Disclaimer: I do not own Bethesda or any of its products.
A/N: Hey guys. This is a story about a bunch of thieves after the Oblivion Crisis. Please review.
Chapter 1: The Crew
An Imperial stood at the top of the stairs in his house in the Imperial Talos Plaza District. He looked down upon his carefully selected crew for his big plan. His name was Dante, and he was a thief. The Imperial Guard had been trying to pin thousands of petty crimes in the city on Dante.
Robbery of the Slash n' Smash, the mysterious disappearance of all the horses in the stables, and the theft of the champion's dragon armor. The latter being the source of most of the anger towards Dante. But none of these crimes were enough for the Imperial. He needed one more job.
"I have selected all of you thieves based on what I have heard of your past accomplishments," said the Imperial, as he descended his stairs. He looked at the Dunmer on the far left of the group. Dante could see that the elf got into his wine cellar.
The Dunmer's name was Ragerice. He was most commonly known for allegedly stealing the Count of Cheydinhal's signet ring from him in his sleep. The task was deemed impossible, but Dante had heard from a few beggars that Castle Cheydinhal had just installed a few hidden escape routes and Ragerice had taken full advantage of them before the guards started patrolling them.
Dante flipped his hair out his eyes and continued inspecting the group. The next was an Argonian Female from Bravil. Her name was unknown to most. Everyone just referred to as City Swimmer because of her habit of swimming through the Bravil canals. When she wasn't in the canals, she was always seen sneaking around town.
Gold was her target over valuables and she had been one of the few people in the whole town left with gold in her pockets on a day now referred to as Pickpocket Day in Bravil. Most of the town had assumed it was her, but it could never be proven that she stole the gold.
Next on the list, was another Argonian named Rasha. He was a local in the Imperial City and was what Dante based his horse heist on. Rasha stole the entire stable of horses in Anvil and in Cheydinhal. The total value of the horses stolen was estimated around 50,000 gold.
Rasha had even payed off one of guards to open up the gates of the Imperial City and let Rasha release his horses through the gates. Eight of the ten horses were recovered in the city and the last two were found in the stables outside the city.
Unfortunately, the guard turned Rasha in when he saw him on the streets. But when the guards checked his cell the next day, all they could find were a lockpick and a note stating how he would escape through the sewers.
The last on the list was an Imperial female named Lunia. She was, to say the least, a very attractive girl and she knew it. Lunia had caught Dante's eye when he found out about her latest conquest. She had seduced the Imperial Palace guards and got into the Elder Council chambers, stating that she was a tourist from Hammerfell who would do anything to get into the Elder Council chambers.
She got in and when the guards turned their backs, she made off with Ocato's enchanted dagger. Dante had heard that it was fenced through the Thieves Guild for over 60,000 gold.
Dante had definitely found his team. "So, you guys want to know about the job right?"
Ragerice chuckled as he sipped down Dante's wine. Dante glared at Ragerice and the Dunmer put his glass down.
"I must warn you before I get into details, that this will probably be the biggest job any of you will ever get and will also be the most dangerous," Dante continued, "Does anyone want to back out now?"
The group responded with the shaking of their heads. Dante smiled and walked closer to the group. "I assume you all know each other and what you guys have done as thieves, so I won't have to cover that." They all nodded.
"So what are we stealing?" asked Lunia.
"We are going to attempt to steal over fifty-million gold from the Imperial City vault."
Ragerice spit his wine out onto City Swimmer's face. "Just because I swim in the sewers, doesn't mean I enjoy Elvin waste on me." Rasha laughed.
"What are you laughing at, Argonian?" stated the angry Ragerice as he wiped the wine from the outside of his mouth. "You're the only one of us who has been caught before."
"That may be, but haven't you ever thought that letting horses run through the city and having someone breaking out of the Imperial Prison, be an embarrassment to the guards?" responded Rasha, "And isn't that worth more than a few pieces of gold I have stolen before."
The Dark Elf turned away, knowing he had been outwitted.
"How do you expect us to get into the vault?" Lunia had been the first to actually comment on the prize.
The Imperial male responded, "That's where the fun begins."