Chapter CXLII – Under Guard

It's been three days already.

Aeyrin and Bishop were spending most of their time in the common room of the tavern while they only occasionally adjourned to their own room for a little respite. They idled around, drank, ate and talked, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that Aeyrin was getting restless.

Bishop couldn't really blame her. She was still kept in the dark, for the large part, and she wasn't even sure what they were waiting for there. She had mentioned to him a few times that she'd like to go adventuring around the town, but he had to dismiss the idea instantly.

He had told her that he needed to stay in the tavern for his part of the mission, but it wasn't exactly an ideal excuse that would keep her from questioning him.

"I just don't get it. When did you get so keen on following the rules? This whole need-to-know basis is ridiculous," she scoffed at him while she twirled a spoon in her broth idly.

"Sweetness, I get it, but we all need this to go right. I'd rather not take any chances," he sighed in response. She was getting more and more upset with the passing of time. He wanted to tell her the truth. He was still terrified of what would happen, but it became increasingly clear that keeping things from her was only making him feel worse than whatever her reaction would be. He couldn't keep this up, but he needed to.

It was all for her sake.

"But why can't you at least tell me why we need to stay here? What do you think will happen if I know?" she threw her arms up in exasperation.

That was a… difficult question. Even a mention of the runner or anything like that would only raise more questions from her.

He couldn't.

It was just a little longer. He just needed to keep this all from her a little longer.

"Look… Karliah was right. If someone gets captured and… interrogated, they can't reveal the whole plan like this," he sighed again.

Aeyrin gave him a hurt look in turn. This was so ridiculous! And more than anything, it hurt her feelings. She knew that he was probably just trying to be rational about this mission, but she kind of assumed that… if she was the one getting captured, his last concern would be whether she had divulged any secrets. This didn't feel like it. It felt like taking down Mercer was his first priority. It felt like even if something was to happen to her, he would still worry about the mission the most.

At least now she knew how much it hurt him when she disregarded his injuries at Fort Fellhammer.

She briefly wondered if he was just trying to get back at her for that, but he definitely wouldn't be this petty. Not to her.

Still… sometimes, she felt like something had gone very wrong back there. Like she had lost a lot of trust from him. And she definitely didn't make things better with what she had done in Whiterun.

Maybe she deserved his mistrust.

But if he just gave her another chance, she knew that she could help with whatever he was up to! She wanted to show him that he could rely on her. For once, after what felt like a long time, she wanted him to know that he could lay his burdens on her.

She needed that.

She needed to feel useful, to know that she was there for someone. Because if she couldn't even be there for him, for the man she loved so much, how could she be there for the countless strange people that were all relying on only her for protection?

Would a few stupid missteps really cause such a wound in their relationship?

It wasn't as if he never did anything stupid!

He cheated on her, for one! He said that it was for her protection, but who knew? He constantly antagonized everyone around them and… and…

Now she was getting angry. She needed to calm herself down before she started a fight. That would likely not help anything in this situation.

She stared into her bowl of stew with a deep frown on her face, trying to steer her thoughts away from the anger.

But a second later, the feel of his hand on hers startled her from her ruminations. His eyes were looking at her gently, pleading.

"Just a few more days, love. I know that this is hard, but… please, just try to hang on for a few more days. I promise, I'll tell you… everything…" his voice trailed off a bit.

She wondered what he had meant by that. What was the extent of his 'everything'? More half-truths and pleas to keep her from prying further? More issues that he didn't want to 'get into'?

Bishop looked her over with worry in his eyes – the crease between her brows, the disappointed averted eyes. He sorely wished that he could do something to fix that. Anything to keep her from looking like that. So miserable and… hurt.

But it was just a few more days.

He took a breath, racking his brain on what else to say to ease the situation, but he was interrupted by the sound of the opening of the tavern doors.

Fuck!

A man walked inside on brisk feet. That was definitely a runner. Bishop had never seen him before, but the man instantly rested his eyes on Aeyrin and he watched her intently for a while. Then he marched towards the bar, clad in tight leather armor, unarmed, but Bishop was certain that he had at least one dagger hidden somewhere.

Bishop didn't look at him directly. He only let his eyes dart over to him on occasion.

That man still watched Aeyrin all too often for Bishop's liking and his lips were constantly quirking into a smug smile.

He ordered a bottle of mead to go.

A dead giveaway. He wasn't there to drink. He was definitely hurrying back to Thorn, to inform him that the target of the bounty was in Falkreath.

Just as the innkeeper handed him the bottle, the runner turned on his heel. He walked towards the entrance rather calmly, but Bishop knew that he would rush away from the town the second he left the common room.

This was it. Bishop needed to act.

When the man had finally left, Bishop quickly looked back towards the corner of the room and he nodded at the man who had been sitting there – Karliah's agent. The man rose to his feet instantly after that exchange and he left the tavern with quick strides.

Aeyrin had obviously noticed that something was going on. Her eyes widened just as Bishop looked at her. Her face looked rather panicked.

"W-what's going on?" she whispered quietly.

"I need to go," Bishop nodded at her curtly as he rose from his seat. He needed to wait a minute, so that he wouldn't be obvious about following the runner, but not too long. He couldn't lose him.

Aeyrin frowned at him. The confusion was palpable on her face.

"Sweetness, listen to me, you have to stay here, alright? Don't go anywhere but our room. I… I will be back soon." He bent down to kiss her briefly and he watched her face for a reaction when he withdrew.

Her brows were still creased and she didn't answer him at all. Her gaze moved almost instinctively towards the entrance doors with a pondering look on her face.

"Princess, promise me you'll stay here," Bishop scowled at her. He could already see her mind wandering, he could already see that she was thinking about what else she could do than sit and wait obediently.

She finally peered back at him, looking a little like a scolded child, but she nodded nonetheless.

He planted one more grateful kiss into her hair before he headed for the door at last. It wasn't as convincing as he would have liked, but he couldn't stay any longer to make sure. He needed to meet up with Karliah and catch up to the runner quickly.

He may have preferred to stay with Aeyrin, to keep her safe, but Karliah needed a reliable tracker, just for this situation. There was still a guard at the inn after all, he would make sure that she stayed put.

He had no other choice.

…

Bishop was pacing in front of the tavern nervously when Karliah finally approached him.

"There you are! He went west of the town," he quickly explained to her.

She had appeared with two of her men at her heel, but they separated from her the minute that they reached the tavern, heading inside.

Probably additional guards for Aeyrin. Good. Bishop still kind of hoped that she would keep her promise, but he couldn't shake his doubts.

"How do you know? You didn't ask around, did you?" Karliah gave him a bit of a chastising look.

"You think I'm an idiot? Come on, we need to catch up with him. He's got at least a ten minute head start," Bishop grumbled and he started marching towards the western town exit right after that brief exchange.

Didn't Karliah need him for tracking? What a pointless question. They needed to hurry, not waste time on shit like this.

Bishop whistled loudly to call Karnwyr over. He wasn't sure if the wolf would be able to pick up the man's scent in the forest, but hopefully he would be helpful. It was definitely faster to follow Karnwyr's nose than to look for tracks.

The three of them set off for their mission at a brisk pace and they only needed to follow the tracks and Karnwyr's occasionally lucky nose for about half an hour before they finally saw the man in the distance, weaving his way through the thicket.

Good. Now to just follow him stealthily.

They would know exactly where Thorn was hiding soon enough.

…

Aeyrin sat down on the bed heavily with an exasperated huff.

She had finished her food and drink alone at the tavern before she retreated into their rented room with some measure of reluctance. For some reason, it felt like everyone in the common room had been staring at her. More people had appeared there after Bishop left and they all seemed… odd. Each of them sat by a table alone and the ones who came in only recently didn't even order anything.

Bishop had left right after that one strange man did. He had signaled that odd guy in the corner of the room and then he just… disappeared.

What did that mean? Who was that man?

She had previously thought that Bishop would be scouting around the forests to find one of the bases or something. This was odd. It was getting odder by the minute. If he was hunting someone down, why couldn't she help with that? She understood that she was only an unnecessary disturbance on scouting missions and burglaries, but… she could help with this, surely.

Instead, she was confined to the tavern like a child without supervision.

She wondered if it was Karliah who didn't want her to help with Bishop's part, or if it was Bishop…

And why did she need to stay inside the tavern?! She could at least look around the city or something. Bishop had said that they needed to stay inside for his mission, but that was obviously already achieved, whatever it was.

Why couldn't she just do whatever she wanted now?! She didn't need to wait here for him to return, right? Her own mission was still days away, why couldn't she just explore the town? People often recognized her anyway. If they wanted to keep her presence here a secret for some reason, they would surely not have her stay at the inn of all places.

To the Void with this!

She wouldn't just sit and wait. Divines knew how long it would take for something to happen. She was under no obligation to just sit on her ass in a tavern while she could be at least taking her mind off things with some shopping or sightseeing.

Aeyrin rose from the bed with determination and she took a small money pouch from her bag before she ensured that her dagger was safely hidden in her boot. That was definitely sufficient for a mere exploration of the town.

She set out to leave the tavern with purpose, disregarding completely what Bishop had asked of her. If he wanted her to stay there like that, he should have at least bothered to give her a good reason!

She left their room and marched towards the inn entrance determinedly. But before she could reach the door, she suddenly felt a hand on her wrist, stopping her in her tracks firmly.

She looked at the man, who was sitting at the table by the door, with shock in her eyes. He still held her by the wrist very tightly, but, surprisingly enough, there was a somewhat gentle expression on his face.

"Lady Aeyrin, don't leave the tavern, please," he smiled at her as he finally let go of her hand, but he looked more than ready to grab her again anytime.

What in the Gods' names was going on?!

"W-what?" she gasped at him incredulously as her eyes widened at him.

"I… weren't you informed? You're not to leave the tavern. Karliah's orders," the man shrugged at her apologetically and he waited expectantly for her to act. He was likely wary of her trying to leave anyway.

This was absurd! She was like a prisoner!

"Why?!" she barked at the man angrily. Was this because she was the Dragonborn? She knew that she owed her life to that fact more than once, but she never thought that people would actually keep her from battle and danger because of it. Did Bishop tell them that she couldn't handle whatever it was that they were up to? Because of Fellhammer? Or because of her outbursts of vulnerability and weakness in front of him? She thought that he would support her, not use it against her!

"I'm sorry. Karliah said that your safety is our highest priority," the man gave her an uncertain look, still watching her warily. He was clearly aware of her increasing anger.

She scoffed, but instead of pushing it, she marched back into her rented room without another word.

'Safety'… What a pathetic excuse! As if she needed protecting! Certainly not any more than any of them did! Why was she the sole exception in this mission, kept under guard and practically locked up?!

This was ridiculous and insulting!

And for some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was all Bishop's doing.

Oh sure, he'd tell everyone that he was protecting her. He might even convince himself of it. But the truth was, he didn't trust her. He didn't trust her help and he didn't trust her not to mess up. He likely wanted to keep everything on that ridiculous need-to-know basis for this very reason.

Whatever.

If nothing else, she did not need to be kept hidden at an inn! No matter the mistakes she had made in the past. She wasn't some incompetent naïve girl that would just get herself in trouble constantly.

Her eyes roamed over the room while her anger boiled in her, until they finally rested on Bishop's pack in the corner of it. He didn't even put on his armor before he left! That hardly meant a dangerous mission! Just one that he didn't trust her with.

But… she was pretty sure that he had some invisibility potions in his pack. And maybe even that ring that muffled movement sounds. She wasn't sure whether he had been wearing it before he left.

She hesitated a little, wondering whether she should go through with this.

But it was not like Bishop didn't go through her pack constantly when he needed something from it. She just never really needed something from his – he wasn't the one carrying all their letters and maps and information on their quests.

Yeah… nothing wrong with that. They shared everything. Aside from secrets, as it appeared.

She grabbed his pack and threw it onto the bed before she began rummaging around in it with determination. Her hands kept fishing around the inside, around the leather pieces of his armor, looking for the potions, before her hand fell on a crumpled paper.

Weird. Bishop never carried any papers with him. What could it be?

She took out the crumpled parchment tentatively and she quickly unfolded it, unable to contain her curiosity anymore. She was too angry to let her considerations of Bishop's privacy get in the way.

.

WANTED

DEAD OR PROPERLY SUBDUED

THORN

REWARD: 50 000 GP

By the order of Siddgeir, Jarl of Falkreath Hold, the above portrayed bandit, referred to as Thorn, is wanted by the authorities on countless accounts of banditry, assault, murder, kidnapping, rape, theft and property damage. Any person with any information on his whereabouts is required to report to the Jarl of Falkreath immediately.

.

Aeyrin peered at the detailed portrait of the man depicted on the parchment, rather stunned at what she had found. His face bore no expression and he had a wide strong chin with thick stubble. His forehead was covered with a bandana, tangled into his long hair. He had a prominent scar over his lips and chin and another one across his cheek.

The charges… the bounty… this must have been who they were after. Karliah said that the clans were united under one. Maybe this was their leader.

Were they trying to claim that bounty and wanted to keep it from her? Why? It was not like she would have a problem with that! If they needed the money for their operations, she would not demand any of it. Why would she?

She wondered for a while where Bishop had gotten that poster. It was crumpled in his pack rather haphazardly and with no particular care for hiding it. He must have stashed it there in a hurry. Karliah might have given this notice to him during their briefing. Or…

Suddenly the image of the notice board in front of the tavern flashed in her mind. She remembered how Bishop pressed his hand against it, leaning on it. She would have never noticed that, if she didn't see the poster, but somehow, she was sure that he had found it there. It made sense. It was a bounty notice from Falkreath – something that would definitely be on that board. If he had gotten it from Karliah, there would have been another notice displayed there, surely. The Jarl obviously wanted this man dealt with.

And Bishop hid it from her.

Why?! What in Oblivion was going on with all these secrets? She didn't understand any of this! Why would he keep something like this from her? Was he worried that she'd get scared for his life, if he were to face this man? That she would insist on coming with him? Well… she may have… but… that didn't mean that she'd mess up his precious mission!

What else was he hiding from her?

With a fierce and purposeful scowl she dropped the poster on the bed and rummaged further in the pack. She found the invisibility potions, but she set them aside for now and continued her search instead of her original plan. Now she just couldn't stop herself.

Aha! Another note!

She unfolded it quickly, right after she had fished it out of the pack. She was completely enraptured in her newfound purpose to expose his lies and his mistrust.

What. Was. That?

She peered at the small note with her mouth ajar. There was an odd black hand imprint on it with the words 'We know' written below.

That only made things more confusing! Was it connected to that 'Thorn' person somehow? Was it from him? Was he threatening Bishop with something?

What was that man, or whoever 'they' were, supposed to know?

Well… she wouldn't squeeze any more information out of that odd note in any case. She needed to search further.

She probably went through the entire bag within mere minutes. She didn't find the ring, but she did finally find one more crumpled paper.

Bishop was generously full of surprises, apparently.

She unfolded the note quickly and her eyes widened at the contents. It was something she wouldn't have expected in her wildest fears. There was a very detailed portrait before her eyes – her own.

.

Dear associates,

It is with regret that I must inform you of a dear former friend who has betrayed the Guild to ally with our enemies. The Dragonborn, going by the name Aeyrin, is actively working on sabotaging our operations and eliminating our partnerships.

For this reason, it is imperative that she is captured and subdued. If any of our associates crosses her path, you are required to deliver her DIRECTLY to one of Thorn's bases. Be wary of her abilities, but if you catch her off guard, a simple gag will suffice to rid her of them. Be also aware that she very rarely travels alone. It would be better if she was separated from anyone accompanying her before you attempt to face her.

The reward for her capture is 15 000 GP to be paid in full immediately upon delivery.

Mercer Frey

.

She gaped at the notice with her eyes wide. Her mind was completely blank for what felt like a long time.

Her gaze roamed over specific words only while she kept trying to piece everything together. Her head felt fuzzy.

'Captured and subdued'… 'deliver her DIRECTLY to one of Thorn's bases' … 'separated from anyone accompanying her'…

She remembered Thongvor instantly. How he kept asking about Bishop's whereabouts, how he insisted that she'd accompany him instantly, before Bishop could come back. The ambushers, the talk of Thongvor's 'message', the talk of their 'boss'. It made so much sense now!

And her father… it was the same thing!

He had told her that there was supposed to be an ambush to get rid of Bishop. He tried to catch her off-guard too with the surprise at the warehouse. And he mentioned that bounty…

This was from Mercer!

Karliah must have known. Raven must have known. Those two Guild members at the meadery helping her must have known.

Bishop knew…

They lied to her face! They had all pretended like they had no idea what she was talking about whenever she mentioned the bounty. And they were after these people now! That… Thorn person. The fact that the bounty on him was issued by the Jarl of Falkreath was a hint enough.

There were people after her, hunting her, using every dirty trick they could to deliver her to that man and she was just supposed to sit and wait while others risked their life for her?

And why were they keeping this from her?! This was her life! They made decisions without even the slightest decency of informing her about what was happening!

Was this because of Fellhammer? Did Bishop just assume that she wouldn't be able to deal with this problem herself? He didn't even let her help! They were supposed to help each other! They were supposed to watch each other's backs! Weren't they? They were supposed to deal with things like this together.

But he didn't trust her with anything anymore…

The hurt of the realization clutched at her chest, making her curl her torso with a pained gasp.

This wasn't fair! She didn't deserve to be treated like this! Not after everything that she had done for him, not after all the trust she had put in him! He went against her plans too! He followed her when she was with her father after she had asked him to leave. The only difference was that he was lucky enough to have turned the events in their favor by that. But that was just a coincidence, anything could happen in any battle or ambush! Just because her way backfired once, and his didn't, didn't mean that she did not deserve his trust.

This. Was. Not. Fair!

And it was her damn life! Her damn mess! And her damn bounty!

She would prove him wrong.

She would show him that she didn't need to be coddled and hidden away. She would show him that she could take care of things, that without her help, they would be lost on their precious mission.

She was done being weak! She was done feeling lost and threatened!

She was the damn Dragonborn!

And a measly bandit scum would not make her feel weak!

Neither of them.

She pushed herself off the bed and quickly located her pack on the ground. She threw her underchain and armor on herself somewhat haphazardly, just to be quick, before she fastened her mace to her hip and her shield to her back. She only kept on her leather boots. The armored ones would make too much noise – they would definitely alert the people in the common room to her departure. As much as she sucked at being subtle, she needed to be stealthy now, whatever it took. She checked herself over briskly and she grabbed only a few healing potions for her belt pouch.

She didn't need anything else.

She took one of the invisibility potions on the bed and she threw it back with determination before she finally headed out of the room.

She would handle her own mess. She didn't need him or anyone else protecting her.

Not if he didn't need her in return.

She would show them all.