karnwyr was nuzzling towards her constantly to warm her up and Bishop even took out his old cloak.
That meant it was really cold. She never saw him wear it.
The cold sea air was hitting their faces mercilessly, but they really needed some rest. Even Karnwyr looked like he didn't get enough sleep. All three of them curled together in the swaying ship, which elicited a chuckle from the ferryman rowing them over the calm sea.
Hopefully they would manage to rest a little before they got caught up in another one of Karliah's schemes.
…
The boat slowly approached the Solitude docks.
It was already getting warmer. How was a city perched atop a giant cliff above the Sea of Ghosts so much warmer than the other northern cities?
They, at least, got a little rest on the way, no longer plagued by nightmares. But the constant rocking of the boat and the cold did not allow them full recuperation.
After paying the ferryman, they decided to roam around the docks for a while in hopes of meeting Karliah or Raven. The letter did say that they spent time there during the day.
They walked the docks for some time, enjoying the calm atmosphere in contrast to their time in Winterhold and Dawnstar. After a while of that, Aeyrin suggested going into the city proper before trying again, but Bishop insisted on staying.
He clearly didn't want to visit the city.
She knew all too well why, but she was willing to humor him for a bit longer.
They had to go there eventually anyway.
…
It didn't take long after that for them to notice a lean figure in the distance by one of the warehouses right below the cliffside.
Always with the cloak and dagger…
They approached the warehouse while Karliah looked around as inconspicuously as she could – likely to ensure that no one was watching them.
"I am glad to see you two. Truth be told, I was getting anxious. The situation has turned more… sour. Come. We'll talk somewhere private. Leave the wolf here, please," she looked around again, despite her eyes being almost entirely covered by a black hood.
She led them into the door of a warehouse which had the words 'East Empire Company' dangling on a suspended sign above.
Karliah only lowered her hood, but she didn't speak at all as she weaved them through the odd… building. It was, in fact, more of a cavern as the warehouse was situated on the inside of the cliff below Solitude.
The workers around seemed to ignore them in general, some even nodded at the Dunmer amicably. It was an enormous operation and they just let a thief walk right through. Just what kind of deals did she have with the Company?
They walked for quite a while, all throughout the large cavern, until they reached a high stack of boxes, barrels and crates where Karliah stopped in her tracks. She leaned against the cavernous wall and observed the workers scurrying around while the two of them looked at her uncertainly.
"Here we are. Look at the crates, see if your goods are in there," Karliah smiled slightly while she still continued leaning on the wall, with her violet eyes roaming over the cavern.
"What?" Aeyrin raised her brows at her in confusion before Bishop nudged her with his elbow and ushered her towards the stack of crates.
"Just pretend," he whispered to her as he opened one of the crates and looked at the contents inside. It was full of some thick bolts of wool – it looked like rugs and carpets.
Aeyrin found this all so weird.
After a while of staring at the rugs, a large number of workers moved past them into another part of the warehouse and, at that point, Karliah sprang into action.
"Now. Come, quickly," she whispered before she disappeared behind the tall stacks of crates and barrels.
They followed her behind the crates curiously, ushered below a wooden platform into knee-deep water. They continued through a rickety door into a narrower cavern until they emerged from the water in another… warehouse.
This one looked different. More… shady.
The crates of goods were much more securely sealed and those that were still opened looked to be filled with rather uncommon goods. Alcohol, ingredients, expensive ores and cross-border merchandise were scattered around, handled by heavily armed workers.
That was a lot of security for a warehouse.
Karliah led them through the long cavern still. They must have been almost at the other end of the cliff.
They finally reached their destination – a secluded alcove with a rickety door, a few beds and a large table with numerous papers and blueprints on it. Raven was waiting for them there already and he gave them a kind smile and a nod in greeting.
"Here we are. Apologies for the charades. Some of the EEC foremen are actually my associates, but I am still required to keep our relationship a secret from the majority of the workers. Whenever I move through the warehouse, I have to act as an employee," Karliah gave them another sly smile before she gestured towards the chairs by the large table.
They sat themselves down, looking over all the plans and blueprints occasionally.
"Quite the setup you got here…" Bishop smirked at her. He's never even seen a smuggling operation this large. And right under the Empire's noses. Impressive.
"Aye. I have been building up this operation for years to rival Mercer's. I never would have suspected it would manage to surpass it," Karliah smiled proudly. "Jaree-Ra has been a competent smuggler, but his focus has shifted lately. This gave me an opportunity to expand."
Raven pulled on her sleeve suddenly, shaking his head at her with a slight shrug.
"Oh. Are you not familiar with Mercer's Solitude smuggler ring?" she looked at Bishop – it was obvious that Aeyrin wouldn't be, unless he had told her.
"Not really… I wasn't exactly privy to… much. Well… unless Raven got chatty," Bishop smirked at Raven, who only threw him a disgruntled glare. Aeyrin wondered whether Raven knew back than that Jules shared the things that they talked about with Bishop. He must have known how the information on the dissent could have been used. He must have known what he was starting.
"I see… well… there is... was… a group of Argonian smugglers active here in Solitude. They were long term associates of the Guild and when Mercer took over, he started to run much more business their way. Some of it was more unsavory than some of the members liked. I have made contact back then with one of their members. His name is Gulum-Ei. Maybe you already know him. He's often at The Winking Skeever, fencing his goods."
Bishop nodded. He bought things from the Argonian occasionally. The last time, he sold him that odd fun explosive which he used to get to the ballroom to crash the tin-head's party.
"Well, Gulum-Ei helped me approach the members of the ring who were unhappy under Mercer's heel and start my operation with them. But he still remained a member of Jaree-Ra's band, feeding me information on both them and anything that he could learn about the Guild. This has been going on for years," Karliah shook her head with a creased brow. Obviously something went wrong.
"Lately, me, Raven and our contacts have been rather successful. We have managed to disrupt several of Mercer's plans very effectively, costing him a small fortune and, without a doubt, some alliances. This prompted him to look for money elsewhere and he turned to Jaree-Ra's gang," she frowned again with an unsettled expression on her face.
"Mercer gave his smugglers a tip about a transport ship carrying expensive goods. All they needed to do was to get to it. And to do that, they decided to… extinguish the Solitude lighthouse and let the ship crash near the shores of Hjaalmarch," she sighed, pressing two fingers in between her brows. "We had to stop this, not just so that Mercer wouldn't get a cut of the profits. This was a transport ship – there were passengers who would have been slaughtered just because there were some goods below the decks. But Jaree-Ra's people were the only ones who knew the plan. So… when Gulum-Ei sabotaged the operation by relighting the lighthouse for the ship to pass safely, they knew that one of them was a traitor."
"So he's dead?" Bishop asked when she took too long to continue for his curiosity.
"No, but not for the lack of trying. Every member of Jaree-Ra's gang has been monitored closely for a long time and Gulum-Ei was meticulous about not getting caught. But a few days ago, he slipped up and he was followed. Jaree-Ra and his gang attacked this place in hopes of killing him, but my men had prevailed," Karliah smiled rather proudly.
"How did they get through the EEC warehouse without alerting the guards or something?" Aeyrin asked. Come to think of it, how did Karliah's men get the smuggled goods through the warehouse?
"We use a small port on the other side of the cliff. There's another entrance there. I was merely wary of disclosing its location in a letter," the Dunmer shrugged before she continued explaining the situation. "Now the vast majority of Jaree-Ra's gang is dead but Gulum-Ei and our entire operation is still in danger. Mercer is sure to investigate. Or perhaps he has been already notified of the events. We are uncertain whether Jaree-Ra sent a message to him before attacking our warehouse."
"Mercer doesn't have soldiers. If the smuggler ring is gone, I doubt he has the manpower to make another attack. Unless he plans to send… well… the only 'associates' of his capable of this would hardly go anywhere near Solitude like that… right?" Bishop threw an uncertain expression at Raven who only nodded at him in affirmation. He seemed very relieved at that.
"Aye. True. But we cannot be certain that he doesn't try something unpredictable. I have called you here when I was anticipating the attack of Jaree-Ra's gang. Now that it has passed… I suppose I am still wary of Mercer's tricks. Especially since he already has a man investigating," Karliah sighed.
"Rune has been spotted in the city. I can only assume that he is here to see what happened. The problem is that we do not know just how much he knows. I would rather count on the worst case scenario. I was thinking of having us all stay here in case Rune is here to gather the remaining members of the smuggling ring for another attack. You two would be invaluable in protecting my men. But Raven had a… different idea," Karliah smiled at Raven slyly and his face twisted into a proud look in turn.
"According to Raven, Mercer's been a bit… obsessed with knowing what the two of you are planning ever since you appeared in Riften. He thinks that you are plotting the repeat of the mutiny that almost happened those years ago and Raven believes that we could use that to our advantage. If he is right, Rune might abandon whatever task he is here for if he sees you. You could lead him here. Alone," her eyes sparkled conspiratorially and she shared a pleased look with Raven.
"You… want to kill him? You don't even know if he's here for Gulum-Ei," Aeyrin scowled at her. Leading someone to their death like this wasn't exactly something she was comfortable with.
"Oh no. We have a much better plan," Karliah smirked before continuing. "We will talk to him, tell him the truth. And if he believes us… others will surely follow."
"That's a big fucking assumption. Why would he risk going against Mercer?" Bishop scoffed.
"Because the truth is something that the Guild will never tolerate. It is something that Rune will be unable to ignore. The truth is that Mercer has been stealing from the Guild."
They both stared at her for a while, waiting anxiously for her to explain.
"The Guild has an emergency supply of wealth, hidden in a secure vault. They do not open it unless it is necessary. Raven assures me that the vault has not in fact been opened in decades. But I can guarantee you that it is empty." Karliah announced dramatically.
"How? It has that whole secure two-key lock thing. Don't Brynjolf and Delvin hold them?" Bishop frowned, giving a questioning look to Raven. He's heard all about the vault from Jules before.
Raven nodded somberly and looked at Karliah so that she'd continue.
"Yes. But Mercer doesn't need the keys. He has another way in. He possesses an artifact that allows him to unlock any lock. He stole it, just like everything else. If we tell Rune, he is sure to ask Brynjolf and Delvin to open the vault, if nothing else, to check, at least."
"Hold on. 'An artifact that allows him to unlock any lock'?" Aeyrin cringed. She's read plenty about the dangers of Daedric artifacts during her studies. She had a bad feeling that she knew just what Karliah was talking about.
"Aye. The Skeleton Key," Karliah nodded somberly.
"Wh-… where did he even get such a thing?!" Aeyrin exclaimed in disbelief. The Daedric artifacts were rumored to be incredibly hard to find, rumored to be constantly lost or buried somewhere.
"That… is a story for another time, I'm afraid. Now we need to focus on Rune. And if we manage to have him believe us, even a little, he might even tell us just how much Mercer knows about Gulum-Ei's betrayal," Karliah smiled confidently. It seemed like she had every detail worked out.
"See, there's a little flaw in that plan…" Bishop sighed. He looked surprisingly angry. "Mercer will find out we're helping you."
"Aye, there is that chance. Me and Raven are both convinced that Rune will believe us and that he will keep everything to himself, at the very least, until he uncovers the depths of Mercer's treachery for himself. But… we cannot be certain," Karliah sighed.
"Then fuck no! We're not risking that!" Bishop barked at her and folded his arms across his chest stubbornly.
"What? Doesn't he already know we don't exactly like him? This sounds like a good plan…" Aeyrin gave him a surprised look. He was so eager to topple Mercer's reign. Why would he suddenly back out? He couldn't have been that afraid of him since he's already tried before.
Or maybe it was because of what happened before? He never told her how Mercer 'punished' him…
"This is different. We're not risking him finding out!" he practically snarled and gave Karliah another defiant stare.
"I… I understand your concerns… but if you don't lure him here, it…" Karliah tried to reason with him but she was soon interrupted by Raven who tugged on her hand again, shaking his head somberly. He gave Bishop a surprisingly understanding look as a light smile forming on his face a second later.
Fuck, at least Raven would understand. Bishop recalled his reaction when all that shit went down… He looked almost ready to follow Jules back to Thorn.
Raven grabbed one of the quills on the table with a comforting and calm smile and he began scribbling something quickly on a tiny piece of parchment:
I have an idea.