HAIL SITHIS!
Almond was in the back room. Sitting all sad and alone. I close the door right as he protests. Terror in his eyes. "I'm not here to kill you." I say. "We have unfinished business."
"By the gods! You're alive! But I thought…your Sanctuary…" His face fills with horror.
"Miracles happen all the time." I murmur.
"Please! You mustn't think I had anything to do with that! I wanted the Emperor dead! The true Emperor! I still do! It was Maro! He…"
"And lucky for you the Night Mother is vouching for your innocence, so, you're safe." I interrupt. "Where is the real Emperor?"
"You mean, after all that's happened, the Dark Brotherhood will still…honor the contract?" Fear is still plaguing his pretty face, even though he tries to hide it.
"Yes." I cross my arms.
He nearly jumps for joy. "This is amazing! The Emperor is still in Skyrim, but not for long. He's onboard his ship, the Katariah, moored offshore in the Solitude Inlet. But you must hurry!"
I almost turn to leave when he finishes, "If you can get onboard that ship. Kill Titus Mede II, as contracted…I will reveal the location of the dead drop that holds your payment."
"Understood." Solitude is far but I can get there quickly. "Keep your ears open and you'll hear the Emperor is dead in three days."
I move with the shadows. They guide me, mold me, make me stronger. The docks are quiet, save for a special someone I had my eye on. Maro exits the nearby building, walking as leisurely as someone would when they don't know they're being watched. Before he crosses my path, I leap down from the roof I was on.
"Good to see you again." I greet him. He has no time to react when I tear his throat out.
Dead. In two seconds. I only hope the next deaths will go as fast. The ship sits across the way, towering and intimidating…for the old Eve. Now, I just survey it for a good entrance point. The chains for the anchor. Once I'm onboard the humans won't be much.
I cross the water, swim nearly as fast as Veezara said he did, then climb the length of the ship. Two guards are waiting for me. I snap their necks and throw them over the edge. After that it's a mad tear through the ship, my Ebony Blade is my commander. When most of the humans are bleeding out, I stalk through the cabins. The Emperor has not been around so far. I can't get a blood scent on him but I hear a strong and steady heartbeat above.
Up the steps I go. One by one I get closer to my target. A guard runs down to attack, but I impale him before he can get closer. One flick of the sword and he's flying down the steps to fall into a puddle on the floor. Of someone else's blood.
The door I find at the top of the staircase is ornamental. Elaborate carvings around the exterior. I'm guessing this is his cabin. I kick the door and find little resistance. It swings open to show a desk in a large circular room. With Emperor Titus Mede II sitting at it.
"And once more, I prove Commander Maro the fool. I told him you can't stop the Dark Brotherhood. Never could." The old man says, sounding defeated.
I creep into the room, scour it for any hidden guards. Instead I find walls covered in elaborate art and a map of Skyrim next to the desk. Certain cities were marked.
"Come now, don't be shy. You haven't come this far just to stand there gawking." The Emperor stands and smooths out his robes, the gloriously brightly colored robes.
My nerve begins to fail. "You were…expecting me?"
He gives a sad smile, "But of course. You and I have a date with destiny. But so it is with assassins and emperors, hm? Yes, I must die. And you must deliver the blow. It is simply the way it is. But I wonder…would you suffer and old man a few more words before the deed is done?"
"I'm listening." I keep a tight grip on Ebony Blade, it is glowing bright crimson now.
"I thank you for your courtesy." He nods to me. "You will kill me, and I have accepted that fate. But regardless of your path through life, I sense in you a certain…ambition. So, I ask of you a favor. An old man's dying wish. While there are many who would see me dead, there is one who set this machine in motion. This person, whomever he or she may be, must be punished for their treachery. Once you have been rewarded for my assassination, I want you to kill the very person who ordered it. Would you do me this kindness?" He's asking me to go after Almond and his crony.
"I'll think about it." I nearly whisper.
"Thank you. Now let's get on with business, shall we?" He turns to look out the back window, back out to sea. His hands stay clasped behind his back. A courageous endeavor for someone who is about to be impaled. I begin the walk over.
"Tell me. Why so many flags for Skyrim? Why travel here?" The red banners with the symbol of Skyrim flutter up above. They were magnificent.
"The old boring story is always about politics. But I also wanted to see the land again. It is a beautiful country is it not?"
I nod in agreement. "I've never seen anything like it before."
"Ah, not from here? The mountain peaks and bitter cold must be intimidating." He doesn't glance my way, just keeps his eyes on the ocean.
"No. Not really. I'm from here, my family, my parents were Nords. They moved to High Rock for business."
"Your father was a businessman? Or your mother, I suppose. What led you to being assassin? I'm guessing your parents aren't too happy about it."
I don't say anything. Emotion tightens my chest.
He chuckles. "I won't tell a soul, you know that."
Tears form in my eyes, "They're dead. They were murdered."
"I am sorry to hear that. Did you kill the perpetrator?"
"Not yet." I growl. A familiar hatred rises in my heart. It's always locked away but comes out whenever I think of them. And now I have others to think about. The whole Brotherhood Family who perished in the fire. Every innocent I've met along the way who ended up in the cold hard ground. All their deaths tie back to that one moment, that one night in my mansion when he arrived.
"There is time still. I am curious what made you an assassin, if not that?" His voice is gravelly and marred by age, but not emotion.
I shouldn't spill my heart out but the Emperor is right. A dead man will tell no secrets. "I'm a pawn as much as anyone. You want me to kill the person who set the contract on you, and I'm trying. It is difficult." My other enemy. She watches.
"It must be. Going up against the best is a challenge. But I'm sure you will succeed."
Her presence begins to flourish. I move the conversation away, if only to keep her at bay. "I want to know." I whisper, but he hears me. "What is your favorite city? I love Riften and Solitude. I wish I could go back to Solitude, but I doubt I'll be able to after today."
The Emperor gives a harsh laugh, "I would say that endeavor is in jeopardy with your actions. Only time will tell. Surprisingly enough, Markarth is my favorite. It is flashy and too crowded at times…but the history is something to behold. The Dwarven ruins. I wish I could see the results of the current research, imagine what they are finding…"
He glances back at me, finally. I'm five feet from him, tears streaming down my face. "I didn't know assassins can cry. Aren't you supposed to be colder hearted than any draugr?"
"I try. But I'm not." I whisper. My voice has given out. What a person I am, huh? I can kill the innocent guards with no thought. Yet, this guy has me talking about my parents and I'm a puddle of mush.
"If you have a change of heart…" He starts, trying to calm me, but also trying not to lie and say it would be alright. I did kill his crew.
"I wish I did. I do, deep inside. But it's not in my control."
He nods then looks back out to the water. "I understand. We all have our masters." He pauses, then continues, "Over there. When you're finished here, and you have some time. There is an island I've never seen before. You might want to explore it. That's what I would do if I wasn't the Emperor."
He speaks like it's the local weather forecast. More tears stream down my face. "I never wanted to be like him. Like the one who killed my parents. But every day I look in the mirror and see someone who I would mark as a killer. If I saw myself on the street, I would think I did that to my parents. Because I've done this." It's not me. It's the Night Mother running the show. She forces my hands forwards, the Ebony Blade slices through the Emperor. He grunts and falls to the ground.
His eyes are piercing when they find mine. "Then fight it so it won't happen again." Familiar words ring. He falls dead. A victory for the Night Mother.
I fall to the ground too. Sobs rack my body. I wipe my gloved hands all along my face, trying to get the blood tears from staining me further. But it's no use. Could I have saved him? Would it have been worth anything? Truth is, if my Blade missed him, someone else's would find him. He only had a matter of time. Maybe he did see Markarth before death. He would have wanted to.
Tears flow like they haven't in awhile. I'm inconsolable. The Night Mother berates me. Calls me names. Torments me like she always does. But I'm gone. I open my eyes and instead of the ship right outside of Solitude, I see darkness.
The night treats the world as it's servant. At least, that's how it is here. He is with me. In the fabric of time where I fall freely into oblivion. Nothing will catch me. This form is endless. I still understand another being is present. The Void beckoned and swallowed me whole. He is now watching.
Child of the night. I have not seen you for some time. I was angered with you, so. Breaking some of the five tenets…but you redeem yourself. My bride has taken you to the end of Nirn and you have served her well. I was merely curious of your endeavors. I appreciate…the souls you have sent my way. I have nothing more to say.
I'm about to be cast out. I'm frantic, I have no body here, but I have a voice. However weak it is. It takes effort, it's like trying to scream out the words but only being able to whisper. No! I need to know what she wants! Tell me Sithis! It echoes in the endless night. This is possibly my only chance to get any answers. I wait for a response.
He merely laughs. The fabric of darkness bends, I am not her keeper.
I wake up. In a bed full of hay and surrounded by stone. I expect a jail cell until I see Babette holding a glass to me. Filled to the rim with blood.
I take it in trembling hands. "Thanks." I drink it dry. "What happened? Was it all a dream?"
The little girl sits on the edge of the bed. "You probably wish it was, but it was not. The Emperor of Skyrim is dead, stabbed through the stomach with a blade. We got to Dawnstar and Cicero was screaming that something was wrong. We only had to walk a little way when we found you. You were exiting a shipwreck where the dead drop was. We couldn't get through to you, it's like you were in a trance. Then you fell to the ground asleep."
"How long?" I swallow my rising fear.
"The Emperor died a week and a half ago. You were found wandering the shipwreck four days ago and you have been recovering for that long."
I try to wrap my head around it. "Did we get the money?"
She gives a small little smile, "Oh yes, but soon in your long life you'll realize material things mean nothing. Well, some of them. You were adamant to keep that with you at all times." She points to my hands.
I look down and find a necklace. A black chain with a ruby the size of the child's palm is at the end of it. Looked an awful lot like the crown.
"Listener! Listener!" Cicero dashes through the door. He nearly jumps on me, but I back up and crouch on the corner of the bed. Cicero comes to a dead halt and begins to dance. "Listener! Listener! You are so good to Mother! You found her necklace!"
Fuck. A crown and a necklace? Something she would make me kill for. No wonder she wanted the Emperor dead. "This was with the dead drop?"
"We believe so." Babette says, eyeing the jester the whole time. "As I said, you wouldn't let it go so," She shrugs, "We let you keep it. I'll let you rest, and I'll tell Nazir you're awake." She leaves far too soon. I don't want to be alone with him.
He leans over my strewn sheets towards me, "Listener? How was it? You smell like the Void." He whispers.
"Fine. Don't know why I was there. What's this about?" I hold up the necklace.
"Part of Mother's collection. Yes. That is it. Oh, how marvelous!" Squeals Cicero.
"The killer of Skyrim is finally awake." Nazir leans against the doorframe. Amusement in his brown eyes. "I'll admit, I was worried for you for a while, especially when we heard the Emperor was dead, but no murderer was found. However, you always pop up at the right moment." He grins then turns his eyes to Cicero.
"Go get the papers." He commands.
Cicero pales but doesn't object. He runs out of the room.
"Saved some newspaper clippings of the achievement?" I ask dryly.
"No. Not quite. You see, we have a problem. A big one." He smiles. Ever the one to find a crisis amusing.
"What? Rebuilding the Family after a mass attack and killing the Emperor of Tamriel wasn't enough for you?"
Cicero arrives, papers among papers stacked up. He lays them on the bed. "Those are certainly problems, but fixable ones." Nazir continues. "Take a look at the news and you'll see the full extent of it. Someone has been impersonating you. They've gone as far as to dress up in black, use a black katana, and spark magic. As many as forty people were killed in the last week, all attributed to you."
I pull out the papers, one after another shows a bust of my face, the mask, the clothing, everything. The sword. The mention of spark magic. They just didn't know my name.
"Big deal, I just change my clothing and my weapon."
Nazir shakes his head, "No, Eve, that can't happen. You should kill however you want to. Wear whatever you want to. Beyond that, I think they would change to mimic you again. They did last week when they stalked you in Solitude. I think we are being watched."
I look up at Nazir, the first inklings of fear showing on his face. He was scared when the Falkreath Sanctuary came crashing down. But if this imposter created more of a stir, we might lose everything.
"I know you and her haven't had…the best of relationships recently. But you might want to talk to the Night Mother about this."
I nod. I was already suffering whiplash from the last ride and this would be no different. But I know if we don't act soon these papers will pile up until all of Tamriel is looking for me. Eventually, Danwstar will be more the wiser of an assassin guild just tucked away in a nearby cave. If I ever wanted a somewhat normal life, I needed to clear my name. And more so, if I lead anyone here Nazir and Babette would get caught in the crossfire. Like it or not, I was the leader of these people, and I would not let them down.
Cicero's Journal Entry
21st of Sun's Dusk, 4E 202
How impressed am I with Listener? Very impressed! She did the contract nice and tidy and got your necklace, Mother! One of the ancient artifacts that warmed your bones! Only she can find them…how lovely.
But another storm is brewing, Mother. Some pesky, no good Traitor is imposing on poor Listener. Trying to frame her for things she never did! And, well, she could have…but those crimes warrant a date with the chopping block and we can't have that Mother! Cicero will keep Listener safe, just for you.