Aeyrin stopped for a second in front of the large building towering before her.
She couldn't help but get a little nervous about the meeting. She still wasn't exactly sure what all of this was going to entail and she had no idea how many people she was meeting with. It didn't help that Bishop wasn't there with her, but it was probably for the best.
She absentmindedly scratched Karnwyr behind his ear as she took a deep determined breath. She wasn't going to find out anything more by standing around.
She left the wolf waiting for her at the doorstep and she stepped inside the Kynesgrove inn. The second the door closed behind her, she saw them among the other patrons – a large table with ten people around it, men and women, most of them Nords, and the familiar nobleman among them. Brunwulf's eyes met hers right away and he looked quite relieved to see her.
"Lady Aeyrin! What a lovely surprise to see you here," he called out to her across the inn as he stood up from his seat.
'Surprise'? Alright. So he wanted this to look like a chance encounter? She wasn't exactly great at these games, but hopefully she could manage.
"Lord Free-Winter," she smiled wryly as the man approached her. "Nice to see you here too. What… uhm… what brings you here?" She wasn't sure if she could ask. She wasn't sure if this was the right question, but it seemed like something she would have asked if she really didn't expect him here, right? It wasn't common to find the nobleman outside of Windhelm, was it? She really hoped he had some excuse prepared.
"I'm having some work done on a nearby estate of mine," Brunwulf explained. "These ladies and gentlemen are my very capable workers," he gestured towards the table filled with people.
'Nearby estate'? That sounded plausible. At least Aeyrin thought so.
"It's quite fortunate that we ran into you, lady Aeyrin," Brunwulf smiled at her. "We were merely stopping for a meal, but we have a longer way to go still. I hired mercenaries to guard us on the road, of course, but unfortunately, we had a… nasty bandit encounter only a short distance outside of Windhelm. The patrolling soldiers helped, but my mercenaries didn't make it. I don't suppose you would have time to take their place for the rest of the way? I would compensate you for the trouble, of course."
Aeyrin was pretty certain that the whole bandit encounter was made up, but it was probably best to keep up these charades. They couldn't just reveal their real plans in the tavern, in front of strangers, and they shouldn't look like they had any previous associations either.
"Oh… I could do that," Aeyrin nodded at him. "I could use the money." That was believable enough, wasn't it?
"Excellent," Free-Winter smiled at her brightly. "Come, join us for a meal. We can head out after."
Hopefully she would get some more explanations on the road, without all these games.
…
It was surprising how fast everything was arranged and how smoothly the work was going.
Though Aeyrin had never expected to find herself all the way here.
She had a meal with the workers first and she checked in with the innkeeper for any mail she may have received there. Though no letter from Erik had arrived yet. It was worrying, but it was still too soon. She had to remember that.
Only after they all left Braidwood Inn behind, she got some information out of Brunwulf. As she had suspected, this was all tied to the list of names that Bishop had retrieved, but it was also much more than she had anticipated.
Brunwulf explained his plan soon enough. Not only did he want to create a safe place to hide any dissidents from the Thalmor in the controlled regions, he wanted a place for people from down south to come and learn about Talos and the lost branch of the Church of the Nine Divines. He wanted to build a chapel – a place to meet and teach and a sanctuary for those who needed it.
Brunwulf had apparently been discussing this with Jora and Master Therien for a long time now, whenever he could. They have finally agreed on a good spot for this new chapel and Brunwulf volunteered some of his fortune and his loyal workers for the cause.
They traveled to their intended destination – all the way to the Rift and to the Jerall Mountains. There, above the caved-in Gromm's Pass, long abandoned as a viable route, they chose a plateau up in the mountains, covered in snow. It was remote and it was somewhat hidden. It wasn't very well accessible, but that was the point. In time, systems would be in place to allow for the chapel's use – to ensure that even the older and feebler could access it as well as some measures to hide it from anyone who might wish that place harm.
And even though that wasn't the most important part, the view was breath-taking.
The aspen trees to the north spread out below them like a lush golden carpet. And on the other side, behind a few obstructing outcroppings, the grand top of the White-Gold Tower was peeking out, visible even in the far off distance. This place could eventually be accessed from both provinces, although with some difficulty. There were a few passes like these along the border which the less scrupulous travelers used to traverse, but this one was one of the inaccessible ones ever since the caverns below got buried under the cave-in. The workers were planning on changing that and clearing out the pass, but that was an issue for after the sanctuary was built.
The Rift was also a good location for the chapel for political reasons. Right now, the Hold still belonged to the Stormcloaks. It was safe from the Thalmor for now, legally at least. They couldn't report this church to anyone and they couldn't forbid it.
But the war could eventually change everything. It was strange for now to think about a Stormcloak region as one providing more freedom for the people. And they still couldn't have Ulfric himself learn about this endeavor. He would never agree to such covert and admittedly slow and peaceful tactics. And he would definitely take not being asked to help personally.
But those concerns were also best to be left for other times.
Right now, there were other goals on the horizon. They needed to build the chapel and bring in the people from the Thalmor list. Those had been notified before and most of them got terrified by the prospect of being the point of the Dominion's attention. They all but clamored for a safe place outside of Thalmor jurisdiction. Most of them did at least. Some refused to be culled by the threat. It was… admirable. Aeyrin really hoped that the Thalmor wouldn't find any evidence with them eventually that would give them the right to arrest or execute them.
But the rest of them would be there shortly.
The works were going well. A noble family that owned a farmstead near the mountains, only about an hour away, had made some sort of deal with Free-Winter and they provided shelter, storage and food to all the workers until the bulk of the chapel was built. Brunwulf seemed to have a lot of connections to be able to ensure this.
They have spent four days already, hauling stones and lumber into the mountains and building up a sturdy chapel to withstand the elements. It was going surprisingly well. The stone foundation was done, as was the wooden floor and the walls of the first room. The next plans were to build up a second room next to it, but not before they tried to break into the caverns below and reinforce them against cave-ins. It was well known that the passes were impenetrable so there would be no access into the caverns from any other way for now. And the subterranean areas would provide good shelter against any possible dragon attacks and a hiding place away from any unwanted onlookers.
Brunwulf had every advantage thought out to the last detail. It was impressive.
Aeyrin had been there mostly to protect them from anything dangerous, but with nothing actually threatening them, she helped out with the constructions all the time. She always thought that stuff like this would take months, but with how many people were working on the chapel, day in and day out, it was going very smoothly and fast.
Now there was a group working on chiseling into the stone of the mountain while others were building up a second story to the first room surprisingly fast. Not all of them were working though. Some were resting nearby, some went back to the farmstead for some rest or food, and Aeyrin was idling around, sitting on a pile of lumber with a wolf splayed over her lap and a quill in her hand.
It had been too long.
Things were kind of hectic at first and she didn't really have time to write to Bishop. At the end of the day, she just fell into bed in exhaustion. She was used to a lot of exertion in her days, but building something like this was… different. As if her body wasn't used to these particular movements. And it was definitely not used to her hauling heavy things up mountains. She thought that it would have been, but apparently her armor and equipment was nothing compared to this.
But now she was slowly getting used to the pace and effort. She found herself with more time during the day when she didn't have to just quickly eat and take a nap to relax her muscles. And during idle times, her thoughts always went back to Bishop.
She wondered what he was doing, if he was missing her already as much as she was missing him. It was kind of ridiculous – it had only been four days. But they were so used to being around each other all the time that even four days felt like a very long time.
She missed his warmth every night she had to shiver under the furs at the farmstead until she heated up enough to actually fall asleep. With Bishop it was always instant. He was like ten blankets, warm cloak and a campfire right next to her, all at once. She at least wanted Karnwyr to hop onto the bed with her, but the workers complained after the first night – they were too uneasy with the wolf sleeping inside and Aeyrin being too out of it to control him should anything happen. So she reluctantly had to leave him outside on the farmstead through the nights and suffer the cold.
Karnwyr had been a great comfort to her and a nice reminder of how soon the three of them would be together again. It wouldn't take very long. The workers and Brunwulf had agreed to do everything in their power to be done before the Old Life Festival. That was in five days already, so they would probably have to be done in four so that the workers could come back to Windhelm in time for the festivities.
They were half-way there. And even the chapel was beginning to look the part.
Aeyrin looked at the half-finished structure proudly before her eyes went back to the empty page on the lumber. Her free hand was idly stroking Karnwyr's soft fur while she continued to ponder about what to write.
She had to avoid any details about her location and what they were doing – just in case. Bishop would find out when they saw each other again. And she did consider telling him to write back to her, addressing it to the farmstead, but… it still felt a little risky, just for a letter. It was enough that the noble family agreed to send out any correspondence from the workers – she didn't want to abuse their hospitality further. Besides, precautions. The less hints about her location and activities were out there, the better.
So that ruled out a lot of topics for the letter. But it was not as if she didn't know what to write. She knew. She always had plenty to talk to Bishop about, plenty to ask, plenty to share. She was just still a little uncertain about the comments he made before they parted.
She was very sure that she was incapable of writing him a dirty letter. Just the thought of that made her blush in embarrassment. Though it would certainly brighten his day. And she couldn't pretend like her thoughts didn't drift to how much she missed his touch all too often, among other things.
There was one letter already crumpled in her pack. She refused to look at it ever again. She was going to burn it right when she got anywhere near a fire. She tried to start off with the more… 'interesting' stuff and she regretted it instantly.
Maybe she should just write the regular stuff first and then add something only if it felt right.
As if it ever would.
She took another frustrated breath and started to scribble at last.
.
Dear Bishop,
I miss you. I hope you're alright and that you're enjoying your hunts. Karnwyr would have certainly preferred to hunt with you, I'm sure. He looks pretty bored out here, but he keeps me company and there are some people around who aren't too afraid to play with him when I can't.
We're making good progress and we even have a place nearby to rest and eat. Though it's nothing like your cooking. I miss that so much. I feel like I haven't eaten properly all this time. I should have put you to work to make some extra food for me for our time apart. Though I should have put you to work in a lot of ways to make up for
.
Nope!
She was going to write a new one when she was done. There was no need to waste all her papers like this.
.
Dear Bishop,
I miss you. I hope you're alright and that you're enjoying your hunts. Karnwyr would have certainly preferred to hunt with you, I'm sure. He looks pretty bored out here, but he keeps me company and there are some people around who aren't too afraid of him to play with him when I can't.
We're making good progress and we even have a place nearby to rest and eat. Though it's nothing like your cooking. I miss that so much. I feel like I haven't eaten properly all this time. I should have put you to work to make some extra food for me for our time apart. Though I should have put you to work in a lot of ways to make up for
I will be done before the thirtieth, or at least that's the plan. I hope you are somewhere near so that we can meet soon. I can't wait to be with you again. I can't even wait to travel aimlessly with nothing to do. I like what we're doing here and I'm excited for what it can become, but it's never the same without you. I keep counting the days until I can have you next to me again. Especially at night. I can't tell you how much time I spend thinking about when you're going to take me again. I keep thinking about the last time when you kept running your tongue
.
No!
Gods! This was just hopeless. She was never going to get through this. Maybe she should just leave it as it was. Maybe she would have more luck with her next letter. Or maybe it was just not meant to be and she would never be able to get over her embarrassment.
She preferred actions anyway. She would show him just how much she kept thinking about him when she saw him again.
.
Dear Bishop,
I miss you. I hope you're alright and that you're enjoying your hunts. Karnwyr would have certainly preferred to hunt with you, I'm sure. He looks pretty bored out here, but he keeps me company and there are some people around who aren't too afraid of him to play with him when I can't.
We're making good progress and we even have a place nearby to rest and eat. Though it's nothing like your cooking. I miss that so much. I feel like I haven't eaten properly all this time. I should have put you to work to make some extra food for me for our time apart. Though I should have put you to work in a lot of ways to make up for
I will be done before the thirtieth, or at least that's the plan. I hope you are somewhere near so that we can meet soon. I can't wait to be with you again. I can't even wait to travel aimlessly with nothing to do. I like what we're doing here and I'm excited for what it can become, but it's never the same without you. I keep counting the days until I can have you next to me again. Especially at night. I can't tell you how much time I spend thinking about when you're going to take me again. I keep thinking about the last time when you kept running your tongue
Karnwyr misses you too. We both do. But we'll all be together again soon. I can't wait.
Love, Aeyrin
.
Well, that was probably the best she could do.
She quickly pulled out another parchment and wrote everything down once more without the crossed out parts. He certainly didn't need to see what she was trying to do so unsuccessfully.
Satisfied with the results, but still kind of disappointed in herself, she finally stashed everything in her pack when she was finally done and she looked back at the structure in front of her.
She should probably go back to helping again. There was still a lot of work to be done.
…
Two more days had passed since Aeyrin sent her letter. She hoped that it found Bishop well. She had no idea where he was, but she suspected that he wasn't far. They parted ways in the Eastmarch tundra and she suspected that he may have gone south as well. He loved hunting in the Rift, even though they had spent so much time there together lately. He could not get enough of those forests. The only reason they were going elsewhere before was the lack of new places to explore.
The work on the chapel was progressing steadily. The workers managed to break into the caves with minimal damage and only two injuries. Aeyrin was able to take care of those easily. Now the whole structure was built – two large rooms on the ground, one room on the second floor with a steeple above it and a cavern complex below with plenty of places to hide, sleep and store supplies.
It looked perfect.
Aeyrin was already imagining how this place was going to flourish.
And a day ago, it even received its first residents.
Over twenty people came in. Not all together – they all came from different cities, different settlements and at different times, but Brunwulf had bided them all to come on the twenty-seventh when he was confident that they would have a place for them. These were all those suspected by Thalmor to be Talos worshippers. These were Talos worshippers. And out of fear of the Dominion, and perhaps out of desire to keep the faith alive, they all came here for shelter and to tend to the new chapel. They were willing to live here, to preach here and to welcome anyone who would come, from south and north, all those who were eager to learn the ways of Talos despite the Dominion's insistence on silencing them. Those who wanted to avoid taking the brutal way through along with Ulfric's rebellion.
Everyone was working on the interior now, setting up the beds and kitchens, the altar and the nave. Work went much better with the additional help. They were sure to be finished in time.
After what felt like quite a long day, Aeyrin had decided to join Brunwulf for a meal back at the farmstead. They haven't talked all that much during all those days. Brunwulf was certainly not idle and he eagerly joined his workers in the heavy lifting. He wasn't one to just stand by and shout orders.
They descended down the slope into the forest of bright aspen trees. The sun was almost setting that day. It was almost over. Aeyrin was planning to write to Bishop once more, telling him to meet at Kynesgrove again in two days. Hopefully the letter would find him in time.
But until then, there was still more work to be done. Always more work. But endeavors like this wouldn't ever be easy. She should just be glad that it was building stuff and not some missions involving subtlety. At least this was straightforward.
"I hope you are not regretting joining us for this, lady Aeyrin," Brunwulf smiled a bit as they walked together. He tried to idly scratch Karnwyr behind his ear as the wolf passed by, but he quickened his steps to escape the touch. Brunwulf was one of the few people around who didn't fear the wolf and Karnwyr was more than eager to chase around the plateau with Brunwulf, but letting a stranger disturb him when he was alert about his surroundings was not acceptable.
"Of course not," Aeyrin shook her head wryly. "You're doing an amazing thing here."
"It is all thanks to you and Jora and your efforts," Brunwulf smiled back at her with kindness. "I was just worried that this might be a bit… boring, in comparison to your usual adventures."
Well… it was in a way, but she didn't mind at all. It was nice to do something so simple and relatively safe. It was still all secret and it was all still rather… dangerous. But it didn't feel like it here,
"It's alright, I really don't mind boring every once in a while," she chuckled in response. "It's refreshing."
"I imagine it must be," Brunwulf smirked in turn, but before they could continue their idle conversation, suddenly Karnwyr stopped in his tracks and began to growl menacingly.
The wolf's gaze was trained on a particularly thick set of bushes and he was clearly trying to alert Aeyrin to something in there. What was it?
Aeyrin and Brunwulf shared an uncertain expression as everything quieted. There was definitely something hiding in the bushes. Or someone.
Tentatively, Aeyrin approached the bushes. Once she was close, she quickly uncovered as much as she could to reveal what was bothering Karnwyr.
She saw grey fur first, then a glint of rather panicked yellow eyes. It took her a while to recognize that it was a Khajiit hiding in there.
Strange, what was a Khajiit doing there, in the middle of the woods? Did she get lost from a caravan? Aeyrin uncovered the bushes a bit more. She was ready to ask the obvious questions, but then, suddenly, she noticed something else. The Khajiit was clutching a dagger with fear in her eyes. Aeyrin expected a prompt attack, but instead, the woman twisted the blade in her hand and raised it towards her own throat.
"NO!" Aeyrin yelped when she saw that. Luckily, she was ready for an attack and she managed to react quickly. She grabbed the Khajiit's hand in hers and twisted. Twisted until the woman's dagger fell from her grasp and she let out a cry of pain.
"What's going on?! Who is that?" Brunwulf gaped at the scene in confusion. In the meantime, Aeyrin dragged the Khajiit by her hand to stand up, revealing her from her hiding place.
"What are you doing? Why were you trying to kill yourself?" Aeyrin stared at the woman in shock, but she never let go of her hand. She had a bad feeling about this. The woman tried to slit her own throat the second she was discovered in the bushes. Why?
"None of your business! Leave Khajiit alone!" the woman cried out, but Aeyrin still didn't let go of her. Instead, she yanked her forward to make her step out of the bushes entirely while Brunwulf approached closer.
"'Kill herself'?" Free-Winter scowled deeply as he approached a little closer. He studied the Khajiit's face for a while, but he seemed to lose interest soon. Instead, he turned his attention to the bushes again.
"What are you doing here?" Aeyrin looked at the woman suspiciously. This all seemed so strange. Why was she hiding in the bushes like that?
"Khajiit is not saying," the woman scoffed. She tried to twist herself out of Aeyrin's grip again, but she wasn't successful.
"She's been watching us," Brunwulf interjected. Only now Aeyrin noticed him holding a pack and a small notebook. He must have found those in the bushes. He approached Aeyrin again and showed her the notebook – open on a particular page.
.
Target arrives to Jerall Mountains edge and proceeds up a slope on a peak – crossing the border?
Agent follows along the slope but hears voices and noise. Returning to safety.
Agent finds hiding spot to observe situation. From distant observance, agent could see a structure in the mountains – possible destination of the target.
Agent lays in wait. Constant movement along the area – people coming and going from the slope. Unrecognized targets, mostly Nords. Men and women in equal measure.
A known target spotted – Lord Brunwulf Free-Winter. No known motives or plans.
More new targets arrive – all known, all from the list.
2 targets around 1 in the afternoon (Hjorunn, Heimvar – Solitude)
1 target at 3 in the afternoon (Ogmund – Markarth)
5 targets from 4 to 5 in the afternoon (Narri, Bolund, Helvard – Falkreath; Olda, Lodvar – Dragon Bridge)
A known target spotted – Dragonborn. No known motives or plans.
Structure on the mountain still has unknown purpose.
.
That was all there was to it, but Aeyrin was sure that there were more notes on the previous pages. What was this? 'Targets'? 'Agent'? Was this a…
"A Thalmor spy," Brunwulf scowled at the Khajiit when he deemed Aeyrin to have had enough time to read the page and see what this was.
Of course it was a Thalmor spy! Who else would try to kill themselves when discovered? No doubt whatever punishment awaited her for being caught would have been much worse.
"Lady Aeyrin, please, take her up on the plateau," Free-Winter nodded at her with a resolute nod. "We need to question her."
…
"The Thalmor are going to kill you anyway. Who are you even protecting now?" Brunwulf scoffed at the Khajiit incredulously.
Aeyrin had done as he told her and she forcefully dragged the woman back up on the plateau. Whatever her role was in the Dominion, she clearly didn't have much combat training to resist Aeyrin. She was likely just a stealthy observer.
When they came up, their 'prisoner' caused quite an upheaval. Everyone was eager to deal with the Thalmor once and for all, but Brunwulf insisted on questioning her. So they dragged her into the chapel and tied her to one of the chairs there securely.
She was entirely tight-lipped though.
"Khajiit does not care. She will die anyway, why betray them?" the woman turned her head away from Brunwulf in defiance.
"We will make it less painful for you if you talk," one of Brunwulf's workers smirked at her maliciously. He had volunteered previously to get the information out, one way or another, right after Brunwulf asked Aeyrin for that and she promptly cringed at the idea. She really didn't want to torment the woman, Thalmor spy or not, but she knew that there wasn't really any other way with how stubborn she was.
Both Brunwulf and she had already tried everything that they could think of to convince the Khajiit, but nothing worked. Pain seemed to be something she was responding to though, judging from how much she squirmed and cried out only from Aeyrin holding her roughly.
With a sigh, Brunwulf nodded at the worker. There was no other choice. The man was a very large, burly Nord with muscles almost visibly bulging under his tunic. The Khajiit kept flinching whenever he moved. This would work.
"I'll ask again," Brunwulf scowled at the Khajiit. "How did you know we were here?"
"Khajiit won't speak!" the woman snarled, but just as she finished saying that, a heavy blow landed in her stomach, making her double over and gasp, straining against her bindings. She shook her head vehemently, but that only prompted another blow, right into the same spot. She spat up, heaved and gasped and tears sprung into her eyes.
A hiss of pain echoed through the room. The worker gave the Khajiit a bit of respite, but she still looked defiant. A few moments later, the worker raised his fist again, but this time, the woman flinched and quickly spoke up.
"Fine! Fine," she growled. "Not worth it. Khajiit was told to follow one of the targets on the list. Been following him for weeks now until he finally led Khajiit here."
"Why were you following him?" Aeyrin gave her a curious look. Were all the 'targets' on the list followed constantly? That didn't seem likely. There were like thirty names there. Would the Thalmor really waste so many agents like this? Just following ordinary people in hopes of catching them doing Talos worshipper things?
"Thalmor follow targets from list all the time," the Khajiit shrugged, but that still didn't feel… right.
"You're lying," Brunwulf scowled fiercely. He seemed to have come to the same conclusion. "The Thalmor wouldn't waste so many agents constantly following small targets like this. Some simple Talos worshippers. Tell us the truth!"
The Khajiit snarled in response, but another blow landed on her promptly, now straight in her face. The woman had to spit up some blood as she almost choked on it for a second and a long groan of pain escaped her lips right after.
"Will you kill me?" she asked quietly.
"We don't have to if you tell us what we need to know," Aeyrin quickly answered. She wasn't sure if everyone else felt the same about sparing the woman's life, but that could be discussed later. Maybe it would be stupid. The Khajiit could reveal their location and even if it wasn't too dangerous now in Stormcloak territory, that all might change if the Empire gets the upper hand. But she didn't want to think about that now. Not with the woman fearing for her life right there.
"No. Khajiit makes a request. Will you kill me if I tell you?" the woman shook her head.
"You… want us to kill you?" Brunwulf gave her a surprised look.
"Khajiit will get worse pain. Worse death. This one does not want to be on the run from Thalmor. They will find Khajiit. Quick and painless and this one will talk," the woman nodded with determination. She seemed resigned to that fate. She even seemed resigned to it when she got discovered in the bushes. She didn't have any more fight left in her – especially not against her masters in the Dominion.
"We can promise you that. You won't be in any more pain if you talk," Brunwulf nodded somberly. Maybe it was for the best. The woman was already doomed. She already failed her task. She was already a 'target'. And her death would keep all the Talos worshippers safe.
"Thalmor ordered agents to follow targets after you people got the list. Khajiit couldn't watch in the cities so she was assigned one target in a small settlement in Falkreath Hold. The target led this one here after weeks of nothing suspicious," the woman explained.
"Were there more agents following the 'targets'?" Brunwulf scowled instantly.
"Only two more. Thalmor wanted no suspicions," the woman nodded. "Khajiit knows not how successful they were in following here."
"We need to search the area," Brunwulf turned towards the worker. "Get everyone and search wherever you can. Kill the agents. We can't risk having our location revealed. It may already be too late."
The worker nodded with determination and with a last look directed at the Khajiit, he turned on his heel and left the room. It looked like the new residents had a very different kind of work cut out for them for the rest of the day. At least the worshippers only arrived yesterday. Hopefully that didn't give the agents enough time to find out what was going on and report back, judging from what the Khajiit was doing.
"Did you alert the Thalmor to our location?" Brunwulf looked at the Khajiit again.
"No. Khajiit needed to find out what this place was first. She needed to be careful not to be discovered," the woman scoffed at herself.
"So… how exactly did you know that we got the list?" Aeyrin asked uncertainly. That was the part that actually stuck in her head the most. The Khajiit said that the Thalmor sent the agents to watch the targets after the dissidents got the list. But how? Bishop left no trace of his break-in! Was it Casavir?
"An agent from Cyrodiil read a letter. Khajiit does not know details, but letter spoke of the theft of the list," the woman explained. 'An agent from Cyrodiil'?! Did that mean that someone was reading Master Therien's letters?!
"Thalmor planted a bait to the bureau after and waited. When the bait was gone, they knew someone was there," the Khajiit continued.
"'Bait'? What bait?" Aeyrin gaped at her. Bishop left no trace! He said so. "And who is this agent in Cyrodiil?"
"Khajiit does not know Cyrodiil agent. And she does not know the nature of bait. Does it matter?" the woman scoffed.
While she had a point about the bait, the agent in Cyrodiil certainly did matter. They needed to know who that person was and they needed to alert Master Therien. But… how could they if the person probably read his letters?!
This was becoming a bigger mess than it looked like. How long had the Thalmor been gathering information about the dissidents?
"Do you know anything else?" Brunwulf let out a resigned sigh. He looked just as distraught by these revelations as Aeyrin was. But it was done. The Thalmor already knew. But they didn't know everything. All they could do now was damage control. They needed to find the agents following the Talos worshippers and they needed to find out more about what's been happening in Chorrol.
"Khajiit knows no more," the woman shook her head. "She only knows what pertains to her mission. Please, quick and painless. You promised."
Aeyrin and Brunwulf shared a brief uncertain look but it promptly turned into mutual resigned nods.
They weren't sure what to ask anymore and it was the merciful thing to do for the Khajiit in this situation. She wanted this. She chose this.
Brunwulf unsheathed his dagger and he approached the woman. She mumbled some brief words of gratitude before he grabbed her by the fur at the back of her head and ran the blade over her throat. Blood sprayed over his garb and a familiar sickening gurgle echoed through the room. But it was over very quickly.
"The… the agent in Cyrodiil," Aeyrin whispered quietly, trying to get the attention back on what was at stake instead of the dead woman in the chair.
"Yes. We need to find them," Brunwulf nodded with determination. He turned toward Aeyrin after a while and he squeezed her bicep comfortingly. "I know that you have duties here. I will take care of this. I will go to Chorrol and talk to Therien. But you cannot contact him in the meantime and let him know. Letters are too risky right now."
Aeyrin nodded at him as a tinge of relief hit her. She didn't have that many duties here anymore that she couldn't go back to Cyrodiil for a brief visit. But as much as she would have loved seeing Master Therien and others at the temple, the idea of subtly ousting a Thalmor agent without a plan terrified her. Free-Winter seemed so sure during all of this. So sure what to do with the Khajiit, so sure how to approach finding the other agents. He would know what to do better than her.
The last thing she needed was to mess things up and put Master Therien in danger. She would never forgive herself for that.
"A-alright," she nodded at him. It was for the best. No matter how much she wanted to reassure herself that her mentor was alright.
"You don't know anything about that 'bait'?" Brunwulf looked at her curiously. "I do not mean to accuse, but it would be useful to know their tactics for the next time."
That kept bothering her too. What could it have been? Bishop didn't bring anything back from the bureau.
"I… I wasn't the one who went there. I'll… I'll try to find out," she sighed. There was not much more that she could do. She wasn't sure what it could have been to make Bishop careless.
"Ah, I assume it was the young man," Brunwulf nodded knowingly. "I am sure he did not mean any harm. The Thalmor are a wily bunch. Make sure that he knows that he is not to blame. We just need to be more careful now. I had no idea they even had hints of our group's existence."
Aeyrin nodded absentmindedly. She had no idea either. This complicated things.
She was starting to worry.
What has she gotten her loved ones into?